Playlist:

❶ "Pieces of a Story"—The Last of the Mohicans OST

❷ "Han and Leia"—The Force Awakens OST

❶ After four months of smuggling, Chewie argued with Han about returning to Hosnian Prime. The humongous, brown-furred Wookiee roared and grumbled at his business partner, shaking his long arms for emphasis.

The dark-haired freighter captain frowned at his co-pilot, waving his finger in defense. "I don't care what you left there ... I'm not going back." I'm not going back." He stared out at the streaming, blue stars through the cockpit windows, past the webbed, pockmarked panes, and slipped into the captivating distraction of hyperspace.

Han Solo, captain of the Millennium Falcon and husband to Leia Organa, princess and senator, pursed his lips together. "She doesn't want me, Chewie. She threw me out."

He slouched in his captain's chair and crossed his arms over his leather jacket. "She's got to make the first move this time." He turned a pilex driver over in his hand, dwelling on his situation. But what if she doesn't?

Sensing his mood, Chewbacca turned to his flight duties as they prepared to exit hyperspace for another shipment retrieval. The Outer Rim had turned out to be quite profitable in the last few months.

One night when Han was in his bunk, Chewie programmed the hyperdrive computer for Hosnian. Han awoke to the sublight alarm. He looked at the destination—Hosnian Prime. Han raked his fingers through his hair while marching into the cockpit.

"Chewie, I told you I wasn't coming back here."

Chewie argued some more as he set the YT 1300 freighter down on the landing pad. He cut the engines and shut down the main power.

"Fine, but I'm not leaving the ship," Han said.

Chewie rumbled at him.

"Get out of here. I'm not going anywhere."

Han leaned back in the captain's chair with his arms crossed, fuming.

Within minutes of the Wookiee's departure, Han got up to leave twice. Neither time did he even get as far as the loading ramp. He mumbled, "She doesn't want to see me. Maybe if Chewie runs into her ... nah, that would only make things worse."

Han stared out the cockpit viewport, watching the government officials and their support staffs move across the spaceport. He crossed his legs and rested his black spacer boots on the cockpit console.

When his blaster poked at his thigh, he unhooked his gunbelt from his blue slacks with the red Corellian blood stripe. Han hung the weapon belt from the hyperdrive controls on the console.

As he watched the pedestrians pass through the landing area, Han caught a glimpse of a petite woman in white. His heart raced. But it wasn't Leia. It wasn't Leia.

It's over. Leia, wish we could start over. Do it right—

Chewbacca's quick return interrupted Han's thoughts. The Wookiee rumbled something at the spacer, holding out his empty paws. "What do you mean she's not there anymore?"

Chewie nodded and growled a bit more.

Han sat up, pulling his legs to the floor and grabbing his blaster. "She's moved? Where'd she go?"

Han exited the ship and marched to the Senatorial Complex Security Offices. A lone, silver protocol droid manned the front desk with blastdoors sealing off the rest of the offices. He spoke to the protocol droid at the front desk. "Hey, can you tell me where Senator Leia Organa is right now?"

The droid rotated his cranium to look at him. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Her husband, Han Solo." Han pulled out a protocol code cylinder from his jacket sleeve and handed it to the droid.

After inserting the cylinder into the console, the droid said, "These records are sealed."

Han grabbed the droid by the shoulder and pulled his head toward him. "Then unseal them. I have clearance."

"General, if you do not remove your hand, I will have to restrain you," the droid warned.

Chewbacca growled a warning at the droid.

The droid stepped back from his desk at the threat from the Wookiee.

Han drew his blaster. After shooting each security camera, he aimed it at the droid. As he leaned on the desk, he said, "Now, tell me where my wife is."

The droid looked at the blaster and then at the Wookiee, both threatening him. Chewie growled again.

"Tell me, or I'll let him loose. Wookiees are known to pull droids' arms out of their sockets."

The droid shuddered. "Hmm, we no longer have a Senator Organa. She resigned her post four months ago and vacated her dwelling space. Last entry we show is a one-way passage to the Bendell System."

"Is that it?"

"Yes, General Solo," The droid pointed to his screen.

Han marched out of the complex with hurried steps to the Falcon's landing bay. Chewie strained to keep up with him. Within moments, they were en route to the Bendell System.

Once they arrived on Bendell, Han headed to the immigration officer and inquired about his wife. "What do you mean she's not here? I have a transit document stating my wife booked passage to this system four months ago."

"I'm sorry, sir, but she never passed through immigration. Is it possible she used the Bendell System as a transit hub?"

Han glared at him. "Is it possible? Well, obviously that's what she did. Where do they keep the passenger manifests around here?"

As Chewbacca laid his hand on the shoulder of the bureaucrat, the man shrinked away and pointed with a trembling hand to a low building with an aluminum roof.

Within an hour, Han and Chewbacca returned to the Falcon. The next three weeks of searching across many systems resulted in a dead end at the Polis Massa mining community's med center. Han, concerned that something was wrong with Leia, left the facility more frustrated.

Chewbacca rumbled a query at Han.

"You're right. Luke would know if something's wrong."

Chewie growled something.

"Yeah, I bet Luke knows where she is."

Chewie growled again.

"And we can see Ben, of course."

Han landed with precision on the Khalkha landing field. The warm amber lights of the academy twinkled below them at the end of a path paved with large river stones. As the shut-down sequence initiated, Han and Chewie headed down the loading ramp.

It had been two weeks since Han had been on Khalkha. In the middle of their search for Leia, he and Chewie had made two quick supply runs for the academy. Both Han and Ben had avoided each other, and now Han dreaded any contact with his son.

He had a feeling he would not avoid the boy today, though. His luck seemed to have taken a turn for the worse.

Han and Chewie met Luke at the base of the loading ramp. The Jedi seemed to know they were coming.

"Han, welcome. Chewie," Luke said with a warm hug for both. "Come inside, please." The Jedi extended his arms toward the academy and led the pair down the stony path.

Once inside his study, Luke asked, "Did you want to visit Ben?"

"Maybe later."

Chewie growled.

Luke lowered himself into his seat and motioned to the chairs in front of the desk. 

Han asked, "Luke, do you know where Leia is?"

"What do you mean?" Luke asked with feigned innocence as he wove his fingers in front of his face.

"I mean Chewie and me went back to Hosnian Prime a few weeks ago, and we come to find out she resigned her office and left the planet."

Han waved his arm toward the landing pad in emphasis. He grabbed the chair and sat in it, leaning toward Luke with intimidation. "Come to think of it, why wasn't she at your wedding?"

Luke stared at him in silence.

"Chewie and me have been traipsing all over the galaxy trying to find her and came up at a dead end on Polis Massa." Han waved his arms again before leaning forward and resting his arms on the desk. "So, I'm asking you, do you know where Leia is?"

Luke leaned back, putting his arms behind his head and crossing his left leg over his right knee. "I can get a message to her, but we're both sending through intermediary points."

"All right, if that's the way you want to do it. Send her this message." Han handed him a memory stick. "And if you've got a way to get it to her, send her these credits. I don't want her going short." 

Chewbacca dropped the shipping crate in his hands to the hardwood floor with a thud.

As Han turned to leave, Luke stopped him. "Han, you came all this way, shouldn't you at least visit your son?"

The spacer stopped and pivoted. "Huh, I guess so."

Chewbacca growled at Han and tilted his head at Luke. Luke raised his eyebrows at the Wookiee before escorting the duo to the first-year dormitory.

❷ Leia delivered Breha a few weeks early as the doctor had expected. Even though the infant weighed only 2.5 kg and was only 40 cm long, Breha's lungs were fully developed. Within a few days, the medical staff cleared Leia and Breha for interplanetary travel.

With her mother's holoimage prompting her, Leia decided to rear Breha on Naboo. Since discovering the identity of her mother, Leia felt a strong desire to learn more about her. Leia hoped she could maintain her anonymity while searching for more information about her mother—and her mother's family.

Changing her alias once again, she and Lor San Tekka took a transport to the garden planet in the Mid Rim. Leia had strapped Breha to her chest in a swaddling sling while C-3PO carried the baby's kit bag.

En route to the planet, C-3PO babbled, "Naboo has over twenty six hundred varieties of local flora and three hundred types of wild mushrooms. Half of which are lethal upon ingestion." He threw his hands up. "Oh dear, oh dear." 

But it made no difference. Leia could not wait to disembark and establish a home for her daughter.

When she left the transport in Theed, she felt like she was home. It felt right. Something clicked inside her.

Lor San Tekka arranged accommodations at a local hotel in the ostentatious capital city of Theed. They planned to remain in the city for a week while he sought out suitable accommodations for them in the Lake Country.

He found a small thatched cottage not far from Lake Paonga. Using Leia's dwindling credits, he purchased it and furnished it with used furniture from a local estate sale.

Leia enjoyed the time with her daughter in this idyllic scene. No one knew where she was or what she was doing—not Han, not Ben, not the Republic.

She still kept in contact with Luke, but he maintained her secrecy. 

It was not long before she received recorded messages from Han through Luke. Drop-outs riddled the video, and scratches marred the voice recordings. However, Leia treasured each one. Even Chewie missed her. Luke would always tag on his own message at the end, and R2-D2 would add a few beeps of his own for his friend C-3PO.

As the transmission ended, Leia mulled over her situation. Maybe I should let Han know where we are. 

Did you know that . . .

● Leia is near the Villa at Varykino where her parents were married.

● Luke knows more than either Leia or Han suspects. He has received guidance from the Force about Breha and her protection.

Tell me what you think . . .

● Do you want the Gungans to appear? 

● How would you feel in Leia's place?