First, let me offer my tradtional thank you' s to my betas, jublke and StatsGrandma57-you guys are great. And thank you to everyone who's read, reviewed and followed my little tale, so far!

Supply Run

Chapter Two

The massive shield doors slid back, letting in a small avalanche of snow and ice. Dazzling white light, reflecting off the frozen earth outside, silhouetted the X-wings parked just inside the doors with ethereal halos. It was daybreak at Echo Base.

Han pulled his parka tighter around his body and blew on his hands—gods but he hated this forsaken corner of the galaxy. He'd always thought he knew what cold was, up until the day he ended up berthed on Hoth. He glanced over at Chewbacca, who was wrestling a spare ammunition battery into the compartment where the belly laser was hidden. The Wookiee shivered, then bared his teeth as he snarled his displeasure with the day, the temperature, and the upcoming mission.

"Hey, pal," he answered, sympathizing with his friend. "I didn't choose Ord Mantell." Han snarled a little himself. "Matter of fact, I did my best to talk 'em out of it. You can see where that got me."

The Wookiee merely rumbled on with his list of complaints.

"I know there are bounty hunters there; there are bounty hunters everywhere these days. I can't just stay sitting on this ice ball forever," Han replied reasonably. His eyes narrowed. "Look, you can skip this trip if you want to; I got this."

Who was he kidding anyway? The bounty hunters were getting harder and harder to ignore. Han resisted the urge to rub at the healing welt on his hand. That Rodian had probably been a cousin of Greedo's, and Han had to concede that he'd probably been justified at taking a shot him. The problem was, if some dumb relation of Greedo's could find him—and on a milk run, no less—the other half-dozen, or dozen, bounty hunters who were looking for him could find him, too. Those were the bounty hunters who worried him; they might actually get him, or Chewie, or the kid. Or Leia.

Obviously he wasn't fooling Chewie. Han leapt back to avoid flying fur as the Wookiee gesticulated wildly, making his feelings on the subject of staying behind evident with a series of ever more angry barks and yowls.

"Fine, fine!" Han attempted to pacify his friend. "I know you have a life-debt." He grinned crookedly. "But you don't have to call me stupid." He reached up to give Chewie a quick pat on the shoulder. "Besides," he said, his grin losing wattage, "I'm glad you'll be there to watch my back."

Chewbacca moaned mournfully in agreement, then turned back to the belly gun. With a sigh, Han reached in to help with the installation. He had a bad feeling that they were going to need the gun in the near future.

"Han? Hey! Chewie?"

When he got no answer, Luke pounded on the Falcon's armor plating with a stray wrench from a nearby packing crate in order to get his friends' attention.

With a startled grunt, Solo pulled his head out of the weapons bay. Chewie's welcoming bellow came from the ship's stern where he was now busy with adjustments. The Wookiee peered around a landing strut, his hands full of wiring.

"Hey, kid!" Han set aside the electro-driver he held and rubbed his hands together, vainly trying to warm them. "You up and ready for another recon run?" His brow lifted curiously. "Kinda early, isn't it?" Han inclined his head toward the younger man. "And you're not dressed for it." The younger man wasn't wearing his flightsuit; in fact, he wasn't wearing a uniform at all. Instead he was dressed in simple pants and tunic, with a heavy jacket over them in defense against the ambient temperature in the hangar.

"General Rieekan commed me last night; he said he wanted me to go with you and Leia to Ord Mantell." Luke looked curiously at his friend. "Didn't he tell you I was coming?"

"No, he didn't," was the brusque reply. Han was getting just a little tired of what Rieekan wasn't telling him—and what he was telling him. He wondered what the general was pulling. Did he think that a little competition from the kid was going to have any effect on him and his relationship with her Highness? Of course it wouldn't. Or maybe he wanted Leia to have all her choices right there in front of her? Head to head with Luke Skywalker—terrific! The kid was as pure as the snow outside the shield doors, and Han Solo…well Han knew that he wasn't. So whose side was General Rieekan actually on, anyway?

Not that any of that mattered right now. All that mattered was getting in and out of Ord Mantell without getting blasted. Sometimes life was just that simple, Han decided.

"Chewie, you got that wiring worked out?" he called out to his co-pilot.

The Wookiee howled in the affirmative.

"Okay, I'm going up to the cockpit to give the controls a try. Since I can't actually shoot anything in here," Han explained, indicating the hangar with a quick wave of his hand, "you need to stay out there and make sure it works right." Not that he couldn't imagine a few prospective targets right here, Han thought testily. A general, a princess…

Chewbacca yowled his understanding.

"C'mon inside, kid," Han invited the patiently waiting Luke as he started up the boarding ramp, "I wanna talk to you about this mission before her Highness-ness joins us." He moved through his ship with quick, long strides; the younger man trotted to keep up.

"Han!" Luke panted a little, "I don't know why you can't be nicer—"

"I don't want to hear it, Junior," Han interrupted as he dropped into the pilot's seat. His hands moved deftly over the weapons controls. The gun dropped down below the ship and swiveled menacingly. Han smiled as several crewmen in the hangar dove for cover.

"That seems right…" he muttered. Han pounded on the cockpit canopy and motioned at Chewie, standing below. The Wookiee nodded to indicate a successful trial, his answering bark just audible through the open hatch. Han's fingers flicked another sequence of switches and the belly gun retracted.

"Well, that works," he commented to no one in particular. Han leaned back in the seat and turned to Luke, who was sitting in the co-pilots place.

"What did Rieekan tell you about this supply run?" Han asked.

"That we're picking up some back-up generators for the shields."

"Did he tell you about the money?"

Luke nodded, observing the dark look in his friend's eyes.

"I got a bad feeling about this whole thing," Han said flatly.

Luke only nodded again, his open, farmboy face curious.

"The generators we can get anywhere, and I told 'em so," the older man continued. "It's the money that's the problem." His face was hard.

"But they need the money!" Luke objected. "Without it—"

"I know they need it!" Han leapt up to prowl the cockpit, randomly flipping switches and checking gauges. "Listen, Junior," he snapped, "I know all about the economics of war. It's just…" The Corellian paused, his eyes intense. "Her Worship shouldn't be going. The Imps are all over the place. And if we're not worrying about them, there's Black Sun to keep us occupied."

"But you know why Leia has to go," Luke pointed out.

"Yeah, I know." Han threw himself back down into the pilot's seat. He looked outside the cockpit canopy at the activity in the hangar. "That much money, though. It paints a big red target on her back." His scowl deepened. "As if she didn't have one already."

Luke's innocent look slowly melted away as he contemplated the black expression on his friend's face. The crease between Luke's furrowed brows made him look much older than his actual years. The stare he gave Han was intense, probing.

"So, we'll be careful," the young man said finally. "We know who to look out for. It's not like we've never done anything like this before."

"Yeah, but this time…" Han began.

Both men turned when Chewbacca interrupted with a whuffled warning from the cockpit hatch; the princess was on her way.

Han's eyes tracked toward the ship's chronometer. It was 08:23, her Worshipfulness was seven minutes early!

"Okay, Chewie, let's get her zipped," he directed his first mate. "It's time to get this party started."

"Han? Wait!" Luke stood. "What else did you want to say?"

"Nothing, kid." Han looked out the viewport at Leia's slim form as she talked with General Rieekan. He could tell Luke about the bounty hunters, but what was the point. It was too late to change anything, anyway.

"You're right, we just need to be careful," Han said. He cocked a grin in Luke's direction and heaved a mighty sigh. "Let's go out and get our last minute instructions."

####

The white sphere of the planet Hoth hung innocently in the rear viewport of the Falcon's cockpit, but getting clear of the snowy world had been a challenge to Han and Chewbacca's piloting skills. The asteroid field that helped shield the planetary system from unwelcome traffic also spawned an inordinate number of meteorites; tiny bits of space debris that played havoc with a ship's sensors, particle shields, and occasionally its hull. Chewie busily cataloged the new damage to the ship while Han calculated the coordinates for the jump to Ord Mantell.

"Sith!" Han snarled in response to a particularly plaintive grumble from his co-pilot. "We just fixed that sensor array!" He toggled a few switches on the control board and tapped at a gauge, scowling. "Chewie, go aft and check the drive coolant," he ordered. "I'm getting a funny reading here." He rapped the gauge again with two knuckles. "I'd hate to go hyperspace and overheat the system." That was an understatement. Without proper coolant pressure, they'd likely burn out the whole drive.

Chewie shuffled toward the back of the ship, passing Leia in the hatchway. He nodded politely as the princess slipped past him.

"Is there a problem?" Leia asked him, seating herself in co-pilot's chair.

Han bit back the sharp remark on the tip of his tongue. It had become pure reflex to spar with her, he realized, kind of like breathing. The princess actually hadn't said anything argumentative—this time. "I don't think so," he said. "I'm getting a funny reading, but I think it's because the sensors are haywire." He rolled his eyes skyward. "Those meteorites don't show up in the array until it's too late," he explained.

Leia nodded in agreement. "Traffic control has been talking to General Rieekan about it. Our ships have trouble getting out, and we can't see ships coming in. Hopefully the new field generators will help."

"If we can get to the kriffing things," Han said sourly. He turned to the navicomputer. The coordinates were set.

He keyed on the comm. "Chewie?"

Instead of the Wookiee's response over the comm, Luke stuck his head into the cockpit.

"Chewie says he needs another five minutes," he stated. "He's checking for leaks in the line." Luke retreated, explaining that it went faster with two of them working on it.

"If we can't get out of here," Leia began tentatively, concern evident on her face.

"We'll get out," Han barked. "But Ord Mantell is a long jump; we can't risk a bad drive." He looked hopefully at the princess. "But if we could go someplace closer," he suggested.

"That's not an option." Her eyes shifted uneasily away from his.

Han's temper flared. "Why all the secrecy about this, your Worship?" he demanded. "Are you afraid you can't trust me with the Alliance's money?"

"Don't be ridiculous! Of course I, uh…of course the Alliance trusts you!"

Han found himself ridiculously pleased by the princess's slip of the tongue. "Ord Mantell is a bad place, these days," he said stubbornly. "I'm afraid it's not like it was when your father set up this arrangement."

Leia swallowed the lump in her throat. "I know. But this is the way it has to be. We need the credits, and I'm the only one who can get them." Her chin rose as she looked defiantly back at him. "You needn't worry; I can take care of myself."

Sure you can, he thought bleakly. He was just damned tired of having to watch her do so. Han nodded in surrender. At least he'd tried to talk her out of it.

Chewie walked in, followed by Luke, and rumbled his opinion on the coolant line.

"So, there aren't any leaks in the line. Good." Han sounded relieved. "I've got the coordinates set."

Leia shifted to the engineer's seat behind Han and the Wookiee took his customary seat. He growled an additional explanation.

Frustration replaced relief. "But you think there might be a hole in the outer hull?" Han asked.

Chewie shrugged and groaned.

"Terrific. Well at least it's just a little hole," Han commented acidly.

"A hole?" Luke exclaimed, from his seat behind the Wookiee.

"Don't worry, kid, the outer hull self-seals the small dings."

"The way you fly," Leia observed caustically, "that can only be a good thing."

"Nice," Han rejoined. He tapped the navicomputer, sending the jump info to the control board. "Strap in, everyone," he advised. "Next stop, Ord Mantell." The stars elongated to streaks as the Millennium Falcon shifted to lightspeed. Han hoped no one noticed he'd been holding his breath.