CHAPTER 5:
It didn't take them long to reach the Falcon. Once the ramp lowered, Leia rushed in followed closely by Han. Leia reached the cockpit first and began the pre-flight preparations.
Han stormed into after her, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Leia turned to face him with her mouth open as if she was caught with her hand in the fritter jar.
Han pushed her aside, "This is still my ship, and all handle it."
He looked her up and down and shook his head as he fiddled with the controls. Her hair hung wildly around her head and her cheeks and limbs were smudged with dirt. He fought to contain his smile, "We need a plan."
Leia shifted her weight to the left, dropped her chin, and placed a hand on her hip, "So? What's the plan?"
Han sat down in the pilot's seat and thought about their situation, but he couldn't think of anything.
Leia sat down next to him and stared out the canopy, "I say we fly the Falcon over the courtyard, use the front turbo lasers guns to take out the snipers, provided that this piece of junk doesn't malfunction—"
"Hey!"
The princess ignored him, "You could come down spinning. That should take out most of them or at least scare them off. Once we're over Chewie and Luke, you can pop open the cargo ramp—"
Han rolled his eyes, "Pop open—"
Leia's brow furrowed, "That's what I just said. Am I going to fast for you?" She didn't wait for an answer. "Then I'll go down and pull Chewie and Luke to safety."
"Sweetheart," Han tried to contain his impatience, "you don't have enough strength to pull up a Wookie less than Luke."
"I had enough strength to save your sorry ass," Leia's lips quirked to the left. Then she sighed, "That's why I'll use the pulley system you use when you're loading heavy cargo."
Han pulled on his chin, "Okay. But one thing: you'll pilot the Falcon and I'll do the heavy lifting."
"Han," she scowled, "You're the better pilot in this situation. You know the idiosyncrasies of this hunk of junk—"
"HEY!"
"I'll be more useful doing the rescuing this time." She slipped into her royal tone, "What are you waiting for, Captain?"
Han ran his bottom lip between his teeth. It was a crazy plan, a plan he should have come up with. When did Leia start thinking like him? "I don't know…" Han shook his head.
Leia jutted out a hip and placed one determined fist on it. She tilted her head, "Do you have a better plan?"
Han sighed and handed her his blaster, "Fine. But be careful."
"You, too," Leia started toward the cargo hold.
"Hey, Your Worship?"
The princess stopped and narrowed her eyes on him, "Yes, Captain?"
Han briefly glanced into her eyes and then looked away, "Sorry about the arm."
"Sorry about the…you know," Leia's cheeks reddened.
"Just don't let it happen again," Han smiled.
"Just don't make me do it again," she smiled devilishly as she disappeared down the corridor.
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"We're coming into position," Han announced into her ear piece. "Hang on."
"To what?" Leia mumbled to herself as she looked around the dimly-lit cargo hold. She positioned herself near the cargo hatch and attached the cargo harness around herself, prepared the other cargo harness, and waited.
Then the turbo lasers began to fire and the Falcon wildly spun, causing Leia's stomach to churn. She readied Han's blaster and then clutched the release lever for the cargo ramp.
"Close as I can get, Sweetheart," Han's voice sounded tense over in her ear. "Better make it fast. I was only able to take out four and scare off a few more."
"Here goes nothing," Leia pulled the lever, and the cargo ramp dropped.
The princess looked out before she jumped and allowed herself to free fall. She slammed down hard on the platform next to Luke and Chewie, and it took her a moment to catch her breath.
"Luke! Chewie!" Leia shook her friends.
"Leia?" Luke sounded dazed and confused.
Leia reached into her left boot and pulled out a vibroblade. She quickly cut through Luke's tethers.
"Here," she handed Luke the blade. "Free Chewie."
A blaster shot whizzed pass her head. She gritted her teeth as she whipped Han's blaster up and shot in the general direction the shot came. She didn't have time for such distractions. Leia glanced up at the Falcon above them and willed Han to take whoever was shooting at her out. As if he heard her thoughts, the Falcon rotated, pulling her slightly off of the ground, and fired its turbo lasers.
"Chewie!" Leia grabbed onto the huge Wookie's shoulders and shook him. "Chewie, wake up!"
Chewbacca stirred and Leia's countenance relaxed a little. Her part of the rescue would be a lot easier if both Luke and Chewie were conscious.
"Here, Luke," Leia tossed a harness to him. "Attach this to Chewie."
Luke did as he was told while Leia took aim at a sniper Han hadn't taken out yet. She closed one eye and squeezed the trigger. The sniper rolled off of the roof. Then she turned her attention back to her companions. Then she unhooked the harness around her and re-adjusted it so it fit around both her and Luke.
"Is Chewie secure?" Leia asked.
"I…I think so."
That had to be good enough. Han couldn't hold his position any longer.
"Chewie, grab on to the rope," she ordered. "Luke, you, too."
Leia wrapped her arm around Luke, pressing her body against him. She then wrapped her legs around Chewbacca as if that would stop him from falling if anything went wrong. Leia tucked Han's blaster down her shirt and took hold of the rope.
"Ready, Han!"
The rope jerked hard before it smoothed out, and Luke, Leia, and Chewie were pulled up into the bowels of the Falcon. Once inside, Leia dragged her friends away from the cargo hatch and slammed the lever shut.
"All clear," she yelled, and the Falcon gained altitude, the force of gravity forcing her against the cold floor.
"Leia?" Han's voice filled her head. "What's the prognosis?"
"They're conscious, but they need medical attention," she answered. "I'm going to need your help. Find a safe place to set down."
"See?"
Leia's brow knitted, "See what?"
"You can't live without me."
"Just find a safe place to set down," Leia rolled her eyes and bit back a smile.