"Now if we could avoid any more female advice, we might be able to get out of here," Han said looking pointedly at Leia. She rolled her eyes, a gesture Tasha was used to. A large gurgling rumbling came from the garbage shoot, a slimy tentacle reaching forward. Tasha screeched, jumping back slightly into Han. The smuggler gently pulled the girl behind him. Chewie howled in fear, scampering down the corridor.
Tasha laughed slightly at his antics, even though she knew she probably shouldn't. The Wookiee glowered at her slightly, growling softly. Han looked over at the Wookiee in exasperation, which only made Tasha laugh more.
Leia watched the three of them and she felt a slight pang of jealousy. She remembered the days when her sister would laugh at her like that, that she could make her laugh like that. She sighed inwardly, but nothing reached the surface except for venom towards the three of them.
"Chewie, come here," Han said, quiet yet still clearly irritated. The Wookiee shook his head, the apprehension clear in his old, soft eyes. Han pulled out his blaster and the smile quickly disappeared from Tasha's face.
"No!" said Leia, "wait!"
"Han, they'll hear!" Tasha said in an urgent whisper, but the smuggler ignored her. Now it was Tasha's turn to roll her eyes.
"Come here ya big coward," Han said, rather loudly to Tasha's dismay, well, the dismay of all of the others. Chewie still shook his head. "Chewie, come here." He said sternly, but Leia cut him off.
"Listen," she said harshly, her small voice quiet but still containing enough bite to cut through the air, the smuggler immediately looking down at the small brunette with the razor tongue. "I don't know who you are or where you came from, but from now on, you do as I tell you, okay?" everyone could tell the matter wasn't up for discussion.
Han stared at her in disbelief as she walked away from him. He looked at Luke, who shrugged in response, rather taken aback by the young girl. Tasha just groaned slightly.
"Listen here, your worship," Han said, following Leia as she walked down the corridor, "I take orders from just one person: Me." he said, pointing at his chest, leaning down to look her in the eye.
"Really, you seem to be hanging off of Tasha's every word. It's a wonder you're still alive." She replied, no venom seeming in her voice, but Tasha knew it was there.
"Don't be bitter, Leia," Tasha said, her voice seemingly exasperated, but she was angry. She had just saved Leia's life, and the little brat didn't seem at all grateful. No, Leia wasn't a brat, Tasha knew that, but Han didn't.
"No reward is worth this," he muttered to Tasha, and she rolled her eyes at him.
"Suck it up." She replied, rolling her eyes with a rather bored expression, "you'll get your money."
She sure was a puzzle, thought Han, pausing slightly to watch her. Considering Leia was Tasha's sister, he had been expecting to see much more of a resemblance between them, but they didn't look very much alike. Tasha was tall, with jet black hair and eyes that shone like those green gems he'd smuggled onto Corellia for Jabba once where as Leia was fairly short, with her mousy brown hair pulled regally back off her face and her brown orbs.
They did have one thing in common though: the way both their eyes have that spark, that fire that lights them from behind, that fire that sets their souls on fire. Han Solo had seen eyes in many different girls on many different planets; but they all seemed to fade when he saw Tasha's.
"Hurry up, Solo!" she called lightly back to him, and Luke nudged him forward slightly.
They walked through the corridors of the space station, trying to find their way back to where the three of them had come from. Tasha jogged forward a few steps to a window space, hoping it would be looking out over the hangar that they needed. She grinned when she saw the familiar shape of the Falcon sat rather despondently by itself, a few guards milling around the area.
Tasha waved them over, and they walked over to join her. Leia cast her eyes over the hangar, looking less than impressed. Luke called Threepio on the COM link, telling him where to meet them. Leia tapped Han on the shoulder, making a point of ignoring her sister's entire existence.
"You came in that thing you're braver than I thought." She said in an aggravated tone.
"Nice," Han acknowledged, "come on."
They ran down another corridor; however it wasn't smooth sailing for very long.
"There they are!" said the stormtrooper, taking a shot at the group. Han shot back at them, starting to chase them down the corridor.
"Get back to the ship!" he screamed, following the stormtroopers down the corridors, Chewbacca in pursuit. The other three watched them both run before Leia made a comment.
"Well, he certainly has courage," said Leia, and Tasha glared at her.
"Yeah, but what good is he to us if her gets himself killed?" Luke says, and Leia nods her head in agreement. Tasha thought the same.
"You're right," she said, running after them, determination in her voice. Luke looked almost horrified and very anxious, but Leia just watched after her sister, an emotionless expression on her face.
"Tasha!" Luke shouted after her, but she was already gone.
"Come on," Leia said, pulling the blonde down the corridor before more troops showed up and they were stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Tasha ran down the corridor, following the blaster shots and the Wookiee howls. She ran straight into Chewbacca as she rounded a corner, getting a face full of dark brown fur. He growled at her to watch out and she shrugged him off. Her head snapped up at the blaster bolts hitting the wall in front of her, and the now flustered smuggler chasing back towards them, pursued by a group of angry stormtroopers. He waved at them to get going and Tasha turned around, bolting away from the laser bolts that flashed around her.
"What are you doing here?" Han shouted at her as he caught up. Tasha shrugged back at him, taking a blind shot over her shoulder.
"I take orders from one person: Me." she smirked at him and he grinned back at her. Tasha loved the thrill of the chase. Obviously she didn't like the fact that she was the one being hunted, but she loved the feeling of the adrenalin flowing through her veins, the blood rushing through her ears. It was the reason she ran away. She wanted excitement you couldn't get from politics.
They ran towards a door.
"Close the blast doors!" shouted one of the troopers through his COM link, "close the blast doors!" Tasha saw the door closing and stopped, actually lining up a few direct hits at the troopers. She ran through the door, leaping over the closing panel that shot up from the bottom. She breathed a sigh of relief as she slowed down, trying to get air back into her lungs, blood to her muscles.
"That was fun," she said, grinning at the smuggler. Her hair was slightly tousled from running, strands escaping her pony tail in a storm around her face. Her pale skin seemed to glow even more than it did before. Han smiled back at her.
"Let's get going princess," he said slinging an arm around her shoulder.
Tasha pressed her back against the wall, her blaster raised. Her eyes scanned the hangar.
"Five guards," she informed Han, "shouldn't be too much trouble." they switched places, Han taking in the hangar and Tasha watching his back. Luke and Leia ran up to them from behind.
"What kept you?" Han snapped, still watching the Falcon.
"Uh, we ran into a few old friends," Leia said.
"Is the ship alright?" Luke asked Tasha, checking her over to make sure she's alright. She nodded at him slightly, knowing what he was looking at her for, and glad someone cared about her.
"She seems to be if we can get to her," she informed him, "there's only a couple of them. It shouldn't be too much trouble."
"What's going on . . ." Han said. Tasha walked back over to him, watching the stormtroopers walk away, apparently fascinated by something none of them could see.
"Now's our chance," Tasha said in a whisper to him and he nodded in acknowledgement. She beckoned to the others and she jogged silently towards the ship.
"Ben?" Luke said, and Tasha's raven head whipped around. She looked over towards the door and saw something that chilled her to the core. Obi-wan was stood, lightsaber raised defensively, facing a figure in a black clothed figure in dark armour and a dramatic cape. It was enough for Tasha to lose her breath.
Obi-wan noticed her, and his smile turned up slightly, winking at her. He released his stance, closing his eyes, facing Vader. The red saber swung at the old man, and his body collapsed into a pile of robes. She choked, and she couldn't decide whether she was trying to breathe in or out.
"No!!!" Luke screamed the stormtroopers turning and facing them, their blasters raised. Tasha didn't move fast enough and the blast rocked through her side, scratching at her ribs. She gritted her teeth, shooting back even though each moved was agonising. Han grabbed her hand, pulling her inside as her adrenalin took over again. The pain in her side diminished as she ran through the ship, sliding herself into the navigator's chair.
"I hope that old man got that tractor beam out of commission or this could be a real short trip," Han muttered, "punch it!" Chewie hit the controls and the ship lifted off the ground.
"Chewie," said Tasha, working furiously, "angle the deflector shield while I go charge up the main guns."
"Hold on, sweetheart-" Han started, irritated, but Tasha cut him off.
"They'll be after us right now. If we don't fight we won't have a chance of getting out of here." She sprung up out of seat, gritting her teeth against the throb of her side. She walked past the passenger lounge, past Luke and Leia, climbing into one of the gunner positions. Tasha clipped the headphones and mouthpiece over her face.
"Are you in princess?" came Han's voice over her headphones, "'Kay, stay sharp."
"You too, lover boy," she replied, pulling on her mask of concentration.
"Here they come," Leia said in a slightly anxious tone, Tasha grinning slightly despite herself. The TIE fighters swirled in front of them, four that Tasha could see and count. She focussed on one of them as laser bolts hit the sides of the ship, rocking her seat. She cursed as she missed her shot.
"We've lost lateral controls," Leia called to them.
"Don't worry, she'll hold together." He sounded confident enough, but then Tasha heard him mutter, "hear me baby, hold together."
The shot Tasha fired hit the nearest TIE fighter, and it exploded into a cloud of debris. Han shot one soon after, an exhilarated whoop making Tasha laugh.
"There's still two more of them out here," Leia informed them, her serious voice making Tasha shut up. She focussed her target on a TIE, the Force flowing through her as the shot connected with the ship. A cloud of dust and debris filled the screen as Han hit his target at the same time.
"We did it!" Luke screamed over her headphones, and Tasha breathed a sigh of relief, pulling herself back out of the gun tower and back into the passenger lounge. Her vision swam as the adrenalin levels in her blood dropped, and the pain in her side came back. She keeled over, but Han caught her before she reached the floor.
"Tasha?" he said anxiously, "what is it?" her hands slipped down to her side and she winced.
"Oh, that's not good," Han muttered absentmindedly as her vision faded again.
"Isn't this the part where you rip off a piece of your shirt to bind my wounds?" she said, slightly incoherent. Han smirked despite himself.
"If you wanted me to tear my clothes off princess, you should've just asked," Tasha tried weakly to smile as her vision faded again. . .