Karrik hit the ground at a run before the ramp had fully deployed: racing through the glare of the Falcon's landing lights across the shale towards the bright patch of orange that lay in a discarded huddle beyond the scoutship. As she reached Antilles she dropped to her knees, pressing her fingers to his neck, sighing in relief as she found a weak, thready pulse. Gently, she turned him more onto his side, resting his back against her knees. Then slipping an arm beneath his shoulder she eased him into a sitting position. He toppled against her, his breathing sounding laboured, his face deathly pale.

She held him for a moment as she looked up, seeing Han and the Wookiee running towards the smoking remains of the Imperial scout. "I'm taking Antilles inside!" she yelled at them over the sound of the Falcon's engines, somehow managing to haul the Lieutenant Commander up, manoeuvring him to drop him over her shoulder. "Goddess," she grunted, carrying him haphazardly towards the Falcon, "you gotta lose some weight, Antilles."

Han blasted the door of the scout ship. Chewie yowled, grasping hold of the twisted metal, using brute strength to push the door in. Acrid smoke blew out at them from the ruined instrumentation. Sparks hissed across the consoles at the far end and dripped down the inside of the bulkhead from the remains of the port engine, sending a flickering eerie light through the smoke and across the walls.

"Luke!" Han called, snapping the flashlight on, pushing through the opening, "Luke!" There was movement towards the front of the cabin and Han trained the thin beam onto the grey-uniformed huddle. It moaned, shifting slightly as Han moved towards it. He squatted down, grabbing hold of the Commander's uniform, pulling him up roughly. "Where's the other pilot?" he demanded, shining the torch into the man's face, "Where's the other Rebel pilot?"

The officer opened his mouth for a moment, trying to talk. A thin trickle of blood dripped slowly down his chin. Then his eyes rolled back and his head sank slowly towards the floor. Han swore, letting go of the uniform, standing up as the corpse thudded onto the floor. He turned away, but a familiar metal object flashed in the torchlight as it played across the body, pulling Han’s attention back to the dead Imperial. He aimed the light back at the body, then bent down, snatching the lightsaber from the officer's belt.

"Luke!" he yelled, turning away, "Where the hells are you, Kid?" Chewbacca squeezed through the door, beginning to search behind the consoles as Han trained the light onto the floor, sweeping it from side to side, moving slowly down the central passageway.

There was a huddle of bodies and debris beneath the spill of sparks from the engine. Chewbacca grasped hold of part of the roofing panel, heaving it off the bodies and throwing it out of the hatch. Then he rumbled quietly at the patch of orange beneath the bodies.

"Where?" Han asked, tripping over wreckage in his haste to see the Wookiee's discovery. Chewbacca was already hauling the Imperials out of the way. Luke lay awkwardly against the bulkhead, hands secured behind his back. The flight suit concealed any sign of injury. Han stood for a stunned moment, then stepped over the Imperial remains to grasp hold of Luke's shoulders. Chewbacca shifted round, taking hold of Luke's legs. Luke moaned softly, his eyes fluttering open.

"Sorry, Kid," the Corellian said at the small sound, "but we got to get you out of here."

"Han...?"

Solo grinned into the semi-darkness, "Oh you are awake! Just hold still 'til we get you out."

"Wedge..."

"Tennan's taking care of him. Now hold still." Chewbacca rumbled in quiet concern as they manoeuvred their load towards the door. "Yeah," Han agreed, then asked Luke, "Where's it hurt, Kid?"

"Think... Think my leg's... bust..."

"That all?" Han laughed, feigning non-concern, "Then just hold tight."

The Wookiee squeezed himself out of the door, careful of Luke's injuries, moving slowly backwards until the young man's legs were out of the shuttle. The he moved round, slipping his arm up to support Luke's knees, ignoring the moan of pain. Han guided the upper half of Skywalker’s body out of the shuttle as Chewbacca reached in, taking all of Luke's weight in his arms. Luke stifled another groan, his head thumping washes of nausea through him. Chewbacca turned, running towards the Falcon, the young human cradled against his chest. Han stepped out of the wreckage, following at his heels.

The Wookiee ducked beneath the Falcon, running up the gangway. Karrik appeared in the corridor, moving out of the way to let Chewbacca past, "Solo, I need just a little more time. Only enough to check the X-wing, we can't leave it here. And..."

"Artoo's shut down... my voice commands only," Luke called shakily from the reassuringly comfortable depths of Chewbacca's arms. The Wookiee stopped, turning back to Han and Karrik as Luke continued, "And I... wiped the co-ordinates from... from his memory..."

Karrik grinned at her Senior Officer, "Good job I had to bring along Deeten, isn't it, Sir!"

Han looked at them for a moment, then swore, "Okay, you got five minutes! Chewie, take Luke and go help her! Then get back and get us out of here. I'll see to Wedge!" He turned, then slid back round, "Wait! I'll get something to get those binders off!"

Karrik grabbed her helmet, shouting at her Artoo unit to follow and ran for Skywalker's X-wing. She had pulled the thin camouflage curtain off and was scrambling up the side of the fighter as Deeten rolled up. Activating the manual hatch release as she passed, she climbed on to the roof of the T-65 and walked along to Luke's droid. She dropped to her knees, opening the safety cover and triggering the lift mechanism beneath.

The Artoo unit was slowly rising out of the hull as the Wookiee reached the base of the ladder, setting Luke on the side of the fighter. Slowly, carefully, Luke pulled himself up to the cockpit, his head swimming, disorientating in the darkness. He reached the top, steadying himself for a moment before leaning in to activate the internal mike, "Artoo? Wake up little buddy!" There was a slight pause, then an answering burble from the droid. It keened, twisting its dome round and back. Luke turned slightly, "Move to the edge of the wing, Artoo. Chewie'll lift you down. Then go to the Falcon." The little droid mewled as if in question and Luke glanced at the data screen, holding tightly onto the edge of the fighter, the sudden movement dancing pain and dizziness through his head, "No, Artoo. Chewie won't let you fall!"

The unit trundled towards the edge of the twin wing and Chewbacca reached up, grunting as he took the weight of the droid, slowly lowering it to the ground. Then he heaved Karrik's droid up onto the X-foil where it rolled towards the niche, warbling to itself. It locked into place and Karrik waited until she saw it starting to descend before turning back towards the cockpit: just in time to see Luke crumple, falling with a sickening thud onto the shingle.

"Chewbacca!" she shouted in alarm, but the Wookiee was already moving towards the fallen pilot. She scrambled along the roof. Chewie reached down, gathering Luke into his arms again. He stood up, seeing Karrik starting down the footholds and bellowed at her. She twisted round as he shook his head. She couldn't understand the language. But she couldn't fail to understand the meaning as he turned towards the Falcon, loping after Luke's droid.

Relief still pumping adrenaline through him, Han leant over the back of his chair, checking the sensor readouts for any sign of Imperial re-enforcements before running back to where Tennan had dumped Antilles. The young pilot's breathing didn't sound good, laboured and rattling in his chest. Han lifted a medi-scanner from one of the overhead lockers, pressing it against Wedge's neck. A warning flag blinked at him from the display and he frowned as he read down the suggested course of action, realising that there was no way he could effectively help Wedge. There was a limit to the sort of equipment they had in the Falcon... But he could make him more comfortable.

Reaching across to the back of the cot, Han pulled the restraining straps to the front, securing Wedge to the berth. He flipped the cover from the control pad at the end of the cot, pressing one of the buttons. The top end of the cot slowly tilted up, raising the injured pilot's upper body. Wedge's breathing eased slightly.

Han turned to another locker, removing an oxygen mask, gently slipping the strap over Wedge's head and resting the mask across the pilot's nose and mouth. Then he turned his attention to the burns. The dressings on Wedge's legs seemed to be holding well enough, so he opened one of the lockers, pulling out a rehydration pad from one of the boxes. He stripped off the one already on the young man's arm, snapping the fresh one open and pressing down. Then he grabbed some blankets, arranging them over Wedge, careful of the burns on his legs.

Damn it! Where was Chewie?

He gave Wedge another quick check then left him, running down the corridor to the hatch. The Wookiee was running towards the Falcon, an orange bundle in his arms. Swearing, Han started towards the flight deck. Then stopped, turning abruptly as Chewie thundered onto the ship, something suddenly occurring to him... "Chewie, dump Luke then get us out of here. I'll see to him."

He followed the Wookiee into the medical bay, scooping up the scanner as his partner dropped Luke gently onto the other cot before disappearing out of the door. Luke's eyes fluttered open as Han checked the readout. Solo gave him a grin, hearing the change of pitch in the engines as Chewie lifted the Falcon from the ground, "You got a concussion, Kid. And a bust knee. I'll give you something to kill the pain..."

"I'm all right," Luke protested.

"Sure you are. That's why you're almost cross eyed trying to focus on at least one of me!" His grin faded, expression becoming serious as he asked, "Luke, did they question you? Did they get anything about Hoth?"

The pilot shook his head wincing at the movement, "No... didn't have time... They were taking us somewhere else, I think..."

Han closed his eyes briefly in relief, "Okay, Kid."

"Wedge... " Luke questioned as Han reached into another locker.

"Is here," Han evaded, "Now lie there and take it easy. We'll be back on Hoth soon." He snapped a monitor round Luke's wrist, then rummaged in one of the boxes for the painkiller and hypodermic as the monitor aligned itself to Luke's veins. Once it was filled with the drug it would administer it as and when Luke needed, but more importantly it would act as an early warning if the concussion developed into something more sinister. Neither he nor Chewie had the time right now to baby‑sit either of these kids... Breaking the seal of the hypo, he pushed it into the container, filling it with the clear, amber tainted liquid before turning to Luke. "Hold still!"

He slid the needle into the monitor, holding it carefully until the green light blinked at him, then slowly pushed the drug into the mechanism. He checked the tiny readout screen, satisfying himself that all was well before drawing the hypo out and tossing it in the trash, "The stuff will kick in soon, Kid, just hang in there. And stay put until I come back! If we meet any trouble and it gets rough, I don't want you cracking your skull again!"

Luke opened his mouth, but Han had already moved out of the door towards the flight deck.

Karrik clambered into the fighter, clearing the remains of the MedPak off the console and onto the ground with a brush of her hand. She sat down pulling the straps over her shoulders and locking them into place, "Okay, Deeten, start her up."

The engines fired, the chromatic whine sliding upwards and settling as the canopy hissed down and locked forward. Karrik ran through the checks then eased the fighter from the ground, swinging it round to face the Falcon. The Wookiee had already lifted the ramp and she retracted the fighter's landing gear, feeling the gentle triple thump as it locked into the belly of the X-wing. "Chewbacca, you on line?"

A rumble in her head set confirmed. "You lead the way," she told him, "I'll follow."

There was another growl, then the Falcon lifted gently into the air, gear retracting as it turned and climbed away. Karrik gave a wry smile, "Okay, Deeten, let's go!" Accelerating she pushed the nose of the fighter skywards, feeling herself pressed into the seat as the X-wing soared after the Millennium Falcon. Slowly, as they reached the outer edges of the planet's atmosphere, the sky began to lighten, the two ships chasing the sun. She didn't notice. Her attention was on the tactical screens, searching for the tell tale signs of approaching ships, "Chewbacca, my screens are clear. You got anything?"

"We're all clear here," Solo's voice answered.

"How they doing?"

"Dunno, I'm no medic..."

An alarm bell chimed and Karrik checked the display. "Solo!" she called in warning.

"I know. I see them... I've got five... no, six!"

"All TIE class," Karrik confirmed, checking the Imperial fighters' trajectory, "So far it doesn't look as if they've seen us..." She trailed off with a curse, "They have now! Heading straight for us." Her fingers flew across the console, setting up the jump point, "Solo, they're coming in fast. If they get too close before jump, I'll give you the time to get clear."

"Think again, Tennan! Look what's just come through..."

Karrik took a deep breath, letting it out slowly at the sight of the massive Star Destroyer, "I see it! They're playing for keeps! TIEs closing... attack range in twelve seconds."

"We’ll be ready in twenty..."

Karrik pulled the nose of the fighter round, turning to meet the oncoming TIEs. "See you later, guys!" she told them, then cut communication.

"Tennan!" Solo yelled at her, hearing only static in return. "Ah!" he said, swearing, "Women! Okay, Chewie. Jump in eleven..."

The Wookiee punched in the last of the data and Han glanced quickly towards the Star Destroyer, watching the single X-wing engage the TIEs. Two of the Imperial fighters ignored Tennan and continuing towards the Falcon. Chewbacca bayed at him. "I know," he snapped, "Anytime now..." As if on cue the Falcon bucked under the first spread of fire from the approaching TIEs. "At least there's only two of them... Ready?"

Chewbacca roared and Han punched the buttons, fragmenting the starscape into a myriad of colours as they punched into hyperspace.

Deeten burbled, dumping data onto the screen and Karrik grinned, "Okay! Let's go..." She flipped the fighter in the opposite direction. Rolling the X-wing in the turn as she pushed the nose down, she sliced between the TIEs. The fighter bucked under their fire and she grimaced as the shield indicator changed colour, "Deeten, jump in four... three... two... one!" She hit the pad, feeling herself pushed into the seat as the stars shattered into the safety of lightspeed.

Leia walked into General Rieekan's office, giving him a tired smile as he rose to greet her, telling him, "There are ten X-wings and eleven pilots missing."

"I see," he replied, sitting down as she took the seat opposite, "What have the remaining pilots said?"

Leia sighed, "We have definite sightings of six fighters being destroyed. None of their pilots ejected in time. Lieutenant Tennan's fighter is here, but she's one of the pilots missing. And no one can give me any guaranteed information on Luke or Wedge. All of them say that everything was confused, that it happened too fast... They dropped out of hyperspace at the rendezvous, right on top of a squadron of TIEs: one minute they were in the middle of a fight, then next - hyperspacing out. The one thing that they're all clear on is Wedge's fighter being hit and that neither he nor Luke left with them..." She trailed off, worry gnawing at her, then looked up at Rieekan, "I think this is nothing more serious than a rescue mission. Luke and Han...” She trailed off again, then began, “General, if Luke was in trouble, Han wouldn't hesitate, he'd jump straight in..."

"Your Highness," Rieekan attempted, knowing how difficult this was going to be for him as well as for her. She had asked to be left in charge of the investigation and he had agreed, knowing of her friendship with Luke Skywalker and the Falcon crew. But now... Now things were more clouded than ever. And he hated what he was going to have to tell her. He leant forward, clasping his hands on the table, "Leia, I realise that you want to see the best in this particular situation. And I'm sure that there is a valid explanation for what has happened. However..." He paused, searching for the best way to put what he had to say, finally opting for being blunt, "I had the security recordings from the hanger processed. I'm afraid there may be more to this situation than we first thought... And we have the security of this base to consider." He lifted a small vidscreen from his desk and handed it to her, "This was recorded just after the X-wings arrived."

Leia had felt her guts twisting as he talked, icy fingers threading through her stomach. Reticently, she took the screen, keying it to run. Han walked down the ramp of the Falcon and into the hanger, turning back to placate Chewbacca. She watched as he threw up his hands, walking away from the ship, intercepted by a woman in a pilot's flight suit. Leia studded the scene in growing concern as Han tried to walk past. The woman spun Han round, pulling her blaster free of the holster and pressing it into his stomach. Chewie slid from the roof of the Falcon, moving up behind the woman. Han shook his head then bent to retrieve the woman's flight helmet. Taking her by the arm he guided her up the ramp and into the ship.

Leia glanced up at Rieekan, but the General indicated that there was more to come. She returned her attention to the screen, watching Chewie lope round from the other side of the Falcon and up the ramp. Then the female pilot reappeared, sauntering nonchalantly out of the ship and across the hanger.

"That's Karrik Tennan," Rieekan said. "She returns a few minutes later with her Artoo unit, briefly talks to one of the other X-wing pilots who has stopped her, then goes back into the Millennium Falcon. They left immediately after that."

Leia frowned, looking at him in dismay, unable to decide what to think. Silently she handed the screen back to him.

"I concede," he began, "that this incident may be totally unrelated to the disappearance of pilots after an ambush by Imperial forces. However, you yourself have just told me that you believe they are related. Those still missing include two of our most experienced officers, both of whom are known to be on the Empire's Wanted list... Skywalker especially! I cannot ignore those facts." His voice was heavy, resigned, "Nor can I ignore this..." he indicated the screen lying on his desk, "altercation... I must work on the worst case scenario, which frankly makes me want to..." The com unit on his desk chimed and he moved towards it as he finished, "seriously consider the evacuation of this base." He touched the pad, "Yes?"

"General, the Millennium Falcon is cruising in towards Hoth. Captain Solo has declared a medical emergency. He's requesting landing instructions..."

Leia was already on her feet, rushing out of the door towards the command centre as Rieekan stood, "We're on our way. Tell him to stand by."