[Black Fleet Crisis(11)

That evening Leia threw herself on the bed and hugged a pillow to her chest. “What news from the front, General? ” she asked.

Han let himself drop into a Kesslerite lounging chair that faced the foot of the bed. It quickly softened and conformed to his body shape, leaving him feeling as though he were still floating in the vortex. “I don’t know what to do about Jacen, ” he said. “This morning I tried to interest him in some friendly bolo-ball with Dad. He turned me down. “

“Well-he’s not very good at it, and kids want their parents to be proud of them, ” said Leia, rolling over and staring at the ceiling. “Maybe he’s embarrassed to play with you, since you’re so much better than him. “

“He’s not very good at it because he never practices! There’s no reason he couldn’t be good at it. But he said it was a stupid game. “

Leia was diplomatically silent.

“So I said, ‘Okay, you pick, ‘” Han continued. “‘Do you want to go skate in the velocidrome, play wallball in the courtyard, what? ” He says, ‘No, thank you, Dad. ” I told him he had to start doing something physical, strengthen his body. Or I’d have to assign him a few laps around the inner fence with the sentry droid every day. “

“What did he say to that? “

“He said, ‘Why do I have to be strong? Someday I’ll be able to go anywhere I want, or get anything I want, just by thinking about it—like Uncle Luke. ‘ ” Han shook his head. “He doesn’t seem to have noticed that Uncle Luke doesn’t look a bit like Jabba the Hutt. “

“Neither does Jacen! ” Leia said defensively.

“Give him time. “

“You’re exaggerating. “

“I hope, ” Han said, though his tone was skeptical. “But I’d be glad to see Luke remind Jacen about the physical side of Jedi training-you know, all that stuff he used to bore us with about the body being the instrument of the mind, not just its vessel? “

Leia rolled over again and propped herself up on her elbows, her expression suddenly earnest. “Han, have you heard anything from Luke? “

“What? No, not for a while. ” He frowned while he thought. “Not for a long time. Why? “

“I heard from Tionne on Yavin Four today. Luke’s disappeared. “

“Disappeared? “

“Gone off somewhere. He turned over the Academy to Streen. “

“He’s done that before. “

“From what Tionne said, this time was different-it sounded like he wasn’t ever coming back. “

“Hmm, ” said Han. “Highly mysterious, I agree. I can’t think of a single reason why he might not want to put himself on a deserted island in the middle of the big Nowhere with a gaggle of Force adepts. “

Leia threw a pillow at him, which he neatly parried.

“I just wish I knew where he was, ” she said. “With neither of us having heard from him in months, and no word before he left “

“You’re worried about him? “

“A little. And if he’s not going to be at the Academy, we could surely use his help here. I tried sending a message to the hyperspace comm in his fighter, but it’s not receiving. If it still exists. “

“When did he leave? “

“Days ago. Can we do anything from here to find him? “

Han snorted. “A Jedi Master who knows everything there is to know about New Republic geography and technology? Not unless he wants to be found. You’ve got a better chance of finding him yourself, with your latent whatsis and that twin thing you two seem to have. “

Leia looked vaguely uncomfortable. “I wondered if I could quietly ask Admiral Ackbar to list Luke’s E-wing as missing. “

“You could do that, ” Han said, “but you couldn’t do it quietly. It’d take about two hours for the whole fleet to be buzzing with ‘Luke Skywalker has vanished! ‘ Face it, Leia, anything involving Luke is news. Which might be exactly why he slipped out the back door. What does Streen say? “

“Streen says there’s nothing he can tell us. But I got the impression he was protecting Luke. “

“Protecting Luke’s privacy, maybe? “

“Maybe, ” Leia said. “I suppose you’re going to tell me I should respect his privacy, and stop worrying about it? “

“It’s an idea, ” Han said. “He’s a Jedi Master-and he’s out there in the best fighter we have, thanks to Admiral Ackbar. If anyone can take care of himself, my buddy Luke can. “

Leia flopped on her back on the bed. “Funny, when I think that thought, it comes out, ‘If anyone can manage to find trouble, Luke can. “