The rest of the assembled soldiers were dismissed by the officer. On board the

freighter, a last long figure left off examining the space beneath the cockpit consoles

and ran to join his comrades. He was anxious to be off this ghost ship and back in

the comfortable surroundings of the barracks. His heavy footsteps echoed through

the once more empty freighter.

Below, the muffled sounds of the officer giving final orders faded, leaving the

interior in complete quiet. The quivering of a portion of the floor was the only

movement on board.

Abruptly the quivering became a sharp, upheaval. Two metal panels popped

upward, followed by a pair of tousled heads. Han Solo and Luke looked around

quickly, then managed to relax a little when it became clear that the ship was as empty

as it sounded.

"Lucky you'd built these compartments," Luke commented.

Solo was not as cheerily confident. "Where did you think I kept smuggled

goods—in the main hold? I admit I never expected to smuggle myself in them."

He started violently at a sudden sound, but it was only another of the panels shifting

aside.

"This is ridiculous. It isn't going to work. Even if I could take off and get

past the closed hatch"—he jabbed a thumb upward—"we'd never get past that tractor

beam."

Another panel opened, revealing the face of an elderly imp. "You leave that to

me."

"I was afraid you'd say something like that," muttered Solo. "You're a damn

fool, old man."

Kenobi grinned at him. "What does that say of the man who allows himself to

be hired by a fool?"

Solo muttered something under his breath as they pulled themselves clear of the

compartments, Chewbacca doing so with a good deal of grunting and twisting.

Two technicians had arrived at the base of the ramp. They reported to the two

bored soldiers guarding it.

"The ship's all yours," one of the troopers told them. "If the scanners pick up

anything, report it immediately."

The men nodded, then strained to lug their heavy equipment up the ramp. As

soon as they disappeared inside, a loud crash was heard. Both guards whirled, then

heard a voice call, "Hey, down there, could you give us a hand with this?"

One trooper looked at his companion, who shrugged. They both started up the

ramp, muttering at the inefficiency of mere technicians. A second crashing sound

reverberated, but now there was no one left to hear it.

But the absence of the two troopers was noticed, soon thereafter. A gantry

officer passing the window of a small command office near the freighter entrance

glanced out, frowning when he saw no sign of the guards. Concerned but not

alarmed, he moved to a comlink and spoke into it as he continued to stare at the ship.

"THX-1138, why aren't you at your post? THX-1138, do you copy?"

the speaker gave back only static.

"THX-1138, why don't you reply?" The officer was beginning to panic when

an armored figure descended the ramp and waved toward him. Pointing to the

portion of his helmet covering his right ear, the figure tapped it to indicate the

comlink inside wasn't working.

Shaking his head in disgust, the gantry officer gave his busy aide an annoyed

look as he made for the door. "Take over here. We've got another bad transmitter.

I'm going to see what I can do. He activated the door, took a step forward as it slid

aside—and stumbled backward in a state of shock.

Filling the door completely was a towering hairy form. Chewbacca leaned

inward and with a bone-splintering howl flattened the benumbed officer with one

swipe of a pan-sized fist.

The aide was already on his feet and reaching for his sidearm when a narrow

energy beam passed completely through him, piercing his heart. Solo flipped up the

faceplate of his trooper helmet, then slid it back into place as he followed the Wookie

into the room. Kenobi and the 'droids squeezed in behind him, with Luke, also clad

in the armor of a luckless Imperial soldier, bringing up the rear.

Luke was looking around nervously as he shut the door behind them. "Between

his howling and your blasting everything in sight, it's a wonder the entire station

doesn't know we're here."

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