21 He twisted around to find a battered hull
droid holding onto him. Half of its outer casing was ripped away, one
of its vision sensors was gone, and its whole antenna array. North
couldn't believe it was still functional but its mechanical arms and
welding packs seemed to be intact. He switched his transmission
frequency to droid control. "Are you functional?" he asked. "Can you
respond?"
22 The droid remained motionless. "The transmitter and receiver must be
shot!" North thought. He looked for an intercom plug. Finding it, he
inserted the middle finger of his left hand. "Can you respond?" asked
North. "Do you read?"
23 There was no verbal response, but the vision sensor that still
remained began to swing up and down. "Do you need a charge?" North
asked. The sensor swung back and forth. "You have a full charge?" North
asked. The sensor again swung up and down.
24 "We have the situation under control here," North continued,
"proceed back to the engineering section. Monitor the hull. It is
imperative that section remains sound, understand?"
25 The vision sensor again swung up and down. The droid tapped North's
shoulder and pointed to the swinging cargo pod. "I know," said North,
"but our immediate concern is to gather the remaining survivors to the
most secure area and maintaining that area's integrity. Check the hull.
When you're sure it's secure, go in through the engineering droid
hatch. See if they can restore some of your functions."
26 North unplugged and the droid hurried off. North shook his
head in disbelief that the mechanical still functioned. He checked the
progress on the air lock. Thundering Star had just finished
his cut, and was pulling the section clear.
27 Those inside had already cleaned a path to his