Balance Point - The Review

Well, finally we come to Balance Point. I’ll tell you right up front that this marks the END of the splitting up of Han and Leia. From what I recall, from this point forward, they are pretty rarely apart from one another for just about every single book for the entire rest of the EU. It doesn’t totally make up for the split in the first place, but it does at least help somewhat.

I can’t remember if I knew or not when I got this book that Han and Leia were finally going to be back together. But I’m positive that when I got it I sat down immediately and flipped through it and was happy to find that it appeared they did, in fact, finally reconcile. Of course, those of you who remembered that these books seriously lacked on the emotional side are very much correct. But the end game is going to be the same, Han and Leia are back together. So let’s get them there…

The first thing that happens in this book, is that Jaina is injured while flying for Rogue Squadron. She has to eject from her X-wing, and of course since Jacen is her brother, he knows something bad has happened. Jacen is on Duro, and Han is there too. They are working to settle many of the refugees that had been displaced by the war, and basically living as refugees themselves. But in the midst of Jacen realizing that his sister has been hurt, he has a vivid vision that basically makes him believe that he should no longer use the Force, or terrible things will happen.

He eventually wakes up on a cot with his father and some medical droids trying to help him since he collapsed during his vision and hit his head. Han is clearly worried and asks what happened, and Jacen then mentions Jaina, which of course gets Han riled up, and Jacen tells him that she has been hurt. And remember when we said we didn’t like that it was all so light on emotion? That’s it, that’s the end of the chapter. Jacen tells Han that Jaina was hurt, and that’s it. I mean I guess we all assume Han is very protective of his daughter, and all his kids really, but still maybe would’ve been nice to have seen a little more there.

Later Han and Jacen are on the Falcon, and Jacen is thinking a lot about what his father has been going through:

They waited in silence. The weeks when Han's grief had overwhelmed them all drifted up into Jacen's memory. He'd happened into a cantina when Han had gone looking for oblivion. And on a worse night, he'd heard Han scald Leia, using words that never should've been spoken and could hardly be forgiven. Jacen had never mentioned that night to his mom. She probably hoped Jacen had forgotten.

 Jacen doubted his dad remembered even saying them. He hoped his mother could somehow forget.

Gee, thanks for the reminder that Han was terrible for a very long time. This always made me wonder if they meant things he overheard that we saw in the books, or stuff they are just alluding to him having said and we don't even know exactly how terrible the things he said were. And by the way, at the beginning of the book they tell us it has been 10 months since Chewbacca died. So Han has been terrible for a long time. 

They get an update about Jaina and find out that she was fairly injured, but bacta is helping and she will recover totally, which is a great relief to Han and Jacen. Then they are asked if they know where Leia is. Apparently none of them know where anyone is.

"Isn't she back on Coruscant?"

 "No, Captain. SELCORE administration seems to have lost her."

 "Lost her?" Han echoed sarcastically. "Sorry. I can't help with that."

 Jacen flicked the console's edge. "I could stay out here," he offered. "I'll try to find her."

 Han's eyes focused on something in the distance. "Sure," he said. The pain in his voice reminded Jacen that things were not well between his parents. "You do that."

Ugh, poor kid, having to know that his parents aren't doing well. 

Then we find Leia, who is, as usual, working very hard to help people. This time it is getting a real community going to help refugees, building facilities to handle them, stuff like that. Threepio is with her, so I guess she does have someone. In a sort of sweet moment Threepio asks her if Han will be permanently absent from their operation there. Leia says she doesn't know because he didn't know where he was going last time they spoke. Then she wonders why he cares if Han had been so mean to him over the years. But apparently he had helped some droids on another planet. Leia can't believe that Han actually helped droids.

"Good heavens," Leia said softly. "Whatever was he thinking?" She'd love to rub his nose in that little tale.

 Actually, she'd love to rub his nose against hers. It'd been so long.

 Did his long silence mean that an enemy had found him? But he had Droma's help, now. He'd made it plain that he didn't want hers.

 If he was dead, and their last words had been scornful taunts, she would regret it for the rest of her life. She was almost tempted to stretch out with the Force, looking for him.

 No. He could be on the other side of the Mid Rim by now. If she reached out and felt nothing, she would fear the worst. She finished her meal in silence, then assembled her dishes for C-3PO to recycle.

 "Whatever happens, I'll take care of you," she promised. "I need you." 

Again, poor Leia. All she has is Threepio. She is longing for her husband even though he has recently been nothing but awful to her. And she doesn't even really know if he's all right, or if he would even want to see her. Still bad news all around. She then thinks about how busy she has been, and it explains why she hasn't been looking for him.

No wonder she hadn't had time to go looking for Han. She would've given everything to see him, the way he'd been before tragedy tore them apart. He'd matured so much from the scoundrel she'd come to love, although he'd never lost the glimmer in his eyes, or the quirk to his lips - till he lost Chewie. Suddenly, he was Han with the itchy trigger finger again. Han with the low-life friends. Scoundrel she could tolerate, even enjoy. All right, she admitted to herself: Scoundrel she'd adored. Over the years, he'd learned to drop the defenses that first turned him into a scoundrel. He'd learned to let her glimpse his real idealism. He needed warmth in return.

 Over the years, slowly, she'd learned to give it. She loved both sides of him, the knight-errant and the scoundrel - but this time, she must wait until he came to her. She couldn't baby a full-grown man.

Of course I hate a lot of this, but I like a lot of this as well. Like that Leia loves both sides of him, and adores the scoundrel. But we are reminded that without the other side of him, there isn't much there to love. It still seems just terrible that she doesn't have much choice but to wait for him to come to her, if he will at all. 

Now a brief interlude with Luke and Mara. You know, the ones who can speak to each other through their minds. Well they're talking about the Solo boys, and the rift coming between them. And Luke can tell that Anakin still blames himself for Chewie's death, and now for what happened in the last book at Centerpoint Station. And then they think about how powerful he is:

As it would chase Anakin, who was raised by an ex-smuggler who loved to bend rules, a loving but often absent mother, her talented aide, and a protocol droid - and at the Jedi academy, in the shadow of two siblings. If Anakin didn't fall to the dark side, then having resisted temptation could leave him even stronger - maybe the most powerful Jedi of his generation. 

Oh, are we blaming anything that happens to Anakin on his "absent" mother? Also, let's be clear that Han doesn't bend the rules just for the sake of it. He just does what needs to be done whether or not it falls within the range of the rules. But really the most annoying part of this to me is being reminded how powerful he is, when all they're going to do is *spoiler alert* kill him a few books from now. Anyway...

Now Jaina is brought to Han and Jacen, and of course they are both excited to see her. 

 Han stepped forward. "You've got my girl, I hope." His voice echoed oddly inside the cofferdam.

 "Her attendant's helping her forward. Sign here, please." The pilot thrust out a datapad.

 "Nope," Han said. "Not till I see her."

 Watching over his father's shoulder, Jacen spotted a dark gray coverall, dark hair chopped surprisingly short, and his sister's face, half covered by some kind of mask.

 Jaina batted away her droid-attendant's extended limb. "I can walk down a ramp. Hi, Dad. Hello, Jacen. Thanks for coming to pick up the pieces."

 She walked down, limping slightly. Han embraced her, rocking from foot to foot. Then Jacen slipped his arms around her shoulders. Until he knew more about her injuries, he didn't want to squeeze.

 "I'm not a skeleton leaf," she growled, tightening her grip. Her fingers dug into his triceps.

I of course like the image of Han hugging his daughter, and referring to her as "my girl." I also like that Jaina has the same fire as her parents because she doesn't like being treated like an injured person.

 Finished with the medical team, their dad clapped an arm around her shoulder. "Come inside, sweetie. I'll get you settled before I head back to the pumping station."

Ok, now briefly to Luke and Mara for some plot stuff. Things are not great for the Jedi. The Vong hate the Jedi, and they want them to be turned over. There is a group called the Peace Brigade that basically is working to try to "make peace" with the Vong by giving them the Jedi. The New Republic senate actually votes to see if they will turn the Jedi over themselves. The vote comes out so they won't do it, but Luke and Mara are understandably still worried about what might happen later. It is during a meeting they are having with New Republic officials that Mara realizes that she is pregnant. After she was sick she thought it might not be possible. She tells Luke, and they have some brief moments of wondering if this is something they should be happy about, and Mara thinks she didn't know she really wanted it until now, but they decide not to tell anyone just yet.

Now back to Han, Jacen and Jaina. There are these bugs that are infesting the tents at their refugee camp. And here is just a random thought from Jacen. I should note here, one of the things that annoys me about this book, and probably a large part of why I think it is lacking emotionally, is there is virtually nothing from Han's point of view in it. Which is kind of annoying to me. 

 Han stared at Jaina, arching his eyebrows, his eyes soft and sad.

 Jacen glanced from his father to his sister, comparing profiles. People generally claimed she resembled a young Leia, but below her bobbed hair, her forehead and cheeks really did have the same angles as Han's. Jacen abruptly pitied any man who wounded Jaina's heart with less than a galaxy between himself and her father.

I guess all of us agree that Han would not react nicely to someone breaking his daughter's heart.

 As Jaina hiked off with Romany to look for Mezza, Jacen asked his dad, "Do you think all this is going to take the edge off her fighting ability?"

 "If she doesn't want it to, it won't." Han shifted his weight, frowning. "She's too much like her mother."

 Jacen looked up sharply, hearing a depth of loneliness that Han never expressed openly.

The only good thing about this is that finally Han at least appears affected by his self imposed isolation, rather than appearing completely indifferent to everything. Jacen then goes to Jaina and tells her it's time for them to look for their mother, because none of them have seen each other in a while. Again though, there is nothing about anyone's internal thoughts here, that's just it, he tells her it's time to go looking for her. 

Well, they can't reach her. And things for them get worse because there is suddenly an infestation of moths and they are overwhelming the camp, and they all have to evacuate. And they also need to decontaminate to make sure nobody transfers any of the eggs to make the whole thing worse. They don't have enough decontaminant to dip them all in, so everyone will have to be shaved. In the midst of all the chaos, another vehicle approaches, and Jacen realizes that someone very familiar is on board before the door even opens. 

 "Hello," Han said, hastily setting his dirt-streaked face to a slight smile. "Thanks for sending the crawlers, but we've got a slight problem. One of your crewers just found something he thought was an egg. We've got to find out where those bugs came from, but my people here deserve a little respect."

 "We'll do our best."

 Jacen strained his ears. The voice sounded husky, but right.

 "Equal treatment for everyone. SELCORE is enormously grateful for refugee sponsors."

 Han extended a hand. "Glad you understand. Han Solo."

 Instead of taking his hand, the administrator reached up for her mask's clasps.

 "Hey, wait," Han exclaimed. "You'll end up in decontamination."

 She pulled off her mask one-handed. A long coil of dark-brown hair tumbled loose. "That's all right," she said somberly.

 Leia stared at Han's weary face - his gaping hazel eyes, his slack jaw stubbled with gray. Luke and Mara must have known Han was here, and assumed she did, too. How many people made that assumption - and so they just didn't tell her?

 Now, she knew she might have only a moment to reach him, before he remembered the last time she spoke to him. Angrily. "If your people have to be decontaminated," she told Droma, "I'll show them Gateway and SELCORE are with them, not against them." For the moment, her aide Abbela could manage Gateway's day-to-day business. Before Han's eyes went hard and empty again, she had to reach him. She stepped closer. "Besides, I had no idea you were here. I should've known, but ... I don't think you ever sent over a roster."

 "We, ah, didn't." A lopsided grin appeared. "I suspect SELCORE's been too busy administering Gateway to notice."

 She glanced over her shoulder. Olmahk stayed close, on watch, as C3PO assisted the newcomers. Where would she put them all? She'd hoped to bring those poor Thirty-two people inside her more permanent dome eventually, and send workers back in week-long shifts. Gateway had plenty of space, but construction equipment was booked for weeks ahead, her new apartments filled before she built them. There were tents, carefully struck when her first charges moved into sturdier huts - and there was the decontamination issue ...

 Later! She had four-fifths of her family in plain sight, everyone but Anakin. This hadn't happened in months!

 She flung her arms around Han. His body remained stiff, but he laid an arm on her shoulders.

 She backed away from him.

 "Hello, Mom." Jacen opened his arms, then hesitated.

 Leia set down her droopy fabric helmet. Since she was committed to quarantine now, she yanked off her chem suit and then flung her arms around Jacen. "By the Force, you're as big as your father." 

 Then she spotted Jaina, hanging back. "What are you doing here?"

 Jaina dangled a pair of fancy goggles from one hand. "Sick leave. We tried to find you."

 Leia's stomach took a dive. "Were you injured?"

 "Temporary partial blindness. Nothing serious." Jaina lowered her voice. "Get it straight with Dad, Mom. That's first." She turned and strolled back toward the Ryn mob.

 Smiling ruefully, Jacen placed both hands on Leia's shoulders.

 He gently turned her toward Han, who had thrust his hands back into his pockets. "First," Jacen murmured.

 Hesitantly, Leia caressed both twins through the Force. Jacen glowed with the pleasure of being reunited; in Jaina, there was a repressed bitterness that she'd obviously have to face - later.

 "Guess it's time I found something to do." Droma replaced the soft cap he'd doffed. "Good to see you again, Princess Leia." He followed Jaina.

 Leia linked one arm through her husband's. "Let me show you the whole quarantine area," she said lightly.

 In a converted repair dock, families clung to each other, shuffling forward. She mustn't look at them. She had to settle things with Han. Her fault, his fault - didn't matter. Beneath her strength and independence, she really was happiest with someone to help carry her burdens.

 On the other hand, that meant she had to help carry his. 

 "Yes," she admitted, "SELCORE and Gateway have been taking care of themselves. And trying to reclaim the planet. Remember Honoghr, where we couldn't do much of anything? Here, it's in reach. And the Yuuzhan Vong don't want it. This could be a haven for millions."

 "I don't think you've paid much attention to the Duros." He frowned. "They're -"

 "Barely tolerating us," she admitted. "But we haven't given much back, yet. This world is the key to a new future, where all peoples can live side by side. Wait until you see what our scientists are starting to accomplish."

 "Where's old Goldenrod?" Han rubbed his rough chin. "I could've used him. All they gave us was a pair of beat-up modified loadlifters. I had to scam a medical droid."
 

 Leia half smiled. "Threepio? Just what you needed. Someone to really irritate you." Han must be utterly distracted, she thought, not to recognize C-3PO in a vermin-proof chem suit.

 Han's eyes narrowed. "Has Isolder shown up?"

 She pulled away, feeling blindsided. "What?"

 "At least ten people played me that HoloNet bite of you and His Gorgeousness stepping off that Hapan ship together on Tald. You looked pretty cozy."

 Leia got a good breath. "You, who wants everybody to trust you - can't you trust me? The nets have used that as a publicity stunt. I couldn't back out without losing the Hapans' support. We needed those ships."

 His expression softened. "Yeah. We did need them. Too bad, how that turned out."

 One crisis resolved! On to the next. "How's Jacen?" she asked. "I heard he was taking it all pretty hard."

 "Still chewing on it, I guess." He grabbed her hand. "You accused me of having a fling with my past. Well, look at these people. Does this look like a fling -"

 "No," she said. "Han, I'm sorry. It's been tough, lately. Really hard."

 "Yeah. Well." He firmed his lips, swallowed, then glanced up again. "You probably won't forget some things, but I was hoping you'd forgive them."

 Leia threw her arms around him again. This time, he returned the embrace. His arms gripped her, his breath had the sweetness of ...

 Well, of a wet Wookiee.

 She held her breath while she kissed him.

 Then there was no more time for reconciliation.

FINALLY! I remember being incredibly relieved to flip ahead and find out that they were back together, even if it was incredibly short and fleeting, and again kind of lacking in the emotional department. But, well, there are things to like about this little exchange as well. First, that Jacen and Jaina step in and are totally insistent that their parents fix things. I can also buy Leia thinking at that point that it doesn't really matter anymore whose fault anything was. I guess it's too bad his breath stinks, but at least she kisses him anyway. I should note that while in this particular book it makes it seem like this is all it really takes, one brief conversation, one quick kiss, and everything is fine again. But when we move on to Recovery you will see that there is still some trepidation there, both wondering if things can ever really be the same. Han knows what he did was awful, and Leia wonders if he truly even wants her back. Reading that just kind of reiterates how it is quite glossed over in this particular book. But, as I said, at least it is getting resolved and they aren't apart anymore. 

Which reminds me, back when we started doing these reviews we invited anyone to submit any sort of "missing moments" pieces to anything related to these books. Seems like a lot of good opportunities here in this one, as you'll see.

Then Han and Leia are talking about logistics things, and there are moments where Leia just keeps noticing things about him. Wondering if he had broken his nose another time since she last saw him, also seeing his lopsided grin and thinking she will never get enough of that. And things like this little part:

 "We'll process the sick and injured as priority. Then we can include Jaina, unless she'd rather stay in quarantine indefinitely than get her head shaved. She's at that age, you know. Young men are looking."

 He reached out and fingered the long coil of hair that hung forward over her blue uniform. "Can the old guys look, too?"

 She touched his hand. "I ... guess it'll have to come off, Han."

 He shrugged. "It'll grow. It'll just take a while."

 "Will you stick around while it does?" She tried not to plead, but she wanted to.

 He ran a hand over his unruly hair. "Hey, someday I might lose mine for good. We'll call it a dry run."

 Then he winked, and she melted inside.

Aw, Leia still melts when he winks at her. And he is already back to flirting with her. Well, at least this is an improvement. 

Before we get too excited about the good news, we are reminded that now is when Jaina starts getting pretty mad at her mom for not being there enough when they were kids. I somehow had forgotten this part. Now, remembering how this all went back then, I am sure I really hated this. I still don't love the implication that Leia really wasn't there for her kids when they were growing up. But at the same time, Jaina is 16 or 17 here. And honestly I think a lot of kids get pretty angry at their parents around that age, and even judge them unfairly about certain things. Even a kid whose parents were totally there for them might get angry and accuse them of not being there. But who knows, it's still definitely part of things here. 

 "Jaina, I'm trying to help them - and you."

 "Maybe," Jaina said through her teeth, "I just don't want help anymore. You showed me I had to learn to do without you. So I did." She stalked away.

 Leia gave chase. "You seem to have missed something," she said. "I'll be decontaminating out of here, the same as you, the same as anyone. Think about it."

 Jaina stared at the long coil of hair. "You're kidding," she said quietly. "Mother, if you ... how long did it take to grow it that long?"

 "That's not even slightly important. You are. I suppose we won't ever find it easy to live in the same place, again. We're too much alike."

 Jaina's grin showed teeth. "Bullheaded, obstinate, perfectionist ... me? How could you accuse me of -"

 "Heredity," Leia answered. "And environment. You were doomed. At least you've got your father's luck."

The morning after they all found each other again, Han and Jacen are having breakfast and Jacen is thinking how he wishes his parents would have had some time alone together. 

 Now Jacen spotted the soft light in Han's eyes and a self-satisfied grin. Maybe his parents had found a few moments alone. In his opinion, they'd both made convenient use of their circumstances to keep from reuniting. There was something splendid about the universe when your mother and father loved each other.

Aw, now this I like. I like the implication there, and find his whole statement very true. But, then we go back to Jaina being mad at Leia. She is now with Mara, but at least Mara is on Leia's side on this one:

 "Didn't ask about me, did she?" Jaina raised her head to stare at Bburru, growing on the fore screen.

 "I would've told her if you'd been hurt."

 "Some women shouldn't have children."

 Mara drew up straight, and a back muscle twanged. She must've overstretched it, scrabbling along on the stony ground. "I can't believe you said that."

 When Jaina pursed her lips, she looked a very young seventeen. "To her, I'm an inconvenience. 'Winter, take Jaina for a walk.' 'Threepio, tell Anakin a story.' 'Here, Chewbacca, watch the twins.'"

 "And how many mothers gave up a seat on a shuttle headed for safety this year? Put their kids on board and stayed behind, to die or be enslaved? Sometimes staying with your child isn't possible."

 "Then mothers who are too important to raise their kids should just sign them over and go off to work."

 Mara, who had only vague mental images of her parents, dropped her voice to an icy alto. "For such a mature young woman, you are being surprisingly childish."

 Jaina ran a hand over her bare head. It was starting to show a faint brown shadow of regrowth. "I'm also being honest. Mara, I nearly died at Kalarba. I lost an awfully good friend at Ithor. She gave up everything, to give families a chance to survive somewhere else."

 "And your mother is giving those survivors somewhere to live. This planet is hope, literally and symbolically."

 Jaina sighed heavily. "Poor Mom. She's got a half-blind, stubborn daughter who can't fight anymore and a son who's afraid to be a Jedi. Good thing Anakin came along." 

Ugh, yeah, I still hate the idea that Jaina feels like she was just an inconvenience to her mother. Also, as we've discussed a fair amount lately, this sends a bad message about how women can't work and be there for their children. At least Mara defends Leia.

So, eventually the Vong attack them where they are on the planet and everything gets extremely chaotic. Anakin and Luke and Mara are fighting in ships, while Jaina, Jacen, Han and Leia are on the planet. This book has a lot of the family working together, and it's pretty nice to read. And it reminds you how fun that would've been to see on screen at some point. But anyway... This is just one quick little line as they are all trying to figure out how to get everyone out and Han and Leia have to split up again:

 "Hey, Leia. Stay right here. I just found you. I want to find you again, when I get back."

Doesn't this seem like the perfect moment for some sort of introspection or something else? Well, too bad, you're not getting any, because it isn't there. Again. BUT, not too soon after, they are saying goodbye to each other.

 Han wrapped an arm around Leia's shoulders and pulled her close, momentarily resting his chin on her white turban. "Take care of yourself, then."

 "You, too."

 Jacen's parents kissed each other - barely a peck at first, and then Han leaned into it. Leia went up on her tiptoes. Jacen lowered his eyes, caught Jaina's glance, and half smiled.

 She nodded. 

Aw, that at least is very sweet. Although to be honest I got kind of tired of how most of what we read about them is from Jacen's perspective. Still, at least they are kissing again, and the kids are happy about it. Oh, but wait! Finally, for the first time I think in this book, we get a brief moment from Han's point of view:

 He knew exactly what Leia wanted to do: sabotage the Yuuzhan Vong operation herself, no matter what it cost her - or him. Call him selfish, but he wanted her alive. Not a dead hero. With or without that gorgeous hair, she had the spark that lit a fire in him. 

Yay! Of course she does! 

 Han did the same. The Yuuzhan Vong were probably wearing battle armor anyway. One shot, and they'd hear him - and all come down on him.

 He paused, shocked by his own thoughts. Where was the old Han Solo who would've charged right in?

 Maybe he had died with Chewbacca. "Right," he said. "Keep me in sight, but if they get me, tell Leia ..."

He is talking to his pal Droma there. Luckily we all know Han makes it and can tell Leia whatever he has to tell her himself. 

There is a moment where Leia is with the twins and Jaina needs some help with the Force, but Jacen still won't use it. Jaina is not happy with this. Leia had had a conversation with him earlier about his not wanting to use it, and Jacen thinks that she should understand that not everyone with that potential should need to use it, because she hasn't really done any training or anything. This sort of contradicts the last Zahn book where Leia seems quite adept with the Force, but whatever. Unfortunately as they are trying to escape, Leia gets caught by a Vong warrior and tells the twins to keep running. In Leia's conversation with the enemy, she finds out that there is a Hutt traitor from their midst who had offered the Vong Jacen. Well, as you can imagine, Leia does not like that one bit. She winds up reaching out to Luke to let him know she's in trouble, as she doesn't want to put her kids in danger. Luke finds out that Jacen and Jaina are already going back to help their mother.

 Jaina responded instantly, though. He even felt the assurance that Jaina was already returning to try to help her mother. Linked with her, now, circumventing the irritation Jaina usually showed toward Leia, Luke sensed her love for the woman who was so much like herself. Her first friend, her role model. 

Leia is able to get a message to Jaina and tells her to go warn everyone that the Vong are going to attack all the Duros cities. She also tells her to get her father, and only then can she maybe come back to try and get her. Things start to get pretty bad for Leia right about now. First, she is forced to watch as the Vong start killing innocent refugees. Then she realizes that this is all a trap to lure her kids back to her, and she frantically tries to warn them all to leave, and attacks the Vong. But they take her down and then just start lacerating her legs, and her screams are even heard by Jacen. He finally makes his way back to her, sees her bleeding profusely from her legs as she tells him to go and run away. And he decides that the only way he can save her is to use the Force.

Well, of course he does manage to save her, and he can even feel her presence weakening. He even uses the Force to try and slow the bleeding. Jaina finally arrives and Jacen picks up his mother and they start to take her out. They frantically make their way back to the Falcon to escape, knowing that Leia's life is very much in danger. Or, at the very least, her legs. In another missed opportunity, we are told that Han finally sees them all coming, and sees Jacen carrying Leia, and the mangled mess that her legs are. And that's it. But then the kids make it to the ship and strap Leia to the med bunk.

 Leia's eyes fluttered open. "Jaina," she murmured. "Heard your voice. Thanks."

 Jaina tucked a thermal blanket around Leia's shivering shoulders, then uncoiled a fluid drip and applied it to her bared arm. "Jacen did the hard part," she said gruffly.

 Jacen adjusted the bandage cuffs. Finely tuned microrepulsor fields were already compressing the damaged arteries, even while they enhanced peripheral circulation to his mother's lower legs. Something just as invisible as the field, but warmer, flowed between his sister and mother. A deep understanding, a living connection.

 "No. What you did," Leia managed. "Harder. Furious with me, but ... came back."

 Jaina made a wry face, then bent to kiss her mother's cheek. "Lie still. We'll get you out of here."

 "But ... Duro ... Basbakhan ..."

 "We're evacuating," Jacen said. What had happened to her other Noghri? "Basbakhan?" he asked.

 Leia's eyelids fell shut. Jacen looked up at Jaina, worried.

 "There's a sedative in that drip," Jaina explained. "Otherwise she'd roll down, crawl to the quad guns, and bleed to death." In her voice, Jacen heard heartfelt respect.

Well, at least her kids seem to know her well enough to know she would literally die trying to help out. 

This is as close as we get to Han dealing with Leia's injuries:

Luke's voice: "Han, is she all right?"

 Han sounded tense. "She's hurt bad."

Then eventually Han tells his kids to prepare to jump because, "We're taking her home."

And they all escape Duros, and that's the end. Oh except for a brief little thing at the end where the Vong decide what they really want is Jacen Solo. So, also bad news for him. 

Ok, we did it. We got them back together. It's definitely far from the greatest resolution ever, but at least the nightmare is over. And we never again have to deal with Han and Leia being apart or being anything but warm and loving to each other. It was really disappointing to not see more from Han's point of view, or really just more on the emotional side of things in general. I did kind of like that as soon as Leia is with Han again it's like everything he does affects her, she notices everything about him that she likes. And they kissed! And the kids are happy about it, too. These are the important things. It's just too bad that at the end of the book Leia is near death, and also bald because of the decontamination thing. 

One thing I did like, as I mentioned, is there is a lot with Han and Leia working with their kids. This was something I'd missed, and something that would've been really fun to see more of. The kids really do have their own personalities here. Jaina is the more feisty one, Jacen is dealing with his own moral dilemma dealing with using the Force, and at one point Mara is thinking how much Anakin is similar to Luke. 

So, what do we give this one? It's hard to tell, and I will take some suggestions if anyone else thinks I'm wrong here. I mean, the last few books have been SO bad for Han and Leia. So, so bad. And, well, now they're together. And Leia is acting like Leia, and Han finally seems to be acting like Han, we're just missing more of what is going on in his head as the author almost entirely leaves that out. It seems like an awfully quick resolution. Finishing this book again made me realize just how much we really needed the ebook Recovery, to be reviewed next, to make up for what this one is lacking. Anyway, I think I'll go with 2.5 here. I wouldn't really tell a Han and Leia fan to go out of their way to read this, because I think they'd maybe be a bit disappointed. But I did like a lot of the Solo family stuff, and, as mentioned, they DO reconcile, which is the most important thing. If anyone wants to fill in any missing moments, please feel free to do so. 

As one final note, I also seem to recall reading that Kathy Tyers was another author who wasn't really a big fan of Han and Leia. So of course that made me furious that someone who doesn't even like them was the one who got to write them coming back together, and perhaps that explains some of the disappointment. The good news is, we are only a few books away from when Troy Denning was brought to writing Star Wars books, and he is someone that could always be trusted to do right by Han and Leia.

Mother's Day Challenge Submission #10 from OtterandTerrier

Proof that there are no deadlines for challenges:

Either Way

A/N: My impossibly late entry to the Motherhood Challenge. Just a heads up: there are no children here, but a possible pregnancy and the discussed decision to terminate it should it be confirmed, so if that’s not your thing and you want to skip this story, feel free to do so. Many thanks to Erin for the helpful suggestions and to GCFB, who heard this first and encouraged me to write it, as well as putting up with my extensive discussions about contraceptive methods.

:::::::::::

Twelve days.

She was lying back on the lounger, staring up into Han’s eyes, dark in the shadows of the living room, limbs locked together, his breath heavy on her chin, and the only response in her mind for his questioning gaze was Twelve days, Han.

They had been apart for a week, pulled away by the ongoing efforts of a war that seemed  unending. She had tried to ignore her suspicion, rationalize it, compartmentalize, not knowing how long she could continue to fool herself before she had to face the facts.

Then Han was home and she wasn’t thinking about it; she was thinking of how much she’d missed him, and how warm he was, and how good his wonderfully talented tongue felt on her mouth, her neck, her breasts—

—which had lately become sensitive even to the mere contact of her bra, and which had just now made her yelp and flinch in pain, to Han’s concern.

‘I’m late,’ she blurted out, watching Han’s worried face transform into bemusement.

His eyes roamed the room, obviously searching for a chrono. ‘What? Where to?’

Great. She’d spent days telling herself that there probably was nothing to worry about, nothing to talk about, no potentially complicated discussions about the future, and now not only had she told him, but she was making a terrible job of it.

Leia drew his face gently back to her. ‘Nowhere. I mean… my cycle is late. Twelve days late. And my breasts hurt. That’s why I...’

‘Oh.’ He gave her a sort of apologetic grimace and shifted on his elbows, the lower half of his body still between her legs. ‘Sorry. Do they always hurt when you’re… uh, late?’

‘No, it happens occasionally, before my cycle starts…’

‘Right. So—’

‘... and it also happens when you’re pregnant,’ she finished, her words drowning Han’s. His hazel eyes became as round as her own brown ones felt, a gap growing between his lips. She could feel something coming off him… a vibrating type of energy that she couldn’t quite read… Was it excitement? Fear? Despite what Luke said, she didn’t feel very skilled  at this “Force business”, as Han called it.

‘Are you—?’

‘I’m—’

He sat back on his heels, taking his weight off of her and giving her some space to straighten up and lean back against the cushions, then tilted his chin to signal she should talk first.

‘I might be. But maybe not. That’s the thing, I don’t… I don’t really know for sure. I rarely ever bled with my old IUD, but it expired a few months after Bespin and I had to go with injections for a while, which made me be regular again. Then I got a new device some weeks after Endor, and… I don’t know, it could just be that this month was stressful. It’s possible that my breasts have been hurting for a week because my period will come. Right?’

Leia knew she was rambling off about the same things she had been telling to herself for the past days, but she couldn’t help it. It felt more convincing when she heard it said aloud. Or it would have, if Han hadn’t been looking at her like that. Like she was telling him she was pregnant… which, in a way, she was.

‘I mean, do they look bigger to you?’ she added nearly desperately, thinking a proper question that demanded Han’s answer would finally get him to speak. He looked even more alarmed as he stared down at her chest.

‘I—they’re—they’ve always been—I dunno, could be? I haven’t seen you in so long, Leia!’

She huffed with impatience, closing back her robe and sitting up. Tonight’s reunion was not going the way they’d hoped.

Han rubbed a hand on his face as if to clear his thoughts. He didn’t seem about to bolt, Leia thought, the knot that had seized her stomach easing an inch.

‘Won’t a pregnancy test be more accurate than your breasts? Since you’re not sure?’

‘Yes, of course.’

‘Then why didn’t you…?’

Leia bit the inside of her cheek. ‘Because then...the possibility would have been more real. And if it came out positive… well… I—I guess I wanted you to be here.’

He reached out and stroked her arm soothingly, his thumb rubbing circles on her shoulder, then sliding down to the crook of her elbow. ‘I’ll be here a while. You wanna do it tomorrow?’

‘Yeah, that would be—’ Leia tried to swallow despite her dry mouth. ‘We should find out as soon as possible.’

She looked at him with her lips parted, trying to get her thoughts in a coherent enough line to translate them into words. He was also staring at her, his large hand still caressing her in a comforting yet slightly absent-minded way. Did he look pale or was it only the scarce lighting?

Taking a breath to brace herself, Leia started, ‘Han, if… if I am pregnant—’

‘Why don’t we wait until we know for sure?’ he interrupted, his lips quirking in a quick smile that, she supposed, was meant to be reassuring—whether for her benefit or his, she couldn’t tell. Probably both. ‘Before we talk about what’s gonna happen if you are, I mean, ‘cos… if you’re not…’

Leia knew what he meant. Why speculate about something for which they had no certainty yet? That seemed reasonable, and Leia was going to agree with him, but a big part of her, an instinctual part perhaps, made her pause.

‘I think we should talk about it now,’ she blurted out. Did she? She wasn’t known to balk at any topic, yet Leia suddenly found that, even as she knew this was the right time to have this conversation, she very much wanted to crawl into bed with Han and put it off until tomorrow or even the day after that. ‘Because if—if I’m pregnant… I don’t want to be.’

‘You won’t want to keep it?’ Han asked quietly. His tone wasn’t accusatory, but there was a small crease between his eyebrows.

‘Well… no. I don’t. I mean… the war isn’t even over yet. We’re both so busy, we barely see each other. It’s not a good time to be pregnant and have a child, Han.’ Leia untangled her legs from around him and drew her knees to her chest. ‘What… Do you think it’s a good time?’

‘I dunno… is it ever a good time?’ he said with a half shrug.

‘I think it should never be an easy decision, but... some times are better than others. Besides, we’ve only talked marriage so far…’ Leia leaned forward, lowering her knees again. ‘Han, would you like to have children someday?’

‘Ah, sweetheart.’ He rocked back on his heels and shifted his long legs to avoid cramping, letting out a deep sigh. ‘Haven’t really thought about it.’

He didn’t look at her when he said that except for a very quick glance, and her uncanny ability to know when people were lying made her reach for his hand and give it a gentle tug.

‘Han…’

‘What?’

‘You’ve never thought about it?’ she asked, holding his gaze. His eyes flickered down.

‘All right. I’m tellin’ ya, but it’s lame,’ he said, pointing a finger at her. ‘Few weeks ago—I wasn’t here, I was on Balamak, and I dreamed we were sleepin’, and I reached out to pull you closer, and realized you were pregnant.’ He was gesturing with his hands the way he often did, and Leia knew in this case, it was to cover up the fact that he was being so open about what went on in the most private parts of his mind. ‘Then, suddenly the kid was born, and I freaked out ‘cos Chewie had gone back home and I needed a copilot, but the baby’s arms were too short to reach the controls.’ Leia burst into laughter and he smiled. ‘Not a great omen overall, I reckon.’

As Leia’s laughter subsided, his face became more serious again.

‘Yeah, I did think about it,’ he continued, giving her hand a squeeze. ‘I thought havin’ a kid must be kriffin’ terrifying… probably the hardest thing I could ever do. And I don’t even know… well, I’ve never had anything close to a father; how the hell will I know what to do?’

Though she was slowly becoming overwhelmed with tenderness over what he was saying and sadness about what she was going to have to say to him, Leia couldn’t help but smile a little. ‘Don’t worry, hotshot; nobody really knows what they’re doing, parenting-wise.’

‘That’s insane.’

Leia shrugged and chuckled at his astonished expression.

‘Well, anyway…” he continued. “I thought some more. And it… I don’t know, it felt good. To think about it, I mean.’

‘So you think you’d want to have a baby… now?’ Leia asked carefully.

‘You just said—’

‘I know, I know, just… forget about what I said for a second. Tell me what you’d want.’

Han slung an arm over the back of the lounger and leaned back slightly, his eyes wandering across the dark ceiling.

‘I think… you’re right. It’s not a good time. I mean, you’re the one who’s gonna be carryin’ it, sweetheart.’ He lay a hand on her knee and gave it a squeeze, then ran his fingers along her thigh in a soothing way. ‘Whatever you wanna do, that’s what we’ll do. I wasn’t… It came as a bit of a shock, that’s all. And if you wanted to keep it, I’m sure we could work it out, I mean… If other people can do it, we can do it too, right? But if we have a choice here… I think it’s too soon for us, uh? We have enough to worry about now. And when we get together, we have a great time, and—well, it’d be great with a kid, too, but… we could use some more time of it being great with just the two of us. Right?’

Leia let out a long, relieved sigh. ‘Yes, exactly,’ she said with a small smile. ‘It’s all of what you said. But, Han…’ She lowered her eyes and bowed her head slightly, not ashamed, precisely, but… regretful. For him, and for herself, too. She felt Han’s hand cradling her face, his fingers gently tilting her chin up. She took a deep breath. ‘I’m not sure yet… I’ve given it some thought, and I think—I do think we should both talk about it, but I… I don’t know if I should bear any children. Now or... ever.’

‘Because of Vader?’ Han asked quietly.

‘Yes, because of Vader. It always comes back to Vader, doesn’t it?’ Leia gave him a wry smile that felt like a grimace. ‘I’m sorry.’

Moving his legs off the lounger to scoot closer, Han wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly, Leia’s arms sliding around his waist as she pressed her forehead against his cheek.

‘Nothing to be sorry about, sweetheart.’ He kissed her temple. ‘Told you, I don’t think evil can be passed on—’

‘I know, it’s not just that, it’s… everything, having this history, this legacy, this… power. Won’t it be too much for another life to bear?’

‘I dunno, but—Look, we don’t have to talk about this now, okay?’ Han said, pulling away from her to look her in the eye. ‘If you’re pregnant now and you’re sure about not wanting to keep it, we’ll do that. And whatever we decide to do after that—we’ll have kids or we won’t, and it’ll be fine, all right? Either way, I’m in, with you.’

Smiling, Leia leaned forward until her lips were pressed against his, eyelids closing. Breaking the kiss, she stayed close to him, her eyes still shut and one of her hands touching his chest. ‘You think you’ll be happy with just the two of us?’

‘It’s not “just the two of us”,’ Han replied, his gruff voice filling her with calm. ‘It’s you ‘n’ me. Luke, Chewie, and the two talking trash cans. The Falcon, too.’

Leia chuckled, and Han gave her another kiss.

‘Yeah, I think I’ll be happy with that, sweetheart.’

Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse - The Review

Ok, so it's been over a year since I did one of these. I know that there are likely quite a few of you who don't care much for the EU and/or have no interest in reading it. But I had always wanted to at least get through the New Jedi Order series. And when last we left off, Han and Leia were split up and at the very least I wanted to get to the part where they're back together again. Recently I had some time to do some reading and got through this book, so here we go, the final book of Han and Leia being split up...

This review is probably going to be relatively short. Because we tend to want to focus on Han and Leia moments for these, and, well, there aren't really any. They speak to each other briefly a couple of times, and are together in the same place for exactly zero scenes. I'm sure when I first read this book when it came out I did my usual thing where I skimmed through it looking for when the Han and Leia parts were and was incredibly disappointed to find out there weren't any. Although considering what a jerk Han was in the last book, perhaps we should consider this as an improvement.

So to start, Leia is trying to find places for refugees who have been displaced by the war. (this all seems sort of scarily familiar right now) She is busy trying to round up refugees while they are under attack. Typical Leia, always in the middle of things. But, even amid the chaos, she thinks about Han. She is asked when the last time she had slept was, and Threepio informs her that it has been 57 hours. Leia realizes she hasn't slept soundly since Han left a month earlier. And not a day passed when she didn't wonder what he was doing. See what you're doing to your wife, Han? She had heard reports sometimes of the Falcon being spotted, but Han hadn't contacted her personally.

He hadn't been the same since Chewbacca's death - not that anyone or anything had, especially occurring when it did, at the start of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, and largely at their hands. It was natural that Han should mourn Chewie's passing more than anyone, but even Leia had been surprised by the direction he had taken-or the one his unabashed grief had driven him to take. Where Han had always been cheerfully roguish, there was an angry gravity to him now. Anakin had been the first target of his father's outrage; then everyone close to Han had gradually fallen victim to it.

 Experts spoke of stages of grief, as if people could be expected to move through them routinely. But in Han the stages were jumbled together; anger, denial, despair-without a hint of resignation, let alone acceptance.

 Han's stasis was what worried Leia more than anything.

  Though he would be the first to deny it-vociferously, at that-his grief had fueled a kind of recidivism, a return to the Han of old: the lone Solo, who guarded his sensitivity by keeping himself at arm's length, who claimed not to care about anyone but himself, who allowed thrill to substitute for feeling.

 When Droma-another adventurer-had first entered Han's orbit, Leia had feared the worst. But in getting to know the Ryn, even slightly, she had taken heart. While not a replacement for Chewie-for how could anyone replace him? - Droma at least presented Han with the option of forging a new relationship, and if Han could manage that, he just might be able to see his way to reembracing his tried-and-true relationships. Time would tell-about Han, about their marriage, about the Yu-uzhan Vong and the fate of the New Republic. 

So, Han has returned to his "old ways" (where have we seen that before?) and is still ignoring his wife and family. I guess maybe this is an improvement on the last book where he was being awful to all of them. I do think it's interesting that Leia thinks Han forging a new friendship with Droma might help him find his way back to his family. But it's still just so sad that Leia is left wondering about the fate of their marriage, especially in the middle of such a crisis in the galaxy.

Eventually we do move on to Han, who is with Droma. Han has grown a beard to make himself less recognizable, and painted the Falcon matte-black for the same reason. Han is still trying to reunite Droma with his family.

 "But you've got my word, no Hutt'll stop us from locating your clanmates. We'll have your family back together soon enough."

 "Then we can make a start on yours," Droma mumbled. 

Han threw him an angry glance. "You want to explain that?"

 Droma turned to him. "You and Leia to begin with. If it weren't for me, you'd be with her now. I only hope she can find it in her heart to forgive me. "

 Han compressed his lips. "You've got nothing to do with what's come between us. Heck, it's not even between me and Leia. It's between me and"-he flicked his hand at the starfield beyond the viewpoint-"this."

 Droma didn't speak for a moment, then said, "Even friends can't be protected from fate, Han."

 "Don't talk to me about fate," Han snapped. "Nothing's fixed-not these stars and definitely not what happens to us in life." He clenched his hands. "These are what determine my fate."

 "And yet even you end up in situations that are not of your making."

 "Like my being with you, for instance."

 Droma frowned. "I've lost friends and loved ones to tragedy, and I've tried to do exactly what you're doing."

 Han looked up at him. "What I'm doing?"

 "Trying to beat tragedy by outracing it. Filling your life to the brim, even when it puts you in danger. Burying your heartache under as much anger as you can muster, without realizing that you've shoveled love and compassion into the same grave. We live for love, Han. Without it we might as well jettison everything."

 Despite himself, Han thought about Leia on Gyndine, Jaina flying with Rogue Squadron, Anakin and Jacen off to who knew where with the Jedi. When he considered, even for a split second, where he might be without them, the angry words and recriminations that had spewed from him since Chewie's death pierced him like rapid fire. If something should happen to them, he started to think, only to feel a great black maw opening beneath him, undermining everything he believed in. Protectively, he tugged himself from dark imaginings.

 "I got along just fine without love for a lot of years, Droma. Love is what starts things rolling downhill. It's like being sucked into a gravity well or being caught by a tractor beam. You get too close, there's no escape." 

So apparently Han isn't doing much better here yet. I don't know, I still feel as though it wouldn't take that long before Han would come to his senses and want to be even closer to his family than he was before. They're all in life-threatening situations here, would he really continue to run away like that and act like it's such a bad thing? I get the idea that he thinks it was easier to live before worrying about loving people, but the fact of the matter is that he already has that family, he already loves them. It's kind of too late to go back on that. At least he admits that what is going on isn't between him and Leia at all. Gee, if it isn't, why don't you stop treating her like that?!?

So Leia is busy dealing with refugees, and planets that had said they'd take refugees but then decided they can't handle more refugees. She still hasn't gotten any rest and then she suddenly gets a call from Han. The first time she's heard from him in a month, as we had learned before. Of course normally she'd be glad to be hearing from him, but then we know that this Han hasn't exactly been fun to deal with lately.


A snowy image appeared on the communication console's display screen. Leia recognized the forward cargo hold of the Millennium Falcon, though it took her a moment to recognize Han behind the beard.

 "How do you like my new look?" he asked, stroking the salt-and-pepper growth.

 "Han, where are you?"

 He swiveled the navicomputer chair. "I'd rather not say just now."

 She nodded in a galled but knowing way. "How did you know where to find me?"

 "I heard about Gyndine. Wasn't too difficult after that. You're still well known, whether you like it or not."

 "So are you, Han. And for all anyone knows, the Yuuzhan Vong could be hunting for you or the Falcon."

 Han's brows beetled and his mouth formed a puckered O.

 "I'm not a complete blockhead, you know. That's why I grew the beard and had the Falcon painted."

 Leia's eyes widened. "Painted?"

 "Anodized, actually. A lovely shade of matte black. She looks like a mortician's delight."

 "What system are you planning to sneak into this time?"

 "Sneak?"

 "You heard me."

 "Oh, I get it. You mean maybe instead of frolicking around out here, I should be devoting my time to saving planets."

 Leia huffed. "I'm not interested in saving planets, Han. I'm interested in saving lives."

 "Well, what'd you think I'm trying to do? This is all about finding Droma's relatives and Roa, Leia. It has nothing to do with Ord Mantell or Gyndine or anywhere else. Besides, a man's good for only one promise at a time, and I gave mine to Droma."

 Leia exhaled slowly. "I'm sorry, Han. I understand what you're doing." She smiled thinly. "At least we still have something in common."

 Han averted his gaze momentarily. "Speaking of which, was it you who arranged for Ord Mantell's refugees to be transferred to Gyndine?"

 "Yes-regretfully."

 Han gave her a lopsided smile. "You're complicating my search, sweetheart."

 Leia's frustration returned. "Am I? And who created such a muddle on Vortex that the local governor decided to renege on his promise to accept any refugees whatsoever?"

 "I was only trying to-" Han's image suddenly tilted to one side, as if the Falcon had been stood on end. "Hey, Droma, watch what you're doing up there!" He turned back to the cam, jerking a thumb in the direction of the Falcon's outrigger cockpit. "Guy claims to be a pilot, but you'd never know it by the way he handles a ship." Leia took her lower lip between her teeth in disquiet.

 "How are you two getting along?"

 He snorted. "If I didn't owe him my life, I'd probably jettison him right here."

 "I'm sure," Leia said quietly.

 "By the way, you might want to pass along to the fleet office that a flotilla of Yuuzhan Vong ships was spotted near Osarian. Couple of destroyer analogs and-"

 "Han," she said, cutting him off. "Droma's sister is on Gyndine."

 He sat bolt upright. "What? How do you know that?"

 "Because some of his clanmates are among the group evacuated from Gyndine. There wasn't time to take everyone, and his sister was one of at least six Ryn I was forced to leave behind. I didn't know until we'd already transferred everyone to the transports."

 "Why didn't you say so in the first place?" Han demanded.

 "Because there's nothing either of us can do about it. Gyndine's occupied."

 "There are ways around that," Han mumbled distractedly. 

Leia compressed her lips. "You are infuriatingly predictable."

 "And you worry too much."

 "Someone has to."

 "Leia, will you be there for a while-on Ralltiir?"

 She shook her head. "We'll be leaving for Ruan, if I have any say in the matter. Then I'm going to Hapes."

 "Hapes?" Han said in incredulity. "And you accuse me of putting myself in the thick of things? Why there of all places?"

 "With any luck, to enlist the Consortium's help. The New Republic fleets are spread too thinly to defend the Colonies, let alone the Core. And now with Bilbringi, Corellia, perhaps even Bothawui endangered, we need all the support we can rally. Which reminds me, Han, Admiral Sow has asked Anakin to go to Corellia to help in reenabling Centerpoint Station."

 He snorted. "It's about time the New Republic started considering Corellia's defense."

 "Then you're all right with his going-without either of us?"

 "How old were you when you agreed to carry the technical readouts of the Death Star? Which of us is watching over Jaina when she flies with Rogue Squadron?" 

 "But..."

 "Besides, Anakin's a Jedi."

 "I suppose you're right," Leia said, clearly unconvinced. Han smiled ambiguously. "Be sure to say hello to Prince Isolder for me."

 "Why don't you come with me to Hapes and tell him in person?"

 He laughed at the idea. "What, and spoil your fun?"

 "What's that supposed to mean?" He started to reply but bit back whatever he had in mind to say, and began again.

 "Is there any hope for the folks you couldn't extract from Gyndine?"

 Leia shut her eyes and shook her head. "I'm not sure any of them even survived."

And that was the end of that conversation. Sigh. Things aren't getting much better here. Han is still being distant, and pretty uncaring. Leia isn't even pressing him at all, it's like she has basically given up on him as well. It's infuriating, honestly. And then, to top it all off, we bring up Isolder. I remember when I read this the first time knowing that couldn't be a good sign. The only good part of this conversation is that I like the idea that Leia is doing that mom thing of being worried about the kids, and Han is doing that dad thing where he's like, weren't you about their age when you did a lot of crazy stuff and you were fine?


I should also take a moment to explain some plot stuff. So the New Republic is trying to figure out good ways to take out some of the Yuuzhan-Vong forces. They decide maybe they can make it look like they aren't really protecting Corellia, sort of to lure them there. And enable Centerpoint Station to take out a bunch of them. It has been left non-functioning since Anakin enabled it back in the Corellian trilogy books, when he was still pretty young. So they want Anakin to go back and see if he can get it working again. Also the Vong have decided to work with the Hutts. Because we all know that the Hutts are always bad news.

But now we go see Luke, who doesn't actually appear much in this book. He is on Yavin with some of the Jedi including Jaina, Anakin and Jacen. Mara is off-world, and finally healthy after her mysterious illness. Luke goes and finds Anakin and Jacen are fighting and Jaina is trying to keep them from hitting each other. Of course they are fighting about the fact that Anakin had been asked to go help with Centerpoint Station. Anakin wants to help, Jacen thinks it is wrong for him to enable such a weapon. Then they argue about what constitutes defense. I guess it's kind of an interesting debate, but at the same time, because this becomes all Jacen talks about, it does get rather annoying. It's almost as though there is no such thing as just defending yourself. Because Anakin agrees he does not want to attack, he just wants Corellia and the rest of the New Republic to be able to defend itself. Luke agrees that it shouldn't be fired, but he does think that if it can be used to help defend Corellia and save lives, then it should be done. So, argument settled, but Jacen says he wants to go with Anakin, which is fine by him.

And now we go back to Leia on Hapes. She needs to get the help of their fleet to join in the war. So, she does what she does best and gives a speech that includes this line:

 "It was thought then that the New Republic and the Consortium might enter into an alliance through matrimony-though destiny had other unions in store for the would-be partners in that marriage."

This gets a laugh from her audience. At least she can joke about it now. After her speech Leia has a conversation with Ta'a Chume. Remember her? It's Isolder's mom, and she is not the nicest person ever. Leia comments about how a lot of the formalities she is witnessing on Hapes remind her of Alderaan, and she thinks of how her life could've been different. Ta'a Chume replies:


"Ah, but it could easily have been yours, my dear. It was you who chose Han Solo over my son."

 Leia looked at Chume'da Isolder, who stood tall, impeccably dressed, and incurably handsome at the head of the reception line. Yes, she told herself, I chose a two-fisted rogue without a credit to his name over a scion of pirates with pockets deep enough to finance his own war. And thank the stars for that. Childhood memories were one thing, but examined in the light of middle age they surrendered some of their charm. Leia could no more imagine herself a proper princess than she could an actress or an entrepreneur. She glanced over at Teneniel Djo-hands folded in front of her and chin lifted in regal deportment - and shuddered at the thought of standing in Teneniel's thousand-credit slippers.

 And yet even while she was thinking it, apprehension nibbled at her contentment. With Han off on his own, distant in more ways than one, the future they forged had grown formless and clouded. She hated having to worry about him, but in fact, she missed him terribly, and the trappings of royalty, the glance down a path not taken, left her feeling cold and alienated.

The only good thing about all of this is that Leia doesn't seem to be giving any second thoughts about not choosing to marry Isolder. She still seems to think she made a good choice. It's just really sad to see her thinking about how she doesn't know what her future with Han will be, and she misses him but right now he just isn't the man she loves, really. And even worse that this is all happening in the middle of such a crisis.


Well, one of the ambassador's, a man named Thane, insults Leia and Isolder challenges him to a duel, because that's just how things seem to work on Hapes. If it's not one thing poor Leia has to be dealing with, it's another. Again she doesn't sleep when waiting in anticipation of this duel to take place. Before the duel, Leia has yet another conversation with Ta'a Chume:

"I've seen the best bested, Ta'a Chume."

 The former queen mother studied her. "I have to wonder to whom you're referring. Your father, perhaps, bested by your brother; or my son, bested by the smuggler you helped make a hero."

 Leia refused to take the bait. "Isolder shouldn't have allowed himself to be provoked."

 "But, my dear, what other course of action was open to him after Thane insulted you?"

 "He could have allowed me to respond."

 Creases formed at the corners of Ta'a Chume's eyes. "My dear Leia, here on Hapes noblewomen are expected to comport themselves as something other than warriors. It has been thus since the founding days of the Consortium. Blame the Lorell Raiders for placing us on pedestals."

 "I'm not a Hapan noble, Ta'a Chume. And I've been called far worse than a liar."

 "I'm sure you have."

 Leia bristled, then regained her composure. "I'm more concerned about unity among the Consortium worlds than I am about defending my honor."

 Ta'a Chume forced a world-weary sigh. "There can be no unity without honor, Leia. And speaking of honor and dishonor, I've been meaning to inquire about your charming rogue of a husband. Why isn't he here with you?"

 Leia held Ta'a Chume's piercing gaze. "Han is contributing in his own way to the war effort."

 "What a curious answer." Ta'a Chume lowered her voice in feigned intimacy. "I trust there are no troubles at home."

 "There are troubles everywhere. That's why I'm here."

 "Indeed." Ta'a Chume fell silent for a moment, then said,

 "Since your arrival on Hapes I've been meaning to tell you how wrong I was about you."

 Leia waited.

 "Unlike the Dathomiri witch's daughter"-she glanced in the direction of Tenel Ka-"you chose against becoming a Jedi."

 Leia had to remind herself that she was talking with a woman who had not only ordered the murders of her elder son and Isolder's first love, but whose own mother had despised the Jedi almost as passionately as Palpatine had. Isolder's grandmother had wanted to see the Jedi extinguished, if only to prevent the resurrection of what she had deemed an oligarchy ruled by sorcerers and readers of auras.

 "Tenel Ka chose wisely," Leia said at last, "as did your son. Teneniel Djo is perfect for Isolder."

 Ta'a Chume shook her head. "No, my dear. Their marriage is beset by difficulties. There is talk of Teneniel Djo's returning to Dathomir."

 "I'm sorry. I didn't realize-"

 "You would have been perfect for my son. He undertakes this duel as much to demonstrate to me that a man is capable of taking initiative, as to demonstrate to you his continuing affection. That's why, regardless of the outcome of today's contest, you can rely on having my full support in the matter of the Consortium allying itself with the New Republic against the Yuuzhan Vong." Leia was still recovering from the unexpectedness of the disclosure when Isolder, Teneniel Djo, and Astarta strode into view.

Oh, great. So first this lady likes to pry about Leia's marriage, and then she tells her that apparently Isolder still wants her. It's been 18 years, and apparently that isn't over yet. Great. The only good news here is that Leia doesn't get sucked into telling her any more than she has to, and she certainly doesn't seem excited about the idea that Isolder is still interested. Anyway, they duel, Leia luckily does NOT suddenly decide that Isolder dueling for her honor is, like, hot, and Thane must agree to help the New Republic. The only good news about this passage is that at no point does Leia think about how amazingly handsome Isolder is, or that she totally wants him. So, in that regard at least, we are one step ahead of COPL. But then poor Leia is still stuck on Hapes for at least a few more days, and she spends most of the time just kind of hiding out and avoiding Isolder.

She had yet to spend any private time with the prince, and if she had her way, she wouldn't. From the start she had feared that Isolder had misconstrued the nature of her mission to Hapes, and Ta'a Chume's telling her that she would have been an ideal wife for him had only made things more awkward and complicated. The fate of the galaxy no longer turned on courtly intrigues, and Leia wanted no part of the Hapans' enslavement to them. Marooned in the past, in a swirl of distant memories, she longed more than anything to hear from Han. She knew that Jaina was with Rogue Squadron, and that Anakin and Jacen were bound for the Corellian system - if they weren't there already-but she had no idea where Han was.

 Countless times each day, he would come swaggering into her thoughts, quick to bring disarray. Although it wasn't the Han of the past several months she saw, but the scoundrel she had gradually fallen in love with. The Han who had thrown her a wink on being decorated for his unexpected actions during the Battle of Yavin; the Han who had acknowledged her first confession of love with a reply that managed to be both heartfelt and smug; the Han she had rendered speechless with the disclosure that Luke was her brother.

 Despite the damage to his roguish reputation a demonstration of real concern might inflict, there was no excusing his continued silence, and Leia was as angry at him as she was worried.

You just can't feel anything but bad for Leia here. She should be happy to be thinking about her husband, but because he is being such a jerk, it just messes with her head. Her anger definitely seems incredibly justified at this point. Frankly I'm almost surprised she even spoke to him last time he called. It's really pretty unfair what he is doing to her here. I guess the only thing I like in this little passage is that it says that she "gradually" fell in love with him, because that does seem accurate. But the rest just makes me sad.

So now they take the official vote on whether or not the Hapan fleet will join the battle, and as expected, they agree. Afterward, Isolder approaches Leia and this line made me laugh a little:

Turning, Leia saw a beaming Isolder marching toward her, throwing his richly embroidered cloak over one shoulder. For a moment she feared that he was actually going to scoop her up and twirl her around, but he came to a halt just out of arm's reach.

I like that because Leia "feared" he would scoop her up and twirl her. Not like in COPL, where she would've been wishing he'd do that, but she was basically thinking, "Ew, please don't." And luckily, he didn't. He acts all excited that they won the vote, and Leia has a vision that something terrible is going to happen to their fleet. It is so clear that she actually requests that they withdraw their support, or have a new vote and vote against it. But the decision is made and Isolder assures her that whatever happens, they will not hold the New Republic accountable. Without any other option, Leia agrees and Isolder offers his arm and Leia takes it as they walk off. Apparently Threepio doesn't like it.

"I believe your droid is agitated," Isolder said quietly. 

Leia laughed. "I'm sure he is. Threepio was very much Han's supporter when you were crazy enough to consider me fit to be a queen mother."

I still find it strange that somehow Threepio was ever on Han's side about anything. But anyway, Leia then agrees to accompany Isolder on his personal ship. Of course this made me think that at some point there would be some sort of misunderstanding from Han about why she was with him. Although honestly, at this point I'm not even sure I'd blame Leia for going with a man who is actually paying her some attention. Did I just say that? Of course I didn't mean that, but come on, Han, you're driving us all crazy!

Meanwhile, Jacen and Anakin have made it to Corellia. They also bring back Ebrihim, who was their tutor last time they were on Corellia. Bringing back lots of things from the Corellian trilogy. There is still discussion about what they will do with Centerpoint. It's possible to just set it up as an interdictor to keep the Vong ships from going anywhere, and of course Anakin would prefer that to arming it to fire. An unexpected guest arrives, Han's cousin Thrackan Sal-Solo, who Anakin notes suddenly looks even more like his father now that his father has a beard. Thrackan has been in jail basically since they last saw each other and is now out and of course wants to be a hero again. The kids aren't stupid though, and Jacen for one doesn't forget that he tortured their father.

Leia arrives back on Coruscant with Isolder, and thinks to herself how she STILL hasn't heard from Han. She also finds out that Jacen and Anakin are on Corellia potentially activating Centerpoint. So she reaches out for her family:

Leia managed not to wince. She knew, though, that she could take no more of Brand's briefing. His every gesture and assumption filled her with dread, no less so than Isolder's brash eagerness and posturing self-assurance. Retreating from the surrounding din, she reached out with the Force for Anakin and Jacen, then for Jaina, Luke, Mara, and some of the other Jedi. Each returned a subtle resonance, which, if nothing else, allayed her concerns temporarily. But when Leia tried to reach out for Han-whom she could sometimes feel, even through his denial of the Force, all she got back were images of a raging torrent and a plunge into measureless blackness. 

Are we feeling enough for Leia at this point? So now not only has she not heard from Han, but she has to worry about him even more. Han is with Droma, has died his hair and beard black which makes me think about Harrison Ford in The Fugitive. And they're in trouble and basically being swept down a river with raging rapids. Basically, Han is drowning on Fondor. Spoiler alert: of course he doesn't, though. But there is a new problem, as Leia, who is still with Isolder, learns that apparently the Vong fooled them all into thinking they'd attack Corellia, but instead they attack.... where else? Fondor! The Hapan fleet gets sent in, and Leia is still feeling as though something terrible will happen.

Word of the attack gets to Corellia where the Solo boys are, and Thrackan seems to think that it would be a good idea to fire Centerpoint at Fondor to take out a bunch of Vong. Of course there is some debate, and they don't really have the authority to make that decision anyway. But, before any of them can even make any sort of decision, Thrackan steps in and fires it himself. Just as Leia's vision predicted, this action kills off much of the Hapan fleet. It does take some of the Vong with them as well, but it comes at quite a price. Even worse, Thrackan is being called a hero for doing what he's done. Jacen tells Anakin he is proud of him for not firing it, but Anakin says that if he had done it he would've been able to direct the beam to only take out the enemy and spare the Hapan fleet.

Now we come to one of my least favorite exchanges in the EU:

Throwing her hands up in a gesture of surrender, she accepted the call. Han's was the last face she expected to see appear on the display screen.

 "It's just me," he said, smiling lopsidedly while she gaped at his image, feeling as if months had passed since they had spoken. The display showed that he was calling from an Abregado-rae space terminal.

 "I see you shaved off your beard," she said finally. He rubbed his chin. "Yeah, too itchy."

  "Well, at least you look like your old self again." He scowled, started to say something, then began again.

 "Grim business about what happened to the Hapans at Fondor. How's Isolder doing?"

 "I figured you'd hear the news sooner or later-even in a playground like Abregado-rae."

 "Hear about it?" Han said. "I saw it!"

 "You what?"

 "I was there-at Fondor."

 "You were at Fondor," she echoed in disbelief.

 "Droma and I were chasing after his clanmates. Some of them had managed to get themselves marooned in a deserted shipyard facility, and the rest were prisoners aboard a yammosk ship. Anyway, it's a long, boring story. The point is, I saw the Hapan fleet get wiped out. But I thought Fondor's primary went nova. I didn't know it was Centerpoint."

 Leia pushed her hair back from her forehead. "You realize that Anakin and Jacen were there."

 Han took his lower lip between his teeth. "Did they fire it?"

 Leia's nostrils flared. "Do you think they'd do something like that?"

 Han's brow furrowed. "Take it easy. You know I don't listen to the news."

 Leia thought about telling him about Thrackan Sal-Solo's sudden rise to fame, but decided against it, knowing that Han would find out soon enough.

 "Where did you bring the refugees you rescued?"

 "Here. But they can't stay for long. Abregado-rae is pulling in the welcome mat."

 Leia sighed. "SELCORE is searching for a world suitable for relocating everyone. We thought we were going to be able to count on Ruan, but Salliche Ag is suddenly refusing to accept any refugees."

 Han averted his eyes momentarily. "About Ruan," he started to say.

 "SELCORE is getting some unexpected help from Senator Shesh," Leia went on. "I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything."

 Han nodded. "Long as it's somewhere the Ryn won't be treated like riffraff."

 "You have my word on it." Leia paused, then added, "Will Droma be remaining with his clanmates?"

 "Yeah. The way I figure it, he and I are about even."

 "So where does that leave you, Han?"

 "I'm not sure. What about you-are you finally home for good?"

 "I'm leaving this afternoon for Duro."

 "Same old Princess Leia," he said with a sneer. "Then I guess it doesn't matter where I end up."

 She narrowed her eyes for the cam. "Same old Han Solo."

 He tried to lighten the moment with a laugh. "We are a pair, aren't we?"

 "I don't know, Han. You tell me."

 His eyes flashed. "Well, look, be sure to let me know what planet SELCORE decides on."

 "Anything to help the refugees," Leia said with counterfeit good humor.

 "That's what I've been saying all along."

 Leia folded her arms. "In that case, our paths are bound to cross one of these days."

 "I don't know, sweetheart, it's a big galaxy."

 "Only as big as you make it," she said, deactivating the comm.

And that is the last we hear from Han and Leia in this book. It was at this point when I first read it that I was pretty convinced that they were never going to be together ever again. Han is giving her absolutely no sign that he particularly cares at all, and Leia is (rightfully) so mad at him at this point she is beyond the point of trying to bother to get him to realize what he's been doing. It's like they don't even know each other anymore, and it's awful. The only good thing in this entire passage is the news that Han shaved his beard and looks like his old self again. Seriously, Han barely even deserves to be forgiven here. For as mad as I was at Leia in COPL, I'm just as mad at Han during this whole mess here.

So that is the end of this one. I think the Han and Leia factor here is pretty easy: 1. It barely deserves a 1, but I'll give it at least that. Han is I guess a little less deliberately heartless in this book compared to the last one, but it has almost become worse because it's like he's totally indifferent at this point. And poor Leia is stuck trying to deal with all this insanity while her children are off risking their lives and her husband almost doesn't even want anything to do with her anymore.

Ugh, this sucks, doesn't it? The good news is, the NEXT book they reconcile. I know, based on where we're leaving off here, it doesn't seem possible, does it? But trust me, I read it already, it's true.