Saga Restless Spaces, Han and Leia, post ROTJ

This began as a creation for the H/L monthly challenge, however, it grew on its own a bit. It's set approximately one month after "Return of the Jedi"...

I hope you enjoy it.



Restless Spaces



"When you seek it, you cannot find it."
- Zen riddle, J. Hyams (1979, 21).


~

This all happened during the time when they couldn?t sleep.

When the oversized piece of Coruscanti pottery hit the deck plates, the vessel shattered into a dozen pieces.

They were halfway to the Corporate Sector when the accident occurred. She hadn?t put down the galley?s containment racks because they were in hyper and unless the Millenium Falcon was in realspace, onboard motion was slim to none. Yet the cleaning fluid sprayed up and onto the galley counter and the glossy earth-colored mug skidded across the viscous surface when she set it down as surely as if she commanded it to do so with the force, as her Jedi brother might have. But she hadn?t, for then she would have been able to save it and she didn?t.

Leia set about picking up the jagged fragments and wondering whether to tell Han she?d broken it outright, or wait until he noticed and went looking for it. It was an accident, yes, but she had been thinking how much she hated it directly before she set it down. As if it knew this, the largest piece glared back at her accusingly with large garish gold letters. Interspecies Shockball Centennial Championships 00021, it shouted. Beneath that, in smaller letters, it read, The Triad will overcome, and beneath that, in even smaller letters, sponsored by the Burning Deck, although she?d never actually read that last part because his hand usually covered the base.

The Old Republic had outlawed Interspecies Shockball over a century ago. What made the game such an incredible spectator sport ? watching to see which players were randomly jolted while holding the metallic sphere ? made it equally unpopular with conservative types. Not every species handled the random electrical pulses well. Some merely dropped the sphere, a few dropped to their knees twitching, others fainted dead away and their teammates raced to pry the sphere free from their clutched fingers before opposing players got there. And not every species had four arms, like the furry blue Pho Ph?eahiams, for instance, or had long flaps of skin tucked beneath between their underarms and rib-cages so that they were capable of running and gliding, like the reptilian Vorrinians. Due to their sheer unpredictability, the bizarre mixed match-ups were a pro-gambler?s worst nightmare. On the other hand, they were a HoloNet advertiser?s dream; dazed athletes fighting off stuns with numbed fingertips, claws and appendages, racing back into field battle was the stuff of legends that children grew up on.

The minor dilemma was decided for her. Sound carried.

?What?d you break??

Quickly, Leia spun on her knees and faced him. ?I?m sorry. It slipped.?

Han squinted at the mess as if to ascertain what, for the pieces were barely distinguishable as having once been part of something whole. ?That old thing? Don?t worry about it.?

?But you always use it.? Religiously. If it was dirty he washed it and re-used it. If he left it in his cabin when he was in the cockpit he?d go fetch it. If he left it in his cabin when they were sitting down to dinner he?d go fetch it.

?Cause it?s the biggest one,? he reassured her. ?Not for any sentimental reason.?

Leia tried to smile to show him that she was relieved. It didn?t come. ?What?s The Burning Deck??

?A hangout in the Corellian sector on Nar Shaddaa. An indisputable hole-in-the-wall dive.?

?Is there any other kind??

?You?d hate it more than the others.?

She said ruefully, ?I remember when the Centennial Championships took place. Alderaan made it to the semi-finals but my aunts deemed it barbaric, and wouldn?t allow me to watch it. It was one of the greatest tragedies of my childhood.? And she meant the sort of tragedy one clung to dearly when

 

Rhune- that fic was FANTASTIC. You had Leia's personality nailed- I'm still in shock here. It was everything a fic should be- heartwrenching and poignant and touching and all of the above... great job!

 

Great Job!

 

Holy freeholays, where did that come from? lol. I was just perusing the boards looking for updates and I saw a new H/L piece and was excited. And then, I read it. Now, I'm totally blown away. That was freakin' amazing.

 

Ive got a few letters for you:
AWESOME FIC
thats all
see ya!!

 

This is the first of your work I have read, and I'm impressed. Your Han and Leia are wonderfully complex, as they should be. And, you make a very good observation that Bail probably did lie to Leia about her mother. Wonderful writing!

 

Awesome!!! Beautiful!!

 

Wow! That was GREAT!

 

This was so beautiful. I love your style, and Leia and Han were perfectly characterised as usual. Hope to see more of your work soon

 

Thank you very much, everyone who's popped in!

I'm glad you enjoyed it.

And yes, Solo_Fan, that fact about her mother was bit of random creativity, which in retrospect, seems so likely to be true that I can't believe it wasn't the actual inspiration for this piece.

Hopefully Sock_of_DV, there will be more... hopefully...

 

Wow, Rhune, this is an O U T S T A N D I N G piece of work...simply outstanding!

-Love your characterizations and interactions 'tween Leia and Han - wonderful playfulness, patience, and understanding between them. You conveyed so many aspects of their individual and relational personalities in such a short space - awesome!

 

Wow... That was super good!!!!!! I really liked it a lot....


A. Windsor

 

Wow.

That was positively beautiful, Rhune. You had Han and Leia down perfectly... And your writing style is absolutely gorgeous. I loved every word of this fic.

Lovely work!

 

Thanks you everyone (HanSolo29,Puggy,A-Windsor, Rxchiquita)!

It's actually a behind the scenes work from a bigger piece I'm working on, so the background and characterizations for the scene felt well mapped out for me when I started. (Does that make sense?) The long piece is going to be a bit 'campier' - so this was a chance to get more serious - with a story within the greater story - fun!

 

yes!!!! campier!!! hehehe I can't wait for the bigger piece!


A. Windsor

 

How poignant. You did a great job with the imagery here, the piece was beautifully written and you stayed wonderfully true to the characters.

 

Hurrah for long fics! (I love them.)

Thanks, Miska.

 

Hi! Sorry it took me so long to reply, but I wanted to wait till I'd written a li'l review of this piece as part of the Review Challenge in Writers' Resource.

I think it's the mood of the story that struck me the most. It's melancholy, wistful, but beautiful too (if a mood can be beautiful. ) I really enjoy your take on Leia's thought processes.

I'd definitely check out a longer story!

 

Wow and thanks, Wilhelmina!

I do think a mood can be anything we desire, and this piece was definitely written with the hopes that the feeling or 'mood' would show through - though it's a mood which would be overwhelming in a longer work, definitely. How lovely of you to describe it in the terms you did too, for were someone to ask what what feeling I was going for, my reply would have been exactly the same.

On that note, it's a joy to have the odd moment in the neverending pursuit of writing (whether that writing be to please merely ourselves, readers, critics, whoever), where for a brief moment feel you like what you wanted to get out of your head is what ended up onsceen. This piece came out near enough to what was trapped up there...

And that so seldom ever happens.

*Silly me, I just realized... I actually put this story up on the wrong board. My very first thread ever too. Off laughing at own incompetence*

 

That was fantastic! I followed this from the Review thread in the Writer's Resource Forum, and I loved it! Great job!