Chapter Two

Jim had no idea what time it was when he felt something move behind him. A warm hand pressed between his shoulder blades and he exhaled slowly. It was just Luke. Jim smiled into the darkness of the tent as Luke got comfortable behind him and it grew quiet again.

"Are you okay with this?"

"Yeah, this is okay." He closed his eyes and listened to the slightly labored breathing that hit warm against the back of his neck, "Are you okay?"

"Lungs are cold. All of me's cold." Luke murmured, trying to get as close as humanly possible. Jim rolled over to face Luke and reached for the blanket, dragging it up so it covered their heads.

"Body-heat escapes through your head, that's part of the problem." It was warm in the little cocoon, and Jim knew they were real close, he could feel Luke's breath across his lips. As it grew warmer, Luke's breathing became less labored and more even. That was good. Jim relaxed and closed his eyes, drifting between wakefulness and sleep. Luke, seeking the most contact, laid one arm around his waist and his head against Jim's shoulder. Soft, steady breath rushed past his neck and Jim just smiled. He finally drifted off to sleep, sparing just a thought for the reality he'd left behind for this one.

Jim's watch read 0800 when he heard something outside.

"Hngh." He tried to move, but having rolled onto his stomach in the night, Luke had rolled ontop of him and half-pinned him to the ground. Jim raised his head, listening. Suddenly, Luke was awake.

"Do you hear that?"

"Yeah."

"Get dressed!" Luke scrambled, dragging on his cold-weather gear. Jim followed, staggering out of the tent as he fought with the clasps of his jacket. Two aircraft, skimmers of some kind, landed nearby. Luke greeted their pilots, explained circumstances, and they were taken home to Echo Base. Jim, to his surprise, was not treated as an enemy. After a chat with those in command, he was given free reign of the place. Luke got him an orange flight-suit, promised him an X-wing, and wished him luck. Wandering the hangar, Jim passed by a beat-up freighter that looked like it had seen a few rough times. He stood back to look at it, wondering if it could even get off the ice.

"Hey!"

"Huh?" He looked up to see an older man standing on the roof.

"You're Jim, right?"

"Yeah. You're Han?"

"Got that right, kid. You any good with mechanics?"

"I took a few engineering classes, does that count?"

"Get up here and make yourself useful." Okay then. Jim shrugged and boarded the decrepit freighter, making his way to the roof-hatch, in the process bypassing a huge mamillian alien nine feet tall. It didn't hurt him, but it still startled him.

"Whoa!" Jim climbed onto the roof, "What's the fuzzball?"

"That's Chewie, he's pretty harmless. You look enough like Luke he'd never lay a paw to ya." the scruffy pilot, General Han Solo, grinned at him and tossed him a tool-kit, "Come 'ere, kid, I need a hand or two."

"Sure." Jim shrugged, wondered what the hell Chewie was, and why looking like Luke made him safe. For the next couple hours, Jim worked on the Millenium Falcon, chatting with Han and occasionally with Chewie. Luke came by with a pretty girl he remembered as Leia, Princess Leia. He'd never actually been introduced to her, so this was a first. He left the Falcon to make a good impression.

"So you're James Kirk?"

"Jim, ma'am. Just call me Jim, or Jamie."

"Huh. I guess we owe you for saving Luke's life out there."

"Nah." Jim shrugged, knowing he wouldn't be around long enough to get a reward.

"Well, thank you anyway." Leia surprised him with a kiss on the cheek, "Luke's very special to me, I didn't get any sleep at all last night."

"Oh…y-you're welcome." Jim, usually so smooth with the ladies, actually stammered. Leia smiled and took off, then, leaving him staring longingly after.

"Wow."

"Oh boy, you've got it bad." Luke chuckled, causing Jim to blush.

"I happen to have a healthy appreciation for the exceptionally beautiful of the fairer sex." He said a little more sharply than strictly necessary. Luke, bless him, didn't take any offense to it.

Not long after, Jim was scrambling into the cockpit of a snow-speeder. They trusted him with one of these things? Jim couldn't help but think of how much time he was wasting! His gunner was a happy-go-lucky kid who reminded him a little of Chekov, which made Jim homesick. For the sake of continuity, Jim was answering to the call-sign of Rogue Six today. Once they were airborne, Jim kept his com-channel open to the squadron frequency at all times. When he saw what they were up against, he experienced just a brief pang of fear before he realized these AT-AT Walkers were nowhere near as bad as the Narada. It only got bad when Luke's speeder went down trailing smoke, flattened moments later by a passing Walker.

"Luke!" Jim yelled, Brother!

I'm okay, Jamie! I'm okay, keep going!

Thank god! Jim pulled up and went in for another run. Luke was safe, for the moment alive, he couldn't ask for anything else. When they got to the rendezvous, he waited behind for Luke. Jim leaned against the ladder of his fighter, "What, do you make it a point of seeing how many times you can get yourself killed, Luke? Jesus, give me a heart-attack."

"I'm sorry."

"You're alive. You're lucky and you're stupid, but you're alive. Where to?"

"I'm going to Dagobah."

"Where's that?"

"I have no idea."

"And yet…that's where we're going?" Jim climbed his ladder, "Boy, I thought I was crazy and reckless."

"I'm not asking you to come with me, Jim."

"I know, but I've got nowhere else to go, and there's a good chance this Yoda can help me get home." Jim dropped into his cockpit and studied the controls. He'd never flown one of these before, it would be a new experience. He followed Luke out of Hoth's orbit, bypassing two massive ships that still had nothing on the Narada.

"Uh, Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"What are those?"

"Imperial Star Destroyers. Don't get too close."

"Wow." He kept his distance, "I thought the Narada was big." They escaped the Star Destroyers and set course for Dagobah. Jim honestly wondered if he was losing his mind. He didn't remember signing up for crazy adventures like this when he enlisted in Starfleet at the behest of Captain Pike. Oh well.