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hadn’t gone up on the stage and climbed into the cage. . . .
    "You’re not my only prisoner aboard this ship," Zorba said with a leering grin. "There’s an old friend of yours here too. Perhaps you’d like to say hello!" Zorba pushed a lever on his control panel, causing a door in the wall behind Leia’s golden cage to slide open. Leia’s pulse quickened as she glanced inside. There she saw a solid block of black carbonite! And sticking partially out of the block, frozen alive in suspended animation, was the three-eyed Imperial tyrant who until recently had been the evil ruler of the Empire-"-Trioculus!" Leia gasped.

CHAPTER 6 The Mofference
    Exploring the storage area beneath the stage of the Asteroid Theater, Han and Lando discovered Bithabus the Mystifier tied up inside a bright red cabinet that was a spare prop for the magic show.
    FWAAAAP!
    A short, well-aimed blast from Han’s laserblaster burned through the ropes that were fastened to the magician’s wrists and legs.
    "What happened? How’d you get locked inside that cabinet, Bithabus?" Han asked.
    "It all happened so fast I can hardly remember," Bithabus replied. "During the intermission, I can recall being suddenly surrounded by bounty hunters. Then they ordered me to take off my costume. There was another Bith with them-they called him Cobak. He seemed to be one of their gang. Cobak put on my costume and said something about taking my place on stage for the second act." Bithabus got up and dusted himself off. "I think I recall someone saying this was Zorba the Hutt’s trap to catch Princess Leia," he added.
    "That slimy, foul, disgusting, ugly, odorous, slobbering, dirty rotten slug!" Han exclaimed, pounding his fist against the wall in anger.
    "There was a reptilian bounty hunter with sharp teeth talking about the plan," Bithabus continued. "They called him Tibor. He told Cobak that Zorba was going to settle his score with the princess once and for all."
    "Naturally," Lando said. "Getting even with their enemies is all Hutts know how to do. If it wasn’t for their thrill in taking revenge, every Hutt in the galaxy would probably roll over and die of boredom."
    "I can remember Tibor’s words," Bithabus added. "He said, ’Leia’s punishment will fit her crime!"
    "Aha!" Han said, snapping his fingers. "Lucky for us that I know how that slobbering slug thinks. Leia strangled Jabba the Hutt at the Pit of Carkoon. So Zorba is probably taking Leia to the planet Tatooine-straight to the pit!"
    Lando sighed in dismay. "I hoped I’d never see that disgusting place again, but I guess that just wasn’t my destiny."
    "Thanks, old buddy, for helping me out," Han said, slapping his friend on the back.
    "I wouldn’t miss a chance to give Zorba a taste of his own slimy medicine," Lando replied. Han and Lando said good-bye to Bithabus, then bolted up the ladder to the stage floor and ran out of the Asteroid Theater. Once outside they turned in the direction of the Millennium Falcon’s docking bay. "Just a second," Han said. "We’re forgetting Threepio and Artoo!"
    Han and Lando turned around and quickly dashed off to the Droid Repair Shop. They yanked Threepio and Artoo out of the building before the droids’ polish was even dry. "Tziiiiit gnig fzoooop!" Artoo-Detoo protested. But as they proceeded back toward to the spaceship docking zone, Han quickly explained to the droids what had happened to Leia. The four of them hurried up the entry ramp of the Millennium Falcon and into the navigation room. "Well, I notice quite a few upgrades and custom modifications since I used to own this baby," Lando said, glancing around the space freighter. "You’d think I would have learned my lesson about gambling when I lost the Millennium Falcon to you in that bet we made." Lando strapped himself into the seat next to Han. "Does the ship still make a whining sound when you give it the juice?"
    "No way," Han replied. "She purrs like a mooka now." Han reached for the controls,