Sorry it's taken so long. Here's the next chapter.
Star Wars: Remix version
Chapter Nineteen: The Rescue
Han, Luke and Leia tried to look inconspicuous in their armored suits as they waited for a vacuum elevator to arrive. Troops, bureaucrats, and robots bustled about, ignoring the trio completely. Only a few stopped and gave the giant Wookiee a curious glance.
Finally a small elevator arrived and the trio entered.
"I can't see a thing in this helmet" Luke muttered.
A bureaucrat raced to get aboard also, but was signaled away by Han. The door to the pod-like vehicle slid closed and the elevator car took off through a vacuum tube. When the elevator stopped, The three young heroes and the giant wookie entered the old grey security station. Guards and laser gates are everywhere. Han whispered to Luke under his breath.
"This is not going to work" He said.
"Why didn't you say so before?" Luke asked. Han stared at him in disbelief.
"I did say so before!" He protested, but Leia shushed them both. A tall, grim looking Officer approached
the trio.
"Where are you taking this... thing?" The officer asked. Chewie growled, but Han nudged him, to shut him up.
"Prisoner transfer from Block one-one-three-eight" Luke said as confidently as he could. They knew that Leia couldn't speak, since her voice would give them away. Luke didn't think there were any female storm troopers.
"I wasn't notified. I'll have to clear it" The officer said returning to the console. He began punching in numbers. Leia drew a breath and motioned for Han to unfasten one of the cuffs on Chewie to cause a distraction. Han nodded slightly and unlocked the electronic cuff.
Suddenly Chewbacca threw up his hands and let out with one of his ear-piercing howls. He grabbed Han's laser rifle.
"Look out! He's loose!" Han shouted.
"He's going to pull us all apart" Luke added. "Go get him!"
The startled guards were momentarily dumbfounded. Luke and Han pulled out their laser pistols and began "blasting" away at the terrifying Wookiee. Their barrage of laserfire missed Chewbacca, but hit the camera eyes, laser gate controls, and the Imperial guards. The officer was the last of the guards to fall under the laserfire just as he was about to push the alarm system. Han rushed to the comlink system, which was screeching questions about what is going on. He quickly checked the computer readout.
"We've got to find out which cell this princess is in. Here it is... cell twenty-one-eight-seven. One of you go get her. I'll hold them here." Han said quickly. Leia motioned to herself and Luke nodded. She raced down one of the cell corridors.
Han spoke into the buzzing comlink.
"Everything is under control. Situation normal" He said confidently.
"What happened?" The voice on the other end asked impatiently. Han licked his lips, pulling off his helmet.
"Uh... had a slight weapons malfunction. But, uh, everything's perfectly all right now. We're fine. We're all fine here, now, thank you. How are you?" He asked.
"We're sending a squad up." The voice replied. Han hesitated.
"Uh, uh, negative. We had a reactor leak here now. Give us a few minutes to lock it down. Large leak... very dangerous." He said quickly.
"Who is this? What's your operating number?" The voice asked. Han groaned and blasted the comlink, causing it to explode. Chewie howled and Luke groaned. \
"What"d you do that for?" He asked, irritated.
"Boring conversation anyway." He yelled down the hallway. "Leia! We're going to have company!"
Leia stopped in front of one of the cells and blasted the door away with a laser pistol. When the smoke cleared, Leia saw the dazzling young princess. She had long black hair in a single braid and was wearing a plain white gown. She had been sleeping but was now looking at Leia with an uncomprehending look on
her face.
"Aren't you a little short to be a stormtrooper?" Anna asked quietly. Leia quickly took off her helmet, her long brown hair spilling over her shoulders. Anna stared at her for a moment, confused.
"I'm Leia Skywalker. I'm here to rescue you." She said. Comprehension dawned on Anna's face.
"Your Senetor Padme's daughter" She said. It was a statement, not a question but Leia nodded. She wanted to ask if her mother was alive, as it was begginning to sound as though she was, but she knew that now was not the time.
"We've got your R2 unit. We're here with Ben Kenobi." Anna was about to ask who "we" meant, until she heard Ben's name.
"Ben Kenobi is here! Where is he?" She asked.
"Come on!" Leia gestured.
An ominous buzzing sound could be heard on the other side of the elevator door.
"Chewie!" Han shouted. Chewbacca responded with a growling noise. Luke looked worried, as he too had removed his helmet.
"Get behind me! Get behind me!" Han said quickly. Chewie was quick to obey, but Luke steadied his weapon. A series of explosions knocked a hole in the elevator door through which several Imperial troops began to emerge. Han, Luke and Chewie fired laser pistols at them through the smoke and flame. They turn and run down the cell hallway, meeting up with Anna and Leia rushing toward them.
"Can't get out that way." Han told them. Leia sighed.
"Looks like you managed to cut off our only escape route" Anna muttered.
"Maybe you'd like it back in your cell, Your Highness" Han retorted.
Luke took a small comlink transmitter from his belt as they continued to exchange fire with stormtroopers making their way down the corridor.
"See-Threepio! See-Threepio!" He shouted.
"Yes sir?" Threepio said over the comlink.
"We've been cut off! Are there any other ways out of the cell bay?...What was that? I didn't copy!"
Threepio paced the control center as little Artoo beeped and
whistled a blue streak. Threepio yelled into the small comlink
transmitter.
"I said, all systems have been alerted to your presence, sir. The main entrance seems to be the only way in or out; all other information on your level is restricted." Threepio replied.
Someone began banging on the door.
"Open up in there!" A loud voice commanded.
"Oh, no!" Threepio groaned.
Luke, Leia and Anna crouched together in an alcove for protection as they continued to exchange fire with troops. Han and Chewbacca were barely able to keep the stormtroopers at bay at the far end of the hallway. The laser fire was very intense, and smoke filled the narrow cell corridor.
"There isn't any other way out." Luke shouted.
"I can't hold them off forever! Now what?" Han shouted back.
"This is some rescue. When you came in here, didn't you have a plan for getting out?" Anna asked. Leia turned to look at the princess, but said nothing. The remark stung, but she didn't want to get into a fight.
"He's the brains, sweetheart." Han said pointing at Luke. Luke shrugged his shoulders sheepishly. Anna grabbed Luke's blaster and fired at a small grate in the wall next to Han, almost frying him.
"What the hell are you doing?" Han asked.
"Somebody has to save our skins. Into the garbage chute, wise guy." Anna said. For a fourteen year old, she certainly was feisty. She jumped through the narrow opening as Han and Chewbacca looked on in amazement. Chewbacca sniffed the garbage chute and said something.
"Get in there you big furry oaf! I don't care what you smell! Get in there and don't worry about it." Han said gruffly. He gave the wookie a kick and Chewie disappeared into the tiny opening. Luke, Leia and Han continued firing as they worked their way toward the opening.
"Wonderful girl! Either I'm going to kill her or I'm beginning to like her. Get in there!" Han said. Leia grinned and ducked laser fire as she jumped into the darkness, Luke following her. Han followed shortly after.
Han tumbled into the large room filled with garbage and muck. Luke was already stumbling around looking for an exit. He found a small hatchway and struggled to get it open. It wouldn't budge.
"Oh! The garbage chute was a really wonderful idea. What an incredible smell you've discovered! Let's get out of here! Get away from there..." He motioned to Luke.
"No! wait!" Leia cried, but Han had already fired at the hatch. The laserbolt ricocheted wildly around the small metal room. Everyone dove for cover in the garbage as the bolt exploded almost on top of them. Anna climbed out of the garbage with a rather grim look on her face.
"Will you forget it? I already tried it. It's magnetically sealed!" Luke said firmly.
"Put that thing away! You're going to get us all killed." Anna snapped.
"Absolutely, Your Worship. Look, I had everything under control until you led us down here. You know, it's not going to take them long to figure out what happened to us" Han snapped back. Luke and Leia groaned.
"It could be worse…" Leia said trailing off.
A loud, horrible, inhuman moan worked its way up from the murky depths. Chewbacca let out a terrified howl and began to back away. Han and Luke stood fast with their laser pistols drawn. The Wookiee was cowering near one of the walls.
"It's worse." Han said, shooting Anna a look. She glared at him. Something brushed past Leia's foot.
"There's something alive in here!" She cried, scrambling away.
"That's your imagination." Han said. Leia glared at him.
"Something just moves past my leg! Look! Did you see that?" She pointed at a snaky looking thing.
"What?" Han asked.
Suddenly Leia was yanked under the garbage.
"Leia! Leia! Leia!" Han shouted. He tried to find Leia, but it seemed hopeless. Leia surfaced with a gasp of air and thrashing of limbs. A membrane tentacle was wrapped around her throat.
"Leia" Anna cried. She extended a long pipe towards Leia. "Leia, grab a hold of this." Leia grabbed hold of the pipe but was suddenly pulled back into the muck.
"Leia!" Luke shouted.
Suddenly the walls of the garbage receptacle shuddered and moved in a couple of inches. Then everything was deathly quiet. Han, Anna and Luke gave each other a worried look as Chewbacca howled in the corner. With a rush of bubbles and muck Leia suddenly bobbed to the surface.
"Grab her!" Anna shouted. Leia seemed to be released by the thing.
"What happened?" Luke asked, helping Leia up.
"I don't know, it just let go of me and disappeared..." Leia said, trailing off.
"I've got a very bad feeling about this." Han muttered.
Before anyone can say anything the walls began to rumble and edged toward the Rebels.
"The walls are moving!" Luke shouted.
"Don't just stand there. Try to brace it with something." Leia shouted.
They placed poles and long metal beams between the closing walls, but they were simply snapped and bent as the giant trash masher rumbled on.
"Wait a minute!" Luke said. He pulled out his comlink.
"Threepio! Come in Threepio! Threepio!" There was no answer. "Where could he be?"
A soft buzzer and the muted voice of Luke calling out for See-Threepio could be heard on Threepio's hand comlink, which was sitting on the deserted computer console. Artoo and Threepio were nowhere in sight. Suddenly there was a great
explosion and the door of the control tower flew across the floor. Four armed stormtroopers entered the chamber.
"Take over!" One of the troopers said. He pointed to the dead officer. "See to him! Look there!"
A trooper pushed a button and the supply cabinet door slid
open. See-Threepio and Artoo-Detoo were inside. Artoo followed
his bronze companion out into the office.
"They're madmen! They're heading for the prison level. If you hurry, you might catch them." Threepio said quickly, trying not to let on that he was terrified.
"Follow me!" The trooper motioned to two of the others. He pointed the the last one. "You stand guard."
The troops hustled off down the hallway, leaving a guard to watch over the command office.
"Come on!" Threepio said to Artoo and headed for the door. The guard aimed a blaster at them.
"Oh! All this excitement has overrun the circuits of my counterpart here. If you don't mind, I'd like to take him down to maintenance." Threepio said quickly.
"All right." The trooper nodded. Threepio, with little Artoo in tow, hurried
out the door.
As the walls rumbled closed, the room got smaller and smaller. Chewie was whining and trying to hold a wall back with his giant paws. Han was leaning back against the other wall. Garbage was snapping and popping. Luke was still trying to reach Threepio.
"Threepio! Come in, Threepio! Threepio!" He shouted.
Han, Anna and Leia tried to brace the contracting walls with a pole. Leia began to sink into the trash.
"Get to the top!" Han shouted.
"I can't" Leia cried.
"Where could he be? Threepio! Threepio, will you come in?" Luke cried again.
"They aren't here! Something must have happened to them. See if they've been captured." Threepio said once they reached the hanger.
Little Artoo carefully plugged his claw arm into a new wall socket and a complex array of electronic sounds spewed from the tiny robot.
"Hurry!" Threepio urged.
The walls were only feet apart. Leia and Han were braced against
the walls. Leia was frightened. They looked at each other. Leia reached out and took Han's hand and she held it tightly. She's terrified and suddenly groaned as she felt the first crushing pressure against her body. Anna was holding onto Luke in a similar fashion.
"One thing's for sure. We're all going to be a lot thinner!" Han said jokingly. The laughed at his lame joke, trying to squelch the fear.
"Thank goodness, they haven't found them! Where could they be?" Threepio asked worriedly.
Artoo frantically beeped something to See-Threepio.
"Use the comlink? Oh, my! I forgot I turned it off!" Threepio said.
Meanwhile, Luke was lying on his side, trying to keep his head above the rising ooze. Luke's comlink began to buzz and he ripped it off his belt.
Muffled sounds of Luke's voice over the comlink could be heard,
but not distinctly.
"Are you there, sir?" Threepio asked.
"Threepio!" came the static response.
"We've had some problems..." Luke cut the droid off.
"Will you shut up and listen to me? Shut down all garbage mashers on the detention level, will you? Do you copy?" Luke asked.
"Shut them all down! Hurry!" Threepio said frantically to Artoo.
Threepio held his head in agony as he heard the incredible screaming and hollering from Luke's comlink.
"Listen to them! They're dying, Artoo! Curse my metal body! I wasn't fast enough. It's all my fault! My poor master!" But threepio was wrong. Artoo had mentioned to shut off the garbage masher just in time.
"Threepio, we're all right!" Luke's static voice said.
Han, Anna, Chewie and Leia embraced in the background.
"We're all right. You did great." Luke spoke into the comlink.
Luke moved to the pressure sensitive hatch, looking for a
number.
"Hey... hey, open the pressure maintenance hatch on unit number...where are we?
"Three-two-six-eight-two-seven." Han replied.