Scoundrel

ooc:

2008-10-21T23:02:36Z

Rebel Briefing:

- Approx 75-100 Rebel Commanders & Staff in War Room
- Discuss need to take down shield generator on Forest Moon of Endor
- Lando is head of attack squadron which will make the run on the Death Star
- Han is head of the strike team which will take out the shield generator.

Hangar Bay:

- Various Rebel fighter craft, fighter pilots, staff, droids. Millienium Falcon is present. Imperial Shuttle is present.
- Strike team loads onto Imperial Shuttle, piloted by Han, Luke, Leia, Chewie, extra room in cockpit.
- Imperial Shuttle moves into Hyperspace and to Endor system.

Endor Approach:

- Nervous tension in group. Code is old but they are cleared to land on the moon.
- Luke senses Vader and worries he is endangering the mission.

Endor Moon:

- Strike team moves through the forest recon-style. Silent and careful.
- Encounter speederbike patrol. Han & Chewie fight with Imps.
- Luke and Leia on chase of other Imps. Luke returns. Leia does not.
- Han sends strike team on to shield generator while they search for Leia, meet at 0300.

Search for Leia:

- No trace of Leia. Damaged speeder bike / helmet found.
- Net trapped and captured by Ewoks.
- Taken to Ewok treetop village and nearly roasted. Luke uses Force to levitate 3po. Ewoks release heroes.
- Ewok storytelling / Part of tribe. Han tells 3po to get them supplies and they move out to rejoin strike team.

Shield Generator:

- Strike team rejoins and reaches generator. Ewoks tell them of a secret back entrance.
- Strike team moves through forest to back entrance.

Rebel Fleet:

- Lando and fights are assembled and 'airborne', make the jump to hyperspace.
- Entire fleet command also jumps to hyperspace, heading for Endor.

Shield Generator 2:

- Ewok creatures distraction, allows team to gain access to bunker.
- Han, Leia, Chewie enter + 4 strike force commandos.
- Minor scuffle, take over control room, begin to set charges in room.
- Taken captive by Imps and lead back outside where rest of Rebels have been rounded up.

Rebel Fleet - Endor:

- Emerge from hyperspace near Death Star. No reading on shields.
- Lando realizes they know they are coming and the shield is up.
- Ackbar commands evasive action. "It's a trap!" scene.
- Imperial fighters EVERYWHERE and battle begins.

Shield Generator 3:

- 3po and ewoks create diversion without warning, attacking Imps.
- Rebels realize what's going on and an all out melee breaks out.
- Han and Leia try to get the door open, but need R2 to reprogram it, hold position.

Rebel Fleet - Endor 2:

- Imperial Star Destroyers are not attacking, nobody knows why.
- Suddenly, Death Star is operational and destroys a Rebel cruiser (Liberty) with one blast.
- Ackbar orders a retreat but Lando tells him that Han will have the shield down.
- Fighters move closer to Star Destroyers, using them as cover from the Death Star's ray.
- Super Star Destroyer is taken down and hits Death Star.

Shield Generator 4:

- Imperial troops and walkers are taking heavy losses from ewok attacks.
- Han tries to hotwire door after R2 disabled, fails. Leia is wounded.
- Chewie arrives in walker and plan is hatched to trick Imp guards inside the bunker.
- Trick works, remaining Imps are drawn out and taken hostage, strike team resumes setting charges.
- Han is last one out of bunker, running like hell for the forest before bunker, generator, dish EXPLODE.

Rebel Fleet - Death Star:

- With shield down, Lando, Wedge, 2 X-Wing, 1 A-Wing strike force begin attack run.
- TIE fighters persue through superstructure, everyone but Lando & Wedge return to surface and draw fire.
- Reactor is destroyed, Land & Wedge escape at last moment.
- Entire fleet moves rapidly away from Death Star to avoid explosion.

Endor Forest:

- The explosion is visible from the ground and celebration begins.
- Han finds out Leia and Luke are siblings, this means she's all his.

Ewok Village:

- Rebel pilots (Wedge, Lando, others) and strike team are reunited on the ground.
- Luke returns after burning Anakin/Vader in a funeral pyre.
- Fireworks overhead and bonfires among the trees as everyone celebrates.
- All across galaxy, huge celebrations.

So definitely, need to plan what ooms with who. I know Ashie - you have stuff already planned for Esfir. I need to prethread with Ben and I need to ponder if anyone will be coming along besides Ben for Great Adventures In Blowing Shit Up.

rebel_falcon @ 2008-10-06T15:25:00

2008-10-06T23:12:08Z

"General Solo, if I may be so bold..."

"Spanner."

"Shouldn't you be attending the briefing..."

"Spanner."

There's a pause as the droid rummages around in the box in front of him, before handing over the requested item, metal piece passing easily from his gold-plated hand to the glove-covered one that's sticking up from the access hatch.

"It was requested that all generals be in attendance."

"They're recording it, I can get the holo later."

"Sir, I hardly think,"

Han pops his head out of the hatch, which prompts a pause and silence from Threepio. "Connector wire. Red. Six gauge." And then drops back down.

"How long of a piece do you require, sir?"

"Enough to bridge..."

There's a long pause, some muffled swearing and calculations.

"If you would tell me what pieces you wish to connect, I can pull up the data on the classification for the ship,"

"It's aftermarket."

"Well then, if I were to scan,"

Dryly: "She doesn't like it when you scan her, at least not without buying her dinner first."

"Sir?"

Han rolls his eyes and anyone who wasn't made of mechanical bits and pieces would likely have heard the movement, given the look on his face as he leans his head against a panel. "Joke, Threepio."

"You wish to hear a joke?" A beat. "I hardly think now is the time for humor."

"It was a joke. You take a woman out, you buy her dinner, maybe a drink or two..."

"Oh."

"Wire, Threepio. Just a couple of feet, I'll make it work."

The droid spools off exactly three feet of the red, six gauge wire, snips it precisely and then leans down to offer the end to the man down in the hatch. "Will this do, sir?"

"Yeah."

The wire disappears and the sounds of hot metal being bonded with a soldering tool and a brief flash of the scent of ozone is in the air. Han idly wonders if droids can smell.

"Humans have such peculiar mating customs."

"...what?"

"Oh, nothing sir. I was just going through my index and I find that humans have one of the most complex set of rituals related to mating and reproduction. Most other species can simply..."

"Simple what?"

"There's a term I'm looking for, one moment sir."

Han tests the connection to one end of the wire, then slides down on his back, moving along the cool grate of the narrow space, the innards of the Falcon just inches from his frame. If he was claustrophobic, this would drive him nuts. Luckily, since he is still breathing, and still able to move, he's not concerned.

"You'll have to speak up if you find it," he calls.

"I believe it is...most other species can simply 'just do it', sir. Or perhaps 'get on with it'," he admits. "I'm not quite updated for the most modern terms, I'm afraid."

There's a sound that filters up, over the quiet, steady din of the ship and the activity in the hangar outside, and it gives the droid reason to pause, curiously peering down into the hatch. "Sir? Are you alright?"

Nothing.

"Sir? General Solo?"

Nothing.

Then:

"Suppose that's one way to put it."

"How else would you put it?"

"I don't know...friends with benefits."

"I don't believe I understand the meaning, sir."

"Think about it a minute."

The droid does.

friend

n.

1. A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts.
2. A person whom one knows; an acquaintance.
3. A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; a comrade.
4. One who supports, sympathizes with, or patronizes a group, cause, or movement: friends of the clean air movement.

benefit

n.

1a. Something that promotes or enhances well-being; an advantage: The field trip was of great benefit to the students.
1b. Help; aid.
2. A payment made or an entitlement available in accordance with a wage agreement, an insurance policy, or a public assistance program.
3. A public entertainment, performance, or social event held to raise funds for a person or cause.
4. Archaic. A kindly deed.

"Figure it out yet?"

"I..."

Han finishes up his work and then crawls out of the belly of the ship, resting his arms on the deck of the lounge area, looking up at the droid expectantly.

"One would assume that using the word 'with' implies ownership of some sort."

"Not as binding as some relationships can be."

"The alpha male in any group tends to choose one mate as his female..."

"And if I'm not the alpha male of the species?"

"Sir."

Han grins and hops out of the hatch, then collects his tools and slides the grate closed with his boot. "Friends with benefits."

The droid stares after the man as he walks out of the room, then looks over at the control panel of the Falcon.

"I say, humans are a rather complicated species. They never cease to astound me."

A pause.

"Though, I do apologize if I've offended you."

rebel_falcon @ 2008-09-13T21:59:00

2008-09-14T05:06:56Z

There's a slight sense of something growing near on the ship once they disembark off the Falcon, into the hangar bay. It hasn't been long at all since she was last here, but the war is getting closer.

Pilots are out running attack runs and mocking up plans for possible confrontations, so everything is a bit busier and there's more people around, but when you're just a pair of pilots, in flight suits, with helmets under your arms and a sense of purpose, nobody really cares where you're going.

Being a general might help with that as well.

Han sets his helmet on one of the A-Wings and then starts the preflight.

"Mech droids scanned them earlier this mornin'," but it doesn't mean he's not going to inspect the craft himself, and he knows she'll do the same with hers.

rebel_falcon @ 2008-08-05T23:18:00

2008-08-06T06:22:56Z

Well.

That certainly ain't the lake.

The hatch shuts behind them with a solid klunk and Han stares into the cargo hold of the Falcon for a few seconds.

"Uh."

Yeah.

Definitely not the lake.

rebel_falcon @ 2008-07-18T23:46:00

2008-07-19T06:49:19Z

Han's kneeling on a cross-beam in what appears to be a small room full of various blinking lights, wires, and parts as he pulls Esya up into the ship from the bar. There's room enough for two, and only a slight squeeze through the innards of the ship to the deck above.

He's sure to wedge that wrench in the access hatch to the bar, just to be safe, so they can find a quick door back to the bar if they need one.

"Promise, she's a lot more spacious up top," he says, as he turns and makes his up up through the hole and onto the deck panels of one of the mostly-empty cargo holds.

rebel_falcon @ 2008-07-15T01:21:00

2008-07-15T08:21:44Z

The Falcon leaves Tatooine in a hurry -- everyone is eager as hell to get off the dustball of a planet -- and while Luke and the R2 unit head to someplace else, they're headed back to the Rebel Fleet.

Lando flies, since Han still can't see. Chewie spends a few hours resting in his bunk in one of the upper cargo holds, rather than the crew quarters since he's so tall. Leia stays up front with Threepio and Lando while Han takes the time to sit alone in the quarters after he grabs a shower in the 'fresher.

His eyes aren't all there, yet, but they're coming back to him, slowly.

Han ends up in his bunk -- they haven't touched it, save for changing the sheets now and then -- and opens the storage spots by feel. The bottle of Whyren's is still there, and so is the little plush robot. That seems like a lifetime ago.

Stuck in a carbon-brick in Jabba's den of smugglers.

When they reach the fleet, the Falcon docks in a hangar bay on the command ship and Leia helps him along the halls to the shuttle bay. It's a quick ride across to the medical frigate and they check his eyes, check his vitals, give him a few shots for some reason, and then they ship him back to the command ship.

He feels like a number as he's lead around, but things start to get clearer over the next few hours.

After a few hours of sleep, he opens his eyes and blinks at the ceiling, at the lights overhead.

There's a knock on the door.

"Captain Solo?"

"Yeah?"

"Mon Mothma and General Madine would like to see you, on the bridge, sir."

Han feels his eyes snap open as he sits up out of bed. "Yeah, uh, tell her I'll be right up," he says, before he quickly climbs out of the bunk and rubs his hands over his face. He studies his hands, the details on his fingers, the scars and the color, and smiles when he can see all of it. It doesn't take long to get dressed and it feels good to be wearing his bloodstripes again, with the holster at his thigh.

He walks quickly, through the ship, to the bridge where both of them are waiting.

"Captain Solo," Mon Mothma studies him a moment once he steps into the room. "I see you're feeling better."

"Yes, ma'am," he says quietly. "I'm not quite sure what they gave me over in medical but it cleared my vision up just fine."

"Good," and it's an honest smile on her face, but soon she's grown a bit serious. "I'm sure you understand what's at stake, here."

Han looks at Madine, then back at Mothma. "I'm not sure what you're talking about."

"We've gotten word of the Death Star's location and plans that indicate a critical error in the construction," she continues. "It won't be easy, by any means, and we're looking at two of our generals to lead the attack, one with a flight squadron and another with a ground assault. The shield generator must be deactivated in order to allow us to penetrate the defenses of the Death Star and destroy it."

"So you want me to fly on the attack squadron," he assumes.

"No." It's General Madine who cuts in, as he steps forward. "Calrissian has volunteered to lead the fighter attack on the Death Star, and is assembling his own squadron, and give the recommendation you gave us regarding his skills, we feel he's the best fit."

"Oh," and then it hits him. Lando is a general then. And most likely because Han mentioned the way that Lando flew back at Taanab. So he'll be the one flying while Han is...

"Captain Solo," Mon Mothma speaks up again, as she steps forward. "General Calrissian will be leading the fighter group during the Death Star attack. Given your qualifications and the things I've heard about your...tenacity," she smiles at him, a bit. "I believe it is in the best interests of the Rebellion if you were the one leading the ground assault strike on the shield generator."

Han blinks a few times. "You just said you wanted a general to be leading the attacks."

It's Madine who laughs first. "You may have been blind, but you didn't go deaf in that carbonfreeze, Solo," the man gives him a grin and a hand on the shoulder.

"I did," Mothma agrees. "Which is also why I believe it is in the best interest of the Rebellion if you were promoted to General as well. You've shown us that you are more than capable at leading others and that you're dedicated to the cause."

"I..." Han shakes his head. "I...I don't know what to say."

Madine looks at him, then looks at the older woman before he nods. "Yes you do."

Han thinks on it a moment, before he looks at Mon Mothma and then nods his head. "I'll lead the strike team for the assault on the generator."

"Excellent," she presses her hands together and then nods her head. "We'll need you to assemble the team at once and prepare for the attack. General Madine will provide you with the plans and blueprints of the generator facility and any other information you think will aid you and your team."

"I'll have an intel droid deliver the information to your quarters, Solo," he says. "Along with anything else you think you'll need?"

He thinks for a minute, then nods. "I'll need a list of the gear available to make sure we've got what it'll take to take down that generator and deactivate the shield," he says, as he thinks. "And I'd like a copy of the latest flight simulator software for the fighters. The ones we'll be having the pilots run prior to the briefing."

When they both look at him, a bit funny, Han shrugs. "I'm a pilot. I'm curious?"

Mothma nods her head, with a bit of a smile on her face. "If that's all, then you're dismissed, General."

Han nods and then stands at attention and salutes, before he turns and strides out of the room and off the bridge, heading back for his bunk and his quarters.

He's a general.

For once in his life, Han Solo is at a loss for words.

rebel_falcon @ 2008-07-14T00:55:00

2008-07-14T07:58:50Z

Chewie lets out a soft warble as Han returns into the darkness.

"Yeah, the bar," Han replies quietly, before he drops onto the ground and leans back against the wall. His vision isn't any better. He hadn't expected much of a change but at least some light would have been appreciated. "Woulda brought you somethin' if I'd been able to see where the kriff I was walkin' around."

The wookie sighs and then takes a seat beside Han, and pulls him close, large paw stroking over his friend's already messy hair.

"S'okay, we'll get out of this."

"Mmrraff."

"Yeah," he chuckles. "Just like old times, pal."

He's not sure how long it is that they sit there. A day. Maybe longer. Nobody brings them any food and nobody brings them any water, but Han just stays close to Chewie and tries to focus on the far side of the cell. They've been in worse spots before, him and the furball, but they've always managed to get out of it.

This time won't be any different.

The doors to the cell slam open and Han feels himself getting pulled to his feet by gloved hands, and a weapon at his back.

Maybe it will be different.

"Han!"

He knows that voice.

"Luke!"

"Are you all right?"

"Fine." Han tries to look around the room on instinct, he can hear Jabba, and his gang, but he can't see a damn thing. It makes him nervous. "Together again, huh?"

"Wouldn't miss it," the kid replies.

"How're we doing?"

Luke eyes the guards. Jabba. Leia chained to Jabba. The angry looks on the faces of everyone staring at them. "The same as always."

"That bad, huh?" Han comments. "Where's Leia?"

There's a pause, before she speaks up. "I'm here."

+++++

The sand is hot, and Han can feel it whipping against his face as the skiff they're in crosses the Dune sea. Luke is on here too, and so is the wookie.

Great.

Get freed from that carbon freeze and now I'm going to be spending a thousand years in this hellhole getting digested in the pit of a kriffin' Sarlacc's belly. Luke's got it all under control. Of course he does. Jedi Knight. Stupid religion. Stupid oldtimer and stupid kriffin'...

He blinks. "I think my eyes are getting better. Instead of a big dark blur," he says, voice rough with sarcasm, "I see a big light blur."

"There's nothing to see," Luke admits. "I used to live here, you know."

"You're gonna die here, you know. Convenient."

"Just stick close to Chewie and Lando. I've taken care of everything."

Han is quiet for a moment. Lando. That good for nothing... "Oh. Great."

+++++

It all happens too fast for him to even make sense of it. One minute, he's yelling at Jabba's barge, and then the next, the guards are screaming as the skiff rocks with the shift of someone's weight. He can hear the hiss of a lightsaber and then canon fire as the barge fires at the skiff.

Everything is going to hell and he still can't see.

Another blast rocks the skiff and he can hear Chewie yell as they get hit by the shrapnel from the explosion. His back hurts as he hits the deck, Lando is yelling for help, and his first mate is howling in pain.

"Chewie, you okay? Where is he?"

Another low cry, before he feels a furry hand at his back.

"I'm okay, pal."

"Han! Chewie?" It's Lando, who's clinging to a rope, dangling over the pit of the Sarlacc.

"Lando!"

Chewie barks at him as Han begins to feel around the deck, hunting for a weapon, anything to have Lando hold onto, anything, before his fingers curl around a spear from one of the guards and he hears exactly what the wookie is barking at him.

"Boba Fett?! Boba Fett?! Where?"

On instinct, he whirls around and slams into something.

(It's the jetpack of the bounty hunter and he goes flying off the skiff, out of control, and into the pit of the Sarlacc.)

+++++

They make an interesting group:

Lando, clinging to the sand and trying not to slide into the mouth of the sand-beast.

Han, still blind and dangling over the edge of the pit as Chewie hangs onto his ankles.

Chewbacca, trying to keep from dropping the both of them as the skiff gets fired upon.

"Grab it! Almost. You almost got it!"

"Hold it! Woah!" Lando flails a little as he reaches for the spear again.

"Gently now. All...all right. Now easy, easy. Hold me, Chewie." He stretches out as far as he can towards the sound of Lando's voice. He knows he's got to be close. He's got to be close.

A tentacle flails up and wraps around Lando's leg, causing him to scream as he gets dragged down.

"Chewie!" Han shouts. "Chewie, give me the gun! Don't move, Lando."

"No, wait! I thought you were blind!"

Han grins as he reaches back for the gun that the wookie is handing down to him, carefully. "It's all right," he says. "Trust me. Don't move." The light blur has given way to a dark shadow in the the middle of a white fuzzy patch, and he strains to focus his eyes as he brings the blaster up and aims.

"All right! A little higher!" Lando shouts. "Just a little higher!"

Then, he ducks.

Han fires, and he can hear the sound of flesh being torn apart by the blaster fire. Lando reaches up and grabs hold of the spear, and Chewie pulls them up towards the skiff.

He can't help but grin. Even blind, he's still a hell of a shot.

+++++

Han has his arm around Leia's shoulders as they walk through another white blur, wind whipping around them. The droids are in the front of their line, and Luke and Lando each have an arm of the wookie, who's hobbling, still wounded. The sand makes it impossible to see anything. His goggles are coated in it. His clothes are coated in it.

Chewie warbles, sadly, as they trudge on.

"I don't know. All I can see is a lot of blowing sand!"

Leia keeps her arm around him. "That's all any of us can see."

Han blinks a few times, as a dark blur looms above them. "Then I guess I'm getting better."

The Falcon is above them, and once they're underneath the ship, the sandstorm dies down a bit.

"I've got to hand it to you, kid. You did pretty good out there." He turns towards Luke.

"I had a lot of help. Think nothing of it."

But he's not about to let him off that easy. "No, I'm thinking a lot about it.That carbon freee was the closest thing to dead there is. And it wasn't just sleepin', it was a big wide awake nothin'!"

"I'll see you back at the fleet," Luke says, before he turns to head for his X-Wing, with the R2 droid already loaded up.

"Why don't you leave that crate and come with us?" Han asks, as he moves a step closer to the walkway of the Falcon.

"I have a promise to keep, first. To an old friend."

After Luke takes off in the fighter, Han glances in the direction of Lando. His vision isn't back but it is enough to see the shape of the man, who's standing next to Chewie. "Guess I owe you some thanks, too, Lando."

Even if you got me frozen in that carbon-block in the first place.

"Figured if I left you frozen like that you'd just give me bad luck the rest of my life," Lando quips. "So I might as well get you unfrozen sooner or later."

Leia rolls her eyes and puts her arm around Han. "He means 'you're welcome'."

"Come on," Lando says, as they all head up the walkway into the ship. "Let's get off this miserable dust ball."

rebel_falcon @ 2008-07-08T20:12:00

2008-07-09T04:14:44Z

Outside, the desert sand is swirling over the dunes and the hills, in an endless ocean. The droids are moving along, bickering with each other. Inside, the music plays, and the Hutt laughs.

A 'gift' from Luke Skywalker, to negotiate for the return of Captain Solo.

No deal.

he's still awake. he wishes he could sleep. wishes he could stop thinking, and forget everything. but he still dreams of the black and the pinpricks of stars. dreams of the way the air feels when he's dirtside -- and he knows dreaming about being dirtside means he's really losing his mind.

it's been way too long, stuck in this hell.

But eventually, plans fall into place.

The bounty hunter stands in the dark hallway, staring at the carbonite slab mounted on the wall for a few moments before he reaches up and presses several buttons.

he's in the middle of remembering what it felt like to swim in an ocean when he feels the heat build in his hands. it's hot, almost painfully slow. there's the hesitant thump of his heart in his chest and then another as his body starts to wake up.

his fingers curl, twitching. his lungs gasp for their first breath in who knows how long as the gas dissolves away. he's hot, so hot, but so cold at the same time that he doesn't feel himself falling forward until he's facedown on the floor, hands pressed against the ground.

Han opens his eyes.

Nothing.

Black.

"Just relax. You're free of the carbonite." There's a hand on his shoulder to steady him as he groans, and an unfamiliar voice. "Shhh. You have hibernation sickness."

"I can't see."

He can't see. Han blindly looks around the room but comes up with nothing.

"Your eyesight will return in time."

"Where am I?"

"Jabba's Palace."

He turns his head towards the sound of the voice.

"Who are you?"

There's a long pause, then a familiar voice, this time.

"Someone who loves you."

Han feels his heart leap into his chest. "Leia!"

She reaches for his face and he touches hers with a shaking hand, before she kisses him. He kisses her back, almost desperate. He can't see her but he can feel her cheek under his fingertips and she's warm, and he feels so damn cold. He's shaking. She mutters something about getting him out of there before he hears the laugh.

It echoes down the hall.

"What's that? I know that laugh."

It's Jabba.

Han tries to protest as he feels guards taking him away from Leia.

No no no no not Leia they can't hurt her please not her.

Jabba laughs again.

Han feels helpless as they drag him down the hallway and into a cell. He had been in a cell...however long ago it was. He can't remember. When there is no way to keep track of the days and nights there is no way to keep track of how long he's been frozen in the carbonite. But he knows it's been a pretty damn long time.

The door shuts hard behind him and Han hears a deep growl from the other side of the cell, and presses himself back against it. Then he stops.

"Chewie? Chewie?" His voice sounds a little rough from the lack of use. "Is that you?"

There's a loud yell from the Wookie, who races across and picks him up, hugging him close.

"Ah! Chew-Chewie. Wait, I can't see, pal. What's goin' on?"

"Mmmrrraff warggh," the wookie begins, as he barks excitedly to catch his friend up.

"Luke? Luke's crazy. He can't take care of himself, much less rescue anybody."

"Arr warggggfff."

"A...Jedi Knight?" Han shivers. "I...I'm outta it for a little while and everybody gets delusions of grandeur."

Chewie holds Han close as he barks a quite reply and then begins to pet Han's hair, much like a young child would pet a puppy, and then warbles happily.

Han sighs and leans back against the wookie. "M'alright pal. I'm all right."

rebel_falcon @ 2008-07-07T18:13:00

2008-07-08T01:15:38Z

The bar stays gone for the next few years. The scrap of paper gets lost in the shuffle of constant travels and the rush of swoop racing, the races, the fights, the beatings (they don't come as often, since Shrike doesn't want to risk hurting him so bad that he can't work) and the long nights staring at the black outside the ship through the window near his bunk.

Waiting for something.

What it is, he's not quite sure. But over the years the bar stays gone, Han grows into a top class racer, an expert liar, and a quick fingered and smart witted thief.

Waiting for the moment.

It comes when he catches sight of an ad for brave and skilled pilots, and plans to stowaway to Ylesia. Shrike, when he catches him trying to escape, isn't happy. He's almost caught, but Han watches Dewlanna -- his foster mother, the one who nursed him back to health after so many of the beatings -- sacrifice herself, so that he can escape.

He'll pay her back, someday. He swears it.

The trip to Ylesia isn't easy. Neither is getting the job on the Dream but the alias and the fact that he's damn good at what he does help that. A bit. And while running the droid ship and keeping them away from rebel pirates is good enough money, it's just not...enough.

What he really wants is to be the best. And not just a shipper. A fighter.

Which is why he applies to the Academy on Carida.

The Imperial Navy is the place to learn to fight and the chance to do what he's always wanted to do. Pilot fast ships and have the ability to take out the Rebels and the scum of the universe. While he sits in the chair at the helm of the Dream and stares out at the black, he imagines the look on Shrike's face when he boards his ship and confiscates all his illegal goods, and frees his band of slaves.

They called him their master, and while they were family, they were still slaves.

Slave trading meant death for the trader.

The idea of Shrike facing death made Han eager to learn all he could before he went. He travels to Coruscant to have his identification wiped clean, and undoes changes -- the most significant when Nici changes his retinas to give him a new pattern that has no trace of the old -- which cost him a good portion of his savings but it's worth it, when he's accepted.

The night of his induction ceremony, Han finds himself sitting in the dark at the top of the city, thinking and dreaming of his future. He's actually going to do it. He's going to be inducted into the Academy and then he's going to ship to Carida.

He's going to be free.

What he doesn't expect is the voice that echoes behind him.

Shrike.

Or the other voice.

One he doesn't recognize.

They both want him -- after all, he's got a damn high bounty on his head -- but the other bounty hunter is the first to pull his weapon and fire. Shrike falls and it's an oddly strange sound, the body hitting the ground, and Han is frozen to the spot for a moment, then he moves.

Memories flash back through his mind as he walks to the body, completely ignorant of the other bounty hunter watching him, blaster trained and ready.

Garris Shrike took him in off the streets.

Kidnapped.

Garris Shrike fed him and clothed him.

Starved him and watched him shiver in the cold hold of the ship.

Garris Shrike taught him most everything he knew.

Never trust a man unless he's dead.

Garris Shrike is dead.

Han kneels and picks up the blaster from the fingers and eyes the setting on it. It's set to a high power, not just stun. The other bounty hunter has to be set to stun, since he's worth more alive than he is dead. He keeps his head down.

He can't go to the Hutts. He's going to the Academy and he's going to be free. He can't get caught. The desperation creeps in, for a moment, before he makes up his mind. Before the other bounty hunter can blink, Han moves. Hand steady with the blaster, eyes focused up on the torso, one shot, one kill, a second body on the rooftop.

He eyes the blaster in his hand and then both men on the ground, and smirks a bit.

(Somewhere in the back of his mind, he remembers a piece of advice and it makes him laugh under his breath, shaking his head.)

He cleans the pockets of both men out and then hides the bodies in an access hatch that he doubts anyone will check until it's time to clean the filtration system on the building -- and he laughs at that surprise some poor bastard will find -- before he heads inside to go back to the city.

He has an induction to get to.

rebel_falcon @ 2008-06-19T22:41:00

2008-06-20T05:43:48Z

The day Han goes back to his home world, he tucks the scrap of paper from the old man into his jacket, and heads to return to the Trader's Luck with his head held just a bit higher -- but not too high, because the last thing he wants Shrike to do is start asking questions.

The week that follows is normal, as normal can be for them. A few odd jobs on the side, a few afternoons standing outside a spaceport with a sad look in his eyes, listening to the quiet clink of credits and bits and ends getting dropped into the can he's holding in dirty-gloved hands. He mutters a response to those who give him money, and makes rude comments in his head about those who don't -- the usual.

The month that follows is a bit less than normal, but still the same. The bruises on his arms have faded, new ones across his shoulders have taken their place. The competition is fierce, but Han has been training for months, for years now, and it doesn't take time to move through melee and win the fight, his punishment for cheating at cards. Shrike holds back his usual treatment of the teen -- until Han talks back and is slapped so hard across the face that both his lips split, welling blood that runs down his chin and soaks his shirt. He doesn't remember the rest of the beating, just fists and pain and flashes of contact against his skin until the darkness came. Later that night, or morning, he's not sure -- he finds himself feeling for that scrap of paper and can't find it.

The year that follows is full of secrets and success, both equally dangerous. He's already junior swoop champion for the system, and three years running at that. Shrike has been holding back on punishment, not wishing to endanger the abilities of his prize winner racer, and Han is grateful for that. He grows taller, faster, and when the next round of competition arrives, he's entered into the all-racer level. He wins, easily, the purse and credits more money than he's ever had in his life. Shrike takes most of it -- not all of it, and holds that over Han, tells him to be lucky he got any of it at all.

The month that follows is quiet. Simple jobs, robberies, backdoor traders and they run a little spice, sell a few stolen goods, travel, beg, steal. The usual. He learns as he travels, watches the people as they move in and out of doors, and he searches for that door.

The week that follows is also quiet. Strangely so -- it makes him nervous. The last day of that week is a rude awakening to the quiet, on board the ship. Shrike rouses him from the bed and drags him by the collar down into the hold, and the first slap comes hard and fast, unexpected. A bruise forms across his jaw from the fist, and after the third, perhaps fourth blow, he can't feel anything but pain. Shrike is a professional, but Han can't understand why he's doing this, why he's being punished, he didn't do anything wrong, he didn't do anything to deserve the bite of leather against his shoulderblades, the feeling of darkness closing in -- and the way Shrike never seems to care.

The first day that follows, Han doesn't move from the floor of the hold. He can't. The blood has come to the surface on his bruises, dark, purple marks on his arms that look like handprints. The back of his shirt is ragged, torn, from the striking of stiff leather against tender skin, dried blood that sits in freshly healing wounds. His knees are weak from being forced upon them with the force of the beating he took, mouth dry, head spinning. He can barely focus his gaze on a point in the distance -- until he sees the open hatch.

The sounds of glasses clinking softly against each other. Of laughter, of conversation. A fork skittering across the floor, the pop of the fireplace, the boots and shoes against the ground as people come and go. It takes every ounce of his strength to pull himself up against a crate and stagger towards the sound, his vision so blurry from the pain, he can't quite see where he's headed -- but he doesn't care, because anywhere is better than here.

rebel_falcon @ 2008-06-18T00:45:00

2008-06-18T07:46:57Z

There is no journey without risk --

there is no way to tell the passing of days, of weeks, of months. each cycle moves just the same as the next, an endless loop of time, brought on by the quiet hum of progress. blood does not flow, his heart does not beat, eyes do not see.

the suns rise and fall in time with the movement of the universe; the birth of a galaxy, the death of a star.

near hoth, asteroids collide with violent force, scattering projectiles through the empty darkness. steam rises from hot dagobah swamps. transports move about corsucant in neat rows, people, goods, money, all moving, all making their way towards something.

there is no way to know how long he's locked away, eyes dark to the change of the seasons on corellia, hands numb, toes and legs still, his chest doesn't move, his body sleeps.

and sleeps.

and sleeps.

There is no risk without reward --

the hutt pays boba fett well for his prize, but instead of waking him up, instead of pulling him from his icy block, he leaves him be. hangs him on the wall in the middle of his lounge, and laughs at the way solo's hands are outstretched, the look of pain on his face.

it echoes; laughter.

deaf ears hear none of it, probably for the best.

why didn't they ask him any questions, of course, now it makes sense. they wanted to use him as bait, as a trap, for luke. the kid is only a kid; thinks he's a jedi, going to get himself killed for thinking that, he just knows. of course he will. a trap, a disturbance in the force, a signal.

he came, he's probably dead now, maybe leia too. if he could scream, he would, if he could feel his chest well up in worry, his heart pound with fear, he would welcome it, welcome the salt of tears on his cheeks, the pain of raw hurt in his throat from his screams, but nothing.

just thoughts; feelings.

There are no rewards without sacrifices --

and he sleeps.

and he sleeps.

she sits in her chair and stares out the window towards the stars, towards the galaxy, no news from lando or from chewie. the rebellion has other things to worry about, the imperial strongholds, the raids, the fact that it's getting harder to hide from the troopers. they don't have time for a rescue mission.

but they're still looking; she won't give up.

and he sleeps.

and the laugher echoes across the room, booming deep, and a man with brown eyes watches, and waits.

and waits; no matter to him, he's been waiting in this endless loop for months.

There are no sacrifices without pain --

many die for information, battle plans, drawings, hints and scraps of data that may not even be true. the rebellion is suffering losses but struggling on. the cycles seem to grow longer with each orbit of the suns and moons around the planets, their strongholds vanishing, allies leaving them behind.

but he sleeps; awake

they used him for a trap, and now he is the one trapped, awake, alive, questioning every moment, every job, every flight.

slowly it creeps into his soul, the darkness, the cold, the blindness. no touch, no sight, no sound, not a thing to connect him, a mind in a shell, a shell frozen in time, where stars don't collide and asteroids don't tumble out of control. there is no space, no connection, no movement.

just existence; he's sure he's going insane.

slowly.

Without pain, sacrifice seems mindless.
Without sacrifice, reward seems worthless.
Without reward, risk seems pointless.
Without risk, journeys seem hopeless.

They're not.

They'll keep searching, until they find him.

and until then, he sleeps. awake.

rebel_falcon @ 2008-06-16T21:09:00

2008-06-17T04:16:06Z

OOC INFO POST

In regards to the younger!Han who will be in the bar for awhile, while the current!timeline Han is frozen in a nice block of carbonite, the following should be noted:

He has no idea how old he really is, but one could assume he is about 12-14 by his looks. He has no idea what his last name is (but wouldn't tell you if he did) and will probably give fake names to anyone who asks. He's not the most polite kid in the galaxy by any means. He will try and con people. He will try to steal things.

If you would like your pup to be pickpocketed (or attempted) please let me know by leaving a comment here or pinging on AIM: young scurlock so we can chat about it. I expect him to be around for a bit so no rush to hit up his first entry post, and I will tag him out to other posts as the time/opportunity arises.

rebel_falcon @ 2008-06-14T14:46:00

2008-06-14T21:46:49Z

When he walks back through the door, it's not exactly walking. It's darker than he remembered coming through, and he trips on something in the fog and stumbles, falling, hitting the ground with a dull thud.

"C'mon, Solo," the tin voice of a stormtrooper in his armor. "Get up."

They drag him to his feet and then walk him the remaining distance to the cell, then throw him in. His body feels like hell, and the warm booth at Milliways, the whiskey with Ben Wade, the comfort from Demeter fades like a burnt out star. Maybe he was dreaming it all, just an after effect of the poison running through his veins.

A familiar bark jars him out of his funk and he lifts his head as large, furry arms wrap around him and pull him up.

"I feel terrible."

Chewie grumbles something along the lines of you look terrible too as he carries Han over to a platform and lies him down. The steel is cold underneath his back and Han shifts, uncomfortable, as the door slides open.

Leia is at his side almost immediately, her hand brushing lightly over his hair. "Why are they doing this?"

"They never even asked me any questions," he protests, quietly, weakly, as he hears the door to the cell slide open again.

"Lando," she hisses.

Han pushes himself up a little and stares at the other man. "Get out of here."

Lando steps quickly into the room, followed by two guards. "Shut up and listen! Vader has agreed to turn Leia and Chewie over to me."

"Over to you?"

"They'll have to stay here, but at least they'll be safe."

Leia looks up at him as Han stands up. "What about Han?"

"Vader's giving him to the bounty hunter."

To the bounty hunter. The words ring in Han's ears as he turns and looks into the dark shadows of the cell, away from Leia, away from Lando, away from Chewie and the guards. To the bounty hunter. Which means he'll be taken to Jabba. Which means...maybe he should have had backup come with him after all.

"...someone called Skywalker."

Skywalker.

Han whips his head around at the word, instantly feeling dizzy, to stare at Lando. "Luke?"

Lando nods. "Lord Vader has set a trap for him."

There's a moment's pause, as the words sink in, and then Leia speaks up. "And we're the bait."

"Well," Lando replies. "He's on his way."

The fury in Han boils up slowly, starting from his toes and working up into his torso, heart pounding in his chest, a headache brewing at his temples. A trap. For Luke. They were using him for a trap for the kid and if that kid got hurt because of Lando...

"Perfect," he remarks, the anger biting into his voice. "You fixed us all pretty good, didn't you. My friend!"

One moment he knows he's standing there, glaring at Lando, and then the next he feels his fist connecting hard with the black man's face -- if there's one thing that Han knows how to do, it's to hit someone hard enough to ensure they'll be feeling it for a week. But once isn't enough. They both hit the ground, and he hauls back to hit him again before something smacks hard into his jaw and again into his ribs, sending him flying back. The guards in the room hit him with the butt of their rifles -- which only serves to really tick off the wookie to the point of going after them.

There's the click of blasters being armed and Han glances up at the guards who are now aiming at his best friend.

"Stop!" Lando shouts, standing up between them. "I've done all I can do. I'm sorry I couldn't do better, but I have my own problems."

"Yeah," Han growls up at him, from the floor. "You're a real hero." He's still pissed, and is going to be pissed for quite some time about this incident, but as soon as Lando and the guards walk out of the cell, he feels the pain come back in a rush. It's everything he can to keep from falling over, but he slumps down anyway, one hand going to the blood on his chin as Leia and Chewie kneel next to him.

"You certainly have a way with people," Leia murmurs, as she reaches for his chin and gently dabs at the wound.

++++

The guards and storm troopers come for them later, stripping Han of his jacket and placing binders on his wrists. Leia and Chewie (with the only somewhat assembled Threepio in a pack on the wookie's back) are lead out before he is. As they travel through the corridors, Han wonders where they're going.

And what's going to happen to him when he gets to Jabba the Hutt.

Boba Fett isn't about to take a bribe to let him free, and he doubts there's any chance of escaping an entire squadron of storm troopers -- while he's done it before, he's at a bit of a disadvantage, this time. Unarmed, no ship, hostile territory, surrounded, and bound, rifles aimed at his back and head if he dares step out of line.

He doesn't.

He walks.

When they reach a certain level of the mining facility, they're lead into a doorway and down a ramp to a platform. There is steam coming from the edges, machinery in many places...and Vader. And Lando.

I don't know who I hate more, Han thinks to himself. The Dark Lord himself or the guy I thought was a friend.

"What's going on...buddy?" Han asks, leaning over to Lando.

Without turning his head, Lando speaks. "You're being put into carbon freeze."

Carbon freeze. They don't...use that on humans. Han stares at the lift into the chamber in a blank state of shock, before he feels himself tugged forward by his guards.

Chewie panics and wildly moves to attack the guards trying to walk his friend into the lift, yelling loudly, so loud it echoes off the walls of the chamber and bounces around. The storm troopers swing their rifles to push the wookie back, but it's no use.

No Chewie, no, dammit buddy don't do this.

"Stop, Chewie, stop!" He shouts. "Do you hear me? Stop!" Han struggles against the stormtroopers and finally pulls himself free, then moves to get in Chewie's face -- as best he can, with him being so tall -- "Chewie! Chewie," he orders. "This won't help me. Hey!" He stares at him a moment. "Hey."

Calm down.

"Save your strength," he urges. "There'll be another time. The princess -- you have to take care of her. You hear me?"

Han winks at Chewie, who nods and wails sadly, not even noticing as the stormtroopers place binders on his wrists. Han steps back a little, then looks over at Leia.

Leia. I...you've got to...

No. No time for words. He steps forward and he presses his lips against hers, kissing her. Not like the kiss in the access bay in the Falcon, not the kiss on the forehead just hours before, not a gentle peck on the cheek. This is a kiss, and he's trying to tell her everything in just one --

Stormtroopers yank him backward and he stumbles a little, lips still tingling, eyes locked on hers, as they walk him backwards to the lift.

"I love you!"

The shout comes echoing over to his ears, and Han doesn't smile, doesn't nod, just looks back at her eyes, those damn eyes that can make him do anything.

"I know."

They've undone his binders and he looks down, nervously, into the pit as he's lowered, before he glances back up at them again. Leia. Chewie. Threepio.

Lando.

Vader.

the platform drops suddenly, and he feels like he's going to fall over as the steam rushes in from all angles, he slams his eyes shut because it burns, it's so damn hot, and then the carbonite hits him, fire and metal liquid rushing over his body, but he doesn't have time to scream, doesn't have time to do anything because it all goes blank and black

Perfect hibernation.

The body shuts down, the heart slows, blood cooling to just enough where it barely needs to travel at all. The lungs stop, but he doesn't need to breathe. Soon, the heart stops as well, and the blood collects.

But his brain stays awake.

Awake.

Frozen solid, unable to move, unable to see, unable to breathe, or feel a thing. But his brain is working, however slowed down it is, and while it's not a perfect sense of what's going on, he knows he's awake.

Waiting...for who knows how long.

Trapped.

rebel_falcon @ 2008-06-12T12:42:00

2008-06-12T20:31:27Z

The walls are white.

It's fitting, Han thinks, for a place called Cloud City. But perhaps not, when you think about what goes on in the underbelly of the city, the steel workings and machines, the grease and the steam, sweat and blood of the processing plants for the gas mine. Sure, they may have beautiful malls and well decorated plazas, but what is a paradise unless you actually want to be there?

Lando.

That little...

There are no swears to describe just how angry Han is. Leia is gone. Chewie is gone. Threepio is still in a bundle of pieces, wires, bits and chunks saved from the scrap heap. But Lando. Turning them over to Vader. Vader! He can't...

Good for nothing...

The doors to the room he's sitting in slide open, and he jumps to his feet, only to be met with a wall of white Stormies, blasters pointed in his direction.

No tin-can, though. Not yet, anyway.

They march him downstairs, down a lift, into a corridor, where Lando is standing at the far end with Vader and Boba Fett at his side. If he wasn't being guarded by a squadron of troopers (and probably elite ones, if they were assigned to Vader himself) he'd take the risk of slugging Lando in the face as he walks by, but he doesn't, just glares at him before he steps through the doorway and finds himself staring at a scan grid.

But this isn't just any ordinary scan grid.

The blood in his body sinks to his toes as one of the stormtroopers drags him over to the table and slaps restraints on his wrists, and straps him into what would normally hold metal and things needing to be scanned for content. Only this isn't a block of metal or a product.

Leather presses against his chest and they tilt him forward until he's staring into a faceful of vibroscalpels and electrical probes, sparks snapping off with a crack. He feels (and hears) Vader standing over his shoulder.

He won't tell them anything, no matter what they --

it starts with the shocks and he struggles against the straps holding him into the table, he's dealt with worse, been in enough fights, been chased by Hutts and bounty hunters, blaster shots and time spent in bacta, he's dealt with worse, he should be able to deal with this he should be able

deal with it
deal with it
for her

vader doesn't move, why isn't he moving, why isn't he talking, why isn't anyone talking at all, they're just watching him struggle, kriff that burns against his stomach and his chest, snapping along his arms, jolts running through his bones why aren't they talking why

-- ask.

If anyone was outside the room, they'd be able to hear his screams echoing down the corridor. Lando hears them, for certain, and he glances at the bounty hunter. With that mask on, Fett shows no emotion, just stands still. Waiting, for his prize.

Han screams again, this time louder, and Lando turns back to the door.

they're still not talking, but he struggles against the straps as they send the pulses again, his mind is getting tired, so tired, they'll lose him soon if they don't stop

stop
stop
stop

a pause as he hangs in the straps and then there's pain in his chest, needle sliding deep, a stimulant and his mind falls out of the fuzzy blockers keeping the pain away, then they hit him again

why aren't they asking
why no questions
no questions
why

and again and again, more pain than a man should be able to bear, thanks to the chemicals he stays awake the whole time, ripples moving with his screams, no questions, no sounds, no movements from any of them

like shadows on the wall (in his head) on the floor (in his heart) above the sky (dagobah) waves and ripples and (help me make it stop make it stop) and sparks (can't breathe can't see) shadows

Ripples and waves and then a crash against the sea of life, everything has the Force inside, even those who aren't sensitive can hear the loudest of beats of the heart, the highest of screams of the lungs, the pulse of life.

Tiny pebble.
Giant pond.

Ripples.
Shallow.
Spread farther and farther.

Faster.
Louder.

Dagobah.

this is worse than he's ever had before and they keep with the chemicals to keep him awake and lucid, his mind feels like slush and his heart feels like fire so help them if they try and hurt leia why isn't anyone asking any kriffin' questions how long is this gonna last how long is this

Vader steps from the room and the stormtroopers know they've completed their mission, they pull him back from the scanner and unstrap him from the leather, cold armor against flushed skin as he slumps to the floor.

His boots scuff against the tile as they drag him down dark passageways and through chambers, deeper into the city, deeper into the darkness, everything's so dark he can barely see. No energy to open his eyes, to fight, to struggle, to do anything but be dragged down.

Farther.
And farther.

And farther.
Down.

rebel_falcon @ 2008-06-12T00:31:00

2008-06-12T08:06:39Z

The ship tilts as the blasts of laser fire from the Avenger slam into the hull, warning lights flickering in and out in the cockpit, silent alarms, warnings, everything telling Han what's happening to his baby and what she needs to stay in one piece.

This ship following them is faster than the others, and she wants them bad and Han knows it. No Star Destroyer would be following them through the asteroid field, taking the direct hits from the smaller rocks unless it was operating with one goal in mind. Not to kill, no, but to capture.

Like hell they're getting me alive.

"Oh, thank goodness," the droid exclaims. "We're coming out of the asteroid field."

While the others may breathe a sigh of relief, Han doesn't say a word, just adjusts the angle to the ship. The grav sensors are working overtime to keep them steady as an explosion rocks the back of the ship, sending them at an awkward tilt until they correct themselves.

"Let's get out of here," he mutters, then looks at his co-pilot. "Ready for lightspeed? One...two...three."

He yanks the hyperdrive throttle back and expects the streaking of stars, but again, nothing happens.

In his first true moment of panic, Han tries again. "It's not fair!"

"No lightspeed?" Leia asks quietly, a tone of knowing in her voice.

"The transfer circuits are working. It's not my fault!" Another round of flak slams into their side. "It's not my fault."

"Sir," Threepio informs them. "We just lost the main rear deflector shield. One more hit on the rear quarter, and we're done for."

Han can hear his heart pounding in his ears as he veers wildly, to avoid taking more fire from the chasing ship, then he makes a decision.

"Turn her around."

Chewie grumbles at him in surprise.

"I said turn her around." Han orders. "I'm gonna put all the power on the front shield."

Leia stares at him as the wookie obeys and the ship swings around. "You're going to attack them?!"

But Han isn't listening to her. He's staring at the Avenger and glaring at the destroyer, the massive hulk of grey and machinery, and he dives in close.

"Sir, the odds of surviving a direct assault on an Imperial Star Destroyer..."

Leia turns and snaps at Threepio, saving Han the trouble. "Shut up!"

++++

They're clinging to the back of the bridge of the Avenger, waiting. What exactly for, none of them are sure, as Han sits and does calculations in his head and hopes that his plan works. The droid is going on about surrendering and how this plan is obviously going to fail, when the princess leans over and shuts him down, mid-sentence.

"Thank you."

With a look that says 'don't mention it', she slides into the seat behind him. "What did you have in mind for the next move?"

"Well, if they follow standard Imperial procedure, they'll dump their garbage before they go to lightspeed," he glides a hand across the window. "And we'll just float away."

"With the rest of the garbage," she deadpans.

"Then we've got to find a safe port around here."

That takes some time to consider. They're not really anywhere near anything, which is the problem when you can't travel through hyperspace. He's scanning the readouts on the monitor when it clicks in his head.

Lando. More specifically, Lando's mining colony floating about Bespin, Cloud City.

He and Lando are friends, or at least, they have the same feelings about the Empire. It's far, but he knows the ship can make it. They'll just have to be careful about it. Leia smiles at him when the Imps do in fact, dump the garbage and they detach from the bridge, floating off, tumbling slowly until after the destroyer has made the jump to lightspeed and disappeared into the distance, and kisses his cheek softly.

Han smiles at that, then turns the ship towards Bespin, and fires up the engines.

Lando remembers him, alright. After surviving a slightly nerve wracking landing, meeting up with his old friend, and getting a chance to change into a new uniform, Han finds Leia pacing nervously in a lounge room.

The droid is missing. Probably just off talking to someone, but she doesn't like it.

The Falcon is almost ready, only a few more repairs and then they'll be out of there and headed away from the colony and back towards the rest of the ships to meet up with the Alliance. While they're talking about Lando, and he's trying to calm her nerves, Chewie barges in with a bundle of parts...Threepio.

Not too long after that, Lando arrives and offers them all to join him for refreshments.

The way he tries to smooth talk Leia makes his nerves jump and jealousy spring up in his chest, but Han knows that since Lando is fixing the Falcon and keeping them safe from Vader, for the time being, he can't get too testy with him or risk ruining their welcome.

"So you see, since we're a small operation, we don't fall into the...uh...jurisdiction of the Empire." Lando explains.

"So you're part of the mining guild then?" Leia asks.

Lando shakes his head. "No, not actually. Our operation is small enough not to be noticed...which is advantageous for everybody since our customers are anxious to avoid attracting attention to themselves."

Han narrows his eyes slightly as he walks alongside the two of them down a large, white corridor, heading for a doorway at the end. "Aren't you afraid the Empire's going to find out about this little operation and shut you down?"

"That's always been a danger looming like a shadow over everything we've built here," Lando replies as he nears the doors and pauses. "But things have developed that will insure security. I've just made a deal that will keep the Empire out of here forever."

When he opens the large doors, Han looks from Lando to the interior of the room, and a wave of instant shock passes over him.

Vader.

And Boba Fett.

Han wastes no time in drawing his blaster and firing several shots in the Sith's direction, which Vader easily deflects, before he uses the Force to rip the blaster out of the smuggler's hands and place it on the table.

That tin-can voice echoes across the room. "We would be honored, if you would join us."

Han shoots his eyes across the doorway as stormtroopers in white armor surround them, and glares at Lando. Part of him can't believe this. The other part, sadly, can. But he trusted Lando, he trusted him with his life, with Leia's life, with Chewie's life...kriff, even the droid, and the Falcon...

"I had no choice," Lando says, tone flat, eyes blank. "They arrived right before you did. I'm sorry."

There's a short pause, as Han reaches over and pulls Leia closer to him. "I'm sorry too."

If looks could kill, Lando Calrissian would have died a thousand deaths within the time it takes Han to finally break his stare and blink.

rebel_falcon @ 2008-06-11T23:10:00

2008-06-12T07:30:16Z

They're in the cave for awhile. It's so dark (not like there's a sunrise or sunset to watch over the horizon when you're in space anyways) that he can't really tell how much time has passed, other than the fact that they all end up sleeping, eventually. The Falcon isn't built for a large crew, so the quarters are a bit tight. Chewie has his own bunk in one of the storage rooms off the corridor, Threepio is still trying to talk to the ship, which leaves Leia to sleep and Han to think about his options while lying awake in the bunk across the room from her's.

Sure, he's tired. He just spent the last who knows how many hours outrunning TIES and Star Destroyers --

The ground rumbles ever so underneath them, and he glances at the ceiling, half expecting to hear rocks falling on them. But nothing does, so he returns to his thoughts.

Of course he's tired. When he went to the 'fresher before lying down he opened and closed the door a half dozen times in hopes of finding Milliways. When that didn't happen, he settled for dinner, which was half a loaf of bread (which he shared with Leia, and brushed off her questions about where he got it from) and a slice of nerf, plus a cup of caf.

Maybe that's why he was jittery.

Either that or it was the rumbles that occasionally rippled underneath the ship. Bombing runs, he figures, trying to flush them out of the cavern. They're still up there, those kriffin' Star Destroyers and TIES.

Leia shifts underneath the blanket and sighs in her sleep, and Han lifts his head ever so slightly to watch her for awhile, making certain to stay very quiet. Eventually, his mind slows down (the caf wears off) and he falls asleep himself.

Waking, of course, everytime the ground shudders underneath them.

"Sir, I don't know where your ship learned to communicate, but it has the most peculiar dialect. I believe, sir, it says that the power coupling on the negative axis has been polarized. I'm afraid you'll have to replace it."

Han looks at Threepio as the droid relays this information. "Well, of course I'll have to replace it."

When the droid turns around, Han moves to the other side of the corridor to hand a bundle up to Chewie. "Here! Take this." And then he glances at the droid and lowers his voice. "And I think we'd better replace the negative power coupling."

Down another corridor in an access room, he spots the familiar blue sparks of a welding arc and steps into the door, watching as Leia finishes up a weld and tries to pull on a lever, struggling a bit. He steps closer, to help, only to be elbowed away from her.

"Hey," he protests. "Your worship, I was only tryin' to help."

"Would you stop calling me that?" She sighs and keeps pulling at the lever.

But there's something different about her tone, that makes Han react in a way he's not used to, himself. "Sure, Leia."

"Oh, you make it so difficult sometimes," the words come out quiet and strained as she works at the lever, then removes her hand and rubs it gently, obviously sore.

"I do, I really do. You could be a little nicer, though," he offers, keeping an eye on her hand. "Come on, admit it. Sometimes you think I'm all right."

Leia looks up at him and smiles a little. "Occasionally...maybe...when you're not acting like a scoundrel."

The sound of his laugh echoes in the small room, bouncing off the deck and the metal surrounding them. "Scoundrel? Scoundrel?" A smirk. "I like the sound of that." When he notices her hand still be rubbed, he reaches for it and takes it, eyes locked on hers as he starts to work out the knots in her palm.

"Stop that," she says quietly.

"Stop what?"

Leia tries to pull her hand away as a blush rises to her cheeks. "Stop that! My hands are dirty."

He shrugs. "So? My hands are dirty too," his eyes still on hers. "What are you afraid of?"

Leia blinks. "Afraid?"

"You're trembling."

"I'm not trembling."

Han pauses a moment and then leans a little closer, her hand closer to his heart, now. "You like me because I'm a scoundrel. There aren't enough scoundrels in your life."

Leia shakes her head slightly, her voice a high whisper, shaking ever so slightly. Not fear, but excitement. "I happen to like nice men," she protests gently.

"I'm a nice man."

"No, you're not, you're..."

She doesn't finish the sentence. He doesn't let her, because his lips are against hers. This isn't a brash, rough kiss, but a slow one, her hand against his chest, one hand of his sliding up her arm to rest on her shoulder. Her fingertips brush his cheek as he tilts his head closer, heart pounding so hard he thinks it just might burst from his chest.

"Sir! Sir!"

The sound of a metallic voice drifts into the room as he's tapped on the shoulder by cold fingers. "I've isolated the reverse power flux coupling."

I should turn him into scrap and sell him for the credits, Han thinks as he turns and feels Leia slip out of his arms. "Thank you. Thank you very much."

"Oh, you're perfectly welcome, sir."

When he turns back, Leia is gone, and Han looks into the narrow passageway leading deeper into the Falcon for a long moment before he turns and follows the droid back to the control panel.

++++

Han is kneeling on the floor, coupling some wires together, with Threepio standing above him.

"Sir, if I may venture an opinion."

"I'm not really interested in your opinion, Threepio," he mutters, as he drops the floor panel back into place and stands up, and then looks up when he hears light footsteps.

"There's something out there."

"Where?"

"Outside, in the cave," Leia explains, then all of them glance up when a sharp noice strikes the outside of the hull.

"There it is! Listen! Listen!" The droid explains.

Han growls under his breath and moves towards the far wall. "I'm going out there."

Leia stares at him. "Are you crazy?!"

I thought we established that already. Before or after the trip through the asteroid field and charging headfirst at a pair of Star Destroyers. Oh, or sneaking onto a giant space station to rescue you in the first place.

"I just got this bucket back together," he bites out. "I'm not going to let something tear it apart."

++++

The cave is quiet, outside, with a mist covering the floor of it. Han pulls in a breath of the oxygen through his mask and glances over at Leia and Chewie, who are both moving slowly across the ground, which...doesn't really feel like rock or iron or anything an asteroid should be made out of.

He's seen weirder, though.

When Chewie barks, suddenly and angry, he points up at the cockpit where something is crawling across the surface of the ship.

Get off my kriffin' ship, and there's blaster fire, as Han fries whatever the hell that was and watches as it tumbles to the ground, smoking slightly from the blaster fire. "Just what I thought. Mynock. Chewie," he glances over at the Wookie. "Check the rest of the ship. They're chewin' on the power cables. Go on inside," he tells Leia. "We'll clean the rest off."

As she's walking back towards the ship, an entire swarm attacks. Leia runs and flails with her arms at the beasts while Han looks around, momentarily confused.

"Wait a minute..."

The shot he fires isn't at the mynocks, but at the wall of the 'cave', which rumbles and quakes stronger than before.

I've got a bad feeling about this...

Han runs after Leia, followed by Chewie, back up the ramp into the ship and then towards the cockpit.

"All right, Chewie, let's get out of here!"

"The Empire is still out there, I don't think it's wise..."

"No time to discuss this as a committee," Han cuts her off as he runs for the cockpit and his chair, the engines already whining as the power builds and Chewie prepares for takeoff.

Leia marches after him. "I am not a committee! You can't make the jump to lightspeed in this asteroid field!"

"Sit down, sweetheart, we're taking off." Han orders, before he pulls back on the throttle and heads for the surface, where the entrance is smaller than before, bordered by...

"Look!" Threepio shouts.

"The cave is collapsing," Leia urges, as Han pushes the throttle harder and the ship surges forward.

"This is no cave."

"What?"

Then it all makes sense. Not a cave, not a cave at all. Those are teeth. A space slug, probably dropped off by a smuggler years ago, grown to monster size. The Falcon slips through the jaws of the creature just in time, as Han breathes an inward sigh of relief.

Honestly, ending up as a main course for a space slug was not his idea of what should be (pardon the pun) on the menu for this trip. (Then again, neither was a soft glance shared in the cockpit, the way she looks when she sleeps, the feeling of her heart pounding against his chest and his lips moving over hers like it's just meant to be, none of that was planned but he's not complaining about that part of it at all.)

His time to think about that, however, is shortlived, as the ship bounces out into the asteroid field, and then it's time to do that dance, once again.

Focus.

rebel_falcon @ 2008-06-11T16:06:00

2008-06-12T01:29:07Z

The art of flying a ship in space is one that many pilots take years to perfect. For as young as he is, Han Solo is one of the best pilots ever spoken about in the galaxy. If you ask him, of course, regardless of his age he is the best pilot in the galaxy, hands down.

And while the Falcon may not be quite as nimble as other fighter ships, being a freighter and all, she's still faster than all of them and turns at the subtle touch on the yoke. Han knows how she reacts, how the thrusters fire, how the throttle kinda sticks ever so if they're getting bumped around. How cranky she can get at times, but she always gets him out of trouble. She knows he'll take care of her.

Which is why Han has no problem with launching the ship into a steep, spiral of a dive that if the grav shifters weren't working would have them all either sick of unconcious with the force, but to the people on board, it's just another dive, another roller coaster plunge into the black, green blasters and stars streaking past.

Once they're clear of the Star Destroyers and the TIES are left to chase them, Han orders to Chewie.

"Prepare to make the jump to lightspeed."

The droid protests from his chair. "But sir!"

"They're getting closer," Leia warns, as another blast rocks the ship.

"Oh yeah?" Han smirks and stares out at the black. "Watch this."

He hits the right buttons and waits for the familiar streak of stars going from white to blue, but nothing happens. He glances at Chewie, who glances at him.

"Watch what?" Leia asks, looking up at the both of them.

Han mutters something under his breath, that sounds very much like 'I think we're in trouble'.

When Threepio shouts about the hyperdrive motivator not working and it being impossible to go to lightspeed, Han shoots a desperate glance at Chewie, before he scrambles from the pilot's seat. "We're in trouble!"

It takes one kind of man to be able to fly a ship with absolute perfection, and another to be able to fix a ship just enough to get them the hell out of the situation that they happen to be in at the time. He's covered in grease and yelling things up at Chewie, naming off things to check and things to bring him, trying to piece his battered ship back together.

C'mon old girl, you've gotta work with me here.

A volley of blasts punches against the shields and armor on the outside of the ship, rocking them violently before he grabs hold of a pipe and lowers himself further into the hold. Another blast, and then a toolbox rains down and smacks him in the head, hard.

"OW! CHEWIE!"

Stupid fuzzball.

How's he supposed to work when he gets hit in the head with a box full of hydrospanners?!

Another loud thud rocks the ship, but Han lifts his (still throbbing) head long enough to listen.

"That was no laser blast. Something hit us."

The comm crackles, Leia's voice. "Han, get up here!"

He scrambles out of the hold, leaving the spare hydrospanners and other parts lying in the belly of the ship, then runs for the cockpit, staring out the window at a field of...

"Oh, no. Chewie! Set two-seven-one." He barks, as he takes control of the ship back from Leia.

"What are you doing? You're not actually going into an asteroid field, are you?!" She exclaims.

Han glances back at her. "They'd be crazy to follow us, wouldn't they?"

"You don't have to do this," another rock slams into the ship. "To impress me."

"Sir, the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately three thousand, seven hundred and twenty to one."

Han snaps back at the droid. "Never tell me the odds!"

He needs to focus. Chewie is quiet in the seat next to him, while Threepio settles back into the other navigator's chair next to Leia.

It's just a field of asteroids, Han. You can do this. You've run worse on a swoop and you were half as old as you are now.

If flight were a dance, with points awarded for clean cut moves, well planned and well executed paths of travel, smooth turns and slow dips, then Han would come in last. The Falcon jerks hard to the left, spins to the right, rocking back and forth with shudders as smaller rocks pelt the shields. She dives like an angry beast towards the larger ones, with the buzzing of TIES on her tail.

The explosions don't phase him. The blasts of cannon fire from the Star Destroyers who are trying to clear a path through to follow him don't phase him either. All that matters is that he listens to his ship.

She talks to him, he answers back. More power, more throttle, light touches on the yoke to keep her out of danger.

A wayward asteroid careens into their path and slams into the cockpit, causing Chewie to bark at the loud sound of stone and iron meeting steel and glass. The window doesn't break, doesn't even crack, but that was close. Too close.

"You said you wanted to be around when I made a mistake," Han shoots Leia a split second glance over his shoulder as he swings around another rock. "Well, this could be it, sweetheart."

She leans forward. "I take it back. We're going to get pulverized if we stay out here much longer."

"I'm not going to argue with that."

Threepio speaks up. "Pulverized?"

Then Han gets an idea. "...I'm going in closer to one of the big ones."

Yeah, that'll work. Draw their fire and cut off the ability the Star Destroyer has to blow them all to bits, then they can get down into a canyon or a crater or something, and it'll just be like swoop racing, only with a bigger ship, more important cargo, and enemy fighters on their tail.

Yeah.

Just like swoop racing.

"Closer?" Leia asks, as she watches him start the dive.

"Closer?!" Threepio wails.

"Mmmuurafff?!?!" Chewie turns and stares over at Han, incredulous.

They skim along the surface, and Han sees what he wants. A canyon. The ship skims between the walls and the TIES can't keep up, there's an explosion behind him as the two remaining chasers drop off his scopes, and then and only then does Han allow himself a hint of a smile as they pull up.

The Star Destroyers are still after them, so he has to come up with a plan.

Fast.

"There..." He nudges Chewie lightly. "That looks good."

"What looks pretty good?"

"Yeah," he continues. "That'll do nicely."

Threepio leans up and lightly taps Leia on the shoulder. "Excuse me, ma'am, but where are we going?"

Han pulls back on the stick and in a quick, neat loop, the Falcon circles above the surface and then dives into a deep crater, out of view from the surface and the remaining Star Destroyers intent on blasting them to bits.

It's dark inside, as they slow and continue along a bit, before he ducks into a side cave and slows even further.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Leia says quietly.

Han stares up at the darkness, illuminated by the forward floods, and nods a little. "Yeah. Me too."

The ship sets down on the newly repaired lifters with a soft sound, and once Han is certain they're stable, he flips off dozens of switches.

"I'm going to shut down everything except for the emergency power systems," he explains, as lights dim and systems and monitors go dark, the interior of the cockpit lit with a dim red glow from the remaining bulbs.

"Sir," Threepio says quietly. "I'm almost afraid to ask, but does that include shutting me down too?"

Chewie warbles a 'yes' response, and while Han would agree with him on any other occasion, he shakes his head. "No. I need you to talk to the Falcon and find out what's wrong with the hyperdrive."

The ground beneath them rumbles and the ship tilts to the side.

"Sir, it's quite possible that this asteroid is not entirely stable."

Han turns and gives Threepio a look that clearly reads a mixture of 'thank you for stating the obvious' and 'get out of my face before I do shut you down' and then glances at Chewie. "Not entirely stable? I'm glad you're here to tell us these things. Chewie, take the professor in the back and plug him into the hyperdrive."

If it's possible for a droid with no facial expression to look indignant, this one pulls it off. "Oh! Sometimes I just don't understand human behavior," he begins to walk out of the cockpit. "I'm just trying to do my job in the most --"

When the cockpit door slides shut, Han moves towards the rear to check the data on one of the systems as the asteroid shifts again, with a rumble that throws Leia across the uneven floor. He catches her and looks out at the darkness at the cave, waiting for the rumbling to stop while holding her steady in his arms.

"Let go." She mutters.

Han doesn't move. "Shhh."

"Let go, please." She looks up at him, but doesn't at the same time, and Han feels something in his chest that he's never quite felt before when looking at her.

"Don't get excited." Han teases.

Leia pulls away from him. "Captain, being held by you isn't quite enough to get me excited."

Han grins wickedly as he sets her back in her chair. "Sorry, sweetheart. We haven't got time for anything else."

Then he turns and heads back out of the cockpit, intent on finding out what's wrong with his hyperdrive, and fixing it.

(What he doesn't see is Leia's face, and the struggle to hide her emotions, and obvious feelings for him.

For Han, this is probably a good thing, at the moment.

He has work to do.)

rebel_falcon @ 2008-06-10T21:38:00

2008-06-11T05:52:18Z

"The first transport is away. The first transport is away."

A cheer goes up through the base as pilots and gunners scramble for their ships. Han is busy welding bits of steel together and making sure not to set any more fires when the walls of the base shake softly.

Outside, they've spotted AT-AT walkers approaching.

Each step brings more snow falling from the walls of the base. Cracks start to show as the explosions and blaster fire get louder and louder past the muffled shield doors.

"I don't know Chewie," Han growls. "Whatever it is, it ain't good, that's for sure."

A large chunk falls on the Falcon when word comes that they're going to scramble the last of the transports and evacuate all staff.

"That, there," he barks. "C'mon, we got our clearance to go, now hurry up."

More warbling and groaning from the Wookie, as Han climbs off the Falcon and grabs his comm. "I'm gonna go get Leia. Get her ready to go," he orders, before he runs off towards the heart of the base, amid the falling ice blocks and crumbling snow walls.

She's standing over a computer monitor when he bursts into the room. "You all right?"

Leia glances up at him, surprised to see him. "Why are you still here?"

"I heard the command center had been hit."

"You got your clearance to leave." She turns back to the monitor as another explosion rocks the inside, sending Threepio flying.

Han catches the droid and rights him before he can fall over, then looks at Leia with a serious expression. "Don't worry. I'll leave. First I'm going to get you to your ship."

"Imperial troops have entered the base. Imperial troops have entered the base."

Leia glances up at the loudspeaker, then at Han, who reaches his hand out. "C'mon, that's it. Let's go."

She finally relents (stubborn as she is, he can't help but give a damn if she's in one piece when this battle is over or not) and they take off for the bay with the last waiting transport in it.

The troops outside are given the order to retreat, and they do, but you can only run so fast against the wind and snow. Rebels fall like flies as the superior firepower from the walkers cuts them down as they run for shelter and the last transport ship back at Echo.

A massive explosion rocks the corridor and the roof collapses. Han, in an instant, grabs Leia and throws himself over her as they hit the floor, stumbling, his hands around her to keep the all from being too hard. When the snow clears, the path to the transport bay is blocked by a wall of ice.

Think, Solo.

"Transport, this is Solo," he grabs the commlink from his pocket and pulls Leia to her feet with his other arm, as they head back in the other direction. "Better take off, I can't get to you. I'll get the Princess out on the Falcon."

Please Chewie, you better have warmed her up.

The ship isn't running when they come around the corner into the bay. No time to fix her now, she's got to work, she's got to or they're gonna be permanent residents in this ice cave of a hell hole and that is not what Han wants.

"How's this?"

Chewie barks a negative reply at him, as Han scurries to find the problem in the controls.

Leia rolls her eyes. "Would it help if I got out and pushed?"

"It might," Han mutters back, before he gives up on the panel and the group moves to the cockpit. More switches. They just need the right one to get the lifters going and Force help them the welds hold.

"This bucket of bolts is never going to get us past that blockade."

"This baby's got a few surprises left in her, sweetheart," he drawls, before he looks up at the sound coming from outside the cockpit glass. Troopers. Storm troopers...and that's one kriffin' big gun they're setting up.

"Chewie, take care of them, willya?"

Han settles himself into the pilot's seat once strapping Leia in behind him. "Come on! Come on! Switch over. Let's hope we don't have a burnout."

A round of laser fire strikes the cockpit shield and Chewie yelps as he yanks on the engine control, and a loud roar fills the bay as the main engines fire. Han grins and then tosses a look over his shoulder at Leia. "See?"

She rolls her eyes. "Someday you're going to be wrong, and I hope I'm there to see it."

Then to Chewie, he nods. "Punch it."

The icy walls blur past them as they launch out of the bay. Part of Han's brain is gleeful at the fact that they are getting off this iceblock but the other part of him knows they can't relax just yet. Not until they're off the planet, and well into hyperspace, away from the Imperial ships that are waiting as they exit the atmosphere and enter the black.

"Kriff," Han mutters underneath his breath, as he spots the TIES breaking off from the grouping and the Star Destroyers heading their direction. While the Falcon may be fast, they're still big enough to blow them to pieces if they got a few good shots in.

The Falcon bucks underneath them as they're hit by flak, be it blasters or lasers or torpedos, he's not sure and he's not about to find out.

Chewie urgently cries out at him as they scramble to get far enough away to make the jump.

"Oh great," he adds. "Well," a deep breath, as he narrows in his focus. "We can still outmaneuver them."

One heartbeat.

Two heartbeats.

In his mind, Han relaxes just enough that a tiny smirk crosses his face, and he aims the Falcon directly at an oncoming Star Destroyer.

Watch this, Vader.

rebel_falcon @ 2008-06-10T19:47:00

2008-06-11T04:37:08Z

He steps back into the Falcon, well, crawls actually, through one of the hatches in the floor, and once he's certain that she's empty, he makes his way into the crew quarters. The wrapped bundle of bread goes into a storage box where it will stay fresh and won't freeze, and he tucks the small Ratchet plushie in next to his pillow, hidden where nobody will really see it unless they go rifling through his things, which people don't do.

(Not if they like having their hands with all fingers attached.)

For a thief and a beggar, a pirate, a smuggler, and most importantly, a man who made his own rules, Han was rather particular that people followed them when it was in his best interests.

An opportunist, perhaps.

(At the very least, a man who knew how to get what he wanted.)

Luke is in medical, floating in the bacta tank with the wires and tubes running against his skin. Leia's been in there watching him ever since he brought him in, and once Han was 'dry and changed' he headed down the hall himself. Faking a shiver was easy enough. Watching the kid thrash around in the tank wasn't. At all.

He leaves, eventually. Comes back later, once they've pulled Luke out of the bacta and then set him up in a bed.

Han grins as he walks over. "How're you feeling, kid? You don't look so bad to me...in fact, you look strong enough to pull the ears off a Gundark."

"Thanks to you."

"That's two you owe me, junior."

When Leia strides back into the room (she really does stride, not just a walk, but she's got power in those hips) he turns his head. "Well your Worship, looks like you managed to keep me around for a little while longer."

She looks smug in his direction as she looks over at Luke. "I had nothing to do with it. General Rieekan thinks it's dangerous for any ships to leave the system until we've activated the energy shield."

"That's a good story. I think you just can't bear to let a gorgeous guy like me out of your sight."

Now it's Leia's turn to turn and stare at Han, eyebrows raised, mouth open ever-so-slightly, a defiant spark in her eyes. "I don't know where you get your delusions, laser brain."

Chewie grumbles his agreement, and Han comments about the south passage and Leia expressing her 'true' feelings for him. So what if the kid is staring at him like he's just swiped the girl (or Princess, in this case) out from under him. Kid shouldn't have gone out and gotten himself attacked by a wampa like that.

"My true..! Why you...stuck up, half witted...scruffy looking...nerfherder!"

Han turns. "...who you callin' scruffy?"

"Headquarters personnel, report to command center. Headquarters personnel, report to command center."

The loudspeaker crackles and Han gives one glance at it before he turns on a heel and strides out, Leia already gone (after kissing Luke, that lucky sonovabantha) and the droids hot on his trail. At a time like this, when they call for people to report, it's usually big.

And when the Empire is involved, big, is never a good thing.

Conversation. Static. Beeps and whistles and garbled words that make no sense, not to any ears in the...well, Threepio and his six billion or some odd forms of communication, it makes sense to the droid of course.

Something's out there. Using an Imperial code.

When it tries to take Chewie's head off with a blaster ray, Han takes it out from behind with his own. Only one shot, but it explodes in a ball of fire and shards of metal fragments. Whatever it was must have had a self destruct. He climbs over the snowbank and approaches cautiously as he radios in to Echo Base, eyeing the fragements on the ground.

"Afraid there's not much left."

"What was it?"

"Droid of some kind. I didn't hit it that hard. Must'a had some kind of self destruct."

"An Imperial Probe Droid."

Han looks up at the sky, as if expecting to see Star Destroyers orbiting the planet. "It's a good bet the Empire knows we're here."

Back inside the command center, General Rieekan looks at Leia, then nods. "We'd better start the evacuation."

++++

Organized chaos is a good way to put it. Han's not even thinking about trying to find a hatch back to the Bar, even if he really could use a drink at the moment. There's a bottle of Whyren's tucked in his rack too, secure in one of the many compartments with his stuff, and he resists the urge to duck inside.

After all, they can't evacuate when the ship can't fly and if the Empire is on the way, then Han sure as hell ain't gonna leave her there for them to find and destroy.

A Captain goes own with his ship, but Han Solo isn't one who plans on going down at all.

"Okay, that's it." He climbs off the lifter and down to the comm link, to talk to Chewie. "Try it..."

Smoke and sparks.

"Off! Turn it off! Turn it off! Off!"

Obviously, not the right patch. Han grumbles and then hauls himself back up onto the hull to try and fix the new damage. He's not going anywhere without his ship.

Around him, Rebel troops scurry to load up cargo and staff on the larger transports. A briefing of pilots is going on in the corner, and out of the corner of his eye, he spots the kid making his way over.

"Chewie, take care of yourself, okay?"

The furball warbles softly at Luke, before lifting him up into a hug.

"Hi, kid." Han glances up at the droid working with him. "There's got to be a reason for it. Check it at the other end. Wait a second?" Then he looks back down at Luke. "You alright?"

"Yeah."

He smiles. "Be careful."

"You too."

Han looks back at the mass of wires and parts underneath him as Luke walks off towards his speeder, but a few seconds later, he glances up again, just a feeling. Luke's looking at him, and the two of them stare at each other before breaking contact again and then returning to the tasks at hand. Fixing the Falcon, and protecting the transports.

Suddenly, things spring into motion. Troops prepare for a ground assault. Han catches a glimpse of Leia giving instructions to a group of pilots across the bay.

This is it.

The Empire is knocking at the door, and it's time to answer.

rebel_falcon @ 2008-06-08T18:49:00

2008-06-09T03:42:22Z

There's something to be said for a normal snowfall on a relatively normal planet. Han's seen a few (most have been at Milliways, if you want to get into specifics...or consider Milliways Bar to be normal for that matter) but they always have different factors involved. No wind means the snow falls lightly to the ground in clumps and layers. Colder temps mean the snow is more like ice than a light powder. More moisture means it coats your clothes. If this was a relatively normal planet, then maybe the snow would fall normally.

Hoth is not a normal planet.

It's frozen year round. Abandoned, practically a wasteland. That's why the Alliance picked it. Empty. Nobody would ever think to look for a Rebel base on an ice covered rock in a far reach of the galaxy, right?

The darkness is creeping in as Han rides out across hills and valleys, the tauntaun breathing heavy as he pushes the beast further. Maybe just over that ridge. Maybe just over that hill. The snow is blowing in five different directions, swirling, almost impossible to breathe in, and he can barely see the head of the animal in front of him.

Just over this hill.

Maybe the next valley...

There.

A dark patch against the snow. It's either a rock, or it's the kid, and the closer he gets, the more Luke-shapes it is. His face is black, blood frozen in his veins, and Han jumps off the tauntaun and rolls him onto his back.

Muttering something about Yoda and some system on the other side, not making any sense.

There's a thud.

(The tauntaun, tired from running and being pushed to the limit, staggers a few steps and then collapses in a heap.)

Well son of a...

Han ducks down and pulls Luke's lightsaber off of his belt. The kid needs to get warm, and get warm fast, and if the tauntaun is already dead, what's the harm in using what they've got. Slicing open the belly is disgusting, but when it comes down to it, Han would rather Luke be stinky and alive over fresh-smelling and frozen to death.

He'll apologize later, he thinks, as he tucks him into the body cavity of the beast to protect him from the elements.

Shelter. They won't be sending out a search party tonight, not in this weather and not in this cold. Need shelter.

Han struggles to unpack the small emergency shelter from his belt, it's not much, but pressed up against Luke and the open belly of the quickly cooling tauntaun carcass, the foil layer against the snow (which is soon buried under a thick layer) and they stick together for body heat. The kid is still out of his mind.

Yoda. Ben. Dagobah.

Yoda.

Ben.

Dagobah.

He lies awake, trying to ignore the way his gear is sticking to the ice beneath him, the way his breath is freezing against his parka, how numb his hands are. He thinks of anything he can to keep himself awake.

Luke sleeps.

Han spends hours counting each breath the kid takes, and waiting for the next. The skin on his face gets lighter as he warms up, from body heat and the air they've trapped inside the shelter and the tauntaun.

(That tauntaun which is still stinky, why can't his nose go numb now dammit.)

The storm gets quieter outside, but he doesn't sleep.

Eventually, it stops. He breaks his way out of the ice and snow to find sunlight on the surface, and listens in the distance for the sound of speeders. His comm unit needs to thaw, but once it does, he hears the transmission.

They're coming for them.

The speeder comes over the hill.

Just one more hill.

"C'mon, Luke," he calls, before he sets about digging out the shelter while the snowspeeder lands a short distance off. "Time to wake up."

But for Han, all he wants to do is sleep. They send Luke back in the first speeder while another is on the way to pick up Han, so he sits on the snow and watches the way the faint breeze kicks up drifts, light, harmless powder.

Harmless, now.

(His hands are still numb.)

Eventually, they send a speeder out for him, and he climbs in the back and tucks Luke's lightsaber into his jacket. Wouldn't do to leave that behind, and the kid wasn't even awake when they carried him to the transport.

That's two Luke owes him, now.

Han ends up in Echo, still dressed in snow covered gear, and makes his way for the Falcon.

(What he wasn't expecting was the Bar to show up, finally.)

rebel_falcon @ 2008-06-08T15:04:00

2008-06-08T23:15:59Z

The door stays gone, for awhile. The money (all those credits and all that treasure) is lost, then found again, but he doesn't use it to pay off Jabba. Part of him kicks himself when he spends it on the Alliance instead, but there's a reason for it going towards new equipment and the cost of setting up their command at the icy base on Hoth.

(Her name is Leia.)

He's gotten used to the howling winds outside of Echo, gotten used to having the Falcon snug in the the hangar bay (he sleeps on board, the rack more comfortable than any cot in that ice palace the rest of them sleep in) and he's gotten used to the fact that he's cold all the time. Being on his ship helps, a little, but when you're on the back of a tauntaun in sub-zero temperatures, even the bright daytime sun isn't enough to get rid of the chill in your bones.

At least here, he's safe from Jabba. For now, anyways.

It's a normal patrol to set out life sensors on the plains, and the weather is cooperating to the point where the wind is light and the sky is clear of clouds. Han hates being dirtside for longer than he has to be, but thinks that he may just hate being iceside even more.

The tauntaun smells worse than Chewie after a few days without a bath half the time (and the other half of the time his nose is too numb to even register what he's smelling) and the cold creeps into his fingers. There's something to be said for sleeping on the Falcon, sure, but sometimes in that rack at night, he rubs at his hands to bring the feeling back and thinks about the fireplace back at the Bar, the way the flames crackle and the heat just radiates through you.

Steel and snow just don't feel the same.

He changes into dry gear, catches a quick nap and a cup of caf, then heads out to go check on the kid. Meteorite strikes were normal, and he just wanted to check one out, just to be sure.

Except Luke's not back. Not at the south entrance, not checked in...

Not like Luke.

There's a funny feeling in Han's chest, as he hurries back to his ship to grab his gloves and the thicker gear, the scarf around his neck, goggles on his head, comm unit, and then back to the south side again to grab another one of those damn furry beasts.

"The temperature's dropping too fast," one of the guys protests. "Your tauntaun will freeze before you reach the first marker."

Han mounts up and grabs the reins, then remarks sharply down at the guy who dared to protest. "Then I'll see you in hell."

Night falls quick on Hoth, even if it's never completely dark. The weather has fallen to hell around him, the wind swirling drifts of snow into his face, even with the thick coat and gloves, he still feels numb.

A practical whiteout.

There's no way anyone could survive this.

+++

Back at Echo Base, Leia stands next to the Falcon and looks out of the bay doors at the swirling snow. The distance one can see is fading rapidly, and they need to close the shield doors for the night to keep the base from getting too cold.

Once those doors close...

It's a longshot, that anyone could even attempt to survive a night on the snow covered plains when the weather was cooperating. When the weather wasn't, then there's no chance at all.

Or, as the R2 unit helpfully provides, the chances of survival are grim:

735:1

Leia stares out into the snowstorm before she nods softly.

Close the doors.

rebel_falcon @ 2008-02-01T16:24:00

2008-02-02T00:34:17Z

Han asks Bar for a room key since he might as well catch some sleep while he's not floating through space and in danger of being in the midst of one of the biggest battles the Alliance has ever seen.

Of course, his sleep is anything but peaceful.

+++

The Falcon is a solid ship, but of course she always needs repairs. It's like things he fixes don't stay fixed. Something's always breaking.

"C'mon Chewie, hold her straight," he hollers. "I can't do anything if she's rumblin' around like this!"

There's no reply from his first mate but Han passes it off as Chewie being grumpy. Whatever. The big oaf just needs to keep her steady so he can finish wiring up the last bit of replacement...

the ground shakes, harder than before, and it feels like the ship is off course somethings not right in the gravity

"Chewie, what the kriff?!"

Still no answer. Han slams down the piece he's working on and climbs out of the hatch to realize that he's not on the Falcon. He's not...

another wave of a shudder the ground quakes and he nearly falls back something still not right what the hell is that thing

"Chewie?"

It comes out softer than he intends. Of course he's not scared, just...worried a little bit. Not scared. He's Han Solo. He walks down the hallway.

a door slams and there's a scream

His walk slows just slightly and he reaches for his blaster. His hand comes up empty and he glances down at his holster to find it missing. This isn't good. This isn't good at all, this is...

he's laughing and then he can hear explosions, radio transmissions, red three standing by

There's a window and he looks out, only it doesn't look like a hospital, instead it looks like the black. There are no stars. Everything is void except for the flashes. Red and green in the darkness. He puts his fingers against the glass and watches.

watch it you've got one on your tail

There is a figure in the darkness. Slowly floating towards him. As it gets closer, he notices the way the skin is ripped away, burnt...

"Luke!"

Han slams his fists against the glass. He needs a hatch, a pod, something...

take care of yourself Han, it's what your best at

"Luke!"

a warble echoes down the hall and Han forgets about Luke's body floating among the black because he knows that cry

"Chewie!"

He runs.

he runs as fast as he can but the ground shakes and the gravity shifts and something's not right at all and it smells like burnt

He stops running.

And stares.

And then he drops to his knees and

the blaster hit him in the chest and there's hair and blood everywhere and his eyes are rolled back in his furry

"No."

But it is.

It is. And he kneels there and the hair is burnt and the blood is pooling in the cracks of the dirty tile and he can't do anything about it and there's nothing be can do to stop it.

han we could use a shot like you

"No no no no no!"

It echoes off of the walls and he turns and then is face to face with the window again, the black, and the bodies floating, the remains of Yavin IV, bits and sparkling specks and then it's just black.

Han shouts and slams his fists into the glass.

shatters into a million pieces like the planets and the stars and Vader won't be stopped until he's destroyed them all

+++

Han shoots awake in bed and feels the sweat running down his face, and pulls himself out of bed and hurries to the fresher, where he loses what little left in his system. He can smell burnt hair and flesh and Chewie was dead and they were all dead and he...

His stomach turns again and he's sick until he falls back on the floor.

"Just a dream, Solo."

He closes his eyes and he's still sweating, and then he looks down at his hands, the shards of glass gone but the cuts all over. He hauls himself to his feet and stares in the mirror.

Blood.

"What the..."

Just a dream?

rebel_falcon @ 2008-02-01T13:48:00

2008-02-01T22:16:24Z

Four TIE fighters. They score two a piece. Luke's a pretty good shot, if a bit cocky and unsure in the chair. He doesn't have the same grace that Han does, the same confidence, the same connection with the Falcon but then again Han wouldn't expect the kid to know just how she reacts just yet.

Pretty good shot, though.

He laughs as the last fighter explodes in the darkness. He feels good. They escaped. Luke's practically giddy.

Han knew the Falcon would stay in one piece.

The R2 is working on repairing a few patches where blaster fire slipped through the shields while Han makes his way up to the cockpit.

It's time to get this princess home and get his reward, and then get the hell out of there.

+++

Yavin IV is a moon off of Yavin. In contrast to the giant orange planet it orbits, the moon is actually habitable. The base is hidden in an old temple that gives Han a bit of the creeps but he survives.

Once the ship is docked, he sets about seeing to his reward.

It takes a day to get things together and he sits in on the briefing for the attack on the Imperial battle station and with the way the guy is talking, he sounds like it's a sure shot. Those kids don't stand a chance.

Two meters is a nearly impossible shot.

What's more impossible is listening to the way Luke carries himself as everyone makes their way to man the ships. The reward is in boxes, and after checking it all out, Han feels better. He can take this back to Jabba and then he can get the hell back to business without a bounty on his head for awhile.

Han tries to convince the kid to come with him, but he'll have none of it. Wants to go off on his suicide mission and save the galaxy.

Han wants none of that.

They part ways. The squadron takes off for the battle, and Han, Chewie, and his reward take off for what he thinks will be a well deserved break.

Of course, he hadn't planned on a door to the bar.

rebel_falcon @ 2008-01-30T19:27:00

2008-01-31T04:34:52Z

He's firing blaster shots as they run down the hallway. For an oaf that size, Chewie can haul, and since Han has no desire to see his friend flash-fried that's a very good thing. Once they make it to the docking bay, he thinks they're in the clear.

As long as Ben got the tractor beam shut down.

There's the sound of crackling, a low hum, and the kid stops running to watch Vader and Ben duel in a corridor off to the side. That's where all the guards went, to watch their master and this relic do battle.

Everything is quiet.

Then, Ben falls.

Han's not one to get sentimental about much, and this is true for any time someone bites it. But Luke's shooting at the guards and screaming, and now they're shooting back. They don't have time for heroics and vendettas.

Not with this battlestation teeming with Imps and the fact that they're firing at them.

He yells at Luke to get on the ship and prays that Ben got the tractor beam shut down, because if not, this is going to be one really short trip. The droids roll on and Chewie's got the good girl running. Leia's in the cockpit next to him and he thinks the kid made it on but hell if he's gonna stick around to find out.

They get away, or at least, off the station and head for as far away as possible.

Then come the fighters.

Han runs back to get Luke, the kid's moping like someone kicked his dog, but it ain't over yet. And while Luke's a good shot, Han knows he's better, but at the moment all he needs is someone to work the other gun or they're gonna have trouble.

Battles aways make him excited. Not happy persay, but hell, there ain't nothin' better than swinging around in that chair, eyes on the black and the flashes of red as the beams strike out at targets. The flashes of green he could do without but he'll take what he can get. The Falcon is solid. She'll hold.

Fire and explosions look different in space. When you've got a lack of oxygen on the outside, everything is much smaller, but still pretty. Metal glitters with fuel as the little ships explode, the shockwave ripping against the darkness but in reality and the scheme of things, one little TIE fighter is nothing more than a pinprick of a ripple in space.

Any other man might feel bad about blasting away ships that he knows have troopers in them, but not Han. They shot at him first. Their loss.

Course, it's good to shoot first sometimes too.

rebel_falcon @ 2008-01-13T16:04:00

2008-01-14T01:39:43Z

Crawling out of the hatch is easy enough, and so is taking out the scanning crew. Han doesn't care, even if Vader ordered them to check his ship, they are not touching any part of his ship. Ben convinces him to use his blaster set to 'stun' instead, and then they all take out the two stormtroopers that fall for their trick.

The uniform doesn't quite fit, but it looks better on him than it does on Luke. The farmboy is short and it's hard to see out of the helmet for the both of them as they make their way upstairs and infiltrate the control room. They need the droids to find the power source for the tractor beam so they can get off this damn moon shaped...base.

Plourr said it was a base, but Han just kicks back in a chair while Ben runs off after muttering somthing about the Force and his ancient religion. Luke goes on about the princess and Threepio just has to mention that she's scheduled to be terminated.

What was supposed to be a quick run to Alderaan has turned into a rescue mission, apparently.

One pissed off Wookiee, a destroyed cell block control room, and several dead Imperial guards later...it still wasn't over.

Nearly being crushed to death in a garbage chute wasn't his idea of a quick run anywhere, but he supposes that since Alderaan is gone, blasted into a thousand pieces by something too huge to even picture, all those people dead...

They don't have time to think about that. Once the droids unlock the doors, it's a race back to the Falcon and hoping that Ben got the tractor beam shut down. He charges a group of stormtroopers, chasing them while screaming in a way that would make Chewie proud.

Until he's standing in front what looks like the entire force on the base. And while Han Solo is brave, he's not stupid, so he does the one thing that flashes into his mind:

He turns and runs.

This reward had better be worth it.