[Black Fleet Crisis(66)

“That doesn’t make any sense, ” said Lando frowning. “Any world that could build something like the vagabond should have been able to push an off-course asteroid or three out of the way. ” He shook his head.

“One mystery just leads to another. “

Nodding, Lando said, “Perhaps the answers to all of them wait for us inside the Qella vessel. “

Lando’s expression darkened. “Except there isn’t going to be any ‘us. ‘ The colonel’s only giving me one ticket for the boat, and I’m pretty sure it doesn’t come with a front-row seat. “

“I’m certain that if you tell him what we’ve discovered, he’ll make room for all of us, ” said Threepio. “It would be the reasonable thing to do. “

“Hortek are only reasonable when they don’t have the upper hand, ” said Lando. “And he thinks he does. “

He paced. The others waited.

“You know, there’s only one way we’re going to know if this really is the key, ” he said finally. “Otherwise, we might just be believing what we want to. “

“I agree, ” said Lobot.

“And Pakkpekatt’s going to want evidence. It’s clear that, to him, we’re just baggage he couldn’t manage to dump. I wouldn’t exactly say he’s been cooperative. “

“No, ” said Lobot.

Lando nodded slowly. “Threepio, Artoo, it’s been a long day-or I suppose it’s night by now. And tomorrow could be a longer one. I want you both to power down, recharge, and run your system optimizers. Set your reactivation clocks for thirteen hundred hours. That will give us plenty of time. “

“Shouldn’t we notify Colonel Pakkpekatt first, Master Lando? “

“I’ll take care of that, ” Lando said, with a glance at Lobot’s impassive face.

“Very well, sir. Closing down. ” The droid’s eyes dimmed instantly.

A moment later Artoo rolled over to the power port, hooked up to it, and echoed the acknowledgment before its displays also went dark.

Lando slid easily back into a chair at the table and studied Lobot with one eyebrow raised questioningly.

“Are you sure about this? “

“It is our theory, ” said Lobot. “It’s right that we should take the risk. “

“All right, then, ” said Lando, leaning back in his chair. “In that case, you and I’d better get some rest, too. Tomorrow’s gonna be an interesting day. “

A few minutes before 1300 hours, Lando and Lobot slid into the cockpit couches aboardLady Luck .

“I figure we have twelve seconds minimum before they try to get a lock on us, ” said Lando. “I intend to be inside no-man’s-land by then. He’s been so scared to even ping the ship that no one on that bridge is going to be in a hurry to point a tractor beam in that direction. “

“That will require a very high rate of acceleration. “

Lando nodded, his lips pressed tightly together.

“Yeah, we just might end up blistering the paint on oldGlorious . So it goes. “

Lady Luckhad been flying with her engines cold, a parasite on the side of the cruiser, for more than a month. Respecting that fact, Lando went through an unusually thorough system check in the minutes that remained, bringing the engines to a state of readiness just one step below going hot.

At 1300 hours exactly, Lando thumbed the ship’s com unit. “Threepio, are you there? “

“Yes, Master Lando. “

“How about Artoo? “

“He reactivated on schedule, ” said Threepio. “Sir, what did the colonel say when you told him our news? “

“He wasn’t exactly ready to hear it, ” Lando said.

“Do you remember the song from last night? “

“Yes, of course, sir. “

“Then both of you grab something to hold on to, and, Threepio-you get ready to sing. “

The momentLady Luck disengaged from the docking ring, alarms began to sound on the bridge ofGlorious . In moments the yacht was roaring away from its mooring point and toward the vagabond, its fiery engine exhausts clearly visible from the bridge’s forward viewports.

“What in white blazes-” exclaimed Lieutenant Herone. “Sparks, where’s the colonel? “

“Down in Hangar Three, with Bijo and the foray team. “

“Call him up here, ” Herone said, and took a deep breath. “Lady Luck, this is theGlorious . I order you to come about and bring your vessel alongside. If you do not come about immediately, I will order the weapons master to disable your ship. “

“You’d better think about that again, Lieutenant, ” Lando answered breezily. “Blaster fire near the vagabond? Remember theBoldheart .