Star Wars_ Rebel Force 01_ Target - Alex Wheeler [20]
"Maybe I can," she snapped, "but he can't." She nodded toward the injured man, lying in a pool of blood. "I've done what I can for him here, but the wound is bleeding out of control. We have to get him back to the ship. A few hours might be too long."
The pilot groaned. "That's some bedside manner you have there," he said.
Han arched an eyebrow at Leia. She scowled. "I thought he was unconscious!" she said, defensively.
"You're quite the medical expert," Han teased.
"I'd suggest you take over," Leia shot back, "but you'd probably try to blast him back to health."
"Hey!" Han protested. But Leia turned her back to him, murmuring something comforting to the pilot.
"Some rescue attempt," the man complained, his voice weak.
"Try a little gratitude," Han suggested. If he was strong enough to dish it out, he was strong enough to take it. "We're the ones doing you a favor."
"A favor might have been letting me rescue myself," the man said.
Han snorted. "Yeah, you were doing a great job, lying here on the floor of the cave waiting to get eaten. Brilliant plan."
"Reeks are herbivores," the pilot said, in a superior tone.
Han hated superior tones. "Funny, I guess no one told that guy," he said, gesturing toward the definitely carnivorous reek lying dead on the floor of the cave. "Face it, buddy, if it weren't for me, you'd be lunch."
"You're right." His voice broke off into another coughing fit. " This is a definite improvement."
"Han, leave the poor man alone," Leia said angrily. "He needs his rest."
"Me?" Han asked, incredulous. " He started it."
Leia shook her head. "I know you have the mind of a five year old, but that's no reason to act like one."
"You—! How can you—? I—!" Han sputtered, searching for the perfect response.
Finally, he told himself it wasn't worth it. He turned to Luke, who was fumbling with his lightsaber over on the far end of the cave. "How about you? Don't you want to tell me what I'm doing wrong?"
Luke offered up a serene smile. "Actually, I was thinking I might get us out of here…unless you two aren't done arguing yet?"
Leia looked up, surprised. "You can get us out of here?"
"He's bluffing," Han said confidently. Then he took a closer look at Luke. "You're bluffing, right?"
Ignoring him, Luke strode toward the wall of rock blocking their exit, and plunged his glowing lightsaber into the pile. It sliced through the rocks like they were made of air. "I tested it first," Luke explained, "to make sure the beam was strong enough—and to make sure it wouldn't just cause the rocks to cave in even more."
"Thinking before you act," Leia said, giving Han a pointed look. "Imagine that."
Luke began cutting through the rock, methodically working the saber back and forth to carve out an opening. It was slow going, and Han could see it was going to take a while—but it would work.
"Good thinking," he said. Luke was a little clueless some of the time—okay, most of the time. But Han had to admit it: The kid came through in a pinch.
"I told you the lightsaber was a valuable weapon," Luke said.
"Hey, don't get ahead of yourself," Han argued. "Slicing and dicing a pile of rocks doesn't exactly qualify something as a weapon. It's no blaster."
"Lucky for us," Luke pointed out.
Han grimaced. "If you're going to keep throwing that back in my face every time I—"
"Not to interrupt," the pilot interrupted, "but less arguing and more cutting would probably be—" He broke off abruptly.
"Probably be what?" Han asked irritably. What made this guy think he could tell them what to do?
"He's out cold," Leia said, concern filling her voice. "Luke, you've got to hurry! We have to get him back to the ship soon or…"
She didn't finish, but she didn't have to.
Han joined Luke's side, pushing rocks out of the way as Luke's glowing blade widened the opening. He'd seen men lose that much blood before, and he knew