Star Wars - 214 - Jedi Prince 05 - Queen of the Empire (2 page)

"A very constructive idea, Master Luke," Threepio chimed in.

"Han and Leia can handle this on their own, Luke," Mon Mothma interjected. "I have a serious matter here that requires your assistance-and Chewbacca’s too."

"You mean the problem with Triclops?"

"A perceptive guess," Mon Mothma replied. She then turned her attention to Fandar’s injury, avoiding further discussion of Triclops.

Piloted by Han Solo and copiloted by Princess Leia, the Millennium Falcon blasted off with See-Threepio and Artoo-Detoo, departing the swampy world where the great Jedi Master, Yoda, had trained Luke Skywalker in the ways of the Jedi Knights. The spaceship proceeded beyond the Dagobah star system, swerved around a massive asteroid belt, and plunged through a region that was filled with swirling space gas caused by a supernova explosion thousands of years ago. Then the Falcon made the jump to hyperspace, zooming off at faster-than-light speed.

Twenty-two standard time parts later, as the spaceship decelerated, the blue-white sun of planet Chad came into view. Han and Leia could see Chad off in the distance, with its nine small moons appearing as tiny specks of light.

"Look, Han," Princess Leia said, "the entire planet seems to be covered by thick clouds."

"Huge storm system, Princess," Han explained. "Happens all the time here now. And they’ve got no one to blame but themselves."

"How so?"

"It’s because of the Lactils. They’ve got so many of those smelly milk-producing creatures on this planet, the situation is now totally out of control." Han checked his Navicomputer to figure out the best angle for the Millennium Falcon’s approach. "It may be good for Chad, from a business point of view, that they’re now the dairy capital of the galaxy, but no one ever stopped to consider that Lactils exhale enormous quantities of methane gas. And too much methane is bad news for the upper atmosphere."

"Tzchlootle!" beeped the little barrel-shaped droid, Artoo-Detoo. "Bzing-zooch, PZEEep badoing!"

"Goodness," Threepio translated, "Artoo has made a startling calculation using advanced spectrographic analysis. He’s concluded that so much methane gas has polluted the upper atmosphere, it’s caused a terrible greenhouse effect on Chad. The planet is overheated, consequently warming up the seas-and warm oceans give rise to violent hurricanes."

"Like the one looming over the region of Chadra-Fan Hospital right now," Han said, taking a reading on his monitor.

"Threepio, go check up on Fandar," Leia said. "As we land in the storm, you may have to adjust the force field that’s keeping him afloat."

"Oh dear, oh my, force-field adjustment coming right up," Threepio fretted.

"I hope you’re ready for this, Leia," Han said, as he began the descent into the turbulent atmosphere. "I’d rather face an armada of Imperial starfighters than try to land in a hurricane this bad. But here goes nothing-"

The gale-force winds stretched all the way into the upper atmosphere.

SHWOOOOOOOOOSH!

The winds tore at the Falcon, ripping at its outer surfaces, as Threepio departed the cockpit to check up on Fandar.

KRAKKKK!

"There goes the passive sensor antenna for our microwave radio," Han said in dismay.

ROOOOOOAAAAAAR!

"Sounds like we just lost our escape pod!" Leia concluded, grimacing. Han glanced out the window, peering through the torrential rains and black clouds, quickly confirming Leia’s suspicion. Han winced, remembering how much it had cost to repair the Millennium Falcon on their last mission from Mount Yoda.

Threepio was knocked around relentlessly as he tried to look after Fandar. "Oh my. If you can’t fly any better than this, Han Solo, they should suspend your pilot’s license," Threepio complained, well aware that Han was some distance away in the cockpit and couldn’t possibly hear him.

And then came the sharp sound of crunching metal.

"Oh goodness!" Threepio said with alarm. "I’ve got a dent in my right forearm! And I was just replated too!"

The Falcon was tossed around like a bottle on the sea, as Han tried to maneuver it through the ferocious storm clouds. Lightning pounded the ship, shorting out its main lights. The inside of the Falcon suddenly went black, and the temperature began to drop. "Terrific," Han said sarcastically. "If our thermal amplifier is down, this cockpit is going to get colder than the spice mines of Kessel. But so help me, I’m going to land this baby in one piece, or I’m nothing but a Kowakian monkey-lizard."

Han blinked, his eyes adjusting to the darkened cockpit, where the only light came from the faint, colored dials and buttons on the navigation console. Then he navigated the Falcon toward the eye of the storm, fighting the awesome power of the hurricane’s winds all the way.

CHAPTER 2

Rockslide on Chad

Chadra-Fan Hospital was perched on a low bluff overlooking the pounding waves of the shore. Looming high above were towering cliffs. The hospital was being drenched by the hardest rainfall Han had ever seen, flooding the ground outside the spaceship hangars, which were connected to the medical building by long corridors. Han, Leia, and the droids stepped down the ramp of the Falcon and into a hangar, relieved to be on solid ground once again.

"Well, another safe landing from the galaxy’s best Corellian pilot," Han said boastfully.

"And you can thank my unfailing triple combination-daredevil skill, blind luck, and a little trust in the Force."

"A little trust in the Force? Personally, I have a lot of trust in the Force," Leia replied. Like her brother, Luke Skywalker, Leia was also a Jedi, and therefore understood the power of the Force far better than Han. "If you ask me, that’s what got us here in one piece-not your daredevil skill and blind luck."

"You two may have arrived in one piece," Threepio complained, "but just look at me. My poor dented arm! I certainly hope we can get to a Droid Repair Shop soon." The four of them were greeted in the hangar by several furry Chadra-Fan who helped Han transport Fandar on his floating stretcher. The cot hung suspended in midair by the force of miniature repulsorlifts on the underside. Artoo-Detoo managed to roll along beside Han without any problems, but Leia and Threepio were stopped in their tracks by a suspicious and quarrelsome guard. The guard demanded to know how Fandar had been injured. Caught up in the urgency of getting the wounded Chadra-Fan to the heart transplant center, Han and Artoo didn’t notice that Leia and Threepio were being detained. The hurricane continued in all its fury, as Han Solo, Artoo-Detoo, and Fandar arrived at the operating room.

Artoo plugged himself into the medical monitoring equipment, so he could keep track of Fandar’s vital signs during the operation. Meanwhile, the team of surgeons, led by Chief Chan, located a suitable replacement heart in their cryogenic storage room containing organs for transplant. As they commenced the operation, lightning suddenly struck the hospital’s domed power core. A jolt surged into the monitoring machines,. sizzling several of Artoo’s electrical circuits.

"Buu-bee-oowwwbzeee-bjEEEch!" Artoo screeched as he rolled out of the operating room and into the hallway.

"What’s your problem?" Han asked, chasing after the droid. But Artoo kept rolling away, veering left and right like a drunken alien on hover skates. When Han finally caught up with the barrel-shaped droid, Artoo spun in circles and then fell over.

"Don’t tell me that the lightning fried your circuits, Artoo. We don’t have time to repair you now. Besides-" Han stopped in the middle of his sentence and glanced around with concern. "Now where in the world do you suppose Leia went?" Another bolt of lightning hit nearby, this one striking an outcrop of rocks on one of the cliffs towering above the hospital. The resulting landslide thundered and rumbled with fearsome force.

Then the roof above the corridor tore open and collapsed, as tons of rocks poured down around Han and Artoo, trapping them beneath the rubble.

Diplomat that she was, Leia poured on her charm, convincing the guard at the Chadra-Fan hangar that she had come with Fandar to help.

Leia and See-Threepio were released by the guard-just in time to witness the rockslide bury the corridor-and Han and Artoo with it.

At first Leia thought Han must surely be dead. Turning pale from shock, she took a deep breath and tried to calm herself, putting herself in touch with the Force. Han was still alive-she knew it! There was still hope. But how could she get Han and Artoo out from under all those rocks?

In desperation, Leia and Threepio hurried back to the guard at the hangar and shouted for help. "This is an emergency!" she shouted. "We need a Boulder-Dozer right away! Please help us!"

Boulder-Dozers were equipped with powerful laser-scorchers, especially designed to vaporize debris and cut holes through solid rocks.

"We have several in the storage building by the equipment yard," the guard said, leading the way.

The guard opened a wide emergency exit door. As they headed out of the hangar and toward the equipment yard, the horrendous winds practically blew them off their feet.

"We’ve got to hurry!" Leia shouted.

The guard unlocked a warehouse door, and Princess Leia hopped aboard the first Boulder-Dozer she saw. She flipped the power switch, but nothing happened.

"Looks like the rain has flooded the Nebulon starter unit," Leia declared.

"We’ve never had any trouble with it before," the guard said. "It’s a top-of-the-line Rendili Boulder-Dozer with a Navicomputer control."

"Perhaps I can help," Threepio volunteered. "I once came in contact with a Corellian engineer who worked for the Rendili Vehicle Corporation. Whenever one of his Boulder-Dozers failed to start, he crawled underneath it like this and pushed the power modulation lever back and forth a few times-"

VRRRRRROOOOM!

"Good work, Threepio!" Leia exclaimed, and then thanked the guard for his help. Threepio climbed aboard the Boulder-Dozer and Leia took off, driving at full speed through the pouring rain. She reentered the hangar at the emergency exit, then continued into the corridor that led to the hospital.

Arriving at the area where Han and Artoo were trapped, Princess Leia aimed the Boulder-Dozer’s laser-scorchers at the pile of rubble that had fallen through the roof. Then she turned the lasers on full blast, vaporizing the solid rock to create a large hole.

TSSSSSST!

Realizing that Han Solo’s life depended upon her success, Leia felt a choking, stinging sensation build up in her throat. When the inside of the hole glowed bright red, Leia shut down the laser-scorchers. She knew that if she cut too quickly through the rubble, the laser’s beams might hit Han and Artoo, vaporizing them as well!

As the last few lavalike chunks of rock vaporized, to her relief Leia could see that Han was all right, apparently without any broken bones.

"Quick thinking, Princess!" Han shouted excitedly. "But it’s hotter than a steam bath in here right now!"

"That’s from the laser-scorchers," she said. "Wait for the rocks to cool down first before you crawl out."

When the inside of the hole changed from a fiery bright red to steely gray, Han crawled through the opening on his hands and knees, his face and clothes grimy, sweat dripping down his cheeks.

"I don’t recommend that experience," Han said, brushing himself off. He sighed and wiped his brow. "You know, Leia, I thought I’d seen you for the last time. And, well-" He paused, searching for the right words.

"Well what?" she asked.

"That would have been a shame," Han admitted.

"I’ll agree with that."

"A big shame," he added. "All my plans for us were almost crushed by those rocks." Leia’s eyebrows raised questioningly. "What plans for us, Han?" Han glanced away. "Hey, a Rendili Navicomputer-controlled Boulder-Dozer!" he exclaimed excitedly, quickly changing the subject. "Made by the good ol’ Corellian Engineering Corporation. I’ll have to thank them."

"You could try thanking me first," Leia said.

"Sorry, Princess," Han replied, embarrassed. "Thanks for saving my life. Thanks a lot."

"Bzooooch gneeeech!" Artoo-Detoo interrupted. The little droid was still trapped beneath the rubble.

"Artoo’s circuits went haywire when he plugged himself into the medical monitor-there was some kind of electrical malfunction from all the lightning. We’re going to have to get him serviced."

"Fzzzwoooop bzeeeedle squuAAAAAk!" Artoo tooted frantically.

"Fuss fuss!" See-Threepio said, reacting to the noisy barrel-shaped droid. "Honestly, you screech more than a squirmy Ranat!"

The golden droid climbed through the hole in the rubble that the laser-scorchers had burned. "As if it wasn’t enough that I’ve dented an arm already on this trip!" Threepio complained. "By the time I get you out from behind these rocks, I’ll need two new arms-and a complete replating to get rid of my scratches!"

CHAPTER 3

Han Solo’s Big Plans

Luke Skywalker leaned forward anxiously in the small lab room in DRAPAC’s south tower, staring through a two-way mirror. Triclops, now sleeping restlessly in a barren room with one floating mattress, was beginning to mumble something about his father, the evil Emperor Palpatine.

Luke listened intently, realizing the importance of this strange, haggard man with a third eye at the back of his head. Luke, Ken, and Chewbacca were monitoring him carefully. They knew full well that Triclops would have been recognized by the Imperials as the legal heir to the Empire if he hadn’t been such an outspoken supporter of peace and disarmament. But that fact had forced the Imperials to keep Triclops’s existence a secret, and they sentenced him to life in the Imperial Reprogramming Institute and Imperial insane asylums. Luke was aware that he had taken a risk by trusting Triclops and bringing him to their Alliance fortress. And Mon Mothma was now becoming increasingly suspicious that Triclops might turn out to be an Imperial spy. Triclops had done nothing consciously to earn their distrust. But his behavior while he was asleep was extremely suspect. At times Triclops flew into fits of rage while he slept-even Chewbacca, strong as the Wookiee was, had trouble restraining Triclops during those outbursts.