Allegiance (47 page)

The funny feeling vanished. “Oh,” he said.

“Oh what?”

“Just
oh
,” Han said, back on balance again. “Anyway, I’d better go let Luke out of his closet.”

Leia’s eyes widened. “You mean you haven’t
done
that yet? You’ve been standing here talking to me and he’s still stuck in there?”

“He’s got a lightsaber,” Han said blandly. “He can always cut his way out if he gets bored.”

“Han—”

“See you later, Princess.”

But she had a point, Han had to admit as he headed back out into the corridor. Maybe he could start with allegiance to just one person. Someone like Chewie.

Or maybe even someone else.

Jade listened in silence to LaRone’s story as Quiller drove the speeder truck through Makrin City’s quiet streets. “You should have gone to your unit commander,” she said when he’d finished. “There are procedures for dealing with incidents where there’s a strong probability of self-defense.”

“Procedures that wouldn’t have involved us being turned over to ISB?” Grave asked.

“Point,” Jade conceded. “But you still should have turned yourselves in. Now it’s too late.”

“Probably,” LaRone said, trying to read her face. All of it wasted effort—he had no idea what was going on behind those bright green eyes. “But to be honest, at this point we don’t really want to go back. After Teardrop …” He stopped, a lump rising into his throat.

“Yes, and be assured that I’m going to look into that,” Jade promised ominously. “Ordering the slaughter of civilians is against everything the Empire stands for. If it’s true, I promise you someone’s going to suffer for it.”

LaRone looked sideways at Marcross. The other grimaced in silent agreement. For all her strength and competence, this Emperor’s Hand had an awfully naïve view of what the Empire actually stood for.

But she would learn.

“What are you going to do with us?” Quiller asked.

For a long moment Jade was silent. “You’re deserters,” she said at last. “You swore an oath of allegiance to the Empire, and you broke it. That’s technically as treasonous as Choard’s own conspiracy.”

“We understand,” LaRone said. “But with all due respect, our oath was actually to defend the Empire
and
its citizens.”

“And you think that’s what you’re doing?” Jade retorted. “Flying around the galaxy like loose laser cannons?”

“We’re certainly doing a better job protecting the citizens now than we did on Teardrop,” Grave said.

LaRone winced. But Jade didn’t respond.

They were in sight of the Greencliff Spaceport before she spoke again. “What name is your ship running under at the moment?”

“The
Melnor Spear,
” LaRone told her.

“I’ll call the
Executor
and give you clearance,” she said. “Get off Shelkonwa and don’t come back.”

LaRone glanced at Marcross, then back to Jade. “Thank you,” he said. “May I ask why?”

The young woman gazed out the windscreen as they passed through the spaceport gate. “You helped me identify a traitor and take him into custody.” She hesitated. “Besides, a few days ago I was ready to offer a complete pardon to a man who’d done more against the Empire and its citizens than any of you could ever possibly do. He’ll never get to use it. You might as well have it instead.”

“Yes, ma’am,” LaRone said, wishing he knew what she was talking about. “Thank you again.”

Quiller drove the speeder truck beneath the Suwantek and came to a stop. “Just stay out of sight and out of trouble,” Jade said, pushing up the door and climbing
out. “The next Imperials you run into probably won’t be so generous.”

She looked at Marcross, and it seemed to LaRone that her head inclined ever so slightly to him. She started to turn away, then turned back. “Oh, and one more thing. That
Hand of Judgment
name of yours?”

“Yes?” LaRone said, frowning.

“Lose it,” she ordered. “There’s only one Hand in the Empire, and I’m it.” Turning again, she strode away into the night.

Brightwater had pulled his mangled speeder bike to the controls and had the Suwantek’s cargo lift on its way down. “What was
that
all about?” he asked as LaRone climbed stiffly out of the speeder truck.

“Sort of a political conflict, I guess you’d call it,” LaRone said. “Fortunately, it’s one I don’t mind conceding. Let’s make sure Solo and the others are aboard and get out of here.”

“Sounds good to me,” Brightwater said as the lift platform settled onto the permacrete. “So are we actually going to stay out of sight and trouble this time like she said?”

LaRone watched as Quiller drove the truck onto the platform. “I don’t see how we can,” he admitted at last. “We swore an oath to defend the people of the Empire. There are a lot of other dangers out there they need defending against.”

“Actually, I was kind of hoping you’d say that,” Brightwater said, resting his hand briefly on LaRone’s shoulder. “For all the bumps and bruises, this hero stuff definitely helps you sleep better at night.”

“Agreed,” LaRone said. “Let’s get our passengers back to the
Falcon
and get on with our lives.” He looked back in the direction of the palace. “And our duty.”

The Emperor leaned back in his throne, his yellow eyes glittering beneath his hood as he coolly regarded the two figures standing before him. “So it would seem Organa has slipped through your fingers,” he said, his gravelly voice unreadable.

“So it would seem, my Master,” Vader admitted, lowering his head toward his Emperor in contrition. “The search found no one.” His helmet turned slightly toward Mara. “But one vehicle
was
permitted to leave before that search was completed.”

“My child?” the Emperor invited.

“The freighter was carrying the stormtrooper unit I’d commandeered,” Mara said. “There’s absolutely no chance Organa could have stowed away without them finding her. Besides, the
Executor
’s scanners detected only five life-forms aboard.” She looked at Vader. “Actually, I’m not convinced Organa was ever on Shelkonwa in the first place,” she added. “I strongly suspect this was a story Chief Administrator Disra cooked up to make sure Lord Vader would come personally to Makrin City.”

“To what end?”

“According to Disra, he’d been collecting evidence of Choard’s conspiracy for quite some time,” Mara said. “The problem with turning on your superior that way is how to make sure you give the evidence to someone who isn’t one of his friends or fellow conspirators.” She gestured to Vader. “Who would be safer than Lord Vader?”

“And who better placed to help Disra in his own ambitions?” the Emperor suggested.

“The man does indeed wish to become governor in Choard’s place,” Vader confirmed.

“I’m certain he does,” the Emperor said, and Mara could sense his earlier annoyance fading. “Not now. Perhaps later.” He gestured. “At any rate, the war continues.
Return to your duties, Lord Vader.” He smiled at Mara. “As for you, my child, your next assignment awaits you in your quarters.”

They had left the throne room and were walking down the long corridor before Vader finally spoke. “What is your assessment of Disra?”

“He’s a con artist and conniver,” Mara said flatly. “I wouldn’t trust him any farther than I could see him.”

“Agreed,” Vader said. “I don’t intend to.”

“Good.” Mara hesitated. “I have a favor to ask, Lord Vader.”

There was a short pause. “Continue.”

“It’s about Captain Ozzel,” Mara said. “He claims his attack on the Gepparin pirate base had nothing to do with me but was based on intelligence supplied by Colonel Somoril.”

“And Somoril supports him in this?” Vader asked contemptuously.

“Of course he does,” Mara said in the same tone. For all their differences, she reflected, she and Vader at least had the same opinion of the ISB. “And with their stories welded shut that way, there’s no grounds for any kind of real interrogation.”

“What would you like me to do?”

“I’m not really sure,” Mara confessed. “Keep an eye on Ozzel, I suppose. I don’t know if the man’s disloyal, easily manipulated, or just plain stupid. But I think he bears watching.”

Vader was silent another few steps. “Leave him to me,” he said at last. “I believe I can arrange something.”

“Countess?” a voice called from the cross corridor they were passing. “Countess
Claria
?”

Mara looked in that direction and saw a familiar person hurrying toward them. “Why, hello, General Deerian,” she called back, stopping to wait for him. Vader
didn’t even break stride, but continued down the hallway. “What are you doing here?” she asked as Deerian came up to her.

“I have a new position,” Deerian said with a touch of pride. “I’ve been assigned to the team in charge of upgrading Imperial Center’s planetary defenses.”

“Congratulations,” Mara said. “I imagine you’re sorry to leave the glitter of Moff Glovstoak’s palace.”

“Hardly,” Deerian said, his expression going grim. “I don’t know if you heard, but just after I was transferred, Glovstoak was hauled up on charges of embezzlement and treason.”

“No, I hadn’t heard that,” Mara said honestly.

“It was a shock to us all,” Deerian said, shaking his head. “Imagine a man like that abusing his position and authority.”

“Imagine,” Mara agreed.

“Well, I’m on my way to a meeting,” Deerian said, the gloom fading from his face. “But I saw you and wanted to say hello.”

“I’m glad you did,” Mara said. “Good luck to you, General.”

“And to you, Countess.” Bowing to her, Deerian headed off again down the corridor.

Mara watched him go, a warm glow spreading through her. LaRone could talk all he wanted about these scattered abuses of power, and certainly those abuses needed to be dealt with. But as long as the Empire could still produce men like General Deerian, it would be worth defending. Worth her energy, and her life.

And her allegiance.

Turning again toward Vader’s cloak billowing in the distance, she headed for her quarters, where her next assignment was waiting.

Since 1978 Timothy Zahn has written nearly seventy short stories and novelettes, numerous novels, and three short fiction collections, and won the Hugo Award for best novella. Timothy Zahn is best known for his
Star Wars
novels:
Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, The Last Command, Specter of the Past, Vision of the Future, Survivor’s Quest, Outbound Flight
, and
Allegiance
, and has more than four million copies in print. His most recent publications have been the science fiction Cobra series and the six-part young adult series Dragonback. He has a B.S. in physics from Michigan State University, and an M.S. in physics from the University of Illinois. He lives with his family on the Oregon coast.

STAR WARS

S
TAR
W
ARS
: Choices of One
S
TAR
W
ARS
: Allegiance
S
TAR
W
ARS
: Outbound Flight
S
TAR
W
ARS
: Survivor’s Quest
S
TAR
W
ARS
: Vision of the Future
S
TAR
W
ARS
: Specter of the Past
S
TAR
W
ARS
: The Last Command
S
TAR
W
ARS
: Dark Force Rising
S
TAR
W
ARS
: Heir to the Empire

ALSO

Cobra Alliance
The Judas Solution
Conquerors’ Legacy
Conquerors’ Heritage
Conquerors’ Pride
Cobra Bargain
Cobra Strike
The Backlash Mission
Cobra
The Blackcollar

What is a legend? According to the Random House Dictionary, a legend is “a nonhistorical or unverifiable story handed down by tradition from earlier times and popularly accepted as historical.” Merriam-Webster defines it as “a story from the past that is believed by many people but cannot be proved to be true.” And Wikipedia says, “Legends are tales that, because of the tie to a historical event or location, are believable, though not necessarily believed.” Because of this inherent believability, legends tend to live on in a culture, told and retold even though they are generally regarded as fiction.

Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, a legend was born: The story of Luke Skywalker and his fellow heroes, Princess Leia and Han Solo. Three blockbuster movies introduced these characters and their stories to millions of people who embraced these tales and began to build upon them, as is done with myths everywhere. And thus novels, short stories, and comic books were published, expanding the
Star Wars
universe introduced in the original trilogy and later enhanced by the prequel movies and the animated TV series
The Clone Wars
. The enormous body of work that grew around the films and
The Clone Wars
came to be known as
The Expanded Universe
.