Six months later...

Han sat at an outside table of a small restaurant on the remote planet of Illis, far out in the Outer Rim. He was waiting for Chewie to come back from scouting around for potential customers. He sipped his drink and glanced around at the inhabitants of the city as they went about their daily business.

He reflected on the past few months as he sat there. Things had steadily gotten worse since leaving Tatooine. The Empire was increasing their efforts to wipe out what was left of the Rebellion. He and Chewie had been attacked at almost ever planet they'd been to, until Chewie had located a tiny transmitter in the cargo hold. It was obvious that it had been placed there while the Falcon had been on the Death Star, and it was obvious that this had been what had led the Empire right to the Rebel's doorstep. Han cursed himself inwardly for not locating it sooner - and as if he didn't feel guilty enough for what had happened to Luke and Leia, the thought that he had been the unwitting pawn that had brought their death to them ate at him even more.

On top of that, Mon Calamari had been destroyed by the Death Star just a couple of months earlier. Just the thought that he could have possibly prevented the destruction of the planet, as well as the uncounted other planets that would undoubtedly follow, by assisting the Rebels when he had had the chance added to his guilt.

And as if things weren't bad enough, Boba Fett was on his tail. A month earlier, on Ord Mantell, he and Chewie had barely escaped Fett. Fett had attacked from out of nowhere while he had been trying to negotiate a smuggling contract, and there had been a huge firefight between the two of them. Unfortunately, the battle had attracted the attention of a group of stormtroopers patrolling the area. Han had barely gotten back to the docking bay where Chewie was waiting with the Falcon. Before the Imps could call for a blockade, they'd blasted their way off of the planet. Fett had given chase, but they had been able to elude him.

Unfortunately, they'd had to forgo the contract. This was bad news, since the bounty on their heads was growing and it was becoming near impossible to get near a civilized system, which is why they were way the hell out in the Outer Rim. Work was getting harder and harder to find.

Han ducked as a squadron of stormtroopers suddenly appeared from around a corner. Great, he thought. What are they doing here? I thought this place was relatively Imp-free.

The stormtroopers paid no attention to him, though. They marched right past the restaurant and continued toward a small blockhouse at the end of the street. It was then that Chewie arrived. He growled as Han turned to face him.

"Yep, that's what it was alright. I didn't think there was much of an Imperial presence on Illis."

Chewie growled in reply.

"Anyway, that's not important right now. How'd it go?"

Chewie emitted a short series of barks, and a huge grin split Han's face.

"Great! Twenty thousand credits for transporting-"

He never got to finish his sentence, because at that moment the front of the blockhouse the stormtroopers had been heading for exploded! Everyone on the street froze as a huge pillar of smoke billowed into the air. Suddenly blaster fire erupted from the back of the blockhouse. Four men ran out into the street, turning back to fire at the stormtroopers that ran out after them. The people on the street scattered as the four men ran toward the restaurant.

Han drew his blaster as the stormtroopers rushed toward the restaurant - just in case he needed it. The first of the four men reached the restaurant, kicked a table over, then ducked behind it and started firing at the stormtroopers. The other three did the same. The stormtroopers scrambled for cover and began firing back.

Realizing that they were about to be caught in the crossfire, Han and Chewie dropped to the ground, kicking their table over in the process. Han saw that Chewie had his bowcaster armed and ready. He glanced over at the first man that had reached the restaurant - and with a start, realized that he knew him.

It was Wedge Antilles.

"Antilles!" Han shouted. Wedge looked over at him, a look of surprise on his face.

"Solo!" he shouted between blasts. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" Han shouted back. The stormtroopers were starting to close the distance between their original hiding spots and the restaurant.

"Never mind that!" Wedge shouted. "We could use some help here, though!"

Han said nothing else. He and Chewie opened fire on the stormtroopers. In no time, between the six of them, the stormtroopers had been defeated. Wedge and the rest of the men stood up as Han and Chewie got to their feet.

"So you made it away from Yavin in one piece," Wedge said.

"Yeah," Han said. "What are you doing here?"

"We're on Alliance business," he said. He glanced around as he spoke.

"We have to get out of here," he continued. "Thanks for the assist, Solo."

Wedge turned to leave, but Chewie stepped in front of him.

"Wait," Han said. "Chewie has been insisting that we try to track you guys down to join up. It's been hell out here ever since the Empire placed that bounty on our heads."

"Join the club," Wedge grumbled. He turned to leave again, only to find Chewie still blocking his way. Wedge sighed, then turned back to face Han.

"After taking off the way you did at Yavin, I'm not sure if the Alliance would want you!" Wedge snarled. Han involuntarily backed up, then stepped forward again.

"Look, I feel bad enough about that as it is," he retorted. "There's no guarantee that if I'd stayed things would have turned out any differently, though!"

Wedge shook his head. "We don't have time for this," he said, then pushed his way past Han and started walking toward the docking bays. The other three men followed him.

A low, threatening growl emerged from Chewie's throat. Han shook his head.

"No, just let him go," Han sighed. "Let's go pick up our cargo and get off this rock."

* * *

Boba Fett sat back in the pilot's chair of Slave I and continued to scan the list of Solo's known associates. Ever since Solo had escaped him on Ord Mantell, he had failed to turn up anywhere else. As much as he enjoyed the hunt, it was starting to get just a bit tiresome. Jabba was right - Solo was clever... more clever than the majority of the bounties he had collected in the past. With a few notable exceptions, this was the longest one of his quarries had eluded him.

He had already checked off a good portion of the list. Most of the people on the list hadn't seen Solo in years, and didn't know if or when they'd see him again. There was still a lot of people left on the list, though.

One name in particular caught his attention suddenly... Lando Calrissian. Fett checked what files he had on Calrissian - he was currently Baron-Administrator of Cloud City, a Tibanna gas mine on the planet Bespin. He was also one of Solo's oldest friends, according to the file.

Perhaps Solo had gone to Bespin, to visit Calrissian. He flipped on his comm unit and placed a call to one of his contacts there.

After a few seconds, a voice filtered through. "Fett," it said.

"I need you to keep an eye out for one Han Solo. Human male, Corellian, about six feet tall, dark hair, with a scar on his chin. He usually travels with a Wookie in a modified YT-1300 freighter, the Millenium Falcon. You spot him and let me know, you get the usual payment."

"What makes you think he'll come here?"

"He's friends with the Baron-Administrator. He may drop in for a visit - and if he does, notify me immediately."

"Fine."

Fett cut the connection and began to scan through the list of Solo's associates again.