Han wondered for a few seconds what had woken him. Was it Leia? No, she was still asleep. Was it the distant thunder he could hear? It couldn't be; it was too quiet to wake even him. Was it Anakin's foot? Despite the fact that said foot was up against his forehead, he doubted it.
Then he noticed the beeping.
After he established (by moving Anakin's other foot away from his throat) that it was not the alarm clock, he frowned and ran a hand over his face. Then he closed his eyes again, pushed his face back into the pillow, and tried to go back to sleep.
The beeping continued to invade his sleep, however, and he soon discovered that, no matter how hard he tried to ignore it, it still pierced his slumber and rang in his ears.
He attempted to block it out but Anakin stirred suddenly, though only a little, and kicked out. Han's head snapped back with some force and he raised his hand to his forehead with a soft,
"Ouch!"
He sat up with a few well chosen Corellian curses muttered under his breath and frowned at Anakin. His youngest son did not notice; he was still fast asleep, a beatific smile on his face. It was only the fact that it was a nightmare that had brought this six year old to his parents' bed that kept Han from holding his interrupted night against him.
He sighed softly and rose from the warmth of the bed to go to the comm. unit as he now realized it was that which had woken him. He cast another disparaging glance at Anakin as he took hold of the pillow that Han had been lying on. Then Leia put her arm around him and smiled.
Han shook his head. Much as he loved – loved – having a family, it was sometimes a little difficult.
But then he smiled. He could deal with a little nuisance now and again if it meant he had life this way. Thinking about it, he couldn't be happier.
Apart from that damn beeping.
Han was a smuggler and couldn't sleep through a hiccup if he was in a certain mood. But his wife and children could probably sleep through a cruiser launch even if they were lying on the platform. He scrubbed his hand over his face again and stood, adjusting the twisted waistband of his black silk pajama bottoms – he never wore the shirt.
As a matter of fact, were it not for the occasional bad dream that brought his children to his bed, he wouldn't even bother with those. As it was, though, his children often catapulted themselves across him on a morning if they deemed it was time to wake up. But he wouldn't be getting that treatment this morning.
Whoever was calling him better have a damn good reason for it.
But the little face that greeted him on the screen was not what he expected.
"Luke!"
"I'm sorry, Han," he said hastily, before he could protest. "I know it's early over there-"
"It's more'n a little early, Kid, it's three a.m. This better be good."
"Han-"
There was a sudden explosion in the background – Han heard it – and Luke ducked involuntarily. Outside, Han heard another peal pf distant thunder, and realized that it was in fact, the distant explosion.
"Kid, are you-"
"There are loyalists in the Imperial Palace, Han! I'm calling to-"
Another explosion echoed across the speakers and the image reverted to static for a second.
"Loyalists? Now?"
More static.
"I know….seems…but it's…need help..!"
"Kid! Kid, you're breakin' up!"
"We….help! You…here…Help!"
The image fuzzed out completely.
"Kid? Kid?"
But the image fuzzed out completely and left Han staring at a blank screen.
"Han!"
Han spun about to find Leia staring at him, wide eyed, apparently terrified, Anakin in her arms in a similar state.
There came the sudden sound of crying from the other room and, within ten seconds, both Jacen and Jaina ran into the room. Jacen ran to the bed and hugged his mother, and Jaina immediately ran to her father. He scooped her up obligingly and whispered soothing words to her, but his gaze held Leia's.
"Han," Leia whispered, "it's-"
"Luke. I know, he just called. I'm gonna get Chewie and then him and me're gonna get down there."
"Daddy," said Jaina softly, "I'm scared."
"Why, sweetheart?" he whispered, stroking her back as Jacen and Anakin hugged Leia harder, walking over to the window and turning the dimmer switch.
Out on the horizon, smoke was rising from the imperial Palace and even small fires were visible.
When Han turned back, Leia was pale, and Han knew it was not only from sleep.
The children were still crying.
"There were people in the little rooms," Jaina said.
"Hurting,"" Jacen agreed.
"Men with white on!" Anakin whispered. "With scary faces."
"Stormtroopers," Leia confirmed as Han walked over to her. "Officers and troopers and cells and-"
Han grasped her wrist as he lowered Jaina to the bed and he held her gaze.
"I'm on my way, Princess."
He bent and kissed her quickly and then snatched his clothes off the back of a nearby chair.
--
The old Imperial Palace, used as a public venue for parties or conferences, was now lit from the inside and small fires burned in several craters in the walls as the attack vehicles did their jobs. Around the building were troops and ammunition crates, all shielded behind whatever was available. Shuttles and speeders, as well as search vehicles flew and zipped and hovered, all casting their searchlights on the building. Blaster bolts were flying everywhere.
A piece of debris flew over Han and Chewie's heads as they alighted from the shuttle. Han had to shout over the noise.
"What's The Situation?" he yelled, a white searchlight blinding him momentarily as it thrummed over the site.
"General!" said the man he was addressing, one General Tonosta, an old ally of the New Republic. He had played a major part during the rebellion against the Empire, and had even saved Han's life on a mission he and Leia had shared to Corellia long before they were married.
He grabbed Han's hand with one of his own and clapped the other to Han's shoulder.
"Good To See You! Imperial Loyalists Have Taken The Building! We Believe There Are Prisoners And Hostages!"
"Hostages?" Han shouted.
"Yes! One Of Our Groups Was Captured During The Last Big Explosion!"
"Luke?"
Tonosta nodded.
"Commander Skywalker Was In Charge Of The Group! We Believe They Have Transferred To The Building In An Attempt To Take The City!"
"Coruscant City? Who Are They Kidding?"
Tonosta looked at him darkly.
"It Seems Far Fetched, General, But With All The Hostages And Prisoners They Hold, We Have Little Say In The Matter!"
Han glanced at the building.
"What's The Plan?"
Tonosta Gestured toward the groups huddled closer to the building.
"There Are Several Ways Into The Building! We're Going To Send Teams In Through The Underground Network! We Have The Building's Blueprints!"
"I Want To Go In! I'll Take Chewie! We Can Help!"
Tonosta nodded.
"We Need More Forces On Hostage Retrieval! We Could Use You!"
"Alright!" Han answered. "Where Do I Go?"
"You'll Be In Charge Of Hostage Retrieval Gold! Find Armitage! He'll Get You Kitted Up!"
Han waved his thanks as he and Chewie hurried off, keeping as low as they could as blaster bolts sizzled dangerously close.
--
Luke regained consciousness slowly. He felt very alone – completely alone – as though everyone on Coruscant or even in the galaxy had ceased to exist.
He cast a blurry glance about his cell and saw, just beyond the reach of his chains, a ysalamiri in the corner. He shook his head and tried to raise his hand to his aching head but the chains seemed to weigh his entire body down. As feeling slowly returned to his body, he felt the wound in his leg begin to throb and winced, moving to try and see it, but that only made it bleed more.
He found it took all of his energy just to sit up and that, once he had done that, he needed to lean against the wall to catch his breath.
He didn't need the Force to know that he was getting weaker and he also knew that he had no hope of slowing the bleeding or in any way helping himself as long as ysalamiri resided in the corner.
And he was too weak by far to get to it.
--
"How's that feel?" asked the man in his mid thirties, Armitage, as he watched Han tugging on the collar of his armored vest.
He turned his head sharply and then turned back again.
"It's a little loose around the neck," he answered.
Armitage reached forward and snagged one of the straps at the back of the back of the jacket and gave it a quick tug.
"Better?"
Han nodded.
"Yeah. Which weapon am I using?"
Armitage turned and lifted the heavy gun from behind a nearby table.
"You'll be using this," he said matter of factly. "A DL-"
"44 Blaster Rifle. Boy, I never thought I'd see on of those again."
Armitage watched him as he raised the rifle and looked through the sight.
"You know the weapon?" Armitage asked with the hint of a smirk on his lips.
"I know the weapon," he nodded.
"Then I don't need to instruct you in using it?"
Han gave him a glance that said, 'do I look like a mynock?', and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Thanks."
Armitage nodded.
"You'll need a comlink as well. You know your call sign?"
"Gotcha. Good luck."
"Yeah," Armitage agreed. "You too."
--
Luke tried again to reach the ysalamiri but failed miserably when his wounded leg twisted beneath him.
He tugged at the seam of his trouser leg and tore it until he had a good length of material. Then he folded it and stuffed it into his trousers where the blaster bolt had hit, hissing when it blocked the wound.
At least he had slowed the bleeding.
--
Three quarters of an hour later, Han held up a hand to halt the men behind him as they crept along the corridor.
All of the men stopped and then crouched as Han did, but they still held their weapons up high.
Han held up two fingers and flung his hand out to his left, then three and held his arm out behind him, palm horizontal and facing the ground. Then he made a forward motion.
Two left, three stay here, the rest with me.
He made a low growl in his throat and, for an instant, the men following him thought he was clearing his throat, but they were all startled when Chewie made a similar noise to answer him.
Some of the men exchanged surprised looks. They knew Han could understand Wookiee but as for speaking it, they assumed he didn't bother. But Han nodded at Chewie's sound and then stood.
"Go!" he whispered and flung himself around the corner.
--
Leia watched as Threepio brought in a tray of hot chocolate for the children. They seemed reluctant to take it.
"Come on," she said softly. "You like hot chocolate."
They looked up at her, wide eyed and pale and took the drinks but did not consume them. Leia glanced at the chrono and saw that two hours had gone by since Han left with Chewie. The explosions from across the city had been constant.
"Mama?"
Leia looked down.
"Yes, Anakin?"
"When is Papa coming home?"
"Soon, Anakin," she answered, praying she was right. "Soon."