General Han Solo leaned back in his chair and casually surveyed the other beings seated at the conference table. Most of them seemed to be totally focused on whatever the fresh hells Dodonna was rambling about now. Probably not facial hair regulations.
Though that did give him an idea.
Trying his best to look like he was making very important notes, he tapped around on his datapad, until he found the perfect image of a wampa. He glanced around the table, sizing up the targets. Leia looked attentive and involved, which he'd have to do something about in a minute. Wedge would probably laugh, but not really get it. Then his eye came to rest on Luke.
Perfect.
A few more taps on the datapad and he drop-linked the image directly to Luke's own datapad. It must have been set to silent, but he saw the screen flash brightly as the image appeared.
That was the great part of the drop-link — it popped right up, with no help from the datapad owner. Suddenly he regretted not selecting a video. Though if Luke's pained smirk across the table was anything to go by, mission accomplished. Luke coughed, trying to disguise a laugh, while glaring at Han. He only gave him an innocently blank stare in return.
"...and what do you think on the red versus green issue, General Solo?"
He froze, with the distinct feeling he should have been at least half listening. When there was no imminent threat of death, it was easier to forget to pay attention during these meetings. "Well," he drawled, trying to buy time while studying Leia's face. Surely she'd help him out—but no, only a quirked brow. Damn.
"Red tends to be more visible." That seemed a reasonable and practical point to make, and he gave a little nod.
Dodonna did too, so it must have been at least vaguely correct, as he heard the Defense Chief go on, "As the General agrees, the red would be much more visible…"
He took a breath in relief, not caring what he'd just agreed to, and promptly zoned back out. Picking color schemes was not his area of interest or expertise. He wasn't even sure why he was in this meeting. There seemed to be a lot of brass here for a meeting about colors.
Venturing another look at Leia, he watched one brow raise at him questioningly. There were so many ways to answer her. He tapped his datapad awake again, and saw that Luke was no longer available for drop-link and smirked a little. Leia still was though. He debated between sending her something that way, or via message.
Starting small seemed the way to go, lure her in with something simple then engage her. Leia was all about strategy. He pulled up an image of one of the mountain lakes they'd visited on Naboo a few months ago, and drop-linked it to her.
When the image flashed up on her datapad, she eyed him warily before looking down at it. But then she smiled, a mild smile she didn't bother trying to hide in the midst of the meeting, and he knew he'd made the right choice. He noticed his messenger box pop up almost immediately.
L: That was such a nice trip. Wish we were there now.
Oh yes, he could work with that. He gave her a little wink, and proceeded to carefully compose his response.
H: Me too. Remember sitting out on the deck at sunset?
He was certain she did, and just as certain she remembered how little sitting had been involved.
She frowned at the message, but her cheeks grew just a bit pink. Then she looked down and furiously typed out a message.
L: Sunsets there were very dramatic.
Leia's face was neutral, and focused back on Dodonna, when he looked up from reading.
H: We've got a balcony here. Could recapture a little of that drama later.
This time she did actually glare at him after reading his message.
L: Our balcony is directly under Mon's, and overlooks busy travel lanes.
H: It'll be dark til this meeting is over. And if you're less dramatic, Mon will never know.
He heard her muffle her reaction with a cough.
L: I'm not the one who actually echoed across the lake.
H: I'm not the one worried about being overheard.
Across the table, Leia tapped a stylus on her datapad, giving him a sharp look, before turning back to whatever the matter at hand was.
"Are we being too speciest in our color selection though? What about those beings more sensitive to the infrared spectrum?" He heard her voice, understood the words, and had no clue what they could be talking about. Were they repainting the whole fleet? Red? Or green?
Then his datapad flickered again.
L: You promise to keep quiet, maybe I'll consider it.
He blinked, then cast a cautious glance around the room. Everyone else still seemed involved in this debate, not paying any mind to him.
H: Maybe? I can be real quiet.
She actually winked at him from across the table.
L: You've never been able to keep quiet when I use my tongue.
Was this a challenge? Two could play at this game. And potentially both win, in his estimation.
H: Neither have you. Challenge accepted?
At the head of the table, Dodonna tapped a knuckle on the heavy wood. "That brings all time for discussion to a close. Show of hands please, those in favor of retaining hangar markings in green? Four, four it is. Refreshing to red markings? Seven, seven, excellent."
With a frown, he realized he'd spent the better part of his afternoon in a meeting about the hargar directional markers everyone ignored anyway.
L: I'll see you on the balcony at 2130.
Maybe the meeting hadn't been a complete waste of his time.