Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. I just created my own little AU corner to play in.
AN: Hey everyone! Here's chapter 36! Thanks for all the great reviews! Enjoy and let me know what you think!
The Awakening: The Revised Edition
Chapter 36: Discovered
An Imperial Star Destroyer loomed in the dark reaches of space. At the orders of Darth Vader, remote probes were released from the open hatch. Finding the Skywalker family and the rebellion had been Vader's obsession for the last three years and the Force told him that he was very close now...
An object streaked across the icy sky of Hoth and crashed on the snow covered ground. The probe activated and began scouring the planet in search of the rebel base...
Luke Skywalker rode his Taun Taun across the snowy plains on patrol. Seeing nothing, Luke turned on his comlink.
"Echo 3 to echo 7, Han, you see anything?" Luke asked.
"There's nothing on this ice cube," Han replied, slightly annoyed.
"I hear you. Nothing over here either," Luke replied.
"I'm heading back kid, and you should too," Han replied.
"I'll see you there. A meteor crashed over here and I want to check it out. It won't take long," Luke replied, as he cut the transmission. Suddenly, his Taun Taun began to panic.
"What's wrong?" Luke asked, trying to calm the animal down. Suddenly, the Wampa, which was a beast-like creature with white fur took a swipe at Luke and crushed the Taun Taun. Luke ran, trying to avoid the beast's massive hand, but he was struck down. He fell unconscious into the cold snow and the creature began dragging the injured young man back to his cave...
Han arrived back at the base and checked in. He made his way through the docking bay and found Chewie making some repairs to the Falcon. The Wookie rawled impatiently at him, indicating he was not happy being the one to do all the repairs.
"Okay, don't lose your temper! I'll be back to help ya in a while," Han replied, as he left for the control room. He entered and his eyes searched for General Skywalker. Leia looked up and their eyes met for a brief moment. She looked back down and Han approached, seeing that Anakin was standing next to his daughter as they looked over some data readouts.
"Hey Han," Anakin nodded in greeting.
"I can't stay any longer. I gotta leave and pay off Jabba what I owe him," Han blurted out to him. Anakin nodded, his face betraying no emotion.
"We'll miss you Captain, you've been a great asset to us," Anakin replied, as he shook his hand. He sensed Han's uneasiness with his decision, but knew he couldn't interfere. Han had his own destiny to follow and though he had already sensed it was somehow entwined with his daughter's, he couldn't force him to choose what he thought was a better path. Han had to live his own life and make his own mistakes, before he learned all he needed to. In the end, his experiences would make him a better man.
Han nodded and made his way to the exit. Leia frowned and followed him. Anakin shook his head in amusement and went back to what he was doing.
"So that's it, you're just leaving?" Leia asked, as Han kept walking.
"Yep, guess this is goodbye your highness," he replied.
"We need you Han," Leia argued.
"We? Don't you mean you?" Han jeered. Leia's eyes blazed in fury.
"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked.
"It means that you say we need you, to avoid saying what you really mean. That you need me," Han replied, with a smirk. Leia huffed in annoyance.
"Don't flatter yourself," Leia retorted.
"Fine, guess this is it your highnessness," Han glared back, before stalking off. Leia suppressed a growl. She hated when he called her by that mocking title. Han returned to the docking bay looking for Luke, so he could say goodbye, when he felt something latch onto his legs. He smirked, as he stared down at little Jaden and picked him up.
"Okay, you got me squirt. Did you wander away from your Mommy again?" he asked.
"Mommy's feeding Bella. She let me stay and help Chewie fix the Falcon," Jaden said.
"Well, you're the best pint sized assistant I know," Han replied.
"Mommy says we'll be going home in a couple days. Are you going to take us in the Falcon?" Jaden asked. Han felt a stab of guilt hit his heart.
"Not this time squirt," he replied. Jaden's brow furrowed in confusion.
"You're not coming home with us? But why? Where are you going?" Jaden asked.
"Well, there's something Chewie and I have to do and we have to go by ourselves," Han tried to explain so he would understand.
"But when are you coming back?" Jaden asked.
"I…I'm not sure, but I'll try to make it soon," he replied, knowing it was likely he wouldn't be able to keep that promise, as he saw Padme coming with the baby in her arms.
"Thanks to both of you for watching him for a few minutes," Padme told him and Chewie. Han smiled.
"It's no problem," he replied, as he put Jaden down on his feet.
"Mommy, Han is leaving," Jaden announced. Padme looked up at him.
"You are?" she asked.
"Yeah…I owe Jabba a lot of money and I need to pay him off," Han explained.
"That sounds really dangerous," Padme said with worry.
"Don't worry, we'll be fine and back in no time," Han lied.
"I'm going to go find and Luke and tell him goodbye," Han said, trying to get away quickly. Padme's motherly instincts were in full gear and Han knew that she'd try to talk him out of going and he was afraid she might succeed. As his eyes scanned the docking bay, he didn't see Luke, so he approached an officer.
"Has Commander Skywalker reported in?" Han asked.
"No sir," the officer replied.
"Whaddya mean no?" Han demanded, knowing that the temperature was dropping rapidly now that night fall was upon them.
"I'm sorry sir, he hasn't reported in," the officer replied.
"Are the speeders up and running?" Han asked.
"No sir, we're still having problems," the officer replied. Han grit his teeth and started bundling up, before hoisting himself onto a Taun Taun.
"Sir, your Taun Taun will freeze!" the officer protested.
"Look, my friend is out there. Tell me Lieutenant, at which point were you intending on informing General Skywalker that his son is missing out there somewhere?" Han asked. Padme over heard and gasped.
"Luke is missing?" she asked in alarm. The officer began to stutter in reply, but Han cut him.
"He hasn't reported in," Han told her gently.
"You're going to go tell General Skywalker where I've gone," Han ordered to the Officer.
"Jaden, stay with Chewie. I have to go find your Daddy," Padme said frantically, not waiting for the nervous Officer. She headed for the control room, while Han went out to look for her son.
"The patrols are erratic. I'm not sure how much longer we'll be safe here. I think they may be getting close," Obi-Wan said, as he, Anakin, and many other Alliance Council members, including Clovis stood around the war table.
"There is no indication that we've been discovered," Clovis refuted. Anakin glared at him.
"The vibrations in the Force say otherwise. I think Vader may be closing in. It would explain the erratic patterns," Anakin said, as Padme suddenly rushed in. Bella fussed, sensing her Mother's distress.
"Ani…Luke is missing!" Padme cried. He put his hands on her shoulders and tried to help her calm down.
"Missing?" he asked.
"He never checked in after his patrol route ended. That was four hours ago!" Padme panicked.
"Okay…calm down angel. I'm going out after him," Anakin assured her.
"Han went too already," Padme said. Anakin nodded and kissed her forehead.
"We'll find him, Padme, I promise," he assured her.
"We'll keep the blast doors open as long as possible," Dodonna assured him, as Anakin left with Padme behind him.
A few moments later, Anakin stormed into the docking bay followed by his frantic wife and daughter, who now held Bella while trying to calm Padme, though she herself was scared for her twin. Anakin was more than a little angry about the Officer's oversight in failing to notice his son had not checked in. Hoth was too dangerous for mistakes like that.
Anakin stalked over to one of the broken down speeders and opened the front hatch. He dug his fingers into the innards of wires. He took out a small tool and cut the casing away from some of the wires, before twisting them together. Obi-Wan shook his head and if it weren't for the seriousness of the situation, he would have laughed at the look on the other officers faces as they watched Anakin successfully hot wire the speeder. The engine roared to life and Anakin put his gear on.
"Sir, the temperature is dropping rapidly. It's not safe!" one officer argued. Anakin's head shot toward the man and each and every one of them suddenly felt like the temperature in the room had dropped fifty degrees. It was a known fact that one did not want to ever be on the receiving end of one of General Skywalker's glares, for it was enough cold enough to freeze the binary suns on Tatooine.
"That is my son out there captain. He has been missing for over four hours and I just found out a little over ten minutes ago. I don't give a Sith how cold it is, because I am going to find my son!" Anakin yelled back, as he jammed the throttle down and shot out of the hanger.
"General Kenobi, we can't keep the hanger open for much longer than an hour more!" the captain panicked.
"You've obviously never seen Anakin fly a speeder before. He'll be back in time, I assure you and you will not close this hanger until he is back with Luke and Han. Is that understood, Captain?" Obi-wan asked.
"Yes General," the Captain replied.
Inside the Wampa cave, Luke hung upside down. In the background, the Wampa fed on Luke's dead Taun Taun. He was slowly regaining consciousness and tried to free his feet, which were frozen to the ceiling. Seeing his light saber nearby, Luke used the Force to bring it to his hand. He ignited the green blade and cut his feet loose. The Wampa growled and started to come after him. Luke swung his saber up and loped off the Wampa's arm, causing the beast to recoil in pain. Luke stumbled and quickly ran out of the cave and into the blistering cold…
Han leapt off his Taun Taun and picked up the tracking device, trying to get any kind of signal on Luke. Just as he was about to mount his Taun Taun again, Anakin arrived in his speeder.
"Jump in Han!" Anakin ordered.
"I can't get any kind of readings on the tracking device," Han said, as Anakin sped off through the snow again.
"Don't worry, I can sense him. It's very faint, but he's still there," Anakin replied, as he punched the throttle down.
Luke trudged through the snow and his vision blurred. He was extremely weak and cold. He could no longer feel his feet. Frostbite was beginning to set in and he dropped to his knees, no longer able to walk.
"Dad…" he cried out into the Force, as he slumped down into the cold snow.
Several minutes passed, but soon, Anakin slowed the speeder, as they both spotted a figure lying in the snow. Anakin stopped the speeder and hopped out, running to his son. He picked Luke up in his arms and tried to get a response from him.
"Luke! Talk to me Luke!" Anakin demanded. Luke weakly opened his eyes.
"Dad?" he uttered.
"Hang on Luke, we're going to get you back," Anakin replied, as he placed Luke in the back of the speeder and headed back to the base.
Padme Amidala Skywalker paced worriedly in the hanger where they were waiting.
"General Kenobi, we can't keep this hatch open much longer," the worried captain said.
"No, they will be back. We just have to give Anakin time!" Padme insisted.
"Forgive me milady, but we are endangering everyone on the base by keeping this hatch open too long," the captain replied.
"The Captain is right. We must close the blast doors," Clovis said. Padme glared murderously at him.
"You will not lock my husband, my son, and Captain Solo out there, as much as I know how you would love to," Padme spat.
"This isn't just about them, Padme. This is about everyone inside this base," Rush reasoned.
"And about you getting revenge on Anakin, because you're still sore that Padme rejected you twenty years ago," Satine added, earning her a glare from Clovis.
"Ten more minutes captain, please," Padme pleaded.
"We will wait ten more minutes. Anakin will be here," Obi-Wan assured them. The Captain nodded reluctantly. Padme held Bella and Leia put her arms around her for support, while Chewie paced miserably, worried about Han and his friends.
Nearly ten minutes passed and Padme couldn't help the tears that began to stream down her cheeks. They wouldn't be keeping the doors open any longer, no matter how much she pleaded. They would be trapped out there all night and Padme was terrified she would lose them. Suddenly, Artoo began whirring excitedly and stomping his feet.
"What's he saying?" Leia asked.
"Oh my, it seems Artoo is picking up a signal. He believes it's Master Ani's speeder!" Threepio said excitedly. Padme and Leia sighed in relief, as soon enough, they could see an approaching speeder. The speeder slowed and entered the hanger. Once they were in, the officers closed the hanger for the night. Padme handed Bella to her older sister and made sure Jaden stayed back with Satine and little Ani, as she ran toward the slowing vehicle.
"Anakin!" Padme cried.
"Oh Ani, please tell me he's all right," Padme cried, as her husband lifted their unconscious son from the back of the speeder.
"He'll be okay angel, we just need to get him to the med bay," Anakin replied. As he said that, several officers rushed in with a stretcher. Anakin placed Luke on it and he was taken to the med bay immediately...
Luke was put in the bacta tank, while the med droid monitored his condition. Padme watched on, worriedly, while Anakin held her in his arms. Jaden sat with Han and Chewie, who entertained him, as he didn't quite understand what was going on. Bella was thankfully asleep now and Leia had put her down in her hover stroller.
"He's going to be fine, angel," Anakin told her. It was several hours later before he would be able to come out of the tank.
A few hours later…
Luke was taken out of the bacta tank and they took him to their quarters for him to rest. He felt fine now and dried off, before dressing himself. As he came out of his room, his parents ushered him to the sofa. Padme sat next to him, hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek. She brushed his hair out of his eyes and doted on him.
"Mom, I'm fine, really," Luke insisted.
"Sorry honey, I don't mean to hover. Let me go make you some hot soup," Padme insisted, as she headed for the kitchen. Luke was about to protest, saying he wasn't hungry. But his father shook his head in amusement and Luke knew there would be no stopping her. He smiled back at his dad and Anakin left for the kitchen to find his wife, when Han entered.
"Well, you look none the worse for wear, kid," Han said.
"Yeah, thanks to you and dad," Luke replied, gratefully, as Han sat down, looking at Leia.
"Well, your worship, it seems to me that you found a way to keep me around a little longer," Han replied, smugly. Leia protested.
"I had nothing to do with that. Daddy thinks it's dangerous to let any ships leave right now," Leia replied.
"That's a good excuse. I just think you can't let a gorgeous guy like me leave, so you convinced daddy to come up with that little excuse," Han replied, smug as ever. Leia blanched and glared at him.
"I don't know where you get your delusions, laser brain," Leia retorted. Chewie chuckled and Han gave him a warning look.
"Laugh it up fuzz ball," Han told Chewie.
"You didn't see us earlier in the south passage. She expressed her true feelings to me," Han said. Leia grew furious. Oh, how she hated him sometimes!
"Why you stuck up, half witted, scruffy looking...nerfherder!" Leia yelled, as she stormed out. Han shrugged.
"Who's scruffy looking?" he asked, nonchalantly. Leia stormed past him and left for the control room, while Han was left with a smirk on his face.
The next morning, Anakin and Leia were both in the control room. A situation had risen and the base was picking up a mysterious signal.
"What do you think it could be?" Leia asked her father. Anakin shook his head, unable to shake the bad feeling he had.
"I don't know princess," he replied.
"Master Ani, this code is not used by the alliance. It is possible it could be of Imperial origin," Threepio informed him.
"Whatever it is, it ain't friendly. Chewie and I'll go check it out, come on," Han said to Chewie.
Once Han and Chewie found the location of the possible droid, they ducked behind a snow drift, as the thing shot a blast at them. Han drew his blaster and clipped it. It exploded into a million pieces, even though Han had barely hit it. He contacted the base.
"There's not much left of it. I didn't hit it very hard. It must have had a self destruct mechanism," Han reported. Leia and Anakin glanced at each other.
"An Imperial probe droid," Leia surmised.
"It's a good bet that the Empire knows we're here," Han said.
"Get back to the base Captain. We're going to begin evacuation immediately," Anakin said, as he made the announcement and put the entire base on red alert.
An Imperial Star destroyed loomed about and TIE fighters swarmed around the area. Darth Vader stood on the bridge, awaiting any news. He could hear Admiral Ozzel and Captain Piett arguing about something and approached them.
"You have found something?" Vader asked.
"Yes my Lord. On the sixth planet in the Hoth system," the captain responded.
"Yes, that is the system," Vader replied. He could feel a strong Force presence.
"The rebels are there and Skywalker is with them. Set a course for the Hoth system immediately," Vader ordered.
A few hours later, the entire base was in chaos, as the Empire's presence was made known on Hoth. It had been confirmed that Imperial walkers were now on the ground. The ground assault was underway, and Anakin and Luke were both suiting up. Luke hopped into his two person fighter with Dac, while Anakin got into his with a reluctant Obi-Wan.
"Why did I let you talk me into this? I'm getting too old for this sort of thing," Obi-Wan griped.
"Aw, come on Master, it'll be just like old times," Anakin grinned, as he fired up the engines. Obi-Wan felt his stomach lurch, as Anakin blasted into the sky.
"Anakin! This is no time for your reckless flying tricks!" Obi-Wan scolded, as Anakin spiraled and flipped them. Anakin laughed.
"Lighten up Obi-Wan. This is where the fun begins," Anakin said, as he spotted the first Imperial walker and went after it.
"Oh, I have a bad feeling about this..." Obi-Wan said. But Anakin was determined to ward them off in order to make sure he could safely see his family off the frigid planet. He wasn't going to let Vader anywhere near his beloved or their children. Unfortunately, Vader was just as determined to capture the Skywalker family and escaping Hoth would be anything but an easy feat…