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"I like you, Ferus," the general said. "But I have no reason to trust you with classified material. The only reason you've even been allowed this much access is that Princess Leia vouched for you."

"Then perhaps we should contact the princess," Ferus said quickly.

General Dodonna tensed. It was a nearly imperceptible tightening of the muscles around his eyes and mouth. Most people would never have noticed. But Ferus wasn't most people.

"What is it?" Ferus asked urgently. "What's wrong with the princess?"

"Nothing," the general said, too quickly. "As you know, she's on a covert mission, and can't be reached."

"Her covert mission ended three days ago," Ferus said. He kept very careful track of Leia's whereabouts. "She's supposed to be on a diplomatic visit to the Winagrew system."

General Dodonna rubbed his temples. "I suppose there's no harm in telling you…Princess Leia and her team have been out of contact since leaving Nyemari."

Ferus drew in a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. The idea of Leia in danger caused him a nearly physical pain. And it wasn't just Leia, either. Luke was with her. The galaxy's two best hopes for survival…lost somewhere in the emptiness of space.

"There's no cause for alarm yet," the general said, sounding rather alarmed himself.

"We're doing everything we can to locate them. And it's entirely possible the Millennium Falcon's communications instruments are malfunctioning. Just like everything else on the ship."

Possible…but not likely. Leia would never allow herself to be out of contact with the Rebellion for this long. Not unless she had no other choice.

* * *

"Help!" Leia screamed. Han lay on the ground, gasping and shuddering. "I don't know what's wrong with him, he needs a medcenter! Please, help us!"

Chewbacca's roars echoed against the duracrete walls. Leia knelt by Han's body, shrieking louder and louder. Finally, help arrived. Two men appeared at the gate of the cell. One had a bushy brown beard, the other was bald. Both carried blasters. "Quiet," one of them said, in a dull, empty voice.

"You have to help him," Leia said. Tears streamed down her face. "He just collapsed. I don't know what happened. Please."

The men unlocked the gate of the cell and swung it open. As soon as they did, Chewbacca lunged for their blasters. Han sprung to his feet, grabbing the nearest guard around his knees and throwing him to the ground. The guard rolled over, struggling to reach his blaster, but Han kept him pinned. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Chewbacca twisting his prey into a knot. Han slammed a fist into the guard's stomach, then delivered a blow with his forehead. The guard barely reacted to the pain. Nor did he stop fighting. The blaster lay on the ground, only a few meters away, but every time Han lunged for it, the guard's swinging fists knocked him away. It wasn't just that he was especially strong or especially fast—though he was both. It was the way nothing distracted him from his goal, from Han. Han was starting to get the feeling this guy would fight to the death. And that he wouldn't particularly care whose death it was.

But Han did care, and maybe that finally gave him the advantage. He gave the guard a mighty heave, sending him thumping to the ground, then lunged for the blaster. His fingers grasped the butt of the weapon. Almost simultaneously, he yanked the guard off his feet and pressed the blaster to his head.

"Han!" Leia screamed.

Han looked up. Three new guards had appeared in the doorway, and one of them pinned Leia with her arms behind her back.

"Let her go!" Han shouted. He had his arm locked around the neck of the bearded guard. His other arm held a blaster to the man's head. Chewbacca held the other guard by the nape of the neck, dangling him several inches off the ground. "Let her go or we'll let your friends have it."

"You're ordered to behave," one of the newly arrived guards said. He raised a blaster.

"I mean it," Han shouted. "I'm not bluffing.