CHAPTER 2:

Han sat back and watched the ransom demands for the ninth time. A bolt of anger struck his whole being each time he saw Princess Leia paraded in front of the holoscreen to prove they really had her. The girl held her chin up high even as they shoved her to her knees. She didn't make a sound when a hooded man used a knife to cut off a piece of her hair, and she didn't flinch when that same hooded man ran that knife across the pale skin of her arm to procure a blood sample. But her eyes...he could see how frightened she was, and her fear pulled at his heart in a way he never thought possible. Han glanced at the DNA samples sent as proof of her captivity with the disk. He wasn't sure why Reeiken gave those samples to him. Maybe he forgot they were in the envelope with the disk. Technically, neither Han nor Reeiken were supposed to have the disk. Reeiken must have just handed everything they had over to him. It wasn't like any of those generals or that old woman needed the information since they weren't going to use it. Han twisted the braided hair between his fingers and then absently bushed it against his cheek as his eyes stared at the glass slide smeared with blood, her blood. Han wondered if a record of her DNA even existed since Alderaan had been destroyed.

Chewbacca walked over to Han and placed a large, hairy paw on his shoulder. He refused to look at the holoscreen, but Han couldn't take his eyes of it, "Yeah, it is a good thing Luke doesn't know anything about this. And I hope it stays that way."

Chewbacca shook his head. Han brushed Chewie off and restarted the ransom message, "I'm just looking to see if there's anything that'll help us find her."

Chewbacca reached over and deactivated the holoscreen. Han swiveled around, "Hey! Whaddya do that for?"

The Wookie growled mournfully. Han closed his eyes, "Reeiken said that her contact was Jenvia Xiera." Chewie's eyes widened, and Han continued, "Reeiken thought it was an alias. I didn't say anything." He ran his fingers along the edge of the technical station, "Reeiken also said that she was screened before the mission went into play. I can't see her working for the rebels. At least, not for a good price."

Chewbacca ruffed and cawed. Han rolled his eyes, "I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with milking their hopeless organization for as much as you can get outa them. I'm just surprised that Jenvia would be trusted as a contact. How involved could she be?"

Chewie gave his opinion on the matter, and Han's mood darkened, "I am not involved in their cause. I'm only sticking around until somethin' better comes along." Now it was Chewbacca's turn to roll his knowledgeable eyes. The giant Wookie stretched as Han continued with his denials, "And I'm not so trustworthy, either!"

Chewie chortled and went to sit at the holochess table. He activated the game.

"Whaddya doin'?" Han yelled. "Whaddya mean it helps you think better?" Chewie shrugged. "Well, it doesn't help me think better so shut it off!" Han stormed over there and deactivated the game before the Wookie had a chance. "I will not calm down!" Han started to pace, "They could be hurtin' her as we just sit here."

Chewbacca sighed and spoke his words with caution. Han stopped pacing, but his eyes remained glued to the floor. "You're right," he conceded, "we don't know anything yet. So what do we know?"

Han sat back down at the technical station as he listened to Chewie, "Right, at least we won't have to worry about where to begin. The kidnappers are expecting a response from the Alliance in two standard days."

Chewie scratched at his head and grumbled. Han scanned the ransom holovid again, "They expect to meet with a rebel representative at the tapcafe where Leia was supposed to meet Jenvia by the end of that day."

Chewbacca reflected on what Han said. Solo nodded, "Yeah, I doubt they expect the rebels to come up with the credits. Even if they do, there's no reason not to hand Leia over to the Imps." If they haven't already, Han tried to push that thought out of his head.

Chewie shook his head, and Han sighed, "Our best bet would be to find her before the rendezvous time." Chewbacca grumbled. Han resisted playing the ransom holovid again, "I didn't see anything that would give her location away. We just gotta hope she's still on Finel." He swiveled around to face his co-pilot, "We might be able to squeeze information from Jenvia. Shouldn't be too hard. With her, credits talk."

The Wookie murmured his thoughts. Han met his blue eyes, "Yeah, I guess there's the possibility that she was a victim in this situation and not a co-conspirator. For now let's assume she has some answers. If Jenvia's okay then I'm sure we can track her down fairly easy. Ness should know where she is, and he's probably near Finel. He never liked to work too far out of his comfort zone."

"That was a long time ago," Han rolled his eyes at Chewbacca's negativity. "I'm sure they've forgotten about that."

Chewie headed toward the navigator computer to bring up Ness' favorite watering holes in the Finel system. Han leaned back in his seat at the technical station, his hazel eyes fixed on nothing in particular. He couldn't pinpoint the reason he was going to the lengths that he was to retrieve this girl, a girl he had only known for less than a month. Sure, he had taken part in her rescue on the Death Star, but that certainly wasn't his idea. And there was a monetary motive. Han bit the inside of his lip, feeling a few parsecs of guilt about that last thought. Maybe it was this guilt that was driving him on this hopefully-not-so-hopeless mission.

Solo picked up the thin braid made up of the princess' hair. It caught the light from the console, and an array of coppery brilliance mesmerized him. He had never noticed this effect before. Of course, he spent more time pushing her buttons than analyzing her sometimes-ridiculous hairstyles. She was so entertaining and easy to bait that ribbing her had become his favorite pastime. Han couldn't help but smile at the memory of his last interaction with her. He couldn't remember anything he said or she said, but the image of her slamming her fists on her hips and leaning forward, it was as if she was trying to tower over him, dominate him with her short stature. And then there were her eyes. Her large dark eyes widened and retracted to whatever he said. He may not have noticed the intricacy of the colors of her hair, but Han definitely knew the hue of her eyes. The shade of brown was dark, but a flame seemed to burn behind those eyes, giving them a luminous quality. Han never believed the saying, "The eyes are the windows to the soul". He wasn't even sure he believed in souls. But her eyes…they were so intense, so full of passion, if there were souls then he had a good picture of Leia's.

Han put the lock of hair down. Maybe it was this picture that was fueling him to go rescue her from her captors once again. Maybe he wanted to believe in souls. Maybe he just wanted to believe in something with the same fiery intensity that she believed in the rebellion. So perhaps it was his desire to preserve that kind of innocent belief in something that motivated him to do this. Han stood up and decided to head to the cockpit suddenly overcome with a renewed wave of anger. It was this idealistic attitude that got the princess in this mess in the first place, and no matter how much she believed in the rebellion, they obviously didn't believe in her enough. He scoffed to himself. Perhaps if she hadn't put up so much resistance during the interrogation sessions she suffered through on the Death Star, those heartless generals and that woman would be sending out as many rescue parties as possible just to prevent the Imps from getting an ounce of information out of her. Who's he kidding? She would've been dead.

Han mulled over the words of Mon Montha, that the princess would have made the same decision that they came to if someone else's life was on the line. Did Leia really care more for the good of the rebellion than for its individuals? She did have a one-tracked mind, always trying to convince him to join their hopeless cause. Maybe they were both alike with their one-track minds, she with her cause and he with money. But Han dismissed that thought as if it were a hot roota. She was better than him. And that was what he wanted to believe in; that was why he had to rescue her.

Han squeezed into the pilot's seat. Chewbacca was already preparing to engage the sublight engines. Han looked at the coordinates Chewie punched in, "Ah, Ness' favorite watering hole. This should be fun."