Chapter 27- Cold Hoth Nights and Alarm
Lena spent the next few hours, helping the techs fix the speeders. Granted, most Jedi didn't use technology beyond a lightsaber and an occasional droid, but even the old Jedi Order would have agreed that they needed the speeders. Of course it was hard to keep her mind on the speeder when the Force was shouting danger warnings into her brain. Something didn't feel right. Lena put down her tools and ran to the communications center. Her father stood there, looking at a tactical display.
"Papa?" Lena asked. Talon looked up, a small smile curving his lips and his blue eyes lighting up.
"Yes, Lena?" Talon asked, straightening and cupping her face gently with his large, callused hand. Most people didn't think that Prince Cail of Alderaan could have calluses on the palms of his hands, but they were quickly informed that Cail hadn't been born a prince. Lena gripped his hand and gently kissed his palm.
"Papa, I'm feeling something in the Force and I don't know what it could be. It's elusive, but it's dangerous," Lena admitted.
"I was wondering when you were going to say something, " Talon said dryly, stroking her hair gently with his other hand.
"You felt it too?" Lena asked. Her father gave her a look that said that was a fatheaded question.
"Of course I did. And Cora said she sensed danger too," Talon said, indicating Cora who was busy studying the Jedi version of the battle of Geonosis in a corner.
"Papa, what could it be?" Lena asked.
"I don't know. A Jedi doesn't see everything, my dear. If we could the Jedi Order might have survived. But we can run a check. Let's see who's in for the night," Talon said, removing his hands from Lena's face and hair and turning to his console.
"Lena, Uncle Cail, have either of you seen Luke?" Leia asked, getting their attention.
"Luke? Last time I saw him was when he went to go check on a meteor that crashed near where he was laying down sensors. He told me and Han that he'd be in soon. Has anyone not seen him?" Lena asked, her alarm and danger sense in the Force rising drastically.
"I've been asking around. Nobody has seen him," Leia said.
"Could he have forgotten to check in, Your Highness?" A small Bothan asked, its fur bristling much like a sand cat's when agitated.
"Not likely. He came from Tatooine. If he could be careful around the Tusken Raiders, why not be careful on a ice world? Leia, why don't you ask Han? He and Chewbacca might have seen him," Lena suggested, picking up her cousin's comlink that was at Leia's station. With a small use of the Force, she threw it towards her cousin, who caught it deftly.
"Hmmm," Leia muttered after a few seconds.
"Hmmmm, what, Leia?" Lena asked.
"Han's not answering his comlink," Leia said, glowering at the comlink as if it was doing something wrong.
"Hmmm, indeed. Let's raise Threepio and Artoo," Lena suggested, picking up her own comlink.
"Threepio, Artoo, come in. We need you to find Captain Solo. Repeat, we need you to find Captain Solo. Ask him if he has seen Luke and that no one has seen him. You can also tell him that Leia has been trying to contact him," Lena said into her comlink.
""Of course, Your Highness," Threepio said precisely.
"Well, let's see how long this takes," Lena said as Cora came running up to them. Her little sister's face was waxy pale from the cold and her lips were blue, but how she had this kind of energy to run when it was cold, Lena couldn't fathom. Cora sidled up to Talon, gripping his large hand in hers. Talon smiled down at Cora fondly, and gently ran his other hand through her dark hair.
"Papa, it's cold," Cora complained. It was the same complaint Lena had heard every night since they had been there and Cora would crawl into the bed with her because of the cold.
"I know, my dear. It's not Alderaan or even Naboo where your mother came from. But it's unbecoming for a Jedi to complain. You don't see any of us complaining about the cold," Talon reprimanded. Cora hung her head, a look of shame on her face.
"I'm sorry, Papa," Cora muttered, looking at the blinking console behind him.
Talon got down on his knees so he could meet her eyes and gently put his hand under her chin, so she could look at him. "I'll forgive you this time, but being really sorry means you don't repeat what you are asking forgiveness for. I have no problems with you and Lena sharing a room, but don't complain every five seconds that you are cold. We all are cold. There's nothing that can be done about that," Talon said, gathering her in his arms and kissing the top of her head.
"Yes, Papa," Cora whispered in Talon's chest. The next 45 minutes was quiet as the isolated clone factory on Kamino. Threepio came in, his metallic body making a footstep that much louder.
"Well, did you get Han?" Lena asked.
"No one had seen Master Luke, Your Highness. Captain Solo has gone out to find him," the droid said almost apologetically or as close to apologetic as a droid can get.
"Han is going out there?" Leia asked incredulously.
"No, he already has, Cousin. And the worst thing is the temperature is dropping. It doesn't take a Jedi to sense that. We all can feel it going down," Lena said.
"Uncle, can't we send out speeders?" Leia asked Talon anxiously.
"I'm afraid not, Leia. They still are not adapting to the cold. Until we can, Solo and Luke are on there own. Trust the Force, Leia. They'll be all right," Talon said, hugging Leia and Lena tightly.
"Well, let's go to the hangar, Leia. If Han comes back with Luke, they'll need us there," Lena said as she left the communications center.
Luke felt himself come back to consciousness in one long, slow, painful moment as something roared loudly. He also felt the searing pain in his face and a lightheaded, dizzy feeling. The dizzy feeling was from the fact that he was attached by his ankles to the ceiling. Looking around he saw a huge monster with white fur eating, loudly. This would account for all the bones in this cave and why Luke was here. The monster planned him for his next meal.
Luke looked up at his ankles wedged in ice. Lena and Uncle Talon would have told him to stretch out with the Force to free himself, but maybe the ice would break if Luke used his hands to pull his ankles free. Unfortunately the ice was hard to break and total exhaustion and pain wracked him back into his hanging position. One bright side was that the noise didn't stop the monster from eating. The monster roared again. Luke's heart beat double. That could mean that Luke had better hurry before he became dinner. Luke then looked down. His lightsaber was frozen in the snow, the hilt sticking straight out. Luke, the lightsaber is your weapon. Your life. It is what separates us as Jedi, Talon had instructed as he had run Luke and his eight-year-old daughter Cora through lightsaber exercises. Luke had learned lightsaber techniques from the old holocrons of his father, but Talon, Lena, and Obi-Wan had perfected the skills. Talon had also taught him and Cora how to use the Force to call objects into their hands.
Luke closed his eyes, stretching out with the Force. Closing his eyes, he extended his hand, letting the Force rush through him. He heard the lightsaber move slightly as it slid out of the ice and snow and go deftly into the palm of his hand. Luke activated the energy blade and cut his feet free as the monster came roaring into the cavern. The monster advanced, claws extended and Luke without thinking, cut off its arm and took off running, deactivating the lightsaber blade, into the teeth of the Hoth night and a blizzard.
Lena stood with Leia, stretching out with the Force as night fell and the temperatures got colder. Luke was still alive from what the Force was telling her, but her brother was cold. The weather being what it was, you might as well have been naked out there. Even with the use of the Force, Lena didn't know how long her brother could last in this condition. Lena looked at her father as he joined them, placing his hands on the backs of hers and Leia's heads, gently stroking the strands of their hair with his fingers.
"Papa, is Luke gonna be okay?" Cora asked, with huge soulful eyes as she clung to Talon's Jedi robes.
"I can't see everything, Cora. You're going to find, young one, that being a Jedi doesn't mean we see everything. It's the will of the Force that we see what it wants us to see," Talon explained as a tech came up to the deck officer.
"Sir, all the patrols are in. Still no-" the man started to say. The deck officer held up his hand in warning and the two men looked at Talon, Cora, Leia, and Lena. "Still no contact from Skywalker or Solo," the man said regretfully. Threepio came over to them.
"Mistress Leia, Mistress Lena, R2 says he's been quite unable to pick up any signals, although he does admit that his own range is far too weak to abandon all hope," Threepio said, sounding as regretful as a droid can be and the deck officer came to them.
"Your Highnesses, there's nothing more we can do tonight. The shield doors must be closed," the deck officer said to Talon, Leia, and Lena. Talon looked down and nodded reluctantly. The doors would freeze if they weren't shut and everyone on the base would die. Talon had no choice. "Close the doors," the deck officer ordered to the tech.
"Yes, Sir, the tech said as Chewbacca came over to them. Chewbacca was as worried about Han and Luke as they were. In the two years that Han and Chewbacca had been with the Rebel Alliance, Chewbacca had become a good friend to all of them. The Wookie could be dangerous when riled, but he was like a big kid at times, especially when he played pranks on Han and he was like a big brother to Cora. She would squeal with delight when Chewbacca would play with her. Lena had laughed when she saw the Wookie having a tea party with her sister. Right now the Wookie was sad and he rested his furry head against a ship.
"R2 says the chances of survival are 725 to 1," Threepio said as the doors closed with a loud clang and Chewbacca howled mournfully and R2 beeped. "Actually, R2 has been known to make mistakes from time to time," Threepio said as he walked away.
Talon gathered Lena and Leia into his arms, pressing kisses to their foreheads. "Leia, Lena, we can't do anything else tonight. Come on. You two need to eat and sleep. We'll be able to do something in the morning," Talon said as he escorted them to their private quarters.