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She gagged, unable to get air, her eyes widening. She couldn’t even claw at her throat. Her body shook as she struggled to break free of him.

“—the Force—”

He squeezed his right hand as tight as he could. The snap of her neck echoed in the closeness of the room. Then he let her go and she crumpled to the floor, a person no longer. Only flesh, bone, and memory.

He stood over her. “I will rule this galaxy,” he said. Then he looked up at all the stunned guards. “Best you remember that.”

Fourteen

The shot ricocheted off the blaster-resistant walls. Han leaped out of the way, but not quickly enough. The shot nicked his buttock, then bounced off the wall in front of him. All the smugglers yelled, and everyone dived for cover. The red beam of dangerous light missed Chewie, brushed Wynni, and scraped Zeen, until it finally slammed into the ooze, where it died in an explosion of foul-smelling steam.

Han’s skin burned. His nose and eyes were running from the smell. He got up first, pulled Seluss upright, and shoved him into the scorched wall.

“Where did you learn how to shoot?” Han snarled. “Didn’t anyone tell you these walls were blaster-resistant? Haven’t you learned yet that firing in an enclosed space is dangerous? You could have killed all of us.”

Seluss raised his tiny gloved hands, chittering piteously.

“I don’t care how worried you are about Jarril. You shot me,” Han said.

“Han—” Zeen said.

“I don’t like getting shot,” Han said.

“Han—” Blue said.

“In fact, I hate getting shot,” Han said.

Seluss’s chitters rose above the pain threshold again. He crouched and covered his round face with his arms.

“You better hide,” Han said, “because when I get done with you, you’ll wish you never saw a blaster.”

“Han—” Kid DXo’ln said.

“You’ll wish you never knew what a blaster was,” Han said.

Chewie grabbed Han’s arm and pulled him away from Seluss.

Han shook him off. “Leave me alone. Can’t you see I’m getting vengeance here?”

Blue laughed. “Not very effectively,” she said. “But you have convinced us you’re the same old Han. Forgive us. So much has changed around here, we figured you had too.”

Han was stalking Seluss. He stopped when Blue’s words penetrated. “He shot me,” Han repeated.

“And anyone else would have blasted him back, no questions asked.” She grinned, revealing the blue crystal tooth that had given her part of her name. “But Han Solo never shoots his friends, no matter what they’ve done to him.”

She stuck a finger in the long slash the blast had left in his pants. “I must admit, though. This is a nice look for you.”

He pushed her hand away. “Leave it alone, Blue.”

“Oooh.” Her grin got wider. “We are married though, aren’t we? Some things have changed.”

“Just my taste,” he snapped, his good humor completely gone.

“From smugglers to princesses,” Zeen said. “Can’t argue with that.”

Blue drew herself to her full height, showing her slender, magnificent body to complete advantage. “Some of us don’t need a pedigree to prove our worth,” she said. “I’ve been quality from the beginning.”

“That you have, Blue,” Kid DXo’ln said.

Seluss moaned and slid down the wall, his head completely covered by his arms.

“I think Seluss was caught up in the heat of the moment,” Blue said, looking at him. “I don’t think he meant to hurt you, Han.”

“I hope not,” Han said, unwilling to give Seluss any comfort. Han’s skin burned. He tried to twist around to see the damage.

Chewie chuckled.

“It’s not funny, furball. It hurts.”

“Come on,” Blue said. “I got some salve that’ll work wonders.”

Zeen put his arm around Han’s shoulders and propelled him forward. “Then we can sit down and chat.”

Seluss whistled softly.

“You can come too,” Kid DXo’ln said. “But you’d better keep your distance from Han.”

“And take his blaster away, would you?” Han said. “I’m not in a very charitable mood.”

He shoved his own blaster into the holster at his hip. It hurt to walk, to stretch the skin, but he would rather spend a cold day on Hoth than show anyone the pain he was in. Especially Chewie.

They followed the ooze into the entry