The Unifying Force by James Luceno Read Free Book Online Page A

the slightest provocation!”
    Han nodded grimly. A former swoop racer, he knew that C-3PO was right. Taking in the situation now, he wondered if even he could make the jump.
    “I’m going to the bottom!” he shouted.
    C-3PO canted his golden head. “Sir?”
    Han made a downward motion. “The bottom of the ramp.” “Sir, I have a bad feeling …”
    The wind drowned out the rest of the droid’s words. Han crabbed down to the base of the ramp, where he could hear the
Falcon
’s belly turret slicing through the agitated peaks of the waves. A distinctive throbbing sound captured his attention. The swoop was beginning to angle for the ramp. The pilot—a Jenet, of all species—took his right hand off the handgrips just long enough to signal Han with a wave. Considering that even that slight movement sent the swoop into a wobble, there was simply no way the Jenet would be able to let go completely—especially not with the
Falcon
adding to the turbulence of the sea itself.
    Han reconsidered, then swung around to C-3PO.
    “Threepio, tell Leia we’re going with Plan B!”
    The droid raised his hands to his head in distress. “Captain Solo, just the sound of that makes me worry!”
    Han raised his forefinger. “Just tell Leia, Threepio. She’ll understand.”
    “Plan B?”
    “That was precisely my reaction,” C-3PO said in an agitated voice. “But does anyone ever listen to my concerns?”
    “Don’t worry, Threepio, I’m sure Han knows what he’s doing.”
    “That is hardly a comforting thought, Princess.”
    Leia swung back to the console and allowed her eyes to roam over the instruments.
Plan B
, she mused.
What can Han have in mind?
She placed him squarely in her thoughts, then smiled in sudden revelation.
    Of course …
    Her hands slid switches while she studied the displays. Then she sat away from the console in contemplation. Yes, she decided at last, she supposed it could be done—though it would mean relying largely on the attitude and braking thrusters, and hoping that they didn’t stall or fail.
    She looked over her shoulder at C-3PO, who had evidently followed her every move and manipulation.
    “Tell Han I’ve got everything worked out.”
    “Oh, dear,” the droid said, turning and exiting the cockpit. “Oh, dear.”
    The four coralskippers were closing fast, lobbing plasma missiles into the blustery stretch of water between the swoop and the freighter. Thorsh dipped his head instinctively as one fireball plunged into the waves not ten meters away. The ferocity of the impact geysered superheated water high into the air, and sent the swoop into a sustained wobble.
    The freighter held to its course regardless, its top gunner keeping the coralskippers at bay with bursts of laserfire. A human male was crouched at the base of the landing ramp, his left arm wrapped around one of the telescoping hydraulic struts, and the fingers of his right hand making a gesture that on some worlds implied craziness on the part of its recipient. Just now, the twirling gesture meant something else entirely—though craziness was still a large part of it.
    Thorsh swallowed hard, just thinking about what the pilots were about to attempt.
    The human waved and scurried back up the ramp.
    Decelerating slightly, Thorsh fell in behind the freighter, giving it wide berth. Above the strained throbbing of the swoop’s repulsorlift, he heard the sudden reverberation of the YT-1300’s retro- and attitude thrusters.
    Then, scarcely surrendering momentum, the freighter began to rotate ninety degrees to starboard, bringing the boarding ramp almost directly in front of the tottering swoop.
    “Take the jump!” Han said, mostly to himself. “Now!”
    He was back in the pilot’s chair, his hands tight on the control yoke, while Leia feathered the thrusters, cheating the
Falcon
through its quarter turn. Flying sideways, Han could see the coralskippers that had a second earlier been “behind” the ship, as well as the swoop,