Redamancy - Han Solo [3]

Chapter 18: Guess We Did

"It's a very dangerous precedence to set," Tasha said, sat down at the edge of a clearing in the forest, "letting him think he's right." Artoo whistled in reply. The rest of the group had left her with him a little while away from the bunker, a piece of cloth from the bottom of Han's shirt to stop the bleeding until they had time to get the medical kit out (don't worry, she made a joke about him ripping his clothes off. He was still not amused, even four years later). The droid had recovered from his spastic attack at being shot, and Leia thought it was quite poetic for the two of them to wait together, two injured veterans waiting for the rest of their team. There was only one part of it that she didn't like.

"I'm sure General Solo is right as much as any other human being," said Threepio, his tinny voice cutting through the relative quiet, "he is quite clever, even if he is impossible to deal with." Even though Threepio irritated Tasha no end, she had to smile at his comment.

"He is, isn't he?"

The forest seemed to erupt around her, the ground quaking and she ducked down behind the fallen log she was leaning against. Eyes wide she pushed herself further into the ground as the explosions continued, getting worse. Pieces of flaming metal, debris from the shield generator flew over her head, Artoo's squealing cutting through the deep noises of everything around her reacting to the man-made quaking. Her heartrate sped up as the rest of her team popped into her head: if it was that bad where she was, which they had thought would be a safe distance well out of the way, stars knows what it was like for them. The rumbling had died down, but Tasha didn't move, pieces of bunker still landing around her.

"Holy Stars," she breathed, trying to crawl out of the hole she'd fallen in as she had tried to shield herself, wincing as her arms scratched on bark and ferns, her skin burning. "you two okay?" she asked the droids. Artoo whistled an affirmative.

"Oh my, by some miracle," said Threepio, looking suitably shaken.

Now to wait.

She wanted to shout out, to see if they were okay. She couldn't.

They didn't know how many imperials were walking around the forest looking for them, making their way towards the explosion. They weren't exactly being inconspicuous, blowing up their base like that, and she wasn't in the best spot to defend herself.

She waited.

She poked her wound, making herself hiss in pain. At least it took her mind off it.

"I'm starting to think you like getting shot," his voice was rough, tired, and so, so good to hear.

She tried to leap up at him, wanting so badly to wrap her arms around him, to hold him, make sure he was real. And she tried to. But that didn't end very well. As she tried to push herself up, her wounded arm finally gave out, and the other one wasn't too happy about it either, all cut up from how she'd had to hide from the explosion. Her arms collapsed beneath her, and he caught her, pulling her into a sitting position next to him, his legs jumbled up beneath him, hers splayed out in front.

"You've gotta stop falling for me," he said, smirking at her. She laughed, she couldn't help it, and he was relieved to see it.

"Everyone else is okay?" she asked, her eyes once again filling with apprehension.

"Why don't you ask them yourself?" all around them, the forest seemed to come alive, camouflaged members of their squad appearing around them, and Tasha beamed, the smile crinkling up her eyes. Han smiled, eyes not leaving her. "hey," he shouted suddenly to a random lieutenant, "who's got the med-pack?" a small box was tossed at him, and he set it down on the ground in front of them, pulling things out. A bacta patch, some bandage. Calloused hands grazed the skin of her arm as he dressed the wound, tying the bandage firmly.

Another explosion.

This one was quieter, more muffled, and you couldn't feel it in the ground.

Both of them looked up, over their shoulders and up into the sky. Where the menacing grey orb of the death star had sat, now there was only an orange fireball, the shockwaves pushing out in a halo.

Luke.

He was alright, she could feel it. His presence was still there, hovering at the edge of her consciousness. Han seemed to be reading her mind, looking at her apprehensively before he spoke:

"I'm sure Luke wasn't on that thing when it blew." She knew Han had no way of knowing that, but she appreciates the sentiment.

"He wasn't." she replied, looking around the forest, "I can tell."

The scene around them had burst into jubilation, soldiers crying out, throwing their weapons into the air, hugging each other. They'd done it.

"We did it." Tasha said quietly, taking hold of his hand that had been wrapping her wound. Han let out a loud sigh.

"Guess we did."