A/N: Sorry about the wait! I've been insanely busy and, well, my teachers think that homework is more important than fanfiction (how wrong they are) so here we are two weeks later…Thanks to all who reviewed with your feedback. I love getting it so keep 'em coming! As usual, I don't own Star Wars and don't make any money from this. If I did I would never write any angst fics….
Chapter 4- Reconnaissance
As the hover car approached the Pink Sky Hotel and Casino it became clear that the Alliance would be getting their money's worth. It was not so much a large hotel, nowhere near the size of some inns on Coruscant, but more then made up for that in opulence and luxury.
The hover car halted and the four passengers got out, Auuel tossing the starter to a parking droid. Taking Leia's hand, almost possessively, Han followed Nynaeve and her companion through the weapons scanner, with out being detected, and into the hotel lobby. Inside his jaw dropped. The entire room was made up of pale pink marble and gleaming sliver. Human, not droid, staff bustled around. Small planets could be bought and sold for the price of the furnishings Han realized. And for some reason that angered him. He thought of the rebels, going without so much for the sake of the greater good, of Leia, forced to give up everything, and the rest of the galaxy, living in poverty while those with money squandered it on expensive vacations.
"Well," Nynaeve said quietly, "We have so much to catch up on but I'm sure you'll want to settle in after your journey. It would be wonderful if you could join us in our room for tea when you've finished."
Leia started. Join us in our room? What exactly was the relationship between her old friend and Dr. Auuel? Leia mechanically replied that they she and "Ric" would love to.
"Wonderful," Auuel said jovially. "We're in room 2103. Get checked in and we'll see you later." He bowed, took Nynaeve's small hand in his and strode towards the lift. Han stared after him in disgust.
"I don't-"
"Later," Leia murmured. "Not in the lobby."
Realizing the princess was worried about being over heard, Han shut up and followed her to the desk.
"Hello, Gentlebeings. Welcome to the Pink Sky Hotel and Casino," said the human receptionist in a board voice. "Do you have a reservation?"
"Yes," Leia answered blushing slightly at the prospect of being Han's wife and handing over their fake ident cards. "Ric and Meiynè Baerlon of Naboo. We're here for the convention."
"Ah, yes," he replied, typing into his computer terminal. "Here we are, Room 1629. These are your keychips. Enjoy you stay."
Checking into a hotel with Han Solo was embarrassing enough, Leia decided as they headed towards the equally pink lift. What would being in a hotel room, alone with him be like?
The familiar, awkward, silence settled over them as they rose to the sixteenth floor. The moment they entered the room however, Han, ignoring the lovely décor, began to speak.
"I don't like that Auuel guy. What in hell is he doing with your friend?"
Leia bit her lip for a moment, then answered. "I don't want to know. Although he does make one thing easier."
Han turned toward the princess in confusion. "I don't get. If you ask me, that guy is trouble, no matter how many degrees he has."
" Dr Auuel doesn't just have degrees. He has access to all the Interstellar Academies of Medicine's records, files, research, everything." Leia placed her bags on the couch and began rummaging around in it. As much to avoid looking at the princess's backside as anything Han inspected the suite.
Unlike the rest of the hotel so far the room did not have a trace of pink in it. It was all blue. The walls and plush carpet were matching shades of deepest blue, contrasting elegantly against the slivery-gray toned curving furniture. The main feature of the suite however was not the accessories but the floor to ceiling transparisteel window that took up an entire wall, letting in the afternoon sun and casting a warm glow on the otherwise cool and minimalist room. The rest of the suite looked to be much the same; all designed will soft flowing lines in various shades of blue. To one side was an alcove that look to be a kitchenette and to the other two door leading to the 'fresher and the other to what Han decided would be the bedroom. The full realization of that fact hit Han with the force of a crashing asteroid. One bedroom. One bed. He cursed himself for accepting this mission. They had just arrived and things were not looking good.
Leia turned back to Han, a data chip and a small mechanical device in her hand. "Having Auuel around," she said, "will make our job much easier. He is the president of a huge interplanetary organization. He'll most likely have a portable terminal connected to his main computer. What we are going to do is first copy all his files onto this data chip and then we plant this." Leia held up the device. "Its called a Shadow Plug, the receiver is in my portable computer. Newest Imperial technology. W hen implanted into any kind of computer terminal it instantly creates a link with the receiving computer. Basically, it will cause a computer to think the receiver is just another terminal in the network so that anything Auuel saves onto his computer we will be able to pick up on my computer. And the best part is that in the unlikely event that it is found, Auuel will assume that it's the Imperials spying on him not us."
Again, Han thought, real Rebel ingenuity. He whistled lowly. "How did you get that thing?" he said, nodding to the Shadow Plug.
"Supply and Procurement raided a high-tech weapons factory not long ago. We managed to get three more of these."
Raising his eyebrows, and wondering what would be done with the other devices, Han posed a final question. "Right. So how do we get the thing in his terminal?"
"I thought that was obvious, Hotshot," Leia replied slyly. "While we're drinking our tea with Nynaeve and the doctor I'll slip off to the "'fresher". As long as you keep them entertained for a couple of time parts it should be easy."
Han looked dubiously at the princess. "You sure you what to do this?"
"Absolutely. And anyways, it has to be me. Not only have I been trained to use this thing, Nynaeve trusts me."
After a tour of their rooms, during which both Han and Leia realized there was no way around the fact that the room held only one bed, they headed off to tea. Five floors above their own Han and Leia waited for the door to room 2103 to open. Looking around Han decided that this floor was even more elegant then theirs. Glancing at the princess, he wondered how she was holding up. Meeting a long-lost friend under-cover must be hard enough, but to have then plant a bug on that friend… Even Solo felt he might have a hard time with that.
Unbeknownst to Han, she was thinking exactly that. The door opened to reveal Nynaeve's familiar face and Leia's guilt tripled.
The princess and the smuggler were ushered into the suite's living area as Nynaeve assured them not to worry about their cover. "Nygel is extremely paranoid about being spied on by the Empire." Han and Leia exchanged a glance, knowing the doctor had every reason to be paranoid. Thinking they did not believe her, Nynaeve went on. "The one thing I can promise you is that we will not be over heard. And that Nygel will not be back for quite a while. I thought I best for us to talk in private, Leia."
Relieved that he did not have to play the part of an upstanding doctor, for the moment at least, Han stuck his hand out to his "wife's" friend. "I'm Han Solo by the way," he said. "Pleased to meet you Dr. Grazya."
"Please, call me Nynaeve." The woman smiled. "If I remember correctly, Winter told me you are one of the heroes of the Battle of Yavin." She turned to the princess. "Why aren't you married to him Leia, he seems like quite a catch to me." she wickedly replied gesturing to a serving droid for the tea.
The princess glanced at Solo and blushed. "Actually," Leia began, "Han and I are…" she thought for a moment, "...just friends."
Han smiled at her, feeling truly grateful that the Alderaani princess counted him as a friend. Despite the fights and the awkward moments that seemed to be all they shared, Solo knew that he was one of the few people she trusted. Han watched Nynaeve for a minute, listening as she apologized for teasing them and explained the two different pots of tea on the tray.
"You see, I had a very bad case of Iefronan Fever last year. It's extremely difficult to treat, even at the best of times, and I was rushed to see Nygel, who specialized in that type of thing before he became president of the Academies. That was when we first met. He used an experimental treatment on me and it's worked very well, but I'm afraid that I am not at peak condition. However, I've been drinking this tea from a rare plant found on Kashyyyk and it has made a great improvement. The only problem is it tastes terrible, so I made a pot of stim-tea for the two of you."
Remembering Nynaeve's great love of conversation, Leia decided that taking her leave to the "fresher" sooner rather then later would be a good idea. After several sips of warm tea, Leia got up and excused her self. Like her own room, the fresher had a convenient second door so it could be accessed both from the living area and the bedroom.
Leia crept into the bedroom. A massive bed dominated the room, however across from the door stood a small desk with a portable computer terminal on it. A quick check determined that it was indeed Nygel Auuel's and, unhappily, Leia sat down to work.
Han Solo, meanwhile, was no happier then the princess. He wished Leia would hurry up. Nynaeve may not be the smartest woman, given she was sleeping with Auuel, but Han knew she was not at all stupid. Sooner or later she would notice something was up, and the princess wasn't helping matters. As good an act as she was putting on, someone who knew Leia as well as Nynaeve did would have to have realized that something was up. Luckily for Han, she thought it was him.
"So tell me Han," she said, "how long have you known the little princess?"
Solo grinned at Nynaeve's description of Leia. "Do you call her that in her presence?" he asked incredulously. Nynaeve nodded. "You're a brave woman. Yeah, I met Her Worship on the Death Star, rescued her actually. Right before she was to be terminated. She got me and the kid stuck in the trash compactor and then insulted my ship. Some rescue."
"The kid?" she asked curiously.
"Luke Skywalker. Farmboy turned Rebel hero, some career choice, huh? I was taking him to Alderaan when we got sucked onto the Death Star and into this whole mess."
"It sounds like you and Leia have a …tempestuous relationship. I know for a fact that she would not enjoy being addressed as "Your Worship,"
"Doesn't stop me from calling her that," Han quipped. "But yeah, I guess we are a bit tempestuous. Okay, a lot tempestuous. But, as I said earlier, I like her best when she's a fireball."
Leia took that moment to enter the room. And she had evidently heard Han's last comment. "Fireball, eh? That's rich coming from the self-centered nerf-herder of the year."
Han smiled lazily at the princess. She had been successful. Han knew that she never would have freaked out about "fireball" if she hadn't been able to plant the chip. "I tell it like it is, Sweetheart," he drawled. "You, on the other hand, forgot to add devastatingly handsome to you list."
"You mean devastatingly bantha-brained."
Nynaeve looked from one to the other and remembered that tempestuous could be used as a synonym for passionate….
To be continued…
A/N: There you go. With Chapter 4 all done, now it's on to Chapter 5. A chapter that will include, if I don't change my mind, a formal dinner and the dynamic duo sharing a bed…. Hopefully it'll be finished and up faster then this one was. Anyways I hope you liked it and please review.