Wow, so many positive reactions to the last chapter :) Thank you all so much! And thank you to all the guest reviewers, since I can't reply to you directly. Here is more...

###

"Princess."

Leia's head swiveled in the direction of General Dodonna's voice. He was quickly weaving his way through the Command Center. Her brow rose in question when he was beside her.

"We have a bit of a problem." His white hair was unkempt and his eyes were narrowed with concern.

Her brow drew lower than before. "What is it?"

"Your mission to Uralta."

Her heart sank and she placed an urgent hand on Dadonna's arm. "What's happened?"

"I'm afraid we don't have an available pilot."

She breathed a sigh of relief and dropped her hand from his arm. This could be handled. "There are no pilots available at all?"

His lips pressed together grimly. "Well, Solo is available. But he refused the assignment."

Leia frowned. In the past few weeks, Han had clearly been avoiding her. She had decided it was probably for the best, but now it was effecting her business for the Rebellion. Like it or not, she would have to do something about it.

Dadonna continued before she could respond. "I thought that perhaps you could persuade him to change his mind. You seem to have a good rapport with him."

She felt an almost imperceptible twitch at her left eye. A good rapport. With an inner sigh, she mustered her resolve. "Of course," she told the older man. "I will speak to him immediately."

The General was visibly relieved. "Thank you."

She nodded and left the Command Center. As she strode through the corridors towards the hangar where the Falcon was berthed, she sighed audibly. She imagined that, as always, he was going to make this difficult for her. She was not looking forward to this conversation.

From the hangar entrance, she spotted Han and Chewie beneath the Falcon. The Wookiee was holding a macrofuser and they seemed to be engaged in an argument. Or possibly a discussion. With Solo, it was often hard to tell.

His voice became audible as she drew closer. "You can't just weld it! You have to replace the whole thing."

Chewie roared a long, defensive response.

"Well, then see if anyone else has an extra one."

As she approached from behind Han, Chewie's eyes found her and he roared a greeting. Leia smiled back. She had grown rather fond of the furry guy.

Han turned towards her, hands on hips, expression inscrutable.

Leia smiled but could feel her defenses rising at the sight of the impossible Corellian. "Hi."

Chewbacca muttered something to Han and walked away with a purposeful stride.

"Your Worship," he acknowledged shortly.

Why couldn't this man just call her by her name? With a flicker of anxiety, she got down to business. "General Dadonna was just telling me that you are the only pilot available for my mission to Uralta."

"That so?" He rubbed at the scar on his chin.

She nodded. "He also said you refused the assignment."

"I did."

"May I ask why?"

He shrugged. "Just didn't feel like it." He remained unreadable.

"I would like to ask you to reconsider," she said, suppressing a sigh of frustration.

"Go ahead."

"Excuse me?"

"You said you'd like to ask. So ask." A mischievous twinkle lit his eyes.

Leia tried not to let her jaw visibly tense. It was a gargantuan effort. "Han, would you reconsider the mission to Uralta?"

Now he smiled wickedly. "What are you saying? That you need me?"

She blinked several times before answering. "I need a pilot."

"You need me."

She couldn't help the sigh that escaped her. "I need you to bring me to Uralta."

"You need me. C'mon, just say it. Three little words." He gestured with a wave of his hand.

Her eyes grew stormy. "Okay," she gritted between clenched teeth. "I need you."

A smug smirk of satisfaction plastered across his face. "Well, why didn't you say so? I'd be happy to do it."

Impossible, impossible man, Leia fumed silently.

"Send me the details," he added, turning to the underbelly of his ship.

Somehow, he had just dismissed her. Her irritation increased but she decided it best to let it go. As she turned to leave, she heard his voice call after her.

"You're welcome, Sweetheart!"

Her stride broke for just an instant and her shoulders rolled before she started moving again. She forced her eyes straight ahead, unwilling to acknowledge the others milling around, privy to his flippancy.

###

Han, Leia, and Threepio stood side-by-side, taking in the scene before them. Han kept his arms folded at his chest, brow furrowed in confusion. From what he could gather, based on Threepio's translations, two warring clans on Uralta had recently declared a tentative peace, attempting a resolution. But, negotiations were not proceeding well. Since the beings of Uralta were non-humans, the Empire showed no support in either direction.

The Rebel Alliance, eager to sway more systems to their cause, had sent Princess Leia, with Threepio as a translator, to mediate the hostility and represent the Alliance's support. So far, her impressive diplomatic skills were not making a dent.

With a huge, flat rock between them, the clan leaders faced each other, hundreds of beings flocked behind each respective leader. After four standard hours of going back and forth between them, Leia had stepped aside to watch the proceedings. Normally, Han paid little attention to Leia's diplomatic doings, but the tension was high and he feared a physical altercation was imminent.

All of a sudden, the short, thin Kishii leader jumped onto the rock that separated the two clans and began jumping up and down, fists pumping, mouth jabbering. His red skin grew darker as his anger mounted. Han leaned down to Leia.

"What's going on?"

Leia turned to her golden companion. "Threepio?"

The droid cocked his head to one side for a moment, listening. "Mistress Leia, it appears that the leader of the Kishii peoples is pushing for a return to warfare."

Upon hearing this, Leia stepped forward, approaching the rock. Han swore softly to himself and followed closely behind. Personally, he felt the two clans should be left to kill each other if that was what they wanted. Threepio clanked his way to stand beside the Princess.

Leia placed a hand on the droid's arm to indicate he should translate before her voice boomed. "There is no need for more death! Surely, we can come to a peaceful conclusion that will satisfy everyone."

Threepio translated her words and the Kishii clan leader immediately jabbered back, head-quills shivering.

The droid's head angled towards the Princess. "The leader of the Kishii says that they will fight until all of their people have expired in order to reclaim the sacred land that is rightfully theirs."

The moment Threepio finished speaking, the stout, brown-skinned Wiitii leader spoke excitedly.

"The Wiitii leader says that the Kishii leader leaves them no choice. The land is rightfully theirs and they too shall fight to the death."

Han heard Leia's deep sigh of frustration. He glanced at her to find that her expression did not betray her feelings. Her visage remained calm and prepossessed. She took a step closer to the rock and her voice grew low and sympathetic.

"I beg you to think of your families. Your children, your grandchildren, the future of your peoples." She paused to allow Threepio's translation. "I understand how important the sacred lands are to all of you. But this conflict has been going on for ages. What happens when the last of your clans have been destroyed by this conflict? When no one is left to inhabit these lands? When your sons and daughters are slaughtered by warfare and both clans have been decimated to nothing?" She waited for the translation before continuing. "I implore you to put an end to this conflict, for the good of both your peoples. Now, let us end these negotiations for today and begin anew tomorrow when cooler heads prevail."

After Threepio's translation, both leaders spoke briefly. The Kishii leader hopped down from the rock.

"They agree to return to negotiations in the morning," Threepio informed.

Only Han was aware of the way the tension around Leia's eyes lessened. As both clans began to head their separate ways, the trio walked back to the Falcon. As they ascended the ramp, Leia's shoulders sagged. Han saw her heading to the galley, battled himself internally for a moment, then followed. She was pouring a glass of water when he entered.

"After that, I'd think you'd want something stronger," he drawled, leaning in the doorway.

Glass in hand, she turned to him with a grim expression before gulping down half the water. "That might not be a bad idea." She pulled herself up onto a stool and placed her glass on the counter.

Han scanned the floor before returning his eyes to her. "You were really good out there."

She sighed softly. "Not good enough."

"You can't expect to solve a lifetime of conflict in a few hours."

Her defeated expression did not change. She was quiet for a time and Han wondered if he should leave her to her thoughts, when she finally spoke in a hushed tone.

"My father could have." Her downcast eyes held a galaxy full of sorrow.

He tried valiantly to form a response but none came to mind.

Voice barely audible, it just his ears and Han suspected it wasn't meant to.

"If only he were here…"

He tried to sound upbeat. "Well, you've got plenty more time to try tomorrow."

She didn't look at him but her brow rose then lowered in a pessimistic shrug. Abruptly, she slid from the stool. "I'm going to go make some notes."

Han stepped aside and let her pass. The urge to go after her dangled in front of him but he shook his head to rid himself of the thought. That was what always got him in trouble. He renewed his vow to keep his distance and pushed away all thoughts of the Princess.