Episode IV S : The Rebel Retreat - COMPLETED

VI

It was no surprise that Renn Tharen expected the same thing out of Han Solo that his niece, Eris, did. Han didn't seem to be respected that much on Corellia. He didn't want to admit it, but it made sense. The time he had spent on the planet had been nothing but robberies and begging on the streets. He worked hard for his life, but got into a lot of trouble when he was younger. When he finally got out of the system, he realized he needed his own ship. Renn had helped him with it because of Bria, but once it was ready to go, Han had undercut him and taken most of Renn's droids as a starting crew on the Millennium Falcon.

"Trouble? Well, it's a long story, really..."Solo stammered.

Han tried to play it off cool. He knew Renn had never forgiven him for taking off as he did. He was worried that the term 'friend' wasn't the best to use.

Renn Tharen heaved a sigh and folded his arms in his cloak. Luke kept his gaze on the old man; he reminded him of Obi-Wan Kenobi with the way he stood and his choice of wardrobe. The dark brown cloak just barely grazed the ground in the wind. It made sense on the warm planet, just as it did on Tatooine; the light fabric kept the debris away, along with the heat.

Artoo beeped a few times, agreeing with Luke's thoughts.

"Yes, Artoo," Luke whispered to the droid at his hip. "But he's not a Kenobi."

"A Kenobi?!" Threepio gasped, his robotic voice breaking at a high tone in surprise.

"No," Luke chuckled, trying to quiet the droid. "Just the same clothing, that's all."

Han looked at the ground in annoyance at Luke's side comments; he had been muttering something about Obi-Wan and the Force since he witnessed his mentor being assassinated by Darth Vader on the Death Star before they escaped with Leia. He never believed in that Jedi stuff, but it was starting to make more sense to him as of late.

"There's always a long story," Renn grumbled, finally replying to Han.

Solo shrugged and took a deep breath as he said, "Have I ever not been able to get out of it?"

Renn studied him for a moment and then relaxed. "I suppose you're right," he told his old friend. "But your luck might run out one day, Solo."

"Well, that's the thing..." Han lead on, hoping Renn would ease up on him.

"What? Run out of money again?" Tharen could sense Han's troubled mind.

"We're on our way to Naboo and we need a ship," Leia interrupted. "The rest of the Rebllion is waiting, and Han has lost his ship."

She was getting impatient with the banter back and forth between Han and Renn. They needed to meet with their scouts on the new planet before the Imperials tracked them down.

Han immediately turned towards Leia and gave her a look that dared to ask why she had blurted out all of that information. Then, it hit him. She had accused him of losing his ship.

"Watch it, Princess!" he ordered.

Chewie gargled a defensive yell as Leia accused his companion of misplacing the Falcon. He was obviously upset with her putting him in the spotlight as the bad guy, even though he was the one who had let the ship slip from his grasp. When he stepped forward, though, Han made sure he remembered that.

"You stay out of this, too, fur ball," Solo told him as he pointed a finger in his direction.

"Naboo?" Renn asked. "What's on Naboo?"

Han was thankful; Renn didn't bother to ask where the Falcon was. Instead, he asked about the other thing he didn't have an answer to.