In the Navy
May. 26th, 2009 04:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
4thofelevenI found one of the Ann Crispin Han Solo novels while going through my books, and it reminded me of something I’d been meaning to post about.
There’s one aspect of Han’s EU background that’s never quite worked for me – the idea that Han was in the Imperial navy. It just doesn’t seem in line with Han’s background – why would he want to join the navy? How would he get into the academy in the first place? Crispin’s novels end up having to work around this by having a major plot in the first novel being Han trying to get enough money to have a fake ID made that’s good enough to get past Imperial background checks, but that just emphasises that it’d be a lot of effort for Han to get in, let alone graduate, and he doesn’t seem like the sort that would see becoming an officer as a goal worthy of that sort of effort.
It occurred to me that it would make much more sense if *Lando* had served a tour of duty in the navy. Lando’s a lot closer to the respectable end of the spectrum – or at the very least, he’s a lot better at faking it – and I can see him growing up in an environment in which he’d pick up the idea that being an officer is something to aspire to… and being a dashing young lieutenant seems like something more in line with Lando’s self-image than Han’s. Plus, Lando clearly has some sort of previous military experience – him and Han both end up rebel generals, but it’s Lando who’s actually commanding forces in large scale battle, while Han gets the commando part of the mission.
Obviously Lando didn’t stay with the military – probably quit as soon as possible after deciding that sort of discipline wasn’t for him. Maybe there was some sort of scandal that let him temporarily ending up travelling in the same seedy circles as Han. Still, he worked his way back into a position of power, and his Imperial officer background was enough that Vader was willing to at least initially pretend to deal fairly with him, rather than just seizing Bespin outright from the start.
As for Han and Chewbacca – well, he doesn’t need to be an officer to rescue Chewie. He could just have been temporarily at an Imperial base, completing one of his few legitimate shipping assignments. Or he broke Chewie out of jail on Kessel in the middle of a deal turned fiasco. Lots of possibilities that I think fit much better than Han being an officer kicked out after an attack of conscience…
There’s one aspect of Han’s EU background that’s never quite worked for me – the idea that Han was in the Imperial navy. It just doesn’t seem in line with Han’s background – why would he want to join the navy? How would he get into the academy in the first place? Crispin’s novels end up having to work around this by having a major plot in the first novel being Han trying to get enough money to have a fake ID made that’s good enough to get past Imperial background checks, but that just emphasises that it’d be a lot of effort for Han to get in, let alone graduate, and he doesn’t seem like the sort that would see becoming an officer as a goal worthy of that sort of effort.
It occurred to me that it would make much more sense if *Lando* had served a tour of duty in the navy. Lando’s a lot closer to the respectable end of the spectrum – or at the very least, he’s a lot better at faking it – and I can see him growing up in an environment in which he’d pick up the idea that being an officer is something to aspire to… and being a dashing young lieutenant seems like something more in line with Lando’s self-image than Han’s. Plus, Lando clearly has some sort of previous military experience – him and Han both end up rebel generals, but it’s Lando who’s actually commanding forces in large scale battle, while Han gets the commando part of the mission.
Obviously Lando didn’t stay with the military – probably quit as soon as possible after deciding that sort of discipline wasn’t for him. Maybe there was some sort of scandal that let him temporarily ending up travelling in the same seedy circles as Han. Still, he worked his way back into a position of power, and his Imperial officer background was enough that Vader was willing to at least initially pretend to deal fairly with him, rather than just seizing Bespin outright from the start.
As for Han and Chewbacca – well, he doesn’t need to be an officer to rescue Chewie. He could just have been temporarily at an Imperial base, completing one of his few legitimate shipping assignments. Or he broke Chewie out of jail on Kessel in the middle of a deal turned fiasco. Lots of possibilities that I think fit much better than Han being an officer kicked out after an attack of conscience…
no subject
on 2009-05-26 10:30 am (UTC)