A Greek Beauty

Dazed, Luke staggered toward the front of the ship. He barely noticed the sound ofenergy bolts, too weak to penetrate the ship's deflectors, exploding harmlessly outside.His own safety was currently of little concern to him. With misty eyes he stared asChewbacca and Solo adjusted controls. "I hope that old man managed to knock out that tractor beam," the Corellian wassaying, "or this is going to be a very short ride." Ignoring him, Luke returned to the hold area and slumped into a seat, his headfalling into his hands. Leia Organa regarded him quietly for a while, then removedher cloak. Moving to him, she placed it gently around his shoulders. "There wasn't anything you could have done," she whispered comfortingly. "Itwas all over in an instant." "I can't believe he's gone," came Luke's reply, his voice a ghost of a whisper."I can't" Solo shifted a lever, staring nervously ahead. But the massive bay door wasconstructed to respond to the approach of any vessel. The safety feature now servedto facilitate their escape as the freighter slipped quickly past the still-opening door andout into free space. "Nothing," Solo sighed, studying several readouts with profound satisfaction."Not so much as an erg of come-hither. He did it, all right." Chewbacca rumbled something, and the pilot's attention shifted to another seriesof gauges. "Right, Chewie. I forget, for a moment, that there are other ways ofpersuading us to return." His teeth flashed in a grin of determination. "But theonly way they'll get us back in that traveling tomb is in pieces. Take over."