i.

[organa]

It's been a long time since Leia's been this inconsolable. Things don't usually get to her – not visibly, anyway – but she's rattled to the core when she bursts into the Twilight's cockpit with a dramatic sort of flare that she can't help in this moment. She managed to keep her emotions steady and under control on the way over here, but the dam that was holding them back has now burst. Leia's furious, and wounds that were never fully on the mend feel like they've been ripped open all over again.

Most of all, she's hurt. Anakin's words stung, and she's mortified he would even imply such a thing.

Comments

[velocities]

Han nods, and it's almost like this is a normal conversation about normal things. Not that he has much experience with normalcy, all things considered.

"Yeah, just do me a favor?" He turns to look at Anakin now, being far more serious than is probably necessary, "Step light for a while. What you said-- You're lucky if she only tries to hit you once over it."

[morally_cryptic]

"I can always just make myself scarce. I'm sure there are some droids somewhere that need dismantling."

Or exploding. Whichever.

His tone is light but he'll still take what Han says under advisement.

[velocities]

This, Han thinks, is the calmest and most productive conversation he's had with Anakin since he arrived. Entirely removed from threats about his heart and what one might do with it, and it feels like maybe this is progress. It's still odd as much as everything else is regarding temporal displacement, but maybe this is another glimpse of Vader not happening.

Which is also the moment he notices a stray hair on his shirt, and despite the ever-present sensation of being in the wrong place and time the automatic assumption is that it's one of Chewbacca's. It's happened often enough.

But then he reaches to pull it, and it's far too long to have come off a Wookiee even if there'd been one around.

Han tries to play it off, casually putting the hand pulling the hair down at his side and clearing his throat. "How are the clones doing, after Fives?"

Not the most graceful subject change ever, but he's just hoping it worked.

[morally_cryptic]

Yeah, that wasn't smooth at all, Han, but Anakin lets it slide.

"Not exactly happy," but so many people in the Republic, and even among the Jedi, didn't expect the clones to be happy as long as they did their jobs. "They don't know exactly what happened yet, not all of them, since we can't really put it out there. Rex has volunteered to be the next one to try chip-removal but..."

Anakin's not sure yet if the possible benefit outweighs the risk. They're essentially talking brain surgery here, after all. And despite everything, what if Fives is wrong? Or at least not entirely correct? Not that Anakin truly believes that, deep down, but he worries about making the wrong decision for his men.

[velocities]

Having it slide that easily is more than Han had hoped for, and the new topic is enough to sober some of his anxiety.

"But you don't know what'll happen when you take it out." Not that Han has a particular soft spot for the clones, but anyone sentient deserves better than being Palpatine's disposable pawn.

[morally_cryptic]

"We know what happened to Fives, but as much as they are all genetically identical...one clone isn't necessarily truly indicative of all the rest. I think. You'll have noticed I'm not a doctor." And his skills with the Force didn't lay in the healing arts. Or at least his inclinations didn't. "And you'll remember Fives wasn't exactly coherent for a while."

They had no way of knowing if that had been because of the chip or something else affecting them they didn't know about.

"We should probably get one of the healers in on this, really. For as strict as she was and how much they'd butted heads in the past, Vokara Che was likely still the best choice.

[velocities]

Oh, he remembers. And he nearly makes the mistake of rolling his eyes at Anakin's comment on not being a doctor. Han certainly didn't need reminding of that particular fact, and he doesn't need to wonder anything at all about what Vader might have done with a more thorough biological understanding of those around him.

"Then get a healer." It seems simple, though he knows it most likely is anything but. "Because I've got a bad feeling either those things get removed or they get activated to do something a lot worse than be incoherent for a while. I'd rather take the option that hasn't got someone I don't like holding the remote."

your torture on Bespin would've been a lot more interesting, Han

[morally_cryptic]

"Yeah, you're right." And Han needs to stop doing that, it's getting unsettling. "I think I know just who we're going to need. But I'll probably have Obi-Wan do the asking."

Not that he thought Vokara Che would hold a grudge, he just figures she'd be more likely to just go with this if it came from a Council member. Which Anakin isn't. Yet.

and that heart-eating threat would've been a lot more graphic!

[velocities]

It's not his fault that he's right, or that Anakin is dragging his feet. Being protective of his troops is understandable, at least. Relate-able, even, from the perspective of someone freshly in command and responsible for the lives of the people taking his orders. Though Han can't keep the smug smirk off his face when he mentions having Kenobi ask.

"What, your healer doesn't like pie?"

[morally_cryptic]

Anakin scowls at him but without any real heat. "I don't know, I've never asked her. But she's very..." he waves a hand vaguely, "orderly. If I ask her to do something like this, she's just going to want to talk to the Council anyway probably. So might as well have Obi-Wan manage it for us."

See? It all makes sense.

[velocities]

It does, which is kind of unfortunate for the list of other apologetic gifts Han had been making in his head. Namana candies, credits, maybe some Thikkiian brandy, depending on the healer's species...

That scowl isn't even enough to get his back up, instead reminding him of Luke when he's in a particularly foul mood.

"Yeah, I know a few types like that." Or, knew, depending on how they all felt about the ever shifting relativity of grammatical tense today. Personally, Han was aggressively trying to not care. "Sending in your Negotiator is probably safest. Unless he negotiates with pies."

Then they're all screwed.

[morally_cryptic]

"I almost want to try sending Master Vokara Che a pastry now and see what happens. I'll tell her it's from you."

That, at least, prompts a grin.

[velocities]

"Go ahead," and Han sits back, one elbow over the back of the bench.

"Not like she knows who I am anyhow, and if you're the one delivering..." He trails off into a vague gesture that implies it'll be Anakin's weird Jedi punishment to bear, not his. From what Luke has told him, it'll involve a lot of standing on his head in a swamp.

[morally_cryptic]

Someone should sometime tell Anakin about the swamp thing. He'll likely get a kick out of it.

"Oh, I was going to introduce you at the same time," he says, all too innocently. "If we're going to let her in on our little secret, after all."