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But their bounties could buy Zuckuss lungs.

For a moment, 4-LOM regretted the necessity of returning these Rebels to their comrades. But he and Zuckuss Hunted more valuable prey. These Rebels were expensive bait for the trap.

“Send your droids and the twenty-six of you whose names I will call out,” 4-LOM said. “By now, my partner has pumped oxygen into the passage that leads to holding cells on Mist Hunter. Move quickly! The Empire will not forever fail to detect us.”

He called out the names, but no one moved. Toryn’s was the first name he called. She realized the other names were the names of Rebels who had fought with the Rebellion for some time.

Long enough to have had bounties placed on their heads.

The droid was clearly trying to take Rebels who could bring it the most credits. Toryn did not believe its claims that it and its partner were Rebels who had come to rescue those who could most help the Rebellion.

“I have an alternate plan,” she said to 4-LOM. “Put your ammonia-breathing partner in a suit, replace the ammonia on your ship with oxygen to make room for more people, and fly all of us to Darlyn Boda. It would take half a day to get there. We have contacts on Darlyn Boda who will treat our wounded and hide us till we can rejoin the Rebel army.”

“We must go to the rendezvous point!” 4-LOM said. “Our ship is needed there. We will take the twenty-six of you I have indicated and waste no more time.”

“I will not leave people I am responsible for,” Toryn said.

4-LOM reacted so quickly no Rebel could have responded first. In a flash of movement he beat aside Toryn’s guards, grabbed her, and held her in front of him, between the Rebel barricades and pod bay 2.

“We do not have time to argue,” he said. “And Zuckuss and I do not have time to take wounded conscripts to Darlyn Boda. I have chosen twenty-six of you. You will board the ship now.”

Deckplates clattered behind him. There were two Rebels there, hidden under the deck! These were resourceful foes, indeed. He could have used the blasters implanted in his back to kill them both, but chose not to.

He would not kill people he was pretending to save, at least not yet.

“Let her go,” one of the Rebels behind him said.

But Zuckuss came up behind them, out of the tunnel between the ships. “No, both of you move aside,” he said to the two Rebels. “Your devotion to your commander is admirable. She will go on to serve the Rebellion well once we deliver her to the rendezvous point. You have that satisfaction.”

In a flash of movement, 4-LOM dragged Toryn Farr through the tunnel to a holding cell. He clamped her wrists and ankles into restraints on the wall there. She was not strong enough to fight him off.

“This is no rescue!” Toryn said.

“But it is,” 4-LOM said. “Shortly you will be at the rendezvous point. I regret the necessity of using force with you, but saving you is logical and saving time a necessity.” He started to walk out of the cell.

“Your logic is flawed,” Toryn called after him.

The droid looked back at her.

“You left one of our best pilots off your list of people to save—Samoc Farr. You think the Rebellion doesn’t need good pilots?”

The droid said nothing to her and left. She heard shooting on the Bright Hope. It was a commander’s worst nightmare: to be away from her troops when they were in battle. Soon the droid returned with Rivers and Bindu. He shoved them in her cell.

“What’s happening over there?” Toryn said.

“The droid took us hostage and said he would kill us—and you—if the people he wanted did not come forward to board this ship.”

But they heard no more shooting. Zuckuss was furious with 4-LOM. “What have you reduced our chances of success to?” he asked the droid. “Who will believe this is a rescue now?”

No one would. The pod bay lay deserted before them, though Zuckuss and 4-LOM knew that if they left the connecting tunnel, blasters would be trained on them. How many, they did not know. They had not been able to make an adequate assessment of the Rebels’ arms. 4-LOM calculated that he and Zuckuss