AN: For this chapter, pretend that Leia and Han have both forgotten about their brief exchange in the carbon-freezing room...at least for now, due to other circumstances... (They didn't really forget; they just have other things on their minds at the moment... Not to mention, he never really said that he loved her. All he said was "I know...")
Chapter 13
Leia sat up suddenly, wide-eyed and breathing fast. Her brother was in trouble again; she just knew it. Standing up, she decided that someone would have to go after him, but they would not know where to go if she sent them. She was unsure where to go herself. She was beginning to get an idea, though.
.-break-.
Han opened one eye and looked around. With his shady past, he had gotten used to being able to wake up, even before he was fully awake, and assess whatever situation had woken him up. In this case, he had woken up because he had heard someone else moving around; as quietly as the person had tried to be, he or she had woken him up by their very movements. Lying as still as he could manage, he finally decided who it was that he could see moving about in the dark, based on the figure of the person. Concerned, but trying to hide it, he casually got up and approached her, wondering why she seemed unable to sleep, especially after such a long day.
She seemed to sense his approach and calmly turned towards him, even before he had a chance to say anything. "Luke is in trouble. I just know he is," she said quietly, so as not to disturb anyone else.
"Do you know where he is?"
"He seemed to be in some distress and I think he was close to letting me know when suddenly he seemed unable to continue. I fear for the worst. I need to go to him, but I cannot just leave, not now when everyone is looking to me for answers and guidance. I am torn between duty to the people and my desire to see my brother safe."
"So the question remains, where is that rascal? I bet he thinks that he is invincible and has therefore gotten himself into trouble and does not know what to do about it," declared Han Solo.
"Surely you do not think that my brother has no idea what he is doing! Admittedly, he did not know where exactly he was going or what the person's name was, but he has proved himself capable of taking care of himself, has he not? He is one of the most capable people that I know right now…" 'And you are right up there near him on the list,' she added silently. 'Both of you seem to attract trouble, but are capable of dealing with it sufficiently enough, as your very presence is proof of it.' For some odd reason, she had recently found herself somewhat attracted to this 'scruffy' man, but she knew that she could never admit it; especially after all of the times they had argued and yelled at each other that they would never be attracted to one another. Even then, she had secretly felt herself attracted to him. For some reason, she had found herself enjoying the challenge of making him upset with her. He had threatened, more times than she could count, to leave and go back to his old life, yet had always shown up right when he was needed, protesting the very thought that he had returned on her behalf. He had always claimed that it was simply because he knew no one else could pull off what needed to be done, and ended up saving Luke's life, many times over, as a result. Somehow, she had ended up with the idea that he had done so just to get on her good side and to upset her at the same time… Mentally shaking herself away from these thoughts, she focused once again on the thought of her brother, Luke, who had found himself in danger, yet again.
"We need to find him, right away, Han," she said now, almost pleading with him to give in to her request. Her brother was the only family she had left. If she lost him, too…
Warily, Luke opened his eyes. Wherever he was, it was dark. He could barely see his hand in front of his face. He knew his hands and feet had been tied, but whoever had done it had tied his hands in front of him. 'They are going to regret their mistake,' he thought. Suddenly he remembered what had happened and tried to quiet his breathing, listening for any sign of the creature he had risked his life to save. If the person had survived, maybe he could still find out what this was all about. 'Maybe whoever I rescued will know the name of the person I seek,' he thought hopefully. Well, he thought he could hear labored breathing, but it might as well have been his own. He tried to reach out through what remained as his only hope. 'Leia. Leia, I have really done it this time. I do not know where I am anymore. The last thing I remember is a village burning on the seventh moon of a purplish planet, last of three. Help me!' he pleaded, almost whispering in his desperation to let his sister know what had happened before he lost consciousness again.
What he did not realize is that, although his sister had heard his desperate message, it would not help her to find him, since he was no longer on the surface of said moon, even if she could find the correct system…