by Alex Wheeler
"That was a mistake," Nahj protested. "And the boy proved it when he helped us of his own accord."
Ferus suppressed his anger. He'd heard rumors, but this was the first confirmation. So Nahj had taken Luke to the warehouse against his will—and somehow, Luke had turned the situation to his advantage. But if things had gone wrong…
It was terrifying how fragile the situation was. If Obi-Wan was right about Luke, and the future of the galaxy rested on his shoulders, how could it be right to let him blunder around without proper training and protection? What if the unthinkable happened?
"That may have been a mistake," Halle said, "but this isn't. Princess Leia is a valuable commodity—rumor is the Emperor himself wants to get his hands on her. Just imagine what he might be willing to offer us in return."
"You're talking about ransoming off the princess? To the Empire?" Nahj asked in disbelief. "They'd kill her."
"They'd give us a home," Halle said quietly. "A new planet. A new Alderaan."
"What makes you think that?" Driscoll asked.
"Because they've already agreed."
"You contacted the Empire?" Ferus asked. Nausea swept over him at the thought of Darth Vader's ship hurtling toward the planet, his dark shadow creeping over Leia…
"Halle, how could you?" Nahj asked.
"Look what she's done to us!" Halle cried fiercely. "Alderaan is gone and still she longs for more death. Our troubles won't end until someone stops her. And if, in doing so, we gain a new home for ourselves? Can't you see it, J'er? The sacrifice of one—for the good of so many." She slapped her palms flat against the table. "The Empire is only our enemy because the princess made them our enemy. We were a peaceful people, once, and the Empire understands that we can be peaceful again. They want to help us…if we help them."
"You've been planning this for a while," Nahj guessed.
"We knew Leia would show up eventually," Halle said unashamed. "I intended to be ready."
Driscoll and Trey gave each other a long, intense look, as if exchanging some kind of silent twin communication. They nodded as one. "Yes. We agree."
Halle looked at Nahj. "I don't like it either, J'er," she said quietly. "If there were another way…"
Nahj lowered his eyes. "Yes, if there were another way…but perhaps there is not."
Fess couldn't believe it. Nahj was passionate about what he believed in, but had always seemed kind and reasonable. How could he—how could any of them—convince himself that this was right?
"And you, Fess?" Halle said, turning the name into a hiss. "You're awfully quiet. If you disapprove, feel free to leave right now."
Ferus knew that if he objected, there was a slim chance he might sway them. Explain to them how it felt to compromise yourself to evil, bit by bit, until there was no turning back. On the other hand, if he failed to convince them, they would cut him off. He wouldn't learn the details of their plan; he would lose his chance to save Leia.
From the beginning, he'd sensed that this group could prove dangerous. And Halle's fierce hatred of Leia had concerned him. He'd suspected that if there was trouble, Leia could end up in the middle of it. This was why he'd worked so hard to worm his way in. It seemed foolish to walk away now, just when his efforts were paying off.
He'd made so many wrong decisions in his life.
What was one more?
"I'm in."
Luke was almost relieved when he heard the knock. He'd spent the last hour pacing restlessly, listening to Kiro Chen and Leia strategize. He didn't feel that it was his place to express any opinions—even Han was keeping his mouth shut. But it was more than a little frustrating to stand silent.
Not that Luke disagreed with everything Leia said. The success of the Rebellion was crucial. Beating the Empire mattered. He was just no longer sure it was all that mattered. But Leia didn't want to hear that, not from him. She'd made that perfectly clear.
Any distraction would be a welcome one.
He opened the door and took a step backward. Fess Ilee stared back at him. Luke didn't know what it was about the man that made him feel comfortable and unnerved, both at the same time. He stepped aside, allowing Fess into the room.
"Your Highness, we have a problem," Fess said abruptly.
Leia arched an eyebrow. "We?"
"Greetings, sir," C-3PO interrupted, eager to finally observe some protocol. "Might I offer you a drink, or perhaps some fresh-baked sweesonberry loaf?"
"He's not staying," Leia said sharply.
"I've come only to bring a message, and then I'll go," Fess said.
"Well? I'm listening."
Fess looked around the crowded room, the suspicion clear in his eyes.
"Everyone in this room has proven their loyalty to the cause," Leia said. "Except you."
Fess looked doubtful, but he gave in. "You can't attend your meeting tomorrow. You're in danger."
Leia cast a sharp glance at Kiro. "What meeting?" she asked innocently.
Fess shook his head. "There's no time for that now. I know about the meeting you're planning for tomorrow—and so do Halle Dray and J'er Nahj. They're planning to grab you and hand you over to the Empire."
"I've spoken with Nahj, and he seemed like a good man," Leia said skeptically. "I can't believe he would resort to kidnapping."
Luke winced. "I believe he would, Leia." As he told them the truth of how he'd first met J'er Nahj, Luke felt a sharp stab of guilt. His lie to Leia had nearly put her in danger.
Leia was looking at him curiously, like she wanted to ask why he'd kept this a secret until now. But she didn't. Maybe she just thought he'd lie to her all over again.
Instead, she turned to Fess. "Why come to me with this? You've made it very clear that you're against us."
"I'm with anyone who stands up to the Empire," Fess admitted. "Halle and Nahj mean well, but they tend to act rashly. I let them believe I agreed with them because I thought it might be the only way to stop them from doing something they can't take back. I see I was right."
"Except you weren't able to stop them," Leia pointed out. "So you've come here, to stop us, instead. I won't run away. I came here to find reinforcements for the Rebel fight, and that's what I'm going to do."
"Even if it gets you killed?" Han asked sourly. "Last time you messed with the Empire, they weren't exactly rolling out the royal welcome wagon."
Luke hated to agree with him, but…
"You're too important to the Alliance," he said. "We can't risk your safety."
"We can't risk the galaxy," Leia shot back.
"Might I suggest a compromise, Princess Leia?" Kiro said hesitantly. "Simply move the meeting to a different time and location."
"And what's to stop one of the leaders you're meeting from reporting the new plans back to Nahj?" Fess asked. "You may have got a leak."
"So we give them a false rendezvous point," Kiro said. When they arrive, we'll confiscate their comlinks, then lead them to the princess. That way, they have no chance to report her coordinates to anyone."
"I think you're forgetting our biggest problem," Han cut in. "We can handle this amateur stuff—but the Imperials are on their way. Am I the only one who'd rather be someplace else when they arrive?"
"Sounds like the Empire is expecting Halle and Nahj to do their dirty work for them," Kiro argued. "You can spend the night on your ship—it's safer there, anyway. We meet first thing in the morning. You'll be offplanet by the time Nahj and his group know what happened."
"Risky, but it could work," Elad said.
"I don't know," Luke said, watching Kiro closely. It felt wrong to discuss Leia's safety with outsiders in the room. "It sounds dangerous."
"Since when are you afraid of a little danger?" Leia asked.
"This is different," Luke said fiercely.
"Why?"
Because this is you. But he knew better than to say it loud.
The night is alive with shadows. Leia can feel them out there watching her, following her. She
wants to go home.
But the streets all look the same. She is walking in circles. Lost.
The palace sits on a wide stretch of ground, its towers climbing high into the sky. She should be able to see it in the distance—but the buildings block her view. She needs to get to high ground.
She comes upon a half-finished building, a thin durasteel crane climbing up its stories of scaffolding. This is her answer. She scrambles onto the mast of the crane, propelling herself up its rungs. It's easy, like climbing a ladder, and soon she is ten stories above the ground. The arm of the crane overhangs a narrow catwalk that wraps around the unfinished building. She climbs onto it, slowly circling the scaffolding, staring out at the city. Your city, her father always tells her. Someday, it will be your responsibility.
The city twinkles beneath her, and she can see the lights of the palace off to the east.
She knows the way home.
Eagerly, she climbs down. Too eagerly.
Her foot skids off a rung.
Her fingers slip.
She is falling.
She reaches out but her hands clutch nothing but air. The rushing wind is icy against her face. For a moment, time seems to stretch out. She notices the moonlight glimmering off the durasteel. The stars twinkling overhead. The strange freedom of the fall, her legs and arms flailing through empty air, her stomach in her throat. And then the world speeds up again, and the ground, an unforgiving plane of duracrete, once so far away, is hurtling toward her. She screams, but the wind snatches the shriek out of her mouth and carries it away, and the ground is closer, and she is—
Caught.
For a moment, she thinks her father has saved her. But it is not her father lowering her to the ground. It is the detestable Fess Ilee.
She jerks away from him and dusts herself off.
"What are you doing here?" she asks, her heart still pounding. She looks up to the top of the crane—up and up—wondering what would have happened if he hadn't caught her.
I would have caught myself, she thinks angrily. But he didn't give me the chance.
"I've come to take you home Leia," he says.
She crosses her arms. "I don't need you," she spits out. I can do it myself. I know how to go."
He nods. "Then you lead the way."
She walks east. She doesn't look back. Fess makes no noise, but she knows he is following. A small piece of her is glad. This only makes her hate him more.
The walk is long, her legs tired. As night leaks into day, she can barely keep her eyes open. She sits for a moment to rest, and lets her eyes drift shut. Only for a moment.
The next thing she knows, someone is carrying her. "Father?" she murmurs, still half asleep.
"It's just Fess," he says.
She wants to tell him that she doesn't need him, that she can do it herself. But she is so tired.
"Don't worry, you're safe with me."
She yawns, and closes her eyes again. "I know."
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
"You sure about this?" Luke asked nervously, glancing at Kiro Chen.
"He's sure," Leia snapped.
Leia had put out the word that the Rebel recruiting meeting had been rescheduled, and would take place in one of the T'iil Blossom Homes. But when the attendees arrived, they would find only Luke and Han, ready to confiscate their comlinks and lead them to the reallocation. Kiro and Leia would be waiting.
"At least let me send Chewie with you," Han said, sounding tense. Luke wondered if he was worried, too.
Kiro shook his head. A thin rivulet of sweat trickled down his neck. "The Wookiee would draw attention. But if you don't trust me to protect you, Your Highness, perhaps you would feel more secure if one of your friends accompanied us."
"No," Leia said fiercely. "How many times do I need to tell you all that I can protect myself."
"I know that," Luke said. "But…
"But what?"
Luke just shook his head in frustration. They'd argued all night long, and Leia hadn't budged. She was holding this meeting, no matter what. And she wanted Kiro Chen by her side when it happened. "He's one of us," she'd told Luke, Han, and Elad.
The unspoken meaning was clear: He's one of us. You're not.
"Don't worry," Kiro assured Luke. "Everything's going to go as planned. Easy as skinning a nerf."
Luke looked at him for a long moment, once again seized by the certainty that he'd met Kiro somewhere before. The answer dangled almost within reach—and then was gone.
Han, Luke, and Chewbacca traipsed silently through the Delayan streets. They were nearly empty this time of morning, giving the city a sad air of abandonment. A few times, passing a dark window or shadowed entryway, Luke thought he caught a pair of eyes watching him. But whenever he turned to look, they were gone.
"I'll be glad to get off this rock," Han grumbled. Chewbacca barked his agreement.
"So why'd you stick around in the first place?" Luke asked.
Han shrugged. "Couldn't tell ya, kid. It just felt wrong to leave her here alone—"
"She's not alone," Luke said indignantly. "I'm here."
"Yeah, and so's that blasted protocol droid of yours, but when the trouble starts, he's not exactly the guy you want in your corner."
"I can protect her just as well as you can," Luke protested. "Better, even."
"Whatever you say, kid." Han shook his head. "Besides, it's not like she wants either one of us to protect her."
"What makes you think we'll have anything to protect her from?" Luke asked. "It's a good plan." But he could feel it, too. Something dark, hovering at the fringes of his mind.
Han groaned. "Where've you been, kid? Something always goes wrong." He rolled his eyes. "But listen to that Kiro character and you'd think we were taking a trip to the Galactic Fair. 'Easy as skinning a nerf.' Right."
Luke stopped walking so abruptly that Chewbacca slammed into him, nearly knocking him to the ground. Han caught his arm and yanked him upright.
"Say that again," Luke said, as the darkness he'd been sensing began to take shape.
"Say what again? 'Easy as skinning a nerf?'"
Luke gasped. "It's him!"
"Him who?"
Chewbacca roared in confusion.
"I don't know what he's talking about," Han snapped. "That's what I'm trying to find out!"
But there wasn't time to explain. Leia was in danger. He took off running back toward the hotel. "It's Kiro Chen!" he shouted over his shoulder, as Han and Chewbacca raced after him. "He's not who he says he is."
Easy as skinning a nerf.
Now he knew why Kiro had seemed familiar. It wasn't his face—it was his voice. The same voice he'd heard outside J'er Nahj's lean-to the first day they'd met, arguing with Halle Dray about whether the young boy should have to apologize to Luke.
Kiro had claimed he didn't know Halle, or Nahj. He'd lied. Who knew what else he'd lied about—or what else he wanted?
And now he was alone with Leia. Exactly as he'd planned.
Han spotted them first, arguing on a street corner. Kiro was tugging at Leia's arm, but she'd planted her feet firmly and crossed her arms. Finally, her stubbornness was coming in handy.
Han pulled Luke to a stop, pointing toward the princess. If they approached calmly, without revealing that they knew something was up, there was still a chance to—
"Leia!" Luke shouted, waving his arms at the princess. "Get away from him!"
"Great work, kid," Han muttered under his breath. He pulled out his blaster and started running again. This was about to get messy.
Leia backed away from Kiro, who pulled out a blaster of his own, aiming it at the princess. She froze.
"Careful," Kiro said, as Luke, Han, and Chewbacca approached. "I don't want to hurt her."
"Then how 'bout you drop the blaster!" Han shouted.
"Don't upset him," Luke murmured.
"Me?" Han shot back, out of the corner of his mouth. "You're telling me to stay calm, after what you—
"
The kid looked more clueless than usual.
"Ah, forget it." Han turned his attention back to Kiro and Leia. She had her hands up, and was glaring at Kiro. Han cocked his blaster, but kept it aimed at the ground.
"You want to protect her?" Kiro asked, sounding almost sorry. "Drop your weapons."
Han caught Leia's eye. She gave him an imperceptible nod. He grinned, his grip tightening on the blaster. I would, but last I heard, Her Highness prefers to protect herself!"
He raised his weapon. Kiro swung around to face Han, firing off a round of laserbolts. Han ducked the blasts, reluctant to fire back with Leia still in range.
But the princess could take care of herself. Taking advantage of Kiro's distraction, Leia dropped to a crouch. She rolled toward Kiro and knocked his legs out from under him. His blaster clattered to the ground. They lunged for it at the same time.
"Out of the way, Leia!" Han shouted. "I can't get a clear shot."
Leia and Kiro wrestled for the blaster. Kiro's finger brushed the hilt, but Leia grabbed his wrist just in time, twisting it behind his back. He grunted in pain, shrugging her off with surprising strength. She tumbled backward, but managed to kick the blaster out of his reach as she fell. Then she slammed into the ground, hard. Kiro scrabbled forward and snatched the weapon.
"Leia, go!" Han shouted, taking aim. She climbed to her feet and took a few steps, then, collapsed back to the ground, clutching her ankle. Her face twisted in pain.
Han jerked his head at Luke. "Get her out of there." Luke was already on his way.
Kiro wheeled toward her, his blaster raised, but Chewbacca threw himself in the line of fire. The Wookiee barreled toward Kiro. Grunting with effort, Leia forced herself to her feet and began a limping run. But before Luke could reach her, two figures melted out of the shadow, blasters aimed at his head. He hesitated, giving them the chance they needed to close in on Leia. One of them kept his blaster aimed at Luke, while the other lunged at Leia, jabbing an injector syringe into her shoulder. She lashed out, sinking her fist into his stomach—then sank into his arms with a small sigh.
"Leia!" Han shouted in alarm.
