Skywalker's Legacy, page 41

Chapter Eight

The security system alerted Brenna that someone was outside the compound. She switched on the monitor and saw that it was a single person, a girl about her own age, with dark hair. There was a rental speeder nearby, but nothing besides and no one else.

Brenna switched on the audio. "Yes?"

"I'm looking for Ben Owens," the girl said.

"He's not here."

"Please, could you put me in contact with him? It's very important."

"Who are you?"

"Lucienne Solo."

Brenna switched off the audio and looked at the gold human-size 'droid beside her. "Is that true?"

"Oh, yes." Threepio said. "She certainly looks like Mistress Lucy, anyway."

Brenna hit the switch to open the gate, and ran outside. She met Lucy as the speeder pulled to a stop and Lucy got out. The gate automatically closed behind her.

"There are supposed to be four of you," Brenna said to her visitor. "And you're supposed to go to Mos Eisley. That's where my Dad went, to meet you."

"There was an accident. Or not an accident, but an explosion. My younger brother was hurt, and Chewbacca took him in the other pod to get medical help. Our ship was crippled. My other brother was going to try to land. I don't know how either one of them are. That's why I need to find Ben Owens right away!"

"Well, like I said, he's in Mos Eisley looking for you. You were supposed to go there first. I'm his daughter, Brenna. I'm your cousin, I guess. How did you find us?"

"I programmed the escape pod to take me to Anchorhead, asked around for where you lived, and rented this speeder."

"You said there was an explosion? What sort of 'explosion'?"

"Rupert thinks it was a bomb set to go off when we landed and were deboarding, but Poul must have triggered it accidentally when he was playing with the airlock."

Brenna looked at her. "Let me get this straight. Your parents sent you here because they thought somebody was after you, and you didn't do a security sweep of the ship before you took off? I can't believe I could possibly be related to someone that stupid."

Lucy was annoyed. "Well, of course we did a security sweep. It tested clean."

"You're sure."

"I'm positive."

"Well, then, I think you should get a new security system." Brenna's expression turned thoughtful. "You know, if the ship tested clean for bombs, it could have tested clean for tracking devices. And if you took the escape pod to Anchorhead..." She turned abruptly and headed for her sleeping quarters.

"What is it?" Lucy asked, trying to catch up. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to pack. We've got to get out of here. There are a lot of loose tongues in Anchorhead, and with you renting a speeder and asking everyone 'Where does Ben Owens live?'' anyone in the galaxy could track you. Besides which " she stood still for a moment, listening to some inner voice, then nodded. "Besides which, I've got a bad feeling about staying here."

Luke paced around the spaceport in agitation. Leia's kids were late, and he had a bad feeling about the whole thing. Every time a ship came in, he checked the registry and got a visual, just in case Han had decided to change the registry without telling him.

He didn't like leaving Brenna alone. He wanted to get back to the complex and make sure she was all right. Not that he thought she'd do anything stupid, but she didn't have a clue what Etan Lippa was like.

As he walked back and forth from one end of the spaceport to the other, he reviewed his options yet again. He could stay here and continue waiting, which was the most logical choice. There was a good probability that the Falcon, as old as she was, just couldn't handle a journey of that distance in the same amount of time as she used to travel. He could return to Anchorhead, of course, but the better choice was to stay here, and intercept the kids as soon as they arrived. He would contact Brenna again in another hour or so, for what little reassurance that would offer, but as of the last time he spoke with her, about two hours ago, all seemed to be well at home. She seemed a little annoyed at the frequency of his checks on her, but she'd get over it.

He glanced through a docking bay window at a new ship that had arrived since his last lap in the spaceport, but it wasn't the Falcon. Leia's message had specifically said they were sending the kids on the Falcon, and that they would go on to Anchorhead only if Luke didn't meet them in Mos Eisley. Luke continued on, reached the end of the spaceport, turned around, and walked back the way he had come.

He was about to look through the window of a docking bay that had been empty on his last pass, just to make sure it was still empty, when something made him want to turn the other way, towards the street entrance of the spaceport. He turned, and the big, hairy figure was hard to miss.

"Chewie," he breathed in relief.

He walked up to the Wookiee already heading towards him. Chewbacca growled a greeting in his native tongue, and wrapped his huge arms around the friend he hadn't seen in far too many years. Luke returned the hug briefly, then pulled away.

"Where are the kids?" he asked.

Luke had a little bit of difficulty interpreting the answer it had been quite a number of years since he'd last heard the Wookiee language but he got the gist of it, and his short-lived relief vanished.

"If Lucy's gone to Anchorhead," he said, "I've got to warn Brenna." He pulled his communicator off his belt, pressed the button for home, and waited for Brenna to pick up.

After a few minutes, Luke shook his head. "She's not answering. Something's wrong. I've got to get home."

Chewbacca rumbled a question.

"No," Luke said. "Stay with Poul. I'll get Lucy and Brenna and come back and find you and Poul. Where are you staying?"

The answer almost made Luke laugh. Only Chewbacca would have kidnapped a doctor to tend to Poul's injuries rather than take Poul to a hospital, where a huge furry Wookiee would be hard to miss, and easily identifiable, making Poul easy to find as well. Under the circumstances, however, Luke couldn't help but agree. He felt sorry for the doctor, whom Chewie had apparently left tied up to a chair in his own house, but Luke agreed that it was a better option than taking Poul to a hospital. Poul had suffered a concussion, but was recovering. He'd be fit enough to travel in a day or two. Chewie promised to compensate the doctor nicely for his lost days at work.

"All right. I'll be back as soon as I can." He gave Chewie another brief hug, which was returned in nearly bone-crushing strength, and then headed for home.