Now look guys, I know I haven't updated in a while, but that could have to do with the pathetic number of reviews, especially compared with the previous stories in this sequence. Just a little 'good job' if you like it or 'needs work' if you don't? I mean come on, you are writers, you should be able to come up with something

And Yet So Far

"Well it's flying." Lark muttered. "But not much else."

"Just give me a couple minutes." Han said. His hands were moving so fast, they could barely be seen as he tried to do six things at once.

"Something I can do?" Lark asked.

"Yes! No! Just…"

Just then Chewie let out a howl.

"I saw them! I saw them!" Han said.

"Saw what?" Leia asked.

"Star Destroyers, two of them, coming right at us." Han answered, not pausing in his button-pushing, switch-flipping, dial-turning tirade.

Threepio entered the crowded cockpit, staggering as the ship lurched back and forth. "Sir, sir! Might I suggest..."

"Shut him up or shut him down!" Han snapped. "Chewie, check the deflector shield!"

Chewie barked a reply as he readjusted an overhead switch.

"Oh, great. Well, we can still out-maneuver them."

Lark glanced out the window and her heart sank into her stomach as she saw what they were running from. Would they ever be able to stop for two seconds long enough to catch their breath?

She had always prided herself on the ability to do whatever she was told in an emergency without getting in the way of the person in charge, and if she couldn't do anything, to sit tight and keep her mouth shut. But this time, she couldn't help but ask in a small voice, "Can't we jump to light speed?"

"I'm getting there!" Han's voice made her sink back in her chair and resolve not to say anything else. "Prepare to make the jump to light-speed."

"But, sir!" Threepio protested. Lark shook her head at him.

"They're getting closer!" Leia cried as the buffeting of laserbolts grew rougher.

"Oh yeah?" Han prepared to leave his enemies in the dust with a gleam in his eye. "Watch this." He pushed a button.

Automatically, everyone looked out the window to watch the stars blur and then disappear altogether as they jumped to lightspeed. Only it didn't happen. Han stared incredulously at his monitor wondering what had gone wrong.

"Watch what?" Leia asked.

Han tried again, but there wasn't any indication that the Falcon was even trying. "I think we're in trouble."

"If I may say so, sir, I noticed earlier the hyperdrive motivator has been damaged. It's impossible to go to light-speed!" Threepio announced.

"We're in trouble!" Han said, wincing as the explosions coming from behind became louder and more violent.

"You got your wish, Leia." Lark said despite her vow of silence.

"And now I wish I didn't."

"Chewie, let's get working on this." Han finally snapped out of his state of unbelief. "Let's get back there and check out our systems. Girls, don't crash."

"What are we going to crash into?" Lark muttered as Han left the cockpit. She took a deep breath and noticed that her hands were shaking. Quickly, she tucked them under her legs.

Leia shot her a sympathetic look. "I'm scared too."

"I just wish I could do something." Lark said. "I wish…" she stopped. What she really wished was that she hadn't snapped at her mom before leaving. Now who knew if she'd ever even see her again.

"I would say Han will get us out of this, but I honestly don't know if he can." Leia said.

"He's pretty resourceful." Lark said.

Suddenly, a loud thump hit the side of the Falcon, causing it to lurch radically. Leia and Lark both jumped and looked out the windows. A field of floating rocks lay before them. Leia reached for her comlink.

"Han, get up here!" she called.

Not two seconds later, Han was in the cockpit.

"Asteroids!" Leia pointed.

Han practically dived into Leia's chair, and she readily relinquished it. Lark did the same with Chewie, standing beside Leia.

"Oh, no! Chewie, set two-seven-one." Han shouted.

"What are you doing?" Leia demanded. "You're not actually going into an asteroid field?"

Lark's eyes sparkled. "That's brilliant!"

Thank you!" Han said. "It's about time someone appreciates me."

Leai rolled her eyes. "You're crazy."

"No, they're crazy. At least they would be if they followed us."

Leia winced as another asteroid thumped against the ship.

"You don't have to do this to impress me." She said.

"Believe me, I'm not."

Lark glanced out the window. "Uh, maybe I should take the controls." She said.

Han looked up. "What?"

"Han!" Leia shouted.

Han jerked the ship out of the path of an asteroid almost half the size of it.

"I'll take Chewie's chair."

Han snorted. "Good luck. Chewie doesn't like to be undermined by women."

Lark raised her eyebrows and turned to Chewie. "Please?" she said, making her puppy-dog look. Chewie shrugged and stood up.

"Thank you." Smiling triumphantly at Han, Lark sat primly in the chair and took the controls. Han ignored her.

"I still say this is a bad idea." Leia muttered. "Even with a Jedi at the helm."

"She's not at the helm!"

"Sir, the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately three thousand, seven hundred and twenty to one." Threepio said.

"Never tell me the odds!" Han was getting worked up. Leia and Threepio subsided.

"Alright, do you know what you're doing?" Han asked Lark. "He may not have a problem surrendering the copilot's chair to you, but I don't want…"

"I've got it." Lark cut him off. "You forget our first fight."

"I don't deny that you can shoot, but that's not all it takes." Han said.

"I know; it's under control."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Han muttered.

They flew in silence, Han and Lark working in perfect coordination. After a while even Lark's calm Jedi demeanor was beginning to resemble Leia's white-faced, tight-lipped look. Han was just as nervous and just as unable to waste energy hiding it.

"Are they following us?" Lark broke the silence as her radar almost seemed to pick up something.

"I don't know." Han snapped.

Silence reigned once more.

"You said you wanted to be around when I made a mistake; well, this could be it, sweetheart." Han said, glancing back at Leia.

"I take it back. We're going to get pulverized if we stay out here much longer." Leia said, her tone revealing just how stressed she was. Lark didn't blame her; she'd much rather be in the chair where she was. At least then she had some control.

"I'm not going to argue with that." Han said.

"Pulverized?" Threepio whimpered.

"I'm going in closer to one of the big ones." Han said quietly.

"Closer?" Leia demanded.

"Closer?!" Threepio shrieked.

Chewbacca barked, presumably, the same word, only louder.

Lark glanced at Han. "Closer." She said knowingly.

They steered the Millennium Falcon toward the surface of one of the moon-sized asteroids, carefully avoiding flying rocks and bits of rock. Nevertheless, the Falcon rocked slightly as they neared the asteroid.

"Oh, this is suicide!" Threepio wailed, practically hysteric.

Lark grit her teeth. Ignore him. She coached herself. Focus.

Han nudged her. "There. That looks pretty good."

"What looks pretty good?" Leia asked.

Lark looked where he was pointing and nodded. "Perfect.

"What?"

"Yeah. That'll do nicely." Han winked at Lark, enjoying the opportunity to tease Leia.

"Grow up." She muttered.

"Excuse me, your Highness, but where are we going? Threepio asked.

"Who knows?" Leia muttered.

Lark grinned. "Look."

The surface of the asteroid was skimming by, and looming ahead, they could see a large crater. Han gave Lark a nod, and she expertly piloted the Falcon into the hole.

"I hope you know what you're doing." Leia said, her eyes as wide as the crater.

"Yeah, me too." Han said, retaking the controls to fly them through the cavern. "Here we go." He slid them gently through another cavern mouth and landed the ship. "Shut down." He told Lark. "Everything but the emergency power systems."

"Right." Lark glanced at Chewie, not wanting to push it. "Do you want to…"

Chewie gave a growl that Lark took as a thank you and slid back into his place.

"Sir," Threepio spoke up hesitantly. "I'm almost afraid to ask, but...does that include shutting me down, too?"

Chewie barked something, but Han held up a hand.

"No, I need you to talk to the Falcon, find out what's wrong with the hyperdrive." He said. "You may be useful after all."

Suddenly, the ship lurched, causing all the loose items in the cockpit to go flying. The passengers somehow managed to stay on their feet.

"Sir, it's quite possible this asteroid is not entirely stable." Threepio said.

"You think?" Lark shook her head.

"Not entirely stable? I'm glad you're here to tell us these things. Chewie, take the professor in the back and plug him into the hyperdrive." Han looked about ready to shoot something.

"Oh! Sometimes I just don't understand human behavior. After all, I'm only trying to do my job in the most..." Threepio moaned as he went out back to the hold.

"Always trust a droid to state the obvious." Given her preference, Lark would rather have Artoo instead of Threepio on board. The astro-droid wasn't quite so negative and… well 'droid-ish' for lack of a better word, but nobody had asked her.

The ship lurched again, throwing Leia across the cabin into Han's arms. Then as abruptly as it had started, the motion stopped. With some surprise, Han and Leia realized they were in each other's arms. Lark turned away to hide a grin.

"Let go." Leia said flatly.

"Sshh!" Han said.

"Let go, please." Leia's tone wasn't quite as emotionless as the first time. Lark carefully avoided both of their gazes, although they were locked on each other anyway. She quietly slipped over to behind the doors where she could eavesdrop, creating the illusion that they were alone. Then she peeked.

Leia wasn't exactly fighting to get free, but she didn't look that comfortable either. Lark held her breath.

"Don't get excited." Han said.

Lark smacked her forehead.

"Captain, being held by you isn't quite enough to get me excited." Now the only emotion in Leia's voice was anger.

"Sorry, sweetheart. We haven't got time for anything else." Han winked at Leia and turned toward the door. Lark quickly pretended to be entering.

"What was that?" Lark asked coyly.

"Go away." Leia's confused emotions were showing very clearly on her face. Lark shrugged and followed Han. Matchmaking later; right now survival was first on the list.

"Oh, where is Artoo when I need him?" Threepio was muttering when Lark entered followed by Leia. "Sir, I don't know where your ship learned to communicate, but it has the most peculiar dialect. I believe, sir, it says that the power-coupling on the negative axis has been polarized. I'm afraid you'll have to replace it." He said to Han.

"Well, of course I'll have to replace it." Han said, handing a wire coil up to Chewie who was working near the ceiling.

"Here! And Chewie..." Han dropped his voice, and Lark snatched at the words with the Force. "...I think we'd better replace the negative power-coupling." Han glanced over at Leia to see if she'd heard, but she was to busy struggling with a lever of some sort. Lark raised her eyebrows as he moved to help her.

Now maybe if he can get off his ego for two seconds to avoid messing things up… Lark stopped and winced as Leia rebuffed Han's gesture.

"Hey, Your Worship, I'm only trying to help." Han said, quickly covering up his hurt.

"Would you please stop calling me that?" Leia sounded more than a little pathetic.

Han noticed the new tone too, one of helplessness. He immediately softened. "Sure, Leia."

Lark inwardly clapped and stepped back to eavesdrop once more.

"Oh, you make it so difficult sometimes." Leia muttered.

"I do, I really do." Han agreed. "You could be a little nicer, though." There was a pause in which Lark decided Leia was agreeing but not admitting.

"Come on, admit it. Sometimes you think I'm all right." Han prodded.

"Occasionally." Leia said reluctantly. "Maybe...when you aren't acting like a scoundrel." She said, smiling.

"Scoundrel? Scoundrel? I like the sound of that." Han said, closing in. Lark inwardly cheered him on.

"Stop that." Leia suddenly said.

"Stop what?"

Lark was asking the same question, wishing she could see.

"Stop that!" Leia repeated. "My hands are dirty."

He must be holding her hands or something. Lark decided.

"My hands are dirty, too. What are you afraid of?"

Lark had to admit it, Han was good. Once he got over himself, that is.

"Afraid?" Leia's voice was small.

"You're trembling." Han said, his voice low and confident.

"I'm not trembling." Leia said, completely unconvincing.

Lark had had it. If they were going to kiss, she was going to see it, not hear it. She inched herself over. If she could get behind the instrument panel without them seeing her, running the risk of ruining the moment, she would be able to see.

"You like me because I'm a scoundrel. There aren't enough scoundrels in your life." Han said.

Almost there…

"I happen to like nice men." Leia was once more completely unconvincing.

"I'm a nice man."

Lark's toe nudged a loose wrench, but no noise ruptured the romance-filled atmosphere. She stretched and just managed to peer around.

"No, you're not." Leia said. "You're..."

Han cut it off with a kiss. Lark wanted to pump a fist, but she was physically incapable of it what with being squeezed in between a wall an instrument panel. A flash of gold flashed in the corner of her eye.

No…

"Sir, sir! I've isolated the reverse power flux coupling." Threepio announced.

Han turned slowly, icily, from their embrace, his gaze shooting daggers. Lark herself was ready to stick him into a cauldron of boiling metal and make a golden something out of him.

"Thank you. Thank you very much." Only a droid could miss Han's look that he quickly masked.

"Oh, you're perfectly welcome, sir."

The moment spoiled, Han marched out after Threepio.

Jesse expertly piloted his ship to the landing pad at Sallust. Already he could see some of the rebel fleet getting geared up and ready to fly. Obviously there wouldn't be much time for relaxing. Jesse rubbed his eyes wearily as he taxied to the hangar. When was there ever time for relaxing? If they weren't strategizing, they were fighting, and if they weren't fighting they were running for their lives. Jesse could tell the strain wasn't just on him alone. Exhaustion and tight-lippedness seemed to be a permanent fixture for everyone, especially Kimmy. Jesse wished he could do something to shelter her, her and Lark who had already been exposed to way too much for a girl her age. He glanced at Kimmy, who was lightly dozing, and his face softened. It seemed like forever since they'd been able to simply relax and spend time together alone. Bending over, he kissed her gently on the lips.

"What?" she woke up. "Are we there?"

Jesse nodded and turned back to the controls, shutting down the ship. Immediately the ground crew came to meet them. Jesse nodded to acknowledge their greetings and made his way to the command center. There would be no resting for a while. He probably should've taken Kimmy up on her offer to fly for a while. Too late now.

"There you are." Ackbar said as Jesse entered. "We were getting a little antsy."

"Well I'm here." Jesse said wearily.

If Ackbar noticed that Jesse was dragging, he didn't say anything. Instead he looked over Jesse's shoulder. "Where's Leia?"

"She took another ship. I would think it would be here by now." Jesse jerked out of the fog he'd been slipping into.

"No."

"But we were the last ones." Jesse's mind raced. Not again.

Ackbar didn't answer. He didn't need to. Their eyes locked, and they both shared the same thought. This is not good.