[Hand Of Thrawn] - 01(55)
“Last I saw, he was headed into the hold,” the faint voice of the pirate Luke had talked to earlier came in response. “Said he was worried about his restraint rings.”
“Yeah, he was there when we left,” another voice agreed.
“Fine,” Grinner said. “So where is he now?”
“Probably inside,” the second voice said. “He was headed that direction when Fulkes and I were leaving, chomping down on a plate of ribenes.”
“Probably looking for something to wash down the tomospice with,” a new voice added. “He told the service droid he had some good drinking stuff aboard.”
“Maybe,” Grinner grunted, the word almost covered over by the soft hiss of metal on steelhide as he drew his blaster. “Or maybe he’s trying something cute, like hiding in one of these boxes. You want to get a scanner crew down here, Control?”
“Steady, Grinner,” the unfamiliar voice advised him. “Let me run a check first.”
For a long moment the hold was silent. Keeping his Force hold on the side of the box, Luke unsealed the flap of his tunic and got a grip on his lightsaber. If. they didn’t buy this, he would have to take them out.
“You can all decompress,” Control’s voice said. “He’s gone inside, all right. The plate he took out of the snack room is about five meters inside that door in front of you. There’s no way he could have stashed it in there and gotten back out to the hold in the-let’s see-in the nine seconds he was out of sight.”
There was a faint snort and the sound of Grinner’s blasts being holstered again. “Yeah, okay,” he said. “There’s just something about this guy I don’t like.”
Luke took his hand off his lightsaber, letting his breath out slowly in a silent sigh of relief. His original idea, back when he’d first borrowed this ship, had been to simply take whatever food he’d scrounged into the box with him. But that plan had felt wrong, somehow, and he and Artoo had worked out this variation instead. He was very glad now that they had.
“So get him unloaded and out of here,” Control said. “You see any sign of that SB-20 droid he said he brought? I want that one next.”
“Uh … no. Only droid box I see is an R2 unit.”
“That’s the one,” Control said. “A SB-20 is an R2 shell with espionage gear and programming tucked away inside.”
Luke’s box lurched as the pirate got his float cart underneath it. “Never heard of it.”
“They’re not exactly advertised at droid depots,” Control said acidly. “The captain’s been after Wesselman for one for years.”
Grinner grunted. “And this one just happens to show up here today, huh? Convenient.”
“Give it a rest, Grinner,” the other pirate in the hold said. “Okay, I’ve got the droid. Where do you want it?”
“Electronics shop,” Control told him. “The captain wants Pap and K’Cink to check it out.”
“Right.”
A moment later they were off, angling down the ramp and across the landing-bay floor. Luke braced himself against the droid shell, listening to the sounds around him and trying to ignore the violent shaking that was really only the small bumps and vibrations of the float cart. He had assumed he would be taken to whatever storage place the rest of the cargo was bound for, which would presumably have given him a certain amount of privacy for his exit from the box. On the other hand, the electronics shop was probably closer to the command areas of the base, which was his ultimate goal. All in all, a fair trade-off.
They passed through one of the pressure doors, and for a few minutes the only sounds were the hum of the float cart’s repulsorlifts and the pirate’s footsteps and raspy breathing. Then, gradually, more sounds began to filter in: other voices and footsteps, mostly distant but occasionally passing close by. Luke stretched out with the Force, sensing a variety of human and alien minds in the vicinity. There was an odd change of echo as they apparently left the corridor and entered a larger room; another change, this time in reverse, marked where they left the room and passed into a corridor again. The float can turned around a corner, then another; entered another open space filled with the dull rumble of muted voices&mdash “Lanius?” Control’s voice said.
“Yeah, you got me,” the pirate pushing Luke’s float cart said.
“Change of plansPap’s got something torn apart in the shop and doesn’t have room for your droid. Go park it in the Level Four storeroom.”
“Yeah, okay.” The float cart slowed and changed direction. “Too much to ask for them to make up their minds?”