The Legion Renewed

Chapter Eight

For a last-minute's notice, the dinner Marina managed to put together was quite elaborate. Han wasn't sure if she and Taj ate like this all the time, or if this qualified as a "special occasion."

Leia was currently making polite conversation with Taj and Marina and trying unsuccessfully to include Han in the boring dinner chatter. Once she had realized that Taj meant none of them any harm, she had slid smoothly into the role of the perfect-mannered-princess again. Chewbacca was too busy making sure that Marina wouldn't have any leftovers to do more than add an occasional grunt to the proceedings.

As for himself, Han would have liked nothing better at the moment than a fast ship and a hold full of illegal cargo.

Unless, of course, it was a few moments alone with Marina.

Marina made some sort of comment about the view on the terrace and suggested that Leia might want to see it before they ate dessert. Han had the feeling that it was some sort of prearranged move, decided upon beforehand between Taj and Marina.

Chewbacca, in true Wookiee form, yawned and stretched back in his chair, oversized for a human but just barely adequate for a Wookiee, preparatory to taking an after-dinner nap. It was amazing how smoothly Chewie could slip back into his old lifestyle, too.

"So, Han," Taj said with a slow smile, leaning back in his own chair. "What have you been doing with yourself since the overthrow of the Empire?"

"You know perfectly well what I've been doing, Taj. Even if you haven't been listening to Leia extoll my virtues, I'm sure your spies keep you well-informed."

"Not as well as you seem to think. All I know for sure is that you commanded the ground forces in the battle of Endor. Things must be kind of slow for you since then?"

Solo glared back at him.

The General nodded. "I thought as much."

"Cut the crap, Taj. What do you want?"

"Nothing," he replied innocently. "Only, I have a proposal I think you might be interested in. A job offer."

"What kind of job offer?"

"Something in your line. We've been having problems with some of our shipping lanes recently. Pirates-that sort of thing. The New Republic is sympathetic to our situation, but they're too busy with their own problems to give us any real assistance. I've been authorized to set up a task force. I want you to command it. Who better to catch a pirate than another pirate, eh? So what do you say?"

Han leaned back in his chair. "Well, Taj, thanks, but no thanks. I don't need to accept any token retribution to make your conscience feel better."

"I'd hardly call giving you twenty of my best blood-stripes a 'token retribution.'"

Chewbacca opened his eyes at this and woofed in astonishment.

"Blood-stripes?" Han said with wide eyes, echoing his friend's question.

Taj smiled. "You can hand pick 'em. Like I was saying, this is a real problem, not just a nuisance."

Chewbacca barked. Han waved at him to show that he hadn't forgotten the important questions. "And ships?"

"Of course. Corellian fighters, and a docking vessel. I assume you'll want to use the Millenium Falcon as a command ship?"

"If I decide to take you up on this. I'm a married man, now." Han glanced toward the balcony, and then started thinking aloud. "Leia won't be at all happy with the idea. Not at all...But Blood-stripes..."

"Don't take too long thinking about it, Han. I need an answer soon."

"Don't get your pants wet. You've waited this long, you can wait a bit longer. Besides, I want more information: like, which lanes are being hit the hardest; what kind of firepower and armament the pirates have; what their tactics are; and...can I really hand pick the 'stripes for my team?"

.

.

.

Leia savored both the view and the cool, refreshing night air. "You were right," she breathed. It's beautiful out here."

"This has always been my favorite place."

"Alderaan used to have cities like this," Leia said wistfully. "When I was young, I used to see the lights from a distance and imagine it was a fairy land."

"I know what you mean," Marina agreed. "That's why we live here instead of someplace more convenient." She paused momentarily, and then changed the subject. "He hasn't changed much, has he?"

Leia's attention was brought back from the lights abruptly. "Who? Han?" she asked, with a trace of suspicion. Despite the fact that she was developing a liking for Marina, it did not escape her notice that there was obviously still a spark of something left from what she and Han used to share.

"He's still as arrogant and as cocky and as vulnerable as ever. To tell the truth, I was very surprised to learn that he had gotten married, but now that I've had the chance to talk with you and get to know you, it's not so much of a shock."

"Why would it be such a shock?" Leia asked cautiously.

"Well...because of what he is. Most men on Corellia either despise women completely or chase after every female creature they see. It's their defense-mechanism. Only a very few, like Taj, ever develop a meaningful relationship with just one woman. I was never sure which of the three categories Han leaned toward...until now."

"And now that you know he's capable of a commitment like marriage?" Leia asked with just a slight edge of ice.

Marina laughed. "Oh, don't worry. I'm much too old-fashioned for Han's type, whatever that is. He never asked me to marry him, you know. I've never known Han to let a little thing like a court-martial stand between him and something he wanted. Have you?"

"Well, no..." Leia said hesitantly.

"If he really wanted me, he'd have come back for me." She glanced inside the apartment, then turned back to Leia. "It takes Han time to develop a loyalty to another person, but once he does, he'll stand by you through thick and thin. You can ask Chewbacca. They argue all the time, but they've stuck together for all these years like glue." She stopped, smiled, then added, "Han was never really in love with me, nor I with him. The only reason I waited until after the court-martial was repealed to marry Taj was to prove to Taj that I loved him. If I hadn't waited, Taj would always have wondered."

Leia smiled and looked away again at the distant lights. "Thank you. I must admit that I wondered what you meant when you said that Taj had never stolen you."

"Taj was the only choice for me, though I suspect you'd be bored to death with someone like him. Underneath, he's terribly conservative. He spoils me rotten, and I love it. I'm glad I was able to give him a girl as our first-born."

"Is there some special significance to having a daughter instead of a son?" Leia asked, puzzled.

Marina raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You don't know? No, of course not-Han would never have told you." Marina waved an arm towards the lights. "Haven't you noticed the proportion of males to females since you've been here? Only about one-tenth of Corellia's population consists of women, and most of them are from off-world. The experts aren't sure why-they think it has something to do with radiations in the atmosphere-but very few female babies are born here. Even off-worlders who come here are affected by it. The few women on Corellia tend to have as many children as they can just to keep the population stable. Having a marriage blessed by a female child is considered a sign of extreme good fortune."

Leia's eyes widened in astonishment. "So that explains why Corellia is such a military-oriented planet. But why don't the men simply move off-world? Or bring more off-world women here?"

Marina laughed. "Many of them do. Take Han, for instance. But Corellians also suffer from this affliction called 'pride.' This planet has the worst case of that disease that you will ever find, and Han and Taj suffer from it just as much as everyone else. That's why Han's court-martial was so painful for him, because it hurt his pride."

Leia looked back through the curtains where the men were sitting at the table. "I had often wondered," she said quietly, "why Corellians are such good ship-builders and pilots..."

"And Han is certainly one of the best. He was a Bloodstripe, you know. That's quite an accomplishment when you consider the pool that the elite military force has to draw from."

Leia turned away from the sliding glass doors to look at her hostess. "You sound like you're leading up to something."

Marina glanced over to where her husband and Han and Chewbacca were now deeply engrossed in conversation. "I guess I am, actually..."