Chapter 1 - Who's to Blame?
"This is not my fault."
The lie slipped out of his mouth and evaporated into the dry desert air. Like a trust worthy friend that he could always rely on, those five words had become somewhat of a personal mantra over the years, finding their way into his readily accessible vocabulary whatever the situation. In most cases, the lack of the word 'entirely' was the only dishonesty he could be accused of. But this time, for the first time in his life, he knew the moment he said them that those five words were complete banthashit.
The explanation was a simple one: he had crashed the Falcon.
Han Solo was pretty damn sure of that.
He could see the consequences right in front of him through a bulging wall of smoke and sand, almost like a scene out of a holofilm. But the setting wasn't right. There was no brooding storm overhead to symbolise the terrible fate that had befallen the Falcon. He was not lamenting his loss in the cockpit as the captain who had gone down with his ship. He wasn't even on board. He was standing next to the Falcon, shielding his eyes from the glare of the mid-morning sun as if he had been a silent witness to the catastrophe. There was no etherial, melancholic music to emphasise the tragedy of the accident as he slowly walked towards the wreck. There had been no dramatic battle between good and evil before he had lost control and collided with the planet. He was no hero. Hell, he was probably as far from a hero as it was possible to be.
The armour plating on the back of the Falcon was crushed beyond recognition. The section of her underbelly that had scraped across the scraggly peaks of rock on the planet's surface had been ripped open as if it had been made of paper. One of the forward mandibles had snapped off to the side like a broken neck and about three quarters of the subspace-hyperdrive had been wrenched away from the mutilated craft, leaving a scattered trail of destruction and debris for about 10 miles though the desert .
Han reached out and touched the side of the Falcon.
"Don't worry baby. I'll get you fixed up." He promised as he walked along the side of his broken ship, his fingers tracing a crevice that had splintered its way down her side.
"We'll fly again in no time."
Ignoring the sinking feeling in his gut from the sight of his mangled ship, Han ducked into the shadow of the Millennium Falcon and thrust his comlink to his lips.
"Grey Four to Grey Leader. Come in Grey Leader."
The static that issued from the comlink seemed to saturate the air with a hollow drumroll. A solemn silence fell over the desert, hushing the creak of the ship, the flutter of the wind, the sizzle of the rock. Han stood as still as the scenery, digging his nails into the soft flesh of his palm, his breath rattling nervously in his throat.
"Come in Grey Leader."
It had always been about the money. Everyone involved in the heist knew that. They all knew that eventually the bonds between them would break and fists would fly and guns would blast and knives would stab. Trust that had never existed from the beginning would be officially declared 'lost' and they'd all fight each other until someone got lucky and took off with the loot. All of it. But not now. Not yet. Not before they'd even gotten off this godforsaken mynok hole of a planet.
"Come in Grey Leader."
Any agreement between criminals was like the finer mechanics of a bicycle: it ran smoothly amidst the oil and grease until the first kink in the chain. Han knew that. And the silence at the other end of the line was more than enough to send a spike of adrenaline into his bloodstream.
"Come in Grey Leader."
Two moments longer than it took for a cold sweat to break out across the back of his neck, a familiar voice rose out of the sea of static.
"… This… This is Grey Leader. Over."
Breathing a sigh of relief, Han all but yelled into the comlink.
"Raffa? This is Solo. I'm in troub-."
"This is Grey Leader. State your intention. Over."
"I… I… Raffa, the Falcon crashed and I-"
"This is Grey Leader. State your intention. Over."
"Raffa, I need help. I crash-"
"This is Grey Leader. Do you read me? Is anyone there? Over."
"It's me, you wampa's ass! It's Han Solo! Would you just-"
"This is Grey Leader signing off. Over and out."
"No! Listen! Raffa, I'm here! I… Hello?"
The thick stream of static issuing from his comlink announced the departure of his only contact back in the Capital. Vakeyya was at least a six day hike back the way he had come through the scorching desert of Socorro. Without help, Han would die of thirst before he could even glimpse the haze of the city over the endless sea of sand.
Han shook his head, clearing any sweat-drenched strands of hair from face before drawing the comlink back to his mouth.
"Grey Four to Grey Seven. Chewie? It's me. Come in Grey Seven."
"[Hello?]" The sound of his friend's familiar growl broke a smile across Han's face.
"Chewie! Chewie you gotta help me. The Falcon crashed and I couldn't get a hold of Raff-"
"[Is anyone there?]"
"Yes! It's me, its Han! I lost control of the Falcon. I'm strand-"
"[Hello?]"
"Chewie? Chewie, please tell me you can hear-"
"[Hello? Hello?]"
"Chewie…"
The crackle of dead air hit him like a blow from the grip of a blaster. Shoving the comlink back in his pocket, Han leant back onto his ship, trying to ignore the creaks and groans resonating from the heart of the craft. His palms pressed into his eyelids, dousing his vision with darkness and offering an escape from the past 20 time parts.
"This is not my fault."
"You can say that as many times as you want. If you don't believe it yourself, it will never be the truth."
Han's head snapped up, colliding painfully with the side of the Falcon. The sting from the blow did nothing to dull his surprise at the presence of the man standing before him.
"What. The. Hell."
Obi-Wan Kenobi smiled at the Corellian. "Hello there. Nice to see you again."
A/N Rediscovered this little story after abandoning it years ago. Gonna update and post it as I can. The Family Man meets Yu-Yu Hakusho meets It's a Wonderful Life meets Star Wars. Come along for the ride, it'll be fun!