~How it All Began: Part 7~

The first thing he noticed sliding down that slippery tube was the overpowering smell. He held his breath and was lucky that he did as he splashed into what he hoped was water below.

Luke glanced around the mounds of spoiling garbage. He found Leia easily, her white gown stood out starkly in the dim lighting. Chewbacca roared and tugged at the rusting door with all his might. It didn't even budge.

  "Chewie, move out of the way," Luke instructed, gesturing with his blaster. The Wookiee obeyed and Luke shot the door, hoping to blast a hole through which they could climb out like Leia had done. Instead, the red bolt ricocheted off the door and off the walls. The three ducked behind metal scraps until the bolt finally died out right above Luke's head.

  Luke grinned sheepishly at the two pairs of the most soul piercing eyes in the galaxy. "Sorry."

A yell echo down the chute, followed by Han, who made a sound of disgust when he landed in the muck.

  "The garbage chute was a really wonderful idea. What an incredible smell you've discovered!" Han remarked sarcastically to Leia, pinching his nose. She glared and pursed her lips at him, but didn't take the bait. "Chewie, move."

  "No, wait!" Luke yelled, knowing he was about to do. Too late. The plasma bounced off the door and walls and everyone instinctively ducked for cover.

  "Would you forget it! I already tried it! It's magnetically sealed!" Luke shouted angrily. It took a lot to make Luke angry, but his nerves were frayed to the breaking point.

  "Put that thing away! You're going to get us all killed!" Leia snapped, furious.

  Han looked at them both incredulously. "Absolutely, Your Highness. Look, I had everything under control until you led us down here! You know it's not going to take them long to figure out what happened to us."

  "It could be worse," the princess pointed out defiantly.

As soon the words were out, a low moan bellowed throughout the compactor. Everyone became silent and locked eyes with each other.

  Han spoke their thoughts aloud. "It's worse."

Leia glared at him and the two began bickering again, but Luke wasn't paying attention. He watched the liquid muck closely. He didn't know how, but he knew the four of them weren't the only life forms in the garbage masher. There was another living thing lurking beneath them. It was vicious and it was hungry.

  "I think there's something alive in here," Luke called nervously.

  "That's your imagination, kid." Han waved him off and continued arguing with the princess.

  "Something just moved past my leg!" the farm boy gasped, quickly stepping away from where he felt something fleshy brush his leg. Then he noticed something rise then dip back into the murkiness. "Look! Did you see that!"

Finally, Han and Leia decided to listen to him. Leia climbed higher on the trash heap while Han cocked his blaster and searched the muck with Luke.

  "What?" Han demanded, fear leaking into his voice.

In the blink of an eye, a fleshy tentacle coiled around the kid's leg. Luke couldn't even cry out before he was pulled under the greasy, warm murk.

* * *

Han just stared at the ripple where Luke was once standing, his mouth agape in shock. Then the worst fear he had ever felt arrested him. He never had to protect someone other than himself before. Chewbacca didn't count as the Wookiee protected them both better than Han ever could. Now he did, even if it was for only one day, and he already failed. The mere thought of anything happening to the kid scared him. Now it was happening right before his eyes, he was terrified. It wasn't because it would break his deal with Ben Kenobi, all thoughts on their bargain and the seventeen thousand had been forgotten. It was because, to his surprise, he cared about Luke. More than he would admit.

  Snapping out of his shock, Han sloshed to the spot Luke had vanished and began stirring up the muck for any sign of him. "Kid! Luke! Luke!"

He came along because he knew the kid wouldn't survive on his own. He couldn't have lost him already, not now. Please not ever.

  "Luke!" Leia screamed, digging through the trash.

Suddenly, slimy liquid sprayed at them as Luke emerged to the surface. A thick tentacle was wrapped around his body and neck, choking him.

  "Luke! Luke, grab hold of this!" Leia screamed, extending a metal pole to the gasping boy. All of Luke's focus was on breathing and struggling. The pole was too far from his free hand to grab ahold.

Han desperately tried to get a grip on the kid, but his armor was slimy and his hand kept slipping. He hooked his arm under Luke's shoulder and hauled him up, his feet threatening to slip underneath him as he wrestled with the strength of the monster.

  "Shoot it!" Luke choked, his head barely above the sludge. "My gun's jammed."

  "Where?!"

  "Anywhere!"

Han shot at where he thought the creature was and was rewarded with a loud moan. But the arm refused to release Luke. Instead, it tightened its grip and Luke's face turned purple. Han helped the kid to his feet before shooting again, this time without satisfaction of hitting anything. Solo was a great shot, but he was shooting blind.

Luke was dragged under again and disappeared into the murk. The small chamber suddenly became eerily silent aside from Han's splashing as he searched for the kid.

  "Luke! Luke!"

Han recognized what had taken him: a dianoga. Garbage squid. They infested sewers, scavenging for food. When they found their prey, they won't let go. Han couldn't even begin to imagine how the Empire found and caught a dianoga, but he could guess as to why they put it here.

Nothing. He couldn't find him. Han felt his eyes sting. He couldn't remember the last time he cried, but now wasn't the time.

A metallic boom echoed around the chamber. Chewbacca whimpered and stopped wrestling with the door. Han and Leia looked at each other for the first time without contempt.

There was a long stretch of silence, then Luke launched out of the water, inhaling great gulps of air and coughing.

  "Help him!" Leia shouted. Han was way ahead of her, grabbing the kid by the collar of his armor and then his hand as he hauled him to his feet. Overwhelming relief washed over him, and he couldn't speak. Leia asked his burning question for him. "What happened?"

    "I don't know!" Luke coughed. "It just let go of me and disappeared."

The fact that a dianoga was scared by something enough to let go of its prey filled Han will dread. They heard the metallic clang again.

  "I've got a bad feeling about this." His new life motto, apparently.

For a moment, nothing happened. The four of them stood silently, waiting with growing dread. And then the two opposite walls screeched and pushed forward slowly. Han felt his heart drop to his stomach in horror. In a few minutes, they were all about to be squashed.

  "The walls are closing!" Luke shouted needlessly.

  "Don't just stand there! Try and brace it with something!" Leia barked, snapping out of her shock faster than the boys. "Help me!"

Han took the long metal pole the tiny princess was struggling with and braced it against either wall. It was no use. The metal beam was bending like it was softened in fire.

  "Wait!" Luke began screaming into his comlink. "3PO! 3PO! Come in, 3PO!" He muttered to himself in frustration, "Where could he be?"

Leia had abandoned Han and his efforts in order to climb a pile of trash that was quickly merging with the opposing pile, threatening to crush the small princess. Han tried to help push her up, but there was nothing for her fingers to latch onto and she slipped.

  "Get to the top!"

  "I can't!" Her voice strong voice finally shook with panic. Her strong composure had broken. Han continued to help her while Luke repeatedly screamed desperately into the comlink. The kid was nearly sobbing into it.

  "Well, one thing's for sure, we're all going to be a lot thinner!" He knew it wasn't the time to joke, and it didn't bring any courage back into him. Leia slipped again, and he caught her. "Get on top of it!

  "I'm trying!"

  "3PO?" Luke suddenly shouted. Hope sparked inside Han. "Would you shut up and listen to me? Shut down all the garbage mashers on the detention level, will ya?!"

Leia could now touch the other wall with her toes. Han's knees were moving closer into his body as his pushing remained fruitless. Luke, who had been too focused on contacting the protocol droid, was trapped below and was starting to gasp for breath as he was squeezed between the garbage.

  "Do you copy? Shut down all the garbage mashers on the detention level! Shut down all the garbage mashers on the detention level!"

Han pushed himself up a bit higher to get a view of the kid and make sure he was okay. Well, none of them were okay, but he needed to know if he was still breathing. The whole room shuddered. Han was so focused on pushing and searching for Luke that he didn't notice that the walls had stopped.

The four of them glanced at each other, holding their breaths in disbelief and waiting. Waiting for it all to be revealed that it was a cruel joke and the walls would slam shut in one swift second.

Then Han let out a overjoyed whoop that Luke echoed back. Chewbacca roared with relief as Leia slumped down with a huge smile on her face. In her relief, she threw her arms around the smuggler's neck. He returned her embrace.

  "Listen to them, R2! They're dying!" C-3PO mourned, misinterpreting their cheers for screams. "Curse my metal body! I wasn't fast enough."

  "3PO, we're all right," Luke assured him, laughing. "You did great! Can you open the pressure maintenance hatch on unit number... where are we?"

  "3-263-817!" Han shouted loud enough for the droid to hear, reading the grimy, rusted numbers above the door.

While they waited, the group was still in a mood of celebration. Han stumbled over to the trapped Luke and lifted him out of the trash. Then he embraced the kid and Luke returned it just as vigorously.

They were alive. They survived, and they were alive. No one wanted to ruin the moment by remembering that they still had to escape this hell hole of a battle station.