I actually enjoyed the trip out to the Pit. We, Han and Chewy and I, rode in an open sand skiff with Lando and three other guards. And there was a second skiff escorting Jabba's sail barge, a lumbering red sailed thing.

We skimmed over the slow moving, wind blown waves of the Dune Sea with the hot dry air of Tatooine rushing over us and the light of the double suns reflecting blindingly off the golden sand. It was beautiful in its harsh, sun scoured way. I'd learned to appreciate Tatooine during the two weeks I'd been living in Ben's hut. Maybe I was somehow tuning in to the presence he'd left behind and seeing my homeworld through his eyes.

I'd hated the place as a kid and lived to get off it but I didn't feel that way now. Actually Tatooine wasn't half bad compared to say Dagobah or Had Abbadon or Kessel. And it was my home. If I survived I'd be coming back here. Chani wouldn't mind. It was her home too.

"I think my eyes are getting better." Han announced suddenly, before I had time to ask myself just when Chani'd begun to figure in my future. "Instead of a big dark blur, I see a big light blur."

I almost laughed. "There's nothing to see. I used to live here, you know."

"Your'e gonna die here, you know. Convenient."

No, not here. "Just stay close to Chewy and Lando." I told him, "I've taken care of everything."

"Oh....great." Han wasn't buying it and I couldn't blame him. I knew he was remembering the feckless kid without sense enough to come in out of the snow. I'd changed but he couldn't know that - yet.

The Pit of Carkoon was something else I'd heard about but never seen. A whirlpool of sand with a gaping, tooth lined maw and predatory beak at the bottom. I grimaced, this was no innocent, misused animal. There was sentience there of a sort, and malice. A guard unfastened my bonds and shoved me onto a sort of plank extending over the Pit.

Threepio's voice floated to us from the barge. "Victims of the almighty Sarlacc: His Excellency hopes that you will die honorably."

Sure he did.

"But should any of you wish to beg for mercy the Great Jabba the Hutt will now listen to your pleas."

I just bet he would - the sadistic slug!

Han agreed. "Threepio! You tell that slimy piece of worm ridden filth he'll get no such pleasure from us! Right?"

There was a distinct pause before Chewy growled "Right!".

I saw Artoo emerge onto the barge's deck and roll to the rail. Now everything was in place. "Jabba! this is your last chance. Free us or die." Not a threat, a simple statement of fact. Of course he didn't take me seriously, the barge fairly rocked with laughter. Well I'd tried.

"Move him into position!"

The guard nudged me with his vibro-axe. I walked out to the end to the plank and looked down. Nasty. Then back over my shoulder to give Lando the nod. He returned it, completely confident I knew what I was doing and ready to back me to the hilt. Han on the other hand looked desperate, casting around for a way out. But Chewy was right next to him, he'd keep him from doing anything crazy - I hoped. I looked up at the barge and smiled reassuringly at Leia, tense and anxious beside Jabba. And then I threw my faithful little droid a salute. I saw his head dome open.

"Put him in!" Jabba ordered.

I saved them the trouble and jumped, twisting in mid-air to catch the end of the plank as I fell past. It rebounded catapulting me upward, over the heads of the guards to land on the deck. I put out a hand and my lightsabre fell right into it. Igniting it I cleared the skiff with a few swipes of the blade - I got no style but I'm effective.

Han was demanding to know what was going on and Chewy growling reassurances. Lando was wrestling with the helmsman but seemed to have matters in hand so I took a second to cut Han and Chewy's bonds. Then a blast from the sail barge rocked us, sending Lando and his opponent over the side. I saw the guard roll into the Sarlacc's maw but Lando managed to grab a dangling rope. I moved to help him and Boba Fett landed directly in front of me laser rifle aimed. I cut it in half. Talk about your slow learners! you'd think after Had Abbadon he'd know better than to pull a gun on a Jedi.

The skiff shied under a second volley. Chewy knocked Han flat with a roar of alarm or maybe pain. "Chewy you hit?" Han demanded frantically, "Where is it?" I spared them a quick glance. Chewy was okay, hanging on to Han trying to shield him from the incoming fire.

Then a cable wrapped itself around me, another bounty hunter gadget. I gave Fett a scornful look. Was this the best he could do? a flick of my sabre and I was free. Then a well timed if ill-aimed blast from the barge knocked Fett on his face and right out of the fight.

Lando's voice came from over the side, close to panic. "Han! Chewy!"

And another round of fire, this time from the second skiff, detonated around me. I decided I'd better take care of that and made a Force jump into its bow landing right in front of the astonished guards. They had good reaction time, I'll give them that. I deflected their volley with my sabre and waded into them. Jabba didn't keep a very high class of mercenary. In minutes I had the second skiff to myself. I turned in time to see the first skiff heel over under fire from the barge. My heart stopped as Han nearly went overboard, then started again as Chewy caught him just in time. I had to do something about that gun.

Another leap took me to the side of the barge. A guard popped out of a hatch and I grabbed his gun arm pulling him all the way out. He tumbled down the slope into the Sarlacc's gullet. I was going to give the creature a bad case of indigestion if I kept this up. A finger breaking scrabble up the hull then over the rail and onto the deck. I ignited my sabre and took out both gun and gunner then turned to face the guards converging on me, deflecting their fire. I was getting better at placing my returns - but not much. I struck down anybody that got within blade length and they soon learned to keep their distance. Suddenly Leia emerged from below followed by Threepio and Artoo. She started to go for a fallen hand laser.

"Get the gun!" I shouted, meaning the deck cannon. "Point it at the deck!" She obeyed instantly while I did my best to cover her. "Point it at the deck!" A laser bolt caught me on the hand, the prosthetic one luckily. Not that synthetic nerve endings don't hurt just as much as the real thing for a second or two before the safeties cut in. I recovered and downed a guard who'd gotten to close. The others backed off. I saw Threepio and Artoo tumble over the side.

Right, time to go. I jumped up on the afterdeck gun mount, grabbed a convenient bit of rigging and held an arm out to Leia. "Come on." She wrapped her arms around my neck amd I kicked the trigger with my free foot sending a full volley straight into the deck as I launched us towards the skiff.

The others were safe aboard with Lando at the helm. "Let's go!" I ordered. "And don't forget the droids."

He grinned. "We're on our way!"

Behind us the barge disintegrated in a chain reaction of explosions. A final blast sending a rain of fiery debris after us as we skimmed away. Then Leia threw herself at Han - and Lando, Chewy and I hastily found ourselves things to do: Steer the skiff; clear the deck of debris; brush sand off of the droids. Every one of us wearing a big silly grin.

Eventually the muffled endearments became a little more coherent. When Han demanded to know what Leia was wearing I knew it was safe to turn around. "Practically nothing." she replied grinning up at him.

He grinned too, lasciviously, hands running over her bare back and shoulders. "Wish I could see that."

"I'm glad I can." Lando piped up from the stern. She did look good. I thought how much the troops would appreciate a picture in this outfit and grinned to myself.

"Watch it 'old friend'." Han warned. He didn't sound serious but still..

"Lando's been a great help to us. Without his recon work we wouldn't have had a chance of getting you out." I thought Han should know just how much Lando had done for us - and him.

"I know." he answered, glancing over his shoulder. "Chewy explained things." he turned back to his old friend. "So what happened? Vader just march in and make you an offer you couldn't refuse?"

"Something like that." the former Baron shrugged, "He said he needed you and the others as bait for Luke. Once he had what he wanted he'd go. You were supposed to stay on Cloud City with me."

"You believed that?" Han asked incredulously.

Another helpless shrug. "Like I had a choice? I had my people to think of - and Vader has a reputation for keeping his bargains."

Leia frowned. "That's right, he's never broken his word before."

"Aw come on!" Han protested.

"No it's true! I know how he operates, Han, I've been fighting him for years."

"He's always kept his word?" the question came out a bit more forcefully than I'd intended.

She turned to me, "Yes, always. Frankly I couldn't believe my ears when I heard him tell Lando he was altering the bargain. It just wasn't like him."

Wasn't like him? So Vader had a sense of honor did he...oddly I believed it. It fit with what I had sensed during our contact. He wasn't all dark, there were still a few sparks of light. "He must want me very badly." I said, mostly to myself. Like a father wants his son?

A distinct Force touch brushed my mind questingly. Automatically I shut it out, like it was one of Yoda's exercises, then looked up and saw Han's blind eyes fixed on me with a little frown. I stared at him in disbelief, he'd just tried to Force probe me!

"Maybe because you're a Jedi?" Leia was still worrying about Vader. "Maybe." I answered absently, my attention on Han.

"Look, kid," he said sharply, "you can't go around calling yourself a Jedi Knight." "I did kind of overstate." I admitted, ruefully. "Actually I'm only a Padawan." But that wouldn't have impressed Jabba.

Han's face went still with a kind of shock. "What did you say?" "A Padawan," I repeated, watching him intently. "it's the Jedi term for an apprentice or student."

"Whose student?" he exploded, "the old man's dead, Luke, and one sabre lesson doesn't make you a Jedi or a Padawan or anything!"

"I found another Teacher." I couldn't help smiling, remembering my first encounter with Yoda. "And a Padawan Master found me."

"The Jedi were all destroyed by the Empire." Han argued. "Whoever these guys are they can't be the real thing!"

"Trust me, Han," from Lando, "they are. I've seen Jinn fight, he's a Jedi all right."

"Jinn?" A flash of bewildered, near recognition passed over Han's baffled face.

"That's his name, Dai-Men Jinn." I explained. There was something there all right, long buried, almost forgotten. But what connection could there be between Han and my Master?

"Dai-Men Jinn." he repeated softly. I sensed confusion, conflict.

"Han?" Leia snuggled into his side, trying to get his attention. She succeeded. He looked down at her, preoccupied frown clearing a little. "I feel like I've heard that name before somewhere."

"Not likely." I said. "He told me he hasn't gone by his real name in years." Master wouldn't tell a direct lie - but it was possible Han had known him under an alias. Could he have picked Master's image out of my mind and recognized it?

"Yeah, well, maybe that carbonite's still playing tricks with my head." he said uncomfortably.

He obviously wanted to drop the subject and I decided not to press him. He was still recovering, it wouldn't be fair or kind. Besides Leia'd kill me. "Master said hibernation was very disorienting." I soothed. "The confusion, like your blindness, will pass."

"Soon, I hope." Han muttered. He wrapped his arms around Leia and I felt his confusion vanish, put aside and sealed off as he focused determinedly on the moment "What about my ship, how's the Falcon?"

I barely heard the banter that followed. It took discipline to clear the mind like that, Jedi type discipline. Somewhere, sometime Han had gotten some rudimentary training. Master had never so much as hinted he knew Han - which meant precisely nothing where Dai-Men was concerned. Had we shared a teacher? But if Han was a trained Force user why did he pretend not to believe in It? I could understand him hiding it at first, but after all these years? Surely he knew he could trust us by now.

He must have used Force powers to find me on Hoth, and maybe to keep us both alive over that long freezing night. And there'd been other things too over the years.. those hunches of his and what he liked to call his Corellian Luck. Untrained myself I'd missed the signs... until now. But why this conflict, this resistance at any mention of the Jedi? There was something very strange here....I looked at my friend and wondered: Who are you, Han Solo?