As they traveled father and deeper into the bowels of the gigantic station, they found

it increasingly difficult to maintain an air of casual indifference. Fortunately, those

who might have sensed some nervousness on the part of the two armored troopers

would regard it as only natural, considering their huge, dangerous Wookie captive.

Chewbacca also made it impossible for the two young men to be as inconspicuous as

they would have liked.

The farther they traveled, the heavier the traffic became. Other soldiers,

bureaucrats, technicians, and mechanicals bustled around them. Intent on their own

assignments, they ignored the trio completely, only a few of the humans sparing the

Wookie a curious glance. Chewbacca's morose expression and the seeming

confidence of his captors reassured the inquisitive.

Eventually they reached a wide bank of elevators. Luke breathed a sigh of

relief. The computer-controlled transport ought to be capable of taking them just

about anywhere on the station in response to a verbal command.

There was a nervous second when a minor official raced to get aboard. Solo

gestured sharply, and the other, without voicing a protest, shifted to the next elevator

tube in line.

Luke studied the operating panel, then tried to sound at once knowledgeable and

important as he spoke into the pickup grid. Instead, he sounded nervous and scared,

but the elevator was a pure-response mechanism, not programmed to differentiate the

appropriateness of emotions conveyed vocally. So the door slid shut and they were

on their way. After what felt like hours but was in reality only minutes, the door

opened and they stepped out into the security area.

It had been Luke's hope they would discover something like the old-fashioned

barred cells of the kind used on Tatooine in towns like Mos Eisley. Instead, they saw

only narrow ramps bordering a bottomless ventilation shaft. These walkways,

several levels of them, ran parallel to smooth curving walls which held faceless

detention cells. Alert-looking guards and energy gates seemed to be everywhere

they looked.

Uncomfortably aware that the longer they stood frozen in place, the sooner

someone was bound to come over and ask unanswerable questions, Luke searched

frantically for a course of action.

"This isn't going to work," Solo whispered, leaning toward him.

"Why didn't you say so before?" a frustrated, frightened Luke shot back.

"I think I did. I—"

"Shssh!"

Solo shuts up Luke's worst fears were realized. A tall, grim-looking officer

approached them. He frowned as he examined the silent Chewbacca.

"Where are you two going with this—thing?"

Chewbacca snarled at the remark, and Solo quieted him with a hasty jab in the

ribs. A panicky Luke found himself replying almost instinctively. "Prisoner

transfer from block TS-138."

The officer looked puzzled. "I wasn't notified. I'll have to clear it."

Turning, the man walked to a small console nearby and began entering his

request. Luke and Han hurriedly surveyed the situation, their gaze traveling from

alarms, energy gates, and remote photosensors to the three other guards station in the

area.

Solo nodded to Luke as he unfastened Chewbacca's cuffs. Then he whispered

something to the Wookie. An ear-splitting howl shook the corridor as Chewbacca

threw up both hands, grabbing Solo's rifle from him.

"Look out!" a seemingly terrified Solo shouted. "It's loose. It'll rip us all

apart!"

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