by Alex Wheeler
Now that she had them back, she certainly wasn't going to let a Star Destroyer take them away. And fortunately, she didn't have to fight it alone.
"Now," she said into the comm. Eight X-wings, three Y-wings, and a blockade runner emerged from behind the planet. They'd exited hyperdrive on the other side of Kamino, hiding in its shadow while Leia scouted the situation. Now they were ready to enter the fray.
The Rebels opened fire on the Star Destroyer. Laser bolts ricocheted across its bow, and a string of fireballs exploded along its starboard side. The Millennium Falcon led the charge, swooping low over the shield generator dome and unleashing a pair of proton torpedoes. The second hit was more than the dome could take. It cracked and exploded, leaving a large swath of the Destroyer's hull defenseless.
The X-wings took full advantage of the opportunity, peppering the ship with laserfire while Han and Luke concentrated their fire on the gravity well projectors—which, if overloaded, could take down the main reactor.
"Han, Luke, are your hyperdrives intact?" Leia asked through the comm. They needed to flee the system before the Star Destroyer released its squadron of TIE fighters.
"Negative," Han said. "But I can hold them off, give you time to get away."
"You're just full of dumb ideas, aren't you?" Leia snapped, trying to cover her panic. There was no way she was leaving this system without Han.
"We're not going anywhere without you," Luke said.
"Don't be stupid!" Han shouted. "You stick around here and none of us make it home."
Leia pressed her fingers against the comm as he spoke. She could feel the vibrations of his voice.
She forced a careless laugh. "You've always said your ship can—"
"Exactly, my ship," Han cut in, his voice tight. "And I'm telling you to keep her safe."
"Right now she's busy keeping you safe," Leia said, firing on the Destroyer again and again.
They might have enough firepower to take down the Star Destroyer…might. Or she might be leading her people to their last battle.
I know what I have to do, she thought, and flipped on the comm, preparing herself to give the order.
But before she could act, the Star Destroyer made her decision for her. Apparently deciding that the Rebels did have enough firepower to take it down, perhaps because of orders, it suddenly made the jump to hyperspace.
The Rebels were alone.
Leia realized she'd been holding her breath. She let it out in a whoosh and massaged the muscles in her neck, all of them rock solid with tension. Then she smiled and flicked on the comm. "Well?" she asked Han. "Don't you want permission to come aboard?"
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
C-3PO put his golden arms around R2-D2 and gave him a clanking hug. "I thought I'd never see you again, Artoo!"
They stood in the main hold of the Millennium Falcon, waiting for the jump to hyperspace. R2-D2 beeped feebly.
"What do you mean I'm squeezing too tight?" C-3PO asked, letting go.
R2-D2 whistled a long response.
"You told me so? What do you mean you told me so?"
The astromech droid beeped peevishly.
"I most certainly will not admit that you did the right thing by going on this mission," C-3PO said.
R2-D2 whirred and chittered.
"Well, of course I'm glad you were able to save Master Luke," C-3PO admitted. "But that doesn't mean you were right to take all those crazy risks." He crossed his arms. "I'm very disappointed in you, Artoo."
The astromech droid beeped plaintively.
C-3PO shook his head firmly. "Oh, no. I assure you, I would not have done the same thing in your place."
R2-D2 didn't reply.
"Believe whatever you want to believe, you bucket of bolts! I know how to take care of myself. And you would be smart to follow my example."
The astromech droid beeped, pointing its manipulator arm at C-3PO.
"Me?" C-3PO asked incredulously. "Follow your example? Do you want both of us to end up on the scrap heap? No, no, Artoo. I think it's best that from now on, you stay close to my side, for your own safety."
R2-D2 trilled a question.
"Yes, for your own safety," C-3PO snapped. "Why else would I want you around?" He clapped a hand on his counterpart's dome. "Now, let's clean you up. All that rain can't have been good for your circuitry."
C-3PO strutted out of the hold, and R2-D2 wheeled happily after him. It was good to be home.
Leia switched over to autopilot. "I'm waiting," she said, glancing back at Han.
"Waiting for me to take over?" Han said, sliding into the copilot seat beside her. "Don't worry, Your Highness, your wait is over."
Leia rolled her eyes. "Waiting for a thank-you."
"Thank-you?" Han asked incredulously. "What am I supposed to be thanking you for?"
Leia resisted the urge to frown. Barely: "For saving your life?" she prompted him. "For blasting those TIEs out of the sky?"
Han shrugged. "I had the situation under control."
"Under control?" Leia laughed. "Without my help, you would have been—"
"Help?" Han echoed: "Help? All you did, Your Worshipfulness, was get in my way. You're lucky you didn't get us all killed. Not to mention my ship!"
"What about your ship?" Leia asked tightly.
"A busted fuel line, dented warp vortex stabilizers, and a giant hole in the aft hydraulics." Han glared at her. "All because you had to fly her into a war zone."
"Silly me," Leia snapped. "Next time, I'll just stay away!"
"Good!"
Leia stood up. She was tempted to shove Han out of the copilot seat. Or out of an airlock. But instead, she turned her back on him.
"Where are you going?" Han asked, the anger suddenly gone from his voice.
"To find Luke," she said pointedly. "At least he knows how to be grateful."
Han flicked a hand, as if waving aside the idea that anyone could be better company than him. "Ah, I can be grateful."
Leia suppressed a smile. Han was so predictable. He couldn't stand the idea that anyone was better than him, at anything. Especially Luke. "Oh really?" she asked skeptically. "Go ahead, prove it."
"Thank…you," Han said slowly, as if the words caused him physical pain.
"For?"
"For gifting us all with your royal presence, Princess," he drawled. "For honoring us peasants with your majestic—"
"Oh, stow it, bantha brain." Leia gave up and headed out of the cockpit.
"Leia?" Han said when she was almost out.
She froze, refusing to look at him. "Yes?"
"That wasn't the worst flying I've ever seen," Han admitted. "And at least the ship's still in one piece."
It was a good thing she had her back to him, because against her will, her lips curved up in a small smile.
"You're welcome."
Luke sat on one side of the freight loading room. Div sat on the other, his wrists tied with makeshift binders.
"Is this really necessary?" Div asked, lifting his bound wrists. "It's not like I can go anywhere, and you can't be worried I'll sabotage the ship. Not while I'm still on it."
"It's a precaution," Luke said.
"I saved your life," Div reminded him. Luke nodded. "I won't forget that."
But not so long ago, he'd met another stranger who'd risked himself to protect the Falcon and its crew. That stranger had been welcomed into the Rebel Alliance, no questions asked. That stranger had betrayed them. Betrayed Luke.
They'd started asking questions.
"I also won't forget that you're only here because someone paid you to kill me," Luke said.
"If I'd wanted you dead, you'd be dead by now," Div pointed out. "I could have let the beast take you. Or the Kaminoan. Or the TIE fighters. Or—"
"I know." Luke felt a twinge of guilt. Div was right. He'd protected Luke, again and again, often at great cost to himself. His ship had nearly been destroyed by the Empire. If the Falcon hadn't shown up when it did, Div wo
uld surely be dead by now.
"Look, I have nothing against you," Div said. "It was a job, nothing more. And it's over now. Just drop me off at the nearest planet and you'll never see me again."
Luke shook his head. "We're not done with you yet."
"Hey, don't start with any nonsense about me joining your ridiculous Rebellion," Div said quickly. "We may have teamed up on Kamino, but that was just so we could get off Kamino. It doesn't mean I'm looking for permanent allies. I've learned my lesson about hopeless causes."
Luke was tempted to ask what he meant by that.
But X-7 had pretended that he was done with causes, too. He'd invented a tragic backstory to gain their sympathy. He'd let them convince him to join the Rebellion. They'd nearly begged him to stay, to fight by their side.
Whatever he did to us, it's because we let him, Luke thought, disgusted with himself. Because I was too blind to see the danger.
Luke had convinced himself that the Force wanted him to trust X-7. But the truth was Luke had wanted to trust him. He'd fooled himself. And for that, he had only himself to blame.
"We'll let you go…as soon as you tell us everything you know about the man who hired you." Luke kept his voice steady and free of emotion. Whatever guilt or hesitation he might be feeling, he wasn't about to let it interfere.
Div met his eyes, his own gaze steely. "Afraid I can't tell you that. Ratting out your employers tends to be bad for business."
"I know who it was," Luke said. "I just need you to tell me where to find him."
"Not going to happen."
Luke stood up. "Then I guess you'll be staying with us for a bit longer."
"You can't keep me here forever," Div said. "And you won't make me talk. You're not the Empire."
"You're going to help me," Luke said as he left the freight room and locked the door behind him. "One way or another."
He hated this. He, Han, and Leia had agreed: They would bring Div back to Yavin 4. But it still felt wrong to imprison the man. Luke pushed down the guilt. It was surprisingly easy. Maybe because there was another emotion roiling in him, a far stronger one.
Anger.
There was an icy certainty deep in his gut: X-7 was behind this. And X-7 wasn't going to stop until Luke was dead. Div might be their only chance of catching him.
Luke's fingers curled into a tight fist. He ground his knuckles into his palm. Just the thought of X-7 sent a hot flood of fury rushing through him. Enough, he thought. Enough always looking over his shoulder.
Enough of being hunted.
With Div's help, he would track down X-7, whatever it took. Then he would end this, once and for all. This time, finally, Luke would be the hunter.
And X-7 would be his prey.