Honor Among Thieves

“I know,” Han said. “But they’ve got more weapons on the fighters, and they won’t shoot at us if missing means damaging their own.”

I hope, he didn’t add.

The defensive batteries on the Star Destroyer opened up, and Han twirled the ship, dancing between the blasts. It wasn’t even thought now. The Falcon was an extension of his body, and he moved through space as if he were running through a battlefield. Chewbacca barked once.

“Get ready,” Han said.

Another thousand kilometers. At their speeds, it wouldn’t take long. A tight grouping of Y-wings shot past him, neither Imperial nor rebel. Just some poor guys who’d been attending the wrong conference. They drew some of the Star Destroyer’s fire. He gritted his teeth. And then they were past, the battle behind them, where a stray shot could sail through the missing deflectors and melt the hull to nothing.

He slammed his palm on the control panel, and the stars became streaks. The death throes of Kiamurr vanished behind them, and he sank back in his chair. Scarlet, Baasen, and his Bothan pilot were howling with delight. As if getting away was a victory. As if they’d won something.

And still, they had gotten away.

When he looked over his shoulder, Leia was staring out the screen. The light of hyperspace glowed on her skin. The darkness in her eyes was only partly from their color. There was something more in them, too. Something deeper.

“That was why you didn’t just tell them all,” Han said. “You knew Hunter Maas was coming, and that the Empire would come after him. If you’d warned them all before he showed up, everyone would have left before the battle started.”

She turned to look at him directly. He saw that the words had stung her, and that she was trying not to let it show.

“I did what I could. Told who I could. If I’d sounded the general alarm, Hunter Maas would have run, too, and the Empire would have had another chance to catch him. We would have lost everything. No one’s responsible for those deaths but the people who pulled the triggers,” she said, her voice hard. And then she softened, looked down. “It’s a war, Han. And I’m the one trying to end it.”

“No, they’re trying to end it, too,” Han said. “You’re just arguing over the terms.”

Chewbacca chuffed to himself and moved as unobtrusively out of the cockpit as a mountain of muscle and fur could manage. Leia’s gaze didn’t leave Han.

“Are you saying I should have cleared the way so that they could have captured Maas and kept the data out of our hands? Because I can’t see how that would have ended well.”

“I’m not saying that. In the grand scheme of the war, you did what you had to do,” Han said.

“But?”

“Grand schemes can excuse a lot of bodies.”

“That’s not fair—”

“What are you two on about then?” Baasen asked, poking his head in the cockpit. “It’s time to celebrate! We’ve lived to see another day. You can’t complain about that.”

Han got up, pushing past Baasen. There were too many people on the Falcon. Baasen, Scarlet Hark, Sunnim, the R3 droid, Leia, Chewbacca. Him. It made the ship feel close and tight, and he didn’t like it. In the lounge, Scarlet was looking at a long gash on Sunnim’s right arm. The Bothan blinked as Han brushed past them. He heard Leia and Baasen Ray behind him. He ignored them all.

Leia was right, and he hated it. The Empire had already shown it was willing to destroy planets filled with innocent people in order to prove a point. As he passed through the ship, he found himself going back through every time he’d gotten out of trouble by making the jump to lightspeed. All the fights he’d avoided, all the times he could have died and didn’t. If Scarlet’s information was correct and the Empire got hold of this artifact, that would stop not just for him, but for everyone. All the ships boiling up off Kiamurr or Haaridin or Tatooine would have no place to go, and the Empire could pour in wave after wave of fighters until whoever the Emperor had decided was his enemy that week was nothing but fused carbon and a few volatile chemicals.

The plastoid case was in Baasen’s quarters. Han scooped it up. It wasn’t huge. It was hardly a weight in his hand. He carried it back to the lounge and put it down on the dejarik table. The others were all around. Leia and Scarlet stood at the door to the cockpit, Chewbacca in the background between them. Sunnim and Baasen sat on the couches. Baasen’s smile could have meant anything.

“We did our part,” Han said, thumbing the case’s latch. “Let’s see if it was worth it.”

The case clicked and slid open. The smell of sugar and lemon filled the air. Han leaned close. The cake was a dusting of bright yellow crumbs and gobs of frosting on a small presentation plate of tempered glass.

“Baasen?” Han said carefully. “What is this?”

Leia stepped up beside him, looking down. She made a small sound in the back of her throat. “Maas must have been going to meet with Eanis Malavoy. He’s a buyer for Bonadan Heavy Industries.”

“And?” Han said.

“And he likes lemon cakes,” Leia said.

Han put his fingertips to his eyes. “Baasen, what did you do?”

“Failed to save a lemon cake, apparently,” Baasen said lightly.

“This was supposed to be the data,” Han said. “You blew the job. You said you knew where the information was. Now what have we got? A world died for this.”

“Now, not so hot nor so hasty. I never said it was in the case, did I? That’s a conclusion you drew on your own. Though, in fairness, I did encourage a certain misunderstanding.”

Scarlet made a sound between a cough and a laugh. Leia looked over at her. Sunnim looked from one woman to the other, his ears canted forward in confusion.

“It’s in the R-3,” Leia said.

Baasen clapped his remaining hand against his leg. “Now, that is a smart woman, my friend. Sees right to the heart of things. Most people don’t know how easy it is to hide data in an R-3 unit.”

“I know,” Leia said.

“Well,” Baasen continued, “I guessed he—”

“Thanks for that,” Han said. “Chewbacca, would you please escort our friend to the air lock. He’s walking home.”

“Ah!” Baasen said, holding up his palm. “Now, we had an agreement, boyo. And I’ve kept my part.”

Han felt Leia’s dark eyes on him. The truth was, he wasn’t sure he’d been joking about throwing Baasen out into space. His head felt thick with distress and exhaustion and the aftermath of the battle. He smirked, clapped the Mirialan on the shoulder, and left it at that.