Chapter Thirty-Six:
As he lay with Mara in his arms, her warm body pressed close to his, Luke breathed deeply of her scent, soaking all of her in. He was a blessed man; he knew that with utter certainty now. The Force had intervened in his certain-death experience in the snows, and Luke was not about to take that lightly.
He thanked his lucky stars that he was back with his family. With a contented sigh, Luke allowed his mind to return to the niggling idea that he'd forgotten to tell Leia something upon his return to base.
It had been about four days total since he'd gone on patrol, and for some reason, Luke felt as though he was missing a key piece of information from that first day. It had first come to him as a subtle ripple in the Force, a hint of something to come... but what?
He'd already wracked his brain more than once to try and recover his memory of the patrol... and the attack. What was he missing?
He'd gone out, made his rounds, and then the wampa had come...
No... no, that wasn't quite right. Something had happened just before then. Why had he stayed out?
The MD droid had mentioned that partial memory loss might happen as a result of how long he'd been in the cold. Luke knew that whatever he'd forgotten was significant. He could feel the urgency growing with each passing hour.
Wait...
MD droid.
Droid...
Meteor...
Luke sucked in a sharp breath and sat bolt upright in his cot, startling Mara awake.
The probe droid!
"Luke?" Mara asked, somewhat groggily.
"Mara, get up!" Luke was already climbing to of bed and throwing on the first set of clothes he could find.
"Luke, what's the matter?" Mara was now fully awake.
"I completely forgot! And with everything that happened with the wampa attack and all, I... I can't believe I didn't recall it!" Luke pounded a fist against his leg.
"Luke, start talking sense please," Mara said mildly as she also found her clothes.
"A probe droid, Mara!" Luke's face was alight with trepidation, his hands now fumbling agitatedly to put his belt in place. "That meteor I stayed out to inspect, it was an Imperial probe droid!"
Mara froze for the space of three heartbeats before she swore viciously. "Then we need to evacuate..."
At that moment, an alarm sounded and Luke jerked as he was putting his sword's scabbard on, Mara not far behind. "Sounds like they're already thinking that way," she amended.
"Mara, I'm going to need to lead the Rogues, can you take care of Shmi?" Luke asked, taking her hand.
"Will you leave for Dagobah after the evacuation's complete?" Mara inquired, getting her own gear in place.
"Yes." Luke touched her face. "Will you and Shmi be okay?"
"Yes." Mara leaned up to kiss him. "You do what you need to with Yoda. I'll take Shmi out on the Falcon."
"Okay." Luke returned the kiss with a tender one of his own. "I love you."
"I love you too."
"... Mara?"
She paused with her hand to the activation plate. "What?"
Luke gave her a pleading look. "Would you... make sure that Shmi knows I will always come for her, no matter what? Just in case something happens?"
"I think she already knows that, but yes, I will." Mara touched his cheek once more. "Just be safe."
"You too." Luke kissed her once more and then they were out the door, heading their separate ways.
On his way to the hangar Luke stopped an ensign. "What's going on?"
"They found an Imperial probe droid outside the base, Sir, so just to be on the safe side, they're calling an emergency evacuation."
"Okay, thanks." Luke nodded and made his way to the command center, where he was not surprised to find Leia and Rieekan.
"General, Commander Skywalker reporting for duty." Luke saluted. "Also, I apologize; this droid is what I saw out there, but with the wampa..."
Rieekan held up a hand. "It was only a matter of time before they found us, my friend. Prepare Rogue Squadron to defend the base until all transports are away."
"I will, Sir." Luke hesitated, throwing his sister an apologetic look. "One more thing, Sir. I know this is last minute, but I'll be leaving for a little while after the evacuation."
Both Leia and Rieekan turned startled gazes his way, and he held up a hand to forestall any arguments.
"I finally found a Jedi Master to complete my training in the Force. I wish to do so, Sir."
Rieekan considered, and while Leia looked a little more conflicted, she did not object. At last the general nodded slowly.
"I believe we can sacrifice some of your time here with us so that you can return to us a full Jedi." Rieekan held out a hand. "I'll handle the rest of the council on the matter when the subject comes up."
"Thank you General." Luke shook his hand, and then pulled Leia aside. "Leia, I know this is sudden..."
"No, that's not it, Luke," Leia assured him. "I'm happy that you'll finally get what you've wanted all this time. Will Mara and Shmi be leaving with you?"
"No, Mara is taking Shmi out on the Falcon," Luke answered. "Will you be alright?"
"Yes." Leia kissed his cheek. "Be careful okay?"
"I will." Luke placed his lips to her forehead, and then playfully tapped her nose. "I love you, Little Sis."
Leia's mouth quirked up into a wry smile, and Luke was glad he could lift her spirits even for a moment.
With one last hug, Luke departed. And not a moment too soon, because at that time a proximity alarm sounded, alerting them all to the arrival of Imperial ships.
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Even from his meditation pod, Vader could tell something was wrong when they exited hyperspace. Growling dangerously, the Dark Lord was about to depress his comm. button when he felt a presence outside his room. Vader placed his helmet on as the man entered and came to attention.
When Vader turned, he saw that it was General Veers. "What is it General?"
"My Lord, we have entered the Hoth system, but we've detected an energy shield on the surface," the man said succinctly.
Vader hissed in disapproval. "Admiral Ozzel came out of hyperspace too close to the system; the Rebels are now alerted to our presence."
"He felt surprise was wiser..." Veers attempted to explain, but Vader cut him off.
"He is a clumsy as he is stupid." Vader pointed to the general. "Prepare your men for a surface attack, and remember: stun only once inside the base. Bring the child to me at once if she is captured."
"Yes My Lord." Veers bowed with a click of his heels and marched off with purpose.
Vader turned in his meditation pod's seat, anticipating the upcoming execution greatly. He watched as his viewscreen came to life and Ozzel, unaware of the mortal danger he was in, leisurely waltzed toward his end of the communications station.
"Lord Vader, we've just come out of lightspeed, and are preparing to..."
Vader stopped the man with a Force-choke, reveling in the man's panicked gasps. "You have committed your last failure, Admiral. I have no further use for your idiocy." Vader then turned his attention to Captain Piett. "Captain."
"Yes My Lord?" Piett snapped to attention, trying not to look at the dying man beside him.
"You will prepare the fleet to receive any ships that evacuate the planet. Focus on the Millennium Falcon: I want that ship." He pointed a finger at Piett as Ozzel collapsed lifelessly to the deck. "You are in command now, Admiral Piett."
His eyes flickered with surprise, but he nodded once, swallowing. "Thank you Lord Vader."
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Shmi woke with a startled gasp when the alarms went off, and she had to take a minute to figure out that it wasn't a dream.
"Mistress Shmi, you must get up," Lars said as he appeared at her side. "It would appear they're simulating another drill."
With a quick flick of her wrist, her sheet was off and Shmi leapt from bed to dress in her orange flightsuit. In the time she and her father had been with the Alliance, they'd been through many practice evacuations, and so she knew to move quickly. Shmi put her ebony hair into her signature pigtails and then was out the door, racing for her own room.
Lars was close behind her, his less-bulky frame making the task of keeping up with her that much easier.
Halfway down the hall, however, Shmi spotted a pair of men conversing, hearing snippet of their words, detoured down the side tunnel to listen in.
"It ain't a drill: Imperial ships have been sighted!" the taller man said in a loud whisper.
"Well, let's just hope we can hold them off long enough to get everyone out."
Shmi gasped, and the men caught sight of her... and promptly clamped their mouths shut.
"Hello, Miss Shmi," the taller man greeted her with a small smile. "You'd best run along and find your parents, you hear?"
"Okay." Shmi continued down her current hall instead of backtracking.
"Lars, I want you to get to Uncle Han's ship!" Shmi ordered as she reached the end to her current corridor.
"Negative, Misstress Shmi. I am to stay with you in an emergency situation." Lars rebuffed her.
"Unless I give you override code seven-seven-three-alpha-nine-beta," Shmi said crisply.
The droid paused... his programming kicking in, and with a mechanical sigh, he retreated down the hall.
Dad will not be happy to hear I sent him away...Shmi thought. But there wasn't any immediate danger. And besides: he would slow her down... nor did she want Lars to get blown to bits.
Shaking her head, Shmi resumed her trajectory. When she got to her room, neither her mother nor father was there.
Biting her lip, Shmi came to a decision. She grabbed her father's duffel and began to shove everyone's gear into it.
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"General, we have sighted the Rebels," General Veers' AT-AT driver announced. "It would appear they plan to resist."
Veers snorted. "They certainly are a brave bunch, aren't they? Well, happy hunting gentlemen."
His men shared an eager smile, and then went back to maneuvering the AT-AT closer to the Rebel base.
Veers had to hand it to the Rebels on choosing their location. Even within the heated confines of the Imperial walkers, it was cold. How the rebels had holed up here was beyond him. But he shook off any stirring of sympathy.
They were the enemy, and as such they would receive no mercy from him.
Happy hunting indeed. He thought haughtily.
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Luke picked up his pace to the hangar and, upon his arrival, was surprised to find out that he would be leading a full contingent of twelve men in this battle. Luke thinned his lips, but did not argue.
"Alright Rogues, let's give them hell!" he called over the cavernous hangar bay as he leapt into his snowspeeder's cockpit.
"Alright!" Wes crowed from nearby.
"Luke, you feeling alright?" his gunman asked from the rear seat.
"I feel good as new, Dack, how about you?" Luke asked over the seat as he strapped in.
"I feel like I could take on the whole Empire, Sir!" Dack replied.
Luke had to grin. "I feel you there Dack."
Minutes later Rogue Squadron was out the hangar and into the open snow, where on the horizon could be seen five Imperial AT-AT's.
"Alright everyone, stay alert and fly quickly; these things probably won't be easy targets," Luke cautioned.
"Sure they will, just watch this!" one of his new men said confidently, veering off to blast at one of the walkers.
Luke winced when the red lasers didn't so much as scorch the armor of the chosen target, and then growled irritably when that same pilot nearly lost his rear end when the AT-AT retaliated.
"Rogue..." Luke checked his display. "... Ten get back in formation and stop showing off. This is a battle, not a circus!"
"Yes Sir," Ten grumbled, and Luke shook his head with a sigh.
He took his own snowspeeder in for a few shots, but again nothing happened except that the walker tried to track him. Luke pursed his lips.
"Okay guys, blasters aren't doing anything..." he had a thought. "Tow cables! Use your tow cables and harpoons on the legs! Bring them down the old-school way."
"Copy that!" Wedge responded, all business.
Luke brought his own speeder back around and spoke to Dack. "Get ready to fire, Dack."
"But Luke, I'm not set. I need another minute!" Dack replied.
Luke nodded. "Alight, let me know when you're ready to go."
"Wait, Luke, there's a malfunction in the firing mechanism." Dack started to sound a little worried.
"See if you can't get it working okay?" Luke said soothingly. Opening a channel, Luke spoke to Wedge. "Rogue Two, my gunner's not able to fire the harpoon. You go in, and we'll fly cover for you."
"Copy Rogue Leader," Wedge answered.
They weaved through the storm of deadly laserfire given off by the AT-AT's, and Luke put all his skill to good use to keep himself and his wingman alive. Wedge's ability also shown through as the man kept pace with him.
Luke drew the walker's fire when Wedge flew in for the shot.
"You ready Wes?" Wedge's voice asked over the comm.
"All set!" Wes sounded more than eager, and Luke smirked.
Moments later, Wedge's snowspeeder let out a burst of air and the harpoon settled right into one of the grooves in the walker's leg.
"Yeah!" Wes crowed. "Perfect aim! Too bad none the ladies saw it!"
"Focus Wes..." Luke deadpanned with a shake of his head.
"It was a great shot, you have to admit," Wes pouted as Wedge circled the Imperial monstrosity for the second time.
"That it was." Luke allowed.
"One more pass..." Wedge cut in. "Let her go, Wes!"
The cable detached and the pair of snowspeeders flew out of the way while the walker fell upon its face.
"Turbolasers now!" Luke ordered the rest of his squadron. "Take it down! Aim for the cockpit!"
Two snowspeeder's zoomed in for the kill, and a collective cheer went up as the thing exploded.
"Alright boys, now we know how to take them out," Luke called. "But be careful, they're going to be more wary to our approach now."
Several pilots acknowledged his order, but Luke's gut suddenly screamed a warning, and he veered sharply just as a laser blast hit his snowspeeder. The maneuver saved the ship from total annihilation, but the engines began to cough and splutter.
"Hold on there Dack, we're going down!" Luke called, and when there was no answer, Luke tried to see over his shoulder. "Dack?"
But he saw the other man's head lolling and he knew the man was dead. "Goodbye Dack..." he whispered, turning his attention back to the impending crash.
To his great alarm his speeder was on course to land only a few meters in front of an incoming AT-AT. Luke worked the throttle and repulsors to try to get his speeder to shift course, but then another blast rocked his speeder, and the thing started to spark all around him.
"Luke!" Wedge cried over the comm.
"I'm going down, but I'll live!" Luke replied. 'Take over the aerial battle, Wedge."
"Copy that, see you at base."
Luke braced for impact and as soon as the speeder stopped, Luke saw that he had maybe a minute to get out. With a heave, Luke shoved at his canopy, but it was stuck. Gritting his teeth, Luke pushed harder, and to his relief it finally gave way. Luke clambered out, only to squeeze back in over Dack, where he retrieved a cable-gun.
Luke heard the whir of metal and saw the shadow cover his body, and he cursed, scrambling from the speeder just before the AT-AT's foot crushed the smaller vehicle flat.
Luke leapt up once the walker had passed, and aimed with his cable gun toward the belly of the nearest AT-AT. Once it had attached, he hoisted himself skyward until he'd reached the underbelly. Luke grabbed his lightsaber; igniting the blade with practiced ease and then blowing open the belly hatch.
He grabbed a detonator off his belt and lobbed it inside the great machine before he released the cable and dropped the several meters to the snows. Once he hit Luke lay flat, covering his head while the AT-AT above him began to explode from the inside.
He rolled when the shadow passed over his position and saw that one leg was bent unnaturally. As the thing crashed, a snowspeeder added insult to injury by blasting the walker as it blew.
Luke nodded once and then saw the lead AT-AT closing in on the base. Luke spotted the shield generator in the distance... right in the path of the lead AT-AT.
... and Luke hadn't heard any news of the Millennium Falcon leaving yet.
"Shmi..." he whispered in a flash of fear. "Mara..."
He couldn't... wouldn't just sit here andlet the AT-AT take out the base until Shmi and Mara were out. He would do something. But... he was on foot, and had never taken on something of this magnitude before with the Force...
Your unbelief is why you fail, Young Skywalker.
The sudden, gravelly voice in his mind made Luke jump. He looked around on pure instinct, almost expecting to see another Force ghost to go with the disembodied voice. But there was no one.
Frowning, Luke tried a new tactic.
Who's there? He asked with the Force.
No time, there is. Trust in yourself, you must have— trust in the Force— of you are to succeed.
... how? Luke asked, knowing in his gut he could trust this source. How he knew, he wasn't entirely sure, but something told him that he would not fail if he listened.
Clear your mind, young one. Once clear it is, the solution to everything, come it will.
That's it? Clear my mind?
Trust me, Luke.
How did this being know who he was? But the voice was right, Luke knew as he shook his head; he was out of time. He had to act soon or risk losing his family.
Thinning his lips, Luke closed his eyes and centered himself as he had never done before.
He wasn't a Jedi yet... but by his surname Luke would be one today.
Reaching deeper into his soul than he ever had, Luke cleared his mind and opened himself to the Force completely. Handing over utter trust to it, Luke let go of all his insecurities, all his fears of his potential for evil— the one thing that had truly kept him from accepting his full abilities— and with a gasp of air he felt it flowing through him. It was suddenly much stronger than at any other time, and Luke's mind was now awash with the assurance that he could take on the AT-AT.
If he could get there in time.
Luke began to run, and with his new level of understanding, he tapped into the Force to help himself move faster. When he did so, he grinned in an almost slap-happy way.
It was amazing, he mused as he sped through the snows, how one's full potential could be unlocked with the correct motivations.
Mara and Shmi needed him. Leia needed him. Han and Chewie needed him.
They needed the Jedi in him.
Luke felt a slight thrill move through him as he yet again increased his speed... and was suddenly neck-and-neck with the AT-AT. With a final exertion, Luke pulled ahead and spotted a likely place from which to make his stand.
Reaching the berm, a small sliver of his mind that wasn't devoted to the task wondered at the fact that he wasn't breathing very hard. Once atop his chosen vantage point, Luke threw up a hand and with the other ignited his sapphire blade.
"STOP!"
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Mara gasped when her connection to her husband suddenly blossomed to such an intense degree that she stumbled and had to catch herself upon the wall.
She panted momentarily as she tried to stabilize her rapidly beating heart. She'd never experienced such a magnitude of power... not even in her former master.
Yes. Yes, her husband was definitely destined for great things.
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Vader was glad he was in his seat when the light side of the Force suddenly shone with radiance, and the Dark Lord knew with utter certainty it was his son.
Vader marveled in the power his son harnessed. Such raw power, just waiting to be put to use under the title of a Sith Lord! Such a man deserved to help Vader rule the galaxy!
And he would! Luke would make a funs Sith Lord.
However, Vader also knew that if he felt the surge in the Force, so to would his master.
Vader began in that moment to reprioritize his plans and as his thoughts moved on to the child he was supposed to capture, a new plan began to flicker to life. HE'd felt it before, and he felt it again.
The girl was the key to Luke Skywalker's obedience.
Palpatine wanted the girl to ensure Luke would be under his control. Vader would capture her, and he would use his position to help Luke regain her. Then Luke would see Vader as the better of two evils, and he would take his side. Especially if Vader subtly used the child as leverage.
Vader was certain of it.
Now his eagerness to capture the girl was doubled.
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Indeed: in his rooms in the Imperial Palace, Palpatine smiled at the level of power young Skywalker exhibited.
That power would be Palpatine's to mold and control.
Palpatine sat back and grinned in anticipation. Soon, very soon the female child would be in his gnarled grasp, and then the upstart Jedi would come to him.
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When Lord Vader appeared out of the blue demanding an update, Veers was ready.
"Yes, Lord Vader, I will have the shield down momentarily, you may begin your landing," Veers reported confidently.
"Good work, General," Vader praised before his hologram vanished.
"Steady on the target, gentlemen," Veers told his drivers.
"Yes sir."
Veers watched dispassionately as the Rebels continued to give resistance, and smirked as several snowspeeders were shot down. The Imperials had lost two walkers, but his own vehicle was well on its way to taking out the shield generator, and Veers would not let anything distract him from his task.
"Target in range, General," his driver announced.
"Maximum power..." Veers used a periscope viewport to take aim, and once the shield generator was in his sights, he gave the order.
Or started to.
"General, look!" One of his drivers pointed out the viewport. Since the walker was no longer moving— it was at a standstill in order to fire at maximum power— the figure was quite easy to spot.
A lone pilot in his bright orange gear stood tall and proud atop a snowy hill, one hand held out in a stopping motion, but in the other...
"It's a Jedi Sir!" the same driver gasped.
"It's a single man, about to get his brains blown to dust," Veers sneered. "Fire on him."
"Yes sir!" the second driver aimed the head of the AT-AT at the man, and Veers lifted his brow when the Rebel didn't even flinch.
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Luke did not allow fear any purchase in his heart or mind as the head swiveled toward him. He took a deep breath and sank himself deeper within the all-encompassing field that was the Force.
Everything slowed for him, and Luke was able to focus on the huge machine. He threw up his hand and grabbed the walker in a Force-grip. Next he rotated the entire walker eighty degrees, feeling the laserbeams' impending launch in his 'danger sense', as Mara had dubbed it.
The super-concentrated turbolaser beams lanced to from the teeth of Luke's AT-AT. With a screech of super-heated metal at such close range the next walker over first buckled... and then exploded.
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General Veers, due to his more in depth training, recovered first from the shock of what had just happened. With a snarl, he turned to his command station. Veers activated the link between himself and the AT-AT at the end of the line.
"Fire on the shield generator now! Do it now or I will open fire on your walker myself!"
"Yes Sir!" was the clipped reply.
Veers watched with vengeful glee as that walker promptly dropped its one-sided battle with two snowspeeders who were out of cables, and took aim on the shield generator.
"General, the guns are powering up again!" his driver announced.
"I know," Veers sniffed haughtily.
"No Sir, I mean, our guns are warming up! It's not us Sir!" the man explained in a panicky voice.
"It's that Jedi!" the other driver snarled. "Damn him!"
Veers snapped his gaze out the side viewport and saw the man had his arm lifted still, and he seemed to be deep in thought. Thinning his lips, Veers turned to his men.
"Open the belly hatch," he ordered. "And in the mean time, try turning us around again."
"Sir, our legs are still in the air..." the first driver announced.
"Blast it!" Veers growled. "Stall in any way you can!"
"Yes Sir!"
Veers raced for the opening, grabbed a harness and cable, and strapped it on as fast as his fingers would work. Then he leapt from the walker and descended a few feet until he could see the Jedi.
Lifting his blaster pistol, Veers took aim...
In his peripheral vision, he saw the bright double-flash as first the other AT-AT released its most powerful turbolasers upon the Rebel's shield generator, and then his walker opened fire, courtesy of the Jedi.
When the generator blew to high-heaven seconds before the responsible Imperial war machine, Veers grinned happily and promptly opened fire on the Jedi.
The man snapped back to attention... and with a minor earthquake to the ground below, and a few teeth-jarring seconds of pain to Veers' abdomen when his harness jerked, the walker returned to its feet.
The Jedi blocked Veers' shots easily, then back-flipped over the edge of the berm and was gone.
Veers snickered and hoisted himself back inside his machine. When he returned to the cockpit, he ordered his men to continue toward the base. At the sight of more Rebel foot-soldiers scurrying away, he laughed mockingly.
"Look, boys, target practice..."
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"Shmi!" Mara called as she burst through Leia's door.
Silence greeted her, and Mara swore. Where was she?
Mara thought fast, trying to place herself in her daughter's shoes... if she were a child in an evacuation, she'd search out her parents. And the first place Shmi would look would be the Skywalker quarters.
With a frustrated sigh, but a new purpose in mind, Mara was out the door and then jogging down the halls back the way she'd come.
However, Mara's feet went out from under her when the base shook heavily. She was on her knees before she could realize what had happened. Shaking her head to clear it, Mara listened intently when the comlink on her belt crackled to life with an open-channel warning.
"Imperial troops are on their way inside the base!"
Sure enough, when Mara stretched out with the Force she felt the stoic-minded presences of stormtroopers... and with them was a much more dangerous presence. One she'd grown up knowing.
Darth Vader.
Mara's blood frosted over, and she leapt to her feet. With a new sense of urgency, she sprinted down the halls, ignoring the slippery floors. On her way to the room, she felt the warning in the Force seconds before Han Solo burst around a corner, and they barely avoided a head-on collision.
Even so, both of the slid a few feet when Mara grabbed his arms to avoid the crash.
"Mara?" Han blinked, and then turned business. "Where is Shmi?"
"I'm trying to find her; I think she went to our room." Mara was already extricating herself from him.
"You have a ride off this ice cube?" Han called as they drew apart.
"Yeah, your ship!" Mara returned. "Don't leave without us!"
"Don't dawdle, Sister..." Han returned dryly.
Mara didn't respond, but continued on until she arrived at their door. Within she felt a harried presence, and she burst inside, her eyes scanning the space.
"Shmi?"
"Mom!" the child appeared, her face pale, but her cerulean eyes determined.
Mara saw the satchel on the bed just as Shmi zipped it up and slung it over her shoulder. The red head only paused to grab the duffel she used to carry her Hand gear. "Let's go!"
Shmi grabbed her helmet, and then was beside her mother.
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Han entered the command center just as the entire base shook heavily.
"Leia!" he called, searching for her.
"Why are you still here?" she snapped, barely glancing his way as she scrambled from station to station.
Han saw that she'd already dismissed the other workers, and felt his mood darken at her stubbornness.
"I'll leave once you're on your transport, Your Worshipfulness," Han growled, grabbing her arm. "You're the only one left, and everyone else is in retreat mode."
"But..."
"Imperial troops are on their way inside the base!"
They both glanced toward the comm. station, and for a second Leia looked truly afraid.
Han turned her back around. "That's it Princess, you're leaving. Now."
She merely nodded silently, and Han led her away. He was mildly annoyed to find Threepio trying to make his way toward them, but didn't waste time arguing when the droid saw them and changed course to follow.
"Wait for me! Please, not so swift!" Threepio complained. "I can't go that fast!"
Han ignored the droid, more concerned with the woman his heart ached for than the metal contraption that would more than likely be his early grave.
However, halfway to the transport the base shook again, and Leia screamed when the ceiling began to crumble. Han instinctively took Leia to the ground and covered her body with his. The chunks of ice hurt his back, but Han ignored it and stood when the snow-dust settled.
Their way was now entirely blocked.
"We have to go around!" Leia coughed as she rose.
"There's no time, Sweetheart." Han plucked the comlink from his belt at the same time he grabbed her hand and led her back the way they'd come. "Transport, this is Solo. Leia's taking the Falcon off base with me."
He heard the acknowledgement and then picked up his pace.
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Mara heard the blasts ahead of them and turned her head to Shmi. "Stay behind me!"
They were part way to the Falcon, and Mara could sense the troopers getting steadily closer. She shifted her position to shield Shmi from any frontal assault... and then felt the warning in the Force.
"Get down!" Mara hissed, grateful to see her daughter obey instantly. Then Mara whipped out her lightsaber and ignited the violet blade.
Blasterfire sang down the hall her way... red and dangerous until someone yelled at them viciously. Silence reigned for a time, and Mara took advantage of the lull to get Shmi up.
"Stay right behind me!" Mara ordered.
"Yes Mom," Shmi answered, to her credit not panicking.
Mara slipped inside the nearest doorway and raced to the wall dividing it from the next room down the hall. She touched her blade to the divider and was gratified to see the ice melt almost instantly.
Unfortunately, it also lessened the stability of the ceiling, and Mara grabbed Shmi, yanking her through the opening as she left the crumbling room behind. But the act gave her an idea, and Mara used the Force to sense the troopers.
They were nearby, so she turned to Shmi.
"Wait here, but be ready to run," she whispered.
Shmi nodded silently, shifting her grasp on her helmet.
"And put that on." Mara added as an afterthought. "It could save your life."
Only when Shmi was set did Mara peek around the doorjamb. The troopers were creeping up on the room she'd gone into. Mara stepped silently into the hall and cat-walked closer to their position.
Once at the junction, Mara pointed her blaster up and shot at the ceiling again. Ice and snow reigned down, but Mara continued to fire, until the entire thing began to come down in chunks.
She turned tail and was about to sprint down the hall when a black figure appeared on the other side of the crumbling ceiling. Mara swore and sprinted back to the room.
"Shmi, go!" Mara hollered.
Instantly the girl was out the door and running as fast as her legs could carry her. Mara felt a spike in Vader's attention, and then more troopers appeared as they sped by the next t-junction.
Mara shoved Shmi forward with the Force. "Get to the Falcon!"
"But..."
"I'm coming, now go!" Mara assured her.
"Be safe!" Shmi told her and then she was running.
Mara turned around and prepared to battle the troopers, but to her great alarm they didn't aim for her. She watched in growing horror as they took aim at Shmi's retreating form.
"NO!" Mara shrieked, diving before their weapons.
She took out their rifles, but not before one stun blast went out. Mara dropped two troopers with her blaster, and then yelped in pain when a knife sliced her arm. Mara didn't stop though, using her love for Shmi to push through.
She traded blows with the man who'd cut her. The final trooper came at her from the rear, but Mara sensed it and dropped down just as he stabbed at her with his knife... and the blade embedded deeply into his fellow's helmet.
The impaled man screamed in agony before Mara put him out of his misery. Then she round-housed the last trooper and he collided with the wall with great force. Mara used her lightsaber to slice his weapon's arm off, and it dropped to the ground amid his wails of grief.
Mara ended his life too.
She felt he blood trailing down her arm, but ignored it and took off after Shmi, her heart in her throat. But she relaxed to find that Shmi had evaded the blast. The girl was huddling in an alcove, shaking lightly.
"Mom!" she cried in obvious relief, and she leapt into Mara's arms. "You're hurt!" Shmi gasped as she pulled back.
"It's fine, let's go." Mara led Shmi further down the hall.
00000
Darth Vader cursed the ice of Hoth as he was forced to take a more circuitous route to the hangar bay.
He'd had her! He'd had the child in his sights. Her head had been covered, so he still did not know what she looked like, but he could have sworn black hair had stuck out of her helmet.
But he was even more upset that Mara Jade had thwarted him.
Mara Jade! He growled dangerously and allowed his anger to fuel his steps. She had often gotten under foot, had always been a thorn in his side... but no longer.
Blast her! Vader would make her pay for interfering! If not today, then very, very soon!
He would have to plan it carefully, though. Containing Mara Jade would be no small task... not if he wished her to remain that way. Luckily for him, Vader was second in command of the galaxy.
He could make anything happen.
Already planning how he'd remove Mara from the picture, Vader maintained his force-enhanced run to the docking bay where Captain Solo kept his ship.
00000
Han was the first inside the hangar, and as such he was the first to see the stormtroopers entering another way. Han leveled his blaster and shot at them even as he waved Leia forward. She didn't argue, but when Han joined her in the ship, he glanced aft to see if Mara and Shmi were onboard.
"Stang!" Han cursed loudly when did not find them. "Chewie, are Mara and Shmi here yet?"
[No!] The Wookiee growled back, already in the copilot's seat and getting the Falcon warmed up.
Leia started from where she stood behind Han. "Mara and Shmi haven't left yet?"
"I'm their ride, Sweetheart," Han replied shortly. "Strap in, Princess."
"Not until they're..."
"Captain Solo, Lars says he can see two females approaching from the other side of the hangar," Threepio interrupted from the doorway where he appeared.
Han and Leia glanced out the viewport to see two figures racing for the Falcon, one of them redheaded and maneuvering a purple lightsaber as she ran. Han whistled at Mara's skill, and yet when Mara turned about, he caught sight of her pale face.
He started: Han had never seen Mara afraid. Of anything.
Shmi disappeared under the cockpit module, Mara not far behind, and Han started the engines.
Or tried to.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Leia huffed.
Han shot her a glare and tried again, banging on the ship to get her going. "Give her a second..."
"We don't have a second," Mara snapped from the door to the cockpit. "Vader's on our tail, so get us the hell out of here!"
"Again?!" Han shouted angrily. "What does that hulk of wires like about chasing down my ship in all these damned evacuations?"
But Mara had already disappeared: where to, Han didn't know. The smuggler finally got the engines on, but then they puttered when he gave them juice.
"Would it help if I got out and pushed?" Leia sniped sarcastically.
"It might," Han returned evenly.
"Han!" Leia shouted pointing anxiously out the viewport.
The smuggler swore colorfully when Darth Vader appeared, bearing down on them with the full intent of taking out their ship.
However, his advance was halted when the dorsal gun turret swiveled and blasted red death at the man. Vader dove off-course and then brought his lightsaber to bear, batting away the barrage of blasterfire.
Han decided to save the questions for later. When the ship roared to blessed life, he laughed triumphantly.
"See?" he crowed. "Yeah baby!"
Han wasted no time in lifting the ship from the deck. The gun turret did not cease firing until Vader was a black speck in the cavernous hangar.
00000
When the Millennium Falcon blasted away with guns blazing, Luke felt a stab of pride as Mara's presence sang out to him.
That's my girl! Luke thought.
He was now on the far side of the base, tired and ready to catch a nap... but he had to get out of there first.
"Luke!" He turned to see Wedge approaching. "You made it!"
They clapped each other into a brotherly hug, and when Luke pulled back, he placed a hand on Wedge's shoulder.
"Take care of the Rogues for me," he said.
Wedge blinked. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm going to finish my Jedi training," Luke replied, unable to stop from grinning. "I'm so close, Wedge!"
Wedge eyed him for a moment, and then nodded slowly, offering his hand. "Take care of yourself, Luke. We'll miss you."
"You too." Luke accepted his friend's handshake and walked to his X-wing, where Artoo Detoo was tootling at him. "Alright Artoo, we're going!"
Luke closed the canopy, welcoming the almost-warmth of the enclosed space. He would be glad to say goodbye to Hoth.
"Ready Artoo?"
The droid beeped affirmatively.
"Alright then, here we go."
Luke lifted them skyward and blasted for the stars. But when he went off-course from all the other ships, Artoo beeped urgently at him.
We're going the wrong way, Master Luke!
Luke smiled at the droid's concern. "I know. We're not regrouping with the others. Not yet anyway."
Oh... where are we going then?
"Dagobah. Do you know anything about it?"
No, sorry.
"That's alright," Luke soothed him.
Master Luke?
"Yes Artoo?"
Do you think Dagobah will be safe for me?
Luke chuckled. "Yes, I'm sure it's perfectly safe for droids."