bowing.
Han. I’m so sorry …
“Listen,” Lando said, “I don’t want to add rocket fuel to a burning building, but we don’t even know for sure that Han is
on
that ship. Boba Fett might have stashed him somewhere.”
Leia couldn’t speak. It was too much effort.
Chewie said something.
“Chewbacca is right,” Threepio said. “Sooner or later Master Han will be delivered to Jabba. We can always go back to Tatooine and wait. I think that is a very good idea.”
Nobody spoke for a moment.
Threepio continued, “Well, at least we’re
alive.
”
L uke almost took a swing at Dash; it was all he could do to restrain himself.
Wedge saw, said, “Easy, Luke.”
Dash, if he was worried, didn’t show it. He stood there, relaxed, and shrugged.
“You just
left
them there?”
“Hey, kid, I was paid to show them where
Slave I
was. I showed them. My job was done. If they’d wanted me to do anything else, they should have contracted for it up front.”
“If anything happens to them—”
“What, kid? You gonna shoot me? I didn’t make them go there. I was hired as a guide, so I guided, end of story.” He turned and ambled off.
Wedge kept one hand on Luke’s shoulder. “Don’t do it, Luke. It won’t help them.”
“Maybe not, but it’ll make me feel a lot better!”
Even as he felt the anger flush through him, Luke also felt a coldness, a kind of … slyness within it. He knew what it was.
Obi-Wan had warned him. He couldn’t give in to his anger. If he did, the dark side would be there to claim him. He could feel it, waiting, ready to fill him with its bleak and unclean energies. He could feel that to allow it in would give him abilities he did not have, would give him powers ordinary mortals could not withstand. He would be able to bring Dash Rendar to his knees with a gesture—
No. Don’t even think it
. To give in to the dark side would be to become like Vader, like the Emperor, to become that which he fought against.
He took a deep breath, and when he blew it out, much of his anger flowed with it. Dash even had a point: He hadn’t forced anybody to do anything.
One of the sensor crew ran over to where they stood. “We’ve got a ship coming in,” he said. “NoCommunications, but the scopes say it’s a Corellian freighter.”
The
Millennium Falcon
! They were alive!
“They’re about fifteen minutes out,” the man said.
Luke felt a vast relief. Leia. She was all right. Even though he felt that he would have known if anything had happened to her, it was still a relief to hear that the ship was in one piece.
“That gives us a few minutes,” Wedge said. “What say we go and see what we can dig out of that rascaled R2 unit?”
“Good idea,” Luke said.
But when they reached the place where the bollixed astromech droid had been, what they found was a smoldering pile of debris.
Somebody had blasted the droid into rubble.
Luke spun around, looking for the crew chief who was supposed to be watching the unit. He spotted the woman quickly enough.
She was pointing a blaster right at him.
10
L uke saw Wedge reach for his blaster. He yelled, “No!”
Too late.
The chief saw Wedge go for his weapon, turned slightly, and shot at him. The blast sizzled between Luke and Wedge, missed Luke by centimeters. He smelled ionized and burned air as he jumped to the side—
Wedge didn’t have any choice. His blaster beam caught her square in the center of mass and knocked her sprawling.
The burned smell grew stronger and more unpleasant.
By the time Luke got to her, the chief wasn’t going to be answering any questions ever again.
“Well. I guess we know who rascaled the droid,” Luke said, his voice quiet. “I would have liked to know why.”
Wedge shook his head. “Maybe we can find out. I’ll see what the operations computer has on her.”
“Do that.”
It was only a few minutes later that the
Millennium Falcon
put down on the moon. Once it was stowed out of sight inside
Han. I’m so sorry …
“Listen,” Lando said, “I don’t want to add rocket fuel to a burning building, but we don’t even know for sure that Han is
on
that ship. Boba Fett might have stashed him somewhere.”
Leia couldn’t speak. It was too much effort.
Chewie said something.
“Chewbacca is right,” Threepio said. “Sooner or later Master Han will be delivered to Jabba. We can always go back to Tatooine and wait. I think that is a very good idea.”
Nobody spoke for a moment.
Threepio continued, “Well, at least we’re
alive.
”
L uke almost took a swing at Dash; it was all he could do to restrain himself.
Wedge saw, said, “Easy, Luke.”
Dash, if he was worried, didn’t show it. He stood there, relaxed, and shrugged.
“You just
left
them there?”
“Hey, kid, I was paid to show them where
Slave I
was. I showed them. My job was done. If they’d wanted me to do anything else, they should have contracted for it up front.”
“If anything happens to them—”
“What, kid? You gonna shoot me? I didn’t make them go there. I was hired as a guide, so I guided, end of story.” He turned and ambled off.
Wedge kept one hand on Luke’s shoulder. “Don’t do it, Luke. It won’t help them.”
“Maybe not, but it’ll make me feel a lot better!”
Even as he felt the anger flush through him, Luke also felt a coldness, a kind of … slyness within it. He knew what it was.
Obi-Wan had warned him. He couldn’t give in to his anger. If he did, the dark side would be there to claim him. He could feel it, waiting, ready to fill him with its bleak and unclean energies. He could feel that to allow it in would give him abilities he did not have, would give him powers ordinary mortals could not withstand. He would be able to bring Dash Rendar to his knees with a gesture—
No. Don’t even think it
. To give in to the dark side would be to become like Vader, like the Emperor, to become that which he fought against.
He took a deep breath, and when he blew it out, much of his anger flowed with it. Dash even had a point: He hadn’t forced anybody to do anything.
One of the sensor crew ran over to where they stood. “We’ve got a ship coming in,” he said. “NoCommunications, but the scopes say it’s a Corellian freighter.”
The
Millennium Falcon
! They were alive!
“They’re about fifteen minutes out,” the man said.
Luke felt a vast relief. Leia. She was all right. Even though he felt that he would have known if anything had happened to her, it was still a relief to hear that the ship was in one piece.
“That gives us a few minutes,” Wedge said. “What say we go and see what we can dig out of that rascaled R2 unit?”
“Good idea,” Luke said.
But when they reached the place where the bollixed astromech droid had been, what they found was a smoldering pile of debris.
Somebody had blasted the droid into rubble.
Luke spun around, looking for the crew chief who was supposed to be watching the unit. He spotted the woman quickly enough.
She was pointing a blaster right at him.
10
L uke saw Wedge reach for his blaster. He yelled, “No!”
Too late.
The chief saw Wedge go for his weapon, turned slightly, and shot at him. The blast sizzled between Luke and Wedge, missed Luke by centimeters. He smelled ionized and burned air as he jumped to the side—
Wedge didn’t have any choice. His blaster beam caught her square in the center of mass and knocked her sprawling.
The burned smell grew stronger and more unpleasant.
By the time Luke got to her, the chief wasn’t going to be answering any questions ever again.
“Well. I guess we know who rascaled the droid,” Luke said, his voice quiet. “I would have liked to know why.”
Wedge shook his head. “Maybe we can find out. I’ll see what the operations computer has on her.”
“Do that.”
It was only a few minutes later that the
Millennium Falcon
put down on the moon. Once it was stowed out of sight inside
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