Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one from Star Wars.

Author's Note: I have company coming in for the weekend, so I can't promise another update for a few days. I'll to find a little time to work on the story, but no promises. However, this chapter is a bit longer. Enjoy and please review.

The Princess and The Pirate

Chapter 4

"I Want to Hurt Him"

Assured by Kenfer that everything had been arranged satisfactorily, Cadnell gave the order for the ship to lift off. They were careful to follow spaceport procedures, not that anyone was in a position to argue with them. The number of Storm Troopers and mercenaries he left behind guaranteed full cooperation on the ground.

Once the ship left the atmosphere, the pilot entered the coordinates for a short hyperspace hop. The ship left real space, traveled for about a standard hour and popped back into orbit above a small moon. After sending a coded transmission, the ship landed in a deserted area and no one approached them. Cadnell left the cockpit and headed to the hold, wanting to make certain his captives were still enjoying his hospitality.

Upon his entry, he observed Luke sitting in the corner, with his head resting on his knees. While the Jedi was still obviously in shock, his color was better and he was beginning to function somewhat normally again. He managed a glare in the Judge's direction, but said nothing.

Princess Leia was still seated on the floor with her back to the wall. She had Han's head in her lap, and was trying to ease the pressure on his arms from having them still pulled tightly behind him. Solo was beginning to come around, his eye lids were fluttering and he was frowning. Leia was gently rubbing his forehead and murmuring softly to him. Immediately when the door opened, she defiantly raised her head and demanded that he take the restraints off her husband.

Judge Cadnell just laughed as he squatted down beside her. "Looks to me like you're managing all right, Princess, without the force. Maybe it isn't all that strong in you after all." At that Luke finally spoke. "You're wrong. About a lot of things. The force is very strong in my family and you will eventually understand that." Even without his usual confidence, Luke's words revealed a strong sense of self, and as he spoke, he seemed to regain more and more of his composure.

Rising to his feet, he came over next to Leia and his injured brother-in-law, and ignoring the Judge, asked "How's he doing?" Leia, taking her signal from her brother responded. "You know Han. He has a hard head, so he'll be fine. But he's going to have a terrible headache."

Right on cue, Han's eyes fluttered open and he gazed around, his eyes glassy as he tried to remember why on earth he'd drank so much. That was the only reason he could figure for the monumental headache he felt. He tried to ask what had happened but the only sounds that came from his lips were a groan. The sound of his own weak voice revived him a little more and he tried to sit up.

"What? Wha's goin' on?" he managed to croak out. Pain exploded in his right shoulder as he tried to leverage himself up, and with a cry he laid his head back down. "Ah, what hit me? Who? Where are we. Leia! Leia, you okay?" and he managed to squint up at her, locating her face and trying to focus.

"Shh, easy Han. I'm fine, well more or less," she replied. "As for what's going on, you'll have to ask him." And she returned her glare to the Judge who was sitting back on his heels, taking it all in and chuckling. At the sound of his laugh, memory returned to the pilot and he groaned once more.

"Help me up, Luke, will you," he said after his eyes lit on his brother-in-law. "My shoulder's killing me." Luke knelt beside him and with Leia's help; they got him into a sitting position. After catching his breath, Han raised his head and looked at the Judge.

"So. You have us. Now what? What do you want with us? Or more to the point, who do you want to sell us to?" He couldn't see any point in beating around the bush. The sooner they knew who had a bounty out on them, the sooner negotiations could begin. Han just hoped it was him the Judge was gunning for; but he was terrified it might be Leia, since he'd seen the Storm Troopers. He knew there still many remnants of the Empire who wanted his wife dead.

Cadnell laughed out loud and got to his feet. "You do have some very high opinions of yourself, don't you Solo?" And shaking his head, he headed for the door, which was more than adequately guarded by three Storm Troopers and Kenfer. Stopping with his hand on the wall, he turned and this time his face had lost its amiable look. The man looked at them with contempt. "It isn't you I want at all. You're just bait. But then," and now his face resumed its more pleasant look, which somehow was even more frightening, "You should be used to that. Maybe Skywalker isn't, but the two of you should be."

"Wait!" Leia cried. "If you don't want us, who do you want? Don't you dare leave us here like this! My husband needs medical attention. We at least need water and food." But the door was already closing behind Cadnell, who retorted with a parting shot just before it closed. "Don't worry. You'll all be getting plenty of attention. Because the best way to hurt him is to hurt his friends. And I want very much to hurt him. Badly."

Han swallowed and leaned his aching head against Leia's shoulder. "I wonder who ticked him off. I don't think I'd want to be in his shoes, whoever it is."

Chewbacca hovered anxiously over the nervous Ensign as he plotted their course. Now that they had safely gotten away from Terlora, they had decided their best option was to return, on the far side of the planet, under the cover of night. They would land briefly in the area they had been in a few years before, and try to make contact with the broker who had sold them the supplies. A long discussion had taken place before coming to that conclusion, but since it had been obvious both Luke and Leia had trusted her, they felt she was their best chance at locating their friends.

Both Wedge and Chewbacca felt sure Luke and the others wouldn't be on planet by this time. Whoever had set out to kidnap them had had an enormous amount of resources available. And that most likely meant Empire involvement. That in turn, most likely made it Leia or Luke who was their primary target, thought they couldn't rule Han out either. The Corellian had legions of his own enemies, both in and out of the Empire.

Wedge entered the cockpit at that moment, having been checking their weapons systems, knowing how often the Falcon like to malfunction at the most inopportune times. He had instructed R2D2 and C3PO to plug into the Falcon's computers and run a full diagnostic. He wasn't going to land until he was sure all systems were a go.

"Ensign Thorenson," he asked. "Do you have our course plotted in?" The young man looked up at Wedge, and then glanced away. He was very nervous around the heroes of the Rebellion, and had hardly been able to believe they had asked him to be a part of this mission. He knew if they were aware of his record, they would have never have wanted him along.

"Ah, yes, Sir, Commander; um, General Antilles, that is." The kid blushed and glanced away at the look Wedge shot him. "I'm not a General anymore, kid. Relax. No one is going to bite. Well," and Wedge couldn't resist shooting a look at the Wookie. "Probably no one is." Chewie bared his teeth and hooted, telling Wedge to stop scaring the kid.

Ensign Thorenson managed to nod, and tried not to show his fear of the giant Wookie. He knew it (he kept forgetting he was supposed to think of the creature as a he, not an "it") was as sentient has he himself was, and he really was trying to overcome his fear of non-humans. But having been raised on a world that was loyal to the Empire until the bitter end, and having only become a part of the Rebellion at the conclusion of the war, he still struggled with the whole concept. However, he'd been in Chewbacca's company enough to feel fairly confident he wasn't going to be his next meal. Not yet at least. He still wasn't sure about his fate if they ever learned about his true history.

"Course laid in sir. Ready to engage on your order." Thoreson was also unfailingly military in his bearing, a fact which had not been lost on Captain Solo, who had lost no opportunity to rib the kid about it, and try to get him to loosen up. The Ensign genuinely liked Solo, another detail that he found himself surprised by.

Captain Antilles checked over the Navigation Board and called back on the intercom. "CP3O? Is she working?" he asked simply, knowing that anytime he had a conversation with the Protocol Droid – simple was better. Of course, the answer was anything but simple. However, after a long sigh and a threat by Chewbacca to tear the golden droid apart if he didn't stay on task, Wedge was finally confident the Falcon was ready. As ready has Han's recalcitrant ship ever was, at least.

"Take her in," he told the Ensign, laying his hand on his shoulder. "Slow and quiet. Let's try not to attract any attention."

Leia looked at her husband after Judge Cadnell left the hold. "How are you doing, Han?" she asked. "And don't bother trying to lie to me; I may not have the force right now, but I can still see you." Han grinned ruefully; lying had been exactly what he'd had in mind. "Ah, I'm ok Leia. My head hurts, and so does my shoulder. What happened anyway? I don't remember anything besides that creep trying to trip you or something."

Leia sighed. "He didn't trip me Han, I stumbled. It was just such a shock to be without the force and I wasn't paying attention to where my feet went. But you went after him anyway. Kenfer knocked you out and that bastard, Cadnell, kicked you in your shoulder. How is it?"

Han tried to flex it and immediately decided that wasn't a good idea. It was difficult at best, with his arms still pulled behind him. Try as he might, he could not relieve the pressure on his shoulder. His wrist stung too, and he could feel the open wound where the blaster had scorched him. But since he figured Leia had forgotten about that, he didn't bring it up.

"Well, it don't feel too good, that's for sure. But I'll live." Han looked around where they were being held, squinting into the dark corners. "You two look around at all? Anything in here we can use?"

Luke looked surprised at first, then slightly abashed. "Nope, Han. I've just been sitting here, feeling sorry for myself I guess. But I'll look now." The Jedi, though he certainly didn't feel much like one at the moment, got up from beside Solo and started looking around, poking into corners. Leia glanced up, but didn't leave Han's side.

"Nothing much here, really. There's an old table, but it's too heavy for me to take apart – without the force, anyway. If we could get the bolts loosened, then we could maybe use it…" Luke's voice trailed off as he tried, alternately pulling and banging on the table, trying to no avail to loosen the pieces. "Nothing. I can't get it; this is just so, so damn frustrating!" and Luke slammed his hand into the recalcitrant table.

At that Leia glanced apologetically at her husband, who had been resting comfortably against her, and got up to go over to Luke. She reached her hand up and brushed his hair out of his eyes. "It's ok Luke. We'll figure something out. We always do, you know."

Han watched the two of them and was glad they had each other. He had no idea how it must feel to suddenly lose the kind of power they were used to wielding, but figured it must feel pretty bad. He shifted around, both to see them a little better and to try and get a bit more comfortable. As he did so, he felt something in his cargo pants pocket.

"Hey!" he called. "I forgot. When those goons searched me, they missed the little present you got me last night, Leia." And he shot them his lopsided grin, very pleased with himself. "What present, Han?" Luke asked. "I didn't see anything last night. You two disappeared without even saying hey when you got back from dinner." Luke gave them a mock frown, well aware of where they had been, and most likely what they had been doing.

The Solos had not taken the time the night before to show anyone their purchases; instead they had been very intent on getting back to their cabin on the Falcon for a little quality alone-time. Being alone together was a precious commodity for them, and they tried to take advantage of any situation that presented itself.

Solo's frown was back as he glowered at his now grinning brother-in-law. "Yeah, well, don't you worry 'bout where we were last night. But check out Leia's present." Leia looked momentarily confused, but came back over and slipped her small hand into Han's pocket when he nodded at her. Smiling as her fingers closed over the small vibroblade, she pulled it out and displayed it triumphantly for Luke to see.

"I'd forgotten!" she crowed. "These were new, and I got one for Han last night; I thought it might replace the one he lost last time we were here. I can't believe they missed it!" Luke came over and took it in his hand, turning it over and examining it. "I can see why." He held it up to the little bit of light coming in, squinting to get a better look. Flicking it on, he swished it around a bit. "It looks more like a pencil than a knife." He grinned one more time, and then went back over to the table. It was slow going, but he managed to eventually loosen 3 of the 4 bolts holding the first leg in place. As he was working on the fourth, they heard sounds in the corridor.

Luke quickly slipped the little knife into his pocket and sat back down next to his sister. The three of them managed to look less hopeful than they felt, as the door opened. Luke wished he'd had time to get the table leg completely off; he knew their opportunities for escape were likely to be few. But he could be patient. That much he could handle, even without the use of the force. He just hoped his much more impetuous friend could do the same.

All three looked up when Kenfer entered. "On your feet, Solo. The Judge wants to see you. Now!" He stepped forward as Han hesitated. At Kenfer's threatening movement Luke jumped up and helped the Corellian stand, steadying him as he swayed a bit. Leia also came to her feet, managing to look angry and graceful at once. Kenfer motioned 3 guards into the small room. Two roughly grabbed Solo and propelled him forward. The third aimed his rifle at the Princess, stopping her progress when she would have accompanied her husband.

"Where are you taking him?" she demanded. "None of your business, little one. Now shut up, before I decided to ignore my orders to treat you like a lady." Kenfer was abrupt and rude with his reply.

Luke had been quietly biding his time, staying back slightly, and when both Kenfer and the guard's attention were on Leia, as Han was being dragged out the door, he made his move.

He jumped forward, slamming his fist into the side of the guard's head. At the same time, Leia grabbed Kenfer's arm and spun him around. However, before they could complete their bid for freedom, two more guards burst into the already crowded room. One raised his pistol, pointed it at Leia, and pulled the trigger, even as Han screamed out a warning to her. Luke whirled again, intent on following through with a round house kick, but the other soldier hit him across his back, slamming him face first into the bulkhead. His head glanced off a pipe and he slipped to the floor and lay motionless.

Han was like a wild thing. He wrenched away from his guards and lunged toward Leia as she crumpled soundlessly to the floor. He had no idea if the weapon had been set on stun or kill, since it was a type he'd never seen before. But before he could reach his unmoving wife, he was yanked backwards and hauled out into the corridor. The last sight he saw was Luke beginning to stir, and crawling over to his sister.

It was hours later that the door opened again. A man barely recognizable as Han Solo was heaved in through the door and left in the middle of the room. The door slammed without a word being said. Luke looked up from where he was looking after Leia and whispered, "Oh no. Han, what have they done to you?"

Little bit of an evil cliffie, there, I know. Sorry! (Not really.) I'll try to update soon, but I do have company this weekend, so it may be a few days. I'll hurry, I promise