Author's Note: War is never far from any Rebel Base. (Or, we catch up with the events of The Empire Strikes Back.)
/waves/ hi...it's me...i'm still here, i promise!

This chapter is dedicated to the late Carrie Fisher, may she rest in peace, flipping the bird to george lucas and anyone else who ever talked shit about her

7 - You run, you fight, you lose

Echo Base, Hoth – Conference Room 15A

Juno tapped her fingers anxiously against her thigh as she waited for the holocall to connect. The last few weeks had been busy, busier than her time on the Salvation II. Identities to forge, ships to fix. Paperwork to file. Pregnancies to hide.

Galen had started looking at her a little differently, she had noticed that much. Winter coats could only hide so much; whilst at the moment, she could attribute her slowly growing build to weight gain (the food on the base was actually rather good), it was only a matter of time before even Galen's naiveté would wear thin. She was running out of excuses, and fast.

"Juno," Leia had cornered her about a week previously, "You need to tell him."

She had nodded, guiltily. "I know. I haven't – I haven't found the right moment."

"You've been on this base for six weeks now! Next week, you'll fly to Corulag. Speaking as your friend – you have to tell him. You owe him the truth, at least."

The truth – Galen, I'm pregnant, and I've been hiding it from you since the moment I arrived. Juno hated to admit it, but she had definitely made it worse for herself. The price to pay for being a coward, she supposed.

She was snapped back to the present when the holo-terminal gave out a burst of static, causing everyone in the room to jump. Galen, sitting next to her, nudged her leg gently with his.

"You alright?"

Nodding, she smiled. "Yeah. Just got a fright, is all. Do you think it's the blizzard coming in that's causing the interference?"

Galen rolled his eyes. "Probably. Kota and I have fixed enough of those damn transmitters, but they keep breaking." He looked at her, strangely, but said nothing.

Juno returned her gaze back to the holo-terminal. They were waiting for a call from Mon Mothma, to go over final details before their departure, but a particularly large storm had just rolled in and was causing havoc across the base.

After some time – and various choice curse words from the transmission techs trying to fix the signal – they gave up on waiting for Mon Mothma's call. Instead, Leia stood at the head of the room, as she had done for the first time three weeks previously.

"This won't take too long," she said, "We're just making sure that everyone knows the plan. Ahsoka?"

The red-skinned Jedi stood up. "Thank you, Princess," she nodded once. "As you all know, Princess Leia will be our contact in the Fleet once we're on Corulag. General Kota and I will be the unofficial 'leaders' of this group, though we would welcome all thoughts and opinions as the mission progresses."

Juno looked over to Kota, who nodded, waving a hand in acknowledgement.

"We've made contact with the insurgents in Curamelle – they have provided us with landing codes and promised access to their hideout. We also traced the location of their transmission to an area in the south-west of the city."

"Advank precinct," murmured Juno, mostly to herself. Ahsoka nodded, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," she said, "You familiar with that area, Captain?"

"I grew up there," Juno replied, old memories creeping back into her mind. She had done a good job of decidedly not thinking about her childhood, back before she had even joined the Academy. It was a long time ago. There was no need to bring it up now, so she didn't say anything else.

"I see," Ahsoka didn't seem surprised; Juno doubted that anything phased her, these days.

"Well," she continued, "We're to go to the co-ordinates they provided us, and then someone will meet us there and give us new co-ordinates in person to the location of their hideout. It's just for security purposes. Both the transmission and the co-ordinates in question came from the aforementioned precinct."

Ahsoka turned to Leia. "I think that's all for now. We're just waiting on the go-ahead from the Alliance leaders, but the storm has grounded us for the time being. If all goes to plan, we should be departing in a few days' time."

Leia nodded. "Yes. Apart from that, all preparations appear to be complete." The princess looked around the room. Juno, too, looked around at her companions. Galen, Kota, Ahsoka; the three Force-users looked deceptively calm about their upcoming mission. Juno knew better, for at least one of the three: sometimes Galen still woke in a panic, breathing heavily. He hadn't had much luck figuring anything out yet.

Then there were the ordinary soldiers and engineers of the mission: Gipp, Neve, and Jesman (the enthusiastic Mon Calamari who had befriended Galen) were sitting together, giving each other cautious side-eyed glances. She'd spoken to them a few times since that dinner, and had heard their concerns about the upcoming mission. There were still so many vague details; so many things that could potentially go wrong. Juno, personally, was concerned with the lack of responsibility the Rebel Alliance was taking with the mission – she understood what undercover meant, of course, but going as far as to deny all responsibility for their little group if they were caught seemed a little harsh. Coming from the Empire, she understood what harsh was.

At the back of the room, there were the rest of the small task force: Starter, who she'd exchanged a few friendly words with, but nothing meaningful since their initial meeting; and Yisha and Ari – two young cadets who had defected from one of the Imperial academies. On the base, the young Ensigns had both been assigned to delivering messages around the base, something that seemed to terrify them – especially when dealing with Galen. Juno tried not to smirk at the thought. She was, admittedly, surprised that cadets so young had been allowed to join such a risky mission, but what they lacked in experience they made up for in copious amounts of enthusiasm.

Overall, Juno figured it was a pretty decent task force. She admittedly hadn't done a huge amount of espionage in her time, but she had been taught enough back in the Imperial Academy to be an asset to the group. Her extensive knowledge of the Empire, if nothing else, was good for something.

The meeting was brought to a close; Leia would personally check in with everyone before their departure from Echo Base, and everyone had last-minute checks to be getting back to.

Galen and Juno left the room together, and Juno noticed how easy it was for them to hold hands. Back when she was on the Salvation II, fraternisation of any kind had been frowned upon, and whilst their relationship wasn't forbidden by the Alliance – Galen hadn't been directly assigned to Juno's command, so it therefore wasn't a breach of protocol – they had preferred to keep things on the down-low. Especially when Juno was the captain of an entire frigate, and was therefore (in Galen's words) "responsible".

But now, in her new position (whatever that was; she didn't have a formal title, though everyone still addressed her as 'Captain'), she felt more at liberty to do...well, whatever she wanted. It wasn't something she'd had the luxury of doing before, ever.

"You seem a little quiet," Galen commented, as they walked along the icy corridors. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"You're one to talk," she pointed out, smiling slightly. He took a deep breath as if to argue, then relaxed.

"Okay, you have a point. But, in all seriousness, that thing about Advank Precinct? Are you – are you alright?"

Her initial response was to shrug and say she was fine, but – well, this was Galen. And she had hidden enough from him already.

"Well," she began, "You know I grew up there."

Galen nodded affirmative.

"It's a pretty poor part of Curamelle. You only see the shiny, Imperial capital in the holovids, but it's got a whole darker underworld that nobody sees." She gave a short, mirthless laugh. "Unless you live there."

"Anyway," she continued, "I lived there with my mother and father, though latterly just my father. Once I was accepted into the Academy, I visited home less and less. My father barely spoke to me, barely acknowledged I existed. When I graduated, I came home one last time, packed all my things into a bag, and left without a word." She sighed. "I never thought I would see Corulag, let alone the area I grew up in, again in my lifetime."

"You've never mentioned this before," said Galen softly, squeezing her hand. She shrugged.

"It was never important," she replied, "I put that part of my life behind me. My father probably thinks I'm dead, anyway. I'm sure he was still down on some form somewhere as my next of kin if anything happened to me."

Galen swallowed. "Like...being branded a traitor to the Empire and sentenced to execution?"

She managed a tight smile. "Yes. I'm sure the words 'traitor' made his day." Serves him right, she thought, but stopped herself short before she said it. When had she become so bitter?

"Do you think he still lives there?" Galen asked. Juno frowned; she had not thought about it before.

"I don't know," she replied, honestly. "We didn't have a lot of money, so I doubt he's moved. I...I don't know what I would say to him if I ever saw him again."

"He didn't deserve you," muttered Galen, his expression suddenly dark. Juno nudged him gently.

"Hey," she said, "I'm over it now. It was a long time ago." She managed a smile, comforted by the thought that she hadn't needed her father's recognition for a long time. Galen nodded, hesitantly.

"I know," he sighed, "But some things leave deeper scars than others." Absent-mindedly, he reached up to scratch the back of his head, his eyes distant; Juno thought back to their first meeting, when Galen's hair was shorn thin and he didn't have a proper name.

"Yeah," Juno admitted, "They do."

Sometime later, Juno was lounging in the pilot's chair of the Rogue Shadow, flicking idly through some news articles on her datapad. She hated to use the term 'lounging', but she was off-duty for the time being, and Galen had practically sat her on the chair himself and told her to take a break. After the meeting, she had spent the morning and most of the afternoon working on the Rogue Shadow, making sure it was up for the flight to Corulag. Sure, there were mechanics on the base, but she knew the Shadow better than she knew her own father. The ship was so specialised that generally neither she nor Galen would let anyone near it, let alone tinker with it.

Distantly, she heard a light tapping on the hull, accompanied by a faint voice.

"Hello? Captain Eclipse? A-are you in there?"

Juno stood up and made her way to the landing ramp, which was sitting open whilst she and Galen did their repairs. Yisha, one of the young cadets, was hovering nervously around the entrance, evidently unsure on how to proceed. On seeing Juno, she saluted, blinking nervously. Juno waved her down, trying not to appear too irritable.

"At ease, cadet. What is it?"

"Uh – I was s-sent to tell you...You're needed in the comm tower, immediately. Something about Corulag comm frequencies. And h-hyperspace lanes."

"Really? Right this moment?" Juno frowned, having just begun to enjoy her rest. It didn't help that her back was killing her, and a moment's sit-down was – begrudgingly – just what she had needed. And she had discussed transponder codes and hyperspace lanes constantly with the Rebel leaders for the last three weeks – why they would need her input, again, was beyond her.

Yisha swallowed nervously. "Just following orders, ma'am."

She sighed heavily, and fixed the unfortunate message-bearer with a glare. "I'll be right there."

The cadet nodded, and hurried off. "Yes, ma'am."

"Trouble?" Galen appeared from around the back of the Rogue Shadow, holding a hydrospanner and covered in an inordinate amount of engine oil. Juno held back a laugh.

"It certainly looks like it," she chuckled, "What did you do?"

Galen coughed. "Oh...I, uh, ran into some problems. With refuelling. But PROXY and I fixed it, don't worry."

Juno raised a sceptical eyebrow. "A Jedi and a combat droid? I need to go and attend to some business, but when I come back I'm having a look at whatever mess you made."

"For the record, I think one of the newer recruits messed up the fuel line. Blame them. But what business? I thought we're supposed to be prepping for departure?"

She shrugged. "I thought so too. Apparently it's urgent, whatever it is. I won't be long, promise."

Galen gave a slight smile. "Okay. See you around."

She kissed him briefly on the lips, glad that they were in a relatively secluded part of the hangar. His eyes lingered on her for a second after, and once again her insides recoiled at the secret she was still keeping. Forcing a smile, she waved and zipped up her large jacket even further, making her way towards the turbolifts.

She ran some numbers on her datapad whilst waiting for the lift to arrive. Weather depending, they were due to depart in two days' time, and their ships would start arriving on Corulag approximately five to ten days after that. Having extensive knowledge of Imperial hyperspace routes, she had helped to plan courses for each ship – seven in total – from Hoth to Corulag. Each ship would be travelling in different directions, and would therefore arrive at different times, averting suspicion. It was, admittedly, a similar tactic to one used several years previously; at least this time, they weren't carrying an all-powerful Sith Lord with a personal level of hatred for Galen.

Juno was confident it would work; they had a myriad of species and races working together, and enough forged documents to make it look legitimate.

The only trouble that now awaited them was what lay on the other side.

Galen watched Juno go with an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. For weeks now, she had been avoiding his questions, his queries regarding her wellbeing. Ever since she had arrived, something was obviously wrong; he just couldn't pinpoint what, and it frustrated him.

Even worse, he had woken up that morning with a general sense of dread hanging over him, for once not related to Juno. He couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. Which, of course, would be useful, if – again – he could figure out what the Force was actually telling him. He often had to remind himself that, despite his many years of training with the Force, he still had much to learn.

Exhaling loudly, he shook his head and began cleaning up his tools. He had promised Kota they would meet for a sparring session, and the old man had apparently invited the other rogue Jedi of the group, Ahsoka Tano, to join them. Galen didn't know much about the Togruta, apart from the few times they had spoken during meetings. She made him uneasy, and gave him a sense that she knew more about him than he did. Juno had noted that they actually had much in common, if you believed the rumours whispered around the base – both Galen and Ahsoka had turned away from their initial path of training; away from their Masters. Both had forged knew paths for themselves.

Galen wasn't sure what to make of that comparison, so he had said nothing. Truth be told, Juno was probably right, but he didn't like to admit it.

He shrugged off his dirty overalls and changed back into his usual getup of a simple tunic and trousers under his armour. Attaching his dual lightsabers to his belt returned a sense of normalcy, at least. He was no expert in matters of the heart, or other human beings, but he could at least hold his own in battle.

"Hey, PROXY!" he called out to the droid, who was rustling around in the box of tools. Ship repairing was most definitely not the droid's primary programming, but PROXY was nonetheless determined to help. The droid's servomotors whirred as he turned to look at Galen, photoreceptors blinking.

"Yes, master?"

"I'm going up to the training room for some sparring practise with Kota and Tano. We might need you, if you're up to it."

PROXY almost looked indignant. "I must remind you I was built for sparring, master Galen. I can provide multiple different tactics and lightsaber forms, a far superior opponent to any organic one."

Galen gave a small smile. "Thought so."

He had missed the droid whilst he was away; he wouldn't bring himself to admit it out loud, but he was very fond of the droid, and leaving PROXY in Juno's care would ensure that he would be safe. Or, as safe as the Rebellion could be, anyway.

Kota and Ahsoka were waiting for him by the time him and PROXY had reached the training room. Kota nodded as he entered.

"Finally, you're here. Thought you'd never show up. And the droid's here! Excellent."

Galen wasn't sure if the last part was sarcasm, but he chose to ignore it. PROXY could handle himself, anyway.

"I think you'll find, General, that the last time we fought I managed to beat you in approximately six minutes and twenty-nine seconds. Perhaps that is why you have refused to train with me since."

Galen bit back a laugh, but he heard Ahsoka chuckle under her breath.

"Tano," he said, "Nice to see you."

"And you," she nodded. "I've never had the pleasure of meeting your droid, though."

"Ah," he replied, "Well, this is PROXY. PROXY, say hello."

The droid moved one of his limbs in an approximation of a human wave.

"Good afternoon, Lady Tano. From the databanks, I can see that you favour the Form V reverse grip, like my master. I can assure you that I am proficient in that combat style, having fought my master and adapting to his style for many years."

"I...what?" The Togruta had a bemused expression on her face. Galen realised that his unconventional childhood was perhaps not common knowledge to everyone.

"Uh, what PROXY means is that...he was programmed as a combat droid, and he can simulate various different lightsaber styles to practise against. His primary programming used to be to kill me in a duel, but thankfully we, uh, changed that." Galen coughed, embarrassedly. To her credit, Ahsoka didn't look in this least bit fazed by this information.

"I see." She narrowed her eyes at PROXY, the hint of a smile on her face. "What about Djem So?"

PROXY's photoreceptors lit up. "Ah! A newer one for my model, but an enjoyable style nonetheless. Would you care for a duel, Lady Tano?"

Ahsoka nodded. "Sure. And, please, call me Ahsoka. I'm not that formal."

Suddenly, PROXY lunged, clearly in an attempt to catch Ahsoka off-guard. Immediately her lightsabers snapped to life, white light matching the ice walls around them. Droid and Togruta clashed in what even Galen admitted was an impressive display. Whilst Galen himself favoured a direct approach in combat, Ahsoka reserved herself; she leaped in circles around the droid, always one step out of reach. She parried PROXY's blows with expert precision, never letting him close enough to land any blows.

PROXY, who had taken the form of a nameless human Jedi, held his own, but after some time it transpired that he was no match for Ahsoka. After a serious of staggering attacks, she turned on the offensive and plunged her shorter lightsaber into his back, white light clashing with sparks. PROXY shuddered to a halt, his holographic displays switching back to his droid self.

"A fine match, Lady Tano," he wheezed, photoreceptors flickering slightly. Ahsoka, who was only a little out of breath, put a concerned hand on his shoulder, helping the droid stand. She turned to Galen.

"Is it – he – alright?"

"Oh, he's fine. Just needs an oil bath or something. We'll get you one when we get to Corulag," he patted the droid on the shoulder.

PROXY nodded. "The cold weather isn't good for my joints." He wobbled over to sit down next to Kota, who frowned.

"You're very attached to him," noted Ahsoka, watching the droid sit. Galen shrugged.

"I've known him a while," he said. Tano was friendly enough, but he got the impression that she didn't trust him, and he didn't want to give out more information than he needed to. She merely made a non-committal noise, and sat down cross-legged on the floor. Her eyes closed in meditation, and it was clear their conversation was over. Galen turned to Kota.

"Up for a duel, old man?"

"Is that a challenge?"

Galen's mouth twitched. "Against you? Hardly."

Baiting Kota usually did the trick, and the old Jedi 'harrumphed' irritably. "I suppose I still need someone to keep me on my toes," he muttered, unclipping his lightsaber from his belt.

"That's more like it," said Galen, "You're the one who asked me up here, after all."

Green and blue lightsabers sprang into action, and Galen was reminded once again how forceful a fighter Kota was, despite his blindness. The older man knew his weaknesses, favouring heavy blows and a steady stance, as opposed to agility and speed. Galen still remembered their first fight; it felt like eons ago. He was still a naïve apprentice, eager for the blood of Jedi; Kota, a once-respected General. It had been him and Juno's first mission together, too – she had commented on how they were walking into a trap, but had dutifully given him instructions and flown the ship without fault.

Even over five years later, he looked at Kota's bandaged eyes with a sense of guilt. That, after all, had been his doing; it was an issue that hadn't really been addressed, what with near-deaths and resurrections in the aftermath of the Death Star. Juno had told him of the conversation that she'd had with Kota, after Galen's supposed 'death'. Kota had known all along who they were; who he was. And had willingly trusted him and gone along with him anyway.

Galen realised that his musings were causing him to let his guard down, and narrowly missed Kota's blade. He leaped out of the way, barely out of breath, and Kota chuckled.

"Daydreaming again? The Empire won't go so easy on you, you know."

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Kota's teaching voice. "I know."

They continued their fight, already far longer than Ahsoka and PROXY'S match. Galen had brute strength on his side, whilst Kota had a strong defence. Ahsoka finished her meditations and watched their match from the side-lines, absent-mindedly levitating the parts of her lightsabers around her. For the first time in a long time, Galen felt at peace – the flow of combat was as familiar to him as breathing, and Kota was a worthy opponent. He also privately admitted that fighting without fear of death felt notably different to many of his fights with PROXY in his youth. It was almost...relaxing. Well, relaxing for him, anyway. He suspected Kota was tiring, as he was starting to slip up, leaving himself open for Galen to strike.

Suddenly, time seemed to slow as several things happened at once; first, Galen felt a terrible sense of dread wash over him, right before he was about to disarm the General. Second, he sank to his knees, noticing a similar expression pass over the faces of his two companions. The dread on Ahsoka's face was palpable; he had never seen the calm, collected Togruta look so distressed. And third, he felt a presence that he had never wanted to sense ever again so long as he lived.

Vader. He's here. Along with the Empire and their ships.

Ahsoka knew. And she likely knew more than him.

The whole experience had lasted less than ten seconds but already the three Force-users were alert and ready for action.

"The base's proximity alarms," said Ahsoka tersely, "They haven't activated yet. We need to warm someone."

"I'll go," muttered Kota, activating his comlink, "We can rendezvous at the Shadow. Princess Leia will have orders for us, I suspect. And PROXY! With me. We may need a quick exit."

Galen and Ahsoka nodded as the old Jedi loped off towards the central command centre, PROXY hurrying not far behind him.

"I need to call Juno," Galen turned to Ahsoka, "She's not safe."

"Where is she at the moment?"

"The communications tower," replied Galen, his heart sinking. That was the most remote part of the base. It would take some time to get to the hangar bays normally, but with everything soon to be on lockdown-

"Marek. Snap out of it. We need to defend this base. You can call her when we're on the move." Ahsoka was shaking his arm, pulling him out of his panic.

"Right," he rubbed his forehead, trying to erase the looming presence of Vader, "Let's get moving, then."

"Okay, so we've got routes heading here and here," Juno pointed to some brightly-coloured lines highlighted on the holomap, "And another one that heads around this nebula – see how the ship emissions can be disguised by the solar interference..."

"And in relation to our communication points?" Neve frowned, confused.

"Well," Juno typed a few commands into the console and zoomed closer into a map of Corulag, "This tower has managed to pick up insurgent frequencies from here, here and here. Those are the hyperspace lanes that, according to them, the Empire doesn't know about, or at the very least doesn't use. I can vouch for that claim – those routes are our safest bets."

She had been asked to help out with mapping some hyperspace lanes, but she hadn't realised it was going to turn into a full-on lecture. Not that she minded, of course. Once the initial irritation at being called on, again, has passed, she was proud that she could pass on her knowledge to the rest of the Rebellion.

"Oh, Captain Eclipse," one of the young cadets, Ari, gestured to Juno's lapel, "Your comlink is flashing."

"Shavit," Juno muttered. She'd muted it so that she could do her calculations in peace and not be bothered by any other Rebels. The flashing light, and the fact that it was the emergency channel that Galen used hailing her, quickly made her regret that decision.

Snapping open her comlink, she spoke quickly. "Galen, what's wrong?"

"Juno, the Empire is here, they've just arrived in the system. We need to evacuate the base!"

Juno frowned, reaching over to the nearest terminal to check the scanners. They were clear, with the only movement outside the base being native animals. "What? Are you sure? Scanners are coming up cl-"

Her reply was cut off by a high-pitched wailing noise; Juno winced as the base's proximity alarms blared into action. Neve stood up, eyes wide.

"That's the evac alarm!" Others in the room were also scrambling from their seats, running for the door. The Sullustan patched into her comlink, hastily tapping shutdown commands into all the monitors as she did so.

"They've spotted a probe droid near the outskirts of the base. It's likely the Empire won't be far behind. Instructions are being relayed to our datapads."

Sure enough, Juno pulled up the emergency commands being pinged to her tablet.

"Rendezvous with the fleet?" she asked, "But what about our mission?"

Neve shrugged. "I guess we'll find out when we get there. I don't know about you, but I'm getting the hell out of here. I don't fancy being here when the Empire's soldiers land."

Juno nodded, her heart racing. "I'll get to the Rogue Shadow and power it up. You coming with us?"

Neve nodded fervently. "I trust that stealth ship more than those X-Wing fighters."

Distantly, Juno could hear the rumblings of a starship. Destroyer-class, most likely. It wouldn't be long before the Imperial troops would arrive on the ground. She knew how it worked. Nodding, she followed Neve and the others out of the communications room and into the icy labyrinth of corridors.

"-uno? Juno, are you there?"

Juno pressed a hand to her ear. "Galen?"

"He's here. I can feel him."

Juno didn't have to ask who Galen was referring to.

"You don't have to fight him, Galen," she said, pausing in her running for a second to catch her breath.

"I-I know. I remember what happened last time. It almost didn't end well for either of us. Ahsoka feels it too." He paused, and Juno could hear his voice catching. "You need to get to the Shadow."

"I'm making my way there now. I'm with Neve and some of the technicians. We were at the communications tower."

"The comm-? Juno, that's the other end of the base! The Empire have landed!"

She shook her head. "Just tell PROXY to get the ship prepped if I'm not there in time. I'll get there, don't worry."

On the other end of the line, he sighed heavily. "Fine. Be careful. I love you."

"I love you too."

Juno closed the line with a frown. She jogged to catch up with the others, remembering that her knowledge of the base was still far from perfect. Getting lost whilst the base was being evacuated? Not such a smart move.

"Where to now?" she asked Neve, who was leading the way. The engineer's trademark humour had vanished, replaced by worry. She brought up some schematics on her datapad to show Juno.

"Well, this way should be the quickest route to the hangar bay," Neve explained, pointing at the miniature diagram, "But there's an entry hatch about halfway along this corridor, and my bet is that it's the first place the stormtroopers are going to breach if they're attacking the base."

"Wouldn't the first place be the hangar bay?" asked Juno, "Wide opening, clear access for AT-ATs, easy access from there to the rest of the base."

Neve shook her head. "The noises from the battle are coming from the wrong side. The hangar bay faces outwards, away from the power generators. This entry hatch is almost directly next to them."

As she spoke, a large explosion rocked the base, causing the floor to shudder under their feet. Juno reached out and placed a hand on the icy wall for support, resisting the urge to place her hand over her stomach. It would do nothing to protect her or her baby, but it would certainly make her feel better.

They had only just begun to dust themselves off from the first explosion when another one came right behind it. The lights in the corridor flickered and died, leaving only the dim green emergency lights by the floor. Behind them, there was a distant rumble, possibly signifying a cave-in (a not uncommon occurrence, Juno had learned, but unwelcome nonetheless).

"They're targeting the power generator!" Jesman gasped, "We'll never make it out in time if it blows!"

His large eyes bulged in panic, and Juno could see that he was shaking.

"Hey, hey," she soothed, patting his arm gently, "We'll make it out of here just fine. Is everyone else okay?"

The rest of small group – now just Juno, Neve, Jesman, and the two cadets – nodded, and Juno looked to Neve for some guidance. If Juno's intuitions were right, they couldn't return the way they came if the corridor was caved in. Their only chance appeared to be going forward, and fervently hope that they didn't cross paths with any stormtroopers.

Galen snapped his comlink shut and sighed, running a hand over his brow. He could feel through the Force that Juno was okay, but it didn't make their current predicament any easier.

"She'll be alright," said Ahsoka, "She can handle herself."

He nodded, tersely. "Thanks," he muttered. He appreciated Ahsoka's attempts to console him, though Vader's looming presence, combined with his worry for Juno, was making it difficult for him to think about anything else.

The ground rumbled as they ran towards the central command centre. By the time they arrived, the command centre's only inhabitants were Princess Leia and General Rieekan, the man in charge of the whole operation. Leia sat at one of the terminals, plugged into a headset with a troubled expression on her face.

"How are the evacuations going?" Ahsoka addressed both the princess and the general. Rieekan ran a hand through greying hair.

"We're sending out two X-Wings at a time to escort the civilian cargo ships," he said, bringing up the schematics on the holo-projector, "But the Empire has sent an entire fleet. So far most of the cargo ships have gotten away, but..."

"...But if the Empire gets to the power generators before we've been able to evacuate everyone, we're as good as dead," finished Leia, her eyebrows knitted in concern. Rieekan turned to the princess.

"Your Highness, I must insist that you get on the next transport scheduled to leave. The Rebellion can't afford to lose you."

She shook her head fervently. "I'm not leaving until I know everyone is safe." At that, she turned to Galen.

"Where are Juno and the others? I haven't had the chance to communicate with them."

"The last I heard of her, she was up at the transmissions centre," replied Galen, his steady voice not betraying his inner worry, "She was with some of the other technicians."

Leia nodded. "I see. Just in case I don't get the chance, take this." She handed him a small datachip. "Anything beyond local transmission is being jammed, so I can't broadcast this ship-wide to your entire party. Send it when you get out of here."

Galen frowned. "Leia – Your Highness, I – are you sure?"

"It's for the good of the Rebellion. I trust you, Galen."

General Rieekan cleared his throat. "I don't want to ask too much of you, but we've got soldiers outside defending the front lines. Help them hold off the Empire for as long as you can, and wait for the order to retreat. We're not going to win this, but we should at least try to minimise the casualties."

Galen gripped his lightsabers, and felt Ahsoka do the same. "Yes, General. We'll do our best."

"May the Force be with you," added Ahsoka as they turned and left, jogging for the surface. He felt sadness radiating from her, and wasn't sure why. Tano often presented more questions than answers; much like himself, he supposed. He wondered if he would ever find all the answers to his questions. Then again, perhaps whilst facing imminent danger – and possibly death, his mind helpfully supplied – wasn't the best time to be thinking about that. Focus. He had to focus. He had never been very good at it.

They reached one of the hatches that led to the outdoors, a thick durasteel door with a heavy, circular handle. "Stars, Marek," muttered Ahsoka, as they worked to get the door open, "You have got to work on your emotions. You're practically broadcasting your location to every single Force-user in the galaxy."

He felt momentarily indignant, despite the seriousness of their situation. "My feelings," he grunted, giving the door one final push as it cracked open, "Are no-one's business but my own."

"Well," snapped Ahsoka, gasping as the cold air rushed in, "I would tend to agree, but you seem to forget that I'm a Force-user too. I'm getting a lot of things from you that I didn't particularly need to know."

That shut him up, and he exhaled loudly through gritted teeth. The exterior of the base was absolutely freezing, even more so since the last time Galen had ventured outside. In the distance, he could see Rebel soldiers tramping through thick snow, hiding behind barriers as they attempted to ward off Imperial Walkers from the power generators.

Igniting his lightsabers steadied his mind, the brilliant blue in stark contrast to the white of the storm. Unlike inside the base, he felt calm, measured. They had a job to do.

With Ahsoka running alongside him, they leapt in front of the Rebels' defences and headed towards the enemy. Galen had fought many, many of those AT-STs before; letting loose its own cannons on itself and pummelling it to the ground felt like second nature. Ahsoka's approach garnered less explosions, but was effective nonetheless: a single, brilliant push from the Force would topple the machines in on themselves, and then it only took a few blows from her lightsabers to finish it off.

Once the first wave of walkers were destroyed, the two of them retreated back to the Rebels' defensive barriers.

"Everyone alright?" Ahsoka enquired after the Rebel soldiers, huddled in the cold.

"We've had a few casualties. Rigson, Bikkan, and Nicks. No injuries, apart from that," said the commander, nodding soberly.

"It won't be long until they send another wave," said Galen, looking out at the horizon, "How many transports still have to get clear?"

The commander checked her comlink. "There's still four to go, plus a couple of fighters. I don't think the Empire is done with us yet, though. I was on Scarif – this is barely scratching the surface."

Galen nodded. "Agreed. They're lulling us into a false sense of security." He was wary of developing a pattern, of getting too comfortable, but when all the Empire sent were walkers – capable of being taken down by one lightsaber-wielder – it was easy to presume that that's all the Empire had to throw at them.

Of course, Galen knew better. Ahsoka certainly knew better, judging by the way she glanced at the horizon every few seconds.

"You should retreat while you can," she told the commander.

"Whilst the Empire is still attacking? I think not! And look, out there in the distance – what is that!?"

Galen looked to where her gloved hand was pointing, and his heart sank. Five times the size of a walker, three massive AT-ATs loomed through the blizzard. Through the swirling blizzard, the distant rumbles of the AT-AT walkers were horribly audible. He could almost feel the ground shake from their enormous feet stepping forward, one by one; a slow, inevitable death march.

Nevertheless, he turned and started heading out towards the beasts in the distance.

"What are you doing?" Ahsoka grabbed him by the elbow. He shook her off.

"Defending the base."

"On your own? Marek, you're powerful, really powerful, but even you shouldn't go solo against three AT-ATs. That's just – just suicide."

Galen looked back at the AT-ATs in the distance. Around them, the Rebels were patching themselves up and preparing for another wave, rifles slung over shoulder and wearing grim expressions. They were willing to die for the cause. So was he. He'd done it once before, after all.

Not that he actively went looking for suicide missions. But he saw the power of the oncoming walkers – with all due respect to the Rebellion, they didn't have the foot soldiers to take them down. Galen, on the other hand, just might manage.

"I'll be fine," he told Ahsoka. She frowned, her face markings twisting into an expression he didn't understand.

"I'm not asking for myself," she said. Predictably, Juno came to mind. Galen tried not to think of where she was, if she was safe.

He nodded towards the soldiers. "Keep them safe. Get to the Rogue Shadow once everyone's evacuated."

"And you?"

"I'll make it back in time."

The Togruta snorted. "I'll hold you to that. You're being an idiot, but I can't stop you."

He shrugged, more casually than he felt. "I've heard that before."

Igniting his lightsabers, he turned again and headed out into the snow. Thankfully, the weather conditions were better than normal – a relative term, on Hoth, because 'better than normal' still equalled snow storms and sub-zero conditions.

As he ran through the thick snow towards the chaos, he was distantly aware of one of the AT-AT pilots noticing him, and its entire set of guns turning their attention on him.

He smiled grimly.

Now this he could handle.

A/N: writing action sequences...is...so...hard...If i had it my way this fic would be solid 20 chapters of introspection and dialogue, but that would be very boring for everyone else, i suspect!
Anyway this chapter has been probably the most difficult out of all of them to write, so i hope it turned out okay. my motivation isn't what it used to be but i am still determined to see this through until the end!

I also saw Rogue One whilst writing this so i took some time out to write some fic for that. like HOLY SHIT though it was so good and i cried so much! It got me thinking about how there's some similarities between Jyn and Juno, not least in their initials and similar-sounding names (J.E.), and believe me it was weird hearing the name "Galen" bandied around a bunch of times in an ACTUAL STAR WARS MOVIE. It makes me happy that, whilst the force unleashed etc. is no longer canon, they're still taking concepts from it (it lives on in my heart)

The next chapter will be posted...at some point. it is half-written, i can tell you that! things are happening ;) As always, favourites and reviews are always appreciated!