CHAPTER V

Han Solo was a bit gruff, but an overall jovial man. He immediately treated his guests to a feast in his grand dining room.

Rey had never eaten roasted porg or tauntaun beef before; after years of always being hungry, she could finally stuff her face, gobbling as much as she could. Han stared at her and smirked.

Rey got a sense that this older man, as charming as he still was, was very lonely. He seemed very close to Chewbacca, who sat beside him, and the two often shared laughs, but something in Han was tired, as if the spark had been gone.

"General, this droid contains important information," Finn said.

"Yep," Veep chimed up, "It is most pertinent, sir. It's all part of a plan to interfere with Leia Organa in the election-"

"Calm down, kid," Han said, "I never really understood all this politics stuff. I'll take you to Leia and you can explain it to her. Ya know, that droid of yours reminds me a bit of Threepio, though he looks like Artoo."

"General?"

"Two droids I was friends with. I'm not sure if Leia still has them or not."

Rey had certainly never met Gen. Organa-or Leia-yes, she felt comfortable calling this woman by her first name despite not knowing her-yet it did not take the Force to see that this man clearly still felt love for her. Though it wasn't exactly romantic love; it may have been once. But now it felt more like melancholic love, one full of regrets. Regrets of mistakes he's made, mistakes she'd made-no, both. She could tell.

"Leia always understood that stuff. She cared about the causes. I was always the scoundrel along for the ride. After the empire fell, we got married and I was there, holding her hand when she first became senator, when she gave birth to our son-but then the dark times came."

"Listen, general," Rey began.

"Oh, enough with all this general nonsense. Call me Han."

"Han, are you and Leia still-"

"Still married? Yeah, we stayed married for political reasons. A lot of the royal planets and star systems don't believe in divorce. Alderaan didn't believe in divorce, and that's where she grew up as a princess so she had a tradition to maintain, even though Alderaan's been blown up for decades now. But married, divorced, whatever you wanna call it, we haven't been on the best terms for a long time. After she went from senator to president, I agreed to go off, let her do her own thing, and moved here. The people on this planet like having a war hero around, it's good for their tourism, and I got Chewie here to keep me company. I'm too old for the smuggler life and too big to not enjoy a little celebrity. I gotta admit, having little kids come up to me and call me Gen. Solo does make my day."

Rey could tell that Han enjoyed his lifestyle (living in a big castle with all the glory of having been a war hero was nothing to sneeze at), yet something in him still missed the good old days.

"Do you ever talk to her?"

Chewbacca gave a sad wail.

"Quit yer moaning, Chewie," Han said, then turned to Rey, "I haven't in a few years. A lot happened. Maybe our son killed what we had. Or maybe it was me. Anyway, she and I always had our differences, but if I were to show up at her front door right now, I don't think she'd mind it too much."

By now Rey had finished eating. Han gave her another smirk.

"You good, kid? I have a feeling you'd devour another tauntaun steak in a heartbeat."

"No, I'm stuffed," Rey smiled, "Listen, Han, I realize what we're asking is a lot but-"

"You want me to take you to my wife. Actually, more than that: you want me to take you to Coruscant and and right up to the president of the New Republic's doorstep, in the middle of an election, no less."

Chewbacca roared.

"Yes," Rey said.

"Hell, yes," Han said with a smile, "But you see, if we were to go in any old ship, security would turns us out right away. But there's one ship we can go in that will definitely get their attention."

Han had his protocol droids clean up the dining room, then led the group into another room in the castle. It was a hangar, containing several starships. But one immediately caught everyone's eye.

"The Millenium Falcon!" Finn beamed, "When they gave us piloting lessons, they taught us all about that ship."

"I think I've heard of it," Rey said, "What is it?"

"It was the most famous ship in the entire galactic war! It fought in the battles against both Death Stars!"

"Yeah, she's been through a lot," Han said. "Chewie and I always took good care of her. And Lando did too, I suppose. When I came here a few years back, everyone told me I should donate it to a museum. 'The ship that took on two Death Stars!' But I've always held onto it. And I'd say it's time I took it for a spin."

Rey entered the Millenium Falcon first, finding it a very old and rustic yet quaint ship. She ran her hands past the old mechanical walls, then sniffed her fingers, thinking that they smelled like rust and warmth. She then remembered that the last time she had sniffed her fingers after running them past a machine, that machine had started talking to her, so she looked around, relieved.

She then walked to the cockpit and sat in the pilot's seat, imagining all the things this ship could do.

Eventually, she was joined by the others. Once Han, Finn, Veep, Chewbacca, and Udo were all in the cockpitm Rey, with a mischievous smile on her face, asked:

"Han, could I be your co-pilot?"

Chewbacca immediately roared in protest, but Han silenced him, then turned to Rey.

"Have you ever been piloted a ship before?"

"No," she said with a grin.

"With all due respect," Finn interrupted, "I'm the pilot here with the most recent training."

"Here's what we'll do," Han said, "Finn, you be the pilot. Rey, you be the co-pilot. And Chewie and me will be right behind you, giving you pointers."

They each got in their positions and Finn turned the ignition. For the first time in years, the Millenium Falcon began to take flight.

"Now," Han said, "Very gently fly us out of this hangar."

Finn began to gracefully fly the ship, but Rey almost immediately hit the wrong button. The ship swerved, knocking several other ships over. Then it took flight again, and exited the castle.

"Jeez, Rey. You're a lousy pilot," Finn said.

"Yeah, kid, ya are," Han said with a smile, "But don't worry. I'll train you the whole way. Now let's get outta here."

And the Falcon flew off into horizon. Rey was nervous. She knew she wasn't a very good pilot, but with Gen. Han Solo sitting right behind her and telling what to do, she felt all the confidence in the world.

The Falcon made its way to Coruscant, unaware it was being tracked.