Nebulous - Han Solo [2]

Chapter 15: Landing

"No, I don't have a landing permit," Han said slowly, "I'm trying to reach Lando Calrissian." The ship rocked as a laser bolt hit the ship. Just a warning shot, but it the ship still shuddered under its weight. "Whoa, whoa, wait a second, let me explain!"

"You will not deviate from your present course," came the monotonous reply.

"I thought you said you knew this person?" Tasha said quietly, leaning over the back of Han's chair. Chewie growled, and Tasha's eyes bulged.

"He did what?" she said in a growl, and Han gulped slightly.

"It was long time ago, I'm sure he's forgotten all about that," he replied less than certainly, and Tasha raised her perfect eyebrows at him. Just a subtle change of facial expression, but able to convey so much annoyance it's unbelievable. Han gulped slightly again. That was not a facial expression you wanted to be on the other side of.

"You are cleared to land, please follow specified course," came that monotonous voice again, and Han grinned triumphantly, thanking the stars for that voice interrupting Tasha's apparent tirade.

Tasha's eyebrows returned to their normal resting place, before furrowing slightly. It felt as though something heavy was sitting at one side of her head, something just in the corner, in that place where you cant see it. It wasn't pressing on her though, as some people did, as though it didn't want to be noticed. That wasn't right.

Han set the Falcon down gently, as though he was trying not to damage anything else that might have come loose during their escape. Tasha pushed herself out of her chair, walking rather tentatively off the ship as Han marched in front of her, confident in his own gait, like she used to be, tried to be. Again, she got that twinge in the back of her mind, something wasn't right here.

"I don't like this," Tasha said, her voice guarded, leaning against the side of the landing ramp, as though staying close to the ship could somehow protect her from whatever was out there.

"Well what would you like?" Han said irritably. Tasha glowered slightly at him, taking a couple of steps forward, almost as though she was ready for a fight.

"Well they did let us land," said Threepio, much more optimistic than he had been. Han turned away as Tasha rolled her eyes, still unwilling to move too far away from the Falcon. Leia hung back as well, trusting Tasha's judgement of the situation. Han was warier now than he had been coming here, Tasha somehow always just knew when things weren't right. A door at the far side of the platform opened, a man in a blue cape and a squad of soldiers walking towards them.

"Keep your eyes open, huh?" Han said quietly to Chewie, getting a quiet growl in return. Swallowing again, he took a confident step forward.

"Why you double-crossing, no good swindler!" said the man, coming closer to them, leaving his soldiers near the door. Tasha was a little taken aback by his proclamation, raising her eyebrows with a slightly mocking look. Forgotten all about it? Tasha made a mental note to never take any notice of anything Han Solo said to her ever again.

"You've got a lot of guts coming here, after what you pulled!" Han tried to appear innocent, despite the fact he knew exactly what Lando was talking about. The smuggler also looked . . . well, rather nervous. Lando swung a fist at him, which Han dodged, ducking out of the way. Tasha quickly took a step forward, ready as ever for a fight. Lando started laughing as Han practically jumped back, looking confused. The dark-skinned man grabbed hold of Han's shoulder, embracing him in a bear hug, still laughing. Still looking suitably confused but less nervous, Han hugged him back, though still a little uncertain.

Tasha hung back at the ship's ramp, still unsure. He seemed a bit too pleased to see them.

"Well he seems very friendly," said Threepio, Tasha looking to Leia as she followed him towards the smuggler and his friend.

"Yes," she agreed, "very friendly." Something was niggling at her again, just at the back of her mind, but whenever she tried to get close to it, to see it clearly, it vanished, almost like a ghost. The raven haired princess walked over towards the man, her arms crossed lazily in front of her.

The moment Lando's eyes spotted her from where he was stood, kissing Leia's hand, he couldn't seem to look away. She was beautiful. Tall, strong, confident in herself, walking as though she was ready for anything this place had to throw at her. Her piercing green eyes scanned the area around her before focusing on him, and he seemed to freeze, his usual easy charm seeming to disappear around her. He knew she'd see through it in an instant. In fact, he felt that if he said anything at all to her, he'd spill the secret his life was depending on.

"Hello," he said to her as she approached, practically ignoring everyone else. She inclined her head towards him, not making any other effort to engage with him, turning her eyes towards the door he had come from, as though waiting for a trap to spring on her. Lando gulped slightly.

"I'm Lando Calrissian," her eyes flickered back to his, but she still did not reply to his comment with anything more than a small smirk. "And who might you be?" he was trying too hard.

Han glared slightly at Lando when he asked for Tasha's name. He could see she wasn't happy about the situation and knew she was always nervous about giving out personal information. I guess spending life as a spy can do that to a person.

"Tasha," she replied, her voice sounding a lot stronger than Han was sure she felt. No one else looking at her could see it, but Han had known her too long, could see the subtle nuances in her expression, the way her smirk was one of false confidence, and the fearful tinge hiding behind her eyes.

"Welcome Tasha," he said, taking a move towards her. Tasha looked over at Han as Lando kissed her hand, just as he had done with Leia, his lips lingering a little longer than they had done on her sister. The raven girl smiled slightly as Han rolled his eyes, and the smuggler pulled her gloved hand towards him and away from Lando.

"Help me," she mouthed at him, seemingly more at ease than before, as though the weight she'd been carrying for so long had disappeared slightly, as though she was slightly freer. Han gently but firmly grabbed a hold of her hand, noticing for the first time the cold leather gloves she wore, how different the feel of them was from the warmth of her delicate hands. Han tutted Lando, who looked at him almost confused, Tasha pulling her other hand out of Lando's grip. She had nothing against him, except the fact she was sure he was hiding something.

"You old smoothie," Han said, shaking his head slightly, Tasha fighting a smile.