Chapter Four
Kayla, Biggs, and Wedge all gathered close as Leia announced what the escape plans would be.
"All troop carriers will assemble at the North Entrance. The heavy transport ships will leave as soon as they're loaded. Only two fighter escorts per ship. The energy shield can only be opened for a short time, so you'll have to stay very close to your transports." Leia said, as concerned looks crossed the faces of even the most seasoned of pilots. Even though she'd only been with the Rebellion for three years, Kayla had grown very close to the people she was fighting alongside. She jumped when Biggs touched her shoulder.
"You all right, Kayla?" Biggs asked, gently. Kayla nodded.
"Just a little scared, Biggs, that's all." Kayla admitted, almost shamefacedly.
"You wouldn't be human if you weren't. Don't worry. Fortune has smiled on us so far; we'll make it." Wedge said, with confidence he probably did not truly feel in his voice. Kayla gave him an uncertain smile. Sure, she knew that this was going to happen, but it didn't help matters any that she was now in the middle of it.
"I hope the Force can get us all through this…………I don't know what I'd do without Biggs or Wedge close by." Kayla thought, as she glanced around the hangar at the pilots that were now scrambling to get to their fighters, knowing that the next few hours would not necessarily be guaranteed.
Meanwhile, all too close for comfort, the Super Star Destroyer Executioner glided silently through space, with an entourage of normal Star Destroyers all around it. Inside of his chambers, Jordan Devans, Kayla's younger brother, meditated. On the floor in front of him, his newly built lightsaber lay within hands' reach. He'd been under Vader's guidance in the use of the Force for almost three years, and he was becoming incredibly strong. So strong, in fact, that Vader had personally given him the materials for building his first lightsaber; a fact that had thrilled Jordan to no end.
"Jordan." Vader's voice called, telepathically.
"Yes, Master?" Jordan replied, immediately snapping from his meditation to attention.
"Come to the debriefing room." Vader commanded. Jordan bowed his head slightly and rose to his feet, picking up his lightsaber in one fluid movement as he did so.
"Yes, my Master." Jordan responded, as he left his quarters without even so much as a glance back. When he got to the debriefing room, General Veers was already there. Out of respect for the young Dark Jedi, Veers nodded, getting a polite nod in return from Jordan.
"You have found something, General?" Vader asked, as he shifted his attention from Jordan to Veers. Veers nodded.
"I think we've got something, sir. The report is only a fragment from a probe droid in the Hoth System, but it's the best lead we've had. The visuals indicate life readings." Veers informed. For the briefest of moments, both Vader and Jordan were silent, their minds reaching out to the distant planet and touching the presences they could faintly detect there.
"That's it." Jordan murmured, his eyes taking on an ambitious sheen as he thought of what they were going to do to the Rebels. Vader nodded, silently pleased with how far Jordan had come since being found in the Executioner's docking bay.
"I was a lot like him when I was still in training." Vader thought, then said, "The Rebels are there. That is the system, and I am sure that Skywalker is with them. Set your course for the Hoth System. General Veers, prepare your men."
"Yes sir!" Veers said, as he saluted, then briskly marched out.
"Master, the Star Destroyers came out of hyperspace too soon." Jordan murmured, his eyes narrowing when he thought of whom was at fault for that.
"Indeed. I am about to deal with him now." Vader stated, as he turned on the viewscreen and contacted the Star Destroyer that had the Imperial Admiral on it. The moment the Admiral became aware of the contact, he turned and faced the Dark Lord of the Sith.
"Lord Vader, the fleet has moved out of light speed, and we're preparing to……………..!" Admiral Ozzel said, before the Force tightened its grip around his throat.
"You have failed me for the last time, Admiral……… Captain Piett." Vader growled, getting the Imperial captain's attention immediately.
"Yes, my lord?" Piett replied, shakily trying to ignore his writhing superior's death throes.
"Make ready to land our troops beyond their energy field and deploy the fleet so that nothing gets off the system. You are in command now………Admiral Piett." Vader finished, as the sound of cracking bone was heard, and Ozzel fell dead to the floor.
"Thank you………….Lord Vader." Piett stammered, before the transmission was cut, and left Vader and Jordan in the twilight darkness of the debriefing room.
"Master, I think my sister is also on Hoth. What should we do with her when we find her?" Jordan asked, quietly.
"I will leave that decision to you, my young apprentice. Avenge yourself on her, if that is what you desire, or bring her directly to me. This will be your first mission as a warrior of the Dark Side." Vader said.
"As you will it, Master. She will join us, or die." Jordan stated, coldly. He was going to make Kayla pay for abandoning him…….for not even trying to search for him.
"Just you wait and see, Kayla. You're gonna regret you even had a brother! Mark my words…………." Jordan thought, as he silently walked out of the room, fully aware of Darth Vader's stare on his back as he went.
The Rebel base was in chaos as personnel raced to get to their ships, and as the first transport made its attempt to get away from the planet. Kayla and Biggs did what they could to prepare their X-Wings for flight.
"Darklighter! Devans! May the Force be with you both!" Dack, Luke's snowspeeder gunner shouted.
"Same to you, Dack!" Kayla replied, before remembrance brought back the scene of Dack's death from the movies.
"Biggs, think we can have our X-Wings transported along with Luke's?" Kayla asked.
"Dunno. Let me check." Biggs said, as he turned to one of the techs and talked to him. He returned his attention to Kayla with a grim look on his face.
"Not both of 'em, Kay. We're gonna have to leave one of 'em behind." Biggs stated.
"Then let's leave mine behind. We've gotta go out and see what we can do to help Luke and Dack get through this." Kayla said. Biggs gave her a surprised look, then sighed.
"All right. Hope you don't mind being in the gunner chair for once." Biggs murmured. He was surprised when he got a kiss on the cheek from Kayla.
"I don't mind. Let's get going." Kayla said, as she and Biggs raced off to find a snowspeeder they could use.
Just as the formidable shapes of the Imperial Walkers filled the Rebels' sights, snowspeeders left the docking bay. Luke could see that things were not going to be easy for them, since they were facing AT-AT s, huge, almost elephantine machines that were almost invincible.
"Hey! Luke!" a familiar female voice shouted, through Luke's communicator.
"Kayla?! What're you doin'?! Why aren't you headin' out with the rest of the fighters?!?" Luke asked, stunned by the young woman's presence on this particular battlefield.
"She's more stubborn than a Wookie, Luke. You should know that by now." Biggs' voice said, jokingly. Luke almost sweat-dropped; just what in the world were his two crazy friends planning?!
"You're insane, the both of you." Luke muttered, much to the amusement of Dack, and the rest of the wings under his command.
"Okay, steady Dack. Attack Pattern Delta. Go now." Luke ordered, getting back to the business at hand.
"Luke, I have no approach vector. I'm not…………….oh, wait………..it's setting up on its own………." Dack muttered, stunned when the computers seemingly set themselves for the attack.
"Kayla? Are you doing this?" Luke wondered, as he sensed what he thought to be a ripple in the Force.
"All right guys, keep tight now." Luke murmured, as all of the snowspeeders closed in the walkers and opened fire. They all watched in horror as their laserbolts bounced harmlessly off of the AT-AT s tough armor.
"Luke, the armor's too strong for blasters! We're gonna have to try something else!" Biggs shouted, as he dodged blasts from the armored vehicles' cannons, and as the barrage hit one of the snowspeeders. Luke shuddered as the cold feeling of death washed over him, unaware that Kayla was also feeling the same thing. And that two others may have also felt it.
"Rogue Group, use your harpoons and tow cables. Go for the legs, it might be our only chance of stopping them." Luke commanded.
"Luke, we've got a malfunction in fire control……..wait…….that's fixing itself too! What the heck's goin' on here?!" Dack said, sounding as confused as he must have felt.
"I think I know………….." Luke mused, then released the tow cable. It missed.
"Wedge, you're going to have to make this shot. I'll cover for you." Luke said, watching as Kayla and Biggs' snowspeeder took out one of the giant walkers.
"Good job, you two! That was great!" Dack complimented. He got chuckles in response over the comm link.
"Save the compliments for later, Dack. Stay focused. We've got more comin' this way." Kayla said, gently, knowing that the young pilot seemed to idolize her, Luke, and Biggs.
"Especially Luke." Kayla thought, as she remembered what was said between Luke and Dack before they'd left the docking bay.
"Cable out! Let 'er go!" Wedge's voice shouted, over the link, as his 'speeder finished wrapping the walker's legs in the cable. It toppled over only moments later. Much to the Imperials' displeasure. It was then that Kayla sensed that something wasn't right, and she yelped when a small bit of a stray laser blast punctured the back of Luke's snowspeeder and hit Dack.
"Dack! Are you all right?!" Kayla asked. She was a little relieved when a weak response came from Luke's gunner.
"Yeah,………..I……think so………Kay. But this 'speeder's fried." Dack gasped, painfully, as the speeder came to a grinding halt.
"What do ya think, Kay? Did you like my little trick?" a male voice asked, in the back of Kayla's mind. Biggs noticed when she tensed.
"What's up, Kay?" Biggs asked, trusting in her instincts.
"I think I may have just found my missing brother, Biggs………..and I don't like where I think he may have ended up……………….." Kayla muttered, as Biggs landed their snowspeeder and helped Luke get Dack out.
"Kayla?" Luke questioned, concernedly, when he saw how pale she was.
"I'll be okay, Luke. We'll meet ya at the rendezvous point where the X-Wings are, okay?" Kayla replied. Luke reluctantly nodded, a little reassured when Dack smiled at him weakly from the makeshift stretcher some of the other Rebel soldiers had been using to evacuate the nearby trenches.
"See you guys in a few." Luke said.
"May the Force be with you, Luke." Biggs said, seriously.
"You too, Biggs." Luke replied, as he went to see what he could do about the walker that was slowly approaching their location.
Jordan sat back with a look of satisfaction on his face. He knew that Kayla had sensed him, and had heard his mental voice.
"Just wait and see, Kay. You'll find out for yourself just how strong I've become." Jordan thought, as he waited alongside Darth Vader, his Master, and prepared to invade the besieged Rebel base. With a Dark Jedi and a Sith Lord, his sister and her friends did not have a prayer. And they knew it.
Author's Note!
Finally, at long last, an update! Sorry for the long wait, minna!