ONE NIGHT on BESPIN

by LeelaStarsky.

CHAPTER SIX

Leia's irritation was growing exponentially as they hurried from one corridor to the next. She was trying to calculate how much time Fett had already had, and it was not comforting. If the bounty hunter was still in the city at all, it would be only just. She heard a familiar whistle behind them and, pausing to look, recognised Luke's Artoo unit. She looked for Luke in the vain hope that he had managed to find them somehow, but he was not with the droid.

Chewbacca roared at the droid to keep up and they finally reached the east platform. Calrissian got the hatch open just in time for them to watch the bounty hunter's ship take off.

Take off and fly away with all her hope.

Leia could have wept. Would have wept if they hadn't suddenly come under fire from stormtroopers. She and Chewie took cover on either side of the hatch and Calrissian bunched up beside her.

"I'll get you to the Falcon," he told her, then ducked back inside as she succeeded in shooting the trooper who had them pinned down.

Chewbacca fired a couple more shots then followed Calrissian, Leia hot on his heels.

More corridors and Leia was ready to scream, but these ones were populated, which hampered their ability to fire on their pursuers. Unfortunately, the reverse was not true and Leia felt a renewed flare of rage as two innocent bystanders were felled by the Imperials' fire. Finally they reached the entrance to the platform holding the Falcon and Calrissian hurriedly punched in the code to open it. Nothing happened and he scowled.

"Security codes have been changed," he muttered.

Leia looked at Chewbacca, hoping for a miracle. Fix it, her eyes told him. Fix it so it works. Chewbacca looked down at Artoo Detoo who had managed to keep up with them all this way.

[Plug in!] he ordered the droid. [Order the city computer to open it!]

Artoo plugged into the terminal and Leia gritted her teeth, waiting impatiently. It wouldn't take the Imperials long to figure out they'd probably head straight for the Falcon. Calrissian took the opportunity to use a code that hadn't been changed and activated the city-wide announcement system.

"Attention!" he said, speaking into it, and Leia heard his voice echo through the city. "This is Lando Calrissian. The Empire has taken control of the city. I advise everyone to leave before more Imperial troops arrive."

The chaos was immediate. People started rushing in all directions. And while she knew Calrissian had made the announcement for his people's sake, Leia couldn't help seeing the advantage in not being the only ones running.

Artoo whistled triumphantly and a moment later the door opened. And, with impeccable timing, the stormtroopers arrived.

The Falcon was sitting at the end of the platform, bathed golden and red in the light of the sunset, and looked like the most welcoming thing Leia had ever seen. If they could just get to it. The stormtroopers had them pinned down, just inside the hatch.

Abruptly, Artoo Detoo started venting smoke. A thick cloud that obscured the troopers view of the entrance. Without needing to be told, Leia, Chewie and Calrissian bolted for the ship, Artoo Detoo close behind.

Chewbacca hurtled up the ramp and Leia followed him straight to the cockpit. She slid into the pilot's seat, rushing to help the Wookiee get the engines on-line. She was dimly aware of hearing the ramp close and was not surprised when Calrissian entered the cockpit a moment later. It wasn't like the troopers would have let him live after the Falcon had lifted off. They had no choice but to take him with them. Leia could only hope that Calrissian would be as uncomfortable with the arrangement as they were.

For a moment she found herself wondering what was happening to Luke; wondered if he'd been caught, and felt a wave of overwhelming guilt that they were abandoning him. If they left now there was a chance they would catch up with Fett before he went to hyperspace, but could she abandon Luke to the same fate as Solo?

Leia faltered for a moment and Chewbacca barked irritably at her. Forcing herself to stop thinking, Leia let her reflexes cut in and silently thanked Solo for taking the time to teach her how to fly the Falcon. As the ship lifted from the platform, it occurred to Leia to wonder how much of it Calrissian's people had managed to fix. Without taking her eyes off the vista of spires now moving past the ship as she piloted it away from the city, Leia asked, "Chewie. The hyperdrive?"

[Is fixed,] the Wookiee replied, busily trying to locate the bounty hunter's ship on the scanners.

Two TIE fighters fell out of the clouds in front of them, spitting green fire, and Leia rolled the ship sharply, spiralling underneath the fighters before they had time to adjust their vectors. One of the green bolts splashed harmlessly against the Falcon's shields and Leia spared a second to take in the ship's shield status, relieved to find it at optimum. Ignoring the fighters, Leia concentrated on getting as much speed from the Falcon as possible, hoping she could simply outrun them. The last thing she wanted to do was waste time in a firefight.

"Chewie, I need a vector," she snapped.

[There's no sign of him,] Chewbacca growled irritably. [Two Star Destroyers and Vader's ship in geosync with Cloud City, but no sign of Fett.]

"Could he be hyper already?" she asked, unable to disguise the edge of panic in her voice.

Chewbacca shook his head and Calrissian argued, "He wouldn't have had to dodge the Imps; there is a chance he's gone hyper." Chewbacca turned and growled viciously at their unwelcome passenger. Calrissian held his hands up, defensive and submissive all at once.

"But you know where he's going!" he protested. "Solo's a hot cargo; Fett is not going to mess around and risk having to battle it out with some other bounty hunter. He's going to take him straight to Tatooine."

Leia and Chewie shared a look while outside the ship the atmosphere thinned to vacuum and the ship's speed increased dramatically as a result.

[What about Skywalker?] Chewbacca asked quietly and Leia winced. She had no idea what they could do to help Luke. How had he even known where they were? How had he got to Cloud City only hours after their own arrival?

Leia shook her head. "If we go back we'll be caught." And then how will we save Han? Leia gasped mentally, astounded at her own selfishness. She grimaced and said, "We don't even know where he is…" The justification sounded pathetic even to her own ears. They all knew where Luke was most likely to be. In the carbon-freezing chamber. The thought of Luke frozen into a block of metal like Solo almost paralysed her. He had come to Cloud City to save her and now she was abandoning him. But what good would she be to Luke if the Falcon was captured?

"Tatooine or Nal Hutta?" Leia asked Calrissian without looking at him.

"Tatooine, without a doubt," he replied. "Jabba isn't very fond of Nal Hutta. Too much family competition."

Leia looked at Chewie and made up her mind. "Tatooine it is," she said. She turned to program the navicomp and an insistent beeping alerted them to an approaching ship.

"TIE fighters," Calrissian said, reading the scanner. "A whole flock of them."

"Damn!" Leia growled, then snapped, "Chewie, take evasive action until I can get these coordinates set."

"Want me in the turret?" Calrissian offered.

"I want to outrun them if we can," Leia muttered, hurriedly punching coordinates into the navicomp. "Not waste energy in a-"

Leia.

Leia froze. The voice in her head was as clear as a bell and the pain in it was unmistakable.

Leia, hear me!

"Luke," she whispered. So much pain, so much desperation in his plea. She could feel him, could feel his pain. Had he been put in carbonite?

Leia.

Leia could almost see him in her mind's eye, hanging on for dear life. Hanging from something fragile under Cloud City. Frightened by this new turn of events, Leia turned to look at Chewie and found herself the wary scrutiny of both Chewbacca and Calrissian.

"We've got to go back," she told the Wookiee.

Calrissian and the Wookiee both said, "What?"

"I know where Luke is," Leia told Chewbacca.

"But what about those fighters?" Calrissian protested.

Leia knew she didn't have time to explain. Wasn't sure she could explain.

"Chewie, just do it," she said, and her eyes begged him, Trust me.

"But what about Vader?" Calrissian demanded and Chewbacca roared at him, reminding the administrator that he would rather follow the princess into the Emperor's palace than take advice from a traitorous former friend.

"All right, all right, all right," Calrissian soothed, but gripped the armrests of his seat as the Falcon banked and flew straight at the oncoming TIE fighters.

The Falcon barrelled through the formation, trading red blasts for green.

"Shields down to eighty percent," Calrissian reported.

Then they were back in the atmosphere, the TIE fighters hot on their tail. Leia had surrendered the flying to Chewie so she could concentrate on the strange sensation that was her awareness of Luke.

"Under," she told the Wookiee as they approached the city. "Under the city."

The airspace around Cloud City was swarming with starships of every description. Sentients abandoning their homes.

Weaving their way through the traffic, which helped to hamper the TIE fighters, Chewbacca brought the Falcon around under the city and Calrissian pointed and voiced with surprise, "Look, someone's up there!"

Leia could just make him out. Hanging from what looked like a weather array. As she watched, a piece of the array broke off and Luke almost fell.

"It's Luke," she said with certainty, refusing to let herself panic. "Chewie, slow down. Slow down and we'll get under him." As the Wookiee complied, Leia jerked her thumb at the port side of the ship. "Lando open the top hatch."

Calrissian hurried out of the cockpit and Leia leaned forward, watching as the gap between Luke and the ship closed. "Okay, easy, Chewie," she said. Then he was out of sight from the cockpit. "Lando?"

...

Calrissian hastily buckled a safety harness around his hips and rode the platform up through the top hatch. Locking the safety line to the ship, he fought the urge to duck as the Falcon came perilously close to the underside of the city. He knew it was actually much further away than it seemed, but he also knew that it would only take the Falcon a second to close that distance and effectively squash him. The man Chewbacca and the princess had identified as Luke Skywalker was hanging from an electronic weather sensor and Calrissian frowned, wondering how the hell the man had got there.

The wind was fierce, forcing the Cloud City administrator to stay low as he struggled out onto the hull lest he be swept off. He winced as the weather vane suddenly broke under Skywalker's weight and he fell the distance to the hull. Despite the fact that they seemed horribly close to the underside of the city, Skywalker had just fallen at least ten metres.

Calrissian staggered across the hull to him and had just managed to successfully connect him to his own safety harness when TIE fighter fire exploded around the ship. The Falcon was gathering speed again, moving away from the city, and Calrissian flattened himself against the hull as it banked sharply to avoid a collision with a civilian ship.

He looked at Skywalker as he waited for the Falcon to level out. The man was covered in abrasions and looked barely conscious.

The minute the Falcon seemed stable enough, Calrissian got a firm grip on him and started dragging him towards the hatch. Thankfully Skywalker was conscious enough to help and Calrissian encouraged, "Come on, kid."

Skywalker mumbled something that sounded like "Han?" and Calrissian felt a wave of guilt and regret wash over him. Here was someone else who would condemn him for his betrayal of Solo.

A TIE fighter roared overhead, so close Calrissian could see its pilot, and the resulting adrenaline surge got him to the hatch. He dragged Skywalker onto the platform and activated its decent as he clambered on himself, holding Luke upright as they moved down the narrow tunnel through the hull.

He could hear Leia demanding to know his progress over the comm and replied wearily, "I got him. Let's go."

He hung on to Luke as the ship dipped suddenly, throwing them both against the bulkhead, and could feel him shivering with cold and shock. Grabbing a blanket from the bunk over the acceleration couch, Calrissian put it around Skywalker's shoulders and helped him towards the cockpit.

Leia met them in the hatchway and Calrissian heard the young man whimper, "Oh, Leia," as he relinquished him into her arms.

She led him away and Calrissian took her place in the pilot's seat.

"All right, Chewie," he said. "Let's go."

...

Leia led Luke back to the bunkroom and helped him onto the medbunk. She could tell from a glance that the young man had been severely beaten. By what, she could only guess. His clothing was torn, and he was covered in abrasions. Nothing that had caused any great blood loss fortunately, although, she reminded herself, she had no idea what state his insides were in.

The ship, under heavy fire from the pursuing TIE fighters, pitched suddenly and Luke cried out as Leia fell against him. It was a helpless, reactive cry of pain and Leia hurriedly found her feet, deciding that he might well have some broken bones.

Untangling the blanket from his right arm, the one she had fallen against, she started to check it, and was horrified to discover his hand was missing. It had been cut off just above his wrist. Cut off and the stump cauterised.

Leia gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. "Luke!" It was more a sob than a word and her eyes filled with tears.

He murmured her name in a strangled response, and for the first time she looked at his eyes. And saw total desolation. She looked back at the stump where his hand had once been and felt suddenly certain that she was looking at a lightsabre wound. Vader. Vader had cut Luke's hand off.

First Han, now Luke…

Leia arrested a train of thought she knew would leave her sobbing in a corner somewhere. Luke was in agony and she needed to deal with that now. Activating the data-centre of the medbunk, she put in a vocal request pertaining to amputation, and received directions on pain relief and bandaging.

Loading a hypodermic infuser with the recommended medication and silently blessing Han for keeping the medbunk properly stocked, she shot it into Luke's neck, then considered for a moment and gave him a second dose. If it knocked him out, that would probably be a good thing.

The ship bucked again, making her stagger, and she could faintly hear Chewbacca and Calrissian yelling at each other. Irritation flared, and she vowed that as soon as she got Luke settled she would go out there and knock their heads together.

The amputation wound was oozing a small amount of blood and fluid and the medbunk data was telling her she would have to set up a drain before bandaging. Leia searched the drawers, found the equipment it was telling her to use, and set about attaching it to Luke's arm. He winced as she moved the arm to cut his jacket sleeve away, but Leia suspected that was a reaction to pain from yet to be seen bruising rather than the amputation. Plus she still hadn't checked him for broken ribs.

With the clutter of his sleeve removed, she could see his arm clearly. The wound itself looked clean, but his arm was filthy. Encrusted with dirt and what looked like dried slime. Looking at his clothes, Leia could see they were much the same, and wondered where Luke had been.

She flushed the wound with sterile water, holding it tightly and apologising as Luke flinched and gasped. The skin at the sight was burned and blackened, and Leia could clearly see one of his forearm bones. According to the medbunk, if she was going to leave it suitable for a prosthetic attachment, she would have to make sure the wound itself did not heal, yet had to keep the tissue from necrotising and becoming infected. She wrapped a cast around his forearm and strapped a small pump to it. A recirculating system of tubes had the stump of his arm in a medicated saline solution that was replaced every ten minutes.

Leia clung to the bulkhead over the medbunk as the ship rolled suddenly and felt a surge of anger that they weren't in hyperspace already. With Luke out of immediate danger, she decided to go and give the two idiots in the cockpit a piece of her mind.

"I'll be back," she assured him, and kissed him briefly on the lips. Then she stalked toward the cockpit.

As she was passing through the main hold, she noticed a box beside the acceleration couch. A box she had last seen in their cell on Cloud City. Beside it, Artoo Detoo was painstakingly putting See Threepio back together.

Visions of Han flooded through her and Leia hurried to the cockpit to stop herself from thinking about him.

"Why aren't we in hyperspace?" she demanded, then hastily stepped aside as the Wookiee surged past her.

[No hyperdrive!] he spat and vanished into the main hold.

Leia turned a withering gaze on Calrissian who protested from the pilot's seat, "They told me they fixed it! It's not my fault!"

Leia moved into the copilot's seat to check the ship's status, and wondered sourly whether Calrissian was the one who had taught Han that phrase. There was a Star Destroyer to starboard and Vader's Super Star Destroyer was moving from port to cut them off. The Falcon's shields were down to twenty-five percent, they had no hyperdrive, and that Super Star Destroyer would have a tractor beam on them in minutes. Leia wiped a hand across her face and wondered what else she could do.

...

Watching his son choose certain death had not been an easy thing for Darth Vader. He really had expected the boy to come with him. Nevertheless, a small nudge with the Force had made certain the boy didn't splatter himself against the city walls and now he was safely on board the Millennium Falcon.

Standing on the bridge of his flagship, Vader turned from his study of the speck of light that was the fleeing Corellian freighter as Admiral Piett approached.

"They'll be in range of our tractor beam in moments, my lord," the Admiral reported.

"Did your men deactivate the hyperdrive on the Millennium Falcon?" Vader asked.

"Yes, my lord."

"Good. Prepare the boarding party and set your weapons for stun."

"Yes, my lord."

As Piett moved away, Vader turned back to his study of the battle going on outside the viewport. Reached out with the Force to touch his son.

Luke.

The boy's response was unguarded and immediate.

Father.

Vader felt a swelling of pride that the young man's heart knew the truth even if his head continued to deny it.

Son, he communicated gently, come with me.

He could feel the boy's distress, his mental and physical pain, his overwhelming feeling of betrayal. And, with the skill of a Sith Lord, Vader focussed the boy's thoughts on the betrayal. Felt the boy's desperate plea, Ben… why didn't you tell me?

...

In the main hold of the Millennium Falcon, beside the acceleration couch, Artoo Detoo had managed to attach See Threepio's head and arms and was working on attaching a leg. The golden droid looked over at the displaced decking when, struggling in the hyperdrive pit, Chewbacca roared his frustration at the hyperdrive, unable to fathom why it wasn't working.

"Noisy brute," Threepio muttered. "Why don't we just go to light-speed?"

Artoo Detoo whistled a succinct answer and Threepio looked back at his friend, surprised. "We can't?" Threepio looked back at the cursing Wookiee as Artoo whistled some more, then regarded the smaller droid disdainfully. "How would you know the hyperdrive is deactivated?" he demanded. Artoo dutifully replied and Threepio repeated with disbelief, "The city's central computer told you? Artoo Detoo," he scolded, "you know better than to trust a strange computer!"

In retaliation, the astro droid deliberately soured a connection in the golden droid's leg.

"Ouch!" Threepio protested, then snapped, "Pay attention to what you're doing!"

...

Luke was aware of Leia frowning at him as he entered the cockpit, but sensed she didn't have the time to chastise or berate him for leaving the medbunk. The pain-killer she had given him had made the pain from his arm almost bearable and, with Vader so close, Luke had found himself unable to stay in the bunk. But the pain-killer had done nothing to stop the aching fear in his heart. Fear that next time he met the Dark Lord, he would not be able to fight.

The Falcon was running alongside the Super Star Destroyer in an attempt to lessen the attack from the pursuing TIE fighters. Staring out at the huge bulk of the Destroyer, Luke murmured, "It's Vader."

The dark-skinned man who had helped him into the Falcon was out of the pilot seat, trying to reprogram the hyperdrive. He helped Luke into the communications chair and they all ducked as the communications console sparked spectacularly and died. The man traded looks with the princess then yelled down the cockpit access, "Chewie!"

Luke wanted to ask them where Han was but didn't think he could cope with the answer. He could feel Vader. Could feel his presence. Thick, dark, cloying. So close…

Soon the Imperials would have a tractor lock on the Falcon and Yoda's prophecy would come true. Everything he and his friends had fought and suffered for would be for nothing. The Rebellion would be extinguished. All because he had refused to listen to not one, but two Jedi Masters, and rushed off too soon.

Luke.

The deep voice caressed his consciousness and Luke closed his eyes.

Luke, it is your destiny.

Luke winced and begged his old master, "Ben, why didn't you tell me?"

...

See Threepio was furious. Artoo Detoo had abandoned him with assurances that he could correct the fault with the hyperdrive and, convinced the astro droid was delusional, Threepio yelled at him, "Artoo come back here at once! You haven't finished with me yet!" He waved his unattached leg to accentuate his point. "You don't know how to fix the hyperdrive," he insisted. "Chewbacca can do it! I'm standing here in pieces and you're having delusions of grandeur!"

In the pit, Chewbacca had resorted to hitting the hyperdrive with the hydrospanner while Artoo extended an arm into the engineering station and turned a connection back on. Abruptly the hyperdrive control panel lit up and the Falcon lurched, throwing the well-intentioned droid into the pit on top of the Wookiee.

In the cockpit, Leia was thrown back into her seat while Calrissian was thrown to the floor, and Luke watched in hopeful disbelief as the Falcon leapt into hyperspace.

...

Vader could feel Admiral Piett's terror and disbelief as their quarry abruptly vanished into hyperspace. But Vader was not concerned. He knew where they would go.

"Admiral," he said calmly. "Set your course for Tatooine."

"Yes, my lord."

...

Secure in hyperspace, their destination set, Leia took a moment to compose herself, then looked at Luke. This was when she knew she would have trouble; when she had time to think. Time to mull over all that had just happened. Time to think about what had happened to Han.

She licked her lip and looked at Calrissian who had picked himself up off the floor and was checking their coordinates.

"Luke, this is Lando," she said stiffly, and Calrissian turned to smile over his shoulder at Luke. Leia felt suddenly and irrationally infuriated by the man's pleasant smile, and added stonily, "He's a friend of Han's."

Luke looked at Calrissian and said, "Thankyou, Lando. You saved my life."

Calrissian said nothing and Leia refused to look at him. Choosing instead to study Luke, looking for answers which would explain not just his condition, but why he had come to Cloud City at all. How could he have known they were there?

Luke's eyes caught hers and he asked softly, "Where's Han?"

Leia leapt out of her seat, moving to assuage the tears that threatened. "I have to get you back to the medbunk," she snapped bossily, and took his arm to lead him away.

Luke put his hand over hers and insisted, "Leia?"

Leia couldn't meet his eyes.

"Is he dead?" Luke asked.

Leia found herself unable to answer him but Calrissian quickly replied, "No."

"A bounty hunter has him," Leia said evasively, then insisted, "Come on, back to the medbunk."

Luke let her lead him from the cockpit and Leia knew he had sensed the tension between herself and Calrissian.

"What happened?" she asked him as they turned into the main hold.

"Vader," he replied, and no more needed to be said. That one word was all the description Leia needed or could cope with at the moment.

Chewbacca was clambering out of the hyperdrive pit as they passed and barked a query after Luke's health. Leia assured the Wookiee that the young man would live, and Luke almost managed a smile.

As they entered the bunkroom, Luke observed, "You understood him."

"Mmm," Leia replied tightly. "Finally found the time to learn. Come on, back on the bunk."

"Need to use the head," Luke murmured and Leia flushed with embarrassment and let him go.

"Sorry," she said, and stepped aside to let him pass. Abruptly she remembered he was minus a hand and asked automatically, "Will you be alright? I mean…" Leia's embarrassment trebled. "Will you need help?"

Luke shook his head and moved out of the bunkroom towards the 'fresher. Suddenly alone, Leia didn't quite know what to do. She looked at the bunk she had been sharing with Han and found herself assaulted by the image of him frozen in carbonite. When only yesterday he had been with her in that bunk. Warm, vibrant, alive…

The low-level nausea that had been with her all day rose in intensity and she reacted instinctively by putting a hand over her mouth, then turned back to the medbunk. She still had to check Luke for broken bones as well as treat his abrasions, and determined to keep herself busy by getting ready to do just that. But every part of the bunkroom brought back memories of her time with Han.

She swallowed the bile that rose in her throat and forced herself to look for the med-scanner, opening drawers with hands that were starting to shake. The med-scanner which would tell her how badly Vader had beaten Luke. Beaten Luke then cut off his hand. After needlessly torturing Han and then callously testing a freezing process on him that was likely to kill him. Encasing him in carbonite and-

Leia bolted for the head. She remembered Luke was in there as she reached the hatchway, then doubled back to the galley and vomited into the refuse chute. Having had nothing to eat or drink all day, there was very little in her stomach to bring up, but the spasms continued nonetheless.

When it finally stopped, Leia cycled the chute and closed it, then momentarily leaned her forehead against the cool metal of the overhead cupboard while she waited for her temperature to drop back to normal. The bile had left a foul taste in her mouth, so she poured herself a glass of water, downed it quickly and headed back to the bunkroom.

...

Luke stared at the bulkhead over him without seeing it. He had slept, but it was far from restful, haunted by the terrible revelation that Vader was his father. Why had Ben lied? Why tell him that Vader had killed his father? And why hadn't Yoda corrected the untruth when he'd apparently known his father!

Luke shifted uncomfortably. His arm was hurting again, though not as much as his sides. When she'd inspected him earlier, Leia had found a torn ligament on his left side and two cracked ribs on his right side. The ligament would have to heal itself and, with no bone-knitter on the Falcon, until he got to a Medcentre, so would his ribs. Luke had been happy to immobilise his mutilated arm against his cracked ribs, thereby protecting those injuries, and the torn ligament had made sure he only moved for a very good reason.

He and Leia had spoken very little. She had told him very briefly what had happened to Han, and the fact that Han had suffered a fate meant for himself only exacerbated Luke's feeling of guilt. It was obvious to Luke that Leia was devastated by the loss of the Corellian, but he didn't have the emotional wherewithal to process what that might mean. He was too emotionally shattered himself.

The loss of his hand was probably the most minor of his traumas. The loss of his sense of self and the feeling that he had been lied to all his life was far worse. And it always came back to Ben. Why hadn't the old Jedi told him the truth? He found himself replaying the old man's words over and over in his head, as though he might find something, some hint of the truth, but it was always the same.

Kenobi had said that he had trained Vader, and that Vader had become evil. Did that mean Vader hadn't always been bad? And if that was the case, when had Luke come into the equation? Was he born before or after his father had become the monster he was now? And what about his mother?

Luke closed his eyes, remembering the tiny holo Aunt Beru had given him when he was seven. An image of a woman she had told him was his mother. He remembered because his Uncle had caused a scene about it at the time. He had not wanted his nephew to have it, and Luke had never been able to comprehend why. He had treasured that image of his mother all his life, until it was destroyed with his home on that fateful day three years ago. To Luke she became the most beautiful woman in the galaxy, the one by which all other women were measured. And there were times when Leia reminded him so much of the woman in that tiny holo that he suspected that was where his initial infatuation with the princess had come from.

The thought of Vader with the woman in that holo was enough to turn Luke's stomach. Yet he had come from somewhere, hadn't he?

He took a shuddering breath, fighting the pain in his sides to do so, and heard Leia shift on the bunk nearby. A moment later she was hovering over him, looking at the bed's bio results and frowning.

"Leia," he croaked, and she shushed him.

"You're running a temperature," she said, sounding worried. "I'll get you a drink."

Luke wanted to dissuade her, but she was gone before he could gather enough air in his lungs to say anything. He had no idea how he would tell Leia about his parentage. Leia's experiences with Vader had been nothing but catastrophic. And while he desperately wanted to share the burden, he knew he couldn't bare the look of horror on her face. The shame he was feeling was unparalleled.

A moment later she was back, helping him to sip water from a cup. The water felt good and cool going down and Luke savoured it.

...

Leia was moving on autopilot. She helped Luke drink, helped him get comfortable, asked him if he wanted something to eat and was aware of his negative answer, but it was almost like watching someone else do it. She was struggling desperately not to let herself think about what had happened to Han, and was instead focussing her thoughts on rescuing him.

They had been in hyperspace for four hours now, and Tatooine was at least another four away. Leia hoped they would be able to catch up with Fett before he got to Jabba, but chances were they would have to face the crime lord himself. And for that they would need money. Lots of it. Calrissian had assured her he could help. Could call in favours, con, scam and gamble enough to hopefully buy Solo back. He assured her he knew Tatooine, and Chewbacca seemed to concur. So, it seemed, keeping Lando with them was advantageous for the present.

Lando himself seemed completely guilt-ridden for what he had done, but Leia's pain was far too raw for her to feel anything but loathing for him. Once again she had let herself love and, once again, Vader had taken it from her in the most violent way possible. And Lando had helped him.

Lando was in the main hold now, trying to help Chewbacca repair the damage that had been done to the ship during their escape from Bespin. Already there had been two massive system failures, one of which had threatened to yank them out of hyperspace. And because it was Lando's people who had helped 'fix' the ship on Bespin, Leia suspected that, if something else blew, Chewbacca would happily kill the former administrator. She suspected Calrissian knew it too.

Luke developing a temperature was an unforseen complication. It meant infection was setting in, probably in the amputation wound. Leia added an anti-bacterial, anti-viral to the saline solution in the cast but was worried that they may have to put off their rescue attempt to get Luke to a proper Medcentre. The only one safe enough was with the Rebel Alliance, and who knew where they were? But, as she had told Han en-route to Bespin, Tatooine was one of the safest places nearby for them to make rebel contact and find out the new coordinates for the Rebel Fleet. If they could rescue Han while they were there, so much the better.

There was a loud bang from the main hold that reverberated through the ship and Leia covered her face with her hands, knowing full well that something else on the ship had just blown. Oh, Han… her thoughts whimpered.

...

For Chewbacca it was the final straw. He bellowed loudly and stormed to where Calrissian was working. He should have listened to his instincts and never let the bastard work on the Falcon at all!

Calrissian had been thrown by the small explosion, his clothes singed and blackened. He was just picking himself up and looked fearfully at Chewbacca as he stormed in. As Chewbacca took in just which systems the Cloud City administrator had totalled, he gave in to sheer rage.

[Calrissian, you fuck!] he roared. [You've killed the shields!]

"I wasn't anywhere near the shields!" Calrissian exclaimed defensively. "How the hell was I supposed to know you lunatics had re-routed communication subsystems through there?!"

[You don't know anything!] Chewbacca shrieked. [I don't even know why you're here!] He loomed threateningly over the man. [After what you did to Han, we should have left you for Vader!]

"Chewie."

They both turned to look at the princess now standing in the doorway and Chewbacca growled at her. The last thing he needed was royal diplomacy! He had stopped himself from having it out with Calrissian since their escape and now that he was in the mood to give his rage full throttle he was not about to stop.

[You of all people should understand!] he snarled at her.

"I do," she agreed quietly. "But killing Lando's not the answer. If it wasn't for him, we'd be Vader's prisoners now."

Chewbacca gawped at her for a full half second, wondering if she hadn't suffered brain damage somewhere during their escape, then roared, [If it wasn't for him, Han would still be here!]

The look in Leia's eyes darkened, emotional self-defence throwing diplomacy out the window. "And if this stupid ship's hyperdrive had worked we wouldn't have ended up on Bespin!"

[And if Han hadn't been obsessed with saving your ungrateful hide,] the Wookiee snarled maliciously, [he'd be alive now and probably enjoying Jabba's benevolent thanks on Tatooine!]

It was the ultimate accusation; laying full blame for everything on her. Leia stared at him in shock, then struggled to focus on the less hurtful of the two accusations.

"Benevolent?" she stammered, even she knew that the Hutt crime lord was anything but benevolent. "Benev-"

Words failed her suddenly, and Lando, now on his feet, saw the young woman's eyes fill with tears and sought helplessly to defuse the situation. "Han isn't dead," he said, carefully.

[He might as well be!] Chewbacca bellowed, turning on him. [What sort of vegetable do you think is going to come out of that slab, if we ever find it?!] Lando backed away as Chewbacca pressed home his point. [Have you even considered what the procedure will have done to his brain?]

Calrissian gave the Wookiee a tortured look and Leia finally found her voice, heavy with emotion. "So, what do you suggest?" she challenged, approaching the hostile behemoth. "That we leave him?" Her voice cracked. "Forget about him?"

[No!] he roared at her.

"Write him off like some-" Leia stammered despite the mammoth effort to control her emotions. "Some-" she tried again and failed, turning away from him, ashamed.

"The medic," Calrissian stammered fearfully. "The medic gave him stuff to help him survive-"

Both the Wookiee and the princess stared at him in shock, then Chewbacca growled dangerously, [You knew?] He took a step closer to Calrissian. [You knew what they were going to do to him and you let it happen?]

Calrissian shook his head. "I had no choice! It was Vader's orders! I did the best I could to make sure Han survived!"

There was a moment of deathly silence then the Wookiee roared and lunged at Calrissian who shrieked and leapt out of reach. Leia hastily put herself between them and Chewbacca howled at her to get out of the way.

"We need him to help us rescue Han," she snapped coldly, and Calrissian had no doubts that she would otherwise have let the Wookiee tear him limb from limb.

Chewbacca growled menacingly over the princess' head at him and Calrissian swallowed nervously. Sure, he had known the Wookiee for years, but he had also seen what the hairy giant was capable of, had seen him literally rip opponents apart. It was not a way he fancied dying.

"Without the stuff the medic gave him," Calrissian told the Wookiee sincerely, "Han would not have survived the freezing process at all."

Chewbacca glared at him for a long moment then moved over to the tech station and started ripping into the panel that had just exploded, while the princess stalked away down the ring corridor without looking back. Heading towards the bunkroom, Calrissian supposed.

He looked at Chewbacca, wanting to help and, anticipating his offer, the Wookiee hissed, [Stay out of my sight and touch nothing.]

Sighing, Calrissian decided to go to the 'fresher and see if he could save his shirt.

The hatchway was open when he got there and the princess was bowed over the head, vomiting. Calrissian felt deeply sorry for the young woman. She obviously loved Solo and was profoundly traumatised by all that had happened. And the accusations Chewbacca had levelled at her wouldn't have helped. He was about to move away when he realised that she had noticed him and felt he couldn't walk away without saying something.

"I know it's not my place," he said awkwardly, "but if there's anything I can do to help…?"

The young woman did not look at him as she replied tersely, "You're right; it's not your place. Shut the door on your way out."

Calrissian nodded and shut the hatch.

He moved on to the bunkroom, wondering how upset Leia and Chewie would be if he wore one of Han's shirts while he waited for the autovalet to clean his.

...

Leia cycled the lavatory, but remained kneeling in front of it, her head in her hands. She felt completely wretched. Chewbacca's comments had cut her more deeply than he would ever know. And while she knew they were words cast in pain and anger, there was no denying the truth of them. If Solo had not gone back for her on Hoth, chances were he would have been on Tatooine now.

The logical part of her mind reminded her that he would still have been without a hyperdrive, but the logical part of her mind was not the part she was listening to. All Leia could think of was what had happened to Han and that it was all her fault.

The exertion of vomiting had made her eyes water, and they were still watering. She blinked her eyes in an attempt to clear them, but the image of the carbonite slab kept coming back to haunt her, and now the tears were starting to flow. She tried to stop them, but could not be bothered wiping them away. Instead she watched, unseeing, as they dripped unmolested into the bowl below.

Leia told herself she should go back to Luke, but she needed to be alone for a moment.

So alone…

Han had opened the door to her emotions and now she couldn't shut it. She started to sob then angrily swallowed it. She would not allow herself to wallow in sadness or self-pity; didn't have time to. How could she rescue Han when she was blubbering like some helpless noblewoman?

Leia took a deep breath, got to her feet and mechanically washed her face over the washbasin. Solo was not dead, she kept telling herself, just missing. They would find him and unfreeze him and all would be well. She had rescued fellow rebels before; she could do it again.

Avoiding her reflection in the small mirror over the washbasin, Leia turned and faced the hatch. She took a deep breath. The nausea had lessened, but was still there in the background. Leia knew she should probably eat something. Hunger always made her nauseous. But the thought of eating sickened her, and it would not lessen the aching hole in her heart.

Determined to carry on regardless, Leia opened the hatch and stepped out of the 'fresher. She took a step towards the bunkroom, heard Calrissian talking to Luke and her resolution faltered. Her eyes filled with tears and, disgusted with herself and unable to let Calrissian see her being emotional, Leia headed for the solitude of the cockpit.

She felt Chewbacca's eyes on her as she passed through the main hold, but Leia couldn't meet his gaze, afraid of the accusations she would see there. So she carried on to the cockpit and sat in Solo's chair, staring out at the maelstrom that was hyperspace.

I should be preparing, she told herself. Planning what they would do once they reached Tatooine. She found herself remembering how she had felt on the way to Yavin 4, after Luke and Han had rescued her from the Death Star. That awful, all encompassing numbness. But at least she had been able to function through it. The heartfelt pain she was feeling now was crippling.

She sighed and wiped a hand tiredly across her face, then rested her head on one forearm, wondering if she should try to sleep. Just an hour or two of blissful unconsciousness. But Leia suspected it would be anything but restful. No, safer to remain awake than be haunted by dreams she could not control.

The hatch slid open and she looked around sharply to see who it was. Chewbacca stepped into the cockpit and shut the hatch behind him. He was looking decidedly apologetic and Leia looked away. She didn't want to hear it.

[Little Princess,] he said, moving towards her. [I've come to apologise.] He stood awkwardly between the seats and added. [I did not mean what I said…]

Leia shook her head sharply, but still did not look at him. "No, you were right," she said quietly. "If I'd got to the transport in time none of this would have happened. None of it." Not Bespin, not the carbonite, not the forty days in his arms… Leia's lower lip started to tremble and she bit it, jammed her hands between her knees and tensed her whole body in an attempt to hold back the tears. Goddess this pain is unbearable! Why can't I just go numb? Like I did after Alderaan…

[Princess, I'm sorry,] Chewbacca rumbled softly. [I was lashing out. Lando infuriated me and…]

Leia tensed even further at the mention of Calrissian and a bead of blood blossomed on her lip because she was biting it so hard. Struggling so hard to keep her emotions in check that she was trembling. Gently, Chewbacca touched her shoulder and she flinched away. She licked the blood from her lip and got to her feet.

"I'd better check on Luke."

Chewbacca remained standing between her and the hatch. [Princess,] he murmured, [you are the best thing that ever happened to him.]

Leia wouldn't meet his gaze, but shook her head emphatically.

[You are,] Chewie insisted. [The 40 days before Bespin were the happiest I have seen Han in his life. And the happiest I have seen you, as well.]

A myriad of images from the last four weeks assaulted her and Leia sobbed, despite her efforts not to. All the memories she had been struggling so hard to suppress. She covered her face with one hand and said with a shuddering breath, "Stop it."

Chewbacca shook his head, [It needs to be said.]

"No it doesn't!" she snapped, seeking solace and control in anger. "You were right; I fucked up! We all fucked up! And Han and Luke paid the price!" She glared at him, daring him to dispute her.

Unfazed, Chewie assured her, [He loved you more than life itself and I fully intend to honour his final wish. I will protect you until he returns, or die trying.]

Tears welled up in Leia's eyes and she shook her head. "And have your blood on my hands as well?" Chewbacca embraced her and she tried to pull away. "No, Chewie, please-" But his strength was inexorable compared to hers and she found herself held tightly. "..don't…" she murmured against his sternum. Please don't. Don't be nice to me; I won't be able to stop myself from crying if you're nice to me. I need to be strong! Need to be strong for Han; need to be strong enough to find Han… Need…Han. Goddess, I need him!

Leia's resolve vanished and she clung to the Wookiee, still trying desperately not to cry. Then Chewbacca sat, cradling her in his arms, and told her gently, [I need to be comforted too.] And Leia wept.

...

Han's clothes. He was wearing Han's clothes. His presumption infuriated her. Left her quaking with an irrational rage that left her unable to be in the same room as him. How dare he? How dare he?

After spending an hour talking with Chewbacca, Leia had finally gone back to the bunkroom to check on Luke and found Calrissian sitting on the bunk, chatting to him. The first thing she had noticed was the small stack of food containers and she was about to thank him, both for keeping Luke company as well as feeding him. Then she had noticed his clothes.

Leia knew the earlier explosion in the main hold had damaged Calrissian's clothes but to find him wearing Solo's…

Calrissian must have identified her outrage because he got to his feet and apologised hastily, "It's just until mine come out of the autovalet-"

Leia said nothing. She wanted to slap him then throw him out the airlock. But she simply settled for glaring at him and moving to check Luke.

"He's doing great," Lando offered enthusiastically. "His temperature was up, but it's coming down nicely-"

Leia cut him off icily, "When I want your opinion, Lando, I'll ask for it."

Luke touched her hand and said, "Leia."

Leia paused her examination of the medbunk's evaluation of Luke's current physical status long enough to give him a look that told him she was in no mood for conciliatory lectures. Luke, of course, ignored it.

"Leia, he's on our side."

Leia couldn't help herself. "Well, I'm not on his," she snarled.

She turned to storm out but found Chewbacca in the hatchway holding Solo's jacket. Leia frowned, knowing the item had been left in their cell on Cloud City. Then Chewbacca held up his other hand, and in it was Solo's holster and blaster. Simmering with unexpressed ire and distress, Leia was rendered speechless.

[They were in the box with Threepio,] Chewie growled.

Leia and Chewbacca both looked at Calrissian for an explanation.

"My aide, Lobot, probably put them in there when he put the box on the Falcon," he offered penitently. "I asked him to put the droid on board…"

The Wookiee and the princess shared a look, then she took the jacket while Chewbacca secured the blaster and holster in its place at the head of Solo's bunk.

Clutching the jacket, Leia stalked out of the room.

As she headed down the ring corridor towards the cockpit, it occurred to Leia to wonder whether Calrissian had spent any time in the Imperial surveillance room on Cloud City. Had he sat there with Vader and the rest of the surveillance officers, watching while she and Han made love? Suddenly the underwear he had sent to their room made horrible sense. Of course he had.

Leia paused in the hatchway to the cockpit and held the jacket up to her face. It smelled strongly of Han and, closing her eyes, for a fraction of a second she was able to believe he was there beside her. Then reality came crashing back and she had to take a deep breath to stop herself from becoming emotional.

Leia slipped the jacket on. It was big enough on her to fit easily over her snowsuit. She didn't need it for warmth, in fact she would probably be hot in it. But it was a comfort. And at least if she was wearing it, Lando wouldn't be able to!

She was moving to sit in Solo's chair when the ship bucked suddenly and she was thrown violently onto the console. Outside the cockpit window, the maelstrom of hyperspace was reverting to starlines and Leia, thinking her fall had caused their reversion, screamed for Chewie while frantically trying to figure out what she had done.

The starlines had settled to stars, but were still spiralling around them unhealthily. Wherever they were, the ship was tumbling. She checked the navicomputer to see where they were, but it was still doing the equations.

Then she saw it roll into view. Vader's Super Star Destroyer. And Chewbacca lunged into the cockpit.

[What happened?] he demanded.

"We've been Interdicted," she said numbly.

The Falcon's tumble arrested suddenly, making them stagger as the inertial compensators struggled to cope.

[They've got a tractor lock on us,] Chewbacca reported, sliding into his seat. [See if you can find the point of origin and we'll blast it!]

Leia tore her gaze from the massive ship outside, which was getting closer by the second, to frown at the Wookiee. Behind her, Calrissian and Skywalker entered the cockpit.

"That's not a Star Destroyer, Chewie," she argued. "I'm sure they have more than one tractor beam."

[I'm not going down without a fight!] he roared.

Leia shook her head incredulously at him. "You can't fight!" she told him hotly. "You'll tear the ship apart!"

[We got away from them at Bespin!] he argued.

"They didn't have an Interdiction field set up at Bespin!" Leia checked the navicomp to see if it could tell them where they were and said to nobody in particular, "We're just outside the Tatooine system."

[They knew where we were going,] Chewbacca inferred darkly, and he and Leia both looked accusingly at Calrissian.

Calrissian took at step back and protested, "I didn't know where we were going! How could I have told them?"

"Vader knew you would try to rescue Han," Luke said flatly, and the truth of his statement silenced everybody.

My decision, Leia thought. Once again, it's all my fault. She looked across at Luke and saw grim resignation on his face. Vader was doing all this to capture him. Luke knew it and Leia suspected he knew why.

Chewbacca was muttering and cursing bitterly as he shut the Falcon's drive down and they all stared as the Super Star Destroyer filled the viewport.

"Why?" Leia asked, looking at Luke. "Why does Vader want you?"

Luke looked sadly at her and said, "He's my father."

...

To be continued…

…in "Family Matters..."