"Ok, recruits try to keep up. This morning will be running on an unmarked trail. I'll be the rabbit and you'll be trying to catch me. You need to look for clues, signs…."
A week after her surgery and she insisted on getting back to work, much to the objection of Castle, Lando and himself. But every argument fell on deaf ears.
It would be his first day at her office. She took him to the outskirts of the city and beyond. It would be awhile in the forest, before he saw her building hidden in the trees. Lando and Castle had been waiting. She insisted that it would be like any normal day of training.
"The purpose of this is to put in a situation that we often encounter. Following the person of interest or being followed ourselves. Sometimes it's easy, sometimes it's hard. And for those of you who don't know, General Solo is with us today, so if you don't pass our tests maybe you can pass his."
There was some chuckling in the group. "And of course, General, you can join us."
He looked at her, standing in front of her recruits. A tank top that showed her bandage over her heart, shorts that showed her lean legs, was she showing off?
"I must protest this," Castle said, standing next them.
"Oh, don't worry so much," she said, patting his chest with a little gleam in her eye. "The General will be off on the course with me if he can keep up."
Less than an hour later and he reached the start again. She stood there with a caf in her hands. "Forty-five minutes for six miles, not bad, General. Not your best time, I'm sure, but you are getting old and the Alliance doesn't have tests like we do."
He glared. He bit his tongue. Her hair was matted to head. She had a glow about her. She even gave him a smile. His eyes moved from her face to her bandage, it was clean. He looked back up to her.
"Don't worry about me, General," handing him a caf.
"Sparring is something everyone will need to learn. You never know when you'll be one-on-one with an opponent, knowing the basics is not enough."
He leaned against the wall. This wasn't something the Alliance would teach its recruits. It was all about shooting and safety, not about hand-to-hand combat.
"Alright, let's have Ben and Lana fight."
Leia moved off the padded square and let her recruits spare it out. His eyes left her and watched the match. Lana was about Leia's height and build and showed little combat experience. She'd try to strike Ben and he'd always knock her away. He had her on the ground in 60 seconds.
"Stop, stop. Lana, you are thinking that Ben is bigger and stronger than you," she said, giving the recruit her whole attention like she did everything. "He's not. A girl like you can take down a guy like Ben or Castle or General Solo for that matter. You just need to know what to do and have confidence. Height and weight don't matter unless you are facing a wookie, then it gets a little tricky but it can be done. You just need to feel your opponent, flow with his punches and defend that way. Especially if you feel like you have the disadvantage. General, can I take you away from that wall to spar with me?"
His hazel eyes met hers. They hadn't sparred in years. He hadn't sparred in years.
"You are in no condition to spar."
"You won't hurt me, promise. I'll follow your lead."
"Leia, it's a bad idea," he heard Castle say. "You are injured."
"And you never know what situation you will be in, when injured and needing to be on your game is key to your survival."
"You need a break."
"We need to continue."
He watched her forge ahead. She was limping, blood dripping down her leg. She had gotten shot in town while meeting with suppliers.
"Leia, you really need to stop."
"Han, we don't have time. We have only a short lead on the stormtroopers."
She limped forward. She was right. He quickly caught up with her and picked her up. There was no reason for her to limp all the way back to the Falcon.
He pushed off the wall and walked towards her.
"General Solo here has boxing experience. It is different from what we teach here. Boxing, while it's good for the Imperial Navy, won't win you a fight in a Cantina."
He took his stance, feet apart, forearms up. She took a similar stance and waited. Seconds went by before he lunged forward to punch and she blocked it. He did it again, she blocked it, then she had him knocked to the ground. The air went out of his lungs. He kicked her down, but before he could get a hold on her, she had his neck in a choke hold. His right elbow connected with her ribs, he heard her gasp and he rolled her on her back. His forearm went to her neck, his legs around her hips. He looked at her. She was out of breath. He let up a little.
"Bad call, Solo," she whispered.
Her fist connected with his cheek, dazing him and soon it was him on his back with a knife to his throat. He heard the gasps, but his hazel eyes didn't leave hers. She leaned in, never moving the knife, she whispered, "Show them how to turn this situation around."
Was she crazy? He had only done that once in a fight on Yavin. She moved the knife about an inch away from his throat, relaxing. She could still cut his throat and he knew it. His used an arm to push away her arm with knife and used his body weight to knock her back. She yelped when he hurt her wrist, taking the knife away and putting it against her pink tinged bandage above her heart.
She looked at him and the knife. She smiled up at him and laughed. Her head laying back on the pad. He drew the knife away, skidding it away from him. "Never underestimate your opponent. You may think you have it sealed with a bow, but if you relax, he or she can get the upperhand."
He sat on his haunches, staring at her. She was being casual for someone who had a knife close to piercing her heart a minute earlier. "Lando will be taking over from here for the intel portion. Good work today."
The recruits filed out. She propped herself up on her elbows after they left. "Good job there, General. You taught my class a valuable lesson."
"How to almost kill someone in practice?"
"Oh, you were in control the whole time." He arched an eyebrow at her. "It may be almost four years since we done that, but I knew what you were going to do. You're easy to read, you need to work on that."
He shook his head. Her giving him combat advice that was new. He stood up, she laid back down, closing her eyes.
"You, ok?"
She nodded. "Just reminiscing."
He walked the white walls of her headquarters. Her staff was dressed casually, but all carried some type of weapon on them always ready for battle. He had seen her intel unit, which was similar to the ones on Hoth and Yavin. Maps of galaxies were spread out on the walls. There were transmissions coming in from several different planets. Had she really built all of this? Had she created her own special unit?
Hours had passed since, she left him to do paperwork, and soon he returned to her black office door. Castle was outside. He nodded, reaching for the door knob.
"I wouldn't do that," he heard the man say.
He pulled his hand away. He looked at the brown haired, brown eyed man that seemed as tall as a tree. He waited for an explanation.
"She's getting ready."
"Ready for what?"
He watched the man shoulders go up and down. He decided to wait in silence, waiting for Leia to appear.
Ten minutes went by before he heard the door click and swing open, and his mouth went slack-jawed.