THE EIGHTH [han solo]

[3.01]

[JABBA'S PALACE]

Jabba's Palace in the double sunset looked sinister. There were large shadows across the floor and they looked almost alive. In the day it had been bustling with life, but it was deserted and eerie. Inside, silence. The so called throne room lay deserted, only the awful debris of the alien celebration gave only the slightest of clue as to what had happened in the day. Several drunk creatures lay unconscious around the room, snoring loudly, the only noise to break the silence. In time with the snores, a shadowy figure moved stealthily among the columns at the perimeter of the room, masking their footsteps with the heavy breathing of the alien creatures. It was a bounty hunter. He picked his way carefully through the snoring, drunken monsters. He'd been there earlier in the day, to exchange a Wookiee for some credits. The bounty hunter deactivated the force field around the two carbon frozen statues that Jabba The Hutt had suspended in the room. The heavy cases slowly lowered to the floor of the alcove. Boushh stepped up to the case, studying the first figure, and then turned to the controls on the side of the coffin. He activated a series of switches and, after one last hesitant look, slid the de-carbonization lever. The case began to emit a sound as the hard shell covering the contours of Han Solo's face began to melt away. The bounty hunter watched as the man's body was freed of its metallic coat and his forearms and hands, previously raised in reflexive protest, drop slackly to his side. His face muscles relaxed from their mask of horror. He looked dead. Boushh's helmet leaned close to the man's face listening for the breath of life. Nothing. He waited. The man eyes popped open with a start and he began coughing.
"Just relax for a moment. You're free of the carbonite." The bounty hunter said, helping Captain Han Solo, just out of carbon freeze, find his balance. He touched his face with his hand groaned.
"Shush. You have hibernation sickness."
"I can't see." He muttered.
"Your eyesight will return in time."
"Where am I?"
"Jabba's palace." The bounty hunter said, looking around warily, as if saying the name would summon the beast.
"Who are you?"
"No time for that. I have to get the other one out."
"The other one?" Han asked, leaning against the wall to support himself.
"The other one in carbon freeze." The bounty hunter said, and proceeded to do the same thing that he did with Han, only with the female carbon-frozen body. She, unlike Han, had accepted her fate, her hands were by her side and her face was slack, like she was sleeping. As soon as the mould melted away, she staggered forward.
"Han." She said, out of breath, as though she was finishing a sentence. Then she moved her arms, and touched her face, and shook slightly.
"Carbon sickness, your eyesight will return soon, we need to get you both out of here." The bounty hunter reached up and lifted the helmet from his head, revealing the face of their true friend, Leia.
"I gotta get you out of here."
"Leia?" Octavia asked, shaking slightly.
Hold on a second, I recognise your voice." Han said. Octavia stiffened.
"No, we've never met, I was your first rescue mission, which went wrong." Octavia only half-lied. She was the first rescue mission, but they did know each other, she didn't want Solo to get a big head or get distracted on the way out.
As Leia helped the two find their balance, the relative quiet was broken by an obscene cackle from the other side of the room.
"What's that? I know that laugh." Han said, paranoid.
The curtain on the far side of the alcove opened, revealing Jabba the Hutt, surrounded by Bib and other aliens. Octavia, still out of it, lunched forward, but ended up falling on her face. Jabba laughed again, and his gross cronies join in a cacophony of alien glee.
"Hey, Jabba. Look, Jabba, I was just on my way to pay you back, but I got a little sidetracked. It's not my fault." Han said desperately. Jabba just laughed.
"It's too late for that, Solo. You may have been a good smuggler, but now you're Bantha fodder." Jabba responded in Huttese.
"Look..." Han tried to say, but was cut off.
"Take him away!" Jabba ordered, and the guards grabbed Han and started to lead him away.
"Jabba... I'll pay you triple! You're throwing away a fortune here. Don't be a fool!" He yelled, and Octavia just stood there, blind, unable to help her friends. She felt useless, alone, still in the dark even though she was out of carbon freeze. As Han was dragged off, someone quickly moved forward and attempted to lead Leia away, and grabbed Octavia by the collar of her large blue coat, but they were stopped halfway by the Huttese voice.
"Bring her to me." Jabba chucked as the stranger  and a second guard dragged the beautiful Leia toward him.
"Get rid of the other. She is not beautiful enough." Octavia didn't know why she was offended by a giant green slime all calling her not beautiful enough, but it was the tipping point for her, she screamed, charging forward in a mindless rage.
Octavia was grabbed but a guard that she didn't see coming, and thrown to the ground, her legs feeling like jelly and her pride mortally wounded.
"We have powerful friends. You're gonna regret this." Leia spat.
"I'm sure." Jabba spoke softly. Octavia's stomach lurched. He was disgusting. Then she was dragged, kicking and screaming, down to a dungeon cell.