Leia started to close the closet, then stopped. She reached back inside and examined the label on the first dress she'd seen.
My. Look at that. It was just her size.
A sudden thought occurred to her, and she began checking the other labels.
They were all her size.
She blinked and stared into the closet. Could it be coincidence? The leader of Black Sun just happened to have a closet full of clothes in her size?
She didn't think so. Maybe Howzmin out there had gotten her measurements via sensor somewhere along the way and had done the fastest shopping trip in his- tory. Xizor had credits to burn. Maybe there were a dozen rooms all stocked this way, each for a different- size visitor? Not likely, but possible.
Xizor had known she was coming, after all; perhaps he was just being a considerate host.
She shook her head. She was tired. Maybe she would bathe and stretch out for a few minutes. As for the expensive clothes? Well, he had gone to some trou- ble no matter what the explanation. If he found such things attractive, perhaps she should slip into one of the outfits and use that to her advantage. Keep him off balance. If he was busy ogling her, maybe he would be more likely to give away something she needed.
And her little voice said, Really, sister, who do you think you're fooling here? You want to look good for him, admit it.
Yes, all right, so what? She wasn't married. There wasn't any law against flirting a little, was there? She wasn't going to do anything with the head of a criminal underground, now, was she? What could it hurt to dress up a little? She hadn't gotten to do much of that since she'd thrown her lot in with the Alliance-not that she missed it much-but given the situation, who would be hurt by it?
Careful, sister. These are dangerous waters. Better watch out for sea serpents.
Oh, spare me. I'm a big girl. I can take care of my- self.
She went to run hot water into the bathtub.
I think that's got it," Lando said as he clambered out of the service well.
"You think?" "Won't know for sure until we engage the drive." "Master Lando, Master Lando!" Threepio came careening in, waving his arms and throwing gold highlights every which way.
"What?" "The sensors indicate that a ship is approaching! A very large vessel! An enormous ship!" Lando looked at Luke. "I wonder who that could be." "I hope you fixed the drive," Luke said. "Otherwise I think we're going to find out." The two of them hurried past the droid for the cockpit.
On the way, Luke felt that cold touch reach him through the Force. He knew who it was. The only question was, could Darth Vader feel him as well?
"Lord Vader?" Vader stared through the viewer at the rock field ahead of them. He didn't bother to look at his captain.
"What is it?" "We are approaching the asteroid field." Now Vader turned to stare at the captain. "Do you mean that asteroid field directly in front of us?" He pointed at the viewer.
Flustered, the captain plowed on. "Yes, Lord. Our sensors cannot detect any sign of a ship in the region." "Nonetheless, there is something in the field," Vader said. "I cannot pinpoint it, but there is a locus for the Force in those rocks and I mean to find it." "Certainly, Lord Vader. Ah, might I suggest that we send out fighters? Entering the asteroid field at right angles will place a great deal of strain on the ship's shields." "Very well. Tell them to look for anything unusual, anything at all. If they find something, they are not to engage it but to report back immediately." "Yes, my lord. I'll send them out at once." Vader turned back to the viewer. Was it Luke? He couldn't yet be sure. The dark side might not have lim- its, but he had, and all he could tell at this distance was that some powerful locus for the Force lay in that collection of shattered rocks ahead of them. He didn't be- lieve it could be anything else but Luke, but he was not certain. He had to proceed with caution. With Xizor's manipulations poisoning the well at Imperial Center, it was more important than ever to capture Luke alive. A little closer and the vagueness would undoubtedly re- solve itself. He was too close to lose his son again.
Sooner or later, he would find him and turn him to the dark side. He was sure of it. He was Darth Vader; he had exterminated the remaining Jedi with his own hands. All but the strongest of them, his own son.
Sooner or later he would face the last would-be Jedi.
One way or another, he would deal with him, too.
Leia used the blowers to dry off after her bath, combed her hair out, and had to admit she felt a whole lot better than she had in a while. It wasn't often these days she got to soak in a hot tub. Most of the places she'd been, the ships she'd traveled there on, you were lucky if they had enough recycled graywater for a tepid shower. You got in, sprayed just enough water on yourself to get wet, lathered all over, and rinsed off with a few liters before the automatic timer shut it off.
It was better than nothing but not nearly as much fun as stretching out in a vat carved out of black marble full of steaming water so hot it turned your skin red.
That had to be one of civilization's best luxuries.
She went to the closet, opened it. Noticed a small drawer built into the wall and saw that it contained undergarments. Well. Xizor thought of everything.
All right. Which of these dresses should she wear?
Xizor stared at the blank spot where the holoproj would be if he lit it. There were hidden holocams throughout the castle, of course, in virtually every room.
Including the room in which Leia had been installed.
He toyed with the thought of running the recording, to see if she'd taken advantage of what the room had to offer.
But-no. He didn't want to spoil it. He would get a closer look at her later.
Much closer.
27
The Millennium Falcon left the asteroid field opposite the approaching megaship and was ready to make the jump to hyperspace.
Luke looked at his sensors. "We have TIE fighters coming in. I make it about three dozen of them. Any time, Lando." "Here goes," Lando said. "If you believe in luck, wish for the good version." He reached for the control. Engaged the drive- Nothing happened.
Lando swore at the ship, a string of colorful phrases, including several graphic-if highly unlikely-descrip- tions of things he wished it would do to itself.
"I'd better get back to the guns," Luke said. He started to rise.
"No, wait-" "We don't have time to wait; in ten seconds we are going to be swarmed with TIEs-" Lando touched another control, made an adjustment.
"Now!" The Millennium Falcon leaped. Space blurred around it in the familiar shift as the freighter transited to hyperspace.
"Ha-hah!" Lando said.
Luke, halfway out of his seat, was thrown back into it hard. When he recovered himself, he glared at Lando.
"You cut that awful close." Lando shrugged. "Hey, you wanted a boring life, you should have stayed on Tatooine." He smiled, pleased with himself. "I knew I could fix it." Luke shook his head but had to smile in return.
They were, for the moment at least, safe. What did it matter what had almost happened? Almost didn't count.
"Now, if some other special Solo modification doesn't put us into the middle of a star, our next stop should be Tatooine. As soon as Leia and Chewie are finished with their business, we can get back to rescu- ing Han." "Fine by me," Luke said. "Haven't they finished yet?" Lando shrugged. "They had to take a slight detour." Luke got the feeling Lando wasn't telling him every- thing, but he let it slide. He was tired. He needed to rest, get something to eat; then he could follow up on this conversation.
Vader stared out into space as the captain nervously approached.
"M-My lord Vader," he began.
Vader repressed a sigh. "There is no need to say it, Captain. Your pilots lost their prey." "The ship left the asteroid field and made the shift into hyperspace as they approached. There was nothing they could do." "And did your pilots identify the ship?" "It was a small Corellian freighter." Vader said nothing. Solo's ship, the Millennium Fal- con, no doubt, now un
der Luke's control. Perhaps he had the young princess with him and that traitorous gambler Calrissian.
"Set your course for Imperial Center, Captain." "But weren't we supposed to-" "Let me worry about that." He paused.
The captain was correct. The Emperor had sent him here for reasons other than to fetch Luke. "Very well.
There is a suspected Rebel base on one of the Kothli- sian moons." "I know of no such base, my lord-" Vader turned his gaze upon the captain, who quickly shut up.
"As I said, there is a suspected Rebel base on the moon. Before we leave, you will allow your men to display their prowess by pinpoint-bombing that base." "Yes, my lord." Luke was gone, he couldn't tell where, and Xizor still up to his twisted trickery within sight of the Em- peror. He would locate his son later; meanwhile, best he get back to where he could deal with Xizor. There was an old Sithian proverb that said, "Even when fight- ing the great sabercat, it is best not to turn your back upon the lowly serpent." A bite from a tiny spit adder could kill you just as dead as the arm-long fangs of a giant predator. And the snake's kiss would be slower and more painful, too.
"Hurry, Captain. I do not wish to be kept waiting." "No, my lord." Leia put on a dark bodysuit before she slipped into the nearly transparent green dress. It was probably not the designer's intent that her choice of undergarments cancel out the see-through cloth, but she wasn't inter- ested in letting Xizor look at that much of her.
It felt vaguely decadent to be wearing several thou- sand credits' worth of clothes. She hadn't done that since she'd been a girl on Alderaan.
She went into the 'fresher and looked into the mir- ror. She had made use of a well-stocked makeup drawer next to the looking glass, just a touch, and managed to plait her hair and pin it up so it didn't resemble the nest of a crazed ship rat. At least it was clean. She tried a smile.
Chewie should be here by now.
She went to the room's door. Frowned when it didn't open automatically. She found the manual con- trol, but when she tried it, the door still refused to slide aside.
Ah. It seemed that Lord Xizor didn't want guests running around loose in his castle.
But as she turned around, the door slid open.
Chewie stood there, sans his dye disguise. The haircut still looked odd, but with the coloring gone the Wookiee looked more familiar.
Howzmin stood behind him.
She wanted to tell Chewie that she needed to see Xizor alone. "Give us a moment, would you?" Leia said to Howzmin.
The servant nodded, a choppy military gesture.
Chewie stepped into the room. The door closed.
He stared at Leia. Turned his head to one side quiz- zically.
"What are you staring at? I put on some clean clothes, that's all." Chewie said nothing.
Leia felt a sudden stab of guilt. Chewie and Han were like brothers. She hadn't done anything wrong, but she felt as if she had, so she tried to explain it: "Look, we need Xizor's help. There's no reason I can't look nice; maybe it'll throw him off guard." Still silent, Chewie raised one eyebrow.
Leia felt herself flush. "Who is the diplomat here, anyway? I don't tell you how to fly, you don't tell me how to conduct interviews." Finally the Wookiee said something. He punctuated it with a wave of one hand at the door, then at Leia.
She didn't understand the comment, but she had a pretty good idea of what he was trying to convey: Chewie didn't approve. Would Han?
In a Gamorrean's eye he would.
"It's none of your business how I dress!" she said.
Maybe that came out a little more snappish than it should have. She started to apologize but then changed her mind. She and Han weren't married; they hadn't had time to even pledge anything. Yes, she loved him and she thought he loved her, but he'd never said it.
When he had the chance, he'd said, "I know." What kind of commitment was that? "I know"? Two words instead of three? How much harder was it to say one more short little word?
There was nothing wrong with trying to look nice for a handsome man, especially one who could help save Luke's life. It wasn't as if they were going to do anything! What was Chewie doing being so righteous?
She had nothing to feel ashamed about. Nothing at all!
Then why do you feel so guilty, sister?
In his most private of chambers, Xizor sat alone on a pad in the otherwise bare room, eyes closed, fingers interlaced in his lap. His breathing was deep and regu- lar, his mind clear. He began to concentrate as he called upon his special hormonal abilities.
The attractants in him built, began to seep from his pores. His pheromones came forth, colorless, odorless, save to receptors carried by humanoid females. To the bearer of those small organelles hidden and nearly in- visible inside the olfactory channels, the attractants would be overwhelming; they would carry a compul- sion stronger than a hypnotic command.
There was no way to stop the color of his skin from shading into the red. No matter. She wouldn't care what color he was, once she felt him call to her.
He had given her but a taste of them before. Now he would set before her a banquet. One she could not re- fuse.
He took a deep breath, let it out. Almost ready. The coldness was there, but soon, soon-soon the passion would be set free.
He smiled.
Artoo and Threepio held a quiet conversation in the lounge. Luke, on his way to the galley to fix the meal he'd never gotten to, paused and looked at the droids.
"Something up?" Threepio said, "Artoo is a bit worried about Prin- cess Leia. I told him that she is quite resourceful," Threepio said. "I'm sure she's all right." Luke shrugged. He went into the galley. In that mo- ment, he had the feeling that Leia, wherever she was, was in great danger.
His hunger vanished. He didn't feel like eating any- more. Maybe he'd better go and have that talk with Lando. Now.
In the cockpit, Lando said, "Sorry, buddy, but I'm not supposed to tell you." "What?" "The princess wants you on Tatooine, and she said when you asked, to tell you she took care of herself before she met you and she can take care of herself now." Luke glowered.
"Besides, she's got Chewie with her. He won't let anything happen to her, you know that." "Yeah, maybe." "Look, she'll probably get to Tatooine before we do.
And she's in charge, remember?" Luke nodded. But he didn't like it. Something felt wrong.
When the door to Xizor's sanctum opened, Leia al- most gasped. The crime lord now wore a long, flowing robe done in shades of red that seemed to reflect that color onto his uncovered skin. The clothing could have been made by the same designer who had done her dress. And he wasn't wearing a bodysuit under it. He was big under the thin cloth, hard and muscular, and if there were any visible anatomical differences between him and basic stock humans, she couldn't see them.
He smiled. "Do come in, Princess." Behind her, Chewie said something. Xizor must have understood it because his smile dropped for an instant before he recovered it. "Perhaps your friend would care to take this time to dine while we conduct our negotia- tions?" From Chewie's tone, he would not care for that at all.
Leia had forgotten to tell him that in her room, so defensive had she been about her clothes. Now she said, "Chewie, wait outside." He really didn't like that.
She turned to face the Wookiee. "Han would trust me here. You should, too." Chewie wasn't sure, but he shut up. Took a step backward and nearly knocked Howzmin over.
"I'll be fine." The door slid closed between them.
When she turned back around, Xizor had moved to a small bar behind the leather couch. "Something to drink? Luranian brandy? Green champagne?" "Tea would be fine, Your Highness." No way she was going to drink anything potent around him.
"Call me Xizor, please. We can dispense with titles, now that we are alone." Leia watched as Xizor poured her tea. He seemed almost to... glow, and she felt dizzy watching him.
She moved to the couch, sat on one end. Tried to relax but felt a strange tension grip her.
When he rounded the cou
ch to bring her the tea, his hip brushed against the back of her head.
It sent a shock through her, a rush that was kin to dropping in free fall, a stomach-full-of-moths kind of sensation. Whoa!
Xizor handed her the teacup and moved to the other end of the couch and sat.
Leia felt a brief pang of disappointment that he hadn't sat closer to her.
And a sudden stab of worry at that thought. What was she doing?
She tried to bring an image of Han to mind. But all of a moment, she couldn't see his face. It was as if she had somehow forgotten what he looked like...
Stop this!
Xizor said, "So, the Alliance might be interested in doing business with Black Sun?" He sipped at whatever it was he was drinking.
Star Wars - Shadows of the Empire Page 22
