The Legion Renewed
Chapter Twelve
Leia stood at the door a little nervously. She knew that Han would never approve of what she was doing here, but she herself would not rest easily until she had done it.
The door finally opened, and Han's grandmother smiled at her with a stretching of the mouth that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I was so pleased to get your message," she said silkily. "Won't you come in?"
"Uh, thank you," Leia said, a little startled at the reception, but taking it in stride. She hadn't expected much pleasantness at all from the old woman and had come prepared to deal with a cranky, bitter old grandmother.
"Won't you sit down? I've made some tea for us."
"That would be lovely," Leia said, still a little unsure what to make of this sudden change.
While her hostess disappeared into the kitchen, Leia contemplated the holographic cube in the curio cabinet. Now that she had the chance to study it closely, she could see some resemblance between the woman in the picture and Han. Not in the eyes or color of the hair, of course, but perhaps in the angle of the nose...
Of course, the slight similarities could also be just a coincidence.
Nana Solo reappeared with the tea, and Leia moved away from the cabinet to sit down on the sofa. She noted with surprise that her new in-law had brewed some of the tinsel. After what Han had told her, she would have expected the old woman to hoard the stuff. There were also some cakes of some sort on the tray. Well, it just went to prove that sometimes you could be wrong about people. She wished Han were here to see it.
But she also decided, based on the disapproving stare that Han's grandmother had given Chewbacca before, that a single cake and a single cup of tea would be enough.
"Thank you for seeing me, Mrs. Solo," Leia said. "We hardly got the chance to talk last time."
"That was none of my doing," the old woman said. Then she smiled again. "But here we are, now."
Leia set her teacup down and leaned forward. "Mrs. Solo, may I get right to the point? I know that you and Han have had your differences, but I really think that he wants to be on good terms with you. His pride sometimes gets in the way of what he wants, though."
The old woman suddenly became bitter again. "Pride? Not a word from him for years, until he wanted money to get away. The next day I heard on the news broadcast that he'd gotten court-martialed out of the military. Then nothing out of him again until the day before yesterday."
"I'm sure that you've heard by now that Han was accused unjustly. He uncovered a scheme that was draining money out of the military resources, then was set-up to take the fall himself when he tried to take action against the guilty parties."
"You'd think he'd have the decency to tell me that himself."
Leia sighed. "I know. But I'm sure that if you told him how much you wanted to see him, he'd come around."
"If he wants to see me, he knows where the door is."
"Mrs. Solo, family members shouldn't be on non-speaking terms with each other."
"I agree."
"Then what can I do to help? If it's money Han owes you, I'll gladly-"
"Money, huh!" the old woman snorted. "All I ever wanted was a little consideration. Saying he's sorry for the way he's treated me would be a good place to start."
"Mrs. Solo," Leia said carefully, "I think I know Han well enough to say that if there's going to be any reconciliation, you'll have to make the first move. He's not totally unreasonable, but it's hard for him to apologize."
"Well, I have nothing to apologize for."
Leia's eyebrows furrowed. "Mrs. Solo, don't you think that-"
"-But forgive me," the old lady said, suddenly painting on her false smile again. "I forgot who I was talking to. The fact that Han married you shows that maybe there's hope for him yet. Never could stand those bums he hangs out with-especially that monkey friend of his."
"Perhaps once you got to know Chewbacca, you might change your mind."
"Not likely. Han's friends have no more sense of responsibility than he has. Or that his mother had."
"I think he's got more of a sense of responsibility than you give him credit for. Did you know that he led the ground forces in the Battle of Endor? He was a trusted leader in the Alliance, and is equally valuable to the New Republic."
"There must have been some profit in it for him somewhere. That's why he married you, isn't it?"
"Excuse me?" Leia said.
"Well, at first I thought you were a confidence artist or something. But then I had you checked out and found out that you were the Princess of Alderaan."
"You had me checked out?" Leia asked incredulously.
"Naturally. Someone in your position should be able to understand that. I also checked out that story you told me about the pendant you're wearing. You know, there's a blood test that will show if he really is from the house of Peruvis. If so, there are still a few assets left he could lay claim to. Nothing like a princess would have, of course, but at least his blood-line would be something respectable."
"For your information," Leia said, rising along with her temper, "Han didn't marry me for my money. Most of it vanished along with Alderaan. And if you stopped adding assets and liabilities long enough to look at Han for what he is, you might notice that he's stuck his neck out more than once to fight for something that had nothing to do with his personal safety or comfort. And as for that 'monkey' friend of his-Chewbacca is one of the most loyal and trustworthy companions that anyone could ever hope for!"
Leia strode angrily to the door, leaving Han's grandmother to gape after her speechlessly. Just as Leia opened the door, she turned around and offered a parting shot. "You know, I was curious about Han's lineage, but I'm hardly in a position to make an issue of it. I was adopted by the Viceroy of Alderaan-he wasn't my real father. It might surprise you to know who my real father was!"
Saying that, Leia Organa-Solo, the Princess of Alderaan, pulled the chain with the Cressola family crest off from around her neck, threw it on the floor, and left.
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.
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Han tinkered with the new rotating canon he'd just installed on the Falcon's belly-turret. He'd been considering replacing the old one for a while, and the opportunity to get a genuine Corellian-manufactured one was too sweet to pass up.
"Han-" a voice said from behind him.
"Yeah, Leia, what is it?" he asked, without turning around.
"Han, can I talk to you for a minute?"
The Corellian tightened a loose wire, pouring all his attention into it. "Yeah, I'm listening. What is it?"
"Can I talk with you face to face?"
Han sighed with resignation and turned to look at her. "What is it?"
Leia hesitated. "Do you-I mean, have you decided whether or not to accept Taj's offer?"
He gave her an expression that said 'you interrupted me for this?' but aloud he said, "No, I haven't decided yet," and turned back to his work.
"Han-"
He turned again with a look of exasperation. "What?"
"Why did you marry me?"
He was flustered. "Well, because."
"Because why?"
"I don't know. Just because." He turned back to his work.
"Do you love me?"
He turned long enough to flash a leering grin. "You know I do, sweetheart."
"That's not what I meant!" Leia exclaimed, and ran up the gangplank.
Han turned and saw the empty place where Leia had been standing. "Well what the hell do you mean?" he called after her.