Lando shook his head. “I don’t believe it.”
She was looking down at her scars. They crisscrossed her hands and forearms in thin, white lines, like glow-spider webs against the tanned skin. “It used to hurt Han to look at them, too …” she murmured.
Lando studied her for a long moment. “He’s the only one, isn’t he?”
he said, finally. “You still love him.”
She drew a long breath, then looked up at him, her expression very serious. “He’s the only one,” she said steadily.
Lando’s eyes widened slightly. “You mean … the only one? Ever?”
She nodded. “Oh, I’ve had a couple of offers. But my life is the Resistance.
And …” she shrugged, “frankly, after Han… other men seem sort of… bland.”
Lando chuckled ruefully, realizing that, despite his best efforts and his fondest wishes, Bria’s heart was with Han—and there it was likely to stay. “Well, at least when he comes back from the Corporate Sector, I won’t have earned myself a punch in the nose for stealing you away,” he said. “I have to try and look on the bright side, I suppose.”
She looked at him and smiled, then lifted her wineglass. “I propose a toast,” she said. “To the man I love. Han Solo.”
Lando lifted his, clinked it against hers. “To Han,” he agreed. “The luckiest guy in the galaxy …. ” Interlude 3: Kashyyyk, on the way back from the Corporate Sector …
Han Solo stood in the middle of Mallatobuck’s living room, in her home on Kashyyyk watching his best friend tenderly cradle his infant son.
They’d landed on Chewie’s homeworld just an hour ago, on their way back from the Corporate Sector. The Falcon was safely docked in the secret wroshyr-limb docking bay. This time, for Han’s benefit, the Wookiees provided a series of vine ladders for the Corellian to make the ascent through the wroshyr trees. Knowing now what a quulaar was, the Corellian had flatly refused to climb into one.
The moment that they’d landed, Han had noticed something odd. All of the Wookiees they met kept giving Chewie amused sidelong glances and nudging each other. Chewbacca had seemed oblivious to the byplay, however, so eager was he to see his lovely wife. After all, the Wookiee hadn’t seen Malla in nearly a year….
And then, when they’d walked into Malla’s house, there she stood, holding a small bundle wrapped in a blanket in her arms. Chewbacca had stood frozen in the doorway, a look of incredulous joy dawning on his furry visage.
Han had slapped his friend on the back with almost Wookiee force.
“Hey, congratulations, Chewie! You’re a dad!”
After a few minutes to admire the baby (whom even Han had to admit was awfully cute), Han wandered into Malla’s kitchen to give Chewie some time alone with his family. He dug around in the refrigeration unit and found some odds and ends of things to munch on, pleased that Malla had told him to make himself at home.
As he sat there, listening to Chewie and Malla discuss names for their son in the next room, Han’s thoughts wandered back to the Corporate Sector and the Tion Hegemony, and all the adventures he’d had there.
He wasn’t coming home rich, that was for sure … but he hadn’t done too badly, he decided.
And he’d certainly met a host of memorable individuals—some good, most not. Of course there had been the lovely ladies … Jessa, Fiolla .
. .
and Hasti ….
Han smiled, remembering.
And then there had been the bad guys. The ones who had tried to stiff him out of credits, or, worse, tried to snuff him like a candle. Quite a host of them… Ploovo Two-for-One, Hirken, Zlarb, Magg, Spray… and Gallandro. That was one tough fellow, Gallandro. Be fun to watch him in a free-for-all against Boba Fett, weapons being equal. Gallandro could probably outdraw the bounty hunter.., but Fett’s armor would give him some protection ….
Han couldn’t decide which of them would win. And speculation was moot, after all, since Gallandro had been reduced to a pile of charred meat and bone back on Della& in Xim’s “treasure” vaults.
It had been fun running into Roa and Badure. He’d have to remember to tell Mako that Badure had sent his greetings ….
Han was surprised to realize that he actually missed Bollux and Blue Max.
He’d never realized droids could have so much personality. He hoped that Skynx was treating them both okay ….
The Corellian fingered the newly healed knife-wound on his chin. He’d never had time to get it properly treated, and it had healed with a noticeable scar. He wondered whether he should get it removed ….