Part 14 (1/2)
The route called the Main Avenue went more or less straight for nearly two kilometers before it made a sharp-angled turn to the right. Dead Man's Turn, they called it, and for good reason. Luke dropped his airspeed as he approached the intersection. Try to take it too fast and you'd turn yourself into a gooey paste on the far wall of the turn.
He hit the retros as he adjusted the turbojets for a hard arc to the right. The swoop slewed a little, drifted to the left; then the thrusters straightened it out with a heavy shove.
Easy as sneezing.
The rider behind him, apparently unfamiliar with the canyons, didn't slow down enough.
Luke heard the crash as the swooper hit the far wall of the turn. The fuel cell let go, and a brilliant yelloworange flash and fireball rose into the air.
No time to worry about that; another turn was upcoming, a long zigzag to the left, right, then left again, and he needed to keep to the center of the corridor, which narrowed in the middle of the stretched-out Z.
He didn't see the rest of the swooptroops behind him, but if they wanted to catch him, they'd have to be back there somewhere. They could stay high, but to see him they'd have to be so high they couldn't possibly catch up. And if they got that far away, he could find an overhang and hover under it and they'd never find him.
Four down, eight to go.
Seconds later one of the graysuits appeared in Luke's rear viewer. He was pretty good, to have gained so fast. Or pretty stupid. Gray gained. He was within sixty or seventy meters now.
Time to thread the needle. There it was, just ahead.
The Eye of the Needle was a narrow slot with jagged rock teeth lining it.
Luke gunned the turbojets. Went through the slot. Close enough so he felt a shard of rock catch his jacket and tear it. Man-!
Gray, hot on Luke's tail, tried to follow him.
Didn't make it.
Boom...
The rest of them were still after him. And the bad odds were still bad.
It might be a long afternoon. Or a short one...
As he throttled back for a sharp turn, Luke heard a hoa.r.s.e yell: ”He's got help! We ain't gonna win this one, Spiker! Let's burn!”
Huh? Help?
Luke looked over his shoulder.
A swoop, engines off, dropped silently in free fall. The man on the machine wore black, his head shrouded in a flight helmet and polarized s.h.i.+eld, a blinking blaster held in his outstretched right hand. He was shooting at the swoopers.
If that guy on the swoop didn't light his engines real soon, he was going to turn that expensive machine and himself into a big smoking crater-As if he'd heard Luke, the falling swoop's engines ignited. The little craft continued to fall, but more slowly.
It didn't look as if he'd kicked the repulsors on in time - He kept firing as he fell, missing but making the swoopers scatter. Who-? The swoop got to within a handspan of the ground and stopped. It hovered, dead still.
Man, that was flying.
The swoopers took off. After a moment, the stranger eased his craft toward where Luke had put his swoop into a hovering idle. The man pulled off his helmet and face s.h.i.+eld.
Dash Rendar!
”What are you doing here?” Luke said. Dash shrugged. ”Saving your b.u.t.t from swoop sc.u.m, it looks like.”
”You know what I mean. Why are you here?” Luke looked at the fallen attackers. ”Well?”
”Well, here's the thing. Leia-she's a hot package, that one-Leia kinda wanted me to keep an eye on you until she gets back.”
”She what?”
”Ease up, you'll blow a fuse. No big deal.”
”Listen, pal, I don't need a baby-sitter!”
”Oh, yeah, you coulda taken these melloons all by yourself, right?”
”I wasn't doing so bad.”
”No, you're right, you weren't. But you were gonna lose.” Luke held his temper as best he could. He didn't like this braggart, but Dash was right. It would have taken a miracle, one he wasn't capable of just yet, to beat the last of the swooptroop alone. Like it or not-and hedidn't like it at all-Dash had saved his neck.
”Thanks.” It was a mumble.
”Excuse me, I didn't hear what you said.”
”Don't push it, Dash.”
The older man grinned.
Boy, was he going to have words with Leia when she came back. As much as he was attracted to her, as much as he thought she was the toughest, most beautiful woman he'd ever known, where did she get off sending this guy to watch him? And he knew she had to be paying Dash to do it-Dash wasn't the kind of guy who did stuff for free.
Dash said something, and Luke blinked at him.”Huh?”
”I said, did you see their tattoos? This gang works for Jabba.” Luke looked. That was where he recognized the in-signia from. Jabba's men.
Dash continued, ”I was in Mos Eisley, kinda... hanging around, when I heard them talking. They had orders to kill you.”
Kill him, yeah, he'd figured that out. Dash kept talking, and Luke tuned back in to what he was saying. ”... Vader is no longer your number one admirer.”
”He never was. If it's him behind it.” Was it? Luke shook his head. That still didn't make sense.
14.
”Lord Vader, we are closing on the Rebel asteroid.” Vader turned away from the viewport to behold the junior officer who had drawn the duty this time. ”Good. Have Admiral Okins meet me on the bridge.”
”At once, Lord Vader.”
Vader adjusted the controls on his armor for an increased supply of oxygen and started for the bridge. It was not his choice of ch.o.r.es, this surprise attack on helpless vessels, but he would do it well.