Hello beautiful… Han grazed a hand along the Falcon's hull. She was in minor need of repairs but they could see to that soon. First, they had to empty the ship of thieves. He gave Chewbacca's bow caster a glance reminding him to prime his own blaster as they made their way onto the Falcon… for the first time in over a decade. Han clipped the right corner; nothing in sight. Chewie gave him a nod. The left was clear. Too quiet.. it couldn't have just been a drift. He gave his friend a nod to the smuggler's panel ahead of them. It was a quick movement. Before Han could utter a threat his voice shriveled in his throat. Behind the barrel of a hybrid Pantoran blaster was his little girl. Not so little anymore.
"Hi dad.." she said.
"Breha." He responded; confused. Maz had last reported that she was bobbing in and out of the Outer Rim.
Chewbacca let out a great roar of excitement yanking her out of the hold and into his arms.
"Good to see you too, Uncle Chewie." She managed.
"Wait… Dad?" the man still in the hold said with a squeak.
Breha's android climbed out of the holding, lifting the man and a droid after. The J0-K2TA unit no longer a pile of scrapes. It now looked down its nose at him, disapproving. "Sir." It said curtly.
"J…" he replied apprehensively. He turned to his daughter, free of Chewbacca's grasp, "Breha – what's going on?"
The man flayed his arms, "Hold up!" he demanded, "I'd like to know what's going on?" he addressed his question to Breha, "Why is he calling you Breha?"
"Well Finn… technically, legally, that's my name; Breha Padme Solo." She answered with a shrug.
"You changed your name?" Han asked.
"That name was attached to a wanted woman." She shirked her shoulders again, a mannerism she definitely acquired from him.
"Took a lot of targets off our backs when she changed it." J0-K2TA added.
"Right…" Han said turning away, "well, we'll drop you off. You and your crew can get back to-."
"This isn't my crew. Haven't had a crew in several years…" she said.
Chewbacca inquired as to what they were then.
"We …" Padme's voice faltered.
"Han Solo, sir, we need to get BB-8 to the Resistance." Finn said, "A good man… died… to retrieve him."
Why is it always a droid? He raked a hand through his hair. "We can drop you off in the Elienium system."
"Or we can borrow the Falcon and deliver him promptly," J0-K2TA said, "I'm given to understand he has very time sensitive information."
He looked down at the custom BB-8 unit. "What's so time sensitive?"
The droid rolled behind his daughter with a twittering response.
"Need to know, ey? Well, I am now need to know." Han said.
Padme gave the droid a rub on his head, "It's okay, we're all here to help you." But the droid's answer caused her hand to recoil.
"A map to Luke huh…" Han said quietly.
"Luke Skywalker?" Finn asked. Everything the kid said was said with a sense of wonder; "He's real?" … "The Jedi were actually a thing?"
Han understood the wonder of it. Luke had become a legend since the end of the Empire. Even more so since his disappearance; as if the Jedi never had existed… again. "Yeah, he's real."
"Real..s-." Padme mumbled walking past him, nearly stomping down the ramp as she went. The android followed her without a word.
Hasn't changed that much… Han returned his attention to the wide eyed man named Finn. "How long have you been running with my daughter?"
"Running?" Finn flushed, "Well I…I-I just met her today."
"Huh, so she was telling the truth." Han said.
Chewbacca grumbled at him; give her a break.
"Mister Solo, sir," Finn said, "We really do need to get BB-8 to the Resistance base."
"We'll work it out, come on." Han motioned leaving the Falcon.
Padme was already bent over Chewie's tool box. Rummaging through it with fervor.
"Gonna steal that too?" He asked.
His daughter snapped up with a torque wrench, "I didn't steal the Falcon. I saved her." She set the wrench aside and kept digging.
"Well stealing means not returning things to the rightful owner." Han picked up the wrench, "you pirates seem to forget that."
She finally met eyes with him. They were sharp and ready to eviscerate him. Han had forgotten how much of Leia, Padme had in her.
"Alright… alright" He held up his hands defensively, "you're not doing runs anymore. That doesn't explain why you didn't give her back."
"Maz, told you where to find us." She said sourly, "You never came looking."
Before Han could utter a defensive response the freighter shook. That can't be good.
Chewie went to the monitor panel. He gave an annoyed grumble while picking up his bow caster.
Padme mirrored his annoyance, "You're lecturing me on ethics and the Guavian Death Gang is knocking at your door."
"Yeah, well, do as I say," He jogged into the hallway, "not as I do." He said quieter.
She and Chewie followed him both eager to know what he was going to do about the situation. He primed his blaster, leaving it in its holster. "What I always do. Talk my way out of it."
"Fire fight it is then." Padme said in agreement with Chewbacca. "Jocasta, take BB-8 and Finn and stay in the hanger."
The android's face plating scrunched, "No."
There was no time for a rebuttal as the airlock hissed. Han maneuvered past Padme. The gang, weapons resting at their sides, entered the corridor. Their greasy leader, Bala-Tik, stepped further.
"Han Solo. You're a dead man."
Han flashed an innocent smile both to the slime ball and to his daughter, "Bala-Tik, what's the problem?"
"We loaned you fifty-thousand for a job…"
"Fifty-thousand!" Padme's mouth dropped, "You've got to be shitting me."
"Oh, you wait your turn, Princess." Bala-Tik said, "We've got a quarrel with you too."
The android shoved past Han taking the butt of her rifle to the crook of her arm, "We're going to have a bigger quarrel if you don't scatter like the roaches you are."
"Now...now." Han said gently, "we can still work this out. I was on my way to bring back…" He wasn't going to risk a fire fight if it could be avoided.
The air lock at the other end of the hall hissed. You've got to be shitting me… KanjiKlub appeared on the other side of the hall.
"Tasu Leech…" He pointed a hand down the hall, "Good to see you."
Tasu Leech ignored him, instead addressing Bala-Tik, that it was a coincidence Padme was there since the Guavian Death Leader had said they'd lost her whereabouts years ago.
Before Bala-Tik could say a word Padme gave a side step, "Coincidence? Tik, knew I was running with my dad."
Han followed her, "I thought it was common knowledge."
Tasu Leech reared aiming his blaster down the hall; The Death Gang knew KanjiKlub was actively seeking the warrant for her.
"I didn't know! They're obviously lying." Bala-Tik replied. His men took up arms as well.
"Well, this is clearly a stal-." Han started.
"You can have the girl. We want the droid," Bala-Tik motioned to the BB unit.
Before Tasu Leech could answer Padme snorted.
"Tasu… you're going to let him get a bounty that's well over mine?"
The leader answered that taking both bounties' and squashing the Death Gang would make his day.
Han felt it. The skin on his arms pimpled. He reached out for his daughter's arm and yanked her to safety behind the curved arch of the hall as blaster fire came from each end of the hall.
The android took a bolt to the shoulder, but her precision took three men down at the end of the hall.
"J!" Padme said alarmed.
"I'm fine, get to the Falcon!" Jocasta squared up another shot.
Han shuffled his daughter across the hall while the android and Chewie covered them.
"Don't let them get away!" a voice shouted.
Han was halfway across the hangar to the Falcon when he noticed only Finn and Chewie had followed him. The android was covering Padme while she was in a sea of wires under the door panel.
"Come on! What are you doing?" He yelled.
Chewie took a bolt to the arm. The android yelled at Padme to hurry up. It was then all the lights shuttered and rebooted.
"Fire up the Falcon!" Padme said. She jumped up from the panel and shot a Death Gang thug before the hangar's doors slammed shut. "Hurry! Before-!"
Han looked down. The floor or the hangar drifted from him. She turned off the gravity. All of the gang members would be desperately locked and floating in the freight's corridor until one of them could reach a control panel. If they could. Chewie was clinging to the android who pushed them forward with ease onto the ship.
Padme shot at the wall to propel herself to the Falcon's ramp. "Dad, come on!" She grabbed his arm.
Once his feet hit the floor of the ship it was go time. He ran to the cockpit, pulling his daughter along and barking orders; Finn take care of Chewie, the android to fix that leak permeating from the smugglers hold, and Padme to bring up the hyperdrive. He was entering coordinates and nearly ready to take the landing gear when he noticed Padme wasn't by his side. It was the android who was seamlessly bringing the hyperdrive to life and the shield online.
"Padme doesn't fly." Jocasta said without breaking away from the power converter panel. "She's fixing the leak."
Han grunted, throwing the throttle back and launching them from the hangar.
Jocasta toppled back from the force but regained her stance. "That was brash and unnecessary. No wonder." Due to the black sockets the eye roll was exaggerated.
Just like her maker… Han walked away from the cockpit. Chewie was moaning but his arm was wrapped tightly though sloppily. Not the kid's fault. Wookies were impatient beings especially when they were in pain. He crouched down next to the smugglers hold where his daughter was cursing consistently under her breath.
"What's this nonsense about you not flying?" He asked.
"Hand me the bonding tape." She said.
Han's hand instinctively found the bonding tape and tossed it down to her. "Br-…"
Sharp golden eyes shot up at him. Her hands continued to work without focused attention.
He knew better than to continue to push his luck on that subject. "So what's changed your mind after all these years?"
"What are you talking about?" Padme pulled herself out of the hold; task completed.
"Joining the Resistance." He stood.
"Never said I was joining." She answered and tossed the tools to the side. "Dropping Finn and BB-8 off."
"Wait, what!" Finn said in alarm.
"And then what?" Han pressed.
Padme's eyes narrowed. Her jaw tightened. The fullness of her childhood face gone. "What about you?" She didn't give him the space to answer, "What have YOU been doing for the past ten years? Clearly doing what you and I do best-!"
"YOU are supposed to be better!" Han snapped.
"Better…" Her voice wasn't raised now. It was low. The quietness of it sent a chill over him. She opened her mouth to say more but it closed. The flaring energy simmered. Padme left the compartment. The droid slowly followed behind her.
Han passed the android expecting it to say something snappy. It remained quiet. Chewie joined him and took the co-pilot's chair.
"Don't look at me like that." He growled.
Chewbacca gave a calm rumble; she's different and that he can't keep treating her like the teenager he knew.
Han ignored him as Finn entered.
"Mister Solo uh sir… where exactly are we going?" He asked.
It was a struggle to write in Han's view so next chapter we will be back to Padme
Hope you enjoy because we'll have a split chapter and Ben will be swooping in!