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A whine came from inside the robot. It sounded vaguely like Threepio's normal voice, but was so low and so slow that the words were unintelligible.

'Imm-peeeeer-eee-all-storr-mmm-trppp...'

Bewildered, Chewbacca scratched his furry head and studied the broken robot intently. An idea came to him, and he tried switching one wire to another plug. Instantly Threepio began speaking in his normal voice. What he had to say sounded like words from a bad dream.

'Chewbacca!' the head of See Threepio cried. 'Watch out, there are Imperial stormtroopers hidden in-' He paused, as if reliving the whole traumatic experience, and then he cried, 'Oh, no! I've been shot!'

Chewbacca shook his head in sympathy. All he could do at this point was try to put the rest of See Threepio back together again.

Quite possibly it was the first time Han Solo had ever screamed. Never had he endured such excruciating torment. He was strapped to a platform that angled away from the floor at approximately forty-five degrees. While he was strapped there, electric currents of searing power shot through his body at short intervals, each jolt more painfully powerful than the last. He squirmed to free himself but his agony was so severe that it was all he could do just to remain conscious.

Standing near the torture rack, Darth Vader silently watched Han Solo's ordeal. Seeming neither pleased nor displeased, he watched until he had seen enough, and then the Dark Lord turned his back on the writhing figure and left the cell, the door sliding behind him to muffle Solo's anguished screams.

Outside the torture chamber, Boba Fett waited for Lord Vader with Lando Calrissian and the administrator's aide.

With obvious disdain, Vader turned to Fett. 'Bounty hunter,' Vader addressed the man in the black-marked silver helmet, 'if you are waiting for your reward, you will wait until I have Skywalker.'

The self-assured Boba Fett appeared unruffled by this news. 'I am in no hurry, Lord Vader. My concern is that Captain Solo not be damaged. The reward from Jabba the Hut is double if he's alive.'

'His pain is considerable, bounty hunter,' Vader hissed, 'but he will not be harmed.'

'What about Leia and the Wookiee?' Lando asked with some concern.

'You will find them well enough,' Vader answered. 'But,' he added with unmistakable finality, 'they must never again leave this city.'

'That was never a condition of our agreement,' Calrissian urged. 'Nor was giving Han to this bounty hunter.'

'Perhaps you think you're being treated unfairly,' Vader said sarcastically.

'No,' Lando said, glancing at his aide.

'Good,' Vader continued, adding a veiled threat. 'It would be most unfortunate if I had to leave a permanent garrison here.'

Bowing his head reverently, Lando Calrissian waited until Darth Vader had turned and swept into a waiting elevator with the silver-armored bounty hunter. Then, taking his aide with him, the administrator of Cloud City strode swiftly down a white-walled corridor.

'This deal's becoming worse all the time,' Lando complained.

'Maybe you should have tried to negotiate with him,' the aide suggested.

Lando looked at his aide grimly. He was beginning to realize that the deal with Darth Vader was giving nothing to him. And, beyond that, it was bringing harm to people he might have called friends. Finally, he said, low enough not to be heard by any of Vader's spies, 'I've got a bad feeling about this.'

See Threepio was at last beginning to feel something like his old self.

The Wookiee had been busily working on reconnecting the droid's many wires and internal circuits, and just now was beginning to figure out how to attach the limbs. So far he had reattached the head to the torso and had successfully completed connecting an arm. The rest of Threepio's parts still lay on the table with wires and circuits hanging out of the severed joints.

But, though the Wookiee was diligently working to complete his task, the golden droid began to complain vociferously. 'Well, something's not right,' he fussed, 'because