Mergers and Acquisitions
by suezahn
Disclaimer: All characters depicted herein are the property of Lucasfilm, Disney, etc. My only profit is in the form of readers' feedback. Please be generous!
Note: This story was originally written in 2000 and has now be revised and updated for consistency with the rest of the Kismet series. Please note that the OC name Kristin Aldritch = Keris Aldric now. I decided the old name was too "Earthy."
The original story was awarded STAR aWARdS Best Long Story 2000.
A very special thank-you to my lovely proofreaders: Erin Darroch and Marjorie Joyce.
Chapter 4
A dark tapestry of stars hung unmoving outside the Millennium Falcon's cockpit canopy. Sitting motionless in the deep nothingness of space, her engines were quiet but powered up and ready for immediate firing if necessary. At her controls sat her owner and captain, equally primed for an instant ignition.
Han Solo glanced once again at the glowing time display in his dashboard. "They're late," he mumbled to no one in particular.
Chewbacca, being the only other person present at the moment, shrugged and growled, «Not as late as we were early. We needn't have rushed.»
"Try telling that to the princess," he grumbled. Until a few moments ago he had been in a hurry, too, but now something—a bad feeling—kept teasing that extra sense. He'd been looking forward to this little mission as a chance to escape Serricci and the increased hounding from General Dodonna and now General Rieekan and about officially joining up. Even Leia had seemed to ease up on her recruitment efforts as if accepting his hired help for what it was, but the generals had other plans and regularly reminded him of their standing offer of a commander's rank. Why couldn't they understand that he wasn't interested in a field promotion and let him do what he did best?
The main reason for his impatience, though, was the opportunity to work under ideal conditions—unchaperoned and paid for—with Princess Leia Organa. He'd wanted this chance so badly, in fact, that he'd compromised his already questionable image of mercenary independence in order to escort her. Now was a fine time to have second thoughts.
Han heard the hatch of the cockpit swish open at that moment, followed immediately by an alto voice. "Have they arrived yet?"
"Not yet." Han pivoted on his hip to glance back at his passenger, then froze mid-motion, barely recognizing the woman standing in the rear of the cockpit.
Leia was dressed in a burgundy tunic of brushed shimmersilk. The bold color alone was a surprise—he'd only ever seen her dressed in white gowns, the khakis of military fatigues, and the black jumpsuit she'd briefly sported during their failed mission to Thertur Major. This top was cinched at her trim waist by a golden mail belt, and her fitted black leggings were tucked into shiny black boots that reached to just below her knees. Her rich brown hair, almost always restrained by tightly wound braids, now hung down over her shoulder in a single, thick, loose braid that nearly touched her belt. Subtle touches of gold jewelry glittered in the dim lights of the cockpit. The clothing was comfortable and casual, yet she brought a regal elegance to the ensemble that he admired in more ways than one.
Maybe you've got nothing to worry about.
Taking a seat in the communications station behind Chewbacca, Leia paused to get a closer look at Han. She frowned. "You're not wearing that, are you?"
Erase that last thought, Han amended. The stunning transformation hadn't affected her mouth. "Keep taking showers like that and we'll have to double-up to conserve water."
Rather than address Han's diverting remark—she indulged in using the Falcon's real water shower whenever she could find an excuse—Leia shot the smuggler a dirty look, then leaned forward and rested a hand on Chewbacca's shoulder. "Chewie, you're sure you'll be all right here alone? It might be safer to take the Falcon back to base until our return rendezvous. What if Imperials or pirates drop by?"
The Wookiee started to growl an answer, but Han cut him off. They'd gone over this. "We're far enough off the trade routes to go unnoticed, and Chewie knows the routine if he gets any unexpected company. Besides, flying and landing this bird solo is riskier than just sitting here."
Chewbacca interrupted with a sharp bark, making an emphatic diving and banking gesture with one hairy hand.
Han shrugged, irritated that he'd been corrected in front of the princess. "Of course you can fly it alone if you have to. Anyway," Han continued, redirecting his attention to her, "I'll be carrying a deep-space rescue beacon in case we run into problems. The beeper won't do any good if he's sitting on his furry ass on Serricci."
Evidently put off by Han's curt tone, Leia shook her head. "Now you're starting to sound like Dodonna. I don't foresee any trouble. Ord Mantell's arguably the safest place in the Central Core—"
"That's not saying much."
"—and my name won't appear on any passenger list or registers," Leia pressed on. "Lacostia's in just as much danger as I am, so I'm positive they're taking every precaution to keep this secret. You're being paranoid."
With good reason. He didn't bother to say his morbid thought because she wasn't going to listen. Maybe it was a good thing he was coming along on this trip after all—he suspected he'd need to be extra cautious for both of them.
He got to his feet and turned to her. "Maybe I am, but I'm still alive, which is a damned sight better than most of my competition." Without waiting for the inevitable retort, he stepped through the cockpit hatchway and headed for the bunkroom.