Echo Base was filled with noise as the evacuation was put into motion. Leana stood with Luke in the hangar, drinking in the hustle and bustle. She couldn't believe she was here. She couldn't believe she was in the middle of this.
"I'll make sure you get to one of the transports," Luke was saying. "We'll rendezvous later."
Leana snapped out of her reverie, twisting around to glance at him. "What? Transport?"
"Yes," Luke said. "A squad of pilots is staying behind to hold the Imperials off so we can complete our evacuation, and I'm going to be one of them. You will be on one of the transports leaving."
Leana narrowed her eyes at him. "Says who?"
"I do," Luke said emphatically. "Leana, you need to listen to me. It's not safe here."
"It's not safe up there, either," Leana pointed out. "Luke, let me help. Let me fly. I can do it, I know I can. Please. I can be of more use here than up there."
Luke shook his head. "No way, Leana."
Leana crossed her arms. She had no intention whatsoever of giving in. "Luke, we're supposed to go visit Master Yoda. How can we both do that, if I'm traveling with the Rebel fleet and you're somewhere else?" I am not missing out on Dagobah or the Battle of Hoth! Evacuate, my foot.
Luke frowned, but Leana could sense the barest shift in his resolve. "Luke, trust me. I have the Force, like you do! I can help get the Rebels to safety. That's why I'm here, isn't it? To help the cause? I need to do this."
Luke sighed. "Fine, Leana, you can stay and pilot with us. But you listen to me, you hear?"
"Yes," Leana said. "Thank you, Luke!" She gave him an impetuous hug, flinging her arms around his neck. What the – why am I hugging Luke Skywalker? Embarrassed, she released him and gave him a sheepish grin. "Uh, sorry about that. I'm just glad I can do something useful."
Luke was giving her a funny look. "No problem, Leana. All right, let's get you outfitted with pilot's gear."
As Leana followed Luke across the hangar, she saw Lucas standing in the middle of the hangar, looking lost. She waved to him, hoping to catch his eye, and he finally saw her motion and hurried over toward her.
"Good thing I found you, Leana," he sighed. "Han and Chewbacca are working on the Falcon and made it quite clear they didn't want any extra help."
"Don't mind Han," Luke told him. "He's touchy about that old ship. It's his pride and joy."
"Oh, no, I totally understand," Lucas said. "But he wouldn't listen to me when I told him to check the hyperdrive. I know what I'm talking about, but he doesn't seem to think I do."
Leana pressed her lips together. The hyperdrive was going to be a problem later if Han didn't listen to Lucas. "That's too bad," she murmured to her friend.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"I'm going to pilot a speeder," Leana told Lucas, grinning at him. But instead of grinning back like she expected, he just looked serious.
"You sure about that?" he asked quietly. "About flying in the Battle of Hoth?"
Incredulous, Leana stared at Lucas. "What? Of course I'm sure! It's a speeder! And I can help here. What's wrong with you?"
"Leana, listen to me for a minute," Lucas said, a pleading note in his voice. Leana furrowed her brow, confused and angry. What is up with him? "This isn't Battlefront. This isn't the movies. We can die here, just like the Rebels." His voice dropped. "That wampa, it could have killed you. The probe droid fired at me, Leana, and it could have killed me. There's no invisible shield protecting us here. There's no respawn. This is for real, Leana. We can die here. This can be the end of the road for us if we're not careful."
Leana studied Lucas' grim expression. He seriously believes this. "Lucas, I want to do this," she said. "Really. I want to fly. I've always wanted to fly, Lucas, you know this." In a quieter voice she added, "Lucas, you know me better than anyone. I've always wanted an adventure, and now I've got one. Please, let me have it."
Lucas just looked at Leana for a long moment, an expression that was a mixture of concern and something else on his face, giving his features that strangely "Lucas" look Leana had come to know ever since they became best friends at the age of eight. She'd given up trying to puzzle out its exact meaning at the age of thirteen when she'd asked him what was wrong at the Valentine's Day dance after dancing with Darren Holden and he'd responded with that look.
"What's wrong?" she'd asked him, cocking her head to the side. She distinctly remembered how odd it was that her hair didn't brush against her back as she shifted her head, as instead of being bound back in its regular ponytail, it had been braided into a bun. The only motion she got from her hair was the small wisps waving about her face falling against her ear, tickling it.
Lucas had given Leana the barest hint of a smile, the kind that didn't reach his eyes. She'd seen that look more since then, but this was the first she remembered seeing him with this particular slight smile, not the sheepish one she'd grown used to on him. "Nothing," he'd said, lifting his red plastic cup at her, half filled with a drink. "The soda's flat."
"Well, if it's flat, dance with me," Leana had said then, impetuously, and Lucas had given her one of his signature, real smiles, set his cup down, and taken her hand. He hadn't held it long but Leana would distinctly remember how odd his fingers felt twining with hers for a long while afterward.
"Okay, Leana," Lucas said now, meeting her gaze and lifting his eyebrows slightly. That elusive grin touched his lips, just barely changing their position. "Go ahead, fly the speeder. Live your adventure to the fullest. Just...you know, don't die? Please?"
"I'll try," Leana said, grinning back at him. She felt something strange in her gut, and flashbacked again to that eighth grade dance when she'd asked Lucas to dance with her. But an evacuation was no time to ask Lucas to dance; and no other option for reacting to her gut feeling presented itself.
Luke, meanwhile, was waiting impatiently just on the edge of hearing range. When Leana turned away from Lucas, he tilted her head at her. "Ready?"
"Yep," Leana answered, restraining a grin. "Let's go save the Rebellion."
Luke laughed and they continued over to the far side of the hangar, where Ben was standing, looking around at the other pilots. "I hear you're short on pilots," he observed. "I can fly, if necessary."
Luke nodded. "I'll get you two flight suits and helmets. Come with me."
****
Lucas had found his way back to the Falcon when he felt Lumina's hand on his arm. "Lucas," she said quietly. "You're being requested to join the battle."
Lucas' eyes widened. "What? Really?"
Lumina nodded. "Leia requested you specifically. Apparently, Han gave you a really good review."
It's not like I did much, Lucas thought. I just shot at a probe droid that I already knew would self-destruct. He glanced up at the ship. Or maybe he just recommended me to get rid of me. Yeah, that sounds like Han.
"You need to gear up again," Lumina told him. "Action's about to start."
****
Leana climbed into her speeder, pulling her helmet on over her dark hair. The orange flight suit was baggy around her legs and shoulders, but it was insulated and warm and she knew it would come in handy. Already, the hangar had begun to feel colder than it had before.
"Hey," came a voice behind her, and Leana glanced over her shoulder to see a young man sitting behind her. "I'm Egan Illip, the gunner."
"Leana Ganner, the pilot," Leana introduced. "I'd shake your hand, but I don't think I could twist around to do so."
Egan laughed. "Ready for this?"
"Yep," Leana said.
****
It was everything Ben could do not to crack his fingers while he sat waiting in his speeder. His gunner was as silent as the grave, and hadn't even bothered to give Ben his name.
"Let's do this," Ben muttered, feeling nervous. "Let's win this, let's change this."
A glint caught his eye and he frowned, tilting his head. Wedged by his boot was a silvery, cylindrical object that had most certainly not been there when Ben had climbed into the cockpit. Leaning forward, he picked it up and held it in his hands.
It was a lightsaber.
****
Lumina stood with Leia in the command center, hands clasped behind her back. "Prepare to fire the ion cannon," Rieekan said, peering at a monitor over a controller's shoulder. "All fighters, stand by. Transports, ready for the evacuation."
"Let's show these Imperials what we've got," Lumina murmured.
Leia glanced at her. "They're about to find out exactly what we got."
The two girls shared devious yet anxious smiles before directing their eyes back to the monitor.