No matter how hard Han searched the male hutt's face, all he could see was disappointment. He tried to look past that, but, behind that thick veneer of disappointment, all he could find was even more disappointment. Going into this conversation, Han hadn't predicted an easy, quick and friendly discussion. To hope for as much would be foolish. And he had been right.
"Look, Jabba," he tried offering an easy smile as he displayed his hands at his sides, a sign of helplessness. "I'm workin' on it, alright? I just need a little while longer. I've already got half of the payment. All I need left is, what? One quick job to finish it off? I'll have the full payment in no time." That was a lie. Han had hardly an eighth of what he needed to pay off his debt to Jabba the Hutt and the slimy crime lord was fully aware. "No, Solo," he objected in Huttese, raising a fat, jiggly arm, pointing his tiny hand at the smuggler standing before him. "You have already failed me. You used to be my favorite man for the job. You never missed a shipment, my spice always came in on time. But now, I may never be able to trust you again. This is very sad, Solo. Very unfortunate. I have many customers who are angry with me now. And I don't think that's fair, is it, Solo? They were waiting for that glitterstim. And you have failed them too."
"I'm sorry, Jabba, but Imperials were on my tail. It took me a while to see them chasing me. I had no choice. I had to dump the load! I was about to get caught. But. I found a guy. He's got a whole five loads of it, fresh stuff, just waiting. I'm going to pick it up, bring it back here for you, and then we can forget all about this silly debt." Han settled an arm around the hutt's shoulders, trying to ease the situation, but he knew he had it coming for him. "It'll all be behind us both. Doesn't that sound nice, Jabba?"
"I refuse to wait any longer, Solo, my boy. If I don't have all my money by tonight, there will be a bounty on your head, sooo huge, you won't be able to go to another civilized system ever again! Tonight, Solo. I need that money."
"You got it, pal," Han agreed, slowly backing away. "Tonight, you'll have that money. Until then, I gotta go pick up that fresh glitterstim package for you. See you later, Jabba." Han turned around, hands in his pockets, boots clicking against the stony ground as he left. He tried not to look panicked even though he was, tried to look tough, not alarmed, but he was internally debating the best, quickest, most efficient route out of Tatooine's way. After smuggling for Jabba for some time now, Han knew fully well that the hutt would keep to his word. Which was exactly why Han needed to hurry and take the Falcon with Chewie out of the Tatoo system now. He had himself in deep water with the nasty crime lord and the last thing he wanted was a wealthy bounty to worry about.
Hurrying to his private freighter, the Millennium Falcon, Han reminisced on the events that had led up to this. After gaining his freedom by escaping from the Corellian pirate Garris Shrike, Han had worked odd jobs for the t'landa Til priests of Ylesia until he learned of the priests' suspicious ceremonies with their prisoners and he happened into one of them: Pilgrim 921, redhead Corellain beauty Bria Tharen. The two stole rare, expensive artifacts that had belonged to one of the priests, Teroenza, and bought their way off world and a transport to Coruscant. However, nothing Han had ever had stayed very long and Bria, overcome by her addiction to the Exultation Ceremonies the priests had used to keep her on Ylesia, left him, running off to some place Han didn't know.
As he had always been fascinated with ships, freighters, anything that flew in space and could hit lightspeed, Han decided to try joining the Imperial Academy and was actually admitted in! Although, he was expelled after an unfortunate incident involving an Imperial officer and a Wookiee slave: Chewbaccaa. Han had rescued the poor guy from the officer's beatings and the two had joined forces to tough out life together. Or, more that Chewie had joined him in accordance with a life debt.
Now, here he was, a bounty on his head and on the run once again. He found himself at the foot of the Falcon's boarding ramp and headed in to start up the ship. "Alright, pal," he began saying to Chewie who sat in the copilot's seat. "We'd better get going. Jabba's not too happy about his glitterstim. Let's get out of here before he sends Greedo after us. Again."
"Rrwargh!" Chewie agreed in a growl and started flipping switches to warm up the Falcon's hyperdrive. They flew through their pre-flight checklist and soon lifted off from Tatooine. Engines burning, they hit lightspeed as soon as they could and went straight to burying their noses in the logs and considering planets to land on. Ojom, Bespin, and Eeropha were Chewie's suggestions, Malano III, Alderaan, and Tahlboor Han's.
"Think of it this way," Han tried explaining to his Wookiee friend. "Alderaan's the last place Jabba or any bounty hunter of his will think to look. Any smuggler who owed Jabba some money would be stupid to hide out on Alderaan."
"Llawaghh rhah!?" Chewie retorted, which roughly translated to 'doesn't that make us idiots?'. To this, Han responded, "Yes, yes it does. But it would be a lot more discrete than sneaking way out to the Outer Rim. Then, it's just obvious we're trying to hide. On Alderaan, nobody cares, nobody asks. And that's just the place we need to go."
After a bit more convincing, Chewbacca reluctantly agreed and plugged Alderaan's coordinates into the Falcon's computers. [Because headed straight for the Core worlds with a bounty on our heads makes perfect sense!] the Wookiee sarcastically complained while filling out the new commands and turning the ship around.
Han settled back in his chair, watching the stars outside the viewport streak into bright lines as they blew past. He smiled at the familiar screech of lightspeed. He could only imagine being a free man, living without a bounty hanging over his head, maybe with Bria back at his side. No! Han shook his head, cleared the thought from his mind and tried forgetting that he had even considered the idea all together. He couldn't lie to himself, couldn't pretend that he didn't miss her, but Han knew it would cost him his composure. Bria had been his first love, someone he had found that he could trust, that he could talk to whenever he needed. Then, she had just left. And Han turned into the empty, mercenary man he was today, careful not to get attached to anything, careful not to care. All he had was Chewie and the Falcon and that was enough for him.
OoO
Han thought he was going to start missing Corellia, but he was unexpectedly wrong. Alderaan had to be the very opposite of wild, cocky, rogue Corellia. The planet, nicknamed "The Safest Planet In the Galaxy", was quiet, peaceful, and rich in the arts, cuisine, and wine. Han had never had a bottle before, but the Alderaaninas were renowned for their wine, white, red, blue; it was one of their main exports in trade and racked up quite the sales. Their vineyards were nearly sacred and only second to Aldera City when it came to tourist attractions. Aldera. The shimmering jewel, the heart and capital of Alderaan itself. Aldera was a splendid island off the coast of one of Alderaan's main continents. With rich soil, clear waters, and bright skies, it was clear why Alderaanians were know for their poetry too. Out the viewport, Han stared at the island in amazement. It was truly magnificent.
"This is Alderaan Flight Security," a gentle, welcoming voice spoke over the Falcon's comm unit. "Please identify yourself, unknown freighter."
"This is the Millennium Falcon," Han answered back. "Captain Han Solo. I'm requesting permission to land."
"Of course, Captain Solo. You may land in Docking Bay AA-23. Please enjoy your stay on Alderaan!"
Han and Chewie guided their ship down to their designated docking bay and landed smoothly right in the center of the bay. "Well, I guess we should go check this place out," Han suggested, powering down the ship and heading out with Chewie. Almost immediately, the two were greeted with warm, genuine smiles. "The people here sure are nice enough," Han remarked about them. "Let's see if we can get a decent hotel around here. Settle down for the night. Maybe we'll explore more tomorrow."
OoO
It was most definitely the greatest sleep Han had had in a long time, and probably the first he'd woken up from with a smile on his face. Never one who was much for mornings, Han was surprised on the effects the planet already had on him. He washed up in the hotel room's sanisteam, dressed in his Corellian outfit, and set out with Chewie to explore the planet.
Crevasse City was busy and bustling with Alderaanians when Han and Chewie arrived in a speeder cab. People Han assumed to be nobles crowded the streets, dressed in their best, most elegant and regal gowns and suits. "Court marriage market day," the driver smiled out at the crowd as he explained to Han, pulling on his scraggly beard in thought. "Every year, the Great Houses meet and introduce their children until they are all married off into each other's houses. I love looking at the princesses, how beautiful they've grown. Well, enjoy your stay now! You chose a wonderful time to visit." And the driver was off.
Han gazed back on the sight of the Alderaanian nobles as they chatted among themselves. The meeting seemed much more casual than Han would expect of such an event. It was in front of the public, right in the middle of the city, and no one seemed really awe struck at the sight of the royal families just walking around.
His gaze scanned about the crowd, between all the royals until he spotted a couple, their skin tan and hair black, with their daughter, a brown haired, light skinned belle with startling, deep brown eyes that Han only managed to catch a brief flash of. Alderaanian princes flocked around her, offering the princess their hands, a kiss, a dance. Ah, Han thought with a lopsided grin. The life of a princess.
Han turned away, joining Chewie where he stood in front of a cart selling some type of Alderaanian delicacy. Han tried one, grinned his approval, and told his Wookiee friend, "I think I'm already starting to like this place."