Star Wars the Truce at Bakura - Kathy Tyers [90]
Less than an hour? With his shuttle overdue? “Where’s Artoo?”
“Senator Captison took him, sir. We’ll have to return later for him. Sir, if you think I could be more useful here on the ground during the next few hours, instead of in space—”
“Head for the Falcon. We’ll talk later.” Luke stuffed the comlink into his pocket, then reached for the commnet board. Should he send Chewie with the Falcon up into the hills to help Han? No, sometimes Han moved faster than anyone expected. They might miss him on their way back.
But sometimes Han blundered into situations that were too complicated to handle with a blaster. Luke bit his lip. He had to help Han and Leia, but he had to alert the Flurry—to get aboard—before the aliens attacked. That was his responsibility, as commander.
Abruptly he straightened in the shabby seat. Command? Wait a minute!
He reopened the line to Lieutenant Riemann.
For a city under curfew, Salis D’aar looked good and lively to Han. Small groups dashed from building to building, avoiding platoons of stormtroopers. A double-podded security craft swooped toward him. He dove out of the traffic lane, into a canyon between tall buildings and groundcar ramps. His pursuer followed, firing erratically. Han braked, swooped into a narrow alley, then jinked an Immelmann up-and-over back out into the canyon. Security sped into the alley, passing beneath him. Han didn’t see him fly back out.
As soon as he regained his bearings, he streaked out of the city and dropped low over the western river. Keeping low enough to catch fish, and spitting distance from the huge white cliff on his right—hoping to evade surveillance—he waited until the foothills looked tall enough to offer some cover. Then he zipped across the river and up a small tributary stream.
Once he located the right valley, it didn’t take him long to spot his target, an ancient T-shaped log building with a dark green stone roof, huddled inside a rock wall. Planning two minutes ahead—Threepio would be proud—he unlatched safety restraints and loosed his feet on the control surfaces, getting ready to go overboard. Nobody fired as he approached. He decelerated low over dark treetops. The instant that he judged he’d shed enough speed, he passed the outwall. He jumped for a clump of low bushes. The speeder exploded with a resounding boom and a roil of flaming smoke against the grounds’ opposite wall. By the time four naval troopers converged on it, Han was slinking through a temporarily unguarded door that hung from huge black hinges.
Only one door stood closed on the main hallway, with a skinny security droid sitting beside it like an extra doorpost. Obviously, the Imperials didn’t bother to humor Bakuran antidroid sentiments here at their private installation. Han leveled his blaster at the droid’s midsection and fired once. Blue lightning whipped around it and sparked off four rodlike appendages at the top. Han slunk closer. It spluttered and smoked.
Minimum security, he observed, waving his chip key at the lock panel. A little too convenient. If this was another trap …
They’d deal with it. Threepio ought to be back at the Falcon by now. He wished he had his comlink, but stray electronic signals would’ve brought down every trooper on the grounds.
“Leia?” he called softly into the darkened suite. “It’s me.”
Lights came on. “Hey,” said her voice high above him. She stood perched on the seat of a repulsor chair directly over the doorway. “Good thing you spoke up. I almost flattened you.” She landed the repulsor chair at the foot of an old-fashioned, nonrepulsor bed. He’d never seen a repulsor chair do that before. She must’ve somehow reprogrammed its circuitry.
“Have they hurt you?” He muscled the burned-out droid inside before he slid the door shut. If nobody saw it, maybe they wouldn’t notice it was damaged.
“Not really. As I understand it, Governor Nereus meant to make me a present to the next emperor. He has insisted that I will enjoy his hospitality. Lunch was delicious. I’ve even got a fireplace.” She swept one arm around the