Distribution: If you already have an earlier version of the story, feel free to update it and just let me know. Otherwise, please ask before you take and I'll most likely be happy to share.

Leia woke with a start, unsure of her surroundings. For a moment she was back home on Alderaan, but a quick glance around the dark room reoriented her. She was asleep on her cot, but why was she still in her clothes? She touched her head and winced; her tight braids were bunched up and had left her scalp feeling bruised. On top of that, she felt the hint of a hangover. What- oh. The previous evening's emotional maelstrom came back to her, and she felt a wave of queasiness not entirely due to alcohol-induced dehydration.

Leia groaned slightly and sat up, rubbing her face briskly in the morning cold. She willed herself to push the blanket off and noticed that she was only wearing one shoe. The other one was on the ground beside her cot.

Great, just great, Leia thought as she showered. After all the time she had successfully maintained her level-headed image, tried so hard to behave like a leader and show strength, what had happened? Of course she knew she had to grieve eventually, and that there was more to come. That was only natural. But there were more important things than her own feelings, and the rebellion was one of them. I'm a symbol, she reminded herself. A survivor. A reminder that the Empire can't break us, no matter how powerful they might be.

She recalled one of many speeches. "They may have the ability to destroy a planet," she'd said. "But they cannot destroy our will. They cannot annihilate our spirits."

So much for will. And the spirits, well, she assumed they had finished the bottle between them.

With a sigh, the princess added one last regret to her train of thought. Why, of all people to witness a breakdown when it finally happened, did it have to be Solo? Now she just knew he'd act all smug and cocky, reminding her of her weakness every chance he got.

Why had she let him, of all people, see her at a disadvantage? She'd confided everything in him, sought comfort in him- and found it, a small internal voice added.

Leia finished getting dried and dressed, carefully checking herself in a small handheld mirror. It was no use wasting any more time thinking about that smuggler when she had a full day ahead of her. Besides, Han wasn't likely to go public with anything that had happened the night before. He'd be more apt to use it as private ammunition in their next spat. But at least it wouldn't undermine her authority or image… and that was the important thing.

"Hey, don't hog all the food, Chewie," Han said, pushing his tray along behind the wookiee. The rebellion's galley didn't exactly offer fine cuisine, but at least it wasn't moving. Han scooped a few servings of something he hoped contained protein onto his plate and poked at it. It didn't jiggle or make any noise. With a sigh of relief, Han followed Chewie to an available seat in the dining area.

"What?" the smuggler asked after a few moments of Chewie non-growling.

Hey, it's none of my business, Chewbacca replied with a shrug.

"Oh, don't play that game with me," Han said, wagging a finger in his copilot's face. "I'm not fallin' for it."

Falling for what? Chewbacca asked, appearing to be fully concentrated on his breakfast. I haven't said a word about you going to the princess' quarters last night.

"Aha! I didn't say anything about any princess."

Neither did I, Chewie replied.

"Yes you did, just now, you-"

"Hey, Han. Chewie. Can I squeeze in?" Luke Skywalker, fresh-faced and country as ever, insinuated himself into the conversation with a cheerful smile. "How are you guys this morning?"

Chewbacca bellowed a greeting.

"Fine, kid. Never better," Han replied, poking in disgust at the grey-tinged substance on his tray. He was glad for the interruption, since he didn't feel like answering Chewie's questions about his behavior the previous night.

"Are you headed to the briefing after this?" Luke asked.

"What else is there to do on this iceball?" Han replied.

"I know what you mean," Luke said agreeably. "Anyway, I guess there's something big coming up. We're not really supposed to talk about it, but General Rieekan says Mon Mothma's gonna speak. Holo, of course, but still it must be pretty important, you know?"

"Huh." Han wondered what the old lady had up her oversized sleeves. Luke seemed pretty excited about whatever it was, so it was a pretty safe bet Rogue squadron was involved. "Alright, kid, see ya there."

"See ya," Luke replied. Chewie ruffled his hair and followed Han out of the galley.

"I assume you must be curious as to why I am speaking to you all directly," Mon Mothma's projected image said an hour later. "I will tell you now, but I must first stress the importance of keeping this information classified. Only those with top secret clearance may remain in this briefing." She paused. Everyone in the room was cleared.

"The secrecy of this information has been guarded by only myself and General Rieekan for quite some time. A new faction has contacted us wishing to support the Rebellion- a large faction.

"For economic reasons alone this entity would be a tremendous acquisition to our cause; but they also have an outstanding intelligence network and advanced technology which could give us a strategic advantage in the long term.

"They have been apprehensive, however, to make any formal agreements with us. They remain unconvinced of our ability to provide mutual protection in the event of another Death Star or other superweapon. While they have conceded to back us with a small provision, which was used to upgrade the ion defense system at your current location recently, their fear of the Empire remains strong.

"We will dispatch a diplomatic mission to the Bothan system immediately to encourage their alliance with us. Simultaneously, there is a separate issue which must be addressed.

"Current Imperial activity indicates their search for Rebel headquarters is getting closer to finding our location. The probability of attack has increased, and I want everyone on their guard. Patrols will be increased, both on-planet and around the solar system perimeter. Preparations must be made for evacuation. This will include scouting missions, counterintelligence maneuvers, and the deployment of several groups to set up rendezvous points in various small camps. You will all receive your sealed orders directly from General Rieekan after the briefing. That is all. "

"Han! Hey, Han!" Luke was calling across the hangar. He ran up and thudded Han on the shoulder. "I heard you got tasked to escort the diplomatic mission- did you?"

"Yeah, but I'm tryin' to get out of it," he replied.

"Why, what's the matter?"

"Eh, it doesn't suit me," Han said. "You seen Rieekan anywhere?"

"In the map room, last time I checked. Leia was headed up there to look for him too. Hey, I'll be leaving in the morning to help set up one of those remote sites. Probably won't see you for a while so stay safe, okay?"

"You too," Han said, looking him in the eyes. "And don't get carried away with the heroics, alright?"

Luke laughed. "Same to you," he said congenially. He patted Han on the arm again and hurried off to make his preparations. Han shrugged off the concern he always felt when he and the kid parted ways. Luke's enthusiastic loyalty to the Rebellion might get him killed some day, but his assignment this time would take him well out of harm's way.

Han resumed his search for General Rieekan. He was not about to be stuck on some freighter with a bunch of wrinkly old ambassadors to sit with them through some fancy Bothan banquet when he and Chewie could be out with the intel guys doing recon- or better yet, smuggling something. Anything. Information, equipment, new recruits, long underwear for the troops, he didn't care as long as he could shove it into a compartment on the Falcon and pretend it wasn't there. It was high time the Rebellion started playing his strengths instead of tasking him for all these tedious red tape missions.

He was about to knock on the map room door when he heard his name mentioned inside. It was the princess. Accustomed to and adept at eavesdropping, the smuggler leaned casually against the wall as if innocently waiting his turn. He strained his ears to catch every word spoken.

"Yes of course, General Rieekan, but perhaps someone other than Captain Solo. What about-"

"Solo is the best man for the job," Rieekan cut her off. "Rogue squadron is already allocated as security for remote camp setup, and outside of them he's the best pilot we've got."

Damn right, Han thought, then frowned at the inferior ranking to Rogue squadron.

"I'm not arguing that point, general. But… the Millennium Falcon is going to be recognized by any Imperial spies within 20 parsecs."

"We've already thought of that. We've prepared a cloaking device that'll project a holographic disguise. Our techs will be updating the scrambling device so that the Empire can't scan its identity. The Falcon is a far safer bet than any of our standard personnel transports. It's faster and more heavily armed. To point, it's the only ship suited to the mission."

An arrogant grin widened on Han's face and stayed there. Best ship, best pilot. He'd already dismissed the second-place comparison to the Rogues.

There was a pause while Leia was probably trying to formulate a reply. Rieekan's reasoning was sound, and she'd have a hard time arguing her way out of it. Han crossed his arms over his chest as if daring her to try and outmaneuver the general.

She finally sighed. Her objections had been solidly refuted, and she was forced to concede to the general's plan.

"I apologize for failing to appreciate your planning ability. I should have known you would have taken every angle into consideration," she said graciously.

"Princess Leia. Your safety is of great consequence not only to the Rebellion, but to me personally. You may always be assured of that."

"Thank you, general."

"You'll be leaving at the earliest opportunity, but we do not yet have an exact time, so you'll need to be in contact with centcom at all times. You've perused your information packet? "

"Of course. I'll have time to study it more thoroughly en route."

Han sensed he wouldn't hear anything else interesting, so he made his escape down the hall. Why hadn't somebody told him who he was supposed to be escorting? This was completely different from what he'd had in mind. The princess and him, together on his own ship for an extended period of time and he'd been about to try and get out of it. Maybe he should read all the way through his orders once in a while. As a matter of fact he'd missed the part about the techs messing with his ship, assuming naively that he and Chewie would make the necessary modifications. Suddenly alarmed, Han hurried to make sure his Falcon was still in one piece.