Setting Fires and Kicking Down Doors
Chapter One
A/N: This story also appears on AO3. Story title comes from Lowest of the Low song "Subversives." (I don't own the rights to any of this, of course. Though I have permission to use the song lyric.)
It had been a quiet trip so far. Not too quiet. It wasn't eerie. But it was definitely strange.
The princess usually talked a lot more. Complained about the state of the Falcon, joked (or at least Han considered them jokes) about making it to their destination in one piece. Asked questions about the route they were taking, sometimes suggesting alternatives. Wanted to discuss in detail, repeatedly, their mission to avoid as many surprises as possible.
This run was a little different, though, and Han guessed the princess felt a bit awkward discussing it with him. They got along well enough or about as well as he got on with most people. She was a bit more irritating than most, actually, but she was ballsy and he had to admire that part. At least when he wasn't considering throwing her out the airlock.
But they didn't talk about anything too personal. She had asked him the standard questions about home planet, age, jobs and he gave one-word answers or nothing at all so they generally stuck with Alliance business. She usually didn't have any trouble filling space with that crap. He thought she'd be more excited with this run but for the most part, she looked deep in thought, like she was waiting for bad news or a detonator to drop.
It had been just over four months since the Death Star, which was also four months longer than Han thought he'd be hanging around the Rebellion. But one thing led to another. He helped with the evacuation from Yavin. He'd gone on a few supply runs. Worked some missions like an attack on an Imperial weapons factory that went wildly off-track but was still somehow successful. And the Rebels were willing to pay (or promised to pay) so he and Chewie stuck around.
He wasn't likely to say this stuff out loud but working with the Rebels wasn't half bad. They were a bunch of idealistic dreamers but some of the company was good. He liked some of the pilots. They were usually good for card games and easy wins. Luke still had that naïve farm boy thing but he was definitely the guy you wanted on your side in a fight. A good pilot, great shot and not bad when it came to repairs on the Falcon. The kid had quickly become one of the few people Han actually trusted.
Leia, too. He definitely wasn't going to say that one out loud but she didn't seem likely to work a double cross. She was infuriating, had to argue about everything, could be cold and reserved when she wanted, high and mighty if it suited her. But he'd follow her into any disaster of a mission and know she had his back. If she was going to make a dumb decision and put anyone in danger, it was always herself. She was definitely too eager to sacrifice herself for the cause.
"We got a couple more hours before we drop out of hyperspace." Han gave a gentle rap on the games table where the princess was working. She glanced up from her datapad, looking annoyed about the interruption. "You can use the fresher if you need it."
"Are you suggesting I need to bathe, Captain?"
He hadn't figured her out yet. Didn't know what was sarcasm and what was irritation. It was obvious when she was angry and this wasn't angry but that's as far as he got.
"No. Just saying you can if you want. Isn't that a thing that women do?"
"Bathe?" There was a hint of a smirk. "I can't speak for all women but, yes, most do like to bathe at some point."
"Okay, okay. Just trying to be a good host. Figured since you haven't seen this guy in months you might want a little something extra. My mistake."
He left Leia and the lounge, heading down the ring corridor. Mark this up as one more odd thing about the princess. He was delivering her to some guy who was supposed to be her boyfriend and she's acting like she's heading to court. She was a strange woman. Clearly it was hard for any living human to compete with the Rebellion.
Han understood that Leia must be pretty messed up. She was a prisoner on the Death Star, interrogated by the dark lord himself. He wasn't anywhere near that kind of stuff when he was in the Academy but he saw how the Empire treated its workers and pilots. He could only guess what they did to prisoners and enemies of the state. Then she watched Alderaan get blown apart, losing every family member and most friends. He had no idea how she was still standing after that one. Definitely ballsy.
She didn't have an official post when she arrived on Yavin with Han, Luke and Chewie but she'd made herself an integral part of the leadership team. She worked non-stop, threw herself in the line of fire repeatedly, becoming a single-minded, obsessive destroy-the-Empire machine. Han was certain she only slept a couple hours a night, if at all. Hell, she'd probably only slept a couple hours since the Death Star period.
She never mentioned the boyfriend to Han, which wasn't too strange since they didn't talk much about that kind of stuff. Even when he took the contract to fly her, it was sold as going to meet a contact. Luke told him the contact was her boyfriend and the kid seemed pretty upset that they were a couple months with the Rebels before she mentioned the guy back on Coruscant. Poor Luke was a bit lost in his princess crush.
"It doesn't seem fair, you know?" Luke was helping with repairs, changing enviro-packs and filters. Han could hear Luke whine with every screw turned, every wire soldered. "We get along so well. There's a real connection there. Not fair that there's some other guy. And that she didn't tell me."
"You told her how you feel?"
"No. I was waiting for the right time."
"If you really like her, kid, then make your move. That guy's not here. You are."
"That seems shady. You shouldn't hit on someone if they're in a relationship."
Han laughed as he pulled down the old unit from the upper panels. "Easiest targets, kid. They're either starved for attention, trying to make the guy jealous, or don't give a shit. Then you make your escape before all the drama drops."
"There's nowhere to escape to. We're all on the same base." Luke was taking this very seriously. "And I like Leia. Not looking for a quick escape or an easy target."
"Well, you're right about one thing." Han winked at Luke. "There's nothing easy about her."
It was an overnight job. A day in flight, spend the night on planet while she hooked up with the guy, then a day back to base. He planned to tease her about being her pimp, dropping her off for a job, maybe he should get a percentage, but changed his mind when she walked onboard. She did not look like someone to be toyed with. Sometimes, thinking modified his behaviour.
So, he and Chewie mostly kept to themselves and kept busy in the engine room.
[You should ask her if she wants something to eat.]
"No way. Already asked her a question and she almost took off my head." Han could feel Chewie staring him down. "What? I didn't do anything. She took the question wrong. Not always my fault."
[Just mostly.] The Wookiee chuckled.
Han didn't like flying into a mission without the needed info so when Dodonna and Leia didn't provide it, he looked to Luke. He didn't even have to ask much. The kid, needing to process it all, was happy to talk it out.
"He works at a foundation in Coruscant. Some kind of charity. Teaching art to kids or something."
"That's a charity?" Han shook his head. Rich people had screwed up ideas about what people actually needed.
He thought about when he was a kid. He was concerned about having shoes, especially ones that fit, and food. He wasn't even hoping for three meals a day, that seemed too good to be true, but maybe something he didn't have to pull out someone else's garbage. A rain slicker would have been nice. Han laughed to himself. Art. Yeah, that's at the top of the list.
"I guess it was pretty serious. He's been to Alderaan. They met each other's families." Luke wasn't even pretending to work anymore. He sat on a crate, leaning forward on his elbows. "She didn't get a message out for a while. Guess that's why she's going to see him now."
Han glanced Luke's way. The kid was looking off into the middle-distance, not focusing on anything in particular. Hard to believe he planned on being the next and last Jedi Knight when the kid always seemed lost in his daydreams. He had a good heart, though.
Luke was the poster boy for innocence. Han wasn't too sure why he liked the kid as much as he did. He would usually dismiss that kind of sunny optimism as annoying and maybe dangerous.
But Luke had a way of drawing you in. Maybe it was that he seemed to see past the top layer. Knew Han was a smuggler, capable of a lot of untrustworthy deeds, but Luke still saw good in him. Something that Han forgot all about or pretended never existed. He wasn't sure Luke was right about any of it but was kind of nice to be seen as something other than a criminal. At least for a bit.
"He's gotta be a nice guy, right?"
"How would I know?" Han barely looked up from his work. This is what the kid was worried about?
"Just don't like thinking about Leia with someone who isn't nice."
"The Princess can take care of herself. In fact, she's real good at it."
"I care about Leia. I know you do, too."
"Don't care who she dates." Han threw his spanner back in the toolbox.
Luke shrugged and closed the panel he was working on. Bolting it back in place, he almost mumbled to himself. "I don't know. Still going to worry."
She waited until they landed to go to the 'fresher and was in their so long Han thought she might need a rescue. He and Chewie finished their landing procedures, dealt with customs and docking agents, and waited outside the Falcon. When she finally emerged, she was a wearing a white dress, one he hadn't seen before (or maybe she altered the Death Star dress? It was all a sea of white to him), and a dark, hooded cape. He watched her stop at the top of the ramp to smooth her dress out.
"Ready for your big date?" He thought he saw a pained expression when she looked up but it was quickly replaced by annoyance. He flashed her a wide grin. She didn't know he knew the background story and was probably deciding what she might do to Luke for leaking the information.
She stood tall, or as tall as Leia was going to get, and walked down. She nodded as she walked past.
"Good night, Captain."
"See you in the morning, Princess."
He watched her walk through the hanger and disappear through a door at the end.
He and Chewie had a night off, planet-side, which was unusual. They could spend their time on the Falcon—there was always something to adjust or play with—but there were no emergency repairs. They decided to explore the neighbourhood around the docking bay to see what they could rustle up.
They made their way through a couple cantinas getting drinks, looking for a game. Han wasted too much time talking up a waitress before realizing it wasn't worth it. His general philosophy was, you either want it or you don't and he didn't have time for the in-between anymore. Chewie liked telling him that meant he might actually be maturing. Han didn't care what it meant as long as he could avoid the drama.
He'd had a few sort-of girlfriends along the way. Women he spent a short and concentrated amount of time with and got the hell out if there was a whiff of them getting attached. Sometimes there were hard feelings but most understood and many had the same philosophy. It was all a matter of making the right choices. He tended to go for the one-off variety or portside visits if both of them were free. Occasionally he paid for the service. He knew where to go and who to see.
He'd only had a few brushes with commitment. Once before he got off Corellia and once a few years later. The first one messed him up and was one of the reasons he avoided it now. The second one snuck up on him and he got out just in time. Both ended up with Han being double crossed—relationship, job, payment—so he kept things tight and only really trusted himself and Chewbacca. It was safer all around that way.
They spent the night, in-between cantina visits, walking along the hangers, talking to guards, seeing who else was docked for the night. He played the role of chatty shipper, extra friendly, getting the lay of the land. It was a good way to get a line on work, check out competition, figure out if there was anything to watch out for. It was all pretty much second nature to him and how he'd survived for most of his life.
So, it was a bit odd when he realized half the info he was compiling in his brain was Alliance related. Not strange to ask if there was any Imp activity but new that he was storing the intel to share with Leia later. He brushed it off with the excuse that a job was a job, even if he was being paid as a personal courier and not for information.
Eventually, he and Chewie gave up on their wondering and headed back to the Falcon. Not every night could be a rousing success. Sometimes calling it even was a victory.
An uneventful night meant an early morning. The Falcon was already prepped for take-off, clearance codes obtained, and Han was walking back from the market with fresh goods to fill the galley (and hopefully avoid what the Rebels called food for a bit) when he spotted Leia outside the hanger.
She had her hood pulled up and was standing close to a tall blond man. He looked older, maybe late twenties. His hands held her upper arms as he bent his head down, speaking to her. It was the kind of scene that might have been loving, might have been ominous. Han couldn't see Leia's face and didn't know how to read the situation. The man didn't look stressed. He looked like he had it all figured out. Like he had very important things to say.
Leia's hands reached out and held the man's waist as he kissed her forehead. Han waited until Leia walked toward the Falcon before following her at a distance.
She was standing in the lounge when he walked in from the corridor. She looked more relaxed but not quite at ease. His first instinct was to make a joke about getting laid or working off the stress but he decided it might be better to play nice. Again, thinking modified his behaviour sometimes.
"'Bout ready to go? We already got the all-clear so we can be out in five."
"That's good to hear, Captain. Thank you."
He pulled a jogan fruit from his bag and handed it to her. She smiled, a genuine, almost reaching her eyes smile, as she took it. Han quickly put the rest of purchases away and headed to the cockpit for take-off.
Once they were in-flight, Leia resumed her position at the games table with her datapad and notes. Han and Chewie busied themselves with projects but he found he was still disturbed by the quiet. It wasn't that he missed the chatty princess. It just seemed odd that she wasn't complaining. Maybe he wasn't doing his part.
"Did you have a good night out?" He plopped himself on the bench beside her. He was still wearing goggles, pushed up on his head, and wiped his hands on an already dirty rag.
She didn't look pleased as she turned to him. He smiled knowing that his ploy was already working.
"It was a night out." She kept a steady gaze. "Did you find a suitable amount of trouble?"
"Not nearly enough. Can't all be winners, I guess."
She turned back to her datapad but Han wasn't backing down.
"You going to tell me about your fella? Or is it a secret? A star-crossed lovers thing?" He nudged her shoulder so she couldn't ignore him. "He's Imperial, isn't he? You're messing around with Vader's son. I knew you looked too good to be true."
She rolled her eyes. "He's not Imperial." She sighed and sat back. "Actually, he wasn't Rebellion either. He was sympathetic to the cause and certainly knew my leanings but otherwise removed."
"You're dating someone who isn't completely committed to the cause? Your Highness, wonders never cease!"
"He was sympathetic." She emphasized each word to make herself clear. "His family is well connected and his foundation prominent. It was a good match."
"So, you dated him for cover. No one would suspect the Princess was a Rebel if she's with this well-connected guy."
She stiffened. Her cheeks flushed red. "Why do you have to manipulate everything I say?"
"It's fun." He shrugged and threw her a lop-sided grin. She rolled her eyes again in return.
"Anyway. He's agreed to help us now."
She looked relieved. Not necessarily happy but not sad and that was a good twist since she had a lot of reasons to be sad. Han wasn't sure how someone was supposed to act or react when they watched their home planet explode but sad seemed like a good start.
"His family's businesses have a lot of ties—not just Imperial but with governments in all systems—so he'll let us know if he hears anything of interest."
"What does his family do?" Han felt a knot in his stomach. How much was she willing to do for the Rebellion?
She sighed again. She knew what was coming next. "Thyre Industries."
Han practically did a double take. "Are you fucking kidding me? Your boyfriend is a Thyre?" He chuckled and shook his head, noting that she bristled slightly at the word boyfriend. "Guess that's how the rich just keep getting richer. Stick with your own kind."
Everyone in the galaxy knew Thyre Industries. You'd have to be in the farther reaches of the Outer Rim and have your head stuck deep in the sand to not know them. They started as a mining company, pulling materials, ores, gases, in almost every system. Then a couple generations back, someone figured out they were selling half their goods to tech so why not own the tech, too. Now, almost every personal device—datapads, comlinks, sensors—have some Thyre Industries components. Han figured they must be richer than the Emperor by this point.
"Pyrtor doesn't work for Thyre proper. He runs a foundation, a subsidiary. But he sits on the boards and he hears things." She turned back to her datapad and scrolled, almost aimlessly, through pages. "He doesn't want to risk sending transmissions or working with anyone else. So, I will meet with him every few months, or whenever necessary, to receive the information."
"That's convenient." Han lowered his eyelids to give her a hard, exaggerated, stare. "Getting laid on the Rebellion's coin, Princess?"
Fury flashed across her face. "If you are insinuating I would ever use my position or the Alliance for my own personal gain…"
He raised his hands in surrender, laughing. "Take it easy, Princess. Just poking at you. No one's gonna question your devotion to the cause."
She turned back to her datapad, scrolling faster, face locked in anger.
"Were you spying on him before? Getting Rebel info?"
Leia still wouldn't look up. "I did not use him for information, if that's what you are implying." Her voice was calm and stern. "As I said, we existed in many of the same social and political circles and I did acquire some information in that regard. However, I no longer have access to those people or those situations. It would help us immensely to have someone on the inside."
"Are you trying to convince me or you?"
She glared at him. She looked furious but also like she wanted to hear what came next.
"That you actually like him. This. Whatever it is."
She didn't respond and didn't shift her hard stare.
Han felt suddenly nervous, a feeling he wasn't used to and definitely didn't like. He realized he'd stepped in it and didn't know how to retreat so he kept talking. Like an idiot.
"Doesn't really matter to me. If they pay, I'll fly you wherever. Just checking cos of your devotion to the cause. That no one would question."
"I like him."
She angled her body away from him, indicating she wanted nothing more to do with this conversation or him.
Han left the table and returned a few minutes later minus the goggles and with a deck of cards. He pulled the datapad from her hands and tossed it on the bench on his other side.
"What do you think you're doing?" Her face was once again flush with anger.
Han shuffled the cards. "You need some non-Rebellion time. Gonna teach you how to play Sabacc."
"Why would you think that would ever be of interest to me?" She looked slightly less angry. Slightly.
"Cos you like learning new things. You like strategy and taking chances. You'd love the chance to beat me."
"That last part is definitely true."
He dealt the cards. "And you gotta focus on something that isn't Alliance, boyfriend or duty or you're gonna implode like a dying star."
She didn't say anything but she also didn't look away. In fact, there was a hint of a smile there, this one reaching her eyes.
"What do you know about the Queen of Air and Darkness?"
Leia picked up her cards.
