Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN STAR WARS OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS. I DO NOT SEEK TO PROFIT FROM THIS STORY.

Chapter II

Upon introducing herself she jerked her head back, squinting her eyes shut and downing the last of what was in the cup in order to cool the rage that sprang up within her each time she introduced herself to potential clients. Every fiber of her being wanted to introduce herself by her true name, "Hana". After all, a part of her reasoned, it was only one more letter than "Han". Why would it matter? How much did it really affect her business? Apparently, a lot. It seemed that using the female version of her name only accentuated further the fact that she was a female smuggler, and could break a potential deal with clients who might hold prejudice against females. And while she did want to uphold her values, such as the idea that it didn't matter what kind of gender she was so long as she got the job done, she did need clients' galactic credits to continue living as independently as she currently was. So she forced herself to swallow her pride along with the drink and just introduce herself as "Han". Her physical features would indicate she was a female. She didn't need her name to emphasize her least desirable feature to clients.

Noticing that the younger of the two had to dart his eyes up quickly from her chest after lingering there while she leaned back, she smirked a bit at that, chuckling gently as his guilty blue eyes met her knowing brown. Ok, so sometimes her female attributes could be a bit entertaining, especially when a backwoods boy like this was seeing her for the first time. The boy probably had never seen a woman quite as eccentric as her back home, so she imagined she must be quite a sight to his naïve eyes. He knew nothing of the galaxy beyond Tatooine, but if he was heading to the Alderaan System, he was about to be in for a crash course. Space travel had a way of hardening people, of forcing them to realize the hard truths of the worlds beyond their own. A part of her pitied the shattering of the boy's remaining innocence. He seemed a bit off, but his eyes still held hope. That same part of her that pitied him wished he wouldn't be a part of this potential voyage. But she wouldn't make money keeping people where they currently were. Profit would only come from taking them to wherever in the hell that was the universe they wanted to go.

As she heaved a sigh at that thought and took another sip of her drink, Ben Kenobi cleared his throat, and her dark eyes darted from the boy to the older man. Leaning back in her chair, she rested her two hands on the table, and rapped her fingers against the top of it, arching an eyebrow in a way that indicated for him to continue, to either confirm Chewie's claim regarding their need for her services or reject her services. . . or-she realized with a sad acceptance-both. Understanding that as his cue, the man leaned forward. The movement caused his blonde associate's eyes to dart to him and away from Hana. "Yes, to the Alderaan System. If it's a fast ship?" Ben murmured gently.

Hana's gaze darkened and she tilted her head to the side, frowning at him with irritated eyes, " 'If it's a fast ship?' You have the GALL to ask me that? You've never heard of the Millennium Falcon?" Ben frowned, arching an eyebrow, and shook his head with a shrug of his shoulders, "Should I have?" he asked in a way that clearly portrayed that he'd truly never heard of her ship. She rolled her eyes. She wasn't naïve enough to believe that everyone in the galaxy would know of her ship, but given the fact that the Falcon was so close to her heart, anyone who said they'd never heard of it did strike a harsh nerve. It caused an illogical stem of anger to form within her, and that blossomed into a plume of fire within her. She sought to quench it, and turned to the cup, to find the liquid inside gone. She grunted and sat the cup back down firmly, holding it to the point where her knuckles were white. Damn it, she thought, Do they keep making these damn cups smaller?! Suddenly Chewie squeezed her leg, and she darted her eyes over to him as he gave a nod to her waist.

Glancing down she realized that in her hand on that side had been inches from her blaster's holster without her even realizing it before Chewie's observation. She sighed and closed her eyes momentarily, breathing hard and sucking in the dry, stale air around her. This was why she had Chewie with her during all meetings with clients. He'd help her remain calm even when her mind and body wanted to fight. She let herself pause for a moment, regained focus, sucked in a deep breath, and crossed her arms before her on the table to keep them away from her sides. Leaning forward, smiling calmly at the old man, she slurred as if she hadn't just been seconds from shooting, "She made the Kessel Run in less than TWELVE PARSECS." It was a fact regarding the Falcon that she was quite proud of. After all, anyone who knew anything about flying should know what a feat that was for a freighter ship. That was why she said it. If she could see a show of respect from the man, then that could do wonders for her disposition and therefore could help her in the following conversation. Apparently the man new nothing of flying, however, and only showed mild fascination and a slight lift of the eyebrows. She grit her teeth, her knuckles popping slightly as she clenched her fists further, and her anger was about to flare once more when the younger boy suddenly caught her eye.

His own eyebrows had raised higher than the old man's, his eyes lit up in recognition of such a feat. It made her internally preen with pride, and helped squash her irritation. But she needed more to soothe her temper. She wanted to see more of a reaction, more admiration for the ship she worked so hard on, and she turned her attention to the boy instead, leaning forward as if sharing a secret, glancing at some storm troopers nearby questioning patrons of the bar. Perhaps it really did need to be whispered in that case, due to what she was about to say. She didn't want trouble from those scum, "I've outrun IMPERIAL STARSHIPS. Not the local bulk cruisers, mind you. I'm talking about the BIG CORELLIAN ships." As the boy's face lit up even more, she smirked, her pride satisfied as best it could be at the moment, and leaned back, turning her head to Ben again, winking, "Trust me, it's fast enough for you old man." The man nodded with a calm smile upon his face, "I'm sure."

At that Hana smiled but then frowned, glancing as the storm troopers walked by to go to another part of the cantina, to where some angry aliens were pointing and shouting unintelligibly. One appeared to be losing an arm. She blinked with a frown down at the empty cup, moving it around between her pointer finger and thumb as she mentally prepared for her next move. These negotiations could get tricky later on, and she had to word things just right. Clients unfortunately didn't come along every day for her, so when she had some, she had to milk them for all they had, and that often meant using twisted words to hide what she was doing. It wasn't necessarily a mask she liked wearing, but it was necessary for her nonetheless.

After waiting a moment to allow the old man to back out gracefully with a classic "but" statement with no such thing occurring, she smiled slightly at the empty cup, feeling assured that he was definitely interested and not deterred as of yet from her services. She leaned back, ready to get to other details of smuggling, and blinked at him, "So, what's the cargo, and how much of it is there?" "No cargo," the old man shook his head in the same calm manner he handled everything. She frowned, blinking before forming a straight face once more. She relied on reading clients' reactions in order to know how to proceed to gain the most from a venture, and when a client remained as calm as he did about everything it made calculating her next move difficult. But not entirely impossible.

The man answered, "No cargo, only passengers. Me, the boy, and two droids." She grit her teeth at that. Not much cargo often meant not much pay. It was then as he leaned forward and tilted his head down, locking onto her with a studious look and added, "And no questions asked," that her hope in getting money off the man was blinked, tilting her head to the side as she frowned at him, the wheels in her mind spinning like turbines on her ship. They just needed more fuel to continue heading towards her ultimate goal, and she leaned forward, fishing for such fuel as she muttered, "What is it, some kind of local trouble?"

Her mind automatically went to Jabba the Hutt. The mobster was more dangerous than he initially looked, and many people owed the loan shark something. He had numerous bounty hunters who would surround him, hoping that he would put a bounty on someone. That made him all the more dangerous. With so many bounty hunters, his reach extended too far for comfort. He could really be a problem if not handled correctly. Normally whenever a potential client had trouble with Jabba, she steered clear of the situation. She had her own issues with Jabba, and would like to not add another to the list. Still, she really was in a tight spot financially, and may be willing to risk it, if the price was right. He smiled and tilted his head, glancing at the storm troopers who remained in the Cantina as un-welcomed visitors who had long stayed their welcome. It made the entire atmosphere all the more tense. Ben moved his gaze back to Hana, "Let's just say we'd like to avoid any Imperial Entanglements." She glanced at the storm troopers then back at him. And let out the deep breath she'd been holding. Well, not Jabba, but they could prove even more dangerous, especially if that bastard Vader was involved. Legends of his dark abilities were whispered throughout the galaxy and she didn't really want to see which of those legends were true. But still, while that did have big risk with it, it could lead to big gain as well.

She glanced at the boy who was frowning at her now, then back at Ben. She took one more moment to decide what she was about to do, then smirked, leaning back, moving one foot up, the one connected to the leg Chewie's hand had been on, and rested it on the opposite knee, gripping the dusty toe of it with her leather clad hands, "Well, who wouldn't want to avoid them?" she began with a shrug, letting a joking smile cross her face, "I myself have a few tricks of my own than can help in that matter, but those'll cost ya extra." Ben frowned, tilting his head, as if trying to realize if what she'd said was a bluff or the truth, "And how much would it be, total?"

She smiled at him, eyes glittering with confidence, "10,000, all in advance." The boy leaned forward, eyes now wide with disbelief rather than amazement, " '10,000'? We could buy our own ship for that!" She frowned, eyes darting from the old man to his younger companion, "Oh, and who's going to pilot that ship kid?" she tilted her head down, raising eyebrows at him as her lips quirked higher in amusement, climbing up her cheeks, "You?" The thought of the farm boy trying to evade starships as well as she could was laughable, if not a little insulting.

The kid glared at her, offended, and patted his chest, "You bet I could! I'm not such a bad pilot myself!" he shot up, glaring down at her before turning to Ben, "Come on, we don't have to listen to thi-" The old man frowned and rested a hand firmly on the boy's arm, gripping it to keep him there and shook his head in a way that advised the boy to be quiet. He didn't want to upset the captain before them. For all he knew, she may be the only one who would accept their journey. Besides, Ben could sense that there was more to Han Solo than what met the eye. There was a faint amount of the Force surrounding the girl, even if she didn't notice it. She had great things in her future, and would do things that could benefit the entire universe. He wanted this deal to go well. And that decidedly meant not upsetting the female captain further.

But it was too late to try to keep Hana calm. By now Hana had risen up, sneering at the boy, " 'I'm not such a bad pilot myself!' Ha! Even if you could fly a ship, it takes more than that to get a mission completed, SON. What about those 'imperial entanglements' your old friend Ben spoke of? How good are you at avoiding lasers in mid air?" she let a dark smirk cross her face, "It's hard piloting when half of your thrusters are blown straight to hell." The boy glared at her and stood straighter, so that he looked down on her slightly shorter 5' 4" frame. "I've dodged lasers before," he remarked, insult hinting all his words. She chuckled, rolling her eyes, and tilted her head one way as she swung her hips slightly the other, her hands firmly on her waist, gripping her skin there firmly, "Oh, from some Jawas or Sand People here on this dust ball of a planet? That's HARDLY an irritation compared to Tie fighters kid. Trust me, you have NO IDEA what you're talking about going up against. You'd be dead in an instant. The thought of you trying to make it to Alderaan alive is laughable at best." He fumed, nostrils flaring, glaring at her.

Meanwhile Ben was blinking, as if trying to figure out the next move. Hana growled slightly, eyes full of fire as she glowered up at the boy. The boy wasn't ready to back down, and that was enough to determine her next move. The two could try to deal with the Imperials on their own. She wasn't about to be insulted by being compared to a kid who didn't have nearly as much experience as her. She spat on his shirt and frowned, tilting her head back, crossing her arms and squaring her shoulders, glancing at the old man, "Well, if you two are so confident in your own abilities, perhaps you don't need me after all. Have fun killing yourselves." Jerking her head to Chewie, her dirty hair swatting the boy in the face as she did so to her great pleasure, she jerked her head towards the nearest door out of the place as she swung her hair the other way, smacking him again, "Let's go. We're done here." The Wookie grunted, and even though he knew her temper was outshining her logic in this situation, rose to follow her. He'd never besmirch her judgment, even if he didn't understand it. They were about a foot from the table when Ben spoke, "We can pay you 2,000 now, plus 15,000 more. . . once we reach Alderaan."

Hana perked her head up slightly at that. And slowly turned, a spark of interest flitting across her brown eyes, " '17,000'?" Well, with that price, maybe she could work with these people after all. Hell, if they kept their dumbass mouths shut, it could be a rather enjoyable voyage. She smirked slightly at the thought. She glanced towards the lingering storm troopers, just as two bar patrons of differing species swept up and away from the bar nearby, gripping each other tightly and swinging and hissing, blocking their view of the troopers and by doing so, blocking the troopers' view of them. Such actions were common in the cantina and now, they provided a sufficient distraction to block the line of sight of the troopers. It would perhaps make it easier to force old Ben into a deal he may reject otherwise, so long as he knew that the fight could disperse as quickly as it started and if he wanted to avoid imperial intervention, he was pressed for time as far as bartering was concerned.. The old man smiled and nodded at her, confirming the proposed amount, trusting and knowledgeable eyes focused on her. In spite of his hotheaded partner, the man knew how much they needed her, as opposed to the possibility of trying to pilot their own ship while attempting to avoid the Empire. She turned fully to the pair and folded her arms, swinging her hip to the other side, cocking her head. And was about to push his sudden generosity as much as possible, with as much time as she had before the imperials made their way towards them, "5,000 in advance, 12,000 when we reach Alderaan."

The old man let a brief smile of relief cross his face before he leaned forward, deepening his voice an octave. She frowned slightly as she felt as though some invisible hand was trying to reach out to her. Or maybe it was just the alcohol playing with her mind. Regardless she screwed up her forehead in concentration and mentally pushed right back against the feeling. She didn't like anything trying to attack her judgment. She frowned harder at him as he replied to her, "3,000 in advance, 14,000 at Alderaan."

She narrowed her eyes slightly at his attempt to barter with her. "4,000 in advance . . ." she slurred, planting her feet further apart and squaring her shoulders, giving him a harder look as she focused head on at him, glancing at the fight that was already dissipating. The storm troopers would get a good look soon, "And 16,000 when we reach Alderaan, just because you two have really pissed me off. Take it or leave it old man, that's my final offer." Even in the clatter of the cantina, a silence seemed to hang in the air between them. Ben glanced at the storm troopers, one glancing towards them now that the bar dispute wasn't quite blocking their view.

Hana glanced too, and knew that she'd backed the other two sufficiently into a corner. She had the old man and boy right where she wanted them. Alderaan, and 20,000 Galactic Credits, here she'd come! She smirked and held out her hand, "Do we have a deal, Ben?" Ben sighed, then smiled, and gripped her hand in spite of the boy gaping at them both, "Yes, we have a deal, Captain Solo." Hana smirked and nodded, "Good. You've got yourself a ship.. We'll leave as soon as you're ready. Docking Bay 94." Ben nodded, blinking at her, "94."

She nodded in confirmation that he got the number right, then jerked her head to a small hallway set into the wall nearby, currently hid behind both Chewie and another group of aliens getting rowdy over some game of bets. It would make for an easy getaway for the pair of clients. "Chewie can get you out of here," she murmured. Ben turned to the boy, catching on to her idea, "Come then, Luke." She smirked and watched with just her eyes as the two walked off, "Luke" following and glancing at her with a dark look, fed up that they'd ended up paying so much. Yeah, Junior, you best believe I jacked that price up. Just because of your mouth. Learn to close that little bitch. Once they left, she bowed her head slightly and walked forward, putting her hands on the table beside her abandoned glass, and tapped her fingers twice, Chewie moving to stand beside her momentarily to hear further orders rather than continue following the two males, glancing at the storm troopers marching up. She watched them through her thick veil of hair as they paused, looked at the captain and her copilot, then walked on. And fought to keep her anger down at the disregard they gave her. She tried to remind herself that that was a good thing.

Once they were out of ear shot, she let a smirk cross her face, her eyes lit with excitement. Turning, she grinned at Chewie, holding up her hands in excitement, rubbing her fingers together"20,000, wow these guys really are desperate!" Chewie grinned at her, relieved that the meeting had gone as well as it had, and grunted, nodding, as she patted his chest, smirking up at him with eagerness in her face, "This could really save my neck," she patted her own chest, jumping slightly on the balls of her feet, then patted his shoulder roughly as her face became hardened once more, "Now go to the Falcon, get her ready. I'll join you shortly." He nodded, crooning, and putting a hand up, wiggled her hair, grinning at her before turning and walking off. She smirked after him, "You really earned your keep this time, pal." She turned back to head to the bar for another drink and froze, blinking at the green Rodian that had slinked up just as Chewie'd left. Figured he'd only approach her without her "bodyguard" of a copilot.

She rolled her eyes, as he held his blaster and pressed the tip of the barrel shaft to the spot just between her breasts, "Going somewhere, Solo?" With that he attempted to back her up, pressing in on her chest. She growled and pressed right back, narrowing her eyes at him in irritation, "Why yes, Greedo, as a matter of fact I was just going to see your boss. . ." glancing at the bar keep who was facing their way, she waved to get his attention and held up her pointer finger, nodding. He nodded and set about making a drink like the other one she'd already tasted. She turned to Greedo and pushed his blaster tip away from her chest, brushing past him to grab the drink, "Luckily, you happened to stumble along, so you get to deliver my message. . .one of the only things you're good for. . ." snatching up the drink the bartender slid her way, she turned to the green alien, holding the glass inches from her lips, ready to take a sip. Before she did so, she pointed at him, leaning against the bar, "Tell Jabba I'll have the money for him soon enough. As soon as I get back from this next job." Closing her eyes, she dunked her head back, taking a sip of the drink and walking towards the exit of the cantina.

Greedo grunted and rushed to be in front of her, and she snarled, some of the drink sloshing about in its cup as she stopped abruptly. She snarled and glowered at the other creature, "You just about had this drink down my fucking front, snotbrain. You do that again and I'll send you to Jabba with the money. One pathetic piece of moldy shit at a time." Greedo snickered, "Then he'll send someone else, with perhaps an even higher price on your head. No matter how much money you may send, it will all be too late. You should have paid him when you had the chance," Greedo said, switching off the safety on his blaster and jerking it to a seat at the cantina table she'd been sitting at just moments before with Ben and Luke. Hana rolled her eyes and walked over, slumping right back into the same seat she'd been in before, drinking another gulp of alcohol and leaning back, putting the same foot on the same bent knee and setting the cup on the table, gripped her foot with her left hand. She'd put up with Greedo, for now. . . she glanced at the storm troopers still walking about the room. She didn't really want to cause that huge a scene with those bastards still there. Hopefully they'd be gone soon and she could give this little snot what he deserved . . . if she could hold her temper to that point.

She flicked her eyes back to Greedo as he continued, leaning her head back a bit, sighing through her lips in exasperation as he continued, "Jabba's put a price on your head so large every bounty hunter in the galaxy will be looking for you. . ." Hana smirked and tilted her head to the side, "Nice to know I'm that important to him." She glanced down as Greedo continued, moving the fingertips of her right hand down her side towards her blaster holder, then glanced up as she flicked the strap on the weapon holder loose and wrapped her hand around the familiar handle. It felt at home in her palm like nothing else. She took another sip of liquid courage and breathed gently as he continued on as if not hearing her. Greedo chuckled, "Luckily I found you first." Hana smirked, "Yeah, and now you can tell Jabba I HAVE THE MONEY. . ." Greedo sneered, "If you give it to me I might forget I found you." Hana sneered right back, "Why, so every other bounty hunter will be chasing my ass across the galaxy? No thanks. So many boneheaded males chasing me doesn't appeal to me nearly as much as it might to you. Besides, I DON'T have the money with me, just tell Jabba. . ." Greedo jerked the gun at her again, his rage at her implication regarding his sexual nature causing him not to notice her pulling her blaster out slowly from her side. She glanced down, blinking at it while holding it firm against her pants leg as he snarled, "Jabba's through with you and your excuses! He has no time for smuggling bitches who'd be better on their backs than piloting a ship. After all what kind of smuggler drops their shipment at the first sign of an Imperial cruiser?" he sneered, "You'd be better off using your mouth around a man's cock than using your mind to deliver cargo."

She glowered at him, fury rising from the pit of her stomach, a great fire threatening to pour out from her, and growled as she leaned forward slightly, fury radiating from her, a warning to smarter beings, "I'd bite off a man's cock sooner than suck on it. Besides, even I get boarded sometimes. You think I had a fucking choice?!" she spat the last, her finger reaching out and resting on the trigger, twitching slightly in her anger, her head tilting down as her face screwed up in fury at the creature before her. She wanted no more in that moment than to kill him. . . but she held herself back, held herself tight on that leash. . .Greedo, if he saw even noticed it, ignored her escalation of emotion and continued on, crossing even further over the line drawn in the sand. . . "You can tell that to Jabba when you see him. He may only take your ship." She glowered at him all the more, "The Falcon's my LIVELIHOOD. No way in hell am I giving it to that slug." "A livelihood meant for a male, perhaps," Greedo hissed, "Why do you think you do such poor business? A male's place is to captain ships. A female's place is to warm his bed. Perhaps Jabba can teach you that and give you a NEW LIVELIHOOD on his barge. Perhaps I can be the first to utilize you properly in exchange for bringing you to him."

Hana held no mercy in her eyes as she leaned forward even closer, so her hot breath hit the pathetic alien right in the face, "Over my dead body, snotbrain." Greedo leaned forward, and reached for his own trigger, just as she aimed hers correctly with the blaster pointed out from just inside the crook of her bent leg. "That's the idea. I've been looking forward to this for a long time, Solo," he slurred as she reached the other hand over to grip the bottom lip of the tabletop tightly. "Yes, I bet you have," she snarled, flipping the table with one hand and firing her gun with the other twice in close repetition, doing a quick jerk with that hand in order to switch aim in between the two planned shots. Greedo had no time to process what was happening as first one shot went through his crotch and the second through his head, falling forward and collapsing onto the floor, his bleeding head lying on her boot. She snarled, putting her other foot down on the ground and kicking him away, "Filthy alien scum." She rose up, and at that moment realized that the band had stopped playing and all bar patrons including the storm troopers were looking at her. She snarled at the aliens, all of them, "What the fuck are you lot looking at?" she said, still holding the blaster up towards them all, eyes fiery embers as they gazed at all around accusingly, "Anyone else want my blaster up your crotch? If so I'll GLADLY service all of you bastards!"

After a moment of awkward silence, the aliens turned back to their conversations and the band started back up. She rolled her eyes and jammed her blaster into her holster again, jerking her vest tighter around her upon noticing her chest markings were showing yet again. Growling, she marched towards the hallway Ben and Luke had gone through before, glancing at the bar keep as he moved around the bar to get up the body, mop and bucket in hand in order to attempt to get up anything that might have spilled. "Sorry about the mess," she muttered, turning away from him, sliding a hand into her currency pouch and pulling out some credits before tossing them on the dead bounty hunter as she made her way out of the cantina and down the hallway towards the docking bays.

As she walked, she jammed her hands in her pockets and sighed, tense shoulders relaxing slightly as she hung her head, hair falling forward to veil her face. As a voice she tried so often to push from her mind came back to her: "No, there's no need for violence! No need!" She grit her teeth. They were naïve words that held little truth and were of no use to the female smuggler in the harsh world she resided in, but words from her father in his last moments nonetheless. And so she couldn't help but dwell on them and the memory they triggered.

After what seemed like endless footsteps and shouts, the door was forced open and Hana gazed up in fear at the two males standing before her. One man wore a dirty beige shirt with a brown fringed vest over it. His long black hair was oily and smeared with grease and grime, as was his mustache. His eyes were the color of glass and only held apathy and promised cruelty. His skin held a light blue tinge. He had a large blaster strapped to his side. His partner had no hair, and wore a black jacket with pockets and gray pants, a large ugly scar running down the side of his face and under the black patch over his right eye, with a large metal staff strapped to his back. His visible eye was dark as space, and just as void of emotion. His skin paler than any color of white she'd ever seen.

The two exchanged a look that Hana didn't understand before grabbing her and hauling her out of the closet and down a hallway. She began to jerk, shrieking, begging to know where her father was. When led to the door leading from their ship onto the other ship currently connected to theirs, she saw him. Space pirates of varying looks, species, and sizes surrounded her father with weapons focused on the male humanoid who had been beaten to the point of having bloody sides, busted up knees, a split lip, and a face so swollen you could barely see his face. If she hadn't spent so much of her life with him, she wouldn't have been able to even recognize him.

Hana cried out and rushed forward, or at least tried to. The males on either side of her gripped her firmly, jerking her back. The bald one leaned down, sneering in her ear, "Be a good little girl now and don't squirm. Let your daddy say something to you in his final moments." She turned to him, tears forming in her eyes as his stale breath hit her face as he smirked, revealing metallic fangs. She gulped and licked her lips, sucking them in to be between her teeth to show she'd comply. He smirked, and patted her cheek roughly, making her whimper as he leaned back up and loosened his grip. Mind swimming in confusion and panic, she shuddered, before slamming into his waist as hard as she could, trying with all of her might to shove him away with her tiny hands and began to run to her father. She had no idea what she could do to save him, but she felt she had to try.

The pirate roared in anger, grabbing her by her arm and jerking it back painfully to the point of the shoulder popping out of its socket. She let loose a long pain-filled cry at the pain as the man cursed and the harsh edge of his staff slammed into the back of her head, making her see stars and fall to her knees as blood rushed from her head wound and trickled down her back as darkness rushed up to meet her. She slammed against the metal floor in a daze, groaning, her vision coming in and out of focus as she saw the shadow of her father begging them to leave her be. "No, there's no need for violence! No need!" moments before a firing blast was sounded and she saw his shadow fall as well. She cried a mournful cry as one of the males behind her, the one with the long hair due to the sound of his voice being so different from the one of the bald man, muttered about the other hurting their goods before they had a chance to put them on the market.

Hana sighed. That had been the beginning of the end for her believing the universe to be a kind place, and had been the beginning in her knowledge of the truth: the Force wasn't real, good didn't come to those who served the Force, and the only thing you could count on when it mattered was cruelty. She lifted her head at that moment and staggered to a stop and stared at the bounty hunter in his dark green armor standing before her. His cape and armor were tattered, but the "Y" shaped black slits of his helmet shone even in the low dusty light of the hallway, just as the blaster in his gloved hands did as he held it pointed right at her. She frowned hard at him and took a step back, hand moving to her blaster, five feet between the two of them. "You have no time to grab it and you know it," the hunter said, his voice scratchy through the helmet's mouthpiece and speaker. He reached up with one gloved hand and hooked the thumb under the front lip of his helmet, lifting it off and shaking out his long black hair from its confines, frowning at her with cold black eyes, a jagged scar down the side of his face, the sides of the crevice tugging at the tanned skin in an ugly burned way. Hana grit her teeth as he frowned at her, "Catching the 'Great Captain Han Solo' off guard. Now that's quite a feat." Hana heaved a sigh, "Hello Boba," she said shakily with a small, shaky smile full of nervous energy as she glanced at the male's gun pointing right at her head, "It's been a while." Stalling Greedo to the point of grabbing her blaster pistol was an easy task. Stalling Boba would without a doubt be a greater feat.