Luke watched the planet slowly swelling in the shuttle's viewport.
"Does Lando usually drop out of hyperspace this far from his planet stops?" he asked HON-3, the pilot droid.
"It is not standard protocol," the droid admitted. "I believe there was a slight problem with the nav-computer."
The planet continued to grow. Luke squinted, trying to make out the oceans. He imagined the bungalow where he would spend the night with Mara, picturing the white sand where she would dance- for him and him alone.
"We will arrive at the Bay shortly." The droid keyed up a map overlay on the viewport, showing Niriktari Bay. A light blinked on one side of the image. "Here are your lodgings."
"Did you bring the camera?" Eli asked Vah'nya. "I want to take some beach holos for Thrawn."
"I've got the camera, your meds and the comm, in case you feel the need to call Thrawn."
Eli scrunched up his face. "He worries about me- about both of us."
Luke peeked over his shoulder at Ezra and Sabine, peacefully cuddled in each other's arms. Violet-Meadows sat strapped in beside them, cheerfully meowing at the Loth-kittens, adding in an occasional "woof." Luke looked back to see the planet filling in the forward viewport.
No.
He blinked, inhaling sharply. "That's not"-
The ship gave a violent shudder.
"Was that an asteroid?" Mara gasped.
"No, Mrs. Skywalker." The droid keyed for a damage assessment. "We've registered no impact and no exterior damage. It's something inside"-
The ship jerked and shivered. Its nose dipped, beginning a dive towards the planet below.
"We are caught in the planet's gravity." The droid pilot continued to run diagnostics. "Please do not be alarmed. I am capable of making a landing in any circumstances."
Abruptly, the shuttle flipped, descending faster. Mara caught her breath and squeezed Luke's arm. He nodded. When the droid finally righted the ship, she unstrapped and stepped to the console. Luke followed.
"Can I help?" Mara asked the droid.
"I'm afraid this is one of Tendrando Arms' most complicated shuttles. You would not"-
The droid slumped forward. Luke smirked.
"Lando should put the off switch someplace less conspicuous."
He eased the droid onto the floor, grabbing the controls just as they went into a spin. Calling on the Force, he pulled back on the yoke, stopping the spiral and slowing their descent from a plummet to a head-long dash. Outside the viewport, he got his first close-up view of the planet. Conifer trees, snow banks and chunks of ice rushed by below.
Hoth.
Somehow, they had ended up on frigid Hoth instead of tropical Taratos IV. Not only had they ended up on Hoth, they were about to crash. Luke wished he hadn't left Artoo, but at the time he had thought they were heading to the beach and he hadn't wanted Artoo getting sand in his systems.
"HON-3, are you there?" Lando's voice came over the comm. "You need to come back right away."
Luke keyed the comm with the Force. "Luke here. Did you call to tell us we're at Hoth?"
Lando groaned. "You saw? I'm so sorry. I forgot to double-check our location before I sent you all out. I just really needed this whole contest and beach thing to work. Tell HON-3 to turn around."
"I can't. We're crashing and I turned him off so I could take the yoke."
"You're what?"
"Something in the wiring." Mara studied the damage report. "In the back, behind the Bridgers."
"In the wiring behind the Bridgers?" A hint of suspicion crept into Lando's voice. "The trouble on the Love Commander seems to be in the wiring next to the Bridgers' suite."
"Could we worry about diagnostics later?" Luke tugged on the ground was approaching quickly, much too quickly. "Maybe after we survive the crash?"
"At least we're together," Sabine murmured.
"Right, Coco Bean," Ezra replied.
Luke could sense Ezra extending a Force shield around his little family. He thought of Leia, Han and their children. He had to land safely. Jacen, Jaina, Ben, and baby Anakin needed their Uncle Luke to train them in the Force.
"I'm sending another shuttle for you," Lando said. "Try to keep your tracking beacon working."
They sped low over the tops of snow-laden trees, brushing some of the taller ones.
"A tracking beacon?" Luke shouted. "You think you won't be able to find us? Just look between the two snow piles, next to the two snow banks."
"Yeah, Han and Leia told me all about Hoth. Snow, snow and more snow. A real Winter Wonderland." Lando paused. "Hey, that's an idea! You folks let me know when you make it down. I need to go talk to Tendra."
"We're about to crash and Lando's chasing a business scheme?" Mara huffed, shaking her head.
Luke pulled hard on the yoke one last time. They were coming up on a clearing filled with several meters of snow. The top layer seemed to be soft and fresh. Stretching out to the Force, he slowed the ship and let them drop.
The shuttle plummeted. It hit the snow, sinking until Luke could see only white. With a final shudder, the ship went dark.
"Everybody okay back there?" Luke unstrapped and rose.
"Eli's hurt!" Vah'nya bent over her husband. "He hit his head."
"Thrawn's not going to be happy," Ezra grumbled. "And he's going to blame us."
"Do what you can for him." Luke began inspecting the console. "I'm going to see if I can bring the power back up."
It would get very cold, very fast without the shuttle's climate control.
"No comms?" Mara asked.
Luke shook his head. "All dead. No tracking beacon either."
"My comm broke, too." Eli held up the little comm case. "I can't call Thrawn."
Ezra groaned. "He's going to be really mad."
"Thrawn is reasonable." Eli winced as Ezra cleaned the gash on his head with antiseptic from the shuttle's first aid kit. "He'll know we didn't crash on purpose."
Vah'nya patted Eli's arm. "What I don't understand is why we had that sudden wiring issue."
Luke looked at Ezra.
"I didn't do anything!"
The Loth-kittens mewled loudly.
"Kitties, puppy play?" Violet-Meadows pointed at the back of the shuttle.
"Oh, no." Ezra secured a bandage on Eli's head and headed aft.
A sharp yip greeted him. Kneeling, he removed a small grating. A plump, fluffy lap dog bounded out.
"Tricky! Mrs. Pumphrey must be looking everywhere for you! How did you get here?"
"How do you think?" Luke stared at the dog, slowly piecing together what had happened.
Ezra sighed. "Now we've got Thrawn and Mrs. Pumphrey both worried about their pets."
Vah'nya glared at him. "Eli is not Thrawn's pet."
"It's okay, Sweetheart." Eli caught her hand. He turned to Ezra. "Thrawn is a lot more worried about me than Mrs. Pumphrey is about her dog."
"Sorry." Ezra smiled ruefully. "Guess I'm feeling kind of responsible and taking it out on you. He must have followed me and the Loth-kittens."
Sabine hugged her husband. "It's not your fault, Blueberry. Let's just concentrate on getting out of this mess."
Ezra shoved Tricky into the carrier with the Loth-kittens as Sabine joined Luke and Mara in the front of the shuttle.
"We hit pretty hard," Luke told her. He rubbed his head and half-smiled. "Hey, anybody here know anything about podracing?"
"Podracing?" Eli echoed. "What's that got to do with fixing the shuttle?"
Luke shrugged. "I was hoping my dad might show up. He loves podracing and he's the best at fixing things."
"I don't think that how the Force works." Sabine squatted down to do her own inspection. "How could one little dog make such a big mess? It's a wonder he didn't fry himself."
"In Tricky's defense, the crash caused most of this." Ezra dropped down beside her.
"And who caused the crash?" Sabine tugged a panel free, revealing tangled, smoking wires.
Luke whistled softly. "It's worse than I thought. I hope we have some blankets and heat-packs on board."
"Can we turn HON-3 back on?" Ezra suggested. "Maybe he can help."
"We'll have to fix him first." Luke gestured to the shiny droid lying on the floor. Like the shuttle's console, he was battered and leaking trails of smoke.
Crouching down, Luke joined Sabine as she started the repairs. The Force is with me, he reminded himself. We'll find a way.
Five hours later, they gave up. Slowly rising, Sabine made her way back to Ezra. They had no blankets and only their overnight bags of tropical clothing and the shuttle's small emergency kit. Although she was layered up in her own extra clothes as well Ezra's nightshirt and spare tunic, Sabine trembled from the cold.
At least they could share body warmth.
"Cold, Mama," Violet-Meadows whispered. She was nestled against Ezra's chest with his Jedi robe tucked around her.
"I know, Baby." Sabine wrapped herself around Ezra and Violet-Meadows.
"Bine, you're like ice!" Ezra rubbed her briskly, then opened his robe to tuck her inside next to their daughter.
She laid her head on his chest, trying in vain to stop shivering. As Ezra held her tightly, a strange warmth crept over her body. Her thoughts slowing, she closed her eyes and let sleep claim her.
Dimly, she became aware of Ezra's voice. He seemed to be saying something urgent but she couldn't make her mind focus. She managed to pat his shoulder.
"It's all right, Ezra. I'm here."
Author's Note: Poor Ezra. He didn't mean to. He just wants to Force-bond with everything. At least Luke managed to land them and they're all together!