Rise of the Teenage Conquerors

Episode 1.11

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."