CHAPTER 10:
Everything happened so fast, the protesters, the gunshots, the explosions she helped set, the bolts of blaster fire, the screams, all the chaos of a battlefield. Just as she—and Rugger—expected, it didn't take long for the Imperial governor to react with violence to the people who marched in the streets demanding change. Without making an appearance or attempting to placate the potentially viotal situation, orders were given to fire among the crowd. What the governor didn't expect was the people to fire back with blasters, and swinging clubs, and flying rocks, and exploding homemade bombs. It turned ugly fast, and Rugger got the battle he wanted.
And just as Rugger said, the people were ready for a fight. Their determination and anger were etched into their faces and firey words. As a couple hundred locals marched through the city streets and overtook the Imperial Square, Han, Leia, and the rest of the team, along with Marbo and a few of his men, set off explosives in various parts of the city to draw attention away from the crowds. They were now engaged in a fire fight with storm troopers .
"Do you think Rugger was successful?" Leia asked Han over the blaster fire.
"It's going to take him time to infiltrate the palace," Han shot a storm trooper before continuing. "Even with all the chaos out here, the palace is still heavily guarded."
Leia took out another storm trooper, "Your plan for getting in was brilliant."
"Of course," Han took a moment to grin at her, "but they could still run into snags."
"Let's try to be optimistic."
"You think the Alliance will agree to send reinforcements?"
"Once they know what is happening, I can't see them saying 'no'." She paused to shoot more stormtroopers, "I'm sure General Madine will back up our request."
"I hope you're right. This is going to turn into a massacre," Han pressed his lips together. "Okay, ready?"
"You first," Leia ordered. "I'll cover you."
"I'll cover you," he countered.
"It would be—"
"I don't have time to discuss this in a committee!"
"I'm not a—"
"Go!"
Leia grunted then ran across the street as Han continued to fire at the storm troopers. Once she reached the other side and found cover behind a garbage dump truck, she returned the favor for Han. They continued to cover each other as they made their way closer to the Square and met up with the rest of the team at the rendevous point. From there, they were to return to the Falcon and head out, but once they reached their destination, leaving wasn't an option.
"They're getting slaughtered!" Harding yelled as Han and Leia met up with him.
Although armed protestors were giving the Imperials a good fight, there were still many unarmed and poorly armed protestors—not to mention innocents—caught in the crossfire. The small homemade explosives that some protestors threw at speeders and storm troopers kept some of the Imperials at bay, but the protesters remained outnumbered, out gunned, and at a definite disadvantage. It would be a miracle if they succeeded.
"We've got to take out the snipers!"
Han nodded, "Marbo, Elt. You know the city better than we do. Can you get some of your men to blitz attack a few of 'em on the roofs?"
Marbo brandished his weapon, "Will do."
"Once we get rid of most of the snipers, we'll head back to the Alliance and send reinforcements."
"Good luck!" Elt shouted as they rushed to complete their mission.
Han glanced at his original team, "Harding, you take the northeast side and Kindler will cover you. Grif, the west side with Harris to cover you. Borj, Roy, you're both excellent shots. You decide who covers whom. Take the south. Leia, Crag and I will stand ground here. The rest of you, cover the medics. Once the snipers are taken out, head back to the Falcon. You all have the coordinates. Keep your comlinks on."
The men acknowledged Han's orders and took off to their designated area.
Han rushed over to a nearby speeder, ripped out the control panel, then manipulated the wires to his liking. In less than a standard minute, the engine revved up. He flashed Leia and Crag a cocky smile, hopped into the driver's seat, and guided the speeder to a building with a low hanging eave.
He jumped out, "Come here. Help me tip it over."
Leia and Crag rushed to his side and they both pushed at the speeder until it was turned on its side.
"Impressive," Leia couldn't hide her admiration as she took cover underneath the eave and behind the speeder.
"Did you expect anything less?" Han's grin was lop-sided and cocky.
Crag and Leia exchanged looks.
"Careful. That head of yours isn't going to fit inside the Falcon's cockpit if it gets any bigger!"
Han's gin widened then he sobered and his eyes scanned the positions of the snipers. Leia and Crag focused their attentions on the stormtroopers who would inevidably aim their blasters at them when Han started firing. Leia slowly inhaled and exhaled as the firefight began. Her heart pounded fast with the adrenaline rushing through her veins, and all she could think about was that if she and Crag failed to take out the stormtroopers aiming their blasters in Han's direction, Han could die. She had to push that distracting thought out of her mind. It would only hinder her aim. Next to her, Han took longer than usual to line up his sights before he squeezed the trigger. She smiled every time he let out a "Ha!" of success, and her worries eased a touch.
This was Leia's first real battle. Yes, she had been on battlefields before as she had boasted to Han, but never at the front, and never as a soldier. And now she was truly a soldier. From senator to soldier, it had happened so fast. Eight months and…how many weeks, days was it? Just over eight months and her life changed in ways she never expected. She had imagined her role in the Alliance would be that of a leader behind the scenes, a liason between the High Command and the leaders of planets with sympathies leaning toward the rebellion. At most she figured that she would join missions, like this one, running supplies between bases. Not as a soldier.
But now, here she was, blaster in hand, at the front lines of a battle. Eight months ago on the Death Star was the first time she fired a blaster outside of a target range, fired at living persons. She didn't give it much thought then as she was fighting for her life, for Luke and Han—just strangers then—and for the Alliance, for if those plans in R2-D2 hadn't reach the rebels, all hope for the Alliance's survival would have died. But in that moment, firing a blaster at live targets changed everything. She was a soldier.
The blaster she brandished, the squeeze of a trigger, felt natural—too natural—and it sent a chill up her spine. She was protecting Han, but they weren't exactly fighting for their lives like they were as they tried to escape the Death Star. Those men in the eerie white and black armor were men indeed, fighting perhaps because they believed in the Empire as much as she believed in the Alliance. Or they were just men who needed a job, perhaps had families to support. Or they perhaps weren't given a choice. Whatever their reason for siding with the Empire, they were still just men, men she aimed to kill.
And even though they were just men, men like Han Solo (well, maybe not like Han Solo), humans with hopes, worries, and aspirations, they were the enemy, and she was a soldier with a duty to complete. She pushed their humanity from her mind and focused on their actions. They were shooting at Han. They were shooting at the unarmed as well as the armed. Lives had to be taken to save lives; wasn't that what war was all about?
Give me the name of a target…
"Ha!" Han took a moment to grin at her.
Leia shook her head and turned her attention back to the battle before her. That's when a woman caught her attention, a woman with a young child, trying to make their way to safety. What was a little girl doing among all this bloodshed? Then she remembered that this particular battle wasn't being fought out in trenches or at military targets away from cities; it was running it's course where everyday life took place just hours earlier. Not everyone here was part of the fight. They were just bystanders caught in the crossfire. What was Rugger thinking? Taking a city was full of risk, but if they succeeded it would be a great victory for the Alliance. Would her opinion of his actions differ if she weren't in the middle of it witnessing the carnage?
"No!" she exclaimed as the woman was shot dead, leaving the child standing next to her mother's body crying.
Her exclamation captured Han's attention, "Leia! It's too dangerous! Stay here!" He glanced between the little girl and the snipers before he made his decision.
But she ignored him. Before he could act, she sprinted from her relatively safe position and into the open. She heard Han expel a Corellian curse then the blaster fire from both Han and Crag as they attempted to cover her. Leia rushed over to the screaming child and reached her arms out to the little girl. Just as her hands closed around the girl's torso, a white flash of hot pain pierced her body and she fell to the ground.
"Leia!"