Honor Among Thieves: Star Wars (Empire and Rebellion) (24 page)

Energy bolts streaked across the stars. Han felt the ship resisting under his control, rising and falling as the shields bled energy into thrust. The freighters, fighters, and tugs boiling up from the planetary surface mixed with the Imperial fighters, swirling and dancing like snowflakes in a blizzard. The tactical computer flickered and stuttered, unable to keep track of all the different points of motion.

“We've got a wave at your two,” Leia warned.

Han looked over. Four TIE fighters in tight formation spun down from the nearest of the Destroyers, dogging an ancient cruiser as it struggled up from Kiamurr's burning exosphere. Han angled the
Falcon
to keep them in front of him, protecting the unshielded rear of the ship.

“Baasen?”

“Solo!”

“Let's see if we can help that cruiser out.”

“How long until we're clear for jump?” Scarlet shouted from the lounge.

“We're not clear to turn around out here,” Han shouted back. “We'll try getting to the other side where we can find some space.”
Us and everyone else trying to get off that poor rock
.

The
Falcon
screamed and shuddered. Chewbacca howled in protest and rage.

“What did he say?” Baasen called from the turret.

“He said shoot them
before
they shoot us!” Han shouted back.

“Thank him for the pointer.”

The Bothan's despairing wail came from the lower turret.

“Could someone see what's wrong with Sunnim?” Han snapped.

“I'm on it,” Scarlet said, heading out.

The blasts from the
Falcon
reached the attacking TIE fighters, and two of them peeled off, screaming toward Han like predators falling upon prey. He pulled the ship down, whipping it to spin around them as they passed, keeping his forward shields toward them. A stream of blasterfire poured from the turrets, brushing against one of the TIE's solar arrays and turning the little ship into a ball of ions and fire. Far above, the triangular body of a Star Destroyer loomed. Wide, glowing bolts fell from the Destroyer's belly toward the planet, shearing away mountains and vaporizing seas.

“He's coming around, Han,” Leia said. “Han? He's coming around. Han!”

Almost too late, he saw which of the dozens of ships before him she was talking about, and he yanked the controls to compensate. The
Falcon
groaned under the strain. The lower turret spat out fire, and the attacker died.

“All right, everyone hold on,” Han called over his shoulder. “I'm getting us out of here.”

He took the tactical computer down. It was too swamped to be useful anyway. With the engines at full, he angled the ship up, through the wide swirl of enemies, his sights on the stars beyond them.

“Han, old friend?” Baasen called, his voice tight and nervous. “What is it you're planning here?”

“Just keep shooting,” Han said through clenched teeth. The
Falcon
rose through the barrage of energy bolts and debris. The Imperial Destroyer grew larger, swelling until it almost filled the screen. Chewbacca groaned.

“I know,” Han said. “But they've got more weapons on the fighters, and they won't shoot at us if missing means damaging their own.”

I hope,
he didn't add.

The defensive batteries on the Star Destroyer opened up, and Han twirled the ship, dancing between the blasts. It wasn't even thought now. The
Falcon
was an extension of his body, and he moved through space as if he were running through a battlefield. Chewbacca barked once.

“Get ready,” Han said.

Another thousand kilometers. At their speeds, it wouldn't take long. A tight grouping of Y-wings shot past him, neither Imperial nor rebel. Just some poor guys who'd been attending the wrong conference. They drew some of the Star Destroyer's fire. He gritted his teeth. And then they were past, the battle behind them, where a stray shot could sail through the missing deflectors and melt the hull to nothing.

He slammed his palm on the control panel, and the stars became streaks. The death throes of Kiamurr vanished behind them, and he sank back in his chair. Scarlet, Baasen, and his Bothan pilot were howling with delight. As if getting away was a victory. As if they'd won something.

And still, they
had
gotten away.

When he looked over his shoulder, Leia was staring out the screen. The light of hyperspace glowed on her skin. The darkness in her eyes was only partly from their color. There was something more in them, too. Something deeper.

“That was why you didn't just tell them all,” Han said. “You knew Hunter Maas was coming, and that the Empire would come after him. If you'd warned them all before he showed up, everyone would have left before the battle started.”

She turned to look at him directly. He saw that the words had stung her, and that she was trying not to let it show.

“I did what I could. Told who I could. If I'd sounded the general alarm, Hunter Maas would have run, too, and the Empire would have had another chance to catch him. We would have lost everything. No one's responsible for those deaths but the people who pulled the triggers,” she said, her voice hard. And then she softened, looked down. “It's a war, Han. And I'm the one trying to end it.”

“No, they're trying to end it, too,” Han said. “You're just arguing over the terms.”

Chewbacca chuffed to himself and moved as unobtrusively out of the cockpit as a mountain of muscle and fur could manage. Leia's gaze didn't leave Han.

“Are you saying I should have cleared the way so that they could have captured Maas and kept the data out of our hands? Because I can't see how that would have ended well.”

“I'm not saying that. In the grand scheme of the war, you did what you had to do,” Han said.

“But?”

“Grand schemes can excuse a lot of bodies.”

“That's not fair—”

“What are you two on about then?” Baasen asked, poking his head in the cockpit. “It's time to celebrate! We've lived to see another day. You can't complain about that.”

Han got up, pushing past Baasen. There were too many people on the
Falcon
. Baasen, Scarlet Hark, Sunnim, the R3 droid, Leia, Chewbacca. Him. It made the ship feel close and tight, and he didn't like it. In the lounge, Scarlet was looking at a long gash on Sunnim's right arm. The Bothan blinked as Han brushed past them. He heard Leia and Baasen Ray behind him. He ignored them all.

Leia was right, and he hated it. The Empire had already shown it was willing to destroy planets filled with innocent people in order to prove a point. As he passed through the ship, he found himself going back through every time he'd gotten out of trouble by making the jump to lightspeed. All the fights he'd avoided, all the times he could have died and didn't. If Scarlet's information was correct and the Empire got hold of this artifact, that would stop not just for him, but for everyone. All the ships boiling up off Kiamurr or Haaridin or Tatooine would have no place to go, and the Empire could pour in wave after wave of fighters until whoever the Emperor had decided was his enemy that week was nothing but fused carbon and a few volatile chemicals.

The plastoid case was in Baasen's quarters. Han scooped it up. It wasn't huge. It was hardly a weight in his hand. He carried it back to the lounge and put it down on the dejarik table. The others were all around. Leia and Scarlet stood at the door to the cockpit, Chewbacca in the background between them. Sunnim and Baasen sat on the couches. Baasen's smile could have meant anything.

“We did our part,” Han said, thumbing the case's latch. “Let's see if it was worth it.”

The case clicked and slid open. The smell of sugar and lemon filled the air. Han leaned close. The cake was a dusting of bright yellow crumbs and gobs of frosting on a small presentation plate of tempered glass.

“Baasen?” Han said carefully. “What is this?”

Leia stepped up beside him, looking down. She made a small sound in the back of her throat. “Maas must have been going to meet with Eanis Malavoy. He's a buyer for Bonadan Heavy Industries.”

“And?” Han said.

“And he likes lemon cakes,” Leia said.

Han put his fingertips to his eyes. “Baasen, what did you do?”

“Failed to save a lemon cake, apparently,” Baasen said lightly.

“This was supposed to be the data,” Han said. “You blew the job. You said you knew where the information was. Now what have we got? A world
died
for this.”

“Now, not so hot nor so hasty. I never
said
it was in the case, did I? That's a conclusion you drew on your own. Though, in fairness, I did encourage a certain misunderstanding.”

Scarlet made a sound between a cough and a laugh. Leia looked over at her. Sunnim looked from one woman to the other, his ears canted forward in confusion.

“It's in the R-three,” Leia said.

Baasen clapped his remaining hand against his leg. “Now, that is a smart woman, my friend. Sees right to heart of things. Most people don't know how easy it is to hide data in an R-three unit.”

“I know,” Leia said.

“Well,” Baasen continued, “I guessed he—”

“Thanks for that,” Han said. “Chewbacca, would you please escort our friend to the air lock. He's walking home.”

“Ah!” Baasen said, holding up his palm. “Now, we had an agreement, boyo. And I've kept my part.”

Han felt Leia's dark eyes on him. The truth was, he wasn't sure he'd been joking about throwing Baasen out into space. His head felt thick with distress and exhaustion and the aftermath of the battle. He smirked, clapped the Mirialan on the shoulder, and left it at that.

Leia knelt beside the little red droid. The rat-bird droppings still streaked its finish. The R3 squealed and squeaked.

“It's all right,” Leia said. “I've done this before. It isn't going to hurt at all.”

A cascade of sparks flew from the droid's chest panel, its indicator light dimmed and brightened again. A beam of light shot out, and the rough, jittering hologram of a man appeared standing on the floor in front of the R3. He was younger than Han had expected, with flowing, shoulder-length hair the color of honey and eyes that would have looked at home on a snake. His smile was obsequious and greedy.

Another hissing spark, and Galassian came alive. He pushed his hair back from his face. His grin was broad, and his eyes seemed to flicker in a way that made Han think of fevers. A pair of floating round droids hovered, one over each of the man's shoulders.

“Master,” he said. “It is after much hard work and many weeks of effort that I bring this news to you. I was not certain, but now I am pleased to say that our fondest hopes are achieved. With this new toy I've found, your rule will be eternal and utterly,
utterly
absolute.”

Leia took in a deep breath. Her chin lifted in defiance. She looked beautiful that way.

Han reached up into the access panel. The relay under his fingertips was cold, the power light dull and dead.

“Still nothing,” he shouted.

Chewbacca's roar rose from the flooring.

“I didn't say it would be,” Han said. “But I'm telling you there's no power right now.”

The Wookiee's grumbling faded to near inaudibility. Han let himself fall back, massaging his hand. The rear deflector shields were proving harder to repair than he'd hoped, but he and Chewie were making progress. If he'd been able to reroute more of the power from life support, it would have been faster. Which brought him back again to the idea of throwing Baasen out the lock.

It was probably the smart thing. He didn't have any illusions about the bounty hunter's newfound allegiance. As soon as the opportunity arose and there looked like there was even a little bit of profit in it, Baasen would put a hole through Han's chest and be glad that he'd done it. The truth was Han had killed people he liked more for less reason. It was the cold-bloodedness of it that escaped him, or that he told himself escaped him. He wondered whether, if he hadn't snapped at Leia about her tactics on Kiamurr, he'd have had an easier time doing the obvious thing with Baasen. He hoped it would have been just as hard.

“Captain Solo,” Scarlet said. “You have a minute?”

“Sure,” Han said. “You got the whole thing decrypted, then?”

She nodded. “How are the repairs?”

“We're getting there.”

Chewbacca howled and muttered. Scarlet laughed.

“It's not as bad as he says,” Han said. “We'll have full power to the deflectors before we jump again.”

The meeting was in the cabin Scarlet and Leia were sharing. With him added in, there almost wasn't space, but the door closed and sealed, and Baasen and Sunnim weren't likely to overhear anything they said.

“What've we got?” Leia asked as Han tried to find a comfortable way to squat by the bunks. It was strange being in his private quarters with the two attractive women. In other circumstances, he'd have been turning down the lights and pouring drinks. Now he just felt awkward.

“More than I expected,” Scarlet said. “It's coordinates to the system and data from the sensor sweeps, but Galassian also made some exploratory surveys on the planet surface. Since the K'kybak died out, their planet's pretty much gone to ruin. There are old cities drowned in swamps and fallen into the oceans. It's not a hospitable place, either. Pretty much anything that isn't predatory is poisonous.”

“Lovely,” Leia said.

“It gets better. The K'kybak left behind an old defense grid. It's been unattended so long it's mostly dead, but every now and then part of it comes active enough to throw off jumps going out of the system. That's how Galassian found the place and decided it was something more than a swamp planet. The system that the defense grid uses to disable hyperdrive is in a barricaded temple. Galassian has a rough map of the place.”