Chapter 5 Rocky Rescue

Lark watched Leia sleep, unable to do so herself. She was swamped with thoughts of home. She still wasn't able to cry about her parents; she didn't know why. Maybe it was because she was having a hard time thinking of them as dead. Always before she had been able to sense them, even when they were in a different room. It was funny, but she was stillable to feel them. Granted, thedistance was making things a little hard, but still...

Suddenly the door was blasted open, and a lone storm trooper stood staring at them, particularly Leia. Leia jerked awake.

"Aren't you a little short to be a storm trooper?" Lark said.

"What? Oh...the uniform." The trooper shook himself and pulled off his helmet, revealing a teenage young man with bleached hair and tanned skin. "I'm Luke Skywalker. I'm here to rescue you."

"You're who?" Leia asked.

"I'm here to rescue you. I've got your R2 unit. I'm here with Ben Kenobi."

"Ben Kenobi is here!" Leia and Lark said at the same time. "Where is he?" Leia asked.

"Come on!" Luke said, pulling Leia out the door.

Lark followed. It was hardly the first time she'd been overlooked next to Leia, and she couldn't even say she minded most of the time. Actually, usually she liked being unnoticed. But he could have at least looked at her instead of having eyes only for Leia.

> > > >

An ominous buzzing sound could be heard on the other side of the elevator door as they waited for Luke to get back.

"Chewie!" Han said impatiently.

Chewie responded with a growling noise.

"Get behind me! Get behind me!"

A series of explosions knocked a hole in the elevator door through which several Imperial troops began to emerge. They quickly began to fire laser pistols at them through the smoke and flame.

"Come on!" Bob yelled.

They turned and ran down the cell hallway, meeting up with Luke and two girls rushing toward them.

"Can't get out that way." Han said.

"Looks like you managed to cut off our only escape route." The dark haired girl muttered.

"Maybe you'd like it back in your cell, Your Highness." Han said sarcastically.

Luke took a small comlink transmitter from his belt as they continued to exchange fire with stormtroopers while trying to make their way down the corridor.

"See-Threepio! See-Threepio!" he called.

"Yes sir?" Threepio's voice crackled over the comlink.

"We've been cut off! Are there any other ways out of the cell bay?...What was that? I didn't copy."

"I said, all systems have been alerted to your presence, sir. The main entrance seems to be the only way in or out; all other information on your level is restricted."

Luke, Leia, and Lark crouched together in an alcove for protection as they continued to exchange fire with troops. Han and Chewie were barely able to keep the stormtroopers at bay at the far and of the hallway. Smoke from the intense laser fire began to flood the hallway.

"There isn't any other way out." Luke reported.

"I can't hold them off forever! Now what?" Han yelled.

"This is some rescue." Leia remarked. "When you came in here, didn't you have a plan for getting out?"

"He's the brains, sweetheart." Han pointed to Luke.

"Well, I didn't..." Luke began, but Leia grabbed Luke's gun and fired at a small grate in the wall next to Han, almost frying him.

"What the hell are you doing?" Han demanded.

"Somebody has to save our skins. Into the garbage chute, wise guy." Leia said, jumping through the narrow opening as Han and Chewie looked on in amazement. Bob shrugged and followed Lark.

In a minute Chewie, Luke and Han tumbled into the large room filled with garbage and muck. Lark was already stumbling around looking for an exit and trying not to breathe through her nose. Finally she found a small hatchway and struggled to get it open.

"It won't budge." She muttered, obviously still invisible.

"Oh! The garbage chute was a really wonderful idea. What an incredible smell you've discovered! Let's get out of here! Get away from there..." he pushed toward the door.

"No! Wait!" Luke tried to stop him, but Han had already drawn his laser pistol and fired at the hatch. The laserbolt ricocheted wildly around the small metal room, making everyone dive for cover in the garbage as the bolt explodes almost on top of them.

Leia climbed out of the garbage with a rather grim look on her face that Lark recognized as her 'don't mess with me' combined with her 'you're such an idiot' look.

"Will you forget it? I already tried it. It's magnetically sealed!" Luke said.

"Put that thing away! You're going to get us all killed." Leia added.

Bob felt something move by his leg. "Uh, guys…"

"Absolutely, Your Worship. Look, I had everything under control until you led us down here. You know, it's not going to take them long to figure out what happened to us."

"Guys…"

"It could be worse..."

A loud, inhuman moan worked its way up from the murky depths. Chewie let out a terrified howl and begins to back away. Luke and Bob drew their blasters, and they all shrank against the walls.

"It's worse." Han said.

"There's something alive in here!" Luke suddenly said.

"That's your imagination." Han told him.

"No, I felt it too." Bob said.

Everyone shrank back more and stared at dark water.

"Something just moves past my leg! Look! Did you see that?" Luke pointed.

"What?" Han said.

Suddenly Luke was yanked under the garbage. "Help!" he choked just as he was pulled under.

"Luke! Luke! Luke!" Han and Bob burrowed in the garbage.

Luke surfaced with a gasp of air and thrashing of limbs, a membrane tentacle wrapped around his throat.

"Luke!"

Leia extended a long pipe toward him while Han and Bob grabbed onto him.

"Luke, Luke, grab a hold of this!" Leia told him.

"Blast it, will you! My gun's jammed." Luke shouted.

"Where?" Han pulled his blaster.

"Anywhere!" Luke's cry echoed through the metal room.

Simultaneously, Han and Bob fired their gun downward as the slimy tentacle pulled Luke back down.

"Luke! Luke!" Han called, pawing through the muck.

Suddenly the walls of the garbage receptacle shuddered and moved in a couple of inches. Everything went deathly quiet. They all exchanged worried looks while Chewie howled in the corner. With a rush of bubbles and muck, Luke suddenly bobbed to the surface.

"Grab him!" Leia said as Bob reached down to do just that.

"Are you alright?" Lark asked as Luke gasped for breath. He didn't answer for a minute.

"What happened?" Leia asked.

Great. Invisible again. Lark mentally muttered.

"I don't know, it just let go of me and disappeared." Luke said, staring at eh black watery mud.

"I've got a very bad feeling about this." Han said.

Before anyone could say anything, the walls began to rumble and edge towards them.

"The walls are moving!" Bob exclaimed.

"Way to state the obvious." Lark muttered.

"Don't just stand there." Leia picked up a pipe. "Try to brace it with something!"

They placed poles and long metal beams between the closing walls, but they were simply snapped as the walls continued to close in.

"This does not look good." Lark mumbled, confident that no one would pay her any attention. Even Leia didn't notice her when surrounded. Lark had gotten used to it.

"Wait a minute!" Luke fished around and pulled out his comlink. "Threepio! Come in Threepio! Threepio! Where could he be?"

Lark bit her lip.

"Threepio! Come in, Threepio! Threepio!"

"Get to the top!" Han shouted as Leia began to sink into the refuse.

"I can't!" Leia snapped.

"Where could he be? Threepio! Threepio, will you come in?" By now the walls were only a few feet apart. Lark was crushed between Bob and the wall. Bob tried to scoot over to give her some more room, but he was wedged firmely between the poles.

"One thing's for sure. We're all going to be a lot thinner!" Han muttered. "Get on top of it!" he said as Leia slipped once more.

"I'm trying!" Leia protested.

Lark tried to wiggle out from the awkward and extremely uncomfortable position she was in, but it wasn't doing her any good. She coughed as her chest and midsection was squeezed. Bob squirmed and managed to slide over a little, giving her more room.

"Sorry." He tried to smile, but it was a bit wobbly.

"It's alright." At least somebody had noticed her.

A buzzing echoed through the rapidly shrinking quarters. Luke ripped his comlink off his belt.

"Threepio?"

"Are you there, sir?" Threepio's voice came over the comlink.

"Threepio!"

"We've had some problems..."

"Will you shut up and listen to me?" Luke interrupted. "Shut down all garbage mashers on the detention level, will you? Do you copy? Shut down all the garbage mashers on the detention level."

They waited in a deathly silence. Suddenly the walls stopped moving. Lark exhaled as Han, Bob, and Luke began cheering. Leia gave her a weak grin.

"Threepio, we're all right!" Luke exclaimed. "We're all right. You did great." Luke moved to the pressure sensitive hatch, looking for a number. "Hey...hey, open the pressure maintenance hatch on unit number... where are we?"

"There." Leia pointed.

"Number Three-two-six-eight-two-seven."

The door instantly swung open, and they entered a dusty hallway that looked like it hadn't been used since the place had been built. Han, Bob, and Luke removed their trooper suits and looked up and down the corridor.

"If we can just avoid any more female advice, we ought to be able to get out of here." Han said with a sidelong glance at Leia.

"Well, let's get moving!" Bob said when he just stood there.

"Which way?" Luke asked.

"I'm thinking." Han said.

"You? Think?" Bob muttered, but didn't say it loud enough for anyone but Chewie to hear. Lark's quick ears barely caught the mumbled words.

Suddenly Chewie began to growl and pointed to the hatch to the garbage room; then he began running in the opposite direction.

"Where are you going?" Han glared at the wookie.

"Look!" Lark pointed to the hatch. A long, slimy tentacle was working its way out of the doorway, searching for a victim.

Han took aim with his blaster.

"No, wait." Leia grabbed at him. "They'll hear!"

Han fired at the doorway. The noise of the blast echoed relentlessly throughout the empty passageway. Luke shook his head in disgust.

"Come here, you big coward!" Han looked over to where Chewie was cowering against the wall. He shook his head. "Chewie! Come here!" Han insisted.

Leia decided it was time to pull rank before this crazy buffoon got them killed. "Listen." She looked him straight in the eye. "I don't know who you are, or where you came from, but from now on, you do as I tell you. Okay?"

Bob and Luke exchanged impressed looks while Lark tried not to grin. Leia actually thought that was going to work? She obviously wasn't as good at reading people as Lark was.

"Look, Your Worshipfulness, let's get one thing straight! I take orders from one person: me." Han stared her down.

"It's a wonder you're still alive." Leia obviously wanted to get the last word in. "Will somebody get this big walking carpet out of my way?" she pushed past Chewie.

"No reward is worth this." Han glared at Luke.

"Reward?" Lark asked.

Bob rolled his eyes. "How else do you get a pirate to do what you want?"

"You guys are pirates?" the question was a statement. "That explains a few things."

Bob cocked his head and shot her a sidelong glance as they followed Leia, moving swiftly down the deserted corridor.

I am so sorry! I knew I would be gone for a few days, and I meant to have this chapter up before I left, and I honestly thought I had updated, butI hadn't So here's chapter 5. Sorry about the wait..