It was about three o' clock in the morning, and everyone in the Dantooine base was asleep, when the emergency alarm blasted throughout the whole building.

Padmé bolted out of bed, her heart pounding. Luke rolled around and mumbled in confusion as the high-pitched wail of the alarm droned on. But there was no time to wonder why the alarm had been set off, so Padmé shook Luke awake and ordered him to get up and get dressed. She herself just threw on a jacket and some shoes over her nightgown, which was awkward, but there was no time to waste.

They ran out of their quarters just in time to see the security team running by. Hoisting Luke up onto her back, Padmé ran to catch up with them. "What's happening?"

"We're under attack. We're issuing an evacuation. If you would help us spread the word..."

"Of course." Padmé tried to keep her face composed, but her mind was reeling. How had the Empire discovered the location of the base? Would the Rebels be able to escape a mass slaughter?

"Mommy," Luke whispered as Padmé stood and directed people to the exits, "what's a 'vacuation?"

"It's when we all leave. Don't worry, we'll be okay." Hopefully that was true.

Luke's response surprised her. "Yeah, I think we'll be okay too."

Strangely enough, the next half hour didn't feel like an attack. It was just logistics, moving everyone into the hangar and directing them to board the ships. C-3P0 helped with this, talking to anyone who didn't speak Galactic Basic. The normally-worrisome droid seemed surprisingly at ease here.

Some people were sent to barricade all the entrances to the hangar, and others were put into starfighters so that they could divert the attackers and let anyone else escape. Those volunteers looked pale and grim-faced; they knew it would practically be suicide.

But there was one major thing that made this whole procedure feel as abnormal and terrifying as it should. It was the sound of heavy laser blasts pounding on the roof of the building, like enormous pieces of hail. The building couldn't withstand much more of this.

Everyone was silent as Bail gave the final directions. They all understood that this might be the end of everything. Padmé held Luke tightly, wondering if these would be her last moments with him.

And yet, she only felt numb to everything. She couldn't bring herself to run around and panic, despite all that was happening.

"So, basically," one pilot said, "what's our strategy?"

"Fight," Bail said simply. "Try to get out of here if we can. And above all, don't ever surrender."

All the Rebels murmured in agreement and split off into their ships. Slowly, tentatively, the main hangar door was opened. And the front line of starfighters flew straight out into the barrage of laser fire.

Padmé, along with Luke, Obi-Wan, Threepio and about twenty others, were all crammed into Padmé's silver Naboo starship, ready to go. No one could leave until the fighter pilots could create an opening.

Then, a loud cracking noise made everyone jump. A stray blast had hit a support beam, which was now starting to collapse.

Padmé stared at the main exit of the hangar. There was no opening yet. Blasts from the Imperials were still flying in all directions.

A transmission from Mon came out through her radio: "Attention everyone. Don't wait for the opening! The building is collapsing! Get out now and use your laser cannons if you have them."

Padmé's passengers murmured anxiously. But she could see that Mon was right- there was no time to sit around and wait while the building collapsed. "Obi-Wan, help me lift off, would you?"

"Of course," he replied, polite as ever even in the face of danger.

Despite the rising level of noise, Padmé and Obi-Wan remained silent as they fired up the engines and coaxed the ship into the air. Large chunks of material from the ceiling were falling everywhere. Dust rose up and clouded everyone's windshields.

"Obi-Wan, I can't see, I might hit the other ships," Padmé murmured, her heart pounding as she squinted through the windshield.

"You won't. I can sense them... Move a bit to your left. That's it. Now, to the right, up a little bit..."

Padmé followed his instructions as closely as possible. Luke's eyes followed the path they took, as if he could visualize the other ships.

There was a loud, rumbling crash behind them. A force from behind made the ship lurch forward, causing Padmé to lose control of the ship for an instant.

"What was that?" Luke exclaimed.

Padmé tried to look out through the rearview camera, but it was covered in dust. She glanced over at Obi-Wan, who suddenly had a pained look on his face.

But there was no time to sit and wonder about this. Already some TIE fighters were whirling around them. Despite the obstructed visibility, Padmé could see some green lasers flying at them. Those blasts were too close....

Then there was an explosion.

But it wasn't Padmé's ship. A nearby X-Wing had caught on fire and was now spiraling to the ground. That pilot had intercepted the blast that would have hit Padmé and her passengers.

"Thank you," she whispered, blinking away tears. It was the first time she had actually cried in the middle of a battle. She just didn't feel like she could bear the weight of one more death.

Finally, the visibility improved as the moving air blew the dust off the windshield. Padmé glanced briefly down below- and saw no lights from the Rebel Base. There was only a dark void where the base had been. A ship was half buried in collapsed remains.

A transmission from Bail came through. His voice sounded quiet and tired. "If you can make the jump to hyperspace, do it. We plan on sending the survivors to Yavin, for now."

But the fleet was in disarray. Padmé was busy trying to shake off some TIE fighters, and she didn't know where the other Rebels were.

"One, now two, ships made it to hyperspace," Obi-Wan said. "We can make it too, I think."

Luke nodded in agreement. "That girl made it out okay. In my dream."

"Really?" Padmé glanced at Obi-Wan in surprise. He shrugged, but didn't say anything.

Somehow, they dodged the TIE fighters and gained enough altitude to make the jump to hyperspace.

In that moment, it all finally sank in. The Dantooine base was gone for good.

(Author's Note: Sorry this chapter is two days late! Better than two weeks late, right? Hopefully I'll be on schedule this weekend. So yep, bye-bye Dantooine base.... This is where Padmé gets her fair share of my cruelty! ^.^ If you liked this chapter, please vote AND comment! Lots of people vote but don't comment. Don't let that be you! Thanks for reading!)