Bail had to admit, if even just to himself, he was disappointed. He'd been so excited to meet this Han Solo. He'd been preparing a few words to say to the Corellian before dumping him in prison and happily reporting his punishment to his home planet and whatever crime lord it was that Solo owed money. In Bail's mind, the kriffing space jockey had it coming.
Bail had already formed a good most of his plans for the smuggler. He had it all envisioned in his mind and was beginning to lay out the more specific details. It was all going perfectly. He was going to scream in Han Solo's ears and beat him to a pulp for even coming near his little princess. And then an extra punch for every kiss Solo had laid upon his daughter's sweet lips. But, instead of Solo, a wookiee had showed up and Bail was running low on patience in waiting to meet Han Solo.
The father turned and watched Leia leave. She only walked at first after briskly turning away from the group. Then, her pace had turned into a fast walk until finally, losing her composed stature, she'd run off, her shoulders shaking with sobs. He couldn't watch her anymore and so, Bail turned away. Why did he have to feel so bad for her?
The wookiee drank in Leia's words and he slowly nodded, approaching Bail. In the natural wookiee tongue of Shyriiwook, he told him quietly, [Tatooine. He's already gone to Tatooine to speak with Jabba.]
"Kriff," Han muttered, throwing his small pouch of credits aside. "Come on, Chewie!"
He'd searched the whole hotel, not that it was that big. He'd gone back and forth through every hall, both floors, and around the small city of Mos Eisley. He hadn't found Chewie anywhere. Or the Millennium Falcon. Han had things he needed to get done. He had places he needed to be as soon as possible and people to meet. . . . A bounty to get rid of. And Chewbacca was't making this trip any easier. In fact, Han was growing more frustrated with every passing minute and he was ready to leave for Jabba's palace without any more of a proper goodbye to his old friend. He needed to get this done, get the bounty hunters' job done so Leia wouldn't be in danger any longer. He couldn't let her get hurt because of him. He couldn't let her get hurt at all.
Giving up, Han took the credits along with the remainder of his earnings from Ducchi that he hadn't already spent and left the hotel. On a mission, his pace was brisk. He didn't have much time left, he figured, so he might as well hurry up with it. He called a speeder and took the ride as close to Jabba's palace as the driver would take him. Then, with every credcoin Han Solo had to his name, he knocked on the tall, broad durasteel door, thinking one last time, I love you, Princess.
"So," Janson turned to Leia and began to ask, adjusting how his rifle sat in his arms. "What's the plan again?"
Janson, Farlander, Porkins, and Leia were all lying on their stomachs side by side, hiding just behind a dune in front of Jabba's palace. Tatooine. They were on Tatooine. A cold, biting wind blew at their backs and they'd all pulled long robes and hoodies over their heads to protect them from the blowing sand.
"There is no plan, remember?" It was Farlander who said this and he looked less than pleased with it. Holding his hold-out blaster at his side, he sighed and added to his own thought. "I've been asking for a plan for the past couple days."
Hardly even paying much attention to his words, Leia shook her head. "I'm sorry, but you agreed to come. I never told you you had to. You just volunteered to. And I'm sorry, but I don't have time nor patience. I have things I need to get done and I need to be somewhere before someone else is."
"We have no idea what we're doing."
"Yeah. Neither do I. What else am I going to do, though? We don't have any more time."
"Why didn't you just hire your own hunter or someone to find Han for you-"
"One: I do my own dirty work. Two: Han doesn't have the time to wait for someone to formulate some complicated plan, hire more people, and then carry out the mission. I need to do this and I need to get it done. Now, come on."
"Oh, great! We're going now. We're actually going to enter Jabba's palace now."
"Porkins, would you please cut that out?"
Leia felt tired and bone-weary from these last few days. Just waiting to find Han and everything that was sure to follow . . . Leia knew she had to find him soon, but it was killing her when she knew that, just as soon, she would never see him again. I'm saving him from the worser fate, Leia reminded herself, taking steady breaths and picking up her pace as she continued forward. This is going to be better for him. I'm doing the right thing.
Leia trudged on with the three Rebel pilots following her. It was hot, so much hotter than she had been expecting, but she reminded herself of Han, imagined him held at blasterpoint in Jabba's palace and falling to the floor. Dead. She couldn't let it happen and she continued on as fast as she could in the miserable heat.
She silently prayed for a light breeze to cool her off, but it seemed to be in vain after a while longer of trudging through the golden, burning sand. Again, Leia turned her thoughts away, turning her focus to what was to come. She let the pain come back, giving herself motivation and reason-
A blaster shot rang out and Leia threw herself to the ground along with the others. She recalled that her father was a bit farther behind with Sabé and she held in a breath, hoping that both were okay. Lying in the sand, she held her rifle on the ground and fired a few shots ahead where the first had come from. More blaster fire responded back and Leia continued firing until the responsive shooting came to a stop. She waited a count of ten and when no more firing came, she got up and spun around to look for Sabé and her father.
"Lelila!" she heard a scream. Quickly, her eyes found her father and he came hurrying to her, bounding up a small dune to her. "Lelila, dear, are you alright?!"
"Fine, Papa. Don't worry. I'm okay." She held her arms out to him and he took her into his own, squeezing her tightly in profound relief. "I heard the shots," he cried.
"I know, but it's okay. Daddy, I'm fine. We're all fine."
Sabé caught up with them and pulled out a pair of macro-binoculars. "Well," she began. "The shooter's dead. I see him down the way. Just the next dune, I think." She put the macro-binoculars away in a long bag and told Leia, "And I think I just found us a way in."
"How does it feel on?" Leia heard Sabé ask. She pulled the sleeves of her costume up her arms and shrugged, "I think it fits well enough. But it reeks."
"Well, you did kill the guy," Sabé reminded the princess, studying her in the bounty hunter's clothes. Though the sleeves were a bit long, the rest of the outfit fit decently well on small, petite Leia. The outfit consisted of a tan long-sleeved shirt and darker pants and boots as well as a thick belt that tied around Leia's waits. Another belt,this one for weapons, was slung from her right shoulder to her left hip, then back across her waist. There were also gloves with spikes where the wearer's knuckles rested. Then there was the helmet. That was a whole other thing for Leia to get used to wearing.
Sabé could hear her breathing through the mask's mouth piece, steadily but irritated. Leia was running out of patience in getting to Jabba's palace. If with noone else, Sabé had to admit she was, too. It wasn't that much further, but she was almost as concerned for Han's safety as Leia was. She reached out with both hands to adjust the head mask on Leia, straightened it so the two were looking at eachother head-on. "I think it looks good," she said, stepping back and taking in Bail and Farlander's responses. Bail, for one, looked nearly horrified at the sight: his daughter dressed in the clothes of a bounty hunter. And one she'd just killed. Farlander seemed impressed and he whistled a high note, nodding his approval. "Call it what you will, I've never seen any luck quite like this."
"Han is near," Leia muttered. "Of course we've been lucky."
"Alright," Sabé guided Leia forward and pointed to their destination. "You're almost there. Remember that I won't be far behind. If anything goes wrong, just touch off the silent alarm I set up and I'll be there in a moment."
Leia nodded, taking a deep breath and it came out gravelly through her voice modulator. "Got it," her voice near monotone as it came out in the dead bounty hunter's language of Ubese.
Holding Leia by her shoulders while she wore a secretive grin, Sabé told her, "May the Force be with you."
I love that you're different, Han thought, going down the list as he neared Jabba's dais. I love that you gave me everything I never deserved. I've never cared about anything or anyone so much before. No one's ever cared as much for me before. No one's ever treated me quite like you do. You're the first to ever have challenged me; the only, really. I used to think you were a good friend, just a different kind of friend than Chewie. Now, I know I was wrong. You are a good friend. And more, so much more. You've been my light in life since I found you. You've been my purpose, my motive, my reason, my inspiration. My all and everything. Without you, I am nothing. I am nothing without my everything.
You complete me. You fill me. You gave my life reason when there was none. You cast a light into the long, lonely, dark tunnel I've been trudging though during my life. I was blind in that darkness, completely unaware of what lay outside the cave. My eyes were sealed shut until you came and opened them; a sudden blinding light catching me off guard, throwing my world upside-down. Then, when my eyes had finally adjusted, I saw you, the light, and I was so amazed, I never wanted to leave you. I never planned on leaving you, but here we are. And I love you so much . . . I have to.
And so I have and I miss your light, but, as long as I hold memories of you and everything you did for me, there is some light ahead of me. Just enough so that I can see where I'm going. I can see still, so don't worry. Even as I walk farther from you, I can still see enough to know I'm headed in the right direction. The direction that will keep you safe. Where my end lies, I see your beautiful face and I know I'm ready. After all, I found your light and that was enough for a few lifetimes. I love you, Princess. And thank you. All the time we did have, I cherished. It was enough for me.
"Hey, Jabba," Han cracked a smile at the hutt, thrusting his hands into his deep pockets. "I haven't seen you in a while. How're you doing? Have you been on a diet because you look like you've lost a little fa-"
[Silence, Solo!] Jabba's voice boomed and thundered through his palace. The scattered patrons stopped their conversation and activities to watch the confrontation between crime lord and disappointing smuggler. [I have had enough of your games and this, I swear, is the end for you. I can no longer tolerate your tricks and efforts at stalling. Today, Han Solo, you shall die.]
The palace cantina erupted into roaring cheers and a crowd quickly and suddenly gathered closer around the two.
[I am no longer as merciful as to wait for you to pay any debt you owe me, Solo. You failed me with that last shipment of glitterstim and I should have killed you right then and there. Yes, I made a mistake, but I have no plans to make that same mistake twice.] Then, pointing a small, fat and swollen hand at the smuggler, the hutt yelled, [Kill him!]
"No!" a scream pierced and cut through the shouting and cheering and Han swung his attention across the main entertaining room to see a bounty hunter running forward, his arms held out before him as if to stop everything. Then, the hunter reached for his helmet and pulled it off. And it wasn't a 'he'. It was her. And Han couldn't have been more scared. "Han!"
When the helmet came off, dark ringlets of hair tumbled loose to frame her face. The rest of her long, beautiful hair was hung up in a sloppy bun at the back of her head, but she looked no less gorgeous. Han blinked away the thought and focused on his fear and slight anger, shaking his head as he drank in her image. "Leia, why are you here? What are you doing here How did you find me?"
"Chewie," she muttered, staring back at him, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "He told me you were headed here and I couldn't let you turn yourself in."
"That's not your choice," Han told her. "I left for a reason-"
"I know you did, but I love you, too. Too much. The choice was put into my hands. I'm doing the best thing for you. This way, you'll still live. If I let this continue, you'll be killed. I'm doing what's best for you."
Han fought back his emotions as he shook his head, trying to decide what to say to her next. There were so many words, so many phrases and things he wanted to say to her, to remind her. I love you. Please leave before you get hurt. I want to leave with you. I love you more. But none of them were the right thing to say. Another phrase flitted across Han's mind and, because he wasn't sure he had anything better to tell her at this very moment, he said to Leia, "I'd rather not live without you."
Her face fell. It took a second for her features to turn angry, furious, but she her jaw dropped and she shook her head. She closed her mouth to swallow over a lump in her throat and continued to shake her head. "No," she muttered. "Why, Han? Why did you have to say that, Han?! Why?!" Now, so suddenly, Leia was screaming at him, her face red with anger and fear. She rushed forward, grabbed him by his shirt's collar and yanked on it, shaking him. "Why do you have to say that now? How could you do that to me! I came here for you! I came here to get you out of here!"
Han didn't say anything anymore. He didn't have anything to say. He's said enough and the words were running their course, causing their damage. Han decided he'd talked enough already this young day.
Coming from behind Leia, Han saw Sabé as she reached out her arms to pull Leia back. Two of Jabba's guards, one gamorrean, the other twi'lek, pushed him toward Jabba's dais, snapping stun cuffs around his wrists to bind them. Han kept his gaze on her, though. Finally, her tears started to fall and she shook her head, bringing a hand up to her mouth and she crumpled to the floor in front of Sabé. The Nabooan woman squatted down to offer comfort, but Leia's screams echoed in his mind and he had to turn away because she was only making it hurt worse.
Han soon found himself surrounded by a multitude of guards and Leia was still screaming. Jabba pointed to one guard and Han hung his head while he waited for the staff to pierce him in the side. Please turn away, Princess, he thought, closing his eyes and imagining her beautiful smile. Please look away, scream so loud you don't hear my own screams. Run away. Cover your eyes. Please, sweetheart. Just don't look. Han felt a dozen other staff lightly touch him, keeping him where he stood. Leia's screams turned into shrieks-
And that was when the blaster shot rang out.