Author: Ivy Liege, SubversiveSkank2@aol.com

Rating: R (Violence, graphic images, implied masturbation)

Characters: Eh, you'll know them when you see them

Category: Drama, Romance, Action

Status: (1/?)In Progress

Disclaimer: I make absolutely NO MONEY off my stories and all
characters (sans characters of my own creation)are the property of
that guy with the beard and the really big ranch in Marin County
named George Lucas.

Summary: Just the beginning of the shit hitting the fan...

NOTE: *< indicates flashback

CHAPTER 1

Sol 2, Tatooine's second sun, was just beginning its descent behind
the massive dunes surrounding the Pit of Carcoon. The usually
impressive desert sunset was made even more brilliant as the fading
light struck through the billowing smoke pouring out of the
smoldering pleasure barge, making its wind-blown journey over the
dunes' horizon. As red-orange radiance gracefully morphed into indigo
purple dusk, it cast its shroud of dune-struck shadows across the
dilapidated barge and the dozens of corpses encircling it, assisting
the encroaching sands in covering the dead.

Meters away, the Saarlac slept…or at least seemed to. The meal that
day, its largest in years, allowed the sand-submerged beast to rest
it tentacles from its constant search for food. A low rhythmic rumble
emerged from the thing; had anything living been around to hear it,
the sound may have been interpreted as snoring.

Suddenly, the Saarlac's labored breathing stopped with a thunderous
snort. The few seconds of silence were then interrupted by a muffled
explosion emanating from deep inside the beast's innards. The air was
pierced by the Saarlac's deafening screech, and the entire pit
convulsed and bucked, the Saarlac's tentacles flapping wildly about.
Another explosion belched forth from the monster's belly. The entire
Saarlac violently heaved up as it vomited a geyser of guts, fluids,
smoke, and body parts toward the sky. The last thing to be dispensed
from the beast's gullet was an intact humanoid figure with fire
exploding from its back…

The figure flew in a graceful arc through the air before the jetpack
on its back sputtered. Quickly decelerating, it hit the sands
surrounding the Saarlac with a sickening thud and a roar of intense
pain. Swiftly bringing himself to his knees, Boba Fett spun his torso
toward the beast and, reaching for his right bracer, ignited its
flamethrower.

A river of fire exploded from Fett's arm, engulfing the Saarlac's
exposed head and mouth and illuminating the desert night sky. The
monster thrashed and heaved, its screams echoing throughout the
valley in a cacophony of agony. Flaming embers of flesh and hair
sparked and crackled into the air all around the pit. Fett licked his
lips under his helm, a malevolent grin twisting his face as he
steadily, relentlessly roasted the Saarlac alive.

The choking stench of seared flesh permeated the air. The Saarlac
lugged up in one last torturous convulsion, and finally the burned
and dying beast slithered back into his pit, just as Fett's
flamethrower ran out of fuel.

As the Saarlac descended into the sands, Fett fell forward to rest on
all fours, greedily gulping in as much delicious air as he could.
"There, you filthy load of Bantha shit", Fett mumbled between hard,
raw breaths, "How's that for heartburn?"

As the effects of the adrenaline pulsing through his veins began to
subside, it was only at that moment when he realized it hurt to
breathe; a stabbing ache ripped through his left side with every
breath drawn in. It hurt even more to rest on his right arm. He
slowly, painfully, rose to his feet, wiping the creature's gullet
juices off the visor of his helmet and the plates of his armor. He
held himself steady as the entire desert seemed to spin around him,
and he reached up to the helm, running his fingers along the huge
crack in the top of the helmet. As he tried to step forward, he
roared once again as pain shot straight up his leg from his left
ankle and knee. Nevertheless, he forced himself to limp forward
toward the smoldering hulk of Jabba the Hutt's now wrecked land- locked sand barge.

Standing before the huge smoking husk of the transport, Fett removed
his helmet to get a better view. The bow stuck into the low dune,
leaning to the port side. The body of a guard was draped over the
rail of the observation deck, his right arm nearly burned off his
shoulder. The outside wall, streaked with blackened lines of burnt
blood, was glowing a brown-orange, indicating that fire still raged
within. The sands were littered with broken glass, pieces of
clothing, shattered weapons, and sheets of charred metal as well as
the scorched bodies of dancers, thugs, and guests of the ill-fated
party.

Fett, still staring up at the burning hulk, threw his helmet down
into the sand. "Son of a bitch…" he murmured under his
breath.

He turned in a full circle, hoping to find something resembling a
working vehicle, finding nothing. The remaining sand speeder was in
worse shape than the barge, lying in burning bits across the dune
valley floor. Han Solo and the rest of the rebels in their escape had
obviously taken the remaining speeder.

Fett reached up and grabbed a fistful of his own hair as he fought to
control the rage building throughout his battered body. The curse
seemed to begin deep within his bowels, moving up his torso until it
finally roared from his lips…

"Damn you! Gods damn you to all the hells!" he screamed into the
desert night, the echoes further taunting him as they bounced around
the dune valley. Even as he said it, Fett wasn't entirely sure who he
was cursing, Solo, the Rebels, Jabba's crew…or himself.

Fett was disgusted with himself. He had been careless. He had allowed
himself to become distracted. The fact that he had been knocked to
the deck of the speeder during his attempt to snare Skywalker had
rattled him, taken him off his guard. He hadn't been concentrating on
the capture; he had let his emotions take over as he aimed his
blaster at the self-proclaimed Jedi, unaware of everything around
him, behind him…He had stupidly believed that Solo, unarmed and
blind, was no threat at that moment. He hadn't seen Solo pick up the
spear, waving it wildly until the spearhead had stuck right into the
redundant ignition switch on the back of his jetpack, sending Fett
careening through the air, smashing into the bulkhead of the barge
and dropping right into the awaiting maw of the Saarlac.

Fett ran his hand through his spiked hair. When he brought it down
and looked at the palm of his glove, he saw it covered with blood.
Glaring at the stain, a bitter laugh emerged from his lips.

"You're finished, Hunter," Fett snarled under his breath.
He leaned
back his head, glaring at the stars that seemed to mock him with
their cheerful flicker. "This never would have happened before…her."
He closed his eyes and lowered his head to rest against his closed
fist. "She's poisoned you."

Again, as it had for these many months, the image of an alabaster
heart-shaped face with dazzling teal eyes framed by shimmering black
curls infiltrated his thoughts—and again, he fought to expel it from
his mind…

"Not now, " he whispered, clenching his eyes closed. "Do
not haunt me
now…"

Fett leaned down and grabbed the helmet out of the sand, furiously
trying to ignore the unbearable pain the action caused him. He had to
get moving. He had to get back to his ship and run a medical scan and
do what he could to mend himself. He had to get off this gods- forsaken rock of a planet. As he carefully placed the helmet back on
his head and switched on the infrared, he heard a faint, desperate
cry coming from just beyond the stern of the barge.

He limped toward the voice, stopping once and bending down to pick up
the blaster of one of the dead guards lying in the sand. As he
approached closer, he recognized the language the voice was speaking
as Twi'leki. He stopped and found himself staring down on a badly
burned and mutilated Bib Fortuna, the major domo of Jabba the Hutt's
palace.

One of Fortuna's head tentacles had been burned off, as well as half
his face. His robes were nothing more than seared rags that stuck to
his flesh. His arm was mangled almost beyond recognition, and both
his legs were broken and crumpled under him. With his good arm, he
reached up toward Fett, stammering, "Hoota nundi, Fett…Hoota nundi…"
Roughly translated into galactic basic, "Help me."

Fett looked down at the twisted, injured Twi'lek. "Tough
break, huh,
Fortuna?" Raising the blaster and pointing it right between Bib
Fortuna's eyes, he added, "Sure, Bib, I'll help you…"

"Nah, Fett, nah! Fichi ag AKAAAA!!!"

The high-pitched shriek of the blaster shot was followed by cold
silence, then by quiet footsteps falling on sand as Boba Fett lurched
over a dune in the desert night. It would be a lengthy, excruciating
trek back, on foot and injured, through the unforgiving Tatooine
desert to the palace of the now dead Jabba the Hutt.

* * *

Any day now, Dr. Him'bron had said just a few days earlier. For
I'Lai, any day now was not soon enough.

She had tried to hoist herself out of her chair, but then realized
that the grand mound of her belly had trapped her between the desk
and the chair. Frustrated, she huffed and bumped the chair back,
braced herself against the arm and tried again. Slowly and with a
degree of difficulty, she rose to a standing position. Taking a tiny
break from the effort, she placed both hands against the small of her
back, which was intensely throbbing and had been for weeks. She
rubbed the tender area as she shuffled forward toward the bath
chamber where Nikoa had already started drawing I'Lai's bath before
retiring for the evening.

As she entered the bath chamber, she found herself awash with the
fragrant steam rising from the immense tub. She stopped and whispered
a tiny curse to herself when she knocked her hairbrush off the
vanity: She would have to wait for Nikoa to pick it up for her, for
her rather extended form now made bending over virtually impossible.
She undid her fur-lined robe, letting it drop to the floor, and
stepped into the sunken tub.

She let out a sigh of sheer bliss and leaned her head back as the
warm water and sudsy foam enveloped and encircled her. The pain in
her back began to lessen, and she imagined her limbs melting into the
bath.

The baby began to dance and writhe within her womb, as he did almost
every night at this time. I'Lai, her eyes closed, moved her hand over
her expanded abdomen and smiled when she felt the heel of a tiny foot
glide from left to right at the top of her swelled belly.
Unconsciously, her hand moved from her belly up to brush against her
breasts, now growing larger and fuller by the day as they readied
themselves for her son's arrival into the world. A nipple slid
between her wet fingers, and she pulled it gently, gasping as she
felt her loins tighten in response. Her other hand began to travel
down her wet nude body, but stopped just shy of its destination
between her legs…

A wave of sadness suddenly washed over I'Lai. She dropped her head
and covered her face with her hands. Since her victorious
confrontation with Darth Vader months ago, Vader had never returned
to her dreams. But neither had the image of Boba Fett.

She missed him. She longed for him. And she hated herself for it. She
hated herself for having even a shred of hope that she had actually
meant something to Fett. Why should she? She was merely a number in a
long line of conquests for the infamous bounty hunter, of that she
was certain. And here she was, pining after him like a simpleton,
carrying a child he would never know he had… She hated herself
because she had allowed herself to love him.

A memory infiltrated her thoughts, a memory from that night on the
Executor all those months ago…

*<"Wait…don't move," I'Lai had whispered as she
gingerly reached
toward Boba Fett's face. She had stretched her naked body alongside
of Fett's, her leg entwined around his own as they both lay on the
massive Arisand silk-strewn bed.

Fett flinched. "What are you doing?"

"Sssh, hold still…you have an eyelash under your eye."
With great
care, she pinched the tiny hair from his lower eyelid, balancing it
on her fingertip. She held it to his mouth. "There…now blow
on it and
make a wish."

He had knit his brows and curled the corner of his mouth upward. "Why
would I do that?"

She had giggled. "What, didn't you ever play this as a
child?"

His gaze remained constant as he replied, softly and bluntly, "I
never played as a child."

She had lowered her hand and dropped her gaze, unsure what to
say. "Oh…I'm …sorry."

They had said nothing for a while. It seemed that Fett had felt her
awkwardness. He rolled his body over her, running his hand down her
curving side, resting it on her hip. "I want to tell you something."

"Yes..?"

His tone was simple, almost emotionless, and quiet when he said "You…
are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen." With that, he brushed
his lips against the velvet flesh of her neck and pressed his bare
body into her…>*

As far as the rest of the galaxy's populace was concerned, he was a
merciless, ruthless killer. But that was not what he was to her---he
had shown her affection, passion, tenderness and, she could almost
say, vulnerability. She suddenly thought of something she had said to
Nikoa a few months back regarding Reynau Denivrian… Nobody knew him
like I did. Deep in her heart, she felt that the same was true of
Boba Fett.

But now, more than ever before, it seemed hopeless. Even if Fett
landed on Orri Prime tomorrow, he and I'Lai were in opposite camps of
a galactic war, with Fett working for Vader and I'Lai now supplying
and supporting the Rebel Alliance.

"Ah, little one", she cooed, caressing her belly. "Things
were so
much easier when your mother was merely an Imperial whore." She
laughed a little at her self-deprecation as a single teardrop fell
down her cheek to mix with the droplets of steam from her bath.

Suddenly, her eyesight went black. She shot up, gripping the sides of
the tub. She was about to cry out for Nikoa when a bone-chilling howl
screamed across her mind. Images flashed in front of her in rapid
succession, almost too fast to comprehend…

Luke Skywalker, writhing in pain on a black floor, lightning
enveloping and scorching his body, calling to his father—The Emperor
laughing, lightning shooting from his hands---Vader in turmoil, then
in rage---Vader attacking the Emperor, lifting him over his head,
throwing him down a huge shaft---Fire, wind, explosions of heat and
light and all the while the screaming---The Emperor screaming,
screaming, reaching his withered hand upwards as he plunged down the
shaft---

The screams suddenly had words, and the words were meant for
I'Lai---
"I'Lai! Save me! I'll be father to your son; I'll
make you the mother
of an empire! I'LAI!"

I'Lai's limbs thrashed about in the tub as she gritted her teeth as
the words echoed through her mind, over and over…

"Mother of the Empire! MOTHER OF THE EMPIRE!"

"NOOOOOO!" I'Lai shrieked back, her entire body arcing
and her head
thrown back. "Get out of my mind! GET OUT!"

The screaming suddenly faded as it fell down into the shaft of her
visions, replaced by the near cries of Nikoa running into the
bedchamber. I'Lai's vision returned and the bath chamber morphed into
her reality once again…

"Your Ladyship! Your Ladyship! The Rebels have WON! The war is over!"

I'Lai, dazed and panting, desperately tried to focus her eyes as
Nikoa burst into the bath chamber. "W...What?"

"Stitz just received an interplanetary message from the Alliance!
There was a huge battle on Endor---two thirds of the Imperial Fleet
was been wiped out, including the Executor! The new Death Star has
been destroyed, Darth Vader is dead---the Emperor is dead! He's DEAD,
I'Lai!" She picked up I'Lai's robe from the floor,
raising it toward
I'Lai with one hand and grabbing the towel off the rack with the
other. "The Alliance has put forth an urgent request to set down here
on Orri Prime—Lady I'Lai, please! Get out of the tub and get dressed!
General Solo is requesting to speak to you personally! Come on, come
on!" She assisted I'Lai to a standing position, furiously drying her
naked body.

The cold air on her wet skin along with Nikoa's quick towelling
helped snap I'Lai back to the moment. "W-What? The Rebellion…won?"

Nikoa stopped and gawked at I'Lai. "Your Ladyship, have you heard
nothing I've said? General Han Solo is on the comlink right now in
Stitz's office!" With a strength and speed of a woman half
her age,
Nikoa threw the robe around her and pulled I'Lai through the
bedchamber out into the corridor.

They ran through the maze of halls in the palace, finally coming
across a narrow door in the little-used southern wing. As I'Lai and
Nikoa made their approach, the door swooshed open and revealed a
beaming Captain Stitz.

"My Lady!" Stitz exclaimed, throwing his arms around
I'Lai. She
enthusiastically returned the embrace. "Quickly, General Solo wants
to speak with you!"

I'Lai entered Stitz's clandestine headquarters and moved to
the
com. "Yes, General Solo, are you there?"

The channel crackled for a brief second, followed by a smooth yet
obviously elated male voice. "Lady I'Lai, is that you? Han
Solo here…
yeah, yeah, Chewie, I think she knows we won by now!"

I'Lai felt that her chest would burst with joy. "Han, you
have no
idea how good it is to hear your voice again!"

Han chuckled on the other end. "Yeah, well it feels pretty good to be
able to talk again! Listen, we need a place to set down for a while— where we're at is still heavy Imperial territory, our medical frigate
is pretty banged up and we have wounded that need tending. Requesting
permission for landing clearance on Orri Prime."

"Of course, of course! Permission granted! I'll have medics
and
transports available at the space dock immediately upon your arrival!"

"That's great! We're only about five parsecs from you; we should be
there in a couple hours. Hey, I'Lai—you still as pretty as I
remember?"

Nikoa's and Stitz's smirks did nothing to diminish the
growing blush
in I'Lai's cheeks. Though she was grinning, she shot an
annoyed glare
at the both of them as her hand ran over her heavily pregnant
stomach. "Well, Han", she stuttered, flushed and embarrassed, "I
certainly hope you will think so…"

The sound of a light slap came over the comlink. "Ow! Hey, she's an
old friend of mine---I was just—ow, quit it, Leia!"

A female's voice came over the speaker, her diplomatic tone doing
nothing to hide her jealousy. "This is the Princess Leia Organa. I'm
sorry, but General Solo must resume his duties piloting the ship.
Over and out."

I'Lai raised her eyebrows as she stifled a giggle.

"Lady I'Lai", Stitz murmured. "The planet awaits your
orders."

Her head was reeling from everything that had just occurred within
the last fifteen minutes. She drew in a deep breath. "All right.
Captain Stitz, put out a call to the Alliance flagship and inform
them that their transports may land at the northern and southern
spaceports. Then call all port com centers and have them notify all
medical personnel to arrive at said ports with supplies and ambulary
vehicles and take the Alliance wounded to the infirmaries. See if you
can contact the Millennium Falcon again and inform General Solo that
he may land in the palace's private port."

She turned to Nikoa and smiled from ear to ear. "Nikoa—we
have a big
celebration to plan. I leave that to you and the house staff. I think
you know what to do."

Nikoa, a seasoned veteran in the palace's event planning, smiled and
winked. "I'll get right on it, Madam." She turned to go
but suddenly
stopped as a thought crossed her mind. "Oh, Lady
I'Lai—what about
Magistrate Omin'da? What are we going to tell him?"

I'Lai folded her arms over her belly and tilted her head to one
side. "Oh yes, the Magistrate…" A smirk stretched her mouth
wide. "Tell him that he and Lady Omin'da will, unfortunately, going
to have to vacate their palace and stay in the guest house out back— with, of course, Alliance security. We have many Rebel heroes coming
to visit, and they will need a place to stay."

* * *

CHAPTER 2

Neither the brisk early spring wind nor the overcast dawn did
anything to discourage the bustling scene of preparation and sheer
elation at the palace's spaceport. Mechanics scrambled to ready their
tools for repair and inspection. Musicians set up their instruments
to play their welcoming fanfare for the impending heroes. Scores of
celebrants and well wishers crowded into every available free space
the dock could afford them, carrying flasks and bottles of every kind
of intoxicating beverage they could get their hands on.

As I'Lai stepped into the dock from the underground walkway, the
crowd exploded into a symphony of cheers that bounced off the
encircling cobalt-hued mountains, sending their music of joy and
freedom reverberating up to the very heavens.

Nikoa arrived from the tunnel just in time to slap away several burly- bodied miners who where about to lift I'Lai upon their
shoulders. "What do you think you are doing? You can't hoist her
about in her condition! Shoo, scat, SHOO! Go…drink or something!"

A little girl, sitting on the strong shoulders of her miner father,
pointed up into the sky. Her squealing shout could be heard even over
the din of the joyful throng. "Listen! Up there! They're coming!"

All heads turned toward the direction of the two gargantuan mountain
peaks the residents called Heavens Brace. A hush fell upon the crowd
as they listened to the dull roar of a ship's engines that could not
yet be seen through the dense cloud cover. It seemed the same thought
ran through everyone's mind as they waited, including
I'Lai's; What
if it wasn't the Millennium Falcon? What if it was an Imperial
scouting vessel clearing they way for the remainder of the Imperial
fleet to blast the spacedock and everyone in it…?

The crowd's precautionary silence broke once again into deafening
cheers as the Millennium Falcon parted the mists of the looming
clouds and banked gracefully between Heavens Brace's twin peaks,
gallantly circling above the dock as the scores of Orrian citizens
cheered, applauded, laughed, and cried. The multitude then backed
themselves away from the center of the dock, allowing the Falcon to
elegantly descend and land in the middle of the throng.

The elated mass once again swarmed to the middle of the platform and
the makeshift band struck up their instruments in a rousing fanfare
as the Falcon's ramp opened. The first to emerge down the ramp was
the Alliance's newly appointed general Han Solo, still dressed in his
Endor camouflage duster. Before he could set foot on the landing
platform, Han was swept off the ramp by several members of the
enthusiastic crowd and set upon their shoulders, carrying him toward
the tunnel entrance to a beaming Lady I'Lai.

"Whoa! Hey! Be careful down there! I'm more delicate than I look!"
Han laughed.

Next to emerge through the Falcon's entry hatch was General Lando
Calrissian, who was also hoisted up and paraded through the crowd.
Lando laughed as well, shaking hands that were thrust at him from
below with one hand and swigging out of a long, dark bottle with the
other. "Now THIS is what I call a party!"

Leia Organa came down the ramp next. Several pairs of hands grabbed
for her to lift her as well, but suddenly backed off when the two and
a half meter Wookiee behind her snarled and gnashed his teeth at the
overly enthusiastic crowd. As they cleared the ramp, Chewbacca smiled
down at the Princess and lifted her himself, carefully placing her on
his massive shoulder. Leia giggled and leaned down to hug Chewbacca's
thick neck as he strutted her through the crowd.

The last human to emerge from the Falcon was the cloaked and hooded
figure of Luke Skywalker. Luke stopped the encroaching crowd from
lifting him with a wave of his hand and a shake of his head. The
crowd fell back slightly, allowing Luke to stride down the ramp on
his own power and stand quietly among them.

After the heroes were carried about for the whole assembly to see,
they were then gently let down in front of I'Lai. Han stepped forward
first, stretching out his arms. "I'Lai!"

"Han!" I'Lai exclaimed as she tried to embrace him, only
to have the
girth of her belly intrude upon her joyous intention. She settled for
taking both his hands into hers. "It is SO good to see you! Welcome!"

It was then Han looked down at I'Lai, his eyes and mouth
widening. "I'Lai! W-When did this happen?" he stammered.

Again, I'Lai found herself flushed in the presence of Han Solo. "Oh… about nine months ago…"

Before Solo could reply, he felt himself suddenly pushed back
slightly and Lando Calrissian's hand had quickly and mysteriously
replaced his own in I'Lai's grip. "My Lady", Lando
crooned as he
lifted I'Lai's hand to his lips, "I do not believe we
have been
properly introduced. The name is Lando, Lando Calrissian." He looked
up into I'Lai's eyes, smiling the smile which was known to
much of
the female populace in the galaxy and gently massaging her slim
fingers. "You know, I used to head up a mining operation myself.
Perhaps you and I could…get together and compare bottom lines
sometime…"

I'Lai became giddy and flustered, and could think of nothing to say.
She simply giggled and brought her hand to her mouth, looking down.
Solo, rivaling Lando's speed and finesse, came around and laid a firm
arm around Lando's shoulders with droll laughter. "I'Lai, you'll have
to forgive my friend. He's…well, he's…he's an
idiot."

Lando snapped his head toward Han. "Hey!"

Still smiling, Han turned Lando around in a slow circle and
whispered, "What is the matter with you? Can't you see
she's about
eight years pregnant?"

Lando smiled and shrugged. "Hey, what can I say? That's when women
are their most beautiful." He turned back and sneaked a wink back to
I'Lai.

I'Lai stepped toward Leia, extending her hand. "You must be
the
Princess Leia Organa. I can't tell you what a supreme honor it is to
have you here on Orri Prime. You are most happily welcome, your
Highness." She lifted Leia's hand and touched it to her
bowed head.

Leia was pleasantly startled by I'Lai's formal greeting; no
one had
performed this courtly salutation for her since before Alderaan had
been destroyed. She looked up into I'Lai's eyes, and felt her earlier
jealousy melt away, replaced by a warm sense of serenity and kinship.
Leia herself was almost staggered by her radiance. Luke had been
right about this woman---she was most definitely a powerful beacon
for the Light of the Force.

Leia returned the courtly greeting, touching her forehead to I'Lai's
hand. "Lady I'Lai, the Alliance is entirely in your debt. We cannot
thank you or the entire populace of Orri Prime enough for all your
help and support during our struggles against the Empire."

I'Lai's smile grew even wider as she enveloped Leia's
hands into her
own. "You won the war, your Highness. That is all the thanks we
require here. That and the great pleasure of your company at
tonight's festivities." She turned to Han and Lando,
extending her
hand. "All of you must be exhausted! If you please, Nikoa here will
escort you to your guest chambers. All that you require will be
provided."

Solo came up beside Leia, slipping his arm around her small waist. He
leaned into her ear and whispered, "So, Your Worship, shall we
request adjoining suites?"

Leia gave Han a sidelong glance and a wry smile. "Oh, I don't think
so, General Solo." She purposely waited for the disappointed look on
Han's face before she spun around and wrapped her arms around his
neck. "I was under the impression that we would be sharing a room.
Less wasteful that way."

Han's face brightened. "Your Holiness, I like the way you think.
Always the model of efficiency." With that, he lifted her off the
ground and passionately kissed her as he carried her through the
tunnel entry.

Lando suddenly caught the face and frame of a voluptuous, red-haired
female celebrant, who returned his look with a sly smile and
wink. "All that I require, hmm?" As the others started
walking
through the entry of the tunnel back to the palace, he swung around
and slipped an arm around the girl's waist. "Hi, my name is
Lando---
have you ever seen the inside of a palace…?" The girl giggled and
shook her head as they joined the throng of people now escorting
their heroes with song and fanfare down the tunnel.

I'Lai gave Chewbacca a kiss and tickle as he passed her to join the
others, then turned to see the cloaked figure of Luke Skywalker
standing alone near the Falcon. The remainder of the crowd passed her
as she made her way to the lone Jedi.

"Luke…" she murmured, her eyes imploring and wide.
"Did…did you find
Boba Fett?"

Luke said nothing, gazing intently into her eyes. I'Lai felt her joy
begin to seep away as she read the answer to her question in his
eyes. Fighting to control her trembling lip, she whispered, "What
happened?"

Luke sighed. "There was a battle over the Pit of Carcoon on Tatooine.
Fett was trying to kill me, and Han saved my life. Fett…fell into the
mouth of a giant beast called the Saarlac. He---"

"No, Luke don't, please", I'Lai said quietly, raising
her hand and
pushing her tears back hard. "Don't say anymore." She
turned away,
bowing her head.

Luke stepped forward and put his cybernetic hand on her shoulder. "It
was an accident, I'Lai. I had every intention of taking Fett alive
and bringing him here. You have to believe me."

I'Lai turned and looked at Luke through tear-soaked eyes. "I
do
believe you, Luke. But it doesn't make it any easier to bear, does
it?" Her arms came up to encircle her belly as she embraced her
unborn son.

Luke's heart sank. He was still the only one who knew
I'Lai's secret,
and he had detested having to bring this news to her. Though the
entire galaxy seemed to be celebrating the death of the Emperor and
his ruthless henchman Darth Vader, he had been mourning the loss of
his father, Anakin Skywalker. And now it seemed he was no longer
alone in grieving for the loss of someone no one else truly
understood...

"I'Lai…I wish there was something I could do…"

She smiled slightly through her tears and took Luke's hand. "You
could join me tonight at the celebration. Please come." They slowly
walked toward the tunnel entrance as the port mechanics gathered
around the Millennium Falcon to begin their maintenance work.

* * *

Although impressive without decoration, Grand Mountain Hall on this
night had never looked more dazzling. Once a huge durasteel mine, the
mountain had been hollowed out over the last few centuries and was
now used as an immense gathering hall. The ceiling of the place
spanned hundreds of meters from the cavern floor, and on this night,
lit candles had been placed on every crag and jutting rock reaching
to the very top. The floor itself also spanned hundreds of meters
wide, with a small natural lake set in the center. Votives and
flowers were strewn across the water, emitting light and sweet
fragrance throughout the massive mountain chamber. Set around the
lake were scores of tables heavily laden with immense trays of food
and hundreds of bottles of drink to which the thousands of guests
happily helped themselves. Those who were not eating or drinking were
dancing wildly and feverishly on the enormous dance floor to the
joyful, manic music played by the amateur orchestra of miners,
technicians, and anyone else who could halfway carry a tune on the
instrument they owned.

The Rebel soldiers and pilots, male and female, human and non, were
beside themselves with the vast amount of attention they were
receiving. Orrian males and females of every size, age, and race
doted on and fought over the Rebel heroes, offering them various ways
of "appreciation" not covered in the Rebel Alliance Protocol
Handbook. Many newly acquainted couples could be seen disappearing
into the numerous small caves and tunnels the mountain hall provided
for a little more privacy than the raucous celebration would allow
them.

Chewbacca was one of them. Being more than just a little in his cups
after hours of celebrating, he let out an ear-splitting roar when he
saw a young one hundred year old female Wookiee giving him a
traditional mating stare from across the dance floor. The dancing
celebrants parted the dance floor like a storm-tossed sea as
Chewbacca sped across to the female and hoisted her up on his
shoulder without so much as a Wookiee hello, carrying the giggling
Wookiee female off into one of the darkened mountain clefts.

Han Solo joined the rest of the crowd in their rounds of laughter and
applause. "Wookiees---not entirely known for their smooth talk!" He
looked down at Princess Leia in his arms, who was still laughing
heartily at Chewbacca's triumphant match. Han smiled even wider---he
had never seen Leia laugh this much or be this happy, and it warmed
him down to his soul.

He hadn't been able to take his eyes off her all night. I'Lai had
given Leia one of her gowns to wear for the evening; he chuckled as
he recalled how they all had laughed when the gown was miles too long
on Leia when she first tried it on. But I'Lai's lady's
maid Nikoa had
been quite deft with a needle and thread, and had altered the pale
sea-foam green dress to adorn Leia perfectly in just a few hours.
Then Nikoa had plaited Leia's hair into a simple single braid and
wove in tiny garlands of mountain flowers and pearls. She is so
beautiful, Han thought to himself, but she was most beautiful when
she shared my bed for the very first time today…

It seemed the only people not dancing, drinking, or carousing were
Luke Skywalker and I'Lai. They sat next to each other at the head
table that was set on a low precipice overlooking the vast chamber.
Although many young and attractive women approached Luke all evening,
he merely smiled and politely declined their invitations to dance as
well as invitations to engage in less… public entertainments. His
intense dedication to the Jedi ways discouraged him from engaging in
frivolous sexual escapades, and his heart still felt heavy from the
loss of his father only two days prior. He also felt that I'Lai could
use some company. Besides, he had thought himself, I'm really not
much of a dancer.

Leia stole a quick glance toward I'Lai seated at the head table with
Luke. She furrowed her brow a tiny bit. "I find it a little odd that
Luke never mentioned I'Lai's pregnancy." She tilted her
head
slightly. "And amidst all this celebration, she looks…so
sad…"

Han shrugged a bit. "Well, I guess it's not much fun being at
a party
if you can't dance."

Leia shook her head, still gazing at I'Lai. Her tone became soft,
almost distant, and her eyes seemed to glaze for a moment. "No,
that's not it…it's something else…"

Han became concerned by Leia's trance-like state. "Leia, are you all
right?"

She turned her gaze back up to Han, suddenly aware again. "Hmm…what?" "You were doing it again, that Force thing." Han seemed more worried
than irritated.

Leia exhaled with a tiny laugh. "Oh…yes, I'm sorry,
Han." Grinning
mischievously and tightening her arms around his waist, Leia changed
the subject. "Does looking at her give you any ideas, hot shot?"

Han returned the mischievous grin as he leaned down and breathed into
her ear, "Well, I thought this afternoon was a pretty good
beginning," stealing a nibble of her earlobe. He felt a tingle of
excitement trickle up his spine as Leia gasped and nuzzled her cheek
against his neck, pulling him even closer to her. Han momentarily
broke the embrace, looking down at her with concerned eyes. "You're
sure I didn't hurt you, Leia?"

Leia calmed his concern with a warm smile and softly touching his
face. "No, Han, not at all." She slipped her hands behind
his neck,
pulling his lips closer to hers. "I love you, Han", she whispered as
she pressed her lips to his in a soft, hungry kiss. As they parted,
Han lifted Leia by the waist and spun her in a circle. Leia threw
back her head and let out a brilliant, sparkling laugh.

Luke felt his heart swell with love and happiness for his sister and
his best friend as he watched Han and Leia. He was glad to see them
free and careless---the years of war, struggle, danger and
devastating loss had left little time for anything else. He knew the
coming weeks would bring new challenges and strives, for Luke was not
so naïve to believe that the war was truly over. But these were not
things to dwell on this evening. This night was about freedom and joy.

He turned to I'Lai seated on his left. She was watching Han and Leia
as well, but Luke sensed immediately that she was not sharing his
same feelings for the couple. Her expression was blank and
emotionless. He also noticed that she had not touched any of the food
on her plate or the drink in her cup.

"I'Lai," Luke murmured, reaching for her hand, "are
you all right?"

I'Lai stared ahead, never averting her eyes from the couple. "They're
in love, aren't they?" she asked softly, almost inaudibly.

"Yes, they are," Luke replied. He saw I'Lai's lower
lip quiver
slightly, and she blinked only once, but again, she did not look away
from Han and Leia.

Luke squeezed her hand. I'Lai finally broke her gaze from the couple
to turn to Luke. The blank expression on her face had melted into one
of extreme sadness.

"I'Lai," Luke said softly, taking her hand in both of
his, "I…just
wanted to tell you that I am so terribly sorry for your loss."

I'Lai's expression softened as she gently placed her hand on Luke's.
She gazed into Luke's eyes as she stated, "As I am for the
loss of
your father, Master Skywalker." She smiled slightly when she saw the
stunned look in his eyes. "Yes, Luke…I knew."

Luke smiled back, and nodded his acknowledgement. "Thank you, I'Lai."

I'Lai's smile was suddenly broken by a wince of pain and a
soft cry.
Luke felt it as well—a sharp, piercing pain in what seemed to be his
bowels. He saw I'Lai's eyes widen, her hand pressing against her
belly, taking in short, hard breaths.

"Luke…I think I'm having a baby…now."

"W-What? NOW?" Luke jumped from his seat and knelt at
I'Lai's
side. "Ok…ok…we'll get you back to the palace."
He turned and shouted
toward the dance floor. "Han! Leia!" But the couple
couldn't hear him
over the din of the party. Luke then closed his eyes and sent a
silent telepathic message to his sister…

Leia's head snapped around toward the head table, and her smile
melted into an expression of concern. She tugged at Han's suede
tunic. "Han, we have to go. I'Lai just went into labor."

Han stopped dancing and gawked at Leia. "What! How do you know?"

"Luke just told me."

Han huffed, shaking his head. "You two are going to drive me crazy
with that." His eyes scanned over the crowd. "Damn it,
where's Lando?"

"I don't know—he keeps disappearing every hour with a
different girl."

Han took Leia's hand as they pushed their way toward Luke and I'Lai.
Han turned toward the crevice Chewbacca was last seen
entering. "Chewie! Chewie, get out here! We have a baby coming!"

Thanks to his superior Wookiee sense of hearing, Chewbacca had
miraculously heard his partner's call through the crowd. He came
barreling out of the small cave adjusting his bandolier, then doubled
back slightly and gave his new Wookiee girlfriend a quick bite on the
lips before rushing to the head table.

Several celebrants had heard Han's exclamation. Heads turned and
relayed the message to those around them, and soon the news rippled
throughout the entire assembly. Buzzing and cheering were heard anew
for the impending birth of Orri Prime's new little prince.

I'Lai clamped her eyes shut and gritted her teeth as she endured the
next contraction, almost breaking Luke's hand as she squeezed it with
alarming strength. "I don't think they'd be cheering if
they knew how
this felt!"

Having reached the precipice, Chewbacca gingerly lifted I'Lai into
his arms and carried her into the rear tunnel, followed by Luke, Han,
and Leia. They hurried the short distance to the parked speeder
transport inside, where they found a mysteriously moving, moaning,
and giggling blanket in the rear seats…

Han slapped one of the moving lumps. A resounding "OW!" was heard
from beneath the blanket. The blanket flew up to reveal a shirtless
and irritated Lando Calrissian, himself blanketing a shirtless blond
and alarmed Fellenetian female. "What the—"

"Party's over, Lover! We're driving your room back to the palace.
I'Lai's having her baby," Han gruffed as he assisted Leia
into the
middle section seat.

The poor Fellentian lass scrambled out of the rear seat, holding her
mechanic's shirt over her breasts as Chewbacca gently placed I'Lai in
her vacated seat. Lando furiously donned his own shirt again as he
ran to the front passenger seat, yelling back to the girl, "Hey—it
was really nice to meet you!" He was a bit stunned by the ferocity of
the girl's obscene hand gesture as she stormed back to the party.

As Luke climbed into the rear seat next to I'Lai, Han hopped over the
side of the speeder to land in the seat right next to Leia. Chewbacca
squeezed himself into the driver's seat and started up the speeder,
and they took off through the intricate turns and dips of the old
mining tunnels as they sped back to I'Lai's palace.

I'Lai gasped as another contraction hit and was struggling to hold
her scream back into her throat. Leia turned around and took I'Lai's
hand, her eyes heavy with worry and sympathy. Luke wrapped his arm
around her shoulder, holding her close. "I'Lai," he
whispered into
her hair, "you can use the Force. It will help to alleviate the pain… just breathe and let it flow through you…gently…let it take your
pain…"

As Luke's words melted into her ears, I'Lai allowed the Force to flow
and infiltrate her limbs and mind. She felt her own energy bind and
flow with the Force, and the pain began to ebb away from her body.
Her breathing began to slow and become deeper and calmer, and her
spirit seemed to rise from her body, becoming one with the air, the
peaks and forests of her world, the stars and the universe itself…

She felt as though she were flying, dancing through nebulae and star
formations, speeding faster than light itself…until she found herself
riding along the intense eddy of a desert wind on a yellow planet she
had never seen before.

She stood in a never-ending sea of sand and unbearable heat, the
light of the planet's twin suns baking the very wind of the world,
although she herself did not seem to suffer. The place was devoid of
anything living or moving…until she saw in the distance the figure of
what seemed to be a man, struggling to remain on his feet, fighting
the ensuing storm of sand and wind…

I'Lai felt every molecule of her essence ignite as she recognized the
form in the distance. Again, she made herself one with the wind and
rode toward the figure just as he lost his battle to remain on his
feet, falling into the sands. She knelt before him, reaching out,
trying to touch the figure's badly scarred and cracked helmet. Her
voice seemed to rise from nowhere… "Boba…?"

The helmet's T-shaped visor lifted from the sand, tilting slightly as
the eyes behind the visor tried to make sense of what they saw before
him. A tattered glove reached up toward her incandescent hand. His
voice rose from his throat, hoarse and damaged from exhaustion and
debilitating thirst. "I'Lai…?"

She tried to take his outstretched hand, but found her own merely
passed through his like a shimmering shadow. Fett started a low,
bitter laugh, pounding his fist into the sand. I'Lai felt her very
soul penetrated by his rage and hopelessness and the insufferable
pain of his injuries.

She abruptly felt herself pulled away, up into the storm, the arid
atmosphere…

"No!" I'Lai cried, still reaching for the badly injured
Fett as she
floated upwards, "Not yet! Please…"

Back into the blackness of space, hurling and weaving until she was,
once again, traveling through the mining tunnels with the Rebel
heroes…

I'Lai's eyes snapped open as she gasped and jerked forward. "He's
alive!" she whispered. She turned to Luke, who was still holding her
and wearing an expression of intense concern. "Luke, he's ALIVE!"

Han turned around. "Who's alive?"

Luke leaned into I'Lai. "Are you sure, I'Lai? Show
me."

I'Lai took one of Luke's hands and placed it on her heart, bowing her
head and closing her eyes. Luke immediately saw Boba Fett crossing
the Dune Sea on foot, using a staff that he had obviously
appropriated from a Tusken Raider during his journey. He saw the
condition of Fett's armor, which was cracked and flaked and badly
scarred from the harsh digestive acids of the Saarlac. He felt Fett's
fury and fortitude as he staggered forward, refusing to die, refusing
to lie down…

Luke opened his eyes, looked down at I'Lai. "He's in bad
shape,
I'Lai. It may not be much longer…"

I'Lai gripped Luke's hands in both of hers, her eyes large
and
pleading, the tremor of a sob in her voice. "Luke, please, we have to
go get him and bring him here…please…"

"Go get who? Bring who here?" Han demanded, a mix of
irritation and
frustration in his voice.

Luke turned briefly to Han, then back to I'Lai. "Shall I tell them,
I'Lai?"

I'Lai paused, then lowered her eyes and nodded. Luke turned to Han
and the others and stated, "The father of I'Lai's son—"

"Boba Fett," Leia finished, her voice soft and calm. She
lifted her
gaze to meet I'Lai's tear-drenched eyes. She too had seen the vision,
and Leia now understood the sadness she felt in I'Lai, the great
sense of loss and despair she had detected in her heart throughout
the day.

For several long moments, as the speeder made its way through the
maze of tunnels, its occupants sat in stunned silence. It was Han
Solo who broke the silence. "Come again?"

"It's a long story," I'Lai breathed. She turned to
Luke again. "Luke,
please, someone must try to rescue him. I'll pay anything,
I'll give
whatever is needed or desired—"

"I'Lai," Luke interrupted gently, "That may not be
wise…Fett is a
very dangerous man—"

"And Vader wasn't?" I'Lai growled harshly. She was
immediately
ashamed as she saw Luke's eyes darken and felt him stiffen. "I'm
sorry, please forgive me, Luke, but…just what you felt in Vader, I
feel in Fett. If there is any chance for him to know about his son,
to perhaps be at peace after all this time…if he may be willing,
doesn't he deserve a chance at redemption as well?
Please…?"

Luke did not answer, nor did anyone else in the speeder as it pulled
up to the underground palace entry.

* * *

Luke, Han, Leia, Lando, and Chewbacca had been waiting in virtual
silence for hours in the plush sitting room of I'Lai's chambers. Han
sat on the overstuffed divan with Leia leaning into him. Luke sat
cross-legged on the floor in a traditional Jedi meditation pose.
Chewbacca preferred to stand, leaning against the doorjamb, his arms
crossed over his massive furred chest. Lando was the only one who
seemed agitated, rising every once and a while and pacing the length
of the room, then sitting again. All were still reeling from the
information they had just learned, none quite sure what to think or
how to feel.

It was Lando who broke the uncomfortable silence. He stood and paced
over to Luke, glowering over him. "You knew, didn't you? The whole
time we fought him on Tatooine?" he asked. "Why didn't
you tell us?"

"She asked me not to," Luke replied stoically. He looked up
at Lando
from his seated position. "She knew we were trying to save our
friend, and she didn't feel she could ask you to save your enemy. So
she asked me." Luke turned to Han, who did not return Luke's glance,
but stared straight ahead. "I had planned to take him alive and bring
him here before heading to Dagobah and the Alliance rendezvous. But
it didn't work out that way."

"Were you ever going to mention it?" Han asked bitterly,
still
staring ahead.

Luke sighed, closing his eyes. "I thought it best if you
didn't know,
Han. I thought I could get Fett here before…before you killed him."

Han's only movement was a turn of his head in Luke's
direction. He
said nothing, but merely stared coldly at his young Jedi friend.

"We have to go get him," Leia said abruptly.

Han turned his stone-cold glare to Leia this time. "Why, Leia? Why do
we have to get him?" He shot his glare toward Chewbacca as the
Wookiee sharply barked at him. "Who asked YOU, fur ball?"

"Because," Leia retorted, sternly meeting his gaze, "if
it weren't
for I'Lai, we never would have come as far as we have in this war.
Without her resources and intelligence work and without her
connections with the Bothans, the Rebel Alliance would have been
wiped out months ago. We owe her that much to bring back the father
of her child." Leia softened slightly as she added, "Besides…she
loves him. You don't have to be a Force-sensitive to see
that."

Han snorted through his nose and shook his head. "Yeah, well, I don't
understand the attraction."

Leia never averted her eyes as she held Han's gaze. "And
there are
some out there who say the same about you and me, Han. Are they
right?"

Leia's statement startled Han, but his pride and anger at that moment
would not allow him to admit that she was right. He angrily stood up
and paced toward the wall, running his hand through his thick brown
hair. Flustered, Leia leaned forward and rested her elbows on her
knees as she glanced sideways toward her brother.

The chamber door opened, and Dr. Him'bron walked out looking tired
yet elated. He smiled at the gathering of heroes as they eagerly
awaited his report. "Mother and son are just fine, perfectly healthy
both of them. His new Lordship is, quite simply, one of the most
beautiful babies I have ever seen." Him'bron turned to Luke
as he
stood, taking his hand in a friendly shake. "I don't know
what you
have taught her, Master Skywalker, but she had absolutely no pain or
distress during the delivery. I would like to thank you personally
for all your help."

"I did nothing, Dr. Him'bron, but give her some coaching. The Lady
I'Lai is an exceptional pupil."

Him'bron turned to the rest of the group. "You may see her tomorrow,
but right now she and her son need rest. Now if you all will excuse
me, I must prepare the birth announcement for the rest of the planet.
Good night." With that, the doctor performed a slight bow and left
the sitting room.

As the corridor doors hushed closed, Lando stood from his seat. "I'll
go," he stated simply. "I'll go get Fett."

"I'll go with you," Luke replied.

Lando shook his head. "No, Luke, the Alliance needs you now. Things
are going to get real serious real fast again. You need to stay here
with Leia and get things organized with Mon Mothma and the Rebel
leaders. I think a degenerate gambler like me can be spared for a
couple days." Once again, Lando's patented smile spread
across his
face. "Besides, Fett's not at a hundred percent, right? You can't
argue with those odds." Lando looked over to Chewbacca. "Chewie, you
in?" Chewie rumbled his enthusiastic affirmation.

Han Solo turned away from the wall, folding his arms over his chest
as he glared at Lando. "Since you're taking my first mate, Lando, do
you think you're taking my ship as well? Not without me, friend."

Lando met Han's stare, pausing for a moment. "You sure you
want to do
this, buddy?" He took a step closer towards Han, adding, "Can you
keep a cool head? And get the job done without getting personal?"

Han could feel everyone's eyes on him as they awaited his answer. His
lip curled up in a tight, sarcastic smile. "Hey, you know me, right?
I always keep a cool head. I'm a pro." With that, Han slowly strode
out the door, leaving the rest with a feeling of anxious uncertainty.

* * *

Chapter 3

Running With The Devil

For the first time since he began his agonizing journey across the
Dune Sea of Tatooine, Boba Fett voluntarily rested his cracked and
battered bones upon the desert sands. Tatooine's twin suns had risen
and fallen nine cycles during his trek, and Fett himself was
surprised that he was still alive and breathing. But he knew it
wouldn't be for long.

His wounds were becoming gangrenous---there was no mistaking the
odor. The intense heat had greatly weakened the antibiotics he
carried in the small med-kit in his armor. He had consumed his last
amino packet five days earlier, inedible as it was due to the
Saarlac's stomach acids' contamination. He had stopped
counting how
many times a day his vision would blur or black out completely.
Miraculously, the rehydrating system in his armor had held out
somewhat, purifying and reconstituting his perspiration back into his
body; but even now, that system too was on the verge of joining all
the others in complete shutdown.

His remote comlink to the Slave 1, his jetpack, flamethrowers, even
the infrared and motion detecting systems in his helmet had given out
days ago. The only functioning items Fett had available to him now
was the blaster he had scavenged from the dead barge guard and the
not-so high tech gaffi stick he had appropriated from a now-dead
Tusken Raider; the latter item he used more as a crutch now than a
weapon. With every passing day, another piece of plating deteriorated
and fell off his armor. Fett had been forced to rely upon his own
skill and instincts for survival and wondered, as he sat and looked
out upon the endless ocean of sand dunes and islands of jagged rocks,
if these attributes were more of a curse than a blessing.

He was dying; there was no denying it anymore. Even if Jabba's palace
sprawled just beyond the next dune, he would never make it over the
crest.

Fett started to laugh as he finally succumbed to the delirium he had
been ferociously fighting for days. Scourge of the galaxy, most
feared hunter in the entire Empire, the FETT, he silently growled in
his feverish mind. So this is to be your grave--- the side of a sand
dune on a filthy latrine of a planet…your grave…

His focus scattered and his will waning, Fett's thoughts raced and
tumbled, one into the next. In an instant he found himself a mere boy
again on Geonosis, standing over a makeshift grave he had dug … staring at the crude headstone he himself had carved bearing the
initials "J.F."

"Father…" Fett whispered. Again, he laughed, drinking in the irony of
it all---a Jedi killed his father, and now he was about to die
because of a Jedi…but there was a difference. There would be no son
to bury Boba Fett.

No son…no one…who in this universe will mourn my death…?
There could have been someone…

There was no reason to fight her any longer; for the first time since
that night on the Executor, Boba Fett invited and embraced the memory
of I'Lai.

Until this moment, he had furiously tried to block her from his mind,
to forget her existence, her face, her laugh… but all attempts had
proven useless. She still crept into his dreams the few times he
allowed himself sleep. The satin touch of her skin still haunted him
in those few times of quiet, when there was no hunt, no chase. No
matter how much work he would take on, as one job flowed into the
next, it was never enough to blot her out, to be completely rid of
her.

There had been women before her; cantina whores, pleasure slaves
offered up by employers as part of his purse, spoils of his hunts who
foolishly thought they could buy their freedom by exchanging their
bodies...they had meant nothing to him. They were nothing to him.

But then came I'Lai… I'Lai…

He had been shaken, maddened and plagued by her and he couldn't
understand why…until that very moment, as he sat in the sand under
Tatooine's twin suns, roasting in his crumbling armor.

He recalled the moment he had lunged at her, pinning her to the sofa
in his suite, unleashing his rage and revealing everything that he
was to her in that moment---even to this day, he himself did not
fully understand why he had done so---and then he remembered how she
had reacted to him, how she looked into his eyes…

In her eyes he saw no fear, no terror. What Boba Fett had seen in
I'Lai's eyes was… recognition.

In that brief spark of a moment, I'Lai had reached down into Fett's
very soul and understood everything, all of it. She had seen a being
that Fett himself had forgotten existed. The only other person in his
life who had ever looked at him like that had been Jango Fett, his
father.

And then she gave herself to him. He had actually given her the
option to leave, but she chose to stay. She hadn't stayed because she
was afraid to go, or to use her charms as a bargaining chip, or
because of his infamy or his money or his reputation. She had stayed
because she wanted to be with him.

As Boba Fett had used everyone and everything he had ever encountered
throughout his entire life, so had he been used as well--- until the
moment I'Lai had touched his lips, his body, and his heart to hers…

You never even told her goodbye.

Fett tried to clear his mind for a moment as he focused hard on the
dunes in front of him, hoping perhaps he could conjure the
hallucination he had experienced the day before. I'Lai had seemed so
real, so present and so beautiful as she reached for him and murmured
his name…

But the image did not come this time. He found himself staring into
nothing but barren wasteland.

Fett closed his eyes. He felt the last pulses of consciousness begin
to wane. He leaned his helmet forward to rest on his knees and, with
great effort, breathed the words he should have said to her all those
months ago…

"I'Lai…farewell."

* * *

"This is the Kronus to Palace control, do you copy? Over."
Lando
repeated into the comlink, using the Millennium Falcon's alias.
Nothing but cold static greeted him from the other end. "Requesting
permission to land. Do you copy?" Again, he was answered by static.

Lando glanced sideways toward Han Solo in the pilot's seat, who met
his glance with equal unease. "That's not good, is it?"

Han took a deep breath and blew it out. "Well, I guess it depends on
your point of view, friend." He reached up and flicked the switches
to the Falcon's gravity control as they skidded through Tatooine's
atmosphere, the dunes and cliffs meshing into a huge gold dusted
tapestry just below the cockpit windows. "Could be good for us if the
slaves revolted after the news of Jabba's death got back to the
palace." He rose from the pilot's seat and started toward
the
hold. "Hey Chewie! You got everything set?"

Chewbacca looked up and barked his affirmation as he loaded the last
gas cartridge into his laser crossbow. Han stood and took a quick
inventory of the layout of medical equipment and weapons they had
brought. "Looks good, Chewie." Han donned his gun belt, and then
slung a blaster rifle over his shoulder. "OK, take the helm. You're
going to drop Lando and me at the front palace gate through the belly
hatch. Then take her around and dock her in the back alpha port--- Lando and I will meet you there. Hook her up to the refueling
station, and then try to find us a working speeder."

Chewbacca grunted and nodded as he headed toward the cockpit.

"And Chewie," Han added as Chewbacca turned back to him,
"Stick close
to the Falcon, ok? And keep your eyes open."

Chewbacca nodded again, then strode through the cockpit door.

Lando had risen from the co-pilot's chair, about to join Han in the
hold. As Chewbacca passed him, he reached out, gently grabbed Lando's
arm and quietly growled a request.

Lando smiled slightly, patting Chewbacca's paw on his arm. "Don't
worry, Chewie. I'll keep my eye on him. I won't let him do anything
stupid." He then turned and joined Han in the hold.

A blaster rifle lobbed through the air greeted Lando as he came
through the door: He expertly caught it while barely looking up. He
watched Han move toward a small compartment positioned close to the
floor and open its hatch.

Han Solo's strict business-like demeanor had bothered Lando
throughout the entire trip. Even in the direst of circumstances, Han
was always good for a wisecrack here and there, making light of the
fact they could be blown to bits at any given second; but not this
time. He had barely spoken a word, outside of dictating coordinates,
since their departure from Orri Prime. "Hey Han," Lando said
as he
slipped the strap the medical satchel over his shoulder. As Han
looked back over his shoulder toward him, Lando paused for a brief
moment before continuing. "How are you feeling, buddy? You
OK?"

Han's expression remained blank and unreadable as he answered, "I'm
fine, Lando. Never better. Here---" With that, he reached in and
pulled out two free-breathers. He tossed one to Lando, who once again
caught it with graceful expertise. "You may want to put that on
before we go in."

Puzzled, Lando turned it over in his hand. "What's this
for?"

Han stood up, slipping the mask over his head as he turned toward
Lando. "If we find what I think we'll find down there,"
Han said
dully, "you won't be able to stand the smell."

* * *

The Falcon reared off and made a graceful bank around the bulk of
Jabba the Hutt's palace, leaving Han and Lando standing just meters
down the winding road in front of the palace's massive metal gate. As
they approached the entrance, the electronic eyeball of the perimeter
droid thrust out from its portal in the door, squealing its
programmed threats and curses in Huttese.

Lando lazily raised his rifle and groaned, "Yeah, yeah, geeby-jeeby
this," as he blasted the thing into bits.

Han strode to the side of the entrance and ran his hand along the
wall until his fingers came upon a slight depression. He pushed in,
and a large slab of stone came forward a few centimeters, and then
slid aside to reveal a computer panel.

Han threw a look toward Lando. "Thinking happy thoughts, friend?"

Lando smiled through his breather mask and cocked his head. "Sendin'
em right at'cha, buddy."

Han flexed his fingers for a moment, then gingerly punched in the
code he had struggled to remember the entire trip on the panel's
keyboard. He and Lando stood perfectly still, simultaneously holding
their breaths…

With a rusty deafening screech, the huge metal gate began to slowly
rise.

Han and Lando both heaved a sigh in relief and hit each other's palms
in a high five. "Leave it to Jabba, the most dangerous and feared
gangster in the galaxy, to never change his security codes in twenty
years," Han scoffed. "Moron."

"Ok, buddy," Lando said as he raised his rifle into position, "Let's
lock and load."

They stepped out of the blistering rays of the twin suns into the
murky dimness of the palace entrance hall, weapons raised, small
searchlights mounted atop the muzzles. As they moved the lights up,
down, and across the expansive corridor, they both began to realize
that Han's earlier assumption of a slave uprising was proving true in
a most gruesome way.

"Gods and Hells," Lando breathed through his mask, "Look
at this
place."

The decomposing and mutilated corpses of a dozen or so Gamorrean
guards littered the floor. Some were already half-devoured by the
variety of scavengers indigenous to Tatooine, whose scratches and
scurries could be heard within the blood-spattered walls as they
escaped the onslaught of harsh daylight.

Lando reached up and wiped his watering eyes. "And you
weren't
kidding about the smell."

Han walked over and kicked his boot against one of the corpses, lying
decapitated on the ground. He quickly scanned the others around
him. "They took all the weapons. Damn. That means they probably took
all the working vehicles in the place too." He turned to
Lando. "Let's hope they didn't take Fett's ship."

"Last time I saw it, it was docked in the beta port. That was the day
Leia and Chewbacca showed up in disguise. It may still be there."

"Ok, let's go. Stay sharp though—we may not be the only
ones enjoying
a tour."

They weaved through the network of dank burrows and corridors,
occasionally stumbling over bodies and pieces of bodies as they made
their way to the smaller dock. Luckily, they found no other living
being save for the intermittent womprat that scampered across their
path. After several more minutes of traveling, Han and Lando came
upon the entry to the beta dock.

As they cautiously entered the dock, they saw that Fett's ship, Slave
I, was the only ship occupying the space. They also saw the bodies of
a dancing girl, two galley slaves, and a Gamorrean guard lying on the
ground surrounding the ship.

"Good, it's still here," Han muttered.

Lando nodded absently, still hugging the entrance, surveying the
bodies on the ground and their positions. He noted that they all lay
on their backs with blast holes gouged directly over their hearts.
They lay with their heads pointed away the ship, as though the shots
had come from its direction. He also noted that none of them were
armed, and there seemed to be no blast burns on the walls or floor,
no evidence that a battle had gone on here, and that the bodies were
lined approximately within the same distance in a wide semi-circle
surrounding the Slave I. Something wasn't right about this…

Han picked the comlink off his belt. "Chewie, we found Fett's ship.
We'll be bringing it around to meet you there. Out." Han switched
off the link and began to walk toward the ship's hatch…

Suddenly, the answer to his own mental questions slammed Lando hard,
and he screamed, "Han, no! STOP!"

Han stopped abruptly and turned to Lando, annoyed. "What?"

Just as Solo stopped and turned, two scanning beams shot forth from
just beneath the Slave I's top-mounted blaster turret, `painting' Han
in a graph of green light. Almost instantly, as the beams crossed his
body, four small black spherical pods erupted from the hull below the
lip of the cockpit window and sliced through the air. Small turret
barrels popped from the top of each sphere, and red targeting lasers
shot forth from the center of all four, each pointing directly at the
middle of Han Solo's back.

Lando burst into a run and dove through the air, tackling Han and
sending them both careening to the ground as each sphere shot a
flurry of repetitive blasts directly at the spot Han had just been
standing. The blasts crossed each other as they sizzled the air and
struck the stone walls surrounding the port entry. The air was thick
with the smell of scorched rock and ozone.

Lando and Han rolled a few meters under and away from the ship, only
stopping when they hit the back wall. Just as instantaneously as they
had jettisoned, the deadly spheres were sucked back into their
housings in the Slave I's hull. Lando and Han lay on their stomachs
on the dock floor for several moments of silence, covering their
heads, panting and staggered.

As he listened to the ensuing quiet and peeked out from under arms
over his head, the usually unflappable Han Solo allowed himself a
rare vulgar expletive. "What the FUCK was that?" he yelled.

"That, my friend, was a Kaminoan genome scanner," Lando answered,
remarkably collected as he sat up and brushed himself off. "I had the
same technology installed on Cloud City protecting the treasury
vaults. Only mine was linked to an alarm---Fett's got his wired into
a Mandelorian Perimeter Defense System. An older technology, but
deadly and efficient nonetheless." He reached up and patted the top
of his head, where one of the blasts had actually singed the tips of
his hair. He shook his head. "The hatch is encoded directly to Fett's
DNA. Nobody can even get close to that ship without him." He paused
for a moment, adding, "Or at least a piece of him."

Han huffed in utter aggravation and rolled over onto his back,
staring into the Tatooine sky. "Well, that's just GREAT!"
He
furiously grabbed the comlink off his belt again. "Hey Chewie, um,
change of plan. We'll meet you at the Falcon on foot."

Chewbacca barked and growled through the comlink. Han's mood seemed
to instantly brighten. "What? Oh, good---somebody decided to cut us a
break! We'll meet you there—out." He switched off the
comlink and sat
up, turning to Lando. "Chewie says he found a skiff tucked away in
the vehicle port. He says he thinks he can get it to work. Come on,
let's get out of here."

Lando stood up and reached down toward Han, helping him to his feet.
Han clamped down on Lando's hand as he stood. "Hey, Lando…thanks for
saving me, buddy." He rubbed the small of his back. "Although you
didn't have to be so rough about it."

Lando smiled slightly. "Just doing what I can to make right, Han."

They hugged the wall of the dock as they headed back toward the door,
being very careful to avoid the Slave I's near perimeter. As they
walked through the door, Han turned back and, in spite of himself,
glanced at the ship with odd admiration. "I just have to get me one
of those…"

* * *

The skiff violently jerked to one side as the repulsorlift engine
sputtered momentarily, sending Han, Lando, and all their equipment
crashing to the deck. Lando scrambled to grab the bioscanner from
flying out of his hand and off the vehicle into the desert's
sands. "Chewie, are you sure this piece of crap is gonna make it?"
he barked. And once again, Lando was answered by an obscene hand
gesture, this time from Chewbacca in the tiller's driving position.
Lando snorted through his nose. "Seems that gesture's getting around…"

Han hoisted himself back to his feet, brushing off the
electrobinoculars slung around his neck and reading its digital
screen. "Well, according to this, we're on the right track. Showing
me a readout of a large metal object about a hundred fifty kilometers
from here. Could be a Jawa sandcrawler, but not likely. It's not big enough, and even Jawas don't stray this far into the boonies. It's got to be Jabba's sail barge---or what's left of it." He wiped the sweat from his brow with his shirtsleeve. "And Fett would
most likely take a straight trajectory route, so we should be on
course."

Lando piped in as he read his own display on the bioscanner. "I'd say so, Han---I'm getting a reading. It's faint, but it's there."

Han moved behind Lando, looking at the reading over his
shoulder. "Yeah? Sure it's not a Bantha or a krayt dragon or
anything?"

"No, not nearly big enough. And it's too faint to be a Tusken Raider. I just can't get its exact coordinates yet…"

Han raised the electrobinoculars to his eyes, scanning the vast
horizon back and forth…until he saw a small dark spot set into a huge sand dune in the distance…

"There! There he is! Chewie, take it twelve degrees
starboard!"

The skiff veered, speeding along the sands until the shape became
visible to the naked eye. As they approached closer, the skiff's crew could see the figure of a humanoid seated half-buried in the
sand, its badly cracked helmet slumped over its knees. With one hand
on his blaster and the other cupped around his mouth, Han shouted, "Fett! Boba Fett! Can you hear me?" The figure remained still and
silent. "It's your buddy, Han Solo!" Still nothing.

Han and Lando moved to the side of the skiff. "Ok Chewie, take her in nice and gentle, and extend the plank."

The skiff gracefully descended and glided across the sands as it
sidled up near the unconscious and unmoving Boba Fett. The loading
plank slid out from the bulkhead, and Han laid down upon it, skimming
its length on his stomach until he was leaning over the edge. "Ok
Lando, get behind me and hold my feet. When I grab him, reach for his
legs and get him on board."

Han stretched forward over the lip of the plank with Lando anchoring
his feet, reaching for Fett's shoulder pad. "Chewie, take her down just a little more…easy…easy…"

The skiff lowered a few more centimeters closer to the bounty hunter
until Han was able slip his hand under Fett's shoulder guard and grab a generous fistful of the undersuit and the furred hanging
trophy scalps attached to it…

"Got him! Lando, get his legs! Chewie, take her home!"

The skiff elevated with Han Solo holding on to the airborne Boba Fett
with one hand. Lando lay across Han's legs on the plank, still
anchoring him as he swung himself over the side edge and grabbed a
hold of Fett's legs, pulling him onto the plank. They inched
backwards, holding their prize and hoisting him back onto the deck.
Chewbacca steered the skiff into a hard bank and headed back to
Jabba's palace.

After pulling off his jetpack, they laid Fett on his back and knelt
over him. Lando switched the bioscanner from bio-detection to medical
scan and ran it up and down Fett's body. "Yup, he's a mess---severe
infection…six broken ribs…broken shoulder…broken ankle
and a
fractured tibia. And lot's of nice little internal injuries." He moved the scanner over Fett's helmet, and shook his head. "I can't get a brain scan through his helmet." He looked up from beneath his brow at Han, "We're going to have to take it off."

Han met Lando's eyes, and the two paused as they realized the
magnitude of that statement. Boba Fett's face would be revealed to his enemies, and those enemies would live to remember it. The
Devil was about to be unmasked.

Han glanced back toward Chewbacca, who met his gaze with the same
understanding. Chewbacca grunted and nodded.

A strange smile crossed Han's lips as he looked back at Lando. "Hey, what the hell, right?" Han said with a bitter laugh. "He's out of business anyway."

Lando reached his fingers around Fett's neck, finding the tiny
hydraulic clamp that fastened the helmet to the armor and pressing
the switch. With a quiet hiss, the helmet gave way from the collar.
Gently, he pulled the helmet off Fett's head---and it cracked down the center into two pieces in his hands. Tossing them aside,
Lando pulled the protective undermask away from Fett's face.

They all stared down into Boba Fett's scarred and bloodied face. Damp blood was caked into his spiked hair. A trickle of dried blood
ran from his prominent nose. A massive bruise covered half his face,
and his left eye appeared to be swelled shut.

Lando ran the scanner over Fett's head. "Nice gash in his scalp…hairline skull fracture…massive concussion…and severe malnutrition. Gods and Hells, why is this guy still alive?" He leaned
over and gently gripped one of Fett's eyelids, pulling it back and inspecting the pupil. "Ok, Han. I need a glucose and a saline IV,
some bacta patches, and the syn-skin ejector from that kit. Got it?" Lando's request was met by silence. He looked up, irritated. "Come on, Han! Get moving!" His irritation waned, replaced by apprehension when he saw the look on Han Solo's face.

Solo never averted his eyes from Fett's face, and Lando saw his eyes become narrow and murderous. He heard Han's breathing become heavy and erratic. "Han…" Lando murmured cautiously.

Han broke his attention briefly from Fett to raise his dark glare to
Lando. "Excellent point, Lando," Solo growled from his
throat, "Why is this guy still alive…?" Before Lando or Chewbacca
realized it, Han, with astounding speed, reached down and drew his
blaster from its holster and aimed it right between Fett's closed
eyes…

"HAN! What the hell are you doing?!" Lando lunged at Han, grabbing his wrist and forcing it up. The blaster shot up into the
sky as Lando landed his elbow against Solo's throat, forcing him onto his back on the deck. Han in turn swung his other fist at Lando,
clocking him upside his head. Lando cried out and rolled to the side,
still holding Han's wrist. Chewbacca slammed the skiff to a halt, sending them splaying across the deck. Lando scrambled to the rail,
pulling himself up. As Han tried to get up, still brandishing the
blaster, Chewbacca rushed up behind him and slid his massive arms up
and under Han's, clamping his paws behind his head. Han struggled and flayed, but could not lower his arms or break from Chewbacca's
vice-
like strong-arm.

Lando held his head, leaning against the skiff rail, furiously
attempting to catch his breath. "Han---just settle down now buddy, get a hold of yourself!"

"HE ALMOST KILLED ME, LANDO!" Han screamed, still thrashing against his first-mate and friend. The sheer viciousness and wrath in Han's behavior chilled Lando and Chewbacca alike down to the cores of
their souls. He panted like an enraged beast as he spit out his
words. "Carting me around in that carbonite coffin for months! Almost killing you, killing Luke, and Leia…" Han choked at the mention of her name, and Lando actually saw tears begin to well in his eyes
and heard his voice strangled by a sob, "Leia, practically naked, chained to that repulsive, perverted slug like a piece of meat, like
an animal---and I couldn't save her! I was blind and helpless and I
couldn't do damn thing…" His body wracked as he continued.
"And all
because of that son of a bitch! And now we're saving him, taking him to a sweet, beautiful girl, giving him a LIFE---he doesn't deserve her, Lando! He doesn't deserve ANYTHING!"

Lando stood in stunned silence. Until this moment, he hadn't fully realized the enormity of Han Solo's rage and torment from his ordeal with Fett and Jabba the Hutt. It had been so well hidden
behind his armor of bravado and wisecracks, but now Lando saw that,
deep within him, it was tearing him apart. And now that Solo had
actually seen that Boba Fett was not a machine behind a mask, but an
actual flesh and blood man like himself, was more than Han could
obviously tolerate…

However, Lando held his ground. "Han, listen to me very carefully. Do you know what Leia went through all those months you
were missing? Do you?" Han, panting and drained and still being held
back by Chewbacca, glared at Lando and shook his head. Lando
continued. "Sure, she remained the model of efficiency, the fearless Rebel leader, the steadfast and dutiful soldier---until she
thought no one was around. Then Luke told me what was really
happening." He stepped closer to Han. "He told me he would stand
outside her quarters and listen to her cry for hours. He told me she
wasn't sleeping, and soon after that, she'd stopped eating.
At one
point, she had gotten so thin and weak she was rushed to the medical
frigate for treatment. She had no idea if you were alive or dead, and
it was killing her. And do you know who was the one who snapped her
out of it, who told us you were alive, who helped us find you? The
Lady I'Lai."

Lando stood face to face with Han, firmly holding his gaze. "And let me tell you this, friend," Lando added harshly, "Even after going through all that, Leia wouldn't want you to do this. She would never forgive you if you murdered the man I'Lai loves in cold blood.
It would make you no better than him."

Han lowered his gaze and his head. Lando nodded to Chewbacca, who
finally let go of Han's arms. Han threw the blaster to the deck. He rolled his shoulders in their sockets, trying to loosen their
cramped muscles, as he walked over and hunched over the rail, bowing
his head. Lando walked beside him and put his hand on his shoulder. "Han, I've known you a long time, and I know vengeance isn't your style. You'll have your day with Fett, but not today. Not like this."

Han glanced at his friend, his expression a mix of anguish and shame.
He reached up and wiped his face. "I'm sorry, Lando." He
craned his neck around towards Chewbacca. "Chewie, I'm sorry, buddy." Chewbacca lumbered over and curved his huge arm around Han's
shoulders, apologizing as well for Wookiee-handling him so hard.

Lando patted Han on the arm. "Come on—help me get Fett
patched up
enough so he'll make the trip back to Orri Prime alive."

* * *

Chewbacca drove the skiff and its crew into the vehicle hangar just
at the precise moment its repulsorlift engine decided to completely
give out. Jumping over the rail with the speed and grace of a being
half his size, Chewbacca landed on the ground and gave the skiff a
swift kick, denting the plating, and growling in Wookiee, "Piece of
shit…"

"Heads up, Chewie," Han called out as he and Lando carefully lowered
Fett's limp and bandaged body over the rail. Chewbacca reached up and
caught him, laying him over his shoulder. Lando and Han hopped off
the skiff, and the band started to make their way toward the beta
port.

As they came upon the port's entrance, Han tapped Chewbacca on the
arm. "Ok Chewie, hand him over." Chewbacca gently lowered
Fett down,
and Han grabbed two fistfuls of the back of his suit at the shoulder,
holding Fett up as a shield. "Chewie, cover me and be ready to pick
off those pods if they come out angry. Lando, you're going to have to
get in there fast."

Lando nodded as they hugged the entry. "No problem, Han."

Han hesitated, turning to Lando. "You can fly that thing,
can't you?"

Lando took a deep breath. "Well, we're gonna find out,
aren't we?"

Han rolled his eyes and hoisted Boba Fett upwards, ducking his head
down behind him. He started to slowly walk toward the Slave I, with
Lando slightly behind him and Chewbacca behind Lando, his crossbow
aimed and ready for any defense assault.

Again, as Han hit the spot he had earlier, the laser graph of the
genome scanner shot forth, enveloping the unconscious Fett, crossing
its two beams over him in a green mesh. Unlike the last time, the
beams made more than one pass, crossing over Fett four times.

"Come on, come on, hurry up," Han grimaced, his arms shaking from
fatigue as he held up Fett's limp form, "It's him
already!"

As quickly as it appeared, the scanning beam vanished, and the hatch
of the Slave I began opening in a fanfare of scraping gears,
hydraulic hums and hissing steam.

There was no time for celebration. "Lando, go!"

Lando sprinted toward the hatch and leapt onto the ramp, stopping
briefly and giving Han and Chewbacca a thumbs-up. "I'm
in!" he called
out and disappeared into the maw of the Slave I as the ramp ascended
and swallowed him into the ship.

With a gust of breath, Han exclaimed, "Chewie, I'm done with this,"
and thrust the unconscious bounty hunter in the Wookiee's direction
and turned toward the port exit. Chewbacca was barely able to catch
Fett before he hit the floor and, as he again hoisted him on his
shoulder, thought to himself how he was going to get his captain
really drunk later that evening on Orri Prime---and then kick his ass…

* * *

The Millennium Falcon roared out of Jabba's space dock into the outer
atmosphere of Tatooine with the Slave I trailing directly behind.

Han was seated in the pilot's chair, punching in data through the
ship's computer. He leaned into the comlink. "Lando, do you copy?"

Lando's voice crackled over the speaker. "Yeah Han, I can
hear you."

"I'm uploading the hyperjump coordinates to you now—they showing up?"

"Gimme a second…where the hell is the viewer—OW! Damn it,
could it be
a little more cramped in here…yeah, here they are! Downloading them
into the nav system as we speak. How's our patient doing?"

"Well," Han breathed as he turned slightly toward the hold, "We've
got him on the med berth right now hooked up to the monitors.
Chewie's going to be keeping an eye on him, making sure he's still
breathing by the time we get back." He turned back to the
helm. "How's it going in there?"

Lando's exasperation came through loud and clear. "I swear,
I'm going
to need a week's worth of traction after flying this thing! Or maybe
I can just sweet-talk that blonde mechanic into walking on my back
for a couple hours…"

"Hey Lando," Han said in a low voice, "what does it look
like in
there? I may hate the bastard's guts, but I'm dying to see
his toys!"

"Han, I can't decide if this guy's a technological genius
or a
paranoid whacko! He's got redundant back-ups built into every single
system in this ship, some with their own redundancies. There's a
stealth system in here that would rival an Imp destroyer---which is
probably why you never saw him behind you on the way to Cloud City!
And an ION cannon—who the hell would put an ion cannon in a ship this
small? Plus, there's a bunch of technologies here I've never seen
before---like this thing. I wonder what this does…?"

"Lando, don't touch anything you don't have to! You
don't know what
it---"

Suddenly, every speaker in the Falcon shook with the violent
vibrations of the ear-splitting noise coming from the comlink. The
high-pitched squeal of what sounded like some alien instrument came
screaming over the speakers, accompanied by the low thumping of a
primitive drumbeat and the equally deafening screech of a male as he
attempted to sing…

I live my life like there's no tomorrow…

"Lando, what the hell is that!?"

All I've got I've had to steal…

"I don't know, Han—I just pushed a button—"

Least I don't need to beg or borrow…

"Well, shut it off!"

Yes I'm living at a pace that kills…

"I'm TRYING!"

Han could hear Chewbacca through the cockpit door, roaring over the
din of the excruciatingly loud music, knowing it was probably
damaging his sensitive hearing…

Running with the devil…

"Lando," Han bellowed into the comlink, "SHUT THAT
THING—" Suddenly,
the Falcon was flooded with peace and quiet-- "off."

"Sorry about that, Han. Uh-oh… I think I broke it."

"What the hell was that thing?"

"I don't know---it was just this small case with buttons and
a silver
disc inside that says, `Music from Earth'. Where the hell is Earth?"

"I dunno, but wherever it is, if that's what they listen to, remind
me not to go there." Han rubbed his eyes with his thumb and
forefinger, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Lando, stop screwing
around and just fly the ship! Get set to make the jump to hyperspace… and we'll talk to you in a couple hours. Three, two, one."

The surrounding stars streaked into white ribbons against black space
as Han pulled the throttle and sent the Falcon into its self-made
portal through space and time itself.

Han leaned back in his chair for a moment, rubbing his temples. It
had already been an exhausting, aggravating day, and all he wanted
was a soft, warm bed with a soft, warm Leia in it and a plate of hot
food, none of which was available to him on the Falcon. But there
were some ration bars back in the hold and, poor substitute that it
was, he decided to go help himself to one.

He rose from the pilot's chair and, running his hand through his
hair, Han mumbled, "Krishk, what else could happen today?"
As he
turned, the answer to his question was, unfortunately, standing in
the cockpit door, accompanied by a low voice of iced gravel…

"Surprise. Get your hands up, Solo."

Han found himself staring down the muzzle of Chewbacca's laser
crossbow as it was cradled in the sling-dressed arm of the wounded,
but now conscious, Boba Fett.

Even without the voice synthesizer of his now-discarded helmet,
Fett's cold, grating voice made the hairs on Han's neck stand on end.
He stood frozen for a brief moment, and then slowly raised his hands,
glaring into the black, snakish slits of Fett's eyes. "I knew we
should have strapped you down, Fett," Han hissed under his
breath. "Where's my Wookiee?"

Fett tilted his head slightly, narrowing his eyes even more. "Aw,
isn't that sweet? Don't worry, Solo, I didn't kill your
pet. He's
just taking a little nap." While still aiming Chewbacca's blaster at
Han's head, Fett reached down with his other hand and deftly
unfastened his gun belt, slipping it off his waist and tossing it to
the floor behind him.

Solo reacted instantly, lunging for the crossbow, only to have Fett
react even faster. With amazing speed and grace, Fett smashed his
palm in a cut across Han's jaw, following the hit with a second blow
from his elbow. Han reeled back and fell against the back of the
pilot's chair, sinking to the floor, his ears ringing and his vision
doubling.

Fett limped into the cockpit to stand over the dazed Solo. "Not too
bright and a lousy fighter. No wonder you were such easy prey, Solo."
He reached down and brutally grabbed Han by the hair, pulling him
up. "Get up."

Han grabbed onto Fett's gloved fist as he hoisted him to his feet,
still lightheaded and confused by Fett's precise attack. "What…what
do you think you're doing, Fett?" he asked as he furiously attempted
to retain his equilibrium.

"Well, Solo, I think I'm commandeering your ship," Fett
replied in a
nonchalant tone as he threw Solo back into his pilot's chair. "Then,
once I get my ship back, I think I'm going to blast you all to hell."
He leaned into Han's ear and hissed, "And if that idiot Calrissian
does anything to fuck up my ship, I'll kill him twice."

Han would have laughed at the threat if he didn't actually think Boba
Fett could somehow do it. Instead, he snickered, "Nice language,
Fett. You kiss your mother with that mouth?"

Han was answered by the cold blaster barrel pressed against the back
of his head and Fett frigidly whispering, "If I had been born from a
mother, I probably would, Solo. With tongue. Now shut up."

Han, his jaw throbbing, watched Fett intensely as the bounty hunter
came around and, slowly and carefully, lowered himself into the co- pilot's seat. Despite his astounding display of strength, speed, and
sheer will, Solo could tell that Fett was hurting, and hurting bad.
He saw Fett's hand slip slightly off the chair's arm, and
heard him
suck air hard through his teeth. However, he never lowered his eyes
from Han's and kept the crossbow on its fixed position his neck.

Han's heart thumped violently in his chest, but he stared straight
ahead out the cockpit windows and tried to seem calm. Solo couldn't
help but think that Fett's actual face was just as cold and impassive
as his infamous mask had been, if maybe not even more so. "Aren't you
the least bit interested why we've come to find you, Fett?"

"To be honest, Solo, no, I'm not. All I'm interested in
is getting my
ship back and watching you die."

"Then why don't you just kill us now?"

"Because I, unfortunately, need you right now," Fett muttered as he
leaned back in the chair. "Once we enter real space, I need you to
talk to that imbecile Calrissian and tell him everything is perfectly
fine. Then I need you to call in the security clearances for our
destination port. Then I hold you and the Wookiee hostage in exchange
for my ship…and then I kill you. Is that simple enough for you to
understand, Solo?"

Han glared sideways at the bounty hunter, fighting to keep his rage
and hatred of him in check as he frantically tried to think of a way
out of this. Obviously, the physical approach hadn't worked: As much
as he didn't want to admit it, Han knew that, in spite of his
injuries, Fett regenerated quickly and was a far more skilled and
faster fighter than he was. Han was good with a blaster, but hand-to- hand combat was not his forte—he usually had a gift for talking his
way out of such situations… Talking his way out…

Han turned to the hunter, raising his eyebrows a tad. "Do you even
know where we're going, Fett?"

Fett shot his glare back at Solo, himself raising an eyebrow. "Does
it matter?"

Han stifled a chuckle in his throat as he recalled something Leia had
said while they were imprisoned in Cloud City all those months ago— "You certainly have a way with people…"

Well Leia, he thought to himself, let's find out how true that is…

"We're going to the Dia-Orri system," Han stated
emphatically. "Heard
of it?" He saw a flicker of recognition in Fett's face and watched
his eye twitch before he snapped himself back into his frigid
composure. Gotcha, you son of a bitch…

"Imperial durasteel mining system, if I recall," Fett said flatly,
staring out into the frenzy of hyperspace.

"Well, it used to be—not anymore. The Alliance took it over months
ago." Han watched for any reaction from Fett, who was careful to give
him none so far. He decided to push further. "Yeah, that was a pretty
easy conquest, just the first of many we found there, if you know
what I mean." Fett shot him a deadly glare, but he pressed on,
donning an arrogant smirk. "Yup, sent the Grand Moff packing for the
old dirt nap, took over his entire operation, and then, well…that
concubine of his…" Han blew a whistle through his lips. "Now she is a
fine piece of Imperial issue. Courtesan, you know. From what I've
heard, she kept the Rebel troops pretty well entertained for weeks—"

In a blinding instant, Fett had switched the blaster from his slinged
arm to his free hand and planted the muzzle against the side of Han's
nose. His tone was low, cold, and lethal. "I suggest you shut up now,
Solo."

Han sat perfectly frozen, staring down at the barrel of the blaster
and feeling inappropriately giddy. "Oh, ya know her? Yeah well, that
wouldn't surprise me. I've heard that most of the galaxy has made the
jump to her hyperspace at one time or another…"

Before he even knew it, Han was pulled out of his chair by the shirt
and slammed against the bulkhead of the cockpit. Fett had freed his
injured arm from the sling, holding Solo against the wall by his
throat. His eyes were no longer cold, but ablaze with fury. "Now
listen to me very carefully, Solo. You will not say another word
about the woman. Understand? You are not even fit to speak her name!"

In spite of the fact that he couldn't breathe all that well, a laugh
escape Han's throat as he glared into the bounty hunter's
eyes. "What's the matter, Fett? You have a soft spot for the whore?
Did she get under your skin?" Han's tone became serious as he
asked, "Do you love her, Fett?"

He could feel Fett's body quaking with rage as he saw Fett raise the
crossbow to his chin. "You know what, Solo? I'll just use the Wookiee
as my bargaining chip. I think I will kill you now."

"Can I just say one thing before you do?" Han choked out.

Fett hesitated, and then replied, "No," as he was about to squeeze
the trigger…

"I'Lai gave birth to your son two days ago!"

Slowly, Han felt Fett's grip on his throat lessen and the cold barrel
of the blaster pull away from his chin. Han gulped in deep breaths of
precious air, as Fett stood back from him in staggered silence.
Fett's expression was blank, but his eyes widened slightly as he
stared into Han's, trying to read them. "You're
lying," he hissed.

"Am I, Fett?" Han spit into his face. "Why the hell do
you think we
came and got you? What, you think I risked my ass to dig you out of a
sand dune because I think you're a swell guy? Frankly, I'd
rest my
head easy every single night for the rest of my life knowing you were
still rotting in the Saarlac!"

Fett tightened his grip again on Solo's throat. "Then why did you do
this? Why did you rescue me?"

"Because," Han gargled through Fett's chokehold,
"I'Lai asked me to."

Fett held Solo there against the bulkhead until Han's eyes glazed
over, then dropped him. Han fell to the floor, landing on his hands
and knees, his back heaving as he fought for every breath.

Fett limped back to the co-pilot's chair, setting himself in it,
still aiming the crossbow at Solo. "How do you know
I'Lai?" he
demanded softly.

Han looked up from the floor at Fett. "She's been supplying
the
Rebellion with metal ore and Imp information for months. She helped
Skywalker and the others find me on Tatooine. And she helped us find
you now." He rubbed his aching throat. "Lucky me."

Han saw that Fett's demeanor had changed somewhat from cold and
menacing to still cold yet inquisitive. He also saw that the physical
stress Fett had demanded of himself in the last few minutes was
taking its toll. "You've…seen her, Solo?" Fett asked
quietly,
blinking his eyes hard as he tried to focus.

Han slowly shifted himself into a sitting position on the
floor. "Yeah, I've seen her, Fett." He paused for a
moment. "I've
also seen your son—and now that I've actually seen your face,
I can
honestly say that he looks exactly like you."

Slowly, Boba Fett lowered the crossbow; Solo wasn't sure if it was
intentional or simply because he didn't have the strength to hold it
up any longer. Fett swayed slightly in his chair, staring blankly
toward the floor. It was apparent that his wits were slipping and his
mind was reeling from everything he had just learned. "I…have
a son,"
he murmured simply. "I'Lai…had my son." He closed his
eyes, repeating
her name, "I'Lai…"

Han furrowed his brow as he noted the tone in his voice. Fett spoke
I'Lai's name with such reverence, with unreserved veneration and
tenderness. By the gods, Han thought to himself, could it be that
Fett actually loves her…?

However, Han was not touched to such a degree as to let Fett dwell
too long on this valued moment. "Well, since we're catching
up on
current events here, did I happen to mention that Vader and the
Emperor are dead, and that we blew up the new Death Star, and that
the Rebels won the war?"

Fett, confused and wavering, shifted his vacant gaze in Solo's
direction. He tilted his head slightly and quietly asked, "What…?"
before his eyes rolled back into his head and he slumped to the floor.

Han jumped to his feet, rubbing his aching jaw and fighting the urge
to kick Boba Fett swiftly in the head. "The things I do for people… when did I become such a nice guy?" he groused as he stomped into the
hold. "Chewie! Chewie, you all right?"

He heard Chewbacca gurgle from inside the med station. He ran over
and poked his head in. Chewbacca was still dazed, sitting on the
floor, holding the back of his head as blood matted into his brown
fur. Han saw the dented and bloody metal medical supply case Fett had
obviously used to hit him with lying next to the Wookiee.

"Here buddy, don't move. Let me take a look at it." Han
leaned over
and inspected the gash in Chewbacca's head. "Yeah, it's a
nice one,
but you'll live." He grabbed a small canister from the supply shelf
and sprayed its contents into Chewbacca's fur. "There, a
little syn-
skin should close it up." Chewbacca barked in pain and swatted at
him. "Hey, I know it hurts—that means it's working!
Don't be such a
baby—and don't hit me! I'm tired of getting hit
today." He put the
canister back on the shelf. "Ok Chewie, help me get that bounty- hunting bastard back in here. And this time, STRAP HIM DOWN!"

* * *

Luke Skywalker leaned back against the mammoth tree and devoured a
long, voracious breath of Orri Prime's sweet spring air. It was
warmer this day than previous days, and the blue sun glinted off the
mountain peaks and their surrounding forests. He had removed his
boots and now dug his toes into the defrosted soil, enjoying its cool
sensation. In the far off distance, he could see two huge birds of
prey the natives called taminaes circling the peaks of Heavens
Brace. He looked over the cliff on which he sat. I'Lai's palace
sprawled majestically below him, a beautiful white granite haven
entirely surrounded by a huge garden that was just starting to awaken
to the kiss of the hemisphere's spring. The palace's space
dock was
situated about half a kilometer from the palace, and he could see the
tiny figures of mechanics and droids rustling about, awaiting the
return of the Millennium Falcon and its spoil, the Slave I.

*It's so beautiful here, so peaceful, so…unscathed, Luke
mused in his
mind. I wish we could just stay here.*

"Well, we can't. We've got a lot of work ahead of us on Coruscant."

Luke leaned over and peeked around the tree to see Leia standing a
few paces behind him, smiling. "Hello, Brother Luke," she
said. "Mind
if I join you?"

Luke broadly returned her smile, extending his hand. "Of course,
Sister Skywalker."

Leia giggled as she bounded over and sat on the ground next to
him. "I like it when you call me that."

Luke shot her a sidelong smirk. "When do I get to call you Mistress
Solo?"

Leia laughed. "I don't know—you'll have to ask Master
Solo about
that."

The smile faded slightly from Luke's face. "At this rate
I'll be
lucky if I get an invitation to the wedding."

Leia sighed and slumped her shoulders. "Oh Luke! You know what a
pig-
headed nerfherder Han can be!" Luke stifled a guffaw through his nose— he loved when Leia called him that. Leia smiled as she continued. "I
understand why you didn't say anything about Boba Fett and I'Lai. And
I think Han will too, eventually. He doesn't stay mad for very long."

"I hope you're right, Leia."

Leia looked out over the indigo peaks of Orri Prime's mountains. "You
really love this place, don't you, Luke?"

"Well," Luke snickered, "when you've spent the first
twenty years of
your life staring at nothing but sand, mountains and trees and fresh
air are a very welcome change."

They sat quietly together for a while, gazing upon the magnificent
landscape. Luke began to feel an apprehension in Leia, as though she
wanted to say something. "Leia, is there something troubling you?" he
asked.

Leia turned and met Luke's gaze, a sad look in her eyes. "Actually,
yes, there is." She hesitated for a moment before continuing. "I feel
I owe you an apology."

Luke knit his brows. "Why?"

"Because…because I haven't exactly been sharing in your
grief for…
for…"

"For our father, Leia?" Luke volunteered.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Leia bowed her head and placed her palms
against her eyes. Luke could tell she was fighting back tears. "Luke… I'm so sorry, but…it's going to take me a long time to come to terms
with it. Please forgive me."

Reaching around her shoulders, Luke drew Leia closer to him, letting
her lean her head into the crook of his arm. "Leia, there is nothing
to forgive. These are your feelings, and one's feelings are never
wrong. I am not foolish enough to say you must forgive Vader…Father
immediately, if ever. It will take time.

"But I will tell you this," he added, his tone growing lower, more
serious, "When your strength in the Force progresses, you will
understand what an… overwhelming temptation the Dark Side can be. I
can vouch for that first-hand." Luke could see the concern growing in
Leia's eyes and averted his own for a moment before he
continued. "During our fight on the Death Star, when Vader threatened
to turn you…I came very close to succumbing myself. Very close."

Leia looked up into his face, her eyes becoming enormous. "Luke…I had
no idea." She reached down and took his hand. "That must have been
terrifying for you."

"That was the scariest thing about it, Leia. It wasn't terrifying at
all, it was…" Luke took a breath, "almost… liberating.
It was
alluring, soothing. It dangled promises of power and dominion in
front of my mind. It offered me everything from leading entire armies
into battle to…an embrace from Padme, our mother. The Dark Side
promised me you would never be turned or harmed, that you would
always be safe and content. At that point, I would have done anything
to protect you." The trace of a bitter smile briefly crossed Luke's
lips. "And all I had to do for all of it was…kill my own father." He
paused, closing his eyes. "The Dark Side made Father seem as if he
were nothing more than an insect under my shoe, just something to
kick out of my path to glory and happiness. It made it seem that
easy."

He turned to Leia, who still stared at him with a mix of pity and
horror. "I started my Jedi training when I was twenty years old.
Father started his at the age of nine. So you can imagine how much
more powerful he was in the Force by the time he was my age. Knowing
what the Dark Side promised me, imagine what it offered him." He
tilted his head as he met Leia's gaze. "Do you understand a little
more now, Leia? Father was not born evil. He was just so gifted in
the Force that the temptation was just too great to refuse."

Leia lowered her gaze to the soft earth under her feet. "I…think I
understand, Luke. You mean the stronger one is in the Force, the
greater the Dark Side's temptation?"

Luke nodded. "Yes, that's right." He paused briefly,
weighing his
words heavily before adding, "And that is why I am worried about
I'Lai."

Leia gasped. "Luke, you don't honestly think that
I'Lai…?"

"She's…just so powerful, Leia. She is completely
untrained, and yet
she harnesses a raw strength in the Force that I could almost compare
to Obi Wan Kenobi, even Master Yoda. Completely resisting Vader's
subconscious invasion? Spontaneous telekinesis? And waking astral
projection? I can't even do that yet."

"But Luke…you can teach her, can't you? You can train her
like you're
training me?"

Luke sighed and shook his head as he started to pull on his
boots. "I'll do what I can, but I'm not a Jedi Master by
any means.
Not yet. All I can do is teach her how to control her strength until
I become better trained myself...and hope her powers remain hidden
from any remaining followers of the Sith."

Leia tried to shake off the chill that was running up her spine. She
was about to remind Luke that the ways of the Sith were now passed
with the deaths of Vader and the Emperor, only to remind herself that
the Jedi of her mother's generation had mistakenly thought the same
thing about the Sith…

Instead, she stuck to the subject of I'Lai. "Her parents
must have
been very strong in the Force," Leia commented as she raised her face
to catch a particularly sweet mountain breeze. "Or at least one of
them. But she has no idea of her parentage, correct?"

Again, Luke shook his head. "No, not at all. She told me she was
brought to the Imperial Courtesan Discipline when she was a toddler.
She has no memory of her parents whatsoever."

Leia furrowed her brow. "It seems so strange for a child that
exceptional to wind up in the Emperor's brothel. It just doesn't make
sense." She turned to her brother. "But Luke…I don't
think you have
to worry too much about her. I'Lai has a heart as big as this galaxy.
I have never known anyone as courageous or as kind as she is…well,
except for you." With that, she leaned up to kiss Luke on the cheek.

Luke smiled and pulled his sister closer to him. "Just promise me
you'll help me keep an eye on her."

"I will," Leia replied, smiling broadly.

A dull roar in the distance pulled Luke's and Leia's
attention toward
the massive peaks of Heaven Brace. They both looked up to see the
Millennium Falcon soar through the peaks' entrance, followed by the
smaller and disturbingly familiar form of Boba Fett's Slave I.

"They're here—come on, let's go," Leia said as
she rose and offered
Luke her hand in assistance. As she helped pull him to his feet, she
added, "I hope the med team brought an extra ice pack for
Han's jaw."

Luke squinted at her. "Why, what's wrong with Han's
jaw?"

Leia smirked a sly smile and winked at Luke. "When I become stronger
in the Force, huh?" She reached up and rowdily tousled Luke's hair,
then took off sprinting down the dirt path. "Come on—I'll
race you!"

Luke laughed and started running after her. Leia bent swiftly to grab
a bunch of leaves from the ground, tossing them at Luke. As they ran
down the tree-lined path, they continued to laugh and play like the
children they never had a chance to be together.

* * *

The first thing that infiltrated Boba Fett's waking awareness was the
banging pain in his skull. Every heartbeat gonged against his
eardrums from the inside out. His blood felt like acid in his veins.

He attempted to open his eyes. They felt thick and opaque. He
absently tried to lift his hand to wipe them, only to growl in agony.
Then he remembered that was the injured shoulder. He switched hands,
rubbing the dried crust away and slowly opening his eyes.

Although the lush curtains were pulled closed over the window, the
room was still too bright for Fett's liking: Without the visor of his
helm, broad daylight was too intense for his altered eyes. He held
his hand as a shield over his brow as he surveyed his surroundings. The chamber was white, sterile. He painfully turned his head to the
side, responding to the blips of the medical monitors: It was only
then when he fully realized he was lying prone in an infirmary bed,
wearing a patient's robe of soft beige fabric. He glanced upwards to
see two intravenous drip containers dangling from atop the monitors
and followed the tubes to where they were stuck into his arm.

Fett blinked hard several times and took deep breaths through his
nose as he ferociously tried to shake his grogginess and remember how
he came to this place. Soon, images that began fuzzy morphed into
clearer pictures and sensations. He recalled a fleeting moment of
being strapped down and carried on a stretcher in a space dock and
hearing voices—familiar voices-- over him. He then remembered the
feeling of his armor and suit being cut away from his body as a
blaring ceiling-mounted surgical light blinded him…

Then his clearest memory emerged…he had been floating, weightless yet
tethered by tubes and wires and a breathing mask in the thick viscous
contents of a bacta tank. He remembered being naked, save for a pair
of short trunks. He remembered seeing misshapen, watery faces
through the plexiglass wall of the tank as they stared at his
progress. The faces were those of Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Lando
Calrissian, Han Solo, and an old, white-haired man wearing a medical
coat…and he remembered pounding the glass with his fist in rage and
humiliation as he floated there, exposed and vulnerable, wishing his
murderous glare would be enough to snuff out their lives and blind
their gawking eyes.

It was then another face emerged behind the glass, a face of pure
ivory surrounded by raven black curls. He found himself staring into
wide, sparkling eyes of teal. The eyes were imploring, concerned, yet
soothing, hypnotic. He saw her rose-hued lips curve slightly up in a
warm smile, and she placed the palm of her slender hand against the
glass. Fett had calmed a little, and he found himself raising his own
hand to press against the glass-shielded palm of hers as he briefly
lost himself in the tranquil comfort of her eyes…

But his anger and his arrogance had begun to surge in his blood once
again. Seeing her standing in the same room as his enemies, the very
ones who had tried to send him to a thousand year demise, only
reminded him that he was there as a prisoner, the Rebels'
prisoner--
her prisoner. He found that he could no longer bear to look upon her
any longer. He remembered clenching his pressed hand into a fist and
furiously turning away from the angelic visage.

After a few moments, in spite of himself, he had turned his head back
over his shoulder. The beautiful face with the teal eyes had
disappeared, and all he saw at that moment were her raven curls
cascading down her back as she hurriedly fled through the door…from
then on, Fett could recall nothing more.

Lying in his bed, Fett sighed deeply and clenched his eyes closed
again.

He kept them closed when he heard the chamber door swoosh open. He
listened to footsteps walk across the room toward the window and
heard the curtains flung open, flooding the room with agonizing
daylight—

"SHUT THEM! SHUT THEM NOW!" Fett yelled, raising his arm to shield
his eyes.

Poor old Dr. Him'bron nearly jumped out of his skin. He swung around,
and momentarily clutched his chest. "What! Oh, yes, your
eyes…I
forgot. My apologies." He pulled the curtains closed again, and Fett
lowered his arm to glare at the doctor. Him'bron ran his hand through
his white hair and cleared his throat. "Well, we're awake.
And how
are we feeling?"

"Come closer and we'll show you," Fett sneered.

Him'bron clucked his tongue against his teeth and shook his
head. "I've had my share of difficult patients in my day, but you,
sir, have won first prize." As he pulled the medical datapad from his
coat and lowered himself into a chair, he continued to mutter. "My
poor nurse is sporting a black eye, and I've had to order new parts
for the surgical droid you damaged—and that was while you were going
under anesthesia! I won't even discuss what happened when you came
out of it. We had to pump you with enough sedatives to keep a
Cammendon asleep for a week!"

Fett forced down the grin trying to spread across his face. He had
obviously put up a good fight, and he was a little annoyed that he
couldn't remember any of it. "How long have I been out?"

Him'bron looked up from his datapad for a split second.
"Three days."

"THREE DAYS?" Fett roared. He bolted straight up in his bed, but
bellowed in agony, clutching his side, and was forced to lie down
again.

Him'bron struck the datapad with his stylus, utterly annoyed. "Now
stop that! We fused those ribs and that shoulder back together, but
the muscles are still highly inflamed, and they need to heal. Don't
thrash about so! Behave yourself."

"Where is my armor?" Fett demanded through rasped breaths. "Where is
my ship?"

"That will all be covered in the briefing," Him'bron
flatly replied.

Fett narrowed his eyes. "What briefing?"

Him'bron completely ignored Fett's question. "As I said,
we fused all
the broken bones you had, including the fracture in your skull. The
bacta tank has cleared all signs of infection, surgical nanites have
repaired your internal injuries, and the constant IV drip has
replaced most of the nutrients back into your body. So it seems you
are on the road to full recovery." Him'bron glanced up from
his
datapad to look Fett directly into his cold stare. "You have had
rather extensive genetic altering done, particularly in the systems
of fast-twitch muscle growth, connective tissue enhancement and
flexibility, and overall cell regeneration. You know that kind of
genetic tampering is illegal outside of Imperial military parameters."

"So arrest me," Fett replied dully.

Him'bron huffed. "I would hate to meet whatever disreputable quacks
you paid off to do this. However, it seems this tampering is what
saved your life. No ordinary man could have survived those injuries
in those conditions for that long." Him'bron rose from his chair. "I
see that you are still in pain. I can give you something for it—"

"I don't want anything."

"It will help you feel better—"

"Are you deaf, old man? I DON'T WANT ANYTHING!"

"Fine. You don't want anything." Him'bron stuffed the
datapad back
into his coat pocket as he strode toward the door. "By the way, the
briefing I mentioned is about to start."

Fett turned his head away from the doctor toward the window. "I'm not
in the mood."

"I'm afraid, sir, you don't have a choice." With
that, Him'bron
opened the door, nodding to the group waiting on the other side and
strode through, mumbling, "Impossible man…"

As soon as Him'bron had passed, Leia Organa walked in, followed by
Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, and Luke Skywalker. All wore freshly
crisp Alliance uniforms indicating their rank and position except for
Luke, who still wore the dark tunic and cloak of the Jedi.

Boba Fett lay back against his pillow as a disgusted sneer crossed
his face. "Well, if it isn't my judge and jury." His eyes
fell upon
Leia, now sitting in the chair at the foot of his bed. Shooting a
quick stabbing glance at Han standing beside her, his sneer broadened
somewhat. "But a pleasing judge nonetheless. You are dressed a bit
more modestly since last I saw you in Jabba's palace, Princess
Organa."

Leia immediately felt Han's outrage at the comment and instantly
grabbed Han by the arm as he angrily stepped forward. Still holding
Han's arm, she firmly met Fett's lascivious glare with the light
trace of a smile. "As are you from last I saw you in the bacta tank,
Master Fett," she crooned with feigned innocence. Han and Lando both
blocked a laugh through their noses as Fett's leer disintegrated into
a scowl. Luke shot them both a severe look, and they fell silent.

Leia folded her arms over her chest. "As for being your judge and
jury, Master Fett, we are neither. We are merely representatives of
the Alliance here to discuss your future."

"My future?" Fett scoffed indignantly. "That's rich.
And exactly
which aspect of my future will we be discussing, Princess? Lethal
injection or blaster squad?"

Leia sighed deeply and lowered her eyes. "It pains me that, after all
the years of bloodshed and suffering this war has caused, that there
are still those like yourself that confuse the Alliance with the
Empire." She raised her eyes to meet his again. "We are not going to
execute you, Master Fett."

"Although there are several hundred on this planet alone that would
give their right appendage for a ticket to that event," Solo quipped
bitterly.

"Han…" all admonished him in unison. Han merely held up his hands
apologetically and looked innocently up toward the ceiling.

Leia resumed her diplomatic tone. "We have discussed your case with
the leaders of the Alliance Council. Since you hold the rank of free
citizenship and have no formal position with the defeated Imperials,
you do not fall under the official Alliance rules as a prisoner of
war. However, the Council feels that, because of your crimes against
Alliance personnel, you pose too great a risk to be freed
immediately. Therefore, after careful consideration, we have decided
that, under the circumstances of recent events, you will remain here
under Dia-Orri system jurisdiction in the custody of its governor,
the Lady I'Lai."

Leia was taken aback for a split second as she endured the wave of
mixed raw emotions emanating from Fett at the mention of I'Lai's
name. But just as quickly as the muddle of resentment, shame, and
longing had hit, Fett erected a black mental wall within his mind and
shut her out. He resumed his cold business-like demeanor. "And how
long will I be detained here?"

Leia paused before answering. "Indefinitely."

"Indefinitely," Fett repeated. "Or until the Alliance
decides in
committee that I have met their official guidelines as `a good boy'."

"You will remain in custody until you no longer pose any threat to
any member of the Alliance or the newly appointed galactic government
of the New Republic," Leia corrected him sternly. She softened her
tone a bit as she continued. "Do you have any questions?"

"Where is my armor? And my ship?" Fett demanded.

"Your armor is beyond any repair," replied Lando Calrissian, the Dia- Orri system's newly appointed Security Chief. "The Saarlac's acids
completely broke down the molecular structure of the plating and the
systems inside. As for your ship, it will remain here on Orri Prime
in a storage facility in an undisclosed location."

Fett remained silent as he stared toward the curtained windows. "Do
you have any other questions?" Leia asked.

"Just one." Fett turned his cold stare back to the Princess. "Where
is I'Lai?"

Leia glanced toward Luke, who had stood silent and stoic throughout
the briefing. Fett noted that, although no words were verbally
spoken, they seemed to be communicating with each other. He saw
Skywalker nod slightly to Leia, and she turned her attention back to
Fett. "She is tending to your son, Master Fett," Leia replied softly,
adding, "She was…unsure if you wanted to see her." Both
Luke and Leia
heard Fett's heavy-hearted mental response…

*That makes two of us.*

Princess Leia smoothed the front of her uniform as she stood from her
chair. "If you have no other questions, then we will take our leave.
I must inform you that you will be under constant Alliance guard
until the Council decides that security may be relaxed. I ask only
for your cooperation in making this situation more comfortable on all
sides, Master Fett."

She turned toward the door to leave when Fett's words stopped her in
her tracks. "You must be very amused by all this, your Highness," he
murmured, his face and tone devoid of any particular emotion. "How
satisfying it must be to see your lover's captor beaten and broken
before you."

The Princess shot Han Solo a look, pleading with him to hold his
temper. She sighed deeply, taking a moment, before turning to
Fett. "I take no pleasure whatsoever in others' misfortunes, Master
Fett. I am not you." With that, she strode proudly through the door.

Before leaving himself, Han stepped toward the infirmary bed and
glowered over Fett. "If you ask me, you got off easy, pal. Just
remember that."

The corner of Boba Fett's mouth curled up into a sinister smirk as
his eyes bore into Solo's. "We're not done yet, Solo. Not
by a long
shot."

Han leaned forward to meet Fett's frosty glare head-on. "Name the
time and place, Fett. I'll be there."

Fett's smirk grew even wider. "And who will you bring to
fight for
you? The Wookiee or the Jedi farm-boy?"

Han cocked his fist back and lunged toward the bounty hunter before
being caught and dragged out the door by Lando. "Come on, come on,
let's go, hot shot…"

Fett watched the pair scuffle out the door. He turned his attention
to Luke, who had not yet moved from where he stood and looked at Fett
with calm, almost compassionate eyes. Fett narrowed his own into
deadly black slits. "You have something to say…Jedi?" He
spit out the
word as if it were filth in his mouth.

Luke remained undaunted by Fett's hatred. "I understand you, Boba. I
understand your anger and why you hate me so much."

Fett's expression remained frigid and dim, but he felt his heart
pound violently in his chest. "You understand nothing, Skywalker."

"I understand that your grief led you to sell your soul, Boba. But
it's not too late to buy it back." He stepped forward, never averting
his eyes, sounding every bit the wizened Jedi. "Vader is dead, the
Emperor is dead, Jabba the Hutt is dead. The dawn of change is
rising, and you may want to decide whether to face it or continue to
live in the dark night of your hatred and vengeance. Maybe someday
you will understand the reasons the Alliance fought so long and so
hard. Maybe you will decide to join us instead of fight us, because
we surely could use a man of your genius and fortitude." Fett said
nothing. Luke continued. "If you and General Solo can keep from
killing each other for five minutes, you may want to ask him how the
love of a good woman changed him for the better."

"Enough, Skywalker."

Luke sighed. He turned toward the door, the rush of air billowing his
cloak, when he stopped before leaving. "Your father has been dead for
decades, Fett. Let him rest and be with the family you have here and
now."

Coldly, impassively, Boba Fett raised his eyes to Luke Skywalker and
quietly hissed, "Get out."

Luke bowed respectfully and walked out, leaving Boba Fett to stare at
the sterile white walls of his room and deal with the raging black
torment in his heart.

* * *

Lando released his hold on Han's uniform jacket as they came out into
the corridor. Han shook himself straight and smoothed the creases out
on his sleeves when he felt the piercing stares of Lando and Leia. He
looked at them and shrugged. "I can't help it—I just
really hate that
guy!"

"Really? I never would have guessed," Leia replied flatly.
Her
attention suddenly turned to Wedge Antilles coming down the corridor
of the palace, motioning to her. "I'll be right
back—Wedge and I have
to discuss the details regarding our trip to Coruscant." She began to
walk toward Wedge down the hall.

Han turned toward Lando. "So, you're sticking around here for
a few
weeks, huh, Security Chief?"

Lando laughed a little. "Yeah. Orri Prime is going to be a hotbed for
a while. The remaining Imps will try and rebuild their fleet, and
they'll be hurting for durasteel. We're going to set up new security
patrols, a heavier perimeter defense system, and put the new Orrian
militia through boot camp. We're going to make sure this place is
safe. You and Chewie going to Coruscant?"

"Yeah, we'll being meeting Leia and Luke there. Then the real fun
begins." Han laughed and shook his head. "I don't know
what kind of
politician I'm going to make."

"My advice to you is…just nod a lot and leave the heavy stuff to
Leia." Lando smiled and playfully punched Han in the arm.
"See you
later, General Pirate." With that, Lando Calrissian strode down the
corridor toward the space dock where his shuttle awaited to take him
to his new headquarters in the Southern Hemisphere.

"Han," Leia called as she came back down the hall. "Wedge
and I are
leaving now."

As she approached him, Han gripped her arm and pulled her into a
recessed doorway. "Come here for a second, Leia."

Leia was surprised by Han's action. "Han, what is it?"

Han turned Leia to face him. He looked intensely into her eyes, and
very gently, very lovingly touched her face. "You are…the bravest,
most beautiful girl I have ever known. And I am deeply, madly in love
with you." He leaned down and, taking her face into his hands,
pressed his lips to hers in a sweetly passionate kiss. When he broke
from her, he could see the twinkle of tears in her eyes. He
smiled. "I just wanted to tell you that."

Leia smiled through her tears. "Oh Han…I love you too."
She wrapped
her small arms around his waist and buried her face into his chest,
breathing in his warm, familiar scent through the stiff fabric of his
uniform.

Han held her tight for a few moments. "Get to your ship. I'll see you
on Coruscant." He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it before
Leia, still beaming, walked down the corridor toward a waiting Wedge
Antilles.

Han stepped out from the doorway to see Luke standing in the middle
of the hall. Things had been tense between the two friends of recent
days. They met each other's gaze with a sense of caution and worry.

Han placed his hands on his hips, nodding slightly and pursing his
lips. "Taking your X-wing to Coruscant?" he asked Luke in a
nonchalant tone.

Luke quietly nodded.

Han sniffed. "That thing's taken a beating, Luke. When are
you going
to get a real ship? Like a cruiser or something?"

Luke allowed a soft smile to penetrate his austere
demeanor. "Eventually, Han. When I can afford one."

"Well, come with me to Corellia sometime. I got friends there. I can
get you a good deal."

Luke relaxed his severe Jedi posture and walked toward Han. He
extended his cybernetic hand, and Han took it in his own in a hearty
shake. Suddenly, Han huffed and exclaimed, "Oh—come
here!" and
wrapped his arms around Luke in a big bear hug. Luke returned the hug
enthusiastically, patting Han on the back.

Han broke the hug, and the two comrades-in-arms, beaming from ear to
ear, began to walk down the corridor together. "Come on, kid--come to
the Falcon and have a drink with Chewie and me before you go."

"Han, you know I don't drink."

"Then you can watch me and Chewie drink. That sounds like a good
time, huh?" The friends' laughter rang through the ivory
white
corridors as they headed for the palace's space dock.

* * *

With a long, deep breath, Boba Fett stirred himself awake. A low,
frustrated growl emerged from his throat. He had fallen asleep—again!
Damn it, it seemed all he did was sleep! Him'bron had insisted that
he was no longer administering sedatives, that Fett's chronic need
for sleep was merely his body attempting to heal itself, but…This
can't be normal, Fett thought to himself. I've slept more in the last
four days than in the last four months! How can I blast myself out of
this place if all I do is sleep…

He bolted upright in his bed, rubbing the muck out of his eyes. In
doing so, he noted that the pain in his torso and shoulder had
subsided dramatically in the last day. He also noticed his head
didn't pound nearly as much. He faced the curtained windows as he
lowered his hand. The early morning light of dawn broke through the
cracks in the curtain, softly illuminating the white sterile walls of
his chamber with a pale azure hue.

Fett stared blankly toward the window for a moment, then turned his
head to scan his medical monitors…when his gaze stopped cold upon the
large overstuffed chair positioned at the foot of his bed and for an
eon of a moment, he could not find his breath.

There, curled up in perfect sleep, was I'Lai. Her plush white robe
was draped just below her bare shoulders and was open at her breast
and Fett saw a tiny, blanket-wrapped bundle cradled in the crook of
her arm.

Slowly and silently, Fett pulled the blankets off his and swung his
legs over the side of the bed. As he stood, the IV tubes stretched
taut from his arm. Reaching down, he grabbed them and yanked them
out, completely oblivious to the pain the action caused.

Ignoring the ache spreading up his leg from his healing ankle, he
moved quietly toward the sleeping lady, lowering himself to kneel
before her. His eyes drank in every detail of her face, every curl of
her ringlets, every soft breath she took in her slumber. Even in
sleep her lips, moistly parted, seemed to curve in a soft smile. Fett
remembered the last time he saw her on the Executor was just like
this, sleeping and dreamful, and that had been the image he had
carried with him for these many months—but that image paled to what
he saw before him now. Her skin was freshly scrubbed and radiant, her
ebon hair tousled about her shoulders, her expression innocent and
serene. He felt he was truly gazing upon an angel.

He reached up to gently touch her lips. He ran his finger along the
outline of them, being extremely careful not to disturb her. He
touched the alabaster of her cheek, losing himself in the softness
and warmth of her skin.

He became suddenly startled by the tiny gurgle that emerged from the
blanket-wrapped bundle in her arm. Looking down, he saw a tiny hand
break free from the wrap to flex tiny fingers and reach for I'Lai's
breast. The bundle cooed and wriggled closer to her, and Fett could
hear the almost inaudible sound of suckling.

Fett sat there, frozen and amazed, unable to look away.

I'Lai's eyelids fluttered, and she stirred with a deep
breath.
Slowly, she opened her eyes. She lightly blinked a few times as she
focused on the man in front of her. Soon, her drowsy gaze met his
eyes, and her mouth spread into a soft smile.

"Good morning, Boba," I'Lai whispered.

For the second time in I'Lai's presence, Boba Fett could
think of
nothing to say.

I'Lai sleepily raised her head from her shoulder and extended her
hand to Fett's face, touching his scarred chin in a gentle
caress. "How are you feeling? Better, I hope?"

"Yes…yes, I'm…better." He shifted uncomfortably
as he struggled to
say something to her…anything to her…"Was it…painful,
I'Lai?" He
mentally kicked himself for such an idiotic question.

I'Lai's smile only broadened. "A little, Boba."

Fett shifted his gaze back to the tiny bundle in her arms.
"I…I want
to see him." I'Lai gingerly adjusted the blanket away from
the baby's
face to allow Fett his first view of his infant son.

Fett stared into the child's little face, again taking in every
minute detail he saw. He smiled slightly at the tuft of dark hair on
the infant's head, and noted the child's skin was a darker
hue, like
his own. He noted the child's strong brow and nose were like his as
well. But what drew his attention most were the baby boy's eyes. They
were not dark like his own, but a sparkling hue of sapphire-jade,
like his mother's, and as they looked up into Fett's eyes,
they bore
into his very soul.

*By the Slayer, he looks like…he looks like my father.*

"Does he…have you named him?"

"I thought…we could do that together. Would you like to hold him,
Boba?" I'Lai asked softly.

Fett suddenly felt overwhelmed by a rush of unfamiliar and upsetting
emotions. "No…no!" he snapped quietly as he rose to his
feet and
moved toward the window. He did not open the curtains, but rather
leaned against the window's edge, furiously running his hand through
his hair and over the healing gash in his scalp.

I'Lai adjusted her robe around her and rose from the chair, clutching
the babe to her breast. "Boba, what is it? What's wrong?"

Fett remained silent for a moment. I'Lai could see his shoulders
tremble before he turned and faced her. His face was a mixture of
anger, confusion, and anguish. "I do not understand, I'Lai. I do not
understand any of this. The rescue…the baby…why? Why have you done
all this?"

For a moment, I'Lai herself was speechless. She glanced toward the
floor, fluttering her lashes, before raising her eyes to him again
and answered, "You apologized to me."

Fett furrowed his brow in even more confusion. "What…?"

"That night on the Executor, when you became angry and frightened me.
You apologized." She held his gaze in the innocent snare of her
eyes. "You had never done that before, had you?"

Fett felt as though he was going to explode. He wanted to shake her
senseless and crush her in his embrace at the same time. How, how
does she know these things about me? What is this maddening hold she
has on me? Why do I yearn so fiercely for her…why does she make me so
weak..?

Once again, he latched onto his familiar tone of cruelty and
arrogance when he spoke this time. "This situation does nothing to
change the fact that I am a prisoner here, does it, Lady?"

I'Lai blanched. "But, Boba…I assure you, you will have
freedom of the
palace and its out skirting areas along with access to all it can
provide you—"

"Under armed guard. Answer me this, Lady--am I or am I not your
prisoner?" Fett moved toward her threateningly when she remained
silent. "It is a simple yes or no answer. If I cannot have my
freedom, at least pay me the respect of answering my question."

Her lip trembling and tears beginning to well in her eyes, I'Lai
calmly replied, "I would rather think of you as…my guest."

"A guest who cannot leave, correct?" Fett's tone had
turned ice cold.

I'Lai struggled to find a suitable answer. "You will be able
to leave…
in time. When—"

"When your Rebel friends decide I have been broken." Fett
swung
around toward the window again, folding his arms. "I want you to
leave, I'Lai. Tend to your son."

"But Boba—"

"LEAVE," Fett snarled with quiet venom.

I'Lai clenched her eyes closed and held her sob in her throat. Before
she went through the door, Fett blurted, "Kai."

I'Lai stopped and turned her tear-drenched face toward him. "What?" Fett didn't turn to face her. "I want to name him Kai. Kai Fett. Now
you may leave."

I'Lai nodded. "All right. We'll name him Kai."
Holding her son close
to her breast, she turned and walked out the door.

When she had reached the farthest stretch of the corridor, I'Lai
could no longer hold her anguish. She fell against the wall and slid
down, sobbing uncontrollably and clutching baby Kai to her as if he
were her very lifeblood.

When Fett was certain I'Lai was well down the exterior corridor, he
turned and with full force punched a hole right through the chamber
wall.

* * *

Chapter 5

Make me a willow cabin at your gate
And call upon my soul within the house.
Write loyal cantons of contemned love
And sing them loud, even in the dead of night.
Halloa your name to the reverberate hills
And make the babbling gossip of the air cry out.
O, you should not rest between the elements of air and earth But you should pity me.

William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night

Not surprisingly, Fett had speedily healed from his injuries and was
discharged from the palace infirmary by the galactic week's end. Dr.
Him'bron and his unfortunate black-eyed and highly stressed nurse
raised a glass of Corellian ale together to toast the event.

He stayed in quarters located in the dimly lit and little used
southern wing of I'Lai's estate—he had been offered
larger and more
luxurious accommodations, but preferred the south wing for its lack
of direct sunlight and its distance from I'Lai's suite.
I'Lai had
been true to her word in promising him anything he needed or wanted,
for whatever he requested was provided almost immediately. Staying
true to his Spartan-like nature, Fett's requests were minimal. He
ordered only a firm cot and a table with chair. He did request a few
items to be brought from his ship, including the strange little round
device that played the horrible ear-splitting music and some
clothing, all of which had to be inspected and cleared by Orri
Prime's Security Chief, Lando Calrissian.

Appointing a guard to cover the morning post had proven next to
impossible for Lando, for no one seemed capable of keeping up with
Fett's daily fitness regimen. Once he had completely healed, Fett
initialized an agonizing routine of running for hours at a time,
climbing cliff sides, and lifting dead tree logs and small boulders.
Lando was finally forced to eliminate an actual guard and instead had
Fett fitted with a homing bracer to track his whereabouts outside of
the palace.

When he wasn't in his quarters, he could usually be found in the
palace's rather impressive library. There he had access to a holovid
and the holonet as well as infinite databooks.

Though no one ever used the term in regards to Fett, he was proving
himself a model "prisoner". He had made absolutely no
attempt to
escape. He actually treated his guards with quiet--if begrudging--
respect. After several weeks without incident, Lando dropped the
round-the-clock security and had a guard posted outside of Fett's
quarters only at night.

Although the palace's atmosphere seemed calm and collected on the
surface, those who lived and functioned in it knew otherwise: To say
there was tension between Boba Fett and I'Lai was to say that Jabba
the Hutt had had a little weight problem. In the three months
following their last conversation in his infirmary room, Fett had not
spoken one word to I'Lai.

For weeks afterward, I'Lai had extended invitation after invitation,
either through Nikoa or his guards, for him to join her for dinner.
Every night, his place at her table remained unoccupied. She asked
Nikoa everyday, sometimes two or three times, if he had visited Kai's
nursery. Every time, Nikoa sadly shook her head. After a while, I'Lai
ceased to send invitations and no longer asked Nikoa about possible
visits.

She tried to alleviate the heartache of Fett's rebuffs by filling her
days with constant work and doting endlessly on her son. Besides
dealing with the grueling demands of running a planetary mining
operation and caring for an infant, she was also training via
holographic communications with Luke Skywalker in the ways of the
Force.

Luke had taught her a great deal in regards to controlling her
natural power and honing it. They had both agreed that I'Lai would
excel far better as a Jedi shaman rather than a warrior, using her
powers to heal, teach, and provide spiritual inspiration.

But though her bustling days provided her temporary distraction, her
nights were another matter entirely.

Every night, after spending vast hours cuddling, feeding, playing
with and reading to Kai, she would lay him down in his crib for
sleep. She would then retire to her own suite, lay herself down in
her huge bed, and, fingering the empty pillow next to her, would cry
herself to sleep.

Little did she know that her cries did not go unheard.

At the same time every night while the rest of the palace slumbered,
Boba Fett would stand in the darkened corridor and, through the
nursery portal, gaze at his infant son sleeping peacefully in his
crib. He would then move down the hall to I'Lai's door, sit
on the
floor leaning his head against it, and listen to her cry.

One night Burl, Fett's miner-turned-night guard and traveling
companion on these visits, finally broke his silence after weeks of
this. "Why don't you just go in there and talk to her
already?"

Fett merely looked up at Burl from his seated position against her
door and muttered, "Why don't you just shut up and do your job?"

The following day would prove to be much different than those tense
and sad days past.

Fett had completed yet another punishing regimen, showered, and
changed into a fresh shirt and trousers. He was now sitting in the
library in front of the holonet screen trying to catch up on galactic
current events. Every day, more planets, systems, and guilds publicly
denounced the Empire and declared their loyalties to the New
Republic. The Imperial code of censorship seemed no longer feared or
viable, for every day there were countless new accounts broadcasted
detailing the Empire's crimes and cruelty against the masses of the
galaxy.

But there was one news byte in particular that caught Fett's
undivided attention. The headline read, "Gangster Jabba the Hutt
Found Dead, Bounty Hunter Boba Fett Presumed Dead."

He continued to read the article as it stated that he was last
spotted on Tatooine in the company of Jabba the Hutt. The Hutt's
pleasure barge containing his rotting corpse had finally been found
in the middle of the Dune Sea, surrounded by the skeletons of his
guards and guests. The article went on to say that although Fett's
body had never been recovered, pieces of the notorious bounty
hunter's jetpack were found at the scene and it was surmised that he
had perished within the gullet of the Saarlac and his ship stolen
from Jabba's palace.

Fett wasn't sure whether to laugh or break the screen in half. He did
neither. He instead performed a hack around the computer's security
codes to allow him outside access. Once he cracked the system's
fortress program, he punched in the codes of the scores of credit
accounts he had littered all over the galaxy which he had opened
under dozens of aliases. He breathed a light sigh of relief to see
his fortune was still safe and intact.

Thank the Slayer for bribe-happy bankers and fake IDs, Fett mused.

He switched back to the article and stared at the screen, tapping his
finger against the table. This wasn't the first time Fett had been
written off; he had been fodder for the holonet's rumor mills for
years. And very often, when he would take his excursions to the ass- backward outer rim of the galaxy no one had even bothered to chart
and be gone for months, the net would practically buzz with the
several hundred versions of his ghastly demise. And every time he was
thought dead, he would miraculously reappear to bring in another high- priced, high profile bounty and only elevate his legend of being
unkillable and unstoppable.

But this time was different—and aggravating. This time he could not
orchestrate his rise from the dead on his own accord. It would have
to wait.

Then another thought crossed his mind…since the holonet news was
reporting him dead, that meant Leia Organa and the other Rebels had
told no one of his internment on Orri Prime. Strange. One would think
the Rebel leaders wouldn't pass up the opportunity of informing the
galaxy that they had captured and imprisoned its most ruthless and
infamous bounty hunter, but obviously they did. This puzzled Fett,
but not to distraction. Dismissing it, he shut down the computer
console.

He would become far more distracted outside the library door.

He squinted as he stepped into the sun-drenched white marble
corridor; although they were still sensitive, Fett had somewhat
succeeded in adapting his eyes to brighter light. He was about to
head back to his quarters when he heard the door at the far end of
the corridor open. The door was that of I'Lai's place of
work. He
would usually force his attention away and keep walking, but not this
time. Besides hearing the voices of I'Lai and Nikoa, he heard another— that of Lando Calrissian.

He turned and glared down the hall. I'Lai and Lando were walking out
into the corridor, talking and laughing a bit. He could see I'Lai was
holding a squirming Kai upright against her breast, his tiny feet
poking and kicking against her. It was then he saw Lando turn and,
smiling, reach toward her with both hands. I'Lai, also smiling
brightly, came toward Lando's outstretched hands and very gently
handed Kai over. Holding the baby boy from under his arms, Lando
lifted him into the air and began making ridiculous faces and noises
at the child. Kai wriggled and emitted a high-pitched hiccuppy baby
laugh that bounced off the marble walls down the corridor.

Boba Fett gripped the databook he held in his hand so hard he snapped
it in half as he began to shake with rage. Tiny shards of the screen
and casing fell and tinkled against the marble floor. It was only
then I'Lai and Lando noticed him standing at the end of the hall.

Lando slowly lowered Kai as his smile faded. I'Lai looked at Fett
with wide, anxious eyes. Lando handed the child to Nikoa as she
entered the corridor from I'Lai's office. He turned back
toward Fett,
and respectfully bowed his head to him.

Fett stood there for several long moments, holding his vicious glare
on Lando, before slowly turning and walking down the hall,
disappearing around the corner.

Lando continued to stare down the corridor after Fett as he
stated, "I'Lai, that man is a damn fool."

I'Lai sighed. "Lando, don't, please."

He turned to face I'Lai, and she was immediately hit by a myriad of
emotions emanating from her friend—resentment toward Fett, sympathy
for her as well as…something else. Longing. Longing and regret.
Suddenly words formed in her mind, words spoken by Lando's inner
voice…

*She deserves better than this. If only…*

Touched by his thoughts and trying not to let him know she had heard
them, she stepped toward Lando, reached toward his face, and kissed
him on the cheek. "Go on. I'll see you for next week's
security
briefing."

Lando left for his shuttle. Nikoa took Kai back to the nursery, and
I'Lai went back into her office.

A few hours passed. I'Lai had been trying to concentrate on the
newest supply orders that had come in that morning, only to become
frustrated and distracted by the incident in the hall. She was
rubbing her fatigued eyes when Nikoa scurried in through the door,
shaking with quiet excitement.

"Lady I'Lai—I mean, I'Lai," Nikoa stuttered,
suddenly remembering
I'Lai's request for everyone to drop her former Imperial
title from
her name, "Come quickly, please!"

I'Lai lowered her hand from her eyes. "Nikoa, I'm a bit
busy at the
moment—"

"I'Lai, please! Come with me to the nursery!"

The color drained momentarily from I'Lai's face as she
snapped out of
her chair. "Nikoa, what is it? Is Kai ill?"

"I'Lai, please, just come now! I think you should see
this!"
Grabbing I'Lai's hand, Nikoa began pulling her down the corridor
toward the nursery.

As they entered I'Lai's private wing, Nikoa silently
indicated to
I'Lai to slow down and stay quiet. As they inched toward the nursery,
Nikoa pointed to the portal window. I'Lai looked in, and gasped as
she raised her hand to her mouth.

There she saw Boba Fett sitting in the large stuffed chair next to
the crib, cradling his infant son in his arms.

She watched him gingerly stroke the little boy's head. She saw Kai
reach his tiny hand toward Fett's face. Fett lowered his hand and
allowed the baby to wrap his little fingers around his, all the while
gazing lovingly down into his son's eyes. All severity and brutality
was gone from the bounty hunter's face. His expression was that of
peace, contentment, and overwhelming pride.

I'Lai felt her throat constrict with emotion and tears well in her
eyes. Nikoa let out a tiny sigh. "Perhaps that was all he needed. A
good swift kick in the ass."

"Nikoa!" I'Lai gasped, incredulous at her maid's
remark.

"I'Lai," Nikoa whispered as she gently touched
I'Lai's arm, "why
don't you go in and join them?"

The smile suddenly melted from I'Lai's face as she still
gazed
through the portal. "No, Nikoa, I…I can't." She
turned and walked
down the corridor back to her office, repeating through her tears, "I
can't…"

* * *

He had seen her. He was certain that she thought he hadn't, but he
had seen her watching him through the nursery portal window. He had
seen her smile fade from her face and the tears in her eyes. He had
seen her turn away. He coupled that image with that of Calrissian
daring to lay his stinking hands on his son…

He couldn't stand it anymore. He needed some kind of release. His
kind of release.

Fett heard Burl's heavy footsteps approaching his chamber door. As
they neared, Fett opened the door and stepped into the hall, facing
his guard with his arms folded.

The first thing he noticed was the reek of alcohol coming off the
brawny Orrian and his bloodshot eyes. Fett's lips turned upwards in a
sardonic smile. Of all nights, tonight my guard shows up drunk. Oh
Burl, you are making this far too easy…

"So," Burl slurred as he staggered lightly, "I heard that you're
dead, Fett."

Fett shrugged. "Yeah, seems I read that somewhere too."

Burl blew a snort out of his nose. "Big bad ole' bounty
hunter, Boba
Fett. Everyone afraid of you. You ain't so scary to me."
Burl, who
was just shy of two meters tall, loomed over Fett as he leaned into
his face. "You ain't even tried to escape yet. I think
you're just a
big candy-ass, and I've thought so all this time! I ain't `fraid to
say it to your face!"

Fett nonchalantly leaned against the corridor wall, a smirk spreading
across his scarred face. "You got some balls to talk to me like that,
Burl."

"Oh yeah? So what! You ain't got no armor, you ain't got
your fancy
gadgets! Whaddya gonna do to me, huh Fett? I'm the one with the gun!"
He waved the blaster rifle around his reddened face.

"Yes. Yes you are."

Burl never saw Fett's knuckles strike his trachea like a snake's
head. As Burl gasped for air and reached for his throat, another
lightening-quick hand came up and under Burl's ribcage, hitting his
solar plexus. Burl doubled over, and Fett finished him with a knee
strike to his chin and elbow shot to his head. Burl fell sloppily to
the floor like a huge sack of raw ore and Fett deftly caught the
rifle's strap off the guard's arm and slid it onto his own in one
fluid move.

Fett crouched down and ran his hands through the unconscious miner's
pockets until he found the keychip to the homing bracer on his wrist.
Sliding the chip into a tiny slot, the bracer popped off and Fett
tossed it through the open door of his chamber. He casually stepped
on Burl's face as he made his way down the darkened corridor toward a
palace exit, muttering, "Pleasant dreams, asshole."

* * *

The silk of the pillow felt refreshing and cool against
I'Lai's cheek
as she lay her head down for her night's rest. She still reached over
to the empty pillow beside her, as it had now become habit. But
tonight she shed no tears; instead, she smiled softly. Fett had held
their son for the first time. Perhaps it would only be a matter of
time before he held her again in the same loving manner…

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sound outside. She quickly sat up
in her bed, tuning her ears toward the glass garden doors. Had she
heard that right? Was it her imagination? Because it sounded like…

Her first assumption was proven correct when she heard the sound
again. There was no denying it—that was blaster fire!

She instinctively reached for the emergency comlink next to her bed
when she hesitated and pulled her hand back. There was no indication
of danger whatsoever emanating from the Force, and she suddenly felt
as though she were being guided toward the garden door…

She slipped out of her bed in the darkness and donned her gossamer
robe over her nightgown. She opened the garden doors and stepped out
into the warm, sweet summer night, skipping down the stone steps of
the terrace and moving into the surrounding forest.

I'Lai heard the blasts coming intermittently, just one shot at a
time. She followed the sound through the trees along the path softly
illuminated by Orri Prime's three small moons. She knew her way well
along this path, for this was the way she to the lovely clearing that
she sometimes would take Kai on particularly beautiful summer days…

She stopped just shy of entering the clearing, standing behind a
large tree, and watched the moonlit figure in the clearing.

It was Fett, shirtless and barefoot and wearing only his black loose
trousers. She took a sharp intake of breath when she saw he was
brandishing a blaster rifle—but she held her tongue as she then saw a
small spherical shape slicing and racing through the air all around
him…

The sphere suddenly shot a bolt of energy at Fett. Fett instantly
dove out of the way, leaping into the air and folding himself into a
tuck as he hit the ground and rolled into a kneeling position. He
aimed the blaster and fired precisely at the center of the sphere.
I'Lai saw the blast suddenly bounce off what seemed to be a deflector
shield surrounding the little orb, protecting it from being blasted
into little pieces.

The sphere shot again, and again Fett rolled out from under its fire
and came to his feet. He sprinted toward a tree as it chased him, and
I'Lai saw him jump straight up and catch a limb. With amazing speed
and strength, he pulled his legs through his arms and clenched them
around the branch, releasing his arms and catching the blaster on his
shoulder and, while hanging upside down, fired another precision shot
at his small mechanical enemy. He let go the branch and flipped
himself over to land on his feet, immediately turning and firing
another dead-on shot.

I'Lai stood against the tree and continued to watch him battle the
sphere as it relentlessly fired at him and he relentlessly fired
back. Her mouth gaped in astonishment. She thought that she should
perhaps be frightened or unnerved by his quick and lethal
performance, but she felt quite the opposite. The moonlight glistened
off his sweating body, clearly defining every taut muscle and sinew
in his torso, arms, and back. He moved with the deadly speed and
grace of some wild predator with the same keen sense of focus. She
saw the glint of insatiable determination glitter from his eyes.
Rather than being frightened, she found herself breathlessly excited
and entranced. To her, he looked like a wild, untamed god.

Suddenly he stopped, reached into his pocket, pulled out a small
remote and aimed it at the sphere. The small sphere lowered to the
ground. I'Lai saw him look up toward one of the taller trees until he
focused on a taminae nest far up in the treetop. She saw him slowly
raise the rifle and aim directly at the nest…

"Boba! Don't you dare shoot that nest!" I'Lai cried
out from behind
her tree.

Slowly and calmly, Fett lowered the rifle. He cocked his head
slightly over his shoulder toward her direction and said, "I was
wondering when you would pipe up."

I'Lai stepped out from behind the tree, somewhat taken aback that he
was actually speaking to her. "How…did you know I was
here?"

Fett turned slowly and slung the rifle over his shoulder as he walked
toward her. "Lady, you are as graceful as the willows of Alderaan—but
you sound like a herd of Bantha when you try to sneak up on someone."

I'Lai's shoulders slumped, and an embarrassed smile crossed
her lips
briefly before she snapped herself into a firm demeanor. "May I ask
where you acquired that weapon?"

"You may want to ask Burl that when he wakes up from his stupor."

I'Lai let out an exasperated sigh; contrary to his claims, Burl had
obviously started drinking again. She pointed to the mechanical
sphere on the ground. "And where did you get…" She
hesitated,
frustrated by her lack of weapons' terminology, "…that?"

"A Marksman-H training remote," Fett corrected her quietly.
"I got
that from my ship."

I'Lai blanched. "You mean…you know where it is?"

He nodded. "I've known for some time. There are few secure computer
files I can't crack, I'Lai. I'm very good at acquiring information."

I'Lai stood confused and startled for a moment. She then reached out
her hand. "I must have that weapon back, Boba. If Lando finds out
about this, there could be serious consequences."

She saw Fett's expression darken at the mention of Lando's name.
Never the less, he turned the rifle around, extending the butt of it
to I'Lai. "As you wish, Lady," he said flatly.

I'Lai stared down at the rifle for a moment. She looked back up to
Fett. "Actually, there is something I'd like you to do before
I take
it back."

"What is that?"

"Teach me how to use it. Please."

Fett knit his brows slightly at I'Lai's request. "You
mean you've
never handled a blaster?"

I'Lai smiled awkwardly. "Weapons training was not exactly in the
curriculum of the Courtesan Discipline, Boba."

She saw Fett actually smile a bit at her little joke. "All right,
come here." He led her into the middle of the clearing. He moved to
stand behind her. "This would not be my weapon of choice. I prefer an
EE-3, but this will have to do." He pulled the small remote from his
pocket again and adjusted the settings. The training remote floated
back into the air and shot about twenty meters away from them. "I've
adjusted it so it won't return fire. Hold the butt in the crook of
your shoulder, like this, and wrap your finger around the trigger."
He wrapped his arm around hers, positioning the rifle correctly in
her arm. "Place your other hand under here." Taking her hand, he
moved it into its position under the barrel. He gently pushed her
arms upward. As he did, the training remote projected a circle of red
light in front of it. "Now, line up the target in the scope, and
gently squeeze the trigger."

I'Lai closed one eye as she focused the other through the scope. Her
heart beat fast and she could feel her arms shake. Fett, still
holding her arms in position, whispered into her hair, "Relax, don't
be nervous."

She took a long, deep breath. She felt herself calm and suddenly
intensely focused as she squeezed the trigger…

She jolted back a bit against him as the energy beam blasted forward
from the barrel—and hit the target dead center.

Both she and Fett stood and gawked at the remote. "Try it again,"
Fett said. Again, I'Lai squeezed off a blast that impacted in a
perfect bulls-eye.

After a stunned pause, Fett leaned into her ear. "Are you sure you've
never done this before?"

I'Lai responded with an edgy giggle. "No, honestly.
Beginner's luck,
I suppose."

She turned her face to meet his, and her smile slowly faded as she
met his gaze. They stood there against each other, quiet and still.
As the pale moonlight delicately illuminated her face, Fett again
found himself mildly intoxicated by the fragrance of her hair, the
clarity of her bright eyes, the dewy redness of her lips. He slid his
hand up her arm, over her shoulder, to gently brush his fingertips
along her chin. I'Lai gasped and quivered at his touch, closing her
eyes and leaning into his hand. Fett slid his other hand around her
waist to rest on her abdomen, now firm again after the birth of Kai.
He buried his face into her hair as his hand slid up over her ribs
just below her breast. He felt his skin tingle and his blood heat as
I'Lai herself felt every nerve ignite with desire and longing…

Suddenly, Fett pulled his hands and backed away. "Lesson's over," he
muttered, a trace of sourness in his voice. "I should return to my
quarters before your Security Chief revokes my privileges." He paused
before adding, "I'm sure he would be more than happy to continue your
training." He began to walk toward the path leading back to the
palace.

I'Lai felt her anger and confusion peak and could tolerate no more.
She spun around and cried, "Why are you punishing me like this?" Fett
stopped in his tracks. "Is it because I helped the Rebellion? I only
did what I thought was right. Right for our son." Her voice suddenly
seemed to catch its own trace of bitterness. "I never pegged you as
being so fervently political, Boba."

It was then Fett turned around and walked back toward her, assuming
the cold glint in his eyes once again. "I'm not, Lady. My loyalties
lie only with those who offer up the highest bounties. Given the
choice between a poor Rebellion and a wealthy Empire…well, you can do
the math." He stopped just short of her face. "My disgust
does not
lie with your political convictions, I'Lai, but with the company you
have chosen to keep! If I had the choice of three trophies to mount
on my armor, they would be the scalps of Solo, Calrissian, and that
Jedi Skywalker--and you have collaborated with all three!" His tone
turned colder and even nastier. "And they all seem to be quite taken
with you, particularly that asinine gambler Calrissian. I can't help
but wonder if they have enjoyed a taste of your courtesan talents as
well as I—"

Before he could finish, I'Lai slapped Boba Fett full force hard
across his face. Her eyes ablaze with anger, she quietly hissed, "How
dare you."

Fett stood, only slightly taken aback. He locked glares with I'Lai
and suddenly became fully aware of the change in her since the
Executor. She was no longer the coy courtesan, trembling with terror
of him. She was no longer the property of another man. She stood
before him tall and proud, regal and defiant, the ruler of a world, a
leader in the Rebel Alliance, and the mother of a strong, healthy
son. She was strong, stronger than any woman he had ever encountered.
Amongst everything he felt for her, Fett felt a new emotion emerge… respect. He found that he liked this change in her very much.

He reached up to touch his stinging cheek. A slight smile curved his
lips. "Nice strike." He lightly tipped his head in his customary
bow. "Good night, Lady." He turned to head back toward the path.

"You have my permission to leave, Master Fett," I'Lai
blurted.

Fett stopped and turned, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Your
permission? How kind. But I thought that was what I was doing."

I'Lai tightly shook her head. "No, I mean you may leave the palace,
leave Orri Prime. I will arrange everything for you. I can make it
look like an escape."

"Again, very kind of you." He stepped forward slightly.
"But you do
not have to `make' it look like anything. As I think I have just
proven, Lady," he gestured to Burl's blaster in her hand,
"I can
leave here anytime I wish."

"THEN WHY DO YOU STAY, BOBA?" I'Lai cried out. She could
no longer
hold her proud stance nor the anguish she had endured for these last
months. Her body wracked, and she held a hand to her stomach as she
repeated, quietly and tearfully, "Why do you stay…?" She
threw the
blaster to the ground at his feet and turned away. Sobs strangled her
throat, and she walked hastily into the moonlit woods, her gossamer
robe catching the breeze like the wings of a dove.

She had gone just a few meters into the trees before leaning into the
trunk of a tree, folding her arms over her face to muffle the
intensity of her sobs. I was wrong about him, she cried in her mind.
He is just a cold, heartless mercenary…I've been such a
fool…

She suddenly jumped, startled by a hand gently touching her hair. She
turned slightly to see Fett standing beside her, leaning his shoulder
against the tree and gazing at her with soft, apologetic eyes. She
never heard him coming up behind her.

He smiled softly. "That is how you sneak up on someone," he murmured.
He moved his hand from her hair to delicately touch her chin, never
averting his gaze from hers. He sighed lightly as he said, "You ask
me why I stay, I'Lai." He cupped her cheek. "Why do you think…?"

Although I'Lai knew that Fett was not a Force-sensitive, he seemed to
have developed a mental ability that blocked such beings from his
thoughts and emotions. He now lowered that wall, and I'Lai gasped
from the intensity of the feelings coming from his heart. She felt
awash in warmth, care, and his desire for her. She felt his extreme
pride, adoration, and devotion for his Kai. She also felt a tinge of
uncertainty and confusion coming from him as he dealt with emotions
he had never allowed himself to experience before…

He reached for her hand and placed it on his bare chest over his
heart. His tone was again simple, quiet, without strong emotion. "Is
this what it feels like, I'Lai? To care so deeply? To love?"

Her lip trembled and her eyes sparkled with the dew of joyous
tears. "Yes, Boba."

He lowered his gaze for a moment as he considered these
feelings. "This feels…strange. But not…unpleasant."
With that, he
reached his hand behind her head and pulled her closer. He kissed
her, sweetly and tenderly.

I'Lai welcomed the kiss she had been craving for so very long. As
tears streamed down her face, she wrapped her arms around Fett's
neck, pulling him even further into the kiss, into her very soul.
Fett encircled her lithe form in his arms and crushed her against him
as his hunger for her was finally sated.

He lifted her into his powerful arms. Wordlessly and effortlessly, he
carried her across the clearing, all the way up the path back to her
chamber terrace. When they had reached the glass doors to her suite,
I'Lai closed her eyes and commanded the doors to open.

It was then she met Fett's bewildered eyes. With a deep breath, she
whispered, "I am a Force sentient."

"I know," he replied softly.

She looked at him with enormous eyes. "You…do?"

He nodded. "That means Kai is too, doesn't it?"

Her breathing staggered for a moment. "And you…don't
mind?"

He carried her into her bedchamber, gently setting her down next to
the bed. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he stared into her
eyes. "I do not fully comprehend this sorcery the Jedi call the
Force," he whispered, "but I do know it can harness great power. I
know that you will use this power well I'Lai, as will Kai."
He
brushed her neck with his lips and added, "I have accepted
it."

His hands slid down her shoulders, brushing the robe and the thin
straps of her nightgown down her arms. I'Lai leaned back her head,
offering her long throat to Fett's mouth as his hands tenderly
stroked her breasts. Her light clothing silently dropped to the
floor, leaving her standing nude and breathless in Fett's arms. He
ran his coarse hands down her graceful back as she caressed his
scarred shoulders and chest, running her slender fingers through his
hair. Slowly, he leaned forward into her, gently easing her back
until she was lying on the bed. He pressed himself against her,
finding her mouth with his once again and enveloping it a long, deep,
passionate kiss.

I'Lai felt herself aflame with desire and need for him. He continued
to caress every inch of her creamy satin skin, stroking her sides,
briefly resting his hand on her hip before reaching for the flesh of
her inner thigh. He moaned in her ear as she gasped at the touch of
his fingers inching upwards…

She let out a cry of desire wrapped in a sob of joy. Her hands moved
down his back to tug at the waistband of his trousers. He pushed
himself upwards, holding her eyes in his own as she brushed his pants
down and over his hips.

I'Lai opened herself to him in all ways, physically, emotionally, and
spiritually. She lifted her legs to wrap around the small of his
back. Fett held her gaze, never averting his eyes, only shutting them
briefly as he entered her gently, delicately, lovingly. I'Lai
shuddered, clenching her eyes closed and pulling him into her even
further with her legs, lifting her hips from the bed. He took a sharp
breath, and felt himself begin to writhe with the rhythm of her body,
etching every detail of her angelic face into his mind, his heart.
She reached up and touched his face, brushing his lips with her
fingers, running them down his throat, his chest, his hard abdomen.

She arced back her neck, and Fett saw a single tear trickle from her
eye. Her breathing became heavy, and he began to feel her entire body
tense and tighten, just like his own. He lowered himself down,
caressing her neck with his lips, reaching under her back, circling
his arm around her waist and pulling her tight against him as his
thrusts increased in rhythm and intensity. He suddenly felt an energy
encircle them, as though he were bathed in warm, soft white light
with no world, no galaxy, no enemies, no other beings except for him
and this exquisite, beautiful creature beneath him, around him, and
now a part of him…he heard nothing but the soft velvet of her
whispers as she breathed his name, over and over…

They remained like that, molded together, moving, writhing, bonded
for what seemed to be delicious eternity. But soon, I'Lai's whispers
became short, sharp cries, and Fett experienced his own desire begin
to peak as well, his muscles pulling taut under his flesh, the
sweetness of her becoming too much to bear…

He shuddered, wrapping his arms around her waist, burying his face
into her hair as he attempted to muffle his roar of intense pleasure.
I'Lai thrust herself up, pulling him in, her nails digging into the
flesh of his back, as she too cried out, crying his name as she felt
her soul ignite through her muscles to mingle and touch his own.

They both descended back into the reality of the world and the
darkness of the bedchamber. Fett lifted his head from her fragrant
hair and gazed into her eyes. I'Lai, still breathless, suddenly found
herself crying. "Ssshhh…" Fett breathed, wiping away her
tears and
smiling softly.

She hesitated for a moment until she could no longer hold what was in
her heart. "I love you."

Fett stared intently in her eyes, and found he no longer feared this
unfamiliar feeling in his heart. "And I you, I'Lai."

They shifted themselves into the comfort of the bed, Fett pulling the
silk covers over I'Lai to warm her, and she nestled her head into the
crook of his arm. They were quiet for a time. I'Lai sighed deeply
before she spoke.

"I won't hold you here against your will, Boba. You may leave
whenever you wish."

Fett turned and gazed into her eyes. "What about the Rebels?"

She met his gaze. "I will speak with them. Just promise me you will
leave Han and the others be."

Fett pondered this request, then nodded. "If they will leave me
alone, I will do nothing to them. I am a man of my word." He shifted
to lean on his elbow. "I can't stay much longer, I'Lai. I
have many
enemies. Most of the galaxy thinks I am dead, but it will be only a
matter of time before someone finds out I'm here. It could be very
dangerous for you and Kai. Understand this, I'Lai--no one must know
that Kai is my son."

I'Lai dropped her eyes a bit, and nodded. "I understand,
Boba."

His face suddenly softened a little and he stroked her face. "But I
will return, I'Lai. I won't leave you and Kai alone here for long."
He leaned over and brushed her lips tenderly with his.

I'Lai smiled, and laid her head on his chest. Soon, the beckon of
sleep called to them both, as they lay wrapped in each other's arms
in the stillness of Orri Prime's summer night.

EPILOGUE

I'Lai's and Fett's breathing soon joined in unison as
they slumbered
entwined around each other. The faint light of summer early dawn
lightly kissed the skies, barely illuminating the dark figure
standing on the garden terrace as it peered through the crack of the
glass door's curtains…

The figure turned and silently stepped down the stone stairs, moving
into the woods and traveling down a faded and seldom-taken path. As
the early morning light increased, the figure pulled its hood further
over its face as it moved quickly toward its destination.

The figure came upon the foot of a jagged cliff, a cliff Fett usually
climbed in his early morning regimen. It moved hurriedly along the
cliff's face until it disappeared into a small crevice.

The crevice led the figure into a cramped, narrow tunnel. The
shrouded form navigated the tunnel as though it had traveled this
space many times before until it came upon a low, black chamber
tucked deep within the cliff.

In the center of the chamber was the black, slick casing of a
holographic projector. The figure knelt before the projector and
passed a hand over its electronic eye, patiently waiting. The chamber
lit up somewhat as the image of another black-shrouded figure
flickered into denser focus, a hood covering its face as well.

A voice emanated from the holograph, a low, resonant, male
voice. "Welcome my treasure, my beloved disciple."

The figure kneeling raised its hands and peeled the hood back from
its visage, revealing the lined face and gray hair of Nikoa. She
bowed her body down to the floor. "I am humble before you, my dearly
loved and most sacred Master."

The image raised a black-gloved hand toward the kneeling Nikoa. "I
commend you on your strength and fortitude during this, the Sith's
darkest hour."

Nikoa only raised her head slightly in the holographic presence of
her dark priest. "My faith has not been tainted, my Lord. The Order
will rise again, for it is your wish, your command."

The image lowered its hand. "Have they…reconciled?"

"Yes, Master." She rose slightly to rest on her knees, her
head still
bowed. "Although, precious Lord, you could see that yourself with
your vast powers."

"I cannot bear to watch her…couple with another man, no
matter how
necessary it is." There was an edge of torment, of great need in the
voice. "It pains me that I am unable to father our progeny myself,
but must rely on this…breeder to do it for me." He uttered
the word
in revulsion.

"But there will be more children, more sons to carry on your name and
greatness, my Lord." Nikoa hesitated before she broached the subject
weighing on her mind. "But I must warn you, Lord, that I'Lai will not
be easy to turn. Lord Vader tried—"

"VADER WAS SLOPPY AND DISTRACTED!" The voice roared, almost
shattering Nikoa's ears. "And Palpatine was a fool, a despot who
lusted for power and riches only! I knew it would only be a matter of
time before his lusts and greed would mark his downfall. He was not
true Sith. After all these years, I see that now…" The voice lowered
back to its cool, velvet tone. "They did not know her. They have not
watched her since the day she was born, they did not…love
her." The
black-clad hand moved over to the area where one's heart would be. "I
know her, all of her. I will give her everything she desires, all
that she desires."

Nikoa reached to her eye and wiped a tear from her cheek. "I only
wish I will still be here to witness the great event of your joining,
Master. I hope I will be able to see the day that the galaxy bows
before you, with I'Lai as your Serene Empress and her sons as your
noble heirs."

"I will promise you a long life, that you shall see the great day
when it comes. For you know well, Nikoa…" the Figure raised its hand
to uncover the unmistakable horned crest of the Zabrak, his scarlet
and ebon tattoos glistening in the holograph's luminance, his red- yellow eyes burning savagely, his lips curled in a twisted,
malevolent smile, "I have nothing but time…"

THE END OF EPISODE ONE