Chapter 28- Found and Awkward Moments
Talon Orran watched as the speeders and assault vehicles took off. It was morning and Talon had been notified that every piece of machinery was able to pick up the search for Luke and Solo. It had been one restless night for Talon and his girls. Cora was upset because her father, sister, and cousin were and Talon was upset because he hated seeing his daughter and niece suffer with worry. All night Talon had been stretching out with the Force to check to see if Luke and Solo were all right and the Force came back positive. He could tell by the relief on Lena's face that she had reached the same conclusion too.
Talon took his daughter's hand in his and squeezed it gently. Lena looked at him and smiled briefly, reminding him for the millionth time how much she looked like Padme. Both Lena and Leia looked like their mother with the exception of Lena having Anakin's blue eyes. I really need to tell Lena and Leia the truth, Talon thought. He had been thinking this since the girls were very small. He had told Lena that she had a brother and Leia was her sister once a long time ago, but apparently Lena had forgotten. It was even more awkward to see that Luke apparently had romantic feelings for Leia. He had to tell all of them that that kind of relationship could never be. Luke and Lena had the relationship of brother and sister down well, but Leia had to come to realize that Luke was her brother.
Lena looked at her console, gnawing her lips as the search party continued. It had been hours since they had left with no sign of Luke or Han. "Echo Base, I've got something. Not much, but it could be a life-form," Zev Gowran, one of the newest recruits to Rogue Squadron said.
"Take all caution, Zev," Lena warned, stretching out with the Force. She might as well check to see if whatever Zev had found was Han, Luke, or something hostile.
"Will do, Your Highness. Commander Skywalker, do you copy? This is Rogue Two. This is Rogue Two. Captain Solo, do you copy? Commander Skywalker, do you copy? This is Rogue Two," Zev repeated again.
"Good morning. Nice of you guys to drop by," Han's voice crackled weakly over the communications center's speakers, causing a whoop to raise over the techs. Lena looked over at Talon, whose relief mirrored her own.
"Echo Base, this is Rogue Two. I've found them. Repeat, I've found them," Zev said, the smile evident in his voice.
"Thank the Force and good work, Rogue Two," Talon said, stepping up beside Lena and touching the back of her neck gently. Talon had done this gesture all her life. It was meant to be soothing.
Lena watched as the base techs came into the hangar. Han was all right, but one look at Luke gave her pause. Her brother's clothes looked frozen to him, his lips were blue, one side of his face looked horribly scratched, and he was barely conscious and mumbling the word "Ben." It wasn't long to get him to the medbay and into a bacta tank. Han, Leia, Talon, Lena, and Threepio watched as 2-1B, the medical droid administered a treatment into the tank. Luke awoke with a start and looked around, his expressions showing that he was lucid.
Lena all but ran into her brother's quarters and hugged him tightly. "Luke, are you all right?" Lena asked, looking into her brother's blue eyes.
"I'm fine. I am so happy to see you," Luke said as Lena kissed his cheek and Threepio and Artoo came in.
"Master Luke, sir, it's so good to see you fully functional again," Threepio said with more excitement than Lena had ever seen come from the protocol droid.
"Thanks, 3P0," Luke said faintly and Artoo beeped.
"R2 expresses his relief also," Threepio said as Artoo rolled up and the door opened to admit Han and Chewbacca.
"How ya feelin,' kid? You don't look so bad to me. In fact, you look strong enough to pull the ears off a gundark," Han said as he and Chewbacca leaned in to look at the healing scars on Luke's face.
"Thanks to you," Luke said with a dry smile.
"That's two you owe me, Junior," Han said, holding up two fingers. Lena smiled as Leia opened the door and Han turned to look at her. "Well, Your Worship, looks like you managed to keep me around for a little while longer," Han teased.
"I had nothing to do with it. General Rieekan and Uncle Cail thinks it's too dangerous for any ships to leave the system until we've activated the energy field," Leia said in clipped tones.
"That's a good story. I think you just can't bear to let a gorgeous guy like me out of your sight," Han said with an arrogant grin as he crossed his arms over his chest. Lena and Luke looked at each other and rolled their eyes.
"I don't know where you get your delusions, laser brain," Leia said, shaking her head. Chewbacca started to laugh, earning him a glare from Han.
"Laugh it up, fuzzball, but you didn't see us alone in the south passage. She expressed her true feelings for me," Han said, stepping to Leia's side and wrapping his arm around her.
"My- Why you stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerfherder!" Leia shouted in a fit of temper.
"Who's scruffy-looking?" Han asked, turning to look at her the amusement gone from his face and voice.
"I must have hit pretty close to the mark to get her all riled up like that, huh, kid?" Han asked Luke.
Leia nodded and came over to them. "Well, I guess you don't know everything about women yet," Leia said, before she grabbed Luke's face and kissed him hard on the lips. Lena felt her mouth drop. While it was funny, something about this kiss felt wrong. It ended quickly.
"Headquarters personnel, report to command center," a voice said over the intercom.
Take it easy," Han said as he, Chewbacca and Lena left the room.