Free Star Wars - 210 - Jedi Prince 01 - The Glove of Darth Vader by Paul Davids, Hollace Davids Page B

Han said to Luke, "you sure did a great job on these droids. If I didn’t know what was going on, I’d swear I was on Kessel."
    "Thanks, Han. Coming from you, that really means a lot," Luke said to his friend.
    "Kessel is a planet that all experienced cargo pilots try to avoid," said Han. "Especially me. But a few times, when there was a fortune to be made from transporting spice, I flew the trip from Kessel anyway, against my better judgment. In fact, I’ve made the Kessel Run in the Millennium Falcon in less than twelve standard timeparts."
    "You told me that the day I first met you, back in the cantina at the Mos Eisley spaceport on Tatooine," said Luke. "Remember? When I showed up with Obi-Wan Kenobi and-"
    "Yeah, I remember, kid, now that you mention it," interrupted Han. He knitted his brows and frowned. "Well, take my word for it-things have gotten even meaner on Kessel since then. And it’s tough times there for spice traders and old Corellian space pirates like me. These days, if they even suspect you might be loyal to the Alliance, they send you straight to the spice mines-to be a slave for life!"
    "Which brings us to the urgency of the Kessel mission," Mon Mothma said strongly.
    "Thousands of grand moffs, evil warlords, stormtroopers, Imperial droids, and enemy officers from the Empire are arriving at Kessendra Stadium on Kessel for a big gathering in their capital city."
    She turned to Artoo-Detoo and continued. "Artoo, your data banks now contain information on every important Imperial who might be at that meeting, including all those who may have ambitions to become the new leader of the Empire. You also have data on the Prophets of the Dark Side. There seems to be much controversy about the latest prophecy of the Supreme Prophet of the Dark Side, Kadann."
    Mon Mothma touched a button on the conference table console and a holo-projector flashed Kadann’s words in midair:
    After Palpatine’s fiery death
    Another leader soon comes to command the Empire
    And on his right hand he does wear
    The glove of Darth Vader!
    A menacing silence fell over the briefing room.
    "Ptooog bziiiini?" beeped Artoo, as his new dome rotated back and forth.
    "He wants to know how the right-hand glove of Darth Vader can still exist," said Threepio.
    "Unlike the left-hand glove, the right glove was made to be indestructible," Mon Mothma replied. "A symbol of evil that would survive forever. After Luke cut off Darth Vader’s right hand in their lightsaber duel, the glove was believed to have been hurled out into space when the Death Star exploded.
    "According to our intelligence reports," she continued, "the glove has not yet been found. We have teams out searching for it, but it’s possible that someone at the Kessel meeting might have found the glove already and claim to be the new Emperor." Suddenly Mon Mothma’s holo-projector created an image of a meteor. "Threepio and Artoo, this may look like a meteor, but it’s actually your landing pod," she explained. "Admiral Ackbar and his fellow Calamarians built this especially for your mission."
    "We guarantee that it will do the job," Admiral Ackbar said confidently. Lando smiled and nudged his friend Han Solo, who was sitting beside him. "Han has been kind enough to offer me a ride back to Bespin," said Lando, "so that I can get back to Cloud City for some urgent business. On our way, as we pass near Kessel, we’ll eject the pod from the Millennium Falcon, right, Han?"
    "Sure thing," Han put in.
    "The pod should get through enemy defenses undetected," said Mon Mothma, turning to the droids. "It’s also been designed for your escape from Kessel. When your mission is over and you reboard, the pod will shed its meteor coating so that it will look like a spherical Imperial probe droid. Then it will automatically soar to the upper atmosphere, where you’ll be picked up by an Imperial command speeder we captured-Command Speeder 714-D."
    Threepio rubbed the back of his new metal head