I really wasn't planning on posting this story just yet, but... Well, there's no time like the present, right? :) It's been going along so well and its been a while since I've published something for real, so I figured I might as well. This is my second foray into the original trilogy and the EU, with my own creative little twist thrown in for good measure. I will warn you beforehand: This particular story is AU. Most of what I'm focusing on is speculation, and the rest is creative license.
So, without further ado, I give you Seasons: Knife's Edge
Chapter One
In all honesty, it had started out as a normal day. Leia recalled just hours earlier the way she'd massaged her temples against the threat of an oncoming headache, and then her husband's voice was behind her and his hands were doing the massaging…. Now, she felt like she was in a completely different day, maybe a completely different body, if that made any sense. She sighed heavily and looked away from the cup of caf in front of her, disgusted. The room was mostly quiet, if it could even be called a room. The Millennium Falcon did not boast many rooms- besides the captain's quarters, which were put to good use. She smiled a little, thinking about what Han would no doubt want to do in that room later. Even so, the day had taken a direct one-eighty turn, and her head was still spinning from the motion.
"I think there's another Jedi out there," Han had announced suddenly, disrupting the all-too peaceful silence that had taken over her office that morning. She'd found a lull between all the paperwork awaiting her signature, and had taken advantage of the mini-break with a two minute head massage. Han hadn't helped much after that, and by the time Leia had actually found a spare second to glance at her wrist chrono, a whole half hour had passed.
She'd raised one brow at him, an action she had learned from her father and perfect in the years before she was elected to the Imperial Senate- it had helped push her point across to disgruntled committees many times before, but it never did seem to work on her thick-headed husband. Han had a knack for that, taking her best withering looks and turning a well-practice smolder that would make a lesser woman swoon. Not that Leia could deny the weak feeling in her knees whenever he did that…
But this time, he'd been completely serious. His mouth was set in a firm line, and there was a hard glint in his eyes she had learned to translate as determination. There were precious few times Leia actually found herself speechless; she could count on one hand the few times there had been no words to follow up another sentient's phrasing, and most of them had been incurred by Han himself.
"Oh," she finally managed, staring at him somewhere between dumbfounded and amused. The two emotions blurred together, and she shook her head as if it could help distinguish one from the other. "And what makes you think that?"
Han crossed to the other side of her desk, placing one hand on the chair opposite her so it swiveled in a lazy circle. "I heard a rumor- a thread of a rumor, really- about a man living on the far reaches of the Outer Rim. I'm not saying I fully believe it, sweetheart, but it looks like this guy saved a couple of villages from a monsoon with his bare hands."
"A monsoon?" Her brow rose again, and Han winced slightly. Leia folded her arms on the desktop and leaned forward. "That seems a little far-fetched, don't you think?"
"Maybe," Han counted, turning the chair again and sitting down. "But you've seen what Luke can do. I don't see a reason why this can't be legitimate."
She nodded slowly, looking out at the cityscape just beyond her office windows. Thinking back on what she'd seen her brother do… It all did border on the supernatural. Leia re-met her husband's gaze. "Suppose this is true- which I'm not saying it is- and there is another Jedi out there? What do you want to do about it?"
"Luke would want us to look into it, I'm thinking."
"But you didn't tell him, did you?" Her brow lifted again, and Han smirked.
"Naw; there's no sense in worrying Luke over a wild-goose chase. I'm thinking we can head to Glee Anselm and be back within two weeks. It'd be like a mini-vacation for you and me."
"I suppose…" A vacation did sound nice; with all the treaties needing signed and meetings to attend, Leia had trouble remembering just the last time she had spent a day- even an hour- all to herself. "A wild goose-chase, huh? This isn't the first time some rumor has cropped up about a possible Jedi out there. What makes you think this is the real deal?"
Han nodded slowly. "This one doesn't have all the glitz those other stories. A guy stopped a monsoon with his bare hands, end of story. There's nothing spectacular about it, and no one got a good look at it. Whoever he is, if he exists, he doesn't want to be found."
"But you'll find him?" She smiled and his eyes lit up, her heart fluttering in reply. And then, before she had fully registered anything, Han was already making preparations. Or, he had already made preparations. All that was left was for Leia herself to pack a small traveling case of necessities for the trip, and they'd set off. All of it had been a complete whirlwind, which is where she found herself shaking off the last strain of a possible headache in the center cabin overlooking the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon.
Han and Chewie were oddly silent, although Chewie growled occasionally in soft tones and Han would reply with a low mutter or curse. Leia smiled in spite of herself; since marrying the rogue three years earlier, Han had calmed down considerably with his flying habits. Sure, he enjoyed taking his ship out for a good ride once in a while, but she thought home life suited him more than he openly admitted. Glancing down at her still flat stomach, she hoped he would permanently settle down with her once and for all.
"We're still three days out, Leia," Han said, glancing over his shoulder at her. In the dim light of the cockpit, he looked worn and old. She frowned a little- they hadn't aged that much, had they? Although, he was a good five years older than she; and the war hadn't stopped with the Emperor's death. There were still many Imperial supporters out there, and even though Lando had a full armada at his disposal, the clean-up still took a toll on all of them.
"That's good to hear." She dumped the remains of the caf down the disposal chute- Han would call that a waste, but she wasn't in the mood for a stimulant now. "Wonder if Luke is holding up okay?"
"Luke will be fine." If there was one person Leia knew she never had to worry about, it was her older brother. She smiled a little, thinking of when she'd first met the green-behind-the-ears farm boy. He'd come a long way since then, and she couldn't be prouder. It didn't matter that she was the younger of them- in a way, she'd always felt responsible for her brother, and even later for Han too. Maybe it came with being a woman.
Walking over into the cockpit, making certain to step down through the doorway- she couldn't begin to count the many times she had tripped over that doorway- Leia placed her hands on her husband's shoulders and rubbed. "Relax; you're too tense. This is a vacation, remember?"
"As far as everyone else knows, it is." He grinned up at her, though it lacked his usual suave look. Beside him, Chewie growled softly, and Han looked briefly annoyed. "Alright, fine, we'll leave you be. Let me know if anything gets weird."
Chewie nodded his head but remained silent. Han flipped one more switch and then stood up, and Leia let her hands drop away. Just as quickly, Han caught her left wrist and pulled her close. Brushing a light kiss to her temple, he motioned for her to go ahead of him, and they left the cockpit.
"You still think this is a foolhardy trip?" Han asked as they walked into the small captain's quarters, the door swishing shut behind them. He fumbled with his belt for a moment and then tossed it aside.
Leia turned with a smile, slowly undoing the buttons on her blouse. "Not a chance, if it means I can spend some one-on-one time with you."
Han's smile was gentle as he folded her in his arms. Leia closed her eyes contentedly, feeling the deep rhythmic beating of his heart. She hummed once, and his hold tightened around her. "Yeah, this is nice. Remind me to come up with these vacations more often."
Leia tipped her head back to look back at him; before she could reply, Han captured her lips in a kiss. After several breathless moments, he pulled back and brushed away a lock of her hair. "What say you and I take this elsewhere?" He waggled his brows comically, and she laughed.
"Alright then, my nerf-herder…." She tugged on his vest toward the bed, her legs bumping against the side of the bunk.
Han shook his head with a smile. "Never thought I'd hear that title again, sweetheart."
And that was the last words either spoke for several hours.
Landing on Glee Anselm was beyond difficult, and even from the far side of the Falcon, Leia heard the more colorful side of her husband come out. She grimaced at a particularly nasty curse directed at the silent transmitter, already knowing Han had hung up with the air traffic officer. Chewie growled more than once in an attempt to pacify the Correllian, but Han wasn't finished.
"What right do they have to conduct a search before we land?" What followed was something too rapid even for Leia's trained ears, and she was especially sure she never wanted to have a direct translation. Glad C3PO had stayed behind for this trip, she started to the cockpit.
"Well, the Falcon is a registered smuggler ship as of three years ago," she countered. "How long will this take?"
"Too long," he muttered. Han angrily flipped the switches to cut off the main power system, relying on the emergency reserve to hold them in place while the second ship connected. A dull thunk resonated within the Falcon, and Leia winced slightly at the sound. Han continued his muttered curses, but thankfully not as loud so the men soon to board wouldn't hear.
It was all part of the new security system Leia had a hand in setting up immediately following the fall of the Empire. Most planets surrounding the Core already had a perfected security check for travelers either before or immediately following their landing on the planet. It had taken a few months, but the practice caught on with the rest of the planets swearing allegiance to the newly found Republic. It seemed some of the Outer Rim planets had adopted the practice as well.
Three came in all, and even though Leia knew Han would have preferred his favorite blaster on his hip, he'd met them unarmed. Their search only took minutes, as all three Nautolans were efficient. She was amazed at their size and the speed with which they conducted their work; at last, one nodded toward Han and the three exited as quietly as they'd come.
"Well, that was pleasant," she said, though a heavy silence met her words. Snapping her mouth shut, Leia turned back toward the captain's quarters to gather what few things they were taking ashore.
The remainder of the landing only took a few more minutes, and by the time the Falcon's repulsors died down, Han's mood had calmed considerably.
"Stay with the ship, Chewie. Leia and I are going down to find some accommodations, and then we'll be back." Han swung the leather bag over his shoulder and nodded to Leia. "Let's go."
Walking down the ramp, Leia stared out open-mouthed at nothing but water. The blue and green liquid stretched out as far as she could see, though she caught sight of several vehicles traveling quickly over the expanse. At Han's touch on her arm, she turned quickly and breathed out a small sigh of relief at the more welcome sight of land- or what appeared to be land.
The section she could see appeared to be a public landing strip, although it seemed not many off-worlders came to the backwater planet. The few ships gracing the strip with their presence were dingy at best; the men and women attending them looked as if they belonged more in the water than the open air. Among the multitude of Nautolans crowding the strip (not that there were many people out to begin with, Leia noted, as she fanned herself against the heat), she spotted the more colorful hues of Twi'leks, and the occasional pale and weary face of a humanoid. No one seemed particularly interested in either of them as they walked over to the closest group of Nautolans, though Leia shifted uncomfortably at the lewd gestures the bare-chested men gave her as they passed.
"Just ignore them, sweetheart," Han whispered, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. His other hand, she knew, would be resting on his blaster that he always kept in easy reach.
Passing by the group of men, Han quickly approached a lone Nautolan man who was leaning up against a stack of crates. He looked much the same as the others; bare-chested and large muscles that testified to years of work in the oceans of Glee Anselm. His skin color was a sharper green than the men behind them, and though he sported some of the traditional painting their kind was fond of, Leia noticed the scars covering his arms and back.
"Hey, excuse me," Han said, stepping right up to the man. The Nautolan looked up sharply, eyeing him as if the smuggler were somehow below his notice. "You know how we can get a ride to a hotel? My wife and I are newly arrived and-"
The man stood abruptly, easily towering over Han. Words died in Han's throat, and even Leia found herself scrambling for something to say.
"Whatever it is you are here for, you will not easily find it," the stranger said, his baritone voice sending shivers done Leia's spine. "You've come at a bad time; the harvest season is upon us, and we are not very welcoming to outsiders."
Han blinked once, twice, and then cleared his throat. "That's great and all, buddy, but I just wanted to know the way to the closest hotel. My wife is worn out from our trip, you know?"
The Nautolan's gaze flicked over Leia quickly, and she shifted. There was nothing uncomfortable about his gaze, but she shivered all the same. Something like raw power was held within, and perhaps other things akin to sorrow and regret. She shook off the old feeling, suddenly wishing Luke were here too. The man quickly rattled off an address, and though she was certain her husband had caught the exact wording, she cast an annoyed expression in the stranger's direction. He smiled a little, and Han offered a vague farewell.
They didn't look back, even when the man's gentle chuckle followed them.
The hotel was nice, Leia had to admit. It wasn't as luxurious as the ones she could have found in the Core, or even the Mid Rim, but Han did have a penchant for picking some odd places to stay. She smiled a little, thinking of their honeymoon trip and the…interesting experience they had enjoyed. Looking around at the plain walls, which she realized were actually painted a very pale blue, Leia decided she liked it. The room must have been decorated in traditional style of Glee Anselm, as all the furniture was very low to the ground. The bed was nothing more than a mattress situated in a cut-out hole in the floor, and the table was so low chairs would not have been able to fit. In their place, padded cushions were arranged neatly, and Leia thought it looked rather quaint.
"Well, isn't this nice?" Han grinned and turned to face her, arms spread out. "And, the best part is we've a whole week free of Chewie!"
Leia smiled just as wide. It wasn't that either of them had a problem with the wookie, but she was overly relieved when Chewbacca had volunteered to stay with the Falcon in the case any of the locals got too curious. Han had rented this room for a week, and it would be nice to have him all for herself.
"I've arranged a meeting with my contact for tomorrow morning, so that gives us some time to settle in." He waggled his brows at her, and Leia laughed. She honestly didn't know the last time she'd ever felt so relaxed.
"You know, I'm really glad we did this." She smiled, and Han's expression took on a gentler turn. He crossed the room and placed his hands on her waist. Leia lifted her arms to lean on his shoulders, and Han led them in a slow dance to music neither could hear.
"This makes me think of Tarcotla," he murmured in her ear. She shivered again, thinking back to that portion of their honeymoon.
"Hm, that was interesting, wasn't it?" Leia smiled into his shoulder. "We had a good time."
Han grinned. "And we'll have a better time here, right?"
She tipped her head back to look up at him. "Han… I guess now's as good a time as any to tell you something. I have big news."
His happy look faded, replaced by something serious. Nevertheless, Leia plowed on.
"I'm pregnant."