Luke and Leia - Rebels [2]

4: An Unexpected Dropoff

Leia checked her chrono and shrugged the baggy jacket back over her shoulders where it was starting to slip. She double, then triple checked that she had all of her belongings which conveniently fit into a backpack, then put it back over her shoulder as she continued to wait for the cargo ship that would smuggle her out of Hoth and on to Yaris. She wished she could just take an A-Wing as she hadn't flown in a single-manned fighter in awhile and she missed the solitude every now and then, but Harne had been insistent that her and the other Rebels take inconspicuous ships to their designated bases to attract less attention.

That was also the reason for the baggy clothes; Harne had suggested she look like a traveler. So, in order to do so Leia had nabbed a jacket belonging to one of the older generals and thrown her hair in a twisted knot with a few strands hanging loose.

Leia looked up as the hangar door started to lower, shivering as the cold hit her like a wave. There appeared to be a snowstorm outside, which was either good or bad depending on the cargo pilot's skills. The shuttle landed and the cargo bay opened as one of the employee's hopped out and went to talk to a Rebel officer, most likely re-discussing terms of payment for smuggling Leia and others to their destinations. As this conversation occurred the Rebels all settled themselves in, with Leia making herself comfortable between two shipping containers full of what smelled like diverse spices.

Soon after the employee came back aboard and told them all they were en route to Hesk first, then Yaris, then Gethr. Someone asked how long it would take, and in response the employee shrugged and said a few hours if they got lucky. So, Leia made herself cozy on the floor and watched as the unloading door on the ship sealed shut, feeling the rumble of the engines underneath her and the subtle shift of gravity as the ship left the ground.

•••

A loud beep startled Leia from a shallow sleep, her eyes popping open and her entire body jolting to attention and sitting up straight. She blinked to become accustomed the darkness, and as she did so she started to notice other shapeless figures moving as they were awoken by the beep as well. The pilot's voice came over the intercom. "Hesk arrivals, get ready. We're entering the atmosphere."

And enter the atmosphere they did. Leia's entire body jolted forwards as the ship violently adjusted to the new gravitational pull, the only thing stopping her from barreling into a box in front of her being a handle to her left that she grabbed just in time. She gasped lightly as the oxygen levels decreased just enough for her lungs to notice, then increased again as the ship released the air held inside in exchange for filtering new air from the planet into the compartments.

Soon enough the loud whirring of landing gears and a loud clang followed by stillness signified the ship had landed, and Leia's eyes automatically closed as the door lowered and daylight which they hadn't been exposed to in a long time filtered in. But once her eyes adjusted she noticed that Hesk was a relatively decent looking planet from what she could see. The ship had landed in a plain, but the grass was an orangeish-red instead of a green color. In the distance there were small cylindrical buildings, most likely civilian. Leia felt a twinge of concern towards the inhabitants of those buildings, and wondered if they knew exactly what they were getting into or if they were just pawns of the war.

Whoever was destined for Hesk disembarked the ship, shrugging more layers onto their shoulders as a brisk breeze carried through the ramp and into the ship. Leia shivered and stood up to stretch, wondering how long it would take to arrive on Yaris now that the first drop off was done.

The transfer happened more quickly than she expected but she was pleasantly surprised, and soon enough the cargo ship was back in the air and on its way to Yaris as it exited Hesk's atmosphere. A fair number of Rebels had gotten off, so many that Leia now only counted maybe eight or nine, not including herself, in the cargo bay. She brushed a loose strand of hair out of her face and blew out a long breath before closing her eyes, figuring if it was going to take awhile to get to Yaris then she might as well try to get some sleep before she arrived.

•••

A loud clang jarred Leia from her fitful sleep, and she sat up quickly and looked around to see everyone else around her had been startled as well. Based on their confused looks they hadn't known this was going to happen, meaning that the pilot had either forgotten to tell them they'd arrived or the pilot wasn't expecting this either. A nagging feeling told her it was probably the latter.

Another loud clang occurred, and immediately after Leia felt everything shift underneath her. She frowned and looked around her again, feeling the panic start to rise in the room as more and more people started to realize that whatever was happening wasn't supposed to. After drawing in a deep breath to calm her nerves, Leia slowly placed a hand on her blaster hidden under her jacket, her finger tracing the trigger.

Before she could react a loud hissing noise and sparks both emitted from the side of the cargo wall opposite of her, and Leia watched in horror as the sparks started sliding down opposite ends of the wall. "Someone's cutting through!" A woman next to her exclaimed worriedly.

The pilot burst into the room, breathing heavily. "It's bounty hunters! Every man for himself!"

And with that the entire cargo bay erupted into chaos. Although there were only a few people in it now, they were frightened enough to make it feel like there were at least a hundred with how they dashed around. Leia, on the other hand, tried to remain calm while keeping a firm grip on her blaster and blending into the background with others.

It took only a few more seconds for the hole in the ship to be complete, and Leia flinched slightly as the newly-formed door was kicked in violently. Behind it stood two armor-clad humanoids, and a tall one slowly looked around while the shorter one cocked their blaster.

The taller one who was observing sighed through their helmet. "Doesn't look like much in here." They commented dryly. "But start looking around anyways, I'll go take care of the pilot."

The other one walked into the cargo bay and started opening boxes while the emigrants shied away from them quickly. Leia waited with baited breath for them to realize there was nothing valuable in there but the people. Hopefully the hunters wouldn't realize they were all Rebels. She gasped despite herself when she heard a muffled blaster shot, and soon after the tall one returned to the cargo bay with their blaster still steaming.

After several minutes of scouring the area, the short one groaned and the tall one slammed a lid down onto a box in frustration. "What now?" The tall one asked.

The short one didn't respond immediately, and Leia's blood ran cold as their visor passed over her. But it passed quickly, and she resisted the urge to sigh in relief.

Whatever relief she had immediately evaporated. "In the mood for hostages?" The short one asked.

The tall one nodded, and the short one immediately started walking towards the group. Pleas started to rise out of the crowd, with one person whipping out a blaster and firing fearfully. Leia ducked instinctually and winced as she heard another blaster shot, and the first shooter hit the ground with a dull thud.

"Anyone else?" The short one asked sharply. "Didn't think so." They answered after a moment of silence. "Now, here's how this is going to work. Our ship isn't big enough for all of you, so we're gonna split you in half and leave some of you here, some of you with us. Don't try anything stupid; you're too far out to reach any reliable comm channels and your pilot's dead after my buddy here," They gestured to the tall one. "Shot him full of holes. Understand?"

A few hesitant nods spread around the crowd. "Good. Now, this half, come with me." They gestured to the left half of the group, the half Leia was a part of. The group slowly shuffled their way towards the hole, and Leia briefly considered merging with the righthand group. But she knew that the hunters would see her, and even if she got away with it she wasn't entirely sure the best idea was to float on a ship instead of travel to a destination with the hunters.

So, Leia embarked onto the smaller ship and was pushed into a smaller cargo bay, small enough that she could move maybe about a foot or so before running into someone else. It was with this arrangement that the door slid closed, locking them all inside to await their fate.

Hot diggity darn it's been awhile folks, and it may or may not be awhile again just because I have absolutely no schedule for anything anymore after I wrapped up HotF lol. But anyways hi how's it going, we're all currently in the middle of a pandemic which is great

In other words I hoped you enjoyed this update and I also hope I'll crank another one out soon!

Nelgiz :)