Dark Nest II: Unseen Queen by Troy Denning

Author:Troy Denning
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Science Fiction - Adventure, Science Fiction - Space Opera, Fiction - Science Fiction, Leia, Solo, Space Opera, Life on other planets, Star Wars fiction, Science Fiction - Star Wars, Fiction, Princess (Fictitious character), Space warfare, Skywalker, Adventure, Science fiction, Luke (Fictitious character), Han (Fictitious character), Media Tie-In - General, General, Science Fiction And Fantasy, Media Tie-In
ISBN: 9780345463036
Publisher: New York, N.Y. : Ballantine Books, c2005.
Published: 2005-09-27T04:00:00+00:00

turned to Han. “You can tell us how to fix that ?”

“Sure,” Han said. “Easiest thing in the galaxy—all you have to do is help us find the Dark Nest.”

TWELVE

Leia and Saba stood shoulder-to-shoulder at the top of the boarding ramp, listening to a muffled string

of beeps and chirps as the boarding party’s slicer droid tried to outsmart the Falcon ’s espionage-grade

security system. The external monitors showed that the ship was surrounded by a full company of

soldiers in full blast armor. Something did not feel quite right in the Force, as though the troops were

nervous or hesitant about their orders, and Leia wondered if the commander could really believe that Jedi

would attack Galactic Alliance troops.

“They feel frightened.” There was a note of disdain in Saba’s voice, for Barabels tended to regard fear

as something felt only by quarry. “You are sure we should not draw our lightsaberz? Frightened prey is

unpredictable.”

Leia shook her head. “You’re the Master, but I really think we need to defuse things. Somebody’s going

to get hurt if we keep pushing.”

Saba glared down at Leia out of one eye. “We are not the onez pushing thingz, Jedi Solo.”

Finally, the slicer droid stopped beeping and chirping. The monitor showed him releasing his interface

clips from the wires dangling from the Falcon ’s exterior security pad; then he turned to an officer and

gave a dejected whistle.

“What do you mean you can’t open it?” The security system speaker made the officer’s voice sound a

little tinny. “That’s what you were designed for—to open ship hatches.”

The droid beeped a short reply, which Leia knew would include an explanation of how the access code

kept changing. The security system’s first line of defense was an automatic reset anytime two incorrect

codes were entered into the keypad. Its second line of defense was to never grant access from the

outside when the keypad cover was removed.

“Well, try again,” the officer ordered. “I’m not going to use a flash torch on the Millennium Falcon !”

The droid gave a weary whistle, then started to sort through the security wires again.

Leia turned to Saba. “I think we’ve made our point.”

Saba nodded. “If you are sure about the lightsaberz.”

“I am,” Leia said. “They may be scared, but they wouldn’t dare blast us.”

Leia instructed Cakhmaim and Meewalh to stay out of sight, then released the safety-hold and palmed

the toggle button on the wall. The seal broke with a hiss, and the ramp began to descend.

A surprised murmur arose out in the hangar. The captain barked an order, and when there was enough

space to see, Leia and Saba found themselves surrounded by a semicircle of blaster barrels.

Once the ramp clanged into position against the durasteel floor, the officer stepped to the foot and

looked up at them. He was young—no doubt straight from the academy—and so nervous he could

barely bring himself to meet the gazes of Leia and Saba.

“You will p-place your hands on your heads.” Despite his cracking voice, he was clearly being

deliberately rude, ordering them about as though they were common pirates and neglecting to address

them by any sort of title.

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