Lumina crossed her arms, trying hard not to smirk. She, Lucas, and Ben were in the command center, watching Leia, General Rieekan, and Wyron Serper, one of the controllers, search the surrounding terrain via their equipment for signs of an Imperial presence.
This is going well.
Leia had taken Lumina's warning seriously and was acting on it. This whole practice thing Qui-Gon had told them about would go easily.
Don't get cocky, she scolded herself. Checking up on Imps is one thing. Not going to Cloud City? Another thing completely.
"Leia listened," Lucas said in a low voice. "Changing Star Wars' ending might not be so hard after all."
Ben nodded. "Revenge of the Sith, here we come."
Rieekan glanced over at Leia. "Princess, we've got something here."
"What?" Leia asked, peering over at the screen.
"A visitor," Serper said grimly.
Don't smirk, Lumina. Whatever you do, don't smirk. Lumina couldn't help, however, the rush of the "I told you so" feeling from sweeping over her. This was just going too well.
Leia frowned, then glanced back at Lumina. "Thank you for your warning," she said. "We caught this earlier than we otherwise would have."
Ben lifted an eyebrow. "Actually, we probably didn't make much of a difference," he muttered. "Timewise, anyway."
Lumina elbowed him. "Shut up. Let me bask in my victory."
Ben just snorted.
"Summon all headquarters personnel," Rieekan ordered. "We need to decide how to handle it."
One of the other controllers sent out an announcement and within minutes, other Rebels began to enter the command center. Han, Chewbacca, R2-D2, C-3PO, Luke, and Leana were among them. Lumina was mildly surprised to see that Leana had been allowed to leave the hospital but there she was, clutching a bundle of her old clothes and looking excited. A lightsaber hung from her white belt.
Where did Leana get a lightsaber? And why does she get one and not us?
Lumina shot her friend a quizzical look. Leana grinned, tilting her head slightly towards Luke. "I'll be back," she told the Jedi before weaving over to join her friends. "Hey! I got a lightsaber!"
"Why do you get a lightsaber?" Lucas demanded in a whisper. "What about us?"
"Apparently it was on my belt," Leana said quietly. "Luke handed it to me, said he took it for safekeeping when I went into the bacta tank."
"Are there any more lightsabers lying around?" Ben asked.
"Have you ignited it?" Lumina queried, looking at the lightsaber hilt curiously. She recognized the style of the hilt; if she was right, it was Qui-Gon Jinn's.
Leana shook her head. "No, I haven't. But it's Qui-Gon's, I believe."
"Looks like it," Lucas said. "Man, you're lucky, Leana."
Rieekan waved his hands for silence. "Thank you all for your rapid response," he said grimly. "We've picked up something outside the base of zone twelve, moving east."
"It's metal," Serper said.
"Then it's not one of those creatures," Leia said. "Lumina Duly, one of our new members, has suggested it may be a probe droid."
Lumina fought hard to conceal her smile of triumph and assumed a concerned air. The probe droid is not a good thing, she lectured herself. It is a threat to the Rebel alliance.
"There's something very weak coming through," Serper said. He reached over and switched on a speaker. Noises began to filter into the command center, odd, static-filled sounds that Lumina would assume were made by a droid. A transmission.
"Sir, I am fluent in six million forms of communication," C-3PO spoke up. "This signal is not used by the Alliance. It could be an Imperial code."
"It is," Lumina said, stepping forward. "When we came into this system, we noticed an Imperial Star Destroyer, and it was sending out probe droids."
Everyone looked at Lumina and then back up to Serper, Rieekan, and Princess Leia.
"It isn't friendly, whatever it is," Han told the group.
"We should investigate," Lucas spoke up.
Han nodded. "The kid's right. We should check it out. Come on, Chewie."
"I'll come, too," Lucas volunteered, not to be left behind. Han turned, sizing him up.
"All right, kid," Han said. "You can come. You might want some cold gear, though. And a blaster."
Lucas' eyes widened. "Sure, I'd love a blaster."
Lumina and Ben exchanged a look. "I'd like one, too," Ben confided. "But nobody seems inclined to give me one right now."
Lumina cocked an eyebrow at him. "Perhaps you should have volunteered like Lucas did."
"So you want me to be more like Lucas now, do you?" Ben asked, with a slight grin.
No, I do not want you to be more like Lucas, Lumina thought, but she just smiled and told him, "Well, I'm sure remembering that Elton John is the one who sings "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" would really lower Lucas' stress levels on the subway."
Ben looked mildly offended. "Hey, he doesn't have to sing that song on the subway! He could sing a Billy Joel song and avoid all that so-called stress."
"You know you would just think it was an Elton John song," Lumina said.
Ben nodded. "Probably." Ben being bad with names was a common source of jokes among the four friends, and he always took it like a champ. It was one of his many great qualities, one of the things they all loved about him.
Lucas, Han, and Chewbacca left the command center, Leia calling after them in a no-nonsense voice to supply Lucas with snow gear and weaponry. Ben leaned over and whispered to Lumina with a chuckle, "Whoever wrote the song 'Girls Just Want To Have Fun' did not meet Princess Leia." Lumina just smiled, inwardly laughing at his not even bothering to try to guess the artist's name. She almost wished he had; it would have been funny to see who he would have mixed Cyndi Lauper up with. Maybe Lady Gaga, or Carly Simon.
Luke walked over to Leana and gently touched her arm. "Come on, Leana, let's go," he said to her. She nodded and turned to follow him, giving her friends a grin over her shoulder. Luke Skywalker! she mouthed and then headed with him out the door.
Lumina and Ben exchanged a glance, raising their eyebrows. "Well, Leana looks happy," Lumina observed.
****
Lucas knelt behind the snowbank, his breath creating clouds in the air. The thick Rebel snow gear was warm, but he was expecting to feel colder than he did. His face was more chilled than it had been during his first excursion through the snow of Hoth, however, and, despite his gloves, his fingers felt prickly and cold. He hoped he'd be able to pull the trigger of his handy new blaster when the time came.
Han was nearby, watching the Imperial probe droid which sat in front of snowbank, still transmitting its code. Lucas drew his blaster, waiting for Chewbacca to attract the droid's attention so he and Han could shoot it.
I can't believe I'm working with Han Solo!
Chewbacca lifted his head up above the snowbank he was behind and the probe droid pivoted, shooting at the Wookiee. Lucas and Han jumped up from behind their cover and opened fire on the droid. Lucas felt the slight kick of the blaster as he fired, the red laser blasting right past his target. Dang it! Again! His second shot struck the Imperial droid, after Han had already hit it. Lasers peppered their snowbank and Lucas dropped down behind it, taking a breath to steady his nerves. If that thing hits me, I'm toast.
Never thought about that before, about dying here in Star Wars. He furrowed his brow. I just thought it would be fun to be here, but I didn't take into consideration the risk.
Han glanced at him and nodded and the two peered up over the bank just in time to see the droid explode.
****
Lumina listened as Han and Lucas reported in to General Rieekan and Leia about the probe droid. "It's Imperial," Lucas said. "That's for sure."
"Afraid there's not much left," Han admitted. "We didn't hit it that hard. It must have had a self-destruct." There was a pause, and then, "It's a good bet the Empire knows we're here."
"I'd say," Lucas remarked.
The line clicked and Leia sighed, staring up at the ceiling. "We have no choice," she said, almost to herself. "We need to evacuate."
Ben nodded from where he stood beside Lumina. "The Imperials will be here soon. It won't take them long to respond to the probe droid's message."
"We'd better start the evacuation," Rieekan said, and turned to a controller. "Sound the evacuation signal."
****
The keening alarm cut through Leana's train of thought as she and Luke discussed their upcoming trip to see Yoda. She jumped into a ready stance, her hand going to the newfound lightsaber on her belt as she glanced around, looking for the source of the sound.
Luke also was glancing around. "The evacuation signal. Han and Lucas must have found the probe droid." He sighed. "Imperials. We're going to have to evacuate again."
Well, duh, Leana thought. Evacuation signal means evacuate.
She and Luke quickened their pace, heading for the hangar.
****
I will find you yet.
Vader stared out the viewport into black space from the bridge of the Executor, standing as still as a statue. He wasn't sure if he was referring to the Rebels or to the being creating the disturbance in the Force. Beings, rather, for there were several of them, but one in particular glowing brightly in the current of the Force, their presence strong.
You cannot hide forever. I will find you and force you to yield your secrets. You shall not escape me.
"I will find you," Vader promised aloud.
"Uh, sir? Who shall you find?"
The voice startled Vader out of his thoughts and he turned to see a young lieutenant standing there, looking at Vader curiously. He was surprised to see no trace of fear in the young man's blueish-grey eyes, for there was always fear lurking inside Imperials.
"Do you need me to initiate another search, Lord Vader?" the lieutenant added, his back ramrod straight. His grey cap perched on his tousled bright blonde hair, looking out of place with his dull grey uniform. "Anyone I can put a bounty on?"
Vader eyed the young man. A man not afraid to take risks. Ambitious and courageous. "Not at the moment," he answered. "What is your name?"
The young man saluted. "Lieutenant Dan, sir," he snapped out, removing his hand from his forehead with a flourish.
The sound of footsteps and two new presences stepped onto the bridge and Vader turned to see Admiral Kendal Ozzel and General Maximilian Veers nearing him. Lieutenant Dan respectfully took a step back at their approach.
"Admiral," another voice called from down below the bridge, glancing up at the others. Vader looked over to see Captain Piett standing at attention.
"Yes, Captain?" Ozzel asked.
"I think we've got something, sir," Piett replied, gesturing to one of the monitors. "The report is only a fragment from a probe droid in the Hoth system, but it's the best lead we've had."
Hoth.
Vader felt his senses prickle. That's it. The place of disturbance, the place where the new powerful Force-sensitive stands. They're on Hoth. He knew that whether or not the Rebels were there, he had to go there to find this being.
"We have thousands of probe droids searching the galaxy," Ozzel told Piett. "I want proof, not leads!"
"Sometimes you have to go off of instinct," Lieutenant Dan interrupted, then instantly stepped back and stood at attention. "I offer my apologies, sir!"
"Don't apologize," Vader told him. This kid has potential. Better for him to use it than for me to have to kill him later for not using it. "Instincts are good."
"The visuals indicate life readings," Piett said.
"It could mean anything," Ozzel retorted. "If I had a credit for every lead those probe droids had turned up, I could retire right now and build a house out of all the extra currency."
"But sir, the Hoth system is supposed to be devoid of human forms."
Dan pointed at Piett and nodded.
"You found something?" Vader asked, deciding to break off the officers' petty argument. It's time something got done.
"Yes, my lord," Piett answered, tapping the monitor again.
"That's it," Vader said, feeling the same assurance he had felt at the mention of the system earlier. "The Rebels are there."
"My lord, there are so many uncharted settlements," Ozzel explained. "It could be smugglers, it could be rock and roll musicians, we don't know!"
"Why would rock and roll musicians hide out on Hoth?" Dan asked, looking confused.
Veers frowned. "Maybe they got tired of touring?"
"But there are better places to retire," Dan argued. "Like Naboo, or Alderaan."
"Alderaan got blown up," Veers pointed out. "By us, idiot. All the rock musicians who had retired there are spacedust now."
Dan looked up at the ceiling. "Rest in peace, Hyperdrive Mike. We will miss you." He grimaced. "And you, too, Tom Petty."
"That is the system," Vader stated. "Set your course for the Hoth system. General Veers, prepare your men."
I will find you, he promised the Force-sensitive. And when I find you, you will fall to the dark side and fulfill your destiny.