In her quarters later that evening, Leia had showered and just grabbed a drink when her room door chimed. Throwing on a robe, she pressed the control to open the door to find C-3PO, her protocol droid standing in the entrance.

"Mistress Leia, you told me to let you know when Master Luke made contact  and Artoo has relayed a message to say you are required." 3PO's metallic, expressionless face nevertheless managed to convey the impression that he was hoping she would confide in him more about the intriguing message. His slightly pompous demeanour seemed out of place on a military base, but Leia had had 3PO for as long as she could remember and she found his little idiosyncrasies easy to ignore.

"Thank you, 3PO. Tell him I'm on my way." She closed the door, not wanting to invite enquiries from the droid as to what it was all about or whether she was following procedure. She dressed quickly, throwing a heavy woven wrap over her tight-fitting trousers and half-top for warmth. She rubbed her hair vigorously between her hands to dry it a little. She didn't have time to do it properly, but leaving it loose, it would soon dry in the evening air. She just snatched a quick moment to punch a message into her data pad before grabbing a pre-packed utility sack, slinging it over one shoulder and leaving the chamber.

Keeping to the shadows as much as possible, she made her way through the base to a small exit door at the end of the East Corridor which she knew would be little used at this time of day, and which opened up at the very edge of the base onto the foothills of the mountain behind. It would soon be dark and she didn't want to be seen leaving. Opening the hatch and waiting in the doorway for a moment, she scanned the area to make sure no-one was about, adjusted the pack she was carrying more comfortably on her shoulder and exited quickly, moving stealthily behind some storage containers that were piled nearby. She checked the immediate area again and then headed for the foothills at a jog.

#

From his vantage point in the cockpit of the Falcon, Han saw a movement by the East exit hatch and leaned forward in his seat, squinting to more clearly make out what had caught his attention. As the figure made for the hills, he knew immediately who it was. He recognised her small frame and the way she moved. Her long hair was hanging loose, her dress was reminiscent of some of the indigenous mountain people he had seen in the vicinity and, as she glanced back over her shoulder furtively, his curiosity was peeked. He frowned. What was she up to? It wasn't like her to leave the base alone, but he knew she wasn't a stupid woman so she must have a good reason. Pushing himself out of his seat he ran to the exit ramp of the Falcon, grabbing his long coat and blaster as he went, just in case he should need either, and decided to follow her. He met Chewbacca returning with supplies as he pulled his coat on. Chewbacca growled an enquiry as to where he was going in such a hurry.

"The Princess is up to something, Chewie. Stay here... and keep the comms open in case I need you," he added. Chewbacca nodded and growled an affirmative as Han made off at a run in the direction he had last seen Leia.

#

By the time he reached the foothills, Leia was quite a way ahead and beginning to climb the steeper, rockier terrain. She flicked one side of her wrap over the opposite shoulder so that she was wrapped up against the cold evening air and surveyed the climb above as she went. Han held back so that she wouldn't see him. He was aware that her covert behaviour meant she didn't want to be discovered and calling out might give her away, but he was also half afraid of her retribution should she catch him sneaking up on her. He watched as she confidently negotiated the rocks and shingle, and then moved to a closer vantage point behind a large boulder.

Leia reached the foot of a much steeper out crop of rocks and paused to catch her breath. She had been travelling at quite a pace so far, he assumed so that she could get into the hills before she was spotted. As she rested, she turned to look in his direction. Her eyes seemed to look at exactly the spot where he was hidden, although in the darkness, she couldn't have seen him. He swore to himself. If she caught him, she would be mad he was following her. He wasn't entirely sure why he was  following her but his urge to keep her safe was becoming a habit. After a minute or so, she obviously decided she was alone and turned her attention back to choosing the best route up the hillside. Reaching back, she took a band from her wrist with her teeth and, using it to tie her hair loosely behind her out of the way, she began to climb.

Han moved his position and kept an eye on her progress. He was hot in his long coat and wished he hadn't brought it. Sweat began to run down his back from his exertion to keep up with her. The cloth of Leia's wrap swayed as she reached up to grab onto higher rocks, revealing her bare skin below her half top and he admired her toned body as she pulled herself up. She was agile and fit and kept up an annoyingly steady pace. He was in danger of losing her, he thought, as he squinted in the now fading light to pick out her form on the side of the mountain. If he lost her, he would be stuck here all night waiting to face the embarrassment in the morning when she returned.

At the top of the first peak, the ground levelled off and Leia reached it, stopping to rest again, putting her hands on the small of her back and stretching backwards to ease her muscles. She turned to take in the view of the Alliance base below, marvelling at the way the twin moons picked out the detail of the rocky landscape. She took in the fresh night air with deep breaths. It was nice to be away from the demands of base duties and have some time to clear her thoughts. Still, she had a purpose for being here and she couldn't take up too much time ruminating on the beauty of it all. She turned and continued along the plateau at a confident pace.

#

Han also reached the plateau and continued after her, keeping her just in sight, relieved at the more level ground. After about a mile, he ducked quickly down behind some rocks as a second figure emerged from the darkness. Han's heart missed a beat. The figure was dressed in a full-length dark cloak and was masculine in stature, shorter than Han but taller than Leia. The moon reflected off the cloak, picking out the edges but not showing the face of the figure which was contained within the darkness of the cowl. Han was immediately frightened for Leia, but she approached the figure and took his offered hand, moving in to greet him with a kiss on the cheek. Immediately, Han recognised the other man. It was Luke. His recognition was confirmed when Luke removed his hood and spoke to Leia, indicating that she should follow him. She said something in return but Han couldn't hear them from this distance. She let him help her as they began to climb down the other side of the peak and disappeared from view.

Han emerged from his hiding place and jogged to catch up, a little more relaxed that he knew this was why Leia was here but still curious. However, when he reached the edge where they had descended, they were nowhere to be seen. He hadn't taken that long to get there, just a few seconds. Where could they have gone? He put his hands on his hips and his eyes searched the darkness. While he was considering the fact that there should have been plenty enough light from the two moons for him to see them, a voice spoke from behind him and his heart jumped.

"You'd make a lousy spy." Leia stood regarding him with her arms folded. She was giving him that look that always made him feel guilty.

"Well, so would you," he retorted in an attempt to protect himself. "I managed to follow you all this way without you noticing."

"I spotted you at the foothills," she informed him. So she had seen him.

"Why didn't you say anything then?" he replied in mild frustration.

"I could have stopped you," she conceded. "but I thought the climb would serve you right for sneaking around. Did you not consider that I might have mistaken you for a bandit or an Imperial agent and shot you?"she asked crossly.

"I hoped you wouldn't." He raised his eyebrows at her. "But you were the one sneaking off without telling even me where you were going. Besides, I was worried about you out here in pirate country alone." He held his arms out in an exasperated manner.

Luke bided his time, looked between the two of them, his eyes holding a resigned expression. He was used to the two of them bickering and was waiting patiently for it to subside so that he could get a word in edgeways, but Leia didn't look like she was quite finished.

"I don't need your permission to leave the base by myself," she said indignantly. "However, I would have told you had you asked. Besides, I sent a message to Blake to let her know where I was." She tilted her head on one side and put on her challenging, angry face. "It's a wonder I managed to keep myself alive before you came along to protect me."

"Well, pardon me for being concerned about you." Han had to fight hard to stop himself adding Your Worship  to the end of this last comment.  An expression he used to annoy her, he had promised not to call her that again, but her imperious expression was tempting him to push her buttons a little more. He put his hand on his forehead, suddenly tired of the argument. Luke took the cue and coughed politely, reaching out his hand to shake Han's.

"Hi Han. It'sgood to see you. It would be nice to have another opinion on this anyway." He looked at Leia as if to say that should probably be the end of the matter. Her arms were still folded but her expression softened and Luke decided to move away to give them some space. He had a way of adding calm to a situation. Either that or Leia had read Han's concern as genuine because she unfolded her arms and moved closer to him.

"I'm sorry." Her tone was gentler and she brushed the back of his hand with hers. "I should have told you what I was doing." She glanced up at him to gauge his reaction.

"I'm sorry I worried," he replied, putting his arms round her and kissing her on the forehead. "I know you can look after yourself. I just can't help it."

"I know," she smiled. Secretly it was one of the things she loved about him. His protective attention towards her. His off hand way of showing her he cared.

"Just out of interest." His voice was now brighter. "How did you manage to climb up here so fast? You came up the side of that hill like a Gamorean Rockmelder."

"I'm from Alderaan, remember?" she laughed. "All mountains," she elaborated. He had never been to Alderaan but had seen holo-images of it's landscape and came to the realisation that she must have spent a lot of time mountain trekking. She playfully tapped him on the backside before jogging ahead of him to catch up with Luke. Turning and taking a few backwards steps, she called, "It's good for the legs." Smiling provocatively, she turned back round towards Luke who was waiting for them to join him. Han watched the way her hips moved as she walked.

"Yes, I can see that," he said quietly to himself.

"I heard that!" she called, without looking back. Han smiled.

Luke and Leia squatted down behind a small outcrop of rocks that overlooked a vast valley below as Han joined them. Luke handed Leia a pair of macro-binoculars.

"That's the facility, but there's been little activity in the last couple of hours," he reported. Leia adjusted the macro-binoculars and squinted through them, trying to focus them in the darkness.

"I don't know," she mused. "It looks pretty unassuming at the moment. Have you seen anything suspicious?" She handed the macro-binoculars over to Han who put them to his eyes.

"It's lit pretty well," he observed. "Search lights and sensors. What's going on then?" He looked at Luke for an explanation.

"Leia asked me to look into the reports General Madine received about suspicious activity near here. Apparently inhabitants of some of the settlements have been going missing, and now I hear what Leia has told me, it seems the same is happening on Rattatak. I searched around and found this facility and I've been watching it since we came back from Chandrila. So far, I've noticed a few vehicles coming and going that look like personnel carriers. They could be carrying people but they go inside fairly quickly so I can't confirm that."

"What do youthink?" Leia asked him.

"The vehicles might be Imperial class, although there are no markings and they're a bit beaten up. But the people manning the facility are in an array of clothing, some native and some different uniforms that I don't recognise. I would suggest it's some sort of Imperial facility but maybe one that's not directly controlled. Perhaps they're going it alone," Luke replied.

"What about the people? What are they doing with them?" Han asked.

"All I've seen so far are personnel transports going inside and one transport vessel landing and leaving earlier today. They could have been moving the people but I couldn't see for sure." Luke delivered his observations and Leia bit her lower lip.

"Do you think they're moving slaves?" she asked. "It was a suggestion General Madine made." The thought made her feel sick.

"I can't be sure," Luke replied. "All I can gather from my local enquiries is that the people are being moved off-world but I haven't been able to ascertain any other details. The next ship that comes in, I'm going to get Artoo to scan it's trajectory and see if we can pinpoint where it's going." Leia took the macro-binoculars back from Han and looked through them again.

"Madine said the scouts on Rattatak thought ships were headed towards the Codian Moon but they couldn't confirm that. It's a wonder we haven't seen these ships and they haven't seen ours," she said.

"I think it's because this mountain range is positioned so that they take a flight path in the opposite direction," Luke surmised.

"Well, there's not much activity now. Maybe we should wait till morning and see what happens, then we can decide if we need to send in a small ground force for further investigation," Leia suggested. Luke agreed.

 "I'll tell Chewie not to expect us but to be on standby just in case there's trouble," Han said and went back onto the plateau to use his communicator. Luke and Leia watched him go and then looked at each other and smiled. Han was always expecting trouble and, to be fair, when they were all together, he was usually right.