Sano Tocneppil made his way down yet another ice passage. Why were the likes of Blix and company worried about Imperial spies when the Alliance had apparently devised this ingenious labyrinth of seemingly identical tunnels with similar variform tubes and thaw hoses? Temporary officers' quarters were supposed to be around here somewhere. Shrugging into his newly won thermo-vest and hat, Sano had given up on the confusing "left and a left, right" directions. They seemed to be more like a running joke around Echo Base than any sort of usable information.

He tried a door and it opened. The corridor inside disappeared into darkness. The 'lume panels overhead flickered. Sano reached with his glove to tap the light source. It flicked on with a high-pitched buzz. Something at the far end of the darkened corridor shifted with a low grumble. He saw something...big. Its dirty white fur resolved from the shadows behind it.

Sano froze in mid-step. Whatever was at the other end of the hallway, it wasn't human. And it sure as hell wasn't Alliance. As the light flicked on to full brilliance, the thing filled the corridor with its shaggy bulk, burning eyes, and teeth. Lots of big teeth.

Sano went for his blaster. The rig was high on his hip and his hand tangled in the side straps of the unfamiliar vest. It didn't slow him much, but it shook him enough that the three shots he got off at the monster all went wild, choking the hallway with ice dust.

He and the creature both scuttled back. Sano bumped into the wall. He heard voices coming in response to the shots. Blaster extended, he fumbled with his free hand in his vest after the whistle. He gave it a short puff. A high-pitched squeal filled the corridor. The creature sprang to its feet with a nerve-shattering roar. As it covered the distance between itself and the open doorway almost instantly, Sano squeezed off two more shots, relieved to find a man joining him on either side, adding a few unaimed but welcome volleys of their own. Faced with those odds and still — incredibly — on its feet, the creature retreated without turning its back.

Sano sagged, the whistle still clenched in his teeth. He looked to the guy on his right and asked, "Wampa?"

"Wampa." The man plucked the whistle from Sano's mouth. "And don't blow this any more. Didn't you hear at Orientation? High-pitched noises just make them attack. Supply must have issued you this by mistake."

"Must've," Sano agreed, his voice flat and thoughtful. He had a brief vision of dear Lt. Gell shackled in one of these corridors with a couple of these whistles taped between his lips. Oh, yeah. He'd be back to Supply.

The other guy said, "Why don't you go on your way? We'll take care of this."

While one closed the door and secured it, the other unrolled a yellow "Do Not Enter" sign and affixed it to the door. Sano recognized it as one of the many signs he'd seen around the base. He'd assumed those were restricted zones. If, instead, they all led to Wampa tunnels... He shuddered. Not like anyone had actually told him about this, actually warned him, except that now he understood what the deck officer had been getting at.

Should've gone to Orientation. Oh, well. There'd be time for that tomorrow.

*

"I've been waiting for you to blow up at me all day," Sam said finally. "What gives?"

Doc cracked the seal of the brand new bottle of Ambersi, courtesy of Ariel Shaad, and set out two glasses. Sam rarely drank, but it had been a long day. They were all long days on Hoth. "About Raena? Should I be going nova over something that happened six months ago?"

Sam sat down and picked up his glass. "I lied. Usually that torques you off pretty bad."

Doc sat down next to him and propped her feet up on the desk. "You had a good reason, for Coresake. Even I can see that."

"I was scared," he admitted, taking a drink. "If she... She coulda killed us all."

"I know. Even Ariel wasn't safe from her. Poor kid."

Doc drained her glass, feeling lucky to have gotten to this bottle before Sam watered it. Then she stood up. "I'm goin' to bed."

*

Kelly dreamed of fields that were green and dense forests, of clear night skies and no snow. And the faces of his family.

That knocked him awake again.

He sat up and shoved his feet back into boots that were almost as cold as the deck. Damn. He shuffled out of his quarters and found a light on in Doc's office.

*

Sam heard someone moving down the passageway. "C'mon in," he called softly.

"It's me." Kelly paused before he crossed the threshold. He stared at the half-empty bottle on the desk and the glass in Sam's hand. "What's goin' on?"

Sam smiled grimly and sloshed more Ambersi into his glass. "Want some, before I water it down?"

"No." Kelly sat on the couch. "Sam, what're you doin'?"

"Thinkin'. And breakin' into Doc's stash." Sam closed his eyes for a nano. Drinking was supposed to take the edge off. "Maybe you were right, kid."

"Huh?"

"About Vader — Raena, I mean. Maybe we shoulda tried harder to help her." Sam looked away from the kid and downed his Ambersi resolutely. "She was just a kid. An' all I did was give her a blaster an' shove her off the ship."

"Nobody's blamin' you, Sam," Kelly protested. "Raena didn't give us a choice."

"You wanna drink?" Sam asked again, re-filling his glass. "I'm havin' a 'nuther one."

"Uh, no. Thanks."

Sam nodded. He wondered if Kelly suspected how ugly it would get tomorrow, when the Imps finally showed. Hell, young as he was, Sam bet Kelly'd seen more action than a lot of the children on this base. "You're all kids." He narrowed his eyes, trying to imagine Kelly away from the War, away from space. "What the hell y'doin' here anyway?"

Kelly frowned like he didn't understand the question. "Where else would I be?"

"Lotsa places, kid." Sam sighed. This was a bad time to fall apart. He re-sealed the Ambersi and stood. "Well, anyway, I guess we should both be tryin' to get some rest, huh? Big day tomorrow."

He got up and rounded the desk. Kelly rose, too.

"Sam..."

He dropped a hand on Kelly's shoulder. "Everybody's scared, kid. You just gotta take it one thing at a time."

To be continued...