Guess who's back? Back again? Smarmy's back! Tell a friend!
that was fun
Anyway, sorry for the late update. Usually I'm a little faster, but not this time. Anyway, we're getting close to the end! Yay! Gotta remember not to rush it, cuz I got other projects ready for the cookin'.
(This chapter has been updated slightly)
In the shadow-filled darkness of the Emperor's throne room, Darth Vader stood, surrounded by several of his master's cruel, beady-eyed inner cabinet along with Moff Jerjerrod. The Emperor faced the spider web-like, circular viewport that protruded out of the far wall, his cloaked back turned on the ghouls standing behind him. His throne, an elaborate, swiveling thing with rows of switches and buttons on its armrests, sat a few feet nearby.
"What is thy bidding, my master?" Vader asked. The Emperor turned, and his eyes, glowing like hot coals surrounded by deformed, ashen skin, looked at each one of his advisors before halting on Vader. His left hand tightened on the handle of his twisted cane.
"Send the fleet to the far side of Endor," he ordered, and began walking towards Vader. "There it will stay, until called for."
Emperor Palpatine was an old, old man and carried a cane, but Vader knew it to be a disarming facade. He was powerful. More powerful than even the most prepared of opponents could guess at. He had harnessed and had gained mastery with the ways of the dark side, his mind was still sharp as flint, and his skill with a lightsaber even sharper. Of course, to kill, he didn't need one.
"What of the reports of the Rebel fleet massing near Sullust?" Vader asked.
"It is of no concern. Soon the Rebellion will be crushed and young Skywalker will be one of us!" Palpatine hissed. "Your work here is finished, my friend. Go out to the command ship and await my orders."
"And what of Amela Va'ata's failure?" Vader asked.
Emperor Palpatine frowned. "Spare her and give her a command post on Endor- a final act of mercy for the sake of her father. If our scientists cannot produce successful results, we must seek out our only other option."
"The child?" Vader asked.
"Yes. Worry not, my friend. Fate will bring him to us. For now, do as I have ordered."
"Yes, my master," Vader said, bowing, and turned. Jerjerrod did the same, and Vader moved to the elevator at the far end of the metallic chamber. Passing through the door, he turned and watched Palpatine return to his chair.
The door slid shut, and the elevator began to lower.
"Bantha's Wild," Calvin announced, and placed down his cards.
"Oh, bravo, Calvin!" 3po said, standing with R2 nearby.
"Karabast!" Kes Dameron exclaimed. "You're good, kid. You ever considered professional tournaments?"
'Kes Dameron' was one of the 16 Rebel Pathfinders who made up the rest of the strike team. He, Calvin, and three more players were sitting in the cramped, dark hold of the Imperial shuttle with only a small, ceiling-hung lamp to provide light, and had set up a table with the use of a crate to play some pre-mission Sabacc. Around half had elected to participate, Calvin and Hobbes among them, and had formed a queue to give everyone their turn to play. Hobbes, Luke, and Leia were standing nearby, watching the game progress, as did the other Rebels.
"Yeah," Calvin said, grinning. "But Hobbes won't let me."
"For good reason," Hobbes chimed in, which elicited a few chuckles from around the room.
Calvin had been the top player for the last few rounds, gaining a considerable stack of coins. They weren't playing for money, using only a cheap pile of Sullustian coins for betting, and were instead trying to keep in high spirits before the mission began. They had been briefed on the various dangers on Endor, from the Empire's substantial military presence and patrols there to the native Ewok tribes, who, already discontent with the Empire's occupation, may not take kindly to a Rebel force landing in their forests.
The dealer took the deck, and Calvin said, "Well, guys, it was fun playing, but I think I'm about ready to exit the game… hey, Hobbes. Wanna give it a try?"
"Actually, I was going to go and see if Chewie wanted to play," Hobbes said. "I'll take his spot. He and Han have been sitting up there forever."
"I'll go up with you," Calvin said, and stood up. He returned a few friendly handshakes, and followed Hobbes through the small crowd, which parted to let them reach the cockpit door. It opened at the press of a button, and Hobbes said, "Hey, guys. Wanna join in on the Sabacc game? Me and Calvin can watch the ship for a minute."
Chewie growled and got out of his seat. Arching his back, he thanked Hobbes, and exited the cockpit.
"I think I'll stay here," Han said, turning to look at them. "But thanks for offering."
Hobbes nodded and sat down in the warm copilot's seat. "Jeez, Chewie was right. This seat is terrible."
"It's designed for upright, uppity, uptight imperials," Calvin said, and walked over to sit in another chair. "Hey, how far away are we from Endor now?"
"Close to another hour," Han said, and stretched. "Hey, Calvin."
"Huh?"
"You know that machine you got? How exactly does it work? Not trying to be nosy or anything, but I'm just curious."
"Well, the mechanism's really complicated," Calvin said. "I learn how to do most of the engineering by repairing our old broken coffee machine at home."
"What's a 'coffee machine'?" Han asked.
"A machine that makes coffee," Calvin bluntly stated.
"And what is 'coffee?'" Han pressed.
"An incredibly powerful fuel source that the world runs on," Hobbes answered, straight-faced.
"...Anyway, I don't want to delve into the details, but I can give you a general idea of how it works," Calvin said.
"What, a coffee machine?"
"No, interdimensional travel. See, there's this particular dimension that ties time, location, and matter together, which is called the imagination realm. I coined it. It's a sort of… well, it's not really anything- just energy. But basically, it binds space and time together, and if you can manipulate the infinitesimally tiny events that happen between different interacting quantum specks in just the right way, you can predict and create otherwise improbable outcomes, and navigate to other worlds, times, and places. Are you following me?"
"I think so," Han said.
"Okay. Well, traversing the imagination realm is easy if you know how to do it right; what's hard is entering the realm. Usually, I use this material called cardboard which can easily access the realm, but since this galaxy has no stinkin' cardboard, I have to use other techniques, which inherently need exponentially more energy to work. So that's why we needed Coaxium. But we also needed something to keep that stuff from blowing up. So, when Luke first went to see Yoda, Hobbes here went with and got us a Kyber crystal which we're gonna contain the Coaxium in," Calvin finished, feeling rather like a university physics professor.
"Wait… and that worked?" Han asked.
"We actually haven't had the time to activate it yet," Calvin said. "But we did some small test runs, and everything points to it working. So… y'know." He shrugged.
"If it doesn't work, it explodes," Hobbes added.
"Ah."
"Well, it doesn't really explode," Calvin said. "If it explodes while you access the imagination realm, the worlds merge for a second, which I guess the multiverse really doesn't like, because when the connection happens, everything within the blast radius is sucked up into the imagination since there's no definite calculated path to a certain point in time and space, you end up in limbo."
"Limbo?"
"Yeah. I guess you can think of it like being trapped in carbonite," Calvin said. "Like you told us, you were aware of everything, but at the same time, it was like being in an eternal trance. And there's pretty much no way out."
Han shuddered. "That sounds a lot worse than carbonite."
"Yeah, it is," Calvin said. "I mean, when you reach the end of the universe's lifespan, you probably disappear, but other than that, the only way to get out is if someone else accesses the imagination realm with a machine like the DART with the express intent of getting you back. So imagine two DARTs, and one sent someone into limbo. Now, the other DART, if actively used to seek out the person lost to limbo, can enter the realm, locate them, and bring them back no matter where or when the DART is. Retrieval."
"Alright," Han said. "Well, kid, it sounds very complicated. I think I'll stick with the current reality. But one more question."
"Yeah?" Calvin asked.
"The imagination realm sounds an awful lot like the force, what with how it binds space and time together. What if your machine uses the force to open the rift? What if the force is the imagination realm?"
"Y'know, we were wondering that, too," Hobbes said. "Remember when we discussed it after we found out cardboard didn't exist?"
"Yeah," Calvin said. "Well, if it is and the machine works, it would make sense because Kyber crystals are supposed to be in tune with the force. At least that's what Luke said."
"Wait…" Han said. "If the imagination realm is the force on a big scale, then would it make sense that people who can use the force are better at accessing it. Right?"
"I guess…" Calvin said. "Wait, are you saying that I'm force-sensitive?"
"Well, if you can access it so easily, then maybe," Han said, and shrugged.
"Well, that's only if the imagination realm is actually the force. I think that the force is just a strange phenomenon that exists in this universe," Calvin said. "There sure aren't Jedi ghosts and telekinetic powers where we're from."
They left it at that.
"Alright, people," Leia addressed the occupants of the hold. "We're going to come out of Hyperspace in a short while. Let's pack it up and prepare ourselves."
Calvin and Hobbes, who had come back down to watch the Sabacc game continue, jumped into action. The game was quickly put away, and the coins returned to their container. Calvin, in preparation for the mission in the moon's forests, had gone full 'jungle warrior,' deciding to wear, along with the standard camouflage clothing, fingerless camo-patterned gloves, boots, and an olive-colored bandanna around his forehead. Hobbes thought he looked ridiculous. Calvin thought he looked awesome. The Rebel pathfinders began gearing up, checking their weapons, which mostly consisted of fast-firing, mid-range A280 blaster rifles and various sidearms. All of them carried extra tibanna ammunition, knives, thermal binoculars, night vision scopes (for both their blasters and hand-held use), helmets, and comms. The comms, however, were not to be used unless absolutely necessary to maintain radio silence.
The unmistakable beeping of the hyperspace alarm came on, stinging Calvin's ears. He and the rest of the gang (barring the droids) made their way over to the cockpit, crossing through the open door where the stars were just falling back into place. Han and Chewie were still piloting the shuttle.
"Well, there it is," Han muttered, and Calvin said, "Whoa…"
The Death Star II, like its predecessor, didn't fail to ensnare him in its terrifying spectacle. It was gigantic on an incomprehensible scale. Cities and cities of artillery and various structures would be covering its surface area, and the thin line bisecting the upper and lower halves was visible even from here, hundreds of miles away.
Surrounding the battlestation were dozens of Star Destroyers, little triangular slices of machinery and quickly grew in size as the shuttle neared their first obstacle: the deflector shield.
Soon, the star destroyers were only a couple dozen miles away, close enough to see the sensor domes on top of their control towers. Among the ships was one that was 20 times larger, carrying a mini-city upon it- a Super Star Destroyer.
"Shouldn't there be fewer ships?" Calvin asked.
"Well, there are only, what… 16, 20? We were expecting around that many," Leia said.
"Alright, I'm going to contact that super star destroyer," Han said. "If they don't go for this, we're gonna have to get outta here pretty quick, Chewie."
He reached up and flipped a switch. An orange light blinked on and the comms speaker crackled. "We have you on our screen now. Please identify."
"Shuttle Tydirium, requesting deactivation of the deflector shield," Han said.
"Shuttle Tydirium, please transmit the clearance code for shield passage," came the reply.
"Transmission commencing," Han said, and flipped a few switches. A steady electronic warbling accompanied the high-speed transmission. He muted the mic.
"Now we find out if that code is worth the price we paid," Leia remarked.
"It'll work, it'll work," Han assured her, and Calvin noticed that Luke had suddenly become rather focused on the Super Star Destroyer. His eyes were set and his mouth was a slim, slightly parted line.
"Hey, Luke, you okay?" Hobbes asked, apparently having noticed the same thing.
"Vader's on that ship," Luke murmured, and everyone looked at him.
"Now don't get jittery, Luke. There are a lot of command ships," Han said, and looked back at the ship, which was getting closer. "Keep your distance though, Chewie… but don't look like you're trying to keep your distance."
Chewie turned to stare at Han, raising his arms as he growled a question.
"I don't know, fly casual!" Han told him.
"I'm endangering the mission, I shouldn't have come," Luke whispered.
"It's your imagination, kid. Come on. Let's keep a little optimism here," Han urged, and all of them went silent. Seconds went by. The ship kept getting closer. Calvin wondered if Luke was right, if Vader was on that ship. It would make sense, then, that the ship wasn't responding. Maybe Vader had sensed something and was-
"Shuttle Tydirium, what is your cargo and destination?"
"Parts and technical crew for the forest moon," Han said, the answer predetermined.
Another bout of silence passed. Eventually, Han said, "They're not going for it, Chewie…" and prepared to get out.
"Shuttle Tydirium, deactivation of the shield will commence immediately. Follow your present course," the Imperial on the other end ordered, and Han and Chewie slumped in their seats. Leia put a hand to her forehead and sighed, and Calvin said, "Whoof!"
"Okay!" Han said, straightening and looking at Leia with a grin. "I told you it was gonna work, no problem." Leia sighed again and looked at him with a fond, exasperated smile. Han's grin widened. Calvin recoiled.
"I'm finding 3po," he muttered, and left the cockpit.
An hour later, the gigantic redwoods of Endor's forests were looming over the shuttle, which had landed on a tough, stable podzol clearing screened by wide, curled ferns and thick brush. Sunlight streamed like spotlights through the evergreen canopies, casting patches of speckled brightness on the otherwise gloomy, plant-covered ground. In the distance came the eerie cry of birds and the shrieks of unknown creatures.
Through this ancient forest, quiet as ghosts, came a line of camo-jacketed Rebels, along with Calvin, Hobbes, Han, Leia, and the droids. Leia and Han were at the front. Behind them walked Calvin and Hobbes. All of them cradled their weapons in their hands, eyes cast in every direction to stave off a potential Imperial encounter. Hobbes did the same. He checked his disintegrator carbine, ensuring that a bolt was already slotted into the aperture of the firing mechanism. They had landed about a day's trek from the shield generator, according to Han, but with Imperial scout patrols dotting the wilderness and other potential obstacles that might arise, they had been granted two days to get there.
"I don't like this place," Calvin muttered in front of him. "Feels like we're being watched."
"If we were being watched, don't you think the Empire would have ambushed us by now?" Hobbes asked, careful to keep his voice down. They had been traveling for almost an hour, and nothing had yet presented itself besides the occasional creature.
"Maybe it ain't the Empire," Calvin suggested. "It could be those teddy bear things, remember?"
"The Ewok villages are supposed to be to the east and west, not here," Han said, walking in front of Calvin. He turned and gave them a grin. "Don't worry. Optimism, remember?"
"Right," Calvin said, straightening. Still, his hand brushed over the holster of his pistol. It wasn't just the strange feeling of the alien forest that unnerved him- it was what Hobbes had told him. The words of Yoda and Obi-Wan were still entrenched in his head, and Calvin was still trying to pull them out to better understand them. Yoda had said that the Emperor would keep the DART close by his side. So, in the Death Star. After all, if Palpatine put so much faith into the thing, then it would make sense; to him, it was the safest place in the galaxy to keep it.
But he still felt strange, like they were omitting something…
Aha! Both Yoda and Obi-Wan had said not to underestimate the powers of the Emperor. That… that was it! There was something that they had missed about this whole thing. A question that they hadn't asked yet, or hadn't given a solid answer to yet. Maybe, he mused, maybe we're not seeing it because it's such a remarkable, perfect, awesome chance. Everything, all of a sudden, and then we'll be the winners.
Maybe we're just blinded.
He was about to share his thoughts with Hobbes when the line stopped. In the very front, Leia turned and walked down to Han. "Han, let's get a vantage point from the ridge over there." She pointed to said ridge, a couple dozen yards away. "Luke, Hobbes, Calvin, you'll go with us. Chewie, wait here with everyone and watch the droids."
They quickly made their way through the ferns, slowing down as they reached the crest. Crouching, they moved low to the ground, the other side slowly coming into view. Suddenly, Leia dropped to the ground, and motioned for everyone else to do the same. Crawling up to the ledge, Hobbes could see that the land beyond consisted of a slope, leading down from their elevated area to a small valley. A ways off, their white uniforms standing out, three scout troopers were moving through the woods, their speeder bikes parked nearby.
"Should we try to go around?" Leia asked Han.
"It'll take time," Han said. "This whole party will be for nothing if they see us."
"We can sneak up on 'em," Calvin suggested. "I volunteer."
"So do I," Hobbes said.
"I'll take Hobbes," Han agreed.
"Hey!" Calvin hissed.
"You take the one by the tree, and I'll come from the right?" Hobbes asked.
"Good plan," Han said, and looked at Luke, Leia, and Calvin. "Wait here, guys."
"Careful. There might be more of them out there," Luke said as Han withdrew from the vantage point.
"Hey…" Han said, grinning. "It's me." He sneaked off into the trees.
Hobbes did likewise, heading in the other direction with the plan to perform a surprise pincer attack. It took a minute to get down to the bottom, and another to get close to the troopers, who had moved off to the left. With cautious footsteps, he stalked his quarry, slipping over to the tree nearest to the troopers, unseen. On the other side, he could see Han's hand, his fingertips barely visible behind a redwood.
A moment later, he peeked out and they spotted each other. Han nodded, Hobbes nodded back, and then Han stepped out from behind the tree, the trooper only a few yards in front of him. His two companions were standing near the speeder bikes, conversing. Hobbes coiled and prepared to pounce.
"-Crack!-" The sound of a broken twig made Han look down, and the trooper turned around. Before Han could do anything, a gloved fist hit him in the jaw. The other troopers turned around, angling their backs in Hobbes' direction, and he attacked.
He slammed into the nearest one, and they smashed against a young tree. Heaving him up, Hobbes threw him full-force against a rock as the first trooper yelled, "Go for help! Go!"
"Hobbes, the speeder bike!" Luke yelled, coming down the slope. Calvin and Leia were fast on his heels.
Hobbes turned to see the third trooper activating his speeder, and ran out into the open, still aware of the full-on scuffle between the trooper and Han behind him. The speeder droned to life, and began racing away. Fluidly, like he had practiced the motion a thousand times, Hobbes unslung his disintegrator carbine, leveled it at the fleeing bike, and fired. The trooper vaporized, and the speeder crashed into a fallen tree trunk.
"Nice shooting!" Calvin said, reaching him.
Suddenly, the sound of light anti-gravity engines made Hobbes look behind him. He gasped and jumped clear as a gray-white blur nearly crashed into him, followed by a second one. Somehow, they had missed two other speeders, sitting a ways off in the trees.
"Two more! Over there!" Leia yelled, and ran for one of the speeders that had been left behind.
"I see them- wait, Leia!" Luke exclaimed, and ran after her.
"Don't worry, I got 'em!" Calvin shouted, oblivious to the fact that Luke and Leia were already going to pursue the escaping witnesses, and clambered onto the second speeder. Before Hobbes could stop him, he wrenched the accelerator handle, and rocketed off into the trees, Luke and Leia's speeder following him.
"Wait! Calvin!... oh, crud…" Hobbes sighed, staring at the three as they disappeared in the trees. Behind him, the sound of Han still grappling on the ground with the first trooper made him run over to help as the rest of the strike force appeared at the top of the ridge.
The four speeders, two friend, two foe, shot like falcons through the trees. Calvin, trying to get a bead on the left speeder, looked over as another one caught up with him; Luke and Leia.
Shoot, we both went after them! Calvin realized, wondering if he should stop and go back.
…
Nah.
Putting his attention back on the chase, Calvin fired the bike's cannon, and blasts began hitting trees and rocks- everything but the Imperials, it seemed. With the stress of evading a thousand blurry, deadly tree trunks, his attention was too diverted to get a clear shot.
One of the scouts' speeders scraped a tree, and Luke shouted something. A moment later, their speeder bike was ahead of Calvin's and moving alongside the slowed scout's. They began ramming into each other, before Luke jumped and knocked the trooper out of his seat. Calvin flew past the man as he smashed against a large tree, and twisted the accelerator handle as far as it would go.
Luke had taken the trooper's speeder, and properly seated himself as Calvin drew abreast of him. "One more to go!" Calvin yelled.
Blasts from behind them peppered the trees all around them, forcing Luke to veer away, and one hit the back of Calvin's speeder. The vehicle began to smoke, and its nose started to dip.
"Jump!" Leia yelled, coming in out of nowhere beside him. Looking over, Calvin took a breath, and leaped the small gap between his and Leia's speeder with a yell. He landed, his hand grabbing Leia's shoulder, and he scooted onto the back of the seat as the front of his own speeder connected with the soil. It instantly flipped and exploded.
Swinging back over, close to Luke's speeder, Leia came within hearing range, and Luke shouted, "Keep on that one! I'll take these two!"
He promptly decelerated, and Leia kept going, weaving around the thousand giant pillars of death in front of them. Drawing his blaster pistol, Calvin waited as the speeder closed the distance between them and the remaining fleeing trooper. Finally, they came alongside the trooper, and Calvin fired. The trooper ducked, and swerved, crashing his bike into theirs and throwing Calvin's aim off. "Whoa!"
Then, before he could fire again, Calvin saw the trooper pull out his own pistol and send several shots straight into the speeder's engine. The bike began smoking, and Leia once again yelled, "Jump!"
Calvin followed her order, still clutching his pistol, and they both prepared to leap off as the bike made a beeline for the nearest tree. Just as it was about to impact, they jumped, and Calvin heard a resounding boom as he tumbled through the air.
"AAaaugh!" he screamed, seeing the still-moving landscape grow larger, before he smacked into a cluster of ferns and hit the side of his head against the ground.
He heard a second explosion, then his vision faded.
"Oh, General Solo! Somebody's coming! Oh!" 3po warned.
Hobbes looked over from his spot against a tree and brought up his disintegrator. Behind him, the scuffling of footsteps assured him that the rest of the strike team was ready. For a moment, he tracked the figure moving amongst the treeline, before he recognized the familiar scent, lowered the weapon, and said, "It's Luke!"
"Luke!" Han said, running up to him. Hobbes noticed that his clothes and hair were messy, and his helmet was missing. Bits of plant life stuck to him and a small cut was drying on his face.
"Where's Leia and Calvin?"
"What, they didn't come back?" Luke asked.
"I thought they were with you," Han said.
"We got separated," Luke said. "Calvin and Leia were on the same speeder the last time I saw them."
"Well, we gotta find 'em!" Hobbes said, his anxiety mounting. They needed to be at the shield generator by tomorrow. If they couldn't find Calvin and Leia by at least nightfall, they would have to go on without them. And he was fairly certain that neither of them, unlike Han, had the navigational tools to make their way to the generator on their own. They would be lost… if they weren't captured, or worse.
Han nodded and turned to Kes Dameron. "Take the squad ahead. We'll meet at the shield generator at 0300."
"You got it, General."
"Come on, R2, we'll need your scanners," Luke said, and he, Chewie, Han, and the droids began to walk into the forest. Sighing, Hobbes began to follow as the Rebel pathfinders, at Dameron's orders, kept moving in the original direction, soon out of sight.
"And you said it was pretty here," 3po grumbled, looking down at R2. "Ugh!"
Calvin was standing on Dagobah.
He didn't understand how he had come to that conclusion, but it seemed like the natural thing to think. All around him were twisted, thick old trees with soaked, mossy canopies and ground that sank with every step he took. Fog hung just above the ground, white and ghostly.
When Hobbes had spoken to him of Dagobah, he had told partly of these eerie things, but also of the raw, exploding connection between life and the natural energy that seemed to be present in every tree and plant. Now, Calvin could feel only the darkness. The cries of creatures and far-off sounds were gone, and the single sounds that he could detect were the sinking of his footsteps and his steady breathing. The forest appeared as though it were a funeral, with silence in respect to the dead and a darkness permeating the atmosphere.
He was detached, a separate observer of his own mind as he walked towards a hut next to a lake, its odd-shaped windows cold and black. This was Yoda's hut. He stopped several feet away from one of the windows, but could see nothing of the interior.
A presence, sudden and strong, materialized next to him and he whirled to see Obi-Wan.
The old Jedi looked exactly like Calvin remembered him, with the same friendly smile and clothed in the robes of a desert hermit.
"Why am I here?" he heard himself ask.
Obi-Wan opened his mouth, but no words came out. It was like he had suddenly gone deaf, able to make out nothing besides his own breathing as Obi-Wan's lips formed various shapes.
"How are you talking to me?"
He wasn't in control of his own words, he realized. He really was just a passenger along for the ride. The thought frustrated him. Obi-Wan spoke, once again without noise. Then, Calvin felt his body tense up.
"Wait, I'm what? Excuse me?"
Obi-Wan placed a hand on his shoulder and continued talking.
"But... but HOW?" he shouted. He felt his heartbeat increase. His breathing turned erratic. "Since when? I don't..."
Obi-Wan cut in, the words seeming to come out faster now.
"It's shielded?"
Obi-Wan nodded.
Then, for the longest time, Calvin didn't say a word, staring at the ground. Finally, he looked back up and whispered, "I gotta warn them… I gotta… I gotta find Hobbes."
Calvin's eyes opened, and he stared intensely at the ground. For a few moments, he was unaware of the action, before his mind caught up with his brain and he began thinking again.
What in the world? That was one of the weirdest dreams that he had ever had, and he had been in quite a few weird dreams. He was tempted to chalk it up to nothing more than his imagination, but then remembered his other dream, with the Emperor and Vader. That had turned out to be true. But had that really been Obi-Wan, or not? Why couldn't he hear what he'd said, and why had he asked what he was? He found that he could remember thinking nothing, nothing at all that related to why he had gotten so worked up in the dream.
Where was he, anyway? He looked back down at the ground that his cheek was glued to, and at the various shoots and fungi growing on the dark soil. His limbs were momentarily paralyzed. His left hand was clenched around something and his chest ached like he had run into the end of a log. In fact, everything ached, and Calvin supposed that the leap off of the speeder bike had left him bruised.
The speeder bike chase! Where was he really? Where was Leia? How far away from the squad were they?
He shifted his head and was met with a grimy hand a few inches from his face. Following it and the arm, he saw Leia, apparently still knocked out, and sighed. At least he wasn't alone. Able to move again, he propped himself up on his elbow.
The sound of footsteps made him whirl over and sit up, and he automatically raised his left hand which still gripped his blaster, at the source of the noise. The weapon primed itself with a click, but Calvin didn't shoot, instead inspecting the glassy black spearhead that was pointed at him, an inch away from his nose. Looking up, he sharply inhaled at seeing not an imperial or a wild predator, but a little brown teddy bear, dressed in hide and glaring at him with wary eyes.
"What in all heck…" he murmured, and remembered the briefing. An Ewok. He was looking at an individual of the native sentient species of Endor, who was pointing a spear at him. Calvin wanted to swat the weapon away, but also didn't want to accidentally get his eye gouged out, so he tried to remember when they had been told about the Ewoks.
They were around 3 feet tall, with eyes that could see in the dark and were covered in fuzzy fur that could range from black to brown. They lived in arboreal villages, high in the trees. They were distrustful of any unknowns, and they were on unfriendly terms with the Empire.
Nothing he could remember might help him in this situation, so he raised his other hand, and, not knowing what else to do, said, "Hi."
The Ewok tilted his head. At least, Calvin suspected that it was a he. Slowly, deciding not to shoot, he lowered his blaster and placed it on the ground. Then he raised his hands and said, "Okay, lil' fella. What now?"
The spear stayed for a moment, before lowering halfway. The Ewok tilted his head, and took a few steps back.
Hm. How did this stuff always happen in the movies? Reaching into a pouch on his belt, Calvin pulled out a bag of dried meat, and opened it. The Ewok, his nose twitching, looked at the pouch, then looked at him, and Calvin pulled out a piece. "Here. Peace offering," he said, and held it out. The Ewok took a step back, cautious, eying the food like it might be poisoned, before taking a step forward. Calvin leaned back a bit, trying to appear at ease even as the spear was pointed back at his face. Then, with unexpected speed, the Ewok snatched the food out of his hand and jumped back.
"Well, there you go," Calvin said as the Ewok sniffed and took a bite. "Took you long enough, you jittery little thing."
Quickly devouring the morsel, the Ewok then looked at Calvin and spoke in the same voice, now friendlier, and walked over to sit beside him. Calvin looked over at him, and noticed that they were the same height. "Well," he murmured, "I guess I'm a lil' fella, too."
The Ewok tilted his head again, and then looked behind him at Leia, still unmoving except for the motions of her breathing, and spoke some more. Calvin looked at her, and, reaching over, grabbed a stick before poking her shoulder.
Poke.
Poke.
Poke.
This was kind of fun.
Poke.
Poke.
Poke.
Poke.
Leia came alive with a start, whirling to look at him with a startled expression. "Cut it out!"
"Easy, now," Calvin said, straight-faced, and raised a hand. "How many fingers am I holding up?"
"Oh, shut it," Leia said, swatting away the hand and noticed the Ewok. He once again had his spear at hand, now pointed in her general direction. She went to get up, when the Ewok's head suddenly turned, and he began looking in all directions, trilling anxiously.
"What-" Calvin began to say, when a blaster fired. The Ewok dove to the ground and hastily concealed himself in the space under a nearby log, and Calvin and Leia dropped down like they'd been yanked by a cord. Calvin grabbed his pistol as Leia drew hers, and they both scanned the thick growth all around them. The forest was silent.
Another blast, coming from somewhere on a plant-covered slope, impacted the log an inch away from Calvin's face and he dropped behind it. Leia did the same. "Dagnabbit," he whispered. "Did you see him?"
Leia shook her head no and peeked over the top. The Ewok was still hidden under the log, barely noticeable. For another minute they waited.
"Freeze!" came a whip-like voice from behind them, and Calvin froze. Carefully, he turned to see a scout trooper pointing his pocket pistol at them. Looking back at the slope, he frowned as another trooper came out from his hiding place. "C'mon, get up," the first trooper ordered, and Calvin, upset at having been fooled so easily, complied, making sure to avoid looking down at the log. He dropped his blaster on the ground near it, and moved away, along with Leia. As soon as the trooper had taken her pistol as well, he stepped back, right next to the log, and shouted, "Go get your ride. We'll take 'em back to base."
"Yes, sir!" the trooper said, and began walking off. Risking a glance down, Calvin realized that the Ewok hadn't picked up his strategically dropped blaster and was instead bringing up his spear.
"Well, whatever works, I guess," he mumbled.
"Quiet, kid," the trooper said, and the Ewok jammed the spear into his leg.
"Ah! What the!-" the trooper began to say, turning, and Leia jumped, tackling the trooper to the ground. As they began wrestling for control of the trooper's blaster, Calvin jumped over, picked up a rock, and smashed it with all of his strength into the back of the man's head. Leia shoved him off and, grabbing the blaster, shot him.
"The speeder bike!" Calvin shouted, pointing at the other trooper, and retrieved his own blaster. As the speeder began to accelerate, he and Leia fired dozens of shots until one hit the trooper. The bike went full speed all of a sudden and lost control, crashing into the first trooper's ride and exploding.
"Whew!" Calvin said, and jammed his blaster back in its holster.
"You okay, Calvin?" Leia asked, picking up her own pistol.
"Yeah," Calvin said, and Leia looked down at the log, where the Ewok was crawling out. "Who's your friend?" she asked.
"Dunno," Calvin said stepped over to him. "But he sure saved our butts."
"I don't think he likes me very much," she said. The Ewok was staring at her, his spear once again, pointed in her direction but not raised.
"Hm. Hey, you got some jerky?" Calvin asked. "He loves that stuff."
Leia reached into a pocket and pulled out her own food, and handed a piece over. The Ewok, apparently now more trusting, promptly walked over and, after a suspicious glance, took it and ate it.
"Well, I think he'll like you now," Calvin said as the Ewok finished the snack. "Hey," he said to get his attention, and pointed to his chest with both hands. "Calvin."
Then he pointed at Leia, and said, "Leia." Finally, he pointed at the Ewok, and said nothing. For a few seconds,the Ewok seemed puzzled, before lighting up. Pointing at himself, the Ewok said… well, it sounded like rreequeth, or something.
"Hm. Weequet? Wicket?" Leia mused.
"I think it sounds more like, 'Ricket,'" Calvin said.
"It really sounds more like Wicket," Leia argued.
"Hm. Nope! Ricket. Ricky for short."
"Alright, whatever," Leia said. "Ricket. Anyway, we need to figure out where we are."
Calvin looked around, and spotted the blackened wreckage of a speeder, smashed into the roots of a fallen tree trunk. "Well, if that's the dude who we were chasing, then we should probably go in the other direction, where we came from," he suggested.
"If Luke came back, they'll have a better idea of where we went," Leia said. "They'll have R2 searching for us with his scanners, which means that all we need to do is get within range and they'll find us."
"Well, let's get moving, I guess," Calvin said, and turned to Ricket. "See you later, buddy."
As he turned around and began walking off with Leia, Ricket suddenly began speaking excitedly, and they both looked back at him. He was motioning for them to come back, and pointing fervently in another direction. Suddenly he ran up to them, and tugged at Calvin.
"Fine, fine!" Calvin said. "Leia, whaddaya say? Should we follow him?"
"Maybe he's seen the rest of the team," Leia said. "Alright, Ricket, lead the way."
To prevent confusion, I have post-postedly changed Calvin's vision to better suit a plot point, just FYI.
:D
