Chapter 67
AN: Sorry about the delay everyone. Just finished with exams, so hopefully there will be more frequent updates. Everyone, please keep leaving reviews J
Also, if I remember correctly, this story has been going for two years now! J
Ari jumped from one foot to the other, impatiently. She was waiting at the entrance to the hanger with the medical team, scanning the air for the snowspeeders that were returning. Two had already returned, which just left Zev and the two others that would be coming in after him. "There they are," someone shouted and Ari had to squint to see Zev coming in. He quickly landed and hopped out. He waved the medical team over as Han carefully handed the very still form of Luke to them. Ari's heart stopped and she dashed forward. "Luke!" she called, and ran over to him. However, the medical team wouldn't let her close to him, and she could barely see him except for a glance or two as they started to rush with him to the medical bay. She started to go but was stopped by Han who had jumped out of the speeder as well. "He's fine, Ari. He just needs to see a medic and probably take a dip in the bacta tank. He came around after some stim shots. He got attacked by one of those ice creatures, but I think he will be okay. He's tough." Ari looked up at him and noted that he wasn't just saying that. He truly believed this, and it gave Ari hope. Han wouldn't lie to her. He cared about Luke a lot as well. Han gave her a small tired smile and Ari could tell that he was exhausted. He had probably been up all night. Ari turned around and hugged Han; glad he was alright as well. "Thank you, Han. And I am glad you are alright too." Han gave her a hesitant pat on the back, his way of returning the hug. "Come one, we need to check up on the Kid." "Captain," a feminine voice sounded and the pair turned to see Leia. "That was a brave thing you did," the Princess admitted almost reluctantly. There was softness in her voice though, and Ari wondered if Leia even knew it was there. Giving a small shrug, Han just gave his signature Han Solo smirk. "No big deal, Your Worshipfulness." Whatever softness Ari had witnessed was gone as she saw Leia bristle slightly at that title. "Well, they want you in the medical bay too; to make sure you haven't been exposed to anything. I am sure all that hot air you use to talk kept you warm, but they still want to check." With that, she turned and hurried to the medical bay. Han shook his head at the retreating form. "You know, sometimes she just-" He was cut off as Chewie appeared and hugged his human friend in a tight hug, lifting him off the ground. "Good to see you too, Chewie," Han managed, feeling all the air being forced out of him. Luckily before Han ran out of air, Chewie set him down on the ground. Then the large Wookie started to talk with him with a series of moans and barks, none of which Ari could even try to understand. Han answered in Basic, and the two were soon speaking back and forth, both in their native language. It was somewhat comedic. As much as Ari wanted to stick around and find out what had happened during the blizzard, she wanted to see Luke more. With a quick wave to the two smugglers, she dashed down the hallway. Once there, Ari saw Leia pacing outside a room. When she heard the footsteps, the young ex-senator looked up. "They won't let us in yet. They are going to put him in a bacta tank once they are sure he is stable enough for it." "He's going to be alright through," Ari replied, hoping to convince both Leia and herself. Han had said he would be okay. Han wouldn't like to them. Not about something this serious. Leia just bit her lip and looked over at the closed door, as if she could will the medics to allow them in. Both women were so lost in thought that they almost missed the approaching footsteps of Han and Chewie, who were still talking. Since Han was the only one they could understand, Ari was sure that was the reason she was confused about what they were talking about. "How's Luke?" Han asked the two young women. "They are just making sure he is stabilized," Leia sighed. Han nodded gravely. "Weren't you supposed to be getting examined as well?" Leia asked him, raising an eyebrow. "I saw a medic, and he just glanced me over, said I looked fine. And since I feel alright, I was given a clean bill of health," he answered. "Well, that is good, because-" Leia stopped as the door opened and the doctor stepped out. The same doctor that had attending to Ari. "Dr. Farres, is he alright?" Ari was quick to ask the question on everyone's mind. Farres nodded. "He is stabilized. I think he will be fine. 2-1B is preparing him for the bacta tank. "How long will he have to be in there?" Han questioned, glancing past Farres at the now open door. "Twenty standard minutes should be fine," the doctor told them. "Can we see him?" Ari asked, and she noted that Luke's droids, R2-D2 and Threepio had shown up. She wasn't sure when they had arrived, but she knew they had been worried about Luke as well. Dr. Farres nodded. "You will have to stay at least two meters from the tank, due to any activities the droids might need to perform. That was all Ari needed to here and she nodded to him in a respectful farewell before hurrying into the room. Upon reaching the room, Ari froze. Luke was there, in the tank, only modestly covered. For some reason, Ari thought he would have been looking better. He didn't though. His hair swayed in the bacta, but that was the only movement. His nose was plugged and a breather was in his mouth. Knowing that he was breathing didn't help ease Ari's fears. Her mind brought back the image from her nightmare and she could only hope and pray that her nightmare would never come true. Taking a few cautious steps closer, she saw big, ugly gashes on his face from the attack and she looked at him sadly. The innocent face of the boy she had known was forever changed, and as much as she dreaded the thought, she was sure that he had changed at least slightly from this near death experience. "He doesn't look good now, but I can promise that he is going to be fine. They expect him to make a full recovery in a day or so," Leia told her as she entered. "Dr. Farres just told us that." "He has been through so much already…" Ari murmured, just watching him. Han and Chewie joined the two females, and everyone was silent. Threepio and R2 joined the group, unusually silent. The only sound was Luke's regulated breathing due to the machine, and the soft whir of the droids working on him. There were many wires that lay on the icy ground, and Ari followed each wire separately, seeing what they all connected to. She felt she had a right to know what they had her best friend connected to. While everyone was trying to hold back their anxiety, Han moved away from where he was standing and would pace a few times, before stopping again. Ari couldn't blame him. It was taking all of her control to not go closer to the tank and shout to Luke, to have him wake up. The minutes passed by slowly and Ari kept glancing at a chrono that was in the room, certain it had to be broken. Finally, after Han had paced the floor thirtieth time, a small beep occurred and a small device attached to the tank. It sent a short jolt of electricity that traveled through the bacta and to Luke. His eyes opened and it was clear he was panicked about where he was. He could see Han, Chewie, Leia, Ari and the droids through the liquid that surrounded him. He could feel a tingling sensation from whatever substance it was, especially on his cuts. Once he had regained full use of his body, he gave a kick and easily floated up to where he could exit the tank. Ari glanced at Han, and then Leia, uncertain of what was going to happen next. "They will dress him and get him situated before they will let us see him," Leia informed her, seeing that Ari looked a bit lost. This comment caused the blue eyed girl to sigh. More waiting. Sometimes she felt that she had done that all her life. She had to wait to do anything because of her chores, or she had to wait for her brother to tagalong. Now, Ari would have done all that without complaining. This was different though. Luke was all she had left. She didn't think her nerves could handle waiting anymore. They had waited during the night to even know if Han and Luke had survived. There was a chirping sound as R4 appeared in the doorway. Everyone turned to look at the newcomer. "Arfour, what are you doing here?" Ari asked surprised to see the droid. She had thought after everything R4 would be recharging or helping with the necessary repairs that seemed to always be needed. The droid beeped at her a few more times and Ari checked her translator. Reading it, she gave a low groan. "Now?" she asked. She didn't want to leave now. Not when she was only a few minutes away from seeing Luke. Arfour beeped to inform Ari that the summons was to be answered to immediately. At that moment, Ari wanted to throw herself on the ground and refuse to go. However, she was no longer four years old. Even then, her parents had told her she was too old for that type of behavior. "Go on, Kid. Luke will still be here when you get back," Han told her. "I'll let him know you will be here as soon as you can." Ari gave a thankful smile to her unofficial surrogate big brother. She had never had an older brother, and had always wondered what it would be like to have one. She doubted Han would accept the role by title, but he seemed to fit it by his actions. With one last look at the now empty bacta tank, Ari rushed down the hallway, R4 leading the way Ari made a face, and then covered her mouth and nose with the collar of her tunic, looking at the scene in front of her. It was gruesome. That was the only way to describe it. The three dead tauntauns had been torn apart, and the area smelled of the dead bodies. It was just a short distance from the base. Some of the animals had escaped, and when someone had finally been summoned to go after them, this is the sight that had met them. "We captured the creature responsible. There was only one, but we found two more lurking around the base. They must have smelt the blood," the officer concluded. "Wait…you captured them?" Ari raised an eyebrow. "We baited them with meat. We have them inside." "Inside the base?!" Ari exclaimed. "Those are dangerous creatures!" "They are currently tranquilized " "And then what?" Ari asked, hands going to rest on her hips, which looked a bit strange with so many layers of clothes on. "Well, we were going to discuss that with the General," another officer spoke up. "Then you should talk to him now about it. This is not a situation we want around. I am sure you heard about the rescue last night, by Captain Solo…" she trailed off as the officers nodded. It was strange, since they were older than her, yet they were listening to her. "Well, he went to reach Commander Skywalker, who was stranded in the blizzard last night. The reason he was stranded, was because he was attacked and almost killed by those ice creatures." "Wampas," the first officer spoke up helpfully. "Wampas, whatever they are. They are dangerous," Ari told them. "Now, we need to get this mess cleaned up before another Wampa shows up." The second officer nodded and got on his communicator to make the request while Ari spoke to the first officer. "You should go talk to the General." "How do you think he will take this?" "I am sure it will be fine. I just doubt he wants anyone to walk into a room and find three very angry Wampas there." The officer nodded and started to walk with Ari back to the base. They were mostly silent, only the sounds of their breathing heard. "So how is Commander Skywalker?" he asked, glancing over at Ari. Everyone knew how close the two of them were. "He is going to be fine. He went through some bacta treatment. He had just finished when I was commed." "I am sorry," the officer apologized. Ari waved the apology away. "It is fine, honestly. It is my job. And I am glad I could help," she gave a small smile. It was true, she was glad she was able to help. However, the walk back seemed to take too long, when all she wanted to do was to see Luke so she would know he was going to be alright. Getting to the base, the officer gave a small nod of respect to Ari who returned it, before they went their separate ways. Ari was almost running to the medical bay. Luke would be out by now. She was certain of it. Quickly walking through the winding hallways, Ari found a 2-1B droid and asked where Luke was. The droid told her in its slow drawl, and had barely finished giving instruction before Ari was thanking him and hurrying down the hallway again. When Ari finally found the room, she noticed the door was open. She went to step through it, but something stopped her. She didn't know what it was, so she paused and listened instead.
"….didn't see us alone in the south passage," Han was saying, voice having a cocky smoothness to it. There was a slight pause before he continued. "She expressed her true feelings for me."
Daring a look in, Ari saw that Leia was anything but amused. In fact, she was furious. Behind her, Luke was resting on a bed. His wounds didn't look as bad as they had before, but it was clear that they would be scars that would remain with him for the rest of his life. Right now his features were that of concern, seeing that Leia and Han were about to start bickering again.
"My...! Why, you stuck up...half-witted...scruffy-looking...nerf-herder!" Leia finally managed after stuttering through her insult.
Han had moved to but turned at this, looking over at Leia
"Who's scruffy-looking?" He asked in an innocent tone, which quickly turned into the typical Han Solo attitude. "I must have hit her pretty close to the mark to get her all riled up like that, huh, kid?"
Ari couldn't see Leia's features, but after a short pause, she realized that Leia wasn't going to shout back at him.
"Why, I guess you don't know everything about women yet," she countered. Wondering what she had planned, Ari moved a bit closer to the doorway, just in time to see Leia lean over and kiss Luke. It was more than a mere brush of lips. It was lingering, and deep.
Shocked at this, Ari pulled back, feeling stung, and then she asked herself why. She had never told Luke how she felt, and for all she knew, their relationship was the same as it had been on Tatooine.
When Leia stalked out of the room, Ari couldn't make eye contact with her. "Oh, Ari, there you are. I bet Luke would be very happy to see you-"
Before she could continue, a muffled alarm sounded and both women looked up, as if looking at the intercom system would help them hear the message more clearly.
"Headquarters personnel, report to command center. Headquarters personnel, report to command center."
Leia forced a small smile. "No rest for the weary. Don't worry, it will take sometime to get everyone together. You have time to spend at least a few minutes with Luke."
With that, she turned and started down the hallway again.
Just a few moments later, Han, Chewie, Artoo and Threepio came down the hall.
"Hey, Kid, did her Highness just go off that way?" Han asked with an indication of his head.
Ari nodded. "Yeah," she answered, the one word was enough to convey her bitterness of what she had witnessed.
Han looked at her for a moment, not understanding what was wrong. Women were confusing.
Ari waved off any questions he might think about asking. "I am going to go talk to Luke. I will be at the command center in just a few minutes," she assured him. She put on a smile, even though it wasn't completely genuine. "Go on; tell them I will be right there."
Giving a nod, Han started down the hall again to where Chewie and the droids were waiting. "I'm coming," he told them with a small shake of his head.
Taking a lungful of cold air, Ari let it out before stepping into the room.
AN: Hope everyone enjoyed it. Please continue to read and review!