Darkness enveloped Leia, heightening her terror. She was assaulted by images of her torture on the Death Star—the small room, the needles, the shackles that bound her to the table, the pain. Before panic could completely overtake her body, however, she heard a low rumbling in her ear, "Calm down, Sweetheart. You're safe."
Without warning, the tension left her body, and she collapsed into the arms of her captor. Han had to shift his position quickly in order to keep them both from crashing to the floor.
"It's okay, Princess," he said quietly, stroking her hair as her body began to shake violently.
Terror-filled memories were replaced with images of Han comforting her after the destruction of Alderaan. He had been so kind, so tender, that she remembered feeling completely safe with him. As his voice soothed her now, she felt exactly the same way. Absurdly, the thought crossed her mind that she wanted to stay like this forever.
As she drew strength from him, however, she reminded herself that he had abducted her without explanation. Anger quickly replaced fear, fueling her recovery as her limbs regained their power.
Han sensed the change in her body and knew immediately what was coming next. He moved quickly to stop her from giving away their presence to Malad, who was probably still close by.
"You can be mad, Sweetheart, but whisper when you tell me off," Han said urgently. "You're still in danger, and I'll bind and gag you if I have to."
Leia jerked out of Han's embrace and fumbled for the light switch. As the light illuminated the tiny closet, Leia struggled to control her fury. Invoking her most powerful whisper, Leia hissed, "How dare you threaten to bind and gag me! Come to think of it, how dare you grab me from behind and drag me into this closet! What were you thinking?"
"According to you, I never think, Sweetheart," Han shot back quietly.
"And you keep proving me right," she said angrily. "What were you doing down here?"
"What were you doing down here? It's not safe for you to wander around at night by yourself."
"Oh, but it's perfectly fine for you to wander around alone!"
"I can take care of myself."
"And I can't? I'll have you know that I've been trained by the best mentors in all types of self-defense techniques!"
"It didn't do you any good tonight, did it, Princess?"
Stunned, Leia could only reply weakly, "I would have escaped. I would have."
Han sensed her fears returning and felt terrible for hurting her. "I'm sure you would have, Princess, but you've got to stay away from Malad. He's dangerous."
Leia looked up into his eyes then, determined to hold his gaze. "Why did you try to protect me tonight?"
"If Malad had spotted you in that hallway, there's no telling what he might have done to you. I won't let you put yourself in danger."
Surprised by the emotions she saw swirling in his eyes, Leia took a moment to respond. Challengingly, she said, "Why do you care so much what happens to me?"
Because I love you, he said silently, breaking eye contact with Leia. Remembering the old rules of their game, Han returned his eyes to hers, adopted his cockiest smile, and said, "Because the kid would kill me if I let anything happen to you. You know he's got it bad for you, don't ya?"
Leia would not be baited. Instead stared directly at him and asked softly, "There's no other reason?"
Han felt as though he had been injected with a truth serum again. Every fibre of his body screamed at him to confess his feelings. "Actually, there is another reason."
"What is it?" she asked, her body tingling with anticipation.
Han looked at her then, his mouth suddenly dry. Say it! Say it! "I.…"
"You what?" she said, moving closer to him without a conscious thought.
This is for her own good. "I got a lot of credits the last time I rescued you. I figure I'll get at least half that much for protecting you this time around."
Hurt and embarrassed, Leia screamed, "I'll be sure your account gets credited, you mercenary!"
Heedless of the danger, Leia left the closet as quickly as she could. Her eyes stinging, she ran into a very surprised Luke Skywalker.
"Princess, what are you doing here? I heard you yelling and came to make sure you were okay."
"I'm fine, Luke. Would you walk me back to the command center?"
"Sure, Your Highness. I'd be happy to."
"Thanks, Luke. It's nice to know I have one good friend, at least," she said loudly, subconsciously hoping that Han would hear.
Luke beamed for the whole trip to the command center.
Han and Leia were both lucky that Malad had left the hangar's data center almost immediately after Han had "escorted" Leia to the closet. Their argument was not nearly as quiet as they thought, but no one was around to hear it.
Luke had come to relieve Han of his surveillance detail and was quite surprised to find Han missing from his post. Luke watched Malad carefully and was able to collect some important data before Malad left the area. Luke followed him to his quarters, assuring himself that Malad was staying in for the night before returning to check on Han. As he arrived in the corridor, he heard Leia yell something unintelligible and then saw her barreling out of the closet just in time to keep her from knocking him over.
After he saw Leia safely to the command center, Luke met Han on the Falcon.
"What happened to you Han?"
"Nothin', kid. Leia just decided to do some investigatin' on her own and I had to watch out for her. That woman is so stubborn."
"Just like someone else I know," Luke replied.
"Don't talk about Chewie like that. You're riskin' your life if you do."
Luke rolled his eyes and asked, "So what happened, Han? Why was Leia so mad?"
"It's princess stuff, kid. Don't ask me."
"But, Han…."
Han quickly moved to cut him off. "But nothin', Luke. Just tell me what you found out."
"He tampered with the flight records, Han. A shipment that actually made it to the rebel force at Domiz is now listed as lost to Imperial fire. Something's definitely going on."
"You better believe somethin's goin' on, kid, and I'm goin' to figure out what. Thanks for the info. You should go get some rest before your next shift."
"Sure, Han, but aren't you going to tell me what's going on."
"I will, kid, but not until I'm sure my hunch is correct. See ya' tomorrow."
"Sure, Han. Goodnight."
"'Night."
Over the next few days, Han spent every spare moment studying records and monitoring Malad's activities. Thankfully, Leia seemed to have learned her lesson and stayed far away from Malad. However, she also avoided Han at every opportunity, and that irritated him to no end.
He hated that angry look she flashed him on the three occasions they had run into each other, and it frustrated him to have her walk away from him without speaking. He had a hard time sleeping, his thoughts returning to their argument in the closet and the way she felt in his arms.
"Remember, you're doing this for her," he said aloud and buried himself in his work.
After six days, Han finally gathered all the evidence he needed and called General Rieekan to arrange a secret meeting.
"What have you found out, Solo?" Rieekan asked urgently when Han arrived at the designated meeting place.
"Well, General, Malady has been supplying spice to the troops. He's gettin' ready to make one final big shipment that will set him up for life."
"Are you sure, Solo? He's not working with the Empire, is he?"
"Yeah, I'm sure, and, no, he's not workin' for the Imps. He's just a drug dealer lookin' for a big score. Too bad he went after Leia and me, or the Sith-lovin' bastard might've gotten away with it."
"Good work, Solo. I'm a bit confused though…why would he go after you and Leia in the first place?"
"Leia caught him tampering with records, though she didn't know it, and I came in and decked him. I guess he was afraid we might figure out what he was doing, so he tried to make sure we couldn't talk. I want a shot at him before you prosecute him."
"I don't blame you, Solo, but I'm not going to prosecute him just yet."
"What are you talkin' about, General. I just gave you everything you need to take him down."
"I know that, but I need to shut down this whole operation for the good of the Alliance and for the safety of the princess. We've got to know who Malad's working with, or she could still be in danger. Furthermore, we need to save those poor boys from becoming addicted to spice. It's not good to have our fighting force struggling to overcome the influence of drugs. Will you help me, Solo?"
"You know I'll do anything to protect her, General. What do you want me to do?"
"I've got an idea. I think you should announce publicly that you are leaving, then put the Falcon in orbit and wait for him to make his move. He'll feel much more comfortable about completing his transaction with you gone, then he'll go to meet his contacts for final payment. You can follow him, discover the identity of his accomplice, and call us in to arrest the scum. I'll give you a nice bonus, Solo, and you can go and pay off your debt."
"I'm not sure about this, General."
"It will work just fine, trust me. Everyone knows that you are planning to leave soon and Malad will be more prone to make a mistake if he knows you're gone. Plus, you'll have the money you'll need to have the upper hand with the Hutt. I want you to come back in one piece, Solo."
"Thanks, General. I'll go on my last tauntaun mission with Luke tomorrow, then I'll come to the command center and announce my departure. Promise me one thing, would ya'?"
"What's that?"
"Watch over Leia for me until I return." And if I don't return.
"I'll do that, son. Oh, and Solo…."
"Yes, General…."
"I'll make sure you have the information you'll need to find your way back to the Alliance if we have to move again."
"Thanks," Han said quietly, a touch of regret in his voice. "I'll see ya' tomorrow."
"See you then," Rieekan said to the retreating form of Han Solo. And I'll make sure Leia is there in the command center when you come to say goodbye, he thought, smiling to himself. Tomorrow would be an interesting day.