Han flew down to the forested area outside of the shield generator. The shuttle landed among the trees before the crew exited onto the small hill. Chewie and Leia walked up the hill to see two scouts down below. Padme, Luke, and Han caught up, seeing their first snag.
"Should we try and go around?" Leia wondered as they watched the two troopers below near their speeder bikes. Han thought for a moment.
"It'll take time. This whole party'll be for nothing if they see us," Han answered. He glanced around before they started toward the edge of the clearing, hopefully unseen by the Imperials. They needed to take out these two as quietly as possible. "Chewie and I will take care of this. You three stay here."
"Quietly, we don't want to attract anymore attention," Padme warned before Han smirked.
"Hey, it's me," he reminded before he turned. They watched carefully as the pair grew closer for Han to step on a twig. The scout swung around as Padme groaned.
"Go for help! Go!" the scout shouted as the second jumped on the bike and sped off. Chewie luckily was a good shot and he hit the bike, stopping the second scout as Han fought the first one.
"Great," Luke grumbled as he stood, motioning to the other two. "Come on."
"Over there!" Leia shouted as she saw two more scouts in the trees. She started to run towards them. "Two more of them."
"I see them- Wait, Leia!" Luke called out before running after his sister. Leia jumped on the last bike with Luke behind her before they sped after the two scouts. "Quick, jam their commlink!"
"Hey wait!" Han shouted before the first scout attacked him from behind. Han flipped him over and the scout landed on his back. Padme walked up and folded her arms.
"You certainly handled that well," Padme mentioned, glancing down at the scout moaning at her feet. Han shrugged before Chewie handled the trooper. "I hope those two know what they're doing."
"They'll be fine," Han reassured as the droids approached.
Luke and Leia followed the two scouts through the trees at incredible speeds. Leia aimed for the other bikes, but she couldn't quite hit them. Luke urged her to get closer before she drew up alongside one of the other bikes and caused it to scrape against a tree. She collided with him again as Luke jumped onto the other speeder and threw the trooper off the bike. He quickly took control and followed his sister through the trees after the last trooper.
"Get him!" Luke shouted before two more troopers followed their tail. He saw them coming in before yelling toward Leia again. "Keep on that one, I'll take these two!"
Leia sped off as Luke hit the brakes to let the two troopers pass him before he began the chase again. Luke moved in and slammed his bike into the trooper's. They approached a fallen tree, which they banked and avoided but allowed the two bikes to get tangled in one another. Seeing that they were coming to another tree, Luke dived off the bike before it collided with the tree.
However, the scout's bike survived and started to look for Luke. Luke brought out his lightsaber and deflected the blasts from the bike. The bike grew closer before Luke cut off the nose of the bike, sending the bike spiraling into a nearby tree. He retracted the saber and started to walk back towards the stolen shuttle.
He found the others soon after, hearing Threepio's worried voice. Luke stepped through the brush to be greeted by the group's weapons aimed at him. He paused a moment before he was recognized.
"Luke!" Han exclaimed, relieved before he noticed that she was missing. "Where's Leia?"
"What? She didn't come back?" Luke asked, growing concerned as well. Padme pushed passed Han and embraced Luke.
"I thought she was with you," Han retorted.
"We got separated," Luke replied. Padme stepped back and sighed.
"We better go look for her," she informed as Han nodded, turning to the rest of the rebels.
"Take the squad ahead. We'll meet at the shield generator at 0300," Han instructed as Luke told Artoo to follow him to scan for Leia. Of course, this meant that Threepio would come as well.
~~F~~
Leia kept on him easily as they weaved in and out of the trees. Seeing her chance, Leia pulled the speeder skyward for a chance to get in front of him. She shot at him as they came side by side. The trooper pulled out a blaster and hit her bike, sending it out of control. Leia jumped at the last second before her vehicle exploded into a tree. The trooper glanced back to admire his work before he himself crashed into a tree nearby.
She walked to a fallen tree and sat there to catch her breath. She wasn't quite sure how far out she was from the rest of the group, but she figured that she could find her way. Potentially. As Leia sat back, a small creature poked her with a spear. She turned around to see the Ewok jump back before poking her again.
"Cut it out! I'm not going to hurt you," Leia informed before she glanced around. "Looks like I'm stuck here. Trouble is, I don't know where here is."
Leia patted the space beside her as she looked over at the Ewok. They still had their spear at the ready with a faint growl. They reminded Leia of a tiny Wookie.
"I promise I won't hurt you. Now come sit," Leia reiterated as she patted the log again. She reached into her pocket and pulled out some rations from her jacket. "You want something it eat?"
The Ewok cocked their head to the side, realizing that they were being offered food. They chittered as they approached slowly. Leia smiled as they took the food and sat down beside the woman. Although, the Ewok was spooked when Leia removed her helmet and picked up their spear again.
"It's a hat. It's not gonna hurt you. You're a jittery little thing, aren't you?" Leia laughed before the Ewok lowered their weapon again. The creature came close to look at the helmet before they glanced around worriedly. "What is it?"
"Freeze!" a trooper shouted after a blaster shot near Leia. She and the Ewok leaped over the log before a second trooper appeared behind them.
"Come on, get up!" the second scout instructed before relieving her of her blaster. "Go get your ride and take her back to base."
"Yes, sir," the first trooper answered. The Ewok swung their spear and hit the legs of the second trooper. Taking the opportunity, Leia grabbed a nearby branch and swung it at the trooper, knocking him out.
Grabbing her blaster, Leia then shot after the first scout and caused it to crash into the other bike. Once the forest fell quiet again after the explosion, Leia exhaled as the Ewok watched her in awe. She turned to them and hurried to their side.
"Come on, let's get out of here," Leia whispered as the Ewok motioned for her to follow them. She nodded, following the small creature through the trees.
~~F~~
Vader stormed into the lift as he had returned to the Death Star. When he had arrived at the throne room, one of the guards tried to detain him. With a bit of aggressive negotiation, the guard let him through. Vader bowed his head slightly as he came fully into the room.
"I told you to remain on the command ship," the Emperor reminded icily, his back to Vader.
"A small rebel force has penetrated the shield and landed on Endor," Vader informed before the Emperor turned to him. To his surprise, his leader showed no anger or surprise.
"Yes, I know."
"My son is with them." That caught the Emperor off guard.
"Are you sure?" the leader wondered before Vader nodded. He knew that Luke and Padme were on that stolen shuttle, but he decided that his Emperor still did not need to know that she survived.
"I have felt him, my Master," Vader confirmed.
"Strange, that I have not. I wonder if your feelings on this matter are clear, Lord Vader," the Emperor accused. Vader stopped a moment, knowing that he had tried to hide Luke from the Emperor the best he could.
"They are clear, my Master," Vader answered cleanly. His leader stared at him for a moment before deciding.
"Then you must go to the Sanctuary Moon and wait for them," the Emperor instructed as Vader lifted his head.
"He will come to me?"
"I have foreseen it. His compassion for you will be his undoing. He will come to you and then," his master informed before turning to him with a wide maniacal grin. "You will bring him to me."
"As you wish," Vader replied before he left the room. This was alarming and he was running out of time to enact his own plan.
~~F~~
"Luke!" Han shouted as he came across the bike wreckage. Luke looked up before he found Leia's helmet.
"There's two more broken speeders," Luke informed before handing the helmet to Padme. "I found this."
"I'm afraid that Artoo's sensors can find no trace of Mistress Leia," Threepio informed gravely as Artoo whirred. Padme threw the helmet towards Han.
"I hope she's alright," Han whispered before Chewie growled, following something into the forest. "What, Chewie? Chewie!"
Chewie followed his nose deeper into the forest, apparently onto something. Han wondered if Chewie knew something about what happened to Leia, but when they came across a carcass of a wild animal, it was apparent that Chewie had gotten distracted.
"It's just a dead animal, Chewie," Han groaned. Chewie barked something before he started to reach for the animal.
"Chewie, wait! Don't!" Luke tried to warn as Chewie sprung the trap. A net came up around the group, trapping them in the branches.
"Nice work, Chewie. Always thinking with your stomach," Han complained as they fumbled around.
"Will you take it easy? Let's just figure out a way to get out of this!" Padme reminded. She tried to climb up the net a little.
"Han, can you reach my lightsaber?" Luke asked as they struggled.
"Yeah, sure," Han replied while Artoo started to cut through the netting. Padme went to tell the droid to stop before the netting gave way and they fell back onto the ground. Unfortunately, the trap had alerted the hunters and they were surrounded by dozens of Ewoks, all pointing their spears at the rebels.
"Hey, point that somewhere else," Han warned as he pushed one of the spears away. The Ewok holding the weapon brought it closer. Han reached for his blaster before Luke stopped him.
"Han, don't. It'll be alright," Luke reassured as his mother scoffed.
"It's not looking great, Luke," Padme remarked before the Ewoks started to relieve them of their weapons. Chewie protested when they came for him.
"Chewie give them your crossbow," Luke urged before Chewie relented. Threepio sat up and caught to immediate attention of the creatures. They quickly began chittering and bowing at the droid. "Do you understand what they're saying?"
"Oh, yes, Master Luke. Remember that I am fluent in over six million forms of communication-" Threepio started before Han interrupted.
"What are you telling them?"
"Hello, I think. I could be mistaken. They're using a very primitive dialect, but I do believe that they think I am some sort of god," the droid informed. Luke hid a smile and Padme openly laughed for a moment.
"Why don't you use your divine influence and get us out of this?" Han suggested.
"I beg your pardon, General Solo, but that just wouldn't be proper," Threepio argued.
"Proper?!"
"It's against my programming to impersonate a deity," the droid replied before Han moved toward him threateningly. However, the Ewoks turned their spears on him again and Han sat back.
"My mistake, he's an old friend of mine," Han grumbled, glancing back at Luke and Padme. Chewie grumbled before the Ewoks started to detain them.