“Nothing since my feet left the ground. “
” Then I suggest you come with me to the captain’s mess, and we’ll catch a meal while Captain Morano jumps us into the first grid. Unless your stomach takes exception to the combination of food and hyperspace? “
“Not at all, ” said Han. “That’s kind of you. Let me find my shoes. “
“Oh-not entirely kind, ” said A’baht.
“Oh? Is the captain’s cook still struggling to master his galley? “
A’baht smiled. “Since you’re senior to me-and especially since you’re Han Solo-your presence is a problem for me where the crew is concerned, ” he said. “If you will allow it, I’d like to use your presence to underline the seriousness of this mission, and turn a negative into a positive. And having you seen as my guest aboard will kill the rumors your arrival spawned faster than any announcement I could make. “
Han nodded. “Let’s do it, then. I’m not here to make your job harder. “
At 2440 hours exactly, between the para rolls and the Dornean brandy, the Fifth Fleet jumped into Hatawa Sector. The search for
Ayddar Nylykerka’s Black Fleet had begun.
Chapter 11
By the time Colonel Pakkpekatt reached a comm station, Lady Luck had moved within two kilometers of the vagabond and was closing at a leisurely rate that would nonetheless place it alongside in a matter of minutes. The sight of it brought the threat ruffles on Pakkpekatt’s back to full flourish, and his throat turned crimson-a display no one in his bridge crew had ever seen before.
“Calrissian, you are a madman, ” said Pakkpekatt with an icy evenness. “You will lose more than your commission over this, I promise you that. “
“Colonel, I’ll take that as your promise to do everything you can to help keep me alive long enough to satisfy your fine sense of outrage. I understand the Fleet doesn’t allow you to court-martial a corpse. “
“There are other uses for corpses, ” said Pakkpekatt with a cold smile. “While you are still alive, perhaps you would like to place your justifications on the record. “
“Gladly, ” said Lando. “Your decision to exclude us from the foray team endangered not only the lives of Bijo and his men, but the whole mission. And your attitude during yesterday’s briefing convinced me that you’d never give any real weight to anything we brought to the table-“
“You mean to blame me for your recklessness? “
Pakkpekatt raged, his frosty reserve vaporizing in an instant. “You brought nothing to the table. You obviously came here with secret information about this vessel, which you denied having, and denied to us. “
“Secret information? What’re you blathering about, Colonel? “
“You as much as admitted it. You are the one who knew that the foray team would be in danger. You knew that the target was expecting a countersign, which you already possessed. “
“Colonel, you don’t know what you’re talking about. I had a hunch about what the builders of this ship out here were doing, and this was the only way to play my hunch. “
“You expect me to believe that you risked your lives and your ship on a ‘hunch’? “
Lando chuckled, a low, smooth sound. “You’ve never played sabacc with me, have you, Colonel? You have to be willing to lose big if you’re hoping to win big. No one ever got rich wagering one credit at a time. “
“I hope you’ve enjoyed your little game, General. But I had always understood that hiding cards was considered dishonest. “
“Colonel, we didn’t have any secret information. We simply happened to look in the right place in the Imperial archives, and just barely in time, too. Now we’re in, and we’re going to do what we can while we’re here. I trust you have the recorders running by now? “
Pakkpekatt muted the link and looked away from the comm unit toward his operations officer. “Do we have the recording of the key signalLady Luck used to enter the restricted zone? “
“Yes, sir. “
“Is the tractor beam on D-89 strong enough to tie upLady Luck ? “
“Easily, ” said the operations officer with contempt.
“She’s just a civilian pleasure yacht. “
“Is the interdiction field up? “
“Yes, sir, the field is operational. “
“Then queue up that key, and get ready to send the picket in to yank them out of there. ” Pakkpekatt turned back to the comm unit and opened the link.
“We’re doing the best we can, ” he told Lando. “But some systems were in the middle of a calibration diagnostic, getting ready for our attempt later today, and they’re not back up yet. Can you stand off at your present range and give us a little time? A few minutes ought to be enough. “