Several hours had passed. Another tray of food had come and gone, and there was still no word yet on what was going to happen next. Han was still uneasy about everything Leia had just told him about Xizor, and he couldn't seem to erase the image in his head of the green prince kissing his wife. It probably would've been easier for her to tell him when they all thought Xizor was dead, but now there was the threat of the same thing happening again. Han decided that if Xizor tried anything like that again, he'd have to kill him.

"What do you suppose he wants from us?"

Startled, Leia jumped in Han's arms. Neither one of them had spoken in a while. As far as they could tell, their last meal was dinner, so night had likely fallen by now. Their concept of time had been altered since the stun bolts, but it seemed like night since they were both growing tired. "I don't know what he could want. He's supposed to be dead."

"So you told me. Of course, when you did tell me this story you left out a few of the more intimate details."

Han was still uncomfortable with the news he had just received, but he found it difficult to stay bad at Leia, especially knowing it wasn't entirely her fault. "I thought it would save us both a little pain if I just kept it to myself."

"Well, you were right. I wish you didn't have to tell me. But then again, I wish more that there was nothing to tell me in the first place."

"You and me both."

Han looked down at Leia, leaning against the wall in their tiny, gray cell. He hated the thought of her with another man, especially this man. Leia looked back up at him and he could tell that she was feeling guilty all over again about what had happened. He rubbed his callused hands along her arms as a comforting gesture. "Listen, I know it wasn't your fault. I still don't like it. But I'm mad at him, not you." He leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

"I'm glad you understand. I still feel awful about it, though."

"Don't worry about it. You can make it up to me later." He gave her a wink and she smiled back momentarily.

"I'm worried about what he has in store for us. He's not a typical criminal, Han. We could be in some serious trouble here."

"What else is new? We're going to have to figure out a way out of here. Maybe he'll take us out of the cell soon."

"Hopefully. It's too stuffy in here."

"Well, I doubt they had guest comfort in mind when they designed it." She was right though. He hadn't thought about it in a while since he was too busy thinking about what he was going to do to Xizor when he had the chance. But now that she mentioned it, it was quite uncomfortable and sticky. Beads of sweat ran down his temples and his t-shirt was matted against his skin. Whatever kind of building they were in, it couldn't have been a very new one. He determined that this must've been the run-down old shelter on their smuggler's hideout. Make that the old smuggler's hideout. When he was younger he had heard that they had converted an old temple they had found on the planet. But because of the uncomfortable conditions, they built a new one where the comm station was. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. Most of the smugglers slept on their own ships so that they could keep an eye on their hauls. Nobody trusted anyone in that business, and there was a good reason for it.

Leia let out a yawn and shut her eyes against Han's chest. It was a gesture he might've appreciated more if he wasn't already so damn hot. He looked down at her and saw that she was ready to fall asleep. "Wait, hold up a second."

Leia's eyes snapped open. "What? What is it?"

Han began to shift his back away from the wall. "I'm not sleeping in that position again. Come on, lie down here." He lowered himself down flat across the stone floor. He still hadn't recovered from that stiff neck the night before. Leia waited until he had lain down on his back and then rested her head against his chest again before she reached over, brought his hand to her mouth and kissed it

"Goodnight, Han."

Han pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed it. "Goodnight, Leia."

They were awakened by the sound of their cell door opening. The light poured into the room , and Han squinted in the direction of the door and Leia lifted her head up and noticed that it was time for their breakfast. At least they were well fed. Without a word, the short man placed the tray on the ground and shut the door behind him. "It's always nice to get room service, isn't it?" Han remarked.

Leia didn't seem all that amused by the comment, but still appreciated her husband's attempts at lightening the mood. At least so far they had basically been left alone. Han leaned over and pulled the tray closer to the corner where they had slept and sat back against the wall. He reached up to rub once again at his apparently still-aching neck. "I'll tell you one thing: I'm not taking pillows for granted ever again."

He picked up a piece of fruit and handed it to Leia. She gave the skin a quick inspection and took a bite. "I hate waiting," she said.

"Me too," Han said through his mouthful of bread. "Whatever he's gonna do, I wish he'd get it over with and just do it already. At least get us out of here for a few minutes. I'm startin' to feel claustrophobic."

"He'll do something soon. He doesn't like waiting, either."

As though she had known he was coming, the door opened once again. This time there was no short man, only a very tall, green one. "Sorry to cut the meal short, but we've got to get started here." He motioned for two rather large, human guards who stepped forward and grabbed Han and Leia by the arms, blasters digging into their backs and urging them forward. At least they were going to begin to know what they were up against. When they stepped into the light and began to walk down a long, concrete hallway, Leia noticed what a mess they both were. Their once-white shirts were smudged with dirt, Han's hair was even more of a mess than usual, and half of it was matted to his head from the sweat. She imagined hers wasn't looking very nice either. Han's bandage had come loose and fallen off of his forehead and blood had begun to ooze out once again. Leia could only imagine that her cheek had become bruised from when she hit the control panel in the crash. They looked like they had been prisoners for weeks. The truth was that most of the damage had been done before they had even been taken captive. That was just their luck.

After a few minutes of walking, they were pushed forward into a large room that had been outfitted as a makeshift communications area. This was all Xizor's own equipment, Han guessed. The Smuggler's Alliance had never set anything up since they had abandoned this building years ago, and this stuff looked brand new. They were led over to two small chairs against the wall where they sat obediently even though they had not been restrained in any way. Everyone in the room had a blaster except for them, and as far as they could tell, not one of these guys was on their side. Might as well be cooperative, at least for the time being.

Xizor stood close enough in front of them so they had to strain their necks to look at his face. "Now is about the time when I tell you why I brought you here. You must remember a little organization called the Black Sun?" Leia and Han didn't respond; they just continued to listen. "I know you do. Well anyway, I need a little…" he searched for the right word, "leverage to get it back off the ground. Now that there is no Empire, I figure I can become the head of the most powerful and feared organization in the galaxy. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

"Then what the hell do you need us for?" Han asked, his voice remaining uncharacteristically calm.

"You two are that leverage. Your rank with the New Republic government will keep them from attacking, and your relationship to a certain Luke Skywalker will keep those pesky Jedi away. I have quite a few associates ready to jump back on board with my organization as soon as we have the cooperation of the New Republic. But until then, I'm on my own, I'm afraid. Not for long though. Relax, I only need you for a little while."

"You must know that the New Republic is not willing to negotiate with beings such as yourself," Leia said.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. You two are a great asset to the New Republic. And on top of everything else, I figure maybe you and I, Leia, can pick up where we left off."

"That'll be the day," Leia said.

Han's eyes narrowed. If it was possible, he was beginning to hate this guy even more. He silently cheered at Leia's retort. She never ceased to amaze him.

"We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?"

"How did you know we were going to be here?" Han asked. It just didn't seem to make sense that Xizor was there waiting for them with all of these elaborate plans. It was too much of a coincidence.

"I've got friends in low places, Solo. Smuggler friends, bounty hunter friends who are quite good at following ships, as well as Jedi friends who are quite good at making a ship crash into a planet."

A sudden realization came over Han. It wasn't his fault, after all. Xizor had nearly taken their lives in that crash. Han decided that when he killed him, he was going to take his time.

"And this is where I'm going to run my new organization. At first anyway. Until I can get more associates back on board. This is no place for a prince to run everything forever."

"Of course not, Your Majesty," Han spoke the final word mockingly as he glared into Xizor's evil eyes.

"I wouldn't speak to me in such tones. Let me remind you that I am the one who is in control here."

"What's the difference? You got us, congratulations. You have no hostages if you kill us, so I figure we have the upper hand in that department."

Xizor leaned down close to Han and he could feel his breath as he spoke. "But I can make your stay more painful if I see fit." Without warning, he brought his fist across Han's face, reopening the cut on his forehead. Han brought his head back up to face Xizor once again, defiantly. "It can get a lot worse than that. Trust me. For you, and for your wife."

Han thought it best to keep his mouth shut at this point, and Leia seemed to be glad that he did. Xizor was not the type to toy with.

"Now that you're quiet we will send out a communication and inform the galaxy that the Black Sun has returned and you two are here to make sure that nobody tries to stop us. Come in here!" Xizor yelled to the next room. A gorgeous woman with long, silky blond hair appeared at the doorway, and another look of recognition came over Leia's face. "I'm sure you remember my trusted friend, Guri. She escaped that little blast Vader tried, too. Glad to hear that he's dead now. Guri, please set up for communications."

Guri obliged by walking over to the control panel and shifting around a few knobs and buttons. Leia and Han stared at Xizor in silent rage. This was not how their vacation was supposed to turn out.

"Ready," Guri said to Xizor. He straightened himself up and nodded for Guri to begin transmitting.

"Hello again. I'm sure many of you may remember me, although you may be wondering what I'm doing alive. You can't get rid of Prince Xizor so easily. The Black Sun is going to rise to power once more. And just to be sure, I have myself a couple of hostages so you're more cooperative. I know they have some particular value to your New Republic, so I expect for you to accept this shift in power. I'm sure you'll hear from me again soon."

Guri ended the transmission and Xizor turned back to Han and Leia. "Don't look at me that way. This will be a wonderful arrangement for all involved if you both cooperate." Their expressions didn't change. "No? Well, all in due time. Take them back to their cell."