Star Wars - Correlian trilogy 3 - Showdown at Centerpoint

by Allen McBride

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Seeing the Light I suppose I won't iike the answer if I ask you if this thing can go any faster," said Lando. The turbo-vator car continued its stately descent down to the equator line of Holiowtown and the nearest way out. The Glowpoint had started brightening when they were just about at the midpoint of their descent. Jenica Sorisen shook her head. "No, you wouldn't like the answer," she said. "I had a feeling you'd say that." Lando looked up through the turbovator car's overhead viewport. The Glowpoint was dazzlingiy bright, but the question was, how much brighter and how fast was it brightening. Could he judge it any better by looking at the ground, at the reflected light, rather than at the source? He peered intemly at the ground for a moment, then gave it up. Threepio, annoyingly enough, had been right for once. The human eye was just too good at adjusting for changes in brightness. There was no way he could make an eyeball estimate of how fast it was getting worse. He could ask Threepio, of course, but even in the midst of this crisis, there was a part of him that didn't want to give the droid the satisfaction. Besides, Golden Boy would probably just start giving a running report of brightness levels and drive them all crazy. 'I'd say we're up to a twenty percent brightness increase," Luke announced. Of course. With his Jedi control over his senses, he would he able to make that sort of estimate. "But the brightness isn't all of it. As we go lower, we're going to get into thicker air that can hold a lot of heat." Luke turned to Sonsen. "How high a temperature can this car take?" he asked. Sonsen shrugged. "How should 1 know? i doubt if anyone ever bothered to figure it out. It's a glorified elevator, not a spacecraft. But it's definitely getting hot in here." "There is indeed a significant temperature rise already," said Threepio. "If you wish, I could gladly provide you with a running account of-" "No, we would not wish," Lando said. "There's nothing we can do about it anyway." He held the palm of his hand flat over the interior wall of the elevator car, and then, very gingerly, touched it with just the tip of his index finger. "The skin of this thing is getting warmer though, and the heat is percolating through. No doubt about it." "How long until we're out of here?" Kalenda asked. "Another five minutes or so," Sonsen said. "But there's a flaw." "What flaw?" Lando asked. This place was clearly bad news. "There's a pressure differential between the equatorial region of Hollowtown and Shell One, on the other side of the lock. No big deal, maybe an eight percent differential, but it's enough that you have to use an airlock. The main turhovator airlock jammed up during the second flare. It was never meant to do more than match the slight pressure differential between Hollowtown and Shell One. I managed to get it working again after the flare, but it wasn't easy, and I'm not so sure my repair is going to hold up." "So we're stuck," Lando said. "Heavens! We'll all be roasted alive," Threepio said. "You speak when you're spoken to," Sonsen said, obviously starting to share Lando's opinion of the protocol droid. "We're not stuck," she said to the others. "There's a personnel lock right next to the turhovator airlock. It's smaller and simpler, and it got a lot more use, so it's a real heavy-duty job. I'm sure it'll still be working. If we can't get the turbovator lock running, we'll have to make a run for the personnel lock." "But you did happen to mcnlion there's no oxygen left out there," Luke said. "Even if there were any oxygen left, it would probably kill you to breathe out there. Very high COa levels, plus all sorts of toxic burn products." "Can we all make it into the lock at once?" Luke asked. "Well, the lock is big enough," said Sonsen. "I don't think we should try all of us at once. The lock is normally sei with this side closed. There's a control panel on this side of the lock and it has to be operated by hand. I'll have to open the lurbovalor door, run for the lock, and get it open. I don't think it would be so smart to have everyone waiting on me getting the door open. We should do it in two passes." "This is going to be interesting," Lando said. Sonsen smiled humorlessly. "So it will. But we might get lucky. Maybe the turbovator airlock will work." "Maybe it will. But if it doesn't, and you have to run for the other airlock, I'll go with you. I used to run a place called Cloud City. I had to go in and out of toxic atmosphere a lot. If you run into trouble, it might be smart to have some help along." "Lando, if anyone should go with her, it should be me," Luke said. "No," Lando said. "Your Jedi powers give you the best endurance. We might all need your help. You'll have to watch everybody. All I want to have to worry about is Sonsen and that airlock." Luke seemed about to protest, but then nodded reluctantly. "Maybe you're right," he said. "And the bad air won't bother the droids. That'll be some help." "It's not as if Kalenda and I are helpless or anything," Gaeriel said. "No, ma'am, and I didn't mean to imply that you were," Lando said. "But we don't have time to do this politely. The fact of the matter is Sonsen has to go because she knows the lock. Someone should go with her. I'm no hero, but someone who's had toxic air training is the best choice to go with her. That makes it me. And for what it is worth, next to Luke, we're all helpless. And I might add that Lieutenant Kalcnda doesn't seem to be protesting the arrangement." Gaeriel Captison looked from Lando to Kalenda's expressionless face. "All right," she said. "I was in politics long enough to know when it's time to back off." "We're getting lower," Luke said. "And the heating is starting to move some serious air." Lando looked out the window. Luke was right. The lower, thicker layers of air were heating at a different rate than the upper, thinner layers. Hot and cold air at different air pressures was a recipe for weather in any circumstance, but especially in a spinning, inside-out world with a gravity gradient. Dust devils were spinning up everywhere, miniature tornadoes, funnel clouds spewing Just and debris up into the air. The wind began to howl as the car moved lower and lower, into the nightmare dust storms popping up everywhere. A wall of gritty dust enveloped the car, cutting off the view as the wind peppered the car with thousands of small impacts that clicked and clattered on its exterior. It seemed as if the winds abruptly reversed direction, and the outside world reappeared as suddenly as it had vanished. They seemed to have crossed under some sort of cloud deck. The car was moving along the inner wall of the spinning sphere, from the spin axis toward the equatorial regions in a long, swooping curve. By now the car was moving forward as much as it was down, and the increase in apparent weight was more and more noticeable with every moment. Lando realized his eyes had made a subconscious adjustment, deciding thai the car was no longer proceeding down the side of a cliff, but down a long hill that was getting less and less sleep wilh every moment. Some son of till-tahle mechanism kept the lioor even as the car moved down [he track. ''Close now." Sonsen said. "We should start slowing in a minute." As it on cue. trie car began 10 decelerate smoothly. Lando reached out a hand io steady himself againsl the wall of the car, bul he thought better of it at the last moment. Tic held his hand a centimeter or two back from the wall, and tell plenty of heat that way. The car slowed even further, unlil it was barely moving, maybe twenty-five centimeters a second. The swirling clouds cleared again for a moment and revealed a large two-story building dircclly ahead. "That's llie main entrance complex for Ihis secior." said Sonsen. The turbovator's track led to a large sel of pressure doors, the sort lhat split down the middle, wilh the two halves sliding apart to either side. "So let's see what happens,'' she said. Til let the automatics try it first." The car eased to a complete halt a meter or two in front of the doors, and then nothing happened (or a moment. "Is it broken?" Gaeriel asked. "It just lakes a liltle lime for the pumps 10 match pressure. Here we go." The pressure doors started to move apart smoothly enough-but then jammed up when they were only about a meter apart. "Blast it." Sonsen said. "Exactly what they did before. Lei me try cycling them on manual and see if I get lucky." She went to the panel by the car's door and twisted a dial that was poinied to ALiro over to manual ovER-ride. She pressed another button marked oPEn hoLlowtown SIDE AIRLOCK doors. The doors strained a bit, but didn't move any farther apart. She pushed the cLOSE doors button-and the doors moved all of three centimeters back toward each other before grinding to a halt. Sonscn ran through the whole procedure again, but
the doors refused to move more than that three centimeters back and forth. "Thai's that," she said. "They won't open far enough to get the car in. and they won't shut at all. The inner doors won't open at all unless the outers are shut." "No emergency override on that?" Lando asked. "No way to force inner doors open if the outer ones are jammed?" "Nope," Sonsen said. "Why bother, when there was supposed to he breathable air on both sides of the lock, and there's another airlock ten meters away? I keep telling you people. This is a fancy elevator, not a spacecraft system." "All right, then," said Lando. "Looks like we get out and walk. Time to do a little getting ready." He pulled his blouse off. pulled out his vibro-shiv, and started slicing the blouse into ribbons. He saved one larger wad of cloth and stuffed it in his pocket along with the knife. "Wrap one of [hese around your mouth and nose," he said. "If you pass out, or your breathing reflex gets the better of you, a little cloth might lilter out the worst of it. And if you have to breathe, if you can't stop yourself, do it through your nose. It does a much better job of cooling and filtering than your mouth." "Let's hope the personnel airlock opens so fast that you've lost your shirt Tor nothing," Sonsen said. Lando grinned. "It breaks my heart to mess up rny wardrobe when I don't need to." he said, "but I think ! could deal with it just this once." Lando wrapped a strip of cloth around his own mouth. "Where's the other airlock?" Lando asked, his voice a bit muffled by the cloth. "You can't quite see it from here," Sonsen said. "The window is too small. But it's about ten meters to the left of the main airlock. It should be matched to pressure on the other side, but it shouldn't take long at all to match-" Sonsen stopped talking, and looked up at the ceiling of the car, where the air tanks were hanging. "Match pressure," she said. "Wail a second. I jusi got an idea. We've got air tanks up there. If we dumped the air into the car here, we could get air pressure higher than the outside. Then when we opened the door, our air would push out, inslead of the bad air pushing in- "And we'd have a pressure curtain," said Lando. "Good idea! Then the second group could close the doors after we go, and maybe still have some air to breathe." "Boost me up there," Sonscn said. Luke knell down and made a slirrup out of his hands. Sonscn put her hands on his shoulders to balance herself and stepped into his hands. "Okay," she said, "up." Luke stood up as easily as if there was no weight on him at all. "Whoa." Sonsen said. "Captain Cairissian, your friend in strong. Sleady now. A little to the right-no, my right, your left. Back a bit. Okay, good," Sonsen reached for the pressure regulator and touched it gingerly. "Definitely getting hot," she said, "but not quite hot enough to burn. Not yet." "I would suggest hurrying." Threepio said. "The Glowpoinl has now increased its brightness by thirly-five percent." "How about we leave that droid behind when we go?" Sonsen said as she cranked the regulator up as high as it would go. A loud hissing started almost al once. Lando worked his jaw and felt his ears pop, "You've got my vote." he said. "I've lieen trying to leave him behind for years." "Forget it, both of you," Luke said. "I've been through a lot with Threepio." "All right," said Sonsen. "That should do it. Lei me down." Luke lowered her to the ground. "Okay." said Lando. "Administrator Sonsen-Jen-ica-what's the plan, exactly?" 'I'm going to open the door here," she said. "When I do, we should let a good-sized blast of our air out, and that'll at least slow down the bad air coming in. Lando and I will get out as fast as we can and run to Ihe other lock. You"-she pointed at Gaeriel-"as soon as we are out the door, close it again, by pressing this button here. Okay?" "Okay." "Once the door is shut, the regulator will come back on and pump in clean canned air, but there is still going to bo a lot of that junk out there in the mix. But no matter how bad the air gets in here, breathe it. It's only going to be worse outside. So breathe as best you can once that door is shut. Give us three minutes-no more, no less-and then pop the door again ard come running. That will give us time to get through the lock ourselves, get to the other side, and then cycle the lock so the outer door is open. Get into the ockfast. If the droids can get there with you without slowing you up, great. If not, leave them on this side, and we'll cycle the lock again for them once you're through. They don't have to worry about breathing. Got il?" "Got it.'' Luke said. "We'll be left behind for sure!" Threcpio said in his most theatrical tones, and even Artoo let out a sort of low moan. Lando paid them no mind. Not when this whole Hollowtown place was about to get burned to another crisp. If only that were the worst of it. If the Glowpoint's flaring again meant what he thought it did, a little thing like five people and two droids being roasted alive wasn't going to matter much at all. "Okay,'' Lando said, "tie your eloths over your mouth and nose, and then let's do one more thing that might help us get through this in one piece. We need to get as much oxygen into the bloodstream and lungs as possible before we go out there. The high pressure will help, but we need to do more. Everybody, start breathing in rapid, shallow breaths. I'll help you hold your breath a little bn longer when the lime comes." Lando followed his own advice, and started to breathe in fast, shallow, panting breaths. Not the healthiest thing to do for long, bul it would help get him through the next few minutes. He looked out ihc viewport at the swirling clouds of murky ash and soot ami shook his head. "Don't brealhe this stuff al all." he said, around his panting breaths. "I'vcn if il had all ihe oxygen you needed, that crud would probably burn a hole in your lungs." Lando started to follow and kept up his rapid, shallow breathing until he started to feel just this side of light-headed. He only hoped he was remembering all ihe procedures properly. "All right," he said "Artoo, you time it. Come after us in three minutes. Let's do it." Sonsen tied her own cloth over her mouth and nose, looked around to make sure everyone else had done the same, and then hit the door oPEn button. The air blew out of the turbovator car with terrifying speed, and then a blast-furnace wall of air rushed in, pulling a stream of noxious dusi and smoke and soot with it. Sonsen dove Ihrough the dooi. and Lando followed afiei her, already half blinded by the slinging. burning fumes thai wore everywhere. There had been nothing they could do about eye protection. Where the devil was Sonsen? Had he lost her already1 The air-if you could call it air-screamed past in ihe howling wind and cleared the view for just a moment. He spotted her, through watering eyes, heading toward the building. The heal was nearly as bad as the poisoned air and the dust. Already the sweat was streaming out of his body, dripping down his brow, getting into his eyes, making it that much harder to see. He resisted the urge to wipe his brow-and the urge to breathe. Amaz- ing how fast you wanted to start again once you stopped. Never mind. Sonscn-Jenica-was at the airlock, trying to work the very old-fashioned-looking controls-but the metal buttons and knobs were already too hot to touch. Lando pulled the torn-up piece of cloth out of his pocket-being careful to keep his vibro-shiv from falling out-and handed it to her. She nodded gratefully, nol wasting breath on words, and wrapped the cloth around her hand. She threw back the spill lever, equalizing pressure between the interior of the lock and the outside. It would seem the pressure was higher on the outside, judging by the column of smoke and soot that got sucked into the lock. Jenica threw back a big lever and the door swung out and open. She waved her arm vigorously, urging Lando in-and he needed no urging. It was a big lock compartment, capable of handling twenty or thirty people at once. That wasn't good. The bigger the lock, the more air there would be to move, and the longer it would take. The dust and smoke swirled around in the wretched air as Lando stumbled into the oven-hot interior of the lock-and suddenly realized that Jenica was not with him. He turned around to find her slumped over by the lock entrance, face-down on the ground, coughing and retching. His own lungs feeling as if they were about to burst, Lando forced himself to go back outside after her. He grabbed her under the arms and dragged her in, wishing mightily for enough breath to curse the too-high gravity here in the equatorial regions of Centerpoint Station. Half blinded by the caustic chemicals burning his eyes, Lando hauled Jenica Sonsen into the lock. He was about to let her slump down onto the deck when he realized just how hot that metal deck had to be by now. He threw her lef
t arm over his shoulder and held her up as he searched frantically for the inside lock controls. She managed to take a bit of her weight on her own feet. Coughing horribly, she pointed an unsteady finger over to one corner of the lock. Lando looked in the direction she was pointing. There! He dragged himself over, Jenica still draped over him. and pulled the close-lock lever, burning his hand in the process. The metal was hot and getting hotter. It seemed to take forever for the door to swing back shut. He had his finger jammed down on the air pump button almost before the'door latches had closed, but the automatics cut in at once anyway-nol pumping in good air. but dumping the bad stuff out into the other side of the lock. Shell One, Jeniea had called it. The air pumps whirred busily, stirring the ashes and soot up into a new blinding cloud of dust. Lando's lungs were screaming for air, demanding that he breathe immediately. He felt as if he were about to pass om. but he knew he did not dare, if he tainted, his reflexes would start him breathing again- and that would probably kill him. The pressure equali/.cd. and the far lock door opened. The air outside was far colder than the stuff in the lock, and the temperature difference was enough to make up a sharp little gust of wind as the hot bad air expanded out into Shell One-and good cool air swept into the lock chamber. Lando let go ol Jenica and dropped to his knees. He barely noticed ihe burning heat ol the deck as he gasped for ;iir. coughing, gagging, Ins lungs heaving. He pulled the cloth away from his mouth and coughed harder, spitting out ihe horrid slime that seemed to have gotten into his mouth, even if he hadn't been breathing thai mess. "Out." he said, his voice little more than a weak creaking noise. "We need-get out-set lock lor others." Jenica had collapsed next to him. She nodded, unable to speak even that much. They helped each other to their feet and staggered out of the lock chamber. The air here was a swirling mass of dreadful, suifurous smoke-but there was air there too, good air. They could not breathe easily just yet, not until the dust and smoke dispersed. But at least they could breathe. Jenica went to the Shell One side control panel and pulled the old-fashioned lever to swing the interior door shut. "Hold it!" Lando shouted. He had spotted something. There was a rack of emergency equipment by the lock door-including two smali tanks of oxygen with breathing masks. Lando grabbed one, twisted the valve to stari the oxygen flowing, and threw it into the lock. Most-or maybe all-of the oxygen would go to waste, of course. But it didn't matter. Even at full flow, a bottle that size would last ten or fifteen minutes before it went empty. But maybe just enough oxy would blow around to do some good. Or maybe if they were all blinded by the fumes, someone would still hear the hissing noise, and someone would find the mask, and put it to his or her face. The door swung to, Jenica pulled the lever to open the Hollowtown-side door, and that was that. She turned around and slumped down on the floor with her back to the wall. Lando grabbed the other oxy tank and sat down on the floor facing her. He opened the flow valve and handed her the tank. Jenica put the breather mask to her face and breathed in deeply--and was subdued by another wave of wracking coughs. She tried it again, with better success. "Yuck," she said. "I didn't mean to breathe any of that stuff, but something must have gotten in." She handed the tank to Lando. He put the mask to his face and breathed in deeply. The cool, elean oxygen felt wonderfully pure and sweet. "Is there anything else we can do to help them in?" he asked. She shook her head. "Not really. There's a viewport in the airlock here. The safeties won't let me open both doors at once, but 1 might be able to set things to pop open the hatch on this side before the chamber re pressurises. That might get 'em in here a little faster. Thai's about all." It had taken all of ninety seconds to get them in here. Ama/ing how much longer than that it felt. But if there was company coming, they had best get ready. Lando took another deep breath off the oxy tank and handed it back to Jenica. "Come on," he said. "Let's get the lock set so you can pop the inner door early." "Yeah. We'd better. I have a nasty feeling your triends might have it a little rougher than we did." Jenica stood up and rubbed herface. Her hand eame away even dirtier than it had been. "Burning stars, but I must be a mess." "You did look belter before," Lando said with a smile. "Your face has about a centimeter of dust on it." "Oh, a little soap and water will fix that," she said. "But I don't even want to think what this has done to mv hair." Luke Skywalker watched Artoo intently, waiting for the three minutes lo be up. Me forced himself to calmness, to clarity, .ledi were nol impatient. Except sometimes. This situation was gelling out of" hand. The temperature in the car had jumped dramatically when the outside air had come in. All of them were sweating profusely. And all of them-even ihe greal Jedi Master himself-were having trouble brealhing. Kalenda coughed again and swore under her brealh-what little breath she had. "How much longer?" she asked. Either the smoke or the cloth over her mouth made her voice seem a bil murky, a bit throaty. "About anolher thirty seconds. I think," Luke said. "Let's get ready. Both of you out before me so I can keep an eye on you," he said. Gaeriel seemed about to protest, but Luke cul her off. "It's no time to be modest," he said. "My Jedi powers give me an edge you two won't have. If they didn't, I've wasted my time with all that training for all these years. Artoo, Threepio, you come after me. You watch me. Watch all of us. We might need your help- but maybe we can move faster than you two can. If we get there first, we're going to have to leave you on this side of the lock-but we'll cycle the lock again as soon as we're through. All right?" Artoo whistled and beeped and swung his head back and forth. "I quite agree with Artoo," Threepio said. "We might be immune to the poisonous atmosphere. hut the corrosive airborne chemicals and the rising temperatures could easily do us harm. Please do not delay in getting us." "I won't," Luke said. "I promise." Threepio nodded happily. "I am glad to hear it,"' he said. Apparently the word of a Jedi Master was good enough even for a protocol droid. "Kalenda-Gaeriel-are you ready'.1" "No, not really," said Gacricl, coughing just a bit. "But I doubt I ever will be ready for (his sort of thing. Let's go." Kalenda nodded and let it go at that. "Here we go," Luke said, and hit the button. A new blast of burning-hot air struck at them as the door opened. The winds were blowing more and more fiercely as the Glowpoint dumped more and more energy into the system. Gaeriel stepped out into the storm and was nearly blown off her feet before Kalenda could grab at her. Luke stepped out into it and was nearly bowled over himself. The heat was incredible, and the noxious gases seemed to eat into his skin, his eyes. For a Jedi there is no pain, Luke lold himself. There is awareness. There is calm. The three humans stepped around the side of the turbovator car-and discovered they had been in the lee of the wind. The full force of the corrosive gale blasted straight into their faces, utterly blinding them, forcing them to jam their eyes shut. The wind carried finegrained sand, and that slammed into them as well. Luke got one fleeting moment of good visibility before ihe roaring wall of dust and cinders enveloped them, one moment when he saw where the airlock hatch was-and saw that it was swinging open for them. That one moment would have to be enough It would be worse than useless to open his eyes in this storm. Not only would he he unable lo see-his eyes would be destroyed. He would have to do it by dead reckoning-and drag the others with him. He reached out with the Force and found Kalenda and Gaeriel hand-in-hand, just a meter or two ahead of him. They were headed in the wrong direction. They must have been turned around by the wind already. Luke lunged forward into the wind and, using the Force to guide him, grabbed Kalenda by the hand and yanked hard in the proper direction. Kalenda came willingly enough, and Luke could feel Gaeriel in the Force, feel her hesitate a moment and then follow along as well. Luke became aware of a burning sense in his chest. Air. He needed air. And if he fell the urgent need to breathe, the others must be in an agony to do so. Closer. Closer. In his mind's eye, he could see the hatch. He knew, with all the power and precision of his Jedi senses, exactly where it was. But thai did not get him there any faster, did not give him the power to move effortlessly against this deadly wind. There. They were there. He still did not dare open his eyes, but he knew they were at the entrance to the lock. H
e pulled Kalenda forward, pushed her in ahead of him, and shoved Gacricl in as well before stepping in himself-and running smack into something metal, something hard and angular and tall. He suddenly realized it was Threepio. "It would seem Artoo and I got here before you after all. Master Luke!" Threepio shouted over the howl of the sandstorm. A droid could speak in this mess without wasting air or getting sand iii his mouth. Luke couldn't, and he settled for a nod instead. Luke nodded and moved farther forward into the lock, out of the stinging wind. He wiped the worst of the dust from his eyes and risked opening them, just in time to see the lock swinging shut. There was a sudden Marc of orange from behind him. He turned around. Gaeriel and Kalenda were standing, eyes still shut, in about the midpoint of the lock chamber, holding to each other, coughing miserably. And Gaerici's long flowing w;hite dress was on fire- and Gaeriel did not know it yet. Luke lunged for her and threw his body on the blossoming flames, trying to smother them. His tlight suit was insulated and fireproof. He felt a brief bloom of heat on his chest, and that was all. The fire died. He stood back up and helped Gaeriel to her feet. A red-hot hit of debris, blown from someplace where things were hotter still, must have gotten itself lodged in the fabric of Gaeriel's dress. Rul how could it burn, with no available oxygen? Luke heard a hissing noise from behind him and looked around. An oxygen mask. Lando and Kalenda had thrown an oxygen mask into the lock chamber- and Gaeriel had been standing right on top of it. Her dress must have trapped the oxygen. A million-to-one shot, but one that had almost killed Gaeriel. All of that flashed through his mind even as he was grabbing for the mask. He tore the cloth strip off her mouth and put the oxy mask over her mouth and nose. Still half blinded, and probably still unaware of why Luke had knocked her over, she jerked away from the mask at first, until she realized what it was. Then she grabbed for it greedily, opened her mouth, and took in a deep, urgent breath. She started coughing almost instantly. Luke handed the mask to Kalenda, who took two deep breaths herself before handing it back to Luke. Luke pulled down his dust cloth, exhaled the last breath he had breathed in back in the turbovator car, and sucked in as much air as the mask had to give. He realized that he had been seeing spots before his eyes, there toward the end. Even Jedi Masters have to breathe, he told himself. He was just handing the mask on to Gaeriel when the inner door swung violently open, and the air in the lock blasted out into the chamber beyond in a lasi choking, blinding-but now harmless-cloud of dust. They had made it. " "I was on fire?" Gaeriel asked, looking down at the remains of her dress. Jeniea had led them all to a small infirmary near the Shell One side of the airlock. Everyone had cuts and bruises and scrapes and minor burns that needed attention of one sort or another. They all needed baths and clean clothes as well, but those could wait just a bit. ''I was on fire and I didn't know about it?" "A claim not many can make," Luke said, laughing. "I apologize for knocking you over- "And / apologize for throwing that oxy mask m there," said Lando. "Don't either of you apologi/e." Gaeriel said, a bit tartly. She went over to the sink and started scrubbing her hands. "The mask probably saved all our lives in there. I was near passing out, and if I had fainted and breathed in much more of that stuff than I did by accident-well, at best I'd have been in here widi something a lol worse than a sore throat. And I'd much rather have a bruised dignity than third-degree burns." "I think we were all pretty lucky in there," Kalenda said in more serious tones as she sprayed some quick-heal salve on Jenica's burned hand. "The way the temperatures were rising, I don't think we'd have gotten out another live minutes later." "What's it like in there now, Artoo?" Luke asked as Lando sprayed antiseptic solution into the sand burns on his faee. "Ow! That stuff stings." "Hold still," Lando said, dabbing ointment onto the worst of the burns. "Almost done." Artoo. who had plugged himself into a dataport in the infirmary wall, squeaked and whistled and buzzed and beeped in an agitated fashion. "Dear me," said Threepio. "Things are rapidly getting worse in there." "What did that Anoo thing say, for those of us who don't speak bird-whistle?" Jenica asked. "Temperatures where we were ten minutes ago are up over the boiling point of water and headed higher," said Threepio. "The surviving detectors show hot spots closer to the Glowpoint well over five hundred degrees-and there are probably temperatures much higher than that, except the detectors are not there anymore to tell us." "Not good," said Lando. "Not good at all." Jenica Sonsen nodded her head. "And it's also no terrorist attack," she said. "Even twice didn't make a great deal of sense-but three times?" "I think you're very wrong there," Lando said. "Very wrong indeed. Bui I'm afraid your people here weren't the intended victims, I think you were more like innocent bystanders who got in the way." Jeniea turned and looked sharply at Lando as she flexed the hand with the burn salve on it. "Captain Calrissian-Lando-you said a few things earlier that made it sound like you had an idea what this was all about. Maybe now would be the right time to explain yourself." Lando let out a deep sigh. "1 think maybe you're right," he said. "But no one's going to like it much. E might even be wrong-but on the other hand, it's all staring us in the face." "What is?" Luke asked. "Centerpoint," Lando said. "Centerpoint is right in the middle of it all. Think about it. There are three big, impressive, inexplicable technologies at the middle of this crisis. The first, and the easiest to explain, is the system-wide jamming. Impressive, bui all you really need for that is a whole lot of power. And where does the jamming come from?" "Centerpoint," Jenica said. "Without Fed-Dub even knowing about it-and we ran the place." "Or at least you thought you did," Lando said. "Second up is the interdiction field. Nothing incredible about it, beyond ils Size. But if you had a powerful enough gravitic generator, you could do it. Where does it come from?" "Centerpoint," Jenica said again. "And from what you were asking about earlier, you thought it had something to do with the way we're right at the balance point of gravilic potential." "Right. I have no idea how. but it seems to me that Centerpoint taps into the gravitic output of the Double Worlds. Now it seems someone has found a way to convert that power into an interdiction field." "And the third unexplained technology?" Luke asked. Lando looked straight at him. "The novamaker, of course. The starbusler. We all wondered how it was done. We all wondered where the starbuster was. I'm just about positive we're silling in it right now. I think the Glowpoint flare means it's jusl about to go off again."