AN: Hello, all you fine people! Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews I got last week! It completely made my day. I tried to respond to everyone, and to the guest reviewers, thank you so much!
We were sitting in a high command meeting, separating the rebels for our next move.
"What about the independent parties? Solo and Creel and the others? Where are we sending them?" Rieekan asked.
"They're staying." My heart sank.
"I want Solo on Hoth," someone blurted out suddenly. Me. I blurted that out.The others looked down the table at me with surprise.
"What?"
"I want Captain Solo on Hoth."
"Why?" Mon Mothma asked. I should have known this wouldn't be easy.Why do I want him to come?
Because he looks damn good in that blue coat and it's too hot for him to wear it here.
Probably not my best line of defense.
"We don't want too many of the free agents on one base. They might all decide to leave suddenly and that could mean disaster. No ships to go on supply runs, less hold space in case of an evacuation."Sounds reasonable.
"I don't know if it's wise to keep toting these independents around from base to base. They work for the highest bidders. Solo's a pirate!"
"Han is a smuggler, not a pirate."
"Oh, please. Semantics, really. Is there really a difference?" Dodonna snapped.
"Is there a difference?" I repeated sardonically. "Of course there's a difference! Pirates attack ships; they loot and pillage and take things that aren't theirs. Smugglers are just paid to transport cargo. They're businessmen, really," I argued. I felt the familiar rush of adrenaline that came whenever I stood before the Senate.
"Might I remind you that their business falls into the category of illegal business," Mon Mothma replied.
"They may not operate above the law, but I'd like to remind you that you and I are politicians who operate on the same level of law. Smugglers have a code of ethics by which they work, rules they follow, moral standards they hold themselves to." Mon Mothma scoffed at me. "We do the same thing. Our codes and rules and standards don't comply with the legal statutes that govern us because we believe they are unfair, unjust, and immoral," I maintained. I was beginning to believe myself. Rieekan looked like he felt compelled to stand and applaud.
"This is ridiculous," Mon Mothma implored.
"No. What is ridiculous is that Captain Solo has spent three kriffing years risking life and limb for this organization for a mere pittance and we decide to thank him by questioning his loyalty!" I shouted.
"Keep your voice down," she demanded.
"Who's to say Solo won't get a hold of some high priority information and sell it off? He could be doing that already, for all we know! I think we should get rid of them all before they cause us trouble." Dodonna accused.
"Captain Solo is not selling information to the Imperials!" I laughed at the absurdity of the idea.
"How do we know? He was in their officer's training program for several years."
"First of all, half the people on this base—in the whole damned alliance—were at one time or another part of the imperial forces. Mon Mothma and I were part of the Imperial Senate. Rieekan, you served an elder house. Madine—General Madine is a defected Imperial officer! Just because he was caught up in what we were told was right doesn't mean, just as it is with the rest of us, that Captain Solo is an imperial sympathizer! I should think it would speak highly of his character that he was dismissed from his post for insubordination because he refused to do something that he believed was morally wrong," I argued. It surprised me how angry I was at the command for questioning Han, and how vehemently I believed every defense I had for him. "Second, I would like to point out just how helpful his training has been, both in predicting the Empire's tactics, and in survival and training skills."
"All the same. We've had a few security leaks recently," Mon Mothma pointed out. What was I going to have to do? Stand on the table? Filibuster?
"Oh, for stars' sake. Where would he even get such information? We all follow strict security and intelligence guidelines," I argued back.
"Word around the water cooler is that you two spend an awful lot of time together."
"I can vouch for the princess here: she and Solo spend most of that time bickering, and they would consider it beneath themselves to talk about anything of actual substance. They stick to matters of little importance and just beat them to death." Rieekan interjected, trying to be humorous. I rolled my eyes and shot him a look. Not helping,Carlist.
"Still, he could be getting it and selling it while off planet. He does make several trips off-base. How do we know that he's not meeting a contact?"
"I accompany him on nearly every single run! The only imperial contact he ever has is when we come up against Stormtroopers while risking his life for us—for me. It's no small offense to be seen with me in public. I have a higher bounty with the Imperials than Han does with the Hutts." It was a crude remark, I suppose, but true.
"That's another thing—those Hutts. How do we know he's not going to lead some bounty hunter back here and blow the whole operation? It's awfully dangerous to have a price like that on your head, especially from crime lords like Jabba," Dodonna stated.
"There isn't a bounty hunter in the galaxy that can follow that ship and you know it, Jan. It might not look like much and we all rag on it whenever we get the chance, but she's never failed us yet, and neither has her captain," Rieekan argued.
"We can't get rid of the free agents. It'd be far too expensive to start paying our officers to make those supply runs, and then there'd be the problem of replacing those officers at their current posts… Not to mention how much of a risk it would be to place that burden on our men and our equipment. No, we need those independent agents right now." I fought back.
"You make a good case for them, Princess, but I still don't see why Captain Solo must go to Hoth!" Mothma maintained.
"Captain Solo is typically assigned to my team when I go out on reconnaissance missions. It would make sense for him to be on the same base as I am if that is to continue, and I'd really rather not have to start back at the beginning with someone else." I tried another approach. After all, they were the ones who kept insisting he be the one to go with me. It wasn't my fault that I'd gotten used to him having my back on these missions.
"We are barely surviving! We can't be running intel missions now!" Mothma claimed. "Besides. He's a smuggler
"The fact of the matter is this: he's an invaluable asset to us. We need the supplies from those runs, and we all know he's the one willing to take the most risks, to do what needs to done to get them. I should think that such a talent might be put to best use at a new base on a planet as unhospitable as Hoth."
"Leia's right. I think Solo should come." Rieekan agreed. I hoped his input would have some pull: he and I would be the two members of the command stationed on Hoth.
"Very well." Mon Mothma finally conceded. Dodonna huffed down the table.
"Thank you." I got up and left.
00
I had dinner on the Falcon with Luke, Chewie, and Han. Luke had early duty in the morning, so he left as soon as the dishes were done. Han pulled out the whiskey, and Chewie, too, made himself scarce.
"Dare to join me?"
"I think you mean 'care' to join me," I corrected.
"Not with this stuff, sister. You want some?"
"Yes." He looked at me with slight surprise before sliding me a glass. It was good—strong, but just what I needed after that meeting.
"Yikes. What's got you hittin' the bottle?"
"The command. They wanted—" I paused. Telling him what the argument about would undoubtedly lead to revealing how vehemently I'd insisted he come to Hoth with me…I wasn't even ready to face that, myself, much less with him. "It's not important. I'm just sick of arguing."
"Fine by me." We heard footsteps in the corridor and Rieekan poked his head in a second later.
"I've got your orders, here, Solo, if you're planning on staying with us. Fleet's separating in two weeks. We're going to Hoth."
"We?" Han asked, looking at me for confirmation that I was included.
"We."
"Wait, Hoth? We can't move to Hoth. No human can survive there!"
"Well, then, it's a good thing you're not human," I shot back. Rieekan chuckled and clapped a hand on my shoulder.
"We'll be alright. Leia fought long and hard to make sure you'd be given clearance." I inwardly cringed.
"Thanks. Just what I always wanted, clearance to live in a kriffing deep freezer," Han drawled without malice.
"Well, I just wanted to let you know. I'll let you get back to your evening," Carlist said, waving casually and heading for the ramp.
"You fought against the command for me?"
"They were being utterly unreasonable," I excused quickly. "Don't expect me to fight your battles all the time.
"Oh, of course," Han agreed studiously, refilling our glasses. I shivered when he passed me my drink and our fingers brushed. "I think you just want me there to keep you warm."
"We do need you," I insisted.
"We need?" he asked for the second time that night. I nodded.
"We. As in, the rebellion and me."
"The rebellion. And you." I bit my lip and gave a slow nod. The rebellion. And me.
AN: Please leave a review! Next week, Han and Leia go on a mission and get stranded in the jungle... Have a great week!