That evening, Jabba's throne room played host to a rather large party. The Max Rebo Band and the famous Pa'lowick dancer Sy Snootles performed several of their crowd pleasers including Jabba's favorite, Lapti Nek. Jabba had chosen one of his favorite slaves to be the lead dancer that night; a Twi'lek named Oola.
Oola danced to the music, her fluid movements demonstrating her dedication to the art. Despite the iron collar and chain that kept her in bondage, her dancing let her feel free. Jabba watched Oola and her fellow scantily dressed dancers with lecherous eyes as he bobbed to the upbeat music.
Boba Fett stood by in a corner as the party raged. He frankly hated being at these parties, but anyone who was in the employ of Jabba was expected to attend. So long as the Hutt kept paying him as well as he did, Fett would continue to tolerate them.
Sy Snootles launched into an improvised singing solo as the song began to crescendo. Bib Fortuna's pink eyes widened in embarrassment at the raunchiness of the lyrics.
Jabba on the other hand ran his slimy tongue around the edge of his mouth with excitement. He yanked on Oola's chain to drag her closer to him. Oola resisted, not wanting to get any closer to her revolting slave master.
At first, Oola's resistance only spurred Jabba on and he alternately gave slack and reeled her in as though fishing. Oola began to scream and cry as she was drawn in by the stronger Hutt. When she was mere paces away from the throne, she hurled a personal insult at Jabba.
The Hutt's eyes flew open in rage and he slammed a leathery fist into one of the runes on the arm of his throne. A trapdoor opened beneath Oola's feet. As she fell down the chute into the rough hewn grotto below, her piercing scream interrupted the music and revelry. Several intoxicated partygoers cheered, knowing what was coming.
Jabba's throne slid forward to provide him the best view of Oola's fate. Oola herself stood and shook with terror. Through the metal floor grate above, she could see the excited faces of Jabba's guests as they gathered to spectate.
A muffled roar came from behind the iron door at the far side of the grotto. Oola sobbed and begged as she clawed at the stone walls. A metallic screech filled the grotto and Oola glanced towards the iron door with horror.
Threepio may not have been watching what was happening to poor Oola, but her bloodcurdling screams and the roaring of some great beast told most of the story. The sounds of crunching bone and ripping flesh told the rest.
As Jabba watched the terrible sight unfold, he fished a bristle frog out of the glass cauldron next to him and shoved the wriggling amphibian in his slavering maw. A pop and a trickle of yellow from the corner of the Hutt's mouth preceded a contented grunt from the vile gangster. He groped for another frog.
A gunshot from outside the throne room door silenced the raucous spectators. Boba Fett and the other less sober bounty hunters snapped their attentions to the door with their guns at the ready. Gamorreans formed a semicircle at the bottom of the steps, gripping their axes tightly. Human and Weequay palace guards formed up behind them with their pikes held forward.
One rather drunken guest pushed through the line to fight whoever it was that dared to interrupt the party. The other partygoers watched him ascend the steps into the hallway them get thrown back into the throne room, striking the entryway's wind chime while midair.
Two shadowy figures, one tall, one short, descended the steps accompanied by the clinking of chains. As they entered the light of the throne room, it was obvious that the tall one was a Wookiee. Many eyes widened at the realization that it wasn't just any Wookiee, though; it was Chewbacca.
The shorter person, clad in boiled leather armor and a chitin helm led the exhausted Chewbacca by a spiked chain and shackle set. The guards let the two of them pass, but kept their eyes on them to ensure that they didn't make any threatening moves.
Boba instantly recognized the one holding the chain as the Ubese bounty hunter Boussh. Nobody else in the world had a chitin helmet like his. Something about Boussh seemed a little off, but Boba couldn't quite place it.
Boussh led Chewbacca in front of Jabba. "(I have come for the bounty on this Wookiee.)" He spoke in Ubese with his voice distorted by the enchantment on his helmet.
Jabba called over Threepio for translation and negotiation. "Yes, I am here, your Worshipfulness." The automaton was greatly distressed to see who exactly it was that the bounty hunter had captive. "Oh, no! Chewbacca!"
Chewbacca roared weakly.
Jabba laughed. "(At last we have the mighty Chewbacca. Automaton! Translate!)"
Threepio bowed. "The illustrious Jabba Desilijic Tiure bids you welcome and will gladly pay you the reward of 25,000 Imperial Thalers."
Boussh shook his head. "(I want 50,000. No less.)"
Threepio relayed this to Jabba who roared in outrage and knocked Threepio over. He then yelled at Boussh.
Boba moved to try to get a better view of the negotiations. As he passed by a fiery haired dancer, he flirtatiously brushed her chin. She smiled back at him with sincerity. He was one of the precious few who saw her and the other girls as people.
Threepio, now with a viscous green slime trail on his face and chest, tottered back to Jabba's side. "Forgive me, your Excellency. What did I say?"
Jabba did not answer, instead roaring at Boussh in High Huttese.
"The mighty Jabba demands to know why he must pay 50,000," Threepio translated.
Boussh spoke and pulled something out of a pouch.
Threepio threw his hands up. "Because he's holding a petard with his thumb over the fuze rune!"
Boba Fett snapped his carbine to Boussh. Jabba's monkey-lizard screamed and the partygoers fell over one another to get away. Chewbacca roared in alarm.
Jabba laughed, impressed by Boussh's boldness. "(This bounty hunter is my kind of scum, fearless and inventive.)"
Fett cautiously lowered his gun as Jabba spoke to Threepio. The automaton turned back to Boussh. "Jabba offers the sum of 35,000, and I do suggest you take it."
Boussh spoke and returned the petard to its pouch.
Threepio visibly relaxed. "He agrees!"
Boussh handed Chewbacca's chain to a pair of Gamorreans and stepped forward to seal the deal. The Max Rebo Band took this as a positive sign and started playing again. Bib Fortuna began speaking to Boussh with Threepio translating. The bounty hunter looked to Boba Fett for a moment and the Mandalorian gave a nod of respect. There was still something about him that struck the Mandalorian as off, though.
As Chewbacca was roughly dragged out of the throne room, he noticed a helmeted guard with familiar eyes watching him. The guard adjusted his mask, revealing to Chewbacca that he was Lando Calrissian. The disguised debonair winked to his friend.
Chewbacca roared in disgust as he was forced into the dungeons. He struggled against the Gamorreans but only succeeded in hitting his head against the low ceiling. The Gamorreans threw him in the first empty cell they found and grunted untranslatable insults at their new prisoner.
In the wee hours of the morning, long after the last guest had passed out, Boussh crept through the darkened hallways of the palace. He tread carefully down the steps to the throne room, though he didn't notice the wind chime in the shadows. The bounty hunter flinched as his helmet struck the bones and he hurriedly stifled the chime, hoping that nobody had heard it.
Boussh moved across the darkened throne room, stepping over and around unconscious revellers. He was not there for any of them. His prize lay at the far side of the room surrounded by severed heads.
The bounty hunter stopped and stared up at the Carbonite encased face of Han Solo for several seconds before approaching the slab. Boussh moved to the side of the slab and inspected the softly glowing runes on the frame. To his annoyance, the runes he sought were obscured by the wall that the slab had been set into.
Boussh crouched in front of the slab and put his fingers under the edge of the frame. He grunted and pulled, budging the Carbonite slightly. With another grunt, he repeated the action, almost pulling the slab free. One more pull freed the slab and Boussh barely yanked his fingers free before the bottom of the frame hit the floor with a heart stopping thud.
Boussh flattened himself against the wall as well as he could with the severed heads behind him. He looked around and was relieved to see that his actions appeared to have gone unnoticed. The bounty hunter approached the side of the frame and crouched next to it.
Boussh tapped several of the glowing runes and watched with satisfaction as the bright green one near the top dimmed out. He stood and stepped back, staring at Han.
The slab began to hiss as the Carbonite reaction reversed. Tibanna gas poured off like faintly pink steam. Chips of the synthetic kyro bile flaked off of Han, revealing the moist skin beneath. His mouth opened and closed and his fingers twitched as his hibernation started to wear off. Once free from the slab, he fell forward into Boushh's waiting arms.
Boushh lowered Han gently to the ground and propped him up in his lap. Han recoiled in fear as his fantastic dreams of adventure and artifact hunting faded and his consciousness slowly returned.
"Just relax for a moment," Boussh said in Basic. "You're free of the Carbonite."
Han didn't recognize the voice speaking to him. He lifted a hand to wipe the moisture from his eyes.
"Shh. You have hibernation sickness."
Han wiped his eyes again. "I can't see. W-why can't I see?"
"Your eyesight will return in time."
"Where am I?"
"Jabba's palace."
Han flinched. "W-w-who are you?"
Boushh removed his- or rather, her helmet. "Someone who loves you."
Han reached out a hand. "Leia!"
Leia put her hands on either side of Han's face and pulled him in for a kiss. After a few seconds, she broke it off. "I've got to get you out of here." She helped Han to his feet.
Leia had scarcely helped him take two wobbly steps before a gutteral, booming laugh cut through the darkness. Her heart sank.
"...I know that laugh," Han groaned.
The curtains in front of the throne drew back, revealing Jabba and his advisorial entourage. Bib Fortuna, grinning madly, had his hand clamped over Threepio's mouth.
Boba Fett stood with a confident air about him. His suspicions about Boussh had been confirmed. He had learned hours before that the Black Sun had killed Boushh a month prior but word of this hadn't yet spread very far.
"Hey, Jabba," Han said, facing the wrong way. Leia turned him towards the Hutt. "Look, Jabba, I was just on my way to pay you back, and I got a little sidetracked. It's not my fault."
"(It's too late for that, Solo. Thee may have been a good smuggler, but now thee are vulture food.)" The Hutt laughed, as did his monkey-lizard and the rest of his entourage.
"Look-"
"(Take him away.)"
"Jabba, I'll pay you triple." Gamorreans seized Han as he continued his attempt at bargaining. "You're throwing away a fortune! Don't be a fool!"
Leia could only watch as the man she loved was taken from her again. Jabba's gaze drifted to her. "(Bring her to me.)"
A palace guard roughly grabbed Leia's bicep and forced her forward. She sneered at the Hutt, staring him down with rage filled eyes. "We have powerful friends. You are going to regret this."
Jabba eyed her body lustfully. With the loss of Oola, he had need for a new slave girl. This one's fiery spirit was going to make breaking her will that much sweeter. "(Oh, I'm sure.)"
Leia shuddered in revulsion as the Hutt's tongue slithered out of his mouth suggestively. The monkey-lizard laughed.
Han was thrown into a fetid prison cell and landed in a large puddle of what he hoped was only water. Judging by his slowly returning sense of smell, it was a vain hope. He gagged as he tried to stand, hearing the cell door slam behind him.
A quiet roar startled Han and he tried to get away on instinct. He paused and looked back at the source of the sound, squinting fruitlessly. "Chewie? Chewie, is that you?"
A much louder roar came from much closer and a pair of strong furry arms wrapped around Han. "Ch-Chewie! I can't see, buddy. What's going on?"
Chewbacca growled an abridged account of recent events.
"Luke? Luke's crazy. He can't even take care of himself, much less rescue anybody."
Chewbacca growled again.
"A Jedi Knight? I'm out of it for a little while and everybody gets delusions of grandeur." Han coughed and slumped forward.
Chewbacca caught him and gave a worried whine.
"I'm all right, pal." Han patted Chewbacca's arm. "I'm all right."