Saga Death And Hell (A Han Solo vignette)

Title:Death And Hell
Author:SkalenFehl
Genre:Angst
Time frame:The Saga
Characters:Han Solo, Leia cameo

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Han was never afraid to die. He lived life the same way he gambled, but had never bet on a fate far worse than death. Perhaps this was a dream. Or were these nightmares really the life he had left behind? It tormented him to try and make any sense of it. He drifted through the darkness for what seemed like eternity, weightless, unable to scratch the surface to see light. He questioned if there ever was such a thing.

Memories and dreams collided, leaving confusion in their wake. Nothing made sense anymore. He wondered if his eyes were open or closed. The darkness engulfed him equally either way. He tried to see his hand in front of him, though he couldn?t feel anything at all. There was nothing but the spinning. He twirled uncontrollably through the vastness.

So this is hell.

His earliest vision was of his youth, left to his own devices in a galaxy where every man fought for himself. He had learned quickly that there would only be one law that he would ever follow.

Look out for number one.

It had served him well until his service in the Imperial Navy. He had thrown away a brilliant career to interfere with a slaver and a horribly mistreated creature. No being deserved such cruelty. The entire species was subject to enslavement under Imperial Law. For his actions he had been court-martialed, stripped of his rank and ejected from the Navy.

It could have been worse. A firing squad would have been a more suitable sentence.

The lowly creature had found his savior and vowed to follow him from one end of the galaxy to the other in his servitude until at last he would repay his debt. Familiar feelings filled Han as he thought about the creature that, though at first was nothing more than a nuisance, had become much more: a long life friend.

Chewbacca.

Han wondered if it was another dream. He tried to say the Wookiee?s name but still couldn?t give utterance. Chewie. He could hear the name clearly now in his mind. He dreamed of adventures with his friend, entering races, and also imagined outwitting opponents in games of chance, and outrunning Imperial ships and cruisers. He dwelled on these delusions of grandeur for as long as he could until they too became recurring visions that made him doubt they ever existed at all. He pushed them back into the dark recesses from which they came.

Once more he floated along, wandering aimlessly through oblivion. If he could buy his way out of this one, he would. Money was no object so long as he didn?t owe any. It was probably money that put him in this predicament. Drifting from one pleasure to the next had become his creed.

If money is all that you love, then that?s what you?ll receive!

Han felt his heart beat faster as these words echoed in his mind. He tried grasping them as though they were tangible, trying to recall the events surrounding them. He tried remembering a time when something mattered more to him than money as he sifted through all the madness, all the dreams and nightmares.

I knew there was more to you than money!

Han glanced in all directions as if the voices came from somewhere in the darkness. He tried calling out, but to no avail. Nobody could hear him. He couldn?t even hear himself. A sentimental fool might consider love more than money. But love was a weakness of which he wanted no part?until he met her. Who was she? His mind?s eye suddenly caught a glimpse of someone vaguely familiar. High emotions enveloped him as though he were caught in a giant whirlwind. He had never felt more alive!

Am I alive?

More importantly he tried clinging to the fleeting images that his mixed feelings projected. Through the void he tried focusing. He tried separating memories from dreams until he saw her face. It was her smile that had captivated him. He had broken his law once more and had paid the ultimate price. He remembered regret

 

That was an excellent viggie! Although the title DID have me worried there.

 

Good interpretation of how confusing being encased in carbonite had to be for Han. I too was a little worried after reading the title, but I'm sure the carbonite felt like death and hell to Han. Sweet ending.

 

great job--some excellent lines in this viggie
such as:
He drifted through the darkness for what seemed like eternity, weightless, unable to scratch the surface to see light. He questioned if there ever was such a thing.
Memories and dreams collided, leaving confusion in their wake.

excellent piece, Master Skalen

 

Yes, the title and the first sentence or so had me scared...but it's a lovely vignette. Loved Han's 'rules' and how he broke them- great job!

 

That was a wonderful vignette!

Memories and dreams collided, leaving confusion in their wake. Nothing made sense anymore. He wondered if his eyes were open or closed. The darkness engulfed him equally either way. He tried to see his hand in front of him, though he couldn?t feel anything at all. There was nothing but the spinning. He twirled uncontrollably through the vastness.


I was worried, too, when I read the title. But as I proceeded through the viggie, I just loved every word!

 

GreatOne: Thank you for reading. I really tried not to give ending away until...the ending. I wanted the reader to believe Han really had met some aweful fate. Well, another more aweful fate!

Solo_Fan: I'm not sure if anyone has ever written about what it must have been like for Han. I stumbled upon a bit in the Essential Guide to Characters and under Han Solo, one sentence described it as conscious but not conscious.

I'm also a big Solo fan. Han was the man.

SarkaVrae: As always, thank you for following my stories and your kind words.

Miska: Thank you. Regarding Han's 'rules', I remember Han telling Leia that he took orders from only one person, etc. That coupled with how he always looked out for himself inspired me to incorporate that law, which he began breaking more as his circle of friends grew larger. Han really was a good guy and I like making sure my readers see interpretation as such.

VaderLVR64: It's always an honor receiving your feedback. In this story I really tried meshing words well. With my limited time, I usually end up posting unpolished pieces, but I went a little further with this one. I hope to one day become an excellent "wordsmith" as it were.

 

Ooooooo! I liked it! Especially the way Han was thinking about Leia, but couldn't remember her name, and then he was freed and could! It was a great tie-in!

 

An excellent plot bunny, executed masterfully. I've never really thought about what it was like for Han while in the carbonite. Loved it!

 

Great job!

 

Laura_Anu: I hope I developed his train of thoughts properly. Being "conscious yet not conscious" must have a way of making you wonder what and who is real especially when it's for a whole year.

Gina: Once again, thank you so much for your kind words and following my stories.

PrincessDaisy2: Thank you!

 

Another wonderful work! I'm very impressed! I shall have to watch for your work more often, I've never failed to be thrilled.

 

Thank you, CapNJaxWench. I've been trying to write stories that really haven't been explored. Not an easy thing.

 

Great job! I really liked it!

 

amazing I absolutely love how you take individual seqences and build an entire storyaround them

 

That was really nice, I was a little worrie that it was going to be AU, but then you ended it so nicely. Good job.

 

Darth_Djinn: I absolutely love how you take individual seqences and build an entire story around them

Thanks, bud. I'm trying to make that my MO. I want to be the guy on the fiction boards that takes itty bitty scenes or sequences and builds a back story or just a story around it.

Thanks, princess_meg for the kind words. I try to please.

 

I just had to resurrect this for all the Han and Leia lovers out there.

 

Loved this. Great, great stuff

 

Very good! You captured the emotions and confusion so well. Poor Han!

 

Good job! Yeah, I've been attempting to write stuff in areas which no one explores too. And you did an excellent job!

KT

 

Oh wow, I thought this one got buried deep. Thanks for the compliments! More cool stories in my bio.

 

Very well done! Like most of the others, I was a bit worried/concerned when I read the title, but its actually very appropriate to his mindset. Great job of capturing that disjointed state of consciousness-not consciousness that must exist in such a condition

 

Great job! I liked the way there was a sort of confusion in where he was and what was going on which parallels the confusion that he must have felt all those months when he was encased in carbonite.

Very good characterization of my scoundrel, too