A small figure gallops across the windswept ice slope. The bundled rider is mounted on a large gray snow lizard, a Tauntaun. Curving plumes of snow rise from beneath the speeding paws of the two-legged beast. The rider gallops up a slope and reins his lizard to a stop. Pulling off his protective goggles, Luke Skywalker notices something in the sky. He takes a pair of electrobinoculars from his utility belt and through them sees smoke rising from where the probe robot has crashed. The wind whips at Luke's fur-lined cap and he activates a comlink transmitter. His Tauntaun shifts and moans nervously beneath him.

"Echo Three to Echo Seven. Han, old buddy, do you read me?" Luke said into his comlink.

"Loud and clear kid, what`s up?" Han asked over the comlink.

"Well, I finished my circle. I don't pick up any life readings."

"There isn't enough life on this ice cube to fill a space cruiser. The sensors are placed, I'm going back."

"Right. I'll see you shortly. There's a meteorite that hit the ground near here. I want to check it out. It won't take long."

Luke clicks off his transmitter and reins back on his nervous lizard.

He pats the beast on the head to calm it.

"Hey, steady girl. What's the matter? You smell something?"

Luke takes a small device from his belt and starts to adjust it when suddenly a large shadow falls over him from behind. He hears a monstrous howl and turns to see an eleven-foot-tall shape towering over him! It is a Wampa Ice Creature, lunging at him ferociously.

"Aaargh!"

Luke grabs for his pistol, but is hit flat in the face by a huge white claw. He falls unconscious into the snow and in a moment the terrified screams of the Tauntaun are cut short by the horrible snap of a neck being broken. The Wampa Ice Creature grabs Luke by one ankle and drags him away across the frozen plain.

X LINE BREAK X

"Ok, so I just have to put this thing over here?" I asked, trying to make heads or tails of repairing The Millennium Falcon.

Chewie groaned and corrected me.

"Ok, I don`t what these are, I`m not exactly a mechanic. You should have seen me try and fix Luke`s speeder when we were kids." I joked.

I heard a few shouts behind me and turned around to see Rebel troopers rush about unloading supplies and otherwise securing the new base. Han swings off his lizard and pulls off his goggles.

He walks into the main hangar deck toward us and the Millennium Falcon, which is parked among several fighters. Mechanics, R2 units, and various other droids hurry about. Han stops at the Millennium Falcon and teasingly watched me try to fix the central lifter. I was dumb and didn't wear eye goggles, so when I moved a part into a wire, a small spark stung my eye!

"Ouch!"

Han smirked "Hey kid, be careful, you`ll lose your eye one of these days,"

"Oh ha ha ha,"

Chewie growled at Han.

"All right, don't lose your temper. I'll come right back and give you two a hand."

Han walked on as Chewie handed me a mask.

"Thanks," I smiled and took it, then put it on and continued working.

X LINE BREAK X

A makeshift command center has been set up in a blasted area of thick ice. The low-ceilinged room is a beehive of activity. Controllers, troops, and droids move about setting up electronic equipment and monitoring radar signals.

General Rieekan straightens up from a console at Han's approach.

"Solo?" General Rieekan asked.

"No sign of life out there, General. The sensors are in place. You'll know if anything comes around."

"Commander Skywalker reported in yet?"

"No. He's checking out a meteorite that hit near him."

He indicated the radar screen "With all the meteor activity in this system, it's going to be difficult to spot approaching ships."

Taking a deep breath, Han blurts out what is on his mind. "General, I've got to leave. I can't stay anymore."

Princess Leia, standing at a console nearby, is dressed in a short white combat jacket and pants. Her hair is braided across her head in a Nordic fashion. She overhears their conversation and seems somewhat distressed.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Well, there's a price on my head. If I don't pay off Jabba the Hut, I'm a dead man."

"A death mark's not an easy thing to live with. You're a good fighter, Solo. I hate to lose you."

"Thank you, General."

He turns to Leia as Rieekan moves away.

"Well, Your Highness, I guess this is it."

"That's right." Leia responded.

She is angry. Han sees she has no warmth to offer him. He shakes his head and adopts a sarcastic tone.

"Well, don't get all mushy on me. So long, Princess." He said cooly.

Han walks away into the quiet corridor adjoining the command center. Leia stews a moment, and then hurries after him to the ice corridor.

"Han!"

He stops in the corridor and turns to face Leia.

"Yes, Your Highnesses?"

"I thought you decided to stay."

"Well, the bounty hunter we ran into on Ord Mantell changed my mind."

"Han, we need you!"

"We?"

"Yes."

"Oh, what about you need?"

"I need? I don't know what you're talking about."

Han shakes his head, being fed up "You probably don't."

"And what precisely am I supposed to know?"

"Come on! You want me to stay because of the way you feel about me."

"Yes. You're a great help to us. You're a natural leader..."

"No! That's not it. Come on. Aahhh - uh huh! Come on."

Leia stares at him, understanding, then laughs.

"You're imagining things."

"Am I? Then why are you following me? Afraid I was going to leave without giving you a goodbye kiss?"

"I'd just as soon kiss a Wookiee."

"I can arrange that. You could use a good kiss!"

Angrily, Han strides down the corridor as Leia stares after him.

X LINE BREAK X

It`s been a long time since I said goodbye to Luke, maybe seven hours ago? No eight. Wait, it was only six, that`s it. Still, I`m getting a bit worried. I know he`ll be fine though, he`s a fighter, I would know that.

I`ve been helping Chewie fix the ship, I think I`m getting pretty good at it. Well, except when I burnt my hands, but that only happened once, twice, twenty times. And I might have earlier put a gear in the wrong part of the ship that might have taken an hour or two to put it in the right place. But if you ignore that, I think I might be a future mechanic. I`m just glad Han came back before I had to entirely rely on Chewie to help me.

I turned when I heard a pair of footsteps and a figure sliding across the snow and saw 3PO and R2 making their way towards the Falcon as the three of were struggling with continuously fixing the central lifter.

"Why do you take this apart now? I'm trying to get us out of here and you pull both of these." Han told Cheiwe.

Chewie responded with a grumble.

"Excuse me, sir." 3PO cut in.

"Cerise, help Chewie put them back together right now, will ya?"

I rolled my eyes and nodded and went to help Chewie while still listening in on Han and 3PO.

"Might I have a word with you, please?"

"What do you want?"

"Well, it's Princess Leia, sir. She's been trying to get you on the communicator."

"I turned it off, I don`t want to talk to her,"

"Oh. Well, Princess Leia is wondering about Master Luke. He hasn't come back yet. She doesn't know where he is."

I raised my head and stopped working and listened closer.

"I don`t know where he is,"

"Nobody knows where he is,"

I had enough "What do you mean, nobody knows?" I asked.

Han and I both glance at the fading light at the entrance of the ice cave as night slowly begins to fall on the planet.

"Well, uh, you see Mistress Cerise-," 3PO stuttered.

Han and I jumped off the lift as 3PO followed us.

"Deck Officer! Deck Officer!" I shouted to him a few feet in front of me.

"Excuse me miss, might I inqu-," Han put a hand on 3PO`s mouth so I could talk.

"Yes ma'am?" The Deck Officer questioned.

"Do you know where Commander Skywalker is?"

"I haven't seen him. It's possible he came in through the south entrance."

"It's possible? Why don't you go find out? It's getting dark out there." Han cut in.

"Yes sir," The Officer responded, before rushing off hurriedly.

Han took his hand off 3PO`s mouth. "Excuse me, might I inquire what's going on?"

"Why not?" Han said.

"Impossible man. Come along, Artoo, let's find Princess Leia. Between ourselves, I think Master Luke is in considerable danger."

I was now becoming fretted, what if he doesn't come back? No, don`t think those thoughts, Cerise, pull yourself together; he just got lost, yeah that`s it!

Han could sense my fear, and stuck his hand out to tug on my long braid. He would do that to tease me if I was ever scared, or angry, or sad. I would constantly push it away and tell him the same thing, like I`m about to do.

I pushed it away "Stop, only Luke can do that. If you like doing it, how about you go do it to Leia."

He smirked at me and was about to contradict me, but couldn't because the officer rushed towards the both of us.

"Sir, Commander Skywalker hasn't come in through the south entrance. He might have forgotten to check in."

"Not likely, are the speeders ready?" Han asked.

"Not yet. We're having some trouble adapting them to the cold."

"Then we'll have to go out on Tauntauns."

"Sir, the temperature's dropping too rapidly."

"That`s right, and my friend`s out in it,"

"I'll cover sector twelve. Have com-control set screen alpha." An assistant said.

Han pushes through the troops and mounts a Tauntaun.

"I`m coming with you," I confidently said.

"No, you aren't," He said sternly.

"He`s out there, Han! I love him,"

"Yeah and he loves you, and I`m pretty sure he wouldn't want you to lose all your fingers."

"But-,"

"Your Tauntaun'll freeze before you reach the first marker." The officer interrupted.

"Then I'll see you in hell!" Han shouted to him as he maneuvers his mount out of the cave and races into the dark bitter night.