Solo scrounged a blanket and some of Perron's clothes to use as a pillow and lay on the floor next to the Wookiee. He took a deep breath and tried to ignore the pain in his gut that swiftly became pleasure. His brain was in overdrive, despite his attempts to relax; stewing over how they were going to get to the skyhopper his father claimed was hidden nearby, with the princess on the sick list, and kicking himself mentally for being too drunk to have seen the knife coming. And for kissing her!
Solo rolled onto his side and looked at the bed, wondering what could have possessed him. He sighed. Most of all, he couldn't believe his bad luck at running into his father, and the questions Luke and Leia would be asking once they'd gotten over their initial shock. He closed his eyes and tried to shut it all out.
Despite feeling physically and mentally exhausted, Leia also found herself unable to sleep, her mind a turmoil of images. Particularly, a nightmare visage of coarse, black skin and the putrid stench of decay that had accompanied every bellow from the lazech. She rolled onto her left side, trying to clear her mind, and found herself looking at Luke. He had his back to her, his lightsabre close to hand. Again she thought about their battle with the lazech and wondered where he had learned to wield it so well. Kenobi? Leia didn't think so. From what Luke had told her, there hadn't been time for that sort of training. No, there was some sort of natural gift there. That was evident from the Death Star. But what? The Force? That thought spooked her somewhat, for although she knew the Jedi Knights had been a force for good, her only personal experience of one had been with Vader. Evil incarnate. And while her mission to Tatooine had been to contact Kenobi, she'd never actually got to meet him.
Chewbacca's snoring got louder and Leia heard Solo mutter something and thump the Wookiee, who snorted loudly in response, shifted and resumed snoring at a lesser volume. Leia smiled, letting herself be comforted by the sound, and focussed on the sounds of sleep filling the small hut. She had no doubt that the Wookiee would be the first alert at any sign of trouble and, for the umpteenth time, wondered at the relationship between the Wookiee and the Corellian. The idea of Han thinking of anyone but himself was almost unimaginable. Deep down, Leia knew that wasn't true; he'd rescued her, hadn't he? For money, her practical side insisted. Yes...? Then why was he still with the Rebellion? As his father had said: if he'd really wanted to leave, he would have gone a long time ago.
So why was he still here?
Leia suspected it was a need for friendship. Not that Chewie wasn't a friend, and he was certainly devout, but he wasn't human. And there was a safety in that. But Leia had watched a real friendship develop between Luke and Han, and, finding herself on the periphery, couldn't help feeling a little envious. Han had become like a big brother to both of them, who, despite being almost ten years older, was totally irresponsible. She could just make him out in the dim light, and was surprised to see he was asleep already.
She remembered the holo and carefully reached for it with her right hand. Perron had immobilised the hand, but she found she still had some movement in her fingers. She set the small plate on the bed and activated it. The fifteen centimetre figure appeared, glowing softly, and she stared at it for a long time. Han in an Academy uniform... Even in the small holo there were signs of his non-conformity; his jacket was open, his stance was... arrogant. This time she studied the decorations on his jacket. Valour points, distinctions... all the signs of a star student. What had happened?
The soft light of the hologram grabbed Solo's attention and he recognised it immediately. Why the hell had his father kept that? And what the hell was she doing with it? Solo steamed impotently; now she'd be asking all sorts of uncomfortable questions! He looked at her face, lit by the glow from the hologram, and considered saying something, but decided the subject would be harder for her to raise if she thought he knew nothing about it. He wondered what she was thinking, and how he was going to bluff his way out of this one.
The clatter of the ropes startled Leia out of her doze and she guiltily deactivated the holo and replaced the plate on the third shelf. From the sound of the breathing in the hut, everyone else was asleep. She settled back on the bed, wishing for some relief from the interminable heat, and the ropes clattered again.
Leia frowned and wondered if the night-time acoustics made other platform noises louder? The ropes sounded again and this time she felt certain it was the pulley system for their platform. But who would be using those except Perron?
The Shaman, she thought, and a surge of adrenaline went through her. Then she smelt it. Something sickly sweet and...
Smoke. It was some kind of smoke. But she couldn't see it because it was dark.
Leia closed her eyes, preparatory to the mammoth effort of getting up, and felt her whole body relax. Disturbed, because she knew this was the opposite of what she had in mind, she opened her eyes. Someone or something was moving about inside the hut. Her eyes slid shut and she forced them open again. The smoke was a sedative. Or worse. She had to warn the others... wake them somehow... She tried to move and found her limbs like lead.
Leia forced her eyes open again, with no idea how long they'd been closed, and a distant feeling of alarm. Then she saw him. The one with the stormtrooper souvenirs. The Shaman.
He was bent over Luke, but she couldn't see what he was doing. She saw the claw in his hand, the same one he had used to lacerate Han, and adrenaline gave her the strength to sit up. He turned to her immediately and touched her forehead with his finger. Leia felt her body collapse and tried to scream a warning, but all that came out was a whimper.
But there was an answering whimper from the end of the bed. Han. Leia almost rejoiced. Han was awake and fighting it too!
The Shaman looked sharply at the man beside the Wookiee and quickly gauged how much time he had. He was amazed that either of them was awake, let alone able to fight the effect of the smoke. Doubtless it had something to do with the healing the alien medicine man had given both of them. Something he would certainly take into account in the future.
He turned back to the goddess and found her watching him with horror. He touched her forehead and explained that there was no need for fear. Then he raised the lazech claw and cut her shirt open from neck to waist.
Leia wailed soundlessly. Where the hell was Perron?!
The Shaman bared her chest and there was a groan from the end of the bed as Solo tried to move. Shaman ignored him, certain that he would not be able to cross the distance to the goddess.
He took the lazech claw to her breastbone and scribed an intricate pattern in blue dye. The princess hissed and, in an attempt to calm her, Shaman ran a finger from her chin to her belly button, helping to stimulate the nintwine response.
Leia closed her eyes, helpless.
On the floor, Solo was fighting the pain from his wound, the nintwine and the effect of the smoke. He was certain the native was killing the princess; certain he had already killed Luke. He tried to wake Chewie, but couldn't shake him hard enough. In fact, he couldn't shake him at all and the Wookiee slept on, oblivious.
Despite her efforts, Leia had sunk into the same deep sleep that held Chewie and Luke, and was quite unaware of the Shaman's finishing touches.
When he'd finished, the Shaman made a small incantation over her, begging her help, then he looked back at Solo who was dragging himself steadily towards him. Shaman smiled, showing two rows of dirty, ragged teeth, and the look he got from Solo was one of pure hatred.
Shaman left the hut as silently as he'd entered, gathered the two natives he'd left guarding the entrance, and left the platform.
On the lower platform, Perron Solo emptied his cup and stared at the small, flat cartridge of information in his hand, turning it over and over in his fingers. He saw the Shaman descend and a look passed between them.
Perron sighed, pocketed the cartridge, and got to his feet. It had been a compromise.
He went tiredly up to his hut to make sure the Shaman had kept his part of the bargain. By the light of the small lamp he carried, he could tell that most of the smoke had cleared, but he wore a breathmask just to be sure. How the Shaman breathed it without being affected was beyond him.
He stopped in the doorway and looked around in shock. Han had somehow crawled almost all the way to the bed before being overcome, arm outstretched. The princess, too, showed signs of a struggle and the Shaman had left her half-naked.
Perron was furious. He looked at Luke, near the door, peacefully sleeping and showing no signs of having been tampered with. He checked the young man's chest for the mark left by the Shaman and found it; a small intricate design in blue. Now that's how this was supposed to happen!
It seemed the Wookiee, too, had slept peacefully through the whole thing. Then why hadn't the other two? It begged investigation and doubtless had something to do with the fact that he'd worked on them both in the last day.
He moved around to the princess, having to step over his son to do so, and checked for the mark between her breasts, only then realising that the Shaman had marked her face as well! They would not be impressed.
He went to a drawer and pulled out a shirt identical to the one she was wearing. Then he carefully removed the one the Shaman had butchered and replaced it with the new one. He settled her more comfortably, then turned and contemplated his son. At least the idiot Shaman didn't think his son was a god…
Perron frowned, noticing the blue pattern over the scar on his son's shoulder blade. He looked closer and swore.
Idiot Shaman!
Irritated beyond belief, he left the hut. But instead of going back down to the fire, he sat down just outside, his back against the hut wall.
He didn't trust the Shaman.