Worst Vacation Ever
Chapter Four
A star destroyer. Really?
Han lowered his blaster and looked at his wife. Pulling the sheet a little more tightly around her breasts, she stepped forward, every bit the princess. Only Leia could achieve that kind of dignity wearing nothing but a bedsheet, Han thought proudly. With his free hand he hitched his trousers up a little higher on his hips. Going commando had its disadvantages.
"What's your name?" Leia asked the young creature gently.
"El'd'rad," the young man answered, keeping his eyes carefully averted. Good choice, Han thought.
"El'd'rad, how do you know there's a star destroyer orbiting your world?" Leia stepped past Han, the sheet dragging on the floor behind her, and looked out the door and up into the night sky. It was unlikely that the destroyer would be visible to the naked eye, but if El'd'rad looked up and pointed, at least they'd know that this was probably a case of mistaken identifying and could then proceed accordingly.
"Because traffic control saw it on the sensors," El'd'rad replied, an edge of disdain lurking in his meek tone.
"Have they identified themselves?"
"No. And they don't answer Control's hails, either."
A star destroyer. An unidentified star destroyer, for kriff's sake! Han rubbed his hand along the back of his neck. It could be anybody, he realized—a rogue warlord, a rogue imperial crew, a rogue admiral like Thrawn. Did Black Sun have star destroyers? And what could any of them want from a sleepy little world like Eliantis? Kashyyyk was close by, and there were always groups who wanted to subjugate the Wookiees. Good luck with that, he thought. The Wookiees were done with subjugation. Han supposed he should comm Chewie, though, just in case.
Then there was the possibility that some group that currently didn't like the new government knew that Minister Leia Organa-Solo and General (ret.) Han Solo were vacationing on Eliantis. Han didn't like that idea for so many reasons, starting and ending with the fact that it meant Leia could be in danger. And he didn't have access to the Falcon, another mark in the not-so-good column. But sending a star destroyer for two nearly naked people? That seemed like overkill to him. He wondered if Eliantis harbored a cache of secret superweapons. Or, maybe the crew of the destroyer was here for the grass wine and resort facilities, just like he and Leia were. He gave a mental shrug; anything was possible.
Oh, hells!
"If you're governor is on top of this, why do you need me and my wife?" Han asked finally, posing what he thought was a very reasonable question.
"Your wife, Princess Leia Organa is—"
"Organa-Solo," Han corrected.
"Princess Organa-Solo," El'd'rad amended smoothly, "is a famous honored-person. She has ended many wars, and…"
And right now she's naked except for a bedsheet, and I had plans for getting rid of the sheet! His lips compressed to a thin line of disappointment before he covered his mouth with his hand.
"…you, honored-sir, are…" El'd'rad's voice faded to silence. He seemed unsure on how to define Han Solo.
Han dropped his hand to his side and his eyebrows drew together.
"Han," Leia touched him lightly on the arm." I think we should see what's going on, don't you?" Her eyes traveled down along his well-muscled torso to where his pants rode low on his hips. Her lips twitched. "And we should probably get dressed."
One eyebrow rose, a nonverbal oh really? Without another word, Han turned and stomped up the stairs.
"El'd'rad, would you mind waiting here while Captain Solo and I, er, get ready?" Leia asked. "Then you can take us to the governor."
"Yes, honored Princess Organa-Solo." The boy's eyes were focused on a point somewhere over Leia's head. At least he's a quick learner, she thought as she gathered the hem of her sheet in one small hand and followed Han up the stairs, polite, too.
####
The governor's office was a cramped, untidy space in a building adjacent to Eliantis' commercial space docks. Looking around, Leia thought it bore a strong resemblance to Han's office alcove in their flat. Datapads and flimsies covered most every horizontal surface and a partially-open drawer seemed to have exploded a mass of shipping orders, bills of lading, parts requisitions, and all the other bits of data that were necessary when it came to hauling freight. It was just like Han's office; the only things missing were the cookie crumbs. Han swore that the crumbs were courtesy of Jacen, who had a fondness for berry cookies, but Leia suspected that her husband's fondness for the treat was at least as great as that of her eldest son.
Governor F'as'seal ran a hand self-consciously through his silvery gray hair before he swept a stack of flimsies off a chair and invited Leia to sit down. Everyone else in the room, except for F'as'seal , remained standing. Leia pondered why El'd'rad and his mother were there, but she was clear on why the head of Eliantis' patrollers and the head of Traffic control were there.
"So," Leia began.
"What can you tell us about our visitors?" Han interrupted. He was leaning against a cabinet, arms crossed over his chest. His gaze was all business.
Leia smiled for a heartbeat, before her face once again assumed a look of competent concern. Her husband would never be a diplomat, but he could certainly cut to the heart of a matter.
"The star destroyer reached our space about six hours after you and the princess arrived, Captain," the governor said, with a heavy dose of accusation.
"Hey, we came here for a vacation, nothing more!" Han shot back.
"Han," Leia interjected. "Let's let them finish telling us what happened, okay?"
Han didn't look happy, but he seemed willing to hold his tongue. For the moment.
"I tried hailing them, but I received no response," the controller picked up the story.
"What does his transponder say?" Han asked. So much for holding his tongue.
"There is no transponder signal!" the controller exclaimed, "but the sensors clearly show a star destroyer. That's why I contacted the governor."
"Pirates?" Leia asked, twisting in her seat to look at her husband.
"Even a pirate knows enough to send out a transponder code. A false code, but something to keep the locals from getting suspicious." Han looked puzzled. "But no pirate's got a star destroyer. Black Sun?" Han countered.
Leia shuddered. "I hate the thought of a Falleen with a star destroyer."
Han's answering nod was grim. "I don't know if that would be better or worse than a rogue warlord."
The small room grew silent. Finally Governor F'as'seal breathed out a heavy sigh.
"It appears I was mistaken," he said contemptuously. "Apparently the great princess and her consort can't help us after all."
"Now wait just a minute! Nobody talks about Leia that way!" Han sprang forward; only a quick grab by Leia kept him from taking an admittedly well-deserved swing at Governor F'as'seal.
"Han, let's just go back…" Leia began.
"What about the star destroyer?" he asked her. "A star destroyer is never good."
"It's your fault that it is here!" El'd'rad cried out suddenly.
"What are you talking about?" Han asked him.
"You killed her!" the young man shouted, striding forward till he stood toe-to-toe with the Corellian.
"What are you talking about?" he repeated. Honest confusion replaced the honest anger on Han's face. "Who?"
"My mother!"
Both Han and Leia turned to stare at the older woman in the room. "Then who are you?" Leia asked her bluntly. Her diplomatic skills seemed to have deserted her as the situation traveled to the far side of unbelievable.
"I'm his aunt. But I've raised El'd'rad since he was an infant. I doubt he remembers his mother." She paused and seemed to look inward. "My sister left him with me when she went to join the pilgrims on Ylesia." She heaved a sigh of resignation for things long past. "I never could understand how she could leave her child."
Ylesia! Han groaned internally. Was there no way that unpleasant piece of his life was ever going to be left behind? Still, he'd never murdered anybody. "I didn't kill your mother, kid. I'm sure of that."
"She died during that raid!" El'd'rad was almost crying now.
A lot of innocent people had died during that raid. Leia reached out and squeezed Han's hand.
"I'm sorry, kid," was all Han could say.
"But what has any of this got to do with a star destroyer orbiting my planet?" Governor F'as'seal demanded.
The door slid open and a small, slender woman slipped in.
"Young El'd'rad is smarter than he looks," she said. "That's my ship; he called me."
"And who are you?" Han growled.
"I'm Lian Greelanx; you killed my father."
Oh, hells!