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Chewbacca let out an alarmed bark.

"They're bluffing!" Han exclaimed. "They would never—" The ship shuddered beneath them as an alarm began to blare. Han peered incredulously at a squadron of X-f0 wing fighters that had just become visible in the cockpit window.

Chewbacca yelped.

"I know they're firing at us!" Han snapped. "Well, what are you waiting for?

Evasive maneuvers!" Han didn't want to fire back at the Rebel ships. He probably knew some of the guys flying those X-f0 wings, and he didn't want to hurt them.

Not unless I have to, he promised himself.

Not unless they make me.

Two of the X-f0 wings peeled off from their formation and angled toward the Falcon. Laserfire streaked through space, peppering the hull. The shields held—

but they wouldn't for long. Han took the ship into a steep dive, then veered to port full throttle, hoping to get below the X-f0 wings. But the small ships were too maneuverable, and they shadowed him every step of the way.

"Engage hyperdrive!" Han shouted, as a blast slammed into the primary sensor array. "Let's get out of here." They weren't shooting to kill, but they were still shooting, and sooner or later, he was going to have to shoot back. And if it came to that…well, there was no way he could ever return to Yavin 4.

Not that I'm ever going back, Han reminded himself, as the ship bucked and shuddered beneath him. Not ever. Another volley of laserfire streaked toward them, and Han steered the ship into a 360 degree loop, aiming straight for the X-f0 wings. They scattered at the last minute, darting out of his way, but quickly swiveling around to take aim at the starboard shield projector.

"Why aren't we in hyperspace yet?" Han growled.

Chewbacca yelped in alarm.

"Whaddaya mean it's not working?" Han asked, glaring at the temperamental hyperdrive controls. "Weren't you supposed to fix that?"

Chewbacca barked angrily.

"I know you had to come rescue me," Han admitted. "It's called multitasking."

The Wookiee snorted, then turned back to the tangled nest of frayed wiring that controlled their ship's hyperdrive. He warned Han that getting it up and running could take several minutes. "We don't have several minutes," Han snarled. A barrage of laserfire raked across the ship. There was a spurt of fire from the port dorsal engine. A couple more hits like that and the engines would cut out all together, leaving them dead in space like a sitting kaadu. "We may not even have several seconds! " Han whacked the hyperdrive controls in frustration.

There was a soft whirring noise, and then the darkness of space flashed blinding white. Stars streamed past the window, twinkling points stretching to long, glowing strands that turned the galaxy into a tunnel of light.

"Huh," Han said, staring in surprise at the palm of his hand. "Guess I should have tried that sooner."

They had entered hyperspace; they were safe.

Safe from the Rebel Alliance, Han thought sourly. Never thought I'd be on the run from them.

They flew for several long moments in silence. Then, finally, Han couldn't stand it anymore. "Go ahead," he ordered Chewbacca. "Say it."

The Wookiee barked innocently.

"You know what," Han said, leaning back in his seat. A drop of grease from the leaking cooling tubes splattered onto his head. He'd been planning to repair the thing later that week.

Maybe this was all for the best, he told himself. He'd gotten too comfortable, hanging around with Luke and Leia, pretending he was one of them. He'd gone soft.

Chewbacca was still playing dumb.

"C'mon, say what you've been thinking ever since we left the moon," Han urged him, irritably. He could tell when the Wookiee was holding out on him. "Go on; get it off your big, hairy chest."

Chewbacca sighed, then growled.

"Well, I couldn't very well protect Luke from the inside of a jail cell, could I?"

Han retorted.

Chewbacca growled again.

"No, I don't know how I can help him from up here, either, fuzzbrain. I do know that if I don't pay back Jabba,