A/N: Deepest apologies to all for not updating for quite some time... I got
distracted and had a minor writer's-block... but it's here now! Cheers to
everyone who I didn't know was reading this and kindly reviewed with the
last chapter.
And to wltdnfaded: thankyou so very much for your review... and I have taken into acount what you said, there will be a definate increase in Han- feelings for the rest of the story. Apologies that there haven't been that many up to now, but I love Han, and when I read stories, I like it when someone else is thinking about the main person, or if it is from the other person's point of view or whatever - either way, it was very selfish of me to think only of how I would like to read this fic... I have definately tweaked my writing, now, though!
Enjoy then, don;t forget to review!
**********
Han was jerked back into awareness by a curt punch to his jaw, it made his eyes swim with stars for a moment and he had to shake his head to get rid of them - this also served to worsen the head-ache that was beginning to form behind his eyes. It took another moment for him to collect his thoughts more clearly about him and realise that he was strapped to some unyielding surface at an almost vertical angle, and that he could barely move an inch. Han frowned at this odd feeling and opened his eyes properly, searching for some clue as to why he was in such a position, to try and find some reason he was in such a situation; he couldn't really remember all that clearly what had happened that made him get here, the only thing he knew for certain was that his nose was broken... again.
Solo found his answer standing right in front of him when he opened his eyes: Kal Purno.
The elder Corellian was just looking at him, his expression unreadable. "You're awake," he stated with no inflection in his tone.
"No kidding," Han muttered, glaring darkly at Kal. His mind suddenly lit upon something he hadn't previously thought of, and it scared him no end for some reason. "Where's Lei... lia?" he asked dangerously, stumbling over the false name in his anxiousness. He couldn't see much from his position - but the fact that he couldn't see her at all made something twist uncomfortably inside of him. "I swear to Kest, Purno, if you've laid so much as one finger on her I'll rip your nipples off." Han's viciousness surprised both men - he hadn't realised he cared that much about Leia... ~Don't mean I like her, though~ Han reminded himself suddenly.
Kal held out two large hands placatingly, "Relax, the lady's safe... Yann's watching her... it's you I want."
"Why?" Han frowned - he was unaware of any grudge or death wish with any Corellians of Kal's particular age-bracket held against him... but, having said that, Han managed to piss off a large majority of people without really meaning to - it was a gift. And he never really counted how many people and bounty hunters he should try to avoid at all costs... nevertheless, he was puzzled by what reason the elder Corellian had to break his nose and knock both him and the princess out.
"Ek jev'i'ko kenk'all, Solo," Kal said softly, slipping into their own tongue. 'I need revenge, Solo.'
Han's greeny-gold eyes narrowed and, deadly serious, he asked, "What for?" He knew vengence was something not to be taken lightly - a serious matter on all fronts. He may not have visisted his home planet for quite some years, but some traditions had been kept for millenias... the revenge issue was just one of many. One that he knew a little too well.
Kal stared at him for a moment or so before he answered, voice still quiet and toneless, "Kej bash'kyll eki vek'ra." 'You killed my father.'
Solo felt the bottom fall out of his stomach - he certainly knew his mouth had fallen open - and he stuttered a couple of times before finally managing to ask, "W-when?"
The stocker shrugged, gaze shifting away from Solo, "I think you were killing your *own* father at the time - you took out a whole load of crimelords and all those in the room with your father... my dad was one of them."
Han couldn't think, his mind was racing through the long-remembered actions he had recklessly taken that day, long ago. Had Kal's father been the one with deep red curls standing near the vat of brandy? The dark eyed one leaning against the door with his hand casually laid upon his blaster? The fairly young one with the typically Corellian colouring? He'd killed them all. He had murdered needlessly many innocent people that day, and he'd killed innocent people since then - this was a thought that had haunted him since - he'd killed innocent people whilst he himself was seeking vengeance for the needless deaths of his mother and younger brother at the hands of his da. His father had killed innocent people.
A horrifying question struck through his mind like a blaster bolt: was *he* like his da? He was of the same blood after all... perhaps he'd been given more than just his father's looks and name through that same blood...
Jaim Seth Solo had on occaision murdered people for money, something Han- Jaim had all too much experience with already for his relatiely young years; Jaim had killed members of his own family, Han had done so also, whether intentionally with his father or through (as he himself believed) neglect with Kain... in fact, all the things Han did: lie, gamble, pocrastinate, womanise, smuggle, kill, cheat, drink... his da had done before him. The thought of him treading the same path as the man he hated more than anything else in all the worlds abhorred Han till he felt sick, and the only thing he could find solace in, find some way to differ from his father, was that he had never, *ever* hit a woman in all his life... or a child for that matter, something that Jaim Seth Solo had done steadily throughout all of Han's childhood, and most probably before that as well.
Kal watched on as the thoughts Han was feeling visibly flashed across his face for all to see - this surprised the elder Corellian; he had heard that Solo was virtually unreadable, a completely guarded individual whom no one could crack, especially if he didn't want them to. But looking at him, Kal could see plainly the surges of guilt, horror, disgust, sadness, anger and disbelief that ran and shivered through the smuggler's handsome features... Kal's heart almost went out to the kid, because - for all his hard-man act and obvious street-toughened experience - Solo really was only a young man, a kid who had had to age quickly to even begin to compete and survive in the circumstances and enviroment he was born into. This was a strange thought, and not one Kal would have been likely to have had, had not Han's face, for just a second, looked like a young boy accused of something he knew he had done, but had not realised the consequences.
Han pulled himself together quickly however, and the familiar veil of protectiveness shrouded his feelings typically once more. He looked up and faced Kal, managing not to flinch as he did so. "I understand," he said, voice firm - and he did, he knew what Kal had to do; he'd done it himself in his past, more than once.
Kal nodded, heart still rebelling inside of him - the fact that Solo was fully accepting what was going to happen to him made the whole situation seem a lot worse somehow. The only thing Kal was relieved about was that he would not be beating Solo to within an inch of his life - he wouldn't torture him in the conventional method... he really rather wished he didn't have to torture the smuggler at all, and could just blast him through the head, but the bounty hunter, Odin'alro, was only willing to pay for a breathing Solo, but on the other hand was quite willing to let Purno do whatever he wanted to with him, just as long as the mercenary was still drawing breath when he was handed over. And so, Kal's only option was to torture Han... the bounty hunter would probably kill him later on anyways, or whoever had taken out the bounty on the smuggler's dark head.
So, it was with a sigh that he turned to one of the shelves, and picked up a large syringe. As the older Corellian was preparing the instrument, Han eyed it darkly... he had hated needles with a flaming passion ever since he was seventeen years old... but whatever Kal had to do, he had to do - Han believed he deserved anything the stocker threw at him. His greeny-gold gaze swept across his restricted line of vision, and something ached inside of him.
"Hey," he called softly, Kal turned to him, a dark brow raised. "Do you reckon I could have the little lady in here for a minute?" there was a foreign pleading note in his tone that his voice was not used to. But Han reckoned this to be the last time he'd have any connection with his friends, with his only family, for some time... possibly indefinately - whatever the Kest was in that syringe sure weren't meant for no joyful trip. He wanted someone to tell Avatella, Deacon, Chewie and Luke how he had died, what had happened... sure, Leia wouldn't have been his natural first-choice, but she was all he was left with.
Kal looked as though he were summing something up in his mind before he nodded and averted his gaze, setting down the syringe and making his way to the small, pre-fab office in the corner. Leilia looked up sharply as he entered, deep brown eyes once more ablaze - Kal noted with a bit of amusement that Yann's brilliant, shocking-blue eyes were huge with barely- surpressed terror and his skin was flushed a light blue in fear instead of it's natural, unblemished white. The petite woman looked like she could pack a punch or two.
"Solo wants to be talking with you," he said simply, avoiding her sharp gaze.
Leia's heart jumped - the tone Kal used was frightening, it seemed blank and without any emotion. She leapt up at once when her bonds were cut, but the Corellian caught her sharply by the arm, and then proceeded to lead her into the warehouse. Han was still tied to the flat table, leaning back from the floor. He looked up as much as he could when she entered, and Leia was a little shocked at the expression of defeat on his handsome face - he had obviously reacted badly to Kal's mildly-devastating information, but she hadn't expected that at all. She was so used to the flippant, arrogant, self-centred, half-cretin she usually dealt with - she hadn't expected him to feel all that guilty... at least, not as much as he was obviously feeling.
"Hey," he said, careful not to call her 'princess' in front of Purno. He swallowed, and then said, "So... it looks like I'll be sticking around here for a while - I reckon you'll be let go soon," with this, Han shot a glare at Kal, who just nodded his agreement - he had no grudge against Leilia. "So, if you could just let Chewie know that the Falcon's his... "
Leia nearly gasped, "No, Han... I'm not going to do that for you... in fact, *tell him yourself*!" This last command was spoken with amusement and her typically-scolding voice, masking her true feelings.
Han just grinned lop-sidedly and shook his dark head as much as he could, "Naw... you do it. And the kid... well - " Han couldn't say anything else, he didn't know what to say that wouldn't make him sound like a nostalgic moron in front of Leia... *not* that he would have done anyway - that's just not the guy he was... He cleared his throat uncomfortably, and came out with his default winning smile. "Tell 'em all I said something clever," he smirked.
Leia laughed despite herself and rolled her deep brown eyes, "I told you before that I wouldn't ever lie for you, I'm standing by that now. I'll tell the truth... I'll tell them all you said something real dumb."
"That'd be right," Han's smile faded slowly, as did Leia's, and he suddenly thought she had never looked more attractive than she did at that moment - a frown marred her perfect brows, and her huge brown eyes shone with anxiousness... anxiousness for him. The princess was anxious for him? He didn't understand, but he couldn't drag his eyes away from those looking so searchingly into his own.
Leia felt electricity rippling through her as Han's stare deepened, multi- hued iris' shifting in colour before her very eyes. Her heart was pounding heavily and painfully against her ribcage with the realisation that she might not see the smuggler again... that she might lose him. This futher confused the area of her mind that was already befuddled with every action the handsome pirate executed, and the feeling mixed with Ava's raised eyebrows and Leia's own secret amusement at the Corellian's antics. She did not know what made her do it, but she swiftly reached up and placed a soft, brief kiss upon the pilot's worn cheek, it was only really pressing her lips for less than a second against his cheekbone, but it thrust her into a world of maybe's and perplexing notions that she could not for the life of her begin to unravel. Her dark head immediately angled downwards as she broke away, trying in vain to hide her flushed cheeks.
Han's large eyes widened even further at this simple action but, unusually sensitive to the princess' obvious embarrassment for some reason, he only acknowledged the brave act by a nod of his head, and a small half-smile that fled from his face as soon as it had appeared.
Kal watched the two together, and his heart rebelled once again about what he was going to have to do - Solo was obviously well loved by a multitude of people, even if the smuggler himself did not know it. But the elder Corellian couldn't afford to let his mind dwell upon the unpleasant parts of what he must do, he just had to do it, there were no two ways about it. So he let Yann pull the Leilia away from the pilot's side, and tried his best to ignore the looks exchanged between the two. It was only when he was sure that Leilia was in the office and tied once more to the chair in the pre-fab office that he took up the syringe again.
The smuggler's wide eyes bored almost completely through him, as though Solo was capable of seeing the thoughts imprinted on his soul... Kal shook himself, that was impossible ~You're being ridiculous~ he scolded himself silently.
"She *will* be let go, won't she, Kal?" asked Han, his voice as soft as it ever became. This was of the uttmost importance to him, though he didn't know why... he didn't care if he were tortured or not, as long as the princess got out of it okay. He felt as though it was his fault, he had dragged her to meet the contacts all because he wanted to put a little distance between her and Deacon.
Kal nodded, "Yeah, we'll let her go before the bounty hunter gets here; knowing your friends she's probably got a price on her head and all." Han found it very hard to hold his tongue just then, only just managing to keep the grin from his face ~If only Kal knew~ But the elder Corellian didn't seem to notice and just continued, " -but we can't have her going too early and returning with a surplus of blasters, can we? So, we'll time it or something."
Han nodded, "Seems decent. And... what's the deal with this... needle, then?" The sight of the instrument made him feel very nervous, he had bad memories of them.
"Well, I did a little research on you when I discovered it had been you who had killed my dad," Kal noticed that Han winced slightly when he said the last part. "And, you seem to have been captured, and tortured, and plied for information, and used as demonstrations, quite a fair bit in your life already."
"Yeah," Han sighed hugely with mock-melancholy, "I seem to be a magnet for guys with grudges."
"Uh-huh, and in most of these incidents, heavy physical violence has been used: nerf-prodders, metal bats and poles, electro-whips, fists and boots, branding irons - you name it, and you've had it applied to you."
"Well, I don't like to brag about it..." Han grinned.
Kal snorted and shook his head, "Yeah, well, there are two reasons I'm using this needle instead of beating you into a pulp with a shelving-slat: one is that I reckon you've been mashed so many times that your hides pretty thick, and it won't mean all that much to you anyway if you get *another* beating, and two is that I don't like hurting people, all I'm wanting is my grudge to be paid, but to do that and get some extra cash I have to get you as close to death as possible without nudging you over. In this syringe I've got Kem'apizin, which I'm sure you've heard of; it's the base of most known drugs - mix it with however much of whatever else and you'll get vastly varied results, but on it's own, it will render you in the deepest, most untouchable unconsciousness you can get without kicking the garbage chute. It slows the heart right down, makes sure you barely even breathe, and puts a sort of... death-hold on the brain, only you know what's going on. It'll be like you're dreaming, except not, you get me?"
Han swallowed, and tried to force a smile, "Loud and clear... and how long will the deep-sleep last for?" His heart was pumping about a katchillion times faster than normal, he reckoned.
"Until something else gets into your bloodstream that will pull you out of it. Kem'apizin reacts with any other chemical in the galaxy, so if you get a shot of something - I reckon this Odin'alro character'll need to bring you out of the unconsciousness to collect his bounty - then it'll just feel like you're on some sort of drug. Depends on the secondary drug as to what sorta trip you'll have."
"Magical," Han muttered gloomily. He hadn't touched any drugs at all for years, since he was seventeen, and didn't appreciate being forced to start now.
Kal moved closer, syringe in hand, chamber filled with concentrated Kem'apizin, and gave the smuggler an apologetic look. His heart was almost burning through his own chest: he'd never done anything like this before, he had a family, kids, a business, an apprentice... he didn't like what had to be done at all. "Look, I am sorry, Solo, but you know how it is."
Han would have waved away this apology had he been able to move his arms, "Forget about it, I know why you're doing it, and it's fair enough - just as long as you get Leilia out of the way as soon as you can, got it?" He fixed his fairly-intimidating glare upon the stocker, as if daring him to go back on his words, but Purno managed to hold his gaze.
"Got it," Kal finally smiled and nodded. He moved forward, coming into contact with the pirate. Han seemed to have calmed completely, as though he wasn't afraid any longer of what was going to happen to him. He did, however, visibly steel himself as Kal slid the needle swiftly through the tanned skin where his neck met his shoulders, directly into the main vein. The stocker drew some blood into the chamber before pushing the plunger down fully, and forcing the chemical into Solo's bloodstream. The drug would take less than a second to get to Solo's brain - Corellians, with their fast metabolism, had enlarged blood vessels like veins and arteries, and standard-litres more blood. In order to cope with the extra strain, their hearts were huge, Corellian hearts were a lot larger than any normal humanoids' (filling up about a third of their chest cavities) and the vast muscles were incredibly strong, pumping the blood around their barely-ever still bodies faster than any other races'. This was one of the net of reasons why a large portion of drug-users in the galaxy were Corellians: they got the best highs, they could experience things that other races couldn't, all down to the huge, beating hearts they had. Han was a Corellian, that's why his eyes rolled back at once and his head fell with a thump onto his chest.
And from that point on he was dead to the worlds until someone released him.
********** Please review, what do you think?
And to wltdnfaded: thankyou so very much for your review... and I have taken into acount what you said, there will be a definate increase in Han- feelings for the rest of the story. Apologies that there haven't been that many up to now, but I love Han, and when I read stories, I like it when someone else is thinking about the main person, or if it is from the other person's point of view or whatever - either way, it was very selfish of me to think only of how I would like to read this fic... I have definately tweaked my writing, now, though!
Enjoy then, don;t forget to review!
**********
Han was jerked back into awareness by a curt punch to his jaw, it made his eyes swim with stars for a moment and he had to shake his head to get rid of them - this also served to worsen the head-ache that was beginning to form behind his eyes. It took another moment for him to collect his thoughts more clearly about him and realise that he was strapped to some unyielding surface at an almost vertical angle, and that he could barely move an inch. Han frowned at this odd feeling and opened his eyes properly, searching for some clue as to why he was in such a position, to try and find some reason he was in such a situation; he couldn't really remember all that clearly what had happened that made him get here, the only thing he knew for certain was that his nose was broken... again.
Solo found his answer standing right in front of him when he opened his eyes: Kal Purno.
The elder Corellian was just looking at him, his expression unreadable. "You're awake," he stated with no inflection in his tone.
"No kidding," Han muttered, glaring darkly at Kal. His mind suddenly lit upon something he hadn't previously thought of, and it scared him no end for some reason. "Where's Lei... lia?" he asked dangerously, stumbling over the false name in his anxiousness. He couldn't see much from his position - but the fact that he couldn't see her at all made something twist uncomfortably inside of him. "I swear to Kest, Purno, if you've laid so much as one finger on her I'll rip your nipples off." Han's viciousness surprised both men - he hadn't realised he cared that much about Leia... ~Don't mean I like her, though~ Han reminded himself suddenly.
Kal held out two large hands placatingly, "Relax, the lady's safe... Yann's watching her... it's you I want."
"Why?" Han frowned - he was unaware of any grudge or death wish with any Corellians of Kal's particular age-bracket held against him... but, having said that, Han managed to piss off a large majority of people without really meaning to - it was a gift. And he never really counted how many people and bounty hunters he should try to avoid at all costs... nevertheless, he was puzzled by what reason the elder Corellian had to break his nose and knock both him and the princess out.
"Ek jev'i'ko kenk'all, Solo," Kal said softly, slipping into their own tongue. 'I need revenge, Solo.'
Han's greeny-gold eyes narrowed and, deadly serious, he asked, "What for?" He knew vengence was something not to be taken lightly - a serious matter on all fronts. He may not have visisted his home planet for quite some years, but some traditions had been kept for millenias... the revenge issue was just one of many. One that he knew a little too well.
Kal stared at him for a moment or so before he answered, voice still quiet and toneless, "Kej bash'kyll eki vek'ra." 'You killed my father.'
Solo felt the bottom fall out of his stomach - he certainly knew his mouth had fallen open - and he stuttered a couple of times before finally managing to ask, "W-when?"
The stocker shrugged, gaze shifting away from Solo, "I think you were killing your *own* father at the time - you took out a whole load of crimelords and all those in the room with your father... my dad was one of them."
Han couldn't think, his mind was racing through the long-remembered actions he had recklessly taken that day, long ago. Had Kal's father been the one with deep red curls standing near the vat of brandy? The dark eyed one leaning against the door with his hand casually laid upon his blaster? The fairly young one with the typically Corellian colouring? He'd killed them all. He had murdered needlessly many innocent people that day, and he'd killed innocent people since then - this was a thought that had haunted him since - he'd killed innocent people whilst he himself was seeking vengeance for the needless deaths of his mother and younger brother at the hands of his da. His father had killed innocent people.
A horrifying question struck through his mind like a blaster bolt: was *he* like his da? He was of the same blood after all... perhaps he'd been given more than just his father's looks and name through that same blood...
Jaim Seth Solo had on occaision murdered people for money, something Han- Jaim had all too much experience with already for his relatiely young years; Jaim had killed members of his own family, Han had done so also, whether intentionally with his father or through (as he himself believed) neglect with Kain... in fact, all the things Han did: lie, gamble, pocrastinate, womanise, smuggle, kill, cheat, drink... his da had done before him. The thought of him treading the same path as the man he hated more than anything else in all the worlds abhorred Han till he felt sick, and the only thing he could find solace in, find some way to differ from his father, was that he had never, *ever* hit a woman in all his life... or a child for that matter, something that Jaim Seth Solo had done steadily throughout all of Han's childhood, and most probably before that as well.
Kal watched on as the thoughts Han was feeling visibly flashed across his face for all to see - this surprised the elder Corellian; he had heard that Solo was virtually unreadable, a completely guarded individual whom no one could crack, especially if he didn't want them to. But looking at him, Kal could see plainly the surges of guilt, horror, disgust, sadness, anger and disbelief that ran and shivered through the smuggler's handsome features... Kal's heart almost went out to the kid, because - for all his hard-man act and obvious street-toughened experience - Solo really was only a young man, a kid who had had to age quickly to even begin to compete and survive in the circumstances and enviroment he was born into. This was a strange thought, and not one Kal would have been likely to have had, had not Han's face, for just a second, looked like a young boy accused of something he knew he had done, but had not realised the consequences.
Han pulled himself together quickly however, and the familiar veil of protectiveness shrouded his feelings typically once more. He looked up and faced Kal, managing not to flinch as he did so. "I understand," he said, voice firm - and he did, he knew what Kal had to do; he'd done it himself in his past, more than once.
Kal nodded, heart still rebelling inside of him - the fact that Solo was fully accepting what was going to happen to him made the whole situation seem a lot worse somehow. The only thing Kal was relieved about was that he would not be beating Solo to within an inch of his life - he wouldn't torture him in the conventional method... he really rather wished he didn't have to torture the smuggler at all, and could just blast him through the head, but the bounty hunter, Odin'alro, was only willing to pay for a breathing Solo, but on the other hand was quite willing to let Purno do whatever he wanted to with him, just as long as the mercenary was still drawing breath when he was handed over. And so, Kal's only option was to torture Han... the bounty hunter would probably kill him later on anyways, or whoever had taken out the bounty on the smuggler's dark head.
So, it was with a sigh that he turned to one of the shelves, and picked up a large syringe. As the older Corellian was preparing the instrument, Han eyed it darkly... he had hated needles with a flaming passion ever since he was seventeen years old... but whatever Kal had to do, he had to do - Han believed he deserved anything the stocker threw at him. His greeny-gold gaze swept across his restricted line of vision, and something ached inside of him.
"Hey," he called softly, Kal turned to him, a dark brow raised. "Do you reckon I could have the little lady in here for a minute?" there was a foreign pleading note in his tone that his voice was not used to. But Han reckoned this to be the last time he'd have any connection with his friends, with his only family, for some time... possibly indefinately - whatever the Kest was in that syringe sure weren't meant for no joyful trip. He wanted someone to tell Avatella, Deacon, Chewie and Luke how he had died, what had happened... sure, Leia wouldn't have been his natural first-choice, but she was all he was left with.
Kal looked as though he were summing something up in his mind before he nodded and averted his gaze, setting down the syringe and making his way to the small, pre-fab office in the corner. Leilia looked up sharply as he entered, deep brown eyes once more ablaze - Kal noted with a bit of amusement that Yann's brilliant, shocking-blue eyes were huge with barely- surpressed terror and his skin was flushed a light blue in fear instead of it's natural, unblemished white. The petite woman looked like she could pack a punch or two.
"Solo wants to be talking with you," he said simply, avoiding her sharp gaze.
Leia's heart jumped - the tone Kal used was frightening, it seemed blank and without any emotion. She leapt up at once when her bonds were cut, but the Corellian caught her sharply by the arm, and then proceeded to lead her into the warehouse. Han was still tied to the flat table, leaning back from the floor. He looked up as much as he could when she entered, and Leia was a little shocked at the expression of defeat on his handsome face - he had obviously reacted badly to Kal's mildly-devastating information, but she hadn't expected that at all. She was so used to the flippant, arrogant, self-centred, half-cretin she usually dealt with - she hadn't expected him to feel all that guilty... at least, not as much as he was obviously feeling.
"Hey," he said, careful not to call her 'princess' in front of Purno. He swallowed, and then said, "So... it looks like I'll be sticking around here for a while - I reckon you'll be let go soon," with this, Han shot a glare at Kal, who just nodded his agreement - he had no grudge against Leilia. "So, if you could just let Chewie know that the Falcon's his... "
Leia nearly gasped, "No, Han... I'm not going to do that for you... in fact, *tell him yourself*!" This last command was spoken with amusement and her typically-scolding voice, masking her true feelings.
Han just grinned lop-sidedly and shook his dark head as much as he could, "Naw... you do it. And the kid... well - " Han couldn't say anything else, he didn't know what to say that wouldn't make him sound like a nostalgic moron in front of Leia... *not* that he would have done anyway - that's just not the guy he was... He cleared his throat uncomfortably, and came out with his default winning smile. "Tell 'em all I said something clever," he smirked.
Leia laughed despite herself and rolled her deep brown eyes, "I told you before that I wouldn't ever lie for you, I'm standing by that now. I'll tell the truth... I'll tell them all you said something real dumb."
"That'd be right," Han's smile faded slowly, as did Leia's, and he suddenly thought she had never looked more attractive than she did at that moment - a frown marred her perfect brows, and her huge brown eyes shone with anxiousness... anxiousness for him. The princess was anxious for him? He didn't understand, but he couldn't drag his eyes away from those looking so searchingly into his own.
Leia felt electricity rippling through her as Han's stare deepened, multi- hued iris' shifting in colour before her very eyes. Her heart was pounding heavily and painfully against her ribcage with the realisation that she might not see the smuggler again... that she might lose him. This futher confused the area of her mind that was already befuddled with every action the handsome pirate executed, and the feeling mixed with Ava's raised eyebrows and Leia's own secret amusement at the Corellian's antics. She did not know what made her do it, but she swiftly reached up and placed a soft, brief kiss upon the pilot's worn cheek, it was only really pressing her lips for less than a second against his cheekbone, but it thrust her into a world of maybe's and perplexing notions that she could not for the life of her begin to unravel. Her dark head immediately angled downwards as she broke away, trying in vain to hide her flushed cheeks.
Han's large eyes widened even further at this simple action but, unusually sensitive to the princess' obvious embarrassment for some reason, he only acknowledged the brave act by a nod of his head, and a small half-smile that fled from his face as soon as it had appeared.
Kal watched the two together, and his heart rebelled once again about what he was going to have to do - Solo was obviously well loved by a multitude of people, even if the smuggler himself did not know it. But the elder Corellian couldn't afford to let his mind dwell upon the unpleasant parts of what he must do, he just had to do it, there were no two ways about it. So he let Yann pull the Leilia away from the pilot's side, and tried his best to ignore the looks exchanged between the two. It was only when he was sure that Leilia was in the office and tied once more to the chair in the pre-fab office that he took up the syringe again.
The smuggler's wide eyes bored almost completely through him, as though Solo was capable of seeing the thoughts imprinted on his soul... Kal shook himself, that was impossible ~You're being ridiculous~ he scolded himself silently.
"She *will* be let go, won't she, Kal?" asked Han, his voice as soft as it ever became. This was of the uttmost importance to him, though he didn't know why... he didn't care if he were tortured or not, as long as the princess got out of it okay. He felt as though it was his fault, he had dragged her to meet the contacts all because he wanted to put a little distance between her and Deacon.
Kal nodded, "Yeah, we'll let her go before the bounty hunter gets here; knowing your friends she's probably got a price on her head and all." Han found it very hard to hold his tongue just then, only just managing to keep the grin from his face ~If only Kal knew~ But the elder Corellian didn't seem to notice and just continued, " -but we can't have her going too early and returning with a surplus of blasters, can we? So, we'll time it or something."
Han nodded, "Seems decent. And... what's the deal with this... needle, then?" The sight of the instrument made him feel very nervous, he had bad memories of them.
"Well, I did a little research on you when I discovered it had been you who had killed my dad," Kal noticed that Han winced slightly when he said the last part. "And, you seem to have been captured, and tortured, and plied for information, and used as demonstrations, quite a fair bit in your life already."
"Yeah," Han sighed hugely with mock-melancholy, "I seem to be a magnet for guys with grudges."
"Uh-huh, and in most of these incidents, heavy physical violence has been used: nerf-prodders, metal bats and poles, electro-whips, fists and boots, branding irons - you name it, and you've had it applied to you."
"Well, I don't like to brag about it..." Han grinned.
Kal snorted and shook his head, "Yeah, well, there are two reasons I'm using this needle instead of beating you into a pulp with a shelving-slat: one is that I reckon you've been mashed so many times that your hides pretty thick, and it won't mean all that much to you anyway if you get *another* beating, and two is that I don't like hurting people, all I'm wanting is my grudge to be paid, but to do that and get some extra cash I have to get you as close to death as possible without nudging you over. In this syringe I've got Kem'apizin, which I'm sure you've heard of; it's the base of most known drugs - mix it with however much of whatever else and you'll get vastly varied results, but on it's own, it will render you in the deepest, most untouchable unconsciousness you can get without kicking the garbage chute. It slows the heart right down, makes sure you barely even breathe, and puts a sort of... death-hold on the brain, only you know what's going on. It'll be like you're dreaming, except not, you get me?"
Han swallowed, and tried to force a smile, "Loud and clear... and how long will the deep-sleep last for?" His heart was pumping about a katchillion times faster than normal, he reckoned.
"Until something else gets into your bloodstream that will pull you out of it. Kem'apizin reacts with any other chemical in the galaxy, so if you get a shot of something - I reckon this Odin'alro character'll need to bring you out of the unconsciousness to collect his bounty - then it'll just feel like you're on some sort of drug. Depends on the secondary drug as to what sorta trip you'll have."
"Magical," Han muttered gloomily. He hadn't touched any drugs at all for years, since he was seventeen, and didn't appreciate being forced to start now.
Kal moved closer, syringe in hand, chamber filled with concentrated Kem'apizin, and gave the smuggler an apologetic look. His heart was almost burning through his own chest: he'd never done anything like this before, he had a family, kids, a business, an apprentice... he didn't like what had to be done at all. "Look, I am sorry, Solo, but you know how it is."
Han would have waved away this apology had he been able to move his arms, "Forget about it, I know why you're doing it, and it's fair enough - just as long as you get Leilia out of the way as soon as you can, got it?" He fixed his fairly-intimidating glare upon the stocker, as if daring him to go back on his words, but Purno managed to hold his gaze.
"Got it," Kal finally smiled and nodded. He moved forward, coming into contact with the pirate. Han seemed to have calmed completely, as though he wasn't afraid any longer of what was going to happen to him. He did, however, visibly steel himself as Kal slid the needle swiftly through the tanned skin where his neck met his shoulders, directly into the main vein. The stocker drew some blood into the chamber before pushing the plunger down fully, and forcing the chemical into Solo's bloodstream. The drug would take less than a second to get to Solo's brain - Corellians, with their fast metabolism, had enlarged blood vessels like veins and arteries, and standard-litres more blood. In order to cope with the extra strain, their hearts were huge, Corellian hearts were a lot larger than any normal humanoids' (filling up about a third of their chest cavities) and the vast muscles were incredibly strong, pumping the blood around their barely-ever still bodies faster than any other races'. This was one of the net of reasons why a large portion of drug-users in the galaxy were Corellians: they got the best highs, they could experience things that other races couldn't, all down to the huge, beating hearts they had. Han was a Corellian, that's why his eyes rolled back at once and his head fell with a thump onto his chest.
And from that point on he was dead to the worlds until someone released him.
********** Please review, what do you think?
