Shadows of the Empire (41 page)

Seven seconds … six seconds … five …

The terrified commander kept babbling: “Prince Xizor, please respond! We must surrender or we will be blown to pieces! Please!”

 … four seconds left … three seconds …

“Highness, I—” The commander’s transmission ended abruptly. One of the Imperial fighters must have gotten him.

 … two … one—

“Commander, destroy the skyhook.”

One did not stay in command of Darth Vader’s ship by questioning orders. “Yes, my lord.”

Darth Vader took a deep breath, painful as it was to do so, and let it out slowly. Smiled, unseen.

Goodbye, Xizor. And good riddance
.

A
s it happened, the
Millennium Falcon
was facing it when the skyhook exploded.

Luke saw the giant Star Destroyer’s powerful beam strobe, saw it pierce the skyhook. The planetoid shattered, blew apart, went nova, became a small star that burned brightly for an instant before it faded, leaving millions of glowing pieces behind.

It was a spectacular sight, for all its violence. It reminded Luke of the explosion that had destroyed the Death Star.

“Oh, man,” Lando said softly. “They must have made somebody real mad.”

Luke shook his head, didn’t speak.

Dash said, “Heads up, boys. Follow me.”

Luke blinked. “Huh?”

“Somebody just opened us an escape hatch.”

“Are you crazy? We can’t fly through that wreckage!”

“We don’t have a choice. There are ships everywhere. What’s the matter, kid? Don’t think you can do it?”

“If you can, my
droid
can. Go.” Luke understood what Dash meant. It would be tricky, dangerous, but the space around the destroyed skyhook was relatively clear—the debris was expanding outward. If they could avoid being holed by the stuff on the way there, it was their best chance.

“Yeeeehaww!” somebody in Rogue Squadron yelled.

Luke laughed. He knew just how they felt.

They headed for the debris, and it looked as if it was going to be just fine. The good guys had triumphed!

“
Look out, Dash!
” Lando yelled.

Luke could hardly spare a glance, but he did. Just in time to see a block of shattered skyhook the size of a resiplex zero in on the
Outrider
.

“Dash!” Luke yelled. It was too close to avoid—

There was an actinic flare of light too bright to look at. Luke turned away, saw Lando throw one arm up to block the glare.

When the light faded, the
Outrider
had vanished.

“Oh, man,” Lando said. “He—he’s … gone.”

Just like that.

The sweet taste of triumph went bitter in Luke’s mouth.

There wasn’t time to worry about it now. “Brace yourselves! This is going to be rough!”

The debris flashed around them, impacts waiting at every turn. He was sorry about Dash—the man had turned out to be okay after all—but he didn’t want to end up a pile of flaming rubble. He let the Force take him and flew.

T
he secret Alliance base was light-years away from Coruscant and they had barely made it—but they
had
made it.

Luke stood with Leia, Lando, and Chewie, with Threepio and Artoo behind them. The building was, like so many of the Alliance structures, a big, cheap prefab unit. It did boast a large transparisteel that faced out from the surface of the asteroid into the blackness of space. Luke stared through the thick transparisteel into the depths of the galaxy.

“So, if Xizor was on that skyhook like our intelligence reports say, I would guess that would put a stop to Black Sun bounty hunters looking to kill you,” Lando said.

“There’s still Vader,” Leia said.

Luke looked at her, shook his head. “I don’t think Vader wants me dead. Yet, anyway. I’ll deal with him when the time comes.”

They looked up to see Wedge approaching. “Got a message for you, Luke,” Wedge said, “from the Bothans. It was for Dash, but, well …” He trailed off. “Um. Anyway, that missile Dash supposedly missed during that fracas off Kothlis? Turns out he didn’t miss.”

“What?” Luke blinked at Wedge.

“Thing was one of the Empire’s new diamond-boron-armored jobs. Nothing he had to throw at it could have stopped it. The Bothans wanted him to know.”

Luke felt a lump of liquid air form in his belly. Oh, man. Dash hadn’t screwed up, but now he would never know. How awful, to get taken out before you could learn that you
hadn’t
been responsible for the loss of your comrades. And worse was the knowledge that Luke had felt just a little bit glad—not for the deaths, but to see the braggart Dash taken down a notch.

Oh,
man
.

“What are you going to do now?” Wedge said.

“We’re going to get Han,” Luke said. “If he isn’t on Tatooine yet, he soon will be.”

“Going to dance into the Hutt’s guarded palace and get him? Just like that?” Wedge said.

“I have a plan,” Luke said.

He turned and looked at the stars. Maybe he wasn’t a Master yet, but he had learned a lot.

He was a Jedi Knight, and that was enough for now.

I
n the Emperor’s most private sanctum, Darth Vader knelt before his master. He believed he had reason to be worried.

“You defied my orders, Lord Vader.”

“Yes, my master. But I hope I have not failed you.”

“Get up.”

Vader stood.

The Emperor favored Vader with a dark smile. “I am not unaware that Xizor served his own ends and that you were shrewd to have uncovered his plot. I knew about it, of course.”

Vader did not speak.

“Are we certain he is dead?”

“I do not see how he could have survived. I watched his skyhook blown to bits.”

“Just as well. Black Sun is useful, but it is also like a chirru: Cut off its head and another will appear to replace it.” He cackled, amused at his own simile.

“Perhaps the next leader will be equally dangerous,” Vader said.

“No leader of Black Sun could ever be a match for the power of the dark side.”

“But what of the plot to ensnare the Rebel leaders?”

“The new Death Star will draw them in, and this time, you and I will be there to finish this Rebellion.”

Vader wanted to shake his head. As always, the Emperor was one step ahead of him.

“Young Skywalker will be there, too. I have seen it.”

Vader sighed.

“It is all proceeding exactly as I have foreseen it, Lord Vader.”

He smiled again, and Vader felt a chill touch him. Truly there was no one in the galaxy who had control of the dark side as did the Emperor. It was a weakness in Vader that he could feel that fear. Some part of Anakin Skywalker still existed in him, despite all he had done. He would have to eliminate it or it would eventually be his undoing.

I
n Ben’s house on Tatooine, Luke took a deep breath and reached for calmness. They didn’t expect that Jabba would be interested in the proposal, given what they had learned about how nasty he was, but that was not the point. Lando had a way in, as did Chewie and Leia, and this should get Threepio and Artoo into the palace. If the Hutt was willing to negotiate, it would save a lot of trouble, but none of them really expected it. Jabba was, according to all they’d learned, extremely mean-spirited, and he didn’t need the money. Too bad.

Oh, well. They’d just have to do things the hard way. What else was new?

“Okay, Artoo, start recording.”

Artoo bleeped.

“Greetings, Exalted One. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight and friend to
Captain Solo. I know that you are powerful, mighty Jabba, and that your anger with Solo must be equally powerful. I seek an audience with Your Greatness to bargain for Solo’s life.”

That ought to be servile enough, though if what they’d heard was true, Jabba would probably start laughing about now. Luke paused for a moment, caught his breath, went on:

“With your wisdom, I’m sure that we can work out an arrangement which will be mutually beneficial and enable us to avoid any unpleasant confrontation.”

Small chance of that. But he pressed on:

“As a token of my goodwill, I present to you a gift—these two droids.”

Luke fought the grin that threatened him: No doubt whatsoever that Threepio would be stunned to hear
this
when the recording was played. Luke had considered telling him but thought it would be better if he didn’t know. He got rattled so easily. Besides, Threepio’s surprise would help convince Jabba.

“Both are hardworking and will serve you well,” Luke finished.

He glanced at Artoo, raised an eyebrow, and the little droid shut his recorder off.

Leia, standing behind Artoo, shook her head. “You think that will do it?”

Luke shrugged. “I hope so. Only one way to find out.”

She moved closer, touched his arm.

Luke said, “Hey, after all we just went through, rescuing one beat-up old pirate ought to be easy, right?”

She smiled. “Right.”

He returned her smile. His emotions were mixed. He didn’t know how she really felt, about him or about that beat-up old pirate, but he knew how he felt about
both of them. Whatever happened, he had to do the right thing; that was just how things were. And the right thing here was simple, if not easy.

Hang on, Han
.

We’re coming for you
.

Steve Perry wrote for
Batman: Ther Wars: Shadows of the Empire
, and wrote the bestselling novelization of the blockbuster Animated Series during its first Emmy Award-winning season, authored the
New York Times
bestsellers
Star Wars: Death Star
(with Michael Reaves) and Stauster movie
Men in Black
. Perry has sold dozens of stories to magazines and anthologies, and has published a considerable number of novels, animated teleplays, nonfiction articles, reviews, and essays. He is currently the science fiction, fantasy, and horror book reviewer for
The Oregonian
.

You saw the movies. You watched the cartoon series, or maybe played some of the video games. But did you know …

In
The Empire Strikes Back
, Princess Leia Organa said to Han Solo, “I love you.” Han said, “I know.” But did you know that they actually got married? And had three Jedi children: the twins, Jacen and Jaina, and a younger son, Anakin?

Luke Skywalker was trained as a Jedi by Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda. But did you know that, years later, he went on to revive the Jedi Order and its commitment to defending the galaxy from evil and injustice?

Obi-Wan said to Luke, “For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times. Before the Empire.” Did you know that over those millennia, legendary Jedi and infamous Sith Lords were adding their names to the annals of Republic history?

Yoda explained that the dreaded Sith tend to come in twos: “Always two, there are. No more, no less. A Master, and an apprentice.” But did you know that the Sith didn’t always exist in pairs? That at one time in the ancient Republic there were as many Sith as Jedi, until a Sith Lord named Darth Bane was the lone survivor of a great Sith war and created the “Rule of Two”?

All this and much, much more is brought to life in the many novels and comics of the
Star Wars
expanded universe. You’ve seen the movies and watched the cartoon. Now venture out into the wider worlds of
Star Wars
!

Turn the page or jump to the
timeline
of
Star Wars
novels to learn more.

“T
HIS IS IT
, E
ADEN
. T
HIS IS THE DAY WE ONE-UP
S
OLO.”

Dash Rendar sat back in the pilot’s chair of the
Outrider
, feeling an almost palpable sense of satisfaction. It was a good feeling—nearly tingly, in fact. And he expected to relive it every time he bragged about how fast he’d done the Kessel Run. It was, after all, acknowledged to be the ultimate test of a pilot’s skill … and propensity for risk taking. Every time you ran it, you risked your cargo, your life, and your reputation, but you got your goods where they were going faster than more cautious pilots
and
you could walk into any port with a swagger in your step. The faster your time, the bigger your swagger.

“Hubris,” said Eaden Vrill, his dark, liquid gaze on the tactical display. His voice was a low rumble, more suited for underwater communication than atmospheric, and his Basic took some getting used to, with its hard-edged fricatives and sibilants. Dash was used to it; he and the Nautolan had been partners for some time.

“Confidence,” Dash retorted, annoyed at being pulled out of his pleasant reverie. “The
Outrider
is twice the ship the
Falcon
is.” As far as he was concerned Solo’s boat was a scow compared with Dash’s heavily modified YT-2400.

Eaden glanced at him. “You confuse pride of possession with a distinct entity. The ship is not you, nor did you build it. Its speed—”