Hanna hunched her shoulders, bending over her tauntaun's neck, cursing this godforsaken planet. She'd like to find the Alliance stylus-pusher who'd decided Hoth was a good place for their base and shove him out here into this wasteland—see how he liked it.

Her commlink buzzed and she fumbled it open with stiff, gloved fingers. "Echo Three to Echo Seven," Lucia's voice crackled into the frigid air. "Do you read me?"

Hanna bent her head, trying to turn away from the wind that was biting at her cheeks. "Loud and clear, kid. What's up?"

"I finished my circle. I don't pick up any life readings."

Hanna snorted. "There isn't enough life on this ice cube to fill the Falcon. The sensors are placed. I'm going back."

"Right," Lucia replied. "I'll see you shortly. There's a meteorite that hit the ground near here, and I want to check it out. It won't take long."

The connection ended, and Hanna shoved the comm into a pocket of the thick fur coat she wore. For someone who had grown up in a desert, Lucia seemed altogether too happy on this hellishly cold planet. Adjusting the goggles that protected her face from the bitter wind, she nudged her tauntaun mount back toward the Rebel base. If Lucia wanted to waste time in the cold, she was welcome to do so, but Hanna was going to get indoors.

Even out of the wind, this blasted place was freezing. Hanna pulled off her goggles as she slid down from her mount into the whirlpool of chaos that was the base. The Rebels had set up camp in a huge cave carved into the ice, and even with all the activity, it was not approaching being anything she would call livable temperature.

She shoved her goggles into a pocket of her coat and continued deeper into the cave. A makeshift command centre buzzed with activity as she approached. General Rieekan and Prince Alaric were bent over consoles monitoring something. The general straightened up and faced her, an expectant expression on his weathered face. "Solo?"

"No sign of life out there, General." She rubbed her hands together in an attempt to bring the feeling back to her fingers. "The sensors are in place. You'll know if anything comes around."

Rieekan nodded. "Skywalker reported in yet?"

She shook her head. "She's checking out a meteorite." Hopefully, she would get back soon. When the sun set, the cold could get so much worse so very quickly, and Lucia would have no idea what to do.

The general made a face, nodding at the console. "With all the meteor activity in this system, it's going to be difficult to spot approaching ships."

She took a deep breath. Might as well just say it. "General, I've got to leave." She bit her lip, seeing Alaric stiffen. What was his problem?

Rieekan nodded slowly. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"There's a price on my head," she said, feeling compelled to explain herself. "If I don't pay off Jabba, I'm dead."

"A death mark's not an easy thing to live with," he agreed. "You're a good fighter, Solo. I hate to lose you." He offered his hand, and she gripped it firmly. She had told Lucia these were good people, and she had meant it. Most of them were, anyway. This had been a good gig, but staying in one place for this long wasn't really her style.

Turning to go, she met Alaric's brown eyes. The prince had turned away from his monitor, and he glared at her, his arms folded tightly across his chest. She inclined her head slightly. Might as well be polite, even if he wasn't. "Well, Your Highness… I guess this is it."

Something flashed in his eyes, gone so quickly she barely registered that it had been there. It may have been anger, or even hurt, but she couldn't be sure. "I guess so." His voice was cold.

Hanna's lip curled. What had she expected from the royal brat? A tearful goodbye? "Well, don't get all mushy on me," she said sharply. "So long, sunshine." She turned on her heel and strode away, resisting the urge to look back. What he thought of her didn't matter. At all.

The click of bootheels on the icy floor hurried after her. "Hanna!" The Prince's imperious voice floated after her on the frigid air.

She stopped, turning back to face him. Allowing sarcasm to flood her voice, she replied, "Yes, Your Highnessness?"

He stopped as well, his face still, yet his eyes burning with conflicting emotions. "I thought you had decided to stay."

Her lips twitched. The Ice Prince had feelings after all. He was practically begging her not to go. "That bounty hunter we ran into on Ord Mantell changed my mind."

"The Alliance needs you, Hanna."

The Alliance needed her? Come on, princeling, you can do better than that. She snorted. "And you?"

He frowned, not quite meeting her eyes. "Me?"

He was so transparent. But she wasn't about to stick around if he wouldn't say it. She raised an eyebrow. "What do you need?"

He looked away. "I don't need anything."

She rolled her eyes and sighed. He almost sounded like he believed that. "Then why are you following me? Afraid I was going to leave without giving you a goodbye kiss?"

His jawline tightened, his eyes blazing as his gaze snapped up to meet her. "I'd just as soon kiss a Wookiee!"

Anger blazed through her. "I could arrange that!"

He sputtered incoherently, and she turned away, her jaw so tight it hurt, her short nails cutting into her palms. His pride was never going to let him admit how he felt about her. She was better off far away from him. It was way past time to go.

Hanna clenched her fists tighter as she strode across the hangar toward her ship. "Chewie! Why did you take that apart now?"

The wookiee looked up from where he was working on the central lifters, pieces spread out across the slick floor. He grumbled a reply, but she wasn't really listening.

"I'm trying to get us out of here and you pull both of these?" She needed to get away from Alaric and the confusing feelings he created in her. "Put them back together. Now."

"Excuse me, Captain Solo," Lucia's golden protocol droid interrupted. "Might I have a word with you, please?"

What now? She rounded on it and spat out, "What do you want?

It leaned back a bit as if shocked or frightened by her outburst. Good. "It's Prince Alaric. He's been trying to get you on the communicator."

If His Highness cared, he should have told her to her face. "I turned it off. I don't want to talk to him."

"Oh." The droid looked even more taken aback. "Well, Prince Alaric is wondering about Miss Lucia. She hasn't come back."

Hanna frowned, running a hand through her long hair. "She hasn't?"

"Nobody knows where she is," the droid confirmed.

"What do you mean, 'nobody knows'?" Hanna raised her eyes to the vaulted opening; outside, the light was fading quickly as night fell; she imagined she could feel the temperature dropping already. She spun around, shouting, "Deck officer!"

The officer hurried over, nearly losing his footing on the icy floor. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Do you know where Commander Skywalker is?" she demanded.

He blinked. "I haven't seen her. It's possible she came in through the south entrance."

"It's possible?" Hanna shouted. "Why don't you go find out? It's getting dark out there." An icy feeling was growing in her middle that had little to do with the temperature.

He nodded and hurried away, leaving Hanna to pace back and forth, kicking pieces of the lifters out of her way. Chewie complained but she barely noticed. She ran her hands through her hair and caught her fingers in a snarl. With a frustrated exclamation, she shoved the mass of curls back and tied it at the nape of her neck. As she dropped her hands, the deck officer returned with an assistant, matching worried expressions on their faces.

"Commander Skywalker hasn't come in through the south entrance," he reported. "She might have forgotten to check in." He didn't sound like he believed it, though.

Hanna shook her head. She didn't believe it either. "Not likely. Are the speeders ready?"

He had the grace to look sheepish. "Not yet. We're having some trouble adapting them to the cold."

Hanna blew out a frustrated sigh. "Then we'll have to use tauntauns." Brushing past him, she strode toward the corral. If Lucia got herself killed here, Hanna was never gonna let her forget it. Stupid kid.

He hurried after her, struggling to keep his footing on the slick floor. "But, Captain Solo, the temperature's dropping too rapidly."

"Yes," she snapped, "and my friend's out there in it." She gestured to one of the Rebels who had been assigned to the beasts of burden, and he hurried to harness one for her.

"Your tauntaun'll freeze before you reach the first marker," the deck officer protested.

She rounded on him, taking a step forward so they were nose-to-nose. "Then I'll see you in Hell," she said tightly. He sputtered and backed off. The other Rebel brought her a tauntaun, and she mounted up and left without a backward glance.