• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

"Worst mistake you ever made," Han drawled. They had landed in a dusty, disused plaza. A decrepit fountain sat in the middle, spigots dry and rusting. They were completely alone with the Glymphid. Leia was suddenly sure that was no accident. "Now, you go back to Jabba and—"

"I have something for you," the alien interrupted, rushing toward them on gangly legs.

"Wait!" he yelped, freezing as three blasters and a bowcaster were leveled at him. The alien raised his hands in the air. "It's just a message. I don't even have weapons. You can search me."

"Jabba sent me a message?" Han asked.

"Not you," the Glymphid said. "Him." He extended a long, suction-tipped finger toward Luke.

Without thinking, Leia stepped in between Luke and the Glymphid. "What do you want with him?" she asked.

"Him?" Han said, eyes wide. His head swiveled back and forth between Luke and the alien. "You sure it's him?"

The Glymphid pulled out a datapad. "The human traveling with the Millennium Falcon, pale hair, low intelligence—"

"Hey!" Luke exclaimed. Han snorted. Leia shoved him.

"—answers to the name of Luke."

"That's you all right, kid," Han said grudgingly.

"I been looking for you for a long time," the Glymphid said. "And it's worth a big reward for me if you just listen to this message." He thrust a holochip and small holoplayer in Luke's face.

"What do you think?" Luke asked.

Leia narrowed her eyes at the Glymphid. "We need more information before we can—"

"Let me see that." Han seized the equipment. Before Leia could stop him, he shoved the chip into the player and switched it on.

A shadowy, translucent figure appeared before them, his face masked by a hood.

"Luke Skywalker, we finally meet."

"Who is that?" Luke said, staring at the hooded man. He turned to the alien. "Who sent you?"

Taking advantage of their distraction, the Glymphid was creeping away. Han clamped a hand on his shoulder, and dug a blaster into his back. "Not so fast, buddy. How 'bout you stick around while we watch this. Then you're going to answer all our questions."

"I don't know anything," the alien squeaked. "I swear."

"I've been hunting you for a long time," the mysterious figure said. His voice was narrow and pinched. "I believe you know a friend of mine, X-7."

Leia gasped. X-7 had been a skilled assassin hired to kill Luke, and he'd nearly succeeded, more than once. X-7 had been dead for months—but the man who sent him was still out there. Rezi Soresh, the Imperial Commander who'd devoted himself to destroying Luke. Apparently he hadn't given up.

"Meeting you proved rather inconvenient for him," the man continued. "Hopefully, our encounter will end more happily. For me, at least. Now, down to business." He clapped his hands together sharply. His hologram faded into a harsh red landscape of rocks and craters. The camera settled on a group of twenty people, huddled together behind a fence bristling with electric current. Men and women held each other. Small children clung to their mothers' knees. Their faces all bore the same expression: Terror.

"These are some of the passengers of the Arkanian ship Endeavor. Settlers—one hundred men, women, and children—headed for a new life on a new world. I'm afraid I forced them to take a slight detour. I'm sure they're eager to get on their way again—and they can. As soon as you deliver yourself to me. At the end of this holorecording, you'll find a set of galactic coordinates. You have twelve standard hours to reach them—or I promise you, all my guests will die an extremely painful death. You will not tell anyone else about this. If you disobey these instructions, the poor settlers will die." The camera zoomed in on a small child's face, his muddy cheeks streaked with tears. "All of them."

The hooded figure wagged a finger at them.

Leia kept her eyes fixed on Luke. She could imagine how he felt. Whenever she closed her eyes at night, she still saw herself on the bridge of the Death Star, watching her beloved Alderaan on the viewscreen. Giving Vader and Governor Tarkin what they wanted hadn't helped,