A/N: Sorry this is short! I've recently started writing my second novel, which will be published on Amazon later this year. If anyone is interested in my first, please send me a message and I'll gladly tell you all about it!

Also, to clear up any confusion, Rykin is to be pronounced as rickon, not to be confused with Vader's General.

Please read and review!

XV

A massive ship made of cold metal hovered in the dark, space sky. The transport which was attempting to follow Skywalker into hyperspace let up on their pursuit. In a quick decision, Darth Vader had decided it was best to wait out the Jedi Knight. Soon, he would be back to locate his lost friends.

A command officer stepped up from a pack of Stormtroopers, waiting at the edge of the room for further instructions. "Sir, we've lost contact with Rykin."

A pause, then a heavy, "I told you I want the boy."

"Yes," the Stormtrooper confirmed. "But it seems her comlink has gone out of range, sir, on the planet Tatooine."

"Tatooine?" Vader's voice rung out.

"Yes, my Lord."

The Dark Lord thought for a moment. Then, with a swoosh of his cloak, he turned his helmet back towards the windows of the ship. "Follow her," he ordered. "He's after the ship, but he'll soon be back to save Solo and the Princess."

"Yes, sir. A fleet will be dispatched immediately, sir."

"I'm going to need your help piloting this thing, Artoo," Luke called to his droid, who was stationed in the corner behind Han's usual seat in the front of the Falcon.

He had managed to get off of Tatooine without a problem, despite the shots the ship had taken from him before she landed. The only trouble he was given was due to the broken circuits in the cockpit after the misfire had happened, but Artoo would be able to rewire those while they were traveling. Hopefully, they could find the others without the navigation map displaying properly.

"Artoo," Luke called again once they were in hyperspace. "Can you locate the Alliance?"

The droid beeped in compliance, but instead of telling his Master what he wanted to know, he played back a message he picked up on his radio circuits, just as he had when he showed Luke the hologram of the Princess back when he first met Obi-Wan.

"This is Leia Organa of the Rebel Alliance," it spoke. "The Empire tracked Captain Solo into the Corellian system. Our current location will remain secure. Anyone who hears from Commander Skywalker is encouraged to contact me immediately. Until then, proceed to base."

"Leia!" Luke shouted, relieved. "Artoo, can you find the coordinates that was sent from?"

Artoo beeped and booped, agreeing to try to find the others. After a few moments of twisting his top around, he hopped and rushed toward the front of the cockpit. Luke picked up his feet, careful not to have the droid run them over. Then, Artoo plugged his arm in to the navigation panel and set the location for autopilot. Even if the map couldn't display, they would be on track.

"Leia must have encoded that for us," Luke thought out loud. He congratulated his companion, then leaned back in his chair. "Guess we have a long trip ahead of us, don't we, buddy?"

Artoo was quick to reply, but once he did, the hull of the Falcon suddenly rocked, sending him into a screaming frenzy.

"What was that?" Luke asked urgently, trying to scan the surrounding space for invaders.

When the droid offered a response, Luke shook his head. "It can't be an asteroid belt," he argued. "There shouldn't be one of those this close to Tatooine." Then, another rock. "Wait a minute, that's a blaster cannon! They're firing on us!"

Luke jumped for the controls and dropped out of light speed. He twisted the Falcon out of her path and swiveled back to face whoever was behind him. Suddenly, he was facing three Imperial transports.

"Artoo! Take over our cannons, will you?!" Luke ordered, ready to take them on. He prayed silently, hoping he could manage on his own. Han always had Chewie to help, but this was a one and a half man show in this fight.

The Imperial ships flew in pattern, sticking in a group. Once they brought themselves back on the Falcon's tail, they separated. One took the center, and the other two took to one side of the freighter.

Panicking, Luke ducked her down and made a loop in attempt to get behind them again.

"Artoo, focus on the center one!" he declared, figuring the center ship was the leader.

The Falcon's blaster cannons shook and shot beams of light at the ship. On target.

"Nice shot, Artoo!" Skywalker cheered.

Then, he sped up the Falcon and pushed her towards the other two. Quickly before he zoomed in between them, he twisted out of range of shots that were launched in his direction. Then, the right fleet was on his tail.

The Imperial ships kept speed. The left fired from a distance, but Luke was able to avoid their shots. The right stayed on him, firing hard. Thankfully, Luke was able to make the Falcon drop below, and then quickly corkscrew around and travel back to their starting point.

The right ship was quick – it stuck to his path well. The left tried to loop back around to meet the other side of the Falcon so both could fire on her, but the right ship stayed too close. It had no time to veer off path when Luke turned the ship in the direction away from Tatooine in the background and jumped back to hyper space.

The last thing Skywalker saw behind him before they darted off was the explosion that came from the impact of the two remaining Imperial ships.

Princess Leia sat in the copilot seat, watching Chewbacca take on the controls himself. He wanted to fly it manually to try and forget about Han for a little while. Since Leia knew nothing, she was no help. She made herself comfortable but didn't bother the Wookie.

They were well on their way to Naboo. In a matter of a few hours, they would be landing on the planet to rejoin the rest of the Alliance.

"Princess Leia! Princess Leia!" Threepio's excited voice echoed as he stepped into the cockpit.

For a moment, Leia had gone into a trance, but the droid's calling brought her back. She worried about Han first. Wondering if that was the cause of Threepio's panic, she sat up straight.

"What is it?" the Princess asked calmly.

"Why, look, Princess!" the droid demanded, trotting towards the window.

Leia spun around her chair to focus on what was outside. In the far distance, there was a dot approaching. As it got closer, she could just make out the edges, forming a familiar shape. The Millennium Falcon.

"The Falcon!" Leia called out happily, jumping to her feet.

Chewie celebrated the return of his ship with a loud howl. Then, he slowed down their speed so they could face the incoming freighter.

"Wait!" Leia ordered, placing a hand on Chewie's arm. "We don't know who's piloting that thing."

The Princess was right. The last they heard, the Falcon had been stolen off of Chad and right out from under Chewie's watch. That must have been why he felt it was necessary to take her on.

The Wookie growled a defiant explanation, stating that he saw who had taken her and he knew what they were up against.

Then, Leia reached for the controls ahead of them to bring up the ship's commlink.

"This is Leia Organa to the Millennium Falcon, Corellian freighter Y-1300. State your business." Leia used her best Senator's voice in hopes of persuading the one piloting to answer.

There was silence for a few moments after she radioed her message to the incoming ship. Then, a voice responded eagerly.

"I sure hope you've found Han!" it called.

"Luke!" Leia recognized the voice instantly. "How did you get your hands on the Falcon?" she asked.

"Long story, I'll tell you later."

She accepted that. She explained to Luke how close they were to the Naboo system once he told her he had no navigation to use. "We can't abandon our supplies," she decided, even though she knew Han and Chewie would love to get back aboard their baby.

"I'll meet you down there," Luke agreed. Then, after a brief moment, he added. "But I could use a copilot. You guys find her Captain?"

Leia frowned. She tried to keep her voice steady as she answered him. "We have him, but he's not in the best shape, Luke."

Chewie yowled, translating into something about the first aid supplies on the Falcon. Remembering his friend's need for an antidote, whether he thought he could get over it himself or not, he told Luke what to look for.

"I'll see what I can find," Skywalker promised.

"Thank you," Leia said sincerely. "And Luke…"

"What is it, Leia?" he asked, sensing something was wrong.

She shook her head to herself. "Nothing. Just get down there safe."

He chuckled. "Sure thing."

Then, Chewie grunted, hinting that they would begin their descent onto Naboo in about an hour, standard time.

"I'll go check on Han," she whispered, placing a hand on Chewbacca's arm again. Then, she was off and on her way to wake the copilot.