[Han Solo] - 03(65)
He gave her a long, level glance. “All right, Tharen. I promise you I’ll think about it.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Interlude 1:
The Corporate Sector
Dressed only in his trousers, barefoot, Han Solo wandered out of the bedroom in Jessa’s tiny apartment. Her little flat was located on her father’s, Doc’s, outlaw tech base, a grim, utilitarian place, but both Doc’s and Jessa’s personal quarters were surprisingly well-furnished and comfy.
Han yawned and scratched his head, rumpling his hair even further, then threw himself down on the elegant couch with a thud, and signaled on the big vidunit.
The official news from the Corporate Sector Authority came on, and Han watched it with a cynical grin. The Authority was getting worse every day.
Wouldn’t take much to make them as repressive as the Empire ….
At least the Falcon was now in the best shape of her life. Before his capture and removal to Stars’ End prison, Doc had upgraded her hyperdrive until she’d now make point-five past lightspeed. I oughta be able to outrun just about anything the Imps could throw at me with that, Han thought smugly. Or the Authority either.
Then, in order to induce Han to go after her father and rescue him from Stars’ End, Jessa had fixed the Falcon up with an all-new sensor suite and dish, to replace the ones damaged in a fight with an Authority fighter.
Later, following Doc’s rescue, the grateful Jessa had recently finished the Falcon’s repairs, putting in an all-new guidance system and repairing all of the hull damage the YT-1300 had accrued. Han had even considered giving the ship a coat of paint, so she’d look just like new, but, after some consideration, had rejected the idea. The Millennium Falcon’s beat-up appearance was one of her strongest assets in catching opponents unaware.
Nobody expected a grubby old freighter to have a military-grade hyperdrive that had been customized and upgraded by the galaxy’s master tech, a sophisticated sensor suite, topnotch jamming capability, and all the other improvements Han had bestowed on the love of his life.
Jessa was still asleep in the other room. Han leaned back and propped his feet up on the table, thinking about Jess. She was certainly the best thing to come his way so far in the Corporate Sector. The two of them had had a lot of fun ….
Just the other day, they’d flown the Falcon to one of the swankiest casinos in a nearby sector, and put on their best bib and tucker for a gambling spree. Jess had gotten her blond curls done in a wild new style, striped bright red, and bought a stunning red gown that was snug in all the right places. Han had been proud to be seen with her, and assured her she was the most beautiful woman in the place.
The news-vid changed from Corporate Sector reports to a brief report from the Empire. Palpatine’s forces had stifled yet another uprising on yet another world. Han’s mouth twisted. Same old, same old …
He found himself thinking about Salla, wondering if she’d gotten over being mad yet.
He suspected not. It was a good thing she wasn’t here to see him with Jessa. Salla was the jealous type. She was one tough lady, but, then, so was Jessa.
Han was profoundly grateful that the two of them were unlikely ever to meet.
Thoughts of Salla led naturally to wondering how Lando, Jarik; Shug and Maico were doing. Han even thought of Jabba with something approaching nostalgic affection. He bet the Hutt leader was having a hard time replacing him. If he ever decided to go back to Imperial space, Han suspected Jabba would welcome him with open arms.., repugnant as that thought was.
Han watched another brief news bite from the Empire. Seemed that the Empire had now declared that the Rebel forces in the Outer Rim had been completely crushed. Sure, he thought. Right. That must mean that they’re quite a thorn in the Imps’ side ….
He wondered whether Bria had anything to do with harassing those Imp forces … or was she back to being a spy these days?
Han sighed, realizing that he actually missed Nar Shaddaa. The Corporate Sector was a fun place, lots of adventures to be had and profits to be made, but it wasn’t home.
He wondered whether he should just cut his losses and head back for Imperial space. At the very least, it was probably time to head out and look for some action (translation: profit) here in the Corporate Sector.
True, he’d promised Jessa to help her and Doc in their campaign against the Authority. But that might be risky. And it wasn’t as though he owed Jessa anything. He’d rescued her father, hadn’t he? At great risk to his own precious hide? A tiny honest corner of his mind reminded him that he’d mostly gone on that rescue mission for Chewie’s sake. No way he was letting his pal languish in an Authority prison ….