I don't own Star Wars or any of the characters.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…

It had been three standard years since the Battle of Yavin. In that time, Leia Skywalker and her twin brother, Prince Luke Organa, had continued to grow and improve their skills as Jedi under the teachings of their shared master, Ahsoka Tano. Despite the victory Leia had won the Rebel Alliance by blowing up the Death Star, the Empire still hunted the ever growing rebel forces. With their base compromised, the entire Rebel Alliance had begun to move to the remote ice planet of Hoth. There they would for safe from the Empire, at least for a little while longer.

Leia had been given an assignment to scout ahead and investigate the surrounding area. The young Jedi Padawan had bundled herself in the warmest thermals she could find, pinned back her long brown hair, secured her lightsaber to her belt, and mounted a pack animal (she could not remember the name) before heading off into the bleak landscape that was the planet Hoth.

Leia was not alone in her expedition. Luke and Han, who had still stuck around for the last three years, had come with her. The three had split up but stayed in contact over comm. link.

Leia removed her goggled and put the binoculars she had been carrying to her slightly frozen brown eyes. A small explosion had caught the young woman's attention. The twenty-two-year-old woman focused her sights on the area where the 'meteor' had supposedly landed. When she saw nothing, Leia reported in with the others.

"Echo 3 to Echo 7 and 9. Han, Luke, do you read me?" asked Leia.

"We read you, Leia." responded Luke.

"What's the problem, princess?" half-joked Han.

Leia had to stop herself from yelling at Han through the comm. link.

"I've finished my circle. I didn't pick up any life readings." reported Leia.

"There isn't enough life on this ice cube to fill a spacecruiser. The sensors are placed. I'm going back." told Han.

"Master Ahsoka wishes for us to return to the base as soon as possible. She says there is something important she has to tell us." informed Luke.

"I'll be back at the base soon. A meteor landed in my area and I'm going to check it out." said Leia.

Leia shut off her comm. link before everything suddenly went black.

Luke and Han returned to the base. The two men removed their helmets. Han shook out his brown head while Luke dusted the frost from his newly cut blond hair. Leaving their helmets off to the side; the twenty-two-year-old prince and the thirty-two-year-old smuggler made their way to Han's ship, the Millennium Falcon. Han's Wookiee partner, Chewbacca, was repairing the damage to the Falcon's exterior that Han had caused the last time the smuggler made a run.

"Chewie." called Han.

The Wookiee shouted at the smuggler in his roaring language. Han threw up his hands.

"Alright, don't loss your temper. I'll come right back and give you a hand." muttered Han.

"We should get going, Han. Master Ahsoka wants us to report our findings." reminded Luke.

"Lead the way kid." said Han.

Luke led Han to the command center of the base. People were all over the command center, working at computers and relaying incoming commands and messages. Amongst all the chaos of the command center, one stood calmly in the center overlooking it all. That person was General Ahsoka Tano, Jedi Knight, and Master of Luke Organa and Leia Skywalker.

Han and Luke stopped before the Togruta Jedi. Ahsoka looked at her first Padawan and the smuggler, her deep blue eyes never breaking contact with those of the two men. The Togruta Jedi had discarded her thick thermals over a nearby chair, ignoring the cold that turned her orange skin slightly red. Ahsoka's three blue and white striped lekku swayed about her slender, muscled body as she approached her Padawan and the smuggler.

"Where is Leia?" asked Ahsoka.

"Leia remained behind to investigate a meteor, master." informed Luke.

"What?!" exclaimed Ahsoka.

Ahsoka threw back her head, shaking her horns in frustration. Luke observed as his Master's tattooed white eyebrows knit together, the diamond pattern on her forehead and wing like cheek markings becoming slightly distorted as Ahsoka's face grew ever more hard and serious.

"Luke, I informed you that I wanted both you and Leia to return to the base after you had finished placing those sensors." sternly spoke Ahsoka.

"I am sorry, Master." apologised Luke.

"It's not your fault Luke. Leia is just too much like her father. Anakin never knew when to follow orders and it seems Leia can be just the same sometimes. I had hoped she would have gotten over this by now, but it seems too much of Anakin lives on through his daughter." sighed Ahsoka.

Ahsoka turned her attention towards Han.

"I'm sorry that you will be leaving us, Captain Solo. You were of great help to the Rebellion during the Battle of Yavin." spoke Ahsoka.

"There's a price on my head. If I don't pay off Jabba the Hutt then I'm a dead man." stated Han.

"Having a bounty on one's head is not something easy to live with. You're a good fighter Solo, and I will hate to lose you. And I know for certain that my Padawans will miss you." calmly said Ahsoka.

Ahsoka turned back to her work. She had yet to tell Leia about Han's departure. The Togruta knew how her female Padawan felt about the smuggler. Even if Leia did not admit it, Ahsoka could tell that her master's daughter cared deeply for Han. Ahsoka knew that Han's leaving would cause Leia's heart to break, even if the young Skywalker girl did nothing to show it.

Han faced Luke. The prince's blue eyes locked onto the smuggler's dark orbs. Neither Luke nor Han moved the air between them silent and awkward. Finally, Han broke the awkward silence.

"Guess this is it, kid." told Han.

Luke remained silent. The smuggler stormed off without saying another word. Han stormed out the door, Luke following after him. The prince had no idea what he was doing when he followed after the smuggler, but he knew that his sister would be furious if she learned that Han had left and Luke had done nothing to stop him.

"Han, wait." called out Luke.

"What is it kid?" asked Han.

"I thought you had decided to stay. At least that is what Leia told me the last time I spoke with her." stated Luke.

"Well the bounty hunter we ran into changed my mind." snapped Han.

"Han, the Rebellion needs you." calmly told Luke.

"Are you sure it's not your sister that needs me?" responded Han.

Luke was at a sudden loss for words. It was obvious to the prince that his sister and the smuggler cared for each other, but neither one of them seemed to realise it. Leia would kill him if Luke revealed to Han his sister's feelings for the smuggler, so Luke decided to play dumb.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Han." muttered Luke.

"Whatever you say kid." said Han.

Han continued down the hall, Luke following after him.

"What do you mean by that?" questioned Luke.

"You only want me to stay because of how your sister feels about me." exclaimed Han.

"Part of that is the reason Han. You are also my friend. You're a natural leader, Han, and the Rebellion needs more people like you." simply put Luke.

"It's not going to work kid. I'm not hanging around this ice block for another minute. Tell the princess I sad goodbye the next time you see her." spoke Han.

Han stormed out of the hall and to the hanger. Luke was left standing on his own, trying to think of a way to tell his sister about Han's departure without getting his head cut off.

In another part of the base, the golden protocol droid C-3PO and blue and white astromech droid R2-D2 were making their way through the halls. The two droids stopped in the hangar. They saw the smuggler Han Solo yelling at his Wookiee partner, Chewbacca, about taking some part of the Millennium Falcon apart.

"Excuse me, sir, might I have a word with you?" asked C-3PO.

"What do you want?" hissed Han.

The smuggler was still riled up from his conversation with Luke and was in no mood to talk to the annoying protocol droid.

"It's Prince Luke, sir. He's been trying to contact you on the communicator." told C-3PO.

"I turned if off. I already told the kid that I'm leaving. There's nothing he can do to stop me." stated Han.

"Prince Luke is wondering about Mistress Leia. She hasn't come back yet. He doesn't know where she is." continued C-3PO.

"I don't know where she is." flatly stated Han.

"Nobody knows where she is, sir." said C-3PO.

"What do you mean nobody knows?" asked Han.

Han covered the protocol droids mouth as he asked a passing soldier about Leia's whereabouts. The soldier told Han that he did not know the where Commander Leia Skywalker was. Something wasn't right. When it was confirmed that Leia had not checked in with the base, Han knew something was wrong. It was not like Leia to miss checking in. She chastised him every time he forgot to check in with the base. There was no way Leia would have forgotten.

Ignoring the protests from the rebel soldiers, Han mounted up one of the animals and set out into the frigid Hoth landscape. Nothing was going to keep Han from finding Leia. Not even the probable threat of freezing to death.

Second story in the series. Going to try and update as often as I can. Comment if you like the story.