( outline of rotj as watching film )

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

"Spanner."

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

"Spanner."

( Read more. )

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

Well.

That certainly ain't the lake.

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

"Uh."

Yeah.

Definitely not the lake.

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

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

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

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

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

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

No deal.

he's still awake. he wishes he could sleep. wishes he could stop thinking ( Read more... )

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

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