Chapter 1: A NEW HOPE
Summary:
Han Solo is good at many things- well, not many but he tries- He’s Han! He’ll be fine!
A retelling of the Star Wars original trilogy with inclusions of the Reader, grab a drink, stay a while! This is gonna be a wild ride.
Chapter Text
“Oh- you’re being serious-” you wheeze, clutching your stomach as you bend over the table. Han sits across from you with wide, disbelieving eyes. His drink was empty, but the cup still sat in front of him. He leans forwards to slap your arm lightly.
“I was humiliated and you’re laughing at me?” he gaps. You wave your hand, covering your mouth to conceal your laughing.
Han was a nice guy, he really was, but sometimes the things he did were stupid. Very stupid.
“You should’ve just told him what happened- not just lie your way through,” you say, biting your cheek when he throws his hands up in faux surrender.
“It was the first thing that came to mind!” He says, “you try explaining what happened to Jabba.”
Shaking your head, you wave your hand and cross one leg over the other.
“I wouldn’t need to lie to Jabba- he has a soft spot for me.”
Han can only groan, letting his head drop down onto the table. His voice muffled into the metal.
Even though the cantina was dark and filled with smoke and loud music, you and Han still managed to keep your voices down so nobody around could hear.
“So, what did he agree to?” You ask, twirling around the plastic cup in front of you on its rim, the drink empty.
“I have to pay him in full,” Han grumbles, sitting back up and running a hand down his face. With wide eyes, you glance around the cantina before inching closer.
“Full?!” You say, him nodding.
“That’s- what-” you whisper, eyebrows furrowing and looking back to the table.
“Ten-thousand,” Han confirms.
It was silent between you two then, and no matter what you tried to think of, you couldn’t come up with any plan on how to help Han. He can see the thoughts clear on your face and tries to wave it off, a scoff breaking the silence.
“Chewie and I can handle it-” You glare up at him, “It’s nothing we haven’t handled before.”
Rolling your eyes, you try to search around for his partner, seeing him at the bar talking to an older-looking man. This was their usual routine, finish a run and when they return, either wait out at the cantina for work on the fly- or get called in for more ‘under the radar’ contracts.
“It wasn’t Jabba,” you say softly, crossing your arms, “and it wasn’t ten-thousand.”
Han goes to further his case but gets interrupted when a fight breaks out at the bar. A young boy was thrown into a table by the entry door, and the older man by his side was trying to talk to the other two but ended up pulling out a lightsaber, cutting off the creature’s forearm. The blade was a bright blue, most of the people around moving back from it.
“Haven’t seen one of those in a while,” you murmur, looking at Han and then back. Chewie was still next to the older man, and quickly led him and the younger boy to a spare table further back in the cantina. Han, shuffling around to stand, looks back down at you with a smirk.
“Seems like duty calls- see you?” He says, and you nod with a shrug. It was almost mid-day, you would want to leave soon anyway. You give him a two-fingered salute, tilting your head with a small smile.
“See you, Captain.”
Tatooine was a hot, waste-like planet with nothing but greedy, good-for-nothing thieves and crooks to hide out until they ultimately got tracked down by their respective bounty hunter. Either that, or the crazy water farmers and Tuskins that decide that Tatooine is a good place to set home at. By the time you left the cantina, Mos Eisley was packed with creatures of all kinds.
It isn’t hard to point out Imperial Stormtroopers, but even with their armor dirtied and chipped, they can sometimes blend in with the crowd. With the group of them by a large animal, you roll your eyes and pull your cloak higher onto your shoulders. A small group of four troopers walk past you and into the cantina, a figure stood by the group, still talking animatedly and pointing to the building.
Every time you make a stop at Tatooine, Mos Eisley specifically, there are no familiar faces except for the market clerks. The Empire was slowly creeping its way across the galaxy, each time you make a stop on Tatooine, there’s a few more Stormtroopers camping out on each corner.
Yet Greedo was always a familiar sight, the hunter can never seem to leave you alone. He was short and blue, and his head seemed to have needles instead of normal hair. He manages to cut you off before you make it far, internally groaning when you halt.
“Well isn’t it my favorite smuggler?” He says, his voice annoyingly high pitched. He didn’t speak basic, but with the many dialects associated with Jabba The Hutt, you could decipher some of the different languages. Not like Han, he could still have a conversation with creatures you’ve never heard of. He tries to teach you, but it always ends up in a heated argument over how to pronounce a single syllable.
“Hello, Greedo, not with your master I see,” you sneer back. Shrugging off the hood of your cloak and tilting your head at him. Even with his big, black, beady eyes, you can tell he was annoyed.
“I’m looking for Han Solo,” he says, leaning around you to look at the Cantina, “I can only guess where he is.”
You shrug, turning to look at the cantina and then back at Greedo, “I haven’t seen him since he left for his last job.”
“Jabba’s looking for him,” Greedo says, his hand resting over the holster of his blaster. Raising an eyebrow, you place a hand on your chest and smile.
“And why would that concern me?” You step to the side, “go ahead and look for Solo, but he’s not in there.”
Greedo easily slips past you, and your smile drops. Glaring at the back of his head, you can only think of one reason why Jabba would be looking for Han.
You turn and start the walk down to the landing bays, Han always puts his Falcon in bay ninety-four. It was one of the bigger ones that can easily hold his precious Falcon.
You also hated Tatooine for the sand. Maker, the sand seemed to always make its way into your eyes, hair, under your nails. No matter how tightly you wrap your cloak, or how much you squint your eyes, it still manages to slip past.
When you get to the rundown bays, Chewie is already there, waiting by the still-closed door.
You smile, Chewbacca giving you a small head nod and a growl. You assumed it was a greeting, you still couldn’t understand the big fur-ball.
“Is he in there?” You ask softly, coming to stand next to him, he nods, gesturing to the door. You could hear Jabba’s loud voice, and his slug-like body against the sand, it made you shiver in disgust. You never liked Jabba, but he seemed to always like you.
Han makes his way around the corner with a scowl on his face, blaster holster still unclipped. You bit your lip, choking back a laugh.
“Greedo treat you well?” You ask, Han only glaring at you in return.
“Why’re you here anyways?” He grumbles, but you don’t take the backhanded statement to heart.
“I had my own run-in with the little rat, thought I’d join the show for Jabba.” Han only groans, rolling his eyes and clipping his holster.
“What about your shipment?” He asks. Shrugging your shoulders, you reach to the base of your back and pull a small leather pouch from your belt, shaking the contents.
“My shipment was from Nar Shaddaa to here, I’m free for the ride,” you joke. Han can only nod his head, opening the door and walking into the hanger, you and Chewie following. Your ship was nothing special, and you always used a different ship for your shipments, refusing to be tracked by the Empire- or by Jabba, if he ever sunk that low.
Jabba was slowly moving around the falcon, most of his men posted around and holding their weapons close.
“Come out, Solo!” He calls, inching closer to the Falcons open boarding ramp.
“Right here Jabba, been waiting for ya’” Han calls. You stand a little behind Han, but still watch Jabba’s eyes flicker to you before a smile crosses his face. It makes a shiver run down your spine, disgust creeping up your throat.
“Have you now?” He retorts, scoffing with a roll to his shoulders. When Han walked closer to Jabba, Chewie followed close with his crossbow already in hand. The many hunters and guards surrounding Jabba walked closer as well, but you kept your eyes on Boba Fett, deciding to stay close to the bay doors. You once had a run in with the bounty hunter a rotation ago after your shipment for Jabba had gotten held up. The situation was cleared not too long after, but Fett still managed to make you tense just from his presence.
“I’m not the type to run,” Han shrugs. He didn’t have his blaster in his hands but kept it hovered over his holster, voice calm when addressing the Hutt.
“Han,” Jabba says, “Why haven’t you paid me? And why did you fry Greedo like that?”
Rolling his shoulders, Han points at him, eyebrow raised, “Look Jabba, next time you wanna talk to me- come see me yourself. Don’t send one of these twerps.”
“Han.. Han,” Jabba says calmly, laying his hand on Hans’ shoulder and walking him away from the group.
“I can’t make exceptions. What if everyone who smuggled for me dropped their cargo at the first sign of an imperial starship? It’s not good business,” Jabba reasons.
Chewie continued to move forwards, keeping his eyes on the other men and creatures while you leaned against the wall, crossing your legs and glaring at the bounty hunter. If he wouldn’t tilt his chipped, faded mandalorian helmet away from you, then you wouldn’t break the apparent staring contest.
Han snaps his gaze back to the Hutt, pointing with a glare, “Look, Jabba, even I get boarded sometimes.” He continues to glare as he walks over Jabbas’s tail; his yelp resonating through the bay while Han ignores it. “You think I had a choice?”
Jabba narrows his eyes, fists clenching as Han leans closer to murmur between them. Rolling your shoulders, you push away from the wall and stand beside Chewie. He tilts his head down, giving you a soft nod.
“-You won’t be able to go near a civilization!” Jabba calls. Han spins around from his place by the Falcon, and raises his hands, “Jabba, you’re a wonderful human being.”
Turning, he struts into the Falcon, lowering his head so he doesn’t hit it. Chewie follows him, and you follow Chewie. The inside of the ship was always between being clean, and being a disaster. Han mumbles profanities as he begins making preparations for flying and Chewie sets his crossbow down on one of the empty seats.
“So, you have his money?” You ask, falling into one of the roughly patched cushions and stretching your arms back, shrugging off your cloak. Chewie roars and growls in your direction but you still stare at Hans back, his shoulders tense.
“I have cargo to take to the Aldeeran system, said he’d pay seventeen when we get there.”
You cackle, hand dusting off the remainder of rogue sand as you stand and slap his back with a smile.
“You found cargo willing to pay seventeen? Either you’re extremely dumb-” Han sends you a glare, “or you hit the jackpot.”
Rolling his eyes, Han snatches some gloves, pulling them onto his hands before he grabs some of the stray tools on the small round table, and makes his way back down the boarding ramp, jumping off the side to stand under an open panel.
“If you’re going to talk, can you at least bolt the panel back on?” he shoots. You shrug and shake your head, picking up the thin, new piece of metal by the boarding ramp, and the stray tool in the sand, getting to work on patching the Falcon.
The Falcon always seemed to need repairs, even if Han says the ship is fine while it continues to break apart behind him.
Chewie, already having his crossbow in hand, moves out of the landing bay. You turn back to Han, wiping some of the sand away from your face that fell from the metal panel.
“What even is your cargo? Some spice from the dune sea? Or maybe some in-demand parts Kewie’s been looking to sell?”
Groaning, Han sends you a glare and continues his work.
“Two guys and their droids said not to ask any questions.”
Scoffing, you jump back onto the boarding ramp, sitting down to swing your leg and rest your chin on the other. Your free hand grabbing onto the Falcon. Han pushes the tool into one of his pockets, grabbing a white rag to wipe away some of the grease and oil that coated the wires and bolts. You stretch your back, blaster holster digging into your side.
“They wanted or something? Never took you for a bounty smugg-”
“What a piece of junk!” A voice calls.
Turning your gaze to the landing bay entrance, you smirk at seeing the old man and young boy from the cantina. This time, they had two droids trailing after them. The older man, with a dark cloak and a white tunic underneath, has a puzzled look on his face. The other was a young boy, perhaps your age. His hair was light and fluffy, and his shawl covered most of his outfit. The dirt on his cheeks and in his hair really pulled the look together.
“She’ll make point five past light-speed,” Han retorts, hands gripping his belt.
When Chewie makes his way behind you, he lightly ruffles your hair before pushing you lightly off the ramp, gesturing over to Han. You swat his hands away, standing up and walking over.
“I’ve made a lot of special modifications myself,” Han boasts, a sly smile on his face. You roll your eyes, smiling at the older man while slapping Han’s back roughly.
“It was mostly Chewbacca, Han has lady hands,” you tease. Han gaps at you, scoffing before looking back to the other. “She’s very wrong. I do them mostly myself.”
“I’m (y/n),” you say, holding out your hand to the older man, he smiles, reaching forwards and shaking your lightly. “Ben,” he says kindly.
The other boy, who looks at you with furrowed eyebrows, takes your hand and shakes it once. “I’m Luke,” he says.
“I don’t suppose you’ll be joining us?” Ben asks, looking between you and Han.
Han glances at you, and you smirk up at him. “I don’t tend to join along with Han, but I’ve got nothing better to do, so why not?”
Sighing, Han lightly gestures for the two men to board the Falcon, grinning at them both.
“We’re a little rushed, so if you’ll just get on board, we’ll get outta here.”
The two droids that followed them were a protocol droid and an R2 unit. The protocol droid turned to look at you both, raising its hand lightly.
“Hello Sir, Madam.” The R2 unit only whistles, following its walking companion as you look at Han’s stern face.
“Really? Lady hands?” He retorts, you only shrugging. “I’m only telling the truth,” you comment.
You both walk back over to the open panel, Han pointing out the small parts that still need to be cleaned before taking off. You never understood why Han always cleaned the ship each time they left Tatooine, you could only guess it was the sand that could possibly block some pipes or filters.
“Stop them!”
Turning sharply, there were almost a dozen Imperial Stormtroopers filtering into the landing bay, their blasters already in hand, and pointed to you and Han. Grabbing your blaster, you duck sharply and stumble your way to the boarding ramp, shooting at the group. Some of the troopers dive for safety, and Han almost trips over you but manages to make his way up the ramp with you close behind.
While Han runs forwards to pilot with Chewie, who was already starting up the Falcon, you fire a few more shots at the troopers before slamming the button that shuts the overhead entry door, breathing heavily as you rush up to the front.
You pass by Ben, Luke, and their two droids. Stopping briefly to smile and bow, “please fasten your seatbelts, Han is reckless-” you retort before turning and rushing to join the other two. When you finally make it to them, you have to grab onto the backs of their chairs to save yourself from the knockback of the thrusters.
Han continues to press buttons and flip switches, but you both stare at the radar between the steering controls. The R2 unit rolls up behind you, and you glance its way as it beeps and whistles before turning and rolling away. Turning your focus back to the radar, you slap Hans’ shoulder and point to the screen.
“Is that an imperial cruiser?” You ask, chewie growling beside you.
“Seems our passengers are hotter than I thought,” he says, shuffling up from his seat and looking at you.
“Regret boarding yet?” He asks.
“Nope,” you respond with a smile. Han turns his attention back to chewie, “Angle the deflector shields while I make the calculations for the jump to light speed.”
Groaning, you turn and reach above Chewie, flipping some of the switches while Han mumbles under his breath, moving to sit back down. When you look back down to the radar, you lean in between the two with furrowed eyebrows and a clenched jaw.
“There’s two more coming in; probably going to try and cut us off,” you comment. A force collides into your back, and you huff out a breathe as you look back at Luke, his eyes wide with alarm. He quickly looks away from you to Han, leaning to gaze down at the controls.
“Why don’t you just outrun ‘em? You said this thing was fast,” Luke comments. You look back, smiling softly at Ben as he shuffles into the cockpit.
“Watch your mouth kids- or you’ll find yourself floating home,” Han snaps, glaring back at him. You wince, bumping shoulders with Luke to gain his attention. He looks at you, and you notice he has pretty blue eyes.
“We’ll be safe enough until the jump to hyperspace,” you say. Han quickly glances back, pointing to the younger.
“Besides, I know a few moves, we’ll lose ’em” he reassures. Above the view of the never-ending universe, thick, green blaster bolts shoot out from above the Falcon, shaking the entire ship when one makes contact with the shield.
Smiling, Han glances at Chewie before continuing the preparations for light speed.
“Here’s where the fun begins,” he says, a chuckle coming from you. Moving around Luke, you help in the preparations, blocking out the rocking of the Falcon when being hit.
“How long before we make the jump to light speed?” Ben asks, his voice calm, yet stern.
“It’ll take a few minutes to get the coordinates from the navi-computer,” Han replies, gaze flickering between the controls. Chewie is silent, but still tries to hold off the incoming Imperial Cruisers that were slowly gaining. You stood in front of the Hyperspace Control Panel, chewing away at your inner cheek as you watched the Navi-computer load. You have to swat away the wire of the comms headset, cursing under your breath.
“Are you kidding? At the rate they’re gaining?” Luke yells, pointing to the radar from over Han’s shoulder. He looks back, glaring at the young boy
“Traveling through hyperspace ain’t like dustin’ crops, boy,” he sneers, turning back around, “Without precise calculations, we’d fly right through a star or bounce too close to a supernova-”
“That would end your vacation real quick,” you interrupt. Smiling at a still seething Han before looking at Luke, “wouldn’t it?”
A high-pitched ringing blares from the control panel, and Luke reaches to point at it, “what’s the flashing?” Luke winces and retracts his hand when Han slaps it.
“We’re losing a deflector shield,” he grumbles, turning to lightly grab your arm and push you towards the other two. “Go strap yourselves in, I’m going to make the jump to light speed.”
You nod, ushering the two into the main hold. The two managed to sit on the curved couch around the game board, strapping their buckles. You all but fell into the small chair at the engineering station and buckled yourself in before the Falcon lurched into Light Speed, the faint hollering on Han making you smile.
Sighing, you look at the two before unbuckling.
“Well,” you huff, “wasn’t that fun?”
“Master Luke, are you alright?” The protocol droid asks, its gold arms moving in alarm, “Artoo would not stop speaking about what he saw in the cockpit.”
Luke frowns, shaking his head, “we’re lucky the ship wasn’t shot down- what kind of pilot is he anyway?”
You wave at him, smirking, “he’s a very gutsy one, but trust ‘im and he’ll get you anywhere safely.”
Ben unbuckles his belt, standing and glancing around the main hold. His cloak was gone, but you spotted it neatly folded on the couch.
“Ben? You alright?” Luke asks softly, clumsily unlatching his belt and standing. Ben waves at him, smiling softly and moving back towards his cloak.
“Since we’re in hyperspace, we should begin your training,” he says. Frowning, you lean your body to see what he was grabbing, but his back blocks your view.
“Training?” You ask, looking at Luke as he turns towards you, almost beaming.
“Yeah! Uncle Ben is training me in the force!” You furrow your eyebrows, nodding slowly as you stand.
“I should-” you gesture behind you, “go- uh,” you stammer, shaking your head, “see if Han needs help.”
Luke’s smile drops, and he glances between you and Ben, who was already looking at him with thinned lips. You take it as a cue to leave, turning and walking down the main corridor, back into the cockpit.
In the access corridor, you almost run into Chewie, who grabs your shoulders to stop you from falling. He grumbles at you, but you smile and rub his arms.
“Thanks, Chewie, is Han still grumbling like a wampa?” You ask. Chewie nods and gestures behind him with a roar, and you nod in thanks before walking around him.
Han still sat in his piloting chair, legs crossed as he rubbed his chin, staring at the radar. The stars ahead were bright as you traveled through light speed, and you squinted at it. Huffing, you drop down into Chewie’s chair and turn it so it’s facing Han, his attention still on the radar.
“I’m sure we lost ‘em, cap’” you say softly. He hums, checking more screens across the dash before leaning back and rubbing his face.
“Never intended to have The Empire on my back for some passengers,” he grumbles. You hum, cracking your knuckles before leaning towards him.
“Do you know them? Why they’re going to Alderaan?” you question, Han’s eyes clenching shut before shaking his head.
“They said not to ask any questions,” he replies. You nod your head, leaning back in the seat and looking back out at hyperspace.
“I’m sure they aren’t that dangerous,” you tease softly, side-eyeing Han who glares over at you.
“You really think they’re dangerous?” he says while sitting up, leaning over the arm of his seat to narrow his eyes.
“Luke mentioned the ‘Force’” you retort while curling your fingers in quotations. “Reminds me of those weird fellows who follow Jabba hand and foot.” Han chuckles, leaning to slap your shoulder before standing, cracking his back, and adjusting his belt and holster. His blaster was clipped back into place, and the white rag that almost fell out of his front pocket was thrown into his chair.
“Then let’s go check on our precious cargo, shall we?” He jokes, gesturing for you to follow as he makes his way from the cockpit and back into the main hold. You shake your head, standing from the wookiee’s seat and following Hans’s loud footsteps.
Ben was sitting in a chair between the maintenance hatches, and the engineering station, his hand rubbing his forehead lightly.
“Well you can forget your troubles with those Imperial slugs, told you I’d lose ‘em” Han boasts, smiling brightly as he throws himself into the chair at the engineering desk, turning to look between a troubled looking Ben and a focused Luke; who ignited his lightsaber and stared at a small hovering ball. It hisses, shooting out a small blaster shot, which Luke tries to block with his saber.
You walk over to Chewie, who was playing a holo-game with the R2 unit, the gold protocol droid is perched between them both, analyzing the game. Chewie grumbles over the game board but moves enough for you to slide in next to him.
“Don’t everyone thank me at once,” Han says, looking between the two. You hold a laugh at seeing Han’s face, turning your focus to the holo-game.
“Anyway,” Han clears his throat, “we should be at Alderaan in about oh-two-hundred hours.”
The R2 unit whistles and a small arm extends to gesture at which piece he wants to move. The large, pale creature jumps across the board. Chewie shuffles in his seat, and you go from paying attention to the game, to looking at Luke.
Chewie begins grumbling loudly, sitting back in his seat, and the gold protocol droid turns to address him. “He made a fair move. Screaming about it can’t help you.”
Han’s focus moves to the table, and he shakes his head at the protocol droid.
“Let him have it, it’s not wise to upset a wookie.” The droid moves in its seat, “But, sir, nobody worries about upsetting a droid.”
“That’s because a droid can’t pull someone’s arms off when they lose,” you say. The droid snaps its head to look at you, before looking at Chewie.
“Wookiees are known to do that,” Han says with a smirk. Chewie grumbles, moving his arms to rest behind his head, your body moving to give him room.
“I see your point, Sir,” The droid leans down to the R2 Unit, “I suggest a new strategy, Artoo. Let the Wookiee win.” Chuckling, you lean into Chewie’s side to give him pointers, his low grumbles and head nods helping him win the next move.
Han soon turns to the engineering screens in front of him, checking over the Falcon’s inner workings and seeing if everything is working properly through hyperspace. Shifting your gaze, you watch Luke try and block more small blaster bolts from the hovering droid-sphere-thing. It almost seemed to hiss before it moved positions, spinning and randomly shooting a blaster at Luke, who almost missed sometimes.
“Remember, a Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him,” Ben says, uncrossing his arms to gesture at himself. Luke directs his attention to him, raising an eyebrow.
“It controls your actions?” He asks, Ben only shaking his head lightly, “partially, but it also obeys your commands.”
Leaning back, you cross your arms and watch the chrome sphere move in a wide arc. It floats to one side of Luke, and then the other. Before it quickly lunges to the side, shooting a blaster bolt right into his leg, his yelp causes Han to turn and laugh loudly. Choking back a laugh, you cover your mouth and draw your attention back to the game board.
“Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a blaster at your side, kid,” Han says with a smirk. You shake your head, sending Han a look before shifting in your seat.
Luke drops his arms, looking between you and Han with narrowed eyes.
“You don’t believe in the force, do you?” He sheathed his saber, arms swinging at his sides.
You kiss your teeth, gaining Luke’s attention.
“I’ve personally flown from one end of the universe to the other, seen a lot of strange stuff- but nothing that makes me think the Force is an all-powerful thing.”
Han nods and gestures around him, “There’s no mystical energy field that controls my destiny, It’s all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense.”
Ben smiles, patting his lap before pulling himself into a stand, “I suggest you try again, Luke.” Turning around, Ben grabs a helmet hanging from the wall, twirling it in his hands as he steps closer to Luke.
“This time,” he says sternly, “let go of your conscious self,” he slips the helmet over Luke’s head, “and acts of instinct.”
You wince, standing from your seat and making your way to stand next to Han, who sends you a look.
“There’s no way I’m going to be in the cross-fire.”
Luke chuckles, reaching up to touch the blast shield.
“With the blast shield down, I can’t even see!” he says, “how am I supposed to fight?”
“Your eyes can deceive you, don’t trust them.” Ben reassures, crossing his arms and watching Luke. You scoff, leaning against Hans’s seat, who crosses his arms to watch as well.
Luke ignites his saber, raising it in defense. The sphere comes back to life and moves quickly from one side of Luke to the other, spinning in place before shooting a bolt at him again, hitting him on his shoulder. Yelping, Luke steps back and rolls his arm, wincing. Ben uncrosses his arms, reassuring Luke once more, “stretch out with your feelings.”
Luke signs, shuffling his feet and raising his saber in a defense position again. He seems to freeze, not moving any part of his body. Han turns his attention back to the screens, but you continue to watch, raising an eyebrow. The sphere hisses once or twice more, before moving rapidly and firing at Luke. He manages to move his saber in a defense position in no time, blocking the bolts from hitting his form. Your eyebrows furrow, and you slap hans shoulder to get him to pay attention again.
You can see Ben’s shoulders move in a small chuckle, his arms opening, “see? You can do it,” his voice is proud as he talks to Luke, who smiles as he sheathed his saber and pulls off the helmet, shaking out his hair.
“I call it luck,” you grumble. Ben turns, shooting you a sly smirk.
“In my experience, there’s no such thing as luck.”
Han sighs, smirking and pointing to Luke, “Look, good against a remote is one thing, good against the living? That’s something else.”
A high pitched alarm starts blaring from the top of the engineering panel Han was in front of, and he spins his chair to look. The red light blinks for a few more moments before turning off.
“Looks like we’re coming up on Alderaan,” he pushes himself up from his chair with a grumble, sparing you and Chewie a glance before making his way down the main corridor and into the cockpit. Chewie ruffles your hair lightly as he pushes himself up, and you smile at the two droids once they watch their opponent leave.
Luke is standing by Ben, and you can hear him talk under his breath as you pull back on your cloak, tying the front loosely.
“You know, I did feel something. I could almost see the remote.” Ben can only smile, patting him on the shoulder, “that’s good, you’re taking the first steps into a new world.”
You chuckle, smiling as you walk over to the duo and bump shoulders with Luke, “still can just be luck, and a vivid imagination.” Luke’s lips pursing as he glances your way.
Wincing lightly, you try to think of something to say, maybe to lighten the mood, but stop once the Falcon begins to shake violently. Luke grabs your forearm, and you grab his, both of you looking at each other in concern before looking to Ben, who had his eyebrows furrowed.
“That can’t be good,” you murmur, letting Luke go and moving around him to get to the cockpit.
There were dozens of meteors flying towards the ship, some large and others small. But where was Alderaan? It should have been right there.
“What’s going on?” Luke pesters from behind you, stepping aside to let him move next to you. You glance back at Ben, and move your shoulder so he could see as well.
“Our position is correct, just-” Han stops short, his gaze flickering over the controls, “no Alderaan.”
Furrowing your eyebrows, you bend forwards to try and look at the radar, but there was nothing, only the indications of meteors.
“What do you mean?” Luke says again, “where is it?”
Han briefly glances back, “that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, kid, it’s not there. Been totally blown away.”
“What?” You spoke softly, looking out at space with furrowed eyebrows.
“How?” Luke exclaims, turning to look back at Ben, who had a sad, solemn look.
“Destroyed by the empire.” You frown, looking back at Ben with a raised eyebrow.
“That’s impossible,” you grumble, Han turning his attention to Ben. “It would take more than a thousand ships with more fire power than ive-” Han gets cut off by a blaring alarm, his gaze snapping to the sound. It goes silent in the cabin for only a few seconds, Han cursing under his breath, lips pursing.
“There’s another ship coming in,” he says sternly. Luke looks from Han, to you, and then back.
“Maybe they know what happened,” Ben shakes his head lightly, looking off, “It’s an Imperial Fighter.”
Chewie barks out his concerns at Han, who looks to him with a glare. Suddenly, the ship lurches from a blow, a tie fighter flying from above the ship.
“It followed us!” Luke exclaims, pointing to the small Tie Ship.
“No,” Ben says softly, “it’s a short ranged fighter.”
Turning sharply, you look at Ben with furrowed brows and a frown.
“There aren’t any bases around here, so where did it come from?” You press, him staying silent.
Slowly, the Tie Fighter begins to pull away from view, Luke pushing forwards to nod towards it.
“It’s leaving in a big hurry, if it manages to identify us, we’re in big trouble.”
Shaking his head, Han waves to Chewie, “not for long, Chewie, jam its transmissions.”
The Wookiee grumbles, turning slightly to press a few buttons and then looking down at the panel, Ben has a look of concern as he watches Han.
“It’s too far out of range, there’s no point.” Han only smirks, rolling his shoulders, “not for long.”
He reaches above the Radar, pulling a small lever towards him, the thrusters increasing the ship’s speed. Slowly, the Falcon was gaining on the small fighter. You bite atr your lower lip, placing a hand lightly onto his shoulder.
“A fighter like that couldn’t get this deep into space on its own-”
Luke cuts in, his voice quiet, “It must have gotten lost, been part of a convoy or something.”
“Well he ain’t gonna be around long enough to tell anybody about us,” Han doesn’t miss a beat, his voice unwavering. The falcon slowly begins to gain, almost able to lock onto it.
“Look,” Luke comments, “he’s heading for that small moon,” he points ahead of the two ships, your gaze looking at the slowly growing speck.
Ben tenses, his eyes widening slightly. “That’s no moon, it’s a space station.”
Han looks up, but flickers his gaze briefly to the older, shaking his head. “It’s too big to be a space station,” he spits.
As you grew closer to the object, you could feel the sense of dread fill your gut. Ben was right, it did look like a space station. It was chrome and too perfect of a sphere to pass as a moon.
“I’ve got a very bad feeling about this,” Luke says softly. “Yeah,” you reply, “me too.”
Ben’s hand falls lightly onto your shoulder, but his focus was fully on Han.
“Turn the ship around,” he says sternly. Han nods in agreement, his form seemingly frozen as he gazes at the battle station looming closer, “yeah, I think you’re right.”
He turns to Chewie, “Full reverse, Chewie, lock in the auxiliary power,” his voice is commanding, louder than it was before.
The Falcon was still moving closer.
“Chewie, lock in the auxiliary power,” Han commands again, Chewie frantically pulling at a lever between them. You look down at the control panel, stomach dropping at the sight of the power already locked in.
“We’re still moving towards it,” you say, panic slowly pooling in your voice. The ship began to rattle, and you grabbed onto Hans’ metal seat for stability.
“Why are we still moving towards it!” Luke yells. The lights in the cabin are fading in and out slowly.
“Were caught in a tractor beam! It’s pulling us in!” Han replies sternly, trying to pull the Falcon from it, but having no luck.
“Well-” Luke presses, shaking his head, “there’s gotta be something you can do.”
Han grumbles, turning sharply to try other things on the panel next to you.
“There’s nothing I can do about it, kid,” he explains, “I’m at full power, I’m going to have to shut down- but they’re not gonna get me without a fight.”
Chewie growled and roared, Han ignoring him. The battle station was huge, the tiny specks of light coming from it made it seem like a planet, with small cities dotting across its surface.
“You can’t win,” Ben’s voice cuts in, his head shaking lightly, “but there are alternatives to fighting.”
The size of it was truly staggering, with a large entryway cutting across its equator. There were large turrets positioned around, a large docking door sliding open to reveal the inside of a hanger bay. When looking to the side, you can see the docking control room, men in black suits and Storm Troopers inside.
“Alternatives?” You say, looking back at Ben with wide eyes. He smiles, nodding his head. Scoffing, you turn to Han who is already looking between everyone, his eyebrows furrow. Suddenly, he snaps his fingers and launches up from the seat, pushing past to rush down the access hallway. You trail after him, rushing to catch up with his fast pace.
He comes to a stop in the main hallway, hand running through his hair as he looks to you, pointing to the grated floor.
“We can hide in here,” he says, furrowing your eyebrows. He sighs, bending down to slip his fingers past the thin grates.
“It’s a secret compartment, now help me!” He calls, you dropping down to help him. The metal was thin and easy to lift, and as you lift the first one, he stands to lift the other.
It was deep enough for chewie to stand, but seemed a little cramped with the Falcons piping and wires covering the sides.
“The droids-” you say, turning sharply and almost running straight into Luke, who grabs your shoulder. You pull away quickly, gesturing behind you as you inch your way back to the cockpit.
“Go get your droids, I’ll settle with the log- get into the compartment!” You say, turning and running back.
You all but throw yourself into the pilot’s seat, scrambling to find the ship log and jotting down about abandoning the ship after take off, feet tapping against the floor with adrenaline. Once finished, you stand from the seat and watch as three suited men make their way closer to the ship.
“(y/n)!” You hear Han yell, and turn to run back. When crouching to jump into the compartment, you almost land on top of Artoo, who whistles at you. Ben crouches across from you, and you send him a worried smile, raising to replace the metal top.
You could hear the footsteps of troopers and hushed voices as they made their way through the ship. You were scared they could hear your breathing when they walked above you, the metal shaking lightly. Ben gave you an empathetic smile, leaning forwards to rub a hand against your shoulder, you gave a kind smile in return.
Once the voices and footsteps fade, the yells of orders dimming, Ben stands and pushes the top of the compartment aside, you standing and looking over to Han and Luke, who both had relieved smiles.
“Good thing you had these,” Luke comments. Han waves him off, moving back to let Chewie stand. You smile at him, his hair messy. Han reaches forwards to smooth it down before pulling himself out of the small space.
“Yeah, usually used for smuggling, never thought I’d use them to smuggle myself,” Han grumbles, placing his blaster next to him on the floor.
“Even if I could take off, I’d never get past the tractor beam,” he comments, frowning. Ben raises his hand lightly, “leave that to me.”
You pull yourself out of the compartment, rolling your neck and glancing down at the hidden droids.
“Damn fool,” Han says, “I knew you were gonna say that.”
“Who’s more foolish? The fool, or the fool who follows him?” Ben replies, struggling to lift himself for a moment before brushing off his tunic and pivoting to stand.
You furrow your eyebrows, looking at him, “that doesn’t make sense.”
Ben smiles at you, pointing lightly, “it does, just think about it for a moment.”
“I have,” you deadpan, narrowing your eyes, “and it still doesn’t make sense.”
“Then you’re the fool,” Han says, nodding his head towards you. Scoffing, you glare at him in return.
There was shuffling by the entry ramp; Luke and Han looking at each other before springing up, backs pressed against the wall.
“What are you guys doing?” You ask softly, but stop when hearing voices draw closer. You and Han both grab your blasters, positioning yourself by the door. Chewie waits by you, and when two men in a uniform board the ship lugging a large, gray box, Chewie and Han easily grab the men, restricting their breathing before handing a blow to the head, the box landing loudly onto the floor. Han looks between the bodies, and then the box, before glancing down the ramp and smirking.
“Hey uh,” He yells, your eyebrows furrowing.
“Could you guys give us a hand with this?”
You slap him on the shoulder, glaring at him. Wincing, he lifts his blaster and gestures to the footsteps growing closer. You sigh a nod, cocking your blaster and aiming it at the entryway. When the three StormTroopers enter the main hall, you and Han both start firing. The Troopers didn’t have any time to react, dropping dead before they could even reach for their blaster.
“Now what,” Luke asks from behind you, you turn with furrowed brows, shrugging your shoulders. Han huffs and crouches down, beginning to peel away the armor from the bodies. Groaning, you shift your weight and gesture to the armor.
“It wont fit me, I’m not built like a guy,” you say, making Han look up at you with a scoff.
“Just put it on, you won’t be wearing it forever.”
The armor fit loosely, but snug, and the helmet was a tad too big, the visor almost completely blocking your eyesight.
The plan was set into motion once Luke was able to clip the last of the armor into place. You and Han would escort Chewie to the control room with Ben in tow, while Luke creates a diversion to hopefully take the attention away from two oddly placed stormtroopers, an old man, and a giant wookiee. Then, the droids would follow and keep an eye out for Ben when he goes to disable the tractor beam.
It was easier than expected when walking with Han up to the control room, Chewie was getting antsy, not wanting to be in the battle station for longer than necessary. Han and you stood side by side, and as the blast doors slid open to reveal a gantry officer. He stood in shock for a second, stumbling backwards before Chewie let out a roar, lunging at the officer and easily knocking him to the ground. The officers aid’s try and retaliate, but get shot by you and Han, rushing into the room and quickly taking off your helmet. Bringing a hand up, you wipe your forehead and brush down your hair with a grimace.
“How do they wear these things? They’re so uncomfortable.” You grumble lightly. While Han slides his helmet off to look down at the bay, Ben stops by one of the computers, R2 whistling as he rolls next to him.
Soon, Luke rushes into the room, shutting the blast door and taking his helmet off roughly, glaring over at Han.
“You know,” he starts, setting down the helmet, “between his howling and your guys’ blasting everything in sight, it’s a wonder the whole station doesn’t know that we’re here.”
You scoff, letting your blaster swing at your side.
“Bring ‘em on, I prefer a straight fight to all this sneaking around!” Han sneers, pointing to the younger who only glares back. The protocol droid, Threepio, turns from facing the computer system, his arms moving around animatedly.
“We found the computer outlet, sir!” He calls happily. Both threepio and R2 begin looking at the control panel, until R2 whistles loudly, rolling closer to Ben, who nods.
“Plug in. He should be able to interpret the entire imperial computer network,” the older man instructs. R2 quickly rolls forwards, an arm extending to plus right into the main console. You huff, turning to look out at the hanger bay while Han stares at the droids, Chewie inspecting the rest of the room, and Luke trying to tame his helmet hair.
After a few moments, R2 begins whistling again, prompting Threepio to look down and nod.
“He says he’s found the controls to the main power beam that’s holding the ship here, He’ll try to make the precise location appear on the monitor,” threepio says, looking towards Ben and Han. The screen next to the droid begins flashing, information feeding onto it.
“The tractor beam is coupled to the main reactor in seven locations. A power loss at one of the terminals will allow the ship to leave.”
Ben steps forwards, reading the information that begins feeding onto the once black monitor screen. He sighs, turning back around to face the small group. You glance at Han and Luke, and suppress a chuckle when seeing his hair, it was still sticking up in some places.
“I don’t think you boys can help, I must go alone,” Ben states softly, looking between the two. Had scoffs lightly, turning to watch as Ben makes his way to the blaster doors.
“Whatever you say, I’ve done more than I bargained for on this trip already.”
Luke stops Ben at the doors, leaning in close to talk softly between them. You move closer to Han, raising an eyebrow.
“You’re not having fun?” You tease, his glare making you laugh softly.
“Of course I’m not having fun,” he grumbles back.
By the time you look back over to Ben and Luke, the older is smiling down at the younger.
“The force will be with you, always.” Ben nods with a smile before opening the blast doors, rushing down the hall to avoid being caught. Luke sighs, shutting the blast doors and turning back.
Chewie begins growling, and Han walks over to lean against him.
“You said it, Chewie,” Han says, smirking while looking over to Luke.
“Where did you dig up that old fossil?” Luke purses his lips, glaring at Han aas he strides closer, not even sparing you a glance.
“Ben is a great man,” Luke doesn’t miss a beat. Han raises his hand, “Yeah, great at getting us into trouble.”
You sigh, rolling your neck and stepping between the two.
“Guys- now’s not the time,” you say calmly.Yet it falls on deaf ears, Luke stepping closer to Han.
“I didn’t hear you giving any ideas,” he spits, looking Han up and down, who widens his eyes and points to him.
“Well, anything is better than just waiting for him to pick us up-” Han begins, but gets cut off by Luke.
“Who do you think you-”
By now you’re almost squished between them, the armor becoming very uncomfortable. The only thing that breaks the almost fight, is R2, who is begging whistle and beeping loudly.
“What is it?” Luke asks, the attention now on the droids.
“I’m afraid I’m not quite sure, sir. He says ‘ I found her’ and keeps repeating ‘She’s here’”
Luke steps closer to the droids, “Who.. who has he found?” He asks softly.
“Princess Leia,” threepio explains. Lukes head snaps up, his eyes wide.
“The princess? She’s here?” Luke questions, both you and Han looking at each other with puzzled looks.
“Princess?” You both say at the same time, looking back at Luke who was leaning closer to his protocol droid.
“Where? Where is she?!” Luke demands, ignoring you and Han.
“What’s going on here?” Han asks, his shoulders tense.
Threepio pauses for a moment as R2 whistles and trills, “Level five, detention block A A-Twenty-three. I’m afraid she’s been scheduled to be terminated.”
Luke shakes his head lightly, eyes filling with worry as he looks at Threepio.
“Oh no, we gotta do something.”
You glance at han before shaking your head, closing your eyes for a brief moment, and looking to Luke, “What’re you going on about, Luke?” You ask sternly, his gaze finally falling on you and Han.
“The droids belong to her, she’s the one in the message… We’ve got to help her,” he says loudly, stepping closer to you both, Han meeting him in the middle.
“Now, look, don’t get any funny ideas. The old man told us to wait right here.”
Han drops down into one of the leather chairs, smiling as he looks at you.
“But he didn’t know she was here!” Luke exclaims, making his way back to the droids, “find a way into that detention block.”
Han rolls his eyes once hearing Luke, crossing his legs on the control panel and tilting his head to the side; “I’m not going anywhere.”
You sigh, closing your eyes and pinching the bridge of your nose. Luke tries to reason with Han, “They’re going to execute her.”
He moves closer to Han, waving his hand at him, “A few seconds ago you said you didn’t wanna wait here and get captured, now you wanna stay?”
You step closer, narrowing your eyes at Luke, “marching into a detention block is definitely not what he had in mind,” you grumble, Luke’s eyes flickering up to you. They were pleading, a frown on his face.
“They’re gonna kill her!” He yells, and Han only shrugs, “better her than me.”
You glare at Han, clenching your jaw. Luke seems to give up then, tonguing at the inside of his lip and turning away. You kick Han’s chair, his legs falling.
“She’s rich,” Luke says, turning back to look at Han, who turned his body towards the panel. Chewie growls, stepping closer to your back as you look at Luke. Of course a princess was rich, but a captured one?
Han takes the bait, turning slowly to look between Luke and Chewie.
“Rich?” He repeats quietly, Luke nodding with a sickly sweet smile.
“Rich, powerful. If you were to rescue her, the reward would be,” Luke pauses, leaning back so Han could fully turn around.
“Would it be?”
“Well more wealth than you could imagine.”
“I don’t know, I can imagine quite a bit.”
You scoff, both of them looking at you, “you’re serious?” You ask Luke, who nods with a smile. He must see the hesitation on your face, since he moves away from Han to grab your shoulders, “just imagine the reward.”
You push his arms away, shaking your head. “If I were to do this, it wouldn’t be for her money,” you say softly, Luke’s smile drops from his face, eyebrows furrowing.
“But you’re a smuggler like Han, right? You came with him for the money?” He asks, making chewie grumble behind you. Han scoffs, standing from his chair and walking past Luke and you. He punches your shoulder lightly, smirking down at Luke.
“She’s a much better smuggler than me, kid.”
Luke frowns, looking down at you, but you shake your head and turn away from him, going to stand closer to the blast door.
“You have a plan, kid?” Han calls, making Luke stutter, his form moving back towards the panel.
“Threepio, hand me those binders,” he asks, the droid reaching across the desk for the metal cuffs.
Luke nods and walks over to the Wookie, “okay, I’m gonna put these on you,” he says softly.
Chewie lurches back, roaring down at Luke who gulps and sheepishly turns to Han, handing the cuffs to him.
“Okay, Han, you put these on.”
With a smug look, Han walks over and looks up to Chewie, easily sliding the cuffs around his wrists. “Don’t worry Chewie, I see what he has in mind.”
Grabbing your helmet, you wait by the blast door for the others. Luke meets you first, smiling apologetically, “you ready?” He asks. Shrugging, you slide the helmet over your head and give him a two-fingered salute, his bright smile barely visible from under the helmet.
“Master Luke! What should Artoo and I do if we are discovered here?” Threepio calls. Turning to smile at the droid, Luke slides on his helmet as well, “Lock the door!”
“And make sure they don’t have blasters,” Han adds, smirking at the droid.
As the three of you walked with Chewie down the dark metal hallway, you could feel the hairs on the back of your neck stand, palm beginning to sweat underneath the gloves that gripped your blaster.
“I have a very bad feeling about this,” you say towards Han, who only looks in your direction before grabbing Chewie’s arm lightly, the Wookiee grumbling.
“You and me both.”
There was a small black droid rolling down the hallway, and when roared at by Chewie, promptly turns around and sped off in the direction it came. By the time you both turn down one of the main corridors, the number of people and droids increases. Surprisingly, they didn’t pay the four of you any mind, but the curious glances you way made your stomach twist. You and Han stood on either side of Chewie, while Luke led the way. At one point, you almost ran into one of the suited men but managed to tilt your upper body to the side and avoid making contact. He turned his head and seemed to give you a snarky look, but when noticing the large Wookiee next to you, decided against saying anything.
The three vacuum elevators were positioned towards a drop-off in the space station, a view of the many floors and seemingly endless drop to the bottom. There were flickering white lights above the doors, and all three seemed to be in use.
Finally, a pair of doors slid open, and a man wearing a large, dome-like, helmet briskly walked out before the four of you piled into the small space, patiently waiting for the doors to close.
“I can’t see a thing in this helmet,” you grumble, lifting a hand to push the loose helmet back into place. A suited official went to join you, but Han waved him off, tilting his head back at Chewie.
Once the doors finally closed, you took the helmet off and gasped for a breath, the other two looking at you. Shrugging your shoulders, you rub your cheek and slide the helmet back on.
“I can barely breathe- or see for the matter,” you say harshly, glaring at them. Luke shakes his head, and Han goes to fit the cuffs Chewie was wearing, only to find the links unlatched. When trying to fix it, I find that the cuffs won’t latch at all.
“This isn’t going to work,” he grumbles, voice modulated.
“Why didn’t you say so before?” Luke questioned back, tilting his head. You slump your shoulders, leaning against the wall and letting your helmet fall against it, groaning.
“He did say so before,” you grumble, Lukes head-turning in your direction.
“Well thanks for the support,” he says sarcastically, turning once hearing the elevator stop. The doors open from behind you, and you have to spring back up to avoid being caught.
The security station looked to be old and gray, men sitting behind a control panel to the lasered-off jail cells further down the hallway. A tall, grim-looking officer steps closer, his eyes narrowing when they land on Chewie. His hands clasped behind his back.
“Where are you taking this,” he pauses, “thing?”
Luke doesn’t waste any time, his blaster at his front, “a prisoner transfer from cell block two-two-eight-three.” you glance towards Han, his rifle already at the ready. You seemed to be the only one who didn’t have their blaster at the ready, instead choosing to hold chewie’s arm lightly.
The officer tilts his head, looking confused.
“I wasn’t notified,” he said calmly, flickering his gaze to Han, then Luke.
“I’ll have to clear it.”
He turns sharply, waving two other soldiers over with their blaster pointed at you all. The officer moves over to a com system, his attention no longer on you or Chewie. Pulling at his undone cuffs, you step back in time for his arm to lurch forward and hit the incoming officers.
“Look out!” Luke calls, raising his blaster and shooting down one of the corner cameras, Han doing the same.
“He’s loose! He’ll kill us all!” Han yells, raising his blaster to shoot down the imperial officers behind the control panel. You do the same, but miss almost all of your shots since the helmet blocked most of your vision. You can feel a blaster bolt pierce the shoulder plate of your armor, but it only grazes your skin. Yelping, you turn away and instead aim for the remaining cameras that were positioned over the control booth, sparks falling.
It doesn’t take long to kill all of the soldiers, and you rush to the panel, pulling off one of the bodies and pulling your helmet off.
“I’m never doing this again,” you growl, looking over the panel to find the right cell.
“Which cell is the princess in?” Han asks, and you raise a finger at him while scanning the cell names. You smile, turning back and pointing down the hall.
“There! Cell two-one-eight-seven,” Luke nods, rushing down the hallway while Han pulls off his helmet, placing it down and wincing at the blaring noise.
He presses down on a small white button, looking at you with wide eyes. He clears his throat, furrowing his eyebrows.
“Everything’s under control, situation normal,” his voice is slightly higher, and it makes you groan silently. A voice calls back seconds later, and Han stamps one of his feet as he clenches his eyes shut, clearly trying to find what to say.
“Uh… had a slight weapons malfunction. But, uh, everything’s perfectly all right now. We’re fine. We’re all fine here, now, thank you. How are you?”
Looking at him with wide eyes, you slap his shoulder and he glares at you before shrugging.
“We’re sending a squad up.” the modulated voice replies. You groan, hand slapping your forehead as Han stutters and blinks rapidly.
“Uh, uh, negative! We had a reactor leak now. Give us a few minutes to lock it down. Large leak, very dangerous.” You glare at him again, raising your hands and giving him a look. He only shrugs your way.
“Who is this? What’s your operating number?” Han pulls back from the com, pointing his blaster and firing at it. The wires spark and Han drops the blaster on the desk, dusting his hands off.
“Are you crazy?!” You yell, his eyes wide.
“What was I supposed to say, huh?!” He calls back, gesturing wildly to the now destroyed com. You push at him, “Anything but what you did! ‘How are you’? What officer says that?”
Han gaps at you, holding his hands in surrender, “It was the first thing that came to mind!”
Turning to look down the hallway, you both can see Luke frantically trying to find the princess’ cell.
“Luke! We’re gonna have company!” You call, the boy turning to look back.
“What?!” You hear him call, you point at Han.
“Genius cant impersonate an officer for bantha fodder!”
Seeing Luke disappear into one of the cells, you grab your blaster and roll your shoulder, the pain subsiding, surely you’d need a bacta patch when you get back to the Falcon.
Han is still grumbling under his breath about your insult, but grabs his blaster and pushes you to stand behind him.
“I thought I was making a great impression,” he says, making you scoff.
“Is this really what you’re thinking about?”
Chewie growls and roars, backing away from the elevator and Han calls over at him, the Wookiee rushing back behind you both.
When the elevator stops, the front is blasted open with an explosion, blaster fire erupting from the inside. You, Han, and Chewie immediately begin firing back. One of the stormtroopers falls dead at the front, but the ones behind manage to back the three of you into the cell bay. It was dark and narrow, the floor lighting up with a soft red glow. You run in with Luke and the princess halfway down.
“Looks like you managed to cut off our only escape route,” she spits. You and Han both snap to glare at her, “maybe you’d like it back in your cell, your highness?” Han says sarcastically. You can see her begin to respond, but a blaster bolt hits the metal above your head, causing you all to duck down and run further down the cell bay.
You manage to take cover behind the cell doors, pressing your body further into the metal and flinching when blaster bolts landed a little too close for your liking.
Faintly, you and hear Luke speak into his com to Threepio, when you lean around Han to fire back at the troopers, you can hear him call over to you both.
“There isn’t any other way out!”
“This is some rescue!” the princess yells, “didn’t you have a way of getting out?”
Han glares at her, pointing to Luke, “he’s the brains, sweetheart!”
The princess snaps her eyes to Luke, who only shrugs, “well I didn’t-” he gets cut off by her, who grabs his blaster and shoots at the small grate in the wall next to you, making you glare at her.
“What the hell are you doing!” You yell, she rushes across the hallway, lightly grabbing your wrist.
“Someone has to save our skins,” she turns to Han, “into the garbage chute, flyboy!”
She turns and throws the blaster back to Luke, crouching down to slide into the chute. Smirking, you smack Hans shoulder, “I like her,” you say before jumping into the chute as well.
Falling into wet, stinky garbage was not on your to-do list for the day. The chute was dark, and the fall into the garbage made you yelp, metal was not a suitable thing to land on. The princess was already by the corner, her dress dirty and wet. Her hair was slowly falling out of the two buns on the sides of her head, and her makeup was smeared around her eyes. She looked your age, and when swimming through trash to stand close to her, almost felt bad.
“Are you all right, princess?” you call softly, her shoulders tense.
“Some rescue you all pulled together, I quite liked it in my cell,” she sneers, glaring at you.
Huffing, you try the door and yell when it doesn’t budge, kicking it and falling back into the sludge of trash. Chewie soon falls down, the tall wookiee scrambling to the only way out and failing at what you tried to do seconds before, you grab his arm, trying to pull him away.
“Chewie- I tried that-” you say, but he pushes you away, frantically pulling.
Once Luke falls down, he looks to you before looking at the princess, his eyes softening when seeing her. You frown, before looking at his blaster.
“Luke,” you say, his gaze flickering back to yours, “shoot the door open.”
Nodding, he raises his blaster. You move towards chewie, trying to pull him away far enough for Luke to get a shot. When he’s far enough away, albeit with him resisting everything you try, Luke fires a bolt, but instead of penetrating the door, it ricochets throughout the confined space. Yelping, you duck, and the bolt sizzles when hitting the water.
“Good try,” the princess says sarcastically.
When Han falls down into the garbage. He tries to do the same thing Luke did, firing at the door, only to have his bullet ricochet throughout the enclosed space. Everyone ducks, the bullet flying right over everyone’s heads before sizzling out in the murky water.
“Well isn’t this just the most wonderful idea! What an incredible smell you’ve discovered?” Han sneers towards the princess, his hand wiping away the small bits of trash that splashed onto his face. The princess doesn’t say anything, just continues to push herself higher onto the trash.
“Will you forget it already?! I tried that!” Luke shouts, glaring at Han. The princess pulls herself out of the trash, looking grim.
“Put that thing away before you get us all killed!” She shouts.
Groaning, you manage to get next to Chewie, who was quietly pouting about the door still.
“Absolutely, your worship! Look, I had everything under control ‘till you led us down here.”
Raising a hand, you look between everyone, “I don’t mind this solution,” you pitch in, Han glaring at you before turning back to the princess.
“It’s not gonna take long before they figure out what happened to us.”
“It could be worse,” she says harshly.
There was a low, muffled roar then, silencing the room as you all froze and stared down at the water. Whatever it was, it sounded very big.
“It’s worse,” you wince.
“There’s something alive in here,” Luke says, his body flinching in the water, “Something just moved past my leg!”
Han looks over, Luke pointing to a thick, gross tentacle slithering through the water.
“There! Did you see that?”
“It’s your imagination.”
Chewie pushes by you, going to pull at the locked door again. Moving back into the water, you stand by Han, scouring the surface for anything alive.
You yelped when seeing a green, gross looking eye pop through, looking around before disappearing.
“There!”
The boys turn their gaze to where you were pointing, but Han scoffs, “You’re imagining things.”
Pushing him, you point at his face, “you know, you’re gonna regret being so mean when you die.”
He only smirks, gesturing to himself, “I’m not gonna die here, my morals aren’t that low.”
“Your morals don’t mean jack shit right now!”
There was a loud splash, Luke yelps as he’s pulled under the water. You and Han immediately rush over, pushing away various pieces of trash to try and find him.
“Luke!” You yell, the princess yelling for him too. Luke resurfaces, gasping for air as he tries to fight off the long, thick, tentacle. You grab his free arm, his blaster dropping from his grasp to hold onto you tightly. The princess grabs a long, metal pipe, thrusting it towards him.
“Grab hold of this!” She yells, just out of reach. \
“Shoot it!” Luke strains, Han looking down at gesturing wildly with his blaster.
“Where?!”
“Anywhere! Shoot it you kriffing idiot!” You shout, glaring at Han. He lifts his blaster, shooting blindly into the water. The thing takes Luke with it, his arm being ripped from your grib. You almost get pulled in, but he lets you go. The burn on your shoulders stings as the dirty water drenches your upper body, pushing yourself up rapidly.
There was silence, none of you moved or made a sound as you tried to locate Luke under all of the trash. When a loud, shuddering clang from behind the walls erupted. The walls move in slightly, causing you to look between Han and the Princess, eyebrows furrowed with worry.
When Luke reemerges without the tentacle restricting his movement, you and Han quickly grab him, pulling him away from the water.
“What happened!?” The princess shouts. He moves onto the trash pile, gasping for breath.
“I- I don’t know! It just let me go and disappeared.” He doubles over, coughing out water and rubbing his eyes harshly.
The walls shudder again, han grabbing your upper arm to stop you from falling.
“I have a bad feeling about this,” he grumbles.
Groaning, the walls begin to close in, the trash falling into the water at your knees. Your heart jumps to your throat, looking between the two walls.
“Don’t just stand there! Brace it with something!” The princess shouts, trying to lift a metal pipe. You and Han both rush over to help her, straining to lift the pipe in between the walls. Chewie tries to push it, but it doesn’t stop.
“Wait a minute,” Luke says, reaching to his belt to pull out the small com linked with threepio.
“Threepio!” He shouts, pushing the incoming trash out of the way to cbegin climbing on top.
When the walls reach the metal pipe, it groans and easily snaps in half, Han cursing under his breath and reaching over for the Princess, pushing her on top of the trash.
“Who would have thought?” You spit, trying to make it on top, “I’d die just like the imperials said I would! With all the other trash!” Han strains as he pulls himself up, pieces of his armor catching onto others and almost locking him in place. Luke is still trying to contact his droid, but it doesn’t respond.
“You’re not going to die!” Han replies. Scoffing, you refrain from slapping him.
“We’re gonna be squished to death and you dont think we’re going to die?!”
With the walls almost closing in, you and Han try to stop it by positioning your legs on it, you can hear Threepio on the other end of the coms, but you’re too busy with trying to stop the inevitable. The princess looks terrified, taking Hans hand and squeezing it as she winces at the incoming pressure the trash brings. Letting your head drop against the metal, you shut your eyes tightly and go over all your life choices that lead up to this.
When suddenly, it stops. The walls groan and stop with only a couple feet from fully crushing you. Luke starts hollering, and the princess hugs Han tightly before doing the same to you, her arms wrapping tightly around your neck. Chewie wraps you all in a hug, jumping up and down before moving you all towards the door.
“Open the pressure hatch maintenance door on level… Where are we?!” Luke shouts over the pile to Han, who spins around to read off the numbers engraved into the metal above the door.
When the door finally clicks open, you all flood into the hallway. Pulling off your armor, you grab your shoulder and fall to rest on the floor, stretching your legs and smiling in relief.
“Told you,” Han says smugly, taking off his armor as well. The princess rests her hands on her knees breathing deeply and brushing off her dirty white dress.
You keep on your utility bent, Luke bumping your thigh lightly with his foot, smiling down at you. You give one in return, standing and brushing off your wet clothes. Reaching forwards, you ruffle his wet hair and smirk when he swats your hands away.
“You look like shit,” you say softly.
“Really? Because I feel quite the opposite.”
Han straps on the white utility belt, handing a blaster to Luke.
“If we can just avoid any more female advice, we’ll be able to get out of here.”
Chewie jumps from his spot, waving his arm back towards the garbage before rushing down the hallway.
“Where’re you going?” Han calls, Chewie growling in response. Groaning, Han turns back to the room and the princess holds out her hands, eye wide.
“No! They’ll hear!”
It’s too late, Han fires back into the room, the sound echoing down the hallway. You stare at him with wide eyes, jaw dropped.
“Are you crazy!?” You say harshly, his gaze flickering to you before going back to Chewie.
“Come here, you coward.” Chewie shakes his head, crouching behind stacked barrels.
The princess grabs his elbow, finger pointed at his face.
“Listen, i don’t know who you are, or where you came from, but from now on you listen to me, okay?” Han stares at her in disbelief.
“Let’s get one thing straight,” he growls back, “I only take orders from one person, me.”
You all begin to walk down the hallway, the blaring alarm echoing softly from somewhere is the distance. The Princess leads the way, and when she hears Han, tilts her shoulders back and glances at him over her shoulder.
“It’s a wonder you’re still alive.”
Chuckling, you manage to match stride with Luke, who looks at you with a small smile. There was still dirt on his face, so you raise a hand and rub the muck from his cheek.
“There- uh-” you stutter, pulling your hand back harshly and clearing your throat. He only stares, gaze flickering to the duo in the front.
“Thanks,” he replies, blue eyes soft. Feeling your cheeks slowly begin to heat, you look back to the front, finding Han’s jacket very interesting.
“No reward is worth this,” he grumbles, looking back to you and Luke, who only shrugs his shoulders.
The corridor was empty as you ran down, footsteps echoing before stopping in front of a bay window. When looking out, you whistle when seeing the Falcon.
“I’ve never been happier to see that ship,” you muse, nudging Han with your shoulder.Chewie kept looking out, and you slowly began counting the stormtroopers that walked about the bay. Five? No, ten?
You can hear Luke talking through his com, and you lightly grab his wrist, “are the droids there?” he nods, smiling.
“You came here in that thing?” The princess says with a scoff, pointing out into the bay. She lightly grabs Hans arm, his torso turning slightly.
“You’re braver than I thought.”
Giving her a dirty look, Han nods his head towards an adjacent corridor.
“Nice, now common.”
When turning down one of the only other hallways, you come to a sudden stop, twenty imperial stormtroopers were already rushing down, their blasters in hand. Immediately grabbing your blaster, you fire at the first stormtrooper you can aim at, Han grabbing his blaster with a smile. When the troopers all turn and run back down the hallway, Han begins charging after them, running straight into the blaster smoke and over the body laying in the middle.
“Get back to the ship!” He shouts before disappearing around the corner, Chewie runs after him.
“Han!”
“Where are you going?! Come back!”
You look at the other two with wide eyes, the princess laughing and pointing down the hallway.
“He certainly has courage.”
Rolling your shoulders, you load your blaster and go to run after the other two, but Luke grabs your wrist with his free hand, looking at you in disbelief.
“Where are you going?!” He demands.
Smiling, you nod your head down the hall.
“I can’t let him have all the fun, can I?” Dropping your wrist, he glances at the princess.
“Please- just- don’t get yourself killed,” he replies softly. Faking offense, you give him a two finger salute.
“I should be saying that to you, get to the ship!”
Turning, you run down the hallway, hearing the princess’ faint voice fade off as you turn the corner, seeing Chewie briefly from down the hallway.
You can hear blaster fire, and when you see Chewie turning around, Han hot on his heels, you suppress laughter and wait until more stormtroopers round the corner before running alongside them.
“I told you to get to the ship!” Han yells, turning sharply down another hallway, you fire behind you, a smile stretched across your face.
“And miss this?! Absolutely not!”
You manage to lose the growing group of troopers when you make your way down another hallway, the adjacent’ blast doors slowly closing. You look behind you quickly, pushing Han to run again when seeing the troopers gaining.
“This was a great idea, Han! Love that brain of yours!” You yell, running towards the only remaining exit, he scoffs, pushing you to run through the closing blast doors before firing behind him once more, jumping through the small space left and landing with a thud on the ground. Catching your breath, you lean down to help him up, chewie grabbing his shoulders to give him a look over.
“Look- we lost ‘em, isn’t that enough?” He grumbles, dusting off his pants and picking his blaster back up.
“Yeah, if we were with the other two, they could be dead for all we know.”
Han scoffs, peeking around a corner before advancing to the bay.
“You’re saying that like it’s a bad thing,” he replies, throwing you a smirk. Slapping his arm, you look back down the hall you came, hoping the blast doors wouldn’t reopen.
“It is a bad thing, Han- no princess, no money.”
Coming to a stop next to Chewie, you all peak out from around the corner, groaning silently at the sight of more stormtroopers.
“Didn’t we just leave this party?” Han whispers harshly, looking up to chewie. Growling, the wookiee gestures, Luke and the princess running into han side.
“What kept you?” You ask softly, looking at Lukes bright red face. He tries to catch his breath, the princess moving to Hans’ side.
“We ran into some friends.”
Luke, no longer red-faced, stares down the remaining troopers.
“Is the ship alright?”
“Seems like it, if we can get to it,” Han responds, “let’s just hope the old man got the tracker beam down.”
There was a clatter from somewhere in the bay, the troopers nodding towards the sound and then jogging away, leaving the entrance ramp enemy-free.
“Nows our chance- go!” Han whispers harshly, pushing towards the ship.
Running into the bay, you almost run right into Luke, stopping.
“Ben?” He calls softly, running in the opposite direction of where he needed to go.
You look, seeing the old man. Han and the princess were waiting on the entry ramp, staring down at the blonde who continued to watch the duel just like the troopers.
Suddenly, you can see old Ben’s gaze turn to Luke for a brief second, before standing and raising his saber, being cut down by the sith lord, his cloak falling empty to the floor.
“No!” Luke shouts, drawing the attention of the troopers, who raise their blasters and immediately start firing. Ducking, you fire back, hearing Han shout from behind you. Luke doesn’t seem to hear, but dow shoots the padlock next to the blast doors, effectively locking the sith lord from advancing towards the Falcon. Dodging the blasts, you grab onto the back of Luke’s tunic and pull him towards the falcon, Han firing at the troopers to give you cover.
“Come on!” You shout, him only fighting against you to continue shooting. He stops suddenly, tensing. Looking back at him, he turns and grabs your hand, dragging you both behind Han and the princess. Han runs to the cockpit with Chewie, staring up at the falcon quickly and pulling out of the docking bay. Luke, with tears beginning to fill his eyes, sits on the curved couch and leans to rest his head on the small holo-game table. The princess is looking around the ship, before her eyes land on you.
“Do you have a blanket? For Luke?” She asks softly, nodding over to him, who began to aimlessly scratch at the table. Clearing your throat, you nod and turn, opening a storage hatch and handing her a thick, wool blanket.
“Here- uh- your highness-” She gives a forced smile, tapping your hand lightly before pulling the blanket away.
“My name is Leia.” She moves away then, draping the blanket around Luke’s shoulders and sitting down next to him, rubbing his back.
Shaking your head, you rush towards the cockpit, almost running straight into Han, hands grabbing your shoulders.
“Help Chewie with the piloting, me and the kid are going to the gunport,” he rushes, sending you off and going into the main hold. Rushing into the cockpit, Chewie growls and roars at you, his hands flying across the control panel.
You can faintly hear Leia run in behind you, but instead of turning to talk, you reduce the speed on the Falcon after it shakes violently. Turning, you grab onto the hanging com link, sliding it on and making sure the connection throughout the ship was stable.
“Boys? You copy?” You ask sternly, hands gripping the falcons controls while Chewie keeps the deflector shields in check and read.
“We hear you loud and clear,” Han says, his voice modulated and crackling slightly. Leia leans her head down slightly, listening to what he was saying.
There was a loud beeping on the radar, and when looking, you could spot a tie fighter flying straight for you, increasing the falcon’s speed and turning slightly.
“Here they come!” you turn to grab Leia, stabilizing her as she ships rocks against the blasts the tie fighters send, hitting right against the deflector shield. The seemingly single tie fighter splits off into two, rounding the Falcon on both sides, firing at once. The lights flicker, and you can hear the two droids in the main hold faintly as threepio states his worries.
Faintly, you can see the falcons’ red blaster bolts wizz past the tie fighters, Han cursing through the coms.
“They’re coming in too fast!” Luke shouts.
Another set of bolts hits the Falcon, the whole ship rocking. Chewie leans close to you, chattering to you. There was a loud crash from the main corridor, Leia looking out before turning back, gaze set on the tie fighter flying around to strike again.
A series of high pitched beeping made you spin around, Chewie taking over the piloting controls while you read the system malfunctions.
“Uh- Han-” You say worried, “We’ve lost lateral controls-”
“Don’t worry, she’ll hold it together.”
Leia gives you a skeptical look, grabbing onto the seats tightly.
Hearing a loud popping from the main corridor, you quickly take off the com set and hand it to Leia, grabbing her shoulders and pushing her lightly into the seat.
“You take over! I gotta keep the ship in one piece!”
“Hey!” Hans’ voice is quiet from the coms in Leia’s hands. Rolling your eyes, you run into the corridor, sliding to a stop by R2 and falling to your knees, one of the panels has blown completely off, the wires fried and previously on fire.
“Kriff,” you mumble, scrambling back to the open supply closet, finding Threepio laying in a pile of exposed, sparking wires.
“Help! Oh dear- I think I’m melting!” He cries. Dropping to your knees, you quickly brush the wires off of the golden droid, helping him sit up to grab some of the strayed tools scattered around.
“Stop being dramatic- you’re not melting,” you huff, hearing R2’s beeping as he rolls closer. Threepio points at the droid, still tangled in wires.
“This is all your fault.”
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, it gets incredibly better. The sounds of blaster fire stops, and you can hear Leia and Chewie cheering. Han comes into view, hopping down from the ladder and crouching by the closet, smiling.
“Wasn’t that quite a rescue?” He jokes, reaching forwards to pull you from the wires. He wraps his arms around you, squeezing you tightly before pulling away. Threepio and R2 continue to argue, but you can only understand one side of it.
“Oh yeah, definitely going on my record,” you tease, earning a glare. He shakes his head, turning and walking into the cockpit. Luke soon pops out of the gunport, hair completely dry and fluffy. There was sweat faintly on his forehead, but his smile was bright, eyes even brighter.
“Did you see?” He says, rushing forwards to wrap you in a hug. Laughing softly, you almost hold him tighter when he lifts you from the ground, even if it was just for a moment.
You see Chewie leave the cockpit, walking past you and Luke to assess the rest of the damage caused.
“I- I couldnt-” you say, pulling away from him quickly. He nods, smiling softly and glancing to where Leia and Han still were.
“What do you think of her?” he asks suddenly, eyebrows raised. Sighing, you tilt your head and watch Luke. His hands move from resting on his hips, to crossing over his chest. His cheeks used to hold a bright pink, but it had already faded.
“Of the Princess?” You ask, him nodding.
“She’s- well-”
“You dont like her?” Luke looks almost wounded when you stutter, and you wave your hands to stop him from thinking the worst.
“I just met her, Luke, give it some time.”
Frowning, you both turn when hearing someone coming, and speak of the devil and he may appear. Leia looked annoyed, but happy, coming to stand by Luke and placing a hand softly onto his shoulder.
“Your friends a real piece of work, I’m surprised if he cares about anyone but himself,” she spits, making her way past both of you, and back into the main hold. Luke, watching her go, glances back to you before walking to the cockpit, giving you a smile as he goes.
Chuckling dryly, you walk to the still sparking panel, Chewie crouched in front of it. Falling to sit next to him, back against the wall, you cross your legs and rest your head against the cool metal. You can feel the ship lurch into hyperspace, the wookiee swaying slightly. He regarded you with a low rumble, going back to try and fix the frayed wires and broken metal. It was silent, other than the sounds of him working. You can vaguely feel yourself teetering on the edge of sleep, the low hum of the Falcon soothing the dull ache in your shoulder.
“Say, Chewie,” breaking the silence, you peek one eye at him, but he doesn’t look at you, only barks.
“Do you think Luke’ll stay? With us- well- you, Han, and I.” Chewie growls, tilting his head and you find it endearing how he uses his hands when he talks, gesturing wildly around him, as if he’s building a story.
“You do know I can’t speak Wookiee, right?” You remind, smirking at him. He lightly slaps your shoulder, and you wince, rubbing the aching burn. He stops, setting down one of the tools in his hands and going to lift your ripped, burnt sleeve.
“Hey-” swatting his hand away, you lean away and wave him off.
“It’s nothing, I was only teasing.”
He pulls away, grabbing his discarded tool and going back to work, but not before rumbling out a response and giving you a dirty look, waving you off in return.
When you feel the Falcon lurch out of light-speed, you finally stand and roll your shoulder, groaning and stretching out your back. Luke appears, and gives you a smile as he pulls on his brown shawl.
“Where are we?” You ask lightly, watching the ramp descend. Immediately, the ship was filled with the thick scent of the forest, you can’t remember the last time you smelled pine trees.
“On a Yavin moon- the princess is taking us to her base.”
Nodding, you wait for Han and Chewie before leaving the ship. The sun was high, and the skies were a bright blue. It reminded you of Luke’s eyes.
Leia led the way, stopping by a transport, a heavy-duty military speeder, and speaking to the driver. He bows to her, before climbing aboard and starting up the cart. Humming, you lean to Han as you all walk closer.
“Talk about special treatment.” He chuckles, wrapping an arm around your shoulder and patting his chest proudly.
“Why wouldn’t they? We saved their princess.”
When being transported to the main base, you get to finally look at most of where you’ll be residing until Han wants to leave. Around the main landing hangers were large trees that seemed to reach the sky. The faint cries of creatures cause Han to continuously look over his shoulder, staring into the eerie mist that covers the forest floor. The air was heavy, but wasn’t hot, it was a cool mist that seemed to give false comfort.
The main base was a large, ancient temple. The base opened to reveal a large array of battered X-wings, their red and white paint chipping off. There were people everywhere, from suited officials, to different species of pilots and workers.
The transport stops in front of the opening hanger, and Leia is the first one to jump off of the speeder. The hanger is dark, but with the outdoor light flooding in, lets you see the X-wings more clearly. An older man, with wrinkled lines and thin hair, rushes over with open arms. Leia happily hugs him, pulling away and glancing at the rest of you before walking away with him. Luke broke off from the group to look at the X-wings.
“You’d think they are preparing for a galactic war,” Han spits sarcastically. The R2 was helped off of the speeder, his whistles of gratitude fading off as he catches up with Leia and whoever she was with.
You managed to find Luke in the mission briefing room, packed with pilots in an annoying bright orange jumpsuit. Han was next to you, leaning against the wall as an older man with glasses and a long pointer explained the layout of the battle station- Death Star.
“Who names their station a Death Star?” You whisper to Han. He shrugs his shoulders, crossing his arms and looking over the crowd of people.
“Guess they wanted to be intimidating.”
You could also point out navigators, and some droids as they crammed in the low-ceiling room.
“-a small, one manned, fighter should be able to penetrate their outer defense.”
Han scoffs, rolling his eyes as Chewie looks over at him, almost expecting the smuggler to volunteer to make the shot himself. One of the pilots near the front speaks up, but you drown his voice out. Finding Leia near the front, a small, determined, smile on her face. She looked small next to the tall rebel officers.
“You are required to maneuver straight down this trench, just skimming the surface, the target area is only two feet wide-”
“This is crazy,” you mumble, watching the animated Death Star spin and show the small area a pilot would need to shoot at, it was a one in a million shot, no new pilot would be able to make it. Murmur filled the room, whispers mixed and filtered across and the man up from raises his hand to grab their attention once more.
“One one precise hit will cause a chain reaction. The shaft is ray-shielded, so you’ll have to use your proton-torpedos.”
Luke leans over to talk to the pilot at his side, a young boy who looked scared when learning about the mission.
“Man your ships! And may the force be with you.”
Han is approached by a man, who leans close and whispers into his ear. It must’ve been good, since Han smiiles brightly and looks at you. With the pilots flooding out of the room and into the main hangar, it’s difficult to keep up with him. He whistles when stopping by an armored speeder. Dozens of dull, tan, boxes were stacked, Chewie walking over to take the lid off of one, dazzling credits piled nicely.
“Well isn’t this just beautiful!” Han exclaims, smiling as he lowers one of the boxes on the surface.
“This is all credits?” You ask softly, slowly walking towards him. Smiling, he nods and rests his hands on his hips.
“It’s enough to pay off Jabba and then some.”
You almost forgot about Jabba, and how Han had only agreed to make this trip so that he could pay him off. It wasn’t that long ago, but it felt the opposite. Han was ignoring the frantic preparation of the hanger, stacking more and more boxes with a gleaming look in his eye.
“I could even give you some- you wouldn’t have to work for months,” he says. You stay silent, but nod. Looking around the hangar, there are young and old men and women preparing their X-wings. Droids being lowered into the back.
Han stops, standing straight and looking at you.
“What’s wrong? Common, help me load this- the faster we get to the Falcon, the faster we can leave all this,” waving around him at the continuously growing chaos.
“I- uh, yeah, yeah,” you reply softly. Striding forwards, you lift one of the heavy boxes and set it on the speeder. Is this really what you want? To leave and never see the princess- or Luke? What’s gonna happen to him, now that old Ben is gone? A small part of you hopes he’ll ask to come with you both, or at least ask you to stay.
Leia didn’t even look at you in the mission debrief.
“So you got your reward, you’re just leaving then?” A voice rings out, loud enough to be heard over the chaos. Spinning around, Luke stands in front of Han, eyebrows furrowed.
He stood in the same bright orange pilot jumpsuit, helmet in hand. His hair was tamed from the fluffing it got at the Death Star, and the suit made his tan stand out. Threepio comes over, talking to Chewie and asking him what he planned to do now that they completed their mission.
“That’s right, yeah. I’ve got some debts to pay off- even if i didn’t, you really think I’d be a fool and stay here? Why don’t you come with us?” Han gestures behind him, Luke finally looking over to you. Scoffing, Luke shakes his head, anger seeping into his voice.
“Come on! Look around you, you know what’s about to happen, what they’re up against. They could use a good pilot like you, you’re turning your back on them.”
You’ve never heard Luke get upset, but you decide against saying anything, letting him have his argument with Han.
“What good’s a reward if you can’t use it? Besides, attacking my battle station ain’t my idea of courage, its more like suicide.”
Luke only nods, kissing his teeth, “All right, well. Take care of yourself, Han. It’s what you’re best at, right?”
Han doesn’t reply, and just watches Luke storm off. Huffing, you slap his arm and rush after the blonde, grabbing his wrist to stop him. He whips around, jerking his arm from your grip and glaring at you. A small part of you regrets running after him.
“Luke-”
“No- I get it. You don’t think any of this is worth it, right? That we’re just gonna get ourselves killed?” You shake your head rapidly, curling your hands into fists. He stares at you with a heated gaze, breathing heavily.
“I don’t think you’re gonna get yourself killed, I just-” you’re speaking too fast for your thoughts, and stop. Luke stares at you in silence, before looking to the ground and scoffing.
“You know, you’re a lot like Han. You guys only care about yourselves,” he turns, walking off to find his ship. You’re stunned, staring at his back as he strides off. You feel a hand rest on your shoulder, and you turn your head to look at Chewie, who gently pulls you back to the speeder. The boxes were all loaded, and the driver was starting it up. Looking back over, you try to spot Luke, or the gold droid that trailed after him, but you lost him in the crowd of growing pilots.
“Common, (y/n)! Let’s go,” Han calls, breaking your thoughts. Nodding, you rush over to the speeder and jump in between him and Chewie, who ruffles your hair as you sit.
The drive to the Falcon was made in mostly silence, and so was the loading of the credits. The sun was high in the sky, and the once cool mist was heating into a humid stickiness that made your clothes cling to your skin.
Jumping off the speeder, Chewie rushes over to open the entry ramp, walking on board. Han begins to take off the cases of credits, and with your help you both manage to empty the speeder, it speeds off back to the hanger. Han scoffs, shaking his head.
“He’s in a rush.” You smile, glancing at him while beginning to load the Falcon. Chewie had opened one of the storage compartments that you hid in when you were on the Death Star. He stood in the compartment, grabbing the case in your hands and setting it in the corner, stacking the cases to fit snuggly.
When you walk off of the Falcon, Han is looking towards the sky, hand blocking out the sun. Squinting, you look up and smile softly. The X-wings were taking off, thrusting up into the blue sky towards the Death Star that was only a dot in the sky. You know Luke is a part of the group, and your gut twists at the thought of him going into battle.
“Straight suicide,” Han grubmles, shaking his head and walking onto the Falcon with one of the remaining boxes.
“Do you really think they’ll lose?” You call after, spinning around to watch his back.
“They’re going up against a moon-sized battle station, I highly doubt they’ll come out a-okay.”
Humming, you pick up the final box and walk up the ramp, smiling at Chewie and glancing at Han, who was crouched in front of a sea of singed wires from the escape. The storage closet Threepio had fallen in was already in some order, Chewie having worked on it while on the way to Yavin.
“We’re lucky to be alive,” he calls, moving halfway into the mess and begins his work on trying to fix what he could see. He slipped his gloves on, snapping them into place and flexing his fingers.
Chewie lifts himself from the compartment, shutting it tightly and growling before making his way into the cockpit. Han yelps, a loud bang echoing. You choke on a laugh, walking closer to crouch next to him, looking into the mess.
“Did you electrocute yourself, again?” He glares back at you, pushing your knee and waving you off.
“Oh shut up, go help Chewie or something, I’ve got this.”
“Uh-huh, sure,” you tease while standing. Han curses after you, but his voice is muffled behind the metal wall. Chewie sits in his chair, flipping switches and reading the diagnostics on the wall, trying to get the Falcon up and running.
Falling down into Hans’ seat, you pull your knees into the seat, biting your cheek as you look out the front and into the sky, wondering if the fleet had been blown to pieces already. The longer you think about it, the stronger your gut weighs with guilt. Roaring, Chewie looks at you and tilts his head. You really need Han to teach you Wookiee.
“Are we doing the right thing?” You ask softly, furrowing your eyebrows. Responding in a series of barks and growls, you smile and let your head fall back against the seat.
“Han would say we were, but we both know he likes to be in the action.”
The lights on the control panel come back to lift, the low humming of the engine and power-up system waking up. Faintly, you can hear Han yelling, banging tools against the walls and then going silent, the cycle repeating. You can hear him talking to himself when he walks around the main corridor, smiling when you can make out some of the sentences.
“Do you think we’re doing the right thing?” You call out loudly, tilting your head so it reaches Han, biting your lip and sighing. The entry ramp closes, and he appears, grease smeared onto his cheek. He leans across from you, eyes staring intensely at the readouts and huffing. He reaches forwards, slowly toying with the controls before finally standing straight, hands on his hips.
“I don’t like thinking, leads to trouble,” he hums. Standing, you let Han sit down and guide the Falcon into the air, the temple coming back into view. It was snuggly hidden away in the forest, and knowing Leia was there, guiding the rebels through a battle against the empire, made your gut twist.
You move to stand between the two pilots, gripping the backs of their seats as the darkness of space gets closer.
“For once, Han, think about what you’re doing,” you stare down the side of his head. He frowns, keeping his gaze on the radar. You can see his mind working, how he tries to multitask and painfully fails to even think of an answer while piloting. He always does this; ignores everything around him, and focuses on one thing to make time pass faster. In this case, it was safely getting his Millenium Falcon into the air and under the Empire’s incoming radar.
“I need to settle this debt with Jabba and-”
“Not about Jabba, you bantha- the bigger picture!”
He sighs, finally looking away from the controls and up at you. Seeing his decision waver, you smirk and bend closer to him, head tilting.
“I know you like being in the action,” you say softly, staring him down. It was like you were coaxing out a wild animal, bribing it with something they love before they realize what you’re trying to do.
“Jabba can wait. Can’t he?”
Chewie barks, pointing to the battle not so far away. The Death Star was blasting at the small fighters, the amount of ships had dwindled. Staring at the fight, you can feel the giddiness come back. The kind you haven’t felt in a long time, you smile while grabbing Han’s shoulder, shaking it violently. He stared out at the fight too, and that waver in his eyes disappeared with a blink.
“Just one more fight,” you bring your gaze back down to him, trying to conceal your smile. Chewie is chattering at Han too, spinning his chair to flip more switches, his grip already on the deflector shield.
Han, finally, groans and sits up straighter, grabbing the controls and increasing the ship’s speed, turning to head straight towards the Death Star. The guilt that was eating away at your stomach subsided, but majority of it was replaced with dread that maybe you were too late, maybe the empire was winning the battle, maybe the entire fleet was already dead and you were the ones to find the aftermath-
“Chewie- handle the deflector shield, (Y/n),” Han grins up at you, the Death Star coming into view.
“Get to the gunport and keep your eyes open for any rogue Tie’s- I think it’s time to save the day-”
“Oh you wonderful man!” You yell sarcastically, running to the ladder and climbing to the upper port. It was a small space, save for the chair and controls. A headset hung from the wall, and with a smile you strap it on, adjusting the size and sitting in the chair. It was old and worn from years of use, but it was still comfortable enough to sit in when not fighting.
The turret on the top of the Falcon comes back to life when you activate it, whistling into the com as you get a feel for the gun again.
“Any sign of the fleet?” You ask, the modulated voice of Han is loud and slightly annoying.
“Not yet- must be in the trench-” His voice cuts out, and you feel the Falcon shift a gear, speeding down the trench of the Death Star. The hundreds of docking bays flew by, some open and some not, there were even signs of blasted turrets as you whizzed past.
“This sucks-” you whine, almost deciding to slouch in your seat, “I can’t see anything.”
“Don’t fool yourself, kid,” Hans voice cuts in. You almost laugh at the way his sarcastic tone sounded when modulated.
“All right, here we go.”
Spinning the Gun Port around, you watch as three imperial Tie fighters advance towards a lone X-wing. By the looks of it, they were coming up on the drop zone.
Han makes the shot, shooting down one of the Tie fighters. It seemed to throw off the other two, since they deflected off course completely. One, colliding with the wall of the trench, and the other flying out into open space.
“Yahoo!” Han cries through the com, pulling the Falcon back up from the line of any potential fire.
“You’re all clear kid, now let’s blow this thing and go home.”
Chewie must have managed to connect the coms to the rebellions, since you could hear the faint laugh from Luke, a smile crossing your face when hearing it.
Jumping from the Gun Port, you toss the com to the side and climb back down the ladder to rush into the cockpit, watching the three remaining ships from the fleet following you back to Yavin from the radar.
There was a loud explosion then, and you cheered as you saw the small bits of debris pass. Han was still talking to Luke, smiling brightly as Chewie continuously slapped his arm. It doesn’t take long before Han quickly lands the Falcon, opening the entry ramp and all but jumping onto the transport speeder. You, running along his side, can’t help but feel the heat in your cheeks when you smile.
The hanger was almost fully empty when you arrived back, save the two X-wings and the lone A-wing. You look to see Leia running towards one of the X-wings, and don’t wait to jump off the still going speeder, Han and Chewie yelling out for you. The crowd around Luke continued to grow, and you came to a stop when seeing him hugging the Princess tightly, lifting her off the ground and spinning. Han passes by you, and when the two break apart, Luke brightly smiles and hugs him, slapping his back and laughing.
Leia see’s you first, and her smile brightens as she rushes to you, throwing her arms around your neck and pressing her cheek to yours. Feeling your eyes burn, you hug her back tightly, laughing through the loud cheering. When she pulls back, there’s tears in her eyes, and her cheeks are bright pink.
“I knew you’d come back,” she laughs, pulling away to grab your hand, dragging you over to the boys. Chewie lifts her into a tight hug, and you finally look at Luke, who was smiling at you with his arm still thrown around Han.
“So you do care about others,” he jokes, smiling with pink cheeks as he advances, leaving Hans side to wrap his arms around your waist, hugging you close.
You could only smile with a laugh as you pulled him closer, hand reaching up to touch his sweaty blonde hair. When he pulls away, he gives you the brightest smile you’ve seen on him, and his eyes are shining brightly.
“Couldn’t let you take the reward- now could we?” You jest, pulling away and wrapping your arm around his waist. Han throws his arm around your shoulders, and Leia makes her way under Lukes, it was the Wookiee that pulled you all into a group hug- swaying you all slightly.
When Luke is the first to pull away, you all break apart and watch as a burnt and borderline broken R2 is lifted off of the X-wing, his once shiny chrome outer body charred in blaster residue.
“Oh no!” Luke cries, his joy gone from his voice. Threepio walks forwards, his golden arms reaching for his friend, “Oh, my! Artoo, my dear friend, say something!”
One of the engineers pulls the droid down, his circuits still smoking.
“You can repair him, can you?”
Smiling with a small nod, the engineer promises the golden droid that they’ll start on repairs immediately. He then turns to Luke, who is already laying a hand on his shoulder, looking down at his R2 unit.
“Oh- Sir, if any of my parts or gears are of use, I’ll gladly donate them!”
“He’ll be fine-” Luke reassures, trying his best to calm him down.
Leia managed to drag Luke back into the small group you were also trapped in, walking from the hanger and into the base. Luke is the first to break off, being whisked away to change from his flight suit and into decent clothing for the medal ceremony Leia started to chatter about.
You can’t keep up with her, her words flying too fast so you grab her wrists gently, stopping her sentence.
“You want me to wear what?” You ask, eyebrows furrowed. Chewie and Han were already taken away to get changed, and with his persuasion, agrees to kind of get cleaned up to look presentable in front of an audience.
After pushing you into your own small room with some other young women, they start chatting about your clothes, if you want any makeup- do you like jewelry? And what about a long- elegant- ball gown-
You drown out their bickering. Choosing to accept your fate and be dragged into whatever room they decided next and made you put on a dress they said would look absolutely wonderful on you.
The gown was blue, reminding you of Leia. The sleeves began right off your shoulders and stopped a little past your elbow, the thin fabric easily floating around when you moved, and after trying very hard to get you to take off your boots, decided to leave the shoes for another celebration. It felt weird, wearing a dress after so long, but you also have never partaken in destroying a Death Star.
A thin silky blue sash was tied around your waist, draping down and barely brushing the floor. The bodice was modest, showing your collar bones yet not so low you were in danger of flashing those around you.
You managed to talk them into letting you slide on a white holster, your blaster clipping in snuggly on your hip.
Quite frankly, you felt ridiculous. Swatting away hands that tried to mess with your hair, or place any kind of jewelry around your neck.
“Stop it- this is enough-” you gesture to the dress, groaning as you begin walking out of the room and down the hall. The other woman explained where to go in order to meet with the others- Luke, Han, and Chewie. Who were more than likely waiting for you.
Thanking the maker you weren’t wearing any heels, you managed to not alert the three of your presence, their backs turned to you. Vines covered the hallway walls, and the lights made it seem like you were on a completely different planet.
Chewie ultimately notices you first, turning his head and barking, coming over to meet you, teasingly picking at the skirt of the dress. Han whistles, fanning his face as he fakes fainting.
“Don’t- Han-” you warn, watching him as he smiles, raising his hands in surrender and covering his mouth with his palm.
Luke just stared, almost in awe, or shock, you couldn’t tell. He didn’t say anything, and you could feel your hands begin to sweat when you moved to stand in between the two.
“Can we just get this over with? I miss my pants,” you grumble, Han nudging you with his shoulder. Two officials by the blast door nodded to each other, and the sound of trumpets began.
Clearing his throat, Luke offers you his arm, smiling softly.
“You look- uh- good,” he stutters, cheeks slowly turning red.
Huffing, you hum and link your arms together, “You don’t look so bad yourself.”
It was true, Luke had changed into clean black clothes and a yellow jacket. It brought out his tan, and his eyes were that beautiful blue.
Han groans, “please don’t flirt in front of me, I’d like to keep my meal.”
Sliding your arm around his, you glare and begin walking towards the slowly opening blast doors. He doesn’t seem to mind, curling it so your hand rests in the crook of his elbow.
“You want to be flirted with too, you love sick bantha,” you coo at him. He doesn’t have time to reply, the three of you turning into the large room.
The ceremony was held in the huge main temple room, the sunlight gleamed through the large room. There were hundreds of troops lined up, and flags flew around the perimeter. A band was playing, and at the end of the aisle was Princess Leia.
She was beautiful, you had to give her that, she dazzled and gleamed in her white dress, hair pulled from the two buns, now braided and sitting on the top of her head.
You walk solemnly to reach her, dropping the boys’ arms to pull your skirt into a curtsy, the others kneeling, before standing straight. Now closer to the princess, you can see her silver necklace, and the proud look in her eyes. She stood tall in front of rebellion, in front of you.
She seemed to be the visual of hope, with her white dress and soft eyes.
R2, now fully polished and repaired, beeped his way next to Threepio. The protocol droid continued to look around the large room, processing everything he could.
Leia, looking over the three of you, stops to grin at you and Han softly, regarding a slightly confused Chewie with a nod. When she looks at Luke, her grin grows into a bright smile, reaching her eyes.
Dignitaries walked forwards with the medals in hand, and when she turned to grab the first one, can’t help but look at Han. From the corner of your eye, you can see his chest puff and shoulders roll back, just imagining his bright smile at her almost makes you giggle.
Once she places the medal onto his neck, she moves onto you, her hand tapping your chin lightly when pulling away after gently setting down the medal. It was cold and heavy, but you ignored it.
Luke is bouncing in place, excited when he sees Leia move closer, draping the medal around his neck. Threepio is almost dancing in place, looking down at you three with R2 at his side. Who, bouncing back and forth on his wheels, whistles loudly towards Luke, who chuckles lightly.
Han and Luke bow once more while you curtsy, and she gestures for you all to turn around and face the audience. They begin cheering loudly, clapping for the three of you and Chewie joins in, roaring out happily and you can’t help but smile. When you glance over at Han, you find him already glancing between you and Luke, sending him a smile. He nudges your elbow with his, nodding his head and looking back to the crowd.
Even though no words were spoken, you knew what he wanted to say, to both you and Luke.
Chapter 2: CYMOON ONE
Summary:
Not even a full rotation from destroying the Death Star, and you’re already being sent to one of the most dangerous and heavily guarded Imperial-controlled planets in the galaxy. By none other than General Draven, getting the thumbs up from Chancellor Mothma and Admiral Ackbar.
Chapter Text
In your book of people who you like and don’t like, General Draven was one who didn’t belong on either. He could be one of the many great generals, but he could also be the most idiotic man you’ve ever met. Being close with Han almost made that seem impossible.
Not even a full rotation from destroying the Death Star, and you’re already being sent to one of the most dangerous and heavily guarded Imperial-controlled planets in the galaxy. By none other than General Draven, getting the thumbs up from Chancellor Mothma and Admiral Ackbar.
And, seeing Han in anything other than the Millenium Falcon was like watching a taun taun trying to swim for the first time in extremely unsafe waters.
“Are you sure this is gonna work?” You say softly, bending down to Hans' eye level. He gives you a sly grin in return, slowing the ship's descent onto Cymoon 1.
“Deviate from your approved flight path, and you will be terminated. Welcome to the Corellian Industrial Cluster.”
“This is a bad idea,” you comment after the monotone voice cuts off. Scoffing, Han continues with a slow descent from space, the industrial factory-like city coming into view slowly.
“Please-” he says, his voice cocky, “I’m piloting- and acting, what could go wrong?”
You respond with a cocky laugh, pushing away from the seat and leaning back on your heels. The under armor that hides your outfit was uncomfortable, and the holster that wraps around your waist was heavier than usual. A blaster was hidden discreetly along your back, its hilt digging uncomfortably into your skin.
“A lot, actually,” you mumble under your breath, turning to walk back into the main hold, ignoring Han's outburst of offended laughter.
Leia and Luke were both putting on the remains of whatever armor littered the floor. Leia talking sarcastically under her breath, and when she pulls on the helmet, turns towards you. Her eyes showed through the small slit in the middle of the helmet, and you had to hold back laughter at seeing her petite form in such clunky armor.
“Well, don’t you look comfortable,” you tease, sliding past her to grab the last bits of armor left out for you on the small table. The armor was a clash of dull iron plating and dark cloth that looked a little too dirty to wear. There was a thick piece of fabric that wrapped around your neck like a scarf and wearing it made the back of your neck sweat. The entire get-up made sense for the envoy on Tatooine, especially for working under Jabba The Hutt.
Little R2 was trilling and beeping as he made his way around the cramped space, Luke chuckling under his breath and replying. The little protocol droid didn’t go anywhere without Luke and didn’t let the other go too far without worrying. When he turns towards you, he grabs the helmet gently from your hands, smiling softly.
“Do you think this is a good idea?” You ask, reaching forwards to move the scarf back into place, covering the dull yellow jacket that hides underneath. Shrugging, he reaches to tap the bottom of your chin, tilting your head up slightly.
“I think you worry too much.”
“I'm being serious, Luke.”
“So am I, you worry too much.”
He slides the helmet onto your head, tapping the top twice with his knuckle. Waving his hand away, you sit still as he continues to cover the exposed parts of your normal outfit, his eyebrows furrowed.
“This is worse than the trooper gear,” he comments, smirking as he steps away to slide his own on.
It was weird to not have Chewie or Threepio here, but knowing they couldn’t be too far away with the Falcon made your nerves lighten up in the smallest bit.
The roar of Tie Fighters zipped by, and you could hear the loud blaring of the machines as Han finally lands the ship on the main dock, the entire hull jolting roughly before coming to a standstill, his figure appearing from the cockpit, a sly smile on his face.
“Who would’ve thought I’d have bodyguards?” He teases, bumping your shoulder playfully before standing in front of the door, messing with his commlink before glancing over his shoulder at the rest of you.
“Don’t get used to it, droid-brain,” you grumble, quickly reaching forwards to pull Leia’s chest piece into place, smiling at her from behind the helmet and positioning yourself behind Han. Leaning over, you grab the three spears that lean against the wall, unstrapping them before handing one to Luke and Leia, who nod to you in thanks.
When the main doors opened, you had to squint your eyes at the harsh orange light from the sun, the dust in the wind made your vision blur, but you had to combat the urge to scrub at your eyes by gripping the thick metal spear tighter. R2 rolled past your legs, casually gliding next to Han as he fixed the sleeves of his tunic, smirking at the tall, older, man in front of a group of Stormtroopers.
“Greetings in the name of the Emporer. He thanks you for joining us here today and hopes our negotiations prove swift and fruitful. I am Overseer Aggadeen. Whom do I have the honor of addressing?” He said boldly, his hands clasped in front of him. The Stormtroopers that stood behind him held their blasters at the ready. Aggadeen had to speak louder by the end, a Tie Fighter flying lowly past, the engine roaring in your ears, it almost felt like it was echoing through the metal, bucket-like, helmet.
“The official Emissary of his high exaltedness, the illustrious Jabba The Great, mightiest of all Hutts, Master of Tatooine, and Grand Warlord of the Outer Rim. But, you can call me Han.”
It was hard to choke back laughter at Hans's voice, the way he exuded fake confidence in the way he lied through his teeth. Biting your lip harshly, you vaguely looked down when he reached forwards to shake Aggadeens' hand, slightly bowing before him.
You think he's actually going to try and be professional for this since his role was easily the most important, but with a sly smile and small head tilt from Han, you toss the idea right out the window.
“Han Solo, a pleasure to meet ya, Aggie. I’m sure you’ve heard of me. Been a pilot for Jabba for a lotta years-”
“Yes, I’m certain you have. But we don’t hear much about smugglers or gangsters in this sector. Except when they're being executed . Now, if you’ll follow me.” Aggadeen said, his frown deep. Han almost starts to stutter, but the protocol droid that was behind Aggadeen made his presence aware with a hum and a high-pitched, modulated crackle.
“ Identity confirmed. Han Solo. Small-time smuggler and galactic pirate”
“Small-time?” Han's voice cut in, his eyebrows furrowing as he glared at the droid.
“ Known associate of Jabba the Hutt. Currently with a bounty on his head of 50,000 credits. ”
The hair on your neck stood, and your grip on the spear tightened. Aggadeen stopped his stride towards the large main doors to look at Han. the troopers beside your friend turned their gaze, and Han just smirks, shrugging his shoulders and tilting his head lightly.
“Ah, I can explain that- it's a funny story really-”
“Some other time, perhaps,” his voice was rough now, his hand moving to clasp behind his back, his gaze moved to you and the others, before looking at the weapons in your hands. His eyes, pale blue and surrounded with light wrinkles, narrowed before shifting back to Han.
“Your “Bodyguards” must leave their weapons here. You will all be scanned for blasters. If you have hidden ones, best to turn them over freely. We wouldn’t want to start the negotiations on a sour note. Now would we?” There was a mock in his tone, and you scoffed lightly, almost annoyed to listen.
“No, we wouldn't want that. You heard the man, bodyguards. No guns.”
With much hesitance, you hand over your spear to the closest Trooper, a crackle comes to life in your ear, and you can hear Leia's calm, quiet, voice breakthrough.
“We're going in. Everyone, hold your positions.”
You can briefly feel Luke's arm brush yours as he walks past, and you sigh in relief when Threepio's voice chirps back through the com.
“ Oh thank the maker. I was half expecting they would kill you all on sight. ”
“How chipper,” you grumble lightly, hearing Leia’s voice break through again harshly, but it didn't stop Threepio with his ranting.
“ The subterfuge must actually be working. They believe you truly are the envoy from Jabba. When of course the real envoy was intercepted days ago by the rebel fleet. ”
“Threepio- shut up- ”
“ Yes, of course. I’m just thrilled to see us finally operating like a sufficiently lubricated machine. It would seem the tide of war has finally turned in our favor. In short, I dare say, I have a very good feeling about this. ”
Your shoulders shook lightly with the small giggle that left your lips, Threepio’s voice finally cutting out and the line going silent. Leia caught up to your side, and you briefly glanced at her while walking into the large building.
The entire place seemed to be hollowed out, tons of conveyor belts climbing and crisscrossing for what seemed like miles above you. Each conveyor had the cockpit for Tie Fighters, large thin robots with an array of tools bolted to the floor as they got to work crafting the Imperial Fighters. The whirring and crackling of electricity and power tools echoed throughout the building, blue sparks lighting up like blaster bolts in the darkness. It would've taken your breath away if it wasn't something the Empire had conjured up.
It seemed the door you came in was one of the only ones, you can barely note any other exits or entryways when glancing around lightly.
“I hope you boys are prepared for some vigorous negotiating,” Han said, his voice breaking through over the noise.
“If you think Ol’ Jabba is tough to bargain with, well. Who do you think taught him all that?”
Aggadeen didn’t flinch when he heard it, but he did turn his head with tense shoulders.
“It appears you have some misconceptions about what will happen here today, Mr. Solo. There will be no bargaining.” He finally stopped firmly, turning to stare down Han with a stern voice.
“The negotiator will deliver the Empire’s terms and you will accept them. Your organization will provide whatever raw materials we require and will take the pay you are given, without complaint. This is the largest weapons factory in the galaxy, one that runs nonstop, day and night. All fully automated. We have an entire Empire to keep armed and ready. We haven’t the time or inclination to bargain with every two-bit Hutt or Moff who gets in our way.”
“And yet, here we are,” Han said, motioning behind him to the three of you and little R2.
“An envoy from all the way out on the scuzziest edges of space. You boys must be pretty desperate if you’re reaching out to somebody like Jabba to be a supplier. I suppose having a ship the size of the Death Star blow up in your faces, tends to run your resources a bit dry, am I right, Aggie?”
Aggadeen seems to ignore this and continues walking to a shielded room at the end of the small runway through the factory. The Stormtroopers from behind you seemed to be closer than they were previously, and the tense feeling in your shoulders almost made your neck hurt, but instead, you focused your attention on Han and Aggadeen, who turned and motioned to the concealed meeting room.
“The negotiator will arrive shortly, you will await him within.”
Han didn’t move, nor did the Troopers or Aggadeen, who dropped his arm when nobody moved forwards.
“I bet it's nice and quiet in there,” Han said, crackling his finger absentmindedly.
“It is shielded, yes,” Aggadeen responded, his expression dropping down in annoyance.
“You know- I kinda prefer it out here where it's all loud and noisy.”
Aggadeen looks confused now, but the split second it crosses his face, he wiped it away with a harsh sigh.
“Don't be idiotic. Why in the world would we hold negotiations on the factory floor?”
“Don't you remember? You said it yourself, we aren't here to negotiate. Artoo.”
Your nerves were jumping now, and you can almost feel a buzz in your legs when waiting for R2’s move. Instead, the droid turns, opens a small compartment near the bottom of his unit, and begins to ooze out a green liquid that coated the Troopers’ shoes.
“Your droid appears to be leaking fluids.”
“Um,” Han hesitates, looking at the droid with furrowed eyebrows.
“Artoo?”
Then, the small compartment closes and a new one opens, a small strobe appearing and lighting the fluid with a spark of electricity, the troopers yelping and falling in pain as they get electrocuted. Both Luke and Leia kick the Troopers that were next to them, and you bend forwards to elbow the trooper behind you in the stomach, he yelps, and you use the opportunity to turn and grab the underside of his helmet, forcefully bringing it to your knee and sending the Trooper unconscious to the ground.
Han, already punching the trooper next to him, grabs the small blaster from the inside of his vest, cocking it and pointing it at Aggadeen, who was pale and fearful as he tried to back away.
It felt nice to finally rip off the helmet, brushing away the hair that fell into your face and rolling your shoulders. Even though the planet was hot and humid, it felt cool and refreshing against your cheeks.
“Which way to the main power core?” Han said. Aggadeen scoffs and tries to maintain his composure.
“Rebels,” he spits, “you’ve just doomed yourselves. This moon is the most heavily guarded base in the galaxy, you cannot possibly escape alive.”
Sighing, you crack your neck, grabbing the blaster from your back and ripping off the chest piece, “Let us worry about that, yeah? Which way.”
When Aggadeen looks toward you, he frowns and sends you his best glare, “I am a sworn officer of the Empire. I will never tell you.”
Patting the top of R2, the droid opens the compartment once more, the strobe flickering to life, zapping and crackling. With a sigh, Aggadeen frowns and points to his left, looking back at Han.
“That way.”
Leia, already moving past you, punches Aggadeen to the ground, quickly pulling off the uncomfortable armor and rushing into the lit hallway. Luke was already waiting for you and Leia, his yellow jacket already back on his shoulders with a blaster in hand. His saber, clipped to his belt, lightly tapped his leg as you all ran towards the power core. You throw off the final leg brace, laughing as you run in between Leia and Han.
Bits of Leia’s hair were falling from its tight braid, framing her pink cheeks. Her normally pristine white outfit had bits of discoloring, oil, and dirt covering the bottoms.
“Nice work, Artoo,” you chide, looking at the droid with a smile. Luke turns to smile, and he reaches down to lightly pat its head.
“We’re in, move to phase two,” Leia commands through the com, finally bringing her hand up to shift it into a better position.
“Threepio!” Han grumbled through the commlink, “You worthless rust bucket, you better not have damaged my ship.”
You slap his arm, glaring at him. You’ve repeatedly told him to not insult the droid since Threepio has done more good than he has, but he always brushes you off, saying it's only a droid.
“ For once, sir. The Millennium Flacon actually appears to be in good working order. As we hoped, Chewbacca was able to pilot us undetected through the moon's orbital debris field. At present, the Falcon and I are safely hidden amongst the rather extensive refuse fields that surround the factory. ”
As he kept chattering through the link, you all managed to map your way through the continuous hallway, slowing to a stop when the subtle noise of Troopers could be heard. The halls were brightly illuminated and clear of any objects, leaving no room for any cover.
“ If I may say so, Captain Solo, I do find it rather disconcerting that your vessel continues to be so easily mistaken for garbage. ”
Han looks offended by your side, and you slap a hand over your mouth to not give away your position. Han could be so sensitive sometimes.
“You’ll be garbage if you mess this up goldenrod! ” He hisses, glancing around you to look into the main room. There was a pause from the other end, using the time to peer into the room and gauge how many troopers there were.
“ There are automated sentries patrolling this area. I am not certain how much longer I can remain undetected. I suggest you act quickly. ”
You wave at Han, who was ready to fire back another insult and lightly press the side of your own commlink.
“Just be ready to hit the auto-pilot as soon as we give you the signal,” you say softly, looking away from Han and into the room where the troopers patrolled.
“ Yes Ma’am, of course. May the force be with you, Ma’am. May the force be with us all. ”
When the troopers all file out of the room, Han and Leia enter first, R2 slowly following behind. Giving one last look down the hallway, you can lightly feel Luke's hand touch your back, and when you turn, he gives a small smile while leading you into the room. His cheeks were pink, and the short bits of blonde hair that fell into his face was a bit wet with sweat, but he still looked handsome.
“This is it. The Central Power Station.” Han said, looking up at the large, battery-like, object.
It reached all the way to the ceiling, the center buzzing and casting a light blue haze over the entire room, when you walk closer to it, it gives off a warm wave, and you can almost feel the energy buzzing around it.
“Plugin Artoo, and shut down all safety restraints,” Leia said, moving past Han to sit at one of the control panels, brushing her hair from her face and getting busy with recoding the hard drive.
“Luke, we’ll rig this thing to blow. You keep an eye out for troopers, (y/n)- try not to touch anything,” Han grumbles, not sparing you a glance. Scoffing, you walk up to one of the monitors and code in to get to the mainframe system, looking out for the right codes to rework. Smiling, you lean down to set your blaster against the side of the console, moving your attention back to the screen of codes.
“Shut up bantha breath,” you spit, sending him a glare and shaking your head. Leia, who was snickering, doesn't give you a glance and continues her work.
You can briefly see Luke walk down a set of stairs, but you don't pay him much thought, he had the Force, right? He’d be fine.
“Hey- why do you think the Empire has such difficult mainframes?” Han retorts, throwing his hand over his shoulder as he worked his way past the main security system and into the mainframe.
“So people like us don't hack in and- are you joking right now?” You turn your head at him, glaring. He chuckles, shrugging his shoulders while sparing you a glance.
“It's not a crime to lighten the mood.”
“Why ask stupid questions then? Why do you think the Empire has such difficult mainframes ?” You mock him boldly, scrunching your eyebrows and raising your pitch, lips pouting and chest puffed.
He stopped and stared at you, mouth dropping open before pointing at you accusingly.
“I do not sound like that!”
“ I do not sound like that! ”
Leia throws her hands up, smiling with a laugh as she pushes away from her spot and looks between you both.
“Are you done? Because the countdown’s started, we have ten minutes before it overloads.”
Looking at her, you give a tight-lipped smile and nod, “Time to get moving then.”
Pushing away from your spot, you grab your blaster and cock it, hearing the quiet, high-pitched hum as the blaster warms up.
“Luke! Let's go!” Han calls, glancing toward the stairs as he made his way to the main entrance.
You can hear Han and Leia talk quietly between themselves, her eyes hard as she stares up at him. You can faintly see Han blush, and you snicker under your breath while walking towards the same stairway Luke disappeared into not too long ago.
From your place at the top, you can see Luke making his way towards you- with a group of different species of the alien following.
He shines with a small smile, eyes determined as he softly grabs your wrist when passing, stopping just before Han and Leia, who were still talking quietly while peering out into the deserted hallway.
“We ready to go?”
Both Han and Leia freeze when seeing the group, and Leia’s eyes flicker between you and Luke when she sees that he hasn't let go of your wrist yet.
“This wasn’t my idea,” you defend, throwing up your free hand while shrugging your shoulders.
“I found a few more passengers,” Luke continues, gesturing behind him.
“A few ?”
Leia overlooks the group again, before the corners of her lips downturn and she lightly grabs Hans bicep, her voice soft, “Slaves. Luke-”
“They’re coming with us, Leia,” voice rough, Luke lets go of you and walks to peer into the hallway, eyebrows furrowed.
Han is quiet, but when he looks at you with a gaze you haven't seen in years , you can feel your stomach twist. Yet that look is gone before you can blink, and his voice cuts through the silence.
“The more the merrier, kid. It's time to go.”
Biting the inside of your cheek, you hold back your smile- wondering how Chewie is going to react to the extra passengers.
“Threepio!” you call, pressing your finger into the side of the commlink, “Hit the autopilot, get the Falcon in the air.”
Han isn't far behind with his own set of commands, either.
“Chewie, you stand by to clear that roof as soon as we give the signal,” He continues his rant as you all turn down a previous hallway, keeping an eye out for any troopers you may come across, “Then, the Falcon swoops in to pick us up, we hit the hyperdrive and we’re outta here just bef-”
Chewie cuts him off, frantically roaring into the commlink. You wince at his volume, all coming to a stop just before another hallway, the group of aliens looking between you all confusingly.
“A ship coming in? What ship?” Han asks, turning to face both you and Luke, who was silent the entire walk, only giving you short glances.
There's a short pause, before Chewie's voice crackles through and Han’s face completely drops, almost looking pale.
“Vader?”
Leia spins sharply to look, not believing what she was hearing for a moment.
“Did you say Vader?”
“Chewie- stand down! Do not fire! You take a shot at Darth Vader and the whole factory will be on alert!”
“Are you crazy ?!” Leia growls, forgetting the mission for a split second, eyebrows furrowed in anger as she angry speaks to Chewie, her voice solid and commanding, “Chewbacca, If you have a shot at Vader, I order you to take it, forget about us, killing him is more important!”
Han tries to get through, but Leia glares at him, stopping him, “Do you hear me, Chewie? Take the shot! Now!”
There's silence on the other end, and Han scoffs, glaring at the princess. There's no guilt or remorse on her face, and that seems to anger Han more.
“Me? I'm the crazy one?!”
“You can be kinda crazy-” you try to say, but he glares at you, pointing an index finger up to silence you.
“Okay-” you reply, surrendering and crossing your hands. Luke sighs next to you, and when looking at him, already find his gaze on you. There's a look on his face you can't decipher, and when stepping closer, he leans back.
“Are you okay?” You whisper, ignoring Han and Leia, who continue to bicker back and forth.
“He knows I'm here.” Now you understand that distant look on his face, the underlying worry in his blue eyes.
“Chewie! Come in Chewie!”
There's silence throughout the entire factory. Usually, you can hear the faint hiss and hum of the pipes within the walls or the groan of the upper conveyor belts from when you first arrived.
But it was silent.
Until the lights cut out, replaced with red ones, a loud alarm shrieked down the hallway. Luke, who grabs onto you immediately, looks between the small group.
“ Alert! This factory is under attack! All guards to their stations! ”
“We’re in trouble,” you comment, reaching to grab the sleeve of Luke's jacket.
Han turns, already rushing down the hallway.
“We’ll have to blast our way out, we still have the Falcon. Threepio!”
With the red flashing light illuminating the hallway, it was harder to tell where you were going. It made you think of the Death Star, with the maze-like hallways and the troopers that hide around each corner. Han lead the way like he always did, with Leia hot on his heels. You and Luke fell behind them both, with R2 separating.
“Threepio, get us outta here! Hit the autopilot!”
“ I did, Sir. I pressed the button... Five minutes ago. I’m afraid nothing happened, ” he replied, his voice soft and almost fearful. Han groans, anger seething through his voice, “You useless sack of springs! What did you do to my ship?!”
“ Oh, dear. It appeared the Millennium Falcon… is being dismantled by native scavengers. They must call these trash fields home. ”
Scoffing with a smile, you bark through the coms, “Well, go out there and stop them!”
“ Me? Go out, ” Threepio sounded confused, and Han laughs sarcastically, turning down another hallway.
“There's a blaster in the cockpit! Do whatever you have to do!”
“ Oh. Oh, Dear. ”
“Threepio?!” You shout, almost running into Han's back when he comes to a full stop, bringing his blaster up to fire at a group of Stormtroopers. Luke and Leia begin firing as well, and you herd the refugees back into the hallway before firing at the troopers, almost being grazed by another blaster bolt. Your previous had healed, but it was still hard to stretch your shoulder sometimes, the muscle sore.
Han begins moving to a separate door, opening it and beckoning everyone to file into the room, following once everyone had piled in. Breathing heavily, you drop the blaster to your side and rest your hands on your knees, clenching your eyes shut to adjust to the bright light that filled the room.
“Great work, Han, if your plan was to get us trapped! How do we get out of here?” Leia asked, glaring over at Han while facing the door. Glancing at the brunette, you rise back up and stand next to him, following his gaze.
“Heh,” he chuckles, waving lightly, “we Walk, your highness.”
It wasn’t just any room you all had filed into. It was a room full of Walkers. With large platforms leading up to the top of each machine, the entire room was full of them. Each one was unmanned and ready for use.
“Oh yeah,” you say softly, placing your hands on your hips and overlooking the many walking weapons.
“Everybody on board! Move!” Han shouts, each creature rushing to the closest machine and beginning the climb onboard.
“An Imperial walker? Can you even drive one of those things?” Leia asked, staring wide-eyed as she surveyed the entire room. It seemed this is where the Walkers were held while being constructed since most of the Walkers weren't fully completed.
Both you and Han look at her with smirks, when Leia looks back at you both, her shoulders drop and she sighs.
“I can drive anything, let's go!” Han shouts, grabbing your hand and pulling you towards the Walker. Leia turned back to the almost empty room, looking around with furrowed eyebrows and a worried look in her eyes.
“Wait, where’s Luke?”
With the sudden slam of reality, you look around the room to find the yellow-jacket boy to be missing. Somehow, someway, he had been separated.
“Why does he always do this?! ” You yell, groaning and pressing against the commlink, sliding into the top entrance, the entire command section dark.
“Luke! Where are you? Maker help me if you’re dead somewhere- Luke!” You yell, groaning when hearing the crackling response. He wasn't answering.
“He better be kriffing dead- because I swear I’m gonna kill him-” you seethe, pushing Han to the side so you’re able to start up the Walker. It grumbles and roars to life, the console blinking awake as the controls unlock to allow piloting.
“What's got your pants in a twist, huh? Luke’s always running off,” Han teases, smirking as you both get to work preparing the machine. Leia settling in behind you both, and you can barely see the sly smirk she's sending you from over your shoulder.
“Every time he disappears, something bad happens- and don't deny it because it's usually you fueling the behavior.”
Scoffing, Han holds in hands up in surrender before pressing down on the petals on the floor, the front legs of the machine lifting, taking its first step.
“If I didn't know any better, I’d say you like the little farm boy,” Han coo’s in a faux tone, puckering his lips and leaning over to bump shoulders with you.
Your stomach drops through the floor, like? Absolutely not.
“No-” you spit, controlling the back legs, “He’s a better fighter than you ever will be- we need him-”
“Hey! I am a fantastic fighter!”
The entire building shakes once more, and when you both move the machine to crash through the wall, you almost vomit at the sight of Luke across from Darth Vader, saberless and falling against the wall. You quickly push yourself up, looking back to Leia with a smile.
“Luke!”
“Watch out, kid. This thing handles like a drunken bantha!” Han calls through the com, just barely missing Luke's form when stepping into the hallway. You manage to throw open the main hatch that leads to the top of the walker, pulling yourself up and ducking when the broken wall almost knocks you off. Leia calls your name, and you duck down to grab the blaster she throws up to you.
“Don't die!” She calls. You smile, giving her a two-finger salute.
“I would never!”
It was havoc when sliding down the side of the Walker, grabbing onto the gears in the knees before dropping onto the concrete floor. Rubble covered every inch, and the smoke clouded your vision as blaster fire began raining from all different directions. The refugees, previously armless now carry all sorts of makeshift weapons. Pipes, broken parts, even pieces of sharp rubble. They begin attacking the Stormtroopers, yelling out and charging forwards from behind the walker.
“(Y/n)!” Luke calls, blaster in hand as he runs over to you, grabbing your hand and looking around wildly.
“This way! Follow the walker, and keep away from-”
The sound of squelching fletch makes your ears ring, looking next to you, one of the slaves was impaled- right through the chest. The bright blue blade hummed and crackled as the clothes and flesh both burned, the body falling lifelessly to the floor when the saber is ripped back from its torso.
“Vader. Oh no,” Luke finished, his grip on your arm tightening.
You liked to pride yourself on helping the rebellion destroy the Death Star, it gave the smallest hope that perhaps Darth Vader was on it- maybe he died in the explosion and it was one less threat to worry about.
But seeing his looming figure meters away, lifeforms dropping one-by-one as he set his sights right on you and Luke, made the oxygen vanish from your lungs. He was so much taller- so much bigger and so much more threatening when he was so close. Bright red saber in one hand while choking helpless figures in the other.
You couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe. Sure, you had no problems lighting up Stormtroopers and battling the empire. But that and the presence of Darth kriffing Vader? You had a problem with this.
Maybe you should’ve stayed on the Walker with Han and Leia.
“Luke,” you say softly, trying to wiggle your hand from his grasp, but he continued to stare at Vader, eyes dark with a raging hatred you’ve never seen him bear. It was when a blaster bolt whizzes past your head that you rip your hand from his grip, ducking down and retaliating a few shots in the direction it came from.
“-Help me kill him,” you hear him say, still not looking at you. Scoffing, you grab his hand and begin to drag him away. Away from Vader and the increasing number of Stormtroopers that appear from behind.
Luke finally snaps out of his trance, gripping your hand and shooting any threats that follow the both of you. The commlink crackles in your ear, but you ignore it, “it” being Hans cackling laughter as he stomps on stormtroopers and walks through walls.
He lets go of your hand when you dive behind crates that were lined up, dodging the incoming fire as the cries and loud thumping of the walker continue. You’re heaving, resting your head on the metal box, and closing your eyes to try and regain any sense of stability.
“We’ll figure our way out of this,” Luke says, his voice clear over the loud noise. You give a sarcastic laugh, looking at him with raised eyebrows.
“Won't we?” He has his eyes closed, head resting against the box as his grip on the blaster tightens. His eyebrows furrow, and you ignore the want to grab his hand in comfort.
“This is my fault- I’m not my father, and I’m not a Jedi. I’m just-”
“Luke,” you interrupt, but he ignores you.
“I’m just a stupid farm boy from Tatooine. I don't belong here.”
You scoff, his gaze finally flickering over to you, and you give him the best-lopsided smile you could.
“You know how to fly one mean x-wing, though.”
He smirks, looking around before his gaze lands on something further away. When you lean forwards, you groan and shake your head when his bright eyes and smirking lips turn back to you.
“Yeah, a pilot that can bullseye womp rats.”
A little further away, is possibly twenty speeders, newly built, lined up neatly. They were all in one large storage crate, probably going to be shipped out to the Imperial stations across the galaxy.
It made one hell of a good escape plan, though.
“Are you kidding me?” You ask, looking at him with raised eyebrows. He doesn't give a reply, just dashes through the line of fire and behind the crate' large swung open doors. When he turns to look back at you, you’re already peering out to find the right time to do the same.
Stormtroopers were everywhere, pair that with the impending doom Vader brought, and the constant screams of pain and terror from the remaining refugees. You couldn't see Vader anymore, or the Walker, but the large hole in the wall on the other side of the large warehouse gave you an escape. It was hard picking the right time to run. Sometimes you forget Luke has the Force, just concluding he was gutsy and had a ton of luck on his side.
When it did come, you rush across and cover your face when hearing the whistle of blaster bolts, you almost crash straight into Luke, who holds your arms to stop you.
“Do you-”
“Are you seriously about to ask me if I know how to drive one?” You deadpan, smirking and tapping his cheek lightly, leaning in close to whisper, “You have no idea what I can do.”
You ignore his pink cheeks, chuckling and rushing to the closest speeder, swinging your leg over, you survey the control panel. You holster your blaster once more, quickly running your hands over the switches to try and familiarise yourself with the speeder in the little time you had.
It was a newer model, the base body being designed after the 74-Z model, but modified to be faster and more maneuverable. There were two turrets on the underbelly, and from the overlook, the speeder was in full working order.
When kicking the speeder on, it hums and lifts from its resting point, the panel flickering to life.
Luke was seated on the one next to you, already powering his on and turning the turrets on.
“Now what?!” You call over the engines, turning your turrets on and waiting for him to tell you any sort of plan he might be conjuring up.
“We bullseye some womprats!”
Smiling, you nod, moving the speeder back to let Luke pass you, immediately driving into the line of fire.
Your speeder shot out from cover, eyes watering, you tilt your head down and shoot down any troopers that were in your way. Faintly seeing Luke ahead, driving straight towards where Vader was last seen- you had no plan on going near him .
You pilot left, barely missing a large pile of rubble, and manage to shoot down multiple troopers. The escape up ahead, accelerating, you crash through a group of troopers before almost crashing into Luke, who was holding his saber. He holds it triumphantly before the crackle comes back to life in your ear.
“ No word from Chewie or Threepio. Luke- (y/n), please tell me you’re still with us. ”
You kiss your teeth, “Now you’re worried? Where the humor from before?”
“ Now is not the time! We barely managed an escape from the Dark Lord- where are you?!”
“On our way, Han just made a small detour,” Luke cuts in, giving you a smiling glance before speeding past, igniting his saber to cut down a trooper.
“No sign of Vader, let's move out.”
You can barely see the Walker’s silhouette in the distance, they must be making their way to the trash fields.
The whistle of a blaster bolt flying past your head almost makes you fall off your speeder, the sound catching Luke’s attention. He looks back, glaring before slowing enough to get next to you. He kept about two feet between your speeders.
“We’ve got company- I counted five gaining-” More bolts fly past, and you both accelerate.
“That's not too bad- best chance we have is to split and pick em off,” you yell, glancing behind.
“(Y/n!),” Luke calls, voice stern. When you look back, you try to hide the twist in your chest. His eyes are soft, but full of concern and worry, his hair being pushed back from the wind.
“Call out if you need me.”
You smirk, beginning to pull your speeder away, “Shouldn't that be the other way around?”
“I’m being serious! I’ll always listen for you!”
You ignore the heat that creeps up your neck, nodding and giving him a two-finger salute.
“See you!”
You don't wait for his reply, turning your speeder sharply and grabbing your blaster from its holster, looking back to see that three of the five troopers broke away to follow you.
You groan, why couldn't it have been two?
Cocking your blaster, you turn and aim at the closest trooper, shooting at the front turret- cursing when you miss.
You turn sharply again, one of the outer troopers crashing into the side of the factory, the speeder catching into flames upon impact.
“Yes!” you cry, dodging around one of the assault tanks. You shoot down more troopers in your way, turning once more to shoot at the speeder closest- and you hit your mark. The driving trooper falls lifelessly from the bike, it rolling and catching into flames.
One left.
“ We’re taking heavy fire up here, guys- at this rate we’ll never make it, where are you!?!”
You try to reply, but a blaster bolt hits one of your rear rutters, losing most of your forward momentum.
“Kriff!” You yell, trying to stabilize the speeder the best you could but it wobbled, and you could hear the hissing engine ramp higher and higher.
“ Oh- not too far away- ” you hear Luke's voice break through the commlink.
“I’m in a bit of trouble- maybe in a cycle?” you comment through your teeth, when turning to look at the trooper, you can see his speeder gaining, so you brake. You manage to slow enough to get next to him, shooting at his helmet- but it skims the back, and he uses that miss to send an elbow into your jaw. Yelping, you turn your face away and ignore the ringing in your ear and the throbbing pain. You shoot again, hitting his torso and kicking at his leg. He fell from the bike, body rolling before the Speeder wobbles and crashes onto its side, exploding behind you and accelerating once more.
“ Well stop fooling around and give us some covering fire already! ” Han's voice crackles through again.
There's another smaller explosion by the scout walkers, that must be where Luke was. Checking the turbine pressure and coolant. By the looks of it, the bike won't last for much longer. The shot must have hit the coolant pipes because it was slowly overheating in the engine. You needed an escape back to the Falcon, and quickly.
There had to be three more assault tanks and two more scout walkers firing at Han and Leia, which didn’t account for the ground support Vader must have sent in. The factory was supposed to overload any second, and when looking at the giant building, it looked completely fine and in full working order.
“How long until overload?” You ask, hands gripping tighter onto the throttle when swerving around a collapsed scout walker. The commlink crackles for a moment, before coming to life.
“ Should be any second- stay away from the factory, ” Han’s voice sounded strained.
You managed to steer behind the assault tanks, meeting back up with Luke, not too far away from the Walker, which still took heavy fire. He continues to slice through the tanks’ turrets with his saber and nods to you when making eye contact. Most of the assault tanks on the ground were taken care of, now it was time to make a path for the walker to get to the trash fields.
“ Vader’s at our feet- how many times do we have to kill this guy before he stays dead?! ”
Both you and Luke start towards the Walker, but you could hear your engine straining, and the smoke that came from the back was growing each second. The bike wouldn’t last much longer.
“ It’s Vader all right. I see him, hold on- ” Luke's voice is full of concern, he steers around a smoking assault tank, out of your line of sight.
“ No kid, stay back. We’ve taken too much fire. The drive control systems are shot. I’m gonna try to set her down but it- ”
There was a snap, the sound of groaning metal collapsing in on itself, and the Walker's knee’s buckle, its body crashing into the ground. It dives headfirst, its back foot being severed, smoke and dust clouding around the head.
“Han!” You cry, eyes burning as you drive straight into the dust cloud. You couldn’t see Luke- or anything.
Everything seems to have gone wrong- your bike’s only remaining rutter gives out, the bike wobbling and almost rolling as you slow enough to jump off of it. Dropping your blaster, you try and cover your face the best you could. Rocks and sharp metal scratch and rip your clothes, cutting your arms and cheeks.
Shaking your head, you groan and rub the dust from your eyes, grabbing your blaster from beside you and getting your feet under you. Vision blurry and ears ringing, you rush forwards and shoot down a trooper as he runs at you, finding Leia firing at other troopers, an unconscious Han in her grip.
When Leia saw you, her face fell in relief, ploot dripping from her cheeks. Her clothes were ripped, and Han looked worse.
Blood dripped from his nose and forehead, clothes ripped and he seemed to be fully unconscious.
“Hey! Bantha breath!” you cry, looping your arms under his arms and letting him lean almost all of his weight on you. Leia, who turned back to see the refugees on the walker made it out, shoots down any of the troopers who try to come close.
Han groans softly, his head falling back as his eyes squint open. He grabs onto the back of your shirt, finally looking down at you.
“Damn,” he wheezes, blood on his lip, “you lived.”
“Oh haha you’re so funny,” you seethe, fingers gripping into his vest. Your eyes burned, and a lump was beginning to form in your throat.
“Run!” Leia called, pushing you lightly. Nodding, you strain to hold Han’s weight, dragging him past the fallen vehicles and into the mountains of trash. You stop momentarily, watching the refugees run past before turning and seeing Leia, who was talking to Luke.
He still sat on his speeder, looking at the still-standing factory.
They must have stopped the overload.
“Luke! Come on!” You yell, meeting his eyes before his lips thin, eyebrows furrowing. He gives one last glance to Leia, says something, before he throttles the bike and races towards the factory. She calls to him, before yelling and turning to run towards you.
She slips her free arm under Han, helping you pull him into the fields and towards the Falcon.
“We can't leave Luke,” you say, looking at Leia with clouded eyes. She only stares back, lips thin before she shakes her head.
“We’re never leaving him behind- no matter what he says.”
It was no surprise the Falcon wasn't in the air when you saw her. Parts of the siding were gone, and the remains of aliens littered the area around the main ramp as you and Leia dragged Han onboard. Threepio was right- she did blend into the other piles of trash. You briefly saw Chewie, who was waist-deep within the Falcon, trying to fix her enough to jump into lightspeed.
Laying Han down in one of the seats behind his usual one, you sit and begin the startups for lift-off. Leia sat next to you, rubbing her hands over her face before doing the same. The coms were down, and so were the deflector shields. Soon, the control panel blinks to life, the engine humming and growling to life before she slowly ascends into the air.
When the factory finally explodes, you cant help the drop in your gut, the way you looked out to try and spot Luke- of course, he would go and make sure the mission wasn’t for nothing. Of course, he went and gambled with the idea of dying for the rebellion. It was Luke Skywalker . He dabbled in the idea all the time.
“Maker help me if he doesn't get here in time,” you grumble, ignoring the tight lump in your throat, the way your vision blurred when hearing Han groan in pain from behind you.
“You get Luke- Chewie!” Leia yells, turning to peer down the hallway briefly before opening the boarding ramp once more.
You didn’t need any other signal, jumping from Han’s chair and dashing down the main hold, past the other refugees, and to the open ramp.
Luke wasn’t there.
“Kriff!” You yell, carefully going down the ramp and bending to peer into the trash fields. It was windy, the main thrusters blowing dirt and debris around. You could faintly see Luke, who ditched the speeder and threw himself into the falcon, landing on his side. You grab his jacket, pulling him against you and reaching up to slam your hand onto the closing switch, the ramp groaning as it lifts both you and luke.
“Go, Leia! Hit it!” You yell, inching into the main hold with Luke still clutched against you.
“Chewbacca!” You could hear her yell, “I need that hyperdrive working, now!”
You finally manage to sit up, Luke laying on the floor next to you, clutching his side. Chewie growls and barks back to Leia, his voice muffled from being in the floor.
Ignoring the twist at seeing his jacket dirty, splotches of blood seeping into the bright yellow fabric, you glare at him and sit up, pushing back the want to hug him.
“You,” you say softly, turning to look at him, “are the biggest kriffing idiot I’ve ever met.”
He only gives a lopsided smile, reaching a hand up to rub the back of your head, “but we got it done- didn’t we?”
“We’re not out of the swamps yet, you bantha,” you seethe, getting up to run back into the cockpit, sitting down next to Leia and preparing for the jump to lightspeed.
She gives you a brief glance, the Falcon flying through the upper atmosphere.
“What did he say?”
You shrug, eyebrows furrowed, “Probably something not worth quoting.”
“That's what I thought- Is Luke okay?”
“From what I saw, he has an injured side, he’s lucky to not be dead.”
Leia nods, groaning when finally breaching space, seeing the two incoming Star Destroyers. “You know,” you say softly, hand already clutching the lever for hyperspeed, “they really need to give it a rest.”
“Chewie! We’re out of time!”
“I’m making the jump, maker helps me if this doesn't work.”
You pull the lever, clenching your eyes shut when feeling the familiar lurch, Leia celebratory cry made you smile. Open your eyes to see her bright smile, falling back in relief against Chewie’s chair.
The stars extended, and you were finally away from the disaster that was Cymoon One.
“Maybe this ship isn’t so bad after all,” Leia says softly, looking back and patting Han’s knee. He stirs, groaning while he leans back, swatting at her hand.
“Is it wrong I like him better this way?”
You laugh, leaning back in your chair and trying to forget that Luke was hurt, Han was hurt, and you had probably a dozen refugees waiting for you.
“No, I like him better this way too.”
“It's a miracle.”
Groaning, you push away from the top of the Falcon, back crackling as you drop the grease-covered tool and pull off the goggles that covered your eyes.
“It’s a miracle you’re able to walk around right now,” you counter, watching Han pull a part off the Falcon and wave it around, confusion on his face.
“No, It’s a miracle this thing even flew !” he turns to look at Chewie, who was welding a different part of the Falcon.
“Were you blindfolded when you put it back together? I don't even know what this is!”
Chewie barks back, Han wincing and waving off the Wookiee as he lightly touched the bandage on his forehead.
“Not so loud, Chewie, my head is still killing me.”
You scoff, picking up a different tool and taking the part from Han’s hand, putting it back in its place and screwing it down.
“You should be in the Medwing, me and Chewie can handle this- you’re not even fully healed,” you look back up at him with furrowed eyebrows, reaching up to tap his forehead. He swats your hand away, laying his hands on his thighs as he watched you work.
“I gotta be sure you do this right, She has specific parts!”
“Han, you didn’t even know what this part was , you just don't wanna be tended to,” Han scoffs, pushing you lightly before handing you a different part, his hands already attaining grease.
“Ever since the mission you’ve been so touchy- ”
“No,” you cut him off, sending him a glare, “I’m not touchy, I’m worried you’re gonna get another concussion since crashing the walker.”
“For your information,” he spits, crossing his arms, “I didn’t crash the walker. It was Vader. Him and his, whatever you call it- his laser sword.”
“You mean Light Saber?”
When coming back from Cymoon, Han didn’t stay in his bed for longer than two days, charging out and demanding to be released so he can overlook you and Chewie repairing the Falcon. It was annoying, he was still hurt, blood sometimes seeping through the white gauze and needing to be taken back.
“I still don't believe it, Hand me that macrofuser,” he asked, hand outstretched towards Chewie, who dropped the tool into his hand with a growl and bark.
The hanger was mostly empty, save for the random pilot or ground crew who kept checking to see if the X-wings were in working order. Something to do, while the meeting on the top floor continued about the Cymoon mission, and where to go from there.
You haven't talked to Han about what happened, or Leia. Luke was the main thing on your mind recently, ever since his silent treatment on the Falcon, you’ve been meaning to talk to him. While tending to Han in one of the cabins in the back, Leia went to talk to him, which caused him to lash out and give everyone the silent treatment.
Since then, you’ve drowned yourself in fixing the Falcon when you weren't with Leia talking with Chancellor Mothma or Admiral Ackbar. You hated the whole political side of things, but Han refused to step into any meeting, so you were the unlucky one out of the duo to participate.
The meeting had ended a while ago, but Leia stayed back to continue to push another mission, another punch at bringing the Empire down and bringing freedom to the rest of the galaxy.
“You’re gonna look like Jabba if you keep frowning like that.”
Throwing a tool in Han's direction, you hear his yelp and the loud clang it made when hitting the Falcon.
“Uncalled for!” He yells back, peering over the side to see what you were doing. You managed to wedge yourself into a small compartment, rewiring parts to allow better distribution of coolant that came loose after being raided by the trash aliens.
“Why don't you just talk to the kid, by the time you get the guts- you'll be old and gray and fading into dust- ” you throw another part at him.
The last thing you want is to play around with your relationship with Luke.
“Speak of the farm boy- Luke! Where’ve you been?!” Han shouts from above you. Dropping the tool and pulling yourself out of the compartment, you spot Luke pulling on his flight suit, eyebrows furrowed and looking upset.
He glances towards you both, before giving a tight smile and making he was towards his X-wing, R2 rolling up a little ways behind him.
“Seem’s like he’s leaving,” Han grumbles, looking at you. Biting the inside of your cheek, you slide off the side of the Falcon, bending your knees when hitting the floor and jogging over to where his ship was.
“Luke?” You call softly, refraining from grabbing onto his hand. He sighs, turning to face you, helmet in hand and a distant look in his eyes.
“You’re leaving?”
“Yeah, I have some things I have to do,” he doesn't say anymore but glances to his ship when R2 trills, being lifted into his spot.
“But,” you pause, finding your mind blank, “you’re gonna come back, right?”
Your voice is soft, and you feel that lump in your throat again when he looks away, instead of gazing at everything but your face.
“Is this even a good idea?” You speak up again, reaching forward to lights grab the sleeve of his flight suit.
“I don't even know who I am- how am I supposed to fight in a rebellion?”
“The entire Empire is looking for you, what happens if they catch you, huh? Leia won't be able to think right if her best pilot is out and the entire rebellion is rooting for you-”
You stop when he grabs your cheeks, thumbs brushing on the underside of your eyes. His eyes are sad, but he manages to show a smile, his voice soft.
“I don't even know who I am, I just know I’m not who I’m supposed to be. I’ll be back.”
You pull away, letting his hands drop from their place, stepping away from him and nodding.
“Take care of yourself,” your throats burning. Vision blurry but you blink it away, clenching your hands and watching R2’s head pivot. You can't help it, but you send him a two-fingered salute, sending him a lop-sided smile.
“Yeah, you too.”
You turn and walk back to the Falcon, not looking back when Luke slides on his helmet or climbs into the cockpit. You climb back up the ladder that leans against the side of the Falcon, taking mental note of the parts you’re going to need to get her back in full working order so you and Han can leave and deal with Jabba.
“You like him.”
You laugh, throwing your head back and looking at han with wide eyes, shaking your head and sitting down next to him.
“No, I’m just worried for the rebellion’s best pilot, two very different things,” you reply, shrugging your shoulders and dropping back into the small compartment.
“and, or, you like the kid, just admit it.”
“Over my dead body,” you grumble, being worried is a natural concept when having friends. You worried for Han, and for Leia, so yeah you’re going to worry for Luke. After everything that went on while on Cymoon One, of course, you’re going to worry more, he was bruised! He was injured in the factory explosion!
You’re just worried about him. Right?
Chapter 3: MON CALA
Summary:
It is a period of rebuilding in the galaxy. The Death Star has been destroyed as has the Imperial orbital drill on Jedha. A spark of hope has emerged among the Rebellion. Recently, rebel leaders Princess Leia, Luke skywalker, (Y/n) (L/n), and Han Solo have been in search of a new base of operation as they continue the fight against the Galactic Empire’s tyrannical reign. New alliances are formed every day.
Chapter Text
“Are you sure this is a good idea, Han?” Luke asks softly, looking over at him. Han stands tall with his hands resting on his hips, looking out at the vast blue ocean of Mon Cala. It was beautiful, secluded, and peaceful. The small island, the only island, was covered in bright green foliage and bright sandbanks sprinkled with rocks and seashells. You can’t remember the last time you’ve been here, but you do know its beauty amazes you every single time.
Admiral Ackbar stood behind your small group, cape billowing in the wind as R2 and Threepio stood at his sides, not wanting to get close to the water.
“Yeah, I am! This is a protected zone. Getting in is the problem, and I got us in. We’d have to be pretty unlucky to get caught now.”
The wind began to pick up once more, blowing Luke’s blonde hair back as he turned to glance at you briefly. The air wasn’t hot, or cold, but a nice warmth that allowed you to comfortably wear the yellow jacket Luke gave to you before leaving the boat Chewie still waited on.
“You want a quiet meeting on Mon Cala, you choose a reserve on the surface,” Han grumbles, turning to look at Leia, who scoffs lightly.
“I wouldn’t think the Imperials would care so much about nature preservation,” Luke says, reaching up to try and brush down his hair.
“Preserve to exploit, Luke. As in, exclusively,” Leia pauses, kissing her teeth and looking at Han with raised eyebrows, “Why were you making trips to a nature preservation zone, Han?”
Tilting his head, he turns back around to look over the trees and gestures widely with his arms, “Gee,” he says sarcastically, “why would a smuggler find himself in a restricted zone full of rare, expensive stuff?”
“Han!” You call, furrowing your eyebrows. He holds his hands in surrender, grumbling under his breath.
“Not animals! Plants! Hell, not even plants. Seeds!”
Luke scrunches his face in confusion, looking down at you, “Seeds?”
“The plants are a bit too much to smuggle, the seeds are more worth it- plus the seeds don't try and kill you.”
The Admiral speaks up from behind you, “The criminal is correct. Step only on the sand. Shun anything verdant. There is a reason why most of our cities are underwater. We must stay alert at all times.”
Scoffing, both you and Han turn to look at him, shoulders dropping, “Hell, Ackbar, criminal?”
“You just confessed,” He shrugs, “and we are rebels against the Imperial Scourge. Strictly speaking, we’re all criminals.”
Leia only smiles softly, her eyes pinned to the horizon as she listens in. Her hair was in its normal braided halo, some pulled free to frame her face.
“Well, I’m not sure how I feel about this.”
“Han,” you deadpan, staring at him, “are you being serious right now?”
Luke chuckles softly, looking between the two of you before standing at your side, his arm brushing yours lightly.
“Quiet down,” Leia calls, glaring from over her shoulder, “Try to act professional, our guest is here.”
Breaking through the surface of the water was a ship, blue metal with bubble-like windows as it accelerated quickly to shore, the top opening to allow a Mon Calamari to step out, walking down an extending ramp to the beach. He wore a blue chest plate with bold accents, and a blue cape pinned together around his neck with a star. His skin was a deep blue, with sharp teeth and beady blue eyes.
“We solemnly greet Grand Admiral Urtya of the Mon Cala mercantile fleet!” Threepio boasts, walking closer to speak to your group.
“Regent of Mon Cala, dual protector of the two people, warden for the king in exile, and-”
“Please stop the droid,” his voice was smooth, deep, and stern, there was underlying malice to it, “My title’s purely ceremonial, empty. This is the Moff’s world. I nod along in public. In private, they ring bitter.”
He stood a few feet from Admiral Ackbar, the rest standing a bit off to give the two a bit of room to reunite. From your stance, it didn’t seem like a good one. The tension quickly grew, and Admiral Ackbar seemed to stand taller with tense shoulders when Urtya finally stood on the sand.
“Gial Ackbar. It’s been a long time,” there was a bite to his tone.
Admiral Ackbar nodded, “It has. No guards?”
“If something goes wrong, I don’t want anyone else to die. The responsibility has to end with me.”
That seemed to be the perfect moment for Leia to jump in, stepping forwards and nodding her head lightly.
“Good, we’re here to talk responsibility. Specifically our responsibility to the galaxy.”
Urtya turned to her, giving her a once over before nodding once, hands resting on his belt. You could help but cross your arms, feeling the hair on the back of your neck stand when his beady eyes flickered to you and Luke.
“I am here, tell me this grand rebel plan, Princess.”
Han sighs, turning to look around and find something to pass time.
“The Death Star has changed everything. We all know it, the-”
“Heads up,” Han calls, thumb pointed over his shoulder as he turns back to the group.
You and Luke both whip around, narrowing your eyes at the small ship in the distance slowly coming closer. Groaning, you can recognize the Imperial Patrol ship.
“We’ve been betrayed,” Luke grumbles. Elbowing his side lightly, you nod your head towards the ship.
“We’re just unlucky.”
“If we were betrayed, they’d be everywhere. This is a random patrol,” Han waves Luke off when he reaches for his saber. “Don't power up the saber, kid. Me and (Y/n) can get us out of this.”
Sighing, you rub your forehead, “You can’t be serious.”
“Oh, I’m serious, we got this.”
“Are you in charge now?” Admiral Ackbar’s voice calls out, Han turning to look at him with a cocky smile and straight posture.
“Hey, her majesty talks people into doing dumb things, you outfit the fleet, blondie stabs things with that light sword-”
“Lightsaber”
“The other Mon Cala does,” he pauses, “whatever he does. Me and (Y/n)?”
Groaning, you leave Luke's side and roll your shoulders, ensuring your blaster is still holstered to your thigh and standing beside Han, R2 whistling and trilling as he rolls closer.
“I guess we get to show you all how a criminal really handles it.”
Looking back up to the Imperial Patrol, you narrow your eyes as the turret on the side takes aim, firing at the beach. The bolt doesn't hit your group, instead blowing up Urtya’s transport. The blast knocks everyone back, ears ringing as you lift yourself up and look around at everyone else. The beach was littered with small debris on fire, and Threepio was upside down with his head submerged in the sand. The ship was engulfed in flames, Luke slowly sat up to reach over to you, grabbing your arms and looking you over for any major injuries.
“I’m fine-” you say, swatting his hands away while standing, the ringing in your ears subsided, and your head began throbbing.
“Oh yeah!” Leia calls, groaning as she stands, “We’re definitely seeing that.”
“It's fine!” Han combs down his standing hair, and some parts burnt off, “Trust me, really! This is fine!”
“You’re a terrible liar,” you reach over to Luke, grabbing his hands and pulling him up. He winces, reaching up to rub his head and clench his eyes shut. It was getting difficult to breathe through the dark smoke, you pulled Luke away from the water, guiding him by hand since his eyes were still shut.
“They think they’ve taken out our transport. Stay here, look scared and follow my lead.”
“Oh, I think I’ve blown a servo. We’re doomed,” Threepio’s voice was muffled, his golden leg bent as he tries to dig himself out.
You bend down by the droid's side, slowly pulling him out and dusting the sand from his eyes.
“You’ve got it, you’re fine.”
“(Y/n), rust-bucket, with me,” Han calls, grabbing something from his belt as he looks to the now landed Imperial Patrol. Luke’s grip tightens slightly before he lets go, walking over to check on Leia while you catch up with Han, R2 whistling as he rolls behind.
While walking towards the ship, the back ramp slowly opens, revealing dozens of Stormtroopers. Han sighs, glancing back at R2 briefly, “Okay, you’re going to follow my lead, right?”
R2 only whistles, Han shushing him, “Quieter! Aren’t you programmed to be sneaky?”
“This is a terrible idea,” you hiss, hand gripping your blaster.
“It's okay, I have a little trick up my sleeve, just play along- Hey! You got us, we were just having a nice little smuggle!”
“You know what that means, payday for everyone!” You cut in, holding your hands out to the troopers. Each look at each other for a moment, before two step off of the ship and walk closer.
“Highest ranker here is a sergeant, right?” Han calls, one of his hands sliding into his pocket. The other is still hidden behind his back.
“No one’s on officer’s pay,” he kisses his teeth, “that’s gotta sting, right?”
Pulling his hand out of his pocket, he thrusts forwards and hands a small chip off to the main trooper.
“You can split this any way you want.”
Crossing your arms, you give one of the troopers a tight-lipped smile while taking one step back, glancing over to peek behind Hans’ back. A small cylinder in his grip is rotated, his thumb pressing down on a small button on the side. A bright orange light begins blinking, and your smile drops from your face.
Of course, just like Han to bring a bomb.
“Wait, this chip is empty-”
The trooper is cut off, the bomb being thrown into the ship, Hans's hand grasping your arm as he turns and begins bolting it back to the group.
There's a small clatter of startled troopers, before the explosion takes out the entire front part of their ship, blowing troopers off the ground and into the air. Covering your head, you smile and look back, laughing at the destruction such a tiny bomb could cause. R2 is hot on your heels, Han waving his hands frantically to gain the others’ attention
“Run!”
Blaster fire began to rain out from the cloud of thick black smoke, whizzing past your head. Luke rushes around Leia, grabbing your hand to pull you into the forest. Faintly, you could hear Threepio talking to R2 about how this is not a good idea, and that they should’ve stayed with Chewbacca on the transport.
“What did Han do?” Luke asks, his head snapping back to look at the troopers.
“Oh you know,” you smile, unclipping your blaster and letting go of his hand, “what he usually does.”
“Be careful!” Leia's voice rings from the front of the group, Admiral Ackbar and Urtya behind her, “do not anger the plants!”
While running, you almost run into the back of Han as you turn and shoot behind you. Hiding behind a tree, you can see Leia shooting over her shoulder while he continues to talk to Urtya.
“We have a spy network trying everything to find where the imperials are building anything suspicious. We-” she stops, turning fully around to shoot down a trooper.
Turning your back, you shoot down the remaining troopers you can see, following Luke as he leads you out of the forest.
“Where are the murderous plants?” Luke calls, Han turns his head to glance at the foliage. His eyebrows furrow, “I- I don't know, I- Are you seriously wishing for killer plants? What is wrong with you?”
When you all hit the sand again, You can barely see Chewie's head peeking over the top of the boat, He moves around the thrusters on the back, sitting down behind the one turret and begins blasting down the troopers that appear from the tree line.
“Chewie, start the boat!” You yell, barreling down the sand and throwing yourself over the side, landing on your hip with a yelp.
“Yeah, shooting at them also works. I’ll drive,” Han states, climbing into the boat after the rest, throwing himself into the pilot seat and turning it on, pushing the boat to max speed and speeding away from the incoming fire. With heaving breaths, you pull yourself into the seat next to Luke, who was sitting next to Urtya. Leia sat next to Admiral Ackbar, right across from you, Threepio standing behind Chewie's seat and R2 trilling and whistling at him from next to Admiral Ackbar.
Making his way from the Turret, Chewie ruffles your hair before sitting down in his seat, aiding Han in driving.
“Urtya, that’s what all this is about. To destroy whatever they build next,” Leia pauses, glancing at you and Luke before sighing, “We need a fleet.”
The wind was blowing through your hair, Luke reaching over to try and comb some of it down with a shy smile. Leaning down, his lips graze your ear, “your blaster is unholstered.”
Looking down, you huff and slide your blaster back into its place before clipping it closed, giving Luke a small smile in thanks.
“Mon Cala has the greatest merchant fleet in the galaxy. We have docks to refit them into warships. We do that, hide them across the galaxy and only bring them together when we need to strike, No more Alderaans. No more Jedhas. No more Scarifs. And eventually, no more Empire.”
Leia sounded like she’s been doing this kind of thing for years, but thinking about it for longer than a second, you realize she has done this for years. She always puts herself right in the middle of danger to try and get one step closer to freedom from the Empire. She’s lost practically everything. Her parents, her planet, her home. The last thing she has to herself is the Hope the galactic war will end.
“All for the cost of ‘no more Mon Cala.’”
There's a crash in the water, two giant creatures breaking the ocean surface and looming over the small boat. Han yells, slapping Chewie's arm, “Woah! Right! Hard right!” Gripping the side of the boat, you wince at the throbbing in your hip.
“Raddus left us to rebel. Those who stayed behind have felt Imperial fists for twenty years. They took our king, they still have him,” Urtya leans forwards in his seat, beady eyes focused on Leia.
“You’re suggesting a grand mutiny? The fleet and crew could go, but we can’t save the people on Mon Cala. Do you expect Mon Cala to sacrifice herself for the galaxy?”
Luke's head snaps over, glaring at him, “Hey, she’s Princess of Alderaan! You can’t talk to her about sacrifice.”
Kissing your teeth, you lean forwards to look around Luke, hand lightly resting on his shoulder, “Leia knows the risks, but you can’t think that she hasn’t thought of the people here.”
Yet, Urtya ignores you both, clicking his tongue, “If you knew what would have happened to Alderaan, would you still have rebelled?”
You all sit in silence for a moment, before Urtya’s voice breaks it once more, “I'm sorry. I wish it were different.”
“Raddus-” Admiral Ackbar says, but gets cut off, Urtya’s voice rising slowly.
“Is dead. The king is in chains. You went to play Rebel, old friend. You’re a hero. But, you left. I stayed. Some of us have responsibilities, and the people trust me more than they’re inspired by you.”
“Well, that was a waste of time. We may as well have left you there!” Han sounds annoyed, shrugging his shoulders.
“No, Han,” Leia says softly, her hand softly resting on his shoulder, “I understand, Let’s go home.”
When you all sit back down in the Falcon and rise into space, you see the Mon Cala Imperial Trade Fleet again. The ships were almost as big as a Star Destroyer, with large thrusters on the back that slowly moved them over the water planet. Luke sat on the curved couch, an arm thrown over his eyes as his legs stretched out in front of him. The jacket you once wore earlier in the day was laying across his lap.
Admiral Ackbar sat a little away from him, leaned back with his eyes closed and leg crossed over the other.
Slowly walking past, you make your way into the cockpit, leaning against the door frame and listening in to the soft voice of Leia and Han.
“Are you going to start writing mushy notes to a bunch of spaceships?”
“Oh, leave me alone,” Leia mumbles softly, annoyed.
“It's just- I- I mean, we need them,” she pushes up from her chair behind Han, not sparing him a glance when she turns to leave. She sends you a soft smile, “Don’t you ever want something you just can’t have?”
When she walks past you, you can see Hans’ head turn, watching her leave the cockpit with a distant look in his eyes. Smirking, you walk closer and lean down between the two, Chewie growling and barking earning a glare from the other.
“Someone seems to like the princess,” you say, leaning closer to him, making kissy noises.
“Just knock it off already!” Han says, waving you away while busying himself with the controls, preparing for lightspeed. There's a light blush on his cheeks, and you laugh as you poke his cheek, the hand being slapped away.
“You’re just a big softie, Han, Admit it!”
He spins to glare up at you, pointing, “I will when you do.”
“What's that supposed to mean?”
You know what he means, but you refuse to think more about the boy in the yellow jacket.
You slept for the remainder of the trip back to base. It was mostly silent in the cockpit, and when you sat down in your usual seat, propping your feet over the armrest, you slowly fell asleep to the stretched stars and the low hum of the Falcon's engines.
Han shook you away, smiling softly as Chewie pulled you out of the seat, his furry arm being thrown over your shoulder while walking off the Falcon.
The docking bay was quiet, X-wings left alone, and the remaining droids ignored your group's presence.
While making your way down the hall, Luke sulking next to you, Han squeezes his way in between, throwing an arm over each of your shoulders.
“We’re going for a drink.”
“No, Han,” you say softly, just wanting to go back to sleep- after going to the med bay to get bacta for your still throbbing hip.
“We’re going for a drink,” Han ignores, “and Luke’s having a milk. Coming princess?”
“I’m not really in the mood for drinking, Han.”
“No. I have to report to General Dodaonna and Mon Mothma.”
Han only sighs, arms still thrown over yours and Luke’s shoulders. Faintly, you could hear Leia and Admiral Ackbar talking, Threepio and R2 following after her.
By the time you made it to mess hall four, it was almost completely packed. The bar was empty, but the booths and tables were almost completely full. Han had his arm still thrown around Luke’s shoulders, the blonde having his shoulders slumped and his head down. Chewie was constantly pulling at your shirt, or your hair to get your attention. When he barks and roars at Han, he only throws a look over his shoulder with a smirk.
“Yeah, Chewie, I heard Ackbar managed to get a container of Loop Juice, you know Loop Juice?” He directs toward Luke but doesn't allow him to answer.
“It’s fermented at high gravity, in satellites orbiting back holes up and down the Kessel Run. Luke, you have to try it-”
“Seriously, Han. I’d like a milk.”
You briefly remember Han explaining what Loop Juice was to you, yet you always seem to prefer something not made in a giant cloud of scraps and lightning.
Chewie ensures to not let you be knocked over as you all make your way to the empty bar, sitting down and nodding to the other creatures also sitting around at their own tables.
“I was teasing you about the milk earlier, have a drink! What's the worst that can happen?”
Slumping down in his seat, Luke shrugs his shoulders, “Last time I went for a drink, I ended up fed to some kind of bloodsucking alien queen.”
“What?-” you snap, looking between Han and Luke. They don't reply, but they do stare at you for a few moments.
“Yeah, the kid’s got a point.”
“A bloodsucking alien queen? Since when?” You grumble, pulling at Han’s jacket to peer around at Luke. He shrugs again, biting at his lip, “It's a long story.”
Turning back to the bartender, you smile and quickly get out your order before Han can hear, he tends to tease you about your favorite beverages.
“Are you seriously drinking Port in A Storm again?” He wheezes, watching the ruby-red concoction be set down in front of you. Scoffing, you glare at him as he takes a long gulp from his own drink.
“Yes, you bantha. Some of us need it to just be around you.”
“Oh come on,” he heaves, leaning into your side, “you don't mean that.”
There was a clatter, glass smashing on the floor and you whip your head over to see. Luke was turned around, his hands still extended away from his body while a pilot picked himself up from the floor, a smile slowly crawling onto his face.
“Wedge!” Luke smiles, standing from his seat to wrap the other in a tight hug, laughing lightly. Wedge, who stood a little taller than Luke with dark hair, pulled away to playfully push the younger away.
“I thought you’d forgotten me.”
Luke smiles brightly, grabbing the front of Wedge’s flight suit, “No way! Red Squadron forever!”
Han sighs from next to you, a bittersweet look in his eye, “Hey, kid. If there is one thing you need to learn, it’s that nothing is forever. Especially something like a squadron.”
Sometimes it slips your mind that Luke is still young, not fully understanding how cruel the universe can be to someone. It was when he looked like this; happy and unbothered by the war going on around him when seeing an old friend. Han showed his age when smiling at the two, his eyebrows furrowing before he wipes the look from his face in a flash, clearing his throat while turning to look at you.
“But, if we’re celebrating,” he turns back to Luke, “want to have a drink now?”
His smile is still bright, “Sure, I'll have the biggest milk they’ve got!”
Wedge looks between your group before nodding his head over his shoulder, “why don't you all come sit at my table? We can all catch up?”
“Sounds like a plan, lead the way.”
With your drink almost gone, you rotate it on its rim, head in hand while you listen to Luke talk about Cymoon One and Jedha. You sat by his side, Han on his other, while Chewie continued to speak with the remaining bartenders. Wedge listened intently, adding in small bits of commentary to Luke’s over dramatic retelling. With bright eyes and a bright smile, he seemed to be glowing. His hair was slowly growing out, bangs almost in his eyes while the sides flared off into almost a curl. You wondered if he would let you braid it, or trim it to keep it from his eyes, maybe even just play with it in general.
You briefly glance at Han, already seeing him smirking your way. You can feel your small smile drop, and your cheeks begin to heat when you clear your throat and look away.
“Mind if we join, Wedge?”
Two more pilots were making their way over, one still having his helmet padding on, they smiled brightly at Wedge, who waved them over.
“Sure! Luke, this is Hobbie, we were at the academy before we defected. We met Zev here, at one of general Hera’s training exercises.”
You force yourself to turn and look at the two new pilots, but you could still picture Luke's head tilting slightly, his eyebrows furrowed, “training exercises?”
The two sit down by Wedge, giving you and Han polite smiles.
“She’s making sure there’s enough pilots ready to operate the cruisers. A fleet to operate at full effectiveness. It's hard, but we’re almost ready.
“Any idea when the cruisers will be?”
The three of you stay silent. You didn’t realize that the pilots knew about the meeting on Mon Cala. Plus, they were already being trained for meaning just a large fleet. You didn’t want to be the one to tell them the meeting was a bust, and from the look of it, neither did Luke. The both of you looked to Han, who just smirked while resting an arm on the table.
“They’ll be ready before a bunch of amateurs like you are,” you begged Han to stop talking, glaring at him from your spot. He always did this, trying to delay the truth, “high command has all kinds of plans.”
One of the pilots, Zev, leans across the table, “I hope this isn’t weird, but I just wanted to say I'm honored to meet you, sir.”
Clearing your throat, you lean back and cross your arms, losing interest in your almost empty glass.
“Oh, don't ‘Sir’ me, Please. It's no big thing, you’d have taken the shot” Luke waves him off, glancing at you and smiling softly. You try to give him one back, but you doubt it looked as kind as his.
“Yeah,” Zev said, winking, “but you took the shot.”
Chewie must know the perfect time to arrive, with a large dish full of glasses with amber liquid, he sets it onto the table with a growl, squishing in beside you. With your side pressed flush against Luke’s, you grab a drink and glance at the others, who follow. Han clears his throat, nodding, “yeah, enough of the hero worship. A toast?”
“To Red Squadron!”
Luke is the only one with a large cup of blue milk and is the only one to have his glass remaining in a toast, his smile slowly falling into a frown.
“To Dreis, Branon, Porkins, Rue, Dinnes, Naytaan, Nett, Surreal, Naeco,” he pauses, his glass dropping before bowing his head, “and Biggs.”
You never knew Luke remembered their names.
Chewie roars, Han shifting in his seat with a frown, “Yeah, wow. I’m not sure I even remember the names of all my girlfriends, Luke.”
“Han!” You hiss, kicking his leg from under the table. He yelps, glaring at you. Luke ignores it, “I dunno. I’ve been thinking about all the people who got me here. I wish I knew every dead rebel’s name.”
Wincing, you reach over and slowly take the blue milk from him, Han laughing nervously while patting his shoulder.
“Okay, I see we’ve reached the maudlin stage of milk drinking.”
“Finish up, guys. We’ve got a mission,” Leia smiles, eyes bright as she approaches the table. You didn’t even notice her enter the mess hall, but you knew whatever mission she managed to get you so fast after the failed meeting, it didn’t give you a good feeling.
“Why is it, anytime we need to get in somewhere, someone pretends to be captured?” You grumble, helping Han set up the explosives outside of the compound. Chewie was at the front gate with Leia, the plan having been discussed multiple times on the Falcon.
“I don't know, because we’re fugitives?” Han snarks, standing back up from his crouched position and dusting his hands off.
“Would you rather have us go straight in, guns blazing?” Han gives you a smirk, checking his blaster once more and standing beside Luke, who was crouched in front of R2, talking quietly.
“I’d rather not go in at all,” you grumble. Handing him the detonator, you go and stand behind Luke, crossing your arms and huffing.
“You could’ve stayed on the Falcon,” Luke smiles, standing and nudging your shoulder. Scoffing, you wave him off, “who would watch Han then, huh?”
“Han, we're in the Ultra-Security Brig. Hone in on our signal. We’re sealing ourselves in and taking cover.” Leia’s voice crackles, Chewie being heard faintly in the background.
Flipping open the top of the detonator, Han waits.
“Fire the breaching torpedo in ten-”
Han didn’t wait. He let the blaring ring of the homing torpedo go off, before pressing down on the detonator, firing the missile straight into the side of the concrete building. Han whistles, grabbing his blaster while you all file inside. It was still smoking, rocks red-hot as you walked through.
“I said ten! That wasn’t even ten, we barely made it,” Leia yells, glaring at Han. Waving her off, Han cocks his blaster, “Ten-ish. We’re trying to be quick. Where’s their guest?”
Threepio makes his way around you, talking animatedly about how the dust isn't good for his gears, and he’ll need another oil bath when you get back to base. Luke stays quiet, looking around with his lightsaber in hand.
“Well isn’t this cozy?” You grumble, kicking the immobile leg of one of the guards Chewie must have knocked out.
“He’s in here, we’ve got maybe a minute before the guard's break-in,” Leia gestures to the guarded door, the keypad a bright green color.
“Artoo, can you slice it in time?”
The droid whistles, examining the lock and spinning his head. Threepio scoffs, arms extending to tap on his dome head.
“No? No? What do you mean ‘no’? Princess Leia needs us, and we can’t-”
“It’s okay, Threepio,” Luke’s saber hums to life, and you grab your blaster from its holster, setting it to stun and aiming it at the door. Threepio and R2 move to the back of the group as Luke easily melts away the metal around the keypad. Leia, grabbing her own blaster, turns to look back, “Chewie, get it open. Han,” she glares at him, “set to stun. Whatever is inside, we shoot instantly. Everyone understand?”
“Loud and clear.”
“Won't be a problem, Princess.”
She nods, before turning back and patting Chewie, who rears back and kicks the door down easily. You all begin to file in slowly, the room being pitch dark. Yet, the figure of Senator Organa sat on the only cot in the room.
“Leia?” He calls softly, hands clasped in his lap. Han quickly aims at the man, ready to fire, but Leia pushes his blaster away, the stun completely missing the Senator. You go to aim and fire, but she turns to give you a harsh look.
“Leia,” he tries again, “I’ve missed you so-”
He’s cut off by the Princess, who turns around and punches him straight in the jaw, sending him off the bed and to the ground.
“My father is dead,” Her voice is stern, pain slipping past, fists still clenched tight.
“You try any of the mind games again, Tunga, and I will make sure you live long enough to regret it.”
Tunga’s form slowly melts back into the Shape changer, his eyes a bright yellow and skin a deep green. With pointed ears and a deep indentation down the bridge of his nose, you almost didn’t believe Leia knew him.
“You can’t blame a Shape-changer for having a little fun,” his voice is high-pitched and sends a shiver down your back. Leia scoffs, cocking her blaster and aiming straight at him, “I can. I do. Welcome to the rebellion.”
After the blue waves knock him unconscious, Leia turns and ignores the looks both you and Han give her. Luke steps back to let her out of the room, sighing before following.
“Chewie, pick up the recruit. Let’s get out of here.”
It doesn’t take Chewie a lot of strength to pick Tunga up, throwing his limp body over his shoulder before following the rest of you out. He growls, catching up with Han while you try not to stumble over the still-smoking rubble.
“Yeah, I’m in the mood for a strong milk, too.”
“Han? Drinking milk?” You tease, flashing him a smile while elbowing Luke’s side. The blonde gives a tight smile, looking back at Han, and then at you.
“Milk isn’t that bad,” he tries to defend Han, but you send him a playful smile and scoff.
“Oh yeah, keep telling yourself that.”
With the Falcon calmly floating in the vastness of space, you decided to observe the meeting Leia was conducting with the fugitive casually sitting on the curved couch.
Han and Luke both stood behind you, Luke having a blaster perched in his hand that rested on the back of the couch. You didn’t doubt Han was also armed with one, yours still remained in your holster, albeit unclipped and already ready to fire.
“I prefer my dressing rooms with snacks. I do so hope this ‘rebellion’ can provide me with sufficient aperitifs and nibbles, princess.” Tunga sat with his hands resting behind his head, crossing one leg over the other and looking around the area, assessing it. Threepio, stepping into view, raising his hands and nods, “Sir! I’ll see what I can-”
“Leave it, Threepio,” Luke grumbles, leaning closer to look over your shoulder. The familiar warmth of him and the forever lingering smell of x-wing grease bring a kind of comfort you only find in him.
“Tunga Arpagion. A Clawdite with a reputation,” Leia pans, stepping closer to sit at the end of the couch, her hands clasped in her lap. “Am i?” he quips back, smirking to himself.
“You got 25 percent off the Nela-Ray resettlement. You’re personal friends with all members of the Meor Nobility within 1.3 parsecs of encrust II, you understudied Thespus-v for a week after she died, and played her role for a week before anyone notices.”
Tunga displays a cocky smile, tilting his head, “Ah, yes. You’ve heard of me.”
“Everyone in the outer rim has! There’s only one Clawdite who won’t shut up about himself,” Han spits, waving his hand as he squeezes between you and Luke, resting his arms on the back of the couch. He wasn’t wrong, even if you had heard of the Clawdite. Not by name, but by his reputation in the theater business.
“If you had anything more to boast about bar rushing a decaying husk of a vessel down Kessel Way, you wouldn't either, Solo.”
It was Han’s turn to wear that cocky smirk, his shoulders bunched up with pride as he addressed Luke, “you get that? He’s heard of me.”
Huffing, you lightly slap his arm, grabbing his attention, “with how much you boast about it, I don't blame him.”
“So, obviously I have to thank you for rescuing me from Dex Acquisition, but I can only presume it wasn't for an autograph. I would guess this is for some manner of tawdry mission?” Tunga looks over to Leia, his eyebrow raised. She sighs, nodding slowly and waving over R2, who wheels from his place beside his droid counterpart, and displays a hologram of your target.
“This is Tan Hubi. He’s the Moff of the Mon Calamari sector. We need you to impersonate him for a few hours.”
Tunga doesn’t say anything for a few moments, humming under his breath and leaning forwards to examine the picture.
“Hmm, Off-the-peg Imperial Officer, easy. Socially, but unless you have full access to his files, it’s impossible to play him on duty for any significant period. If you do have all that- well, I still won’t do it. That far too much background reading.”
Pushing away from the couch, Luke decides to stand in the front, between R2 and Leia. Han decides to fully lean against your side, trying to annoy you, but you’re too used to his antics to pay him attention.
Leia scoffs, her eyebrows pinching together, “that won't be necessary. It’s the start of the season of Mon Cala,” the hologram flicks to an image of the large Moncaladrome, “visiting dignitaries are swarming to the Moncaladrome, the opening opera should last five hours. You sit, you watch a show, we extract you afterwards. Easy.”
“And whatever do you need the Moff for?” Tunga ponders, staring down the hologram. You finally clear your throat, pushing Han away to address the Clawdite, “you only get the information you need to know. And the money afterwards.”
“And if you sell us out,” Leia quips in, a smirk returning to her features, “you know what happens to you, the Empire is not on your side, Tunga. They’ll only feel safe if they’ve got you in a cage.”
Tunga leans back on the couch, nodding his head, “Oh, I think you overestimate the kindness of our dear friends in the empire. They’ll keep me in neatly vivisected slices. I do have one question: what’s to prevent me from just walking out the second you look the other way?”
Standing, Leia fixes the short cape that clings to her shoulders, “I know your type,” she muses, “You’re bored, you can be anything and have been. Pretending to be a grand Moff at a fancy party? You can't stay away from that.”
Luke leans in close, a twinkle in his blue eyes, “Everyone would be so impressed, you’d be famous.”
“Oh, dear boy. I’m already famous.” Tunga almost looks offended, but there's that small spark of mischief brewing behind his golden eyes, “But one can always be more famous.”
You arrived at the Moncaladrome around the time the sun set behind the horizon, the inner lights made the entire building glow with a warm hue. Multiple ships, sky and sea, docked in their appropriate locations and walked into the large area. Your group arrived behind the building, sneaking into a small cave that led straight into one of the multiple Imperial restrooms designated for the Imperial status.
The cave was small, cramped, and allowed barely any room for you and Leia to set up the multiple small monitors to tap into the main surveillance system to monitor where and when the Moff would arrive. You could hear the other moving around, and almost jumped out of your skin when Tunga appeared to your right, dressed in a Moff’s uniform.
“Any sign?” He asked, eyes flickering to each monitor. Shaking your head, you cross your arms and narrow your eyes, kissing your teeth, “nope, he should’ve been one of the first to arrive.”
“Perhaps your precious Moff isn't coming?” He counters, hands clasped in front of him.
You didn’t stop the scoff, or the glare that you sent his way, “he’s the Moff of Mon Cala, he's obligated to come. It keeps his appearance and status high.”
Leia hums from your left, her finger tapping against the screen, “Here comes the Moff.”
Turning, you find Luke already approaching with his stormtrooper uniform on, helmet in hand.
“Still fit?” You ask, smirking when he half-heartedly shows off his uniform.
“Barely, no wonder you couldn’t see,” you almost feel embarrassed from the mention of the Death Star, but you shake it away with a smile. Reaching forwards, you brush away his bangs and lightly pinch his cheek, lowering your hands to straighten the chest plate.
You thanked the maker that Han wasn’t around, preoccupied with making the hole in the wall to get in and out of the bathroom, Chewie ensuring he didn’t fall.
“I still hit my mark, didn’t I?” you step away, his cheeks dusting pink, “be careful, Luke.”
“I-”
“The droids made their way in with the catering. Understand your part, Luke?” Leia’s voice cuts him off, his blush slowly erasing from his cheeks as he makes his way around you, nodding with a smile, “Wait until they drug the Moff. Grab him. Get back here.”
“And give Tunga Time to steal his face,” he finishes for her, making his way up the slight incline towards Chewie.
Crossing your arms, you make your way back to Leia’s side, trying not to glance at Luke.
“Hmm,” Tunga hums from your side, tilting his head, “as an expert in impersonation, you're distinctly towards the lower end of height regulations for-”
“Drop it!”
Both you and Leia look at each other, hands covering your lips to hide the laughter that bubbles up your throat. Luke grumbles under his breath, no doubt talking badly about the Clawdite who decides to lean in close to you and Leia, “I’m surprised you didn’t join them, you’re terribly hands on.”
Leia sighs softly, raising her hand to brush away stray hairs, “I’m one of the most notorious women in the galaxy, not all of us are able to change our faces. And, someone has to coordinate this mess.”
“Should I be offended?” You ask, raising an eyebrow, a small smile crossing your face. She shakes her head, pushing you lightly.
“If it's a mess, it's an impressively planned one. Access codes. Droids with the catering. A plan that seems to revolve around knowing the Moff’s favorite cocktail. You are terribly well informed,” Tunga continues to pry, arms crossed as he looks between the both of you. Your eyes stay glued to the monitor, watching the targeted Moff shake hands with Queen Trios.
“Let’s put it this way,” you speak up, glancing at the Clawdite, “If Leia wasn’t thorough, there would be no way you could perform without complications. So, just be grateful she put some thought into this.”
It fell silent between the three of you, except for the quiet breathing, watching the screens for anything that might go wrong. You wondered how Han and Chewie were doing, being on bathroom guard duty. And how Luke was doing, walking around in the oversized trooper uniform. Leia's hands continued to move, from her hair, to her lips, to her arms, not stopping. You refrain from grabbing them in comfort, not wanting to sidetrack her mile-running thoughts.
Tunga decided to gaze around at the cave to pass time, his hands brushing against the top of the small ship that you would use to get to the underwater prison that held the king. Queen Trios and the Moff continued to talk on the monitor, but you ignored what they were saying, watching R2 roll up with his small dish perched on his head, the Moff grabbing it, and downing almost half of the drink immediately.
“Bullseye,” you murmur, the corner of your mouth upturning. Turning, you touch Leia’s shoulder briefly before climbing the small slope that leads to the entry way the others used to get into the bathroom. There was clatter, Leia calling out to Tunga to get ready for the switch, and Han’s form slowly coming out of the dark hole, a smile on his face.
“Hey! One Moff, as requested, princess!” He calls, grabbing your hands when you offer them, helping him get his footing. Luke appeared just behind him, cheeks bright pink as he took the helmet off, grabbing your awaiting hands as well. He lingers, almost interlacing his fingers with yours, but you pull away. Chewie is the last to appear, the squirming Moff in his arms, mouth covered by the Wookiee as you all made your way down the small incline, towards the Clawdite and Princess that waited.
“They'll realize the switch soon, we need to be quick,'' Luke rushes, hand resting on your waist to squeeze past, rushing towards the ship while frantically pulling off the bits and pieces of armor. Tunga has a gleeful look in his eyes, walking forwards and lightly touching Chewie’s arm.
“I know,” he says softly, looking over at the Moff, “my fine furry fellow, would you remove your hand so I can get the mouth?”
The Moff wastes no time in looking around at all of you, eyes wild when they finally land on Tunga, “What the hell are you?!” He cries, still squirming, “You’ll never get away with this!”
Wincing at his loud voice, you move away, finding your place beside Luke, who was fixing the black shirt he wore.
It took mere seconds for Tunga’s form to change, morphing into a perfect replica of the Moff. You don’t think you'll ever forget the sickening sound of his bones cracking and reforming.
“What the hell are you?!” he mocks, voice tone dropping to replicate the Moff’s, “you’ll never get away with this! Yes, I do believe I’ve got it,” The Moff’s face drops in disbelief, paling at the sight, “That sort of banal drudge of a voice, do they teach you to drone in the academy?”
Leia rushes back to the monitors as Tunga climbs up the incline, squeezing through the perfectly cylindrical hole. Luke places a hand on your back, peering from behind you to call out to Tunga, “May the force be with you!”
Peeking back in, Tunga smiles, waving his hand, “oh,” he sighs, “it always is.”
Han must have changed out of the uniform he was wearing, since he was pulling back on his dark vest as he overlooked the ship you would be taking.
“Oh, great. This thing is no Falcon.”
Luke pulled on his tan jacket from before, laughing softly when you elbow Han’s side, “would you drop it? I’m sick of hearing you whine.”
“If the Falcon could go underwater-”
“Han, I don't want to talk about this again. If your ship has magically become submersible in the last hour, we can go with the Falcon! Otherwise, get aboard and quit whining!”
Han grumbles something under his breath, but you ignore it while grabbing his arm, pushing him towards the ship. He swats your hands away, sending you a glare as he climbs aboard. The inside was sleek and cozy, but when Chewie climbs in, the Moff still in grasp, you quickly find comfort in Lukes’ hand that lays itself in your lap, lightly grabbing yours. It was one thing to fly around in a ship like the Falcon, but a small, not-so-cozy-anymore ship that will go thousands of feet underwater in minutes so you can go save a king you don't even know? Not so comforting anymore.
Luke lets go of your hand when Leia climbs on board, taking her place next to Han in front of the control panel, the top sliding closed with a hiss as it rises into space. You try to ignore the tense feeling in your gut when Luke pulls away, his attention back on Leia and whatever else that didn’t include you.
Strokill Prime reminded you of Mon Cala, but instead of the rare splotches of land that appeared on Mon Cala, Strokill Prime was completely covered in water. Han kills the main engine, gliding easily into the main perimeter of the planet, hundreds of Imperial Security beacons littering the area.
“Another water planet?” Han stresses, leaning forwards to try and see the planet more clearly. You scoff, leaning between Leia and Han, your tailbone almost completely numb from sitting still for so long, “Where else would they keep a Mon Calamari?”
“I guess it makes sense,” Luke mumbles, leaning in beside Leia. The Moff struggles once more in Chewie’s grip, voice muffled, “trying to save Lee-Char? You’ll never get away with it!”
Han laughs, but it sounds more like a scoff, turning his head a fraction, “You’ve already said that, your Moffity. I’d have thought you Imperial guys would have realized all that ‘you’ll never get away with it’ only encourages us, right?”
“Han!” you gasp, smiling, “don't give away our secrets!”
“What? Who’s he gonna tell?” He replies, flying closer.
You shake your head, deciding to watch the planet enlarge as you grow closer. Luke and Leia seem to ignore the rest of you, watching the planet with a mix of awe and curiosity.
“If the informant is right, the ultra-security base should be beneath the surface,” Leia clears her throat, glancing at you and Han with furrowed eyebrows. Her hand points to a set of turrets that were perched on some of the beacons, “those atolls are the defenses.”
There's a struggle, before the Moff’s voice finally rings clear through the cabin, “they are! Don’t you understand? I can’t just order them not to fire. You need all the codes, I haven't gotten them memorized!”
There was a low grumble from Chewie, then a yelp and a loud thumb of skin hitting metal. You briefly turn, finding that Chewie has fully pressed the Moff’s face into a small facial recognizer located behind him.
“We have the codes. As you’re here, we have your biosignature.”
“What? Those codes are top secret!” The Moff almost sounds scared, his hands fully grasping at his knees, “how could you-”
“A little bit of rebel ingenuity,” you call, watching the atolls science their lock on and power down once a small ding echoes through the cabin. Han accelerated through the atmosphere, breathing in deeply as the ship broke through the surface of the water, barely missing large forms of icebergs.
“Okay,” Han hums, voice tight, “I’m going to jinx everything just now, but-” the ship shakes as you descend deeper into the water. You can feel your palms begin to sweat, the water green and murky instead of the normal blue you were used to.
“I thought an ultra-security base would be more than just passing some codes.”
The Moff scoffs from his spot, voice still shaking, “Of course it is, you fool! This is Strokill Prime!”
It was as if the Moff summoned it, but there was a deep rumble through the water. Until, from meters in front of you, appeared the Opee Sea Killer, fangs twice the size of your ship and antennas glowing a bright neon blue. Its eyes were a milky white as they found your ship, its mouth opening to release a deep, guttural growl that made the glass shiver.
“Well,” Han grumbles, looking at it, “isn’t that just great?”
In the split second that the Opee Sea Killer dives down to consume the entire ship whole, Han barely manages to kick the thrusters into high gear to get away. Chewie and Luke are both trying to remain calm, and Leia’s hand reaches over to grab yours, both of your eyes’ wide with fear.
“I hate everything about this!” You yell, trying not to pay attention to the incoming creature behind your ship. The Moff begins screaming, trying his best to squirm out of Chewie’s grip. You don't understand why, where would he go?
Han finally has enough of it, throwing one of his hands up, “can someone please shut the Moff up? He’s distracting me.”
“Han- please hurry,” you beg, leg bouncing, “I don't have a burning ambition to end up as fish food.”
“Well,” he gasps, turning his head to look at Leia, “if I had the Falcon we wouldn’t be in this situation!”
“He has to be after something!” you yell, taking Leia’s attention from her glare on Han, “We’re metal- we’re not edible!”
“He’s after the lights, deep-sea marine life is often luminescent,” Leia says, turning her attention to the bright beams the ship gives off. Luke finally speaks up, “So bright lights are prey, great.”
“Since when were you a specialist in marine biology?” Han spits at Leia, eyebrows furrowing. Scoffing, Luke pushes away from the seats, “leave her alone, Han. It’s chasing the light? Got it. Can you turn them off?”
“Oh yeah,” you muse with sarcasm, turning in place to look at the blonde, “if you want us to crash.”
“I only need a few seconds, get ready to lose it,” he continued making his way to the back of the ship, which was also small and cramped. But you knew where he was going, and didn’t like the idea at all.
“Chewie, come with me, I need you.”
Chewie growls, and Leia takes his place guarding the Moff, blaster pointed right under his chin. You shake your head, moving to the back behind Chewie and humming in thought, watching Luke take off his leather jacket to slide on the scuba gear.
“Oh yeah, you’re just going out to become Opee food? Are you insane, Skywalker?” You growl, pushing past Chewie to grab his arm.
“It's the only option we have!” he replies, pulling on the silicone body suit.
“Get the sled ready-”
“Luke! Why do you always have to go out in the line of fire, huh? Why does it have to be you?” you snap, your throat tight again. You didn’t like the feeling, but he has the audacity to smile down at you, to grab your cheeks in the middle of pulling on the suit and giving you the softest blue eyes you’ve seen.
“Because I’m supposed to be a Jedi.”
You don't say anything in return, stunned by his words. Floating off to another place in reality, processing what was happening. He pulls away, soft blue eyes hardening as they land on Chewie, uttering something to him to cause the Wookiee to roar, reaching forwards to wrap him in a tight hug. The sealed door slides closed behind him, and you can hear Han call your name, turning your attention to him.
“Say again?” Your voice wavers, his gaze from over his shoulder is soft, waving you closer, “I need you to hit the lights, the princess has the Moff and Chewie’s waiting for Luke, I need you here.”
You ignore the drop in your gut when the hissing of the dock opens, ignoring the tight feeling it gives knowing Luke was now in the open ocean, up against a giant Opee Sea Killer with nothing but his Lightsaber.
“Fish monster has itself a Jedi appetizer,” Han tries to joke, but it doesn't land with you, bringing that tight feeling back in your throat.
“Han!” Luke's voice crackles through, “Lights off! Now!”
“Okay, you got it,” he nods towards you, “Three,” you position your hand over the button, shaking slightly, “Two,” taking a breath, you close your eyes and ignore the pestering thought to just do it, “One.”
You press the button as hard as you can, the entire cabin going dark. The outer beams flickering off in seconds. Now fully pitch black under the water. You knew the Opee was still out there, hearing its growling and movements.
It was a second, maybe more, before the bright blue light of Luke’s Lightsaber ignites under water, illuminating Luke's form brightly, its bright pigment reminding you of his eyes just before he left. The Opee, now more interested in the Lightsaber, turns its attention away from the ship, heading straight for bright illumination the saber lets off.
“Clever kid,” Han breathes.
Chewie must have left just after Luke, since his body is jolted to the side, being dragged quickly away from the Opee’s open jaws. But the light remains, and the Opee follows it closely, not losing the pair. Chewie’s frantic barking and roars coming through the com.
“What?” Luke's voice crackles back, Chewie replying with more frantic barking, “I don't understand- seriously, Chewie, I-”
“Turn off the damn saber!” Han yells, gripping onto the controls tightly. You groan, rubbing your eyes intensely.
“Chewie saved me!”
Han smiles, glancing back at the Moff and Leia, finally looking at you, “Hey, you saved everyone. Turns out fair, I guess. That was one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen you do, don't do it again.”
The sound of the hatch opening drags Leia's attention, the Moff the last of her worries when she sees the soaking wet Wookiee and the dry blonde. You turn in the seat, smirking at the sight. Until there was a low groan from Chewie, his arms raising.
“Hey, Leia!” You call, curling behind the seat back, “stay away from Chew-”
It was too late, the Wookie begins shaking his whole body and propels the water all around the cabin, effectively soaking Luke and Leia. Han hisses, lips pursing, “Yeah, that's a Wookiee thing. I probably should’ve warned you.”
“Yes, you should have,” she says softly, moving her soaked body in between the both of you. Chewie barks, his voice soft and apologetic. Turning, Leia smiles brightly at him, laughing softly, “It's okay, Chewie.”
Tapping your finger against the radar, you kiss your lips, glancing at the blonde when he settles beside you, hair still dripping. You only smile softly, looking back in front of you with a cough.
“They should be nearly half-way through the performance. Plenty of time to rescue the king- assuming they’re not discovered, of course.”
When the underwater base finally comes into view, your smile grows, briefly turning to Leia, “Hey- who's in charge anyways?”
“Oh,” she muses, the edges of her mouth curling, “Threepio.”
“You put this extremely important mission in the hand of that golden rod?!” Han almost yells, shoulders tensing as he begins the docking process.
“Who else? Tunga cant fully be trusted, and R2 does not speak basic-”
“Threepio is a good choice, Leia.”
“Don't defend her, Luke!” Han fires back, ascending to the surface.
“Can we argue another time?” You question, turning to look at Chewie, who was back at the Moff’s side.
“Give the security pass again.”\
Chewie grabs the back of the Moff’s head, slamming him back against the device. It makes you laugh this time, seeing the Moff being manhandled by your friend.
“Thank you, Moffness,” Han grumbles.
“Don’t you get it? This is an elite base. Do you really think you can shoot your way through? Surrender now and we’ll be generous,” the Moff spits, glaring at your group.
You unholster your blaster, checking it over and cocking it, hearing its small whining giving a sort of comfort you can really explain. You’ve always had your blaster, no matter what make or model, as long as the cool metal was in your grasp, you thought you could get through anything.
“You have no hope.”
That gets Leia’s attention, her face dropping into a serious one as she leans close to him, spitting the words in his face, “Hope is what you’ll never take from us.”
With that, the back hatch opens, letting the group file out and onto the main dock, Chewie already has the squirming Moff in his grip, a blaster in the other. You followed Han out, Luke just behind you. Taking a moment, you let yourself reach up and flatten the still drying blonde locks that fluffed up too much. He smiles lightly, grabbing your hand and nodding, a silent agreement between the both of you.
Whenever you got stressed, or nervous, you would always fix his hair. He let you, finding comfort in the way your fingers laced through the strands, your eyebrows scrunching when you found a knot. He doesn't tell you, he doesnt think he ever will, but he only ever wants your hands in his hair.
The dock was completely empty, allowing your group to easily get off and into the main building. The blast doors into the main compound were already open, a group of four stormtroopers sitting and playing what looked to be sabacc, you could really see. Leia and Luke stand on one side of the door, giving you, Han, and Chewie room to peek around and see inside.
The stormtrooper at the head of the small table, facing the blast doors, must have seen you first. His helmet jolted in your direction.
“Hey, guys!-” he yelps, the others turning. They didn’t have time to pull out their blasters, since you and Han turn into the room and immediately stun the group, Leia following closely. The cards fly up and around, and you almost slip on one.
“This is frankly embarrassing,” the Moff grumbles from his position on Chewie's shoulder. Han, still at the head of the group, grumbles, “You’re telling me.”
Making your way to a hallway, you and Han peer around, not finding any other stormtroopers, only droids. You all relax then, calmly walking the hallway when not hearing anything that alludes to troopers being nearby.
“Where are the rest of the guards?” You ask, tilting your head back to look at Han, who looked just as confused.
“The base is modular. There’re more guards in the other pods, but I don't think there's any more here. If we’re quiet,” she hisses in Luke and Hans' direction, “we should be safe.”
Scoffing, Han throws a hand over his shoulder, turning another corner of the deserted hallway. Mid-way down, a blue droid continues on its way, tools screwed into its hand.
“Looks like droids do the majority of the work, and we’ve got clearance,” Leia muses, hurrying her pace to fall in step with you.
“Hey,” Luke’s voice pipes up, “hope and luck? This is going well, for once.”
Groaning, you wince, “please don't say that.”
There was a small facial recognition screen on the wall, which led into the king's prison room. Chewie removes the Moff from his shoulder, slamming his face against the screen.
“This is also humiliating,” he grumbles, muffled by the screen.
“Hey, you’re a vital part of this rescue mission, Moff,” you hiss, waiting for the blast doors to slide open.
“Wait,” he replies, finally being pulled away once the doors hiss, “you’re here to rescue Lee-Char? You idiots!”
When you imagined the king behind the doors, you thought he would be casually sitting around like how Leia was on the Death Star. What you saw, made your stomach drop.
The king was laid onto a bed, various machines hooked up to the wall and IV bags. An oxygen tank was hooked up to a mask that kept the king breathing. And multiple monitors read out his body's condition.
There was no way you could take the king now, he would die just being taken off the table.
“The machines are the only thing keeping the king alive,” the Moff hisses. Han takes a step into the room, sighing.
“You just had to jinx it, Luke.”
The machines hissed and beeped as you all made it into the room. The moff, already opening his mouth to say something, was pushed up against the wall by Chewie, his crossbow already aimed at the man's jugular.
Raising both of your hands, you run them through your hair, breathing deeply. You had come all this way, just to not be able to save the king after all. There was no way you could even take off one of the machines, they were all keeping him alive.
Han scoffs from behind you, throwing his hands up.
“Oh, great plan. Fantastic,” he hisses, glaring at Leia and Luke.
“Rescue the king? Lead a rebellion? His highness can’t even sit up!”
Luke raises his hands in surrender, leaning close to Han, voice hushed, “we didn’t know, Han! And be quiet! Guards, think of the guards!”
“Yes, please,” a frail voice croaks, breaking the tension that was slowly growing in the room, “not so loudly.”
It took you a second to realize it was the king's voice, the oxygen mask that covered his mouth was muffling his words, his eyes cracking open to reveal a pale blue.
“Your majesty,” Leia sighs, rushing to his side, her eyebrows knit together in worry, leaning close.
“Yes, not quite-” he sucks in a breath, voice breaking off, “done yet.”
Han touches your shoulder, standing by your side as you look at the king.
“What word from Mon Cala? Is it free?”
Leia closes her eyes, “I’m sorry. I am Princess Leia. I represent the forces who are rebelling against the empire.”
His head leans to the side, seeming to fully try and focus on Leia.
“Is Raddus one of you? What about Ackbar?”
“Ackbar lives, but Raddus is gone. He died to ensure the destruction of a great Imperial War Machine. It's a long story,” Leia’s voice breaks at the end, her eyes squeezing shut at the memory.
Just the mention of Jedha makes your heart seize. You try not to dwell on the lives that were lost on the electric-storm-desert-planet. You know that it was necessary- for allies, and the slow defeat of the Empire. You wondered how many lives would have to be lost, just to make a barely noticeable dent in the fortress.
“A great one, Raddus. We had such hopes. We were told I was a man of destiny. I’d lead to the Empire's downfall. Arrogance, we rebelled, we were crushes. Why do you come to me?”
A spark reignited in Leia’s eyes, her chest puffing with confidence, “the rebellion needs a navy, we hoped the Mon Cala fleet would mutiny against the Empire, so we can refit them into warships. But the regent Urtya will not risk it,” she places her hand onto his, voice soft, “we hoped if you were freed, your people would listen to you.”
“I cannot be carried to my people,” his frail voice cuts her off, “so you must carry my words to them.”
“A recording droid,” you murmur, looking at Han over your shoulder, “this is a prison, right? Prisons have recording droids for interrogation.”
Luke smiles, turning to face the door, “if we’re quick, we can find one!”
“A scavenger hunt? Really?” Han questions, throwing his hands up.
“There must be one close, it won't be long! You and Luke can go find one,” you push Han lightly out the door, Luke grabbing his jacket to pull hima along.
“You, Moff. Stay there,” Leia hisses, pointing to the Moff still pressed against the solid wall.
You rush to the king's side, his eyes flickering to you, a small smile pulling at his lips.
“I’m assuming,” his voice hitches, “that you’re a princess too?”
Feeling your cheeks blush, you shoot a look to Leia, shaking your head, “I-no, your highness- I’m, well,” you can’t find the words, so you say the first thing that comes to mind, “I’m a smuggler.”
Han marches back in then, a round recording droid perched onto his shoulder, “looks like we found ourselves a talented volunteer with an interest in the arts!”
“Er,” Luke follows, “we’ve got a camera droid, Leia.”
“Right, Lee-Char,” she turns to the king, her hand resting on his, “take your time.”
Han lets the droid float from his shoulder, Luke positioning it and activating it, recording the King. Who doesn't take long, his hand being pulled away from Leia’s to pull down the oxygen mask, clearing his throat briefly before turning to the droid.
“I am Lee-Char, and I am dying.”
Han stands by your side, while you stand by Leia’s, his hand falling to your shoulder once more.
“But we are all dying. The question becomes, how do we wish to live the time we have? What kind of life do we wish to leave for those who follow us? I have been an absent king, and I am ashamed. I wish I could have been with you through this Imperial hell. I was with you in my heart. I have never forgotten you.”
He pauses for a brief moment, breathing deeply.
“The fleet is Mon Cala’s pride. Mon Cala knows the Empire’s evil. Their atrocities are burned on our flesh. We know what wrongs they have done, but we can only guess at the horrors they will do next. If we are with them when they do so, all our pride will curdle to shame, it cannot be so. Goodbye, my people.”
Leia doesn't smile, nor does she look at anyone, “stop the footage,” she utters softly.
“And don’t you dare make a joke, Han,” she hisses. Shaking his head, Han frowns, “sometimes, Leia, you don’t know me at all.”
Luke stood by himself on the other side of the king, his back towards the open blast door.
“Thank you for this opportunity, all these years, I hoped for a chance to-”
“Look out!” Luke yells, his gaze locked on the hallway, “they’ve seen-”
It seemed like all hell broke loose, Stormtroopers at the doors, blasting into the room with everything they had. The bed was pushed over, the king's body falling to the floor. Luke dove over, covering his head for some semblance of cover. Han grabs Leia, dragging her to the floor while you look at Chewie, who was already shooting at the first troopers he saw, then runs to knock the others out.
You can finally grab your blaster, aiming over the bed to shoot at more troopers that tried to file into the room. When the last one fell, you could finally look over the destroyed room.
“The king, he’s gone,” Luke utters, looking over the fallen king. Blood oozed from the blaster wounds that covered his body, steam leaving the one directly in the middle of his chest.
You finally stand, looking yourself over for any injuries, wincing at the small burns of crossfire. Luckily, you weren't wounded. The Moff was curled into a ball, leaning against the wall. He wasn’t needed anymore, you all could leave him.
“I’ll grab the recording,” you say, rushing over to the droid and sliding the small chip from under its red lens, holding it up to show Leia when she rushes past, Luke hot on her tail..
Chewie growls, looking down the hallway with a roar. Han, trying to follow Luke and Leia, rubs his arms, looking at you with a smirk.
“Yeah, you did great. Can we save the rest of the ego-stroking when we’re back on the ship? Let’s go!”
When you ran back out to the docks, there were a few stormtroopers overlooking your ship, backs turned.
Raising your blaster, you fire past Luke and Han, effectively nailing both troopers, “Get aboard!”
Chewie is the last to file on board, easily sliding past you to sit beside Han in the pilot's seat.
When you finally sit down, Luke is by your side, pulling at the small burn holes in your sleeves, eyebrows knit together with worry.
“I’m okay, Luke,” you murmur, smiling softly. He doesn't reply, but looks forwards at Han, who was frantically preparing the ship for departure. There was bound to be stormtroopers on your tail.
“Are you okay?” You ask softly, reaching out to pull at his sleeve. Shrugging, he clenches his jaw, “I don't want this to be for nothing.”
“Make the jump as soon as we’re out of the atmosphere,” Leia barks at Han, his eyebrows rising dramatically.
“Thanks, princess. I almost forgot how flying worked for a second. Good reminder!”
“Han!” You yell, kicking the back of his seat, “less sarcasm, more flying!”
“Chewie, punch in the coordinates. This is gonna be tight.”
The rest passed in a blur, flying through the water before breaking the surface, the turrets already locked on to your ship as you ascended to space. You can hear the missiles whistle as they are fired, one barely missing while the others continue to lock on.
“Han!,” you yell again, “They’ve locked on!”
“I know! I know! Okay, hold on,” he grabs the hyper speed lever, pressing more of the controls before counting down to himself.
The jump to hyper speed will always make your stomach drop, the lurch the ship gives is one you find comfort in, and distress. Luke almost falls out of his seat, but manages to sit down in time, smiling to himself when the stars finally pull into the familiar lines.
“Could the Falcon have pulled that off?” He teases, leaning up to look at Han, “Its hyperdrive always seems a little touchy to me-”
“Luke-” you try to warn, but Han beats you to it, pointing to the blonde with a glare, “you say anything else bad about the Falcon, farmboy, and you’re walking home.”
You couldn’t describe the face Han has when walking onto the Falcon again, his hands outstretched as he boarded, breathing in deeply like he hasn't seen the ship in years.
It took extra time for him to get the ship in the air, flying to the secluded location on Mon Cala where you would meet up with the droids and Tunga.
When you did land, there were articles of clothing laid around the small cove, Tunga covered in layers of clothing to cover his identity. Threepio and R2 immediately rushed over to greet you when you walked off the entry ramp, smiling at both of them.
“Hello Threepio, I assume things went well?”
“Oh, madam, you wouldn’t believe what happened even if I told it in great detail.”
Luke approaches from behind you, hand grazing your lower back as he smiles softly at the droids, Threepio walking over to greet him.
“Was the mission a success, Master Luke?”
Luke sucks in a breath, eyes blinking to the rocky ground, “no, yes, the king- he couldn’t be moved. He was too ill.”
“They gunned him down,” you say softly.
Reaching into your pocket, you bring out the small chip, handing it to Leia, “but we’ve got his last words.”
She nods her head, pursing her lips before looking at each of you, including Tunga, who stayed in the shadows.
“If this doesn’t inspire Mon Cala, nothing will.”
“He died giving a final performance?” Tunga speaks up, looking at the chip in Leia’s grasp, “I admire the fellow.”
“You should. He was a great Mon Calamari.” a voice breaks from behind the group. Turning, you find Urtya standing with multiple of his guards, standing on a small platform in the water, blaster in hand.
“But I do believe that recording is Mon Cala property.”
“Oh, great. The arch sniveller,” Leia hisses, her arms crossing, “how did you find us, Urtya?”
“A tracer on the droid. I was suspicious.”
There's a whistle from behind you, R2 spinning as Threepio looks down at him, “oh Artoo. You betrayed us! You fool!”
You feel a hand being laid on your shoulder, and turn to find Tunga, who looked almost scared in front of the Mon Calamari.
Urtya stretches his hand, eyes pinned on Leia, “hand it over, Princess.”
Yet, she stands her ground, “Your people need to be free, the king agreed. You can’t hide from the Empire forever.”
“These are my people. It is not your decision to risk our lives.
“I’ll never give it to you.”
Smirking, Urtya raises his blaster, firing a stun pulse at her “I know.”
She falls to the ground, and you’re the first to try and get to her, but Han grabs your arms, holding you back. Trying to wiggle away, you look to find the other guards aiming their weapons at you.
“Stun blasting her? That's low!” Luke hisses, Chewie wrapping his arm around him, holding the blonde back. Hans’ hands tighten around your arms when Urtya walks forwards to her unconscious body, grabbing the chip from her hand.
“Sneaky-”
“Mark of respect, the longer you tarry here, the more likely the Empire will find us. It would be unfortunate for two royal houses to die today. You were never going to walk away from here with the recording,” he stands, holding the chip closer as he inspects it, smirking.
“I have every sympathy for the rebellion. But leave, this is not your decision to make.”
“You’re a coward!” Luke cries, “Lee-Char would be ashamed, I-”
Han lets go of your arm, allowing you to get to the princess while he grabs Luke, voice stern, “No, Luke. This stinks, but it is what it is. The deals gone bad, and when the deals gone bad?”
“We get out of here,” you grumble, glaring at the Mon Calamari while Han slides his arm under Leia’s knees and back, lifting her into the air and back towards the Falcon, Chewie and Tunga following.
“Common, Luke,” you murmur, reaching out to grab his sleeve, pulling him towards the ship. Scoffing, he marches up the entry ramp.
Leia wakes shortly after being placed in her seat behind Chewie’s piloting chair, rubbing at her eyes while grumbling under her breath. You sit in the seat next to her, Luke standing in between while Han talks slowly to Chewie. Tunga remained in the main hold with the droids, no doubt trying to beat R2 in a holo-game, and no doubt losing to the droid.
“We were so close,” Leia says softly, her voice broken, “ all of it. For nothing.”
“It wasn’t for nothing,” you reply, glancing at her.
There's a crackling from the headset, and Chewie barks, handing it over to Han, who stares at the Wookiee in disbelief.
“What? You can’t be serious,” taking the headset, he slides it on, jaw dropping slightly.
Leaning close, you try and listen in, Luke’s head appearing next to yours, cheeks almost brushing.
“Listen-” he whispers, “they’re rebelling aboard the Mon Calamari ships. They’re talking about some footage of Lee-Char?”
“Urtya must have broadcasted the message!” You cry, pulling away to look at Leia, who was in disbelief.
“No, the timing is wrong,” she looks out the window, surveying the fleet, “They’re doing it with no preparation, no support.”
“You know what happens next,” Han grumbles, pulling the headset off roughly, looking back at you, “the Imperials send in the fleet.”
“They’re all going to die.”
Han jerks the steering, barely missing an incoming Star Destroyer. The ships flooded into the Mon Cala system, forming a blockade to prevent any of the ships from leaving. Luke curses under his breath, taking the headset from Han and sliding it onto his head, turning to the communications board.
“Well, good news, bad news,” Han grumbles, overlooking the radar and tilting his head. You lean forwards, overlooking the radar and whistling slowly.
“Actually, he means bad news- only bad news,” you correct, smiling to Leia who sighs.
“We’ve got a couple of blaster turrets, but that's not going to cut it against a sky full of Star Destroyers.”
You didn’t hear Tunga come in, but his voice breaks through over the slight caos the cockpit was descending into.
“Can’t you call your rebel friends? Isn't this their sort of thing? You know, rebelling?”
“Uh,” you turn to look at the clawdite, eyebrow raised, “Imperials can and will jam any signal that this ship size could send, there's no way-”
“Hey!” Luke shouts, looking at Leia, taking the headset off and handing it to you “we’re getting a message from the surface, it's the regent!”
With a nod, she slides the headset on, the regents voice just loud enough for you to make out what he was saying.
“I’m sorry I had to act without warning. There was no choice, the fleet was about to be commandeered. It was now or never, I’ve contacted the rebellion. They’re scrambling who they can-”
“Thank you, Urtya-” Leia squeezes in, her shoulders dropping in relief. You slap Hans’ arm, making sure he was also trying to listen in.
“Princess, that question I posed to you, ‘would you rebel if you knew what would have happened to Alderaan?’ I found myself mulling it over, and I realized my answer. I would rebel, if it could make a difference.”
“It’ll make a difference,” she replies, voice stern, “I’ll make sure of it, we all will.”
Urtya cuts off then, his link must’ve been severed by the Imperials.
“Look’s like we’ve got company,” Han muses, nodding towards the various rebellion ships leaving hyper space. It wasn’t a lot, but it was enough to break the blockade and get the Mon Cala fleet to safety.
“Ackbar to Falcon, our forces are scant, but it's all we could gather.”
Leia sighs, her eyebrows taut, “It’s just good to see any of you, what can we do to help?”
“I require time to coordinate the fleet and see if there's any way to slip the blockade.”
“The turrets,” you murmur, Luke nodding before exiting the cockpit, Leia sliding the headset off and handing it to you.
“So, after all the fancy schooling, all that you are right now is a trigger finger, get shooting, princess!”
Leia doesn't respond, running out of the cockpit and into the other blaster turret, Tunga watching from in front of the communication panel.
“If this works, I need a drink,” you grumble, turning back to stand in between Chewie and Han.
“Another port in a storm? You’re such an old lady,” Han replies, glancing over his shoulder.
“You’re older by like- you know what, this is pointless, get us in there so they can shoot down the Tie’s”
“Leia?” Luke’s voice says softly into the com, “do you remember how to handle the turret? It's easy, all you do is-” She cuts him off, firing at an incoming Tie, effectively shooting it down.
“Please, the fancy schooling included time with the trigger finger.”
Whistling again, you cover the mic and lean down to Hans’ side, “if you don't marry her, I will.”
Chewie barks from his seat, it sounded like a laugh, and from the way Han glared at the both of you, it was. He ignores the both of you, eyes locked in front of him. It never got boring to watch Han pilot, he always looked young again when flying.
“Bomber on a run, Luke, I’m going to try and give you the angle,” Han says, voice raised to let the boy hear it through the headset.
“You got it, blondie?” You tease, smirking.
“I got it.”
He does get it, not missing once. Leaning forwards, you let Han mover around the wreckage, looking to the radar before kissing your teeth.
“Nice shooting, but we’ve got more company.”
“Kriff, it's just out of range,” Han hisses, accelerating to try and lose the Tie.
“One’s on us, brace- we’re going to take a-”
What you thought was going to be a shot to the rear thruster, is an X-wing coming to your aid, shooting down the Tie and flying past.
“Having a little trouble, Falcon?”
“Wedge! When we get out of here, I’ll buy you whatever drink you want!”
“When? Try, ‘If’”
“Isn’t he just a ball of sunshine?” You say, looking at Han, who just shrugs his shoulders. One of the ships in the Mon Cala fleet begins evacuation, escape pods deploying from the side erratically. Then, multiple Tie dive in, shooting down any that they could reach. Gripping onto the back of Chewie’s seat, you curse under your breath.
“They’re going for the escape pods, really?” astonished, Tunga leans in next to you, watching closely.
“Yeah, you’ll find that working as a rebel really gives you a different perspective on the Empire,” Han glances over his shoulder, anger clear in his voice.
“Turns out, they’re not really nice guys,” you finish, looking at Tunga with a soft, sympathetic, smile.
“Luke, Leia! I’m taking us in,” Han shouts, nose diving down into the chaos. Chewie roars, turning his chair to redirect the deflector shields, while you grab both chairs to ensure you don't fall face first into the control panel.
Luke and Leia seem like the dream team when put together on the turrets, they don't miss any of their shots, taking down any Tie that flies in their path.
“Oh! Such heroism! Such Skill!” Tunga cries, hands behind his head from his place in the doorway. You didn’t notice Threepio come in, you thought he would have said something about the odds of coming out alive by now.
“If I can be so bold as to be a little forward,” he says, “this is not an amateur production.”
The remaining Mon Cala ship was approaching two Star Destroyers, their ship taking heavy fire as their shields failed.
“You think everyone made it off?” You turn to Han, chewing at your lower lip.
“I-”
Han was cut off, the entire Mon Cala ship exploding in a great ball of fire, consuming the entire side of the closest Star Destroyers, including the Tie fighters that were nearby. The bright light made your eyes sting, looking away while clenching them shut.
“Coaxium?” Han utters softly, squinting to see the destruction left behind.
“More than likely, haven't seen an explosion like that in a long time-”
“The blockade is breached, all ships to hyperspace. Now!” Admiral Ackbar’s voice crackles through, your hand slapping down on Han’s shoulder.
“Hyperspace- you dork- go! Luke! Leia! We gotta make the jump, brace yourselves!” You yell, pushing Tunga into the closest seat before falling into your own, almost laughing when Threepio rushes out of the cockpit, calling R2’s name.
“I heard the admiral amphibian! Making the jump in three, two and-”
The familiar lurch brings relief, and the look on Tunga’s face when he realizes he forgot to buckle in, makes a laugh finally bubble in your throat, the sound bringing smiles to both Han and Chewie.
You didn’t think that of all the planets Tunga could choose to be left on, The Cosmatanic Steppes was the last place. It was mostly grassland, the planet suspended above a gas giant in the outer rim. With three suns suspended in its sky, you thought the air would be hot and sticky. But there was a nice breeze, Luke’s yellow jacket back on your shoulders.
“I never thought I would see something like that,” Tunga comments, looking out over the fast green hills. Turning, there's a relaxed smile on his face, “Princess Leia, it has been a rare honor.”
Han and Luke stood by your side, Chewie examining the side of the Falcon to ensure no damage was serious.
”You were good, but don't try to charm me,” she muses, cape billowing in the wind as she stood in the front of your group.
“I have neither forgotten or forgiven you pretending to be my father.”
Tunga almost looks apologetic, his hands clasping at his front, “I’ll make it up to you.”
Turning, he begins to make his way towards the small town in the distance, before turning back and raising a hand, “well, it’s certainly not to give your droid acting lessons, I wouldn’t want him upstaging me!”
“Wait,” you said, smiling, “Threepio was acting?”
“Did you hear that, Artoo?” Threepio muses, following the droid back onto the Falcon, “I'm talented, I have potential!”
R2 whistles, causing Threepio to scoff, “Oh, don't be so jealous.”
Turning to Luke, you smile, seeing his hair wild and tangled in the wind. Reaching up, you try to comb it back down, his eyes watching you softly.
Han clears his throat, and you rip your hand away quickly, huffing, “can we go home now?” You ask, biting your cheek. Laughing, Leia nods, looking between you and Luke briefly.
“Oh- you think I didn’t see that?” Han muses, following you closely as you try and hide your growing blush.
“No-” you hiss, eyes landing on your savior, “Chewie! Any damage?”
“Don't change the subject!”
Chapter 4: HOPE DIES
Summary:
The murder of their beloved king at the hands of the evil Empire has inspired open revolt on Mon Cala! Thanks to a timely counterattack by Admiral Ackbar as well as the heroics of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, (Y/n) (L/n), and Han Solo, the Mon Calamari’s powerful fleet now stands ready to fight for peace and justice with the Rebel Alliance. Armed with new ships and new allies, the Rebellion is finally poised to take back the galaxy from the Empire in earnest. But the Rebels also owe their recent victory to Queen Trios of Shu-Torun and her defection to their cause. But Trios may have plans of her own...
Chapter Text
Pulling the yellow jacket tighter around your shoulders, you pinch your nose and lean forward, the droid in front still sitting with its arms crossed.
“Okay,” you huff, turning to Threepio, “Tell them ‘I’ll throw in the droid if I get 10 percent off.’”
Han chokes on a laugh, leaning back in his chair, bringing the empty cup up to his lips to hide his smile.
“Oh, Madam! You can’t be serious!” Threepio cries, looking between you and Han.
“Oh yeah, of course, she’s joking.”
The cantina has a dark atmosphere, with different droids and creatures littering the area by themselves, nursing a cold drink.
“No Alaphani worth the name would give us 10 percent off just for a droid. Tell them the deal’s good,” Han whispers to you and Threepio, uncrossing his leg and setting the cup back on the metal table.
“Certainly, sir,” Threepio sounds much happier at not being sold for transponder codes. As he talks to the droid, his voice changes to a different register as he effortlessly translates the sentence.
The Alphani sitting across from you was a sentient droid-type creature, you didn’t know where the beast ended, and the droid began, the switch almost indistinguishable. With small blue eyes that peek out from a thin sliver of gray skin, large blocky teeth, and long skinny fingers, you couldn’t help the involuntary shivers that ran down your spine each time it spoke. It reminded you too much of the droid-creatures from Jedha- except those actually scared you and could potentially kill you if you spoke wrong.
Chewie makes his way to the table, barking at Han with frantic eyes and waving hands.
“What’s up, Chewie?” Han asks, finger twirling the cup on its rim slowly. Your once hot drink had gone cold after the deal almost took a turn for the worst.
Hans’ face drops, and he turns to give you a look of concern. Threepio twisted his head frantically to look around the cantina.
Sometimes, you really needed to invest in learning shyriiwook.
“Bounty hunters?! Where-”
“Don’t say it so loud!” Han hisses, reaching over you to slam a hand onto Threepio's mouth.
Chewie nods his head lightly over his shoulder, and you have to lean slightly into Hans’ side to see the two bounty hunters that just entered the cantina.
“Oh, maker- why now?” You say softly, turning to Threepio with furrowed eyebrows.
“Tell him good doing business with him, or whatever the equivalent is in alaphani.”
“Okay, let’s get to the Falcon, yeah?” Han pushed away from the table, straightening out his vest and looking down at you. Threepio nods, “certainly, madam.”
Reaching down to your belt, you grab the small leather pouch tied next to your holster, its contents clinking lightly as you set it on the table, opening it and fishing out the required credits.
When Threepio turns back to you, you expect him to say anything but, “That’s ‘our regurgitated mouth mucus proved easy to mix.’”
Cringing, you provide a strained smile at the creature, grabbing the small device from its hand before standing, clearing your throat as you glance once more at the bounty hunters.
You wait until Threepio is standing before nodding to Han, both of you dashing towards the exit, the other two close behind. There’s a small smile on your lips as you exit the door, unclipping your blaster and pressing your body against the wall next to the door, Han opposite to you with Chewie and Threepio behind him.
Cocking your blaster, you can hear the faint scatter of feet, and the door swings open, both bounty hunters stumbling out. Holding out your blaster, you rest its barrel against the closest hunter's head, smirking. Han mirroring your actions with the other.
“Hi,” you say lightly, catching the hunters’ eyes flickering to you.
“My droid will look after your weapons,” Han hisses, Threepio wobbling forwards to take the rifles, mumbling under his breath how ‘I would never do this with Artoo- what would he say now?’
The stinging smell of lingering garbage makes your eyes water, and the dark sky doesn't help with navigating your way back to the Falcon, both hunters are left at the cantina’s door, weaponless. The transponder code’s cartridge sits in your pocket, your blaster still in hand as you walk beside Han.
“Tell Jabba I’m good for it, he’ll get his money! I swear!” Han yells over his shoulder, huffing under his breath as Chewie lowers the entrance ramp.
“It’s getting too risky,” you grumble, hearing Chewie bark from the cockpit. Han waves his hand, looking over the weapons that sit on the small round table in front of the curved couch.
“Once, we’re done here- I’ll pay off Jabba, and you’ll be able to stop worrying.”
“Han- you do realize that I’m wanted now too, right? Being seen with you put my name right next to yours on Jabba’s kill list, whatever stalling we do now, it’s going to come and kick us both in the rear,” you move past him, holstering your blaster and walking into the cockpit, Han hot on your heels.
“You think I don't know that? You didn’t have to come, I didn’t ask you to!”
“I know!” You shout, throwing yourself into your seat, “but I thought it was just a smuggle to Alderaan! I didn’t anticipate being dragged into all this rebel shit, but now I can’t just leave!”
Han rolls his eyes, “you can leave anytime you want- you just don't wanna leave.”
Chewie barks once more, and Han finally throws his hands up in surrender.
“Chewie, stop complaining, we’re not missing the party! Do you really think Leia would let us near the fancy brass, anyway?”
“Speak for yourself,” you grumble, throwing your leg over the armrest of your seat.
“Better we do what we’re good at,” Han sighs, rubbing his forehead, “and I’ve got a contact who’ll pay top credits for that prime collection of fresh transponder codes.”
“You’re welcome, by the way,” you say, smirking once more. Reaching into your pocket, you let the device fall into Hans’ waiting hand, his eyes looking it over before nodding once, sitting down in his seat.
“We’re missing Luke’s show,” your voice is soft, picking at your nails. Han sighs, glancing at Chewie, preparing the Flacon for departure.
“Oh yeah. Luke’s thing. Yeah, you got me there, I’d have liked to have seen that too.”
Threepio makes his way into the cockpit, sitting himself down next to you and clipping himself in.
“Did you want to see Luke’s show too, Threepio?”
His head turns to you, “It would’ve been a delight, madam. I’m afraid Artoo will be quite angry with me for missing his big debut on stage.”
“Ugh,” you groan, letting your head fall back, “Tunga’s rubbed off on you too much.”
Closing your eyes, you can feel the Falcon lift into the air, the floor vibrating above the engine.
“Do you think Luke is freaking out?” You ask, smiling softly. The entire time you were here, you wondered about him, and a small part of you hoped he was wondering about you too. Leia gave you a sad smile before you left, Luke upset that you were tagging along with Han. Why can't you stay? He asked you, blue eyes pleading. Stay, for me- and the show! Han is fine by himself!
The familiar lurch into hyperspace made your eyes flicker open, watching the stars extend slowly. Han leans back in his seat, rubbing his eyes harshly.
“You look like a lovesick puppy,” you comment, watching his shoulders tense, slowly turning to look at you.
“I do not, I am not a lovesick puppy.”
There's a brief pause, your quiet laughing filtering through the air.
“If anyone is a lovesick puppy, it's you,” he grumbles, turning back to the control panel.
For once, you don’t respond, you don't quip back in a snarky remark, or deny the accusation. But the silence slowly eats away at you, consuming the last bit of unacknowledged longing for the blonde.
“Yeah,” you sit up, stretching your back, “I can’t seem to get Leia off my mind.”
Han ignores you but scoffs. Chewie growled out something to Han while turning to the large wall next to him, overlooking the Falcon’s statistics.
“Yeah, Chewie, you never know. Luke’s thing may have been delayed. Maybe we can still watch-”
The Falcon drops out of hyperspace, still a distance away from the Mako-to base. But that isn’t what makes your heart stop, stomach-dropping to your feet.
It's the two Star Destroyers, accompanied by the biggest Imperial Star ship you’ve ever seen. From your vision on the back, the giant ship had twelve thrusters, wings spanning the size of three to four regular Star Destroyers.
You almost fall out of your seat when you get up to stand in between Chewie and Han, who had fallen silent at the sight.
“The show,” Han mutters, eyebrows furrowing. Chewie growls once more, tilting his head.
“You said it, Chewie.”
Threepio stands from his seat, trying his best to squeeze in next to you.
“Perhaps this is some manner of wargame, Sir? A Symbolic display for the dignitaries?”
Han scoffs, tossing a glare to the droid, “This ain’t no wargame, goldenrod! This is the most Imperials I’ve ever seen.”
“See if you can signal the base, contact anyone,” you say softly, giving the droid a small smile.
“See any way in?” You ask, narrowing your eyes at the fleet. Han sighs harshly, shrugging his shoulders as he taps the glass screen of the radar, clicking his tongue.
“Unless we get in contact with the base, there's no way she can make it through-”
“Oh, Threepio. Am I glad to hear you! Is Han there? (Y/n)? We need to-”
Leia’s voice was rushed over the com in Threepio’s hand, frantic as she speaks your names.
“We’re here, Leia!” You call, smiling.
“Slow down, Princess. Tell us what's going on-”
“Han! (Y/n)! Trios betrayed us. She disabled all the rebel cruisers just before dispersal.”
Sharing a look with Han, you turn back to look over the Navi-computer, going back over your previous coordinates to see if you were followed or not. The last thing the rebellion needed was a band of bounty hunters or even more Imperial Starships.
“They’re defenseless, immobile, and can’t launch fighters. We're trying to work out what we can do,” You hear Leia sigh softly, probably glancing at someone by her, “docking doors are sealed, but their proximities still work. If a ship flies at the bay door, it’ll open.”
You almost laugh, but swallow it, turning to call over your shoulder, “Just tell them to fly at the doors!”
“Their comms are also down. We can’t. We need someone to go and tell them.”
Han scoffs again, “wait- are you seriously asking me to go in there by myself, against the whole fleet, and then fly at a sealed docking door that may or may not open?”
“Han, this is the hour of need. If there-”
“Hey!” he snaps, rolling his shoulders as he shifts in his seat, “save the speech for someone who falls for that kind of thing. I’m on it.”
The Star Destroyers were firing at one of the Mon Cala ships now, green lasers hitting the deflector shield. Han flicked off the comm, cursing under his breath.
“This had better impress her.”
“Ha!” you laugh, pointing a finger at him, “you do like her!”
“I never said that!- You know, this isn't the time. Chewie, get to the guns, top turret.”
Chewie barks, getting up from his seat and ruffling your hair as he passes.
“Okay, (Y/n), get the shields, yeah? Goldy, don't touch anything.”
You sit down in Chewie's seat, smirking at Han as you flick on the shields, grabbing the controls and swinging it into place.
“You don't have to be mean, Han. Threepio,” you call softly, turning to smile at him, “Buckle up, Han is a terrible pilot.”
“I really don't need your side comments,” he grumbled, glaring at you.
“I’m just trying to lighten the mood, you’re terrible at it.”
“Will you just keep the shields up and balanced? If we stay close enough to a Star Destroyer, they’re not going to be able to hit us.”
Hitting the accelerator, he flies close to a Destroyer, pressing down on the turret and fires at the surface.
“We need fighters on us-”
Chewie roars from his spot, voice crackling through the comms, Han smiling as he shifts in his seat once more, pulling up harshly to avoid the highest part of the Star Destroyer. The radar begins beeping, blaring a high-pitched alarm as Tie fighters begin to tail. Cursing, you aim the shield, groaning at the pull the ship gives.
“Yeah, I see them. Perfect.”
“Remind me why we’re happy we have Tie’s on our ass?”
“If we’ve got fighters, the big guys won't fire. Too much risk in hitting their own ships,” he replies, looking at the radar before steering right and begins flying toward one of the cruisers.
“I hope,” he adds quietly, “So, now we can make a run for the nearest rebel cruiser.”
You can hear the top turret firing, most of the Tie’s in front being shot down as you came closer to one of the cruisers. Chewie barked once more, causing Han to scoff and yank the steering close to him, the ship diving above the tie that was once below you, letting Chewie effectively shoot it down.
“Kriff! A warning next time!” You yelp, holding onto the arm of the chair as your gut is glued to the floor.
“Oh, you’re fine,” he comments, rolling his shoulders once more.
“That gave us a few seconds before turbolasers open up again.”
Smiling, you glance away from the deflector shield, looking at Han, “Let’s get this over with, yeah?”
As you begin to get close enough to the cruiser to land, Han smirks, “the princess better be ri-”
He’s cut off, a blow hitting right below the Falcon’s back thruster, the ship diving nose-first below the Rebel cruiser, the ship rocking violently. Yelping, you spin in Chewie’s chair and look over the control panel, cursing.
“The stabilizers burning!”
“Reset the manual- Gotta pull out-” He strains, trying to gain control of the ship. Your head swims, hands flying out in muscle memory to reset, clenching your eyes shut as the space continued to spin. It wasn’t until the ship finally balanced out that you sighed in relief, Threepio still crying out, “We’re doomed!”
Chewie roars, his voice worried, “Yeah, whoever it was came outta nowhere,” Han calls back, looking over the radar.
“Who the hell can fly like that?” you say softly, turning the chair back around to scour the radar, trying to pinpoint where the mystery ship was. You could hear Chewie firing, his barks, and roars echoing through the Falcon.
“Whoever he is, he’s good,” Han grumbles, eyes flickering across the control panel, “but this move should lose him.”
Han begins flying erratically, diving around Star Destroyers, but the Tie doesn’t lose sight.
“I do believe he’s still on our tail, sir.”
He scoffs, “just be quiet back there, I’ll handle the flying.”
Another sharp turn, kissing his teeth, “Chewie! Hit him already!”
You don't understand why Chewie roars back, but it makes Han tense.
“Okay,” Threepio hums, voice tight, “let's not panic.”
“Why would I panic? It’s only Darth Vader.”
“Vader?!” You yelp, turning to stare at him, “We have Vader on our tail and we’re not going to panic?”
“Sir, Madam, I believe by your demeanor you are both somewhat panicked.”
“Are you a med droid now?” Han snaps back, “Just hold on.”
“I’ve been holding on, you idiot.”
“I’m going to bring us in fast. As long as our transponder is singing rebel, those bay doors will open right up,” He says, steering the ship towards the cruiser once more. Chewie’s voice crackles through his headset, and Han scoffs.
“I know going in at this speed is dangerous. But I’ll tell you what's more dangerous; Being out here with Darth Vader!”
Pushing harder on the accelerator, Han grumbles under his breath words you can’t make out. A red light flickers on the radar, and when you lean down to look at it, your stomach drops.
“Han, missiles inbound- you might wanna go faster-”
“I know!”
You don't remember the last time Han’s pushed the Falcon this far. The bay doors close in faster than you thought they would, and at the last second, han yells out, pulling up on the joystick to dodge the incoming missiles from Vader. The bottom of the Falcon jolts against the side of the cruiser, alarms blaring as part of the ship was torn.
“Kriff!” You yelp, trying not to fall out of your seat, eyes flickering over the control wall to gauge where the damage was.
“Oh, the poor people,” Threepio sighs, his metal hand on your shoulder. Raising an eyebrow, you turn back and look out into space, jaw-dropping slightly.
One of the Mon Cala ships were evacuating, and the surrounding Tie’s were taking the opportunity to shoot down any escape pod they came across, the ship going up in flames. It exploded seconds after the hull was hit, some of the escape pods even being consumed by the fire.
“Yeah. But right now? We’re all poor people,” Han sighs, leaning back in his seat, sweat beading on his forehead. When did it get so hot in here?
“Wait, that could work-”
“Han, please don’t tell me-”
“Chewie!” He yells, “Get down here! You’re never going to hit him. I’ve got an idea.”
You can feel Chewie’s hand press against your shoulder, his body leaning over his chair to look at Han, who was still looking at the ablaze Mon Cala ship.
Threepio lifts a hand, “Sir, I’m unsure what your plan could be. We need to pass Princess Leia’s message to the cruiser, but if we can’t get close enough to land how can-”
“That’s Vader,” Han seethes, “He’s never going to let us get close. But if we can’t land, maybe we can send a messenger? We need someone to tell them the bay doors work and you just need to fly at them,” he turns to look at Threepio, “you up for that?”
Groaning, you slouch in the chair, rubbing your eyes roughly.
“Of course!” Threepio agrees, his voice loud, “it would be my honor! But I’m not sure how I-”
“Great.” Han quips back, “Get the droid to a pod, Chewie.”
Growling, Chewie lifts Threepio, throwing him over his furry shoulder and walking out of the cockpit, Threepio trying to talk to Han on the way.
“Okay,” you say, sitting up in the seat again when another jolt rocks the ship, the Falcon wouldn’t last much longer if Vader kept firing.
“I’m assuming we need a distraction? There’s no way Threepio’ll make it without being blown to bits.”
Sighing, Han tilts his head to look at the Mon Cala ship, your gut twisting.
“Not my first choice, but it might be our only one.”
“That’s how we die, you idiot,” you seethe, glaring at him. Shrugging, he looks back at you with a sad smirk.
“I’ve been blockade running since I got my own ship,” he steers the ship towards the cloud of fire, intimidating and screaming ‘death wish! Do not enter!’ “This isn't any different.”
“This is very different- this isn't the Kessel run!”
Ignoring you, the Falcon flies straight into the cloud. Immediately, the glass was covered with fire, small rocks, and debris hitting against the glass.
“There’s no way Vader can follow us through this.”
Feeling sweat begin beading on your forehead, you clutch onto the arms of your chair, wincing when a particularly large piece of debris hit the side of the ship.
Han was speaking softly under his breath, eyebrows scrunched in concentration with his knuckles turning white as he gripped onto the controls. The radar was blaring with different alarms, but the large red outline of Vaders ship was growing further from your path, Han making one last sharp turn before breaking out of the cloud, Vader nowhere to be found.
“Yes!” Han cries, leaning back in his seat to press onto the comms, smiling lightly.
“Okay, we’ve got a little distance on Vader. Now see if we can use it. Ready, Chewie?”
Chewie roars back over the comms, Threepio’s voice quiet in the background.
“If he finds an airlock, goldenrod will be able to tell ‘em about the doors.”
A small light on the panel began blinking, Han reaching forwards to hover a finger over it, “Okay, on my mark. Three, two, one and-” he presses down, and the Falcon rumbles for a moment before the airlock hisses, releasing the escape pod towards the Rebel cruiser.
You hoped it didn’t take long for Threepio to get inside and relay over the information. Han continued to tilt his head to look at the cruiser, and Chewie managed to lean between the both of you, not shooing you from his seat but instead ruffling your hair in a sort of comfort when the hull of the Falcon once again groaned under the blaster shots Vader delt.
It wasn’t until the first X-wing left the bay doors that you slouched and sighed in relief. You hoped it was Luke that flew out first, he was always the bravest out of your group. Always volunteering to go first when something dangerous came up, or when it came to heading out into battle against the Empire.
There's more groaning and hissing from the Falcon, and the control panel begins you begin sparking, the engines going into overdrive. Smoke begins to seep into the cockpit, and you get up to allow Chewie to sit and begin tending to the Falcon. Flying behind the fleet of X-wings, Han settles the Falcon into the middle of the group.
Cursing, Han grabs the headset, “Falcon to all of,” he pauses, glancing at Chewie who grumbles lightly, Han’s eyebrows shooting up, “‘Rogue squadron’? Really?” Han scoffs, looking back at you when you lightly slap his shoulder, “Listen, you can’t stay out here. Nuzzle up against the destroyers. Take it from a smuggler- this always works.”
Chewie barks, motioning around the control panel, Han covers the mic of the headset, leaning in close to the Wookiee, “Hey- I figure they don’t need to know the odds, either.”
“That's just false hope, Han,” you grumble, watching the control panel begin smoking. He shrugs, more flashing lights flickering in front of him.
“Any hope is worth it. At least, that’s what the princess would say.”
“Han,” Luke’s voice breaks out over the coms, your chest squeezing, “the Falcon barely looks like it’s in one piece, what happened?”
Han chuckles, “Darth Vader happened. Keep your eyes open. He’s out there somewhere.”
“Fire from the capital ships is dropping off. Just the ties to worry about. Nice work, Flacon.” Wedge’s voice pipes up.
Luke laughs, “Yeah, nice work, Admiral Solo.”
Laughing, you slap his shoulder again, seeing him tense.
“Make another joke like that, kid, and next time I won't come back to bail you out.”
More X-wings deviate from the group to shoot down more ties, the destroyer you were hugging was being shot at with missiles, and most of the on-deck turrets going up in flames.
“What’s next?”
“We need to spread the word to the fleet that they can still launch their fighters. Then we can have some company out here.”
Wedge’s voice cuts back in, “the entire fleet? Their comms are down and we can’t land on them all, they’ll pick us off if we split up.”
There's a pause, Luke humming lowly, “Maybe we don’t have to.”
Hearing a loud hissing from the main hull, you leave the cockpit in quick steps to look around, seeing thick black smoke coming in front of the back of the ship, near the escape pods. The ceiling was black, flames licking into the hallway as the wires sparked.
“Uh- Han?!” You yell, not knowing what to do at the moment.
“Yeah?”
“We have a problem back here! We need to land the Falcon, now!”
The ship rocked violently, your feet almost sliding from under you, almost sending you straight under the fire. Turning, you rush back to the cockpit, smoke almost completely filling the tight space.
“She hasn’t looked like this since the Kessel run,” Han grumbles, rubbing a hand on the controls, “hold together, baby, just a little longer.”
“Han, I don't think the baby has a little longer.”
Beginning to fly closer to the cruiser, you leave the cockpit once more to survey the rest of the ship, pinpointing the damages for when you inevitably had to repair her. That was when the ship rocked again, violently. It threw you off of your feet, side slamming into the wall, right into sparking wires. It burned through your tunic, pressing into your skin. Crying out, you push yourself away from the wires, the ship continuing the rock until you were flat against the roof, hearing Han and Chewie arguing from the cockpit.
Feeling your side throbbing, you try and touch the wound, but when you actually do, you pull away from your hand harshly at the stinging sensation that seemed to bite down into your muscles.
You don’t know when the Falcon came to a complete halt, but you do remember Han lifting you from the ground while asking a bunch of questions, his hands holding your face while Chewie assessed your side.
“I’m fine!” You cry out, pushing them both away. Han limps when he manages to pull himself out of the Falcon, Chewie helping you out behind him. The pain flares up your side, but you push it to the back of your mind, instead of focusing on the people that run around the hanger, a few x-wings left behind.
“Get me anything with wings! I gotta get back out there,” Han says, his voice wavering.
“Han- wait,” you say, following him down the side of the Falcon- or the bottom since the entire ship was laying upside down.
He doesn’t reply, rushing towards the hanger’s exit and into the room with flight suits. He picks out one of the bright orange jumpsuits, trying his best to put it on over his tunic and pants. Looking at the array of suits, you pick one out that would seem to fit. Wincing when you outstretched your arm, skin pulling against your burn.
“What are you doing?”
Han’s looking at you with furrowed eyebrows and tight shoulders. In his hand is his vest, scrunched up as his knuckles turn white.
“You don’t think you’re going out there alone, right?” You say, pushing your legs through the scratchy fabric. Scoffing, he reaches out to grab your arm, “No, you’re going to the med-wing, you think I’m gonna let you go out there with, what, second-degree burns on your side?”
“I don’t think it’s your decision if I’m allowed to fly or not,” you hiss, pulling the fabric over your shoulders, zipping up the front. The white vest was next, pulling it on your shoulders and reaching to grab the small black computer that latched to the front.
“I’m older than you!”
“That doesn't mean jack-shit! Can we go now? We’re losing time,” you push past him, walking back to the hanger and to one of the only X-wings left.
“(Y/n)!” Han yells, jogging to catch up to you. Shaking your head, you climb the ladder and settle down in the pilot's seat. Chewie roars, hand settling on the nose of the ship. Han is on the ladder behind you, staring at you as you fumble slightly with the helmet.
“I don’t wanna hear it! Luke needs us,” you bite the inside of your cheek, “the fleet needs us, now will you please drop this until we get back? Feel free to lecture me then.”
Sighing, he brings a hand up to rub his eyes, glaring at you before descending the ladder, passing by a frantic Chewie to get into his own X-wing.
“I know! I know!”
The cockpit of the X-wing was claustrophobic. The joystick is positioned right between your knees, with the radar in the middle of the control panel. There were power diverters to the weapons, engines, and shields. With the hyperspace jump charge, the radar, aim assist, and engine restart, you found yourself overwhelmed.
Reaching forwards, you flip the small line of switches at the top of the panel, the engine coming to life, the comm inside your helmet coming to life, the radar showing static before the light green screen becomes clear.
Grabbing the joystick, you pull lightly against it, feeling the ship rise, the engine humming. The wings haven't expanded yet, the small switch still idle in front of you.
“Luke,” Han’s voice breaks into your helmet. It sounds like he’s right next to you, filling your helmet loudly. “The Falcon is fried. We’re in an X-wing. Coming out now.”
There is another roar from the hanger, and you smile at how worried Chewie sounds.
“Yeah, Chewie. Don’t worry. We’ll be back. I’ve gone through worse scrapes than this.”
There's a moment of silence, smiling at Han when his X-wing hovers beside yours, before Luke’s voice floods your helmet, your heart lurching.
“Good to have you, Han- wait, did you say ‘we’?”
Another pause, and you smirk, “Hi there, blondie, miss me?”
“So, can you fly just about everything?” Wedge cuts in, a smile in his voice. You don't see it, but Luke’s smiling, cheeks pink at the nickname you dubbed him a while ago.
“Careful, Wedge, she’ll outfly you any day,” Han teases, looking over at you.
Shaking your head, you flip the switch for the wings, feeling the vibration crawl through your body as the wings separate into two, more systems turning on for the dog fight you were about to fly into.
When you fly out onto the battlefield, your radar immediately begins to blink with enemy bogies, Tie, and Y-wings flying all around you. X-wings and Y-wings defend the remaining Mon Cala fleet ships that have failing shields.
You manage to stay close to Han when you come across Luke’s ship, little R2’s head spinning at the sight of both of you. You aren’t able to count the amount of Tie’s you’ve shot down. The X-wing under your hands doesn’t seem to want to cooperate, but then you remember that no X-wing can be tamed. The joystick fights against you but never disobeys. The blaster fire you send towards Tie’s sometimes miss, but after cursing and fixing your aim, you can shoot them down.
“Luke!” Han’s voice strains, “A lucky pilot slipped past me. He’s coming your way.”
“Oh no,” You muse, flying back into formation next to Han, “A pilot getting past you?”
You can see the Tie on the radar, flying erratically to miss the remains of Han’s blaster fire.
“Don’t worry, Han. I’m on them!”
There's a moment of stillness, you and Han watching as Luke catches up to them, but hesitates. The Tie doesn't evade the targeting system Luke uses, and it doesn’t try to get behind any of you to retaliate fire.
“This feels wrong. Artoo, are the scanners picking up anything strange about it? No answer? Great.”
“Maybe they’re shy,” you joke, Han swallowing his laugh.
“You know, Luke. Put aside the fact they’re not shooting at us. They’re not even flying like an academy-trained pilot.” There's another Tie ahead of it, and it doesn't hesitate in shooting it down. Not firing at you, but one of its own? That's unheard of for the Empire unless they suddenly decided halfway into their mission to join the rebellion.
“I don't think Tie pilots do that,” You say, keeping an eye on your radar for any Tie that might come in behind you.
“Whoever it is, they’re on our side, I just know it. Rogue squadron! Form up on me and protect this Tie fighter. Wherever it's going? We get them there.”
“This is potentially a bad idea, what if they’re just trying to trick us?” You try and reason, but Luke had already made up his mind, and you knew that you couldn’t change it.
“I just have a feeling, just trust me, please.”
The Tie changes course. Instead of flying out into dead space, it turns, flying straight towards a Mon Cala ship.
“(Y/n)! Han! I need help, I think it's trying to land- but the bay doors won't open without a rebel transponder. We need to keep the doors open. Form up behind the Tie, tightly.”
Biting the inside of your cheek, you form up next to Han, following behind Luke and the Tie straight towards the Ship.
“Yeah, yeah. I know the drill.”
Smiling, you check the radar again, “If we don't keep it open, that tie’ll just ram straight into the doors.”
“And this will have been a whole lot of effort for nothing,” Han grumbled. When you check the radar again, you almost shout, “Luke! Look out! They’re above!”
“I have to stay on target!”
You don't break formation, watching the Tie from above move into battle formations, shooting at your group. You want to defend Luke, to defend Han, but you stay in place, following behind the Tie.
A blaster shot manages to hit the back of Lukes’ ship, almost taking out R2, but before they could take any other shots, the bay doors begin to open. The Tie’s immediately back off, probably thinking more X-wings were going to emerge and take them all out. The Tie crashes unceremoniously in the hanger, parts of the wings breaking off. The top hatch opens and Leia’s form pops out quickly, holding up something small in her hand.
Landing between Han and Luke, you ignore the flaring pain in your side and rush to the burning X-wing, R2 whistling and beeping from his spot. The canopy opens, and Luke slides off his helmet with pink cheeks and furrowed brows.
“Luke!” You yell, hauling yourself up the side to grab at his arms, hands running over the orange jumpsuit to find any injuries. When your hands finally rest on his face, you let your lips downturn into a frown, “you okay? Nothing hurt?”
“I- big shock, but I’ll be fine,” his voice soft, until his eyes flicker to Leia, his attention directed away from you.
“Leia! It was you?! How did you get over to the huge ship-”
“The executor,” she interrupts, voice closer. When you climb down from the ship, you push past a flabbergasted Han, wrapping the princess in a hug.
“Thanks for not shooting me,” she says, pulling away, letting her arm rest around your waist. You ignore the stinging pain, opting for a wince that you hide in her shoulder.
“Yeah, lucky Luke talked me out of it. Another few seconds and I would’ve blaster you,” Han throws an arm around Luke, who smacks it away with a small smile.
“Oh stop it, I’m just glad you made it.”
When looking over her shoulder, you spot Threepio, sporting only the upper half of his body.
“Threepio! Glad you made it.”
“Hello, Madam. I made it, but at the expense of my legs. Thankfully, master Meorti helped stop my wires from sparking.”
Meorti, who was sitting at the terminal, was waving her hand to your group, beckoning you all over. Leia is the first one over, watching over Meorti’s shoulder as she slides in the small chip Leia gave her. With Han at your side, Luke managed to peer over your shoulder at the computer screen, his hand on your lower back so he didn’t startle you.
“All Systems operational,” Meorti says, smiling.
Leia turns, wrapping her arms around Han, smiling brightly at him. You can feel Lukes’ arms wrap around you from behind, lifting you lightly into the air before setting you down. Your side burns. The pain seemed to be cranked up tenfold, throbbing down your hip and up into your shoulder. Luke’s hug made you think of it again, hot tears fill your eyes, and you just hope the others think it's from happiness.
The ship lurches into hyperspace, but you don't notice, not like you do when in the Falcon. You’re too busy trying to swallow the pain, turning and grabbing onto Han’s arm. You wished Chewie was here, he would carry you to the med bay, maybe ruffle your hair while you get a bacta treatment.
When you grab onto Hans’ arm, he drops the once happy smile and grips your shoulders, speaking to you softly, like you’re a kid that just got stung by a bee.
“Hey- hey, you okay?”
“I’m fine,” you reassure, but he can see through you, he always could.
“We have to get you-”
“No, Han, please. I’m fine.”
Leia and Luke disappeared somewhere, their bright smiles gone, giving you no distraction. Han was still talking lowly to you, his voice barely managing to cut over the loud celebration of everyone since jumping to hyperspace.
“This isn’t like that blaster graze- you’re seriously hurt,” he says, hands lifting your face to force you to look at him.
“What are you,” you smirk, “my father?”
“Don’t try to change the subject-”
“Han! (Y/n)!” Leia calls, waving from the small crowd that was gathered. Luke was behind her but was talking to the rest of the remaining pilots. When she finally makes it back over to you both, she has a strained smile and worried eyes.
“General Dodonna gave us the okay on a counterattack to get the rest of the fleet out- we have some ships to take so we can relay the information, but it’ll be dangerous.”
“Count me in, what's the plan?” Han’s full attention was back on Leia, but his arm still grasped onto your bicep, keeping you in place.
“You’ll lead the transports to the fleet, and General Dodonna will create a distraction so you can safely pass through hyperspace. Rogue squadron will help defend the ships, you’ll lead. It’s the best we can come up with, with how low our resources are right now-”
“No, its doable,” you cut in, swallowing the lump in your throat and pushing the mission to the forefront of your mind.
She looks at you then, eyes flickering across your orange suit before her lips thin into a line, eyebrows furrowing.
“You got hurt, didn’t you?”
Han almost laughs, “glad you noticed!”
“I’m fine,” defending yourself, you try to smack away his arm, but his grip tightens.
“You can stay in the transport with me and Luke, I don’t think you should be flying.”
“I was literally just flying, this is nonsense, you both sound like my parents,” you grumble, almost throwing your hands up in surrender when Luke appears at Hans’ side, eyebrows furrowed.
“Who shouldn’t be flying?”
“Your girl here has a burnt side-”
“(Y/n)’s hurt? When did she get hurt?”
“Like I was saying, she refuses to get medical-”
“Shouldn’t we take her to the medwing?”
“Will you let me finish?!” Han hisses, glaring at the blonde. “I won't let her get back in an X-wing, so she either stays here or goes with you two.”
“Will you stop talking like I’m not here?” Yanking your arm away from Han, you rub at the skin, narrowing your eyes at the three. “I’m fine to fly, this isn’t that bad. But if it makes you all shut up, then I’ll stay with Luke and Leia.”
You didn’t fight it when you were dragged into the small transport Luke and Leia would be flying. But you do grab Han harshly by the sleeve, pulling him down to glare at him.
“I swear to the maker, Han, if you die or do some funky flying shit- I’ll literally kill you.”
“I don’t think you’ll be able to kill me if I’m already dead,” he snarks, smiling.
“I’ll do some shit with the force and bring you back, just to kill you again.”
Luke laughs lightly from his seat, turning his upper body, “That's not how the Force works!”
“Tough shit, Skywalker!” You retort, pushing Han away harshly before narrowing your eyes at him, “I mean it.”
“Yeah, yeah, don't worry about me.”
By the time the transports made it into the air, you were slowly dozing off in the back, legs outstretched in front of you while succumbing to the throbbing pain in your side.
You knew Han was leading the pack, and that your transport was towards the back, but you kept your eyes closed, silently hoping that Han wouldn’t do anything stupid and that Leia and Luke would be safe pilots.
When dropping out of hyperspace, you groan lightly at the jolt, Hans's voice loudly crackles over the speakers.
“Han to Rogue Squadron. These little transports are defenseless. Form up on each one, and escort them to the cruisers.” Artoo beeped, and Luke sighed, “Be nice to Han! This is just one mission. I’ll be back flying with you soon.”
Leia shifted in her seat, hands gripping the controls, “I thought Threepio was the neurotic one, Luke.”
Smiling, you finally sit up, stretching your arms, “they equal each other out, I thought you knew.”
She chuckles, sarcasm dripping from her lips as she glances back, her eyebrows raised, “You’re constantly around Luke, of course, you knew.”
From your position on the floor, you can see the red and green lasers crisscrossing over each other, all trying to land a hit on enemy fighters. Amidst it, was the fleet's main ship, shields down and taking on fire.
“Leia to Mako-Ta base. Can you hear me, Mon Mothma?”
There is a pause, before her scarily calm voice breaks through, “I hear you, Leia. What news?”
Brown eyes flicker back to watch the fleet, and Lukes’ flicker down to the radar, narrowing at the green screen, “Get all ambassadors ready to board, there’s enough room on here to save them all. We’re coming in to dock.”
“Woah,” you whistle, “he-”
“Look out!” Luke shouts, diving the transport harshly to the side, causing your body to almost roll across the space.
“There’s a Tie fighter coming right at-” Luke cuts himself off, and Leia's smile tells you what you need to know.
“Nice shooting, Han,” she says.
“Nice flying, princess.”
“Oh, god,” you groan, pushing yourself off of the floor to lean in between their seats, “please don't flirt in front of me, it's sickening.”
The large bay doors open in front of your transport, and Leia manages to land softly, the ambassadors already filing into the room, Mon Mothma leading.
Reaching forwards, you go to open the ramp, but Luke moves to do the same, your hands bumping just as you reach it.
“Sorry-” he says softly, briefly glancing up at you before jumping out of his seat, hand brushing through his hair as he retreats out and into the hanger, greeting Mon Mothma first.
“What’s wrong with him?” You ask, looking over at Leia, who had a small smile on her face.
“What, you don't know?”
Your eyebrows furrow, “know what?”
“Maker,” she groans, standing from her seat, “you’re both helpless.”
When her figure retreats down the ramp, you pause for a few seconds, repeating what she said over and over.
“Helpless?” you scoff, grumbling under your breath as you finally leave the transport, smiling softly at Mon Mothma, red hair perfectly styled, with her matching red lipstick free of any smudges. Even in a battle zone, Mon Mothma is calm and content.
The Ambassadors behind her seem the complete opposite, all oozing with fear and anxiety. So, you turn and lightly place your hand on one of their shoulders, nudging them to start boarding the transport.
“If the ambassadors can escape, we can keep the rebellion alive. This is absolutely crucial,” Mon Mothma sighs, her hands extending towards Leia, who stood tall.
“As is saving you, Mon. Get aboard, the ships are all about to go into hyperspace.”
Smiling, Luke rests one foot on the ramp, leaning his head down to speak into the Comm still attached to his flight suit, “you hear that, Han? Get ready to jump.”
But he doesn’t respond.
“Han? Can you hear me?” Luke tries again, shoulders tensing. Your smile drops, standing close to the blonde. It felt like a lifetime before Han finally responded, but there was static underneath his voice, which already sounded wrong.
“Yeah, I’m here. Engine’s gone -- failing. Artoo i-- giving it his best shot, -- nothing is working. Get --ut of here, kid. Make sure the Princess-- -ows what a brave guy I am, right? You-” His voice finally breaks off, static left in his place. Your body goes numb, the only resemblance of life left is the dull thrum of pain.
“He’s floating out there,” Leia says softly, her voice tight. Your lungs refuse to intake air, head fuzzy at the thought of Han free-floating, attached to nothing, with no one but a droid he doesn’t even like that much.
You don’t notice, but your feet are already moving, lips forming words you don’t think about, “I’m going back for him.”
“No-” Luke strains, grabbing your hand tightly, pulling you back.
“I can’t leave him out there! There has to be something-”
Leia snaps her fingers, “wait, on Jedha, Han had an Idea. This is on a different scale, but if we can find a ship-”
Mon Mothma raises her hands, lips thin as she addresses your small group, “the main transport is ready to leave, you need to board.”
A sick feeling pools in your gut, and you almost sneer at her, “I’m not leaving him.”
Luke’s hand loosens, but he doesn’t let go. His thumb rubbed over your knuckles almost absentmindedly.
“Just go, Mon.” Leia rushes, “We have to try and save Han.”
The older smiles softly, “be careful.” She gestures behind you all. When you turn, you almost laugh at the large docking ship, already pulling Luke along to climb aboard. Leia boards last, and Threepio already talking about the survivability of dead space in her arms.
You manage to push Luke out of the pilot's seat, pausing to assess the controls before turning the large ship on, getting it off the ground, and glancing to the smaller transport before opening the hanger doors, flying out into the battle once more.
Hitting the accelerator, Leia and Luke both curse as their hands fly out to find purchase on anything around them. Finally spotting Hans’ free-floating X-wing, your hands find purchase on the magnetic ship clip’s button, and fumble to turn on the comms.
“Han, Brace!”
You press down onto the button, and when your ship flies over his, the magnet connects with the back of the X-wing, towing him along. Ahead, there were incoming Tie’s.
“Retracting the line now,” you grumble, glaring at the radar, multiple bogies appearing on the edges. The ship was getting heavy fire to the back, and you can hear Leia fight to stand up again, “It's getting rough, we need to jump!”
“Hyperspace, hyperspace,” you mumble, eyes flickering all over the control panel before finding the lever, a small blue bar on the side already alight and ready for the jump. Grabbing the lever, you yank it down hard, feeling the engines humming before the jolt to hyperspace sends the two behind you to the ground again, Threepio crying out as he fell from his chair.
The system's diagnostic appears on a small screen near the radar, with red flashing lights and yellow caution signs already blinking. You curse under your breath, “engines are fried. We won't be going much further.” Blindly waving at the two still recovering from the ground, “find me a moon!”
You finally find solace on a small, deserted, and rocky moon, Corosi 7. Sitting beside Han, with your feet resting across his lap, you finally feel some kind of relief. With Luke and Leia sitting on Hans’ other side. Leia was hard at work, trying to forge a solid communication with eh rebellion.
“Hey!” she says, “We’ve got a transmission from Mothma.”
Taking your feet from Hans’ lap, you both lean into the small hologram of Mon Mothma, a deep frown on her face.
“I have only moments. We all must disperse. We are in a more perilous situation than ever.”
Han scoffs, “Then get a move on. Tell us where Ackbar is so I can get back to Chewie and the Falcon.”
The hologram glimmers, her hands resting at her sides, “If I knew, I couldn't broadcast it. And right now? I simply don't know. Total secrecy was the point of the dispersal.”
“I’m sorry, Mon,” Leia sighs, “We failed. It’s all our fault.”
“It is not the time for apologies. We have more important business. Leia Organa: You are now a general. Luke Skywalker: You are now a commander. (Y/n) (L/n): You are now a Colonel. Han Solo: You are now a Colonel.”
“We’re being promoted?” You ask, a choked laugh breaking out at the end, gaze breaking from the chancellor to look at the others. She doesn’t mind, but she directs her gaze to you.
“The rebellion command has been decimated. Every candidate of quality needs to step forward.”
Han steps towards her, hand waving, “Hey, Mothy. I’m not going to be a colonel in any organization.”
“I understand. But it doesn’t matter if you take the position, Solo. You are a leader, rank or not.”
His hand moves to cover his mouth, speaking through it, “you don’t know what you’re talking about, lady.”
“So,” you ask softly, hand grabbing softly at Leia’s arm, “what are we supposed to do now?”
“Leia and Luke are your leaders. They get to make that decision now. Disperse. Hide. Organize. Strike. We must find our way to one another. We must find new ways to hurt the Empire,” she smiles then, eyebrows raising as she tilts her head lightly, “Good luck.”
When her hologram flickers off, you finally slouch back into your chair, rubbing harshly at your eyes. Your side still hurt, and you knew that if you didn’t have it looked at soon, it would only get worse.
“How can we find Chewie and the Falcon?” Luke asks softly, leaning against the side of your chair, crossing his arms as he stares at the ground. Leia shrugs, slouching into the chair next to you while Han walked off, eyebrows furrowed.
“I’m not sure we could even get there if we knew. This ship isn’t going much farther. How are we going to get anywhere?”
You can hear shuffling, until Han hums lowly, spinning around with the small chip you managed to buy before all of the chaos.
“If we can get one more jump out of this pile of scrap, I may have an idea.”
Nar Shaddaa was the last place you expected to go, but when seeing the all too familiar ship barely out of sight, you put the puzzle piece together. You, Luke, and Han all took off the bright orange flight suits, and Leia managed to wrangle you into the cramped onboard med bay to wrap your side. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and she continuously asked if you were okay when putting on the soaked bacta patched, thoroughly covering the wound before wrapping it in bright white gauze.
Now, you walked beside Luke down the hanger bay, yellow dust clouding over the ground as Han led the group into one of the more remote walkways, Sana waiting patiently in her green cloak and tan leather gloves.
“Hey, sorry I’m late. I got dragged into the thing to end all things. Bounty hunters jumping us were the last of our problems.” Han reaches around his belt, unclasping the leather pouch and pulling out the small silver chip, “here’s the data I picked up from the Ring of Kafrene for you.”
Sana pulled out her own leather pouch, handing it over, “and here’s your fee.”
You can’t see Hans’ look. But from the way Sana’s small smile drops from her face, eyebrow-raising with a mischievous glint in her eye, you only sigh.
“Wait, I know that look. What do you want, Solo?”
R2 wheels in behind Luke, Threepio strapped to his back as he complained about not being able to see anything, you feel Luke's hand lightly touch your lower back, “is this a good idea?” He asks softly, leaning in close to your ear.
“I trust Sana, she wouldn’t turn us in.”
“If you’re in a smuggling mood, we’ve got some precious cargo that needs transporting,” Han’s voice is back to a confident, cocky, tone. One hand grabs his belt while leaning his weight onto one foot, “namely, us. We’ve had Imperial complications,” he trails off, waving his hand around.
Sana, already smiling, closes her eyes as she shakes her head. Taking a step back to face her ship again, “I can't believe I’m this soft. Get aboard.”
You didn’t know where Sana was planning to go to hide your group, but you trusted her enough to keep you safe. While sitting in the cargo hold of her ship, Han and Leia are already in the cockpit talking with Sana about coordinates and flight paths, you stayed with Luke. Sitting by his side, you found yourself more tired than before. The blonde had already fallen asleep, arms crossed while his head rested on your shoulder, lightly snoring as his foot tapped against yours.
You knew that you would stick by his side, and keep him safe, already coming to terms with the fact that you would cross the galaxy if he called for you. Sure, you’d do the same for Han and Leia any day, or night. But with Luke, it felt different.
You just hoped he would do the same for you.
Chapter 5: SHU-TORUN
Summary:
Queen Trios of Shu-Torun’s betrayal allowed the evil Galactic Empire to launch a surprise attack against the Rebel Alliance’s fleet, scattering the rebels and nearly crushing their heroic cause once and for all. Princess Leia Organa, Jedi-in-training Luke Skywalker, and smuggling duo (Y/n) (L/n) and Han Solo narrowly escaped the assault and reunited with the Alliance thanks to the aid of new allies. Now, Leia has a score to settle with the Empire- and with Queen Trios...
Chapter Text
While Meorti continued to fix the minor problems still present on the Falcon’s outer shell, Leia dragged your group into the main hold with furrowed eyebrows and stern eyes. Her hair was kept in a bun at the top of her head, but two smaller braids hung down from it. She wore a tight grey jumpsuit, a hood stitched into the top with her holster snuggly secured to her waist and upper hip.
You sat on the curved couch, legs thrown over Hans’ lap while picking slowly at the skin around your nails. Han had perched his legs on top of the game console, slowly pressing the tips of his fingers together while looking at Leia with raised eyebrows and thinned lips. Chewie separated you and Han from the others. Luke, who was sitting on the other edge of the couch, a tan jacket zipped up fully while his leg bounced. The two droids, never being apart from one another recently, were talking animatedly to each other.
In front of Leia was a bright red hologram of a planet. You’d made a whisper to Han about how it looked like a vegetable, but he could only spare a small, tight-lipped smile.
“This is Shu-Torun. It’s one of the primary Imperial resource sites in the whole galaxy,” she gestures to the red planet, “I think we can take it all down.”
Chewie barks out a response, and Luke shuffles in his seat, rolling his shoulders.
“It’s about time, after everything Queen Trios is responsible for.”
R2 spins his head, a series of whistles and beeps following, “what Artoo?” Threepio asks, “‘I never trusted her?’ this is a little late in the day to disown her, you-”
“This is a strategic attack! This is about hurting Imperial production. This is us seizing an opportunity that Trios didn’t realize she was giving us,” Leia’s glaring at the two droids, sighing as she looks back over the group once more, calming herself.
You smirk, rubbing your forehead, “and giving some much-needed payback for destroying most of the fleet, right?”
“This isn’t a revenge mission,” she emphasizes, “Or, not just a revenge mission.”
She raises her hands in surrender, rubbing her cheeks before turning back to the hologram, “At Mako-ta, when we sliced her ship’s computer, we gained access to much more than they realized. I have the full plans of Shu-Torun’s infrastructure. It’s a strange, intricate and fascinating system by which they colonized an entire hostile world-”
“Like those weird hill bugs on Kashyyyk,” Han jokes, elbowing your side.
“But it is also uniquely vulnerable It only takes a little push in the right place, and the whole system will come crashing down.”
“But safely?” Luke says, raising his hand with furrowed eyebrows. Leia doesn’t say anything, and Han slowly pushes your legs off of his lap, leaning to place his elbows on his knees.
“Kid’s got a point,” he smiles back at Leia. “Hey, princess, you haven’t gone full Darth Vader on us, have ya?”
She just waves her hand, rubbing at her eyes gently, “It’s not that kind of disaster. The population won't be hurt. Its perfect, we just need a handful of the right people.”
Luke stands from his place on the sofa, stretching his arms up to expose a small sliver of his stomach. “Great,” he says, “when can we begin?”
Leia frowns, shaking her head lightly, “No. I said we need the right people, a few more hands, and a couple of specialists.”
“Like who,” Han strains, resting his elbows on his knees. Turning back to the hologram, Leia points, “First, we need a shape-changer.”
Groaning, you let your head fall back, “Oh great.”
Han slaps your knee, pushing himself up from the couch, “what did Tunga say he was going to do next?”
Gralack was one of the outer planets you would rather not go back to if it was your choice. It was dark and most of the alleyways were slimy and the worst creatures lurked in the bars and clubs.
Being a dark and slimy planet, it was easy to land the Falcon and sneak into the back of a theatre. Since the show was going on, almost nobody was backstage. Crates and large bins of costumes and props littered the area, doors leading into changing rooms. You can faintly hear the show, Han walking closer to the side stage to watch what was going on.
“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me,” he grumbles, hands placed on his hips. Walking to his side, you have to slap a hand over your mouth to stop yourself from laughing.
It was a show about you guys. Humans dressed as Mon Calamari, and the others dressed as your group. You could pick out Tunga, though. Since it looked like Luke was the actor on stage.
“Oh, Luc Swordswinger!” an actor cries. You can’t help yourself, you let your laughter bubble past as you slap Han’s shoulder, hiding your face in his shirt. Tunga didn’t even have a lightsaber, it was a long light that illuminated a bright blue.
“Luc Swordswinger?” Han chuckles, watching the show play out.
You didn’t know where the others were, and when glancing back, you can see Luke and Leia peeking into other, empty, dressing rooms.
Han suddenly grabs your arm, pushing you towards stacked crates while whisper shouting to the others, waving his hands frantically.
“Troops are here! Hide!” is all he manages to say. Screams erupted in the main showroom, and background actors rushed to the back and out the only available door outside.
Luke, with furrowed eyebrows and worried eyes, tries to make his way over to you, but Leia grabs his arm to hide behind another stack of crates. You don’t look his way, but you can feel his eyes on you.
Tunga and the other actors run backstage, hiding behind anything that would conceal their bodies. Tunga, having dropped the visual of your Luke, rushes past and almost falls when sharply turning to hide.
“Everyone down on the floor,” a trooper yells, “you’re under arrest-”
You don't see it, but Leia tries to grab Luke’s arm as he stands, grabbing his saber from his belt and standing in the trooper’s way. Peering around the crate, you can count multiple beginning to the crowd.
“Back off and leave them alone.”
The main trooper, sighing as he relaxes his shoulders, steps closer to him, “C’mon, Tunga. We get it. You’re a famous actor, but you’re not going to intimidate us with a prop.”
Luke’s shoulders tense, and he frowns, igniting his lightsaber and immediately cutting down the group.
Standing, you grip your blaster and stand by his side, hearing the troopers from outside yelling to each other, “so,” you hum, sideglancing at the blonde, “you couldn’t play along?”
Scoffing, he rolls his shoulders, more troopers coming into view, “you would like that, wouldn’t you?”
“I would, yeah!” You scoff, shooting a trooper, “it won't kill you to relax for a second!”
He slices through another trooper, pushing him away with his boot, “we were relaxing for a whole month on that maker-forsaken planet, doing absolutely nothing!”
“Luke! (Y/n)! Let's go!” Leia yells, waving the both of you to the hallway that leads outside. Tunga waits for you, a smile on his face, “Your timing is as perfect as always, how did you find me?”
Leia pulls her hood back on, gesturing to the large poster on the wall, “You advertised the show.”
Han was leading the group, reading over the poster with squinted eyes. Lukes's hand pressed lightly to your lower back, and you fight the urge to slap him away.
“Luc Swordswinger? Really?”
Tunga only shrugs, “My agent recommended the name changes for tedious reasons involving contracts.”
“But Ham Nogo?!” Han stands, hand on his hip as he glares at the clawdite. Laughing, you push past Han to read over the name, slapping his back, “oh that's amazing!”
“Names are never my strong suit. And he’s a classically trained actor!” Tunga tries to defend himself, but its heard by deaf ears.
“It’s not like yours is any better,”: Han hisses, elbowing your side, “I mean come on-”
“We don’t have time for this,” Leia yells, grabbing Tunga’s arm to drag him towards the alley, “Tunga, we need your talents.”
Passing by the others, you’re still snickering with Han about the names and even the storyline of the play. While Leia explained a bit of the mission, you continued to tease Han, and he continued to elbow your side and try to defend his honor.
“To be honest, there are fewer credits in the rebel-hailing entertainment market than I was hoping,” Tunga sighs, “a new role a long way away from here, is most appealing.”
It would've been an understatement to say Chewie didn’t take the news of not being in the play well. He had his fuzzy paws wrapped around Tunga’s throat, lifting him a foot above the ground, shaking him violently. He was yelling, voice animated as he continued to shake the Clawdite.
“I’m sorry!” He cries, gripping Chewie’s fur, “There were simply too many parts! Someone had to be cut! And you never really felt like a speaking role, I-”
Wincing, you lay back on the couch, briefly covering your eyes when Chewie throws the other to the ground, throwing his hands up to yell more.
Han tries to step in, holding his hands in surrender, “Hey, look on the bright side, Chewie. If I’m Ham Nogo, you don't want to know what he’d have done to you.”
“Yeah, Chewie,” you speak up, smiling at the Wookiee, “mine was horrendous, you wouldn’t wanna be in the play anyways- it would taint your image.”
“Oh, (Y/n)!” Tunga cries from his spot on the floor, “you don’t mean that! My story was crafted with the utmost care and love!”
You wave him off, going back to picking at the skin around your nails, “uh-huh, sure Tunga.”
“So,” Han draws in a breath, “we have our shape-changer. Next stop?”
He drops down into his seat in front of the engineering station, spinning the chair around. Leia rubs her arms, crossing them as she leans against the hull, “normal rebel troops won’t be enough. We need people used to fighting in a hell world.”
Groaning, you let your head fall back, “But that planet is worse than Tatooine!”
Luke falls down onto the couch next to you, far enough away from you, crossing his arms, “so, back to Jedha.”
You hated Jedha more than you hated Tatooine. The planet always seemed to be in a dust storm and paired with constant lightning strikes, it made getting around extremely difficult. Instead of going with Han and Luke to the Temple on the other side of the planet, you went with Leia.
With your hood up as far as it could go, a cloak covering your chest and draping down your shoulders and back, you stood with your arms crossed, waiting for Benthic to arrive back from dealing with the remnants of the Empire.
“I hate this planet,” you grumble, squinting your eyes to try and keep the sharp sand out, but it failed.
She gives you a sympathetic smile, tilting her head, “its only for a while, you’ll survive.”
“Of course, I’ll survive,” you rub the sand from your cheeks, “doesn’t make staying here less terrible.”
Thankfully, Tognath was one of the languages you had learned through your years, working closely with a fellow smuggler for a year or two. It made listening in on Tognath conversations easy, grabbing information about a top-secret job or a product drop-off location.
“I thought we would have seen the last of the great rebel princess and her smuggler counterpart,” Benthic hisses, voice pitched higher and more robotic. You shivered when seeing him again, the insectoid-mammalian mix kind of freaked you out. There was a faint hiss when he breathed, and the metal weapons lined across his back and sides clanged against each other when he shifted.
“I presume you have more to ask of us.”
Leia pushed her hood off, turning to look him over for a moment, standing beside you closely, “Yes, I need the partisans elsewhere.”
Benthic tilts his head, beady eyes flickering over the others before settling on you for a moment, his breathing slow and steady, and his eyes flicker back to Leia.
“Our work is not yet finished. The Imperials still defile Jedha.”
More sand billows around, and you scrunch your face to avoid getting it into your eyes and nose.
“From what I understand, the Imperials are making a few last speculative mining missions.”
His hand extends towards her, head tilting, “After what they did to Jedha? So many dead? They can’t have this world.”
Scoffing, you push off your hood, “So its ego, then? Here I thought the partisans were the practical ones, not the romantics.”
Benthic’s hand moves to his belt, sliding a thick knife from one of its holsters, “Insulting us, also not practical.”
Leia’s eyebrows pinch, glaring at him while lightly grabbing your wrist.
“You stay here, and you deny the Emporer trinkets. You come with me, and you deny them the riches of a whole world.”
There's a pause, the knife slowly lowering until he slides it back into its holder, humming as he nods his head. “You make a compelling argument, we will prepare to evacuate.” He glances behind you both for a moment, “where are your other companions?”
Leia sighs, “Luke, had other business here.”
“Han’s joining him.”
Benthic doesn't say anything, only looks between you both before turning to begin evacuation. You finally let your chest settle, shaking out your hands while walking back out of the small camp they made in a ravine. Leia follows closely, her hand brushing yours until you both have to pull your hoods back up, stopping just before the ongoing storm.
“Trinkets and the whole world, eh?” You ask, glancing at Leia. She sighs, shoulders tensing slightly.
“What else should I have said?” her voice was low, just breaking over the thunder, “I persuaded them, that’s what matters.”
You both continue to wait in silence, occasionally brushing off the sand from your cheeks or from your eyes or lips. You can already feel it embedding under your nails, slipping up under your tunic and pants and into your shoes.
Finally, you suck in a breath and cross your arms, “I’m sorry about what happened on Hubin,” you clear your throat, shifting your feet, “with Han and everything.”
“I should’ve told you guys about the transmission and the planning, so its my fault too,” she smiles softly, leaning over to bump your shoulder, “I’m also sorry about Luke.”
Your heart pangs, but you brush it off.
“He was happy with her, she seemed to be happy too.”
“But you weren't happy, were you? Me and Han- whatever we were doing. And they,” she pauses, looking at you with furrowed eyebrows, “I’ve never seen you so quiet.”
“I was fine,” you pan, “Luke can be with whoever he wants.”
She steps closer, sighing, “but were you happy?”
You let your silence be the answer. Your throat hurts, your tongue pushing your cheek while looking into the sky to find the Falcon flying closer. You wanted to leave, you wanted to go back to Home One to relax before going to Shu-Torun.
Back on Home One, you sit on top of a crate of supplies waiting to be put into the Falcons storage bays. Meorti continued to work on the outer hull, testing wires and reworking some that didn’t work.
Luke kicked at a small piece of broken metal, crossing his arms, “I wish Sana didn’t have to make that run to the other side of the rim, but this is a great team. We’ve got nearly everyone we need.”
Leia settles her hands on her hips, “nearly isn’t good enough. We need a slicer. A good slicer.”
“I’m going to pretend to not be offended,” you tease, glaring over at her.
Scoffing, Han slaps your knee lightly, “the last time you tried to slice something, you overheated the entire system ad caused a lockdown.”
“Does anyone have any ideas?” Leia asks, rubbing her forehead.”
“That's always hard,” Meorti cuts in, talking over her shoulder. “At least half of them are criminals, and half the ones left are ex-criminals. I think there was a good one of the geist. People ask me why I got into engineering, and I tell them stories about slicers, they are awful people,” she rants, continuing her work on more wiring. Leia smiles, turning around to face the other woman.
“Meorti,” she hums, “are you a slicer?”
Meorti shrugs, turning in her spot, “well, I used to be. I kept up with the field and,” she catches herself ranting again, “why do you ask?”
“So, you’re finishing up with the Falcon. Looking for a new assignment?”
“What do you have in mind?”
You almost fall off the crates when jumping off to follow after Leia, who grabbed Meortis's hand and dragged her inside of the ship. You manage to push past the partisans and sit next to Tunga, who was sitting on the curved couch. Han stands beside you, and Luke next to him.
“This is not what I had in mind,” Meorti groans softly, standing between two partisans.
“Thanks, everyone, for joining us. I’m sorry about the secrecy, but its necessary. The rebellion has had patchy security recently,” Leia says, gathering everyone's attention.
“Together, we’re going to take down Shu-Torun.”
Benthic moves to stand in front of his group, humming, “hmm. The world of the queen who betrayed the rebellion. “ He reaches back down to grab his knife once more, spinning it in his grip, “The queen with blood on her hands. The queen who must be made an example of,” he moves to stand beside Leia, gesturing to her with the tip of his blade.
“I see why you came to us partisans.”
Leia is quick to correct him, “No, Benthic. This isn’t about that. Yes, that Trios will be deposed is an advantage. But this isn't about punishment. This is an economic strike. This is showing we’re better than them. And no one who doesn’t deserve it is going to be hurt.”
You keep trying to tell yourself that the flight to Shu-Torun isn’t hot or unbearable when sitting next to Tunga, across from Benthic and Luke. When the Flacon finally touches down, you’re the first to exit out off the ramp, breathing in the hot, humid, air. Leia and Luke aren’t far behind, Han pulling in the rear as he grumbles under his breath about how hot the planet was.
“How’s anyone supposed to live here?” you ask, “let alone thrive.”
Leia shrugs, pulling up her hood as she stands on the edge of a drop-off. Peeking over the side, you feel weak in the knees at the sheer drop down to the ocean of lava. Up ahead, stood the spike you were supposed to infiltrate and take down. Around it, jagged rocks and lava fall made it seem like an evil lair. Bright orange lightning crackled between the building and the stones, the ground under your feet vibrating lightly.
The heat and humidity were one thing, but the wind made it all worse. Ash and tiny rocks smacked your cheeks with the wind, your eyes watering. You wondered how the queen found this place appealing, was it perhaps the river of lava? Or the black, molten, rock you were standing on?
“It’s almost incomprehensible,” Leia says, in awe of the building. Ash sticks to her gray suit, and you refrain from reaching out to brush it off.
“We’re going to take down that, and Shu-Torun with it.”
Kissing your teeth, you narrow your eyes at her, watching her tense shoulders and tight-lipped look.
“Don’t say you’re getting cold feet already.”
Han grabs your wrist lightly, pulling you back towards the Falcon. Meorti stands by the ramp, squinting to protect her eyes from the wind.
“It’s not too late to back out and do something less suicidal instead,” Han says, letting go of your wrist as you board the ship once more.
“Suicidal?!” Meorti squeaks, eyebrows furrowing. Luke shrugs his shoulders, downplaying it all. “It’s not. Han just likes to be dramatic. It's a good plan.”
You turn your head towards Luke, smirking, “a good plan can be suicidal too, you know.”
He only raises his eyebrows, leaning in close, “I’m trying to lighten the mood-”
“Sometimes, moods don’t need to be lightened.”
He huffs, moving around you to go deeper in the Falcon. Benthic waited by the ramp, leaning against a side wall with one of his blades in hand.
“Death is a small thing,” he hums, the pads of his fingers lightly touching the metal. Tunga looked star-eyed, almost like he was about to start drooling, “Oh my! All this posturing!”
Leia pushes down her hood once the ramp begins to close, squeezing past you and Han.
“I thought I was a great actor, but you, my tube-faced friend, are incredible.”
You shake your head, “here we go.”
“The spike runs through the core of the planet. It fuels all the energy shields. They keep an area habitable, then are repositioned when they need to exploit another area, like dams on a water world.” Leia places her hands on her hips, shrugging her tense shoulders as she looks around the main hold. “If we knew exactly which engines to blow up, the energies would tear themselves apart. If we do it right, victory will come with an absolute minimum of casualties. But we’d need the plans to know that.”
Han raises an arm, letting R2 roll forwards, already displaying the inner workings of the spike, “and would you look at that!” he muses, faux surprise lacing his voice, “plans!”
Leia ignores him, standing close to the plans to point out specific parts, “We hit our targets and no more spike. No more spike? No more energy shields. They run on its storage reservoir. One by one its systems fail, with plenty of time to evacuate.”
With her eyebrows scrunched, she turns back and glances over the small crowd of people, “Shu-Torun turns from one of the marvels of the galaxy into a standard mining world.”
“Even I know the spike’s one of the most heavily defended places imaginable.” Tunga crosses his arms, sternly looking at Leia. “The energy shields alone are one thing, but I daresay it has quite the number of aggressive fellows with blaster guns.”
“Oh my,” Threepio sighs, looking down at R2, and then to you, “I was so happy with my limbs all back as well. I knew it couldn’t last long.”
You finally let yourself begin to relax, slowly piecing together what the full plan is and how you’ll make it out alive once more.
“I won’t lie, it won’t be easy.” You look back up at Leia, already seeing her smiling softly, “We’re not going to be fighting all of them. The problem with Shu-Torun is that it has a top-down system of government and is highly technological. This wonderful infrastructure is controlled from on high-”
Luke can see the confusion written on everyone's faces the more Leia speaks, so he huffs, standing beside her, “You remember at Mako-ta when they locked down all our ships? If we can get access to the master security controls, we can do the same for them. Every single door we don’t want open will be sealed.”
“The path is so obvious, why are we still sitting here?”
Benthic spoke like he was the only one understanding everything Leia was saying. Sometimes, you wanted to smack Benthic, but the multiple holsters of guns and knives stopped you.
“The controls are in the Imperial retreat. Only Queen Trios can activate them. We have the access codes in the data we stole from her ship, but there's an eye scan.”
“Why does this keep getting more and more intricate?” You grumble, leaning against Han as you rub your eyes. He laughs softly, lightly patting your head, “too many big words for you?”
Slapping his shoulder, you send him a glare, “no, you womp-rat. I just want to get this over with, the more time we waste, the more time is shredded off my life.”
“Surly we can’t just kidnap her? She’s a Queen. People tend to be somewhat protective of their heads of state, in my experience.” Tunga points at himself, “admittedly, my experience is more marital than martial, but I'm sure the point remains-”
“She’s holding a party for the ore dukes tonight,” Leia shouts. “We kidnap an ore duke, impersonate him and use it as an excuse to get close enough to Trios to get a good scan of her eye.”
“So let me get this straight,” Meorti rubs her forehead, “We go right into the heart of her stronghold, at risk of being discovered at any moment, just to get a scan of her eye.”
“Then, before they realize, we go to this other stronghold, get in, and I use all the above to slice their systems and lock down this whole society? And Finally, before they manage to break out, we go and infiltrate the enormous spike system and blow it up according to a bunch of stolen plans?”
“Sounds like a death wish when you put it like that,” you sigh, crossing your arms over your chest.
Leia chuckles nervously, squinting her eyes slightly, “uh, yes? Though we’ll have two teams. We’ll go to the retreat. Luke, (Y/n), and Benthic will go to the Spike.”
At the mention of your name, you listen back in and catch the very end of what she was saying, your shoulders tensing at the thought of being alone with Luke and Benthic. Han tries to conceal his humor, his shoulder jolting with laughter at the thought.
“Shut up,” you hiss, roughly jabbing your elbow in his side. He yelps lightly but doesn't drop his teasing smile.
“I see no problem with the plan,” Benthic muses, standing at Meorti’s side, “do you have a problem, engineer?”
Her eyebrows furrow, but she doesn’t step away, “no, I guess. So how are we going to capture an ore duke?” She nods her head over her shoulder, “is it something to do with that speeder in the hold?”
Leia finally smiles, “It does. In fact, we need to be on our way if we want to make the drop on an Ore Duke. Han, Threepio, Tunga, you, and I will be going in the speeder while the rest of you stay back and wait for our signal on the jump to the spike.”
“I can’t just leave the Falcon!” Han whines, standing from the couch while positioning his hands on his hips. He may have been complaining, but he was following the others into the back of the ship towards the speeder.
“I’ll take good care of her, Han!” You tease, laughing at the glare he tosses over his shoulder. Chewie walks to stand beside you, ruffling your hair to get your attention as the others begin the undocking process.
“Yeah, yeah,” you hum, following Chewie back into the cockpit, taking a seat in Hans’ chair. It was in better condition than Chewie’s, but the leather was still cracking and worn, faded from the constant brush of his hands and clothes.
“Are you fit to fly?” Benthic hums from the doorway, hands gripping his belt. You scoff, flicking switches and monitoring the statistics coming from the main drive.
“I know a lot more than you think, Benthic.”
“I find a lack of enthusiasm in your tone, do you not want to participate in this mission?”
You turn your head, giving him a forced smile. Chewie does the same, your heads almost touching in the middle, “and I find your lack of minding your own business quite disturbing, Benthic. Why don’t you go and study the plans more, eh? “
Not hearing a reply, only the fading sounds of boots, you let your shoulders relax and turn your focus back onto the control panel, making sure the coms were on, and that the deflector shields were working properly.
When you double-check everything was ready for the departure to the Spike, you lean back in Han’s chair and close your eyes. Chewie was growling and huffing under his breath, and you could slowly piece together some words. You were getting better, but still nowhere near Han when it came to understanding Chewie.
“Chewie, can you make sure they don't break anything? Han will have my head if he finds so much as a dent,” you mumble, hearing him stand from his chair. He departs but makes sure to ruffle your hair. When you’re alone in the cock pit, you finally let your body slouch into the seat. Watching the large spike across the lava ocean, ash and pebbles hitting the windshield.
The speeder left a little while ago, and now it was just a waiting game for when they would contact you about any updates. You just hoped they were safe, the last thing you needed was a bloody and bruised Han whining all day.
“So this is where you’ve been hiding,” Luke muses. He gives a lopsided smile while sitting in Chewie's chair, and you almost jump out of your skin.
“I don’t think I’d be of use out there, you’re better around others,” you reply, sitting back up. Clearing your throat, you try and look at anything but him. The radar was clear, and so was the surrounding perimeter.
“That’s not true,” he chuckles, “you’re always saving deals with Han and I can barely haggle down the price of anything.”
You chuckle, remembering the flustered look Luke wore as he continued to try and haggle for the first time. Cheeks red and eyebrows furrowed in frustration.
“Well,” you tilt your head, “smuggling is different than normal haggling, Blondie.”
It was nice talking to Luke like this again, it was so easy to tease him. You let your eyebrows relax, and your shoulders relax while in his presence again. If you tried hard enough, you can ignore the thought of the Partisans and Chewie walking in.
“I haven’t heard that in a while.”
“What, blondie?”
“Yeah,” he hums, turning his head to smile softly, “I haven’t heard that since before Hubin.”
Just like that, he had to go and remind you of the worst two months you’ve had in a long time. You clear your throat, shift in your seat, and scoff.
“I just haven’t found a reason to, yeah?” You don't look at him, but you can imagine the hurt look in his eyes. His head turns back to the control panel, and his lips thin as he nods.
“We have a job to do, and I’d rather not talk about that.”
You thank the Maker when Chewie comes back in, he looks between you both before gesturing for Luke to move from his seat. He sits back down, glancing over the controls before leaning back and closing his eyes.
It felt like the air had gotten thick and heavy after you and Luke spoke. Your throat hurt from thinking about the secluded planet you were trapped on. Sure, it brought Han and Leia together, but all it did for you and Luke was drive a stake in your tight-knit relationship. You refused to talk about it, scared of tears that might cloud your vision. What would Han think of you after you spill your guts about your feelings towards the Jedi?
“Chewie?” Leia’s voice cracks over the intercom, “We’re heading to the abyssal rooms, we’ll get Trios’ data, and then get to the castle to slice. Ready?”
You knew that Luke would never leave the cockpit when Leia started talking, he leaned in between you and Chewie, blonde hair almost reaching his lashes.
“We’re ready when you are.”
“Just make sure none of Benthic’s guys mess with the Flacon and- oh, just look after her,” Han insisted.
“Don’t worry Han, nothing will happen to your baby,” you joke, smiling lightly.
The com went silent after that, and you shifted in your seat at the lack of response on his end. Han is either really nervous, or really really nervous about leaving the Falcon with a bunch of Partisans in the main hold.
When your shoulders finally started to relax, and your head resting against the seat with your eyes closed, you actually almost began to doze off. You blame it on Chewie, his presence is always the best on the Falcon when it comes to these kinds of missions.
“Luke, (Y/n), we’ve got everything we need for the slice, are you ready to storm the Spike and set the explosives when we take control?” Leia’s voice chimed in over the com. You sit back up, groaning softly as you start up the Falcon once more. The engine rumbles under your feet, and you can hear the hissing of the vents and different systems.
“Just launching now,” you grip the joystick, rolling your shoulders, “we’ll wait on your signal.”
“Benthic,” Luke stated, turning to look at the spying hunter, who was hunched against the doorway.
“Get the rest of the Partisans ready for deployment, we’ll be going in fast.”
Chuckling, you flip more switches, the Falcon beginning to ascend, “fast doesn't really do my flying justice.”
Chewie barks, the com making jerking noises until Han’s stern voice cuts in once more, “Just take good care of the Falcon. Don’t let any of those fanatics do something dumb with her-” Chewie has to interrupt him to stop him from saying anything else more incriminating with the Partisans, “What do you mean Benthic’s there? Now he’ll- Is he still there?” He didn’t wait for Chewie to respond, “Benthic! I was joking! Joking!”
You steer the Falcon away from the ledge, beginning to speed towards the Spike, “Relax you bantha! The biggest worry for the Falcon? You not getting the shields down in time.”
With the Falcon ready for acceleration, you make sure to settle your heart rate, they would get it done in time. They always do. Staring down the Spike, you can faintly see the glow of its shield, and internally, you note to get yourself a Port In a Storm when this is all over.
Benthic and Luke sit in the seats behind yours, waiting for the signal.
“(Y/n), we’ve done it. You can make your run.”
“Understood,” you jerk your head over your shoulder, keeping your eyes ahead, “you guys might wanna hold on.”
You can just imagine Luke’s confusion as you accelerate the Falcon, your body jerking back into your seat. Chewie barks and growls, but you only throw him a smile as the ship continues to gain in speed.
“At last.” Benthic hums, unfazed, “I want to make it look just like Jedha.”
Laughing sarcastically, you narrow your eyes, “at least wait until we’re off the Spike, yeah? I have no plans on joining the afterlife.”
“Let’s see if Leia’s opened up access,” Luke interjects, leaning in-between you and Chewie.
As the shield comes closer, you’re internally freaking out. Your palms are slick against the leather joystick, and your knees can’t stop from bouncing.
When you make contact with the light blue wall, it doesn't stop the Falcon, but opens to allow you through. The Spike is gigantic when you’re so close, and you wonder how long it’ll actually take you to rig it up with the explosives. Benthic and Luke both get up from their seats, leaving the cockpit in rushed footsteps as you set the Falcon down gently on one of the small docking bays that clung to the side of the Spike.
Shutting down the Falcon, you stand from the seat and ensure your blaster is still holstered securely to your side, your few knifes still strapped to your calves and thigh. Chewie waited for you in the doorway, crossbow in hand. Nodding, you follow him out and onto the tarmac. Luke lead the group, saber hilt in hand as R2 followed him closely. The partisans followed Benthic, who was following you and Chewie.
Grumbling, Chewie jogs beside Luke, who chuckles once, “Yeah, its strange. We land on a hostel base, and we expect everything to be exploding and them charging us.”
“The other times they knew we were coming, did they not?” You interject, standing beside Luke as you approach the hanger door. Light purple lights boarder the metal, and Luke ignited his lightsaber, talking softly down at his droid.
“This time we have control of everything. Artoo? When you’re ready.”
As R2 begins disarming the doors, you grab your blaster, checking the rounds and making sure it was working properly. You can feel Lukes’ eyes on you, and when you look at him, you try not to stare at the way the light blue glow of his saber made his eyes twinkle.
He licks his lips, looking nervous, “I’m glad you’re here.”
“I’m glad I’m here too,” you smile, raising an eyebrow,” couldn’t let you boys have all the fun, right?”
R2 whistles, cutting Luke off from saying anything else, rolling away from the doors to let Chewie and Luke stand in front. The doors hiss open, and Chewie roars, already charging in at the unexpecting guards. Charging in, you rush to the nearest guard, smashing the hilt of your blaster into their neck, right between the plates of their armor. Her goes down with a yelp, and you shoot his leg to ensure he couldn’t follow.
It wasn’t long before each guard was down, some groaning and others lying still. Luke stands by the closed inner door, R2 at his side.
“We’re finished here. Secure the prisoners and-”
Benthic doesn’t hesitate when he kills the remaining guards, standing tall over them as he shoots them.
“Benthic!” You shout, glaring at him. He doesn’t look at you, but continues surveying the small tunnel, “You asked the partisans to join you. Do not be surprised when they act like Partisans.”
“And besides, we cannot risk leaving anyone to our rear.”
“You-”
“Just don't push it,” Luke interjects, shaking his head lightly at you, “we have all the advantages here.”
Benthic finally turns around to look at the blonde, and when he does, Luke stands a little taller, “Only we can open doors, we make our way to each of the cores, blow them up and bring the Spike down,” he points to the doors R2 was disarming, “this way!”
Placing a hand on Benthic’s shoulder, Luke tilts his head slightly, “all we have to do is stick together.”
You want to stand next to Chewie, waiting for Luke to join your small group instead of talking to Benthic.
Luke finally turn back when the doors slide open, standing in-between you and Chewie.
“Chewie, get back to the ship and keep contact with the princess,” he says, giving the Wookiee a soft smile when he begins whining.
“You’re the only one Han really trusts, Chewie,” you pipe up, shrugging your shoulders. Luke smiles softly, waiting until Chewie walks out, albeit grumbling the whole way, to start walking.
“You think Han doesn’t trust you?” He asks, glancing back at the Partisans. Shaking your head, you wave your hand, “last time I was left in charge of the Falcon alone, I ditched him on a planet for a few days before coming back with a new paint job.”
The hallway was short when coming up to the first core, the light sound of talking guards on the other side. Your blaster was heavy in your hand, but it was one you were familiar with when shifting it around. With your back pressed up against the wall, you wait for R2 to open the doors. Your blaster wasn’t set to stun, which made it somewhat better to aim for you.
Benthic was at your side, Luke on the other side of the doorway. The partisan was going over his daggers and blasters, mechanical breathing making your shoulders tense.
When the doors open, you crouch when rushing into the room. It took a moment for the guards to notice your group, but when they did, shouting commands spread quickly while blaster bolts began raining your way. You throw yourself up against one of the storage tanks, peeking around and taking shots when you can. Once or twice, a bolt whizzed right past your head, almost burning off your hair.
“Be careful!” Luke shouts, running past you to make his way towards Benthic, who was reloading his blaster.
“Says you!”
Finally making it to Benthic, breathing heavily as you look between the two, you groan at the glint in the blondes eye.
“You’re going to rush them, aren’t you?”
“We were waiting for your assistance of cover,” Benthic responds, looking over his shoulder.
“Ready?”
Luke breathes a chuckle, rolling his shoulders, “not really, Benthic. But that never seems to matter.”
Lending cover fire was easier with a Partisan at your side, he was a great shot, not missing any of his targets as he shoots down the guards closest to Luke.
Luke, always one to accidentally show off, was spinning his ignited lightsaber as he shot down a guard, jumping over the control panel, and then the last one went down, and it was silent.
“If this is how its going to be for every room, I regret not going with Chewie,” you grumble, holstering your blaster and standing beside R2, who had rolled in casually when there was no more blaster fire.
“Room clear. Set it to explode, Artoo.”
The others were already leaving the room to head to the other core, but you stayed back with Luke and R2.
Whistling, R2 hooks up to the core, his head spinning back and forth.
Luke scoffs, leaning his weight onto one foot, “that’s right, now! Let’s go!”
When R2 was finished, you all had to run out before you were blown up with the core. Then came the others, with four cores down, you only had one more before the mission from your end was completed.
“Okay,” Luke said breathlessly, running beside you, “that’s four down, one more to go and we can get back to the Falcon.”
He shifts his head to look at R2, “still no contact?” whistling and beeping in return.
“They might have their hands full, Luke. Give them time.”
“I wouldn’t expect any,” Benthic chimes, “We’re just too deep. We’re on our own.”
His other men were paused in the final doorway, eyes flickering from you, to Luke, to Benthic. One man lowered his gaze when you narrowed your eyes, and a thick feeling began to bubble in your chest.
“Then let’s make this quick and get back!”
Much like the other rooms, the guards weren’t aware of your presence, being overtaken in little to no time. Just to be sure, you kicked away their blasters, tapping their helmets with the tip of your shoe while wincing.
“Room secure!” You call back, hearing R2 chime before entering the room. Turning, you go to the doorway, ready to make your escape back to the safety of the Falcon. Benthic stood by the main control panel, his rifle still in hand.
“Last charge to set, then out.” Luke pointed over his shoulder, “Artoo? Get to work.”
“And i thought Han was mean to droids,” you lean against the doorway, tilting your head at the blonde who only shrugs his shoulders.
“If you could understand him, you would be a little mean too.”
“I’m good, gives me a reason to not listen too much.”
You can see the beginning of a smile, but it falls when the core begins to brighten. The once quiet humming grew louder, the machine seeming to work overtime.
“Benthic? We’re supposed to blow it up,” you holler, pushing away from the door frame. Luke fully turns, his hand gripping his blaster as he strides towards the group, “what are you doing?”
“It is none of your concern.”
Luke scoffs, “It is. Artoo, stop. No more.”
“You have fought alongside the Partisans. You know what we are.”
You can see the other’s stepping closer to Benthic, and it makes you step closer to Luke. Tensions were rising, and you were cautious when taking a breath.
“We do not hurt our enemies when we can kill them. If we do this, we won’t just hurt the Imperial bookkeepers’ ledgers. We can tear this world apart. We can make it Jedha’s twin.” His laugh is mechanical, “Just, is it not?”
“No. it’s not just. Its not fair.”
Benthic sighs, raising a finger, “we disagree.”
The other Partisans raise their blasters, some pointed at you, others at Luke. You knew that you couldn’t go against them, so you raised your hands, mirroring Luke.
“I see,” he tsk’s. Face relaxed as he raises his hands in surrender. He glances at you, eyes soft, before looking down at R2.
“Artoo. I guess we have no other choice, right?”
You almost laugh, you’ve had enough of these two. He was beginning to sound like Han, always having a trick up his sleeve to get out of a tight spot.
With a trill, R2 opens six canisters and begins dispensing thick white smoke. It spreads immediately, and Luke grabs your hand while diving out of the line of fire. He doesn’t let go of your hand when you’re racing down the halls, dodging blaster fire with R2 on your trail.
“They’ve gone crazy,” you say, ducking your head when a bullet flies over your head. Luke huffs, turning sharply down a different hallway.
“You’re telling me?!”
“I knew this was a bad idea! Nobody listens to me!”
“Now’s not the time for this!” Luke frowns, “there has to be a way to stop them.”
“If they’re on such a schedule, why don't we give them every second we can.”
“Good idea,” Luke breathes, smirking lightly as he holsters his blaster and unsheathes his saber, igniting the blue blade. When you get through one of the blast doors, he all but throws you in while slicing the control panel, the large doors closing with a crash behind you.
“This will slow them down.”
“For now,” you grumble, trying to catch your breath. “I didn’t come here to fight Rebels, Artoo, but we only came here to destroy this machine, not the whole planet!” He looks down at his droid, saber clutched in his hand while he runs a hand through his hair, “but if we keep you out of Benthic’s hands, they can’t blow up the whole world.”
The metal door jolts, multiple pairs of feet underneath. “Well, slow down isn’t stop.”
Luke steps towards you, grabbing your hand to drag you closer to R2, “you two hide, I’ll lead them away-”
“What? Hide? Are you crazy?”
“You have to stay safe!”
“And so do you! Artoo can hide, I’m coming with you.”
R2 whistles as he rolls into a small opening within the wall, and the door begins rising with a groan. Luke glares, grumbling under his breath, but doesn’t stop you from following after him as he runs down the hallway.
“After them!”
You took not one, but two turns before you came to a dead end. The partisans were on your tail, and there was no where else for you to go. Turning, you aim your blaster, but that wouldn’t last the long. And Luke had his saber, but you were heavily out numbered.
“No way through,” Luke grumbled, stepping closer.
“So, it will be this. Slicing down fellow Rebels in a fight you can’t win? What are you, Luke?”
“What are you, Benthic? Capturing us doesn’t make a difference anyway, you need Artoo.”
“Bring them.”
The core was no longer overheating, back to its original color now that R2 wasn’t controlling it. The room still had the fallen guards, weapons still kicked away. The barrel of a blaster was digging into your back, and you tried not to turn around and snatch the blaster away.
“Broadcast me.”
Benthic steps off to the side, resting his hands on his hips. You’re forced towards the core, standing beside Luke.
“Yes, Benthic, channel open.”
“Droid! You can hear this. You come here, or we kill your master.”
“He’s not going to listen to you,” you comment, Benthic only moves his head slightly in your direction.
“He’s a stubborn little thing, doesn’t listen at all-”
There he was., the little droid, stubborn R2-D2 unit that made your life a living hell when accompanied by Threepio. He was rolling into the room, quickly, on his own mission to save Luke.
“Seems you’re wrong, smuggler. Overload the system, droid.”
Luke is just as surprised as you, “No! My life doesn’t matter compared to this! I order you-” but he’s already rolling past, not even acknowledging him. Luke walking along side him, but gets stopped by a Partisan. This time, he sounds desperate, “please, Artoo- you don’t have to do this, you-”
R2 hooks back up to the core, the machine beginning to overheat slowly.
“Benthic! Stop! You’re going to kill everyone on this planet!”
Luke was right. If the core was overheated, it would drive the planet down the middle. Effectively destroying anything and everyone on its surface.
“Yes. Including us. Anything to ensure this Hellish planet dies.”
“You’re insane!” You yell, ready to charge at him, but another grabs your arm. You try to push back, but you feel the barrel digging into your back again.
“Set perimeter, they’ll come now. We must be willing to defend the dream. And tie those two up. They’re proving a distraction.”
The barrel is removed from your back, and you refrain from struggling too much as they wrap a cord around your wrists and elbows, connecting that to your waist so there was no way to move your arms.
As the core continued overheating, it began lighting up with electricity. Large bolts crawled up the side as the core ran to its limit. Stormtroopers began to flood into the room, and for once you were hoping they would be able to aim and take down the Partisans. Maybe they would set you free in time to escape the meltdown. But it was unlikely.
“I’d never thought I’d be hoping stormtroopers would beat the rebels,” Luke says softly, watching the onslaught from beside you. Chuckling, you let your head fall back against the control panel, “I never thought I would die next to a stubborn droid and a blonde Jedi-in-training.”
“We’re not going to die here.”
“Face the facts Luke, Benthic isn’t going to crack under our pressure, he barely trusts you, let alone a smuggler like me.”
For once, you were envious of Luke’s determination at making it out of dire situations.
“Just let me think-”
“At least you got to kiss a pretty lady before you die, I never got that-”
“Stop talking like that!” he hisses, narrowing his eyes. With pink cheeks, he shakes his head, “I’m not going to let either of us die here.”
“If you say so, blondie.”
“Benthic! You can’t do this-”
Towering over the pair of you, Benthic watches the core struggle to keep going, “Nothing can stop us now.”
“Benthic!” you hear from the entrance, “What are you-”
You almost smile when you see Leia and Han, but they’re rained on with blaster fire, disappearing around the door. There's a brief pause, Benthic waiting patiently until Leia reappears, her arms raised high in surrender.
“Benthic, please- just listen to me.”
She inches forwards, the Partisans all aiming their blasters at her and she walks closer to Benthic, who meets her somewhat in the middle.
“Princess,” his voice is almost cocky, “this is logical. Alderaan and Jedha, sisters in pain, the Shu-Torun are all complicit. Their death will warn others what will happen to them is they follow the Empires path.”
Leia lowers her hands, eyebrow knit tightly together, “I’ve heard that plan before. Planetary annihilation to keep dissenters in line, Tarkin and his Death Star.”
“The dream of overthrowing them. They’ve taken everything from us.”
By now they were standing close, talking like two friends debating which cantina is better.
“They haven’t. If you do this,” she gestures to the core, “then they take everything. If you do this, even if we win, they win. Because they’re them. Yes, Shu-Torun dies if you do this- but your dream dies too.”
The others seemed to freeze, the only sound filtering around was the buzzing of the core, and the snapping of lightning from the excess power.
“Return to the Princess’ plan, release the prisoners,” Benthic said sternly, his voice barely heard from where you and Luke were sitting, “let us leave this place of errors behind.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, you let the Partisans untie you before helping them untie Luke, pulling him from the ground and rushing out of the room. Han grabbed your hand, glaring at you as he led the group, “I can’t leave you alone at all, can I?”
“Clearly not, everything goes wrong without you.”
You dont throw yourself in Chewie’s arms when you see him, he was waiting in the cockpit for everyone to return, the Falcon already ready for take-off.
Han all but throws himself into his seat, Luke and Leia taking their’s behind the two. You wee left to stand, but you didn’t mind. You liked to be inbetween Han and Chewie, gripping onto the backs of their chairs, you bend down onto one knee. The cockpit door slid shut, Threepio talking to R2 as the Falcon quickly starts to ascend.
“Where’s Tunga?” You ask, looking around for the small green shapechanger that you’ve grown fond of. Han shakes his head, telling you what you needed to know. You just hope he went out in a blaze of glory, he was dramatic like that, he would want everyone to remember him.
You dont know when the Empire arried, but there was already multiple Tie’s after you, shooting down from above.
The radar began beeping erratically, and when you bend down to read it, you whistle. Han shifts his gaze to look as well, and he scoffs lightly.
“So they’ve got an orbital blockade and a sky full of ties, and we’ve got no chance of blasting our way out. Two options for you, Princess.”
You groan, already hating where this was going.
“Do we surrender, or do I try something extreme?”
“No surrender!” Luke interjects, leaning over the arm of his chair to see out the front, Leia nodding lightly, “and they’d kill us anyways.”
Smirking, Han grips onto the joystick, “Well, if you put it like that-”
“Han, please,” you plead, gripping onto the seats like that was going to help you. Han was reckless when given the option.
He pulls on the joystick, the Falcon spinning up and around the Ties, the force makes you yelp, the force pushing you back. Luke and Leia both grab your arms to stop you from flying into the cockpit door, stifling their laughter at your constant cursing.
“Han?” Leia calls, almost falling out of her seat to hold onto you, “where are we going?”
“Han! I’m going to kill you!” You yell. The Falcon heading straight back towards the collapsing Spike.
“You’re flying us into the remains of the Spike?!”
Han shrugs, furrowing his eyebrows, “you got it. It went right through Shu-Torun, that tunnel is still collapsing. Maybe we can make it to the other side. Maybe.”
While flying into the Spike, he levels out the Falcon, allowing you to sit on the floor without fear of lying into the wall. The Tie’s find nothing wrong with this, following right after the Falcon. Out the front, you can see the fiery inside of the planet, which was collapsing quickly. Multiple small lights on the control panel began to blink, a high pitched alarm sounding.
“Keep the shields up!’ Han calls.
“I am!” Meorti’s voice is stern when sounding through the com, her breathing heavy as the alarms sounded around her as well, “But shields aren’t meant to hold against the temperature of a planet core! We’ve got seconds!”
Pushing yourself up from the floor, you kneel in-between the two pilots and scan the radar, the Tie’s were exploding from the temperature, but not before trying to shoot you down.
“How long do we have? Can we make it?” You ask, looking at Han.
“I already told you,” he hisses, the exit coming closer, “Maybe!”
Right as you fly out, the entire Spike collapses, an explosion of fire and lava following you out into space. You can finally breathe a sigh of relief, sinking down onto the floor as Han jumps into hyperspace. Leia and Luke both cheer, leaning over the small space to hug each other.
“I’m never doing anything with you guys again.”
“So, same time next rotation?” Han jokes, standing from his seat and stretching.
“Great flying, Han. that was incredible.”
From the back of the cockpit, you can hear R2 and Threepio, “Really, Artoo? I never thought you’d be a mystic.”
Luke turns in his seat, raising an eyebrow, “what did he say? He made the same noises earlier.
“‘Trust the Force’, master Luke. ‘Trust the Force’”
Back in the main hold, Benthic waited with the other Partisans, still holding their weapons.
“What do we do with this ship full of traitors?” Luke asks, tilting his head while crossing his arms.
“Be careful, boy,” Benthic hisses, “We still outnumber you.”
“We drop them off. Benthic and his troops go back to their fight, whatever that means now, and we all learn from this,” Leia answers, stepping closer to Han, who raises his eyebrow, “where you going? Back to Jedha?”
Benthic looks down, shaking his head lightly, “Not Jedha. Somewhere else, something else for the Partisans.”
This leads you to stop by Salobea, a forested planet covered in thick fog and disgusting humidity that made your tunic stick to your body right as you stepped off the Falcon to say your final goodbyes. Luke stood by your side while Leia and Han talked to Benthic, the blonde shifting his weight on his feet before finally turning to you.
“Did you mean it? What you say when we were tied up?”
You raise an eyebrow, “what? That you got to kiss a pretty girl? And I didn't?”
“Yeah,” he murmurs, scratching his head as he looks back to the others.
“I did, Tula was a keeper, and you seemed happy with her,” you can feel your chest squeeze, your stomach turning.
“Well,” Luke hums, keeping his voice down as Leia begins her walk back to the Falcon, Han on her trail, “I would’ve rather been with someone else.”
Freezing, you turn to look at him, but he’s already smiling at Leia.
You should’ve known, the signs were all there and still, you were naïve.
Piling back into the Falcon, you sit in your usual seat in the cockpit and close your eyes, trying to find rest while you made your way bank to Home One, then you can finally get your hands on a drink.
“She’s so beautiful. I never thought I’d see her again,” Meorti sighs, standing between you and Leia as the Falcon begins docking.
“Do you didn’t get a taste for being out there?” Luke asks, placing a hand onto her shoulder.
She scoffs, shaking her head, “No! Give me a reactor about to go critical any day. I can handle being in a nice big ship being shot at, but don't shoot me directly! And I keep on thinking, poor Tunga!”
When the Falcon docks, you all stride off and greet the docking crew, who begin refueling and checking the Falcon for anything major, and Han shoo’s them away.
“Don’t worry master Meorti. I’m sure he’s in a better place,” Threepio comforts, but she's already striding away, “that makes two of us. It’s been interesting-” she’s out of ear shot before she finishes talking. You stretch your arms, leaning against the Falcons landing ramp pistons, groaning.
“Thanks again for the repairs!” Threepio calls, “they were splendid! They- oh. She’s gone.”
R2 trills, Threepio turning back to nod down at him, “yes, Artoo, she is walking very fast.”
Placing his hands on his hips, Han walks closer to Leia, “so, princess. What next for your people?”
“Mon Mothma has requested us fro a job. A little recon.”
Groaning, you push away from the landing gear and furrow your eyebrows, looking over her shoulder at the tablet she was holding, different requests and data blinking on the screen.
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Jan Dodonna was always planning for the future,” she says, smiling at you, “he had preliminary scans for possible new rebel bases.”
“Gimme a look at that,” Han grumbled, snatching the tablet from her, and scrolling down the list.
“Atanu, Jabone IV, Lonania Prime, Hoth, Mupin XII?” He scoffs, handing the tablet back to her, “Mupin XII? Really? Did he make that one up? What are these places?”
Luke smirks, throwing an arm around Leia’s shoulder, “one of them? It’s our new home.”
“Can I at least get something to drink first?” you say, rubbing your eyes as han throws an arm around your shoulder, shaking you lightly.
“Where we’re going to be going, you won't need a drink!”
“With you guys? I always need a drink.”
Chapter 6: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
Summary:
It is a dark time for the Rebellion. Although the Death Star has been destroyed, Imperial troops have driven the Rebel forces from their hidden base and pursued them across the galaxy. Evading the dreaded Imperial Starfleet, a group of freedom fighters led by Luke Skywalker have established a new secret base on the remote ice world of Hoth. The evil lord Darth Vader, obsessed with finding young Skywalker, has dispatched thousands of remote probes into the far reaches of space....
Notes:
sorry for such the long wait! life got kinda crazy and i lost inspiration for this story. but im back! much like the Empire,, ha ha,, get it? okay im done, happy reading!
Chapter Text
It was bright outside when Rogue Two landed in the bay, opening the exit ramp to allow other medical droids and doctors in. Han swatted all their hands away, not answering any of their questions as he pushed down his fur laced hood, sniffling. His nose was bright pink, his cheeks a similar color.
You stood off to the side while Leia ran past, ignoring Han completely to look for Luke.
“Took you long enough,” you jest, scrunching your nose at the wafting smell of dead Tauntaun.
“Got a little caught up-”
“You smell like a dead Tauntaun.”
He stares at you for a moment before scoffing, shrugging his shoulders, “how else were we supposed to survive?”
You groan, pinching your nose, “that's foul, even for you.”
“They’re taking him to the med wing, after spending time in the bacta tank he should be fine,” Leia sighs, smiling softly. Han nods his head.
“What a welcoming party, Princess, glad to know you care about my well-being.”
She shakes her head, glaring towards him before following the med droids that pushed Luke along on a gurney.
Han places a hand onto your shoulder, giving it a squeeze before sniffling again, “he’ll be fine, no need to get your pants in a twist.”
You glare at him, “you both could have died.”
“But we didn’t!”
“You better apologize to Chewie, he was a wreck without you.”
You didn’t stay long while Luke was in the bacta tank. It was hard to watch, with the cuts on his face and chest slowly sewing themselves back together. He only wore weighted shorts to keep him under the gelatinous slime that was bacta, a breathing apparatus strapped to his face while med droids and doctors scurried around him to make sure he didn’t suddenly flatline.
Leaning against the wall, you ignore the presence of Han and Leia to your right, their shoulders lightly brushing against each other. Leia was pressing her fingers to her lips, rubbing the skin as she watched the droids work.
Ever since you woke up yesterday, the days just seemed to get worse and worse. First the Falcon, the ever constant flow of problems from other X-Wings, then the fact Han went after Luke like it was what he’s been preparing for since the day he was born.
When the droids turn in your group's direction to talk about his vitals, you take it as your time to leave while you can. The last thing you wanted was to hear how Luke was close to death if not for Han. Pushing away the worry, you force yourself down the hallway, passing by lingering pilots and other personnel before finally making it back to the hangar where the Falcon was.
Chewie was still perched on the wing, swinging his legs back and forth as he messed with the tools. He almost looked small on the Falcon, but as you grew closer, so did his size.
“Hey, Chewie!” You shout, pausing under his line of sight. He growls, nodding his head in greeting. The hangar was mostly empty, only one or two other pilots visible by their ships. You make your way to the ladder, carefully climbing until you reach the top, stepping over the mess of tools to sit beside him. He hands you a circuit board, waving his hands about as he complains.
“What, it's not working again?” You ask, using your nail to slowly scrape off the soot from flaming wires. It was dated, a few cycles old by now but it was working fine the last time the ship was in the air. Then again, you can’t seem to place where on the ship the part came from.
“Which part is this, again?” You look up at the Wookiee, who throws his hands up in annoyance, jerking to point to the open compartment behind you. You nod, crawling over until you can dive head first into the compartment. You feel Chewie grab your ankle, scared of you getting stuck, but you lightly kick away his hand.
Being in the Falcon gives you a sense of comfort when the galaxy seems against you. It was the best place to be while Han and Leia fought all day, while Luke got himself lost and beaten out in the snowy graveyard they call a planet.
Chewie’s still talking, his voice muffled through the metal while you look over the other circuit boards and wires. Sticking your hand out, you yell at him to hand you specific tools, and he hands them to you, still talking.
“I swear I just fixed this,” grumbling, you try and reweld some wires together, effectively connecting them to the now, hopefully, fixed board.
You don’t leave the Falcon until Han drags you to the medwing. It was a couple hours later, Luke being discharged from the Bacta tank and put into his own room. Han still hasn’t taken a shower, being in a hurry to see Luke before he goes back to sleep. He told you Threepio and R2 were waiting outside his room, while Leia was still talking with the Med-droids.
“Shouldn’t you shower first?” You cringe, putting Chewie in between you both so you didn’t smell the sour stench.
“I think that Tauntaun did my hair justice, It hasn’t looked this good since Lando gave me that cream.”
You roll your eyes, smiling at the memory, “Lando never did you justice- nothing does your hair justice, Han.”
“I’m offended, (Y/n), really- I am,” he gasps, leaning over to slap your shoulder before entering the room.
Luke looks tired, sitting up in the bed while playing with the stray threads of the thin blanket. He wore an oversized shirt, only pink scars remaining on his face.
Threepio doesn't hesitate to move past Han, throwing his hands into the air.
“Master Luke, it's so good to see you fully functional again,” Threepio beams, hands moving about as R2 whistles.
“How ya’ feeling kid?” Han asks, bending down to look over his face, Chewie placing a hand onto his pillow to softly growl and bark his regards, “you don't look so bad to me. In fact, you look strong enough to pull the ears off a gundark.”
Luke chuckles, his smile not reaching his eyes, “thanks to you.”
You manage to squeeze in between the two before Han points to the younger, narrowing his eyes, “that's two you owe me, junior.”
Reaching a hand, you place two fingers underneath his chin, lifting his head lightly. His smile softens when looking at you, and you can’t help but mirror it. Your thumb barely touches the skin below one scar, brushing across it lightly.
“It was stupid to go out by yourself,” you say. He painfully smiles, shrugging his shoulders.
“You’re lucky Han was even more stupid to go out after you,” you lightly thumb over the scar under his eye, “but it’ll heal nicely, you’ll be good-to-go in no-time.”
When you pull away to stand, you glare at a smiling Han, who's giving you raised eyebrows and a little shoulder bump. It wasn’t until Leia walked in that Han dropped it, turning to face the Princess.
“Well your worship, looks like you managed to keep us around a little longer!”
She crosses her arms, haughtily saying, “I had nothing to do with it, General Rieekan thinks it's dangerous for any ship to leave the system until we’ve activated the energy shield.”
Settling onto the foot of the bed, you pinch Luke’s leg, smirking at him when he jerks it away. You look between the arguing pair, their attention solely on each other.
“That’s a good story, you just can’t let a gorgeous guy like me out of your sight,” Han crosses his arms, leaning against the bed. Luke rolls his eyes, looking at you with raised eyebrows. You shrug, frowning.
Leia finally sighs, “I don’t know where you get your delusions, laser brain.”
Chewie laughs, holding onto the door frame while lightly jabbing Han’s shoulder. He jumps form his spot clearly enjoying himself, “Laugh it up fuzz-ball, you didn’t see us alone in the south passage.”
“South passage?” You snicker softly, smirking at her while she darts her eyes between you and Luke. You could see him frowning, eyebrows furrowed as his arms crossed over his chest.
Han hums, wrapping one arm around Leia’s shoulder while giving a smug smile, “she expressed her true feelings for me.”
Cheeks pink, Leia looks between the three of you before pulling away, stuttering her words, “my-” finally composing herself, she huffs, “why, you stuck up, half-witted, scruffy looking’- nerf herder!”
“Nerf herder?” You choke, hand covering your mouth to stop yourself from laughing. Han whips around, glaring at her, “who’s scruffy looking’?”
“Han-” you wheeze, almost grabbing his arm but missing as he moves closer to Luke, bending down to his level.
“I must’ve hit pretty close to the mark to get her all riled up like that, huh, kid?”
You shake your head when you see Leia’s face fall. Her eyes glaze over for just a moment before her shoulders tense, arms dropping to her sides as she marches closer. When you try and grab her arm, she yanks if from your grip harshly, your smile diminishing.
“Well,” she scoffs, looking up at Han with a glare, “I guess you don’t know everything about women yet?”
With that, she leans forwards and grabs Luke’ cheeks, planting her lips on his. It goes silent, Threepio stepping forwards to see, looking at Han, and then you. Mouth parting, you find it hard to breathe all of a sudden, a crushing weight in your chest overtaking the once light hearted feeling.
Han stares with wide eyes, arms still crossed when Leia pulls away, looking directly at him before leaving the room. He stares at Luke, who was still dumbstruck, and when he looks at you his eyes soften. His arms slowly drop to his sides but you can’t stop staring at Luke.
He doesn’t look back, just closes his eyes and proudly puts his hands behind his head, sighing in contentment. Your mind seemed to run miles a minute, while also being oddly silent. Maybe it was the smug look he gave to Han, or the way he completely ignored your presence the moment Leia had kissed him.
You wouldn’t have noticed the pounding in your ears if it wasn’t for the alarm going off in the hall, Han lightly grabbing your arms to pull you along. Luke looks at you, frowning when he sees the glare Han sends him, who lightly pats his chest, “take it easy, kid.”
“Headquarters personnel, report to command center”
“What-” Luke tries to grab your hand, to ask what was wrong, but you’re just out of reach. When he blinks, you’re already gone.
Han and Chewie silently walk beside you towards the control center, your ears still ringing.
“(Y/n)-”
You hold up a hand, glaring over your shoulder, “I don’t want to hear it. It’s fine- I’m fine.”
The walk to the control center didn’t give you enough time to center yourself, trying with all you had to scrub the image from your mind. Rieekan nodded to you both as you walked to the console screen, Chewie peering over your shoulders.
“Princess, we have a visitor,” he says, gesturing for her to come over. You didn’t want to see her, at least for the rest of the day. Rieekan points to the screen another officer was stationed, “we’ve picked up something outside the base in zone twelve, moving east.”
The senior controller looks up, his headphones only covering one ear, “It's metal.”
Leia was already there, arms crossed as she looked down at the console. Stuffing her hands into her back pockets, head tilting to get a good look at the screen, “then it couldn’t be one of those creatures.”
“Could be one of our speeders,” you choke, clearing your throat.
The senior controller shakes his head, “no. Wait- there's something very weak coming through.”
You all lean in slightly to try and make out the garbled text, but Threepio steps forwards, raising a hand.
“Sir, I am fluent in six-million forms of communication. This signal is not used by the Alliance. It could be an Imperial Code.”
The transmission quickly cut off, leaving your small group in silence. Rieekan takes a moment to look between the three of you, Chewie also looking over the group, and you knew he couldn’t help but notice the tension that was slowly building up.
Han huffs, hands on his hips, “well, whatever it is, it isn’t friendly, common, Chewie- (Y/n), let’s check it out.”
“General, send Rouges Ten and Eleven to station three-eight,” Rieekan nods, pushing himself away from the console.
“Remind me, when we get back, to never leave the Falcon,” you strain, trudging through the snow with your thick boots. The fur lining of your jacket gets stuck between your lips, and your blaster is freezing in your hand, even though you had thick gloves on.
“You’re starting to sound like me,” Han jests, crouching behind a snow bank. There was a high-pitched beeping from the other side, and when you peer over, you finally see what was making the garbled transmission.
It was a small probe droid, floating just a few feet above the snow. Its head continued to rotate slowly, and when its antennas slowly raised, it let out piercing signals before moving on. It was fully black, except for the bright red eye on its front. The Empire's sigil painted on its side, almost too small to see.
“Definitely Imperial,” you grumble, shuffling back down the bank as Han looks over his blaster once more. You were just waiting on Chewie now, who was making his way around to create a distraction. Then, you and Han would shoot it down.
Han’s eyebrows were furrowed, grumbling softly under his breath, and it was almost drowned out by the wind, but you managed to catch snippets.
“I’m sure the Princess feels the same way, would you stop drowning yourself over it?”
“Now's not the time for this,” he says. It's silent for a few more moments, then his head snaps in your direction, “how could she, when she kisses another guy in front of me? And what about your pouting about the kid, huh? Doesn’t seem like I’m the only one upset.”
“I’d rather not talk about it right now, Han.”
“You’re the one who brought it up!” He’s teasing you now, the corners of his lips upturning as he reaches out to slap the top of your jacket.
“If you actually talked to Luke like I told you to months ago, we wouldn’t be in this predicament, now would we?”
“There’s nothing for us to talk about,” you snap, glaring over at him. He’s still smiling, and when he raises a finger at you, your head drops back against the snow bank.
“I know that look, you’re not slick like you think you are.”
Chewie finally making a distraction cuts you short, and you both dive back over the snow to fire at the droid. Its attention was fully on Chewie, and it allowed for you to shoot right at its most vulnerable spot. It sharply spins, managing to fire at the bank of snow before Han manages to get a few shots in, the entire droid blowing into pieces. Sending a look to Han, you both make your way over the bank to inspect the destroyed metal. Chewie meets you, bending down to try and touch it, but it is still smoking.
Han sighs, lifting his com, “We’ve got the problem.”
“What is it?” Leia’s voice cuts back not too long after.
“Appears to be a droid of some kind, I didn’t hit it that hard, I must have self-destructed.”
You look back over the snow, wondering how many others were there. Squinting your eyes, you look back towards the base, seeing the closed hanger doors. One one was open, allowing you in and out.
“An Imperial Probe Droid.”
Scoffing, you shake your head, Han shares your look, “No doubt the Empire knows we’re here.”
There's a pause from the other end, and this time it's Rieekan’s voice that cuts through, “Make your way back, we’re starting evacuation.”
“Evac? Already?” You ask, getting no response from Rieekan or Leia. Han gently grabs the fabric of your jacket, pulling you back towards the base.
“I thought you knew nowhere was safe for us at this point, kid.”
The snow crunches under your boots, and the wind now blows harshly against your cheeks.
“Yeah, well. Sorry for thinking we were safe on a snowy-death-planet in the middle of nowhere.”
When you make it back to base, you take off the thick jacket, exchanging it for your more comfortable leather one. You, Han, and Chewie now worked on the remaining broken bits of the Falcon, doing your best to get it in the air as fast as you could. Evacuation was starting slow, people still packing up tools and equipment to store onto the ships.
“Would you please put the helmet on right?!” You groan, watching from the ground as Han only lifted the mask to his face. Chewie was in the cockpit, and Han continued to work on the remaining bits that didn’t allow the Falcon to fly. Han waves a hand in your direction, standing as he drops the mask to his side.
“Alright! Let's try it!”
When Chewie starts the Falcon, however, the whole compartment Han was fixing burst into flame, an alarm going off when the smoke rose. Han, frantic, yells out to Chewie, “Turn it off! Off!”
After turning it off, Chewie leaves the Falcon to tend to one of the landing gears, ruffling your hair as he passes. Han was talking with one of the repair droids, and you continued work on more wiring by the broken landing gear.
Turning to exchange your tools with ones you hoped would work, you heard Luke’s voice again, or rather, his laughter as Chewie growled and barked. When you turn back, you take a deep breath when you see him. The last time was when he just got out of the bacta tank, when Leia kissed him.
Luke doesn’t notice you yet, turning to look up at Han, who stood leaned up against one of the Falcons wings. He wore a flight suit, his helmet in one hand as he spoke to Han. The two didn’t need to say much to get what they wanted to say across.
It wasn’t until he turned to leave did he see you, and he stopped. There's a nervous look in his eyes when he walks to you, and you only tilt your head.
“I don’t think you’re evacuating with everyone else,” you say softly, watching his soft eyes flicker between yours.
“They need me out there,” there's hesitation in his voice, hands fumbling with his helmet before continuing, “About what happened-”
“We’ll talk when you get back, okay?”
He sighs heavily, eyes clenching shut before he reaches forwards, grabbing your hand with his free one.
“It’s important to me, I don’t want-”
“Luke,” you can't help but interrupt, and by the look he has, you were scared at what he was going to say.
Giving a strained smile, you squeeze his hand in comfort, “we’ll talk later.”
He doesn’t say anything else, just nods and begins to pull away. There's still that uncertain look in his eyes, and it makes your heart throb.
“Don’t do anything stupid, blondie.”
Just nodding, Luke turns and makes his way into the hangar. No doubt going to help the others in the Rogue squadron before going anywhere else.
“(Y/n)! I could use some help up here!”
“Yeah, yeah,” you grumble, making your way up the ladder. Han was crouched over one of the landing gear components, and Chewie was bending himself in half to fix the remaining parts of the wing.
“What is it?”
He throws one of the tools your way, and you catch it, crouching down next to him to rework damaged wires.
“Did you tell him?”
You throw him a glare, “did you tell her?”
Chewie barks and you watch as he shakes his head.
“No, Chewie, you need to rework the wires so we can get her back in the air!”
There was an explosion, and Han grabbed your arm, both of you looking to the slowly cracking ceiling.
“Well, that doesn’t look too good,” you grumble, trying to get your cold hands to work faster. After the wing was done, you would be able to evacuate and rendezvous with Leia and the others.
You both work in silence, trying to finish the gear before the Empire bursts through the ceiling. Sweating under your jacket, your shaking hands continue to thread the wires. It wasn’t a beautiful job, but it would hold until you were in a safe place, then you would be able to thoroughly fix it.
“No, Chewie!” Han pushes himself up, throwing the tool down, “that one goes here, that one there, right?”
“Would you stop bickering! We don’t have time for this!” You shout, covering your head when the base is hit once more, snow falling from the ceiling. It smacks against the wings, ice sprinkling over your shoulders.
“Where's the princess?” You ask.
“Probably still in the control room, I’ll get her to the transport, you two keep working.”
“Han!” You throw the tools down, the wires finished, “Hurry, we won't leave without you.”
“I’m always quick!”
You turn back to Chewie, nodding, “come on, let’s close everything up. Hopefully-” you scrunch your eyebrows, patting the ship lightly, “she’ll actually start.”
Chewie barks, waiting until you climb down the ladder. The panels were shut and screwed back into place, the tools discarded in the snow as you rushed onto the ship, turning into the small closet that held the inner workings.
“Alright baby,” you whisper, eyes frantically moving, “let me hear you, yeah?”
Your fingers were freezing, almost having lost feeling. It doesn't stop you from reworking the wires, checking the diagnostic from the panel on the wall. You can faintly hear Chewie bark, yelling out the entry ramp before he rushes onto the falcon.
“Hurry up, goldenrod! Or you’ll be a permanent resident!” Han shouts, going straight to you.
“How’s it looking?”
“I don’t know! In reality she needs to be on for me to actually fix this stuff!”
Chewie shuts the entry ramp, rushing into the cock-pit. There's another explosion in the hangar, the entire ship shaking as ice crashes onto the roof. Han is busy at the control panel, yelling to you in hopes of getting the ship to start.
“How’s this?!” He yells, and suddenly you're being sprayed with smoke. Yelping, you shout at him to turn it off, Chewie barking negatively from the cock-pit. Finally leaving the small closet, you join Han at the panel, looking over the multitude of buttons and switches.
“Try that one,” you say before rushing back. This time, nothing bad happens, and you take it as a win.
“Would it help if I got out and pushed?” Leia asks sarcastically, Han glaring at her, “it might!”
Threepio makes his way over, hand raised, “Captain Solo! Captain Solo! Might I suggest that-”
Han cuts him off, glaring at the droid with deadly eyes and a raised finger.
“It can wait.”
Following Han into the cock-pit, you flip the necessary buttons before sitting down in your chair, spinning to raise the deflector shields.
“This bucket of bolts is never going to get us past that blockade.” Leia hisses, watching Han move around the small space.
“This baby’s got a few surprises left in her, sweetheart.”
Looking out the window, you spot multiple Stormtroopers rushing into the hanger. Looking at Han with wide eyes, you slap his arm, “we need to go! Stormtrooper’s are coming in!”
Swinging back around, you pull down on a small lever by your feet, a turret dropping from under the wing. Aiming it, you shoot towards the Troopers, all of them scrambling around to find cover.
Leia straps in next to you, and Han in his seat. Chewie runs in seconds later, strapping himself in while Han starts the Falcon.
“Come on! Switch over,” he calls to Chewie, “let's hope we don't have a burnout.”
A blaster bolts hits the windshield right by Chewie’s head, the Wookiee yelping as he pulls back on the controls. The engine finally fires and a giant smile crawls onto Hans’ face, his head turning to briefly look at Leia.
“See?”
“Someday you’re going to be wrong, and I hope I’m there to see it.”
“Let's go!” You shout, pulling the turret back into the ship, kicking Han’s seat, “punch it!”
He didn’t need to be told twice, accelerating out of the hangar. Staying close to the ground, Han waits until he’s a bit further away form the base to make his way out of the atmosphere. But of course, the blockade is waiting. The ship wouldn’t be able to survive any of the firepower from the Star destroyers, so he would have to weave his way through.
Chewie lets out a howl, and Han quickly checks over the panel before nodding, “I see them.”
“See what?!” Leia asks, hands gripping onto the seat. You continuously checked the state of the Falcon from what was around you, and it didn’t look good. You can hear, and feel, the oncoming fire from the Tie’s on your tail.
“Two Star Destroyers, coming right at us.”
You can hear Threepio bang and stumble his way into the Falcon, holding onto the door frame for stability.
“Sir! Sir!” He cries, “Might I suggest-”
Han doesn’t let him finish, again, turning sharply to point at Leia, “shut him up or shut him down!” He turns back to Chewie, sweat running down his temple, “check the deflector shields.”
Readjusting an overhead switch, Chewie barks his reply, causing Han to sigh, “Well great, we can still outmaneuver them.”
This catches your attention, leaning out into the small space between the seats, “what did he say?”
“The shields are down-”
“What!?”
“It's fine! You’re flying with the greatest pilot to ever live!”
Suddenly, Han changes course. The Falcon starts to fly in the direction of two Star Destroyers, before taking a steep nose dive. Yelping, you and Leia try to stabilize yourself, grabbing onto whatever you could as Han flies recklessly.
“Kriff! Han! I’m gonna kill you!”
From above, the now three Star Destroyers try to maneuver away from each other, and it almost seems like they collide into each other.
“Prepare to make the jump to light-speed,” Han growls, trying to dodge more of the blaster fire from the oncoming Tie’s.
“But Sir!” Threepio cries, picking himself up from the floor.
Leia pulls herself in between your seats, eyebrows scrunched, “they’re getting closer!”
“Oh yeah?” Han taunts, rolling his shoulders as he grabs the lever for light-speed, “watch this.”
He presses forwards, but nothing happens. The Falcon only produces a soft whine, your stomach sinks, and you watch with wide eyes as Han looks between you and Chewie.
“Watch what?” Leia asks, rocking back into her seat when the ship jerks.
“I think we’re in trouble,” you say softly, and when Han tries it again, the engine stalls.
“Sir,” Threepio says, “If I may say so, I noticed that the hyperdrive motivator has been damaged. It's impossible for us to go to light speed!”
“We’re in trouble.”
Unbuckling your belt, you follow Han into the main hold, “what's your plan now, Han!” You yell, watching him frantically move about the different panels. He falls to his knees, unlocking the floor panel. It was heavy, and he was barely able to lift it.
“No clue! Just get up there and fly this ship before we get shot out of space!”
“Kriffing hell,” you grumble, turning back and running to the cockpit. Chewie meets you in the doorway, lightly grabbing your arms before you fall. He growls, motioning behind you before letting go to join Han.
Falling down into his seat, you glance at Leia as she sits beside you, staring at the radar.
“They’re hot on us,” she says.
Scoffing, you try and maneuver around bolts, but some still manage to hit, “oh really? I thought we lost them!”
The ship shakes once more, “you know how to fly this hunk of junk?”
“I’ve flown it long before Han even knew she existed-” you say, glaring her way before turning sharply, narrowly missing an asteroid. Hissing, you briefly glance at the radar before staring ahead, sighing.
“That doesn't look too good.”
Leia looks like she’s about to say something, but you point out in front, her eyes following. Ahead of the ship was a wide field of asteroids, the belt spanning across the entire windshield of the Falcon.
You don’t see the asteroid that looms next to the falcon, yelping when the ship lurches on impact.
“Get Han up here, “ you stress, looking at her when she doesn’t move, “now!”
“Han!” she calls over the com, “get up here!”
It didn’t take long for Chewie and Han to appear back in the cock-pit, you and Leia both moving out of the way so they could sit. Han whistles slowly, scanning the field before driving into it. He was mad, you thought. Or, he's always been mad and now it's finally showing.
“Chewie, set two-seven-one.”
Standing behind the Wookiee, you grab onto his seat for support.
“You’re not actually going into the asteroid field, right?”
Han only scoffs, “they’d be crazy to follow us, wouldn’t they?”
There's a thump against the hold, and you and Leia both wince. Threepio stands behind Han, his golden head shaking back and forth, “Sir, the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately three-thousand, seven hundred and twenty to one!”
“Never tell me the odds!” Han growls
The Falcon turns into the belt, now going against the large, looming rocks. Han bobs and weaves through them, stark silent as he piloted. Threepio keeps yelping when one comes too close, shielding his eyes when two collide into each other, smaller rocks scattering across and Han doesn’t hesitate to fly through it. The ship rocks violently, forcing you and Leia to sit back and buckle yourselves in.
“You said you wanted to be around when I made a mistake; well, this could be it, sweetheart.”
Leia shakes her head, “Well I take it back, we’re going to get pulverized if we stay out here much longer.”
“Pulverized?” Threepio echo's softly.
“I should’ve stayed back on Hoth-” you wheeze, clenching your eyes shut when two asteroids collide into each other.
Ignoring you, Han cocks his head, “I’m going in closer to one of the big ones.”
“Closer?!” You exclaim, Leia following.
The large rock floats into view, Han piloting down near the surface until dipping down into a large crater, following it into a small ravine, two Tie’s follow closely.
“We’re going to die,” you wince, shutting your eyes tightly as the end comes closer. Han shakes his head, “no we’re not!”
Sharply jerking the ship, it easily slips through onto its side. The ravine went into another crater, Han pulling the ship out of it without any Tie’s following.
“Oh, this is suicide! There's nowhere to go!” Threepio shouts, hysterical by now.
“There. That looks pretty good,” Han murmurs, pointing to a large hole.
“What looks pretty good?” You ask, pulling yourself back up after undoing your belt, following Han’s finger until you spot it.
“Excuse me, ma'am, where are we going?” Threepio asks, but you don't reply. Watching as the Falcon dives into it.
The cave is almost pitch black, the lights in the cock-pit the only source of light.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Leia says softly, hands grabbing the back of his seat.
“Yeah,” he replies with a frown, “me too.”
There's a small opening off to the side, and Han carefully sets down the Falcon, slouching into his seat before getting up, leaving the cockpit while grumbling profanities under his breath. Looking out the windshield, you can’t tell how big the cave was since it was pitch black. Chewie flicks on the lights, illuminating a wall of fog that rested over the ground.
When Han enters the cockpit once more, he and Chewie make haste by turning off all the electronics. Out of the corner of your eye, you can see the worried look on Leia’s face as she watches him.
“I’m going to shut down everything but the emergency power systems,” Han says, leaning by your side to flip more switches. You give him a side-eye, biting the inside of your cheek. The cave was making your stomach twist uncomfortably, and you didn’t think it was from how dark it was.
“Does that mean shutting me down too?” Threepio asks, raising his hand. Chewie immediately barks, and you chuckle at the enthusiasm behind it. Blinking to get your eyes to adjust when more lights begin to flicker off in the cockpit.
Han sighs, “no, I need you to talk to the Falcon, find out what's wrong with the hyperdrive.”
Suddenly, the ship lurches, causing all loose-items to fall. Leia and Chewie grab onto the chairs, while Han catches Threepio. You clutch onto the steering components, waiting until the ship is stable again before kissing your teeth.
“I think we’re in trouble-”
“Aren’t we always?” Han gripes, worriedly looking out the front towards the fog, glancing down at you with pursed lips.
“Sir, it's quite possible this asteroid is not entirely stable.”
You spin around with wide eyes, “oh really? Well aren’t I happy you’re here to tell us these things!”
“(Y/n), why don't you and Chewie take the professor to the back and plug him into the hyperdrive?”
Huffing, you throw your hands up while walking out of the cockpit, hearing Chewie and Threepio following. The droid's voice filling the corridor.
“Oh! Sometimes I just don't understand human behavior. After all, I’m only trying to do my job-” He gets cut off, the Falcon lurching to the side once more, sending you straight into the wall. Chewie barks, rubbing his arms before nodding towards you. Nodding, you rub at your side before continuing.
“Where exactly is the Hyperdrive, Madam?” Threepio asks timidly. Smiling, you glance back at him, leading him to the Control Panel in the Main hold.
You could map out the inside of the Falcon like the palm of your hand. You’ve been with her since her seats were white, since her stereo system worked and when the giant closet in Hans’ room was filled to the brim with different capes.
Flipping more switches, you allow Threepio to look over it, “the Hyperdrive is in the back of the Engine room, under the flooring. It's too small to fit in there with it, so you’ll have to connect to her from out here.”
“I see, thank you, Madam (Y/n).”
After patting his metal arm, you assess the damage in the Main Hold. Chewie opens the ceiling, pulling himself up into the forest of wires while you look over the closet of wires you were in before leaving Hoth. It was worse than before, sparking every second while others hung broken, screws and bolts littering the floor.
“Kriff- I just fixed that, too,” you mumble, kicking away some of the bolts before getting close to the wires, squinting your eyes when some of the sparks land on your cheek.
Threepio begins whistling to the panel, it responding before he sighs, flipping another switch before trying again. Chewie holds a hand out the ceiling panel, barking and growling. You walk over, hands on your hips.
“Oh, where is R2 when I need him?” Threepio huffs.
Han rushes through the hold just then, brushing past you to the small cabinet with various wires and tools.
Threepio turns to him, “Sir, I don’t know where your ship learned to communicate, but it has the most peculiar dialect.”
Looking over your shoulder, you watch as Han stands beside the droid, looking over the screens with him.
“I believe, sir, it says that the power coupling on the negative axis has been polarized. I’m afraid you’ll have to replace it.
Scoffing, Han shifts the bundled cord in his hands, moving the screen slightly.
“Well, of course I’ll have to replace it.” Han says sarcastically, walking over to hand Chewie the rolled wire from where he was in the ceiling.
“Here!” He calls up. Bumping shoulders with him, you jerk your head back towards Threepio, smiling when Han rolls his eyes and turns back, “and Chewie!”
Han waits until Chewie’s head peers down, lowering his voice so it was only heard between the three of you, “I think we’d better replace that negative power coupling.”
Chuckling, you watch Han turn to leave, seeing Leia struggling with a valve she must have been welding. It seemed to be stuck, and you watched with a small smile as Han went to help her, his body blocking your view.
“Chewie?” you call softly, hearing him whine. “Do you need anything else? I need to get back to the wire closet.”
His head pops back over the side, and he once more points to a tool that was on the floor. Bending you pick it up, hearing Threepio cheering to himself, handing the tool up to him before turning and making your way back to the wires. With a huff, you pat your pockets for your gloves, cursing when you can’t find them.
Turning, you search the floor for them, and sigh when you find one, but not the other. Sliding on the one you found, you return to mending the wires to where they belong, slowly putting the Falcon back together.
“Sir! Sir!” Threepio cheers, wobbling past you, “I’ve isolated the reverse power flux coupling!”
You later find Leia sitting in the cockpit, the only light in the room was from the indicators on the control panel in front of her. She sat in Chewie’s chair, lightly dragging her finger across the steering controls.
Her head spins when the door slides open, lips parting when she sees you. Neither of you had the time to talk since landing. Her and Han seemed to, judging by the way his eyebrows were furrowed and he was drowning himself in repairs.
“Sorry,” you murmur, walking in the grab the rag Han uses to wipe away soot and grease.
Leia leans up, grabbing lightly onto your sleeve. Looking at her, you raise an eyebrow. She seems to be deep in thought, and after clearing her throat, she lets you go.
“I was hoping to talk to you, after what happened-”
Your stomach tightens again, and you lick your lips, “I’d rather not.” You stress, looking anywhere but at her.
She clenches her hand, resting it back in her lap while turning the chair further in your direction. The distant sound of blaster fire hitting the asteroids, it reminds you to get back to repairs.
“Look,” she starts, “I wanted to apologize for kissing Luke, I know-”
“You know what?” You cut her off again, tilting your head. Her mouth shuts, looking back out at the vast darkness while you let your thoughts get the better of you.
Why was she apologizing?
“I thought we were friends, Leia,” you say softly, watching her lips slowly form into a frown. Sighing, you sit in Hans’ chair, looking out at the darkness. You feel her eyes on you, but you refrain from meeting them. Your eyes are hot, and you find that you can’t remember the last time you talked about your feelings with another woman.
“We are friends- It was a mistake, and I regretted it the moment after. Han just makes me so mad that I can’t think straight,” she huffs, rubbing at her cheeks while leaning her elbows onto her knees. Smiling, you bite the inside of your cheek.
You don't know what you’re looking at, but when there’s movement out of the corner of your eye, you decide that this conversation can wait until later. Stilling, you reach over to grab her wrist, stopping her from talking.
“I saw something,” you whisper, intently watching the darkness for any other movement. Leia grips your hand, also watching. Then it happened again, a form scurrying past the windshield and back into the darkness. Both of you lean forwards in your seats, slowly beginning to stand to lean closer, waiting with bated breaths.
Suddenly, whatever creature it was latches onto the thick glass, beady eyes twitching every which way while its thick white saliva coated its teeth. There were spines around its mouth, and it released a high pitched screech before letting go, disappearing just as fast as it appeared.
Leia screams, almost falling back against the floor if it wasn’t for your iron grip on her hand. You're frozen, waiting until the creature disappears before letting Leia drag you from the cockpit.
Both of you were breathing heavily when entering the Main Hold, Threepio was turned towards Han and Chewie, who wore black goggles and were welding parts back into the frame of the Falcon. Leia let go, choosing to step towards Han while you continued looking around, wondering if there were more creatures.
“There's something out there,” she states. Han and Chewie both pull off their goggles, Han furrowing his eyebrows while watching her.
“Where?”
Leia jerks her head towards the Ramp, “outside, in the cave.”
It wasn’t until something started banging on the top of the Falcon that he stood at his full height, fully pulling off the goggles. Chewie barks anxiously and Threepio turns towards you, “there it is! Listen!”
“I’m going out there,” he says, passing by Leia in a rush to grab an oxygen mask on the back of the couch.
“Well, wait for me!” You call, also grabbing a mask. Han sends you a glare, stopping to turn towards you, “you should stay on the ship-”
“And let you have all the fun? Absolutely not.”
“Are you both crazy?” Leia yells, rushing after the both of you, Chewie hot on her tail.
Han throws back, “I just got this bucket back together, I’m not gonna let something tear it apart!”
As the exit ramp lowers, both you and Han make your way down it, stopping at the edge until it settles onto the ground. The mask was uncomfortable on your face, the tube that connected the mask to the oxygen box that was strapped to your belt made it hard to turn in some ways. It was extremely foggy, and it was hard for you to distinguish anything. Squinting, you walk around Han and finally step foot into the fog. The grounded squishes under your boots, making you grimace.
“Gross.”
Leia follows behind Han, both taking tentative steps on the surface before joining you in searching for the strange creature. It looked so familiar to you, but you can’t place your finger on it.
“The ground sure feels strange,” Leia says into the coms, her voice crackling into your ear piece. “It doesn’t feel like rock, at all.”
Han ducks to look under the Falcon, and you can faintly see Chewie go around the other side. Your palm sat against your blaster, which was still sitting in its holster, prepared to shoot at anything hostile.
“There’s an awful lot of moisture in here,” Han comments, turning to look back at you. You still stood by the ramp, staring out into the darkness. It made you uneasy, how dark it was around you. Usually, cave systems would have dripping water, the sound of different creatures that lived in the dark and the reflection of the light from outside giving just a semblance of light. But it was pitch black, and you couldn’t hear anything.
“I have a bad feeling about this,” you wince, turning to follow Han and Leia who were rounding to the front of the ship.
“Yeah, me too.” Han grumbles.
There's a hiss, and both you and Han draw your blasters, pointing towards the sound. Han makes the first shot, shooting down whatever was latched onto the bottom of the Cockpit’s windows.
“Watch out!”
Chewie growls, running from the other side of the Falcon, crossbow in hand, to look over the creature. Grabbing Leia’s elbow, you squint to try and see it, but its body was covered in the thick fog.
“That’s what I thought- Mynocks,” Han sighs, waving towards Chewie, “Chewie, check the rest of the ship, make sure there aren’t any more attached, they’re chewing on the power cords.”
“Mynocks?”
“Annoying creatures that live in asteroids,” you respond, watching Leia’s face contort into disgust.
“They like to eat ships’ power supply-”
“(y/n), go inside with Leia, we’ll see if there's any more on the ship.”
Scoffing, you turn towards the ramp, rolling your eyes, “You just wanna have all the fun!”
“Oh yeah, killing Mynocks is my favorite pastime!”
When stepping towards the ramp, you’re suddenly overcome with multiple Mynocks, all letting their wings brush over the top of your head. Leia brought her arms up in defense, screaming out while you tried to bat them away, then shooting your blaster, hitting one down.
“Han!” Leia screams, running onto the ship while you continue shooting. Han and Chewie begin to as well, and the cave begins to move once more. Almost knocking you off of your feet, your hand grabbing the side of the Falcon. When the cave does move, the Mynocks all disappear, but you can still hear their whistling voices from the darkness.
Han gives you a look, his eyebrows furrowed while his eyes scanned the fog.
“Wait a minute,” he says, looking around once more before shooting into the mushy ground. The cave begins to move once more, throwing you once again off balance. Leia tries to grab onto one of the ramps’ pistons, but she almost falls over. Han rushes to her side, grabbing her waist and pushing her onto the Falcon while reaching out a hand towards you. Grabbing it, you let him drag you inside while you look around for Chewie, who was running to follow.
“Common, Chewie!”
Inside, you all struggle to stay stable in the shuddering Falcon, but Chewie manages to close to hatch and tear off the mask, rushing towards the Cockpit. Han, followed by you and Threepio, runs into the Main Hold to look over the scopes on the Control Panel.
“All right, let's get out of here!”
Chewie growls, and you follow after Han.
“The Empire is still out there! I don’t think it's wise-”
Han interrupts her, running to the cockpit, “There’s no time to discuss this in committee.”
Glancing at Threepio to make sure he’s fine, you follow after, discarding your mask onto the couch while trying not to fall.
“I am not a committee!” Leia growls, following after him. Chewie is already in his seat, starting the Falcon when you all enter. Throwing yourself into your seat, you buckle in and grab onto Leia’s wrist, but she only spares you a glance.
Han makes quick work in pulling back the throttle, the cave just just beginning to settle.
“You can’t make the jump to lightspeed in an asteroid field!”
“Sit down, sweetheart, we’re taking off.”
The shaking finally stops when you’re in the air, and you can hear Threepio entering the Cockpit. Chewie barks, looking at the end of the cave, and you have to lean forwards in your seat to see it.
At the end of the long tunnel, it looks like the cave begins to collapse.
“Maker, that’s definitely not good,” you say, hearing Chewie grumble.
Threepio lifts an arm, “Look! Look!”
“I see it,” Han stresses. Suddenly, a row of jagged white stalagmites and stalactites can be seen surrounding the entrance. And as the Falcon moves forward, the entrance to the cave grows ever smaller. Han pulls hard on the throttle, the ship surging forward.
“We’re doomed!” Threepio cries, and you bite the inside of your cheek.
“The cave is collapsing,” Leia says, leaning down in between Han and Chewie’s seats.
“This isn’t a cave,” you say, watching her head snap to you with wide eyes.
“What?” She asks, looking back at the entrance. The rocks aren’t rocks at all, but teeth, which were quickly closing in on the ship. Chewie howls, and Han curses. He yanks the steering, the ship tilting onto its side to slide past the gaps in the teeth, flying into the asteroid field once more.
It doesn’t take long for The Empire to catch up with you, and soon a large Star Destroyer is hot on your tail, flak hitting the sides of the Falcon, rocking it. Han does his best to correct the angle of the ship, and while Leia watches intently out the front, your eyes are glued to the tracking scope next to you.
“We’re coming out of the field,” you say, Threepio cheering at your side.
“Oh, thank goodness!”
There's another large hit to the Falcon, and you can hear something explode from the back, causing Chewie to bark.
“Let’s get out of here.” Han states, glancing at Chewie, who was beginning to flip switches, “ready for lightspeed? One, two, three!-”
When he pulls back on the hyperspace throttle, nothing happens, Han groans.
“It's not fair!” He sounds frantic. Chewie begins to growl and bark, throwing his hands up after bashing the control panel. Leia groans softly, rubbing her eyes harshly while slouching in her seat.
“What did you do?!” You yell, pushing past Chewie’s arm to frantically look over the controls. Han glares, “Transfer circuits aren’t working, it's not my fault!”
Leia leans over, “no lightspeed?”
Han turns his chair, his eyebrows tight, “it’s not my fault!”
More flak hits the ship, and Han does his best to steer away.
“Sir,” Threepio says from behind you, “we’ve just lost the main rear deflector shield, one more hit on the back quarter and we’re done for.”
There's a moment of silence, Han staring down at the levers before nodding his head once, pulling back and turning towards Chewie.
“Turn her around.”
“What?!” You yell, Chewie barking in puzzlement, both of you staring at him. He gets up from his seat, pointing at the Wookiee, “I said turn her around! I’m going to put all power in the front shield!”
He flips almost switch before sitting back down in his seat.
“You’re going to attack them?” Leia asks, you smacking his arm, “that’s the worst decision by far!”
“Sir, the odds of surviving a direct assault on an Imperial Star Destroyer-”
Both you and Leia interrupt him, “Shut up!”
The Falcon banks, making a steep turn before heading straight towards the Star Destroyer, bobbing and weaving to dodge the flak bursts. The ship narrowly misses the bridge window, before Han turns towards Chewie, pointing to his side.
“Engage the landing claw!”
Chewie does, and the Falcon is now clinging to the Destroyer, Han shutting off all power before freezing, watching the other Destroyers in the area.
“We should be invisible now,” he says softly, glancing at you and Chewie.
There's a few minutes of silence, before Threepio throws his hands up.
“Captain Solo, this time you’ve gone too far!” Chewie cuts him off, but Threepio only waves his way, “no, I will not be quiet, Chewbacca. Why doesn’t anyone listen to me?”
Han points to the Destroyers, “the fleets starting to break up. Go back and stand by the manual release for the landing claw.” Chewie nods, barking. He struggles to stand from his seat, walking out of the Cockpit.
Threepio speaks again, “I really don't see how that is going to help. Surrender is a perfectly acceptable alternative in extreme circumstances-”
You’ve stood up by then, sitting Threepio down in your seat before turning to Leia, raising your eyebrows while gesturing towards Threepio. She sighs, reaching forwards to turn him off. Han sighs, nodding his head, “thank you.”
Standing in the doorway, you watch Leia move closer to Han, who was still watching the fleet.
“So what’s the next move?”
Han only glances her way, “well, if they follow standard Imperial procedure, they’ll dump their grange before going to lightspeed. Then, we’ll just float away.”
You cross your arms, watching the two interact.
“With the rest of the garbage, then what?”
“Then, we’ve got to find a safe port around here, got any ideas?” He finally turns to look at you after turning on the computer map screen, you shake your head.
“No. Where are we?” Leia asks.
“The Anoat system.”
Leia grimaces, “Anoat system. There’s not much there.”
“Well- wait, this is interesting,” he turns to look at you with raised eyebrows, “Lando.”
You chuckle, letting your head fall back against the door frame, groaning softly.
Leia looks between you both for a moment, “Lando system?”
“Lando’s not a system,” you correct her, “he’s a man, Lando Calrissian.” smiling, you look back at her, “he’s a card player, gambler, scoundrel-”
“You’d like him,” Han cuts in with a smile.
“Thanks,” she grumbles.
Han rests his fist against his chin, watching the computer screen.
“Bespin. It’s pretty far, but I’m sure we can make it.”
Nodding, you push away from the door frame, leaning over Leia’s shoulder.
“A mining colony?” She asks, tilting her head to look at you.
“Yeah,” Han confirms, “a Tibanna gas mine. Must have conned somebody out of it, we go back a long way- Lando and us,” he nods towards you.
“Can you trust him?”
You laugh, shaking your head, “absolutely not, but he has no love for The Empire.”
Sitting in Chewie’s seat you watch the garbage slowly start to seep from the Destroyer. Han straightens in his seat, leaning to press into the com.
“Alright Chewie, get ready.” He waits another moment, “detach!”
The falcon detaches from the Destroyer with a lurch, and the ship slowly turns as it floats into the wave of garbage, watching as the Star Destroyer goes off into lightspeed.
“You have your moments, I'll give you that.” Leia says softly, looking over Han for a moment before leaning down, pressing a kiss onto his cheek. Then, she sits down in her seat, avoiding your gaze. Smiling, you watch as Han smiles softly, and Leia blushes.
Powering back on the Falcon, Han steers the ship around and begins making way to Bespin.
You moved back to your seat when Chewie came back and Threepio was turned back on, albeit more calm and quiet after having been turned off for a few hours. You sat in silence, watching the clouds grow in number and the colors shift from black and blue to a dusty orange and pink. this suited Lando, you thought.
There were two cloud cars following the ship from either side, talking to Han through the coms.
“No,” Han says, “I don’t have a landing permit! I’m trying to reach Lando Calrissian!”
Flak hits the side of the ship, and you lean forwards to watch out the window. Leia looks worried, you giving a tight lipped smile.
“Woah! Wait a minute! Let me explain-” Han yells into the transmitter, but the pilot in the Cloud Car cuts him
“You will not deviate from your current flight path.”
“Rather touchy, aren’t they?” Threepio says.
Leia huffs, “I thought you said you knew this person.”
Chewie growls and barks at Han, and you wonder what he said for Han to look so offended.
“Well, that was a long time ago. I’m sure he’s forgotten about that.”
“Permission granted to land on platform three-two-seven.”
Han smiles, seething into the transmitter, “Thank you.”
After saying his thanks, he snaps off the intercom, throwing it to the ground as Chewie grunts.
“Nothing to worry about. We go way back, Lando and me.”
“Who’s worried?” Leia asks, sitting down in her chair.
As the floating city of Bespin comes into view, you silently wonder how Lando came to own this place. You wonder if it was from a game of Sabacc, or if he did another run and got it as a reward. The Cloud Cars escort you to the landing platform, and Han lands with a sigh, standing from his chair and walking out of the Cockpit, you and Chewie hot on his tail. You can hear Leia and Threepio following, and make sure to glance back at her.
Han lowers the ramp, and warily looks around the platform as you exit. You’re expecting to see Lando waiting for you guys, but there wasn’t anybody around.
“Oh. no one to meet us,” Threepio voices, looking around the platform.
Eyebrows furrowed, you place a hand onto your blaster, looking at Han and Chewie. They both have the same looks, hands close to their weapons.
“I don’t like this,” Leia sighs, shaking her head. Han huffs, turning to look at her.
“Well, what would you like?”
“They did let us land,” Threepio states, looking between the two.
Han leans against one of the pistons, “look, don't worry, everything's going to be fine. Trust me.”
The door at the end of the platform hisses, opening vertically to present a group of people, Lando at the front. His dark cape laid over his shoulders as he talked with one of the people from the crowd, pointing towards your group. Han makes his way from the ramp, stopping between you and Chewie.
“Keep your eyes open, yeah?”
Chewie nods his head, growling softly. Han turns to you, smiling, “coming with me?”
You don't reply, but you do follow him when he goes to meet Lando in the middle of the platform. Turning to give Chewie and Leia a two fingered salute.
Han opens his hands, a bright smile on his face, “Hey!”
You can hear Lando’s voice, deeper from what you remember, his cape billowing behind him. He’s grown older, smile lines creasing around his eyes. The only remaining facial hair left on his face was his mustache, his hair remaining almost the same, just a little longer, smoothed back into waves. The group he was talking to follow at a distance, looking over your group with curious eyes.
“Why, you slimy, double-crossing, no-good swindler!” He stops a few feet away, placing his hands on his hips
“You’ve got a lot of guts coming here, after what you’ve pulled.”
Both you and Han freeze, Hans’ hands pointing to his chest. You stare at Lando with narrowed eyes, but he doesn’t seem to acknowledge your presence just yet.
“Me?” Han says softly. Lando takes a few steps forwards, jerking towards Han, making his hands fly up in defense, before laughing and pulling him into a hug. Han stands shocked, before beginning to laugh, hugging him back.
Lando pulls away, smiling brightly, “how you doing, you old pirate! I never thought I’d catch up with you again, where’ve you been? What’re you doing here?”
Han turned to thumb at the Falcon, “ah, repairs, thought you could help.”
Lando replies in mock panic, “what’ve you done to my ship?”
He finally turns to you, his eyes softening, trying to hide a smile as he finally speaks to you, “What’ve you let him do to our ship?”
Han laughs mockingly, looking between you both with wide eyes, “your ship? Hey- remember, you lost her to me fair-and-square.”
Chewie must catch his attention, his eyes flickering to behind you, “and how you doin’, Chewbacca? you still hanging around with this loser?”
Chewie replies in a series of barks and growls, Leia and Threepio appearing from his side. When Lando finally notices her, he smiles, “hello, what do we have here?” Glancing towards Han, he moves closer.
“Welcome. I’m Lando Calrissian, I’m the administrator of this facility. And who might you be?” He tilts his head. Crossing your arms, you narrow your eyes at him. Leia flickers to look at you, before setting her gaze on him again, she looks wary, untrusting. Yet, she smiles, tilting her head.
“Leia.”
Lando sighs, “Welcome, Leia.” He reaches out, grabbing her hand to press a delicate kiss.
Han huffs, moving in to softly grab Leia’s hand from his, shaking his head, “all right, all right, you old smoothie.”
Threepio moves closer, slightly bending down before shaking his hand, “Hello, sir. I am see-Threepio, human-cyborg relations. My facilities are at your-” Lando’s already turning around, eyes finding you again with a smile.
“Finally deciding to work with your real captain, (Y/n)?” he takes your arm in his, leading you into the building. Laughing, you shake your head, looking at him with a smile.
“You haven’t been a captain for how long, Lando?”
He brushes it off with a smirk, “doesn't matter, you worked under me first didn’t you?”
“You don't remember? Why, how inconsiderate of you!” You feign offense, placing your hand over the other, feeling the cape brush the back of your legs.
“I could never forget you! After all we’ve done? It would be a crime!”
Lando turns back to Han, and you let go of his arm, clasping them behind your back as Lando's aid nods his head at you in greeting.
“What’s wrong with the Falcon?”
“Hyperdrive.”
Lando nods, turning to his aid before looking back, “I’ll get my people to work on her.”
“Good.”
Walking backwards, Lando winks at you before looking at Leia, smiling brightly, “you know, that ship saved my life quite a few times. She's the fastest hunk of junk in the sky!”
When walking across a small bridge that leads into the main city, you finally manage to catch a glimpse of it all. The entire city reminded you of Coruscant, with cloud cars flying around, people walking through the streets, and multiple buildings linking together that stretch out as far as you could see.
The interior was just as elegant as you expected. While walls and intricate statues and artwork. There was a chandelier hanging from the ceiling as your group walked down the skinny set of stairs. The windows on the wall to your left showcased the city lights, and you smile at Leia when you see the sparkle in her eyes return, even if it was for a second.
Han makes busy with talking to Lando, their voices echoing through the hallways, “how's the gas mine? Is it paying off for you?”
Passing a small plaza, you glance at a man working on a power board just behind one of the pillars that held up the ceiling. He didn’t pay you any mind, too engrossed in his work. Another man, who did spare you a glance, was cleaning the walls with a large duster, reaching up as far as he could.
“Oh,” Lando sighs, “not as well as I’d like. We’re a small outpost and not very self sufficient- not to mention the supply problems of every kind. I’ve had labor difficulties-” Lando stops short, Hans laughter billowing over him. Smiling, he tilts his head, “what’s so funny?”
You almost start laughing too at the way Han claps a hand down onto his shoulder, shaking his head.
“You! Listen to you, you sound like a businessman, a responsible leader. Who would’ve thought that, huh?” Han looks back at you, then at Leia for a split second before turning back to the front. Lando stops in front of a large wall of windows, the sun casting an orange glow of her busy city.
“You know, seeing you both here brings back a few things.”
Laughing, you link your arm with his again, smiling.
“It does, doesn’t it?”
Lando chuckles, dragging you along as Han looks back, eyebrows raised and shoulders shrugging.
“Yeah, I’m responsible these days. It's the price you pay for being successful.”
Raising a brow, you look up at him, “didn’t you win this place from gambling?”
“Acquiring this beauty doesn’t matter to me anymore, I think being a successful businessman suits me, no?”
You hiss, leaning away to wince, “I don’t know, seeing you like this is like seeing an imposter.”
“You hurt me, (Y/n). When did you get so mean?”
After assigning both you and Leia rooms, you take the chance to finally get cleaned up. The guest quarters was an oval shaped room, lounging all around the room while one door led into the bedroom.
They provided you with a new set of clothes, perfect to go along with the beautiful city. It was a dark blue jumpsuit, the fabric light enough to be worn with the cape that was folded nicely underneath it. It was white, but had a gold lining and a beautiful design that covered the bottom. The fabric underneath was also gold, the collar wrapping around your shoulders to clasp right in the middle of your chest. You refused to wear the boots they gave, preferring your usual ones instead.
After finally getting out of there, you make your way towards Leia’s room. You knew Han and Chewie were looking over the Falcon’s repairs, and you were hoping you’d be able to spend some time alone with Leia before you’d have to leave. But, when the doors opened, it revealed Han and Leia already sitting alone together, sitting closely as they spoke quietly amongst themselves.
Han stood first, hands on his hips as he looked you over, nodding once as he gestured to the cape and jumpsuit.
“Bespin seems to suit you.”
Looking down, you smooth over the soft fabric, shrugging, “over than it being kind of itchy in some parts, its comfortable.”
“I think you look beautiful,” Leia says, standing as well. She wore a maroon dress, her white cape falling fluidly over her shoulders and down her back. Her hair was down, braids being tied up with ribbons, and the dirt that used to be on her cheeks was washed away. She looked regal, fitting in almost perfectly with the city.
“You do too, Leia.”
“The ships almost done, just a few more things before we can go.”
Leia crosses her arms, stepping closer while promptly ignoring Han, “have you seen Threepio? Nobody has heard anything from or about him!”
“I thought he was with you? When was the last time you saw him?”
Han raises his arms, “I already told her I’d ask Lando!”
“How long has he been gone?” You ask, hands on your hips.
“Too long, there's no chance he would be lost. Something is wrong here, I cannot be the only one feeling like this.”
Leia sits back down on the couch, Han crouching next to her. You cross your arms, leaning against the door frame when the door across from you slides open, Chewie rushing in with a basket full of Threepio parts.
“What happened?” you ask, eyebrows scrunching as you rush over, looking over a broken Threepio. Chewie sets the basket down on the round table in the middle of the room, Leia standing besides you as you begin lifting small parts.
Chewie barks and growls softly, lifting Threepio's arm and foot.
“Where?” Han asks, hand resting on the back of the couch.
Chewie growls again, this time Han scoffs, “found him in a junk pile?”
Leia sighs, tilting her head. “What a mess, Chewie, you think you can repair him?”
Biting your cheek, you push away from the table and look at Han, a perplexed look on his face. Chewie growls, shrugging his shoulders.
“Lando’s got people who can fix him.”
Leia shakes her head, voice cold, “no thanks.”
Sitting back down onto the couch, you cross one leg over the other as you watch Chewie begin repairs. Leia continues to stand, seeming to be deep in thought.
Lando walks in just then, eyes flickering over everyone's face, “sorry, am I interrupting anything?”
“Not really, no.”
You give him a strained smile, and he returns it, before his eyes flicker over to Leia. He smiles, his eyes crinkling before he shakes his head.
“You look absolutely beautiful.”
Leaning back, you look at Han with raised eyebrows while he slowly covers his mouth with his hand, eyes wide as he stares at Lando.
“You truly belong here with us among the clouds,” he says smoothly, hands appearing from his cape.
“Thank you,” Leia returns coolly, She tugs her own cape closed, tilting her shoulders back towards you.
Lando reaches a hand out, his smile bright, eyes smooth, “would you join me for a refreshment?”
Barking almost offendedly, Chewie sets down the leg he was working on. Lando adds, “everyone's invited, of course.”
Standing, you watch Han move in to smoothly take Leia’s arm, pulling her away from Lando’s grasp as he moves towards the door. Lando offers you his arm, and you take it with a small smile.
Finally seeing the parts of Threepio, Lando’s eyebrows scrunch in confusion, “having trouble with your droid?”
“No, no problem. Why?” Han asks from the door frame, waiting for Lando to lead your group.
When the door hisses closed behind you, Han and Leia pause so Lando can actually lead you to where you’re going. There’s more people in the Halls now, all different species filling the corridor as you walk. Light filters in through the windows, being cut by the large white pillars that stand tall.
Lando clears his throat, hand tapping against yours before slightly turning his head to see the others.
“So you see, since we’re a small operation. We don't fall under the, uh, jurisdiction of the Empire.”
You raise your eyebrow, Leia’s voice firm next to you, “so you're part of the mining guild then?”
Leading you down a set of stairs, you turn another corner. Shoulder brushing against Leia’s you look at her, and she meets you with soft eyes.
“No not actually, our operation is small enough to not be noticed.”
Turning left down another corridor, he continues, “It’s advantageous for everybody since our customers are anxious to avoid attracting attention to themselves.”
There's a large set of doors at the end of the hallway, and you walk down another set of stairs, passing by another set of large windows.
“Aren’t you afraid the Empire is going to find you out? Shut you down?” You cut in, looking down at your feet so you wouldn't trip over the many capes that billow behind you. There's barely anyone down this hallway, and Lando begins to slow as you approach the double doors.
“There's always been a danger looming like a shadow over everything we’ve built here. But things have developed that will ensure security. I’ve just made a deal that will keep the Empire out of her forever.”
There's a small red button outside of the door, and when Lando presses down onto it, the door hisses as it opens.
Inside stood Darth Vader, he was at the end of the long table, black suit contrasting against the white interior. Ripping your arm from Lando’s grip, you instinctively reach for your blaster, but it wasn’t there. You had taken it off when putting on the clothes Lando provided you. Han was the only one wearing the clothes he arrived in, quickly grabbing the blaster from his side while pulling Leia behind him from her hand. Chewie growls while grabbing your arm, yanking you into his side.
Shooting at the Lord, Han would’ve hit, if it wasn’t for Darth Vader stopping the blaster bolts with his hand, stopping the blast repeatedly before ripping the gun from Hans’ hand, setting it down onto the table calmly.
“We would be honored, if you would join us.”
His voice was deep, mechanically terrifying as you peer over Han’s shoulder, watching Boba Fett himself walk from behind one of the pillars inside the room, standing beside Vader. Stormtroopers appear from behind you, pointing blasters.
Lando stood to the side, frowning. His eyes were unreadable, but he refused to look at you, only Han.
“I had no choice,” he said coldly, “they arrived right before you did. I’m sorry.”
Han purses his lips, grabbing Leia’s hand, looking at you before glaring at Lando, nodding.
“I'm sorry, too.”
Chewie growls, barking at him before pushing you forwards nex to Leia, who reaches back, grabbing your hand tightly as your group enters the room, the door hissing shut behind you.
You were separated from Han and the others shortly after, being strapped to a chair, they didn’t ask you anything, just stared while you screamed in pain. You barely remember what happened, just the pulsating electricity that waved through your body. They tore off your cape, leaving you in your jumpsuit. Your head hurt, and so did your body. The fresh scars on your side from falling into the Falcon’s wires throbbed again, the skin still sensitive.
They dragged you into another prison chamber after they were done, you pulled against them with the remaining strength you had left before they dropped you to the ground. Han was already laying against a metal bench, Leia brushing his hair back. He looked worse than you, his face pale with dark bags under his eyes.
Chewie rushes over to you, helping you stand. Smiling, you rub his arm before making your way to Leia and Han. Han looked over you with the little strength he had left, but you swatted his hands away.
“Did they ask you anything?” he questions, Leia looking over you with concern as well. He reaches out, touching your cheek softly before retracting.
“No, you?”
“No.”
Leia sighs, leaning down to kiss his forehead. Slouching onto the ground, you close your eyes while rubbing your side. You should’ve listened to Han when he told you to take care of it.
The door hisses open once more, and two cloudian guards walk in, Lando trailing in after. Chewie growls, and Han does his best to sit up with Leia’s help. Pushing off of the ground, you grab onto Chewie’s arm.
“Get out of here, Lando-”
“Shut up and listen!” He barks, face stern. “Vader has agreed to turn Leia, (Y/n), and Chewie over to me.”
Han scoffs, “over to you?”
“They’ll have to stay here, but they’ll be safe.”
Leia doesn’t miss a beat, “what about Han?”
Her hands are still gripping his shoulders, her body supporting him. You clench your jaw, already having an idea as to why Boba Fett would want Han.
“Vader’s giving him to the bounty hunter.”
Leia shakes her head, “Vader wants us all dead-”
“He doesn’t want you at all!” His head is shaking, trying to find the words, “he’s after someone else- someone called Skywalker-”
“Luke?” Your voice almost breaks. There's that feeling in your chest again, that tight twist in your stomach before it simmers away. Lando finally snaps his eyes to you, and you see the pain in them, looking at your pale face and worried, betrayed, eyes.
“Lord Vader has set a trap for him.”
There's a moment of silence, Chewie still growling.
“And we’re the bait-” Leia yells, her voice echoing slightly.
“Yeah, well. He’s on his way.”
Han is heaving now, his jaw offset as he struggles to look at the man in front of him. He pushes himself off the metal bench, wavering in his stance.
“You’ve fixed us all up real good, didn’t you?”
Lando shakes his head, looking away from him. But Han wasn’t done, he took a shaky step forwards, “My friend.” He growls. He rears back his hand, punching Lando in the face. The older falls to the floor, Han following after, the guards hitting him with their guns.
“Han!” You yell, trying to get to him but there's a gun pointed at you before you could move. Chewie is barking again, and at the moment you wish you knew what he was saying. What he was calling Lando. Leia is down by Hans’ side, rubbing his side where the guard hit him.
As he got up, Lando fixed his cape, calling off his guards while looking over your group once more.
“I’ve done all I can,” he says, touching his cheek, “I’m sorry I couldn’t do better but I’ve got my own problems!”
Pushing himself onto his side, Han glares from his place on the floor, “yeah, a real hero.”
Lando leaves after that, his guards following after. You finally fall to your knees besides Han, helping him up. Hes wincing, holding onto his side as Leia pushes herself closer to him. Leaning him up against the wall.
“You certainly have a way with people,” she sighs.
Chuckling, you wipe the blood from Han’s chin, “you should’ve seen him with Jabba, a real people pleaser.”
They both laugh softly, looking at one another before Leia steps over him, Chewie helping her lift him from the floor. They place him back on the metal bench, him softly groaning as his back meets the cold metal.
After everything seemed to calm down, the door hissed again, Boba Fett entering the room. You stand first, Leia staying by Han while Chewie stops his repairs on Threepio.
“What a familiar sight,” you tease, tilting your head at the mandalorian. He doesn’t reply to you, just turns his head and nods towards Han. Six stormtroopers enter the room then, quickly placing handcuffs onto your friends before standing close to Boba Fett, who still had his blaster in hand.
“Let’s go.” Is all he says, his voice mechanical.
“What a party pleaser,” you grumble, letting Han leave the room first. Leia stands by your side, and Chewie straps a still broken Threepio to his back, the stormtroopers trailing after him.
Boba Fett led you through Cloud City in silence, turning corners and going down stairs until you entered a dark room illuminated by a red light. Smoke steamed from different pipes, and the sight of even more stormtroopers had you inch closer to the princess.
Threepio doesn’t seem to be able to read the situation well, his voice carrying throughout the large room frantically, “If only you attached my legs, I wouldn’t be in this ridiculous position. Now, remember, Chewbacca, you have a responsibility to me, so don’t do anything foolish.”
After walking down the final set of stairs, Han stops to stand behind Lando, who was watching the many Ugnaughts working on some kind of machine that stands in the middle of the room.
“Nice to see you, buddy,” Han hisses, his hands shifting in the tight cuffs. There's another set of stairs on the other side of the room, and you can hear Vader’s mechanical breathing from beyond the smoke. You couldn’t see him, but you knew he was there.
“They're putting you into carbon freeze,” Lando whispers over his shoulder, eyes flickering to the Dark Lord that now walks down the stairs. A shiver rolls down your back, and you push Leia further away from him. Boba Fett moves away from your group, standing beside Vader to speak softly to him.
Carbon Freeze? You’ve only heard of it, never actually seeing the machine yourself. You’ve never heard of humans going into it and surviving, and the thought of Han going in there makes your eyes burn. Your chest feels tight, and you finally look at him. He’s looking at Leia with a soft smile, his eyes sad.
“Han?” You whisper, gaining his attention. His brows furrow, and he tries to make his way over to you, but he’s stopped by Vader's voice.
“The Empire will compensate you if he dies, put him in!”
“No!” you cry, Chewie howling right after. Leia grabs your arms, pulling you away from the stormtrooper that rushed forwards with his blaster raised. Chewie begins to push away the guards, throwing them off the suspended platform. It's chaos, Chewie frantic as Hans' voice tries to speak over him.
“Chewie! No! Stop it, Chewie! Do you hear me?!” Han is standing in front of him now, speaking loudly to gain the Wookie's attention while more Stormtroopers place him into cuffs.
“This won’t help me,” Chewie tries to struggle again, “Hey!”
Han’s face is stern, “save your strength. There’ll be another time. The princess, and (Y/n), you have to protect them, take care of them, you hear me?”
Chewie provides a woeful farewell, Leia leaving your side to stand next to him. Han looks down at her, then leans down, pressing his lips against hers. She reaches out, touching his cheek before he pulls away.
You realize your shaking, your vision blurry with unshed tears. Han looks at you with stern eyes, and he reminds you of an older brother.
“Don’t cry, kid.” He whispers, tilting his head. You can’t reply, throat throbbing. But you shake your head, wrapping your arms around his neck, hugging him as tight as you could.
“You gotta keep her safe, okay?”
Nodding, you continue to hold him before letting go, swallowing while taking a shaking breath.
Finally, Han is ripped away by a stormtrooper, and you almost go after him. Leia stops you, grabbing onto your arm firmly, pulling you back towards Chewie. She quickly turns to Han, who was already looking her way, her breathing shaking too.
“I love you,” she says firmly, and Han tries to hide his smile.
“I know.”
The ugnaughts remove his bindings, and the floor slowly begins to lower into the chamber.
There's tears rolling down Leia’s face, her hand clutching onto yours as Han disappears into the floor. Chewie begins to cry, it only gets louder as the machine turns on, cold smoke filling the air. The hissing the machine lets out hurts your ears, and you and Leia both turn to cover your faces.
It only took a few seconds before the large claw above the pit descended, whirring and latching onto something before ascending again. In its jaws, was Han. He was frozen in a sheet of carbon, his face exclaiming in pain while his hands were raised in surrender. Leia gasps, your hand flying to cover your mouth, tears stinging your eyes once more. The Ugnaughts look over it before pushing it down, and Han lands with a thump, the entire floor rattling with the weight.
Threepio continues to try and look around Chewie’s shoulder, only managing to get peeks in.
Lando moves around, crouching beside the Carbon block to look at the statistics on the side, his eyebrows tense.
“Oh, they’ve encased him in carbonite-” you can pick up, but you block him out.
Vader steps forwards, hand clasped onto his belt, “well, Calrissian, did he survive?”
Lando is staring at the frozen block, his hands holding onto the side.
“Yes, he’s alive. And in perfect hibernation.”
Turning back to Boba Fett, Vader says, “He’s all yours, bounty hunter.”
Boba Fett bows before turning to the Ugnaughts, motioning for them to continue with placing Han into a coffin-like box. Vader turns to the other Ugnaughts, “reset the chamber for Skywalker.”
One of the Imperial officers walks down to the platform then, only sparing a glance to the people around him before stopping before Vader, “Skywalker has just landed, my Lord.”
Leia turns your way, the tears dried on your face. Sighing, you speak silently with her. You couldn’t let Luke run into his trap.
Lando moves towards you then, trying to grab your arm but you swat him away, glaring at him. He frowns, Vader’s voice speaks up again.
“Good, see to it that he finds his way here. Calrissian, take the Princess, the Wookiee, and the other one to my ship.”
Lando doesn’t hesitate to protest, “you said they’d stay in the city under my supervision!”
“I’ve altered the deal.” Vader says, his voice cold, “pray I don’t alter it further.”
Lando nods, hand lightly touching his throat before turning to you and the others, pursing his lips.
They place Han onto a floating platform, Boba leading a few stormtroopers and Cloud City workers away with it. Lando, an Imperial Officer, and a few stormtroopers lead you and the others out of the chamber, taking a different hallway to Vader's ship. You only watch the floor as you walk. Everyone was silent, your eyes still burning at the thought of Luke being put into the same chamber as Han. Leia continuously tries to look around, slowing enough to be pushed forwards by a Stormtrooper.
The group slows when the sound of blaster fire echo's down the vacant hallway, it sounded close. You raise your head enough to see Lando look back, his hand reaching from under his cape to press along the watch on his wrist before looking forwards once more, walking alongside the Imperial officer.
Passing an adjacent hallway, the Imperial officer waves Lando forwards, rushing back to grab Leia by the shoulders and drag her towards the door to your right side. The troopers around start to fire down the hallway. Another trooper grabs you, and when trying to wiggle free, he only kicks the back of your knee, tripping you. Gaining your footing again, you can hear Leia yell over the sound of the other troopers’ blaster fire.
“Luke!” She screams, and you snap your head to look down the hallway, the quickest sight of blonde hair disappearing around the corner makes your heart drop. It was true, he was here.
“It's a trap!” She screams again before she’s yanked forcefully through the doorway. Chewie starts yelling, and when you try to yell his name, the trooper holding you kicks the back of your knee again, pulling you through the door.
“Luke, run!” you manage to get out, seeing him peer from behind the wall. When the door shuts behind you, the trooper lets you go, pushing you to keep walking. Leia grabs ahold of your arm, helping you steady yourself. Clenching your jaw, you continue walking. Hoping that Luke heard you, and left as soon as he could.
“I hope he heard us,” Leia whispers, her face looking back at the trooper’s following.
Further down the hallway, you enter an intersection, where multiple of Lando’s guards are waiting, blasters already fixed on the Imperial soldiers and officer. Lando pushes the officer into the hands of one of his guards, and begins to grab the blasters from the Stormtroopers, handing them over to his right hand, who was standing behind the pillar in the middle of the room.
“Well done,” Lando says, taking three more guns from the troopers before turning back to him, “hold them in the security tower, keep it quiet. Move.”
The guards begin to escort the Troopers and officer, handing you and Leia a blaster he took. When he hands one to you, you grab his arm harshly, “just what are you doing, huh?”
Lando gently takes his arm from your grip, moving to Chewie’s bindings, “we’re getting out of here.”
“Oh, I knew it all had to be a mistake!” Threepio cries from Chewie’s back. When the bindings fall from his wrists, he immediately grabs Lando by the throat, choking him.
Leia smirks, “you think after all you’ve done, we’d trust you?”
“You’re stupid to think I won't just kill you right here, right now,” you sneer, blaster pointed at him.
“I had no choice!” He chokes, hands clawing at Chewie’s wrists, trying to free himself.
Chewie barks, almost lifting him from the ground. Threepio starts to protest, his voice frantic.
“Oh, we understand, don’t we, (Y/n)?” Leia says sarcastically, turning to you with raised eyebrows.
“Definitely,” you step forwards, “he just had no choice, right Chewie?”
Lando’s face starts to turn red, “I’m just trying to help-”
“That’s what you said when you let us in, isn’t it? Helping an old friend of yours fix his ship? We don’t want your help anymore, Lando.”
He ignores you, making a garbled sound that neither of you could understand.
“I think he’s trying to say Han!” Threepio cries, his head trying to look over Chewie’s shoulder, who was still choking Lando.
“There’s still a chance- to save Han- The east platform-”
“Chewie, drop him.” Leia says, Chewie letting him fall to the floor. He heaves, rubbing the raw skin of his throat.
“I’m terribly sorry about all this. He’s only a wookiee, after all.”
“Shut it, Threepio.” You growl, turning to start rushing down the corridor. Leia was just behind you, Chewie following her, then a still gasping Lando.
“This way-” Lando wheezes, running to the front of the group to lead you out onto a balcony, the sun setting on the city. You can faintly see Boba Fett’s ship up ahead, and you almost stop when hearing the familiar whistle of another droid. Chewie stops to growl at R2.
“Artoo! Where have you been? Oh- turn around you wooly!”
Running up a set of stairs, Lando skids to a stop to open the hangar door. It hisses, and Leia and Chewie run through first, watching as Boba Fett’s ship flies away. Yelling out, Chewie tries to fire at the ship with the blaster Lando gave him, but it was no use. Standing beside Leia, your shoulders slump. Leia’s eyes well with tears, and you place a hand onto her back.
“Oh no, Chewie, behind you!” Threepio cries, the Wookiee turning around with a cry.
A blaster bolt nearly hits Leia, and you both turn around to see a group of Stormtroopers entering from down the corridor. R2 spins in the hanger doorway, speeding away from the cross fire. Lando takes cover behind the wall, and Leia soon follows. You and Chewie begin to fire at the troopers, Chewie hitting a few before Lando makes a break for the elevator down the hall. More troopers were filling the room, and Leia managed to hit a few before making a break for the elevator as well. Chewie pushes you along, acting as a shield while you peer around him, firing at the troopers before they could shoot Chewie.
Your hands wouldn’t stop shaking, and with each trooper you shot down, it got worse. Feeling the heat in your cheeks, you step around Chewie to take another shot, a blaster bolt landing beside your head before you finally make it to the elevator. Lando shut the doors before any of them could round the corner.
The elevator ride up was quick, and you ran off, almost smiling when seeing the Falcon on the landing pad. Just as quickly the doors slam shut, Lando slamming his hands against the metal door before looking at the door pad on the wall. Shaking his head, he looks at you and Leia.
“The security codes have been changed!”
Chewie howls, grabbing onto the metal door to try and pull it open.
“Artoo!” Threepio cries, the smaller droid beeping in return, “you can tell the computer to override the security system!”
Lando rushes over to the other wall, hooking into the panel's intercom, his voice ringing through the hallways.
Taking off the computer cover, R2 tries to hook into the computer system. Suddenly, his short beep turns into a wild scream. R2’s circuits begin to light up, and his head spins wildly. Smoke erupts from under him, and Chewie promptly pulls him away, blue bolts curling around his little body.
“This is just great,” you grumble, hearing Threepio argue with the little droid before Lando lightly touches your elbow.
“This way.”
Following him, you run against a large crowd of citizens, Chewie firing at Stormtroopers who managed to catch up to you. Lando is quick, running through the halls until coming up to another panel system. This time, there was a port for R2 to connect to, and you rushed him forwards. He whistles, turning his head towards you.
More Stormtroopers begin to crowd, and you join Leia and Chewie in firing towards them, shooting more down while R2 works on the landing door.
“Ah!” Threepio shouts, Chewie barely dodging a blaster bolt. “We’re not interested in the Millennium Falcon's hyperdrive! It's fixed! Just open the door, you stupid lump!”
“Leia!” You shout, seeing more troopers enter the hallway, “to your left!”
Beginning to retreat down the corridor, you can faintly hear the triumphant beep of R2, the door sliding open seconds later. Lando pulls Leia away, both passing you before you shoot once more down the hallway, following behind them onto the platform. The exit ramp was already down, a small light emanating from inside.
R2 waits for you to pass before laying cloud fog, blocking the trooper's view before following behind you.
Reaching the Falcon just as the battalion reaches the doors, you and Leia quickly take cover behind one of the legs, shooting towards the troopers while Chewie rushes onto the Falcon, hitting Threepio's head on his way in.
The Falcon rumbles, the engine roaring to life as more stormtroopers begin to flood the platform. Lando turns to you, waving “Leia! (Y/n)! Go!”
Find an opening, you push Leia, both of you running on board. Lando shuts the ramp, following behind you into the cockpit. Passing by the two droids, you sit down in Hans’ seat, flipping on the deflector shields and helping Chewie with preparing the Falcon for hyperspeed.
“Let's get out of here-”
“Wait!” Leia says, sitting in your usual seat, “what about Luke?”
Breathing heavily, you squeeze your eyes shut, “If he heard us, he should be gone by now-”
“We’ve got to go back!” She cuts you off. Turning sharply, you notice the look in her eyes, the fog that she seemed to be in. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and her hand reached out to grab your arm.
“I know where Luke is.”
Chewie barks in surprise, Lando leaning forwards in his chair, “what?”
“We have to go back.” She states, still looking at you.”
Breathing deeply, you clench your jaw, staring back at her.
“What about those fighters?” Lando voices. Chewie agreeing.
Shaking your head, you look back to the front, “Chewie, just do it.”
Lando scoffs, looking between the three of you, “but what about Vader?!”
Chewie turns towards him, barking and growling. Lando stands from his chair, hands up in surrender.
The Falcon does a graceful turn, the sight of Cloud City not bringing anymore comfort. The sun cast a golden glow over the clouds, the lights beginning to turn on in the city. Dark shadows began to form, making it hard to see anything.
“You better be right,” You murmur. Leia doesn’t respond, but she does move closer to look out the window.
When getting closer to the city, Leia points to the underside, her eyes sharp, “down there.”
Lando leans down, his face next to yours, squinting to see through the shadows before pointing as well, “There's someone down there.”
Staring, you gasp, seeing the small figure cling to a weather vane.
“Its Luke!”
“Chewie, Slow down and we’ll get under him-” you command, turning towards the other two, “Lando, open the top hatch. Leia, take my spot- I’m gonna go with Lando.”
Standing from the chair, you gently touch Leia’s back as you dash out of the cockpit, following Lando as he makes his way to the top hatch. When he stops to open the sliding door, he looks back, you only waving him off.
“You grab him, I’m gonna get a blanket or something.” When you see him continue to stare, you almost stomp your foot, “Hurry, you idiot!”
There's a small cabinet a little further down the hall, and you open it quickly, looking over the old clothes, finally coming across a brown blanket. Grabbing it, you slam the cabinet closed behind you when the sliding door closes. You can feel the Falcon slow to a halt, the outside hatch hissing as it opens.
Seconds almost feel like hours, and when the sliding door finally opens again to reveal Lando and Luke, you almost choke on the newly forming lump in your throat.
Luke looked terrible, to put it lightly. The skin around his eye was deep purple, the color reaching almost to the side of his jaw. The corner of his top lip was busted, blood almost dripping down his chin. His once blonde hair was darker, soaked and sticking to his forehead from sweat. You quickly throw the blanket over his shoulders, his pretty blue eyes finally looking at you. They screamed exhaustion, his body practically falling into you. Lando speaks, but you can’t hear him over the roaring in your ears as you hold Luke’s frail body closer. One of his arms wraps itself around your waist, using some of his remaining energy to hold you tightly.
“Oh, Luke,” you whimper, pulling away to grab his face.
“(Y/n),” he whispers back. His cheeks were sweaty, and he almost collapsed when you let go. Using your strength you grab his other hand, but stop when he yelps in pain, yanking the arm from your grasp. Confused, you look to see what wound he could have obtained, but you fall short when seeing his hand completely gone. The skin charred, clothes burned away.
The ship rocks violently, causing you to grab hold of Luke again, Lando racing towards the cockpit while you carefully pull Luke towards the small medbay. It was only a single bunk, but it had enough supplies to keep someone stable while reaching somewhere more suitable.
Luke’s breathing starts to become labored when you slowly lower him onto the bunk. You make sure to pull the blanket free from his shoulders, laying it over him while he falls onto the thermal padding. More flak hits the Falcon, the small life support machine shaking. You try your best to attach everything correctly, but you stop when a hand grabs your shoulder.
Leia stands with a frown, her eyes looking over Luke before nodding towards you. Moving, you let her quickly stabilize him, his breathing beginning to level out while she attached a cuff to the arm with his missing hand. Rubbing your nose, you try and wipe away the tears that cloud your vision.
You can hear Lando and Chewie shouting to each other, Leia’s voice louder than the flak that hits the ship.
“Go to the cockpit, help those two idiots.”
Breathing deeply, you look back over, “what about Luke?”
Her lips pursed at the frailness of your voice, sees the slight shake in your hands when you pull them away from your eyes. Your cheeks are pink and splotchy, tears wetting your lashes.
“I’ve got him- you go.”
“But-”
“(Y/n). Go, I’ve got him.”
Nodding, you rush to the cockpit. Briefly, you try to spot the two droids, but their nowhere to be found.
“What’s happening?” You curse your voice for cracking, but the two must pretend they don’t notice.
“Three TIE’s are on our tail.”
“What about hyperspeed? We can outrun them if your people repaired the ship.”
Lando throws a look over his shoulder, “I don’t know where we’re going! How can I punch in coordinates?”
Groaning, you turn towards the Nav computer, trying to think of any place that would work. Your mind is jumbled, thoughts running a million miles per minute. With shaking hands, you try and type in random coordinates, but they keep coming up invalid.
Leia rushes in seconds later, the towel she was holding in her hand discarded to the chair next to you. The once cloudy skies turned to stars, the endless expanse of space welcoming you back.
Pointing, Leia grumbles, “Star Destroyer.”
She turns towards the nav system while Lando steers away from the Star Destroyer. Touching your shoulder to gain your attention. Silent words are exchanged, and you back away, going back to stand between Lando and Chewie. Glancing down, you try to ignore all the muted alarms on the control panel, a new one appearing while Lando fiddles with more buttons and switches. When he switches a wrong one, you click your tongue and reach forwards, slapping his hand away to fix his mistake.
“Just like old time- eh?”
Glaring, you almost slap him, “Shut up.”
Lando sighs, glancing back at Leia, “Ready for hyperspeed?”
“Yeah, if your people actually fixed it.”
A green light flickers to life next to Leia, and she nods, “The coordinates are set, it's now or never.”
“All right, Chewie. Punch it!”
Chewie reluctantly pulls back on the throttle. And you breathe a sigh of relief when you can hear the engine winding up. The relief is suddenly ripped away from you when the same sound of the engine dying fills the cabin, both Leia and Chewie looking at Lando, who sits in shock.
“You’ve got to be kriffing kidding me!” you shout, grabbing Lando by the collar when the ship rattles again.
“You told us you fixed it! What happened, huh?!” You throw him back into his chair, storming out of the cockpit. You can hear Lando yelling, Chewie barking over him.
In the main hold, you briefly glance at the two droids on the floor. R2 was slowly putting Threepio back together. Threepio was holding his own leg, watching you storm past before turning back to Chewie, who was hot on your heels.
The Wookiee pulls the floor grates up, grabbing one of his tools and dropping into the floor.
You stop at the system Threepio was hooked up to for what seemed like ages ago, staring at the blinking lights and switches, trying to think of some solution that would get you out of this.
“Noisy brute, why don’t we just go into lightspeed?” You hear Threepio ask, R2 beeping a reply. Blocking them out, you turn to join Chewie. Dropping down, you shield your face when sparks fly from the panel. Chewie grumbles, and you grab another tool from his belt.
“Tell me about it, yeah?”
The ship rocks, and Lando’s voice crackles over the coms, “Chewie!”
You and Chewie work around each other, trying to find what could be wrong with the Hyperdrive, but you couldn’t find anything. Anger filled your stomach, and when you slammed your wrench against the panel, sparks flew.
“Why does this always happen?!” you yell, Chewie replying with a growl.
Peering out of the trench, you watch R2 speed towards the control panel, beginning to work on a circuit board while Threepio stands off to the side, his leg in hand.
“Artoo, come back here at once! You haven’t finished with me yet! You don’t know how to fix the hyperdrive! Chewbacca and Madam (Y/n) can do it. I’m here in pieces and you’re having delusions of grandeur!”
Shaking your head, you look back down. Suddenly, the hyperdrive engine roars back to life, the Falcon lurching into hyperspace so suddenly it throws you into Chewie, who was already leaning against the panel behind him. R2 screams as he’s thrown across the Main Hold, and Threepio is yelling in joy.
Pulling yourself out, you walk back to the cockpit, stopping when you see Luke laying back in your chair. Leia and Lando continue to look over the control panel, only glancing back to spare a soft smile.
“Luke,” you speak softly, his attention turning to you. Standing, he makes his way over, his wounded arm cradled to his torso while the other reaches to rest on your chin.
“Are you all right?” He asks, eyebrows furrowed while looking you over. Scoffing, you grab his elbow, placing your other onto his bicep.
“I should be asking you that, shouldn’t you be resting? Here, I’ll take you back so you-”
“I’d rather be up here with you guys, I’ll be okay.”
There's a certain look to him you can’t quite place, masked by the tired eyes and slumped shoulders.
“Let’s talk in the Main Hold. Lando, Leia join us when you’re ready.” You slowly help Luke back into the Main Hold, Chewie closing up the floor grate while R2 finishes up Threepio. Settling down next to Luke, you finally breathe a sigh of relief.
“You know,” Luke says softly, his gaze flickering to you, “you said we’d talk- when we saw each other again.”
Laughing softly, you pinch the bridge of your nose before looking at him, tilting your head.
“I’d rather wait until you’re in a medbay, again, being looked after so you don't die.”
Scoffing softly, Luke’s head rests against the cushions, “I’m fine-”
Chewie begins barking and growling, Lando scoffing under his breath as he enters the Main Hold. When you look up, you see Leia perched on the engineering station, looking over you and Luke. Tilting your head, you raise an eyebrow, but she waves you off.
“Han?” Lando’s voice is loud, “Go after Han Solo? We can’t go after him!”
R2 rolls over, bumping into Luke’s leg, but he doesn’t move, just groans softly under his breath while his eyes close.
“Maybe you forgot already, Chewbacca, but Boba Fett has Han.”
Chewie replies, but Lando seems to get more heated. He throws an arm out, eyebrows furrowed as he looks up at the Wookiee.
“Honestly, we’re lucky he got away-”
You scoff, “We’re the lucky ones? What a nice thing to say, Lando.”
“Fett’s flying Slave One- Maybe, maybe we could’ve caught him before he went to lightspeed- I mean, this is the Millennium Falcon.”
He pauses, shrugging his shoulders, “but then what? Blast him out of the sky? Iffy- and even if we pulled it off, that’d be the end of our old buddy Han.”
Growling, Chewie pushes Lando, getting into his face. He seems to understand him, holding his hands in surrender, “okay, okay, your old buddy. He was my friend too, though, back in the day.”
“Key word, ‘was’,” you grumble, crossing your arms. Luke tilts his head, confusion crossing his tired features before looking back at Lando and Chewie.
“We all saw you make your choice, Lando.” Leia says sternly. Lando turns to her, huffing, “so did you, princess. We missed our chance to get Boba Fett because you guys,” he throws a hand your way, “decided to go back to Cloud City for him.”
“Hey! Watch yourself, I’ll make Chewie throw you out the top hatch.”
He ignores you, still facing Leia, “what makes him so important to everyone?”
“His name is Luke Skywalker, Lando. He destroyed the Dead Star.” Her voice is softer, uncrossing her arms to place them on her hips. There's a moment of silence, Lando humming before turning to look at Luke, “Huh. No wonder Darth Vader wanted him so badly.”
“Maker,” you mumble, rubbing your eyes harshly.
“Look,” Lando sighs, “we all lost a lot today. You lost a friend, I lost an entire city. Lotta people I care about back on Bespin, you know.”
Threepio waddles into the room, his arms raised, “I lost my arms and legs! I was blown apart!”
You all look at him, and he looks at each one of you before bowing his head, “well, for a bit anyways.”
“Listen, this isn’t a total disaster, Han is my friend, and we’ll get him back. After all, we can’t catch Boba Fett now, but Chewie and I know where he’s gonna take Han, right?”
There's an unsettling churn to your stomach, making you shift in your seat.
“Oh dear,” Threepio starts, “To Jabba the Hutt? Oh, he will certainly murder Captain Solo the first chance he gets!”
Glaring at Threepio, you almost jump when Luke’s hand touches your arm. His voice is filled with confusion, “Han? Where is Han? What are you guys talking about?”
The lump from before forms in your throat again, and you can’t bring yourself to explain the events that happened. You didn’t want to, not yet, at least. Leia walks over, giving you a sympathetic smile while tucking her knee under her when sitting down next to him. She grabs his arm, just above the cuff.
“Darth Vader used Han to test the carbonite chamber, he wanted to use it on you, Luke,” she lets him take in the information for a second before continuing, “He’s still alive but frozen, suspended. Vader gave him to a bounty hunter. Boba Fett.”
Sitting up, Luke’s hand falls from your arm, gripping the couch tightly, “No, no. I was-” he shakes his head, “I think I saw them, Leia- I was right there-”
His voice slowly becomes more frantic, trying to push himself off the couch, “We have to go after him, Leia, we have to-”
You inch forwards, helping him sit back down.
“We will, Luke,” you say softly, “it won't be easy, but we’ll find Han.”
Leia cuts in, concerned, “what about you? You haven't told us what happened.”
He glances at both of you before looking down at his knees, eyebrows furrowing, “I reached out to bed with the force. He didn’t,” he looks at you, defeated, “He didn’t answer me.”
His hand shakes, moving to grip onto your knee. He rubs the material of your jumpsuit with his fingers, shaking his head. He looked broken, face pale and eyes tired. The blood was cleaned from his face, the bruise slowly fading from the bacta Leia must have applied.
You grab his hand, “He will, Luke.”
“And if he doesn't,” Leia’s voice is soft, smiling small as she looks at him, “you’ll find your own path, You’re strong.”
She says something under her breath, but you can’t hear her.
Standing, she turns back to the others, who were looking over the engineering station.
“Maybe we can’t save Han, not yet.”
“What?” maybe you didn’t hear her right.
“We can save everyone else. Chewie, set a course to return to the Rebel fleet, Artoo will give you the coordinates.”
Whistling, Chewie bends down to pat the top of the droid. Lando, pushing away from the engineering station, stands tall in front of the princess.
“Hey, now. The Empire is looking for this ship, and we know damn well they’re hunting the Rebel fleet too. How about we just find a nice quiet spot and wait for the heat to die down a little? I have places we can go. Gal on Nar Shaddaa owed me a favor.”
Frowning, Leia tilts her head. Finally standing, you let go of Luke's hand, “I'm sure she does, Calrissian. But you’re not the Captain, are you? Last I checked, Han was. I doubt he’d trust you with her now, you’d probably be the last person on that very small list. Don’t forget- you betrayed us to the Empire.”
“Oh, come on. I had Darth Vader breathing down my neck, and I still got you all out of there. I should get some credit for that!”
“Credit? For helping others? Gosh,” you say sarcastically, clapping your hands, “do you want a medal? How about we stop everything and have a whole celebration!”
“I’m commandeering this ship for the Rebel fleet, which means you don’t have a say in where it goes,” Leia says, glaring at Lando. He scoffs, looking between the both of you before holding his hands up in surrender.
“Chewie, (Y/n), I'm sure Mon Mothma and the others are wondering where we are.”
Lando followed as you made your way to the cockpit once more. While Chewie was punching in the codes from R2, you sat in your seat, pulling up the radar and deflector shields. They wouldn’t be online until you dropped from lightspeed, but it was best to have the grids up now. Leia sat in Hans’ chair, lightly touching the arms before flipping switches in preparation for the drop. Lando sat behind her, watching as she checked over the now silent alarms.
Chewie barks, the green light on the nav computer flickering on. Sitting down in his seat, he grabs onto the hyperdrive, slowly lowering it.
The Mid-Rim. Rendezvous point Delta-Three. It was located near a star, right between the Vosch Cluster and the trading worlds of Caldra Prime and Caldra Tertius. The rendezvous point had been discovered, the entire fleet being surrounded by the Empire. Squadrons were being chased by TIE’s, others chasing them. The large capital ships were the closest to the star, furthest from the four Star Destroyers that blocked their way out.
Turning on the radar, you cringe at the amount of bogies, quickly turning on the deflector shields as Chewie steered away from incoming fire.
Leia slides on one of the coms, connecting into the Rebel link, “This is Leia Organa in the Millennium Falcon, how can we help?”
A voice comes through not long after, voice distressed, “Glad to hear your voice, Princess, but the Imperials have us locked up pretty good. They just called away some of the TIEs, but we’re still getting hit hard from the Capital Ships. We can’t get past their blockade to jump to lightspeed.”
“Okay. We’ll find a way to help. Be ready to move the moment you see an opportunity- you’ll want to head to the next fallback point. Don’t give up hope.”
“Acknowledged. I’m not sure what you can do, but- May the Force be with you.”
Sliding off the headset, Leia looks out at the fight.
“Chewie, we have to make a hole in that Cordon big enough to escape.”
Lando scoffs, “Make a hole? We should escape! I count four Star Destroyers out there! You know me, I believe in the cause, but this is suicide! We gotta run, live to fight another day!”
Laughing, you shake your head, “the cause? Oh boy, you’re funny!”
Barking, Chewie steers the Falcon sharply, the radar blaring with multiple TIE’s.
“We’ve got company-”
“How nice, all those TIE fighters, just for us.”
Shaking her head, Leia glares at him, standing from the chair, “stop complaining and help, Lando. I’ll get to the guns.”
She runs from the cockpit, and Lando tries to sit down in her seat, but Chewie growls a warning.
“Chewie, you need to let me pilot. You remember how good I used to be at flying? I’m better now!”
Leaning forwards, you lightly touch his shoulder, “I don’t want him here either, but it's our best chance while I’m on the shields.”
“Just trying to survive here, pal. If I pull anything funny, you can rip my arms off.”
Growling, Chewie points to the chair, Lando smiling briefly before sitting down. He slides on the headset, looking around the controls before nodding.
“How are we even gonna do this?” Lando asks, “if those Rebel Frigates can’t make a dent in the Empire's ships, how are we supposed to?”
Flak hits the ship, and you check the internal damage, “use the missiles, you idiot.”
“Missiles? The Falcon doesn’t have missiles!”
Chewie barks, flipping another switch. Leaning back in the chair, Lando watches him, “whoa, two ST2 launchers? What the hell were you guys doing with my ship that made you install that much firepower?”
“Your ship?” You snap, glaring. He only smiles, “anyways, yeah, eight missiles, that’ll pack a punch. But even if they all land, they won’t take out a Star Destroyer.”
Barking and growling, Chewie doesn't even spare him a glance. You didn't even notice R2 and Threepio enter the cockpit until you heard his voice.
“Master Chewbacca suggests that we don't actually need to destroy an entire vessel, merely the gun emplacements on one of the light cruisers. If this succeeds, the integrity of the Cordon will be reduced, and-”
“I understand Shyriiwook, Goldie. I get the idea, doesn’t mean it ain’t crazy.”
“Don’t talk to him like that! Not everyone is so grandiose like you and can understand Chewie.”
Lando frowns, looking at you and Chewie.
“Spending so much time with Han changed you guys, you used to be so rational-”
The control panel goes up in sparks, alarms beginning to ring as you try and assess the damage. Looking around, you find your com underneath Chewie’s seat, plugging it in, you slide it on.
“That blast almost cooked us, Leia, Fore shields took a huge hit.”
“You guys need to get a little better at shooting down these ties or this big heroic rescue of yours will be over right quick” Lando cuts in.
“Lando, we got it!”
“What do you mean ‘We’” You ask, looking at Lando with furrowed eyebrows. He points to the control panel, a small light indicating both turrets were in use.
“Luke’s on the other gun-”
“Why is he on the other gun?!”
“I'm fine!” Luke's voice cuts in, sounding more energetic, “just hard to do this only one-”
He cuts himself off, and you take off the com, not wanting to hear anything else. Another alarm starts blaring, and you stand from your chair to look over the control panel, flipping another switch to direct more power to the front shields.
“This ain’t good at all.” Lando grumbles, trying to dodge more flak that hits the front.
“I thought everything was amazing,” you say, smiling, “I was just about to say we should dock and get something to drink!”
Chewie barks, and you get back into your seat, turning to look at the radar. When suddenly, the engines of the incoming TIE’s seem to explode, like each pilot was intentionally running into each other.
“What the-”
“What’s to understand, princess?” Lando barks into the com, “take the luck you get! Shoot them!”
“We’re coming up on the Cordon,” You get up form your seat again, looking out. The Cordon was quickly coming closer, its guns already firing at the Falcon. Lando steers closer, hands over the missile release, “Leia, Luke, make sure you’re strapped in down there. We’re making our attack run.”
“Kriff,” you curse, turning to make sure the coordinates to the fallback point were set. Not seeing the input, you turn to find R2 already making his way over. Bending down, you open a small panel connecting to the Nav system, and watch as he connects in. His head spins, and in moments the small green light turns on.
You can feel the missiles fly from the Falcon, and you think you can hear when they hit their target. Chewie roars, pulling back on the steering. Lando turns, “Are we ready for lightspeed?”
“Ready- hit it when you’re ready.”
Lando smiles, “hit it Chewie! I can’t believe this actually worked!”
The backup rendezvous Point Gamma-Nine was located just outside of a milky way. What was left of the fleet at the previous rendezvous point was here. The Falcon was docked on The Redemption, and when you finally stepped foot off of it, Luke was out of your sight. You didn’t know where he went, but R2 was rolling after him. You hoped he was heading towards a medbay, but with the way his eyes were downcast, eyebrows knit tight, and how his shoulders were tense, you knew he was going somewhere to deal with everything that happened.
Leia guided you and the others to the control room, the two leading officers from The Redemption already waiting.
“Chewbacca, for the time being, don't let Lando out of your sight.” The commander says, leaning his elbows onto the center console. His gray hair was slicked back, and he had a long beard. Chewie barks in agreement, and Lando holds his hands out.
“Hey now, I just saved every damn ship here!”
You lean against the wall, rubbing your eyes. Your back was starting to hurt from the day, and your side was beginning to throb again. Fatigue begins to settle in your neck, and you close your eyes, still listening in.
“Only because we didn’t let you run away,” Leia retorts, “you’re a question, Lando Calrissian. And until we know the answer, consider yourself a guest to the Rebellion.”
“There's another question too.” She turns back to the other commanders, “how did the Imperials find you? When the fleet scattered after Hoth, the rally points were top secret.”
The other leader, a man who had dark skin and a goatee, spoke up, “they didn't find us Leia. We initiated our scheduled contact with another cell- Eighth Division, out near Malastare. Not long after, they reported that the Imperials found them too. Nothing since.”
You try to make sense of what they were talking about, but Threepio beat you to it.
“If I may, Princess Leia- the odds of two cells of the Rebel fleet being found simultaneously are approximately fourteen point five billion to one. The much more likely scenario is that the Imperials have somehow found a way to-”
Leia cuts him off, “Break our codes.”
The older leader, with the gray hair and full beard, speaks with a gravelly voice.
“If that’s true, it means the moment any Rebel cell communicates with another, the Imperials can pinpoint the location of both groups.”
He sighs, and you can hear him move around. Finally opening your eyes, you watch as Leia begins tapping her foot.
“Must be what happened to us,” he continued, one hand on his hip, “and it's what happened to eight. And we can’t warn the other cells or tell them to switch codes, because as soon as we do-”
“They’ll get attacked, and so will we,” she finishes.
Pushing off of the wall, you stand beside her, looking down at the unused control panel.
“Hell, for all you know, it's already happened. All those other cells might have sent out their little messages, and the Empire could have swung right in, mopped ‘em up. Hell, for all you know, you might be the only ones left.” Lando sighs.
You shake your head, “this might be the entire Rebellion right here.”
The two leaders leave not long after, and you don’t recall the reason they give. You’re too busy listening to Lando and Leia argue back and forth. You’ve taken your spot back on the wall, leaning your head against it with closed eyes. Your head was starting to pound, and you can’t recall the last time you ate or drank anything.
There's a small touch to your shoulder, and when you turn, Luke is there. He looks more defeated than before, eyes sad and bloodshot. Smirking, you reach up to tap his hand.
“Where’ve you been? Started to make me worried.”
He shrugs, voice hushed “just had to be alone for a little.”
“Everything all right?”
“You can trust me!” Lando shouts, making you and Luke jump.
“Can I?” Leia responds.
“No need to be rude, Leia. I’m trying to do you a favor.” Walking past you, Lando waves her off, “I don't get the hostility. I mean, if I'm trying to pull something- what's my angle? Han’s my friend too, whether you believe it or not. But if you don't want my help- don't want to see your handsome rascal again- fine by me.”
She sighs, turning to face him once more, “Lando. Okay, you can go. Take the Millennium Falcon, we can spare it for a little while. I have to stay here to try to find a way to save the Rebel fleet. But if you think you can learn something from your contacts on Tatooine about whether Boba Fett’s brought Han to Jabba yet-”
“I know I can, Princess. I’ll find out if Jabba has Solo. If he doesn’t, I'll look for leads on Fett. It’ll work. I got friends all over that dust bowl.”
Luke tilts his head, letting go of your shoulder, “you say that like it's a good thing, Calrissian.”
Lando has that smirk on his face again, “oh definitely, Luke. Definitely. I can learn things none of you can. Even Chewbacca. I love the big guy, but he doesn’t speak basic. On Tatooine, communication problems get you killed.”
“I’m aware. I grew up there,” Luke deadpans.
“Well,” Leia cuts back in, “Chewie’s still going with you. He’ll take you to Tatooine, and he’ll bring you right back. Right, Chewie? You’ll keep Lando flying straight? And if he tries anything, you’ll-” Chewie cuts her off with a roar.
Pushing off the wall, you ignore the pain in your back, “I’m going with him.”
They turn to look at you, then Lando laughs, “No, you’re not.”
“You really think I’m going to let you dictate that? I know that hellscape like the back of my hand, I think I know a lot more people than you-”
“That’s exactly why you can’t go, (Y/n),” Leia says softly, eyes shining with regret.
Scoffing, you turn to look at her, eyebrows furrowing, “you’re serious?”
“If both you and Chewbacca go, word might get out that you’re back on the planet. Jabba will try anything to have both you and Solo hanging pretty on his wall-”
“Okay!” you shout, silencing Lando, “so what do you want me to do, sit pretty and wait for you to find him?”
“Yes. You have to trust me, second.”
Glaring, you bite the inside of your cheek. Luke touches your lower back, standing next to you, “If Jabba does have Han, let me know. We can Rendezvous at the Jundt Massif, not far from the palace. I know that region, so I can help.”
Lando shakes his head, “Jabba the Hutt ain’t the Death Star, Luke. He needs a subtle touch. And I hate to be blunt, but you’ve only got one hand.”
“I don’t need two hands Lando, I’ve got The Force,” Luke raises his wounded arm, seemingly glaring at the cuff. Lando nods his head once, not believing him, “Uh-huh. Let’s hope so. Because if Boba Fett’s already sold Han to Jabba, it’ll make a rescue mission just about impossible.”
“Getting him out of that palace alive?” Lando smiles softly, “It’d take a miracle. Come on Chewie, time to fly!”
The two talk back and forth as they leave, and you sigh heavily. Leia’s fingers tap against her chin, and Luke watches Lando and Chewie go as well.
“Can we trust him?” He asks softly, looking at Leia.
She shrugs, “only if we know he’s going after something he wants. That’s why I sent Chewie.”
“He’s not wrong,” you speak up, motioning down to Luke’s arm, “you should get your hand fixed.”
Leia sighs, “there's a medical bay a few decks down-”
“I know, Leia. I already talked to the surgical droid, they can make me a replacement. But, I haven’t been feeling like myself lately, not since Bespin. I’m not sure getting a new hand would help.”
She gently grabs his arm, “don't worry, Luke. No matter what happens, you’ll always be you.”
Leia leaves after that, most likely going to follow up with other officers. You stay behind with Luke for a little while longer. He’s looking down at his missing hand, eyebrows furrowed. Stepping closer, you tilt your head to grab his attention.
“She’s right, you know.”
“About what?” He asks, shoulders slouching. He looks at you with defeated eyes and a broken soul, trying desperately to ground himself back into reality by looking at you. Smiling, you reach out and tap the underside of his chin. The corner of his mouth twitches, but none of it reaches his eyes.
“You’ll always be Luke Skywalker.”
He sighs, “and what about you?”
“What do you mean?”
“What am I to you?”
You take a minute, thinking of what to say. You remember your last conversation on Hoth, how Leia kissed him, how he looked like the happiest man in the world after she fled the room. You also remember the short conversation you had with Leia on the Falcon, and the way Luke was desperate to talk to you in the hangar back on Hoth. You weren’t ready to talk about everything, but you came to understand your feelings when you saw him broken and beaten. When he clung to you and whimpered in pain, how he whispered your name like a prayer only meant for The Force to hear.
You were in love with Luke Skywalker, and for once your heart sings his name without being shunned into silence by your naïve mind.
“You’re a man who always does the right thing, no matter what anybody tells you.”
He breathes deeply, breaking eye contact to look down at his hand again, seemingly falling back into the thoughts that cloud his mind.
“Common,” you clear your throat, stepping away from him, “let's get you to the bed bay, yeah?”
Leia joins you when Luke is out of surgery, right by his bedside while you're standing at the large bay windows that overlook the rest of the fleet, Lando’s voice crackles through the com in his hand.
“Luke, we’re ready for take off.”
“Good luck, Lando.” Luke’s voice is more full of life than it was, the med-droid that was working on his arm worked quickly. Leia, already back in her crisp white dress, hair tied tightly into a low bun, stood next to him, watching over the droids work intently.
“When we find Jabba the Hutt and the bounty hunter, we’ll contact you.”
Threepio and R2 join you at the bay window, silently watching along with you.
“I’ll meet you at the rendezvous point on Tatooine.”
“Princess, (Y/n), we’ll find Han.”
You ignore him, clenching your jaw while crossing your arms. You wanted to go, deep down you knew if you pressed harder, you would be in the Falcon too. You’d find Han faster than Lando, but you knew it would be a big risk going to Tatooine when you were wanted as well. Albeit not as much as Han, you’d still be a prize to Jabba.
“Chewie, I’ll be waiting for your signal.” Luke says, you can hear the faint smile in his voice.
Chewie wails over the com, and Luke laughs, “Take care, you two. May the Force be with you.”
Leia lightly touches your shoulder, smiling when you turn to her. Luke yelps once, the droid mechanically apologizing before you can hear him shuffle on the bed, his body sliding in between yours and Leia’s, his arm resting around your waist. His smile was light, and when he turns to Leia, she returns it. His hand tightens around you, and his other slides around Leia’s shoulders, pulling the both of you closer.
You watch as the Falcon begins to fly off, and you raise your hand, giving it a two finger salute just as it jumps into hyperspace. You would find Han, it would just take more time.
HopeOfQueens on Chapter 1 Sun 15 May 2022 11:14PM UTC
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honeymrk on Chapter 1 Tue 17 May 2022 02:56AM UTC
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moonsofjupiter on Chapter 2 Sat 14 May 2022 05:24PM UTC
Last Edited Sat 14 May 2022 05:24PM UTC
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honeymrk on Chapter 2 Tue 17 May 2022 03:00AM UTC
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moonsofjupiter on Chapter 3 Sat 28 May 2022 04:04PM UTC
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gunfighterballads on Chapter 5 Sat 10 Sep 2022 01:44AM UTC
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honeymrk on Chapter 5 Sat 10 Sep 2022 05:06AM UTC
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AngrySheepProject on Chapter 5 Mon 02 Jan 2023 06:19AM UTC
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honeymrk on Chapter 5 Mon 02 Jan 2023 07:34PM UTC
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cupcakers12 on Chapter 6 Thu 25 May 2023 02:22AM UTC
Last Edited Thu 25 May 2023 02:22AM UTC
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honeymrk on Chapter 6 Thu 25 May 2023 04:48AM UTC
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Earinell on Chapter 6 Sat 12 Aug 2023 09:24PM UTC
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honeymrk on Chapter 6 Mon 14 Aug 2023 05:46AM UTC
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lid (Guest) on Chapter 6 Wed 30 Aug 2023 12:25PM UTC
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honeymrk on Chapter 6 Mon 25 Sep 2023 05:55PM UTC
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Earinell on Chapter 6 Mon 26 Aug 2024 01:54PM UTC
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honeymrk on Chapter 6 Tue 27 Aug 2024 02:19AM UTC
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Earinell on Chapter 6 Tue 27 Aug 2024 07:47AM UTC
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