I WILL FIND YOU

Leia was a woman on a mission. But this was to be no ordinary mission.

She'd secured permission to leave for however long it took to find Han Solo. Mon Mothma had not been pleased, but General Rieekan allowed it. For reasons of his own, the general had always respected Han, and despite the younger man's unwillingness to take a commission, he seemed to have a fondness for Han. While rumors couldn't be confirmed, and they ran rampant throughout the Rebel bases, it had been hypothesized that Rieekan had not been unlike Han in his younger years.

Once permission was granted, however, she had to act quickly. She had to be ready to get on a supply transport less than a day after permission had been granted to her, and to say she lacked a plan was putting it mildly.

For the past five months, she'd barely slept and on the rare occasions that she did, it was due to her crying herself to that state. She dreaded being alone in her quarters, preferring to stay up in the command center long after her watch had ended. She looked so drawn that Luke had verbalized his worries to her. Leia insisted she wasn't sick.

Just lovesick, she told herself, something she vowed she'd never be. Leia had never planned on falling in love, and as for falling in love during wartime, that was as far out of her expectations as a distant galaxy. Well, not before she met Han Solo.

For three years, she'd fought her feelings about him nonstop, right along with fighting with him. She told herself she could not afford to be in love, not when the Alliance was in such desperate shape. So many lives had been lost along with too many lost battles, and they were definitely on the defensive at this point in time.

And yet, in a moment of clarity the night before, when she'd been ordered to leave the command center by Rieekan, she realized what she had to do. No more tears. This was the time for action. For the first time in months, she'd had a solid night of sleep. But now she was wide awake, on the transport, and had to do some rapid strategic planning.

The Hutts were scattered throughout the galaxy, and they were secretive as to their locations. Luke had suggested starting in Mos Eisley on Tatooine. He'd mentioned a cantina with a small sign over the door that simply read 'Cantina.' To Leia, it was thin gruel, but she had to start somewhere, even if it was at the far reaches of the Outer Rim territories. The transport was stopping at New Plympto, a planet hospitable to the Rebellion, for ordnance and supplies. The denizens of New Plympto had a long history of separatism, long before the Empire; the natives were not human and thus exposed to heavy oppression at many points in their history. They had signed on early to be part of the Rebel Alliance. Friendly, yes, but likely not very helpful.

And there was the issue of disguise. She was one of the most visible faces of the Alliance, and she was going to have to come up with something better than the cloak Luke had let her borrow. Granted, it covered her face, but sooner or later, more likely sooner, she was going to be discovered and if that happened, it wasn't going to end well.

Leia refused to allow herself the possibility of Han being dead. If he was, surely Luke would have felt it, and Luke assured her that he was getting no such Force sensations to that effect. Of course, he was a new Jedi knight, and he did mention that her mileage may vary, but while he could feel Han being trapped, he didn't feel death.

It wasn't a lot to go on, but it was something.

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Leia was surprised, and not slightly alarmed, that she'd fallen asleep on the transport. One of the women from the base, Emer, had to shake her awake. She didn't know Emer well, but she did an important job: she was an expert on ordnance and not only that, she was well skilled in negotiating prices for it. She had brought her two assistants, young men who looked as if they didn't need to shave yet.

"Your Highness, are you all right?" the woman asked her quietly.

"I'm fine, thank you," Leia said, yawning. "Just tired." Nothing unusual about that; conversation on the base often revolved around how little sleep they could function on.

"Tell me about it," Emer said as they exited, producing their ID chits. "What supplies are you responsible for?"

Leia hesitated. Perhaps the Rogues hadn't found out yet.

"I'm...not on supply detail this time. I'm...going on to my next destination."

"Well, good luck," Emer said gently. As a weapons dealer, she knew a great deal about the art of discretion.

"Thank you," Leia said, hurrying away from the crowd. Getting involved in any other conversations was not something she wanted to do. Getting to Tatooine was going to be complicated enough, and the fewer questions she had to ask, the better.

The spaceport was twenty-two kilometers from Phemys, the capital city. It doubled for both military and civilian transport. The likelihood of finding a direct transport to Tatooine was unlikely. Leia decided that her best bet was to take a transport to one of the Core Worlds that bordered on the Inner Rim. Asking for a direct transport to the Outer Rim, at least from Phemys, was going to be memorable and thus suspicious.

Luke had enlightened her about Tatooine. None of his descriptions were in the least bit flattering. He said it was hot, sandy, ugly, and lawless - and that those were its good points.

But first, she had to find a disguise, something that would take her farther. The floor length cloak with its ample hood would only take her so far.

And, for the first time in months, Leia discovered that she was very, very hungry. New Plympto, with its huge variety of sentients in all shapes, sizes and colors, was famous for its large number of ethnic restaurants. The aroma arising from the food courts in the nearby terminals was the first time since Han Solo had made her soup, juice and a hot buttered Corellian rum that she had any interest in food. Of course, the food on base was bland, colorless and tasteless. It was meant to provide sustenance, and that was about it. Everyone complained about the food, but wars were expensive, and food was not at the top of the list. Obviously, everyone had to eat, but it had to be done as inexpensively as possible. Fine cooks existed among the Alliance, but their efforts couldn't overcome the poor materials, though they kept trying.

There were a few Alderaanian restaurants nearby, but Leia chose not to visit them; too obvious. The royal family, despite their demise of all but Leia, were still venerated by displaced Alderaanians. She considered Corellian, but didn't think her stomach could handle the spices and oil of Han's home cuisine. She let her nose guide her and found a nondescript place, full of people and shouting cooks and a very pleasing aroma. Patrons were invited to seat themselves anywhere they found an opening, which made it a bit of a free for all, but Leia found it comforting. She browsed through the tattered menu, and then set it in a retrieval slot so that a server would make his or her way to the table to take her order. She was shocked that one appeared right as she was handling the menu. The place was chaotic, but apparently it was an organized chaos. Not only did the server arrive promptly, but the food as well. The stew she'd chosen was simple but delicious, with a warm spiced bread on the side. A large iced kaf made the meal complete, and she found that it had helped to clear her head, which for so long had felt muzzy from worry and exhaustion.

She scanned the crowd, trying to get ideas regarding a disguise. She could, of course, color her hair and apply cosmetics with a trowel, which vaguely amused her because Han liked women to look natural. Leia rarely wore cosmetics other than lip balm and Han had been vocal about his appreciation for that.

And it would not disguise the fact that she was female. She was also very short. What she needed was something that, despite her size, would not make her sex obvious and would conceal her face. She considered for a moment, with some amusement, disguising herself as a Wookiee. The problem was that even young Wookiee children surpassed her in height, and would certainly not be allowed outside of the family until the age of majority. She was trying to picture Chewie's expression had she suggested it to him, and could hear his laughter, loud and strong. She missed him terribly.

Leia thought about Chewie and Lando. She was still angry with Lando. He'd promised to notify Luke when he and Chewie located Lando. There'd been no word.

All she had was Luke's Force sense.

Having finished her meal, she stepped out into one of the causeways that connected the various dining and shopping establishments peppering the area. As she moved out of the more populated areas, things became considerably seedier and she hastened her step. She wasn't afraid of going into hostile territory; her blaster pistol had become so much a part of her that she wondered what it would be like to not carry it everywhere once the war ended.

If it ever ended.

She wasn't going to think about that right now. She needed to remain alert. There were a number of noisy arguments taking place inside and outside of the various dive drinking establishments that littered this area. She only cared about being able to stay out of the line of fire. Leia had learned long ago that a combination of intoxicants and firearms was too often lethal. She kept her one hand on her blaster as she quietly made her way through.

At one alleyway that crossed her path, she observed a blonde, buxom woman in a heated discussion with what was most likely a bounty hunter. Both had their weapons drawn. The blonde clearly had the advantage and moments later, the bounty hunter tumbled to the ground. She quickly spun on her heel and noticed Leia. Leia's hand was on her weapon but not drawn outside of the cloak. The woman's hand reached out and grabbed Leia's shoulder harshly.

"You didn't see anything, do you understand?" the blonde woman snarled at her.

An idea leapt into Leia's head. "I didn't see anything on one condition," she hissed quietly.

"Oh, and what would that be? Maybe I should just make sure you can never say anything," Buxom Blonde said in a low, menacing voice.

"All I want is the bounty hunter's armor," Leia said evenly.

The blonde found this to be hilarious. "You want the bounty hunter's armor. Whatever for?"

"That's not for you to know, and I am armed," Leia responded.

The blonde threw back her head and laughed. "Have at it. Boushh isn't in any condition to complain."

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So now she was to be a bounty hunter, Leia thought wryly. Fortunately, Boushh had carried ID, and no one was the wiser as she moved from planet to planet. Leia was still careful; it might be known among other bounty hunters what Boushh's fate was. Leia knew that among smugglers, there was honor such as there was among thieves, but from all indications, that was not the case for bounty hunters, who'd do each other in if they could get a credit out of it.

There was still no word from Lando, or Chewie, or Luke.

She was, after making a number of connections, finally in Mos Eisley Spaceport. Luke had advised her that this was where she should go. He mentioned something about it being less than completely safe. At this point, her personal safety was the last thing on her mind. One thing about traveling as a bounty hunter: you were generally granted a wide berth. Nearly everyone, including most varieties of criminals, regarded bounty hunters with disgust.

It made traveling much easier for Leia. She appreciated that no one would bother her.

But it would also make locating the cantina that much harder.

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