Thanks Katie Ladmoore, I love dance, and DragonRider2000 for your reviews!
Into the Fire
Leia sighed in relief and gave Han a slight jab in the ribs when she caught sight of Lando and Elaina pushing their way through the crowd in the briefing room towards the princess and captain. As people finally began to sort their way toward the seats, Han approached them while the princess continued a separate conversation with a pilot, though her attention was mainly on the men.
"Well, look at you: a general!" Han noted as the blonde removed her hand from Lando's and sat down.
"Oh, well, someone must have told them about my little maneuver at the battle of Taanab," the other man scolded pointedly.
"Well, don't look at me, pal. I just said you were a fair pilot. I didn't know they were looking for somebody to lead this crazy attack."
They both looked at Elaina, who guiltily shrugged her shoulders.
"I'm surprised they didn't ask you to do it."
"Well, who says they didn't," was the reply as he moved to sit as well, "but I ain't crazy. You're the respectable one, remember?"
The girl studied her bodyguard as Mon Mothma and Admiral Ackbar presented the plan. Risky was the lightest of possible descriptions for it. Because she had played a large part in concocting the plan, listening to the lecture was not highly necessary. Somehow, there was something a little different about Elaina. Even though they were discussing the fate of every creature in the galaxy, she seemed more content than she had ever seen. While crunching her eyes in concern over the plan, Elaina took a deep, peaceful breath as Lando covertly slipped his hand over hers…well, not so covertly, since Leia could plainly see it. At least the ol' lady would no longer be making everyone else pay for her stubborn misery.
The room already relit, the Admiral pointed to Lando, concluding,
"General Calrissian has volunteered to lead the fighter attack."
"Good luck," Han said to his old friend. "You're gonna need it."
"General Madine…"
While another commander stepped forward to speak, something like a cloud seemed to come over her mentor.
"We have stolen a small Imperial shuttle. Disguised as a cargo ship, and using a secret Imperial code, a strike team will land on the moon and deactivate the shield generator."
That caused quite the stir among the crowd. That was a part of the plan that Leia had taken no part in. She wondered who it was… Leaning over to the man she loved, the girl murmured her thoughts.
"I wonder who they found to pull that off."
The prompt answer wasn't quite as she had expected.
"General Solo, is your strike team assembled?"
Looking a little self-conscious, especially with Leia gaping at him, the named man looked around prior to replying.
"Uh, my team's ready. I don't have a command crew for the shuttle." Chewie growled and gruffly raised his hand. "Well, it's gonna be rough, pal. I didn't want to speak for you." The Wookiee merely snarled again. "That's one."
"General," Leia offered, smiling, "…count me in."
"That's two."
"Make that three," Elaina said calmly, looking at nothing in particular.
"We're with you, too!" someone called from the entrance behind the group.
Running to embrace Luke, the princess quickly noticed his slightly distant air, not unlike that of Elaina.
"What is it?" she questioned worriedly, still smiling.
"Ask me again sometime."
Still confused, she looked to Kelly, who had entered with young man. The other brunette just grinned and… Leia rolled her eyes. The shrugging was getting a bit old.
As she neared the shuttle, adjusting the camouflage parka on her shoulders, Elaina came upon an apparent argument between Han and Lando.
"I mean it. Take her! You need all the help you can get. She's the fastest ship in the fleet."
"All right, old buddy. You know, I know what she means to you. I'll take good care of her. She…she won't get a scratch."
"Right…" With that, the team leader began ascending the ramp before turning around skeptically. "I got your promise, now: not a scratch."
"Look, would you get going, you pirate! Good luck."
"You too."
"Hey," the girl said, coming to his attention with her hand on his arm. "You be careful. You hear me?"
"I should be the concerned one," he answered with a crooked smile.
"You haven't had to go through losing the one you loved before. Once is enough."
"I already lost the one I loved. I beg you not to do that to me again."
She smirked good-humoredly, winking.
"We shall see, my dear."
Without further ado, he pulled her into a short hug.
"Take care."
Though Elaina kept the calm plastered on her face as she entered the little ship, she was panicking inside. She wanted to run back to him and never let him go. He would never forgive her…not that any of that really mattered at this point.
"Hey, are you awake?" Leia asked the driver.
"Yeah," he replied, looking at the Falcon, "I just got a funny feeling…like I'm not gonna see her again."
"Come on, General, let's move."
"Right. Chewie, let's see what this piece of junk can do. Ready, everybody?"
Elaina gulped, desperately longing for her father's presence. Little did Han know, he was partially right. Some of them would not see another sun rise.
"What is thy bidding, my Master?"
The black death calmly stood before his superior, anticipating the nearing victories with both anticipation and dread.
"Send the fleet to the far side of Endor. There it will stay until called for."
"What of the reports of the Rebel fleet massing near Sullust?"
"It is of no concern. Soon the Rebellion will be crushed and young Skywalker will be one of us!"
The spite in the voice was cringe-worthy to any coward.
"What of the boy?"
"He will join us or face the consequences. Your work here is finished, my friend. Go out to the command ship and await my orders."
"Yes, my Master."
Contemplating unwanted memories, as he had often done lately, Vader made his way to the transport. It surprised and disgusted him that they had yet to find a more efficient way of moving people over short distances. All he would need…no, there was no time to bother with such frivolities.
As bonded to the dark side as he had become, the man-machine still found it disconcerting…the Emperor's plan for his nephew's fate…not the one who could destroy everything by blood alone, but Kelly's son. Did Qui-Gon deserve to know the pain most of his family had known? Elaina had lost Obi-Wan through rejection, Kelly through death, Anakin through betrayal…Padme!
"The Jedi turned against me. Don't you turn against me!"
"I don't know you anymore! Anakin…you're breaking my heart! You're going down a path I can't follow."
SSS
"Stop! Stop, now! Come back! I love you!"
"Liar!"
"No!"
"You're with him! You brought him here to kill me!"
"No!"
SSS
"It seems, in your anger, you killed her."
"I…I couldn't have. She was alive! I felt it!"
Pain, sorrow, anguish, hate, guilt…
"No!"
No!
No…he couldn't think of that… Too much pain…too late…
"Sir, are you all right?"
Vader looked at the imposing commander and merely got up and walked to the bridge.
Luke…he felt his presence as clear as day. Stepping to a nearby tracking screen, Vader studied the incoming shuttle's schematics.
"Where is that shuttle going?" he asked.
"Shuttle Tydirium," Piett requested, "what is you cargo and destination?"
"Parts and technical crew for the forest moon," came the filtered reply.
"Do they have a code clearance?" the Sith persisted.
"It's an older code, sir, but it checks out. I was about to clear them," the Admiral covered. Vader took a moment to decipher the proper action. "Shall I hold them?"
"No. Leave them to me. I will deal with them myself."
"As you wish, my lord."
"Shuttle Tydirium," the controller ordered, "deactivation of the shield will commence immediately. Follow your present course."
He would have to consult with the Emperor on the matter. Luke's presence had not been predicted for this.
As her companions exited down the ship's ramp, Leia went back to the cockpit where Elaina was leaning conspicuously over the consol. The low braid in the blonde's pin-straight hair was already coming undone.
"Elaina?" Her stunned recovery over being caught doing…whatever was rather humorous and brought a little smile from both women.
"Did you need something, Princess?" was the respectful reply.
"I just wanted to say that I'm happy for you. Especially after I fell in love with Han, I was worried that you were torturing yourself for nothing."
The bodyguard bent her head humbly.
"I'm just glad that my foolishness didn't affect your own prospect of romance. I was honestly quite concerned for a long time." Leia nodded and turned to go, having said what was needed, but looked back again when the other girl spoke. "Leia…I know I haven't been very vigilant in my duties as your protector, as of late. I mean to rectify that."
"Apology accepted."
Once again, the princess moved to go, but was again halted.
"Leia…I'm proud of the woman and leader you've become. I don't know if I ever made that clear."
"Thank you…" Beginning to be concerned for her friend's sudden sentimental attitude, Leia finally exited the craft and followed the team into the forest.
Only minutes later, as they traversed the dense underbrush, Han spotted two Imperial scouts wandering around beyond the hill. Nearby were a few rocket bikes, which obviously caught Kelly's eye.
"Shall we try and go around?" the princess asked.
"It'll take time," Luke pointed out.
"This whole party'll be for nothing if they see us," Han finished. "Chewie and I will take care of this. You stay here."
"Quietly! There might be more of them out there."
"Hey! It's me!"
No one appeared satisfied by the attempted encouragement, but it was the widow who voiced the general feeling.
"Han being Han…that's just the problem." With that, the brunette scurried away into the bushes after the captain.
"Kelly!" Luke called.
Leia rolled her eyes to Elaina...who merely shrugged.
"Did she always used to do that when you two worked together?" the younger girl questioned.
Sucking her cheeks in, the woman nodded, deliberately watching their companions down the hill.
The next second, one of the scouts whirled around, knocked Han against a tree, and called for the other stormtrooper to go for help. As Han engaged in a fistfight with the soldier and Chewie shot the escapee, Luke touched Leia's arm before charging off.
"Great…come on."
The second the three watchers ran onto the scene, two more scouts took off and were completely ignored by Kelly, who was busy paying no heed to Han's fight and studying the speeder bike. Calling out her alarm over the scouts, Leia hopped onto the nearest bike. Though she paid no heed to Luke telling her to wait, the young Jedi joined her on the transport just before the girl took off.
"Quick! Jam their com link. Center switch!" he ordered promptly. Of course, she complied, but it slightly annoyed her.
"Kelly!" the blonde growled as her twin leaped onto the bike she had been examining and zoomed away.
She heard Han's "hey, wait!" and a thud on the ground just prior to practically feeling a laser blast barely miss her leg. Elaina turned around, yelling "bloody, blasted," just in time to see the man knock the fighter unconscious. Quickly reacting, the girl kicked the grounded gun out of the scout's limp hand. Han just laughed at her glare.
"Come on," he chuckled. "Let's hurry up and wait. We won't be going after them any time soon."
Seeing Luke and Leia separate, Kelly made a last second decision to follow the princess. Yes, she had promised to watch over Luke…but she knew Luke could take care of himself, even going after two speeders. She, however, didn't know Leia well enough to know that…that and Elaina would kill her if anything happened to the princess. The girl's tactics quite impressed the Jedi, especially when she went flying out of sight, only to come soaring down right beside and grazing the unsuspecting enemy.
Cursing herself for her negligence upon seeing Leia fall from her speeder, Kelly surged ahead, only to stamp on the breaks when the runaway ran into a tree.
"Princess!" she yelled. She had just seen that child go sprawling. Now, where was she? "Leia!"
Kelly knew that she couldn't have gone too far. Then again, she had been using the extra speed. She had actually stopped just after the scout's crash site…but there was still no answer. If she was unconscious… The brunette stepped off of the bike to begin her search.
"Leia!"
Han carefully watched the girl sitting across from him in the brush.
"Oh, General Solo," 3PO cried, "somebody's coming."
Han and his squad prepared for ambush, only to find one of their own coming up the hill.
"Luke!" his greeted. "Where's Leia?"
"What? She didn't come back?" the boy asked.
That wasn't what any of them wanted to hear.
"I thought she was with you."
"We got separated." Elaina groaned and looked away. "Hey, we better go look for her."
Nodding, Han turned to the company commander.
"Take the squad ahead. We'll meet at the shield generator at 0300." As the other part of the group moved off, he looked back at the guardian. "Elaina? Elaina," he said a bit more firmly.
She jerked her head towards him.
"Yes, General?"
"We need your focus, right now. If you can't handle it, I can always send you with the squad."
That woke her right up. Elaina whipped out her pistol from the holster on her hip and stalked away, taking the lead.
"Wow," Luke marveled once the girl was out of hearing distance. "It actually worked!"
"Of course it worked!" the man grumbled.
"You're a jittery little thing, aren't you?" Leia commented as the little fuzz-ball once again shied away and inched back towards her. Suddenly, however, something caught its attention. "What is it?"
As the creature dove behind her, a figure came tearing through the underbrush in a panic.
"Blasted, Leia, there you are!" Kelly breathed hoarsely to the stunned girl. She jumped back, however, when the fur-face peeked out from his hiding place. "Wha…what is that?"
"This, Kelly," the princess replied, nudging the teddy bear out onto the log, "is my new friend." She looked back at the local when the other woman slowly approached. "It's okay."
"He's absolutely adorable!"
Somewhere, there was a rustle of leaves and the native jerked away, muttering something in his language.
"What is it?" both girls asked.
A moment later, a laser blast sent them all tumbling over the log. The fuzz-ball oddly rolled onto the other side of their cover as they took their guns out. A twig snapped.
"Freeze!"
"My son is with them."
"Are you sure?"
"I have felt him."
"Strange, that I have not." The Emperor paused and leaned forward. "I wonder if you feelings on this matter are clear, Lord Vader."
"They are clear, my Master."
"Then you must go to the Sanctuary Moon and wait for them."
"He will come to me?" Vader asked uncertainly.
"I have foreseen it. His compassion for you will be his undoing. He will come to you and then you will bring him before me."
The tower bowed.
"As you wish."
"Before you go and wait, however, there is one more task which must be dealt with."
That once, Anakin, not Vader, came forward and hesitated. It was wrong…but necessary.
He bowed again.
"Yes, my Master."
"Luke! Luke!" Han called as he stood with Elaina, examining a junked speeder.
"There's two more wrecked speeders back there and R2 found an undamaged one just sitting around out that way," the boy reported after running over. Then he handed the new general a familiar helmet. "And I found this."
"I'm afraid that R2's sensors can find no trace of Princess Leia," 3PO added glumly.
"How can there be 'no trace'? You didn't look hard enough! None of you have," the girl glowered pathetically, folding her arms.
"We've done the best we can," Han growled to the grouchy bodyguard before dejectedly turning back to Luke. "I hope she's all right." Suddenly, Chewbacca broke the silence with his alarmed whine. "What, Chewie? What? Chewie!"
Puzzled, the companions followed the growling Wookiee through the brush until they reached what looked like a dead creature hanging from a tall stake. Luckily, it seemed to significantly distract Elaina from her pouting.
"Hey, I don't get it," the leader pondered as they circled it. "Nah, it's just a dead animal, Chewie."
Unable to resist the temptation, Chewie grabbed for the animal and yanked on it.
"Chewie, wait! Don't!" Luke cried.
Too late.
Thanks for reading and…you know the drill. ;)