Wampa Assault
Attack on Echo Base! Whilst visiting the new secret base on the planet Hoth, the rebels found an entrance that lead underground to ice cave filled with wampa ice creatures! After sealing off the entrance, the Alliance thought that they were out of it; only to find that the beasts were able to break through and are now overrunning the base violently!
Meanwhile, Han Solo, who was sent on a patrol, has been attacked by other beasts and only just escaped them! But without a mount or a clear way out, can he return to base or will he perish out in the icy winds…
Hoth
"Stand back!" yelled Corea. She threw a thermal detonator at the wampas but they managed to duck behind vehicles just before it exploded. "Those things just don't kill you guys, do they?"
"Do us a favor and try not to destroy our vehicles" said Derlin.
"I'll keep that in mind next time we're under attack by a deadly force that wants to kill us" said Corea sarcastically.
"Stay on task, guys" said Luke as he fought back against the wampas "We have to get these things out of here" Ahsoka force-lifted a crate and threw it over at a wampa which knocked it over.
"These furballs play tough, don't they?" said Corea.
"No kidding about that" said Ahsoka. Suddenly, a wampa slashed forward, killing several rebel troopers before lunging at Luke. He pounced on Luke; but as he did this, he was stabbed in the chest by the blue blade of his lightsaber and collapsed on top of him. "Luke!" She and Corea ran over to Luke and pulled the wampa off him. "You alright?"
"A little crushed, but still good" said Luke.
"What was it like?" asked Corea as she and Ahsoka helped him up.
"Can you imagine how heavy they might be from the way they look?" asked Luke.
"Yep" replied Corea.
"It's more than that" said Luke. At that moment, a wampa leapt up onto a Y-Wing and roared at them viciously.
"Incoming!" said Corea. Luke and Ahsoka threw their lightsabers at it and stabbed it in the chest. The wampa collapsed onto the cockpit of the Y-Wing.
"How many are there?" asked Ahsoka.
"I'm not sure, they just keep coming and coming" replied Luke.
"This is one heck of a pack" said Corea as the wampas began to overrun them. Whilst firing his bowcaster, Chewbacca looked over at a T-47 airspeeder near him, pulled up the cockpit, and entered it. He turned the airspeeder on and started firing away at the wampas. This was enough to scare them off and they ran off down the hallways. "Well, that clears everything up"
"Are they really gone?" asked Ahsoka.
"Not quite" said Derlin "There are still wampas spread across the base. I've got squads guarding the tauntaun pens but this means that we're stretched thinner across the rest of the base, and they need our help dealing with these things"
"So why are the wampas attacking anyway?" asked Corea "I mean, they can't all be this hungry, even for storage"
"There are few visitors to this planet" replied Derlin "They must be viewing us as intruders that they need to clear away"
"Then what's our next move?" asked Luke.
"General Rieekan and a few other personnel are held up in the command center" replied Derlin "They've informed me that our communications to the rest of the Alliance has been severed in the attack; it looks like we're on our own here. Commander Skywalker, Commander Tano, Corea, Chewbacca; I want you to go there to prepare our next move. The troopers and I will stay here to hold the hanger in the meantime"
"Will do" said Luke "C'mon, let's go" He, Ahsoka, Corea, and Chewbacca walked off down the corridor.
Meanwhile
Han awoke in the middle of an ice cave and looked around.
"Woah!" said Han. He looked up at the crevice he had fallen down and noticed that the whitefangs were still growling at him. "Well, down here's certainly more desirable than up there. Derlin, do you read me?" There was only static. "Derlin? Major Derlin?"
"Solo, is that you?" asked Derlin out of his comlink.
"You bet" replied Han.
"What happened between you and the pantran whitefangs?" asked Derlin.
"So that's what those things are called" said Han "Well; right now I'm out of their reach, if that's what you mean. But here comes the bad news; I'm stuck in some sort of ice cave, my tauntaun ran off, and those whitefangs seem really determined to get down here. And I'm really determined to get out of here; any chance of a pickup?"
"I'm afraid that we're preoccupied at the moment" replied Derlin.
"Preoccupied?" said Han "With what?"
"The base is currently under attack by wampas and we're running on limited backup power" replied Derlin "We have our hands too full at the moment"
"Well, what am I supposed to do?" asked Han.
"The cave you're in, are there any bones or remains of some sort?" asked Derlin. Han looked around.
"None that I can see" replied Han.
"And do you still have your blaster on you?" asked Derlin. Han looked down at the blaster on his belt.
"Yep" replied Han.
"Try to stay in the cave until the storm passes" said Derlin "Stay on guard; wampas and whitefangs aren't the only dangerous creatures on this planet. We'll try to locate you when we get things back on track
"Right" said Han "Just stay in the cave, careful they're could be something in it. Eh, who am I kidding; I'm just lucky to still be in one piece" At that moment, the whitefang that was gnawing at the entrance let out a snarl. "Don't be getting any ideas, there's no way in Hoth that you're getting in here. And even if you did, I'll just shoot you" At that moment, he got a brief glimpse of something brown that scurried off before he could even get a clear view of it. "Uh, hello?" Nothing happened. "Well, at least I know I'm not alone down here" He walked off down the tunnel.
Meanwhile
Luke, Ahsoka, Corea, and Chewbacca cautiously walked through the corridors towards the command center, hearing the wailing roars of wampas along the way.
"So how much farther?" asked Corea.
"I think it's just up ahead a bit more" replied Luke. As they walked along, a wampa slowly snuck up behind them. Chewbacca sniffed the air and started growling and complaining.
"Jeez, Chewie; stop thinking of your nose and stay focused on the missions, already!" said Corea. Chewbacca pointed behind them and started growling.
"What is…oh…" said Ahsoka before she and the others quickly realized the wampa that was behind them. The wampa let out a loud growl and raised its claw to swipe them down. Corea and Chewbacca started shooting it until it was dead and collapsed onto the ground in front of them. "I can see what Chewie was talking about, that things' breath does smell like rotting meat"
"We'd better note it down; don't ever doubt Chewie's sense of smell ever again" said Corea.
"C'mon, it's just up ahead" said Luke. They walked up over to the command center and Ahsoka knocked on the door that lay before them.
"Commander Skywalker, is that you at the door?" asked Rieekan through Luke's comlink.
"It is, general" replied Luke into his comlink "We're here to help" The doors opened up.
"C'mon in, quickly!" said Rieekan. Luke, Ahsoka, Corea, and Chewbacca rushed in just before the door closed behind them.
"Master Luke, so good to see that you're safe!" said C-3PO.
"Good to see you too, 3PO" said Luke. R2 beeped.
"R2 and I were so worried when we heard about the creature attack" said C-3PO "We were concerned that you may have been hurt"
"So why's power up here and not at the rest of the base?" asked Ahsoka.
"The backup power kicked in a few minutes ago" replied Toryn "Certain rooms like here, the living quarters, the medical center, and the tauntaun pen are connected to it in case of an emergency such as this. But they'll only last us one and a half rotations so we'd better make the most of what we have"
"Skywalker, I've heard reports of people being attacked by wampas throughout the base" said Rieekan "If we let this continue, those things will send us back months; and that I can't allow"
"Then what's next?" asked Luke.
"We'll start by blocking off the entrance entirely" replied Rieekan.
"We already tried that, didn't work as planned" said Corea.
"Then we'll do better this time" said Rieekan "Head to the opening and cave the tunnels in entirely so nothing can get in"
"And what about the wampas still in the base?" asked Luke.
"We'll deal with that afterwards" replied Rieekan "First we'll make sure that no more can come in"
Meanwhile
As Han walked through the tunnels, he found himself at a small clearing.
"Well, this doesn't help my situation much" said Han to himself. At that moment, he heard a small scuffle. "Hey, is there anyone in here?" He slowly pulled out his blaster. "'Cause if anyone's in here, I hope you're friendly; for your sake" At that moment, a rock flew out and hit him at the back of the head knocking him over. "Ow…" Before he could even react, something leapt onto his back and pinned him down. "This day isn't getting any better any soon" What stood on top of him punched him out and then pulled him away.
Meanwhile
Corea pulled out several explosive charges and attached them to her belt.
"Careful with those" said Rieekan "They're very powerful"
"They're also very handy if you want to cave something in" said Corea.
"Just take care with them" said Rieekan "Only place a few of them and make sure you get out before setting them off"
"Got it" said Corea. Chewbacca pulled out some cables, growled, and showed it to the others.
"Good idea" said Ahsoka "It should be a maze down there so we'll have to find our way back up" Chewbacca growled again.
"Alright, I guess this is us settled" said Luke "We'd better head off. C'mon everyone" As he, Ahsoka, Corea, and Chewbacca left the room, R2 beeped.
"Do take good care, Master Luke" said C-3PO. "I would just fret if something happened to you"
"Will do, 3PO" said Luke.
"We'll stay here and hold the command center while you deal with the wampas" said Toryn "Good luck out there"
"Yeah, we'll sure need it" said Corea. They walked out of the command center.
"So Corea; since you've been there, do you think you could guide us?" asked Luke.
"With pleasure" replied Corea "It's just this way" They walked down the hallway.
Meanwhile
Han slowly regained consciousness. As he slowly opened his eyes, he realized that he was tied up to a large icy stalagmite. He tried to wriggle free but found that it was more difficult that had thought.
"Oh boy!" said Han to himself. At that moment, something hit him across the face with a rock. "What the—" He looked over to see a small brown furry creature with a long snout snarling at him. "Woah; I've really put my foot into it this time, haven't I?" The creature began growling and snarling at him again. "Excuse me, can you speak Basic?" The creature looked confused. "Bas-ic? As the language used across the galaxy, the one that pretty much every one collectively knows about, the one that I'm speaking at the moment; y'know, Basic" The creature still didn't reply. Han sighed and looked over at the other small furry creatures in the cave. "This is going to take long, isn't it?"
Meanwhile
As Rieekan and Toryn waited in the command center, there was a strange scratching against the door.
"What's that?" asked C-3PO.
"Trouble" replied Toryn as she grabbed her blaster.
"Seems the wampas finally decided to come in" said Rieekan as he reached for his blaster. R2 beeped.
"This is bad" said C-3PO.
"We can't distract them from their mission" said Rieekan "We'll need someone else. Toryn, can you contact Derlin and his men?"
"Will do" replied Toryn. She pulled out her communicator.
Meanwhile
"Major Derlin, this is Toryn Farr; do you read me?" asked Toryn out of Derlin's comlink.
"Affirmative" replied Derlin "What's the problem?"
"The command center is under attack by wampas" replied Toryn "We need assistance with it. Can you spare some forces for us?"
"I'll do my best" replied Derlin "You six, with me; the command center's under attack and we need to help them. The rest of you, hold the fort until we come back. If any more wampas come in, you know what to do"
Meanwhile
Luke, Ahsoka, Corea, and Chewbacca walked through the hallways and reached the crack.
"It's a whole lot bigger than when I last saw it" said Corea.
"At least it will mean we'll have more space to enter and exit" said Ahsoka.
"C'mon, let's do this" said Luke. He connected the cables up to them, tied to over a railing, and walked down into the cave with the others.
"Better keep our lightsabers off" said Ahsoka "Those things produce a lot of heat, enough to melt away the ice"
"That I can definitely agree with" said Luke.
Meanwhile
Vader and MOXAL entered the medical chamber where the surgeons were gathered around the slab.
"Show me the results" said Vader.
"Lord Vader, you'll be pleased to know that the surgery was indeed a success" said the chief surgeon. He pulled out a remote and pressed it, causing the slab to ascend upwards. Hatana was still strapped to the slab and was still unconscious, but she had changed physically; her skin which was once stunning green was now silver with dark grey markings over her. "We have successfully implanted the formula within her system and she has so far survived it longer than previous test subjects. Her vitals are stable and her body doesn't appear to be rejecting the foreign substance. But I think we need to wait until she wakes up to see for sure"
"What happened to her skin color?" asked Vader.
"It is merely an aspect of the form she is currently in" replied the chief surgeon.
"What do you mean "form"?" asked Vader.
"In theory, the subject should be able to turn back and forth between their "normal" form and their "more powerful" form at will" replied the chief surgeon "Of course, we wouldn't fully know because the subjects never survive long enough for us to see their true potential. But hopefully, this will be an exception; after all, the Emperor himself seems very confident that her "condition" will prove effective"
"Do not talk of Force-sensitivity as if it's a deformation, doctor" said Vader "The Emperor thinks otherwise"
"My apologizes, my lord" said the chief surgeon "I was merely unsure on how to phrase it; I mean, it is hard for me to—"
"It is understandable, doctor" said Vader "You are a man of science and I do not imagine that you could ever comprehend the very nature of the Force itself" He looked over at Hatana and noticed that her fingers were twitching slightly. As they twitched, her heart rate began spiking.
"Oh dear!" said the chief surgeon "Prepare paralyzers"
"No" said Vader "This is what we wanted, wasn't it? Let's see where it goes"
"Put paralyzers on standby" said the chief surgeon. As Hatana's fingers twitched more, they began to curl up into a ball. Suddenly, her eyes shot wide open; but they were had black sclera and red irises. Now awake; her head tendrils began blazing like fire and she began struggling, only being hindered by the chains and straps. "Oh dear! Paralyze her now!" The surgeons attempted to insert paralyzing liquids into her, but she let out a high pitch screen so powerful that it shattered all the glass in the room. She began struggling harder and harder while the surgeons attempted to pin her down. Suddenly, red energy began surging around her fingers. It travelled up her arms and throughout her whole body until she shot out powerful force-lightning, killing the surgeons around her and freeing her. As she stumbled back onto her feet, she looked over at the chief surgeon and hissed. "No, no!" He attempted to run away but she force-choked him to death and threw his corpse into the wall. At that moment, E7-3S and a group of stormtroopers arrived in the room and aimed their weapons at her.
"Stand down, attacker!" said a stormtrooper commander. Hatana pounced at him and electrocuted him. The other stormtroopers began opening fire on her but she dodged their shots and began killing them. She used force-lightning, force-choke, and even simply used her hands as well.
"Time to make roast!" said E7-3S as he charged up his flamethrowers, only for Vader to pull them down.
"No, we'll wait" said Vader. He stood by and watched as Hatana killed all of the stormtroopers. As soon as she was done with them, she turned towards Vader and hissed.
"Should I attack now?" asked E7-3S.
"No, leave this to me" replied Vader. Vader slowly walked over to her. "Hatana" Hatana didn't reply. "Hatana" Still no reply. "Emerl, calm down" Hatana shot force-lightning at him which pushed him back sometime.
"Now?" asked E7-3S.
"No, I said leave this to me!" snapped Vader. He slowly walked up to her, enduring the force-lightning as he went. "Emerl, calm down" He reached her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "It is me, remember?" Hatana's gaze softened.
"Father?" said Hatana. Her force-lightning stopped and she hugged him without a moment's hesitation.
"It is alright" said Vader "It is all right. It's over" As Hatana calmed down, her skin slowly turned back into her original green color.
Meanwhile
Han cautiously looked over at the creatures and then back at his tied up arms, taking note of how loose the material was. He continued to look back and forth between them until he was convinced that they weren't watching him. He then slowly started raising himself up and the tying material with him. At that moment, one of the creatures noticed him and threw a rock at his forehead.
"Okay, you caught me!" said Han "But would it kill you just to make this place a little hospitable or something?" The creature that threw the rock started snarling and growling at him. "Alright, I forgot that you can't speak Basic; silly me!" He let out a sigh. "Seriously; is this how I go out, tied up and left at the mercy of little furry creatures? Can't it be something different?" The creature started growling again. "Well; you obviously understand that I'm saying something, don't you?" The creature began growling again. "Right! You'd think after years of Chewie and Shyriiwook, I would've gotten the hang with other languages; but it looks like it's more complex that I'd originally thought" At that moment, snarling was heard throughout the cave. The creatures started snarling and got into position around the cave. "You understood that well" At that moment, a whitefang leapt out and snarled. "Oh no!" The creatures began snarling again and started throwing rocks at the whitefang. Some of them leapt on top of it in an attempt to pull it down, but it was too fast and shook them off easily. Within the madness, Han was able to pull himself up over the stalagmite and pull the material off him. Suddenly, the whitefang noticed him, lunged forward, and slashed him in the back. "AHH!" The whitefang was about to lung again when the creatures swarmed over it and pulled it down. Han slowly pulled himself up with the use of a stalagmite and started limping away; making sure that he was out of sight. "Alright, better get out of here before—" At that moment, he tripped over a collection of rocks and fell out of the cave's entrance, tumbling down the snow covered hill. As he pulled himself up, he looked down at his blood in the snow. "Oh…boy…"
Meanwhile
Luke and the others walked through the caves carefully.
"It's getting colder in here" said Corea "We're in deep, literally"
"I just wish there was some way of knowing where we're heading" said Luke "We've been down searching through these tunnels and yet there's still no sign of the entrance"
"Well, I don't think we've explored all of these tunnels just yet" said Corea.
"I'm well aware of that, but we need to up our time table" said Luke "The longer we do this, the more wampas get into our base" At that moment, Ahsoka looked over at Chewbacca who's fur blew in the wind. She then pulled off her glove and licked her finger to see where the wind was coming from before running off in the direction it was coming from. "Hey, Ahsoka; wait!" He, Corea, and Chewbacca followed after her where they found her outside a cave entrance. "Ahsoka, how—"
"The gusts of wind from the blizzard, it came through from the entrance" said Ahsoka "Once I figured out where it was coming from…well, I think it's self-explanatory"
"Great job" said Luke.
Meanwhile
"C'mon, Derlin; don't fail us now!" said Toryn.
"If he doesn't come in time, we'll have one heck of a fight on our hands" said Rieekan.
"We'll have one heck of a bloodbath on our hands" said Toryn.
"I don't like this, R2" said C-3PO "Perhaps we should have gone with Master Luke after all" R2 beeped again. "What are you talking about? I don't scream that much when we're in danger. It's only a little" R2 beeped. "Well; that was just being rude, my friend" He looked over at K-3PO who was hiding behind some crates. "And why are you hiding back there? Aren't you at least going to assist the rest of us?"
"I must survive, for the sake of the Alliance's future" replied K-3PO "I contain vital information that cannot be lost"
"Then why not just give it to an astromech droid then?" asked C-3PO.
"That is unnecessary" replied K-3PO "I just need to stay out of harm's way and avoid dangerous incidents"
"Well, I think you'll find that it's not that simple" said C-3PO. At that moment, the wampas began pulling the door open; you could now see their claws piercing through the gap that was forming. "Oh dear!"
"Steady!" said Rieekan "Take it easy. They're not through just yet"
Meanwhile
Derlin and his men arrived outside the command center where the wampas were gathered and trying to pry open the door.
"Quickly, we have to stop them from getting into the command center" said Derlin. He and the other rebel troopers started shooting at the wampas, injuring the ones at the back immediately. The wampas turned around and lunged towards.
"Well, that attracted their attention" said a rebel trooper.
"Hold formation and fire!" said Derlin. They stood and continued shooting as the wampas attacked them. One of the wampas wacked a rebel trooper away who screamed out a Wilhelm scream. At that moment, the doors to the command center shot open and Rieekan and Toryn began shooting at the wampas as well. "Keep your distance, men; if they can't reach you, then—" At that moment, a wampa lunged forward and knocked Derlin off his feet. As Derlin desperately crawled back, the wampa raised its arm viciously ready to strike him down. Suddenly, R2 shot out his wire and it wrapped around the wampas wrist and pulled it back.
"R2, be careful" said C-3PO. Suddenly, the wampa pulled R2 with the wire and slammed him into the wall, screaming as he went. "R2!" He ran up to the wampa. "How dear you do that to R2-D2, you overgrown, wooly-brained—" At that moment, the wampa turned to C-3PO and growled. "Oh dear!" Suddenly, R2 activated his rocket boosters, flew up to the wampa, and zapped him. The wampa roared viciously before being shot to death by the rebel troopers. R2 beeped. "What…Oh yes, I knew that would work"
"That should be the last of them" said Derlin "Are you two alright?"
"We are, thanks to you" replied Rieekan.
"Major Derlin, come quick!" said a rebel trooper through Derlin's comlink.
"What is it?" asked Derlin into his comlink.
"The wampas are attacking us with full force in the hanger bay!" replied the rebel trooper "We need as many reinforcements as possible!"
"We'll be there in a minute, hold on until then" said Derlin.
"We'll come as well" said Toryn.
"Good" said Derlin "Where's Skywalker and the others?"
"They're currently off sealing the cave entrance and insuring that no more wampas can come in" replied Rieekan "It's best not to disturb them"
"Right" said Derlin "Droids…"
"Hmm?" said C-3PO.
"Stay here and stay out of sight" said Derlin "If Commander Skywalker and the others show up; inform them that we're in the hanger bay, and that we could really need them"
"Oh, okay" said C-3PO. As Derlin and the others rushed off, C-3PO and R2 went back behind a crate for safety. "Keep an eye out for Master Luke, R2; we have to inform him, remember?" R2 beeped in response.
Meanwhile
Han walked throughout the blizzard, desperately talking into his comlink which appeared to be nothing but static.
"Derlin…" said Han weakly into his comlink "Derlin…Major…Derlin…" He fell to his knees. "Major…Derlin…" He fell to his hands. "C'mon…can you at least pick it up…pick…it…up…" He collapsed onto the ground. His breathing slowed down. His eyes started to twitch until they shut.
"Solo?" said Derlin through his comlink "Solo? Solo, do you read me? Solo?" As soon as Han heard this, his ears pricked up and he slowly pulled his head up.
"Derlin…" said Han "Derlin…the cave…I'm out…"
"What are you doing out of the cave?" asked Derlin "The storm should be reaching its peak by now!"
"I know but…but I got chased out…" said Han as he rolled himself onto his back.
"I told you, we can't go out at the moment" said Derlin "Please, try to find shelter; it's your only hope at the moment. I'm not lying, you have to find shelter or you'll die"
"I think at this stage…I've come to accept that…" said Han "For better or for worse…"
"Wait; you're not seriously accepting death, are you?" said Derlin.
"You say that as if it's an option…" said Han.
"You can't be serious" said Derlin "Can't you at least try?"
"I tried trying, but that didn't work" said Han "Now…Now I'm lying here in the snow, freezing to death, wounded and scared…"
"Wait, wounded?" said Derlin.
"That's where…trying has led me…" said Han.
"How are you wounded?" asked Derlin.
"Whitefang got me…" replied Han "Got away from it but…got lost out here…"
"Han, don't give up on us" said Derlin "Surely you've experienced far worse than his before, haven't you?" Han allowed his thoughts to drift back. He remembered when he fought Boba Fett, he remembered when he fought Imperial forces on Serenno, he remembered when he was attacked by Darth Vader on Oba Diah, and he remembered when he was attacked by buzz droids.
"No…" said Han "Nothing…Not even buzz droids…Just leave me…"
"Then what about what you'll leave behind?" asked Derlin. Han's eyes lit up. "Is there anything in this galaxy worth staying with? Think about it; because if you die, it will affect everyone around you" Han began to think of Chewbacca and the Millennium Falcon, along with all the adventures they had been on together. He began thinking of Luke and Ahsoka as well as R2 and C-3PO, and then he began thinking of Corea and Leia. It was then that he slowly pulled himself up onto his feet.
"Got to…keep going…" said Han.
"You're not giving up?" asked Derlin.
"My time ain't over just yet…" replied Han "I might not have much strength left…but I'll use whatever is left to…seize life…by the handles!" After getting himself up, he started limping off into the winds ahead.
Meanwhile
Luke, Corea, and Chewbacca placed charges around the entrance to the cave.
"Alright, we'd better make a run for it when we set these suckers" said Corea "The whole place is going to go up and then down"
"That was always for certain" said Ahsoka.
"We should still be prepared for it" said Luke "Alright, let's get ready" At that moment, there was a loud roar down the tunnels. "Okay, where did that come from?"
"All around us" replied Ahsoka. About seven large wampas emerged from the tunnels around them and roared furiously.
"Okay, that's a lot of wampas" said Corea. She pulled out her blasters and aimed it at the wampas. "Come back for seconds, huh? You might want to handle your appetite better; it'll only get you into more trouble" The wampas roared and started surrounding them.
"Okay, that's quite a few of them" said Ahsoka as she and Luke ignited their lightsabers. The wampas started closing in on them.
"Run" said Corea.
"What?" asked Luke.
"Run!" said Corea "I'll set the timer on the charges"
"But—" said Luke.
"Just go!" said Corea "it's alright, I only need to set one; the rest will go off with it" Luke, Ahsoka, and Chewbacca rushed off but were blocked off by a large wampa that roared at them.
"Stay back!" said Luke as he held his lightsaber at the beast. Suddenly, the wampa grabbed him by the arm and pulled him in.
"Luke, watch out!" exclaimed Ahsoka. Luke twirled his wrist around and slashed the wampa in the neck, killing it. For a moment, he looked down at the corpse with a mortified look on his face. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah…just a little…shaken" said Luke.
"C'mon, let's get out of here" said Ahsoka. Suddenly, a wampa bounded up to them and grabbed her by the leg, pulling her down.
"Ahsoka!" exclaimed Luke. He rushed back and tried to pull her away from the beast as she tried to kick it away. "Try to keep it off"
"That's what I'm doing!" said Ahsoka. Chewbacca walked up and roared viciously, firing his bowcaster at the wampas shoulder, sending it back a few feet. The wampa roared again and lunged towards them, only for Chewbacca to shoot him in the head, killing it instantly. "Thanks Chewie" The three of them rushed out of the cave.
"I hope Corea's alright" said Luke.
"C'mon, c'mon!" said Corea as she set the timer for the charges "Got it" Suddenly, a wampa crept up behind her and grabbed her just as she was about to leave. "Hey, I was just leaving!" The wampa began squeezing her tightly. "Geez; even with my helmet on, I can still smell your breath!" She reached for her blaster and shot the wampa various times in the stomach. As the wampa let out an ear-splitting scream, it collapsed to the ground dead with Corea getting out of its grip. She then looked over at the charges and then at the wampas which surrounded her. "Oh; what the heck!" She activated her jetpack and flew off, shooting one of the charges as she left. The explosion caused the roofing around them to collapse in and crush the wampas around her. As Corea flew fast through the cavern, she made it through the crack just before the cave completely caved in and tumbled down in front of the other three. Chewbacca growled as he helped her up.
"Is it done?" asked Luke.
"What does it look like?" smirked Corea.
"Well, good job" said Luke.
"Now all that's left is to deal with the rest of the wampas in the base" said Ahsoka.
Meanwhile
Han limped on further throughout the icy wilderness when he saw something on the horizon next to the mountains. He pulled out his electrobinoculars and looked out, seeing what appeared to be to be a shield generator under construction.
"The shield!" said Han "Finally something!" He limped on further when he heard growling and snarling. At that moment, the whitefang ran up and roared at him. "You're just sticking to me, aren't you?" The whitefang growled again "Guess what, I don't like it" The whitefang growled again "So that's the way it's going to be, huh?" Han slowly reached for his blaster. "Bring it!" The whitefang roared again and bounded up to him. Suddenly, various blaster fire erupted around the whitefang. It let out one last snarl and ran off. "Finally…something…" He collapsed unconscious. At that moment, two large blue feet stepped up to him.
"Kodamoe" said a voice shortly before Han was picked up and brought away.
Meanwhile
"We're almost there" said Luke "Command center's just down this hallway" He, Ahsoka, Corea, and Chewbacca arrived just outside the command center, only to find the door to it open.
"This isn't a good sign" said Corea.
"Agreed" said Luke. He and Ahsoka ignited their lightsabers while Corea and Chewbacca prepped their weapons. "Stay behind us; we don't know what we'll find" They slowly walked in cautiously and looked around at their surroundings.
"There's no sign of Rieekan or Toryn, but neither is there any sign of a scuffle or an attack" said Ahsoka.
"It's just strange" said Luke.
"Master Luke, so good to see you alive!" said a voice from behind Luke. He turned around and pointed his lightsaber at a surprised C-3PO. "Oh my!" Luke sighed and lowered his lightsaber.
"Try not to sneak up on me like that, 3PO" said Luke.
"That I will take fully" said C-3PO. R2 rolled out and beeped.
"Go0od to see you two, little buddy" said Ahsoka "So what happened here? Where's General Rieekan?"
"The command center was under attack by wampas who tried to get in so General Rieekan called for reinforcements within the base" replied C-3PO "When they arrived, they wiped out the ice creatures but they got a distress call from the troops in the hanger that they are currently under attack again, so General Rieekan and Toryn Farr have gone to help. They told us to stay here and we have"
"We'd better get there" said Luke. He and the others turned and ran off down the hallway.
"Take care, Master Luke" said C-3PO "Oh, I hope he'll be alright" R2 started moving off. "R2, where are you going?" R2 beeped. "What are you talking about? If they wanted us they to help them they would have asked" R2 didn't listen and continued onwards. "R2, stop; come back, R2! Oh dear!" He reluctantly followed after R2. "R2, you really have to stop going off like this; you'll only get us into—" At that moment, both of them arrived into the hanger where a full out battle between the rebel troopers and the wampas had formed. "—trouble…again" R2 beeped and rushed off into the battle. "R2, wait! We can't fight back, we're not combat droids; we're simply not designed for this!" At that moment, a wampa rose up and roared. "Oh no!" Suddenly, it was shot down by Chewbacca who roared. "Well, that was fortunate" R2 beeped.
"There's still so many" said Luke as he and Ahsoka fought through the wampas.
"I know" said Ahsoka "I thought that once we had blocked the cavern, everything would get better. There's just…it's like there's no end to it"
"Ahsoka…"
Ahsoka turned and looked around to see where the voice had come from but found nothing.
"Ahsoka…"
More and more confused looks befell on Ahsoka's face. Suddenly, the Daughter materialized before her.
"Ahsoka, I can end this; but to do that, you have to let me" said the Daughter "The time has come to test my theory; but be prepared, you might find it…difficult"
"I'm ready" said Ahsoka. As she turned her lightsaber off and walked over towards the Daughter, Luke looked over at her and a look of concern came to his face as he could not see the Daughter himself.
"Ahsoka?!" exclaimed Luke. Ahsoka didn't reply. "Ahsoka, what are you doing?" The Daughter extended her hand out and Ahsoka extended her hand out as well. The two placed palms together.
"Now, get ready" said the Daughter. White light shone from her eyes as well as Ahsoka's, which drew the attention of not only Luke but various other rebels as well, the Daughter slowly passed into Ahsoka and disappeared. Ahsoka then turned towards the wampas and extended out her hand, causing all of them to stop and look towards her.
"Come" said Ahsoka in a calm and almost emotionless fashion. She slowly walked off into the corridors with all of the wampas following her in a calm fashion.
"What's happening?" asked Corea.
"I don't know" said Luke "But I don't think I like it" He followed after Ahsoka who brought the wampas to the small doorway to a large and empty storage room and sent them in one-by-one until they were all in, with Luke watching in a mixture of astonishment and horror. Ahsoka then closed the door with the Force and collapsed onto her knees. Luke ran up to her side. "Ahsoka, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I think so" replied Ahsoka. She looked up at the door to the storage room. "Remind me, what just happened?"
"You…kind of saved the day" replied Luke "You led the wampas into a storage room and locked the door. We really need to put a sticker on that or something so no one opens it by mistake"
"Yeah" said Ahsoka "Hey Skyguy, mind helping me to my room?"
"With pleasure" replied Luke. He helped her up and they walked off down the hallway.
Later
Corea and Chewbacca sat against a T-47 airspeeder and watched as everyone in the hanger cleaned up and repaired things.
"Well; with the power back up, remaining wampas contained, I'd say things are getting back to normal" said Corea. Chewbacca growled. "Yeah; we'd better get used to calling this home" At that moment, something blue started appearing in the doorway of the hanger. "What the heck?" The two of them ran over to the doorway to see a small group of Ortolans outside. "Well, looks like we have ourselves a house call" The Ortolan at the front said something in Ortolan. "Did you understand that?" Chewbacca stood his head. Corea sighed and looked around before noticing C-3PO walking past. She ran up to him. "Hey 3PO, mind helping us out?"
"What with?" asked C-3PO as Corea pulled him along.
"A little translating" replied Corea.
"Certainly" said C-3PO. The Ortolan said the same thing in Ortolan. "He says that his name is Pob Loqo, he's a member of the Ortolan colony on the planet" Pob said something else in Ortolan. "And he says that this man is looking for a place called "Echo Base""
"What man?" asked Corea. The other Ortolans unveiled Han, who looked almost unconscious but no longer freezing as he once was. "Han!" Chewbacca growled and picked Han up. "Han, are you alright?"
"Hey…it's me…" smirked Han. Corea smiled and kissed him.
"As your girlfriend, I ban you from ever doing things in which you could get yourself killed" smirked Corea.
"No guarantee" smirked Han.
"Let's just get you to the med bay first" said Corea "3PO, tell the Ortolans thank you for saving Han"
"Will do" said C-3PO. He said something in Ortolan. Pob and the other Ortolans lifted their arms up in the air and started hooting excitedly. "Oh! Well, I guess you're welcome then" As Corea and Chewbacca brought Han through the hanger; they passed a rebel trooper trying to rustle a tauntaun back into its pen in a hallway.
"Easy, easy!" said the rebel trooper "This way, this way" Corea and Chewbacca entered the medical center where FX-7 was monitoring a rebel trooper in a bacta tank.
"What can I do for you?" asked 2-1B as he walked up them.
"He could use some bacta" replied Corea.
"Will do" said 2-1B "Lay him on the bed whilst I prepare the bacta tank" Chewbacca laid Han on a bed whilst 2-1B walked off.
Meanwhile
Ahsoka sat in her room meditating until the Daughter appeared before her.
"Ahsoka, what is troubling you?" asked the Daughter.
"It's…It's about what happened when back there" replied Ahsoka "When we…became one; I saw everything, I felt everything, but I had absolutely no control. Everything I did was because you did it. And it…it scared me"
"I confess that it was much different than I had originally thought" said the Daughter "Whilst together, I could feel a deep sense of fading; as if the boundaries between us were slowly dissolving the longer we were together"
"Are you saying that you're going to fade away or something?" asked Ahsoka.
"Worse; I fear that if we do that again and are together for too long, we might permanently become one and never go back" replied the Daughter.
"That's bad, right?" asked Ahsoka.
"Both of us would essentially die and a new being would be born from our life force" replied the Daughter "I have long since come to terms with my own life, but I gave my life force to you so you could live on; to allow this to happen would break my dying vow"
"There has to be another way" said Ahsoka.
"There is, but only one" said the Daughter "You have to find the source of this darkness and stop it before it becomes powerful enough. I'll do what I can, but time is not on our side; I already fear that it may be too late. Goodbye, Ahsoka; I hope when we meet again, things are more in our favor" As she disappeared, Luke entered.
"I guess I have a lot to tell you about what happened back there" said Ahsoka.
"Agreed" said Luke as he sat himself down next to her. There was a short silence. "So…where to begin?"
"Well, I guess with a trip to Mortis" replied Ahsoka.
Just a Crazy Man: Once again; I appreciate the support, but I would appreciate it a little more if you were a little more descriptive with your reviews. It's still appreciated though :)
CT7567Rules: Don't worry, Chelaa Secura is still intact and her character will be part of K'Kruhk's character arc. Without giving anything away, Katooni will be appearing in an upcoming chapter and Petro and Gungi will appear next season. As for Rex; I hope this doesn't upset you, but I planned for him to appear in a somewhat later season. I hope this isn't too frustrating, but he will definitely appear, I promise you that. Anyways; good hearing from you, I hope you enjoy the remaining upcoming chapters.