A Little R and R

     by K. Wills Sterling

The truce has been signed, but everyone's still a little uptight and exhausted 
after the ordeal on Bakura. A little vacation is exactly what Leia needs, and 
Han Solo thinks he knows just the place. But, Han being Han, both of them get a 
little more recreation than they bargained for. Originally published in "Snowfire" 
#3.







Han Solo sprinted up the ramp of the Millenium Falcon. He hoped he wasn't too late.
He had a surprise for Leia -- or at least, he thought he did -- but if she had already
arrived, it could be disastrous. 

Huffing somewhat, he rounded the corner so fast he nearly fell against the bulkhead,
but after reeling slightly, he steadied himself and headed for the cabin area. He sure
hoped Chewie had gotten those modifications right; with all the last-minute diplomatic
receptions he'd had to escort Leia to, he'd had no time for it himself.

Just before reaching the doorway of his cabin, he paused slightly, almost afraid to look.
Hell, whatever's been done can't be changed now, he thought resignedly. He entered,
and immediately blew out the breath he'd been inadvertently holding. At first glance,
everything looked right. The techs had knocked out the adjoining wall of the storage
area to enlarge the cabin and had installed a new refresher unit -- a larger one than
most ships had, with an underfloor storage tank for fresh water, so Leia wouldn't have
to bathe in the recycled graywater usually used aboard ship. It wasn't the bathtub Leia
was forever wanting, but it was better than what they'd had heretofore. Spinning
around, he crossed the cabin in two or three long strides and inspected the new
repulsor duobed he'd had installed. This Bakuran repulsor technology was great, but it
was damned expensive. He'd given nearly all the credits he'd saved for Jabba's payoff
-- which, fortunately, now that the Hutt was dead, was no longer necessary. It looked
okay, too. Han ran a hand through his hair. Whew. For once, Chewie got it right.
Delicacy and romance were hardly Chewie's specialties; Han grimaced remembering
the self-inflating pillows Chewie'd put in the big cargo hold so that Han and Leia could
have a quiet place to talk while on their way here to Bakura. It was hardly a subtle way
to treat a princess, and damn it, there were enough times during state dinners and
ambassadorial affairs that Han felt like an inelegant bastard. He didn't want to lose her
now, not when things had gone so well for them on Bakura. He'd already talked to Luke
and Mon Mothma; everything would be alright, if they could just be alone.

Leia's voice floated down the passageway, calling him. He drew his breath in sharply,
took a last look around. Was this a mistake? After all, he hadn't asked her about it;
what if he'd been presumptuous? Running back toward the cockpit, he stopped Leia,
just as she entered the rec lounge.

Han smiled, not too nervously he hoped. Reaching out, he grasped her shoulders with
both hands. "Uh, why don't you have a seat in the copilot's chair?" he asked, pecking
her cheek and hoping he sounded, well, normal.

"You want me to copilot?" she asked incredulously. Her eyes widened.

"Yeah, I'll tell you about it in a minute." Han ran a hand lightly down her arm and gave
her fingers a squeeze. Even in a loose shirt and flight pants, she looked terrific. 
"Listen, let me take your luggage back to the cabin. Ground clearance may take a
while, but I want somebody monitoring subspace in case we get lucky."

"Sure," she said vaguely. She watched him go back down the passageway. Something
must be wrong; Han doesn't seem quite himself. Where's Chewie, anyway? Shrugging,
she turned toward the cockpit.

A few minutes later Han dropped into the pilot's seat with a sigh, cleared his throat, and
began flipping switches, preparing for preflight. Leia gave him a sideways glance. His
eyes flicked over the controls; he avoided her gaze, seemed glad for the distraction
somehow. Something was up. "Where's Chewie? Isn't he going back with us?"

"Ah, Chewie's going with Luke on the Flurry." Han deliberately looked away from her,
his fingers poised over the controls.  "You know, Luke still isn't quite himself since
Nereus tried to kill him with the Olabrian Trichoids; there's still a little fluid in his lungs,
and I wanted Chewie to keep an eye out." Turning the navicomputer screen toward him,
he scrolled down through the readout, his back toward her.

"But aren't we all rendezvousing at Endor?" Leia was puzzled.

"Well, not exactly. Something's come up -- something about an Imperial battle group.
We caught it on subspace from Ackbar a little while ago, while you were saying good-bye to the Captisons. The Flurry is going to rendezvous with Rogue Squadron and go
check it out." He remained turned away from her, avoiding looking at her.

"But they'll need our help, won't they? I don't want to leave Luke in the lurch." Leia was
getting miffed; she didn't like it when plans were changed without her knowledge.

Han's mouth tightened slightly. She wasn't making this easy. He tried to sound casual.
"I don't think it's anything serious -- a mop-up operation, really. Nothing Rogue
Squadron can't handle on its own, with a little backup, just in case. There shouldn't be
any real action to speak of. I talked to Mon Mothma about it -- "

"You talked to Mon Mothma?! What -- "

Han swiveled around. "Look," He interrupted. He was getting annoyed now. "I am a
general, you know. I have a right."

Her silence acknowledged that much, but her eyes demanded an explanation.

Han continued in a lower voice. "You haven't had a break, a vacation, since before
Vader took you prisoner, before the first Death Star was destroyed. C'mon, Leia, it's
been years ... "

"War is like that, Han!" she snapped. "You don't get vacations. Every day that goes by,
people die. Time is too precious. This is a critical point for the Alliance. We don't have
time for a break." She spit the last word out viciously.

"Look, I talked to Mon Mothma. She says it's okay. In fact, she ordered it. You need a
rest. I need a rest. If we can get away for a few days, relax a little, we'll be refreshed,
better able to help the Alliance when we get back."

For the first time, he looked her square in the eye; there was a hint of desperation in his
eyes, something she had seen only once before, on Bespin, just before he was
dropped into the carbonite. Han was not a man to plead. Her resolve softened.
"Alright," she answered quietly. Maybe he's right. We could use some time together.
And what could a few days hurt, anyway?

"Great!" He flashed a relieved grin, leaned over and kissed her. "We'll be off this rock
as soon as I can get clearance."

He returned to his study of the navicomputer readout. Leia sat silently, still struggling a
little with the change in plan. Even though the Emperor and Vader were dead,
remnants of the Empire were still in existence, even flourishing, all over the galaxy.
There was so much work to do for the Alliance; a vacation seemed -- well, selfish. Just
then the subspace beeped. Clearance from Bakuran authorities. Han punched in the
subatmosphere course they gave him, checked his gauges once more; preflight was
complete. He engaged the repulsors. Slowly the Falcon lifted straight up from the
docking bay, gracefully spun 270 degrees, and accelerated into the Bakuran afternoon.

                           *    *    *

Just before they were free of the planet's gravitational field, Han brought up the
coordinates he'd already programmed into the navicomputer. "Be sure you're strapped
in," he said. "We'll be making the jump to hyperspace in a couple of heartbeats."

Leia reached over and squeezed his knee. "So where are we headed?" she asked. Not
that it mattered.

"Rymir." He waited for her response.

"Rymir?" Leia's forehead furrowed. It sounded familiar somehow. "Where is it?"

"On the Outer Rim, in the Regalan system. It's something of a resort, really, though not
that well known, since it's off the main freighter routes." He bit his lip, thinking. He
wanted to make it sound perfect, but he didn't want to seem eager.

"I think I've heard of it. They call it  the jewel world,' don't they, for the gems that are
mined there?"

"Right." He kept his eyes on the readout but reached over and ran his fingers along the
inside of her thigh. Stars, she feels good. "It also happens to be a beautiful place. I did
a lot of smuggling work in the Regalan system, quite a bit of it in and out of Rymir. It's a
relatively low-tech world, too far away for most companies to be interested in. The
people could trade their gems for pretty much whatever they want, but they want to
keep commerce at a minimum, to maintain the way of life they've always had. They
don't want to attract corporations that might want to locate there, so they use smugglers
to sell their gems or to trade for whatever they want or can't get onplanet. It's a good
deal for smugglers -- relatively easy work, no danger involved -- and the Rymirans get
to keep their world the way they like it. Everybody wins."

"You said it's beautiful. Tell me about it." She settled back in the copilot's chair, waiting.

"Hang on." Han pulled back on the central lever; starlines flashed around them as they
entered hyperspace. "It's called  the jewel world' for another reason: it's almost like a
jewel itself. Rymir has lots of mountains -- big ones, with snow on top year-round -- and
deep, narrow valleys. Thousands of years ago the planet was covered with glaciers,
and then for some reason -- no one knows what -- the glaciers gradually retreated,
carving out the deep valleys that are there now. They left behind dozens, maybe
hundreds, of minerals in the lakes and rivers. This glacial dust essentially turns water
into a prism -- and since Rymir has two suns, well, you can imagine the effect in the
daylight. It's not so bad at night, either, especially when both of Rymir's moons are full
at the same time. It doesn't happen often -- maybe once or twice a year, depending on
the cycles -- but I happened to be onplanet once during the bilunar climax, and I've
never seen anything like the colors I saw that night, dancing off the waters."

Leia was silent a minute. "Sounds perfect," she admitted. "But how are we going to pay
for this trip, hotshot?"

"Don't worry," he grinned confidently, sounding more like the old Han. "I've got an old
smuggling buddy, Xyrix Ka'al,  who owes me a couple of favors. He liked Rymir, wanted
to stay there, so he bought a group of cabins at the base of the mountains outside
Monokahrr, the capital city. He runs the resort legit, but keeps his hand in the
smuggling business on the side. I saved his spacesuit once during a close encounter
off New Cov, if you know what I mean. That oughta be worth a cabin for two for a few
days."

Leia smiled. "Well, we can hope." Don't worry, he says. Oh, brother, where have I
heard that before? Images of Lando, Bespin, and that not-so-long-ago nightmare
flashed through her mind. Maybe Han was right. She really did need to relax.

Han cocked his head and looked at her, trying to be encouraging. "Maybe we'll go to
one of those tourist mines, look around for a fire emerald or some blue chrysidium."

"Sure," Leia nodded agreement.

Han decided to go for it; now was as good a time as any. "Uh," he cleared his throat
again, "I modified the Falcon while we were on Bakura. I thought you might like to see
it." Leia gave him a questioning look. "Of course, if you don't like it," he stammered, "I
can always change it." Suddenly he realized his palms were sweating.

Why does he need my approval? Sometimes Leia was truly thankful for her diplomatic
training. "Okay," she said, careful to sound neutral. "Lead on, Captain -- I mean,
General," she laughed teasingly.

She followed him out of the cockpit, down the cockpit access, and then to the left,
toward the back of the Falcon and past the escape pods. He ducked down the
passageway that led to the cabin area and stopped before the doorway to his own
quarters. With a flourish, and a gulp, he gestured for her to enter first.

In spite of herself, Leia gasped. At first, all she noticed was the space. Han's cramped,
cluttered cabin was at least twice as large as before. There was storage space built into
the wall, where she ... saw her luggage. Oh. That was it. This was for them. She
considered pretending anger, but the surprise on her face was unmistakeable. "How
did you do this?" she asked, laughing.

Han grinned broadly, a sigh of relief escaping him. "I had the techs on Bakura knock
out a storage closet. I figured since I'm not smuggling anymore, I can just use the cargo
holds."

Leia took a closer look around. "A repulsor bed?" She was incredulous. "How in the
universe did you pay for it?" Though she didn't say it, she saw that it was duo size. She
walked over, felt the repulsor field give slightly beneath pressure from her hand.
Turning around, an expression of wonder still on her face, she noticed the new
refresher unit. It, too, was at least twice as large as before, but with voice controls and
a custom thermo unit. "Han! It's so new -- and it even has blowers -- !"

She smiled at him. Han wrapped his arms around her. "I still have a few surprises left.
Even for you," he laughed. Leia ran her hand under his shirt, felt his warmth, the
hardness of his muscles, and the faint pulse of his heart, which set her own to racing.
Leading him back across the cabin toward the bed, she said lightly, "Come here,
General. Let me teach you how to behave in the presence of royalty." Laughing, she
fell backward into the bed, pulling him in with her, the repulsor field forming around
them as they hummed through hyperspace.

                           *    *    *

The next morning Leia awoke, luxuriating in the featherweight comfort of the repulsor
bed. She still didn't know how Han had paid for all of this, but she no longer cared. It
was the best night's sleep she'd had in ages. She stretched her toes, felt the bed adjust
beneath her. Ahh. This was wonderful. The Falcon purred below her, whisking through
hyperspace; she indulged in a few more minutes of sleep, grateful there was nowhere
she had to be, no meetings for her to attend. Gradually she became more aware of her
surroundings. She could hear Han whistling -- whistling -- in the galley. Well. He must
feel pretty good, too. Sighing, she swung her legs over the side of the bed. Time to try
out that new refresher unit.

Han puttered around in the galley. He wasn't really in a hurry; he'd rather wait to eat
with Leia. Mmm. A woman to love, a ship to fly, and a vacation on the horizon. How'd I
get so lucky? He heard her moving around now; she was probably trying out the new
refresher. Silently he hoped the resistors on the thermo unit didn't go flaky on him. He
wanted this trip to be perfect. Mentally he calculated how long they'd be in hyperspace.
Probably a couple of days. Then four, maybe five days onplanet -- more, if he could talk
Leia into it -- and two blissful days back in hyperspace. This was going to be great. He
still had that bottle of wine the Ewok chief had given him; maybe tonight would be a
good time to open it. 

                           *    *    *

After two days in hyperspace, Leia no longer seemed to be letting that business about
being Vader's daughter bother her, and if she was worried about Luke, she wasn't
showing it. Han was glad. He'd give her Endor, if she wanted it and he could win it in a
sabacc game. The tedium of hyperspace seemed restful after all they'd been through,
giving them time to talk and read books from the ship's small hololibrary. Han even
taught Leia the basics of sabacc, though she still struggled with the many rules
variations. No blaster fire from stormtroopers, no Star Destroyer threat, no bounty
hunter dogging their steps -- this vacation would be the icing on the cake. But there
was one small thing Han needed to tell Leia first.

                           *    *    *

"Leia, strap yourself in -- we'll be dropping into realspace before long," Han called over
his shoulder as he checked the readout on the navicomputer. 

Leia came up from behind, put her arms around his shoulders, and kissed the back of
his neck. "How long, Nerf Herder?" she asked, sliding into the copilot's chair.

Han shot her a wicked grin. "Long enough to -- "

"Don't even say it!" her eyes laughed back. "Bail Organa's daughter, Princess of
Alderaan, a Senator at 17, trained in all the diplomatic niceties -- shooting through
hyperspace in a souped-up Corellian freighter with a smuggler who owns a repulsor
duobed and hasn't shaved in three days!"

"Hey, Your Worship, I'm on vacation!" Han protested innocently. Then he grew serious.
"There is something I need to tell you before we land on Rymir." His eyes were
suddenly sober, flickering past her, avoiding her gaze.

"OK, let's have it."

He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his chin. Better to just come right out and say it. 
"Rymir is an Imperial world."

"What?! You brought me -- "

"Hold on, Leia! It's not the usual setup. Rymir has only minimal Imperial presence: a
governor and his security garrison, just a few stormtroopers. For as long as anyone can
remember, Rymir has kept the Empire at arm's length by paying off the governors with
jewels. The governors write placid little reports to their superiors, and in return they get
pretty much anything they want -- and Rymir gets what it wants, which is more or less to
be left alone. Get it?"

She was furious; no doubt about it. "Well, at least you told me before we landed so I
could pack my blaster."

"Don't worry, Sweetheart. I told you, it's never been a problem -- not for smugglers, and
certainly not for a couple of lovers looking for a romantic getaway, which is what we
are." He cocked his head and gave her a hopeful smile.

The navicomputer beeped. Han pushed the hyperdrive lever forward, starlines flashed,
and realspace came into view. Leia's mouth tightened, and she looked away. Han
pursed his lips; if he'd told her back on Bakura, they'd have never made it this far.
Besides, what could go wrong?

                           *    *    *

"Please disengage ion engine and activate repulsorlift," the flight control droid droned.
"You are now entering the atmospheric zone of the planet Rymir."

Han flicked switches, eyeing his gauges, then swiveled toward Leia, who still sat,
smoldering, looking away from him out the viewport. "See? Told you it'd be a piece of
cake."

Leia glared sideways at him resentfully. "Let's hope it stays that way. That's the real
trick, isn't it?" The last thing I need is a run-in with zealous stormtroopers trying to make
a name for themselves on some backwater assignment.

Han studied her a moment and then thought it best to simply tend to the work in front of
him. He turned back to the controls and punched in the planetside course laid out by
the control droid. With skilled restraint, he began guiding the Falcon in.

Looking out the viewport, pointedly avoiding glancing in Han's direction, Leia couldn't
help being curious about Rymir. Despite her anger, what she saw below gave her a
twinge of excitement. Jagged purple mountains stretched as far as she could see in a
line east of Monokahrr. Rymir's two suns, one slightly higher than the other, were
somewhat below zenith for the day, but still high enough to cause the snow on the
mountains to glisten softly. Occasionally she caught a small flash of light as the light
sparkled off a glacier nestled in the jagged crags of the range. About halfway down the
mountains and spreading out across the valley below were what appeared from this
distance to be beautiful forests of Shadaa yew and shimmersilk trees. Several breaks in
the trees revealed lakes of every hue of green and blue. Leia was impressed, despite
her anger with Han. As the Falcon dropped lower, amid the vast beauty appeared a
small, grayish-brown clearing, an obviously man-made blight in this natural paradise.

"What's that clearing down there?" she asked Han, in spite of herself.

"Dunno," he mumbled, glancing over the controls out the viewport. "Must be some new
mining operation or something." He turned back to the task at hand, banking the ship
sharply toward the spaceport and shedding altitude quickly.

When they cleared the trees, Han murmured surprise at the spaceport. Leia craned her
neck to see beyond him. It was little more than a few simple durasteel hangars and a
set of directional landing beacons. "What's the matter? Too high-tech for you?" she
teased. "Gotten too used to the comforts of the spaceports on Hoth and Endor?" 

Han ignored her sarcasm. "No, no, this place has never been a tech paradise --
remember, I told you they don't like technology much, but they needed a spaceport to
sell their jewels and ore. No, that's not it; it's just -- not usually this empty." Han fired
the forward repulsors in three sharp bursts, which slowed the ship to a crawl; lightly
spun the Falcon around; and settled softly into the bay.

Han's brow creased, and his eyes narrowed, looking for suspicious signs. The only
indications of life near the docking bay were a couple of outdated astromech droids and
a tech who appeared to be supervising their movements. The few ships he could see
were old and in generally poor shape. The autohopper at the far end of the field looked
as if it had been abandoned there, and the maintenance hauler nearby was barely
better. Two or three archaic landspeeders littered the area. There was no sign of the
stock light freighters or modified pocket cruisers smugglers were fond of for carrying
cargo. No pleasure caravels, used for transporting vacationing tourists from large
orbiting space barges to the planet, could be seen anywhere. Damn. It's too quiet --
way too quiet.

Han flushed slightly. Remembering Leia, he tried not to sound worried. She was eyeing
him with a questioning look.

"Well, I don't see any stormtroopers," he grinned, sounding a little too relieved.

Leia rolled her eyes.

"Not that I expected any," he added hastily, though he touched the blaster at his thigh
for assurance. "Come on, let's shut down here and go find Ka'al. We'll be in a cabin in
the mountains by nightfall. I promise."

He leaned close to her, his breath brushing her cheek; Leia felt her heart quicken. "It'll
even have a bathtub." She felt each word as he whispered it into her hair, and the
intimacy, his closeness, the feel of his presence, caught her off guard again. She
shivered a little. I could get used to this.

                           *    *    *

Han's eyes flickered from side to side as he took the rented SoroSuub XP-19
landspeeder through the streets of Monokahrr. Ka'al's usual travel kiosk at the
spaceport was boarded up, and no one seemed to know what had happened to the
former smuggler. Cruising down a side street, Han came to a stop in front of a row of
low buildings, all made of cheap white acrylite, now gray-brown from years of smut and
disrepair, and all of similar design. "I'm glad it's still daylight so I could enjoy the
architecture," Leia remarked sarcastically. "Yeah," Han agreed ruefully. "It doesn't look
this bad at night." Especially if you're a smuggler, without a beautiful princess at your
side. "I thought I'd look for Ka'al in some of the local spots. It might be a good idea for
you to come with me."

Leia accepted his offered hand. "Why not?" she replied sardonically. "One of my life's
goals has been to see the inside of a Rymiran bar."

Once her eyes adjusted to the dim light of the glow rod over the bar, Leia realized they
were the only patrons in the place that afternoon. The barkeep, a Chadra-Fan, had its
back turned, putting away some dingy glasses. Leia could never tell male from female
Chadra-Fan, but given the darkness, this one really needed the race's famous infrared
vision.

"Hey, Jube, you still tending this dive?" Han said jocularly.

The barkeep turned. "Solo!" she said in the somewhat high-pitched inflection typical of
most Chadra-Fan. "You haven't darkened my quianu in quite some time -- certainly not
since before you became the big Alliance hero. You should see the stories about you in
the holotabs. Every few standard months someone brings one in here. Ha -- they've
even got you down as the Princess's consort." She laughed, her small, rodent-like ears
twitching. Leia flushed and tried to shrink further into the shadows.

Han resisted -- barely -- the bristling urge inside him and instead turned the topic.
"Yeah," he chuckled, "imagine that. Listen, Jube, I'm looking for Xyrix Ka'al. Got any
idea where I can find him?"

"That old smuggler-turned-innkeeper? Sorry, Solo, can't help you there. No one's seen
Ka'al for several months. His partner closed up the business -- presumably took the
money. His ship's gone. No one seems to know what happened."

"Whadya mean, no one knows?" Han asked sharply. "He was settled here. He
coordinated all the smuggling traffic and ran the travel office on the side. I even heard
he had a wife."

"Yeah, well, she left not long after he disappeared. There are lots of stories about why
he left. Woman trouble, money trouble, take your pick. Wherever he went, it was bad
for Monokahrr. Without his holocomm ads running all over the Core Worlds and his
travel barges to bring in tourists, we hardly get any vacationers anymore."

"What about the smugglers? You've still got the jewel traffic, right? Somebody's got to
be running that."
"Not anymore. You remember Stinn?"

"The head of the jeweler's guild? Sure I do. He was the best onplanet. I got great prices
for his stuff."

"Well, he's gone, too. Disappeared. Vanished. No one knows where, no one knows
why. Rumor has it he went offplanet after money, got some big offer, though some say
it was a woman."

"That's crazy!"

"Whatever, the guild has been in shambles. Two or three of the best artisans
disappeared, too, same time as Stinn. One story has it that they all went together and
formed some big conglomerate, maybe even with Ka'al, and when they're powerful
enough, they'll come back and take over things here."

"Stinn'd never do that -- not the guy I know. He'd argue all night about keeping things
the way they had always been, doing things the old way. He had kids, for cryin' out loud
-- his son was going to take over the guild -- "

Jube shrugged. "Sorry, Solo. Things change. Maybe Stinn did, too. Whatever it was,
the guild members are fighting among themselves, and the mining operation seems to
have collapsed. The only stones that are coming in are of such poor quality, it doesn't
pay legit traders or smugglers to come here; they can get similar quality elsewhere.
With no one to coordinate smuggling traffic -- you know, encourage a little business --
well, it's pretty well dried up around here. Supplies of nearly everything are low. We
need the smugglers to bring us offplanet goods, but with the jeweler's guild unable or
unwilling to trade with them -- " she spread her mouse-like hands " -- you see how it is."

"What about the Imperial governor? Hasn't he done anything about it?"

Jube laughed out loud. "Well, I guess he doesn't have anyone to take orders from
anymore. He makes little appearances now and then, but we don't see him much. He's
like all the others. We leave him alone, he doesn't interfere in local affairs."

Han was still a little stunned. "Okay, well, thanks for your help," he mumbled. Reaching
for Leia's arm, he stumbled into the blinding daylight.

Everywhere they went that afternoon, it was the same story. Ka'al and Stinn had
disappeared; no one knew why, no one knew where, though there were lots of theories.
Sitting in the landspeeder, rubbing his chin, Han had exhausted the few contacts he
still had on Rymir. And there sat Leia next to him, waiting for their vacation to start. "I'm
going to try one more thing," Han announced, sitting up and engaging the engine. Leia
said nothing, alternating between wanting to be furious and feeling embarrassed for
Han.

Han sped down the nearly empty streets and a few turns later a large residence --
actually a sort of palace -- made of local stone hewn into graceful architectural lines
and obviously belonging to the wealthiest resident of Monokahrr, came into view.
Bimmisaari poppies were blooming in the gardens. Shimmersilk trees lining the front
entrance kept Leia from seeing it until they were almost upon it; then she saw the
stormtroopers, two of them, guarding the entryway.

"Han!" she sputtered. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Relax, Sweetheart," he said in a low voice, slowing the speeder until it nearly hovered
about a block from the house. "I was only checking. Yep, it looks like the governor's still
here, and there're his minions." Engaging the forward thrustors, he turned down a side
street and again sped toward the outskirts of Monokahrr. Turning back to Leia, who had
been vehemently voicing her objections since leaving the governor's palace, he
explained, "I only wanted to see if the governor was still here. Maybe Ka'al's
disappearance, and Stinn's, don't have anything to do with the governor. The residence
is certainly no more heavily guarded than before, though why they're all still here, with
the Emperor dead, is a mystery to me."

"So where's the cabin in the mountains that you promised me?" Leia felt like being
petulant at the moment.

"Well, that's where we're going now. Maybe one of Ka'al's reps is there, still running the
place. If not, I can probably force the door somehow, and we'll help ourselves to a few
nights' rest."

"And what if you can't?"

Han threw her a long look, clearly out of patience. "We'll figure it out." Unable to keep
the sarcasm out of his voice any longer, he added, "Would you prefer to stay in one of
the lovely acrylite resorts we passed near the spaceport? Or perhaps you'd rather
knock on the governor's door for assistance?"

Leia glared at him, fuming, and on that note, they settled in for a silent ride. Some
vacation, Leia thought crankily, yet she knew none of this was Han's fault. Still, if he'd
bothered to check with an interstellar rep on Bakura, or even the HoloNet ... Leia knew
these thoughts weren't going to help, and with a frustrated sigh, she tried to make them
stop by concentrating on the scenes flashing by.

Good going, hotshot, Han thought grimly. What'd you think you were doing anyway,
taking a princess on vacation? He glanced sideways at Leia, whose mouth was set in a
tight line. Did you think somehow your luck would change? Did you think things wouldn't
get screwed up this time, the way they always seem to? He chafed at his seeming
helplessness. Well, he'd just have to make things turn out right.

The largely acrylite buildings of the city became fewer and farther apart, then gradually
gave way to small, simple houses made of native stone and wood. These, too,
gradually became fewer until they were speeding through rolling countryside peppered
with meadows and forests. Wildflowers grew here and there, and the waning red
sunlight gave a warm glow to the landscape. Leia began to feel a little better. Han
would make it right. The mountains ahead, looming ever larger, beckoned like a silent
fortress, making her long for a few days without meetings or diplomatic duties and
moonlit nights with Han.

The road turned more sharply, twisted more often, as they climbed into the foothills.
"Look alive," Han broke the silence. "After the next turn, you'll see a view you'll never
forget."

He slowed the speeder slightly, forcing it into a tight turn, but when they straightened
out, the scene ahead was nothing short of shocking. Once stately Shadaa yews lay
charred and broken, littering the landscape. Puffs of dust, or perhaps smoke from still-smoldering fires, blew with each gust of wind. The ground was blackened in some
spots, a brown wasteland in others. It reminded Leia of blaster strafing from an orbiting
vessel, but it was not as random. It was as if this area was meant to be hit. The lake
ahead, which once must have been magnificent with the reflection of the mountains
beyond, was dull with smoke ash and debris. The trees that had once lined it were
sheared off, their tops lying over in the water. Several cabins lay in ruins. Others,
though not destroyed, had obviously not been used in some time.

Han banked sharply behind some brush at the edge of the destruction, brought the
speeder to an abrupt halt, and drew his blaster, all in the same motion. "Stay here," he
ordered Leia, who readily complied. This must be the clearing I saw when we were
flying in, she thought, hunkering down in the speeder.

After circling the immediate area and satisfying himself that no one was nearby, Han
returned to the speeder and helped Leia out, keeping his blaster drawn. Silently they
surveyed the damage.

"I guess the bathtub's out," Han quipped, grinning and trying to sound as if he wasn't
worried.

Leia frowned.

Seeing her expression, Han grew serious. "Stay behind me, and keep your blaster
handy; we may still have some company."

Slowly they picked their way across the charred clearing toward the cabins, moving
from one downed tree to the next as best they could. They had almost reached the
cluster of buildings when Han heard voices. Shoving Leia down behind him, he
cautiously peered around a blackened trunk. "Stormtroopers!" he whispered. "Two of
 em. So the Empire must be behind this dirty work."

Leia lifted herself up enough to see. The two troopers, dressed in camo gear, were
walking casually toward two speeder bikes parked next to what once had been the
resort office, unaware that they were being watched. Leia's blaster was already drawn.
She looked at Han. "Left, or right?"

"Right," he replied without looking down. "On my signal. One, two, three..."

Their shots fired within milliseconds of one another. The startled troopers barely had
time to look up before they were on their backs, casualties of two nearly perfect blaster
bolts.

Leia started to jump up to run toward them, but Han held her arm. "Hold it," he said
quietly. "There could be others."

A thorough examination of the surrounding area turned up nothing, though Han refused
to holster his blaster. "Let's search those troopers, see if we can find anything." Leia
nodded.

A swift investigation revealed the usual weapons and a couple of access cards, used
for entry to a secured area. "Wonder what these are for?" Leia questioned, turning one
of the cards over in her hand.

Han squinted into the distance. Darkness was falling rapidly. "I don't know, but we're
going to find out."

Leia looked at him incredulously. "Just what do you have in mind? Wherever those
stormtroopers came from, there's likely to be more waiting for them. I don't have to tell
you, this isn't my idea of a vacation."

Han wrapped his arms around her, still searching the horizon. "I know. But somehow I
think Ka'al's disappearance, and Stinn's, and now this -- they're all tied together, and if
we don't find out how, we're going to be sorry later." He kissed the top of her head.

Standing there in Han's arms, Leia suddenly felt very weary. She thought of her home
planet Alderaan, blown to bits by the Death Star; all of her family and lifelong friends
killed; and the exhausting, bloody battles on Hoth and Yavin. So many friends in the
Alliance dead, too. After signing the truce on Bakura, she had thought the war was
behind them and they could begin the process of building peace. Apparently she was
wrong. The loneliness and bitterness overwhelmed her.  "When is it going to all end,
Han?" Her voice broke, and she was shaking.

"I don't know, Leia," he replied softly, stroking her hair. "But we're going to be there to
see it." He stood there silently, holding her, letting her release her tiredness into his
shirt. Finally he gently wiped a tear from her cheek. "There's not much we can do
without light. We might as well try to get some sleep and solve this riddle in the
morning. Come on -- let's get our things and see if one of these cabins is usable." Leia
leaned against him in reply.

The night was chilly at the foot of the mountains. Later, lying in a musty bed with their
jackets on top of them for warmth, Han comforted Leia until she finally fell into an
exhausted sleep. With his blaster in his right hand and Leia under his left arm, Han
remained awake, listening and wondering what he had led them into.

                           *    *    *

They were up long before daybreak, Han cautioning Leia that they needed to find the
stormtroopers' base before the suns were high.

"You don't think they came from Monokahrr?" she quizzed, pulling one of the
stormtroopers' camo gear on over her own clothes. It was far too large and felt bulky on
her small frame.

"No," he responded grimly. "They wouldn't take speeder bikes that far. There's got to
be some sort of operations base not far from here. And I intend to find it." Han had put
on his camo suit before Leia awakened. Leia watched him silently as he checked the
power pack on his blaster and slipped extra packs into his belt. She hoped he hadn't
left his boot knife on the Falcon. They needed all the help they could get.

Just as the first of Rymir's suns began to break over the horizon, Han and Leia climbed
onto the bikes. "Stay low and in the trees," he advised. "Keep your speed down so you
don't make much noise." 

Leia nodded. Their eyes met, locked for a moment.

"I know," Han said softly. Then, setting his mouth in a tight line, he activated the
repulsor engine and pulled on the stormtrooper's confiscated camo helmet.

Slowly they accelerated, keeping in the cover of the trees as the sky became various
shades of purple and gold above them. Han pointed toward the mountains as the place
most likely to provide cover for a secret base and assumed the lead. Leia followed,
checking her blaster under the camo parka and watching for any signs of an outpost or
lookouts. Soon they were in the mountains' shadow, still flying low among the yew and
shimmersilk trees. Han slowed, then turned east into a narrow ravine. The first sun,
above the horizon now, nearly blinded Leia as she turned toward it. She had trouble
following Han, with the brilliant early morning light bouncing off her goggles and then
the deep tree cover plunging her into darkness again. Her too-large helmet kept shifting
on her head, further hindering her vision. She must have lost ground, because Han
eventually stopped to allow her to catch up.

Motioning for her to remain quiet, he whispered, "I'm going to go up a bit, see if I can
see anything. Stay here, and keep down."

She met his eyes, affirmed his plan. Han pushed the hover control, and the repulsors
elevated him to a level just below the treetops. For a moment he hung there, searching,
then brought the bike down and shut down power. Leia bit her lip. Han's face was grim.
"Just as I thought," he said, keeping his voice low. "There's an entrance built into the
side of the mountain, just a little distance from here. It could be anything, but whatever
it is, whoever's running it wants it kept secret. There's no guard  --  at least that I can
see."

"What do you think we should do?"

Han squinted his eyes, scanning through the brush, then lightly licked his lips. "I vote
we wait here until nightfall. Then try our access cards and see what we can find." He
held up one hand, stopping Leia's objection before she voiced it. "I know. It's a risk. But
we can lay low, watch for clues to what's going on in there." He looked down at the
speeder bike. "One thing's for certain, though. They're going to miss these bikes and
the troopers who were on them. Somehow, we've got to make it look like our trooper
friends had an accident."

                           *    *    *

An hour later, back at the resort, Leia helped Han drag the troopers' lifeless forms onto
the bikes, which were now parked next to one of the wrecked cabins. A few years ago,
this would have seemed a grisly job, she thought ironically as she tugged on the
trooper's arm. Now it's just all in a day's work. She shook her head slightly, not wanting
to think about what that might mean. Breathing hard from the exertion, she watched as
Han piled the camo gear on each bike as best he could. He then removed three blaster
packs from his belt. Taking a small roll of tape from an inside pocket of his vest, he
methodically strapped the packs together in a bundle. Turning the bundle over in his
hand, he murmured, "Yeah, this oughta do it."

"Do what?" Leia asked. Han often worked this way, thinking his plan through and
revealing it only as he needed to. She supposed it was a throwback to his smuggling
days, when a friend might be a foe in disguise.

It took a minute for Han to respond, and when he did, he sounded as if he were talking
to himself. "This should make a nice little explosion, not too loud, but enough to destroy
most of the evidence." His eyes were far off, distracted.

"You're going to blow all this up?" Leia asked incredulously. "Are you crazy?!"

Han snapped back to attention. "You got a better idea?" he retorted. "Whoever's behind
this already knows something's up. These guys didn't report in last night. Someone's
going to come looking for them, and they could show up any minute now. I plan to be
long gone by the time they arrive."

He stood, calculating silently for a minute. Then, taking Leia by the arm, he led her
back across the debris-strewn clearing to the brush where their speeder lay hidden. "I
want you to wait here," he ordered firmly. He stopped her protest with a firm look. "No
arguing. Get in the speeder and activate the repulsors, but stay here."

Leia did as he asked but fumed silently to herself. She didn't want Han taking so much
risk alone. As he walked across the blackened ground toward the cabins, she saw him
stop to take a small tool from his belt and pry up the overload sturm dowel from each
pack. He didn't remove the dowels but left them just barely inside the hollowed-out
cylinder at the end of each pack. He then continued on toward the cabins, pausing
periodically to glance around as he approached the site. As Leia watched his lanky
form pick its way toward the bikes, blaster drawn in caution, she was a little surprised at
the catch in her throat. Her hands were clenched into tight fists in her lap as she held
her breath, waiting.

Carefully Han placed the bundle of packs down amid the pile of camo gear, troopers,
and speeder bikes, and she watched, holding her breath, as he deftly removed each
dowel and then turned, running as fast as he could, toward where she sat waiting. He
would have roughly 20 to 30 standard seconds before the packs overloaded and
detonated. Leia counted to herself, biting her lower lip. When she reached 18 seconds,
she saw Han dive behind a downed yew tree and cover his head with his arms. She
dropped to the floor of the speeder and did likewise. The ensuing explosion was about
the size of a grenade blast, but with less flash and smoke. Leia was far enough away
that she felt little other than the shock wave, but when she finally sat up, she could see
Han's head, arms, and back covered with coarse dirt and bits of debris. She leaped
from the speeder and ran to him.

"Han, are you alright?" she asked breathlessly, running her hands down his arms.
Deftly she brushed dust, leaves, and pieces of bark from his shirt and vest.

Han rolled upright, shaking his head to get the dirt from his hair. Squinting at her, he
grinned. "Of course, Your Highness. Would you miss me if I weren't?"

"Don't even joke about that!" Leia snapped, continuing to brush him off. Han leaned
forward to kiss her; Leia tried to dodge but was unsuccessful, and Han chuckled at his
triumph. "Come on, Princess," he smiled. "We've got to get out of here. Company's
coming, and it won't be long."

Leia looked up at him, wanting to be angry, but she felt relieved somehow to hear his
laugh again. "Alright, Nerf Herder. You're driving."

                           *    *    *

Back under the shadow of the mountains, Han and Leia finished covering the speeder
with brush and downed tree limbs. Han squinted skyward. With any luck, the tree cover
here would hide the speeder from overhead surveillance, and hopefully this camouflage
would keep any surface traffic from spotting it. He looked around, taking note of the
area. They were beneath a stand of very old yew trees, some of them perhaps 100
standard years or more in age. Their tall, spreading branches and dense foliage made
this place a perfect cover. Hands on hips, he glanced at Leia. Her hair had fallen in her
eyes, and the tight lines around her mouth betrayed her exhaustion. Walking over to
her, he took her by the arm.

"Hey, Your Worship, you look beat," he tried to sound sympathetic.

Leia tried to pull her arm away, but Han tightened his grip. She glared up at him. "Stop
it, Han. I'm alright."

He pursed his lips and decided to try again. "Listen, Leia, why don't you try to get some
sleep? I'll watch here awhile. We have hours until dark, and we don't want to make our
move until then."

This time Leia succeeded in jerking her arm irritably from his grasp. "I'm fine, Han. I just
want to get out of here. This place gives me the creeps." Somehow she couldn't stop
thinking of fallen comrades and how tired she was of fighting, how anxious she was to
set the New Republic in motion.

His eyes searched hers, questioning, but she refused to look at him. Han gripped her
firmly by the shoulders. "Look at me," he said quietly.

Leia averted her eyes at first, but finally brought them up to meet his penetrating gaze.
He looked at her steadily until he saw an understanding there.  "Alright then," he said.
"We'll have a quick look around. Maybe it's nothing. If that's the case, we'll be on the
Falcon by morning. But if that's not the case ... we've got to do what we can. Right? Are
you with me?"

Leia nodded grimly, reluctantly. Han could see the fatigue in her eyes. He knew that,
even for her, this constant battle against the unknown grew wearying at times.

"Okay," he relaxed and kissed her forehead, holding her close for a moment. "Let's
move in. Keep it real quiet, and stay under the trees as much as you can."

The two of them picked their way through the dense forest at the base of the mountain,
Han leading, blaster drawn, Leia following numbly. She tried to step quietly, but every
snapping twig under her feet seemed to echo in the pounding in her ears. She wanted
to go back to the Falcon, to go home. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind.
She had to stay alert, keep watching; she had to fight this tiredness. She looked up.
Han had stopped ahead of her and was waiting for her to catch up.

"You sure you're alright?" he asked, concerned.

Leia smiled thinly. "I'll be okay. I think I just need something to eat."

Han reached in his vest and handed her a ration bar. "It's not fancy, but it's all we've
got," he said somberly. 

Leia took it from him gratefully. "I'll pretend it's l'lahsh," she said, biting into the dry,
nearly tasteless bar. Han handed her the flask of water he carried on his hip, and she
drank deeply. The coolness refreshed her, and she seemed to feel some strength
returning.

Finally they reached the edge of the trees near the hidden entrance Han had found
earlier. The terrain was more uneven and rocky here. Groups of rocks lay strewn about,
probably the result of past landslides. A deep ravine separated them from the entrance,
which was only somewhat casually camouflaged. Han, crouching, motioned for her to
get down behind a nearby boulder. Leia complied. Han disappeared for a few moments
but soon rejoined her.

"No signs of life," he whispered. "We'll just lie low for a bit, see if we can find out what
they're doing from out here. If not, then as soon as it's dark, we go in."

Leia nodded and leaned her head back against the rock. The rock was warm, though
the air was beginning to get cooler as the suns began to get lower in the sky. She
closed her eyes for a moment.

Han was nudging her. "Leia," he called softly. Leia opened her eyes with a start. The
woods were dark. She had fallen asleep. She couldn't see Han's face in the blackness,
but she could feel his presence next to her. Han's breath was hot against her cheek,
startling her with its intimacy.

"We're in luck," he whispered. "Clouds came in near sunset. The moons won't be out
tonight. This'll make it easy to get inside." He was holding her wrist, pulling her up.

Leia reached toward him, feeling for the water flask. There it was. He understood and
handed it to her. The cool water helped her shake off the last of her sleepiness. She
felt a little guilty, knowing Han might have liked some sleep, too.

"Stay with me," Han hissed. Taking her by the arm, blaster drawn, he moved silently
down into the ravine toward the entrance. Leia could hardly see; she wondered how
Han knew where he was going. Quietly they picked their way down the slope before
them. Once or twice stones rolled under Leia's feet, but Han's firm grasp kept her from
falling outright. The mountains were still, save for an occasional nightbird call. The
climb up the steep slope was more difficult, and left them panting in the thin mountain
air. Leia had to bite her lip to keep from instinctively crying out whenever she lost her
footing, apprehensive that she might tumble back into the ravine. Each time, Han
tightened his grip on her arm and steadied her. Although he was within arm's reach, the
darkness was so dense she could barely make out his form.

Finally they reached the entrance, approaching from an outcropping of boulders and
keeping their backs against the cliff wall. Just as Han had said, there was no guard.
Whoever was in there must be pretty sure of the security system. Leia's palms had
begun to sweat; she could sense the uneasiness in Han. He released her arm and
reached inside his vest for the access card. Well, Han thought grimly, here goes
nothin'. Slowly he inserted the card into the access panel and pulled it back out. After a
second of breathless hesitation, the access door opened for them, and they warily
stepped inside, blasters ready.

They found themselves in a corridor cut into the rock. Must be an old cave of some
sort, Han thought. Old-style Imperial glow lights were scattered at lengthy intervals
along the corridor, throwing their spare red glare onto glistening, rough stone walls, rich
with minerals and ore. Han put a staying hand on Leia's shoulder, blaster raised to his
lips to keep her quiet, and allowed himself a long look around while his eyes grew
accustomed to the red lighting. All he could see was a cavern that extended into the
darkness. He leaned down, put his lips on Leia's ear.

"Looks like they're not going to make this easy for us. Stay behind me, and keep your
eyes open."

Leia set her jaw and looped one finger through Han's belt to keep from losing him in the
darkness. Somehow touching him made her feel safer. They started down the corridor,
but the rough flooring made it difficult to make much progress without alerting the
inhabitants of the cave. Both of them often had to look down at their feet to keep from
tripping on stones that jutted up from the main floor. Slowly they made their seemingly
interminable way deeper into the twisting cavern.

Rounding a bend in the corridor, they became aware of increasing light up ahead. Han
slunk against the cave walls, pulling Leia behind him. Ahead of them, the cavern
branched left and right in a "Y." The light was coming from the left branch; the red glow
lights continued down the right arm of the cavern. Blaster up beside his face, his back
against the cavern wall, and holding Leia's wrist with his left hand, Han eased up the
corridor, paused a moment to listen, and then peered cautiously around the corner to
the source of the light.

Long white glow rods illuminated the entrance to a large room. Han could hear the low
hum of equipment of some sort and could see machinery beyond the entrance.
Probably generators, he thought to himself. He didn't see a guard. Motioning for Leia to
remain where she was, he inched around the corner to take a longer look. Peering
through the doorway, he could see a long strip of equipment that was unfamiliar to him
in form; whatever it was, it was very large, larger than any generator needed for the
size of this place. Against the back wall of the room was what appeared to be a
zenomach that had been turned on its axis somehow, probably to bore through the rock
in this cavern. Han could make out little else from this angle. Levering against the wall
at his back, he half pushed, half jumped to the opposite wall of the corridor to get a
different view of the room. Crouching, he could see a catwalk running high above the
room with a lone stormtrooper walking back and forth along its length. The ceiling and
the wall along the entrance were made of native rock, but the other three walls of the
room looked to be made of plastene, an inexpensive, readily available material that
could be easily molded to fit uneven surroundings. Han estimated that the ceiling of the
room was at least three stories high, though the plastene walls did not extend that far.
From where he crouched, he could see a massive cluster of generating and life support
equipment, and a computer control room beyond. Other than the single stormtrooper,
he could detect no signs of life.

Han waited until the stormtrooper's back was turned and then rejoined Leia on the
opposite side of the corridor. Pulling her back around the corner from the entrance, he
whispered to her the gist of what he had found. 

"I think we can make it to the bank of generators," he told her. "Once we're under the
catwalk, it will be hard for the trooper to see us. From there, we'll have to see what we
can find out about this operation." He paused for a moment, considering. "What worries
me is that big piece of equipment in there. I've never seen anything like it before." 

Leia nodded, thinking. Her nerves were beginning to stand on end, just as they had
during the battles of Yavin and Endor. All of her senses seemed alive. Despite the lack
of time she had had for her Jedi training, she thought she could keep that stormtrooper
distracted long enough for Han to figure out what was going on. She looked up at Han,
nodded again, and the two of them crept back around the corner of the cavern toward
the entranceway, Han leading with his back to the wall, blaster still drawn.

When they reached the doorway, which was bathed in bright white light, Leia flattened
herself against the cavern wall as much as she could. She couldn't see the catwalk or
the stormtrooper from behind Han's back. With her free hand, she reached out and
lightly touched his belt for luck. Without looking behind him, he reached back and
squeezed her hand briefly.

Han knew he was at an advantage. The trooper would have difficulty seeing them at
this angle unless they did something stupid. Patiently he waited as the guard walked
the length of the catwalk toward him, then turned to go toward the far end. When he
was about halfway to that end, Han waved Leia forward, and the two of them, crouching
and moving as quickly as they could while remaining silent, made for the bank of
equipment under the catwalk. Once there, Han let out his breath soundlessly and
motioned for Leia to stay down. Above them they could hear the clank, clank of the
trooper's boots on the metal catwalk as he turned and began coming back toward them.

Hunkered down on his knees behind some sort of machinery, Han pulled a small toolkit
from the inside of his vest and pried open the controls. Furtively, with one ear on the
trooper's steps overhead, he glanced up and down the panel. Simple power generator,
he thought. Just as I suspected. Replacing the panel cover, he waited for the trooper to
once again move to the far end of the walk; then, crouching, he made his way to the
next piece of equipment, motioning for Leia to remain where she was. This control
panel proved more difficult to access, and sweat broke out on Han's forehead as he
worked to remove the cover without making noise. Finally the cover broke free, and
Han was able to view the controls. What he saw surprised him. A particle generator.
What the hell would anybody need with one of those in a place like this? he wondered.
Usually such generators were used for protection of large planetary installations that
were deemed crucial to the planet's survival. Sitting back on his heels, he pondered
this a moment. He looked more closely at the controls to see if any modifications had
been made, if there were any clues to its use. It looked like the generator was online,
but not operating at the moment. So it's ready to use, but not being used, he thought.
That could only mean that whoever was behind this secret base was planning on using
it soon but didn't want to call attention to himself yet. There must be something big
here. Han started as he felt a rustle beside him and turned to find Leia there. He
frowned at her in silent reprimand.

Leia ignored him. Leaning close to him, she breathed, "I'm going to try to distract the
trooper. See if you can get over to that large piece of equipment and find out what it is."

Han understood. A Jedi mind trick. He didn't know if Leia could do it or not. He paused
a minute, thinking. She might be right. That equipment might be the clue he needed to
find out what a particle generator was doing on a planet known more for its jewels and
resorts than for any weaponry it held. Motioning toward the control panel, he put his
mouth against Leia's ear. "Particle generator," he whispered. She looked at him
significantly. She understood, too.

Leia reached out, trying to touch the stormtrooper's mind as Luke had taught her to do.
She wished fervently that she had practiced more. She focused on the clank, clank of
his boots, reaching toward his presence, searching and finally locking on to his
consciousness. His mind felt stuporous, almost sleepy. Walk toward the far wall, she
suggested, and stop there. Almost miraculously, the trooper's steps began moving
away from them and stopped when he had almost reached the access door at the far
end of the catwalk. Leia risked breaking her concentration to open her eyes and motion
to Han to get ready to run toward the mysterious machinery across the room. She
closed her eyes again and reached toward the trooper. You don't see anything. You're
very sleepy. There's nothing there. She felt the trooper relax, and silently she waved
Han on.

Han hesitated a split second, but he had no choice but to trust Leia's instincts. Still
crouching, he ran, blaster up, bobbing and weaving among the boxes, machinery, and
repulsor carts that were scattered around the room. He looked back once to see Leia
sitting motionless where he had left her and the stormtrooper with his back toward him.
If the trooper turned around and saw him, Han would be a clear target. Hang in there,
Sweetheart, he silently messaged Leia.

Squatting behind a large repulsor lift that lay near the machine, Han studied the
machine's form for clues to its function. It was more or less cylindrical, although it was
tapered from back to front, and it was perhaps twice as long as Han was tall and about
two thirds his height. Its sides were made of smooth metal. Han looked along its length
for an access panel of some sort. There didn't appear to be one on this side; he'd have
to go around to the other side and hope for the best. Han rolled his eyes. Why is it
always this way? he complained to himself. Biting his lip, he looked up at the trooper;
his back was still turned, though Han could see him fidgeting with his blaster rifle. Leia
still sat motionless where he had left her. There was nothing to shield him between
where he crouched and the far side of the machine. Once there, the machine itself
would provide some protection from the eyes of the trooper, provided Han stayed tight
up against it. He sat back on his heels a minute to think.

Across the room Leia tried to concentrate. She badly wanted to open her eyes and see
where Han was. Tentatively she tried to hold the stormtrooper and simultaneously
reach out toward Han, to feel him. She probed for his presence; there he was.
Immediately she heard the clank of the guard's rifle against the catwalk railing. Startled,
she tried desperately to return her focus to the trooper, to hold onto his consciousness,
but the sudden thought of Han, exposed and in danger, distracted her, and she lost her
concentration. She felt the trooper's mind break from hers.

At that moment Han made his move, half running, half diving from behind the repulsor
lift toward the far side of the large cylindrical machine. The guard, with Leia's hold on
him gone, whirled at the sound of Han's footsteps and raised his rifle. Han saw the
guard turn and lunged desperately for cover, but Leia, leaping out from under the
catwalk, leveled the guard with a single blaster shot. 

For a moment both of them remained frozen -- Leia with raised blaster to one side of
the catwalk and Han on the floor beside the machine, covering his head with his arms.
The metallic sound of the guard crashing down on the catwalk echoed in the air like an
alarm. Then the room grew deadly silent. Leia moved first, running across the room
toward Han with no thought for cover. Han, raising his head and his blaster at the
sound of her footsteps, strained to cover both the catwalk doorways and the main
entrance, fully expecting reinforcements. Leia joined him, crouching behind the
machine, breathing hard. 

"Sorry," she panted. "I couldn't hold him."

One glance at her reassured Han that she was alright. He looked up again, anxiously
waiting for more stormtroopers. "Don't worry about it," he muttered. "We've got more
immediate problems. Or will have, soon."

Han looked about for an acceptable hiding place, but there was none that would hide
them for more than a few minutes. The place was eerily quiet. He waited, listening.
Maybe they could hurry and get out of there without any trouble. He nodded at Leia to
cover him and dragged himself halfway along the length of the machine toward the two
access panels he saw. Lying on his side, he pried the first compartment open and was
bewildered at what he saw. Inside the compartment were several extremely large
crystals, beautifully faceted and with precision steel mountings that appeared to be
capable of almost infinite adjustment. A small keypad corroborated this suspicion. Han
had never seen crystals of this size, even in museums. He glanced back at Leia and
raised one eyebrow, gesturing his confusion. Sliding a little farther toward the rear of
the cylinder, he opened the second panel and found controls for a small fusion
generator, along with adjustments for an emitter matrix. What the hell ... A fusion
generator? Han was so surprised he could hardly think for a moment. A fusion
generator would never be available on a backwater dirtball like Rymir. He lay there for
an instant, wondering. 

Leia moved closer, one eye still on the doors. "What is it?" she whispered.

Han, propped up on one elbow, gestured for her to take a look. "Beats me," he
answered in a low voice.

Leia looked inside the first panel. A faraway look came over her face, and she
motioned to Han to take her blaster. He took it from her with a questioning glance that
she never saw and proceeded to watch the doorways while Leia looked over the
machine. It took her only a few minutes before he saw her set her jaw in determination.
She knows what this is, he thought wonderingly to himself. 

"Han," Leia said slowly, running her hands along the cylinder. "This looks an awful lot
like the inside of a lightsaber, only bigger." She looked at him meaningfully. A cold knot
settled in Han's gut. He didn't like the sound of this.

"But what would anybody do with a lightsaber this size?" he protested. He didn't want
this to be what it appeared.

"I don't know," Leia answered with a distracted tone. "There's just one thing that's
different." She bit her lip and was silent a moment, thinking. Han waited for her to
continue. "Well, you know I've never made one myself, but when Luke explained them
to me, he told me about a flux aperture that focuses the energy into a beam. This
doesn't seem to have one of those, or at least I can't find it."

Han's mind was racing, remembering some of the military history he'd had at the
Academy. "Back before the Clone Wars, or maybe at the beginning of the Wars, there
were several attempts to use lightsaber technology in ship-mounted guns. The idea
was to use pulses of energy instead of a single beam, but all of the attempts proved
disastrous. No one seemed to be able to control the energy pulse. The crystals used
weren't precisely faceted, or were the wrong size, or something. No one could aim the
things with any kind of accuracy or consistency. And the power sources were
insignificant for the kind of energy required for a lightcannon." His voice trailed away.
He looked at Leia, and their eyes met. They were both thinking the same thing. Now
we've got an adequate power source -- a fusion generator -- combined with very large
crystals from a planet rich in gemstones and having the galaxy's best jewel cutters.

Han's face was grim with realization. "I think I know what happened to Ka'al's resort:
somebody made it a practice target. And I think I know where Stinn is," he said evenly.
"Right here, somewhere in this compound."

Leia was white-faced thinking of the destruction they had seen around the lake. On a
larger scale, with something like a fusion generator behind it, there was no telling how
much damage this weapon could do.  "What can we do, Han? Is there any way to
disable this thing?" she asked.

Han looked into the control panel again. None of the controls for the fusion generator
responded to his probings, yet the generator was online and functional. He mused a
moment and then looked back over his shoulder toward the computer room. "My guess
is they've been using smaller generators as temporary power sources to test this thing.
The fusion generator is probably controlled from the main computer room, and when
they get ready to test something larger than Ka'al's group of cabins, they'll use it." He
paused a minute, thinking. "I could go into the computer, try some old slicer codes I
used to know, and see if I can change the programming to overload the actuators and
fry the circuitry." He met Leia's steady gaze. "There's a good chance it might not work,
but it's the only thing I know to try. Once we have this thing offline, we can look for
Stinn and whoever else might be behind this." 

Leia thought a minute, then nodded. "It's our only chance," she agreed. Glancing
around furtively, she stood and stretched. Han did likewise, and the two of them made
their way cautiously toward the computer room. As they approached the catwalk, Leia
looked up uneasily at the lifeless form of the stormtrooper, shivering slightly as they
passed beneath him.

Leia stationed herself at the door to the computer room to stand guard while Han found
a terminal and attempted to log on. Fingers poised over the keys, he tried to remember
his old smuggling tricks for breaking into a computer. By the fourth attempt, he was
sweating. This is going to be harder than I thought.

Leia looked around. "Aren't you into the system yet?" she whispered snappishly. 

Han whirled long enough to glare at her, then turned back to the task at hand. One
more try ... "SYSTEM ACCESS DENIED." Then another ... "SYSTEM ACCESS
DENIED." And a seventh ... then "SYSTEM ACCESS PENDING" blipped across the
screen. Han leaned back, sighing relief. Glancing briefly over his shoulder at Leia, he
began scanning the system for the programming files for the fusion generator. It didn't
take long to find them, but just as he'd suspected, the computer denied him access to
the files. 

"Han, hurry!" Leia whispered nervously. 

Han spun around. "Do you see something?" he asked, rising from the chair.

"No, but the longer we're here, the more I don't like it," Leia responded, her voice taut.

"Okay, okay," Han muttered, turning again to the terminal. His palms were wet with
sweat. Nervousness was not an emotion he was accustomed to, and he intended to put
an end to it as soon as possible. He tried the oldest slicer code he knew, one that had
worked for him on numerous occasions.

But not this time. "FILE ACCESS DENIED," scrolled across the screen. "Okay, that's
not it," he growled to himself. His mind was racing, trying to remember. He punched in a
newer code -- in fact, the newest one he could think of. "FILE ACCESS DENIED," the
computer spit back. Gritting his teeth, he swallowed his response and tried again.
Beads of sweat were standing on his forehead as he hesitatingly punched the keys. He
had committed these to memory once, but that was a long time ago, and now they were
in a voice-activated access file on the Falcon. "FILE ACCESS DENIED," the computer
blipped again. Han swore fiercely.

Leia left her post at the door and swiftly crossed the room. She bent over his shoulder,
her fingers nimbly pushing keys. Han looked up at her in surprise. She glanced down at
him and couldn't help smiling. "Well, I learned a few things, you know, back when we
were trying to steal the Death Star plans." She turned her eyes back to the screen.
"FILE ACCESS DENIED." Now it was Leia's turn to frown. She tried again. For a
moment the screen was blank. Then "FILE ACCESS PENDING," scrolled across. Han
looked up at Leia with relief, and she beamed down at him in triumph.

Neither of them knew the stormtroopers had entered until the blaster bolts stunned
them into unconsciousness.

                           *    *    *

When Han awoke, his arms and legs were bound and strapped tightly to a board that
slanted backward at about a 60-degree angle. His head ached from the effects of the
stun. He waited a moment to open his eyes, thinking that sounds in the room might give
him a clue to where he was and who had him. Someone was nearby, because he could
hear breathing and some shuffling of feet. He lifted his eyelids slowly, cautiously, but
nothing could have prepared him for the face he saw before him, a face he had thought
he would never see again.

"Cryytak," he muttered through clenched teeth.

Cryytak, a mustachioed man of average height and build, had grayed somewhat since
Han had seen him last. He studied Han, the gleam in his eye betraying his pleasure
over Han's capture. His mouth twitched slightly below his mustache. "Yes, Solo, it's me.
You would hardly have guessed I'd turn up again in your life, would you?" He smiled
ever so slightly. "In fact," Cryytak turned on one heel and walked to the opposite wall,
then turned around again to gloat at him from across the room, "I would never have
guessed it myself. After your insubordination over that worthless Wookiee" -- this part
he spat out -- "and the court martial I gave you, I never thought you'd live this long.
Unless, of course, it was to darken the walls of a prison cell or a labor camp."

He was eyeing Han for signs of anger or fear, and Han knew it. Han bit back the retort
he thought of making and instead said evenly, "So -- this is your revenge. Is that it?"
Surreptitiously he tried to move an arm or leg, but they were locked down solid on the
board.

Cryytak was silent a moment, suddenly grim. His jaw muscles worked as he scrutinized
his prisoner. "Let me tell you a story, Solo." He turned again and paced the room slowly
as he talked. Han listened while he tried to make sense of his surroundings. He was in
a small rectangular room. Like the other rooms he had seen so far, there was one wall
of stone and three of plastene. They must have built the complex in a large
underground cavern. A guard stood behind him on the right, while a technician of some
sort waited beside a control panel on his left. No doubt the panel was connected in
some way to the board he was strapped on. Han had already surmised he was to be
tortured. The question was: how? For the moment, no interrogation droids were
present.

"After your little bit of insurrection," Cryytak continued, "Imperial command decided I
was too lax in my troop discipline, too weak in my control over the Wookiee slaves. So
they sent me to the Outer Rim, where they knew I would be of little value to the
Emperor. Actually, Solo, if the truth were known," here he laughed sarcastically, "I was
demoted and left to my own devices." He looked up, meeting Han's steady gaze. "But I
was more resourceful than they thought. I found mineral deposits and notified the
Emperor rather than keep the riches for myself. I conscripted troops for the Emperor's
work. And gradually I worked my way back up the ladder until, after capturing a
munitions factory for His Highness, I was rewarded with an appointment as governor of
Rymir." Cryytak paused a moment, his eyes shining with the memory. "Quite a plum
assignment, that." He paused again, looked at Han. "But I don't want to stay here. I
want to get back to the Inner Rim, the Core worlds. So, I'm using this assignment to
make myself indispensable to the Empire."

"The Emperor's dead, Cryytak," Han said flatly. "Maybe you haven't heard, being out
this far."

Cryytak's mouth formed a thin line. "Oh, I've heard. But there will be another Emperor.
The Imperial forces are too strong to be shattered by one blow." He paced the length of
the room again silently, and then turned once more back to Han. Han's arms were
beginning to ache from the tightness of his bonds.

Cryytak's eyes seemed to be laughing at him. "By the way, Solo, I don't know where
you got her, but that's quite a woman we found you with." He cocked his head slightly,
watching Han's reaction.

Han set his face, refusing to give Cryytak the pleasure of a response. "What do you
plan to do with us, Cryytak?" he asked tersely.

Cryytak looked at him, bemused. "Do you know what you are connected to, Solo?"

Han swiveled his head, looked as closely as he could at the controls on the panel next
to him. It looked like a myostim machine, but ...

"That's right," Cryytak smiled mirthlessly. "It's a myostim. From my own personal gym in
the governor's palace, but with a few ... modifications."

Han set his mouth grimly. This was not going to be fun. He thought of Leia and what
Cryytak might do to her. Perhaps if he negotiated ... He licked his lips. "Look, Cryytak,
the girl is only a smuggling friend of mine." He wasn't about to give away Leia's identity.
"Let her go. You've got me, right? That's what you really want, isn't it? And if you want
to leave, go to the Core, I can set you up with a fast ship ... "

Cryytak threw his head back and laughed, so suddenly that Han flinched. "You're
hardly in a position to bargain, Solo," he said pointedly. Leaning close to Han's face, he
dropped his voice to a whisper, "and I'll get from her what I want."

Anger shot through Han. He knew it showed on his face. He also knew he couldn't
break his bonds. He glared at Cryytak, muttering some choice Corellian curses under
his breath.

Cryytak's eyes grew cold; he suddenly seemed impatient. He turned to his assistant. "Is
everything ready?"

The man nodded.

Cryytak turned back to Han. "I'm sure you're familiar with glitterstim, Solo?" His voice
had a triumphant, almost taunting tone.

Han swallowed. So Cryytak was going to read his thoughts by pumping himself up on
glitterstim.

"What you may not know," Cryytak went on, "is what happens when a small amount of
glitterstim is distilled into a solution and injected into the bloodstream." He paused a
moment and eyed Han intently.

Han began fervently wishing he wouldn't find out. He didn't care for the way this
discussion was going. "I'm sure you won't mind telling me," he said sardonically.

Cryytak smiled grimly. "A small amount, injected into the bloodstream, heightens the
user's physical sensations. Sensations of pleasure ..., " he paused and arched an
eyebrow, " ... or pain." 

Without warning, Han felt the slap of an autoinjector against his arm, a coldness burrow
under his skin.

Cryytak flicked one forefinger.

The electrical impulses began as a hum around Han's ankles, his calf muscles tensing
and relaxing, then tensing again. The attendant adjusted a control, and the pulses
began coming at shorter intervals, leaving no time for his muscles to relax before the
next contraction began. Suddenly Han felt a rushing sensation in his head, like the
feeling of drinking too much Corellian brandy, too fast. And then it was as if he could
feel every cell in his body, discern every nerve fiber. The cold hard clamp of his bonds
became sudden agony with his heightened senses. He could almost feel every thread
of his clothing where it lay against his skin. Contraction followed painful contraction,
with no relief. His legs began to burn as the stim pulses moved upward toward his hips.
Han knew that struggling would only add to his discomfort, so he tried to concentrate,
remain as still as he could. 

The stimuli assaulted his brain, nerve impulses exploded into his consciousness. The
pain was intense, even at this level, and Han knew it would get worse. His senses were
so acute that he could feel every worn spot on the inside of his boots. In fact, his boots,
his clothes seemed to be cutting into his skin. Han fought for control, told himself it was
the glitterstim, it wasn't real. The pain was now a searing spear shooting up his legs
and into his back, feeling as if it were crippling him by degrees.

The assistant adjusted another control.

Now the pulses began running up his arms. Han struggled to keep his fingers from
curling into a fist, knowing that he could crush his own hands if the force became strong
enough. His calves had become hard knots of pain. Han knew that when the
contractions reached his neck, they would eventually impair his circulation, making him
lose consciousness. He almost wished for that now, his legs so tight that it seemed the
force of the muscle contractions would pull his bones apart.

His back was spasming uncontrollably, and his arms and shoulders throbbed with pain
from the contractions. He had to concentrate, had to keep his mind off the pain. He
looked at Cryytak, who stood watching his torture dispassionately. Han wondered why
he didn't laugh or taunt him.

After what seemed like an interminable time, the spasms finally reached his neck. Han
wanted to yell, curse, spit at Cryytak, but the contractions in his jaws kept his mouth
clenched. He fought back against them then, giving in to his instincts. He could no
longer feel his legs, and his arms burned like fire. It became more difficult to breathe,
and spots began swimming before his eyes. He knew it wouldn't be long now.

Cryytak watched silently as Han's eyes fluttered and finally closed and his body
slumped. He motioned to the assistant to turn off the myostim and stood for a moment,
calmly studying Han's unconscious form. The assistant loosened the bonds and caught
Han's limp body as it slid off the slanted board.

                           *    *    *

Leia was restless in her cell. Her head still ached slightly from the blaster stun and her
clothes smelled faintly of ozone, but otherwise she seemed unhurt. She looked up and
down the plastene walls for some sort of surveillance device, but found nothing. Nor did
she see any way to escape. The metal bunk offered little in the way of comfort, and the
bright lighting was incessant. There appeared to be no semblance of day or night in
this place. Sighing, she sat on the bunk, knees drawn up, and tried to clear her mind, to
think of a way to find Han and get out.

She had no way of knowing how much time had passed when the door to her cell
hissed open, and a gray-haired man of medium height -- obviously a person with some
authority -- strode in with two stormtroopers in tow. The troopers stationed themselves
on either side of the door. Leia stood and pulled herself to her full height; she wasn't
going to be at any more of a disadvantage than she had to be. Instinctively she set her
jaw in determination. If this was an interrogation, she was going to fight it as much as
she could.

The man stopped a few feet from her and eyed her up and down. Leia met his gaze
steadily and said nothing. Finally he spoke. "Hello. I am Hornan Cryytak, governor of
Rymir and commander of this ... installation." He smiled slightly beneath the spare
mustache.

Leia said nothing.

"What's your name?" Cryytak asked tersely.

Leia stared stonily ahead.

Cryytak circled her. Leia felt the hair rise on the back of her neck, but she forced
herself to stand still and give him as little indication as possible of her nervousness.
Standing again in front of her, Cryytak nodded slightly, approvingly. "What's your
relationship to Solo?"

Leia's jaw muscles worked. "Wouldn't you like to know," she retorted.

Cryytak seized her roughly by the arm and pulled her close to him. Leia raised her
other hand to strike him but stopped when she felt the cold muzzle of a blaster rifle
against her neck. Cryytak's stood over her, his breath hot on her cheek, and stroked
her face with a gloved hand. Leia turned her head, shrinking from his touch; her arm
was beginning to hurt from the tightness of his grasp. Cryytak leaned closer and
whispered in her ear, "It will be sweeter when you come to me on your own. You'll learn
that I have certain things -- privileges, niceties, and the like -- that will make your life
here more pleasant." He paused a moment for effect. "Be assured: You are not
leaving." 

Abruptly he shoved her against the wall, turned on his heel, and left, the troopers
following in his wake. Leia, her legs weak, waited until the door had closed behind him
and then slowly slid down the wall until she sat on the cell floor, shaking. Where was
Han? And how would they ever get out of here?

                         *    *    *    *

Han awoke to the same white light reflecting off of the same white plastene walls that
seemed to be everywhere in the compound. He squinted, his eyes slow to adjust to the
brightness. His body was so stiff he could hardly move. He tried to sit up but thought
better of it and sank back on the metal bunk.

"Finally awake, are you?" said a resonant voice from across the cell.

Han started at the sound of a familiar voice. "Ka'al?" he stammered. "What're you doing
here?"

"It's Cryytak's idea of irony." Ka'al stood up and crossed the room. His burly, barrel-chested form hadn't changed much, though his thick, black hair was slightly grayer. His
clothing was worn, nearly threadbare, and his boots were badly scuffed. He cocked his
head, looking down at Han. "The real question, my old friend, is: How did you find this
place, and why?" Kneeling down, he abruptly logrolled Han onto his stomach on the
bunk. Han, surprised by the move, attempted to fight it, but Ka'al put a large hand in the
middle of his back, effectively stopping his protest. "Han, if you want to walk anytime in
the next two standard days, we've got to get the lactic acid out of those muscles of
yours." Ka'al laughed sarcastically. "I know I'm not your idea of a masseuse, but just
pretend I'm a beautiful Abyssin maid sent here for your pleasure." He began to kneed
the muscles in Han's legs and back.

Han, about to retort, instead bit his lip to keep from crying out. His muscles were hard
with acid; this was going to be nearly as painful as the myostim. Silently he gripped the
sides of the metal bunk and gritted his teeth. 

When Ka'al was finished, Han sat up on the edge of the bunk, gingerly testing his arms
and shoulders. Some soreness remained, but the intense stiffness was gone. He stood
and slowly crossed the cell, shrugging his shoulders and shaking out his forearms as
he did so. He looked gratefully at Ka'al. "Thanks," he said simply, relief evident in his
eyes. 

Ka'al shrugged. "It was the least I could do. I haven't forgotten what you did for me on
New Cov."

"I guess it's too much to ask for a little food in this joint," Han observed wryly, wishing
he weren't so hungry.

"Supper came while you were getting your beauty sleep," Ka'al grinned.

"Figures," Han noted under his breath. He began pacing back and forth, examining the
walls of the cell with a critical eye. Ka'al crossed his arms and leaned back on his bunk.
"There aren't any listening devices. At least, none that I could find. For starters, why
don't you tell me how you got here?"

Han sat down then, surprised at how quickly he had gotten tired. He related his story to
Ka'al and then began questioning Ka'al about the weapon he and Leia had found. 

Ka'al confirmed his fears. "Cryytak came here with a mission: to vault himself into the
Empire's elite. Several scientists came with him as part of his  staff.' They figured out
how to apply lightsaber technology to a gun large enough to serve a Star Destroyer.
Cryytak kidnapped the key people he needed -- jewel cutters, metal forgers, and the
like -- and then planted rumors to explain their disappearance, but when the business
dried up, I got suspicious and started snooping around. I ended up here because I was
too dangerous on the outside, and Cryytak needed manpower to work the mines." Here
he paused, his voice grim. "There are maybe 40 or 50 of us doing his dirty work; it's
likely he'll put you in the mines, too. And from what you tell me about the area around
the lake, he's been testing the lightcannon."

Han nodded and thought a moment. "How many troopers does Cryytak have?"

Ka'al knotted his large hands behind his neck. "Not that many. But the problem is, they
have all the guns."

Han laughed bitterly and then muttered under his breath, "Yeah, isn't that always the
way?" Casting a significant look at Ka'al, he said, "Well, old buddy, it looks like we're
going to have to improve the odds."

                         *    *    *    *

At Ka'al's insistence, Han attempted to rest, but his mind was racing, wondering where
Leia was being held. He didn't want to think about what Cryytak might do to her. He lay
on the unrelentingly hard metal bunk, one arm over his face to shield his eyes from the
bright light overhead, and tried to come up with a plan. 

                         *    *    *    *

Han woke with a start at the shusshh of the cell door opening. He must have dozed.
Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he felt the prod of a blaster rifle between his ribs. "On
your feet," the stormtrooper said tersely.

"What, no breakfast?" Han snarled. Standing slowly, he met Ka'al's gaze from across
the room and locked eyes with him briefly. Ka'al showed no emotion as the two headed
out of their cell and into the corridor, the trooper following behind with his blaster rifle
pointed at their backs. Han stole a brief glance in both directions as he stepped out of
the cell; there was no one else in the corridor. The odds weren't likely to get any better
than this. He set his jaw and glanced at Ka'al, who was walking slowly, staring straight
ahead of him. Han slackened his steps deliberately, falling in pace with his old friend.

"C'mon," the trooper barked, "get a move on." With that, he shoved Han in the back
with the butt of the rifle. Seeing his chance, Han, despite being slightly off balance,
dropped and rolled backward into the trooper's legs. At the same time, Ka'al, clasping
both hands together, brought them down on the back of the trooper's neck, sending him
sprawling over Han's rolling form. The trooper's rifle clattered to the floor, and Ka'al
pounced on it. Pointing it at the trooper, he growled, "Where's the munitions supply?"

The man sat up and spread his hands, feigning ignorance. Han grabbed him by both
shoulders, lifted, and slammed him hard against the cavern wall. "Let's try this again,"
he threatened through gritted teeth. Ka'al placed the tip of the rifle against the man's
neck. "Okay, okay," the man swallowed. "I'll take you there."

"Hurry it up," Han shoved him forward. The three of them half ran down the corridor,
with Han keeping an eye out behind him, past numerous other cells. At the end of the
detention corridor, they forked left, and the man stopped before a sealed blast door.

"Open it," Ka'al ordered.

The man keyed in a code, and Ka'al and Han stepped quickly inside as the door
opened, shoving the trooper ahead of them and then re-sealing the door. The room
was small and contained mostly blaster rifles and pistols, along with a few simple
detonators and several shelves of blaster packs. With Ka'al holding the trooper at bay,
Han slung several blaster rifles over his shoulder and then stuck two pistols in his belt.
As an afterthought, he slipped three extra blaster packs into a pocket inside his vest.
Might as well replace the ones I blew up at the resort. He then handed two rifles and
two pistols to Ka'al, who did likewise. 

"Now," Han said menacingly, leveling a pistol at the trooper's face. "I want to know
where the woman is being held." His eyes narrowed, and his voice became hard. "And
if you tell me,  I don't know,' that will be the last breath you draw."

"Cell 43-A," the man answered quickly, his back against the wall. 

"Good boy," Han said sarcastically. Grabbing the trooper by the arm, he pushed him
forward and out the door. "Now you're going to help us get her out."

Using the trooper as a shield, the two former smugglers made their way down a
labyrinth of cells formed somewhat crudely along the snaking length of the cavern. Han
surmised they were nearly at the end of the complex, because the lighting was not as
bright here and in some places the glow rods flickered on and off as they passed.
There couldn't be much beyond this point.

The trooper finally stopped in front of one cell and punched some keys on the access
panel. The door hissed open, and Han caught a brief glimpse of Leia sitting on a metal
bunk much like the one in his own cell, her knees drawn up and her eyes closed. At the
sound of the door opening, however, she leaped to her feet, her eyes blazing. Relief
washed over both of them for a brief moment; Leia's eyes softened as she quipped,
"Took you long enough, Flyboy."

Han tossed her a rifle, which she caught deftly. "No time for a reunion now, Sweetheart.
We've got to make that lightcannon nonfunctional." Turning to Ka'al, he said, "What
about the other prisoners? Are they in the mines?"

Ka'al shook his head. "Not yet. But they will be soon."

Leia spoke up. "We've got to get to them before they go down. We need the
reinforcements."

Han nodded. "Just what I was thinking." Turning to the trooper, he barked, "Now,
Junior, take us to the main mine entrance. On the double." 

The trooper needed no encouragement. The four of them took off at a dead run through
the winding, twisting cavern, the rifles slung across Han's shoulder slamming against
his back with each step. He ignored the discomfort, along with the soreness that
remained in his limbs from the myostim. Soon they reached the end of the brightly lit
corridor and turned down a fork lit only by the red Imperial glow lights. Leia periodically
looked back over her shoulder, her breath coming harder and harder in the somewhat
stale air of the cavern. Their footsteps crashed and echoed in the semi-darkness.
Finally, Ka'al, with one hand on the trooper's arm, slowed to a walk and held up his rifle
for the others to do likewise. Breathing heavily, he stopped and motioned down the
corridor. "The main mine entrance is just ahead. How do we want to go in? Slow and
quiet-like? Or with a lot of noise?"

Han looked at Leia. She shrugged. Motioning for her to come with him and for Ka'al to
stay behind and guard the trooper, Han led the way, inching around a bend in the
cavern tunnel. Up ahead they could see that the corridor opened into a large cavern
room that was fairly well lit.  Heavy mining equipment lay against the far wall. Troopers
were marshaling prisoners toward the line of mining cars that would carry them deep
underground. The prisoners looked tired and worn, their shoulders slumped and their
clothing dirty and in poor condition. There were only a half dozen or so stormtroopers
stationed at strategic points in the room. Han looked back at Leia; her eyes were
smoldering at the injustice she saw, her lips drawn tight in anger. Han laid a finger on
his mouth and gestured for her to remain where she was. Stepping back down the
corridor, he rounded the corner and motioned to Ka'al. "Hey, buddy," Han said in a low
voice. "I've never been the quiet type. Whadd'ya say we make some noise?" Ka'al
nodded, his dark eyes twinkling. Shoving the trooper ahead of them, they made their
way back to where Leia waited. Han took both blaster pistols from his belt, checked the
charges, and nodded grimly at Leia. She raised her rifle to the ready position, and the
three of them, pushing the trooper in advance, clattered into the mine entrance room.

The sound of their boots, rough on the stone floor, echoed in the chamber. Troopers
and prisoners alike looked up to see the three of them standing in the chamber
entrance, Leia and Ka'al with their rifles up, Han brandishing both pistols.

"Hey!" Han shouted. "Don't move, and no one will get hurt!" Striding over to the nearest
trooper, he seized the trooper's rifle and motioned for him to stand against the wall.
Stunned prisoners, their eyes glistening with the hope of redemption, began moving
toward Han. Unslinging the rifles from his shoulder, Han tossed them to several of the
prisoners, who caught them and proceeded to disarm the remaining stormtroopers. Han
laid a hand on the shoulder of the nearest prisoner. "You know how to get out of here?"
he quizzed. 

The man nodded. "Sure."

Han waved toward the line of stormtroopers forming against the wall. "Take these guys
above ground and hold them until we can radio the police in Monokahrr. Think you can
handle that?"

The man grinned. "No problem."

Han clapped him on the back and then turned back to Leia and Ka'al. Looking at Leia,
he said, "Well, Princess, here's where you get to put your slicing expertise to work
again. Ka'al, how do we get to the computer room from here?"

Ka'al shrugged. "Back the way we came, add a few turns here and there. We need to
hustle, so that word of this doesn't get there before we do."

Han nodded, and the three of them took off again through the twisted cavern, Ka'al
leading and Han taking up the rear. After racing through several dimly lit corridors, they
reached the bright passageways that marked the main portion of the compound. Han,
glancing behind him, fervently hoped they didn't meet a group of stormtroopers. As they
rounded a bend near the main room of the complex, his heart caught in his throat when
he saw a trooper step out of the shadows. Without hesitation, Leia raised her rifle and
leveled him. Ka'al, surprised, turned around and looked at her with admiration.
"Where'd you learn to do that?"

Leia smiled, bemused. "I've had a few lessons."

Han approached the trooper, rolled him over with the toe of his boot, and removed a
blaster pistol from the trooper's belt. He tossed it to Leia, who stuck it in the waistband
of her flight pants. Without another word, the three continued on, somewhat more
cautiously, down the corridor until they reached the entrance to the main room. "Here
we go again," Leia murmured sarcastically.

Crouching outside the doorway, the three surveyed the room. One trooper walked the
catwalk high above; another guarded the doorway to the computer area. No one else
appeared to be in the room. "Lucky for us it's still early," Han muttered. Looking at
Ka'al, he said tersely, "You ready, pal?"

Ka'al's mouth was grim. "Allow me," he responded. Standing, he raised his rifle, aimed
for the trooper on the catwalk, and fired. The trooper slumped against the metal railing,
his rifle clattering to the floor. Before the other trooper could react, Han stepped
forward, blaster drawn, and dropped him with a single shot. Ka'al fired again, and the
first trooper fell heavily onto the catwalk and was still. 

The three made their way toward the computer room, dodging generators and pieces of
small equipment. They burst through the door, weapons raised in caution, but sure
enough, the room was empty. Han stationed himself at the door and, taking Leia's rifle,
motioned her toward the computer console. "Showtime, Sweetheart," he grinned. "Let's
hope they haven't changed the access code."

"Right," she said, settling down to work.

It took several attempts for Leia, with Ka'al assisting, to access the central computer.
Ka'al suggested that they first disable the force field surrounding the compound and
then access the detention files to override the lockdown of all of the prison cells. With
both of them working, the force field was quickly rendered ineffective. Leia's palms
were sweating, but she was feeling that curious exhilaration that always came with a
fight. Scanning the files on the system, she located the master controls for the
detention area and attempted to disarm the system-wide lockdown. "LOCKDOWN
OVERRIDE DENIED," the computer responded. Leia felt the hair rise on the back of
her neck. Nimbly her fingers punched an alternative code. The system again denied
her override. Nervous now, she slammed her palm down on the table. Ka'al leaned
over her shoulder. "Allow me again," he said quietly. "Lockdown override codes are a
prerequisite for smuggling if you want to get yourself or your cargo out of a holding
area." He tried once, without success, and then again. "LOCKDOWN OVERRIDE
COMMENCING," the computer blipped. Ka'al straightened and blew out his breath
loudly, causing Han to turn from his post at the door. Ka'al met his gaze.

"Han, there are still people in the detention area; I'm going down there and lead them
out," Ka'al said. He strode toward the door, and Han laid a hand on his arm, stopping
him. "Good luck," Han said simply. "And be careful. Once we remove the safety stops
on the lightcannon's fusion generator, this mountain will soon become an anthill." 

Ka'al nodded in understanding and left. Han turned back to Leia, who was
concentrating on the computer screen before her. She punched some keys, waited a
moment, then frowned. She tried again. Her mouth became a thin line. "Han, they've
changed the access code for the lightcannon files," she said, exasperation creeping
into her voice. "I can't seem to slice it."

"Maybe we can crack it together," Han suggested, and moved across the room to look
over her shoulder.

He reached in front of her and again tried one of the codes he remembered from his
smuggling days. "FILE ACCESS DENIED," the computer responded. Leia looked up at
him and bit her lip. "Okay," she said determinedly, "let's try something different."
Hesitatingly she punched one key, then another, and another, reversing the code that
had worked previously. Han frowned, trying to see the logic in the steps. Suddenly he
knew where she was going. Her fingers, poised briefly over the keypad, punched in the
last two numbers. The screen abruptly went blank. Han and Leia looked at one another,
breathless. Suddenly the master control file for the lightcannon appeared on the
monitor. "I love you," he grinned with relief, leaning down to kiss her.

Leia flashed him a momentary smile. "Now it's your show, hotshot. Time to disarm this
monster." Han handed her the rifles, and they exchanged places.

Han called up the schematic for the fusion generator. As he had thought, the generator
was online, but safety stops were preventing it from operating. Methodically he worked
his way through the programming, removing the safety stops and altering the control
commands to overload the actuators. Leia leaned over his shoulder, double-checking
behind him. Finally he looked up at her; their eyes met. "That should do it," Han said.

"How long before it blows?" Leia asked.

"I can't say for sure," Han replied, standing and reaching out for one of the rifles, which
Leia handed to him. "Maybe 15 minutes, maybe 20. Not much more."

"Let's get out of here then," Leia said briskly, heading for the main room and the exit
corridor beyond, "and hope that Ka'al got the rest of the prisoners out on time."

Leading the way, she zig-zagged through the generating equipment and out into the
passageway. Han detoured, stopping to pop off the access panel to the lightcannon's
fusion generator. The activation light was blinking. Good, he thought. Now if everything
will just go as planned ... Whirling, he sprinted toward the exit corridor to catch up with
Leia ...

... and was brought up short by the point of a blaster rifle. Cryytak was holding the other
end, a smirk stealing across his face. An assistant held Leia's arms behind her. At the
sight of the rifle aimed at Han's chest, she stopped struggling to free herself.

"Think you're clever, don't you, Solo?" Cryytak asked, relieving him of his weapons.
"I've been at the palace, doing some checking on you. The HoloNet contains some very
interesting information about you and one Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan. I think the
two of you might make very useful hostages. Or at least interesting interrogation
subjects." His face grew hard. "Let's go. Now."

Han swallowed and looked at Leia. He didn't see any way out. Cryytak's assistant
released her roughly and pushed her down the dimly lit corridor. Han followed grimly,
the point of Cryytak's rifle prodding him periodically in the back. They retraced their
original steps back to the "Y" in the corridor, but instead of turning down the main
passageway, Cryytak shoved them in the other direction, down the dimly lit fork in the
corridor.

Han pursed his lips. Cryytak doesn't know about the fusion generator. Leia was walking
slightly in front of him, her eyes focused ahead. Cryytak and his assistant followed
behind, blaster rifles trained on the two of them. Han didn't know for sure, but it seemed
to him they were going deeper into the cavern.

"You won't get away with this, Cryytak," Leia said calmly, almost demurely. Han knew
that tone. She had a plan.

"We'll see," Cryytak grunted, nudging her shoulder blade with the tip of his rifle.

Han weighed their odds of escaping. He could tell Cryytak about the fusion generator;
maybe they'd all get out alive, and he and Leia could somehow get away later. Or they
could try to surprise him here, in the semi-darkness of the cave. Han decided the
sooner he was away from Cryytak, the better.

They were approaching a curve in the passageway when Han saw Leia's head turn
slightly as she cast him a sideways glance. Here we go.

For one brief moment as they rounded the curve, Leia was obscured from Cryytak's
vision. She used the moment to swiftly turn and grab the muzzle of Cryytak's rifle,
slinging him with all her might against the rock wall. Han spun, driving his head into the
surprised assistant's gut and sending him sprawling on the cavern floor. Han heard the
rifle clatter to the ground and frantically tried to get a hand on it in the glow-red light of
the corridor.

Suddenly there was the scuffle of boots on the rock floor. Han and Leia turned just in
time to see Ka'al and Stinn step from the shadows of the cavern and flatten Cryytak
and his assistant with blaster bolts. 

"Stinn!" Han flashed a grin. "I knew you were good with a jeweler's blade, but I didn't
know you could handle a blaster so well."

It was Stinn's turn to smile. "I heard you'd come to rescue us. I figured I should return
the favor."

They gathered up the weapons that were scattered on the rocky floor. In the distance
they could hear the muffled voices and shouts of prisoners.

"Everybody out?" Han asked Ka'al.

"Yeah," he replied. "Stinn and I were making one last walk-through checking for
stragglers when we ran into our esteemed  commander' here. Did you overload the
actuators?"

Han nodded. "There isn't much time. We need to get out of here and get everyone
away from the entrance before that thing blows."

The four of them ran back toward the entrance as quickly as they could, passing the
equipment area, where Han could see the blue-white glow of the actuators as they
began to overheat. Only a few more minutes, he thought, lowering his head and racing
as fast as he could over the uneven ground. Reaching the outside, the four stopped,
squinting in the bright sunlight. Dozens of prisoners were celebrating, smiling and
enjoying the fresh air as they picked their way across the deep ravine toward the
woods. Those who were armed were holding a group of stormtroopers at bay in a small
clearing across the ravine.

"Hey!" Han roared. "Everybody get as far away from the entrance as you can. This
mountain is going to be Rymiran dust in a matter of minutes!" Fanning out, Han, Leia,
Ka'al, and Stinn shouted instructions as they went, assuring the freed prisoners that
they would call for public transports as soon as they could and helping a few sick or
injured prisoners climb out of the ravine and make their way to cover. Leia rejoined Han
at the edge of the woods, and they raced as fast as they could toward the spot where
they had camouflaged the speeder.

They didn't quite make it. Hearing a low rumble begin and feeling the ground tremble
beneath his feet, Han grabbed Leia's arm, and the two dove for cover behind a large
yew tree at the edge of the stand of trees where the speeder lay hidden. Covering her
head with her arms, Leia couldn't help sneaking a look at the mountain as it imploded,
the explosion muffled by several feet of rock. Dirt, stones, and debris shot out of the
cavern entrance, and a cloud of dust enveloped the mountain as it shook and then
settled on itself. Aftershocks sent avalanches of rock down its sides, burying the
entrance, and for several minutes they listened as smaller explosions deep within
caused the mountain to shudder and heave.

Finally the powder-like fog of grit around them began to settle. Leia looked at Han. A
thin film of dust covered him from head to toe: hair, skin, lips, clothing, boots -- nothing
was spared. She tried to repress the desire to laugh, knowing that she must look the
same, but a giggle escaped her. 

Han frowned. "Very funny, Your Worship," he growled, trying to slap the dust from his
clothes. He was only partially successful.

At that, Leia laughed out loud, leaning back against the yew tree, her shoulders
shaking with mirth.

Han waited out her laughter with an impatient look on his face. Finally he stood and
pulled her to her feet. "You don't look so good either, you know, Chuckles," he said
pointedly.

Small giggles were still escaping her. Leia tried to wipe her mouth with the back of her
hand and grimaced at the grit on her lips. Looking up at Han, she pulled him toward the
speeder. "Let's go, Flyboy. That new refresher unit is calling."

Once at the speeder, Han contacted the authorities in Monokahrr, briefly informing
them of the situation and ordering public transports and enforcement cruisers for the
former prisoners and stormtroopers. He and Leia gave a brief report to the
Monokahrran police after they arrived and then climbed wearily into the speeder to
head for the Falcon.

Neither of them said much on the way to the Falcon's docking bay. Leia watched as the
blighted countryside became sparse settlements that, one by one, grew closer and
closer until they eventually ran together to form Monokahrr. There was more activity on
the streets of the city as news of what had happened reached the residents. Leia noted
with relief that Monokahrran police guards were now stationed outside the governor's
palace. I'll offer Rymir membership in the Alliance, she thought, her mind already
working on an outline of her proposal. Leaning back against the speeder seat, she
closed her eyes, suddenly feeling very tired.

Han brought the speeder to a halt with a slight lurch, causing Leia to open her eyes in
surprise that they had already reached the docking bay. The Falcon stood silently in its
berth, the red glow of one of Rymir's setting suns glinting off its gunports. Leia looked
over at Han as they climbed from the speeder. Fatigue was etched in the lines in his
face; his eyes were tired, listless. Silently he shouldered their bags and trudged toward
the ship. Leia, striding next to him, suddenly noticed her hunger and resolved to raid
the Falcon's galley as soon as she felt able. 

Han keyed in the security code, and the Falcon's door hissed open. Leia felt relief at
the familiarity of its somewhat cramped interior. She took the bags from Han and
started back toward the cabin. "You coming?" she called back over her shoulder. 

Han was already making his way toward the cockpit. "Naah," he returned. "I'm going to
check out the Falcon, make sure nobody tampered with her while we were gone."

Leia smiled to herself, shaking her head. Han had to be as tired as she was, but his
beloved ship came first. Reaching the cabin, she tossed their bags on the floor and
headed for the refresher unit. She was definitely going to enjoy this.

                         *    *    *    *

Sometime later, the grime gone and feeling warm from the blowers, Leia emerged from
the refresher. Han hadn't returned from his inspection. Okay, I'll go get us something to
eat, she thought, heading for the galley. Once there, she searched the storage bins,
frowning; Han's grocery selection had a decidedly Corellian bent. She heard Han's
familiar stride go down the passageway toward the cabin while she stood there,
deciding. Remind me never to let Han buy the rations again. She continued clattering
around in the cluttered space, piecing together a meal for the two of them. Quickly she
placed the food on two plates and headed back to the cabin. 

Once there, she found Han sprawled on his back in the middle of the repulsor bed,
sound asleep. Leia stopped for a moment, enjoying watching him. Softly she laid the
plates down on the small desk at one end of the room. Leaning over him, she gently
stroked his hair back from his face and kissed his forehead. Han stirred in his sleep,
murmuring. Gazing down at him, Leia shook her head. "I'll say one thing for you, Nerf
Herder: You sure know how to show a girl a good time."