Just don’t order me to ram another vessel. Then I will be unable to comply.”
“I should hope not!” Lando exclaimed. “All right, little vacuum cleaner, back to work.”
“Yes, Master.”
Han and Mako had told almost no one the actual time that Greelanx was planning to attack. Some of the smuggler “High Command” knew that Han and Mako knew the timing of the operation, but they accepted the two ex-Imperials’ decision that it would be better for most of the smugglers not to know.
Lando, Shug, Salla, Rik Duel, Blue, and Jarik … all of them were aware that one of the times they went out on a drill, it would wind up being the real thing. The other smugglers did not know.
Han and Mako had to be careful in drilling their troops. They didn’t want the smugglers to get bored and lax, which might happen if they drilled too much. On the other hand, they knew that their smuggler squadron would need lots of practice. The key to having a fighting chance to defeat the Imperial fleet was for the smugglers to stick with the battle plan Mako and Han had devised.
The smugglers of Nar Shaddaa were all rugged individualists, unused to doing anything as part of a large, orchestrated group. “It’s like tryin’ to herd vro-cats,” Han told Xaverri wearily. “They keep thinkin’ they know better, and they want to question every blasted decision we make. What a pain in the rear!”
“Yes, but the last time you called a formation drill,” Xaverri pointed out, trying to encourage him, “they got into position and made their runs in one-third of the time it took them to do it the first time.”
“Yeah,” Han agreed with a noticeable lack of enthusiasm. He sighed.
“But it’s giving me gray hairs, honey.” She grinned, and pretended to inspect his scalp. His hair was still very short from his visit to Admiral Greelanx. “Nope,” she announced, after a minute, “I don’t see any.” He grinned back at her tiredly. “Well, I got gray hairs growin’ internally, then.”
She patted his hand. “Don’t worry, Solo. We’ll get through this.” “I hope so,” he said. “And, Xaverri, honey?” “Yes?”
“I want to thank you for comin’ here to help us. Without you, we wouldn’t have a chance.”
She gave him a roguish smile. “I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.
Just meeting Salla has made it all worthwhile.”
“Yeah, I noticed that you two have gotten real chummy,” Han said warily.
“So … what do you two talk about while you’re laughin’ and workin’ together, anyhow?”
She chuckled. “You egotistical spacebum, Solo! You think we’re talking about you, don’t you?”
Han shook his head. “Me? Of course not!”
“Oh, yes, you do!” She laughed at his discomfiture. “Admit it, Solo!”
Han steadfastly refused to admit it. But inwardly he was wondering when this was all over, if he’d be able to take up with Salla where they’d left off.
He’d seen Lando eyeing both Xaverri and Salla, and he knew Calrissian wouldn’t hesitate to move in on her if he thought Salla was looking around.
Did Salla really care about him? The way Xaverri and Bria had? He didn’t know. They never talked about that kind of thing. They had fun, good times, and they worked well together. Any discussion of inner feelings or a future together had never come up, by, Han suspected, mutual consent.
How did he feel about Salla, anyway?
Han wasn’t sure. Most of the time he was too busy to give the subject any consideration. He knew for a fact that he wasn’t ready to do what Roa was doing …
As he was sitting there in Shug’s spacebarn, Chewie came over to him and growled a reminder. Han looked up. “Oh! The briefing? I lost track of time!”
Quickly he and the Wookiee hastened back to The Chance Castle to the auditorium. Time for another run-through, so they could make sure each smuggler understood his, her, or its role in their strategy …
Two hours later Han caught up with Shug Ninx as the smugglers filed out of the auditorium. The half-blood was walking with Salla Zend. When Han caught up with them, Salla grabbed Han’s arm and squeezed it, then gave him a kiss on the cheek. “You were great,” she said. “You’re always great, Han. I swear, you’re a natural leader.”
The Corellian grinned, a little abashed. “Who, me?”
They walked out, and Shug said, “When’s the next drill?”
“Don’t know,” Han lied. “Mako will call this one. Is the Rimrunner ready?
The holo-projectors in place? The traffic buoys ready?”