Luke looked at the little droid. He squatted down and laid one hand on his dome. "Just stand by the comm, okay? We'll call you if we need you. If we get in trouble, you can try to come and get us. Threepio has the hands and feet, you have the astronavigational skills. I'm sure the two of you working together can fly the Falcon in an emergency." "There's a happy thought," Lando said. "Han knew that, it would thaw him out faster than a laser torch." Lando was still trying to keep things cheery, but Luke imagined the gambler had a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach, too. This was not going to be a piece of cake.
Artoo did not seem to think very much of the idea of flying the Falcon, either.
"Don't be rude," Threepio said. "I wasn't always a protocol droid, you know. I've programmed convert- ers, and I once ran a shovel loader for an entire stan- dard month. I've watched Master Han and Master Lando and Chewbacca often enough. I daresay I can pilot this ship better than you can!" Artoo made more rude noises.
"Oh, really? Well, at least I don't look like an over- grown garbage can!" "Come on, Luke," Lando said. "If we're going to go, we need to get moving. We can get ourselves some disguises, and if we hurry, we can be underground be- fore daylight. These two will argue all night." "Okay." Luke rose from his squat. "See you in a little while." "Do be careful, Master Luke." Artoo seconded that.
Luke hoped he didn't look as grave as he felt. "We will." Lando already had his disguise in place. His head was wrapped in a beggar's scarf and cowl, his normal clothes hidden under a ragged robe. Luke donned simi- lar garb and covered the lower part of his face as well.
Outside the huge building, Luke and Lando worked their way through a relatively sparsely populated area.
There weren't many spots completely void of occu- pants, but this area was in the southern hemisphere not far from the pole-and it was cold. There were appar- ently more comfortable places to live and work. Lando had a "business associate" who owed him a favor, and he paid it by allowing them to hide the Millennium Falcon in a warehouse that was half full of what looked like dried plankton and smelled a lot like a Tatooine landfill in the heat of summer.
"Just how many people owe you favors?" Lando flashed his bright smile. "A whole lot of them who should never gamble. Lucky for me they do." "So now what?" "We catch a ride into the Southern Underground.
Keep that lightsaber out of sight but close to hand- this is not the kind of place you want to take your granny for tea, if you know what I mean." "Bad as Mos Eisley?" "Parts of it are worse." "Great. Why are we going to such a delightful part of this chrome-plated planet, anyhow?" Lando led them down a narrow, twisting alley. Luke saw that he kept his hand on his blaster as they moved.
The air was frigid; it clawed at the jacket Luke wore, nipped at his ears, and turned their breaths to crisp, white fog as they moved.
Lando paused at the end of the alley, peeped out, then continued to the next confined passageway. "Well, it's like this. You ever hear of the celebrated shipjacker Evet Scy'rrep?" "Sure, I used to watch Galactic Bandits on the holoproj as a kid. They based a whole series on him.
He knocked off something like fifteen starliners, got away with millions of credits and jewels. But they caught him eventually." "That's right. At his trial, somebody asked him why he robbed luxury cruisers. And Scy'rrep said, 'Because that's where the credits are.' " Luke smiled and shook his head.
Lando said, "We're going into a cesspool of a place because that's where my contacts are." "Lead on. I hope it'll be warmer than here." Xizor was in his bath, a sunken tub carved from dense black garden stone and large enough to seat ten comfortably. He spent a lot of time bathing, part of his species' heritage. The Falleen were born of the water, and it was always nice to return to it. Vapor rose from the hot water, bringing with it the scent of the eukamint oil that swirled in the tub. Blowers sent soothing waves and bubbles circulating through the liq- uid. Here was a place where he allowed himself to re- lax totally. There was no holoproj, no comlink, no admittance, save for himself and any guests he wished to entertain. And Guri, of course. He would sometimes have music piped in, when the mood struck him, but otherwise, he wanted nothing to intrude on his peace while he soaked away the day's tensions.
He leaned back against the warmed stone and sipped a mild after-dinner drink, a smoky blend of wormwood and spice extract, just potent enough to add an inner glow to the water's warmth around him.
Life always looked better from in here. Things were almost perfect.
He'd invited Leia to join him but she had declined to do so.
Things were... almost perfect.
Guri strode into the bathroom and stopped next to the tub.
"You know I hate to be disturbed here," he said.
Which was, he realized even as he spoke, a pointless thing to say. Guri would not have bothered him if whatever she wanted had been something that could wait.
She produced a small com. "The Emperor," she said.
Xizor sat up and grabbed the comlink. "My mas- ter," he said.
"I shall be leaving the planet shortly," the Emperor said. "To inspect portions of a certain... construc- tion project of which you are aware. When I return, we must get together. I have a few things I would like to discuss with you." "Of course, my master." "Tales have reached me concerning one of the Rebels, Luke Skywalker. It seems you have an interest in him?" "Skywalker? I have heard the name. I cannot say I have an interest in him." "We shall speak of this on my return." The conversation ended, the Emperor disconnected.
He seldom bothered with opening or closing saluta- tions.
Xizor put the small comlink cylinder on the edge of the tub and allowed himself to sink deeper into the tranquilizing water. Well. It was to be expected that the Emperor would find out about his plans sooner or later. It affected nothing, as long as Xizor remained cautious. Rumors were not proof.
Guri bent, picked up the comlink, and left.
As he watched her walk away, he briefly considered telling her to disrobe and join him in the water. He had made her do that a few times when he wanted com- pany he could trust absolutely, and she had demon- strated to his satisfaction that she could pass for a woman in virtually every way during those times...
But-no. He was saving his energies for Leia. She would learn to see him in a better light, he knew. He could wait. Patience was one of the ultimate virtues.
He took a deep breath and sank beneath the water.
His lung capacity was great and he could stay under for a long time, a throwback to his reptile heritage. The water warmed his face, and he luxuriated in it.
Overall, life was very good.
It was warmer in the Underground, but it smelled at least as bad as the warehouse where they'd left the Fal- con. At least it did to Luke. The various humans and aliens they'd passed didn't seem to notice the stink. It bothered Luke that in order for you to smell a thing, tiny and invisible particles of it had to be inhaled and sampled by your olfactory system. Whatever was caus- ing that awful rotting, fetid odor, he didn't like the idea of microscopic bits of it going up his nose.
They were in a maglev train station not far below the surface. The waiting platform was crowded, and there were Imperial stormtroopers in armor and uni- formed officers circulating in the huge room.
"I think maybe it's time we got some better dis- guises," Lando said. "We wouldn't want some surveil- lance cam taking note of us in these rags." "What did you have in mind?" A Squid Head brushed past them, in a hurry to get somewhere. It had no regard for beggars.
"I've been thinking about that. Ideally, we want to look like somebody nobody'll pay any attention to." "Stormtroopers?" Lando nodded. "Yeah. Or maybe the Elite Storm- troopers would be better. Their faces are covered, and since they are so well regarded, nobody is apt to bother them." Luke looked around. "I see one about my size, over there by the ticket droid." "Yep, and there's one about my height and weight, by the periodical dispenser. Maybe we should do our duty to the Empire and report something strange going on
in one of the 'fresher booths, you think?" "Just as any loyal citizen would," Luke said.
He and Lando grinned at each other.
Leia awoke, feeling groggy. There wasn't any way to keep track of time that she could see. She had dozed for a while; Xizor had called and asked her if she wanted to take a bath with him-a bath! come on!-and she'd fallen back asleep.
She got up and moved to the computer console.
"What time is it?" The device told her.
My. She'd been asleep for almost six standard hours.
Quite a nap, that.
She was also hungry.
Even as she thought this, the door slid open and Guri entered, carrying a large domed tray. She put the tray on the computer table in front of Leia. "Food," she said. She turned and left.
Leia lifted the dome. A seven-course dinner had been artfully arranged on a series of dishes. A salad, a couple of different kinds of soypro patties, cooked vegetables, fruit, bread, containers of drinks. It looked great and smelled pretty good, too.
Leia picked up a piece of bread and tasted it. It was warm, chewy, had a slightly sour flavor. Excellent.
Might as well eat. If Xizor wanted to kill her, he could have done it by now; probably he didn't plan to poison her. Like sleeping when you could, eating was one of those things you had to do when it was available. And if it tasted as great as this stuff did, well, that was a bonus.
The Luke-size lieutenant frowned as he entered the stall, Luke right behind him. "What are you talking about, I don't see any-uh? What... ?" This last was uttered as Luke used the Force to take control of the man's thoughts. You'd think a crack trooper in the service of the Empire would have a stronger mind than this guy did. Then again, if he did, he probably wouldn't be in the Imperial military, he'd be working for the Alliance...
Luke ordered the man to strip, then to have a seat and a nice long nap. He shucked his own clothes and hurriedly dressed in the borrowed uniform. He kept the blaster, tucked his lightsaber into his waistband under the jacket, moved into the communal part of the re- fresher, and examined himself in the mirror. Not bad.
Behind him, Lando emerged from a stall, dressed in a similar uniform. Lando adjusted the belt with his new sidearm and brushed lint from the right sleeve.
"Women love a man in a uniform," he said. He lifted his helmet and slipped it on.
"Let's hope they don't see the man behind the ar- mor," Luke said.
The two of them squared their shoulders, stuck their chests out, and affected an Imperial swagger as they exited the 'fresher.
Vader stood at the ramp leading to the Emperor's personal shuttle, looking down at the shorter man.
"I anticipate that I shall return in three weeks," the Emperor told him. "I trust you can keep the planet from falling apart while I am gone?" "Yes, my master." "I expect no less. Any news of Skywalker?" "Not yet. We'll find him." "Perhaps sooner than you expect." Vader stared at the Emperor, who wore a half smile that revealed his damaged teeth. Had he foreseen some- thing? The Emperor was still more attuned to the dark side than Vader was. Had he gleaned some new infor- mation about Luke?
If he had, he was not ready to reveal it, for he turned and allowed himself to be escorted up the ramp by a squad of the Imperial Royal Guard in their ceremonial red robes and matching armor.
The tap of the Emperor's twisted walking stick on the ramp was quite loud in the silence.
Of all the people in the galaxy, the Emperor trusted Darth Vader most; at least that's what Vader liked to believe. And as far as he was able to determine, the length of that trust was no farther than an outstretched arm could reach.
No matter. He was right about one thing: Sooner or later Luke would surface. A light that bright could not be hidden for long. By his nature the boy would have to burn hot enough to be visible to one who had the power and the knowledge of how to look for him.
Once a Jedi began to grow in the Force, the process was not easily stopped. In Luke's case, Vader doubted that it could be stopped.
They would meet again. A week, a month, a year-it did not really matter. It would happen.
Meanwhile, he would keep a sharp eye on the ac- tions of an enemy all too close to home. Even now, Vader's agents sought every scrap of information they had not already found on the Underlord of Black Sun.
That, too, would simply be a matter of time. Once you knew the direction, the trip was made easier, and sooner or later, Xizor would make an error. He would stumble.
When he did, Vader would be waiting to catch him..31 fell," Luke said, "this is a better neighborhood than where we were before, but where exactly are we go- ing?" Lando pointed. "There." "A plant shop?" "Don't let it fool you. It's run by an old Ho'Din name of Spero. He's got a lot of connections, some Im- perial, some Alliance, some criminal." "Let me guess: He owes you a favor." "Not exactly. But we've done some business in the past and he doesn't mind making a few credits passing along information." They headed for the shop.
"We're getting a lot of dirty looks," Luke said.
"It's the uniforms. The Empire doesn't have many friends down here. Most of the locals are probably on the run, one step ahead of being arrested. They won't bother us as long as we don't stick our noses in the wrong place. Don't want to bring Imperial heat and light into their hideout." Inside the shop there was no sign of the Ho'Din owner. Except for Luke and Lando, the place was empty.
"Nobody home," Luke said. "That's odd, isn't it?" "Yeah, odd. I-" Somebody said something behind them. Luke didn't understand what it was, but he recognized the lan- guage: Wookiee.
"Easy, friend," Lando said. "Nobody is going to make any sudden moves." He lifted his hands away from his body, told Luke to do the same.
The Wookiee speaker said something else.
Something about the voice...
"Turn around, nice and slow," Lando told Luke.
They turned.
Sure enough, there was a Wookiee standing there.
One with a bad haircut- "Chewie!" Lando said.
Despite the helmets, Chewbacca recognized them at the same instant and lowered the blaster pistol he held.
Lando smiled as he and Luke moved forward to em- brace Chewie.
"What happened? Why is your hair chopped off?" Chewie tried to answer at the same time Lando fired more questions, and Luke didn't get much of it. But he was glad to see the Wookiee.
Finally Lando began to translate for Luke.
"The shop owner is tied up in back; in case anybody spotted Chewie coming in, they wouldn't think the Ho'Din was helping, right, right, and-slow down, pal!" Chewie kept talking a keening, harning noise.
"Okay, okay, Leia thinks it's Black Sun that wants you dead, Luke, they're behind the assassination at- tempts, not the Empire. Huh? Well, I don't know how, there's just the three of us, how can we get inside the place, that won't help her if we get caught, will it-?" The dialogue ended abruptly as a blaster bolt lanced through the shop's open door and shattered a flower- pot hanging from the ceiling. Shards of the ceramic pat- tered against Luke's back, and clumps of moist dirt and humus fell around him. The junglelike smell inside the shop increased.
"Hey!" Outside the shop, four men with blasters loosed more shots. They weren't wearing uniforms, whoever they were.
The three inside the plant store dropped to the floor, Chewie raised his blaster and blindly fired several rounds back at the shooters.
"Who are those guys? Why are they shooting at us?" Lando said, "Who knows?" He pulled his borrowed blaster and added to Chewie's return fire. It didn't look as if they hit anybody, from the torrent of light that came back at them.
"Is there another way out of here?" Luke asked.
Chewie growled a reply. Luke thought it meant' "Yes." "In the back!" Lando yelled.
He and Chewie cooked off several more shots, and the three of them crawled toward the back of the shop.
They passed an old Ho'Din bound and gagged in a corner.
"Sorry about this," Lando said to the
Ho'Din.
"Send the Alliance a bill, they'll pay for it!" Chewie reached the back exit and shoved the sliding door open.
Another high-energy bolt zipped through the door at chest height and burned a hole in an inner wall. Fortu- nately, they were all still stretched out on the floor, and the hole was well above their heads.
Lando cursed. "They've got us boxed!" Before they could think about what they were going to do, somebody outside the back exit screamed. There came the sound of several blaster discharges-but no fresh beams poked into the shop.
"What the-?" Lando began.
Luke looked up from where he lay prone on the floor, plant dirt ground into the chest and belly of his stolen uniform, and saw a figure walking across an al- ley. Well, not walking so much as... swaggering.
Star Wars - Shadows of the Empire Page 25