A/N: Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed my story…I really appreciate it. Arien, dialogue is one of my weak points…don't know that it's going to get any better in this chapter! When your source material is an already published work, sometimes it's easier to use established dialogue to get your point across. Is that too lazy for words? I'll work on it! Thanks for reading.
Bluish-colored sparks arced across the instrument panel of the battered fighter as the pilot tried desperately to control the rate of the ship's descent. The bird was definitely going down, but maybe there was a chance of living through this.
Mara cursed again as the stick of the Y-wing jerked under her hands. How did I get myself into this mess? Oh, yeah, it was all Luke's fault, dammit! To be fair, she hadn't even spoken to Luke since that astonishing kiss, but this was still all his fault. It was his fault for making her worry about him and this mission that he felt he needed to fulfill. His fault, for making her feel things that she did not want to feel, not right now. His fault that her concentration had been shot and those TIE fighters had caught her completely off guard.
She had waited to leave until she was sure that all of Ghost Squadron had made the jump to hyperspace. They affectionately called her 'mother' because she tended to be a little overprotective of the boys under her command. They knew better than to let anyone else on to that nickname, though. She was certain, now, that all her 'boys' had made it to hyperspace safely, so she was the only one who had been caught unawares.
The final transport was away and the pilots who had been in the snowspeeders were on their way back to Echo Base to board their X-wings and take up the rear of the procession. She wondered if Luke was going to see her die. No! I can't think like that! There's got to be something--
Her attention was caught by a beeping noise from the console letting her know that she had just broken back into Hoth's atmosphere. Finally, some good news! If she could make it a little further, she would be able to eject. Of course, Force only knew what she would do then, as she was heading away from the base towards the North Ridge, but at least she would be alive.
She struggled with the ship for what seemed like an eternity, while keeping one eye on the altitude indicator. Finally, she felt as though she was low enough and she didn't have much longer to think about it anyway. Quickly, she tightened the straps on the seat. Then, taking and holding a deep breath, she pushed the eject button.
The force of the expulsion was near deafening and her whole body was going to be sore from the jolt that it received. If she lived, that was. Positive thoughts, Mara! She must have blacked out for a moment because when she opened her eyes, all she could see was white and it was coming up to meet her too fast.
Fumbling, her gloved hands found the release for the seat and it fell away from her with a dull pop. She yanked on the cord for her chute as hard as she could. Once again, the sudden jerk of resistance caused her teeth to clench against the ache it caused her already undoubtedly bruised body.
But she breathed a sigh of relief as she gently floated to the ground, the snow softening her landing somewhat. Thank the Force for small favors. Her relief quickly vanished as she heard the familiar whine of TIE fighters.
She cursed as she tore out of the chute and realized in dismay that she was a perfect target with her bright orange flight suit against the pristine white snow. This is NOT fair! She searched the surrounding area with her eyes swiftly and noticed an overhang that she could hopefully conceal herself in. She still had no clue what she would do then. She was probably miles from the base. She had no way of getting there except on foot and the Alliance would be long gone by the time she made it.
She gasped in shock when a huge circular shadow crossed over her. She knew that shape! She looked up in amazement as the Millennium Falcon flew right over her.
The commlink in her helmet crackled and buzzed before a very familiar voice taunted her playfully.
"Hey, Jade! Do you need a ride or were you planning to walk to the rendezvous?"
"Han Solo! Why are you still here? You should have been long gone!"
"Now there's some gratitude for you. You're lucky Chewie had the wiring for the anuvial dampeners crisscrossed--" Han ignored the affronted howl that met these words "--or we would have been."
"You need to get out of here, Solo. You don't have time to land and get me or didn't you see those TIEs?"
"Well, Jade, if you're up to it, I wasn't planning on landing exactly," Han drawled. "Think you can make a running jump?"
"Are you insane?!"
"Hey, I just know what Luke would do to me if I left you here to die! I really don't think I could stand those accusing puppy-dog looks he gives so well."
At the mention of Luke, Mara's heart fluttered a bit. Han was right. There was no way she could leave Luke, not like this. He had promised they would see one another again and she didn't want to be the one responsible for breaking that promise. She gritted her teeth in determination.
"What do you need me to do?"
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Han and Chewbacca were still arguing over whose fault the crossed wires were even as they scrambled to get the Falcon into the air. Han caught a glimpse of stormtroopers running into the hangar just as they finally got the ship going. He also saw a flash of black and he didn't even want to think about who that was.
The argument continued as they flew out of the hangar opening as laser fire started flaring around them. Chewie had just said something along the lines of 'Life debt! What life debt?!' when a trail of black smoke across the blue sky grabbed Han's attention.
He narrowed his eyes as he tried to identify the ship. He could tell immediately that it was one of theirs--a Y-wing if he was not mistaken, and he never was.
"Chewie, quit whining and hand me the macrobinocs!"
It was a measure of the Wookiee's respect for Han that he did so without question even though Chewbacca was seriously peeved with his partner at the moment. Han put the binocs up to his eyes and again tried to ID the ship that was in trouble.
"Sithspawn! That's Mara!"
Their disagreement was quickly forgotten and they immediately angled the ship towards the area where she was going down. Han was not necessarily a religious man, but he found himself uttering a prayer to long-forgotten deities that she would be able to land safely.
He saw the pilot's seat suddenly explode out of the cockpit and breathed a sigh of relief. Now he could just drop down and pick her up. Or at least that was what he thought until the TIE fighters showed up. He moved to intercept them and try to hold them off as Mara's chute gently floated to the ground.
The TIEs had been momentarily chased away by the Falcon's laser fire, but Han knew that wouldn't last long. He commed Mara to let her know he was there to rescue her. He grinned as that thought ran through his head. Seemed he was always having to save these youngsters. What would they do without him?
Mara, of course, ruined his little 'knight in shining armor to the rescue' routine by arguing with him. Really, what was with kids these days? She gave in a lot quicker than he thought she would though, especially after he mentioned Luke's name. Hmmm, interesting.
He let her know what he wanted her to do and ignored her muttered comment that he really was insane. True genius is never appreciated in its own lifetime, he thought smugly.
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Mara could not believe that she was actually going to attempt this crazy maneuver, but there truly wasn't any other option. The snow drifts here were not as deep as in other places on Hoth, but they still slowed her down considerably as she ran to the spot Han wanted her.
She could hear the distant whine of the TIEs growing louder as they returned to try and eliminate the enemies of the Empire. She could see the Falcon drop low to the ground ahead of her. Her breathing was becoming ragged and difficult as she struggled through the snow.
She was not going to make it. She couldn't…it was just too far and the TIEs were coming too fast. She watched as the Falcon's hatch opened and she could see Chewbacca hanging onto one of the pistons that lowered the ramp. He howled at her, the wind from the ship's movement, albeit slight, blowing his fur wildly.
She again thought of Luke and reached deep down inside for reserves of energy that she had not even known she had. She was closer now, only a few meters away…she could even see the fear and encouragement in the Wookiee's eyes as he continued to roar at her.
A few sporadic bursts of laser fire hit the ground around her and she screamed, partly out of fear and partly out of anger. They could not stop her, not when she was this close! She reached even further into herself, delving to depths that she could never have imagined, as she gathered every last bit of strength and courage that she possessed. She leaped, stretching her arm desperately towards Chewbacca and…
…gasped in amazement as her hand latched onto his forearm and he grabbed securely to her elbow. She swiftly brought her other hand around to tighten her hold and tangled her fist into his fur. Chewbacca threw himself backwards, yanking her through the air and into the hold of the ship, slamming his fist down on the button to close the hatch as he did so.
[I have her! Go, Han! GO!!]
"Get strapped in the best you can, 'cos we don't have time to stop!" Han shouted at them.
Chewie tucked a still-shaken Mara under his arm and ran to the cockpit. He tossed her unceremoniously into the seat behind Han and strapped her in before sliding into the co-pilot's seat.
Han turned around briefly to smirk at Mara's pale face. "Didn't know you had it in you, Red. That was almost as amazing as my flying."
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Darth Vader swept furiously into the hangar of the rebel's pathetic base just in time to see a ship hurtling towards the sky. His eyes narrowed as he realized what ship it was. The Millennium Falcon. That continuing thorn in his side. A low growl of frustration came from deep in his throat as he watched them escape him yet again.
He frowned as the Falcon suddenly took a sharp turn and then inexplicably shot nearly straight down towards Hoth's surface. Perhaps they were having mechanical problems. That could only work in the Dark Lord's favor. Yet even as he watched, the Falcon came shooting back up, heading for open space and escape.
He gestured to the stormtrooper that carried the communications equipment. The trooper hurried over to him and Vader said, "Open a line to the Executor."
Once this was done, he spoke with his new admiral. "Admiral Piett. There is a freighter coming your way. I want the ship intact and the passengers alive."
After he received Piett's acknowledgement, Vader turned to stride back to his shuttle. There was nothing of interest to him on this planet's surface now. His son had managed to escape him momentarily. He had sensed his presence for a brief moment and then it had winked out as Luke obviously went to lightspeed.
The late Admiral Ozzel had dashed Vader's chance to catch his son quickly and easily by coming out of hyperspace too close to the Hoth system and alerting the rebels to their presence. Now, though it could still be done--must be done--it would be more difficult. The smuggler should be the perfect bait to draw the boy to him.
For some reason completely beyond his father's comprehension, Luke seemed to idolize that worthless cretin. Although, Vader reluctantly admitted to himself, he actually owed Solo a debt of gratitude. If not for the Corellian's last-minute 'heroics' over the Death Star, Vader would have unknowingly blown his child to atoms. He'd had a target-lock on the boy and was within a whisper of firing when the Falcon had come out of nowhere and sent Vader spinning helplessly into space.
And though he was pleased that Luke was still alive, the humiliation as a pilot was very nearly more than he could bear. Of course, that little brat, the Emperor's Hand--Vader sneered at the nickname; he was his Master's right arm--had rubbed his nose in it. Subtly, for she wasn't stupid, but she had let him know that she knew about it and found it amusing. Insufferable chit.
Yes, this was just a delay. An extremely aggravating and infuriating delay, but still just a minor setback, really. He would have his son by his side and it would be soon!
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Alarms were sounding furiously throughout the Falcon's cockpit as Mara came out of her stupor to Han's cursing and Chewbacca's bellowing. She blinked, coming to her senses and realizing that she was safe on board the ship. She frowned, wondering if she had thought that too soon, as she noted the level of Han's agitation.
"Han."
"I see 'em, Chewie! There's just nothin' I can do about it right now!" Han yelled, ignoring Mara.
"Han!" Mara said, a little louder.
"Try heading number…" he turned and made some calculations on the navacomputer. "…8-3-0 bearing 15 degrees!"
"Han!" Mara finally shouted.
Han glanced back at her with an aggravated look on his face. "Not now, Mara."
"What is going on?" she asked insistently.
"What do you mean, 'what's going on'! We came out of Hoth to find no less than three Star Destroyers trying to eat us alive! And then there's that thing!" he said, pointing towards space.
Mara followed his finger with her eyes and couldn't hold back a gasp. It was the most massive ship she had ever seen, short of the Death Star. It was shaped roughly like the head of an arrow and dwarfed all the other ships around it.
"A Super Star Destroyer," she breathed in disbelief. The Alliance had some intel on these ships, but this was the first time she'd ever actually seen one.
"Yeah, Darth Vader's SSD, no less!"
"How do you know?" She couldn't help the shiver that ran down her spine. She would never forget the 'interrogation' on board the Death Star as long as she lived.
"His boys have already hailed us several times, demanding that we surrender to him."
"And what was your answer to that?" she asked with a little smirk.
Han gave her a nasty smile and said, "What do you think?"
Mara chuckled and then her expression sobered. "What are we going to do?"
"Don't worry, me an' Chewie got a plan."
"Now that makes me worried."
"Sit back, shut up, and prepare to shower me with gratitude," Han growled. "Almost there, Chewie. On my mark, take us to lightspeed."
The Wookiee whuffed a reply, his furry paws flying over the console. Mara sat stiffly behind them, her eyes glued to the SSD that seemed to be hanging over them like a sword of doom.
"Now! Punch it!" Han shouted.
Chewbacca reached and pulled on a lever in the middle of the control panel. They expected to see the stars begin to stretch and expand as the ship sailed into hyperspace.
Instead, they heard a groaning noise, then a whining as if something was straining. There was a loud pop and suddenly the acrid smell of smoke drifted into the cockpit.
"Uh-oh," was all Han said.
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"Apology accepted, Captain Needa." Vader spoke the words in a deceptively calm tone as two stormtroopers carried the lifeless body from his chambers.
He had returned to the Executor to both good news and bad. The bad news was that his men had lost track of the Millennium Falcon. According to Needa's stammering explanation, before he had suddenly lost the ability to breathe, the freighter had eluded the TIE fighters chasing it. It had then abruptly turned and charged full speed, with full frontal shields, at the command deck of the SSD.
There had been momentary panic as the Imperials had prepared for the ship to collide with them when the Falcon had pulled up a bit at the last minute and simply…vanished. They could find no trace of it on any of their scopes.
Vader cursed silently at the obvious resourcefulness of the slick smuggler. Perhaps he had underestimated the man somewhat. Still, it did not matter because the other news awaiting him was most definitely welcome. An old 'friend' had finally answered his summons and was waiting for him in a nearby briefing room.
When the door slid open, Vader walked in to greet the man who lounged, seemingly unconcerned, in one of the chairs at the table. He had his feet propped up on the table and didn't remove them or stand when the Dark Lord entered.
"Fett. It's about time. I sent for you two weeks ago." Boba Fett was something of a soft spot for Vader, if a Sith Lord could have a soft spot. He had kept watch over the younger man's career ever since the boy had taken up Jango's armor and followed in his father's footsteps. Fett didn't know why Vader took such an interest in him--indeed, Vader himself wondered that sometimes--but he knew Fett appreciated the fact that it never hurt to have a high-ranking Imperial officer on your side.
Vader had sent Fett various assignments through the years until many beings thought that the bounty hunter was actually employed by the Sith, although that wasn't strictly the truth.
"Had other business to take care of first. I'm here now, aren't I?"
Lately, Fett was beginning to get a little too arrogant about the 'relationship' between himself and Vader. Perhaps he needed a little reminder of just what his sometime employer was capable of. He raised his hand and gestured.
Boba Fett's feet suddenly flew straight up in the air and he somersaulted backwards over and out of the chair. The bounty hunter scrambled to his feet and Vader could feel the anger that emanated from him. Fett's hand clenched and drifted towards his blaster.
Vader gestured again and the blaster flew from its holster and clattered against the wall before landing on the floor.
"What did--" Fett began, angrily.
"Remember, respect always, bounty hunter," Vader warned, his tone menacing.
Fett visibly calmed himself, before asking, in a slightly sullen voice, "What's the assignment?"
Vader explained the incident with the Millennium Falcon and Fett listened intently, already falling into 'hunt mode' as he considered the possibilities of where the Falcon might have disappeared to.
"I want all passengers on the ship alive and in relatively good condition," Vader concluded.
"Relatively? Is that open to my interpretation?" Fett said with a smirk in his voice.
"Just no permanent damage. We will be going to light speed soon. I would expect you will want to get to your ship and be on your way before that happens."
He didn't give the bounty hunter a chance to reply as he turned and left the room, his thoughts already leaping ahead to what he would do once he had Luke in his grasp.
*********************************
Boba Fett fumed silently as Darth Vader left him alone in the briefing room. As much as he wanted to fling an insult--or preferably a blaster bolt--at the Dark Lord's back, he knew better.
He walked over and picked up the blaster that Vader had pulled from him and put it back where it belonged. He made his way to the hangar where the Slave I was docked, ignoring the sneering looks from the Imperials that he passed. He knew how they felt about bounty hunters, but they weren't the ones paying him.
Han Solo. Fett knew the name, although he had never met the man personally. They had both worked for Jabba the Hutt on occasion, but never at the same time, so their paths had never crossed. He'd had a grudging respect for the Corellian--the man was a hell of a pilot--but that had vanished when Solo had begun working with the rebels.
Fett could not make sense of that, no matter how he tried. The Solo that he had heard numerous outlandish tales of was far too concerned with his own hide--as any level-headed smuggler should be--to fall in with a bunch of idealists like this rebel alliance.
But, that was not his concern. Vader had given him a job and he would complete that job by delivering Solo and his companions to the Dark Lord. Listening to Vader's explanation of the last few minutes the SSD's crew had been able to track the Falcon, Fett already had a clue where the elusive ship might be.
Solo had pulled this insane stunt once before, if he recalled correctly. He smiled to himself as he thought that he could have just informed Vader immediately of his suspicions concerning the whereabouts of the freighter. Well, I owe him one for that little tumble earlier, don't I? Fett thought smugly to himself. Now, Vader could just wait. Besides, he wanted to ensure that he would get paid. That might not happen if Fett made it too easy for him.
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"This is never going to work. You are definitely insane," Mara whispered the words fiercely to the man sitting in front of her.
"They can't hear you, Jade. I don't think you need to whisper," Han mockingly copied the tone of her voice. He spoke normally as he continued, "Don't worry, me an' Chewie have done this dozens of times--"
Chewbacca interrupted him with a sarcastic growl. Han glared at the big Wookiee. Honestly, couldn't he let Han boost his ego at all?
"Okay, once before, but it worked beautifully, didn't it?"
Han was actually quite proud of himself really. At the last minute, he had remembered the last time they'd pulled this maneuver and had decided to go for it. He felt the tiniest twinge of guilt at the panicked scream that had come from Mara.
Chewie had obviously realized what he was about to do and, though he'd grumbled in protest, he hadn't been terrified the way Mara had been. Han thought that was the biggest reason behind Mara's pique right now--she didn't like to be caught being vulnerable.
The Millennium Falcon was clinging to the side of the bridge tower of the Executor; Han's seemingly suicidal plunge had been a daring bluff. He turned to Mara with a smug grin on his face.
"Go ahead. Thank me. I'll accept all your undying devotion now."
Mara gave him an exasperated frown. "How are we going to get out of this position, oh great one?" she said sarcastically.
"That's the wonderful thing about the Imps, they're predictable. They always dump their garbage before they go to lightspeed. When that happens, we just--"
"Float away with the rest of the garbage?" Mara interrupted him pertly.
"Smart-ass," Han grumbled. "But, yeah, that's basically the plan."
"I have to admit, that's not bad, Solo. Not bad at all. Where do we go then?"
"Well, let me figure out where we are," Han answered as he turned again in his seat to consult the star charts. "Ah, Lando!" he said triumphantly.
"The Lando system?" Mara frowned.
"Lando's not a system, he's a man. He and I go way back. He's running a mining colony in the Bespin system."
"Can you trust him?"
"Not really, but he's got no love for the Empire, I'm sure of that much. With no hyperdrive, it's gonna take us about six weeks to get there, though."
[Han, the fleet is getting ready to break up.]
Han quickly turned back around to face the viewscreen. "Get ready to hit the manual release on the landing claws, Chewie."
They all held their breath as the debris from the Imperial ships began to float around them. For some reason, none of them wanted to speak as they waited for just the right moment. Han nodded and pointed to Chewie when the moment came. With a muffled thunk, the Falcon let go of the tower and drifted along with the garbage.
They watched as the Star Destroyers and the SSD, along with all the smaller ships, leapt into hyperspace, winking out of sight one by one. When the last one had vanished, Han shot Mara and Chewie another cocky grin, pointedly ignoring the rolled eyes he received in return, and fired up the Falcon's engines.
As they blasted off towards Bespin and, hopefully, assistance for the damaged ship, they didn't notice the ship that swiftly followed them. The Slave I and her owner did not intend to let his prey get away.
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Luke Skywalker felt terribly small as his lone X-wing streaked through the vastness of space towards an uncertain destination. Oh, sure, he knew the name of the planet he was looking for--even if he'd never heard of it before--but he truly had no idea what awaited him there and that prospect was more than a little frightening.
He didn't even have a definite route for getting to Dagobah--he was relying solely on the Force to guide him. He glanced down at the translator screen when R2 beeped at him.
"I know we're off-course, R2. We're not meeting up with the Alliance just yet."
Another querulous beep. "We're going to Dagobah. I'm going to find a Jedi Master named Yoda."
Luke had to smile at what R2 said to him next. "No, I'm fine, R2. I'd like to leave it on manual for a while."
His smile faded a bit as he realized that even his droid thought he was crazy for doing this. He remembered how Mara had reacted. Of course, just thinking of the beautiful redhead sent Luke's thoughts on an entirely different tangent.
He had kissed her! A part of him still couldn't believe he had found the nerve. And she had responded, he recalled with a sense of disbelief. Well, maybe not responded in the way he would have hoped for, but she hadn't slapped him, at least.
He wondered what Han would say when he found out. He knew that Han was aware of the feelings that Luke had for Mara and that the smuggler thought Luke was being far too reticent in letting Jade know about those feelings. He laughed aloud as he wondered what this would do to the bet that Han had with Wedge which Luke wasn't supposed to be aware of.
He gave a sigh as his thoughts turned back to the giant unknown that lay ahead of him. Could he really do this? Did he have it in him to be a Jedi? He so wanted to live up to the ideal that Ben had set in front of him. He very much wanted to know that his father would have been proud of his son.
He remembered the feelings that had rushed through him as the Millennium Falcon had blasted out of that spaceport in Mos Eisley. Stars, that seems a lifetime ago. He had been excited, anxious, scared…all these emotions whirling through him at the same time. The unknown. At the time, it had seemed like such a frightening thing. Now…he wasn't certain what he felt now. But he knew this was something that he must do.
The words slipped from his lips, barely above a whisper, but he felt their truth all the way to the center of his being. It wasn't completely unknown…he did know what was facing him.
"My destiny…"
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