Saga Pieces of Air -- ESB-era short story, Luke, Leia & Han -- Complete 3 September

That was absolutely beautiful. All the characters were perfect and I can't say much more than that.

Bravo!

 

Huzzah! Wonderful! Fabulous!

Luke frowned at her, then sighed and sank down on a crate, looking at his boots.
?Sometimes,? Leia said, ?there is nothing you can do. Sometimes you?re powerless.?
Luke looked up at her. ?I don?t like that,? he said.
She smiled, without humour. ?No one does.?

Leia is wise. (And so is our author...)

And I really like the "walking off into the sunset" type ending.

 

This was absolutely georgous! You nailed all the characters. I don't want it to be over!
So very well done. Thanks so much for sharing this.

Congratulations on a truly brilliant and beautiful story! It was so... real.

 

He didn?t breathe easily again until he had reached optimum bearing, cruising high above the whites and greys of the ground below. The snow looked deceptively beautiful from such a height, glittering in the light of the sun.

Luke watched for a while, and felt something ease. ?Clear skies, Pag,? he whispered. ?Clear skies.?


I liked your ending. It was great-written-as always- and no matter how hard it might be, Luke will obviously be okay now, thanks to such good friends like Leia and Han.
Wonderful story with a fitting ending!

 

What a perfect story! Sad, but compelling and REAL! Lovely work, as always!

Luke said nothing. Leia drew a breath, leaning back against the opposite wall. ?As for the Force,? she said, ?you were injured, badly. It?s no wonder your ability to handle the Force failed. That doesn?t mean that it will fail next time.? She frowned at him. ?I don?t know that much about the Force, but it sounds like a matter of faith. Faith isn?t about believing the best only when the best happens. You have to find a way to work around the disappointments, too. You have to believe in the Force, and in yourself.?

Luke frowned, then sighed. ?I don?t know that much about the Force either,? he admitted. ?Maybe you?re right.?

Leia looked at him in silence for a while, as Luke stared at his boots. Then she pushed off the wall, crossing to put a hand on his. ?I know you?ll recover from this in time, Luke. You?re strong, and your faith is stronger. I admire that about you, you know. A lot of people do.?

To hear that from Leia, Leia who was forced to stand and watch while her home was blown to nothing, was something else. Luke shook his head. ?It doesn?t feel that way. It? really doesn?t.?

?No,? she said sadly. ?It probably doesn?t, right now.?

Luke looked at her, and forced a smile. ?How?d you get so wise, anyway??

Leia didn?t return the smile. ?The hard way.?

Luke hated seeing that pain in her eyes, though it was often there. He stood and hugged her. She put her arms around him. He didn?t think she was a person who hugged easily most of the time ? she was more like Han than either of them realised, in that respect ? but she held Luke tightly now, and let him hold her.

For a while it didn?t matter who they were, princess or fighter pilot, Jedi or leader. There was pain and loss and hope and faith, and there was the two of them, and the endless silent halls of ice.

That was enough.

Luke found for the first time since the crash, he didn?t feel cold.

 

This is one of my favorite OT pieces, I think. I haven't found one I've responded to like that in a while now.

When Luke hit his darkest spots, it was easy to see the fear and the frustration, and very easy to relate to. It's an excellent emotional and psychological set-up for his state in ESB. Everything has a gritty quality to it- Luke, Hoth, the base itself, the other Rebels- that physical grittiness translates into the grittiness of the story, if that makes any sense. It feels real.

More so than that, though, I just really enjoyed the interactions of Luke, Han, and Leia, whether one on one, or all three of them. The time when they sat next to him against the wall, Han's taking him outstide and making him confront his demons, his talk and hug with Leia. I could go on. It's just something I.... I don't know. I miss it. They'll always be my three favorites, and the current LotF books are just so, well, that's another tangent. This was just really, really nice to read.

Thank you.

 

Such a good ending! I am glad that Luke finally got help from his friends instead of just trying to deal with it alone.


?As for the Force,? she said, ?you were injured, badly. It?s no wonder your ability to handle the Force failed. That doesn?t mean that it will fail next time.? She frowned at him. ?I don?t know that much about the Force, but it sounds like a matter of faith. Faith isn?t about believing the best only when the best happens. You have to find a way to work around the disappointments, too. You have to believe in the Force, and in yourself.?

Luke is lucky to have such a good sister!

Great story, and awesome job on Luke- he was a very beliviable character.

 

Well done!

Han really is a great friend, I liked how he told Luke to talk to Leia. She's felt powerless, too, and would really understand. Leia is smart, through harsh experience; don't tell her Han said so!

"Clear skies, Pag." That really got me, when Luke was finally able to release his guilt.

 

Excelllent job getting into Luke's head. You really showed the friendship of all these people thrown together in a tough job.

 

The ending gives the reader the feeling that Luke has come to terms with the fact that sometimes you can't do anything to prevent a tragedy. Survivors guilt is something that can be lived through. I really enjoyed this fic.

 

I loved the interplay between Han and Luke and Luke and Leia. They really needed each other. I'm so glad he was able to talk to Leia and get all those doubts out. They were crippling him more than the actual injuries.

Loved this.

Luke looked at her, and forced a smile. ?How?d you get so wise, anyway??

Leia didn?t return the smile. ?The hard way.?

Luke hated seeing that pain in her eyes, though it was often there. He stood and hugged her. She put her arms around him. He didn?t think she was a person who hugged easily most of the time ? she was more like Han than either of them realised, in that respect ? but she held Luke tightly now, and let him hold her.

For a while it didn?t matter who they were, princess or fighter pilot, Jedi or leader. There was pain and loss and hope and faith, and there was the two of them, and the endless silent halls of ice.

That was enough.

Luke found for the first time since the crash, he didn?t feel cold.

Great job.

 

loved it.

 

Wonderful ending! I really enjoyed this- the characters were all well written and the story flowed nicely. Good work.

 

Bravo!

Excellent story and wonderfully written! This will be put in my Favorite Stories list!!

 

Sorry about the lateness of these replies. DRL has not been friendly this month. *glares at DRL*

Jade_eyes: Thanks so much for reading.

Golden_Jedi: I?m delighted that the characters came across well. Thank you!

Blue_Milkshake: *blush* Thank you!

dancing_star: Thank you very much! Glad you enjoyed it.

Abeja: Thank you.

VaderLVR64: Really glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading!

Bri_Windstar: What a lovely piece of feedback. Thank you so much. I know what you mean about missing the friendship between Luke, Leia and Han; that closeness was such an essential part of the movies, and yet the EU has more or less killed it. Stupid EU. Thanks again for the reply.

snowspeeder_gunner: Thank you. Glad Luke?s character was believable for you, too. With everything he?s going through, it?s important that he comes across clearly.

dm1: I find Leia difficult to write compared to other characters, so I?m glad you liked her characterisation. Thanks for reading!

RebelMom: Thank you.

StarFighter5: I?m glad to hear it. Thanks for reading, and for the feedback.

dianethx: I think that Leia, Luke and Han do kind of complement one another, particularly in those early days. They each bring different qualities to the mix that are equally important. Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading.

Tatooine_Ghost: Glad to hear that.

alhana_antilles: Thank you very much!

Angelmine_29: Thank you!

 

I went back to reread this and found that I'd never replied. So here's an up for you, my dear. I hope some new readers discover this gem.

This is really a beautiful piece. You capture the OT feel so very well, and show us new depths to Luke himself and the whole Luke/Han/Leia dynamic. Luke's emotional development throughout rings fantastically true; I felt like I was within his skin, feeling the same fears and doubts and regrets he did. I especially love Han's insights into Luke's unvoiced thoughts about having a fling to distract himself. It's very like Han to pick up on that, and it was a stroke of genius to have him thwart the nascent plan. He's right, Luke would only feel worse afterward. That tactic just wouldn't work for him.

The whole story is just gorgeous. It was wonderful to get back inside the OT with something so well written. I hope the OT muse speaks for you again some time.

 

I was sure I'd replied to this - but I didn't! Yikes.

He headed to the mess hall for a late meal in the evening. Nakari entered after he?d found a seat and made as though to join him at his table, but Han appeared out of nowhere to take the chair opposite Luke. ?Sorry, sweetheart,? he said, with a smirk in Nakari?s direction, ?seat?s taken.?

Nakari shrugged, unconcerned, and went to sit with her squadron mates.

?Han,? Luke said warily. ?What are you doing??

?Sorry, kid,? Han said, sounding anything but. ?If you were anyone else, I?d say go for it. I know you, though. It won?t work. You?ll just end up feeling worse.?

?I don?t know what you?re talking about.?

?Sure you don?t.?
Oh my! That was brilliant - and SO like Han. What a gem he is.

The dialogue between Han and Luke was perfect: minimalist and yet it made me feel quite emotional because of the humanity behind Han's efforts.

The chat with Leia was wonderful. You have this ability to capture the rhythm of their voices - if that makes sense. When I read it I find the phrasing sounds like the voices we know. It's a most amazing gift you have to be able to do that.

I loved the point you had Leia make about faith and how it relates to the Force.

And then ending was perfect. Again it felt so in-character and also so real. I can't say enough about this story but I'm so glad you wrote it.

 

Well, I've been meaning to read this for about a gazillion years, sorry for the delay.

What a beautifully written story. I like the fact that there were no galaxies to conquer, no critical plans to execute, just a lovely character-driven story showing how Luke grew to become the Jedi he was later in ROTJ. It was very well done, and I thought that your portrayal of Han Solo was incredibly spot-on.

I really enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing!