****************
Commander Skywalker, Counselor Organa," strike force physician Nikolai Pietryga
said as he emerged from the mining facility's meager infirmary, "he's stable. 
You can come in now."


Following him down the corridor, they entered the primitive medchamber.  Dressed
in a pale gray medical gown, Han Solo lay motionless on the narrow bunk. 
Digital leads on his chest and temple monitored his vital signs, and a winding
intravenous catheter fed fluids into a vein in his arm.  His cheeks were sunken
and wan, and perspiration glistened on his forehead.


"How is he, Niko?" Leia asked.


"He was agitated earlier and having some respiratory distress," the doctor
explained.  "I gave him a mild sedative, and that seemed to make him more
comfortable." 


Brushing a stray lock of hair from Han's sweaty forehead, Leia continued, "Do
you have any idea what is going on?"


"The medical equipment here's pretty primitive," Dr. Pietryga answered, "but
they do have a bioscanner.  I want to show you something."


The doctor grabbed the overhead scanner and positioned it over Han's abdomen. 


"I performed a full-body scan of General Solo," he explained as he activated the
device, "and I found something rather interesting."


He escorted Luke and Leia to an adjacent monitor and pointed to an opaque object
on the screen.  "I don't have any idea what this is," he explained, "but there's
a mass about the size of my fist underneath the General's diaphragm.  That might
explain his new respiratory problems."


Leia wrapped her arms around herself, attempting to steady her growing anxiety. 
"Is it a tumor?"


"No," Luke closed his eyes and concentrated on the image on the monitor.  "It's
alive, but it's not a cancer.  It's some sort of sentient being."


As she gazed at the monitor, the mass appeared to wriggle about.  Leia let out a
startled scream.  For a fleeting moment, she thought she made out the features
of a skull.  "God of Alderaan! What is that?" she cried.  


Flashing a puzzled look, the doctor inquired, "You said he got sick right after
he came in contract with that oily substance, right?  Perhaps he has some sort
of rapidly-growing parasite."


"He's infected with a spore," the voice of Dr. Keteyian stated from the doorway.
Spinning around Leia demanded, "What do you know about this, Doctor?"
"The black liquid," he began as he pointed to the mass on the screen, "is a
giant parasitic spore."


"What type of spore?" Luke added.


"A graakyr," the researcher answered as he walked over to the monitor and
touched the screen.  "And from the looks of it, it has gestated into quite the
respectable size larva."


"What?" Leia responded.  "I thought they were those large creatures that have
been attacking the miners."


Turning to face the princess, Keteyian replied, "They are, Your Highness.  But
this is an immature graakyr.  You see, they need a human host to reproduce.  In
time it will grow to be as big as the specimen in my laboratory."


Leia placed a protective hand on Solo's  shoulder.  "So what's going to happen
to Han?"


"It will grow inside him until it reaches maturity," the scientist explained.


"I didn't ask about the damned parasite," Leia fumed.  "I asked about Han."


Dr Keteyian remained silent for a moment, but then eventually replied,  "As it
gestates, it will slowly devour the General's tissues.  When it finally hatches,
it will kill him."


"Those bodies in the cavern," Leia said, her voice wavering, "they were
destroyed from the inside out.  That's going to be Han, isn't it?" 


"I'm afraid so, Your Highness," Keteyian said.  "I am very sorry."


"Is there anything we can do for him?" Luke asked.  "Can anything such as
surgery be done to remove the larva?"


"I wish it were that simple," Keteyian replied.  "But the larva is enmeshing
itself with the General's own organs.  It would be physically impossible to
remove the larva without killing him as well.  But there may be something I
could do."


All eyes were on the scientist.  "Are you saying you have a way to stop the
gestation?" Leia asked, hope filling her voice.  "You said you had created an
enzyme to halt the reproductive cycle."


"Unfortunately, the only sample of the enzyme is back in my lab on Coruscant,"
Keteyian explained.  "But there is something I could do.  I could use this
opportunity to harvest and synthesize the enzyme from the larva inside General
Solo."


"Will that help Han?" Leia probed further.


"The procedure will likely destroy the larva," Keteyian said, "but in the
process, the General will die as well."


Shaking her head, Leia could not believe what the scientist was proposing.  She
glanced over her shoulder to catch a glimpse at Han.  His chest rose and fell in
a peaceful rhythmic pattern.  It was hard to believe that a sentient being was
slowly destroying his body.  She squeezed her eyes shut to halt the growing
flood of tears that were pooling in her eyes.  She was not ready to surrender
this fight; she was not prepared to concede Han's death.  "No, I won't let you
do that to him," she whispered as she opened her eyes and a stray tear slid down
her cheek.


Dr. Keteyian placed a hand on her trembling shoulder.  Defiantly, she shrugged
it off.  "Princess," he stated, "you don't understand.  General Solo will die
whether or not I harvest the enzyme from the larva.  Think of the good this
enzyme would bring for the other New Republic colonies that are battling the
beasts.  With this enzyme, I may be able to wipe out all graakyr infestations in
the entire galaxy."


"I said no!" Leia exploded.  "I won't let you treat Han like a laboratory
animal!"


"But Your Highness, his sacrifice will potentially save the lives of millions,"
the scientist proposed.


"It may, but Han never consented to be a part of your deluded experiment!" Leia
seethed.  "Now, you said there is a sample of the enzyme back on Coruscant.  I
think we should transport him there and test the enzyme on him.  It looks like
that's his only chance."


"Unfortunately, the average gestation for a graakyr is about thirty-six hours,"
Keteyian interjected.  "Coruscant is five days via hyperspace.  It would hatch
before you reached Coruscant.  General Solo would die, and the graakyr would
likely kill everyone on the shuttle."


"So you would rather kill him here instead?" Leia sarcastically fired.


"Look," the soft-spoken Dr. Pietryga interrupted, "General Solo is my patient,
and he is still very much alive.  I will not let anyone conduct any experiments
on him.  He's very ill and needs his rest.  Now if you all are going to continue
to argue, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."


But Dr. Pietryga's request for peace and quiet came seconds too late.  A groan
echoed from the narrow bunk, and Han weakly called out Leia's name.  Rushing to
his bedside, she captured his hand as he attempted to tug the oxygen tubing from
his face.  "Leave it there, Han," Leia gently instructed.  "It's helping you
right now."


"What happened?" he inquired.  "Where am I?"


"You're in the infirmary."


"Where's Chewie?" he asked.


"He's helping to evacuate the miners," Leia explained.  "It was all we could do
to keep him from tearing the waiting room apart.  He's worried about you."


"Leia," he uttered as his eyes came into focus, "you've been crying.  What's
wrong, sweetheart?"


"Something happened in the cave," she began as she wiped her eyes with the back
of her hand, "something that's made you really sick."  Unable to continue, she
covered her mouth with her hand and began to uncontrollably sob.


"What is it, Leia?" he asked as he placed the palm of his hand on her cheek. 
"Come on, you can tell me."


"That dark stuff that fell on you," she sniffled, pausing to find the right
words to explain the situation, "it was a parasite.  And now...now there's
something living inside you."


"What type of parasite?" he asked in between hacking coughs that ripped through
his body.


Delaying her answer, Leia took a tissue and dabbed the blood-tinged spittle from
his lips.  She never imagined that she would ever have to tell him that he was
dying.  "A graakyr," she whispered.


Remaining silent as her words sunk in, Han answered after several long seconds. 
"No one else caught it, did they?" 


"No," she sniffled.  "No one else got infected."


"Good," he sighed as he closed his eyes and began to cough.  After he finally
caught his breath, he added, "It's pretty bad, isn't it?  I'm dying, aren't I?"


Leia could no longer speak.  Her words were trapped in a silent snare in her
throat. She bit her lower lip as she forced herself to nod and answer his
question.  The sorrow was too much for her.  Even facing a terrifying unknown,
Han still managed to worry more about his team than himself.  Again, tears were
stinging her eyes, but this time, she could not stop the floodgates.  Her grief
poured out as she tightly squeezed his hand.  "I'm so sorry, Han," she murmured. 
He brought a hand up to his face and covered his eyes, but he could not hide his
true emotions from her.  An anguished sigh escaped his lips.  She did not know
how to respond.  No words of comfort could soothe the sting of this news.  Yet
she managed to place an empathetic hand on his forearm and offered her silent
support.


"How long?" his muffled voice asked from beneath his hand.


"I'm not sure," she answered.  "Maybe thirty-six hours."


"Han," Luke said as he approached the bunk, "we're not giving up on you just
yet.  If we can get you to Coruscant, we may have a chance at beating this
thing."


Han pulled his hand away from his face and managed to give Skywalker a slight
smile.  "I ain't dead yet, Luke," he joked, fear darkening his eyes.  "But I
doubt I have that kind of time."


"There may be a cure back in Keteyian's lab on Coruscant," Luke continued.  "Now
if we could only slow the graakyr's growth."


Dr. Pietryga stepped toward the bunk and suggested, "We have a portable bacta
tank on board the Uhlan.  It may help prevent further organ damage and might buy
General Solo a bit more time."


"Good thought," Keteyian arrogantly interrupted, "but you are forgetting the
physiology behind bacta.  It promotes cellular growth.  It would accelerate the
graakyr's gestation by at least threefold, and your general would certainly
perish before you ever reached Coruscant."


"What about medical stasis?" Pietryga asked the scientist.  "We've used it back
home to transport critically injured soldiers.  If stasis suspends General
Solo's metabolic functions, it is conceivable that it would also halt the
graakyr's."


Snickering, Keteyian again grimly replied, "Provided we had a stasis isolette. 
The medical equipment on this moon is limited to what you see here.  And,
believe me, this mining facility was far too cheap to include the luxuries of
bacta or stasis.  You're lucky there's a bunk and IV fluids." 


"Mining facility," Luke whispered to himself, hope brightening his eyes as a
wide smile spread across his face.  "Why didn't I think of this before?  Han,
we've got a way to get you home safe!"


"How?" Han asked as Leia helped him into a more upright position.


"I know you're not going to like this, but hear me out.  It may be your only
chance," Skywalker warned.  Taking a deep breath he continued.  "There's a
carbonite processing  plant.  It wouldn't be stasis, but hibernation is pretty
much the same..."


Han was shaking his head back and forth before Luke could finish his sentence. 
"No," was all he could say to interrupt.  His eyes widened with fear, and he
grabbed Leia's hand to stop his own from shaking.  "I think I'd rather take my
chances with the graakyr."


Leia leaned forward to whisper in his ear.  "I know you don't want to do it, but
it doesn't look like we have a choice."


Before he could answer her, Han collapsed forward and wrapped both arms around
his midsection.  An agonizing groan escaped his lips, and his body was wracked
with painful, wrenching coughs.  His face paled as he struggled for each gasp of
air.  He continued to cough until he heaved a thick clot of blood into a small
bedside basin.  Only then was he able to draw a deep breath. 


"Give me some room!" Dr. Pietryga ordered.


"I'm not leaving Han," Leia informed the physician as Luke and Keteyian
retreated away from the bunk.


Ignoring her, Pietryga swiftly increased the flow of oxygen to the tube under
Han's nose.  "Lay back, General," he calmly instructed, "and take some slow,
deep breaths."


"It's okay, Han," Leia reassured as she smoothed his hair, waiting for the
crisis to pass.  "Just do what Niko says."


Pietryga repositioned the scanner above Han's abdomen and assessed the mass
growing inside. Merely surveying the surface of his skin did not reveal the
immature graakyr that was beginning to displace his internal organs.  Unlike
before, well-defined vertebrae and limbs were now visible on the view screen.  A
tortuous blood vessel snaked away from the beast and anchored itself to a large
artery in Solo's abdomen, siphoning the Corellian's blood and pumping it through
its own rapidly beating heart. 


"Damn," Pietryga cursed under his breath.  "The graakyr has doubled in size."
Walking back to the monitor, Keteyian added, "And its respiratory villi are
invading his lung tissue.  That's why he's coughing up blood.  Well, General,
you sure know how to pick them right.  Looks like you have a rapid grower." 


"Get out!" Leia hissed as she stared down the deluded scientist. 


Before Keteyian could argue, Luke escorted him to the door.  "This isn't the
right time to be joking about anything," he chastised.  "Han isn't just our
commanding officer; he's one of our closest friends.  If you are not going to
help us right now, I think it would be best if you waited outside." 


As Luke was closing the door, Dr. Pietryga whispered, "If we're serious about
putting the general back into carbon freeze, I had best get on the comm with one
of the doctors at the Fleet Hospital to see if we can somehow prevent the
hibernation sickness.  I don't think anyone this critically ill has ever been
frozen before, and I don't know how the General will react to the side effects
of the freezing process."


Luke leaned toward the physician and replied, "You do that, and we'll work on
Han."


"We'd better act soon," Pietryga added.  "General Solo is fairly stable right
now, but I don't know how long he'll stay that way." 


Luke strode back over to Han's bunk.  Leia maintained her position beside Solo. 
No longer clutching his abdomen in pain, Han was again resting comfortably.  His
respiration had slowed, and he was no longer gasping for air.  "I can't do it,
Leia," he explained as she tugged the blanket over his chest.  "You don't know
what you're asking."


"I'm asking for a chance," she whispered.  "This thing's going to kill you if we
don't do anything."


"But the carbon freeze isn't a guarantee," Han pointed out.  "It may kill me
too."


"I know," she sadly acknowledged, "but I'm not ready to give up yet.  Please,
Han, let us get you back to Coruscant so we can help you."


"But carbon freeze!"  Han paused as a chill raced through him.  Long lost
sensations from Bespin-the suffocating madness of the alloy swallowing a scream,
the frigid blackness of peering into the sightless void, the numbed yet keen
awareness of a living death known as hibernation-flooded his consciousness.  He
shuddered as he recalled the platform sinking below him and the hiss of the
carbonite closing in around him.  He rubbed his hands roughly over his eyes to
dash away the unwelcome memories.  "There isn't a day that goes by that I don't
think about it.  You don't know what it's like, Leia, to have everything you
know suddenly vanish."


"No I don't," she replied as she took his hand and gently kissed his fingertips,
"but I've been there after the nightmares.  I know what an impact it's had on
you."


"What if I don't wake up?" he asked, recalling how the carbonite temporarily
halted his life.  It had been Leia who had welcomed him back from the brink. 
Her words of comfort had eased him back from the madness of hibernation.  But
now he was not sure if words were enough to get him through this ordeal.


"You will wake up, Han," she reassured.  "I was there when you woke at Jabba's,
and I'll be there when you wake up back on Coruscant.  I know this is hard for
you.  I wouldn't ask you to do this if there was another way.  Please, Han,
don't let the graakyr win."


Han folded his arms over his chest as he silently contemplated his fate-the
inevitable, slow death from the parasitic graakyr or the vague unknown of carbon
freeze.  His hands began to tremble, and he grabbed his arms to hide them from
Leia.  It was time to make a decision.  After a few moments, he forced himself
to nod.  "I'll do it," he answered, his voice barely louder than a whisper.
"Let's get this over with before I change my mind."


**********************
The antigrav repulsors of the medical bunk groaned to life as Han was
transported from the confines of the factory's infirmary to the cavernous carbon
freezing facility.  In the short time that it took to locate Chewbacca, contact
the Fleet Hospital, and prepare the facility for the freezing process, the
graakyr had drained the remaining energy reserves from his body.  Merely sitting
was an exhausting challenge, and he struggled to draw each breath.  As the
creature grew, it consumed more and more of Han's blood to keep up with its own
metabolic demands.  After a sanguisynth transfusion and a liter of IV fluids,
the pink returned to his cheeks, and he did not feel nearly as lightheaded. 
Nevertheless, he could not shake the bone-aching fatigue that kept him
reluctantly flat on his back.  


He fought to keep his eyes open as he felt his lids grow heavy.  Every time he
closed them, he feared they would never open again.  Over his shoulder he heard
Leia's comforting voice, "Just a little further," she soothed.  "We're almost
there."


Han steeled himself for the upcoming journey home.  Again a reluctant
participant in a carbon freezing experiment, he fought to keep his anxiety in
check.  Familiar sensations rekindled memories of a carbon freezing facility in
Cloud City.  The acrid scent of Rintanna gas wafted through the air, its odor
reminiscent of betrayal, a tearful farewell, a frightening unknown. Peering down
the corridor, he half-expected to hear the rasping mechanical respirations of a
masked Sith Lord.


I must be crazy, he told himself as the doors to the processing plant snapped
open.


An unmistakable roar echoed in the cavernous room, and a rush of russet fur
approached the medical stretcher.  Chewbacca's voice resonated concern as he
hovered over his friend.


"I've really done it this time, Chewie," Han weakly croaked, slipping his hand
into the Wookiee's massive paw.  Cracking a smile, he cursed the strange twist
of fate that returned him to a carbon freezing platform.


"How should I know if it'll work?" Han coughed.  "If it doesn't, this'll be one
short trip."


Chewbacca immediately interrupted him.  Again the Wookiee was bombarding him
with questions.


"Of course I don't want to!  Kest, I don't have much of a choice, now do I?"
Solo snapped as a flush of anger and frustration swept across his face. 


Gathering his composure, he inmediately apologized for his outburst.  "Hey, pal,
sorry I snapped at you.


"Chewie, I want you to do me a favor.  You too, Leia," Han swallowed and
collected his thoughts.  "Nobody knows what's gonna happen after I go under, and
I don't know if this enzyme or whatever will do the job.  If it doesn't and that
thing still lives, I want you to destroy it.  I don't care what happens to me. 
The graakyr needs to die."


Chewbacca quickly responded in a series of grunts and roars. 


"Well I don't think the Clan had this in mind," Han scoffed.


"What did he say?" Leia asked.


Han remained silent, his icy defiance directed at the Wookiee.  Again Chewie
growled his displeasure.  Unable to ignore Chewbacca's blue-eyed stare, Solo
finally sighed, "Fine, I'll tell her."  He turned to Leia and elaborated, "He
said Never say die, the Falcon Clan's war cry."


"It's a good battle cry for your family," Leia responded.  "Now I want you to
stop worrying and relax, okay?"


Before he could answer, Han let out an anguished wheeze, and he firmly gripped
the bunk's siderails.  "Not again," he muttered through clenched teeth.  He
relaxed only after the sharp jab of pain released its grip on his innards. 
Shifting to a more comfortable position, he softly answered, "It's hard not to
think about it."


"I know," Leia whispered.  "I know you're scared.  So am I, but you are going to
have to trust us."


The opening to the chamber hissed open, and a gust of air followed Luke


Skywalker and Nikolai Pietryga as they approached the stretcher.  "Good news,"
Luke smiled, "everything has been worked out back on Coruscant."


"The Fleet Hospital is preparing for the General's arrival," the doctor added. 
"Keteyian's assistant Rikar Hackbarth will be meeting the shuttle.  He'll
administer the enzyme as soon as the carbonization process is reversed."


"What are we waiting for?" Han asked as he shifted uncomfortably in his bunk.


"Before we initiate the freezing process," Pietryga answered, "I want to give
you your first doses of the antihibernation sickness medications.  They should
help with some of the blindness, nausea, and muscular atrophy.  You didn't have
any problems with them last time, did you?" 


Han shook his head as he recalled a sand-covered Lando Calrissian fumbling with
the tiny vials of medication shortly after a hasty departure from Tatooine's
Dune Sea.  "No," he mumbled.  "The meds made me a little groggy, that's all."


Dr. Pietryga began to inject the medications into Han's intravenous line as Luke
said, "Groggy is good, Han.  We've figured a way to make the freezing process
less traumatic for you."


Skeptical as always, Han shot Skywalker a pessimistic glare.  "Traumatic," he
coldly chuckled.  "You have no idea.  So what do you have in mind?"


"Dr. Pietryga can sedate you prior to the process," Luke elaborated.  "You'll be
asleep for the entire thing."


Stepping forward, Pietryga added, "Think of it like surgery, General.  When you
wake up, everything will be over.  You won't remember a thing."


"And if you do," Luke interrupted, "Leia and I'll be there.  Just reach out with
your mind.  It won't be like last time.  I know your aura.  You won't be alone
this time."


"Thanks, Luke," Han softly replied.  Turning to Leia, his mood turned more
sorrowful.  "Well, Your Highness, I guess this is it."


She blinked slowly and nodded.  "Don't get all mushy on me," she managed to
smile, "I'll see you soon."


"Leia," Han said, whispering so only she could hear, "If I don't make..."


Covering his lips with her fingers, Leia interrupted him, "Don't talk like that,
Han.  Everything's going to work out."'


"If I don't," he continued, "I just want you to know that the only thing I'll
regret is not keeping my bond promise to you."


Speechless, Leia blinked, and a silent stream of tears coursed down her cheeks. 
She moved closer to him and asked, "What's stopping us?"  


"What?" Han asked.


"Bonding," she replied, wiping the tears away with the back of her hand.  "We
can bond right here and worry about the paperwork later.  Luke and Chewie are
here; they can be our witnesses."


"Are you sure this is what you want?" Han asked.  "I thought you wanted the big
fancy ceremony with the pretty dress and flowers and everything."


Taking his hand, she answered, "There's nothing I want more right now.  Our
family is here, and that's all that matters."


Han's face brightened with a smile.  "That sounds like a wonderful idea."


"But what, how do we go about it?" Leia asked


Luke approached the stretcher and suggested, "Just speak from the heart.  The
right words will come to you."


Nervously tucking a loose tendril of hair behind her ear, Leia searched for just
the right thing to say.  For one of the few times in the young orator's life,
she struggled to compose her thoughts.  Simple words could not describe the love
she felt.   Taking a deep breath, Leia took his hand in hers. 


"Han," she began, "I...We...Stars, why can't I do this?  I've never been so
nervous in all my life."


He brought his palm to her cheek and softly caressed her lips with his thumb,
gently silencing the stammering princess.  "Relax, Leia," he reassured.  "You're
acting like a blushing bride.  It's okay; take all the time you need.  It's just
us here."


She flashed him a coy smile and looked down for a moment.  Regaining her
composure, she cleared her throat.  "Han," she repeated, "We are here tonight to
pledge our hearts, our souls to each other.


"As the Force is our witness, I, Leia Organa, offer you my eternal love.  I
promise to honor you, cherish you, now and forever.  I vow to stand by your side
in both times of happiness and times of trial.  I'll never turn my back on you. 
I bond with you freely, promising you honesty, compassion, and understanding.  I
love you, Han.  I don't want you to ever doubt that.  Time and space will never
keep us apart."


Ignoring the aches and pains of his rapidly weakening body, Han struggled to an
upright sitting position.  He pulled the oxygen tubing from his face and wanted
to temporarily forget about the graakyr, the carbon freezing chamber, the
terrifying unknown.  Grasping Leia's trembling hand, he held her palm over his
rapidly beating heart.  "I've never been one for speeches," he explained as he
gazed deeply into her eyes, "but back on Corellia, my clan believed that when
two people bond, their hearts join and beat together.  Until I met you, I never
thought I'd be making this promise to anyone.  But you changed all that.
"Leia, I would be honored if you would be my bondmate.  You were the part
missing from my heart.  And now, I feel complete.  In return, I offer my undying
loyalty and promise to always be faithful to you.  But most important, I promise
to love you for every last day of my life."


"If I don't make it out of this mess, I'll die happy knowing I had the
opportunity to join with such a wonderful person.  And for that, Leia, I thank
you." 


As Han finished his impromptu bonding vows, Chewbacca rushed over to one of the
junior officers and grabbed the lieutenant's white thermal scarf.  Hurrying back
to the medical bunk, he wrapped the fabric tightly over Han and Leia's
intertwined hands, forming a delicate knot that linked the couple together.
"What's this?" Leia asked.


"It's part of the Wookiee bonding ritual," Han explained.  "It was part of
Chewie's bonding to Malla."


Chewbacca interrupted and explained further, elaborating on Han's answer with a
series of barks and growls.


Han smiled and Chewbacca and then turned back to Leia.  "He says to tell you
that our souls are forever tied together."


"Thanks, Chewie," Leia answered.


Han undid the marriage knot and unwrapped the scarf, freeing their hands.  He
gently placed the scarf over Leia's head and draped it over her shoulders like
it was a sacred veil. Drawing her close to him, he enveloped her in a fierce
embrace, his lips searching out hers.  The tender kiss conveyed the unsaid words
that their bonding oaths could not say.  She rested her head on his shoulders,
and he cherished the moment, wishing that it would never end.


Luke approached the bunk and announced, "It's time.  Han, are you ready?"
For a fleeting moment, Han ignored him.  He hugged Leia tighter and squeezed his
eyes shut.  "I don't ever want to let go," he whispered in her ear.


"It'll be alright," she answered as she kissed her husband's temple.  "Remember,
our souls are now tied together."


Han took a deep breath and finally answered Skywalker.  "Yeah, ready as I'll
ever be.  And Luke, thanks for trying to help.  Who thought I'd ever get near
one of these contraptions ever again?"


"Everything's going to work out fine," Luke asserted.  "I can feel it."


"I hope you're right," Solo sighed.


Chewbacca let out a mournful howl and enveloped Han in a furry embrace.  "I
know," Solo answered, "I'll be okay.  The princess, she's your honorsister now. 
Take good care of her until I come back.  You hear me?"


"General," said Dr. Pietryga, "I am about to administer the sedative.  If you
could lie back, we'll begin."


Han felt his heart pound against his chest as he eased back in the bunk.  He
could not back out now.  But part of him wanted to hop off the stretcher and run
far away from this nightmare of a reality.  Leia's hand gripped his as he took a
deep breath and tried to drive the anxiety away.


"Now you might feel a little burning sensation as I inject the sedative,"
Pietryga warned as he injected the medication into the IV line.  "It won't last
long.  The dizac will kick in quickly and you'll start to get pretty sleepy." 
Solo flinched as he felt the drug enter his veins, and his eyelids quickly grew
heavy.  He gave Leia's hand a squeeze and searched for her warm, brown eyes. 
The sedative circulated through his veins, and his limbs began to feel as if
they were filled with permecrete.  The whirring sounds of the carbonite facility
faded from his consciousness, and he began to float in a sea of numbed
awareness. 


Fighting this rapid journey into a drug-induced oblivion, he forced his eyes
open.  With a glassy, unfocused gaze he made out the fuzzy features of his wife. 
Far in the distance he thought he heard her comforting voice.  "Don't fight it,"
she soothed.  He closed his eyes and gave her a slow nod as he felt her lips
brush across his forehead.  He attempted to say something.  What, he could not
remember.  The thick blanket of slumber enveloped around him before the words
could escape his lips.  As he began his journey into the blackness, he heard
Leia's words whisper in his mind, "I love you."


"I know," he mumbled, awareness giving way to nothing.


Dr. Pietryga quickly surveyed his patient, checking Han's vital signs.  He
disconnected the intravenous line from Han's arm and lowered the stretcher's
safety rails.  Untying the gray medical gown, Leia slipped Han's arms out of the
sleeves and removed the gown, leaving him only clad in a pair of loose-fitting
shorts.  "No sense keeping this on him," she explained.  "It'll be soaked when
they unthaw him."  


When Leia was finished undressing Han, Dr. Pietryga gently retracted Solo's
eyelids and squirted several drops of a clear solution into each of the
Corellian's hazel eyes.  "Hopefully the drops should prevent any further ocular
degeneration," he stated.  "There, it looks like we're ready to move him to the
platform.  Lieutenant Jenkinson, could you give me a hand and help me carry him
over to the device."


Leia stepped away from the stretcher and headed to her brother's open arms while
Jenkinson and Pietryga lifted a motionless Han from the stretcher.  His head
lolled back, and his arms dropped limply to his sides as they carried him to the
awaiting carbon freezing platform.  Positioning him carefully on his back, the
two men stepped away from the platform.  A carbonite technician standing next to
the machine's control station called out, "All clear!"


Leia felt Luke's arms tighten around her.  "Was it like this last time?" she
heard him ask.


"No," she sighed, "It was worse.  Stormtroopers chained him, and Chewie was
going crazy.  It was awful; he was awake the whole time.  He knew what was
happening to him.  This seems more humane, but I still can't believe it is
happening.  Why now?  Why him?  Carbonite scares him more than anything."


"I wish I had the answers, Leia," Luke replied, "but I don't.  I'm sorry." 


The dimly lit chamber came alive with an eerie orange hue.  The grated metal
floor glowed with the intensity of burning embers as the machinery roared with
activity.  Wisps of steam seeped from every corner of the large room, and the
distinctive pungent odor of Rintanna gas permeated the stale air.  


Leia tightly gripped Luke's arm as the technician called out, "All systems go!
Initiating freezing sequence!" 


With the flip of a small lever, a high-pitched whine ripped through the chamber
and the small platform started its slow descent into the darkened pit below. 
Han remained motionless, oblivious to events around him.  Unlike before, his
face did not convey silent terror, but rather relaxed slumber.  A childhood
Alderaani prayer found its way into the folds of Leia's memories as Han's body
dipped below the surface of the main floor.


Chewbacca let out a plaintive howl as plumes of thick steam billowed from the
center of the room.  The chilling gas was, no doubt, engulfing the sleeping
Corellian, flash-freezing his tissues and slowing his body to a hibernating
standstill.  With a blinding flash, liquid carbonite poured from an overhead
spout and filled the pit, the alloy intermingling with the Rintanna gas and
encasing Han in an impermeable metallic block.  


Leia let out a small gasp.  She clutched her chest as she felt the ache of her
bondmate's heart slowing to a stop.  Reaching out with her rudimentary Force
abilities, she searched for his aura.  She allowed herself a sigh of relief when
she finally found him floating in the intangible darkness.  Probing further, she
was relieved that the aura, though weak, was a constant entity.  "He's alive,"
she whispered. 


Closing her eyes, she focused on the warmth of his soul.  She grabbed hold of it
with her own mind and imagined his smiling features, his laughing eyes.  She
probed further and sensed a placid indifference radiating from his being. 
Blissfully unaware, she thought to herself, relief washing over her.  Before
releasing his aura back into the swirling eddies of the Force, Leia sent her
bondmate one last wave of encouragement.  I'll be waiting for you, her voice
echoed in the darkened void.


Breaking her Forcelink with Han, Leia opened her eyes as the large jaws of the
hydraulic crane were plunging into the darkened pit to retrieve the massive
silvery slab.  Steam contined to evaporate from the block's metallic surface. 
An icy chill filled the room as the frozen slab was carried overhead and placed
upright on the grated metallic floor.  A technician gave the carbonite block a
shove, and a resounding clang echoed throughout the chamber when the slab
crashed to the floor.  Leia knew Han could not feel the impact of the alloy
striking the ground, but she could not help but flinch as metal smashed against
metal.


Immediately Leia rushed over to the carbonite block and kneeled beside it. 
Clutching the makeshift ceremonial scarf close to her heart, she waited
nervously as a technician adjusted the settings on the side of the slab and
studied the readout.


"I am reading two life forms," the technician announced.  "One human, one
unidentified.  Both in perfect hibernation.  Stasis sequence complete."


Leia gazed at the etched features of his face peering beneath the surface of the
silvery alloy.  Tentatively, she crept closer to lifeless slab.  Reaching out,
she immediately drew her hand back to her body as if the carbonite would sear
her flesh if she touched it.  "What are you afraid of?" she muttered to herself. 
"It's Han."  She drew in a deep breath and was determined to make contact with
her entombed bondmate.  She again reached out and placed the palm of her hand on
his carbonite-covered cheek.


Her eyes widened as she felt the smooth icy surface of the slab.  She did not
expect it to have such a cold, empty feel to it.  She traced her finger along an
ear, his jaw, his silenced lips.  She was relieved that his features were not
frozen into an agonizing, fear-filled grimace as they had in Cloud City.  His
eyes were shut, his hands resting peacefully at his sides.  Gone was the
tension, the halted protest, the stifled scream.  It was a comforting contrast
to the death mask Leia had seen chiseled in another effigy in Cloud City.
Wiping away a stray tear with her scarf, she rose to her feet, never once taking
her eyes off the encased image of her husband.  "We're going home, Han."



***************
We should be landing soon," Luke quietly said as he entered the small cargo hold
of the Crusader, the soft whir of the hydraulic door stirring Leia from a
restless sleep.  Keeping a lone vigil beside the frozen effigy of her husband,
she rarely emerged from the cramped hold during the voyage home.  In her hand
she clutched the shimmering thermal scarf from their hasty bonding ritual.  
"Entering the Coruscant system?" she asked as she slowly turned to face her
brother, her face a mask of stoic heartbreak and fatigue.


"Yeah, should be touching down with in an hour," he answered.  "Just received a
message from the Fleet Hospital.  They're ready."  Kneeling beside his sister,
he placed a hand on her knee.  "And how are you doing?" 


"Fine, she sighed, "just tired." 


Luke turned to the massive block of carbonite and ran a hand along its cool,
smooth surface.  "I haven't felt any stirrings," Luke noted.  "He doesn't seem
to be aware of his surroundings."


"Unlike last time," she added as she wearily rubbed her eyes with the back of
one hand, her memories flooding with Han's descriptions of his previous
agonizingly aware internment in the alloy.  "Thank the Maker."


"What did he look like last time?" Luke asked.  "Could you see his face?"
Leia remained silent, slowly covering her mouth with one hand.  A new surge of
tears stung her eyes as she recalled seeing his masked face for the first time
in Cloud City.  Three years had passed, but still the emotions were as raw and
tangible as they had been then.  "Yeah," she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut
in a futile attempt to ward off the emotions brimming to the surface, "I could
see it.  It wasn't like this.  More like a death mask capturing him the moment
he knew his world ended.  His face was twisted with pain...fear." 


"I'm sorry, Leia," Luke returned, "I wish I'd been there for you two.  I can't
imagine what it was like to go through that."


Gripping the scarf tighter, she pushed aside the ugly recollections.  "Nothing
to be sorry for," she stated.  "Besides, it's all in the past.  Right now, I'm
more worried about the future.  We don't know what's going to happen to Han when
they unthaw him."


"Always in motion the future," Luke replied, reciting his teacher's wise musing. 
"I wish I could see into the future, but I can't."  Wrapping his arms around
her, he drew Leia into a warm embrace.  "Looks like we'll all face that last
journey together."


Leia nodded and acknowledged his support. Turning back to the slab of carbonite,
she resumed her silent vigil.


Luke sat beside her for the remainder of the journey home.  The Coruscant sky
was a warm wash of amber, the sun dipping below the horizon as the shuttle
entered the atmosphere.  Lights twinkled from the buildings far beneath them. 
The massive Fleet Hospital grew larger as the Crusader made its approach.  Leia
jumped with a start as the shuttle touched down on the tarmac and the ramp
opened.  A throng of Solo's troops silently escorted his effigy from the hold,
the exhausted soldiers faithfully flanking their entombed leader like an honor
guard as they headed toward the awaiting team of physicians.


Leia quickly followed them out of the shuttle with Luke and Chewbacca bringing
up the rear.  She gasped in horror as a mass of physicians clad in yellow
isolation suits and clear masks swarmed around the metallic slab.  Hand-held
scanners were thrust in her face while the technicians assessed her and the
Crusader's occupants.  Pushed aside by the gray-gloved hands, she fought her way
back to Luke and the frozen effigy of her husband.


"Where are you taking him?" Leia asked, her brow knitting into a frown.


"Leia, this is Dr. Fecht," Luke yelled above the din.  "He's going to oversee
the unthawing process."


Extending a gloved hand and firmly shaking hers, the doctor said, "Don't worry,
Counselor, the General is in good hands.  We've received the enzyme from Dr.
Hackbarth, and he'll be assisting on the infusion."


"I want to come with you," Leia insisted.  "I need to be there when he wakes."


The physician shook his head.  "I'm sorry, but that's not possible," he
answered.  "We're moving the General to a level four isolation unit for the
unthawing and enzyme infusion.  We cannot allow any visitors in the quarantined
areas, but we'll keep you abreast of his condition."


Leia felt her brother's protective arms encircle her shoulders as a technician's
voice echoed over a loud speaker, "Attention passengers and crew of the Crusader
and Uhlan, you are to proceed to the waiting turbolifts.  You will be escorted
to isolation for decontamination."


Leia stepped into the crowded lift.  She looked over her shoulder at the encased
body of her husband as it was being loaded into a separate carrier.  She uttered
a silent goodbye before the doors slammed shut.  Han was yet stripped from her
again.

********************
From her days in the Rebellion, Leia was accustomed to the communal freshers on
the Alliance's countless battle cruisers, but nothing prepared her for the
humiliating experience of a decontamination shower.  "Please remove all garments
and step into the cubicle," an attendant flatly instructed.


Her cheeks flushed with anger.  "I can do it myself," Leia snapped.  "I've taken
showers before."


Furious, she silently stripped off her layers of clothing, glaring at the female
attendant as she handed her each article.  Completely undressed, she waited for
further instructions. 


"The hair," the attendant added.  "Undo the braids.  All the strands must be
thoroughly cleansed."


"Anything else?" Leia seethed as she released her cascade of curls from their
braided confines.


"No," the woman replied.  "The shower will cycle automatically.  While you
decontaminate, I will dispose of your belongings and bring you new clothing."


Leia's eyes widened with concern.  "What are you planning to do with my
clothes?"


"Why incinerate them, of course," the attendant answered.  "They're potentially
infectious."


Her mind immediately went to the tattered white scarf.  Her heart ached at the
thought of losing it.  "You can't be serious!" she interjected.  "The graakyr's
not spread that way.  There's nothing on the scarf."


"Only following protocol," the woman retorted.  "Besides, we don't know if you
weren't infected with any other microparasites."


"Look," Leia huffed, "nothing is on the scarf, and I'm not ready to part with
it!"


"Protocols, Counselor," she replied coldly, "we have protocols we must follow."


"To Hell with your protocols!" Leia yelled.  "I'm not going to let you destroy
it.  It means a lot to me.  Look, my husband may die.  If he does, this scarf is
the only thing I have linking me to him.  Can't you decontaminate it, irradiate
it or something?"


Chuckling, the attendant said, "The newsgrids are right.  You're quite the
fireball.  I'll see what I can do.  We occasionally preserve items.  I'll see if
Infection Control will be willing to make an exception."


"Thank you," Leia sighed, stepping into the sterile shower cubicle.  "Now if you
don't mind, I have to get decontaminated."


Her first instinct was to hold her breath when a fine mist began to fill the
shower stall, its pungent odor chokingly similar to the insect repellant she had
used on Endor.  She coughed as the mist permeated her lungs, and she gagged on
its nauseating taste.  Realizing that she had not slept in days, she wearily
rubbed her grimy face.  Praying that a stream of steaming hot water would follow
the disgusting spray, Leia closed her eyes and unsuccessfully tried to blot the
recent events from her mind.


"Thank the Maker," she muttered aloud as the mist stopped and soothing warm
water began to flow from the overhead nozzles.  Leia combed her tangled tresses
with her fingers, allowing the water to soak her hair and cascade gently down
her aching back.  The thick steam felt wonderful against her skin, and she
relished the soothing contrast of the cool tiles beneath her bare feet.  The
shower was a brief respite from the nightmare of the past few days.  


But this peaceful solitude did not linger for long.  Leia let out a startled cry
as she opened her eyes and frantically looked around the tiny cubicle.  Her
breaths came at ragged gasps, and a freezing, searing pain shot through all of
her limbs.  Feeling weak in the knees, she feared she was going to pass out as
her vision turned gray.  She reached out with one hand and leaned against the
cool wall for stability.  Terrified, she doubled over as she felt the slamming
agony of her heart stopping.  Or was it Han's heart starting? 


"They're unthawing him," she uttered.  She had always had an intangible
connection with him, but never before had their Forcelink been this strong.  She
cried out in pain as Han's limbs, his organs warmed back to life.  She was
feeling every sensation he was experiencing-tissues screaming for oxygen, blood
pumping through an awakened heart, a once dormant brain demanding sensation. 
His fear was her fear, his torment hers.


At that moment, his aura was surrounding her, enveloping her.  Yet his mind was
still walled off.  "I'm here, Han," she called into the eddies of the Force. 
But she did not hear him answer.  Something was preventing him.  Something
awful.  The graakyr.  Its faint, menacing aura held Han's in its clutches.  It
dug further into his core, refusing to release the Corellian from its grip.  It
too had survived the carbon freezing process. 


"No!" she whimpered.  She could not stop his presence vanishing into the shadows
as quickly as it had appeared.  "Come back."  Despair quickly crept into her
heart, filling her core with an icy emptiness.  Even while he was encased in
carbonite, Leia could still feel Han's weak aura.  But now he was gone, his
being absent from the ever turning waves of the Force.  Never before did she
feel so utterly alone.  Slowly sliding to the floor, she could not stop the wave
of sorrow that was quickly overcoming her.  


She hugged her knees began to rock back and forth, the pounding and unrelenting
flow of water drowning out the sound of her heart-wrenching sobs.  "Please," she
pleaded to unseen gods, "don't take him from me."

***********************
Slowly, his consciousness surfaced from the darkest depths of sleep.  Hovering
in the unseen plane between slumber and reality, Han Solo allowed his awakening
senses to gradually take in his surroundings.  For a brief moment, he thought he
was back in the carbon freezing facility on Vl'prasa.  Are they gonna put me to
sleep or what?  But he quickly realized that the freezing process had already
been reversed as a warm kiss of sunshine caressed his face.  The processing
plant did not have windows.  He was somewhere else, some place safe and
inviting.


Waking further, he felt his muscles call out, aching from inactivity.  How long
had he been asleep-days, weeks, months?  At that very moment, he did not care. 
He had the rest of his life to fill in the gaps.  He assessed his surroundings
further.  He was certain he was not dreaming.  The sensations were far too real
to be a trick.  Unwilling to open his eyes, he welcomed the soothing touch of
the cool, crisp sheets covering his bare skin.  Was that the sound of a
ceramiplast mug being set on a table?  The snap of a datapad closing and the
rustling of loose flimsies reached his ear.


A door hissed open, and a woman's voice whispered, "Sorry to disturb you, but
it's time for his meds."  His arm tingled as something was infused into a vein
in his hand.  "I'll be down the hall," the voice added.  "Call if you need me."


"Thanks," a familiar voice quietly responded.


That voice!  He knew he had heard it before.  It was comforting and gentle.  Han
struggled to burn the last vestiges of fog from his mind as he focused on that
voice.  It called to him, beckoning him to finally wake.  Inhaling, he instantly
recognized a wonderful intoxicating scent.  The sweet perfume was delicate like
fresh j'hana blossoms, reminiscent of warm embraces and whispered affections. 
Only one woman wore that distinctive scent-his wife.


But would he see anything when he opened his eyes?  The carbonite had stolen his
eyesight before, and he was not sure if he was prepared to face the blindness
again.  Yet he had nothing to lose this time.  Here goes nothing, he thought to
himself.  Slowly his eyelids flickered open.  The room was a blur, but gradually
things came into focus.  The makeshift bridal scarf rested next to a datapad on
the windowsill, and golden rays of sunlight cast long shadows on the wall.  A
small smile crept across his face as he made out his wife's beautiful features.


"Hi," he managed to softly whisper.


Joyful tears glistened in Leia's eyes as she placed a palm on Han's cheek. 
"Welcome home," she smiled, her voice wavering with emotion.


The graakyr! He panicked as memories of the monster came flooding back.  He
inhaled sharply, riding the wave of anxiety that crashed through him.


"It's okay," Leia reassured.  "It's over.  The graakyr's dead.  The enzyme
worked."


Drawing in another breath, Han exhaled slowly as he realized that the hideous
beast was no longer painfully burrowing into his diaphragm and hindering his
ability to breathe.  The parasite was no longer inside him.  It was gone.  The
enzyme had done its job.  Indeed, the long unseen journey home was complete.
"I told you I'd be here when you woke up," she added with a smile.


Nodding, he acknowledged her promise kept.  Covering her small hand with his, he
closed his eyes and reveled in the simple pleasure of her touch.  Home.  He
liked the sound of that.  There was absolutely no other place in the galaxy that
he would rather be.