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"…why would an innocent man run? That's what General Dodonna said when I informed him. Maybe it's my fault." Leia gave herself a little shake, as if she was trying to slough off her doubts about Han—or maybe her loyalty to him.

"Either way, he won't be back anytime soon, not after the send-off he got." She scowled in frustration. "I told those pilots just to warn him, not to fire."

"Rebel pilots attacked Han? " Luke yelped, lurching upright so quickly that a wave of dizziness swept over him. Leia put out a hand to steady him, but he shook her off. "Is he…?"

"He's fine," Leia assured him. "That ship may be a bucket of bolts, but he can still out fly anyone he—" She stopped abruptly, looking angry at herself. "Han's fine," she said brusquely. " You're the one in danger. And if Han didn't set those explosives—"

"He didn't," Luke cut in.

"Then whoever did is still out there," she said. "Someone's after you, Luke, and for all we know, they're going to keep coming after you until you're dead. We have to get you out of here."

"You want me to run away?" Luke asked incredulously.

"Just until we get to the bottom of this," Leia said. "Think about it—we can't trust anyone."

"But—"

"The Rebel Alliance needs you, Luke." Leia held herself very still and upright, as she often did when she was trying to cover up some personal weakness.

"You're too valuable to lose. Luke—please."

That was as close as she would ever come to begging him, Luke knew, and he couldn't stand to see it. "Okay," he agreed. "Under two conditions."

"What?"

"First, you come with me."

"I'm needed here!" Leia protested.

"If I'm in danger, you could be, too," Luke reasoned. "And I'm not leaving you here to face that alone."

"What's the second condition?" Leia asked, in a weary tone that made it clear she would give in.

For the first time since waking up, Luke smiled. "I get to pick where we go."

Pathetic, X-f0 7 thought, approaching the room where Luke was recuperating.

There were no guards, no droids, nothing. As if two sentries posted at the entrance of the medcenter would be enough to keep their most valuable patient safe. Certainly, they wouldn't be enough to keep him safe from X-f0 7, who was waved along with a nod and a friendly grin.

These Rebels, so trusting.

So stupid.

X-f0 7 reached into his pocket and wrapped his hand around the jet injector.

Less than four centimeters long, it fit snugly in the palm of his hand. When X-f0

7 placed a hand on his wounded friend's shoulder, no holocam would catch the tiny pinprick, the injection of two milliliters of Sennari, a toxin with lethal effects.

Sennari usually killed within seconds, but for situations like this, X-f0 7

preferred to use a slow-acting variant of the poison. Luke would fade away in the night, long after X-f0 7 had left the room. As the toxin was absorbed, organs would shut down, one by one. Within hours, the toxin would disappear from Luke's bloodstream, undetectable by even the most expert doctors. Luke's total system failure would appear a natural process. Unfortunate, unavoidable.

By morning, Luke would be dead.

And everyone would believe it was due to injuries sustained in the explosion.

Making Han Solo a murderer.

It had been frustrating to watch Luke survive the explosion, but maybe it was for the best, X-f0 7 decided. Toxins were his preferred method of killing. Simple, direct—almost elegant. And no chance of error or escape.

X-f0 7 prepared a suitably genial smile, in case Luke was awake. He opened the door.

A wave of rage crested over him, nearly knocking him off his feet. He was unused to such strong emotions. He was supposed to be beyond them. But it was impossible to remain calm.

The bed was empty.

The target—the weak, young, naïve, pathetic target—was gone.

Which meant X-f0 7 had failed again.

CHAPTER FOUR

Luke landed the shuttle on a desolate stretch of sand, several kilometers from the nearest outpost of civilization. Of course, on Tatooine, "civilization" was a relative term.

"Are you quite certain that this is the best hiding spot for