SOLO 
by Wayne Poe <louis@h4h. com>

		CHAPTER 1

	Han Solo splashed cool water on his face, as he stood in front of 
the basin. He looked up into the mirror, and regarded his tired eyes. 
I'm not up to a shouting match with Leia tonight, he thought to himself 
wearily. Still, he shook his hands dry and toweled them off, and headed 
for the living room. Han's wife Leia, Chief of State of the New 
Republic, still had her back to him. She stared out of her floor to 
ceiling window onto the expansive city, and its millions of tiny lights 
shining in the darkness. But she saw none of the cities' splendor. Han 
could tell she was still seething. "Leia," he began, but she cut him 
off. 

	"Do you realize," she interrupted him, her voice cold, "how much 
you've embarrassed me, tonight?" Han watched as she turned to him, her 
multi-colored evening gown seeming to change hues with her every 
movement. Han had shouldered out of his formal attire as soon as he 
returned to their suite. "But Leia... he PAINTED it!!" he responded, 
indignant. "Was that any reason to hit him? To turn an induction 
ceremony into a barroom brawl? Administrator Windemere is the museum's 
curator. It was his JOB to restore the Falcon." Han looked away, 
glowering. Ever since his pride and joy, the Millenium Falcon was 
donated to the museum, he felt as though he donated a kidney. But it 
was clear over two years ago the Falcon would never fly again, at least 
not safely. The micro-fissures in its superstructure and ship-wide 
metal fatigue was testimony enough that the battered freighter had 
logged more flight time than it was designed for. And Han's use of 
capitol ship class drives, shields, and dampers had hastened her 
demise. 

	Leia's anger was still unsated. "Luke's X-Wing is there, fully 
restored. You don't see him charging in there swinging his lightsaber!" 
she said hotly. "You're lucky you're not in custody, Han."

	"Membership has its privileges." Han mumbled nastily. Leia's eyes 
narrowed to slits at the remark. "Another dig at my duties, Han? When 
you married me, you KNEW I wasn't going to give up public office." 
Leia's voice was laced with anger, but Han heard the underlying hurt he 
had caused. Look Leia, I'm sorry ok? But I was told that the Falcon 
wouldn't be touched. I just lost if for a minute."

	"Well, you got your wish," Leia shot back, "I doubt even the 
custodial droids will even go near that junk heap now." Han shook his 
head in frustration and walked over to the conform-lounger, and dropped 
into it. "Can we change the subject?" He asked. "You still haven't 
discussed with me when I can take Jacen out of that Jedi Academy."

	"Oh!" Leia exclaimed. She looked to the ceiling for sympathy. 
"Not again. Han, we can't interrupt his Jedi training for every little 
whim. Luke says its important that he be allowed to finish." Leia 
turned to him. "It's his destiny." Han stood up and faced her, angry. 
"You know, he's my son too, and I think what I have to teach him is 
just as important. Who said he has to be a Jedi, Leia?" Leia pursed her 
lips, and spoke to her husband in slow, even tones, in the hopes that 
he'd understand. "Jacen and Jaina are destined to be Jedi, Han. Luke 
has foreseen it." Leia crossed her arms in front of her, and 
automatically slipped into her debate mode that had made her such a 
shrewd leader. However, Han was not intimidated, and slipped into his 
own familiar debate pose; hands on hips, he leaned into the argument. 
"Has it occurred to you, or anyone else, that his father may have a 
thing or two to teach him that has nothing to do with blasted Jedi?"

	"Oh, what? Smuggling? Other sundry illegal pursuits?" Leia 
shouted, angrily. As soon as she said it, however, she immediately 
regretted it. She put a comforting hand on her husband's powder blue 
shirt. "Oh, Han, I didn't mean--"

	She stopped, and let her hand slip away from him. Leia saw how 
deeply her words wounded Han. His face had turned nasty, and turned on 
his heel and walked toward the door to their suite. He paused, and 
grabbed a dark blue trenchcoat from the back of a chair. Almost as an 
afterthought, he turned back to Leia. "You know," he whispered, "Your 
family tree is nothing to write home about, either." With that, he 
palmed open the door and left the suite. Leia stared after him, cursing 
herself. "Some diplomat," she berated herself quietly. 

	
		CHAPTER 2

	"Anakin, hey squirt, wake up!" Han nudged his young son awake in 
the darkness of his room. Anakin blinked once, and was immediately 
alert. "You lifting off tonight, dad?" he whispered. "Shh!" Han 
admonished him, "If we finish tonight, yes." Han helped Anakin into 
warmer clothes, then led him to the front door. He poked his head into 
the bedroom he shared with Leia. The Chief of State was sound asleep. 
Good. Sorry, Leia, Han thought, but I have to do this. 

	Han and Anakin made their way to the museum near the middle of 
the city. Although it was late at night, Coruscant's former Imperial 
City was alive with activity. Stores and entertainment suites were 
brightly lit and heavily patronized. Only public buildings and offices 
were closed, and this included the museum. Han and his son cut down a 
back alley, and approached a darkened building. There were two men 
loitering at the back door. Han walked up to the pair nonchalantly. 
"Don't you two have trials, tomorrow?" Han asked. One of the lean 
youths stepped out of the shadows to greet Han. 

	"Yup! General Antilles is gonna kill us if we fall asleep in the 
cockpit, but we couldn't pass this up. Not after all these months!" Bos 
Ames, a rookie X-Wing pilot and senior at the academy, had high hopes 
of being accepted into Rogue Squadron. Bos' partner in crime, Lif'Ma, 
shook hands with Solo. He too was an academy pilot. Lif'Ma turned to 
the rear door, and ran a reader over the lock. The door popped open, 
and the four of them slipped into the museum. The two pilots headed to 
the west wing maintenance room, to retrieve the MB laser. Han and 
Anakin approached the flight wing. There in the middle of the room 
stood a dark, familiar shape. Han took a palm lamp from a pocket of his 
flight jacket, and ran it along the underhull. 

	In the many months that he had been sneaking into the museum 
under the cover of darkness, Han had never noticed anything amiss about 
the exterior of his ship. He had made certain when he donated the 
Millenium Falcon to the museum that there was an agreement that the 
interior of the freighter never be open to the public. It never 
occurred to him that he would have to insure that the exterior of the 
ship not be touched. Han's brow creased as the new paint job shone back 
at him. "Can't believe this," Han whispered. He played the flashlight 
under the cockpit as he surveyed the restoration. "Look at this! They 
even pulled out the dents when I had that landing accident. And that 
conduit hasn't been reconnected since--"

	"Dad, Dad!" Anakin whispered harshly. Han looked over to his son, 
who was standing near the landing ramp with the two pilots. "Ok, ok!" 
Han grumbled. He walked up the ramp and unlocked the inner hatch, as 
Bos and Lif'Ma guided the bulky laser into the main hold. Anakin ran 
ahead of them and switched on the overhead lights. 

	He then stood in the middle of the hold and concentrated. 
Although he didn't understand what he was doing, he felt the Force flow 
through him. He turned this energy to the surrounding ship, feeling as 
though he was crawling through every nook and cranny of the freighter. 
Han looked on with interest, as the two pilots powered up the Molecular 
Bonding laser. Han had played the laser over the exterior hull plates 
of the ship for over a month, until Anakin told him that the outside of 
the Falcon "felt better". The MB laser was generally used to fuse the 
fuselage metals of the new X-Wing fleet. This, in effect, made the 
fuselage one solid piece, greatly improving the craft's integrity. 
Before he found out about this wonderful invention, Han had no hope of 
ever flying the Falcon safely again. Scuttling the ship never entered 
his mind. The Falcon wasted away in a hangar for over two years until 
Leia persuaded him to donate her to the museum. 

	Bos and Lif'Ma cornered Han soon afterward. Both were children 
during the Falcon's heyday, and they, like Han, couldn't stand to see 
it rotting in a museum. That's when they told him of a new laser being 
put to use on the new X-Wing fighters. The microfissures all over the 
superstructure were so numerous that they couldn't be catalogued by the 
laser's scopes, however. But with Anakin's help, they would finish the 
final repairs to the ship's superstructure from the interior. Bos fired 
up the laser as Anakin showed him where to direct it. The two pilots 
followed the child around the ship as he pointed at hidden weak points 
in the hull to be fixed. Han walked into the cockpit and sat in the 
pilot's chair. He paused, and ran a hand over the helm. "Told you I'd 
get ya to jump planet again!" he whispered. 

	
		CHAPTER 3

	Han plugged the remote stud into the control grid of the repulsorlift 
pads. He flipped a standby switch, and smiled at the green indicator 
light blinking back at him. Good, he thought. The pads that were used 
to maneuver the Millenium Falcon into the roof dome of the museum were 
still in place; attached to the landing pods. With the remote, Han 
could activate and jettison them from the cockpit. He shut off his palm 
lamp and trotted back up the ramp. "How's it comin'?" Han said, as he 
walked back into the main hold. Bos and Lif'Ma looked up from their 
task of powering down the MB laser. 

	"Anakin says we're finished, Captain!" Bos replied. Han looked 
over to his son, who was amusing himself with the holochess board. "So 
soon, Anakin?" he asked. Anakin Solo looked up at his father. "Yup!" he 
said, cheerily. "It... I mean, SHE feels well now! She's A-ok, dad!" 
Han, arms akimbo, looked up and around the interior of the ship. There 
was no way the Falcon's computers could have picked out all the 
superstructures' infirmities. Short of disassembling the entire ship in 
dry dock, that is. But Anakin had changed all that. Han remembered what 
Luke had told him, about the Force having a different affect on 
different people. Leia had all but abandoned her formal Jedi training, 
discovering that her talent for the Force made her a formidable leader. 
Jacen and Jaina were taking to their Jedi training with ease, although 
Jacen was having a harder time of it, according to Luke. And then there 
was Anakin's talent for fixing complex machinery and things he could 
not fully begin to understand. He just instinctively KNEW how to fix 
these things. 

	"Are you and Jacen going to visit Chewie?" Han's mood darkened, 
as he looked down at his son. "Well, I don't think Chewie would be too 
happy to see me right now, kid." Anakin felt he hit a sore spot with 
his dad, and didn't press further. "Captain? We've gotta get this laser 
back before it's missed, and get back to the barracks before WE'RE 
missed!" Han looked over to Lif'Ma and smiled. "Yeah, yeah, I'm anxious 
to see the Falcon fly again, too!" The two pilots laughed, and guided 
the bulky laser out of t he hold and down the ramp. "Dad?" Han turned 
to see his son standing on the acceleration couch, looking up at him. 
"Take me with you!" Han bit his bottom lip, and gathered his son in his 
arms. "Come on, Anakin, I told you this is something Jacen and me have 
to do alone." Han watched in dismay as Anakin's eyes filled with tears. 
"Hey," Han said, brushing the tears away, "When it's your time, I'll 
take you out in the Falcon, too!" Anakin looked away, and mumbled, "You 
won't have the Falcon around when I'm old enough." Han's brow creased 
in confusion. "Of course I will!" he replied. "No," Anakin whispered, 
shaking his head, "You won't." A small shiver went up Han's back. 
Luke's words came back to him yet again. He kissed his son, and placed 
him on the floor, guiding him to the exit. "We'll talk more about this 
later, kid." Han whispered. When they reached the bottom of the ramp, 
Han addressed Ames. "You make sure he gets back to the suite before you 
two do anything, hear?" Bos Ames smiled. "Will do, sir!" Lif'Ma spoke 
as Han turned to make his way back to the cockpit. "Sir?" Han turned 
and regarded the lanky young pilot. "Clear skies!" Lif'Ma said, and 
smiled. 

	
		CHAPTER 4

	Han jockeyed the repulsorlifts carefully, watching the Falcon's 
clearance on the scopes. The alarms in the museum went off as soon as 
the two X-Wing pilots opened the museum's roof-dome. The Millenium 
Falcon lifted out of the museum painfully slow , and Han eyed the 
ship's lift drive controls more than once. but to use them in such 
close quarters would destroy just about everything in the "Heroes of 
the Rebellion" wing. Han's eyes rested on Luke's X-Wing, just in front 
of the Falcon, and gave it a nod of acknowledgement. 

	The Falcon finally cleared the dome--and just in time. 
Coruscant's city police had converged on the museum. Han dropped the 
repulsorlifts from the Falcon's landing pods while simultaneously 
switching the ship's lift thrusters from standby to active. A sudden, 
hard shudder rolled through the freighter, making Han's stomach drop. 
The ship lost altitude, and Han sweated the possibility that the Falcon 
would nose back into the museum roof. "Screw it.." Han whispered, and 
switched on the main drive. He was slammed back in his seat as the 
Falcon stood on her tail and shot into orbit. Fighting a blackout, Han 
quickly avoided colliding with the night traffic around Coruscant, and 
made for free space. "YeeeHOOO!!" Han yelled at the top of his lungs, 
happy to be at the controls of his pride and joy again. Happy to see 
her fly again. And happy to feel young and on his own again. His smile 
faded as he looked over at the empty co-pilot seat. "Wish you were 
here, old pal." Han whispered, as he plotted the jump to Yavin 4..... 

	
		CHAPTER 5

	"I will keep my own council... on who is to be trained." The Jedi 
Master intoned. Rait Nafter regarded the regal figure a moment longer, 
then ignited his lightsaber. He didn't come half way across the galaxy 
to be rebuffed now. Nafter watched, but the other did not make a move 
for his weapon. The Jedi Master's mouth was framed with a goatee, 
flecked with gray. His long hair was pulled back in a tail, and 
similarly colored. But Luke Skywalker's eyes were still those of a 
young man. He'd have to have a talk with the Captain in charge of the 
picket ships orbiting high above Yavin 4. If someone such as Nafter 
could slip by them, other more dangerous foes could follow. 

	Rait Nafter was from a colony world in the Outer Rim territories. 
Luke had heard of his people before. Generations ago, the Jedi Knights 
fought a long and hard-won battle on that planet. The people honored 
the Jedi by taking up their weapon, the lightsaber. Nafter's people 
built up a whole warrior tradition around the weapon. Luke had turned 
Nafter away many times, since the Jedi Academy was founded. Yet still 
he came. Luke studied Rait's 'saber. No intensity settings, and the way 
the blue-white blade spit and popped, told Luke it was probably without 
a surge protector. A crude facsimile of a true Jedi's weapon, but just 
as deadly. 

	Jedi students from Luke's Academy and a few of the others spread 
over the planet gathered in the clearing of the Massassi jungle to 
watch the Master deal with this outsider. Jacen and Jaina Solo, Luke's 
Nephew and Niece, were among them. "I have defeated the best there is 
among my people, Master Skywalker." Nafter said. "My skill is 
unparalleled. I will prove to you this day that I am Jedi adept." Luke 
steepled his fingers in front of him, his expression unchanged. "Being 
good with a lightsaber does not make you a Jedi, Rait. A Jedi has an 
understanding, a kinship with the Force. You do not." Nafter waited in 
position another few seconds, his patience thinning. When he realized 
that the Jedi Master would not implement the first move, he attacked. 
It was a graceful maneuver; a side-step with the blade looping up and 
to the side of Luke's head. 

	Jacen watched, wide-eyed, as the stranger attacked his uncle. But 
what happened next was almost too fast to comprehend. A bright green 
flash whipped around and deflected Rait Nafter's blade, pushing him 
back and off balance. Nafter turned and faced Luke a gain. Jacen looked 
to his uncle, who stood serene once again, his lightsaber deactivated 
at his side. "I can excuse such actions only once." Luke told Nafter. 
Rait was clearly shaken from being so easily dealt with, but once again 
raised his 'saber in challenge to the Master. Luke sighed, and 
shouldered out of his dark blue cloak. "Very well." Nafter came in with 
a sweeping left feint, which quickly turned into a right side slash at 
Luke's legs. The Jedi Master easily deflected the blow one handed. The 
startled murmur from the collective Jedi students did nothing to lessen 
Nafter's determination. He used every attack he'd ever learned against 
Skywalker, but every one was blocked, easily. It was as if the Master 
KNEW when every attack was coming, and from where. 

	A small pit of fear formed in Rait's stomach as he regarded 
Skywalker's passive face. No anger showed at being dared challenged. 
Not even a drop of sweat on his brow, although the humid jungle air had 
drenched Nafter's clothes after only a few moments into the battle. The 
stillness was also unsettling. It was only broken by the angry hum of 
the two lightsabers. Rait attacked again, driving Skywalker back with a 
flurry of arcing attacks. He watched with amazement as Luke switched 
from an underhand to an overhand grip on his 'saber, by letting it spin 
in the palm of his hands whenever the blades locked. Cursing, Rait 
vowed to hook the Master's lightsaber up and away when next he tried 
it, but Luke was much too fast. Rait tried a full frontal attack, his 
blade coming down toward the top of Luke's head. At the last possible 
moment, Luke crossed his 'saber with Nafter's. The blades locked, and 
Rait gritted his teeth as he tried to push the blades toward the 
Master's head. That the Master was still using one hand, grated on his 
nerves. He saw that Luke's arm was beginning to shake under the strain, 
and felt satisfaction that in brute force, he was the stronger. He 
continued to push the blades closer to Skywalker's head. Then, the Jedi 
Master did something that was quite unexpected. 

	

	
		CHAPTER 6

	Luke shut down his lightsaber, and watched as Nafter pitched 
forward; his eyes bulging. Luke spun out of his path as the warrior 
landed face first on the jungle floor. Nafter's lightsaber shut off 
immediately as his finger left the trigger switch. The Jedi students 
laughed uproariously all around him. 

	Jacen smirked and looked over to his sister Jaina to try to engage her 
in belittling the warrior. But he noticed immediately that his sisters' 
full concentration was on the duel, her gaze unwavering. As he should 
be, Jacen reminded himself. He regarded the two combatants once again, 
vowing to pay closer attention. 

	Rait Nafter scrambled up from the ground, his face flushed red. 
Without taking his eyes off the Master, he retrieved his lightsaber. He 
lit the lightsaber, and charged to the attack with a war cry on his 
lips. Luke deflected the violent attack, spun behind Nafter and dropped 
to one knee. His green blade flashed out, the tip biting through 
Nafter's belt like it wasn't there. By the time Rait Nafter spun around 
to face Luke, his pants had unceremoniously dropped to the ground. Rait 
stood there, frozen like a statue as peals of laughter erupted from the 
Jedi students and the Masters. Even Luke's face, passive throughout the 
contest, broke into a broad grin. 

	Nafter shook with fury and embarrassment. Skywalker had made him 
look like an untrained fool! His anger grew as he saw the Master shut 
down his 'saber and clip it back on his belt, dismissing him as he 
would an annoying bug. "Rait," Luke began, "Shut down your lightsaber, 
then join us for dinner. Afterwards, I must ask you to leave." Nafter 
stared at his blue-white blade, spitting and popping in his hand. He 
began to tremble as fury built up within him. With a war cry, he lunged 
at the Jedi Master. Luke's students cried out as the warrior brought 
his lightsaber over and down in a killing arc toward Luke. 

	Jacen ran forward, gripping the pommel of his practice 'saber. 
Jaina grabbed his arm however, and held him back with a surprisingly 
powerful grip. Jacen watched in horror as his uncle stood in the path 
of the deadly blade one moment, and in the next remained standing as 
Rait Nafter stumbled for balance. Jacen blinked his eyes. He couldn't 
have seen what he just saw! His uncle had deflected the blade--with his 
open hand! Nafter stood there, an unbelieving look on his face too, in 
a guarded stance. Luke however, remained impassive, as unmoving as a 
statue. Rait shook his head as if to clear it, then brought his 
lightsaber down toward Luke's head once again. And again, Luke batted 
the blade away as if he were swatting an annoying insect away from his 
lunch. Nafter's blade has discharged as if it hit another blade. Jacen 
stared at Luke's hands and saw no wounds whatsoever. That his uncle 
still HAD hands was incomprehensible. Nafter recovered quicker this 
time, and swung attack after attack with murderous fury. And each 
attack was slapped away. 

	"It's impossible!" Jacen whispered, then looked to his sister. 
"Jaina, that's impossible!" he said louder. But Jaina's full 
concentration was riveted to the spectacle in front of her. Her uncle 
had always told his students not to trust their eyes, for they can be 
deceived. She watched the battle closely, and divorced what she was 
meant to see from what actually was. Nafter's lightsaber blade never 
touched Luke's hands. He was using the raw power of the force to 
deflect the attacks. Nafter was drenched in sweat, cursing as he tried 
to score a hit on the unarmed Jedi Master. At the top of his lungs, he 
let out a fierce bellow, and brought his 'saber down in a fierce 
straight edge arc. This time, however, Luke held up a finger, and 
lazily pointed it at Rait. Nafter's arms froze in mid-swing. 
Incredulous, he looked up at his arms over his head, then glared back 
at Luke. "Drop the 'saber, Rait. I declare this contest over." Luke 
said tonelessly. The placid look on his face changed to one of warning. 
Nafter gritted his teeth; his knuckles turning white as he gripped the 
lightsaber tighter. Luke's response was to raise his outstretched 
finger a little higher. This immediately caused Nafter pain, and with a 
yelp, he fell to his knees clutching his right wrist. 

	Nafter still would not surrender the lightsaber, and he cried out 
in pain as the Master's hand slowly closed in front of him. Jacen could 
imagine he could hear the bones in the warrior's wrist grind together. 
He looked over to his sister, who's face seemed stricken with horror at 
what she saw. This worried Jacen, but his attention turned back to the 
fracas. Finally, with a gasp, Nafter closed down the 'saber, and it 
dropped from his nerveless hand. He remained on his knees, and hung his 
head in shame as he nursed his wrist. Luke dismissed the assemblage of 
students, and walked up to his vanquished opponent. Nafter accepted 
Luke's outstretched hand, stood and met his eyes. "Forgive me, Master 
Skywalker," Rait began quietly, "You have bested me with honor..and I 
now respect the power of the Jedi. Is there anything you wish of me?" 
Luke stared at the man's eyes, seeing how heavily defeat weighed on 
him. "Yes, there is something I wish you to do," Luke began. Rait 
Nafter straightened, listening. "I want you to return to your people, 
and have them disavow their lightsaber tradition." Nafter looked at 
Luke, eyes wide, but finally nodded. Luke put a comforting hand on the 
warrior's shoulder. "You bring danger to yourselves, from those who 
would mistake you for Jedi. As you have seen, there is more to being a 
Jedi Knight than just using their weapon. Return to your people's 
ancient traditions. There, you will find your true spirit, not in the 
traditions of others."

	Rait took Luke's words to his core, and bowed deeply. "I will 
tell them, Master Skywalker, and thank you." Nafter turned and headed 
back toward his shuttle, picking up his lightsaber along the way. 
Momentarily, he paused, and walked back toward Luke. Gingerly, he 
handed his lightsaber to the Jedi Master, who smiled. Nafter began 
walking back to the shuttle. "There is one other thing, Rait." Luke 
called to the warrior. Rait stopped and turned back to Luke, puzzled. 
"Pick up your pants!" Luke said, grinning. Nafter looked down at the 
torn ruin his pants were in, wrapped around his ankles. Then both men 
shared a hearty laugh and a farewell wave. As Luke watched the shuttle 
climb into the sky, he heard a landspeeder approach behind him. Luke 
turned as See-Threepio piloted the craft up to Luke expertly. "Luke, 
Chief-of-State Organa-Solo wishes to speak to you." Luke climbed into 
the landspeeder, and 3P0 headed for the Massassi ruins. He grinned as 
he regarded the gold plated protocol droid. Finally, he had broken 3P0 
from using "Master" when he addressed him. Unfortunately, all the other 
humans on this planet began using that honorary, confusing 3P0 to no 
end. As they approached the entrance, he began to wonder about the 
nature of Leia's call. 

	
		CHAPTER 7

	"Unbelievable, just unbelievable.." Han Solo muttered to himself, 
as he watched the two picket ships orbiting Yavin 4 make their lazy 
(and predictable) orbits. 

	He couldn't believe that this was all the New Republic had 
allocated in the way of protection for the Jedi Academy. Han had snuck 
the Millenium Falcon in from the far side of Yavin itself, and flew 
into the Death Star's debris field. Chunks as big as Star Destroyers 
hung in a precarious orbit between Yavin 4 and her mother planet. Han 
allowed the Falcon to drift slightly, in concert with the wreckage 
surrounding him. Even decades after its destruction, the Death Star's 
debris was still highly radioactive. The Millenium Falcon's scopes 
showed little more than snow in this environment, so he switched them 
off. The picket ships would have no chance of detecting him here, 
however, thanks to the radiation.. 

	As Han watched the patrol boats, his mind clicked off several 
repairs that he had to make to the ship on its way to Yavin. Only minor 
things had broken down, but they were a pain nonetheless. For the first 
hour of his journey, he was trapped in the cockpit when the door 
refused to budge. Then, the sewage system backed up. Han dealt with 
these annoyances, and a few more. But those incidents did nothing to 
dampen his spirits, as he continually checked the Falcon for structural 
weakness and found none. He smiled at that, and not for the first time, 
patted the helm. His thoughts drifted to the situation ahead. Early on, 
he'd thought Jaina would be the one he'd be taking out on this 
traditional Corellian Rite of Passage. In her early years, Jaina lived 
and breathed all things technical and mechanical. 

	Jaina shared her father's passion with flying, and eagerly 
awaited the times they'd dogfight one another in the X-Wing sims. As 
for Jacen, he seemed to want to become a Jedi Knight above everything 
else. Han and his first-born son weren't as close as he liked, and 
Jacen showed no interest at all in jinking around space in a starship. 
But in the past few years, things had changed. Jaina slowly divorced 
herself from her earlier interests in ships and piloting, and immersed 
herself deeply into her Jedi training. Jacen still wanted very much to 
be a Jedi, but his uncle warned that Jacen's mind began to wander 
during training. This was very dangerous. 

	Either way, Han felt completely left out of his children's lives. 
The Corellian Rite of Passage was a proud tradition handed down from 
father to child. He was still fuming mad at Leia, but found himself 
more than once during this trip sitting at the communications station 
behind Chewie's chair; hand hovering over the controls. He missed her 
terribly, but he also resented the way she often talked down to him. 
She must understand why he's doing this, Han told himself. She must 
understand why he's been feeling insignificant, left out of matters 
concerning his children. If she didn't, there seemed no point in 
continuing the marriage, in his opinion. 

	Han stood in the cramped cockpit and buckled on his gunbelt, 
noticing with a wince that he'd had to let it out by a couple notches 
since he last wore it. He put a hand on his abdomen, which had grown 
during his sedentary time grounded. It was something he'd take care of, 
ASAP he vowed. Suddenly, the proximity alarm began bleating, startling 
Han. Quickly, he dived over the pilot's chair and moved the Millenium 
Falcon out of the way of a hurtling piece of Death Star. Han settled in 
the chair with a sigh, hand over his chest. "Haven't had the old blood 
flowing like that in a wookiee's age, eh Slick?" Han chuckled to 
himself. 

	Han observed the picket ships again as they moved away from one 
another, each heading for the opposite pole of the moon. Shaking his 
head, Han brought the powerful Ion drive online, and the Falcon shot 
towards Yavin 4. 

	
		CHAPTER 8

	Jacen stopped at the doorway to the Academy's mess, where he 
heard Jaina arguing with Uncle Luke. His brow creased. Why was she so 
mad? No, wait. He felt fear from her. But of what? "Uncle Luke, that 
was an attack you directed toward him. A direct attack from the Force!" 
Jaina said, emotion in her voice. Jacen bit his lip. She WAS a bit 
disturbed by the fight, but was she really questioning the wisdom of a 
Jedi Master? "Jaina, I used the Force in defense. Believe me, I was not 
tapping into the dark side" Luke answered, trying to placate his 
student. But Jaina was not content. "No, that's not what you've been 
teaching. You could have avoided him physically." she replied. Luke 
placed his hands on Jaina's shoulders, and directed her to sit. 

	"Jaina," Luke began, "At that point of the battle, I had to 
deliver a message. A lesson to Nafter and his people. Jedi Knights are 
not just warriors who wield lightsabers. As soon as they know the 
difference, the better off they and others will be." Jaina hung her 
head, still not completely satisfied. "I don't want Jacen to leave. 
I've----seen things. He must stay her, Uncle Luke, or something 
terrible is going to happen." Jacen's eyes widened at that. Where was 
he supposed to be going? As if in answer, twin sonic booms sounded 
outside. Jaina and Luke made toward the door, but Jacen beat them 
outside. He couldn't believe what he saw! It was the Millenium Falcon--
flying again! It looked spit-polished and brand new! Jacen exchanged 
smiles with Jaina, who was appreciating the sight also. 

	Both children ran up to the landing pad, but were warned off by 
the Falcon's air horn. Luke put a hand on both children as the ship 
settled on its landing pods. Leaning toward them, he whispered, "Your 
dad usually does that when the ship has been through a radioactive of 
other dangerous environment." Jaina nodded almost irritably, telling 
her uncle she already knew the procedure. A great green fog surrounded 
the ship as it decontaminated itself. Luke guided the children upwind 
and out of the way. When the cleansing fog dissipated, the entry ramp 
extended. and Han Solo walked into view, pulling off his flight gloves. 
The children ran to their father, who gathered them up in each arm. 
Luke walked over smiling, and regarded his friend. The old pirate's 
hair had grayed considerably since last he saw him, and he seemed 
fifteen pounds heavier than the lanky pilot he once knew. 

	Han noticed Luke, but didn't walk over. Luke felt a cold 
sensation pass between them he couldn't understand. He walked over as 
Jaina was commenting on the Millenium Falcon's new look. "She looks 
great with the new paint job, dad! Like she's brand new!" Luke saw Han 
wince at that, then try to change the subject. Leia had already 
informed him of what Han REALLY thought of the Falcon's new paint job. 
Han looked up and walked over to Luke, patting him on the shoulder. 
"Good to see ya, kid!" Han said. Luke laughed. Being called a kid while 
in his 50's would have sounded strange coming from anyone other than 
Han Solo. "Han, we need to talk." The Corellian's already forced smile 
faded altogether at that. "Yeah," Han said at last, looking Luke 
straight in the eye, "We do." Jacen and Jaina ran up the ramp and into 
the ship, as Han and Luke made their way toward the Massassi ruins. 

	Halfway down the path, They were met by See-Threepio and Artoo 
Detoo. "Han old friend!" Threepio began earnestly, "It's so very good 
to see you again!" For emphasis, the droid gave Han a vigorous pat on 
the shoulder. Han regarded the droid as if it had just turned into a 
tree. Luke bit his bottom lip to keep from laughing. "Threepio, why 
don't you go talk to the Falcon and see how she's doing?" Luke 
suggested. "Very well, Luke!" Threepio responded cheerfully, "Come 
along Artoo." Han watched the droid walk away, and shook his head. He 
then turned back toward Luke. 

	"Have you talked to Leia?" Han asked gingerly. Luke turned 
serious, and responded. "She called about an hour ago. You left quite a 
mess on Coruscant for her to deal with." Regret clouded Han's face, but 
faded quickly. "Luke, I'm taking Jacen with me. Leia doesn't 
understand, but it's important to me." Luke looked into his old 
friend's eyes, and chose his next words carefully. "Han, it's important 
that he stay here and complete his training. He is strong in the Force, 
but undisciplined. This is a very dangerous time for him, at this 
stage." Luke's hopes fell as he saw the old arrogance appear on Han's 
face. "Then maybe he shouldn't be exposed to training so dangerous!" 
Han said. "Who the hell said he HAD to become a Jedi anyway? Luke shook 
his head, and spoke slowly. "It's his destiny."

	"WHY??" Han exploded, making Luke step back a pace. "Do you know 
that for certain? Aren't you the one who says the future is always in 
motion? How do you know he won't become the greatest pilot the galaxy's 
ever seen?? Or the greatest Nerf herder?" Han's clenched fists relaxed, 
his voice lowered, but the venom in his next words remained. "I'm sick 
and tired of a Jedi tag team telling me what's good for my kids." Luke 
looked up at Han, anger flowing through him. Quickly, he regained 
control. "That's not fair, Han."

	"No," Han agreed, turning away, It isn't."

	
		CHAPTER 9

	The Millenium Falcon slipped into hyperspace with a sigh from her 
motivator, treating the occupants in her cockpit to a hypnotic display. 
But neither Han Solo nor his son, Jacen, noticed the beauty and chaos 
that was hyperspace. Jacen sat in the co-pilot chair, quietly fuming. 
His father was talking him through the finer points of hyperspace 
travel. It wasn't a pretty departure, Jacen reflected. Jaina begged her 
father not to take Jacen on this trip. Jacen himself flatly refused to 
go, telling Han his Jedi training was much more important. Uncle Luke, 
however, remained quiet; he watched the tableau with disapproving eyes. 
Han had won the argument... by simply insisting. Han Solo had a way of 
insisting that left no room for debate. Jaina slipped Jacen a 
lightsaber before his departure, despite his protests. It was a non-
lethal practice 'saber... until Jaina modified it. If Uncle Luke found 
out.... What the hell was his father doing, anyway? What was this 'rite 
of passage'? Jacen was roused out of his reverie by an insistent, 
tapping finger on the console in front of him. Jacen quickly sat up and 
looked at his father. Han Solo's disapproving gaze told Jacen he hadn't 
heard a word his father had said since the departed Yavin 4 . "Get with 
it, Jacen. I told you to lock down those steering flaps 10 minutes ago. 
They're still wide open for atmospheric flight! Or weren't you 
wondering why the ship was wobbling?" Jacen grudgingly leaned forward 
and tended to the flaps. "I thought the wobbling was this old crate's 
normal flight attitude." Jacen gritted his teeth as he saw his father 
shoot him an angry glance. "You're gonna have to pay attention to me if 
you want to learn anything about flying the Falcon, or anything else," 
Han reprimanded. Jacen turned to his father. "But that's just it, dad! 
I want to be a Jedi, not a pilot! Why do I have to waste my time with 
this?" Han sighed, and stared out the cockpit windows before turning 
back to his son. "Hey kid, I haven't been able to share anything with 
you since you were born. Between hiding you kids from every Imperial 
boogeyman that crawls out of the sand and shipping you off to Jedi 
Academies, I'm surprised you remember what I look like. Would it be too 
much to ask of you to spend a little time with your old man?"

	"Sorry, dad." Jacen said, subdued. "So... what are you going to 
teach me?" Han warmed to the subject as he saw Jacen's interest level 
perk up. "Self-reliance, for one thing. This galaxy can be a nasty 
place if you don't know how to take care of yourself. I want you to 
lean about side jobs, and other things you can do to make a living in 
the lean times." Jacen waved a dismissive hand in the air. "Ah come on, 
dad! You and mom are rich! Why would I have to scrounge for money?"

	"Hey, kid. Nothing lasts forever. Ask your mom about Alderaan 
sometime." Once again, Jacen lowered his eyes, and mumbled an apology. 
"You're not going to live at home forever, you know! And your mom and I 
won't be around forever, You also can't use the Force to hop around the 
galaxy, either!" Han finished with a smirk. He pulled of his gloves and 
tossed them on the console in front of him. "Who knows? If you pay 
attention, you may be as good a pilot as me!" Jacen smiled at this 
last. "Hey, Threepio told me you once flew the Falcon through an 
asteroid field! Is that true?" Han chuckled, and pretended to examine 
his fingernails. "I've done that a time or two, but I don't like to 
brag about it." Han's self-assured grin dropped as his son began 
laughing. "That's not what I heard! Chewie always told me he couldn't 
get a word in edgewise when he tried to tell a story like that to 
someone!" Jacen watched his father chuckle, but his expression had 
turned a bit subdued. Jacen tread carefully with his next question. 
"Dad, why are you and Chewie fighting? Will you ever speak to one 
another again?" Silence hung in the cockpit for a long moment. Han 
stood and walked to the nav chair, where he sat once again. "Chewie got 
mad at me because I tried to get him to go home and tend to his own 
family. I told him his life debt had been paid a thousand-fold. His 
father died four years ago, but he never went back to Kashyyyk to tend 
to his funeral. Malla was angry with him for practically abandoning his 
family for another. She won't even talk to me, anymore. And Lumpy began 
his warrior training, his Life Passage, and his father wasn't there 
when he should have been. All because of this life Debt business that 
he has now extended to you kids. But when I brought all this up, and 
told him his debt to me is over, he practically blew a gasket." Han 
shook his head at the memory. "Chewie was madder than I'd ever seen 
him. He informed me in not-so-nice terms that it wasn't up to me, a 
human, to tell a wookiee when a life debt was paid. He was incensed 
that I dared to question the way he raised his son, or managed his 
family. We both uhh.. said things we shouldn't have. Things that I'm 
not sure either of us can forgive the other for. Chewie then broke his 
Life Debt, and washed his hands of me. The last I spoke to him was to 
practically beg him to let me fly him to Kashyyyk in the Falcon instead 
of taking a shuttle. Jacen remembered that day well. It was the last 
flight the Millennium Falcon made. She had broke down in orbit over 
Kashyyyk, her hull integrity compromised. Chewbacca and his father had 
to be rescued by shuttle; the Falcon had to be towed back to Coruscant. 
"A father should be there when his kid needs him; needs to see to it 
that his kids know how to take care of themselves." Han finished, and 
stared at the deck. Jacen regarded his father for long moments.. 
feeling sadness, then anger emanated from him. "Did your father take 
YOU on a 'rite of passage?'" he asked. Han blinked, as if he'd just 
been awakened by a deep sleep, then stared at his son as if trying to 
remember whom the boy was. When he finally spoke, he stared at the deck 
once again. "No... uh... no. Hell, I left home when I was younger than 
you!"

	"Younger than me?" Jacen asked, eyes wide. Han nodded. "Yup. I 
raced swoops and served as a navigator on a couple of bulk freighter 
before I was 13. I could pilot a corvette by myself at about that age, 
too." Jacen shook his head in wonderment. He realized there was much he 
didn't know about his father, and wondered how many of the stories 
about him on the holo vids were true. "Where are we headed?" he said at 
last. Han smiled and ticked off a few system names. "I've got quite a 
few places to show you. Maybe we'll even stop at Tatooine and see Mos 
Eisley."

	"Tatooine?!" Jacen exclaimed excitedly. "That's great! That's 
where Uncle Luke was born!!" Han's smile dropped from his face as he 
fixed on his son with a dangerous scowl. Jacen gulped and turned back 
to his console. 

	 		CHAPTER 10

	The Twi'lek Pel Dunta dropped into a booth, lazily dumping the 
credits he'd earned that day on the table before him. The Landing Zone, 
one of Bonadan's main passenger lounges for the Southeast Spaceport, 
was largely empty. In fact, Dunta and his partners in crime were the 
only ones in the bar. "That's it?" Miken complained, as he took a seat 
across from Dunta. He glared at the human from the table, where his 
head now rested. His prehensile head tails drooped to either side of 
him. Miken shook his head, and regarded his first mate Alzedj, then 
Tymer. "At this rate, we won't jump planet for another 20 years!" he 
said. 

	"I know, I know!" Dunta moaned. He thought back to the year 
before, when he and his pirate gang were the terror of the spaceways. 
Their two-pronged attack always left their victims flat-footed. And if 
their chosen prey had a heretofore unknown surprise waiting for them, 
the pirate gang's third "sleeper" ship ( posing as part of the prey's 
convoy) would take care of that. It became easier attacking pleasure 
cruisers and bulk freighters this deep in the Corporate Sector 
Authority since the Empire's demise . The Espos were spread out thinly 
these days in vain attempts to keep order in parts of the Authority 
emboldened by the defeat of the Empire. 

	Yes, all was going great for Pel Dunta's pirate gang... until 
that Sabacc game right here in the Landing Zone. He and his partners 
lost nearly everything they had that night.. and lost big. Now they 
couldn't even afford to fuel even one of their ships. Dunta winced 
every time he thought of his pirate fleet sitting outdoors on the 
apron, because he couldn't afford berths for them. "We could uh.... 
consider selling one of the ships again... ?" Tymer offered helpfully. 
Dunta locked a deadly gaze on him. 

	"And which one will we sell.. YOURS?" the Twi'lek asked. 

	"Of course not!" Tymer replied, his dark face flushing. "We NEED 
my ship! Sell that piece of poodoo you've got! It's just a modified T-
Wing!"

	"We will not sell ANY of our armada." Dunta announced proudly. 
"We jump planet with all three ships or none at all!" He listened to 
the groans of his gang, as they pooled their earnings for the day's 
work on the table. Each had found odd jobs around the spaceport hiring 
halls and portmaster offices. 

	The teenager Alzedj watched silently as the older men continued 
to moan and complain. I hope our luck changes soon, he thought to 
himself..... 

	
 		CHAPTER 11 

	The last three months passed quickly for Jacen Solo and his 
father. Han introduced his son to a rigorous training program. The 
first thing he did, to Jacen's dismay, was to give him a military-short 
haircut. Jacen's question about where Han learned his head-scalping 
techniques went unanswered. His father had also begun to wake him VERY 
early in the morning, GMT. Han had altered the gravity in the port hold 
to accommodate whatever combat training he taught Jacen on a particular 
day; be it zero gee hand to hand, or higher-than-norms exercises. His 
father threw everything he'd learned at the Imperial Academy at him, 
and Jacen was hard pressed to keep up with his 'old man'. 

	He had thought his Jedi training would allow him to breeze 
through his father's training regimen, but Jacen was way wrong. He 
began to notice the muscles in his abdomen tighten up, and his biceps 
begin to firm. He had also noticed a marked change in his father. Han 
Solo had lost a considerable amount of weight as the two of them 
plunged headlong into the training regimen. He looked once again like 
the lanky Corellian space hero the popular media painted him to be. Han 
took Jacen through the Imperial exercise program to the more advanced 
martial arts. From there, Han branched off into bar fighting etiquette, 
and on sneaky, dirty techniques learned from years of experience. From 
there, the two began to go planetside, so Han could train his son in 
the basics of technology-free survival. They covered a dozen planets, 
each with differing climates. On the forest moon of Endor, Jacen and 
Han stalked one another through the dense woods, non-lethal needle rays 
their only weapons. From there, the weapons became primitive, the traps 
likewise but innovative nonetheless. Try as he might, even with his 
Force skills, Jacen could never trap his father. He had blundered into 
countless traps set for him by Han Solo, however. Once, Jacen stalked 
the forest for hours, hunting his father.. and not finding him. Just as 
he decided to give up, dropping his guard in the process, the ground 
before him exploded. Dirt and leaves flew everywhere, and a man-like 
figure rolled out of the hole and placed three needle laser blasts into 
his heart. After Jacen picked himself up off the ground, he angrily 
trudged back to the Falcon to change his gray jumpsuit. His father's 
laughter behind him did nothing for his dark mood, either. 

	When Endor's night came, the two Corellian spacers made camp. 
Jacen warmed his hands at the fire before him, and looked up into the 
beautiful night sky. He had grown closer to his father in these past 
few months than he had ever thought possible. Han Solo was not just a 
legend best left to action holos, he was real. And more importantly, he 
was Jacen's father. Han Solo trudged out of the woods with an armful of 
firewood, and dropped it in a pile near the fire. Gingerly, Han sat 
cross legged near the fire, wincing at the protests his aching muscles 
screamed at him. He adjusted the collar of his long coat, and looked 
over to his son, huddling under a heavy blanket. "This is great fun, 
ain't it?" Han offered. His son glared at him from under the blanket. 
Apparently, Jacen couldn't enjoy a 30 degree campout. Jacen's eyes fell 
upon the red piping that ran up the outer legs of his father's dark 
blue trousers. "So when I'm done with this... er... Corellian Runabout, 
or whatever you call it, will I get to wear one of those stripes, too?" 
Jacen asked, pointing to his father's pantleg. Han looked down at the 
Corellian Bloodstripe, laughed and shook his head. "No, you're not 
getting a diploma or anything after we're done. What we're doing is 
something to help you live a long, productive life." Jacen continued to 
regard the Bloodstripe. "So what's the stripe for? Is it a symbol of 
how many bad guys you've killed, or how ruthless a pirate you were?" 
Jacen felt the air around the campfire drop sharply, as his father 
fixed him with a withering glare. "No Jacen, you don't wear the 
Corellian Bloodstripe to show how many beings you've killed." Han 
began, his voice became harsh as he continued. "You earn this honor for 
exactly the opposite reason. You earn it by NOT getting others killed." 
Han leaned into his son's face, and Jacen recoiled at the venom of his 
father's words. "You earn it for the courage it takes to put your own 
life on the line in hopes that you can save..." Han bit off his tirade 
abruptly, and turned away from his son. Jacen felt like dirt for once 
again saying the wrong thing. Anger, and a deep sense of loss emanated 
from his father. He apologized in a small voice, but his father merely 
waved it off and began preparing dinner. 

	Hours later, Jacen lay awake, and listened to his father sleep. 
He then listened to the alien noises that filled the night air. Jacen 
hoped that someday, he could earn the Bloodstripe to impress his 
father. To show him he had the character to wear it. He wondered if his 
mother would be proud of such a thing. His mother. Jacen sighed as he 
reflected on how much he missed her. In the first weeks of his journey 
with his father, Han hadn't spoke of Leia, which worried Jacen to 
death. Didn't his father love his mother anymore? Would he have to 
choose which one to continue living with, if they decided to part ways? 
These thoughts disturbed him until one night, he overheard Han speaking 
to his mother. 

	Jacen had been on the way to the ship's head, when his father's 
lowered voice stopped him. Jacen peered into his father's cabin, and 
saw Han sitting at his small desk. He was holding a conversation with a 
transmission holo of his mother! Only her head was visible in the holo 
display, but it was enough to bring tears to Jacen's eyes. He hadn't 
meant to, but Jacen listened as his father spoke with pride about him. 
Han told Leia of Jacen's success at mastering combat piloting, evasion 
techniques, and starship repair. Han then surprised Jacen when he 
played a training holo of the two of them for Leia. He never suspected 
his father recorded the sessions! Jacen swelled with pride as he 
listened to his father praise him; something Han rarely did to his 
face. He began to feel guilty about his eavesdropping when he heard his 
father tell his mother how much he missed her, and how much he loved 
her. Han brushed the air before him with his fingertips, where Leia's 
cheek would be if she were there. There were tears in both their eyes 
when Jacen finally turned away, to tend to the ones in his own. 

	The setup is over!

	Strap yourselves in--we're about to make the jump to lightspeed!

	
		CHAPTER 12

	Jacen Solo was certain of two things. One, that he was going to 
die this day. And two, his father was completely and utterly insane!

	The Millennium Falcon fell toward the surface of Bonadan like a 
meteor. Jacen saw the ground in the cockpit window coming toward him at 
an alarming rate. His hands had a death grip on the seat of the co-
pilot chair, as he stole a look over to his father. Han regarded 
Jacen's colorless face, and laughed. 

	"Hang on, kid! This is where the fun begins!"

	Jacen looked back outside, and yelped when he found that the ship 
was seconds away from impact. At the last moment, the Falcon pulled out 
of it's dive a mere forty feet from the deck, and shot toward a nearby 
mountain range. Han stood the ship on its starboard end as it slipped 
through a small valley barely wide enough to accommodate the ship's 
girth. Han rotated the cockpit so that he and Jacen were parallel with 
the horizon. 

	Jacen gritted his teeth as he watched the blur which were the 
walls of the little canyon , and just how close the Millennium Falcon 
was to utter oblivion. He was close to soiling his second jumpsuit, but 
his father was enjoying himself immensely! Jacen ducked as Han reached 
behind his head and slapped on the external pickups. The Falcon's 
cockpit was filled with the sound of its own ion drive bouncing off the 
walls of the canyon. The ruckus was only drowned out by the whoops of 
joy from the ship's captain. Han increased speed, which rose the 
decibel level in the cockpit to teeth jarring levels. Jacen began to 
see a mist begin to grow outside the cockpit window, as the Falcon's 
passage began causing landslides ahead of them. 

	"Whoops..." Han muttered, as he regarded the MFD. The proximity 
alarm began blaring. Jacen, eyes wide, shot a worried look at his 
father. He couldn't hear himself think, but the single utterance of 
"whoops" cut through the din effortlessly. That's the last thing he 
wanted to hear Han Solo say while performing a crazy stunt like this. 
Han slapped the attitude controls, then pilled back on the chromed 
control yoke before him. Jacen watched as a massive rock filled the 
forward view, just scant feet in front of them. The Falcon shot 
straight out of the small canyon, and back into orbit. 

	Han turned a guilty glance at Jacen, and noticing that the color 
was just now returning to his face. "Enough fun for today... we'll hop 
back into the approach corridors and ask for landing clearance."

	Jacen wiped cold sweat from his brow. "Fine with me, dad. You're 
flying."

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

	Miken bounded into the Landing Zone at a run, nearly toppling an 
R2 drink server. He ignored the droid's annoyed blat and continued into 
the lounge. Miken's first mate, Alzedj, was close behind. Miken ran up 
to Pel Dunta's table, out of breath. The Twi'lek didn't acknowledge him 
at first, but continued to massage his temples with his head tails. His 
hands absently played with the meager credits he'd earned that day. 
Tymer sat across from him in an equally depressive mood. Dunta looked 
up only after Miken took a seat next to him. 

	"You look like an expectant father, Miken. What are you so 
excited about?" Dunta said. 

	"You're never gonna guess who just put down in Southeast II!" 
Miken reported excitedly. 

	Tymer brushed at his dirty jumpsuit, and regarded Miken with a 
pained look. "Come on. After a 10 hour work day, we'd rather not play 
silly games."

	Miken glared at Tymer. "Hey, Alzedj and me worked just as many 
hours as you!"

	Dunta waved a dismissive hand in the air. "Who landed, Miken?" he 
said, tiredly. 

	"Han nerfin' Solo!" Alzedj spoke up excitedly. 

	Pel Dunta's red eyes suddenly opened wide, his head tails shot 
away from his temples to nervously twitch behind him. He regarded the 
two pirates carefully as Tymer sat up and leaned into the conversation. 
"Han Solo? Here? Are you sure?" Dunta whispered, surprised. Miken 
smiled at the pirate leader. Alzedj remained standing at his side. 

	"Positive!" Miken answered, a sneer on his face. 

	Dunta stared ahead, muttering. "My old, old friend, Han Solo. My 
old..... RICH friend, Han Solo!" Dunta finished with a smile. He 
continued to stare ahead of him, as a multitude of thoughts raced 
through his mind at once. The pirate gang watched as their leader 
performed mental gymnastics over this new information. Finally, he 
looked over his men, showing them an even row of sharp jagged teeth. 
"Gentlemen, I believe our luck has just changed!"

	"What have you got planned? We gonna force him to make a 
'donation' with his New Republic credit voucher?" Tymer offered with a 
chuckle. Dunta held a hand up to quiet him. 

	"Was he flying the Millennium Falcon?" Dunta asked Miken. 

	"Yeah, I think so," Miken replied. When Dunta's eyebrows knitted 
together in confusion, Miken elaborated. " It was a YT-1300 but.. I 
guess he restored it. It looks like it just came out of the factory!" 
Dunta nodded, as his smile steadily grew. 

	"We gonna steal his ship?" Alzedj asked?

	Pel Dunta laughed, his head tails gesticulating excitedly. 
"You're all thinking small... WAY too small! Is it any wonder why I'm 
the leader of our little group?"

	"Ok, ok. Let us in on this incredible plan of yours," Tymer 
grumbled. Dunta reached for his tool bag, and gestured to the objects 
inside. 

	"First, each of you take one of these." Dunta passed the tool bag 
under the table to each of them. Each of the pirates dipped into the 
bag and drew out their respective "tools": cleaned and well-oiled 
blasters. Alzedj gazed around the lounge, on the lookout for security 
police. Dunta set the toolbag on the seat next to him, and leaned 
forward on the table. "Here's what we're gonna do..."

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

	"Everything's in place, Dad!" Jacen called from behind the 
Millennium Falcon. Han turned from programming the fuel dispensers and 
regarded his son with a smile. Jacen walked toward him with a confident 
gait, wiping his hands on an oil rag. Han had broken his son's bad 
habit of relying on the cockpit indicators to tell him whether the 
landing pods were properly retracted, or if the interrupter templates 
had indeed slid into place. He insisted Jacen get used to eyeballing 
these systems instead. Han was very proud of Jacen's accomplishments, 
most especially, his first landing. Which the kid performed by himself, 
only moments before. Han didn't have to admonish him on a thing. The 
Falcon, however, did. 

	"What's that?? What's that?" Jacen had yelled nervously. They had 
just began their descent into their assigned berth, when a warning 
claxon began blaring inside the cockpit. Jacen's shoulders tensed as he 
gripped the control yoke hard. Han tried to hide his grin, lest Jacen 
would see it and become angry with him. 

	"That's the Falcon telling you that if you don't deploy the 
landing gear in five seconds, she's gonna take manual control away from 
you and land herself!" Han had instructed Jacen to face the cockpit 
toward the main gangway of the docking bay. Jacen now asked why. "Well, 
you always want to see who's coming for a visit, whenever you're in the 
ship. Han indicated the port and starboard landing pods. "Before I 
installed these, I used to cheat the ship over a bit to port, so the 
belly quad had a good firing arc between the forward landing pod and 
the ramp. But these two things screwed that tactic up, so I had to 
install my little friend here." Han rapped on the ventral hatch where 
the auto cannon was housed. 

	Jacen nodded, making mental notes of everything his father was 
saying. Han noticed a familiar item clipped to his son's belt. "Hey.. 
does Luke know you have that?" Han asked, indicating the lightsaber. 

	"Uh, he probably does now!" Jacen answered, then smiled 
sheepishly. 

	Han jerked a thumb toward the ramp. "Well, stow it. Bonadan has 
strict anti weapons laws, and search-scan monitors are all over the 
place." Jacen nodded, then bounded back up into the ship. Han shook his 
head. Not even sixteen yet, and he's as tall as me, he thought to 
himself. He was shaken out of his private thoughts by a familiar voice. 

	"Happy landing, Solo!" Pel Dunta called. 

	
		CHAPTER 13

	The relative quiet of Yavin 4's night was pierced by an agonized 
scream. But the scream did not come from the uncountable nocturnal 
creatures inhabiting its jungles. It came from the Massassi ruins. 

	Luke Skywalker burst into his niece's sleep chamber. He found 
Jaina Solo sitting up in her bed, shivering uncontrollably. Luke 
clipped his lightsaber back onto his belt after a careful search of the 
room. He then waved off other students who had come to mill around the 
door to the chamber. Luke saw that Jaina was covered in sweat. She 
stared, unseeing, at the far wall of the chamber. He sat down on her 
bed, and drew her into his arms. Jaina sobbed uncontrollably, repeating 
only one name, "Jacen..." Luke closed his eyes, trying to see the 
vision that so disturbed his niece. He stretched out with the Force, 
concentrating on his nephew, Jacen Solo. All at once, Luke's breath 
caught in his throat, as his eyes snapped open. In a terrified voice, 
he whispered, "Jacen.... no...."

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

	As Jacen Solo descended the Millennium Falcon's ramp, he noticed 
his father talking to a Twi'lek at the docking bay entrance. Judging 
from his dirty jumpsuit, Jacen at first mistook him for a spaceport 
maintenance worker. But his father's defensive stance told him 
otherwise. Han Solo was facing the being with his left shoulder pointed 
its way; his right hip hidden by the bulk of his body. This would favor 
a speed-draw Jacen knew, if his father would have been carrying his 
blaster. Jacen walked toward the pair, who had deferred their 
conversation and watched his approach. 

	"And who's this now?" The Twi'lek asked, as Jacen moved to stand 
by his father's shoulder. Han put his arm around his son, and addressed 
the being. 

	"This is my son, Jacen. Kid, this is Pel Dunta.... an old 
acquaintance of mine." Dunta's head tails drew back behind him as he 
thrust his right hand out to the boy. 

	"Your son? Why Solo, he looks like your younger clone!" Dunta 
laughed, as he shook Jacen's hand. "I keep forgetting how quickly human 
children grow!" Han afforded Dunta with a lopsided grin. 

	"Well you wouldn't if you had to raise them! I'm waiting for this 
one to leave the nest!" Jacen chuckled nervously at his father's banter 
with his "old acquaintance." But inwardly, he didn't trust the Twi'lek 
one bit. 

	"Your father and I were more competitors than acquaintances, to 
be honest!" Pel Dunta said, addressing Jacen. "We'd vie for contracts 
that 'his eminence' Jabba the Hutt would dole out at his whim." Han 
chuckled, but Jacen could sense that his father was uneasy in Dunta's 
presence, also. The Twi'lek pointed to the Millennium Falcon. "Your 
father won a lot of those contracts because of that old firecracker 
sitting there." Dunta said, and laughed. "By the way, Solo, nice 
restoration job! She looks brand new! "

	Han didn't smile at this last. "Thanks." Han grumbled, turning 
away from the ship. 

	"So, where's the Wookiee? You two still shipping together?"

	Han looked Dunta straight in the eye "Chewie? Yeah, he's doing a 
little maintenance on the horizontal boosters." Han finished, jerking a 
thumb at the Falcon. Jacen remained silent. 

	"Ah. Say, Han, you're not thinkin' of getting back into the 
business, are ya?" Dunta asked. 

	Han shook his head. "Those days are long gone for me. I'm too 
high-profile, now anyway."

	Dunta looked pleased. "Well, good! But I must say.. you'd have a 
bit of competition, now! I've put together a little monster of my own 
that would rival the Falcon, today!" Jacen could see his father buy 
into the goading, as the older man crossed his arms over his chest. 

	"Oh really?" Han replied, mockingly. The Twi'lek smiled, baring 
his jagged rows of teeth at Han. 

	"Come on, you've gotta see it! I'll bet you'll be jealous!" Dunta 
said. Han bit his top lip in contemplation, wondering just how far he 
could trust Dunta after all these years. He made up his mind, and 
nodded at him. 

	"All right, old timer. Show me what kind of crate you're 
strapping your worthless butt into these days."

	Pel Dunta laughed. "This way, Slick!" he said, and turned to go. 
Jacen began to follow, but noticed his father had turned back to the 
Falcon, its caller in his hand. He pointed the device at the ship, and 
activated a control. The Millennium Falcon's boarding ramp retracted 
back into the hull. Satisfied, Han clipped the caller back onto his 
belt, and turned to follow the Twi'lek. Jacen noticed that Dunta was 
regarding the caller on his father's belt, but then shifted his gaze to 
Jacen, and smiled. He then continued to lead the Corellian spacers out 
of the docking bay. 

	Spaceport Southeast 2 was a very busy place indeed, Jacen saw. 
Bulk Freighter and passenger liners of all types littered the skies 
above them in approach/departure vectors. Pel Dunta led them behind the 
main docking bays, to the storage and loading aprons . Jacen gawked at 
more alien species than he'd ever seen growing up on Coruscant. He 
noticed his father had stopped walking ahead of him, so he turned his 
attention back to the Twi'lek. "Well Solo, what do you think?" Pel 
Dunta said. 

	Han approached the T-Wing, placing it under heavy scrutiny, and 
took the opportunity to drink in many things. He noticed the debris 
that had collected around the ship's landing pods, as well as the other 
two ships next to it. He gave a cursory glance to two other techs, a 
dark skinned man and a kid Jacen's age. They were making a good show of 
running around and checking power cables and ducting, but Han could see 
that their attention was riveted solely on him. Han turned back to Pel 
Dunta and played along, for now. "So this old T-Wing is supposed to 
kick the Falcon's rear?" Han said, jerking a thumb at Dunta's ship. The 
Twi'lek laughed. 

	"Solo, you of all people should know looks are deceiving. That 
YT-1300 design of yours dates back to the Clone Wars!" Dunta crooked a 
finger at Han to follow, and led him and Jacen behind the ship. "I've 
got two Novaldex J-77's installed here, two concussion missile 
launchers, and underslung blaster cannons over here." Dunta said, 
pointing lovingly at each system. He then indicated the two other ships 
parked next to the T-Wing. "That bulk freighter carries away the 
bounty, and the lighter is our sleeper ship! I, of course, fly the 
stinger!" Dunta finished, rapping on the T-Wing's hull. 

	Han looked over at the other two ships. The two techs were openly 
regarding him now. Pel Dunta called them over. "We execute a perfect 
Balin Souss together!"

	Han chuckled at Dunta. "You mean the old 'Pincer's Gambit'?" Han 
asked, smugly. 

	Dunta frowned at the old Corellian, then put a hand on Jacen's 
shoulder. "Your father just loves to inform everyone how many ways a 
certain maneuver has been named in different systems. What a show-off." 
Jacen smiled good-naturedly at the pirate. The Twi'lek straightened as 
the two techs walked up to the trio. "Han, this is Tymer, and this lad 
here is Alzedj." Dunta announced, indicating his pirate clan. Han 
greeted the older man and the youth. Pel Dunta sucked in a mouthful of 
air, and regarded Han. "So I hear you married yourself the Chief of 
State of the New Republic! You're set for life, eh old buddy?"

	Han shook his head, and regarded his son. "That's not why I 
married her, Pel."

	Dunta clamped his mouth shut, and smiled at Jacen. "Oh, uh.. 
sorry!"

	Han held his palms up. "THAT"S not why I married her, either!"

	Dunta shook his head, and changed the subject. "What I was 
getting around to Han, was that business hasn't been too good 
lately..."

	Han saw that Tymer was reaching into a tool bag, and long-dormant 
alarms began to buzz inside his head. His fears were confirmed when the 
pirate drew a blaster from the bag, and leveled it at Han's chest. 
Instinctively, Solo's right hand flew to his empty holster, closing on 
air. Cursing, he saw that Alzedj was covering Jacen with another 
blaster. 

	"We're wasting time, Pel. Quit talking shop with hero here and 
let's get down to business." Dunta seemed to sigh sadly before drawing 
his own blaster from a voluminous jumpsuit pocket. 

	"Ah, Tymer," Pel Dunta began, "You were never one for subtlety, 
were you?"

	Han gritted his teeth, and leveled his gaze at Dunta. "Ok, you've 
got my attention. Now what's this about?"

	Dunta smiled, "As I said, business has been a little slow. And 
you know I never pass up an opportunity."

	"Look, I can help you out with a few credits, but I'm no Galactic 
Trust!" Han said angrily. 

"No, I didn't think you were, even married to that Princess. But 
the New Republic is a different matter. I'm sure they'd pay handsomely 
for the safe return of a hero of the Rebellion. AND his son. AND his 
ship." Dunta's smile grew with each passing moment. 

	Han laughed. "So you have this all thought out, eh? As soon as 
Chewie starts looking for us..."

	"Come on. Solo! The wook's not there. You and I both know it. 
Else why did you button up the ship before we left?" Han glanced at 
Jacen, an apologetic look on his face. "Come on, you two. This way."

	Jacen saw that Dunta placed his blaster back into his pocket, but 
pointed at his father. The others fell in behind them all. Dunta led 
them behind the docking bays, toward an automated credit teller. 

	Han Solo cursed himself silently. Stupid, real stupid, Slick, he 
thought. Han looked up as a weapons-detector swung over and painted the 
group. Han frowned in confusion as it turned away without sounding an 
alarm. Tymer must have seen this, for he walked closer to Han's back 
and whispered in his ear. 

	"Were on the maintenance team here, Solo. We can deactivate those 
things when we choose." Han looked up at the detector again, this new 
bit of information churning in his mind. Dunta spoke up as they neared 
the credit teller. 

	"Hand me that caller, Solo." He said, holding out his left hand. 

	Han reached for the cylindrical device on his belt, then turned 
to Dunta. "This won't fly the ship...."

	Dunta nodded. "Yes, but we'll need to open that hatch you so 
conveniently closed." He snapped his fingers and thrust his hand out 
again. 

	Han unclipped the caller from his belt, then whirled to face 
Tymer. He slammed one end of the device into the other's nose, breaking 
it instantly. Jacen, galvanized by his father's action, reached out 
with the Force and snatched Alzedj's blaster from his fingers. As he 
pointed the blaster back at its owner, he was surprised to see Alzedj 
jump at him, ignoring the weapon. The two rolled onto the permacrete, 
and began to attract a crowd. Pel Dunta dropped his blaster and grabbed 
a plasma welder from his belt, then jumped on Han's back. He 
immediately pressed the tool to Han's neck. 

	"Don't move, Solo. This welder will take your head off as well as 
a blaster would." Dunta hissed. 

	Han ignored Dunta, and looked to Jacen, who had just kicked 
Alzedj off him. When he saw Jacen scramble for the blaster once again, 
he yelled. 

	"Jacen! Forget that damned thing! Here!" Han lobbed the caller at 
his son, over the protests of Dunta. The pirate leader pressed the 
welder harder to Han's neck. Jacen caught the caller easily, and 
ignored the blaster at his feet. He looked to his father, confusion on 
his face. 

	"Take the Falcon and get out of here! Go get Luke!" When he saw 
his son hesitate still, he struggled at Dunta's hold on him and yelled 
at his son forcefully. "Don't THINK about it kid, DO IT!!" Han saw 
Jacen hesitate a second more, then run off toward the hangar bays. This 
infuriated Dunta who was yelling at his pirate clan. 

	"He's getting away! Hurry!" The Twi'lek yelled. Han took 
satisfaction in the fact that Tymer was just now picking himself up off 
the ground, holding his bloody nose. Alzedj seemed equally dazed. Dunta 
spotted a group of Espos coming their way, and motioned Han and the 
others into the back door of a small rental hangar. The crowd that had 
gathered dispersed. There weren't many that wanted to help security 
police in ANY endeavor, if they could help it. 

	Jacen entered the Falcon's docking bay at a run, then stopped 
short when he saw the tech trying to break into the ship. The man held 
up a plasma welder to the closed ramp, and was assisted by a Treadwell 
droid, whose appendages were hyperextended. The droid's clawed arms 
were having difficulty finding purchase with which to force the ramp 
down. 

	Miken saw the kid at the hangar doorway slowly approach. He also 
noticed the caller in his hand. Well, this will be easy, he thought to 
himself. He pointed to it, and addressed the kid. "I'll need that, kid. 
And I won't damage you much if you just hand it over."

	"Out of my way," Jacen said, starting toward the man. He ducked 
low and tried to come up with a sucker punch, but Miken easily slipped 
it and smacked Jacen on the side of his head with the welder. Jacen 
went down, dazed. Miken threw himself on the kid, and snaked an arm 
around his neck. He tried to pry the caller from the kid's hand, but 
couldn't. Miken thumbed the welder on at his side, and set it to low 
power. 

	"Give it up, kid, or I'll hurt you, bad." Miken growled in 
Jacen's ear. 

	Jacen struggled against the man, but he was overpowered. Miken's 
arm tightened against his windpipe, and he began to black out. Miken 
jammed the welder into Jacen's side at turned it on in a quick burst. 
An agonized scream mixed with the stench of burning flesh, and Miken 
smiled. The kid however, refused to let go of the caller. Miken applied 
the welder again and again to the kid's flesh. 

	Jacen squirmed in torment against the unbelievable pain. His eyes 
were shut tightly, as tears forced their way out of the lids. He 
couldn't let down his dad. He WOULDN'T. Anger began to build within 
him, and the anger began to mute the pain. Jacen's eyes snapped open, 
and caught a glimpse of his attacker's face, grinning at him from over 
his shoulder. 

	"You haven't got much meat left there, kid!" Miken breathed, 
clearly enjoying himself. "Give it up, and I'll let you live." Miken 
suddenly felt his windpipe constrict, and his air was immediately cut 
off. His eyes bulged as the pain increased. He let the kid go, and his 
hands flew to his throat. The forgotten welder bounced away as Miken 
squirmed on the ground, fighting for air. He watched as the kid stood, 
holding his side. His other hand was outstretched toward him, fingers 
splayed. 

	Jacen felt the Force course through him, though this time, it 
felt different. He rejoiced as he felt the power surge through him to 
attack the squirming filth at his feet that tried to kill him. The 
anger built up to a fever pitch as he dwelled on the very thought that 
this man held him down and tortured him. You want to know pain, Jacen 
thought, regarding the man, here's some REAL pain. Jacen closed his 
fingers in a trembling fist, and watched as the man seemed to lift off 
the deck. A loud resounding snap echoed in the docking bay, as the 
man's neck broke, then fell back to the ground. 

	Jacen's hand opened, and with it, his mind began to clear. He 
wobbled on his feet, as if returning from an all consuming dream. He 
found that he was covered in sweat. Then, he noticed the dead man at 
his feet. His blackened tongue was forced between his teeth. His skin 
turning a sickly blue. Jacen shuddered, as the full force of what he 
had done hit him. His head snapped up as he heard running footsteps 
approach the docking bay entrance. 

	Dunta led Solo into the docking bay, the welder still pressed 
into his neck. Tymer and Alzedj were right behind. The group entered in 
time to see the Millennium Falcon lift off, snapping fuel umbilicals in 
the process. Han smiled up as he saw his ship shoot up into the 
atmosphere. He snapped his head back down when he heard Alzedj scream. 
Dunta led over Han to the dead man. His heart seemed to drop as he 
viewed the dead man, with no marks at all on his body. "Oh no, 
Jacen..." Han whispered.... 

	
		CHAPTER 14

	Chewbacca was once again stopped before he entered the Sacred 
Forest. The Warrior Chief flung him back into the clearing, one handed. 
Chewbacca stumbled, but did not fall. Angrily, he barked a slew of 
curses at the Chief, who ignored him. Chewbacca had nearly forgotten 
the wookiee was standing no more than five feet from him. The wookiee 
chieftain's deep green pelt meshed perfectly with the surrounding 
forest. If it wasn't for his bright red eyes, Chewbacca might not have 
picked him out of the background at all. Again, his anger subsided, as 
he watched the forest edge forlornly for any sign of his son. 

	Lumpawarrump was supposed to have returned from his pilgrimage 
into the Sacred Forests five days ago. It was to be his final test in 
his warrior training. The feral wookiees, who rule the lower levels of 
the forests of Kashyyyk, looked upon the tree city dwellers in the 
higher levels with disdain. Those wookiees that had embraced the 
onslaught of technology, while abandoning the Old Ways. The feral 
wookiees never left the lower levels, refused to cavort with humans and 
humanoids, and remained unchanged for centuries. 

	However, once every decade, a few wookiees of the modern world 
are allowed to enter into warrior training with the tribe. They are 
taught to live off the land, without the benefit of any technology 
whatsoever. The final test, was to enter the Sacred Forests, with 
nothing but the skills learned from the tribe, and walk out alone two 
weeks later. 

	Chewbacca himself had completed the ritual more than two 
centuries ago. The Warrior Chief at the time was this current one's 
father. Two years ago, Lumpawarrump had entered into the training while 
Chewbacca was still on Coruscant. His wife, Mallatobuck, had called to 
inform him that his son went to live with the tribe. His son had done 
so without Chewbacca being there. Traditionally, a wookiee's father 
petitioned the tribe to accept his child into the training. This hung 
heavily in the wookiee's heart, for his life debt to the human, Han 
Solo and his family kept him honor bound to stay. 

	He wasn't completely aware of how proud a wookiee Lumpawarrump 
had grown into in his absence. While Chewbacca was a hero to most of 
his people, there were many that despised him for doling out a life 
debt to a human. The humans that comprised the Empire enslaved the 
wookiees, and raped Kashyyyk of its riches and resources. Humans had no 
honor, it was said in many circles among wookiees. 

	Mallatobuck had warned Chewbacca that his son had become less and 
less tolerant of humans. Other, more radical wookiees, had caught his 
ear and fueled a smoldering hatred toward his father. Lumpawarrump was 
ashamed that his father had abandoned his real family for a human honor 
family. 

	Chewbacca's thoughts turned dark when they came to his onetime 
friend, Han Solo. He seethed when he recalled how, once Han had found 
out Lumpawarrump had begun the training unchaperoned, he had criticized 
him for not being at his son's side. Didn't Han realize just how many 
sacrifices Chewbacca had made to honor his life debt? Chewbacca winced 
when he thought back to their final, heated argument. Han had informed 
him that his life debt was paid, and he should go home and be with his 
family. Chewbacca roared at Han, and told him he had no right to 
dictate when a wookiee's life debt had ended. Han's harsh words 
belittled Chewbacca's role as a father. Chewbacca doubted he'd ever 
want to see Han Solo again. 

	The Warrior Chief had sent some of his tribe into the forests to 
search for Lumpawarrump after the fourth day. They had yet to return. 
Chewbacca was well aware of the dangerous creatures that inhabited the 
forests of the lower levels, and his anxiety grew . Technology of any 
kind was not allowed anywhere near the forests, else Chewbacca would 
have brought a portable scanner and pinpointed his son's location days 
ago... dead or alive. 

	Just as he began to settle down on his haunches for another day's 
wait, the trees in front of him parted. The search party had returned. 
There were four green haired warriors, each carrying scythe like 
weapons made from Bractt wood. Between them, they carried a litter with 
a dark brown shape riding on it. As they set it down, Chewbacca roared 
and ran over. Lumpawarrump lay shivering, curled in a fetal position. 
His pelt was matted with dirt, and dried blood. In one hand he still 
carried a knife made from obsidian rock. Of his many injuries, 
Chewbacca focused on his son's right leg, which was obviously broken. 
The feral warriors dressed most of the wounds with herbs and other 
medicines, but Chewbacca knew he had to get his son to a medical 
facility immediately. 

	Chewbacca looked up from Lumpawarrump's shivering form, to the 
Chieftain. The other warriors had disappeared, but the old regal 
wookiee remained, and locked eyes with Chewbacca. The Warrior Chief 
informed him of his son's failure, but Lumpawarrump would be allowed to 
resume his Life Ritual in another ten years. No shame would be placed 
on Lumpawarrump for his failure. 

	The Chieftain disappeared into the woods, and Chewbacca quickly 
lifted his son into his arms. Grunting, he carried Lumpawarrump the 
entire four miles to his personal shuttle.. 

	
		CHAPTER 15

	The last of Pel Dunta's ships, the late Miken's bulk freighter, 
had completed refueling. The pirates used the docking bay abandoned by 
the Millennium Falcon to refuel and reenergize their ships, flying them 
in one at a time then returning to the outdoor aprons. When the fuel 
the Falcon left behind was depleted, Dunta had a reluctant Han Solo pay 
for more. 

	"It's a good thing that ship of yours is a notorious fuel hog, 
Solo," Dunta was saying, "Or the portmaster might become suspicious." 
Han grunted, and rubbed his swollen bottom lip. Apparently, Jacen had 
taken off so quickly that the Falcon wasn't identified as the freighter 
that blasted off Bonadan from an illegal departure vector. Han dropped 
his arms and thought of his son. Movement was difficult due to the 
energy binders Dunta had placed on his wrists and biceps. The strength 
sapping restraints made him feel as though he was moving through mud. 

	Han watched the others prepare to leave the planet to intercept 
the Falcon. From time to time, Alzedj had to be prodded to return to 
work. He had taken the death of Miken hard. Both Dunta and Tymer had to 
pull him off Han after the kid struck him across the face with his 
blaster. 

	"Is that what Skywalker is producing at that Jedi Academy of his, 
Solo? Murderers? More dark Jedi?" Dunta had yelled. At the time, Han 
was too shaken with those very same questions to answer. His worst 
fears seem to have come to light. HAD his son turned t o the dark side? 
He never wanted his children exposed to the Force training, just 
because of such fears. It was an argument he'd had more than once with 
Leia. Especially after she told him that Darth Vader was her father. 

	Dunta walked up to him, tossed his useless blaster in a corner of 
the docking bay, and produced a live one. Han glanced at the discarded 
blaster. It had broken apart, revealing only an empty shell. As the 
Twi'lek checked the energy charge on his working blaster, he seemed to 
pause, and smiled at Solo. Gesturing with one of his head tails, Dunta 
indicated the spurious weapon. 

	"How did you know?" Dunta asked. 

	Han stared at the pirate leader with distaste. "I haven't been 
out of the loop THAT long, Dunta. There's no way the Espos would let a 
bunch of idiots the portmaster hired off the street tend to their 
security systems."

	Pel Dunta nodded, then holstered his weapon as Tymer and Alzedj 
approached. "I stowed Miken's body on my lighter 'till we could 
jettison it," Tymer began, staring at Han. "We're ready to leave this 
rock, but where are we going?"

	Dunta chuckled, and placed a hand on Tymer's shoulder. "Why, to 
Yavin 4 of course, after the Falcon." Tymer looked to his boss, 
confused. 

	"You know how fast that damned thing is. Solo's murdering bastard 
is probably halfway back here now with that Jedi Master Skywalker."

	Dunta shook his head. "I don't think so. I've been to the Yavin 
system before. Those moons orbit a super gas giant. There's only one 
safe approach vector to them because of the gravity fluxes. If we push 
it, we can intercept the Falcon when it departs the Jedi Academy with 
Skywalker."

	Tymer looked nervous. "You gonna go against a Jedi, Pel? That's 
crazy! How do you know he won't make us fly our ships into Yavin's sun 
or something?"

	Dunta laughed, and patted Han's shoulder. "We still have our 
bargaining chip here. Skywalker won't move against us. And if we can't 
get the Millennium Falcon back.. Solo here will still bring in a nice 
hunk of change."

	Tymer nodded, then indicated Alzedj. "We have a problem. With 
Miken gone, we've got no one to pilot the freighter. The kid here 
doesn't know how to fly."

	Dunta blanched, and stared angrily at Alzedj. "What the hell is 
this? Why did Miken keep you on?"

	Just as angrily, Alzedj spat out, "I've done a lot to earn my 
place here! I've helped you guys on boarding parties, I've manned the 
guns, repaired that ship more than Miken ever did. I just never learned 
how to FLY it, is all. Miken was going to teach me..." Alzedj finished, 
glaring at Solo. 

	Dunta considered for a moment. "We'll have Solo fly it."

	Han and the pirates stared dumfounded at the Twi'lek, but the 
pirate leader held up his hands. "We can disable the weapons systems. 
Other vital systems can be remotely controlled by me, and Solo's 
console will be locked out from them. I can upload any coordinates 
directly to the freighter's naviputer. All we'd need Solo to do is to 
pilot the ship where we tell him to." Dunta stared hard at the old 
Corellian. "If he tries anything cute, I'd be able to remotely override 
the helm. And we'd just have to damage him a little."

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

	Bonadan had three moons. The outermost of which was a frozen 
wasteland, of interest to no one. Except of course, to a confused and 
frightened teenager who currently orbited it to hide from the rest of 
the galaxy. Jacen Solo sat in the pilot's seat of the Millennium 
Falcon, staring up at the overhead controls. His arms were wrapped 
around his body, but he couldn't stop shivering. Hot tears of 
frustration forced their way through clenched eyelids. Why had his 
father told him to retrieve Uncle Luke? He knew damned well that Jacen 
had no idea how to plot a hyperjump. During the months of training his 
father put him through, he even admitted Jacen would need to take 
extensive astrogation courses before he'd be proficient at calculating 
jumps safely. 

	Jacen looked forlornly at the comm board. He couldn't even log on 
to the Holonet without a working knowledge of the navicomputer. His 
father was in danger.. and he had no one he could turn to help save 
him. Jacen closed his eyes again, as another shiver coursed through 
him. He had killed a man today. He could still see the pirate's face in 
his mind's eye. Jacen felt as if his soul had been lost down a deep 
chasm. And worse yet, he had used the dark side of the Force, embraced 
it fully... and choked the life out of a living being. 

	Had the dark side claimed him? Once again, in the silence of the 
cockpit, Jacen whimpered. He didn't want to end up like his 
grandfather. He didn't want the dark side to consume his soul. Why 
didn't he stay on Yavin 4? Why?

	Jacen jumped, startled. He'd heard something.. very faint. He 
leaned forward, listening closely. A thrill of fear whipped into his 
chest. Was that.... laughter he heard coming from the main hold? 
Instantly, Jacen hopped out of his seat, and grabbed his lightsaber 
resting in the co-pilot chair. Shaking, he slowly made his way down the 
corridor to the main hold. 

	At first, what he saw made him jump. But then confusion set in. 
The chessboard was activated, and the holo-creatures skittered all over 
the board. But Jacen's attention was riveted on a slightly larger 
figure standing next to the chessboard. The wizened little creature 
reached up and manipulated the game's controls once again. Jacen saw 
that a strange aura surrounded the image, and he mistook it for a 
projection from the game. Was the chessboard able to project creatures 
onto the floor.. away from the chessboard?

	The little creature cackled as it watched what effect its 
handling of the controls had on the holo creatures. Jacen saw that it 
was clothed in tattered robes, and carried a small cane of some sort. 
Its green, elongated ears shook when it laughed, momentarily bringing a 
smile to Jacen's face. He nearly yelped when the creature turned to 
face him, and stared right into his eyes. 

	"A very dangerous time for you this is, Jacen Solo." it said. 

	Jacen brought the lightsaber in front of him to bear, and 
activated it. The crimson blade jumped to life... and bore into the 
padding that lined the doorway above Jacen's head. Cursing, he jerked 
the blade out of the smoking hole, and advanced on the creature. "Who 
are you... and how did you get aboard?"

	The little creature regarded the lightsaber, and shook his head. 
"You train too much with that lightstick... not enough on the 
subtleties of the Force."

	Jacen looked at the creature, confused. "This is the weapon of a 
Jedi. It's important to wield it properly."

	Again, the creature shook his head. "Anything in the hands of a 
true master can be a weapon of the Jedi. But the Force is the most 
powerful weapon of all. If used unwisely, the most dangerous weapon in 
the universe it can be."

	Jacen stared at the creature's large eyes, and shut off the 
lightsaber. "You... you're Master Yoda... aren't you?" The creature 
seemed to draw himself up, and stuck out his chest. Jacen sank to his 
knees in front of the Jedi Master, and dropped his lightsaber. 

	"Please.... help me. I don't want the dark side to take me.." 
Jacen whispered. 

	Yoda placed a comforting hand on Jacen's shoulder. The teenager 
jumped at the touch, surprised. "Claim you it will, if you allow it to. 
Becoming a Jedi takes the deepest commitment. Anything less invites 
danger. As you have seen."

	Jacen nodded, wiping away unbidden tears. "Will I become a Jedi?"

	"Is this what you wish, son of Solo?" Yoda asked immediately. 

	Jacen stared at the old Jedi master for a long time. "I.. I don't 
know. These past few months with my father have shown me many things.. 
many possibilities. But I'm EXPECTED to become a Jedi Knight. Uncle 
Luke and my mother said so."

	Yoda shook his head. "No.. Your own destiny you must follow. 
Dictated to you, it cannot be. Dangerous for you, for the galaxy, if 
you choose to resume your training without the desire for it here." 
Yoda finished by poking the end of his cane against Jacen's chest. 

	Yoda's words sank into Jacen's mind. For so long, it seemed 
everyone expected him to become a Jedi. But until now, he hadn't 
realized the desire to do so was never really there. Only the desire to 
live up to everyone's expectations. Jacen looked back at Yoda, his 
voice low. 

	"I... killed a man today..."

	Yoda nodded sadly. "Unfortunate, yes. And very dangerous. Once 
you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny." 
Yoda put a calming hand on the child's shoulder once again, when he saw 
the boy's eyes grow wide. "Strong in the Force are you. But if you 
cannot control it, abandon it you must."

	"I need help, Master Yoda. I can't pilot this ship alone. I need 
help to rescue my father. I don't know how to program the navi 
computer." Jacen pleaded. 

	The Jedi Master smiled at the young man. "Your father does."

	With that, Yoda disappeared in front of Jacen's eyes. 

	For long moments, Jacen sat on the floor of the main hold, 
working Yoda's words through his mind. Still confused, he finally 
stood, and shut off the chess game. He made his way back to the cockpit 
and sat in the nav chair, staring at the board. Suddenly, Jacen sat up, 
surprise on his face. 

	"Of course...." he whispered. Jacen reached over to the helm and 
called up the navicomputer's main screen. A quick search revealed the 
information Jacen had hoped was still there. Gratefully, Jacen let out 
a sigh of relief. His father had taken him through the basics of 
hyperspace travel, and had shown him how to program in presets. As an 
example, Han had punched in Chewbacca's homeworld, Kashyyyk. It was 
still there. 

	Smiling, Jacen kicked the Falcon away from the frozen moon, one 
planetary diameter out. He engaged the preset hyperspace course, and 
watched as the ship pitched and yawed as it lined itself up on the 
proper trajectory for the journey to Kashyyyk. The navi computer beeped 
its readiness, and Jacen pulled back on the hyperdrive controls. He 
thrilled to the sights of the stars elongating toward him as the ship 
slipped into hyperspace. 

	He only hoped Chewbacca would help him, once he got there. 

	
		CHAPTER 16

	The Millennium Falcon came out of hyperspace one planetary 
diameter from the surface of Kashyyyk. After only a brief delay, Jacen 
was assigned an approach vector and was allowed to land. 

	He maneuvered the freighter through the massive treetops, awed at 
the expansive cities that hung between colossal trunks. Jacen set the 
Falcon down at her assigned landing apron. With a relieved sigh, the 
teenager stripped off his flight gloves and retrieved his father's 
blaster from the co-pilot seat. He slid the heavy weapon into the new 
holster he wore over his gray jumpsuit. His father had bought him the 
gun rig during a brief stop on Commenor. He wasn't yet old enough to 
carry his own blaster, Han had said. 

	Adjusting the tie down on his thigh, Jacen headed toward the main 
hatch. As he passed the main hold, he glanced at the chessboard. Nope, 
no long-dead Jedi masters amusing themselves, he assured himself. He 
also saw that his lightsaber was still lying on the floor where he left 
it. Jacen stared at the weapon a moment, then turned and walked down 
the ramp. The outer hatch closed and locked itself as Jacen made a 
quick check of the landing pods. 

	He had only been to Kashyyyk once before, when Anakin was still a 
baby. His family joined Chewie in a quick stopover to visit Malla and 
Lumpy. He had great fun playing with Lumpy. Chewie's son was as tall as 
Jacen's father at the time. He wondered how the wookiee had changed 
after all these years. With a confident gait, Jacen left the spaceport 
and hopped on to a public transport shuttle. He knew he was being 
stared at by a few wookiees, and some of those stares were none too 
friendly. It didn't bother him as much as he thought it would. Jacen 
felt a cool confidence he didn't know he had. A cockiness, actually. 

	The death of Miken no longer weighed heavily on his thoughts. 
After the conversation with Yoda, Jacen convinced himself that what he 
did was justified. He wasn't going to turn to the Dark Side simply for 
fighting for his life. His father had taught him to be ruthless when he 
had to.. in order to survive. 

	The shuttle let him off at a main public square. Jacen stared up 
at trees, which seemed to stretch into the sky for miles; and they did. 
He endured a couple of too-close scrapes and bumps from wookiees 
walking by. Jacen earned a respectable distance for himself when he 
unsnapped the catch on his holster, and drummed his fingers on the 
weapon's handle. As he looked around the square, he realized that he 
was hopelessly lost. 

	Jacen realized that his training would allow him to refer to his 
memories of ten years ago, and find Chewbacca's home that way. At 
first, the thought of using the Force again made him shudder, but he 
walked over to a corner of the public square anyway, which was less 
traveled. The teen closed his eyes, and let the Force flow through him. 
He could see himself, seated on his father's shoulders, Jaina on 
Chewbacca's, as the wookiee piloted a rented speeder toward his 
domicile. Jacen's mother held Anakin close, and seemed to be enjoying 
the ride. 

	When Jacen opened his eyes, he was in another part of town, 
standing in front of a lift. He blinked in surprise, and looked around. 
Yes, he DID recognize this place. He looked up to where Chewie's house 
was, stories above him. He looked back to the way he had come. How far 
had he traveled? He doubted he could find his way back to the 
spaceport, now. Jacen hoped he'd be welcomed. He entered the lift, and 
it carried him nearly four stories from one street level to another. 

	Jacen walked up to Chewbacca's house, which was half built into 
an enormous tree. He looked up; the tree seemed to go on forever. Like 
most humanoid dwellings, this one had a door. Jacen saw that it was 
made from deep green Greel wood, and it was huge. Was knocking an 
acceptable custom on Kashyyyk? Jacen wished he'd listened closer to his 
mom's teachings on diplomatic protocol. 

	"When in doubt..." he muttered to himself, and knocked. Like 
knocking on a marble wall, he thought. When no one came to the door, 
Jacen looked around at the surrounding dwellings. A few curious glances 
here and there. A lot of unfriendly ones. He suddenly began feeling 
very uneasy about being surrounded by so many unfriendly wookiees. 
Jacen smelled food cooking, and wondered if it was coming from 
Chewbacca's kitchen. He'd realized that he hadn't eaten in over a day, 
when he felt a slight wind at his neck. Just as he started to turn back 
to the door, two shaggy limbs shot out of the now open portal and 
scooped him off his feet..... 

	
		CHAPTER 17

	Jacen was being held aloft before he knew it had happened. It was 
Malla, he saw now! She was holding him, arms extended, more than seven 
feet from the floor. Malla happily chittered at him so fast Jacen 
couldn't make out a word she was saying. 

	Malla set him down none too gently, then embraced the young human 
tightly. Jacen could scarcely breathe; and was more than a little 
embarrassed by having his face pushed up against Malla's hairy breasts. 
Still hugging him, Malla turned and called for Chewbacca. Jacen 
delicately pushed off of Malla's chest, and heard an annoyed bellow. He 
judged the yell came from the garage area, as well as the sound of a 
thrown tool. Then he heard the footfalls of a disgruntled wookiee 
approach. 

	Despite the nature of his visit, Jacen grinned broadly when he 
saw his old friend. Chewbacca stopped in midstride, eyes wide, then 
grinned broadly himself. With a howl, Chewbacca ran forward and scooped 
up Jacen in his arms just as his wife had done. A flurry of questions 
erupted from Malla, far too fast for Jacen to follow. Chewie's hold on 
him slackened, and Jacen watched as the wookiee poked his head into 
each adjoining room, then approached the front door and opened it. As 
Chewbacca stepped outside, Malla presented her back to him, and Jacen's 
eyes widened. 

	A small, furry lump was attached to her upper back. Two huge, 
bright blue eyes stared curiously back at Jacen. Malla introduced her 
new daughter as Katchateek. The tiny wookiee couldn't have been more 
than two months old. Her fur was light brown and sparse, and she 
pressed her tiny body closer to her mother's when Jacen attempted to 
touch her. The teen smiled and withdrew his hand. Chewie HAD been busy 
since he came back home!

	Chewbacca came back inside the house, and closed the door behind 
him slowly. He stared at Jacen curiously. "Dad's not here Chewie," 
Jacen sighed. In a rush, he pored out the details of what happened on 
Bonodan. He left out the demise of Miken, however. Jacen watched as 
Chewbacca paced his home; the wookiee's mood turning dark. Jacen stole 
a look at Malla, who's demeanor was no longer friendly. A cold shiver 
ran down the teen's spine. Would Chewie refuse to help him?

	As if in answer, Chewie turned to Malla, an almost sorrowful look 
on his face. Jacen chose that moment to step out of the room. He headed 
outdoors to the garage area. There in the middle of the work area, was 
an old Lambda-class shuttle. Chewie had been modifying the craft when 
Jacen showed up. Tools and spare parts were strewn everywhere. Jacen 
looked, but did not see any maintenance droids anywhere. One would be a 
great help during a refurbishing job like this, but Jacen was well 
aware that wookiees refused to own droids. 

	A few leaves lazily floated down from the trees high above. It 
was the only warning he got. Jacen sensed something was directly behind 
him. He spun and confronted an enormous wookiee. It was Lumpy, Jacen 
saw now. The young wookiee didn't look at all familiar, however. He 
towered over Jacen, a threatening growl escaped his lips. Lumpy was a 
full head taller than his father. His body was massive, rippling with 
muscles and sinew. Hair was close-cropped to his body, making Lumpy 
look even more deadly. 

	"Lumpy... is that you?" Jacen asked, although he already knew the 
answer. The young wookiee bared his fangs and bellowed a flurry of 
curses at Jacen. Despite himself, the teen backed away. 

	"What's wrong with me calling you that?" Jacen asked. "I've 
ALWAYS called you Lumpy."

	Lumpawarrump stepped up to Jacen, looking down at the human with 
an enraged glare, and barked a few more angry epithets at him. This 
time, however, Jacen stood his ground. 

	"Then what IS it? 'sir Lumpy'? 'The Mighty Lumpy'?" Jacen asked 
mockingly, becoming angry himself. 

	Enraged, Lumpy stamped his foot in anger and grabbed the lapels 
of Jacen's jumpsuit. Fear and doubt began to collect in Jacen's 
stomach, but he wouldn't give the wookiee the satisfaction of seeing 
it. 

	"Ok, its Lumpawarrump then. But what's with this 'You humans' 
crap? You've never even been off-planet, have you? How do YOU know what 
all humans are like?" Jacen finished. 

	Jacen saw Lumpy's eyes go wide, and saw the massive wookiee 
tremble with rage. Obviously, he had touched a nerve. For the third 
time today, Jacen was hoisted off his feet. Lumpawarrump held him at 
eye level, and bellowed with such force the human's hair flattened 
against his skull. The wookiee quieted his outburst immediately as 
Jacen slipped the muzzle of his father's blaster under Lumpy's chin. 

	"Let me go," Jacen began menacingly, "Or I'll fry the fuzz off 
that boil you call a head."

	Lumpawarrump's eyes shifted to surprise for a moment, then back 
to fury. Jacen felt him stiffen, as if the wookiee was preparing to 
toss him into the trees high above. A blur came suddenly to Jacen's 
side, separating the two antagonists. Chewbacca bellowed angrily once 
at Lumpy, then at Jacen. Lumpy turned to go, but Chewbacca grabbed his 
shoulder and spun him around. The exchange between them was quick and 
fierce, and Jacen could scarcely catch a word or two. A thrill of hope 
entered Jacen, as he saw that Chewie was wearing his old bandolier and 
bowcaster. 

	Lumpy saw this too, and realized the implications of it. 
Obviously, the young wookiee had overheard the conversation in the 
house. He accused Chewbacca of once again preparing to abandon his 
family for 'the humans'. Chewie angrily denied the charges, then 
informed Lumpy that he'd be joining his father on Han Solo's rescue 
attempt. 

	This bit of information stunned young wookiee and human both into 
silence. 

	The trio returned to the house, where Mallatobuck met them with 
containers of packed supplies. Lumpy slipped away, then returned with a 
scythe-like weapon Jacen had never seen before. The wooden staff was 
held between the wookiee's shoulder blades by a slender leather 
harness. A small, leather pouch hung to the right of the harness. Jacen 
had yet to find out what wookiees carried in those pouches. Jacen 
watched as Chewie delicately plucked his tiny daughter off of his 
wife's back, and cradled her in one massive palm. Jacen saw that 
Lumpawarrump seemed to study the floor during this outpouring of 
affection made toward his sister. Chewbacca held his mouth open, and 
inserted his daughter's head. Nervously at first, Jacen watched as he 
quietly clucked and barked softly to his daughter. For the first time, 
Jacen heard the little wookiee utter a sound. Katchateek happily 
chittered back at her father. He didn't know if wookiees could cry, by 
Jacen saw that Malla looked as though she was nearly at that point. 

	When Chewie turned to go, he casually tossed his daughter over 
his shoulder and made for the front door. Alarmed, Jacen was about to 
catch the baby wookiee, but stopped. In mid-air, the tiny anthropoid 
twisted slowly, and extended her arms to immediately reattach herself 
to her mother's unconcerned back. Jacen shook his head as he followed 
Chewie and Lumpy out of the house. Yes indeed, he would may MUCH more 
attention to his mother's diplomatic teachings, once this was over. 
young wookiee bared his fangs and bellowed a flurry of curses at Jacen. 
Despite himself

	"Ok, its Lumpawarrump then. But what'

	
		CHAPTER 18

	Han Solo watched, infuriated, as Tymer and Dunta easily took out 
the picket ships on patrol over Yavin 4. He didn't miss the fact that 
the pirates used the same tactic that he did to sneak up on them seven 
months before; through the highly radioactive Death Star debris field. 
As per Pel Dunta's orders, Han and Alzedj hung back in the late Miken's 
freighter. 

	The pirates had been here for some time, listening to Yavin 4's 
incoming transmissions. Dunta ordered his attack as soon as the 
Millennium Falcon contacted the Jedi Academy, informing them of its 
imminent arrival. Han had breathed a sigh of relief. At least Jacen had 
found the preset and had not tried a hyperjump on his own. The kid was 
inexperienced, and could have ended up lost forever. Jacen had gotten 
to Kashyyyk, and Chewie. Han hoped the old wookiee would forgive him, 
and he hadn't been disappointed. 

	Han looked over to Alzedj, who had just finished a beverage. The 
teen turned and threw the plastic container at the head of the 
Treadwell, which was parked just outside the freighter's cockpit. He 
barked at the hapless droid, ordering it to fetch him another. Alzedj 
kept his blaster leveled at Han's chest, and smiled at the old 
Corellian. Han ignored the grinning punk, and turned back to the helm. 

	Han had minimal control over the freighter's basic functions, but 
Dunta controlled the main panel from his ship. The linkup had been 
strong and steady.. until the pirate armada entered the debris field. 
So far, the Twi'lek hadn't noticed the linkup had been compromised by 
the raging energies within the debris field. Before he did, Han hoped 
he could use this to his advantage. Tymer and Dunta had returned to 
flank the freighter, and contacted Alzedj. 

	"The Falcon should be here within hours, so watch Solo close," 
Pel Dunta instructed. 

	"Don't worry," the teen sneered, pointing the blaster at Han's 
head, "If he so much as gives me a dirty look, he's fried."

	Dunta's voice came back forceful. "No, you WON'T fry Solo under 
any circumstances," the Twi'lek ordered, "We can't collect our money 
with damaged goods to trade, now can we?"

	Alzedj frowned as Dunta continued to admonish him. "You DO have 
your blaster set to stun, don't you?"

	"Of COURSE I do," the teen returned, exasperated. He eyed the 
blaster in his hand, and thumbed the setting to stun. "You think I'm 
stupid?"

	Dunta ignored the obvious opening Alzedj handed him, and 
addressed Han. "Sit tight, Solo. If this goes through as planned, your 
kid won't be harmed."

	Han smirked, remembering the bloodlust in Dunta's eyes when he 
found Miken. "I'll keep you to your word, Dunta. Because anything 
happens to my son... I swear I'll make you WISH you were dead."

	There was a short pause over the comm board before the pirate 
leader answered. "Same old Solo; quick with a huge bluff even when 
someone else is holding the superior hand."

	Han glanced out of the cockpit window. We'll see who has the 
better hand, he thought to himself. I have a trump card coming up on 
your tail. If he knew Chewbacca, and he did, the wookiee would know 
exactly where the pirates were hiding. And with sensors on all three 
ships compromised by the radiation, the Falcon could sneak in like a 
Jawa at night. As Alzedj grabbed another drink from the Treadwell, Han 
began working on a backup plan.... 

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

	They're going to kill each other!!

	Jacen watched, helpless, as the two wookiees battled one another 
in the Millennium Falcon's main hold. Lumpawarrup threw his father into 
the chess table, which snapped off its mountings under the force. 
Chewbacca bounced onto the acceleration couch, as the table sparked and 
rolled to the other side of the hold. Jacen backed up to the circuitry 
bay, uncertain about what to do. He watched as Chewbacca bellowed at 
the top of his lungs, and launched himself at his son. The two 
behemoths hit the deck hard. Jacen grabbed his father's blaster. He 
looked for a stun setting, but couldn't find one. 

	Things had gotten off to an amicable start. As they entered the 
spaceport, Chewbacca had let out a delighted roar upon seeing the newly 
refurbished Millennium Falcon. Jacen informed him of its stay at the 
museum, as the wookiee ran loving hands over hull plates that had once 
been battered and scored. The mighty wookiee laughed uproariously as he 
heard about Han stealing his own ship from the museum. As they boarded, 
Lumpy brushed past him without a single word. 

	The two wookiees had taken up positions in the cockpit: Chewie in 
the pilot's chair, and Lumpy in the co-pilot seat. Jacen took a seat 
behind Chewbacca, and watched the two wookiees work. Chewie complained 
about the cramped seat, but as he did he thew him self into launching 
the freighter in record time. The wookiee had already explained to 
Jacen that the pirates, and Han, would no longer be on Bonodan. Chewie 
barked orders to his son to set course to Yavin 4. Jacen watched with a 
touch of jealousy as Lumpawarrump programmed the nav 'puter with ease. 
He may not have any off-planet experience, but Jacen had to admit the 
young wookiee knew his stuff. 

	The next few hours of the voyage were uneventful. Lumpy still 
refused to acknowledge Jacen's presence, and brooded the whole time. 
His father finally ordered him to check several auxiliary controls, and 
inventory the ship's supplies. Clearly not happy with his father or the 
mission he undertook, the wookiee stalked off. 

	As Jacen and Chewbacca caught one another up on their respective lives, 
a tidal wave of guilt had spilled out of the teen. Jacen told the old 
wookiee about killing Miken, and his fear of turning to the Dark Side. 
Chewbacca had listened with sympathy as Jacen anguished over the 
dishonor his conduct brought upon his uncle and father. It seemed 
unlikely, he had lamented, that he'd ever become a Jedi now... or earn 
a Corellian Bloodstripe. 

	Chewbacca had patted Jacen on the shoulder, and consoled him. The 
wookiee reassured him that his actions were understandable given the 
circumstances. Jacen had listened intently to the centuries-old 
wookiee. He realized that he never had an actual discussion with 
Chewbacca before. Chewie told Jacen of Lumpawarrump's failure during 
his warrior training, and how he had to deal with his son's feelings of 
worthlessness also. Reluctantly, he told Jacen of his embarrassment of 
triggering an Ewok trap on Endor. One that was so primitive that a self 
respecting wookiee should have known better. Even the experienced 
misstep, he told the teen. 

	Jacen laughed at that. Chewie told him Lumpy would have another 
chance to complete his training in another decade. And Jacen would have 
an equal chance of redemption. Both of them had jumped as Lumpy came 
into the hold, bellowing at the top of his lungs. The young wookiee had 
overheard part of the conversation apparently, and was furious with his 
father for relating his failure to Jacen. 

	An equally angry Chewbacca stood and admonished his son for 
daring to speak to him in such a way. Lumpawarrup slammed a fist into a 
bulkhead, leaving an oblong dent in it. He accused his father of 
abandoning him in the years he really needed him. Lumpy informed his 
father that if he were there to prepare him for the warrior training 
years ago like a responsible father.. Lumpy would have succeeded. 

	Jacen jumped as Chewbacca crossed the hold in one stride and 
backhanded Lumpawarrup across the face, sending the young wookiee 
reeling. Lumpawarrump snarled, blood pouring from his lip. He attacked 
his father fiercely, and the two had turned the main hold into a battle 
ground. 

	Jacen now watched the two bloody one another, and screamed for 
them to stop. He was shaking with the fear that one of them would be 
mortally injured. Jacen raised his right arm.. and contemplated using 
the Force to separate them. He looked at his fingers, which were 
shaking, and balled them into a fist. Jacen couldn't bring himself to 
call upon the Force while in such a state. 

	Lumpawarrup pinned his father to the deck, and raised his right 
arm into the air. Sharp, black claws extended, and Lumpawarrup snarled 
angrily as he prepared to tear into his father. Jacen screamed, and 
took up the blaster again, preparing to shoot the young wookiee off his 
father. But the expression on Chewbacca's faced stopped them both. 
Jacen had never seen such a feral look in the old wookiee's eyes, and 
apparently neither had Lumpy. 

	Chewbacca threw his son off him as the young wookiee hesitated. 
He stood, and stared down darkly at his son. Lumpy seemed to shrink 
under that gaze, then looked at the extended claws on his right hand as 
if seeing them for the first time. Jacen watched an incredible 
transformation undertake Lumpy. The look of desperation on his face, as 
he realized he crossed the line, was hard to watch. Jacen knew that 
wookiee never used their claws in combat, and it was said to do so was 
highly dishonorable. 

	Lumpawarrup jumped to his feet, pleading for his father to 
forgive him. Jacen shuddered. Chewbacca stared back at his own son with 
such a degree of contempt that is was tangible. The only sound in the 
hold was the labored breathing of the two combatants. Both were 
bloodied, with a white lather of sweat on their shoulders and chests. 
The old wookiee turned, and left the hold. Lumpawarrump let out an 
anguished wail and fell to his knees, holding his head. Tears stood in 
Jacen's eyes. He hoped he'd NEVER see his own father look at him in 
such a way.... 

	
		CHAPTER 19

	Chewie, what the hell are you doing? An exasperated Han Solo 
watched as the Millennium Falcon dropped out of hyperspace in front of 
him, and headed for Yavin 4. 

	Beside him, Alzedj laughed. "Your kid is pretty stupid, Solo... 
you know that?"

	Han shot Alzedj a look that made the teen shrink back in his 
seat. The tension was broken by Pel Dunta's voice coming over the 
speakers. "Here we go! Tymer, you take out the shields, and I'll 
disable the ion drive. Don't worry Solo, we won't damage her much.. 
wouldn't want the value to go down!" The Twi'lek laughed as he broke 
off communications. 

	Han watched, teeth clenched as Tymer's lighter intercepted the 
Falcon, and lit up her shields with laser cannon fire. Dunta flew in an 
opposite vector, ready to send a missile at the Falcon's engines. Han 
was near panic. He scanned the freighter's helm controls, but knew he 
couldn't intervene. He had more control over the ship than Dunta 
realized, but it wasn't enough to fire weapons or engage the pirates in 
any way. 

	He watched as the Falcon twisted away from the lighter's attack, 
but Tymer locked back onto the evading freighter and continued the 
assault. Han slammed a fist down onto the console in frustration. 
Dammit, Chewie, he thought, you couldn't have become THIS stale! Han's 
anger turned to surprise, then elation as a small escort shuttle shot 
past overhead. The new player bathed Tymer's lighter in ion cannon 
fire. The lighter spun away, hopelessly out of control as its 
electrical systems were plunged into chaos. 

	Squinting, Han recognized the lines on the shuttle, and grinned 
broadly. Alzedj jumped out of his seat, peering up out of the canopy. 
"Who the hell is that?" he screamed angrily. 

	"It's the wife!" Han replied. 

	Alzedj stared at him dumbfounded, as Pel Dunta's panicked voice 
reverberated over the speakers. "Alzedj! Stun Solo and get out here! 
I'll turn the freighter's controls over as soon as you copy!"

	Han and Alzedj looked toward Dunta's T-Wing, who was now trying 
to evade Leia's shuttle AND the Falcon as both blasted away at him. 
Alzedj pointed the blaster at Han's chest. "Sorry old man..." he said 
with a snicker. 

	"After you stun me," Han began, stretching in his seat like a 
cat, "You're going to be wondering why the ship won't respond to your 
controls... and why the navicomputer is doing a countdown... "He looked 
at the teen, who was clearly dumbfounded. "It'll take time for you to 
figure out what I've done to the helm.. time you haven't got."

	The teen frowned, and a bit of fear crept into his expression. 
"You couldn't have done anything! Pel has had complete control over us 
since we left Bonadan!"

	Pel Dunta's voice screamed over the speakers. "Alzedj! Where the 
hell are you?"

	Han watched as Dunta plunged his T-Wing into the Death Star 
debris field, in an attempt to elude the Falcon and the shuttle. Very 
good, he thought to himself. Han had left the freighter's running 
lights blinking an Imperial Recognition Code, so Chewie would know 
which ship he was on. So far, however, it didn't seem like Chewie had 
seen this third ship yet. 

	"Ok, funny man, what did you do?" Alzedj said angrily, thumbing 
the stun setting on the blaster over to Full. 

	"Programmed two destinations into the navicomputer on opposite 
sides of the galaxy to one another." Han answered matter-of-factly. He 
smiled as he saw the color drain from the teen's face. "Its 
irreversible, by the way, in case you DO know a thing or two about 
navicomputers.. which you don't."

	"You can't do that!" Alzedj whispered. 

	"Sure you can, if you know how to disable the safeties in the 
computer itself. I suggest we get off this ship as soon as possible.. 
it's going to be the single longest piece of filament the galaxy's ever 
seen in another five minutes."

	Alzedj shook with fear, and pointed the blaster at Han's head. 
"Only one of us is leaving this.."

	Han didn't wait for the kid to finish his threat. He drove the 
toe of one boot into Alzedj's gun arm at the elbow, shattering it. 
Alzedj bellowed as the blaster flew out of his hand. Han followed 
through mercilessly and smashed a fist into Alzedj's face, slamming him 
against the bulkhead. He bent to retrieve the blaster, which landed 
under the helm console. Alzedj recovered quickly, however, and ran out 
of the cockpit. Cursing, Han snatched up the blaster and followed. 

	The freighter was small, and Alzedj covered the distance to the 
escape pod easily. Han rounded the corner in time to see the outer 
hatch shut, and the craft's only lifeboat launch. Han leaned against 
the bulkhead, and stared at the hatch with a growing sense of dread. He 
was trapped on a doomed ship. "Ok Solo, now what?" he whispered. 

	
		CHAPTER 20

	Chief of State Leia Organa Solo gritted her teeth, as she swung 
her escort shuttle on an intercept course for the T-Wing. The lithe 
craft's etheric rudder whined as its pilot plunged the shuttle into the 
Death Star's debris field. Leia dodged massive pieces of twisted and 
fused metal, which was all that was left of the Empire's first world 
smashing battle station. 

	Leia began to sweat, as she thought back to Han's suicidal run 
through the asteroid field near the Hoth system. When she received 
Chewbacca's transmission on Coruscant, she never thought twice about 
sending the assault craft Chewie had suggested for this ambush. She 
would not just stay on Coruscant wringing her hands, waiting for news. 
Of course, Leia would be chastised upon her return for needlessly 
risking her life, given her status. Something she couldn't have cared 
less about, when the lives of her husband and children were in 
question. 

	All the scopes on her control panel were a hopeless jumble of 
static due to the radiation in the debris field. This made it even 
harder to pursue the pirate. But once this one was disabled, she could 
concentrate on locating the freighter that Han was on. She hoped Chewie 
was correct in his assumption that her husband would be held captive on 
the larger freighter of this pirate armada of three. Just in case, she 
had set her weapons selector to the ion cannons Han had installed on 
her personal shuttle. 

	Leia cried out, as the T-Wing suddenly appeared ahead of her. The 
pirate had doubled back on his course, blasting away at her shuttle. 
Leia shoved the control yoke hard to starboard to avoid the brunt of 
the attack. Her shields flared as the pirate passed over her. Quickly, 
she chanced a blind shot with the rear-mounted laser cannon. Having no 
way of knowing if she'd hit the T-Wing, she looped back on an intercept 
course. Leia cried out in surprise as her shuttle shook and listed 
violently. The pirate leader had scored a direct hit with a concussion 
missile. 

	Nearly every readout on her helm flashed red. Leia noted the 
engine quarter had taken heavy damage, and the shuttle responded 
drunkenly. She knew her craft would not survive another direct hit. A 
movement just ahead of her made Leia look up from her instruments. She 
smiled in relief as the Millennium Falcon flew overhead, and ran the 
pirate off her tail. The shuttle's speakers crackled as a comm-link 
between the two ships struggled to connect. 

	"Mom!" Jacen's voice shrilled through the speaker. Leia nearly 
cried with joy upon hearing her son's voice. "Get clear -we'll get dad 
out of here. We don't want to have to worry about you too. Your 
shuttle's out of the game!"

	Leia blinked in surprise. Her 15 year old son sounded far older 
since she last saw him seven months ago. Jacen sounded like a teenage 
version of Han Solo! She heard Chewie second the request that she clear 
out. 

	"Ok you two, I'm heading for the academy. Please be careful." She 
hated abandoning this rescue mission before finding out if Han was all 
right. Her damaged shuttle would be a hindrance to the success of that 
rescue however. Reluctantly, she pointed the craft toward Yavin 4. 

	Within the Millennium Falcon Jacen, Lumpawarrump and Chewbacca 
watched the escort shuttle shoot away from the debris field. Dunta's T-
Wing did not follow, as they had suspected. Chewbacca grumbled his 
displeasure, and resumed his search for the pirate. Jacen watched as 
Lumpy dutifully handled the co-pilot chores. The young wookiee had been 
quiet since he had fought with his father in the main hold, and stole 
glances at Chewbacca whenever he could. Chewbacca for the most part, 
completely ignored his son. Jacen could tell the elder wookiee was 
still seething with rage at Lumpy's show of dishonor. He wondered if 
Chewie would EVER forgive Lumpy for that. Jacen sat back in the nav 
chair, and closed his eyes. He concentrated, and tried to allow the 
force to flow within him. This time there was no fear in him when he 
tried to use it. He needed the Force's help in trying to find his 
father. He smiled, as he felt the familiar rush of that extra sensory 
power fill him. His smile began to fade, however, as images began to 
coalesce in front of him. Instantly, he sat up and opened his eyes. 

	"Chewie! Dunta's heading for dad!"

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

	"This is NOT going to work," Han muttered to himself for the 
tenth time. He struggled to get into the EVA suit, and pondered what he 
was about to do. He didn't lie to Alzedj. The damage he had done to the 
nav computer WAS irreversible. What he DID lie about was the effect his 
sabotage would have on the freighter. At the least, all that would 
really happen would be the drive engine exploding. At the worst, the 
resulting explosion would reduce the ship to slag. Either way, Han 
didn't want to be on the ship when the nav computer finished counting 
down. 

	He had managed to get the bulky suit on, and hit the seals for 
the gloves and helmet. When all the seals read green in his helmet 
indicator, he checked the comm unit. "You know what to do, right?"

	Han looked over to the Treadwell, standing in the doorway to the 
life support section. The droid gave him an acknowledging blip. It 
wasn't possible to really tell, but Han swore the droid was actually 
happy with this task it was asked to perform. After being bullied and 
used as nothing more than a drink server by Miken and Alzedj, the droid 
seemed to enjoy being employed in a useful fashion again. 

	"Give me ten seconds after I seal the tank." Again, the Treadwell 
squeaked an acknowledgement. Han walked over to the fresh water tanks, 
thinking again about how little confidence he had in this idea. 
Ordinarily, the EVA suit he was wearing would protect him from the 
background radiation one might encounter during a spacewalk. But the 
rampant energy in the debris field was much higher than the suit was 
rated for. Han had thought back to his academy days, and all the 
survival theories that were stuffed down the cadets' throats. One 
theory had to do with ice protecting one from radiation in an 
emergency. 

	"This is NOT going to work," he muttered to himself one more 
time, as he unsealed one of the water tanks and climbed in. Han had 
absolutely zero hope Jacen or Chewie would find him once he was off the 
freighter. But what choice did he have? Shaking his head, he grabbed 
the hatch, then hesitated. He took one last look at the Treadwell, 
waiting to perform his task dutifully. It's LAST task. 

	"Yup Solo, you know you're getting REAL soft when you care about 
what's going to happen to a droid." Han closed the tank lid above him. 
Floating in absolute darkness, he felt the water's pressure against the 
suit. He tucked himself into a fetal ball, and pressed his wrist up to 
his viewplate. The lighted rad indicator read zero now, but he knew 
that would soon change in another five seconds. Han braced himself for 
what seemed like an eternity. He caught his breath suddenly as he felt 
his body thrust in to infinity. He gritted his teeth and squeezed his 
eyes shut as he felt an unbelievable pressure enclose on him. When he 
dared open his eyes, he found himself spinning helplessly in space. He 
also saw he was completely encased in ice. He couldn't believe it 
worked! Silently, he thanked his old academy instructors. Han's smile 
disappeared however, as he regarded the rad indicator. The indicator 
began to climb slowly but steadily toward the red zone.... 

	
		CHAPTER 21

	In the space of only a few moments, everything went to hell. Pel 
Dunta slammed his hand down on the helm in anger at these egregious 
turn of events. Not only had Solo destroyed all his plans for making a 
cartload of money, he had also destroyed Dunta's pirate clan. Alzedj no 
longer responded to his hails. That meant Solo overpowered him, and 
probably killed him. Even now, Solo may be trying to override the 
freighter's helm controls. Dunta smiled, his prehensile head tails 
twitching with excitement. He wouldn't let Solo use one of his own 
ships against him. The Twi'lek swung his T-Wing on a vector back toward 
Miken's freighter, and primed two more missiles. 

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

	The Millennium Falcon located the freighter at the same moment 
Dunta's T-Wing sprang into view. The pirate leader launched his craft 
toward the helpless freighter. 

	"There he is!" Jacen yelled. "Get him, Chewie! He's gonna kill 
dad--"

	Before Chewbacca finished targeting the T-Wing, before Pel Dunta 
could fire even one of his missiles, the freighter exploded in a 
blinding flash of brilliance. Both ships immediately veered away from 
the explosion, but the T-Wing was too close, and was engulfed in the 
expanding conflagration. The Falcon looped back toward the fiery debris 
cloud. 

	The cockpit was quiet, as Chewbacca frantically scanned the area 
for lifepods he knew he wouldn't find. The debris field continued to 
frustrate his efforts. A small, plaintive moan escaped his lips. 
Lumpawarrump looked toward his father with concern, then regarded 
Jacen. The young human had his eyes closed, but it was clear he was 
concentrating on something intently. Lumpy jumped, as Jacen's eyes 
snapped open. "Chewie! Dad's alive! Set course, 126!"

	Chewbacca regarded the teen in disbelief, then set the ship's 
course as ordered. The course took them to the far edge of the debris 
field, a rough but steady vector away from the destroyed freighter. 
"There he is!" Jacen exclaimed excitedly. Chewbacca studied the space 
where Jacen was pointing instantly, but saw nothing. Annoyed, he began 
checking the scopes again. Jacen pounded on the wookiee's shoulder in 
annoyance. 

	"No, no! Here! See that?" Chewbacca looked once again, but saw no sign 
of a lifepod. He squinted his eyes, and DID see a fast-moving hunk of 
ice that must have been ten meters in diameter. Chewie looked back at 
Jacen in disbelief, then laid in an intercept course. The hunk of ice 
was clear of the debris field, and was headed straight for Yavin. In 
moments it would come under the full influence of the gas giant's 
gravity well. 

	Yavin bathed the entire cockpit in blood red, blotting out everything 
else as the Falcon chased down the ice ball. "Can we grab him with the 
tractor beam?" Jacen asked Chewie. Lumpy answered, and told Jacen that 
the beam would put too much pressure on the ice and likely crush it. 
Jacen closed his eyes, and concentrated on the ball of ice that 
contained his father. During the seven months he had been on this 
"runabout" with his father, the elder Solo had told him about many 
scenarios having to do with abandoning compromised ships. The one his 
father had just chosen sounded the most preposterous of all, at the 
time. 

	Sweat beaded on Jacen's face, his outstretched right hand 
trembled with effort. His eyes snapped open as he heard Chewie and 
Lumpy grunt in surprise. The ice ball had ceased moving, and hung there 
in front of them. Jacen sat back and caught his breath, as Lumpawarrump 
stared at him open-mouthed. Chewbacca brought the Falcon around, and 
eased the top hatch under the ice. Lumpawarrump turned his attention 
back to his console and held the ship at station, as his father 
unstrapped himself. Jacen grabbed the wookiee's arm as he passed. 

	"Let me know when you're ready, and I'll get dad out of the ice." 
Jacen said tiredly. Chewie regarded the young human for only a moment 
longer, then headed toward the port hatch. 

	Chewbacca lumbered into his wookiee-sized EVA suit, and stepped 
into the airlock. He rode the lift platform up to the top hatch, 
securing himself with a safety line in the process. Chewie cracked the 
hatch, and twin covers irised open. The ball of ice floated not five 
feet away from the hatch opening. The wookiee signaled Jacen over the 
intercom that he had the ice-encased Solo in sight. 

	In the cockpit, Jacen had his eyes shut in deep concentration. 
Lumpy watched as the young human's outstretched hand closed suddenly 
into a tight fist. 

	Chewbacca ducked involuntarily as the ice ball exploded above 
him. Ice pelted his helmet and the ship, while the rest was shot out 
into space. When Chewie looked up again, he saw a human form flailing 
above him. The man in the EVA suit had been caught off guard--his limbs 
no longer pushed against an immovable force. The helmet turned Chewie's 
way, and the wookiee saw the smiling face of Han Solo. Chewbacca kept 
his expression deliberately neutral as he hauled Han into the ship, and 
sealed the hatch. The two rode the lift platform to the deck, and 
stepped off. Han held his arms over his head and turned slowly, as 
Chewbacca unhooked a hose from the wall and doused him with a decontam 
steam. 

	Han ripped off his suit, and stuffed it quickly into a storage 
locker. The old Corellian sat down hard on the deck, and breathed a 
sigh of relief. "I don't believe it! I've amazed myself before, but 
THIS..." Han stopped as he regarded the wookiee next to him. Chewbacca 
quietly slipped out of his EVA suit, and carefully hung it up. Han 
stood, and tried again. "Thanks for coming for me, pal." The old 
wookiee slowly turned, and regarded Han with a less than friendly gaze. 
"What?" Han exploded suddenly. "Are you still wanked-off at me?" 
Chewbacca stood there like stone, and stared hard at the human. Han 
blew out an exasperated breath. "All right! I'm SORRY I told you to 
forget about your life debt."

	Chewbacca folded his arms in front of him, and began to study a 
suddenly interesting part of the top hatch. Han shook his head. "And I 
was out of line when I told you how to raise Lumpy. Ok? OK?"

	Chewbacca lowered his gaze back toward Han, eyes slitted. He then 
turned and headed for the cockpit, muttering under his breath. Han 
caught it, and exploded. "WHAT? Look you.. the ONLY reason I gave in 
first is because you're such a hard headed...." Han stopped as he heard 
the wookiee laugh roll down the corridor. He followed Chewie to the 
cockpit and continued to berate him, which only made the wookiee laugh 
harder. Han couldn't stop the smile from crossing his face. It was good 
to have his best friend back. Just as the pair passed the main hold, 
the ship lurched under them. Both tumbled to the deck, and the lights 
dimmed, plunging the ship into near darkness. 

	"Now what?" Han wondered aloud, as he and Chewie picked 
themselves up and headed for the cockpit. As they entered, an angry 
voice blared over the speakers. 

	"SOLO!" It was Tymer, Han found. He wasn't out of the game yet. 
"I've got two concussion missiles with your name on them ready to be 
delivered through your cockpit!!"

	Jacen was in the pilot's seat, but he turned and hugged his 
father as soon as Han entered. Han noticed an enormous wookiee in the 
co-pilot chair. "Who... is that LUMPY??" he asked Chewbacca. Chewie 
acknowledged him with a grunt, as Lumpawarrump turned an annoyed gaze 
at Han. 

	Jacen sat back down and informed his father of the situation. "He 
hit us with an ion blast while our shields were down." Jacen pointed to 
the small lighter just starboard of their location. Han reached forward 
and checked a few scopes. 

	"The beam wasn't full powered, but it looks like half our power 
grid is down. We won't get the engines lighted for quite a while." Han 
checked a few other readings, and grunted. "He's drifting. Leia got him 
pretty good with her ion cannons. He probably bled off enough power 
from the batteries and emergency systems to recharge his power grid 
temporarily. That's why he couldn't hit us with a full blast."

	"Can't we do the same thing?" Jacen asked. "Nail him with the 
quads?"

	"The quads take up more energy than we have time to build up. 
Tymer's probably been at it for a while. He must have enough power for 
thrusters to keep that shaky orbit he's in over Yavin." Han answered. 
Undaunted, Lumpawarrump turned to the task of re-energizing the 
Falcon's power grid. 

	A warning blip suddenly clamored for attention on Jacen's board. 
It shrilled for a few seconds, then went silent. "He's almost got a 
target lock on us!" Jacen said worriedly. He knew concussion missiles 
wouldn't fire without a positive lock. But it looked like Tymer was 
only moments away from building enough power in his weapons to launch 
them. Jacen thought furiously over his options. 

	Han exchanged a resolute look with Chewie. Young Anakin's words 
from seven months ago came back to haunt him. "Chewie, get the kids to 
the lifepods."

	"No! Wait... I think I have an idea." Jacen offered. 

	Han shook his head. "Son, there's no time. We've got to jump ship 
before he has us painted."

	Jacen refused to give up. "What if we use the tractor beam? We 
can use it in reverse as a pressor beam.. like you told me you do 
during salvage ops."

	Han stared at Jacen in confusion. He did use the pressor to shunt 
large bits of debris away from derelict ships he had found floating in 
space junkyards, but what did Jacen.. Then, he saw it. He looked out to 
Tymer's lighter not twenty meters away, and understood what Jacen 
wanted to do. Jacen saw revelation light up his father's face, as he 
turned and helped Lumpy bleed power into the pressor. Han and Chewie 
sat in the nav and comm stations, and helped the effort. 

	The speakers crackled again, and Tymer's voice filled the cockpit 
again. "I've nearly got you in my sights, Solo! You'll regret the day 
you messed with the Dunta pirate clan! Do you hear me Solo? SOLO!"

	Jacen slapped at the comlink on his board. "Yes I hear you, now 
shut up so I can concentrate on killing you." With that, he cut 
communications, and returned to his task. Han and Chewie exchanged 
surprised looks with one another as Jacen called out their status. 
"We're almost there. Just a few more seconds..." The warning claxon 
blared on Jacen's board once again. Tymer's target computer struggled 
to sustain a lock on the Millennium Falcon. Jacen watched as the signal 
grew in power. 

	"Damn.." Han said quietly, as the target lock seized them. 

	Jacen ignored the claxon. "Punch it, Lumpy!" The young wookiee 
threw all available power to the pressor beam and aimed it at Tymer's 
lighter. The Falcon crew watched as Tymer's ship lurched suddenly, then 
tumbled toward Yavin. The tiny ship picked up speed as the gas giant 
caught it in her deadly embrace. 

	Tymer's cries echoed through the cockpit, as Jacen and the others 
watched the lighter fall toward Yavin's crushing atmosphere. Tymer's 
cries were cut off abruptly as Yavin swallowed him whole.... 

	
		CHAPTER 22

	As soon as the Millennium Falcon landed at the Jedi Academy, it 
purified itself of the radiation dancing on its hull. The decontam 
cloud dissipated, and the crew disembarked. Leia and Jaina ran up to 
Han and Jacen as soon as they reached the bottom of the ramp. Chewbacca 
greeted the women as well, and held Jaina high over his head. 
Lumpawarrump stayed behind the celebrants, aloof and alone. 

	Han held Leia's head close to his chest, and embraced her 
tightly. The princess of Alderaan took in her husband, and admired him. 
"You haven't looked this good in years!" she said. A mock look of hurt 
crossed the old Corellian's face, but he kissed her all the same. The 
throng grew quiet at the Jedi Master's approach. Luke Skywalker walked 
up to the group silently. His gaze was unreadable, but it eventually 
fell on Jacen. "We need to talk." Luke said quietly. 

	Back at the Massassi temple, Leia paced the Academy's mess hall, 
still in shock over the news of Jacen's use of the Force to kill. Luke 
sat at the end of one of the mess tables, with Jacen and Jaina to his 
right. Han Solo was irritably pacing the room in a foul mood. 

	"Jacen, you must stay," Luke continued. "Now, more than ever 
before your Jedi skills must be harnessed. Kept under control. You were 
unprepared, and strayed much too close to the Dark Side." Leia turned, 
and broke into the conversation. 

	"Strayed? You're being too easy on him, Luke." She bent down next 
to where Jacen was sitting, with his head lowered. "He killed a man 
with the Force!"

	Han irritably ran fingers through his hair. "Oh come ON you two! 
He was fighting for his life!" He walked up to his son and pulled his 
shirt up on one side, exposing the dark scar from Miken's attack. "He 
had no other option to save himself. It was either him or that other 
slime, and I for one am glad he chose himself!"

	"Like you taught him, Han? Luke countered, "Kill or be killed?"

	The room seemed to grow colder as Han leaned forward on the 
table. His knuckles were nearly white where thy pressed into the stone 
slab. "That's right, yeah." Han said, eyeing the Jedi Master 
menacingly. "That's exactly what I taught my son."

	Jacen spoke up quietly. "I had no choice Unc... Master Luke. I 
couldn't let him just kill me. I saved myself."

	Luke leaned back in his chair and regarded his young protege. 
"And you had no other choice but to kill your opponent, Jacen? You 
couldn't have broken the bones in his wrist rather than his neck? You 
couldn't have clouded his mind long enough to escape?" Jacen looked 
lost, and couldn't answer. Luke stood, and paced the room. "No, you 
chose the easy path. The dark side seduced you. You feel the Force but 
you are far from being able to control it. You must stay."

	"What happed to following my OWN destiny?" Jacen exploded. I 
don't WANT to stay! I no longer WANT to be a Jedi! Yoda said that I 
needed to follow my OWN destiny.. that it would be dangerous for me to 
continue training as a Jedi if I really didn't WANT it!"

	Luke whirled, staring at Jacen in confusion. "Yoda?"

	Jaina chided her brother. "Come on, Jacen. Not even Master Luke 
can summon Yoda!"

	"I didn't call him--he came to ME!" Jacen answered. "Uncle Luke, 
I don't want to be a Jedi anymore. I want to join the Starfighter 
Academy and be a pilot."

	Again, Luke shook his head, and placed a hand on Jacen's 
shoulder. "I'm sorry, Jacen. But I will not be responsible for loosing 
a Dark Jedi on this galaxy again. The Force will always be a part of 
you. And you will always be tempted to use it. You must stay, and be 
taught to control the Force."

	Jacen brushed off Luke's hand and walked over to his parents. 
Leia was comforting Han, who was staring out of the mess hall's window. 
Chewbacca stood nearby, a quiet observer. "Dad, I don't have to stay 
here, do I? I've proven myself."

	For a long moment Han continued to stare out of the window. He 
then turned, and regarded his son. "Your Uncle may be right, Jacen. 
This Force stuff isn't something that can be pushed into a corner. I 
think you should stay too."

	Jacen's mouth dropped open. He could feel tears standing in his 
eyes, waiting to flow. "Dad... I thought you of all people was on MY 
side."

	"I AM on your side, Jacen..." Han countered. But Jacen dismissed 
everyone in the room, and left the mess hall. Leia started after him, 
but Han restrained her. "No, sweetheart, let him go. He has a lot to 
think about." Chewbacca watched the young Solo leave, and pondered his 
situation with his own son. 

	Jacen stormed out of the mess hall, toward the far exit. In the 
corridor beyond, he saw the hulking figure of Lumpawarrump sitting on 
the stone floor. The young wookiee had his legs drawn up under his 
chin, and embraced them with his massive arms. As Jacen drew near, he 
could tell that Lumpy had actually been crying. He looked a mess. In 
shame, Lumpy tried to hide his face from his human friend. Jacen wiped 
away tears from his own face, and abruptly sat beside the wookiee. 

	"Looks like we've got a long way to go before we prove ourselves 
to everybody." Jacen offered. Lumpy didn't answer, so the two sat in 
the corridor in silence. 

	Early morning on Yavin 4 was a beautiful sight, Han found. He had 
pulled on his shirt loosely, and exited the quarters he and Leia shared 
for their temporary stay. Making his way to he mess hall, he made 
himself a steaming cup of Coffeine, and carried the mug to the East 
exit. Han stared at the blood-red planet of Yavin, which hung the 
morning sky. It vied for dominance over it visible moons, and the sight 
was beautiful. 

	The tranquility was broken by the sound strained servos coming 
toward him. He looked to his right to see Threepio coming up fast. 

	"Oh, Captain Solo! You must come quickly! Jacen and Lumpawarrump 
have run off!" the droid reported excitedly. 

	Han started. "What? What are you talking about?"

	"Please sir! Come quickly! They left a message with Artoo!" With 
that, the droid ran back toward the landing platform. Han watched the 
droid round the corner, then ducked back inside the temple to rouse 
Chewbacca. The old wookiee came awake immediately when Han explained 
the situation. 

	Han and Chewie ran to the landing platform, and immediately 
noticed something was missing... the Millennium Falcon. Han lost his 
breath, but ran up to C-3P0 all the same. 

	"Where's my ship?" Han demanded angrily of the droid. Chewbacca 
scanned the area for the children, but saw no sign of them. 

	"Sir, perhaps the message..." Threepio turned and pointed to 
R2D2, who rolled up and began to play a holographic file. Han and 
Chewie watched as the images of Jacen and Lumpawarrump materialized 
before them. 

	"Hi dad... everyone. There's no easy way to say this, but... 
Lumpy and I couldn't stay. There's a time when one has to follow his 
own path. And maybe someday soon, I'll prove myself to you. I can't do 
it at the Academy.. my heart's just not into it. I love you all.. and I 
don't know when I'll ever be back. Hell, who knows? Maybe I'll be 
sporting a Corellian Bloodstripe the next time we see each other." 
Jacen seemed to hesitate for a moment, then said simply, "Bye." 
Lumpawarrump stepped forward and gave pretty much the same message to 
Chewbacca in their language. With that, the projection faded. 

	Han thought he was still back in his quarters dreaming. He just 
didn't want to accept what he'd just heard. He looked over to 
Chewbacca, who stared into the heavens, as if he'd spot the Millennium 
Falcon by chance. He had never seen the big wookiee look so lost. Han 
walked over to stand next to him and he too, regarded the sky. 

	Presently, Han sighed, and shook his head. "I can't believe it. 
My own son.. my own BLOOD.... stole my ship." Chewbacca slowly looked 
down at Han, who still gazed up at the sky. Finally, Han turned and 
faced Chewbacca. A smile broke over his lip, and the old Corellian 
began to laugh loudly. Chewbacca stared at the human in confusion, then 
huffed a few chuckles, until he too began laughing uproariously. 

	THE END