Chapter 4
Luke was beginning to wonder if fighting was the only form of communication that existed between Han and Leia.
Granted, an unspoken truce had existed between them while he'd been marinating in the bacta tank, according to Vader. But minutes after he'd awakened and accepted ecstatic hugs from all his friends, a seeming verbal free-for-all had erupted, ending with Leia giving Luke an angry kiss on the lips and stomping out of the med center.
Han stared after the princess in shock. Luke felt much the same way. Chewie gave a low whuffing laugh while Vader snorted metallically as he struggled to suppress his own laughter.
"Laugh it up, Hairball and Metalface," grumped Han, standing. "Take care of yourself," he advised Luke brusquely as he left.
Chewie made a comment and followed after Han.
"What'd he say?" Luke asked.
"'Humans and their complicated mating games,'" Vader translated. "Which was my sentiment exactly. Why don't they just kiss and admit they're crazy about each other?"
"Because that would be too easy," Luke replied. "They're both fighters. They're used to taking the hard way on everything worthwhile, even a romance."
"Now that we're alone," Vader went on in a lower voice, "I wanted to ask you about what you told me back in the hangar yesterday."
"What I told you?" Luke repeated. He remembered very little of actually coming into the base. Which was understandable, seeing as he'd been knocked out, mauled, and frozen at the time.
"Yes," Vader replied. "About Obi-wan… and someone called Yoda?"
"Oh, that." He leaned back and stared at the ceiling. "Obi-wan appeared to me out in the storm."
"He did?" Vader cocked his head, intrigued. "He's spoken to me, but never appeared."
"I guess this message was important enough to warrant an actual visit," Luke theorized. "He wants us both to go to someplace called Dagobah and learn from a Jedi named Yoda."
Vader was silent a moment – oddly pensive, in fact. When Luke glanced over at him, he was staring at a blank spot on the wall.
"Name strike a chord?" asked Luke.
Vader took awhile to reply. "Not that. It's… something else."
"You can tell me," Luke encouraged.
"While Han and I were searching for you… I ran into the wampa you faced."
Luke sat up, startled. "Go on."
He hesitated, then pressed on. "I shot at it a few times and tried to escape… but it attacked and wounded me." His fists clenched as if he was struggling to cling to the words, to keep them from escaping his lips. "I… don't know what happened. Something… I don't know how to describe it… something awoke. Something evil. Something painful. Something I couldn't stop."
Luke felt the blood drain from his face.
"The next thing I knew… the wampa was on the floor… choking. I couldn't stop it… and I remembered… I remembered killing another… an Imperial…" His voice broke.
A knot of terror balled up in Luke's stomach. Vader was using the dark side of the Force again – and recovering memories of his more recent life, his life as a servant of the Emperor. Was the Alliance's original fear concerning the man finally coming true? Would he soon regain his entire memory and turn on the Rebellion?
But Vader was obviously as deeply shaken by what had happened as Luke was. The knot in his stomach eased. If Vader could recognize his actions as wrong and attempt to correct them, there was probably little danger of him reverting back to that lifestyle.
"I'm sorry," Luke told him gently.
"I'm scared, Luke," Vader confessed. "Scared to my bones. If I lose control again… if I hurt someone else, a sentient this time…"
"You won't." Luke reached out and squeezed his hand. "I'll be here to help you. And so will Han and the Rogues."
"But what of this Yoda, whoever he is? What if he decides I'm unfit to be trained because of my actions in the cave?"
"I can't believe that any Jedi is above getting angry and losing control," Luke shot back. "If Yoda turns you down, I'll have some words with him. And I'm sure Obi-wan will say his piece."
"He usually does," Vader replied, a little less moody.
Forenze paused on her way past Luke's bed, wielding a hypospray like a vibrostaff. "You're cleared to go anytime, Skywalker. And Vader, I want you to stay, if you can. We'll start your lung operation this afternoon." She was gone before they could reply, running toward a swearing mechanic in the next room.
Vader extended a hand to help Luke up. "Thank you, Luke. Your optimism is the best medicine for a troubled soul."
"I dunno," Luke replied teasingly as he got to his feet. "Forenze's cynicism can do its own wonders."
"And just what is that supposed to mean?"
He gave Vader a sly grin. "You tease Han about having a relationship with someone out of his league, but I've heard you and Forenze flirt…"
"She doesn't flirt, she snaps," Vader defended. "We're friends, nothing more or less. Besides, we're not even the same species."
Ar'ya entered the room, a grave look on her face. "Luke, Darth, Riekkan wants all Rogues in the control room now," she reported.
"What's wrong?" asked Luke.
"He isn't saying. But Han and Chewie went out to investigate something strange." Her lekku rippled in a gesture of nervousness. "Whatever it is, I have a bad feeling about it."
Vader gave a theatrical groan of exasperation. "I guess my lung operation gets put off again."
The ranks of Rogue Squadron had grown since the Second Battle of Yavin. Then there had been a paltry dozen pilots. Now nearly forty Rogues, representing over twenty species and various social castes and geographical areas of the galaxy, packed the control room. Luke had to squeeze himself between a grumbling Wedge and a somewhat groggy Quarren to get to General Riekkan.
"What have we got so far?" he asked the General.
"All we know is that whatever's approaching the base is metal," Reikkan replied. "We suspect it's a droid of some kind. And See Threepio tells us it's using a code he's not familiar with."
"Play the recording," advised Leia, appearing next to Luke.
Riekkan touched a button, and a garbled electronic noise buzzed from the computer. It sounded like a nasal, monotone voice endlessly repeating "Man the defender, defender of space" into a badly wired amplifier.
"Weird," muttered Luke.
"Not a code any Alliance droid uses," Vader added gravely.
Han's voice broke over the comm. "Solo here. Found whatever it was."
"Can you identify it?" asked Riekkan.
"Not really. It kind of went all to pieces when it saw us."
"It must have had some sort of self-destruct mechanism," Luke suggested.
"An Imperial probe droid," Leia murmured.
No one argued with her. What droid aside from a spy droid would be programmed to destroy itself upon discovery?
"There's a good chance the Empire knows we're here," Han said balefully.
"We'd better evacuate Echo Base," Riekkan announced. He spun around to face Rogue Squadron. "We need Rogue Squadron's help to see the Alliance to safety. Can we count on you, Rogues?"
"Yes sir!" Luke replied faithfully.
"We're with you, General," Vader added.
The squadron roared assent.
"Then to your ships!"
-------
Vader strapped himself into his snowspeeder. "Set to go, Drache?"
"Ready if you are, Commander," his gunner replied in her oddly inflected Basic. Drache was a Neimodian noblewoman who had renounced her post in the Trade Federation years ago. A throwback to her species warrior past, she had loathed the cowardly, backstabbing ways of her brethren and sought adventure and a loyal cause in the Alliance. Frankly, Vader couldn't have asked for a better comrade.
"Good to hear that," he replied with a smile.
"I feel like I can take on the whole Empire myself today!" one of the younger pilots, Dack, gushed.
"I know the feeling," Luke replied. "But don't get too cocky."
Rogue Squadron had divided itself into two factions – Blue Group, which would fly X-wings to escort transports safely out of the system, and White Group, which would use snowspeeders to hold off any possible ground attack. The base's powerful shields and ion cannon would ensure protection from an airborne attack.
A voice crackled over Vader's comm.
"Rogue Squadron, heads up! Imperial walkers advancing on Echo Base!"
Walkers! Vader swore under his breath. The Empire had certainly acted fast on their information. And by unleashing their heavy artillery this early in the game, they were sending a clear message of doom to the Alliance.
"Attention, Rogues," Luke ordered. "Let's not try anything stupid out there. Our goal is to draw their fire until the base is cleared, not get ourselves killed."
The speeders rocketed out the hangar door and tore across the glistening snowscape. In the distance, the towering behemoths of AT-ATs plodded forward, military machinery of the deadliest ground form. Emerald light streaked from guns that jutted from their cockpits like tusks, causing ice and snow to fountain around the speeders.
Janson was the first to fire, but his garnet blasts glanced off the nearest walker's side.
"That armor's too thick for blasters!" he shouted.
"Go for the legs," advised Luke. "Use your harpoon guns. We'll try tangling them up."
The mechanical "head" of one of the iron monsters filled Vader's viewscreen. The sight of the walker stirred another memory…
…"Target acquired, my lord," the AT-AT pilot informed him.
"Fire at will," he thundered.
The city erupted into flames, immolating thousands of Rebel traitors and, with them, the Jedi Knight Aayla Secura. Months of searching had finally culminated in a strike…
He shook his head. Not now! He didn't need this! But he couldn't help but wonder – just how many Rebels had died at his hand?
An explosion jolted him back to reality. Hobbie's speeder had burst apart in a welter of flame, taking Dekham, his gunner, with him.
"Stang," Vader hissed, and he brought his speeder around to circle the walker that had downed the two Rogues. "Drache, get a lock on that junk pile's leg."
"Got it!"
"Fire harpoon!"
"It's away!"
The harpoon buried itself in the AT-AT's "knee" joint. Vader circled the vehicle closely, carefully counting the passes around those thick steel legs.
"Detach cable!" he barked.
With a loud clang they pulled away, turning just in time to see the gargantuan hulk topple forward and slam into the snow.
"Good shot, Drache," Wedge commended.
"Everyone follow their lead," Luke ordered. "Let's hold them off as long as we can!"
-----
Darth Kain watched the walker to his right collapse. He ground his teeth. Fools! AT-ATs were far superior to these flimsy speeders. How could his men be so clumsy as to fall prey to them?
He sat behind the weaponry controls of one of the war machines, at the head of the attacking Imperial forces. Though he hated Lord Vader with a passion, he had taken a page from the cyborg's book – he actually fought alongside his men. Not only did it ensure victory, it instilled respect in his troops.
The Force pulsed strongly in two of the speeders. He mentally brushed the minds of both pilots. One burned bright and clear; the other was shrouded in darkness, though a barrier kept the blackness from penetrating his core. With a feral smile he locked his sights on the first. Once he shot the Skywalkers down, snowtroopers would be sent to pick them up… then they'd be his.
He had no desire to see the Skywalkers join the Sith cause. He carried out his master's command to capture them out of obedience, but he detested it the whole way. But on the other hand… if one of them happened to meet a mishap before reaching the Emperor, there'd be one less Skywalker to deal with and no one would be the wiser.
He fired, bringing Luke's speeder down. Then he aimed for Vader.
--------
The crash jarred every bone in Luke's body as clumps of rock-hard snow went airborne and clattered over his speeder's canopy. He gritted his teeth as the ship lurched to a halt.
"Luke, you okay?" Wedge shouted over the comm.
"I'm good," he replied. He looked back to check on Dack, then groaned when he saw the young gunner's head slumped over, a trickle of blood striping his jawline. "But Dack's dead."
A sky-rending explosion shook the grounded craft.
"What was that?" he demanded.
"They've destroyed the shield generator!" Mela replied.
Luke popped the canopy and scrambled free of his fallen ship. On the horizon a plume of oily black smoke marked the ruined generator like a tombstone. Two transports shrieked away from the smoke column, making for space – and safety.
Vader's voice echoed over his helmet comm. "Let's concentrate on getting back to our ships in one piece now. The base is a loss, and all transports should be out by now."
"Someone pick up Luke!" Wedge shouted.
"I'm fine," Luke told him. "I can walk. Meet you back at the hangars."
A blast tore through the bitingly-cold air.
"I'm hit!" Vader exclaimed.
Luke watched in terror as Vader's speeder spiraled toward the ground. White sprays of snow marked its path as it skidded to a halt not five meters from him. To Luke's intense relief, the canopy opened almost instantly, and Vader and Drache emerged unscathed.
"I suppose we walk from here," Luke remarked.
"Not likely," Vader replied, drawing his blaster. "Behind you, quick!"
The AT-AT that had shot both Luke and Vader down had come to a dead stop, kneeling like an obedient beast of burden. A door on its back slid open, and snowtroopers poured out, firing.
Luke didn't stop to think. He drew his lightsaber, swinging it in an instinct-driven pattern that he'd never used before. It was as if someone else had grabbed the saber and was directing his movements, with him just hanging on for dear life. But at any rate, it was proving effective – the whirling saber was acting as a shield, much as it had when he'd battled Obi-wan's training remote.
But those had been stun blasts. These bolts would be deadly if they connected.
Vader and Drache exchanged fire with the troopers. Three fell immediately, but for every one they neutralized four more took his place. It was clear they were outnumbered and in deep trouble.
Luke delved deep into his mind, then extended a call across the snowscape. It was a considerable gamble… would they come?
He didn't have long to wonder. Eerie, ululating howls drowned out the sounds of battle, and the snowtroopers stopped firing on the Rebels and redirected their shots toward the towering wampas that came charging through he snow at them. Luke, Vader, and Drache wisely dove for cover inside Vader's wrecked speeder as a new war erupted between Hoth's native beasts and the Imperial intruders.
"I had no idea the wampas were sympathetic to the Rebellion's cause," Vader noted dryly.
"They couldn't care less about us," Luke replied. "Their primary concerns are food, reproduction, and defending their territory. I just let out a call informing them there was an easy source of prey on their turf."
"You used the Force?" Drache asked, impressed.
"Rather ingenious," Vader noted as the one-armed wampa shuffled past their hiding place, a screaming trooper thrown over its shoulder.
"Let's head for the hangars while they're distracted," Luke ordered.
Quietly they left the speeder and ran to the X-wing hangar, set a small distance from the rest of the base for protection. He felt horrible about leaving Dack behind, but their time was limited. At least the blizzards would see to it that he got a burial.
-------
"Imperial troops have entered the base!" a guard barked over the comm. "Imperial troops have entered the…" His message terminated in an ominous burst of static.
Those remaining in Echo Base to supervise the battle and erase the main computers abandoned their posts, making for the last transport. Leia found herself in the rear of the pack, accompanied by an unusually concerned Han and Chewie.
An explosion rocked the tunnel, and Leia threw up her arms in defense as white dust obscured her vision. Han grabbed her and pulled her back, and Chewie wrapped protective arms around her.
When the air cleared, Han swore violently. The tunnel was completely blocked with rubble and machinery.
"Solo here," he barked into his personal comm. "We've run into a problem. I'm taking Her Highness aboard the Falcon."
Before Leia could protest, Han grabbed her hand and ran toward the hangars.
-------
Kain swooped through the halls of the base, his senses heightened to their fullest capacity. Crumbled ice and splintered machinery littered the floors, and every chamber was strewn with guns, clothing, food canisters, and anything else that couldn't be packed in five minutes. They had taken the Rebels by surprise, at least, and even managed to destroy roughly a third of their forces.
But that gave Kain no satisfaction. For the Skywalkers had escaped his grasp again.
Two snowtroopers were bickering in a side passage, each laying claim to some spoil or other gained in the attack. Kain ended the argument and vented some of his frustration by blasting the ceiling over their heads with the dark side, collapsing the tunnel onto their thick skulls. Satisfied that they would irritate him no longer, he moved on.
A welcome whisper in the Force brought him to a halt as an angry voice rang through the corridor.
"Watch the hands, you sick lout! Show some respect to a lady!"
A squadron of troopers hauled a furious Fosh before him. Under a furred parka he caught a glimpse of a white uniform – a medical officer, by the look of it. She glowered at Kain and aimed her heel at the toe of his boot, hissing a foul name at him.
"We found this one behind a blocked passage," General Veers told him, beaming gloatingly.
Kain ignored him. He faced the med officer and plunged into her mind, seeking information.
A hasty barrier surfaced – she had some Force sensitivity, surprisingly, but not enough to harbor any significant power besides an innate empathy. He ripped apart her shields almost effortlessly and delved deeper. Past the surface memories and basic information, he came upon something extremely promising – she was a friend of Vader, and she knew of others who were close to both Skywalkers.
The doctor sagged, the mind probe's shattering pain rendering her unconscious. Kain motioned for the troops to take her away.
"Sir?" asked Veers.
"Doctor Vlask Forenze will be a guest aboard the Executor for the time being," Kain replied.
"What of the Rebels?"
"Chaos take the Rebels," Kain hissed. "The Millennium Falcon. I want that ship!"
Luke was beginning to wonder if fighting was the only form of communication that existed between Han and Leia.
Granted, an unspoken truce had existed between them while he'd been marinating in the bacta tank, according to Vader. But minutes after he'd awakened and accepted ecstatic hugs from all his friends, a seeming verbal free-for-all had erupted, ending with Leia giving Luke an angry kiss on the lips and stomping out of the med center.
Han stared after the princess in shock. Luke felt much the same way. Chewie gave a low whuffing laugh while Vader snorted metallically as he struggled to suppress his own laughter.
"Laugh it up, Hairball and Metalface," grumped Han, standing. "Take care of yourself," he advised Luke brusquely as he left.
Chewie made a comment and followed after Han.
"What'd he say?" Luke asked.
"'Humans and their complicated mating games,'" Vader translated. "Which was my sentiment exactly. Why don't they just kiss and admit they're crazy about each other?"
"Because that would be too easy," Luke replied. "They're both fighters. They're used to taking the hard way on everything worthwhile, even a romance."
"Now that we're alone," Vader went on in a lower voice, "I wanted to ask you about what you told me back in the hangar yesterday."
"What I told you?" Luke repeated. He remembered very little of actually coming into the base. Which was understandable, seeing as he'd been knocked out, mauled, and frozen at the time.
"Yes," Vader replied. "About Obi-wan… and someone called Yoda?"
"Oh, that." He leaned back and stared at the ceiling. "Obi-wan appeared to me out in the storm."
"He did?" Vader cocked his head, intrigued. "He's spoken to me, but never appeared."
"I guess this message was important enough to warrant an actual visit," Luke theorized. "He wants us both to go to someplace called Dagobah and learn from a Jedi named Yoda."
Vader was silent a moment – oddly pensive, in fact. When Luke glanced over at him, he was staring at a blank spot on the wall.
"Name strike a chord?" asked Luke.
Vader took awhile to reply. "Not that. It's… something else."
"You can tell me," Luke encouraged.
"While Han and I were searching for you… I ran into the wampa you faced."
Luke sat up, startled. "Go on."
He hesitated, then pressed on. "I shot at it a few times and tried to escape… but it attacked and wounded me." His fists clenched as if he was struggling to cling to the words, to keep them from escaping his lips. "I… don't know what happened. Something… I don't know how to describe it… something awoke. Something evil. Something painful. Something I couldn't stop."
Luke felt the blood drain from his face.
"The next thing I knew… the wampa was on the floor… choking. I couldn't stop it… and I remembered… I remembered killing another… an Imperial…" His voice broke.
A knot of terror balled up in Luke's stomach. Vader was using the dark side of the Force again – and recovering memories of his more recent life, his life as a servant of the Emperor. Was the Alliance's original fear concerning the man finally coming true? Would he soon regain his entire memory and turn on the Rebellion?
But Vader was obviously as deeply shaken by what had happened as Luke was. The knot in his stomach eased. If Vader could recognize his actions as wrong and attempt to correct them, there was probably little danger of him reverting back to that lifestyle.
"I'm sorry," Luke told him gently.
"I'm scared, Luke," Vader confessed. "Scared to my bones. If I lose control again… if I hurt someone else, a sentient this time…"
"You won't." Luke reached out and squeezed his hand. "I'll be here to help you. And so will Han and the Rogues."
"But what of this Yoda, whoever he is? What if he decides I'm unfit to be trained because of my actions in the cave?"
"I can't believe that any Jedi is above getting angry and losing control," Luke shot back. "If Yoda turns you down, I'll have some words with him. And I'm sure Obi-wan will say his piece."
"He usually does," Vader replied, a little less moody.
Forenze paused on her way past Luke's bed, wielding a hypospray like a vibrostaff. "You're cleared to go anytime, Skywalker. And Vader, I want you to stay, if you can. We'll start your lung operation this afternoon." She was gone before they could reply, running toward a swearing mechanic in the next room.
Vader extended a hand to help Luke up. "Thank you, Luke. Your optimism is the best medicine for a troubled soul."
"I dunno," Luke replied teasingly as he got to his feet. "Forenze's cynicism can do its own wonders."
"And just what is that supposed to mean?"
He gave Vader a sly grin. "You tease Han about having a relationship with someone out of his league, but I've heard you and Forenze flirt…"
"She doesn't flirt, she snaps," Vader defended. "We're friends, nothing more or less. Besides, we're not even the same species."
Ar'ya entered the room, a grave look on her face. "Luke, Darth, Riekkan wants all Rogues in the control room now," she reported.
"What's wrong?" asked Luke.
"He isn't saying. But Han and Chewie went out to investigate something strange." Her lekku rippled in a gesture of nervousness. "Whatever it is, I have a bad feeling about it."
Vader gave a theatrical groan of exasperation. "I guess my lung operation gets put off again."
The ranks of Rogue Squadron had grown since the Second Battle of Yavin. Then there had been a paltry dozen pilots. Now nearly forty Rogues, representing over twenty species and various social castes and geographical areas of the galaxy, packed the control room. Luke had to squeeze himself between a grumbling Wedge and a somewhat groggy Quarren to get to General Riekkan.
"What have we got so far?" he asked the General.
"All we know is that whatever's approaching the base is metal," Reikkan replied. "We suspect it's a droid of some kind. And See Threepio tells us it's using a code he's not familiar with."
"Play the recording," advised Leia, appearing next to Luke.
Riekkan touched a button, and a garbled electronic noise buzzed from the computer. It sounded like a nasal, monotone voice endlessly repeating "Man the defender, defender of space" into a badly wired amplifier.
"Weird," muttered Luke.
"Not a code any Alliance droid uses," Vader added gravely.
Han's voice broke over the comm. "Solo here. Found whatever it was."
"Can you identify it?" asked Riekkan.
"Not really. It kind of went all to pieces when it saw us."
"It must have had some sort of self-destruct mechanism," Luke suggested.
"An Imperial probe droid," Leia murmured.
No one argued with her. What droid aside from a spy droid would be programmed to destroy itself upon discovery?
"There's a good chance the Empire knows we're here," Han said balefully.
"We'd better evacuate Echo Base," Riekkan announced. He spun around to face Rogue Squadron. "We need Rogue Squadron's help to see the Alliance to safety. Can we count on you, Rogues?"
"Yes sir!" Luke replied faithfully.
"We're with you, General," Vader added.
The squadron roared assent.
"Then to your ships!"
-------
Vader strapped himself into his snowspeeder. "Set to go, Drache?"
"Ready if you are, Commander," his gunner replied in her oddly inflected Basic. Drache was a Neimodian noblewoman who had renounced her post in the Trade Federation years ago. A throwback to her species warrior past, she had loathed the cowardly, backstabbing ways of her brethren and sought adventure and a loyal cause in the Alliance. Frankly, Vader couldn't have asked for a better comrade.
"Good to hear that," he replied with a smile.
"I feel like I can take on the whole Empire myself today!" one of the younger pilots, Dack, gushed.
"I know the feeling," Luke replied. "But don't get too cocky."
Rogue Squadron had divided itself into two factions – Blue Group, which would fly X-wings to escort transports safely out of the system, and White Group, which would use snowspeeders to hold off any possible ground attack. The base's powerful shields and ion cannon would ensure protection from an airborne attack.
A voice crackled over Vader's comm.
"Rogue Squadron, heads up! Imperial walkers advancing on Echo Base!"
Walkers! Vader swore under his breath. The Empire had certainly acted fast on their information. And by unleashing their heavy artillery this early in the game, they were sending a clear message of doom to the Alliance.
"Attention, Rogues," Luke ordered. "Let's not try anything stupid out there. Our goal is to draw their fire until the base is cleared, not get ourselves killed."
The speeders rocketed out the hangar door and tore across the glistening snowscape. In the distance, the towering behemoths of AT-ATs plodded forward, military machinery of the deadliest ground form. Emerald light streaked from guns that jutted from their cockpits like tusks, causing ice and snow to fountain around the speeders.
Janson was the first to fire, but his garnet blasts glanced off the nearest walker's side.
"That armor's too thick for blasters!" he shouted.
"Go for the legs," advised Luke. "Use your harpoon guns. We'll try tangling them up."
The mechanical "head" of one of the iron monsters filled Vader's viewscreen. The sight of the walker stirred another memory…
…"Target acquired, my lord," the AT-AT pilot informed him.
"Fire at will," he thundered.
The city erupted into flames, immolating thousands of Rebel traitors and, with them, the Jedi Knight Aayla Secura. Months of searching had finally culminated in a strike…
He shook his head. Not now! He didn't need this! But he couldn't help but wonder – just how many Rebels had died at his hand?
An explosion jolted him back to reality. Hobbie's speeder had burst apart in a welter of flame, taking Dekham, his gunner, with him.
"Stang," Vader hissed, and he brought his speeder around to circle the walker that had downed the two Rogues. "Drache, get a lock on that junk pile's leg."
"Got it!"
"Fire harpoon!"
"It's away!"
The harpoon buried itself in the AT-AT's "knee" joint. Vader circled the vehicle closely, carefully counting the passes around those thick steel legs.
"Detach cable!" he barked.
With a loud clang they pulled away, turning just in time to see the gargantuan hulk topple forward and slam into the snow.
"Good shot, Drache," Wedge commended.
"Everyone follow their lead," Luke ordered. "Let's hold them off as long as we can!"
-----
Darth Kain watched the walker to his right collapse. He ground his teeth. Fools! AT-ATs were far superior to these flimsy speeders. How could his men be so clumsy as to fall prey to them?
He sat behind the weaponry controls of one of the war machines, at the head of the attacking Imperial forces. Though he hated Lord Vader with a passion, he had taken a page from the cyborg's book – he actually fought alongside his men. Not only did it ensure victory, it instilled respect in his troops.
The Force pulsed strongly in two of the speeders. He mentally brushed the minds of both pilots. One burned bright and clear; the other was shrouded in darkness, though a barrier kept the blackness from penetrating his core. With a feral smile he locked his sights on the first. Once he shot the Skywalkers down, snowtroopers would be sent to pick them up… then they'd be his.
He had no desire to see the Skywalkers join the Sith cause. He carried out his master's command to capture them out of obedience, but he detested it the whole way. But on the other hand… if one of them happened to meet a mishap before reaching the Emperor, there'd be one less Skywalker to deal with and no one would be the wiser.
He fired, bringing Luke's speeder down. Then he aimed for Vader.
--------
The crash jarred every bone in Luke's body as clumps of rock-hard snow went airborne and clattered over his speeder's canopy. He gritted his teeth as the ship lurched to a halt.
"Luke, you okay?" Wedge shouted over the comm.
"I'm good," he replied. He looked back to check on Dack, then groaned when he saw the young gunner's head slumped over, a trickle of blood striping his jawline. "But Dack's dead."
A sky-rending explosion shook the grounded craft.
"What was that?" he demanded.
"They've destroyed the shield generator!" Mela replied.
Luke popped the canopy and scrambled free of his fallen ship. On the horizon a plume of oily black smoke marked the ruined generator like a tombstone. Two transports shrieked away from the smoke column, making for space – and safety.
Vader's voice echoed over his helmet comm. "Let's concentrate on getting back to our ships in one piece now. The base is a loss, and all transports should be out by now."
"Someone pick up Luke!" Wedge shouted.
"I'm fine," Luke told him. "I can walk. Meet you back at the hangars."
A blast tore through the bitingly-cold air.
"I'm hit!" Vader exclaimed.
Luke watched in terror as Vader's speeder spiraled toward the ground. White sprays of snow marked its path as it skidded to a halt not five meters from him. To Luke's intense relief, the canopy opened almost instantly, and Vader and Drache emerged unscathed.
"I suppose we walk from here," Luke remarked.
"Not likely," Vader replied, drawing his blaster. "Behind you, quick!"
The AT-AT that had shot both Luke and Vader down had come to a dead stop, kneeling like an obedient beast of burden. A door on its back slid open, and snowtroopers poured out, firing.
Luke didn't stop to think. He drew his lightsaber, swinging it in an instinct-driven pattern that he'd never used before. It was as if someone else had grabbed the saber and was directing his movements, with him just hanging on for dear life. But at any rate, it was proving effective – the whirling saber was acting as a shield, much as it had when he'd battled Obi-wan's training remote.
But those had been stun blasts. These bolts would be deadly if they connected.
Vader and Drache exchanged fire with the troopers. Three fell immediately, but for every one they neutralized four more took his place. It was clear they were outnumbered and in deep trouble.
Luke delved deep into his mind, then extended a call across the snowscape. It was a considerable gamble… would they come?
He didn't have long to wonder. Eerie, ululating howls drowned out the sounds of battle, and the snowtroopers stopped firing on the Rebels and redirected their shots toward the towering wampas that came charging through he snow at them. Luke, Vader, and Drache wisely dove for cover inside Vader's wrecked speeder as a new war erupted between Hoth's native beasts and the Imperial intruders.
"I had no idea the wampas were sympathetic to the Rebellion's cause," Vader noted dryly.
"They couldn't care less about us," Luke replied. "Their primary concerns are food, reproduction, and defending their territory. I just let out a call informing them there was an easy source of prey on their turf."
"You used the Force?" Drache asked, impressed.
"Rather ingenious," Vader noted as the one-armed wampa shuffled past their hiding place, a screaming trooper thrown over its shoulder.
"Let's head for the hangars while they're distracted," Luke ordered.
Quietly they left the speeder and ran to the X-wing hangar, set a small distance from the rest of the base for protection. He felt horrible about leaving Dack behind, but their time was limited. At least the blizzards would see to it that he got a burial.
-------
"Imperial troops have entered the base!" a guard barked over the comm. "Imperial troops have entered the…" His message terminated in an ominous burst of static.
Those remaining in Echo Base to supervise the battle and erase the main computers abandoned their posts, making for the last transport. Leia found herself in the rear of the pack, accompanied by an unusually concerned Han and Chewie.
An explosion rocked the tunnel, and Leia threw up her arms in defense as white dust obscured her vision. Han grabbed her and pulled her back, and Chewie wrapped protective arms around her.
When the air cleared, Han swore violently. The tunnel was completely blocked with rubble and machinery.
"Solo here," he barked into his personal comm. "We've run into a problem. I'm taking Her Highness aboard the Falcon."
Before Leia could protest, Han grabbed her hand and ran toward the hangars.
-------
Kain swooped through the halls of the base, his senses heightened to their fullest capacity. Crumbled ice and splintered machinery littered the floors, and every chamber was strewn with guns, clothing, food canisters, and anything else that couldn't be packed in five minutes. They had taken the Rebels by surprise, at least, and even managed to destroy roughly a third of their forces.
But that gave Kain no satisfaction. For the Skywalkers had escaped his grasp again.
Two snowtroopers were bickering in a side passage, each laying claim to some spoil or other gained in the attack. Kain ended the argument and vented some of his frustration by blasting the ceiling over their heads with the dark side, collapsing the tunnel onto their thick skulls. Satisfied that they would irritate him no longer, he moved on.
A welcome whisper in the Force brought him to a halt as an angry voice rang through the corridor.
"Watch the hands, you sick lout! Show some respect to a lady!"
A squadron of troopers hauled a furious Fosh before him. Under a furred parka he caught a glimpse of a white uniform – a medical officer, by the look of it. She glowered at Kain and aimed her heel at the toe of his boot, hissing a foul name at him.
"We found this one behind a blocked passage," General Veers told him, beaming gloatingly.
Kain ignored him. He faced the med officer and plunged into her mind, seeking information.
A hasty barrier surfaced – she had some Force sensitivity, surprisingly, but not enough to harbor any significant power besides an innate empathy. He ripped apart her shields almost effortlessly and delved deeper. Past the surface memories and basic information, he came upon something extremely promising – she was a friend of Vader, and she knew of others who were close to both Skywalkers.
The doctor sagged, the mind probe's shattering pain rendering her unconscious. Kain motioned for the troops to take her away.
"Sir?" asked Veers.
"Doctor Vlask Forenze will be a guest aboard the Executor for the time being," Kain replied.
"What of the Rebels?"
"Chaos take the Rebels," Kain hissed. "The Millennium Falcon. I want that ship!"