MiSTing "Flight to Bespin" (4/6)

[castel...@nd.edu]

>
"Not much different than I am now. Except shorter."
>
>

> "Why doesn't that surprise me." She switched track
>slightly.
>
>"And your parents?"

CROW: Had two of 'em.

> "Yeah. Had two of 'em."

CROW: Hey!

TOM: Except when mom came home from happy hour.

> She sighed in exasperation as he grinned again. Then she
>
>

>chose a topic she knew he wouldn't joke about.
>
>

> "When were you at the Academy?"

MIKE: Whom I'd like to thank.

> The smirk fell from his face and he stared at her
>knowingly.
>
>Leia smiled to herself. She'd already gleaned that
>much about him
>
>from Luke, but it gave her a feeling of power to
>know that she had one
>
>over Han. She'd found his vulnerable
>point.

FORRESTER: Crush the third vertebrae, death is instantaneous.

> "I graduated about 13 years ago," he admitted.
>
>

> "You were an Imperial pilot?"
>
>

> "Yeah."
>
>

> "I can't imagine Han Solo as an Imperial," she laughed
>lightly.
>
>

> "Neither could they."
>
>

> His gaze was impassive, almost daring her to come up with
>
>

>something better.

CROW: Two Jews walk into a bar...

MIKE: Stop right there, Crow.

> Her face showed concern and understanding. "And
>Chewbacca's
>
>the reason why you...." she considered her words
>carefully
>
>"....left?"

TOM: So the Empire is run by high school principals from Little Rock?

CROW: I don't get it.

>

> He shrugged dismissively. "Lost a career and gained a
>smelly
>
>furball instead. Some exchange."
>
>

> Leia rubbed absently at her neck and stared ahead distantly.
>
>

>"Do you ever wonder how things might've turned out if you hadn't
>made
>
>the choices that you did?"

CROW (singing): Choices! A thousand thousand choices.

MIKE: No, that's "voices", not "choices."

CROW: Oh.

> "No."
>
>

> His quick reply jolted her slightly.
>
>

> "Not ever?"
>
>
> "Life happens, Leia. I try not to intellectualize about the
>reasons why things happen. It's easier that way."

MIKE: I regret nothing!

> "Easier?"
>
>

> "Keeps me on the straight and level."

FORRESTER: Oh, so it keeps you out of San Francisco.

MIKE: No!

> "You? Straight and level?"

TOM: The king of posture.

> She shook her head in mock
>
>disbelief, but he didn't share the joke. "You mean if you don't
>think
>
>about things too hard, your conscience doesn't get in the
>way."

CROW: Wasn't that Bob Packwood's campaign slogan?

> "I jettisoned my conscience way back. Too much excess
>
>luggage weighs you down."

CROW: No I'm sorry. THAT was Bob Packwood's campaign slogan.

> She smiled at him coyly. "I think your conscience is about
>two
>
>meters tall with shaggy hair and blue eyes."

TOM: His conscience is manifested in an Irish wolfhound?

> "Chewie doesn't tell me what to do. Nobody does and
>nobody
>
>ever will."

FORRESTER (singing): What have you done for me lately.

> His voice had taken on the tone Leia recognized as him
>using
>
>when he tried to act the mercenary.
>
>

> "Oh, I don't know, Han. I can see a day when you're a
>hen- pecked husband sitting at home looking after the children
>while your
>
>wife's off saving the Galaxy."

MIKE: Like my brother-in-law.

> He grinned appreciatively at her teasing eyes. "I'd rather
>be
>
>neutered than give up my freedom.

CROW: Hey, done and done.

> Besides, I can't see myself
>
>
>settling down'. There's too much still left to do and see. Too
>
>

>much glitterstim left to smuggle,

CROW: Yeah, Eastern Europe has a large demand for that and... What?

> sabacc games to play -"
>
>

> "Princesses to charm?"
>
>
His hazel eyes stared at her intensely. "Is that what I'm
>doing?"
>
>
She could almost feel his desire to move closer down the
>bunk
>
>towards her, but he stayed where he was, tensing, almost like
>a predator
>
>waiting to pounce.

CROW (Arnold Schwartzenegger): You are one, ugly mother... well you know.

> Leia pulled her knees up and
>hugged them against
>
>her chest.
>
>

> "What about you, Leia? What are you gonna do when your
>war's
>
>over?

MIKE (Leia): I'm gonna do twenty-one vodka shots in a row.

> "Do?" His question caught her off guard.
>
>

> "Yeah. What do princesses do? Marry a nice young
>prince?
>
>Set up palace somewhere? Flog the peasants?"

TOM: Allow me to punch you right in the gut, Han.

> She didn't pay much attention to his sarcasm, she was too
>busy
>
>concentrating on an answer. When she was younger, she'd
>dreamed
>
>of establishing a foundation to help those less fortunate
>than herself.

FORRESTER: And being able to fly.

>However those dreams had vanished when she had
>taken office in the
>
>Imperial Senate. Her dreams to help the needy
>had been subsumed
>
>by political realities and a consuming passion
>to correct the injustices of

CROW: The Democratic party?

>the Empire.

CROW: Oh.

> The Rebel Alliance had
>helped channel these energies, but
>
>still her immediate plans related
>directly to being an effective leader of
>
>the Rebellion and by that
>contributing to the overthrow of the Empire.
>
>

> "This war still has a long way to go,"

MIKE (Leia): We're only in the middle of episode five.

> she told him as she
>tried to
>
>stretch her aching shoulder muscles. "We've barely made
>a dent in the
>
>Empire's armour. I don't know how long it will take
>us to recover from
>
>our defeat at Hoth. And yet despite these
>setbacks, the Rebellion will
>
>regroup and reconsider, formulate new
>strategies and continue chipping
>
>away at the Empire."

TOM (mad voice): Yes! Kill! Kill! Fight and kill!

> She
>cringed momentarily at the pain. "There's so
>
>much still to fight
>for and so much still left to do. I haven't even
>
>considered what to
>do when it's finished."

FORRESTER: How about Percodan.

> Her gaze turned inward.
>
>"I doubt I'll
>even be alive by then."
>
>

> " I think you'll out live all of us, Leia." Her attention
>returned to
>
>him and she watched him absently rub a thumb across
>the scar on his
>
>chin. "It's people like you that make things
>happen."

CROW: True it's usually something violent and bloody, but still you make
them happen.

TOM: Kind of like Hamas.

> His gaze was
>
>plain and earnest. "You have the
>strength, faith and conviction to see
>
>this out. You're a survivor,

MIKE (singing): It's the eye of the tiger, it's the willing to fight...

CROW: Not that kind of survivor.

>otherwise you wouldn't have made it this far."
>
>
He regarded her silently for a moment and she recognized
>what
>
>a compliment that was coming from someone who rarely
>praised anyone
>
>apart from himself.

FORRESTER: Kind of like a free agent in the NFL.

TOM: Then you mean *the* NFL.

> She half-smiled and mused
>what in the stars was she
>
>doing sitting on a bunk with a half-naked
>smuggler. Those hazel eyes
>
>smouldered beneath hair that lay
>rumpled across his forehead. She
>
>noticed how his broad shoulders
>rose slightly as he inhaled, how his
>
>chest expanded and contracted.

CROW: And how an alien was popping out of it.

>The barely perceptible movement of
>
>his larynx as he swallowed.
>The almost sculptured point where his
>
>neck met his clavicle. The
>blue trace of a vein through his biceps.

FORRESTER: The way his spine twisted in unusual ways.

>
"Besides, Princess, " he said, "you're too stubborn to let the
>
>Empire win."

MIKE: That's the Fighting Irish spirit, right there.

> Her neck and shoulders spasmed at this comment.
>
>

> "You're having real trouble there, aren't you?" Han asked.

TOM (Han): I'll just put a spoon in your mouth so you won't bite your
tongue off.

>"I
>
>can fix that."
>
>

> Leia raised an eyebrow. "I bet you can."
>
>

> He grinned. "No, really, I can"
>
>

> He was halfway down the bunk before she could protest.

CROW: No more wimpy chips!

MIKE: I haven't seen that commercial in years.

CROW: You haven't seen *any* commercial in years.

> "Han, I don't think...."
>
>

> "C'mon, Leia. Trust me," he reasoned, now next to her,
>his
>
>knee touching hers. Reluctance riddled her face

TOM (booming): You need to Oxycute them!

> as he guided her in
>
>front of
>him. With her back towards him, he placed his long legs on
>
>either
>side of her and pulled her a little closer. Leia clasped her arms
>
>

>across her chest.
>
>

> "Besides, I don't bite," he said, gathering her hair to one
>side and draping it over the front of her shoulder. "Not unless you
>want me to."

MIKE: Release the hounds!

>
"Very droll, Han - ow!" She gasped as he began
>massaging
>
>her narrow shoulders. Part of her enjoyed the touch of
>his hands, but
>
>her stomach swirled with uncertainty.
>
>

> "Boy, are you tense." His fingers kneaded the knots in her
>
>muscles. "Relax, will ya. I promise I'll be on my best
>behaviour."

FORRESTER: That's not saying much.

>
"Since when have you behaved yourself?"

CROW: In court.

> She tried to relax but she was very aware of how this would
>
>

>look if Threepio or Chewbacca happened by,

TOM (C3PO): You go girl.

> and of how close she
>
>was sitting next to him. His legs almost touched her sides. Leia
>
>

>quickly reached over and touched the remote to close the door.

MIKE: But it's a Sears brand so it jammed half way closed.

>

> "Why, Princess," Han said in mock horror. "This is so
>sudden."
>
>
She elbowed him gently in the ribs and explained, "This
>doesn't look right."
>
>

> "Feels great at this end. Now, relax."

FORRESTER: You know, I didn't need to know that.

CROW: Who did?

> "I'm trying to," she said, but her arms remained firmly
>wrapped
>
>around her body.
>
>

> "Here." He stopped massaging her shoulders and took
>hold of

MIKE: Forget it, Crow.

CROW: I didn't even say anything!

>her arms. "Just let go for a minute." He managed to
>unwrap her arms
>
>and got her to place her hands in her lap. He
>returned to massaging her
>
>shoulders. "There. That's better."
>
>
And she had to admit, it was. His fingers worked into the
>stress
>
>she had built up in her shoulder muscles, stretching and
>smoothing it away.

TOM: What is she taffy all of a sudden?

> His hands were warm and strong through the
>fabric of the shirt.
>
>She closed her eyes as the tension ebbed away.
>
>

> "Han, why have you stayed with the Alliance for such a
>long time?"

MIKE (Han): It's a publicity stunt.

> From behind her he said, "You pay well. Any self-
>respecting
>
>smuggler wouldn't pass this up.

FORRESTER (Leia): Like I said, why have you been with the Alliance this
long?

CROW: Nothing like going the groin, huh Clay?

> And I've been at a bit
>of a lose end.
>
>You must admit, when you've got a price on your
>head you don't stand
>
>out as much if you hide amongst an outlawed
>organization where everyone
>
>is wanted."

TOM: And where *everyone* is going to be hunted down! Is it just me or is
his logic somehow flawed?

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