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Toryn Farr was walking by the main hangar bay when the alarms went off. As she tried to ascertain the cause of the alarm, a medical team rushed past her into the hangar. Toryn was off-duty and had been heading to her quarters after her shift, but anyone would stop to see what was happening. And her sister, Samoc, was a pilot—Toryn wanted to make sure she was alright.
Upon entering the bay, Toryn stayed off to the side, not wanting to get in the way of a potential emergency. The large hangar was bustling, as the med team got into position and mechanics and droids were hastily dragging an X-Wing off to the side. Clearly, something urgent and unexpected was happening. Toryn spotted a tech she knew, a friend of Samoc’s, and walked over.
“Hey, Lua, what’s happening? Was there an accident involving any of the pilots or something?” Toryn asked.
“No,” Lua replied. “Apparently there’s an unscheduled ship coming in. I don’t know all the details, and don’t quote me on this,” Lua lowered his voice, “but the scuttlebutt is it’s the Millennium Falcon.”
“The Falcon!” Toryn exclaimed. “That’s wonderful—she’s been missing since Hoth!”
Lua raised his hands. “Don’t get too excited there. Could just be a rumor, but we should know in about five minutes or so.”
Toryn stepped back to give the hangar staff space, but her mind was buzzing. The Falcon! The defeat at Hoth had been devastating, and the loss of three of the Alliance’s most well-known and well-liked heroes in Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo had been a huge blow to morale. People had kept up hope that they had just been delayed in making the rendezvous, but as the weeks crawled by, that hope had faded. If Captain Solo and the princess had managed to survive on the Falcon, it would be huge.
And, if nothing else, their absence had killed the rumor mill. Gossip helped pass the interminable periods of war where nothing happened, and the princess and Captain Solo’s interpersonal drama was the stuff of legend. Toryn knew that if anyone would have kept the princess safe, it would have been Solo. She couldn’t wait to tell Samoc.
As the minutes passed, a ship appeared in the distance and slowly approached the hangar bay door. It looked about the right size, Toryn figured. The alarm klaxons quieted and were replaced by the regular sounds of the hangar bay. The ship eased through the force field protecting the bay, and Toryn beamed as she recognized the Falcon. A cheer broke out among the hangar bay staff, as the ships’ repulsorlifts fired and the ship landed. Finally, some good news!
Well, maybe not entirely good news, Toryn corrected herself, as she watched the medical team get into position at the bottom of the Falcon’s descending ramp. A handsome, dark-haired man she didn’t recognize came into view first, with his arms around a wounded man. It took Toryn a second to realize it was Commander Skywalker. He was clearly injured, but he was up and walking, which had to be a good sign, Toryn hoped. The medical team swarmed around the pair, and Luke was pushed onto a stretcher and immediately taken out. Toryn noticed in horror that Luke had an apparatus around his wrist and was missing a hand. What had they been through in the past few weeks? And hadn’t Luke been in his X-Wing? Samoc had told her that. How did he end up on the Falcon?
Her attention was diverted by the other figures on the landing ramp. The droids that were always shadowing Luke and Leia came down, followed by the imposing figure of Chewbacca. Chewie stopped at the bottom of the ramp, waiting for someone. Princess Leia and Captain Solo must be last, Toryn thought excitedly. The rumor mill was about to ramp up again. She wished Samoc was here to see this too.
Princess Leia came down the ramp, her head bowed. Chewbacca gruffed softly at her and put a hand on her shoulder. The princess squeezed his hand before turning and pressing the close button on the bottom of the Falcon’s ramp. The ramp began lifting up; clearly there was no one else coming.
Toryn was confused for a moment, before realizing. Oh, no, she thought. No, no, no. But any doubts Toryn might have had were dispelled the second she caught a glimpse of the devastation on the princess’ face. It felt so unfair—to Captain Solo, to the princess, and (obviously less so, but still) to all the people like herself who’d gotten so caught up in their relationship. They had all deserved some happiness.
Eighteen months later saw Toryn Farr in a much different place, literally and figuratively. It was a cool night on Chandrila, and Toryn enjoyed a quiet moment to herself, leaning against a large column on a balcony. Behind her, the reception room was humming with people and soft music. She had forgotten exactly what this particular reception was for—there had been so many in the months following the Battle of Endor and the New Republic establishing itself on Chandrila. And she knew there was still work to be done and battles to be fought. But with Palpatine gone, it was only time until the remnants of the Empire were subdued. Toryn let herself enjoy the peace, both in the quiet night air, and in the galaxy at large.
But Toryn’s peace was interrupted by the crash of a potted plant toppling over and a woman’s laughter. It was a large balcony, and she was off to one side, so the interlopers presumably had no idea she was there.
“That was your fault!” The woman’s voice insisted.
“Me?!?” A man retorted.
“I haven’t had anything to drink! You’re the one who’s tipsy.” The voices sounded familiar, but Toryn couldn’t quite place them.
“Two glasses of wine doesn’t count as tipsy, sweetheart,” the man drawled, followed by the woman’s laughter again. The couple went quiet for a moment, and Toryn was about to discreetly leave the balcony when she placed the man’s voice. Han Solo. Of course, she laughed to herself. That man was many things, but subtle was not one of them. That could only mean the woman was the princess.
“We really should clean this up,” the voice that Toryn now recognized as Princess Leia said. Toryn didn’t want to intrude on their privacy, of course, but she was afraid she’d lost the chance to make a quiet exit.
Han scoffed. “I’ll get a droid to do it, don’t worry. These things are more fun when you’ve had a few drinks too.”
“That’s also your fault,” the princess said.
Wait… Toryn thought, was she implying…? There's usually only one reason a woman’s not drinking, and Han Solo would definitely be the cause in this case. Toryn really needed to leave before she was awkwardly revealed, but she also had to hear what they said next. She hadn’t sat through all those fights on Hoth to miss this.
“Hey,” Han’s tone turned more serious, “when can we announce it? I’m going to slip up and mention it at some point. It’s all I can think about.”
“I know,” Leia soothed. “Not much longer. With this reception out of the way, I was thinking next week? After the next doctor’s appointment.”
“Alright,” Han agreed. “I can’t wait to see Mothma’s face when she realizes I knocked you up.”
Toryn screamed internally. She desperately wished Samoc, or any member of Rogue Squadron, or anyone who had been stationed on Hoth was with her so they could hyperventilate together.
“Promise me you’ll let me be there when you tell all the bigwigs,” Han continued.
“Because you want to be a supportive husband, or because you want to see the chaos you have wrought?” Leia asked.
“Why not both?” Han said, and Toryn could practically hear his trademark smirk. They went quiet again and Toryn realized this was her chance to escape. She peeked around her column—yep, definitely distracted. Toryn snuck around the opposite side of the column away from the preoccupied couple and slipped into the shadows until she was back in the reception hall.
Toryn laughed and shook her head. Those two. Everyone who lived through the war had been through hell, though by all accounts Han and Leia had had particularly bad luck. She was genuinely thrilled for them and their obvious happiness. She picked up a glass of wine and made a private toast to the newest member of the New Republic. Toryn started looking for the exit; she couldn’t wait to get home. She had no intention of violating the princess’ privacy (more than she already inadvertently had); this was not her secret to announce, of course. But she had to tell Samoc NOW.