Author's Note: These characters all belong to George Lucas with the exception of General Phayghikk and Manalia. Enjoy, and let me know what you think! :) I have more Star Wars stories coming up soon, and hope to be writing more as I move into winter break.
Leia found herself thrust into another typical Imperial cell. She was utterly alone now. As the panel closed, she threw a hairpin in between the panel and the wall. Fortunately, it stuck.
Good. Now I have to get out of here. Leia once again took a few moments to survey her surroundings. Her eyes eventually landed on a piece of slightly-raised wall. Of course, it was not like it was going to make an easy escape, but she was curious as to where it led.
Leia pulled with all of her might on the loose piece. It gave a few creaks then detached. It led to a window with steel bars across it. She gently laid it on the floor so as not to cause noise.
Workable; I can figure something out. Leia hoped that a single Stormtrooper would visit her cell. After all, not many of them had better things to do than hassle prisoners. She could easily take on a Stormtrooper, wrestle him down to the ground, steal his blaster, leave it in the cell, and sneak through the base back to the woods to meet her friends and give them all the information they needed about the Imperial base and General Phayghikk. Motivation drove her to action. She climbed on the bench and tried to squeeze through the steel bars.
It was too tight. Plus, she would have had to climb down the outer walls of the Imperial base, completely vulnerable and a perfect target for any Stormtrooper patrolling around the perimeter of the base. She would just have to bide her time and think of all possible avenues of escape.
Leia turned her attention to the panel with her hairpin jammed in it. She knew she would have to quickly assess the situation and the possibility of escape before the Empire received an alert that her prison cell panel was compromised. She walked over to the door and stuck her fingernail directly above the pin.
"Just be strong," she murmured to herself. "Come on. One step closer to busting out of here." She continued to rattle the pin and hoped that the door would budge just enough so she could squeeze her fingers in between the doors and wrench them apart. After five minutes, it was clear that this plan was futile.
Leia stood still, racking her brain for escape options. There was no way that she could escape from her confinement unless one and only one Stormtrooper visited her cell.
They will all suffer for this.
Finally, the door slid open, and three Stormtroopers entered Leia's cell.
Well, in all fairness, it would be stupid to only send one. At least they fear me enough. I'll have to be quick… Her plan was a little risky, but what other choice did she have?
Leia reached into her boot and pulled out a handful of credits. "I will give you all this money in return for one blaster. I won't kill you, of course. You can leave the cell. Just give me one blaster, and this money - more than all three of you combined make in a year - is yours."
The Stormtroopers glanced at one another through their white masks. It was a very good deal, and they knew it.
"You give her your blaster," one trooper said to the shortest one.
The Stormtrooper carefully examined the stack of money Leia held in her extended hand. She handed the money to the Stormtrooper as he gave her the blaster.
"Now, leave. Don't say a word about it either." Leia carefully pulled the trigger on the blaster, keeping her eye on the gunless Stormrooper. He would be the last to go. The Empire never kept their promises so why should she?
As the Stormtroopers filed out of the cell, Leia quickly shot the two in the back before they had time to react. As the third turned around, she aimed at his chest and he fell over.
"That's better," Leia smirked, dragging all of the bodies into the cell and squeezing past the small opening between the doors. She turned around, bent down, and swiped another blaster from a dead trooper, tucking it in her jacket, just in case.
Now, for the most dangerous and sneaky part of the plan. She would have to creep unnoticed through the base, escape from it, run through the woods, and find the Millennium Falcon and her friends. Even though the troopers were dead, it would only be a matter of time before she would hear the call of "Troopers down!" and any smart Imperial office or admiral would connect the dots as to the fate that had befallen the troopers.
She would keep her eyes peeled for that folder as well. Even though she did not have possession of the folder, she was toting two decently powerful blasters. It's now or never, she thought, leaving her cell and stepping into the halls of the Manalia Imperial Outpost Base.
There were even a few tie-fighters parked on the main floor. Leia smiled to herself. She was standing on an isolated balcony reserved for prisoners. She looked down and spied a metal pole. She wondered if she could slide down it and onto the main floor, avoiding company and accessing a tie fighter if she needed a really fast escape.
Or, perhaps a safer route would be climbing down the walls of the base if she could find an isolated window. She remembered seeing a few windows when the Stormtroopers had first marched her in the base. Leia closed her eyes and employed her photographic memory. There was a window on the west side of the first floor not too far from the ground. Unfortunately, she was on the third floor on the east side of the base. More sneaking, she thought in disgust.
Leia quietly walked through the narrow passageways which were completely desolate. There were many twisting hallways and cells with neon buttons, and large tracking devices throughout the case.
Every so often, as Leia hunted for a way down to the main floor without attracting attention, she disabled one of the trackers. Not enough to arouse the Empire's interest, but enough so that the Imperials employees would have to invest some time to fix the machines.
Suddenly, Leia heard footsteps - the sound of synchronous marching feet. Stormtroopers! Leia ducked into the nearest room and pressed herself against the wall, holding her breath, blaster ready for any confrontation.
"Search the rooms," she heard. "The Rebel prisoner from cell G885 is loose. Three troopers are dead. She has two blasters with her."
Oh no! How long have they known about this? Leia's heart beat furiously in her chest to where she was sure it would give away her hiding spot. They could come in here at any moment!
She heard boots on the floor on the other side of the wall. They would be in here next. A few seconds later, Leia saw two white figures enter the room. Crouched behind a tracking machine, Leia held both of her guns ready and aimed carefully. A minute later, both Stormtroopers hit the ground.
As soon as she was certain the others were gone, Leia dragged the two bodies behind the tracking machine and nodded. Two more downed. However, she could not celebrate long for fear that the company would figure out what had happened to two of the troopers and come trap her in the room.
Leia continued to work her way, with increased caution, towards the western side of the base. She felt nervous and agitated. Why did things have to be so difficult for the Rebels?
I need to turn left here, she remembered as she went left. Now, she was on the west side. But she still needed to figure out how to find her way down to the first floor, and she could still hear Stormtroopers.
Leia had to think fast. She glanced down at the first floor, and rolled over to the edge, and positioned her body parallel to the railing. She hung in space, relying on her feet and hands to keep her close to the wall.
The Stormtroopers passed, obviously on the hunt for her. You great stupid men, Leia thought. Not one of you had the bright idea to look down over the railing at me. Those twenty tedious seconds felt like an eternity. She rolled back onto the floor of the balcony and smiled. Another successful evasion.
Leia spied another pole. Forget the window. I'm in a race against time. I'll take my chances now that it's clear. Who knows how much longer I have? She tested the pole to ensure it was sturdy enough to support her weight, and slid quietly down to the first floor, landing undetected.
Now to escape. Leia surveyed the scene and saw the large gray industrial doors thirty feet ahead of her. She was almost free! With no one in the hangar, Leia sprinted as fast as she could toward the doors, and opened them.
Leia walked out of Manalia Imperial Outpost Base a free woman, but her exhilaration lasted but a second. A squad of Stormtroopers faced her, guns pointed. There were too many to fight off and escape in one piece. She would have to think like Han and talk herself out of the situation.
"Where are you going? You're the escaped prisoner!" One of the troopers yelled.
Leia appeared as confident as possible. "You're making a mistake. General Phayghikk freed me on the condition that I give him the blaster, the folder, and not inform the Rebellion of this location. I agreed to the terms and conditions." Leia thanked her intuition for the extra blaster tucked safely in her spacious secret coat pocket. "See, I have a release form right here." Leia handed the Stormtrooper an Imperial release document bearing her name.
Before the trip to Manalia, Luke had gathered all those involved and created Imperial release documents for each of them from a forged copy he had stolen on a previous mission. "Just in case." He had wisely said.
The Stormtrooper seized the document and examined it carefully. "This looks real. Why don't you have an Imperial escort?"
"I didn't want one. I'm going back to my ship and leaving, as I was instructed to." Leia said calmly.
"We'll show this to the General to make sure that you really have been released. In the meantime, we will stay here with you." The troopers moved to surround Leia, who acted unbothered while her heart pounded, watching the Stormtrooper carry her false release document to Phayghikk, who would not buy her ploy for one second. She knew for the third time that she was trapped, and waited for the inevitable.
Finally, she spied General Phayghikk walking towards her, a smile on his sickly white face.
"Leia, Leia, Leia Organa," the General sighed, "You keep trying. You are a stubborn woman, and you will die a stubborn woman. I must admit, you have been quite brilliant to evade my troops. But now, you will be locked in a cell with a dozen Stormtroopers to guard you. You will be carefully searched, and any unapproved item will be confiscated. You will sit in your cell until we decide which course of action is best to take with you. Take her away." Phayghikk motioned to the Stormtroopers.
The troopers surrounded Leia in groups of three - Three behind her, three ahead of her, three to her left, and three to her right. Leia walked with her head down. Freedom had been so close.
As she entered the base once again. She looked behind her and could not see the Falcon. Either someone stole it, or Luke and Han had left. Probably the former, and they were locked away somewhere. Phayghikk would send Threepio and Artoo to the Imperial junkyard or reprogram them.
As the troopers shoved her into a cell and forced her to sit, Leia felt like she could cry.
"If you would just tell me your plan, I could tell you if it's a good idea or not," Luke coaxed Han.
"No. It's my idea and I'm getting all the glory." Han shook his head and made the jump out of hyperspace.
"Rar-argh-urgh," Chewbacca sneered.
"Of course it's a good plan!" Han indignantly retorted. "What am I, an idiot?"
"Urgh." Chewbacca nodded at Han.
"Thanks for being a real friend."
"Master Luke, Artoo is expressing concern that they might execute Princess Leia before we get back to her because they are tired of her antics. Do you think they will? You know how Artoo is so gloomy," C3PO fretted.
"No, they wouldn't execute her. And here's why. Phayghikk is a coward. The base on Manalia is not that important, and certainly not big enough for the Emperor or Vader to worry about. If he did command her execution, that would get him in big trouble with the higher-ups, since she's no ordinary Rebel. He will torture her and threaten death, but in reality, she's too valuable. Plus, his own status will be raised if he can say that he captured and is holding the Rebel leader. He'll just try to extract information from her, which of course will be futile. She'll buy herself time, Threepio." Luke patted the golden droid's metal arm and nodded at him.
Even though Han knew that Luke's diatribe had been as much for himself and Han as it had been for Threepio, Han still demanded, "Why are you disgustingly nice to that droid? It's annoying and just spreads negativity and paranoia."
"Oh Han. Sometimes you still don't get it," Luke said mysteriously, shaking his head.
When the crew returned to the Rebel base, they returned to chaos.
"I thought the forces were supposed to meet you guys," a flustered Wedge greeted Han. "We were ready to go then no one called or told us to be ready."
"Well, per usual, things didn't work out, and we believe we left the princess with the Empire."
"YOU DID WHAT?" Wedge screamed.
"That was my reaction," Luke muttered.
"Hey! Shut up and don't judge me. We are all assembled back here to get the woman. Now, go get everyone and call them into a meeting so we can free the High and Most Venerable. I have to finish a few things. I'll meet you in a half hour." Han waved to Wedge as he dashed away to prepare for the mission.
Half an hour later, Han strode to the front of the Rebel army to discuss his plan with them.
"Remember, I give final approval," Luke snarled as Han passed.
"Okay, here's what we are going to do. Since this base clearly falls apart without us, we need to get everyone together and back here safe and sound. How will we do this? With my plan. We are going to get the most skilled pilots and fighters to start a cat-and-mouse game with the tie fighters. You guys will be up in the sky keeping half of the soldiers busy. There are no starships to have to contend with. Take the special fighters with the shields on them, and if worse comes to worse, lead them around in a chase game away from the base then go into hyperspace.
Then, a group of us will bust into the base itself. I will lead the way, of course. We will make sure to have thermal detonators with us. Then, we will find the General. Kill any Stormtrooper you see. They are just in the way. When we find the General and have him absolutely surrounded, he will either release Leia to us, or die on the spot, so guessing he will release Leia on the spot. By this time, another fleet will refresh the sky fight if needed. The critical thing here is outnumbering them at least two to one. When we get Leia, begin throwing the detonators. I will let you know when we find her.
You will have exactly fifteen minutes to get out of there and escape the base, and will be an every-man-for-himself type of problem. The cargo ships will be waiting on the ground for us, and we will get in with both Leia and the General, and the base will blow up. I need almost four hundred ground fighters, and around one hundred pilots. We are going in hot, guys. Though this means we will have a skeleton crew here at our base, it will be alright since the Empire has not given any indication that we have been detected. We should be gone for four hours at the most. If you have any questions, come ask me. We will accomplish three missions. We get Leia, we get the General, and we blow up a base." Han finished his briefing with a confident grin, pleased with himself.
A short while later, everyone had assembled in either transports or X-wing fighters or the Millennium Falcon. Han, Luke, Chewie, C3PO and R2D2 were all on board.
"All right Leia, we're coming for ya," Han said as he navigated the Falcon to the front of the lengthy procession. "We are busting you out of there. Goodbye General Phayghikk and company."
Luke laughed and ensured that the droids were in comfortable traveling positions as the Falcon lifted off into space, leading the procession of the passenger transport ships, X-wing fighters, and a few other random ships.
"If this hyperdrive does not work…" Han mumbled as he pressed a button and adjusted a control as Chewie carefully navigated the Falcon through the dark abyss of space.
"It'll work," Luke said confidently as the ships blasted into hyperspace.
"Nice. Did you put a charm on it or something?" Han smirked.
"Nope."
After an uneventful ride to Manalia, all the ships came out of hyperspace and a few successfully landed on Manalia without any Imperial interaction.
"Almost too suspicious of how easy that was," Luke muttered. The X-wing fighters remained hovering in the sky, ready for battle. They would move into position over the base soon so that the Imperials would feel less tempted to fire on their own base.
"All right," Han spoke into his transmitter that connected him to the other ships. "Make a gentle landing, transport ships. Have a pilot remain in it just in case we need a fast pick-up, and then Rebel troops, follow me. This is it." Han disconnected the transmitter and looked at C3PO and R2D2. "I am going to leave the Falcon with you, Threepio. Watch over it. Artoo, you're coming with us."
A little while later, Han, Chewie, Luke, and R2D2 led a procession of five hundred Rebels up to the Imperial base, which was in a lockdown position.
"Well," Han mumbled to Chewbacca. "Pal, looks like they know we are here."
At that moment, tie-fighters started to rain down blaster fire on the Rebels, but Han had organized them into groups of fifty, so they quickly took refuge amongst the many trees, brush, and bushes along the path to the outpost.
As predicted, the tie fighters shot toward the sky to start the air battle with the X-wing fighters. When the group arrived at the base, Han shot his blaster at the doors, which did not open.
"Great, now what do we do?" Han groaned. "Contact the code breaker!"
"Rar-rar-argh-urrrr." Chewbacca remarked.
Before Han could reply, a Rebel yelled, "Stormtroopers! Coming from the back door!" A Rebel from the back of the group yelled.
The Rebels grabbed their blasters and immediately exchanged fire with the Stormtroopers.
Luke glanced up at the sky and noticed that there were not as many tie fighters in the sky. Good. Good thing we took the most elite pilots for this one - Wedge included.
"Come on!" Han shouted to Luke, Chewie, R2D2, and the rest of the troops. "We gotta go while the door's open!"
Han, leading the way, fought using blasters and throwing a good punch to the back door of the base and successfully busted inside. Now, all they had to do was overrun the massive amount of Stormtroopers congregating in the front of the base. It was time for Han Solo to show off his skills with a blaster.
Han certainly showed off. Between him and most of the Rebel troops, they downed most of the Stormtroopers without mercy. The few remaining fled to regroup and perhaps find General Phayghikk.
Chewie had the bag of thermal detonators, and started scattering them around the base, waiting for Han's order to begin the fifteen-minute countdown.
"Do not start the time till I tell you - we have a lot of problems to solve before we blow this up," Han snarled at the Wookiee.
Just then, the doors burst open and more Rebel troops clad in orange suits poured in, flooding the hangar part of the base.
"Let's go, kid!" Han shouted to Luke. "They have us covered! We are going to find the General, and then Leia!"
"Hopefully he didn't escape," Luke told Han.
R2D2 gave Luke a few disapproving beeps for being less than optimistic.
"Leia's up there - the scanner found her!" Luke exclaimed, pointing to a prison cell with a blinking red light as he slashed a stormtrooper in half with his lightsaber. He still had some reservations about using it in battle, but was improving by the day.
A small group of Rebel troops accompanied Han, Luke, Chewie, and Artoo on their quest to find Leia.
"Wait! There's Phayghikk!" Han instinctively grabbed and aimed his blaster at the much sought-after General.
"Hold on - don't do anything rash yet!" Luke wrenched Han's arm down and released the pressure on the blaster. "And he has a whole lot of Stormtroopers with him."
"Fine. Time for a little conversation. I've been looking forward to this." Han tossed his blaster up in the air and caught it with one hand.
Chewbacca grunted as a chunk of the ceiling fell to the ground on the other side of the base.
"That's not where Leia was; it was a trap to get you and me up here, wasn't it?" Luke breathed.
"Shut up," Han growled.
"Well, well, well, I should have known that you Rebel scum would figure out a way to infiltrate our peaceful base. Well, congratulations - you've done it. Except we have captured your princess, and you'll never get her back… Captain Solo." General Phayghikk comfortably placed his blaster into the holster at his side, and crossed his arms with a smug smile. "So you may as well leave."
"Oh. Never. We actually stopped by to get her back. And, General, we are more than happy to have a showdown with you." Han replied tartly.
Luke rolled his eyes. Han needed to stop stalling. Every minute was precious.
"Fine." General Phayghikk quickly retreated into the group of Stormtroopers and let them stand out front.
"Coward!" Han yelled. "You're afraid of some Rebel scum, eh?"
"You'll see that I'm not," the General cooly replied.
"Then get out here and fight like a man!" Han exclaimed.
Instantaneously, the Rebels and Stormtroopers had a show down. While organized chaos ensued with soldiers from both sides ducking, firing blasters, yelling insults at one another and trying to break through one another's defense lines, General Phayghikk managed to slip away and escape.
Luke saw Phayghikk run from the fray but knew he needed to concentrate on the task at hand and eliminate as many Stormtroopers as possible.
The skirmish resulted in most of the Stormtroopers laying on the ground, either dead or too wounded to care, while most of the Rebel troops were either unscathed or sustained minor injuries.
"Must have been some new guys. This was too easy," Han remarked, stepping on a body. The Stormtrooper groaned. "Oh, sorry, did I step on you?" Han grabbed his blaster and finished off the wounded trooper.
"All right now," Luke said disapprovingly. "You don't want to act like them. Remember we are here to find Leia and get out!"
"Okay, fine. Now we have to get Leia out of the cell. Artoo, plug in and give me the directions," Han ordered the droid.
"Rargh-argh-argh-ar." Chewbacca snarled.
"Come on - do your thing. Is she in there?" Han could feel his anxiety levels rising. Even though he would never admit it, he had a mad crush on that bossy princess and the thought of something foul happening to her was just sickening to him.
"Yes, yes! He got it. He knows where she is." Luke exclaimed.
"We have codes? What will we break down the door with?" A Rebel trooper from the back of the group asked.
"With nothing," General Phayghikk said calmly as he appeared with a large group of Stormtroopers.
"How many times are we gonna run into you?" Han fumed. Chewie nodded in agreement.
"Phayghikk, what do you want? We can really fight and argue all day over the princess. We honestly have the upper hand. Just give us Leia, and we will leave the base without blowing it up, all right? There's a way to settle this peaceably." Luke could sense Han's agitation and knew it was time to try a peaceful approach.
Han took advantage of this and slipped to the back of the group and motioned for Chewbacca and the back row of Rebels to join him.
"Great, I don't know where this cell is since the stupid droid is back with Luke!" Han grumbled to his copilot.
From around the corner, Han heard the pop of blasters, meaning that the Empire and Rebels had engaged in battle. It was time for Han to think of a new plan. He sure hoped the kid could hold his own out there with that nasty pasty-faced General. Never mind. Luke would be fine. He caused the Death Star to explode.
"All right guys! New plan. Someone please contact Wedge and tell him to lead the Empire away from the base so we can get in. We won the entrance battle, all the Stormtroopers are dead outside, so while you guys cover me, just to be sure, me and Chewie will climb up the wall to Leia's cell once we find out where it is. Everyone get it?"
"Of course, Captain Solo," one of the Rebels said for everyone. "Just tell us what to do."
"There! I got the location of her cell from Artoo!" Han looked down at his transmitter and watched the numbers move across the small screen. "We are almost there, guys."
When they assembled outside, Han looked up at the wall to get to Leia's cell. The wall was completely flat, and because of where the skirmish with Phayghikk and Luke was located, it was too dangerous to try and slip by to access Leia's cell. Most likely the Empire would expect them to come flying down the hall and have guards in front of the cell, so it was up the base walls or nothing.
Everyone stared up at the wall until Han broke the silence. "Well… anyone got rope? And watch out for anything falling from the sky."
"Dumb question, Captain Solo," said a Rebel named Sam. "In each of our packs, we have almost five feet of strong rope all coiled up. Come on, boys! Get out the rope and start tying them together!"
"Please do it well, because I and maybe the Princess will be putting our full weight and relying on that rope to get down," Han remarked as he watched the Rebels tie the rope together.
"Argh-urhg-margh-ararar," Chewie commented loudly.
"He says to double the rope to make it extra sturdy since we'll have more than enough as well as tie knots throughout to make knotholes to make it easy to climb," Han instructed the group as he anxiously glanced up the wall.
"DUCK!"
All of the Rebels ducked as a tie fighter hurtled through the air and crashed on the ground about thirty feet away, causing a bright smoky explosion and a large boom.
"Okay, let's go." Han and Chewie used the rope as a lasso and successfully looped it around the window bars of Leia's cell. "Hopefully it holds, and no one notices."
"Be careful. We'll cover for you. Stay as flat against the wall as you can so no one sees you," Sam told Han. "Chewie and I got you."
Han stepped on the rope and began to climb. The knotholes Chewie had suggested made it much easier. Suddenly, he heard a shot and looked up in horror. Stormtroopers in Leia's cell! And they were shooting at him! He hoped they would not untie the rope and send him hurtling to the ground.
"They had better not kill Leia because of this," Han grunted as he continued to climb upward with one arm, shooting at Stormtroopers through the window bars. "Gotcha!" he crowed as he hit one squarely in the face.
Han remained flat against the wall as some of the blaster shots seceded. Finally, when he was about three feet from the window, Han decided he would have to shoot all the troopers before attempting to rescue Leia. This would be risky, but he knew he could pull this off with no problem.
Very carefully, Han pulled himself up a little farther against the wall and poked his head up to the point where he could see through the window bars. All of the Stormtroopers were lined up against the wall, Leia between them. She wore a disgusted, bored look on her face. The same face she gave Han whenever she thought him annoying.
From inside the cell, Leia saw the top of Han's head and face, and he saw her give the faintest nod to let him know she knew he was there. He quietly watched her talk to a Stormtrooper who kicked her and forced her stand with her face against the wall.
Han tested the rope to ensure it could support his weight, and checked the tight wrap around the window bars. The Rebels waited below, blasters ready to fire at the call.
Han ducked so none of the Stormtroopers could see him. He was a little concerned about the fact that they knew someone was climbing up the wall, yet appeared to have totally forgotten altogether. He pointed his blaster through the window and fired.
A few Stormtroopers fell, then Han watched as Leia wrenched a blaster from a dead one and finished off the rest in her cell. Han's heart was pounding at the tenuous thirty seconds he had experienced.
"Are they all dead?" Han demanded, climbing a little further. "I gotta get in somehow."
"They're gone. Thanks. You saved me." Leia rushed over to the window. "How on earth did you manage to get up here on that rope?"
To show off, Han swung on it a little bit and grinned. "Pure stubbornness and determination. How about letting me in? I've got a few things to fill you in on before we bust out of here and blow this place to smithereens."
"Hold on!" Leia grabbed a small sword that the chief Stormtrooper carried as a threat and sawed at the bars. "If I can get one opened, turn on your side, and I'll take your hands and you can squeeze through," Leia, bossy as usual, instructed as she hacked away at the bar.
Finally, she wore it down to the point where she could snap it, and grabbed Han's wrists and pulled him through the window as he used his boots to finish climbing.
Han landed in Leia's cell on his back and grinned up into her dirty, sweaty face. "Hello, ye royal highness."
"Cut it out!" Leia snapped. "Now, how are we getting out of here? Here, take another blaster." Leia chucked a blaster at Han.
Han felt slightly crestfallen. The least she could do was give him a smile or an acknowledgement of his bravery. But this was Leia, so the odds of that happened were almost none.
"You'll see," Han smiled mysteriously and stood up, stretching his arms.
"No. Don't joke. I need a plan." Leia frowned. "Can we escape through the window?"
"Nah. That's not how we're doing it, lady. The rope will scorch your hands. I can use it to get up, but not to get down. Besides, I just need to show you off to Phayghikk." Han smirked.
"Really? Like I'm a trophy?" Leia demanded. "So we're just going to walk through the base? In broad daylight with me on your arm?"
"Yes, dear ruler of all, we will. We can always wear Stormtrooper costumes." Han smiled convincingly at Leia.
"And get shot down by our own troops in an attempt to do the right thing? No. We need to think of an alternate plan here."
Leia is so mean and grumpy, Han thought. Even when we rescue her.
"Are you sure we can't just use the window? It would be safer," Leia glanced down at the long dangling rope.
"No. Look how thin that rope is stretched now from me having to climb. Besides, I sent the troops inside so they aren't out to give cover in case something untoward happens. I hear blasters popping, so we can sneak through." Han insisted.
"Fine. But I am leading because I know this base very well after multiple escape attempts and creeping around, all right?" Leia said curtly. "Let's go."
"Okay, okay. Not a problem, my goodness," Han feigned annoyance with Leia as she stepped out of her cell for the third time of the day.
"Memorize where all we go. I've left a major path of destruction. I pinned Phayghikk to the ground and stole his blaster. I had him ready to give me my freedom and the passcode document that you lost, when a Stormtrooper squad rescued him. From there, it went downhill." Leia summarized her time at the base as they navigated the twists and turns of the Imperial Manalia Outpost Base, scattering thermal detonators as she went.
Han was slightly irritated she had grabbed the bag from him as he had wanted to have the fun of destroying the base, but figured it would be best to let Leia lead in whatever way she wanted. "Did you set them yet, Han?"
"No. We have them scattered and then when I give the signal, Chewie sets them for fifteen minutes which gives everyone enough time to evacuate the -" Han began, but a large explosion cut him off abruptly.
The ceiling cracked, crumbled, and then a tie-fighter crashed through the ceiling - narrowly missing Han and Leia.
Leia jumped and looked frightened for a brief moment before recovering. "And explain that?"
"Oh, we just have a little plan that I organized to recover you and a little air fight came along with it. Whoops. I thought I told Wedge to keep it away from the base…" Han tried to sound as nonchalant as possible with the hopes of impressing Leia, but he knew it was impossible.
"All right. Let's go. We need to get out of here." She took the transmitter Han handed her and radioed Luke, who immediately replied.
"Leia! It's you! You're all right!"
"Of course I'm all right, Luke. Now, set the detonators to whatever time you decided on beforehand. The base is already starting to burn because of the tie fighter. Hurry, everyone. Tell everyone to evacuate!" Leia shouted into the transmitter.
Han kept scanning for the General. Where was he?
"Phayghikk vanished. We are having a shoot-out with the Stormtroopers, a few admirals, and us. We're winning, of course. I'll get the troops out and keep the Imperials in the base, and then we'll get off of here," Luke replied as calmly as possible.
"Start setting the outside thermal detonators now!" Han yelled into his transmitter. "Get the cargo ships to the ground so we can bust out of here and leave a kaboom. Detonators are set. Everyone has fifteen minutes. Let's go!" Han grabbed Leia's arm. "We're checking out of here."
Leia shook herself free and glared at Han. "What about Luke and the others?"
"The kid will be fine! They know to escape. In a matter of minutes, we will be sitting on the cargo ships with them and heading back to our base. They will be fine!" Han barked as the two ran through deserted passages. "We're almost there!"
The two ran down some steps and Leia shot the lock of the back door before she and Han raced outside, ducking and covering their heads in case any more tie fighters fell.
They met up with Chewie and some of the Rebels and began racing toward the cargo ships. A minute later, Luke and the remaining Rebels burst out of the base and caught up with the group.
"Guys! Stop running! Let's watch the base explode. It's only got a minute left!" Luke panted, halting everyone in their tracks. "Nice job, Han."
"Yes. Thank you. Nice job." Leia affirmed, nodding at Han, who looked proud of himself.
"Ummm… what about Phayghikk? Where is he?" Leia asked Luke. "In all this excitement I think we forgot about him."
"Oh! Oh - he's dead. He refused to talk, and I didn't want to kill him, so I had a few of the others take him down. He's gone. No more. Literally it all happened right after you transmitted. The Stormtroopers fled when we overran them and as soon as they learned we were going to blow up the base, but Phayghikk refused to move so we did what we had to do," Luke said grimly.
Han was basking in the praise from his fellow Rebels and on the success of the plan. While they had not been able to capture Phayghikk alive, perhaps this was better, as the Empire would not be sending out probes to the ends of the galaxy searching for him. They reclaimed Leia, and they had even managed to blow up the base. All because of him.
"I'm a genius, right kid?"
Luke and Leia exchanged a look.
The Rebel army headed back toward their ships as the X-wing fighters polished off the few remaining ties and shot into hyperspace. Their work was done.
Everyone stood in front of the ships and watched the Manalia base explode in all the flames and explosions the Rebels loved so much. All of their hard work, scheming, and sneaking had culminated into one massive conflagration of Imperial materials.
Everyone cheered and climbed into their respective ships and left the planet of Manalia. Another day, another success. They had won the battle, but the war against the Empire was long and raging with much more loss to follow.