for middleoftheforce

[jedi_librettist]

Ben picked a seat in the corner of the galley. There was something homey and comforting about watching his brother cook. The last of the tension he'd carried melted away.

Comments

[middleoftheforce]

A sigh.

"Of course it was."

Because there is no way a son of Han Solo got the idea to pod-race on his own.

[jedi_librettist]

Ben grins.

"You should try it. You'd probably be good at it since you've made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs."

[middleoftheforce]

"I don't know if piloting a ship translates to racing a pod."

[jedi_librettist]

"It's piloting. In the atmosphere, really fast, with other people trying to sabotage you. It's how Grandfather learned to fly."

[middleoftheforce]

"Yeah, well, he's the exception to most rules."

[jedi_librettist]

"Apparently I'm another one. At least for podracing."

[middleoftheforce]

"Huh."

Yeah, he wasn't sure what else could be said from that. After all, Ben could be right.

[jedi_librettist]

"I'm pretty sure it pays better than smuggling."

As if that's why Bail should do this.

[middleoftheforce]

"It might. Don't mean I'm doing it."

A hint of irritation slipped into his voice. Ben might not be ashamed to have a smuggler as a father, but he wanted Solo to move to pod-racing? He got the picture.

[jedi_librettist]

Ben sighed. It wasn't that he wanted his brother to move to podracing. He just wanted to share something of his life with his brother.

"Look, just... Just race me."

[middleoftheforce]

Solo shrugs.

"Maybe," he answers, standing to move to get two canisters of water. He gives one to Benm before opening the other and taking a drink from it.

[jedi_librettist]

Ben opens his water and pouts at his brother. "For me?"

[middleoftheforce]

"I can... maybe look into it."

[jedi_librettist]

"You don't have to. I can make a couple podracers. We can go to some backwater. Maybe Jakku."

[middleoftheforce]

"I'm not going back to that junkyard," Solo says automatically. He'd made a promise.

[jedi_librettist]

"It's better than Tattooine," Ben points out. "There are no hutts."

[middleoftheforce]

"We could find some other scrapyard. There's a few of them."

[jedi_librettist]

"No hutts."

Ben knows scrap yards other than Tattooine and Jakku. There are hutts on all of them.

[middleoftheforce]

"Hutts don't own all the scrapyards. More own fighting pits or cantinas."

Solo'd been a few. Which one, he wouldn't make clear.

[jedi_librettist]

Ben knew at least as much about the hutts as his brother. The problem was the hutts dominated the Outer Rim and almost all the scrap yards were in the Outer Rim.

"Yeah. Around all the scrap yards."

[middleoftheforce]

"Not all of them."

But he doesn't look happier at that prospect.

[jedi_librettist]

Ben took in his brother's look.

"What's wrong with them?"

[middleoftheforce]

Solo looks down, swirling the water in the canister in thought.

"Like them or not, Hutts keep some ... weird kind of order." There was grimness in his expression. "These other places aren't places you go if you've got another option."

[jedi_librettist]

"Then we go to Jakku."

It's simple. Jakku had no hutts and was safe. It really isn't that nad.

[middleoftheforce]

"Jakku is a junkyard. Ships go there to die."