Star Wars_ The New Rebellion - Kristine Kathryn Rusch [147]
She showed him the message, explained the circumstance, and asked his opinion.
He glanced at her, then at the message. “This message makes sense, President,” he said. “Given the detonators on the X-wings.”
She nodded. She had already thought of that. “How important are the droids to the fleet’s mission?”
“Important,” Tchiery said. “But we can get along without them. We aren’t using many X-wings, and we still rely on sentients for much of the shipboard work.”
“Then I want you and your team to deliver this message to the fleet.”
“I’ll leave some of the officers here.”
“No,” Leia said, hoping she hadn’t spoken too quickly. “We can’t send messages. I received this one only by virtue of the code that my brother and I had developed. If you keep two officers here, and the message was important, and something happens, we’ll always regret it. I’ll be all right for the time it will take to make the deliveries.”
“Ma’am, my orders are to take care of you.”
Leia smiled. She had suspected as much. “I’m afraid, Lieutenant, that I’ve always done quite well at taking care of myself. I’m changing your orders. Now we don’t have time for argument. I will dock with one of the nearby ships momentarily.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The lieutenant nodded to her, took the message, and left the cockpit.
She let out a deep sigh, and leaned her head against the chair. In a moment, they would all be gone. She would leave the matter of the droids in Wedge’s hands. He would know what decision to make.
And he would make it after she had gone to Almania.
Alone.
Thirty-nine
The strange prolonged agony from a distant system had drained his energy. Luke had sent heat, as he had before, but it took something out of him.
Luke leaned against the wall, his splinters around him. The creature remained in the other room, snuffling. A constant threat, but for the moment it left him alone.
Almost as if it knew he suffered.
He was dizzy and tired and his back still hurt, although the pain had subsided somewhat. He couldn’t feel his ankle at all, unless he stood on it. Then pain shot through his leg. Only the splint held him up. He needed water. The burns were bad enough to continually sap his strength.
Kueller wanted both of them, him and Leia.
He would have both if Luke didn’t do something about it.
Which meant getting out of there.
The creature snuffled again. Luke didn’t entirely understand the creature, either. It had clearly just eaten before Luke was placed in its cage. So was it there to hold him? Or was he to be tomorrow’s lunch?
It peeked its head around the corner. The massive face had a quizzical look to it. It held out its paw, and large drops of blood fell on the ground. Yet the creature didn’t seem angry.
But then, it hadn’t seemed angry when it had tried to swallow Luke, either. Maybe it was a big, cheerful eating machine.
It mewled at him. Then it extended its injured paw. Luke raised a splinter, and the creature batted it from his hand, sending him flying head over heels. He hit his back, and the pain made him cry out.
He stopped rolling and tried to get to his feet. The creature had run beside him. It looked down on him, its face getting closer and closer.
He had no more weapons.
The creature opened its mouth.
Luke ducked.
Artoo-Detoo led Cole and See-Threepio to a small moon. Telti, according to Cole’s navigational computer, had been a droid factory and recommissioning area since the Old Republic. Telti joined the Empire late in the Empire’s existence, when Palpatine threatened to destroy Telti if it didn’t join. Telti continued to sell droids to anyone whose credit was good, and except for that Imperial threat, the factory’s politics had remained neutral. After the Truce at Bakura, Telti petitioned the New Republic for membership, which had been granted, and had remained a quiet, stable member ever since.
So Cole felt fairly awkward, arriving in what might be considered