Chapter 31- The Briefing and the Hoth Battle Begins
Lena and Luke made their way to the briefing that Leia and Talon were holding in the hangar. Lena gave her father a perfunctory kiss on his cheek and he kissed her forehead. It was how they often greeted each other since Lena had been a very small girl and her father had just come home to Alderaan with Uncle Bail after a session of the Imperial Senate on Coruscant. Of course when Lena and Leia got old enough they went with their fathers to Coruscant so they could see how government worked and Leia and Lena could follow in their fathers' footsteps as a senator and aide. Of course it proved a great time to teach Lena the ways of the Jedi. Talon had taught her how to hold a lightsaber once as they were going through hyperspace. It had reduced the both of them to giggles as the length of Talon's lightsaber was almost as long as her arm.
"All troop carriers will assemble at the north entrance. The heavy transport ships will leave as soon as they are loaded. Only two fighter escorts per ship. Uncle, are you going to keep the Empire preoccupied on the ground as we get away?" Leia asked, turning to Talon.
"Of course. I have my lightsaber and Riekaan and the others have their blasters," Talon said, his disdain for the blasters evident only to Lena. A blaster was considered uncivilized to a Jedi's mindset and Talon still thought like the Jedi he had been trained to be over 20 years ago.
"Good. The energy shield can only be opened for a short time, so you'll have to stay very close to your transports," Leia said, going back to the battle and away from how the Jedi felt about blasters.
"Two fighters against a Stardestroyer?" A soldier asked skeptically.
"The ion cannon will fire several shots to make sure that any enemy ships will be out of your flight path. When you've gotten past the energy shield, proceed directly to the rendezvous point. Understood?" Leia asked and they all nodded and murmured agreement. Good luck," Leia said in farewell and the fighters left with the exceptions of Luke, Talon, Lena, and Leia. Cora ran to them and grabbed Talon's large hand.
"I want all four of you to be careful and, Cora, I want you mind your sister. Understand?" Talon asked, kneeling to face Cora after leveling a look at Luke, Lena, and Cora.
"Yes, Papa," Cora said, snuggling her face into her father's large chest.
"Lena, watch out for her and Leia, like I taught you how to," Talon said, pressing kisses to Lena's and Cora's forehead.
"I will, Papa. You don't have to worry about a thing," Lena said.
"I know I don't. I have trained you as a Jedi since you were a small girl. I have taught you everything I know and I am proud of you, Lena Skywalker," Talon said with a smile.
"May the Force be with you, Papa," Lena said, kissing, Talon's cheek.
"And may the Force be with all of you," Talon said, letting go of Cora, kissing Lena, Leia, and Cora, shaking Luke's hand and going off to dress in his winter wear.
Talon stood out in the cold, his lightsaber firmly in his hand. In the years since the Jedi purge Talon had trained himself on lightsaber techniques. He hadn't been a good duelist as a Padawan, but he had sworn on the memory of his friends and Master Plo that he wouldn't fail the second time around. It had been his own fault that he couldn't use a lightsaber when he was younger. He had spent more time in the Jedi library with Jocasta Nu and the other Jedi Padawans like him than learning how to use the lightsaber. He always said to Saks that he had plenty of time to learn the use of the weapon and not every Jedi was meant to be like Master Windu with a lightsaber. Maybe if he had learned then how to use the weapon there would have been more survivors than just him, Yoda, Obi-Wan, and Anakin's children.
His danger sense in the Force grew stronger with each moment. Talon stretched out with the Force and closed his eyes. Talon had trained his daughters and sons the way Master Plo had trained him. Master Plo had said that to feel the Force one had to concentrate and close their eyes. Talon always knew when one of his children was stretching out with the Force. A wrinkle would develop in the middle of their foreheads as they squinched their eyes shut. Talon felt a coldness that turned his blood to ice. Vader! Anakin was here! Chances are he was wanting to take his children. For the umpteenth time Talon was relieved that Anakin didn't know about Leia. All was quiet as Talon slowly opened his eyes. Smoke clouds told Talon louder than the Force that a battle wasn't long in coming.
Leia and Lena stood beside Riekaan as he looked at the monitors. "Their primary target will be the power generators. Prepare to open shield," Riekaan ordered someone at a station sharply. The shield opened and three blips sped away.
"Stand by, ion control. Fire," Lena said, pressing a button that released the bursts from the ion cannon with a small measure of disdain over the weaponry. The ion cannon disgusted Lena as much as the blasters did her father, but at least they weren't fully as automated as the Empire was. Lena watched with barely concealed glee as the bolts hit the Stardestroyer and the three ships sped away.
"The first transport is away. The first transport is away," the young tech next to Lena said through the intercom. Lena heard the muffled sounds of cheering.
Amidst the cheers Luke got into his ship, his gunner Dak behind him. "Feeling all right, Sir?" Dak asked.
"Just like new, Dak. How about you?" Luke asked as they buckled into their seats.
"Right now I feel I could take on the whole Empire myself," Dak boasted.
Luke chuckled to himself. "I know what you mean," Luke said as Dak lifted the fighter into the air.
Talon crouched down next to the soldiers under his command at the small black dots on the horizon. Talon deactivated his lightsaber and pulled out his radio binoculars. For the second time in less than five minutes his blood ran cold. Imperial Walkers! Not very many people stood a chance against them as the shields on those technological terrors were hard to penetrate. A person would have to use harpoons to knock them down and then either shoot, or in Talon's case, use a lightsaber as a lightsaber could cut through the strongest of metals.
"Echo Station Three-T-Eight, we've spotted Imperial walkers. Imperial walkers on the north ridge," Talon said through his wrist communicator.
"How many, Father?" Lena asked, a slight frisson of static coming over the communicator.
"Not sure, my dear, from what I can see three or four, but there could be more," talon said, keeping his eyes on the walkers. A streak of blaster fire went past Talon's ear and struck the weapon's turret behind him.
"It's started! Everyone take your positions!" A General yelled.
"Indeed. May the Force be with us all," Talon muttered, thumbing his lightsaber on and deflecting a burst of an energy bolt.