Chapter 4
Solo's human passengers joined him in the cockpit as they came out of hyperspace into the uncharted meteor shower. They were at Alderaan, but Alderaan wasn't there. Just a TIE fighter and a small moon. A small moon that wasn't a moon. Han and Chewbacca put the Falcon in full reverse to no avail. Leia answered Beth's question as to why they were still going toward it, a tractor beam. Han and Chewbacca turned down the engines.
"Come on, people. I'll show you where we go." He handed pistols to each of his passengers and they all climbed into the smuggling bays to wait to see what happened.
"Lucky you had these compartments." Beth marveled as she pulled herself to sitting on the edge of the deck.
Han sighed. "I use them for smuggling."
"Bet you never thought you'd be smuggling yourself in them." Leia quipped.
"Nope, but this is ridiculous. Even if I could take off, I'd never get past the tractor beam."
Obiwan stood up from where he had been sitting and watched the door to the ramp outside. "Leave that to me."
Han shook his head. "Damn fool. How did I know you were going to say that."
"Who's the more foolish, the fool or the fool that follows him." Leia and Beth had to stifle their giggles and even Chewie was suppressing his mirth as Han fumed.
First Han took out the scanning team, then he and Leia took out the two stormtroopers. They stripped the uniforms while Beth appropriated a utility belt and second pistol from one of the scanning crew. He wouldn't need it. The white stormtrooper armor didn't fit Leia well, but it would do. They lifted the droids out of the compartments, then the seven of them made it to the control room without being seen, and made quick work of the men within. The two girls investigated the contents of their utility belts and the various functionalities of the blasters. Kenobi announced that he would take care of the tractor beam if the rest of them would wait there. It wouldn't take long.
Almost immediately after the old man left, Han started complaining and R2D2 started whistling.
"He's here, he's here." C-3PO translated. Both girls joined him at the screen. "He's scheduled for termination." the golden droid added.
"Your adventure has arrived." Leia announced to Han.
"Marching into a detention block is not exactly what I had in mind." His feet were up on the console.
"But he's going to be terminated." Beth said.
Han leaned back in the chair. "Better him than me."
Leia shot Han a murderous glance, grabbed Beth by the shoulder and muttered in her ear.
"Convince me we don't need him."
Beth stared for a long minute at her, thinking furiously, then pointed at Han in exasperation.
"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard you say. We can do this without him. You fight better than he does, you shoot better than he does, and the only thing he's got on us is height and a male voice. All we need is the stormtrooper armor for me, and since he sure as heck isn't going anywhere, I can use it."
Han recognized the manipulation for what it was, but also that they would go without him if he didn't go and he found he didn't want them to. But no way was he going to let Miss Jedi Knight know that, he was doing it on his own terms. He stood up abruptly and grabbed Beth's arm, nearly yanking her off her feet. He held her jaw, forcing her to look up at him. "I can't believe I'm doing this. She may do all that stuff better than me, but you're not much good. If I let you two out of this room without me, Miss Jedi Knight may come back, but you won't and then I'll have to go rescue you. I should probably kill you myself and do the Rebellion a favor." He scowled, then pulled her into his arms for a deep kiss, long enough to satisfy his curiosity and short enough that he let go before she recovered enough to hit him. The wookie howled.
Beth's defiance faltered. "What was that for?"
"Luck. You're going to need it. I hope there are two sets of binders around here. We'll need one set for Chewie and one for you, since there ain't no other undamaged armor, not that you're big enough to wear it. She's not big enough to wear it. Try not to let them look loose. And take off that belt." Leia grinned at her and slipped the helmet back over her head, making a thumbs up at the younger girl while Han wasn't looking. Beth made a face, then smiled back. Once Han had put the binders loosely on her and the Wookie and tossed a rifle to Leia, they headed out, leaving orders for the droids to be careful.
Leia could barely see through the helmet, Beth and Chewbacca tried to look captured, and Han managed an air of command over the motley crew. They reached the detention block without incident. They were met at the door by a tall, grim-looking officer.
"Where are you taking these ...two?" He paused, looking Chewbacca over. Han answered,
"Prisoner transfer from Cell Block 1138."
"I wasn't notified. I'll have to clear it." Beth saw the expression on the two guards' faces that he waved over and was suddenly quite scared. As the guards moved over to take control of the 'prisoners', Han yelled "Watch out, he's loose." Chewbacca threw one of the guards aside and caught the rifle Han 'lost control of in his direction, while Beth hit the floor, catching the pistol that Leia 'dropped'. Han had shot two of the four before the others realized that the stormtroopers telling them to watch out for the wookie were the ones shooting at them.
Beth aimed at the cameras, immobile targets, while Han, Leia, and Chewbacca hit everything else, men, alarms, and the occasional camera as well. They were all quite enthusiastic. Beth struggled out of the binders, which weren't quite as loose as Han had intended, as she headed down the detention block, looking for the number that Leia called after her. Leia started picking up guns, charges, and another belt for Beth. Han held a losing conversation with a superior who wanted to know what happened.
"We had an accidental weapons discharge."
"I'm sending up a team."
"There's a leak, big leak, give us a few moments to lock it down."
"What's your operating number?"
Han was just about to blast the console when Leia gave him a number to repeat to the voice. "TF 2451, sir. Can we have a few moments to lock down the leak, sir?"
"If I don't have a report in 3 minutes, I'm sending up a team."
"Of course, sir." Han responded. He shut off the com and yelled down to where Beth was firing at a door. "We're going to have company real quick if we don't get out of here fast."
As the thick smoke billowed into the cell, the prince stared out at this completely unexpected turn of events. For a few seconds he thought he was either dreaming or dead, he was seeing an angel backed by bright light, then as the smoke cleared, he realized it was a girl holding a blaster. She just stared at him, her mouth slightly open. Finally he stood up, pretty sure that this intruder was not going to shoot him with the blaster she'd opened his cell with, and said, "I think I like this uniform better than than the armored white ones."
Beth answered him in a rush. "I'm Beth Lepold. We're here to rescue you. We've got your droids and Obiwan Kenobi with us." "Obiwan?" he asked as she extended her hand to him, he took it with his left and pulled her after him toward the others.
Han, Leia, and Chewie headed back toward where Beth and the prince were coming out of the cell block.
"The company got here too fast. We can't get out that way."
Leia pushed the comlink and belt at Beth. "Call C-3PO. Find out if there is any other way out of the cell block . . ."
The prince stared aghast at them, the hope of rescue raised by the misidentified angel transforming rapidly into the realization that these people brought the droids to the Empire and the vision of the entire group of them, including himself, being summarily executed in the very near future. He interrupted. "This is a detention block. There is only one way out."
Leia continued, ignoring him. "regardless of how interesting. Duct-work, anything." Leia tossed a blaster across the corridor to the prince, who began to curse methodically under his breath as he joined in the general return fire. Beth clicked on the comlink.
"3PO?"
"Yes ma'am?"
"We're trapped in the detention area. Is there any other way out of the cell bay? Air ducts, anything? What was that, I didn't copy."
Threepio pressed the comlink again. "I said all systems have been alerted to your presence, ma'am. The main entrance seems to be the only way in or out. All other information on your level is restricted."
Beth heard the comlink click off on the droid's end. "He can't help us. All information on this level is restricted. It's a detention block, what did we expect?" She said to Han and Leia and then turned to look at the prince. He gaped back at them in total disbelief. He was being rescued by a quartet of idiots.
"When you came in, didn't you have a plan for getting out?"
Han indicated the two girls. "This was their idea."
"And you stupidly came in here with them?" He glanced at the two girls, whose attention was riveted on a spot on the wall between him and the captain. He watched as they exchanged glances, said "Garbage chute." together and the darkhaired one pointed her blaster at him. He moved sideways quickly as she blasted a grate in the wall. A pungent smell wafted up from it. The lighthaired one, Beth Lepold, who'd opened his cell, gave him a smile as well and made a motion at the gaping hole in the wall.
"Royalty first."
He jumped. It had to be better than where he was.
Chewbacca whined something. Han kicked him and yelled. "Get in there! Get in there, you big furry oaf. I don't care what you smell! Get in there and don't worry about it." Chewie disappeared into the opening. As he did, the time spent investigating the belts paid off, Leia grabbed Beth's gun, yanked a package off her belt and gave it to Beth. Beth flipped out the tripod, took the gun back from Leia, flipped a switch on the side of it and set it on the tripod. She pulled the trigger and a steady stream of shots flooded down the corridor, then she followed Chewie down the hole. Han kept firing, creating more smoke. Han nodded at the gaping hole.
"After you." Leia jumped in and Han followed, whooping,
