[Dark Nest] - 1(96)

“And third?”

“There is no third.”

“There’s always a third,” Alema said.

“Okay, third.” Han passed her the burn gloves and, as the Falcon slipped back into hyperspace, concluded, “I’m the captain. It’s safe if I say it is.”

Alema shrank back. “Okay-just asking,” she said. “Maybe we should check on Saba.”

“You go ahead,” Han said, wondering why the Twi’lek thought he was needed to check on the Barabel. Bugs and bug-lovers, he thought, you can’t trust either of ‘em. He had a sudden image of Jaina and Raynar rubbing forearms and shuddered. He closed the access panel and started forward. “I need to keep an eye on things in the cockpit.”

Han had barely stepped onto the flight deck when Juun reported, “We have to recalibrate the warp controller. The heat buildup caused a performance spike in the number two nacelle, and we veered off course by seven one-thousandths of a degree.”

“We don’t have time,” Han said. Recalibrating meant days of trial jumps, then he’d have to do it all again when they returned to the Galactic Alliance and repaired the problem. “Just run a compensation program.”

“A compensation program?” Juun was aghast. “But procedure mandates recalibration anytime-“

“It also mandates obeying the captain’s orders,” Han said, slipping into the pilot’s seat. “Just run the blasted program.”

Juun was silent for a moment, then asked in a subdued voice, “Was the malfunction anything I should account for?”

Han softened. “Good question.” He considered for a moment, mentally reviewing the entire coolant system in his mind. An underactive diverter could cause another performance spike, but probably not a closed one-especially not if the hyperdrive remained below maximum power. “I don’t think so.”

“You don’t think so?” Juun repeated. “Didn’t you identify the malfunction?”

“Didn’t have time,” Han said, growing irritated again.

“But if you haven’t identified the problem, how can you know it’s safe-“

“I know,” Han growled. “Now, are you going to stop bothering me and run that program, or do I have to do it myself?”

“I’d advise you to choose the first option,” C-3PO said. “When Captain Solo’s voice assumes that tone, he has a nasty habit of tripping primary circuit breakers.”

“It’s okay, Jae,” Leia said. “Han knows what he’s doing.”

“Oh, I realize that, Princess Leia,” Juun replied. “I was only asking because I’d like to understand how Han Solo makes decisions.”

“Wouldn’t we all?” Leia replied.

Juun ran the compensation program, then they jumped back into hyperspace and spent the next quarter hour riding in silence, watching status readouts and listening for the faintest hum in the coolant lines. Finally, Han felt confident enough to pronounce the emergency passed. He sent Juun back to tell the others they could return to their bunks, then looked over to find Leia staring raptly into her display, biting her lower lip as she double-checked Juun’s compensation parameters against status readouts.

She wore the same enthralled expression she’d often had as New Republic Chief of State, poring over a report on an initiative to feed hungry natives on Gottlegoob, or as Rebel leader studying a cruiser buildup on Farbog. It was a look Han had not seen since the end of the war with the Yuuzhan Vong, when the challenge of combat had faded to the drudgery of reconstruction and they had retreated into the Falcon to build a smaller, more private life together.

It was a look Han missed, and one he felt responsible for losing. As much as he loved having Leia all to himself-finally - he knew she needed more out of life; she would never be happy flying around just having adventures. She needed to be doing important things, putting the galaxy back together and seeing to it that the megaconglomerates did not end up owning everything.

Seeming to feel the weight of his gaze-or perhaps sense it through the Force-Leia looked up from the columns scrolling down her

display. “Something wrong?”

“Nothing,” Han said. “I was just wondering…” He wanted to say if you were happy, but knew that would sound wrong-it would sound like he was unhappy. “Well, if…”

“Juun’s parameters are very complete, if you’re worried about that,” Leia said. “We’re not going to stay in the safety margin - but when do we ever?”

“Yeah,” Han said. “That’s kind of the point. Do you ever miss our old place back on Coruscant?”