As Ben had promised, it was indeed clear that the time was right.

Pulling the hold-out blaster from inside his jacket, he crossed to the door. Wait, Ben's voice came as the Suwantek made another sharp turn.

Stretch out to the Force. You'll know when.

"Got it," Luke said. Pressing the muzzle of the blaster against the door lock, he got a steadying grip on the edge of the computer desk and waited.

"Captain, we have an intruder," someone called from the crew pits. "It just came into the system, and now it's trying to run."

"Get me a reading," Ozzel ordered, turning from his contemplation of the burning pirate base far below and striding down the command walkway toward the sensor station. The freighter's configuration was one he'd never seen before, and he moved to the edge of the walkway for a better look.

"That has to be a meld," Somoril said from his side. "One ship linked to another." "You're right," Ozzel murmured; and with that, the odd shape suddenly resolved itself. The ship being carried was a Corellian light freighter, probably YT or YR cla.s.s. The one under power was a- Somoril inhaled sharply. "That's a Suwantek." Ozzel felt his mouth drop open.

"You don't think-?" "Tractor officer!" Somoril shouted, spinning around.

"Get a lock on that ship. Now!"

"Do it," Ozzel confirmed, a sudden hope stirring inside him. They'd come here to silence an Imperial agent who might know their shameful secret- and now, against all odds, they'd been given a chance to bury that secret along with her. "And launch TIE fighters," he added. "That ship is not to get away from us."

For a long minute, LaRone thought they were going to make it. Then the Suwantek lurched violently and he was thrown sideways against his restraints. "Quiller?"

"They've got us," the other bit out. "Tractor beam."

"We're still pretty far out," Marcross said. "Maybe we can pendulum our way clear."

"Try it," LaRone ordered.

The roar of the sublight engines changed pitch as Quiller switched direction, driving the Suwantek at right angles to the tractor beam as he tried to break them free. "Anything?" LaRone asked.

"Give it a minute," Quiller said. "We've got some freedom this direction, but for it to work we need to clear the sweep edge before they can lock another projector on us."

There was a sudden screaming thud from the stern. "Or before they can slag our engines," Marcross added tightly.

"Grave, Bright.w.a.ter-return fire," LaRone ordered as another turbolaser blast shivered across their aft shields.

His answer was a stutter of green light from the Suwantek's laser cannons. "We're way too far away to do any damage," Marcross said.

"I know, but we might be close enough to confuse their sensors a little,"

LaRone said. "Come on, Quiller- get us loose."

There was a flicker in the Force, exactly the way it felt when Luke was fighting the remote; and as the first laser blast hammered into the stern shield, he fired his blaster at the lock.

The door slid open, and he looked cautiously out. The corridor was deserted. Quickly he went to Han's door, staggering with the Suwantek's continued violent maneuvering, and keyed it open.

Han was standing by the computer desk, holding on to it for support, his face carved from stone as he stared at the repeater displays. "You all right?" Luke asked.

Han did a double take. "They let you out?"

"Not exactly," Luke said. "Han, Leia's in danger."

"We're in a little of that ourselves," Han said, plucking the blaster from Luke's hand and making a face at it. "Where'd you get this, a krinkle machine?"

"She's trapped in Makrin City on Shelkonwa, and the Empire knows she's there," Luke persisted.

"Later, kid." Brushing past, Han headed out into the corridor.

Luke could hear Chewbacca's bellowing even over the roar of the engines.

Han popped the lock and took a quick step back as a hairy Wookiee arm s.n.a.t.c.hed wildly at him through the opening door. "Relax-it's us," Han called.

Chewbacca caught his balance in midlunge, looking both ways down the corridor as he rumbled something.

"I don't know, but whoever it is they've got us locked," Han told him.

"Get down to the Falcon and get her ready."

"We're leaving?" Luke asked, instinctive relief at escaping a battle fighting with equally instinctive guilt at the thought of abandoning LaRone and the others to whoever or whatever out there was attacking them.

"Not yet," Han growled. "What do you think, Chewie? Bait and switch?"

The Wookiee considered, then warbled a response and headed to the hatch leading down to the Suwantek's ventral hatch. Opening it, he disappeared down the ladder. "What do you want me to do?" Luke asked.

"Stay out of the way," Han said shortly. Hefting the blaster, he headed forward.

The lounge was empty, as was the anteroom beyond it. Slapping the door release to the c.o.c.kpit, Han strode inside. He got two steps in before he suddenly seemed to notice the stormtrooper armor.

Luke winced. Too late, he realized he should have clued the other in about their captors. But with only the slightest hesitation Han continued forward. "Situation?" he snapped.

"Star Destroyer's got us locked," LaRone said. His face tightened as he saw the blaster in Han's hand, but his voice was crisp and professional.

"They may be launching TIEs."

"We're trying a pendulum," the man at the helm- Quiller, presumably- added.

"Any other ships in the area?" Han asked. "None," Marcross said, gazing darkly at Han from the copilot's seat. "The pirate base also seems to have been effectively neutralized."

"Okay." Han peered up briefly through the canopy at the triangle shape looming in the distance above them, then tapped Marcross on his armored shoulder. "Out," he ordered. "What?" Marcross asked warningly. "I said out," Han said, stepping back again to give Marcross room. He started to drop the hold-out blaster into his empty holster, apparently realized the tiny weapon would get lost in there, and instead tucked it into the left side of his belt in cross-draw position. "We've got some tricky maneuvering to do, and I don't have time to explain it to you," "Look, Solo-" "Do it," LaRone said.

Glowering, Marcross unstrapped and got out of his seat. He squeezed past Han, who took his place. "Give me comm to the Falcon," he ordered, giving the controls a quick look. "Chewie? You ready?"

An answering roar came from the speaker. "Good," Han said. "Somebody get ready to seal the ventral hatch and drop the collar connection." "Say when," Quiller said. "Now," Han said. "And give me helm." Quiller tapped a pair of switches. A moment later the Falcon blasted into view from beneath the Suwantek, shooting ahead of them and banking hard to the right.

"LaRone, the Corellian's running," Grave's voice snapped from the intercom.

"It's all right-let him go," LaRone said. "Keep firing at the Reprisal.

Quiller?"

"Tractor's still holding," Quiller said. "Whatever this trick is, it'd better be good."

"Give it a minute," Han said, sending the Suwantek in a figure eight at the end of its invisible tether.

"They've got to notice him first."

Abruptly, a hail of green bolts flashed through the s.p.a.ce behind the Falcon. "Okay, they've noticed him," Han went on. "Where are those TIEs you said they were launching?"

"Maybe they changed their-no, here they come," LaRone interrupted himself. "Four flights out of the main hangar."

Luke looked up, searching the sky. A moment later he spotted the eight TIE fighters burning their way toward them. Six were definitely heading for the Suwantek, the other two splitting off. "Looks like one flight's heading for the Falcon" he warned.

"Good-that's what they're supposed to do," Han told him. He glanced up, then twisted the control yoke hard over and slammed the throttle, swinging the Suwantek back around. "Chewie, we need a shroud."

"You've got a shroud?" Marcross asked. "Where?"

"What's a shroud?" Luke asked.

"Tractor beam confuser," Quiller said, sounding puzzled. "A wave-layered bomb containing high-reflectivity particles designed to throw off a lock.

But we didn't find anything like that when we searched your ship."

"That's 'cause we don't have one," Han told him as he twisted the Suwantek around again.

"So where are you planning to get one?" LaRone demanded.

"You don't get a shroud," Han corrected, looking up again. "You make one.

Chewie: go."

The Falcon cut hard to the left in response, spiraling up toward the two incoming TIE fighters. Shrugging off their laserfire, Chewbacca replied with a quick salvo of his own. The brilliant red bolts caught the lead TIE squarely in the nose, turning it into a ball of smoke and flame.

And small, reflective metallic particles. "That's our shroud?" Luke asked.

"You got it," Han confirmed. As the second TIE swerved around its late partner, he threw a burst of power to the Suwantek's drive, sending the ship curving directly beneath the point of destruction and running their tethering tractor beam straight into the expanding cloud of debris.

And with a violent lurch, the Suwantek was free. "Got it!" Quiller barked. "Go go go!" "We're clear, Chewie," Han called as he turned the Suwantek away from the Star Destroyer and threw full power to the drive, twisting like a hooked fish to keep the projectors from reestablishing contact. "Get out of there."

There was no reply. "Chewie?" Han called. "Chewie!" "Where is he?" Luke asked, craning his neck to see. "There," Quiller said, pointing. "He's moving toward the planet."

Han swore as he turned the Suwantek back around. "Hang on, buddy-we're coming," he called. "What are you doing?" Marcross demanded. "What do you think?" Han snapped back. "We go back now and they'll get us for sure,"

Marcross said.

"Not without a fight they won't."

"Us against a Star Destroyer:" Marcross grabbed at Han's shoulder. "Are you insane?"

"Let go," Han snarled, trying to shake off his hand. "Luke, get him off me."

"Wait a minute," Luke said, frowning at the drama in the distance. All the remaining TIEs had turned to follow the Falcon . . . and unless he was seeing things, so had the Star Destroyer itself. "They're ignoring us," he aid. "They're going after the Falcon."

"They know they can't get to us before we can jump, LaRone said tensely."We're as good as gone, so Ozzel's decided to go for the one they can catch."

"And they'll blast him out of the sky," Han gritted. "Quiller, what-"

"I'm taking back control," the pilot said as the Suwantek pulled back from its mad drive toward the dodging Falcon. "We can't do any good just charging in after him. We need a plan."

"We're going after him," Han insisted, letting go of the controls and reaching across for the blaster in his belt.

But Marcross's hand was closer to it than Han's was, and Marcross himself had obviously been expecting the move. The stormtrooper got there the same time Han did, deftly twisting the weapon out of Han's grip and stepping back out of reach. "Quiller's right," he said firmly. "Instead of arguing, give us a plan that'll work."

"We don't need a plan," Luke interrupted, pointing at the lines of data that had suddenly appeared across the comm display. "Chewie's already got one."

"Transmissions?" Ozzel demanded, glaring down into the crew pit. "What kind of transmissions?"

"I don't know, sir," the communications officer said, peering over his subordinates' shoulders as they worked feverishly at the signal. "They're encrypted, and we were just able to catch the edge of it. But it was definitely aimed at the pirate base and the hills north of it."

Ozzel snorted. "Well, whatever it was, it won't do them any good now," he said. "Fire control: I want that Corellian freighter demolished."

"Not so fast, Captain," Somoril said, his eyes narrowed. "They took a huge risk getting in close enough to make that transmission. I'd rather like to know what it was."

Ozzel clenched his teeth. But Somoril was right. "Belay that order," he called. "Tractor control: get a lock on the Corellian." He glared at that part of the crew pit. "And this time try to hold on to it."

"Looks like your buddy's heading for s.p.a.ce again," Marcross said, sounding confused. "Why didn't they hit him while he was still between them and the planet?"

"There must have been something in that transmission that convinced Ozzel they wanted him alive,** LaRone said. "Hitting him close in would have splattered him across the landscape."

"Well, they're making up for it now," Quiller said grimly. "There go the TIEs, straight for him. Probably got the tractor beams going, too."

"No problem," Han said, trying to sound more confident than he felt. He and Chewbacca had pulled this sort of flying leap dozens of times, and usually it worked just fine.

Only this time it was just Chewbacca out there, trying to handle both the ship and the quads by himself, and with an iffy hyperdrive to boot. The big Wookiee was good, but Han wasn't sure he was that good.

"Nearly far enough out for a jump," Quiller said. "Still no tractor lock."

"There go the TIEs, trying to cut him off," Marcross added. "Looks like Ozzel's finally woken up to the fact that he's going to lose him."

But it was too late, Han saw, with the TIEs too far back for that kind of entrapment. They tried anyway, sending wave after wave of fire spattering off the Falcon's stern shields. One of the bolts punched its way through, and Han winced as the armor picked up yet another dent. "Come on, Chewie, move it," he muttered under his breath.

"Maybe his hyperdrive isn't working," LaRone said soberly. "He hasn't tried it yet," Han told him. "The lughead's just trying to make sure everyone's on his tail and too far away to come after us."

Quiller whistled under his breath. "Gutsy." "And stupid," Han growled, wincing as the Star Destroyer belatedly opened up again with its turbolasers.

But once again the captain was too late. With a final quad burst at its pursuers, the Falcon flickered with pseudomotion and vanished.

"They're going to be tracking him," Quiller warned. "Trajectory capture, target probability bell-the whole list."

"They can try," Han said, heaving a quiet sigh of relief. Chewbacca could pull the craziest, most self-sacrificing stunts. "The only place he's going is back here."