T W E L V E
Clary listens to the clamor of pilots, gunners and R2 units as they scurry about the main hangar. She looks down from her position on the Millennium Falcon, lowering her tool, as she watches the urgency of the Rebel base. They had recently received news that Darth Vader and the Imperials were preparing to attack, and as seen from the undeniable haste, that was seeming to rise as a dark tension, weighing down on everyone's shoulders. Even Han was working diligently in the buzzing commotion; standing near the rear of the Millennium Falcon, Clary is able to spot him easily. She hears him curse when his tool flails out of his hand from the exertion he puts into his muscles. Chewbacca stands beside him, roaring out a comment that Han narrows his eyes at. A small smile finds its way onto Clary's lips, but it doesn't reach her eyes.
As if noticing her stare, Chewbacca and Han's gazes divert towards the younger Solo sibling. Upon meeting their looks, Clary forces another smile; it still doesn't reach her eyes. Han exchanges a silent look with Chewbacca before he turns, approaching a repair droid as he begins to explain the dilemma of the lifter. Clary sighs, feeling her chest ache, although she didn't know why.
Turning her attention back to her work, Clary grips her tool, attempting to pry at the loose, stubborn nail. Just when it's about to break loose, she hears a familiar voice call out to Chewbacca in the clamor of the hangar deck.
"Chewie, take care of yourself, okay?"
Clary looks up just in time to see Luke Skywalker pat the great Wookiee warrior on his arm, only to be pulled back as Chewbacca envelops him in a tight hug. Luke laughs, eyes bright and smile beaming, as the Wookiee finally releases him. Clary's chest still aches.
"Hey, kid," Han says suddenly, gaining both Clary and Luke's attention. Clary watches as Luke steps towards Han, who is now leaning against one of the rafters, discussing matters with the repair droid. Clary can't hear what he orders of the droid, but it no longer matters as it quickly scurries away. Han nods to Luke. "You all right?"
"Yeah." Clary watches as Luke's jaw clenches. She's hurt he hasn't noticed her yet, but ignores her bitter feelings as Han nods again, as if unsure of what else he could do.
"Be careful."
"You, too." Luke smiles, giving a small wave as he walks on. Clary continues to ignore the bitter, negative thoughts that threaten to overtake her mind as she shifts her position on the Millennium Falcon. Before she has the chance to turn back to her work, she looks up once again to meet Luke's gaze. He's stopped suddenly, remaining silent; his intense, nearly intoxicating eyes stays fixated on Clary. There seems to be more he wants to say than just that brief look—Clary can sense it. She can feel it.
The moment is short as Luke turns away once more, walking on towards the other Rebels and speeders. Clary finds herself watching after him before slipping off of the Millennium Falcon, landing on her feet. She starts after Luke, quickening her pace. Chewbacca calls out and she can feel Han's narrowed gaze following after her but she ignores them.
"Luke, wait!" she calls out, causing the young Skywalker to stop. He turns as she stops in front of him, inhaling sharply. She meets his gaze again and it's the same intoxicating blue eyes—a seeming abyss that she could find herself getting lost in forever. She notices a look of relief flash in them; had he wanted her to stop him? Had he wanted her to say something? His eyes search her curiously and Clary finds herself growing lost for words. She opens her mouth to say something but stops herself. Luke's familiar, naïve smile finds its way onto his lips. Clary feels as if it's only the two of them there.
Impulsively, she suddenly leans forward and quickly presses her lips against his cheek. It's an action that nearly startles the both of them, but when she pulls away, the warmth in Luke's gaze hadn't vanished; in fact, he seems almost elated. He watches her, waiting for her to say something.
"Make sure you come back to me, pretty boy," she finally says. Clary's tone comes off jokingly, but she means every word she's said. The longer she thinks about the Rebels risking their lives and Luke being one of them worries her, despite her knowing it's for a good cause. Luke holds her gaze.
"I'll always come back to you."
The tone in his voice is different: it's earnest and sincere. Clary feels her heart race as she tries to scan Luke's expression, as if something in his eyes will give away more to what he may be feeling. She notices his cheeks beginning to flush red, as if he has now realized what he had said. Clary smiles, though, and her heart seems to flutter with a sense of hope at his words. Luke's eyes look into hers once more and Clary feels as if she's being pulled in far too deep. The space between them is growing smaller and smaller, but before Luke can press his lips against hers, a sharp alarm rings throughout the Rebel base. Pulling away, Clary sees a familiar look of annoyance cross Luke's face as a flurry of Rebels rushes past.
Clary smiles, reaching forward as she squeezes his arm tightly. Her fears of Leia have vanished almost completely.
"See you soon, pretty boy," she says. Luke smiles again, the agitation that shone in his eyes now gone as Clary walks past him, back to the Millennium Falcon. Her heart hasn't stopped racing and her chest is still in a flurry. She doesn't mind.
...
Muffled explosions echo above the widening cracks in the ice roof of the hangar. Clary glances up nervously as Han curses, attempting to ignore the noise as he tugs at one of the Falcon's lifters. Chewbacca is attending the wings, screwing on various parts.
"No, no!" Han exclaims suddenly, tearing Clary's attention away from the falling bits of snow as he runs towards the Wookiee. "This one goes there, and that one goes there!" He pulls the wing that Chewie had screwed in out angrily, throwing it back into the Wookiee. "Got it?"
Chewbacca lets out a roar, looking annoyed. Clary sighs, ignoring her brother's frustration and Chewbacca's exasperation before looking back up at the crumbling ice roof. Part of her wishes she was out in the battle, but another part of her knows Han wouldn't allow her in it for a second; he'd rather stick her back on Cloud City than have her fight against the Imperials.
"R2, you take good care of Master Luke, now, understand?" C-3P0's voice sounds suddenly from farther away. Clary turns to see the small droid being lifted into an X-wing fighter. Frowning, Clary steps away from the Falcon, being able to avoid Han's persistent glare, as she stands near the droids.
"And...do take good care of yourself," 3P0 adds quickly. R2-D2 beeps in reply, and then whirls his head at the sight of Clary. C-3P0 turns as well. "Oh, Miss Clary! Hello."
"Hello, 3P0." She casts a thoughtful look at the X-wing fighter. The small droid attached to the top of it gives another whistle in attempts to gain Clary's attention, but she ignores him as she continues to scan the fighter. A part of her seems to be telling that there's more to the X-wing fighter—as if there's more that Luke's intending than just to regroup with the others after the battle of Hoth is over—but she ignores it momentarily as C-3P0 nods to her.
"Can I help you with something, Miss Clary?"
"Oh, nothing." Clary smiles at C-3P0 and the droid hesitates, unsure of how to react. She looks up at one of the workers who had helped R2-D2 into his spot as she calls to him, "Excuse me, but are there any X-wings left?"
The worker grunts, "Why do you ask?"
Clary meets his gaze evenly. "Curiosity. Are there, or are there not?"
"Possibly," he sighs. He exchanges a look with his co-partner before looking back at Clary, who now stands with arms crossed over her chest. "Most of them are out on the ice slope."
"Are they assigned to anyone specifically?"
"Hell if I know," the man grunts. As if he had said goodbye, he turns sharply, removing the last of the straps that had hauled R2-D2 into the cubbyhole of the X-wing, muttering a few directions to the other worker. Clary bites her lip, eyes narrowed before her expression relaxes. She looks back at C-3P0, who, surprisingly, had remained silent throughout most of the conversation.
"I'll see you around, 3P0."
"Yes, take care Miss Clary."
Clary turns, hearing a few beeps come from R2-D2 as he remains locked in the compartment of Luke's X-Wing. She's out of hearing range, however, before she can hear C-3P0's reply. It doesn't matter though. She nears the area where the Millennium Falcon is held; Han and Chewbacca are still working aimlessly despite the threatening shake of the ceiling above them. Before Clary even has time to blink, another hit sounds farther near the control center, followed by the heavy collapse of drifts of snow. Exchanging a worried look with Han, Clary races after her brother as they dart down the empty corridor.
By the time they reach the corridor leading to the command center, Clary can already see the smoke. As she and Han near closer, cracks in the walls outline the corridors. Looking past the smoke, Clary can see there are still a few people at their posts, rising shakily to their feet after the hits. Han is the first to rush into the room, followed quickly by Clary. She spots Leia first, then C-3P0 as the bronze droid struggles against the shaking of the control room.
"You all right?" Han asks heading towards Leia immediately. She meets his gaze, slightly startled, before nodding.
"Why are you still here?" Her gaze shifts from Han to Clary. Clary ignores her question and instead looks around the room. Dana is nowhere to be seen.
"Where's Dana?"
"She headed out a while ago. She said she wanted to help ready the X-wings." Leia holds Clary's gaze momentarily, as if knowing what the younger girl is thinking, before glancing back at Han. "You got your clearance to leave."
"Don't worry," Han says, eyes darkening. He steps away from the princess as he adds, "I'll leave. But first I'm going to get you to your ship."
C-3P0 makes his way forward as well, standing in front of Han and Clary. "Your Highness, we must take the last transport. It's our only hope."
Leia hesitates, as if not wanting to leave the command center until she's certain that the Rebels have won the battle of Hoth, but she reluctantly turns to the controller on the panel. She presses the button as she says into the microphone: "Send all troops in sector twelve to the south slope to protect the fighters."
When Leia turns her face, Clary can see the crease in her brows and the circles under her eyes; she's completely exhausted. Clary's tempted to say a few words of reassurance, but she remembers the whereabouts of Dana that Leia had told her and she starts for the exit. She can hear Han, Leia and C-3P0 rushing after her; the code signal is heard echoing off the corridor walls.
"K-one-zero...all troops disengage."
Clary makes a sharp turn to her right, recalling where the transports were kept. Not only were they near the line of battle, but Dana would be there as well with the X-wings. She hears Han and Leia skid to a halt from behind her, pulling her out of her thoughts.
"Clary! Get back here!"
The ice corridors crumble around them and Clary glances over her shoulder at Han and Leia. Han's grabbing onto Leia's arm, gesturing with his free hand at Clary. The corridors around them continue to crumble threateningly around them before a loud explosion sounds from nearby, forcing Clary backwards. She slides along the icy floor, coughing from the impact, and glances up.
"Han!" she calls through the dust of snow billowing around her. Once her vision has steadied from the impact, she sees that the snow has caved in, blocking her away from Han and Leia. "Han! Are you all right?"
"Clary! We're fine!" His voice is muffled, but she's still able to make it out through the piles of snow dividing them. "Clary, get to the transport!"
"What about you?" Adrenaline pulses through Clary's veins as she stands on her feet, still shaky from the explosion.
"I'm taking the princess out on the Falcon," he replies. "Get to the transport and hurry!"
Clary swallows, nodding despite knowing Han can't see her as she turns, slipping along the icy floor as she races to the opening of Echo Base. She squints at the bright light that shines in her eyes and shields her vision as she looks along the horizon. She can hear the final shots of battle from standing near the ice slope and she quickly hurries down. She spots four X-wings sitting along the slope almost immediately, but Dana is nowhere to be seen. Wedge is one of the first pilots she sees.
"Wedge!" Clary calls, waving towards him. He turns, eyes widening in surprise as the younger Solo races towards him. "Where's Dana?"
"Dana Del Fin?" asks an unfamiliar Rebel, interrupting Wedge. He's standing near the X-wings, adjusting the closest one as he adds, "She left a while ago; said she had to go to the main hangar looking for Clary Solo."
"I'm Clary Solo," Clary answers. She feels her heart rate accelerate, worrying for Dana's safety. Wedge watches Clary momentarily before glancing back at the Rebel.
The Rebel rests his hand on the fighter. "This X-wing is yours, then—Del Fin said you'd be needing it." He meets Wedge's suspicious gaze, nodding to him before running off, addressing one of the commanders nearby. Clary inhales sharply; she wonders how Dana knew Clary had wanted one of the X-wings, but pushes the thought aside as she heads for it. She's stopped as Wedge grabs her by the arm.
"Where are you going?"
She meets his gaze. "To the rendezvous." She shoulders his grip off as she climbs into the X-wing, adjusting her coat. Before she can press the button to close the cockpit overhead, Wedge rests a hand on the edge. Clary glances back at him.
"Be careful."
A small smile tugs at the ends of Clary's lips. "I always am."
Wedge removes his hand, nodding a farewell, as the canopy of Clary's X-wing snaps shut. She takes a deep breath, resting her hands on the controls before locking the system, flipping several switches. Before she knows it, the fighter speeds out into space and away from the ice planet. Clary inhales again; many thoughts are running through her head. She finds herself growing confused, and through her midst of thinking, her concern for Luke spikes.
She hadn't seen him at the ice slope; Wedge or any other rebels hadn't said anything about him either, meaning he must be safe. But something about it nags at Clary. She bites her lip, frowning prominently, as she flips a few more controls.
Dagobah.
The whisper is so sudden Clary lets out a startled shriek. The X-wing shudders from her sudden maneuvers and she quickly scrambles to get it to continue flying steady. Clary gasps for breath, looking around wildly despite knowing there's no one else present besides herself and the stars.
"Dagobah..." she repeats softly, the words barely leaving her lips. She remains frowning, feeling more confused than ever. The voice was recognizable yet she can't recall where she had heard it from—the familiarity makes Clary's head ache and she blinks, bringing up a hand to rub at her eyes. She takes a deep breath. She can recall where the Dagobah system is located—she knows nearly every planet in the system—but she's tempted to call out to the voice. Something about the sound of it makes her feel uneasy.
Staring at her hands resting on the controls, Clary takes another deep breath. The longer she thinks, the more she can feel that Luke must be heading in that same direction as well. She's wary of the whisper and who it could have been, but the longer her hands rest on the controls, the more determined she is to turn the X-wing around.
She flips several switches; the stars shift as she takes the fighter into a steep turn in the direction of the Dagobah system.