bottleneck | ▌│█║▌║▌║ open post ║▌║▌║█│▌

[ the older han squeezes her hand and nods to himself as the younger version moves to be ready to open the door. ]

So, down we go. [ he turns to leia and tries for a smirk, but it ends up looking more like a grimace. ] There's a second first time for everything, I guess.

Calm down before you hurt yourself, hotshot.

[ while she appreciates the attempt at humor in a dire situation, she'd rather you focus on your younger self and that girl he has with him. ]

On the count of three. One, two, three--

[ the han at the door almost argues about why does it have to be the count of three, but he doesn't have much chance so he opts for looking annoyed instead as he grabs bria's hand, fingers laced with hers, and swings the door open.

the mob is gone for now, but this is the time for a hurried exit to a lift going as far down as they can manage. and then find another one going a little further. ]

Let's go-- [ say both hans, in concert with one another, which is just creepy. bria looks more uneased than ever, and the younger han settles on looking violently annoyed as he rushes out the door so leia and the older version of himself can follow behind. ]

[ creepy, indeed, but leia doesn't have time to be bothered about it. whatever sort of jealousy and possessiveness bubbles up in response to seeing how protective the younger is of that girl is squashed in tandem. leia strains, focusing on the other lifeforces around them, wobbling on her feet and reaching out to grip han's arm for support when she has to suggest from afar that the guard that was about to come their way turn around and head back the way in which he came. ]

[ the wobbling is concerning. doubly so when han realizes bria and his younger self have gotten much further ahead of them and don't appear to be waiting for them to catch up.

so, the only logical thing to do is for han to pick leia up and run that much faster. maybe like this she can focus on whatever the hell it is she's doing that's making her wobble like she just tumbled out of a quulaar. ]

Hold the lift!

[ Leia yelps indignantly when he scoops her up into his arms, but manages to resist the urge to bonk him on the head with the butt of her lightsaber's hilt. If only because the risk of him dropping her and the commotion that would cause was too great. She managed to make that guard think he was needed in another area. The last they needed was him coming back -- or worse, more of them deciding they needed to investigate the pitter-patter of footsteps coming from this hallway.

one hand fists tightly in the fabric gathered at his shoulder, while the other remains wrapped around the pummel of her lightsaber. ]

[ bria nearly lets the door close on them, hoping maybe that she and her han can get away from them and the danger they present. and the future they keep showing as inevitable.

she doesn't, though, keeping it open long enough for them to get inside so they can go down a few levels. ]

Shouldn't have to go all the way to the ground. [ it's the older han talking, hands tight around leia as if she'll tumble out of his arms if he doesn't keep his grip. ] Just enough to get by unnoticed. Then we come back up a few bridges over.

[ he's obviously done this before, but the han with his hand in bria's hasn't yet, and he's not entirely sold on this plan of action. ] I can't spend half the day running around with you just so I can get shot at again. [ there are places he needs to be, money he needs to collect, and a new life to get started on. and this is just too crazy for him to commit to right now, sorry. ]

[ had bria actually done that, leia would have personally seen to grabbing a fistful of that red hair of hers and slamming her face repeatedly into the deckplating. as it is, the woman is getting a stern, almost threatening look from the jedi princess in the elder han's arms, daring her to make a move.

just give her a reason, bria. ]

And I can't risk you doing something stupid and obliterating him [ han gets a good heel to the ribs ] from the timeline. Look, I bought us twenty minutes. Half an hour, max. That guard's gone for now, but he'll return once he realizes he wasn't really summoned to another area.

[ for what it's worth, bria is desperate. she needs han, doesn't leia see that? weren't jedi peaceful and perceptive? celibate? after everything she's been through, she needs han, and this woman is in his (another his) arms acting as if she's got rights.

her grip on the younger han's hand tightens and she sets her mouth into a deep frown. ] We aren't stupid. We'll have to split eventually anyway--

[ and it's her han that's shushing her, squeezing her hand back to reassure even though he's shaking his head. ] I want to figure out what's going on before we do anything else.

[ the older han just watches, feeling nothing like nostalgic for what he's seeing and very much grateful he's got leia in his arms where she can't do much damage. ]

[ almost hesitantly, leia reaches out with the force -- searching, looking, trying to find anything that feels like...

but she doesn't. there's nothing. she catches a glimpse of familiar darkness that she's certain belongs to the emperor, but retreats before she can touch it. before she can identity the other dark presence accompanying him that very much isn't her father. anakin skywalker or darth vader.

it has her frowning and shifting to ease herself out of hans arms and back to her feet. she remains close. ]

Han, he's not out there. [ she steals a glance at the other han and bria. of their clasped hands. ] Either of them. I don't think any Skywalkers are left in this time.

[ beside her, han's stomach drops and turns slightly as he puts an arm around leia's shoulders. that's not the news he'd hoped to hear. ]

Skywalkers? [ the younger han is confused, and then thinks better of letting that make him sound too irate. ] I only know the one.

[ bria squeezes his hand a little and looks at both of them, suddenly at least a little sympathetic. ] There was a man named Skywalker that was killed at the end of the Clone Wars.

Anakin Skywalker.

[ murmured. she feels numb, like this can't be happening. death ought to be a better alternative than what had happened to the anakin skywalker in her original timeline, but it didn't feel better. it felt empty. like a great, big black void that couldn't be filled. and with anakin dead, his twins (presumably) having never been born-- ]

And now I'm the only one. [ nvm that she claimed she was an organa, the princess of alderaan not twenty minutes ago... ]

[ her han moves instinctively, holding her tight and firm with his mouth pressed against the top of her head. he almost says something like, 'you've still got me,' but that will just remind her that eventually she might not. it's bad enough he can imagine how anakin had gone, with palpatine's anger and penchant for public displays of terror.

but there's something else, too, and he looks up at bria and the younger han. ] What about Amidala? The senator?

[ bria looks confused for a moment, then the younger han picks it up. ] You mean the rogue senator. Last I heard she was running from planet to planet trying to cut into Imperial communication lines with a bunch of defectors.

[ he doesn't need to say it; she knows she still has him, and she refuses to entertain thoughts of him leaving her. if han were to vanish, that would leave her alone in this twisted, backwards version of the timeline with a younger version of himself who is far more into redheads than he is brunettes. alone without a single member of--

her han asks and the other one answers. she lifts her head off the elder's chest to peer at the younger with wide, questioning eyes. ]

Amidala? Padmé Amidala?

[ her father was dead, but her mother was apparently alive. ]

[ the younger han nods, and bria relegates herself to the background, simmering jealousy and all. ] Yeah, from Naboo.

[ he doesn't understand the connection at all, beyond that these two are probably rebels and worth ten times the trouble they've already gotten into. ten times the trouble this young man needs if he wants to get into the imperial academy and make something decent of himself.

beside leia, the older han is very much relieved. ] That's the one. [ and before he can make some joke about it, or reassure leia that they'll go and they'll get padmé, the lift comes to an abrupt stop at the lowest level it has access to, and he leads their way out instead. careful to keep leia close and bria away as much as he's able. ]

[ something like honesty bubbles up within her. the truth -- the actual truth -- but as she opens her mouth to let the words out ] Amidala. I'm her dau-- [ the lift stops and the doors part. han's leading her out before she has time to finish, but she can't help but glance back at the young one.

and bria. her gaze narrows, but she knew better than to focus on her jealous and misdirect her frustration at someone who probably didn't deserve it. yet. ]

[ no time for familial revelations right now.

(bria watches leia just as intently, despairingly. she misses the exultation as sharply now as she did the day han took her off ylesia, and seeing this vision of a future she isn't a part of just makes the yawning mouth of emptiness her newfound freedom has given her that much more vast and inescapable.)

the older han takes the lead, following gut instinct to go over and across, passing three more lifts before settling on another one going down. ]

[ the lights in this area have, for some reason, been turned off. they're walking through complete darkness until leia turns her lightsaber back on. the green blade illuminates the hallway, brightening the inside of the lift once they step inside. ]

Looks like this area's pretty much abandoned. [ hopefully. ] I don't... [ she reaches out, extending her mind, her senses, as far as she can manage at the moment. ] I don't sense anyone.

[ they're off, her han assumes, because no one particularly cares to see what's going on in this area. he nods at the assessment of it being abandoned, a hand on her shoulder to steady her as she reaches out with the force. he doesn't have the luxury to be discomfited by that or her lightsaber at the moment.

the younger han, though, doesn't consider it a luxury and eyes the weapon as if she's going to run him through with it. ]

We'll head back up when we stop, then go south and wait a while before going any further toward the top. [ at least the boy that's holding bria's hand (again) is now on board with the plan. ]

[ leia appreciates his support, feeding off his strength, his stability. she doubts he understands exactly what he's doing for her by allowing her to tether herself to him like this, but him allowing it in spite of his many hang ups with the force itself only makes her love him more. ]

And then to the... [ illuminated by green light, leia turns to look questioningly at her han. the falcon? it occurs to her, all of a sudden, that she doesn't know when or how he got the ship. for all she knows, he acquired the damn thing right before general kenobi found him in that cantina on tatooine. ]

[ her han looks down at her and shakes his head, knowing exactly where that was going. he doubts he'd have the falcon at this point, not on coruscant with bria. not if he's just come from ylesia. ]

Then to whatever hole we can hide in until we can get transport off the planet.

[ just a little ahead of them, the other han and bria are quiet. not at all on board with that plan, and not at all sure now is the time to say so. at this point they're just winging it and trying to not get shot at anymore. ]

[ funny, how she spent so much of their time in the past taking pot shots at the falcon, and now she wishes for nothing more than to see the eroding hull of that kesting ship. she'd feel a hell of a lot more secure in their newest predicament if they were flying in it instead of whatever they managed to get their hands on. ]

To Tatooine. [ a quick decision, one she knows he isn't going to like, but there's reason behind it: ] My father has family there, remember?

Yeah... [ he remembers, but he really doesn't like the idea of going to tatooine. no matter what else has changed, he doubts the hutts have let that little dust nugget go, and he'd like to avoid them. he's sure the younger version of himself would like to, too.

ahead of them, the younger han turns to look at him...self... and frown. mostly because he's thinking the same thing about the hutts. ]

Must be some family.

[ completely inappropriate, but he's scared and that makes him kind of a dick. ]

[ leia's able to read both of their minds without even trying to. she scowls at the pair of the — the older one, especially. ]

You really think I want to be on the same planet as that karking slug after what he did to me? [ they've never really talked about her experience on jabba's barge after she was ripped out of his arms and he was tossed into one of the holding cells. now's probably not the best time. ] Han, I owe it Owen and Beru to make sure they're safe. If Anakin really is gone, and we-- [ if his twins were never born. ] They would have no reason to look twice.

Where else would you have us go; Alderaan? Naboo? [ stars, the naberries were probably going through hell if amidala was really sitting at the forefront of this rebellion. ]

[ what happened with jabba is something han would like to forget, but he just shakes his head and continues on. ]

Didn't say I wouldn't go. [ he squeezes her shoulder as they walk, in an attempt to be reassuring. he's just paranoid and concerned.

the younger han, however, is just paranoid. ] Have fun out there, then, I guess. [ there's another lift in a spot that has a feeble amount of light and he pulls bria inside without another word to the two behind them. they can get in or not, he can't care too much because they're obviously suicidal. ]

PICK YOUR POISON
PIC PROMPTS / TFLN / RANDOM SCENARIO
HAN SOLO velocities	BETTY MCRAE bombsheller	RIVER TAM subsulcus	RIVER TAM (AU) comprehender
SIMON TAM vest	BRIA THAREN exulted	NADINE CROSS bridaled	GU JUN-PYO toddler
available on special request: veronica sawyer, benjamin linus, imani, maria deluca, mushu, poseidon, niccolò machiavelli, malik al-sayf, chloe

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