****TRIGGER WARNING: IF YOU GET TRIGGERED, SKIP THIS CHAPTER****

As Cad Bane's saucer-like ship crossed through the atmospheric plane of Coruscant, Leia's eyes widened in fear. A lone Weequay guard aimed a blaster at them while steadying himself with a pole that ran along the aisle.

Locked into jumpseats in the main cabin, Luke and Leia could not escape, even if they wanted to. Between the gun and the turbulence, as well as the sharp movements the ship made to avoid the incoming turbo lasers, Leia was sure they were going to die.

Luke, however, used his sister's fear to distract their guard. His eyes roamed the tight cabin before settling on their guard.

The man's wrinkled face revealed boredom. Through the Force, Luke felt the man was upset that Cad had assigned him to watch a bunch of kids. The boy repressed a smile at that thought.

When Leia whimpered, Luke watched their captor.

"What's your problem?" the man asked, whipping his blaster muzzle to her temple.

Leia silenced her cries as tears spilled down her cheeks.

Luke said, "Leave her alone. She's scared. She's only a little girl."

The Weequay stepped closer to Leia, leaning over her as he pressed the muzzle closer to her head. "Does this scare you? I like little girls," he hissed in her ear. He stroked her face as she froze in terror. "This is the least of your worries. You're going to beg for me to shoot you before I'm done with you."

He moved his hand down her arm. "I'm going to enjoy breaking you in for Jabba. He doesn't mind his dancing girls having a bit of experience."

As the Weequay's hand moved to Leia's chest, he said, "Not every man can say he's—"

The man fell back to the deck as the ship landed hard. When he looked up, Luke held his blaster, pointing it at the man.

Luke glared at the man, his anger swelling within him. "Now, you will unlock us and get out of our way." The Jedi Padawan snarled at the man.

"Little boy, put the blaster down. You don't have enough guts to shoot me." The Weequay leered at Leia with lust. "If you're nice, I'll let you watch. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

The man reached forward to touch Leia's left leg. She kicked in futility, the man just out of her reach. He clutched onto her leg, causing her to scream.

"Leave her alone," Luke said through clenched teeth as he pulled the trigger, hitting the man in the chest. The Weequay fell back to the deck with a thud.

"Luke!" Leia cried in relief.

While his sister sobbed, Luke dealt with the inner turmoil. I've just killed a man. I killed a man. He looked at the blaster in his hand and dropped it as whatever was in his stomach churned and threatened to come up. And it felt so good—

The sliding of the cockpit hatch interrupted Luke's thoughts.

Cad Bane stepped out and pointed at the Weequay with one of his LL-40 blaster pistols. "What happened to Yal?" The blue-skinned Duros with broad-rimmed hat kicked his guard to see if he was alive.

"Blaster malfunction." Luke glared at the ringleader. He fed on his anger, letting it build, letting it empower him. I'll kill every one of you to protect Leia.

Bane grabbed Luke by the collar and lifted him as far as his seat restraints would allow. "The way I see it, one of youse is responsible.

He turned to his co-pilot, Embo. "Get the girl. If she tries anything, shoot her. She's not the one our customer wants, anyway."

Bane turned his head back to Luke with abruptness. He lowered his face a few inches before the boy. "And if you try anything, she dies, and then I will break every one of your bones. I'd keep your mouth shut, if I were you, kid. As long as you're breathing, our customer doesn't care what condition you're in when we deliver you."

Bane passed a keycard through the lock on the restraints, popping the straps open. He picked up Luke by the back of his tunic and dragged him down the ship's landing ramp. The Kyuzo bounty hunter named Embo followed with the princess tucked under his arms, her body squirming and her legs flailing.

At the end of the ramp, with his steel, round hat bobbing as he walked, Embo asked, "How far until the drop point?"

"There," Cad said with a nod of his head.

"The Imperial Palace?" Embo asked. "What did you get us into, Bane?"

"A very pricey reward. And, if all goes well, Jabba will pay us well for the girl, too." Bane ran his free hand over his brim. "Not bad for a quick bit of work."

"Yeah, but when my father finds you, you won't live long enough to spend it." Luke growled.

Bane pulled the boy up with a sharp tug. "Shut it, kid. Your father won't even know we were involved."

"You're wrong. He knows where I am right now."

Embo darted his eyes around the commercial landing pad on which they had landed. With the palace pads burning, Bane had decided to protect his ship for a getaway. This far from the palace, the city seemed at peace. In the distance beyond the palace, the star destroyers burned in gigantic fireballs, exuding smoke kilometers into the atmosphere. "That's impossible. No one even knows we were on—"

A blaster shot sent Bane's black hat flying across the tarmac. Embo and Bane pulled their captives behind the nearest shipping crates as more shots flew over their heads.

"Let the kids go," a voice shouted from across the landing pad.

"Who's going to make me?" Bane lifted his blue head above the crate and aimed his blaster in the direction of the voice. All he saw was more crates and a few more ships. 

From another direction, a laser bolt burst across the intervening space, blowing their cover to pieces in one shot.

"Hey, what you got there? A laser cannon?"

"Come out with your hands up. Let the kids go. And we might let you get away," the baritone voice said.

"Over my dead corpse," Bane said as he fired in the direction of the last shot.

"Don't tempt me," his unseen opponent said.

Another laser blast fired from the second opponent, hitting Embo in the chest. The bounty hunter, still clutching Leia in his arm, flew backward a few meters, landing hard on the deck.

The princess screamed.

The first opponent scuffled onto the tarmac . "Bane, put the blaster down and then let the boy go, or you're next. My partner is a dead shot, and no one survives a blast from a bowcaster."

Leia crawled away from the dead Kyuzo and hid behind the loading ramp of an old freighter a few meters away.

The first opponent advanced on Bane as the bounty hunter aimed his blaster at Luke's head. "Stop, or the kid gets it."

"Nah, he's too valuable to you. No reward if he ain't alive. Ain't that right, Bane?"

"Well, I'm not letting you take it." Bane swiveled his blaster with speed and shot at the man.

The dark-haired human ducked, avoiding the blast. He came up firing at Bane, hitting the man's blaster.

As the weapon heated in his hand, Bane dropped it, shaking his hand in pain. "Take the kid." He pushed Luke forward. "I just want my reward. A 50/50 split sounds fair to me."

"Reward? I'll give you a reward. Ever had your arms pulled out of your sockets? Wookiees are known to do that. Release the kid, or you'll be looking for cybernetics on your next hunt. Right, Chewie?"

An imposing brown-and-black-haired Wookiee stepped out from behind a shipping crate. He roared as he stepped forward, focusing his aim on the Duros's head.

"Eh, he says he'd rather shoot you. Keep you from talking. Now, let the boy go, or this is going to get messy." The man placed his left hand on his hip, resting on the red striping on his blue Corellian uniform pants.

Bane's eyes moved from the Wookiee to the man and back again. Raising his hands, he dropped his blaster to the deck with a clatter. "Get going, kid."

Luke ran straight for the Wookiee, hiding behind the creature's gigantic legs.

"Who should I tell Jabba has his bounty?"

"Han Solo, Captain of the Millennium Falcon, but I don't deal in slaves. Tell Jabba this is one bargain he'll never make."

"Hmm. I'd hate to be you when Jabba hears that. Next time we meet, Solo, you'll be the one with the death mark, I guarantee it." Bane slinked away backward. "And I expect to take my own bounty. You owe me a hat—and a blaster."

After Bane had reached his ship, Chewbacca moved forward with Luke clutching his leg behind him. The Wookiee moaned something to his friend.

"You said it, Chewie. Let's get these kids out of here and get that money back to Gardulla the Hutt before she hears from Jabba about our little rescue here." Han held his blaster, looking for any other attacks, as he approached the ramp of his ship.

Chewie asked him a question in Shriywook.

"I don't know. Hey, kid, where's the girl?"

Luke looked out from behind the Wookiee's leg. "She's hiding."

The twenty-year-old man knelt down and grabbed Luke by a shoulder. "Look, I need to get you two off this planet. Where d'you live?"

Luke bit his lip. "Alderaan. She's a princess."

"Alderaan. I'm not taking you to Alderaan. It's too far out of my way. I'm in for it as it is, thanks to my partner here . . . always having to save the day."

Chewie argued with Han.

The smuggler turned his head and looked out across the empty tarmac into the city. "Well, first, we've gotta find this princess of yours, and then we'll see what we can do. Maybe a little side trip won't take that long. This is the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs, after all."

Luke stared at the man with wide eyes. "Really? Wow!"

"Yeah, I'll let you check out the cockpit, but first we've got to find this princess."

Luke winked. "I know where she is. Follow me." He ran across the tarmac.

Han said to Chewie as they followed the kid, "I don't know why I let you talk me into these things. For a ferocious Wookiee, you sure don't act like it sometimes."

The Wookiee tilted his head and moaned something in response.

Tell me what you think . . . 

● Why do you think Chewie interfered?