Part 13 (1/2)

So when Han lowered his eyes and said, quietly but firmly, ” I'm I'm sure,” X-f0 7 sure,” X-f0 7 knew.

He wasn't.

”But where's Han?” Luke asked, yet again, as Chewbacca led them through the Mos Eisley crowds. ”And what are you doing on Tatooine? What's going on?”

Chewbacca just issued the same terse bark he had every time Luke asked.

”He says, 'You'll see,'” C-f0 3PO translated, sounding rather displeased.

They threaded their way through a cl.u.s.ter of chattering Jawas, standing in the midst of a pile of spare parts and smashed pika fruits and shaking their fists at the sky. ”Listen to me, you Wookiee-”

Chewbacca cut him off with a warning growl.

”I'm merely-suggesting that if you were to offer us some additional information about what you and Captain Solo are doing on the planet, we might be in a better position to help,” C-f0 3PO huffed.

The Wookiee ignored him, disappearing into an empty water distribution plant and beckoning them to follow. He hurried to a dark, crumbling stairwell and rushed up the steps, two at a time.

R2-f0 D2 beeped.

”What do you mean mean we can trust him?” C-f0 3PO asked. ”Do you know how many times he's threatened to tear my arms off?” we can trust him?” C-f0 3PO asked. ”Do you know how many times he's threatened to tear my arms off?”

R2-f0 D2 beeped again.

” Yet? Yet? ” C-f0 3PO yelped. ”He hasn't done it ” C-f0 3PO yelped. ”He hasn't done it yet? yet? Is that supposed to make me feel better?” Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

Luke and Leia brushed past the droids. They were wasting time. ”Come on,”

he urged them. ”Something's going on. Let's see what it is.”

Luke followed Chewbacca all the way up the roof. And when he stepped out of the stairwell, he stopped so abruptly that Leia nearly slammed into him. ”What is it?” she hissed.

Luke didn't respond. He just grinned.

”Good to see you're still in one piece, kid,” Han said. Then he inclined his head toward Leia. ”Greetings, Your Wors.h.i.+pfulness.”

Leia's eyes widened. ”Han! I can't-what are you doing up on the...?”

But she swallowed her words as Han stepped aside and revealed the figure kneeling by the edge of the roof, Han's blaster digging into the side of his head.

”Elad!” Luke exclaimed. ”What's going on?”

”What's going on is that you owe me another one, kid.” Han grimaced down at Elad. ”Everything he's told you is a lie. He's not here to help you-he's here to kill you.”

Luke shook his head. Tobin Elad had become a good friend. He'd listened when Luke needed to talk. He'd believed in Luke when Luke hadn't had the strength to believe in himself. ”The explosion on Yavin 4?” he asked quietly.

”You're saying...”

”He's a spy,” Han said. ”Working for the Empire.”

”How do you know?” Leia asked.

Han raised his eyebrows. ”What if I told you I just knew?” he asked. ”What if I told you to trust me?”

Elad turned his face toward Luke and Leia for the first time. ”Don't listen to him,” he said, in a firm, steady voice. There was no trace of fear in his eyes.

” He's He's the Imperial spy. He came here to kill you, Luke. It's why I'm here-to stop him.” the Imperial spy. He came here to kill you, Luke. It's why I'm here-to stop him.”

Han jabbed Elad with the blaster. ”Shut up.”

”Or what?” Elad asked. ”You'll kill me in cold blood? That will only prove the truth: that you're a mercenary. For enough money you'll do anything. Even kill an innocent man. Or-” He glanced meaningfully at Luke. ”Someone foolish enough to believe he's your friend. If I have to die to reveal who you really are? So be it.”

”You're not listening to this junk, are you?” Han asked. ”You barely know this guy. Don't know anything about him. And you're going to believe him over me?”

”And what do they know about you?” Elad countered. ”Other than the fact that you're a smuggler, a criminal, and wanted in twenty different star systems.

Go on,” he urged Leia. ”Ask if he has any evidence. Ask if he has a shred of proof that I I would ever be a threat to the Rebellion.” would ever be a threat to the Rebellion.”

Leia didn't even hesitate. ”He doesn't need any.”

Han started in surprise. ”I don't?”

”He doesn't?” X-f0 7 said, his surprise shocking even himself.

”No,” Luke answered for her. ”He doesn't.”

The certainty that filled him had nothing to do with the Force. He didn't need the Force to tell him that he could trust Han. The pilot had proven his loyalty, and his friends.h.i.+p, again and again-and no matter what had happened on Yavin 4, that was unquestionable. Luke had come to Tatooine hoping to take comfort in the friends.h.i.+ps of his past, people he'd known long enough and well enough that their loyalty could never be questioned.

But coming home had made him realize that he wasn't the same naive moisture farmer he'd been when he left. He wasn't the same Luke Skywalker who'd hunted womp rats with Windy and matched daredevil skyhopper maneuvers against Fixer and Jaxson. They'd known him longer, but they didn't know him better. Not anymore.

Luke had only known Leia and Han for a short time, but they were more than friends, they were family. And he trusted them both with his life.

He gazed steadily at the man who'd called himself Tobin Elad. ”If Han says you're a threat, then you're a threat. All I need is his word.”

Han broke into a surprised grin. ”Then I guess you won't be wanting this?” he said, and tossed a datacard in Luke's direction. Luke s.n.a.t.c.hed it out of the air and looked at it in confusion.

”Holorecording of the spy getting orders from his boss,” Han explained. ”Ask most people, and they'd tell you my word isn't worth two credits.”

Elad looked disgusted. ”You're all fools,” he snapped. ”And it's going to be my pleasure to kill you.”

”Not today,” Luke said, amazed by the transformation. In seconds, Elad had become a stranger-his voice, his posture, even his face face seemed different. seemed different.

Harder. Crueler.

”No,” Elad said. ”But soon.” And then, with lightning speed, he slashed an arm out, slamming into Han's windpipe. As Han gasped and lurched forward, Elad sprang to his feet and leapt off the edge of the roof.

Luke rushed forward in time to see Elad's falling body reverse motion in midair and rocket toward the sky. Smoky plumes billowed from his hidden jetpack as he sailed over the roofs of Mos Eisley.