To say times were rough would be an understatement, the shadow of the Clone Wars seemed to loom over them as practically all the peace the galaxy had delightfully enjoyed was now stolen away from them. Two years prior, when Maul had unleashed his Project Krystal, the guise had fallen and the galaxy was officially at war again. The Republic Vs Darth Maul.

In those two years, many things had changed.

Han had been granted full amnesty for his crimes due to his efforts at the Battle of Concordia and the fact that both Luke and Leia - quite revered Jedi despite their young age. Without the opposing possibility that he could be carted away at any minute, Han was infinitely thankful, he couldn't remember the last time (if there had in fact been a time) he wasn't on the run.

Despite the fact he was technically a free man, in the Republic at least, Han decided against simply uping and leaving. He begrudgingly acknowledged that Luke was a genuine friend and, even if she didn't reciprocate and they always seemed to be fighting, he was utter enthralled by Leia. And, as Luke had pointed out, Han was a good pilot and by the looks of things, the Republic were greatful for any and all pilot's they had.

With some persuasion, Luke and Leia had somehow given Han an official rank amongst the army of the Republic. The ex-smuggler had originally assumed this rank would be something small like a starting position - a prospect Han found utterly boring and tedious - but he was surprised to find himself saddled with the rank of general.

General Solo. As much as Han liked the sound of that title, he didn't know exactly how he of all people had gotten this rank without even working his way through the Republic army. When he had confronted Leia about this revelation, she had told him that as someone with experience in the Outter Rim and being part of Jabba's smuggling operations, could be invaluable to the Republic - and also, she may have used a Jedi mind trick or two to get him the rank.

Suffice to say, Han felt compelled to put his best foot forward with his new rank. Though he wouldn't admit it, he really owed Luke and Leia a lot for getting his records wiped and this new job, so he needed to prove, to at least them, that he was more than some backstreet criminal. Besides, Han really found himself taken with this beautiful, frustrating but kind Jedi girl. Han was more a 'love em and leave em' kinda guy because it had always suited his criminalistic lifestyle and besides, things were always dangerous with someone on the run, but Han hated to admit that Leia seemed like an exception because despite himself, he found himself almost trying to prove himself to her with his new position as general, like he needed her approval.

Anakin had noticed this.

Anakin wasn't always the most rational of Jedi, he was practically famous for it amongst the Jedi, especially in his years during the Clone Wars. Since becoming a father, had had taken a more measured approach to things as parenthood had given him a fresh perspective on life, he thought more logically and took in as much wisdom as he could, hoping to pass it on to his children. But that didn't mean Anakin wasn't still that reckless Jedi those around him had grown to love.

He knew that both Luke and Leia were adults now, into their early twenties, but to him, they were still his little children. To Anakin, it felt like only yesterday he was cuddling up on the sofa to get them to sleep, listening to them say their first words and taking them to their first Jedi youngling classes. So as much as he tried to convince himself that he shouldn't have a problem with Han, it still nagged at the back of his mind.

Anakin had never been restrictive of what his kids did with their spare time, especially now they were no longer 'kids'. Luke had his friends and Leia had hers, but with Han, Anakin knew something was different from the start - that was the problem when you try to hide your feelings in a family of force-sensitives, things tend to slip through.

Anakin had prided himself in being able to bridge the gap between supportive but protective father when it came to Luke and Leia. He would sacrifice literally anything to see them and Padmé happy.

Admittedly, he had been in two minds when Ahsoka had first taken a fancy to Lux, in big brother way he wanted to support her in her decision (he would have overlooked for her) but he had also been a little defensive. And now Ahsoka had been married to Lux for years and their first baby Rexie was just celebrating his second birthday.

Anakin couldn't deny that Han was actually really good at his job as general advisor to the Jedi. Despite his sometimes arrogant tone and the odd manerisms which he obviously couldn't shake from his years of being a criminal, Anakin knew he had a good heart, he had saved the twins after all and was now proving himself to be a real selfless figure for the war. Even after the death of Obi-Wan which set Anakin back in terms of rationality, he couldn't hate General Solo just because he had an interest in his daughter.

Leia and Han weren't like teenagers who oggled at each other, far from it. In fact, the two were often arguing and bickering but in more of an old married couple type of way than a properly aggressive fight. Leia had never really been girly type, sure, she had her mother's impeccable dress sense and flowing hair, but Leia was usually always locked behind a cold exterior. The only times she truly let her guard down was when she was with her family and sometimes with her friends, but she had a tender inside that lurked behind the icy casing, so it was almost obvious to those around her that she held feelings for Han but was in denial and so fell back on her usual insults.

With so many responsibilities now with the war, Anakin had to begrudgingly just ignore the problem - if it could even be called that - of Han. Finding Maul, avenging Obi-Wan and ending another galactic war were unsurprisingly higher on the list over the fact his daughter who was an adult finding someone she liked.

In those two years, Han wasn't the only one who was recruited from the Outter Rim. Luke had found himself constantly being commed by an unknown source which gave him anonymous information about Maul's forces on Tatooine. At first, the council thought this unknown source was a decoy, a fake, but when Luke demanded they reveal themselves, he was shocked to find who lit up in the hologram.

Pathlo. Owen and Beru's son, Luke and Leia's cousin. Why him of all people would be contacting him, Luke had no clue, even Anakin and Leia seemed confused. Luke had long since explained how he and Obi-Wan had been taken in by Anakin's step brother, and after recovering from Obi-Wan's loss, Anakin had finally found it in his heart to forgive Owen after all those years of resentment.

Pathlo had explained to Luke and the Jedi Council that he was inspired by his cousin's tales of the galaxy to the point he wanted to join in the fight and that what his parents had begrudgingly let him contact the Jedi to see if he could help.

Unable to convince him that it could be dangerous and the Jedi couldn't be there to protect him so far within enemy lines, the Council agreed to let Pathlo have his change as their operative on the Hut Clan. With both Han and Pathlo working with them, the Jedi were certain their help would be invaluable.

With the territory between Maul and the Republic becoming a level playing field, the Jedi were tasked with creating and maintaining surveillance bases on world's controlled by the Republic, as well as some within Maul's territory itself but under the up most secrecy. Trying to track Maul's ships was proving difficult so many posts were set up on remote planets in the Outter Rim to try and pinpoint ships leaving nearby plants and their assumed route.

Each base was manned by a Clone batallion and Jedi overlookers, all except the ones in enemy territory. Maul was too powerful a sith not to notice the pull of the force within his own dominion so Jedi did not usually stay at the secret bases very long if at all.

But a rather large congregation of syndicate ships had started to mass only a few dozen parsecs from the Republic base on the remote ice world of Hoth. With suspicions rising, Luke and Leia were sent to the base despite the danger of putting strong force sensitives within the detection of Darth Maul. Leia had insisted that General Solo accompanying them on the terms that should the base come under attack and evacuation become necessary, his knowledge of how to navigate through the Outter Rim would be helpful - even if it was an unconscious cover up of the fact she had begrudgingly come accustomed to his 'friendship'.

Their journey to Hoth didn't go as smooth as they had hoped as, in order to keep their whereabouts and destination safe, they were forced to take the long way round. During a period of flight where the Millennium Falcon was forced to drop out of hyperspace in order to jump again, they had the unfortunate pleasure of bumping into a bounty hunter.

This bounty hunter, no one really recognisable so obviously new to the scene, hadn't even realised that Jedi were aboard the ship. In fact, at first, they had all been confused as to what a bounty hunter would want with the Falcon if they didn't know it contained valuable Jedi... Until it was revealed this bounty hunter was in fact in persuit of Han.

All this false security and hope of a clean slate had immediately shattered in Han's mind as it was now clear that no matter what he did, he wasn't a free man entirely. Unable to escape his past, Han had almost forgotten that whilst the Republic may have given him amnesty, Jabba still wanted him dead or alive - optimistically alive.

Despite all the progress Han had made in those two years as a General of the Republic Army, Han knew he had debts to settle before he could finally be a free man.

The clone commander on Hoth was actually quite familiar with Han, he'd even go so far as to say they were friends of not friendly acquaintances. That being the case, Han was mostly sure that if he told this commander he needed to leave his post to clear his name, this commander might turn a blind eye. Then all he needed to do was get this past the Twins, especially Leia.

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