Andevid ran to obey. Leia opened the comlink again and said, “Han, we’re leaving. Get everyone up here!”
Han didn’t reply, but she heard his voice, thick with relief, as he told Sian and Terae and the Arkanian, “Come on, ladies, we’re ditching this party.”
Davit motioned for the merchants to precede him into the ship, telling them, “Search it quickly; make sure no one is inside,” and took up a guard position with Leia. Leia felt momentarily grateful for Han’s occasional good taste in acquaintances. The bay doors slid open for Andevid, and Kifar charged in.
A few tense moments later, he was followed by the first of the freed prisoners. “This way, hurry, into the ship!” Leia shouted.
The prisoners ran across the bay and up the ramp, some helping the limping wounded, two of the Sullustans carrying an unconscious comrade. On the comlink, Leia heard Han yelling, “Go, go!” and blasterfire. She said, “Davit, are you a pilot?”
“I am. You wish me to go to the cockpit and prepare for takeoff?”
“Yes, if you would.”
Davit followed the last of the prisoners in, and Leia called out, “Andevid, Kifar, come on!”
Andevid came immediately, but Kifar hung back to take a look outside. He turned and started for the ship. “They’re coming! The droids are chasing them!”
That was what Leia had thought might happen. As Kifar reached the ramp, Sian, Terae, and the Arkanian slammed through the bay doors at full speed. Leia had time for her heart to freeze before Han hit the side of the doorway, fired his blaster at whatever was chasing him, then slapped the control to seal the doors.
Leia stepped away from the safety sensor as the others ran through the hatch. Han pounded up the ramp and she stepped through with him, then hit the control to shut the hatch and raise the ramp. “You’d better get up to the cockpit,” she told Han, “Davit will need some help.”
Han, breathing hard, sweat sticking his shirt to his chest, paused to tell her, “You pulled this off just in time, Your Worship.”
“You’re welcome,” Leia said, and holstered her blaster.
Degoren read the agent’s comm transmission again. “‘Will hold target here if possible,’” he quoted, incredulous. “Idiot. If the pirates kill her, we won’t even have proof of her death.”
“At least we know where Organa is,” Sorvir said, though he couldn’t keep the dubious tone out of his voice. “That’s something.”
“It’s not enough.” Degoren tapped the screen, making the gleaming letters vanish. “She’s on Viest’s clearinghouse. There’s no telling what that scheming pirate will want in exchange for her.”
They were on the bridge of the Darsumae, currently heading for Arnot Station. Idlen Trehar, Degoren’s agent on the station, had identified the rebel ship Gamble, docked under an altered ID, by the type of damage sustained in the attack. But Trehar hadn’t been able to say for certain if Organa was actually aboard the Gamble or not.
Trehar had also reported that a small freighter had made contact with the Gamble, but station security had interfered with his attempt to capture and question the freighter’s two crew members before the ship left. That was a setback, but not as much of a blow as the deep cover agent’s belated report that Organa wasn’t at Arnot Station but at the clearinghouse. Degoren hadn’t worked with this agent before, and he hated dealing with personnel whose abilities he knew nothing about. Especially in a situation like this, with the outcome so vital to the Empire and to himself.
They had worked with Viest before, when she had offered them information on other pirate ships in exchange for pay and favors. Degoren hadn’t trusted her then and he certainly didn’t now that she apparently had Leia Organa in her clutches. Paid informants were always trouble, and Viest clearly had her own agenda.
“Do we go after Organa?” Sorvir asked. “If we try to take her in the middle of the clearinghouse, Viest will resist. We’ll need more backup than just the corvette.”
If they waited for assistance, this wouldn’t be Degoren’s mission anymore. But that wasn’t the only consideration. “Charging into a pirate nest on the word of an agent we know nothing about, whose reports so far have always arrived just a little too late? Organa may already be dead.”
Sorvir grimaced, acknowledging the point. Degoren added, “If the agent can’t bring us Organa, we need to have something to show for our efforts. We’ll continue to Arnot Station and seize the Gamble.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Leia was relieved to see that one part of their plan had worked perfectly: as the pirate ship powered out of the bay, the sensors showed that all but a few of the ships in orbit had vanished.
They rendezvoused with the Millennium Falcon and the Aegis in the far outskirts of the system, at a safe distance from the mine, and after a quick comm conversation all three ships went into hyperspace with coordinates for Arnot Station. Once they were safely under way, Han used the pirate ship’s state of the art hyperwave comm to call the Falcon again to give Chewbacca and Luke a quick rundown on everything that had happened. That done, Leia sat with Terae in the privacy of the small captain’s cabin where there was an auxiliary comm station, while she called the Aegis to tell Kelvan and the rest of the crew about Metara.
It was not a pleasant conversation.
After Terae was done, Leia called Han in the cockpit and asked him to take the precaution of locking down the second comm set from the main station, so no one could use it without their knowledge. She wasn’t particularly suspicious of anyone, but even Davit didn’t know all the freed prisoners, and she didn’t want to take the chance that there was someone who might be unduly tempted to expose their location to the Empire or to anyone else who might be interested. As she shut down the power on the station, she watched Terae. “Are you all right?”
Terae blinked and rubbed her face. “Yes, just … Yes. Do you want me to tell Davit they can have this cabin now?”
The ship was just barely big enough for all their passengers, most of whom were sleeping wherever they could find a chair or a bench or a quiet stretch of deck. The wounded had been given priority access to bunks, and Leia was letting Davit organize who got what was left over. She said, “Yes, if you would.”
Leia was glad they had ended up with Terae. For one thing, the Aegis was unlikely to bolt without her, and for another, Leia wanted Terae to spend a little personal time with her ship’s victims, and see close-up the consequences of the Aegis’s actions.
They left the cabin, and Terae went to find Davit as Leia headed for the cockpit. There was one more comm transmission she needed to make.
She passed the hatch to the small galley where Andevid was investigating the food supply with some of the Sullustans. She wasn’t certain if any of the former prisoners realized that Andevid was a pirate who had defected. Leia was letting them assume he had always been one of their group and had no intention of telling anyone otherwise.
In the corridor, she ran into Kifar, who asked her, “You need me to keep an eye on that comm station, Your High—Leia?”
“No, it’s not necessary. I had Han lock it down from the cockpit.” He was clearly looking for a way to be helpful; Leia sympathized, but she still needed to deal with him. Later. “Get some sleep.”
She stepped past him and went down the short passage into the ship’s cockpit. It was similar to the Falcon’s but twice the size, and she could actually walk across it from the comp-console to the comm without hitting her head or climbing over a Wookiee. Han and Sian were at the main console, though there was nothing to do at the moment since the streaked stars of hyperspace filled the viewport. Sian was curled up in the copilot’s chair, napping. Leia kept her voice quiet as she told Han, “I’m going to call General Willard and let him know we’re alive. If you want to get some sleep, too, I can stand watch.”
Han was leaning back in the roomy pilot’s seat with his head propped on the broad headrest and his long legs stretched out. His whole demeanor suggested business a
s usual, except for the bruises and bloodstains. Leia tossed him the packet of concussion meds she had found in the medkit in the captain’s cabin. He caught it and frowned at her. “Don’t you ever sleep?”
“Of course I do.” Leia took a seat at the comm station to send a hyperwave to the Gamble, which according to Luke was probably still docked at Arnot Station. “You’ve seen me sleep.” It belatedly occurred to her that that was an opening for comments that she was too tired to field adequately at the moment.
But Han just snorted skeptically and dry-swallowed a couple of the pills. Maybe he was feeling worse than he looked. As Leia worked on the unfamiliar comm system, he said, “What are you going to do about Itran?”
Leia sighed. “I’m going to give him a chance to talk to me, or his commanding officer, about what happened. If he doesn’t …” The Alliance wasn’t unused to personnel who were frightened or tortured into revealing information; the Empire’s interrogation methods were highly effective, and it was a hazard that every command took into account. Leia knew all about those methods in intimate detail. But she was well aware that having experienced torture and the aftermath and effects of it, knowing what weak spots it had given her and how to handle them, didn’t always let her know anything about how others would react. It was rare to get someone back alive after they had broken like that, and hard to tell what to do with them afterward. Some chose to leave the Alliance altogether; others had managed to go back into service. Kifar had conducted himself bravely during their escape, but Leia wasn’t really certain how to evaluate him until she knew exactly what had happened with Viest. “I’m not sure yet. I think I’ll worry about that when we get back to the fleet.”
Han didn’t argue or pursue the issue, beyond an editorial hmmph noise that didn’t sound particularly pleased.
It took Leia a few moments to hit Arnot Station’s comm relay, and then to hail the Gamble. When the comm board confirmed a connection, she sent her recognition code. The ship sent the correct response, and she said, “Gamble, this is Leia Organa. I need to speak to General Willard, please.”
The voice that acknowledged her wasn’t familiar, but then it wasn’t as if she had had a chance to get to know every member of the crew. But the next voice wasn’t familiar, either.
“Your Highness, this is Commander Degoren. I was sent by the Alliance High Command to assist General Willard, since he was injured. He’s receiving medical treatment at the moment and can’t come to the comm.”
Degoren? Leia thought. She didn’t recognize the name, and she was certain he wasn’t one of the commanders assigned to the Independence. And the Falcon was the only ship that had been sent to assist the Gamble, at least according to Luke. And General Willard was well enough to send the Falcon after us when it arrived. “Commander, what ship are you assigned to?”
“I came aboard the Visara, a transport escort. I was told we were the closest ship. And we’re all very relieved to know you’re alive and well. General Willard was very worried.”
Leia didn’t like this. She remembered seeing the Visara’s name on a list of transport escort ships, but she knew nothing more about it. Her thoughts must have showed on her face, because Han sat up straight, watching her. Sian had woken and was squinting worriedly, still half asleep. Leia asked, “Are you taking the Gamble back to the fleet, is that your mission?”
“My mission is to accompany you to the site of the meeting with the traders, Your Highness. If you’re still able to continue? You didn’t say what your situation was.”
Leia set her jaw to keep from swearing aloud. Han kept his swearing to a mutter. Sian sat bolt upright, staring in alarm. Leia made herself say, “I’m quite able to continue, Captain.” Whoever this was, he hadn’t been sent by the Alliance, and he hadn’t spoken to General Willard. Or … “My situation is fine. What did General Willard tell you about the procedure for contacting the Alliance agent?”
“He said you would need to give us the decoded transmission with the coordinates, Your Highness.”
“Of course,” Leia said. Sian’s brow was furrowed in confusion, and Han’s expression was a study in ironic commentary. “I’ll hand over the coordinates as soon as we arrive at the station.”
There was a hesitation, clearly audible across all the empty space between the ship and Arnot Station. Then Degoren said smoothly, “Very well, Your Highness.”
Leia signed off and tapped her fingers against the station chair’s arm. There was a distinct sinking sensation in her middle. This was bad. Just how bad, she wasn’t certain yet.
“You think Willard’s alive?” Han asked.
Leia hoped he was. “I don’t know. I wonder what they did to him before he let slip that little item of erroneous information.” It had clearly been designed as a message to her, a warning.
“What erroneous information?” Sian asked. “The location of the meeting?”
“Yes. The location was Arnot Station,” Leia told her grimly. “General Willard and I are the only ones who know that.”
Sian grimaced and sat back in her chair. “You think the Imperials … Obviously they have the Gamble, but do you think they’ve taken the whole station?”
“It’s a possibility.” Leia considered it. Would Degoren try to lure them in if there was something the size of an Imperial cruiser in the system? She shook her head. “I think it’s unlikely. I think they want us to dock at Arnot Station and go to the Gamble. The trap will be set there.”
“So we know this merchant Janlan told Viest that Davit’s ship was going to Arnot Station,” Han said, “and we know there’s a leak somewhere in the Alliance’s communications that told the Imperials where the Gamble was coming out of hyperspace to get the transmission. So who told the Imperials the Gamble was at Arnot Station and that at some point we—you—would be on the way back there? Because it’s you they’re after, sweetheart.”
Leia was afraid he was right. Degoren, whoever he was, already had General Willard and the other Alliance personnel aboard the Gamble. The only reason to delay and set this trap was to capture her.
Thinking aloud, she said, “Someone at the clearinghouse contacted the Empire. It had to be Viest. She must have been an Imperial informant, or at least she knew an Imperial agent or officer fairly local to this space who would buy information from her. She told them I had a ship that docked at Arnot Station, and the Imperials took the chance that I’d go back there.” Frustrated, Leia turned back to the comm. “We need to find out what the situation is on the station. If the Imperials have seized control of it, if they’ve taken General Willard and the rest of the Gamble’s crew onto an Imperial ship …” If they had, it was over and they had no chance to get them back.
“We got that covered.” Han slung himself out of his chair and crossed the cockpit in two long strides, heading for the hatch. “We’ve got Davit.”
Leia stood beside the comm station, listening intently as Davit called his friend the portmaster of Arnot Station. Terae and Kifar both stood in the hatchway to listen, and a couple of the merchants, leaders of the consortium, had crowded into the compartment access behind them. Not that listening was doing most of them any good at the moment, since Davit was conducting his conversation in a language that wasn’t Basic, but Leia forced herself to patience.
Finally Davit signed off and turned to them to report, “The Imperials have not taken the station, or announced themselves in any way.”
Behind her, Leia heard the merchants exclaim in relief. Davit continued, “The portmaster had no idea they were Imperials at all. Their ship docked only a few hours ago, an armed freighter with an ID that named it as the Darsumae, out of Sullust. It landed no cargo, which was somewhat suspicious to him, but the ship showed no other sign of being a pirate. He is not aware of any fighting or contretemps with the crew of the Gamble, but he checked for me and said that the Gamble’s bay doors are sealed now, as are the Darsumae’s.”
It gave Leia a much better idea of what must have happened. “Dego
ren must have talked his way aboard and taken General Willard hostage.” She knew in her bones that if the general had had the chance he would have fought. He knew all too well what the captured crew would face, and he would have been desperate to keep them from being used as bait for Leia.
Sian seconded that with a grim nod. “With the captain and first officer dead, and the general taken prisoner, there wouldn’t be anybody left to give orders except Jerell.”
Han managed to confine his comment to, “Yeah, they wouldn’t have had a chance.”
Leia thought Jerell would see it as his duty to protect General Willard at any cost, including surrendering the ship to save him. Yes, she could see how this had played out. “Thank you, Davit. Your help has been invaluable.”
“But what will we do now?” Davit asked, his high forehead furrowed in worry.
The first thing Leia wanted to do was get all these civilians they had just rescued out of this situation. “We need to talk to the Aegis and the Falcon. We need a plan.” She already had the glimmers of one. But it all depended on what the Aegis was willing to do.
Leia signaled both the Millennium Falcon and the Aegis, to drop out of hyperspace; they had to form a plan before they arrived at the station. In the darkness between stars they had a comm conference.
A quick call to the Falcon to talk to Luke confirmed Leia’s suspicions, not that she particularly needed them confirmed. Luke told her, “No, General Willard was fine when I talked to him. He looked bad—you could tell he’d been slammed into a bulkhead or two—but that was it. And when we left the Independence, there was no plan to send a second ship. Madine was too worried about how the Empire got the information about the Gamble in the first place.”