Shadows of the Empire

by Steve Perry

  He reached for the closure of her dress …

  There came a pounding at the door.

  What—? Who dared?

  Leia jumped, pulled away from him, straightened her rumpled dress. She was breathing fast, and her face was red.

  Somebody started braying outside. The pounding increased.

  That blasted Wookiee! Why was he here? How had Howzmin allowed him to get here?

  Flustered, Leia said, “I—I’d better see what he wants.”

  “Stay. I’ll get rid of him.” Xizor started to rise.

  “N-No, I’ll do it.”

  Xizor smiled. Felt her want him. “As you wish.”

  He watched her get to her feet. She swayed a little as she walked to the door. This was only a temporary setback. She would shoo the Wookiee away and return to him. Once he put a woman under his spell she belonged to him forever.

  Leia touched the door controls—Xizor had locked them—and the door slid wide.

  The Wookiee gargled at her. Xizor’s command of the tongue was imperfect, but he managed to catch the gist of what the tall, furry one said. He wanted Leia to come with him, now.

  “I’m in the middle of—of a, a … delicate discussion here,” she said. “Can’t it wait?”

  Xizor smiled.

  The Wookiee ranted some more. Maybe he was smarter than he looked; he knew something was going on that threatened her, if not precisely what. A human standing in the doorway would know by looking at Leia, at least a human with any brains.

  Leia turned and glanced at Xizor. “He seems upset,” she said. “Maybe I better go and see what he wants?”

  Now that he had her under his control, Xizor could do as he wished with her. He toyed with the idea of commanding her to shut the door and to remove her clothes before she returned to the couch. But—no. Such was his belief in his power that he merely shrugged. “As you like. I’ll be here.” He made a deliberate pause. “For a little while longer.” Let her think that he might be gone if she did not hurry. A small cruelty but a demonstration of his authority. I might be gone, do you want to risk that?

  “I—I will—” She stopped. Shook her head as if trying to shake off his influence.

  You don’t rid yourself of my biological magic that easily, little one.

  He waved her away, unworried.

  She’d be back.

  In the hall outside Xizor’s sanctum, Leia glared at Chewie, who glared right back at her. “This had better be good!”

  Howzmin lay on the floor in a heap. Unconscious or dead, she couldn’t tell which. Chewie grabbed her by the arm and hustled her down the hallway.

  “Let go of me, you overgrown stuffed toy!”

  Chewie paid her no mind.

  When they came to a small alcove a short distance away, Chewie shoved Leia into it and stepped in behind her.

  “You are going to be sorry, you—”

  He pressed one hairy hand over her mouth, pointed up at the ceiling with his other hand.

  Leia looked. Saw a small parabolic microphone inset into the ceiling.

  “Somebody is listening?” she whispered.

  He nodded.

  “Are we being watched, too?”

  Chewie shook his head. That was why he’d brought her here, she realized. It must be a blind spot. He knew what she and Xizor had been doing in there; he’d sensed it somehow. He was protecting her. And protecting Han.

  The desire she’d felt evaporated. Shame flooded into her.

  How could she have let that go on? She loved Han. She had only just met Xizor; nothing like that had ever happened to her before. Not only was it wrong, it wasn’t natural. That was not like her; she would never behave that way, certainly not with a stranger!

  Was he using some kind of drug—in her tea, maybe? That would explain a lot. Could it be that, for whatever reason, he wanted to seduce her?

  That would be terrible. And at the same time, it made her feel better. At least there would be a real excuse for the sensations that had taken her—an excuse for how she’d behaved. She had come very close to disaster. And Luke—?

  Of a moment, the knowledge came clear to her: It wasn’t Vader who wanted him dead—

  “I think maybe we’d better consider an alternate plan,” she said. “Chewie, here’s what you should do …”

  By the time the Executor arrived in the system, Vader was almost itching to be back. Patience had never been his strongest virtue, and he was looking forward to assembling his case against Xizor.

  As the giant ship lanced its way toward the planet, Vader thought about what he was going to do. He debated with himself about mentioning anything to the Emperor yet. On the one hand, since Xizor was currently high in Imperial esteem, any disparaging comments might be brushed off as jealousy, even though the Emperor should know better. On the other hand, if he didn’t say anything, he might be irritated at Vader later for his silence. The Emperor wanted to know everything about everybody—except when he didn’t want to hear it.

  As Vader expected, the Emperor was not convinced.

  “You disappoint me, Lord Vader. I sense that your judgment is shaded by something of a … personal grudge here.”

  “No, my master. I am merely concerned about the criminal’s treachery. If he is in fact trying to kill Skywalker—”

  The Emperor cut him off: “Really, Lord Vader, I would certainly need more evidence than a rumor from some bounty hunter to move against so valuable an ally. Did he not give us that Rebel base? Has he not put his vast shipping fleet at our disposal?”

  “I have not forgotten these things,” Vader said. He tried to keep his voice steady and even. “But I have also not forgotten my promise to bring Skywalker to the dark side. Skywalker turned would be much more important to the Empire than Xizor.”

  “Indeed he would—if you can turn him.”

  “I can, my master. But not if he is slain before I can get to him.”

  “Young Skywalker has managed to stay alive this long. If he is as strong in the Force as we assume he is, he will continue to do so until you find him, don’t you think? And if he is not as strong as we believe, then we have no use for him anyway.”

  Vader ground his teeth. He had thought much the same himself when last he met Luke. If he could be destroyed easily, then he had no real value to the dark side. Still, he did not like having this used in an argument against him.

  None of this was unexpected, but it was nonetheless a great irritant. That the Emperor would put so much faith in the Dark Prince, as sly and immoral a being as existed anywhere, was disturbing in the utmost.

  “Since it seems so important to you, I give you leave to search for Skywalker. For a short while, for there are other tasks I would have you perform. Is this satisfactory?”

  Not really, but what was there to be done? “Yes, my master.”

  He did want to find his son, but he also had to build a case against Xizor. Either of these would command much of his attention alone. Both of them at the same time would be difficult.

  But he was Dark Lord of the Sith and one with the dark side. He would manage.

  Leia took a deep breath, blew half of it out, and opened the door to Xizor’s chamber.

  The head of Black Sun sat on the couch where she’d left him, the glass in his hand. He smiled. “I was beginning to worry about you.”

  She smiled, hoped it didn’t look too false. She could still feel the charisma he exuded, but now she could resist it. She couldn’t say how, exactly, but she had some kind of strength she hadn’t noticed before. Maybe it was that her anger had become a shield upon which his attraction splashed and was repelled. Maybe the drug had worn off. It didn’t matter why, as long as it worked.

  Now she had to keep Xizor busy long enough to give Chewie a chance to escape, or at least to get a good start on it.

  Chewie hadn’t liked the idea, but she’d convinced him he could serve her better if he could get away from here and bring help.

  “Come back an
d sit here next to me,” Xizor said. It was not a request but an order. He didn’t seem at all curious as to why Chewie had been so anxious to see her.

  Leia moved instead toward the bar. “Let me make myself some tea first,” she said. “I seem to have gotten rather warm and thirsty.”

  She saw the mixture of emotions flit quickly across his features, but only because she was looking carefully. He was angry that she didn’t instantly obey him—his brow furrowed in the slightest of frowns—but he was also pleased that she was disturbed. Or perhaps excited? A quick flex of his lips into a smile that lasted but a second gave her this part.

  She took her time making the tea. When she was done, she sipped at it but made no move to approach him.

  “Come here,” he said. Definitely a command.

  Leia put the tea down and started for him.

  There came the smile again. He thought he had her under his control.

  “You said you were warm. Why don’t you … remove your clothes and get more comfortable?”

  She moved slowly. “I’ve gotten a little cooler,” she said.

  “Take them off anyway.” Now there was a core of durasteel under his words. “It would please me. You want to please me, don’t you?”

  No, what I really want to do is give Chewie another few minutes.

  She stopped. Lifted one foot and removed her slipper. Smiled at Xizor and tossed the slipper aside. Put her bare foot down and lifted the opposite foot. Tugged the second slipper off and dropped it.

  Now he smiled again. Sipped at his drink. It was green, whatever it was.

  She reached up and touched the fastener of the dress. Wiggled it, twisted it, frowned as she worked it.

  “What are you doing?”

  “It’s stuck,” she said.

  He leaned forward. “Come here. I’ll do it.”

  “Wait. There it is.” She unsnapped the fastener. She was fully dressed in a bodysuit; removing the see-through dress wouldn’t reveal any more of her, but it would buy a little more time.

  He leaned back on the couch.

  She delayed the moves as much as she could before she dropped the green dress to the floor around her ankles. Thus far, all he’d gotten a look at that he hadn’t seen before were her feet.

  “Now the rest of it,” he said. He waved the glass.

  She hoped Chewie had had enough time, because this was as far as she was going to go with this game.

  “I don’t think so,” she said.

  He put the glass down and came to his feet. “What?”

  “It isn’t proper to remove one’s clothes in front of a stranger,” she said.

  He moved toward her. Grabbed her shoulders and shook her. This close to him, she felt the allure wash over her. It was something from within him, some kind of attractant he produced. It was much stronger, but now that she knew what it was, she could resist it. Her body wanted one thing, but she was a civilized woman and her mind was what controlled her, not her hormones.

  He bent to kiss her.

  She slammed her knee up between his legs, hard.

  He groaned and shoved her away, stumbled back a step.

  Leia stood there, watching him. Smiled sweetly. Don’t like that, do you?

  When he could straighten up, he did so. His face was cold, his expression neutral. If he felt any pain, it no longer showed, and if he was angry, that was not evident, either. The passion he’d had was gone or at least well hidden now.

  He seemed to have changed color, too, now that she noticed. He looked paler, cooler, an ashen green.

  “So. You resist me.”

  “You got that right,” she said.

  He nodded. “It was something the Wookiee said.” Not a question.

  She smiled. “Sometimes Wookiees are very smart. And always very loyal.”

  He shook his head. “Ah. Here is the drawback to bright and strong women: Sometimes they are bright and strong when you least want them to be.” He bowed. “I am pleased that you are a worthy adversary.” He finished the bow. “Guri.”

  A panel slid aside in the wall behind him, and the HRD stepped into the room.

  Leia gave her a military nod.

  “It seems you were right,” Xizor said to Guri. “Take her to her room and lock her in.” To Leia he said, “You and I will continue this discussion later. Sooner or later, I believe you’ll find that I am not such bad company.”

  “Don’t bet on it,” she said.

  Guri moved to where she stood, took Leia’s arm. Her hand was soft, but her grip was like a steel clamp.

  Leia hoped Chewie had gotten enough of a head start.

  29

  After Guri had taken Leia away, Xizor sipped at another glass of green champagne. Perhaps it would help ease the pain in his groin.

  After a time, he called his chief of security.

  “Did the Wookiee escape?”

  “Yes, Highness.”

  “You did not allow him to think it was too easy?”

  “He put five of our troops down, my prince. We singed him with a blaster beam as he ran down a hall. He won’t think it was easy.”

  “Good.”

  Xizor broke the link and smiled into the green, bubbly liquid. His surveillance on the Wookiee had reported the escape attempt immediately. Before Leia had returned to him, Xizor had already put his alternate plan into effect. He had intended to let the Wookiee go all along, albeit not quite this soon. Well. No matter. The Wookiee would surely contact Skywalker, and the boy would come running to try to rescue the princess. Xizor’s agents would probably collect Skywalker before he got within hours of the castle.

  So easy. The hot ones were so predictable.

  A priority offworld message announced itself on his private channel. He didn’t feel like talking to anybody just at the moment, but only a few people had access to the direct link, and if one of them was calling, it was likely something he’d best not ignore.

  The connection was vox only, no image of the speaker. Understandable, considering the position some of his agents sometimes found themselves in regarding their security. He himself did not like to transmit his image. A personal quirk. You could scramble the transmission, of course, but in the field, paranoia was high. Many operatives reasoned that if a shielded pipeline was broken into and the com somehow unscrambled, better it should not have pictures attached to the speaker.

  His computer had verified the caller from his voice patterns, else it would not have been put through.

  “Yes?”

  “My prince, there is news of Skywalker.”

  “And it is …?”

  “He has allegedly been captured by a group of bounty hunters. They would not say where they are precisely, but we have determined that they are on Kothlis. We expect to have that information updated momentarily. There is a problem, however.”

  “I see. And this problem is …?”

  “They say there is another bidder for their prisoner. One whose offer tops ours and who has … Imperial connections.”

  Hmm. Vader had just gone to that area. Ostensibly it was to give credence to the computer theft, but consider: Who in the galaxy wanted Skywalker as much as Xizor himself did? Vader, of course. Then again, Vader was already back here onplanet, had gone to see the Emperor, and there were no indications he had brought Skywalker back with him. Perhaps the information had reached him too late for him to make proper use of it. Or not reached him at all.

  Well. This ploy with the princess might not be necessary at all.

  “Tell them we’ll double whatever the other side has to offer.”

  “Highness, if we’re bidding against the Empire, we can’t match them.”

  “I know that. It doesn’t matter since we aren’t ever going to have to pay it. As soon as we find out precisely where they are holding him, we’ll scramble a jade ops team and collect him for free. We don’t need him breathing, only his body.”

  “Very well, Highness—wait. Your pardon; I’m getting a call from o
ne of our operatives regarding this; it may be the location we need …”

  Xizor gave the agent leave to answer the call. He sat and waited. Meditated on the ruthlessness of entropy. On the amount of time he had spent waiting for somebody to get back to him. Months, probably, maybe more. Of course, that happened a lot less now than once it had …

  When his agent came back online, his voice was shaky and he had difficulty speaking without swallowing frequently.

  “M-My prince, there has been a … complication.” Fear lurked in the man’s words like a desert scavenger circling a dying animal.

  “A complication,” Xizor repeated.

  “It—It seems that Skywalker has escaped custody. And Darth Vader is now personally involved; he was seen near the site of the escape within hours of the event.”

  As the bearer of what he thought very bad news, the agent feared for his life. People had been killed for less when offering unhappy tiding to their princes, and the man knew it, knew his employer had done it himself. Had doubtless heard the tale of the traitor Green by now, too.

  Xizor laughed.

  “M-My prince?”

  Finally. Some good news. Vader had just missed Skywalker. The boy was free, and as long as Leia was safely installed here, sooner or later Skywalker would show up on Xizor’s doorstep. The Wookiee would see to that.

  “Do not concern yourself with Skywalker’s escape,” the Dark Prince said. “That situation is under control.”

  Someday, perhaps, he would allow this story to become public—once he was in control of the galaxy.

  Ah, people would say, how devious the Dark Prince is. Beware!

  Beware, indeed.

  Leia tried the door to her room, but of course it was locked. She looked around. It didn’t appear as if the last occupant had forgotten and left a spare blaster in the bedside table; there were no tools with which to open the door, no secret escape hatches she could find. She also couldn’t spot the holocam, but she was sure the room was wired for surveillance, given what she now knew. If she had to stay here long enough to undress, she would do it in the dark and hope they didn’t have a light-gathering scope on the lens. Although it was probably a little late for modesty.