Chapter 2

The next day Han realized he still hadn't gotten to see the simulator in action, so he took a risk on checking out the base fitness room again and was rewarded with the sight of Leia again on the treadmill.

Leia rolled her eyes at the sight of him setting up his program next her. He hadn't done more than a warm up when her arm stretched out in front of him and her hand opened to reveal one of her ear buds. Laughing, he took the offering, noticing all the while that she stared steadfastly ahead, slightly annoyed but preempting a potential conflict. This time the music was generic, but had a steady upbeat that matched the rhythm of his stride.

After a lengthy work out, they both slowed to a walk and Han finally broke the silence, "So are you always here so late? Shouldn't you be getting your beauty rest, princess?"

"We were getting along fine until you had to go and open your mouth." Leia responded wryly, stepping off the machine and picking up a small towel.

"No seriously. It's like 0200, don't you ever sleep?"

She sighed as she toweled her face and neck, "I'm not really a good sleeper. Besides, after hours, I've got this place to myself. Speaking of curfew, what are you doing here so late?"

"Well, since I'm not officially a member of the Alliance, I figured I could get away with it." Han stated nonchalantly. He grinned down at her, "You're not about to kick me out, are you? Especially since you're here after curfew, too."

Leia smiled in response. "Yes, but I'm a member of High Command - not the military."

"So we're both technically exempt. Hey, come on, show me this new simulator everyone is talking about." With one hand on her arm and the other at her back, he began to purposefully guide her toward the door.

"A little impatient, Captain?" She laughed, thumbing the access lock.

"I've been trying for days to see this thing," he groused. "Can't even get on the list."

"Ah, the benefits that come with membership, Han." Her voice was teasing, "You may not have to follow our rules, but we don't let you play with our toys. You have to belong for that."

"I don't need a membership card, I got connections," Han quipped with a self-satisfied smirk.

As they stepped inside, Han was caught off guard at the emptiness of the cavernous room. By the back wall there were multiple flight seats with flight control panels, but no actual cockpit mock ups. Other than that and an unfamiliar plasticene matrix layer on the floor, the room was bare. Nowhere did he see the usual motorized cubicles in which most flight simulator training was conducted.

"Strange, I could have sworn teams have gone through training already, but it doesn't look like the simulator is set up yet," Han hesitated.

Leia had continued to the back of the room, where she was flipping switches in what was obviously the operator's control booth. As lights started to come on, Han realized he was now staring at the star scape of the Core Systems.

"The whole room is the simulator," Leia explained. "It allows for a much wider visual field and realistic dimension to the training exercises."

Han let out a deep breath, "Huh, I've never seen anything like this."

"Come on, take a seat," Leia gestured towards the pilot seats at the rear wall. "If you want full sensory stimulation, put the electrodes on your temples and one on each arm. There are strips for the legs, too. They'll work through your clothing if you put them on above your boots."

Han eyed the sensory pieces warily. "I don't know about that – the nerve stimulation used in training is usually pretty rough - and tends to distract from the program."

"True," Leia replied, "but SimCorps made some improvements to that too. It's supposed to be pretty realistic."

Han applied the electrodes as Leia continued to set up the system. "Do you want a flight mission only or flight and ground?"

"Flight and ground? Sure, gimme all you got. Why don't you be my wing man? You had a chance to play yet?" He grinned at her.

She looked up in surprise. "As a matter of fact, I haven't." She turned her attention back to the operator's panel. "Okay, it's set for two. What do you want to fly? A YT 1300? Or something different?"

"You got the Falcon in there?" Han guffawed in amused disbelief.

She rolled her eyes, "It's stock, flyboy. No beat up hunks of junk in here."

He snorted in pretended annoyance. "Well forget it, then. Just give me an X-wing."

She punched the controls and came around to buckle up in the seat next to him.

From the where he was sitting, the Corellian saw the outlines of an X wing fighter appear around him, with the star scape in front as it would appear as viewed through the cockpit windshield.

The flight mission began, and Han and Leia looped, swerved and blasted through and around enemy ships. Han took the lead and directed Leia's attacks.

"Go for those marks on the right, Princess."

"Roger that."

Leia couldn't help but notice that Han's handling of the X-wing was precise and lethal. He harried a whole flight of TIEs and made short work of blasting them to bits. He continued to direct their attack to achieve maximum destruction of the enemy ships while keeping their own damage at a minimum. Not only was he an unusually skilled pilot, he was also an innovative strategist. If only he would officially join the Alliance! What an asset he would be!

For Han's part, he noticed that Leia was a very competent pilot herself. As he coordinated their attacks, he began to realize she had sharp reflexes, accurate timing and superior targeting skills. She's just as good as -and could be better than- most of the current pilots here, he thought.

"Great job, Princess. Follow me down planet-side."

"Oomph," Han heard. He saw that Leia had half crashed her Y-wing during her landing approach.

"What the hells was that, your worship?" Han demanded in consternation. "You do know you don't have to scuttle your ship on this mission, right?"

"Oh, shut up! I've never done an atmospheric entry before - so it could've been worse!"

"Worse how, exactly?"

As they exited the cockpit mock-ups, Han noticed that there was a cityscape projected holographically in the room now. The flooring had conveyors built in and moving platforms that rearranged automatically to mimic a multi-level landscape. He was amazed at how lifelike it was. Including the platoon of storm troopers that came running towards them. They grabbed the mock blasters and ducked, ran and shot at their adversaries until they ran out of ammo. Han had to resort to using his fists to overpower the few remaining storm troopers. The electrodes simulated the sensation of impact in his punches, but also stimulated his nerves so that it felt as if the return blows were real. "Humph. Ow!"

He glanced over to see how Leia was faring with the troopers near her. She gave a sidekick to the closest one, bludgeoned another with her empty blaster and when grabbed from behind, used an obviously schooled maneuver to flip the soldier on his back in front of her. She then snatched his blaster's power pack and proceeded to put it to good use. Although they had been on missions together in the past, he had never before had an opportunity to witness how extensive her hand-to-hand combat training had been. Seeing it now, he was not only impressed by her expertise, it also reinforced his admiration of her sass and spirit. There was certainly more to this princess than a pretty face and diplomacy.

Han and Leia were both short of breath and dripping with perspiration by the time they completed the final objective. The exhilaration Han felt from the challenge was reflected in an answering gleam in Leia's eye.

Still panting from exertion, she exclaimed, "We did it! I had it programmed at a high difficulty setting, too. Not many of the teams have beaten that one."

She marveled at the innovative tactics Han used to complete the challenge. She would never admit it to him, but she was amazed at his uncanny ability to quickly assess and plan the most advantageous course of action. This is one of the things I most admire about him.

"Not a bad performance, sweetheart. You can fight under me any time." He gave her a suggestive wink. And that's one of the things I find most annoying about him.

"Let's see the scores."

"Han, it doesn't really matter-it's not a competition, it's supposed to be battle training."

"Don't kid yourself, hon, with men, it's always a contest." He looked over her shoulder, "Well, look at that, sweetheart – your scores rank in the top ten. I bet if we fixed that landing of yours, you would be in the top three. Right behind me and Luke." Of course he noticed that he had the highest score of all those who had tried the simulator. He also noticed as she purposefully restricted their results to her clearance level, so that their activity would be hidden from other users.

"So, you approve of our new training equipment?" Leia inquired.

"What I don't get is how the Alliance could afford this." SimCorps happened to be one of the leading designers and manufacturers of computer technology. "This is brand new stuff. You know the owners or something?" Han joked.

"Something like that." Leia hedged with a slight laugh.

"Really? Spill," Han persisted.

"Okay, fine." Leia relented with a smile. "When I was at university, I met two remarkable men – geniuses, really- they had come up with some innovative theories regarding computer-human interfacing. I was struck by the possible educational applications. My mother had been Minister of Education, so I knew there was a need. All they lacked was funding to develop the concept."

"Your family provided the start up capital for SimCorps?" Han asked in amazement.

"No, I invested my personal funds." Leia clarified absently as she headed over to the water dispenser.

"What, your pocket change? That had to take a small fortune."

Han followed her and leaned against the dispenser as she filled two cups. Handing him one, she leaned against the wall to sip her water slowly.

"It was a calculated risk."

Han blinked. Then he gulped down his drink thirstily, thinking as he had many times before of how different their backgrounds were.

"Wait a minute, SimCorps has been around for at least five years. You must have been…what, sixteen?" Han gaped in consternation.

Leia's only reply was a slight shrug.

Han continued to scrutinize her, then shook his head with a smile, "Young, beautiful and smart?"

Leia looked up in astonishment, "Was that a compliment?"

"I have to admit I'm impressed." He was gazing at her with obvious admiration.

"Don't be too impressed." She said dismissively. "It's easy to make money when you have money."

"That must have been some allowance." He teased.

"That's really none of your business." Leia reproved with a half smile.

"Yeah, you probably used a big fat trust fund or something." Han said nonchalantly, baiting her.

She rolled her eyes. "You're fixated on this, aren't you? It may surprise you to know that I actually had my own income. I had royal duties and responsibilities before I became a political attaché for my father. It's not like I was sitting around eating trufflets."

Han let that digest for a moment. Being a princess was actually work? Doing what exactly, he wondered. But then he let the thought pass.

"So, you own SimCorps?"

"Let's just say I have a controlling interest."

"Shit. You must have been the richest girl in the Core. The Empire take everything?"

"I had thought so. Remember the package? My father somehow managed to hide my interest in SimCorps in a way that should be untraceable. It must have been one of the last things he did…" She tapered off, a fleeting expression of sadness visible before she resumed her normally rigid control. "Anyway, I'll be able to access the income to support the resistance."

He nodded and they fell into a comfortable silence, until Leia pushed away from the wall, throwing her disposable cup in the trash.

"How you get me talking like this is beyond me." She said, shaking her head with a sigh. Then more pointedly, "This is yet another thing I don't want to be common knowledge."

"You can trust me, Princess." He was surprisingly sincere.

"Apparently, I do trust you," she said in bemusement. Then she added teasingly, "although, I can't imagine why."

"You're obviously a discerning woman who recognizes sincerity and quality when she sees it."

"Well, I know that's not it." Leia snorted.

"Really, I'm a very trustworthy guy." Han asserted with mock seriousness. "In fact," he grinned slyly, "I can imagine a lot more things you could trust me with…"

"I don't want to know!"