Second Entry
I thought it was Han who slapped my hand at Echo Base with the feel of another glove against mine. I had pleaded to go out on early patrol, and now stretched out on my ship's long nose to take in the warmth. Cold was creeping in again, and none had come to check on me personally instead of statistically. Should be expected...I had not much in common with the older soldiers.
Not much in common with people, really. Just Yaz, here, a catlike Kushiban from my homeworld. Long summers we had spent together--now this eternal winter.
Surprised , I said, "Ay, Han."
The other held on. I looked down.
"Luke!" I jumped down and hugged him to pause momentum. Commander Luke now, and I just an in-case evac leader, because they recognized my organization skills but mistrusted my age. I had no extreme heroic resumé yet. I hadn't seen Luke since promotion. I wanted to hold on to him now, but I had to snap away and say, "I'm not sleeping on the job, sir. I had a patrol run in the morning."
He smiled. 'You called me Han!"
"Well it's been a while." It had.
He offered me a cup of caf which I accepted and did not drink, but bared my hands around it and breathed in the warmth. Warmth that mirrored contentment tinged with fear, always but ignorable.
I asked if there was any sign of attack while we sat around the Millennium Falcon's boarding ramp. As far as I knew, Han Solo saw me as another orange-suited fanatic.
"Nothing on my run." Luke grimaced.
"Oh no," Han crowed. "Just the cold. I rescued him."
Questioning glance. Luke shook his head. Alarms started wailing.
I had grown rather fond of Echo Base. No one else seemed to feel this way as war machines stomped around us and stormtroopers--my commlink said mysterious and terrible Darth Vader as well--infiltrated our hallways. I wasn't in the trenches, because the man I had been supposed to replace was. I stood at the secondary hanger feeling useless, keeping my visor free of steam. The implant beside my right temple, regulating my eyes, clicked against the metal. My parents would see this as such an exotic and frightening setting. My father worried, but mother knew I was where I wanted to be.
I took the second transport up, full of droids and techs and spies and battered soldiers. I couldn't show grief. Just radio back, "The second transport is away."