Lost in the Shuffle
| Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Lost in the Shuffle |
| Author(s): | Mary Jean Holmes |
| Date(s): | 1984-1985 |
| Length: | |
| Genre: | |
| Fandom: | |
| External Links: | |
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Lost in the Shuffle is a gen Star Wars story by Mary Jean Holmes.
It was printed in four parts in four issues of Shadowstar: #15, #16, #17, #18.
Summaries
As printed in "Shadowstar" #18:
Part One
In Part One: Less than a year after Solo's expulsion from the Imperial Military, Han and Chewbacca are fired from their Jobs in a covert smuggling operation. The owner of the company, Orvis Krove, blames it on pressure he has been receiving from the Merchants' Guild, a strong, galaxy-wide, Corellian-governed union which has blacklisted Han because of his status as an Outcaste on Corellia. After their dismissal, Han and Chewie find locating work to be very difficult, because of the stigma involved in a blacklisting. To make matters worse, Chewbacca discovers that a plague is ravaging his homeworld, while he is stranded on a distant planet called Kelepin, broke and unemployed. Feeling that he must do something to help, Han takes on a Job he had already rejected, that of a contract employee for a local financier, Tai Lawonn, Although Lawonn agrees to pay him in advance, he also guarantees Han's loyalty by trickery, implanting in him a tracer that, if left unscrambled, will emit a signal which will register on Imperial scanners as that of an escaped convict. Angry with his deception, Han nonetheless goes through with the bargain, for Chewie's sake. Anonymously, he forwards the money to the Wookiee, who can now return home to help his family. But after several months in Lawonn's service, Han discovers that the banker has tricked him in more ways than one: he included in the contract a clause that would guarantee him rights to resale and renewal, a minor codicil Han was in too much of a hurry to read before signing. Desperate, Han tries to escape, only to be thwarted by stormtroopers who are following the tracer. He manages to return to the shielded safety of Lawonn's estate before being caught, but the banker has discovered his attempt• In punishing him, Lawonn threatens to make him miserable for the rest of his life, should he try Jumping contract again. As far as Han is concerned, things are looking pretty miserable already...
Part Two
In Part Two: Several weeks later, while on an errand to the local starport, Han meets up with Chewbacca, who has returned from Kashyyyk, now that things are well under control again, Han finds that his generosity not quite anonymous: Chewie learned where the money came from before leaving Kelepin, and had vowed to return to bail him out as soon as possible. There are obstacles, however: the remaining money is not enough to pay off what is left of Han's contract, But Solo is thoroughly fed up with life under Lawonn, and is willing to take a long shot. He insists the Wookiee get himself involved in a high-stakes sabacc game which he knows Lawonn — an almost compulsive gambler — is intending to attend, Chewie hesitates, then concedes, hoping to win enough to make the payoff. The plan very nearly works: but, in the final hand, Lawonn finds himself short of funds and throws in Han's contract in lieu of cash, Chewie's hand is ruined in the last round, and the pot — including the contract — is won by a Sautbinian nobleman: Lando Calrissian, Although Calrissian is genuinely interested in taking both Han and his partner on as crew. Solo has extreme trepidation over the prospect, In a gesture of trust, Lando gives him both the scrambler and the money he would have earned over the next year of the contract. Mollified, Han agrees to stay on as co-pilot of the Millennium Falcon, with Chewie as support crew. After leaving Kelepin, they find Calrissian to be oddly secretive, moving from planet to planet seemingly at whim. They learn that he has many unusual friends and acquaintances: Jay Sinden, the grandson of the Guild's Chairman of the Board; Wynton Silverthorn, an Independant spacer who also happens to be an elkuchai; and an assortment of merchants, politicians, and other equally secretive sorts. While on Calixto — a mercantile seat and favorite vacation world for Imperial Senators — Han takes a seemingly urgent message for Lando while he is gone: he is advised to come to the Red Star within an hour, or lose an important deal. Since they cannot contact him in time and the message seems imperative, Han decides to go in Lando's place. When he arrives, however, he finds the place dark, abandoned, decaying, and rat-infested. Before he can leave, however, he is attacked by something from the rafters: his attempts to fight back are futile, and he sees the face of one of Lando's merchant-friends before he is injured and left, unconscious...
Part Three
In Part Three: After rescuing Han and getting even with Mantai — an enemy of Lando's who had set the trap for the baron and accidentally caught Han instead — Lando returns to the Falcon and makes a business deal with Han, in which he agrees to share the profits from future freight andIor smuggling runs. He also explains to Han why he has been behaving so secretively: he has been pursing a vendetta against Governor Helthran of Sautbine, who, some years in the past, slaughtered the Calrissian family in order to take control of the family's merchant princedom. He promises to put the feud on hold, and, with everything now out in the open, things seem to return to normal, Chewbacca's share of the profits is sent home to help his pregnant wife, Han's is collected in hopes of someday purchasing a starship — and Lando's goes to hire an informer to help him plan his eventual assassination. Annoyed by his broken promise, Han nonetheless loses a bet to Lando andf against his better judgement, agrees to help him make an assassination attempt at a Governor*s Conference. Although with the help of Kiri Silverthorn, their plan to infiltrate the convention works perfectly, Lando finds at the crucial moment that he is not made of the same stuff as hired killer, he cannot murder the man in cold blood. Recognizing his subsequent depression for what it is — a self-accusation of cowardice — Han pulls the nobleman out of his slump by suggesting an alternate method of revenge: Helthran has been using vast Imperial research grants and funding to develop a new tracking/weapons system; his reputation is hanging heavily on an upcoming demonstration at which Darth Vader will be present. Han suggests by ruining the demonstration, Lando might also ruin Helthran. Lando likes the idea; however, the demonstration is to be held on Sautbine, and the restricted ports there will not allow him entry without a legitimate cargo — and the only one available that will get them to Sautbine in time is a Guild-only shipment of medical supplies. Not to be thwarted, Lando has Han break into the Guild computers to get them clearance; meanwhile, needing money to pay the front charges, he calls in the debts of a cousin, Ankar, who has no cause to love him. Once on Sautbine, he fails to make delivery of the cargo, fearing that he might expose himself before ruining Helthran; the perishable drugs — intended for a Guild Medcenter — pass their expiration date without delivery, angering the Guild. While Chewbacca infiltrates Helthran*s workshops and Han devises a way for Lando to safely ruin the demonstration, Ankar blows the whistle on his cousin, telling the Guild what he has done and where he has gone. When Lando leaves for the demonstration — adamantly alone — he does not know he is being followed: by Han, who thinks he is foolish for going alone, and by two others bent on revenge...
Some Sample Illos
from "Shadowstar" #16, Mary Jean Holmes
from "Shadowstar" #16, Mary Jean Holmes
from "Shadowstar" #18, Mary Jean Holmes
from "Shadowstar" #18, Wanda Lybarger
from "Shadowstar" #18, Mary Jean Holmes
from "Shadowstar" #18, Mary Jean Holmes
Fan Comments
I'll leave most of my comments on Lost in the Shuffle until I've read more. However, I have a sneaking suspicion that, before your novel is over, we might be meeting Lando and the Falcon. Although we've all read many stories featuring the young, impulsive, reckless, and foolish Han Solo, I have a feeling that LITS isn't just another adventure, but will show us one of those experiences that made him into the man we see in the SW Saga; not perfect, but someone who has always learned things the hard way. Those are usually the lessons we learn best, anyway; thinking with out hearts instead of our heads — such as Han does in LITS when he signs the contract to help Chewie — can sometimes get one into trouble, but it's what makes us human (thank God!). I guess the trick is learning the right balance. Han's later cynicism is most likely the result of bouts with "heart-over-head" that left him hurting as an older Solo. But it's that same kind of emotion that compelled him to stay with Luke and Leia, and finally showed him that yes, it can hurt, but it's also what leads to the best things in life. To roe, this is what all the SW characters are learning. The main thing is to remember, perhaps, is that as soon as we think we've got the balance right, something or someone else will probably come along and teach us a new lesson! [1]
Lost in the Shuffle by Ye Editore. Hmph. If you hadn't sent me the entirety of this particularly vicious trash-Han piece, I'd've just had to come swoopin' down on you to snatch it right out o' your disk drive. That's a terrible place to end a segment! Gods, it hurts to see him hurting like that — and I don't mean the cracked jaw! And people tell me I torment the hapless Corellian — And it does go on for longer, too! [2]
I hate to admit this, but I had not been following Lost in the Shuffle because long stories have been making my eyeballs burn out, of late. However, I glanced over part one in SHADOWSTAR #15, and before I knew it, I was hooked! I hunted down part two, and then I gobbled up part three. And I can't wait for the rest! I especially loved the parts showing how much Han and Chewie (and now Lando) care for one another. And I'll be eternally envious of your ability to keep all the SW universe details straight in your head. That had always intimidated me, for if I can't immediately figure out Evh-ry Gaw-damd De-tail about a story-universe, I sometimes become a little aloof... It's silly, I know, and it's kept me from enjoying several sagas, like Lord of the Rings and the many STAR TREK novels. It's different than, say, Indiana Jones, which is set on the good ol' Earth in a fairly recent and well-documented era.
But LITS has lifted my flagging interest in SW...[3]