I left it at Ire Eleazari’s,” Luke says.\”Eleazari? You know -? No, you must have seen my family.”
Luke hesitates, trying to find the best way to tell Erling about the Imperial raid. Finally, he realizes there is no good way to break this kind of news. “I took your sister Dena to Eleazari’s. The Imperials killed everybody else.”
Erling gasps, then falls silent for nearly a minute. At last, he asks, “PArnell?” His voice shakes with sorrow – or is it rage? “Don’t answer,” he quickly adds.
Luke’s comlink beeps again. “Are you coming?”
“Yes,” Erling answers. Two fee shuffle in the darkness. “This won’t go unanswered!” Luke activates his comlink. “Artoo, shut down all lights in the cellblock – and deactivate the backup lamps.”
Not an instant later, the cellblock falls completely dark. “Grab my belt,” Luke whispers, catching Erling’s hand and guiding it to his waist. “Don’t let go.”
Outside the cell, the angry voices of two officers flutter about the dark like Mynocks on a stray asteroid Luke leads the way along the balcony, fearing the ringing of their steps will begin attracting blaster bolts any moment. Fortunately, the stormtroopers are rustling about in the sable depths overhead and couldn’t hear a Dewback below. Luke Erling reach the lift and descend without incident.
They reach the door to the processing center just as power returns to the cell-block. Twenty lamps flood the block with more light than has fallen on it since construction, but the second level balcony protects Luke and Erling from detection. Luke leads the way into the processing office.
Inside, Sidney and Gideon squat below a table, each holding a blaster rifle. Through the transwall overlooking the main accessway, Luke sees General Parnell and two aides stopped at the open blast doors. Parnell converses with the officer in charge of the emplacement. Ten stormtroopers follow in two more carts.
“How do we get out of here?” Luke asks Artoo.
The Droid toots pitifully, then displays a diagram on the vidscreen. A hundred meters beyond the blast doors, a sub-facility tunnel crosses beneath the corridor. “That’s it?” Luke demands. “Thats our escape route?”
Artoo whistles a reply-tone that from a living being would indicate anger.
“I’m sorry, Artoo. I should have known getting into the Deathblock would be a lot easier than getting out.”
“We’re trapped here like a bunch of Rivorian grain-bandits. It’s been nice knowing you.” Gideon’ voice betrays no fear.
“It’s not over yet,” Luke says. “Everybody into the cart. We’ll drive past like nothing’s wrong.” When the odds are this bad, it’s time to bluff. His friend Han Solo taught him that.
“Be sure Erling has his back to PArnell.”
With more than alittle hesitation, Luke’s companions climb into the repulsor cart. They lay the blaster rifles they took from the dead stormtroopers on the floor. Luke loads Artoo into the passenger’s seat, then starts down the corridor. He can think of a million reasons this plan should fail but they have no other choice.
As they move down the corridor, security cameras whir and turn to follow their progress. Despite his urge to gun the cart’s engines and flee, Luke forces himself to move patiently. So far, their bluff seems to be working.
When they close to ten meters, Parnell’s aides study Luke’s overloaded repulsor cart with cold, appraising eyes. Luke unclips his lightsaber. His stomach feels like it’s trying to suck his intestines and lungs into itself. Parnell ignores them and continues talking with the officer. With a little luck, the officer will not interrupt the conversation to challenge Luke.
They pass the blast doors. The aides continue to watch, but say nothing. The officer briefly looks away from Parnell and nods to Luke, then returns his attention to the general. They’re going to make it!
Then as they pass the second load of stormtroopers, their cart wobbles and something clatters in the rear. “Murderer!” screams Erling. A half-meter behind Luke, somebody fires a blaster rifle. He turns around and sees the gate officer collapse with a smoking hole in his chest. Erling stands in the rear of the cart, a blaster rifle cradled in his arms.
“You crazy -“
Crumps and explosions drown out the rest of Gideon’s curse. The ion cannons flash white energy balls and Parnell’s bodyguard fires blaster rifle bolts in rapid red streaks. The corridor erupts into flying shards and vaporized metal. The ion shots open two great hols in the walls.
Luke guns the repulsor cart and returns his attention to the corridor ahead, still unable to believe what he has seen with his own eyes. They were almost safe! He cannot begin to understand the demon that possesed Erling.
“Get down!” Gideon yells at Erling.
The Imperials fire again. Multi-colored energy streaks flash past the cart. The ion cannons strike the floor thirty meters aheard, opening five-meter hole. Somebody screams.
“The Gideon fell out!” Sidney exclaims.
Luke slams on the deccelerator and looks behind. Gideon lies on the floor, still cradling his blaster rifle. Even as Luke watches, several blaster bolts strike the inert body.
Luke’s heart sinks. The prospector was a true friend and a brave man. More Imperial fire reminds Luke that he dare not pause now to mourn. The stormtroopers have turned to pursue up the corridor. Luke faces forward again and accelerates. The hole in the floor looms like a gravity well in deep space. The chasm will suck them inside as surely as a black hole.
Then Luke remembers the sub-facility tunnel. If he can drop the cart evenly tinto the hole, they should land upright – and he hopes these repulsor engines are strong enough to catch them before they crash. The facility floor isn’t nearly as forgiving as Tatooine sand.
“Hold on!” he yells, closing the throttle. The cart decelerates just as it clears the hole’s edge. The occupants feel their stomachs jump as the floor drops away, and the drives have nothing to push against, but they are falling more-or-less level. A bouncing lurch in the next instant indicates the presence of a surface beneath them. Luke almost crows in triumph – it worked! The repulsor drives held up! He grins at Sidney in relief, and activates the headlamps.
A drap gray wall lined with yellow pipes stands directly ahead. The tunnel fades to darkness both right and left. Rhythmic pounding rumbles up the way from the left. All remains quiet to the right.
If Luke turns to the left, Click Here
If Luke turns to the right, Click Here