Hearts of Rebels | Star Wars Fanfiction

Chapter XVII

Bright light burned through Rhea's eyelids as she woke up, she blinked the sleep away as her eyes adjusted to the light. She recognised the snow walls and rusted medical droid. She was back in Echo Base, specifically its medbay.

"Good morning ma'am, I hope you are feeling well," The droid spoke with its monotone tone. She flinched once she sat up her back sore and her foot tender.

"What happened?" She groaned, rubbing her back.

"During your expedition to rescue Master Luke you suffered an ankle fracture, hypothermia and minor abrasions on your back," The droid explained matter of factly.

"Lovely, anything else I should know about?"

"I'm afraid-" The droid began.

"Ah, no. I don't actually want to know" She grumbled.

The door to the recovery room slid open revealing Princess Leia impatiently waiting. She rushed over to her wounded friend, encasing her in a hug.

"I can't believe you went off like that without telling anyone," Leia pulled away with a stern face, but Rhea shrugged it off.

"I'm fine Leia thanks for asking. Where's Luke, is he alright?" She asked, swinging her legs off the bed. Leia shook her head with a smile.

"He's perfectly fine, just a few scars left. He's next door if you want to see him" Leia quickly wrapped her arms around Rhea as she got off the bed, only now did Rhea notice the small splint attached to her ankle.

"Are you okay?" Leia asked. Rhea nodded in response and let go of her, walking to the door with a painfully noticeable limp. The two women strolled into the adjacent room seeing Han, Chewbacca and the two droids crowded around a conscious Luke.

Chewbacca was the first to notice the two. He was quick to wrap them in a hairy hug. He let go resting a comforting paw on Rhea's shoulder as he barked his concern.

"Fine, Chewie" She smiled at him giving the Wookiee another hug. R2-D2 waddled up to them, whistling a happy tune.

"Artoo is overjoyed to see you well Mistress Rhea," C-3PO translated. She petted R2-D2's domed head as the astromech chirped to his companion.

"I am as well, of course" C-3PO added hastily. She smiled and patted the droid's shoulder.

"I know Threepio"

"Well look at you, feeling better already huh?" Han waltzed over to her, giving her a quick hug.

"All thanks to you Han, I still can't get that stench out of my nose,"

"Ugh, don't remind me" He scoffed, fanning his nose. She withdrew to Luke after laughing at their inside joke. Leia promptly left the two, going to talk to Han instead. She leaned her hand against the wall above his head, examining him. His face showed deep scars from the Wampa's attack, but he wore a strong smile regardless.

"Does it still hurt?" She questioned.

"Not anymore, how's your foot?" He smiled brighter at her.

"All good, I got a great new boot to wear" She pointed to the obnoxiously white splint strapped around her ankle. Their reunion was interrupted as Chewbacca let out a series of amused grunts, the closest to a laugh you could get with a Wookie.

"Laugh it up, fuzzball. But you didn't see us alone in the south passage," Han shot the entertained Wookiee, a rather annoyed look. "She expressed her true feelings for me."

"My...! Why, you stuck up... half-witted... scruffy-looking...nerf-herder!" She fumed, her face turning red from embarrassment or anger, or maybe a bit of both.

"Who's scruffy-looking?" Han frowned at her, taking the insult to heart. He moved over to Luke, regaining his composure. "I must have hit pretty close to the mark to get her all riled up like that, huh, kid?"

Leia looked hurt for a fleeting moment before she scowled.

"Why, I guess you don't know everything about women yet?" With that, she leaned past Rhea and kissed Luke on the lips. Leia shot a smug look at Han and crossed her arms with a sense of triumph. Luke leaned against the wall resting his hands behind his head a big grin aimed at Han.

"Well... two can play that game, sweetheart" Han retorted. He stepped towards Rhea, but she held her hand up to his face unimpressed.

"Try me, Solo. I will shoot you when you're not looking,"

He backed up, giving a resigned shrug. Leia, on the other hand, smiled sarcastically at Han before turning on her heel and storming out the room. The rest of them stood quietly, slightly dumbstruck at the turn of events. Until the muffled sound of an alarm was heard.

"Headquarters personnel, report to a command centre" The voice repeated the order.

Han, Chewbacca and the droids hurried out of the room, bidding farewell to the two. Once the two young rebels were left alone, the discomfort seemed to arise from nowhere. After some time, Rhea massaged her leg subconsciously as she sat down on Luke's bed.

"Luke, back then, after we escaped the cave. You kept going on about this place called Yoda in the..." She shut her eyes trying to piece the broken memories together.  "...the Dagobah System?"

She rubbed her forehead, trying to recall his words. Luke scrunched his face up, pondering what she meant. A spark lit in his mind remembering the events before he lost consciousness.

"Yoda's not a place, he's a... well I don't know exactly what he is, but I think he's a Jedi Master. You might think I'm crazy but out there, I think I saw Ben and... and he told me that I need to find Yoda, he told me it's on Dagobah," Luke tried his best to explain.

"I already think you're crazy enough Luke, with that hokey religion of yours," She gave him a goofy smile, the awkwardness subsided as their current talk distracted them from what had happened moments ago. He rolled his eyes at her, remembering the day he first heard that expression.

"When do you think you'll have time to leave? The Rebellion needs all of us, Luke. Darth Vader is undoubtedly still hunting you. I don't need to remind you of what happened on Cynmoon One again do I?" Rhea had a point much to Lukes disappointment.

Luke's shoulders slumped forward as he thought about it. It didn't occur to him how thin the Rebellion's numbers were compared to the Empires, as well as the massive bounty he had hanging over his head.

"I don't know," He held his head in his hands, trying to figure out a plan. "I just know I have to finish my training with this Yoda,"

"Luke, you must think this through. The Rebellion is in a dire time right now. We have to put the Rebellion first," She placed a kind hand on his shoulder, seeking to comfort her friend.

"I know, Rhea, I know" Luke let out a sigh and shook his head hoping it might clear out these conflicting thoughts. "But I have to go. I at least have to try,"

He looked at her, praying she might lend some advice or answer to his dilemma. In the past years, she had somehow always offered solutions to Luke's problems with his Jedi training, through the reasonable thinking she had developed during the three years of fighting the Empire. But today she had no answer, no solution, only a comforting hand to rest on his shoulder and a sad gaze, worn from relentless war.

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