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[gidge]

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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[antecede]

"I wasn't going to!" he says defensively.

He's tempted to point out that if he was going to do that, he wouldn't have to bother with asking Han about her anyway. And that he knows Leia is asleep, even without calculating the time difference. Then again, Han's never been too clear on the limitations of the Force, and he hasn't been interested in learning; that'd probably fall on deaf ears.

"I just wanted to know how my sister's doing."

Stressing the word pointedly in case, you know, Han forgot or anything.

[velocities]

He's never been clear because it's weird. Leia has talked to him before about it, explaining things as she comes to understand them, but most of it sails over his head.

"Your sister," and it is a small miracle he doesn't roll his eyes, "is doing fine. Except for the fact that she won't just come with us."

Why yes, Han is annoyed that Leia isn't joining them in jumping on the 'Run Away From Your Problems' vacation tour.

[antecede]

"She's probably got a lot on her plate," he says guiltily, and bites his lip.

She always does, of course, but it can't really help to have Han, Chewie, and himself gone. To say nothing of the fastest ship the galaxy's probably ever seen. Leia's too responsible to ever just abandon her duties for the New Republic, even if it is for a much-deserved vacation with her best friends.

"Maybe we should go back and check on her."

[velocities]

"When doesn't she?" But Han deflates a little. He's just as worried about Leia being overworked as he is about Luke hiring investigators over Mindor, except he can only seem to handle one of them at a time. He's done worse juggling acts, but the risks are generally a little higher with Skywalkers.

"Still got another stop before anybody goes back to Coruscant, kid."

[antecede]

Han has a good point. Leia's been overworked since before they ever met her, and the war's progression has done nothing to lessen the load on her. If anything, it's gotten worse, but you'd never know it if you weren't close enough to her. Leia's poise has never faltered, but that's no excuse for anything. Luke's ready to insist they start the trip back as soon as they can -- Chewie can always catch up with them after some more time with his family -- but Han's answer is, at least, enough to give him pause.

"When were you going to mention that?"

He doesn't surprised in the least, but that doesn't mean he isn't going to hassle Han for yet another stop on their impromptu trip.

[velocities]

He shrugs. Bakura had been an end point destination in the back of his head for a while. Not that Han is going to say so now and give Luke a chance to psych himself out of doing anything while he's there.

"Figure you and I can head out tomorrow. So, later tonight?"

That seems a logical timeframe for what is already, essentially, an extended vacation based on gentle and concerned kidnapping.

[antecede]

Gentle. Then again, he supposes Han could've always gotten Chewie to drag him out to the Falcon, so on a scale of one to Wookiee kidnappings he's doing pretty well.

"That's fine by me."

Luke's tempted to ask where they're heading next, but he's not sure he'd get a straight answer. Maybe Han's got an old friend (more on the Lando side of things than, say, Boba Fett) he wants to see while he has the chance.

[velocities]

"Don't worry, kid," and Han has that grin that says Luke might be okay to worry a little bit, "You'll like it."

Bakura is nice even without that senator he was hung up on. And while Han does have plenty of contacts he could catch up with, none are important enough to be a priority. Not right now, with the kid a mess and Leia back at home working and probably drinking too much caf.

[antecede]

"When you say that," Luke replies, straight faced, "I start to worry."

[velocities]

Han just keeps grinning and smacks Luke on the back a couple times. "Come on, or they'll put you in a quulaar again."

[antecede]

"Not that again," he says, making a face. "I wish you'd warned me about that."

But he says that unenthusiastically (still positive it's payback), and follows Han back, eventually preparing his handful of things and say his goodbyes to Chewie's family. In fact, he plays along with Han's secrecy until they make it to hyperspace, which seems more than fair to him.

He leans forward in his seat -- behind Han and Chewie in the cockpit again -- and then changes his mind and stands since they've probably got the time, stretching his legs.

"Okay, come on. Where are we going this time?"

[velocities]

There's no fun in watching someone else get stuffed in a baby sack if they know it's coming! Still, there aren't any to be seen when they leave, which is a relief, and they're already making good time when Luke finally pipes up about it.

Han turns in his chair to see him when he says, "Bakura."

The reaction should be good, he's hoping that it's good.

[antecede]

Luke just stills, his expression going from casual and relaxed to subarctic.

"No," he slowly says, "we're not."

[velocities]

Kesting hells, that is not the reaction Han was expecting. Wasn't that senator still there? She was nice! Luke should want to see her, right?

"Sorry, kid, you aren't flying."

(Chewbacca, at least, is doing his part to not laugh or make any noises, because he doesn't want to miss any of this.)

[antecede]

He can feel Han's surprise and confusion, all of it sincere enough to indicate he had no idea this could upset Luke, but it doesn't go very far to mollify him.

"I can't go back there." To be fair to Han, a few months ago this surprise would've been a welcome one. Since Mindor, though... "Not now."

More like not ever. If Gaeriel Captison had thought Jedi were too horrible to be allowed to exist back then, what'll she think when she hears about the battle against Blackhole? Fifty thousand people isn't the kind of number any rationalizing can find a way to balance.

[velocities]

Han had never been entirely up to speed about what had happened between Luke and Gaeriel. He knew there had been something between them, and then they had left. (There had been other things for Han to pay close attention to that trip, and now he really regrets not asking Leia for more details before heading out this way.)

"Why not now?"

Genuine and curious. Though, if Luke really does want to be punished, maybe hearing about balance from Gaeriel will do the trick and he can call off the investigation.

[antecede]

Luke frowns, pacing a few steps before sitting back down with a defeated air. There's nothing they can do about it now; maybe they can just leave before landing on Bakura once they get out of hyperspace. Besides, Han didn't know. He was trying to do something nice, which is pretty much all he's been doing since they left Coruscant.

"Did anyone tell you about the Cosmic Balance?"

[velocities]

"I've heard of it before." Because of course he has. Not that his knowledge on the faith is in depth (not that his knowledge on any faith is in depth, unless it was a scam he had to deal with directly), but he's got enough of a basic idea to know he doesn't believe in it.

"Never really made much sense to me."

[antecede]

"Me neither," he admits, frowning slightly at the memory. "A lot of Bakuran people believe in it. Gaeriel Captison was no exception."

Not even remotely. He'd laugh at the memory if he weren't dreading the possibility of seeing her again so much.

"They condemn Jedi for using so much power to elevate themselves and bring other people low. Or something. She believed that too, but I think she was changing her mind before we left."

[velocities]

Han's face turns entirely to annoyance. This is what he didn't like about religion -- they always found someone to blame for everything, and they were usually dead wrong.

"Since when do you elevate yourself?"

[antecede]

"Jedi can use powers that ordinary people can't. To people who don't know how it works, it probably looks like learning strange magic powers just because we can."

That's certainly the impression Gaeri had given him, in any case.

[velocities]

Chewbacca whuffs something from his seat, content to contribute a little now that things are less explosive. Han shakes his head in response.

"You'd think they'd have had a bigger problem with the Empire."

[antecede]

Luke had thought the same thing back when they first visited Bakura, and to him it'd seemed crazy that she could hate Jedi and praise the Empire in practically the same breath. Now, though, that's not the point.

"Their basic tenet is that someone having good fortune somewhere means someone else is doomed to that much bad luck. To them, it looks like Jedi are upsetting that balance and causing misfortune for a lot of other people." He hesitates, then asks, "How do you think it's going to look when they hear about Mindor?"

He says they but what he really means is she.

[velocities]

"Like you just helped a bunch of people in the Corporate Sector win big," and he regrets the words as soon as they leave his mouth. Even Chewie winces a little as he turns back to the console while Han rubs the back of his neck and shakes his head.

"With something like that, you can make anything bad or anything good depending on how you want it to look."

[antecede]

That's pretty bad even for Han, and Luke shakes his head emphatically.

"Like I stayed alive at their expense!" he explains impatiently. Which is, as far as he's concerned, more or less what actually happened. "Han, going back there isn't going to help with anything. Besides convincing the Bakurans that they were right all along."