Mergers and Acquisitions
by suezahn
Disclaimer: All characters depicted herein are the property of Lucasfilm, Disney, etc. My only profit is in the form of readers' feedback. Please be generous!
Note: This story was originally written in 2000 and has now be revised and updated for consistency with the rest of the Kismet series. Please note that the OC name Kristin Aldritch = Keris Aldric now. I decided the old name was too "Earthy."
The original story was awarded STAR aWARdS Best Long Story 2000.
A very special thank-you to my lovely proofreaders: Erin Darroch and Marjorie Joyce.
Chapter 21
They continued walking for some time, content with watching the shoppers around them and enjoying each other's company. Han had taken her hand at some point and rarely let go now, keeping her close to him. She didn't mind a bit. She'd never known how wonderful it could feel to be at another's side, constantly touched, secure in his presence.
It took her a while to notice that he'd grown quieter. At first, she chalked it up to a late night and a full morning of shopping; she was starting to feel a little tired as well and toying with the idea of another luxurious nap. But then she noticed that his grip on her hand had tightened, almost uncomfortably. As they strolled along with the flow of the other pedestrians, she spared occasional glances at him, trying to detect what he was thinking from his expression. For some reason, he seemed more wary and it set her on edge—a disconcerting feeling on the heels of her elation from yesterday. Still new to the realms of such intimacy, she wondered if she'd somehow offended him. He was starting to act like the old Han and she wasn't sure what to think of that.
"Is something wrong?" she finally asked. They'd paused in front of a men's clothing store to ponder the latest fashion from the Central Core, and she was positive now that he was uneasy. She caught him making regular nonchalant surveys of their surroundings. She recognized that "scoping the joint" look.
"I'm fine." Even his answer was evasive.
She bit her bottom lip as she considered all the ramifications of what she was about to propose. "Would you rather we go back to the hotel?"
Han's hazel eyes flicked down to meet hers and locked there for a moment, as if he were gauging her meaning. Then he looked up and around them again. "Yeah, I think that might be a good idea."
She'd been prepared for all sorts of suggestive responses from the Corellian, but this distracted answer hadn't been one of them.
His hand still firmly wrapped around hers, he changed their course and she was immediately aware of the increased pace of their stroll. It wasn't a stroll anymore, but more of a quick march.
Goddess, he's in that much of a hurry?
A little of that fight-or-flight reflex threatened to return at this sudden display of enthusiasm. But when she nearly tripped, and only his quick reflexes and strong arm kept her from sprawling in an unregal heap, she realized something was very wrong. "Han, what are you doing?!"
"We're going back to the hotel," he said in a tight voice that only served to make her angry now. She was starting to feel a little winded and the romantic mood was definitely fading.
"That's it!" she finally exclaimed, yanking on his hand and bringing their pell-mell trek to a halt. "I demand to know what's going on."
Han groaned and rolled his eyes, then bent down until his nose almost touched hers. "Princess, we're being trailed, and if you don't get those rocks out of your ass right now, we're gonna be corralled like Nerfs."
The meaning of his words was powerful enough to make her forget her reflexive fury at his crude and unexpected comment. "Trailed? By whom?"
She was rewarded with an explosive huff. "Does it really matter?!"
She opened her mouth, then shut it again. It didn't matter.
"That's what I thought." Grabbing her hand again, he resumed blazing a trail through the crowd of pedestrians. "We gotta get outta here—now."
"Where are they? I can't.…Oh!" Whether it was his mannerisms or just some sixth sense, she now spotted one of the men following them. Why hadn't she noticed him before? The aura emanating from the youth was strong enough that it made the hairs along her neck stand on end. She tried harder to match Han's fast pace.
"See them?" he asked in an almost conversational tone as he cut across the flow of traffic and led them toward a pod of lifts that would take them to other levels.
"I see one," she answered, trusting him to guide her steps as she glanced backwards, scanning the crowd again. At first, no one else stood out, and then, again as if by instinct, her eyes moved back to look closer at one man. He was dressed in a blue Security uniform. In that instant, his gaze swung toward her, their eyes locked, and she knew. He seemed to realize at the same moment that he'd been spotted and he quickened his pace, no longer concerned with concealment. A chill swept over her and she tried to keep her voice calm. "He knows we've spotted them. They're closing in!" She nearly lost contact with Han as he burst into a sprint.
"I only spotted two, but there's probably more. Two against two is crazy unless they're heavily armed or herding us toward a trap. We're going up."
Luck was with them for a change as they found an empty lift waiting for them. Han punched the keypad and the door began sliding closed. Through the transparasteel tube surrounding them, Leia could see the two men arrive at the pods moments after they began rising. "How far?"
"All the way to the top. Too many dead-ends and narrow passages on the lower levels. It'd only be a matter of time before they'd backed us into a corner. Once we're on the top, I think we can lose them. Then we gotta find a docking bay."
"Docking bay?" She was still playing catch-up and felt like she was at least a light-year behind.
"We need to get off-station now. They know I'm here and they won't stop until I'm in their hands one way or the other."
"I still don't.…What do you mean, you're here?" She turned to stare at him, some realization dawning. "It's not me they're after?"
Han let out a long-suffering sigh, then faced her and held her gaze. "Sweetheart, right now I'm worth more to those bounty hunters than you'll ever be on your best day." He nodded as if agreeing with her stunned reaction. "Remember that price on my head I keep telling you about? Well, for those guys, it's payday."
"Oh no." A palpable fear for Han's safety flooded her. It took another moment for the other implications of this turn of events to dawn on her. "Oh Kreth! What about Lacostia? What if they find out? If this ruins my deal, I'll—"
"Damn it, Leia! Is that all you can think of?"
Their lift slowed to a halt at the uppermost level and the door slid open with a hiss.
"Han, I'm serious.…"
"We'll take a vote later, Sweetheart. Right now I gotta make sure I have a 'later.'" He grabbed hold of her hand once again and they were off at a trot. "If I can get my bearings and figure out where the closest docking bay is—"
"I thought you said you knew this place," Leia interrupted in a tight whisper. She could feel her temper simmering. All the amazing feelings she'd been having lately, all the erotic anticipation about Han Solo was dissipating like so much steam in a frigid wind.
"I did. Now shut up and let me think."
She was about to let loose at him this time, in no mood to put up with his curt behavior anymore. "Great. This is just great! And not a garbage chute in sight."
He stopped mid-thought to throw a look at her, followed by a no-nonsense finger that was much more effective than his previous attempt to quiet her. He meant business and they were still in grave danger. She'd have to pick up this argument at a more convenient time.
"First we need to get out of sight." They glanced at the row of brightly colored food vendors that lined the curved pavilion beside the road. It was the first obvious choice for cover and the crowd wasn't as thick as she would have liked. "That's no good," he announced, seeming to reach the same conclusion. "We gotta keep moving."
Leia had to run to keep up with the smuggler as he set a grueling pace. She glanced backwards and her hopes that the two men had gotten off at a lower level were dashed when they emerged from the lifts and hesitated, their heads craning around.
"Han, they followed us up."
"Kreth! We aren't gonna make the docking bay at this rate."
"What?"
"We're at the wrong end of the park," he announced with a clear note of disappointment. "Those tubes were probably our best chance, unless we can double back. We're heading the wrong way."
"I can't believe this!" She was nearly out of breath now, and her anger was mounting again. They were running in circles like panicked Minkas. "We need to think of something!"
"I'm trying. I'm pretty sure there's only two of them, but chances are they're both armed."
"I only saw two," she reaffirmed. If only she and Han were better armed, she'd have no doubt in their combined ability to handle the situation.
"If I had my blaster, I'd just turn and fight," Han echoed her thoughts.
She noticed that his gaze kept going up toward the brightly lit dome that curved high above them, a spiderweb network of beams and transparasteel that formed the clear "sky" of Ord Mantel's outer level. She tried following his gaze upwards, wondering if they'd run into a trap, but didn't get to dwell on the idea.
"Come on," he said brusquely as he ran off the causeway that wound between the shops and the park. "I've got an idea."
Before she could ask, she was reminded of the artificial nature of the park as the sky came to an abrupt end. The open air and skylight dome abutted a tall, solid wall. They'd reached what she could only guess was the side of a new building, part of the ongoing construction on the outer level.
"A dead end," she gasped.
"Maybe not. This way."
She ran alongside the wall, trying to keep up with the tall smuggler and keep an eye on their pursuers at the same time. For the moment, she'd lost sight of them.
"Here we go."
He'd come to a sudden stop and she nearly plowed into his back, then realized he'd found a sealed entrance in the wall. It was a service door, marked with an "Authorized Personnel" warning.
"Give me your blade."
Still trying to catch her breath, she grabbed onto his arm for balance and ducked down to draw out the weapon from her boot. She handed it to him haft-first. Without switching on the vibrating blade, he slid the tip under the palmplate and popped it off, then started pawing through the bundled wires that he'd exposed. She turned to watch their backs. At the moment, she couldn't spot the two men following them, but she could sense them closing in. She wanted to climb the wall with her bare hands. "Hurry up," she urged softly.
"I'm hurryin', I'm hurryin'." With a few extra mutters, he picked two color-coded wires and sliced through them. A moment later, there was a loud hiss as the door slid open. "Ahhaa!"
They piled through the entrance, then Han repeated the process on the other side. There was another shush as the door slid closed. "Trouble is, I'm not sure I can lock this thing now." Carefully reversing his grip on the knife, he used the butt-end to smash the delicate circuitry inside the box. There was a shower of sparks and for a horrified moment, they watched as the door began coasting back open. But it stopped as the power died, leaving only a small gap. "That should hold them."
"We can't keep running forever." She stated the obvious, unable to keep the sound of despair from her voice.
"I know we can't, but this'll give us some time."
"Why can't I just have a normal day like everyone else?" Leia wondered in gallows amusement as they both turned around to get a good look at their surroundings.
They stood beneath the maze of steel beams, platforms, and semi-constructed walls of a new structure that crouched beneath the transparent ceiling of the space station before finally punching through and stretching out into the void of space beyond. It was a dizzying effect, like staring into an optical illusion of intertwining lines and staircases.
"Nowhere to go but up," he said with a forced grin.
They ran to the open lift that would take them higher and stepped aboard. "Hold on," he instructed before triggering the mechanism. A loud clanking began and the platform jerked under them, then began to rise—slowly. Leia swore she could hear her companion's teeth grind louder than the gears of the elevator.
"So, what's your next move?" she dared to ask, not particularly looking forward to an answer.
"I don't know. Maybe an ambush of some sort. Or maybe we can still double back if we can hide long enough." He let loose with another curse and she sympathized—hiding was not his strong suit.
"We should try to separate them," she threw out for both of them to chew on. He twisted around and stared above them, studying the structure they were passing through.
There was a loud bang against the door below and they both looked back down to where they'd entered the construction area. They could see a pair of hands wrap around the edge of the jammed door, trying to pull it open further. It didn't seem to budge and Leia dared to hope that it would stay frozen. Another pair of hands joined the first and with a sick feeling she watched as it began to give way, sliding open under the sheer strength of their two assailants. At last, there was enough of a gap for the two men to squeeze through. The noise of the elevator was like a magnet and their heads tilted upward.
"Han, you need to find new friends."
"First thing tomorrow morning.… Down!"
At the same moment that Leia felt Han's protective hand at the back of her head, pushing her down to the floor of the trembling service elevator, the air to their side sizzled as a blaster bolt whined past. It splattered against a nearby floor beam.
"Looks like seventy-five thousand's enough after all," Han groused from his prone position next to her.
"How much?!"
Han heaved another sigh and glared at her. "Does it really matter?"
"Well, obviously it does!"
"Princess, if I'd had any idea—" He cringed as a bolt of laser fire hit the floor of the elevator. The growing distance had weakened its strength and it did nothing more than screech on the metal. "If I'd had any idea the bounty would get that high, I wouldn't have kept putting off that trip to Jabba."
"This is just wonderful." A very real anger was starting to war with her current fear. "And now you're drawing everyone into this mess."
"Now wait a second," he responded, waving an index finger at her, his eyebrows knit in responding anger. "You kept begging me to stay. I told you I had this price on my head. Did you think it'd just go away?"
"I never begged!"
He waved a dismissing hand at her, as if to say he wasn't going to argue semantics. "I thought I was doing you a favor."
"Some favor," she growled. She was too mad and too scared to worry about who said what. Someone was shooting at them and they were quickly running out of options.
She only noticed now that the massive construction area was deserted. "Where is everyone?"
"Just wondering that myself. Must be a day off or something. Hey, check that out." He pointed up toward a large, enclosed structure that seemed attached to the wall of the superstructure. It was at the end of a narrow catwalk that branched off from the upper lift platform. Other catwalks splayed out in other directions from what looked like an office. She realized then that theirs wasn't the only service elevator to the top.
"I've got an idea," Han mumbled.
Leia rolled her eyes. Whenever he had an idea, things usually went from bad to worse.
He got to his feet as the elevator drew level with the platform, then reached down to pull her onto it. He reared back on one foot and kicked his booted heel against the electronic panel of the elevator. A second kick resulted in a satisfying series of sparks and crackles as the system shorted out.
Han headed across the narrow catwalk to the office, Leia following behind and maintaining a tight double-handed grip on the safety rail. They both sighed as the office door opened without a hitch. He led her inside, then closed it behind them. "There's a basic lock, but it's not much and it won't hold up to blasters for long."
He immediately began a quick but thorough search of the compartmented office as she moved over to one of the transparasteel windows and stood on the tips of her toes, trying to see all the way to the ground. "They're still looking for another way up," she called out. "What's your idea?"
"Barricade the door."
"Are you insane?!" Leia turned in time to see him return from his explorations. She looked at him as if he'd just escaped from an asylum. "They know we're in here. We can't stay."
"Nobody said anything about staying. Those blasters can't melt through the door or window, so if we block the door, they can't reach us. Give me a hand with this." He grabbed hold of a nearby shelving unit and tried tipping it back to get more leverage.
He's finally lost it!
They were sealing themselves in what amounted to a bunker, and now he wanted to arrange furniture. She didn't know what to do anymore, but she gave in and came over to help rock the large cabinet over to the door. He put his back to it and pushed it snug up against the entrance, then did the same with a nearby desk. She started grabbing anything she could move and piled it on top and around the bigger pieces. With a sigh, she collapsed into one of the dislocated chairs as exhaustion finally caught up with her.
"I triggered the deep-space beacon when I first noticed those guys, and they've been following us for some time," he said, pointing to the little silver cylinder attached to his belt. "Chewie should be on his way already."
"I still don't see how that's going to help us. We're trapped." She was baffled by the wicked grin that spread across his handsome, if haggard, face.
"We're not trapped." With that announcement, he turned and disappeared into one of the back rooms of the office. There was a rustling noise, and then he reappeared, arms loaded with outer space gear, or at least boots and suits. "We're going outside."
She started up at him, her mind blank for a moment.
Outside.
She had trouble processing the thought. Something seemed to clutch at her throat, making normal breathing difficult. "Where? Out there?!" She pointed in the general direction of deep space.
"Yeah. We'll take the scenic route and double back to the docking bay, then catch the first shuttle off. Chewie should be close by then." He dropped the boots at her feet and the heavy suit in her lap. "They'll take forever to get through that door." He kicked off his boots and began stepping into his own suit. "Good thing the place is shut down after all. I grabbed the smallest suit I could find for you." He tottered on one foot for a moment as he got his other leg into the loose-fitting protective gear, then began hiking it up to his hips.
"No."
Han was clipping the deactivated vibroblade to his external utility belt. He stopped what he was doing and met her gaze. "What?"
"No," she repeated, shaking her head. "I'm not going out there."
His dark eyebrows knitted in confusion and frustration. "Look, we don't have time to argue this."
"I said I'm not going out there." She heard the shrill sound of panic in her words and felt humiliated, but a consuming fear she'd never even suspected before had gripped her and she was positive she couldn't rise out of her chair, let alone do something so crazy. "I'd rather take my chances in here."
He stared down at her, clearly amazed. "Leia, we don't have time to—"
"I'm not going out there!" She yelled loud enough that the pilot actually took a step away. As realization dawned on his face, she wanted to scream again—to tell him to stop studying her like some bizarre science experiment. Her nerves felt as if they were being stretched tight, and she felt light-headed.
"I didn't think you were afraid of anything," he said in what sounded like awe.
"Well, you were wrong!" She couldn't keep the trembling from reaching her voice. She was feeling out of breath again.
Han stood frozen in place as he ran a free hand through his hair. Then he squatted down in front of her and rested his hands on her bent knees, forcing her to look down and meet his eyes. "Listen to me, Leia. We have to do this. We have no choice. You know that!"
She could feel her chest clutching up again and started shaking her head, the terror beginning to reach a crescendo as her breathing grew shallow. Before she could give in to the comforting paralysis, however, he reached up, grabbed her shoulders, and pushed her back into her chair so hard that it rocked on its casters. "Dammit, Your Worshipfulness! Snap out of it!"
He then unleashed a stream of curses at her—profanity that would've made any merchant spacer proud.
Stunned, she didn't resist as he seized her foot and yanked her boot off. He was still cussing as he pulled off her other boot, then began slipping both legs of the space suit over her trousers. Before she realized what was happening, he'd crammed the huge spacing boots onto her socked feet and sealed them. He then stood, gripped her under her arms, and literally uprooted her from the chair. He was trying to wrestle her arms into the sleeves of the suit when all the manhandling and jarring finally shook her out of her incapacitation. His bellowing made her ears ring. A solid wave of anger and indignation surged through her and she started slapping at his hands. "Stop it! Stop it! Leave me alone! I can do it! Don't touch me! I can do it!"
"Fine, do it yourself!" He pulled his hands away, holding them up as if he'd been burned.
She didn't have nearly the vocabulary of coarse words that he'd just demonstrated, but she'd picked up a few in her travels and they tumbled out in a furious torrent as she drew the sleeves up her arms and hunched into the suit. Closing the seals along the front until only her hands and head remained uncovered, she directed an enraged look at Han. "If they don't kill you, I will!"
She wanted him to yell back but all he did was frown. "You'll get first dibs."
Feeling wobbly on her feet, she followed him into the back room. At first, she thought her jerky walk was due to nerves but then she realized that the boots were magnetized. They entered a pressurized chamber and airlock. Along one wall was an assortment of equipment and protective gear meant for the absent construction workers. Han dug through the gloves, then handed her a pair. "Put these on."
Her hands were shaking as she reached to take them, and realized that all her anger had already burned off. He seemed to notice it as well because he checked her eyes again, then pointed at her head. "Better do something about that hair, Your Worship. It'll be a mess in zero G."
On autopilot, she wedged the gloves between her knees and reached up to gather her long hair and tie it into a loose knot at the base of her skull; at least it would keep from blocking her vision. She got one glove on and sealed it, but had trouble with the second; they might've been the smallest available, but she was still lost in them.
Han turned back to her, tucked the bubble-like helmet under his arm, and helped her seal up her glove before double-checking the other. "All right," he said in a softer tone, "you're doing great." He reached up with his free hand to cup her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Follow me. Make sure of your grip. Do what I do. Take deep breaths. Everything's going to be fine. You hear me?"
Her attention focused only on him; she wanted to trust him. She nodded, mentally ticking off his list of instructions again because it gave her something to concentrate on. Letting him make the decisions meant she didn't have to think about it.
"You're one amazing lady," he said with a smile that wasn't the least bit patronizing or insincere. He paused, then leaned in to plant a solid kiss on her lips, yet another distraction.
Cheeks flushed now, she watched as he placed the helmet on her and sealed it to her suit. He gently rapped his knuckles on the clear faceplate, then gave her a thumbs-up and another bolstering smile before turning away to get the rest of his own equipment.
Leia closed her eyes for a long moment, silently reciting a calming mixture of his words and favorite poems from her childhood. The soft hiss from the air recycler was immediately lost beneath her own harsh exhalation. She felt an edge of panic begin to creep back when the sound reminded her of Lord Darth Vader's breathing mechanism. Oh Goddess, I don't think I can do this!
A strong hand gripped her shoulder and shook her, snapping her back to the present. Han was now fully suited up as well, looking strange and distant in the outfit. He reached out to touch a small control on the wrist of her suit and there was a faint click inside her helmet.
"Can you hear me?"
"Yes," she croaked, and cringed at the unexpected volume of her voice.
"All right. Remember what I said.…" He took her hand and reached for the controls that triggered the depressurization process and hatch of the airlock. "Follow me. Make sure of your grip. Do what I do. Take deep breaths. Everything's going to be fine.…"