Penpals 18: Luke Skywalker
Luke sat in the saddle upon the tauntaun's back and tried not to shiver. Although he was dressed as warmly as could be, the intense cold still cut through all the layers right to his skin. This was, without doubt, the coldest planet in the entire galaxy. If there was a colder place, Luke hoped he would never see it. Yet he had a job to do and he wasn't about to shirk his duties for the relative comfort of the secret Rebel Base. Lives depended on him and his report. After all, he had volunteered to ride across Hoth's frozen tundra in seek of other life forms. But now the young commander was beginning to think it might have been a waste of time: nothing could survive out here.
Yet his Father's words that life would find a way to exist under the most extreme conditions flickered through his mind.
/But if there's life here, it's certainly not near this particular place./
And what a place it was. As far as the eye could see was white, white and yet more white. In all his years he had never imagined anything like it and now he was beginning to understand what Anakin had meant about snow blindness. Not only was the ground white with fresh snow from last night's storm but all the surrounding peaks and valleys were white as well. To top it off was the white sky that seemed to hang low overhead, threatening to dump more snow. It was as different from Tatooine as you could get.
It was also extremely lonely.
For mile upon mile the vast empty tundra stretched around him in all directions. If it weren't for the tauntaun and his hand-held computer with its map of Hoth's surface, one could get hopelessly lost and die out here. It would be a miserable place to die. He lifted the goggles to his eyes and peered through the lenses, slowly scanning all around him. Nothing, nothing at all except the cold and ice. If anything were alive out there they would have seen it by now. His fingers were pinching and although it was a bit early, he decided to head back towards base. The wind was beginning to pick up and it might start snowing soon. Like Tatooine's sandstorms, Hoth's snowstorms were just as deadly. Being caught out in one was almost instant death. Besides, the desire to go aboard the Falcon and check his email account for another letter was driving him mad. Every couple of minutes he found himself checking his chronometer to see how much time had elapsed since he had looked last. But instead of whizzing by, the time seemed to have halted almost completely. Perhaps it was the boring search with nothing to occupy his mind except thoughts of his father.
/I wonder if Father will send another photo…/
Luke very much wanted to see his father's photo, not only to see what the man looked like but also to prove to Han that Anakin Skywalker was not Darth Vader.
Vader. The very name sent a chill down his spine.
Just then a bright light trail lit up the sky overhead. The meteorite was the first interesting thing he had seen all day and Luke watched it until it crashed to the ground nearby. On impact there was a burst of fire, the only color in a colorless world. A few seconds later a tall column of dark smoke began to rise into the freezing air and right below it was the dark spot of the meteorite itself. The young man smiled as he imagined telling his father about the meteorite he had seen. Perhaps to more worldly travelers a meteorite was a pretty dull thing, but Hoth was only Luke's second planet to visit. Besides, he had never seen a meteorite before. Pulling his comlink off his belt, he pressed a switch and held it close to his mouth. "Echo Three to Echo Seven. Han ol' buddy, do you read me?"
Static crackled, then Han's voice could be heard. "Is that you, kid? What's up?"
"I've finished my circle and I haven't picked up any life readings." Luke informed him.
"There isn't enough life on this ice cube to fill a space cruiser. My sentry markers are placed. I'm heading back to base."
"See you shortly." Luke replied, his blue eyes on the dark column of smoke. "A meteorite just hit the ground near here and I want to check it out. I won't be long."
Shutting the comlink off and reattaching it to his belt, Luke tightened his legs around his tauntaun and leaned forward slightly in the saddle to urge the beast forward. But instead of obeying the command, it roared in fright and became skittish. Surprised, Luke hung on to the saddle horn with one hand and patted the animal with the other. "Whoa, girl! What's wrong, huh? Is there something out there?"
Luke squinted into the blowing snow caused by a sudden strong gust of wind but saw nothing. Deciding to trust the tauntaun's instincts, he detached the life form detector from his utility belt. He was just about to turn it on when a dark shadow fell across him. Startled, Luke looked up just in time to see an immense white, fur-covered hand with black curved claws coming at him. The creature struck him aside the head and then there was darkness.
Cold.
He had thought he had been cold before, but this new cold was so much worst than anything Luke had experienced before. Slowly he opened his eyes and glanced around.
/Where am I?/
He appeared to be in a cave and hanging upside-down from the ceiling, his feet strongly secured in solid ice. Nearby the horrible fur-covered monster ate what was left of his tauntaun. The alien creature was white, its fur both protection from the cold and the perfect camouflage to sneak up on its unwary prey. For some unknown reason, spiral horns grew from its head. Most of the tauntaun was already consumed, its skeleton resting upon the snowy floor of the cave picked clean.
/Great! I'm in his cave and apparently next on the menu!/
Luke thought of how close he had come to finally seeing his father and now for it to end like this…
/It's not fair!/
His last letter to Anakin popped into his mind. He had asked his father for a current photo, promising him that how he looked wasn't all that important. By now the letter with the attached photo was probably sitting in his email box waiting to be read. What will happen when days pass and he receives no reply?
/He'll think I hate him because of his appearance!/
His father would have no way of knowing that some unknown snow beast had eaten his only son. He doubted if Han would actually write to Anakin. His buddy was a good friend and all, but he was still convinced that it was Darth Vader on the other end of the emails.
/I can't let it end like this! I need to show Han that photograph!/
Twisting around, Luke tried to reach upward towards his feet. It was excruciating hard. His body was almost completely frozen and his legs felt numb. And hanging upside-down for who knew how long wasn't exactly helpful, either.
/My lightsaber! Where's my lightsaber?/
If he had that, then he could cut himself free.
/If I don't cut my feet off in the process…/
But it would be a chance he would have to take. Turning his head, he spotted the metal handle of his Jedi weapon sticking out of a nearby pile of snow. He stretched his hand out towards it, but his arm was too short.
The Force…use the Force.
A voice seemed to whisper in his mind and Luke did as it said. He held out his hand towards the lightsaber and concentrated. He had never done anything like this before and a part of him doubted he could succeed.
/I can't mentally move an object right into my hand, can I? I mean, that's impossible!/
Luke allowed his hand to drop.
The Force…use the Force.
The voice was unusually persistent. Luke lifted his hand towards his lightsaber again and concentrated. He tried to remember what Ben had taught him, how to let the Force flow through him. He imagined the weapon in his hand, its cold metal against the flesh of his palm. The weapon moved and renewed hope flowed through his veins.
/I can do this! I know I can!/
The weapon leaped into his waiting hand and Luke instantly flicked it on, cutting himself free. He fell to the cave floor and saw the creature coming at him. It was sheer instinct and luck that allowed him to chop its arm off. Without another glance, Luke flew from the cave and out into the deadly cold of Hoth. The sky was notably darker and night was coming swiftly. Worse, the wind had picked up and was blowing steadily now. Within seconds it stole any warmth that his body had gathered from being in the cave.
Stumbling in the snow on numb feet, Luke frantically looked around. He had no idea where he was or in which direction the Rebel Base was. His fingers and face was pinching, sure signs of frostbite. The snow blew into his eyes making it difficult to see anything.
/I'm going to die out here…/
Blindly walking forward in the deep snow, Luke staggered off the edge of a cliff he hadn't even known was there. Tumbling down the snow-covered slope, he came to a stop at the bottom and then passed out
A gust of wind woke him and Luke shivered. It was fully dark now and a storm was raging around him. The young Jedi shivered uncontrollably on the flat strip of snow that was his bed. The wind howled like a demented beast and ice pellets the size of peas stung his frozen face. His foggy breath, now coming in ragged coughs, froze on his eyelashes like glass beads. His lungs burned with every breath and his throat felt raw. Even the simple act of swallowing was sheer agony.
/Father…/
He'll never meet his father now. He knew that and the thought tormented his soul. Not even the death of his Aunt and Uncle had hurt so much. It wasn't so much what he'd miss out on, but what Anakin would miss out on. His father had already been through so much pain and suffering, far more than any one person deserved and then for him to loose his son…
/I'm sorry I failed you…/
Guilt ate at him next, its ragged teeth the sharp bits of ice propelled by the wind. He should have headed in earlier, he should have paid more attention to the tauntaun's warning, he should have listened more closely to his Father's warnings, and he should have stayed in the Base…
/I had no business being out here./
What did a desert boy know about a frozen world like Hoth, anyway? Heck, he didn't even really know how to ride a tauntaun properly. A brief lesson and a few laps around the paddock didn't mean he was qualified to ride one of the beasts no matter what the Rebellion leaders said. Riding was a skill and it took time to learn, just like flying.
/I should have stuck with ships…/
Where was Anakin now? Did his father have any idea he was here lying in the snow and slowly freezing to death? His death would hurt the Rebels, yes. Han and Leia would surely miss him, as would the droids. And the others would regret the loss of his unusual powers and his ability to fly an X-wing. But Anakin would miss him the most. He could almost see his faceless father checking his email everyday, perhaps twice a day, for the letter that would never come. Amid the brewing blizzard and snow that gusted sideways, Luke cried. The tears froze on his cheeks and the mucus from his nose formed long, thin icicles that snapped off his face to disappear into the storm. The bitter air flew down his open mouth and into his lungs, a sure way to get pneumonia. But Luke didn't care; he was going to die out here anyway.
Would anyone ever find his body? Would his death always remain a mystery? Or did more creatures live on Hoth, perhaps some hungry scavenger would come upon him while he was still alive and start eating…
/He'll think I hated him, that I betrayed him like all the rest!/
The snow gathered on top of Luke like a thick blanket and sometimes he thought he felt a bit of warmth, but it never lasted long. The wind would gust and what little shelter the pile of snow had given him was blown away. As the long hours of the night slowly passed one by one, thoughts and past conversations rolled around in his head until he was delirious. The snow seemed to form figures and the wind was the howls of a starving beast-pack.
Then Han's voice came out of the wind, speaking in an odd sort of singsong. "You're writing to Darth Vader, you're writing to Darth Vader!"
/No! No, it's not true!/
Then Vader himself materialized out of the blowing snow, his long black cape flapping in the wind like a giant hideous wing. The Sith Lord approached him and pulled out his lightsaber, the very same lightsaber that had killed Ben. With a snap-hiss the long red glowing blade appeared.
"Go away!" Luke moaned, his voice hoarse. Although his body shivered from cold, sweat beaded on his forehead. "You're not my penpal, you're not! I could never write to you!"
Weak, Luke dropped his face into a pillow of snow and let it cool the burning in his head. Next when he lifted his head the ghostly figure in black was gone. The young Jedi rolled over onto his back, laughing.
/The wind blew him away! Hahahahahahahaha!/
Other deliriums came, visited and then vanished during the long hours of early morning. Finally a weak sun peeked over the horizon and the wind died down. The snow settled around him and in some spots formed huge drifts. The young man from Tatooine had beat all odds and was still alive to see the sunrise, weak that it was. Moving his frozen arms inch by inch, he forced himself by sheer willpower up onto his feet. He swayed crazily for a moment, and then the gusting wind returned and knocked him down into the snow. He was still alive and that counted for something, but unless he got moving he would die out here.
/I have to move, can't just lay here…/
Digging his fingers into the deep snow, he crawled forward bit by bit. Luke knew he was in bad shape. He was weak, trembling, had numb limbs and not only was some of his skin bright red but black as well. Leaving deep drag marks in the snow, he agonizingly crawled through deep drifts of snow, some of the snow getting down the front of his clothing to make him even colder. Exhausted, he collapsed into the snow.
/I can't…/
You must. Luke, look at me.
Luke's head felt that it weighed more than the first Death Star, yet he lifted it to look. Standing before him and apparently unaffected by the cold was Ben Kenobi. The Jedi wore the same travel-worn robes he had on Tatooine. He wanted to say something to this apparition, but he couldn't speak.
You must survive, Luke.
Luke's lips trembled. "Cold…so cold."
"You must go to the Dagobah system. There you will learn from Yoda, the Jedi Master, the one that taught me."
Luke stretched out his arm towards the ghostly figure. "Ben…Ben…"
"Luke, you're our only hope." Then Ben started to fade and another figure appeared, a human riding a tauntaun.
"Ben!" Luke shouted, and then passed out in the snow.
To be continued…