CHAPTER 5:
After hiding the weapons and supplies that didn't fit on the hover pallets or canvas bags and leaving Grif and Kindler behind to guard the stash, the rest of the rebels made their way to the small dock where they were to meet their contact.
Han Solo used his monocular to survey the dock. Their contact was expecting them to arrive by boat a few hours earlier, but there was no way they could inform the contact of the change in plans.
He replaced the monocular on his belt and turned to the group, "Stay here. I'll go make contact."
"Shouldn't you have some back up?" Leia asked.
"I've got Chewie," Han nodded at his best friend.
The princess looked to the Wookiee who held his bow caster ready for action.
"Everyone understand that you're to stay put until I give the signal?" Solo addressed the group but kept his hazel eyes locked on the princess.
"Why are you looking at me?" Leia indignantly asked.
"Cos you're the one who has the most trouble followin' orders, Your Worshipfulness," Han leaned forward and looked down at her.
"Unlike you, Captain, I know how to take orders," she narrowed her large brown eyes on him.
"Are you sure about that?" He raised an eyebrow. "Cos you ignored my orders on the boat when I told you to get to safety."
"If I followed your stupid order then, you'd be dead," she raised her eyebrow right back at him.
"It only shows you can't follow orders."
"I won't follow ridiculous orders," she crossed her arms over her chest. "You needed my help fighting off that creature."
"Do you think my order for you to stay right here is a ridiculous order?"
Leia lower lip pressed into her upper lip before she answered, "No."
"Fine," Han straightened his posture and smiled smugly down at her. "Then we don't have a problem."
"Good!"
"Great!"
"Don't you have a contact to meet?" she reminded him.
Han pointed a finger at her, "Stay here." Then he trekked into the woods toward the dock.
Leia lifted her monocular to her eyes, "Be ready if anything happens."
"But Solo said to stay here," Harding pointed out. "You agreed his order wasn't ridiculous."
"Only if nothing goes wrong."
Chewbacca garruffed.
"I have no doubt you can handle it, Chewie," Leia continued to look through her monocular, "but you know how things can go when Han's involved."
Chewie chuckled as the rest of the group lifted their monoculars to their eyes.
Leia bit her lip as she watched Han walk toward a group of three weathered men smoking death sticks as if he didn't have a care in the world. The center one straightened his spine as Han approached. Han stepped to the side and held out his hands. She smiled. That put the man right in Chewie's sight. Still, Chewie couldn't possibly take out the other two in time if things went sour, could he? Her heart rose to her throat and she tried to swallow it down to no avail. Why did he have to put himself in danger like this?
Han rested his hands on his belt, a casual posture, but Leia knew he was ready to draw his blaster at any second. If only she could hear what they were saying.
"Chewie…?"
Chewbacca growled.
Why did she agree to let Han go alone? Did she have a choice? After all, it was his mission. She could have protested more. Would that have made a difference? Why did he always have to be such a reckless idiot? She bristled at the lop-sided grin Han wore. Maybe Han was mesmerizing the men with his charm. She's seen it work on the younger rebels who idolized him and on more than a few women. More than more than a few, she bristled again. The two other men stepped toward Han and Leia's breath snagged in her throat. Then the tallest one shook hands with him and the other two followed suit. Han looked over his shoulder and gave the signal.
Leia exhaled loudly, catching the attention of her companions. She muttered an Alderaanian curse, which raised a few eyebrows, then started toward the dock. Chewie laughed and ordered the others to bring their cargo.
"Chewie, Harding, Alan, Port," Han waved a hand at his team, "this is Marbo, Sam, and Elt."
Marbo, Sam, and Elt greeted the rebels but their eyes remained glued to the Princess.
"Oh, and that's Leia," Han intentionally said as an afterthought.
Leia shot Han a look but smiled at the men.
"Leia?" Elt asked. "As in Princess Leia Organa?"
The princess fought to keep her smile in place.
"Yep, Her High and Glorified Mightiness herself," Han bowed as he held out a hand to her.
She rolled her eyes, "It's just Leia. Please ignore him."
"We're…we're sorry about your loss," Marbo took off his hat and looked down at his feet.
"It was all of our losses," she said, "and another reason this Empire must fall."
They all nodded in agreement.
"As I was tellin' Marbo," Han scratched the back of his head, "We were forced to leave the rest of the cargo hidden in the woods."
"Most unfortunate," Sam cut in.
"Like I said, nothin' we could do about it," Han forcefully said. "So Marbo's gonna send some men with you all to retrieve it. Chewie, Sam has a speeder you can take back to the Falcon. Move 'er to the designated spot and wait for us. Harding and me will go into the city to meet with Rugger."
Leia's large brown eyes flicked between Marbo and Han, "Isn't he supposed to be at the base?"
"Yeah, well, there was a change in plan, Your Highness," Marbo shrugged.
"The tide is changing and we have to be ready," Sam said.
"For what?"
"That's what Harding and me are gonna discuss with Rugger." Han ran his bottom lip between his teeth. "So everybody knows their part. Let's get moving."
Han going to the city without Chewie? A knot of panic sizzled in her stomach and she felt as if she was back standing on the rickety boat. He couldn't leave her—
Leia rubbed her tongue against the roof of her mouth. What did she mean, he couldn't leave her? He has a job to do and he must do it. She has a job and she must do it. She was here on a mission led by Han Solo under his orders, and he had every right to do the ordering. What was she so afraid of?
What if he gets himself killed?
Was that what she feared? He survived the Death Star. He just couldn't die on some backwater planet. Leia swallowed down the thought of it being anything more.
"Captain," she called out. "Can I have a word with you?"
Han's hazel eyes widened and retracted as he stalked over to the princess, grabbed her by the arm, and dragged her a few feet away from the group as everyone gaped.
"You're gonna go with the rest of them and get the rest of the cargo and that's final."
"I don't think so."
"Whaddya mean you don't think so?" Han Solo's voice rose in volume, catching the interests of the nearby rebels.
"Exactly that," the princess lifted her chin. "I. Don't. Think. So."
Han clamped his teeth together, "If I remember right, I'm the one in charge here."
"I never said you weren't."
"Then why are you questioning my authority?"
"I didn't question your authority. I haven't said a thing," she shifted her weight onto her left hip, her words dripping with sarcasm. "You're still the man in charge!"
"Then that means you gotta do what I tell ya," he leaned toward her, pushing his smug smile in her face.
Leia quipped, "I win."
"What?" Han pulled back. "Won what?"
Her eyebrow arched, "The bet."
"What bet?" Solo's anger seeped into his tone and he looked around. "Who made a bet and what was it?"
The rebels within earshot shook their heads, shrugged, and looked at each other. Leia shifted her weight again and rested a hand on her hip.
"Luke," she huffed. "I told him that leading this mission would inflate your ego—more so than it already is. Luke disagreed with me so we made a bet." Leia paused as her lips stretched into a triumphant smile, "And I won."
"Won—" Han paced in front of her before abruptly coming to a stop. "First of all, my ego ain't inflated in the least."
"Maybe because it couldn't get any bigger." She snarked. "I still win."
"How?" He shook his head, "Ne'er mind. Secondly, you're the one actin' all royal-like and demanding things."
"I demanded nothing. You're just flaunting your authority."
"No I'm not, Your High and Mightiness," Han wagged a finger at her. "I'm doin' my job and just cos you don't like my decision—"
Chewie approached the arguing couple and garbled. Both Han and Leia snapped their heads in his direction, "Stay out of it!"
The Wookie mumbled under his breath as he walked away.
"Your decision is idiotic, but that's no surprise," she raised her eyebrows.
Han raised both of his eyebrows, "Idiotic?"
She blinked, "That's what I said."
He clenched his teeth, "How so?"
Leia inhaled and straightened her spine, "Since I was thirteen I accompanied my father—" her lungs deflated and her eyes slipped far away for the briefest of seconds. "I have more experience in this kind of thing than anyone here, including you."
Han remained silent, and Leia could feel the heat rising from her neck and settling in her cheeks. Say something…
"We'll be walkin' into a city crawlin' with Imps. And you don't have diplomatic immunity to fall back on." He planted his fists on his hips, "What if Vader's there?"
The princess' unwavering eyes stared into his, and she lifted her chin ever so slightly, "So what if he is?"
Han's voice softened, "It just ain't safe."
"Nowhere is safe," she whispered.
"Leia…"
"You know I'm the best choice."
Han ran his hand through his hair, "Fine."
Han nodded and walked over to the group of rebels, "The princess will be accompanying me. Harding, you're in charge of group."
Leia watched Han dole out the new orders for a moment then exhaled. What if Vader's there? Her legs felt shaky and her chest was tight. She locked her knees. The mission had to be carried out despite the Dark Lord's whereabouts. She couldn't let—no, she wouldn't let her fear of Darth Vader and anything Imperial interfere with her work in the rebellion.
But that wasn't really the case at all. It was her fear that drove her to persuade Han give in to her. It wouldn't be safe but Han would be there, and though perplexing, she felt more secure with Han than anyone else at the moment. Maybe because he got her off the Death Star.
"Havin' second thoughts?"
Leia gave a little start, "Of course not, Captain."
Solo looked at her for a moment then gathered his stuff. Leia watched him as he slung the packs over his shoulders. "They have transportation for us at the base."
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It wasn't long until they reached the base and Han and Leia were perched upon an equine on their way to the city of Ulna, a city under control of Empire. Han held the reigns as Leia sat behind him with her arms loosely around his waist. Although she couldn't see his face, she could feel his irritation in his ridge posture and tense muscles. She didn't mind so much that he was angry with her. It was rare when they weren't fighting and someone was always storming away. He couldn't storm away now and she was certain that only fueled his anger. So his anger was nothing new. But Han hadn't uttered a single word to her, or at her, since they began their journey. She bit her lip as she stared at his back. His silence cut her deeper than any words he ever said to her, and she felt so alone. How much longer could he keep this up?
More than two standard hours had passed. How much longer could she take it?
Leia swallowed, cleared her throat and raised her voice, "We're making good time."
"Uh-huh."
"We should make it before the sun sets."
"Maybe."
"We should be in and out of the city in no time," she cringed at her lame words.
"If Rugger isn't plannin' what I think he's plannin'."
She fell silent. Their contact already changed the plan and things hadn't been working out in their favor since they stepped on to that boat. And Han didn't want to be in the city longer than they had to be. Both of them carried a bounty on their heads, and though Leia's make up had been touched up and refined, she knew he still worried about her being recognized. Leia was actually surprised that he caved in and let her join him. She would ask him why but thought better of it.
Han's head tipped up and Leia looked to the sky. Only a moment ago the sky was clear, even a little too bright. Now dark gray clouds, angry and sharp, settled over them. They swirled around as the rain began to fall.
"No one looked into the weather report before we started this mission?" Leia pulled the hood of her cape over her head.
"I'm surprised you didn't already look that up. You're always so prepared and anal about these missions," Han took the hat hanging from the horn of the saddle and placed it on his head with one hand.
"I would have been if I was the man in charge, Captain."
"Man in charge," Han mutter under his breath. He raised his voice, rested one hand on his hip and, looked over his shoulder. "If you were in charge of this mission, you'd know there is no weather report. Nothin's predicable here."
Leia pulled a face then sighed, "Nothing's ever predicable when you're around."
Han snorted.
Leia sighed, "Maybe it won't get worse."
Larger drops of rain began to fall, and she grimaced.
"Maybe you should keep your mouth shut before you make it worse," Han sniped.
"My comment did not cause the rain to get worse!"
The sky cracked and equine hesitated.
"Just great."
"We'll be fine if we keep moving," Leia reasoned.
"With all that education you got, no one ever taught you about storm safety?" Han quipped.
"Of course," Leia glared at him. "Did you see any lightning?"
He frowned, "No."
"Then the storm is far off. We should continue until we see lightning."
Leia lifted her chin and painted the most confident expression possible on her face. She wasn't comfortable traveling in a thunderstorm, but she didn't want to point out to Han that there was no place around them that made for good shelter. And they were surrounded by trees. Their best strategy was to continue on and hope to find some shelter before the storm got any worse.
"Fine," Han agreed and gave the equine a gentle kick.
As they traveled on, the rain pelted them harder and at an increasingly faster pace, but the trees were getting denser and thicker, easing the punishment the rain doled out. Streaks of lightning split the sky and the thunder exploded as the electrical charges moved ever closer. Leia tightened her hold on Han. She could see the tension in His shoulders through his wet shirt, and she tried to calm her nerves down. For this was just a thunderstorm like any other thunderstorm. There were no Imperials, or Death Stars, or Sith Lords. So then why was Han so tense?
"Ow!" She stopped and examined her shoulder before noticing other white objects falling around them, "Hail! We can't stay out here!"
"You think?" Han pointed, "There."
Han slid off the equine then helped the princess. Leia used her arm to protect her head and squinted but couldn't see what Han was excited about. Han took the lead of the equine in one hand and her hand in the other and led them through a few scraggly trees. As they neared their destination, he pulled her next to him, shielding her with half of his body and arm. They stopped in front of a hollowed out tree trunk that seemed barely big enough for the two of them. Han pulled out a torch and examined the insides.
"No room for equines," he frowned. "Sorry about that ol' pal." He patted the equine.
Han crawled into the trunk first then ushered Leia in so that she was sitting between his legs with her back to his chest. Leia's muscles stiffened as he moved around her in such a casual way. She sat as straight as she could so that she wasn't leaning against him, and she hugged her knees to her chest so that her legs wouldn't brush up against his. He had never been this familiar with her. Well, no one had ever been this familiar with her. No one would dare. No one but Han Solo, that is. And his proximity inspired a plethora of feelings that she didn't want to deal with at the moment.
"You cold?"
"No."
"You're shakin'."
Leia looked down at her hands and noticed the slight tremble. Why did he have this effect on her? "Maybe I am just a little. But I'm okay."
"Here," Han placed a hand on her waist and pulled her toward him until her back was flush against his chest. He then rested his elbows on his knees, allowing his hands to hang over his shins.
Leia's head swam, her lips tingled, and her cheeks burned. Her stomach twisted and tangled with indignation, fear, and a tickle that she had never experienced before. She should have never allowed him to touch her like this. He always made her feel off-kilter, especially when he got close to her. And he was always invading her personal space. This was almost unbearable.
But both of them needed shelter from the hail. She had to let him touch her because the space was too small. And was it really uncomfortable? She kind of liked the tingling, and the fear of being close to him wasn't the same as her fear of Darth Vader. No, this fear incited giddiness within her chest and what if's in her head, what if's that couldn't be named but hung there waiting to be discovered.
The princess' large brown eyes followed the line of Solo's long leg to the calluses on his right hand. She closed her eyes and concentrated on his breath, the cadence of his heart softly beating against her back.
Nowhere is safe.
The princess bit down on the inside of her cheek hard enough to draw blood. That wasn't true.
Here is safe.
Outside their shelter the woods lit up like a Rodian canon and the sky cracked and grumbled with anger. The storm finally caught up with them and now howled and glowed and crashed endlessly. Han wrapped his hand around her waist, and Leia sucked in a breath. His fingers were warm against her soaked dress, and it was then she realized that she was indeed cold. She looked down at his hand and watched his fingers and arm tighten against her with every bolt of lightning and clap of thunder.
She gently placed her hand over his, a bold move on her part, but it felt right, and in such circumstances, it seemed the proper thing to do.
"Can I ask you a question?" she cringed when her voice cracked.
"I dunno. Depends on what the question is."
Leia licked her lips and tried to ignore his close proximity, "What kind of questions will you answer?"
"Dunno until you ask," his hand jerked her closer to him as a bolt of lightning struck a tree not too far from where they were.
So…" she steadied her voice, "How long have you been afraid of thunderstorms?"
At first he said nothing, and Leia's face fell. Stupid question, too personal. Nobody liked to talk about their fears. Why did she have to ask that?
Another bout of lightning and thunder hit and Han pulled her even closer to him, "Since I was around eight or so."
Leia held her breath, waiting…
"Me an' my friend, Fauq, were playin' out in the Lougoon Dunes during a storm. We knew it was dangerous, but we dared each other to see who could stay out there the longest," Han sighed. "Fauq won." He paused before inhaling, "Just as he was headed back to the dugout, he was struck by lightning. Died on the spot."
"I'm sorry," the princess whispered.
They sat in silence as the storm slowly began to move on. Leia's large brown eyes dropped to her hand over his. He didn't remove it nor did he loosen his grip. He held her firm against him, no uncertainty in his touch, no awkwardness or formality. He was warm and sturdy and soft, and she hoped the rain would fall forever, well, at least long enough for all her fears to go away.
"So why are ya' afraid of water?" Han asked as if he knew her thoughts. "And don't give me any crap about river monsters cos I saw the way you looked at the water the moment you stepped foot on that boat."
"I'm not…" she started but then stopped. "When I was a kid…"
"How old?"
"Hmm, I think I was five or six. My cousins and I would go swimming at Lake Aldera," Leia tilted her head back to try to see Han's face. "They were older than me, between nine and twelve, so naturally they resented my company." A touch of anger colored her matter-of-fact tone, "The feeling was mutual but we were forced together by meddling aunts."
"So your cousins would pick on you?"
"More than just that," she unconsciously rubbed her index finger over his hand. "It got physical sometimes, but I fought back."
"I bet you did."
Leia could feel Han's grin. She smiled and continued, "I held my own, but when they all gained up on me…" her smile faded. "They would push me into the lake. Then they'd all jumped in after me and pull me under every time I tried to surface. They grabbed my arms, my legs, my hair... any part of me they could get a hold of. I'd be so close to reaching the surface…"
The princess shook her head and took a breath, "They did a lot of things like that when they were forced to take me along on their adventures, but the lake thing was the worse."
"Didn't you tell anyone? You were just a little kid."
Leia shrugged, "Tell who? My father was too busy to bother with such trivial matters."
"I wouldn't call that trivial," Han gave her a squeeze.
"I don't know, there wasn't anyone to tell. My cousins had a way of becoming angelic around people, and my aunts saw me as the troublemaker so no one would believe me." She stared at the rain, "It eventually stopped."
"Why?"
"The last time they held me down too long and I drowned," Leia sighed. "One of them managed to revive me, and they made me swear not to tell."
The pair remained silent for a moment, and Leia reflected on her openness as she watched the large raindrops slow. Who was the last person she had shared something that personal? She told things to Luke but nothing more than what it was like growing up in a palace and the diverse experiences she had had in various climates. None of their conversations got any deeper than that.
"So, you jumpin' into the river and savin' me," Han gave her hair a gentle tug with his free hand, "that was somethin' special."
The princess pulled her hair out of his hand, "It wasn't easy."
"But you did it."
"Yes," she turned around to look at him. "Why are you smiling all goofy like that?"
"You must like me."
Her brow furrowed and she shook her head, "It stopped raining. Let's get going." She moved out of the tree trunk. Han's smile morphed into a smug grin as he followed her out of the trunk.
"Look, I would have done it for anyone," she snapped and turned away. Would she have done if for anyone? Could she have done it for anyone?
"Maybe," Han's grin doubled in size, "but you did it for me."
"So?"
"That means you like me."
Leia marched to the equine, "This is your mission, Captain. I couldn't let anything happen to you."
The equine bucked and whinnied as it tried to escape its tether.
"AGH!"
Leia's head whipped around. "No," she whispered.