"What did you say, Skywalker?"

"You heard me, Lando. I want to borrow the Lady Luck."

"You want me to lend you my ship."

"Yes. Mara and I—"

"Mara?" Lando looked at him incredulously. "What are you and Mara doing together?"

"Running away from my sister," Luke answered. He knew that Lando, despite having ended his fling with Mara years ago, and marrying Tendra Risant, still felt somewhat protective of his former lover.

"From Leia?"

"Yes."

"You'd better explain. I want to know what you might get the Lady Luck and Mara into. And why did you come to me, and not Han, or Wedge?"

Luke tensed. After several seconds of thinking, he decided to tell Lando. "I asked Mara to marry me."

Lando dropped his glass, which shattered. "When did this happen?"

"On Nirauan. We both thought we were going to die… and we didn't want it to happen without

admitting our feelings. I'll tell you the whole story someday."

"Since you're planning on traveling together, I presume her answer was yes."

"It was. And in a perfect galaxy, we would be planning our wedding right now."

"You said you were running away from your sister."

"Leia…" Luke put his head down. "Leia doesn't approve me marrying the former Emperor's Hand. That's putting it mildly."

"She placed high hopes on the peace treaty…" Lando mused. "All right, I don't understand your sister—never have. Why did you come to me?"

"Who else? I need a ship I know is reliable, and quick, so buying one is out."

"Like I said, I'm sure Han, or Wedge would be willing to help."

"Even if Han did lend me the Falcon, Leia would know. That's what I'm trying to avoid. And Wedge is still in the military, which means Leia can give him orders."

Lando took that in. "All right, Luke. I guess I can use my wife's ship for a while. But you owe me one." He pulled out a datacard out of his pocket. "Here are the access codes to the Lady Luck. Hangar 11, berth 79. Good luck, Luke. I hope your sister changes her mind."

"So do I. Thanks, Lando."

"Hey, what're friends for?" He took a deep breath. "Take care of her, Luke."

"I will." Luke didn't know if Lando meant his ship, or Mara. He would keep the promise for both.

XXX

When Han Solo entered his apartment, he found his wife standing by the window. "Luke…" she whispered.

"No, it's just me, honey. What's wrong?"

"Han…"

"What is it?"

"Luke and I had a fight."

"About what?"

"I can't tell you."

Han took her in his arms. "It's okay."

"No it's not. Luke's in danger, I can feel it. But after our disagreement, he's blocking our bond. I can't feel anything except that he's still alive. And he's left the planet."

"Luke can take care of himself, Princess."

Leia cringed. "Don't call me that… for now… please."

"All right. Tell me, what's wrong?"

"I don't know. Luke… just wasn't himself when we fought"

"Not himself? Prin—Leia, I don't understand."

"I don't either. How could he?"

"Could what?"

"Han, please. I… just can't tell you."

"Look at me, Leia," Han said. "You know I never understood anything about the Force. But I can tell you're distressed. What do you want me to do, dear?"

"Find him. Bring him back. Rescue him from…"

"From what? Or should I say, from whom?"

Leia shuddered. Before he told her, he made her promise to keep the secret until he announced it. If she broke her promise now, Luke might never return. "From himself. From himself, and his own foolishness. Do it, Han. Do it for me."

"Leia…" he kissed her, and turned to go.

"Han," Leia called after him.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"When I asked you to go look for Luke, I didn't mean right this minute." She gave a tiny smile, one that only Han would notice, before returning to the sad expression she held before. "Stay with me. I don't think I can bear tonight alone."

"Anything you say, Pri—darling." He lovingly embraced his wife. Whatever Luke did, he would get to the bottom of this. He dreaded the possibility that he would have to choose between being Leia's husband and being Luke's friend. He intended to avoid having to make that choice.