Leia Organa stood staring at the closed door outside Luke's room, wondering if it was appropriate for her to just walk in. She was certain he shared quarters with someone, but since she didn't know who it was, she didn't want to be seen just walking unannounced into Luke's sleeping quarters. Gossip was already rampant due to the amount of time they spent together and the affection they seemed to share. She reached for the buzzer again.
The door flew open and she recognized Wedge Antilles, one of the pilots who survived the battle over Yavin against the Death Star. He was wearing his sleep clothes, which on Hoth meant he was fully dressed but not wearing gloves or a coat. He wiped his eyes.
"Princess?" he asked. "Can I help you?" He glanced worriedly down the hallway next to her. "Has something happened?"
"No, I...I was looking for Luke. Is he here?" she asked.
She could see the question in his eyes and wanted to cringe. The Alliance was a small-knit community and it was well known that Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker had a close relationship, but no one knew how close they actually were. It shouldn't have bothered her so much, and it probably wouldn't if Leia herself understood her relationship with the Rebellion's star pilot.
"When I woke up he was gone," Wedge told her. "He has trouble sleeping here. It's the cold."
"Do you know where he might be?" she asked.
"He told me sometimes he goes and tries to sleep in the cockpit of his X-Wing. He said it's warmer in there." Wedge gave her a crooked grin. "Plus I think I snore."
Leia smiled back at him. "Thanks," she said. "I'll see if I can find him. If he does return, will you tell him I'm looking for him?"
"Of course, Princess," Wedge replied.
Leia followed Wedge's advice and made her way to the docking bay that housed the majority of the fighters on Hoth. It was still early and this part of the base was not the focus of Rieekan's latest projects, so it was still empty save for one lone tech who seemed to be on his way out. Leia looked forlornly at the sea of X-Wings and Y-Wings before her. She knew enough about the codes used to mark the ships that she could pick out a Rogue Squadron fighter, but she had no idea how to read the other markings that would tell her which was the commander's ship. The ships were berthed so close to each other that there was no way she'd be able to find Luke's ship by looking in the cockpits from the ground.
She weaved her way through the landing struts and looked for the decal that marked Rogue Squadron X-Wings. She had stood outside Luke's X-Wing often enough that she was pretty sure his had quite a few other decals on it, one she knew was from the Battle of Yavin. She found one that looked like it might be his and climbed the ladder. She was a little embarrassed when she reached the top and he wasn't in there. She could be climbing ladders all morning if Luke wasn't even in his X-Wing.
She lowered herself back to the ground and went in search of another one. Aside from the decals and a few scratches, most of the X-Wings looked entirely identical to her. She knew Luke would find that amusing since he would be able to pick out his own ship if someone had painted it pink. The thought made her giggle as she climbed a second ladder. It was humorous enough that she fantasized for a moment making an offhand suggestion to Wes Janson along those lines. Janson was well-known for his pranks, and she was fairly certain he would do it if the idea and the opportunity occurred to him. Unfortunately, Wes Janson's antics were part of the reason she needed to speak with Luke.
She smiled when she reached the top of the ladder and saw Luke sleeping like a baby. He truly did look warmer in there. Leia knew that Luke was having trouble dealing with the extreme temperature on Hoth and she was glad to know he had found at least one place where he could sleep comfortably. She hesitated before knocking on the glass, not sure how well the sound would transfer. She rapped her knuckles on the glass, but as soon as she did it, she knew the sound was not even audible within the cockpit.
She didn't want to give him a start by pounding on the glass, but that seemed to be her only option, unless their was a way to open the cockpit from the outside. Leia was actually certain that there must be, since she'd seen pilots open cockpits that were already closed and climb in.
She searched for something that looked like a trigger or an access pad. Leia wasn't unfamiliar with starships, but she'd never even seen a fighter in person until the Battle of Yavin so she had no idea what she was looking for. It was also possible that there was a locking mechanism that would prevent her from being able to open it from the outside if Luke had activated it. She figured that if she were exposed to Wes Janson on a regular basis, she too might take to making sure she was locked away when she fell asleep.
She was fumbling around with what looked like some sort of lever when a sudden snap followed by a sharp hiss of air nearly startled her off the ladder. After she recovered, she looked inside the now open cockpit to see Luke trying to decide whether to laugh or look worried that she had almost fallen.
"I could have broken my neck," she snapped, more out of embarrassment than anger. If it were anyone else, she might have controlled herself, but sometimes Luke seemed to understand her better than she understood herself and she had gotten used to saying the first thing that came to mind when she was with Luke. He didn't take offense at either her tone or her wording.
"That would have been embarrassing to try to explain. I'd be the laughingstock of Echo Base. Luke Skywalker, the man who swept Princess Leia Organa of Aldreaan off her feet and down twelve more," he cracked, leaning over the side of his fighter to look at the ground below them.
Leia rolled her eyes. "I go to all this effort to find you and all I get are wisecracks," she said. Luke just laughed.
"What can I do for you?" he asked.
"I actually came to talk to you. This is off the record of course," Leia said with a stern frown.
"Everything between us is off the record," Luke replied lightly, but she could see the earnestness in his eyes.
"Rieekan mentioned yesterday that he's concerned about the discipline in Rogue Squadron," she told him.
Luke's smile died and his forehead puckered in confusion and concern. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"I mean what you already know. Or must know. Rieekan is worried that you're not doing enough to keep your unit in line," Leia paused, unsure whether she should continue. What she had to tell Luke was basically an insult against his leadership abilities. "He thinks Rogue Squadron is the most unprofessional unit here," she said quickly, forcing it out. In truth, Rieekan's exact words had been even more insulting, but she couldn't tell Luke that.
Luke opened and closed his mouth and looked at the instrument panel in front of him, as if he expected to gain understanding from it. He looked back at her. "What do you think?" he asked.
"I doesn't matter what I think-" she started, but he cut her off.
"I mean off the record, Leia. Do you think I'm doing this wrong? I won't pretend that I don't hardly know what I'm doing as a fighter pilot, much less as a commander. I don't know," he looked away for a moment to gather his thoughts. "I just always felt that I'm so young. They'd just laugh at me if I tried to be a commander like Narra."
Leia sighed. "I don't know what I'm doing either, Luke. I'm second in command at this base, but you know just as well as I do that I don't have any more experience leading a military base than you do. And I'm probably even less qualified. But I will tell you this, if you have someone to turn to who does know what they're doing, the most important part is to look like you do as well."
"That's not true, Leia," Luke said. "You're a natural leader. People follow you because they instinctively know that you'll make the hard decisions no one else wants to make. And you know a heck of a lot more about managing a military base than I do."
"You're a natural leader too, Luke," Leia said wryly. "Your entire squadron is older than you, yet they don't complain that you're the commander."
"But Rieekan does?" Luke asked with a slight undercurrent of resentment.
"Rieekan doesn't dislike you, Luke. And he knows your squadron loves you and that you're a great pilot. He's worried that you're too young and inexperienced. And he's worried that your pilots are too undisciplined to be reliable in a crisis." Leia sighed. "He's going to be calling you in for a meeting. I think he's especially concerned about Janson's pranks. That's all I came here to tell you. To warn you that it's coming. It won't do you any good to be broadsided and say something you shouldn't just because you're surprised."
Luke looked to her in confusion. "Has Wes done something I don't know about? I know sometimes he gets a little out of line, but I've never known him to really hurt someone."
"No, you're right," Leia re-assured him. "It's nothing in particular, let me assure you of that." She sighed. "Rieekan's career began during the Clone Wars, Luke. He's used to precision and discipline. The clone armies were nothing if not precise and disciplined."
"And?" Luke asked. His head was turned away from her and her was looking at her out of the corner of his eye. "What do you think?"
Leia shook her head. "You don't need my opinion, Luke. You can't be anything other than you are. I will tell you that I think you're being true to yourself. You couldn't be a tough commander any more than I could be a HoloNet romance star."
Luke laughed at her joke. "I don't know," he drawled. "I think I could see you swooning into some nubile young man's arms when he finally proposes marriage after you thought the whole time he was in love with someone else."
Leia burst out laughing. "Nubile? Luke, I'm pretty sure that's a word that only supposed to apply to young women."
Luke blushed and grinned. "Really? Kreth, no wonder Wedge choked on his drink when I told him the other night he was nubile."
Leia doubled over. Her grip on the railing was frighteningly weak, and she could barely hold on since her laughter was making her so weak.
"Why did you.." Leia gasped.
"Why did I tell Wedge I thought he was nubile?" Luke asked, laughing along with her.
"Yes!" she said.
"Well, he was upset since it's been awhile...well, you know," Luke told her. "I wanted to cheer him up. Re-assure him."
Leia began to truly fear she would fall because she was laughing so hard. She started to make her way back down the ladder.
"Where are you going?" Luke asked.
"I'm going to fall down!" she said, then proved her point when she missed a step and slipped down to the next rung. She knew she'd bruised her arms and her knee, but she was too amused to care.
Leia yelped when she felt a pair of hands wrap around her waist.
"I'm always up for a rescue," the voice behind her drawled.
Leia's head whipped around. "Captain Solo! Please remove your hands!" she demanded, all trace of mirth gone. Leia did not like feeling out of control, and having Han Solo see her like this was not to her liking.
Han just grinned and lifted her off the ladder. He plopped her unceremoniously in front of him and grinned unabashedly.
"Sorry, Princess. I couldn't live with myself if you had gotten hurt," he said, still grinning at her.
His smile always threw her off guard. He was a handsome man, but Leia had known many handsome men in her life, so Han Solo was not unique in that regard. But when he smiled, her stomach twisted into knots and she would find herself more often than not at a loss for words. This was no exception. Leia couldn't think of a single thing to say in reply to him, so she simply walked away. She could hear his laughter following her out of the docking bay, fueling the anger that could easily be seen in the stiffness of her back.