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The art of flying a ship in space is one that many pilots take years to perfect. For as young as he is, Han Solo is one of the best pilots ever spoken about in the galaxy. If you ask him, of course, regardless of his age he is the best pilot in the galaxy, hands down.
And while the Falcon may not be quite as nimble as other fighter ships, being a freighter and all, she's still faster than all of them and turns at the subtle touch on the yoke. Han knows how she reacts, how the thrusters fire, how the throttle kinda sticks ever so if they're getting bumped around. How cranky she can get at times, but she always gets him out of trouble. She knows he'll take care of her.
Which is why Han has no problem with launching the ship into a steep, spiral of a dive that if the grav shifters weren't working would have them all either sick of unconcious with the force, but to the people on board, it's just another dive, another roller coaster plunge into the black, green blasters and stars streaking past.
Once they're clear of the Star Destroyers and the TIES are left to chase them, Han orders to Chewie.
"Prepare to make the jump to lightspeed."
The droid protests from his chair. "But sir!"
"They're getting closer," Leia warns, as another blast rocks the ship.
"Oh yeah?" Han smirks and stares out at the black. "Watch this."
He hits the right buttons and waits for the familiar streak of stars going from white to blue, but nothing happens. He glances at Chewie, who glances at him.
"Watch what?" Leia asks, looking up at the both of them.
Han mutters something under his breath, that sounds very much like 'I think we're in trouble'.
When Threepio shouts about the hyperdrive motivator not working and it being impossible to go to lightspeed, Han shoots a desperate glance at Chewie, before he scrambles from the pilot's seat. "We're in trouble!"
It takes one kind of man to be able to fly a ship with absolute perfection, and another to be able to fix a ship just enough to get them the hell out of the situation that they happen to be in at the time. He's covered in grease and yelling things up at Chewie, naming off things to check and things to bring him, trying to piece his battered ship back together.
C'mon old girl, you've gotta work with me here.
A volley of blasts punches against the shields and armor on the outside of the ship, rocking them violently before he grabs hold of a pipe and lowers himself further into the hold. Another blast, and then a toolbox rains down and smacks him in the head, hard.
"OW! CHEWIE!"
Stupid fuzzball.
How's he supposed to work when he gets hit in the head with a box full of hydrospanners?!
Another loud thud rocks the ship, but Han lifts his (still throbbing) head long enough to listen.
"That was no laser blast. Something hit us."
The comm crackles, Leia's voice. "Han, get up here!"
He scrambles out of the hold, leaving the spare hydrospanners and other parts lying in the belly of the ship, then runs for the cockpit, staring out the window at a field of...
"Oh, no. Chewie! Set two-seven-one." He barks, as he takes control of the ship back from Leia.
"What are you doing? You're not actually going into an asteroid field, are you?!" She exclaims.
Han glances back at her. "They'd be crazy to follow us, wouldn't they?"
"You don't have to do this," another rock slams into the ship. "To impress me."
"Sir, the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately three thousand, seven hundred and twenty to one."
Han snaps back at the droid. "Never tell me the odds!"
He needs to focus. Chewie is quiet in the seat next to him, while Threepio settles back into the other navigator's chair next to Leia.
It's just a field of asteroids, Han. You can do this. You've run worse on a swoop and you were half as old as you are now.
If flight were a dance, with points awarded for clean cut moves, well planned and well executed paths of travel, smooth turns and slow dips, then Han would come in last. The Falcon jerks hard to the left, spins to the right, rocking back and forth with shudders as smaller rocks pelt the shields. She dives like an angry beast towards the larger ones, with the buzzing of TIES on her tail.
The explosions don't phase him. The blasts of cannon fire from the Star Destroyers who are trying to clear a path through to follow him don't phase him either. All that matters is that he listens to his ship.
She talks to him, he answers back. More power, more throttle, light touches on the yoke to keep her out of danger.
A wayward asteroid careens into their path and slams into the cockpit, causing Chewie to bark at the loud sound of stone and iron meeting steel and glass. The window doesn't break, doesn't even crack, but that was close. Too close.
"You said you wanted to be around when I made a mistake," Han shoots Leia a split second glance over his shoulder as he swings around another rock. "Well, this could be it, sweetheart."
She leans forward. "I take it back. We're going to get pulverized if we stay out here much longer."
"I'm not going to argue with that."
Threepio speaks up. "Pulverized?"
Then Han gets an idea. "...I'm going in closer to one of the big ones."
Yeah, that'll work. Draw their fire and cut off the ability the Star Destroyer has to blow them all to bits, then they can get down into a canyon or a crater or something, and it'll just be like swoop racing, only with a bigger ship, more important cargo, and enemy fighters on their tail.
Yeah.
Just like swoop racing.
"Closer?" Leia asks, as she watches him start the dive.
"Closer?!" Threepio wails.
"Mmmuurafff?!?!" Chewie turns and stares over at Han, incredulous.
They skim along the surface, and Han sees what he wants. A canyon. The ship skims between the walls and the TIES can't keep up, there's an explosion behind him as the two remaining chasers drop off his scopes, and then and only then does Han allow himself a hint of a smile as they pull up.
The Star Destroyers are still after them, so he has to come up with a plan.
Fast.
"There..." He nudges Chewie lightly. "That looks good."
"What looks pretty good?"
"Yeah," he continues. "That'll do nicely."
Threepio leans up and lightly taps Leia on the shoulder. "Excuse me, ma'am, but where are we going?"
Han pulls back on the stick and in a quick, neat loop, the Falcon circles above the surface and then dives into a deep crater, out of view from the surface and the remaining Star Destroyers intent on blasting them to bits.
It's dark inside, as they slow and continue along a bit, before he ducks into a side cave and slows even further.
"I hope you know what you're doing," Leia says quietly.
Han stares up at the darkness, illuminated by the forward floods, and nods a little. "Yeah. Me too."
The ship sets down on the newly repaired lifters with a soft sound, and once Han is certain they're stable, he flips off dozens of switches.
"I'm going to shut down everything except for the emergency power systems," he explains, as lights dim and systems and monitors go dark, the interior of the cockpit lit with a dim red glow from the remaining bulbs.
"Sir," Threepio says quietly. "I'm almost afraid to ask, but does that include shutting me down too?"
Chewie warbles a 'yes' response, and while Han would agree with him on any other occasion, he shakes his head. "No. I need you to talk to the Falcon and find out what's wrong with the hyperdrive."
The ground beneath them rumbles and the ship tilts to the side.
"Sir, it's quite possible that this asteroid is not entirely stable."
Han turns and gives Threepio a look that clearly reads a mixture of 'thank you for stating the obvious' and 'get out of my face before I do shut you down' and then glances at Chewie. "Not entirely stable? I'm glad you're here to tell us these things. Chewie, take the professor in the back and plug him into the hyperdrive."
If it's possible for a droid with no facial expression to look indignant, this one pulls it off. "Oh! Sometimes I just don't understand human behavior," he begins to walk out of the cockpit. "I'm just trying to do my job in the most --"
When the cockpit door slides shut, Han moves towards the rear to check the data on one of the systems as the asteroid shifts again, with a rumble that throws Leia across the uneven floor. He catches her and looks out at the darkness at the cave, waiting for the rumbling to stop while holding her steady in his arms.
"Let go." She mutters.
Han doesn't move. "Shhh."
"Let go, please." She looks up at him, but doesn't at the same time, and Han feels something in his chest that he's never quite felt before when looking at her.
"Don't get excited." Han teases.
Leia pulls away from him. "Captain, being held by you isn't quite enough to get me excited."
Han grins wickedly as he sets her back in her chair. "Sorry, sweetheart. We haven't got time for anything else."
Then he turns and heads back out of the cockpit, intent on finding out what's wrong with his hyperdrive, and fixing it.
(What he doesn't see is Leia's face, and the struggle to hide her emotions, and obvious feelings for him.
For Han, this is probably a good thing, at the moment.
He has work to do.)
And while the Falcon may not be quite as nimble as other fighter ships, being a freighter and all, she's still faster than all of them and turns at the subtle touch on the yoke. Han knows how she reacts, how the thrusters fire, how the throttle kinda sticks ever so if they're getting bumped around. How cranky she can get at times, but she always gets him out of trouble. She knows he'll take care of her.
Which is why Han has no problem with launching the ship into a steep, spiral of a dive that if the grav shifters weren't working would have them all either sick of unconcious with the force, but to the people on board, it's just another dive, another roller coaster plunge into the black, green blasters and stars streaking past.
Once they're clear of the Star Destroyers and the TIES are left to chase them, Han orders to Chewie.
"Prepare to make the jump to lightspeed."
The droid protests from his chair. "But sir!"
"They're getting closer," Leia warns, as another blast rocks the ship.
"Oh yeah?" Han smirks and stares out at the black. "Watch this."
He hits the right buttons and waits for the familiar streak of stars going from white to blue, but nothing happens. He glances at Chewie, who glances at him.
"Watch what?" Leia asks, looking up at the both of them.
Han mutters something under his breath, that sounds very much like 'I think we're in trouble'.
When Threepio shouts about the hyperdrive motivator not working and it being impossible to go to lightspeed, Han shoots a desperate glance at Chewie, before he scrambles from the pilot's seat. "We're in trouble!"
It takes one kind of man to be able to fly a ship with absolute perfection, and another to be able to fix a ship just enough to get them the hell out of the situation that they happen to be in at the time. He's covered in grease and yelling things up at Chewie, naming off things to check and things to bring him, trying to piece his battered ship back together.
C'mon old girl, you've gotta work with me here.
A volley of blasts punches against the shields and armor on the outside of the ship, rocking them violently before he grabs hold of a pipe and lowers himself further into the hold. Another blast, and then a toolbox rains down and smacks him in the head, hard.
"OW! CHEWIE!"
Stupid fuzzball.
How's he supposed to work when he gets hit in the head with a box full of hydrospanners?!
Another loud thud rocks the ship, but Han lifts his (still throbbing) head long enough to listen.
"That was no laser blast. Something hit us."
The comm crackles, Leia's voice. "Han, get up here!"
He scrambles out of the hold, leaving the spare hydrospanners and other parts lying in the belly of the ship, then runs for the cockpit, staring out the window at a field of...
"Oh, no. Chewie! Set two-seven-one." He barks, as he takes control of the ship back from Leia.
"What are you doing? You're not actually going into an asteroid field, are you?!" She exclaims.
Han glances back at her. "They'd be crazy to follow us, wouldn't they?"
"You don't have to do this," another rock slams into the ship. "To impress me."
"Sir, the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately three thousand, seven hundred and twenty to one."
Han snaps back at the droid. "Never tell me the odds!"
He needs to focus. Chewie is quiet in the seat next to him, while Threepio settles back into the other navigator's chair next to Leia.
It's just a field of asteroids, Han. You can do this. You've run worse on a swoop and you were half as old as you are now.
If flight were a dance, with points awarded for clean cut moves, well planned and well executed paths of travel, smooth turns and slow dips, then Han would come in last. The Falcon jerks hard to the left, spins to the right, rocking back and forth with shudders as smaller rocks pelt the shields. She dives like an angry beast towards the larger ones, with the buzzing of TIES on her tail.
The explosions don't phase him. The blasts of cannon fire from the Star Destroyers who are trying to clear a path through to follow him don't phase him either. All that matters is that he listens to his ship.
She talks to him, he answers back. More power, more throttle, light touches on the yoke to keep her out of danger.
A wayward asteroid careens into their path and slams into the cockpit, causing Chewie to bark at the loud sound of stone and iron meeting steel and glass. The window doesn't break, doesn't even crack, but that was close. Too close.
"You said you wanted to be around when I made a mistake," Han shoots Leia a split second glance over his shoulder as he swings around another rock. "Well, this could be it, sweetheart."
She leans forward. "I take it back. We're going to get pulverized if we stay out here much longer."
"I'm not going to argue with that."
Threepio speaks up. "Pulverized?"
Then Han gets an idea. "...I'm going in closer to one of the big ones."
Yeah, that'll work. Draw their fire and cut off the ability the Star Destroyer has to blow them all to bits, then they can get down into a canyon or a crater or something, and it'll just be like swoop racing, only with a bigger ship, more important cargo, and enemy fighters on their tail.
Yeah.
Just like swoop racing.
"Closer?" Leia asks, as she watches him start the dive.
"Closer?!" Threepio wails.
"Mmmuurafff?!?!" Chewie turns and stares over at Han, incredulous.
They skim along the surface, and Han sees what he wants. A canyon. The ship skims between the walls and the TIES can't keep up, there's an explosion behind him as the two remaining chasers drop off his scopes, and then and only then does Han allow himself a hint of a smile as they pull up.
The Star Destroyers are still after them, so he has to come up with a plan.
Fast.
"There..." He nudges Chewie lightly. "That looks good."
"What looks pretty good?"
"Yeah," he continues. "That'll do nicely."
Threepio leans up and lightly taps Leia on the shoulder. "Excuse me, ma'am, but where are we going?"
Han pulls back on the stick and in a quick, neat loop, the Falcon circles above the surface and then dives into a deep crater, out of view from the surface and the remaining Star Destroyers intent on blasting them to bits.
It's dark inside, as they slow and continue along a bit, before he ducks into a side cave and slows even further.
"I hope you know what you're doing," Leia says quietly.
Han stares up at the darkness, illuminated by the forward floods, and nods a little. "Yeah. Me too."
The ship sets down on the newly repaired lifters with a soft sound, and once Han is certain they're stable, he flips off dozens of switches.
"I'm going to shut down everything except for the emergency power systems," he explains, as lights dim and systems and monitors go dark, the interior of the cockpit lit with a dim red glow from the remaining bulbs.
"Sir," Threepio says quietly. "I'm almost afraid to ask, but does that include shutting me down too?"
Chewie warbles a 'yes' response, and while Han would agree with him on any other occasion, he shakes his head. "No. I need you to talk to the Falcon and find out what's wrong with the hyperdrive."
The ground beneath them rumbles and the ship tilts to the side.
"Sir, it's quite possible that this asteroid is not entirely stable."
Han turns and gives Threepio a look that clearly reads a mixture of 'thank you for stating the obvious' and 'get out of my face before I do shut you down' and then glances at Chewie. "Not entirely stable? I'm glad you're here to tell us these things. Chewie, take the professor in the back and plug him into the hyperdrive."
If it's possible for a droid with no facial expression to look indignant, this one pulls it off. "Oh! Sometimes I just don't understand human behavior," he begins to walk out of the cockpit. "I'm just trying to do my job in the most --"
When the cockpit door slides shut, Han moves towards the rear to check the data on one of the systems as the asteroid shifts again, with a rumble that throws Leia across the uneven floor. He catches her and looks out at the darkness at the cave, waiting for the rumbling to stop while holding her steady in his arms.
"Let go." She mutters.
Han doesn't move. "Shhh."
"Let go, please." She looks up at him, but doesn't at the same time, and Han feels something in his chest that he's never quite felt before when looking at her.
"Don't get excited." Han teases.
Leia pulls away from him. "Captain, being held by you isn't quite enough to get me excited."
Han grins wickedly as he sets her back in her chair. "Sorry, sweetheart. We haven't got time for anything else."
Then he turns and heads back out of the cockpit, intent on finding out what's wrong with his hyperdrive, and fixing it.
(What he doesn't see is Leia's face, and the struggle to hide her emotions, and obvious feelings for him.
For Han, this is probably a good thing, at the moment.
He has work to do.)