Decisions
Prologue
Han Solo turned on the light of his one-room apartment on Coruscant and immediately regretted it. He had forgotten how he had left it a complete mess with open storage containers and clothes, both his old spacer grab and new, professional clothes littered about the room. With all he had going on in his life at the moment, what possessed him to bring all of his belongings from the Millennium Falcon? Now that his professional life was in order, maybe it was an attempt to reorganize his personal life? Whatever the reason, he was too tired to try to figure it out at the moment.
He removed his dark overcoat, wet from the rain and hung it up on the back of one of the chairs around a small table that was currently being utilized as his desk. Stepping cautiously over the cluttered floor, he discarded the casual dark green jacket he had been wearing. Resisting the urge to throw it in the ever-increasing pile of clothes, he hung it in the undersized closet.
After removing his shoulder holster, he dropped it and the small blaster it contained on the corner of his bed and worked his way back to the table and chairs. Han sat in the chair without the damp coat and yawned as he kicked off his low boots. He really didn't want to know the time but looked at his chronometer anyway.
0200
Han yawned again. He had been on the go since 0600 that morning was in desperate need of sleep.
Correction – since 0600 yesterday morning.
Reaching across the table, Han picked up one of the many datapads scattered across its top. The screen lit up and Han studied his schedule for the day. He was relieved to see he wasn't due for a class at the academy until 1100 hours and the rest of his morning was free.
Good.
He could sleep a little longer than usual but not much. He still had to use that time to study the files he had been given to review. No problem, Han knew a few hours of sleep and he would be able to focus again.
Although…as tired as he was, Han had doubts he would be able to fall asleep quickly.
About five hours ago, he had been called to the medical center to assist in an investigation. Han translated Ryl as a young Twi'lek rape victim told her story. He was in complete agreement with the lead investigator, Lieutenant Jolene Kensen. There was something more to the story. While the victim wasn't able to tell much about her assailant, it was obvious that other family members knew or suspected more. The father was too vague in his answers, leading both Han and Lt. Kensen to suspect that perhaps the father was involved in some sort of criminal activity and his daughter was paying the price.
Han shook his head at the thought of what that poor girl was going through but this was Jolene's case and he knew she would not let go until she had all the answers. They had been introduced a few weeks ago and in that short period of time, Han had developed the utmost respect for Jolene Kensen… well, Han knew he would never want to be on her bad side.
He looked around the room at the chaos. He knew it was all his own doing but it wasn't doing much for his mood. Han briefly considered renting a housekeeping droid to help him out but he had enough expenses at the moment. There was the rent for this place, all he spent on suits and other nice civilian clothing, payments on his new airspeeder and docking fees for the Falcon. Docking fees. Han picked up his datapad again and typed "Find cheaper docking bay" to his To Do list. Rolling his eyes, Han thought, "Since when do I need a To Do list? Things have certainly changed."
Regardless of what happened earlier or what was on the list, he had to at least try to get to sleep. He stood up and stumbled his way to the bed, tripping over a duffle bag on the floor.
Han picked up the bag and tossed it onto the now vacant chair. As the bag landed, a small box fell out and tumbled across the floor, stopping at Han's feet.
He froze when he saw it.
That little box contained Han's dreams for the future. Or at least they had been his dreams before returning to Coruscant. Now, he wasn't so sure.
Han slowly bent down and picked up the small dark blue velvet box. He opened it and stared at its contents. Closing his eyes, he snapped the box shut and held it tightly in his fist.
Why did this part of his life have to be so complicated?
Thoughts of the past six weeks flashed through Han's mind, along with the corresponding emotions. The last thought lingering on Princess Leia Organa.
Han opened his eyes and looked at the box again.
Now he had another decision to make.