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“Could one of the pod trackers be enabled?” Leia said.

“Possibly.” Han leaned toward the intercom. “Threepio, stay put. We're on our way.”

The five of them filed out of the cockpit and wended their way into the Falcon's rear hold. C-3PO was peering into the escape pod access-way, his photoreceptors glowing in the dimness.

“I believe—” he started to say when Han ducked into the space, sending the broad beam of a glow rod into the darkest areas. Twisting over, he craned his neck toward the ceiling and trained the light on a spot above the hatchway.

“All right, you,” he said, “come down from there.”

“What are you planning to do to me?” a raspy mechanical voice asked.

“That depends on what you tell me.”

“I was only following orders.”

“That's everybody's excuse. Now come out of there before I decide to use a disruptor on you.”

No sooner did Han step back into the hold than the long-snouted slicer droid glided from the accessway, trembling as it hovered a meter off the deck.

Han slapped a data interface connector into C-3PO's hand. “He's all yours.”

“Thank you, Captain Solo.”

The slicer droid floated backward against the ring corridor bulkhead. “Hey, watch out with that thing, it has a probe on the end of it.”

Locating the dataport beneath the slicer's snout, C-3PO inserted the probe and studied the tool's alphanumeric readout display. “He is harboring a homing device, Captain.”

“As a precaution against theft, my master installs trackers in all rentals,” the slicer said.

“How long has the tracker been transmitting?” Han said.

“Since the ship launched. It's not my fault.”

Han nodded to C-3PO. “Go ahead.”

C-3PO made an adjustment to the probe and deactivated it. Photoreceptors blinking out, the slicer droid drifted slowly to the deck, where it collapsed in a heap.

“Now can we put the transponder back?” Allana said while everyone was staring at the droid.

Leia had lost track of how many times Allana had asked the question. Putting her hand on Allana's shoulder, she looked at Han.

Han compressed his lips, then forced a laugh. “What could go wrong?”

“Can I do it—please?”

“Sure you can,” Han said. “You're the one who found it.”

“I'll probably have to reenter the navicomputer code,” Jadak said.

Han nodded and prized the transponder from his pocket. “Leia, you have the helm while Amelia and I put this thing back where it belongs.”

“Where do you want me?” Poste asked.

“I want you and Threepio to keep an eye on this droid.”

The six of them split into three teams. Moments later, Han was in the main hold, watching Allana fit the transponder into its pocket in the bulkhead, the device's mimetic alloy making it seem to disappear.

“We're all set!” Han shouted.

In the cockpit, Leia watched Jadak reset the Rubicon navicomputer and enter a numerical code. Instantly time–space coordinates appeared on the display screen.

And the Millennium Falcon jumped into hyperspace.

“You've lost the signal,” Lestra Oxic said.

The Gran rental agency owner, Druul, gestured dismissively. “They found the primary tracker—the obvious one. The redundant system is integrated into the slicer's carapace and will continue to function even if the droid is deactivated. The device uses the ship itself as an antenna.”

The monitor in Druul's office beeped.

“What did I tell you,” the Gran said.

Lestra looked at Koi Quire, who showed him a subtle nod of appreciation.

“Where is the ship?”

“In realspace, though nowhere in particular,” Druul said, two of his three eyes scanning the monitor's star map. “Rimward of the Hydian, perhaps three-quarters of the way to Toprawa.”

“What now?” Oxic said.

One of the Gran's stalked eyeballs fixed on him. “That's entirely up to you. You're the one paying.”

“Patience, Lestra,” Quire said. “We've come this far. Besides, Remata and Cynner are still being processed.”

“Who's handling the bail arrangements?”

“We're using a local to supply the bond.”

Oxic fell silent and began to pace. If things had gone according