At breakfast the next morning Devon welcomed them with a hearty greeting. Dressed in a smart tunic and trousers, he had the air of someone who never required more than four hours of sleep a night and knocked out a dozen tasks in the time it took a normal person to drink a cup of kaffe.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," he exclaimed. "We're so glad you're here. There's plenty of room in the house and I know Riva enjoys having company. Stay as long as you like."

That last part remained to be sorted out but Leia could sense that rote pleasantries were not a priority for their host. She decided to get straight to the point.

"Now that we know a bit of what's going on, I'd like to get a message to Mon," she began. "Even if the plot is in the early stages, she'll need to alert the New Republic's Security Bureau so they can increase surveillance. Riva and Louis told us what they know, but I was wondering if you had any additional details."

Devon took a bite of eggs and shook his head. "What I know, they know," he said. "I realize it's not much to go on. Unfortunately it's all we have."

"Have you told what you know to the authorities here on Kanalis?" Han asked.

Devon put his fork down. "We have – how shall I say – made the basic outline known to those who are in a position to do something about it."

"And what exactly do they intend to do?" Leia queried.

"Much of what New Republic security would do, I presume. Monitor communications. Keep a closer eye on the group reported to be involved."

"Do you know exactly which individuals are planning this action?"

"Not firsthand," Devon said. "And given my position in the party, it's not appropriate for me to lead an investigation. That's why I'm grateful you two, with your experience, are willing to help."

"We'll need to gather more information as a first step," Leia said. "Can you give me a list of contacts in this faction who are on-planet? I'll interview them to get more details."

Without responding, Devon held up a finger and strode out of the room. Moments later he returned, datapad in hand.

"This chart includes most of the breakaway party members on Kanalis," he explained, handing the datapad to Leia. "According to them, they're part of an inter-planetary movement called the Galactic Liberation Front."

"That's cute," said Han. "Has no one informed them the galaxy was recently liberated?"

Devon smiled behind his mug. "From what I understand, they view the war against the Empire only as a first step."

"And what's the second step?"

"To throw off the shackles of New Republic governance and establish worlds free from any interference by a central authority."

"Shackles?" repeated Leia. "The New Republic has been instrumental in eliminating authoritarianism around the galaxy. We certainly don't force anyone to join us but nor do we condone oppression where it exists."

"And do you think the same will be able to be said five years from now?" Devon asked. When she didn't respond, he continued. "Look, I agree with you on this. The New Republic has thus far been a force for good. That's why we in the party majority want to cut this wing out. We're not on the side of those who wish to overthrow a democratically established government."

Then whose side are you on? Leia wondered.

"You're welcome to use the speeder that picked you up yesterday," Devon continued. "Though your ship may be faster for some of the further-flung locations."

"Then we'll plan to be out most of the day," Leia said smoothly. We, not I, she heard herself say. "Thank you for your assistance. We'll let you know what we find."

Devon's comm went off and he was soon engaged in a heated conversation about his upcoming campaign. Leia quickly finished eating and excused herself from the table.

Han followed her and intercepted her in the hallway. "I don't like this. Something doesn't feel right. I get the sense we're being stuffed and served up on a silver platter for someone. Or someones."

Leia kept watch on the dining room door. "I agree there's something odd about the situation," she said in a low voice. "But I don't get the sense we're in any danger."

"Yet."

"Let me talk to Mon. She may know something that helps us figure out what to do next."

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Han fold his arms impatiently. "Can you look at me, please?"

Reluctantly, Leia focused on her husband. Annoyance was there, yes; she didn't need to look at him to know that. But she could also tell he was hurting and that he needed her to be a witness to that hurt. She herself still felt a confusion of pain and anger; not even anger from the original conflagration, but anger that he hadn't been ready to work things out when she was, that he had stayed angry and silent all those days on his ship when she had wanted to talk. Misaligned anger, Leia thought, that was the problem. The two of them were out of sync and thus the cycle kept building on itself, resentment piling on top of resentment, neither ready to stand down the same time as the other.

"I'm still angry," she blurted out. "Because – because – even though I know you think you have reason to blame me – and I'm not blameless certainly, but it's not just me that's at fault here – that doesn't mean you had to stay mad when I wanted to talk and figure things out between us, or try to explain my reasoning, or hear what you wanted to say, or –." She stopped and drew a breath.

"Well, it's kinda hard to have a conversation with you when you won't even acknowledge me," Han said testily.

"I am acknowledging you." Leia insisted. "I'm doing so right now. I just –"

"There you two are." Devon breezed through the swinging doors, a cheerful bundle of purpose and activity. "Do you have everything you need?"

"We're all set, thanks," Han said shortly.

"I think I've changed my mind about staying here," he muttered as they climbed in the speeder. He set the destination to the port and busied himself unnecessarily with the auto-controls. "The house is a lot more comfortable without that guy sticking his nose everywhere."

"I'm not sure we can kick him out of his own home," Leia said drily. "But we do need to find out more about him. I'll run a search on the ship and see what turns up." The thread of their conversation in the hall seemed all but lost for now and she was partly relieved to focus on something else.

When they reached the Falcon Han headed straight for the cabin while Leia parked herself in the cockpit with his comm and the ship's jerry-rigged communicator. She left messages for Mon on both frequencies and asked her to comm back as soon as she could.

And then she sat. And waited. Han was doing gods knew what on the other end of the ship but she didn't feel like finding out, didn't feel like disturbing him. She tried to piece through the scraps of information available and put them together in such a way that pointed to a coherent story. But they refused to be assembled in any sort of logical manner.

A beeping knocked her out of her ruminations. Half-surprised, she saw that it was Mon returning her comm already. It must be what – early evening? – on Chandrila.

"Mon?"

"Leia?" The voice was weary but Leia could hear a smile breaking through.

"Yes, it's Leia. It's me. How are you doing?" Tears threatened and Leia was too surprised at their existence to wipe them away.

"Oh, the same. You know how it is – every day is its own adventure and then by the time the next one rolls around you've forgotten most of what happened previously."

Leia smiled. "Yes, I remember. Mon – it's good to talk to you."

There was a pause. "I wish you had reached out earlier, Leia. But I'm glad we're talking now. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. I'm –," Leia blinked and steadied herself. "Things are fine. Han and I are here on Kanalis. We arrived yesterday and met up with some old friends – old acquaintances, anyway. Maybe you remember Silas, from the war? Anyway, we came because they had information for us. About you, actually, and a few others working for you."

"Wait." Leia heard a rustling and then nothing but silence for a few seconds. A moment later Mon returned, her voice low. "I was double-checking the scramblers. It should be safe for us to talk."

Leia relayed what they had learned about the assassination plot. When she finished what she knew, as little as it was, there was a lengthy silence on the other end.

"I agree that we need more information before we can do much about this," Mon said finally. "Especially since it's not the only threat we're investigating now. We've received wind of quite a few recently and Kaarl is on high alert trying to prevent word from getting out and reflecting poorly on his division."

"I wonder if there is a broader coordination going on," Leia mused. "Has anything been uncovered by the Security Bureau that would indicate these threats are connected?"

"Not that we've heard," Mon admitted. "But Leia – and this is confidential – the investigation, at least from Chandrila, won't be easy. Kaarl has cut off Council oversight of the NRSB under the reasoning that more beings involved constitutes a further security risk."

"Oh, Mon." This was bad, very bad. The NRSB, like all New Republic divisions, had always ultimately been under the purview of the Council. It had been deemed too much of a risk by those early drafters of the New Republic to have an internal security division entirely independent of oversight. Shades of the pre-Imperial era, the argument went, when the Senate was a hollowed-out husk averting its gaze while a rogue Senator plotted his rise to dictatorship.

"If I had the authority to fire Kaarl, I would have done so long ago," Mon was saying. "But the council won't vote to remove him. Believe me, I've tried. At best we're looking at a censure but that will still allow him to remain in his position."

"I assume he has Tolwar on his side," Leia said. The Orishen Senator never missed an opportunity to consolidate power in the hands of his allies.

"And quite a few others too. The usual suspects."

There was nothing Leia could say that could help. "When will news of the power grab get out? Maybe that's your weapon – feed it to the media behind the scenes and hope that public opinion puts some pressure on the council before it's too late."

"Yes, that's one thing we can try," Mon said. "There are a couple of other cards I have too, ones I've been holding onto for a while. When the time comes..." She trailed off.

"Han and I will investigate here," Leia announced. Her months of inactivity pained her. How much time had been wasted that could have been spent heading off a potential coup? "I'll keep you updated with what we find."

"Please do." Mon's voice softened again. "It is good to talk to you, Leia. I've missed you. We all have."

Tears threatened again. "Mon, if you knew how much I wish things had gone differently –." Embarrassed, Leia broke off.

"Leia." Her mentor's tone was firm. "What happened, happened. I'm happy to be talking with you now and to have your help going forward. I'll keep you in the loop on the developments here. I look forward to hearing from you soon."

That was the Head of State's way of closing a conversation, Leia knew. She nodded to herself and said something about speaking again in a few days. And then it was over and Leia wondered if she would have another chance to say to Mon what she had really wanted to say.

Blank minutes ticked by. Leia stared outside the viewport thinking of nothing while idly scanning the varieties of ships perched around the landing docks. Border procedures were strict these days with heightened scrutiny of life-forms and goods flying in and out of New Republic worlds. Smuggling of weapons and other semi-legal goods tended to occur on neutral planets or on the few remaining Imperial strongholds. Offers of membership in the New Republic had been made time and again – and Leia had often been the one to make them – but a minority of worlds still held out hope that the Empire would rise again and the brutal order they were accustomed to would be restored.

That was a pipe dream, Leia knew, even with the push from some in the New Republic leadership. Something might replace the New Republic, something anti-democratic even, but in her worst nightmares she knew it wouldn't be anything like Palpatine's rule. Too much had changed and what had once been thought possible had since passed from the galaxy's collective memory. The only way forward was forward and a new political order, even one unforeseen, might take hold.

A Twi'lek was boarding one of the neighboring ships and reminded Leia of the Twi'lek in Canto Bight. Then she remembered the blonde-haired man at the Tallis Hub and how they both spoke of we, as if a specific group with a specific purpose was waiting for her, waiting for her to take action that they were unable to take themselves. She thought about Han's comment in the house, about the two of them being served up on a platter. But for whom and for what purpose?

A flashing light on the cockpit console drew her attention from the docks and her eye caught the datapad Devon had given her back at the house. Devon. It was past time to start up a search on him and see what could be uncovered. His role in all of this was yet another unknown factor.

Leia keyed in the terms into the Falcon's computer and set off to find Han. The names on the datapad had associated locations both in the city and spread out throughout much of the eastern hemisphere of Kanalis. It seemed unlikely they could cover them all in a single day.

There was no sign of Han in the lounge or galley. Leia made her way to the cabin and found her husband stuffing a ball of sheets and towels into the auto-valet. Piles of clothes looked like they had been flung from the closet onto the floor and the contents of the 'fresher sink were scattered around the sani.

For a second she was frozen with the idea that he was packing up his stuff and moving off the ship. But to where?

Think, Leia. Don't jump to conclusions. "What are you doing?"

Han dialed a setting on the auto-valet and punched the start button. "Cleaning."

"Cleaning?"

"Yeah, cleaning. Am I not allowed to clean my own ship?"

It was a question that didn't require an answer. Leia stayed in place, resisting the impulse to leave him to his bad mood.

Han sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Look, I didn't mean – I don't mean – to always call it my ship. It's our ship. Has been for a long time."

"Okay." Referring to the Falcon as his ship had honestly never bothered Leia. It technically was his ship and Han wasn't stingy when it came to sharing other things. "But what does that have to do with anything?"

"I don't know. It doesn't. I just wanted to say it."

A peace offering of sorts. He was clearly trying and that meant she should try too. "Thank you. I appreciate that. Would you like some help?"

Han waved his hand. "Nah, I think this is the extent of it. Not much to clean, you know."

"Conveniently for you," she joked.

Han's mouth twitched. "Did you find out anything from Mon?"

"There have been similar threats coming in over the past few months. Oh, and Kaarl has cut off ties to the Council and is going rogue with the Security Bureau's investigations.

"That's not good."

"I know. These threats might be a convenient excuse for consolidating power. On the other hand, they could also be real."

"So now what? Track down the people on Devon's list?"

Leia nodded. "And I have a search running on Devon to see what turns up." She held out the datapad. "Should we start with the furthest locations since we're on the ship already? We wouldn't want to waste its newly clean state, after all."

"I see what you're doing." Han wagged his finger at her. "You're gonna tease me about this, aren't you?"

"Maybe."

Han took the datapad and scanned it. "Sure, we'll fly east. If nothing else, we'll get a good view of the continent."

It took an hour at half-engines to span the length of Kanalis's main landmass. They sat in the cockpit, taking in the landscape: rivers winding toward the southern sea, mountain ranges piercing low-lying clouds, a patch of desert surrounded by irrigated grids of crops. They sat silently, carefully, the air between them more hopeful than it had been in a while.

When the city of Ber Sheeba came into view, Han adjusted the Falcon into low, wide arcs. It was midday here and the high sun drenched the cityscape in a brilliant curtain of light.

Their first address was in an apartment block downtown. They rode the lift up, found the right door, knocked, and knocked again. No answer, no sign of anyone on the other side of the door. Leia made a note to try again later and they pulled up the second address. A twenty-minute walk through town, the map on Devon's datapad showing them the way. Again, no response, no sign of life.

"I'm beginning to think we were sent on a wild goose chase," grumbled Han.

They stopped in a café for lunch. The next address on the list wasn't far off and Leia was determined not to give up so soon, so they strolled over, their expectations low.

The apartment doorbell was ringed with an intricate carving: a snake, perhaps, or a twisted vine. Leia pressed it and seconds later a gray-haired woman appeared. Her clothes were neat and her hair was wound in a bun as the base of her neck.

"I'm Claire," she said. "Devon told me you'd be stopping by."

She ushered them in and offered them seats. The room was cozy but threadbare and had the air of having been lived in for many years.

"I've been waiting to meet you," Claire said. "We all have. We – "

Somebody else, a shadowy figure, emerged from the hall. Leia started in surprise and half-rose from her seat. Beside her, Han reached for his blaster.

"He's just a friend," Claire assured them. "Cruxe, why don't you come out and give a proper welcome to our guests."

The figure, a male Twi'lek moved gingerly into the light. He was elderly, Leia saw, and may have been sick or nursing an old injury. He walked slowly over to them.

"My daughter met you," he said to Leia. "On Cantonica. In one of the casinos."

Confused, Han glanced down at Leia. She nodded to confirm. She realized he might have forgotten the Twi'lek who had been watching them dance and Leia hadn't told him about her encounter in the 'fresher.

"I remember her," Leia said slowly. "We were at dinner together one night. I have to say, it's quite a coincidence to meet her father here on Kanalis."

"It's a small galaxy," Claire said with a smile.

"Not really," said Han. He sat back down, drew his blaster deliberately, and placed it on his thigh. "Now. I think it's time someone finally enlightens us as to what's going on."

Clare glanced at Cruxe. He nodded.

"We're part of a group," she began. "We call ourselves the Galactic Liberation Front. There's a cell here on Kanalis that Cruxe and I belong to but the group's membership extends through most of the inhabited worlds.

"We first organized during the war. Many of us fought in the war, for your side," Claire nodded at Leia. "Cruxe here was injured in one of the ground battles on Ralltiir. The loss of life was enormous, as you know. Those of us who were most bothered by it, who wanted something better for ourselves and for our children, found each other and started talking."

"We are all bothered by loss of life," Leia retorted. "None more so than those who make the decision to kill. Or do you think it would have been preferable to roll over and accept Palpatine's dictatorship?"

"I didn't mean that," Claire said. "As I said, many of us actively fought for the Alliance. We were clear-eyed about what the Empire was and we had no intention of giving in to their demands. But we wanted to find a different way going forward."

"You left your position in the New Republic," Cruxe interrupted. His eyes, light green to the point of appearing almost yellow, bore into Leia. "Why?"

"Because..." Leia hesitated. "Because I didn't feel I was contributing enough by staying. Or that my work was having the impact I wanted it to." There was more she could have said but chose to stop there.

"As Special Director for Interplanetary Relations, you occupied quite an elevated position," Cruxe remarked. "Did you think how your departure might come across to those who were skeptical of a central government to begin with?"

"Not really," Leia said honestly. "But I'm not the only high-ranking official who tried to further the goals of the New Republic. Others are still there and continue to work toward a peaceful democratic future."

"But not you."

"Cruxe." Claire lifted her hand gently. "What he's trying to say, is that your departure brought hope to our group."

"Hope?"

"Yes. If someone of your stature resigned because you felt you were losing to opposing ideologies, then our fears in the New Republic from the beginning were justified."

Leia sat stunned. "That was never my intention."

"No, I can't imagine it was. And yet that was the effect it had in our circles."

For a moment Leia couldn't think of anything to say. Claire's words bounced around, refusing to stay still long enough to impart any meaning.

"And so we had an interest in meeting you and talking with you," Claire continued. "Enough so that some of our – well, we don't really call them agents but they like to think of themselves that way – kept an eye out for you. Like Nadia, Cruxe's daughter."

"Talk to me about what?" Leia asked.

"About alternatives to the New Republic. Peaceful alternatives, of course."

"The New Republic is not going to disband peacefully," Cruxe said abruptly.

"We don't know that," Claire chided him. "But with you here," she nodded at Leia, "we're in a position to learn what might be possible."

"Anti-government types tend to draw a lot of shady beings to them," Han interjected. "Spice dealers, gangsters, thieves. If the galaxy turns lawless, those are the first to benefit."

"We're aware," Clare nodded. "That's why we want to organize effectively. We want to be more than just a splinter group that attracts bad actors."

"If that's the case, you shouldn't be plotting assassinations of government officials," Leia pointed out.

"I am strongly opposed to those plots," Claire said smoothly. "We both are," she added, looking over at Cruxe. The Twi'lek was expressionless and Leia sensed he wouldn't be terribly upset if anyone associated with the New Republic were to come to an untimely end. "But we need help convincing the others to put aside their daydreams and come up with a realistic path forward."

"I think this conversation is premature," Cruxe said sternly. He rose carefully to his feet. "We need to discuss this as a group before we get too far ahead of ourselves."

"We're meeting with others in our cell shortly," Claire told Leia. "We'll tell them you're here. And there's a retreat scheduled for tomorrow with the larger group. It would be wonderful if you both could attend."

Leia glanced at Han. Yet again he was unreadable. "We'll let you know," he said to Claire.

"Why don't you give us your comm address," Leia suggested. "We'll be in touch."

They exchanged information and left the apartment. On the street, Leia was alert to all the life-forms weaving in and out of the crowds, entering and exiting buildings, jogging across the street. How many of them knew who she was and expected her to help with their cause? How many of them had been told to look out for her in casinos and hubs and other waystops throughout the galaxy?

"I'm starting to feel a little paranoid," she whispered to Han as they hurried to his ship.

"You're not the only one."

They reached the Falcon without incident and Han started up the engines. Leia checked the computer's search on Devon and started scanning the results.

They lifted off and Han steered away from Ber Sheeba. In the co-pilot's chair, Leia studied the flimsi printout.

"Listen to this. Devon ran for the New Republic Senate last year but lost to his opponent."

When Han didn't respond Leia looked out the viewport. The ground below was unfamiliar: flat broad plains punctuated by brushstrokes of trees. Not the mountains or rivers or cities they had flown over on their way to Ber Sheeba but a landscape more desolate and isolated.

"Where are we going?"

Han steered them north. "Someplace where no one's expecting us. Where no one knows who we are. We're gonna stop and think."

"Stop and think?"

"Yeah." He flipped on the short-range scanners. They sat in silence, waiting for the telltale blips indicating another craft within striking distance. None sounded.

"Think about what?"

"Our next move."

They flew slowly over frost-covered land. But as they dropped lower Leia saw the plains were covered not in frost but in a grayish-green groundcover. A herd of animals grazed below them; the curves of their necks as they bent toward the ground reminded her of the red elk on Alderaan. The creatures raised their heads at the ship above them before skittering away.

"There." Han pointed to a flat expanse on the far side of tree-lined ridge. "We'll land there."

They touched down softly with puffs of steam that lingered in the cold air. Han turned off the engines and swiveled around to face Leia.

"We gotta figure out what to do next," he said. "Before we talk to anyone else. The way I see it, we have three options. One, we go back to Riva's house, tell them what we learned, and fly back for that retreat thing tomorrow. Two, we go back to the house and maybe don't tell them much but stay there for another day or two. Three, we leave Kanalis right now."

"Just... fly away?"

"Yeah."

Leia pursed her lips. "I promised Mon we would try to figure out what's going on. She doesn't have a lot of options available to her on Chandrila for investigating these threats."

"Does walking into a trap qualify as helping Mon?"

"You think it's a trap then."

"I don't know." Han toyed with a wingnut that threatened to dislodge itself from the console. "Another question is: are there other ways to help Mon?"

"Perhaps. But meeting the cell tomorrow is the most direct way to learn more." When he didn't answer, Leia changed tactics. "Do you actually think we're in danger? Real danger?"

"I can't tell. That's the problem. I feel like we're flying blind. Did you sense anything back there?"

Leia closed her eyes and focused on the conversation back at the apartment. "I sensed nervousness, definitely. Expectation, maybe. And waiting. Waiting for someone. Possibly for us."

"Waiting to take us out."

"No." Leia opened her eyes. "I think they need us. They need our help with something they can't do on their own."

Han sighed. "You sure about that, Leia? You sure it's not just wishful thinking on your part?"

She shook her head, straining to detect any confusion or deceit within herself. "I honestly don't think it is."

"Can you check with Luke just to be sure?"

Leia opened her mouth to say that she didn't need to confirm her hunches with her brother, that she trusted her instincts and her Force-sense on her own, but then thought better of it. Han was again offering – grudgingly, perhaps, but still offering – to follow her and she knew she should take his trust seriously.

"All right," she conceded. "I'll talk to him before we decide for sure."

"Good." Han leaned forward and took her hand in his. He rotated her palm up and then back down as if inspecting it for the first time. "So, if we do go to this thing tomorrow, we'll make sure to be on high alert. Bring our blasters. Have an escape plan. Maybe ask Silas to come along and have him on standby just in case."

Leia nodded. "That's not a bad idea. We can plan it when we get back to Riva's house."

Her husband's fingers played along the blue-tinged skin of her wrist. Two fingers slipped under her sleeve and Leia's heart tripped as he brushed along her pulse point. She felt nervous, she realized. When was the last time she had been nervous around Han when it was just the two of them? Their wedding day, perhaps; nervous due to the occasion not the fact that she was marrying him. She couldn't recall any other time since. She didn't think she had been nervous the day she had told him she was quitting her job. Maybe she should have been.

She looked down at their hands, at her one in his two, at his fingers stroking up and down her arm with that lazy coiled motion she always associated with him. She looked up at his face, at his eyes darker now, intent on her. It was clear what he wanted and yet she was still nervous.

"What are you thinking?" It came out as a whisper.

Han didn't respond. The hand on her wrist tightened and then she was in his lap, in his chair. He touched her arms, her face, her back, slipped his hands under her shirt. Leia closed her eyes and reached around his neck as the air between them shifted into a minor key. There were things that still felt unresolved but it was difficult to focus on what exactly could be resolved in this moment.

"Maybe we should talk," she managed to say.

"I'll talk." She shivered as his lips brushed her ear. "You like it when I talk."

"I do?" Her stomach was in knots, making it difficult to form words.

"Uh-huh."

"You know me so well then."

"I always have."

It was true: Han had known her from the moment they met, from their first improbable encounter on the Death Star. And he would always know her, no matter what happened to them or with them or what external events overtook them. Him knowing her – them knowing each other – was a constant in the universe and would outlive the frail realities of their bodies, extending through and around time until everything that ever existed had been depleted.

Armed with that realization Leia kissed him on the mouth, hard, and felt a low rumble in the back of his throat. It took a moment for them to find their rhythm but Han didn't waste any time, his hands busy under her shirt, migrating up her back, unhooking her bra in quick flicking motions. She undid his belt and yanked at the waistband of his pants as her knees dug into the edges of the captain's chair.

When enough of their clothing had been removed Leia sank down onto him. The feeling of having the breath expelled out of her in one swift motion was startling but was soon overtaken by an incipient heat low in her abdomen. Below her Han thrust into her with short, fierce strokes before dropping his pace to one slower and more deliberate. His hands and mouth never stopped moving, never stopped stroking her, pressing against her, drawing a series of whimpers out of her. He kissed her again, his tongue mimicking the action of his cock, and she was so close to the final dissolution she could almost taste it.

Leia took his hand from where it was anchored on her hip and buried it between their bodies. It had been so long since he had touched her there that it felt almost new, a jolt of the unfamiliar, relief after a burning drought. He was deep inside her, so deep she squeezed her eyes shut and could focus on nothing else besides the grinding action of their hips and his fingers on her nerves. She could feel him tense below her, a pre-orgasmic sign she knew so well, and that knowledge, combined with her memories of all their times together, had the effect of triggering her own climax. Her body tightened and shook and then came apart violently.

She lay against his chest, quiet. Han held her gingerly at first before encircling her more fully with his arms.

"You okay?"

Leia nodded, then shook her head.

"I failed," she said quietly. "I failed in my work and I failed when I quit. And now look at where we are, at what I've become. An inspirational figure for budding anarchists."

"Hey." Han cupped her cheek. "You are the furthest thing from a failure."

It was a grace she felt she didn't deserve. She kept her hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eye. "I'm sorry. For not talking to you back on Chandrila about what I was thinking. For keeping things to myself. For..." She looked aside, blinked. "I don't know, for not asking you about any of this."

Han swallowed and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry too," he said in a rough voice. He rubbed her back as she pressed her face into his neck. "For losing our money and then shutting you out when you wanted to talk. For not tryin' to find out more about what you were thinking. Not asking you. Just –." He cradled the back of her head and she nearly cried at the tenderness of it. "From now on I promise I'll listen, okay? I want you to talk to me, tell me anything."

Leia nodded. "I want that too."

"You could never fail me, fail us. You always – " Han waved his hand around the cockpit. "You always know what to do, whatever the situation. Always want to dive in and help any way you can. I love that about you."

"You do?"

"Yeah." He smiled crookedly. "You're the only one I love, the only one I could love. You're everything to me."

They sat in the cockpit for a long time, sticky and sated but uninterested in moving anywhere else. Outside, the herd of animals approached warily, dipping down to forage in the shadow of the ship before rising back up to confirm its quiescent state. They stayed there, perhaps for hours, chewing in silent communion until an invisible signal pricked their ears and spurred them across the plain.