Luke Skywalker, the Last Jedi, faces his toughest challenge yet. To rebuild the Jedi Order, he must give up his personal hopes and dreams. Every move is critiqued by not only the New Republic Senate but also the Force-ghost Jedi Council of the past...
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Four long years of teaching Ben had taken their toll on Leia. Her activity in the Senate had decreased to a few sessions per week as she labored to hold onto her son, guiding him to the light side while holding him back from the dark.
Han sent money every once in a while, and he had even come back once a few years ago, struggling to take an interest in his son's life—taking him camping, teaching him how to fly, playing sports with him. But he and Ben never seemed to hit it off.
The freighter captain had missed his wife all the time he was away—even the bickering. Contrary to his pre-marital womanizing, he did not play the field while he was away. He loved her too much to hurt her any more than he already had. Wish we could go back to the way we were on Endor.
As he and Chewbacca padded down the long path from the landing pad to the Senatorial Residential Complex, the Wookiee grumbled.
"Hey, don't complain to me. You're the one that started this whole thing." Han's footsteps echoed on the marble as the duo passed through the sliding doors into the lobby.
They stopped in front of the identity scanner. The panel lights started with a retinal scan and slid down the wall to take biometrics. Within seconds, the door to the corridor slid open.
When they reached the penthouse door, cheers emanated from the other side. Han pressed his hand over the scanner, and the door revealed the opulent suite.
Leia and C-3PO crowded Ben who sat at the head of the long table in the dining area to the left. The ten-year-old boy with dark hair obscuring his eyes and covering his collar hovered over a three-tiered cake with ten sparklers melting wax onto the fondant icing.
The boy narrowed his eyes and glared at Han. "Well, look what the Wookiee dragged in."
Leia looked up. "Han." She readjusted the plates in front of her. "Why are you here?"
C-3PO piped up. "Oh, General Solo."
"Cut it, Threepio," Ben said, his eyes wary.
Chewbacca roared a greeting and stepped aside from Han.
"What? I thought you wanted me home more often."
Ben looked around, at his Uncle Chewie, at his mother, at his father. "Nobody invited you, Father."
"I don't need an invitation. I live here."
The boy snorted. "Whatever. If that's what you want to call it—" Ben's eyes changed, sharper, more intense, with the flecks of yellow overwhelming his brown irises. "Wait—you didn't even know."
"Know what?"
Leia said, "It's his birthday, Han."
Han scanned the empty suite. "Could have fooled me. Not what I'd call a party."
