In Battle – Han and Leia
Back-to-back with a smuggler.
Leia had never thought she would be in this situation. Oh sure, Imperial ambushes on shipping runs were common and so was a lead turning out to be false, but she was back-to-back with a smuggler.
Not just any smuggler, either – Han Solo.
She ground her teeth as she shot at the Imperials and stormtroopers, hearing Han shooting behind her, feeling his back against hers. Their blasters shot out almost in rhythm with each other and their movements were almost synchronized. She stepped forward and he stepped backwards, she moved right and he moved left, meaning that they remained back-to-back like they were partners.
Partners? No, no, that was stupid. They were just two people who were caught in a situation, nothing more.
"Hey Princess," Han grunted between shots, "any chance of us gettin' outta this situation any time soon?"
Leia shot a stormtrooper and he fell, but still another came. Sometimes it seemed like the Empire had an endless supply of stormtroopers and other soldiers that were always appearing to replace their fallen comrades. The Empire considered their people replaceable – in fact, she supposed that summed up their entire philosophy when it came to their respect for life and how much value they put on individuals.
"Hey, Your Worship, did you hear me?"
"I heard you," Leia grunted back. "It's hard not to hear you, even when we're in a battle!"
"So what's the plan, Your Worship? Or do we not have one?"
"We will have one . . . soon."
"So we don't have one."
"Hey, I'm not the only one who can come up with plans, you know!"
Han grumbled something inaudible as they kept shooting at the stormtroopers, then he raised his voice. "Well we can't keep this up forever!"
Leia hated it when Han was right, but she wasn't sure how to get out of this situation if the stormtroopers kept coming. Of course, she wasn't about to tell Han that. Come on, there had to be a way out that didn't involve them getting captured. She glanced at the stormtroopers' boots – they were standing with their legs apart, so far apart that someone could fit between them, and their boots were also browning up from the mud.
"Slide," she suddenly muttered.
"What?" Han asked.
"SLIDE!" she shouted. Before the stormtroopers had time to react, she and Han both slid down to the ground, letting the mud speed up their fall, and they tumbled between the troopers' legs. Of course, once they scrambled to their feet, their clothes covered in mud, the stormtroopers started shooting at them again, but now they were outside the circle of troopers and free to get away. They ran towards the Falcon, their bodies twisted so they could run while still shooting, though their feet still slid some in the mud, which meant they couldn't run as fast as they wanted to.
Blasterbolts were flying around them in every direction, but Leia didn't fear getting shot for some reason. Usually when she was in battle, there was at least a bit of tightening in her nerves that one of the blasterbolts could get her (not that she would ever show that, of course), but not right now. Maybe it was because the Falcon was in sight . . . or maybe it was because Han was at her side. No, no, it wouldn't be that, would it?
Finally they reached the Falcon and without a word from either of them, the ramp was up and they ran to the cockpit and leaped into their seats. Chewie, who had been watching the Falcon while they were gone, roared that they needed to get out of here and just like that, they took off, leaving the Imperial ambush behind.
It wasn't until they were safely in hyperspace when Han finally turned around to speak to Leia, letting her see how the mud had stained his shirt and gotten on his face and in his hair. She tried not to think that he looked cute that way. "Well, Your Worship, I gotta admit that was a good idea."
"Thank you," said Leia, feeling the mud hardening on her clothes.
"Still," said Han, that cheeky, cocky grin growing on his face, "now we both need a shower and I've only got one shower stall."
Leia glared at him, grinding her teeth and resisting the urge to slap him in the face. "Then I think I should shower first since I'm the one who got us out of that mess."
"True," said Han, "but you're also the reason why we're all muddy in the first place."
[Showering together isn't a big deal,] Chewie said. [Han and I did it once when we were in a similar situation.]
Though Han had been giving her lessons, Leia still didn't understand everything in Shyriiwook, but she understood enough to know what he was saying now. Now she was the one with the cheeky grin and Han's face was reddening between the mud splotches. "Really?" asked Leia. "Do tell."
Han ground his teeth. "Fine, fine, you can go shower first if you don't ask me about that time."
