Wow. We're nearly done with the story! Only one more chapter to go after this!
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Disclaimer: It all belongs to George. Not me.
The last month had been hell for Leia Organa.
It had been six months since Han had been taken away from her, and although the whole time it had been hell, this feeling of excitement mixed with longing, grief and fear was new to her. The excitement at being so close to having Han back. The fear that their risky rescue plan would be shot to pieces. In their case literally. Leia smiled to herself grimly. When hasn't one of our plans fallen to pieces?
After hours of arguing, Lando had, under a false identity, gone to Jabba's palace to look for work as a "security guard". All she had heard from him were short reports every few days assuring the others that he was, in fact, still alive and working his way into Jabba's throne room. Leia just hoped that he didn't forget himself chasing after a pretty slave girl or a good sabaac game.
The worst part though was the waiting. There were times when she thought that she would scream as she paced Obi – Wan Kenobi's hut restlessly, looking out at the huge, flat desert and the twin suns. Trained to be a politician since she was very young, and having been one of the leaders of a rebellion against the empire, just sitting around waiting for things to happen had never been part of her life. The days seemed to pass excruciatingly slowly, and sometimes Leia thought she would scream if the monotony didn't end.
She and Chewie had grown even closer since they had come to the desert planet. Both of them were stuck, helpless, while Lando attempted to get into the palace, and she knew that the Wookie missed Han nearly as much as she did. He could be annoying, though – Chewie had taken Han very, very seriously when he told him to look after her, and whatever she did, he insisted on honouring that promise. When they had sat at the table in Obi – Wan Kenobi's hut a month ago trying to figure out a plan, he had made it clear that there was no way he was letting her go in there without him. As irritating as having a huge shadow could be at times, she enjoyed the Wookie's company, and the two unlikely companions had spent hours talking. She had found out that Chewie was more than willing to share stories of he and Han's past, which she absorbed like a drop of water in the desert, even if they would sometimes make her miss Han all the more.
The pair had also, out of sheer boredom, gone back to the Alliance two weeks earlier for supplies. They had spent less than a standard day at the Alliance, as both Chewie and Leia were itching to get back to Tatooine in case anything had happened with Han's rescue. Although Leia had enjoyed seeing her friend – Zara had proved that she could always make her smile, even when she was most upset – they both had been very tense the whole time they were docked at Home One. It hadn't helped that they both had been trying very hard to avoid Mon Mothma, and any High Command members other than Rieekan.
The Alliance Fleet, Two Weeks Earlier
"Leia?"
The princess turned, seeing a familiar girl in an alliance uniform standing behind her. She smiled, hugging her friend warmly. "Zara!"
The two girls separated, and Leia took in the confused and worried look on Zara's face. Before she got a chance to say anything, the other girl had begun talking.
"Is everything all right? Why are you back so soon? Where are the others? Have you gotten Han out yet?" She asked Leia rapidly.
A pang went through her at Han's name, but Leia just gave her friend a small smile. "We haven't gotten Han out yet." She sighed. "Lando's working on getting into the place where he's being kept. Luke's been occupied with his Jedi training, and me and Chewie were going a little crazy, so we came back here for supplies."
Zara nodded. "Oh. Does Mon Mothma and the rest of High Command know you are back?"
Leia shook her head no. "I spoke to Carlist on the way in. I imagine she's pretty upset with me after how I left the last time." Both girls smiled at each other at the memory of Leia, Lando and Chewie disobeying a direct order from the leader of the rebellion to go continue the search for Han. The Leia sobered. "I doubt she'll be very pleased when she finds out I'm here."
The young medic took Leia gently by the arm, leading her down the passageway of the ship "She'll come around. Do you want some kaff?"
"Definitely."
Leia sighed to herself. She sat curled up on the bed in her room in Obi – Wan's hut, looking at the holo of Han and Luke that she had found months ago. Seeing his face, his laughing lopsided smirk, her throat constricted as it always did. Although she had managed to control her grief while she was awake, the nightmares were just as bad as always. Sometimes they were her recurring nightmares – Han's face as he was lowered into the carbon freezing chamber, Tarkin's cruel voice as he ordered his crew to fire on Alderaan, Han's screams as she was forced to watch him be tortured. Some nights her dreams were confusing and terrible – Her friends killed on the Death Star, blood, screams. Other times, she would dream of the most mundane things, like Han fixing the Falcon, or making a cup of kaff. Without fail, they always left her shaking and covered in sweat.
On the bright side, Luke seemed to be doing better. While still maintaining a strict silence on the months he was away or his duel with Darth Vader, he didn't spend nearly as much time brooding as he had. Her friend had taken to filling up his long days with rigorous Jedi training – going out for runs in the intense heat, meditating for hours, and working for nearly the whole time on building his lightsabre. Leia would watch him sometimes, and had to admit, he was becoming pretty good.
Maybe she, Chewie, Luke and Lando did have a chance at pulling off in this rescue, after all.
Lando lounged against the wall at his post, looking for all the world like another of Jabba's thugs. His fellow guard, a large pig – snouted Gambedorian who didn't speak a word of basic, paced restlessly across the hall from him, swinging his club. The walls of the 'palace' were rocky and covered in slime, mould and other things that Lando didn't even want to think about. As with the rest of the building, the smell was overpoweringly disgusting, very unlike the posh mining city that he had grown used to over the years.
The ex – baron reached up, sighing as he tried to wipe his face from outside the helmet he was wearing. Even inside, Tatooine was one of the hottest places he had ever been, or wanted to be. At that moment, Lando wished more than almost anything that he could just get the damn clothes off, but even he was recognizable enough that it would mean the end of their 'carefully thought out' rescue attempt if he were to be seen. Before leaving the others, Leia had also made him leave his cloak on the Falcon, something that he had argued quite vehemently about, but eventually, she had won.
An abrupt clanging noise startled him from his thoughts. Recognizing it as the door down the passageway from them, Lando straightened up, looking more alert. The other guard stopped pacing, staring in the direction of the noise with his head cocked to the side in confusion. Lando decided that maybe the Gambedorian was more than a bit slow.
Within seconds, one of the more senior guards appeared around the corner, with his usual scowl on. He stopped a little ways off from them, his gaze swinging back and forth between Lando and the Gambedorioan like a man picking out the best blaster in a shop. Finally, he settled on Lando.
"You, there." The senior guard snarled at him. "Jabba's just fed one of 'is old guards t' the rancor. Take his place." With that he turned, stomping away again.
A mixture of excitement and fear leapt up in his stomach as Lando followed the guard, surreptitiously fingering the commlink in his hidden pocket.
"Cub!"
Leia, abruptly jerked from her memories, jumped as shed heard Chewie's excited roar from the main room of the hut. She jumped up, running towards him. Luke came out of another room just ahead of her, and she skidded to the side to avoid crashing into him.
"What's going on?" His hand was on his lightsabre. "Are we under attack?"
Leia shook her head; even after knowing Chewie for over three years, he hadn't managed to pick up on any of his language. "I have no idea what's happening, but I don't think it's anything bad." Not waiting for his reply, she continued into the room, where Chewie was holding the comm. "Chewie –"
He interrupted her. "Lando's in. We can go after Han now"
She threw her arms around him.
Less than two standard hours later, Leia, Luke and Chewie stood as close to Jabba's palace as they dared to go, giving 3PO and R2 last minute inspections. While R2 was, as usual, excited to be doing something dangerous, 3PO was, also typically, complaining.
"But sir!" He was saying now to Luke, who was busy installing his lightsabre into R2's hidden arm, "I really do not enjoy this dreadful place. The sand is quite irritating! And I do not understand why I am required to go into this palace. After all, I am only a protocol droid –"
Luke cut him off. "Which is exactly why we need you, 3PO." He addressed both droids. "We will see you very soon. R2, you know the plan." The smaller droid beeped happily at him.
"Go on, then." Luke smiled at them. R2 took off immediately. 3PO followed close behind, chattering about plans and sand.
The princess glanced back at Chewie. He reached out, putting a huge, hairy paw on her shoulder. Squeezing it briefly, Leia looked out over the wide expanses of desert.
We're nearly there, Han. I'll be with you soon. I love you.
A voice seemed to echo in her head, so faint that she didn't know whether or not she had imagined it. I know.