Star Wars: Wanderers

Prologue

Coronet City spaceport, Corellia
8 BBY

The mechanic finished tightening the last of the screws and extricated himself from under the ship. "She's all yours," he told the gangly youth standing by. "Keep in mind that if you wanna make any kind of living, you're gonna need to get a bigger ship."

"Thanks for the tip," Han Solo said, his eyes running down the length of the sleek one-man scout ship. It wasn't good for much besides getting off the planet, but that was all he wanted to do at the moment. He'd figure out the rest as he went along.

"I should pay you for it," he said suddenly, reaching into his pocket for some credits.

"No, son," his father said, for that he was. "Consider it an early birthday present."

The boy scowled. "My next birthday is seven standard months from now."

"A very early birthday present, then," Jasper chuckled. He looked at Han again and sighed. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"We've been over this, Dad," Han argued. "There's no way in hell I'm going to the Academy. They'd make me into a soldier of the line, virtually a slave to the Empire. I want to see the galaxy, but i want to do it on my own terms."

"You're a true Corellian, son," the elder Solo stated with pride. "Of course, once your mother finds out I let you go, she'll probably never speak to me again."

Han rolled his eyes. "She never did understand why I couldn't stay here forever."

"Mothers are like that," Jasper said, smiling wryly. His expression grew sad as he gazed at his son standing before him resolutely, so eager to go, yet so young to leave. He was sixteen already, just old enough for the Academy, so he was a man in the eyes of the Empire. But to Jasper he was a boy still, looking for adventure but knowing not what he sought. He reached out and put a hand on his son's shoulder, the most emotional gesture he was capable of. "Good luck, my son."

Han nodded and returned the gesture, then turned away and walked up the gangplank into his new ship. Jasper watched him go, and did not look away until his son was far away and the roar of the ship's engine could no longer be heard.

At last he sighed and turned away, gathering up his tools and catching a cab home. It was nearing dinnertime, and his wife would have returned from the Academy by now. Eliza Solo was deputy commandant of the Imperial Academy on Corellia, and she had never envisioned a future where her son would not enroll and one day command his own Imperial starship.

He sighed at the thought of the conversation he would now have to have. She would be angry that Han had disobeyed her, but distraught at the fact that he had left without saying goodbye.

He wouldn't even have said goodbye to his father, either, but Jasper had caught him as he was leaving the house. He'd been angry at first at Han's defiance, but seeing his son's determination gave him pause, and he decided to stop resisting his wanderlust and help him get a start on making his way in the galaxy, as was his role as father.

A role he should have fulfilled more often...

He was jolted out of his reverie by the cab suddenly coming to a stop.

"What's going on?" he demanded.

"Your guess is as good as mine," the cab driver said, shrugging. "But we can't interfere with Imperial business, so if you wanna go home we'll have to take the long way around."

"No we don't," Jasper argued. "My wife works at the Academy, that's probably just her ride home. I can get us into-"

He stopped, realizing that this wasn't his wife's usual escort. The black vehicles were unmarked, except for the Imperial logo on each side. In the center of each logo was the acronym ISB.

The Imperial Security Bureau, he realized suddenly. But what are they doing here? Liza usually doesn't have much business with-

Just then his front door opened, and out came two ISB officers, with two more behind them. In between the two pairs was a pair of stormtroopers, with Eliza between them, holding her head up defiantly. She spat on one of the troopers, and he kicked her roughly, causing her to lose her footing and tumble the rest of the way down the steps.

"Get in the back," the other trooper snarled, shoving her towards one of the waiting vans.

Jasper recovered from his shock just in time, and burst from the cab, waving his arms and yelling, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? That's my wife! Deputy Commandant Eliza Solo-"

"And traitor, spy, thief... the list goes on and on." the head ISB agent smiled. "I must admit, she was quite clever to have made it this far without attracting attention. But the ISB is good at what we do. We always sniff rebels out in the end."

Jasper spluttered wordlessly for several seconds before he found his voice. "Rebels?! What nonsense is this? I demand that you-"

"Jas, it's all right," Eliza sighed. "It's true. I was a spy for the Corellian Resistance since the beginning. I was trying to make connections with other rebel factions offworld, but one of them turned out to be this charming ISB officer here." She glared at the officer, who smiled thinly, his eyes glittering with cruel pleasure. The combined effect made him look like a snake.

Jasper looked at her blankly, struggling to comprehend her words. Han... she'd always wanted him to enter the Academy, to become an Imperial officer... why was she now on the other side of the fence? Although, if she was to be believed now, she'd been on the other side the whole time...

"But, but..." Jasper struggled to find his voice again. "You never said- you always-"

He stopped himself just in time. He couldn't mention Han in front of the ISB, even though they likely already knew she had a son as well as a husband. He was well offworld by now, and it was best for him to stay that way. He would be as safe as he could be, completely ignorant of what had befallen his mother. There was no chance of him being implicated in her rebel activities, now.

"Since you have already been cleared of any knowledge of your wife's treason, you are free to go," the ISB officer continued, still bearing that snakelike visage. "But you will be watched for some time, you understand. For your security, of course. So many rebels around, and one right under your roof! We must make sure the citizens of the Empire are safe."

"Of course," Jasper said mechanically. There was nothing he could do. What could anyone do, against the might of the ISB? They were everywhere. Escape was impossible. Rebellion was punished.

Harshly.

He looked at his wife again, painfully aware that this might be the last time. She looked back at him steadily, her face calm and composed. But there was a question in her eyes, one that burned to be answered.

He nodded almost imperceptibly, tilting his head upward, letting her know without words that Han was safe, that the ISB did not and would not have him in their clutches. "Goodbye, Liza," he said, barely managing to keep his voice from breaking. "We had a good run, at least for a while."

"We did," she said, smiling sadly. "Goodbye, dear husband. I hope you'll forgive me for my treason."
She turned away and walked alone into the back of the ISB van, without guard or shackles. Her wiry brown hair billowed in the wind just before the door slammed shut, cutting her off from him forever.

He stood there and watched them drive away, unable to move, to think, to speak. He stood there in the street for a long time, ignoring angry honks from passing cars. It wasn't until long after the sun had set that he at last turned away and went into what had been their home.

He sat down at the kitchen table, listening to the silence. He sat there, staring at the small divot in the wood where she'd once dropped a steak knife, until his mind was made up and at last he spoke.

"I'm coming after you," he said. "I'll find you, Eliza. I swear it by every god that every being ever believed in, by the Force itself, I will find you, my love."