There was a threatening pause, then, "I read you, sir. We had to abandon the

region around the office."

"Are you both safe?"

"For the moment, though I'm not sanguine about my old age. We're in the

main hangar, across from the ship."

Luke looked toward the bay window in surprise. "I can't see you across the

bay—we must be right above you. Stand by. We'll join you as soon as we can."

He clicked off, smiling suddenly at Threepio's reference to his "old age."

Sometimes the tall 'droid was more human than people.

"Wonder if the old man was able to knock out the tractors." Solo was muttering

as he surveyed the scene below. A dozen or so troopers were moving in and out of

the freighter.

"Getting back to the ship's going to be like flying through the five Fire Rings of

Fornax." Leia Organa turned long enough to glance in surprise from the ship to Solo.

"You came here in that wreck? You're braver than I thought."

At once praised and insulted, Solo wasn't sure how to react. He settled for

giving her a dirty look as they started back down the hallway, Chewbacca bringing up

the rear.

Rounding a corner, the three humans came to an abrupt halt. So did the twenty

Imperial troopers marching toward them. Reacting naturally—which is to say,

without thinking—Solo drew his pistol and charged the platoon, yelling and howling

in several languages at the top of his lungs.

Startled by the totally unexpected assault and wrongly assuming their attacker

knew what he was doing, the troopers started to back away. Several wild shots from

the Corellian's pistol initiated complete panic. Ranks and composure shattered, the

troopers broke and fled down the passage.

Drunk with his own prowess, Solo continued the chase, turning to shout back at

Luke, "Get to the ship. I'll take care of these!"

"Are you out of your mind?" Luke yelled at him. "Where do you think you're

going?"

But Solo had already rounded a far bend in the corridor and didn't hear. Not

that it would have made any difference.

Upset at his partner's disappearance, Chewbacca let out a thunderous if unsettled

howl and rushed down the hallway after him. That left Luke and Leia standing alone

in the empty corridor.

"Maybe I was too hard on your friend," he confessed reluctantly. "He certainly

is courageous."

"He certainly is an idiot!" a furious Luke countered tightly. "I don't know what

good it'll do us if he gets himself killed." Muted alarms suddenly sounded from the

bay below and behind them.

"That's done it," Luke growled disgustedly. "Let's go." Together they started

off in search of a way down to a hangar-deck level.

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