“I think we need not worry about more Imperials for a day or two,” Captain Sodarra comments. “The commander has no reason to suspect anything is amiss with this squad. Lieutenant Birdloe, set a minimal picket. All other personnel are on burial detail.”
“As you order,” Birdloe responds.
“Chewbacca and I’ll fix the Falcon so we can get off this snowball,” Han says. “We’ll need some help later.”
“My men are your men,” Sodarra responds diplomatically.
After thirty minutes of work, Chewie reports that they have a cracked hyperdrive actuation diode. Assuming Sodarra’s deserters will help, the Wookiee feels he can repair everything else within a day. But without a new diode for the actuation field generator, the Falcon will never enter hyperspace again.
“We’ll have to steal one from the Imperials,” Han says. “I’ll see if Sodarra can help.”
The ex-Imperial is less than enthusiastic about the smuggler’s plan.
“They are hunting us – they will be on full alert. Our force is pitiful in both number and armament. We may be safe from discovery, but to go seeking trouble? You cannot be serious.”
Before Han can argue the matter, a high pitched whine echoes up the valley. Everyone has grown used to the occasional thunder of cracking and falling glacial ice, but this is an eerie new sound. Even Chewbacca stops working and reaches for his weapon. Han at first believes the drone to be the plaintive wall of some giant ice creature. But a few seconds of increasing volume and steady pitch convince him it is some sort of repulsor drive.
“Captain Solo,” calls one of Sodarra’s men. “A woman hails you over the emergency channel.”
The Corellian shrugs in response to Sodarra’s unspoken question and runs for the Falcon. When he reaches the vidscreen, he is dumb-founded. Leia hails him.
Han opens a transmission channel. “Leia!”
“Han? You’re alive! We saw you do down -“
“Are you safe?”
“Of course; being kidnapped is no big deal,” she responds sarcastically. “I am uninjured, if that’s what you mean. But we’ve got bigger problems than my abduction. How did you manage to attract a Star Destroyer?”
“I didn’t,” the smuggler replies. “The credit is all yours, Princess.”
“MINE?” Leia screams.
“Every time I turn my back -“
“Somebody tries to vibro-knife it! You’re a dangerous man to know, Han Solo.”
“You should have stuck with us like I said -“
“Sleazy floorshows aren’t my style,” Leia says.
“And rescuing Princesses isn’t mine. This is the last -“
The transmission goes dead.
“Leia?”
No answer, just static.
“Leia?”
More static.
“LEIA!”
The video display returns. Instead of Leia, it shows a small gray helmet with a full mas. Long red hair cascades from beneath the helmet. “We meet at last, Solo.” The voice comes through an electronic translator.
Han activates the artificial memory to record the conversation. “Are you Alfreda Goot? What do you want with Leia?”
“I am Alfreda and I will ask the questions. First, what is the condition of the Millennium Falcon?”
“We’re grounded, so I guess our little race is off.”
“Permanently. There are two companies of stormtroopers thirty kilometers from your position. They will find you sooner or later. What do you require to repair your vessel?”
“Why are you helping us?” Han demands.
“My interest is to beat the Falcon to Mos Eisley – not to destroy it.”
“I’d like to talk to you about your choice of destinations -“
“Mos Eisley,” Alfreda insists.
“I’ve got a little problem there. Ever hear of Jabba the Hutt?”
“If you want to see your precious princess alive again, you wil go to Mos Eisley. Now, what do you need to repair the Falcon?”
Alfreda promises to return the next day with the diode. Although the smuggler trusts Alfreda less than he trusts Sodarra, he has little choice except to rely upon her promise. Shortly after the transmission ends, Captain Sodarra climbs into the Falcon’s buried cockpit.
“The strange noise was a space yacht – quite an ugly space yacht.”
:Know it?” Han asks hopefully.
“No. It was shaped like a pear-fruit; broad on the bottom and narrow on the top. I assume the transmission came from the yacht?”
The Corellian nods. He replays the portion of the conversation he recorded and tells the story of Leia’s kidnapping. Sodarra listens without emotion.
At last, the Imperial captain says, “A strange incident. Leia is the senator from Alderaan?”
“Know her?”
“The Emperor’s agents have placed a high price on her head.” Don’t even think of collecting,” Han warns.
Sodarra smiles. “I also have a price on my head.”
“Speaking of which, what’s the big deal about your cargo?”
Sodarra hesitates. “I can trust your discretion?”
“Absolutely,” Han replies.
“My men and I were to transport the prototype of a new compact cloaking device to the secret Imperial Production Laboratories on Rigoron. We decided to sell it to Ploovo-two-for-one instead. Alas we are unused to such scum; he double-crossed us and prepared an Imperial ambush. We have been looking for safe port ever since.”
The smuggler whistles. “That took guts.”
Sodarra nods. “Perhaps you can help us. We would gladly show our appreciation with a full share.”
“Maybe I can – but I have a race to win,” Han says. “And maybe the price would be five full shares.”
“Three,” Sodarra counters. “And we will help you with the race.”
“Four.”
“Done.”
Han smils warmly as they shake hands. He would have settled for three.
The two spacers spend the next thirty-six hours working on the Falcon. Although some of the repairs are not pretty, they will hold until the ship reaches better facilities.
When his mind is not fully occupied with a mechanical problem, Han puzzles over Alfreda Goot’s true identity. She acts as though she knows him well, and he certainly finds it strange that she has risked an encounter with an Imperial Star Destroyer to aid him. There is the fact, too, that Leia did not seem worried about her own safety when they spoke. Although Han cannot deduce Alfreda’s identity yet, he begins to fear less for Leia. As his fear subsides, his anger increases. The whole screwy race has the feeling of a practical joke gone sour.
As he and Chewbacca are putting the finishing touches on the power flux coupling which had been damaged in Mon Torri’s rings, Alfread’s ship descends from the overcast sky. It hovers twenty meters above the glacier and opens a hatch. A small brown package falls out and strikes the snow, then the yacht is gone.
“Thanks a lot!” Han yells after it.
After one of his men retrieves the package, Sodarra says, “Your gratitude may be premature.” He gives the pilot a note that is attached to the diode. It reads, “Imperial walker, four hours away.”
“Plenty of time,” Han says, turning toward Chewie. “Right?”
Two hours and fifteen minutes later, Han and Chewbacca finish installing the diode. The smuggler is already firing up the Falcon’s repulsor lift drive as the last man boards. When the mighty engines gleam to life, they create a fair-sized lake in the crash furrow. A moment later, the Corellian freighter bursts from the snow and streaks toward space.
As the Falcon reaches Mon Torri’s rings, Han studies the flight computer for signs of the Eradicator. A large object is moving along the edge of the inner ring at an unusual velocity. The pilot activates the nav computer astrogation program and asks Lieutenant Birdloe to monitor it. He and Chewbacca each climb into a laser cannon turret to get a better view of whatever is moving along the inner ring. It turns out to be a Sivorian mining complex. Everyone breathes a sigh of relief, and Han returns to the cockpit to take the Falcon into hyperspace.