chapter forty-two

       BRIGHT AND EARLY IN the morning, the rebels peeked over a giant log to watch the imperial base that lie below their position. The trio, Chewie, and droids had regrouped with the alliance immediately after waking up and were accompanied by two young Ewoks by the names of Wicket and Paploo. After Amora attempted to convince Chief Chirpa to join their fight, he wholeheartedly agreed, as it would benefit them to have the Empire off their land. The rest of the tribe would join in later, but for now, the two Ewok guides were enough to assist them. The group watched as an imperial shuttle lifted off of the vast landing platform and disappeared into the galaxy.

       "The main entrance to the control bunker's on the far side of that landing platform," Leia lowly informed the group. "This isn't gonna be easy."

       The rebels sat down behind the log and pondered how to go about their mission. It seemed like the only option was to charge right through, but that definitely wasn't safe.

       "Hey, don't worry," Han spoke. "Chewie and me got into a lot of places more heavily guarded than this."

       "If only the stakes weren't as high," Amora sighed, deep in thought.

       Chewie growled in agreement.

       As they considered what to do next, Wicket suddenly began to speak urgently to Threepio. He waved his paws around in large motions and sounded confident. Threepio then asked him a question in the same native language and they went back and forth in front of the others.

       "What's he saying?" Leia wondered.

       "He says there's a secret entrance on the other side of the ridge!"

       Perfect!

       Amora was growing to appreciate the Ewoks more and more as she spent more time with them. First impressions weren't always right.

       "Thank you," she whispered to Wicket, forgetting that he couldn't understand her. She then shifted her eyes between Leia and Han. "I think we have time to go around."

       The two nodded and Han gestured to the rebels who were still hidden in the tree line. The rebels quietly backed away from their hiding spot behind the log. It would take valuable time to circle all the way around the base, but there was no other way that wouldn't get them killed. They turned around and let the Ewoks guide them deeper into the forest, trusting that they were leading them to the right place.

       It was a longer journey than Amora expected and was very tense. They didn't know the exact layout of the base's security, meaning there could be a trooper hiding around any tree. They tried their best to be stealthy and fast.

       Despite the long journey, they luckily didn't alert the Empire of their arrival, finally making it to a hidden pathway around the backside of the control center. Paploo stood next to a tree and ushered them over with his little paw. They snuck over to him as noiselessly as possible.

       Han kneeled down in front of Paploo who was chattering excitedly. "Back door, huh? Good idea."

       Sure enough, they had a clear view of the location they were taken to. Amora could make out a gray, industrial door that had no place in Endor's lush greenery. Four scout troopers stood in front of it, seemingly distracted from their job as they talked in a group. Their bikes sat by themselves a little ways away.

       "It's only a few guards. This shouldn't be too much trouble," Han noted.

       "It only takes one to sound the alarm," Leia warned.

       He turned around and smiled sarcastically. "Then we'll do it real quiet-like."

       "Rich coming from you, Han," Amora interrupted, recalling all the times he's failed to stay discreet during missions.

       "Oh! Oh my! Princess Leia-!"

       Leia shot up and covered Threepio's loud mouth with her hand. The last thing they wanted was to get caught from simply talking too loud.

       "A little quieter, Threepio," Amora whispered.

       Leia removed her hand from his mouth and he continued in a softer voice. "I'm afraid our furry companion has gone and done something rather rash."

       Amora followed his line of vision and spotted Paploo far away from the group. A little too far away. He waddled along through the clearing closer and closer to the gathering of troopers.

       What was he doing?! How didn't they notice him leaving?!

       "Oh no..." Leia mumbled as Chewie wailed.

       Would this be the end? Would this be how they were caught and killed? Because of Paploo?

       Sure enough, the Ewok quickly made himself known. He hoisted himself up onto one of the lone speeder bikes and revved the engine with a giggle.

       "There goes our surprise attack..." Han sighed.

       It didn't take long for the troopers to hear the noise. Their heads shot to the source of the sound and pointed.

       "Look! Over there! Stop him!"

       They all dashed to the bikes speedily, but their target had already rode away in the opposite direction of the rebels. Three of the troopers hopped on their bikes and sped off after Paploo in a hurry. They left the door defenseless! The trooper whose bike was stolen still remained, but it was better than nothing. At first, Amora thought the Ewok was just messing around, but maybe this was his way of helping.

       "Not bad for a little furball. There's only one left," Han complimented before turning and pointing at Threepio. "You stay here. We'll take care of this."

       With that, Han marched off along the perimeter of the clearing to approach the backside of the door. Amora and several other rebels followed him. They looped around soundlessly until they were gathered on the right side of the entrance.

       "What's the plan?" Amora asked Han, who was inching past the steel wall in an attempt to watch the scout trooper.

       "You'll see," he vaguely replied and addressed the group casually. "Just wait over here. Blasters ready. Look threatening."

       "What is that supposed to mean?" Amora hissed back, but Han was already jogging off to the other side of the control center.

       Amora faced the other rebels who were waiting for her instruction expectantly. She was sure that Han's plan was stupid, whatever it was, but it was all they had right now.

       "You heard him," she tried to say confidently, gesturing to where he once stood. "Look threatening!"

       Amora stood in front of the rebels who were huddled together while doing what she said. They had their blasters ready and stood bravely. Han hadn't said how long this would take, but hopefully it was soon. They didn't have time to waste.

       They hadn't been waiting for long when Han whipped around the corner and stumbled into their huddle. Amora clutched her blaster tighter and stared at him in confusion. However the confusion was brushed only a second later. The trooper chased right behind him and fell right into their trap.

       Han's ideas weren't always terrible.

       The trooper seemed shocked to see so many of them assembled. He probably didn't even know that they were on the moon in the first place. He dropped his blaster and raised his hands in surrender. Amora marched forward and grabbed his arm, dragging him to the door he was supposed to be guarding.

       "You're gonna help us out, okay?"

       The group followed behind her and the remaining rebels, including Leia, Chewie, and the droids, emerged from their hiding spot. They all cornered the trooper at the door. Amora pushed him to face the entry code panel.

       "Enter it," Leia demanded, staring him down like a hawk.

       With everyone watching his moves closely, the trooper nervously punched the code in and threw his hands up immediately. He hoped to be spared since he helped them out. It was lucky that they had no reason to kill him.

       He would stay outside with some of the other rebels and keep guard. He could provide valuable intel to them, such as if he knew of any nearby troops. If he disobeyed in any way, he would be killed. It didn't seem like he planned on disobeying, anyways.

       The doors made a hissing noise as they slid open to reveal the dull, technical tunnel that led to their final destination. They hesitantly stepped foot into the tunnel while still holding up their blasters cautiously. Even though it was all clear outside, there could be even more guards on the inside. Amora eyed each corner with skepticism. When they were fully inside, the doors glided shut, trapping them in the bunker completely. This was it. No backing out now.

       They walked along the tunnel until they arrived at a set of doors similar to the ones they entered from. The only difference was that the entry panel sat in the middle of the doors rather than on the wall. Without delay, Han aimed his blaster at the panel and shot. The doors sprung open by force, much to the surprise of the imperials who were behind them. They sat behind desks and computers.
They were unprepared.

       "Alright! Up! Move! C'mon!" Han began to wildly yell at the imperial staff. "Quickly, quickly!"

       They skittishly got up and scurried into the corner. They knew they were no match for all of the blasters. Amora kept her own blaster pointed as she rushed to the now-unoccupied computer.

       "Chewie!" Han called, making the Wookiee guard the imperial staff.

       "Hurry!" Leia rushed Amora at the computer. "The fleet will be here any moment."

       "Charges! C'mon, c'mon!" Han continued to yell.

       Amora stayed glued to the screen and rapidly pressed buttons with Leia. They didn't truly know how to get into the system that powered the shield generator, so they needed to figure it out. Fast. She was focused on getting the shield down before the fleet arrived. She was so focused, in fact, that she hadn't noticed the imperial commander that made his way into the room.

       "Freeze!" he demanded with his blaster pointed.

       Han reacted quickly and chucked one of the charges at the commander. He tumbled over the railing with a scream of terror.

       "Aahh!"

       But getting rid of the commander did nothing. When he disappeared, about ten more stormtroopers replaced him. They came charging into the room with another commander, trapping the rebels from all sides. Amora's hands froze at the password screen. They were so close! This couldn't be the end.

       "You rebel scum," the commander spat with a smirk.

       Chewie whined behind her as the stormtroopers tried to hold him down. The other rebels in the room had blasters shoved into their faces with fear in their eyes. They were outnumbered by a long shot.

       How were they supposed to get out of this one?

~  ☼  ~

author's note -

another short chapter but i hope u enjoyed!:)