Fame and Fortune

Chapter Twenty-six

Chapter Twenty-six

Han was forced into yet another room inside the Hapan Palace. This room made his heart start pounding in fear and his knees feel a bit weak. The area was small with rounded walls, but in the center was a flat, upright panel with red blinking lights along the top edge. When he'd been subject to the scan grid, it was obvious that Vader had modified its original intent to create a device to inflict pain. This panel was obviously built with that exact purpose in mind.

The panel was about two and a half meters tall and a meter wide. A metal ring at the top indicated where the victim's head was to be placed. Metal rings at the sides and the bottom were obviously meant to restrain arms, hands, legs and feet. Coils with attached needles dangled from sides of the panel.

Isolder gave a wicked grin at his victim. "Do you like what you're seeing, Daysun? This device is used to interrogate our enemies. They all tell us what secrets they are keeping, and usually confess within a few minutes." Isolder gave a pretend pout. "They assume once they tell us everything the pain will stop. They are quite incorrect. The pain only stops upon death or when they slide into insanity. Five levels of pain - most of them make their confessions at level one - before they proceed to die or go insane at level three. Sometimes, if they are young and strong, they can make it up to level four." The Prince turned to his guards and ordered, "Strip him and put him on the rack."

There was no way in all the multiple Corellian Hells that Han was going to go meekly to his death by getting strapped onto yet another torture device. He dropped down to the floor, twisting his torso and, even though his wrists were still bound, simultaneously grabbed the nearest blaster away from one of the Hapan guards, firing it directly into the man's face. Still on lying on the floor he twisted again, firing at another guard, getting a surge of satisfaction as the man fell to the ground. It was all he had time to do as yet another stun blast, this one from Isolder, hit him squarely in his back.

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In Hapan space

"Will we make it?" Mara asked Luke, who was sitting quietly beside her in the Jade's Fire, looking grim.

"I'm not sure," Luke replied softly. "If Han dies, it will destroy Leia this time. That, along with losing Isabell... it could turn her to the dark side."

"Is that what the Force is telling you?"

"The Force doesn't have to tell me that. I know it. I know Leia. She's a good person, a strong person, but she can't lose the two people she loves the most in the galaxy, not again."

"She lost Alderaan without turning to the dark side," Mara pointed out.

"Leia wasn't trained in the Force then, like she is now. There is only so much loss a person can take, Mara. Leia can't keep losing everyone without eventually losing herself." Luke took a deep breath. "We have to arrive in time to rescue Han, that's all there is to it. I won't let him die again, and I refuse to let my sister turn."

"Are they coming, too?"

"Yes," Luke responded. "The three of them, Leia, Corran, and Chewie left on the Wookiee Princess at the same time we left Corellia."

"So I guess Solo's Wookiee has recommitted himself to the Corellian again, even if Solo is now Daysun?"

"Han is still Han. If he weren't, he wouldn't be in the predicament he is right now," Luke said wryly. "I'm glad Han finally worked up the courage to tell Chewie the truth."

"So what are the plans? Do we even have a plan?"

"As soon as we drop out of hyperspace, Leia is going to contact Isolder, demand to see Isabell and claim she has a Court Order that allows visitation from the New Republic. It's not true, but she had to try and delay any torture Isolder has planned. We're going to drop out of hyper and I'm going to use the Force to shield our presence. Then we can land near the Palace and take things from there."