During the Battle of Hoth, Luke's speeder crashes and is then crushed by an AT-AT. Later, he is seen flying out of Hoth in an X-Wing. Is there any explanation about how he got back to Echo Base? Wookiepedia lists it as "he works his way back". Legends or canon is fine with me for an answer, even video game explanations work.
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6Shank's pony, I expect– ValorumApr 11 at 16:52
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3Couldn't he just take an Uber?– Jon CusterApr 11 at 16:57
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10@JonCuster he could've, but it was surge pricing and was absolutely insane.– CBredlowApr 11 at 17:23
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2Hmm. Original junior novelisation says "On the south slope outside Echo Base, Luke was making his way to his waiting X-wing starfighter when he heard the sound of a familiar starship’s engine." - No indication how he was making his way– ValorumApr 11 at 17:37
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24Somehow, Luke returned.– lucasbachmannApr 12 at 2:07
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2 Answers
He got a ride
This is addressed in Complete Locations, both the 2005 Legends edition and the 2016 canon edition. On the map of the Battle of Hoth, there are illustrations of Luke's route through the battlefield. His trail on foot ends not far from where he brings down an AT-AT (dot 6):
Back at Echo Base, an info box says:
After destroying AT-AT, Luke is picked up by team member and brought back to Echo Base
(Complete Locations (2005) and Complete Locations (2016), page 142: Battle of Hoth)
From there, his path leads to his X-wing:
(Images are from Complete Locations (2016))
It's not specified in what way he was "picked up", but there were a few Rebel ground vehicles canonically present at the battle of Hoth that aren't given much screentime—for example, the Rebel cannon sled:
(Source: Pablo Hidalgo on Twitter, via Wookieepedia)
Canon
The canon junior novelisation indicates that Luke walked (or rather trudged) to where his X-Wing was waiting, slightly away from the base. As such, a downed pilot on foot would be of minimal interest to the Imperials going in the opposite direction.
And then an explosion presses you into the ground. A wave of heat courses over your body. You are lying on your back, the snow rapidly melting around you, fire licking your chest. Then it subsides. You raise the blackened visor of your helmet. The snow walker is dangling from its own legs, a blackened husk.
You get up and run.
On a remote part of the ice field, far away from the battle and the now-ruined rebel base, you trudge through the snow. A short distance farther sits your X-wing, a spaceship outfitted for one pilot and one droid. R2 is in his place. He’s the one who piloted it out here to the muster site, to wait for you. The last of the other pilots are taking off, leaving a strange sight: a spaceship, small and lonesome, sitting on the edge of a frozen wilderness. The sounds of battle seem very distant out here.
This agrees with the original official novelisation which has Luke deciding to evacuate after he hears that all forward personnel have left the battlefield.
Withdrawal? Luke thought a moment. Then Leia and the others must have escaped! Luke suddenly felt that all the fighting and the deaths of loyal Rebel personnel had not been for nothing. A warmth rushed through his body, and he gathered his strength to rise and begin making the long trek back toward a distant formation of ice.
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Luke waved and began to walk toward his X-wing. Standing there amid the mountains of ice and snow, he was overcome by a surge of loneliness. He felt desperately alone now that even Han was gone. Worse than that, Princess Leia was also somewhere else; she might just as well be an entire universe away …
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2Actually, the film appears to indicate that the X-wings are waiting on the southern side of Echo Base. (LEIA: Send all troops in sector twelve to the south slope to protect the fighters.) This is opposite the side from which the Imperial forces are advancing. (CONTROLLER: Imperial walkers on the north ridge.)– BuzzApr 11 at 21:03
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A number of (admittedly non-canon) video games follow this layout as well. The X-wings are parked well away from the base. Speeder pilots would fly directly to their ships and evac without returning to base, presumedly as a precaution against the base being damaged or overrun. Speeder pilots in the film are wearing the same gear as when piloting an X-wing - overkill for an atmospheric craft - which further implies that they're not returning to base to change.– btaApr 13 at 2:30
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Also, having the spacecraft parked well behind the base from the viewpoint of the attackers meant that the attackers would have to get through the base before being able to range on the evacuation transports– ShadurApr 14 at 17:14