Read the author's note at the end, please!
***
Somewhere in Hyperspace
Han walked into the main quarters of the Millennium Falcon. "The course is locked in," he announced, sitting down by some controls. "We should be at Alderaan in about an hour."
"Good."
Han frowned when he noticed the old man had been sitting doubled over. "Something wrong?" he asked.
"Many deaths."
Chewbacca looked up from where he was sitting with the golden droid and whined. "Where?"
Ben shook his head. "No idea. There were just so many . . . "
The Wookiee pondered that answer, then strode over to the intercom. "Where’s he going?" Luke asked.
For once, an actual question, Han thought to himself. "No idea," he replied, standing up. "Chewie?"
Chewbacca waved him off, roaring into the intercom. "Storm, up in the main quarters!"
There were a few seconds, then her reply. "Coming!"
"Chewie, what’s this about?" Han asked.
Danielle came running in, finishing wrapping her hair up in a knot. "What’s wrong?" she asked just seconds afer he did.
Chewbacca barked at her. "Have you tried out Cerebro?"
Danielle began to smile. "As a matter of fact, that’s where I just came from."
Ben looked up, frowning. "Cerebro?"
"I’d ask the same question," Han muttered. "What the hell is Cerebro?"
Danielle beckoned for them to follow. "It looks like an optical illusion," she started to explain as they went towards what previously seemed like the barrier to the outer walls of the ship. "Beast made it look much larger than it really is. For that, I’m grateful."
"I’m just glad it works," Chewbacca rumbled.
Danielle nodded. "Me, too," she admitted, looking into a built-in eyescanner. There was a beep. "Welcome, Storm," a robotic voice announced, then a hidden door slid open.
Danielle walked towards a chair and soundboard in the middle of the room, gesturing around her.
"Whoa," Han murmured, looking around what appeared to be a voluminous room with a floor that never ended.
"It’s not as huge as it seems," Danielle assured him, flicking some controls on the panel and hooking what appeared to be a comms set around her head like the old clone troopers. "It’s an illusion."
"Could’ve fooled me," a voice behind them said.
Han jumped and turned to look at Luke. "How did you get here?" he asked in surprise.
Luke grinned. "What, she didn’t tell you I could teleport?"
"Might have forgotten to mention that detail," Danielle called back, throwing a smirk over her shoulder. "So I’m looking for how many deaths?"
"Hundreds," Ben replied as he limped over to the room. "Of many species."
"All rightie," Danielle muttered as she began flipping switches. "Beast, could you stay in here in case something happens?"
Chewbacca nodded, whining. "Of course."
"Could the rest of you leave?"
Han shooed everyone away from the door, then looked back. "How long is this going to take?"
Danielle shrugged. "No idea," she replied, then Chewbacca slid the door shut on him.
***
Danielle checked to make sure that everything was working in Cerebro, running through techniques she always used to calm her nerves. "Hundreds of deaths," she repeated to herself, flicking through controls. "Okay, I think I can go."
"Good luck."
Danielle smiled at Chewbacca. "Thanks."
She closed her eyes, tapping into the Force and concentrating. Vaguely, she could feel the barriers of the small room fading away as she used the Force to start scanning across the galaxy. She smiled to herself. Good job, Beast, she thought, then started scanning life forms.
It was a little overwhelming, she began to realize as hundreds of minds began reaching out to her. She shook her head. Focus, she told herself, and did just that. She gently pulled away, then began looking for any deaths in the area.
She got to a certain spot, then frowned. What in space? she wondered, concentrating harder.
There were no life forms whatsoever in this area. Then, vaguely, another presence began leaping out at her. She followed it, then touched minds that she couldn’t even withstand. So evil, so maddening . . .
She gave a bloodcurdling scream, trying to withstand it all when the same presence leaped out at her. With that, her scream grew louder.
Another three-way mutant.
Then, suddenly, she was disconnected from it all.
She slumped in the chair, gasping and holding her face in her hands. She felt a paw on her shoulder, gently shaking her. "Storm?"
Danielle looked up into Chewbacca’s face. She gave a sob. "Something’s wrong," she choked, leaning back. "Something’s really wrong."
***
Han smirked as he watched the kid try and use a lightsaber. "You know," he commented slyly, "if you want someone to practice with, Dani’s a wizard with those."
Luke’s concentration snapped, and the laser remote got his leg. "OW!" he yelped, dancing away.
Han chuckled. "Works every time," he said cheerfully, turning back to the controls.
There was running through the Falcon, then Chewbacca ran in. "Where’s Dani?" Han asked, beginning to worry when he didn’t see her behind him.
"She needs a navigational reading," Chewbacca growled. "I think she knows what happened."
Han nodded, pulling up a chart and looking at it. "Does she have the grid coordinates?"
"Yes."
Han jerked when he heard Danielle’s voice in his head. "Oh, you can do that now?" he commented out loud.
"I’m learning. What system was at grid coordinates M-10?"
Han did a cross check, then his face drained of color. He cleared his throat. "You’re sure that’s right?" he asked.
"That’s it. Why?"
"Chewie, get us out of lightspeed," Han snapped, jumping up. Chewbacca didn’t argue, bolting for the cockpit. "Dani, get out here. We’ve got a problem."
"I’m on my way."
"What happened?" Luke asked, extinguishing the lightsaber blade.
"Dani found your deaths," Han replied, running for the cockpit. A few seconds later, Danielle appeared in the red Nightsister outfit she preferred to wear. "And we’re coming right up on it."
"Alderaan?" Danielle yelped.
Han nodded as the starlines vanished. "Alderaan," he replied grimly as they came out of hyperspace.
***
So I'll leave this hanging right there. :) So, X-Men fans, Cerebro isn't really the same here, but it had to fit in the Falcon with limited materials. The ingenuity of Beast can be really impressive since he designed it all.
And dedicated to Raven for just being plain awesome and almost making me cry today with her awesome one-shot for The Sorceress for Avengers fans. *sniffs* Poor Little Avenger . . .
If anyone wants another fan fiction to read, my NCIS/Avengers crossover series is almost finished! Book Three Vertigo is in the making, and Books One and Two Remember and Assemble are going into the Wattys this year, so everything counts!
Also, if you just want something a little more simple, I've got a new fantasy/adventure story going that will be the Neverwinter Nights trilogy. The first book is The Path Set By Silver, and I love the way that it's going!
Please check both of them out. :) Please with Thor's cherry poptarts on top?
Thanks!
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