“Into the disinfecting chamber!” Luke orders. “Don’t even breath until they’re gone!”
Gideon, Sidney, and Artoo crawl into the chamber, dragging their weapons along. Luke follows a moment later.
Parnell and his men arrive 20 seconds later. “The office is empty!” exclaims an aide’s muffled voice.
“Somebody’s head is going to roll for this!” Parnell snaps. “Major Joseph, see if you can find out who’s responsible for this. TX-840, man this station until relieved.”
“Yes, sir,” responds the stormtrooper.
“Major Anbow, it’s time Erling Tredway gets his first taste of interrogation, don’t you think?”
“Oh, yes sir,” answers Anbow. He sounds entirely too enthusiastic.
As soon as they leave, Luke silently groans. He did not anticipate that they would man the station. HE takes a deep breath, then stands and raps on the wall.
“Let me out!” Luke says. “They locked me in here.”
“Who?” the stormtrooper demands, opening the disinfecting chamber door.
Luke steps into the entrance corridor, then leaps into the processing office, his lightsaber flashing. “The Rebels!” he snarls, swinging the blade at the stunned stormtrooper’s side. The trooper falls before he knows what hit him.
Luke quickly loads Artoo and his companions back in their repulsor cart. As they reach the first camera in the accessway, it swivels and follows their progress. The second camera also tracks them, and the third, too. Finally, they reach the entrance to the Deathblock. The doors open automatically and Luke eases through. His heart beats so fiercely he almost fears it is trying to escape his body. One more obstacle.
The officer turns around. “What’s wrong?”
Luke stops the cart. “I’m off the sub-facility task force,” he says. “General Parnell threw a fit when he saw these guys. After I take them to their blocks, it’s back to counting datavids.”
“Too bad,” the officer comments.
“Easy come, easy go,” Luke says. He engages the repulsor motors and starts down the corridor.
A minute later, they reach an up ramp and start out of the Administrative Complex. Luke is too angry to answer Sidney’s questions about Erling’s refusal to leave the Deathblock. He nearly dies trying to rescue someone who doesn’t want to be rescued. If fact, he might still die – for nothing!
At last, Gideon says, “They’re going to figure out you ain’t no quartermaster and we ain’t no prisoners when they find that last stormtrooper. What do we do now?”
“Stow away aboard a supply barge?”
“No good,” Gideon comments. “They’d be expecting that.”
“We still have my uniform,” Luke says.
“Perhaps we should steal a shuttle,” Sidney suggests.
“That’s more stupid that stowing away,” Gideon says. “We’d never get past the atmospheric shield. You know how well those prisoner docks are guarded.”
“Not the prisoner shuttle,” Sidney says. “The crew shuttle. They must have transport to and from the orbital stations.”
“And where do we go from there?” Gideon asks.
If Luke stows away aboard a supply barge, Click Here
If Luke steals a crew shuttle, Click Here