A/N: Ever since I first saw ESB one of my favourite scenes has always been Han and Leia's argument in the south passage. As well as that brilliant line "Well, the bounty hunter we met on Ord Mantell changed my mind". I've all ways wanted to know exactly WHAT happened on Ord Mantell. So I wrote this! And as you all know, George Lucas owns Star Wars, not me. I'm not making any money, just having fun!

Forever Changed

Chapter 1-Put in Motion

"No. Absolutely NOT! There must be another alternative."

The words echoed around the small Alliance High Command meeting room. They were not unexpected, but certainly unwelcome. "Leia," Mon Mothma reasoned, "it is the only way. Not only has Nynaeve Grayza offered us vital information, but we need to an ear in these conferences and you're the best possible choice. However, you will need assistance, and more then one person is dangerous to the secrecy. Captain Solo is very capable and otherwise unassigned. I think it's time to put personal differences aside, don't you?"

Affronted by the older woman's lack of trust in her abilities, Leia looked around the table at the rest of High Command. "Do you all feel this way?" She asked coldly.

Most of the offices nodded, several looking nervously at the table. General Dodonna, however, stood. "I am afraid I see her Highnesses point. This Captain Solo is a mercenary, and not to be trusted with the life of an Alliance figurehead, to say nothing of her royal status. While I will not condone sending the Princess alone, I do not approve of Solo. I must say that it troubles me that we turn to the Corellian for her Highnesses safety.

The annoyance Leia had felt earlier tripled. She rose from her seat, barely able to contain her anger both for her sake and for Han's. All these old generals felt that because she was young and female that they could refer to her in third person! "General, I am insulted to be referred to as no more then a figurehead. I have the greatest confidence in my ability to carry off this mission and while I would rather not have to deal with several days of Han Solo, I trust him. Mon Mothma is right, Han would be the most competent in this situation." Trying to ignore General Rieekan's amused smile the princess sat down. As she did, Leia inwardly cursed herself for displaying any kind of emotion for the smuggler. In the time Leia had known him she had one thing. Her feelings, whatever they were, were far from indifferent to Han Solo. Now she would be stuck with Solo for the entire mission, and knowing their intelligence people, their cover would be as husband and wife.

"Good," Mon Mothma announced. "Leia, I leave you in charge of getting Solo on board. You will meet with Intelligence as soon as possible. Now, on to our next topic, we seem to be have problems with moving our training facilities from the old base and in the recent report we received from commander Skywalker…"

Several hours later, Leia was not feeling any happier. "Are you insane, Solo!" she exclaimed. "High Command has made its offer. You we can't afford any more than that. Will you accept?"

Han gazed down at the princess, trying to hide his sudden and inexplicable attraction to her. She wore combat fatigues no different from any he'd ever seen her wear, despite the heat. With the base's cooling system not yet operational and the brutal summer of Lykadea upon them, dress protocol had been somewhat relaxed. Apparently not for the Princess.

"Well Your Worship," Han drawled, "I guess that depends on the mission?"

Leia looked around, checking if they would be overhear. "The Interstellar Academies of Medicine are having a huge conference on Ord Mantell," She responded. "Two standard weeks ago Nynaeve Grayza, a former Alderaani, and a medic with organization, has offered to make an alliance, provide us with vital medical information, equipment and personnel. Mon Mothma also wants us to covertly investigate the organization, hack into the records, and see what we can dig up." Leia looked up at the tall smuggler, contemplating his possible responses. Even more softly she said, "Please, Han. I can't do it alone, but more then one other person greatly increases the risk. You're the only one who can do the job."

Surprised and delighted by her compliment Han, nodded. Maybe there was hope for the so-called Ice Princess. She smiled, her eyes alight with happiness. "Thank you Han. This means a lot to me. I knew Nynaeve. She was I engaged to my combat instructor Giles and then was studying on Coruscant when I was elected. She's a good person."

The attraction Han had felt before was nothing compared to the feeling of swimming in the intense depths of Leia's eyes. Han suddenly noticed they were standing too close together. If he moved a few centimeters closer, if he bent his head just a bit, he would be able to kiss her. Han pulled away from her and was about to ask what he had to do, when he noticed a serious looking young man approaching them.

"Hey, Luke!" Han said loudly, attempting to dispel the awkward moment.

"Han, Leia, I've been looking for you all over. In the crew lounge they're saying you two are going on a high security mission together. What going on?" Luke asked innocently.

"It's…well, it's high security. We're leaving for Ord Mantell in two days. We can't talk about it all that openly, but it's very important. We can tell you more later," Leia calmly informed Luke. Han was impressed. Only the slight redness in her cheeks hinted at the occurrence of anything more then idle conversation.

Luke seemed to notice that something was not normal, but simply smiled trustingly at his friends and nodded. "That's all right," he said.

"Good," Leia briskly replied, suddenly all business. "Han, we need to go see the intelligence officers about our covers. Let's go." She nodded to Luke and took off toward the other side of the base, Han following.

Sensing discomfort in the Corellian's step, Leia turned to the smuggler. "What?"

"You could have been a little nicer, you no? What's with all that need to know bantha crap? Don't you trust Luke?" Han's look was less accusatory then it was defensive. Leia could tell that he'd been just as thrown be that moment of magnetism as she.

"That's saying quite a lot coming from someone like you, Solo," Leia coldly retorted. "Putting up with you for the entire mission is bad enough and I won't have you lecturing me on benevolence, despite your obvious expertise in the area."

This was getting way to personal, but neither princess nor pirate cared. Han smiled sarcastically. "Well, I guess I'll have to wait till you get down from your ice tower before the lectures do any good any way."

"Sorry to disappoint, but this ice princess has a meeting with the intelligence officers to go to and, oh, right! So do you!" Leia smiled frigidly at Han's surprise face. He usually did not show his emotions so easily. "Oh, yes. I know what's said about me around the base. I'm surprised you didn't figure out I knew, I've been called a lot of things but stupid isn't one of them."

Behind the fortitude of Leia's face, Han could see pain and anger. Shamefaced, he looked away from the princess. "We should get going," was all he said.

To be continued…