Disclaimer: It's all Uncle George's sandpit. I am making no money from these
fics; they are solely for my pleasure and that of anyone who wants to read them.
All characters copyright Lucasfilm.
"I'm not in this for your revolution, and I ain't in it for you. I'm in it for the money!"
"Don't worry!" Leia snapped back. "If money is all you love, then that's what you'll receive!"
She stood up to sweep out of the Millennium Falcon's cockpit, but her grand exit was spoilt by nearly bumping into Luke Skywalker in the doorway.
"Your friend is quite a mercenary. I doubt if he cares for anything—or anyone."
Luke stared at her, lips parted in shock. "I care, " he said in bewildered tones. Leia could almost feel his puzzled eyes on her back all the way up the corridor.
The hairy alien—Chewbacca, wasn't it? —was tinkering with something in the hold area. Leia stifled a grin. It would be difficult to imagine three more unlikely rescuers—the cynical pilot Solo, the giant Wookiee, and idealistic young Luke.
"Er—Chewbacca? Would you tell me where the 'fresher is?"
"Aaaarghraagh wooo."
Chewy laid a—surprisingly gentle—paw on her shoulder and steered her towards the small room. The Falcon's facilities were basic, but after her imprisonment Leia was in no mood to criticise. She stripped off her white gown and washed all over as best she could. Her hair she left alone—the double bun style might not be the most attractive, but it certainly stayed put. She tried not to think about a long, hot bath, with her hair flowing round her in the water, like a curtain. It was highly unlikely that a rebel base would have such luxuries. If they even survived long enough to get there.
Leia stared at her reflection in the mirror, examining her small frame for injuries. The bruises on her ribs and arms were fading now, though the dull aches from her fall into the garbage compactor warned that she would soon have a fresh crop. A full-body medscan could have found no other damage, yet her head was throbbing from the interrogation drugs, every shock set her tortured nerves jangling anew— and at the back of her mind a small insistent voice was screaming Alderaan, Alderaan.
Her reflection stared back at her, huge haunted dark eyes, a dark angry bruise on her shoulder—the mark of Vader's hand holding her trapped while Tarkin gave the order to fire on Alderaan—She crumpled to the floor, hiding her face in her hands. You can't, she thought. Not here. Not now. Not yet.
"Pull yourself together, Leia Organa," she said aloud. Moving carefully, she washed her face and put on her dress again—grey around the skirt from the garbage masher. She pulled the small vanity kit from her belt and reapplied her makeup. She felt the kohl and lipstick were a defense, a protection, as she had used them on the Death Star. She wished they were a full facemask.
When she returned to the lounge, it was empty apart from Luke, wolfing down nerfburgers with all the enthusiasm of a teenage boy. The adrenaline from the firefight seemed to have numbed the loss of old Kenobi for the time being.
She was glad of it, glad just to be with Luke for a while. In her current fragile state, the last thing she wanted was another run-in with the brash captain. Luke would give her a chance to gather herself, to shut her grief up in a dark corner of her mind and struggle on.
She sat down at the hologame table opposite Luke. He held out the plate to her.
"D'you want one, Princess?"
Her title sounded awkward spoken in his voice, too formal.
"Leia," she corrected with a smile. "Thank you."
Luke smiled back at her, all floppy fair hair and wide innocent eyes. He was such a sweet boy, Leia reflected as she nibbled at the burger. His obvious admiration of her she found endearing rather than annoying. He seemed so very young; although he was probably near her own age, Leia felt much the elder. But she had felt an instinctive trust in him ever since those first frantic moments in the detention block. His presence felt oddly, teasingly familiar, like a snatch of song on the edge of memory.
You're who? Who are you, Luke Skywalker? When did I know you?
Luke suddenly opened his mouth to speak, and Leia realised they'd been staring unabashedly at each other for several minutes.
"You know, I feel like I've known you all my life."
Leia gasped. "That's just what I-"
Han Solo, long-legged, shiny of boot and tight of trouser, strode loudly into the lounge, shattering the moment beyond all recall.
"Hey kid, that's the oldest pick-up line in the book! You'll have to work on them if you ever want to get anywhere."
Luke flushed unhappily. "I didn't-"
"Actually, as pick-up lines go, 'I'm Luke Skywalker and I'm here to rescue you,' has to be one of the better ones," Leia shot at Han. Luke flashed her a grateful smile.
"Well, it worked, didn't it?"
"I think Jabba himself could have picked her up if it meant getting out of that cell," Han cracked, sitting down at a console. Leia ignored him.
"So, Luke Skywalker," she said, going along with the game, "now you've picked me up, you should tell me a bit about yourself as you wine and dine me."
"No wine," Luke observed. "Well, I'm from Tatooine—it's a desert planet on the Outer Rim—my uncle and aunt—" he frowned briefly, gulped in a fresh breath and resumed, "—my uncle and aunt were moisture farmers there—let's see—I'm twenty seasons old—"
"I don't believe it. You're older than I am?"
"A Tatooine season's a bit shorter than a Standard year. I'm nineteen standard, actually. How old are you?"
"Never ask a woman that, kid," Han said. "They don't like to admit it."
"I've got nothing to hide—I'm nineteen too."
Han looked surprised at that—he'd probably thought her older than she was.
"Nothing to hide, Your Royalness?" His eyes raked slowly down the length of her, sending a hot blush of embarrassment washing over her.
I have just had it with him and his smart remarks and his…leering! Leia thought. "'Your Highness', is my correct title actually, " she said frostily.
One corner of Han's mouth lifted. "All right, Your Worship, " he said, getting up and going off to the cockpit.
Leia drew a shaky breath.
"Of all the arrogant, annoying pilots in the galaxy..."
"It's all right," Luke said awkwardly. "Don't…"
He reached out a hand to her across the table, but stopped short of actually touching her.
"How did you and he ever end up together? You're nothing alike."
"Well, my uncle bought two droids," Luke began. "Luckily for you he bought them both. R2 ran off to find Ben Kenobi, so I went out and followed him-took me half the day- and he played Ben your message. Ben wanted me to come with him to Alderaan, and to train me as a Jedi, but I went back home…to check…and the Imperials…"
He trailed off, but she could read the rest of the story in his face. Something twisted inside her.
"Oh Luke. I'm so, so sorry-"
"'S okay, " Luke cut her off, staring down at the tabletop. "S'pose your family all died too, back there." He waved a hand over his shoulder, vaguely indicating Alderaan.
"Yes," she whispered. Do not think of it now.
"There wasn't any reason to stay, then," Luke resumed. "So Ben and I went to Mos Eisley and hired a pilot. And here we are. By the way, I told Han there would be a reward of more money than he could imagine for rescuing you, so I hope you're rich."
Leia giggled. "Hopefully we won't bankrupt the entire Rebellion. But those plans are more important than I am. I hope we can find some weakness in that thing we can exploit."
She moved round the table to sit next to Luke. He did take her hand then, in a warm steady clasp. Anyone else she would have shaken off imperiously, but Luke…Being with him was comforting, somehow. She no longer felt despairing and alone, like in those horrible hours in the cell before he had come crashing in to her rescue.
They sat in easy silence for a while until Leia, not wanting to dwell on her own thoughts, asked, "Are you a Jedi?"
"I want to be…Ben was starting to train me, but now…" Luke shrugged, his face downcast.
"But you have a lightsaber?" She indicated the weapon Luke carried at his waist. He brightened perceptively.
"It was my father's. Now it's mine."
"Show me," Leia said, intrigued. She'd never seen the legendary weapon of the Jedi Knights until the brief glimpse of old Kenobi dueling Vader, and she was curious.
Luke hopped off the seat and obediently activated the lightsaber with a snap-hiss, standing in a defensive posture.
"May I?" Leia extended a hand.
"Careful," Luke warned as he handed it over. "It's not a training weapon—it's powerful enough to take your hand off. Put your other hand at the top."
Leia swapped her hands around, gazing into the blue-white blade. The smooth hilt of the lightsaber felt comfortable in her hands. She took a few experimental swings; Luke hopped backwards.
"Don't you trust me?" Leia smiled, shutting off the blade. She blinked, brilliant columns of light drifting across her vision.
"I used to play that I was a Jedi Knight, when I was small. My parents didn't like it—it was so dangerous to show any sympathy to the Jedi, under the Empire—so I kept it a secret."
"I wanted to be a pilot, always. I didn't know anything much about the Jedi until Ben told me my father was one. My uncle called them 'crazy wizards'."
He looked down at the table again.
"He was very...solid, my Uncle Owen. And Aunt Beru—she was worried about me killing myself, racing..." He twirled elaborate patterns on the table with one finger.
Leia watched him hurting, wanting desperately to comfort him.
"What did you race?" she asked, trying to distact him."I used to race my speeder bike when I was small. My mother didn't approve of that either, but my father would just laugh."
"I had a T-16 Skyhopper. It upgraded it as good as I could, and she was fast! There was a place—Beggar's Canyon—that we use as a racetrack. It was very twisty—quite dangerous. I was the best."
Leia smiled at his matter-of-fact statement.
"If you can fly a T-16, you shouldn't have any problem flying an X-wing."
This was one of many esoteric pieces of information she'd picked up over the last few years. She continued, "They handle pretty much the same. Of course in an X-wing you're in a combat situation..."
Luke lit up. "Are you saying I could be a Rebel pilot? My best friend, Biggs, told me the last time he was home that he was going to jump ship and join the Rebllion. I wonder if he made it."
"I'm not pressuring you into it, at least I didn't mean to," Leia said hastily.
"No, I want to. I hate the Empire. Someone has to stop what they're doing to the galaxy."
"You know if that battlestation tracks us to the base, it'll be we who are stopped," she said softly. Luke nodded assent, but she could she that, filled with the boundless confidence of youth, he didn't really believe her. She remembered what it was like to fell so untouchable, to bear a charmed life, passing through dangers unscathed. Tarkin had taken that from her with one casually tossed order. But she pushed the thought away. She had a job to do.
"I wish we were there now," she said, frowning.
"You won't get there any faster by pushing," Luke pointed out, and she realised she'd been thumping the nearest bulkhead in her frustration. She grinned guiltily at him, crossed to the console to look at the chrono. The evasive action Han had taken would delay them a little, but even so they would arrive in the Yavin system soon enough. She must hang on a little longer.
"We'll drop out of hyperspace in a few minutes," Han Solo announced as he lounged in the doorway. Leia, who'd been pacing, and Luke who'd been dozing, both looked up at this.
"I hope your friends down there aren't too trigger-happy," Han continued. "Better get on the comm and announce your royal presence."
His tone was challenging, and Leia responded in kind.
"No, I'm sure they won't expect me to arrive in a piece of flying junk, piloted by a loud-mouthed...space pirate!"
Han scowled and rolled his eyes at Luke, who was struggling not to laugh.
"You two should get married—you must be psychic or something."
"No, we're just the only people on this ship with any common sense," Luke gasped out between spurts of laughter.
"What's the joke?" she asked. Han jerked a thumb at Luke.
"First thing the kid says when he sees the Falcon, and I quote, was 'What a piece of junk!'"
Leia exchanged glances with Luke and nearly lost her gravity. Fortunately for Han's temper, Chewbacca howled something from the cockpit at that point, and everyone, droids and all, piled in as the Falcon came out of hyperspace. Ahead of them was a red gas giant with several moons—"Yavin," Leia said for Luke's benefit. She reached for the comm.
"Yavin Base, do you copy? Yavin Base, this is Leia Organa. I have a present for you."