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'Well, I hope you don't expect more,' he grunted, angrier at himself than at her stinging words.

'I don't expect anything,' Leia said indignantly, 'except to be left alone.'

'If you'll just get out of my way, I'll leave you alone.'

Embarrassed to realize that she was, indeed, still standing rather close, Leia stepped aside and made an effort to change the subject. 'Don't you think it's time we got to work on your ship?'

Han frowned. 'Fine with me,' he said coldly, not looking at her.

Leia quickly turned on her heel and left the cockpit.

For a moment Han stood there quietly, just gathering his composure. Sheepishly he looked at the now quiet Wookiee and droid, both of whom had witnessed the entire incident.

'Come on, Chewie, let's tear into this flying short circuit,' he said quickly to end the awkward moment.

The copilot barked in agreement, then joined his captain as they began to leave the cockpit. As they walked out, Han looked back at Threepio, who was still standing in the dim chamber looking dumbfounded. 'You too, goldenrod!'

'I must admit,' the robot muttered to himself as he began to shuffle out of the cockpit, 'there are times I don't understand human behavior.'

The lights of Luke Skywalker's X-wing fighter pierced the darkness of the bog planet. The ship had sunk deeper into the scummy waters, but there was still enough of it above the surface to let Luke carry needed supplies from the storage compartments. He knew it could not be much longer before his ship sank deeper - possibly all the way - beneath the water. He thought that his chance of survival might be increased if he gathered as many supplies as he could.

It was now so dark that Luke could scarcely see in front of him. Out in the dense jungle he heard a sharp snapping noise and felt a chill run through him. Grabbing his pistol, he prepared to blast anything that leaped from the jungle to attack him. But nothing did, and he clipped his weapon back onto its holster and continued to unpack his gear.

'You ready for some power?' Luke asked Artoo, who was patiently waiting for his own form of nourishment. Luke took a small fusion furnace from an equipment box and ignited it, welcoming even the tiny glow thrown off by the small heating device, then took a power cable and attached it to Artoo through a protuberance that roughly resembled a nose. As power radiated through Artoo's electronic innards, the stout robot whistled his appreciation.

Luke sat down and opened a container of processed food. As he began to eat, he talked to the robot. 'Now all I have to do is find this Yoda, if he even exists.'

He looked around nervously at the shadows in the jungle and felt frightened, miserable, and increasingly in doubt about his quest. 'This certainly seems like a strange place to find a Jedi Master,' he said to the little robot. 'Gives me the creeps.'

From the sound of his beep, it was clear Artoo shared Luke's opinion of the swamp world.

'Although,' Luke continued as he reluctantly tasted more of the food, 'there's something familiar about this place. I feel like-'You feel like what?'

That wasn't Artoo's voice! Luke leaped up, grabbed his pistol, then spun around, peering into the gloom to try to find the source of those words.

As he turned he saw a tiny creature standing directly in front of him. Luke immediately stepped back in surprise; this little being seemed to have materialized out of nowhere! It stood no more than half a meter in height, fearlessly holding its ground in front of the towering youth who wielded an awesome laser pistol.

The little wizened thing could have been any age. Its face was deeply lined, but was framed with elfin, pointed ears that gave it a look of eternal youth. Long white hair was parted down the middle and hung down on either side of the blue-skinned head. The being was bipedal, and stood on short legs that terminated in tridactyl, almost reptilian feet. It wore rags as gray as the mists of the swamp, and in such tatters that they must have approximated the creature's very