Xizor had assembled the crew he had with him on-planet. It wasn't much, but he was confident that with him and Guri leading them after two exhausted, escaped prisoners on foot with no supplies, they were going to succeed in their mission.

He silently cursed himself for allowing Rendo Slekk - a young and impressionable Force-sensitive individual - to leave the planet before everything had been settled. Xizor had come across Rendo while he was roaming around the seedy underground, allowing the galaxy to believe he was still dead, and waiting for the right time to bring his Black Sun back to power. Luckily Xizor had gotten to the young man before Skywalker did, and it was not difficult to convince him to use his gift for whatever Xizor might ask of him.

It was amazing what some people would do for money. Just to think; if he hadn't found him he might be busy doing completely useless things like levitating rocks. But here with him, he could help to bring down an entire freighter ship. Xizor smiled at the brilliance of that plan, but was hit with an undeniable surge of anger when he remembered once again that the kid was nowhere to be found. The prince had become too cocky. He had incorrectly assumed that nothing could go wrong at this juncture, and when the boy asked if he could get away for a little while and enjoy himself, Xizor didn't hesitate to let him go, as long as he returned in three days.

He hadn't believed that the Solos would cause him so much trouble. He had been wrong, but trouble or not, he was going to get them back.

Xizor turned and faced his crew, frowning at the sight of the four of them. He wasn't worried about Guri. She was by far the most reliable of any of them. Good help is so much better when it's manufactured. Then there was the short, stubby little man known as Tako, who probably couldn't run more than a few feet, let alone chase anyone over a mountain. He'd probably prove to be completely useless in this venture, but he didn't hire him for his physical prowess, he hired him for his piloting skills.

Unfortunately that wasn't likely to come into play in the near future. Then there were his two guards, who were adequate at best. They were in decent physical condition, and they knew how to handle themselves in a fight, but they were humans. He didn't like employing human guards because they usually failed to live up to his expectations. But he was in the middle of rebuilding a dynasty, and things had to start small.

The prince heaved a sigh and decided they would probably be fine. After all, they were only chasing after humans, one of them the only human he ever lusted after and couldn't have. But he would have her. Sooner or later, he always got what he was after.

The rain had finally let up, and the thunder was once again just a rumble in the distance. Han and Leia held onto each other in the darkness, trying to keep warm. It wouldn't have been nearly as bad if their clothes hadn't become saturated with rainwater.

Han peered out into the forest and noticed that he could see a little better. "I think we might be able to see our way back to the ship now," Han said. "Looks like the sky is clearing. And the two moons should give us plenty of light to see where we're going."

"I sure hope so, because I want nothing more than to get off this damn mountain."

Han couldn't have agreed more. He stood up and then reached back to help his wife to her feet. They walked slowly out of their little shelter and surveyed their surroundings. The ground had become soft and mushy from the downpour., but at least they could see that the moons were beginning to shine through the diminishing cloud cover.

Han turned and looked at Leia when he heard her teeth chattering again, experiencing a chill of his own but far more concerned for her. "You gonna be ok?" He asked as he put his arm around her again, feeling her cool, clammy skin.

"S-s-sure. Once w-we g-get going I'll be f-fine."

"Well then, let's get the hell out of here." Without another word, Han led Leia further up the mountain.

Unfortunately for Prince Xizor, his luxury liner was not equipped with the kind of scanning equipment that would have been helpful in this type of pursuit. He hadn't had time to make any modifications after he had acquired it, and he was irritated that he had to start from scratch again. He was once one of the richest and most powerful beings in the galaxy, and now he was simply another wealthy criminal. Tired of laying low for so many years, he was determined to build up his fortune and make himself known once again.

He had made himself comfortable on the sofa in his lounge, fixed himself a beverage of clear, blue color and stared at it through the glass as he swirled it around. They had to wait to take off until after the violent thunderstorm had passed since his ship wouldn't be able to handle a lightning strike.

The dark prince remained calm and patient. He knew that Han and Leia didn't have a chance of making it back to their ship before he found them. They were on foot, and he felt assured that the storm had to have slowed them down as well. He would get to them soon enough.

He suddenly heard Tako's voice. "Storm's past us. You want me to take her up now?" The short pilot asked from the entrance to the cockpit.

Xizor never took his eyes off of his drink. "Find me my prisoners."

"Yes, Your Majesty," he replied before stepping out of the room.

Xizor took a sip of his beverage and let out a sly smile. He would have the princess soon.

The light of the moons was more than enough to enable Han and Leia to see clearly. The problem now was that they had to deal with the fact that the terrain had become incredibly slippery. Their feet were sliding around in the mud, and they had each stumbled to the ground more than once.

They had made it over the peak, so now all they had to do was get down the other side of the mountain. The moonlight reflected off the ocean in front of them, and if they looked closely enough, they could actually make out the dark outline of the Falcon. This may have been more encouraging except for the fact that from this distance it wasn't much more than a speck in the water.

Going down the mountain proved to be much less strenuous on their legs, and they found were able to keep up a good pace; or at least as good a pace as was possible with the constant sliding in the mud. Han was getting worried that their time was running out. Surely by now they were being pursued, and he only hoped they had covered enough distance.

Without warning, Han slipped once again on the slick mud, only this time he took Leia with him. He had been holding her hand and in his effort to steady himself, he had dragged her down. But instead of simply thudding to the ground, they found themselves sliding down the steep, muddy mountain.

They fell faster and faster, and got caught up in a wash of rain water rushing down the mountain, limbs flailing uselessly about. Their progress slowed when the slope became more gradual, and without warning Han came to a complete stop when his ribs slammed into a large rock. Not far behind him, Leia thudded into him as he let out a grunt of pain. Then Han slowed with the decrease in the angle, and stopped completely as his side slammed into a rock, with Leia not far behind thudding into him as he let out a grunt of pain.

The force of the landing knocked the wind out of him a little more than he expected it to, and when he reached for his side he winced when he touched the tender area. He was definitely going to have a nice bruise in the morning. He tried to ask Leia if she was all right, but found it difficult to speak due to the sharp pain in his ribs when he attempted to fill his lungs with air.

Leia sat up next to him, now covered in mud from their slick descent. She reached over and touched Han's muddy shoulder, which was heaving as he tried to catch his breath. He rolled onto his back so he could see her, but his body didn't quite feel ready to sit up yet. "You ok?" She asked him.

"I'll be fine," Han said weakly, the pain still radiating from his ribs.

"You sure?" She asked skeptically. She attempted to wipe some of the mud off his face, but found it didn't do much good since her own hands were completely covered in it.

"Sure, see?" He said as he struggled to sit up, struggling to keep himself from wincing. He turned and looked at Leia, wondering if she was going to press him anymore on the issue. "Perfectly fine."

Leia did not appear convinced, but they didn't have much of a choice. "If you say so. Come on, I'm going to help you up anyway." She stood next to him, offering her hand. He took it and she slowly got him up to his feet. He exhaled sharply and continued to hold onto his side. "You better be able to keep up, now. I can't have you holding us back."

"Don't worry. I'll keep going until I can't take one more step. And let me tell you, that'd take an awfully long time." His voice still sounded strained, but better than it had been moments ago.

"I hope you're right," she replied as she started to walk down the mountain again with Han following closely behind. Now all they had to do was get to the Falcon and pray that it would start.

They were getting much closer now. And there were the first hints in the sky of the sun coming up. Han was wheezing slightly, but Leia seemed to be doing her best to ignore it. The last thing they needed to be doing was stopping every five seconds for her to ask Han if he was all right. No matter what, he would keep going until he collapsed. He just had to hope it wouldn't come to that.

Prince Xizor's luxury ship cruised over the vast landscape, hovering not too far from the surface, but high enough so that they wouldn't damage the ship by running into any unusually tall trees. The scanners were working well enough, but unfortunately they had failed to come across any human life forms.

Xizor continued to sit back and wait patiently. They were getting closer to their destination, and he knew that they would have them back soon.

Suddenly, he felt the ship slow to a stop, and he grinned wickedly because that could only mean one thing: they must have found them. He stood and walked towards the cockpit to find out exactly how close they were, and when he sauntered in, he found the Tako talking to Guri, but the stout man became quiet when Xizor entered the room, and the falleen's smile faded.

Guri turned to him and spoke. "They're not here, Your Highness."

No, he didn't like this at all. "What do you mean, not here? Where else would they have gone?"

"I'm sorry. But we scanned the area. There's no sign of them."

Xizor pushed Guri forcefully aside and leaned over to look through the cockpit window. There below them was the comm station, and there was nobody in sight. The place looked like it hadn't been entered in years.

Xizor thought for a moment. Could they have missed them on the way? No, not possible. The scanners surely would have picked them up. Maybe they had gotten lost on their way and gone off the scope of the scanners, although that scenario seemed unlikely. Solo must've known this planet well, having been here on many occasions in his smuggling days. There was no way that he could've gone far enough off track to not even show up on the scopes.

Guri interrupted his thoughts. "Perhaps they've headed back to their ship."

Xizor looked up at her. "Why would they do that? They don't have any use of communications and it won't take off."

"Well, Your Highness, it's actually most likely that all of their functions have been restored."

"And why might that be?"

"Because we no longer have someone here making sure that the ship remains in its malfunctioning state."

Xizor cursed to himself, again reminded that it was a bad idea to let Rendo take off on a joyride. He hadlet his guard down. He never let his guard down, and he vowed to never make that mistake again. Without a Force-sensitive individual holding their ship to the ground and blocking their communications, there was nothing to stop them from taking off, nothing except for him. "Pilot! Head for the ocean!"