Star Wars - Shadows of the Empire

by Shadows Of The Empire (by Steve Perry)

  But-the Emperor did not agree, and there was nothing to be done about it. Nor was there anything to be done about being made to wait here. What the Emperor willed was so.

  Vader reached the shuttle's bay. A guard stood at the door.

  "Is my shuttle ready to launch?" "It is, Lord Vader." "Good." The example he'd made of the technicians in charge the one time it had not been ready when he wished to use it had thus far been sufficient to keep that from happening again.

  Vader swept past and marched toward his vessel.

  Very well. He could not seek Luke out in person, but he could arrange for others to do so. Those wheels had already been put in motion. A very large reward and the gratitude of Darth Vader had been offered for who- ever brought Skywalker to him alive. That would have to do for now.

  Why me?" Luke said.

  They were next to the Falcon. Support techs from Rogue Squadron moved in and out of the ship, repair- ing damage done during the failed attempt on Boba Fett's ship. The big makeshift building hadn't gotten any warmer since they'd arrived.

  Leia said, "Because it's your homeworld and you're the most familiar with it. Somebody needs to be there to keep an eye out for Boba Fett. You need to practice your Jedi skills, and you need a quiet place to do it.

  You're the logical choice." Luke shook his head. He didn't like it. And he didn't think Leia was being completely frank with him.

  "Can't your Alliance business wait?" he asked.

  "No. Take Artoo and go back to Ben's house. Lando and Chewie and Threepio and I will meet you there as soon as I am done." Luke sighed. She was probably right, but that didn't make it any easier. "All right. But you be careful." After Luke had taken off in his X-wing with Artoo- it was a long trip and they'd packed food and water for him, though he'd be ready for a shower when he got there-Leia spoke to Dash Rendar.

  "Are you available for a job?" she asked him.

  "Sweetie, I'm always available-if the money is right." "I want you to go to Tatooine and keep an eye on Luke." Dash raised an eyebrow. "Bodyguard? Sure, I can do that. Kid won't like it if he finds out." "So stay out of sight," Leia said. "Somebody tried to kill him, and I think they'll try again. How much?" Dash named a figure.

  Lando whistled. "Man, you are a bandit, aren't you?" "The best don't come cheap, Lando. In advance, Princess." Leia smiled. "You think so little of me, Dash? Do I look that stupid? One-third in advance, two-thirds when we arrive-if he's still alive." "I can't guarantee that." "I thought you were the best." Dash grinned. "I am. Half up front, half when you get there." "All right." After she'd paid Dash and he was gone, Leia turned to Lando.

  "All right. Let me pose a hypothetical question." "If you don't mind a hypothetical answer, go ahead." "What would be the best way to contact somebody high up in Black Sun?" Lando stared at her as if she'd just told him she could fly by waving her arms. He shook his head. "The best way? Don't." "Come on, Lando. This is important." "Princess, Black Sun is bad news. You don't want to get into bed with them." "I'm not planning on getting into bed with them. I just want to rummage through their wardrobe chest." "What?" Leia said, "Somebody just tried to kill Luke. Maybe it was Vader. Maybe not. Black Sun has a vast spynet of its own, older, maybe even wider than the Alliance's.

  They can find out who is responsible." Chewie half grunted, half moaned something.

  "I'm with you, pal," Lando said. He exchanged glances with Chewie. "This is a big mistake." Leia continued. "But you have the connections and can put me in touch with them, right?" "It's still a bad idea." "Lando..." "Yeah, yeah. I know a few people." She smiled. "Good. Where do we find them?".

  11 The Emperor's skyhook was half again as large as Xizor's and far more opulent. The Dark Prince pre- ferred to keep his best treasures on the ground; he felt they would be safer there. Not that there was any real danger of a skyhook dropping out of the sky-it had happened on Coruscant but once in a hundred years, and that had been a freakish combination of a power failure, a solar storm, and a freighter collision.

  Then again, the Emperor had a lot more treasures than anybody else in the galaxy, and the loss even of a city-size skyhook would be but a small pail subtracted from his vast sea.

  Xizor stood on a high, wide terrace overlooking the central park of the huge space habitat. His bodyguards, now at travel strength of an even dozen, formed a semi- circle from the balcony's edge with Xizor alone inside it. Here he stared out at full-size evergreen and decidu- ous trees, some of which topped thirty meters. A sec- tion of the park immediately below him was planted and climate-controlled into a fecund jungle, a riot of colorful flowers, electric reds, bright blues, phosphores- cent oranges among the verdant hues, those ranging from the palest of greens to a broad-leafed vine whose waxy leaves were almost black.

  Xizor did not care much for botany, but he knew good work when he saw it. Perhaps he could entice the Emperor's gardener away for his own skyhook?

  He felt Vader approach before he heard or saw him.

  The man did have a presence, no doubt about that.

  Xizor turned and offered a small bow. "Lord Vader." "Prince Xizor. You had something to discuss?" No polite small talk, no social niceties from Vader.

  Almost refreshing, given some of the toadies Xizor en- countered. Almost.

  "Yes. The location of a secret Rebel base has come to my attention. I assumed you would want to know of this." Vader was silent save for his measured, mechanical breathing, which suddenly seemed quite loud. Xizor could almost see Vader's brain working, measuring, calculating. Wondering: What was the head of Black Sun up to?

  Xizor kept his face carefully neutral for the record- ing holocams he knew were watching. His, the Em- peror's, Vader's-and whoever else might be good enough to get past the Emperor's security to be spying on them.

  "Of course," Vader finally said. "Where is this base?" "In the Baji Sector, out on the Rim. The Lybeya Sys- tem, hidden on one of the larger Vergesso Asteroids. It is my understanding that there is a shipyard full of ves- sels undergoing repair. Scores, perhaps hundreds, of Rebel ships, ranging from fighters to troop carriers." Vader said nothing.

  "Destruction of such a base would no doubt greatly cripple the Alliance," Xizor continued. A bland understatement, offered as if ice would not melt upon his tongue.

  Again, a protracted silence. Then: "I'll have my agents check it out," Vader said. "If it is as you say, then the Empire will be... indebted to you." - Oh, that must have hurt, to have to say that. Xizor gave Vader a courteous nod. "Merely my duty, Lord Vader. No thanks are necessary." He could almost feel Vader squirming. To have to owe Xizor must have rankled. But what could he do? If this report was true-and certainly it was-it was a succulent and ripe offering. The Rebels didn't have so many ships that they could afford to lose any, much less an entire yard full of them. This truly was a service to the Empire.

  That the shipyard was, unknown to either the Rebels or the Empire, owned by Ororo Transportation, the same company that had dared tread on Black Sun's spice operations in that sector-well, so much the bet- ter. Here was another way to skewer two eels with one. spear: Ororo would be much damaged, and the Em- peror's trust in Xizor would be greatly enhanced at the same time.

  It truly was an ill wave that washed no good ashore.

  Vader turned and left, black cape flagging behind him. Xizor's bodyguards prudently stepped well aside to allow him to pass.

  Vader would have to verify the report. The Emperor would send forces to attend to the base. With any luck at all, Vader would be the one dispatched, given the Emperor's well-known disposition regarding such things: You found it, you take care of it. That would get Vader out of the way and allow Xizor a bit more freedom to continue the unfolding of his plan.

  He turned and looked down at the miniature jungle below. Schemes were like plants in many ways. You put them where you wanted them, fed and watered them, pruned them as needed, and they grew as you expected. By and large.

  He waved one of his bodyguards over.
<
br />   "My lord?" "Find out who is in charge of this." He waved at the park. "Offer him twice the credits he is being paid to come to work on my skyhook." "My lord." The bodyguard bowed and hurried away.

  Xizor took a deep breath and inhaled the oxy-rich and jungle-scented air. It smelled very alive. Like wet mushrooms and leaf mold and fresh grasses all mixed into a fine odor. Very alive, and he never felt more so himself than when he was manipulating things to his satisfaction.

  Luke covered the X-wing with the camo-netting and stood back next to Artoo. "There. That ought to do it." From the air, the ship should be invisible, and with all its power systems shut down and offline, a flyby wouldn't pick it up on a quick sensor scan. Not that he was particularly scared after the incident with the crew chief; it just made good sense not to let passersby know there was an Alliance ship parked here.

  Heat rose from the ground in shimmery waves, and the suns seethed and offered yet more light and warmth than the desert could absorb. The reflections from the sand were actinic and bright, and Luke had to squint against the hard light. He didn't worry too much about somebody just happening to pass by-nobody came out here without a really good reason.

  He walked back to the house-he still thought of it as Ben's-with Artoo rolling along the bumpy ground behind him. The short droid chirped and whistled at him. He sounded concerned, and Luke guessed he was talking about Leia and the others.

  "Yeah, I know, I worry about them, too. But they'll be all right." He hoped.

  Inside, Luke touched a control, and a panel of syn- stone on the curved roof slid back and exposed the so- lar panels hidden underneath. The house had been running in reduced mode on battery power while he'd been gone, and it was not much cooler inside than out.

  With the panels suddenly feeding the system more power than it could use, the air conditioner kicked on and a welcome cool breeze blew through the small house.

  Luke felt grubby from his flight. He stripped and took a long shower. Fortunately, the water condensers had filled the underground tanks while he was away, and he had enough water to lather and rinse twice.

  When he was done, he felt a lot better. It was a long hop from Gall, and he was looking forward to stretch- ing out and sleeping in a bed for a change.

  But maybe he would just finish the facets on the lightsaber jewel first. He had a lot to think about, and he didn't think he would be able to take a nap just yet; too many things buzzing around in his head. Might as well do something useful.

  He put on a robe and moved to the worktable.

  Rodia?" Leia said.

  "Rodia," Lando said.

  They were in the Falcon, moving through hyper- space. Chewie was asleep in the bunk behind the lounge-the only one long enough to hold him stretched out-and Threepio had powered down. So it was just the two of them in the cockpit.

  "Why Rodia? That's a long way from here, halfway to Coruscant." "I know, but that's where my contact is. Name is Avaro; he owns a small casino in the gambling complex in Equator City. The complex is run by Black Sun.

  Avaro will know who to contact." "Okay." "Might be a little tricky, though." "Why is that?" Lando shook his head. "Well, before Vader showed up on Cloud City and gave him to Boba Fett, there were other bounty hunters looking for Han. I found out when we were poking around in Mos Eisley that a Rodian thug named Greedo caught up with Han in one of the cantinas there. Greedo was going to blast him for the reward. There was a shootout. Han walked away. Greedo didn't." "So?" "Greedo was Avaro's nephew." "You think he'll hold that against us?" Leia asked.

  "Maybe. Maybe not. All I know about Rodian cus- toms is that they are big on hunting. If somebody had shot my nephew, I might be unhappy with them." "We didn't shoot him, Han did." Lando grinned. "Well, yes, that's true. But we are his friends." Leia leaned back in her seat. Always more obstacles.

  Then again, maybe this wasn't really a problem. No way to tell until they got there.

  Around them, hyperspace flowed as the Falcon car- ried them to whatever awaited.

  Vader knelt on one knee as the Emperor stared through his viewer plate at the spires of the city.

  Abruptly he turned. "Do get up, Lord Vader." Vader obeyed.

  "So our agents have verified this report?" "They have, my master." "A hundred Rebel ships? Plus, no doubt, their pilots and officers." "Likely, yes." "That's Grand Moff Kintaro's sector, is it not? He has been lax in allowing such a base to become estab- lished. We will speak to him." Vader said nothing. Grand Moff Kintaro would likely be out of a job soon and also likely out of breath -permanently.

  "Well. You must take part of the fleet and go there immediately. Destroy the base. The loss of ships and troops will be most damaging to the Rebels." "I thought perhaps Admiral Okins might command the expedition." The Emperor smiled. "Did you?" Vader felt his hope evaporate. "But if it is your wish, I shall lead the attack." "It is my wish. You may take Okins if you like, but you are to personally ensure the assault." Vader bowed. "Yes, my master." As he left the Emperor's most private chamber, Va- der fumed. The base was there, just as Xizor had said.

  It would be a powerful victory for the Empire and rela- tively easy-ships under repair would not be able to lift to defend themselves, and it would be like shooting game birds at roost, but he did not trust the Dark Prince, and he knew the man did nothing for free.

  What was in this for Xizor? What did he hope to gain?

  Vader brooded as he walked. At least he had not conveyed to the Emperor who had given the Rebel base's location. He'd had the recordings from the skyhook's holocams erased and his own recordings locked away. A small victory, but any such triumph over Xizor was better than none.

  Vader was met at the exit of the Imperial Palace by Admiral Okins. "Prepare your ships, Admiral. I shall be carrying the flag on my Destroyer." Okins bowed. "At once, Lord Vader." Vader looked up into the night skies over Imperial Center. The darkness was held at bay by the millions of lights on the surface, and up where the glow dimmed, the tiny dots of spacecraft arriving and leaving looked like a swarm of Belvarian firegnats, reds and greens and blinking white ventral landing beacons. He would take his ships and crush the Rebel shipyard, smash it flat, and then he would hurry back here. Xizor was up to something, and it would be best if he found out what quickly..

  12

  Luke took a deep breath. He stood outside Ben's house, the first stars of evening aglimmer, the moon still on the rise. The air was warm but not as scorch- ingly hot as it had been. He held the completed light- saber in his right hand. He had assembled it according to the old book's direction; everything should work.

  Should work. But he'd come outside to test it. That way, if it blew up, at least it wouldn't take Ben's house with it.

  Artoo stood nearby, watching. Luke could have had the droid try it without any risk to himself, but what kind of Jedi would do that?

  "Go back inside," he told Artoo.

  Artoo was not happy with that and said so, ending in an air-forced-through-rubbery-lips noise.

  "Go on. If something happens, I need you to tell Leia." Yeah. Tell her Luke, the galaxy's biggest idiot, flash-flamed himself into a black crisp because he couldn't follow an elementary circuit diagram.

  Artoo left, whistling his protest as he went.

  Luke let his breath out. He waited until Artoo was out of sight, then took another deep breath, held it, and pushed the control button- The lightsaber glowed; the blade extruded to full length, just under a meter, and began to hum with power. It gave off a green gleam that was quite bright in the early night.

  Luke grinned and let his indrawn breath escape.

  Whew.

  Well, it wasn't like he really thought it was going to explode.

  He waved the lightsaber experimentally. It had a good balance, maybe even better than his first one. He drew himself up into a ready stance, slid forward, and swung through a series of downward cuts, alternating from left to right and back.

  Yes!

  There was a thin spire
of rock jutting up from the dry ground a few meters away. He moved to it, cocked the lightsaber, and whipped it down at a forty-five-de- gree angle. The humming blade crackled, sheared through a wrist-thick chunk of rock, left a smooth cut.

  He nodded and relaxed his fighting stance. He held his left hand near the blade. No sensation of heat; that was good; it meant the superconductors were working.

  Behind him, Artoo chirped and rolled to a stop.

  Luke shut the lightsaber's power off. Saw the droid and shook his head. He had a mind of his own, Artoo did.

  "Hey, it works great," Luke said. "I knew it would, you know." Did Artoo's whistled agreement have a sarcastic tone?

  Luke chuckled. Well. No matter. He had built the elegant weapon, and it worked. That was something.

  Maybe he would learn how to be a Jedi Master after all.