"You'll be do with a long hot shower. I find that helps. Unlike that desert planet Father says you're from, water isn't a rarity here." Winter pressed a button on the control panel as they stepped into the lift. The doors closing as they "You don't mine sharing a quarter with me, do you? It will be only for a night or two until we get your own room, besides, we can stay up late talking like I used to do with my foster sister-" Winter looked over at Leia for a reaction, pausing when she saw Leia's face, loss of all emotion.

Leia had never been one for small talk. Growing up on a farm, if you wanted to talk to Owen about something, it had to be pressing. Besides, considering the past few hours, Leia wasn't much in the mood for talking.

Winter pressed the emergency stop button, causing the lift to come to a halt. Leia looked at Winter, confused as to why she did that.

"Would you like to see him?" Winter asked after a moment. "Old Ben?"

Leia nodded. Yes. Old Ben Kenobi. Her Ben. She could do with his wisdom right about now. Winter pressed a different button and Leia felt the lift go down for a few seconds, stopping with a ding.

The doors open, reveling a dimly lit hallway filled with several people running to and from, the sense of battle in the air. Winter motioned at Leia to follow and Leia did. Winter walked with such confidence, people stopped and saluted her. Leia wondered if her mother ever had that experience, and if she would ever get that level of respect.

"Is it true what they say about Tatooine?" Winter asked as they walked down the corridor. "I-I'm sorry?" Leia asked, puzzled. Winter had pulled her long hair into a perfect braid that was draped over her shoulder, bouncing with each move she made. "The Hutt's. Is it true that they control the planet? That half of the population is a slave, and the other half owns slaves?"

Leia found herself at a loss for words, trying to figure out how to respond to that. Winter giggled. "Forgive me if that question seems so odd, I've never met anyone from your sector of the galaxy before. It seemed like this mythical place that only existed on the HoloNet."

"I could say the same thing about Alderaan. Everyone living in peace, clean air for a thousand years. I never thought I would meet someone from there, let alone visit it." the two of them giggled for a moment, forgetting that they were on a rebel base for a moment, and instead just being two teenage girls for once.

They turned a corner and from there they could see the medical center. Winter quietly took Leia's hand, as though it was a warning of sorts. 'he might not be awake.' Leia squeezed back. 'All that matters is I see him.' With that, Winter led her in.

The medical center was almost empty, save for a few left over pilots from the last battle, with inguries that would take weeks for them to heal from. One of the pilots that Leia passed by was having to be strapped in, screaming and spitting in a nurses face. "What's wrong with him?" Leia asked. Winter simply tapped the side of her head. "Those war wounds can last a lifetime if not properly treated." Winter warned. "When was the last battle? Luke never mentioned-" Leia paused as a solider with a scar down his cheek stopped and saluted Winter.

" it's fine Leia." Winter nodded at the solider, who left the two girls in peace. "It was about a week ago. I was still on Alderaan having dinner with Father and Mother when it happened. That's how we got the plans you see. They were being held on this Imperial Base on Scarif. Father took us there once on Holiday a few years ago. Running in the sand, the water was purest in the sector-"

"You enjoyed playing in the sand?" Leia interrupted, somewhat shocked. Like most of the other farm children, she had spent countless days playing in the sand just outside the homestead with Biggs and other childhood friends, but her love for sand had ended with that sandstorm that gave her sand lung.

Winter looked confused for a moment. "Do you not like sand? Feeling it on your feet as you run through it? The beauty it brings to worlds?" she asked in her soft voice.

"No. It's rough and course and gets everywhere." Leia's tone was somewhat snappy; something she hoped didn't ruin the mood.

Winter didn't respond, focusing on locating a doctor, who pointed them in the right direction. Ben had been relocated to a private room on the orders of Organa himself. No doubt in Leia's mind that it was for his safety: Leia had a feeling Vader wouldn't give up so easily on Ben.

Winter typed in a passcode, allowing the doors to open with a swish. Leia stepped forward, her eyes adjusting nicely to the cool light of the room. On the bed in the room, laid Ben. He had been dressed in a white medical gown, wires connecting him to several different machines, monitoring his vitals.

A clear oxygen mask covered his mouth and nose, his breath fogging up the mask, the only clear sign Leia saw to Ben still being alive. Leia approached Ben and placed her hand on his. A slight twitch, his eyes opening, showing off his pale blue eyes for a slight moment.

"Hey…" Leia cooed softly. He gave no response, his eyes closing once more. Winter walked over to the computer near the life support system, looking up his info. "See here, the wound." Leia looked at the grisly wound and grimanced. "He's lucky he got out in one piece, do you know how much damnage a lightsaber can do?" Winter asked.

Leia shrugged. "No, not really."

Winter expanded the wound and looked at it. "Father said the Jedi's were all killed during Order 66. But how…"

"Darth Vader." Leia replied. Winter looked Leia, a surprised looked on her face. "Vader?" Winter said in a half whispered. "Vader has a lightsaber. he did this to Ben."

Winter paused for a moment. "Well, that was always the rumor, that Vader had trained as a Jedi. But I thought-"

SWWWISH!

The door opened, causing both the girls to look towards the door with shock.

"I tell ya Chewie, its clear sailing from- Princess?"

Leia turned around. There stood the damn smuggler himself, and his ever-faithful Chewbacca. Chewbacca raised a paw and barked a greeting at Leia. Han pointed a finger at Winter.

"Who's she?" he asked.

Winter raised a eyebrow. "Whose he?" she asked.

"Winter, this is Han Solo. He's the smuggler who Ben and I hired to get us to Alderaan. Han, this is Winter. She's the princess around here."

Han huffed. "She doesn't look like it. What are you, fifteen or something?"

"Sixteen thank you." Winter crossed her arms and looked towards Han, "Hopefully you showed my father more respect then you're showing me."

"Look, I showed your father just the right amount of respect. Do you have a problem with the deal or something?"

"You mean besides you taking much needed supplies to save your own skin?" Winter rolled her eyes as she exited out of the pictures on the computer, pulling out her datapad from her back pocket as she spoke, "You must be more trustworthy of Father, Captain. You are the most suspicious man in the entire galaxy it seems like. And I've dined with Imperial Officers. If there was a problem, you probably would have been aware of it by now."

Now it was Han's turn to roll his eyes. "Whatever Princess."

"I may be just a teenager, but I am of Royalty, which you will respect, Captain." Winter snarled with such force Leia for sure thought it was Bail Organa standing next to her, not Winter.

"What are you doing here Han? Haven't you caused enough trouble around here as it is?" Leia crossed her arms as she stare down the smuggler. Han simply shrugged and placed his hands on his hips, his to go causal look. "Well, that Willard fellow told me it would be a minute as they got my reward, so I cleaned up a bit, not that anyone has noticed, and I figured I might as well say goodbye to the Old Man there, because I-"

"Because you doubt the resilience of the Rebellion?" Winter said without even looking up from her Datapad.

"Because it may come as a surprise to you, but I may be a bit of a ass, but I have manners when due." Han huffed before looking over at Winter.

"and to answer your question, yeh, I do. A planet destroying space station is heading this way, Princess. I doubt a few pilots would be able to stop it. Am I the only one with common sense around here? That thing destroyed your planet!"

"Common sense would be joining the Rebellion, Han!" Leia felt her blood begin to boil. What was it about this man? "The Rebellion is short on pilots, they need every hand they can get! The Falcon could turn the tide!"

"No!" Han said sharply, one finger in Leia's face. "I did my time and more when I was a dumb kid your age but no more! I'm older and wiser now! I'm going to do what I do best!"

"Annoy the hell out of everybody with your blabbering?" Winter snarled.

This made Chewbacca laugh. Han shot him a dirty look and looked at the girls. "You know, even a week ago I would have LOVED having two girls pleading with me to stay. But no. I'm taking my reward, paying off my debt. That's all I need to worry about."

"So that's it? You're going to let the Empire take over, either kill us or throw us in some backwater prison, and you're going to keep your head down and not get into trouble?" Leia huffed in disbelief. "What reality are you living in? You'll last twenty seconds before being thrown into jail somewhere!"

"Watch me, you'll find, given the situation, I can be a perfect gentleman." Han placed his hand on his chest and spoke in an uppity tone, trying to prove a point but more then likely trying to get under Winter's skin.

His eyes narrowed as he looked down at Leia. "Besides, I ain't hearing any of your plans. What do you plan to do? Use the Jedi Magic to heal the old man so he can save everyone? Blood sacrifice? Maybe try and get lucky with the Prince in your final moments?"

"I'm not saying you guys need to do it, but it would probably get a lot of your system." Winter calmly suggested.

"shut up!" Leia and Han, once more in unison, yelled at Winter.

"So what's it gonna be, Princess?" Han sneered. "Because you're real good at giving criticism but not so great at taking it."

One of the few tidbits Leia had been ever able to pry from her Uncle Owen about her Father was that he rarely obeyed authority. Someone could tell him 'no' and her father's response was 'watch me.' Sometimes it worked out well for him. Sometimes. It was over a fire under a harvest moon when Owen, drunk on a liquid, had relayed the tale of her Grandmother's death. How her Father had returned, only to be told that her Grandmother had been kidnapped and there was nothing to be done. Her Father disappeared for three days, returning with her Grandmother's body and his clothes soaked in dried blood.

Leia felt her Father in that moment. She'd show Han. She'd show everyone who ever doubted her. Then they'd be sorry. They'd ever regret teasing Leia with her big dreams and small height. She'd show them.

Leia looked at Han, fury in her eyes. "I'm volunteering."

Winter looked up, open her mouth to say something, and then stopped, having decided it probably wasn't her place.

Han's face became one of confusion as the words reached him. "W-what?" Han pursed his lips in confusion. "You-You can't volunteer!"

"Why, because I'm a girl?" Leia adjusted herself. " You saw me during the escape. I'm a good shot. You didn't belive me but I am. And someone's gonna have to volunteer. I'm not going to sit by and watch The Empire get away with pulling another Alderaan. I'm going to volunteer, I'm going to help destroy the same thing, and hopefully, you'll be around so I can see your stupid face as the Death Star is destroyed. So Captain…Watch me."

Leia began to storm out. She wasn't going to lie; it felt good to tell him off like that. Watching his stupid face realize she wasn't kidding, that she had a plan and if that meant blowing up the Death Star, so be it! But still! How dare he! How dare-

"Leia!" Han caught up with her, walking with her down the hallway.

"What now, come to talk me out of it?" Leia snapped at him. Han pulled on her arm, twirling her to face him. "Do you think this is some kind of game?"

"If this was a game, you'd still be playing! You seem to enjoy those." Leia pulled her arm away from Han's grasp. "And I'm not about to quit."

"Do you realize you're basically signing up for a full on suicide mission? How you'll likely last maybe five minutes tops before you get blown up, and I won't be there to save you!"

"At least I'll be trying!" Leia began storming towards the lift, pressing the button to call the lift to the floor. Han ran towards her. "So you're willing to die for this…this lost cause? I don't get it!"

"Maker please!" Leia rolled her eyes as she looked at Han. "What do you not get! Is money really your only concern these days! You weren't even half interested in saving Luke until I told you he was rich!"

"But-"

"No Buts! Han…you have a ship, you have a co-pilot. You know what I have? Nothing. Everyone loves to talk about how great my parents were but they're dead. And my Aunt and Uncle! I can't go back to Tattooine. What would I do there, be a farmer like my Uncle for the rest of my life before dying of sand lung, or lets face it, bordem?" Leia shook her head, staring at the doors ahead. "this. This 'lost cause'? This is the only thing I have left. My parents died for it. If needed I'll die for it to."

Han sighed after a moment before looking at her.

"What about Ben? What about-"

"Ben would want me to do the right thing!" Leia twirled her face to look at Han, her nostrils flaring up in anger once more. "And the right thing isn't running away from battle, it's helping to win it!"

The lift made a ding noise, before the doors opened up. She stepped in, pressing the close button. She didn't have anything left to say to him. but Han, ever so president, placed a hand on the door to keep it from closing.

"Han, I don't have much time, they're probably prepping the fighters as we speak." Leia sighed, tired of well…him. What was his goal? To wear her down so she couldn't fight?

"Neither do I Princess." Han sighed. "I used that up long ago."

Silence for a moment, save for the various rebels running back to and from places behind them, the station now on full on alert. Leia looked up at Han's eyes, which seemed to be begging her, pleading.

"So you won't help us?" Leia asked with all honesty.

"Not this again. Look, you seem like a good kid, and you're a good shot-"

"Han-"

I'm trying to save your life Kid! That escape we pulled off? The impossible escape is NOTHING compared to actual-"

"Don't! You know Ben saw something in you! I don't know what but he saw something meaningful. Told me to trust you. But you know what I see?"

Han didn't answer. He just looked at her. She sensed it. He was afraid. Afraid for her. She didn't understand why this stupid smuggler, after spending the better part of a week bitching about her choices, suddenly wanted to help influence them. But Leia couldn't care less at that moment. She knew she was right. She wanted to make him realize that.

"A coward." Leia pressed for the floor where she'd know Organa would be on, never breaking eye contact with Han as she did.

For once, Han didn't have a quick comment to shoot back at her with. She wondered if that comment wounded him like she wanted it too. She wondered if for once, he would stop calling her Princess or Kid or whatever nickname he used for her.

He didn't nod or pout or anything. He simply stepped back, allowing the doors to close.

Once more, Leia came face to face with her reflection, something, to her surprise, she couldn't recognize anymore.