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Han’s shoulder was going to feel that the next morning.
He winced as he pushed himself off the ground, pretending that his efforts to soothe the shoulder he’d landed on was just wiping the dust and dirt away.
Not the most embarrassing way he’d been kicked out of a saloon, but still, it was a good thing Chewie wasn’t here to laugh at him about it. Though, if Chewie had been here, then the saloon owner never would’ve gotten his hands on Han to toss him out in the first place; the owner was a burly guy, but he had nothing on a Wookiee.
But Chewie couldn’t walk into a town like this. Oh, the two of them could handle the shootouts with the “hunting parties” looking to bag themselves a Wookiee to stuff and mount on the wall, easy, but they weren’t gonna get any work that way. So Chewie stayed with the horses, and Han never gave any details about his partner when signing them onto jobs.
He hated these “human-only” towns. By far the most unpleasant beings he ever had to deal with. And the saloon owner currently glaring down at him was no exception.
“You’re not welcome here anymore, Solo.”
Han spread his hands out. “Hey, they started it.”
“There’s been more fights in my saloon since you arrived as there’d been in months,” the owner said. “You’re nothin’ but trouble, Solo. A scoundrel and a low-life. Go drag yourself over to those animal dens in the west; it’s all the likes of you can find a livin’ at.”
“Low-life‽” Han said as the owner disappeared back into the building. Like that saloon wasn’t full of ‘em! They weren’t any better than him just because they wouldn’t give the time of day to a Rodian or a Duros.
Plenty happy to put their hands on a Twi’lek when their wives weren’t looking, though.
Anyway, Han would’ve taken one of those “animal den” towns over this one, any day. Except fewer and fewer of them were outside Jabba’s territory now, and well. Han didn’t like his chances on Jabba’s territory at the moment.
“You’re Han Solo?”
Han turned – too quickly, ouch – to find that there had apparently been a witness to his embarrassing exit (aside from everyone inside, that was).
The woman wasn’t anyone local, Han would’ve bet both horses on it. She was dressed like someone who had money, when they didn’t want to advertise that they had money – clothes plain and suited for traveling, but new, fitted, and nice enough not to have any sign of patching. She held herself like someone of status, too, though oddly unaccompanied despite that. Beautiful, too, or she would be if she wasn’t looking at him with an incredibly unimpressed expression.
Probably not a bounty hunter, even if it sounded like she was looking for him specifically. Han was willing to chance it, if he could potentially get a job from someone with means.
“That’s me,” he said, aiming for careless charm. “What’s a lady like you doing in a town like this?”
The attempt at charm fell flat, if anything her expression becoming only more unimpressed. Then again, she had just seen him get tossed out of a saloon, so Han was a little at a disadvantage here.
“My brother suggested that you could be relied on for…alternative post delivery,” she said, and didn’t even bother to lower her voice for the next sentence. “Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve questioned his judgment.”
Han scowled. She was lucky he didn’t have anything else lined up, because he wasn’t keen on being insulted for no damn reason.
“If there’s money in it, sweetheart, I can get anything to anywhere, faster than anyone else this side of the country. But I don’t do charity.”
“You’ll be paid, of course,” she said. Han thought she could’ve stood to sound less like it was an inconvenience.
“Good. What’s the job?”
“Not here.”
Great, one of the secretive ones. Han mentally increased his price estimates.
“Tomorrow,” she continued. “We can meet to discuss the job, preferably outside of town.”
Well, at least she was letting him set the location. He gave her a spot, not quite where he and Chewie had set up camp.
“My partner will be there,” Han said, because he was, frankly, tired of dodging around to get a job.
“My brother told me as much,” she said. “Actually, I wasn’t sure it was you, at first; he implied you were rather inseparable. Which is why I was surprised to find you in a place like this.”
That mysterious brother again. Han had done a lot of jobs, though, so he didn’t have any idea who could’ve recommended him. Sounded like she knew about Chewie, at least.
“Yeah? This brother tell you to find me here? I don’t tend to advertise where I’m going,” Han said.
“No,” she said. “I’m very good at finding people.”
Han briefly reconsidered his assessment of her likelihood of being a bounty hunter, then considered that a bounty hunter would’ve shot him while he’d been on the ground.
“You gonna give me a name, at least?”
She gave him that look like he was inconveniencing her again, but answered, “my name is Leia Organa.”
That didn’t spark any memories of clients, but “Organa” did sound familiar.
“Organa’s one of the city bigwigs, isn’t it?” Han said. “You’re a long way from home, princess. I certainly don’t remember dealing with any of you before.”
She rolled her eyes at him. Some proper high-class lady she was.
Though, it was a point in her favor that she was who she said she was. A faker would’ve played up the proper lady act. Leia acted like someone who didn’t have to care about what anyone thought she was.
“You wouldn’t,” she said, without elaboration. “And yes, my father is a “city bigwig”, as you put it. So you needn’t be concerned whether I have enough to pay you for your discretion.”
“Best thing you’ve told me all evening, princess. But you’d better not be wasting my time. Be there tomorrow.”
“Don’t you worry about that, either,” she said, and left without another word.
Han figured he’d better head out, too. He had a shoulder that had only ached more the more he stood there, talking, and he had a Wookiee to fill in.
.
.
“She didn’t say what the goods were?”
“No, was real circumspect about it. You know the type. If she didn’t look like she was made of money, I would’ve just walked away.” Han winced as Chewie applied more bacta to Han’s shoulder – apparently it’d gotten a bit more banged up than he’d thought, and even a Wookiee’s “gentle” touch was a bit much on human skin. “I’m thinking arms, not drugs. She seems the type.”
Chewie was silent a moment, moving on to dressing the wounds.
“Organa is a good man, I’ve heard,” Chewie said with a contemplative growl.
“Well, we’re not dealing with the man,” Han grumbled. “We’re dealing with the girl. And apparently a brother, before.”
“I’ve never heard of Organa having a son. Just the one daughter.”
“Well, you keep up with that sort of thing better than I do. You think she’s lying about who she is? But she does act like a comfortably rich lady who got tired of the city life and ran off to become a warlord or something.”
Chewie laughed in the way that he did when he was laughing at Han. “I think you’re jumping to some conclusions. We still don’t know if she’s having us smuggle arms. She could just be lying about who referred her to us.”
That was probably a more likely explanation, Han could admit.
“Well, whatever it is, she better not yank us around so much tomorrow. We need the job, but I’m not putting up with any bullshit.”
.
.
Han’s shoulder was sore in the morning.
But he kept the grumbling to a minimum because Chewie would just laugh at him for getting thrown out again as he and Chewie packed up the campsite. If Leia’s job offer came through, then they’d need to get started as soon as possible, and if not; well, they’d have to leave and find work elsewhere, regardless.
When they were done, they rode over to the meeting area, and dismounted. Leia rode up soon after, on a fancier, well-bred horse.
When she joined them on foot, a satchel slung over her shoulder, Han spoke up.
“Gonna tell us what the job is now?”
“That is the idea,” Leia said. “You’re not a very patient man, Mr. Solo.”
“Patience doesn’t pay the bills.”
Leia sighed, and reached into her satchel. But she never got the chance to show them, as gunfire rang out overhead.
Han swore, and ducked for cover. He’d chosen this place for a reason – its defensible position – but he’d really hoped not to have to rely on it. Who the hell was shooting at them anyway? The townsfolk figure out he had a Wookiee with him?
He returned fire alongside Chewie, and saw that Leia was getting off some shots of her own. She was a pretty good shot, Han noted with reluctant admiration. Then, through the smoke and dust, he noticed something else.
What the hell were Imperials doing here‽ This wasn’t Jabba’s territory, but Han thought Jabba and the Empire had a sort of understanding, one with a wide buffer zone. These townsfolk were the sort that liked the Empire, but more in that distant sort of way that had no real official presence. Certainly not soldiers.
“Chewie! On your left!”
The last shot rang out, and for a moment there was just silence and smoke.
Han rounded on Leia.
“What the hell was all that about? I’ve no loyalty to the Empire, but they’ve got no reason to come after me and Chewie. What kind of job have you gotten us into?”
“I thought I’d avoided them,” Leia said, not answering the question. “That must’ve been a lucky patrol. We need to get out of here before more show up, unless you want to get shot at again.”
“I’m not part of this!” Han said. “You deal with your Imperial troubles; I never accepted your job that I still know nothing about!”
“You’re involved now whether you like it or not,” she said. “You think they didn’t send someone off to report before they started firing on us?”
Han growled out a wordless noise of frustration.
“Han, her horse was shot dead in that firefight. She’ll have to come with us, regardless. We can’t leave her here.”
Han thought they very well could. But they didn’t have the time to argue about it.
“Triple pay,” he said to Leia instead. “Minimum. And a damn good explanation for all this.” He loosed the horses.
“I’m riding with the Wookiee,” Leia said.
“Fine,” Han said sharply. He already wasn’t in a good mood, and now that the adrenaline of the fight was fading, his shoulder was complaining even more. Something that was only going to be exacerbating by a high speed escape on horseback.
It was a hard ride, as they rode into the wilderness and tried to put as much distance between them and any Imperial forces wandering around out here. But eventually, hours later, they had to stop.
Leia tossed him a good amount of credits. Not enough to make up for this, but something.
“Call that advance pay,” she said. “You’ll get the rest after delivery.”
“Seems this turned into more of an escort than a delivery. You still haven’t told me what I’m delivering, or to who.”
She reached into her satchel again, and pulled out a small cube. On first glance, it looked like some art piece of no particular import, but then Han started to recognize some of the designs on it.
Chewie made a low noise in his throat. “That’s…”
Han groaned. He would’ve rather this’ve been about stealing arms from the Empire. They’d be less likely to torture him for that.
“A Jedi artifact. You’re getting me mixed up in Jedi stuff, now‽”
That did answer the question of Leia’s brother, though. Han had only ever met two Jedi, and he doubted it was the old man.
Great. Just great.
“You know where to find them,” she said. “Money is no concern. Just get this back with the people it belongs to.”
“Why don’t you do it yourself?” Han asked. “Aren’t you one, if your brother is a Jedi?”
“I’m not,” Leia said without elaboration. “And it’s better that the Empire doesn’t know that we have any relation. A lot of people would suffer for it.”
Han looked at her skeptically, wondering if he was going to wake up in the morning to find things floating around the campsite.
She stared steadily back, eyes set and hard. Reluctantly, Han understood that she was taking a big risk telling him all this. It didn’t change the fact that he’d really wished she hadn’t.
“We do owe him,” Chewie reminded him.
Not that they had much of a choice anyway. “We’ll take the job,” Han said.
If there was any silver lining in this, it was that he’d have enough to pay off his debts after this. If they didn’t get caught and tortured and executed by the Empire, that was.
But Han was absolutely going to chew Luke out for siccing his firebrand of a sister on him.