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Irreconcilable, Perhaps

Chapter I: Mission Impossible


Leia hurried through the aisle of Echo Base with quick steps, pulling the zipper of her padded jacket up to her chin. Her breath came out of her mouth in white clouds, and she rubbed her hands together in the white gloves, shivering.

This ice planet was just a curse, she thought to herself; one couldn't even heat one's room because the entire facility was built on massive glacial ice that could melt. If only the Empire had never discovered their base on Yavin IV! Compared to Hoth, the jungle planet was downright comfortable.

But there was nothing to be done about it. At least, the chances that the Empire would discover the Alliance here were extremely slim.

She intercepted an officer walking toward her. "Have you seen Captain Solo?"

"The last time in Hangar 7, Princess," he replied.

She nodded her thanks and went on, muttering. "Well, I'll get him going."

The sliding door opened with a faint hiss. Hangar 7 opened before her, filled with the X-wing aircrafts of the special squadron and a few snow gliders. The hall extended over several hundreds of meters, open to the north plateau. There Leia caught a glimpse of the lead-gray sky she hadn't seen in... who knows how long.

There was a lot of activity; technicians carried out repairs on several ships, and every now and then a reconnaissance plane took off or landed. It was no challenge for Leia to spot the Millennium Falcon in all the mess. She stopped next to the stern-wheel drive and looked up with crossed arms at the dark-haired man who worked on the roof of the freighter.

"Chewie, hand me the wrench—no, the other one!" Something clanked. The Wookiee gave a frustrated growl. "Shit!" There came a crack that sounded suspiciously like a kick on metal.

Leia swung onto the wing. "The hell are you doing?" she asked mockingly.

"I'm replacing a molten unit so that we don't get this cart blown over our ears at the next opportunity," ground out Han Solo, leaning deeply over the place where he had loosened the metal plates. "At least, that's the theory."

"There's nothing left to save on this junk mill anyway," she replied.

He looked at her indignantly. "Well, listen—this 'junk mill' saved your life after all, if I may remind you. So, what is it that gives me the honor of your presence?"

She crossed her arms again. "Two days ago you boasted that it would be no problem at all to make the T47 winterproof."

"It isn't," he said as he crawled deeper into the ship to work better.

"Then can you explain to me why half the snowspeeders are stuck in this hangar because they fail in the outside temperatures? Instead of being the only one bothering about their own business, maybe you could lend a hand to the business of the whole. You know, show a touch of solidarity, if the word means anything to you at all."

"You definitely have technicians for something like that. Chewie, the fusion cutter!"

She reached into the toolbox and held the tool under his nose. He looked at her for a moment, then took the item from her. "Thanks," he muttered.

"In case you haven't noticed by now, we never have enough people. This is something of an unwritten law of any rebellion. So, instead of tinkering with your cart senselessly, maybe you could use your alleged knowledge."

He paused and looked at her. "If you want something from me, why don't you just ask? Or does your pride not allow that?"

She sighed in exasperation. "You're enjoying that, aren't you?" His grin spoke volumes. "So, can you get the snowspeeders to work or not?"

"When?"

"Now." And when she saw his gaze, she added, "Your ship is not running away from you, Solo. I doubt that it could even fly in this condition."

"Well then. If that's what makes you happy, princess…" He put the tools aside and climbed off the ship after her. "Why are you in such a hurry, anyway?" he asked as he followed her through the hangar.

"I'm planning a reconnaissance flight, but all the working speeders are out. In addition, something has to be done about the temp problem. We cannot afford failures." They reached a T47, a little off the beaten track, a speeder in the usual arrow shape that was only suitable for flights in the atmosphere.

"Why are you doing reconnaissance flights at all?" he asked while he glanced into the already open stern. "You've got people for that."

"I like to make up my own mind. Wanting something done so doing it myself. That makes managing such a mission easier." She leaned against the side of the glider and watched him take a close look at the drive.

"Lines seem to be free... Is there frost protection on it?"

"What do you think?" She raised her eyebrows. "It contains more antifreeze than fuel."

"Mmm," said Han Solo thoughtfully. There was silence for a moment, broken only by the sounds of tools on metal.

"It doesn't seem that easy," she finally commented on his silence.

"You asking for miracles from me? The wonder boy is responsible for that. I'm definitely not!"

"You're just jealous."

His head appeared behind the stern. "Jealous? You're just frustrated because you can't admit that you like me!"

"Me like you?" She repeated, horrified, and raised her hands in defense. "I'd rather kiss your Wookiee! What do you actually dream of at night? —No, wait, I don't even want to know."

"Yeah, just keep trying to hide it! I know exactly what's going on in your pretty little head."

"That I doubt," she replied caustically.

"Why else did you ask me? As if you had no other choice."

"Believe me, you really were my last resort. Otherwise, I certainly would not have asked you!"

"So you say..." He disappeared behind the speeder, and a loud clatter could be heard.

"What about the engine now? Can you manage that before it gets dark?"

"The engine itself is not the problem at all... pass me the size eight wrench." She did it and frowned skeptically. He cursed. "It won't work like that. It's bombproof. Damn cold. Can you give me the impact wrench... —"

"Am I your little helper now, or what?"

"Do you want to get this cart working or not?" He shot back.

"Fine." She gave in and retrieved said device. "Do you really think you can do it? At the moment I have some doubts."

"If necessary, you can always take a tauntaun," he suggested.

She grimaced. "I definitely would never ride one of those. Those critters stink to the stars."

"Sometimes you just have to make sacrifices for a good cause..." Although his head was still in the stern of the speeder, she could hear the grin off his words.

"I think my quota for sacrifice has already been fulfilled for today," she replied dryly.

Contrary to expectations, however, Han did not retort. Instead, he suddenly exclaimed, "HA!"

"Does that mean you've found the fault?" she asked.

"De-icing nozzles clogged. How 'bout that! Give me the Torx screwdriver; I'll have to take it apart first. Have your boys actually never heard of maintenance?"

"The what?" she cut in, confused.

"Over there, star-shaped tip, sweetheart."

She nearly sent said screwdriver spinning through the air toward his head. "I'm not your sweetheart!"

At that moment General Rieekan entered the hangar and strode toward them. "There you are, Princess Leia! So, you can't be talked out of the reconnaissance flight?"

She turned around to face him. "Afraid not, General. Knowing the terrain is essential to developing a strong defense," she replied.

"Then I would prefer you to take an experienced pilot with you," the older man pointed out.

She nodded. "I was thinking of someone from the special season."

"They're all out at the moment, I'm afraid. We're having all field sensors checked again so the enemy won't be taking us by surprise. Since Captain Solo is already helping you, why don't you take him with you?"

Leia drew in a deep breath. "I don't think that would be such a good idea..." she said evasively. "He doesn't have enough experience with the speeders."

At that moment, Han Solo reappeared from behind the craft. "I'd already been flying speeders when you were still playing with dolls, my dear." He snorted disparagingly. "No experience!"

She gave him an annoyed look. "Now just a moment, Solo; didn't you want to make your ship airworthy?"

"I'm sure there will time," said the general.

"To be honest, I would prefer someone else. Solo and I have some… irreconcilable differences here, I would say."

The general smiled indulgently. "I know you, Leia; your diplomatic skills are second to none. Unfortunately, I cannot assign any other pilots to my job at the moment. So if you find yourself unable to talk to Captain Solo…" He didn't have to go on.

"Oh, all right! Fine." She threw her hands in the air. "But I'm flying!"

"I hardly think so, princess! In case you've forgotten, I'm the captain here."

General Rieekan, pacing away with his affairs now in order, was too far away to understand Leia's heated reply. He smiled slightly.

How could anyone not see that they were in love?


A/N: As always, reviews are appreciated and replied to. Or, if you'd prefer to comment more privately, feel free to shoot me a PM.
Special thanks to CherryPine6, who beta-ed all four chapters of this little piece. I'm super excited to see this launch. Thank you for both perusing with precision and cleaning up the cobwebs.
And, of course, a special thanks to you, readers. Without a receiver, "all art is quite useless," as Oscar Wilde would say.

Cheers,
+ KVP