Part Two:
Rescue Patrol
"I'm out," Clia said, tossing down her hand. "I've got to save *some* of my pay. What little it is, gotta send something back home."
Another player complained, "I'm with Clia. I *need* this money. If I knew how one sided this game would be, I'd have played someone else."
"Come on guys," Cor Wynt said. "You love me. You'd never play anyone else."
"Yeah, better to lose to someone you trust?" Praj asked sarcastically. "Get out of here. This is table's closed. Don't care where you go, but you can't stay here."
Hobbie grinned. "Come on bar keep," he whined playfully. "One more round?"
The technician whacked his friend on the head and ushered the group out of his room. "Good Night, everyone. This Rebel knows where he's going."
"Kessel, when they find out about this gambling joint in your room?" Jaylee joked.
"Ha ha," came the other man's reply. "Get out of here Nerf Herder."
"And damn proud of it!" Jaylee shouted as Praj closed his door.
Cor stuck the bag of credits he had won playing sabaac into his pocket. "Really guys. Get on the ball. I could have you whole paycheck in one night."
"Then you'd be buying me breakfast the next morning," Hobbie joked.
"Or tossing you scraps," Zall jested. "Not much different from what they feed us here, though."
The lot of them shared a good laugh.
"If we were on Corellia..." Hobbie began.
"We'd all be drunk, my winnings pickpocketed and we'd be shot on sight by Imps," Cor said. "Sound 'bout right?"
Jaylee nodded. "But then we'd have girls, too. You got enough creds to have attracted some."
Cor looked to Clia. "Intrested?"
She laughed. "That'd be the day!"
He began to protest loudly and continued as they walked. Cor didn't stop once she had been dropped off at her quarters either. As they walked through the base, dropping off each member of the group, he loudly protested her statement.
"Cor," Jaylee, the last one, said. "Shut up. Go to bed."
His friend grumbled something under his breath but bid Jaylee a good night. Then he walked, ego shattered, towards his own quarters. However, Cor never made it there. He noticed several people running towards the hangers.
"Hey!" he shouted, see Wedge amongst them. "What's going on?"
"Commander Skywalker didn't check in earlier," the other pilot told him. "Solo went after him, but he hasn't come back either!"
"What are you planning on doing?" Cor asked. "It's too cold to go out, now."
He sighed. "I know... everyone knows. Still, we're suiting up. I'm going out at first light. Three hours to go. Might as well get ready now."
"I'll go out," he volunteered. "Can't leave our guys out to die on this hellish planet."
Wedge nodded. "Come on, suit up. You can go out with me. I needed a co- pilot anyways."
"Great," Cor said. "Count me in."
***
The small group of assembled pilots waited together for three hours, hoping against hope that Skywalker and Solo would soon enter and no rescue would be needed. Of them all, Cor was visibially the most calm. He told everyone to have faith, but in truth, he knew something they didn't.
Skywalker and Solo would be fine.
Having drifted off for a few moments, Cor was awakened by the urgent shaking of Wedge Antilles. "Come on. We're going out."
Shaking the sleep from his head, the younger pilot stood and followed Wedge to one of the snowspeeders. Wedge hoped in front, leaving his friend to grab the back seat. That didn't matter to Cor, as long as they were able to find these guys. Sure, he knew they would be fine and found alive, but still... it was as if urgency had slipped into his veins, compelling him to rush to their aide just as everyone else.
"This is Rogue Two, heading out," Wedge said into the headset. In front of them, the hanger doors slid open and Wedge took the speeder out.
Cor fiddled with a thermal scanner, setting it to check as thoughly as possible.
"Any sign of them?" Wedge asked.
"Not yet," Cor answered. "Don't worry. They're fine."
"You're optimistic." He called out over the radio, "This is Rogue Two. Captain Solo, so you copy? This is Rogue Two."
Nothing.
"Commander Skywalker, do you copy? This is Rouge Two."
He nodded though from the front seat, Wedge couldn't see him. "This is Luke Skywalker and Han Solo we're talking about. These guys took out a Death Star. The elements aren't nothing compared to that."
"I hop you're right."
"Captain Solo, Commander Skywalker, do you copy? This is Rouge Two."
Cor called up to him, "Swing a right, we haven't checked that way-"
There was a faint crackle of static on the radio.
"Good morning. Nice of you guys to drop by."
Some how, Cor *saw* Wedge grin, despite being behind the other man.
Wedge changed channels and reported, "Echo Base...this is Rouge Two. I found them. Repeat, I found them."
Down below, Cor could see Solo waving to them. Wedge took the snowspeeder on a sweep around, taking in the layout of the area, then landed a few meters from him. Cor grabbed the heated wraps that had been tossed in the back and jumped out of the cockpit as the top raised up.
"Boy am I glad to see you guys," Han Solo greeted them. "Took you long enough."
The two pilots grinned. "Here," Cor said, drapping one of the blackets over his shoulders. Then he and Wedge entered Han's makeshift shelter. They lifted Luke up and wrapped one of the blankets around him. He muttered a few incoherent words and Wedge said, "Hang on, Buddy."
Coming out, Cor looked to Han. "They're gonna have you teaching survival classes," he said. "Pulling something like this off!"
"You pick somethings up over the years," he responded.
Cor nodded. Three years in the Star Wars galaxy and he was a regular. There had been something about the place that had just... made everything come natural. From flying to mechanics - somehow, he could do it all. Whatever it was, it helped him maintain his "smuggler's son" image. Smugglers picked up on everything, so did he.
As long as he could keep up that image, everything would be fine.
"They're sending out a transport!" Wedge shouted to them from the speeder. "Ten minutes!"
"Well, make yourself at home, kid," Han told him. "I'd offer food and drink but... we don't restock for a while."
The younger man opened up his front pocket and pulled out some dried fish strips. It doesn't sound that good, but it was one of the best things you could get on Hoth. He handed the package to Han. "Figured you be hungry."
"Thanks, kiddo," he said, tearing into the plastic.
"No problem," Cor replied. "No problem."
***
"Hey!" Zall and Jaylee shouted as the speeder canopy opened. The two pilots took off their helmets and placed them down on their seats. Cor was the first out, soon met by his friends.
"We were looking all over for you!" Zall exclaimed. "Coulda told us you went out."
He grinned, looking at Jaylee's crossed arms. "Miss me?"
Jaylee glared. "We were worried, okay?"
"Sorry," Cor told them. "Sorry. I didn't want to wake you guys up."
"Good job, Corie-Boy!" Clia shouted, coming over. "Heard you found 'em. Hero of the day!"
Quickly, he shook his head. "I didn't find them," he told her. "Wedge found 'em. I was just along for the ride. 'Sides, he would have found 'em had I been there or not. Go drool over him."
She nodded. "Don't mind if I do, then."
Jaylee watched as she went. Cor grinned. "Jaylee!" he exclaimed in mock astonishment. "Clia?"
His friend went red.
Zall began to laugh. "I knew it!" he shouted. "Ha! Jaylee and Clia honeymooning on Tatooine!"
Redder, he quickly told each of them to can it. "She'll hear you guys!"
"Exactly the point," Cor told him and took off across the deck. "Hey! Clia! Wait up!"
"I'm so going to get you Wynt!" Jaylee growled, running after him. "You say anything and I'm gonna burry you, I swear it!"
Two hours later, Jaylee and Clia were sitting down in the pilots' mess together. Zall and him sat across the mess watching them with big smiles across their faces. "Atleast one of us can find love," Cor said. "With a little help."
"My poor lonely, loveless friends," Praj said, sitting down with them. "How's everything going? How's Deighton doing?"
Cor motioned for him to take a look. "No kissing... yet."
Praj grinned. "Jaylee and Clia... never woulda seen it coming. Not jealous, guys?"
They shook their heads. "Hey, one of us is getting lucky," Zall said. "Besides, who wants to fall in love with a kid like me?"
"I could find someone fo-"
"NO!" Zall exclaimed loudly. "Not gonna let you try that again."
Cor began laughing so hard his chest began to hurt. His friend hit him but he still didn't stop. With a red face, Zall got up and left.
"Aww... the poor boy," Praj joked. Then, he looked to Cor. "A game of Sabaac?"
"Ready to lose again?"
"I won't lo- yes."
"Then you're on," Cor said. "Come, loveless brother. Us bachlors must stick together!"
A/N: Crappy... but more a filler chapter. Seriously, I began writing Chapter three before Chapter two was even a concept. But then I decided to stick it in there. Like it, hate it... REVIEW!
"I'm out," Clia said, tossing down her hand. "I've got to save *some* of my pay. What little it is, gotta send something back home."
Another player complained, "I'm with Clia. I *need* this money. If I knew how one sided this game would be, I'd have played someone else."
"Come on guys," Cor Wynt said. "You love me. You'd never play anyone else."
"Yeah, better to lose to someone you trust?" Praj asked sarcastically. "Get out of here. This is table's closed. Don't care where you go, but you can't stay here."
Hobbie grinned. "Come on bar keep," he whined playfully. "One more round?"
The technician whacked his friend on the head and ushered the group out of his room. "Good Night, everyone. This Rebel knows where he's going."
"Kessel, when they find out about this gambling joint in your room?" Jaylee joked.
"Ha ha," came the other man's reply. "Get out of here Nerf Herder."
"And damn proud of it!" Jaylee shouted as Praj closed his door.
Cor stuck the bag of credits he had won playing sabaac into his pocket. "Really guys. Get on the ball. I could have you whole paycheck in one night."
"Then you'd be buying me breakfast the next morning," Hobbie joked.
"Or tossing you scraps," Zall jested. "Not much different from what they feed us here, though."
The lot of them shared a good laugh.
"If we were on Corellia..." Hobbie began.
"We'd all be drunk, my winnings pickpocketed and we'd be shot on sight by Imps," Cor said. "Sound 'bout right?"
Jaylee nodded. "But then we'd have girls, too. You got enough creds to have attracted some."
Cor looked to Clia. "Intrested?"
She laughed. "That'd be the day!"
He began to protest loudly and continued as they walked. Cor didn't stop once she had been dropped off at her quarters either. As they walked through the base, dropping off each member of the group, he loudly protested her statement.
"Cor," Jaylee, the last one, said. "Shut up. Go to bed."
His friend grumbled something under his breath but bid Jaylee a good night. Then he walked, ego shattered, towards his own quarters. However, Cor never made it there. He noticed several people running towards the hangers.
"Hey!" he shouted, see Wedge amongst them. "What's going on?"
"Commander Skywalker didn't check in earlier," the other pilot told him. "Solo went after him, but he hasn't come back either!"
"What are you planning on doing?" Cor asked. "It's too cold to go out, now."
He sighed. "I know... everyone knows. Still, we're suiting up. I'm going out at first light. Three hours to go. Might as well get ready now."
"I'll go out," he volunteered. "Can't leave our guys out to die on this hellish planet."
Wedge nodded. "Come on, suit up. You can go out with me. I needed a co- pilot anyways."
"Great," Cor said. "Count me in."
***
The small group of assembled pilots waited together for three hours, hoping against hope that Skywalker and Solo would soon enter and no rescue would be needed. Of them all, Cor was visibially the most calm. He told everyone to have faith, but in truth, he knew something they didn't.
Skywalker and Solo would be fine.
Having drifted off for a few moments, Cor was awakened by the urgent shaking of Wedge Antilles. "Come on. We're going out."
Shaking the sleep from his head, the younger pilot stood and followed Wedge to one of the snowspeeders. Wedge hoped in front, leaving his friend to grab the back seat. That didn't matter to Cor, as long as they were able to find these guys. Sure, he knew they would be fine and found alive, but still... it was as if urgency had slipped into his veins, compelling him to rush to their aide just as everyone else.
"This is Rogue Two, heading out," Wedge said into the headset. In front of them, the hanger doors slid open and Wedge took the speeder out.
Cor fiddled with a thermal scanner, setting it to check as thoughly as possible.
"Any sign of them?" Wedge asked.
"Not yet," Cor answered. "Don't worry. They're fine."
"You're optimistic." He called out over the radio, "This is Rogue Two. Captain Solo, so you copy? This is Rogue Two."
Nothing.
"Commander Skywalker, do you copy? This is Rouge Two."
He nodded though from the front seat, Wedge couldn't see him. "This is Luke Skywalker and Han Solo we're talking about. These guys took out a Death Star. The elements aren't nothing compared to that."
"I hop you're right."
"Captain Solo, Commander Skywalker, do you copy? This is Rouge Two."
Cor called up to him, "Swing a right, we haven't checked that way-"
There was a faint crackle of static on the radio.
"Good morning. Nice of you guys to drop by."
Some how, Cor *saw* Wedge grin, despite being behind the other man.
Wedge changed channels and reported, "Echo Base...this is Rouge Two. I found them. Repeat, I found them."
Down below, Cor could see Solo waving to them. Wedge took the snowspeeder on a sweep around, taking in the layout of the area, then landed a few meters from him. Cor grabbed the heated wraps that had been tossed in the back and jumped out of the cockpit as the top raised up.
"Boy am I glad to see you guys," Han Solo greeted them. "Took you long enough."
The two pilots grinned. "Here," Cor said, drapping one of the blackets over his shoulders. Then he and Wedge entered Han's makeshift shelter. They lifted Luke up and wrapped one of the blankets around him. He muttered a few incoherent words and Wedge said, "Hang on, Buddy."
Coming out, Cor looked to Han. "They're gonna have you teaching survival classes," he said. "Pulling something like this off!"
"You pick somethings up over the years," he responded.
Cor nodded. Three years in the Star Wars galaxy and he was a regular. There had been something about the place that had just... made everything come natural. From flying to mechanics - somehow, he could do it all. Whatever it was, it helped him maintain his "smuggler's son" image. Smugglers picked up on everything, so did he.
As long as he could keep up that image, everything would be fine.
"They're sending out a transport!" Wedge shouted to them from the speeder. "Ten minutes!"
"Well, make yourself at home, kid," Han told him. "I'd offer food and drink but... we don't restock for a while."
The younger man opened up his front pocket and pulled out some dried fish strips. It doesn't sound that good, but it was one of the best things you could get on Hoth. He handed the package to Han. "Figured you be hungry."
"Thanks, kiddo," he said, tearing into the plastic.
"No problem," Cor replied. "No problem."
***
"Hey!" Zall and Jaylee shouted as the speeder canopy opened. The two pilots took off their helmets and placed them down on their seats. Cor was the first out, soon met by his friends.
"We were looking all over for you!" Zall exclaimed. "Coulda told us you went out."
He grinned, looking at Jaylee's crossed arms. "Miss me?"
Jaylee glared. "We were worried, okay?"
"Sorry," Cor told them. "Sorry. I didn't want to wake you guys up."
"Good job, Corie-Boy!" Clia shouted, coming over. "Heard you found 'em. Hero of the day!"
Quickly, he shook his head. "I didn't find them," he told her. "Wedge found 'em. I was just along for the ride. 'Sides, he would have found 'em had I been there or not. Go drool over him."
She nodded. "Don't mind if I do, then."
Jaylee watched as she went. Cor grinned. "Jaylee!" he exclaimed in mock astonishment. "Clia?"
His friend went red.
Zall began to laugh. "I knew it!" he shouted. "Ha! Jaylee and Clia honeymooning on Tatooine!"
Redder, he quickly told each of them to can it. "She'll hear you guys!"
"Exactly the point," Cor told him and took off across the deck. "Hey! Clia! Wait up!"
"I'm so going to get you Wynt!" Jaylee growled, running after him. "You say anything and I'm gonna burry you, I swear it!"
Two hours later, Jaylee and Clia were sitting down in the pilots' mess together. Zall and him sat across the mess watching them with big smiles across their faces. "Atleast one of us can find love," Cor said. "With a little help."
"My poor lonely, loveless friends," Praj said, sitting down with them. "How's everything going? How's Deighton doing?"
Cor motioned for him to take a look. "No kissing... yet."
Praj grinned. "Jaylee and Clia... never woulda seen it coming. Not jealous, guys?"
They shook their heads. "Hey, one of us is getting lucky," Zall said. "Besides, who wants to fall in love with a kid like me?"
"I could find someone fo-"
"NO!" Zall exclaimed loudly. "Not gonna let you try that again."
Cor began laughing so hard his chest began to hurt. His friend hit him but he still didn't stop. With a red face, Zall got up and left.
"Aww... the poor boy," Praj joked. Then, he looked to Cor. "A game of Sabaac?"
"Ready to lose again?"
"I won't lo- yes."
"Then you're on," Cor said. "Come, loveless brother. Us bachlors must stick together!"
A/N: Crappy... but more a filler chapter. Seriously, I began writing Chapter three before Chapter two was even a concept. But then I decided to stick it in there. Like it, hate it... REVIEW!