Chapter 238

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Note: This version of Han Solo is from "Star Wars: Legends" which I consider to be a parrallel universe from what Disney now considers to be canon. Elizabeth and the characters she mentions are my ow original creations.

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Han Solo was considered a pirate, a space pirate specifically. He was used to advanced technology like the Millenium Falcon, which could go one and a half times the speed of light. Han had been to less developed worlds, where he saw technology was at the spear and crossbow level. Their ships were not unlike this one, but it was the best way to get to where his son Jacen was. During the voyage Han spoke with a young woman, Elizabeth, about the past history of this crew.

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Han: You all seem to stick together here in Hell, any particular reason?

Elizabeth: We all have a shared history, not all of it good. It was 1770, England, I was a 16 year old sex worker. One night, a customer died of a heart attack, gave me a treasure map before I died. It was a way to find the mines of king Solomon.

Han: I've heard of Soloman, he was a wise king, he also had gold mines which made Israel very wealthy in his day.

Elizabeth: The location of these mines was lost, and by my time most assumed it was just a myth. But now that I had this map, I had to find out if it was true. I went to a local captain whom I trusted, and he made certain inquiries. It turned out that the mines were in an area controlled by the british government. We assumed that if we tried to get it, they would take it away from us. And it was a series of islands, would have taken us a lifetime to search them all, even with my knowledge. It was rumored that a pirate, Darla, knew exactly which island it was. So we all came to an understanding, we would all go together, each of us, myself and the captain's crew, Darla and her pirates, and the british government, we would all get a share of this treasure. There were 45 of us in all, including the dog. Three groups, me and captain Ben, the pirates, and the british naval ship. England even sent a duke on their ship to make sure everything went down smoothly. The duke told me something, he said that greed can infect anyone, including him, those who claim they are immune are the ones who you should watch out for. When the naval captain said he was okay with not taking the treasure, I was a bit suspicious of him. The three groups didn't trust each other. The sailors on the navy ship, they started wondering why they should let pirates get rich while they got nothing. The pirates feared that the navy would betray them. And captain Ben was a bit fearful of either group getting greedy. Plus there was the fact that some of Ben's crew and some of the pirates were former enslaved peoples, while the duke had money invested in slaving companies. Irish and english sailors who didn't neccessarily trust one another. Some didn't trust women being onboard. Two were suspected of being homosexuals, and were thus viewed with suspicion. By the time we reached the islands, it seemed we were all a little suspicious of one another.

Han: So which group betrayed the others?

Elizabeth: That's the thing, we were all so concerned about the "other" we forgot that greed is universal. The duke had somehow convinced people from all three groups to mutiny. If I remember correctly, there were 16 mutineers overall. They tried to strand us in the ships as a storm was coming. We escaped and made our way to the island, not all of us made it. The two groups fought, the duke's followers killed him when they realized what he had gotten them into. Eventually, a truce was declared, and we tried to obtain the treasure. Then, before we could leave, some slavers showed up. How they found out about the treasure, I do not know. Perhaps the duke was planning to betray his on people, perhaps one of the others talked too much after drinking too much rum, I don't know. They planned to murder us all and take the treasure. Then a curious thing happenned. The mutineers, what remained of them, they tried to sacrifice themselves to save us, to earn redemption. We ended up saving them. After that, of the 45 of us who started out, only 17 of us were still alive. And yes, that 17 includes the dog. We went to the american colonies, some sent for their families later. They had achieved redemption, whether they were the ones who deserved a second chance, I don't know. We were all a bit ashamed of what we had done to obtain this wealth. Within a few years the colonies were fighting their war for independance, and we were divided over the issue. Some fought for the patriots, some for the loyalists. As happens to all, we died. And now, we are all in Hell, trying to make amends with each other. Including getting you back to your son. I bring this up because, I know there's been some bad blood between you and your son. But you should know that redemption is possible. It's not easy, but it helps to have family stand by your side.

Han: Thank you. This helps me, more than you know.