Chapter 6 Escape
"There she is." Han whispered, peering into the hangar.
"Thereshe is, but how are we supposed to get there?" Bob asked.
"Threepio, do you copy?" Luke spoke softly into the comlink.
"For the moment. Uh, we're in the main hangar across from the ship." Threepio answered.
"We're right above you. Stand by."
"You came in that thing? You're braver that I thought." Leia muttered to Han.
"Nice! Come on!" Han said, giving her a dirty look as they started off down the hallway.
As they round a corner, they ran into twenty Imperial stormtroopers heading toward them. Both groups stopped in their tracks, taken by surprise.
"It's them! Blast them!" The stormtroopers came to their senses first.
Without thinking, Han drew his blaster and charged at the troops. Bob pulled out his blaster and ran to back Han up. Chewie followed him down the corridor, stepping over the fallen trooper on the floor.
"Get back to the ship!" Han yelled back to them.
"Where are you going?" Luke yelled. "Come back!"
"He certainly has courage." Leia remarked sarcastically.
"There's a difference between being rash and being brave." Lark said.
"What good will it do us if he gets himself killed? Come on!" Luke led the way toward the hangar as alarms began to go off down on the hangar deck.
"Perfect." Lark muttered.Bob struggled to catch up as Han chased the stormtroopers down a long subhallway, yelling and brandishing his blaster. The troops spun to fight as they reached a dead end. Han stopped a few feet from them and assumed a defensive position, giving Bob and Chewie a chance to catch up. The troops raised their laser guns.
"Han." Bob said, trying not to pant. "Retreating is an option."
Han looked at the troopers that were closing in.
"Good point." He said, and they both jumped backwards and raced back the way they had come.
> > > >
They ran down a hall, stromtroopers being added to the pursuit as they went. Luke fired his blaster wildly, trying to get rid of some of the troopers chasing them. They raced through an open hatchway at the end of the hall and onto a narrow bridge that spanned a huge gap, which seemed to drop into infinity. The bridge had been retracted into the wall of the shaft, and Luke nearly fell over the edge as they rushed in. Leia and Lark grabbed onto him to help him maintain his balance.
"I think we took a wrong turn." Luke panted.
Blasts from the stormtroopers' laser guns nearby reminded them of the oncoming danger. Luke fired back at the advancing troops while Leia reached over and hit a switch. The hatch door shut with a resounding boom, leaving them precariously perched on a short piece of bridge overhang. Laserfire from the troopers continued to hit the steel door.
"There's no lock!" Leia announced.
In response, Luke blasted the controls with his laser pistol.
"That oughta hold it for a while." He said.
"Quick, we've got to get across. Find the control that extends the bridge." Leia said.
Luke glanced at the mangled control panel. "Oh, I think I just blasted it."
"Brilliant." Lark muttered. She looked down. The floor couldn't even be seen.
The stormtroopers on the opposite side of the door began making ominous drilling and pounding sounds.
"They're coming through!" Leia sounded scared.
Laserfire suddenly hit the wall behind them. Lark looked across the gap to see several stormtroopers on the other side taking aim with their blasters. Luke aimed his laser pistol and sent one tumbling down into the chasm. More troops appeared on another overhang, also firing.
"Here, hold this." Luke handed the gun to Leia.
Luke pulled a thin nylon cable with a grappler hook on it from his trooper utility belt. Suddenly, the hatch door began to open, revealing the feet of more troops.
"Here they come!" Leia said as she exchanged fire with the stormtroopers opposite them.
Lark's fingers itched for her lightsaber or a blaster, but all she could do was try to be as small as possible to avoid being hit as Luke tossed the rope across the gorge. It wrapped itself around an outcropping of pipes. He tugged on the rope to make sure it is secure, and then grabs Leia in his arms.
"Hold on." He told Lark.
Lark nodded and grabbed hold. Leia looked at Luke, then kisses him quickly on the lips. Luke was dumbstruck.
"For luck." Leia said.
Lark rolled her eyes, and Luke nodded as they pushed off. They swung across the treacherous abyss to the corresponding hatchway on the opposite side. Just as they reached the far side of the canyon, the stormtroopers broke through the hatch and began to fire at the escaping trio. Luke returned the fire before ducking into the tiny subhallway.
> > > >
Han, Bob, and Chewie ran down a long corridor with several troopers hot on their trail. At the end of the hallway, blast doors begin to close in front of them. They raced past the huge doors just as they closed.
Bob leaned back against the wall breathing heavily. Han surveyed the forward bay, watching the Imperial stormtroopers make their rounds of the hangar.
"Didn't we just leave this party?" he growled.
Bob glared at the troopers, wishing they would just disappear. How much harder could things get?
Never ask stuff like that, Bob. He told himself. You never know what could happen. And you aren't dead yet.
He looked up as the other three members of their party joined them.
"What kept you?" Han asked.
"We ran into some old friends." Leia answered, too worn out to make a cutting retort.
"Is the ship all right?" Luke asked.
"Seems okay, if we can get to it." Han answered. "Just hope the old man got the tractor beam out of commission."
"Old man?" Lark asked.
"Ben Kenobi." Luke answered.
Lark looked around the hangar, as if expecting to see him there. "Where is he?"
"Don't know." Bob answered.
Luke looked worriedly around too. His eyes widened. "There! Look!" He pointed.
Obi-Wan Kenobi stood with his lightsaber ignited facing a figure clothed in black. Bob's stomach dropped. It was Vader.
Darth Vader and Obi-Wan continued their powerful duel. As they hit their lightsabers together, lightning flashed on impact. The stormtroopers looked on in interest as the old Jedi and Sith fought. As the rebels tensely watched the duel, the troops rush toward the battling knights.
"Now's our chance! Go!" Han began running toward the Flacon.
Lark hesitated, caught up in the fight. Maybe the rest could leave Obi-Wan behind, but not her. She crept closer to the duelers, her fingers itching for her saber. But she could still do plenty of damage with the Force if necessary.
Obi-Wan glanced to the side, and Vader, taking advantage of his momentary distraction, and brought down his lightsaber on the old man. Lark sent a Force shove in Vader's direction, throwing him off balance and enabling Obi-Wan to deflect the blow. Vader didn't look at her, but Lark felt him feeling her out with the Force. She shuddered.
Obi-Wan glanced at Lark. "Go." He mouthed, but his words echoed in her mind.
Lark shook her head, but she began to back away, as if drawn by something else. She had almost reached the others when the old knight lifted his saber in a Jedi salute. Vader brought his sword down, cutting Obi-Wan in half. Lark bit back a scream and froze as Vader kicked at the empty cloak.
What in the…
"No!"
Luke's yell broke into Lark's thoughts. She turned and ran as the stormtroopers charged the group and began firing. Out of the corner of her eye, Lark saw the droids boarding the falcon while Luke, transfixed by anger and awe, returned fire. Han joined in the laserfire exchange.
"Come on!" Han yelled to Luke.
"Come on! Luke, its too late!" Leia pleaded.
Han blasted the door, cutting off Vader's and the majority of the stormtroopers' advance. Luke continued to fire at the remaining troops.
"Come on!" Lark gave Luke a Force shove that knocked him over. She grabbed him and practically dragged him up the ramp as Han covered their retreat. Luke pulled away, but suddenly he stopped and looked around.
"Let's go!" Lark reached for Luke's arm, but it wasn't necessary. He was already moving up the ramp.
"Thank you." She muttered, following him as the ramp closed.
> > > >
In the cockpit, Bob had already started up the ship, and as soon as everyone was in, he began taxiing it away from the troopers. Han entered and sat down, pulling back on the controls. The dull thud of laser bolts bouncing off the outside of the ship echoed through the cockpit.
"I hope the old man got that tractor beam out if commission, or this is going to be a real short trip." Han muttered. "Okay, hit it!"
Chewbacca growled in agreement as they powered away from the space station docking bay, made a spectacular turn, and fled into the vastness of space. Only when they wereclear of the stationdid Bob allow himself to take a deep breath. He leaned his head against the back of the chair.
"Let's not do that again." He muttered to the ceiling.
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