Next chapter! Thanks so much to everyone who's still reading this. I guess you can tell I didn't make my end-of-summer deadline, but it will be finished eventually, I promise! And hey, I didn't say summer of THIS year, did I? ;)

Han rolled over in his bunk on the Millennium Falcon, one arm reaching out instinctively for the warmth that had been pressed up against him for most of the night. When his hand touched cold sheets, he raised his head and stared with bleary eyes at the empty spot where Arica had been when he fell asleep. He sat up with a yawn, scratching his chest as he glanced around the cabin. Had it been a dream, then?

Looking down at the pillow that was on the other side of the bunk, Han picked it up and brought it to his face, inhaling the faint scent of the cleanser she used on her hair. No, not a dream. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised that she had made her escape before he woke up. The woman had more secrets than Jabba the Hutt. Not to mention that last night, as much as Han enjoyed it, had been very out of character for what he'd gleaned of her personality over the last several weeks.

The other thing that troubled the Corellian was the fact that right before they had finally drifted off to sleep, Han could have sworn he heard her mutter 'Damn you, Skywalker'. At the time, he'd been a little too sleepy and a little too inebriated to call her on it, but he remembered thinking that he was definitely going to raise the issue when they both woke up.

If there was one adjective that could be applied to most Corellian males, it was confidence - cockiness, as some would put it - and it was an attribute that Han Solo was certainly not lacking in. But even he was a bit taken aback at the woman he'd just made passionate love to mentioning another man's name in his bed. At least she didn't cry it out in the middle of everything, he thought to himself wryly.

It galled him that this connection between Luke and Arica was so powerful that she could be thinking of the kid after the experience she'd shared with Han. He knew that Luke was in love with Mara. Hell, everyone knew that the kid was in love with Mara. Was it possible that Luke was only physically attracted to Arica? Han was rather surprised at the surge of jealousy that thought incurred. What if Arica had already been with Luke and she was just using Han to make the kid jealous or something? He was pretty sure that hadn't happened, but even the mere possibility was enough to make Han ill.

He got up out of the bunk and headed towards the shower. Maybe it was time he talked with the kid about this. And this time, he wouldn't give up until he got some real answers.

An hour later, Han was making his way towards Luke's room in the medbay. He was still grumbling silently to himself over Chewie's teasing about bringing a woman to the Falcon. Apparently, he and Arica had been rather...noisy.

It was still early enough that not too many people were up and about yet. As Han walked past Arica's ship, the Windrider, he paused for a moment, wondering if that was where she had run to and whether he should just go and confront her now. No, better to talk to Luke first. The kid had started to keep some secrets of his own and Han wasn't sure what to think about that.

Certainly, Solo had never told his Alliance friends about all the things he himself had done that were on the shady side of legal, but Luke? The kid was the most honest and open person that Han had ever met in his life. Frankly, Han wondered sometimes how Luke had survived as long as he had with that innocence. For Luke to now be keeping secrets just seemed odd. Especially from me, he thought. He knew that Luke had looked up to him as a big brother figure since the moment they'd met and - if Han were completely honest - the hero worship had been very flattering.

Not that Luke had suddenly turned his back on Han or anything, but there was definitely something changed in the kid since Bespin. Something had happened between Luke and Vader, and it was more than just a lightsaber duel. Hell, that was hard enough for Han to fathom...the naïve farmboy he'd picked up in Mos Eisley crossing swords with Darth Vader? Unbelievable.

Grinning to himself, Han realized he felt like an older brother whose kid brother had suddenly gone and grown up while he wasn't looking. Blinking in surprise, he glanced up and found himself at Luke's room already. Glad that Chewie wasn't around to have seen him wandering completely lost in thought, Han reached up to hit the door release for the kid's room. A frown of confusion crossed his face when the door failed to open.

Locked? The kid's door is locked? Well, Han Solo could solve that problem fairly quickly. There wasn't a lock built that he couldn't break into if he put his mind to it. And he really wanted to talk to Luke about this thing between the kid and Arica. He popped the door release panel with the multitool he always carried in his pocket and stripped several wires. After only a few seconds, he had successfully bypassed the lock and the door slid open.

Barely a half-step into the room, he froze in shock. Luke was asleep, but not alone. The kid was facing the door and under his chin, Han could see a tangle of red-gold hair. Solo's surprised expression quickly gave way to a sly grin at the couple's boldness. Way to go, Kid! Hooking up in the medbay takes some guts, Han thought, not without some pride in his little brother. It didn't take a Force-user to figure out who his partner was. There wasn't another soul in the Alliance with that shade of red hair.

Somewhat abashed at having barged in on them, Han stepped back, preparing to turn around and leave the room. Before he could, Luke's eyes opened and he looked straight at Han. Solo flinched and mouthed 'sorry' at him. Luke just grinned and shook his head. The grin grew even wider when Han gave him a thumbs-up and a wink.

"I wanna talk to you later, when you're more presentable," Han whispered. Luke nodded right before Mara suddenly sighed and shifted on the bunk, her arms coming out from under the covers to wrap around his neck.

"Mmmm, Luke, that was-"

Han had a hard time holding back his laughter as Luke frantically clamped a hand over her mouth, halting her words as a blush crept over his face. Luke looked at Han with desperate eyes, begging him silently to get out before Mara awoke completely.

"Cafeteria, half an hour," he mouthed quietly to the Corellian as Mara began to protest sleepily at Luke's hand over her mouth.

Han quickly shut the door. He really didn't want to see that much of his friends' new relationship. Besides, he had half an hour to go find Wedge and collect some credits about a certain bet.

It was closer to an hour and a half before Luke caught up to Han in the Alliance cafeteria. The main breakfast rush was over, but a few people still lingered at the tables. Several of them stopped Luke as he made his way over to the table where Han and Wedge were sitting. Luke tried to smile graciously at most of them while gently brushing aside most of the more curious inquiries.

When he finally made it to the Corellians' table, they both smirked at him knowingly. Luke attempted not to blush, but was fairly certain that he failed miserably.

"What took you so long?" Han asked.

"Two-OneBee was giving me a hard time about getting discharged. I think they wanted me to stay there for a whole week, but I told them that three days was more than enough."

"And where is the lovely Ms. Jade?" Wedge asked with a grin.

Luke blushed again, silently cursing his fair complexion. "She, uh, went back to her own quarters to, ah, get dressed properly."

Wedge and Han burst into laughter as Solo reached over to slap Luke on the back.

"Way to go, Kid! I thought you two would never get it together. And I'm so glad that Mara came to you, because that means Wedge gave me lots of credits," Han said.

Wedge called Han an ugly name in Corellian, but Han ignored him. Luke looked at the two of them with exasperation.

"You two had better not let her hear that," he said.

"Oh, yeah, thanks a lot for letting her know about it, Kid! My ears are still blistered from that lecture. How'd you find out about it anyway?" Han asked.

"I'm not as naïve as everyone thinks I am, you know."

Han's face sobered and he looked at Luke intently, making the young Jedi a little nervous.

"Yeah, I'm aware of that now. It's the reason I wanted to talk to you this morning. If things are goin' so good with Mara, what's the deal with you and Arica?"

"There is no 'deal' with me and Arica."

"Don't try to feed me that bantha crap, Kid. I don't know what it is, but there's somethin' goin' on every time the two of you are in the same room and I wanna know what it is," Han said and his voice sounded harder than Luke had heard it in a long time.

"I can't tell you-"

"Dammit, Luke!" Han nearly exploded and even Wedge looked at him in surprise. "That's a load of-"

"I can't tell you, Han!" Luke shouted over Han, raising a hand as he interrupted him. "Because I don't know what the hell it is either!"

For a long moment, the two best friends glared at one another, Luke uncertain exactly what Han was angry about. He knew that the older Corellian was protective of Mara and didn't want to see her hurt, but Luke sensed something more in Han's objections. Luke gave a sigh and wearily rubbed his hand over his face.

"You all right?" Han asked gruffly, obviously remembering that Luke had just gotten out of the medbay.

"I'm fine. If I tell you this, it doesn't go any further than the three of us, understood?"

Luke looked both of them in the eyes intently and was gratified to see a newfound respect there. As the youngest of the three, he had been the 'kid' for a long time...and the truth was, he wasn't that person anymore. He never would be again, and while part of Luke was saddened by that fact, another piece of him was relieved that his friends recognized it.

Both Han and Wedge nodded silently, waiting for him to continue. Luke took another deep breath, mentally deciding how much to tell them.

"Arica is Force-sensitive."

"What?!" Wedge gasped. "How do you know that?"

Han didn't say anything, but his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"I know that because there's a bond of some kind between us. I don't know exactly what it is or how it came to be, but it's there."

Han was still silent, so Wedge spoke up. "But isn't this good news? You thought you were the only one, right? And now you're not."

Luke smiled, slightly embarrassed. "Well, I'm really not the only one now. Mara is Force-sensitive, too."

"I'm not even going to ask how you figured that one out," Wedge teased.

"And I suppose you have a bond with Mara now too, huh?" Han said, his voice still oddly cold and his face unsmiling.

Luke looked at him cautiously, still wondering why his friend was so upset with him. "Well, yes, but it's very different from the one with Arica. Mara and I love each other."

"And there was no fooling around," Han emphasized the words so that Luke could not mistake his meaning, "with Arica for you to figure out which of them it was that you loved?"

Luke gaped at Han in astonishment, so stunned that he couldn't speak for a moment. Was that honestly what Han thought of him? "NO!" he shouted. "I've been in love with Mara since the moment I laid eyes on her. You, of all people, should know that!"

Again, Han and Luke glared at one another, the tension at the small table palpable enough to make Wedge uncomfortable. Luke's gaze narrowed as his focus on Han became so intent that the former smuggler dropped his eyes. Wedge was surprised at that. In all the time they'd known one another, he had never seen Han back down from anyone, least of all Luke. Wedge turned his head to look at Luke and was startled at the fierce expression on his friend's face. This was definitely not the same kid who'd miraculously blown up a Death Star on his first mission.

"You're not concerned about Mara at all, are you? It's Arica you're worried about. Maybe I should be asking you what's going on with the two of you," Luke said softly.

Han's gaze snapped back up to Luke's face. "Yes, I am concerned about Mara. She's like a little sister to me and I'm not gonna see her hurt, even by someone I consider to be a little brother."

"You don't have to worry about Mara, Han. I love her with all my soul and I will protect her with all my strength until the day I die," Luke vowed quietly. "But you didn't answer my other question."

"I don't wanna answer it," Han said stubbornly.

Luke simply continued to pin Han with his steady gaze. Unbelievably, the smuggler seemed hardly able to keep himself from squirming under that stare.

"All right! I may or may not have some feelings for Arica," Han admitted very grudgingly. "Probably more like may not," he added with a touch of defiance.

"And have you acted on these feelings?" Luke asked. He felt a surge of protective instinct for Arica that completely baffled him. After all, she had practically ripped his mind apart and was possibly an enemy of the Alliance. Yet, somehow the idea that Han - who was notorious for his experience with the opposite sex - might have taken advantage of her caused Luke's thoughts to rebel in protest.

"Sith, what are you, her bodyguard or something? I thought you said you didn't care about her. What gives you the right to be interrogating me?" Han said with a belligerent tone. "Anyway, she came on to me!"

"So you did sleep with her!" Luke said angrily as he shot to his feet.

Han quickly followed suit as he shouted back, "What the hell does it matter to you! You slept with Mara!"

"Whoa! What is wrong with you two?" Wedge said as he scrambled up a half-second behind them. Placing a hand on each of their chests, he gave them both a not-too-gentle shove.

Luke barely felt it, all his attention centered on the man across the table from him. He didn't understand this indignation he felt on Arica's behalf, but it was there and he couldn't deny it. That it might cause a rift between himself and a man he had long admired was painful, but somehow not as important in the heat of the moment.

Before either of them could say another word, alarms began to blare throughout Home One. All three of them started and looked up as an official voice came over the PA system.

"All pilots to your fighters. Unauthorized departure from hangar 32B. All pilots to your fighters. Unauthorized departure from hangar 32B."

Luke's heart seemed to leap into his throat as he glanced sharply at Han. "That's Arica," he said. He had no idea how he knew that, unless it was the Force speaking to him, but he would have bet his life on it.

Han let out a curse, the argument between him and Luke momentarily forgotten.

"I'd better go," Wedge said. He spared one last look at his two best friends. "You two try not to kill each other, okay?"

Han and Luke had the grace to look a little embarrassed and they both nodded to Wedge as he left them to head for his X-Wing.

Exchanging a look that was at once filled with apologies, but also the promise that the discussion wasn't finished yet, Luke and Han took off at a dead run for the bridge of the ship.

Arica had crept quietly out of the Millennium Falcon sometime after Solo had fallen asleep. Now she was pacing anxiously around the hold of the Windrider, confused about what she should do. Never in her life had she lost control as she had done a few hours ago. Even disregarding the encounter with the smuggler, the Emperor's Hand had stalked half-dressed through a hangar intending to defy her Master's orders and kill a man she had been ordered to bring in alive.

This was all Skywalker's fault, she was certain of it. Evidently, he was more powerful than she had first imagined. It was as though all her training went flying out the window where that son of a sith was concerned. Son of a Sith. Son of Darth Vader, she bitterly reminded herself. Arica's mind still reeled at the knowledge she had pulled from Skywalker's mind. The Emperor no doubt planned to replace her with the young Jedi.

A gasp was startled from her as another thought formed in her mind. Suppose Skywalker wasn't a Jedi at all? What if he was already working for her Master? This was a test for the both of them...and she was the one who was failing! Her heart began beating so fast it felt as though it would pound right out of her chest.

Why, Master, why?! Did I not do everything you've ever asked of me? Was the son of Darth Vader so important that Palpatine would toss aside a loyal servant? A choking sob forced its way from her throat as she fell to her knees in the center of her ship. Angry tears coursed down her cheeks as Arica envisioned everything she had lived and worked for being stripped away from her.

Feeling an ever-increasing sense of hopelessness, Arica called to her Master through the Force. Some part of her was compelled to try, even though she knew it would be fruitless. When there was no response, she screamed in frustration, unable to keep the desperation she was beginning to experience at bay. Arica feared she might be losing her mind.

Was Skywalker even now on his way here to eliminate her? If so, he would face the fight of his life, she swore it! His naïve, farmboy manner may have been an act that she had fallen for once, but he would not catch her unawares again. She was Leia Duvessa, Emperor's Hand, skilled assassin, and stealth operative. If he came, she would kill him first. However, she would no doubt forfeit her own life, as these pitiful rebels were obviously ignorant of Skywalker's true loyalties.

Although...Leia froze as a traitorous thought flitted across her mind. If Emperor Palpatine was not going to honor her allegiance, did she truly owe it to him any longer? What had previously been unthinkable took root in the tempest of her thoughts and began to grow rapidly. Leia's breathing quickened as she began to imagine a life away from the Emperor and his whims and demands. Her Master had abandoned her...why should she not abandon him in return?

"I'm Leia. Not Arica Alie. Leia Duvessa. And I don't owe you anything, Palpatine!" she whispered fiercely.

As for Skywalker, well...why should she care one way or the other what that spawn of the Dark Lord did? Let him go and join his father and Palpatine. Let the little boys play their warped games with the galaxy. Leia would be a part of it no longer.

Scrambling to her feet, Leia stumbled towards the cockpit of her ship. Taking her place in the pilot's chair, she began the warm-up procedures, a look of grim resolve settling over her face. The rebels would attempt to stop her, but they would not succeed.

Several minutes later, a voice crackled over the comm.

"Windrider, you are not authorized for departure. Please power down your engines and exit the ship."

Leia ignored them, continuing her start-up of the ship. The silence lasted another several tense moments.

"Windrider, this is flight control! You will power down your engines now and exit the ship!"

A smirk crossed Leia's face. It hadn't taken them very long to get irritated, but their anger paled in comparison with her own. She would not be stopped. Alarms began to blare throughout the hangar bay, but Leia was so focused, she barely heard them. Slowly, the Windrider lifted off the floor and began to turn towards the hangar bay doors and open space.

She knew she wouldn't be out of danger even once she made it out of the hangar, as the rebels would undoubtedly scramble their fighter pilots to chase her. Well, let them try. Leia had scored better on her flight sims during her Imperial training than any of her contemporaries had. She could certainly take any of these revolutionaries. Haughtily deciding that she could be merciful, Leia resolved that she wouldn't even engage any of them if she didn't have to. All she wanted was to escape this place and these people.

The doors began to rumble slowly closed and Leia clenched her jaw in determination, unconsciously leaning forward slightly in her seat. In her peripheral vision, she could see rebel soldiers darting around in the hangar bay, some of them pilots heading towards their ships. Vaguely, she wondered if one of them was Skywalker. Blast! Even now, I can't get the son of a sith out of my mind!

Pushing the Windrider to its maximum capabilities, Leia shot through the hangar bay doors with only meters to spare. Swiftly, she began plugging data into her navcomputer for a hasty jump to lightspeed, keeping one eye out for pursuing X-Wings as she did so. When his voice slammed into her skull, it caused her to freeze in shock for a long moment.