A/N: I had some computer issues which have since been resolved, thus the delay in updating. Sorry! Please read and review! I love to hear your thoughts!

On a side note, I wanted to make sure everyone understood the following. Dewlanna is a real character in the Star Wars world. She raised Han on Garris's ship, Trader's Luck, which is also mentioned in this chapter. If you want to learn more about Dewlanna, her death, and Han's escape, please feel free to either read the first Han Solo trilogy, or look up more information online! :)

VIII

The warehouse on Corellia never seemed so dark before, but to Eris, who was left by Larrad and the other officers, it was now tainted. Shortly after the ship Renn was about to give Han took off, with Chewie piloting, a new army of troops swept through the building.

The Jedi and his friends made a fast escape. Luke had vowed to rescue Han from Shrike's ship, but his first priority was making sure Leia was okay. It took a lot to restrain Chewie from taking out Eris and her uncle, but he had channeled what he knew of the Force to control his friend. The Wookie would be able to pilot the ship, if he was focused, and now that Luke had killed the two Stormtroopers that had held Renn hostage, Vader would surely be after them before too long. If they were caught, there was no shot at freeing Solo.

Skywalker was right; Eris tried to flee, but Vadrer did come with more troops, just as they expected. Thinking quickly, she ducked under a couple of droids stocked in the corner of the building, behind two other ships. She hoped she was hidden well enough.

Eris wished she would've called to her uncle before her decision to run, but there was no time; when she peered out from her hiding spot, she saw dust blowing through the doors as an entire fleet of Stormtroopers paraded into the warehouse. In the back, Vader entered, along with a face she had only seen on posters; Boba Fett. He must have warned him about his capture of Han Solo.

Then, after all of Vader's back up had entered…silence. His breathing picked up and echoed through the metal building. Though his face was hidden, Eris imagined his cold stare at Renn.

"Where are the others?" the Dark Lord asked the old man, who was on his knees after the Stormtroopers had been taken out.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Renn boldly stated. He was taking the route of denial; he knew he was done for.

Luke had drug the two Stormtroopers on board the ship in order to raid their gear and weapons for Leia to use once she healed, so there was no trace of them on the planet.

"Don't play me for a fool, ship crafter," Vader ordered. His voice grew louder as each sentence passed. "The two who captured Solo and his Wookie friend, where have they gone?!"

When Renn didn't answer, Vader lifted his hand to slowly attempt to choke the knowledge out of him. Tharen's body lifted off of his knees, but his hands were grasped around his neck, as though trying to pry Vader's ghost fingers off of him.

"Where are they?" Vader demanded again.

Still no answer, just noises of the old man suffocating. Eris tried her hardest to drown out the noises of his torture. She closed her eyes and hugged the wall, careful not to disturb the droids and alert the invaders of her hiding spot.

Finally, Vader let Renn go. His body fell back to his knees while he gasped for air. Then, the order came.

"Kill him," Vader announced. "Search the city, then report back to my ship at once. If they're still on this planet, I want them alive."

Then, firing was heard echoing through the open building as the execution of Renn took place. Eris knew if she gave into her sorrow, Vader would sense her presence, so she held as still as she could, taking quiet, deep breaths. He wasn't fooled, though. He hesitated for a moment on his way back through the open doors, peering over his shoulder at the corner of the warehouse where Eris was hiding.

"Such a shame he wouldn't cooperate," he muttered. It was almost inaudible to the girl, but she knew it was meant for her.

Then, the Dark Lord proceeded in exiting.

"Get us out of here, Chewie!"

The ship that Renn had been working on wasn't quite finished, but it aided the group on their escape nicely. Luke was sitting copilot while Chewbacca managed most of the controls. He wasn't quite sure how to navigate the display boards to pilot the aircraft himself; Han had showed him a bit of how to fly the Falcon, but it didn't come second hand yet.

Chewie yowled an agreement to the Jedi in training and hit a couple switches. Within seconds, they were speeding through hyperspace. When the ship finally settled and took to the speeds, Luke gave up his copilot chair and went to visit the others in the small sitting area in a cabin behind the cockpit. Chewie said he could handle getting to Naboo, so Luke let him operate on his own so he could check on the Princess.

"Master Luke!" Threepio's greeting was similar every time, but he was always chipper.

"How is she?" Skywalker asked immediately.

"Her system is being monitored, sir," the droid replied.

He followed Luke through a door and to a small cabin with a single bunk against a wall. Leia was on her back, still asleep and undergoing treatment. Shrike had loaded her up with a stunner, something made from one of the Dagobah insects that swarmed some caves under the jungle of that planet. It was used as a secret weapon for the Imperials, but Luke had never seen it in the hands of anyone else.

A monitor beeped with her heartrate…the only sound in the cabin. She looked peaceful, but Luke knew as soon as she woke, he would have a ton of explaining to do. He worried for her; he could tell her bickering with Han was more than just bickering, despite how much he cared for her.

"Artoo preformed several checks on her bloodline and has hypothesized that the poison will be out of her system shortly," Threepio added after Luke stayed silent.

"Hypothesized?" he asked his droid.

"Yes, Master Luke," he replied. "Artoo cannot say for certain."

Suddenly, Luke had a fear in the back of his mind that Leia might not wake up. He attempted to close his eyes to relax and attempt to connect with the Princess, but felt nothing. He was sure if it was a bad decline, the droids would inform him as soon as they knew. He pushed the fear to the back of his head.

"Alert me if anything changes," Skywalker ordered as he turned and went to accompany Chewie in the cockpit once again.

"Will do, sir, but…" Threepio interrupted, stopping Luke just before he was able to leave the room. "Have you located Commander Solo?"

"Not yet, Threepio," Luke told him softly. "We'll get him back, though."

Commander Shrike's transport docked on his ship, the same ship that his brother, Garris, had ruled; Trader's Luck. As soon as the ramp extended and the crew began to unload, Han Solo felt a giant hole in his stomach.

All these years and now I'm right back where I started, Solo thought to himself as a guard poked him in his side and forced him to stand.

The thought of going back into that cell where Garris had tortured him and made him pay for trying to escape time after time had been buried deep inside for a long time. Before, it was just a fear. Now, it was real.

"Get up, Solo," Larrad ordered as he pulled on Han's restraints to get him into a standing position.

For once, Han had nothing to say. He remembered when Garris had whipped him. When he had broken his bones. When Dewlanna had crushed Larrad after Han had knocked Garris out on his final escape.

Dewlanna. That was a name Han hadn't thought of in years. Not because he didn't want to think about her, but because he missed his Wookie friend so much in the beginning, that the only way to harden up and deal with his smuggler lifestyle was to push it to the back of his memory.

Larrad lead Han off the ship and onto the docking platform where all of his last encounters on Trader's Luck had occurred. He stepped over the cool tile beneath their feet where he had climbed onto the robot transport to finally leave the awful place. Then, he passed where he had held Dewlanna as she faded into what he had then called 'life power'. He felt dumb, now. She obviously meant she was a believer in the Force.

"I'm thrilled to have you back at home," Larrad told Solo as they made their way through the troops and a group of children who waited inside.

The young kids reminded Han of himself when he was younger. They were all skinny and dirty. It was part of the show they had to put on in order to beg and steal from the richer side of Corellian folks on the streets. Some had bad bruises that they were hiding under their torn clothes. Others had scars, either from escaping homes during a theft or from Larrad punishing them.

"Thrilled to be here," Han muttered under his breath.

The kids stared as his passed and he faked a smile and nodded in their direction. They admired his fancy dress; to Han, his clothes didn't matter much, but to the kids, it was something of royalty. They didn't know what it was like to have anything that wasn't dirty or shredded.

When they reached a cell block, which Han remembered as a bunk for one of the boys he used to be sent to Corellia with, he was shoved onto the floor by the same guard who had poked him in the transport.

"Watch it," he snapped as he stood back tall on his feet.

"Han Solo," Larrad spoke from the doorway. "I never thought I'd see this day, but I must say, wherever Garris may be, he must be looking down with much approval."

Han ignored the taunt.

"What are you gonna do to me this time?" he asked in a steady voice, staring down his enemy. "Lock me up without food for a few days? Break a leg or two?"

Solo's words seemed to annoy Shrike. He instantly spat back in his face.

"You are to be executed upon orders first thing in the morning," he told the smuggler.

Solo suspected as much. He didn't reply, just calmly stared down Shrike. Then, the doors shut and he heard the clicking of locks as they sealed closed. Han imagined Luke would come looking for him, too, but it might not be quick enough. He would attempt to escape, again.