Corellia's Child



Coruscant, nine years after ROTJ


Senator Vail Golden had always believed in the power of his last name. Born to one of the richest and most influential families on Corellia, he hadn't been surprised when, eight years before, the beautiful former Princess of Alderaan had agreed to marry him less than one month after he'd been elected as the first senator to serve in the New Republic. People had gossiped, of course, that Leia Organa only agreed to marry him after coming off a bad relationship with another Corellian, but Vail refused to believe that was true. Leia would have left the ex-smuggler for him anyway. He was quite certain of that.

He looked over at his wife sitting next to him in the expensive, chauffeured hovercraft, and squeezed her hand. She rewarded him with a quick glance and a small, half-smile. Vail could never make his wife laugh, no matter how hard he tried. The only genuine smiles came when she hugged and kissed their daughter, seven year old Shannon. Vail sighed to himself and looked out the hovercraft's window. When Shannon was a year old, one of his aides had pointed out to him the child's name contained 'han'. Vail had fired the aide on the spot, and a large argument with his wife had ensued. It looked bad, he'd pointed out to the stubborn Princess, like she was clinging to some distant, desperate memory. Leia's response had been that it's too late. Shannon had the name now, and they would not change it. Besides, Leia had said, the fact that 'han' was buried inside the name 'Shannon' had never even occurred to her. Vail had no choice but to believe her, but their business-like marriage had turned a few more degrees toward chilly after that encounter.

"Shannon's very excited to be in this concert," Vail said into the silence. Other than politics, discussing their child was the only thing Leia and Vail found they had in common that they could talk about. "She has one of the main solos." He instantly regretted his choice of words. The word 'Solo' was off limits, even in this innocent context.

"So she told me," Leia replied calmly, looking out of the other window.

"Nothing is going to happen," Vail said, unable to keep the annoyance out of his voice. Leia's 'feelings' got on his nerves, and she'd had a bad 'feeling' about this night, too.

"Yes. You've said that already."

Vail gave an impatient hiss. "You're not a Jedi, so quit acting like you are."

"If I'm not, it's only because you've done your best to throw every block you can think of in my path," Leia returned tightly.

"Let's not get into this old song again, Leia," Vail said. "You know how I feel about that Jedi garbage."

"My brother is a Jedi," Leia snapped. "And our daughter could be, too."

"She will never be a Jedi," Vail huffed out. "It's not proper."

"Proper," Leia repeated flatly. "The only thing you think is proper for a woman is staying home and taking care of her husband."

Vail knew it still galled Leia that he had insisted she turn down Mon Mothma's request to be the next President of the New Republic. It had been another huge fight in their marriage, and Leia only backed down when Vail threatened to divorce her and fight for full custody of Shannon. There was simply no way his wife would ever outrank him in the political scene. Vail could never live with that, since he had always dreamed of becoming the President, himself.

The rest of the trip was in stony silence, neither husband nor wife looking at each other. When the hovercraft pulled to a stop, a small group of holo-reporters were waiting for them to exit the car, and Vail deliberately took Leia's hand, smiling and waving like the professional politician he was.

Halfway to the concert hall, blaster fire rang out. Vail Golden dropped his wife's hand and attempted to rush into the crowd of reporters for cover, but a blast caught him in the center of his back. The Senator's last thought was that he'd never been elected President of the New Republic.

*****************

"Leia?"

Painfully, the Princess opened her eyes and looked into the face of her worried brother. "Where's Shannon?"

Luke looked away for a brief moment, not wanting to answer, but he could feel Leia's rising sense of panic.

"Luke? Is she dead?"

"No..."

"Where is she?"

"She's been kidnapped."

Leia took a deep, ragged breath, trying not to cry. "I have to find her."

"You've been badly injured," Luke said gently. "The doctors need to get you into a bacta tank. I'll find Shannon. You just get better."

"Promise me...."

"I promise, Leia. I'll find her."

He stepped back as the doctors injected a sedative into his sister, then hustled her away. Only at that moment did Luke realize Leia hadn't asked about Vail, and he hadn't thought to tell Leia that her husband was dead, either.

*************

"It wasn't your fault," Jade said, standing with her hands on her hips as Luke packed his satchel.

The Jedi shook his head in disagreement. "I should have sensed there was danger."

"That's ridiculous," she argued back. "Jedi can't see into the future. If they could, then how did Darth Vader manage to kill them?"

Luke looked up at his student and friend, his eyes flashing pain, and instantly Mara felt guilty. "I shouldn't have said that - "

"It's okay." He said briefly, then returned to his packing.

"Was Leia upset about Vail?"

"She... she didn't ask about him."

Mara sighed, and sat down in a soft chair facing Luke. "I never liked Vail."

"You shouldn't say that," Luke admonished her. "He's dead."

"You didn't like him either."

Again, the Jedi stopped his packing and looked over at the redhead. "He was my brother-in-law. For eight years."

"So? It was eight years too long. He was a vain, shallow, petty little dictator."

"Mara!"

"It's true," she said defensively, refusing to feel badly about Vail Golden's death. "He spent more time preening in front of a mirror than ten casino dancing girls put together. And he was a womanizer."

"How do you know?"

"He made a pass at me a few years back. One time." She smiled without humor. "He didn't appreciate it when I threatened him with my lightsaber. Called me a really bad name."

Luke could barely believe what he was hearing. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why should I, Farmboy? I can take care of myself, so don't you start thinking females are helpless little creatures, like Goldenboy."

"Do you think Leia knew?"

"The wife always knows, Luke. But like all wives, Leia didn't want to admit her husband was a cad."

"He was a good father," Luke said lamely, trying to think of something good to say of the dead.

"If you say so."

"Now what did he do wrong there?"

"Besides denying his precious child has Force abilities? What about the fact he bought her everything credits could buy? She's spoiled rotten! The child owns expensive gemstone jewelry, her own stable of lyrnies, her own holoscreening room ... and makeup!" Mara gave a disgusted snort. "He encouraged her to wear makeup! Shannon is seven years old!"

"Leia didn't want her to wear makeup."

"Leia never had a say in anything in that marriage, except for naming Shannon." She shook her head. "Even that was a battle."

Luke turned around and clicked the satchel shut. "Will you watch Leia for me?"

"No."

"No?"

"No. Winter can do that. Cilghal is standing by in case she's needed, and Mothma's already ordered Leia's hospital room to be heavily guarded. There's nothing I can do for Leia by staying on Coruscant. I'm coming with you."

"Mara...."

She stood up, frowning. "Don't be like Vail."

Luke knew he wasn't going to win. "Never."

********************


Onboard a Transport, in deep space.

The Bothan handed a credit voucher to the kidnappers, then looked over at the small box. "She'd better be alive inside there."

"She's alive," the human male muttered as he rubbed his wrist, glancing over at his three companions - a Gamorrean, a Bith and another human. "She bit me! I didn't get paid enough to get bit by that... that..."

"Go put a bacta patch on it," the Bothan said dismissively. "When the ransom comes through, I'll send you your share. In the meantime, have a nice day."

The Gamorrean pushed the box through the hatch, and down the ramp into the transport, then watched as two more Bothans picked up the box and hurried away.

Then the ratty, cylinder-shaped pirate ship shot out of the hanger, and the two vessels parted company.

 

***************

 

“It was a triple tragedy for the Golden family today on Coruscant, as assassins shot and killed Senator Vail Golden today, badly wounding his wife, Ambassador Leia Organa-Golden. Meanwhile, the kidnappers used the cover of panic and horror taking place outside to kidnap the Senator’s and Ambassador’s only child, Shannon Golden, who was preparing to put on a concert inside a nearby auditorium with her teachers and classmates.”

“Fortunately, none of the other children, ages five through nine, were wounded inside the concert hall, although they were traumatized from the ordeal of being threatened and locked inside a storage room.”

As the holo-reporter continued on, Alli Solo looked up at her husband, appraising his reaction to this news. She knew about Han’s past – as a smuggler, a Rebel, and then, briefly, as a New Republic general. Alli also knew Han had been in love with the Princess of Alderaan, and suspected he still had feelings for her, all these years later.

Nine years ago, Han and Leia had a heated argument over the Princess’s dedication to her job, and the Princess had told Han her job came first, before personal relationships. In the rush of anger that followed the argument, Han had gone to a bar, and, drunk, flirted with the first pretty girl he saw. Unfortunately, a holo-cam caught him kissing this girl, and the story made the evening news. That drunken encounter ended his relationship to the Princess.

Alli hadn’t known Han yet, when less than six months after the breakup, Leia Organa had married Senator Vail Golden, the handsome, rich playboy-turned-politician. She only saw the aftermath that the Princess’s marriage had on the pilot, and his partner's desperate attempts to keep him from self destruction. Alli Solo was then Alli Gils, a divorced mother of two small boys – Trey, age two, and his older brother, Rue, age four.

Trying to support herself by running a small freight business, and raise two rambunctious boys hadn’t been easy. Chewbacca had approached her looking for work, and that was the beginning. Han Solo was easily her best pilot, and the Wookiee made certain his friend and partner showed up for work on time and sober. Eventually, Alli had asked Han out for dinner, then one thing led to another. A year later, he’d asked her to marry him, and she had accepted. Deep down, Alli suspected Han still loved his Princess, but knew he’d never get her back – not since she’d given birth to Vail’s baby, Shannon Golden, a few weeks earlier. Perhaps all Han wanted was to show Leia she’d made a mistake, and that he was worthy of being a husband and a father. In any case, the boys loved him, and so did Alli, so for whatever his reasons, Alli accepted Han’s proposal.

Han looked over at his wife of seven years. “I’m not going to fly to Coruscant,” he said gruffly. “Quit worryin’ about it.”

“I’m not worried,” she lied. “Are you still picking up that shipment of crystals on Bothawui?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“I just thought… never mind.”

Han’s face softened as he looked down at his wife. “I’ll be back in four days.” He leaned over and gave her a kiss. “Take care of yourself while I’m gone, and don’t forget to take your medicine. You know what the doctors told you about missing doses.”

“I’ll remember,” she promised, then watched as he walked out the door. She maneuvered her hover-chair over to the window, and felt a tear trickle down her cheek as he disappeared from her view.

*****************

 

Bothawui


Shannon opened her eyes, frowning into the darkness. She didn’t like being in the dark, always insisting that a nightlight be left on next to her bed. “Daddy!” No response was forthcoming, which puzzled her. Usually her daddy came right away when she called. Her mother was far less inclined to come running the second she called, but since daddy didn’t come, he must be busy. “Mommy?” She sat up, wondering why her bed was so hard, and why her room smelled funny.

Again, no one came rushing into the room. “Threepio? Where are you?”

The door opened, and light flooded into the tiny room. “Shut up, brat, or I’ll make you shut up!” a harsh male voice shouted at her.

It was only then that Shannon remembered what happened in the concert hall’s back room. A slobbering Gamorrean and a mean man were pointing blasters at them, calling them bad names, ordering them into a storage room. All except Shannon. The man grabbed her, and ordered her to come with him. She remembered biting the man’s wrist, and she remembered that he hit her, hard. No one had ever hit her before, and she screeched and screamed at the top of her lungs, trying to kick the man in his leg. Then the man had put a smelly cloth over her face, and everything went black.

Now she was here… wherever here was. “I want to go home!”

“Tough, brat. You’ll go home when we decide it’s time. Now stop yelling.” He started to close the door, but Shannon was very fast, leaping to her feet and pushing the door open. The being on the other side was a Bothan, not too much taller than Shannon, but much stronger. He grabbed her wrist, his face twisting into a snarl. “Don’t like to listen, do you?”

“Let me go!” she screamed, trying to wrench away from his grasp. “I’m going to tell my daddy!”

For some reason, that comment made the Bothan laugh. “Your daddy won’t care.”

“My daddy will too care! He’s going to send you to the spice mines for being mean to me!”

The Bothan couldn’t stop himself. “That can’t happen, kid, since your daddy’s dead.”

“LIAR!” Outraged, she flung herself at the smug, hairy being, only to find the door slammed shut and locked in her face. The room was once again plunged into darkness, and Shannon collapsed onto the cold floor, sobbing.

*****************

Onboard the Jade’s Fire


Mara nudged Luke’s shoulder, breaking his Force-trance. “I’ve contacted Talon Karrde. He’s using his connections to see if he can come up with any names.”

“Thank you,” Luke said, stretching his legs and arms.

“Is the Force telling you anything yet? Or did I interrupt too soon?”

Luke sighed. “I keep getting the impression this has more to do with Vail than anything. More revenge motivated than money motivated. And…” he broke off, biting his lip.

“And, what?”

“I keep getting images of Han and Chewie for some reason.”

“Solo? Do you think he’s behind this?” Mara asked, sounding surprised. She’d never met the Corellian herself, but Luke had always given her the impression he was basically a good man, despite the acrimonious way his relationship with Leia had ended.

“I just can’t see either Han or Chewie killing anyone in cold blood, or kidnapping a child. And I’m positive he’d never hurt Leia physically. I don’t understand why I keep getting visual impressions of both of them, though.”

“How long has it been since you’ve seen Solo?”

Luke thought for a long moment. “Five years now.” It had been an unexpected encounter at a spaceport on Corellia, and Luke remembered Han had not been overly pleased to see him, but he’d been cordial. They talked briefly, and the Jedi had been surprised to hear about Han’s marriage, but happy his friend apparently found someone to love. He’d not told Leia about seeing Han, however. Any mention of the name 'Han Solo' upset Leia, far more than Luke thought it should. “He wouldn’t do this,” Luke said with conviction.

Mara nodded, hoping Luke was right.

*************

Onboard the Falcon


Chewie turned his blue eyes toward his silent partner. [You have a good life now, Han.]

The Corellian looked over at the Wookiee. “I know,” he snapped back, then softened his tone. “You don’t have to lecture me on responsibilities. I’ve spent the last seven years helping raise two boys, and I think I’ve been a pretty good husband.”

[Yet, you cannot forget the Princess.]

“I’m sure she’s forgotten me.”

[For some reason, I doubt that. And now her husband is dead.]

Han’s face flushed. “So? I won’t abandon the boys… or Alli. You know that.”

[Nor should you. But what will happen when Alli is gone?]

“She ain’t dead yet,” Han shot back, fighting down grief as he thought about the muscle disease that was slowly destroying her body. Medicine could be so advanced, yet there were always diseases that confounded even the best doctors. Neurosensory Degeneration was a terrible illness, and while doctors could keep the patient alive with medicine, they could not stop the progress from vague limb weakness, to needing a hover-chair, then artificial respiration, and eventual death. Alli was already in a hover-chair when Han married her, and she was fast approaching the point where she would need help breathing.

[Not thinking about it won’t change the inevitable.]

No, Han knew it wouldn’t. He didn’t tell Chewie that Alli’s ex-husband had been contacting the boys in recent months, trying to wheedle his way back into their lives. Once Alli died, it was very possible Han would lose everything he had once again.

*****************

Onboard the Jade’s Fire


Luke frowned at the holo-image of Talon Karrde. “Are you sure?”

“No,” Karrde admitted. “I can’t be sure. But there are a lot of rumors floating around that Bothans are somehow involved. Last I heard, a group of insurrectionists on Kothlis were interested in kidnapping rich children to finance their cause.”

“Is it possible that’s where Shannon’s been taken?” Mara asked.

“Very likely, if those are the Bothans I’ve been hearing about.”

“Then Kothlis is where Mara and I will head next,” Luke said. “Thanks for your help, Captain.”

“Anytime, Skywalker. If I hear anything else, I’ll contact you.”

The image faded, and Mara smiled at the Jedi. “So, on to Kothlis?”

“Unless you have a better idea.”

“Maybe we should try and contact Solo,” she suggested. “The Force has been nudging you in that direction.”

“I can’t. Not yet.” Luke sighed and folded his arms across his chest. “What would I tell him? That I think he’s involved somehow in Shannon’s kidnapping?”

“That wouldn’t go over too well,” Mara said, smirking. “But I don’t think we should ignore the Force.”

“We won’t ignore it, but let’s just wait until the signal is a bit clearer.”

************

 

Chewie handed Han a disk with the directions to Pontar’ley Corporation, and the Corellian slid the disk into the hovercraft’s computer, then turned the vehicle in the right direction. [Isn’t being an honest shipper better than smuggling?] Chewie woofed as they drove leisurely through the light traffic.

Han gave a snort. “I dunno… I sorta miss the excitement.”

[Excitement? You mean being chased by bounty hunters, shot at by stormtroopers, dodging Imperial starship patrols? That excitement?]

“Yeah,” he said, nodding. “It was fun.”

[You have a strange idea of fun, Han.]

“Life was never boring back then. Admit it.”

[I think I prefer boring.]

“Not me. When’s the last time we had a really fun time?” Han asked. “I think it was back when we were chasing Zsinj.”

[Then you should not have resigned from the New Republic,] he woofed back.

“Nah. I had to resign. If I’d have stayed, I would have seen her too often.”

[You could have worked things out with the Princess,] Chewie insisted quietly. [You are both so stubborn.]

“It’s too late, pal. Nine years too late to correct my mistake.”

Although Chewie disagreed, he said nothing.

*******************

Ce’rlle, the Bothan assigned to watch to human child, carried the food tray into the locked room. The child was lying on the floor, curled up into a fetal position and not moving. “Get up.” When she didn’t respond, he spoke louder, “Get up! This is the only food you’re getting today, brat.” Still, she remained unmoving, and the Bothan grew concerned. Had she somehow injured herself? Or did the kidnappers cause her to be harmed? He nudged her leg with his boot, and when she didn’t move he felt himself starting to panic. His boss would be very unhappy if the human were dead, at least at this point.

Placing the tray on the hard cot, he bent over and started to turn the child over so he could see her face. It was a mistake – the girl reached out and grabbed his ankles, jerking him backwards and off his feet. His head impacted with the wall, then the room blurred and his vision dimmed. Ce’rlle wasn’t too sure how long he lay on the cold surface before he came back to his senses, but by that time the human child was long gone.

He struggled to his feet and ran into the hall, rushing back and forth as he attempted to locate her. Unfortunately for him, Shannon Golden was nowhere to be found. His boss wasn’t going to be merely unhappy .. he was going to kill him – literally.

************

 

Running fast, Shannon found herself outside without being quite certain how she’d gotten away. Uncle Luke and his friend Mara would’ve probably said it had something to do with the Force, but her daddy always laughed when they talked about the Force, and told her to ignore that kind of talk. Shannon loved her daddy more than anything, so she pretended he was right, and the Force didn’t exist. Sometimes, though, she wondered about it, because she could do things her friends couldn’t, like move objects without touching them. And she could guess who was inside a room before she opened the door. But she never told her daddy those things, because it made him mad, and she never told her mommy, either, because it made her sad for some reason.

She stopped running and looked around. This wasn’t a place she recognized, and while there were a lot of humans and other beings, mostly there were Bothans. Not knowing who to trust, Shannon wandered along the busy sidewalk trying not to be noticed. That was something she could do easily, too. When she didn’t want the teacher to ask her a question the teacher would look some other direction, or she wanted to take something from a store that didn’t belong to her, no one ever saw her when she put the stolen object in her pocket.

Her eyes tracked up to a ship that lifted off in the distance. It must be a spaceport, she decided. Her parents’ ship would certainly be there, and they would take her home.

***************

Kothlis


The Governor of Kothlis was a female Bothan by the name of Ly’y Rei’bedu, and she wasn’t happy when Jedi Master Luke Skywalker and his student Mara Jade insisted on meeting with her.

“I’m quite certain no Bothan would have anything to do with Senator Golden’s death, or the child’s kidnapping,” she said, her voice icy. “It amazes me how incredibly prejudice humans are toward Bothans. Every time something goes wrong, we seem to get the blame.”

“No one is blaming you personally, Governor,” Luke said soothingly. “Nor are we blaming Bothans in general. Humans certainly have their share of bad guys. We just thought you might have heard some rumors.”

Rei’bedu’s yellow fur ruffled. “I’m not a tabloid reporter, Jedi Skywalker. I don’t deal with rumors and innuendos.”

Mara opened her mouth to speak, but Luke quickly stood up and reached across to shake the Governor’s hand. “Thank you for your time, Governor Rei’bedu.”

Reluctantly, she shook his hand, then escorted them from her office. Once the door shut, Mara narrowed her green eyes back at the closed door.

“She’s lying.”

“I know.”

“Why did you let her get away with it?”

Luke smiled. “She won’t get away with it, Mara.”

“What do we do now, then?”

“We contact Wedge, and see if he can have Ghent intercept any emergency messages from Kothlis to Coruscant. I think there might be, real soon.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re sneaky, Farmboy?”

*************

 

Kothlis


Governor Ly’y Rei’bedu wasted no time in contacting Coruscant. Her boss, Borsk Fey’lya was furious. “You shouldn’t be contacting me like this,” he snapped out. “We have couriers for this type of emergency.”

“I realize that,” she sniffed. “But these are Jedi we’re dealing with. And they’re already suspicious of us.”

“They know nothing,” the Senator growled back. “I expect you to keep it that way.”

“What would you suggest I do?”

“Nothing. Do nothing! I will take care of matters myself,” Fey’lya replied as he reached down and cut off the communication.

*************

Bothawui

Shannon knew that her kidnappers were looking for her. Her first thought had been to contact the authorities on this system. Her mother had always told her if she was in trouble, she should find a law enforcement officer. Unfortunately, it appeared all the enforcement officers were Bothans, and Shannon didn’t know if she should trust them. Then again, the beings that had kidnapped her on Coruscant had been a human and a Gamorrean, so maybe all the Bothans weren't bad.

She made her way into the spaceport, looking in each docking bay for her parents’ ship. Nothing looked remotely familiar to her… except for that Bothan heading in her direction, walking in a hurry with another Bothan she'd never seen before. The one she recognized was the same one that had laughed at her in the cell, and told her that her father was dead. She ducked down behind some containers, and watched as the frantic beings approached.

“You don’t know she came this way,” the taller Bothan told the other.

“Where do you suggest we look?”

“Maybe she went to the law.”

“We’d have her back by now if that were the case.”

Both beings looked over their shoulder as two more beings headed toward them, pushing a loaded hover-cart. “Someone’s coming. Let’s go.”

The Bothans quickly left, and Shannon peeked out from her hiding spot. She strained to hear what the tall human man, dressed in dark slacks and white shirt, was telling the Wookiee...something about getting the boxes loaded into their ship so he could get home. She watched as the pair headed over to an old, battered ship, then lowered the ramp. The man picked up a box, which looked quite heavy, and the Wookiee picked up two of the boxes as he followed his friend inside the ship.

Shannon made a decision – she would sneak onboard that old ship. After she was safely away from this planet, she would come out of hiding, and order the pilots to take her home. And they’d better do it, if they knew what was good for them.

**************

 

Mara waved her hand at the blinking communication panel. “That couldn’t be Ghent already.”

“No,” Luke agreed. “Even he’s not that good.” He watched as Mara flipped on the switch, and answered the hail.

“Jade’s Fire,” she acknowledged.

A crackling voice came over the deep space comm. “Senator Fey’lya here. Is Jedi Skywalker with you?”

“Luke Skywalker speaking,” the Jedi replied quickly.

“Yes. Jedi Skywalker. Governor Rei’bedu has contacted me regarding your concerns about, um, your niece. Let me reassure you that no Bothan would have anything whatsoever to do with this unfortunate event,” Fey’lya said smoothly.

“How can you be certain of that, Senator?” Luke asked.

“My people made great sacrifices for the Rebellion,” Fey’lya returned evenly. “We are a peace-loving people.” He hesitated briefly, then added, “Besides, I’ve been working diligently to bring these murderers to justice. My contacts have provided me with a location where they believe the Princess’s child has been taken.”

“Where is that?” Mara asked.

“Nal Hutta. I’m sure you’re not too surprised to hear the Hutts are behind this crime.”

“Of course not,” Mara said sarcastically. “The Hutts are behind every crime in the galaxy.”

“I’m glad to hear you are aware of that,” the Bothan said, unaware of her flippant tone. “I wish you luck in finding the child.”

“Thank you, Senator,” Luke replied, keeping his voice respectful. “We’ll head to Nal Hutta immediately.” Luke cut the connection, and looked over at Mara.

“Karrde was right,” she said, smiling. “Fey’lya is very interested in sending us off on a wild mynock chase.”

“Any suggestions where we should really head?”

“How about Bothawui ?”

Luke grinned. “If that doesn’t make Fey’lya mad, nothing will. Bothawui it is.”

*****************

Onboard the Falcon, leaving Bothawui


Han pulled the lever, watching in satisfaction as the stars blurred into streaks. Without the constant close calls and fast escapes, the Falcon’s hyperdrive was much more reliable. Of course, it also helped not taking hits from Star Destroyers, either.

“We’re gonna be back home faster than I thought,” Han remarked, pleased the trip had gone so smoothly.

[I keep telling you this is better than smuggling,] Chewie said, a bit smugly.

The Corellian opened his mouth to respond, but a loud crash sounded from the hold. Solo swung around in his seat, frowning. “What the hell was that?”

***************

Glova

The buzzer on the door rang, and Alli rolled her hover-chair over and looked in the monitor. Her heart dropped to her stomach when she saw the portly man standing outside, tapping his hand against his thigh impatiently. Reluctantly, she slid the door open. “Brill. This is certainly a surprise,” Alli said carefully, looking up at her ex-husband.

“A pleasant one, I hope,” he replied, his thin lips parting into a forced smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “How are the boys?”

“Trey and Rue are fine,” she said, looking up from her chair. She noticed he didn’t inquire after her health. “They’re in school.”

“Good,” he said, nodding. “I need to discuss this in private with you, anyway.” His eyes flicked around. “Where is that Corellian you married?”

“Han. His name is Han Solo.”

“Whatever…. I’m filing a court request to get custody of the boys, Alli.”

She felt the blood drain from her face. “You can’t be serious. You’ve never shown an interest in their lives before! You left me when Trey was three months old…. they don’t even remember you anymore.”

“That’s going to change. They’re my sons, not that Corellian’s. He’s not going to raise my sons after you’re gone.”

“I’ll fight you, Brill,” she said, her voice shaking. “I’ll fight you with my last breath.”

“That’s coming sooner than you think, Alli.”

**************

 

Han rushed into the hold, his blaster drawn and pointed, with Chewie on his heels. Looking around, he could see that one of the containers holding the crystals had been moved slightly, but certainly not enough to cause the noise. Chewie nudged his shoulder, pointing to the left corner of the room. A tiny rivulet of pale blue milk trickled out from behind an empty barrel.

The Corellian frowned up at his partner. “Milk?”, he mouthed in puzzlement. Han wasn’t a big milk drinker, but Chewie loved the stuff.

[I didn’t spill it,] Chewie woofed quietly back.

Chewie headed to one side of the barrel, while Han sidled up cautiously to the opposite side. Then they both pulled the barrel away from the wall, revealing the origin of the milk. A young girl hunched down, clasping the milk bulb to her chest, staring up defiantly at Han. The Wookiee let out a surprised roar.

“How did you get onboard?” Han spluttered in shock. “Who are you?”

“Which question would you like me to answer first?” she said, struggling to her feet. Then she thrust the milk at Han. “Your milk is stale. I like my milk fresh.”

Dumbfounded, Han took the milk from the child. “Yes, your little shortness. I’ll be sure to stop off at the first system and restock my supplies.”

“Good,” she nodded, folding her arms across her chest. “And I like white bread without crusts and briselberry jam. Briselberry is kind of hard to find, but it’s the only kind I’ll eat. And I’m hungry, so you can feed me.”

“Who the hell are you?” Han snapped, getting mad.

“My name is Shannon, and I’m royalty. So you’d better listen and obey me, mister.”

“O…obey?”

“After you stop for fresh supplies and make me some food that I like, you’ll take me home. My daddy is worried about me.”

“Home?”

“Home. It’s on Coruscant. My daddy is an important Senator, and if you’re not nice to me, I’ll have him throw you in the spice mines.”

“Listen, kid,” Han started out, pointing his finger in her face. “I couldn’t care less who your daddy is…”

[Han….]

“And the only person I take orders from is me…..”

[Han…..]

“Certainly not some snot-faced little rich kid….”

[HAN!]

Solo spun around to face his partner. “What?”

[I think this is Shannon Golden. Leia’s child. She must not know about her father, yet.]

Slowly, Han turned back to the girl. “Shannon. Is your last name Golden?”

She tilted her chin up, her face smug. “Yes. See? I told you that you have to listen to me. I’m rich and famous.”

Glancing at Chewie, Han gave a sigh. “We need to drop outta hyper to reset our course for Coruscant. And I’ll have to let Alli know we’ll be late gettin’ home.”

*************

Coruscant

Leia opened her eyes, looking up blearily at Winter’s concerned face. “Winter?”

“I’m here, Leia.”

“Where is Shannon?”

“Luke and Mara are looking for her, and half of the New Republic security, too.”

“I need to talk to Luke,” she whispered softly. “He’s in danger. Great danger.” Oddly, the sense of danger toward her daughter had lessened since waking up. Almost like the Force was telling her Shannon was in safe hands.

Winter touched her friend’s shoulder. “Luke can take care of himself.”

After a moment, Leia asked, “Vail is dead, isn’t he?”

“Yes.”

Guilt coursed through Leia when she realized she felt very little grief over her husband’s death. The guilt increased when, moments later, she thought about someone she deliberately had tried not to think about for years.

***************

 

Over Bothawui

The Jade's Fire had barely left hyperspace when a dozen Uglies started firing at the ship. "Pirates?" Luke asked as he returned fire, grateful Mara had remembered to put up the shields before dropping out of hyperspace.

"Maybe, but I think it's more likely someone was expecting us."

"Fey'lya? We told him we were going to Nal Hutta," Luke returned, not taking his eyes off his task.

"Fey'lya, or maybe Rei’bedu. Bothans are notorious for covering all contingencies.

The ship shuddered as it took a hard hit. “We’re losing the rear deflectors,” Mara said, her voice brittle. “We can either jump back into hyperspace, or head to the planet and hope we make it down alive.” A second later, another luck shot got past, and sparks flew from the overhead panel. “Make up your mind, Farmboy, or we won’t have much of a choice.”

“I say we head down to the surface,” Luke said decisively. “Especially since someone wants us to leave so badly.”

Without another word, Mara angled the Fire down, and left the Uglies trailing far behind. Unfortunately, neither one expected the Ion cannon fire that blasted from the surface in their direction.

************

Onboard the Millennium Falcon

Han was getting worried. "Where is she?" He pressed the signal button with more force, as if that could somehow make Alli respond to his hail.

[Perhaps she was needed at the school, or office?]

"No," Han said, shaking his head. "She can't get out anymore, not without a lot of help. Something's wrong."

[Then we should return to Glova. We can contact Luke once we arrive, and he can come pick up Shannon.]

"Good idea, pal, but I ain't lookin' forward to spending more time with that kid. I just can't believe Leia's daughter turned out so, so..... ."

[Bossy?] Chewie woofed in amusement. [Strong willed?]

"Okay. So maybe I'm not surprised." He flicked some buttons, setting the course for Glova. "But she's gonna have to live with stale milk and brown bread for the next few days, cuz I ain't coddling her."

[Slumming with you will show her a whole other side to the galaxy, Han.]

"Shut up."

***************

 

Bothawui



Mara jerked the controls hard to the right as she desperately tried to avoid the laser cannons. “Someone really doesn’t like you,” she muttered under her breath.

“Me?” Luke spared a second to glance over at the redhead. “Maybe it’s you ... this is your ship, after all.”

“Funny, Farmboy. I’ll have you know I was never shot at before I hooked up with you. Not much, anyway.”

“Now you’re starting to sound like Han.”

The ex-assassin glared at Luke, then was forced to turn her full attention back to the fight to stay alive. “Maybe coming here was a bad idea.”

“What gives you that idea?” Luke said, trying to keep a straight face. He was spared Mara’s comeback when the Jade’s Fire took a hard burst from one of the Ion cannons. “Front shields down to ten percent.”

Sparks flew from the nose of their ship as Mara corkscrewed her way down to the surface in a barely controlled crash.

**************

Onboard the Falcon

Han stuck his head inside the hold, watching the little girl play with the holo-creatures on the game table. "I have an emergency at home, so we're going there first," he started to explain.

Shannon's head snapped around, and she glared at the pilot. "No! I want to go home! Now!"

"Listen, kid, I'll call your uncle as soon - "

"NO!" she screeched out. "My daddy doesn't like Uncle Luke! Just call my daddy!"

The Corellian felt a rush of pity for the child, despite her spoiled attitude. She obviously adored her father, and when she found out he was dead she was going to be devastated. He wondered how Leia was holding up, and if she had recovered from her injuries. The urge to contact Coruscant had almost been overwhelming, but he'd resisted the impulse. Besides, he had his own wife and kids to worry about right now. “I’m sorry, Shannon. That’s the way it’s gonna be. Do you want me to heat you up some Corellian stew I fixed yesterday?”

Her brown eyes grew wide. “Stew leftovers?”

“Yeah. I’m a pretty good cook.”

“I’d puke your leftover stew all over this stupid ship,” she sniffed in disgust. “But this place is so dirty, I don’t think you would even notice.”

Han took a deep breath, trying to keep his temper in check. “It’s either stew, or you can go hungry.”

The child pushed herself off the bench and stalked over to Han, glaring up at the tall man. “I hate you,” she hissed out. Her booted toe shot forward, kicking Han in his ankle, and she rushed out of the hold down the hall, leaving him standing on one foot while clutching his throbbing extremity.

*************

 

Bothawui


Luke forced his eyes open, and found himself staring into a dozen blasters pointed in his direction, held by angry looking Bothans. Slowly he pushed back, looking to the left at the pilot’s seat where Mara was still slumped forward. A brief surge of panic welled up before he reached out with the Force, sensing she was alive, but injured.

“Raise your hands, and give us your weapons,” the oldest looking Bothan ordered.

The Jedi nodded, removing his lighsaber, then reached over and unclipped Mara’s saber, handing both to the being. “She’s hurt,” he told his captors, as he eased Mara’s head back against the seat. “She needs medical attention.”

The Bothan turned over the cylinder objects in his hand, frowning. “Lightsabers.” He focused his attention on the humans. “You are Jedi.”

“Yes. My name is Luke Skywalker, and this is my student, Mara Jade.”

“Skywalker. The hero of the Rebellion?”

“One of many,” Luke replied. “Who are you?”

“My name is Tee Sar’ren, leader of the Both’sequst.”

“Both’sequst? Is that the insurrection cell? The one that’s been rumored to be kidnapping children?” Luke questioned, knowing even if the Bothan lied, he would be able to discern the truth.

“We are opposed to the leadership of Bothawui and Kothlis, but we are not kidnappers. Certain Bothans are spreading those rumors to discredit us, and attempt to make us look like we are nothing more than violent criminals.”

The Bothan was telling the truth. “So you had nothing to do with Shannon Golden’s kidnapping, or the murder of Senator Golden?”

Sar’ren gave a harsh laugh. “The human child was kidnapped for two purposes, Jedi. One reason was to point the blame at us. The second was to make certain Senator Golden’s murder appeared incidental to the kidnapping, and throw the trail off the true murderers.”

“And you know who that is?”

“So do you, Jedi. Your sister is lucky to be alive, since she was intended to die in the attack, as well. Believe me when I say your niece is not going to be freed, even if Golden’s family or the government of Corellia pays a ransom. Unless you somehow rescue her, her body will never be found, and there will be no way to follow the trail back to the true kidnappers.”

Luke felt a chill of fear as he realized the murderer was still on Coruscant.

“Come now, Jedi,” Sar’ren said, noting the Luke understood what he was saying. “We will make certain the human female receives medical care. We are not the evil beings that Governor Rei’bedu is claiming we are.”

**************


Coruscant


“It’s certainly good to see you are feeling better, Ambassador Organa-Golden,” Fey’lya said as he entered her hospital room. “On behalf of all Bothans, I would like to pay my condolences as to the loss of your husband, and the disappearance of your child.”

“Thank you,” Leia said, suddenly feeling unaccountably cold. She drew the blanket up tight under her chin.

“Will you be well enough to attend the memorial service on Corellia?” he asked, his snout wrinkling in concern.

“It’s in four days, and yes, I intend to be there,” Leia replied.

“Has your brother had any luck with tracing down your child?”

“I haven’t heard from Luke, but I’m sure he’s coming close to finding her.”

“Of course he is,” Fey’lya said, patting her hand. “I will see you at the service, then.” He turned and left the room, and Leia lay back on the pillow, shutting her eyes while her grief and fear for both Shannon, and especially Luke, intensified.

***************

Glova


Shannon Golden folded her arms across her chest, scowling as the Wookiee pushed her toward the small white house on the outskirts of a village. “This is a stupid planet,” she complained, feeling her stomach growl. Refusing to eat the stew hadn’t really accomplished much since neither the pilot nor the Wookiee had given in and made her something she liked. Captain Solo had actually punished her for kicking him by making her sit in one of the tiny bunk rooms all alone, saying she could come out if she apologized. She hadn’t done that, so she hadn’t been allowed out of the bunk room the entire trip. Captain Solo was mean, and Shannon knew her daddy was going to make him pay for being mean to her. “If this is your house, it’s as bad looking as your ship.”

The house, while on the small side, was neat and tidy - at least it usually was. The lawn, which Alli’s oldest son Rue faithfully watered and cut, was looking shaggy and the flowers lining the sidewalk were wilted. Han felt his heart-rate increase, and he took off at a run toward the front door. It slid open at his approach without having to enter the code. The inside of the house was a mess. Objects were tossed aside and overturned. “Alli?”

Chewie entered the home behind Shannon, who wrinkled her nose up. “You need a cleaning droid. Are you that poor that you can’t afford one?”

“ALLI?” Han shouted, heading up the stairs toward the bedrooms two steps at a time. The girl and the Wookiee then heard Han’s cry of horror as he screamed his wife’s name again.

************

 

The Wookiee rushed up the stairs, then skidded to a stop when he saw Han kneeling in the hallway, holding Alli’s head as she lay flat on her back. Her skin was without color, her lips parted and blue. [Is… she gone?]

Han shook his head. “She’s still breathing, but barely. I need to com the emergency medics. See if you can find the boys, Chewie.” Shaking, he took out the comlink, and signaled the All-Purpose Emergency code, while the Wookiee checked all the rooms in the home.

A woman’s voice instantly spoke through the small device. “Is this a security emergency, or a medical emergency?”

“Medical!”

“At your signal location?”

“Yes,” Han hissed out, knowing the woman was just doing her job.

“I have dispatched the medics, sir. May I have your name?”

“Solo. Han Solo.”

When Chewie returned a few minutes later, Han’s fear was intensified when the Wookiee told him Rue and Trey were no where to be found.

*************

Bothawui


“My head is killing me,” Mara mumbled even before she opened her eyes. She felt a hand on her forehead, then opened her green eyes to gaze up into worried blue ones. “I guess we lived through that landing.”

“Your amazing piloting skills come in handy sometimes,” Luke said, grinning.

Mara pushed herself into a seated position, ignoring Luke’s orders to lie back down. “Where are we?”

“In an underground hideout. The Both’sequst underground hideout,” he added, waiting for her reaction. It didn’t take long.

“What? The Insurrectionists? Are you crazy?”

“That’s not the way they see themselves,” Luke continued. “The leader claims the Bothan leadership is corrupt, and that someone high up is behind Shannon’s kidnapping.”

“Why would Fey’lya want to kidnap Shannon Golden?” Mara asked, her voice betraying her doubts. “I don’t like the guy anymore than the next person, but that just seems a bit risky, if you ask me.”

Tee Sar’ren spoke up from the entrance to the small room. “Do not underestimate Fey’lya’s ambitions. He will remove anyone standing in his way to become the next President of the New Republic.” He stepped forward, holding Luke and Mara's lightsabers. “We need to leave now. A large contingent of the Bothan army is heading our way. Somehow, they must have discovered our hideout.”

“You can’t blame us,” Mara snapped, standing up despite the dizziness caused by her head injury. “We almost got shot to pieces just trying to land.”

Sar’ren and Mara glared at each other, feelings of suspicion radiating from both of them. Luke cleared his throat. “Mara, I believe Sar’ren is telling the truth.” He looked at the Bothan. “I need to contact my sister and tell her what’s going on.”

“That would be far too risky, especially now. We must leave this bunker – immediately.” The words hardly had a chance to leave his mouth when the ground shook from the blast of a concussion grenade hit. “Perhaps we are already too late.”

****************

Glova


Han watched as the medics loaded the hover-stretcher into an ambulance. As he started to move to head to his own hover-craft to follow to the hospital, a security guard grabbed his arm. “Solo?”

“Yes?” he answered, trying to jerk his arm away.

The security officer tightened his grip, then drew his weapon and pointed it at Han. “You’re under arrest for the kidnapping of Shannon Golden, and the murder of Vail Golden.”

“WHAT?” Han snapped his head around, suddenly aware that he and Chewie were surrounded by officers. “You need to be out looking for Rue and Trey instead of making up this garbage…I didn’t murder anyone, or kidnap that kid!”

The man pointed to the little girl standing in the distance, holding the hand of a female officer. “That’s not what she’s saying.”

*************

 

Bothawui


Tee Sar’ren handed the lightsabers back to Luke and Mara. "They will not be interested in capturing us," he informed them. "Fey'lya and Governor Rei’bedu will want us dead. If we are alive, we are too dangerous."

"Dangerous?" Mara questioned. "To his goals?"

"Yes," the Bothan said, nodding. "Laws would require a trial, and trials can be messy things." He indicated they should head to the left tunnel, and hurried after the two Jedi until they came to the end of the tunnel. A long tube with metal rungs went up, disappearing into the darkness above their heads. "This will lead to the surface. Hopefully, they have not located the speeder bikes."

"I don't sense anyone directly overhead," Luke told Sar'ren. "Unless they're Force-sensitive, and good at shielding."

The ground shook as the hidden rebel base took another hit, nearly knocking Mara off her feet. Debris from the ceiling cascaded down around their heads. "Shielding?" Mara coughed as Luke started up the ladder. "That's just what we'd need right now.... a dark Jedi waiting at the top of the stairs."

Luke looked back down, grinning. "It wouldn't be the first time."

****************

Coruscant

Winter helped Leia braid her hair, then watched as the former Princess of Alderaan carefully stood up, testing her trembling legs.

"Are you certain you feel well enough to head to Corellia? You could delay the memorial service," she pointed out.

"No, that wouldn't look right. And besides, I'm sure Vail's parents are having a hard enough time right now without putting off the funeral." Leia allowed Winter to help her walk toward the door, but before they could leave the comm panel lit up. Sighing, Leia headed back and pressed the 'on' button. "Ambassador Organa-Golden speaking."

The Corellia Government seal appeared, then a man's craggy face appeared. Leia recognized the Governor of Corellia instantly, and he seemed both pleased and nervous. "Ambassador, I have great news! The local enforcement authorities on Glova have found your daughter."

"Shannon!" Leia sat down on the edge of the bed in relief. "Is she....?"

"She's fine.... the medics have already checked her out. And we've caught the mastermind responsible for her kidnapping and Senator Golden's death, as well."

"That's wonderful," Leia said, smiling at this wonderful news. She would have to contact Luke and Mara immediately, so they could come home.

"Yes, it is wonderful. And it all makes sense, too. After all, who else besides Han Solo would want to see your husband dead?"

Leia was grateful she was sitting down, and she could feel the blood drain from her face. "Wh...what?"

"I'm sure it's a bit of a shock, but your daughter insists Han Solo paid the men who actually did the kidnapping and shooting. We've arrested him and his Wookiee partner, and charged them with murder and kidnapping. If his wife dies, that will be another murder charge, too. We think he might have had something to do with his step-sons' disappearance, as well. That's the way it is with these types of criminals.... once they get started, nothing can stop them."

"That's.... that's just not possible. None of this is possible."

"Are you calling your daughter a liar?"

"No.... no."

"In any case, Solo is being processed and will be transported to Corellia tomorrow so he can stand trial. Corellia's death penalty by injection is too good for people like this, if you ask me."

"Corellia? Can you send Shannon there? I was just about to head there myself for my husband's funeral," Leia managed to finally say.

"Certainly. I look forward to seeing you, Ambassador." The Corellian Seal reappeared, then the holo-screen went dark.

"Han wouldn't....he wouldn't."

"No, I agree," Winter said. "Something is wrong here."

Leia wrapped her arms across her chest, feeling suddenly very ill. "I have to contact Luke."

*************

Han looked up as the guard opened his door, and a tall, stern looking man dressed in a Glova Authority Uniform entered. "Stand up," the man ordered.

Slowly, Han stood. "I need to see my wife...she's sick. My kids are missing. I'm telling you again, you have the wrong man. I didn't kidnap Shannon."

"Your wife died en route to the hospital, Solo."

Those words, spoken coldly by a total stranger, felt like a punch to Han's gut. "Dead?"

"The doctor has tested her blood, and the tests show she overdosed on the very medicine she needed to stay alive. I'm adding her murder to the long list of charges against you and your Wookiee, Solo."

Stunned, Han could barely formulate a response. "I found her like that.... we were off-planet..."

"Off-planet, and involved in a kidnapping and murder scheme. You could have easily tampered with her medicine before you left, and arranged to have some low-lifes dispose of those poor boys. I believe this was all long thought out, and you did all of this for revenge - because Ambassador Organa-Golden left you."

"You're crazy," Han snapped. "It's been nine years - "

"Plenty of time to make all those complicated plans."

"You're crazy," Han repeated, his throat tight. Alli was dead... her sons, the boys he'd spent the last seven years raising, were missing. Han knew he'd be privileged to have been a part of Alli's life, for she was a good, kindhearted person. Han had loved her, maybe not in the same way he'd loved Leia, with a deep, all-consuming passionate love. But it was the gentle love between two good friends. And now he was charged with her murder, and the stupid security forces assumed he was behind the boys' disappearance. "You need to be looking for a man named Brill Gils. He's the biological father to Rue and Trey. He's the one most likely behind Alli's death..."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind, Solo," the Officer said snidely as he walked out of the cell, slamming the door shut behind him.

 

*************

 

Coruscant


Leia gave a frustrated sigh as she turned off the communication panel. Despite several hours of trying, she had not been able to contact the Jade's Fire. "Where is Luke? He should have at least left me a message."

"You would know if something had happened to him," Winter said, trying to reassure her friend. "We need to get going to Corellia."

"I know," Leia admitted. "I can't wait to see Shannon. And I'm sure there must be some explanation with Han being involved, although I can't think how."

"You've never stopped loving him."

Leia looked sharply at her friend. "That's being presumptuous."

"Is it?"

"Yes." Leia turned away, not wanting Winter to see her face, fearing her emotions would be too obvious. She knew she should be acting like the grieving widow, but her heart was racing at the thought of seeing Han Solo again after so many years. Together, the women headed for the shuttle that would take them up to the Rebel Dream, Leia's personal transport ship.

**************

"This is wonderful," Fey'lya said into the viewer as he listened to the news about the current situation. "Solo is the perfect one to take the blame. I couldn't have planned it any better if I would have tried."

Governor Rei’bedu frowned. "This still does not eliminate the problem with the Insurrections on Bothawui. And the General tells me that the Jedi are now with Sar'ren. If they know, or even suspect, we are in serious trouble."

"Then the Jedi must not survive. Isn't that so?" Fey'lya snapped. "Do whatever you must. Just be very certain none of this can be traced back to me."

"Yes, Senator. What about the Ambassador?"

"I can't take the chance of eliminating her right now. It will have to wait, until Solo has been executed."

***********

There was no Dark Jedi waiting for the Rebel Bothans or the two human Jedi, just a wall of military machinery - the Bothan version of AT AT's - headed in their direction, firing lasers as they approached. Luke and Mara ignited their sabers, doing their best to deflect the blaster bolts.

"This way," Sar'ren yelled, waving his troops and the Jedi toward mounds. The Rebels tore off the covering, revealing speeder bikes hidden in the leaf litter of the forest floor. Quickly, they jumped on, two per bike, speeding off as they tried to avoid the heavy artillery. Some of them actually made it. Luke pulled a bike upright, mounting it and turning on the controls. "Hurry," he yelled over his shoulder as Mara covered him with her lightsaber. "Get on... "

She turned and jumped on behind Luke, barely having time to turn off her saber before he tore off. "Do you know how to fly one of these things?" Mara yelled in his ear.

"Sure... they're just like the speeders back on Tatooine."

"Were you any good?"

"Of course," he yelled back, needing to shout to be heard over the rush of wind. "I hardly ever crashed."

"That's so reassuring, Skywalker."

*************

 

Luke swung his speeder bike through the trees, drawing on the Force to guide him. Mara clung to his shirt, not interrupting his concentration as the AT-AT's blasted huge craters around them. Whoever was firing, meant to kill them - not capture them. Other Both’sequst members on the bikes were not faring as well as the Jedi. Many of them were either vaporized in the heavy laser fire, or driving too fast in fear they crashed into the trees, dying upon impact.

But the trees served to also slow down the cumbersome AT-AT's, and soon Luke shot into clearing. Squinting against the wind, Mara could see the surviving members of the Rebels rushing across the field.


"I hope they have a way off this planet," Mara shouted. "But I'm not crazy about leaving the Fire behind, even for a short while."

Luke suddenly skidded his bike to a halt, resting his foot on the ground. "We need to head into the city."

"What?"

"If we follow those Rebels...." Luke trailed off, his eyes unfocused.

She looked at the small specks that were the speeders on the horizon. "If we follow them, what?" Then her eyes tracked up to the sky as a wave of small fighters came over the crest, firing at the remaining Rebels. "Head into the city, Farmboy. I should know better than to question your wisdom," she said with a smirk as Luke pulled the speeder to make a hard turn to the right.

**************

Corellia

Ignoring the holo-reporters, Leia rushed into the Security Headquarters, followed by Winter. A robust man of medium height stuck out his meaty hand, his red face breaking into a large grin. "Commander Quist at your service, Ambassador," he boomed out, his voice matching his frame.

Leia took his hand. "Thank you. My daughter...?"

Quist shifted, the smile leaving his face. "She's quite the handful, your daughter. I must say, she knows exactly what she wants and is very insistent that she get it."

"I want to see her," Leia ordered, not wanting to listen to a stranger tell her Shannon was spoiled. Leia knew this, and she wasn't proud of the fact, either. Now that Vail was gone, things were going to change with Shannon's attitude, and fast.

"Yes, ma'am. But...."

"But, what?"

"We, um, no one has told the child about her father. And she keeps asking to see her daddy, too."

"I see," Leia said. Telling Shannon her beloved father was dead was going to be very difficult. Leia could only hope that hearing it from her mother would help soften the blow. She looked up at the Corellian. "Where is Captain Solo?"

Quist looked surprised at the question. "Solo? He's in the tightest lockup we've got, both him and the Wookiee. Obviously he hired those men seen on the security holo's from Coruscant, the day of the kidnapping - "

"Why is that obvious?" Leia interrupted.

"Your daughter said - "

"Take me to her. Now," Leia ordered.

The Commander nodded, and led Leia through a doorway, while Winter waited. Shannon sat sullenly at a table, busily coloring the white tabletop with markers and ignoring the stacks of flimsies the Corellians had provided.

"Shannon," Leia spoke softly. Her daughter was alive and well, and for that she would be forever grateful.

"Mommy!" The child threw the color sticks aside, rushing over and hugging her mother tightly.

Leia looked over at the Commander. "Leave us. I need to speak to her in private."

"Yes, ma'am." Quist bowed his head, and left the room.

"Mommy.... where's daddy?"

"Shannon, I need to find out what happened," Leia said gently as she knelt in front of Shannon. Once she told her daughter about Vail's death, there would be no talking to her.

"That mean man had some people kidnap me," Shannon replied, sticking out her lower lip defiantly.

"Mean man?"

"Captain Solo, and his stupid Wookiee friend."

Leia didn't have much training in the Force, but one thing she was rather accomplished at was her ability to sense the truth. Shannon wasn't being truthful, and Leia felt a wave of relief. "Shannon, don't lie to me."

"I'm not!"

The mother took her daughter by her shoulders, and looked her directly in the eyes. "Shannon, this is important. Tell me the truth."

"Where's daddy?" she whined, squirming under her mother's keen gaze. Her daddy would not accuse her of lying. He would go find Captain Solo and make him apologize to her.

"Shannon!" Leia snapped, trying to keep calm. "This isn't a game. You're destroying two people's lives, and letting the bad people that took you get away. Is that what you want to happen? The real bad guys never getting caught, because you're blaming the wrong people?"

"No....I.... I don't know who took me," the child admitted, looking at the floor. "Some strange man - not Captain Solo - and a Gamorrean took me, and then I saw a Bothan, later on." She dared to look at her mother. "Am I in trouble?"

"How did you end up with Captain Solo?"

"I escaped from the mean Bothan," she said, sniffing back tears. If she cried, daddy wouldn't punish her for lying. It worked all the time. "And I snuck onboard his .... Captain Solo's... old ship so the Bothan wouldn't find me. I never saw Captain Solo pay anybody to take me. But Captain Solo was mean to me, too! He wouldn't feed me, unless I ate some crummy old stew! And he wouldn't stop and buy me bristleberry jam! And, and... he told me I had to stay in a boring room with nothing to do!" she said, working up a great deal of indignation to go along with her tears. "So I told the officers he was the one that stole me." When her mother said nothing, Shannon asked, "Is Captain Solo's wife okay? I think when he found her, she was sick. I probably shouldn't have gotten him in trouble, if he had a sick wife."

Wife? Han's married? Leia felt her face flush, and her guts tighten at the thought. Of course he'd moved on with his own life, why wouldn't he have? I was the one that told him to leave, and that I never wanted to see him again.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, Shannon?" Leia answered, trying to swallow the hard lump in her throat.

"Where is daddy?"

"My Shannon, my baby," Leia started out, then wrapped her daughter in a tight hug. Shannon would never be punished for lying about Captain Solo, because the next hour would be the most traumatic event in Shannon Golden's young life, and no punishment would ever touch the pain Shannon experienced when she found out her father was dead.

*****************

Three hours later....

Han was ordered to his feet, and two guards escorted him down several floors and into a small, sunny room. The binders were removed, which surprised him. Then the guards left the room, surprising him a second time.

The third surprise happened when the door opened again, and Leia Organa entered. her face pale, her eyes red-rimmed. But she was still beautiful, still the woman he remembered and loved. "Ambassador..." he started out formally, preparing to explain his side of the story, and hoping to hell she'd listen before actually killing him.

She hurried toward him, raising her hand to his face. Han flinched back, expecting her to strike him. Instead, Leia rested the palm of her hand against his cheek. "They told me your wife died," she whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"I'm sorry about your husband, too," he said quietly. "Leia... I didn't have anything to do with kidnapping your - " His protest of innocence was cut off when she pulled his head down, and stopped his words with a very long kiss. By that time, Han was starting to wonder if the surprises would ever end.

Han broke the kiss first, drawing away, a million questions filtering through his eyes. "Leia?"

The Princess flushed, looking down at the floor. "I'm sorry," she said again. "I don't know what came over me. That was... very inappropriate. I never act like that."

"Like what?"

"Impulsively. Without thinking." Leia felt a twinge of guilt, in fact she'd thought about kissing Han from the first second she heard his name, although she hadn't intended to act on those desires. She still wasn't sure what possessed her to kiss a man she hadn't seen for nine years, especially when she considered that Han must be thinking she was crazy.

Uncertain how to respond, Han tried to steer the conversation back to the more pressing issue. "I didn't kidnap Shannon."

"I know, she told me." Leia sighed. "Shannon likes to get her way, and when you were mean to her - "

"I wasn't mean to her," Han interrupted, irritated. "She kicked me! So I told her she had to stay in the crew quarters until she apologized, only your kid is as stubborn as you are, Princess. She wouldn't apologize or eat the damn stew. It wasn't like I was gonna poison her."

"I'm not stubborn," Leia protested, then laughed at the absurdity of the situation. "We're starting again, Han. Less than a minute in the same room, and already we're arguing."

"I hardly ever argued with Alli," Han remarked quietly.

"You loved her."

Han gave a ragged sigh, running his fingers through his hair. "Alli needed me. Her boys needed me. It felt good to be needed for a change, Princess."

I needed you. I still need you, Leia thought, but didn't say aloud. More than you can possibly know.

"She was a good friend and a wonderful person to be around," Han continued. "You would have liked her, Princess. And I'm gonna miss her."

"You don't know where her boys are?"

"Brill Gils took them," Han answered, his voice growing cold. "He killed Alli, too, but I doubt I'll ever be able to prove that."

Leia touched the Corellian's arm. "I'll help you find them, Han. I wish...."

"Wish?"

She headed over to the window, looking out over the distant rooftops. "Why didn't you stop me?"

"Stop you? I don't understand."

"When you left me, I felt dead inside. I know I told you to leave, but I never thought you'd really go. Not really, not after everything we'd already survived together. Why didn't you come back to me?"

Han was silent for a long minute before speaking. "I wanted to come back, Leia. But then when you announced your engagement to another man so fast, I thought that was a pretty clear sign you'd meant what you said."

Leia gave a short, choked laugh. "I accepted Vail's proposal because I thought once you heard I was engaged, you would come charging back into my life, and save me from myself one more time. Only you never came, and things moved along so quickly that I found myself married before I knew it."

"Did you love him?"

"You were lucky, Han. At least you cared for Alli... you knew she was a good person and you had her friendship. Vail wasn't even my friend. Everyone considered Vail my perfect match, and maybe he was. He was the ultimate politician, and he wanted everyone to think he was perfect. The perfect husband, son, father, and the perfect next President." She put her head in her hands. "Tomorrow I have to go to his memorial service and tell the galaxy how much I'll miss him, when in fact, I feel relief that I'm free of him. And I feel guilty, like I'm a terrible person, for feeling relief." She felt Han touch her shoulder. Please don't leave me again... I don't think I could bear it.

***************

Bothawui

Luke parked the speeder in a dark alley, and Mara quickly swung herself off the bike. "I can't believe we made it into town alive."

"Hey," Luke protested, plastering a mock-hurt look across his face. "I told you I hardly ever crashed. Have some faith in me."

"That will happen once we get off this system alive," Mara returned, trying not to smile. "But so far, we seem to be attracting the wrong sort of attention."

They'd taken a few steps when Luke suddenly stopped, holding out his hand for Mara to stop. Quickly, they both drew out their lightsabers. "I know someone's here," Luke warned. "So you'd better come out peacefully."

"Don't hurt me," a voice said from behind a broken crate.

"That's up to you," Mara snapped. "Come out where we can see you."

Slowly, with both hands raised, a frightened Bothan covered with dirt crawled out, staggering to his feet. "Help me," he gasped, lurching forward. "I've been shot."

In the dim light of the alley, Luke could see a wound in the Bothan's side. The being was obviously on the verge of losing consciousness. "Who are you?"

"My name is Ce’rlle," he groaned. "If you don't help me, I'm dead."

Mara frowned at the blaster wound. "It looks painful, but not fatal."

"No.... no... you don't understand. I let the human get away.... and now they want me dead because I know too much."

"What human?" Mara asked.

"The child.... the senator's child."

Luke and Mara exchanged worried looks. "Who are 'they'?" Luke questioned.

"Fey'lya ... He - "

A blaster shot lit up the alley, striking the Bothan in the neck, and he dropped to the ground dead.

***************

Coruscant

"The child has rescinded her statement accusing Solo," the Commander Quist informed the Bothan. "I had no choice but to allow him and the Wookiee to leave."

Fey'lya wrinkled up his snout into a grin. "It doesn't matter. You did well to record the meeting between Solo and Organa."

"They said nothing that would incriminate themselves. Quite the contrary," Quist replied, mystified.

"I have experts that can alter anything, Quist. Have no fear, by the time the holo-net receives this recording, what Solo and the Princess will be heard saying will be enough to destroy them both. And once I am President, you will receive a very large promotion, Quist."

Quist smiled. "Thank you, Senator. I always enjoy doing business with you."

*************

 

Bothawui

Luke and Mara spun around, prepared to defend themselves against the assailant, but whoever fired the shot killing the Bothan had fled. "I guess he wasn't kidding about someone wanting him dead," Mara said, following Luke as they ran out of the alley. The murderer was long gone, having driven off in a hover-craft.

"Fey'lya's behind this?" Luke asked, turning to Mara as he stopped running.

"You did tell me you thought this whole thing was more about Vail Golden than Shannon," Mara pointed out. "So, if Fey'lya is behind his death, that would make sense."

"And it would explain why he's trying to blame the insurrectionists."

Mara nodded. "He gets two things accomplished at once - his political rivals dead, and the group that is giving him all this hassle is discredited as criminals."

"That sounds like Fey'lya," Luke agreed. "It would explain why we have so many Bothans shooting at us all the time."

"I'm going to wring that little furry politician neck of his when we get back to Coruscant," Mara growled out. "No one damages my ship and gets away with it."

"Wringing furry necks is of the Dark Side, Mara," Luke said, wagging his finger at her.

"Why is it everything worthwhile or fun of the Dark Side?"

"A better question would be - how are we going to get back to Coruscant?"

"I suggest we steal a furry Bothan ship," Mara replied, heading off toward the landing docks. "And if you say one word, just one word, about stealing being of the Dark Side...."

"I'm not sure Yoda ever said anything about that."

"Good. Finally, something we agree on."

"I'm not sure I technically agree with you on this - "

"Do you think that matters?" Mara asked.

"Not at all," he replied with a sigh as he followed.

***************

Corellia

"Vail was a great man, a great leader for the citizens of Corellia," Leia spoke from the podium. She glanced down at her daughter, sitting between Parry and Linna Golden, the parents of Vail. The older couple, dressed in expensive dark clothing, sat rigid and expressionless, reminding Leia of Vail's belief of never letting strangers see you too happy, or too upset. "His tragic and untimely death leaves an enormous void within his family and the leadership of the New Republic."

*

Coruscant

The holo-recording of Leia and Han's altered conversation competed with the memorial service on Corellia. The citizens of the New Republic listened as Leia give a short, choked laugh. "I accepted Vail's proposal because I thought once you heard I was engaged, you would come charging back into my life, and save me from myself one more time. Only you never came, and things moved along so quickly that I found myself married before I knew it."

"You didn't love him."

Leia touched the Corellian's arm. "Not really. Vail wasn't even my friend, and I needed him dead. I knew I had to get you back, and I after everything we'd already survived together, you would do anything at all to get me back, too."

*

Corellia

Continuing her speech, Leia said, "Senator Vail Golden always put the welfare of his constituents ahead of all things in his life. He often told me his greatest desire was to ensure the freedom of all beings, and the longevity of the New Republic. His desire to someday become President, however, will never be realized. The citizens of Corellia have lost their brightest star."

*

Coruscant

"I knew you wanted me back, Leia. I thought that was a pretty clear sign you'd meant what you said when you asked me to kill him, and no one will ever be able to prove it."

"Vail wasn't even my friend. Everyone considered Vail my perfect match, but he wasn't. He was a terrible politician, and he wanted everyone to think he was perfect. The perfect husband, son, father, and the perfect next President." She put her head in her hands. "I have to go to his memorial service and tell the galaxy how much I'll miss him, when in fact, I feel relief that I'm free of him."

Then Leia headed over to the window, looking out over the distant rooftops. "Nothing can stop us now, Han."

*

Corellia

"Vail was a husband, a friend, and a father. Even though Vail is gone, Corellia will always have a part of him with Shannon Golden, a true child of Corellia." Leia bowed her head briefly as the people gave muted applause, unaware of the storm brewing over Coruscant.

***********

Mara punched in the warm-up codes, nodding to herself in satisfaction as the stolen shuttle hummed to life. She glanced over at Luke, who was attempting to contact Leia - to no avail. "Still nothing?"

"No," he commented. "I'm going to see if Wedge answers on Coruscant."

It didn't take long for Wedge's face to appear on the small screen. "Luke! I've been trying to contact you. Where are you?"

"Bothawui, but we're leaving the system right now." Luke could tell something had happened, just by his friend's expression. "What's wrong?"

"The Coruscant Daily News has broadcast a holo-recording of Leia and Han supposedly discussing killing Vail Golden. I just got word that Leia's been arrested on Corellia, and Han and Chewie were re-arrested."

"Re-arrested?" Luke asked, confused. "Han's on Corellia?"

"Somehow Solo got mixed up with Shannon Golden's kidnapping, and he was arrested on that charge. Then he was released when Leia got there, but now all three are locked up. For murder." Wedge sighed. "You should hear Fey'lya going on and on about how he always suspected Leia was still involved with Han. It's like everyone's already forgotten how close Leia came to dying in that attack, too."

"Thanks, Wedge," Luke said. "I'm on my way to Corellia. Can you have Ghent contact me?"

Wedge grinned. "He's been very busy with that request you gave him earlier. Fey'lya's been getting quite a few transmissions, not only from Kothlis, but now Corellia. Unfortunately, all those transmissions are so heavily encrypted he's been working overtime trying to break the codes."

"Tell him I appreciate all the hard work he's doing," Luke added.

"Sure enough."

"Also," Mara put in as she angled the shuttle up, readying for the hyperspace jump. "Ask him if can check out that supposed holo-recording of Solo and the Princess. If Fey'lya's behind this...."

"I'll put him on it right away," Wedge replied.

"Maybe send Artoo over to his room," Luke suggested. "I wouldn't want Ghent to pass out from lack of sleep. Thanks again, Wedge."

"No problem. Take care, Luke.... Wedge out."

The image disappeared, and Mara raised an eyebrow at Luke. "So.... is the signal from the Force about Solo being involved clearing up yet?"

"I should have contacted him earlier," Luke agreed, watching as Mara pulled the lever and the stolen ship shot into hyperspace.

"Told you so."

***************

Corellia

Leia discovered that Commander Quist was no longer a pleasant person to deal with. The memorial service had been over for less than five minutes when armed security guards surrounded her, ordering her arrest for Vail's murder. Her in-laws had appeared stunned, and Shannon became hysterical as Leia was placed in cuffs and dragged away.

Inside the small questioning room, the Commander had been more than happy to show Leia the holo-recording of her 'confession', and happily told her Solo and Chewbacca had been re-arrested, since their release had only been a ruse.

"I knew all along you were in on this, Ambassador," Quist said with a sneer. "You gave yourself away faster than a greased Hutt sliding down a glacier."

The Princess narrowed her eyes at the smug man. "You're going to pay for this, Quist. False arrest, tampering with evidence.... whatever your motives are, you'll find it wasn't worth it."

"Corellian justice works quickly," he remarked, casually flicking on another screen. This one showed Han Solo chained to a chair in a similar room as the one they were in. CorSec guards were busy working Solo over as they tried to get him to confess to Alli and the boys' deaths, and Leia felt her stomach lurch at the scene. "The holo-recording with you and Solo kissing and plotting will be enough to send Solo to his execution. I've scheduled his trial for tomorrow morning, and the judge will render a verdict before the sun sets." Quist grinned at her. "Corellian executions generally take place within two days of the guilty verdict, but I'll see what I can do about convincing the judge to move Solo's up a bit. Fast justice is always the best kind."

Unable to stop herself, Leia let loose with a long string of Corellian insults directed at Quist's heritage. He only laughed. "Solo certainly was a bad influence on you. I suggest you use that for your defense. Maybe you'll only get hard time for life on Kessel, instead of the death penalty."

"My brother will stop you," Leia snapped, forcing herself to look away from Han's beating. "How are you going to explain the fact I was nearly killed in that attack?"

"Easy. You're not the only one that can lay claim to falsified evidence. Your Jedi brother used his powers to make it appear you were injured, when in fact, you were never hurt. I look forward to seeing one Jedi up against CorSec and Corellia's most powerful family. That should be interesting."

"The Goldens don't believe I'm guilty of this," Leia protested.

"Really? Is that why they've filed for full and legal custody of their granddaughter?"

"They... wouldn't do that."

"They already have," he said, smirking at her.

Leia knew that was one thing he wasn't lying about. Luke... wherever you are, please hurry! We need you!

***********

Han was lying on his back, trying not to think about how much his body was aching when the his cell door opened and Commander Quist walked in alone, pointedly holding a stun rod. "Solo, we have a lot to discuss," he said, before waving the guards away. "Your trial is set to begin in two hours."

Eyeing the stun rod warily, Han sat up. "I've got nothing to say to you."

The Commander grinned. "You've seen the holo-recording?"

"Our conversation was altered, and you know it. Kest.... you're the one that probably did it."

Quist shrugged. "The Judge won't believe you. He's an old guy that hates smugglers, by the way."

"I'm not a smuggler anymore," Han spat back. "I haven't been a smuggler for over thirteen years."

"Doesn't really matter, Solo. Your past will be enough to convince him to execute you, and the Wookiee, too. Ambassador Organa I'm not too sure about, but knowing old Judge Wuldter, he'll think that her part in Senator Golden's murder, and the fact she's having an affair with you is enough to eliminate her."

Han struggled to his feet, ignoring the stabbing pains in his torso. "There are experts that can show that recording was tampered with."

"It would take too long, and Wuldter won't have that kind of patience... not for the likes of you."

"So why are you here, Commander?" Han asked, sneering at the man. "Just to gloat?"

"To offer you a deal."

"What kind of deal?" Han questioned suspiciously.

"You plead guilty to murdering Golden, and I'll use my considerable influence to request that Wuldter only sentence the Wookiee and Organa to life on Kessel. Once you admit the recording is real, they won't even be tried, just sentenced."

"I love the Corellian justice system," Han said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"So .... how about it? Your life, to spare your friend and your lover?"

"Let me think about it," Han replied, looking at the ceiling. Then he glared at Quist. "I've thought about it... go to hell."

"In two days, that's exactly where you and your friends will be," Quist snapped, signaling the guards to return and allow him to exit the cell. "Maybe I'll make you watch them die first, Solo. That way, you can live to regret this decision."

**************

Coruscant

Artoo toodled happily, a sure sign he'd broken the encrypted message sent from Kothlis. "Hey, little guy," Ghent said, rubbing his tired eyes. "Let's see what you've got." The young slicer watched as Fey'lya's face filled the viewer.

Borsk Fey’lya was furious. “You shouldn’t be contacting me like this,” he snapped out. “We have couriers for this type of emergency.”

“I realize that,” she sniffed. “But these are Jedi we’re dealing with. And they’re already suspicious of us.”

“They know nothing,” the Senator growled back. “I expect you to keep it that way.”

“What would you suggest I do?”

“Nothing. Do nothing! I will take care of matters myself,” Fey’lya replied as he reached down and cut off the communication.

Then, a second message came up, this one dated only two standard days ago.

"This is wonderful," Fey'lya said into the viewer as he listened to the news about the current situation. "Solo is the perfect one to take the blame. I couldn't have planned it any better if I would have tried."

Governor Rei’bedu frowned. "This still does not eliminate the problem with the Insurrections on Bothawui. And the General tells me that the Jedi are now with Sar'ren. If they know, or even suspect, we are in serious trouble."

"Then the Jedi must not survive. Isn't that so?" Fey'lya snapped. "Do whatever you must. Just be very certain none of this can be traced back to me."

"Yes, Senator. What about the Ambassador?"

"I can't take the chance of eliminating her right now. It will have to wait, until Solo has been executed."

Smiling, Ghent leaned back. "I guess Luke and Mara are right... Fey'lya is behind all of this. Now, if we can only break the encryption from that latest message from Corellia, we'll be heroes."

Artoo have a long, indignant beep.

"Okay, okay! You're already a hero, I know. How about you can be a hero again?"

That made Artoo happy, and he turned his attention back to the message from Corellia.

*************

When Han Solo was brought in for his trial in binders, the courtroom was empty except for Judge Wuldter, Commander Quist and a very nervous looking young man that Han had never seen before. The four guards escorting Han forced him to sit in a hard chair directly in front of the Judge's bench, fastening his ankles to the chair legs. The guards then withdrew to the edges of the large room, guarding the two exits.

Quist stood up and approached the white haired judge. "Your majesty, the honorable Judge Wuldter," he said, inclining his head. "I will be submitting the evidence for finding Han Solo guilty." The Commander turned and grinned at Han. "This is Bret Nehoc," he said, waving his hand at the other man. "I asked him to be your Defender, Solo."

"How old are you?" Han asked, eyeing the kid up and down. "Twelve?"

The young man flushed a deep red, before he mumbled, "I'm twenty-one."

"How many people have you defended? Successfully, that is?" Han questioned, trying not to roll his eyes.

"Um, well..." Bret coughed. "You're my first case."

"EVER?"

"Yes."

Wuldter slammed his small hammer down on the table. "This is unnecessary babble! Present your case, Commander Quist!"

Smirking, Quist walked over and hit the 'on' button on a holo-vision viewer. The same scene with Han and Leia discussing Vail's murder played. When it was over, the judge looked at Defender Nehoc. "Do you have any defense against this evidence?"

"I'm not sure." The young man squirmed uncomfortably, then addressed Han. "Do we?"

Ignoring the kid, Han glared at the judge. "That recording's been altered. If you have experts - "

"Out of order," Wuldter snapped. "Do not address the judge directly, prisoner." He turned his steely gaze at Nehoc. "Are there experts analyzing this recording?"

"No..."

"Do you have any witnesses that have seen this evidence being altered?"

"No."

There was a shuffling sound at the door, and all eyes focused on a man wearing a brown robe, the cowl pulled over his face. "I will testify for the Defense," the man spoke from across the room.

Two of the guards moved forward to intercept the stranger, then staggered backwards as though they'd been pushed, but the man never touched them. The other two guards then tried to point blasters in his direction, but the weapons flew from their hands, clattering harmlessly against the far wall.

Han's face broke into a grin at this display. "Luke!"

Moving forward, the Jedi pulled back his cowl, unable to stop himself from returning his friend's smile. "It's been a long time, Han. How are things going?"

"Same as always," Han replied, nodding toward the judge and Quist.

"That bad, huh?"

"What gives you the right to interrupt these proceedings?" Quist demanded, his face flushing in anger.

"I have evidence which shows Han Solo, Chewbacca and Leia Organa are being set up," Luke replied calmly, pulling out a small disk as he felt a rush of gratitude for Artoo and Ghent's abilities.

Quist stared at the disk, unwilling to take it from the Jedi's hand. "Evidence?"

Bret Nehoc stood up. "I move we view this new evidence, your honor."

"This court does not appreciate surprise witnesses," Wuldter muttered. Then he waved his hand toward the viewer. "Show us what you have brought, Jedi."

Luke nodded, then inserted the disk. The faces and voices of Senator Fey'lya and Governor Rei’bedu appeared, and the Judge listened to the communications. When it finished, he looked at Luke with disbelief. "Are you telling me these two upstanding heroes and statesbeings are responsible for Senator Golden's death?"

"Yes," Luke answered, keeping his tone respectful. "Fey'lya wanted Senator Golden dead because he was the most likely candidate to become the next President, something he wants himself."

"Then why kidnap the child?" Quist snapped out.

"To confuse the issue, and cast blame on Bothan insurrectionists." Luke took a breath, then continued, "I have experts trying to decrypt a message sent from Corellia to Coruscant. I believe it will show the original conversation between Leia and Han, before it was altered."

"He's lying!" Quist shouted, fully aware if the message he sent to Fey'lya was decrypted he would be ruined. "This supposed Jedi is the brother to Leia Organa! He'd say anything to save his sister's life! And let's not forget who their father is, either!"

"Leia was badly injured in that attack. If she was involved - "

"Jedi are mind-alterers! She could have made it appear she was injured!" Quist interrupted. "Solo took the child, and when the ransom was paid by the Golden family, then the Ambassador would have met Solo at a contact point. Then, the three of them would have changed their identities and lived the high life on the ransom money!" He turned to the Judge. "The man we are trying is a criminal... a smuggler! He also killed his own wife and her two boys just so he could be with Organa!"

"I didn't kill Alli or the boys!" Han protested.

"You have no evidence - " Luke started out, but was again cut off.

"I am inclined to believe Commander Quist," the old Judge said, his face stern. "This recording you presented could be altered just as easily as the one you claim is altered."

Luke bowed his head. "Very true. Leia Organa is my sister, and I dearly love her. I would do anything to save her life."

Quist grinned. "Anything?"

"Yes."

"Would you admit in this court that Solo killed Golden, and your sister was not in her right mind at the time? I would be pleased if I didn't have to actually prosecute Organa."

Luke looked directly into Quist's eyes. "If you turn Leia Organa and Chewbacca over to me so they can face trial on Coruscant, I will withdraw this evidence, and allow Solo to be found guilty."

"What?" Han yelled, wishing he could stand up. "Why would you - "

"Deal, Jedi," Quist replied, sticking out his hand. "But they will be transported to Coruscant on a Corellian transport, under guard."

Luke grasped the man's clammy palm. "Deal."

The Judge cleared his throat loudly. "Han Solo, I find you guilty of the murder of Senator Golden, and you are hereby sentenced to die by lethal injection tomorrow morning." Wuldter looked at Luke. "Once Solo is declared dead, you may take Organa and the Wookiee to Coruscant immediately."

"That's fine," Luke agreed, trying to block out Han's feelings of shock and betrayal. "I would like one more small favor, your honor."

"What would that be?"

"Solo's body, once he's deceased."

"That's highly unusual...."

"But acceptable," Luke said firmly.

"Yes," the Judge muttered, feeling confused. "Acceptable."

************

Coruscant, one hour later.

Fey'lya was furious when Quist contacted him. "You let her go? I told you ..."


"I know what you told me!" Quist snapped. "I can't have that holo-recording decrypted!"

"And I can't have Organa return to Coruscant!" Fey'lya replied. "I want her dead."

"They won't make it off of Corellia alive," Quist reassured the Bothan. "I will arrange for the Jedi's ship to 'malfunction'. You find the slicer, and get rid of him and the evidence."

"I don't like how this is going, Quist."

"Trust me," the Corellian responded. "I'll take care of my end."

"You'd better," Fey'lya warned.

*************

"How did she take it?" Mara asked Luke after he'd returned from visiting his sister.

"She was furious," Luke admitted. "She told me I had no right to trade Han's life for hers, and she's not going to leave Corellia without Shannon, either."

Mara leaned back against the acceleration couch in the shuttle's main room. "I can't blame her."

Slumping into the seat across from Mara, Luke ran his fingers nervously through his hair. "You should have been in the courtroom. I've never felt such intense ... hurt coming from Han's emotions."

"It's not like you could fill him in on the details," Mara replied. "He should know you well enough to trust you, and so should Leia."

"I'm not too crazy about any of this plan," Luke said with a sigh. "I don't think Leia or Han would be fond of it, even if I could spell it out for them beforehand." He fixed his blue eyes on Mara. "And I don't like having you take such risks, either."

"I can handle this," she said, smirking. "After all, I used to dispose of beings for a living. Solo will just be one more victim."

"Did you find the right chemicals?"

Mara held up two small vials. "It never ceases to amaze me what you can purchase on the streets for the right amount of credits."

"I hope whoever sold it to you was telling you the truth, and it's not something else," Luke said, eyeing the small container warily.

"He was telling the truth," Mara answered. "My lightsaber was quite enough to convince him not to double-cross me."

"Mara! What did I tell you about darkside threats?"

Laughing, she stood up. "I have places to go, Skywalker, and so do you. I'll see you tomorrow morning... with Solo's body."

"Be careful, Mara," Luke admonished as he watched her head off for her next assignment.

**************

In the early morning hours, Luke Skywalker scaled the security fence surrounding the Golden Estate. Using his lightsaber, he disable the main control box outside, then reached out with the Force to assess any further danger. Luke was certain there were security droids, which he would not be able to sense, so he moved slowly, staying in the deep shadows of the trees and shrubs.

Despite the extensive and very expensive security measures taken by the Goldens, getting inside the house was not much of a challenge for a Jedi. Luke could easily locate his niece's Force-signature, and quickly headed for her room. If everything went according to plan, Shannon would soon be safely inside the stolen Bothan shuttle about the same time Han was being executed.

Mara would then ensure the Corellian's body was moved to the transport vessel, where Luke would meet up with Leia and Chewie. Mara would then hurry to the shuttle, and leave Corellia with Shannon at the same time the transport was leaving with the rest of them.

This plan should work, Luke kept telling himself as he made his way toward Shannon's room. But the Force was warning him that something was not going to go as planned.

***************

It wasn't even dawn when the six guards came for Han. Although he struggled and fought, Han was outnumbered and they slammed him into the wall, knocking the air from his lungs before they clamped heavy binders around his ankles and wrists. Then, dragged from the small cell, Han was hoisted onto a cart where his arms and legs were strapped down painfully tight, cutting off his circulation.

As the hover-cart moved down the stark white halls, Han stared up at the ceiling. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that Luke had given up so quickly, and so willingly accepted his death sentence. Did Luke truly believe these people were simply going to allow Chewie and Leia to leave peacefully for Coruscant? The way he was being rushed through that mockery of a trial and sent to his death was a sure sign someone high up was involved with Vail Golden's murder. Luke, of all people, should be able to see this. So why couldn't he?

Eventually, the hover-cart was pushed into the center of a small, round room, with an observation deck along the top edge of the wall. Commander Quist, as well as the old Judge sat staring down. Several newer model One-Bee droids shuffled around the walls, and the guards quickly left. The room smelled like oil and stale, musty air.

Another door slid open, and a pretty woman with red hair tied back into a bun entered the room, holding a syringe. Han swallowed hard against his dry throat, looking away from the needle, but met the woman's green eyes with a defiant glare. "Flunk out of regular medical school, sweetheart?"

The corners of her lips twitched upwards, but the rest of her face was expressionless. "It takes skill to kill someone cleanly, Solo. It's a special talent of mine. You should be grateful I'm such an expert."

"Yeah, I'm so grateful, I can't even move a muscle."

She approached him, and Han glanced at the identity badge on her white gown. While the face matched, the name said, 'Dr. Burt Keile'. "Burt?" Han asked, taking in her calm, almost amused demeanor. "You don't look like a 'Burt', Doctor Keile."

"My parents were hoping for a boy," she replied, tugging his sleeve up.

"Instead, they got an assassin," Han shot back, wincing as the needle pieced his vein.

"True," she said, raising her eyebrows. "Any last words?"

"How about a kiss?" he asked sarcastically.

"Maybe next time," she replied, depressing the plunger and watching Solo's eyes flutter close.

*****************

"Shannon?" Luke whispered, gently shaking the child. "Wake up."

She mumbled and stirred. "Daddy?"

"No.... it's Uncle Luke," he answered quietly. "I'm going to take you home, Shannon. Okay?"

The girl sat up, rubbing her sleepy eyes. Then, looking into Luke's face, she screamed.

"Shhhh..." Luke whispered, holding his hand lightly over her mouth. This only made matters worse, since Shannon started screaming louder.

"Gramma! Grampa!"

"Shannon!" Luke yelled over her screams. "Be quiet... don't you want to see your mommy?"

"Mommy killed daddy! Gramma and Grampa told me so! I never want to see my mommy again!"

The lights in the outside hallway came on, shining under the edge of the bedroom door. Luke tried again to reason with the girl. "Shannon, listen to me. Your mother did NOT kill your father. I know who did, and we're going to catch him real soon, I promise. Your mommy loves you, she would never do anything to hurt you."

"SHANNON?" Linna Golden called down the hall. "Are you alright, dear? Grandmother's coming."

Luke quickly stood up, trying to gather the struggling child up into his arms.

"GRAMMA! UNCLE LUKE IS TRYING TO KILL ME!"

The door started to open, so Luke quickly reached out with the Force, keeping it securely shut. By this time, Shannon was sobbing and hysterical, and only Luke's Force abilities kept the girl from freeing herself. He headed over to the window, noting the three story drop. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem. However, under his current state of siege, making the jump while holding the girl was going to make the drop interesting.

"Stand back, Shannon," Parry Golden, the grandfather, yelled out. "I'm going to blast this door open. I've already called CorSec, so you're in deep trouble, Jedi Skywalker!"

Luke jumped out of the window just seconds before the bedroom door blasted into pieces.

****************

'Dr. Burt Keile' bent over the apparently lifeless body of Han Solo, listening for his heartbeat. The drug she had administered slowed the heart dramatically, but did not stop it from beating. Anyone giving a quick check would think Solo was quite dead. Mara knew Han would fully recover, although he would remain in a near-death state until she administered the antidote. She looked up at the Judge and Commander Quist. "Solo is dead," she declared, signaling the One-Bee droid over to her side. The droid peered at the still human, then pulled a sheet up over the man's head.

Quist leaned over and spoke into a comm-link. "Wonderful. Have the guards take the body to docking bay seventy-two, and load him into the shuttle." He looked to the Judge. "I'll go accompany Organa and the Wookiee to the shuttle." Both men stood up and headed out of the viewing room, leaving Mara alone with Han and the two medical droids.

Then the comlink on her belt started vibrating - a signal from Luke that he was in trouble. Nothing ever goes as planned, Mara mentally grumbled to herself. Reaching out with the Force, she turned off both droids, then pushed the hover-cart out of the room. Four guards were standing by, waiting to assist her. "I can handle taking the corpse to the shuttle," Mara ordered the men. "Quist requested your help with controlling the Wookiee at docking bay fourteen."

The men exchanged puzzled looks. "Are you sure? Commander Quist said we were supposed to take the body - "

"Of course I'm sure!" Mara snapped. "Why the kest would a dead body need four guards? Are you afraid of the Wookiee? Should I report you for insubordination?"

"No...no...."

"Then go! Docking bay fourteen!"

"Yes, ma'am."

She watched the men hurry off, then pushed the cart in the opposite direction. She almost made it to the exit when loud alarms started blaring through the speakers, and a voice announced over the speakers, "Dr. Burt Keile has been discovered unconscious and tied up in a storage room. The woman going by the name Keile is an imposter. Please find her and detain immediately!"

*****************

Coruscant

Ghent let out a loud hoot of happiness as the last piece of the decryption code fell into place. "Artoo! We did it!" He bent over, turning on the unaltered conversation between Han Solo and Leia Organa. "We've got to send this to Luke right away," he added, glancing over at the little droid.

Artoo let out a warble, agreeing with the human slicer. Ghent removed the small disk, and stood up. When he turned around, his smile faded, and he slowly raised his hands. Standing in the doorway was Senator Borsk Fey'lya, holding a blaster that was pointed directly at his chest.

************

 

Corellia


Luke hit the ground a lot harder than he intended, grimacing as his ankle twisted. His right ear was starting to ring with the high pitched screeching coming from the seven year old girl. It amazed Luke that so much noise could come from such a small person. "Shannon!" he yelled again. "Please.... I'm not going to kill you. I love you, and so does your mommy."

Shannon sniffed loudly, then ran her hand over her dripping nose before wiping her fingers on Luke's tunic."Gramma and Grampa Golden says Jedi are bad."

Trying to ignore the slime, Luke took off toward the gate, using the Force to send the security droids flying high into the air. He knew none of them would fire weapons, since he was carrying Shannon. It was also no longer necessary to sneak around, escaping through the gate would be the easiest way out, much easier than trying to scale the wall again, holding an uncooperative child. "Jedi are good people, Shannon. Why would they tell you we're bad?"

"Cuz they said momma's father was a very, very bad man. He was a Jedi that killed lotsa people, even little kids."

How dare they scare her like that? Luke thought, feeling indignant. No wonder Shannon was so terrified of him. How was he going to explain Darth Vader to a child? "Shannon, my father.... and your mother's father was a very bad man for a while. He did really bad things, but he wasn't always bad."

"Did he kill little kids? Gramma said he killed little kids."

"I suppose he did," Luke admitted reluctantly he knelt down by the closed gate. "But that has nothing to do with me, or your mommy." Off in the distance, Luke could hear the whine of sirens as they headed toward the Golden Estate. Drawing out his lightsaber, he switched it on, slicing open the lock and pushing the heavy gate open with the Force.

"Would he have killed me?"

"Shannon, listen to me," Luke said, looking directly in her eyes. "In the end, when it counted, my father died to save my life. He wasn't a bad man anymore when he died."

"Really?"

"Yes. Do you really never want to see your mommy... ever again?" Luke questioned as he hurried toward his rented land speeder.

"No. I ...I want to see my mommy," she answered, hiccupping from crying so hard.

Luke placed her gently into the passenger seat, then climbed inside and started up the engine. "Then let's go see her." He turned onto the main roadway and pressed the accelerator down as hard as he could, watching as the CorSec vehicles skidded around to follow him.

**************

Wearing a prison uniform and binders, Leia Organa-Golden was escorted out of the compound, and hurried into a large ground transportation unit. A loud roar greeted her when she entered, and the Princess forced herself to look at Chewie's concerned face. The Wookiee was already sitting on a bench, heavy chains attaching him the fortified outside wall of the ground transport. Leia strongly suspected Chewie knew nothing about Luke's deal with Commander Quist, which meant he had no clue his best friend was dead.

Leia barely felt the guards as they pushed her to sit down, then chained her to the wall. Han's dead, she thought, her heart almost breaking at the idea. Just when I thought we might have another chance together... She heard Chewie give a questioning woof, but couldn't bring herself to look at him again. Han's dead, because of my daughter and my brother. It took all of her control not to cry, and it suddenly occurred to her she had never even wanted to shed tears for Vail, her husband and the father of her child.

******************

Okay, Mara thought grimly. My cover's blown, and I can't just walk out of here pushing this gurney. Which mean I'll have to shoot my way out. Or, at the very least, run fast. She pulled the cover off Solo's face, frowning at the deathly-still Corellian. "It's time you earned your keep, Solo," she muttered aloud, taking the antidote out of her pocket and jabbing it into the man's arm. "Wake up, sleepyhead."

Han groaned, and turned his head sharply to the side, taking a ragged gasp of air. He opened his eyes in time to see the 'doctor' take out a lightsaber and start cutting through the straps and binders. He blinked, his head throbbing. The blare of sirens, the humming lightsaber, and the bright purple glow made his already bad headache hurt even worse. "I guess you really did flunk out of med school?" he croaked out.

Mara grabbed Han by his prison shirt, hauling him into a seated position. She felt a pang of sympathy when he grabbed his head, and moaned. "I'm here to rescue you, Solo, and I gave you a drug called Peleridron to make you appear dead," she explained. "It'll give you a major migraine for about a day. Sorry about that," she said, not sounding very sorry at all. Mara pushed him to get off the cart, catching his arm as he stumbled and nearly fell. "Guards are going to be coming around that corner in a few seconds, and I plan on getting at least a few of their weapons. I don't care how straight you can shoot at this moment, Solo, but once we get those blasters I want you to start shooting at the bad guys anyway. You can complain about your headache when we get out of here in one piece."

He eyed the lightsaber, then gave her a smirk. "You're a Jedi. Let me make a guess - this was all another one of Luke's great rescue plans. Kinda reminds me of the time he got me outta Jabba's."

"Quit griping, Solo," Mara answered just as two security guards came charging around the corner, weapons drawn. "If the rescue works, it works."

Seeing Mara and Han, they immediately started firing, forcing Mara to deflect the shots with her saber. Han eyed the hover-cart, then ducked his head down grabbing the end, and pushing it down the hall like a battering ram. Taken by surprise, the guards jumped to either side. Han leapt out from behind the cart, tackling the closest guard, and wrestling for his weapon.

Mara charged after, using the Force to snatch the second guard's blaster from his hand, and quickly set it to stun before firing at the man. The other blaster was fired in Mara's direction, nearly singeing her hair. Quickly, Mara readjusted her aim, taking out the guard struggling with Solo.

The Corellian staggered to his feet as he gathered the blaster. "Now we have blasters," he pointed out smugly.

"Luke was right. You are crazy."

"Well, if that's not like one Hutt calling the other Hutt a slob, I don't know what is," Han grumbled as he hurried after the woman. "Hey, Burt!"

Mara shot a glare over her shoulder. "What?"

"What's your real name?"

"Mara Jade. And guess what?

"What?"

"I really did used to be an Imperial assassin, so if you dare call me 'Burt' one more time...."

"Just keep those nasty needles away from me, and we'll get along fine," Han said, laughing, and unable to stop himself from adding, "Burt."

************

Coruscant


"Senator?" Ghent asked, eyes wide as he stared at the blaster. "What's the matter?"

"I think you know what I want," Fey'lya snapped out. "Hand me that disk."

"Su..sure..." Shaking, Ghent moved his hand slowly forward, not wanting to do anything rash.

It was at that moment that Threepio came bustling into the small room. "Artoo! There you are! I've been - "

Fey'lya swung his blaster around, causing the protocol droid to throw up his arms in fear. "Dear me! Don't shoot!" Threepio cried out, just as Artoo rolled forward, shooting a small blast of electrical current directly at the one place the little droid knew for certain caused sentients - especially male sentients - the most pain.

The Bothan screamed in pain, and Ghent flung himself forward to the ground, trying to tackle the Senator around his ankles. The blaster fired.

*********

Corellia

"Why are we driving so fast?" Shannon demanded, frowning and folding her arms across her chest. "This isn't safe, you know."

Luke glanced over his shoulder at the pursuing CorSec officers. "I don't have much of a choice, Shannon."

"Security Officers are our friends," she said in her best 'lecture' tone. "My teachers tell me we're supposed to obey laws, not break them."

"That's usually true," Luke agreed, making a hard left turn in an attempt to lose them. Unfortunately, they were good drivers, and two of the three made the same turn. "One down, two to go...."

"You're going to get into trouble," Shannon informed her uncle. "Or get us into an accident."

"I'm already in trouble," Luke replied with a sigh. Sometimes he wondered how his sister put up with Shannon. He knew she had tried her best to discipline the girl, but whenever Leia tried to set limits, Vail overrode her rules and punishment. Vail always enjoyed putting Leia in the position as the 'bad guy' with their child, and Shannon was well versed in playing one parent off the other to get what she wanted. "Don't worry about crashing, Shannon."

"I'm not worried," she said, looking up into the sky. "But now we have air patrols chasing us, too."

"No wonder the Force was telling me things were going to go wrong," Luke muttered under his breath. He pressed the code to raise Mara on his comlink. Maybe she could come up with some alternative plan of action.

************

Commander Quist hurried off the transport, and then raised a comlink to his lips as he leaned against a wall. "Is the bomb in place?"

A disembodied voice spoke back, "It's all set to go, sir. What about the CorSec personnel onboard?"

"There will be only droids piloting that shuttle," the Commander replied. "Other than Skywalker, his sister and the Wookiee, of course."

"Yes, sir. The bomb will detonate as soon as the hyperspace lever is pulled."

Quist grinned and turned of his comlink. As long as Fey'lya took care of the slicer, all their problems would be over. He strolled away, never even noticing the young lawyer that had considered him a Corellian hero standing around the corner - stunned at the overheard conversation.

***************

Han ducked his head, avoiding the blaster fire that sizzled past. "Escaping that way is pretty much out of the question, Jedi Doctor Burt."

"Then we need to head up to the rooftop," she replied, cutting the lock off the fire-escape door.

Han looked at her, incredulous. "Up? UP?"

"That's what I said," Mara snapped. "Is that word too big for you to understand?"

"I understand the word, but I don't understand the concept. Once we're on the roof, then what? Is there a landing port with a ship waiting for us?"

"No." She gave Han a sugary sweet smile. "Once we're up on the roof, we'll jump off. They'll never expect that." Mara headed up the stairs, listening in satisfaction as Solo followed.

"And you called me crazy? This building is about ten stories high, in case you didn't notice...of course they'll never expect it. It's suicide!"

"I noticed the building height. It's only seven stories high."

"Why didn't you say so?" Han grumbled sarcastically. "So we'll only break every bone in our bodies, instead of dying instantly upon impact. Sounds a lot better to me."

"I'm a Jedi," she replied, getting exasperated. "I can jump from heights regular people can't, and not hurt myself."

"In case you haven't heard... I can't use your hocus-pocus, Jedi Doctor Burt," Han pointed out, starting to gasp for breath from the fast dash up seven flights of stairs.

Mara looked back as they reached the top door. "Maybe I'll be kind and use the Force to lower you gently to the ground. Or maybe I'll only lower you halfway, then drop you on your backside for being so annoying."

"I'm shocked that you would suggest such a thing, Jedi Doctor Burt! That's not a very Jedi-ee thing to say," Han said, widening his eyes. He grinned, watching as she glared threateningly at him before heading off onto the open roof.

***************

Coruscant

"Ahhhhh!" Threepio screamed as he tumbled forward, and crashed into the Bothan. "I've been shot, Artoo! Call the mechanics! I require immediate emergency care!"

Fey'lya stumbled to the ground as the blaster flew from his fingers, his head striking the ground. The Bothan curled into a fetal position, clutching his abused, slightly singed fur. "That droid shot me," he screeched loudly. "It's defective! I demand you dismantle it!"

Ghent grasped the dropped blaster and stood up, shaking. "You're not in any position to demand anything, Senator." He spared a glance to the little droid. "Good job, Artoo. Contact security, please."

The astromech droid gave a happy warble, then rolled over to plug himself into a socket.

Threepio sat up stiffly, looking at his charred torso. "Security? You're going to call Security instead of a mechanic? I think my needs should come first."

"We'll get you fixed up, Threepio," Ghent reassured the droid, wondering how Luke tolerated him. "It's not like you're going to bleed to death."

"Why do these terrible things always happen to me?" Threepio moaned.

**********

Corellia

Peering over the edge, Mara decided Han might have been right after all... it did look like a very long drop to the surface of the duracrete. She felt the comlink vibrate again, and took it out of her pocket, turning it on. Luke's voice immediately came over the little speaker.

"Mara?"

"Yes?"

"I'm having a bit of trouble here.... two CorSec vehicles on my tail and an air patrol overhead. I'm not sure if I can shake them."

"Do they know it's you driving?" Mara asked.

"Probably by now. Shannon made things difficult."

Mara could hear the little girl immediately start to argue with Luke, and Han gave a snort. "The kid made things difficult? You couldn't have predicted that? I'm not impressed with this big rescue so far, Luke."

"Is that Han I hear?"

The Corellian leaned closer to the comlink. "The one and only. You really had me going there, thinkin' Doctor Burt here was gonna kill me."

"Burt still might kill you," Mara said dryly.

"Burt? Who is Burt?" Luke asked, confused. "And why is Han awake already? How are we going to get off this system with Leia and Chewie if we don't have a body?"

"Listen," Mara snapped, getting impatient. "Go directly to the Corellian transport. Solo and I will meet you there, and we'll come up with a plan then. I hope."

Han threw up his hands, pretending to look up toward the sky for inspiration. "Plans? Since when do we need plans?"

"Alright.... I'll see you at the space port," Luke said, switching off the comlink.

Without another word, Mara jumped off the roof, concentrating on slowing her descent using the Force. She landed lightly, then looked up, calling as quietly as possible considering the distance. "Jump, Solo. I'll keep you from breaking anything too important."

Chewing his lip nervously, Han took a deep breath and jumped....and plummeted toward the ground at breakneck speed. For a heart stopping few seconds, Han thought he was dead. Then he realized he was no longer falling and carefully opened his eyes, staring down at the duracrete surface.... inches from his nose.

"Are you going to call me 'Burt' again?" Mara asked conversationally.

"No," he gasped, the word coming out of his throat like a strangled croak.

"I'm glad. I'd hate to actually do something really terrible to you next time, but you can't say I didn't warn you."

*************

Bret Nehoc entered the Corellian transport, nervously looking around. Either Commander Quist was lying about evacuating the guards before the shuttle lifted, or the two men hadn't received their orders yet. He glanced over at the grief-stricken Ambassador Organa-Golden, and the fierce looking Wookiee, sitting on a hard bench and chained to the wall.

"Can I help you?" the taller guard asked, stepping between the lawyer and the prisoners.

"Y..yes.." Bret fumbled for some flimsies. "I was Solo's Defender, and I need to have Commander Quist sign this Execution Witness Statement before Solo's body leaves for Coruscant."

His words brought a huge, angry roar from the huge Wookiee, and Bret took a step backwards as the creature suddenly seemed to go berserk. The guard turned around, drawing his blaster and pointing it at the Wookiee. "Shut up, animal!"

The Wookiee whipped his head around, looking at the Ambassador, snarling and roaring.

"I couldn't tell you," she whispered. "I'm sorry, Chewie.... this is my fault."

"Shut up!" the guard screamed at his prisoners, waving the blaster around.

"Do you know where Commander Quist is?" Nehoc asked timidly.

"He left a few minutes - " The guard stopped talking as Nehoc grabbed his wrist, twisting the blaster from his fingers.

Bret Nehoc had never even held a weapon in his life, and his face was pale and sweating as he yelled at the second guard, "Take your blaster and throw it down! Now!"

"What do you think you're doing?" the man asked, slowly obeying.

"This ship is wired to blow up when it goes hyper, so I'm saving your life," Bret replied, feeling lightheaded. "Now, let the prisoners go, and no one gets hurt."

"Are you crazy?" the first guard muttered, rubbing his throbbing fingers where the blaster had been wrenched away from his grip. "The animal will kill us!"

"If you don't do what I say, I'll kill you."

Reluctantly, the guards released Leia and Chewbacca, quickly stepping back in fear from the Wookiee as the Ambassador picked up the blaster lying on the floor. "Now what?" Leia asked, looking at the young man.

"I don't know. I didn't really have a plan past this point."

"Of course not," Leia grumbled, then sighed. "I guess this is where I take over." She looked at the shorter guard. "Take off your clothes."

"But - "

"NOW!"

Flushing, the guard did as he was told.

*************

Coruscant

"You did a great job, Ghent," Wedge said, patting the slicer on the back as the Security forces hauled a still protesting Fey'lya off to the detention area. "This will clear the Ambassador and Solo, and put the good Bothan out of action for the rest of his life."

"Thanks," Ghent replied, grinning. "I couldn't have done it without Artoo's help."

The little droid gave a beep, rocking on his 'foot' at the compliment.

Wedge smiled at the droid, then looked over at Threepio. "You'll be fixed up good as new in a few hours, Threepio."

"I should hope so!" He turned his glowing eyes down at the scorched and melted metal on his chest plate. "This has been a very upsetting day, I must say."

"We should try and contact Luke again," Ghent quickly inserted, before Threepio could get worked up. "I don't understand why he's not answering."

"He's probably in the middle of something too important to interrupt, if I know Luke," Wedge replied knowingly. "If he doesn't answer soon, I'll take the squadron and head to Corellia."

 

***********

 

Corellia

Leaving the two guards sitting chained to the bench, Leia, Chewie and Bret cautiously exited the transport. Leia's eyes darted around the hanger. "I don't see any CorSec guards right here."

Dressed in the guard's uniform, the lawyer tugged at the too tight collar. "I'm sure they think everything is under control, and they're just waiting for Solo's body to arrive."

Chewie let out a long howl, making the young man jump in fear. "Can you tell him to be quiet?"

"He's upset!" Leia hissed back as they hurried across the open space. "His best friend was just murdered by your so-called justice system." And the only man I'll ever love....

"I admit I'm new to this Defense stuff, but I've been in a lot of courtrooms," Bret told her. "This was the first time I've ever seen someone's trial rushed through like that. It was a travesty, but Quist is my boss so there wasn't anything I could do. I'm sorry."

"Sorry isn't good enough," Leia replied tightly.

"This is my hover-craft," Bret said, grateful to have something to discuss other than Solo's death. "I can take you to my apartment to hide."

"Oh, now that's what I call a great hiding place," Leia muttered sarcastically. "We're not hiding, Defender Nehoc. I'm going to go get my daughter, and then we're getting off this system."

"Once they find out you've escaped, they'll know you'll be heading to the Golden's Estate," Bret argued.

Leia frowned at the man, knowing he was correct. "I'm not leaving without my child."

The young Corellian sighed. "Okay. I have some friends that I know are off-system. How about we go to their apartment, and try to contact some of your associates?"

Unable to think of a better solution, Leia nodded. "I suppose contacting Coruscant might be a good idea."

Chewie insisted on driving, and Bret wasn't about to argue, so they climbed into the land speeder and roared off.

***************

Although Mara had wanted to take her land speeder to the space port, she decided that would be the first place CorSec would be waiting for them. Instead, they chose to take the risk of being seen in a more public location, hoping that Security wouldn't think to check there.

"Do you and Luke have a thing going?" Han asked, staring out of the window of the 'CorTrans', a public ground transportation vehicle.

Mara jerked her head up, glaring at the Corellian. "He's my teacher."

"That's not a denial," he pointed out, amused by how she flushed at the question.

"What's it your business?"

"It's not," Han said, shrugging. "I was just curious."

"So why were you such an idiot to walk out of the Princess's life?" Mara asked. "Just curious."

This was one sharp lady, and if Luke wasn't interested in her, Han decided he'd need to have a serious discussion with the kid, or maybe suggest Luke get his vision checked. "You pretty much answered your own question. I was an idiot."

"Ah." Mara nodded. "So are you planning on fixing the situation?"

"If I can. If she'll take me back after everything that's happened between us. If I can find my step-sons, and make Alli's lousy ex pay for what he did to her..." He trailed off, his eyes focused far away. "If Leia accepts Trey and Rue as a part of my life."

"That's a lot of 'if's'," Mara noted. "Can you accept Leia's career? Or her child? Being a step-father to Shannon would be quite a challenge."

"True," Han said, smiling. "But I haven't pulled out the big gun, yet. Shannon doesn't know about my secret weapon for disciplining children."

"Secret weapon?"

"A really intimidating Wookiee named Chewbacca. Once he puts his hairy paws on her, lifts her off the ground and roars in her face, she'll get scared straight, I promise you that!"

*****************

Leia turned her head, watching as the landspeeder in the opposite lane tore past, followed by CorSec security patrols. A familiar tingle went down her spine, the same feeling she had when they were leaving Bespin. "Luke's in that landspeeder! Turn around!"

The Wookiee let out a giant roar, turning the hovercar so quickly in a half-circle that Leia sincerely hoped Bret Nehoc wouldn't sue them for whiplash.

"How is following them going to help anything?" Bret ground out, digging his fingernails so hard against the seat cushions he was going to leave permanent marks.

"I'm not going to head in the opposite direction, not when my brother is in trouble," Leia snapped at the man, then felt guilty for yelling at him when he'd taken such a great risk to save their lives. "The CorSec people aren't going to be expecting us to be coming up behind them," she explained in a softer tone. "And I don't expect you to take any more chances helping us. You can stay in the once we jump out."

"Are you kidding me?" Bret asked. "I'm in this up to my neck now, so whether you want my help or not, you've got it."

"We never turn down help of any kind," Leia replied. She had learned that lesson back on Endor, and would never again underestimate anyone's abilities to turn around a battle.

***********

Luke was surprised by the familiar Force-signature of his sister coming from behind him. She was supposed to be onboard the Corellian transport, but it appeared this was one more part of Luke's plan that had gone differently than anticipated. "Your mother is following us in that hovercar back there," Luke told the sulking little girl.

"I know," she replied, smirking. "I know a lot of things that nobody thinks I know."

"I'll bet," Luke agreed. "You're really strong in the Force, Shannon. You should have started your training by now."

"I hate school. I'm not going to let you make me do even more lessons than I already have to." She frowned at her uncle. "Besides, Daddy didn't want me to be a stupid Jedi, so I'm not. So there."

Sighing, Luke decided this was neither the time nor the place to get into an argument with the girl. "We're getting close to the spaceport, Shannon. I think we'll have to make a fast run for the Bothan ship Mara and I borrowed." Luke raised the comlink to his lips. "Mara?"

"Yes?"

"Where are you?"

"We just got off the CorTrans, and we're a minute away from the space port, running to beat you there," she panted into the comlink.

"Running with this headache isn't fun, either," Han shouted, adding his input.

"Listen.... Leia is in a hovercar behind me, and I can tell by her current attitude she's not exactly a prisoner at this point, so that's the good news. I think we'll all be arriving at the Bothan ship at about the same time, but I still have these annoying..." Luke trailed off as he looked in the rearview mirror. One of the pursuing ships started weaving back and forth, smoke coming from its tail. "I think Leia or Chewie just got rid of another CorSec vehicle for me. That leaves one, plus the air patrol."

"Only two?" Han asked. "That'll make this escape one of our easier ones."

"Tell that mean man that tried to make me eat his stew, and made me sit all alone in a boring room that I hate him," Shannon interrupted. "I hate him, and his Wookiee, and his dirty old ship."

"Shannon!" Luke admonished, trying to keep his attention on driving through the traffic.

"Kid, I know she's your niece, but she's got a mouth on her like a - "

"SOLO! We don't have time for this!" Mara yelled. "Luke, Solo and I will cover you when you move from the speeder to the ship. We're coming up to the dock right now."

"Get ready, because we'll be there in a matter of seconds."

******************

Bret pounded Chewie on the back enthusiastically, forgetting for a moment how scary a Wookiee could be. "That's great driving! It's a good thing you're behind the controls!" He let out a whoop when Leia shot the rear thruster of the CorSec vehicle following Skywalker. "Great shooting, too, Ambassador!"

"It's been a while that I've fired a blaster at anything," Leia admitted. "But, like Han would have said, I've still got it." As soon as the words left her mouth, Leia could see Chewie's broad shoulder's visibly slump. Tears burned her eyes as Han's face flashed across her mind, and she could almost sense his presence through the Force - if only she'd been better trained in those things. "He's with us, Chewie," she said quietly. "I think he must be somehow still watching over us."

Chewie let out a mournful howl in agreement.

*******************

The Bothan shuttle came into view, and Luke slammed on the brakes as close as he safely could. The ramp had already been lowered, and Luke could sense Mara was now very close. "Shannon, get out first and I'll be right behind you.... run into that ship! NOW!"

Amazingly, for once, the little girl obeyed and leapt out of the speeder, taking off toward the ship as the CorSec vehicle squealed to a stop. Almost immediately, blaster fire rang out from behind the landing struts of the shuttle, directed at the CorSec officers, forcing them to duck down rather than shoot at the man that kidnapped Shannon Golden.

Moments later, a second speeder tore past the CorSec vehicle, nearly colliding with Luke's parked speeder. By this time, Shannon and Luke were halfway up the ramp just as Leia, Bret and Chewie jumped out. Laser fire came from overhead and from the blasters of the CorSec officers that had taken cover behind their vehicle, scorching the duracrete only inches from the escapees. "Leia!" Luke turned, shouting at his sister. "Hurry!"

Mara jumped out from behind the right landing strut, waving for them to hurry as she ran up the ramp following Luke. Someone dressed in a Corellian prison uniform rolled out from left strut, lying on his back and firing his weapon up at the patrol ship. His surface-to-air shot hit the mark, striking a critical area of the ship's engine, and white smoke roiled out. The air patrol ship wobbled, and the pilot desperately tried to regain control. The air ship veered away and headed toward the surface, disappearing from view for a brief second before a loud explosion shook the ground, and black smoke billowed up from behind skyline of the landing dock.

Chewie rushed inside the ship and headed for the cockpit, while Bret hurried to strap himself in a seat for lift-off. This only left Leia standing at the top of the landing ramp, her mouth hanging open as Han Solo pushed himself to his feet and started running in her direction.

"Han?" Leia whispered, feeling dizzy with relief.

Firing at the CorSec officers still shooting in his direction, Solo charged up the ramp, pausing only to grab a stunned Princess by her arm and drag her inside the ship.

"You're alive!" Leia managed to say, unable to stop staring at Han.

Giving a half turn, he hit the 'close' button on the hatch, then yelled up to the cockpit. "We're all inside, time to make ourselves scarce!" Han gave his best lopsided grin at Leia. "We'd better strap ourselves in.... I'm sure this fun isn't over yet." Han frowned toward the cockpit as Chewie let loose with a loud, happy bellow.

"Yeah, I'm alive!" Han shouted back. "Don't get too excited, Furball!"

"MOMMY!" Shannon screamed at the top of her lungs. Then she eyed Han. "Keep that mean man away from me... I hate him."

"Honey, please don't say things like that!" Leia leaned over, kissing and hugging her daughter tightly, and feeling guilty for being angry at Luke, while at the same time wanting to hit him for deceiving her into believing Han was dead.

"Sit down and strap in," Han ordered, pointing to the seat next to Shannon. "We're already lifting."

Leia quickly fastened her restraining harness, then looked back at Han. "Why would Luke have told me you were dead?"

Han appeared rather affronted. "You don't have to sound so disappointed, sweetheart."

"Disappointed?" Leia shouted, starting to get over her shock. "I was devastated! Luke told me he traded your life for mine and Chewie's!"

"Aw, the kid was using that 'certain point of view' Jedi reasoning nonsense," he replied, flinging himself down in a seat just as the ship banked sharply. "Personally, I think it's just a fancier way of lying, if you ask me."

"I... I could ... could...."

"Hey," Han objected. "Blame this big escape plan on your brother, not me. I have a killer migraine from that medicine Doctor Burt gave me just so I'd look dead."

"Too bad it didn't really work," Shannon mumbled under her breath.

"Doctor Burt?" Leia questioned. "Who's Doctor Burt?"

"I HEARD that Solo!" Mara yelled from the cockpit. "You're going to wish a headache is all you've got when I'm done with you!"

The small Bothan shuttle bucked as it took a hit from Corellian Interceptors. "We're all going to die," Bret moaned. "I hate space travel."

Han turned his head and looked at the lawyer, noticing him for the first time. "What's he doing onboard? He's one of the bad guys."

"No, he isn't," Leia argued. "He risked his life to get Chewie and me off that Corellian shuttle after overhearing it was wired with a bomb."

"I think I'm going to throw up," Bret muttered, looking around for a container.

"Great.... just great," Han grumbled. "A human version of Threepio. At least Threepio never lost his lunch."

"Breakfast," Bret corrected him, before leaning forward and heaving on the floor.

"EWWW," Shannon yelled, covering her eyes. "That's sooo gross!"

***************

Commander Quist glared up at the escaping shuttle, his face flushed with rage. "How many ships are we sending after them?"

"Twelve Interceptors, sir," the Officer replied. "We'll should easily disable the shuttle and force it to land."

"Disable?" Quist snapped. "Those are escaped convicts! And CorSec killers! They shot down our air patrol!"

"Sir, none of the CorSec officers died.... the two pilots ejected safely before - "

"I don't care," Quist interrupted. "I want that Bothan shuttle destroyed, not disabled."

"But the child - "

"An unfortunate event we were unable to prevent."

"Yes, sir."

*************

Chewie let out a roar, pointing to the fast moving Corellian Interceptors. The Bothan shuttle was slow in comparison, and there would be no way to outrun the fighters.

"Any suggestions?" Mara asked from the navigator's seat, raising her eyes to meet Luke's.

""Let's see..." Luke looked over the controls. "Minimal weapons, minimal maneuvering capabilities, weak deflector shields.... I'd have to say I don't have any ideas, short of signaling that we surrender."

"Then we're all going to end up in prison," Mara pointed out calmly. "I'd hate to go through all that rescue work for nothing."

"If we end up floating back to the planet in pieces, it'll still be for nothing."

"Since when are you such a pessimist, Farmboy?" Mara asked, folding her arms across her chest.

"I'm not a pessimist. I'm only pointing out that our options are rather limited." He banked to the right as the shuttle took another hard hit.

"Shields down to fifty percent," Mara informed them. "We can only take a couple of more hits like that and we're done."

"Pessimist."

Another hit, and Mara noted the read-out. "Down to nineteen percent." She sighed. "I guess you're right, we need to take our chances on the surface, and hope Ghent has decrypted the rest of those messages."

Nodding, Luke spoke into the communication board. "CorSec, please hold your fire. We will return to the surface and give up peacefully."

The only response was a hard, direct hit on the back shields, and Chewie let out an angry roar as sparks flew from the controls.

"Five percent," Mara said tightly. "One more hit and we're space dust."

"I don't think they intend to allow us to give up," Luke commented as he barely avoided another hit. "Our only chance is to make it into hyperspace."

"That's still seven full minutes away," Mara replied. "The odds of us making another seven minutes without a hit...." She trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid.

*****************

"We're going to die, aren't we?" Bret gasped. "I'm too young to die!"

The comment made Shannon burst into tears. "You're old. What about me?" She glared at Han through her watery eyes. "This is all your fault."

"My fault!?" Han snapped out. "If you wouldn't have lied back on Glova, and told the authorities I kidnapped you, none of this would be happening!"

"Mommy, make him stop yelling at me," Shannon whined, leaning toward her mother.

Leia started to defend her child, then realized that was exactly how Shannon always managed to manipulate the adults in her life. Things would have to change, and if Han was going to be a part of her life, that change should start now. "Shannon, I want you to apologize to Han."

The little girl looked at her mother with disbelief written across her face. "For what?"

"For falsely accusing him of kidnapping you. For calling him mean, when he was only trying to help you. For kicking him. That's a lot of things to say your sorry for, Shannon."

"I won't do it," she replied stubbornly. "You can't make me, either. I'll go live with Gramma and Grampa if you do."

Leia flushed with embarrassment as she watched Han and Bret appraising her daughter. If they lived through this day, Leia was determined to try and unspoil this very Corellian child. The moment was interrupted when Luke called back from the cockpit, asking Han if he could try and rig some more power to the rear deflectors.

******************

"And please make it fast," Luke added to his request directed back toward Han. He heard a grunted response from Han as the metal panel covering the deflector was tossed aside, but no argument or smart comment was forthcoming from the occupied Corellian.

"Six minutes away from being able to jump," Mara told Luke and Chewie. "We've avoided death for a full minute." The control panel spiked, and Mara smiled slightly. "Deflectors back up to fifteen percent. We should be able to avoid death for one more hit, anyway." The ship bucked, and Han yelled some Corellian curse from inside the maintenance tube. "That was the one hit," Mara added. "We're back down to five percent."

Chewie let out a loud bellow, pointing through the viewport. A large, New Republic battle cruiser blinked into real space. Seconds later, X-Wings peeled out of the hanger and headed in their direction. A voice came over the communication panel.

"Master Skywalker?"

Luke's face broke into a huge grin. "Corran!"

"Since he couldn't raise you on your comm, General Antilles contacted me and suggested you might be in trouble. Since we were in the neighborhood, I thought you might like a little help."

"You have no idea, Corran, how much we appreciate your assistance right now."

"Thought that might be the case," he said as his squadron headed toward the Corellian Interceptors.

*******************

"Sir," the CorSec lieutenant said formally to Commander Quist. "New Republic ships are now protecting the Bothan shuttle. If we have our people fire on them, we will be in direct violation of our treaty with the New Republic. This will be an intergalactic incident, and probably end our careers and our lives."

Quist stared at the electronic markers indicating the X-Wings and the Interceptors. The shuttle was now safely between the fighters, heading toward the battle cruiser. Somehow, Fey'lya had failed to stop the slicer, and Quist knew he'd lost his big gamble. "Call off the Interceptors." He turned and walked away as the lieutenant quickly relayed the order. Even if his career was now in shatters, Quist was determined to leave Corellia before he was arrested. Fey'lya had better never get out of prison, or he would be one very dead Bothan.

**********

 

Onboard the New Republic Battle Cruiser, The Protector

Wearing borrowed cloths, Han was still toweling his hair dry in the refresher when the buzzer to his small quarters sounded. "Answer that, will ya, Chewie?"

Leia's voice filtered into the refresher as she greeted the Wookiee, and Han stepped into the sleeping area that contained two cots, one for him, the other for Chewie. "Hey, Princess," Han said. "I see you tossed the prison fatigues, too."

Like Han, Leia was also wearing a borrowed New Republic military uniform, and was standing in the doorway holding Shannon's hand. "Just until we can shuttle over to the Rebel Dream, " she replied. "I'd like to talk to you in private, if you don't mind."

"Sure." Han glanced at the Wookiee. "You don't mind keeping an eye on Shannon, do you, pal?"

[I don't mind one bit, Han,] Chewie woofed. [As a matter of fact, Shannon and I could use some bonding time together.]

"No!" Shannon objected, trying to twist her wrist away from Leia. "I don't like that Wookiee. Where is Winter? She can watch me!"

"Winter is onboard the Rebel Dream," Leia told her daughter, hoping this was true. In fact, Leia hadn't seen Winter since Vail's memorial service, and was starting to become concerned. It wasn't like her friend to simply disappear. "We'll be going there in just a little while. Why do you insist on acting like this?"

"I'm not acting like anything," the little girl said, pouting.

"Chewie says he'll love to watch her, Princess." Han swept his hand into the room as Leia dragged the uncooperative child forward. "Better keep away from those teeth."

"He bites?" Shannon yelled, backing into a corner.

"I was warning Chewie about you," Han remarked, shutting the door behind him. He turned to Leia. "Don't worry about Chewie. He has a way with humans... he won't hurt her."

"If he can put up with you...." Leia said, trying not to smile as she took Han's hand and led him down the corridor to her small room.

"Hey!" Han said, pretending to be offended.

"I'm kidding." She stopped, looking up in his face. "What's next, Han? Where do we go from here?"

"I have to go back to Glova," Han told her, his voice breaking. "The Millennium Falcon is there, and I need to take care of Alli's remains, and see what I can do about locating Trey and Rue."

Leia nodded. "I promised Luke and Mara I'd take them to Bothawui so Mara can retrieve her ship, and I can drop you off on Glova after that. But I was think more long term, Han."

He knew what she meant. "People will talk."

"I know, and I don't care," she answered. "I realize that I'll have to wait a year to remarry out of respect for Vail, but they can't stop us from being together. Not unless we allow it."

"Remarry?"

The Princess felt her heart drop. "That was very presumptuous of me. I know you loved Alli - "

"I already told you once - Alli was my friend. I married her because she needed me, and it was just simpler being husband and wife. It made a lot of things easier, like running the business and taking care of signing bank deals or speaking with the boys' teachers. Little things that Alli couldn't physically do because of her sickness. We were never lovers."

"Never?" Leia asked, incredulously.

"Alli couldn't be intimate," Han explained. "Don't get me wrong, Princess. I haven't exactly been, um, celibate over the past nine years. I'm a man with desires. But Alli never expected me to be physically faithful, either. I never kept that a secret from her, and she didn't care. That's not why we got married."

"I see," she replied, knowing she wasn't in any position to judge. Was Han's life for the past nine years any less right or wrong than hers? Leia had never been unfaithful to Vail, even though she knew Vail had taken many mistresses, and she had turned a blind eye because she didn't care enough to confront him. Han and Alli's marriage was a marriage of convenience, just like her's and Vail's. The only difference was the reason, and the fact Han and Alli had truly been good friends. That was more than she'd had with Vail.

"I would be faithful to you, because I love you," he added quietly, watching the expressions on her face. "You have to believe me."

"I believe you."

*****************

Commander Quist was dressed in a black, floor length robe and carrying a small satchel as he made his way to his private ship. He had almost made it when a slim figured woman stepped out of the shadows holding a blaster.

"You almost got away with murder, Commander," her refined voice spoke. "Please put your hands above your head."

Slowly, he dropped his satchel and lifted his hands. "Who...who are you? This isn't your concern."

Winter stepped forward. "I'm Princess Leia's life long friend, and when you decided to pick a fight with her, you picked a fight with a lot of people, including me."

"I won't go to prison... I refuse to..." Quist said, sneering. He made a move toward his waist, but was dropped from behind by a stun shot before he could touch the blaster.

Corran shook his head, walking up to the unconscious man, then bent down and retrieved his weapon. "People like you give CorSec a bad name, Quist. Prison is the very least you deserve."

*******************

Shannon eyed the Wookiee nervously. "Stay away from me."

Chewie shook his head, then offered her a cold juice beverage. He knew Han wanted him to scare some respect into the child, but the Wookiee truly preferred to take a gentler approach.

She snatched the cup out of his hand and took a sip. "This is dewberry! I hate dewberries! I told you I only like briselberry! You're stupid." Shannon threw the cup and the contents onto the floor, watching in satisfaction as the pink juice splashed against the wall.

That was all it took. Chewie reached down and grasped Shannon by her upper arms, lifting her off the floor. With fangs bared, he roared at the top of his lungs, [YOU WILL CLEAN UP THIS MESS! NOW!!!] He placed her down, pointing at the floor and snatching the towel Han had been using, thrust it into the child's hand.

Although the girl didn't understand the words, Chewie's meaning was perfectly clear. Wide eyed, she dropped to her knees and, too scared to object, started sopping up the juice.

******************

Next day, onboard the Rebel Dream heading toward Bothawui

"Hey, kid," Han said, sitting down next to Luke at the small table in the crew's dining room. "Where's Burt?"

Luke forced the smile off his face. "You'd really better stop calling her that. She used to be an Imperial assassin, and she's got a short fuse."

"Really?" Han asked, looking startled. "She told me that, but I thought she was joking around."

"Mara doesn't joke around."

"Ah. Well.... do you two have a thing going?"

"A 'thing'? What's that supposed to mean?"

Han grinned. "Don't give me that innocent farm kid act. She's a beautiful woman, you're a man... you two spend a lot of time alone together..."

"She's my student," Luke replied, feeling his face get warm. "It wouldn't be appropriate."

"Bantha dung."

"It wouldn't!"

"Kid, life's too short. Don't let her get away from you, because you'll live to regret it. Trust me."

"Like you let Leia get away from you?" Luke returned.

Han had the grace to look embarrassed. "Yeah, something like that."

"Are you planning on moving back to Coruscant?"

"I thought we were discussing you!" Han shot back, then smiled. "I plan on it, yeah."

"It won't be easy. Not with the holo-press, or with Shannon."

"And I plan on finding my step-sons, too. So add that to the mix of complications."

"You two can handle it, though," Luke said. "It won't be like you won't have any help. I'll be there, and Chewie and Winter."

"And Burt?"

Luke sighed, then finally smiled. "Yes. And I hope Burt, too."

************

Bothawui

 

 

When the Rebel Dream arrived at Bothawui, everyone was greeted warmly by the system's governor, Youl Tac'mis.  "Ambassador Organa-Golden, it's such a pleasure to see you," the Bothan spoke into the holo-com.  "You'll be thrilled to know that the governor of Kothlis,  Ly’y Rei’bedu has been removed from her leadership and has agreed to testify against Borsk Fey'lya in his trial."

 

Standing out of view, Han gave a snort, then whispered, "Only because she doesn't want to spend time in jail herself."

 

Leia shot Han a warning look, then addressed Tac'mis.  "Thank you, Governor.  We certainly appreciate that."

 

"What about my ship?" Mara asked, moving into viewer range and narrowing her eyes at the Governor.  "Uglies shot my ship down when we arrived last week."

 

The Bothan gave a nervous smile.  "Pirates.  We just can't get rid of them.  I've already had my troops locate your ship, and it's being guarded against scavengers.  We will certainly give you whatever parts you require to repair it."

 

"What are you planning on doing about  Tee Sar’ren and the rest of the Both’sequsts?" Luke questioned.

 

Clearing his throat, Tac'mis addressed the Jedi.  "Now that Fey'lya has been exposed, I'm sure that I can work out a deal with Sar'ren and his renega... err, followers.  I'm sorry you were caught up in that battle, Jedi Skywalker.  My troops had no idea you were on Bothawui, or they would never have put you in harm's way."

 

"I'm sure," Mara said dryly.

 

"Yes," the Bothan cleared his throat again.  "Well, I'm glad I can assist you.  I've arranged for you to stay in the finest hotel on Bothawui while you are here fixing your ship.  If I can do anything else, anything at all...."

 

"No, you've done quite enough, Governor," Luke answered.  "We will be shuttling down within the hour."

 

"Thank you, Jedi Skywalker," Tac'mis said, then signed off.

 

Mara eyed Luke.  "He's terrified we'll accuse him of trying to kill us during our last little visit."

 

"I'm sure he was," Han muttered. 

 

"Luke, can you and Mara stay and help the Both’sequsts work out a treaty with Tac'mis?" Leia asked her brother.  "I'd stay and do it myself, but I promised Han I'd take him to Glova."

 

"I'd be glad to," Luke replied, leaning forward and kissing Leia on her cheek.  "What else are Jedi for?"

 

"Telling people to jump off of buildings, and then almost letting them smash into the duracrete?" Han questioned, eyeing Mara.

 

"I stopped you in time, didn't I?" Mara snapped, stepping toward Solo.  "And you're still calling me 'Burt', too!  After you said you wouldn't."

 

Han grinned and moved back slightly.  "That was a promise made under duress.  It doesn't count."

 

"DURESS?  You want to see some duress, Solo?  How about the end of my lightsaber?"  Mara waved the turned off hilt in his direction.

 

"Luke," Han said, looking at the amused Jedi.  "Control your woman."

 

"HIS WOMAN?  CONTROL?"

 

For a second, Luke thought Mara might explode and he quickly put in, "Mara, we'd better get down to Bothawui.  The Jade's Fire is waiting... right?"  He watched as she spun around and stomped away, then turned his gaze to Han.  "Thanks a lot.  Now I have to cool her down."

 

"Aw, kid, you don't have to thank me.  Just doin' what I do best.  Now go kiss her and remember to invite me to your wedding."

 

Luke turned to Leia for help, but could see she was only trying to keep from laughing.  "Take care, sis.  May the Force be with you."

 

"You, too, Luke."

 

******************

 

En route to Glova

 

Both Winter and Chewie were standing in Leia's quarters as Han and Leia entered.  The first thing Leia noticed was her living room had been turned upside down, chairs overturned and cushions ripped and destroyed.  Glops of food stuck to the ceiling, slowly peeling off and dripping down. "What happened?"

 

"Shannon," Winter replied, folding her arms across her chest.  "I was speaking to Wedge about Commander Quist in the bedroom room holo-com, and when I came in, I caught her using scissors on the sofa."

 

"Wow," Han commented, surveying the damage.  "It looks like the work of ten stormtroopers on leave."

 

"Where is she?" Leia said tightly, fists clenched and feeling acutely ashamed of her child's behavior.  She wondered just exactly how long it was going to take to undo the damage Vail had caused.  Could it ever be undone?

 

"As soon as she saw me, she took off running," Winter answered.  "I tried to catch her, but she was too fast and just disappeared.  I think she used the Force to do most of this damage.  I guess I shouldn't have left her alone."  Winter hesitated, then added, "She told me it was your fault Vail died, and she hates you."  When Leia's face fell, Winter hurriedly continued, "Leia, this isn't uncommon for a child that's lost a loved one.  Shannon just doesn't know any other way to express her grief."

 

"We should look for her, Princess," Han said softly.  "I'll contact the crew, and have them help."

 

Leia nodded mutely, thinking,  How will Han deal with this child, when I can't, and she's mine?  Aloud, she said, "I'm sorry." 

 

"You don't have anything to apologize for, Leia," Han said softly, taking her into his arms.

 

*****************

 

Bothawui

 

Luke helped Mara remove the damaged portion of the hyperdrive, then used the Force to levitate the new unit into place.  "We should be finished by tomorrow," he commented, just to break the silence.  "Tac'mis seems eager to give the Insurrectionists whatever they want, so, hopefully, the treaty can be signed in a few days, too."

"True."

 

Mara wasn't one for small talk, which didn't make Luke's attempts at friendship easy.  "Mara?"

 

"What?" she asked, not turning from her task of reconnecting the wires.

 

"Han, um... well...."

 

She stopped working, slowly turning her head to scowl at Luke.  "Solo, what?"

 

Hesitating, Luke took a different approach.  "Han is probably going to need our help locating his step-sons.  After we negotiate the treaty, that is."

 

"So?  Are you asking my permission to go to Glova, or do you want my help?"

 

"Uh.... do you want to help?"

 

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the Jedi.  "I don't dislike Solo, even if I want to strangle him sometimes.  You know I'll help."

 

"Good."  Luke nodded, then stared at the flooring.  "Good."

 

Mara shook her head, then turned back to her work.  For a few seconds, anyway.

 

"Mara?"

 

She whipped her head around, glaring this time.  "What, Skywalker?"

 

"Do you like me?"  Gods, he thought instantly mortified.  I sound like a ten year old handing a note to a cute girl in school.

 

"I don't hate you, so I guess I like you.  Why?  What is your problem?"

 

"Han, Han...."

 

"Han?"  Mara snapped, getting very annoyed.  "What has he done now?  Maybe I will strangle him."

 

"He told me I should tell you how I feel," Luke said quickly, his face burning.

 

Mara was suddenly confused. "Feel?"

 

"Yes.  He said life is too short, and I shouldn't let you get away."

 

She arched her eyebrow, looking vaguely annoyed. "What do you feel, Farmboy?"

 

"I'm pretty sure I think I might, um, have feelings for you, Mara."  When she remained silent and expressionless, Luke carefully continued, "Do you think you might... have feelings?"

 

"Yes."  She threw down her wrench.  "I'm feeling irritated.  I'm not your woman, and I never will be, so you'd better jettison that notion out of the airlock, Farmboy."  Mara stalked away, leaving Luke alone, embarrassed and hurt.

 

*************

 

Onboard the Rebel Dream

 

 

The entire crew spent hours searching for Shannon, but it was Han that finally found her in the ship's galley, sitting in a corner eating bristleberry frozen ice cones and softly crying.  Half a dozen wrappers were scattered around her legs, and her face and lips were stained dark purple.  "Shannon?"

 

The child looked up from the floor, licking her cone.  "Go 'way."

 

Han sat down crossed legged next to her.  "Can I have one?"

 

"Don't care."

 

The Corellian reached in the package, and took out one of the dripping, half-melted treat, and licked his fingers.  "Hmm.  You're right.  Bristleberry is the best.  I've never had it before."

 

"Told you so."

 

"So you did," Han agreed easily.  "Shannon, do you really hate me?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Why?  Just because I didn't stop off for bristleberry jam?" Han asked, eating the cone and ignoring the fact it was making his white shirt a purple, sticky mess.  "That doesn't seem fair, especially considering what you did to me, and I don't hate you."

 

Shannon suddenly burst into tears.  "Mommy likes you, and she's gonna leave me all alone and run away with you.  I won't have my mommy or my daddy."

 

Placing the cone on the floor, Han reached over, stroking the girl's hair.  "Listen to me, Shannon.  Your mommy loves you very much, and she's not going to leave you."

 

"Really?" Shannon looked through wet eyelashes.  "Even now that I made the room a mess?"

 

"Well," Han drawled leaning back against the wall.  "I know she's pretty upset about that, but no matter what you do, she's not going to stop loving you."

 

"Never, ever?"

 

"Nope.  But things are going to have to start changing, like your behavior," Han said gently.  "Little Princesses can't run around throwing food and kicking people, ya know.   It upsets your mom, and when you grow up, you won't have any friends if you keep acting like this."

 

"I don't have any friends now," Shannon whimpered. "All the kids in school think I'm strange, 'cuz I can do things they can't.  They won't talk to me, or play with me."

 

Han felt a pang of grief for this child.  "Listen to me," he said.  "If you start behaving, you'll make friends.  And you're not the only so-called strange kid out there.  Luke has other Force-strong children he's teaching.  If you let him train you, you'll meet these kids, and then you won't feel different anymore."

 

"Really?  But my daddy said - "

 

"I'm sure your daddy was a great guy, Shannon," Han interrupted.  "He had to be, because he had a great kid.  But adults are sometimes wrong about things, and your father was wrong about this Jedi business.  I thought it was a bunch of hokey nonsense when I first heard about it, but I turned out to be wrong, too."

 

Shannon frowned, thinking about Han's words.  "I guess I could try to let Uncle Luke teach me."

 

"Sure you can," Han said, grinning.  "But first, you're gonna have to go apologize to your mom, and clean up that big mess you made."  He stood up, offering her his hand.  "How about we go together, and I'll help you clean it up?"

 

"You'd do that for me?"

 

"I live with a Wookiee," Han said, leaning down and whispering.  "I've cleaned up a lot worse kind of mess than that."

 

She stood up, and tilted her head to the side, regarding Han thoughtfully. Then Shannon took his offered hand, and followed him back to her quarters.

 

*****************

 

Bothawui

 

Mara Jade was sitting in the pilot's seat, facing the viewport when Luke entered.  "I'm sorry," Luke said, "You're right.  I'm your teacher, and you're my student.  I should never have said what I just did."

 

"So you didn't mean any of it?"

 

Feeling flustered, Luke said, "Of course I meant it, but that doesn't mean it should have been said.  It's not appropriate."

 

"Appropriate," Mara said flatly.  "Because you're a Jedi?"

 

"Well, from what I've gathered, Jedi didn't have relationships."

 

"Or they didn't admit they had them," Mara pointed out, still not turning to face Luke.

 

"Maybe.  I don't really know."

 

She gave a short laugh.  "Don't you wonder how or why there were any Jedi at all?"

"What?"

 

"Think about it, Farmboy.  According to all these old records we've found, Jedi couldn't have 'relationships', so they didn't have offspring.  Supposedly, anyway.  And then, these same records say that it was rare that two non-Force sensitive people had a Force-sensitive child.  Yet, there seemed to always be enough Force-sensitives around to keep training, and to keep the Old Order going.  Why is that?"

 

Luke frowned.  "I don't know."

 

She spun around in her seat, facing Luke. "Either the Jedi did have offspring, or every single Jedi born was born from two non-Force sensitive beings.  There isn't any way around it, Luke.  The facts don't add up."

 

"It must be one of those 'certain point of view' things," Luke replied, smiling.

 

"So you have these feelings for me, but only from a 'certain point of view'?" she asked.

 

"No.  My feelings toward you are from every point of view I can think of."

 

Mara stood up, standing inches from Luke's face.  "Is that a fact?"

 

Not knowing if the next moment would be his last, Luke leaned forward and kissed Mara.  After a moment, she pushed away, turning and running from the cockpit -  obviously flustered.  Still, Luke took comfort in the knowledge that she didn't kill him.

 

************

Glova

 

Han landed the shuttle near the parked Millennium Falcon, relieved to see his ship had been undisturbed.   As they exited, a small group of Glova Authorities approached them, carefully keeping their hands far from any weapons.

 

"Captain Solo?" the oldest man called out.

 

Leia and Han exchanged worried looks, and Chewie let out a soft woof, standing behind them.

"Yes?" Han replied.

 

"My name is Captain Jak Wagg, and I'm here to give you an escort to the hospital."

 

Han felt confused, but perhaps that was where Alli's body was being kept. "Hospital?" 

 

"Your wife has been asking for you."

 

Han was stunned.  "You must have your information wrong.  I was told by the Glova Security Force that my wife died."

 

Captain Wagg shook his head sadly.  "Sergeant Nehui was lying to you, hoping to shake you up and get you to confess to the kidnapping.  I'm sorry about that, Solo."

 

"Sorry?" Han repeated, feeling his temper rising.  "That's all you can say?"

 

"Han," Leia said softly, tugging his sleeve.  "We should really go to the hospital."

 

Han looked down at the petite Princess, and realized he was trembling.  Relief that Alli was alive was tempered by the sudden realization that there would be no way he would leave her to go with Leia to Coruscant.  He nodded, then followed the Officer over to the land speeder with Leia and Chewie, his thoughts in turmoil.

 

*****************

 

Bothawui

 

 

After the treaty signing ceremony and a short meal, Luke walked with Mara back to the Jade's Fire.  They had not discussed the kiss since it occurred two days ago.  It was almost like they both were trying to pretend it never happen, and Mara had been avoiding spending time alone with him.  "That went well," Luke commented, waving his hand back toward the Bothan Governor's mansion.

 

"Yes, it did," Mara acknowledged.  "I think Youl Tac'mis was eager to get this done and over with, before anyone thought to investigate what he's been doing lately."

 

"Probably," Luke replied.  "He definitely was lying when he told us about those troops firing at us during that attack on the  Both’sequsts hideout."

 

They continued on in silence for a while, until Luke asked, "Are you mad at me?"

 

"No."

 

"I'm not sorry I kissed you," Luke said, somewhat belligerently.

 

"You would have been if I'd kicked you where it hurt," she told him calmly.

 

Again, Luke felt his face flush and found himself wishing he wasn't so easily embarrassed.  "You wouldn't have done that."

 

"Was the Force telling you it was safe to kiss me?" Mara asked, amused.

 

"No, but sometimes it's necessary to take risks in life, because those risks are worth it."

 

She stopped walking and looked into his blue eyes.  "You really think I'm worth it?"

 

"Absolutely."

 

Mara broke into a smile, which she quickly damped down.  "Let's get to Glova, Farmboy.  Your sister and that annoying Corellian might need us."  She hurried away, leaving Luke watching her.

 

"I think I need you, too," Luke whispered softly.

 

 

**************

 

Glova

 

Han entered the sterile hospital room, his heart pounding as he looked down at the woman he'd spent the last seven years married to.  She looked so small and fragile, her skin translucent against the white sheets. 

 

Alli turned her head as he approached the bed and knelt down by her side.  "Han?"

 

"I was arrested and sent to Corellia, Alli, or I would have been here," Han explained quickly, deciding not to tell her that he'd been led to believe she was dead.

 

"I know," she replied, lifting her hand and touching his face.  Her fingers felt dry, like course sand, and her eyes a little too bright.  "The Force conspired to bring your Princess back into your life."

 

"The Force?  I almost got executed."

 

She dropped her hand, the effort to keep it lifted too difficult.  "I'm dying."

 

"Don't say that," Han snapped.  "You can't let your lousy ex do this to you.  Fight it, Alli."

 

"I'm tired of fighting," she whispered, shutting her eyes..  "I want to rest, but I can't rest... not unless I know Brill is brought to justice, and my boys are okay."  She opened her eyes, slowly focusing on Han.  "Please find them, and raise them.  They're good boys, and they love you.  You're a good father to them."

 

"I know they're good boys," Han said, his throat tight.  "I just don't have any idea where Brill took them."

 

"He has friends on Palthos," she replied.  "Start by questioning them.  They probably know something, but be careful.  Brill and his so-called friends aren't nice people."

 

He nodded. "I will.  I'll do everything I can to bring them home."

 

"I know," she said, smiling.  "She still loves you, too, doesn't she?"

 

Han knew Alli was talking about Leia.  "Yes, she does."

 

"Will the boys complicate things?  I don't want you to lose her again, not because of me."

 

"Leia's not like that," Han said.  "Once she meets Trey and Rue, she'll love them."

 

"Does she know why you married me?"

 

"I told her the truth, and she understands."

 

"Good."  Alli sighed.  "Could I see her?"

 

That wasn't something Han was expecting.  "Su..sure... I'll go get her." 

 

As he left the room, Alli said quietly, "I love you, Han Solo."

 

****

 

Han paced the waiting room, wondering what was taking Leia so long.  When the Princess finally exited Alli's room, her eyes were red from crying.  "She's an amazing person, Han.  I... I hope she recovers."

 

"Me, too," he said sincerely.    "I talked to one of her doctors while you were in there, and he said they're still aggressively treating her disease.  There's still a chance she could get better, at least for the short term."

 

Leia understood there was no complete cure for this horrible illness.  "If she does, we can bring her to Coruscant with us after we locate the boys."

 

"Do you have any idea how people would talk then?"

 

"Yes, and I don't care.   I've been discussing this with Alli," Leia said quickly, before Han could object.  "Alli and her sons can come live with us on Coruscant."  When Han opened his mouth to protest, she hurried her explanation, "Listen to me, Han.  She can have the best medical care without worrying about money or her sons' education.  We'll provide all of that."

 

"But what about you an' me?"

 

"I've already told you I can't marry until a year passes, anyway.  It will give Shannon and your boys a chance to get to know each other without the pressure of being siblings.  This will work, you have to believe me."

 

"If Alli recovers from this episode, she could live for a long time," Han informed Leia.  "I sure hope she does, but if I'm still married - "

 

"I already talked about this with Alli," Leia interrupted with a smile.  "When a year passes, Alli will file for a divorce, and also make sure we are named Trey and Rue's legal guardians until they are adults.  Then we can get married, and continue to take care of Alli and her sons."

 

"She's alright with this plan?" Han asked, astounded and wondering how Leia came up with this so fast.

 

The Princess laughed.  "She's the one that suggested the last part, after I asked her to move to Coruscant."

 

"I told you she's a wonderful person," Han said, grinning.

 

"This is going to work," Leia repeated, firmly believing.  Then she pulled Han's face down so she could kiss him.  For the first time in more years than she could remember, Leia felt complete joy.

 

 

**************

 

 

Onboard Jade's Fire

 

 

"I hear you, Leia," Luke acknowledged, as he answered Leia's hail.

 

"We're on the Falcon, and heading to a system called Palthos.  According to Alli, she thinks we might find a lead from her ex-husband's associates."

 

"Alli?" Luke asked, surprised.  "Han's wife?"

 

"She's alive," Leia informed her brother.  "Although she's very sick from incorrect medication."

 

This bit of information was certainly unexpected, but the Jedi did not get any sense of distress from Leia emotions -  on the contrary, she seemed to be at peace with the reality that Han was still married. 

 

"We'll head to Palthos, and meet you there," Mara spoke to the Princess.  "Sometimes those associates get loose tongues when they're confronted by Jedi."

 

"Oh, come on," Han's teasing voice came over the speaker.  "Not everyone is afraid of you and your lightsaber."

 

"Are you saying you don't want our help?" Mara came back quickly, frowning at the control board.

 

"Nah.  You know I appreciate your assets.... Burt."

 

"Solo... one of these days - "

 

"What about Shannon?" Luke quickly injected.  "Is she going back to Coruscant on the Rebel Dream?"

 

Leia sighed.  "I wanted her to, but she starting screaming and accusing me of leaving her.  So she's coming with us, and the Rebel Dream is heading back home."

 

Luke heard a sorrowful roar coming from Chewbacca, and grinned.  "See you shortly, sister."

 

Just before he turned off the communication, he heard Han's voice saying, "See?  Even your brother says you're short...."

 

Mara reached over and punched in the proper coordinates.  "I am going to make him pay for calling me Burt.  Just so you know."

 

"Anger is of the dark side," Luke said, wagging his finger at her just as she pulled the hyperspace lever.

 

"I'm not angry," Mara objected.  "But if you know what's good for you, you'll help me plan my revenge."

 

"Revenge is of the dark side...."  He was forced to duck as her fist flew at his head.

*******

 

Palthos

 

 

Shannon sat at the game table, swinging her legs and scowling.  "I don't want to stay on this stupid ship."

 

Leia shook her head in exasperation.  "I've already explained it's too dangerous to come with us.  I should have insisted Winter take you home."

 

Silently, Han agreed with that comment, but it was too late at this point.  Now, instead of having Chewie covering his back, like he was used to, the Wookiee was being forced - once again - to stay behind and play babysitter for Shannon.  "We stocked up on all sorts of food you like before we left Glova, so Chewie will make you anything you want to eat," Han cajoled the child, ignoring the Wookiee's grumpy protest.  Cooking was not Chewie's greatest talent, and neither was babysitting.

 

"You cook better than Chewie," Shannon whined.  "You stay and make something for me."

 

/Yes, Han,./ Chewie woofed, giving him a sly look.  /YOU stay and cook for the child./

 

"Luke and Mara are landing," Leia told Han.  "We have to get going."  She gave her daughter a stern look.  "You behave, and listen to Chewie.   Do you understand, young lady?"

 

"Yes," Shannon mumbled, not looking at her mother.

 

"Thank you, Chewie," Leia said, giving him a quick hug. 

 

"If she gives you a hard time, just lock her up in the storage units," Han called out as he left the hold.

 

Chewie sat down across from the girl and turned on the holochess game, waving his hand to indicate they should play.  Instead, she jumped down from the seat and stared at the Wookiee.  "Teach me how to cook."

 

/Now?./

 

"I want to make my mommy a cake," she said, not too sure what Chewie was saying.  "Han said you'd cook for me.  So cook."

 

Chewie stood up and headed for the food supplies. /I plan on getting even with Han for this.  Very soon./

 

************

 

Brother and sister gave each other a quick hug, then proceeded to head over to Han as he haggled with an owner of a land speeder rental business.  "You're not upset Han is still married?" Luke cautiously approached what he assumed would be a sensitive subject.

 

"I've met Alli," Leia told Luke.  "She's a great person, with a kind spirit.  Maybe everything that happened between me and Han was supposed to happen.  Alli needed Han, and I think it's wonderful he married her to help with her deal with problems."

 

Mara frowned.  "But what about the tiny little detail that you and Han love each other?"

 

"Things will work out," Leia replied lightly, she watched Han give the dealer some credits.  Then she looked at her brother, and with a straight face said, "Alli and I have already decided just to share Han."

 

Han turned around in time to see Luke and Mara's expression of shock.  "See, kid?  Use me as an example as the way to handle a love life.  You'll have twice the woman fallin' all over ya."

 

"If you use Solo as an example, I really would turn to the dark side," Mara muttered as she climbed into the driver's seat.

 

The Corellian was about to object to the fact Mara was behind the controls when Leia pulled him toward the rear seat.  "Get in, Flyboy.  Let the Jedi drive."

 

"Twice as whipped, I'd say," Luke muttered under his breath as he climbed in next to Mara.

 

"What did you say?" Mara snapped.

 

"Nothing."

 

*****************

 

A little while later....

 

/This is going to take me forever to clean up!./ Chewie moaned, looking at the sugar, flour and cake batter tossed all over the ship's tiny galley.  An alarm started ringing as black smoke billowed from the cooking unit, and Chewie realized the child has set the temperature control twice as high as necessary.  /SHANNON!./ Chewie let out a loud roar, pulling open the door and grabbing the pan as small flames shot up from the charred mess.  /OWW!./ The hot cake pan clattered to the floor, adding burned cake to the huge mess.  /SHANNON!?./

 

The Wookiee stalked out of the galley, determined to make the girl help him clean up the cake-making disaster.  After several long minutes of searching, he paused in the corridor and realized he was smelling outside air, then hurried to the hatch.  It was lowered, and it suddenly occurred to Chewie that Shannon had left the ship.

 

************

 

 

Palthos was a planet of extremes.  The northern hemisphere consisted of moderate temperatures, green fields, lush forests, and sparkling lakes.  Past the equator, in the southern hemisphere, the planet suddenly turned to oppressive heat, little moisture, vast stretches of rocky fields occasionally interrupted by deep canyons or towering, stark mesas.   With few exceptions, the sentients lived in the northern hemisphere, and this was where Brill's associates called home.

 

Using the directions provided by Alli, Mara pulled the speeder into a narrow road, then drove several more miles until she was stopped by a large gate.  A droid sentry stuck its orb out of the stone wall, scanning the speeder and occupants.  "Please state your name and business."

 

"My name is Arica Jade, and this is my fiancé, err... Burt Keile."  She heard Han stifle a snort, then waved her hand toward the backseat. "And sitting in the back is Burt's sister Lara and her fiancé, Ulysses DeLoudenerrogant." 

 

The next snort came from Leia, and Mara could see Han's highly affronted expression in the rearview mirror.  "Sure," he whispered.  "Give me the hard to spell name."

 

According to Alli, Gils 'associates' dealt in the underground market of valuable and highly coveted gems that sentients, and especially humans, wanted as jewelry.  Mara continued to address the droid, "We were told this was where to come to find rare lambda gems."

 

"Just a moment, please," the droid whined, before returning inside its hole.

 

"Ulysses?" Han grumbled, leaning forward and poking Mara in her shoulder.  "Loud and arrogant?  I'm not loud!"

 

"You have no one to blame but yourself, Han," Luke answered.  "Mara kept warning you...."

 

"You'd better get used to the name, Ulysses," Mara said sweetly.  "Very, very used to it."

 

The droid popped back out, forcing them to cut off their conversation.  "Please show your credits for confirmation of financial ability."

 

Leia handed a small card to Mara, who held it up for the droid to scan.  Although it gave no personal information, a merchant could easily see the credit balance and verify a purchase.  Leia's card easily passed and the gate opened.

 

**************

 

Shannon hadn't really intended to run away, but when the smoke alarm went off and the Wookiee started yelling, she had panicked.  Now, wandering the tidy streets, she wasn't really afraid of getting lost, she was just nervous about Chewie tracking her down and telling her mother about leaving the ship.

 

The little girl peered into the store windows, looking at clothes, shoes, entertainment toys, and finally, a candy store.  Unable to resist, Shannon wandered inside, looking around at the rows of mouthwatering treats.  Backing up against a table, Shannon reached behind her torso and slid several candies into her pocket. 

 

A short, portly lady peered over the counter, and for a second, Shannon thought she'd been caught.  "May I help you?" the woman asked.

 

"No... my mom is next door in the shoe store and she said I could come in here."

 

"By yourself?" the lady questioned, frowning in disapproval.  "She should know better than that.  Children disappear, especially around here."

 

"They do?" Shannon asked, eyes wide.  "Why?"

 

The lady leaned closer.  "The mines, child.  Only children work those mines."

 

"What's a mine?"

 

"Nothing," she answered shortly.  "Go away and find your mother.... before it's too late."

 

Shannon hurried out of the store with her stolen treats, and once outside, promptly stuffed them into her mouth.  That lady was just trying to scare me, she thought in annoyance.  Adults seemed to do that to kids all of the time.  Shannon wasn't the sort to scare that easily.

**********

Outside the mansion, Han and Leia were forced to remove their blasters since the shiny, white droid insisted no weapons would be allowed inside.  Fortunately, his photoreceptors did not recognize the  silver tubes attached to Luke and Mara's belts as weapons. 

 

Then the SE18 escorted the four humans up a wide staircase and opened a door.  "This way, please."

 

Rows and rows of tables covered with highly polished lambda gems filled the room, and overhead lights shined down, directed at the gems.  Another door, this one on the opposite side of the room and a tall, dark haired man entered the room.  He smiled, extending his hand as he approached them, his fingers covered with rings that dripped with gems.  "My name is Roy Creat," he said, smiling.  "How can I assist you?"

 

"We're looking for high quality lambda gems, and we were told this was the place to find them," Luke told the man.

 

"You were told correctly," the man acknowledged.  "Who, if you don't mind, pointed you in our direction?"

 

"A man by the name of Brill Gils," Luke replied, carefully watching for the man's reaction. 

 

**************

 

A pretty little park caught Shannon's eye, and she hurried across the street to go play.  Now this was more like it, she decided.  Why didn't Chewie just bring her here to begin with?  Then she wouldn't have gotten bored and insisted they make that stupid cake.  The more she thought about it, the more she decided the burned cake was Chewie's fault.

 

She sat on the swing, and kicked her legs out.  Swinging felt like flying, and she leaned her head back, wondering why the park was so empty.

 

"Hey, there," a young voice said, slightly behind her.

 

Shannon stopped, and turned around to face a boy, about four years older than her.  He looked decidedly unhappy.  "Hello," she replied.  "My name is Shannon.  What's yours?"

 

"Trey," the boy answered, his eyes flickering around. "Where are your mom and dad?"

 

"My dad just died, and my mom's busy," Shannon said.  "Where are your parents?"

 

"My mom just died, too," the boy replied.  "So I guess we have something in common, huh?"

 

"I guess."

 

"Do you want to play?"

 

"What kind of game?" Shannon asked.  She was very fussy about what types of games she liked to play.

 

"See those trees over there?  I'll go hide, and you try and find me," Trey replied.  Then he ran off, not even looking back to see if she was following.

 

**************

 

"Gils?" Creat snapped, his eyes narrowing. 

 

Luke could sense the man's hostility and suspicion.  Perhaps throwing Gils name out so soon had been a mistake, but it wasn't one he could correct.

 

"Yes," Leia said, stepping forward and smiling.  "We met him a few months back.... in a bar at beach where we were vacationing, and we just started talking.  He was so sweet, and he kept telling us about his two sons that his mean wife wouldn't let him see anymore.  That poor man..."

 

At this point, Mara also moved up, batting her eyes at Creat and trying to look dumb.  She'd found over the years men felt less threatened by 'dumb' woman, and became much more vulnerable for attack.  "And Brilly... that's what we called him... Brilly.... told us about this place.  We really, really wanna own some rings and necklaces made from lambda gems... you know... wedding presents from our fiancés."  She looked over her shoulder at Luke and Han.  "Isn't that right, Burt?"

 

Luke cleared his throat.  "Of course, Arica.  You know I'd buy you a entire planet, if that's what you want, honeypie."

 

Leia grabbed Han by his arm.  "Ulysses promised me he'd buy me the absolutely biggest rock you've got... didn't you, Ulysses?"

 

"Yeah," Han added.  "And we'd like to invite Brilly to our wedding, 'cept we don't know where he took off to.  You wouldn't happen to have his current address, so we could send him along an invite, do you?"

 

Creat smiled, but the Jedi could sense he was still wary of them.  "Gils won't be able to come to your weddings.  I'm afraid he had a little accident a few weeks ago."

 

"Oh, no!" Mara shrieked, throwing her hands up.  "He's not hurt, is he?  Poor Brilly!"

 

"Hurt?"  the man said, snickering.  "That's an understatement."

 

"That's too bad," Han muttered, putting his hands under a heavy table filled with polished gems.  "I was so looking forward to seeing my buddy Brilly one more time."  Han flipped the table over, sending the jewels scattering onto the floor, and tackled Creat around the waist just as the man pulled out a blaster and fired.

 

**************

 

Shannon watched the boy as he disappeared into the trees, her own sense of danger tingling.  Something wasn't right, and she didn't intend to follow Trey - not until her eyes noticed a very large, very hairy Wookiee across the street and heading toward the park.   Chewie hadn't spotted her yet, and Shannon wasn't prepared to meet the Wookiee's wrath, so she hurried into the trees.  Maybe finding Trey in the woods was a good game... it was certainly better than returning to the Falcon and cleaning up the mess in the kitchen.

 

"Trey?" she called out.  "I'm coming."

 

Carefully, she moved further into the shadowed woods, reaching out with her untrained Force sense.  The boy was here, and close.  But she could also sense someone else in the woods as well.  "Trey?  I don't like this game.  There's a candy store across the street.  We can go steal some candy... I'm real good at stealing.  No one ever catches me."

 

Her breath was knocked from her lungs as she crashed to the damp ground.  Someone had pushed her down, and was holding her legs.  Shannon kicked out as hard as she could without even looking back. 

 

"Ouch!" a boy's voice yelled.  "Quit kickin'!"

 

Shannon twisted around, staring at another boy with dark blond hair and blue eyes.  "Where's Trey?  Who are you?"

 

"I'm Trey's brother," the older boy replied, sitting up but not releasing his hold on Shannon's legs.  "Trey... where are you?"

 

Trey appeared, holding a rope and a brown sack.  "I was getting the stuff to tie her up, Rue."

 

"Tie me up?" Shannon yelled, hoping Chewie could hear her.  "I don't like this game."

 

"It ain't no game, girl," the older boy replied, tying her ankles.  "You're gonna be working in those mines from now on."

 

"I don't work!  I'm rich!"  Shannon started struggling, bending over and biting the older boy as he wrapped the rope around her wrists.  "I don't even know what a mine is!"

 

"OUCH!"  Rue glared at her, then turned to his younger brother.  "Put that gag in her mouth before half the town hears her!"

 

"I hate you!" Shannon screamed.  "You can't do this - "  The gag slipped into her mouth, cutting off her protests.

 

"We don't have a choice," Rue answered, his face regretful as he tightened the ropes.  "I'm sorry, rich girl.  But it's you or us, and it ain't gonna be us."

 

**********

 

Chewie turned his head, listening carefully.  Had he heard a child yelling?  A large, red crested bird flew out of the nearby woods, screeching as it flew overhead.  So it was only the bird's cry.  But where was that child?  Chewie scanned the empty park, sniffing the air.  He moved toward the swings, and sniffed again.  She had been here, not that long ago.  If he didn't find her soon, Leia would never forgive him.  Perhaps it was time to contact the local authorities, but then he would blow Han's cover to locate Brill.  Chewie sighed, shaking his head with indecision.  Why was his life around Han Solo always so darned complicated?

 

 

**************

 

Creat's blaster shot hit the ceiling as he went down hard on his back with a loud, "oof", but the man still had the presence of mind to try press his emergency signal to call security droids.  Instantly, the door opened, revealing half a dozen well armed SE-18 droids, all pointing blasters at the 'guests'.  "What are you waiting for?" Creat screamed.  "Kill them!"

 

Luke and Mara ignited their lightsabers at the same moment, expertly deflecting back the incoming fire as Han continued to wrestle with Creat for control of the man's weapon.   Seeing Han struggling, Leia grabbed the first thing she could see - a large, uncut rock - and bashed the fist sized object off Creat's skull.  As the man gasped in pain, Han was finally able to wrench the blaster away, and still lying on his back, fired at the remaining droids.  In seconds, the fight was over.  The smoking, charred remains of the Security Escort Droids crackled and sparked.

 

Luke reached down with the Force and yanked Creat to his feet.  "Now.  Where were we?"

 

"I think we were asking about Gils," Leia said, helping Han up off the floor.  "But that seems to be a sore subject around here."

 

Without turning off her saber, Mara waved it in Creat's direction.  "Brill Gils.  Where is he?  Dead?"

 

The man trembled, and tried to back away from the humming weapon, but Luke held him tight.  "He's not dead.  He owed me a lot of credits for supposedly losing a pile of lambda gems he was delivering.  But he never got around to paying me back... he claimed something always kept coming up."

 

"Sounds like you and Jabba, dear," Leia said, looking up at Han, who had the grace to look vaguely embarrassed.

 

"You and your Alliance was my excuse," Han argued weakly.

 

"So where is Gils, if he's not dead," Luke demanded, sensing the man's growing unease.

 

"He's working to pay me back."

 

"That's not an answer," Han snapped, pointing his blaster in the man's nose.  "Gils has something he owes me, too, and I ain't leavin' this system without them."

 

"Solo, back off," Mara snapped.  "Let us deal with him."

 

"Solo?" Creat stuttered.  "Gils told me about you."

 

"Good," Han said, nodding curtly and ignoring Mara's order. "I like it when my reputation precedes me.  It makes things go faster.  Where is Gils?"  The blaster jabbed harder in the man's face.

 

"Downstairs.  Locked up."

 

"In a prison?" Leia questioned.

 

"Yes.  Sort of....  he's staying put until those kids of his work off his debt."

 

"Trey and Rue?" Han shot back.  "You're forcing them to work for you?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Doing what?"

 

The man flushed.  "Making deliveries."

 

Mara was getting mad, and pushed Han aside.  "What kind of deliveries?" she asked tightly.

 

"Mine slaves.  They're trapping little kids to work in the lambda mines."

 

*******************

 

Trey and Rue hauled the sack containing the little girl over to a speeder, and tossed her into the backseat.  "I don't like doing this," Trey sniffed, trying not to cry.  "Mom and dad wouldn't want us to, either."

 

"We have to," Rue returned grimly.  "It's the only way we'll escape from this system.  We need to get back to Glova to help mom, and how can we do that if Brill is dead and we're trapped in some mine?"

 

"We could steal a ship," Trey suggested, climbing into the passenger seat. 

 

"Then Creat will kill Brill anyway."

 

"I don't care.  Brill's mean."

 

"He's our father," Rue argued, looking back over his shoulder before starting the engine.  At thirteen, he was two years younger than legal age to drive a speeder on this planet, but he was tall for his age so no one had questioned him - yet.

 

"He's not my father," Trey said sullenly.  "Han is my father."

 

"Han is our stepfather," Rue corrected his brother.  "I think of Han as our dad, too.  But Brill is our natural father.  We can't let him get killed, even if he deserves it."

 

"Why not?  He stole us and he killed mom!"

 

"Mom is not dead!" Rue yelled out.  "Quit saying that!  You know Dad'll take care of her until we get back.  And we will get back, too."

 

"Fine.  But if mom is alive, think of how upset she'll be about what we're doing.  I can't even sleep at night I feel so bad about it."

 

"Creat says we only have to catch ten more kids, and then he'll let Brill and us go.  After this little girl, it's only nine more."  When his younger brother didn't answer, Rue continued, "Listen, Trey.  Once we get back home, we'll tell Dad all about the mines and the kids that have to work in them.  He won't sit still once he hears about this, because he told us how much he hates slavery.  He'll make sure all the kids we caught, and all the others too, will get set free and taken home.  So this little girl won't be there too long, and everything will be okay.  Right?"

 

"I guess," Trey answered glumly.

 

************

 

"Slavery?" Han yelled, grabbing the man's shirt and shaking him, his face red with rage.  "I should kill you right this instant!"

 

"Han!" Luke objected, pulling his friend away.  Luke focused on Creat.  "Why little kids?"

 

"Couple of reasons," Creat mumbled.  "The lambda gems are found in small, natural tunnels formed ages ago by volcanoes.  The tunnels are narrow shafts, so little kids can get in.  Adults are usually too large to crawl through them.  And adults give the Slave Masters more trouble, too."

 

"Where are these mines?" Leia questioned, looking at the tables filled with the precious stones - all located and hauled out by children.

 

"In the southern hemisphere, where no one lives because of the heat.  That's why no one willingly works the mines."

 

"Why don't you just use droids?" Mara asked.

 

"Too dusty.  The droids don't last.  Kids work best down there."

 

Leia suddenly felt ill.  "Shannon?"

 

"Leia... what is it?" Luke questioned, grasping her arm as she swayed unsteadily. 

 

"Something has happened to Shannon.  She's in danger."

 

Instantly, Luke reached outward for Shannon's Force-signature, and knew Leia was correct - Shannon was definitely in trouble.  "Han, contact Chewie," Luke started to instruct his friend, then realized the Corellian already had the comlink up to his lips.

 

"Yeah?  How long?" Han was saying.  Then he frowned at the device.  "Keep looking, pal.  I'm on my way."  He turned off the comlink, looking at Luke. "Apparently, she ran away after making a mess in the galley.  Me an' Leia will head back to the Falcon, and you and Mara take our friend here and find Gils."

 

"No," Mara said shortly.

 

Han glared at Jade. "No?"

 

"It makes more sense that Luke and I track Shannon," Mara explained.  "We can use the Force to locate her."

 

"She's my daughter, so there is no way I'm not looking," Leia returned, starting to head for the exit.

 

"So I'm supposed to handle this guy and Gils by myself?" Han objected.  "It's not that I can't, I guess... but don't be surprised if I finish what Creat started...."

 

Luke held up his hands.  "Everyone is right... unfortunately.  Han needs help dealing with Creat and Gils, and we can't expect Leia to stay behind when it's her child.  So Mara.... you go with Han, and I'll go with Leia."

 

"WHAT?" Han and Mara both yelled at the same time.

 

"He's right," Leia snapped out.  "We don't have time to discuss this in a committee.  Luke and I will go find Shannon.  You two handle Gils."  She disappeared out of the doorway.

 

"And try not to kill each other while you're at it," Luke muttered as he hurried after his sister.

 

"Come on, Creat," Han growled at the frightened man.  "Let's go visit Gils."  He gave him a push with the blaster.

 

"Lead the way, Ulysses," Mara said with a straight face.

 

*************

 

The speeder pulled up to what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse, and a large outer door slid open.  Rue maneuvered the speeder inside, then pulled up next to a small shuttle.  A pock faced human and a Nikto materialized from behind the shuttle.  "You got us another one?" the human barked out.

 

"Yeah," Rue shot back, trying to act brave when, in fact, he was terrified.  This was the sixth child Rue and Trey had delivered to this warehouse.  A total of fifteen kids...that was the number Brill had told them they had to capture in order to pay off his debt to the wicked man named Creat.  Only nine more now, if Creat kept his promise.  Rue wasn't too sure he would, but he didn't say that to his little brother since it would only further upset him.  Only Rue had been allowed to see Brill after Creat had worked their father over, and Rue was truly scared that if he didn't obey, Creat would kill all of them. "This one's a little girl.  She looks real healthy, so she should be a hard worker."

 

"Good," the dirt covered man grinned, watching as the Nikto easily picked up the sack with the kicking child inside.  "She does look feisty."

 

Rue held out his hand. "Give me the receipt."

 

The human lashed out faster than Rue's eyes could follow him, hitting him across the face.  "What did you say?"

 

His jaw throbbing and blood trickling from his lip, Rue tried again.  "Could I please have a receipt?"

 

"That's better, kid.  Show me respect, if ya know what's good for ya."  He flicked a small silver chip on the floor, watching in satisfaction as the boy was forced to drop to his knees to retrieve it.  "Nine more, and ya better make it fast, or Brill's a dead man.  And you and your brother will be joining this girl if yer father's dead."

 

Rue and Trey watched as they took the girl into the shuttle.  When the ship lifted to head to the southern hemisphere, Trey started crying.  "Mom is going to be so ashamed of us," he whispered, his eyes tracking the shuttle until it disappeared.

 

****************

 

Creat unlocked durasteel door, then pushed it open.  "There," he pointed.  "That's Brill Gils."

 

A battered man lay on a tiny cot, his eyes swollen shut, his face a mass of bruises.  "Gils?" Han said, moving into the room while Mara kept watch on Creat.  "Are you awake?"

 

Slowly, the man opened his eyes, squinting up at Han.  "Wh..who..?"

 

"My name's Han Solo, and I'm here looking for Trey and Rue," Han said, clenching his fist.  "Get up."

 

"Can't," the man gasped out.  "Legs broken..."

 

Roy Creat looked nervously at the angry redhead.  "He should have paid me," he said defensively.  "He tried to get me to take his boys in payment, but two kids in exchange for almost seventy thousand credits wasn't enough.  I figured after those boys caught enough kids, then I'd send 'em to the mines, too."

 

Han could barely believe what he was hearing.  Reaching down, he jerked Gils upright, ignoring the man's cry of pain.  "You came after your boys to sell them into slavery?  To pay off your debt?"

 

"I've heard of some pretty lowlifes in my time," Mara said.  "But this is about the lowest."

 

"You nearly killed Alli!" Han yelled in Gil's face.  "You don't deserve to live, you Hutt slime!"  Han turned to face Creat.  "You both deserve to die."

 

Creat looked at Mara, his face pale.  "You won't let him kill us, right?  I mean... you're a Jedi?"

 

Mara shrugged.  "Only a student at this point.  Sometimes students make mistakes, so if he kills you, I guess I'll consider it a small slip."

 

"You... wouldn't...."

 

Disgusted, Han pushed Gils back down, then stalked over to Creat.  "Where are those boys?"

 

"I... I told you... working....."

 

Mara's comlink buzzed, and she answered it quickly, "Yes?"

 

"Shannon isn't close by anymore.  Her Force-signature is getting weaker by the second, like she'd being taken somewhere," Luke's voice trailed off as he concentrated. "South."

 

"The mines," Mara replied, feeling a chill.  "She's being taken to the mines."

 

Han could hear Leia's cry of despair in the background, and knew Mara was telling the truth.  And what was worse, Han knew in his heart that his sons were undoubtedly the cause of Shannon's latest predicament.

 

***************

 

Rue looked over at his brother as they drove away from the warehouse.  "Quit crying.  You're too old to cry."

 

"I'm only eleven," Trey replied with a sniff.  "And Mom says it's okay for men to cry, anyway."

 

"You never see Dad crying, do you?"

 

Trey looked thoughtful.  "He looks sad a lot.  I once heard Mom tell him he should cry, and that it would make him feel better."

 

"But he didn't, did he?" Rue questioned sharply. 

 

"No."

 

"There you go," Rue replied, looking at his brother. "Dad's too tough to cry, so you need to be more -"

 

"WATCH OUT!" Trey screamed, grabbing on to the front panel. 

 

The speeder swerved violently, barely avoiding the startled pedestrian crossing the street, then smashed into a store window, sending the display of carved trinkets scattering in all directions.

 

The boys sat, stunned, as sparks and bits of ceiling drifted down around their heads.  At first, they thought the roaring sound was the speeder's engine, until it occurred to them it was coming from the sidewalk.  Trey turned his head and looked over his shoulder.  "Rue.... you almost killed Chewie," he whispered to his still silent brother. 

 

***********

 

Shannon thought she was going to suffocate to death, and after a great deal of effort she finally dislodged the gag in her mouth.  Her hands and feet were still tied, and she was still inside the thick sack, but she considered this a small victory.  "My Mommy is going to send both of you, and those stupid boys, to Kessel!" she screamed out at the top of her lungs.  "You're going to be sorry!  My Daddy is... was a Senator!  We're rich!  You can't do this to rich people!  Let me out!"

 

The top of the sack opened, and Shannon found herself lifted out by the back of her shirt, staring directly in the face of a very mean, leather-faced Nikto.  The being growled into her face in his own language, his breath fetid.

 

"Ewww... you're ugly.  And your breath is smelly."

 

This comment only made the Nikto even more irritated, and he shook her, roaring even louder.

 

"Put the brat down, Derfdul," the human grumbled.  "She'll be someone else's problem in a few minutes, anyway."

 

"You're never going to get away with this," Shannon snapped as she glared at the man.  "The last beings that stole me ended up all dead."

 

"They probably killed themselves, just so they didn't have to listen to your screeching," the man muttered.

 

"I do NOT screech!" Shannon screeched.  "You're stupid!"

 

Glaring, the man grabbed a greasy rag, and forced it into Shannon's mouth before putting tying the gag back in place.

 

*****************

 

"What's that noise?" Luke asked, turning toward white smoke billowing up over the buildings from the next street over.

 

Leia listened for a second. "It sounded like an accident."

 

The twins made their way over to the scene, which was now surrounded by curious onlookers.  A loud roaring could be heard over the excited chatter of human voices.  "Is that Chewie?" Luke questioned, using the Force to part the crowd.  Standing on the street amidst broken duracrete and shattered window panes, Chewie stood in front of two young boys, yelling and waving his paw in their faces.  The two youngsters should have been frightened; instead Luke could only sense their happiness and relief as they listened to the huge Wookiee chastise them for reckless driving.

 

*******************

 

"When are the boys coming back here?" Han questioned Creat, shoving him hard against the wall and waving the blaster in his face.  At this point, Han was at his limit.  One wrong move, or evasive answer, and Creat was in danger of needing life-support to stay alive.

 

"They work the streets until dusk, when children go inside their homes," he hurriedly explained.  "Then they come back, and give me any receipts they earned."

 

"Receipts?" Mara snapped.

 

Creat was starting to sweat, and he tugged at his collar.  "The boys take any captures to a warehouse, and then my employees give them a receipt for each kid they catch.  Then the captives are taken directly to the mines, and the boys either keep looking for prey, or if it's late, they come here and I lock them up for the night."

 

"And then those kidnapped children earn you a lot of credits working in the mines.  Right?" Mara asked, disgusted.  "You have a nice little scam going here.  Who caught the children before Trey and Rue fell into your clutches?"

 

"My employees," he admitted.  "But it was risky, and little kids trust other kids faster than they trust adults."

 

"The local government doesn't regulate these mines?" Han questioned. 

 

"Sure... they have all sorts of rules and regulations.  But there are only a few inspections a year, and those inspectors are really underpaid, if you know what I mean."

 

"Bribes," Mara said. 

 

"Credits talk real loud," Creat muttered.  "Everyone wants a nice home and expensive vacations.  And if we happened to run into an honest inspector, they have accidents.  Mines are dangerous places, you know."

 

"Those inspectors are about to take a real long vacation," Han warned Creat.  "But I don't think they're gonna like the accommodations too much."  He looked at Mara.  "We're gonna wait here until - " His comlink buzzed, and he switched it on.  "Yeah?"

 

It was Leia's voice.  "Han, find a place to store Creat and get back to the Falcon.  We've found your boys."

 

************

 

 

It didn't take Han and Mara long to lock Creat up with Gils, find a hovercar, and head out at breakneck speed - this time with Han at the controls.  "Would you slow down?" Mara complained, hanging onto the edge of her seat.  "I'd like to make it off this system in one piece, Ulysses."

 

"Do you really plan to keep calling me that?" Han asked, not slowing down one bit. 

 

"Yes."

 

"Fine.  I can take it longer than you can, Burt."

 

"Care to bet?"

 

"I'd love to bet.  Betting is my second favorite past time."

 

Mara scowled at the Corellian.  "Why second?"

 

Han gave her a wicked grin.  "Do you have to ask?  Really?"

 

"I swear I don't understand why Leia loves you."

 

"She loves scoundrels...just ask her some time.  What shall we wager, Burt?"

 

"Hmm," Mara said, considering her options.  "How about...if you're the first to lose your temper about your nickname, you have to cook me and Luke a seven course gourmet dinner?  And clean up the kitchen afterwards, too.  No fair pawning anything off on Threepio."

 

Han laughed.  "Not a problem. What do I get when I win?  Which, I promise you, is going to happen."

 

"What do you want?" Mara asked.  "Within reason, of course...and keep it clean, Ulysses DeLoudenarrogant."

 

"How about you admitting to Luke that you're in love him?"

 

Mara flushed.  "My feelings, or lack of feelings, for Luke are none of your business."

 

"But it's true you love him, right?" Han prodded.  "You just can't bring yourself to let the kid get emotionally close to you.  So that's what I want - an admission of your love for Luke - in a very public setting."

 

"I.... I won't agree to that!" she spluttered, appalled at his nerve.

 

"Why not?  This betting game was your idea.  Think you're gonna lose, Burt?" he taunted.

 

"I never lose."

 

"So you agree to my terms if - when - I win?"

 

"What kind of public setting?" Mara asked, worried about the nagging feeling that she was somehow getting in over her head.

 

Han considered this for a moment.  "How about renting a hundred foot holo-advertisement screen overlooking the Senate building on Coruscant?  And it has to stay in operation for a minimum of, um, seven days, just like that seven course dinner."

 

"I think I let you off too easy," Mara grumbled.

 

"Is it a bet?" Han said, holding his hand out.

 

"Since I never lose, it's a bet," she shot back, shaking his offered hand, even though she felt like slicing it off with her lightsaber.

 

****************

 

Luke sat the two boys down on a bench while Leia and Chewie tried to deal with the hyperventilating shop owner.  "Your stepfather is on his way," Luke told them, noting they were both excited and apprehensive about this information.  "Can you answer a few questions in the meantime?"

 

"Sure," the older boy mumbled.  "We'll try."

 

"Did you see a little seven year old girl today?  Her name is Shannon, and she has brown eyes and light brown hair."

 

The boys exchanged worried looks, then Rue said, "We might have."

 

"Rue, listen to me," Luke said firmly.  "Shannon is my niece, and I love her very much."  He pointed at Leia. "Do you see that lady over there?"  When the boys nodded, Luke continued, "That's my sister Leia, Shannon's mother, and she's very worried about her child.  Just like your mom is very worried about you two."

 

"Mom?" Trey spoke up for the first time, his entire face lighting up.  "You've seen her?  She's okay?"

 

"I didn't, but Leia spoke to her.  She's very sick, and is still in the hospital."

 

"I told you she was alive," Rue informed his brother with an air of older brother superiority, although Luke could easily sense that Rue was just as relieved as Trey.

 

"I want to go home," Trey said, his blue eyes pleading with the Jedi.  "Please?"

 

"We're all going home," Luke told them.  "As soon as we find Shannon."

 

"She's on her way to the lambda mines," Trey confessed to the Jedi, ignoring the look of dismay from his older brother.  "A lot of kids are working in those mines, and Rue told me Dad -  that's Han, not Brill - would  help them escape once we told him about it.  We didn't want to catch kids and send them down there, but we needed to get home, and if we didn't do what Creat said he'd have sent us to the mines and then we'd never get home, and Mom would die from worry."  He gulped for air, looking worriedly at Luke.  "Don't tell our mom... she'll be really upset about what we've been doing."

 

"I can't make that promise," Luke told the boy.  "That will be Han's decision."  He looked up as Leia and Chewie approached, and addressed Leia.  "How did it go?"

 

"The shopkeeper agreed not to press charges when I paid him a huge sum of credits, but we'd better get going before the local version of traffic patrol shows up and complicates matters."

 

"I agree," Luke said, standing up.  "Come on, kids.  Let's get to the Falcon and go rescue those children."

 

Trey jumped to his feet, grinning.  "Dad'll punch those slavers right in the face, won't he, Chewie?"

 

/I'm sure he will,./ Chewie woofed agreeably, having calmed down from his near-death experience with the landspeeder.  /And you two can clean up the galley while he does./

 

X**********

 

"NO!" Shannon screamed, kicking and clawing at the Slaver, a species she couldn't place since he was wearing a filtered face mask and robes.  All of the dozen or so Slavers wore the same outfit, and they stood around the perimeter holding rifles.  "I won't go in there!"  She eyed the dark, small tunnel that disappeared into the side of the mountain warily.  "There are probably bugs, or ... or snakes in that hole!"

 

The Slaver pushed her forward, making the girl fall down on her knees over the jagged rocks.  Her hair and cloths were plastered against her body from perspiration, and heat shimmered in dusty waves off the floor of the huge, bowl shaped crater.  Other children staggered about as they exited various tunnels holding heavy sacks, wearing filthy, ragged remains of clothing. Shannon watched the children walked over to a large container, emptied their sacks into the durasteel box, then, heads hanging down, they headed back to the tunnel.  "You made my hands and knees bleed," she protested, her palms stinging from the grit. 

 

The Slaver pointed his weapon at her, then hissed out in heavily accented Basic,  "You will take a sack and go into that tunnel and bring out the loose rocks.  If you refuse, I'll have the other kids beat you until you can't move.  Your choice, human girl."

 

"They... they wouldn't do that," Shannon whispered, horrified at the Slaver's threat.

 

"They will if they want food and water tonight," he responded without emotion.  "They have learned to obey orders, or suffer the consequences."

 

Slowly, Shannon reached out and picked up an empty sack, then turned to look at the dark hole.  Mommy! she thought in a panic.  Where are you? If you find me, I'll never be bad again.  Just find me, Mommy.  With those thoughts, Shannon reluctantly entered the tunnel, shaking in fear.

 

*************

 

Han and Mara arrived at the Falcon shortly after the Luke, Chewie, Leia and the boys.  He had barely made it inside when two happy, enthusiastic kids wrapped their arms around his waist, pushing him back a step.  "Dad! We knew you'd find us," Trey yelled out.

 

"Of course I'd come looking for you," Han said, laughing as he hugged them back.  Then he tilted up Rue's head.  "Who hit you?"

 

Rue averted his eyes.  "The shuttle pilot."

 

The Corellian's face darkened with anger, and he bit back a curse directed at the shuttle pilot. Instead, he focused on Trey and Rue's recent behavior.  "You've been stealing kids to work as slaves?"

 

"Yes," came the mumbled reply as the boy plucked nervously at his sleeve.  "We had to."

 

"You know how I feel about slavery."

 

"But.... Dad, Creat said he'd kill Brill and send us to the mines!" Rue argued, trying to defend his actions.  "We knew you'd rescue those other kids once you found out."

 

"Do you hate us?" Trey asked worriedly. 

 

"I could never hate you," came Han's reply.  How could he stay mad, when he'd done many illegal things during his younger days to stay alive.  "Let's go kick some slavers all the way to Nal Hutta, okay?"

 

Relieved that their dad wasn't angry, the boys hurried back into the ship.  Mara nodded at Leia as she walked past, leaving the Princess alone with Han in the corridor.  "They were responsible for sending Shannon to the mines," Leia stated, her tight face betraying anxiety.

 

"They're good boys, Leia," Han started out defensively.  "They've never been in a life-or-death situation before.  I know they didn't make the best decisions - "

 

"Best decisions?" Leia interrupted, incredulous.  "They kidnapped children as slaves!  Who knows what's happening to Shannon right now, and it's all their fault!"

 

"All their fault?" Han shot back, his eyes narrowing.  "Shannon ran away from Chewie.  She left the ship by herself.  Don't you try and pretend her actions didn't play a big part in what went on today."

 

"I'm not pretending at anything," Leia snapped, raising her voice several degrees.  "I know Shannon isn't perfect - "

 

"Ha!  Perfect?  She's spoiled rotten, Princess.  Open your eyes."

 

"My eyes are open," Leia replied frostily.  "And I'm seeing you for exactly what you are - a no-account smuggler that married a handicapped woman just so you could live off her credits."  The second those words left her mouth, Leia regretted them, but it was too late.  Han's expression went from shock to hurt to fury in a heartbeat.  "Han.... I -"

 

"That's why you think I married Alli?  So I could take advantage of her?" Han asked through clenched teeth.  "Once we find your daughter, I never want to see you or Shannon again."  Han spun around and walked away before Leia could say another word.

 

*************

 

Mara watched the boys cleaning up the galley, listening as Luke and Chewie gave them instructions.  Han's words kept running through her mind, You're in love with him.... you're in love with him.....  Was Solo right?  Did she have issues with allowing herself to get emotionally close to Luke?

 

"Mara?"  Luke's voice interrupted her musings.

 

"Yes?"

 

"Are you okay?" 

 

"I'm fine.  Just fine. Why are you asking?"

 

"You sort of look... far away."

 

"Far away?  I'm right here, Skywalker."

 

"I didn't mean physically," he replied, exasperated that she was always so defensive.  "Anyway," he added, deciding to alter the subject.  "I've contacted Coruscant, and Wedge is sending some New Republic troops over here to handle Creat and Brill and close down the mines."

 

"Are we going to wait until they arrive to rescue Shannon?"

 

Luke shook his head.  "Leia told me if we don't go after Shannon right now, she'll go by herself."

 

"Ah," Mara said, nodding.  "I can't blame her. I wouldn't want our....err, I mean my child down in some dangerous mine."  She felt herself flush over her slip, then moved out of the galley.  "I have to use the refresher.  Excuse me."

 

Watching her leave, Luke suddenly realized he was smiling.

 

*****************

 

The mine tunnel was hot, dusty, pitch black and so narrow in some places that little Shannon, squirming along on her stomach, almost got stuck.  She could feel her cloths tear, and sharp stones gashed at her skin.  Finally, the tunnel became wider and this was the place five other children had already gathered - one was holding small, hand-held lightbeam.  The children worked in total silence, using their raw fingertips to dig the stones out of the sides of the volcanic tube.  Sometimes, a larger rock became dislodged, sending a small avalanche down on their heads.  "I don't want to do this, I don't want to do this, I don't want to do this...." Shannon whimpered out loud.

 

The five children stopped working, staring at her with wide eyes.  Finally a small boy spoke, "If we don't work, we don't eat or get water."

 

"They can't do that," Shannon protested.  "If they didn't feed us, we'd die."

 

"Kids have died," another little girl whispered.  "I watched the Slave Masters disintegrate Jysiph's body.  Jysiph was my friend, but he tried to get away last month, so they put him in a box and stopped feeding him."

 

"They killed him?" Shannon asked, stunned.

 

"Yes, and they'll kill you, too, if you don't shut up and start working," the small boy snapped out, returning to his chore.

 

*****************

 

The Millennium Falcon lifted and turned south, roaring away from the spaceport.  Chewie turned his blue eyes toward his partner.  /You and the Princess are fighting again./

 

"How do you know?"

 

/I heard you in the corridor./

 

"You have big ears."

 

/Not big ears.  Just very good hearing./  When Han didn't reply, Chewie continued, /You need to put this right./

 

Han glared at the Wookiee.  "Why me?  She called me a mercenary!  Said I married Alli for her credits!"

 

/After you called Shannon spoiled rotten,./ Chewie pointed out.

 

"She is!"

 

/The Princess is well aware of that, Han.  But she is still her daughter, no matter what.  The Princess has had a difficult time since her marriage to Golden, and you need to give her some time to put right what the husband spoiled.  Shannon is not going to change overnight.  It took me years to fix you./

 

"I resent that," Han groused.

 

/It's the truth.  You may not have been spoiled, but you were stubborn and cynical.  Do not lose the Princess a second time because you regress./

 

Han sighed, hating it when the Wookiee was right.  "None of this is going to be easy.  Not with Shannon or the boys, either."

 

/No one ever said it would./

 

****************

 

Leia strapped on a blaster, blinking back tears as she thought about her short conversation with Han.  Why did she have to insult him?  Sure, he'd called Shannon spoiled, and that had made her angry - even if it was the truth.  Her mind drifted to Alli, and how incredibly nice that poor woman had been to her.  Nice.  That was an understatement.  If the situation were reversed, Leia knew she'd be fighting Alli with her last ounce of strength to keep Alli away from her husband.  Husband.  Han is Alli's husband.  How easy it was for me to just ask Alli to come to Coruscant so I could have Han.  What makes me think I have a right to him?  Trey and Rue will hate me, and probably start hating Han, too.  The New Republic hierarchy will have fits.  The holo-press will slaughter my reputation.  Shannon's grandparents will probably use my living arrangement as an excuse to sue for custody, claiming I'm an unfit parent.  Even if we get married later on, will we be able to overcome the fact Han divorced his handicapped, dying wife so he could marry me?  We'll probably become the most hated couple in the galaxy.....  She looked up as Luke approached her. 

 

"We'll be landing in a few minutes," Luke said, noting his sister's upset expression.  "What happened between you and Han?"

 

"A fight.  He insulted Shannon, so I insulted him."  Leia looked despairingly at Luke.  "I love Han, and I've just come to the realization I can't have him.  I can't let him divorce Alli just so he can marry me.  It wouldn't be right."

 

"Was that the plan?" Luke asked gently.

 

"Yes," she replied.  "Alli was going to move into my apartment with her sons so Han and I could take care of them.  Then, when my official mourning period was over, she'd file for a divorce so Han and I could marry, but she'd keep living with us, anyway.  At the time, it seemed like a really good plan, but now that I'm thinking about it, I can see all sorts of problems this will cause."

 

"So that's what you meant by sharing," Luke said, chuckling.  "I was getting worried about you, sister."

 

Leia gave a short laugh, but didn't smile.  "He only married her so he could legally take care of her and the boys.  He's spent the past seven years raising her sons, helping her with running the business and taking her to doctors.  It can't be easy watching a friend slowly die, knowing there isn't anything you can do to stop it from happening.  Why did I accused him of marrying Alli for her money?  Just because he told me Shannon was spoiled?  I know she's spoiled, but I'm so worried right now, I can't think straight."

 

Luke took Leia's hands in his own.  "I don't know how, but I just have a feeling that things are going to work out."

 

"How?  Do you have any idea what everyone will be saying...?"

 

"Things will work out," Luke repeated firmly.  "Now let's go get Shannon back."

*************

Han landed his ship a short distance from the mines, trying to fly low enough that the Slave Master's didn't see his approach.  Landing far enough away not too be seen or heard also meant that they would have to hike a distance to the rim of the crater.

 

The Wookiee gave a tired sigh as he leaned back in his seat. /I suppose you will want me to stay with the boys.  I am getting tired of this babysitting young humans./

 

"You can ask Mara if she'll stay behind," Han suggested.  "Good luck with that."

 

/Funny./

 

"Look at the bright side.  Think of us old humans baking in that heat and sand, while you and the kids get to stay inside a climate controlled ship and play games.  Or bake a cake."

 

/I am not making another cake.  Ever again./

 

"Too bad," Han said, grinning.  "That cake probably would've made a good rocket missile."

 

Mara stuck her head inside the cockpit.  "We're all ready to go, Ulysses.  Quit dawdling."  Then she was gone.

 

/She is not going to stop calling you that./

 

"I think she will, once I win our wager."  He stood up and headed out.

 

Chewie let out a groan, and called after his partner, /Wager?  What kind of wager...?./

 

Han didn't reply to Chewie's question, only stopping in the hold for a moment to give his sons last minute instructions to obey Chewie and stay put.  Then he walked down the ramp into the furnace-like heat, where Luke, Leia and Mara stood waiting. 

 

"The sun's going down, so we should be a little more comfortable in a few minutes," Luke informed the group.  The Jedi handed around macrobinoculars, goggles, and dark cloaks.  "Normally, light colors are better in heat, but we'll be able to fade into the darkness better with these.  And once we get closer, Mara and I will use the Force to put up a shield."  Luke and Mara started walking toward the ridge.

 

The Corellian shrugged the robe over his shoulders, and moved one step before Leia stopped him.

 

"Han, I'm sorry.  I shouldn't have said that.  I know you didn't marry Alli for money... I'm just upset about Shannon, and when you insulted her I lashed out without thinking."

 

"I know you didn't mean it," Han said softly.  He took her hand, and together they followed behind the two Jedi who were already fifty feet ahead.  After a while, he said, "Alli doesn't have any money, Leia.  Her huge medical expenses have eaten up all her savings, and we've had to get loans against her shipping business to keep the creditors from taking the house and business."

 

"I'll pay off any debts," Leia said. 

 

"No, I didn't tell you that to make you feel obligated, only to tell you she's not rich," he replied, shaking his head.  "I'll work off her debts.  I'm not taking charity."

 

Leia came to a halt, forcing him to stop as well.  "It's not charity when you help someone out of love.  Did you ever feel like you were giving charity to Alli?"

 

"No.  Never.  She's my friend, and she needed me.  I wanted to help."

 

"Just like I want to help you."

 

"Exactly like that." Han bent over and slowly kissed her.

 

***************

 

Mara looked over her shoulder at Solo and the Princess standing a short distance away, just as they started kissing. 

 

"Things are going to work out for them," Luke said, putting his hand on her shoulder and hoping she wouldn't push him away.  "They're meant to be together."

 

Turning her green eyes up, she gazed into Luke's eyes.  "Just like us?"

 

"Exactly like us."  Luke was pleasantly surprised when Mara pulled his face down, pressing her lips to his.

 

 

***************

 

Shannon's sack was only half full after hours of hard labor.  She had cried until tears no longer could trickle from her empty tear ducts.  "How long do I have to stay in here?" she asked the only child still in the mine - a little girl about five named Passlet.

 

The little girl holding the lightbeam regarded the newcomer.  "Until our sacks are full.  Then we can leave."

 

"There aren't enough loose rocks to fill up everyone's sacks," she protested.

 

"That's why we have to dig them out of the sides," the other girl responded.  "All the other kids filled their sacks, and mine's almost full.  So you'd better hurry, or you'll be in here alone."

 

"You won't leave me!"

 

"Yes, I will," Passlet shot back.  "Why would I stay here for you?  It's every kid for themselves, Shannon."

 

"I hate this place."

 

"We all do."

 

Shannon reached up and felt the area above her head.  She could feel the stones she needed lodged tightly into the cement-like hardened lava.  For a few minutes, Shannon worked her raw fingers at the stones, then she had a sudden thought.  Shutting her eyes, she concentrated on loosening the rocks with her rudimentary Force skills.  At first, only few smaller stones rained down, so she tried harder. 

 

Then the ceiling of the lava tube gave a loud 'crack', and let loose.

 

****************

 

 

The sun had dropped below the horizon only minutes earlier, and the sky still held the murky violet-hued remnants of light.  Luke and Mara peered carefully over the edge of the crater just in time to see a cloud of thick silt billowing out from inside one of the many volcanic tubes.  What looked like fifty to sixty very young children rushed toward the chamber, pointing and yelling as the robe covered guards waved their rifles around, forcing the children back toward the small camp in the center of the crater.

 

"At least it's getting a little bit cooler," Han remarked, struggling up the hill with Leia.  Dropping to his knees beside Luke, he squinted down the steep incline inside the dormant volcano - a drop of nearly five hundred feet.  Toward the bottom the ground gradually curved inward, creating the wide floor of the crater.  It was like looking down in a giant-sized dusty bowl.  In the very center of the crater, small cages were set up, apparently where the children were locked up for the night.  A short distance away were several old Republic-class shuttles.  Han guessed the shuttles were used for housing the guards, allowing them decent places to sleep and escape the heat.  "What's goin' on down there?"

 

"Looks like one of the mines caved in," Mara replied, trying to count the number of guards.  "It doesn't appear the guards care about the collapse."

 

"Shannon," Leia whispered, feeling lightheaded with fear.  "Shannon is inside that cave-in."

 

Luke already had sensed this as well.  "She's alive, Leia."

 

"She buried alive!  She's hurt!  And those guards aren't even trying to help her!"

 

The Corellian grasped Leia's hand, trying to comfort her.  "We'll get her out."

 

"Fourteen guards, unless there are more inside the shuttles. All with high intensity blaster rifles," Mara muttered.

 

"Doesn't look like those shuttles are exactly space-worthy," Han commented, holding the macrobinoculars up to his eyes.  "But they probably have weapons and shields to prevent attacks."

 

"Your ship doesn't look space-worthy, either, Ulysses," Mara muttered, which earned her a glare from the former smuggler.

 

"We need to destroy the ships, first," Luke said.  "That'll keep them from taking cover inside."

 

"Then they might use the kids as shields," Han pointed out.  "I doubt they'd have a problem doing that."

 

"We can't sit here discussing this all night," Leia hissed out, feeling panic.  "We need to start digging Shannon out of that hole!"

 

Luke nodded.  "Mara and I will keep using the Force to distract the guards.  Once we're at the bottom, you and Han need to get inside the shuttles and disable the weapons.  Mara and I will try to move between the guards and the children."

 

"Then what?" Han asked, frowning.

 

"Then we'll turn on our lightsabers, and you and Leia use the shuttles as cover to shoot the guards from the rear.  Keep your weapons on stun, though.  We don't want to accidentally hurt one of the children."

 

"Can you tell what type of race the guards are?" Leia asked, knowing some beings were easier to fool with the Force than others.

 

"Krish," Mara replied.  "Not a very well known race, but they're known for being short-tempered and mean."

 

"So they're your relatives?" Han asked, trying to keep a straight face.

 

Luke sighed.  "Once we've taken care of the guards, we'll put the children in the shuttles for safe keeping and contact Chewie to bring in the Falcon with equipment to remove those rocks."

 

"Sounds like a plan to me," Han said, shifting on his hip.  "But one thing."

 

"What's that?"

 

"It's about 'a plan'," Han said in a mock whispering voice.  "Since when have we needed a plan?  It worries me when we break with tradition."

 

"Tradition?" Mara asked.  "It's your tradition to rush headfirst into danger without plans?"

 

"Ya don't mess with what works, Burtilla."

 

X************

 

Shannon groaned, pushing the rubble from her body.  Twisting her body, she could see the exit tube was completely blocked with large stones, then she looked back at a dim lightbeam shining under dust and debris.  It was the only source of light in the cave, and it was the lightbeam Passlet had been holding when the roof collapsed.  "Passlet?" Shannon yelled, coughing on the thick dust.  She pushed at the rocks, until she could see the little girl's body.  "PASSLET!" 

 

With no response, Shannon frantically dug away the rubble.  Finally, she freed the little girl, turning her over.  The small child's eyes were closed, and she was covered with dirt, her head was sticky with blood.  Shannon trembled with fear.  "Wake up, Passlet.  Don't be dead.  I didn't mean to do that.  I don't want you to die.  Please.... wake up!" 

 

The Corellian child took the lightbeam, shining it directly into the younger girl's still face.  "I killed you.  I made the ceiling come down, and now you're dead," Shannon said, sobbing.   "Daddy died 'cuz he came to my concert, and now I killed you, too.  I'm just like Grandpa Skywalker.... I'm evil and bad."

 

*****************

 

Without the use of the Force, making their way down the inside wall of the crater would have been extremely difficult.  Not only was it steep, but loose pebbles made their feet slip out from under.  More than once, Han and Leia nearly fell, but the two Jedi kept them upright and limited the amount of noise caused by the tumbling rocks that bounced down the incline. 

 

Closer to the bottom, the walking got much easier.  Luke touched Han's shoulder, pointing to the shuttles.  After a quick nod, they split up, heading for their respective tasks.

 

As they approached the group of children, Luke could hear their voices.  Sound carried quite well inside this natural arena.  "They're not gonna even to try to help Passlet and the new girl," a little boy said, sniffing loudly.  "They don't care if they're still alive or not."

 

A slightly older boy replied, "Why should they?  There are lots of tunnels, so why waste time trying to dig them out?  'Sides, they're probably dead, anyway."

 

"You don't know that," a little girl argued, sipping at her water bulb. 

 

"No," the boy answered.  "It doesn't matter, though.  We can't do nuthin' about it.  Eat your slop and shut up.  We gotta get some sleep."

 

The children looked up as two guards approached them, and instantly stopped talking, their faces reflecting fear of punishment.  On occasion, the guards would put them in the 'punishment box', a small durasteel box with bars on one side, for the crime of talking.  During the night, the box was hot, but bearable.  During the day, it could result in death.   Small faces looked up with apprehension as the two guards removed silver tubes from inside their robes. 

 

***************

 

With the first shuttle's weapons totally disabled, Leia helped Han to his feet.  "Hurry," she cajoled.  "Luke and Mara are almost in place.  We have to get to the other shuttle."

 

"I am hurrying!"

 

The Princess and Solo rushed toward the exit - and found themselves face to face with four, masked and armed guards. 

 

"Oh, kest," Han muttered.

**********

 

Luke groaned as a series of blaster shots rang out in the quiet night.  Both Jedi quickly ignited their lightsabers, and Luke pulled his cowl back to reveal his face.  "Kids, get behind us and lay flat on the ground...  Hurry!"

 

Taking up a defensive stance, Mara spared a glance over at Luke.  "Shooting before we were ready wasn't part of this plan!"

 

"My plans never seem to go off without problems.  Didn't I ever tell you that?"

 

Mara couldn't respond, since she was busy deflecting back the blaster shots from the Krish guards.

 

*************

 

The four guards were coming inside from a long day of standing in the hot sun, and they had been looking forward to an evening meal and some relaxation.  Standing just inside the doorway, they were startled enough to give Han and Leia the several vital seconds needed to kill two of the Krish before the remaining guards even raised up their rifles.  Although blaster rifles had a much better long distance range than hand blasters, they had the distinct disadvantage of being rather clumsy.  Only one guard managed to get off a shot after Leia's bolt hit his torso, and that shot went high and wide as he fell to the ground.

 

Han grinned at Leia.  "Four down... ten to go."

 

"Luke and Mara might need some help," was her reply as she hurried to get off the shuttle, ducking back inside as heavy blaster fire sizzled past her head.   "Put your blaster on 'stun' if you fire toward the children!"

 

"Cover me while I run to the other shuttle," Han yelled. 

 

"What?  That shuttle is a good thirty yards away...are you crazy?"

 

Unfortunately, the answer was 'yes', and the Corellian rushed outside and headed toward the second shuttle, trying to run erratically enough to avoid the rifle shots fired in his direction.

 

**************

 

"What's he doing?" Mara hissed, managing to volley the blast back into the guard, sending him reeling to the surface, very dead.  Now there were only six still shooting at them, since the other three were now directing their attention back toward the shuttles, and that commotion.  "He's going to get himself killed!"

 

Luke watched in concern as the Corellian barely avoided several shots, only surviving his desperate sprint due to the cover fire provided by Leia.  Another Krish fell to the ground, stunned, as he was shot by Leia's blaster.  Still, a rifle blast tore past very close to Han's leg, and the Corellian stumbled briefly before recovering his footing. Using the Force, Luke flung some of the small surface stones up from the ground and into the facemasks of the guards.  The distraction allowed Han to make the remaining distance mostly intact, so Leia focused her fire on the Krish shooting at the Jedi. 

 

The eight remaining guards could see they were in trouble, with blaster fire coming from inside one shuttle, and two Jedi protecting the child slaves from the opposite side.  Their only chance for survival was to head for safety inside one of the two shuttles, and not knowing how many attackers were inside the first shuttle, they quickly headed to the shuttle Han had just entered.

 

 

***************

 

Back on the Millennium Falcon

 

/What are you two doing?./ Chewie roared, making Trey flinch and look up from the floor, a guilty expression on his face. 

 

"It was Rue's idea," the younger boy said lamely.

 

Rue stuck his head up from under the open floor panel.  "The holo-creatures on the game board kept fading in and out.  It needed fixing.  Dad sure has lots of wires under here."

 

Chewie dropped to his knees, peering down into the mass of wires and electronics inside the access tube.  /You have pulled out half of the wires!./

 

"I was trying to figure out which ones went to the game board.  I'll put them all back."

 

/You won't know which wire goes where!./ Chewie howled in a panic, grasping his head in despair. /I can barely remember which wire goes where!./ He pointed to a control board.  /That is the communication panel... not the game board!./

"Sorry."

 

/It's not a wonder some creatures eat their younglings at birth./

 

***************

 

 

Wincing in pain from the burn on this thigh, Han glanced back at the battle, frowning in concern as the remaining guards suddenly started heading in his direction.  "Great," he muttered under his breath.  "Pick on me."

 

Rushing to the forward cockpit, Han hit the controls that raised the ramp, then spun around the top-mounted lasers, mentally urging them to charge up faster.  He looked back out of the viewport, and saw the Krist guards firing at the shuttle, slowing down when they saw the entrance ramp was raising.  "Come on...." Han urged.  "Don't give up now...."

 

**************

 

Luke had taken several steps forward to pursue the guards when he skidded to a stop, shouting back at Mara, "Get the kids and tell them to move back.  Fast!"  He waited long enough for Leia to get to his side, then grabbed her arm and pulled her along.

 

Without pausing to ask why, Mara spun around, shouting at the children to get up and run away from the shuttle, hoping they wouldn't be too frightened to obey.  Fortunately, the children had been conditioned to obey without question.  They stood and ran into the inky darkness of the night, away from the artificial lighting of the dreary campsite.

 

"Luke?" Leia twisted her head to look at the second shuttle and the guards rushing toward it, although they had slowed somewhat.  "We can't abandon Han...."

 

No sooner had those words left her mouth, then the shuttle's laser weapon fired.

 

Luke pulled Leia down to the ground, protecting her with the Force as bits of heated stone chips flew over their heads.  After a few seconds, Leia tentatively raised her head, the acrid smell of the laser's afterburn filling her nostrils.  Only a smoldering blackened scorch in the ground gave any indication where the eight guards had been moments before.  Out of the fourteen Krist guards, only one remained alive - the one lucky enough to have been stunned by Leia's blaster.

 

"How... how did you know what he was about to do?" Leia asked, still dazed by the turn of events.

 

Luke grinned as he stood, pulling Leia up.  "I saw the laser turret moving, and I put two and two together."

 

"Two and two?" Leia grumbled, brushing off her slacks.  "How about one lunatic Corellian with access to one high powered weapon?"

 

"That's what I meant."  He looked over his shoulder as Mara came back into the shuttle lights.  "Are the children all okay?"

 

"They're fine," Mara replied, glaring at the shuttle as the ramp lowered and Solo came limping out, heading in their direction.  "I hope you're not looking for any sympathy from us, Ulysses.  After that stunt, you're lucky you're not dead."

 

Han held his hand up as he got closer.  "According to my count, I got ten out of fourteen.  How many did you get, Burtsie?"

 

"You were supposed to stun them, Han," Luke said, exasperated.

 

"That laser didn't have a stun setting."

 

"We need to find Shannon, and quit talking," Leia said, her patience fast reaching the end.  "Contact Chewie, and tell him to get over here."

 

"Already tried it," Han said, shaking his head.  "Something's wrong with the communications, and it looks like the problem is on the Falcon's end."

 

"Surprise, surprise," Mara grumbled.

 

"Then I'll dig her out with my bare hands," Leia snapped, starting to head toward the tunnel.

 

From the edge of the light, a small voice spoke up.  "We can show you another way into that tunnel, if you want us to."

 

"Another way in?" Luke questioned.  "Are you sure?"

 

The little boy looked offended.  "Of course I'm sure.  We've been down in those tunnels for months and months.  Even the guards didn't know all the ways in and out."

 

"Then you'd better show us."

 

**

After securing the remaining guard in one of the cages, a small group of the older children led Luke, Mara and Leia up a winding path, using lightbeams to remain on the trail.  Han stayed behind with the rest because of his injured leg, claiming someone had to guard the remaining Krist, and try and get in contact with Chewie.  For some reason Luke couldn't put his finger on, the Jedi suspected there was more to this than Han was saying. 

 

Eventually, they arrived near the top of the crater, almost on the opposite side of the rim.  A large boulder marked the spot, with smaller rocks piled up next to it.  A boy of perhaps nine or ten pointed at the rock pile.  "We hide the entrance, so the guards couldn't see it.  Someday, we were gonna use it as an escape tunnel."

 

"And you're sure this leads into the tunnel that just collapsed?" Leia questioned, not wanting to waste time on a wild mynock chase.

 

"Positive," another boy added, as he bent down, tossing the stones away from the entrance.  "It's right under here."

 

Luke, Leia and Mara helped remove the larger stones, and soon the narrow tunnel was exposed.  "That's where you kids have to find the lambda gems?"

 

"Yeah.  It's real creepy down there, too."

 

Leia dropped to her knees.  "I'm going down there."

 

"No," Luke objected.  "I'll go."

 

"You'll get stuck," a girl said knowingly.  "The tunnels are real skinny."

 

"That's why I have to go.  You're too big," Leia informed her brother.

 

"That's the first time I've ever been accused of that," Luke commented dryly.  "Maybe one of the children should go in."

 

"And what if Shannon is too injured for them to move?" Leia argued.  "I have to be the one to go in."

 

"I will," Mara spoke up.  When Luke and Leia stared at her, she shrugged.  "It makes sense.  I'm nearly as small as Leia, and I can use the Force if Shannon is hurt to levitate her, and move her without aggravating her injuries."

 

Leia sighed.  "Fine.  You go."

 

Without further debate, Mara wiggled into the narrow, dark stone corridor.

 

******************

 

Onboard the Falcon

 

With a final twist, Chewie reconnected the last wire to the communication board.  Almost immediately, the comm panel lit up, indicating an incoming message.  The Wookiee pulled himself out of the access tube, and giving one last glare at the two boys, pressed the 'on' button.  /Yes?./

 

"Where the hell have you been?" came Han's annoyed voice.

 

/Fixing the communication panel that Trey and Rue decided to dismantle.  Are you okay?./

 

"Yeah.... close enough.  We've taken care of the guards, and Luke, Leia and Burt are headin' into the mining tunnels.  Apparently, there was a cave-in, and guess who managed to get trapped?"

 

/Shannon./

 

"You got it.  Anyway, if the ship hasn't been destroyed, can you get your furry backside over here?  These kids could use some food and water."

 

/I'm on my way./

 

"Oh.... and did you remember to buy those cases of bristleberry ice cones like I asked you before we left Glova?" Han asked, his voice sounding suspiciously innocent.

 

/Yes.  Why?./

 

"Nothing.  Just making sure.  Now get over here."

 

*****************

 

The children weren't lying.  The tunnel was extremely narrow, and had many twisting turns and forks.  If Mara didn't have the Force to rely on, she'd have been completely lost in a matter of minutes.  Instead, she concentrated on located Shannon's Force-signature, and guided herself along on her stomach while holding the lightbeam awkwardly in front of her face. Finally she heard a child whimpering.  "Shannon?"

 

The whimpering ceased.  "Who's there?"

 

"It's Mara."  She inched forward and made one last turn, shining the light into the dirty face of Leia's daughter.  "Shannon!  I'm so glad you're okay."

 

"I'm not okay.  I killed Passlet."  Shannon waved her hand down to the little girl lying in the loose stones.  "I used the Force to make the stones come down, and I killed her.  I'm evil."

 

Mara reached out, touching Shannon's wrist.  "Listen to me.  It was an accident, and accidents, even bad accidents, don't make a person evil."  Mara shined the light at the little girl, and put her fingers against the child's neck.  Then she smiled.  "Passlet is alive.  She's just unconscious.  Once we get her out, and to a doctor, she'll probably be fine."  At least Mara hoped so - with head injuries it was difficult to tell. 

 

Shannon stopped sniffing.  "She's alive?"

 

"Yes.  I'm going to back out, and use the Force to lift her.  You need to follow me, okay?  We'll get out of here in a few minutes, I promise."

 

"Okay."

 

*****************

 

Having used the shuttle's medical supplies to bandage his leg, and give the children extra water from the guards' supply, Han was now looking up in the night sky, watching as the Falcon swooped in for a landing.  A second later, his comlink buzzed.  "Yes?"

 

"Mara just let us know she's found Shannon, and she's alright.  They're on the way out of the cave now, but she's got another little girl with her, and she's injured."

 

Han frowned.  "How injured?  Should I have Chewie call for a medical team?"

 

"No.  She's had a bump on the head, but she woke up a few minutes ago.  Mara said she remembers what happened, and I don't think she's in any serious danger."

 

"The Falcon is here, and I'll send Chewie up with a hover-stretcher," Han said.  "Then I'll signal ahead for medics to meet us at the landing dock when we get back to town."

 

"Sounds good," Luke responded before clicking off.

 

Han turned his attention back to the forty-three children that he'd divided into two groups.  Now that Shannon was found and in good shape, he could continue on with his schemes.  "You kids remember what I told you to do, right?"

 

"We sure do, Han!" a young boy said happily as the other children all nodded in agreement.

 

The Corellian grinned, rubbing his hands together in glee.  "Good...good.  The plan is a 'go', and whichever team wins, gets all those bristleberry cones."  The children jumped up and down, yelling in joy.  This was turning out to be a pretty nice day, after all.

 

**************

Trey and Rue made apologies to the children they kidnapped, and had gone a long way toward making amends by handing out fresh food and water.  By the time everyone arrived back at the campsite, the children were well fed and hydrated.  Han, meantime, was sitting on a chair with his injured leg propped up on a boulder, keeping a close eye on the single prisoner.  "'Bout time you got back," he yelled cheerfully as the children ran around, playing games, making a great deal of noise, and generally enjoying their new freedom.

 

Holding her daughter's hand, Leia smiled at the scene.  Han might complain about Shannon being spoiled, but the Princess suspected Han would be nearly as indulgent a father as Vail had been.   She also knew, deep down, that the  major difference would be that Han would back her up when their child needed disciplining, and not undermine her like Vail had done.  Their child.  The thought made Leia's heart ache.  She had always wanted more than one child, but her chilly marriage had prevented that from occurring.  Now, her dreams of having a big family with the man she loved seemed both tantalizing close, and light years away.  "How's that terrible leg wound doing?" Leia said soothingly, trying not to laugh.  "Gangrene hasn't set in yet, has it?"

 

"If it has, I'll volunteer to amputate the limb with my lightsaber," Mara said, snickering.

 

Han opened his mouth to make a protest, when Shannon let out a bloodcurdling scream.  "Those boys!" she yelled, pointing at Rue and Trey.  "Those are the mean boys that stole me!"  She turned her eyes up to Leia.  "I hate them!  Send them to Kessel, Mommy!"

 

"Sweetheart, Trey and Rue are very sorry for what they did to you...." Leia started out.

 

"I don't care!" she hollered, stomping her foot.  "Send them to Kessel!"

 

"Shannon," Han growled, waving his boys over.  "These are my sons, and they'll apologize for what they did.  But I expect you to apologize to Chewie for running away, too.  None of this would have happened if you'd stayed on the ship."

 

The child's eyes grew wide with disbelief.  "I'm not sorry!  My Mommy won't make me say I'm sorry."

 

"Yes, I will," Leia said firmly.  "I love you, Shannon, but you can't act like this anymore."

 

Chewie had watched this exchange quietly, his paw still resting on the hover-stretcher.  Passlet sat up on her elbows, looking at Shannon.  "I forgive you, Shannon," Passlet informed Leia's daughter sincerely.  "So I think you should forgive those boys, too."

 

"You can consider this your very first lesson," Luke spoke up.  "Forgiveness is very important if you want to become a Jedi."

 

For a few seconds, Shannon was quiet.  Then she said, "I'm sorry, Chewie.  I shouldn't have run away."

 

"And we're sorry, too," Rue told the little girl.  "I hope we can be friends, especially since Dad told us we're moving to Coruscant, so we'll be seeing a lot of each other."

 

Shannon's face went very still. "No, you aren't moving by us.  Tell him, Mommy."

 

"I think that might be happening, Shannon."

 

Dropping Leia's hand, the girl ran toward the Falcon, sobbing hysterically as Leia hurried after her daughter.

 

/You certainly have a lot of work ahead of you to make a big, happy family, Han./  Chewie woofed as his friend hobbled toward the ship.

***************

 

A little while later, Leia tucked a sleeping and exhausted Shannon into the small bed as Han watched.  "What are we going to do?" Leia said softly, almost to herself.

 

"We'll be back at the northern port in less than an hour," Han replied.  "Hopefully, the local authorities can track down all these kids' parents quickly."

 

"I was talking about us."

 

Han sat down on the end of the bed, taking Leia's hand.  "Don't do this to us, Princess.  Shannon will come around, and so will the boys.  We just have to give it time."

 

"It's more than just the children," the Princess said, looking down and unable to meet his intense gaze.  "I love you.  I always have, and I always will...."

 

"I feel the same about you.  So what's the problem?"

 

Leia pulled her hand away, and stood up, pacing the small cabin.  "Everything!  You can't divorce Alli.... it's wrong.  She's a wonderful woman and she doesn't deserve to be publicly humiliated and rejected, which is what it will appear like.  The holo-press will destroy all of our lives.  Shannon's grandparents will make my life miserable.  We'll look like unfaithful spouses."

 

"You're worried about appearances?" Han asked, annoyed.  "Alli won't be rejected.  We'll take care of her, and as long as we know the truth...."

 

"No, that's not enough.  Thanks to politics, I'm famous," Leia replied.  "I can't escape who I am, and I can't run away from my responsibilities."

 

"Responsibilities?  You mean the New Republic?"  Han questioned, his face tight.  "This was the problem last time, sweetheart.  You couldn't move past your job to see there was more to life than politics!"

 

"The problem was your inability to see there is more to life than just what you want," Leia snapped out.  Then her expression grew regretful.  "What we want," she amended, then added,  "I want the same thing you do.  Can't you see that?"

 

Han stood up, facing the closed door.  "I see the galaxy is once again conspiring to keep us apart."

 

"Things are more complicated than ever before," she told him.  "Luke told me it will work out."  Leia put her hand on his back.  "We have to believe that, Han.  I have to believe it, or I'll.... I'll..."

 

"You'll go on without me.  Just like always."

 

"I've gone on without you physically, but never spiritually, Han.  You are my soulmate, and you have been since the day I met you."

 

He turned and put his arms around her.  "Then let's make this work.  Somehow.  Someway."

 

******************

 

 

As the tightly packed Falcon made its way back to the northern hemisphere,  Luke carefully watched as large numbers of children gathered around Mara, constantly asking her one question after another.  That alone would have been enough to annoy her, but to make matters worse they insisted on calling her Burt.  Or Burtsie.  Or Burtilla......

 

"Burtsie.... is your hair really that color, or do you dye it?  It sure doesn't look like a real color.  What color is it, really? My mom calls that color 'bottle jobs'.  Is your hair a bottle job, Burtsie?"

 

"Are you in love with Luke, Burty?  You're both Jedi, and that should mean you get married and make lots of little Jedi, right?"  "Will the Force make your babies, or will Luke be the daddy?  Why is your face getting so red?"

 

"Can you teach me how to make a lightsaber, Burtilla?"  "Can I play with yours, then?"

 

"Burt.... can you cook?  If you want to be a good wife, you should learn how to cook, you know.  Burt."

 

Mara's face was growing more flustered and upset with each question.  Luke was starting to worry about her blood pressure.

 

"Is it true the Emperor was really a giant-sized million-year-old puppet, Burt?"

 

"Burtilla, how old are you?"  "That's old!   Can you still have Luke's babies when you're so old?"

 

"Do you have any sisters, Burty-Burt?"  "How about brothers?"  "Is Luke your younger brother, Burt?"

 

"I once had a cat that had your color eyes and we thought it ran away until it got hot outside but then my dad found it dead in the attic and it was really stinking up the whole house, isn't that a funny story, Burt?"

 

"How much to you weigh, Burtsie?"  "Do you weigh more than Luke?"

 

"ALL RIGHT!" Mara yelled, jumping off the crate she was sitting on, surrounded by forty-three children.  "This is ENOUGH!  How many times, exactly, do I have to tell you my name isn't BURT??  It's MARA!  Mara JADE!  The next kid that calls me ......."  She stopped, her eyes drifting up to the entrance, where Han Solo was leaning casually against the curved doorway, a satisfied smirk on his face.

 

"I'd have to say the Blue group finally did her in,"  Han said, still grinning widely.  He held out a carton filled with ice cones.  "The Blue group gets three each, but the Reds did such a good job, you can have one, too."

 

The children leapt up off the floor, grabbing their cone and slurping the sweet treat.

 

"You cheated!" Mara yelled at Han, pointing her finger in his chest.  "That doesn't count!"

 

"Sure it counts," Han replied, unfazed by her furious glare, but backing up a step just to be on the safe side.  "The bet was who snaps first, not who makes them snap."

 

"You bribed them!"

 

"So?  A little competition is a healthy thing, wouldn't you agree, Luke?  Competition and a reward.... always pays off."

 

"Bet?" Luke asked, raising his eyebrows.  "What kind of bet?"

 

"None of your business!" Mara shouted, pushing past Han and leaving the hold.

 

"You'll find out," Han whispered to Luke, before turning around and heading back to the cockpit.

 

*************

 

Back at the northern spaceport, the local Palthos officials wasted no time in thanking everyone for their assistance, and reassured Ambassador Organa-Golden they would cooperate fully with the arriving New Republic Forces in order to locate and punish everyone involved with the child slavery ring.  Leia strongly suspected that at least a few of these fawning politicians were guilty of looking the other way when it came to the gem mining operations.  Palthos' economy relied heavily on the valuable lambda gems, so finding an alternative method of mining was not going to be cheap or easy.

 

Since the vast majority of the children working in the mines had been kidnapped locally, only a few were not home within a few hours of the Falcon's landing.  Those whose parents were not quickly located were taken by a social worker, with Leia's promise to them they would be home in a few days.  The New Republic military would back her guarantee.

 

Back at the spaceport, minus the fifty-one extra passengers, Leia watched as Luke escorted Shannon into the Jade's Fire, then looked at Han.  "This is for the best," she said quietly.  "You need to stay on Glova with Alli until the end."

 

Han swallowed the lump forming in his throat.  "It could be years before we're together again."

 

"I'll wait.  You know I'll wait."

 

"I love you."

 

"I know," she said, trying to smile.  "I love you, too."

 

****************

 

Jade's Fire

 

When Luke entered the cockpit, Mara was watching Han and Leia through the viewport. "It's not fair," Mara said quietly.  "Some people should be together."

 

"Like us?" Luke asked, repeating his line from the evening before.  Had it only been a few hours?  It seemed like much longer.

 

"Yes," Mara agreed.  "Like us."

 

"Will you marry me?"

 

"You'd be willing to marry me without even knowing if this is my real hair color?"

 

"Or even your age and weight," Luke said, solemnly.

 

"Never ask a lady her age or weight, Farmboy."

 

"You haven't given me your answer."

 

"I have to think about it," Mara said, turning her eyes to the pre-flight warmup.

 

"Are you serious?"  When she didn't reply, Luke gave a huge sigh.  "Fine.  You think about it.   I just can't figure out women."

 

Mara bit her lip to keep from laughing.

 

*****************

 

Glova

 

Trey and Rue quietly left the hospital room to allow Han time alone with their mother.  When the door shut, Alli turned her exhausted gaze at her husband.  "I knew you'd find them."

 

"Brill Gils is now in New Republic custody.  He'll probably be spending the next ten years or so in a prison cell," Han informed her as he held her icy cold fingers.  She looked thinner and much weaker since he'd left for Palthos.  It was apparent the stress of the past weeks had taken a hard toll on her already frail body.

 

"The boys will be adults by then," she said tiredly.  "They'll be safe from Brill when he gets out."

 

"He didn't endear himself to them, that's for sure."

 

"Where's Leia?"

 

Han shifted his gaze to the floor.  "Coruscant.  She had second thoughts about our plans.  Leia thinks a divorce will be too difficult for you, and it won't look very good.  She's afraid Golden's parents could file for custody of Shannon, too."

 

"I never thought about that, but I don't think that we're going to be needing a divorce.  I'm dying."

 

"Don't say that!"

 

Her fingers tightened around his briefly.  "I love you, Han.  I know that wasn't supposed to happen, and you don't feel the same way about me..."

 

"Alli - "

 

"Let me finish.  I knew when we got married you loved Princess Leia and always would, but I couldn't stop how I felt.  I wish things could have been different, but I'm very glad I married you.  I want to thank you for everything you've done for me and the boys."

 

"You don't have to thank me," he said hoarsely.  "You've taught me so many things, Alli.  How to be a good father.  How to be a better person.  I've grown up since I met you.  I should be the one thanking you."

 

Alli smiled.  "You're welcome."

 

***

 

Alli Solo died in the early morning hours, less than one week after Han returned with Trey and Rue.  Two days later, her body was laid to rest near her home under a shady tree.  Han wasn't ashamed to let his sons see his tears as he placed a single pink flower on top of her grave.

 

*****************

 

EPILOGUE

 

Coruscant, two months later, early evening.

 

Dressed in his best clothes, Luke Skywalker entered 'The Heavenly Star', one of Coruscant finest restaurants.  Since it was close to the Senate building many high government officials dined here, but this was Luke's first time.  When Leia had invited him, her treat, he'd been pleasantly surprised.

 

He was even more surprised to see both Han and Mara sitting at the table with Leia.  A month after Alli's death, Han and his two sons moved into an apartment building close to Leia's building.  This was the first time, to Luke's knowledge, they were being seen together in public.  In Luke's opinion, it was a good idea to ease their relationship into the public's eye, and perhaps a 'double date' was a careful, first step in that direction.

 

Luke's own relationship with Mara Jade was another frustrating matter entirely.  It had been two months since his proposal, and Mara had yet to say either 'yes' or 'no'.   It wasn't something Luke could understand.  Why couldn't she say those three little words...'I love you'?"  He'd said them to her often enough lately.  What kind of answer was, 'I'm still thinking about it?'  How long did she have to think, anyway?

 

"Hi!" Luke said happily.  "I sure wasn't expecting to double date tonight."  He bent over and gave Mara a quick kiss before sitting down, facing the vast window.  Normally, this window overlooked hundreds of tall buildings, including the elegant Senate Building, but for some reason the thick curtains were drawn, shutting out the view.  "I wonder why they have the curtains shut?"

 

"Maybe the duraglass got accidentally broken," Mara guessed.  "If it bothers you, we can leave."

 

"Leave?"  Luke shook his head.  "I'm about to eat in one of the best places on Coruscant, with the two most beautiful women in the galaxy. And my meal is free, too.  No, we're not leaving."

 

"Good," Mara said.  "I'd like to eat here, too, since I never have before.  I mean, who really cares about the curtains?  Nothing but stupid buildings out there, anyway.  We've already seen them a million times.  We sure don't need to see them tonight."  She stopped, a bit flushed, realizing she was babbling and everyone at the table was staring at her. 

 

"It was Leia's idea to come here," Han said quickly changing the subject.  "You know how women like these elegant seven course dinners.  Right, Mara?"  The Corellian gave a pointed look at Mara, which she ignored. 

 

Luke frowned in puzzlement, wondering what all that meant, then asked, "Where are the kids?"

 

"Trey and Rue are babysitting Shannon in my apartment.  Hopefully, the building will still be in one piece when we get back," Leia said with a quick smile. 

 

Luke knew that Han's children had been getting along better with his niece during the past month, and Shannon's behavior was much improved, as well.  Luke had even started her Jedi training.  Without Vail or her grandparents' influence, she'd quickly accepted her abilities in the Force, and got along well with the other young people Luke was teaching.  For the first time in her life, Shannon didn't feel like an outsider, and she had made friends.  "I'd be just as worried about poor Threepio being in one piece."  He glanced over at Han.  "Your boys are terrible about taking apart everything they get their hands on."

 

"I'm proud to say, I've taught them everything I know," Han bragged, leaning back in his chair.

 

"That had to take about five minutes," Leia shot back, as Luke and Mara laughed. 

 

****

 

The meal did not disappoint, and two hours later the waiter came out with a large cake, which he sliced and put into plates.  "This is wonderful," Mara enthused, taking a bite.  "I guess Chewie must not have baked this cake."

 

Luke pushed his plate away after two small mouthfuls.  "I'm so full, my stomach hurts."

 

"I think I'd like to look at those boring old buildings now," Mara suddenly informed a startled Luke.  "Open the curtain."

 

Luke looked around, wondering who she was talking to.  No one was standing behind him. "Me?"

 

"Of course you," Mara snapped. "The button is right over there.  Press it, and I'll bet those curtains swing right apart."

 

Why is Mara blushing? Luke wondered. "Maybe we should ask the waiter..."

 

"Luke!" Leia practically shouted. "Just get up and open the window."

 

"So we can all enjoy the fantastic view," Han added, smirking.

 

"Okay.... fine," Luke muttered, getting up and walking the few steps over to the button, a button which, interestingly enough, was only a few inches from Mara's chair.  Why didn't she just press it herself....?

 

The curtain parted smoothly and silently, and Luke was suddenly staring into the largest holo-advertisement board he'd ever seen, angled so he could see the flashing, three dimensional words very clearly:  LUKE SKYWALKER....  I LOVE YOU, AND YES, I WILL MARRY YOU.  ALL MY LOVE, FOREVER, MARA JADE.

 

He stared, dumbfounded, for long seconds, until the sound of the restaurant patrons and the staff applauding forced him to turn around.  Leia and Han were both grinning madly, and Mara looked like she was about to slide under the table in embarrassment.

 

"Do...do ...you mean it?"

 

"Of course I mean it.  I'm not crazy enough to do that and then say, 'never mind, it's a joke', Farmboy."

 

"See, Burt?" Han chided.  "Our bet all worked out.... you get your lifemate, and your seven course dinner.  Plus, I didn't even have to cook it."

 

Luke sat back down, kissing Mara passionately, until Leia cleared her throat.  "Okay, brother.  Save it for the bedroom."   Ignoring Luke's embarrassed expression, she looked at her soon-to-be sister-in-law.  "When are you getting married?"

 

Mara glanced at Luke.  "Six months sound good to you?"

 

"Tomorrow sounds better."

 

"Luke!" Leia said, exasperated.   "We need at least six months to plan a wedding.  And Mara can help me plan mine for ten months from now."  Leia reached over and took Mara's hand.  "This will be so much fun."

 

"How big are these weddings going to be?" Luke asked, his face suddenly worried.

 

"Really big," Mara replied.  "Don't worry.  All you men have to do is show up on time and sober."

 

Luke and Han exchanged looks of mock horror.  "I'm telling you, Luke... we're doomed!" Han said, throwing his hands up in the air and doing a fairly decent imitation of Threepio. "Doomed!"

 

THE END