Trilogy (45 page)

Luke was drained and had to gasp for breath. “I can't,” he said dejectedly. “It's too big.”

“Size has no meaning,” Yoda insisted. “It matters not. Look at
me
. Judge me by my
size
, do you?”

Luke, chastened, just shook his head.

“And well you shouldn't,” the Jedi Master advised. “For my ally is the Force. And a powerful ally it is. Life creates it and makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings we are, not this crude matter,” he said as he pinched Luke's skin.

Yoda made a grand sweeping gesture to indicate the vastness of the universe about him. “Feel it you must. Feel the flow. Feel the Force around you. Here,” he said, as he pointed, “between you and me and that tree and that rock.”

While Yoda gave his explanation of the Force, Artoo spun his domed head around, trying without success to
register this “Force” on his scanners. He whistled and beeped in bafflement.

“Yes, everywhere,” Yoda continued, ignoring the little droid, “waiting to be felt and used. Yes, even between this land and that ship!”

Then Yoda turned and looked at the swamp, and as he did the water began to swirl. Slowly, from the gently bubbling waters, the nose of the fighter appeared again.

Luke gasped in astonishment as the X-wing gracefully rose from its watery tomb and moved majestically toward the shore.

He silently vowed never to use the word “impossible” again. For there, standing on his tree root pedestal, was tiny Yoda, effortlessly gliding the ship from the water onto the shore. It was a sight that Luke could scarcely believe. But he knew that it was a potent example of Jedi mastery over the Force.

Artoo, equally astounded but not so philosophical, issued a series of loud whistles, then bolted off to hide behind some giant roots.

The X-wing seemed to float onto the beach, and then gently came to a stop.

Luke was humbled by the feat he had witnessed and approached Yoda in awe. “I …” he began, dazzled. “I don't believe it.”

“That,” Yoda stated emphatically, “is why you fail.”

Bewildered, Luke shook his head, wondering if he would ever rise to the station of a Jedi.

B
ounty hunters! Among the most reviled of the galaxy's inhabitants, this class of amoral money-grubbers included
members of every species. It was a repellent occupation, and it often attracted repellent creatures to its fold. Some of these creatures had been summoned by Darth Vader and now stood with him on the bridge of his Imperial Star Destroyer.

Admiral Piett observed this motley group from a distance as he stood with one of Vader's captains. They saw that the Dark Lord had invited a particularly bizarre assortment of fortune hunters, including Bossk, whose soft, baggy face gawked at Vader with huge bloodshot orbs. Next to Bossk stood Zuckuss and Dengar, two human types, battle-scarred by innumerable, unspeakable adventures. A battered and tarnished chrome-colored droid named IG-88 was also with the group, standing next to the notorious Boba Fett. A human bounty hunter, Fett was known for his extremely ruthless methods. He was dressed in a weapon-covered, armored spacesuit, the kind worn by a group of evil warriors defeated by the Jedi Knights during the Clone Wars. A few braided scalps completed his unsavory image. The very sight of Boba Fett sent a shudder of revulsion through the admiral.

“Bounty hunters!” Piett said with disdain. “Why should he bring them into this? The Rebels won't escape us.”

Before the captain could reply, a ship's controller rushed up to the admiral. “Sir,” he said urgently, “we have a priority signal from the Star Destroyer
Avenger.
”

Admiral Piett read the signal, then hurried to inform Darth Vader. As he approached the group, Piett heard the last of Vader's instructions to them. “There will be a substantial reward for the one who finds the
Millennium Falcon,
” he was saying. “You are free to use any methods necessary, but I want proof. No disintegrations.”

The Sith Lord stopped his briefing as Admiral Piett hurried to his side.

“My lord,” the admiral whispered ecstatically, “we have them!”

X

T
HE
AVENGER HAD SPOTTED THE MIL
LENNIUM FALCON
the moment the freighter shot out of the enormous asteroid.

From that moment, the Imperial ship renewed its pursuit of the freighter with a blinding barrage of fire. Undaunted by the steady rain of asteroids on its massive hull, the Star Destroyer relentlessly followed the smaller ship.

The
Millennium Falcon
, far more maneuverable than the other ship, darted around the larger asteroids as they came rocketing toward it. The
Falcon
was succeeding in holding its lead in front of the
Avenger
, but it was clear that the steadily pursuing ship was not about to abandon the chase.

Suddenly a gigantic asteroid appeared in the
Millennium Falcon'
s path, rushing toward the freighter at incredible speed. The ship quickly banked out of the way,
and the asteroid hurtled past it, only to explode harmlessly against the
Avenger'
s hull.

Han Solo glimpsed the explosion's flare through the front window of his ship's cockpit. The craft that followed them seemed absolutely invulnerable; but he had no time to reflect on the differences between the ships. It took everything in his power to maintain control of the
Falcon
as it was pelted by Imperial cannon fire.

Princess Leia tensely watched the asteroids and cannon fire flaring in the blackness of space outside the cockpit windows. Her fingers had tightened on the arms of her chair. Silently she hoped against hope that they would emerge from this chase alive.

Carefully following the bleeping images on a tracking scope, See-Threepio turned to Han. “I can see the edge of the asteroid field, sir,” he reported.

“Good,” Han replied. “Soon as we're clear, we'll kick this baby into hyperdrive.” He was confident that within moments the pursuing Star Destroyer would be left light-years behind. The repairs in the freighter's light-speed systems had been completed, and there was nothing left to do now but get the ship free of the asteroid field and into space, where it could blast away to safety.

There was an excited Wookiee bark as Chewbacca, looking out a cockpit window, saw that the asteroid density was already decreasing. But their escape could not yet be completed, for the
Avenger
was closing in, and the bolts from its laser cannons bombarded the
Falcon
, making it lurch and carom to one side.

Han rapidly adjusted the controls and brought his ship back on an even keel. And in the next instant, the
Falcon
zoomed out of the asteroid field and entered the peaceful, star-dotted silence of deep space. Chewbacca whined, joyful
that they were at last out of the deadly field—but eager to leave the Star Destroyer far behind.

“I'm with you, Chewie,” Han responded. “Let's vacate the area. Stand by for light-speed. This time
they
get the surprise. Hang on …”

Everyone braced himself as Han pulled back on the light-speed throttle. But it was the crew of the
Millennium Falcon
, and mostly the captain himself, that got the surprise, once again—

—nothing happened.

Nothing!

Han frantically pulled back the throttle again.

The ship maintained its sublight speed.

“This isn't fair!” he exclaimed, beginning to panic.

Chewbacca was furious. It was rare that he lost his temper with his friend and captain. But now he was exasperated and roared his fury in angry Wookiee growls and barks.

“Couldn't be,” Han replied defensively, as he looked at his computer screens and quickly noted their readings. “I checked the transfer circuits.”

Chewbacca barked again.

“I tell you, this time it's not my fault. I'm
sure
I checked it.”

Leia sighed deeply. “No light-speed?” in a tone that indicated she had expected
this
catastrophe, too.

“Sir,” See-Threepio interjected, “we've lost the rear deflector shield. One more direct hit on the back quarter and we're done for.”

“Well,” Leia said, as she glared at the captain of the
Millennium Falcon
, “what now?”

Han realized he had only one choice. There was no time to plan or to check computer readouts, not with the
Avenger
already out of the asteroid field and rapidly gaining on them. He had to make a decision based on instinct and hope. They really had no alternative.

“Sharp bank, Chewie,” he ordered and pulled back a lever as he looked at his copilot. “Let's turn this bucket around.”

Not even Chewbacca could fathom what Han had in mind. He barked in bewilderment—perhaps he hadn't heard the order quite right.

“You heard me!” Han yelled. “Turn around! Full power front shield!” This time there was no mistaking his command and, though Chewbacca couldn't comprehend the suicidal maneuver, he obeyed.

The princess was flabbergasted. “You're going to attack them!” she stammered in disbelief. There wasn't a
chance
of survival now, she thought. Was it possible that Han really was crazy?

Threepio, after running some calculations through his computer brain, turned to Han Solo. “Sir, if I might point out, the odds of surviving a direct assault on an Imperial Star Destroyer are—”

Chewbacca snarled at the golden droid, and Threepio immediately shut up. No one on board really wanted to hear the statistics, especially since the
Falcon
was already banking into a steep turn to begin its course into the erupting storm of Imperial cannon fire.

Solo concentrated intently on his flying. It was all he could do to avoid the barrage of flak bursts rocketing toward the
Falcon
from the Imperial ship. The freighter bobbed and weaved as Han, still heading directly for the Star Destroyer, steered to avoid the bolts.

No one on his tiny ship had the slightest idea what his plan might be.

* * *

“H
e's coming in too low!” the Imperial deck officer shouted, though he scarcely believed what he was seeing.

Captain Needa and the Star Destroyer crew rushed to the
Avenger'
s bridge to watch the suicidal approach of the
Millennium Falcon
, while alarms blared all over the vast Imperial ship. A small freighter could not do much damage if it collided against a Star Destroyer's hull; but if it smashed through the bridge windows, the control deck would be littered with corpses.

The panicked tracking officer reported his sighting. “We're going to collide!”

“Shields up?” Captain Needa asked. “He must be insane!”

“Look out!” the deck officer yelled.

The
Falcon
was headed straight for the bridge window and the
Avenger
crew and officers fell to the floor in terror. But at the last instant, the freighter veered up sharply. Then—

Captain Needa and his men slowly lifted their heads. All they saw outside the bridge windows was a peaceful ocean of stars.

“Track them,” Captain Needa ordered. “They may come around for another pass.”

The tracking officer attempted to find the freighter on his scopes. But there was nothing to find.

“That's strange,” he muttered.

“What is it?” Needa asked, walking over to look at the tracking monitors for himself.

“The ship doesn't appear on any of our scopes.”

The captain was perplexed. “It couldn't have disappeared. Could a ship that small have a cloaking device?”

“No, sir,” the deck officer answered. “Maybe they went into light-speed at the last minute.”

Captain Needa felt his anger mounting at about the same rate as his befuddlement. “Then why did they attack? They could have gone into hyperspace when they cleared the asteroid field.”

“Well, there's no trace of them, sir, no matter how they did it,” the tracking officer replied, still unable to locate the
Millennium Falcon
on his viewers. “The only logical explanation is that they went into light-speed.”

The captain was staggered. How had that crate of a ship eluded him?

An aide approached. “Sir, Lord Vader demands an update on the pursuit,” he reported. “What should he be told?”

Needa braced himself. Letting the
Millennium Falcon
get away when it was so close was an unforgiveable error, and he knew he had to face Vader and report his failure. He felt resigned to whatever punishment waited in store for him.

“I am responsible for this,” he said. “Get the shuttle ready. When we rendezvous with Lord Vader, I will apologize to him myself. Turn around and scan the area one more time.”

Then, like a living behemoth, the great
Avenger
slowly began to turn; but there was still no sign of the
Millennium Falcon
.