Free Star Wars - Thrawn Trilogy - Dark Force Rising 02 by Timothy Zahn Page B

head. "It's still nothing we can take to the Council," she said.

    "I'm not going to take it to the Council," Han told her. "I'm going to take Luke, and we're going to go to New Cov and check it out ourselves. Quiet like."

    Leia looked at Luke, an unspoken question forming in her mind.

    "There's nothing I can do here to help," he said. "It's worth a look, anyway."

    "All right," Leia sighed. "But keep it quiet."

    Han gave her a tight grin. "Trust me." He raised an eyebrow at Luke. "You ready?"

    Luke blinked. "You mean right now?"

    "Sure, why not? Leia's got the political end covered here okay."

    There was a flicker of sense from Leia, and Luke looked over just in time to see her wince. Her eyes met Luke's, her sense pleading with him to keep quiet. What is it? he asked her silently.

    Whether she would have answered him or not he never found out. From over at the door Chewbacca growled out the whole story.

    Han turned to stare at his wife, his mouth falling open. "You promised what?" he breathed.

    She swallowed visibly. "Han, I had no choice."

    "No choice? No choice? I'll give you a choice-no, you're not going."

    "Han"Excuse me," Luke interrupted, standing up. "I have to go check out my X-wing. I'll see you both later."

    "Sure, kid," Han growled, not looking at him.

    Luke stepped to the door, catching Chewbacca's eye as he passed and nodding toward the outer office. Clearly, the Wookiee had already come to the same conclusion. Heaving his massive bulk to his feet, he followed Luke from the room.

    The door slid shut behind them, and for a long moment they just stared at each other. Leia broke the silence first. "I have to go, Han," she said softly. "I promised Khabarakh I'd meet him. Don't you understand?"

    "No, I don't understand," Han retorted, trying hard to hold on to his temper. The gut-wrending fear he'd felt after that near-miss on Bpfassh was back, churning hard at his stomach. Fear for Leia's safety, and the safety of the twins she carried. His son and daughter : "These whatever-they-ares-"

    "Noghri," she supplied the word.

    "-these Nogti have been taking potshots at you every chance they've had for a couple of months now. You remember Bpfassh and that mock-up of the Falcon they tried to sucker us into getting aboard? And the attack on Bimmisaari before that-they came within a hair of snatching us right out of the middle of a marketplace. If it hadn't been for Luke and Chewie they'd have done it, too. These guys are serious, Leia. And now you tell me you want to fly out alone and visit their planet? You might as well turn yourself over to the Empire and save some time."

    "I wouldn't be going if I thought that," she insisted. "Khabarakh knows I'm Darth Vader's daughter, and for whatever reason, that seems to be very important to them. Maybe I can use that leverage to turn them away from the Empire and onto our side. Anyway, I have to try."

    Han snorted. "What is this, some kind of crazy Jedi thing? Luke was always getting all noble and charging off into trouble, too."

    Leia reached over to lay her hand on his arm. "Han I know it's a risk," she said quietly. "But it may be the only chance we ever have of resolving this. The Noghri need help-Khabarakh admitted that. If I can give them that hell if I can convince them to come over to our side-that'll mean one less enemy for us to have to deal with." She hesitated. "And I can't keep running forever."

    "What about the twins?"

    He had the guilty satisfaction of seeing her wince. "I know," she said, a shiver running through her as she reached her other hand up to hold her belly. "But what's the alternative? To lock them away in a tower of the Palace somewhere with a ring of Wookiee guards around them? They'll never have any chance of a normal life as long as the Noghri are trying to take them from us."

    Han gritted his teeth. So she knew. He hadn't been sure before, but he was now. Leia knew that what the Empire had been after this whole time was her