Countdown to the 'Apocalypse'

Two weeks from today we will finally get to read the culmination of the latest EU series, Fate of the Jedi. The series began THREE years ago with Fate of the Jedi: Outcast. And it continued on as a nine-book series.

First I'd like to ask how many of you are still reading these books? I have been a reader since I was in high school, losing some faith at the beginning of NJO, having it regained, enjoying the Dark Nest Trilogy and then not being able to keep myself from being sucked into the downward spiral that followed. I have tried to quit. I promise you I have. There have been several occasions in which I bought the latest book thinking to myself, "This will probably suck, and if it does, I'm done." And then something in it would catch my eye and make me want to keep going, and I'd curse myself for not having the willpower to stop.

For those of you unfamiliar with the history of how these books have been published in the past, Bantam published them starting with the Thrawn trilogy through Vision of the Future. The books weren't necessarily meant to flow in one, cohesive story, were published out of order and sometimes even sort of contradicted each other. It was difficult I'm sure to write a book that came between two others that had already been published because you didn't have much room for creative license. I also am under the impression that they weren't very forward thinking in how they wanted the books to progress as a whole. Perhaps in the beginning they didn't really expect there would be demand for lots of books, so the idea of a few stand-alone novels made sense. But then once they became popular they had sort of painted themselves into a corner.

Those that first batch of books was full of stand-alones, a few paperback trilogies and I think just one duology to end the series. Anyone who has read Specter of the Past and Vision of the Future knows that they really did a good job of sort of closing out that entire era and even really giving us what many could've seen as a satisfying end to the adventures, under the assumption that after that everything was just fine and dandy in the Star Wars universe.

Then Del Rey took over. Immediately they planned a huge series following one story line to encompass nineteen books, hardcovers, paperbacks, e-books, covering a few years in the Star Wars universe and killing a couple of main characters in the process. Talk about a change of pace. It used to be that you'd buy a Star Wars book and get to the end and that was just... the end. Sure, you wanted a new book just because they were fun to read but you didn't feel this intense need for the next book just so you knew what was going to happen next - of course with the exception of the trilogies.

Many of these New Jedi Order books did sort of feel like they had endings and weren't necessarily huge cliffhangers, but you still wanted to know what was going to happen next and how they were going to face this new enemy and if they were going to lose their galaxy in the process. I'd like to say that while there were certain things I of course didn't like about that series - and I'm sure most of you could probably guess which things and would agree with me - I did find it to be an enjoyable series overall and it kept me on the edge of my seat with a real sense of fear that they might not triumph in the end. I could go into a lot more detail on NJO, but maybe that is for another post.

But, man, nineteen books is a lot to swallow! And after all of that I had been looking forward to some more stand alone novels. What we got next was the Dark Nest trilogy, which took place I believe five years after the NJO ended. Let's assume that was because for five wonderful years they maybe weren't under threat of death and could live normal lives. I enjoyed that series, even though a little weird but probably mostly because Troy wrote them.

Well, then there was going to be another long series. Only nine books this time, okay, manageable. Legacy of the Force. This was where they started to lose me. First of all, things were taking such a dark turn and it was all starting to feel like all of the success they had at the end of ROTJ was utterly pointless if this was how things were eventually going to pan out. They killed more main characters and our heroes had practically become fugitives. There were a few books that barely had mention of Han and Leia. And quite often I was left wondering if this "story" really needed nine books to tell it.

Good won in the end, but they sure did lose a lot in the process. I can't remember what it was in the midst of that series that kept me going, because I'm sure somewhere along the line I thought to myself I couldn't do it anymore. It was probably just one or two cute Han and Leia lines. I'm such a sucker.

Oh, but let's do another nine-book series! And this time let's make them all hardcovers so they cost more! And let's release them incredibly slowly! Let's see, the nineteen New Jedi Order books came out over a span of four years, so nearly five books a year. This one came out over three years, obviously three books a year (see? I'm good at math, too). Even more maddening was that a few of them were awfully short, making me wonder why I was waiting so long for these, paying so much and just not getting that much content. Plus, many of them just felt like they were filling in space to stretch the story to so many books.

But look at me now, still reading them anyway. I bought that first book once again with the intention of giving it this one last chance but hopefully finally being able to stop buying new books forever. Well, then something really interesting happened and I was incredibly curious as to how it was going to pan out. Of course that interesting plot point hasn't been a widespread issue as I expected and they haven't made that big of a deal out of it, but there have at least been lots of cute Han and Leia moments in it.

And now for those of you still with me, it's time for this series to come to its end. Apocalypse, the final book written by Troy Denning, comes out two weeks from today. The last book came out in August making this probably the longest stretch between books, though not quite as long as originally scheduled as it was pushed up from April. Is anyone excited for this book to come out? I am not sure what I feel.

I will say I've enjoyed the last few books and some of the things that have happened in them. I was definitely mad when I had to wait such a long time for this series to come to its end. At the same time, the fact that it is called Apocalypse can't possibly mean anything good, can it?

Normally when a book release date gets close, I start scouring the internet for bits and pieces from people who got to read advanced copies. I knew Chewie was going to die before I read it. I knew Jacen was going to die. I do recall somehow managing to keep myself from reading that Anakin died, although I knew there was a death and for a while people talked in code about how "Jimmy" was going to die and I think I sort of figured out who they were talking about anyway.

This time around, internet spoilers are notably absent. I'm not the only one who has noticed this, either. People who have read it aren't talking any more than just to say that they liked it. They aren't even talking in code about certain things or alluding to any major plot points, or even minor ones. And there are plenty of people complaining on message boards about how nobody is spoiling it.

Do I want to be spoiled? I don't know. For most of the recent books I felt the story was kind of uninteresting enough that knowing beforehand that certain things were going to happen wasn't going to interfere with my enjoyment of the books. And I'm sure I'm right about that. I don't recall reading a spoiler and being mad that I knew it since it ruined things for me when I got to it. Except when someone told me Bruce Willis was dead the whole movie before I saw it, because THAT ruined it. And I wasn't looking for spoilers.

That said, there have been times where I've intentionally tried not to know anything before. Episode I comes to mind. I remember averting my eyes during trailers on TV, not reading anything or wanting to see too much. What a waste of effort. So at this point, if someone on the internet doesn't talk I'm left wondering if I can keep myself from flipping straight to the end probably before I even pay for the stupid book at the store. I may either read it fairly intently to see what it's all about, or just skim for the very easily identifiable words "Han" and "Leia" (I have amazing Han and Leia detection skills as my eyes automatically zero in on those names if printed on a page) and make sure that they're still alive. But I don't know! I can't make any promises either way.

So again, anyone excited about this book? Anyone eagerly (sort of) awaiting its release and intending to read it as soon as it comes out? Speaking of which, as a side note, the week of March 18th we are skipping the EU book club so your faithful bloggers can take a break from old books to read the new one. So this week will be Darksaber, then Planet of the Twilight, and then no old EU book the following week. We may take two depending on how long it is, but we'll see when we get there.

Children of the Jedi: The Review

Okay.  This book is a bit of a contradiction for me.  Why?  Because I really, really liked it from a Han and Leia perspective, but have mixed feelings about it regarding probably all else.  But this is a Han and Leia blog, with a Han and Leia rating, so I’ll concentrate on what I liked because that’s what we do in the EU.  Am I right?  Of course I am. 

The great aspect about this novel is that I can honestly say that wherever Han and Leia appeared, their dialogue seemed spot on and just really enjoyable and they were together a lot and there was a lot of kissy time and implied ‘relations’.  All of that, in itself, will get me to recommend this book to any Han and Leia fan.  As for the story itself, I sort of know what went on but not really (especially so on the Luke storyline) – but the more you read some of these novels the more you just become a little bit accepting of that (or at least I do). 

First, there are two storylines throughout this book:  Han and Leia (mostly on Belsavis) and Luke on a ship named the Eye of Palpatine.   I’ll have to be honest and say that, although I read all the “Luke” parts on my first read of this book a year or so ago, on this time around, I chose to ‘scan’ through most of Luke’s storyline and for that reason, I understand what happened to him and his ‘girlfriend’ even less so than the rest of the novel.  Let me just say that it is the weirdest ‘love affair’ I have ever read about and it continues the nasty habit that Luke has of falling in love with any girl that says more than two words to him.

The book begins on Ithor, where Han and Leia and the entire gang (the twins, Anakin, Winter, Luke, Chewie, Artoo and C-3PO) are celebrating some big meeting that is also beautiful to look at.  Right off the bat I liked the way the author paints Han and Leia together in this setting (it’s a sort of mini-vacation for them).  She really gave nice little glimpses of their normal relationship that I devoured eagerly. 

For example, Han is getting dressed for the big event and Leia is surreptitiously watching him out of the corner of her eye.  The book then says, she saw him pose in front of the mirror, and carefully tucked away her smile.  A small tidbit, I know, but I liked it.  Han also asks her for the Smashball scores while she is going through her diplomatic update (as Chief of State) and she scans to the end and gives them to him.  I liked all these little things right away.  But of course, their vacation is short-lived because something needs to hit the fan soon, right?  Right.

Some crazy guy shows up during the meeting screaming incoherently:  “They hid the children in the well.  Kill you all!”  And there was a “Solo!” interjected in there intermittently for good measure.  Once the maniac is captured, they find out that he is an old smuggler friend (Drub McKumb) of Han’s that is emaciated and near death and could very well be giving him a warning instead of trying to kill him.  While researching the paperwork and other belongings of Drub McKumb, they begin to deduce that there may have been a hidden cache of Jedi children somewhere down some well called Plet’s well or Pletwell.

Here we are at the point in the book where all our characters are going to head their separate ways on their way to save the galaxy.  The good thing?  Han and Leia stay together (with Chewie and Artoo) and head to Belsavis to investigate this Plet’s well.  Luke goes off with Threepio (a welcomed change of pace) and two of his students (Cray Mingla and her fiance’, Nichos – a man who had a disease that led his “spirit” to be transitioned into a droid body to keep him alive – don’t ask for more explanation than that).   Oh, and Winter keeps the kids.

For the rest of the novel, Han and Leia are researching this ‘well’ and the missing Jedi children who were apparently hidden when Order 66 came down.  It reads exactly as how I would imagine Han and Leia living after they got married, working together or at least when they were apart, thinking about the other one and checking in or worrying about them after a while.  Luke, gets captured by a battlemoon, the Eye of Palpatine, and limps around and tries to escape for the rest of the book.

The planet Belsavis, from what I understand, has  some big biosphere dome thing erected over half the planet or something and the rest is a frozen tundra, maybe?  I’m grasping at straws here.  But under the biosphere dome it is very hot and humid and the planet exports exotic silks and coffees on some floating, rotating flower beds.  Anyway, while talking about the vine-silk made on Belsavis, Leia thought this:

Leia refrained from saying that a quantity of vine-silk sufficient to make a decent dress would cost enough to support a good thirty percent of any planet’s total economy.  Which was why Han’s gift to her of a gown and tabard of the stuff a short time ago had reduced her to speechlessness.  Her friend Winter had picked them out.  Han still had a weakness for clothing completely unsuited for the Chief of State, and had learned not to trust his own judgment on things to be worn in public.

Han gives her gifts!  And likes her to dress scantily!  Yes, yes he does.

There are so many embraces in this book I don’t know if I can mention them all, or fully explain their context, but who needs context, right?  This is the first embrace I have on record: 

A pair of strong arms encircled her from behind.  Han said nothing, just gazed out past her, and Leia leaned back into his strength, closing her eyes and letting her mind drift.

Throughout the novel, strange droid malfunctions keep occurring that perplex the Belsavis residents (it has been going on for awhile) and now the Solos.  Mainly they have been chalking it up to the humidity. 

Meanwhile, Luke is badly injured on that battle moon and he hobbles around and figures out that the thing has some set program to go from planet to planet and pick up stormtroopers and then head to Belsavis and destroy it.  (Yes, Belsavis is where Han and Leia are).  The only problem is that its program went into motion about 30 years late and instead of picking up stormtroopers, it picked up a myriad of weird aliens from Sand People and Jawas to Gamorreans and they have all been ‘programmed’ by the “Will” (the battlemoon’s main brain) and they are warring with each other onboard this ship.

Moving on…  So, in Chapter 8, our favorite couple goes out hitting some cantinas to find some smugglers who might know something about Drub McKumb and this well (because heretofore they cannot find any underground wells or caverns).  I highly recommend anyone to just read this chapter, Chapter 8.  It’s really fun.  I’ll be hard-pressed to quote everything I would like to quote from it.  But I’ll try.

Firstly, Leia thinks how she enjoys not being recognized and being out with Han like this:

Here they were just a lanky man with a scar on his chin and a smuggler’s habit of watching the doors, and a cinnabar-haired woman in a dress that Aunt Rogue would have locked her in her room before permitting her to wear in public.

A female bartender calls Han “sugardrawers” and “angelpants”.  No, I am not lying.  And Leia was called “pretty eyes” and told that she was “way too good for the likes of him” in reference to Han.  To which she replied, “I know.”  Later, when they are on their way back to their room, Leia calls Han “angelpants” playfully.  I can’t reiterate enough how much fun this entire exchange was for me to read.  It really was.

So then we have the first ‘missing moment’ opportunity that happens in this book.  When Han and Leia arrive back at their bungalow after imbibing in drinks all day long at the bars:

“You know, Han…” Leia paused at the top of the wooden ramp that climbed the high, broken stone of their house’s foundations to the wide front door.  “That’s the first thing that drew me to you.  The childlike innocence of your heart.”

He caught her arm, grinning; she tried to duck away to open the door but he pinned her, a hand on either side of her shoulders, their eyes, laughing into one another’s, his body warm against hers.  “You want to see how innocent I can be?”  (Yes!  Yes, I do!)

She reached to touch the scar on his chin.  “I know how innocent you are,” she said, meaning it, and their lips met, isolated in the still cloak of the mist.

And then Chewie and Artoo show up!  But, I will say, that there is already a fanfic written that leaves a little time (and action) between the kiss and when that inevitable interruption occurs…

Now they are back in the bungalow and Leia is going to go research the hall of records.  I really wonder just how scantily clad Leia was dressed at that bar when this passage says this:  Leia hunted out a dark green-and-violet tunic slightly more respectable than the garment she’d worn to go touring the bars of the Row – she owned underwear more respectable than that particular outfit, for that matter – and more comfortable shoes.

I love that Leia would ‘dress for the occasion’ and not be above that, you know?  And I’m sure Han loves it, too.

Before Leia left to go off on her own, she said goodbye to Han.  What a novelty!  (and what a little goodbye):

Leia asks if he’ll be alright and he ensures her he will and then:

He made a show of checking his pockets.  “And I know I picked up a card in the bar for order-in dancing girls.”

“Just make them sweep up the confetti when they’re done.”

They kissed again, and Leia strode down the ramp to street level.

Wasn’t that so fun and cute?  Maybe it’s just me, but I doubt it.  Anyway, that was all in Chapter 8!  Seriously, just go to the bookstore and read Chapter 8.

While Leia is gone, they even mention that Han calls and checks in with Winter and talks to the kids on the holo.  Wow!

Also, it seems everybody gets lucky in this book, apparently.  Because at one point, Mara Jade calls late on the holo and Leia notes:  She wore a gold chain around her neck and a shirt Leia recognized as belonging to Lando Calrissian. 

Now that I think about it, this may be the most ‘sexy time’ book in the entire EU.  Somebody disagree with me?

This was another interesting wardrobe note:  Han crossed his legs and pulled the dark-patterned native sarong he wore up to cover his knees.  What?  What is he wearing?  A short dress?  Is that right?  Regardless, that’s a mental picture I wouldn’t mind puzzling out for a while to come…

I will also say that Leia has A LOT of childhood memories and references in this book and some nightmares related to the Death Star.  Some of it was due to the fact that several of the scientists that had created the Death Star had recently been hunted down and murdered and some people were blaming Leia – saying she got her ‘smuggler friends’ to do it for her (which isn’t true). 

Anyway, I thought that this was all handled exactly as how I would think Leia would be assaulted by random memories and thoughts and how she would deal with them or be haunted by them, etc.  I really liked this small subplot that was woven throughout the book.  I don’t think enough EU authors address her memories and loss of her planet and how it would affect her every day.

This is one occasion where Leia was deep in thought and Han came to check on her: 

“You okay?”

Leia turned sharply.  She’d folded back one of the metal shutters to step out onto the balcony, and the diffuse light from the orchard fell in a muzzy bar into the room behind her, picking out the hard edge of Han’s arm muscle, the sharp points of collarbone and shoulder, the small scar on his forearm.  The dark print of the sarong (again, is he in a dress?) he wore was like the black-on-black mottling of a trepennit’s hide, lost in the shadows of the room.

She didn’t answer.  She wasn’t sure what she could have said, and she’d long ago learned that lying to Han was impossible.  In the sticky warmth of the night his hand, dry and cool from the air-conditioning of the house, was a welcome strength on her bare arm.

Very little dialogue, but so much said there – I think.  There was lots of hugging and talking following that exchange where Leia shares some of those feelings/memories that have been stirring up and about her nightmares.  I’ll give some excerpts:

Leia sighed, feeling as if it had been years since she’d last relaxed enough to breathe.  It was good beyond words to feel his arms around her, his body pressing into her back.

Then a short bit later:

She pulled his arms more closely around her, closing her eyes and drifting in the scents of soap, and his flesh, and the thick, slightly sulfurous murk of the night.

Oh, yeah, and yes - we are going somewhere here folks, so strap yourselves in:

His grip tightened around her, holding her fast against his body.  He knew she had dreams.  He’d waked her up from them, and held her against his chest while she cried, too many times to count.  She felt the breath of his lips move the hair at the crown of her head.  “There was nothing you could have done.”

“I know.  But at least once a day I think:  I couldn’t save them, but I can make those who did it pay.”  She turned in his arms, looking up at him in the misty apricot light.  “Would you do it?” (this is referring to killing those Death Star scientists)

Han grinned down at her.  “Like a shot.  But I’m not the Chief of State.”

“Would you do it to please me?”

He laid his hand along her cheek, leaned down to kiss her lips.  He said softly, “No.  Not even if you asked.”

He led her inside.  As he stopped to close the shutters behind them, Leia paused by the room’s small table, where a half dozen shallow cakes of colored wax floated in a great glass bowl of water.  She flicked the switch on the long stem of the lighter, touched in turn each wick.  The drifting lights painted wavery circles of amber and daffodil on the ceiling and walls.  Her eyes met Han’s over the floating candle flames; she let slip the shawl she’d worn over her shoulders, and held out to him her hand.

END OF PARAGRAPH.  FADE TO BLACK.  Now, that’s what I call a missing moment!  Anyone feel free to fill that one in!

And just to solidify things, early that morning, Artoo mysteriously attacks them.  Han and Leia both slip some boots on and this is said:

Looking a little ridiculous – he wasn’t wearing much besides the boots – Han crossed the bed in two strides to her side.

Yep, they were naked and now Han is standing naked in his boots being nearly electrocuted by Artoo.  Another nice mental picture…

So, Artoo is now malfunctioning like the rest of the mechanicals on Belsavis.  In order to keep him from killing them, Han has to mess him up pretty bad and Chewie spends a great deal of time rewiring him and fixing him but they have to put a restraining bolt on him because they don’t trust him now.

There’s a really good chunk of introspection from Leia about when Alderaan was destroyed and what time of day it was and what her family might have been doing at the time.  I can’t quote it all, but it’s in Chapter 13 if you are interested.  I will quote this:

She wondered what they’d think now, those aunts, if they could see her married to a man who’d started life as a smuggler, whose parents had been nobody-knew-who.  If they could see her as Chief-of-State, after years of dodging around the galaxy in the company of a ragged gang of idealistic warriors with a price on her head.

She honestly didn’t know if they would have been aghast or proud.  When she was eighteen, she hadn’t known them well; hadn’t known them as an adult knows other adults.

And they had all died before she could.

So, now Leia is heading back to the hall of records to research more of these droid malfunctions.  She asked Han if he wants to go with her, but he says he is going to go off to do some further research at someplace called the “Jungle Lust”.  When he asks Chewie to join him, he asks with a ‘suggestive wiggle of his hips”.   Before they go their separate ways, Han makes sure that Leia doesn’t plan to take Artoo with her (since he had tried to kill them the night before).  Then Leia thinks this:

Leia hesitated.  She had had it in mind as a matter of course, but then, it hadn’t been her scantily covered anatomy Artoo had been firing bolts of electricity at not twelve hours ago.

Okay, just what part of Han’s anatomy was Artoo firing at?

Anyway, Leia agrees not to take Artoo and Han gives her a ‘quick, hard kiss’ before he departs and then Leia goes back and gets Artoo any way.  She feels a bit guilty for lying to Han but she is trying to ‘trust her feelings’ like Luke had been teaching her.  And she thinks this:

Han would choke. (If he knew she was taking Artoo)

But then, she thought, her love for Han was the greatest triumph she’d ever seen of ‘looks wrong, feels right.”  So he didn’t have any room to talk.

Of course, Leia never makes it to the hall of records.  Instead she recognizes a few members of the Ancient Houses and decides to follow them out to the frozen tundra instead.  There are a few references to some things she picked up in the Rebellion, like when she muttered a word she’d picked up from the boys in the old Rogue Squadron and when she assembles some weaponry swiftly, deftly, as the boys in the Hoth dugout had taught her when it looked as if they weren’t going to get out before the Imperials came in.

There’s something I like about showing that side of Leia, you know?  The last thing she does is tell Artoo that his final command is to go and find Han no matter what happens to her.  And then they descend into the tunnels of Belsavis.

I guess I should get back to Luke.  So, there is this female Jedi (Callista) that sacrificed her life 30 years ago to stop this battlemoon from doing what it was designed to do.  Somehow her spirit was sucked into the computers of the ship and Luke allies with her to stop it from destroying Belsavis while he somehow falls in love with her.  I’m still confused as all get out as to how this could happen and if Luke was dreaming or what, but this is what the book says:

After Callista had left – or perhaps while she still lay in his arms, her head pillowed on his shoulder in the aftermath of loving – he had drifted into deeper sleep.

Okay.  So, Luke got lucky with the ship’s computer system somehow.  Can you see why I really don’t want to expel much energy into trying to figure out this part of the novel?  Ew.

Okay, so basically there is this Force-adept boy (that may or may not be Palpatine’s heir – probably not) that can control droids with the Force.  Together with some of the members of the Ancient houses and some corporation big wigs, the boy’s mother plans to take control of the Eye of Palpatine and restore the Empire and control the galaxy or something.  Leia is captured down in the tunnels and they sedate her heavily.  Artoo escapes because the boy can’t control him.  Seems like the boy (Irek) has to memorize the droid’s wiring to control them and of course, Chew had rewired Artoo to fix him.

There’s a cute part when Leia (while heavily sedated) rises out of her body to go and take a look around.  When she looks down at herself she thinks:  Cray’s right, she thought.  I really do have to be more diligent about applying that Slootheberry Wrinkle Crème around my eyes.

I just thought that was cute that she would think of that while in the middle of all this other stuff.

Well, the Eye of Palpatine finally arrives, but Irek is unable to control it because of what Luke has been up to during his time aboard (maybe it’s because Luke had relations with it).  Anyway, Leia is trying to escape and things get very tense but Han and Chewie show up right in time.  Irek and his mother get away.  Luke escapes with all the refugees but Cray Mingla, Nichos and Callista all perish when the Eye of Palpatine explodes over Belsavis.

 While getting ready to leave the planet, Mara (yeah, Mara showed up – but that was another story – not really relevant) spots an escape pod and reels it in.  Luke thinks that it is Cray Mingla.  Cray had wanted to die with Nichos but Luke thinks she must’ve changed her mind.  When they open the escape pod it is discovered that somehow Callista was able to transfer her soul into Cray’s body (with Cray’s help/permission) and he is beside himself with happiness and they kiss and hug and cry and such.

While Luke and Callista are talking and holding hands, Han tries to hurry them up so that they can leave on the Falcon.  Leia says:

“Let them be for a while.”

“He can kiss her on the ship,” said Han good-naturedly.

I love that line from Han.

In the end, Callista finds that she no longer has the Force but she agrees to accompany Luke to Yavin because they love each other so much.  Double ew.

I guess that’s about it.  Like I said, the Han and Leia time in this book was well-worth the read in my opinion and I would give it a Han and Leia factor of 4 at least.  Maybe 4+.  [EDIT:  Zyra and I were divided on this rating, but due to several comments, we're going to go with a 5 star on this book as far as Han and Leia fans go.] 

And if anyone is interested in tackling either one of those missing moments – knock yourself out and send it/them to me or Zyra!

Joint Story: The Sequel!

Did you think we forgot about you? We didn't, we'd just been really busy and wanted to make sure we had a decent amount written before we started posting and found ourselves under the gun. We are planning on only posting a new chapter every Friday, but we'll see if that changes. Without further ado, here is our second joint story, the plot chosen by you!

CHAPTER 1

Leia Organa was almost positive that her heart had temporarily stopped beating. After the initial shock, she finally inhaled, almost choking in the process. Blinking rapidly, she hoped that somehow it was all an illusion of unfocused eyes. But her vision, as always, was crystal clear. There was no mistaking the information she had just received.

She wanted to hurl the datapad across the room and shatter it into a thousand tiny pieces. But she remembered that the Rebellion could not afford to have her haphazardly destroying its property in random fits of rage. If she succumbed to that every urge, it might be almost a daily occurrence thanks mostly in part to one obnoxious smuggler.

Speaking of whom, she wondered if under the circumstances it might be all right to literally kill him. It would be the swiftest course of action to right this wrong. The problem was, while she wanted desperately to blame him and scream at him and take out her frustration and anger in telling him it was all his fault, she was fairly sure he was just as clueless as he had been.

But then, if he didn’t know, should she even bother to tell him? He deserved to know about such a thing, didn’t he? Most often she didn’t think he deserved much more than a kick to the shins but somehow she wasn’t sure that she could keep something like this to herself.

Their relationship to that point had been… volatile, at best. The moment they’d met they’d simply referred to each other with sarcastic terms of ‘endearment’ in the midst of a hasty and ill-planned escape. “Maybe you’d like it back in your cell, Your Highness.” And, “He’s the brains, sweetheart.” Once upon a time she had thought it would be a lovely thing someday when a man would call her sweetheart. But it sounded bitter coming from that loud Corellian mouth.

She’d given it right back with, “Into the garbage chute, Flyboy!” Her attempts at ordering him around – even if her taking control of the situation had actually saved their lives – did not amuse him and it certainly didn’t give him cause to express gratitude for not letting them all get vaporized on the prison level. That ungrateful, conceited, infuriating…

Realizing her hands were clenched in tight fists, she consciously relaxed the tense muscles in her body. This couldn’t be true. It had to be some sort of horrible mistake. Was it the Rogues? Even they wouldn’t have gone this far. Perhaps Han himself? Could he think something like this would be funny? She suspected he might be as horrified as she was to learn the news.

Composing herself, she decided it was necessary to confront the arrogant Corellian and hope that he would cooperate in taking care of this immediately. She smoothed out the front of her snowsuit by force of habit, as the garment didn’t tend to wrinkle and if it did, given the circumstances of being trapped on a base on this frozen planet, nobody would care or notice. She sometimes wondered why she even bothered braiding her hair so elaborately when nobody looked at her as anything more than a ruthless leader. She might as well shave her head and cut down on hair-washing time.

Palming the door to her quarters, it slid open to the icy corridors of the Rebel base on Hoth. They had been stationed there for roughly two months now, and Leia had still not gotten used to the cold. It constantly bit her down to the core while she futilely attempted to pretend she didn’t notice. She longed for the warm summers of her home planet of Alderaan, lying in the sun by the ocean and feeling the gentle breezes.

Instead, she was stuck with an entire base built of ice, meaning it could not be warmed or it would melt. To step outside meant blizzards and sometimes stinging wind that gave you frostbite in only a few seconds of exposure. Sure, the sun would shine a fair amount of the time as well, but she would be deluded if she thought it might warm her skin at all. While its rays might cause a sunburn if you went out for too long, you would never sense any heat.

This was why this planet was such a perfect place for a hidden base. It would never be suspected that anyone would go there on purpose as it was barely inhabitable. It required constant replenishing of supplies from off-planet, which, fortunately, meant a lot of traveling for a certain freighter pilot. Her anxiety level always dropped dramatically when she was sure she wouldn’t run into him for a few days.

But now she needed to see him. Badly. And she was not looking forward to this confrontation. She stalked down the icy hallways passing various Rebels going about their daily business without giving her a second look, heading straight for the designated hangar where the Falcon usually sat between supply runs and when it wasn’t functioning and needed extensive repairs – which seemed to be quite often.

Rounding the final corner, she felt her stomach drop when she saw a big, vacant space where the Corellian freighter usually sat.

“Hey, Leia!” the excited voice of Luke Skywalker made her jump as she turned to face him as he approached her from her left.

“Do you know where Han is?” She spoke the words without even taking a breath, surprised at her own abruptness and feeling a little guilty for not even giving her best friend the courtesy of a greeting.

He stopped short of her, noticing her anxiety. “I think he’s due back from a supply run pretty soon. Is everything all right?”

He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and she only wished that the warm gesture would be enough to make her feel a little better. But she managed to calm a bit before responding. “Oh, sorry, of course. Everything is fine. I’ve just got some supplies that need picking up on Dantooine.”

“Well, I’m sure he’ll be back soon. Come on, let’s go get some breakfast.”

Leia followed absently, having trouble moving one foot in front of the other. How could she tell him that things were anything but all right?

Feeding the Lucas Machine in a Whole New Dimension

I never saw the prequels in the theaters.  In fact, I missed the re-releases of the OT when they did that, so I hadn't seen a SW movie at the show since ROTJ came out nearly 30 years ago.  With that in mind, when my kids asked to see TPM in 3D I readily agreed.

I live in a small town now.  Since I've been here I have never been to a crowded theater.  Sometimes it'd be just me and my kids watching Alvin and the Chipmunks or whatever.  Well, last Friday night the show was packed.  Yep, say what you want about old Georgie, but the man ain't stupid.

I tried to go into the show with an open mind.  I guess I had seen TPM maybe twice before with only one of those times being a good, sit down and watch the movie without washing dishes and folding clothes in between.  I truly was hoping to find that it wasn't as bad as I remembered it to be.  I will say when I list my fav SW movies, TPM ranks dead last at #6.  And now I remember why.

Honestly, I nearly fell asleep during this thing.  My kids, too.  But I'm really not here to rehash what's wrong with this movie, I just don't have the desire or energy to do that.  So, I'll stick with the 3D aspect of it.

Basically, the 3D wasn't anything to really write home about and it definitely didn't miraculously make the movie more bearable. 

There was one instance where I blinked my eyes when one of those blue ball (haha) things that the Gungans use came hurling out the screen at me.  There were a few cool shots of Coruscant and looking down from the skycrapers of that city.  Other than that, it was uneventful.  So there was maybe 30 seconds of cool 3Dness.  I mean, does it really matter that the scene in the junk shop with Padme and Anakin looks three dimensional?  And the pod racing?  I thought those scenes were cool originally and I thought the 3D aspect might be even cooler.  But, um, nope... 

So if you were on the fence about going to see this movie in 3D, take it from me and save your credits. Maybe the second one will be better.  Or the third one - you know, that one cool moment when Darth Vader takes his first breath, you know, right before he ruins the awesomeness of that moment by yelling, "Noooooo!" like Scarlet O'Hara with the turnip in her hand?  Or, okay, maybe not.  But, oh, I know - maybe the FOURTH one!  That's it.  The fourth one will be worth your time and credits.  Although really, the OT doesn't even need any new technology to make them awesome...

Anyway, with all that being said, I do plan to see each movie as they come out.  So who's the fool?  Me or George?  Or Scarlet O'Hara?

I, Jedi: A Guest Review by jzhanfan

The following is a guest review submitted by jzhanfan.

I, Jedi is an oddity in the Star Wars Extended Universe for several reasons.

Michael Stackpole’s first non-X-wing book was the first EU book with a primary storyline that didn’t involve any of the OT characters. (Wedge is technically an OT character, albeit a minor one). The entire book is about Corran Horn - a character created specifically for the EU.

It was also (and remains to this day) the only EU book written in first person.
These two things, combined, could have made this a very interesting book, had it taken place in a more interesting time period, and had the narrator been someone the reader cared about. Unfortunately, Stackpole’s book is set during the same time period as the events of the Jedi Academy Trilogy and the story centers around Corran Horn and his wife, Mirax Terrik Horn (both created by Stackpole in the X-wing series).

The first thing wrong with this is that Corran wasn’t even in the Jedi Academy series as even a minor character, and suddenly he was there for everything. It reminds me of those books they write for kids where some minor character (like a mouse) is present for all these important historical events and tells you his side of the story. For example, to hear Corran tell it, Exar Kun was after HIM, not Kyp or Luke, and Corran was the only one who could finally defeat him and set Luke free.

If you can get past this total rewrite of what is, admittedly, a very confusing story in its original incarnation, there’s a second problem: Corran Horn himself, who is so boring he belongs in one of the prequel movies instead of the EU.
Corran, you might recall from the X-wing series, used to be a Cor Sec agent, basically your galactic cop. Then he came to fly in Rogue Squadron, and in the process met and married Mirax. Then it turned out his great grandfather or something was a Jedi and he has Force abilities too. (Yeah, so much for that “last of the Jedi” thing, eh, Yoda?)

Much of the plot revolves around Corran’s struggle over whether to train with Luke as a Jedi, to return to his law-enforcement career, or to remain with Rogue Squadron. He starts off hanging with Rogue Squadron and returns home one day to find his wife Mirax is missing.

Mirax Terrik Horn is the daughter of Corran’s former nemesis, smuggler Booster Terrik. Mirax is a smuggler, too, and a shrewd and calculating lady, and I ought to like her a lot more than I do. Because she gets all the sweet reunion scenes with her husband that Leia never gets, though, Mirax annoys me.

So anyway… Mirax is missing, Corran’s trying to find her. First he gets advice from Luke who tells him to become a Jedi in order to find her. This puts Corran on Yavin IV right in the middle of the Exar Kun mess and he takes credit for keeping Kun occupied while Luke was out of it. Then Luke wakes up and Corran is pissed off because Luke is letting Kyp come back, and Corran quits in a huff. He goes home to Corellia, talks to Booster Terrik and some of his own relatives and decides to find Mirax the old fashioned way, being a detective. So he goes undercover and infiltrates the pirates, finds and rescues Mirax. That’s about it, although it drags on forever.

From a Han and Leia fan perspective there is not a lot here, but I give it a 2 on the H/L factor scale for two reasons. One, when Han and Leia do pop up in the background of Corran’s tale, they seem a lot more like themselves than the Han and Leia from the Jedi Academy books. And two, for this one observation about Han that Corran makes when he and Leia and the twins are with the students on Yavin IV:

“Han Solo did what he could to help out by using the Falcon’s food prep unit to create a dinner of Corellian food… I didn’t think he normally approached cooking with any more joy than I did… being the only person on the moon who was not Force-sensitive had to be rough on him. The conversations we all had were, in retrospect, very self-indulgent and in the long run rather trivial."

I think it’s about time someone thought about what it’s like for Han to be the only non-Force-user in his whole family - too little attention is paid to this dynamic in his life. Surely it gets to him sometimes? I can so see Han Solo hanging out on Yavin IV because that’s where Leia and his kids are, but thinking, jeez, don’t these freaking Jedi ever shut up?

Keep in mind that having been a CorSec agent, Corran is determined to hate Solo and think of him as a criminal who got lucky, but he finds that there is more to Han than that and it’s sort of gratifying to hear someone else coming to this conclusion. In the X-wing series I remember enjoying the scenes where Tycho tries to convince Corran he’s wrong about Han, and I really love seeing Corran struggling to accept the idea that Han Solo is an honorable man.

“Still it was impossible to ignore the effort he had given to fighting the Empire. Something in the man struggled against taking the easy way out, against abandoning friends and abandoning hopeless causes. Perhaps it was a will to succeed, or a fear of failure, or both, or even more, but it caused me to realize that a catalog of his crimes and deeds could not sum this man up.”

One good thing for all of us who were annoyed to find Leia painted as a very bad parent during the Jedi Academy trilogy; Corran has way more faith in her than Kevin Anderson apparently did.

For example, in the beginning of the book Mirax has decided they should have kids and keeps dropping hints:

“She always managed to flick on the HoloNet monitors when some event featuring news about Leia Organa Solo’s three year old twins was being shown. The children were frighteningly cute and their very existence had been blamed for a baby binge in the New Republic …that cuteness factor can really get under your skin. The New Republic media avoided showing the twins drooling and dripping the way children do, and they really maximized the appealing things about the toddlers."

I thought that was cute that the media was always showing how cute the kids were. And it’s not like the media’s making Leia out to be a bad mom, it seems like everybody wants to be like her.

Anyway as a result Corran joins all of us in being totally boggled by the idea that Leia Organa Solo truly doesn’t know the coordinates of Anoth and thus can’t go to her own son when he’s in danger. Corran makes it sound like Ackbar and/or Winter was keeping this from Leia rather than that she didn’t want to know.

Also, as Corran tells it, he’s the only one who objects to Leia taking off for Mon Cal with Terpfen the traitor. However he’s not interested in volunteering to go along, he’s got other plans that involve messing with Exar Kun. This gives Leia that chance to utter this line:

“I hate it when a Corellian smiles like that. Usually means Han’s about to lose the Falcon to Lando in some sabacc game”

I found this really funny since if you’ve read the Jedi Academy trilogy you remember how much gambling over the Falcon that Han and Lando have been doing during this time.

Last but certainly not least, this book provides one of my own favorite Han profic quotes: When Han finds out who Corran is married to, his response is “Really! Someone who finally has in-laws that are as interesting as mine.”

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing this one, jzhanfan, so we didn't have to :)

A Welcome Surprise - A Valentine's Story by Zyra

Here is another entry into the Valentine's mushy challenge. I seriously just typed this up, having no idea what I was going to do with it, just felt like I had to write at least something to contribute since I haven't written anything in a while. Hope you enjoy.

*****


"What do you mean, you're not gonna make it?" Han Solo said frustratingly through gritted teeth.

"I'm sorry, Han. You know I am. But these delegates came all the way from the Outer Rim and they only have so much time. You know I can't miss this meeting."

To say he was disappointed would be an understatement. Han and his wife Leia were celebrating their thirteenth anniversary. They had planned to go out to one of their favorite restaurants, just the two of them, to share a romantic evening. They'd both been exceedingly busy as of late, and with the children's schedules starting to take up more and more time it had been a while since they'd taken some time out just for themselves. And now it looked like that wasn't going to change anytime soon.

"Yeah," Han replied, not knowing what else to say. He tried not to blame Leia for working hard. It was one of the reasons he respected her so much. And once they'd started a family she had started working much more normal hours, though like with any job, occasionally something happened to keep her late. He just wished it didn't have to be tonight.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Leia said. "I promise I'll make it up to you. We can go out another night next week."

Han let out a sigh, knowing that pouting wasn't going to make the situation any better. He'd just have to remind her about making things up to him next week when he planned to keep her up most of the night. He switched back to husband/father mode. "Fine, so maybe I'll just go meet up with Lando, all right?"

"Oh, see, when I knew I wasn't coming back I sort of told Luke that he didn't need to keep the kids overnight. So one of us has to go home."

Han knew that 'one of us' in this case meant him. Well, a few drinks with his old friend would've been nice, but there were worse things than spending a night at home with his kids. It might even help him take his mind off what he was missing out on. "You owe me, sweetheart."

"I know. Next week, I promise. I won't be home until late so tell the kids I'll see them in the morning. I love you. Happy anniversary."

"Yeah," Han said a bit more gruffly than he meant to before cutting off the comm call. He felt a little badly for ending the conversation that way, but even if he was trying to be understanding he still wanted her to know that he was at least a little bit mad.

He had already been on his way home as they talked, planning on showering and changing into one of those more formal outfits Leia liked to see him in. It wasn't one of his favorite things to do, but given the way she looked at him when he was dressed like that and the fact that more often than not she promised to wear whatever he wanted once they got home, he considered it a fair trade.

His irritation at his plans being altered hadn't waned once he arrived home. As he approached his front door he decided that maybe he'd order the kids from their favorite restaurant. Seeing their faces light up at the smallest gestures always made him feel better.

As he walked in the door, he expected to hear the bustle of kids winding down toward the end of the day, but all was quiet. It was also dark. Apparently nobody was home. This was not going to help his mood.

He reached over and flicked on the lights, illuminating the entryway in a soft glow. His eyes traveled downward to what appeared to be a trail of deep crimson flower petals. It surely was no accident.

He felt half of his face curl up into a grin as he slowly followed the trail through the living area and down the hallway. He could see the faint glow of candlelight reflecting from the bedroom he shared with his wife. He felt his heart pounding as he rounded the corner into the doorway and peered in to find Leia sprawled invitingly on the bed, wearing an outfit that he had not seen before but certainly approved of. It was made of some sort of lace the same color as the flower petals that led all the way to the bed, and it didn't leave anything to the imagination.

Han leaned casually against the door frame. "I thought you had a meeting."

She brushed her long, brown hair off her exposed shoulder and smirked at him. "I lied."

Han shrugged off his jacket and slowly made his way towards the bed. "You said the kids were going to be home."

"Lied about that, too. I sent them off with their aunt and uncle. We have the night to ourselves."

He pulled his boots off and tossed them aside. "What about our dinner plans?"

She shrugged. "I didn't really feel like going out tonight."

He sat down on the bed and started undoing the fasteners on his shirt. "And where did that outfit come from?"

His eyes wandered lustily down her body, taking in every curve, every bit of skin that peeked out through the nearly-sheer material, every inch of her that he planned on kissing. She'd been lying down, resting her head in her hand, propped up on an elbow. As he sat, she moved to kneel next to him, helping him to ease the shirt down off his shoulders. Moving her face level with his, she got close enough so their lips were almost touching when she whispered breathily, "Are you going to keep asking questions or are you going to kiss me?"

Never one to turn down such an invitation, he brought his lips to hers, feeling her warm hands move up to frame his face while his own hands started to explore every facet of her body. It was not the anniversary night he'd been expecting, but it was far better. Without a word they were soon naked in each other's arms, proving once again that even after so many years together their passion for one another had never waned. If anything, Han thought yet again, it only seemed to grow.

Once thoroughly exhausted, much, much later, the couple lay lovingly snuggled together in the middle of their large bed, a blanket haphazardly pulled up around their cooling bodies. They'd been quiet for a while, but Han finally spoke. "So when did you decide to do this, huh?"

She smiled and squeezed her arms around him. "Just the other day. I don't really get the chance to surprise you often, and it's so hard to ever come up with a good gift for you, so I figured you might like this instead."

"Like it? Are you kidding me? Sweetheart that was..."

Her finger pressed against his lips to silence him and she sat up and her brown eyes looked deeply into his. "I know."

She leaned in and kissed him gently, and Han thought of a hundred things he could say to her. That he loved her more every day, that she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever known, that he loved the family and the life they'd created. That every morning he felt like the luckiest man in the galaxy.

But Han Solo wasn't one for mushy speeches. And he had a strong suspicion she knew exactly how he felt about her. She rested her head against his chest, ready to fall into an exhausted sleep. "I love you," he said before kissing her forehead.

"I love you, too," she said as her hand moved absently across his abdomen.

"And, sweetheart? You can feel free to surprise me like that anytime you want."

****

There you go, another addition. Please feel free to continue submitting more stories!

The Flower - A Valentine's Story by AmaraZ

This is another take on the Valentine's Story by AmaraZ but at a different time in their relationship! Two contributions to this challenge, AmaraZ. You rock! Thanks!

**

The Flower

This was probably Leia’s favorite time of day. When she was done with her duties for the day and could come home to her apartment. Home to her husband and just be a wife and soon to be mother. When she could just be Leia.

As she took the last turn and entered the hallway that led to their apartment, all she really wanted to do was to let her hair down, put her feet up, and maybe make an early night of it. Nearly three months pregnant, the minimal nausea that she had experienced was mostly gone, but the fatigue seemed to still be dogging her. She was surprised that she had actually stayed awake during her afternoon meeting. And by now, after spending the day rushing from one place to another, she was most definitely ready for a quiet evening at home.

She palmed the apartment door open and could feel her body start to relax as soon as she stepped inside. Here was her own private oasis from the rest of the galaxy. As the door closed behind her, she let out a sigh, enjoying the silence and peacefulness that enveloped her. Scanning the living room quickly, she didn’t see any sign of Han yet. Figuring she had a few minutes to herself, she started towards her office to finish off her day.

Her first stop, as always, was her desk and she had her small case of files already open as soon as she reached it. She was so distracted by adding and removing files from her case that she paid little attention as she sat in the desk chair. She was instantly aware and focused on the present, though, as she felt something under her that wasn’t supposed to be there. Rising up slightly, she reached under her hips and pulled the offending object out. It was no wonder she had missed it. The small, black box blended right into the chair. She sat back and took a moment to look at it, knowing only Han could have left it for her to find. No one else had access to this space but them.

Wondering what he had given her, she opened the box and her mouth fell open. Not that it was unusual to receive a gift from Han. He had been romantic on occasion in the past. But this was something entirely different. Inside was an aralute flower that had been dried and lacquered and hung on a beautiful, thin chain. Leia's heart skipped a beat and then another as she marveled at it. Every hue of violet in the bloom had been perfectly preserved for all time. Overwhelmed, Leia’s fingers trembled as she touched the flower and she could feel tears coming to her eyes, knowing the effort he would have had to go to find something like this.

She didn't know how long she sat there looking at it, but Han's voice broke her out of her reverie. "Hey, sweetheart."

Leia finally tore her eyes away and noticed Han leaning against the doorjamb watching her. "Hey.”

She stood immediately, anything work related already forgotten, and moved towards him. Han followed suit and straightening from his position in the doorway, he met her halfway. "How long have you been home?"

"A while now." He looked down pointedly at the necklace and then back up at her. "Do you like it?" he inquired as his eyes searched her face for her reaction.

"I love it," she replied. "Where did you find something like this?"

“I didn’t.” He gestured for the box. After she handed it to him, he slipped the necklace into his hand and moved to stand behind her. She held her hair out of the way for him and he fell silent long enough to carefully drape the necklace around her neck and fasten the clasp. “I had it made.”

Leia’s fingers brushed the necklace lightly as she thought about his response. He stepped back in front of her and her brow furrowed as she looked up at him. “How did you do it? These flowers are incredibly hard to find.”

Han scoffed at her question, his lips curling into a half smile. “C’mon, sweetheart. You don’t expect a guy to give up all his secrets, do you?” When he saw the determined look in her eye, he knew she wasn’t going to give up until she had the whole story. He took his time letting out a long breath before answering. “It’s one of the original blooms from the plant you gave to the embassy garden,” he finally admitted.

Her mouth dropped open for the second time that day and it opened and closed several more times as she processed the information. “I gave that plant to the embassy five months ago.”

“I know.”

Leia continued to stare at him. “Han, you do remember what this flower means? It’s significance to my people?”

“I remember.” Smiling at her, he stepped in closer, rubbed a gentle hand over her still flat abdomen, and held it there. “That’s why I thought it was appropriate to give it to you now.”

Her head tilted at him and she was just about on the verge of crossing her arms. “And you’ve been hanging on to it all this time?”

Han let his hand drop away, feeling tense under her scrutiny. His eyes still held hers, but she could have sworn for a moment he looked uncomfortable. “Yeah.”

“Isn’t that a little over-confident, even for you?” A hint of a smile came to her lips. “Or just a case of wishful thinking?”

Han chuckled. “Well, I am Corellian.” Growing more serious, he placed his hands on her shoulders, his thumbs stroking over the tops of them. “Nah. I was hoping, with a little luck, things would work out,” he explained, his hands now running up and down her arms lightly. “I figured at worst, you’d have a nice reminder of home.”

Leia was almost in tears again, her heart swelling for the man in front of her. That he would have thought of her and taken the time to plan something like this. It was just one of many reasons she was glad she could call him husband.

She closed the distance between them, letting her hands slide up his back and come to rest behind his shoulders. She smiled up at him, letting him see every bit of the love and care she held for him. “Thank you,” she whispered and drew him into a long, lingering kiss. His arms wrapped around her, encasing her in their warm protection.

They stood that way for a while, losing themselves in each other like they often did, and let the rest of the universe slip away for a few moments. Eventually, breathing became a real necessity and the kiss broke. Han eased back and his eyes scanned her face carefully, noting the light purple smudges under her eyes. “How are you feeling today? You ok?”

Leia nodded, her arms slipping around his waist. “I’m ok. A little hungry. My morning meeting ran over and I was late for my meeting with Mon. Then I spent all afternoon preparing for the delegation next week. So I had to grab lunch on the run.”

Han leaned in to brush his hand across her hair and kiss her lightly on the forehead. “I have a couple of options planned for dinner tonight. We can go out somewhere if you want.”

“Or?”

He smiled at her, a sly, wolfish grin that she knew only all too well. “Or we could eat the light dinner I laid out on the bedroom balcony.”

“You could probably convince me to stay in tonight,” she said with her own sly smile.

Han took her hand in his and lightly kissed the back of it, sending tingles up her arm. He tugged on her hand gently as he started towards the door and she followed him without hesitation through the living room.

“Han?” Leia asked as they approached the door to their bedroom.

“Yeah?”

“Do you think we’ll actually get as far as the balcony?”

Glancing back at her, Han saw the gleam in her eye, and took the last few steps into the bedroom. Linking an arm around her waist, he pulled her tightly to him. “I’m sure we will eventually,” he told her with a grin as he closed the door behind them.

**

Thanks again, AmaraZ.

Champions of the Force: The Review

This week we read the last of the Jedi Academy Trilogy, wrapping up mostly the story line of Luke settling in with his new academy and Leia solidifying her place in the New Republic. The book begins where we left off: Luke is severely injured, really almost dead, and the students at the academy have no idea what to do.

Han, Leia and the twins arrive on Yavin to see Luke. Everyone is understandably quite nervous, and as Han says he isn't looking forward to it Leia agrees and reaches out to squeeze his hand (Zahn equivalent of a kiss, right?) and Han squeezes back "tighter and longer than she expected him to." It's quite sad when they walk in to see him, Leia very grim, Han carrying a twin in each arm and telling them that maybe they can help their uncle Luke get better. The twins ask if he is simply asleep and Leia says that he is, in a way. Jaina decides that maybe if she kisses him he'll wake up, so she goes to kiss him and Leia actually thinks for a moment that it just might work but of course he doesn't move.

Han squeezed Leia's waist so hard that it hurt, but she didn't want her husband to stop holding her. Oh, the poor Solo family. Cilghal is starting to work her healing powers but mostly the students don't really know what to do. Leia asks what happened and Han is quite unhappy to inform her that it was Kyp. Han feels guilty that it's Kyp's fault and decides that he's the only one who Kyp might listen to, so he decides he has to go find him. Leia is not thrilled with this idea but in this case at least this particular mission/separation actually kind of makes sense.

The Jedi students seem almost ready to just give everything up but Leia gives them a really good pep talk to make them snap out of it, and even Han seems amazed at her yet again. But then Leia senses a great disturbance in the Force, as do the other students and even the twins are crying. What happened? Well, Kyp was back at it again.

Kyp had decided his next stop would be Carida to take out those who killed his brother. Well, first he tries to find out what happened to his brother, and he is told that his brother had died, so he decides to, well, crush their sun since that's kind of his ship's thing. He had been conversing with that Ambassador Furgan and they were toying with him to keep him around long enough to take him out, but the Sun Crusher has some pretty strong armor. When they realize they are in big trouble they actually find Kyp's brother, Zeth, and let him go so that maybe Kyp will stop whatever destruction he had set under way, but it's too late. Kyp tries to save his brother and he almost has him, but the sun explodes, taking his brother with it among presumably millions of others. Although not Furgan. So the brother he thought was dead turned out to be alive, except he wound up killing him anyway because he had gone all Dark Side. Not a good day for the poor kid.

This disturbance sort of wakes Luke up, except he is more of an ethereal presence, hovering over his own body and operating pretty much on the same plane as Exar Kun when he manipulates the students. Luke isn't dead but he can watch what is going on and Exar basically tells him of his plans to use his Jedi students.

It's finally time for Han to go:

Standing in front of the Millennium Falcon, Han Solo held Leia in a long embrace. The oppressive humidity of the jungle moon clung to them like wet rags against their skin. Han hugged Leia again, smelling her scent. The corners of his lips drifted upward in a wistful smile. He could feel her trembling against him-or perhaps it was his own hands.

"I really do have to go, Leia," he said. "I've got to find Kyp. Maybe I can stop him from blowing up more star systems and killing more people."

"I know," she said. "I just wish we could arrange to have our adventures together a little more often!"

Han tried unsuccessfully to give her his famous no-care grin. "I'll work on it," he said; then he kissed her long and hard. "Next time we'll manage." He bent down to gather the twins in his arms.

Oh, good. A proper goodbye. Or at least as good of one as we can get in a PG-rated book. I don't know whether to be irritated about the comment on the not having adventures together or glad that at least Leia recognizes that fact and doesn't like it. Han even kisses her one more time before she leaves. And there is a little allusion to the fact that Jacen claims he's talking to some of the animals on the planet, the beginnings of his affinity for creatures.

While all of this is going on, Lando wants to go check out Kessel as a business possibility, he's still trying to pick up Mara who has no interest, and Chewie and Wedge and Qwi are heading back to the Maw to free the Wookiee slaves. But more importantly, remember that guy Terpfen who betrayed Ackbar? Well, now he also knows of a plot to go and kidnap Anakin Solo, and he rushes to Yavin to warn Leia. This is where we learn other flaws in that plan to "hide" him there. Leia doesn't know how to get to Anoth. It was for Anakin's "protection" that only Luke and Ackbar knew how to get there. Luke is practically dead and Ackbar is hiding out on Mon Calamari. Yeah, good planning, guys.

Leia leaves the twins with the Jedi to take Terpfen to find Ackbar so they can go save Anakin and Winter. Again, in this crazy situation, I sort of understand leaving the kids behind. Leave them in presumed safety to hopefully save another one. After they're gone Exar Kun sort of riles up these flying creatures to attack and kill Luke's body, and somehow it seems the twins can hear and see Luke in his ethereal form and Luke sort of manipulates Jacen's body so he can use the lightsaber to fight off the attack flawlessly. I have to say it's kind of funny to picture a two-year old wielding a lightsaber like a Jedi master. The other Jedi understand that the twins can hear Luke, and they tell them that Exar Kun is causing trouble.

Lots of things happening in lots of places. Han has found Kyp and it takes some time for him to gently convince him to surrender. It's a good thing Han is acting rational here. Can I just mention that Han seems a lot more understanding here when this kid goes crazy than when his own son goes dark side later? But anyway... The Jedi students all band together and manage to defeat Exar Kun and Luke finally wakes up. But, much more dire, Winter and Anakin are under attack. Once again, I know that there are some defenses in place, but was it really a good idea to leave this baby protected by only one person? Leia and Terpfen have gotten to Ackbar though, and they are on their way to help.

As you might imagine, they get there before Anakin is taken away. Leia comes face to face with Furgan, who has finally gotten the baby from the nanny droid (even Winter gets nanny droids to help) and says, "Give Anakin back to me," Leia said, her voice dripping with greater threat than an entire fleet of Star Destroyers could convey.

Yeah, can you imagine how scary Leia would be in that situation? They of course manage to save him, and Leia is left holding and soothing her youngest child. See? No good can come of leaving your child to be raised alone on some hidden planet!

Han had taken Kyp back to plead his case before Mon Mothma, who grows closer to death every day. Understandably they are not happy with him, but Han tells them it was as though he was possessed. They decide to let him go back to train with Luke. After that, Han goes back to Yavin and is reunited with his family:

Han Solo set the ship down in front of the Great Temple. He bounced down the landing ramp. Leia and the twins practically tackled him as they rushed to greet him.

"Daddy, Daddy!" Jacen and Jaina cried in peculiarly overlapping voices. Leia, back from Anoth, cradling the one-year-old against her chest, squeezed Han and gave him a long kiss as Anakin played with her hair. The twins jumped up and down against Han's legs, demanding the attention that was their due.

"Hello there, little guy!" Han grinned down at Anakin; then he looked deep into Leia's eyes. "Are you all right? You've got a lot of details to tell me. That message you sent wasn't very explicit."

"Yeah," she said. "You'll get the whole story, when we have some quiet time, just the two of us. I'm glad all of our children are home to stay, though. We'll protect them ourselves from now on."

"Sounds like a great idea to me," Han said, then chuckled and shook his head. "Say, weren't you telling me that I shouldn't go off and have adventures by myself?"

Oh, that was a nice little reunion and just the kind of thing I'd picture. The kids all excited to see their daddy, Han super excited to see his kids, a nice hello kiss and some teasing about which one of them is worse off going alone on their adventures. There's really nothing else to add to make that better. Except for the fact that it appears that they are going to keep Anakin with them instead of sending him back into hiding. Finally!

Kyp is reunited with Luke and of course Luke is forgiving and gives him a chance to redeem himself, which he does. Unfortunately for Han, he almost immediately leaves again, much to his dismay. He had promised Lando, still without his own ship, a ride to Kessel where he is supposed to meet with Mara and take over the mines. Moruth Doole had been hiding out, and they deal with him by leading him to those scary spider things who take care of him once and for all. Things seem like they're going quite well until they see what looks like the Death Star.

It's not quite the Death Star, but a prototype that is more of a wire frame but still quite capable of a lot of destruction. Always another super weapon. The last chunk of this book goes back and forth between a lot of action. Mon Mothma learns that the source of her issues is not a disease, but rather a poison that was given to her through that drink Furgan threw in her face in the first book, obviously completely planned out. Terpfen tells her of this and also informs her that there is no cure. So close to death, she resigns and just after Leia thinks how nice it would be to be a normal person with less galactic responsibilities, Mon Mothma tells her that she has to be the new Chief of State. Well, that kind of messes up those ideas about working less. At least Admiral Ackbar also decides to come back.

Luke decides that in order for Kyp to prove his faithfulness to the Jedi he must destroy the Sun Crusher, so he also heads back to the Maw where they intend to send it. Crazy battles ensue. Han, Lando and Mara are flying the Falcon against the Death Star prototype. Kyp joins in the fray, Chewie and Wedge are in on things and there is far too much action to get into here. What you basically need to know is that the Death Star gets sucked into the Maw and the Sun Crusher follows after it, presumably with Kyp still on board. Except just before it disappears for all eternity, a message cylinder fires from it, which is far too small to fit a human. Unless that human is a Jedi, who pretty much breaks every bone in his own body to stuff himself inside there. So Kyp is pretty severely injured, but alive, but to Han's relief.

Everyone finally comes together again back on Coruscant. There is a debriefing in which Leia is apparently making eyes at Han (I wonder what those eyes are saying?) and they bring Cilghal to see if she can heal Mon Mothma even though she has had barely any training. Of course she does manage to heal her, but even though she will live, she decides that Leia should still be Chief of State. Leia, rather than maybe turning down the position to be with her family more or something, just takes it. Oh, well.

But, we get one last nice little moment for Han and Leia before the book's end, when they are at the opening of new towers to replace the ones that Ackbar destroyed in that crash:

Han stood beside her, dressed in the diplomatic finery that he obviously found uncomfortable, but she thought it made him look dashing. That seemed no consolation to her husband as he chafed under the rough and stiff formal dress.

He must have sensed Leia looking at him, because he glanced down to give her a roguish smile.

He snuggled closer, slipping an arm around her waist and pulling her tightly against him. The wind whipped around them.

"Feels good to relax," he said. "And it's good to be with you, Your Highness."

"I'm Chief of State now, General Solo," she said with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Maybe I should order you to stay home more often."

He laughed. "Think it would make any difference? You know how good I am at following rules."

Leia smiled as the wind stirred her hair. "I suppose the two of us will just have to work out a compromise," she said. "Why does it seem as if the whole galaxy conspires to keep us away from each other all the time? We used to have adventures together!"

"Maybe it's payback for all the lucky breaks I've had," he said.

"I hope your luck comes back soon, then." She snuggled against him.

"Never quote me the odds." Han ran his fingers up and down her back, making her skin tingle. "I feel lucky enough right now." The wind picked up and the hollow music lifted higher.

Well, the whole universe conspiring to keep them apart thing is kind of irritating, but it is quite nice to see Leia thinking of how dashing Han looks, him trailing his fingers up and down her back affectionately, and lots of snuggling.

Wedge and Qwi are apparently starting a relationship, and we get one more set of creepy lines between Winter and Ackbar about how they will be seeing more of each other and how enjoyable that will be (I totally almost just threw up) and back on Yavin at the new academy, Kyp is back and everything is back to normal.

This book, as I said earlier, has a lot of action. Almost the entire final third is battles. Battles on Anoth to get Anakin, battles with a Death Star prototype, battles to save the Wookiee slaves, just a whole lot of action going on. I will say that this book focused a lot more on characters other than Han and Leia. But, as was true in the book before this one, the moments they share together are quite nice. There is always some sort of physical affection - hand-holding, arm squeezing, kissing, snuggling - and of course they do appear to actually love each other and want to be around each other. For that reason I'll give this one a 3.5. It's not quite as good as the one before if only because I feel like as soon as they get together in this book, they are apart again. But aside from Leia once again letting other people tell her what to do all the time, they do act like I'd expect them to act. And I still just love the visual of the little reunion when Han comes back to Yavin and Leia has all three kids.

Overall a fairly enjoyable read, although there were a lot of chapters with a lot of stuff about the Imperials and the Jedi and stuff that may not be as interesting to those of us here. It's shorter than the other two books though and the chapters are a lot shorter and it all moves pretty fast. Pretty enjoyable series overall.