Hope Reborn - Chapter 4

The ship shook again as another Tie-Fighter exploded. Leia was incredibly adept at blasting them into scrap. He could feel the little pull on the Force as she shifted the turret and wondered if she even knew she was doing it. Somehow, she kept her emotions in check all the while. Rage and sorrow were there, but Leia never let it take control. Observing her made him realize how amazing she truly was. Last time, she had comforted him over losing Ben when she had just lost her entire planet. It was impressive how much she shined in the Force. How had he missed it before? How had Vader not sensed it?

Vader, not Anakin. That was who he had faced back there. The Dark Lord of the Sith, not his father. He had felt Ben die once more. Now, he knew how to identify the shift in the energy that was the Force.

"Readying the jump to hyperspeed." Luke called out.

"You don't know where to go!" Leia shouted above the turret fire.

"We're not going in a straight line." Luke felt the engine hum. "They've got a tracker on the ship; we need to take care of it first."

He flicked the switch. The Falcon jumped to hyperspace.

"How do you know?" Leia paused her shooting.

"They let us go." Luke replied.

Leia considered his words for a moment. There had been maybe twenty fighters out there, she had taken out seven and R2 blasted another four. For a station that big they should have easily been able to triple those number of fighters after them. There was no reason for them to escape. That and the Stormtroopers were suddenly unable to land a shot once they got out of the detention level. They weren't just some slapdash militia with fancy armor. The Stormtroopers were an elite fighting force that were feared for a reason. One of them should have been able to handle the escape. Obi-Wan could have given them some trouble, but there were only so many stun-bolts that he could block.

She nodded.

"Where are we going?" Leia asked as she joined him in the cockpit.

"I set it for Nar Shaddaa." Luke replied. "It's in Hutt space so the Empire won't be too quick to follow. Unfortunately, there are people looking for this ship. The pilot, I mean. I doubt they'll be understanding, even when they find out he's not here."

"What's your plan, flyboy?" Leia sounded a little impressed.

"First." Luke stood up and began to remove the trooper armor. "I'm taking this junk off. It's too loose and too tight at the same time."

He stripped down to the black under-suit.

"Then, I'm going to set a deviation on the course." Luke dropped back into the pilots chair. "They'll track the jump to Nar Shaddaa, if we're lucky, they won't notice the interruption. We'll stop at a station and slap the tracker on a ship heading that way."

"And doom that ship." Leia gave him a stern glare.

"We're not going to a respectable space station." Luke replied with a sly smile. "There are plenty of nasty corners for pirates to gather in the Outer Rim."

"And you just happen to know these?" Leia crossed her arms.

The fact that he looked like a fresh-faced farm boy was not lost on him. He didn't answer. Instead, he slipped by her and headed deeper into the ship. A short search later led him to Hans' quarters. It was a mess of clutter, contraband, and holo displays that made him blush.

Leia followed a couple of steps behind. She stopped at the doorway to give the room an unimpressed scan.

"Is this your room?" She deadpanned.

"No." Luke shook his head, the mirth of the discovery lost. "Han, the smuggler. This was his ship, his quarters."

Luke fell silent as he stripped out of the under-suit. He tossed it to the side and began his search for some appropriate attire. It wasn't until he heard rustling fabric that he realized Leia hadn't left. He looked over his shoulder at her. The sight a of mostly nude young woman made him freeze. Her impressive bust was held in place by a single strip of fabric. A practical set of white briefs drew his eyes lower. He blushed when he realize he could see a trimmed bit of hair through the thin fabric.

He had been alone on that planet for a long time. Well, not alone, but he didn't find the caretakers attractive at all.

Leia cleared her throat.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"I was going to ask you the same thing." Luke squeaked.

"You had the right idea." She shrugged; it made her chest bounce in a wonderful manner. "We have to look the part."

Luke forced himself to focus back on his task at hand. He ran through hand over his face, the remnants of the last few hours smeared across his face. Some remnants of blaster burns and the heat from the lightsaber had smeared a bit of his gloves on his skin added to the mix. It was an instinctual movement which didn't make it look crafted.

His old outfit had been stashed away before they swapped to the Stormtrooper disguise. He used the boots; they were just too comfortable. The pants that Han had were too big, plus the red stripe actually had meaning, so he couldn't use them without being able to make that work. There were a pair of black pants that were a little too snug, but they were close enough.

At the end of it, he ended up with a worn jumpsuit that would work. He ended up looking more like a mechanic than a pirate, but every ship needed someone to keep it together. Leia, on the other hand, looked like a pirate queen. Had had quite a selection of women's clothing. Most of it was on the 'entertainer' side of things, but Leia managed to combine them into something imposing. The well-used holster and accompanying blaster lent her credit. Her hair was now down and hung wild below her shoulders.

"Now." Leia strutted back to the cockpit.

Luke found himself hypnotized by the sway of her hips. He looked up to her face to see a smug smile on her lips.

"Set course to this pirate station." She settled into the pilots chair like she owned it.

Luke nodded and quickly dropped them out of hyperspace. A few calculation had the Nav-Computer locked to a new destination. They jumped back into hyperspace for a few minutes before the Falcon popped out in front of a space station that looked like it had been built sometime before the Clone Wars. Somewhere along the line a Mon Calmari cruise ship had docked so long ago that it appeared to be fused with the main shaft.

"Are you sure about this?" Leia asked as they drifted closer to an open hangar.

"Sure." Luke nodded. "I'll just fly casual."