video | piracy 101

[straightouttacarbonite]

Who: Han Solo... solo. shut up it was funny in my mind
Broadcast: Yep, to anyone who will listen
Action: not really but he's probably around the Caprine if you want him
When: a couple days into the drift



[ sup Fleet. Han is somewhere on his ship, though it's hard to see much over his shoulder. He looks fairly normal and maybe a little bit bored. ]

So the thing about trafficking stolen cargo-- not that I'm doing that or saying we should do that-- is, it's pretty pointless to steal something no one wants to buy. I guess it happens, if you don't know what you're getting.

I'm sure there's a black market for ribbon somewhere...

[ He looks a little perplexed, not troubled, just deep in thought. ]

I mean, there's gotta be, right?

Comments

[straightouttacarbonite]

[ Even Han, who is not exactly a champion of emotional nuance and subtlety, can guess that it might be hard to explain to him, particularly. If they're-- well, whatever they might be-- he should just get it. Cynic though he is, Han remembers what that's like, that feeling.

Even when he tries not to. ]

Last I checked you were complaining about that.

[ Look, he can't help himself. It's a tease, a little bit, but it's strange to think his lack of respect for her theoretical authority is going to win her over. ]

[oratorical]

[Teasing is normal, teasing helps things feel less odd with explaining their relationship to Han, who, from her view, has been there and knows all of this already. Except here he doesn't. Here it's all new to him and no doubt just as difficult to imagine as it would be to her if their roles were reversed.]

There's a difference between treating me as a person and deliberately not listening to directives for no reason other than stubbornness.

[straightouttacarbonite]

Hey, I have plenty of reasons.

[ Stubbornness is just one! ]

I guess Cyrkon goes okay?

[oratorical]

[Leia just. Raises her eyebrows at that. Because sure he might have a few reasons sometimes maybe. He might even occasionally have a point or be right in his arguments. But also Leia insists most of that is stubbornness.]

It does, yes. Lieutenant Ematt was rescued and returned to us successfully. Though I'm sure there are details from the mission you left out of your report.

[straightouttacarbonite]

What makes you say that?

[ It's probably true. Who knows. He hasn't got a clue what's gonna happen. But this is mostly about figuring her out, right? ]

[oratorical]

High command doesn't always need every detail. Sometimes there are minor rough patches that are better off left unexplained.

[and she says this as part of high command. Oops. But she's done this herself to make missions seem less risky and to not end up functionally grounded and driving herself insane, so she's sure Han has done the same just as often.]

[straightouttacarbonite]

[ She's got a point, there. This job doesn't sound like it's gonna go off without a hitch. He'd ask himself why he took this job, but... well. ]

And then I just took another job?

[oratorical]

We offered, and you accepted.

[There's more to it, probably, but at least at first it was a matter of needing a skilled pilot she felt she could trust. From there it was less an offer and more Han just sticking around.]

You've been a big help to us, with the missions you've been on.

[straightouttacarbonite]

Clearly.

[ Just because she apparently likes him and he maybe likes her doesn't mean he's not still a giant walking bag of ego.

And he still doesn't quite get it. He likes her-- she's fiery, and that usually gets to him-- but he never would have guessed he likes her enough to get so embroiled in the war.

Maybe something happened on Cyrkon, but he can't imagine what. ]

[oratorical]

[That answer is just so very Han, despite their time differences, that Leia can't help the slight upturn of her lips. Arrogant and cocky, to an almost annoying extent at times, is something she doesn't think he'll ever lose. She shakes her head, keeping her amusement to herself for now, before continuing on.]

Was there more you wanted to know?

[straightouttacarbonite]

[ When she looks at him like that, it almost makes sense that he's stuck around so long. ]

I don't even know what I want to know.

[ You can't really deal with this kind of thing logically, no matter how you try. ]

Is there more that you think I should?

[oratorical]

[She's sympathetic, certainly, even if she can't fully imagine what it's like having something this heavy seemingly dumped on you out of nowhere. And it's just as hard for her to come up with what she thinks he should know, when there's so much she's sure she subconsciously already expects him to know.

She's silent for a moment, thinking on what he might want to know, or what sort of thing she'd want to know if they were reversed.]

After you started staying with us nearly full time, we go on more than a few missions together. That's a lot to explain, though.

[straightouttacarbonite]

[ He leans forward a bit, elbows on the table between them. ]

So tell me one good thing, from one of them.

[oratorical]

[Leia doesn't pull back as Han leans forward, but she does have enough self control and self awareness to not lean forward herself.

But picking one good thing, that's hard. There were a lot of missions that were frustratingly bad--Ord Mantell, or the time they got trapped on some old smuggler hideout planet--and it's even harder to decide whether he means a mission that went well, or something between them going along well. She looks lost in thought for a moment before deciding on one that she has a feeling he'd find interesting.]

We hijacked a Star Destroyer once. You weren't too bad of a partner on that.

[...despite the whole race to be the first to the bridge between the two of them.]

[straightouttacarbonite]

[ He can't help it, his eyes kind of light up at that. Even if flying a Star Destroyer probably isn't much fun, that's a hell of a fight to take on. ]

Just the two of us?

[oratorical]

[That's the sort of reaction she wanted to see. It's nice reassurance that she picked a good example to share.]

There were a few others, but they were responsible for other parts of the ship. We took on the bridge.

[straightouttacarbonite]

I can see why I'd come along on one like that.

[ bit of a joke, he knows he must already have been all in, more or less. ]

[oratorical]

Well, you've never been quiet about your talents.

[Whether he's joking or not, Leia's answer, as light as her tone may be, is the truth. Han is very far from modest when it comes to his piloting and other skills.]

[straightouttacarbonite]

[ Life is too short to be modest.

And really, it seems like she likes cocky. He can't help smirking. ]

Doesn't sound so bad.

[oratorical]

[She doesn't smirk, exactly, but she does manage a small, slightly amused smile in return.]

It's been pretty good, most of the time.

[straightouttacarbonite]

We should try to keep that up.

[oratorical]

[It's a positive reaction, and one that's far beyond the bare minimum she expected from this conversation. Which is to say, she's taking this as a good sign that Han isn't put off by the changes in their relationship he hasn't experienced yet and isn't going to avoid her or anything of that nature because of that.]

I'd like that. Especially while the both of us are here.

[It's easier, she's sure, to deal with all the weirder aspects of the Fleet while having someone you know and like around.]

[straightouttacarbonite]

[ It does, absolutely, scare the hell out of him. That's not the same as putting him off, exactly. It's a lot, though.

And it's gonna stay a lot, no matter what he does, so he might as well make the best of it, try to figure out what it is that brings him back to her. ]

Then I guess we've got a plan.

[ which he actually has no clue about, how to put it into action. It's been a while since he was willing to even think about anything serious with anyone, and it's not like he's ever courted a princess before, that he knows of.

But it sounds like a good plan anyway. ]