Thanks everyone! Reviews are awesome!
Liz: Thanks!
GreatOne: I depress you? Yay! ;-)
Audreidi: blushes Okay, maybe I'm not as original as you think I am. Thanks for your comment anyway!
Starsmart247: Ah, our Jedi Master comes into the mix today!
Owphoenix: YES!
StonedRose: Another depression? I'm on a roll with this, huh?
Quick Comments
Some things have been changed from the original EU canon. Yes, I know, Kam wasn't around until after Han and Leia were married, and know the Hapans aren't a part of the Republic before that book. This is COPL time-period-ish, with a few changes . Leia should've been a Jedi, don't'cha think? ;-)
Han Solo blew out his breath in one large exhalation. "That's it, Chewie. Done."
Chewie growled the affirmation from the vicinity of the dorsal turret, echoing the sentiment down through the empty corridors and through the hatch to the cockpit, where Han slumped down into the captain's chair. In all honesty, Meridian seemed to be the last in a long series of experiences that left him tired and worn out. The Imperial insurgency that had ruptured the delicate political alliances between the Meridian factions was gone – dissembled and without command due to the Wraith's unique ability to bring instant destruction onto anything that moved, and most things that didn't – and his last mission was complete.
Han let his head fall forward towards his chest. I gotta figure out where I'm going. He'd told Wedge that Meridian was his last mission, and he wasn't about to be roped into another one. He'd left his 2iC explicit instructions – what to do, where to go – and felt that the group could handle the return trip to Coruscant.
He, however, could not.
Han Solo had never considered himself a coward. He'd spent most of his life on the run, dodging death just one more time, racing across the galaxy for the next job, getting himself into, and out of, trouble. Through those times of heart-racing adventure and long periods of space travel, he'd never run away from his problems. He'd faced the scum of the galaxy – bounty hunters, crime lords and Imperials – without flinching and keeping his cocky grin screwed up to one side.
So why was it that Han found himself so scared to punch in the coordinates to Coruscant? He'd been out of touch without any particular orders – comm silence was mandatory for this type of classified mission – for months. He'd not bothered to watch the eulogies and mourning parades he could imagine occurring on the galactic capital. I don't think I could stand watching that. That left him without the Republic, without superiors (not that he'd mind that much) and without alliance to anyone.
Except Luke.
Damn. The kid'll be depressed.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, his conscience chimed in with the logic. You can't just leave him alone. He's lost his sister.
I've lost a lot more.
Yeah, but you won't abandon him. He's a friend. Almost a brother.
Han sighed. This mental war was getting annoying. He was tired of thinking, of feeling. He just wanted it to stop.
Chewie ambled into the cockpit and threw himself into the copilot's chair. After double-checking the instruments, and sneaking what he obviously considered a disguised glance at the navicomputer, he swiveled his chair and sat looking at Han.
"What're you lookin' at?"
Chewie growled.
"I've worked it all out with Culiad. He's takin' 'em back."
Roar.
"Coruscant. Where else?"
Chewie shook his head and turned back to the viewport. They sat in silence for a while, one studying the last flight group of X-wings as they docked onto the Star Destroyer, the other resolutely avoiding the sight. Finally Chewie softly growled again.
"I dunno. Kashyyyk, maybe?"
Chewie gave a series of grunts.
"Okay, just a thought. Thought you'd want to – "He dropped the pathetic line, knowing his best friend would easily see through the façade. "Look, we're close to Yavin Four. Do ya think – " He was interrupted by a loud roar and a fiercely concurrent expression on his copilot's face. "Guess so. Will you go to the Avenger and tell Culiad that he's good to go? I don't wanna use the comm and bring every nearby Imp ship to our door. Thanks pal."
Chewie left, and Han was left to gaze out the viewport alone. Yavin Four. He sighed.
Next thing on the to-do list: blow the conscience to spacedust.
"We have gathered together today to give peace to a momentous woman; the dazzling light of the Rebellion and perfection of leadership and diplomacy. We mourn the loss of a gentle hero, of an ethical and compassionate leader. The hole we feel now . . . "
Gentle? Luke Skywalker thought bitterly. What coma was Leia in when you met her?
" . . . great things from her. She was the catalyst to many great movements and would have done a great many more had she been allowed a few more years. My son and I have come to grieve the passing of an ideal . . . "
Who are you kidding? Luke sighed and reached for the vidscreen controller. You came to take advantage of a political situation. He spared one more glance at the screen, at the polite and encouraging smiles of the Hapan Queen and her son - How many hours does the guy spend on his hair each morning? – and shut it off. These constant sojourners to Coruscant, and to the holonet, were becoming annoying and distracting. He had students to teach, philosophy to study. He didn't need to hear these false words, laden with promises of diplomatic liaisons and fruitful alliances, constantly. He'd seen all this before.
Luke shrugged on his outer robe, determined to control his negative emotions, to pursue the peace he needed in order to instruct. It's becoming difficult. His thoughts constantly returned to images, snatches of commentary, and he found himself delving deep into his memories . . .
She would hate to hear that garbage. It's a good thing she can't; she'd go ballistic. Worry burrowed into his stomach and condensed into a hard mass that couldn't be ignored . . . stop, It wouldn't help her now, anyway.
Luke shook his head and stretched out with the Force. Instantly, he found what he searched for and his peace returned, compounded with an ease to the mass in his stomach. This is how I should feel, act, behave. This is how they expect me to appear.
Luke turned toward the door of his quarters, ready to depart and head to the Temple, where his students would assemble in an hour. As he walked toward it, his eye caught a red light flashing on the comm. He stopped and studied the datapad connected to it. The datapad was displaying a series of figures and symbols, an encrypted message coming in from a very familiar source.
Glancing at the chrono, Luke bent down and picked up the pad, returned to his chair and contemplated its contents. He'd been expecting such a contact, but he was unsure why it had come in that form. The Falcon has a regular comm. Why would Han need to encrypt . . . Luke remembered with startling clarity. Oh, Han.
The message, entailing the inevitable visit, merely gave a time frame, a request not to contact as the group was under silence, and a signature of Rybtl Sul, an alias Han has used successfully in the past. At least he's cognizant enough to be careful. Luke quickly checked the ETA and erased it, then stood up and headed toward the door again. He had approximately three hours until Han Solo touched down on Yavin Four, and as much as Luke would like to plan out his words to his friend, he knew his responsibilities prevented him from seriously considering it.
Training first. Luke left his quarters, strolling down the hallways toward his classes. It is gonna be one very long day.
Very long, indeed.
As the Falcon touched down onto the landing platform, Luke smiled under his hood. The freighter looked as beat-up and terrible as, and possibly even more than, the first time Luke had seen it. It's still a piece of junk. It's good to know that some things don't change. He watched as the ramp extended and the first half of the crew descended. Chewie looked as miserable as Luke had ever seen him. The Wookiee hurried off the ramp and grabbed Luke as he made soft noises of consolation.
"Hey, Chewie," Luke tried to pull out of the embrace and finally managed release after his asphyxiation forced the hug to end. He nodded to his friend. "Thanks."
"Hey, kid."
The comment seemed so innocuous and typical that Luke almost managed to smile at the form walking down the ramp. He took the time to assess how Han actually looked. Not too great, to be honest. With hair blown all over the place, spacer's outfit wrinkled and obviously lived-in, and the saunter absent from his walk, Han Solo looked tired and haggard. His eyes are the worst, though.
"Han, ol' buddy. How're you doing?" Might as well venture a question, right?
"Wonderful. This place looks worse than it did the last time I was here."
Luke rolled his eyes but secretly cheered. This was at least familiar behavior. "Still looks better than your ship."
The ordinary insults done, the two men and Wookiee just stood there, staring at each other. Each seemed to feel any comment about it would be disastrous, and each hoped one of the other two would bring it up, air it out. Since when did we become so awkward around each other?
Unable to take this obvious discomfiture, and eager to lighten up the eyes of the captain, Luke swallowed and invited his two old friends into his quarters. At least there he could talk to the two of them. As the trio reached the small sequester of rooms, Luke could feel the absurdity growing. We're all friends here! Why're we so uptight?
Opening the door, and letting his visitors into his rooms, he glanced around the stoned hallway leading up and down the dormitory. No one was nearby. That was the only fear here. He'd swept for intrusion devices this morning and with the protection of the stone walls, the odds of overhearing anything was so remote that even Han couldn't face them. He chuckled with the thought, then stabbed the door control and faced his companions.
"Do you want anything to drink? I don't have much, but I think – "
"No."
Luke stared at the Corellian as he looked around the quarters. He was gazing at everything except Luke, and it was driving him crazy.
"I've cancelled classes today. Kam has the students practicing in the Great Hall. Figured you'd like to talk."
"You know what this is about, Luke." Han's voice was nearly a whisper. He was hunched down on a chair, head in his hands. "Don't try to cover this up as a social visit or anything."
"Yeah. You're right." What do you say? How do you express this? "Hey, look, Han. You need to know something."
"What, kid? What do I have to know?"
Luke shook his head. This was going to be more difficult than he'd originally imagined. "Um, we've . . . I know what you're going through, and – "
"Do you, Luke? Really?"
Stubborn, bone-headed . . . "Maybe not exactly, but I have an idea."
Luke glanced at Chewie, hoping he might have some inspiration to give to him. No such luck. He turned back to Han.
"Han, I think that you'd better – "
"What? I'd better what? Go back to Coruscant? Beg to keep my commission? Fight for a Republic that doesn't mean anything anymore? What, Luke? If you got a better idea, lemme know, cause I have no clue what to do! None!" Han's stare, now free of his hands, pointed daggers at Luke. "I have questions for you, though. Stuff I'd like to know."
"What, Han?"
"She was a Jedi Knight. She shoulda felt it comin', right? Why didn't she? Huh?"
"Han – "
"Was she not strong enough? Was she distracted? Did the Force not feel like warning her that day? What?"
"You don't know – "
"No, you don't know." He sighed. "Luke, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come here. I thought maybe somethin' would happen, you know? That I could help you. Be a friend. It was a stupid idea. You obviously look fine." He stood up, wiped his palms on his pants and nodded to Chewie.
"Bad idea. Was a stupid idea. Come on, Chewie. Let's go."
As Han rounded the corner of the room and was about to slap the door control, Luke came up behind him. "Han, you need to stop."
Han reached for the pad. "Kid, I told ya, I gotta go. You don't need this – "
Luke interposed himself between the Han and the door. "No, you need to stop. Now." Luke nodded his chin toward the chairs again. "Sit down."
"Move – "
"Han, listen to me. You need to calm down before you bring someone around with your yelling. They can't hear us."
"Wha – "
"No one can hear what I'm going to tell you, alright?"
Han shuffled his feet nervously. "Kid – "
Luke whispered something.
"What did'ja say?"
Luke lowered his voice again.
"I said, Leia's alive."
For the benefit of my readers, I'll let you know what my ingenious friend suggested I do with this story. She says that Leia should really die and Han should get really depressed and become a used-car salesman.
Don't worry – that is not a threat!!