Faded Glory
Summary: Tales from Han's childhood to adulthood.
A/N: This is my attempt at explaining and exploring Han Solo. It is a companion piece to Reflections; you don't have to read it first, but it is the basis for this story. I would advise it. I've taken almost that entire story and dispersed it into this one. I really was only planning on stopping there, but I got a bunch of reviews telling me that I should do a multi-chapter story. I had nothing in mind so I kind of brushed off the idea…but it seems my muse didn't, and before I knew it I had the whole thing planned out and all the pieces falling in perfectly. So, many thanks to you guys; you're the reason this story exists! I'm quite pleased with the way this turned out. I hope you agree and enjoy it too. Note: I am taking many creative liberties with this story, and I'm working strictly with what I've seen in the movies.
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars!
Prologue
"I want that one."
Though the statement came from such a young boy, it carried with it a definite tone, as if he were not only four years of age, but older and sure of everything in life. It also bore a hint of childlike determination.
He pressed his face to the window, gazing at the toy in the store with such an intense stare, perhaps he hoped he might be able to spirit the toy through the glass.
She was beautiful, he decided. Actually, as soon as he'd glimpsed the sleek, crescent shaped ship, he knew that he didn't just want the toy.
He wanted the real thing. He wanted to fly the real thing.
He was going to fly the real thing. Sometime. It was probably the one thing in his life that he was sure of. To an adult, it would've seemed like a childish fantasy, an obsession. But Han Solo, with stubbornness abound for such a young person, knew that it wasn't just a flight of fancy.
"Ah, you have an eye for ships." A man had sidled up next to Han and stared into the store. "A Corellian YT-1300. Good choice."
Han looked back up at the man, who smiled in a friendly matter back at him. Han said plainly: "I'm gonna get that ship."
"Oh?" the man smiled, humouring the child. "Have you asked for it as a gift?"
"No." Han turned back to the window and said matter-of-factly, "I'm gonna get a real one. And I'm gonna fly it. I wanna be a pilot."
Obi Wan smiled at the young boy who so earnestly wanted that freighter. But something in the Force tugged at his mind as he observed the boy. The boy was not Force sensitive, no, but something in his adamant words told Obi Wan that, without a doubt, he would fulfil them. With this realization he studied the boy curiously, probing him slightly with the Force when a woman appeared next to the boy.
She smiled shyly at Obi Wan, but grabbed the boy's hand and said, "Come along, Han. Everyone else has left already. It's nearly lunchtime." She herded the protesting boy from the window, chiding him, "You stare at it every week Han. Do you really need to see it again?"
Obi Wan Kenobi watched the two disappear down the street, getting the strange sense that not only would Han own and fly that particular ship, but that he was to play a large role in the future of the galaxy, and that they were destined to cross paths again.
Obi Wan shook himself. It seemed incredibly far-fetched, but then again, the Force never lied…