Chewbacca returns from the engineering station and tells Han where he has hidden the bomb. The pilot smiles and takes his chronometer back. After dropping the Falcon out of hyperspace, he re-programs the nav computer for Shador. Birdloe hovers over his shoulder, watching. When he finishes, he sarcastically asks, “Satisfied?”
“Sorry,” Birdloe says. He steps back.
Han smiles to himself and activates the hyperdrive. The stars turn to streaks of doppler-shifted light. They stay in the cockpit for six hours, giving the stormtroopers time to relax and become as careless as they will. Finally, when Han notices Birdloe’s helmet nodding as if he is having trouble staying awake, Han stands. “Come on, Chewbacca. I want to check those actualtion circuits again.”
Chewie complains bitterly, and Birdloe appears to become more alert.
“I know you fixed them, but I want toc heck. We can’t go into Shador announcing our position. Those thieves won’t even wait to see who we are before blasting us into meteorites.”
The Wookiee stands. Although he appears recalcitrant, Han knows the act is for Birdloe’s benefit.
Birdloe reluctantly steps aside and follows them to the engineering station. While Han secures the bomb, Chewbacca occupies Birdloe’s attention by angrily and noisily removing the access panel leading to the power core grid. With the small bomb hidden beneath his shirt, the pilot climbs into the ventilation grid. Birdloe, apparently unused to the jury-rigged systems aboard small freighters such as the Falcon, does not even think to ask Han why he needs to enter the power core to fix an actuation system.
Once the pilot is safely out of sight behind the access door leading to the cargo bay. he breathes a quiet sigh of relieve. He takes a moment to gather his courage. He does not expect to find a guard inside the bay, for Sodarra has stationed one at every entrance, but Han dreads entering the crate more than he fears meeting a guard. He does not understand how standing next to a man can make him feel ill but it does.
He pushes the access door open and steps into the cargo bay. To his surprise, Sodarra has stationed a guard in the bay. The stormtrooper raises his blaster rifle and aims at Han. “Hold on!” the Corellian says.
The blaster flares and Han feels a terrible impact in his right hip. Before Han hits the floor, the guard fires again. He is already dizzy.
Where will Han wake up? Will the Dark Lord be active again by then? Regardless of what happens next, Han knows he has lost the race – and that ends this adventure. Click Here to return to the beginning and start again.