An emerald beam sliced through the heavy shields of the cruiser, Prolific, and the ship exploded with the energy of an atomic blast. A shockwave rumbled through the Millenium Falcon, and Lando exclaimed, "That blast came from the Death Star! That thing's operational!" Reaching for his comm switch, he said, "Home One, this is Gold Leader."

"We saw it," Ackbar assured him. "All craft, prepare to retreat."

"You won't get another chance at this, Admiral," Lando warned.

"We have no choice, General Calrissian. Our cruisers can't repel firepower of that magnitude."

"Han will have that shield down," Lando said. "We have got to give him more time!"

Flak filled the void, flashes of green and red exploding all around the falcon. Avoiding a particularly large blast, Lando swung the ship around as another beam from the Death Star vaporized a medical frigate, and noticed that the ships were staying far away from the battlestation's aim, only encircling and bombarding them from a distance.

"Admiral," he said, "move the fleet closer to the Imperial blockade."

"General Calrissian, did you say-"

"Yes, I said closer!" Lando repeated. "Move as close as you can and engage those Star Destroyers at point-blank range."

"At that range, we won't last long against those Star Destroyers," Ackbar pointed out.

"We'll last longer than we will against that Death Star...and we might just take a few of them with us!" Lando said, and evaded a TIE fighter as it barreled past them.

Chewie and Hobbes' commandeered AT-ST spat countless explosive blasts, finally routing the broken Imperial force and sending them fleeing into the forest. Hobbes was doing his best to help, but had to cede most of the fun to Chewie due to the pain of his wounds. Wickett and Paploo had patched him up with some quick bandages and a sort of thick salve which had dulled the pain, but it still hurt to move around. Out of the viewports they could see cheering pathfinders and scores of Ewoks. Seeing one final Imperial-controlled scout walker through the trees, Hobbes shouted, "There, Chewie! Let's get him."

"I see him," Chewie growled, and swung the turret around. The other walker never saw them, focused on the line of Ewoks running away in front of it. With the press of a hand-sized trigger, Chewie fired the cannon, and the other walker exploded in flame and billowing fumes. Behind them, Paploo and Wickett cheered. Turning the turret in every direction, Hobbes and Chewie looked for more Imperials to go after, but the last few were hightailing it off into the trees, Ewoks on their heels.

"Let's get to the bunker, see if everyone else is okay," Hobbes said, and Chewie turned the walker around. Perhaps half-a-minute, and they were back in the clearing in front of the still-sealed bunker doors, where Hobbes could see Han, 3po and Leia warily raising their hands above their heads. He realized that they thought they were Imperials.

Chewie quickly cleared up the situation when he got out of his seat and, opening the hatch, waved and growled. Han, with a grin, shouted, "Chewie! Hey, get down here, Leia's wounded."

Chewie went to close the hatch again when Han looked behind him at the closed bunker door and yelled, "No, wait!... I have an idea."

"Your fleet has lost," Palpatine said, now as solemn as a graveyard ghost. "And your friends on the Endor moon will not survive. There is no escape, my young apprentice. The Alliance will die...as will your friends."

Calvin forced himself to look away from the massacre out of the viewport, and realized that Luke's anger was boiling over. He was a reactor, ticking, anger radiating outward and about to explode. Something came into his eyes, a darkness like an oil slick, or the tempest of a lightning storm. Looking at Palpatine, Luke turned his gaze downwards, at the lightsaber sitting on the armrest of his throne.

"Good…" Palpatine whispered, his voice quiet, his eyes taut as he watched Luke. "I can feel your anger. I am defenseless. Take your weapon! Strike me down with all your hatred, and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!"

Calvin watched Luke as well, and for a moment, Luke turned and moved his arm, before stopping. Closing his eyes, he turned back to the viewport, then looked over at Calvin. Calvin could only give a feeble shake of his head. He knew that his loss of hope was partly responsible for Luke's crumbling resistance, and the thought stabbed through his heart. But it was necessary. He'd need a distraction.

Luke sighed, letting go, and hung his head.

Then, fast as lightning, he turned and extended his arm. The lightsaber flew into his hand, activated, and Luke swung it with all of his hatred at Palpatine. It fell upon the Emperor like the heavy blade of a guillotine, only to be stopped cold by the appearance of a crimson obstacle- Vader's lightsaber. The two swords crossed, and Palpatine, who hadn't moved or flinched once, cackled in pure, demonic glee. Calvin whispered, "No..."

Luke attacked, his first swings driving Vader into the center of the throne's elevated platform. Calvin yelled, "Luke, no!" And felt Palpatine's attention shift entirely off of him. The two fought like a whirlwind, a typhoon, parrying and swinging so fast that Calvin could barely see it happen.

As he followed the duel with his eyes, he began to move over behind the throne to the other side of the platform to where the DART sat. It was activated, buttons and lights on the console glowing, and, looking over at Palpatine, who was still engrossed in the fight, he began to work the buttons and dials. He winced as he knew that even if he could pull this off, Luke might be too far gone. Moving over to the side, he kept crushing the hope that threatened to arise within him, focusing only on the problem in front of him. Palpatine thought he was defeated. And he needed to keep feeling defeated. A million things can still go wrong, he thought. The odds of this working are terrible. I probably won't ever make it back.

Untying his right boot, he pulled out his foot and reached inside of the secret cut within. The vibroblade was small and thin, but still useful. Taking it out of its sheath, he pried at the panel with it until it loosened, then used his fingers to tear the rest off. The clashing of Kyber energy in the background helped to conceal the noise. Inside were switches and bundles of highly-insulated cables. He needed to turn the DART into a bomb.

But how?

Checking the Kyber and Coaxium, he found them full and ready to go. What was missing? Why didn't the DART work for the Empire? Everything looked right, as far as he could tell.

Force-users.

Hobbes, when he had tried to use the DART, hadn't been successful. At the time, they had no clue why, because it worked just fine for Calvin.

Would any of Amela's test trials have included force-sensitive subjects when she activated the DART? Likely not.

What if only force-sensitives, people in connection with the imagination realm, could use the DART? Interact somehow with it through the Kyber crystal, similar to what Han had suggested?

Searching through the cables, he knew that one of them was the one to the DART's safety system, which would go into effect if the thing misfired and overloaded the whole thing. He needed to disable it.

A sound like a boot striking something and a startled yell from Vader made Calvin look up. He watched as Vader tumbled down the stairs, landing on his feet at the bottom. Luke was at the top, ready to keep attacking, when he halted. The lightsaber lowered.

"Good. Use your aggressive feelings, boy! Let the hate flow through you," Palpatine goaded him, but Luke didn't move. He turned and noticed Calvin next to the DART. Calvin gave him a nod. Luke turned back to Vader and his anger receded. He deactivated his lightsaber

"Obi-Wan has taught you well," Vader said.

"I will not fight you, father," Luke said, and calmly stood as Vader climbed the stairs. Calvin watched, wondering what would happen.

"You are unwise to lower your defenses," Vader exclaimed, and swung his lightsaber. Luke parried just in time, shocked, and stepped back. Vader pressed. Luke was now on the defensive. A quick swing from Luke, and Vader was forced to step back. They circled each other like wolves, their lightsabers sparking as they touched, but neither of them made a move. Then, Luke attacked once more.

Palpatine's attention was still entirely on the duel. Calvin kept searching for the cable to the safeguard system. Where would it be? Close to the power source, definitely, so one of these cables. But if he cut the wrong one, it might unexpectedly explode and destroy the tower that they were in.

Coolant. The only coolant that could keep coaxium in check was liquid carbonite. He began touching the wires, feeling them. Most of them were lukewarm, some hot to the touch, and others cold. But liquid carbonite was like the opposite version of deep-frying something. The cold was so intense, so burning, that it could kill you in a matter of seconds unless it solidified and warmed up in time (making it possible to freeze someone in it alive). He just needed to find the cable that was colder than the rest and the one most insulated.

Touching a particularly thick cable in the very back, Calvin almost cried out in pain as he felt the touch destroy the nerves in his finger. Even with insulation, it felt like touching dry ice. That was the one. Carefully, with his vibroblade, he lifted it to judge the weight. It was cold, but it wasn't full. He guessed it would flood with carbonite once the system detected an overload. He began to cut it, then realized that the insulation was far too strong. He'd need something stronger… like a lightsaber.

Luke had gained an elevated position on the catwalk above the room, while Vader stood at the top of the stairs below.. "Your thoughts betray you, father. I feel the good in you… the conflict."

"There is no conflict," Vader said, looking up at Luke.

"You couldn't bring yourself to kill me before, and I don't believe you'll destroy me now," Luke contested, pacing along the length of the catwalk.

"You underestimate the power of the dark side," Vader said. "If you will not fight, then you will meet your destiny."

Vader threw his lightsaber. It sparked and cut through something, and the entire catwalk and its surrounding supports came crashing to the ground with an ear-jarring clamor. Luke disappeared out of sight.

"Good!" Palpatine laughed, getting up from his throne and walking closer. "Good…"

Calvin, realizing that he was wasting valuable time, moved to complete the other preparations on the DART. Accessing the control board, he powered on the machine, and looked at the screen. The design, being copied from Calvin's instructions, meant that he found the activation screen easily. That was ready. All he needed now was to get a lightsaber and disconnect the coolant cable.

"You cannot hide forever, Luke," Vader said. Both he and Luke were not out of sight, somewhere under the platform on which the throne and the DART sat.

From somewhere, Luke's voice responded. "I will not fight you."

"Give yourself to the dark side. It is the only way you can save your friends… Yes, your

thoughts betray you. Your feelings for them are strong," Vader said. "Especially for…"

Vader stopped talking, then said, "Sister! So...you have a twin sister. Your feelings have now betrayed her, too.

Calvin nearly missed the next words; so shocked was he by what Vader had just said.

"Obi-Wan was wise to hide her from me," Vader said. "Now his failure is complete. If you will not turn to the dark side, then perhaps she will."

"Never!" The hissing of lightsabers resumed, twice as frantic. Luke's exponentially swelling rage and desperation translated through the clashing and the horrible noise of the onslaught. Suddenly, he saw them both appear out from under the platform, and found himself shocked at seeing Vader completely on the back foot. It was all he could do, it seemed, to keep up as Luke swung and swung, rabid and in a frenzy. Sparks flew as they moved over to the elevator, onto the bridge that led over the bottomless shaft.

Vader was knocked down onto his knees, and barely managed to parry the next blow. Luke was winning!

And yet, Calvin realized, this was exactly what Palpatine wanted. His cackle filled the room as he stood at the top of the stairs.

Luke's lightsaber, with one final blow, cut through Vader's wrist, and both the hand and his lightsaber fell down, into the shaft. Vader yelled in agony, and Calvin caught a glimpse of the wiring and artificial skeleton under his suit. He really was a cyborg.

Luke stood, his blade inches from his father's throat, poised to kill him.

"Good!" Palpatine praised. "Your hate has made you powerful. Now… fulfill your destiny and

take your father's place at my side!"

Luke stopped, and Calvin waited for his ultimate decision.

Luke's gaze shifted from Vader to his own gloved hand, which he raised in front of him. His robotic hand. He looked at it, transfixed.

Then he glanced over at Palpatine, and then at Calvin, who only looked back at him. It was Luke's decision alone.

Luke's shoulders softened and he turned away from Vader. Winding up his arm, he deactivated his lightsaber and threw it away. It clattered on the floor of the tower, somewhere under the platform. "Never…" he said, and stared into Palpatine's eyes. "I'll never join the dark side… You've failed, your highness. I am a Jedi, like my father before me."

He indicated Vader with a sharp turn of his head, and Calvin sighed in relief. Luke had done it.

Palpatine descended the stairs.

"So be it… Jedi."

Han's plan to get inside of the bunker had been simple but brilliant. Hobbes had guessed that he and Chewie would blast open the door with the walker. Instead, Han had dressed himself up in the uniform of a walker pilot and contacted the bunker's command. He gave them the information that the Rebels had been routed, and the bunker, elated, had sent out all of its troops to help with the pursuit.

Before they knew it, the Ewoks and Pathfinders had surrounded them. Easy as pie, and a lot cleaner.

Hobbes had elected to stay in the walker while Chewie and the rest planted the charges, his blaster wounds slowing him and causing great pain when he tried to move around. Instead, he and the Ewoks kept a close eye on their Imperial prisoners. A few pathfinders were working on inspecting R2 and repairing the damage that he had sustained.

Then the pathfinders appeared, running out of the bunker as fast as they could. Behind them came Leia, Chewie, and Han, scrambling to get out as well. "Move! Move!"

The bunker exploded, and the force of the shockwave knocked them and the Ewoks flat while Hobbes felt a tremor go through the walker. Wickett and Paploo recoiled, and then, a few seconds later, the shield generator's satellite dish erupted and blew apart like a volcano, pieces falling to the ground with earth-shattering crashes. Hobbes cheered, and so did the pathfinders and Ewoks. They had done it.

Now it was up to Calvin and Lando.

"The shield is down!" Ackbar's voice announced through the comms, and Lando exhaled, relieved. "Commence attack on the Death Star's main reactor!"

"We're on our way. Red Group, Gold Group, all fighters follow me," Lando ordered, and, laughing, turned to Nien. "Told you they'd do it!" He pushed the accelerator forward, and the Falcon rocketed towards the superstructure of the battlestation.

Palpatine reached the bottom of the stairs, and Calvin watched as he raised his hands, the fingertips pointed straight at Luke. Luke stood still, defiant. A dark energy gathered in the room.

"If you will not be turned…" Palpatine declared, "you will be destroyed."

The crackle and flash of lightning filled Calvin's vision, and he watched as lightning snaked out of Palpatine's fingers. The strands struck Luke, and he fell to the ground, crying out in pain. Vader, standing up, only watched.

The lightning stopped, and Palpatine rasped, "Young fool… only now, at the end, do you understand."

He continued his torture, the lightning slithering over Luke's shuddering form and making him scream. Calvin knew he had to do something, anything, or Luke would die. Clutching his vibroblade, he ran over to the top of the stairs and, holding the weapon by the blade, threw it straight at Palpatine's hooded neck.

The blade froze a millimeter away from him, floating perfectly still. Once more halting his assault, Palpatine slowly turned to face Calvin, who took a step back in fear. His face twisting into a disgusted scowl, Palpatine raised a hand and Calvin found that he couldn't move. He felt himself getting lifted off of the ground, and then, his blood vessels, his rib cage, his stomach- everything began to constrict. Calvin gritted his teeth as an unseen force pulled at him, and cried out as his muscles popped. Then, with a scream, he felt his ribs crack and parts of his skin split. Blood began to trickle out.

Palpatine let go, and he fell to the hard floor, hanging on the verge of consciousness. Palpatine turned back around, and the now-drowned-out crackling of lightning resumed.

Groaning, his nerves on fire, Calvin lifted his head and watched Luke weaken, his skin smoking from the heat. Calvin tried to get up, but his arms wouldn't respond.

"Your feeble skills are no match for the power of the dark side. You have paid the price for your lack of vision," Palpatine's voice swam through his head.

"Father… please!... Help me!"

The lightning was relentless. Luke continued to scream in agony.

It never seemed to stop.

Then, with a final pause, Palpatine said, "Now, young Skywalker, you will die."

The lightning increased tenfold, and Calvin's vision cleared. It was over.

"No…"

"No!"

Vader moved and grabbed Palpatine, lifting him high over his head. Palpatine screamed in confusion and anger, and Calvin watched as the lightning, now without a victim, turned on Vader. It coursed through his very being, lighting up his skeleton underneath and eating away at his suit. Undeterred, Vader carried the Emperor over to the end of the shaft and, with a heave, threw him in. Palpatine's scream echoed through Calvin's ears, and a few moments later, an explosion sent a wave of light and energy up into the room.

When the light died down, Calvin could see Luke and Vader sheltering from the explosion. The room had become completely silent, and then, a sick, wheezing sound reached him. Vader, still smoking, looked down at his damaged suit as it continued to poorly respire for him.

"Luke…" Calvin rasped, and Luke weakly turned his head. "The Death Star… we have to destroy it…"

"How?" Luke asked.

"I have a plan…" Calvin told him, and both Luke and Vader looked at him. He tried to stand up. He fell back to the floor, groaning. His flesh stung and burned with every movement.

"The controls to the second shield are not in this tower," Vader reminded him, his voice weak but level.

"What's your plan?" Luke asked.

"The DART… I'm gonna turn it into a bomb," Calvin said. "Vader, where does that shaft go? The… the one you just hurled Palpatine down?"

"Down to the main reactor," Vader said. "But the shield is there, too. There is no way of destroying it, child."

"Wanna bet?" Calvin asked. "Luke… I need your lightsaber."

Luke extended a hand, and the lightsaber rose out from under the platform, and landed next to Calvin's arm. With all of his strength, he rose to one knee, yelling in pain. Picking up the lightsaber, he stood and said, "You gotta go. Get out of here."

"Not without you," Luke said.

"...I can't," Calvin said, shaking his head. "Someone's gotta stay here and activate that thing." He pointed at the DART.

"How are you going to get past the shield?" Luke asked. "What does the DART have to do with this? How-"

"I told you, I have a plan," Calvin cut him off. "Every second we're talking means another Rebel dead. Find a ride… and get off before this whole thing explodes."

"But what about you?" Luke asked.

"We'll see what happens," Calvin shrugged, and winced as he felt his broken rib shift. "Maybe I make it, maybe I don't. Now get out of here before I come over and kick you into that elevator!"

Luke stood up, supporting Vader's seared form, and together, they made their way to the elevator. Stepping inside, Luke turned and said, "Am I going to see you again?"

"C'mon, Luke," Calvin said, and grinned. "You know how hard it is to get rid of me."

"...May the force be with you," Luke said. "Goodbye, Calvin."

"I'll see you on the other side," Calvin promised, and the elevator door closed.

Turning, Calvin limped over to the throne, his muscles and ribs and skin throbbing, and wiped sweat off of his brow as he held onto the armrest for support. Scanning the different buttons on the chair, he found the one that he was looking for, and pressed it. It beeped, and then a voice said, "Yes, my Emperor?"

"Hail the Corellian light freighter known as the Millenium Falcon," Calvin rasped in the most gravelly and old voice that he could muster. "Tell the Rebels piloting it that Calvin wishes to speak to them."

"...right away, my Emperor."

Calvin sighed and waited to see if this would actually work.

Inside of the Death Star's labyrinthian superstructure, Lando was doing his utmost to keep the TIE fighters following them from destroying what was left of the Falcon's shields. All around them were pipes and the gargantuan metal sides of the tunnel that led straight into the center of the battlestation. It was only him and an X-wing in front of him, piloted by Wedge. The other starfighters had split up to draw away most of the TIE fighters.

The corridor suddenly became narrow, and Lando managed to adjust the ship just in time to avoid crashing. A horrible tearing of metal reverberated through the ship, and Lando knew that the sensor dish had been taken off. Not a scratch, he remembered Han saying, and winced. "That was too close."

A beeping on the comms. Nien let it pass through, and spoke hastily to Lando.

"The Emperor wants what?!" Lando asked, trying to focus on not dying.

Nein continued to speak.

"Calvin?" Lando asked. "Okay, patch it through! Loudspeaker."

Immediately, the sound of radio static was broadcast loudly in the ship, and then a voice became discernible. "-Lando! Do you hear me? I repeat, do you hear me?"

"Yes, Calvin, I hear you!" Lando shouted, a million questions running through his mind.

"Lando, where are you?"

"In the Death Star!"

"Lando, get out of there! I repeat, get out of there! There is a second shield! There is a second shield around the main reactor!"

"What?" Lando asked, and, realizing that an obstacle was in front of them, wrenched the controls to the right. The Falcon bumped against a pipe, but otherwise was okay.

"Get out! Now! I have a new plan! I repeat, I have a new plan! Go!"

"Ferrik!" Lando swore, and then saw the end of the tunnel up ahead. For a moment, he was elated, before seeing the flickering of what seemed like a shield. With a start, he realized that Calvin was right.

"Wedge! Abort! Abort!" he shouted, and spotted an alternate tunnel leading somewhere off and away from the reactor. But it was too late. The leader of Red squadron collided nose-first with the shield and exploded.

Twisting the controls, he turned the Falcon towards the other tunnel and narrowly missed suffering Wedge's fate. Nien shouted at him, but Lando knew that there was no use in trying to attack now.

Calvin's voice returned. "Lando! Lando! You there? Tell Hobbes that Luke or Leia need to get me out of limbo! Luke or Leia! Tell-"

The communication ended.

Nien motioned behind them, asking what they would do now, and Lando yelled, "Listen, Calvin's my friend! If he says he has a plan, then he has a plan!"

Thank goodness the Empire's DART also had a repulsorlift engine built into it. Otherwise, Calvin never would have been able to move the thing.

He had used the lightsaber to cut the coolant cable, which had caused a few misty particles of the stuff to hit him on the cheek. Now, it burned like fire. He was weakening. He knew that. The blood hadn't stopped trickling, and flashes of dizziness hurt his head. Still, he kept going. He pushed the DART over to the edge of the reactor shaft, and cut away the rest of the safety railing. The controls were ready to go, and all systems were fully operational. When he pressed the button, it would immediately cause the DART to explode and carry everything in its radius to limbo. Even the energy of a deflector shield.

Taking off his camo jacket, he tied it around himself and then to the console of the DART. The explosion would only be so big, so he had to get as close to the reactor as possible, and the only way was to accompany the DART on its way down.

He might never see Hobbes again. Or anyone else.

He might be trapped for an eternity.

He shuddered, and a tear slid down his cheek. What if something went wrong?

Well, he had made it this far.

As he pushed the DART to the very edge of the shaft, he made sure that everything was secure, and placed his hands once more on the machine. About to push it, he stopped and whirled at hearing the opening of an elevator door.

Amela Va'ata.

She looked around the room, and then at Calvin. Scowling, she drew a blaster and asked, "Where is the Emperor?"

Calvin didn't respond. The blaster was pointed right at him. If he died now…

"I said, where is the Emperor?" she asked, red in the face.

"Wait, you stuck around?" Calvin asked.

"I knew something was wrong as soon as that Jedi left the tower. Is he dead?!" Amela asked, her eyes glassy. "Who killed him?"

"He's not dead," Calvin lied, and got an idea. "In fact, he left a message for you about you getting promoted."

"...What?" Amela asked, visibly dumbfounded.

"Yeah, it's here on this commlink," Calvin said, and took out Luke's lightsaber, holding it so that it was hidden behind his wrist. Amela didn't stop him, and he knew that she held onto hope. Hope that she could get back her original rank, maybe. He'd have to execute this just right. "Congrats. You know, I hear that the head of HR can get pretty boring at times, but on the upside, the high status will sure make your dad finally proud."

"I… are you-"

Casually, Calvin held out the lightsaber's hilt in front of him so that it aligned with the aim of Amela's pistol, and just as she realized what he was holding, he activated the blade.

It materialized just as Amela fired her blaster, and the shot sparked off of the side of the lightsaber. He winced, then heard a cry of pain.

Lowering the lightsaber, he looked and saw Amela on the ground, clutching at her charred shoulder. She had dropped her blaster. Replacing the lightsaber, Calvin sighed and looked at her. She looked back at him, eyes filled with hate, and Calvin simply stood there, eyebrow raised.

Suddenly, she lunged for the blaster, and Calvin threw his weight at the DART. It fell over, and Calvin was yanked after it by his makeshift tether. He smacked into the console, and blacked out for a moment. His ribs screamed, and fire spread through his bloodstream. Feebly, he held on with one hand, and waited for the reactor to appear below. Amela's distant, enraged scream filled his ears.

For minutes he fell. The darkness was creeping up on him.

He lost his vision again, only for it to return a few moments later.

He was so tired.

It was a long, long fall. He closed his eyes, oblivious to the pain and the wind and the tears being plucked out of the corners of his eyelids.

Hobbes! He thought, and his eyes snapped open. Below, he could see an object coming straight towards him and the DART like a runaway train. With a scream, he pulled himself close to the console, and just as he saw the flickering of a shield and the roar of the reactor's energy, he slammed his fist on the activation button.

A rumble seemed to make the tunnel around the Falcon shake as it neared the outside of the Death Star. The rumble didn't cease. Instead, it grew, and all around them, Lando saw explosions blow apart metal beams and pipes. Behind them, the TIE fighters scored yet another hit on the Falcon, and its shields went down to 2%. "C'mon," Lando muttered. "C'mon…"

Then, in the rear viewscreen, he saw a bright light close in on them. With a start, he realized that it was a wave of fire, erupting through the tunnel. It engulfed the rear TIE, then slowly gained on the rest, who, distracted by this immediate threat, had ceased firing. A split in the tunnel. Lando went right, and turned the ship on its side as the tunnel became a slim slot. He passed through it like a coin through a machine, and winced as the bottom of the ship scraped against the wall. The lone TIE who had elected to follow them right exploded against the narrow crevice.

The Falcon rounded a bend and he saw it. Starlight. He pushed the throttle as far as it could go as behind them, the fire nipped at the Falcon's engines. It moved up to engulf the cockpit, and for a moment, it blocked any sight of the tunnel's exit, just a few seconds ahead.

The Falcon cleared the tunnel and entered outer space. Behind them, the tunnel exploded, and Lando yelled, "Yee-haa!" as Nien laughed next to him. Whatever Calvin had done sure had destroyed the reactor, judging from the rumbling and the explosions.

"Home One, this is Gold Leader," he said, still chuckling.

"Go ahead, Gold Leader," Ackbar's voice came through.

"The reactor has been destroyed," Lando said. "Get the fleet out of the battlestation's blast radius."

"Acknowledged," Ackbar said.

After a minute, Lando caught up with the retreating Rebel fleet as, behind them, the Imperial ship took chase, still unaware of the catastrophe that was about to befall them.

Watching the Death Star in the rear viewscreen, Lando waited, breathless, for the chain reaction to ensue.

When it did, it instantly destroyed the Imperial ships. A disk of pure energy rocketed across space at an unfathomable speed as trillions of bursts and bits of light flew in all directions. A sonic boom impacted Lando's eardrums.

Debris flew past the Rebel ships, and Lando flew the Falcon into the safety of Home One's hangar bay. With no shields, the Falcon being impacted by a piece of metal going at Mach 20 would be akin to a glass vase against a bullet.

But even as the Rebels in the Falcon and in the hangar outside cheered, overjoyed, Lando couldn't help but feel that something was wrong.

The explosion lingered in Endor's sky like a supernova frozen in time. Hobbes couldn't look away. All around him, the Ewoks and pathfinders cheered, and 3po yelled, "They did it!" to a freshly repaired R2.

But Hobbes didn't cheer. He was concerned now with only one thing: Were Calvin and Luke alive?

Leia and Han didn't cheer either, merely exhaling cathartically and staring up at the explosion with concern as Han paused in tending to Leia's blaster wound.

"I'm… I'm sure that Luke wasn't on that thing when it exploded," Han assured Leia.

Leia closed her eyes, and after a moment's silence, smiled. "He wasn't. I can feel it."

"You love him… don't you?" Han asked, and Hobbes finally looked away, at them.

Leia glanced at both of them, her brow knit, and said with a perplexed smile, "Yes."

"All right… I understand," Han said, upset. "Fine. When he comes back, I won't get in the way."

For a moment, Leia stared at him, confused, before a realization hit her eyes and she scoffed, smiling. Looking at Han, she said, "Oh. No, it's not like that at all. He's my brother."

Hobbes felt as though he had just been smacked in the face with a cast-iron pan. He stood, unsure if he heard that right as Leia embraced Han. After a moment, he returned it, and Hobbes wondered if he should say something.

He decided to save it. Instead, he said, "Leia, can you sense if Calvin made it off?"

Leia looked over at him and shook her head. "No, but if Luke made it off, that Calvin must have, too… right?"

:D