I do not own the characters in this story.

Luke Skywalker peered out from under the hood of his rain poncho. "I don't think I've ever seen this much precipitation in my entire life," his voice was filled with wonderment.

"Wish I could say the same," Princess Leia muttered as she walked passed the bright-eyed boy. "Come on," she ordered. "The longer we stand here the wetter we get."

"I don't mind," Luke followed the girl.

"Well, I do," she huffed and trudged on through the thick foliage.

Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia had finished placing the sensors around the perimeter of their new base on Preloira. Although the planet had a vast variety of terrain, the High Command decided upon a small island that consisted of nothing but mountainous rainforests with no know sentient beings. While the farm boy from the desert planet, Tatooine, might have found such an environment enthralling, the worldly princess couldn't be more miserable. It was hot and sticky and humid and sticky and hot. The moment she stepped out of the coldest shower she could possibly stand, she was just as sweaty as she was before she took the shower.

But Leia wasn't one to complain, at least not out loud. She pushed some rebellious strands of hair out of her eyes and stomped down a brittle bush in her path. Of course, she didn't have to be out here in the rain setting up sensors. After all, it was her choice. But she was going stir-crazy stuck in the musty bunkers the Alliance liked to call a base. Those bunkers were dark and dank despite all efforts to install proper lighting and ventilation. It was probably the most depressing base she ever stepped foot in. However, that wasn't really a fair assessment since she had just gone underground only months ago and hadn't even visited a rebel base before that.

In all honesty, Leia found the lush rainforests of the unnamed island beautiful, just not very comfortable. When she and Luke started the task, the sun pounded down upon them, and she rejoiced in having the overgrown foliage relieve some of that discomfort. But then it rained out of the clear blue. And it wasn't just a light drizzle either. That would have been a welcomed respite from the heat. Instead, it was a downpour that slowed their progress and made their path barely visible.

"Leia?" Luke called from behind her.

"Yes, Luke?" Leia stopped and turned to face her companion.

"I'm…uh…I think we're going the wrong way," he scratched his head.

"Of course we're not," Leia frowned. Then her head swiveled to the right and to the left. She turned around to face the direction from which they came. "Oh! Just great!"

"We can't be lost?" Luke copied Leia's head movements, hoping he might seem something familiar. But to a desert-raised kid, rainforests look the same anyway he looked at it.

The princess rested her hand on her hip, "I don't know. You're the one with the GPS."

"Oh yeah," Luke dug around in his bag, and Leia just shook her head. With his blue eyes focused on the contents of his bag, Luke failed to notice the impatient princess standing next to him. He pulled out a small gadget, "Here it is."

Leia held her hand out, "I can take it from here."

"I can read a GPS," he whined and held on to the computer.

"If you can read it, then why are we lost?" she reasoned and reached for the GPS computer.

"I was following you!" Luke turned away so she couldn't snatch it from his hands.

Leia sighed, "That's my point exactly. If I had the GPS then we wouldn't be lost, and we wouldn't be stuck out here in the pouring rain."

"Nice try," Luke rolled his eyes and held the gadget over his head out of reach of Leia's grasp. "If I hadn't been following you we wouldn't be lost."

Leia pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes, "That GPS computer doesn't work so well when it's in your bag, and I'm certain that holding it in the rain like that isn't going to make it work any better as well."

Luke shrugged, "You got me there." He rubbed the small computer on his chest in a futile attempt to dry it.

The princess held her hand out again, "If you please…"

Luke rolled his head and held out the gadget. Just as the GPS computer touched the tips of Leia's fingers, a rush of thick, brown water knocked the GPS out of their reach and the two off of their feet.

Leia frantically grabbed at the foliage rushing by her, but the force of the flash flood was too great. Instead, the useless roots and stems of the exotic plants scraped her skin, and the muddy water all but suffocated her.

Luke wasn't fairing much better. His arms flayed around as he tried to dig his heels into the squishy ground beneath him. He kept his head tilted as forward as possible in an attempt to prevent the murky water from entering his mouth. Unfortunately, this maneuver wasn't working too well.

Leia made the mistake of smiling when she finally found purchase on the muddy slope. She sputtered and spat and held on tight to that root. She felt Luke swiftly approaching. She shoved the tips of her boots into the mud as deep as she could and held one hand out for Luke. She caught the bicep of Luke's arm.

"Hold on to me, Luke!" she yelled through gritted teeth.

Luke's hands wrapped around Leia's arm, and he struggled to reach for the root near the one to which she clung. He grunted as he fought the pounding current, but he managed to wrap his fingers around the sturdy root. He snaked his free arm around Leia's waist and pulled her close to him.

"Let go of my arm!" Luke ordered.

Leia did as she was told, enabling her to hang on to the root with both of her hands. They tucked their chins, touched their foreheads together, and hoped that would be enough to prevent the rushing water from drowning them. Both of their muscles shook and strained under the weight of the water, and Leia silently prayed the flood tide would subside. Luke squeezed the princess tight and kept his eyes screwed shut.

And when they thought that they couldn't hang on much longer, the rush of water simmered down to a relative trickle. Luke and Leia looked at each other's mud-covered face and laughed.

"I thought that would never end," Luke exhaled.

"Yeah," Leia agreed as she surveyed their situation. She was relieved that they no longer had to battle the flash flood, but their predicament didn't improve by much. The slope they slid down was almost vertical from the wash of the water. It wasn't going to be an easy climb up. But then when were things ever easy? "Guess we should head up."

Luke looked up and grimaced, "That's gonna be some climb."

Leia dug her feet in deeper and clenched her teeth together as she began to pull her body up. She reached one hand higher than the other, and just as her fingers wrapped around the tuberous root above the one that halted her slide, the root ripped out of the ground.

"Leia!" Luke screamed and grabbed for her. The force of her weight and the soft soil tore the root he was hanging onto right out of the ground, and the two rolled and tumbled down the rest of the inclination.

The princess winced as she forced herself to sit up. Her hands went to her head, and she leaned he elbows on her bent knees as she tried to regain her bearings. She closed her eyes and took a few cleansing breaths. Luke! Leia popped her head up and was punished by a piercing pain that zipped down her spine. She didn't let the pain detour her. She looked around for her companion.

"Luke!" she called to her friend who was face down in the mud a few meters away from her. Leia crawled over to him, cursing the muddy ground that slowed her down. She pushed Luke over onto his back. "Luke!"

Leia exhaled as his eyes opened and closed a few times, "Are you okay?"

Luke propped himself up on his elbows and surveyed his body. Like Leia, his extremities were scratched up and he ached all over, but there were no broken bones as far as he could tell, "I think so." He looked up at the girl, "You?"

"I'll survive," she sat back on her haunches and wiped at the blood seeping from a cut on her elbow. Her eyes fell on Luke again, "You didn't happen to catch the GPS on the way down, did you?"

Luke smiled at her, "I was hoping you did."

She returned his smile and then looked up to from where they came, "I guess it's safe to say we're lost."

Luke swiped at his dirty face, "I don't think I like rain as much as I thought I did."

"Me neither," Leia answered, but her attention was focused on a way of getting out of there. Her eyes lit up, and she dug around in her pouch. But her cheerful expression dissolved as she pulled out the soggy commlink.

Luke pulled his out, but his was in no better condition than his companion's, "It'd be nice if they made these waterproof."

Leia dropped hers into the mud, "They do. The Alliance just can't afford them. At least not for everyone."

Luke discarded his and let out a sigh, "So now what?"

With some effort, the princess pulled herself to her feet, "We try to find our way back, somehow." She gave Luke a hand up.

"Where do we start?"

Leia shrugged and rested her hands on her hips, "Your guess is as good as mine."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Han Solo dropped the hydrospanner into his makeshift toolbox and looked out the hangar door. The rain pounded down on the ground, obscuring the view beyond the open hangar door. A grumble from above him brought his attention back to his beloved ship.

Han looked up at his best friend, "It's raining pretty hard." He rolled his eyes as Chewbacca worfed. He handed Chewie a wrench and then turned his hazel eyes back to the downpour outside. "Do you think Leia and Luke are back?"

Chewie leaned his head over the edge of the platform on which he was perched. Han huffed, "I know you have no idea. I was just speculating---Oh! Never mind." Han bent over the toolbox and rummaged through the tools. Then he stood up, his hands empty.

Han looked out the hangar door again, "Hey, Chewie. I'm gonna take a break. I won't be long."

Han ignored Chewbacca's heckling response and headed toward the base command room. He squeezed pass some rebel grunts and a few pilots as he made his way down the slender walkway. When he came to the base command center, Han sauntered in as if he belonged there. Although a few higher ranked officers shot him dirty looks, no one stopped him.

Han's hazel eyes scanned the dark room until they fell on his target, "General Reeiken."

The older man favored Han with a small smile, "Captain Solo, what can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if Commander Skywalker and Princess Leia returned from their task," Han coughed the words out and shoved his hands in his pockets.

The general pressed his lips together in an attempt to hide the smile, "I'm sure they're on their way back."

Han rocked on his toes, "Did they comm you?"

"No, but one of the sensors was triggered about twenty minutes ago," Reeiken looked over his shoulder at one of the many consoles. "They probably triggered it on their way back."

Han nodded and chewed on the inside of his lip, "Sounds like somethin' Luke would do." But not Leia. He took a few steps backward towards the door, "Thank you, General. Be seein' ya' around."

"Looking forward to it, Captain," Reeiken turned around so Han couldn't see his smile.

"General!"

Han stopped in his tracks by the urgent tone of one of the rebels monitoring the console. This couldn't be good. Han followed Reeiken over to the tech.

"There's a distress signal coming in!"

Reeiken leaned over the tech to get a better look at the console. The rainforest made the standard thermal sensory pods the rebels normally used within their perimeters difficult to read at times. He inwardly cursed the lack of technology he was given for this base. But this base was much smaller than the others, and the rebellion was still struggling to take hold in the galaxy, so his fledgling base was last on the priority list when it came to supplies.

Han squeezed in next to the general, "That's coming from inside." He pressed his lips together, "And unless Luke or Leia have grown double their size and are attacking each other, that distress signal's not coming from them."

"Point taken," General Reeiken stood tall and began to order his men around.

But Han didn't wait to hear the rest of his commands. He shoved his way through the walkway and ran to the Falcon, "Chewie! Grab your bowcaster and follow me!"

The Wookie leaped from the scaffolding and disappeared into the ship. Han didn't have to wait long for his best friend. With his blaster drawn, Han followed Chewbacca out the hangar door. A group of rebels joined them in the search for the rebels in distress. Fortunately the rain stopped, but that didn't make it any easier to trace the distress signal for any of them.

But the blood curdling screams caught the would-be rescuers' attention. Han and Chewbacca raced toward the grating sound, shoving branches and leaves out of their way and leaping over tangled roots. Chewbacca was the first to find the lone rebel. However, there wasn't anything to be done for him. The large Wookie whipped his bowcaster from his back and aimed it at the black being that stood almost the height of Chewbacca and was covered in the rebel's blood. The creature's yellow eyes stared straight into Chewbacca's. Before those eyes worked their magic on Chewie, the great Wookie fired his bowcaster. But the strange creature was too quick, and it disappeared into the heavy foliage.

Chewbacca's chest rose and fell, and he dropped his bowcaster. Han caught up to his friend who now stood over the torn up rebel, "What was that?"

Chewie wailed and grumbled, and Han's heart practically stopped.

"What is it?" one of the rebels asked as they crowded around.

"Chewie says it's a Grendoli," Han translated. He then looked to the nearest rebel, "I thought there weren't any sentinel beings on this island?"

The rebel's brow furrowed, but his large eyes stayed focused on his fatally wounded comrade, "There's not supposed to be." He looked up at Han, "You're telling me that that creature is intelligent?"

Han's eyes moved to Chewie's, "That's what he says. Grendolies don't usually kill on the spot. This one was probably a scout. Chewie thinks your little activities here have attracted some very unwanted attention."

"And I thought Imperial attention was bad," another rebel breathed as he examined the rebel who just lost his life.

Chewie tilted his head and addressed Han. Han looked to the rebels, "What was he doing out here anyway?"

"I think Reese was off-duty," one answered. "He was probably just getting some air. That base is so stuffy."

Chewbacca roared. Han put his hands on his hips, "That base is the only thing keeping us all safe. For now."

Chewbacca's voice lowered, and he leaned over to Han. "Oh, no!" Han expelled, and he took off running back to the base, leaving the other rebels to deal with their dead friend.

Chewbacca was close on Han's heels. Han headed straight to the officer nearest the hangar door, "Has Commander Skywalker and Princess Leia returned?"

"No, sir."

Chewbacca placed a hand on Han's shoulder, "Right." Han pulled out his commlink and tried to comm Luke. When that failed he then commed the princess. He didn't even get static on hers. Han whipped out his blaster and headed out the hangar doors.

Chewie managed to grab the back of Han's collar, pulling Han to a stop before he got momentum. Han jerked himself out of the Wookie's grasp, "Whaddya doin'? They're still out there!"

Chewbacca shook his head and howled even louder. Han's shoulders slumped, "You're right. Go and make sure we have everything we need. I'll go tell Reeiken."

Chewie nodded. Han's expression was grim, "I have a very bad feeling about this."