Star Wars - Truce at Bakura Page 16

  official use. How quickly could you get to the roof port?"

  Could this be a trap? Did it have anything to do with the dream warning?

  He jumped out of the warm, comfortable bed. At least he felt rested, and his

  aches had left him. "I'm on my way."

  He dressed hastily and decided to wake Chewbacca and take him along.

  Chewie wouldn't need to waste time getting dressed, and he'd be extra eyes,

  brain, and especially muscle. Han had to stay with Leia, though. She'd said

  something about a breakfast appointment with Gaeriel's uncle.

  A disturbance. He couldn't imagine Rebel troops making trouble--

  Well, yes. He could. He clipped on his lightsaber.

  He dashed out his bedroom door and around the corner into Chewie's, then

  stepped back from th e bed. He didn't want to tangle with a suddenly roused

  Wookiee. "Chewie," he whispered, "wake up. We've got trouble."

  "Slow down, Chewie."

  Chewbacca steered the landspeeder around the spaceport's outer-arc access

  road. Luke peered ahead and to the right. Pad 12, the temporary Alliance

  ground base, lay just beyond the next radial road outward from the control

  tower. Spaceport lights gleamed on this side of the radial, but on the other

  side, dark night was lit only by occasional flashes that looked like blaster

  fire. Either someone had shot out Pad 12's lights, or someone had shut them

  down. Where was Spaceport Security?

  They swooped left, past Pad 12, then onto its access road through an open

  gate in its high metal-chain fence. Unguarded, Luke observed. Maybe the guards

  had gone in to settle the disturbance. He pulled down the hitched-up back of

  his parka. Out here in the night, between two rivers, damp air wasn't so

  pleasant.

  Four multiship launchingstlanding pads lay in a cluster between these

  radial roads and the spaceport boundary, and in the middle of that cluster sat

  a small, unattractive cantina that looked like two bungalows joined at right

  angles. Someone standing next to it waved them down.

  Chewie grounded the speeder in the angle between bungalows. With the

  repulsor engine shut down, eerie silence rang for about ten seconds. Then

  another whizz of blaster fire brought up the hair on the back of Luke's neck

  and lit the silhouette of a tall repair gantry. The dark-haired person

  sprinted toward them. "Manchisco!" Luke exclaimed. "What's happening?"

  The Flurry's captain shook her black braids. "Our allies--right over

  there--insist they've got a pair of Ssi-ruuk trapped behind one of our ships.

  I can't get in close enough to confirm it. They're shooting everything that

  moves."

  "Nobody has any macrobinoculars?" Han had a pair on the Falcon, a quarter

  of a kilometer away.

  Manchisco shook her head.

  "Well, can'mon. You too, Chewieffwas Luke ran toward the gantry,

  unhooking his saber.

  Before they reached it, a voice shouted, "You! Get down! Get back, if

  you're unarmed--the aliens have landed! They've killed two of us!"

  Manchisco ducked into the pitiful cover of an Artoo-size recharge unit.

  Chewie edged closer to the gantry.

  "Ssi-ruuk wouldn't kill people," Luke muttered. "They'd take prisoners.

  Chewie, cover me." If the Ssi-ruuk were here, he'd rather deal with them

  himself--despite that eerie warning.

  But he had an unsettling hunch. He drew and ignited his lightsaber. By

  its glimmer, he spotted Chewbacca aiming his bowcaster into the darkness.

  "Stay there," Luke said softly. "That's close enough."

  Eerie silence had fallen again. "Everybody hold your fire," Luke shouted.

  Step by step he advanced, holding the saber upright in front of him. Although

  its light was dim compared with the spaceport beacons, it was all the light in

  Pad 12.

  He rounded an Alliance gunship. Two human bodies lay sprawled on that

  odd, rough glassy surface. He paced past them, listening hard for hostile

  intent. All he felt was panicked fright.

  Geometric forms sparkled ahead, metallic surfaces of another repair

  gantry reflecting the light of his saber. "Who's there?" Luke shouted. "Show

  yourselves!"

  A domed Calamarian head appeared behind the gantry. Then another.

  Luke groaned and sprinted toward them. "What are you doing down here?" he

  demanded.

  "Shore leave," wheezed the nearer one, straightening his stiff, high

  round collar.

  "Authorized?" Luke asked. Surely their commanding officer had more sense

  than to--

  The Calamarian waved a finny hand. "Of course, Commander. Our rotation

  came up. We're as tired as anyone else. But these strangers spotted us."

  "So you killed two of them?"

  "Commander, they were charging us! Ten of them! They fired first,

  Commander."

  Luke wanted to go back to Endor. "One of you come with me."

  "Sir?" The Calamarian backstepped, clenching his blaster.

  "That's an order," Luke said quietly. "Follow close, so I can cover you."

  Slowly the tall alien wormed out of his hiding spot in the gantry. A

  blaster bolt zinged in from across the way. Luke whirled and deflected it,

  then shouted, "Hold your fire! Chewie, beat their heads together if you have

  to!"

  A Wookiee roar echoed across the empty area between ship and gantry.

  "All right," said Luke. "Come on."

  Walking a little more slowly, this time--the Calamarian wouldn't move any

  faster--Luke retraced his steps toward the gunship. He avoided the spot where

  the bodies lay. "Chewie, where are you?"

  Another burst of blaster fire flashed in, then another. Luke leaped and

  spun, parrying without thought.

  Just as suddenly, the firing stopped. A weird creaking groan came from

  the gantry ahead... and the unmistakable roar of a furious Wookiee. Luke held

  up his saber to get a better look. The metal tower rocked violently. High

  overhead, several dark forms clung to struts in the black night. Blasters

  clattered to the ground.

  "Good work, Chewie," Luke called. He adjusted his grip on the saber.

  "Okay," he shouted, "everybody down. Get a good look. This is a Mon Calamari.

  Not a Ssi-ruu. Look at him!" He heard scuffling noises, but no faces appeared

  in the green-lit circle. "Come on," he called, losing patience.

  After three seconds of silence, he heard Chewbacca whuffle.

  Then out they came, ten humans--eight males and two females--dressed in

  an assortment of loose, bulky coats and warm hats. None appeared to be armed,

  now. One male, shorter and thinner than the others, pointed at the Calamarian.

  "He's right--it's not a Flutie," he said. Luke recognized the voice. This was

  the man who'd tried to warn him away.

  A larger man pushed forward, squinting. Green light flattered nobody, but

  Luke guessed this character wore dark circles under his bulging eyes in any

  light. "Quiet, Vane."

  The thin man shut his mouth but shuffled closer to Luke and the

  Calamarian. Tessa Manchisco stepped into the circle of light. Her eyes

  reflected green anger.

  "This pad is blocked off for the use of Alliance crews," Luke said

  sternly. "Why are you here?"

  Dark-circles crossed his beefy arms. "T
his is our planet, sword boy.

  We'll thank you to keep critters like that fish--and that hairy one--off of

  it."

  Chewbacca edged toward that side of the gang.

  Luke needed information, and he needed it quickly. Had these ruffians

  been sent in by the Empire, or were they acting alone? The thin Bakuran stood

  close enough for Luke to attempt probing his mind, briefly. Luke felt certain

  his motives were good enough that he didn't risk drifting toward the dark

  side.

  Still, he hesitated before focusing his attention tightly toward the thin

  man, opening himself to listen for the man's feelings (ccfusion, fear,

  embarrassment, suspicion...). He thrust past them into memory.

  He didn't have to search very deeply. "A little something, direct from

  the governor's office," had been promised if they hung out close to Pad 12 and

  made certain the Ssi-ruuk didn't infiltrate Bakura by way of that closed-off

  Alliance landing area.

  Luke broke off the contact and lowered his lightsaber. "Go home." He

  hoped his voice sounded as disgusted as he felt. "Tell Governor Nereus that

  we'll police Pad Twelve ourselves."

  No one moved.

  A deep, throaty rumble started from Chewbacca's direction. Picking up the

  cue, Luke added, "Go on. You still haven't seen a Wookiee get really mad."

  The thin man slunk out of the green-lit circle toward the bodies. One by

  one, the others followed. Soon a bedraggled little group shambled toward Pad

  12's main gate, carrying their comrades.

  No sooner had they passed through the gate than the main bank of lights

  lit up again.

  Someone must be watching from the Imperial garrison, only a few

  kilometers south. And Spaceport Security was unquestionably busy at Pad 2, or

  6, or 9. On Imperial business.

  He exhaled hard. "Let's go make sure the Falcon's okay, Chewie."

  When Threepio wakened Leia early, she found a message from Luke He'd

  taken Chewbacca to the spaceport to oversee ship repairs. She dressed

  hurriedly in the bathroom and braided up her hair. Scurrying back out, she

  caught sight of a tall human standing against the mural wall. She gasped and

  stopped in midstep. By dim room light, he glimmered faintly and washed out the

  real-time image of a sparkling city.

  Luke had said he sometimes saw Ben Kenobi like this. Backing away, she

  squinted. This man didn't look like the old general, nor anyone else she'd met

  before.

  Whoever he was, he didn't belong in her apartment. She eyed her blaster,

  just out of reach on the repulsor bed. It probably lacked a certain threat

  against apparitions, if this was one. "Who are you?" she demanded. "State your

  business."

  "Do not fear me," the figure said softly. "Tell Luke to remember that

  fear is of the dark side."

  Who was this person, bringing messages for Luke into her allegedly

  private quarters? A Bakuran? An Imperial? "Who are you?"

  The stranger stepped sideways into a darker spot, where his glow

  brightened. He was tall, with a broad pleasant face and dark hair. "I am your

  father, Leia."

  Vader. A chill started at her feet and shivered its way to her scalp. His

  very presence stirred every dark emotion she owned fear, hatred--

  "Leia," the figure repeated, "do not fear me. I am f orgiven, but I have

  much that I wish to atone for. I must clear your heart and your mind of anger.

  Anger is the dark side, too."

  Her blaster definitely wouldn't help. Even when he'd lived, he'd

  deflected blaster bolts bare-handed. She'd seen him do it at Cloud City. "I

  want you to leave." The dark chill froze her voice. "Disincorporate. Fade out,

  or whatever you do."

  "Wait." He did not move away from the wall. If anything, he seemed to

  shrink in size and proximity. "I am no longer the man that you feared. Can you

  not see me as a stranger, not an old enemy?"

  She'd lived too long with the fear of Darth Vader. "You can't restore

  Alderaan. You can't bring back the people you murdered, or comfort their

  widows and orphans. You can't undo what you did to the Alliance." Old pain

  jabbed her like a fresh wound.

  "I strengthened the Alliance, although that was not my intent." He

  extended a glimmering arm. The mellow voice sounded wrong. The mild, naked

  face didn't look as if it'd hidden for decades behind a black breath mask.

  "Leia, things are changing. I may never be able to return to you."

  She glanced away. Maybe she couldn't harm him with her blaster, but it

  would feel good in her hands. If she stretched, she could almost reach it.

  "Good."

  "There is no justifying... my actions. Yet your brother saved me from

  darkness. You must believe me."

  "I heard Luke." She crossed her arms and clenched her hands around her

  elbows. "But I'm not Luke. Or your teacher. Or your confessor. I'm only your

  daughter by a cruel trick of fate."

  "Of the Force," he insisted. "Even that served a purpose. I am proud of

  your strengths. I do not ask for absolution. Only your forgiveness."

  She set her chin and kept her arms crossed. "How about what you did to

  Han? Are you going to beg him for his forgiveness?"

  "Only through you. My time here is short."

  She swallowed. Her throat felt dry. "I can almost forgive you torturing

  me." He bowed his head. "And the evils you did to other people--because those

  drove so many worlds into the Alliance. But cruelty to Han... no. If you want

  to go through me, you won't get his forgiveness. Never."

  The figure shrank farther away. "ationever is too large a ^w, my child."

  Darth Vader, lecturing her about virtue and eternity? "I will never

  forgive you. Dematerialize. Go away."

  "Leia, I may not speak to you again, but I'll hear if you call me. If you

  change your mind, I will be watching."

  She stared. How dare he, after all his cruelties and perversities? Let

  Luke deal with him. She would not.

  How did Luke stand knowing this was their father?

  She rushed out of the bedroom. Morning light streamed through the main

  room's long window, lighting yellow walls and dark flooring. Han pushed up out

  of the closest corner lounge. "You're going to be late, Highness-ness."

  Threepio waddled toward her. "Are you ready, Mistress L--?"

  She had seized up the Owner and shut off Threepio. Now she turned to

  watch the bedroom door. No one emerged. "He can't do this to me," she

  muttered. "To my life. He can't do it!"

  Han glanced at the comically frozen droid, then crinkled his mouth. "He

  who? Did you get a call from that captain guy?"

  Flinging out her arms, she paced past the windows. "Oh, fine. That's all

  you can think of, your petty"--she grabbed a couch pillow--?lousy"--she

  twisted it between her hands--?jealousy! Vader's been here, and all you can

  think of is... acch!"

  "Whoa, Princess." He showed her his palms. "Vader's dead. Luke burned

  him. I took a speeder bike out and saw the ash pile."

  Leia's stomach hurt. "You saw his body. I just saw the... rest of him."

  "You're seeing things too, now?" He stood hip-hitched, hands in his

  pockets, eyebrows raised. "Either
you're getting stronger in this Force stuff

  or Luke's a bad influence."

  "Maybe both," she said bitterly. "If I had to see ghosts, I could've put

  up with that Yoda of his. I would've enjoyed talking to General Kenobi. Who do

  I get?" Dropping the pillow, she struck the yellow wall with a fist.

  "Easy," he murmured. "It's not my fault."

  "I know it isn't." Now her knuckles hurt, too. Frustrated, she pivoted to

  lean against the wall. She glared back across the lounge pit's blue and green

  cushions toward her bedroom.

  "What did he want?"

  "You're gonna love this. To apologize."

  Han gave a short, disbelieving laugh and ran a hand over his eyes.

  "Yeah," she said. "My sentiments exactly."

  "You know, you've been jumping at everything that reminded you of him.

  Now you've faced him down. Maybe the worst is over."

  "It's not." She let her shoulders sink. "Han, he's still here. I'm..."

  Unable to finish the sentence, she shut her eyes.

  "So what?" Han stepped closer and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Hey,

  nobody gets to be as big a deal with the Empire as he was without a lot of

  strengths and abilities. You got 'em. You're just using 'em differently."

  How could he be so insensitive? "Thanks a lot, Han." She considered

  taking a swing at him.

  "Leia?" He spread his arms. "I'm sorry too. I guess. Sorry I made a stink

  about that Alderaanian guy, anyway."

  She drew a long, slow breath and stayed against the wall. "Go away."

  "All right," Han exclaimed abruptly, "okay! I can take a hint." Glaring,

  he stalked around the lounge pit.

  "Han, wait!" What had she done, venting her anger on the one person she

  shouldn't hurt? He passed Threepio, then the darkened comm station, almost

  reaching the main door. "Han, it's... it's the Vader in me. I can't help what

  I am."

  As the impact of what she'd said flooded through her, Han stopped beside

  the black console. He turned slowly. "No," he said. "It's the Skywalker in

  you."

  That name--Luke's name--didn't raise her hackles the same way. A fleeting

  thought flashed through her mind What had Vader been like... before he was

  Vader?

  "I'll tell you one thing." Han walked up to the edge of the lounge pit.

  "Governments need each other. Yeah. Planets do, species do. But so do people."

  Governments. She was going to be late for breakfast with the prime