Chapter 7:
Han Solo slouched in his seat in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon with his feet propped up on Chewbacca's co-pilot's seat. One arm rested on the back of his seat and his other hand pulled at his bottom lip. He kept his eyes on the entrance of the hangar. Occasionally, his hazel eyes roamed over the crew and mechanics. It was the middle of the day, and the hangar was buzzing with activity; the perfect time to implement Princess Leia Organa's and General Carlist Reikken's plan. Reikken made sure that it was well-known that Leia was being sent to the base on Avolonia. But still, it made Han nervous. Leia, Chewie, and Luke should have arrived by now. What was holding them up? Han's chest tightened. The assassin could've made another attempt on Leia's life, maybe even been successful this time. Chewie would've commed him if anything happened—if Chewie wasn't killed protecting the princess.
Solo's eyes returned to the entrance of the hangar as he fingered his commlink. He was about to comm Chewbacca when he caught sight of Leia and Reikken approaching the Falcon. Leia was wearing the white dress she wore when Han first saw her on the Death Star.
Someone has to save our skins. Into the garbage chute, flyboy.
Han smiled at the memory. He expected to find a docile, spoiled princess dependent on him and Luke to be rescued. Instead he got this spite-fire girl who could handle a blaster like a seasoned soldier and had one hell of the mouth. Han was attracted to her from the moment she ordered him into the garbage chute. Now…now she was a woman- still mouthy and haughty—who had revealed other faucets of her personality to him over the last three years. He was not just attracted to her; he cared about her. Maybe even loved—
Han brushed that thought aside. He had no time for love.
Leia's personal aide walked beside Luke behind Leia and Reikken. The personal aide was a dead-ringer for the princess. Chewbacca, R2-D2, and C-3PO followed. Han stood up and went to greet them on the ramp. He leaned against the hydraulic post with his hands hanging on his belt.
When she and her entourage reached the bottom of the ramp, Leia stopped. She looked up at Han and greeted him with a formal "Captain Solo."
"Your Worshipfulness."
The princess's expression darkened and her cheeks reddened. However, as she turned to General Reikken, her expression relaxed.
"Good-bye, General."
"You take care, Princess."
"I will."
"The Chancellor of Avolonia is looking forward to your arrival. If anyone can convince him to support our cause, it is you."
"Thank you, General."
"You'll be missed."
"As will you." Leia placed her hands on the general's shoulders and kissed his cheek.
Reikken bid farewell to the rest of the group and nodded to Han. Han returned his gesture. Then Han stood with his arms crossed over his chest as he watched the princess ascend up the ramp with her entourage. She stopped in front of him. He smugly smiled. She rolled her eyes and pushed passed him. Han turned and followed her, cutting off her aide and Luke.
"You garnered enough attention, Your High-and-Mightiness," he growled into her ear.
"That was the point, Bantha Breath."
Han halted, letting Leia's aide and Luke pass him. Luke grimaced and shrugged. Chewie chuckled.
"Ah, shut up."
"Hello, Captain Solo," Threepio said.
Han grunted and turned away from the droids.
"That man has no manners. Come on, Artoo."
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"I hope this plan of yours works," Han said as he stared down at the large trunk.
"Of course it will," Leia said as she took the hand of her aide, Chrissa Stermer. "Come, I'll show you the crew's quarters. You can unpack and get settled," Leia looked at Han, "as much as you can on this piece of junk."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
"This 'piece of junk' saved your ass more than a couple of times, Your High-and-Mightiness."
The two women disappeared down the corridor.
Chewbacca shared his opinion about Leia's and Reikken's plan.
"No surprise that you agree with her."
Luke said, "It's practically fool-proof."
Han raised an eyebrow. "Has any plan we've had been fool-proof?"
Luke's lips twisted to the right. "Well, it's the best plan we have."
"As long as people buy it."
Chewie grumbled.
"Chewbacca and Master Luke are right, Captain Solo," Threepio chimed in. "Miss Stermer's appearance is quite close to the princess's. As long as no one gets close enough to see her face—"
"That's exactly what I'm worried about."
Chewie garruffed and hawed.
"Yeah, yeah. She'll pass as a decoy. I just hope the assassin buys it—and doesn't get Chrissa killed."
The Wookie raawwooed.
"Being a former member of the special force team for the Imperials doesn't protect her from a sniper."
Chewie growled.
"Just hope the assassin takes the bait and you catch him." Han threw his hands up. "I hope whoever it is buys this ruse."
The princess and Stermer entered the cargo hold.
"So are we ready?" Leia asked.
Han looked down at the trunk again. He grunted and climbed inside, and Leia handed him an oxygen mask. He put it on and lay down on his side. Leia slipped her oxygen mask over her head and adjusted it on her face. She hugged Luke, climbed into the trunk, and lay on her side facing away from Han. She pulled her feet to her chest to fit in the small space left for her.
"Don't worry, Princess," Chrissa said. "We'll lure out the assassin and catch him."
"I know."
"Stay safe," Luke said.
"Don't worry," Han said. "With me around, what could possibly happen?"
Leia rolled his eyes. "Now I'm worried."
Chewie bid them a safe trip and closed the trunk. The lock clicked shut, and everything turned pitch black. Han couldn't even see Leia beside him. Then a small light chased the dark into the corners of the trunk.
"A hand-lantern. Good thinking,"
Solo noticed the cramped position in which Leia contorted her body. She seemed to make sure there was space between them.
"You can't be comfortable."
"I'm okay."
"We might be in here a while."
"How long could it take for them to move us from the Falcon to the starship?"
"Dunno." Han paused for a moment. "You could rest your legs over mine—unless you are afraid that that much contact between us will make you lose control."
Leia rolled to her back, rested the hand-lantern on her stomach, and put her legs over his.
"Better?"
She nodded.
"Just make sure you control yourself."
"You're the one who needs to worry about that."
A silence fell between them. Han's heart beat against his chest, and he started to lose control of his respiration. He looked at Leia who seemed completely unaffected by their predicament. How could she be so calm? Han hoped Leia couldn't hear his heart as he fought to slow his breath.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"
"You're claustrophobic? Or is it being so close to me is turning you on?"
"You're turning me on."
Leia turned her head to look at Han. Her cheeks were red. Han waggled his eyebrows.
"You're claustrophobic."
"No, I just don't like small places."
"That's the definition of claustrophobia."
"I didn't say I was afraid."
"Of course, you're not."
She turned her head away from him. Then Leia reached over and took his hand in hers. She rested their clasped hands upon her stomach. With his mouth slightly open, Han stared at her profile before turning his eyes to their hands. Her palm pressed against the back of his hand and her fingers curled between his. The warmth of her skin penetrated his skin and spread through his body, settling inside his stomach. He hoped she didn't notice how clammy his palm was. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze. Han closed his eyes as he concentrated on the rise and fall of her abdomen. Her respiration was even, calm. He allowed his breathing to fall in rhythm with her.
"This isn't my first time stuck inside a trunk."
"Serious?"
"When I was four or five, my father was going to a conference on Corellia. Darth Vader was going to be there." Leia shuddered. "Back then, he didn't scare me; I found him fascinating. I had caught glimpses of Vader when he came to the palace, but my father always chased me to my room anytime Vader came."
"You must have been a brave kid."
"No, just curious," she said. "Anyhow, I pushed an empty trunk next to my father's luggage and hid myself in it. I figured that if I was already there, there was nothing he could do about it."
"You got away with it?"
"Hardly," Leia chuckled, jostling their hands. "I fell asleep. The security team must've scanned the trunk because I woke up to find them pointing blasters at me."
Han chuckled. "So did you get to see Darth Vader?"
"No. My father was angry; I've never seen him angrier." She shook her head and chuckled again. "He sent me home after he gave me the worst spanking he ever gave me. I never did that again."
"So, princesses can be spanked."
Leia's cheeks reddened. She turned her head and narrowed her eyes on him. "Don't you get any ideas, Captain. You'll end up greatly regretting."
Han laughed. "I bet you were a handful when you were a little girl."
"I got into my fair share of trouble. And you?"
"I was a perfect angel."
Leia laughed, her stomach bounced up and down, and Han couldn't help but he joined in merriment.
"I can only imagine the trouble you got into."
Han sobered. "It was a matter of survival. After my parents died…" He couldn't continue.
"How old were you?"
His eyes fell upon the light-lantern. "I dunno. Young. I ended up on the streets. I had to steal and commit other crimes to survive."
"You didn't have any other family?"
"You're afraid of the dark," he said.
"You're trying to change the subject." When Han said nothing, Leia sighed. "Why do you think I'm afraid of the dark?"
"The way you're holdin' that hand-lantern. Your knuckles are white."
"They are not."
"So you're afraid of needles and the dark—"
"I am not."
"Admit it, you are."
Her brow lowered. "I just don't like the dark."
"There are no monsters in here. There's just me."
"You're not a monster." Leia's voice softened to the point it her words were barely audible through her oxygen mask.
The trunk tipped and bounced, and the ground disappeared beneath it.
"Looks like their taking us to the starship."
"It's about time," Leia said.
The both stared up at the roof of the trunk as if they could see what was happening outside.
"Ow." Leia balanced the light on her chest and put her hand behind her head.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine."
The hand-lantern fell off her chest and went out. She removed her hand from her head and scrambled to retrieve it. Han removed his arm from beneath his head and stretched it out. She picked up the light, turned it back on, and rested her head upon his arm.
"You sleep with a light on."
Leia said nothing.
"I thought you used that nightlight for reading in bed."
"I do."
"But you leave it on while you sleep, I bet."
"I fall asleep reading and forget to turn it off."
"Bad dreams?"
Leia lowered her large brown eyes, stared at the hand-lantern, and said nothing.
"Everyone gets them. Even me," Han said in a voice that was gentle and soft. He waited for her to say something, but she didn't. "You don't sleep with the light on when you're on the Falcon. Why?"
Leia released his hand, pulled her legs up to her chest, and rolled to her side.
"I'm…I feel safe on the Falcon," she said.
"So you don't really think my ship is a hunk of junk."
"I never said that."
"You said you feel safe on it."
"Not because I think it won't fall apart at any moment."
Someone dropped the trunk onto the ground, and Han's head bounced against the floor of the trunk.
"Ow."
"You okay?"
"Yeah."
"Do you want your arm back?" Leia lifted her head.
"No, I like it where it is."
She put her head back down, and they said no more to each other. Han gazed at the back of her head, noticing that her usually straight hair was pinned in curls. This style was certainly new. If he touched it, maybe she wouldn't notice; her curls were so thick. He started to raise his free hand when there was a knock on the top of the trunk.
"Finally!"
Leia lifted her head and chest and reached out to the inside lock. She entered the code.
"Damn."
"What?"
"A key is stuck."
"Just great."
The princess shifted so that she lay on her back and rested her legs over Han once again.
"What? Do you plan on spending the rest of your life trapped in this trunk with me?"
"Definitely not!"
Han felt a little hurt at her quick answer, though he shouldn't be. Inside this trunk was the last place he wanted to be stuck. His respiration quickened as he remembered where they were, and he searched for his commlink on his belt. He wasn't wearing it; he had removed his holster so that his blaster wouldn't dig into his body.
"We can't even contact Chewie!"
Leia started to pull up the hem of her dress. "Chewie can't come and help us. It'll be suspicious, and it might blow our cover."
"Then what do you suggest?"
Leia said nothing. She continued to hike up her skirt; the hem rested several of inches above her knee.
"What? You givin' me a show to calm me down?"
Leia grabbed his chin under his mask and lifted his head. "Watch those eyes of yours."
She reached under her skirt and wiggled while she held Han's hazel eyes with her large brown ones.
"Do you have to do that?"
"Shut up."
Leia then pulled a knife from a hidden sheath beneath her dress.
"What else do you got under there?"
She narrowed her eyes on him. "You'll never find out. Here." She shoved the hand-lantern at Han. "Hold this."
Han took the lantern and held it up so that it illuminated the lock. Leia wedged the tip of the knife under the stuck key. She twisted and lifted the knife in the crevice, but the key wouldn't budge. She then dunked down her head, pulled her upper body off of the floor of the trunk, and used both hands to dig under the stuck key.
Both Han and Leia watched the key pop off and hit the opposite side of the trunk.
"Just great, Your Worshipfulness, now were stuck in here."
"If our ship doesn't leave, Reikken will come and check on us."
"And how long will that be?"
Leia bit her lower lip and studied the lock. "Maybe it can be hotwired."
She slipped the knife between the lock and trunk. She wiggled the knife and pushed it deeper into the crevice.
"When did you learn to hotwire things?"
"I would steal speeder bikes after my father forbade me from riding them."
"You were a trouble maker. What happened?"
"What do you mean?"
I never saw you as someone who wasn't driven by regulations."
"I learned to behave."
"That's not going to work."
"It will."
Then the princess smiled triumphantly inside her mask when the cover of the lock broke off and flew into the air.
"Ow!" Han grabbed the spot on his head where the cover hit him.
"I'd tell you I'm sorry, but you deserved that."
"For what?"
"For your negative attitude and inappropriate comments."
"I have nothin' but a positive attitude and polite comments."
"Have you been in the same trunk as me?" She pulled some wires out of the exposed insides of the lock and began to put them together. Nothing happened. She tried another combination of wires.
He watched her work. "You're not so good at this."
"I'm out of practice. Will you shut up? I'm trying to concentrate."
"Lemme do it."
"I can do it."
"So stubborn. Why don'tcha let me do it? I'm must faster."
She took the hand-lantern from Han and lay back down so he could reach the lock. Han rolled part of his body on top of her.
He waggled his eyebrows. "Try to control yourself, Your Most Holiness."
Leia pulled a face. "That will be easy."
I'm not so sure that will be easy for me, Han thought. His chest pressed against part of her breasts and abdomen. He marveled at how she was both soft and muscular at the same time. He inhaled and exhaled as he tried to push her out of his mind. He had a job to do. Han reached the lock with his right hand, but because of his awkward position he couldn't stretch his left hand far enough to touch it.
"You're not going to hurt me."
"So you've had heavier men lay on top of you."
Leia punched him in his side. Han gave her a leering smile and started to lower more of his weight to lean on her.
"Ow!" Han's head slammed against the top of the trunk.
"I'm not going to break. Do what you have to do."
"I could be lying right on top of you and I still wouldn't be able to reach the lock."
"Okay. Change places with me."
"There's no room."
"So negative. Do you want to stay stuck in here?"
Han pulled a face. "Being stuck in here with you is torture."
"My feelings exactly. Lift your body as high as you can."
Han pressed his hand next to her head and lifted himself off of the ground. Leia wiggled her body underneath his. Han lifted his body higher.
"Ow!" His head it the top of the trunk again.
"Don't worry. Your head's too hard to be damaged."
When she reached the other side, she lay on her side—her legs spooning his—so that Han had all the space he needed.
"Don't screw this up."
"I never screw up."
"Do you want me to list all the things you screwed up?"
"Shut up. I need to concentrate."
To his surprise, Leia didn't say a word. She must want out of this trunk as much as he did. He wanted out, didn't he? For part, they were getting along, and he found that he liked it better than when they fight-though it was always fun to get a rise out of her. However, the way she held his hand when he exposed his fear of small spaces, how she distracted him with stories from her childhood…her compassion touched him. Han knew she was a very compassionate person from the way she comforted the wounded and took on missions to aid the refugees that were affected by the war. But she rarely showed compassion to him. To be fair, he rarely showed compassion t her. He wasn't the most compassionate person in the galaxy, but he had kept a distance from her in fear that he would care too much. Too late. Maybe she feared caring too much for him; after all, he was always threatening to leave. Maybe she already cared too much for him. Maybe that was what lay behind their arguments and sniping. Maybe she didn't want to get out of this trunk as much as he did.
"Will hurry up?"
Well, maybe not.
Han ceased his musings and began to work faster.
With a hiss and a click, the lock popped open. Han removed his mask as he pushed against the top of the trunk. The top dropped against the back side with a thump, causing the trunk to jump. Leia sat up, took off her mask, and breathed in the fresh air. Han watched Leia return the knife to its sheath underneath the skirt of her dress. She elbowed Han in the chest.
"Ow!" He rubbed the spot where she hit him.
Leia pulled her skirt into place. "Erase that leering look or you'll get more."
"I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm not."
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. She planted her feet on the bottom of the trunk, stood up, stretched her arms up, and arched her back. Han stood up and watched Leia stretch. She stepped out of the trunk and turned around. Han quickly looked away as he stepped out of the trunk and did some stretching of his own.
"Never again," he said.
"I agree."
Han picked up his belt and holster that Luke had left in the starship and slipped it around his hips.
"I'm gonna start up the engines and get clearance for take-off."
"I'll go change."
Leia picked up her bag and headed to the refresher. Han stepped into the cockpit. The ship had an open plan, meaning there was no wall separating the cockpit from the lounge. The ship needed only one pilot, and that seat was the only one to fit in the nose. Still the cockpit was roomy than the Falcon's.
Han sat down, looked out the windshield, and watched the Millennium Falcon exit the hangar. He'd rather be piloting the Falcon for this mission, but the only way for Leia and Reikken's plan to work required him to take the starship. He could've been the one to lure the assassin out and had Luke go with Leia. However, Leia's safety was his top priority; who knew what trouble she'd get herself into on Ord Mantel? He wasn't sure Luke would be cut out for the job.
Leia insisted that they had a reason for leaving Home One—that reason being buying weapons from an arms dealer—while they were hiding out. Even when her life was in danger, she put the Rebellion before her safety. Han would've much rather hid out somewhere other than Ord Mantel, have a vacation from the Rebellion. Han imagined Leia and him on the soft-sand beaches of Selmia where they could enjoy frothy cocktails while watching the waves crashing on the shore.
Could she put anything (or anyone) before the Rebellion?
Han pushed that thought out of his mind. He flipped a switch and radioed the almost-reconstructed control station. He held a voice-changing box to his mouth in order to disguise himself.
"Control station, this is starship V-2834. Permission to take off."
"Permission granted."
Han pushed the intercom button. "Strap yourself in, Your Worship. We're taking off."
He moved the starship into position and pulled a lever. The starship soared into space.
"We cleared the hangar. Get ready for light speed."
Han pulled back on the controls, and the starship sped pass the stars, painting the cockpit blue. Once the ship settled into light speed, he heard Leia enter the cockpit.
Han started to swivel his chair toward her. "We should reach Ord Mantel in four—"
His mouth dropped open as his eyes fell on the princess. She wore boots that stretched over her calves, skin tight blue pants, and a black holster that hung low on her hips. Her gray shirt hugged every curve of her body—even some curves Han hadn't noticed before. The three-quarter-sleeved shirt had three buttons; they were not fastened, and hint of her cleavage peeked out. Her hair hung in wild spiral curls that fell over her shoulder. She had one side pulled back with a clip that held her hair out of her face. Her lips were shade of gholcon berries, and her large brown eyes were shadowed in a way that made them pop.
Leia jutted out her hip and placed her hand on it. "What?"
Han draped his arm over the back of the pilot's seat and leaned back. "It'll take four hours to reach Ord Mantel."
Leia plopped down in a seat diagonal to Han's. "Good."
The princess stared out of the windshield and watched the stars go by. Han stared at her, enjoying the way the blue light played upon her face. Then he exhaled and swiveled his chair so that he couldn't see her. This mission may be more difficult than he thought.