Star Wars - Maze Run Read online

There was a beeping noise on the speakers.

  “Thirty seconds until touchdown,” said the autopilot.

  Han and Chewie started moving at the same instant, scrambling to close the bomb in its container and get out of the hold. As Chewie sealed the compartment, Han activated the sequence to vent the outer hatch and dump the cargo into space.

  But Chewie’s next growl turned Solo’s blood to ice.

  “What do you mean the doors won’t open?” Han pushed Chewie out of the way and frantically hit the overide button. The hatch still refused to cycle. Apparently, the controls to the hold had been damaged - whether by radiation or by hits from the drones or the Star Destroyer no longer mattered. Chewie was already racing back to the cockpit, and Han dashed after him. He found the Wookiee trying every possible sequence and combination to get the hatch open. Out the window the massive superstructures of the base rose from the darkness as the Falcon made its final approach...

  “Chewie, get us the hell out of here.” Chewie slid into his acceleration chair and turned off the auto pilot. The ship bucked and jumped as Chewie shut down the landing approach and spun the Falcon away from the base. The speakers crackled.

  “Alpha to Falcon, you’re off the approach course. What’s going on? I repeat-”

  “Falcon to Alpha, we’re having a little bit of problem. Over.” Han shut down the com and made for the door. Chewie’s quizzical grunt stopped him for a second.

  “What do you think I’m going to do? Somebody’s got to get that cargo hatch open. And if we can’t do it from the inside-”

  Chewie’s eyes widened as he realized what Han was saying.

  “This will be easier than selling water to dirt farmers on Tatooine.”

  The Wookiee let out an ear-shattering roar. Han looked his friend in the eyes and smiled the smile that would one day be known across the galaxy.

  “Trust me.”

  Chewie’s mournful wail followed Solo all the way to the equipment locker. Han retrieved the old military surplus spacesuit, then jogged to the central hatch access and proceeded to strap it on. The ship shuddered and the walls shook as Chewie continued to veer away from the approach vector, struggling against the gravity of the black hole. Han engaged the hydraulic lift and felt its reverberation under his feet as he rose toward the ceiling and went through his checklist: magnetic boots engaged, blast visor down, helmet sealed. He took a deep breath.

  “Get it together, Solo,” he muttered, “or this is going to be a short walk.”

  And then the dorsal hatch slid open above him and he was out in the vacuum. The black hole filled most of the sky, impossibly huge and menacing. Off to one side was Firebase Alpha, structures clustering over that rock - and now he could see the giant energy siphons stretching down toward the black hole, crackling with enough energy to fuel a thousand warships...

  Han took in the view in an instant, and then he forced himself to look only at the Falcon as he made his way across her surface. He felt the hull rumble beneath him as Chewie fought the black hole’s pull to buy Han time to get to the manual hatch controls. But the readouts in Han’s helmet showed him he wasn’t going fast enough. That bomb was going to detonate before he could get it away from the Falcon. He wasn’t going to make it. Unless he did the one thing he’d always been best at.

  Cutting corners.

  Solo turned off his mag boots and fired a quick blast from his suit’s thrusters. The ship’s hull passed rapidly underneath him as he honed in on the cargo hatch. At the last minute, he re-activated his boots and managed to catch himself a meter away from the cargo doors before reaching for the first of the external locks and pulling with all of his might. To his relief, the lock slotted into its open position. As his hands closed on the second and final lock, the ship’s hull surged beneath his feet like a living thing. He held on as the Falcon accelerated in - straight toward the black hole. Han nodded. Chewie had started his run. Now Han had to do his part. He pulled against the last lock.

  It wouldn’t budge.

  He shifted, positioning himself so he could use both hands. But just as he started to apply the pressure, the ship shook so violently it felt like it was breaking apart. In fact, several pieces of the landing gear ripped free and flew toward him like shrapnel. Han went flat against the hull as the metal shards skipped past him - except for one, which struck him a glancing blow on his rear-pack. He opened his eyes to see the suit’s power meter draining rapidly to zero. Damn. He pulled himself back to his feet, grabbed the controls of the door with both hands and pulled. The lever came loose and the hold door opened as the light went green. Even as Solo’s suit’s energy was going into the red...

  Suddenly, he was floating off the hull - no power to his boots. The maw of the black hole was drawing him inexorably in. As he spun through the darkness, he saw the Falcon hurtle away - and then suddenly flip, its nose coming up hard as the contents of the hold shot out. The Falcon turned away from the black hole as the jettisoned containers reached its edge, the bomb exploding even as they did so, all the light and energy from the massive blast pulled across the event horizon in a single instant and vanishing into darkness.

  Han smiled.

  It was getting hard to breathe.

  At least Chewie had made it. He wondered if he’d get to that event horizon before he ran out of air. He hoped so.

  It would be one hell of a way to go.

  But then he saw another light reflected in his visor - the bright flash of the Falcon’s engines. Chewie had turned the ship around and was bringing her back toward Solo, coming in at an angle so as not to veer across that deadly horizon, spinning like a top to increase momentum and maneuverability. For a moment it looked like the Falcon, would smash right into Solo... But at the last moment, the ship stopped its spinning and activated its tractor beam, pulling Solo directly toward the still-open cargo doors. Solo curled into a ball as he shot through. And then the exterior doors sealed.

  The interior doors opened. Han pulled off his helmet as the Falcon accelerated away. He couldn’t stop laughing. He’d always thought he was an amazing pilot, but once again his Wookiee partner had shown there was more to him than met the eye. Han was still laughing as an anxious Chewbacca ran into the room, scooping Solo up in a Wookiee hug.

  “It’s all right pal. I’m all right - thanks to you.”

  Chewie put him down, but still held the somewhat woozy Solo upright. Solo stepped back, stretched.

  “So...I guess after we drop off what’s left of the cargo, we go back and have a word or two with Tac. How does that sound?”

  Chewie’s barking laughter echoed through the ship.

  From Star Wars Insider 131 (02-03-2012)

  11.6.18.15.14.5-1