Star Wars_ Splinter of the Mind's Eye - Alan Dean Foster [45]
“I don’t see anything,” Luke whispered.
Beside him, the Princess’ suspicions were returning. “Do you think she left without waiting for us?”
Luke shot her a look of irritation. “She risked her life to get us out of that cell.”
“Even certifiable heroes can panic,” was the Princess’ cool rejoinder.
“I will panic,” came a voice, startling them all, “if we don’t get out of here and fast!” Halla emerged from the shadows cloaking the vast assembly shed on their left. Two figures, one humanoid, the other not, trailed her.
“Threepio … Artoo!”
“Master Luke!” Threepio called. “We were worried you wouldn’t get free. Oh.”
Threepio was staring at the squat, snouty shapes standing behind Luke and the Princess.
“Don’t worry. These are Hin and Kee, a couple of Yuzzem. They’re with us.” Artoo beeped querulously. “I know they look ferocious, Artoo, but they helped us escape.” A pleased whistling.
Halla was looking admiringly at Luke. “What did you do, boy?” A faint explosion sounded by way of footnote to her comment, from the general direction of the temple headquarters. “Sounds like the mine itself’s going up.”
“I just tried to delay our pursuit a little while,” he explained modestly. Another explosion made them all wince reflexively. A pillar of yellow flame lit the night sky, piercing the mist. “I might’ve overdone it a little.”
Halla led them inside the open shed, directed them between a long line of massive shapes to an open vehicle mounted on bloated, multiple wheels. They climbed in. Halla positioned herself behind the controls. “At first I didn’t know how I was going to start this beast,” she told them. “Your little friend took care of that. Artoo, get us going.”
The stubby Detoo unit trundled forward. Extending an arm, it positioned a tool part of itself into a coded, locked slot. The engine rumbled to life immediately.
“Occasionally,” Threepio was forced to concede, “he’s useful for something.”
“Are you sure you can drive something this size?” the Princess inquired.
“No, but I can drive anything smaller, and I learn fast.” Halla touched something with a finger and the crawler leaped forward with startling acceleration for so bulky a vehicle. They exploded out of the shed entrance, nearly ran over several mechanics who were walking toward them to investigate the noise the engine had made. They scattered, one man throwing his helmetcap after them in disgust and frustration. Others ran to notify their superiors.
Halla put the wheel hard over. They smashed through a wire fence. In seconds the graded ground gave way to bog and jungle. She headed the swamp crawler over soft bog and through trees and bushes with reckless disregard for whether or not they might be traveling over solid earth or bottomless peat.
After barreling for half an hour through total darkness broken only by the crawler’s multiple fog lamps, Luke finally put a restraining hand on Halla’s arm. “I think we can slow down now,” he said, with a glance back the way they’d come. At least, he thought it was the way they’d come. Halla had made so many frantic turns and swerves during their wild flight he couldn’t be sure anymore.
“Yes, slow down,” the Princess urged, “Luke may not have left anyone capable of organizing immediate pursuit.”
Halla brushed a strand of gray hair clear of her eyes, brought the crawler to a gradual idle. Using a flex-lamp set on her side of the crawler’s open cab, she hunted through the mist until it settled on a high clump of vegetation. After driving the crawler into it, she switched off the engine, leaving only the internal cab lights on.
“There!” she exclaimed tiredly, leaning back in the driver’s chair. “Even if they’re right behind us, which I’d bet against, they’ll have a time finding us here.” The cab lights gleamed eerily