"What a Grand Mess!"

CHAPTER XXI

Turning to look at Leia, Han smiled and said, “What does he mean was?” 

Leia lowered her eyebrows at him and gave him a smirk.  “Funny,” she replied as he sat on the side of the bed next to her and she placed her hand on his thigh.  “Han?”

He looked down at her dreamily.  He seemed to have had his head in the clouds ever since she had woken up to find him a father-to-be and although his excitement warmed her very soul, there were things she wanted to say.

“I want to get a couple of things straight,” she said.  “I don’t want you getting all over-protective of me and expecting me to sit around knitting booties while we’re fighting this war.  There’s nothing physically wrong with me where I can’t do exactly what I was doing before.  And if you even whisper anything about leaving me behind anywhere, I’ll shoot you.”

He had sat and let her speak, not interrupting even once and he didn’t look the least bit surprised, which she guessed he shouldn’t be.  “Sweetheart, I wouldn’t expect anything different, but you’ve got to promise me something.”

“What?”

He took her hand in his.  “You have to remember that you’re taking a risk with someone else’s life now.  That if you take a shot or even a stun blast, you have more than just your safety to consider.”

“Don’t you think I’m always careful?”

“I’m just asking you to promise me that you won’t forget.”

She nodded her head.  “I promise.”

**

When Leia walked into the conference room on her husband, General Solo’s arm, she felt invincible.  The news of her pregnancy had come as a shock but the longer she lived with it the more she felt empowered and motivated by it.  If there was ever any reason to fight for peace in the galaxy, this was it.

After speaking so strongly for Mon Mothma’s plan, Leia was unsure of how her return would be received.  But when she and Han walked in, they were swamped with well wishes and congratulations. 

Everyone began to settle around the table.  Luke, Chewie, Lando, Leia and Han with Admiral Ackbar, Generals Madine and Rieekan and others.

“Here we are again,” General Rieekan observed wryly and there was a nervous wave of laughter that traveled around the room.

“Before we begin our discussions, I’d like to say something, General Rieekan,” Admiral Ackbar interjected, his voice gravelly and solemn.

“By all means, Admiral Ackbar.”

The Mon Calamari Admiral stood.  “Attempting to forge a truce with the Empire was by no means a mistake.  The mistake was made by them, when they chose to waste a rare opportunity for peace.  In the history books there will be much praise dedicated to our victories.  The destruction of two super weapons by a fledgling bunch of idealists.  I can almost see the words written out already.  But if we would have failed, how different those words would be.  We would no longer be idealists, but fools instead.  We cannot be ashamed for failing and we must not ever quit trying.”

The room was silent for a moment and Han squeezed Leia’s hand with his own.  She felt a sudden burst of moisture in her eyes and she blinked until her vision cleared.  Please don’t tell me I’m getting hormonal already! 

Admiral Ackbar took his seat and Lando said, “Here, here.  Now how do we kick some Imperial ass?”

The room burst with laughter and the tightening in Leia’s chest loosened a bit.  And that’s when the real planning began.

 **

“…We set our sights back on Coruscant.  That’s where we failed and that’s where we must redeem ourselves,” Madine was saying.

Han agreed.  “Whoever controls Coruscant, controls the galaxy.”

Leia felt uneasy.  Capturing the galaxy’s capital city was no easy task.  In fact, that is exactly what they were trying to do when this whole mess started.  She asked, “What have we learned from our last attempt to capture Coruscant?”

Admiral Ackbar took the floor.  “Even with our decisive blow over Endor, we are still far outgunned by the Imperial Remnant.  Especially when taking into account the considerable shielding and defenses the planet of Coruscant itself has at its disposal.”

“So what makes us think that we can take it now?” Luke questioned.

“Same goal, new strategy,” Rieekan countered.

“A direct attack is out of the question, as Admiral Ackbar has just alluded to,” Madine said, “but a stealth attack.  An infiltration.  A coup with the least amount of bloodshed possible.  That’s our strategy.  And I’m sorry for disagreeing with you, General, but it’s not a new one.”

“No offense taken, Madine,” General Rieekan answered.  “You’ve described the reason for our previous failure precisely.  Covert operations and surreptitiousness is what got us as far as our victory at Endor.  It was a mistake to switch to all out battle in our final run for Coruscant.”

“That’s all well and good as long as we have a plan,” Han said.

Chewie grumbled and shook his fist at Han.

“I do too like to plan.  I just don’t always follow the plan.  It’s called improvising.”

“When you say a coup,” Leia said, ignoring Han and Chewie’s argument.  “Who exactly are we trying to overthrow?  Has the Imperial Remnant named a predecessor for the Emperor?”

“Technically the Executor would be next in line behind the Emperor followed by the Grand Vizier.  Rumor is Executor Nalc and Grand Vizier Pestage are fighting for dominance over Coruscant while the Imperial Council is lobbying to absorb their positions and rule the galaxy themselves.  The rest of the universe remains a free-for-all between all of the Grand Admirals, Grand Generals and Grand Moffs,” Rieekan answered.

“What a grand mess,” Han returned.     

Leia shook her head.  “Even if we take Coruscant, you can’t think that any of these Imperial grand anythings are going to take direction from us, can we?”

“If we take Coruscant,” General Madine said, pounding his finger down on the table for emphasis.  “Swiftly and decisively, we’ll pull the remaining core worlds in with us.  The Corellia’s and Duro’s, the Commenor’s and Kiribi’s.  Once we establish ourselves on Coruscant, those systems – along with their firepower – will come in line.  And then we can spread throughout the rest of the galaxy, pushing the remaining Imperial fleets back into their sectors.”

“Will we let them sit back and lick their wounds?  The censured rancor just waiting to come back and bite us?”  Lando asked.

“At first,” Madine answered.

“We can’t afford to overextend ourselves again.  Let’s keep our immediate goals in sight and worry about the rest when we get there,” Rieekan added.

“How do we get there?  Nobody’s answered that yet,” Han asked.

“That’s what we’re here for today, General.  Any ideas?”  Madine answered.

“I’m sure they’ll be expecting us to retaliate,” Luke said.

“Probably expecting us to do just what we’re talking about here,” Lando added.

“So they’ll be beefing up their security all over Coruscant,” Han mused.

“What we need is a diversion,” Leia said.

“Maybe something nearby so we can bring our troops into Coruscant hastily,” Rieekan noted.

“What?  Like attacking Corellia?  They’ll see through something like that,” Lando said.

“Maybe not Corellia but you’re on the right track,” Han said absently, rubbing at his chin.

“You’ve got something?”  Leia asked.

“Part of something,” he answered.  “Why have a diversion just for a diversion’s sake?”

“What do you mean, General?” Ackbar questioned.

“We put all of our firepower on capturing a core world.  Not one of the big ones, but one that would matter.  Like…Kuat.  There’s no way they wouldn’t take a bid for Kuat seriously and it’s close enough to draw firepower from Coruscant.  And if we can actually takeover the planet…”

“We control their top-producing shipyard,” Madine finished.

“And a core world,” Leia added.

“Okay, so that’s our diversion, now what do we do about Coruscant?”  Luke asked.

“Do I have to come up with everything?” Han replied.

Chewie, who had been quiet during the discussion, grumbled something to Han.

“When’s that?”  Han asked, interested.

Another grumble and a bark and Han replied, “That might just work.”

“Once we get the security credentials, they’ll be hard-pressed to tell the difference between who was summoned and who was sent,” Leia added.

“What are we talking about here?” Rieekan inquired patiently.

“Yes, care to clue us in?” Madine asked, a little less patiently.

“A delegation of Wookiees is to appear on Coruscant to have their grievances aired before the Imperial Council,” Leia explained.

“Yeah, the Empire is trying to shake their xenophobia, nutso persona and appear sympathetic to the Wookiee’s plight,” Han scoffed.

Chewie let out a long slow growl.

“Chewie’s right.  The delegation has to appear, even though they know it’s nothing more than a charade.  If they don’t appear then the Empire can say that they tried and the Wookiees were uncooperative,” Leia explained.

“And the Empire has to realize that, so they'll be expecting the delegation.  Do we know how many Wookiees have been invited?” Madine replied, his interest piqued.

“Does it matter?  Any more than two and we’re golden,” Han answered smugly.

Chewie grumbled.

“Fifteen?  Why don’t we take Byss while we’re at it?” Han exclaimed triumphantly.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, but I like it.  It’s not only simple and smart.  But it has a certain amount of justice in it,” Rieekan said soberly.

“Yes.  A group of sentient beings that the Empire has treated as…disposable,” Leia glanced at Chewie, a tinge of sadness and understanding shared between them.  The only beings treated more unfairly than the Alderaanians by the Empire were the Wookiees.  “How appropriate would it be for them to take back the seat of the Galactic Government in the name of all of the oppressed?”

“I for one would love to see the look on the Imperial Council’s faces!” Lando laughed.

“Well, consider your wish granted,” Han said smartly, “because I’m not sending Chewie in there alone.” 

**

(My condition from Zyra was:  “Hmmm...  um, Leia has to get out of the med center (either discharged or she insists on it) and maybe they have to come up with what they are going to do next concerning the Empire?  I don't even know what they would do.  I guess they have to find out who is in charge and take 'em down.”)

Apologies and Congratulations

CHAPTER XX

A part of her felt warm and wonderful at the thought of having a baby, especially at the thought of having a baby with Han. But another part of her just felt so irresponsible. How could she have let this happen? With all of the lengths they’d gone to in order to prevent this from happening until they were good and ready, why hadn’t anyone ever mentioned that contrachips were not one hundred percent effective?

Han had taken her hand between both of his and was warming it with a gentle, rubbing motion. For a moment she’d become so lost in her thoughts that she’d almost forgotten he was there. Looking up at him, she saw his handsome face looking down at her reassuringly, knowing that she was less than thrilled with the news. How was that supposed to make him feel?

She brought her other hand to rest on top of his and squeezed him gently, looking into his eyes. His face was still thinner than it used to be, like an adolescent who hadn’t quite filled out yet. She had a sudden flash of a young boy with brown hair and her brown eyes but Han’s features and smile. Maybe the timing wasn’t exactly perfect, but how could she not be happy about having a child with Han?

She brought his hand to her lips and kissed it before she finally spoke. “I should’ve known that one day you’d get me into trouble,” she teased.

“Is that what they call it when a husband gets his wife pregnant?” he asked. “I thought they called that starting a family.”

“You don’t see a whole lot of families in a war,” she replied, a bit more cynically.

“I told you already, we’ll figure it out. You’ve taken on the Empire. A tiny baby should be a snap.”

“What about you?” She asked.

“What about me?”

“You’ve never said anything about wanting to be a father.”

He lowered his head to look directly at her as his eyes grew serious and he still held her hands clutched in his. “Sweetheart, I know that we haven’t talked about this sort of thing, but it is something I’ve thought about before. I know I never had a dad of my own, and I never really got to see how they’re supposed to act and what they’re supposed to do. But I do know that I have wanted nothing more than to have a family with you and learn how to be the best dad any kid could ask for. And I also know that they’re already going to have the most amazing mom in the galaxy.”

How did he always seem to know exactly what to say to make things all right? Without responding, she brought a hand behind his head and he took the invitation to lean in for a kiss. Once he pulled away, she said, “You promise you’ll help change diapers?”

Han laughed. “Absolutely.”

**************

Leia had fallen asleep and Han left the room for a bit to go and find something to eat. Since his rescue he’d been suffering from almost constant ravenous hunger, a sure sign that his body was desperate to return to normal. As he rounded one of the corridors, he literally bumped into Luke.


“Hey, kid, sorry about that.”

“No problem, Han. So, did you tell her?”

“Yeah, I told her.”

“And? How did she take it?”

“Well, probably as good as you’d expect. Not exactly what we’d planned on, not exactly the best timing, but eventually she came to her senses. As hard as it is to believe, apparently the idea of having kids with me isn’t quite as horrifying as you might think.”

The Jedi laughed and patted his brother-in-law on the shoulder. “Han, I wouldn’t want anyone else to be the father of my nieces and nephews. I’m happy for you two.”

“Thanks, Luke. And as the uncle, you’re going to have to help us figure out how exactly to best bring up this kid in the middle of a war. Or even better, help us figure out a way to end it before he or she even has to see any of it.”

“I’ll do everything I can, Han. And you, don’t do anything stupid and go getting yourself killed.
We don’t want them growing up without a father.”

“Hey, it’s me!”

*********

Sometime later Leia had awakened in her bed to see Han asleep in the chair next to her, his neck bent at an almost horrific angle and his hand resting gently against hers on the bed. One thing was certain: she wasn’t going to have to worry about him being anything less than a devoted father and husband.

She pulled her hand from his to wipe a few stray hairs out of her eyes and he immediately stirred, opening his eyes and looking at her. “Hey, sweetheart, feeling any better?”

After learning of her pregnancy, she’d completely forgotten about her blaster wound. Reaching a hand up to touch the injured appendage wrapped in bacta-soaked bandages, she was pleasantly surprised to find that she hardly winced at the touch. “A lot better, actually.” Now, if only the healing of the physical pain was all she had to worry about…

“Han, what’s going to happen next? Has there been any discussion?”

He heaved a sigh, obviously not wanting her to get all caught up in the war already given her current condition. But there was no way she was going to sit things out for the next nine months just because she was going to have a baby.

“Well, they figured Mon was the only traitor in the situation. She was going to give us up to Imperial rule and they were going to leave her in a position of power to make us think that this
‘agreement’ meant that they weren’t the ones in control.”

“General Rieekan,” Leia said softly, looking down at her hands. “I was so-“

“Forget it, Leia,” Han said. “It’s not your fault, okay? You made the decision with the information you were given. And almost anyone will tell you, including me, that it was the right decision. How were you supposed to know that Mon had turned traitor on us?”

She shook her head. “I just should’ve known,” she said sadly.

“Sweetheart, everyone makes mistakes.”

“Yeah, well, if these are the kinds of mistakes I’m going to be making then how can I be expected to be a good mother?”

“Because you had a good role model,” another voice said from the doorway.

Leia looked up to see Carlist Rieekan leaning against the wall and looking at her. “I’m so sorry,” was all she could think to say.

He stepped forward and smiled. “It’s all right, Lelila,” he said, using her childhood nickname. “None of us can be expected to be right all the time. I know I certainly haven’t always made all of the right decisions. And neither did your father.”

“But did any of those decisions nearly get us all killed? Nearly leave us all in the hands of the Empire?”

“I think you’d be surprised,” he said. “And the key word there is ‘nearly’,” he replied. “You are an incredibly intelligent young woman, Leia. And a remarkable leader. But nobody’s perfect. And I hope that you can forgive yourself. Besides, I hear that I owe you another congratulations,” he said.

Leia instinctively ran her hands down over her stomach, remembering the tiny embryo growing inside. “Yes, well, the timing leaves a lot to be desired,” she said, almost able to force a smile.

“Well, trust me when I tell you that we will do everything we can to make sure that that baby will be born into a galaxy where freedom is the norm.”

Leia did smile then and couldn’t formulate words. Han sensed it and answered for her, standing and extending his hand to shake Carlist’s. “Thank you, General,” Han said.

“You’ve got your work cut out for you,” Carlist said as he made his way toward the door. “She was a feisty one when she was a little girl.” And with a wink, he was gone again.

The Hutt Gambit: The Review

Push and I read "The Hutt Gambit" this week, or at least I finished. This is the second book in the AC Crispin Han Solo trilogy. And this was my second reading of it, though I hadn't read it in probably at least ten years. First, points to the cover artist as I like Han on the cover, nicely done and made to look a bit younger.

The book begins about five years after the last one leaves off. This lengthy jump skips us over Han's entire stint in the Imperial Academy, his meeting and freeing of Chewie, how Han earned his Bloodstripes, and his being kicked out of the Navy. I should note that I have read in the past that the author was not actually allowed to write about these events, I'm assuming leaving them open to interpretation so someone else can write them later - so we will not fault her for skipping these seemingly important pieces of Han's life.

Chewie is with Han right in the beginning. He is merely an irritating tagalong at this point, refusing to leave Han and insisting on his lifedebt which Han tells him doesn't matter because his saving Chewie was his way of paying back Dewlanna for having saved Han. Discharged, Han decides to go to Nar Shaddaa and begins working for the Hutts. Yes, even Jabba, who actually has a very high opinion of Han at this point. Han has an old friend from the Academy he meets up with and has a nice group of friends for in between smuggling runs.

Han has his first try at the Kessell Run, which you can imagine went very well as he is a natural. Throughout all of this, Chewie grows on Han and proves useful in helping him not get killed, so he decides to let him stick around. Han starts up with a woman named Xaverri, who is an illusionist that Han watched perform and was quite taken with. She tries to resist his charms but of course eventually succumbs even though she had been married before with children but her family had been killed by the Empire so she tries to avoid becoming too attached to anyone. Han starts traveling around and participating in the acts and apparently gets to wear tight, stretchy outfits.

Things were going quite well at this point, until Han had a run in with a bounty hunter. Who else but Boba Fett, because as we all know, in a galaxy with presumably trillions of beings, there is really only that one bounty hunter and maybe those few other guys Vader talks to in ESB. This bounty hunter was ordered by the High Priest on Ylesia who Han had stolen the treasure from in the prior book. Anyway, Boba basically has Han cornered until someone jumps in and saves the day. His savior is none other than Lando Calrissian. This was not a coincidence, but Lando needed a good pilot so he sought out Han and just happened to follow him when he got into trouble with Fett. They did not kill him because neither one of them believed in killing in cold blood. Ironically, later on Jabba actually pays Boba not to kill Han because he is his best pilot.

Lando has Han help him learn to pilot a ship and Han sees for the first time and instantly falls in love with the Millennium Falcon. In fact, he immediately thinks to himself that that ship will eventually be his. After helping Lando, Han gets to choose a ship from his lot, which he decides to call the Bria. (please contain your vomit)

At some point on one of his runs Han "thinks" he sees Bria and tries to chase her down only to realize that it was someone else. Except it really was Bria but she had managed to disappear into the crowd and when Han got close enough the woman he sees was only who he thought he had seen earlier. The two haven't seen each other in five years, and apparently this encounter brought up a lot of hurt and longing for both of them. Bria has been busy helping start the Corellian Resistance against the Empire. In fact, she starts working under cover as the mistress of a high ranking moff so that she can gain information. She does not actually have to sleep with him because he is not attracted to humans, but is only there for show. Han discovers her playing this role, thinking she's sleeping with the enemy and they have to pretend they don't know each other. Bria is devastated that Han would think that of her and Han is devastated that she would do that and tries his best to hate her.

Xaverri eventually leaves Han, another one leaving him a note, though he is far less devastated. She simply does not want to get too attached and moves on with her show and career. It doesn't take that long before Han meets Salla Zend, a woman who was good at working on ships and seemed to share Han's love of being very forward when stating what you want in a relationship. The two worked well together as neither seemed interested in anything but having fun while it lasted. So later on when Xaverri comes back to help them all with a mission, Han doesn't feel too uncomfortable when Xaverri and Salla become good friends.

Han also gets another cohort by the name of Jarik Solo. This kid showed up and claimed to be related to Han. From the beginning Han was skeptical, but let him hang around because he proved useful in helping him with his smuggling runs and was just generally good to have around. He likely had a similar childhood to Han's and Han never called him out on not being his relative and let him use his last name.

While all of this is going on there's a whole lot of conflict going on amongst the Hutts which I won't get into the details of, but it does result in a battle that Han takes part in and is the reason he is working with Salla and Xaverri. In the end, Han is basically just smuggling and pretty happy with his life on Nar Shaddaa with Salla and his friends.

I had said after re-reading the first book that I didn't mind Bria nearly as much as I thought I used to. I guess I had forgotten that it wasn't so much the initial relationship itself that bothered me, but a whole heck of a lot that happens afterward. First, when Han "sees" Bria for the first time and it's not her and it stirred up all of those old feelings, it implies that in the five years since she left him, he still hasn't moved on. When he is drawn to Xaverri, we are told that this is the first time he has been attracted to a woman like that since Bria.

Um... what? Five years?!?! Is this the same Han Solo? I have to say, I am as much as a die hard Han and Leia fan as just about anyone and have silly, romantic notions that they are of course meant to be together, can't live without each other and all of that crap. But even if for some reason Leia left Han I still wouldn't see him not thinking about moving on with someone else after five freakin' years. And the fact that Bria is all noble and apparently is instrumental in starting the Rebellion also irks me. The whole concept of all of this implies to me that basically if she didn't wind up (spoiler alert!) dying at the end of the third book, she was really the one that Han was meant to be with and they would've lived happily ever after.

I don't mind Han having past relationships, I really don't. I just hate the implication that his true love wasn't really Leia, but she was instead a second choice only due to the death of his first. His relationship with Xaverri didn't bother me. I found it a little odd that Han would've traveled around performing in a magic act, but hey, I can see the guy doing a lot of weird stuff for a woman. I don't mind his relationship with Salla. They are actually a pretty good match and seem to speak the same language and be on the same page even if they don't really seem to be in love, they are only expecting some companionship and fun and that's what they are getting. Once again, more implied sex for Han in this book. I think we've now quadrupled the amount of EU sex he ever had with Leia.

Aside from the female relationships, I enjoyed him getting used to having Chewie around and he and Lando had a sort of instant, easy friendship that I actually believed. Han has a good group of smuggling friends that maybe I liked even more because they were in the Dark Empire radio drama and again, I could just see Han having good friendships with these people and their interactions. It is also interesting to see Han as basically Jabba's favorite human since we all know how that turns out later.

This book certainly included some foreshadowing, though maybe not on an annoying level. Lando we knew was from Han's past so he had to have met him at some point. I can maybe see him liking the Falcon when he first sees it, but I don't know about the instantly thinking that she will be his someday. He has a run-in with an old Jedi seer, Vima, who tells him his future. I actually liked this part. It was very quick and he asks if he'll be rich and she tells him that he will have great wealth but only when he doesn't care about it anymore, which of course Han does not believe because money is far too important to him. And she also tells him that he will do a lot for money, but he will do a lot more for love. At that point Han decides she's crazy and moves on.

Overall, aside from the idea that he hasn't been able to think about another woman in five years because Bria was his soul mate, I enjoyed this book on the second read. I had totally forgotten that Jarik Solo existed (not you, Jarik, the one who follows this blog except has disappeared and never comments) and I dind't remember that he met Chewie so early in these books. But again, it did feel like "Han" to me in this book. He stands up to powerful people when he doesn't think he's getting what he deserves, he takes pride in his piloting and in whatever other job he might have, he enjoys having fun with his friends and underneath everything he does have a soft spot for certain things and enjoys his time with his girlfriends.

The story and the characters kept me interested and again, this was certainly the Han that I know and love. So in spite of lack of Leia, I'll also give this one a 3 out of 5. I miss Leia of course, but she's still a child at this point so that would not be good! And at least Han's relationships are more in the spirit of what I might see him having had before Leia. So, another decent read that you should check out if you get a chance.

Next book: "Rebel Dawn"

Mischaracterizations in the EU

Any of us who have read the EU have had a lot of similar complaints, especially when it comes to Han and Leia. I don't know if it's the fact that people started listening to us or maybe the new authors writing said books feel the same way we did and decided to fix it, but in most books since Han and Leia were estranged in the early days of the New Jedi Order series after Chewie's books, their relationship has been pretty much what I would have expected to read of them almost all along. Because of the nature of the books and the fact that they're not meant to be romance stories and Han and Leia have been married for 20-30+ years depending on which book you're reading, they are obviously not delving that much into their already well-established relationship. But they have been operating as a team and an obviously loving couple that knows each other incredibly well and they never leave each other's side. That is how it always should've been.

But, before this they treated their relationship incredibly poorly. It actually spurred a thread on theforce.net boards that went on for pages and pages entitled, "To LFL: Stop abusing Han and Leia's Romance!" And yes, there were actually quite a few of us enraged about that. So let's discuss some generalizations that most authors tended to go by which I, among others, felt were pretty inaccurate portrayals of the couple that we had seen on screen in the movies.

Let's talk about Leia. Now, if you ask me, someone like her, who had lost her entire family and spent so much of her life putting the greater good ahead of her own needs might finally decide that that was not how she wanted to live her entire life. Well, apparently the early EU authors did not see her this way. First, they like to show her as someone who is always putting work ahead of her personal life. Apparently she didn't see her family that much and basically didn't even raise her own children - though that wasn't entirely her fault, I'll get to that, too.

Han gets ignored and just seems like someone she maybe occasionally lives with rather than an actual husband. She tends to treat him like an idiot, and often talks to him like he's a child. Whatever it is, she isn't treating him like a loving husband and certainly not a man of much intelligence. It's like she immediately reverts back to that cold, unfeeling woman from the beginning of Empire. Funny, because if you think about it, she really only acts like that in the very beginning of that one movie. Maybe part of ANH. Outside of that she tends to be openly affectionate and certainly doesn't talk down to Han. Apparently she doesn't have a mind of her own but is rather completely influenced by whatever the New Republic wants of her. I'm not sure I see Leia wanting the major political role she winds up with in the books.

Han, on the other hand, doesn't seem to really mind any of this. He goes off and does his thing, whatever it may be, while she is never around and usually doesn't treat him very nicely. To me, he seems to be very passive about the whole thing. I mean, I don't see Leia treating him like that in the first place, but if she did, I don't think that Han would just sit back and let it happen. Of course it's nice to think that he would just love her unconditionally, but I don't think that someone like Han would be content with just being married to her if she doesn't really treat it like a marriage. He also doesn't seem to put much effort into keeping his family intact or raising his kids.

Now, to be fair, of course there are exceptions to this. There are some moments in some books that give some semblance of what I'd consider their relationship might be like as a married couple. Unfortunately, these glimpses tend to come in books that are otherwise overall not very good. In Children of the Jedi they spend a lot of time together and work as a team, tease each other, have some sweet moments and, gasp, it actually alludes to them having sex in the book. In a totally subtle, PG-rated way, but at least it's there. And there are at least a couple of other books where they spend more than two minutes together and maybe even kiss a couple of times.

But for the most part, they have kids, but they don't really raise them. I don't think for one second that Han and Leia would decide to have kids just for the sake of it and then not really have much to do with them, including sending them away for a couple of years. Do any of us really think that they would let Luke dictate what happened to their kids? Or that Luke would even suggest such a thing in the first place?

Yes, that's right, Luke certainly isn't portrayed that well, either, I don't think. I don't contemplate his character nearly as much as Han and Leia - or probably really at all - but I don't think he would suddenly become this sage-like Jedi who only talks in annoying, Force-y sayings. At times he almost ceases to be human because he never does anything wrong.

The problem goes beyond these, but in general, the authors tend to write the characters as though they haven't developed or changed at all from the movies, especially the beginning of the movies. I mean, just read parts of the beginning of The Truce at Bakura. It is not entirely bad, but there are parts where Leia talks to Han once again like he's an annoying pirate doing a bad job of rescuing her. Forgive me for thinking so, but I feel as though once they got together they would actually want to spend a lot of time together, as well as spend a lot of time with any children they'd have. And I doubt Leia would want to hold such a prominent role in government. I think she'd want to be involved in some way, but not to the point that it takes away from her life with her family.

I really wish we could go back and basically erase most of the EU and start over and write it the way it really should have happened. But I guess that's what we have fanfic for.

"Am I dying?"

CHAPTER XIX

Han helped her into the shuttle and her eyes crossed from the pain shooting in her arm.  It felt different, deeper than the time before when she had been shot on Endor’s moon.  The sting of betrayal and of second-guessing her decisions made the pain all the more unbearable. 

Leia felt the click of her crash webbing as Han strapped her in.  She turned her head and found Carlist Rieekan’s eyes watching her protectively.  She whispered, “I’m sorry.  I was wrong.”

She saw Carlist open his mouth to speak as everything went dark.  Han’s voice calling out her name was the only thing she could hear, but she couldn’t make her body respond to him.  Awake but not able to speak or see anything.  Han yelled for the pilot to take off and as the repulsorlifts fired up, Leia’s world went blank.

When Leia began to regain consciousness she winced at the still excruciating pain radiating from her arm.  Am I still on the transport?  Finding her bearings she realized she must have made it somewhere since she was definitely lying down.

As she worked to open her eyes, she felt someone squeezing her hand and a familiar voice calling her name.

“Han?” she croaked out as she blinked at the blinding overhead lights.

“I’m right here, sweetheart,” Han replied with another squeeze of her hand.

“It hurts,” she whispered.  Not one to usually admit pain or discomfort, Leia wondered if they hadn’t realized how much pain she was in, thinking that perhaps they had underestimated her wound.

“I know, baby.  Just hang in there.”

Her eyes adjusted to the light somewhat and she found Han’s face hovering over hers.  A movement behind him caught her eye at the same time she heard Luke’s voice say, “I’ll go wait outside.”

“No, you don’t have to leave,” Leia pleaded as she watched Luke walk towards her.

“You two need some time alone.  I’ll be right outside, I promise,” Luke replied as he patted her leg and walked away with a shy smile.

Leia watched Luke walk away as confusion washed over her.  Something didn’t feel right.  She looked back to Han for some reassurance and found none there.  He was smiling at her dumbly and she could’ve sworn that he actually had tears in his eyes.  Oh, kreth!

“Am I dying?”  Leia asked in a whisper, barely able to believe that this is how she would finally go. 

Han’s reaction did not help to clear things up for her.  He laughed, a hearty laugh that caused his lingering tears to burst forth.  “Dying?  No, you’re not dying,” he said as he wiped his eyes.  Suddenly Leia’s confusion began to turn into frustration and anger. 

“Han!  I know something’s going on.  Don’t try to hide it from me,” she pressed.

“Calm down.  You shouldn’t be working yourself up.”

“I wouldn’t be getting myself worked up if you would just tell me what’s wrong with me,” she replied as she tried to sit up but immediately regretted it. 

As she sucked in a quick breath from the pain, Han’s face grew serious.  He laid a hand on her shoulder and settled her back down on her bed.  “Sweetheart, relax.  You just need to relax, okay?”

“Han.”  She shut her eyes, that smallest bit of exertion seeming to wick the strength right out of her.  “Just tell me what’s going on.”

Han took a deep breath and then squeezed her hand.  His dumb smile from earlier crawled back over his face and Leia prepared herself for the worst.  “You’re pregnant.”

She hadn’t prepared herself for that.  She shook her head at him as if she could deny what she had just heard.  A wave of nausea washed over her as if her body was trying to convince her that it was true.

“You’re gonna have a baby,” Han reiterated. 

“I know what it means,” she replied tightly and Han laughed at her again.  “But-”

“I know, we both had contrachips.  That’s what I told ‘em,” Han answered her, anticipating her question.  “Something about the starving body and breakdown and…fate.”

Still astounded at this turn of events, Leia replied absently, “Fate?” 

“Yes, fate,” Han answered her as he lowered his head down to hers and kissed her on the lips.  Whispering in her ear, he said, “Sometimes things happen because they’re supposed to and not because you meticulously planned them that way.”

For the first time she felt a smile creep across her lips.  Fate, like her love for Han, had surprised her yet again.  She felt a tear fall down the side of her face.  “I can’t have a baby,” she argued.  They were in the middle of war.  A war that if the pain in her arm was any indication, was back on full speed ahead.

 

Han laughed at her again as he sat on the bed next to her.  “Um, physically, I think we’ve proven that statement wrong.”

 

“You know what I mean.  We’re at war.  We’re fugitives, living underground-”

 

“Shhh.  Try not to get yourself worked up.  We’ll figure everything out, don’t worry.”

 

She gazed into his eyes and wanted desperately to believe him.  But this was not the galaxy that she wanted to bring a child into.  This was not the way she always imagined this day would happen.

 

“Just look at the bright side,” Han said, interrupting her thoughts.

 

“What’s that?”

 

“At least we’re already married.” 

 

Han winked at her and she smiled at him.  If there was any person in the galaxy that could put her at ease, it was Han Solo.  She hadn’t even grown accustomed to calling him her husband and now he would be the father of her child.

(My condition from Zyra was that Leia had to be pregnant.  Well, unbeknownst to her, I was planning on springing that surprise on her anyway, so it was an easy condition to meet!)