Star Wars_ Rebel Force 2_ Hostage - Alex Wheeler [14]
They nibble on sticks of sweetened Oro bark and watch Groos Corado try to persuade Tasha Moore to dance. They giggle as brothers Cassio and Pol Prentiss argue about which of them cheats at greenputt. But worst of all is Fess Ilee. Leia has never heard anyone talk so much and say so little. No matter how many words spill out of his mouth, they all have the same meaning: Yes, you're right.
She glares at him—then gasps, as he swivels his head toward her hiding place. His gaze travels over the heads of the crowd and locks onto her. She knows she is totally hidden—but she can't shake off the feeling that he knows she is there.
" I'm bored, " she whispers to Winter. " Let's get out of here. "
But when she slips out of her hiding place, she walks right into her father. And he is not happy.
He doesn't yell. He simply banishes her to her room.
Tomorrow, she is supposed to go with Winter to the gingerbell blossom festival, but now, according to her father, that is not going to happen.
That's what he thinks.
Leia waits until the house falls asleep. Then she opens her bedroom window and climbs onto the sill. Balancing carefully on the frame, she examines her options. There is a low hanging tree branch, its tip just out of reach. Even if she stretches as far as she can, it won't be enough. But if she jumps, she will be able to grab it. Unless she misses.
She never misses.
Leia launches herself at the branch, digging her fingers into the scratchy bark. She dangles for a moment, swinging her feet through the air, proud of her daring. Then, hand over hand, she pulls herself to the trunk and shimmies down to the ground.
She runs across the dark and empty palace grounds, laughing into the night air. She is free.
The city is different in the dark. The streets are abandoned. She doesn't know where she is going, but she doesn't care.
She doesn't hear the footsteps, doesn't notice the shadow following her through the night.
She is not afraid.
"You sure this is the place?" Han asked, as they arrived at the coordinates Luke had given them. "It's a dump." It was a massive duracrete warehouse, surrounded on all sides by mounds of trash. Much of Leilani seemed broken down and abandoned—but this looked condemned.
Leia glanced over her shoulder, but Fess had disappeared. She double-checked the coordinates. "This is it."
They stepped inside.
And into a nightmare.
How did this happen? Leia thought in horror, forcing herself to look into the desperate, hopeless faces of her people. How could I let this happen?
Since the destruction of Alderaan, she'd distracted herself with one Rebel mission after another, trying to bury her pain. Trying to forget.
But she'd never intended to forget the people who had been left behind.
"You were right, Manaa and Var Lyonn were hiding something," Luke said, appearing beside her. "This."
The man next to him, young, though his hair was streaked with gray, extended a hand.
"J'er Nahj," he introduced himself. "The Delayan government didn't want you to see the reality of our situation, but Luke here thought you'd want to know."
"I ran into Nahj outside of the hotel," Luke said, giving the man an odd look. "He agreed to bring me here so I could see for myself."
"More than seven thousand of us, Your Highness," Nahj said. "That we know of. The lucky ones had credits stored offplanet, or family and friends they could rely on. The less fortunate were taken in by the government, given houses and resources and put on display, to impress people like you. To make sure the money keeps rolling in. But here you see what happens to those with no luck at all. The ones who find themselves alone in the galaxy, everyone they ever knew and everything they ever had destroyed. The ones who can no longer