Star Wars_ Fate of the Jedi 05_ Allies - Christie Golden [10]
By all rights, Luke knew, the old ship belonged either in a museum like the Icebreaker, now forever planet-bound in the New Brampis Starship Museum, or a scrapyard. No one knew exactly how old the Rockhound was, though the Arkanian Orbital Logs mentioned it as far back as 524 years before the Battle of Yavin. Lando had flown it solo for many years back in his younger days as a prospector. Han had revealed quite a few things he found amusing about the Rockhound to Luke one night when the kids were dead to the world and both their wives had gone to bed.…
Mara, I still miss you, and I swear I feel you here with me now.
… and Luke had never forgotten them. One was the interesting fact that, as seemed to be the case with several ships in Lando’s possession, he had won the Rockhound from a Brubb prospector in an epic, six-hour, arm-wrestling match. Which, Han hinted, may or may not have been rigged. The other intriguing tidbit was the fact that the crew were all droids with a rather unique programming. Han had refused to elaborate further, returning Luke’s queries with smug, self-satisfied grins. Luke supposed he would now get the chance to find out what Han had been talking about.
“Not exactly,” said Luke. “I’m actually heading into the Maw.”
Lando’s jovial good humor, which Luke suspected was largely for his benefit, abated somewhat. “The Maw? Why? It’s hardly a vacation paradise in there.”
“Certainly not,” Luke agreed. “But it’s part of what I’m doing with Ben right now. We’re retracing Jacen’s five-year journey.”
Lando sobered, his eyes kind. “Yeah, I heard a little something about that.”
Luke thought, not for the first time, that while Lando did an effective job of hiding his innate decentness behind his swashbuckling façade, he wasn’t always the bluffer he liked to think of himself as. Lando Calrissian cared deeply for those he called friends.
“Our path so far has led us here. And we’ve come to find out if there’s something … or more precisely, someone … in there who needs taking care of,” Luke continued.
Lando nodded. “Yeah … I was wondering if something was going on there. You heard about what happened here on Kessel, right?”
Luke had. Leia had told him about the strange quakes that had threatened to destroy Kessel, and incidentally Tendrando Arms in its entirety, right along with them. Too, his sister had mentioned that Allana had heard something through the Force. The girl had insisted that “something was waiting” for her “up in space.” It had wanted to know who she was, and was “sad but scary.” True, the girl was just barely eight, but she was the daughter of Tenel Ka and Jacen Solo, the granddaughter of Leia Organa Solo, and the great-granddaughter of Anakin Skywalker. If anyone could claim Force sensitivity was in her genes, it was Allana.
Both Leia and Han had been convinced that their granddaughter had been telling the truth, at least as she was able to comprehend it. It was a disturbing thought. Luke was more certain now than ever that Abeloth had contacted Allana.
He nodded. “Yes, I heard. Sounds like everything is stable for now, though.”
“For now,” Lando allowed. He looked thoughtful for a moment, then as if suddenly becoming aware of the potential for solemnity, flashed a trademark rakish grin. “And hey—I guess that’s all anyone’s ever got, right?”
“I guess so. I had no idea you were quite so profound, Lando.”
Lando waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t let it get around. Bad for my reputation. So, you going in with just you and Ben? Even with the Rockhound, it could be tricky. I hate that place.”
“Actually,