Three days later, Han Solo and Chewbacca stepped out of a dimmed club, the only club that could be called such in Mos Eisley. Han kept a ready hand on his blaster. If he knew Jabba, Jabba had already received news of his smugglers failure. And Jabba would probably be sending more of his minions to 'talk' to Han about paying for the lost spice.
He shielded his eyes, scanning the area. Chewie roared something out of the corners of his mouth. "No, I'm not contacting Lando. I'm sure he hasn't forgotten about…you know. We'll be out of this backwards planet before you can say 'bounty hunter'."
Chewie snarled again.
"Learn the art of sarcasm, Chewie. You didn't really have to say it."
He sighed. Jabba wasn't going to take this lightly. And now, with the cost of repairs to the Falcon climbing, Han wasn't even sure if he could pay to repair his ship, much less the thousands for the spice.
The Corellian became so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice a petite girl wearing a brown hood and carrying a small basket of vegetables that was right in front of him. He ploughed right into her, knocking the vegetables out of her basket.
"Sorry." Han mumbled. The hooded girl turned, and Han felt his breath catch.
It was a young woman, and she was beautiful. She wore the clothes of a farmer that lived on the outskirts of town, but to Han, she looked regal. Han didn't know much of elegance, but the sight of her was enough to tell him he'd been missing out on living in the upper class. Her hair was dark and curly, and she'd pinned most of it back, with a few soft tendrils falling down, framing her face. Her skin was pale and soft, and her eyes, a deep brown. Han instantly slipped into his 'hey baby' attitude. "Here, let me help you with that."
Leia looked up at him. He was handsome, with dark hair that had been tousled in the wind, and lively brown eyes. Leia, at seventeen, had never been on dates, having never seen any men other than the officers and storm troopers in the Death Star. She averted his eyes from his, and knelt down to pick up the vegetables, the man kneeling down with her. Owen had sent her to Mos Eisley to sell what little they'd gotten from the farm, and if she didn't bring anything home, he'd be furious. "No, thank you. I can do it." She said.
"Alright. Fine, Your Worship."
Leia paused. She looked at him. "Why did you call me that?"
He shrugged. "It just looks like to me that someone as beautiful as you shouldn't be slaving out here in this dump, but be in a palace."
Leia dimly realized that he'd stopped collecting the vegetables, but was now massaging her hand. She looked down. "Stop that."
"Stop what?"
"That."
"Oh." Han grinned. "What are you afraid of?"
"I'm not afraid."
Their faces were so close now; Leia could feel the heat from his face. She felt herself growing dizzy, before she forced herself to come back to reality. Leia, what are you doing? You don't even know his name! He could be working for the Empire!
She rocked back away from him. "I…I can't." She muttered. She looked up at him. "I can't."
"Can't do what?" Han asked.
"I…I'm sorry. I need to leave. Now." She picked up her basket and turned to leave. Han stood up. "Wait! I don't even know your name! What if I want to see you again?"
Leia paused. She turned around. "My name's Leia. I live on the Lars ranch."
"Leia. Nice name. I'm Han."
And then she was gone. Han stared at the spot where she'd stood. There was no denying that Han was good looking, he'd had women before. But there was something about this Leia that he'd never seen before. He shook his head in disbelief. Chewie laughed at him. "Shut up, fuzzball." He muttered.
"Going somewhere, Solo?" A new voice hissed.
Han whirled around to see a blaster pointed at his face. Damn! I let my guard down! "What is it, Boba?" He sneered.
Boba Fett, in his days of glory had been a bounty hunter. But Jabba had discovered some dirt on him, nobody really knew what, and so now he worked exclusively for the master gangster. "What's this I hear about you almost being incinerated by an Imperial Star Destroyer?" Fett asked.
The Corellian shrugged. "I don't know. Tell me what you've heard."
Fett rolled his eyes. "Fine. But know that I don't have a lot of time on my hands. It seems to me that the great Han Solo has finally met his match, and his shipment didn't go through. And this buyer was really anxious to get the spice, and now he won't pay. Jabba wants that money, so how are you going to pay?"
Han rolled his eyes. Enough was enough. "I didn't have any intention of paying that slug back. If he wants to talk to me, he can come see me himself."
He made a little gesture with his hand, and Chewbacca gave a mighty Wookiee roar and swung a paw at Boba's head. Fett dropped unconscious to the ground. "Tell your master that I'm through with smuggling for him, and if he wants to deal with me, he'll have to come himself. Let's go, Chewie."
As Han turned and left, he thought, that was definitely not one of my best ideas.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Vader sat in a private conference room with his son, and a hologram of Palpatine. Mostly, the talk was between Vader and the Emperor, with Luke interjecting every few minutes. His son sat with a firm grip on his lightsaber, a fact that didn't go unnoticed by Palpatine. Luke's hatred for the Emperor was well-known, and it had only deepened with the banishment of Leia. "The fact remains that you have not discovered the location of the rebel base, and we are running out of time." Palpatine rasped. "They are becoming more powerful than either of you care to realize, and can destroy us."
Luke had been sitting there in silence for a long time now, but now he slammed his hand on the table. "Then why don't you do something about it!" He shouted. "All you do is sit around day after day while my father and I do all the work. If you're so worried about the rebels, you discover their base; we've done all we can!"
"Silence!" Palpatine snapped. The hologram rose to its full height, and even though it was only a picture, his anger flooded the room, making Vader start. Palpatine turned to Vader. "In what way have you raised your son? He is a disgrace to the Sith and unworthy to be your apprentice!"
"Shut up!" Luke yelled. "I'm tired of taking this shit from you!"
"Be quiet!" Vader rumbled, striking his son. Luke fell to the ground, clutching his cheek. In his whole life, his father had never hit him. It was this more than anything that made Luke get up, and throw down his lightsaber. "I can't do this anymore. Maybe Leia was right. I'd rather die that take anything from you anymore." He turned to his father. "I'm sorry I've failed you."
And with that, Luke Skywalker, the terrible Sith, turned and left his father and the Emperor, both standing completely astonished at what had just happened.
