Well, here's the last chapter before Return of the Jedi. Ugh. I tell you what, the next fanfic I write, I'm plotting from start to finish, because I keep taking breaks to think up how the next part of the story's gonna go. As always, leave a review if you found something that you think I could have done better. Ideas for the story are also welcome.

Enjoy!

As she lay on the floor of the hallway, propped up against the wall, Amela placed a tentative hand on her beating chest and willed it to calm down. She had been so close to death, and the thought of it brought up a bucking, vomit-inducing sensation in her gut. The acrid smell of electrical smoke clung to the insides of her nostrils. The screaming of tibanna in her ears stopped as blasters ceased firing, and a few seconds later, one of her prison guards was kneeling by her, saying… something-

"Ma'am? Ma'am, answer me."

"What?" she asked, breaking out of the spell.

"Are you alright?" the guard was saying. With a start, Amela realized that she was still on the ground. Not a good example to her subordinates. Refusing the guard's outstretched hand, she pushed herself off of the ground and got to her feet, swallowing her nausea. Around her, guards and her Death Troopers were walking around, some watching her while others put away blasters. Two troopers had picked up the cutting tools again and were quickly making work of the door. A second later, they stepped back, a Death trooper opened it, and her men flooded into the electrical room.

A few seconds later, one of the officers came out and addressed her. "No sign of the Rebels, ma'am. It looks like they got in and out through the exposed section of the excess heating pipe."

An electric current pierced her heart. The Rebels and Leia Organa herself had just escaped because of her temper and her clumsiness, and that alone. She only barely kept from shuddering at the thought of her father finding out. She knew that the Death Troopers he had 'gifted' her were ordered to also track her progress with the station of Warden that he had similarly assigned her to, and they would report everything back to him.

Keeping a stoic expression on her face, Amela remembered the TIE Interceptors on the surface. There was still a chance to stop them, and if she could recapture or at least kill them, she would be forgiven. That much was sure.

Noticing her aide walking out of the electrical room, she called him over. "Kinson?"

"Yes, Miss Va'ata?"

"Do we know what caused the blackout?"

"Not exactly. But about ten minutes before, the geothermal plant automatically shut down due to a supposed spike in temperature, and afterwards, the Rebels exited the electrical room around the same time that the blackout happened. It's likely that they sabotaged the plant to make us switch to the backup generators in preparation of an EMP. There's such a device hooked up to the main power cells."

"Would they have needed to make us switch to the backups before setting off an EMP?" she asked, a thought lighting up inside her head.

"Well, not necessarily," Kinson admitted. "But it could be that their information was faulty."

"Wait…" Amela said. "Don't we have a venting system in place for excess heat created by the plant?"

"We do. It connects to the ocean and expels heat through a one-way grate."

"And… if something were to block that grate, would that force an automatic shutdown, too?"

"I guess, but…" Kinson paused, then said, "You're thinking that the Rebels got in through the pipe and into the electrical room?"

"It would make sense," Amela murmured, then looked up. "Isn't there a minefield there?"

"Yes-" Kinson started to say.

"Can we remotely detonate it?" she asked, her voice hurried.

"I'll have to check with the main technician, but I think-"

"The main technician is dead, sir," the officer from earlier interrupted. "We just found his body hidden inside of the pipe."

"Then find another technician. If it's at all possible, detonate the minefield. Go!" Amela ordered, and Kinson, with a nod, rushed off with his instructions. She turned, and said to the officer, "Tell my Death Troopers to enter the pipe and search it for the Rebels. Provide schematics. Alert our TIE fighters and the surface garrison, and have someone send a complete report of the situation to ISB Headquarters."

That way, no one can accuse me of trying to hide facts.

The officer saluted and Amela turned away, touching a hand to her brow. She needed to get topside, both for some fresh air and to wait for the Rebels to surface.

"There's gotta be something that we can do!" Leia argued inside of the submersible, as Lando desperately manipulated its controls.

"Oh, we're doomed!" 3po cried. Hobbes waited with baited breath for Lando to say something, anything, that might improve their situation. Beside him, curled up in agony against the submersible's tilted hull, was Calvin. Hobbes wished that the alarms and the red emergency lights drowning them would go away, so that his best friend could stop covering his head with his arms to block it out.

"The controls aren't responding," Lando said. "We're losing power!"

"And the backup batteries?" Leia asked.

"I need all of their power to keep the oxygenator going. I can't divert anything," Lando replied. He flicked a switch, and the alarms died out.

"What if we plugged 3po back in?" Hobbes suggested.

"Oh, dear!" 3po said.

"Not enough power. Besides, it's not going to fix the ballast tank or the broken propulsion," Lando said. "I don't know what to do."

"...maybe there's nothing more that we can do," Leia admitted. "What systems are still online?"

"The oxygenator… the depth gauge, the back rudder… the docking ring door, the right ballast tank, the backup power…" With every word, the red lights that gave all of them sight dimmed further and further, as if symbolizing their eroding hope, until they finally went out.

"Dank Ferrik," Leia muttered, and a few seconds later, her flashlight switched on. Lando's flashlight followed, and Hobbes suddenly felt incredibly tired. Images of recent regrets and sorrows came to him and he tried to block them out. Their propulsion and their power was gone, the left ballast tank was ruptured, they were sinking deeper and deeper, and they were, despite all of their best efforts, about to die.

"Hobbes?" Calvin whispered, and Hobbes fought to keep back his tears.

"Yeah?" he asked. To his surprise, Calvin began to cry. "Hey, what's wrong? It's okay. Whatever it is, it's okay."

"It's not," Calvin sniffed. "It's not okay. You should- you should have left me in there… I'm so, so, sorry, Hobbes. I-"

"I forgive you," Hobbes murmured, reaching over and pulling his best friend into a hug. "Whatever it is, I forgive you."

"The DART…" Calvin sobbed. "Hobbes, I tried to tell you in the prison. The DART- I broke, Hobbes! I lost hope… They know everything."

Silence.

Shocked, Hobbes looked at Leia, who was staring at them with wide, horrified eyes. Words could not describe the sudden, crushing guilt that enveloped him. He had let Leia down. He had let all of his friends down. The Empire would build the DART, and the Rebellion wouldn't stand a chance. Universes would be torn apart…

"Calvin…" Hobbes whispered, tears streaming down his face. He lifted his head. "Leia…"

"It's too late to do anything," Leia said, and Hobbes clenched his teeth and tried to keep the tears in. Everything hurt. "The Rebellion, the whole galaxy… They have no idea what's coming."

"Hobbes, did you tell Leia about?…" Calvin asked.

Hobbes nodded, still wracked with guilt and pain.

"Oh, my god…" Calvin whispered. "It's all my fault."

"It's all our fault," Hobbes said.

"And now there's nothing left to do," Leia whispered, and a soul-breaking thought seemed to strike her. "Han…"

She became silent.

For another minute, no one spoke. Their eyes all drifted to the depth gauge, which was steadily approaching the red zone. Hobbes could feel his heartbeat steadily ricocheting in his chest. Only a few more minutes to go. His gaze shifted towards the controls in front of Lando, where only the few components that he had previously listed out were still powered on. At least their death would be quick, compared to something like the oxygenator breaking down.

Something like the oxygenator breaking down.

Something like-

-the oxygenator.

And the ballast tank.

His head snapped up, and he said, "I have an idea."

Everyone looked up, and Hobbes met Leia's eyes. His' became resolute in their look, and he said, "3po, Lando. Can we reroute the oxygenator?"

"What?" Lando asked.

"Reroute the oxygenator," Hobbes said. "To the-"

"To the ballast tank!" Leia gasped. "Force the water out! Is that possible?"

"Well, if we could redirect the main pipe to the ballast tank's system, then yes. But I must advise-" 3po began.

"Is there a way that we can access those systems?" Hobbes asked.

"Yes, but-"

"Do it," Leia ordered. "Hobbes, help 3po. We don't have much time left."

Risking a look at the depth gauge, Hobbes' eyes widened. They barely had two minutes until they reached the dead zone. Turning, he began to climb up the 'side' of the submarine, using pipes, panels, boxes, and various other handholds. From below, 3po directed him. "Yes! Now, a little to the left. The panel should be right in front of you."

Getting on the now-vertical exit ladder that stretched across the middle of the sub's length for support, Hobbes lowered himself onto his belly and opened the correct panel. Shining his light on the interior, he was met with cables, switches, labels, and a myriad of tubes, hoses, and plugs, gray and white in color. "Uh, what now?" he asked. "I see a bunch of metal hoses and wires."

"According to the schematics, all of the hoses should be labeled to show where they go," 3po told him. "In order to redirect the oxygen to the ballast tank, find the correct one and disconnect it, then disconnect the ballast tank hose and attach the oxygenator hose to the ballast tank's plug."

"Okay…" Hobbes tried to find a way to disconnect one of the hoses, but to his distress, each one was securely connected.

"Leia, toss me a cutting torch," he said, and a second later, Leia said, "Here."

Hobbes turned and caught the tossed tool. Making sure to set the dial on the lowest power, he activated the torch, and precariously began to disconnect the hose labeled, 'Oxygenator,' before abruptly stopping. "Hey, if I disconnect this, won't we run out of air sooner or later?" he asked.

"Yes, indeed," 3po said. "If we disconnect the tube, we should have just under the amount of air needed to reach the surface. My calculations-"

"Alright, alright, let's just do it!" Hobbes said, and re-activated the torch. A few seconds later, he pulled on the severed tube, and wrenched it free from the smoking end. Air immediately began to hiss and spray out, so powerful that when it smacked into Hobbes, it nearly caused him to slide off of his perch. With a quick strike, he caught the wriggling thing and with his other paw, and cut one end of the ballast tank's tube as well (after reassurance that the sub wouldn't flood as soon as he did so). Following 3po's instructions, he carefully lined up the oxygenator hose to the ballast tank's socket and touched the tip of the flame to the sides of the connection, melting the metal around the hose and the socket and creating an airtight seal. Watching the red-hot metal cool, he checked for leaks, and said, "It's connected! What now?"

"There should be a switch on the top right corner of the interior," 3po said. "It is the manual control for the ballast tank's hatch. It's closed to prevent water from flooding the submersible, but you need to open it. The oxygenator is running full power, yes?"

"Hobbes, we're in the red zone," Leia warned.

Hobbes said. "I'm pulling the switch… now!"

Immediately, they oxygenator's electric whirring ceased, a sound that Hobbes hadn't even picked up on until it's absence. Then, a loud hissing reached them through the hull. "That's the air blasting through the ballast tank," 3po mentioned, helpfully. "Hopefully, the oxygen generated is powerful enough to expel the water, and keep it from getting back in."

After that, none of them said a word, holding breaths and tuning their ears for any change in the sub. Hobbes looked at the depth gauge, but to his horror, it was still going down. Then, he heard something creak and shift beneath his feet, and then he heard the front canopy of the sub crack. He felt trapped, suffocating in this hot, dark capsule, and he almost let go of his handhold. We're going to die. The hull is going to break, and we're going to die. He closed his eyes. His lungs froze up.

The creaking stopped, and Calvin said, "The depth gauge is changing… it's going up!"

Hobbes opened his eyes, and let out a thankful, shuddering breath as the instrument changed course, the number now steadily rising. Beneath their feet, the sub righted itself, and Hobbes let go of the side of the sub, which was now the right way up. His idea had worked!

A united cheer erupted as the sub escaped the red zone, and Hobbes sneaked a glance over at Leia. She was, he realized, smiling slightly, and looking around the sub at Lando and 3po and Calvin, he promised himself that he would, as soon as and if they made it out, no longer keep the DART's secret from them.

But first, make it out alive.

"Okay. 3po," he said. "What did you say about our air supply?"

"Well," 3po said, "our current supply of air, when compared to the breathing rate of all of you and the time between our current depth to the surface is, unfortunately, insufficient to keep you alive. We would rise as far as approximately 27/31's of the way up."

The sub grew quiet, and 3po said, "I did try to tell you earlier."

"Alright, so we don't have… enough of an air supply," Calvin said. "Is there… any way we can close the gap?"

"Maybe we could switch on the oxygenator and sink near the surface, just long enough to give us enough air to keep us alive and make it to the final stretch," Lando suggested.

"We could do that, but we might miss our ride off of this planet," Leia said. "We're ten minutes behind schedule, which is a miracle, come to think of it."

"What if we just lie down and breathe super shallowly?" Calvin joked.

Leia looked at Calvin, and then at Lando. "Well, there's really nothing else, is there?"

"Guys, I was being funny," Calvin tried to interrupt.

"Unless you want to take turns inhaling pure 100% oxygen from the oxygenator," Lando said, ignoring Calvin's remark.

"Hey, why don't we do that?" Calvin asked.

"Oxygen poisoning," Hobbes said.

"Pft. That's not a thing."

"It is," Leia corrected him, getting onto the floor. "Now lie down and breathe lightly. I don't want to die because of your smart remarks."

The next few hours were to test their focus and commitment more than anything else. Hobbes had never realized before how difficult it was to concentrate on breathing shallowly, and time and time again, he slipped and lost focus. Regaining it, he reminded himself over and over again to stay still as if he was hunting, lying perfectly concealed, stalking prey. Of course, he wasn't as much of a hunter as he made it out to be. Then again, he… Hey! Focus, Hobbes. Focus.

Returning to a rhythm he focused only on his breathing, trying to make it as economic as possible. Around him, his ears detected the others' breathing; the shallow but shuddering inhale of Calvin, Leia's whisper of an exhale, Lando's steady breath, 3po noticeably there but not respirating at all. Slowly, he began to find a rhythm: Inhale halfway, hold, exhale. Inhale halfway… His thoughts threatened to stray from their task, worrying about Calvin, if their air supply would even last at this rate, thinking about the DART's revealed secrets… And each time, he carefully guided his thoughts back to his breathing.

Days, it seemed, passed, and at first he noticed no change in the air quality. But after some time, he realized that his head might have felt just a tad lighter. His chest constricted around his heart, although that particular sensation crept up almost entirely unnoticed.

Still, he kept breathing, and the symptoms grew. His limbs were less responsive. His heart beat slower, then sped up as his brain realized that something was off. Then, he began to feel a strange sensation- he was breathing, but it didn't feel like he was. Still, he kept rhythm through his lightheadedness as best as he could, and tried to detect the breathing of everyone else again. He could barely hear it. The fact struck him as funny, and his lungs began exclaiming an aching need for air. He was beginning to get tired… so tired as the stress and emotional weight of the past month bore down on him. He fought. He kept breathing shallowly, but he was quickly losing control over his breathing. Finally, the rhythm broke, and he attempted to capture a whole lungful of air, but found that he couldn't. Turning his head, he looked at Calvin, and a vague sense of horror filled his muffled mind as he saw his best friend's unmoving body. He turned back, his eyelids drooping, and picked up some sort of familiar sound. A crash?

A final, clear thought shot through him- even if they reached the surface, someone had to get up and open the hatch to let in air.

The next second, he stopped thinking at all.

The feeling of his lungs swelling shot through him like a lightning bolt.

"Chhkkkkhh!"

Immediately, he wanted to be dead. Anything was better than the pain. Each lungful of air seemed to rip his organs apart. Everything was burning with the intensity of an inferno. Around him, he heard hacking and gasping, and suddenly, someone was kneeling over him… Leia.

"Hobbes!"

"What?!" Hobbes exclaimed, jolted, and remembered Calvin. Scarcely had he turned his head before a thick spray of saltwater splashed it. He gasped, then looked up above him. The hatch was open… 3po! It was decided. He was giving that droid a medal and his own private oil bath.

"Calvin! Is Calvin okay?" he asked.

"Yes. Yes, he's fine," Leia nodded. "Lando resuscitated him. I thought we'd have to do the same to you. He's still coming back. A minute or two, and he'll be alright."

"And you? Lando?"

"We're alright."

"Did we miss extraction?" he asked, still taking in sweet gulps of air.

"3po says that we're right on the dot," Leia told him, "but nothing's appeared so far. Grab your gear and get ready."

Rising, Hobbes looked around. Lando was nowhere to be seen; he was probably already outside with Calvin, getting some fresh air. 3po was over by the glass canopy, a single spider-leg crack running down it. He shuddered as he recollected how close they had come to getting crushed. Sensations- smell, sight, touch- flooded him. Saltwater, moisture, the sweet, fresh ocean air. He grabbed his gear, and took a step towards the ladder when he stopped at the equipment locker, remembering Chewie's Bowcaster. He'd definitely want that back.

Opening the locker, he grabbed the bowcaster and the bandolier carrying the custom explosive quarrels, and slipped the strap over his other shoulder. Clutching the ladder, he climbed it and emerged in front of a lovely scene. Well, lovely by the standards of a person who had just gone through undersea hell. The storm from earlier had passed, and now, a dense, cold fog had slithered over the water, blocking their view beyond fifty feet. The ocean was experiencing some aftershock from the storm, and whitecaps licked at the sides of the sub. The dim shine of Keilo Three's star was visible up above. Nothing special to most people, but the free air was heaven to Hobbes.

Spotting Calvin, he wobbled over to him and sat down by him. Lando was close by, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of extraction.

"Hey, Hobbes," Calvin breathed, looking up. "Looks like we made it."

"Well, made it to the top of the water," Hobbes corrected, "but yeah. We made it. You alright?"

"Everything hurts. I just wanna get off of wherever this rock is," Calvin replied.

"There should be a ship coming any minute now. Once we get to the fleet, you can have a thousand-year slumber."

"How about two-thousand?"

"Well, as much as I like my peace and quiet, two-thousand years without you around seems a bit boring," Hobbes joked.

"Hey!... wait. Thanks, I guess."

"Oh dear," 3po was saying as he climbed the ladder behind them. "I really hope that none of my cable are ruptured. I haven't had them checked for almost a year! You know, I'm not meant to be submerged in water."

"You'll be… fine," Leia promised, her pitch climbing with the last word as she climbed up next with Lando's assistance. Hobbes had given her a potent painkiller, but evidently, it wasn't enough to block it out completely. Looking at her almost completely bandaged legs, he hoped that the fleet could restore the possibly crippling wounds that she had sustained. "Everyone have their gear?" she asked. "Good. Now, when the U-wing arrives, we aren't going to have much time to get on, which is why they're going to drop a ladder, which we are going to climb, got it?" Leia asked. "Good. Now, Lando has the life jackets from the sub. I want everyone to-"

"Leia, I hear a ship coming in. I think it's our ride," Hobbes said, his ears prickling.

"Alright, put on a life jacket," Leia said, reaching for one of the life jackets. 3po did the same, and Hobbes was about to help Calvin with his when he heard something new. "Wait, Leia…" he warned. "The ship sounds different. It… it's not…"

Then, the sound became more audible, and around him, everyone tensed as the distant whining of a TIE fighter neared. Hopefully it won't find us.

The noise became louder and louder, and then Hobbes knew that they wouldn't be so lucky. The silhouette of the ship suddenly appeared in the fog, and Hobbes reached for Calvin as the incoming TIE Interceptor screamed, rocketing low and fast over the waves. Leia shouted, "Jump!"

"Hold your breath, Calvin!" Hobbes warned, and leapt to the side, right off of the sub. As he did so, he twisted, and saw Leia, Lando, and a screaming 3po do the same just as the fighter closed in, emerald bolts streaking through the air from its four cannons. An explosion knocked him under the water, and a bright flash of flame and bubbles spread across the surface above him. Keeping a tight grip on Calvin, he tried to swim up, but something- a wave, slapped him around, and he lost his grip. Panic seized him as he fought against the waves of pressure that blew him farther away from the sub, and his body screamed in pain as it was smacked and spun around. Everything was a whirl around him, and then he remembered Calvin.

He opened his eyes to white seafoam and fire, soundlessly erupting above him. He turned in the water, ignoring the aching and the fatigue, and searched desperately for Calvin. But everywhere he looked, he could see nothing. Swimming through the dim blue, he looked around him again, quickly feeling the growing demand from his lungs for air, when he spied a bubble in front of him, floating up from beneath. Immediately, he dove down, saltwater stinging his eyes. Yet he kept them open, entering darker waters. Spying a form, drifting and wearily kicking in the water, he propelled himself forward, quickly reaching Calvin and wrapping his arms around him. The growing pressure from the water above him tried to keep him down, but he kicked and struggled, refusing to give in even as his lungs threatened to pop. Clutching Calvin in his arms, he neared the ocean surface, wreckage of the submersible sinking around him, the blood in his head rampaging, rioting.

Like a whale, he broke through the surface, gulping in air amidst the chaos around him. Beside him, Calvin sputtered to life as he swam towards the smoldering wreck of the submersible. Grabbing at a large, structurally buoyant bit of debris with one hand, he hoisted himself and Calvin up, his muscles straining, and they both collapsed upon the floating piece of the now-shattered hull.

"Calvin! Calvin, you alright?" Hobbes asked.

Sputtering and coughing, Calvin hacked out the last of the water, and said, "Yeah! I'm ok… behind you!"

"What?" Hobbes asked, when he picked up the fear-inducing siren of a TIE fighter. Looking back, his eyes widened at seeing two TIE Interceptors bearing down on the wreckage. They fired, jets of boiling water rising up with each blast, and a particularly close one knocked Hobbes off of their metal raft as the fighters passed overhead. Underwater for a second, he quickly swam back up and climbed back on, thankful to see Calvin still aboard, though in pain.

Suddenly, he saw small blaster bolts being fired from in the water about twenty feet away, and made out Leia and Lando in the waves by their yellow life jackets. A golden glint appeared, and Hobbes saw that Lando was holding on to 3po. A few seconds later, they reached another one of the floating pieces of the submersible's wreckage, the main part of which was slowly sinking beneath the water, and held onto it for support. As the TIEs flew over again, Leia fired her blaster, and gritted her teeth; whether it was in anger or in pain from the saltwater he didn't know. Hopefully, the thick bacta salve would protect her wounds well enough.

Looking around for some way to help fend off the fighters, Hobbes looked around, wondering what to do, when he remembered something… Chewie's bowcaster! Reaching a paw behind him, he grabbed the giant crossbow, and yanked an explosive bolt out of his bandolier. Making sure that Calvin was still alright and recovering, he slid the bolt into the firing mechanism, and pulled it back. Standing unsteadily upon the piece of submersible, he brought the bowcaster to his shoulder, and waited for one of the fighters to show itself.

Then, he heard it. That incessant, siren-like wail of the TIE. Suddenly, he caught movement out of the tip of his eye, and turned to see one of the enemy coming out of the mist, straight at him, its cannon began spitting tibanna, and for a second, Hobbes had to adjust his aim due to the rocking of the waves. Then, lining everything up, he fired just as the blasts were about to engulf him. The bolt exploded, and the fighter dipped low, suddenly spinning as its left wing was knocked out. The pilot did an admirable job attempting to keep the craft steady, but it was a futile attempt, and the TIE smashed into the waves, the force of the impact taking off the other wing.

Hearing another droning closing in on them, he turned, aimed, and fired. But this time, when the firestreak impacted with the fighter, it merely exploded on the surface. As it veered away, Hobbes saw the faint flickering of its broken deflector shield. The Interceptors had gotten wise.

Then, Hobbes heard another TIE fighter, only, it wasn't just one. Looking up, he saw a cluster of about five more, and knew that that much firepower would blow them to bits. His fingers flew as they pushed another bolt into the bowcaster, and Hobbes brought the weapon up as the TIEs began to fire.

Suddenly, thick, powerful cannon bolts came out of nowhere, tearing through the fighters' shields and immediately downing two of them. Firing the bowcaster, Hobbes grinned as he watched a third fighter get hit, and then saw a large ship descend from the sky.

"The U-wing!" he shouted, and slung the bowcaster over his shoulder. Grabbing Calvin, he swam over to the ship, even as another interceptor blasted it, weakening its shields. E-Web fire from inside of the U-wing responded, fending off the TIEs. A ladder suddenly dropped down from one of the open sides of the U-wing. Looking over, he could see Lando straining to help Leia and 3po over, and quickly swam the rest of the way. A crewman, trandoshan, was climbing down the ladder, and Hobbes said, "Here! Take him!" while holding Calvin up. The crewman did so, hoisting him up by his shoulders, and quickly began to climb back up with him.

Turning, Hobbes swam towards Lando, and said, "You take Leia! I got 3po!"

Lando nodded, and together, he and Hobbes helped them to the ladder, where they climbed up Hobbes with one arm, Lando with Leia clinging onto his back, when another interceptor struck the U-wing with cannon fire. The ship rocked, and Hobbes clung tightly to the ladder. Suddenly, he felt his tail tighten.

"Yowww!" he cried out, and looked behind him where Lando had grabbed hold of his tail to keep from falling. "Sorry!"

"Just keep going!" Hobbes exclaimed, and, reaching the top, wearily threw 3po inside, before getting in himself and helping Lando up, around them, crewmen were shouting, "C'mon, c'mon!"

Yet another blast rocked the U-wing, and one of the pilots shouted, "Shields at 31! Are they in?"

"Yes, Lora, they're in for crying out loud!" one of the crew yelled back as Hobbes pulled Lando in. No sooner had he done so than the ship accelerated with the ladder still hanging out of the closing side of the U-wing. As Hobbes watched, standing and holding on to one of the handholds attached to the ceiling above him, the Rebel that had spoken before took out his blaster and disconnected the ladder from the U-wing with a few well-placed shots.

Another direct hit on the ship. The pilot, Lora, said, "Shields at fifteen!

"Here!" Hobbes said, spying a coil of cable on the floor near the door. "Open the door! I have an idea."

"We're about to go vertically! We can't!" the crewmember argued. In response, Hobbes unslung his bowcaster, yelled, "Everyone, secure yourselves!" gave them a few seconds to strap into their seats, and then grabbed the cable. He quickly tied one end around a handlebar with a strong knot (as strong as possible with the non-rope material), and tied the other around his belt. Then, he pressed the button to open the door. Immediately, he felt the wind trying to suck him out, and stopped the door when it was open enough. With one hand, he gripped the side of the door, and with the other, he brought up his bowcaster.

Another explosion. "Shields at four!" the pilot yelled, and Hobbes leaned out of the side. The wind immediately pulled desperately at him, and he grit his teeth as it tugged and tore at his fur. Thankfully, his makeshift safety cord held up. Bringing up the bowcaster again, he spotted a TIE Interceptor closing in on them, and adjusted his aim. The ship fired, but the U-wing evaded, throwing him off. Regaining his footing, he angled the bowcaster again, then again, following the subtle rhythm of the TIE.

Now or never. His finger constricted around the trigger.

The bolt tore through the ship's shields, and forced it to veer off. Reloading, Hobbes waited for it to try and regain its position behind the U-wing, then fired again. The fighter exploded, its red-hot husk quickly falling back through the clouds, down to the ocean.

Suddenly, as he went to pull himself in, yet another TIE blew through the clouds surrounding them, and he reloaded once more. Bringing the weapon up, he waited for the ship to come close, then fired, his aim never faltering. The shields flickered out.

Then, as he reloaded, the fighter changed direction, and Hobbes almost froze as he saw the ship's cannons angled towards him. Quickly, he finished reloading, and brought the bowcaster up as the interceptor fired. Eyes widening, he squeezed the trigger.

A green and white flash blinded, truly blinded him, and he tried to scream as he felt his skin burn. Pain, like he was swimming in lava, enveloped his arms and legs, and his insides blew apart. His ribs cracked. His skull split. And the pain that he felt was indescribable.

The world died around him.

He didn't remember much. Just pain, really. Drills digging into him, white phosphorus frying his flesh, blowtorches melting his internal organs. That sort of pain. He supposed that there was much more that he had felt that his mind simply didn't keep; mentally-crippling images and such. He was glad for it.

The first time that he had opened his eyes, he saw no one but one mysterious person, moving around him, adjusting things. The only other thing that he remembered was that he was lying in a bed.

The second time, he tried to speak, but no one was there.

And the third time, he opened his eyes, and nearly wept at the sight of Calvin, sitting in a chair next to the bed, looking down at his hands. So they had made it. They had made it! They-

His heart and head had felt like they would explode, so he simply laid back down and closed his eyes again.

Around the dozenth time, he managed to say something, although he guessed that it was gibberish. The mysterious person, who Hobbes soon figured out was a medic, came over. He said something, and although she was speaking words that he knew, he couldn't seem to understand them. The only ones that he later remembered with certainty were "...you alive?"

Then, one day, after being awake yet unmoving for quite some time, he whispered, "Where's Calvin?"

The medic, who had become used to Hobbes' occasional times of consciousness, came over to him and said, "What?"

"Cal-vin," Hobbes murmured. The man went out. Hobbes didn't know if he had understood him.

But then, some time later, he appeared again, along with Calvin. His heart soared as high as it could in the confines of his chest as Calvin rushed over to him, and tentatively hugged him. Still, Hobbes winced at the pain that that one careful act brought him.

"Hobbes!... you're alive!... Hobbes, we made it! You got the last TIE fighter!"

He tried to grin for Calvin's sake. He wasn't sure if he had succeeded.

"Oh, man…." Calvin sniffed. "You… You…" He began to cry, standing at the bedside, and Hobbes slowly moved his paw until it touched his hand. Calvin looked up at him, and smiled.

For a while, both of them stayed there, silent. Hobbes found himself smiling despite the pain, overjoyed that they had managed to escape.

"Hey, listen…" Calvin whispered, after a while. "We can go home!"

Hobbes felt his eyebrows scrunch together, and rightfully so. Go home? Now? How?

"Do you remember?" Calvin asked. "Leia told me when I got out of the hospital. She sure wasn't happy about it… I can't blame her. But listen! She gave us the coaxium! One vial! I've already run some tests, and it's enough! The kyber and the coaxium! Hobbes, we can go home!"

A lightning bolt of memories flooded Hobbes; every memory, every experience with Calvin and home. The wagon, Susie, water balloons, GROSS… His eyes shone with the glimmer of someone who had just experienced a prophetic vision, and come to think of it, the reality of being able to return home was quite like one. He so badly wanted to go home, to get out of this place and return to the simple things.

And then, there were other memories. Meeting Han and Chewie in the Mos Eisley cantina, helping Luke, disabling the tractor beam, getting the Y-wing from Leia… every second spent in the fleet, talking and joking with Luke or Han or Chewie, and likewise on Hoth. Rescuing Luke from the snowstorm, meeting Yoda…

Hobbes vehemently shook his head, or tried to, his eyes going wide. Calvin looked at him, confused, and Hobbes croaked, "No…"

Calvin stood, silently for quite some time, then slowly nodded. "Yeah… you're right. I guess we have some things to atone for."

Suddenly, he jumped up and stomped his feet, tearing at his hair. "Arrrggh! Stupid moral compass!"

"Calvin…" Hobbes said.

Calvin sighed. "Sorry, buddy. Uncalled for, I know."

"Get… Leia."

"What?"

"Get. Leia," Hobbes said, and Calvin looked at him for a minute.

Finally, he said, "Okay."

He left. Hobbes fell asleep.

The next time he opened his eyes, Leia and Calvin were there. Neither of them looked happy. Leia, to his surprise, was in a hoverchair, his legs in casts.

"How are you, Hobbes?" Leia asked.

He shrugged. He had survived a direct hit from a TIE fighter, so… not bad.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" she asked.

"The DART… and… going home."

"I don't care," Leia said. "Go home. It's alright. You have my permission."

"Per-mission… to stay?" Hobbes asked.

"No, to go," Leia said.

"Leia…" Hobbes mumbled, looking at her eyes. No emotion. "I want to stay."

Leia stared at him for a while. Hobbes could tell that she was surprised.

"You-" Leia stopped. "Really?"

"And I'll stay, too," Calvin said. "Can't leave without him."

"Wanna… see Luke, and Han…" Hobbes slurred. "I'll tell… them… about the… DART."

"No!" Leia exclaimed. "The less people know about it, the better!"

"I should have… trusted them more," Hobbes said, shaking his head. Speaking was becoming easier. "I should have trusted you."

"You'd stay?" Leia asked.

"If you… let us," Hobbes agreed.

"But you might die. If you go home now, you'll make it."

"Can't… go back… knowing we condemned… your universe."

"And possibly the whole imagination realm," Calvin added. "Leia, we were sucky friends. No, horrible friends. No, mind-bogglingly-"

"And?" Leia asked.

"And… Well, I can tell you a thousand times how sorry we are, but I think both me and Hobbes know that the only way that we're going to ever feel redeemed or honorable again is by fixing our mistakes," Calvin said. "So that's what we're going to do."

"Or… die trying," Hobbes added.

"And we'll spring Han straight out from under Jabba the slug's palace!" Calvin declared.

Leia didn;t say anything, looking at both of them, slowly from one to the other. Then, softly, she said with a slight smile: "And we'll stick it to the Empire, and Vader."

"Woohoo!" Calvin cheered. "Vader, Emperor Palps, you guys are goin' down!"

"Hobbes?" Leia said.

"Hm?"

"Thanks for saving our lives."

Not sure how to respond, he just said, "Yeah… You're welcome."

Looking down at the floor, she said, "Well, Hobbes, you get your rest. You have around another month in the hospital before you get out, so… I'm sure that Chewie and Calvin will visit you often."

Without waiting for a reply, she turned and left the room, the door sliding shut behind her.

"So," Calvin said. "Should we talk about getting the DART's info back next time? Or in a week?"

"I'd say as soon as… possible," Hobbes said. "Maybe tomorrow."

"Okay," Calvin said, nodding. "Well, you've got a month's rest, so… have fun!"

"Sounds nice," Hobbes shrugged. "See you around, ol' buddy?"

"See you around," Calvin agreed, and began to walk towards the door.

Suddenly, it opened. Leia rushed in and said, "He's back. Just found out."

"Who?" Calvin asked.

"His X-wing just entered the system. Luke and R2!"

"Amela, I cannot begin to tell you how disappointed I am."

The words were glass shards, driving themselves into her heart.

"I cannot begin to tell you how disappointed I am in myself, father," she replied.

"That's what I like to hear. You know, Amela, you should count yourself lucky that I am different from the others. Piett, Gideon, Yularen… Vader. I tolerate failure, for it breeds a desire to improve. Second chances. Be thankful that you're my flesh and blood. Otherwise, you would have been executed by Vader himself."

She didn't dare speak. Rage swelled up inside of her.

"Amela, before this catastrophe, you excelled at your station. Every sliver of information that we could have needed, you coaxed out of your subjects. And that's why I'm giving you a second chance; because I'm certain that you will make the most out of it."

"Thank you, fath-"

"But do not for a moment think that I will forget what happened on Keilo Three. If you wish to become as successful as I have, you need to learn from your failures, and do everything in your power to ensure that they do not happen again. Understand?"

"Yes."

"The EMP vulnerability, the fact that half of your starfighters required maintenance, how they got in, and not least of all, the part that your arrogance and recklessness played in getting yourself held hostage. None of these will ever repeat themselves, right?"

"No, father."

"Good. Now, the new station that you will take up took quite some effort for me to secure for you. It will not be easy or simple, and the consequences of failure are much, much higher. The only reason that I was able to convince the Emperor to give the position to you, and also spare your life, was because your last prisoner, this, "Calvin," gave us information that was beyond priceless."

Was that kid telling the truth? She wondered.

"I myself am not sure of the details. Only the Emperor knows everything about it, and a select one or two of his advisors. But if what I interpret it to be is true, then it could change everything."

"What is my station?" Amela dared to ask.

"You'll find out soon," Jermiah Va'ata promised. "For now, think about what went wrong with your handling of the situation at the black site. You may go."

"Thank you," Amela said, glad to get away so that she could allow the nauseating waves of fear in her stomach to settle. The acid corroding her insides sprung into flames of spite and determination. She would succeed at her next station. And given the chance to capture rebels again, she would not let them get away.

That much was sure.

Thank you, Toolazytoologin, CalvinZilla, and Mando-Vet for your continuous support. You guys make my day!

I'll be taking a small break from posting chapters so that I can figure out where the story is going to go next, but I should be back soon.

:D