Echo Base, Hoth

Han Solo, known more commonly in the Rebel Alliance as Pyro of the X-Men, rode his tauntaun mount through the snowstorm of Hoth. As he neared closer to where he was headed, the storm started to calm down until he entered a place where there was no storm at all. Han smiled. His team partner really worked so hard.

The Rebels’ Echo Base doors slid open, and two of the deck officers ran forward to take the tauntaun from Han. He jumped lightly off of his mount, thanked the two officers, then made his way through the base. He stopped by the hangar bays, looking over the snowspeeders that would be used for patrols. Once they were finished, that is. Han winced. Iceman, you’ve got your work cut out for you.

He continued walking through the bays, past the X-wings and Y-wings of the Rebel pilots before stopping next to the Millennium Falcon. He looked up, taking his goggles off, and noticed that sparks were flying at the top. Chewbacca, known as the X-Man Beast, looked down at Han and roared down at him. “How’d it go?”

“Fine, the scanners are in place,” Han replied. “How’s it going up there?”

Chewbacca roared, this time more angrily, and waved a shaggy arm, a tool clutched in his paw. “How does it look like everything’s going?”

Han raised his hands in surrender. “All right, no need to go losing your temper. I’ll change, then I’ll be right back to help you.”

Chewbacca grumbled something he couldn’t catch, then went back to welding. Han snorted, going into the Falcon and taking his usual Echo Base clothing, then went to the refresher.

When he re-emerged, he was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt with a blue fur-lined jacket over it. He wore his normal black pants with orange stripes going down the side and his pilot boots. As he walked throughout the base, he made his way towards the control center, snapping his blaster around his waist.

As he entered the control center, he paused for a second to blink the light out of his eyes. As they adjusted, he realized that it was dark and growled lowly. He looked around, then sighed. He looked down at his palm and shot the lasers from his eyes into it, and he caught the fire, creating a light.

Everyone turned to look at him, and he raised an eyebrow at them. “What’re you looking at?” he asked.

Everyone instantly turned to avoid looking at him. General Carlist Rieekan, however, glared at him. “Sorry, General,” Han apologized, extinguishing a little of the flames. “It’s a little hard to see. I can see the equipment – ”

“Can’t see many of the people in front of them,” the general finished, and Han nodded meekly. Rieekan just shook his head. “One day, Captain Solo . . . ”

“The scanners are set,” Han replied before he could get Rieekan’s speech. He had heard it at least five times already. “If anything comes within range, you’ll know.” Just like he knew that there was a pair of dark brown eyes staring at him behind him.

Rieekan nodded. “Thanks, Pyro. You and Storm have been an excellent help to us.”

Han scratched his head. “About that . . . we really do need to get going soon. There’s a debt we need to pay off, and we’ve waited too long.”

Rieekan nodded his understanding. “Jabba.”

Han winced at his employer’s name. Everyone knew that the original three X-Men really were smugglers and they were helping the Rebellion out of sympathy. Well, Danielle had really convinced them to stay. She was helping Leia with a . . . problem of hers, and she and Luke had really been getting along lately. But still, staying with the Rebel Alliance had its ups.

Rieekan smiled reassuringly at Han. “I understand. And you may leave whenever you need to.” He held out his hand. “It was a pleasure working with you and your team.”

Relieved, Han shook his hand. “Our same to you, General.”

He turned to leave and his eyes met the dark ones he knew had been looking at him. He walked up to Princess Leia Organa, smirking at her. The white insulated jumpsuit did nothing to hide the fact that her hair was unique: tied around wrapped around her head with her bangs loose. In comparison to the dark brown her hair was, her bangs were streaked white, due to her use of Danielle’s magnetism mutation during the Battle of Yavin. Her arms were folded, and she was looking at Han. “Well?” she asked.

Han just shrugged. “Guess this is goodbye then, Rogue,” he told her.

Leia raised an eyebrow. “Guess that’s right.”

Han rolled his eyes. “Bye, then,” he replied mildly, then started off down the halls back to the Millennium Falcon. He wanted to see what she would do.

Sure enough, as he had guessed, she came running up behind him. “Han, stop!”

He did, turning and looking at her exasperatedly. “Yes, Your Worship?” he asked sarcastically.

She stopped next to him, gazing up at him, her eyes darkening. “So you’re just leaving here?” she asked.

“That was kind of the idea.”

Leia shook her head. “Han, we need you here!”

Han grinned. The girl had fallen into that one. “We need?” he asked, and dread filled Leia’s face when she realized she was in a trap. “What about you need?”

“I need?” Leia yelped in surprise. “I don’t need you for anything!”

“Really? You didn’t think I was going to leave without giving you a goodbye kiss?” he joked.

Leia’s eyes darkened even further, and an inhuman growl came out of her. “I’d rather kiss a Wookiee,” she spat.

Han patted her shoulder. “I could arrange that.” He continued walking, leaving her thunderstruck behind him. He threw a look over his shoulder, seeing her frozen, her jaw dropped. He smirked. “You could use a good kiss!” he added for good measure.

***

Leia watched as Han continued on, then let out a string of words she normally wouldn’t have said around the Rebels. She turned on her heel and continued towards the control center.

She arrived just as a young woman a few years younger than her stepped out. Her black, white, and silver streaked hair was in a loopy bun, and she was dressed in a black heated jumpsuit with a furry cloak not quite hiding her form. She smiled at Leia, her gray eyes glittering. “You fell into another one, didn’t you?”

“No freaking kidding,” Leia growled, folding her arms and stepping closer to the wall.

Danielle Al Thor grinned wider. “He’s just messing with you. He does that a lot.”

“You’re leaving soon. You know that, right?”

Danielle’s smile disappeared. “What happened?” she asked.

Leia swallowed. “The Phoenix almost came out.”

Danielle’s eyes widened in fear, and she gripped Leia’s shoulders, putting one hand to Leia’s temple. She closed her eyes, and Leia seethed, feeling pain start to build up. Soon, all dark presence in her mind disappeared. “Thanks,” she whispered.

Danielle’s eyes fluttered open, and the young woman smiled back. “No problem,” she replied, sounding a little tired. “I’ll see you later.”

Leia nodded, watching as Danielle took off down where Han left, sighing and banging her head against the wall. She knew how putting up mental barriers against the Phoenix drained the younger woman, and Han and Chewbacca probably needed her help with the Falcon. “Damn it all,” she muttered.

***

Han took off his work gloves and took off his goggles, phasing from the Falcon’s roof to Echo Base’s floor. He tossed them inside, then stretched, wincing a little bit as he felt the sudden cold. He had been working on welding since Chewbacca had started checking the cross-wiring inside. Really, only Beast understood what he had done to the Falcon.

Danielle emerged from the ramp soon after, her elegant loopy hairdo now gone, her hair lying limp down her back. “Sithspawn,” she groaned, dropping and laying down there and then on the ramp.

Han chuckled. “Tired much, Storm?” he asked.

Danielle looked up and glared at him, then groaned, banging the back of her head against the ramp. “I’m too tired to even argue.”

Han smirked, deciding to lay off of his friend. Then he groaned when he heard a prim, metallic voice call to him. “Captain Solo!”

Han turned, his hands on his hips as Leia’s protocol droid C-3PO and Luke’s astromech droid R2-D2 came up to them. “What is it, Goldenrod?” he asked.

“Mistress Leia was calling you on your comm,” Threepio replied.

“Yeah, well, I turned it off,” Han countered, looking at Danielle. “Yours off?”

“Yup,” came her reply. She didn’t even look up.

Han looked back at Threepio. “Why did you say?”

“She’s worried about Master Luke.”

Han felt the sudden static in the air as Danielle’s mood shifted. “Why? He’s just out on a patrol.” He turned to go back up the ramp. “Besides, we’re busy here.”

“Sir, he hasn’t arrived, and it’s been three hours since you’ve come back.”

That made Han stop in his tracks. The Iceman, still out there? Danielle froze, too, and she sat up, looking at Threepio in worry. “What do you mean, he hasn’t come back?”

“Ma’am, may I inqu – ?”

He cut off when Han slapped his hand across the droid’s mouth. “Deck officer!” he called out, looking around.

One of them ran up. “Yes, sir?”

“Commander Skywalker, where is he?” he asked.

“He hasn’t checked in at the north entrance,” he replied, frowning.

“What about the south entrance?” Danielle asked, walking up, her arms folded.

The deck officer shrugged. “It’s possible.”

Her eyebrows raised. “Possible?” she repeated, her eyes glowing. “It’s possible?”

The deck officer gulped. He was smart enough to know not to mess with a pissed off Storm. “I’ll go check.”

“You do that,” Han replied, taking his hand off of Threepio’s mouth.

The droid picked up right where he left off. “May I inquire what’s going on?”

“Sure,” Han growled. “You do that.”

Artoo snorted, then the deck officer ran back from the control panels. “Captain, he hasn’t checked into the south entrance, either.”

Han shook his head. “Then where in the h – ”

Behind him, Danielle let out a strangled scream, dropping to the ground in a crouch, clutching her head.

“Dani!” Han cried, dropping down to her side.

Above them, Chewbacca roared, literally dropping what he was doing and jumping to the ground. Danielle was shaking, clutching at her hair, eyes glowing black. She looked up to meet Han’s eyes, and she swallowed. “Luke,” she whispered, and Han’s heart clenched. “Something happened to Luke.”

Han cursed, standing. “Take care of her,” he told Chewbacca as he took his spot.

The Wookiee waved his paw, signaling he understood. “Go get Iceman.”

Han strode towards where the tauntauns were, sliding on one of the heavy coats and goggles. He also grabbed the survival pack he had taken earlier. The deck officer scurried after him. “Sir, it’s turning into night out there,” he sputtered. “There’s all kinds of dangers out there. The doors will be closing soon.”

“Yeah,” Han spat, “and my friend’s out there.” He jumped onto the tauntaun he had rode earlier, gripping the reins.

The deck officer tried one more time. “There’s a blizzard going on out there. You’ll freeze to death!”

“Then I’ll see you in hell!” Han shouted, digging his heels into the tauntaun’s side, riding her out into the blizzard approaching.

He wasn’t going to leave his friend out there. Not by a long shot.

***

Wow, three updates in one day. I must really be addicted to writing X-Men/Star Wars crossovers. :P

For those of you who made the connection, what Leia asked for Danielle's help with was blocking the Phoenix from her mind. Who knows, though. That might change in this story.

So, keep reading! More updates should be coming! May the Force be with everyone,

WritersBlock039