The following events take place seven standard years after the destruction of the SECOND DEATH STAR.
As Han rolled over, he was greeted by two things. Firstly, the empty side of the bed where his wife normally slept and secondly; a mop of dark hair and a pair of deep, expressive hazel-coloured eyes.
“There’s no power, Dad,” Ben announced.
Han rubbed his own, tired eyes. It had been a deep sleep for a change and it took him a moment to reorient himself. There wasn’t much light in the room which meant it was still early in the morning or the middle of the night. As Han slowly pulled himself up, young Ben jumped onto the bed and crawled up by his dad’s shoulder.
“It’s all dark. There’s no power,” whispered the little voice.
“Well, that ain’t good is it, kid? Guessing your mom’s gone to look at it.”
“No, no. Not just here. Out the windows too. Come look.”
“Sure, sure. We’ll look with some caf. How’s that sound?” Han groaned the words as he stretched his stiff body and reached for his overshirt.
Sure enough, it was pitch black in their entire living space. Han found a note on the side of the table by the bed. He knew it was Leia and it did indeed say that there had been a massive power outage across Coruscant and that she had been called to try and assist with matters. As Han went to walk out the bedroom, a tiny hand found his.
“You’re not scared of the dark, are you kid?” Han asked, questioning his son.
“No,” came the reply. “I’m protecting you in case you are.”
“Oh, absolutely,” Han nodded. He winked at the little body beside him. “I wouldn’t be able to investigate this if you weren’t here.”
“Really?” came the reply. A surprised one at that.
“No doubt about it, kid.” Han offered a lopsided grin. In return, Ben squeezed his father’s hand a little tighter as they entered the main living space of the blacked-out room.
They crossed over the room and made their way to the panoramic window. Sure enough, the normally well-lit Coruscant skyline, even for the middle of the night, was completely black. It was eerily odd and Han pondered that the New Republic Forces were no doubt not only working frantically to try and get the power back on but also checking everything to make sure this wasn’t an attack by pirates or any remnant of the Empire.
“Not much we can do, kid,” Han mused aloud. “We should probably get back to bed. Catch some shut eye. Your mom knows what she’s doing. She won’t be long.”
Ben furrowed his eyebrows, unhappy with this prospect. “Can’t we stay up? I don’t want to go back to bed.”
“You can sleep with me. Don’t worry. Besides, I need you to protect me.” As soon as Han finished the words, he yawned deeply and rubbed his eyes.
“I don’t want to go back to bed,” Ben murmured.
“Why not kid? Come on it’s late. Your mother won’t be happy if she knew you were awake this late.”
“It’s…exciting.”
“What is?” replied a perplexed Han.
“The power being out. Can we stay up and watch?”
Han simply stared down at his son. He’d flown from one side of the galaxy to the other and had indeed seen some very exiting things but he’d never heard of anyone saying that a power outage was exiting.
“Please,” whimpered Ben.
“I mean…why not,” retorted Han, shrugging his shoulders. “What a story to tell people. Very exciting, kiddo.”
Seemingly pleased with Han’s response, Ben trotted over to the couch and retrieved a blanket. Han picked up on the queue and silently admitted that it was chilly and hoped that some warmth might make his son sleepy and finally drift back off. Wrapping the blanket around them both, Han settled down on the ground and leaned up against the window. He cradled Ben in his arms and they both gazed out into the black night.
For a time, father and son said nothing. Hoping that Ben had wondered back into sleep, Han closed his eyes.
“Dad…”
Kriff it.
“Yeah kid?”
“What does my name mean?” Ben asked softly.
“Your name?” Han mumbled, still with his eyes closed. “It’s my name. Your mom has my last name, too. It’s just how it works.”
Ben shifted a little on Han’s chest. “No, no. I mean…where did…?”
“Well,” began Han, suspecting he knew where the line of questioning was going. “Um, I didn’t really have a family. Didn’t know much about nothing. Solo came to me, I guess. It was sort of given to me. I liked it and kept it. It fit. So, it’s your name too.”
Ben still didn’t avert his eyes from the darkened Coruscant skyline. He hugged his arms around his dad and in return, Han purposefully breathed heavier, causing his chest to rise and fall more deeply in hopes of soothing the young boy to sleep.
“I mean my name, dad. Ben. Where did Ben come from?”
The question caused Han to open his eyes. He hadn’t been expecting that one. He adjusted his position slightly and kissed the top of Ben’s head.
“Your mom should probably talk to you about that. She’ll want to tell you the story and some things. I wouldn’t worry about that now.”
“I want to know,” Ben replied softly. “Please.”
Han sighed deeply. “Why don’t we sleep and we can all talk about it when your mother comes home?”
There was a silence.
“Please.”
Han rubbed his forehead. How could he say no?
“Well,” Han began. “You’re named after somebody that your mother knew. Someone very important to her. And to Uncle Luke, too.”
“How come I wasn’t named after Uncle Lando?”
“I don’t think anybody could handle two Lando’s, kiddo.” Han smirked as he said it. As much as he and Lando had grown close again over the years and as much as the kid admired Lando, it had certainly never occurred to him to bestow his son’s name after the old scoundrel.
“Well,” Han pondered. He’d never been much of a talker and finding the right words had never come easily but he felt that he ought to try and get it right. For his son. For Leia. Even for Luke.
“Ben Kenobi was a Jedi Knight,” Han announced.
“Like Uncle Luke?”
“Yeah, kid. Like Uncle Luke.”
“Did you know him?”
“Not really. I mean I met him for a little while. He was a wise man. A kind man. Your mother and uncle knew him a lot better. Ben was your uncle’s first Jedi teacher. He started to train him in the ways of the Force. I first met him in a bar, ummm… – a cantina – I mean a place…”
“I know what a bar is, dad.”
“Oh, sure. Anyway, he was with your Uncle Luke and they needed my help. We had to go and help someone who was in trouble.”
“Who?” Ben asked, with rapidly building anticipation.
“Your mom.”
“Mom?!”
“Yep. Your mom could take care of herself though. She didn’t really need our help. Anyways, Ben – the Jedi – we were in trouble. Your mom, Uncle Luke, Uncle Chewie and me. And Ben, he – well, gave his life so that we could get out of trouble. He was fighting, well, it doesn’t matter who he was fighting but he saw your mom and uncle together and he was selfless.”
“Wow. So, he was a real Jedi?”
“No doubt about it, kid.”
“But,” Ben pondered. “How did mommy know him? If they never met?”
“Well,” Han replied, surprising himself that he was enjoying telling the story but quietly relishing a moment of pause with his son.
“When your mom was a little girl, just a bit older than you are now. She was taken from her home and Ben was the person asked to go and get her back. He helped your mom a lot. He protected her and cared for her. She never forgot him. She always felt he was very special.”
“So,” Ben whispered softly. “I’m named after someone very special?”
“You bet, kid. You see, I didn’t really believe in any of the Jedi stuff. I’d never seen it. Been a scrape or two and always got myself out of it. But…this Jedi. Ben. What he did for us, when we were in trouble. It was…I don’t know what it was but it was something. And I saw it with my own eyes. He didn’t know me, and yet, he was so selfless. He knew your uncle and your mom but Chewie and me – he’d never met us. I’d have liked to have been as patient as him.”
“He was a great man,” Ben announced delicately.
“Yeah, I guess he was,” Han replied. “Thought it might be a nice thing to do for your uncle too. To name you after him.”
“Wow.”
“Now,” Han quizzed. “How about we get some sleep?”
“I have another question. If mommy and Uncle Luke are brother and sister, then why don’t they have the same family name?”
Han rolled his eyes. “I haven’t got the energy for that one, kid. That’s enough stories for one night.”
Han stood to his feet and picked his son up in his arms. He noticed, thankfully, that Ben was yawning and his eyes had gone heavy. He carried him through to his bed and gently placed him down. Just as he was about to sleep, Ben stirred one last time.
“Maybe I’ll ask Threepio about mom and Uncle Luke. He’s good at telling stories.”
“With any luck,” Han mumbled to himself. “With any luck that droid has blacked out the same as the buildings.”
“That’s,” Ben said through a yawn. “That’s mean, dad.”
Han leaned down and kissed his forehead. “Don’t tell your mother. Now, go to sleep. Night, kiddo.”
“Night, dad. Love you.”
Han smiled. Hearing his son say these words brought him a moment of utter stillness. Something he’d never felt in his life ever before. Ben fell asleep instantly.
“Night, son. Sleep tight. Don’t let the Gundark’s bite. Love you.”
Han climbed into his own bed and pulled the covers up. It felt empty without Leia. He knew she’d have the situation under control and would be home soon. After all, in his arms was where she belonged.