Chapter 2

Committee Summary of known facts regarding the Kidnapping of Leia Organa by Captain Han Solo or, in the alternative,the Hijacking of the Millennium Falcon and Two Crew Members by Leia Organa 3 ABY, Day 102

It is nearly certain that Leia Organa had entered the Millennium Falcon by the time that Command successfully hailed Captain Han Solo at 20:01 hours. However, Organa was first heard on the communications channel that had opened between Command and the Falcon at approximately 20:03.

By 20:07 Organa and/or Solo had cut off communications with Command, seemingly of their own volition.

At 20:11 Solo reopened communications with Command. At that juncture, words were exchanged...

Han's brow furrowed and he felt one side of his mouth quirk down. "Take you with me? Is that an order, Highnessness? Because if the committee decided I'm not allowed to go on this mission unless I go with you, they better be ready to find another pilot real quick-"

She scoffed, looking genuinely disgusted at the idea. "As if I would have agreed to go on another mission with you after that disaster on Champala."

Han felt his jaw drop at the manifest injustice of the words. "You mean that disaster where you got stuck in an air vent and I had to go back into a maximum security Imperial facility and literally pull you out of it? That disaster?"

"For the last time, I had the situation completely under control," she hissed, eyes flashing dangerously. "I was in the process of shedding layers of clothing which would have enabled me to-"

He looked at her incredulously. "What layers of clothing? That wasn't Hoth, sweetheart. You were only wearing a lab coat and some-"

"Yes!" she interrupted almost triumphantly. "I nearly had the lab coat off when you started shooting at me-"

"Shooting at you?" he snapped angrily, ignoring the Falcon's main communications system as it beeped again. "Shooting you out of there, you mean. You're just too proud to admit you'd be dead if it wasn't for me-"

"Even if that's true, whose fault was it that I was in that force-forsaken air vent to begin with? Not mine!"

He opened his mouth, then closed it, not having a ready retort for that one, but after a moment he remembered what she had said to begin with about taking her with him, and pointed a finger at her. "So what are you doing here then, huh?"

It was her turn to close her mouth, and he felt something almost like guilt as she looked first embarrassed and then almost ashamed. Her look quickly turned to one of anger, but somehow he knew it wasn't him she was angry at this time as she repeated her opening words, this time sounding almost defeated,

"Take me with you. I need to get out of here."

He hesitated, torn between saying something else cutting and trying to take a friendlier approach. Not for the first time he wondered whether she and he actually were friends- he knew that in some sense they were, that for all their harsh words she was one of only 3 beings in the galaxy who he could probably trust with his life and who he actually had, but there was always an underlying tension to their interactions, and a certain pull toward her that made him uneasy. If he were honest with himself, though, even when he was the most annoyed with her he wanted what was best for her, and so he let out a breath he hadn't fully realized he'd been holding and tried for a diplomatic approach- or at least, diplomatic for him.

"That's all well and good, Princess, but this isn't exactly a pleasure trip. I can't just take you with me, and you'd hate it anyway. You'd be stuck with just me and Chewie for almost 2 standard weeks before we got back to base, there wouldn't be anything for you to do on the flight, and then once we got there we'd have a big fight because you'd want to be involved in the mission and I wouldn't want you to be involved, and before you know it you'd be following me and I'd be saving your life again, and then we'd have another big fight-"

To his shock she laughed, a real laugh, low and deep, unlike the perfunctory giggles he so often heard her force at meals and in front of the troops. "Probably," she said candidly before taking a step forward and looking him in the eye. "Take me with you anyway."

A small part of him wavered even as he shook his head, completely forgetting that just a few minutes ago he'd been convinced one of the main advantages of going to Ord Mantell was getting away from her. "No can do, but I'll tell you what- when I get back, if you still want to get out of here I'll make that happen for you. I'll take you off planet for a while, wherever you want. I'll even stay out of your way while I'm doing it-"

At that she smiled, shrugging in a way he found strangely disarming. "I'm not so sure about that, flyboy- I know I'm going to regret admitting this, but it's not really always so bad having you in the way-"

Han took a step toward her without fully thinking about it, trying to ignore the fact that they were now close enough to touch, if they wanted to touch-

The Falcon's communications system beeped again and Han groaned in frustration, thinking about shutting it off, but at that moment he heard Chewie roar something about high Command from the hallway and he gritted his jaw, realizing that if he ever hoped to actually leave on the mission to Ord Mantell, he was going to have to take it.

"Hold that thought," he said to Leia before sinking into the pilot's seat and opening the line of communication. "Solo," he barked, much more aware than he should have been of Leia slowly coming up to sit in the co-pilot's seat beside him, looking oddly nervous.

"Solo," he heard the clearly recognizable and unexpectedly relieved-sounding voice of Admiral Ackbar. "Are you still on base?"

"Where else would I be?" Han asked. "As far as I know I haven't been cleared to leave."

"Somehow we weren't sure a little thing like that would stop you," Ackbar retorted dryly.

As usual Han found himself quickly losing patience with the man. "Can I take that to mean I am clear?"

"Affirmative. In fact, we'd prefer that you take off as soon as possible."

"Copy that. I just need about five minutes to finish up with something here and then I'm good to go. Solo out-"

"No! I mean," Ackbar continued an edge in his voice that Han didn't understand, "High Command has reason to believe that Command Member Organa may approach the Falcon. Should she approach, you are to deny her permission to board."

Han glanced at Leia, confused when she didn't seem confused by the odd proclamation. "Is that an order?" he asked with a grin he was glad Ackbar couldn't see, knowing that Ackbar had about as much patience for him as he did for Ackbar.

There was a hesitation, and Han could hear whispers as Ackbar didn't bother to cut the link as he consulted with the rest of the committee, but he was unable to make out what was being said before a new voice came on the line.

"It's a request," he heard Carlist Rieekan say firmly, and Han's smile faded at the voice and the words. Despite himself he liked and respected the man and so he replied candidly and without rancor.

"Unfortunately it's a little late for that, sir. The Princess is already aboard."

Han could hear more whispering but to his credit Rieekan didn't seem to feel a need to partake in it.

"I see," Han heard the older man say, not missing a beat, before he continued carefully, "Captain, we have reason to think the Princess may be upset and perhaps-" he hesitated. "Perhaps, ah, not her normal self."

Leia snorted at that and Han briefly wondered what was going on before his thoughts were interrupted by Rieekan continuing mildly, "We'd be very grateful if you would return the Princess to base before your departure."

"Stay out of it, Rieekan," Leia snapped from beside Han before he had a chance to answer, and he looked at her in astonishment. He'd never seen or heard her be anything but warm and affectionate to her fellow Alderaanian- in fact, sometimes he felt sure Leia viewed him as a second father-

"Leia, it's wonderful to hear your voice," Rieekan said, seeming unfazed. "We'd appreciate it if you would come back to the meeting so we can discuss everything further-"

"I'm done discussing things," Leia snapped, and Han suddenly realized that 'not her normal self' might be an understatement- he didn't think he'd ever met anyone with more endless patience for pointless bureaucratic discussions than the princess-

"Solo," Ackbar came back on the line, "You are not to leave base with the princess. That is an order-"

Han couldn't be sure but he thought he heard Rieekan sigh.

"Hey, guys," he heard Luke cut into the line unexpectedly. "Wedge says you want me to go to the Hangar bay and get Leia?"

Han exchanged an incredulous look with Leia, thinking about telling Luke and Command that he was broadcasting to them too, more for Luke's sake than anything else, but he was cut short as Luke continued. "I'll go if you want but it's too late- he's going to take her off base before I can get there."

"Has Solo told you this? Rieekan inquired at the same time that Leia snapped,

"I am going, no one is taking me,"evidently forgetting that her exact words less than ten minutes ago had been 'take me with you', at the same time that Han cried,

"Hold on a minute now, I already told the princess that I am not taking her!"

"I feel it," Luke insisted, evidently not caring that everyone could hear him, and Han scoffed.

"Better check your crystal ball again kid."

"Alright," Luke said, sounding doubtful. "I'm heading to the hangar. Skywalker out."

"Leia," Rieekan began again, but to Han's amazement Leia reached over and cut the link before placing a hand on Han's arm and looking up into his eyes.

"Please Han," she said softly, tightening her grip on his arm ever so slightly as she repeated, "Please."

Later he was never sure if it had been the tone of her voice, or the fact that she'd said please, or the fact that she was actually using his given name for the first time that he could remember. Or maybe it was the way her eyes were boring into his, almost as if she could see through him and he could see through her, or the way her hand squeezed his arm, pleasantly increasing the pressure there just for a second before her thumb traced a lazy, unconscious circle. Or maybe it was something else entirely, something that he couldn't identify or that he wasn't ready to yet. All he knew was that, even as he shook his head no, he was saying gruffly,

"If I take you with me to Ord Mantell, I'm in charge."

She nodded eagerly, earnestly, her eyes not leaving his. "Say it," he instructed, feeling keenly the need to hear her verbal confirmation given her perpetually creative interpretations of their interactions- creative interpretations that, if he were honest, only rivaled his own.

"You're in charge," she said seriously and he stared at her suspiciously for a moment before clarifying,

"That means once we're there you're going to listen to me and do what I say to do when I say to do it."

She nodded again. "I'll listen to you and do what you say to do when you say to do it, unless I think you're needlessly placing our lives in danger or that what you're asking me to do is morally corrupt."

He hesitated. "You have to do what I say even if you think I'm placing my life in danger."

It was her turn to pause but after an endless moment she nodded. "Even if I think you're placing your life in danger, unless I can immediately think of a better plan that would achieve the same goals without putting your life in danger."

He frowned, wanting to object but not sure if there was actually something to object to or if he was just used to objecting to her on principle. He briefly wondered how this had become a negotiation when in theory he should have all the power in the situation, but by now he knew nothing with Leia every went quite according to plan. "I'm going to regret this," he muttered, more to himself than to her, before reaching over her to turn the link back on.

Leia's hand fell from his arm when he did so and he felt sharply and unexpectedly disappointed by the loss of contact. He didn't let his mind linger on that, though, as he quickly realized he'd tuned into what appeared to be a full scale committee argument that did nothing to make him wish that he had attended the meeting earlier.

"Solo here," he interrupted loudly, somewhat gratified when everyone went silent and unsurprised when it was Rieekan who spoke, addressing him with the same respect he always had, since long before Han had felt he deserved it.

"Captain. What is your status?"

Han squared his shoulders. "The Millennium Falcon is requesting clearance to take off for mission 248 to Ord Mantell."

"Is the Princess aboard?" another voice that Han couldn't place inquired.

"Yes, Jan, I'm here," Leia said,sounding bored, and Han started at her casual use of General Dodonna's first name. Of course, he'd known she must know it- after all, even Han knew it- and if he'd stopped to think about it he would have know she might even use it in private, but Leia hardly ever referred to anyone but Luke by their first name, and certainly not at formal meetings- though of course whether this could still be considered a meeting was a topic the committee could probably debate for weeks if they set their mind to it-

"Command Member Organa, you do not have permission to leave with Captain Solo on this mission. As your direct superior I am ordering you to disembark," Dodonna said firmly.

"I wasn't aware I had a direct superior," Leia said coldly.

When the man spoke again he sounded surprised and slightly agitated. "Leia, you know perfectly well that you report to my-"

"I know perfectly well that I'm a figurehead and a volunteer," Leia retorted, placing heavy emphasis on the second word. "To the best of my knowledge I don't actually report directly to anyone, and I'm absolutely certain that no one reports directly to me. Therefore, as a volunteer who isn't directly responsible for any individuals on base, I'm exercising my right to leave, of my own free will. I hope a place will still be here for me if I choose to come back, but if not, that's something I'm prepared to accept. Don't worry, you can still keep broadcasting soundbites from me over the holonet if it makes you feel better. Just send what you want me to say over to the Millennium Falcon and I'll be happy to transmit a recording."

"Leia, what are you talking about?" Dodonna asked, sounding appalled as Han wondered what in the galaxy could have happened to leave Leia talking like this. "You're a member of High Command. Everyone reports to you. You're responsible for everyone."

"I'm a member of High Command because you didn't know what else to do with me and you wanted someone willing to come through in a pinch to deliver rousing speeches," Leia said with more bitterness than Han ever would have believed she'd possessed. For the first time in a long while he wondered if he might have been too harsh on her earlier that day, but he was unable to linger on the thought as the main communications system exploded with noise.

"Leia, that isn't true," Rieekan said, also sounding appalled, even as Ackbar interrupted,

"Solo, Organa, if you leave here neither of you will be compensated for this mission-"

"Oh please, why don't you hit me where it really hurts," Leia scoffed. "I'll survive somehow without my pathetic stipend, and I can probably scrape together enough from what I have saved to match whatever equally pathetic sum you'd offered to Han-"

"Solo," Ackbar tried, and Han marvelled at how desperate the man must be to believe he could get farther trying to talk to him than to Leia. "If you leave the base with the Princess we'll be forced to record this incident as a kidnapping and charge you with-"

"You have got to be kidding me," Leia muttered before reaching over to grab Han's own blaster from his belt, doing it so quickly that Han didn't even follow her movement before she was pointing the blaster at his head, looking pointedly out the cockpit window as she did so. "Are you getting this on your recording devices? If not, let me state for the record that I, Princess Leia Organa, member of High Command, am officially hijacking the Millennium Falcon by forcing Captain Han Solo to take me off planet at blaster-point. Captain Solo is very familiar with my character and knows me well enough to know that when I say I'll shoot, I'll shoot, and if he doesn't take me off this planet I. WILL. SHOOT." She paused for what Han was sure was dramatic effect before snapping, "Organa OUT," and once again switching off the com.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Han said as she continued to point the blaster at his head.

"Oh, hurry up and take off before they realize they can just close the hangar doors," she snapped.

With the blaster still pointed at his head he didn't need to be told twice.

Stick with me, it's going to be a wild ride :D As always all reviews and follows are greatly treasured :)