Star Wars_ Rebel Force 06_ Uprising - Alex Wheeler [7]
"Maybe it's time for us to get out," Div said. "You think something bad's coming, I can tell—seems like a good time to get out, while the getting's good. Go save the galaxy from somewhere else."
"You don't mean that," Ferus said.
Div opened his mouth—but shut it again, before arguing.
"We've got some time," Ferus said. "We can figure this out."
"And if it's a trap?"
"Then we do whatever we have to do to keep the Rebels from flying straight into it,"
Ferus said, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt. He told himself there was no reason for the dark chasm of hopelessness that had opened within him.
At least the princess is far away from here, Ferus reassured himself. Whatever happens, she'll be safe.
CHAPTER FOUR
Han, Luke, Leia, and Chewbacca gaped at the dead Glymphid.
Luke cleared his throat nervously. "You don't think…I mean, there's no way a holorecording could…"
"Coincidence," Han said, watching the holoplayer like it was going to bite him. "Had to be."
Chewbacca growled in agreement.
"I've heard of delayed-release poisons," Leia said. "Maybe activating the holoplayer triggered something?"
"Maybe we should leave before it triggers something else," Han suggested.
Luke stared at the coordinates that the hooded man had given them. "This is halfway across the galaxy," he said. "Even if we leave right now, we might not make it there in time."
"That's assuming we go at all," Han said. "You want to walk straight into a trap?"
"I'm not going to just leave those people to die!" Luke said indignantly.
"And I'm not looking to die with them," Han shot back. "Self-sacrifice isn't in my vocabulary, kid."
"Then I'll go without you," Luke said.
"Oh, yeah?" Han grinned. "In what ship?"
Luke glared at him, furious. Whenever he let himself believe that Han cared about anyone but himself, something like this would happen.
"Let's slow down," Leia said. "We should contact the Rebel base, let them know what happened, see what they—"
"No!" Luke exclaimed. "Didn't you hear Soresh? If we disobey him and tell anyone what's happening—"
"It's a bluff, kid," Han said. "No one's watching."
"How do you know?" Luke asked. He glanced at the dead alien. "I bet he didn't think anyone was watching, either, And now look at him. I'm not going to let anyone else die because of me."
"This is not your fault," Leia insisted. "And if anything happens to those hostages, that's not your fault, either. You can't control what some maniac decided to do."
"Maybe I can't control it," Luke agreed. "But I can stop it. And I'm going to." None of them understood, maybe because it hadn't been their name on the holovid. This was all happening because of him. Because for whatever reason, this insane Imperial wanted Luke Skywalker, and was willing to kill. Enough people have died to protect me, Luke thought.
Images of his aunt's and uncle's smoldering bodies, of Darth Vader's lightsaber slicing through Obi-Wan Kenobi, flashed through his mind.
Enough.
"Fine," Leia said. "But you're not doing it alone."
Chewbacca hooted with enthusiasm. He was always eager for battle. Which left only one.
Leia fixed Han with a steely glare. Stubbornly, he met her gaze. Then he sighed.
"Your wish is my command, Princess," Han said wearily. "But if we do this, we do it my way. We're not just delivering the kid up to the slaughter. We've got to be smart."
"Smart?" Leia raised her eyebrows. "I thought you said you wanted to do this your way."
Han lowered the Millennium Falcon into the atmosphere, surveying the moon's features.
There weren't any.
People talked about "the middle of nowhere," but Han realized that he'd never actually been there—until now. Soresh's coordinates had led them to the Sixela system, a forgotten wasteland deep in the Outer Rim. The moon of the third planet around the blue giant star was habitable but uninhabited, and Han could