The moment that they burst into hyperspace, the navigation system's screen flashed a warning.

"Alert," Felix read out loud, "Fourth wall broken? What does it mean, fourth wall broken? Maybe I'm reading it wrong — after all, the screen is so cracked I can barely see the words."

Sam glanced at the screen, before pulling the jet back out of hyperspace and taking a deep breath.

"What was that?" Rue asked, storming into the cockpit.

"Hyperspace," Felix answered, "but something is wrong here."

He gestured to the navigation system, and Sam frowned as they approached a large, ice-covered planet.

"Do you think anyone lives there?" She spoke out loud.

"It looks too cold to me," Rue replied, "but I don't know any planet except my own, so you judge."

"Frost Giants would be able to survive there," Felix muttered, and Sam shot him a curious look.

"But that's not Jotunheim... is it?"

Felix seemed uncertain, but after a few seconds he shook his head.

"No, it is not. Are we going in?"

Samantha glanced at her dashboard.

"I don't see that we have much of a choice. That jump to hyperspace drained almost all of our fuel again."

Felix sighed.

"This thing needs a bigger fuel tank. What are we waiting for?"

-

To say that it was a turbulent landing would be an understatement. They were tossed around wildly in the blizzard that enveloped the ice planet, and eventually, by pure chance, crashed right beside some sort of structure.

Samantha let go of the controls, and watched as a layer of snow packed itself over their Quinjet at top speed.

"We need to get out of here before we get snowed in," she noted, "come on, let's move."

They made their way to the exit, wrapping themselves in any blankets they could find.

"I'm f-f-freezing!" Sam stammered.

"Over there," Felix pointed to the round shape ahead of them, "That was built by people, so there has to be someone there."

At that moment a jet skimmed by overhead, disappearing into the cliffside that the structure was on top of.

"Okay, Plan B," Felix corrected himself, "we try to take off with the jet and land in there. It's suicide to stay out here any longer."

"Is t-this n-normal?" Rue stuttered, "a-all this i-ice?"

"It seems to be normal for this planet," Felix answered, "but don't worry, it's not like that on Earth."

They clambered back into the jet with some effort, and the snow whirled into the interior of the jet, where it melted instantly.

"Much better," Sam commented, throwing off the blankets, "why don't we stay here?"

"Because we don't have food," Felix pointed out, closing the jet's door, "and I kind of still want to get home."

Rue smiled, and Sam sat down in the cockpit. She tried to start the engine, and managed on the third try. But the snow covering the jet already made it almost impossible to see.

"Just take off," Felix instructed, and as the jet lifted into the air, most of the snow slid off.

"Right," Felix continued calmly, "Now move forwards, and,—"

"I know how to fly a jet, Snowflakes."

Felix grinned, sitting down in a chair besides Rue.

"Alright, let's see you do it."

Samantha maneuvered the Quinjet towards the cliffside, radiating certainty while Felix could tell she wasn't as confident as she was pretending to be. But she succeeded in getting it into what seemed like an enormous hangar, situated inside the cliffs.

A door closed behind them, and the wind fell away suddenly. Sam hadn't anticipated that, and the Quinjet spiralled out of control, before crashing to the ground.

Felix groaned, and Rue rubbed her head. They could hear people laughing outside the jet, and Sam and Felix exchanged a glance. They couldn't possibly back out now, it was too late for that.

They clambered out of the jet, and a cluster of men dressed in orange greeted them. They all seemed surprised by Rue and Samantha, especially when Felix pointed out that Sam was the pilot.

"Shut up Felix," she hissed.

"Where are you from?" One of them asked, stepping forwards.

"Uhmmm... It's kinda complicated," Felix dismissed the question, "can you tell us where we are? We're sort of lost."

"If you let just anyone into here, it won't take long for the Empire to find us," a feminine voice from behind them called out, walking towards them.

One of the men started nervously, and Felix guessed he was the one in charge of the door.

"Sorry, Miss," he apologized, "but their ship didn't look Imperial, and it was right behind one of our own."

The young lady rolled her eyes, and shook Samantha's hand.

"Well, welcome to Hoth," she announced, "where are you from?"

"Earth," Samantha answered, and Felix stared as he recognized the lady.

"Earth... Doesn't sound familiar," she muttered, and Sam smiled smoothly before answering, "it's a very remote planet... most people that haven't actually been there don't know of it's existance."

True, Felix thought to himself, except perhaps a couple of Asgardians. Or probably all the Asgardians, actually. And then everyone who knows Peter Quill well enough should know. But that's unimportant details.

"Your names?" The lady asked, and Felix wondered if she was postponing her own introduction. After all, she had no idea whose side they were on, and she was a wanted rebel.

"Sam," Sam introduced herself, "and these are Felix and Rue."

"Only three people?"

Samantha nodded.

"Are you with the Empire?" One of the men asked, and the lady shook her head.

"That's a stupid question, Caspyn. If they were, would they tell us?"

"We're not with the Empire," Felix assured her, "you could say we're neutral, but if I get a shot at an Imperial ship I'll take it."

He hesitated for a moment, before adding;

"...Princess Leia."

Sam and Leia both raised an eyebrow simultaneously, and Rue's expression went to confused, before switching back to pretending she knew what was going on.

"I'll explain later," Felix whispered to her.

'Star Wars?'

It took Felix a moment to remember Samantha's mental abilities, and then he nodded in reply to her telepathic question.

'I don't know much. You're in charge.'

"Didn't think I'd ever hear you say that..." Felix mumbled under his breath.

"If you're not with the Empire you're welcome to stay," Leia declared, "your aircraft looks like it needs some repairing."

"We'll stay for a couple of days," Felix agreed quickly, "and then maybe travel to Coruscant or someplace else. We have some advanced difficulties with the jet that need handling, and we might need an expert."

Leia nodded.

"Caspyn, find them a spot to sleep."

Felix wondered if this was subtle punishment for the young man's earlier stupid question, but didn't have much of a chance to ask as they were whisked away.

"Welcome to Echo Base," Caspyn announced, "the completely secret Rebel Base you're not supposed to tell anyone about."

Felix zipped his mouth closed.

"My mouth is sealed," he promised, "is Han Solo here?"

Caspyn looked up in semi-suprise.

"I think so," he shrugged, "unless he's out there in the ice."

Felix nodded, and Samantha and Rue watched his excitement with amusment. Felix kept firing questions at Caspyn until he caught Sam's gaze, and then stopped abruptly.

"Here," Caspyn pointed after a while, "there's not a lot of space, so the ladies will share this room, and you get that one with me."

He showed Felix the room they'd be sharing, leaving Samantha and Rue in their own small room.

Felix and Caspyn were greeted by a small astromech droid, and Felix couldn't quite place which kind of droid it was. It looked like a mixture between an R2 unit and something of BB-8.

Has the BB series even been invented yet?

Caspyn followed Felix's stare to the droid, and grinned sheepishly.

"That's RB1," he explained, "I built him myself."

"You're an inventor?" Felix asked, impressed. He hadn't expected much of those on an icy isolated Rebel base.

"I was," Caspyn's eyes clouded with sadness, "I sort of stopped when my sister Calypso died."

"Oh, I'm sorry..."

"That's okay," Caspyn dismissed it, "she was amazing. She inspired most of my ideas, but she didn't survive the Battle of Yavin."

He glanced at the small droid, who beeped expectantly.

"I haven't worked much on RB1 since. I still had loads of plans, but it didn't feel right to complete them without Calypso..."

Felix put a hand on his shoulder.

"I think she would want you to finish him."

Caspyn smiled.

"Maybe I will, someday. But for now — would you like a tour of Echo Base?"