Nebulous - Han Solo [2]

Chapter 4: Scruffy-Lookin'

Her legs swung from side to side, perched on the side of the hospital bed, its pristine white sheets covering Luke's scars. A sigh escaped her mouth, although it was still curled into a smile.

"are you sure you're feeling okay?" she asked him again. Tasha had asked him this question every two minutes since they moved him from the bacta tank to the medbay bed. Luke let out a noise of exasperation, rolling his eyes at her.

"Tash, I'm fine!" he said, "it's only the hundredth time you've asked." The raven girl ran a hand through her long hair, no neater now than it had been when she'd found them out on the freezing plains of this ice planet.

"well, I'm sorry if I'm worried about you, Luke!" she said to him, huffing slightly. "I don't know how you managed to get so badly beat up as it is."

"there was this . . . creature," Luke began, trying to find the words to describe his ordeal, "it knocked me out, and then, When I woke up I was hanging upside down-"

"what?" Tasha said incredulously, raising her eyebrows, "upside down? How the hell did you get yourself out of that?"

"it's strange," he said, shaking his head slightly, not tagging on to her enthusiasm "my lightsaber was sat in the snow, a couple of feet away. I . . . I closed my eyes, and I imagined it flying into my hand." Tasha's eyes widened slightly, but she kept her mouth shut. "I felt this . . . energy . . . surge through my hand, and then, it just sort of happened," he looked up at Tasha, her enthusiastic expression consuming her face.

"that's great!" Tasha said, her expression seeping into her voice. Luke didn't seem nearly as happy about this as he should be. "Luke what is it?" she said, her voice quieter, less sure of itself.

"Tasha, have you ever heard of the Dagobah system?" her blood ran cold, her eyes widening slightly, and her jaw tightening, all involuntarily. She took a sharp breath, trying to keep her calm, emotionless mask on her face. That planet wasn't something she'd heard of for a long time.

"no," she said coolly. Luke raised his eyebrows at her, but didn't push it. There were still a lot of things about Tasha that no one knew. Elements of her past that she kept hidden behind walls and walls; walls no one had the patience or the courage to break through yet. Not that they didn't try, but the more they pushed the stronger the walls became, caging her heart.

"why do you want to know?" she asked, seeming to recover herself at least a little.

"I'm going there. I'm gonna have to leave-" he began. Tasha sprung up off the bed as though an electric shock had just passed through it, whirling and facing Luke accusingly.

"what?" she said, almost snarling the word at him. Luke gulped, looking decidedly paler than he had a moment ago. Her eyes were suddenly blazing with fire, but he could see what hid behind it: hurt.

"I have to, Tash," he said gently. The fire dimmed for a second before flaring back to full force.

"you know . . . that's just about typical, isn't it?" she began angrily, sarcastically, " first Han, and now you." She swallowed, fighting against her own words. She let out a frustrated groan. "when am I gonna learn that I can only ever rely on myself?"

"Tasha, you know you can-" Luke began again, but was silenced by Tasha's cold look.

"you, know, I was fine until I met you two moon jockeys," she spat, "I had a way of making a difference, a ship, I was a spy, and now . . ." she paused, trying to find the right words, "now I'm a prissy princess who isn't even allowed t sneeze without expressed consent."

"now that's hardly fair, Tash," he said. Tasha cast a dark glare his way, but Luke held his ground, "you cant blame me and Han for this," Tasha lashed out, kicking the wall next to her in frustration. A small knock sounded at Luke's door, unnecessary but polite. It was Leia. She cast Tasha a frosty look before turning to Luke.