Chapter Three: The Battle of Hoth
Once the Doctor and Jennara returned to Echo Base, the three generals-Rieekan, Obi-Wan, and the Doctor-came up with an evacuation plan for the Rebels to leave Hoth behind for good. They would evacuate as many men and officers as possible onto GR-75 medium transports. The Doctor held a particular fondness for those transports; they came from Gallofree Yards.
When the Imperials arrived at Hoth, the Rebels would activate their shield generator so that the Imperials would not be able to bombard them and would be forced to make a ground assault. The Rebels would send out a small force of soldiers and snowspeeders, if they were needed, to distract the Empire's forces long enough for the remaining forces to get away safely.
It was decided that each Gallofree transport-the Doctor smiled every time he saw one of those or heard its name-would be guarded by two X-Wing fighters. Getting past the Star Destroyers that were likely to be sitting just above orbit would be tricky, but the Rebels' new ion cannon that Jennara had helped design and build would fire several shots at the Destroyers for maximum effectiveness.
It was not a sound plan by any stretch of the imagination. But it was the best one they could come up with on this short of a notice. And the Doctor was about to be proven that it was a good thing that he and his general comrades were quick thinkers.
"Sirs!" called an officer. "A fleet of Star Destroyers just dropped out of hyperspace in Sector Four."
"Wakey wakey, boys and girls," the Doctor muttered to himself. "They're here."
"Reroute all power to the energy shields," Rieekan ordered quickly. "We've got to hold them until all the transports are away. Commander Strax, prepare your men for a ground assault."
"Yes, sir," said the commander as he ran out of the command center to prep his men.
Princess Leia went out to the main hangar bay to prep the men on the strategy that the Doctor, Obi-Wan, and Rieekan had formulated. When she finished with her task, she returned to the command center and stood with the three generals and Jennara as they put their plan into action.
"I'd imagine their primary target to be the shield generators," said the Doctor.
"Do you think we'll have enough time to get them all away, Doctor?" asked Leia.
"Technically, no," said the Doctor. "In reality, also no. But we should certainly be able to get as many as we can off this planet."
"It'll be a good day for us if we can get at least seventy percent of our personnel off Hoth," said Rieekan. "It'll be a great day if we can get all of us off safely."
"Prepare to open the energy shield," ordered Obi-Wan as the first transport loaded up with soldiers and equipment. When it was loaded up and ready to leave the planet, Jennara made the call with the ion cannon.
"Stand by, ion cannon," she said. "Ready. Fire!"
The Doctor faintly heard the firing of three shots from Jennara's ion cannon and hoped that it was enough to let the transport and X-Wings get away.
"This is Transport One," said the pilot of the ship a few seconds later. "We made it."
The command center personnel leaped and cheered with joy as the Doctor got on the intercom.
"Hello, Echo Base, hello. This is the Doctor," he said jovially. "The first transport is away. I repeat: Transport number one is away."
As good as that was, the Rebels weren't finished yet. They still had several transports that needed to leave this planet as soon as possible. On top of that, Imperial All Terrain Armored Transports had been spotted along the north ridge of Echo Base. The Doctor had seen a few of those in action in the Battle of Boz Pity, and they were devastatingly effective.
"Echo Base, this is Rogue Leader," the voice of Luke Skywalker crackled through the Alliance COM channel. "We're on our way to the north ridge to see if we can't stall those walkers for you."
"Hold them off for as long as you can, Luke," urged Obi-Wan.
"Will do, Ben," said Luke.
The Doctor watched the battle unfold through the various monitors the Rebels had set up inside the command center. From the looks of it, the AT-ATs were part of an Imperial detachment called Blizzard Force. That meant that Maximilian Veers was leading the walker assault. While he did not serve in the Clone War, the Doctor had heard of Veers's exploits in the failed Assault on Carida, where his modified AT-ATs made their debut against the Rebels.
The battle was not going well for the Rebels. Despite the efforts of Rogue Squadron in taking out one of the AT-ATs, the head AT-AT had already come within range of the power generator, and none of the snowspeeders were swarming it. The shield would be down in mere moments, and the Doctor sensed that someone far more sinister than General Veers would be coming soon.
"Carlist, I think it'd probably be best if we sent up two this time," suggested the Doctor.
"I don't think we can protect two transports at a time, Doctor," said Rieekan, although the Doctor could sense that he was thinking along the same lines as the Doctor himself.
"It is very risky, but we cannot hold off those walkers for much longer," said Obi-Wan as an explosion around Echo Base's perimeter caused seismic activity inside the base.
"We don't seem to have much of a choice," put in Leia.
"Alright," said Rieekan, giving in to the suggestions of three people whose opinions he valued. "Launch patrol!" he called to the launch officer in the command center.
"Evacuate remaining ground staff," ordered the Doctor. "Let's get everybody out of here."
"Yes, sir," said the officer.
"Doctor, what's the plan?" asked Jennara, who rushed over to the Doctor in all the confusion.
"We're going straight to Dagobah," said the Doctor. "We'll fly out on the Tardis."
"The what?" asked Jennara, coming to her turn to be confused. "Tardis?"
"Good name for the freighter?" asked the Doctor. He knew that his own people, the Gallifreyans, had called their war machines Tardises. The Doctor thought he would provide a better reputation for the name of the Tardis by naming the freighter Tardis.
"I guess so," said Jennara.
"Good. Alright, let's help these people get out of here!" said the Doctor, and the Jedi moved to evacuate the command center of all personnel, including General Rieekan. Soon, the only ones left in the command center were the Doctor, Jennara, Obi-Wan, Leia, C-3PO, and an officer who was working until the last possible second to keep Echo Base alive.
"You alright?" asked Han, who had just appeared at the door of the command center.
"Why are you still here?" Leia shouted angrily.
"I heard that they were evacuating the command center, but I didn't see you in the hangar bay," explained Han.
"Don't worry about me," ordered Leia. "You've got clearance to leave, so just go."
"Oh, I'm leaving," said Han. "But first, I'm getting you to your ship," he added as he darted right to Princess Leia to get her to the last transport ship.
"Mistress Leia, we really must board this last transport," said C-3PO. "It's our only hope of survival."
"Send all troops in Sector Twelve to the south slope," ordered Leia, ignoring both 3PO and Han. "Have them protect the fighters at all costs!"
Just then, another explosion rocked Echo Base, but it was much closer to the base than just the perimeter. This one, by the Doctor's reckoning, had occurred on the outer wall.
"Imperial troops have entered the base!" came the panicked announcement.
"Come on," said Han. "You've done all you can."
"Okay," Leia gave in to Han as he pulled her out of the command center. "Get to your transports, all of you!"
"We'll hold off the Imperial troops," said the Doctor, already pulling out his lightsaber. He had sensed a dark presence indeed. For a moment, he thought it was Sidious, but he corrected himself. This one felt more along the lines of Darth Vader. "Get to your transport as quickly as you can, officer!"
"Yes, sir," said the officer as she darted from her station and out of the command center.
"Come on, you lot," said the Doctor, activating his green lightsaber. "We've got Imperials to delay."
Jennara and Obi-Wan activated their yellow and blue lightsabers, and the three Jedi were off to find the Empire's landing party.
"Doctor, I sense-" began Jennara fearfully as they ran through the halls of Echo Base.
"I know," said the Doctor. "I can sense him, too."
"Vader," said Obi-Wan, tightening his grip on his lightsaber as they ran into the first of the Imperial snowtroopers.
"Jedi?!" one of them cried in surprise. "Blast them!"
Instantly, the Doctor dropped into an Ataru stance and used his complete mastery of the form to deflect any incoming bolts from the snowtroopers' E-11 blaster rifles. Jennara ran ahead of the Doctor and Obi-Wan and managed to strike a few of them down, but there were still more. Obi-Wan and the Doctor joined her, and together, they killed the rest of the snowtroopers.
"Come on!" shouted the Doctor. "I sense more of them in the hangar bay!"
The Doctor, Jennara, and Obi-Wan ran as fast as they could to the hangar bay of Echo Base, where they saw the Millenium Falcon taking off. The Doctor sensed Princess Leia aboard the old freighter, and he guessed that she hadn't made it to her own transport.
However, the Doctor did not have a chance to think about Princess Leia or the crew of the Millenium Falcon for very long. He saw a squad of snowtroopers and a fearsome man in tall black armor and matching black cloak. A black-and-silver lightsaber hung from his belt. His breathing, while labored, had become a symbol of fear and the might of the Empire. This man was Darth Vader.
Jennara froze in fear as the snowtroopers moved to attack position against the three Jedi. The Doctor held his stance, and he faced Darth Vader for the first time since his last regeneration.
"Tear this base apart!" Vader's booming voice commanded of his snowtroopers as he produced his lightsaber from his belt. "I will deal with the Jedi!"
"Obi-Wan, I think it would be best if you got the Tardis ready," suggested the Doctor.
"I agree," said Obi-Wan as he deactivated his lightsaber and ran as fast as he could to the Doctor and Jennara's freighter.
"You may have deprived me of Kenobi, Jedi, but my vengeance has waited for twenty-two years," said Vader as his crimson Sith blade slid easily out of his hilt. "It can wait just a bit longer. In the meantime, I can settle for you and Oswin, the Doctor's shadow."
"I am not his shadow," said Jennara, keeping her tone even as the two Jedi moved to meet the Sith Lord in combat. "I am a Jedi Knight."
"I killed the Doctor, Grand Master of the Jedi Order, myself," said Vader confidently. "You and your male companion will not be a problem."
"You may have killed the Doctor," said the Doctor, "but are you sure he's dead?"
Vader's false confidence seemed to dissipate. The Doctor could sense his mechanical breathing increasing in rapidity as the Sith Lord took a second glance in the Doctor's direction. What was that? Surprise? Shock?
Fear?
The sense of fear that the Doctor got from Vader fled in an instant, replaced almost totally by anger. Vader struck out at the Doctor, and red met green once again in a clash of lightsabers. Jennara's yellow blade swung in a high arc toward Vader's head, but the Sith Lord re-angled his blade to block both Jennara and the Doctor. Vader held both blades at bay, but Jennara and the Doctor were pushing him back. Vader used the Force to push the Doctor away, leaving Jennara to face him alone. The young woman, the Doctor noticed, was keeping away from Shii-Cho and sticking with Ataru against Vader. But Vader had developed a specialized version of Shien, and while Jennara was strong, she would not last forever against it. The Doctor needed to help her.
He ran to Vader and parried a blow that might have unbalanced Jennara.
"Thanks for that," she called as they attacked Vader together, causing Vader to double his speed and block both sabers.
The Doctor and Jennara continued to try to wear down Vader, but the Sith's prosthetics gave him unparalleled endurance. They would have time to subdue him at this rate if Obi-Wan got the Tardis up and running as quickly as the Doctor thought that he would. It should have been, at most, a few more seconds.
We're ready, Doctor, Obi-Wan called to the Doctor and Jennara telepathically.
Thanks, Obi-Wan, the Doctor thought back. Okay, Jennara, you ready?
Double wave? Oh yes, thought Jennara as the two Jedi backflipped away from Vader and deactivated their lightsabers. Building up a wave of Force energy, the Doctor and Jennara outstretched both of their arms and fired a blast of energy that sent Vader flying away from them. The Doctor and Jennara used the time granted to them by Vader's distraction to dash to the Tardis. The hatch closed, and the Doctor took the controls of the freighter.
The sounds of the groaning engines were accompanied by the repulsorlifts pulling the Tardis off the ground. The Doctor pushed the Jedi freighter forward, catapulting the Tardis out of Echo Base's hangar bay and away from Darth Vader and the Empire.
"Obi-Wan, have you taught Luke telepathic communication?" asked the Doctor once they were a safe distance from Echo Base.
"He cannot convey sentences yet, but he can send nudges with a distinct feeling to them," answered Obi-Wan.
"Okay, thank you."
The Doctor gave control of the Tardis to Jennara, and he contacted Luke through his thoughts.
Luke, he thought, it's time. When you leave Hoth, if you haven't already, head to Dagobah. Use your X-Wing. Fly with R2. He's been there. He knows the way.
The Doctor didn't get a worded response from Luke, but he did get a nudge of affirmation from the young man. When he felt the nudge, he turned to Jennara.
"Take us to Dagobah," he said to her with an affectionate smile.
"Right away, Doctor," said Jennara with an equally affectionate smile that warmed his hearts.
Jennara giggled for a moment, then put the ship into hyperspace. The stars in the distance lengthened until they were straight lines, and then the Tardis shot into the vortex of hyperspace once more, carrying its occupants ever closer to the completion of the Force's ultimate plan.
Oh, hey, look! The Battle of Hoth! That was a thing! That happened! Woo!
So, I feel like it's been forever since I've posted, even though it's only been a week. It felt like so much more time has passed, though! It's crazy!
Anyway, the TARDIS has finally made its first(ish) appearance as the Tardis, the Doctor and Jennara's freighter! That's pretty cool, I think! I was debating whether or not to put in the TARDIS at all, but I ultimately decided on putting it in, just as a regular old ship, not a time-travelling ship that's bigger on the inside or anything.
So, what did you think of this chapter? Leave your thoughts in a review! They are always appreciated! I do read all of them, so your voices will not go unnoticed, my friends!
Speaking of not going unnoticed, a user asked in a review if I will include Jenny in this series. Doctor's Daughter Jenny: no. Jenny Flint: sort of, but she won't have any dialogue or anything.
Next Friday: The Doctor, Obi-Wan, Jennara, and Luke arrive on the swamp planet of Dagobah to begin Luke's training. Meanwhile, Darth Vader is worried about his brief encounter with a certain Jedi Master on Hoth, and he confers about it with Darth Sidious.
And that about does it for this author's note. Until the next chapter, my friends!