A/N: Apologies for posting a couple of days late, but I promise this is far superior to the draft that existed on Friday.
A million thanks to DiplomaticPrincess for beta reading and offering such helpful advice! This chapter benefited greatly from your input!
CW: mentions of pregnancy and pregnancy-related stuff, including passing mentions of nausea/vomitting. Basically, Shara is pregnant and has had a rough pregnancy and it gets discussed a time or two.
Leia's duties were transferred immediately, but she remained in pathfinder housing for a few days. Home One's quartermaster was busy ensuring the troops from Renatasia got settled before again shuffling half of them once the Blue and Gold squadrons departed for Ruusan along with a handful of miscellaneous personnel. When she was finally contacted regarding her move, she requested a specific transfer: Kes and Shara had mentioned that the second cabin that shared their living space was empty. It had two bunks, and they had yet to meet the doctor who had been staying in the cabin alone — she was on some mission when the group arrived on Home One and it had apparently been extended a few more weeks — but they knew the second bunk was free. The idea of being able to settle in before having to explain her nightmares to someone new was appealing, so Leia asked if she could be moved to that cabin.
She could have requested quarters reserved for High Command members, which offered more privacy, but the ship was low on space as it was, and she knew one of the High Command cabins could sleep between two and three beings. She much preferred the idea of bunking with the others and freeing up space.
Well, and Shara would be taking leave soon, and if she was honest with herself, Leia wanted to see as much of her friend as possible before she had to go. But she couldn't very well tell the quartermaster that.
A week after the decision had been made to remove her from SpecForce, Leia packed her few personal items as Einara watched from the doorway to her cabin.
"Still can't believe you're backing out."
Leia folded a tunic carefully before placing it in her pack. Einara's tone was confusingly flat. She looked up at her, studying her face. Einara didn't seem angry, though she didn't seem entirely unbothered, either. They hadn't had much of a chance to discuss the change; Leia had been immediately pulled into long meetings with a variety of engineers and architects who had spent many hours catching her up on the detailed plans for the new base on Hoth. She had hardly seen anyone who wasn't directly related to base construction the entire week.
Leia continued placing her few belongings in her bag. "High Command has decided that my skills will best serve the Alliance elsewhere," Leia said carefully. It was a rehearsed line, one she had repeated to herself and others throughout the week. A united front when speaking about Command decisions to those affected by them was vital, but she couldn't quite muster up a united front. The best she could do was force an attitude of neutrality: those were the facts, she acknowledged them and nothing more.
"You're in Command," Einara said skeptically.
"I am in Command," Leia agreed with a tight smile. "I am not Command."
Einara leaned against the doorway to Leia's cabin. "So, what? They say jump and you jump?"
Leia shook her head. "No, one person says jump and the rest of the group, myself included, have a long discussion about whether my jumping would benefit the Alliance more than walking or crawling or somersaulting or standing still, and while I might prefer to walk or somersault, if the general consensus is that the movement would be better off if I jumped…I jump."
Einara snorted. "That sounds…less exciting than I imagined."
Leia chuckled. "Decision-making is dull most of the time." She collected the few keepsakes she had managed to hang on to over the months — the bottle cap from the starblossom juice Han had brought her, a holo someone had taken at an outpost of Han, Luke, Chewie, and herself checking out some carbon scoring on the Falcon from whatever close call Han had had that day, the note from her mother that she had read so many times, the fold lines on the flimsi were beginning to fade whole letters. "We need someone to work on solidifying the supply chain for the new base. I can do that, but not while also pathfinding. It was pointed out that pathfinders are pulled from the rank all the time, which is not something that can be easily done to secure supplies for the base. I can't be in two places at once." She paused before adding, "I didn't plan this." There. That was the closest she could get to saying she didn't want the change, at least not the way it was happening.
"Is Solo leaving too?"
Leia scowled. "Einara, I don't know where this idea came from that Captain Solo and I are somehow involved in any way outside of being friends and colleagues, but a rumor like that could be very damaging if it made its way around the Alliance, and I don't appreciate such implications continuing to be made after I told you nothing is going on between us."
Einara pressed her lips together. "I just meant the two of you came in together and he's run supplies before. I didn't know…" She shrugged.
"Oh," Leia said sheepishly, wondering if she had made the situation worse somehow by jumping to conclusions. "No, our being pulled into the pathfinders at the same time was coincidental. Han is a contractor. He takes the jobs he wants, but he's only offered certain jobs. I don't know what his terms are with Seertay." She closed her pack and glanced around the cabin to ensure she hadn't missed anything. "General Rieekan is very fond of him; I can't promise he won't attempt to lure him back, especially if what we need for the base is difficult to source. Han has contacts that we don't."
"Contacts that try to kill him, apparently," Einara said wryly.
Leia snorted. "Sometimes, yes." Confident that she had packed everything, she pulled her pack onto her shoulders.
Einara seemed to hesitate before speaking again. "Kes and Shara work together sometimes and no one cares. Doesn't seem like it'd be that big of a deal…"
Leia studied her face with a set jaw. "Kes and Shara's relationship is public knowledge and is taken into account when they're given their assignments. Also, neither is not a part of a committee that keeps the other employed and chooses which work they receive. Han and I are not romantically involved, but if what you suspected was true, it would mean we hadn't disclosed a relationship that could potentially be seen as a conflict of interest, and that would look very bad for both of us. It would be doubly frustrating if such rumors started up because it's not remotely true, but it's difficult to prove a negative."
Einara nodded slightly. "I get it, okay? I won't mention it again."
"Thank you." Leia offered her a small smile and tried to come up with a peace offering of sorts. "Shara's going to come by and go with me to my new cabin," she said. "You can come with us if you'd like."
Einara shook her head. "Thanks, but I'm meeting Naj and Jarys at the gym here in a few."
Leia nodded. "Some other time, then."
A a few minutes later, a knock at the door drew Leia out of the living quarters with her few belongings spread between pack and bag. Shara stood with a hand on her lower back and another under her protruding belly. She grinned at Leia. "Hey, roomie," she said, eyes darting between the bag and pack. "Do you want help?"
Leia shook her head. "No, I've got it."
Shara exhaled in relief and stretched her shoulders back slightly. "Thank the Force. If you need me to, I can help, but he is not making things easy today." She lowered her voice, a horrified expression on her face. "My bellybutton? Two nights ago, it was an innie; woke up yesterday with an outie. I didn't even know that was a thing."
Leia glanced at her friend's stomach and back at her face, unsure of how to process the information. "Is it a thing? Is that supposed to happen?"
Shara shrugged. "Meddroid said it's common for humans. Kes was thoroughly freaked out, though."
They began walking and Leia's bag slipped off her shoulder after a few steps. She heaved it back up in a stilted motion, settling the strap in a better position.
Shara narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure you don't want help? He's difficult today, but I'm not an invalid, Organa."
"I don't think you're an invalid, Bey," Leia insisted as they continued walking. "But seeing as any control I had over my movements has been unceremoniously ripped away from me, I'd like to at least carry my own things."
Shara snorted. "That's a little dramatic. Solo's starting to rub off on you."
Leia laughed and threw an arm around her friend's shoulders. "I missed you."
"I missed you, too."
"Have you made a decision about when you're leaving?"
"Since you asked yesterday?" Shara gave her a small squeeze and Leia could practically sense her teasing expression.
Leia rolled her eyes, feeling a bit exposed at the acknowledgment she had asked two days in a row. "I'm just trying to mentally prepare myself for not having you around again is all."
"Oh, you've barely had me back a week," Shara said flippantly. "You'll survive the same way you did the past few months." She sighed. "Kes and I talked about it some more last night. We don't have any civvy doctors we can count on to not ask questions. There's the possibility of finding a droid attendant instead, but I don't trust that we'd be able to do a proper memory wipe. I could have him in my father's home, but if something went wrong, we'd have no access to medical…" Shara shook her head. "It'll be safest to have him here and meet up with my dad after, we think. I'll have to leave my baby here, though."
Leave her baby? Leia wondered. The whole reason they're leaving is because of the baby—
"I know I won't be in good enough shape to fly, and we wouldn't be able to fit all three of us on board anyway."
Oh. Shara's A-wing. Leia rolled her eyes. "I'm sure she'll be taken care of."
"Celchu's already keeping an eye on her for me when I can't get down to the hangar," Shara said. "Don't trust most of those pilots to know what's what on an A-wing." She lowered her voice. "Plus, it seemed like he needed something to focus on."
Leia frowned slightly. Shara wasn't wrong. Tycho had seemed as restless as the other Rogues were while grounded, but his twitchiness seemed to originate from something other than not being able to fly. She knew he and Luke had been sent to one of the Alliance therapists to process Wedge's accident, and she had checked in with both of them a couple of times, but Tycho hadn't had much to say. Han hadn't mentioned his concerns from a week before again. Though, now that Leia thought about it, he wouldn't have had much opportunity to; she had barely seen him since being removed from the pathfinders.
They had to pass the medical bay, and Leia was concerned — though hardly surprised — to see Tycho hovering outside the entrance, clearly debating going in. His eyes lit up when he saw Shara and Leia.
"Tycho," Leia said, adjusting her pack slightly. "I thought the Rogues were running exercises today." The squadron's grounding had been lifted that morning and all but Wedge were supposed to be flying. It was the only thing Luke had talked about for two days.
"I'm not," he said without explanation. He peered into the med bay. "Antilles is supposed to get out today, isn't he?"
Leia glanced at Shara before nodding. "He's being pulled out of bacta today, but I'm not sure what time. They said he probably wouldn't be allowed visitors until tomorrow morning."
Tycho's face fell. "Oh." He looked at Leia with an almost pleading expression. "He'll be okay, right?"
She nodded slightly, positive Carlist had told her that he had communicated the basics of Wedge's status to the Rogues in Jan's absence. Maybe he didn't hear or just needs some extra assurance, she reasoned. "Yes, I spoke with one of the medical droids this morning. He's expected to fully recover. He responded well to the bacta."
Tycho nodded, though he still seemed tense. Shara smiled at him and tilted her head slightly in the direction they had been walking. "We're taking Leia's things to our quarters. You should come with us."
He hesitated, glancing between Leia, Shara, and the med bay. Leia nodded, smiling encouragingly, and Tycho agreed, falling in step with the women as they continued walking.
"You're not moving into the High Command corridor?" Tycho asked.
Leia shook her head. "I requested to share sleeping quarters and the second cabin in the quarters Kes and Shara are in has an open bunk." She shrugged. "We're short on resources, and there are plenty of places on the ship where I can take Command comms if something's confidential. I don't need my own space."
Shara was mostly quiet on the walk to the apartment. By the time she palmed open the door to their shared common space, Leia noticed her skin was pale. As soon as the door whooshed open, Shara made a beeline for her own cabin.
"Do you need anything?" Leia asked, recognizing at once that Shara was close to vomiting. Even in the limited about of time she had spent with Shara and Kes since being back on Home One, she had quickly become reacquainted with the signs that Shara was nauseous. Shara swore that her unusually intense and near-constant vomiting had improved a decent amount back at the outpost as she went into her third trimester. She had hoped the rest of her pregnancy would be relatively normal, but something about leaving Renatasia — whether it was living in space rather than planetside, the stress of the evacuation, or something else entirely — seemed to have caused the condition to flare up again.
"No, thanks!" Shara called back before Leia could attempt to follow her.
Leia glanced at Tycho and started toward the other cabin, unsure of how much Shara had shared with him. He followed after Leia, but stopped short of the doorway.
"Probably just needs that nausea medicine they gave her," Tycho said. "She's been getting sick again since we got here."
Leia felt slight relief that she wouldn't have to field questions about Shara's sudden departure. She barely had a chance to drop her bags on the free bunk in the cabin before Shara commed her. "I'm going to need to remain horizontal for a minimum of half an hour. I can just tell."
"Okay," Leia said. "Do you want company?"
Shara said she needed the quiet, so Leia remained in the cabin with Tycho standing awkwardly in the doorway. She looked at him after a minute spent carefully lining up her few keepsakes on the small shelf near her bunk. "You don't have to stand outside, Tycho."
He ducked his head in embarrassment and entered the room. "Sorry."
"No need to apologize," Leia said quietly.
Silence descended on the cabin, an uninvited shroud that felt far more uncomfortable than quiet moments Leia had shared with Luke, Chewie, and even Han. Tycho wasn't unfamiliar, but they also weren't close. Their main points of connection were a shared culture and their individual friendships with Luke and Wedge.
"Is that—" Tycho walked closer, examining the items she had placed on the shelf. He picked up the bottlecap. "Haven't seen one of these in awhile."
Leia bit her lip and nodded as she placed the few shirts she owned into a drawer. "Han found a couple of bottles awhile back," she said.
Tycho set the bottlecap back on the shelf carefully. "He's a good guy. Solo."
The comment put Leia's nerves on-edge, though she was certain that was only the case because of the earlier discussion with Einara. Tycho wasn't fishing for clues about the nature of her friendship with Han; really, if she thought about it, the only people who seemed remotely interested in that topic were Einara and Rory and maybe Naj. None of the Rogues had ever mentioned anything. Leia was pretty sure if there had been talk, Wes Janson wouldn't be able to help but bring it up, and if any rumor threatened her reputation, she was certain Carlist would say something.
She took a deep breath and shoved the worry to the back of her mind. "Yes, he's far more considerate than people give him credit for. He's a good friend."
Tycho leaned against the bulkhead as Leia placed one of her three pairs of trousers in a drawer. "Did he tell you?" he asked, a numb quality to his voice. He stared down at his hands, clearly feeling ashamed. "Solo. Did he tell you?"
She studied him a moment, unsure of what he was referencing. "About what?"
"That night we all slept on the Falcon. Did he tell you what I did?"
Leia hesitated, pressing her lips together. "He said he was concerned about you," she admitted. "He didn't go into much detail as to why." Han had spoken primarily in analogies and generalities, mentioning seeing suicides on Mimban out of nowhere and talking about things Tycho had seen without a clear focus. Leia wasn't sure what Tycho was worried might have been shared.
"He said you'd be good to talk to, but I…" Tycho grimaced and met her gaze. "You're our Princess."
"Tycho," Leia said, "you don't have to tell me anything. But I'll help however I can if you want me to."
He shook his head, hand twitching at his side. "I don't think anyone can help me. I—I really screwed up."
She furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"
Tycho looked at her, eyes shining and frantic. "It's my fault. The outpost, Wedge, everything. It's my fault."
Leia studied him curiously. He seemed entirely serious. She didn't know how accurate his assessment of the situation was, but Tycho most definitely felt responsible if nothing else. "How was it your fault?"
A pained expression crossed his face and he averted his gaze. "I always make five jumps when going back to base. I've…I've always done that. But I was so…We had all been awake for forty-eight hours and I got singled out by a group of TIEs. It happened right as we were all getting into a hyperspace lane. Luke said they didn't know they had lost me until they got to base and I took too long to show. I was just so tired and the second jump I made, I fell into what felt like an ambush. A-wings are already complicated to fly — I don't have an astromech to handle anything, and I like that most of the time, but it means it's all me. I don't usually fly for that long without relief of some kind and my reflexes weren't what they should have been. Hyperdrive casing got clipped on that second jump. I wasn't sure it'd make all five, so I cut it to three and went back to base. The hyperdrive ended up being okay, but I just…I always make five jumps. It's gotta be how they found us."
Leia frowned slightly. She had yet to ask for the official story from Carlist — everything had been so hectic since they landed that her attention had been pulled in about ten other directions. Besides, he had given her the basics: they had warning that the outpost had been compromised so they were able to start evacuating before the Empire even showed up. He hadn't specified how they had warning, and she wondered if he had been protecting Tycho in some way by omitting details.
"Three jumps is protocol, Tycho," she said. "You didn't do anything wrong."
He still looked away, even after she said his name. His voice sounded far away and flat. "I always make five."
Shaking her head, Leia stepped toward him, wondering why Han had suggested he talk to her. She doubted she could offer any more reassurance than Han or the Rogues already had. She touched Tycho's arm for a brief moment, just long enough to cause him to look her in the eye. "You followed protocol. You thought you were in imminent danger. You told General Rieekan and General Dodonna that you might have been followed. There wasn't anything else you could have done."
Tycho furrowed his brow and frowned. He shook his head. "I didn't tell them I was followed," he said. "I—I didn't know that I was. I figured out that it must've been me on the trip here."
Leia frowned. How did they know, then? Tycho seemed genuine, and she doubted he'd lie about something like that. She mentally marked the topic for later conversation with General Rieekan, and refocused on her intent with Tycho. "You didn't do anything wrong," she insisted.
He swallowed. "Wedge—"
"Was hurt because of an Imperial pilot's carelessness. Not you. And he's going to be okay."
Tycho nodded slightly. "Yeah," he said faintly. "Right."
Leia recognized his tone; she had heard it exit her own mouth the last time she and Han had their now-bimonthly Alderaan wasn't your fault conversation. When she used it, it was a way to deflect, to say, I know I'm supposed to say you're right, but I don't believe you. She couldn't be certain that Tycho meant it the same way, but…well…
"I'm going to go visit Wedge as soon as the doctors say it's okay," she said, hoping that seeing Wedge alive and well would help. "Do you want to come with me? I'm sure he'll be glad to see you."
Tycho shot her a pained — but genuine — smile and nodded again. "Yes. Please."
Wedge was allowed visitors the next morning. Leia, with Tycho, Shara, and Luke in tow, went to visit him before breakfast. Bruises still lingered around his eyes, and he said he was exhausted and achey, but he was alive, functioning, and in good spirits.
"You shouldn't have left your ships," he admonished Luke and Tycho, though there was minimal conviction in his tone.
"Maybe if you actually learned to fly straight, they wouldn't have had to," Leia teased.
Wedge looked at the others and shook his head, feigning shock and clearly resisting a smile. "We loan her out for six months, and this is what we get back."
"Loan me out?" Leia exclaimed, though she was so glad to see Wedge out of bacta and alert, she could hardly bring herself to even pretend to be offended.
Wedge chuckled weakly, resting his head back on the thin pillow he had been provided. "You can act like a pathfinder all you want, Organa, but you know you belong with us."
"We're all on the same side, Antilles," Leia shot back, her brow arched.
"You know what I mean."
Leia thought she might. Wedge wasn't as reticent as Han when it came to expressing affection, but he was still Corellian; you were missed probably wasn't in his every day vocabulary.
"Leia's coming back," Luke said, excitement in his voice.
"Sort of," she said. "I'm helping General Rieekan with securing supplies and contractors for the new base."
"See?" Wedge said, shaking his head slightly. "Can't stay away for long."
Leia smiled at him and patted his arm. "I missed you too, Wedge."
There was a heavy knock on the door followed by a growl, and Chewie entered the tiny room carrying a large, tattered bag, Han on his heels.
"Look who's finally gracin' us with the presence of his consciousness," Han said, shooting an easy grin in Wedge's direction.
Wedge rolled his eyes, though he couldn't help but smile. "They're just letting anyone roam the med bay corridors now, I take it?" He nodded at each of them. "Good to see you, Solo. You too, Chewie."
Han patted both Tycho and Luke on the shoulder in greeting as he passed them before stopping between Luke and Leia and nodding at Shara. "Haven't seen you for more'n a minute all week, Bey. How're ya feelin'?"
Shara shrugged. "Counting down the days," she said, touching her stomach absently.
"Y'know," Han said, leaning toward her conspiratorially, "if ya need ideas for names, I gotta suggestion for you. Real strong name, almost noble-soundin', only three letters so it's easy for a kid to learn to spell—"
[I do not think you should listen to his ideas if you want your cub to be taken seriously,] Chewie said.
Leia snorted and Shara rolled her eyes. "We've already got the list narrowed down, but thanks for the suggestion." She paused thoughtfully. "One of the options does have three letters, though."
Han placed a hand over his heart, a wounded expression on his face. "Don't tell me you're thinkin' of namin' the kid after Janson instead of me."
Leia nudged him with her elbow. "Don't you think if they picked a three-letter name and were naming him after someone, it might be Kes?"
Han smiled at her but waved her off flippantly. "Too predictable. 't's boring. Now, namin' him after the finest contractor in the militia they joined that time they went to war against the Empire? That's a story."
"Finest contractor?" Leia teased, brows raised. "Are we assigning our own superlatives now?"
Chewie whuffed in amusement and Luke cleared his throat to cover up a laugh.
Before Han could defend his choice of self-descriptor, Shara said, "We're not naming him after anyone. Not even Kes. He'll have his own name." That seemed to put the topic to rest enough that Han made no more attempts to force his own name onto an unsuspecting baby.
Wedge took interest in the bag in Chewie's hand and gestured at it weakly. "What've you got there, Chewie?"
Chewie handed it to him without a word. Wedge looked in the bag, grinned, and pulled out an unopened bottle of Whyren's Reserve whiskey. Leia shot Han a disbelieving look.
"It's a gift, Worship, not refreshments," he assured her before she could say anything.
"Well, that's a relief," Leia said sarcastically, "considering it's seven-thirty in the morning and he's recovering from nearly dying."
Han winked at her. Wedge thankfully didn't appear to even consider opening the bottle, but instead shoved it back in the bag and handed it off to Luke and Tycho with instructions to hide it "so Command doesn't get wind of it."
Leia arched her brow at Wedge. "I'm right here."
He waved her off weakly. "Yeah, but you're reasonable."
"Oh?"
Wedge nodded. "We all know you know about jetjuice, and you've never ratted anyone out to Dodonna."
Leia exchanged an amused look with Han before focusing back on Wedge. She wasn't about to reveal to the group what she had to Han and Chewie about jetjuice being common knowledge amongst the generals.
"Came close to getting caught while you three were gone," Tycho said, which was apparently the only nudge Wedge needed to launch into a partially coherent story about some get-together at the outpost that went sour and resulted in Wes dumping an entire batch of jetjuice in a pond.
"Oh, good, you made sure to poison the local wildlife before you left," Leia quipped.
"I don't think too many fish died," Luke muttered.
Leia stared at him in horror. "Any number higher than zero is too many."
"Wes said he thought it was a salt pond," Tycho said.
Han squinted at them. "What in nine hells is a salt pond?"
"You know," Luke said, glancing at Wedge and Tycho for support, "when a pond has too much salt in it for anything to be alive."
Shara shook her head and rolled her eyes. "I told them there aren't salt ponds on Renatasia but—"
Han stepped closer to Leia as the Rogues and Shara bickered jovially amongst themselves. "Headin' out in a few hours," he said in a low voice. "Woulda brought the whiskey a different time if we could've."
"Oh?" Leia looked up at him. Einara and Naj hadn't mentioned that they were leaving so soon the day before, but she knew plans for the pathfinders could change quickly. "For how long?"
He shrugged. "Goin' back to that moon we picked out to help get things started, I guess. Seertay said maybe another month before we're back."
A month? It was, of course, a reasonable amount of time considering the task. Still, Leia felt her heart twist a bit as she was reminded for what felt like the millionth time that week that she would not be helping set up her own people's new home. On top of that, she wouldn't see Han and Chewie for a month. At least a month, she reminded herself. She might be on a mission herself when they returned.
The thought pained her, but she nodded regardless. "Wish I could go with you," she said softly.
Han gave her elbow a quick squeeze and nodded. "We'll take good care of 'em, Princess," he assured her.
Leia nodded in response. She was sure they would do a good job, and she trusted Han and Chewie to speak up if they saw any issues, but she still wanted to be there with them.
Conscious of the time that had passed, and wanting to speak with Carlist before the day became overrun with meetings and tasks, Leia glanced at her chrono. "I need to catch General Rieekan before the day starts," she told the whole group. She said her goodbyes, refraining from offering hugs to everyone in the room in the interest of saving time, and headed out of the med bay.
Carlist was bent over a datapad in the office space he and Leia shared. He looked as if he had barely slept.
"Good morning," Leia said cheerfully. "I was hoping to catch you before you were pulled into meetings. Do you have some time?"
Carlist set his datapad on his desk and focused on her. "As it happens, I'm free for most of the morning. I was just catching up on the transmissions from Gatalenta. It sounds like most of the refugees are eager to relocate as soon as possible."
"I saw those. I'm glad they're so enthusiastic. I just heard from Captain Solo that the pathfinders are setting a course for Iego in just a few hours. We—They should have a place for Alderaanians set up soon." Leia smiled and sat across from him, switching the topic abruptly. Her conversation with Tycho still confused her, and she wanted clarification. "Carlist, I never did ask how you and Jan knew to evacuate Renatasia as early as you did."
General Rieekan furrowed his brow. "We received word from Intelligence that they were fairly positive our location had been compromised. They didn't give many details other than that we needed to move. They're still working on their full report."
Leia nodded, glad that she at least wasn't being kept in the dark any more than anyone else in High Command. Intelligence had their own timelines, and they didn't always reveal everything they knew — it was far too risky — but when they said to move, they were serious.
Leia hesitated to share what Tycho had confessed, but wondered if there was any validity in his concerns. She thought for a moment, lips pressed together hard. "Some of the Rogues told me about the mission they returned from a couple of days before you evacuated," she said carefully. "It sounded messy. Was there any chance they were tracked?"
Rieekan shook his head. "Cracken shared privately that it was due to an information leak. I do not know the particulars, but I don't think it was related to physical tracking."
"I see," Leia said.
"We won't know anything more until they present their report."
She nodded. She knew it was the way the intelligence went sometimes — they would be in the dark until they weren't, and there was little that could be done about the timing of it all. "Well, let's hope they are swift in compiling what they know," she said.
"Yes," Rieekan agreed. He picked his datapad up again. "I have something to run past you if you don't mind switching gears." She nodded again and leaned forward slightly. "By some miracle, Colonel Seertay managed to get Solo to sign a six-month contract, and I'm have no desire to further frustrate her by trying to convince Command that the contract needs to be reassigned. I doubt he'd respond well to that, anyway."
Leia raised her eyebrows and shook her head. Even if Han wanted to do the job, he remained a contractor for a reason. Shifting the terms of the job without his input, even though the contract would have allowed for it, would not go over well. "No, I don't imagine he would. I'm surprised he renewed his contract for six months." He had begun taking three-month contracts with the Alliance shortly before moving to work with the pathfinders, which had been an increase from his previous weekly, then monthly agreements. She knew his second three-month contract with Seertay had recently expired, but had no idea he had officially agreed to stick around for another half a year.
"Yes, well, Solo is rarely predictable." Carlist glanced at the datapad again. "We can hold out for six months. We're primarily going to be working on construction, and we have some supplies secured already, and some leads to follow for others. But I do think we'll need him back eventually. I want to talk to him now about signing on with us once his contract with Seertay is up, and I'd like to know if that's something you would like."
Leia pursed her lips and sat back in her chair. Of course she wanted Han as a part of their operation. He was her friend and understood aspects of her experiences that no one else seemed to; she liked being around him. And on top of that, he was skilled, he had connections they would likely need, and, as shabby as the Falcon looked, it really was a fast and capable ship. But that stupid — truly, stupid was the only word Leia felt described it — conversation with Einara still haunted the back of her mind like a specter.
"Can I recuse myself from this decision?" she asked carefully.
General Rieekan dropped his datapad back onto the desk, alarm clear on his face. "Has something happened that we need to be aware of, Your Highness?"
Leia shook her head quickly. "No. No, nothing's happened."
"If you'd rather not work with Captain Solo, I'd at least like to know—"
"It's not that," she assured him. Leia inhaled and looked Carlist in the eye. "There was unfounded conjecture thrown around amongst some of the pathfinders during our last mission regarding the nature of my relationship with Captain Solo, and while I hesitate to give the idea even a second more of my attention, I'm not entirely naive. We're friends, he and I, and I am concerned that fact might color my own judgment when it comes to choosing who our best options are to work with."
Rieekan's concern mellowed considerably. "You will likely be traveling quite a bit with whoever ends up moving supplies for us. It will be preferable if you can work well with that person."
"I can work with nearly anyone," Leia said, though she admitted to herself that some partnerships were more enjoyable than others. She had a feel for Han and Chewie that certainly made working together easier.
"He's one of the best pilots we have access to," Carlist continued. "And I know the ship isn't much to look at but he manages it well. Not to mention…" He sighed a tone of near-defeat in his voice. "We'll likely need his smuggling contacts if nothing else, Leia."
She nodded in agreement. Carlist had confirmed what she hoped she was seeing clearly: Han really was the best person for the job, personal biases aside. "All excellent points in favor of including Captain Solo on this project when he is next available."
"But you have objections?" Rieekan asked, brows furrowing again.
Leia shook her head. "No objections." Carlist appeared confused, and she grew concerned that she had complicated matters far more than necessary. "We are friends, Carlist. I don't want potential blindspots to go unexamined. When you asked if having Captain Solo as a part of this project is something I would like…" She shrugged. "Of course I would like it. The same way I would like for Lieutenant Bey and Commander Skywalker to travel with me everywhere, but that is rarely necessary or advisable. I really am just attempting to check myself. Nothing more." She paused, but when he didn't speak right away, she reiterated, "I have no objections to Captain Solo joining us as soon as he is able as long as he's willing."
General Rieekan nodded slowly. "Understood. And I'm glad to hear it. We can discuss the possibility with him before he leaves today."
Leia smiled slightly. She was glad, of course, that Han and Chewie would at least be given the option to work on outfitting the new base with her, but she also couldn't hide how pleased hearing Carlist say we made her. She still felt conflicted about being pulled from the pathfinders, but she at least knew the man she was working with thought of her as an equal.
The next month passed more quickly than Leia could have expected. Han and Chewie had agreed to move back under Rieekan's command once their contract ended, and Leia got the feeling during the short conversation that Han actually liked being asked to make another commitment. The odds of him ever admitting to it were minuscule, but she knew him well enough to catch his reaction while she and Carlist talked through the offer.
Wedge improved quickly and was flying within a couple of weeks and Tycho returned to running drills with the Rogues as well. Leia tried to make herself available if he wanted to talk again, but either he didn't see the need or didn't want to, and she certainly wasn't going to push him. She had more than enough on her plate to take up all of her waking hours with construction starting on the new base, anyway.
The base was a huge undertaking for the Alliance, which hadn't had a centralized location in over a year and a half — and that hadn't had to build the base on Yavin from the ground up; they had used the shell of an abandoned temple. The Hoth base was to be carved out of a glacier to make the most of the natural camouflage offered by the icy structure, and a fair number of floors were to be underground. Their engineers and architects had assured High Command that their plan was sound, but acting on that plan required a lot of manpower and equipment.
They had a contact on Belkadan that Leia had met with on a few occasions who supposedly could procure the carving equipment necessary as well as provide cold weather gear for those working on Hoth. Narrowing down their location by explicitly buying for a particular climate made her nervous, even with the trusted contact, but there simply wasn't much choice. She did trust the supplier; she just didn't want their knowledge to put them in danger with the Empire.
She was set to leave for Belkadan and was making a few last minute notes alone in her office before she had to head to her cabin to finish packing for the trip when she heard someone scuff their boot against the floorplates in the doorway and clear their throat. Leia jerked her head up at the sound, expecting to hear Wedge or Luke telling her she had missed lunch or something equally unimportant. Instead, Han leaned against the doorway, arms crossed over his chest.
Leia stood slowly, though she didn't move from her spot behind her desk. "Hi," she said, forcing herself to sound calm. She was, she found, far more excited to see him than she had expected she'd be.
Han smiled back at her and raised his eyebrows slightly. "Used to seein' you when we land. Just wanted to make sure everything's okay."
Leia pursed her lips, somewhat amused. Back on the outposts, Han had likely grown accustomed to her knowing his whereabouts, to her being able to greet the Falcon on a landing pad because keeping tabs on incoming flights and the outpost contractors had been a part of her job. Granted, meeting him and Chewie during her off hours wasn't a part of her job exactly, but she had known their landing days and times because of her time spent in the Command Center or with the generals. While working with the pathfinders, she had been traveling with them, so it obviously hadn't come up since they had first docked on Home One. He probably didn't realize that watching ships' comings and goings wasn't one of her duties while she was stuck on the cruiser. She had been spending her days deep in base construction and logistical planning, not tracking flights.
Did he miss me being there? she wondered briefly. She looked him in the eye and offered a small, tired smile. "Everything is fine," she said. "I didn't know you were coming in today."
Han relaxed slightly and shot her a easy grin. "Been gettin' things set up for the fueling station and refugees." He sounded proud, but not arrogant; more like he was glad to have some good news for her.
Leia's smile widened. "How did it go? I wish I could have gone with you."
"Real good. It's basically ready." Han paused, a flash of uncertainty crossing his face. "Wanna come by for a drink tonight? I can tell ya all about it."
She frowned, feeling a flicker of disappointment in her chest. Nodding, she assured him, "I would love to, but I'm heading out in a couple of hours to meet with a supplier on Belkadan, and, if all goes well, flying on to Hoth with construction equipment."
"Oh." He appeared as disappointed as she felt, but quickly covered it up with a fond smile. "Can't imagine it not goin' well if you're the one makin' the deal, sweetheart," Han said.
Leia felt her cheeks color in response to the compliment. "It's someone we've worked with before, so I don't anticipate there being many surprises."
A pause that seemed to last an eternity followed. Han shoved his hands in his pockets and cleared his throat. "What kinda ship are ya taking?"
Leia raised an eyebrow in amusement. His priorities, I swear. "Ah, a VCX-100."
He nodded in response, though he appeared somewhat distracted. "That's a solid ship. Corellian," he said absently. "Good pilot?"
She nodded. "She is. The mission's not overly risky anyway." Leia pressed her teeth into her bottom lip. "I'd prefer you and Chewie and the Falcon, for what it's worth," she admitted after a brief hesitation.
Han smiled, clearly pleased by the confession, though he didn't tease her the way she expected him to. "How long'll you be gone?"
"Three or four weeks most likely. It largely depends on how quickly supply acquisition can take place and how long we feel the need to stay on Hoth to keep an eye on things."
He hesitated, scratching a spot on the back of his neck. He looked Leia in the eye and she found the intensity of his gaze a bit unsettling. Han stepped toward her and touched her elbow briefly, lowering his voice as if attempting to prevent others from hearing despite the fact that they were alone. "You gonna sleep okay?"
She shrugged. The possibility that she might not sleep much during the mission had occurred to her, but she couldn't do anything about it. "I will manage," she said, forcing a bit of optimism.
He nodded again. "You're good at that." He paused, turning slightly as if he meant to leave. "Don't wanna keep ya if you're tryin' to get outta here."
Leia nodded. "I do need to get back to my quarters and make sure I have everything packed." She considered inviting him to keep her company while she did so, but she knew her quarters were empty — Shara and Kes were both working and her yet-to-be-seen cabinmate was still on Ruusan — and the optics…It seemed to risky, no matter how innocent her intent. "I'll see you when we get back if you're around."
"Right." Han paused in the doorway. "If ya got a minute before you go, I'm sure Chewie'd want to see you. We'll be around the Falcon 'til dinner."
Another smile spread across Leia's face. "I'll make time to stop by."
She had done most of her packing that morning, but went back through her checklist for her own peace of mind before tossing the last of her toiletries in her bag and pulling the parka she had been provided from the closet. She was hopeful she wouldn't need it — among the other supplies, they wanted to source thinner, warmer clothing that would work better than thick coats and bulky layers for anyone who would be performing physical labor on Hoth — but she needed to bring the outerwear just in case.
Bag packed and parka draped over one arm, Leia made her way to the hangar that housed the Falcon. Chewie was examining one of the ship's belly guns, with an annoyed expression on his face. She heard him growl what she knew was an oath in Shyriiwook much less quietly than she suspected he intended.
"Is it really so bad?" she asked as she approached the Wookiee. She dropped her bag and coat on the hangar floor and moved in for a closer look at the apparently malfunctioning weapon.
Chewie looked up and grinned at her before wrapping her in a gentle hug. [You were missed, Princess.]
A wave of emotion caused the few words Leia wanted to say to catch in her throat. She swallowed as Chewie released her, but kept her hand on his arm. "I'm so glad to see you, Chewie. I hate that I have to leave so soon."
He tilted his head and let out a soft whine. [Cub said you are going to Hoth.] Leia nodded. [Please do not go wandering like last time,] Chewie said, concern obvious on his face and in his tone. [It was a miracle we found you when we did.]
"I think I learned my lesson in that regard," Leia said, giving his arm a squeeze. "I'll be careful; I promise."
[I have a parting gift for you.] Chewie held up a hand, signaling she should wait, before heading up the ramp to the Falcon and calling out to Han.
Parting gift? Leia wondered. I've gone on missions this long before and they didn't make a big deal out of those.
Realization hit her: she had gone on longer missions before, but always with Han and Chewie. The few missions she had been on without them had been short hops, certainly not a month in length.
Chewie emerged from the Falcon with Han on his heels. The Wookiee glanced back at Han as they approached Leia. [Where is—]
"I got it, I got it," Han said, annoyed. He handed Chewie a small drawstring bag, which was promptly passed to Leia.
The bag was a bit shabby and so light that Leia wondered if they had forgotten to place whatever parting gift they intended to give her inside.
[I packed you some tea,] Chewie said. [Both kinds you like, to keep you warm and calm.]
Leia clutched the bag to her chest and smiled at them. "Thank you. Both of you."
Han shrugged. "'t's not a big deal."
Chewie wrapped Leia in another embrace. When he let her go, she slipped her arms around Han without much thought, releasing him quickly when he didn't immediately move to reciprocate the show of affection.
"We'll have that drink as soon as I get back," Leia promised.
Han smiled. "Lookin' forward to it."
She slipped the small bag of tea in her pocket, noting something that felt more like flimsi than tea sachets inside as she did, and gathered up her bag and parka again. Saying final goodbyes to Han and Chewie, she made her way to the ship that would take her first to Belkadan, then to Hoth.
It was strange boarding a ship that wasn't the Millennium Falcon, and Leia felt a little ridiculous even recognizing that. Sure, the Falcon had transported her more than any other ship over the past year, but she had been on other ships as well, at least a few times. Han and Chewie were her preferred pilots, but the ability to be flexible about such things was imperative to being in the Alliance.
She was told to pick any open bunk. The cabin she entered appeared to sleep four, with two sets of double bunks on opposite walls. Both bottom bunks were clearly already taken. Leia shoved her bag on a top bunk and stowed her parka away before reaching in her pocket and retrieving the small gift from Chewie. Leia peered into the drawstring bag and saw that there was, indeed, a half page of flimsi tucked among a small bag of loose tea from Kashyyyk and a supply of sachets of the Gatalentan tea that Han had been keeping on the Falcon for months.
Leia pulled the flimsi out of the bag. On one side was a crude, outline-only drawing of what Leia was fairly sure was a VCX-100 — the type of ship she stood in — and the words You are here written in Han's messy print. The other side held a short note:
Thought hanging this up where you can see it might help if you have trouble.
There was no signature, but Leia knew Han's handwriting, and, besides, the drawing was identical in style to the one on the wall next to her bunk on the Falcon. She pressed her lips together and held the drawing to her heart briefly before slipping it into her pocket. She wasn't sure if she'd need it to chase away terrors in the middle of the night — only time would tell — but she wanted a reminder of her friend with her regardless.
A/N: Okay, so I'm taking more classes this term than usual while working and such, so my posting schedule may be bumped out to monthly. I'm just going to try it this time and see how that goes. That being said, next chapter will be up January 26, 2024 (it is wild that I'm having to write 2024). Thank you all for continuing along on this journey with me! I so appreciate hearing your thoughts and having discussions with you! Hope any holidays you celebrate have gone well! Happy New Year!