Han Alone: H/L post-ROTJ AU, COMPLETED

With his mission to destroy the Imperial shield generator a failure and his friends dead or missing, Han Solo faces his future alone.

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[b]Chapter One: The Black Forest[/b]
[i]part: one[/i]

His hands on top of his head, Han Solo allowed the stormtrooper to push him down to his knees, onto the trampled foliage outside the back entrance to the shield generator control bunker on the forest moon of Endor, mud and blood staining his pants.

The plan had failed miserably and the proof hung high in the clear blue sky. Through the leafy canopy created by the trees surrounding the control bunker, the second Death Star in all of it's partially built glory could be seen sitting there like an albino [i]gundarr-ray[/i], floating in space without a care in the world. Occasionally, to Han's ever increasing horror, a laser-green tongue would lashout from the massive battle station, vectoring to a tiny point in space where a pinprick starburst would momentarily appear. The Rebel Alliance Fleet was systematically being destroyed because the commando team under his command was unable to destroy the generator projecting the shield protecting the space station.

But all of that was secondary compared to the diminutive figure lying prone and unmoving in front of him. "Help her!" He growled to the black-clad commander of the legion of stormtroopers surrounding Han and the few remaining rebel commandos. For a brief moment in the battle to take the bunker, the native creatures of Endor, tiny sentient bears called Ewoks, had thrown in with the rebels to help repulse the Imperial outsiders from their home, but they were not enough to stand against the massive fist of the Empire no matter how many stones they threw or arrows they shot, they were not enough.

Things could have turned in favor of the rebels when the astromech Artoo-Detoo joined the rebel leaders at the recoded lock leading into the bunker, but a lucky shot from a stormtrooper hiding in the woods blasted the droid out of commission and all the way across the bunker's entrance. "Well," Han had said. "I suppose I could hot-wire this thing."

Then she said the last words he would hear from her. "I'll cover you."

Princess Leia Organa's body lay just a handful of meters in front of him now, her face still bleeding from where a laser blast had smashed into the bunker's control panel next to where she had crouched for cover, sparking and throwing tiny debris into her face. Han quickly dropped what he was doing to tend to her wounds when she cried out in pain. An agonizing sound that froze his blood and nearly stopped his heart. How could he explain to Luke Skywalker, Han's best friend and probably Leia's true love, that she had died at his side? What would the young Jedi Knight say when Han confessed to him that he had loved her too, but never got the chance to tell her?

The Imperial commander sneared down at Han before speaking. "Rebel scum like you are in no position to give orders," he said before turning to look down upon Leia's unconscious form. "So this is the infamous Princess Leia of Alderaan." He let out a brief snort of disgust. "Funny, I had heard she was much prettier than this."

Those last comments brought a collective chuckle from the stormtroopers around him and almost brought Han to his feet except that the stormtroopers guarding him had a strong hold on his shoulders. Cursing himself, he tried a different tactic. "I'm sure Lord Vader would be upset to learn that she died when you had the chance to save her." Oh, he hated himself for saying those words. Leia would rather die than face Vader again, but this was the only way he could think of to keep her alive. [i]Forgive me, Leia.[/i] Luke had gone off to let himself be captured by the Imperials and taken to Darth Vader last night, Leia finally told him this morning. She was having conflicting feelings of hope and fear for the former Tatooine farmboy's mission, but she dug up a well of resolve and told Han that [i]this[/i] mission was more important, and that [i]this[/i] mission was what she was wi

 

Looks good! Cant wait for more.

 

Thanks, Nikki. A little more next week.

 

Definitely keep going

 

You have to continue! Besides, *gives pleading eyes* I recently decided that I was going to try to read and write more OT, and Han is one of my favorite characters.

Speaking of Han, that was a very smart move with the stormtrooper!

 

I love this idea. It looks really interesting. I've never read a fic like this before. I can't wait to see where this goes.

 

Awesome beginning, Knight-Ander! You pulled me in when I saw your subject--a Han Leia story--and I was absolutely hooked when I read this line:

An agonizing sound that froze his blood and nearly stopped his heart. How could he explain to Luke Skywalker, Han's best friend and probably Leia's true love, that she had died at his side? What would the young Jedi Knight say when Han confessed to him that he had loved her too, but never got the chance to tell her?

For some reason, that part really, really stuck out to me, especially the "that he had loved her too, but never got the chance to tell her."

I'm defintely looking forward to more--keep up the great work!

 

::nervous grin:: Good. You have me in quite a tizzy though. I'm very nervous. You must post more for my own peace of mind.

 

Great! I've wondered before what would have happened had Leia died or been more seriously injured by that laser blast - funny how blasts like that can kill armoured stormtroopers but only make a little burn in Leias shoulder. This looks really interesting. Please continue.

 

Thanks for expressing your interests, everybody. I'll be updating this every Wednesday at around the same time I put up the first post: 4pm board time. So keep your eyes peeled.

Now, to address some specific comments...

Moonbeam - Of course I'll continue! How can I resist those pleading eyes?

Puggy - For some reason, that part really, really stuck out to me, especially the "that he had loved her too, but never got the chance to tell her."

I've never delved into that sort of inner conflict style in my writing before, so I'm glad it worked this time.

As I said, more Wednesday, so set your timers.

 

woa! this is interesting!
count me in!
UP!

 

Wicked stuff! Can't wait for more!

 

Great beginning. I'll be interested to see where you take this!

But you know, it wasn't really nice to get me hooked on yet another story. I really don't have the time for another.

Shaindl

 

Very nice beginning.

 

Thanks, guys and gals.

You're tempting me to post early, but...

must...


stick...


to...


schedule....

 

Well, in a mood of strange-ness I decided to wander into a new fic with "Han" in the title - and despite the smuggler's being one of my fav. characters, I don't actually read that many post ROTJ or Han-centric fics.

However, I'm glad I decided to venture into this thread...you've managed to draw me in and have me looking forward to the next post.

-Tim

 

Thanks, Tim. Will telling you that everybody's favorite Dark Lord of the Sith shows up in the next post draw you in further?

 

I wasn't going to read any new stories either but now I have to! This is going to be great!

 

Upping! A story this great demands attention, prestige, and various other synonyms for readers.

 

59 hours until next post.

 

Thanks, Tim. Will telling you that everybody's favorite Dark Lord of the Sith shows up in the next post draw you in further? >>

Hehe. With me, that's a rhetorical question...

-Tim

 

Well, here it is, the next post. Hope you enjoy.

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[b]Chapter One: The Black Forest[/b]
[i]part: two[/i]

It was windy atop the landing platform for the control bunker for the Death Star's shield generator, but the wind was not why Han was feeling a chill. The moment Leia, her head wrapped in a bacta bandage, her red lips the only portion of her face showing, was brought up to the platform on a floating stretcher, his heart threatened to rend from his chest. It was a sad hope that she would have died of her injuries despite the fact that they were not life threatening. It was a sad hope that [i]he[/i] would have died last night as he waited in his cell to be transferred to the Death Star.

This morning he, Leia, and the few living members of his commando unit, including the droid Artoo-Detoo, were waiting for a shuttle to take them up to the half-formed space station sitting slightly above the treeline to the east like a herald for the sun that was just rising above the eastern horizon, creating deep, matte-black shadows over the forest, the treetops poking through a dense ground-fog that made it appear as if the ground below was on fire.

Looking over his unit, Han did a double take. Where was Goldenrod? The last he had seen of See-Threepio, he was standing next to the shocked R2-unit when it failed to reopen the bunker's back door. He was pretty sure he hadn't seen wreckage of the walking talk-box when the battle ended, so where was he? For once in his life he would have been glad to listen to Threepio yack about the [i]Falcon[/i]'s reverse power-flux coupling instead of the two dozen stormtroopers standing around him. His lips quirked and he sighed. Imagine that? [i]Him[/i] wanting to listen to Threepio! Things had gotten that bad.

"This is [i]worse[/i] than usual, Kid," he grumbled as the sound of a shuttle's engines came to his ears, hoping somewhere in this whole wide galaxy that Luke could hear him. He tried not to think about Chewie. The walking carpet was the best partner and worse conscious any man who didn't want a conscious could have. That was the other part inside him that was missing; a pain so fresh that it would nearly bring him to tears just thinking of the old Wook. And out there somewhere, [i]probably in the form of space-dust[/i], the realist inside him decided, was Lando and Han's ship, [i]The Millenium Falcon[/i]. He had a feeling he'd never see her again when he left it behind with the gambler and the Rebel fleet. Knowing that it [i]was[/i] the last time he ever saw his precious ship didn't make him feel any better now.

The [i]Lambda[/i]-class shuttle came down out of the dark blue morning sky like a Corellian [i]starka[/i]-bird sneaking-up on it's dinner. At an order from the squad commander, the stormtroopers snapped to attention as the craft landed, it's entry-ramp yawning open to eat it's rebel prey. The black-clad commander turned to smirk at the heavily restrained Han. "We will now see how... upset Lord Vader will be to see both of you alive."

Han kept a level gaze on the Imperial's grey eyes, only allowing a frisson of fear to rush over him when the commander turned away. He would not allow himself to be intimidated, but he [i]did[/i] swallow hard the second the sound of mechanized breathing broke through the hiss of the landing thrusters venting steam and crawled into his ears. He prepared to step forward to confront Vader regardless of the shakles around his feet, but was quickly grabbed by the guards next to him as the medics pushed Leia forward, presenting her first to the dark lord.

The sun was behind Han and high enough so that he could make out the way Lord Vader's head was turned, the only way he could read his expression. Vader, his hands at his side, tilted his head so he could look down at Leia. Han could not hear exactly what the medical officer was telling Vader, but he stared at the recumbent form in front of him for the longest time as if to memorize what he was seeing.

Han could not take what he was seeing any longer. "Are you happy?" He call

 

And now I have to know--what happened to Leia? Why has she not only forgiven Vader but apparently bonded with him? And where is Luke, exactly?

This new post raises more questions than answers them!

Poor Han--the last Rebel left of his companions on the bridge.

*storms off muttering something about cliffhangers in every sentence*

 

WHA?! ohh dear, Leia is hit, Han is helpless, Rebellion is lost, Luke and Chewie are missing AND LEIA IS BONDING WITH VADER?
hmm.. wierd...
though, UPPERS!