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

[ she's getting better at tracking him, having spent a night where he was dead asleep and she too restless for slumber mapping out the various aspects of his presence in the force and committing them to memory. but when she winds the corner within this seedy corellian dive, the han she finds is not the one she was looking for.

leia stands wide eyed, staring openly at the younger, ganglier smuggler standing with some redhead at his side and chewbacca nowhere in sight. she knew that han already existed in this time, but he was supposed to be nine not--

what the hell was going on? ]

Edited 2015-08-10 04:19 (UTC)

[ the man she sees, the boy, is definitely han. whatever she senses of him in the force is still him, only less beaten down and packed in. he and bria have just arrived, anxious but hopeful, going over their ambitious plans for the future.

bria notices leia first, and once it's pointed out to han that there's a woman staring at him he tenses. she doesn't look like a bounty hunter, or like someone that would take up with shrike, but that doesn't mean she isn't. maybe she's some undercover security or something...

from behind her, a wave of the other han, the squashed one, crashes into her and starts tugging her arm toward the door. ]

We're going, now. Hurry up.

[ this isn't the coruscant he woke up on this morning, which means there are heaps more complications than the last time this happened to them. one of which is staring at them like they've grown extra heads. ]

[ han's urgency spikes in the force, but she's having difficulty discerning which han in belongs to. was it the han currently tugging on her arm or the one subtly reaching for his blaster? reaching in a way that wouldn't be noticeable if leia wasn't familiar with every little nuance of han solo's character. ]

What is--?

[ she wrenches her arm out of his grasp and moves forward. han's dual presence is making feeling her way through the force like trying to wade through mud, and she doesn't seem to notice that the lightsaber hanging openly at her hip is drawing attention from some of the other bar crawlers. ]

[ the boy turns, hand firmly on the blaster at his side, ready to draw when he sees the lightsaber on her hip. which just adds to the confusion, because the man that's with her looks like him. a more striking resemblance than even the one he shared with thrackan, and he hates that he doesn't know what this means. beside him, bria takes his arm in both her hands as if she can keep him from doing something stupid.

still, he manages to take a few steps forward with the redhead trailing a step behind him. ]

Listen, lady, I don't want any trouble.

[ behind her, the man is still trying to pull leia out the door and then probably down a few levels. or up, depending on how many credits he has on him. anywhere that isn't right here in this moment, because this is bad and it's only going to get worse. to the growing group (that is getting more attention than he likes) he says: ] Good, we aren't looking for any. Right? We were just leaving. [ the last bit is pointed directly at leia.

beside the boy, the girl whispers "he sounds like you, too," as she stares at him. in turn, the patrons of the bar stare at all of them, though most are doing it over their drinks and for a lack of any better entertainment. ]

[ if there's such a thing as force-confusion, leia's found herself stuck in the thick of it. two hans, two mirrored presences too close in proximity for her comfort, two sets of strong feelings directed at... leia's gaze lands on bria, sharp and critical.

and then the younger han speaks and leia struggles to say something -- anything -- unsure of which han she needs to be yelling at for calling her "lady" of all things. which leaves her standing there somewhat dumbstruck, rooted to the spot as she, once again, refuses to obey the elder han's insistence that they leave. ]

And who the kest are you? [ the boy is pulling against the hands on his arm, but they hold fast. she's as aware as the man is that this isn't going well. ]

Nobody, kid. [ han turns to leia, changing tactics to put his arm around her shoulders and physically begin moving her toward the door. they need to be gone, now. ]

Leia.

[ it's a soft admission, even if the boy was likely asking the man for his and the princess for hers. not that she looks anything like a princess right now, having grown used to walking around looking like a jedi on a mission when needed be. people tended to leave her (them) alone once they saw that lightsaber on her hip, but the attention she's attracting seems to say that "jedi business" isn't an excuse that will work in... wherever it is they are.

or was it whenever? leia honestly didn't know anymore.

the only thing that stops her from stepping closer to the younger han and that woman was the arm around her shoulders. and although she looks back at the pair, han would've succeeded in getting her to the door if not for the man who drew a blaster on the bith he was arguing with.

leia steps out of han's grasp and has her lightsaber in hand before she has time to think about doing it, the green blade illuminating the otherwise dimly lit bar. people scatter -- some run, others merely step back -- but all eyes are now on the girl who just openly marked herself as jedi. ]

[ sith spit. behind them, the boy and the girl stare along with the rest of the bar. it's a jedi. he thought they'd all died in the clone wars, but this one must've...

the older han draws his own blaster and shoots, disarming the one pointing a pistol at the bith, and goes back to practically shoving leia out the doorway. ] Turn that off before you get us both killed!

[ a stun bolt whizzes past their heads, then. someone here wants the empire's bounty on any remaining jedi, dead or alive. it's followed by the sound of another blaster firing and the boy and girl are joining the effort to get out the door before the stormtroopers arrive, blasters drawn and held at their hips. ]

[ the heat of blaster fire draws leia back into herself, her senses directed elsewhere and not at the dual hans. she whips the lightsaber around, deflecting a bolt off the blade that was heading for the older han's head. ]

Do you want me to turn it off now? [ with a swing, she sends another bolt flying back at the aqualish that fired it. ] I turn it off and you'll probably wind up losing one of your heads!

[ from confused to livid in two-point-three seconds flat. ]

One of my--? [ no, there isn't time to figure out all those implications. too much is going on. the bar has erupted into chaos, with the younger han and bria (and the older version is still taken aback almost more by her than himself, this version before everything had been so terrible) firing back to cover them.

frustrated he turns to fire and then gets back to shoving her out the door. at least outside they can get lost in a crowd, or, you know. run. fast. and away. even the younger han is shouting for them to move, to get out.

so much for optimism. ]

[ battle instincts kick in and leia's soon ordering both hans and bria to follow her. she doesn't know where she's going, but there are people approaching from one direction and not the other. it's not until all four of them are safely behind the closed doors of storeroom does leia finally deactivate her lightsaber.

the hand that's not still gripping the pummel lands on the elder han's arm. ] I need a second. This is... The Force is hazy.

[ luke would understand what she meant, but luke isn't here-- and leia grips han's arm tight as she fights back against the urge to search for him, reigning herself in and focusing on battening down her mental hatches instead. ]

[ a lot more than the force is hazy right now, and han will take her cutting off circulation in his arm to any more blaster fire. his free hand cups her face, tilts it towards him. ]

Stay with me, Leia, okay? I need you here... [ not off in some force-induced haze. or another time, separate from him again. he's not sure he'd be able to handle that.

but they're backed into a corner, now, and the younger han is muttering to bria about what are they going to do to get out of this, and why does that guy look so much like him? they must be related, closely, but he has no idea how or why. if the other man knows it or is as confused as he is, and he seems a little preoccupied with his girl so it's not like he'll be forthcoming with answers yet. ]

I'm trying, [ she insists, but the truth of the matter is that she's still vastly untrained, a jedi novice that's been relying heavily on sheer instinct and following the leads of her brother, father, and obi-wan in lieu of all the training she's yet to receive. she only half knows what she's doing, and that's why she can't quite stop herself from reaching out and trying to find--

her eyes go wide, and she drops the hilt of her lightsaber in favor grabbing a handful of han's shirt. ]

He's not there. I can't find him. He's not there!

What, Luke?

[ the younger pair, confused and more than a little disturbed, turn to cover the door while whatever this is goes on behind them.

the older han drops his blaster (likely a bad idea) and cups leia's face in both his hands now. ] He wasn't around at first last time, remember? He'll catch up. Just breathe. Please, sweetheart, you've gotta stay with me so we can get out of this.

[ he's never seen her like this, and it pushes his own anxiety about the situation a little closer to panic. the closest was that night on endor, the way she had crumpled on that bridge when luke left. saying luke will be back, as if he's tagging along behind, is the only comfort he can think to give. ]

And what if he doesn't?

[ it's an old fear, one that she had comforted herself with the knowledge that it was her and her alone stuck in the mess she was before; a void that was filled by surprisingly steady presence of the father she never knew, a man she's hesitant to reach for in the here and now as her mind catches up to the signs around her.

leia breathes in, rough and deep, hands coming up to circle han's wrists. ]

Don't freak out. I'm going to try something.

[ he's not force-sensitive, so she doesn't know if this will work or not, but she's desperate to ground herself before she becomes lost in the haze of the force or sucked into the void the absence of luke's presence has left.

stretching out through the force, she finds that presence that's distinctly her han's, the one bright and full of love and concern for her (and not whoever that woman is with the younger one). she grabs hold of it, enveloping herself in the warmth of its security. it's unconventional, but the more leia wraps herself around han's presence in the force, the steadier her breathing grows -- the clearer her mind becomes. ]

In what someone else might've called a stroke of luck, Artoo was able to secure a ship for Luke and Kar (and the little droid, of course) to escape the Taspan system before the whole thing could fall to pieces. Luke didn't bother with that assumption; like Ben, he's starting to believe that there's no such thing as luck. He'd been wearily grateful for the opportunity to rescue Kar and escape, and had left it at that.

Kar's left with Nick and Aeona now, all intent on hunting down Cronal for good, and Luke's finally reboarded the Falcon with the rest of his friends. He heard out a solid two minutes of grateful chatter from Threepio, accepted a hug from Chewie, spoke quietly with Leia for a few moments, shared hellos with Han, and then, finally, found a spare space -- room would be overselling it -- with a couch he could pitch himself onto, face-first. He doesn't bother turning the lights on, but he won't be falling asleep any time soon either.

Edited 2015-08-15 02:27 (UTC)

Princess, that is the exact wrong thing to say at a time like this.

[ it makes him think something is going to explode, or fly around the room while she meditates or something. he's not entirely sure that's not what will be on the agenda until he feels that strange sensation, like a softer echo of the stunt luke pulled on bakura, quashing his jealousy like a cool hand against it.

still incredibly uncomfortable, but han trusts leia, and han trusts that she's not doing anything to him. just... with him? with something, that's for sure. so, he sits still and he watches her.

behind them, the younger han and bria watch. he had felt the brush of whatever this was like some stranger version of t'landa till exultation, and from the look on her face bria felt it too before leia pulled it back to focus on the man kneeling beside her. ]

Han needs the sleep. When he finally does collapse, which he predicts will happen in a few hours or whenever Chewie decides to lock him in his bunk. Now, though, there's still the fading thrum of adrenaline and hunger pangs to keep him conscious. Or maybe that last part was guilt, some small thread of it like that terrible black crystal hair Luke kept pulling out of himself, creeping around his stomach.

"Hey," is all the warning Luke gets before Han unceremoniously sits on his feet, then stands to move them and sit back down again with them resting against his arm. "You're still awake, right? I've got food."

He hoped Luke was still awake. He'd feel even worse if he woke the poor kid up again after a day like this. Days. Maybe longer, it certainly felt like they'd been going back and forth from darkness to light for a month's worth of days, Han couldn't even tell anymore, but he hoped it warranted a long vacation for all of them.

It's hard to imagine sleeping after everything Luke saw and did on Mindor, but he knows how ridiculous that is; he's as exhausted as anyone else, and sooner or later his body's going to demand the rest. It's not such a frightening prospect as it might be after being buried in that meltmassif tomb. Even though it's dark in this small room, there's the occasional blip and click and flash of light as odd bits of machinery run, and there's a deeper whirr coming from the engine and hyperdrive and all the circuitry keeping the Falcon flying, and bright lights that filter through the frame of the entrance. Chewie's growling echoes faintly through the hallways as much as conversation from Threepio, Han, and Leia -- and less faint is their glowing presences in the Force. There's nothing empty in regular old darkness. Even Darkness isn't empty or meaningless; that'd just been the lie spun by Cronal's black hole.

He's managed to doze a little by the time Han sits on his feet, but that actually earns a short-lived smile into the couch's fabric as he lifts his legs a little to make all that moving around easier for Han. He'd kicked his boots off before lying down, but it occurs to him that it probably didn't do much to spare the couch considering how filthy his flight suit and the rest of him is. Oh, well.

"I'm still awake. I'm not hungry."

He wasn't worried too much about the cleanliness of the couch. This was the Millennium Falcon, not the Queen of Empire, and he could always get a new couch.

Luke, on the other hand... They couldn't get a new him. As elated as Han was to not be dead, to not have Luke and Leia dead, too, the thought of how close it had been is still sobering.

"I lost my appetite about a hundred times today, and I managed. You still need to eat."

What he's nudging Luke with now isn't much, just one of many ration packets they'd been transferred at the rendezvous point before starting the long limp back to the Republic. Still, Han feels responsible. As much as he's refined the art of shifting blame to where he feels blame is due, some things were his fault. Not entirely, not all of it, but part. There was more going on that needed attention, but making sure Luke didn't suffer from malnutrition was about the only part Han felt equipped to address.

Luke frowns but nods, wriggling around for a moment so he can flop over onto his back -- hopefully without accidentally kicking his friend in the face or anything. Once that's done with, he takes the ration packet from Han and arches an eyebrow at him.

"Did you get fifty thousand people killed that I don't know about?"

[ nothing flies off the wall, explodes, or implodes -- there's only leia, easing herself into a state of calm where she's able to think clearly and doesn't feel like she's being pulled in different directions by the two hans. she can still feel the younger one on the edge of her consciousness, but at the forefront is the elder: her anchor.

she holds out a hand and her lightsaber rolls, jumping obediently into her palm. ]

I'm okay.

Any misplaced kicks are soundly ignored. Han just looks over at Luke, eyes narrowed just enough to be disapproving but not enough to look angry.

"You need to start counting the number that didn't die, kid. You'll go crazy otherwise."

Which is true. Maybe more for Luke than for Han. Luke who can feel it more keenly because of that kreffing Force and the weight of Jedi responsibility. Sitting next to him, Han feels wholly inadequate, but he does have some more experience with the guilt of getting people killed, so at least he can fake authority on the subject.

[ the relief is palpable, and the little twitch of his when she calls the lightsaber back to her isn't enough to sweep it away. ]

Great, you wanna explain what's going on then?

[ from the younger han, standing just slightly in front of bria as if to protect her from the two on the floor. as if he needs to, and maybe he's just jumpy because everything he'd planned is going wrong very, very quickly, or because the force has faded into being nothing but a fairy tale dewlanna had talked about when he was little. ]

He rips open the packet and takes an unenthusiastic bite, chewing slowly. He can follow Han's logic, but it doesn't seem like enough. Is that really acceptable reasoning for a Jedi?

Speaking with the Melters had helped him to understand a lot of things, shake off the despair that Blackhole had infected him with. The light in the Force didn't just exist; human lives burn brightly no matter who they belong to, illuminating the Dark and suffusing it with meaning. The realization had saved him from being consumed by the darkness and given him both the confidence and ability to overcome Blackhole's....well, black hole.

But it also made all those agonizing, slow deaths that rattled the Force like a landslide hurt that much more.

"That's not how it's supposed to work," he murmurs after swallowing. "There were some innocent people I killed myself, did you know that? With my own hands. Because I didn't know about the deadman interlock. After all those TIEs, I still didn't think about that possibility."

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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you know who i want and what this is

space trash powers activate

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it's a musebox and i'll make shit up if i want to~ ♫

what's the opposite of a black hole?

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