Paralyzed
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A/N-thank you very much to everyone who kindly reviewed the last chapter. I hope Hoth and the old Rebel base still exists, LOL If it doesn't, for the purposes of this story just imagine it still does.
Chapter Thirty-Eight-Back to Hoth
Three months later;
Hoth, a remote, icy planet that was the sixth planet in the star system of the same name. It notably hosted Echo Base, the temporary headquarters of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, until the Galactic Empire located the Rebels, initiating a major confrontation known as the Battle of Hoth. Now it once again operated as temporary quarters for the Resistance.
After Poe and Ben had come to the joint decision that it was time to abandon Ajan Kloss and look for a new base of operations, they immediately set the technicians to work inducting preliminary scans for possible new Resistance bases. Always one step ahead, Leia, before her death, had left behind a possible list of locations-many so remote that neither Poe or Ben had ever heard of them. But in the end, they were pre-empted by an unexpected attack by the First Order fleet. If it wasn't for Rose and Hux's hard work trying to retrieve the deleted files, they never would have had any warning at all. But after working together for forty hours straight to retrieve the lost information, Rose and Hux had uncovered vital information that Beaumont had regularly been sending to his contact in the First Order. And that contact was none other than Allegiant General Enric Pryde.
It wasn't too much of a surprise to Ben that Pryde was Palpatine's puppet, with knowledge of his defection spreading fast, Pryde had taken over the reins and was now the self-styled new Supreme Leader of the First Order. Beaumont had transmitted to Pryde their exact location, the size of their fleet, and other vital information that gave him enough cause to wipe them out easily if they didn't vacate Ajan Kloss fast.
The Resistance fleet had only just managed to get off world when the first of the First Order ships appeared in the moon's orbit. The Resistance fought a running battle all the way, with Ben and Poe heading the defensive squad, allowing the Tantive IV-carrying the rest of the Resistance-to jump to hyperspace and escape. With no time to scan for another location, they were forced to improvise, looking back to the past for inspiration. It was Poe who mentioned Hoth.
Hoth was the arena of a battle between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance, which had installed its temporary headquarters, Echo Base, on the ice planet. However, thanks to one of the thousands of probe droids they had dispatched throughout the galaxy, the Imperials had discovered the Alliance base within a month of the rebel's habitation on the planet. Although Echo Base was evacuated in the eleventh hour, the Battle of Hoth resulted in a clear defeat for the Alliance after the elite Imperial Blizzard Force overran it.
In the months following the Battle of Hoth, scavengers established temporary base camps on the planet to scrap the AT-ATs destroyed by the Rebel Alliance during the Empire's attack. None of the Resistance knew just how much of the underground base had survived, they just hoped enough of it had to make it habitable, at least for a while.
Their worst fears seemed to be confirmed at first when they found that much of the outer base had been destroyed, but on further investigation it became clear that the inner network of tunnels housing the former Rebel Alliance's most vital equipment had survived intact. With Rey's scavenger instincts serving her in good stead, and with Rose's help, she managed to rally the weary Resistance fighters into a solid team, scouring the tunnels for old equipment and parts to get the old base functioning to a reasonable level. Ben had been worried about her taking too much on her shoulders, but the difficult challenge seemed to energise her enough to shake off her former apathy, and take on the gargantuan task of outfitting the base with gusto.
Three months had passed since their near-death escape from Ajan Kloss and Echo base was slowly beginning to come together. The base housed a large hangar where Resistance technicians maintained the numerous speeders that Rey and the others had uncovered not long after their arrival. The hangar was open to the outside with a large door, which could be closed to protect the base from the frigid wastes. Most of the Resistance crew slept in shifts on the Tantive IV, and often had scant rations.
The medical bay had been restored, and to their surprise they found it contained a bacta tank used for healing wounded Rebels in the past. Additional medical facilities in the base included a morgue, which took advantage of the planet's natural temperature to preserve bodies, and an insulated room in which vaccines were stored. Harter soon set about documenting all the medical supplies, pleased at the extent of them.
Echo Base was carved out of a glacier and connected by artificial corridors linked together with structural supports. The base also contained a command centre where the old Rebel leadership, including Princess Leia Organa herself, coordinated Rebel activities, including the eventual evacuation from Hoth. Ben found it odd being at the base. He kept expecting to see Leia or Han Solo around every corner, sometimes he even imagined he could hear his parents talking. Luke Skywalker was the one ghost he tried to ignore, but even his uncle's spirit seemed to follow him down the hollow corridors, making him uneasy and jittery, especially when he was alone.
Right now, he was in the medical bay with Rey. She was getting her weekly check-up with Harter. She was showing slightly now, the bump more pronounced because she was so thin. Everyone had lost weight due to the sparse rations, but Rey more so. The sickness that had plagued her from the very beginning still hadn't gone away. She tired easy and was always pale. Ben often gave up his own rations to supplement hers, but when Rey had found out he was going without food some days just so she had more to eat, she had lost her temper with him. It had resulted in a heated argument between them, the first one they really had. Her heightened emotions got the better of her and she ended up sobbing in his arms afterwards, pleading with him not to leave himself short again. To calm her down Ben had agreed, but he still slipped in extra portions from his own meagre rations now and again without her knowledge.
"Your blood pressure is very low, Rey." Harter said in concern. "And you're still very anaemic. It explains a lot of your symptoms-the constant fatigue, light-headedness, headaches and so on…I would normally recommend you follow a nutritious diet plan, but that's impossible here. Are you still feeling nauseous?"
"Every minute of every day." Rey admitted wearily.
"Being sick all the time isn't helping. You are reaching your second trimester; I am hoping that the nausea wears off by then." Harter gave Rey a sympathetic smile. "I wish there was more I could do. We're down to limited supplies now."
"I know. I'll be fine." Rey slipped off the examination table and immediately felt faint. Ben's arm wrapped around her waist and steadied her. He hated seeing her suffering like this.
"There must be something you can do." He begged.
"She needs better food and more of it." Harter told him.
"Then I'll find it." Ben vowed.
"Don't be rash." Harter warned him. "You can't do anything in these blizzard-like conditions. It will take at least another few days to clear. In the meantime, make sure she drinks plenty of water to keep hydrated and rests."
"Can you please not speak about me as if I wasn't here!" Rey grouched as she wrapped Ben's heavy coat around her shivering body. She was wearing his as well as hers to keep warm. Owing to slap-dash construction methods, a single faulty element in the base's electrical system could deny heat to half the base. The medical bay was one of them.
Ben tried to hide his smile. She was even cute when she was grumpy. He had learned early on it was best to agree with her when she was in one of those moods. "You're right. I'm sorry." He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.
"Stop saying sorry." Rey retorted. "Honestly are all men this annoying when their partners are pregnant?" She complained to Harter.
"He's not the worst." Harter agreed with a twinkle in her eyes as she shared an amused look with Ben. "Some just fuss too much." She continued to pretend to commiserate with Rey.
"Oh, he does that!" Rey replied fervently.
"What can you do?" Harter sighed along with Rey. "Its lucky that you're so patient."
"I know." Rey answered like she actually believed she was the most patient person in the world when her pregnancy hormones were making her the exact opposite. "I mean I appreciate everything he tries to do; he just wants to look out for me, but the constant fussing, always asking me if I'm alright…I mean I would damn well say if I wasn't, right?"
"Exactly." Harper nodded her head in agreement as she continued humouring Rey.
Ben rested his hands on Rey's shoulders and began to steer her out of the med-bay. "As much as I love hearing you list my good points, I think it's time for you to rest."
"And you can add bossy to that list." Rey added irritably.
Harter waited until the couple were out of ear-shot before she collapsed with laughter.
Rose shivered as she tinkered with the comms system. Due to the worsening weather system the communication signals were patchy. They were expecting to receive an update from Finn. During the past three months, while the Resistance had been holed up in Hoth's icy wilderness, Finn, Chewie and Kaydel had made contact with the renegade stormtroopers of Company 77. They were on Kef Bir, the ocean moon of Endor, the site of where some of the wreckage of the second death star was located. Their leader, Jannah, a human female freedom fighter, led the now brave and noble warriors, had been intrigued by Finn's story and had shared hers. She had also shared that she had heard similar stories to hers and Finn's, and that she had also heard rumours of other mutinying stormtroopers in other parts of the galaxy. Jannah and her warriors had joined forces with Finn, Chewie and Kaydel as they spread out across the galaxy to chase down those rumours to see if they were a reality.
Rose was so deep in concentration that she didn't hear Hux come up beside her. It wasn't until she felt his heavy coat drape around her shoulders that she realised she had company. She turned in surprise, the hem of the coat dragging on the floor as she moved. "I can't take this, Armitage. You'll freeze." She said to him as she began to remove it.
"I'm fine." Hux assured her with a casual shrug of his shoulders. The tip of his nose was red with cold and his breath fogged in the air in front of him as he spoke. "Please, I would be honoured if you kept it."
Rose knew better then to argue. It always amused her when Armitage spoke to her so formally when he was nervous, like she was some great lady or something to be treasured. She gratefully looped her arms through the long sleeves and tucked the coat around her petite frame. "Thank you very much, Armitage." She said with a warm smile.
The tips of Hux's ears turned as red as his nose at her sincere thanks. "My pleasure." He murmured. "Have you had any luck yet?"
"Not really. I think we're just going to have to wait until this storm passes." Rose replied regretfully. "I think I'll take a break and go and pick up my daily rations."
"Would you allow me to accompany you?" Hux asked politely. He was standing ramrod straight with his hands clasped behind his back in order to stop them shaking. He didn't want to give Rose even a hint that he was chilled to the bone. He knew that her compassionate heart would make her hand his coat back to him at once and he couldn't have that. He would rather freeze then see her go cold. The lovely Rose Tico needed protecting at all costs.
"I would like that, Armitage." Rose agreed with another warm smile.
With a hint of a rare smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, Hux offered Rose his arm as they preceded to walk side by side toward the mess hall.
A/N-thanks for reading! Please review if you have the time.