CHAPTER 16:
Princess Leia stood poised with Luke's light saber ready for action, despite the fact that she never held a light saber in her hands before, that she was completely outnumbered, and obviously light years out of her mind. Still, the Imperials that surrounded her and the rebels' speeder hadn't made any move toward her since she felled one of their own with a deflected shot. That storm trooper was just stunned, not mortally wound, but it seemed to be enough to rattle the Imperials.
Now what? Leia's lips curved upward as she wondered if Han Solo asked himself that question when he and Chewbacca went running and screaming headlong toward the storm troopers on the Death Star, allowing Luke and her to escape down a different route. He certainly had courage, but now she wondered if his stupidity outweighed his courage. Her own actions were motivated by anger, and her stand-off with the Imperials didn't even give the rebels another way to escape. She definitely was no Han Solo.
She may not be Han Solo with his legendary luck, but she was Princess Leia Organa, and she wasn't about to back down. She swung the light saber slowly around, daring her enemies to make a move.
"Your Highness," one of the Imperial officers shouted out, "What do expect to do? Take on the whole Imperial garrison on your own?"
Leia raised her chin, "If I have to." She inwardly cringed at futility of her words, and even the storm troopers seemed to be laughing at her.
"Why don't you just surrender before…any of us gets hurt," the officer chuckled.
Leia's ice cold eyes narrowed on the officer who stood just meters away from her. She took in the storm troopers that flanked him and those that stood further away. Swinging the light saber wildly about her she charged toward the officer. The storm troopers moved in to protect him and fired at the wayward girl. Perhaps it was the Force or just plain sheer luck. Leia managed to not only deflect the shots aimed at her but to cut down a couple of the troopers who got too close to her as well.
Then a deafening roar and a flash of light almost knocked Leia off of her feet. She managed to hold her ground, light saber still posed for action. The Imperials around scattered and her began firing away from her toward a new target that swooped low overhead. The rebels trapped in the speeder renewed their assault on the Imperial troops.
Leia's large brown eyes gazed upward and her mouth hung slightly open. "Chewie," Leia whispered as she deactivated the light saber.
The Millennium Falcon again swooped low over the battle firing upon the confused Imperials. Faren drove the speeder toward the princess, all the while the other rebels firing their weapons out of the cracks of the window. Leia stood serene in the middle of the chaotic battle, the light saber in one hand, her eyes on the ship above.
"Your Highness," Faren yelled. "Come on!"
Leia didn't look at him let alone move from her position. She stayed frozen solid where she was, her eyes tracking every move the Falcon made. Wedge jumped out of the speeder and pulled the princess off her feet. He shielded her body with his as he made his way back to the speeder. Once the pair was safely inside, Faren pushed the speeder into gear and headed in the direction of the Millennium Falcon. The Falcon had taken care of a good chunk of the Imperial forces, but there were a few stubborn ones, most likely looking for a commission, that continued the pursuit.
The Rogue Squadron stole glances at the princess as she made her way toward the back of the speeder, balancing herself with a hand on the ceiling of the vehicle. She held her chin high and ignored the attention she was receiving. She had only one thing on her mind, and that was Han Solo. She moved to stand next to Luke.
The princess held out his light saber to him, "I'll take over here."
Luke released the air bag and took the saber from the girl without looking at her. Leia could feel the heat of his anger rising off of him, but she didn't have time to placate the boy. Leia's complete focus was now on Han as she continued pumping air into his lungs. How long had it been? She wasn't sure. By now she had lost any sense of time.
Well, Chewie was here, and now there was some hope. Some real hope, she hoped. But hope lately had a way of slipping away once she had even a little of it. So she decided that she wouldn't allow herself to cling on to even the remotest sense of hope. Leia continued squeezing air into Han's lungs, her demeanor calm and collected despite, or maybe in spite, of the chaos and shouting around her. The speeder lurched and swerved under the onslaught of the Imperial attack. The rebels fired their weapons through the window, picking off all the storm troopers they could.
The only rebel that wasn't involved in the battle besides Leia and Han was Luke. He twisted his light saber in his hands and watched the princess take care of Han. Luke's emotions were in turmoil. He was more than relieved that Leia lived through that stunt she just pulled, but he had never been angrier at her ever before. How could she put herself in danger like that?
"What were you thinking?" he yelled at the girl. "You could've gotten yourself killed."
"But I didn't," Leia didn't look up from her ministrations to Han.
"That's beside the point!" Luke's voice hid none of his anger or exasperation. "That was the stupidest thing you've ever done!"
"How do you know?" Leia now sounded as exasperated as her friend. "You've only known me for three weeks!"
"That's not fair!" he didn't know what else to say.
"I don't have time for this!" Leia snapped.
"Skywalker!" Wedge shouted when he caught sight of the hurt in the young man's eyes, "We could use your help over here."
Reluctantly, Luke abandoned Leia and Han and took up arms against their pursuers. The rebels had managed to create a large gap between them and the Imperials, but the Imperials were relentless. From the sky, Chewbacca continued firing on them, making it more difficult for their enemies to catch up to them. As a large clearing appeared ahead of them, the Falcon buzzed overhead and carefully set down ahead of the rebels' speeder. Faren brought the speeder to a halt as close to the Falcon as possible. Unfortunately, without the aid of the Falcon's turbo lasers, the Imperials were gaining territory.
Leia looked ahead through the windshield, and her heartbeat sped up at the sight of the Falcon's ramp lowering, "We've got to get Han out first."
Wedge and Luke rushed to her aid. Wedge lifted Leia up on the pallet, and careful not to apply any pressure on her patient, she straddled Han and continued squeezing the airbag at steady intervals. She hoped his heart wasn't affected by the paralysis drug. Usually the drug didn't stop the heart. Those who used this horrible drug didn't intend on killing their victims, just making them as miserable as possible without the ability to move around. But Han had gotten a good sized dose.
Wedge and Luke guided the pallet while Leia frantically worked to keep Han breathing. Around them, the rest of the rebels covered them as they hastily made their way to the Falcon's ramp. Chewie was there to greet them. He got a gander at his paralyzed buddy lying on the pallet and emitted a long howl. Leia's eyes scrunched shut, and the other rebels filed it. Chewbacca started to follow Han to the medicenter, all the while lamenting his friend's condition.
"Chewie, get us out of here!" Leia demanded. "I've got this covered." Then she looked to Luke, "Go help him. Calin and Faren take the turret cannons. The Empire will be waiting for us."
The rebels dispersed, leaving Wedge and the princess to attend to Han. Wedge hooked up Han to the pulse oxymeter, "His heart's still beating."
The princess' body visibly relaxed. She carefully climbed off of Han and connected the tube in his throat to a ventilator. She then stretched on her tip toes and fished around in the collection of vials on the shelf.
"Whaddya looking for, Leia?" asked, his eyes never leaving the holoscreen flashing Han's vital signs.
"Ciresil 4-20," she answered. "It'll counteract the paralysis agent. There!" Leia pulled herself up and grabbed the vial farthest away from her finger tips.
"Let me get it, Your Highness," Wedge rushed to her side and picked the vial off the shelf before Leia, who precariously clung to the shelf, lost her balance.
"Thanks, Wedge," she held the vial as if it were the most precious thing in the universe, and at that moment, it was. Leia held the vial up to her eyes, took a deep breath, and plunged a syringe into it. She tried to control her trembling hands as she administered it into Han's IV. She took a step back and watched her patient, "Please work fast," she whispered. Her hand found Han's hair, stroking it off of his forehead.
"What about his pain, Your Highness?" Wedge asked.
The princess pulled her fingers back as if she were burnt. She turned to Wedge, "We can't do anything about the pain until the anti-paralysis serum takes work. Unfortunately, his pain will be that indication." Leia looked at Han and frowned.
The Falcon lurched forward, and Leia and Wedge grabbed each other for balance. Leia sighed, "Looks like the Imperials have caught up with us." She saw the glint in Wedge's eye. He was a member of the Rogue Squadron; she'd never expect less. She smiled, "Go, Wedge. I have things covered here."
He nodded, "If you need me…"
"I'll call you," she bowed and then returned her attention to Han as Wedge zipped out of the room.
The Falcon rocked and swayed, and Leia feared it was taking a sound beating. Han would be furious if his precious ship was damaged. If he was conscious he'd want to be the one in control. If he was conscious? Leia gulped back tears. He had been conscious through the whole incident. Leia's hand ran the length of his arm until his hand laid face down in her palm. She breathed easier seeing that Han wasn't cyanotic anymore. She hoped he didn't suffer from any damage. But Leia closed her eyes. Of course he'd suffer. She did despite the fact the she did her best to ignore this fact.
The girl pressed her fists to her eyes, "I'm so sorry, Han."
A large hand pulled on her dress, and her patient fell into a fit of coughing.
"Han! Hang on. I'll remove the tube," Leia worked as quickly as she could and was rewarded with a few coughs that melted into deep breaths.
Han rubbed his throat, "Ah! Whaddya have to be sorry for?"
"Han!" she discretely wiped her eyes, "You had us all really scared."
"All of us?" he groaned. "I only see you." He tried to sit up.
Leia moved quick to put a hand on his chest, "Don't move, Han." He laid back down, eyes squished together and mouth shaped into a horrific grimace. "I've only deactivated the paralysis agent."
"So…why…don't you…take…care of…the pain," he closed his eyes.
"I'm getting there. I had to let the anti-paralysis agent would work."
Without opening his eyes, he waved his hands around, "It worked? See?"
"Obviously the anti-paralysis agent worked too well on your mouth," Leia quipped. She prepped the syringe and plunged it into the IV.
"Just give me the lowest dose possible," Han said as he pulled himself into a painful sitting position.
Leia didn't look at him, "I can't do that."
"Why not?" Han's voice rose. "It's obvious things aren't going so well up in the cockpit. They need me there."
"Despite your delusions, Captain," Leia rolled her eyes, "There are other pilots just as good, if not better--"
"Better?" Han scoffed, "I highly doubt that."
"Nevertheless, you need to recover."
"I've recovered!" he snapped. Leia jumped back and her eyes liquefied. Han's brow furrowed and he immediately regretted snapping at her.
She looked away, "You may feel like you recovered, but you haven't." Leia took a long ragged breath, "I think you received a large dosage of the paralysis agent. And the pain that came with it, it causes a strain on the heart. Many go into shock and die."
"But I didn't," Han stated.
"Look," Leia folded her arms across her chest and faced Han, "You weren't ever prepped for Imperial interrogations. You received a large dose for someone who has never had it before."
"What? People do these interrogation drugs for fun?" Han slowly took in her words.
"Not for fun..." Leia's large eyes went far away for a moment, but then her regal stature replaced any signs of her vulnerablitity, "You weren't ever prepped for an Imperial interrogation. So your heart may have weakened. You need to take it easy until we get back to the base and check it out."
"So," he crossed his arms over his chest and peered into the girl's dark eyes, "Who gets these 'practice' interrogation sessions?"
The girl backed away from him until she found herself against the wall of the small medicenter.
"Leia?" Han whispered.
"Just let it go, Han," she placed a hand on her stomach, pushing tight against it.
The ship violently shook. Han's feet dropped off of the bed, but he had no intention of leaving the girl to take over in the cockpit. He weakly made his way over to her, pinning her against the wall while holding himself up with his hands.
"Captain Solo," Leia tilted her head and raise her chin, "It seems that they need you in the cockpit. You're obviously strong enough to reclaim your ship. Maybe you're the only one stupid enough to get us out of this situation."
Han chuckled, "Stupid enough to get us out of this situation? Did you just compliment me?" Leia rolled her eyes. His chuckle faded into a lop-sided smile, "Chewie's even stupider so I'm not worried in the least. And then you have Luke up there, if I heard right." Leia buried her head in her hands. "And the Rogue Squadron is running all over this ship. I think we're quite covered in the stupidity area. And from all that commotion earlier, I understand your stupidity has topped them all. They don't need me." The ship rocked again, and Han's brow pinched as he looked up to the ceiling, but then he masked his concern with a flippant smile, "Maybe you need me."
But then Solo's hazel eyes swirled with a seriousness Leia hadn't seen before. Still trapped between his hands against the wall, she swallowed hard and strained to control her breathing. He gazed into her eyes for a while, just taking her in as she was. Then he whispered, "How did you know what antidote to use against the paralysis agent?"
Leia's mouth open and she slowly shook her head, "I…I…just do."
Han took his finger and traced Leia's hairline all the way down to her chin, and Leia blinked nervously, "Were you prepped for an Imperial interrogation?"
"Why is this relevant?" she shook her head and pasted an "I'm-perfectly-fine" smile on her face.
Solo took a step toward her, he chin tucked as he tried to make eye-contact with her, "Who hurt you?"
"No one!" she shouted at him. "No one except Vader!"
Han didn't believe her. She knew too much about the drugs and which drugs to counteract certain effects. He doubted she had enough mind to memorize all that while it was being done to her on the Death Star.
"Leia, please," he cradled her cheeks in his hands and tried to make her look up at him. "Who?" The girl's face broke like a china cup and she frantically shook her head. "How many times?"
The room began to spin, and Leia slammed her eyes shut. Without much warning, she found herself on her hands and knees, dry heaving. Han knelt down and pulled her long curls out of the way, "The rebels did to you." Han stated matter-of-factly.
Leia wretched again, tears now streaked her face, "It was necessary."
"Necessary," Han repeated. He helped her to her feet, "So the Alliance is in the business of torturing children." the whole ideal of this almost made Han lose his stomach contents as well.
"I'm not a child!" Leia argued in a tone a child would take. She stopped and composed herself, "I was a member of the Imperial Senate. It was necessary that I'd be able to withstand an interrogation session with the Imperials."
"Just because you aren't allowed to act like a child, doesn't mean you're not a child, Leia!"
"Don't you think they need you in the cockpit?" Leia asked. "You look much better now."
"It doesn't feel like they're doing too bad," Han's attention stayed on the princess. "So tell me," he took a step even closer to her, and Leia pressed herself against the wall, "how old we're you when these torture practices started?"
"What? I don't understand," she looked away.
"You were what? Sixteen when you were elected on the Senate, right?"
The princess lifted her chin and an eyebrow instinctively arched, "Someone's been doing his homework." She smiled as if she just won a lottery.
"So how old were you when they started training you for interrogations?" Han's eyes narrowed on his target, and Leia's smug smile faded. Her uneven breath warmed his cheek, and her eyes took on the appearance of a vrelit caught in the headlights of a speeder. "Leia," he whispered, "how old were you?"
The girl bit her lip and tried to look away. A single tear slipped from the edge of her left eye, strangling Han's heart. Perhaps he pushed her too far. But then she whispered, "Thirteen."
Han could do no more than stare at her with a slack jaw and wide eyes. When he caught his voice, she was already on her way out of the room, "Leia?" she looked up at him, looking more like a child than ever, "Do all the rebels get this treatment?"
Her large brown eyes pierced his, and the sadness that swirled in them was contagious. Standing in the shadows, she slowly shook her head "no". Leia regained her regal composure. "Wedge will be here to check you over," the girl called over her shoulder as she left the medicenter. Feeling physically pained, emotionally drained, and more tired than he ever felt before, Han thought it was best that he lie down on the bed until Wedge came.