Week 17 (10.27.06) (UDC 1) (Han, Leia, Chewie, and Luke… on Hoth)


81. nothing


He could see nothing as the TaunTaun loped across the expanse, wind and snow slamming into him with each gallop. Nothing, only the whiteness of Hoth itself. He tugged on the reins and the beast of burden came to a halt, breathing harsh in the frigid air. Still not seeing anything more than the whiteout of a blizzard, Han deployed the portable sensor to do a sweep. Maybe he'd find something with it that his eyes didn't see.

As the wind howled at him, he shuddered. The kid was out there… somewhere. He had to be.


82. everything


She stood by the X-Wing fighter in the landing bay and couldn't help but stare out the door as night descended on the snow-covered plain outside. Everything she wanted to see, the two people she most wanted to walk through those very doors… were out there, in the ice and the wind. As she stood there and listened to the deck officer consult with another, Leia refused to believe that they wouldn't survive.

She didn't want to allow them to shut the doors, but as they turned to her in question, asking that very thing, she nodded ever so slightly.


83. now


He saw her nod out of the corner of his eye and turned to watch the doors slowly begin to close. Out there, night was beginning to fall. Out there, it was cold, the wind was blowing, and there was no shelter. And out there… one he called partner and another he called friend were… somewhere in all that… whiteness.

As the shield doors slid closed with a lurching clang, Chewbacca couldn't hold back his mounting frustration anymore. For the friend he owed a life debt to, for the other friend whom he'd grown to like… he let out a howl.


84. forever


It felt like forever since he'd left the base to search for the kid, but it couldn't have been more than an hour or two. He decided on one more pass, let the TaunTaun gallop some more, and blinked hard against the snow when he thought he saw something dark against the white laying on the ground. Luke?

Dismounting again, he ran to the young man's side and flipped him over. It took a moment or two, but the kid started moaning and talking in gibberish about the old man and something called 'Dagobar'… Han sighed in relief. Good…


85. fate


He stood up and looked toward the TaunTaun… just as it collapsed. He stared at the fallen beast of burden for a long moment, then shook himself. He glanced down at the kid still laying on the ground, then looked at the TaunTaun again. Without another thought, he dragged Luke over to the animal, and cut it open. "There. Should keep you warm… Till I can get the shelter built."

Putting his goggles back on over his face, Han set about doing just that. If it was fate that they spend the night out here, they were at least going to do it under cover.