Hello everyone :)

Well, ready or not, here it goes! While this first part will be rather familiar, don't think that this story will remain so till the end ;) It can turn many different ways depending on where a new twist appears.

But first, the introduction ;P

Caught

Part 1: Opportunity

By mireille 1998-2001-2009

_______________________________

Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belongs to me; everything belongs to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.

Almost a year had gone by since the destruction of the Death Star.

Almost a year, Luke Skywalker sighed forlornly as he absently looked at the worn wires of his w-xing's commboard.

He had gone in the hangar bay to try and fix a glitch that had been plaguing his fighter for weeks, but instead of focusing on his chosen task, his mind kept wandering - as it had been doing for the past ten days - to the events that had taken place above Yavin 4.

The blond youth sighed heavily, irritated by his inability to control his thoughts anymore.

Indeed, before those ten days, he hadn't had that problem and life had been a regular series of missions, friendly moments with his rebel companions, and clumsy attempts to improve his fledgling Jedi skills.

Then, the mission to Galador had happened - and his mind had begun to play tricks on him.

Giving up on his attempt to avoid dwelling in the past, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to remember that day.

While he had been waiting for their contact to show up, his eyes had stumbled on the imperial search warrant for the pilot who had destroyed the Death Star - also known as the Hero of Yavin 4 - and his world had turned upside down. Up to that day, he had thought that the Empire had given up on finding the as-of-yet nameless rebel hero who had greatly humiliated them, but he had been wrong.

Worse, his head was now worth three million credits.

More than enough money to make even his 'allies' consider handing him in, he had instantly surmised with an unpleasant shiver.

His only comfort upon seeing the warrant was that the enemy still had no name or holo of him or else those informations would have been part of the warrant.

"Thank the Force for that", he mumbled dejectedly, returning to the present moment in the rebel hangar bay.

He had enough worries about his 'allies' without also having to worry about the rest of the galaxy recognizing him.

"Hey Kid!!" Solo's voice called from behind a nearby y-wing fighter.

Luke looked up in slight surprise, and then down on the deck where his friend and his faithful co-pilot were swaggering closer to him.

"Hello Han," he forced a smile to his face. "Chewie."

No sense in giving signs that something was worrying him, he thought to himself as his friends covered the last few meters between them.

"What ya doing?" his smuggler friend asked, climbing up the ladder of the x-wing.

"Oh," Luke sighed, leaning back in his seat as Han leaned in to check on his handiwork, "not much, just tampering I guess."

Solo turned his head toward him and gave him a sarcastic grin. "Sounds like so much fun," he commented wryly.

"Yeah..." the young Jedi agreed. "What about you?" He inquired as he focused on his friend, thus noticing the easy grin that he was currently harbouring. "Why do you look like you're up to something?" he queried as playfully as he could.

"Because I 'am' up to something," the pilot grinned further. "I just broke a deal in the Alliance's interest. A very," he added smugly, "very lucrative deal."

"And?" Luke prompted him.

"And I was wondering if you felt like stretching your wings with me and Chewie."

The prospect of finally doing something aside from waiting for the next attack greatly interested Luke, but before he could answer with an eager: "Yes!", his foreboding feeling resurfaced, somewhat stronger than what it had been up to now. The young man gazed down at his grimy hands, trying yet again to decipher what was disturbing him so much about the Imperial warrant. After all, he had been on the most wanted dockets after the battle of Yavin, yet no one had turned him in. So why was he worried now?

What was so unnerving about the increased bounty that his sixth sense went haywire on him?

He straightened up and carefully studied his older friend's confident features. Perhaps he was just getting jittery and more action would do him some good, he reflected. After all, nothing kept his mind busier than a fight.

Besides, he admitted to himself, he was longing for adventures these days, keeping his eyes open for an opportunity to leave the well-hidden fleet for a while.

"You bet," he nodded, smiling more easily as he heaved himself out of his seat. "When do we leave?" he asked, feeling some of his typical eagerness return at last.

Yes, he realized, he really needed some action if he didn't want to go stir crazy.

"I still have to check on a few things with her Highness," Han smiled lopsidedly as he jumped down the boarding ladder, "so in about two hours top."

"Okay, I'll clean up and meet you at the Falcon," Luke answered smoothly before he climbed over the lip of his cockpit and slipped down the side of his ship; he lightly landed on the deck beside Chewie.

On his way to the pilot's ready room, the young man tried to imagine what scheme his smuggler friend had concocted this time.

He hoped that it would work out better than usual for them, but if not, well, he shrugged confidently, he had trained his aiming skills with Han's help.

He would be ready for anything.

Still standing near the now deserted x-wing, Han Solo watched his young friend walk away. Now that the rebellion poster boy was out of sight, he allowed a frown to crease his forehead. Something was wrong with the Kid, he reflected, and then turned toward his co-pilot; the much older Wookiee crooned a similar thought of concern about the youth.

"I know," the smuggler admitted. He carefully checked over the x-wing to make sure that he was not missing a vital clue as to what was going on in his friend's mind, and then turned around. "He wasn't that hesitant last week," he commented next as the two of them headed back the way they had come.

*He changed attitude two weeks ago," his companion corrected him wisely.

"After our 'downtime' on Galador, huh?" Han summarized as he remembered the alleged mission that had been cancelled only once they had been out in the open.

Back then, the imperial blockade had delayed their leaving the enclave, and, when they had seen through their disguise, had given chase, but they had all left unscathed.

In short, there had been nothing to worry about.

He turned his head around once again to gaze at the spot where his younger friend had been standing not so long ago. Could the Kid still be worried about that near miss in their rear? He wondered.

Nah, he shook his head as he refocused on his whereabouts. It wasn't like Luke to dwell in the past like that. The youth was too idealistic and naive to become a professional worrier like his Goldenrod of a droid.

No, he shook his head again as he and Chewie approached the familiar shape of the Millenium Falcon. Their latest brush with the imps could not possibly worry Luke.

And yet, he thought once again, something was obviously on the boy's mind.

The question was to figure out what it was, and somehow, he doubted that the Kid would share 'that' with him.

As Han had surmised, Luke didn't breach the sensitive subject with him, no matter how much the older man gave him opportunities to do so.

At first, Luke didn't think about his strange premonition, but the closer he and his companions came to the end of their hyperspace jump, the more anxious he grew.

It was, he thought, as if his subconscious was warning him that serious trouble was waiting for him on that planet, but it was ridiculous, he tried to reassure himself.

Nobody there knew who he really was, and he would leave his lightsaber aboard the Falcon just to make sure that he could not be identified as a Jedi either.

He then tried to convince himself that he would be okay, like on every other mission that he had shared with his best friends.

The only serious danger that he might encounter was to get caught in the cross-fire between Han and Jabba's minions.

Yes, he reassured himself, that experience was probably what was nagging at him. After all, he remembered with a slight shudder, the last time that they had faced bounty hunters, they had barely gotten away with their lives.

But not this time, he resolved. They would be fine and everything would proceed smoothly.

The feeling, though, didn't listen to him and continued to nag at him, all the way to the smuggler's den.

Warier than usual thanks to it, Luke stuck very close to Han and Chewie, keeping his hand near his blaster while he surveyed the main room.

A waist-high wall circled the shielded inner area of the room where only a selected few, mostly dancers and associates, were allowed. The non-restricted area of the arena-like room was filled with thugs who worked for the dealer; most were lounging at tables scattered around the different levels of the arena, while others stood in shadows, as if ready for anything.

While Luke wouldn't trust any of those individuals with his true identity, he also couldn't feel any danger coming from them.

No, he thought as he refocused on Han and his 'friend', his feeling was related to something outside this group.

But what? He wondered for the hundredth time since he had become aware again of his increasing uneasiness.

Filing the usual layout to the back of his mind, Han focused his whole attention on the man who had agreed to repay a debt with him by giving him an audience where he could speak on the Rebels' behalf.

Another part of his mind relaxed, aware that his trustee first mate was at his right, watching his back while he himself took care of the danger that was in front of them. To his left, Luke still seemed jittery, but he held himself well under control now.

His hand was straying close to his blaster's butt, though, as if his 'feelings' were warning him of an imminent attack.

Discreetly touching the boy's forearm before squeezing it, Han silently warned him to ease up just a little bit so as to not put their possible allies on edge. Luke acknowledged his silent command and removed his hand from his weapon.

Han, for his part, focused his attention on his old partner in crime.

"So have you thought about my offer?" Solo inquired with the dealer.

"Yes," the other nodded calmly, but I ain't sure that it's a good bargain, Solo."

"Since when did war ruin business like yours, Roko?" he countered with a mock-annoyed sneer. "Do you have any idea how long 'that' war can last? At the rate that the Rebels are going, it will take them twenty-five years to beat the Empire, if ever."

Beside him, Luke frowned at his strange argument, but the Kid wisely remained silent. He might not like the truth, Han reflected, but the fact still remained that the ragtag army of the Alliance was nowhere near vanquishing the galactic empire.

"Right..." Roko rubbed his chin. On both sides of him, his bodyguards gave them a dirty look while a daringly-clothed female assistant handed a datapad to her boss.

Han estimated that the deceptively-beautiful woman had just crunched numbers for her boss' benefit.

"And you guarantee that the Empire will never find out about our little gig?" Roko finally inquired, raising his eyes from the pad and locking them on his.

"If they never found out about your other ventures, why would they figure out this one?" Han challenged him.

The other could only agree with him.

"So, do we have a deal?" Han prompted him while he shot a quick gaze in Luke's direction. The Kid was shuffling his feet, a sign of anxiety that could be wrongly interpreted by Roko, especially when they were so close to settling a bargain.

Sheepish, Luke stilled once again. His electric blue eyes, though, silently asked him to hurry up before they focused away once again.

Han frowned inwardly. The Kid really was on edge...

He made a note to himself to talk with him the moment that they would be safe in hyperspace while he continued on his last attempt to convince his old friend to do business with the Rebels and him. "You give me the weapons for half-price, and the Alliance becomes your permanent client and handles the cargo's transport."

"For the short while that it will last," the dealer sneered, throwing a glance at Luke. "The Empire is powerful and better armed in the long run. I ain't sure that it's a great deal," he slurred, his lack of interest obvious.

"They will lose," Luke stated defiantly, surprising Han with his awareness of the ongoing discussion. "Alliance soldiers don't fight for a pay but for their beliefs. That makes us twice as dangerous as the Empire's imposing army."

As he finished his last sentence, though, Luke was hard-pressed not to voice his concerns to Han. The urge to bolt away was such that he could barely refrained himself from actually giving into it.

"Sure," the kingpin shrugged. He refocused his attention on Solo. "I still don't get why you're with them, Solo."

"The money," Han answered with a lopsided grin, "only the money to repay Jabba."

"I see..." the other muttered with a nod, took his time to debate his final decision, and then shrugged. "All right, deal," he stated with finality. "If the war lasts for a long while, that means more money for me anyway."

His assistant offered a datapad to Solo.

"Your weapons will be at---"

They never found out where the weapons were supposed to be waiting for them before a thick and white smoke swiftly invaded the main room even as the protective shield of the middle ring suddenly shorted out.

For a moment, everybody froze and coughed in an attempt to not suffocate to death, and then Luke's instincts took over, reminding him that smoke meant danger; he tried to peer through the smoke.

"Take cover!" someone shouted as the young Jedi finally managed to distinguish forms moving through the smoke --- only to belatedly identify the white and black shapes of imperial stormtroopers.

"Kreth!" He swore even as Han grabbed hold of his wrist and dragged him toward the nearby waist-high wall. Luke didn't resist him, hurrying after him; they jumped over their chosen cover and crouched behind it.

"We're in trouble," Luke whispered grimly as he pulled his blaster from his holster.

"No kidding," Han growled. "Count on a local garrison to break up a party," he commented, and then exchanged a meaningful glance with Luke; they both straightened up, took aim above the wall, and opened fire on the imperial soldiers.

While Luke took care of the troopers that poured endlessly into the room, Han and Chewie decimated those that were already inside it. Roko's smugglers and dancers also joined the fray.

However, whereas the middle ring had been impregnable thanks to its protective shield, its disappearance made their central position the easiest target of them all as they could be fired upon from anywhere in the circular den.

"We've got to get out of here!" the young rebel finally shouted over the deafening noises of the battle.

"I know, I know," Solo retorted in frustration. "I'm working on it! Keep shooting, Kid!" He ordered him.

So, Luke thought grimly as he shot yet another trooper,'that' was what he had been warned about; his mind had somehow 'known' that, this time, he was better off ignoring the thrill of living new adventures, but unfortunately, in spite of his cold feeling of dread, he hadn't been able to say no to this new prospect.

Well, he sneered at himself, he was right smack dab in it this time.

He aimed and shot again a trooper in the knee, aware once again that his training under Han had really honed his skills to deadly accuracy. He had only missed twice out of more than fifty shots disbursed since the beginning of the fire fight, and those two times had happened while he had been talking to Han.

He should be happy to experience the thrill of a fire fight, he conceded as he hurried to take cover to avoid the bolts that came his way. It was what he had always wanted, he reminded himself as he straightened once again and shot the trooper dead. He had always wanted to have a 'good fight', but---

As he fell another trooper, his nervousness suddenly increased ten fold--- making it clear that the warning wasn't related to Han but that it was instead related to him.

'What is it??' He queried to himself, not really expecting an answer, yet ready to admit that he was downright terrified. His uneasiness wasn't solely related to the attack, but to something else... something worse than an imperial attack.

He quickly surveyed the room for any trap, became aware that his companions weren't at his side anymore but a few meters away and up on the next level of flooring, probing the floor with fellow smugglers--- when the stormtroopers suddenly began to stun enemies.

His fraction of inattention proved to be fatal for him. Even as his sixth sense shrieked at him to take cover, a stun blast hit him from behind.

He crumpled to the floor, unconscious.

Having 'secured' a captive, the imperials intensified their stun blasts and blaster fire around his position while two of their number ran closer to take physical custody of him.

Han, who had been calling to Luke to join them for the past minute, swore when he saw him fall, but before he had managed to take one step toward the unconscious youth, Chewie restrained him and pulled him toward the now uncovered secret passage.

*We can't do anything for him here," the Wookiee growled wisely while he used his strength to restrain the frenzied pilot. *We have to escape if we want to free him later."

Around them, Roko's bodyguards covered their boss' exit down the catacombs, temporarily keeping their gorup safe from stun shots.

Still, despite the imminent danger, and even though Han knew that Chewie's argument was more than logical, his sense of honor pulled at him. He just couldn't abandon his friend, leaving him to the hands of those blood-sucking, moth-eating imperial scums.

While he was trying to resist his Wookiee friend, though, the overall situation of the smugglers' den rapidly degenerated; aware that they were beaten for now, Han swore in grim frustration and stopped resisting Chewie's pull.

His co-pilot was unfortunately right...

"All right, let's go," he said, following the other smugglers who had already disappeared inside the secret passage.

Chewie went first, and then Han meant to follow but stopped. He turned toward his fallen friend who was being pulled inside the once-again shielded inner room with the other prisoners.

"I'll come back for you, Kid," he promised to the inert, helpless young Jedi who had taught him that friends were the most precious thing in one's life. "I swear that I won't abandon you," he gritted, forcing himself to not go right away after the Kid.

Then, before the stormtroopers could catch up with him, he slipped inside the secret passage and sealed it behind himself.

Meanwhile, the troopers finished stunning the remaining smugglers, and then proceeded with the second phase of their new orders.

They locked their prisoners into cuffs and strung them up using the available upper walls.

TBC in part 2 : The Dark Lord of the Sith

Had fun ? R and R please!!!!

Want more?.. It's up to you!