with her. "Out of the way now. Back where it's safe." Jacen and Jaina still
sniffled, on the verge of crying again. In her untrained way Leia tried to
send them calm, loving thoughts.
She spoke into a comlink on the lapel of her robe. "Grant departure
clearance to unmarked shuttle on top northside platform of the Palace,
authority of Minister Organa Solo."
The orbital traffic controllers acknowledged, and Winter's shuttle rose from
the platform, pivoted, then angled into the sky. Leia raised her hand in a
farewell salute. "Wave to Winter," she said.
The twins flailed their pudgy arms in the air. Winter flashed the lights in
the shuttle at them; then the orbital-burn rockets kicked in, and the vessel
shot into the aurora-streaked distance.
"Come on, you two," Leia said to them. "I've got a lot of lost time to make
up for."
Streen sat atop the ruined and abandoned skyscraper where he had made his
home. When Luke brought him to the yammering mass of Imperial City, where
millions of people covered the planet with all their thoughts and all their
feelings, Streen had begged for a place where he could have some solitude
until they moved off-planet to their Jedi training center. Luke showed him
the abandoned parts of the city, and Streen had selected the tallest
building. Being high up reminded him of the clouds of Bespin.
Now Leia brought the twins with her, keeping a firm grip on each of their
hands as she led them into the barely functional lift, which took them to
the rooftop. They walked out onto the upper platform where Streen sat alone
on the edge. The old man dangled his feet over the sides, unperturbed by the
unbroken kilometer drop below him. He looked up and out at the unrelenting
cityscape, the geometric spires of sprawling buildings. He watched the tiny
shapes of hawk-bats riding thermals.
Leia walked across the rooftop. She had never been afraid of heights,
although with the young children at hand she felt an alt different kind of
fear, a stomach-clenching paranoia of the millions of things that could
bring danger to her children. Jacen and Jaina wanted to dash to the edge of
the platform and look over, but she refused to release her grip.
Upon hearing them approach, Streen turned. Leia noted that he still wore his
many-pocketed jumpsuit, not wanting to change into the warmer or more
comfortable clothes she had offered him.
"We just came to check on you, Streen. With Luke gone I wanted to make sure
there was nothing else you needed."
Streen paused a moment before answering. "What I'd like is solitude, but I
fear there's no place I can have that on this entire planet. Even in the
quietest places on Coruscant, I can still hear a constant hum of whispering
thoughts and voices. It'll be very difficult for me here, until I learn how
to block it out. The Jedi Master promised to teach me how to do that."
"Luke should be back shortly," Leia said.
They approached the edge, and Leia insisted on standing a safe distance
away. But Jaina pulled forward to the full reach of Leia's arm, to where she
could peer over the edge and gape all the way down. "That's far!" Jaina
said.
"Too far to fall," Leia told her.
"I won't fall."
"Me neither," Jacen said. Then he insisted on straining forward to look over
the edge as well.
Streen stared at them with a kind of wonder. "You're better than the others.
The children's minds are simple and straightforward, and they don't bother
me. It's only when thoughts are complex and filled with a thousand subtexts
that it makes my head ache. And you, Minister Organa Solo, are quieter and
more focused than most other people."
"Luke taught me how to control my own mind. I don't leak out the thoughts
and feelings that bother you so much. I keep from broadcasting them to
anyone else."
Streen gave a wan smile, then stared out at the vast sky. On various
parabolic courses, blinking lights of incoming and departing diplomatic
shuttles traveled across the sky.
"I hope all the Jedi trainees can learn to be as silent as you are,
Minister. I'd very much like to be around other people, part of a community
like yourself and the Jedi Master. How long will it be, do you think?"
He looked deeply into her eyes, and she pulled the children away from the
edge. "Soon," Leia said. "As soon as possible."
She vowed that she would find a place for Luke's academy before he returned
from Kessel. It had to be the right place, and she had to find it without
delay.
Leia and Threepio insisted on giving the twins a warm ripple bath before
bedtime. Leia ran the water as Threepio checked to make sure its temperature
was perfect.
Leia shooed Jacen and Jaina toward the rippling water. Jacen balked. "Put
bubbles in first!"
"I'll put the bubbles in while the water's still running. Now just get in."
"Winter puts bubbles in first," Jaina said.
"Well, this time we'll do it a little different," Leia explained a bit
testily.
"I want bubbles now!" Jacen cried.
"Dear me! Perhaps we had better put the bubbles in, Mistress Leia," Threepio
said.
But the twins' defiance had awakened Leia's own stubbornness. "No, I told
you to get in the bath. I don't care how Winter did it. This is the place
you live now. Sometimes we do things differently."
Jaina began to cry.
"It's all right!" Leia said. "It's still a nice bath. Look." She splashed
her hand in the warm water. "It doesn't make any difference when you put the
bubbles in."
"I put bubbles in?" Jaina asked.
"If you get in, you can add the bubbles."
Jaina promptly climbed into the water and held out her hands. Leia gave her
an amber-colored sphere that would dissolve in the agitation of the ripples.
Jacen jumped into the ripple bath. "Now I put bubbles in!"
"Too late," Leia said. "Next time it'll be your turn."
"Perhaps we should let them add another sphere of bubbles?" Threepio said,
bending over to situate the children in the water.
Jacen used both of his hands to fling water into the droid's face. "I want
home!"
"This is home, Jacen. You live here now. I'm your mother."
"No. I want home!"
Leia began to wonder why her diplomatic skills were failing her now. The
twins began splashing each other. It looked like light play at first, but
suddenly--for no apparent reason--they both began to cry. Perhaps this would
be good preparation for meeting the Caridan ambassador, Leia thought.
She squeezed her eyes shut as the two continued wailing. Threepio, growing
more and more flustered, frantically tried to determine what the difficulty
was.
Leia wished she knew where Han was.
The stolen shuttle plummeted into the Maw. Maelstroms of hot gas buffeted
them from side to side as Kyp fought to guide Han along their tenuous
course. The safe path was convoluted and treacherous where the gravitational
singularities canceled each other out.
The Maw itself was one of the wonders of the
galaxy. The very existence of a
black hole cluster seemed astrophysically impossible and had led to much
conjecture about its origin. Old Republic scientists cited probability
arguments, that among the near-infinite stars in the universe, something
like the Maw had to occur at least once.
Other speculations, including those voiced by superstitious smugglers,
suggested that the Maw had actually been built, assembled by a vastly
powerful ancient race that had created the black holes in a barely stable
configuration to open gateways into new dimensions.
At the moment, Han Solo cared only that the Maw was likely to be the cause
of his death.
The shuttle's interior was dark and hot and stuffy. The wild colors and
blazing light made psychedelic fireworks outside the ship and weird shadows
inside. All lighting, life support, and temperature regulation had been shut
down to increase power to the failing shields.
Han sweated in the pilot seat, watching the navigational controls he had
relinquished to Kyp. Though he had been fighting for his life almost
constantly during the past week, he missed Leia very much. She had no idea
what had happened to him, and she must be terribly worried--but no doubt too
proud to show it. Han hated even more to know that his children had finally
returned from their sanctuary planet, and he hadn't been there to greet
them.
But he would never see any of them again if the shuttle didn't survive
passage through the Maw. Everything depended on Kyp Durron's mysterious
abilities.
Kyp struggled with the controls, guiding the shuttle through some of the
most delicate, most difficult maneuvers Han had ever seen--and Kyp kept his
eyes closed! The young man seemed to be seeing through a different set of
eyes, looking at some path not apparent with normal vision. Staring at the
deadly black holes all around the shuttle, Han wanted to close his own eyes,
too.
Kyp continued to negotiate the implacable obstacle course intuitively,
threading through fragile points of stability. Chewbacca sat frozen with his
own tension, afraid to disturb the young man's concentration.
Sparks flew on one of the far control panels as a shield gave out. Chewbacca
growled as he jammed long fingers down on the controls, rerouting and
spreading the remaining protection evenly around them. If a single gap
appeared in the shields, the X-rays and fiery gases would tear them apart.
Kyp didn't flinch. "Coming up on the end of this ride," he said without
opening his eyes. "There's a gravitationally safe island in the middle of
the cluster, like the eye of a storm."
Han felt relief rush through him. "We'd better hide there for a while,
recharge the power sources and make a few quick-and-dirty repairs."
Chewbacca grunted his agreement.
"And take a good long rest," Kyp said.
Han noticed a sheen of perspiration on his forehead. Despite his outward
calm Kyp seemed to be concentrating enormously, straining his fledgling
abilities. "We still have to find our way back out, you know."
The swirling ionized gases parted like a curtain thrown aside to reveal the
gravitational oasis in the cluster's core, a safe haven for them to
recuperate before returning to Coruscant.
"Made it!" Han said in a whisper.
But someone else had already found the hiding place.
Orbiting a small rocky island in the center of the Maw hung four gigantic
Imperial Star Destroyers, bristling with weaponry.
Within a moment of their arrival swarms of TIE fighters poured out of the
Star Destroyer hangar bays in a truly impressive show of force.
Han stared, unable to speak. They had just escaped execution at the hands of
Skynxnex, the energy-spider attack in the spice mines, battle with the
entire space fleet of Kessel, and destruction in the gravitational maze of
the Maw. Now the shuttle's shields were failing, they had no weapons--and an
Imperial armada had just been launched at them.
"The way things are going, we'll end up accidentally destroying the galaxy
before suppertime," Han said. "Kick all the engines back on, Chewie! Let's
turn this thing around. Kyp, find us another path out!"
"There aren't many paths to choose from," Kyp said.
The ship shuddered as if someone had kicked it from behind; then sparks
sprayed out. Chewbacca groaned in dismay.
Han looked at the readouts. "All our shields just went out." He stared at
the four Star Destroyers and the waves of TIE fighters and TIE Interceptors
surging toward them. "I feel like we've got a big targeting cross painted
right on our hull," Han said. "They can wipe us out with just a potshot." He
glanced around, searching for something hard enough to kick; he found a
bulkhead and lashed out at it.
The comm crackled, and for a moment Han expected another threatening message
from Moruth Doole, but the ionized gases and distortions of the black holes
would ruin any transmission passing through the outer shell of the Maw.
Gruff words spilled out of the speakers. "Imperial shuttle, welcome! It has
been a long time since we received word from the outside. Please provide
your security access code. Our TIE squadron is coming to escort you."
Han stiffened, remembering that they had stolen an old Imperial shuttle.
They would have a few seconds before they were blown out of the sky. But a
security access code? He had to think fast.
Han toggled the transmitter switch. "This is Imperial shuttle, uh...Endor
coming in. We've, uh, had a rough ride through the Maw, and most of our
computer systems are down. We request assistance." He paused, then
swallowed. "Just how long has it been since you got news from the outside
anyway?"
A loud click came from the other end. The TIE fighters continued toward
them. Han squirmed, knowing his bluff couldn't work, that they were an
unprotected target to be blown away by itchy Imperial trigger fingers.
The voice came back, gruffer and crisper this time. "Imperial shuttle Endor,
we repeat --what is the security access code? Transmit immediately!"
Han turned to his copilot. "Chewie, how long until we get those shields?"
The Wookiee had removed the access panels on the side power compartments,
yanking out masses of wires as he strung them through his fingers and tried
to straighten the connections. Chewbacca sniffed to find burned circuits. It
would be a long time before they had the systems even marginally functional
again.
Han opened the transmitter circuit once more. "Uh, as I said, we've
sustained substantial computer damage. We are unable to--''
'Unacceptable excuse! The code phrase is verbal."
"Just checking," Han said. "The code phrase is--'' He looked to Kyp,
desperately hoping that the young man would be able to pull the code out of
the air, but even Luke Skywalker was unlikely to do something like that. Kyp
could only shrug.
"Uh, the last code phrase we have is RJ'-TWO stroke ZZ stroke eight
thousand.
Awaiting your confirmation." He clicked off, then looked at Chewbacca and
Kyp, spreading
his hands. "It was worth a try."
"Improper response," the gruff voice snapped.
"What a surprise," Han mumbled.
The transmission continued. "You have obviously not been sent by Grand Moff
Tarkin. Shuttle Endor, you are to be taken prisoner immediately and brought
aboard Imperial Star Destroyer Gorgon for deep interrogation. Any attempt at
escape or resistance will result in your being destroyed."
Han wondered if he should bother to acknowledge, then decided against it. He
was puzzled by the mention of Grand Moff Tarkin, the brutal governor who had
built the first Death Star. Tarkin had been destroyed along with his
doomsday weapon ten years before. Could these people have been out of touch
for that long?
The shuttle lurched as if a giant invisible hand had grabbed it. Han could
hear the metal plates groaning as pressure constricted the outer hull. "It's
a tractor beam," he said.
The giant arrowhead shape of the flagship Star Destroyer loomed up at them.
Chewbacca groaned something, and Han agreed. He had had a feeling about
this, too.
"Don't even bother, Chewie. We could never break that tractor beam, we could
never run out of here fast enough, and we could never survive another
passage through the Maw."
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