"This is crazy," Leia repeated for the tenth time that morning. There they were: Luke, Han, and Leia, laying on a sand dune somewhere on Tatooine. They had been out there since dawn waiting. Waiting for Womp Rats.
"C'mon Leia, we've got to practice our sharp shooting somehow," Luke replied.
"But do we really have to practice on Womp Rats? Couldn't we just set up some targets?"
"Hey," Han interrupted, "They move and there's virtually an infinite number of them. Besides, it was Luke's idea,"
"Shhh!" Luke whispered. "There they are. They're too far away now thought,"
Sure enough, a herd of Womp Rats could be seen on the horizon.
"But they're so small," Leia whispered.
"That's the point," Han answered.
She turned to Luke. "Are they dangerous?"
"No,"
"Then why shoot at them?"
"Why not?" Han interjected.
"Because they're helpless!" Leia hissed at him.
"What? Do you feel sorry for them?"
"I just think it's out of place to be blasting away these little rats-"
"Hold on," Han said. "You'll shoot at Imperial Stormtroopers but not a couple of lousy rats-"
"The Stormtroopers were different-"
"And this is the Princess who viciously ended the life of Jabba the Hutt-"
"Stop it!" But she was smiling.
"They're coming into range," Luke whispered.
"Good," said Han, readjusting himself. "I'm getting tired of laying on this sand mound,"
"Come on," Leia protested. "Why don't we just head back to the ship… this is crazy,"
"What's so crazy about it?" Han asked, irritated. "We need practice, the rats are out there… besides, we're doing them a favor; getting them off this sandy pit and bringing them into the divine realm of the mighty Force."
"Here they come…" Luke said slowly. The Womp Rat herd was moving closer. Leia shook her head. This was crazy. Coming up here before dawn waiting for a couple rats to come so they could shoot at them for practice. "Won't they run away after the first shot?" she asked.
"Well," Luke answered. "They scatter for a minute and then just come back. They're not too bright,"
"I see what you mean," she muttered, looking at the rats jogging around aimlessly. Not the brightest of creatures. Luke raised his blaster. He looked out of place with a blaster where the lightsaber should have been. Leia watched him set up an aim for one the Womp Rats. Han was right; she'd shot Stormtroopers, strangled the Hutt, and held off Imperial officers… why should slaughtering a couple rats bother her. Luke steadied his blaster and aimed…
A loud rumbling roar split the sky as a ship took off overhead- sending every single Womp Rat scattering. Han cursed under his breath and rolled over in the sand. "Well that idea's shot," he said to the sky.
The ship's thunderous engines could be heard in the distance. Luke sighed. "It was worth a try,"
"So we're going to wait for the rats to come back, are we?" Leia asked to no one in particular.
"You win Princess," Han grumbled. "Now the rats will live happy lives roaming the sandy dunes-"
"Be quiet!"
"I can see it now- a Womp Rat freedom campaign-"
"Oh, stop it!"
By now Luke was smiling and Han was just looking mischievously at Leia. "Let's go back to meet Chewie," she suggested.
"What every you say, Worship…"
"I said to be quiet!" But she could not suppress her smile.