The blast should have enough power to shatter or twist any of the bars in its immediate vicinity. Unfortunately, it would do similar damage to Luke himself.
But with a little ingenuity …
It was the work of a few seconds to remove the overload, dowels from the power packs. Then, holding them pressed together with the Force, he maneuvered them carefully through the maze of bars toward the far blast door. If Control was still monitoring him-and if the pirate knew about this trick-he would probably conclude that Luke was trying to punch a hole in the blast door and let in some air. He would also undoubtedly conclude that the metal was more than strong enough to withstand such an explosion.
Which was fine with Luke. The longer the pirates operated under false assumptions, the slower they would react when they finally figured out what he really had in mind.
His makeshift bomb was nearly to the blast door now, with only about ten seconds left to go. Keeping the bomb moving, be reached out to the Force and slid his lightsaber backward along its single line of free movement until the belt ring was pressing against the wall. The bomb reached the other end of the lightsaber’s track and Luke settled it there against one of the bars.
The critical question now, he knew, was whether the explosion and resulting burst of shrapnel might damage the lightsaber. On sudden impulse, he stretched out and ignited the weapon, bringing the green blade snapping out to point directly toward the bomb. The blade should disintegrate whatever shrapnel hit it, providing at least some protection for the handle and the mechanism inside. Now there was nothing to do but wait and fight to keep from passing out in the rapidly thinning atmosphere&mdash
And with a tremendous blast of fire and thunder, three seconds early, the power packs blew up.
Luke bit down hard as a dozen red-hot metal splinters stabbed and slashed into his left arm and side. But the results were all that he could have hoped for. Across the room, visible through the drifting smoke, the neat array of bars had been altered by the explosion. Not much, but maybe enough. Reaching out to the Force, he slid the lightsaber forward to the bomb-mangled bars and twisted the handle.
Not much, but indeed enough. The lightsaber, partially freed from its confinement, could now reach to the side just enough to snick off the end of one of the nearest bars. Luke twisted again, this time sending two more bars clattering to the floor. He twisted again, and again, each sweep going a little wider as he methodically carved out some space around the lightsaber&mdash
And suddenly the weapon was free, spinning like a propeller as it cut through everything in its path.
White spots were beginning to dance in front of Luke’s eyes as he sent the weapon through the blast door, cutting a triangular hole that brought a welcome gush of air rushing into the partial vacuum. He took a deep’ breath, and as his vision cleared he brought the lightsaber back toward him, the spinning blade mowing through the bars like a scythe through a field of tallgrain.
A minute later he was back in the rocky corridors, thumbing on his comlink as he headed for the landing bay and his ship. “Artoo?” he called. “You there?”
The only answer was another burst of jamming static. Picking up his pace, using Jedi techniques to suppress the pain in his side and arm, he prepared himself for the pirates’ next move.
But that move didn’t come. He emerged from the corridor into a large but deserted chamber and crossed into another corridor without seeing or sensing anyone.
For that matter, he hadn’t sensed anyone since his escape from their Jedi trap. Were they all hiding somewhere? Or had they all simply packed up and left?
The rock floor beneath his feet shook slightly, and somewhere in the distance he heard the faint sound of an explosion. He was through the corridor and into another room when he heard and felt a second explosion, this one noticeably closer.
And abruptly his comlink twittered. He thumbed it on&mdash “Artoo?”
“Not quite,” a familiar voice answered dryly. “Are you in trouble again, Skywalker?”
Luke blinked with surprise, then smiled with the first genuine pleasure he’d felt since arriving at this place. “Of course I am,” he told Mara Jade. “Have you ever known me when I wasn’t?”
CHAPTER
9
“Offhand, I can’t think of a time,” Man had to admit, gazing out the Starry Ice’s bridge viewport at the asteroid field stretched out in front of them. “Though I have to say that taking on a whole nest of pirates alone is beyond even your usual audacity level. What are you doing in there, anyway?”
“Attempting to get out,” the other answered dryly. “What are you doing here?”