Hey, everyone! I'm back!
So, the reason that I have not been posting more of this story is largely because of two reasons. One, I am doing another 20,000 word Fanfic for a Creative Writing Class at School. And Second, I have been experiencing a severe wave of writers block. I sit down and I write something, but then I don't like it so I delete it and start over. But now, I've forced my way through and I'm sure that I'll be reinvigorated once I begin writing Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.
That said, I hope that you find this finale to my little story arc satisfying enough. As always, reviews are so, so appreciated, and please do point out what you found unnatural or disliked. Just be polite about it.
Smarmysmirk, over and out.
Outside of the garage, Soron nervously tugged at the annoying cuffs of his director's suit, and from his view from atop an AT-ST, he impatiently waited for his troops to surround the garage that the two Rebels had taken shelter in. His Death Troopers quickly formed a half-circle formation around the garage's huge door, and several dozen stormtroopers formed a checker pattern behind them. His two rocket troopers were standing atop the AT-ST with him, one on either side.
Nice and neat, he thought.
A display of hard training and discipline. And for some reason, they still have not been able to kill them.
Inside, in front of the other, smaller doorway that served as an entrance, more of his troopers were preparing to blast the door wide open. If that creature and his child-mate wanted to sneak out somewhere, it was certain that now they couldn't. There wasn't even a vent for the boy to use in there!
And still, with him clearly knowing that he had the upper hand, Soron was nervous. Worried. Why?
Of course! These Rebels were clever. Surprising. Innovative. Even with all of these advantages, Soron had to remember that there was still a chance, however slim, for the pair to escape. To get out and get away with the secret files for Project: Sophisticated and Project: Blackwing, both of which he knew that boy had obtained from his personal computer. The secrets stored in them would unite most of the outer rim against the empire, and bring tens of thousands flocking to the Rebellion's side.
To capture or kill these two, he would have to expect the unexpected.
And yet, it was painfully obvious that they just… couldn't possibly get away again. He held all of the cards. He had an entire garrison pointing blasters at them!
Of course, the distasteful thought came to him. Of course, there are several vehicles inside of that garage. If they find a way to activate one…
The more he thought about it, the more it scared him. With a vehicle, they could stand a chance against him.
But he forced these thoughts down. It was only a bit of worry. After all, the capture of these Rebels could provide the location of the entire rebel fleet. A lot hinged on this event and how it played out. And besides, to activate one, they would need an access stick. And only a few, even Death troopers and Officers, were allowed to have one.
A beeping caused him to take out his comm-stick and answer it. "What is it?"
"The door is set to blow in fifteen seconds, Director."
"Acknowledged," he replied. "Take them alive… if at all possible."
"Yes, Director."
"Oh," Soron remembered, "and if by some miracle of the cosmos they escape, or I die, remember the protocol."
"Yes sir. Destroy the evidence."
Smirking, he turned back to watching the scene unfold as the countdown was sounded by his aide. Those two scum had no escape, no ally, and no chance.
But wait.
The boy had obtained secret files from his computer panel.
The only way to get to those files was with use of an Access Stick.
The Death Trooper sent to secure the room was a Squadron Leader.
Squadron Leaders were always issued an Access Stick.
Eyes enlarging, Soron looked up at the garage door, when he first noticed that it was opening. Undeterred, his aide continued to sound off the countdown.
"Three! Two-!"
"-No!"
A loud blast shook the hallway as the door inside was breached, making the ground under him resonate slightly. All of his troops readied their guns. A sinister series of clicks traveled through the air, and the tension increased tenfold. For a few seconds, nothing happened.
Then headlights, like the opening eyes of a beast appeared in the darkness of the garage, and Soron watched one of his modified M-68 Armored Landspeeders roar out of the door, saw the feline rebel raise a rocket launcher, and saw him fire.
The rocket whistled through the air for a split second before brutally connecting with an E-Web blaster cannon's ammunition box, and the next second, the landspeeder rammed into the first line of Death Troopers, jolting Hobbes against his seat. The speeder raced through the lines, the battering ram of a bumper breaking bones and the anti-gravity repulsors crushing the stormtroopers underneath. They reacted slowly, and the speeder cleared the lines of imperials before another shot was fired.
Finding their ground, the troopers began sending intense volleys at the racing speeder, and Calvin laughed as he brought it around, charged at them, and sent them flying through the air. The bolts pinged off of the think side armor, the speeder going too fast to allow for a clear shot.
"Ha, ha, ha!" he shouted with glee. "Hobbes, I am having the time of my life!"
"Watch those rockets!" the tiger warned, lowering his carbine and pointing a finger at two jetpack troopers on top of an AT-ST.
"Shoot!" Calvin exclaimed, and jerked on the wheel as he pushed his hand further on the accelerator. It swerved as a rocket streaked towards the speeder and impacted the ground two feet away from the zooming vehicle, causing it to shake. But Calvin managed to keep the accelerator pushed forward. To stop now meant death.
Another hastily-aimed rocket connected with a TIE Fighter, sending bits and pieces of shrapnel in all directions, and blowing off a hexagonal wing that rolled straight towards Calvin and Hobbes.
"Look out!" Hobbes yelled, and Calvin tried to twist the machine to the side. The broken wing clipped against the back left thruster and sent the speeder spinning out of control. It spinned wildly before Calvin managed to stop the vehicle, wrestle the controls into submission again, and accelerated the vehicle back to its former speed. Glancing over, he realized that the jetpack troopers were reloading their launchers!
"Hobbes," he yelled, "Shoot at those jetpack troopers! I'm gonna head for that elevator!"
Hobbes nodded, and reloaded his rocket launcher with the speed of a cheetah, before raising it and aiming at the top of the AT-ST. In response, the two Rocket Troopers activated their jetpacks and lifted off, one of them carrying a familiar figure in his arms…
The Director! he realized as the rocket trooper carrying him fired his launcher. But due to the sudden escape off of the AT-ST as well as carrying the director, his aim was rushed. The speeding projectile exploded and a white-hot anger overtook Hobbes as he fired his own rocket.
It hit perfectly on the side of the walker's main body, and the entire thing exploded before falling over. But the tiger wasn't done yet. He was going to get revenge for that man up there knocking him out and capturing him. For putting them both through this terrible ordeal, and for causing both of them sorrow and despair! Bringing up his carbine, he forgot everything else - the troopers, the wreckage- and lined up the perfect shot.
The resulting blaster bolt tore through the trooper's jetpack, causing it to explode. The trooper began flying about the place, zooming low over the ground, and let go of Soron who screamed as he skidded across the ground and eventually rolled to a stop right in front of the elevator tunnel.
"Hobbes!" Calvin yelled. "The other trooper!"
Eyes widening, Hobbes turned, and tried to bring up his carbine before the second jetpack trooper could fire.
"We're almost there!" Calvin shouted back, bringing the speeder about and zooming straight for the tunnel. He pushed the speeder to its limits as the trooper lined up the shot.
Almost there!
The high-grade explosive projectile left its tube, charging through the air like a peregrine falcon going for the kill, and hit the ground not two feet away from the back of the speeder as it entered the tunnel.
"BOOOoooom mmm…"
Time slowed down, as a shockwave smashed into the back of the vehicle, lifting it up and sending molten flames brushing across the ground. Hobbes' brain barely had time to register that he was rising out of his seat, alongside Calvin. Superheated shards of shrapnel sped in all directions, and the antigravity repulsorlift engines shut off as the internal mechanism was blown to bits.
And in front of them, Hobbes saw Soron, still in front of the tunnel, looking at them with an expression of surprise- and then terror as the flaming speeder rocketed straight towards him. He opened his mouth; presumably to scream.
Then, time sped up and Calvin and Hobbes's crash harnesses stopped them from being flung away from the vehicle. A sudden thunk reached their ears as flames filled the tunnel, and the speeder flipped over, propelled by the sheer energy of that explosion. Then, it soared through the air before proceeding to slide through the shaft for a hundred feet, creating a large shower of sparks, and finally screeching to a halt a couple dozen yards in front of the elevator's doors.
Dazed and disoriented, their hearts clocking in at 180 beats per minute, Calvin and Hobbes hung upside down, ensnared in their seat belts. For almost thirty seconds, they stayed there, breathing heavily and unmoving.
"H-hey, Hobbes?" Calvin stuttered.
"W-w-what?" Hobbes shivered back.
"L-let's get outta t-this universe."
"Agreed-d."
A few more seconds, and Calvin's hands were fumbling with his crash harness buckle. Suddenly, it clicked off, and he fell exactly two feet before landing on his head.
"Oof!"
Hobbes followed suit, his head almost immediately impacting the ground. Thank goodness that their foreheads had not been low enough to touch the ground as the speeder skidded across the floor of the tunnel.
Getting up, Calvin helped Hobbes to his feet, and the two looked back at the destroyed speeder, its engines burning with bright, blue flames and the entire chassis torn to bits.
"Well," the boy said, "That's Imperial Vehicle #9 we've destroyed since joining up."
"You're still keeping count?" Hobbes asked, and noticed an arm jammed between the shell and the destroyed parts of the front motor.
Calvin saw it, too, and recoiled in disgust. "Looks like we hit someone as we crashed," he noted.
"Yeah…" Hobbes agreed, and a feeling of satisfaction ran through him at seeing the torn up suit of the now-dead director. "Looks like we did."
"After them!" came a voice from the tunnel entrance.
"To the elevator!" Calvin gasped, and began to limp his way to the doors. They opened, and a red bolt of energy suddenly streaked past them, landing against cold, hard durasteel. The two friends managed to get in, and Hobbes lunged for the controls.
But as the door began to close, one last shot was fired from the tip of a death trooper's blaster rifle, and Calvin screamed in pain as it landed on his leg.
"No!" Hobbes exclaimed in horror as the doors fully closed, and reached the boy in a heartbeat. Kneeling down beside him, the tiger did his best to calm Calvin down.
"Hey, it's safe! It's safe, Calvin," he soothed, and recoiled at the black, charred hole that the bolt had left. "Just breathe, Calvin. Breathe."
"Oh, god, it hurts!" Calvin gasped, his breathing still acting erratically. "Arrgh!"
"Here, Calvin… Calvin! Follow my breathing," Hobbes encouraged him. "In… out. In… out."
Slowly, Calvin's breathing began to slow down, and his pain lessened slightly. "That feels better…"
Suddenly, the elevator came to an abrupt halt, and the sudden jolt sent a new wave of agony through Calvin's shot leg.
"Hobbes, what happened?" he asked through gritted teeth.
"They stopped the elevator!" Hobbes breathed. "They're going to send it back down and they'll capture us!"
"No… wait!" Calvin exclaimed. "I know how we can get out!"
"How?" Hobbes asked.
"The panel on top of the elevator!" Calvin pointed. "Open it, get out, and help me up!"
Hobbes wasted no time in doing so, shooting open the panel and launching himself upwards. He grabbed the rim of the gap, and pulled himself out. Turning around, he slowly lowered his arms back into the elevator, and winced as a hushed yelp of anguish reached his ears. The next moment, Calvin's hand connected with his, and he pulled the boy out of the metal box.
"Are you…" Hobbes began to say, but trailed off as he felt the elevator beginning to descend.
"Get us onto that ladder!" Calvin ordered, pointing with his left arm. Hobbes snatched Calvin up with one arm and clutched him tight against his chest. With his other arm, he reached out for the ladder just as the elevator gained speed. The next second, his footing left him and he dangled in mid-air by one arm, before his feet landed on the ladder.
"I'm guessing that we go up now?" he asked, to which Calvin nodded, his face a pained grimace. "There… there should be a door at the top."
Looking down after the descending elevator, he sighed in relief and began to climb the ladder with one arm only, determined to get himself and Calvin out of this nightmare for good.
A few minutes later, Hobbes reached the platform and propped Calvin against the metal wall. Both of his arms were on fire from climbing and holding his friend at the same time, and so he sat down by Calvin and let out a deep breath.
He looked over at Calvin. "Heck of a day for you, eh?"
"A day and a night," Calvin chuckled. "I'll tell you all about it later. Let's get out of here before the Imperials figure out what happened and send the elevator back up."
"Alright," Hobbes nodded. "Can you stand?"
"Yeah!" Calvin affirmed. "With some help I'll be able to do the Olympic Track & Field in record time."
"There's that Calvin-y spirit," Hobbes smiled, and reached down to help Calvin up. With one paw supporting him, and the other clutching a carbine, Hobbes opened the maintenance door and slowly walked out before hearing a creaking sound echoing from the bottom of the shaft. With a start, he realized that the elevator was coming back up.
"Quick!" Calvin urged. "Let's go!"
Clutching the boy against his chest, Hobbes slowly shuffled across the narrow ledge. He did his best not to look down at the rocky slope fifty feet below, and inched along.
Just another few feet.
He went faster.
Suddenly, the ledge under him started to crumble and only through a quick footstep was he able to keep them both from dying. "Whoa!"
Another short leap, and they were back on stable footing. Shaken by the sudden and almost deadly experience, Hobbes lowered Calvin to the ground and put a hand on his chest. A hand suddenly appeared in front of him and snapped to get his attention.
"Wha- what?" Hobbes blinked, looking at his friend before realizing that they barely had any time left. "Oh! Right. Here." He wrapped an arm around Calvin and helped him limp to the foliage adjacent to the elevator entrance. Together, they disappeared into the forest, and just in time, too.
Not twenty seconds later, the doors opened, and hunters clad in sable armor exited, prepared to hunt down the tiger and the boy to their last breath.
They'd made it. They finally made it.
Calvin sighed in relief as the darkened silhouette of his and Hobbes' Y-wing came into view. For two days he had barely slept, and with the sun finally disappearing behind the mountains once more, the tidal wave of tiredness finally caught up to him.
The pain in his leg had died down. After they had both gotten away from the valley in which the base was situated, Hobbes had snapped off some branches and took Calvin's shirt off to make a crude splint. With that and Hobbes' continued assistance, he had managed to stay up and keep going.
Now, shirtless, sleep deprived, cut, battered, and bruised, the two best friends got into their cool leather seats, strapped in, and turned on the engine. They had avoided recovering what was left in the camp, as the empire had probably already set a trap there. No need to take risks when they were so close to the finish line.
Hobbes closed the canopy, turned on the ignition, and let out a deep, deep breath of satisfaction as the bomber's thrusters sprang to life, coughing and sputtering before igniting in bright yellow-blue flames. The soothing and warm rumbling of the engine did not help the two stay awake, but Hobbes got the ship off of the ground, and lifted out of the trees. Slamming the accelerator, he watched as the ship rose further and further into the cold, dark void.
Here in space, Hobbes wasted no time in entering the codes for the rendezvous point that they were ordered to come back to. He watched as the computer calculated the route down to the smallest millimeter, and his eyelids fluttered as a small, green light flashed to indicate that everything was prepped. Not a word was said between them as he pushed the last few buttons, moved the hyperspace throttle forward, and watched the stars elongate. There would be time for talk later. Now, they needed one thing. Sleep.
And so, both of them closed their eyes as they blasted off into hyperspace.
Oh, and thanks so much for the support, Toolazytologin! I am planning to go all the way through Return of the Jedi, although I still need to outline that.
:D