Thank you to those who let me know aboyt the formatting...giving this another try :)

OOOOOO

OOOO

After many hours of tuning out the proceedings, Han was forced to pay attention when Leia stood and gave a final speech, thanking Commenor, and the Prime Minister in particular, for supporting the Rebel Alliance. He was thrilled. It meant the mission was at an end. Now, they just had to get the hell off Commenor. As things wound down, he returned to Chewbacca to give him the news.

"Mission accomplished. Her Highnessness should be happy now."

Chewie barked, pleased.

Han rolled his eyes. "At least we can head outta here." And I can get away from Her Royal Annoyingness, Han added silently. "I'll trail you two back to the Falcon and we'll punch it right away."

Voices approached and Han turned to see the Princess beaming. Even with the wig and antennapalps, that broad smile and the way her eyes sparkled reminded him of the medal ceremony. For just a moment, he forgot everything else. He watched as she said her goodbyes. The Prime Minister took her hand and raised it to his lips, his eyes on hers the entire time. Han couldn't make out his low voice but was glad they were leaving. The guy rubbed him the wrong way.

When Leia freed herself from Fernou, she came to stand by Han and Chewie, still smiling.

"Congratulations, Princess," Han offered. "You did it."

She looked surprised. "Thank you." She appeared to have forgotten she had ever been angry at Solo.

"Are we done here?"

"Yes. Now, we can get back to the fleet."

Han nodded. "You two head back. I'll be right behind you."

Chewie roared acknowledgement and the smile slipped from the Princess' face and was replaced with a look of determination that was becoming familiar to Han. Affecting a casual expression, she tipped her head in Han's direction and followed the Wookiee into the corridor.

Han donned his hat and goggles, waited several beats then proceeded out the door. Several meters ahead, he kept his eyes on the Princess, while simultaneously watching everyone and everything around them.

The tight-fitting, black jumpsuit Han had purchased for the Princess as part of her disguise was distracting, particularly from behind. He forced his eyes away from admiring her curves as they came upon a corridor filled with Stormtroopers. He glanced at Chewie and Leia, who were both outwardly calm and confident.

A glow caught Han's eye and he was drawn to a commanding Stormtrooper who held in his palm a small, blue holo of Princess Leia. He was showing it to a Bothan, who was shaking his head. Han's stomach went taut but he posited his gaze straight ahead.

They strode through several corridors, amidst an abundance of Stormtroopers. He wished he had access to a Stormtrooper uniform of his own. That had certainly helped on the Death Star.

No one seemed to take notice of them and just as Han was beginning to feel confident, he halted in his tracks when a pair of Stormtroopers abruptly stopped Chewie and the Princess. Covering his reaction, he took a datapad from his pocket and pretended to check information. Feigning interest in the datapad, he casually took a few steps forward to better hear the proceedings.

"Have you seen this human woman?" the filtered voice came through the helmet.

Leia's reply was barely audible.

"Wookiee?" the voice questioned.

Han pretended to scroll but glanced up just in time to see Chewie's curt shake of the head.

The monotone voice continued. "What is your business on Commenor?"

Han cursed himself for not thinking to come up with a cover story for all of them. He knew the Princess was quick on her feet but he could not make out the words of her quiet response.

"What is your EDB tag?" the trooper asked.

For a split second, Han felt a flicker of panic. It passed quickly and Solo did what he always did: the craziest thing he could think of.

He tossed his datapad into the air, gripped his blaster and shot the pad into pieces. It shattered into sparks above his head as he spun and began running in the other direction away from Leia and Chewie.

The citizens in the corridor screamed and Han heard the filtered voices of Stormtroopers shouting orders as they took off in pursuit of him. Now, he just had to shake these losers and meet the others back at the Falcon. Blaster bolts whizzed past him as he sprinted around a corner. He returned fire as best he could while running, hoping to pull off a few lucky shots. If there was one thing he had going for him, it was that it was a lot easier to run without armor than with.

He hated to let the Princess out of his sight, but he trusted Chewie to get her safely to the Falcon. He just hoped they wouldn't be stopped again.

Han was pleased to discover that the Troopers were falling behind. He rounded a corner and ran past a long, open balcony in the direction of an open turbolift. Perfect.

As he ran towards it, the adjacent 'lift opened and a cluster of Stormtroopers piled out. Han skidded to a sudden stop and started to reverse, pumping laser bolts at his new adversaries. He heard his pursuers approaching from the direction and made a quick decision. He rushed towards the balcony and discovered a long, public hovertram passing below. Chancing one last random blast behind him, Han launched himself over the side of the balcony, desperately hoping he had not miscalculated.

His jacket billowed behind him like fractured wings and Han looked down, watching the end of the tram approach and bracing for impact. He fought the urge to close his eyes.

He crashed into the solid metal of the last car on the tram, a searing pain exploding in his side as he began to roll against his will towards the edge of the car. The world seemed to slip by him in a flash as his hands reached reflexively to grasp at nothing. His stomach rolled as he was pitched over the end of the car. Panic seized him then suddenly his hand gained purchase on a thick metal bar. He gripped it tightly with one hand as his body swung precariously in the wind. As he struggled to steady himself, blaster bolts exploded around him but the tram was quickly carrying him out of range.

Han managed to swing around and clutch the rail with his other hand and pulled himself on top of the car. His breath was coming in gasps and each inhalation caused a sharp pain in his side. He might have broken a rib, but it could have been much worse.

He waited, catching his breath, until the tram came to a stop. He hopped down into a crowd of disembarking passengers, slipped off his jacket and let it drop to the floor. Falling in with a group of beings, he followed them to the nearest 'lift. Once inside, Han programmed the 'lift to take him to level 100 and congratulated himself for so closely examining the map on the computer.

Trying not to anxiously tap his foot, he endured the long wait as other passengers disembarked. He needed to get to his ship and make sure the Princess was all right. Although, why he was so concerned was beyond him.

Finally, the 'lift stopped at level 100 and Han burst from inside, eyes scanning the corridor. He saw no white armor and proceeded. This level was residential and he knew that somewhere nearby was a vehicle garage. Instinctively, he turned left and followed the corridor, finally discovering a large viewport that looked out on a garage containing various hovercars, speeders, and speeder bikes. He palmed the door controls but found it was locked.

He took a cursory look around, thankful that no one was nearby when he yanked off the panel, pulled out the wires and began the tedious work of hot wiring the door. Distraction caused him to pull the wrong wire, generating a hot spark that flashed in his face. Reflexively, he turned his face away, closed his eyes, and grimaced. He replaced the wire, focusing his attention more fully. Finding the correct wire, he twisted, secured, and with a swoosh the double doors opened.

He chose an older model hovercar in black. The older the model, the easier it was to rig. This particular hovercar had no top, which also made it easier. Han climbed in, spent a few moments on the wires, and the engine roared to life.

At least one thing on this mission had been easy.