Part 12 (1/2)

Jacen made a face and shrugged. ”I guess I see,” he said. ”But won't the guys you want to throw out figure this stuff out, too, and try to stop you?”

”They sure will,” Leia said. ”So we'll just have to know more than they do, and think faster than they do.”

”Anyway, getting back to Corellia,” Han said, speaking just a little too loud so as to fill up the slightly awkward pause that had suddenly appeared in the conversation. ”It's a strange and wonderful place. Like nothing you've ever seen before. Nothing at all like Coruscant.”

And then he proceeded to tell the children all about the worlds of Corellia He told them about the glittering, wideopen city of Coronet, so unlike the oversized, overstuffed, covered-over city-planet of Coruscant.

”On Coruscant, we're indoors all the time, practically,” he said. ”It's the capital of the galaxy, but you could live your whole life there without ever going outside to see the sky! Now, Coronet is different.

It's lots of little buildings, with plenty of room in between. You can go outside all the time. The city is full of parks and plazas and palaces. And there's Treasure s.h.i.+p Row, with all the vendors selling good things to eat, and the shops full of things to buy from all over the galaxyat least they used to be. Well, who knows, maybe they still are.

Leia listened to Han, every bit as swept up in his words as the children. A city full of parkland and wide-open s.p.a.ces sounded good to her. She had had enough of the troglodytic life of Coruscant for a while, whether or not the children had. And if Han didn't say much about the casinos and saloons and nightclubs and less reputable establishments that cl.u.s.tered around Coronet's s.p.a.ceport, she knew they were there as well. Even if she would never go into them herself, they were part of the legend of the place, part of Corellia's rough-and-tumble heritage of smugglers and pirates.

There was a certain romance to such places. Maybe she would go into one or two of them, one night. She could get the children tucked into bed, get Chewie to watch them for the evening, dress in something the Chief of State would never wear, and then slip out with her husband, get him to show her some of the more grown-up playgrounds of Coronet.

There could be no harm in taking in a show or two, or even trying her own hand at sabacc. But it seemed that Han had moved past Coronet while she was distracted, and was telling them about the other worlds.

”Will we get to see Selonia and Drall?” Jacen was asking.

”We sure will,” Han promised. ”Selonia and Drall and the Double Worlds, Talus and Tralus-maybe we can even get a look at Centerpoint Station.”

”What's Centerpoint Station?” Jaina asked.

”Well, Talus and Tralus are called the Double Worlds because they are just the same size as each other. They orbit around each other.

Centerpoint Station is in the balance point. the barycenter, between Talus and Tralus. You get quite a view from there.”

”I'll bet,” Jacen said.

”And then there's the Boiling Sea and Drall, and the Cloudland Peaks on Selonia, and the Gold Beaches on Corellia. You kids have never been swimming in a real, honest ocean, have you'? We can all go to the beach and build sand castles and go swimming in the great big ocean!”

'What about sea monsters?” Anakin asked, clearly a bit dubious about the swimming part.

”Well, that's why we'll go swimming on Corellia,” Han said. He gave Jaina a little push and she hopped off his lap.

Han Stood up, went over to Anakin, and scooped him up in his arms.

”There aren't any sea monsters there. They keep all of them on Selonia, because the oceans are much bigger there.”

”Honest'?” Anakin asked.

'Honest,” Han said, quite solemn and sincere. ”But I think it's time for certain little land monsters to get ready for bed, don't you'?”

That was enough to elicit a round of good-natured groans from the children, but for once, getting them ready for bed and down for the night was hardly a struggle at all. All three of them were suddenly yawning, struggling to keep awake long enough to get faces washed and teeth brushed, clothes off and pajamas on.

All three of them climbed willingly into their bunks, and snuggled happily into their pillows. Jacen and Jaina were already fast asleep, their breathing low and regular, by the time Han knelt down by Anakin's little bod, helped him pull the cover up over him, and gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead.

But sleepy as he was, Anakin was not quite ready to sleep yet.

”Daddy?” he asked.

”Yes, Anakin? What is it?”

”Daddy-when are we going to get there?”

CHAPTER NINE.

Courting Disaster One. There could be no further doubt. Luke Skywalker was gone.

Phamis Gleasry, agent of the Human League, could no longer deceive himself.

The Jedi Master had not been home for at least a full day.

A check of Calrissian's not-all-that-well-hidden home in Dometown showed that it, too, was empty, and his s.h.i.+p, the Lady Luck, was no longer in its usual berth. Given that he had seen the two of them together the night before both had vanished from Coruscant, it seemed most likely that they had gone off together.

Phamis knew there was nothing for it but to follow the backup plan, as dicey as it might be. He would have to use the message probe and hope against hope the Jade's Fire stayed to its s.h.i.+pping schedule.

OtherwiseOtherwise, the Hidden Leader was not going to be pleased. And that was not a pleasant thought. In fact, it might be best to get the probe sent, and then follow Skywalker's lead.

Given the Hidden Leader's temper, it might be wise to vanish.

”Did you have to bring them along?” Lando asked, not for the first time. The objects of his complaint, the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO, were on the opposite side of the Lady Luck's wardroom, and neither of them seemed to be any happier to be with Lando than Lando was to be with them.

Luke and Lando were sitting in the Lady Luck's wardroom table, relaxing after their meal. At least they were supposed to be relaxing.

Clearly the droids were getting on Lando's nerves.

Luke smiled to himself. There were other, legitimate reasons for bringing the droids along, but truth to tell, he had wanted them on this trip to twit Lando just a little, pay him back in the subtlest way possible for dragging him off on this lunatic scheme. He could never admit that to anyone but himself, of course, but still it was so.

But Threepio answered before Luke even had a chance.

”I a.s.sure you, Captain Calrissian, that my counterpart and I have demonstrated the highest degree of utility on any number of occasions. I might add that I in particular will doubtless be of the greatest possible use on a mission of romance. In addition to being familiar with over six million forms of communication, i have provided myself with additional programming. I have done extensive searches of data sources on Coruscant not generally available to the public.

I am now well versed in the courts.h.i.+p rituals of two thousand and forty-seven human cultures, as well as five hundred and sixteen nonhuman cultures.”

”Put a lid on it,” Lando said to the droid. ”The day I ask your advice on how to treat a lady is the day I take a vow of chast.i.ty.”

This remark not only clearly took Threepio aback, it also inspired a whole series of rather rude-sounding beeps and bloops from Artoo.

”That's scarcely accurate, Artoo, and I doubt it's the sort of advice that Captain Calrissian had in mind in any event.”

Artoo made an even ruder noise and backed away from Threepio just a bit as he swiveled his visual sensor toward Luke.

”Take it easy, Artoo,” Luke said. ”No need to be quite that insulting.”