Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
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"Corlion, Massa." Han offered a native Corellian greeting as he came to a stop opposite Tag Massa the Intel Chief, in the crowded Mess onboard Home One.
When he had to ask a favour of someone, he always liked to underline any connection, no matter how vague- and he had to admit that coming from the same planet and therefore sharing the same native language was about as vague-a connection as you could get, but it was all he had. That and Massa's friendship with Leia, which was why he was here in the first place.
From the look in Tag Massa's eyes when she glanced warily up to him, she was clearly thinking the same. Mildly embarrassed before that calculating gaze, he switched back to Basic, "Uh... this seat taken?"
"Help yourself," She turned back to the automemo she was studying.
"Interesting?" Han asked, hoping to prompt a conversation.
Massa didn't look up. "Everything's interesting to an Intel officer."
"Yeah, so I hear." Han said, wondering how soon he could politely come to the point; this was as close to politics as he got - aside from when he got Leia in a clinch - and it was already too close for comfort.
Fortunately Tag made it easy- she had a habit of doing that, for the favoured few. "I'm assuming this is going somewhere, Solo?"
"Why's that?"
"Well, you've just finished a ten-hour Duty Shift and you're not even out of your flightsuit yet but you want to pass the time with me. Plus you haven't got anything to eat and yet you're wandering around the Mess Hall. Plus your friend the Wookiee is sat over there doing a bad job of trying to look casually disinterested. If you've hatched some plot up you always involve him, and if you haven't you always sit with him."
Han raised his eyebrows; well, 'make it easy' may be a bit of an overstatement. "Wow you're good."
"Yes I am." She glanced up for a second, eyebrows lifting expectantly. "And you're procrastinating."
"Okay... see... here's the point."
"Care to make it a little sharper?"
"I'm getting' there, don't rush me." Han tried his best hurt/offended look, which fazed the Intel Chief not one bit.
"Really, seriously; spit it out 'cos this is getting painful."
"I want in on the Patriot thing." Han blurted out.
Great; he'd had this whole speech worked out - spent the last ten hours cramped up in that A-Wing cockpit staring at the back end of a freighter and cooking up a whole story about being interested in getting into the Intel field, all that stuff about changing career and looking for an opportunity to...
"What Patriot thing?" She held his eye for a few seconds, confused... then sighed ruefully, turning away, "Ah, hell, it's not worth even trying that one on you, is it?"
Massa's Intel had been watching the Patriot very closely since its inaugural flight waiting to see where The Heir would point his new super-weapon, and there'd been a lot of nervous faces onboard Home-One when the Destroyer had first disappeared into hyperspace. But so far it had been decidedly quiet for a ground-breaking weapon - which was more worrying than if it had gone hunting in many ways.
So they'd called in a lot of favours and used up a lot of funds and gotten a few sets of fake ID's, and now they were engineering a little gap in the duty roster before they set it all in motion.
"C'mon Tag, let me in on it- I can do this."
"Do you know how many experienced undercover ops' I have just waiting for an opportunity like this?"
"Yeah? How many of them have experience as an Imperial Officer?"
"You were kicked out."
"Because I didn't like the routines, not because I didn't know 'em." he defended gamely.
"You were kicked out for insubordination, Solo." Massa said, pointing to herself, "Intel Officer, remember?"
Han opened his arms, palms up, "Hey, I'm gonna stick with; 'Cos I didn't like the routines, not because I didn't know 'em."
She sighed, setting down her automemo, "Why do you want to go, Solo- really?"
He shrugged, "I think I'd be good at..."
"I said really." Sharp eyes met his own, "Don't lie to me."
Han paused for an instant beneath that calculating gaze, "You know why."
"Yes I do, and that's why I can't let you. You'd endanger the mission. Do you know what it took to get those documents?"
"Well then don't waste them- give 'em to me. Tag, I can get results."
"For the Alliance- not for your own little crusade."
"C'mon Tag- give me this. I'm a good bet and you know it."
She stared a long time into his face, knowing that he was right; he had the experience, he was cool under pressure and he knew his stuff. If she turned him down out of hand, then she did herself no favours. But she wasn't so stupid as to miss why exactly he wanted this mission. She leaned back considering, aware of his eyes on her but unfazed; if he thought staring at her was gonna psyche her out, then he was sorely mistaken.
Eventually she sighed though, not particularly wishing to alienate him; he was one of the mandates of her mission here and that alone was pause for consideration. Plus her Chief clearly had some kind of connection to him, though he'd never admit it out loud.
Which was why it wasn't her call to make; it needed to go to Command. Oh, to be there in person, Massa thought; To see his face when this was passed on- that Solo had found out about the Patriot mission and he actually wanted onboard. What would the Chief think of that- no doubt it would amuse him greatly. Yes- she would need a few days to check what he wanted to do, how he wanted to proceed... but she would bet her last credit he'd say let Solo go. She absently let the edges of her lips curl up, amused at that thought, and Solo raised his brow in question, making Tag sit up straight, firmly wiping the smile from her face.
"I need time to consider - I won't be rushed into a decision."
"Absolutely."
She narrowed her eyes, "That wasn't an agreement Solo- I'll think about it. That's all I can say."
"Fine- that's all I ask." He rose to leave, re-tieing the sleeves of his baggy flight suit around his waist where he'd stripped the top half off to his undershirt below. "Maybe if I get something useful I can finally get Madine off my back."
Massa smiled dryly, voicing her doubts, "I think you'd need to actually come back with The Heir for that."
"I'll bet he'd find some excuse to lambast me even then. Probably bust my ass for being in the company of a known enemy- see that must be proof I'm an Imperial spy."
Massa shrugged, frowning up at him, unfazed by his sardonic wit. "Trust's a strange thing, Solo- sometimes even when the facts are right in front of you it's hard to see them. At the end of the day, either you do or you don't. And even then if someone keeps on putting ideas in your head, it's a hard thing to hang on to."
Han folded his arms, very sure. "No its not. It's the easiest thing in the world. Either you do or you don't. Doesn't matter what anybody says, you go with your gut."
"That what you do?"
"Every time. And don't tell me that you don't."
"Oh I do." Massa turned her attention back to her automemo. "More than you know."
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Nathan stepped quickly into Luke's ready-room aboard the Patriot, aware that he wouldn't have much time. He made a polite bow from the neck as he entered, the bright, artificial light of the Koornacht Cluster Shipyards casting harsh shadows within.
They were due to get underway to the Rim again in less than a day, their third such trip in the last two months, Luke having already spent long hours poring over documentation relating to the 'project' at Endor, which had now been codenamed 'Redress'- for whom Nathan didn't know.