by Steve Perry
“Two coming in at one-fifty!” Lando yelled.
Luke punched it. The Millennium Falcon rocketed away in a steep turn.
“What are you doing up there?” Leia yelled.
“Giving you a perfect setup shot,” Luke yelled back.
Vader stalked the bridge of the Executor.
“How long before we can get around the planet?” he asked.
“A few minutes, my lord,” the nervous commander answered.
“As soon as we come within range, establish communications with the skyhook Falleen’s Fist. I will speak with Prince Xizor.”
“Of course, my lord.”
“I think we got problems, buddy,” Dash said. His voice was calm over the comm, but it was also resigned.
Luke nodded. “Wedge?”
“I’m afraid he’s right, Luke. These guys are only so-so pilots, but there are a lot of ’em. I figure we’re still outnumbered fifteen to one, and there are a couple of frigates who are just sitting there waiting. We don’t have room to run, don’t have room to maneuver. They’re closing in and they don’t care if they kill civilian ships, either.”
“Yeah,” Luke said. He took a deep breath. “Well, I guess all we can do is take as many of them with us as we can. Unless anybody wants to surrender?”
Both Dash and Wedge laughed.
“That’s what I thought. May the Force be with you.”
Luke flew as he had never flown before. He weaved, rolled, stalled, dived, threw power turns that came close to blacking them all out. He was giving it his best and he had the Force helping him, but they were losing.
It would only be a matter of time.
“Prince Xizor, we are starting to pick them off. Three of the X-wings have been destroyed or disabled. Our net is closing in. It will be only a matter of time.”
Xizor nodded. Finally.
“Coming within range, Lord Vader.”
“Good. Deploy your fighters.”
Leia tracked the incoming fighter, fired, missed, swiveled in the gun seat. The fighter streaked past.
Well. There was another right behind it, and more behind that one. She lined up, fired, saw the lances of energy rake the attacker, saw part of a wing shatter and spew away, saw the wounded fighter spin out of control. There were hundreds of the blasted things, and counting Dash and the Falcon, they were down to what? nine, ten ships?
It looked as if Xizor was going to win after all.
Luke saw the TIE fighters screaming toward them. A dozen, at least.
Lando said, “Uh-oh.”
“Yeah, I wondered what was keeping them.” Luke looked at Lando. “Listen, thanks for everything, Lando. You’ve been a good friend.”
“I don’t want to hear that kind of talk. I still am a good friend.”
Luke nodded, turned back to look at the TIE fighters. There was nowhere to go; space was thick with ships; it was like trying to fly through a hailstorm without being hit. He took a deep breath—
Saw the TIEs flash past. Watched them take out two of the unmarked attackers.
“Huh?” Lando said.
“Luke,” came Leia’s voice over the comlink, “I just saw—”
“I know, I know. What’s going on?”
Xizor heard the panic in his commander’s voice: “Highness, we’re being attacked by the Imperial Navy!”
Next to him, a communications tech waved frantically.
Xizor fixed the man with a baleful stare. “This better be good, your life hangs in the balance.”
“It—It’s Lord Vader. He wants to speak to you.”
Vader! He should have known!
“Put him on.”
Vader’s image swirled into being in front of him. Xizor went on the offensive immediately: “Lord Vader! Why is the Navy attacking my ships?”
There was a pause; then Vader said, “Because the ships, under your orders, are engaging in criminal activity.”
“Nonsense! My ships are trying to stop a Rebel traitor who destroyed my castle!”
There came another pause. “You have two standard minutes to recall your vessels,” Vader said. “And to offer yourself into my custody.”
The coldness at Xizor’s core blossomed uncontrolled into an angry heat. He tried to keep his voice calm. “I will not. I will take this up with the Emperor.”
“The Emperor is not here. I speak for the Empire, Xizor.”
“Prince Xizor.”
“You may keep the title—for another two minutes.”
Xizor forced a confident smile. “What are you going to do, Vader? Destroy my skyhook? You wouldn’t dare. The Emperor—”
“I warned you to stay away from Skywalker. Recall your ships and surrender into my custody or pay the consequences. I will risk the Emperor’s displeasure.” He paused. “However, you will not be there to see it, this time.”
Xizor felt a surge of fear as the image of Vader turned ghostly and vanished. Would he do it? Would he fire on the skyhook?
He had less than two minutes before he found out. He had better decide what he was going to do.
Fast.
“Luke, look out!” Lando yelled.
“I see him!”
Luke put the Falcon into a steep climb, but there were more ships looming at that angle, and he peeled off to starboard. The vacuum was filled with energy flashes, debris of destroyed fighters, more ships than he’d ever seen in such a small space. The area looked like a nest of angry mermyns.
But—while the TIE fighters occasionally fired on the X-wings, they seemed to be targeting the unmarked attackers. Xizor’s ships. Why? “They’re on the same side, aren’t they?”
Luke didn’t realize he’d spoken this aloud until Lando said, “Thank your lucky stars for small favors. If they’re shooting at each other, they aren’t shooting at us! Look out!”
Luke zagged, missed the incoming fighter by centimeters.
He felt a familiar disturbance in the Force then. Vader?
No time to worry about that, either. Luke put his questions aside for later—if there was a later for them—and concentrated on flying the Falcon.
The commander of Xizor’s navy put in a frantic call to his master. Vader listened to the decoded communication over the speaker system.
“My prince, we are being destroyed by the attackers! We are outnumbered and being slaughtered! I need permission to offer our surrender! Highness?”
Vader watched the chronometer, enjoyed the time melting away. Not much left for the Dark Prince now.
Seven seconds … six seconds … five …
The terrified commander kept babbling: “Prince Xizor, please respond! We must surrender or we will be blown to pieces! Please!”
… four seconds left … three seconds …
“Highness, I—” The commander’s transmission ended abruptly. One of the Imperial fighters must have gotten him.
… two … one—
“Commander, destroy the skyhook.”
One did not stay in command of Darth Vader’s ship by questioning orders. “Yes, my lord.”
Darth Vader took a deep breath, painful as it was to do so, and let it out slowly. Smiled, unseen.
Goodbye, Xizor. And good riddance.
As it happened, the Millennium Falcon was facing it when the skyhook exploded.
Luke saw the giant Star Destroyer’s powerful beam strobe, saw it pierce the skyhook. The planetoid shattered, blew apart, went nova, became a small star that burned brightly for an instant before it faded, leaving millions of glowing pieces behind.
It was a spectacular sight, for all its violence. It reminded Luke of the explosion that had destroyed the Death Star.
“Oh, man,” Lando said softly. “They must have made somebody real mad.”
Luke shook his head, didn’t speak.
Dash said, “Heads up, boys. Follow me.”
Luke blinked. “Huh?”
“Somebody just opened us an escape hatch.”
“Are you crazy? We
can’t fly through that wreckage!”
“We don’t have a choice. There are ships everywhere. What’s the matter, kid? Don’t think you can do it?”
“If you can, my droid can. Go.” Luke understood what Dash meant. It would be tricky, dangerous, but the space around the destroyed skyhook was relatively clear—the debris was expanding outward. If they could avoid being holed by the stuff on the way there, it was their best chance.
“Yeeeehaww!” somebody in Rogue Squadron yelled.
Luke laughed. He knew just how they felt.
They headed for the debris, and it looked as if it was going to be just fine. The good guys had triumphed!
“Look out, Dash!” Lando yelled.
Luke could hardly spare a glance, but he did. Just in time to see a block of shattered skyhook the size of a resiplex zero in on the Outrider.
“Dash!” Luke yelled. It was too close to avoid—
There was an actinic flare of light too bright to look at. Luke turned away, saw Lando throw one arm up to block the glare.
When the light faded, the Outrider had vanished.
“Oh, man,” Lando said. “He—he’s … gone.”
Just like that.
The sweet taste of triumph went bitter in Luke’s mouth.
There wasn’t time to worry about it now. “Brace yourselves! This is going to be rough!”
The debris flashed around them, impacts waiting at every turn. He was sorry about Dash—the man had turned out to be okay after all—but he didn’t want to end up a pile of flaming rubble. He let the Force take him and flew.
The secret Alliance base was light-years away from Coruscant and they had barely made it—but they had made it.
Luke stood with Leia, Lando, and Chewie, with Threepio and Artoo behind them. The building was, like so many of the Alliance structures, a big, cheap prefab unit. It did boast a large transparisteel that faced out from the surface of the asteroid into the blackness of space. Luke stared through the thick transparisteel into the depths of the galaxy.
“So, if Xizor was on that skyhook like our intelligence reports say, I would guess that would put a stop to Black Sun bounty hunters looking to kill you,” Lando said.
“There’s still Vader,” Leia said.
Luke looked at her, shook his head. “I don’t think Vader wants me dead. Yet, anyway. I’ll deal with him when the time comes.”
They looked up to see Wedge approaching. “Got a message for you, Luke,” Wedge said, “from the Bothans. It was for Dash, but, well …” He trailed off. “Um. Anyway, that missile Dash supposedly missed during that fracas off Kothlis? Turns out he didn’t miss.”
“What?” Luke blinked at Wedge.
“Thing was one of the Empire’s new diamond-boron-armored jobs. Nothing he had to throw at it could have stopped it. The Bothans wanted him to know.”
Luke felt a lump of liquid air form in his belly. Oh, man. Dash hadn’t screwed up, but now he would never know. How awful, to get taken out before you could learn that you hadn’t been responsible for the loss of your comrades. And worse was the knowledge that Luke had felt just a little bit glad—not for the deaths, but to see the braggart Dash taken down a notch.
Oh, man.
“What are you going to do now?” Wedge said.
“We’re going to get Han,” Luke said. “If he isn’t on Tatooine yet, he soon will be.”
“Going to dance into the Hutt’s guarded palace and get him? Just like that?” Wedge said.
“I have a plan,” Luke said.
He turned and looked at the stars. Maybe he wasn’t a Master yet, but he had learned a lot.
He was a Jedi Knight, and that was enough for now.
Epilogue
In the Emperor’s most private sanctum, Darth Vader knelt before his master. He believed he had reason to be worried.
“You defied my orders, Lord Vader.”
“Yes, my master. But I hope I have not failed you.”
“Get up.”
Vader stood.
The Emperor favored Vader with a dark smile. “I am not unaware that Xizor served his own ends and that you were shrewd to have uncovered his plot. I knew about it, of course.”
Vader did not speak.
“Are we certain he is dead?”
“I do not see how he could have survived. I watched his skyhook blown to bits.”
“Just as well. Black Sun is useful, but it is also like a chirru: Cut off its head and another will appear to replace it.” He cackled, amused at his own simile.
“Perhaps the next leader will be equally dangerous,” Vader said.
“No leader of Black Sun could ever be a match for the power of the dark side.”
“But what of the plot to ensnare the Rebel leaders?”
“The new Death Star will draw them in, and this time, you and I will be there to finish this Rebellion.”
Vader wanted to shake his head. As always, the Emperor was one step ahead of him.
“Young Skywalker will be there, too. I have seen it.”
Vader sighed.
“It is all proceeding exactly as I have foreseen it, Lord Vader.”
He smiled again, and Vader felt a chill touch him. Truly there was no one in the galaxy who had control of the dark side as did the Emperor. It was a weakness in Vader that he could feel that fear. Some part of Anakin Skywalker still existed in him, despite all he had done. He would have to eliminate it or it would eventually be his undoing.
In Ben’s house on Tatooine, Luke took a deep breath and reached for calmness. They didn’t expect that Jabba would be interested in the proposal, given what they had learned about how nasty he was, but that was not the point. Lando had a way in, as did Chewie and Leia, and this should get Threepio and Artoo into the palace. If the Hutt was willing to negotiate, it would save a lot of trouble, but none of them really expected it. Jabba was, according to all they’d learned, extremely mean-spirited, and he didn’t need the money. Too bad.
Oh, well. They’d just have to do things the hard way. What else was new?
“Okay, Artoo, start recording.”
Artoo bleeped.
“Greetings, Exalted One. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight and friend to Captain Solo. I know that you are powerful, mighty Jabba, and that your anger with Solo must be equally powerful. I seek an audience with Your Greatness to bargain for Solo’s life.”
That ought to be servile enough, though if what they’d heard was true, Jabba would probably start laughing about now. Luke paused for a moment, caught his breath, went on:
“With your wisdom, I’m sure that we can work out an arrangement which will be mutually beneficial and enable us to avoid any unpleasant confrontation.”
Small chance of that. But he pressed on:
“As a token of my goodwill, I present to you a gift—these two droids.”
Luke fought the grin that threatened him: No doubt whatsoever that Threepio would be stunned to hear this when the recording was played. Luke had considered telling him but thought it would be better if he didn’t know. He got rattled so easily. Besides, Threepio’s surprise would help convince Jabba.
“Both are hardworking and will serve you well,” Luke finished.
He glanced at Artoo, raised an eyebrow, and the little droid shut his recorder off.
Leia, standing behind Artoo, shook her head. “You think that will do it?”
Luke shrugged. “I hope so. Only one way to find out.”
She moved closer, touched his arm.
Luke said, “Hey, after all we just went through, rescuing one beat-up old pirate ought to be easy, right?”
She smiled. “Right.”
He returned her smile. His emotions were mixed. He didn’t know how she really felt, about him or about that beat-up old pirate, but he knew how he felt about both of them. Whatever happened, he had to do the right thing; that was just how things were. And the right thing here was simple, if not easy.
; Hang on, Han.
We’re coming for you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Steve Perry wrote for Batman: Ther Wars: Shadows of the Empire, and wrote the bestselling novelization of the blockbuster Animated Series during its first Emmy Award-winning season, authored the New York Times bestsellers Star Wars: Death Star (with Michael Reaves) and Stauster movie Men in Black. Perry has sold dozens of stories to magazines and anthologies, and has published a considerable number of novels, animated teleplays, nonfiction articles, reviews, and essays. He is currently the science fiction, fantasy, and horror book reviewer for The Oregonian.
STAR WARS—The Expanded Universe
You saw the movies. You watched the cartoon series, or maybe played some of the video games. But did you know …
In The Empire Strikes Back, Princess Leia Organa said to Han Solo, “I love you.” Han said, “I know.” But did you know that they actually got married? And had three Jedi children: the twins, Jacen and Jaina, and a younger son, Anakin?
Luke Skywalker was trained as a Jedi by Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda. But did you know that, years later, he went on to revive the Jedi Order and its commitment to defending the galaxy from evil and injustice?
Obi-Wan said to Luke, “For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times. Before the Empire.” Did you know that over those millennia, legendary Jedi and infamous Sith Lords were adding their names to the annals of Republic history?
Yoda explained that the dreaded Sith tend to come in twos: “Always two, there are. No more, no less. A Master, and an apprentice.” But did you know that the Sith didn’t always exist in pairs? That at one time in the ancient Republic there were as many Sith as Jedi, until a Sith Lord named Darth Bane was the lone survivor of a great Sith war and created the “Rule of Two”?
All this and much, much more is brought to life in the many novels and comics of the Star Wars expanded universe. You’ve seen the movies and watched the cartoon. Now venture out into the wider worlds of Star Wars!
Turn the page or jump to the timeline of Star Wars novels to learn more.
ONE
“THIS IS IT, EADEN. THIS IS THE DAY WE ONE-UP SOLO.”
