Cordelia wakes up to Leia screaming. She jerks upright in her chair, spotting the creature attached to the glass of the viewport. She screams too as she jumps to her feet. Leia grabs her hand and pulls her with her as she runs from the cockpit.
"There's something out there." Leia tells Han as they join the others. He stops and looks at them.
"Where?" He asks. Cordeia rolls her eyes at his stupid question.
"Outside in the cave." She answers. Something bangs on the outside of the ship and Leia and Cordelia both tighten their grips on the other's hand.
"There it is. Listen. Listen!" 3PO says.
"I'm going out there." Han says, moving towards the ramp.
"Are you crazy?" Leia asks.
"Of course he is." Cordelia mutters.
"I just got this bucket back together. I'm not gonna let something tear it apart." He replies. Leia groans and grabs a mask from a nearby container.
"Then I'm going with you." She says, rushing after him. Chewie grabs the last mask and starts to follow.
"Hey! That's the last one! What am I supposed to do?" Cordelia asks. Chewie growls, telling her to stay inside the ship where it's safe. "I'm not that little kid anymore! If I want to go out and shoot whatever's damaging the ship, I can!" She replies. He growls again, letting her know that she'll always be their younger sister and it's their job to protect her. He ruffles her hair before moving to follow the others.
Cordelia watches them go and sighs. She spots the control panel Han was repairing and gets to work, continuing where he left off. She stumbles back as the ship lurches. She glances in the direction of the ramp, falling onto her back as the ship lurches again a moment later.
"What the hell's going on?" Cordelia asks as the others run back into the ship as it continues lurching, knocking them around.
"Let's get out of here!" Han yells.
"The Empire is still out there! I don't think-" Leia argues.
"No time to discuss this in committee!" He tells her, running to the cockpit.
"I am not a committee!" She yells as she follows him. Cordelia gets to her feet and makes her way into the cockpit after them. "You can't make the jump to light speed in this asteroid field." Cordelia throws herself down into her seat, strapping herself in.
"Sit down, sweetheart! We're taking off!" Han tells Leia.
"Look!" 3PO says, joining them.
"I see it. I see it." Han says, steering the ship towards what looks like a set of teeth at the end of the cave.
"The cave is collapsing." Leia warns.
"This is no cave." He replies.
"What?" Leia asks.
***
"Oh, thank goodness we're coming out of the asteroid field." 3PO says. The ship lurches as the Stardestroyer behind them fires and hits its mark.
"Let's get out of here. Ready for lightspeed? 1...2...3!" Han says. Nothing happens and Cordelia sighs, slouching in her seat. "It's not fair." He says. Chewie starts to growl, telling him off. "Transfer circuits aren't working. It's not my fault!"
"No light speed?" Leia asks.
"It's not my fault." He tells her. The ship lurches as the ship is hit again.
"Sir, we've just lost the main rear deflector shield. One more direct hit on the back quarter and we're done for." 3PO announces. Han stands, pointing to Chewie.
"Turn her around." He says. Chewie starts to argue. "I said turn her around! I'm going to put all power in the front shield."
"Are you serious?! You're going to attack them?" Cordelia yells at him as he moves back to his seat.
"Sir, the odds of surviving a direct assault on an imperial-" 3PO starts.
"Shut up!" Leia says at the same time Chewie growls the same. Cordelia pats his arm.
"Now's not the best time for odds, 3PO." She says. She looks at her brother, knowing that Han always gets them in trouble, but also knowing that he always gets them out of it.
***
"Captain Solo, this time you've gone too far." 3PO says. They look out the viewport, watching the other ships fly around the one Han landed on. Chewie growls at him to be quiet. "I will not be quiet, Chewbacca. Why doesn't anyone listen to me?"
"The fleet's beginning to break up. Go back and stand by the manual release for the landing claw." Han says. Chewie leaves the cockpit.
"I really don't see how that's going to help. Surrender is a perfectly acceptable alternative in extreme circumstances. The Empire may be gracious enough-" He says. Leia reaches over and shuts him down.
"Thank you." He says.
"What'd you have in mind for your next move?" She asks.
"Well, if they follow standard imperial procedure, they'll dump their garbage before they go to light speed, and then we just float away." Han explains.
"With the rest of the garbage. Then what?" She asks.
"Then we got to find a safe port somewhere around here. Any ideas?" He says.
"Where are we?" Cordelia asks, unbuckling herself from her seat.
"The Anoat system." He replies.
"There's not much there." Leia says.
"No. Well, wait. This is interesting. Lando." He says. Cordelia stands, moving to hover over his other shoulder.
"Lando system?" She asks.
"No. Lando Calrissian." Cordelia corrects.
"He's a cardplayer, gambler, scoundrel. You'd like him." Han tells Leia.
"Ignore him. Lando's our friend. I've known him half my life." She says. Leia nods.
"Bespin. It's pretty far, but I think we can make it." He says. Cordelia returns to her seat.
"A mining colony?" Leia asks.
"Yeah, a tibanna gas mine. Lando conned somebody out of it. Like Bug said, we go back a long way, Lando and us." Han explains.
"Can you trust him?" She asks.
"No. But he's got no love for the Empire, I can tell you that." He says. She ship creaks as they release the trash. "Here we go, Chewie. Stand by. Detach." The Falcon floats away from the ship, floating among the trash.
"You do have your moments. Not many of them, but you do have them." Leia tells him, kissing his cheek before sitting down. As soon as the Empire jumps to hyperspace, Han flies them away, towards Lando.
Unknown to the group, a ship was also among the trash and flies after them, following them all the way to Bespin.
Hey guys sorry this took longer than I had originally planned. I'm sick and fell asleep immediately after updating earlier lmao.
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The Chronicles of Cordelia Solo
FanfictionCordelia was a Solo before she was a Djarin. This is her journey.
