Chapter 3 Found

Bob watched Han ride away until he disappeared from view. Even then, he couldn't pull himself away and into the warmth – relatively speaking – of the base.

"I wanted to go too."

Bob hadn't noticed Lark beside him until she spoke. He just nodded.

"My dad wouldn't let me." She continued, her eyes glued to the white horizon, scarcely distinguishable from the cloudy sky.

"Luke's my friend too." Bob finally said after a long silence that seemed to stretch into eternity. "Han didn't even want to stay, but when the time comes to be a hero, who's in the spotlight?" he voiced emotions he didn't even know existed.

Lark carefully considered before speaking. Such thoughts may be human, but they had no place for a Force-user, as limited as Bob's skills were.

Maybe that's the problem. She thought. Maybe he needs to have more connection to the Force. She decided that as soon as Han and Luke got back – she refused to consider any other possibilities – she would talk to Jesse or Kimmy about setting up a regular training schedule with Bob. It was hard since they were all so busy, but still…

"I'm going in." Bob said, leaving Lark alone in the cold. Eventually she turned to go inside as well.

Inside the base, Leia stood waiting for any news whatsoever from the two strays, shivering visibly in the biting wind that swept through the open door. Nearby, Chewie sat with his massive, furry head in his hands. Lark put an arm around Leia's shoulders, and they waited in silence while Lark's imagination went wild with all the possibilities – and none of them good.

Shut up! She told herself. It's just as possible that they come back unharmed. Well, maybe not just as, but it's still possible.

"Sir, all the patrols are in. There's still no contact from Skywalker or Solo." A lieutenant's voice broke through her inner monologue.

"Mistress Leia, Artoo says he's been quite unable to pick up any signals, although he does admit that his own range is far too weak to abandon all hope." Threepio said.

Leia nodded an acknowledgment, seeming to be lost in thought as well.

"Your Highness, there's nothing more we can do tonight. The shield doors must be closed." Someone said.

Leia nodded slowly, and Chewie let out a long, mournful howl. Lark felt like doing the same. At the same moment, Artoo began a complex series of efficient beeps.

"Artoo says the chances of survival are seven hundred seventy-five to one." Threepio translated.

Lark glared at the droid.

Threepio quickly backpedaled as if afraid she would switch him of – which wasn't exactly a bad idea. "Actually, Artoo has been known to make mistakes from time to time. Oh, dear, oh, dear. Don't worry about Master Luke. I'm sure he'll be all right. He's quite clever, you know, for a human being."

Leia still didn't respond as the doors shut with a resounding boom.

Bob stood up. "The second the doors are open tomorrow, I'll go scout around." He said.

Leia nodded and turned away. Sensing her need to be alone, Lark stayed behind, wishing she were young enough to go burry her head in her father's shoulder like she used to back when she was sure he could make everything alright. Why did she ever have to grow up?

"You should get some sleep." Kimmy put one hand on Lark's shoulder and the other on Leia's.

"What if something happens?" Leia asked.

Kimmy frowned, and Lark knew that she wasn't expecting any news that night – good or bad. Still, she told them, "I'll wake you up if we hear anything."

Leia hesitated and then nodded and left for her sleeping quarters while Lark lingered a moment more. "I don't think I could sleep anyway." She said.

"Try." Kimmy said with an understanding smile.

Despite everything, lark did manage to drift into a light doze, but her subconscious wouldn't let her sleep soundly for fear of nightmares attacking from the shadows of her fears.

"There is no fear." she muttered in the small hours of the morning when she'd given up on even a doze.

"Sweetheart, it's natural to feel fear."

Lark jumped as a silhouette appeared in the doorway. Kimmy entered and sat on the bed. "I heard you tossing and turning." She explained.

"Then why do they say that fear leads to the dark side?" Lark asked.

"Because fear is a controlling emotion, and any emotion that controls you is potentially bad." She pushed a strand of hair back from her daughter's face. "It's ok to be concerned for your friends as long as you trust the Force."

Lark nodded and got out of bed. "I'm not going to get any more sleep." She said. "It's almost dawn. Can I go out with the others to look?" she held her breath but didn't have much hope. They'd been over this before. She wasn't trained as a fighter pilot and was too young to be trained. Jesse and Kimmy had agreed that when she was seventeen, she could enroll. This last year was ticking by extremely slowly.

But to her surprise, Kimmy didn't say no. Instead she simply said, "I'll talk to your father."

Lark smiled her thanks and reached for her coat. Maybe they'd finally realized she was growing up.

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Three hours later, Bob, Jesse, and Lark were getting into their snow-speeders to begin the search party. Bob climbed aboard and settled into the cockpit, his focused look on the dashboard.

"Good thing you guys got these fixed." He heard Jesse say, but he didn't listen to the reply. Instead he concentrated on starting up the speeder. With a flash of light, the doors opened, and Bob and the rest zoomed out into the whiteness that was nearly blinding after the dim hangar.

Almost half an hour of fruitless searching passed, and then Bob suddenly felt an inward tug. He perked up and, after a moments hesitation, followed it out of his assigned area. After a few moments, he heard a low beep from one of his monitors.

"Echo Base, I've got something! Not much, but it could be a life form." He said half excitedly, half hopefully. Quickly, he switched over to a new transmitter. "This is Rouge Two. This is Rogue Two. Captain Solo, so you copy? Commander Skywalker, do you copy? This is Rogue Two." He held his breath. "Han? Luke?"

There was a sharp crackle of static, and then a faint voice, "Good morning. Nice of you guys to drop by."

Bob inwardly cheered. "Echo Base, this is Rouge Two. I found them. Repeat, I found them." He quickly switched back. "Han, are you guys ok?"

"Fine. Luke's got a little frostbite, but it's nothing to sit up all night over like I know you did."

Bob didn't care. Han could say anything he wanted too; he was just relieved at having found them in one piece. And even though he would never admit it, he knew Han was glad at being found.

"Yes!" Lark said, turning her speeder around and heading back toward the base. She would have liked to have been the one to find them, but when it came right down to it, it didn't matter. There were plenty of opportunities to be heroes, and each and every one of them was, whether they got a glamorous adventure or not. All that really mattered was that Luke and Han were safely on their way back to the base.

Sorry, it's a little short, but so is my list of reviewers! I may have to go back to begging again just when my knees were recovering. Please, don't make me get down on them again!