EPILOGUE:

Han Solo noticed that the ramp of the Millennium Falcon was down, putting him on edge. Chewbacca had joined the night security detail and was out guarding the perimeter. The Wookie would never leave the ramp down. And Han was certain he had closed it when he left to join Wedge and some of the Rogue pilots for a game of Sabaac. He glanced around the hangar. It was quite late, so it was quiet and there were very few beings around, just a few on guard duty and a couple of pilots tinkering with an A-Wing.

Han walked over to the nearest security guard. "Have you seen anything suspicious goin' on 'ere?"

"No, Captain Solo," the guard answered. "It's been pretty quiet."

"No unauthorized personnel wondering around?"

"The princess was checking to see if you heard from Commander Skywalker. I told her you were playing Sabaac with the Rogue pilots."

Leia could have been the one who left the ramp down on the Falcon, her way of letting him know she was there. He had given her and Luke the security code to the ship.

I trust them with the Falcon, Han just realized. He had given them the code just in case they got into a jam during a mission and had to make a quick getaway, but he did it without a second thought and never changed the code afterwards.

"Is she waiting in the Falcon?"

"No, sir. She left the hangar."

"Thanks." Han found himself to be disappointed.

Of course, Leia could have slipped past security. She had a talent of moving around the base without getting noticed. The High Command would lose track of her and come to Han to see if he knew where she was. Like Han knew were the princess was every minute of the day. Of course, he was always able to find her. After the higher ups would come to him, he'd go search for her, often finding her in the oddest of places. Perhaps Leia was waiting for him on the Falcon.

Nevertheless, Han Solo wasn't one to take chances. He brandished his blaster and took measured steps as he walked up the ramp. He figured if anyone was going to ambush him, it would take place at the entrance of the Falcon. Han stepped inside his ship, quickly turning to the right and left. He dropped his blaster to his side. The interior lights of the Falcon lit up as he walked further into the ship. He stepped into the corridor and headed straight to the cockpit. It was Leia's favorite place on the ship. She loved looking the stars when they were traveling at light speed and watching the rebels work on their ships and carry out their duties, especially if she was having tough day. She'd scooch down in his pilot's seat, knees to chest, arms wrapped around her legs to hide away from the world.

He palmed the door controls of the cockpit and found no one. Han pressed his lips together and turned around. He walked to the lounge and found it empty too. Maybe she was in his cabin and fell asleep waiting for him—if she indeed managed to slip into the hangar without being noticed. Han found the door to his cabin open, the way he left it. He stood in the doorway and was, again, disappointed. Leia wasn't there.

Han pulled out his comlink and hailed the princess.

It took her several seconds to respond. "Han?"

"Yeah. Where are you?"

"In my quarters. ASLEEP."

"You were looking for me earlier?"

He heard her yawn. "Yeah, but I'm not anymore because I'm asleep."

"You sound awake to me."

"Because of you."

"Whaddya want?"

She was silent for a moment. Then she quietly asked, "Have you heard from Luke?"

"No."

Again, silence.

"I'm sure he'll contact you before he contacts me."

"No," she conceded. "He was acting moody before he left. He wouldn't tell me what was wrong." She took in a breath. "Did he tell you?"

"No."

"It's been almost a week. The High Command is considering charging him with AWOL. If he comes back."

"He'll come back."

"I hope so," she said despondently.

"Go back to sleep, Your Worship. Worrying isn't going to do anyone any good."

"I know." Leia yawned again.

"Did you take those sleeping pills I gave you?"

"Yeah. They're helping," she answered. "You'll let me know if you hear something?"

"Of course."

"You should get some sleep, too," she ordered. "Good night."

"Hey, Your Worship?"

"Yes?" Han smiled as he noted the irritation in her voice. She hated that moniker.

"Whaddya wearin'?"

"Good night, Captain Solo!" The comlink clicked off.

Han wore a huge smile, imagining how his inappropriate question turned her cheeks red. But then his smile faded. If it wasn't Leia who left the ramp down, who was it? He drew his blaster again and headed toward the cargo hold. As he crossed the threshold, the interior lights did not come on. That meant someone had manually turned them off. There was no cargo in the cargo hold, nothing worth stealing. Han slowly walked deeper into the cargo hold, stepping lightly to hide his presence. He squinted as he surveyed the darkened haul. There were nooks and crannies everywhere in this part of the ship, not to mention the hyper drive and access panels to the ship's interior. Someone could have messed with the engine.

Han aimed his blaster when he caught movement near an empty crate. The interior lighting of the corridor left the figure in shadows, and blue eyes caught the faint light as they looked up at him. Han returned his blaster to his holster and approached the intruder.

"Hey, kid." Han walked toward his friend. "Whaddya doin' here in the dark?"

As Han neared Luke, he found the aspiring Jedi hugging his legs to his chest. There were streaks of tears staining Luke's cheeks, and he was no longer making eye contact.

"When did you get back?"

Luke said nothing; he just sat there letting his tears flow freely. Han felt uncomfortable and unsure how to proceed.

"Leia's been worried about you."

The kid bit his bottom lip.

"I…I've been worried about you," Han admitted. "You left without a word. I thought at this point in our friendship….I merited a heads-up or a good-bye at least."

When Han was standing next to Luke, he crouched down to force Luke to make eye contact. "Where you've been?"

"Han," Luke's large blue eyes met Solo's, and he whispered. "I did…I did something…bad."

"Goin' AWOL? I'm sure Leia can get you outa that, and you did come back."

Luke shook his head.

"What is it then?" Han asked. "You can tell me."

Luke studied Han's face as if he were assessing Han. He opened his mouth then closed it.

"It can't be that bad." The smuggler said.

Luke inhaled. "Ryse won't be a problem anymore," he whispered.

Han sat down. "Whaddya mean?" When Luke didn't answer, he asked, "Where'd you go?"

"Ord Wellis."

"By yourself? That wasn't very smart of you," Han admonished. Then he changed his tone. He carefully asked, "How do you know Ryse won't be a problem anymore?"

Although Luke kept his large blue eyes on Han, the kid wasn't looking at the smuggler. "I killed him."

"You what?"

Luke's focus returned to Han. "I killed him." Fresh tears fell down his cheeks.

It took a moment for Luke's words to sink in. Han ran his hand through his hair and then pressed his lips together. "That's not necessarily a bad thing."

The kid said nothing for a moment. Then, "I didn't just kill him."

"Who else did you kill?"

"Everyone who got in my way."

Han's eyes widened and retracted. Luke was telling the smuggler that he went on a killing spree. To get to Ryse. To kill him. How was it even possible that the kid got close enough to Ryse to kill him? This was Luke sitting in front of him, the former farm boy who dreamt of becoming a Jedi like his father. Idealistic, good-hearted Luke. Maybe Luke was having delusions of grandeur. Maybe someone spiked his drink with a hallucinogenic, and the kid lost touch with reality.

Han shook his head. "How…where did you kill Ryse?"

"The same place where he held Leia."

Ryse's most heavily guarded lair. Han blinked then opened his mouth before shutting it. When he could finally speak, he asked, "How did you get past his guards, the thugs that surround him?"

Luke wiped his right cheek with his hand, but the tears continued to flow. "I…I used my light saber."

"You took 'em all out with just your light saber?"

Luke sucked in a shaky breath. "All I could think about was how they hurt Leia, what they did to her."

How did the kid know what Leia went through? He was certain Leia would never tell Luke about her ordeal. She never talked about what she went through on the Death Star with anyone—not even the therapists the High Command forced her to see—and he was certain she'd never talk about her experience as Ryse's captive with anyone. Maybe Luke just put two-and-two together. Some of her injuries were visible, and she had been more withdrawn than usual. Luke would have picked up on that.

"How did you escape?"

"I told you. I killed everyone." The kid shook his head and looked down at his arms. "I…I don't know. I was…I was just so angry…so filled with hate. When it was over…" he looked up at Han. "I…I was standing in the middle of the room…alone. Everyone was dead." His voice dropped to a whisper, "I…I beheaded Ryse."

There was no way Luke could have killed all those guards and thugs and Ryse by himself. There was just no way.

As if Luke knew what Han was thinking, he said, "I don't know how I did it. I just did. I was just so angry….it was like my anger took me over. I wasn't in control….but I was." He bit his lip. "I can't explain it. All I know is that…that it scared me, what I did."

Han had to admit it scared him, too. Luke's story was hard to believe, but Luke's emotions, the reluctant way he shared what he did, Han had no doubt that it didn't happen the way Luke said.

"Ryse was a very bad man."

"Some I killed were just doing their jobs," Luke lamented. Then he grabbed Han's arm. "Please don't tell Leia. Don't tell anyone."

Han put his hand on Luke's. "I won't." He stood up. "Why don't you stay on the Falcon tonight? We'll deal with things tomorrow—or whenever you're ready."

Luke stood up, wiped his face with his sleeve, and nodded. Han led him to the crews' quarters and made sure Luke had everything he needed. Luke's eyes closed the moment his head hit the pillow. Han gazed upon his young friend who looked so innocent and harmless as he slept. Luke probably took Ryse and his posse by surprise. Han shut off the lights and headed to the cockpit.

Han dropped into the pilot's seat completely overwhelmed. If only Luke told Han what he was going to do. Han would've gone with him. He wanted nothing more than to punish Ryse for what he did to Leia. No, Han would have done his best to talk the kid out of it. It was a suicide mission. Obviously, it wasn't. He bit the inside of his cheek. The look in Luke's eyes, the fear, the horror haunted Han, would probably always haunt him. Maybe the aspiring Jedi was more than just aspiring.

The pink sun seeped into the hangar, signaling a new day.