Luke knew it was a dream, but he didn't mind. His eyes were still blurry as he squinted to make out the soft figure of Leia just a few feet away. She had a slight glow around her and he thought it just fit somehow. She turned towards him and smiled.
"It's about time. Who knew you were such a deep sleeper."
After a second he realized this was not a dream, and he quickly sat up only to bang his groggy head on the top of the bunk.
"Leia! Ahh!"
"Whoa- take it easy there!"
"How are you?"
"I'm fine, Luke- better than you I think," she laughed.
"How did you find me?" Luke asked.
"Well, Han said you crashed down here. I can't blame you really. No one is going to miss those cold barracks on the far side of the base.
"Barracks? I didn't even make it that far."
"Well, they're closed out already. In fact, it looks like most have gone, save for you and flyboy up there."
"How long did I sleep?"
"It's just about dawn. Maybe- seven or eight hours from the dinner."
Luke straightened up a bit and leaned in a little to Leia.
"Listen, Leia, I just wanted to say- I mean, I never got a chance to say how sorry I am about Alderaan."
Leia's smile went away, and she looked intently at Luke.
"You know, " he continued slowly, "there I was so upset about Ben, when I didn't even realize- I mean I should have, but I guess I just got caught up. I'm sorry."
Leia stood up now and her voice grew a little stern.
"There is nothing to be sorry about. This is all out war now. The sacrifice they made on Alderaan is a sacrifice we are all prepared to make. There is no turning back- no diplomacy. There will be no peace until the Empire falls. You know that, don't you?" She spoke with a determination that seemed a bit forced.
"I know." Luke paused and looked down. "They got to my family too."
"I had heard that, I'm sorry" she said and reached out her hand and touched Luke's back slightly. "I'm sorry, I have to go Luke" and she quickly turned and walked out of the ship.
Luke gathered himself together, still waking up, and went after her. This was a bit of a breakthrough, he thought. They had a real connection now. As he made his way outside he could see the dawn approaching. The gas giant that held the moon in its orbit was directly overhead, and it bathed everything in a purplish pre-dawn glow. Luke saw Leia was walking across the temple plaza. It was mostly empty now, with most of the starships gone. He was about to call for her when a voice boomed from behind him,
"Hey? Where ya going?" Han yelled out.
"Nowhere- I just wanted-" Luke replied, but Han cut him off.
"Not you!" retorted Han.
Leia waved out one of her arms and didn't turn around. She kept walking.
"Luke, what did you say to her?" Han demanded.
"Nothing- she just left. That's all"
"Right." Han paused and pinched his mouth slightly to one side, still watching as Leia walked on. He turned to Luke, "Hey- you feel like giving us a hand for a minute?"
"Sure-" but before Luke could finish his sentence he was interrupted by loud sirens that echoed throughout the temple complex. Several fighter pilots were running top speed across the plaza towards the fighter hangars. Luke waved out to one of them running past the Falcon.
"What's going on?" he yelled.
"Luke- where have you been?" asked a young pilot who resembled a younger version of himself. Luke vaguely remembered speaking with him before the Death Star battle, but couldn't remember his name. "It's the Imperial Fleet, they're here! It's too soon, we have to fly cover and get the rest of the transports out. We have to move- C'mon!"
Luke turned back to Han.
"Did you hear that?"
"Yeah- I heard enough- go ahead...and good luck!"
"Hey- may the force be with you," Luke smiled to Han.
"Right," Han smiled and nodded back.
"Get out of here yourself!" Luke called back and started running with the others.
"No kidding," Han muttered to himself.
He ran over to Chewbacca who was welding closed a large panel along the top of the ship.
"Chewie! C'mon- no time buddy. We've got to go- now!" he said as he grabbed a few tools that were scattered across the topside.
Chewbacca did the same and quickly they were below. The engines started slowly but roared to life as Han pushed them full open. The Millennium Falcon lazily lifted up, spilling dust and debris all over. Several soldiers who were still running through the plaza had to dive for cover as the tremendous force of the Falcon's engines came on. The ship listed and spun heavily out of its dock. The engines expelled bright plasma and the ship shot up with tremendous speed. It blasted through the thin fog that was covering the temple grounds and thundered up into the sky above.
Luke heard the Falcon's engines and turned back to see the white disc of the hull shooting up, turning into a small speck of light against the early morning sky. There were thousands of tiny specks of light glittering beyond. It was the ominous sign of incoming spaceships. He assumed most were the enemy, and he was glad Han got out when he did.
A couple of minutes later he met his commander. He was given a small group to lead. The young pilot he ran into was among them. They were all very young. Most of the veteran pilots were lost over the Death Star, and there were not many rebels left who could even fly.
The orders were simple, escort the remaining ships to orbit and give them a chance to go into hyperspace. They would all meet up at the rendezvous point. And under no circumstances were their ships to be captured. Any tractor beam locked on their ship meant a self-destruct order. And once you're "in the black, watch your back!" Luke had a good sense of the Empire's fighter tactics by now, and felt as ready as he would ever be. He was very pleased to get his Artoo in back of his X-Wing once again.
"Great to see you little guy!" he exclaimed to the little droid. Artoo squeaked a response that signaled the feeling was mutual. As he climbed into his X-Wing cockpit and was fastened in, he gave a quick glance up. The canopy sealed shut and silence filled the small space and Luke spoke softly towards the sky.
"I think I might need you again Ben. I hope you're out there."
He paused to wait for an answer but there was none. He started to wonder whether he really did hear Ben. Maybe it was just his longing to speak to him again, to learn from him, just the echo of a memory. So much was lost with him. Luke shook off the thought and knew somehow he really was still around.
The X-Wing fighter slowly rose as the huge engines in the rear powered on. They sounded a bit rough and as tired as Luke was. He had a feeling this is the way it would be like from now on. They were the hunted, and it would be a constant run. Still, he took complete comfort in the pilot seat, especially in an X-Wing. He had heard so much about these fighters, and this one didn't disappoint. He flicked a few controls to customize his console. He tilted his seat back a bit and then forward, then just back where it was. Fits like a glove, he thought. He never wanted to leave it again.
Just before the ship lifted out of the hangar, Luke caught sight of Leia. She was entering a large rounded ship with several generals and commanders. It had some royal markings on it that made Luke wonder why anyone would put them on there. They might as well paint a big target on the top as well. Behind her, scampering up the ramp was C3-PO. It was good to see him again and know he would get out in one piece. He knew the princess would too. He was going to make sure of that.
After a few seconds Luke was at full power and blasting up through the atmosphere. He leaned over slightly to look down at the base. A few peaks of the temples were all he could see. The rest was well covered. Artoo let out some more squeals and Luke turned forward to see why.
Beyond the temple peaks hundreds of Imperial Bombers were closing in. They began dropping bombs quite far off and the canopy of the forest lit up bright orange instantly. Huge billowing walls of flame stretched across the horizon. Luke immediately turned the X-Wing to circle around and ordered his group to engage. But where was the Princess' ship!
He checked in with command. Communications were completely jammed- data links, ship to ship, all of them. Even the new secure channels. That will certainly put a damper on this little getaway mission. That was a little too clever, Luke thought. Someone from the Empire had been paying attention from the battle the day before. The Death Star was destroyed with all on board. All enemy fighters were believed destroyed in the massive explosion as well. So the question was, who was left behind?