[Black Fleet Crisis(19)

Leia shook her head. “And you wonder why Jacen gives us a hard time. “

“Arrarrarooerrr, ” Chewbacca said plaintively to Leia.

“You hear that? ” Leia said. “Han, dear-how many years of Chewie’s life have you taken so far? How long have you kept him away from Kashyyyk? “

“Me? I didn’t do it. It’s that crazy Wookiee life debt stuff. I’d be glad to let him off the hook. “

“The least you could do is let him go back a hero, in the ship both of you made famous. Think what that could mean to Chewie’s son, to his mate. It might go a long way toward making up for Chewie’s absence to know that he was doing something that mattered, to see him honored. “

“I suppose, ” Han said dubiously.

“And he’s your friend. You wouldn’t want him to think you were willing to lend the Millennium Falcon to Lando-” Han shook a finger warningly.

“That’s different. That was war. And I still didn’t like it. “

“-but not to him. You wouldn’t want him to think you were willing to lose the Falcon to Lando in a sabacc game, but you won’t lend it-“

“Her. Her, not it. “

“-to Chewbacca for his homecoming. You wouldn’t want to hurt his feelings like that, would you? “

Holding his head in his hands as though trying to massage away a headache, Han looked from Leia to Chewbacca and back to Leia again. He squinted, frowned, chewed his lower lip, shook his head. His mouth worked, and he made a noise that sounded something like “Not fair. “

“What? ” said Leia. “What did you say? “

Han cleared his throat and looked straight at Chewbacca. “I said I guess if we need a lift somewhere while you’re gone, either the president or the princess can probably arrange something. “

Chewbacca crowed his delight and rushed forward to hug Han. “But you’d better take care of her! ” Han added quickly, squirming uncomfortably in the Wookiee’s crushing embrace. “I want her back without a scratch, d’you hear me? Not a scratch. And fill the tanks before you leave Kashyyyk. I’m not paying for your conjugal visits. “

The only response Chewbacca made was to ruffle Han’s hair while he showed a toothy openmouthed grin.

When Chewbacca was gone, Leia drew Han into a gentler and more agreeable embrace. “I’m proud of you, ” she said. “He’d never say anything to either of us, but he still hasn’t stopped feeling awful inside about the kidnapping of the kids. “

Han did not have to ask Leia how she knew about Chewbacca’s private pain. “It wasn’t his fault. “

“You’ll never convince him of that. He feels guilty for failing us. And he feels guilty for neglecting his own. He really needs to go home and get his confidence back. ” She drew back and smiled up at her husband.

“And from what I hear, looking after Wookiee children is good practice for looking after Jedi children. “

“Maybe I should go with him. “

“You don’t need to, ” she said, and kissed him.

“Yeah, well, fine, ” Han said. “I’ll tell you this much, though. Luke’d better come teach the kids how to flap their arms and fly. Because I’m never giving Jacen the codes to the Falcon. Not in my lifetime, anyway. “

“Why? Didn’t you start piloting everything in sight as soon as you could? “

“Of course I did, ” Han said indignantly. “Why do you think I’m worried? “

The unmarked office of Admiral Drayson lay buried inside five security perimeters and hidden behind a curtain of misinformation and plausible deniability.

The section he commanded had no publicly known name. The private name-Alpha Blue-was known only to the dozen officials with the very highest clearances, and appeared nowhere in either the government’s or the military command’s data records. Those whom Drayson commanded carried no Alpha Blue identification cards and passed under no Alpha Blue insignia on the way to their jobs. They wore the insignia of a variety of unremarkable units, or-like Drayson himself-no insignia at all, and took their pay as quartermasters’ mates and second gunners, ion mechanics and civilian clerks.

Given that context, Drayson was just a little surprised the morning he entered his office and found someone already there, uninvited

and unannounced—someone who did not work for him and yet was bold enough to sit in Drayson’s chair, with his feet up on the corner of Drayson’s desk.

“Well, ” Drayson said. “Lando Calrissian. You’re lucky I didn’t shoot you. “

Lando grinned. “I was counting on your being too curious how I got in to shoot me right away. “