X-7 was finally alone. Leia's bumbling friends had split up to search for her. X-7 had volunteered to cozy up to Prime Minister Manaa and Deputy Minister Lyonn, in case they knew anything. But helping Leia was of no concern to him. All his efforts to break through her guard had proven useless. Maybe with her out of the way, the others would be more forthcoming.
It had been a calculated risk, supporting the princess in her ridiculous plan. Pretending not to see that her new friend Kiro Chen was deceiving her. But his instincts had told him to go along with it, and X-7 relied on them without question. It had been infuriating, watching Chen weasel his way in, gaining her trust with such ease. The only consolation was that X-7 hadn't been the only one shut out. There was no question that the time on Delaya had driven a wedge between Leia and her friends. X-7 had stayed in the background, silent and accepting, in hopes that when the princess turned to someone, she would turn to him. Events hadn't played out in the way he had expected, yet X-7 still expected to turn the situation to his advantage.
If the others found her in time, he would lead the rescue and burrow even deeper into her favor.
If she died, there would be chaos. And when people were panicked, grief-stricken, and confused, it was child's play to get them to do whatever you wanted.
Either way, X-7 had no interest in leading the search. Pretending to be a normal human with normal human emotion was exhausting. And the more he tired himself, the greater chance there was he would make a fatal error.
This was the perfect opportunity for a break.
But just as he was settling into his blissfully blank repose, his comlink activated with an incoming transmission over the secure line. It was the Commander.
"Are you aware that Princess Leia has been kidnapped, and that her captors have plans to hand her over to the Empire?" he asked.
X-7 nodded.
The Commander's face flushed an angry red. "And are you aware that this has all happened at the command of the Dark One? the Dark One? " "
Everyone knew it was unsafe to speak Darth Vader's name, even over an encrypted channel. But the Commander's meaning was clear.
"I was not aware."
The Commander bared his teeth in the predatory grimace of a rancor ready to strike.
"Are you aware that the Dark One has made it a top priority to track down the pilot who destroyed the Death Star? That he might be on his way to Delaya as we speak, to personally supervise the interrogation?"
"I was not aware."
The Commander's rage exploded. " Are you aware of anything, you bantha-brained Are you aware of anything, you bantha-brained bludfly? bludfly? " "
X-7 swallowed hard.
"You will find Leia before his men can interrogate her," the Commander ordered. " You You will interrogate her, and you will find the answers we seek. Enough delay! Get the job done, X-7. Or suffer the consequences." will interrogate her, and you will find the answers we seek. Enough delay! Get the job done, X-7. Or suffer the consequences."
No one at the warehouses would speak to them. At least not about J'er Nahj, Halle Dray, or Kiro Chen. Leia was merely an outsider. Princess of a planet that no longer existed. Neither Luke nor Han could convince them of anything else.
Fess had come up empty as well. He'd checked all the meeting spots used by Nahj and Halle's group, but there was no sign of any of them.
"You couldn't have known," Luke kept assuring him. "This isn't your fault." Fess didn't seem convinced.
"It's not your fault either, kid," Han reminded Luke. Han suspected he was blaming himself for keeping quiet about Nahj's little kidnapping habit. Sure, he'd made a mistake trusting Nahj. But then, Han had made a mistake trusting Kiro Chen. They all had. And now Leia was paying for it.
Leia had been gone for three hours, and they were no closer to finding her.
They were trudging through a narrow alley on their way back to their quarters when Han stopped abruptly.
"What?" Luke asked. Han shushed him, listening hard. Fess caught his eye and nodded. He'd heard it, too. Fess pointed toward a side alley that led to a dead end. Han led them in, giving Chewbacca a silent signal to hang back. Luke looked confused, but he followed along.
They'd made it almost to the end of the alley when Han spun around, his blaster raised and ready to fire. "You want to come out, whoever you are?"
Nothing happened.
Chewbacca positioned himself at the other end of the alley, blocking the way of anyone who might try to escape.
"We don't have time for this," Luke complained.
"He's there," Fess said with an odd certainty. "You've got nothing to fear from us!"
Han rolled his eyes. That wasn't exactly the message would have sent to a shadowy figure following him into a dark alley. But it had become clear the old man liked to do things his own way. Han played along, lowering the blaster. "Yeah, come on out, or stop wasting my time."
There was a flicker of movement behind one of the towering piles of garbage. It was the kid, Mazi. This time, he was alone.
Han sighed. He didn't have time to play babysitter.
"You know something," Fess said. It wasn't a question.
Mazi shrugged. "Hear you been looking around for Halle."
"You know where she is?" Luke asked.
Mazi shrugged again.
"Tell us!" Luke shouted.
Fess shot Luke a sharp glance.
"Let me handle this," Han said. He tapped the pocket where he kept his credits. "How much you want, kid?"
"Didn't come here looking for a payday," Mazi mumbled.
"Then what?" Again, Han wondered how long this kid would last on the streets. Rule number one: Someone offers you cash, you take it.
Mazi shifted his weight. "I met Princess Leia once, you know? School trip to the palace. Dead boring. But she was nice and all."
"Nice, huh?" Han grinned. "Not the first word that comes to mind."
"There's this place Halle and Kiro go when they want to be alone," Mazi said. "This abandoned schoolhouse, a few blocks up the river. They think it's like this big romantic secret that they're together. Usually pretend they don't even know each other."
"So how come you know?" Han asked.
"I know a lot of stuff," Mazi said. "It's easy to be invisible, when you want to be."
"And sometimes when you don't," Han said quietly.
"Whatever. Anyway, that's all I got." He turned to leave.
"Wait." Han pulled out a handful of credits.
"I told you, I didn't come here for that."
Han shoved the money into his hand. "Just take it kid."
Mazi grabbed the credits and ran off.
"What are you all looking at?" Han asked, realizing Fess and Luke were staring at him.
"You were rather good with him, Captain Solo," Fess said. "I wouldn't have guessed."
Chewbacca barked in agreement.
"He just reminds me of someone," Han mumbled. He brushed past the others, heading out of the alley. "Now can we stop wasting time and go find Leia?"
They charged down the street, seeking out the building that Mazi had described. "Stay strong, Your Highness," Han heard Fess murmur. "We're on our way."
CHAPTER FIFTEEN.
Stay strong, Your Highness. We're on our way.
It wasn't a voice in her head. It was just a feeling, a moment of calm and confidence.
As if Luke was there with her, lending her some of that infuriating certainty that right would prevail. She stared blankly at the wall of her dim cell, trying to picture Luke's face.
But it wasn't Luke's face she saw, it was Fess's.
"You're sure we can trust them?" Nahj's voice carried through the narrow gap between the ceiling and the door.
"We're not giving them the prisoner until we get evidence that they're serious about resettlement," Halle said.
"Unless they decide to come and take take her," Nahj pointed out. her," Nahj pointed out.
"The Empire doesn't know where we're holding her," Kiro said. "Halle thought of everything."
"The man I've been dealing with reports directly to his Lordship Darth Vader," Halle boasted. "This is a done deal. You know Vader has the authority to make it happen."
"I've heard he can make anything anything happen," Nahj muttered. "That's what concerns me." happen," Nahj muttered. "That's what concerns me."
Whatever brief spurt of confidence Leia had felt was gone. All with a single word: Vader Vader. She'd faced him before, and that was enough for one lifetime. If her friends really were coming to rescue her, they'd better hurry.
So you're just going to sit around and wait, Your Highness? Giving up that easy?
This time, the voice was in her head-cool, mocking, and completely her imagination.
I didn't realize you were such a pushover, Your Majesty. She could almost picture Han's crooked smile, goading her on. She could almost picture Han's crooked smile, goading her on. I know you royal folk are used to having everything I know you royal folk are used to having everything done for you, so this may come as a surprise: Some of us rescue done for you, so this may come as a surprise: Some of us rescue ourselves. ourselves.
And, as so often happened when faced with Han's gundark-headed taunts, she couldn't help herself. She smiled.
Who's giving up? she asked the imaginary Han. she asked the imaginary Han.
Halle Dray had told her she deserved this. That if she truly loved Alderaan, she'd be willing to give her life for its revival.
Whatever I've done, it's not Halle Dray's job to punish me, Leia thought. Sacrificing herself to the Emperor was no way to honor the billions who'd died at his hand.
She'd barely looked at her cell, but now she scrutinized it, her mind racing, frantically searching for options. The room was only four or five meters wide, with four blank walls and a single locked durasteel door. The cheap flooring tiles sagged beneath her. The floor bulged in one corner, the plasteel tiles peeling up at the edges as if something lay beneath.
Leia got on her hands and knees and dug her fingers into one of the peeling tiles, trying to pry it up. She grunted in pain as two of her nails broke off, but she kept scrabbling at the scuffed plasteel.
The tile popped off. The one next to it lifted off easily, and the next, and the next, until Leia had uncovered a narrow grate over a dark shaft. Some kind of old heating vent, perhaps, or an air duct.
Or an escape route. Leia unscrewed the grate and eased herself into the opening. It was just large enough for her to squeeze through. She didn't pause to consider where the dark tunnel might lead-it was away from the cell. And for now, that would have to be enough.
The air shaft was dank and slimy. Leia dropped down several meters, landing hard as the shaft flattened out. She slithered on her stomach as the shaft sagged beneath her weight. It was holding...for now.
The shaft began to climb. As it grew steeper, Leia braced her feet against its sides to keep herself from sliding backward. She inched up the slope, using her legs to push herself forward. It was grueling and maddeningly slow-and then, abruptly, the shaft leveled off again. Light filtered up through a grate, illuminating the wall that lay before her. She'd hit a dead end.
The grate lifted off easily. Leia peered through the opening. She looked down-way down-on a wide, empty room, scattered with piles of durasteel girders and abandoned scaffolding. Her captors must have brought her to one of the abandoned construction sites scattering the city. Now she was suspended at least thirty meters above a duracrete floor.
A thin crane climbed toward the ceiling, several meters below and to the left. If she could propel herself from the grate at just the right angle, with enough momentum she might be able to grab it. Might. Might.
And then, if she didn't miss her grip and go plummeting to her death, she might be able to climb down.
Might.
Leia lowered herself down, feet first, holding so tight to the edge that her knuckles turned white. Then she began to swing her legs back and forth, building up momentum.
Scared, Your Worship? Han's voice taunted, as she hesitated. Han's voice taunted, as she hesitated. Maybe if you wait long Maybe if you wait long enough, someone will build you a royal turbo lift. enough, someone will build you a royal turbo lift.
Get out of my head! Leia silently shouted and, with a deep breath, swung herself forward and let go. Leia silently shouted and, with a deep breath, swung herself forward and let go.
For a moment, she was flying, arms outstretched.
She slammed into the crane. Her head thudded against the durasteel with a dull clang.
She could taste blood dripping from a split lip. But she was alive.
Leia wrapped her arms around the crane, hugging it to her chest, her feet scrabbling for purchase. One miracle down One miracle down, she thought, trying not to look at the all-too-distant ground. One to go. One to go.
She felt no fear. There was something familiar about the cold durasteel of the crane against her skin, the dizzying height. Thin ridges jutted out at regular intervals along the mast of the crane, and she was able to climb down without much difficulty-until she got overconfident. The next foothold she reached for wasn't there, her fingers slipped their grip, and suddenly she was hurtling toward the ground.
Instinct took over. Her arm shot out, grabbing for the scaffolding at the exact moment it flew past. She made contact. Her shoulder nearly tore out of its socket, but she held on, dangling by one arm, fifteen meters above the ground. A narrow catwalk stretched above her. She need only pull herself up and climb down.
Unbelievable, she thought in wonder. Grabbing hold of that scaffolding at the right instant had been an incredibly lucky one-in-a-hundred shot.