A Certain Point of View

Chapter 23: Epilogue

He could be loud when he was running his mouth, but a lifetime of smuggling had otherwise left Han Solo intensely quiet, intensely private, and the short peace of the New Republic had done little to change him. He was groomed like a Senator now—he had to be, to walk these halls—but Chewbacca knew that wild space was still in his veins.

Leia knew it, too. She waited for them in the hush of the Senate's great receiving foyer when the other great Senators had gone. Like vast and branchless trees, the stone columns of the Coruscant Senate building towered overhead. It was a place for whispers, for secrets—but even before they embraced, Chewbacca knew her latest secret. His fur had begun to grey—so had Han's, to his surprise—but his sense of smell was as uncanny as ever.

"Chewie," she said, grinning, meeting him first. He cradled her more gently than usual, especially around the middle.

She stroked the fabric of his long, red robe. "Look at you," she said. "Handsome as a Royal Guard in that getup." The words stung him, but she meant well.

"Me?" he said. "Look at Han Solo." Han was overjoyed to see her, but embarrassed to be seen in a ceremonial robe two feet too long for him. The combination produced the queerest smile—the kind only he could smile.

"Does this mean what I think it means?" Leia asked.

Han finally beamed from ear to ear. "I'm pleased to report, Your Worshipfullness, the operation was a success."

"Kashyyyk. Is. Free." Chewbacca said. Each of those three words was sacred on its own. It made him nearly dizzy to say them together. Tears stained his furry face—and hers.

"All right, pal, all right," Han said, patting his high shoulder. "It was a good day. A real good day."

"It's about to get better," Chewbacca said knowingly. He ruffled his old friend's hair and walked away from the pair, basking in the grandeur of the Senate hall as he left them to their private reunion. Imperial Centre—no, Coruscant, he corrected himself—was a city-world of highs and lows, with buildings stretching a mile or more above the dark clouds that were finally beginning to fade in the undercity. After all the nightmare-stories, he thought he would despise it—but here, the humans lived not so different from Wookiees, shuttling here and there from one metal treetop to the next. He marveled at the sprawling columns and the great yawning Senate roof, immensely proud. He was the first of the Wookiees to return, but he would not be the last. The delegation was only a few standard days behind them, now. He could have been a part of them—their chief or vice-chief, maybe—but for his life-debt. It was a debt he had never been prouder to hold.

Leia had work to do, of course, before the big speech. It was her way. He would not see her in private again until the Wookiees had arrived to reconnect with the Senators. But he waited patiently until Han staggered over, his face dumbstruck, overjoyed, terrified, rapturous.

"A father," he breathed. "I'm gonna be a father."

Chewbacca threw a long arm around him and hugged him tight.

"I never—I just—I never imagined. What am I gonna do, Chewie?"

"Be a father," said Chewbacca.

"I don't know where to start." He looked like a lost pet.

"The Wookiees have a proverb," Chewbacca said. "Start with a name, and the story will come."

"Maybe... maybe we'll name her after my mother."

Chewbacca blinked. Han never talked about his mother.

"I mean that's what it's all about, isn't it, pal? Mothers and daughters."

"And fathers and sons," Chewbacca reminded him.

Han nodded absently. "Yeah. Those too. What if—what if it's a boy?"

Chewbacca still remembered Leia's father. He didn't hesitate. "If it's a boy," he said softly, "name him Ben."

Han looked up at the Wookiee. "Not bad, Chewie. Not bad at all."

Dragging his sacred robe on the ground—as was his way in life, maybe—Han walked arm and arm with his friend into the Senate. They'd have the best seat in the house for her first formal address to the New Republic—the best, maybe, except for one. The sprawling Grand Convocation Chamber of the Galactic Senate was a little the worse for wear, but it was still standing; filled again to the brim by ambassadors from a thousand freed worlds, it was buzzing with nervous tension.

After twenty-five years, the ambassadorial repulsorpod for Alderaan was still intact. Occupying a place of special honour, it was there the two retired smugglers sat as Mon Mothma addressed the assembly, discussing the logistics of moving the New Republic's capital to her own homeworld. Chewbacca hooted nervously, peering over the side of the pod. It seemed fitting, in a way—the two of them, forever homeless among the stars, in the one pod that had no home planet.

High above in the hall, a solitary figure watched from the long-deserted Jedi Temple's balcony. Luke had healed physically from his ordeal on the second Death Star, but there was still a remoteness in him, a deep scarring darkness that could not be willed away. Below him, on a floating platform awaiting her own turn to speak from the old Chancellor's podium, Leia waited, resplendent in white, her hair styled in the impractical manner of Alderaanian nobility for the first time in years.

Han's heart ached for her. After all she had done in the War, she would speak to the people like a mother, a saint. He knew she would be terrified. And yet there she was, floating before the assembly like a regal queen, strong and fierce—as if some lingering presence cloaked her in its calming light.

Even Chewbacca stared in mute awe as she stepped into the light and began to unite the people. Han turned to his old friend, eyebrow raised.

"I think I might just be the luckiest man in the galaxy," he beamed. "I know you don't go in for us ugly human-types—but look at her, pal. She's beautiful, isn't she?"

Chewbacca watched her with the eyes of age, nodding solemnly.

"I imagine she is," he answered. "From a certain point of view."

THE END

P.S. If you've enjoyed this story, please consider supporting my original writing too. My début fantasy novel, THE SEASON OF THE PLOUGH, is now available from Cynehelm Press! 
http://bit.ly/SotP-eBook

Thanks for your time and support. May the Force be with you!