Luke and Leia - Rebels [2]

19: On the Run

The air was frostbitten, sharp and unforgiving. Rebels ran for their lives, uniforms a dizzying mix of orange and white as they scrambled towards Echo Base which was growing larger with every step Leia took. Her grip on the E-11 blaster she'd hastily shoved into her gunner seat before takeoff as a precaution shook only slightly, but her teeth chattered with either adrenaline or cold; she couldn't tell the difference.

Leia Skywalker scrambled ungracefully up the hill caked in snow that revealed at the top a small hallway opening into Echo Base, one she gratefully burst into. After establishing the Hoth System as outside the range of Imperial concern and the base began to be constructed, the Rebel Alliance implemented hidden pathways leading to and from certain command posts inside the base in case a catastrophe such as this were to happen. Luckily, Leia had memorized the different paths whenever sleep eluded her, strolling the halls until she became tired.

Snow troopers marched down the hall Leia almost turned the corner into. Instead she flattened against the wall and tried her best to calm herself, closing her eyes and praying to whatever deity existed in the galaxy that today was not her last. Only when it was so quiet she could hear herself breathing did she move again, peering around the corner and slinking through the halls much more carefully than before.

The sound of muffled blaster fire startled her but also gave her a semblance of hope; someone, somewhere in the base was still fighting. She decided to head towards the sound, as it was the direction of the hangar.

As Leia was walking she suddenly felt a deep, cold dread permeate her like a foul stench she couldn't get rid of. She stiffened and shivered, eyes widening as the sensation became familiar. No.

Once it grew closer Leia broke into a jog, trading careful sneaking for reckless but efficient running in order to get away from him as fast as she could. She skidded to a halt as soon as she entered the hangar, eyes widening even more as she took in the scene around her.

The entire hangar was torn apart, wires dangling and sparking from the ceiling while blaster marks scorched the walls and floor. Most of the ships had already evacuated, and whichever ones were left looked demolished and beyond repair.

Except for one. The Millennium Falcon sat surrounded by stormtroopers, and Leia immediately knew where the blaster fire she'd heard earlier came from. She could barely make out Han in all the mess, peering out from the boarding ramp and firing a few good shots into the crowd before disappearing back into the ship.

Leia ducked behind a snow outcropping, frowning to herself. A diversion would be nice, but she wasn't sure how to distract the troopers long enough for her to get inside the ship without becoming full of holes in the process. The frown on her face deepening, Leia snuck a glance towards a fallen Rebel soldier and suddenly had an idea as her eyes followed his arm to the thermal detonator he was holding.

The former farmgirl scrambled hastily over to the corpse and grabbed the grenade out of his hand. She caught a trooper's attention, and she saw him turn to her out of the corner of her eye. Before he could react she activated the detonator and chucked it towards him maliciously, diving and rolling over a broken snowspeeder as it exploded.

Leia's head popped back up to assess the damage; several troopers remained but they were all stunned and dazed by the blast, now was her chance. She made a break for the boarding ramp, flying past the Imperials with speed that would make a podracer jealous. But as she ran up the ramp she tripped and fell into the entrance with a grunt, and looked up to see Han whip around and point his blaster straight at her face wildly.

"Save it for out there." Leia snapped breathlessly, pointing towards the ramp but hesitating. "On second thought, don't. Let's just get out of here."