Honor Among Thieves: Star Wars (Empire and Rebellion) (2 page)

“Then there's no offense taken,” he said.

Harcen turned to go, his shoulders back and his head held high. Chewbacca took a fraction of a second longer than strictly needed to step out of the man's way. Luke leaned against one of the displays, his weight warping it enough to send little sprays of false color through the lines and curves.

When Harcen was gone, Leia sighed. “Thank you all for coming on short notice. I'm sorry I had to pull you off the training exercises, Luke.”

“It's all right.”

“I was in a sabacc game,” Han said.

“I'm not sorry I pulled you out of that.”

“I was winning.”

Chewbacca chuffed and crossed his arms. Leia's expression softened a degree. “I was supposed to leave ten standard hours ago,” she said, “and I can't stay much longer. We've had some unexpected developments, and I need to get you up to speed.”

“What's going on?” Luke asked.

“We aren't going to be able to use the preliminary base in Targarth system,” she said. “We've had positive identification of Imperial probes.”

The silence only lasted a breath, but it carried a full load of disappointment.

“Not
again,
” Luke said.

“Again.” Leia crossed her arms. “We're looking at alternatives, but until we get something, construction and dry-dock plans are all being put on hold.”

“Vader's really going all-out to find you people,” Han said. “What are your backup plans?”

“We're looking at Cerroban, Aestilan, and Hoth,” Leia told him.

“That's the bottom of the barrel,” Han said.

For a second, he thought she was going to fight, but instead she only looked defeated. He knew as well as she did that the secret rebel base was going to be critical. Without a base, some kinds of repair, manufacturing, and training work just couldn't be done, and the Empire knew that, too. But Cerroban was a waterless, airless lump of stone hardly better than the rendezvous point, and one that was pounded by asteroids on a regular basis. Aestilan had air and water, but rock worms had turned the planetary mantle so fragile that there were jokes about digging tunnels just by jumping up and down. And Hoth was an ice ball with an equatorial zone that only barely stayed warm enough to sustain human life, and then only when the sun was up.

Leia stepped to one of the displays, shifting the image with a flicker of her fingers. A map of the galaxy appeared, the immensity of a thousand million suns disguised by the fitting of it all onto the same screen.

“There is another possibility,” she said. “The Seymarti system is near the major space lanes. There's some evidence that there was sentient life on it at some point, but our probes don't show anything now. It may be the place we're looking for.”

“That's a terrible idea,” Han said. “You don't want to do that.”

“Why not?” Luke asked.

“Ships get lost in Seymarti,” Han said. “A lot of ships. They make the jump to hyperspace, and they don't come back out.”

“What happens to them?”

“No one knows. Something that close to the lanes without an Imperial garrison on it can be mighty appealing to someone who needs a convenient place to not get found, but everyone I know still steers clear of that place.
Nobody
goes there.”

Luke patted his helmet with one thoughtful hand. “But if nobody goes there, how can a lot of ships get lost?”

Han scowled. “I'm just saying the place has a bad reputation.”

“The science teams think there may be some kind of spatial anomaly that throws off sensor readings,” Leia said. “If that's true, and we can find a way to navigate it ourselves, Seymarti may be our best hope for avoiding Imperial notice. As soon as Wedge Antilles is back from patrol, he's going to put together an escort force for the survey ships.”

“I'd like to go with him,” Luke said.

“We talked about that,” Leia said. “Wedge thought it would be a good chance for you to get some practice. He's requested you as his second in command.”

Luke's smile was so bright, Han could have read by it. “Absolutely,” the kid said.

The communications panel beside Leia chimed. “Ma'am, we've kept the engines hot, but if we don't leave soon, we're going to have to recalibrate the jump. Do you want me to reschedule your meetings again?”

“No. I'll be right there,” she said, and turned the connection off with an audible click.

Han leaned forward. “It's all right, I see how I fit in here,” he said. “The weapons run from Minoth to Hendrix is off. That's not a big deal. I'll just bring the guns here instead. Unless you want the
Falcon
to go along with the kid here.”

“Actually, that's not why I wanted to talk with you,” Leia said. “Something else happened. Two years ago, we placed an agent at the edge of Imperial space. The intelligence we've gotten since then has been some of the most valuable we've seen, but the reports stopped seven months ago. We assumed the worst. And then yesterday, we got a retrieval code. From the Saavin system. Cioran.”

“That's not the
edge
of Imperial space,” Han said. “That's the middle of it.”

Chewbacca growled and moaned.

“It's not what I would have picked, either,” Leia said. “There was no information with it. No context, no report. We don't know what happened between the last contact and now. We just got the signal that we should send a ship.”

“Oh,” Han said with a slowly widening grin. “No, it's all right. I get it. I absolutely understand. You've got this important guy trapped in enemy territory, and you need to get him out. Only with the Empire already swarming like a hive of Bacian blood hornets, you can't risk using anyone but the best. That about right?”

“I wouldn't put it that way, but it's in the neighborhood of right, yes,” Leia said. “The risks are high. I won't order anyone to take the assignment. We can make it worth your time if you're willing to do it.”

“You don't have to order us, does she, Chewie? All you have to do is ask, and we're on the job.”

Leia's gaze softened a little. “Will you do this, then? For the Alliance?”

Han went on as if she hadn't spoken. “Just say
please
and we'll get the
Millennium Falcon
warmed up, skin out of here, grab your guy, and be back before you know it. Nothing to it.”

Leia's expression went stony. “Please.”

Han scratched his eyebrow. “Can I have a little time to think about it?”

The Wookiee made a low but rising howl and lifted his arms impatiently.

“Thank you, Chewie,” Leia said. “There's also a real possibility that the whole operation was compromised and the retrieval code is bait in a trap. When you make your approach, you'll need to be very careful.”

“Always am,” Han said, and Luke coughed. “What?” Han demanded.

“You're always careful?”

“I'm always careful enough.”

“Your first objective is to make the connection and complete the retrieval,” Leia said. “If you can't do that, find out as much as you can about what happened and whether any of our people are in danger. But if you smell a trap, get out. If we've lost her, we've lost her. We don't want to sacrifice anyone else.”

“‘Her'?”

Leia touched the display controls again, and the image shifted. A green security warning flooded it, and she keyed in the override. A woman's face filled the screen. High cheekbones, dark eyes and hair, V-shaped chin, and a mouth that seemed on the verge of smiling. If Han had seen her in a city, he'd have looked twice, but not because she was suspicious. The data field beside the picture listed a life history too complex to take in at a glance. The name field read: scarlet hark.

“Don't get in over your head,” Leia said.

Two

The Saavin system floated in the air above the display panel, tiny colored balls representing the various planets rotating around a bright orange star. A small blue world nestled in a swarm of Imperial ships and independent stations. Cioran, bureaucratic heart of the Empire. Or if not heart, kidney. Maybe small bowel. Another world, a large, bright red planet toward the edge of the system, swelled even larger when Chewbacca waved a paw at it. The Wookiee growled.

“That's the point,” Han said. “It's on the edge of the system, and it's a big ball of useless gas. No one lives there. There aren't even any gas miners. It'll take a little longer to fly into Cioran from there, but it's a nice quiet spot to take a look around.”

Chewie growled and crossed his arms.

“Look, this is Empire central. I don't want to drop out of hyperspace on top of a Star Destroyer.”

Chewie turned away and began prepping the
Falcon
. He carried on a low rumbling conversation with himself, his back to Han.

“You're gonna thank me when we slip into the Saavin system without anyone noticing us.”

Chewie grunted, and Han pulled the lever to shut down the hyperdrive. The streaking white of hyperspace that had filled their cockpit viewport snapped back into a steady starfield, the bloated red of Saavin's gas giant filling half of the view.

“See, now we just—” Han started.

“Unregistered YT-thirteen-hundred, this is the Imperial Star Destroyer
Ravenous,
respond immediately.”

The
Falcon
began blaring collision alarms as two TIE fighters took flanking positions next to her. The massive dagger shape of the Star Destroyer drifted into view from her port side.

“Unregistered YT-thirteen-hundred—” Han killed the comm. Chewbacca turned to look at him, not saying anything.

“This is not my fault,” Han said, looking for an escape route and finding nothing. “What are they doing out here?”

Chewie growled and reached for the deflector controls.

“No, wait,” Han said, grabbing the Wookiee's arm to stop him. “I can handle this.” Chewbacca barked out a laugh.

“Hello,
Ravenous,
this is Captain—” Han racked his brain for one of the names on the list of fake registration codes he kept. “—Boro Mandibel, of the light freighter
Vortando
. How can I help you today?”

He put his palm over the mic and said, “Chewie, better turn on the registration broadcast. Make sure it's the
Vortando
codes.”

“Vortando,”
the reply came after a few moments. “You're broadcasting a nonstandard registration—”

“Sorry about that,” Han interrupted with a heartily false laugh. “Hired on a Wookiee mechanic, and he's been using nonstandard parts on all the repairs.”

Chewie growled dangerously from behind him, and Han covered the mic again. “If he understands Wookiee, that little remark is going to get us in a lot of trouble.” Chewbacca rumbled a response that demonstrated a lack of remorse.

“Destination and cargo,” the Star Destroyer demanded.

“Uh, going to Cioran with Corellian brandy and Sacorrian wines. How are you guys doing today?”

There was a pause that felt as if it lasted hours. Han began plotting a course to get them out of the system as fast as possible. The two TIE fighters hung next to the
Falcon
like an unspoken threat.

Han turned off the mic and said, “Chewie, this isn't working. Get ready to angle the rear deflectors and make a run for it.”

“Vortando,”
the Star Destroyer said. “Proceed to Cioran on the following course. Do not deviate. We're seeing an incoming load, and we don't need you disrupting the landing queue.”

“Received,
Ravenous
. You guys have a nice day,” Han said, then laid in the course. Chewbacca bayed his disbelief.

“Yeah, I know. Star Destroyers directing traffic,” Han replied, bringing up the drive. “Welcome to the Empire.”

The
Ravenous
hadn't been lying. The
Falcon
waited for two standard hours to get a landing assignment. To pass the time, Han checked the charge on his blaster, and Chewbacca stripped and cleaned his bowcaster. Han pulled on a long coat that covered his weapon. He knew that Cioran's warm climate didn't warrant a coat like that, but he figured it was better than wearing the blaster where everyone could see it.

“You know,” he said, pacing and twisting in front of his cabin's mirror to make sure the blaster stayed hidden when he moved, “this is the heart of the Empire. I don't know how many Wookiees with energy crossbows are going to be walking around. You might want to aim for subtle.”

Chewbacca growled, and Han put up his hands. “I'm just saying this isn't our usual run-and-gun. We're here to blend in. Move unnoticed.” Han turned suddenly, watching the swirl of the coat to make sure it didn't open up too far. Chewbacca coughed out a laugh.

“Hey!” Han said, hurt in his voice. “I've blended! I can blend. And if I don't—” He swatted at the coat, pushing it away and yanking out his blaster in a lightning-fast draw. “I'll improvise.”

The docking bays on Cioran looked exactly like the docking bays on a hundred worlds Han Solo had seen during his travels, only clean. Unsettlingly clean. The same repair gantries and loading cranes. The same fuel tanks and repair droids and inspection clerks, but without the lived-in look. No fuel spills on the decking, no broken droids sparking in the corner, no grease spots on any of the inspectors' uniforms. It felt vaguely funereal. Like a memorial to the idea of a docking bay.

A small, stout droid was waiting at the bottom of the crew ramp, ticking quietly to itself, a vaguely humanoid head on top of a square body sporting too many arms and sitting on rubber treads. When it saw Han, it perked up with a lurch.

“I am EL-Four-Two-Seven,” it said in an annoying chirpy voice. “The Cioran Port Authority and the Trajenni Dock Management Collective welcome you to Cioran!”