Rock 'n Roll
Summary: The Rebels need a morale boost, and our favourite heroes get roped into hosting a concert. Based on the coolest poster ever.
A/N: I was inspired by my most favourite-est Star Wars poster ever! It hangs right beside my desk so I can just look up for inspiration. Hope you enjoy this one, folks; I had a lot of fun writing this.
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars, but I want the boots Luke wears in that poster!
"Han?" Luke called, walking into the Falcon, looking for his friend. "Han?" Still, there was no answer. The ship looked empty, but where else would he be? Just as he was about to leave and check elsewhere on base, something caught his eye.
His curiosity peaked; he walked over to the corner near the holochess table, and eyed the object. His eyes widened and his mouth hung open as he realized just exactly what he had found. Gingerly picking it up, his mind whirled around, desperately searching for answer. Why in the whole wide galaxy would Han have this?
"What are you doing?"
The man in question suddenly appeared behind Luke, startling him. He spun around and faced a frowning Han Solo, clutching the item to his chest. He hadn't even heard him approach.
"Han!" he said, smiling disarmingly. His friend didn't smile back. "I was looking for you."
Han stared pointedly at the item in Luke's hands. "What are you doing with that?" he growled.
Luke suddenly looked down at what he held in his hands, his eyes wide. "Oh!" he exclaimed, as if he only just realized he was holding something. His eyes darted back up to Han. "I – well, I saw it – and Han, I didn't know you played the guitar!" He finally blurted out excitedly.
Rolling his eyes, Han snatched the guitar out of Luke's hands. "Yeah. Well. That was a lifetime ago, kid."
But Luke's enthusiasm wasn't dampened. "I only ever saw a guitar once! My friend Hash had one and he played in a band, but Uncle Owen never let me see him play cuz he said that only no-good thieves and alien scum played them…" he trailed off, suddenly realizing what he'd said. His mouth formed a large 'O'. "I-I didn't –"
But Han just chuckled. "Don't worry about it, kid. I've heard worse."
"So, did you really play? For real?"
"For real? Of course we played for real." Han frowned and sat down at the table, Luke sitting opposite, eager to listen. "Me an' Chewie, we were pretty good. Chewie plays a mean drums. We were on the road for a couple of years. But that was a long time ago, before I started smuggling. Smuggling paid better."
"'On the road'?" Luke asked.
"Musician's term for travelling all the time. You know, going from planet to planet."
"Did you have a name?"
"C'mon kid, what is this, twenty questions?" But Han was slightly amused by Luke's interest. He hesitated, "The Scoundrels."
Luke couldn't hold back a snort.
Han sat up. "Hey! It was very cool back then. We were cool."
"Leia will love that."
"Nuh-uh uh." Han shook a finger at Luke. "You don't tell her High and Mightiness nothin'. You don't tell anyone nothin'. Or I send Chewie after you."
Luke's gaze drifted back towards the guitar. "Can I hear it?" he asked eagerly. When Han looked reluctant, he stooped to pleading. "Please, Han? Pleeeeeease?" He even put on his best 'little boy lost from Tatooine' look. Han didn't stand a chance.
He threw his hands up in the air. "Alright! Alright. Jeesh, kid." Luke only grinned.
Gingerly picking the instrument up, Han threw the strap over his shoulder, and settled his fingers in all the familiar places. He didn't do gigs anymore, but he still played once in a while. All those long flights could get pretty boring. Plucking a few strings and tuning the guitar when the right notes didn't emit, he slowly strummed a few chords. Picking one of his favourite Corellian tunes, he let his fingers fly over the strings, tapping his foot to the beat, getting lost in his music.
Luke was enthralled. He found himself nodding to the tune and tapping his foot. Han was really, really good. When he finally stopped, they were both grinning. Luke because he couldn't believe he'd just heard his best friend play that well, and Han because he couldn't believe he was playing this thing again in front of an audience. He'd forgotten what a rush he would get.
Luke jumped up from his seat. "Wow, Han! Will you teach me?"
"Huh?" he asked as he set the guitar back down. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah! That's so cool! C'mon, teach me?"
"You don't learn in a day, kid. And who knows when we'll be called out for a mission?"
"I'm a fast learner."
"And what are you going to play on? No way you're touching my baby. Besides, it's easier if you had your own."
Luke racked his brains. He remembered seeing one somewhere…ha! "There's an older guitar, a little beat up, in one of the storage bays. It came in on one of the first medical supply shipments. I think someone put it there by mistake, so we stashed it in storage. There was no need for it." His eyes practically lit up. "I'll go get it and fix it up and then you'll teach me?"
Exasperatedly, Han sighed in agreement. He wondered exactly what he'd gotten himself into.
Chewie found them, three hours later, practicing. He whuffled in amusement as Han attempted to be a good and patient teacher.
"Laugh it up, fuzzball," he retorted. "I can teach him." Luke hit a wrong note, and Han cringed. "No, no." He reached over and readjusted Luke's hand. "You have to hold it like this. And hold this string, not this one."
"Okay, okay," Luke nodded, and strummed the note again.
"Better. Better."
It was two months later, and Luke was still working at the guitar. Every night he'd head over to the Falcon and Han would continue their lessons, sometimes with a few drinks. However, in that two-month span of time, most of that was spent on missions and traveling, so the actual amount of time that they spent in lessons was significantly lower. Yet, as Luke had stated, he was a fast learner, and Han was both surprised and proud.
One day as Luke was leaving the Falcon after a lesson he spotted Princess Leia talking with General Rieeken. Striding up to them, he greeted them with a smile. "Hello, Leia, General."
The General nodded at him and Leia smiled. "Hi Luke. We were just discussing how the troops need a boost of moral. We need to do something. Do you have any ideas?"
The Death Star had long been destroyed, and it was becoming apparent that the frigid temperatures of Hoth had since frizzled out anyone's feelings high morale or any lingering hopes of winning the war.
Luke thought for a minute, and glanced over his shoulder to see Han had followed Luke and was approaching the group. A thought popped into his head. "How about a concert?" he suggested.
Leia frowned. "A concert? What sort of concert?"
"A rock concert. Han plays the guitar and he's been teaching me!"
Both the General and Leia shot amused looks at Han, who stopped dead behind Luke. He felt like smashing his head into the wall. "You're dead, kid," he muttered to an oblivious Luke.
"A guitar, hm?" Leia said, one eyebrow raised in amusement.
"Yeah," Han answered gruffly.
"He's really good, Leia! And Chewie plays the drums! We could do it, right Han?" Luke asked, turning to look at his livid friend.
"Yeah right! I don't think so. Nuh-uh."
Leia looked over at Rieeken. "I think that's a great idea. I'm sure the troops would enjoy it. What do you think, Carlist?"
He nodded, a small smile creeping onto his face. "I think it's a wonderful idea."
Yep, thought Han, I'm seriously going to kill that kid.
Leia turned back towards the two men. "I think it's settled then." She had on a very smug smile.
"That settles nothing! No way I'm playing."
"C'mon Han! It'll be fun!"
"I said no, kid! What don't you understand about no?"
"Please? Please? I'll get a chance to try what I've been learning! Everyone will love it!"
Han continued to mutter under his breath, but he knew now that he couldn't get out of it. Luke was so excited and he was giving Han that face again… and Her Highnessness was probably betting on him either crushing Luke, or the whole thing turning out to be a disaster. A smirk worked its way onto his lips as an idea formed in his head. Oh, he'd get her back for this…
"Alright," he said.
Luke beamed. Leia and Rieeken looked slightly shocked. "You'll do it?" Leia asked.
"Yeah, but on one condition." He pointed a finger at her. "You sing."
Her jaw dropped, and for once in her life she was speechless. "What?" she finally managed to exclaim.
"You heard me. You sing. Or I don't play." His grin grew wider.
Luke didn't seem to realize that Han was getting payback. He turned excitedly to Leia. "Yeah, Leia! That would be awesome! No band is complete without a singer! C'mon Leia, I'm sure you have a lovely voice!"
Leia just stared at Luke, then back at Han. "I really don't think…"
"I dunno, Luke. I think she's too scared to do it," Han goaded. "Or she probably has the voice of a Wookiee."
She shot him a death glare, then pulled herself to her full height, trying to remain dignified. "Fine," she said. "I'll do it."
Luke cheered, Han smirked, and Rieeken watched it all with amusement. He was sure they were going to be in for one interesting show…
"So, what are we going to play?" Luke asked.
The four of them – Han, Leia, Luke and Chewie – were gathered in the Falcon for their first practice session.
"How about 'Beneath the White Whipple Tree?" Leia suggested. If Han was going to blackmail her into singing, then she at least wanted to sing a decent song. Not the kind of junk that she heard these days from bands.
Chewie roared his disagreement and Han verbalized his. "No way, Princess. I'm not playing a love ballad. I think we should play 'Corellian Fire'."
Leia scoffed. "Please. Do you really have such horrible taste? I can't possibly sing to that shipwreck. I'd lose my voice."
"Oh, and so love songs are better, huh? No one's gonna want to hear 'em."
"Well I think it's a better idea then jumping around and smashing the guitars while you kill everyone with those dreadful sounds!"
Luke held up his hands. "Hey!" He yelled, and the two stopped bickering to look over at him. "Okay, okay. So we have different tastes. Why don't we compromise and do both? Hm?"
Han and Leia exchanged a look, both considerably calmer and agreeable.
"Besides, we have to play more than one song. And bands usually play a variety of songs at concerts, am I right?" Luke continued.
The other two sighed, and then nodded. "Yeah," they mumbled.
Luke smiled. "Alright. Let's pick a few that we can agree on, and get practicing."
In the end, they successfully chose a handful of songs, ranging from fast paced rock songs to slow dancing love songs. It came time for them to practice their first song.
The song began with rapid, complicated guitar solo, and then was accompanied by the singer. And when Leia began to sing, it was almost as if the angels were singing with her. They couldn't believe that she had such a beautiful voice. When they finished – with several mistakes because Luke couldn't remember the notes and Han forgot to play half the time because he was so entranced by her voice – everyone just stood there. Leia blushed and played with the hemline of her sleeve.
Han shot her a lopsided grin, trying to mask his amazement with a smart comment. "Not too bad there, Your Highness."
She smirked back at him. "You're not too bad yourself, flyboy."
Word made its way around base about the upcoming concert. People began to buzz with curiosity and excitement, and as the date drew nearer and nearer, the air seemed to hum with electricity.
The band members were getting even more publicity than previously. Everyone was curious and excited to see them perform. The Rebel leaders had even sprung for a bigger supply run in order to serve a semi-edible buffet. A group had elected themselves as the decorating committee, and were going all-out to make the mess hall look more attractive. A stage was being constructed, and C3P0 and R2D2 had been recruited for effects.
"Lots of lights," Luke instructed them. "And smoke. That's always cool. And fire!"
The two droids worked hard to figure out how to accomplish this task, although 3P0 was hesitant to do it. "Oh my, Master Luke. Fire? Isn't that a little dangerous?"
The day of the rock concert had arrived. Everyone had packed themselves into the mess hall, and the noise level rose as conversations started and grew more animated. The stage was empty and dark, with only a set of drums towards the back, and off to the side a small control station where the two droids waited for the event to begin.
Backstage, Leia nervously fiddled with her outfit.
"Your going to wear a hole in that, y'know," commented Han amusedly. When she glared at him, he sighed wearily. "You look fine, Leia."
She frowned at her outfit. "It's not…me."
"That's the whole point! You're supposed to look like a rock star."
She nodded but began to nervously adjust her hair. Luke placed a hand on her arm, and she felt herself relax as he smiled calmly at her. "Don't be nervous, Leia. Everyone's going to love you." She tried to smile back at him, but only accomplished what looked like a muscle twitch. She examined the other two's choice of outfits.
Han was dressed no different than any other day. But Leia wondered for a moment where Luke got his shirt. It was very sparkly, and probably looked great up on stage, and his boots were something different…were they hers…?
She didn't have a chance to continue that thought, because the show was starting.
The lights dimmed in the hall, and a spotlight appeared on stage. People began cheering as Wedge Antilles stepped onto the stage, illuminated by the spotlight. He raised a microphone to his lips, and the crowd fell silent in anticipation.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he began. "The moment you've all been waiting for. Let me introduce to you, The Rebels!"
The crowd went wild.
Antilles disappeared off the stage, and through the ensuing smoke and flashing lights, the four figures could be seen taking their places. Chewie sat at his drum set, Leia took the mic front and centre, and Luke and Han set themselves on either side of her.
Chewie counted them in, and the concert began.
The first song was a fairly normal song, to ease the crowd and the players in. Soon, though, everyone was into it. Leia sang her heart out and moved with the microphone stand as if she owned the stage, now quite comfortable. Luke was no longer worried about screwing up; he was grinning and nodding his head and using the Force to help him out. Han was jumping and doing the windmill with his arms, and Chewie played the drums like an animal possessed.
It was all coming back to Han. He was in his element. Now he remembered why he had gotten into music in the first place. He grinned at the wild, roaring crowd, feeling the adrenaline surge and the beat pound through his body. Everything was wild; the flashing coloured lights, the smoke that threatened to choke his lungs but he loved anyways, the people crowd surfing, the crazy girls at the front of the stage reaching out to touch him, Darth Vader coming down from the ceiling, cape swirling around him with his arms held out, basking in the drowning roar, a guitar slung across his body –
Han jerked his head up in shock. There was no Darth Vader. Looking around, no one seemed to have noticed anything strange. The crowd roared on, and the band continued to play. He shook his head, trying to clear it. Damn smoke, he thought, and went right on playing.
A few hours later, the excitement had dwindled down, and so had the crowd. The Rebels now played a slow love ballad, and some of the couples slow danced on the floor. The pace was a welcome break for everyone, especially the band. Leia's throat was beginning to hurt, but she still sung the words beautifully. Han and Luke strummed calmly, and Chewie lightly tapped out a beat.
By the end of the night, the crowd was gone, the food was gone, Leia's voice was gone – but morale had been restored.
And The Rebels lived on.
A/N: I hoped you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! And I just had to put that in about Luke's boots – seriously, they look like platform boots. Big in the '70s…big in Star Wars? Oh, and the first thing that came to my mind when I saw Leia: what is she wearing? Reviews are appreciated!