Chapter Two: The Long Hunt

Lando Calrissian, wearing Han Solo's old garbs, sat in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon, staring out blankly at the blue streaks seen when going through hyperspace. He and Chewbacca had spent months trying to find where Jabba kept Han Solo's frozen body. He had taken breaks, most notably the Battle of Tanaab. With Bespin now overrun and controlled by Imperials, he had nothing left, and had joined the cause of the Rebel Alliance. However, his main reason for aiding the Rebellion was his guilt, guilt at having betrayed Han and his friends to Darth Vader for the safety of Bespin. Vader and his fellow Imperials broke their end of the deal and seized Cloud City, and Lando was left with almost no choice. He was determined to redeem himself or die.

Lando Calrissian hoped to redeem himself, promising Leia that he would look all over the galaxy until he found Han. Several times he and Chewie had gotten close, almost catching Boba Fett and almost sneaking into Jabba's fleet. Both the bounty hunter and the crime lord, however, were just too smart, even for one who was considered the cleverest and greatest sabacc player.

Lando's thoughts were interrupted by a growl from Chewbacca, who was wearing goggles and holding a fuser and a hydro spanner.

"What, we have to go to a planet for repairs again?"

Chewie growled an affirmative.

"Blast it, I just can't get over how much Han hurt my ship!"

Chewbacca moaned something more ferocious this time.

"Alright, so it's Han's ship! But he's in carbonite now, and I'm taking over until we catch up to him!"

The discussion, which had been repeated many times the past year, was interrupted by a flashing yellow signal and a short beep. Lando flipped a switch and put his mouth closer to the intercom.

"This is Lando Calrissian, temporary captain of the Millennium Falcon."

A military voice answered him. "This is General Crix Madine of Rebel Intelligence Forces. Princess Leia Organa has finished a diplomatic mission and would like to join your search."

"That's okay with me, Madine. I could use some extra brains, and seeing that it's her boyfriend who we're trying to save, it's only fair."

"Where are you right now?"

"We're approaching the Atzeeri System for some repairs. We should be on the capital planet. How close is the princess?"

"She is only a few parsecs away. She should be there within eight standard hours."

"Perfect. We should be done with repairs around that time."

"Madine out."

"Lando out."

With the conversation over, Chewbacca went to the recreation quarters, setting up a bed for Leia by the dejarik table. Lando turned on a computer and started looking for more information about Jabba. He had infiltrated some of his strongest bases, but had failed to find Han's frozen body. He guessed that his old buddy was probably always being carried with Jabba, which presented a difficult mission. He had hoped to find Han Solo left behind in a vault with less guards, but if the big slug was carrying the frozen smuggler around with him, then he and Chewie were going to need to either trick their way past hundreds of guards or launch a full Rebel mission, which would gain the Rebel Alliance more unwanted enemies. It was obvious that he would have to try the former approach.

"Chewie, after repairs we're heading for Tatooine. I think that where Jabba is, Han will be there also. Sound good?"

Chewbacca growled in agreement.

Atzeeri Shipyards

Grixter stepped out of his ship, the Space Blade, with Hessk, his main Trandoshan accomplice, and twelve thugs of varying species. He had learned through contacts that the Millennium Falcon was headed towards this system, and since this was one of the best shipyards on the main planet of Atzeeri, he guessed that he would come here. He was in the mood for a good drink.

"I'm going for a private drink with Hessk. The rest of you can do whatever you want, except for Vezzel and Corlas. You two are staying with the ship to make sure nobody does something funny."

Vezzel, a Clawdite changeling, and Corlas, a female Duros, went back into the ship. Grixter and Hessk walked out of their docking bay into the streets, walking a few blocks before they came to a well-decorated bar. Once inside, they ordered their drinks, Grixter taking an Ithorian beer and Hessk getting an amphibian blood drink to satisfy his sickening food preferences. Hessk started the conversation with his hissing Trandoshan accent.

"So when Lando does come, will he be alone?"

"I don't exactly know who will be with him, but I can assure you that Han's Wookiee friend will be with him. He's the one I want you and Gafe to take care of. He's very resistant to small arms fire so we need some muscle."

Hessk hissed in approval. Gafe was a larger-than-normal Talz, and could flatten two Wookiees in illegal slave pit fights before he was freed from harsh slavery by Grixter.

Grixter continued after taking a few sips of his beer. "Now Lando and the Wookiee are both really good shots, which means we need to take them by surprise. We'll have our two best shots posted outside whatever docking bay they come to. If they don't come out for some R and R, then the rest of us will sneak in and try to get them from behind."

"Suppose he has some Rebel friends with him?"

"Then we're just going to have to gun them down too."

The mercenary duo continued their drinks until Grixter's comlink beeped. He held it up. "What is it?"

"Lando's here," said Vezzel. "I and Corlas are leaving with the ship's automatic cannons ready. We've made sure that the docking bay workers don't get too close."

"Where is the Falcon landing?"

"Just two bays south of us."

"Perfect. Get ready." Grixter turned to Hessk. "Call the others and post our two snipers outside their bay."

Later On

Bellas, a Duros who once served as a sniper in a mercenary army, and a Human named Jonn were posted outside the bay, covered by crates placed on rooftops. Hessk and Gafe were acting casual, moving large boxes onto repulse lift sleds. Grixter and the others were waiting behind a wall, with their assortment of weapons ready. They had waited nearly forty minutes. If Lando or anybody else didn't come out in another twenty, they would rush in, using their heavy weapons first in the case that the Millennium Falcon's cannons were on. With fourteen good soldiers-for-hire, Lando and his friends didn't stand a chance.

However, Grixter hadn't counted on another ship landing in a docking bay right behind him.

In Another Docking Bay

"We're here," said a Gotal pilot in a Rebel uniform.

"Thank you for the ride, captain," said Leia politely.

"You're welcome. Now make my risky short cuts worth it, okay?"

"I will."

Leia and two Rebel soldiers took off their diplomatic garbs, used in a discussion with potential allies, and put on civilian clothes. They had come earlier than thought thanks to Leia's impatience. She wanted to join Lando and Chewbacca fast and plan how they were going to rescue Han, the rogue who had won her heart. They had ditched the safe routes used to avoid Imperial forces, and were very fortunate to not encounter any trouble on their shortcuts. She descended a ramp with her two bodyguards and turned, annoyed at a straggler.

"Threepio, come on!"

The golden protocol droid appeared, struggling to carry two cases of luggage.

"My deepest apologies, Mistress Leia, but you had forgotten your clothes and personal items."

"Oh, yes. Thanks, Threepio."

Leia and her companions exited the docking bay, proceeding to where Lando said he would be. Her fast pace slowed down when she noticed ten armed aliens waiting behind a wall, one of them peering around a corner at the Falcon's docking bay. It was obviously an ambush of some sort, but she had no clue as to who had organized it. Leia's bodyguards carefully drew their blasters. The one closest to Leia was first to comment on what faced them.

"Should we take an indirect approach or catch them by surprise?"

"I don't know," Leia answered in a low voice, drawing her own blaster. "Let's get somewhere hidden where we can think this over in safety."

However, when they started to move, a bug-eyed thug, who obviously had a large scope of visual range, saw them and screeched something in a weird language. The ten ambushers turned and started firing, two of them unfortunately wielding photon launchers.

Several blasts from these powerful weapons sent the four Rebels flying off their feet. Threepio let out an electronic scream and lay unmoving on his back while Leia and her guards rolled to their feet, sending out their own volley. In the crossfire the bug-eyed alien's legs were hit in several places, and the mercenary fell down screeching in pain. A female Duros shot down one of the bodyguards, who Leia rushed to help up. She gave up her noble attempts when he showed the signs of a dead man.

Docking bay security and workers rushed out to where the action was, but were laid low by ricocheting lasers. The security found themselves knocked out of action by photon launchers. Leia's remaining bodyguard fired a bolt straight into the chest of one of the heavy weapons thugs, a horned Advose. The alien was unaffected thanks to some unusual chest armor he was wearing.

Threepio managed to sit up, and upon surveying the situation, exclaimed "We're doomed!"

The Millennium Falcon

While working on the sub-light engines, Lando was startled by a sudden outburst of blaster fire. He and Chewbacca rushed for their weapons, Lando grabbing a long blaster and the Wookiee readying his beloved crossbow. Without a single word to each other they rushed to the entrance to see what was going on. Upon going out a red bolt skimmed Chewie, sending him crashing to the ground. Lando fired in the direction, seeing the distinguishable blue head of a Duros sticking from a rooftop. The sniper was hit straight in the face and fell backwards, probably dead.

Lando jumped at the growing sound of another blaster bolt, narrowly avoiding a small laser. He ducked behind some crates and looked up at a service tower, seeing a humanoid form behind it sown crate. The two exchanged blaster shots, putting smoking holes in each other's cover. As he lay flat to recharge his blaster pack, Lando noticed that Chewbacca had gotten back up, but was now in a tough scuffle with a Trandoshan and a Talz. Chewie was a great fighter, but he didn't have a chance against these two large but quick adversaries. Lando gave the Talz a shot, which only infuriated the furry creature.

Lando would have delivered more bolts into the giant, but he heard a rolling sound by him. Taking no chances, he jumped behind another crate, just as the object, a thermal detonator, exploded, crushing his previous cover. He looked up to see the sniper throwing another detonator, and ran out into the open, praying that there were no more snipers. The second explosion had more effect and sent Lando falling forwards. Chewie and his assailants also fell down, giving the Wookiee the chance to grab a vibro blade from the Trandoshan's belt. He sliced off the arm of the weapon's previous owner, and then stood up bury it into the recovering Talz. The large four-eyed creature bellowed in pain and then swatted down his equally hairy opponent.

Lando stood on his feet and was just as soon knocked down when a bolt hit him in the chest. He groaned in pain and shock. Was he going to die? He felt where the blaster hit him, and was relieved to see that he just had a burn mark on his chest. A medal had received the blast, sacrificing its shiny existence for its wearer. Chewbacca also had a good stroke of luck. With one great outburst of strength he threw the Talz over him onto a repulse lift sled and grabbed his crossbow. The Talz quickly landed on his feet and ran around a corner, surviving death at Chewie's crossbow. The loyal Wookiee ran over to Lando and lifted him up, running behind one of the larger sleds to avoid the sniper's fire.

Grixter

Grixter, along with Vezzel, laid down heavy fire on the intruding humans and their golden droid. Grixter was mad, his carefully prepared hair, having been cut down by a close bolt. Dasagrysit, an insectoid was out of action clutching at his cauterized leg wounds. The other seven mercenaries were separated behind their own forms of cover, with two Niktos holding off docking bay security. The woman and her friends had ruined Grixter's hopes for a quick easy job, and they were going to pay.

Much to his surprise, the unwanted guests got out from behind cover and went on a wild run, blasting away furiously. Faydo, a Rodian wielding a photon launcher, bore the brunt of the charge, with the remaining human man jumping over the disconnected pipe he was hiding behind. The man kicked down Faydo, knocking his weapon out of his hand. Faydo was not good at close combat, and ran off to avoid getting the snot beaten out of him.

The man was obviously well trained in unarmed combat, charging Vezzel and throwing him into a wall. Grixter found his blaster being kicked out of his hand and responded with his own hand to hand combat. He staggered his opponent with a hard fist and then tripped him, finally killing his brave adversary by falling backwards on him. The man let out a series of gurgles as the spikes on Grixter's back impaled him.

"No!" yelled the woman, who was making her way into the docking bay with the protocol droid in tow. She pushed her mechanical companion, who was holding something large, into the bay while laying down cover fire. Grixter rolled out of the way of the salvo and called out to his remaining thugs. "Forget the security. Get in there and end that miserable woman's life!"

Lando

"Kriff!" cursed Lando as he found no spare power packs for his blaster in his pockets. He had not been prepared for a blaster duel, and had a half-powered pack inserted in his weapon. Chewie had no trouble finding ammunition, but in a stroke of bad fortune his crossbow had suffered some light melting from two direct blaster bolts. Soon the sniper would find a better position and would force the heroes into the open or into the battle that sounded outside.

The couple dashed for the last intact crate in sight, but Chewbacca was hit in the back and fell over, growling at his wound. Lando turned and looked up seeing the muzzle of a rifle pointed straight at his face. This was it. He was going to die and fail not only Han, but Leia and Chewie as well. Perhaps he deserved it, dying while trying to save the friend he head betrayed.

For less than a second these thoughts swirled in his head, and were washed away when suddenly a round blue bolt trailing what looked like fire slammed straight into the human sniper, blasting the permacrete around him. The sniper was almost completely disintegrated by the blue ball.

Lando's jaw dropped as he turned to where the blast came from. His mouth opened even wider at the sight of Threepio struggling to hold a photon launcher. Chewie staggered to his feet, clutching at the burn mark on his back. Only a few species could withstand such a direct hit and live.

Threepio dropped the photon launcher and began to chatter. "Oh my! I didn't know that I was capable of such a thing! I sure hope Leia never orders me to pick up one of those things again!"

Leia appeared shoved Threepio. "Let's move!"

"Leia!" exclaimed Lando.

"Lando, there must be eight more coming after us! We have to go now!"

'You got it!"

Lando had not gotten proper repairs, but he should be able to get to another system to finish the work. The quartet of reunited heroes rushed towards the open ramp of the Millennium Falcon, each running as fast as he could. But it appeared that their sprint would not be enough. Looking back, Lando saw the rest of the unknown ambush team, led by the Advose with a photon launcher and armor.

Thinking quickly, he punched in some commands to the Corellian freighter in front of him. "Duck!" he yelled as he pulled down Threepio. in a flash automatic cannons popped out of the Millennium Falcon's bottom, firing large blasts straight over the Rebels' heads and searing a large bloody hole into the Advose. The horned creature's armor could withstand normal blasters, but was no match for illegal cannons.

Amidst poorly aimed blaster bolts, the heroes ran up the ramp, which thereafter lifted up, sealing up its occupants. Inside the cockpit Lando and Chewbacca whipped into action, lifting the ship up carefully but quickly out of the docking bay. At an overly rapid speed, the Falcon darted upwards into space, leaving behind a frustrated gang of mercenaries.

"Good shooting, Threepio," commented Leia as the capital planet of the Atzeeri system started to shrink.

"Oh, I think I was just lucky. Wielding photon launchers doesn't quite fit with my primary programming."

Back on the Ground

Grixter spat on the ground and kicked the shards of a crate. "Blast it! I didn't know Lando was going to have some guests!" He turned his attention to Hessk, grasping at a nearly cauterized stump. "You okay, Hessk?" the gray alien asked casually. He knew that Trandoshans could regrow limbs.

"It'll heal in time, but not when I want it to."

Grixter scowled at the burning remnants of Jonn and asked Vezzel, "What are our losses?"

"Bellas was shot out of his spot, Jonn's fragmented, Herkgel has a hole in him, you already know that Hessk has temporarily lost an arm, and Gafe and Dasagrysit need bacta treatment."

"That's three dead and three wounded. Jabba had better pay up well with his fat fortune when we finally catch that no good, gambling kriffer."

"You do like to throw around that kriff word a lot."

"We all have favorite expletives. Let's get our ship ready. We're going to hunt them down, and Hessk, you can eat them all once we're through with them, although you might have some qualms about chewing and swallowing protocol droid skin."

The team picked up their dead comrades and weapons and prepared to continue the hunt.