Part 21 (1/2)
”I'll be there in two days,” Bria promised.
Five days 'after Jiliac's death, Han Solo and Chewbacca visited Han's favorite tavern in the Corellian section of Nar Shaddaa. The Blue Light didn't serve food, only liquor, and it was just a little hole in the wall, but Han liked the place. There were holo-posters on the wall that depicted famous landmarks on CoreIlia. And the management served Han~ favorite brand of Alder-aanian ale.
The bartender, Mich Flenn, was an aging Corellian who had been a smuggler until he'd accrued enough credits to buy the bar. Han enjoyed hearing his yarns about the old days, though he had to take everything the old geezer said with a big grain of salt. After all, who ever heard of sentients with strange powers who could leap ten meters into the air and turn somersaults, or project blue lightning from their fingertips?
Han and Chewie stopped by there most evenings. This particular one, they were standing at the bar, side by side, sipping their drinks, listening to another of Michk tall tales. The Corellian was dimly aware that someone came in during the story and stood beside him, but he did not turn to glance at the newcomer.
Michk tale was a long one, wilder than ever, about a sentient tree that had once been a powerful sorcerer, and a race of beings who transferred their essence into battle-droids in order to become the perfect fighting force.
Finally Mich ran down, and Han shook his head. ”Mich, that was a real doozy. You oughta write all the stories down and sell 'era to the tridee producers. They're always lookin' for crazy stuff like that for their shows.”
Chewie voiced an emphatic agreement.
Mich grinned at Han, then began polis.h.i.+ng a gla.s.s industriously and addressed the newcomer. ”And what will you have, pretty lady?”
Han reflexively glanced to his right to see the person Mich was addressing-and froze, startled. B ria !
At first he told himself he was seeing things, that it was just a chance resemblance, then lie heard her speak in that low, slightly husky voice he remembered. ”Just some Vishay water, please, Mich.” Itk her. Bria. Itk really her.
Slowly she turned her head, and their gazes locked. Hank heart was hammering, though he was pretty sure his face was under control. All those sabacc games had taught him something.
She hesitated, then said, ”Hi, Han.”
He wet his lips. 'iHi, Bria.” He stared at her, then a sudden movement from Chewie made him remember his pa~ner. ”And this is Chewbacca, my partner.”
”Greetings, Chewbacca,” she said carefully, speaking in almost pa.s.sable Wookiee-obviously she'd been coached by Ralrracheen. ”I am honored to meet you.”
The Wookiee voiced an uncertain greeting, obviously wondering what was going on. ”Uh,” Han said, ”long time no see.”
She nodded gravely at the ridiculous understatement. ”I came to see you,” she said. ”Could we sit down and talk for a minute?”
Hank emotions were mixed, to say the least. Part of him wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her until she was breathless, another part wanted to shake her while screaming curses and accusations at her. Still an- other part wanted to just turn around and walk away, prove to her that she meant nothing to him-nothing{ But he found himself nodding. ”Sure.” As tie moved to pick up his mug, Chewie laid a hand on his arm, and growled softly at him.
Hah gazed up at his partner, grateful for Chew-baccak sensitivity. He would rather talk to Bria by him-self. ”Okay, pal. I'll see you at home, later on.”
Chewie gave Bria a nod, then left the Blue Light. Picking up his mug of ale, Hah led the way to a booth in the rear of the dimly lit, nearly empty bar.
Watching Bria approach and then slide in opposite him, he got a good look at her for the first time. She was wearing tan fatigues, military in style, though they bore no insignia or indications of rank. Her hair was pulled up and slicked back in a severe style. Han couldn't de-cide whether it was cropped short, or just worn in a tight bun.
She wore no jewelry. A well-worn BlasTech DL-18 (Han's own weapon of choice was the heavier BlasTeeh DL-44) in a tie-down holster rode her right thigh, low down, the way he liked to wear his own. Her gunbelt was studded with extra power paks and bore a vibro-blade in a sheath. From the slight bulge in the top of her boot, Hah was willing to bet she had an auxiliary weapon cached there.
As she sat there, regarding him, Han struggled to find words, but all he could do was look at her, hardly able to believe she was actually there, that this wasn't some dream-or nightmare.
She was staring at him, too, her eyes searching his features. Bria started to speak, stammered, and then took a deep breath. ”I'm sorry,” she said. ”For sta~ling you. I should have said something, but my mind went blank. There didn't seem to be anything I could say.” ”You came here looking for me?” Hah asked.
”Yes. When I saw your friend last month, he said this was one of your favorite hangouts. I... I took a chance you'd be here tonight.”
”You're here on Nar Shaddaa on business?”
”Yes. Staying in those rooms above the Smuggler's Rest.” She smiled wryly. ”It's even sleazier than that place we stayed that night on Coruscant.”
ttan's dazed brain was slowly beginning to function again, and his anger was building. He remembered that sleazy little hotel on Coruscant. That had been their last night together. He remembered falling asleep . . . and he remembered waking up alone, abandoned.
Suddenly his hand shot out, and he grabbed her wrist tightly, feeling the shock of touching her flesh throughout his body. Her slender bones felt so delicate in his hand... as though he could just snap them. And he was almost angry enough to try. ”Why?” he said. ”Why, Bria? You think you can just walk back up to me a decade later? You gotta lot of nerve!”
She stared at him, her eyes narrowing. ”Hah, let go of me.”
”No,” he gritted. ”I'm not lettin' you go running off and leaving me with no answers this time!”
Hah wasn't sure exactly what she did-some un-armed combat trick, but there was a sudden twist, a jab in a nerve, and abruptly her hand was free, and his own was throbbing. He looked down at it, feeling his eyes widen, and then back up at her. ”You've changed,” he said. ”You have really changed.” He wasn't sure whether it was a compliment or an accusation.
”I had to change-or die,” she said, flatly. ”And don't worry, I'm not going to jump up and run away. I need to talk to you, and thatg exactly what I'm going to do. If you'll listen.”
He nodded, grudgingly. ”Okay. I'm listening.”
”First of all, let me tell you that I'm sorry for the way I left you. I'm sorry about a lot of things in my life, but that's the one I regret most,” she said. ”But I had to do it. Otherwise you'd have never made it through the Academy.”
”Fat lot of good it did me,” Hah said, bitterly. ”I got cas.h.i.+ered less than a year after getting my commission. Cas.h.i.+ered and blacklisted.”
”For rescuing a Wookiee slave,” she said, and smiled at him-a smile that made his heart lurch. ”I was so proud when I found that out, Hah.”
Han wanted to smile back, but the anger was still in control, and he found himself saying, ”I don't want you to be proud of me. I owe you nothin', sister. I did it all on my own.”
He could tell that gibe hurt her. Color stained her cheeks, and her eyes flashed, then, for a moment, it al-most seemed as though she were lighting back tears. Then her face was under control again, cold and chis-eled. ”I know that,” she said quietly. ”But I was still proud.”
”I hear you got a real thing for Wookiees yourself,” Han said, and the edge in his voice was sharp enough to draw blood. ”Or so Katarra and Ralera told me.”
”You were there? On Kashyyyk?” She smiled. ”I helped to organize the Resistance group there.”
”Yeah, I hear you're some kinda officer in the Corel-lian Resistance,” Han said.
”I'm a commander,” she confirmed, quietly.
Hah slanted her a look. ”Well, now, that~ impressive, ain't it? For a scared kid who'd never fired a blaster, you've come a long way, Bria.”
”I just did what I had to along the way,” she said. ”Promotions come fast in the Resistance. You should think about joining up, Hah.”
It was said lightly, but some nuance in her tone told Han she wasn't kidding. ”No thanks, sister,” he said. ”I've seen the Imp forces up close and personal. No way your Rebellionis got a chance against them.”
She shrugged. ”We have to try. Otherwise the Em-peror is going to swallow us all whole. He'S evil, Han. I think he engineered that whole business with the Battle of Nar Shaddaa just to get rid of Sam s.h.i.+ld.”
”Oh, yeah,” Hah said. ”Good old Sam s.h.i.+ld, 'Dar-ling' s.h.i.+ld, wasn't it? You made such a cute couple.”
She winced at the sarcasm. ”As I explained to Lando, that wasn't what it looked like.”
”It looked pretty bad, Bria,” Han said. ”Not one of my better days, you know? To see you there, cooing at him...”
Her lips tightened. ”I was on a.s.signment. I know how it looked, but s.h.i.+ld wasn't interested in me that way. I was lucky. But I've done things for tile Resistance I didn't much like... and I'll do them again if I have to. Whatever it takes.”