Chapter 11

Two weeks later

Buffy steered the ship effortlessly through the asteroids, nearly at the end of their journey. They still had a week left until the month ended, and they were ahead of schedule. With her refined slayer senses, it was far too easy to avoid colliding with the asteroids. Dreamer responded well, but Buffy knew Han wanted a different ship. They just hadn't found the right one yet. At the thought of Han, a frown appeared on Buffy's face.

Han had been upset with her ever since the day in the Cantina with Boba Fett. Chewbacca had been too, but he hadn't complained about it nearly as much. Han currently was up with the gun keeping an eye out for asteroids that got too close, and Chewbacca was in the other pilot seat. Mr. Gordo was sitting on her shoulder; alert, but quiet. The ship was small, and though the cargo hold could contain quite a bit, occasionally they would have to turn down a job because their small vessel just didn't have the room. Even now, the Drakma meat spilled out of the cargo area and into their living space. The smell was pungent, and Buffy accelerated the ship all the faster, eager to be rid of it.

"Is he still angry?" Buffy asked, gracefully dodging another asteroid that appeared in their path.

Chewbacca grunted.

Buffy sighed. She had learned many aspects of the Wookie language, and Mr. Gordo scarcely had to translate for Chewbacca anymore, but some parts of the Wookie culture still baffled her. Such as her current problem.

"Look, Chewbacca," she said, "I said I was sorry. Please can't we just get over this? It's over and done with. I'm fine."

Chewbacca sighed. He had a hard time staying angry with Buffy, and finally, he said, "The problem is that it's not over," he rumbled, "he knows you are the one who escaped from the empire. Our main defense has been that the Empire never knew that Buffy Summers and 'the Emperor's Prize' were the same person. If that information leaks, we'll be hounded at every stop."

Buffy groaned, having already heard the Wookie's concerns before and said, "I'm pretty sure he knew who I was before he contacted me. Besides, I doubt he'll tell."

Chewbacca's blue eyes widened in surprise, and he asked, "Why not?"

"Well, bounty hunters want the bounty, right?" At Chewbacca's nod, she continued, "Thus, the less people that know, the more chance Fett will get the reward. See, it's not in his best interest to tattle."

Chewbacca had to concede that she had a point, but with a bellow, he pointed out that they would still have to watch out for Boba Fett, and he was not a force to be taken lightly.

Buffy nodded and turned her focus back on the asteroids. As Boba Fett's features crossed her mind, she couldn't help but blush at her recollection of that kiss. Though her memory of that fight was fuzzy, she distinctly remembered the moment when he had kissed her. It had shocked her enough that her thoughts had been clear for a few amazing seconds. Then there had been a roar, and everything had been fuzzy again. Quite literally, Buffy thought as she gazed at her furry companion. The Dreamer left the asteroids at that moment, and Buffy could see the planet ahead of them where they would drop off their cargo.

"There's the Eight Quadrant," Buffy said. "I can't wait to get rid of this Drakma meat. It stinks to high heaven."

Chewbacca agreed with a snort and he moved off to prepare Han for their landing. To his sensitive nose, the Drakma meat had been nearly overwhelming, and he couldn't wait to scrub all traces of it from the ship.

Boba Fett dodged another asteroid, swearing angrily as it nicked his ship. He couldn't figure out how the ship in front of him so effortlessly dodged all of the asteroids. Like every Asteroid Belt, the asteroids traveled in random patterns, impossible to predict. Though Boba was one of the best pilots, and he could have navigated this field with ease, he would have done so at a much slower speed. The ship in front of him was going nearly full speed, but seemed to flow around the asteroids before any damage was done to the ship. Boba flew at a slower speed, but if he went too slow, he would lose them entirely. He wondered who was flying. The piloting skills of all three were legendary, so it was hard to know which of them could navigate through the most dangerous belt in the galaxy like a two-year-old taking a walk in the park. Maybe this bounty wouldn't be as easy as he thought. However, a hundred million credits were well worth it.

The last of the Drakma meat was taken off the ship and Chewbacca sighed in relief. However, Han seemed antsy.

"Hey, Chewy?" he said.

Chewbacca sighed. Not long after they had met, Han had started calling him Chewy. Chewbacca didn't mind, but sometimes he wished Han would be a little more respectful of his given name.

"What?" he grunted.

"How close are we to Cloud City?"

Chewbacca gauged the distance in his mind, and with a few grunts and gestures told him that it was only a coupe of days away.

"Why?" Chewbacca asked.

Han didn't answer. He just looked thoughtful, and then he said, "Call Buffy. We're leaving."

Buffy, who was over accepting the pay for a job well done, heard her name and turned to look at him. Sometimes he was still amazed by how incredible her hearing was. He motioned for her to come over, and she shook the man's hand a final time and walked back toward them.

"What is it?" Buffy asked.

"We're heading to Cloud City. Come on," Han said.

"Why?' Buffy protested as they started back toward their small vessel.

"I'll tell you when we get there," Han said, his smile cocky and eager. Buffy groaned. Anything that Han came up with almost always ended in disaster. However, she was just happy that he was talking to her again, and not griping at her. If this is what it took to keep him happy, then she was willing to play along for now.

Boba Fett watched as the Dreamer launched into hyperdrive as it cleared the planet. While they had been on the surface, he had landed as well, and placed a small tracking device aboard the vessel. It didn't matter where they went from now on, he could follow them anywhere.

A couple days later, they landed on Cloud City, Buffy turned to Han and asked, "Now will you tell us what we're doing here?" Han shook his head and laughed as Buffy groaned at him. He stopped laughing abruptly though when she punched him in the shoulder. "Ouch," he said.

Buffy and Chewbacca exited from their ship and both looked at him expectantly.

"Just wander around," he shrugged. "Take a break. I'll be back in a couple of days." And then he took off. Buffy lifted her eyebrow at Chewbacca he shrugged and whuffed.

"You said it," she said, and Mr. Gordo, who sat resting on her shoulder said, "I don't care what he's up to. He's going to get himself into trouble. And a couple of days? Why would he need a couple of days?"

Buffy sighed again. She trusted Han, but she'd seen the bulging bag on his hip. It appeared he'd taken all the earnings from their last trip. Maybe he was going to finally buy a ship. She shrugged. A vacation was a vacation, and she had some shopping to do. She grabbed her 'credit card,' and took off. It wasn't the same as the ones on Earth, but it did the job just fine. At the thoughts of home, a frown crossed her features, and Chewbacca slung one of his hairy limbs over her shoulders. She looked at him gratefully, and impulsively kissed him on the cheek. His fur darkened, and that simple sign of his embarrassment was enough to pull her out of her brief funk. She would trust Han, because if they didn't trust each other, what did they have?"

Buffy paced angrily back and forth. Han had been gone for three days. This was the fourth day that he had been missing, and she couldn't help but feel worried. She was also furious. When she had gone to purchase things, she had discovered that nearly all the credits on her card had been swiped. She had been stuck with nothing to do, and she blamed Han for it.

"Where is he?" she growled, sounding a bit like Chewbacca on a bad day. Chewbacca was worried as well, and they were guarding a computer terminal as Mr. Gordo hacked into it. Chewbacca had made some modifications to Mr. Gordo in the last two years, and now Mr. Gordo was able to bypass any firewall or encryption. He also had become more sarcastic. Buffy proudly blamed that on herself, though Han tried to take credit as well. Now, however, Mr. Gordo was silent as he sifted through information, trying to find any sign of the Corellian. Finally, he opened his bug-like eyes and glanced at Buffy.

"I...found him, Buffy," he said. The robot seemed hesitant which made Buffy suspicious.

"And?" she demanded.

"Well," Mr. Gordo said slowly, "he's not in trouble. At least not yet."

"What do you mean?" Chewbacca rumbled.

"He might be when you find out what he's doing," Mr. Gordo said, looking petrified.

"And what might that be?" Buffy snarled.

"He is at the Yarith Bespin. It's a hotel. He's...participating in the Cloud City Sabacc Tournament Finals. It's the last round and only he and Lando Calrissian are left."

"Calrissian?' Buffy said, shooting a look at Chewbacca. Chewbacca nodded confirming her thoughts.

"He wouldn't..." Buffy said.

"Oh, yes, he would," Chewbacca growled.

"So, this whole trip was..." Buffy said, her eyes widening.

"I just hope he knows..." Chewbacca worried, and then Buffy grabbed Mr. Gordo, yanking him out of the system, and both she and Chewbacca raced down the hall.

As Mr. Gordo was jolted up and down, he muttered, "Sometimes, even though I speak the language, I still don't know what anyone's talking about."

Han leaned back and looked at his cards.

It was a good hand. He just needed on more card, and he didn't have to worry about this game. It was going to be tricky though. Lando still hadn't laid down what Han wanted on the table. It was time to raise the stakes.

He added another thousand credits to the pot, bringing the total to 20,000. That was a large pot. Rarely, did it get so large, but Han had credits to spare. He'd already earned roughly that much during the last three days of this tournament, and if his luck held out, he would walk out of here with more than just money.

Lando looked at the pot, looked at his cards, and then grinned. "Han," he said, "why don't we make this interesting. I feel like being generous today. I see your credits, and I'll add several thousand more, but I'm going to throw in something different as well." Lando produced a marker and Han tried to hide his excitement. This is what he'd been waiting for.

"It's a marker. It states that should you win, you have the pick of any ship in my lot in Nar Shaddaa. Is that agreeable?"

Han looked thoughtful and after a few moments nodded. He had seen which ship the Calrissian had brought, and Han already knew how he'd use the situation to his advantage. All he needed was one final card. Lando must have a good hand if he was willing to go so far. Han just needed one better.

The final draw arrived and keeping his face neutral, Han picked the card. He remained motionless staring at his draw, and sighed. Lando grinned at his sigh and then drew his own card. His face betrayed nothing as he entered the card back into his deck.

"Reveal," toned the machine above them.

"Pure sabacc." Han said, flourishing his deck. Lando's face dropped, and but he revealed his cards. Han swallowed. Almost nothing beat Pure Sabacc...except the Idiot's Array, and Lando had almost achieved that. He had been one card off. If Lando had gotten that one card, Han would have lost. It was a narrow margin, but he had done it.

"Congratulations," Lando said, extending a hand, and Han took it, knowing that what he was going to do next was going to upset the other man even more.

"Thank you," Han said.

"Now, which of my ships would you like?" Lando asked.

Without hesitating, Han answered, "The Millenium Falcon."

Lando's face froze and then, deceptively quietly, he said, "That is my personal ship. It is not part of the deal."

"You said, 'any ship in you lot in Nar Shaddaa'. Is that not correct?"

"Yes, but..." Lando protested.

"You flew a cruise ship here, did you not?"

"Yes, I did, but.."

"Which implies that the Falcon is on your lot at Nar Shaddaa. Is it there, or isn't it?"

Land sighed and said, "It is."

"Are you man of your word or aren't you?" Han asked, a small smirk of triumph on his lips.

Lando glared at him. "You are certainly a difficult man, Solo," Lando said, "but I will honor our agreement. Just don't expect to keep my ship for too long."

Han grinned, and they shook hands again. Lando looked upset, but resigned as he said, "I'll let them know you're coming to pick it up." Lando sighed and scrubbed his face with his hands. "Just one more card," he muttered, and Han nodded as he felt again how close he had come to losing it all. Buffy would have killed him.

Speak of the devil, he thought, echoing something that he had heard her say before. She suddenly appeared, and Han could tell that she was angry. Lando however stared captivated. A furious Buffy was something truly incredible to behold. Her eyes glittered dangerously and her movements became distinctly predatory. Her presence had a power that was easily felt, and sometimes it even cowed Han. Not right now though, he was feeling too pleased with himself.

"Han Solo!" she raged, and a few seconds later, Chewbacca appeared behind her, huffing as he tried to catch his breath. Han winced. She only used his full name when he was in serious trouble. Before she could say another word, Lando swept in front of her, oblivious of the danger he was in.

"Incredible," Lando breathed, and bowed deeply, stopping Buffy's tirade before it had truly begun. She looked surprised and Buffy seemed to deflate a bit. Han could only hope that Lando's distraction would save him.

"And what might your name be?" Lando asked her.

"Er, Buffy," she said, "and who are you?"

"I'm the man who just lost to your friend here," Lando said, gesturing at Han. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lando Calrissian. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Han rolled his eyes. Buffy had way too much class for this dope. Oh, he respected Lando, but in his opinion, no one was good enough for Buffy. She deserved an honest, gentlemanly fellow. For all his smooth talk, Lando was as much a smuggler as the next bloke.

Buffy rolled her eyes a bit in an unintentional mimicry of Han and then smiled and said, "Yes, I have heard of you. Pleased to meet you, please move."

Surprised, Lando did as she asked, and without further ado, she marched up to Han and stuck a finger in his face. Though she scarcely came to his shoulder, the sheer power in her small frame always made him feel small when he was being lectured.

"Han," she growled, "you stole my money!"

"I was going to give it back...with interest," he added, seeing that her anger was not smothered by that idea. And then Chewbacca began to tear into him too. Both lectured him for a while, while Lando stood by and watched with a smirk on his face. Probably some form of revenge.

Finally, to stop to flow of words, Han raised his hands and said, "Enough already!" Both Buffy and Chewbacca stopped, obviously waiting for him to explain himself.

"Look," he said, "maybe it was a bad idea, but I won, okay. And we have a new ship."

Surprised, Buffy looked at Lando, and back at Han. "You don't mean the..."

Han didn't have to respond. He just smiled and nodded. Buffy couldn't help her little girly scream as she hugged Han and grinned broadly at Lando. "Thank you," she told Lando, and then stepped forward, threw her arms around Landos' neck and kissed him on the cheek. Then she ran out of the room, and Chewbacca shrugged and followed her.

Lando stared after her in shock, touching his cheek. "That almost made losing to you worth it."

"I know what you mean," Han said.

"You know," Lando said, "I might have given you the Falcon in exchange for some of that."

"Trust me," Han said, with his trademark smirk, "that is not mine to give."

Buffy was halfway back to the Dreamer when he stepped into her path. In her excitement, she had taken a different path and had lost Chewbacca on the way. At the sight of the man in front of her, she felt her heart beat involuntarily quicken.

"Hello, Buffy," he said.

"Boba," she greeted, inclining her head.

Boba Fett grinned. "I've missed you," he said. He was dressed in armor. It was painted green and it accentuated his movements in a way that caused her to blush again. She had heard of his armor, and of the helmet that he normally wore, but the helmet was no where to be seen. Instead, his handsome face with its dark eyes stared at her.

Irritated with herself, she said, "What are you doing here?"

He stepped closer, and she tensed again, her hands balling into fists. He grinned and stepped even closer. He was now in grabbing distance, and she went to take a step back, but he lifted a finger to her cheek and touched it. She froze.

"If I recall," he whispered, "last time we were interrupted."

He leaned forward, and for a moment Buffy felt like a deer trapped in headlights as he lips once again met hers. Then, forcefully, she shoved him away. He flew and hit the wall, grunting with impact. She could tell it had hurt him, even through the armor.

"Ouch," he said, as he got to his feet. "I think this is why I drugged you last time. You were much less feisty."

Buffy rolled her eyes and said, "And that made you far more competent. Without the drugs, you don't stand a chance."

"Watch me," Boba said, and flew forward, fists flying. His suit seemed to enhance his movements, and he was far more powerful than a regular human. Buffy and he danced, both testing the other, learning about the other from their fighting styles.

Buffy dodged a blow to her head that would have disoriented her and reciprocated with a punch of her own that he was barely able to avoid. Both were holding back, but Buffy's slayer side roared with joy as the dance continued. Buffy always learned a lot about her opponents as they fought.

From sparring with Han she had learned that behind his rough exterior, he was a dreamer. He tried and he loved and he had been hurt. His joking was a front for a dark, difficult past, but he had overcome that part of him, and now it just served to defend him. He didn't fight dirty, but he thought outside the box, and even though she was more powerful, she always enjoyed the variations he thought up. However, underneath his hard exterior, he was just a big softie, and he never really tried to hurt her, which meant she always won.

From Chewbacca, she learned that he didn't tolerate nonsense. He was straightforward, and though he seemed bestial, he was more civilized than most people she met. He had a great sense of humor, but honor was what drove him and the idea of trying to do what was right. She usually had to resort to trickery to take him down, because that was something he wouldn't do. Though occasionally, he would surprise her.

Boba was a different story. He was ruthless and efficient. No movements were wasted and every motion was perfectly executed. Buffy, who had always been an unconventional fighter, knew that his technique was perfect. If she had been a normal human, she would have been unable to defend herself. However, she sank back into her Slayer mode and watched him as though he suddenly was punching in slow motion. Around him, she saw something bend away, and he hands traveled as though in tunnels. As his body moved, she could see ripples of that same something, and she assumed it was air moving away, but it seemed different somehow. She easily moved her head out of the way, and continued to watch him as he spun to kick her. She reached out slowly, and caught his foot as it was coming, and twisted it in the other direction, sending him spinning away from her and into the wall at bone-breaking force. In the last two years, her slayer senses had grown, and sometimes, if she really concentrated, it was almost as if she could hear people's thoughts. Occasionally, during her negotiations, she pushed a little to get the deal she was looking for, and usually people agreed to her demands, their minds bending as they complied

Curious she tried to look into his mind, and all she found was amusement. There seemed to be a block where normally she would be able to see his mind, and it prevented her from hearing his thoughts. The something, for the moment she decided she would call it pudding, seemed to pull away from his mind, and she was fascinated over this fact. He had picked himself off the floor and was sprinting toward her again, and she watched in slow motion as he jumped to tackle her. She dropped down, spun around, and kicked him in the small of his back, as he flew right through where she had been standing. He actually cried out and the force that he was already using to tackle her was double and he flew head-first into another wall. He didn't move.

Buffy shook her head, and her strange perception disappeared. The pudding became invisible to her sight again, and she worried that she had killed him. Cautiously, she walked forward, and peered down at his still form. She couldn't tell if he was breathing. Gently, she put her hand under his shoulder, and started to turn him over.

He moved quickly, grabbing her hand, he leapt on top of her, and she found herself on her back with him on top of her. Grunting, she tried to find leverage to push him off, but he knew well how to subdue a person. He was scowling a bit, and blood ran down the side of his face from his impact into the wall. Buffy struggled and then stopped and looked at him.

"So, what now?" she asked. "You want to try kissing me again?"

His scowl disappeared and he said, "As a matter of fact, yes; but...that can wait until later." He eased off her slightly to get something from his belt, but as he did so, her hand was freed. An instant later, he found himself once more on his back, and she was on her feet facing him.

He looked sheepish, and climbed unsteadily to his own feet. "You are incredible," he said.

"You're not so bad yourself," Buffy admitted.

As they faced off, Buffy suddenly heard her name being called. She turned her head slightly and looked down the hall. Then she grinned at Boba, and said, "My big brother's coming. You'd better run. He's not going to be happy to see you."

"What, you mean your hairy pet?" Boba taunted.

Buffy's look froze and her eyes turned to absolute ice. For the first time, Boba felt a bit of fear. He sensed something dark within her, that would consume him if he got too close, but he held his ground. He had a darkness inside of him as well. The fear disappeared, and he felt a sense of recognition. She was a kindred spirit.

"Don't ever," she hissed, and if looks could kill, he would have been dead on the spot, "speak of Chewbacca that way again. You don't know what he's done for me."

Realizing the dangerous ground he was walking, Boba backed off. "Okay, sorry about that. I didn't mean to insult your friend. I was actually talking about Solo anyway."

Her eyes widened in surprise and an involuntary laugh left her mouth, before she could stop it. She covered her mouth with her hand to hide the smile that was still on her lips. He liked it when she smiled.

At that moment, Han came around the corner only to see a bloody Boba facing Buffy who seemed to be struggling not to laugh.

"Ah," Han said, "looks like you tried to tangle with Buffy at full power. Bad choice, Bounty."

Boba smiled and shrugged, "Seems that way. Another day," he said, winking at Buffy, and then he turned and walked down the hall.

Han looked in surprise and then turned to Buffy, "You're not going to stop him?"

Buffy shrugged. "Whatever," she said, and then she linked arms with him and they headed back toward the ship. "I'm still mad at you, by the way," she told him.

"Me?" Han asked, looking shocked. Buffy's laughter echoed down the hall. Boba who had turned and was now watching from the shadows, couldn't help the smile that played on his lips as he listened to it. Then he turned and walked away. There was still time plenty of time to finish his mission.

Three Days Later

Han stared. His face broke into a wide grin and he grabbed Buffy's hands and began to dance around the ship. Buffy couldn't help but laugh at the man who had suddenly turned into a young boy.

"It's perfect!" he said, and then he released her and ran into the ship.

Buffy shook her head, still smiling. Then she looked at the ship and said, "So, this is the Millennium Falcon, huh?"

Chewbacca, who was nearly as excited as Han began to go into a long spiel about the different improvements that had been made to the otherwise normal YT-1300f Light Freighter. Buffy listened in fascination. In the last two years, she had learned a lot about space crafts, and though not nearly as proficient as Han or Chewbacca, she was beginning to understand what made them tic. Her love though, was not nearly to the extent as her boys. She mostly loved the weapons. However, occasionally she lost the flow of his explanations in translation, and Mr. Gordo would add a vague comment or two to help her. After he was finished, she found herself very impressed. It was no wonder that Han had coveted this ship since he'd first heard about it. And nearly gambled their entire savings to win it.

"What are we going to do with the Dreamer?" Buffy asked.

"We rent a lot and store it here," Chewbacca thundered. "Just in case."

Buffy nodded. Then she and Chewbacca entered the ship and moved into their new home.

Boba paced his deck. It had been three days since the Dreamer had entered Nar Shaddaa. Other ships had left, including an old beat up freighter, but there had been no sign of the Dreamer. They should have left by now, but his tracker still showed that their ship was parked on the planet. Unable to wait any longer, he decided to go see what his prey was up to. He followed the signal to a storage unit, and was surprised to find that the dreamer was packed up and looked as though no one intended to use it for a long time.

Grabbing the nearest worker, Boba smashed the creature into a wall and hissed, "The crew that owned this ship, what happened to them?"

The creature gibbered and in a strange flute-like language told him that the had bought a different ship and left this one in storage. The creature gasped in relief as it was dropped, and it scuttled off to do whatever it was the workers did. Boba was angry.

"Very clever," he said. Then he breathed and relaxed. Another set-back, but he had always been good at overcoming obstacles. Being on your own since the age of ten made one independent. Especially if they had managed to survive this long on their own. He would find her, and the next time they met, things would go differently. He would be prepared for her.