Lined with power cables and circuitry conduits that rose from the depths and vanished
into the heavens, the service trench appeared to be hundreds of kilometers deep.  The
narrow catwalk running around one side looked like a starched thread glued on a
glowing ocean.  It was barely wide enough for one man to traverse.
    One man edged his way along that treacherous walkway now, his gaze intent on
something ahead of him instead of the awesome metal abyss below.  The clacking
sounds of enormous switching devices resounded like captive leviathans in the vast
open space, tireless and never sleeping.
    Two thick cables joined beneath an overlay panel.  It was locked, but after
careful inspection of sides, top and bottom, Ben Kenobi pressed the panel cover in a
particular fashion causing it to spring aside.  A blinking computer terminal was
revealed beneath.
    With equal care he performed several adjustments to the terminal.  His actions
were rewarded when several indicator lights on the board changed from red to blue.
    Without warning, a secondary door close behind him opened.  Hurriedly
reclosing the panel cover, the old man slipped deeper into the shadows.  A
detachment of troopers had appeared in the portal, and the officer in charge moved to
within a couple of meters of the motionless, hidden figure.
    "Secure this area until the alert has been cancelled."
    As they began to disperse, Kenobi became one with the dark.

    Chewbacca grunted and wheezed, and barely succeeded in forcing his thick torso
through the hatchway opening with Luke's and Solo's help.  That accomplished,
Luke turned to take stock of their surroundings.
    The hallway they had emerged into showed dust on the floor.  It gave the
impression of not having been used since the station had been built.  Probably it was
only a repair access corridor.  He had no idea where they were.
    Something hit the wall behind them with a massive thunk, and Luke yelled for
everyone to watch out as a long, gelatinous limb worked its way through the hatch
and flailed hopefully about in the open corridor.  Solo aimed his pistol at it as Leia
tried to slip past the half-paralyzed Chewbacca.
    "Somebody get this big hairy walking carpet out of my way."  Suddenly she
noticed what Solo was preparing to do.  "No, wait!  It'll be heard!"
    Solo ignored her and fired at the hatchway.  The burst of energy was rewarded
with a distant roar as an avalanche of weakened wall and beaming all but buried the
creature in the chamber beyond.
    Magnified by the narrow corridor, the sounds continued to roll and echo for long
minutes afterward.  Luke shook his head in disgust, realizing that someone like Solo
who spoke with the mouth of a gun might not always act sensibly.  Until now he had
sort of looked up to the Corellian.  But the senseless gesture of firing at the hatchway
brought them, for the first time in Luke's mind, to the same level.
    The Princess's actions were more surprising than Solo's however.  "Listen," she
began, staring up at him, "I don't know where you came from, but I'm grateful."
Almost as an afterthought she glanced back at Luke, adding, "To both of you."  Her
attention turned back to Solo.  "But from now on you do as I tell you."
    Solo gaped at her.  This time the smug smile wouldn't come.  "Look, Your
Holiness," he was finally able to stammer, "let's get something straight.  I take
orders only from one person—me."
    "It's a wonder you're still alive," she shot back smoothly.  A quick look down
the corridor and she had started determinedly off in the other direction.
    Solo looked at Luke, started to say something, then hesitated and simply shook
his head slowly.  "No reward is worth this.  I don't know if there's enough credit in
the universe to pay for putting up with her…Hey, slow down!"
    Leia had started around a bend in the corridor, and they ran swiftly to catch up
with her.

    The half dozen troops milling around the entrance to the power trench were more
interested in discussing the peculiar disturbance in the detention block than in paying
attention to their present boring duty.  So engrossed were they in speculation as to
the cause of the trouble that they failed to notice the fey wraith behind them.  It
moved from shadow to shadow like a night-stalking ferret, freezing when one of the
troopers seemed to turn slightly in its direction, moving on again as if walking on air.
    Several minutes later one of the troopers frowned inside his armor, turning to
where he thought he had sensed a movement near the opening to the main passageway.
There was nothing but an undefinable something, which the ghost-like Kenobi had
left behind.  Acutely uncomfortable yet understandably unwilling to confess to
hallucinations, the trooper turned back to the more prosaic conversation of his fellows.

 Someone finally discovered the two unconscious guards tied in the service lockers
on board the captured freighter.  Both men remained comatose despite all efforts to
revive them.
    Under the direction of several bickering officers, troopers carried their two
armorless comrades down the ramp and toward the nearest hospital bay.  On the way
they passed two forms hidden by a small opened service panel.  Threepio and Artoo
went unnoticed, despite their proximity to the hangar.
    As soon as the troops had passed, Artoo finished removing a socket cover and
hurriedly shoved his sensor arm into the opening.  Lights commenced a wild flashing
on his face and smoke started issuing from several seams in the small 'droid before a
frantic Threepio could pull the arm free.
    Immediately the smoke vanished, the undisciplined blinking faded to normalcy.
Artoo emitted a few wilted beeps, successfully giving the impression of a human who
had expected a glass of mild wine and instead unwittingly downed several gulps of
something 180 proof.
    "Well, next time watch where you stick your sensors," Threepio chastised his
companion.  "You could have fried your insides."  He eyed the socket.  "That's a
power outlet, stupid, not an information terminal."
    Artoo whistled a mournful apology.  Together they hunted for the proper outlet.

    Luke, Solo, Chewbacca and the Princess reached the end of an empty hallway.
It dead-ended before a large window, which overlooked a hangar, giving them a
sweeping, tantalizing view of the freighter just below.
    Pulling out his comlink and looking around them with increasing nervousness,
Luke spoke into the pickup.  "See Threepio…do you copy?"
    There was a threatening pause, then, "I read you, sir.  We had to abandon the
region around the office."
    "Are you both safe?"
    "For the moment, though I'm not sanguine about my old age.  We're in the
main hangar, across from the ship."
    Luke looked toward the bay window in surprise.  "I can't see you across the
bay—we must be right above you.  Stand by.  We'll join you as soon as we can."
He clicked off, smiling suddenly at Threepio's reference to his "old age."
Sometimes the tall 'droid was more human than people.
    "Wonder if the old man was able to knock out the tractors." Solo was muttering
as he surveyed the scene below.  A dozen or so troopers were moving in and out of
the freighter.
    "Getting back to the ship's going to be like flying through the five Fire Rings of
Fornax."  Leia Organa turned long enough to glance in surprise from the ship to Solo.
"You came here in that wreck?  You're braver than I thought."
    At once praised and insulted, Solo wasn't sure how to react.  He settled for
giving her a dirty look as they started back down the hallway, Chewbacca bringing up
the rear.
    Rounding a corner, the three humans came to an abrupt halt.  So did the twenty
Imperial troopers marching toward them.  Reacting naturally—which is to say,
without thinking—Solo drew his pistol and charged the platoon, yelling and howling
in several languages at the top of his lungs.
    Startled by the totally unexpected assault and wrongly assuming their attacker
knew what he was doing, the troopers started to back away.  Several wild shots from
the Corellian's pistol initiated complete panic.  Ranks and composure shattered, the
troopers broke and fled down the passage.
    Drunk with his own prowess, Solo continued the chase, turning to shout back at
Luke, "Get to the ship.  I'll take care of these!"
    "Are you out of your mind?" Luke yelled at him.  "Where do you think you're
going?"
    But Solo had already rounded a far bend in the corridor and didn't hear.  Not
that it would have made any difference.
    Upset at his partner's disappearance, Chewbacca let out a thunderous if unsettled
howl and rushed down the hallway after him.  That left Luke and Leia standing alone
in the empty corridor.
    "Maybe I was too hard on your friend," he confessed reluctantly.  "He certainly
is courageous."
    "He certainly is an idiot!" a furious Luke countered tightly.  "I don't know what
good it'll do us if he gets himself killed."  Muted alarms suddenly sounded from the
bay below and behind them.
    "That's done it," Luke growled disgustedly.  "Let's go."  Together they started
off in search of a way down to a hangar-deck level.

    Solo continued his rout of all opposition, running at top speed down the long
hallway, yelling and brandishing his pistol.  Occasionally he got off a shot whose
effect was more valuable psychologically than tactically.
    Half the troops had already scattered down various subpassages and corridors.
The ten troopers he continued to harry still raced headlong away from him, up against
a dead end, which forced them to turn and confront their opponents.
    Seeing that the ten had halted, Solo likewise slowed.  Gradually he came to a
complete stop.  Corellian and Imperials regarded one another silently.  Several of
the troopers were staring, not at Han but past him.
    It suddenly occurred to Solo that he was very much alone, and the same thought
was beginning to seep into the minds of the guards he was confronting.
Embarrassment gave way rapidly to anger.  Rifles and pistols started to come up.
Solo took a step backward, fired one shot, then turned and ran like hell.
    Chewbacca heard the whistle and crump of energy weapons firing as he
lumbered lightly down the corridor.  There was something odd about them, though:
they sounded as if they were coming closer instead of moving away.
    He was debating what to do when Solo came tearing around a corner and nearly
ran him down.  Seeing ten troopers in pursuit, the Wookie decided to reserve his
question for a less confused moment.  He turned and followed Solo back up the
hallway.

    Luke grabbed the Princess and pulled her back into a recess.  She was about to
retort angrily at his brusqueness when the sound of marching feet caused her to shrink
back into the darkness with him.
    A squad of soldiers hurried past, responding to the alarms that continued to ring
steadily.  Luke looked out at the retreating backs and tried to catch his breath.  "Our
only hope of reaching the ship is from the other side of the hangar.  They already
know someone's here."  He started back down the corridor, motioning for her to
follow.
    Two guards appeared at the far end of the passageway, paused, and pointed
directly at them.  Turning, Luke and Leia began running back the way they had come.
A larger squad of troopers rounded the far bend and came racing toward them.
    Blocking ahead and behind, they hunted frantically for another way out.  Then
Leia spotted the cramped subhallway and gestured to it.
    Luke fired at the nearest of their pursuers and joined her in running down the
passage.  It looked like a minor service corridor.  Behind them, pursuit sounded
deafeningly loud in the confining space.  But at least it minimized the amount of fire
the troops could concentrate on them.
    A thick hatchway appeared ahead.  The lighting beyond turned dimmer, raising
Luke's hopes.  If they could lock the hatch even for a few moments and lost
themselves somewhere beyond, they might have a chance of shaking their immediate
tormentors.
    But the hatch stayed open, showing no inclination to close automatically.  Luke
was about to let out a shout of triumph when the ground suddenly vanished ahead of
him.  His toes hanging over nothingness, he failed to regain his balance, succeeding
just in time to nearly go over the edge of the retracted catwalk anyway as the Princess
plowed into him from behind.
    The catwalk had been reduced to a stub protruding into empty air.  A cool draft
caressed Luke's face as he studied walls that soared to unseen heights overhead and
plunged to fathomless depths below.  The service shaft was employed in circulating
and recycling the atmosphere of the station.
    At the moment Luke was too frightened and concerned to be angry with the
Princess for his attention.  A burst of energy exploded above their heads, sending
metal slivers flying.
    "I think we made a wrong turn," he murmured, firing back at the advancing
troops and illuminating the narrow corridor behind them with destruction.
    An open hatchway showed on the other side of the chasm.  It might as well
have been a light-year away.  Hunting along the rim of the doorway, Leia located a
switch and hit it quickly.  The hatch door behind them slid shut with a resounding
boom.  At least that cut off the fire from the rapidly nearing soldiers.  It also left the
two fugitives balanced precariously on a small section of catwalk barely a meter
square.  If the remaining section were to unexpectedly withdraw into the wall, they
would see more of the battle station's interior than either wished.
    Gesturing for the Princess to move aside as much as possible, Luke shielded his
eyes and aimed the pistol at the hatch controls.  A brief burst of energy melted them
flush with the wall, insuring that no one could open it easily from the other side.
Then he turned his attention to the vast cavity blocking their path to the opposite
portal.  It beckoned invitingly—a small yellow rectangle of freedom.
    Only the soft rush of air from below sounded until Luke commented, "This is a
shield-rated door, but it won't hold them back very long."
    "We've got to get across there somehow," Leia agreed, once more examining the
metal bordering the sealed doorway.  "Find the controls for extending the bridge."
    Some desperate searching produced nothing, while an ominous pounding and
hissing sounded from behind the frozen door.  A small spot of white appeared in the
center of the metal, then began to spread and smoke.
    "They're coming through!" Luke groaned.
    The Princess turned carefully to stare across the gap.  "This must be a single-
unit bridge, with the controls only on the other side."
    Reaching up to the point at the panel holding the unreachable controls, Luke's
hand caught on something at his waist.  A frustrated glance downward revealed the
cause—and engendered a bit of practical insanity.
    The cable coiled tightly in small loops was thin and fragile seeming, but it was
general military-issue line and would have supported Chewbacca's weight easily.  It
certainly ought to hold Leia and himself.  Pulling the cable free of the waist catch, he
gauged its length, matching it against the width of the abyss.  This should span the
distance with plenty to spare.
    "What now?" the Princess inquired curiously.
    Luke didn't reply.  Instead, he removed a small but heavy power unit from the
utility belt of his armor and tied one end of the cable around it.  Making sure the
wrapping was secure; he stepped as close to the edge of their uncertain perch as he
dared.
    Whirling the weighted end of the cord in increasing circles, he let it arc across
the gorge.  It stuck an outcropping of cylindrical conduits on the other side and fell
downward.  With forced patience he pulled the loose line back in, then recoiled it for
another try.
    Once again the weighted end orbited in ever greater circles, and again he flung it
across the gap.  He could feel the rising heat behind him as he let it go, heat from the
melting metal doorway.
    This time the heavy end looped around an outcropping of pipes above, wrapped
itself several times around, and slipped, battery end down, into a crack between them.
Leaning backward, he tugged and pulled on the cable, pulling on it at the same time as
he tried to rest all his weight on it.  The cable showed no sign of parting.
    Wrapping the other end of the line several times around his waist and right arm,
he reached out and pulled the Princess close to him with the other.  The hatch door
behind them was now a molten white, and liquid metal was running steadily from its
borders.
    Something warm and pleasant touched Luke's lips, shock at the Princess, his
mouth still tingling from the kiss.
    "Just for luck," she murmured with a slight, almost embarrassed smile as she put
her arms around him.  "We're going to need it."
    Gripping the thin cable as tightly as possible with his left hand, Luke put his
right over it, took a deep breath, and jumped out into air.  If he had miscalculated the
degree of arc in their swing, they would miss the open hatch and slam into the metal
wall to either side or below it.  If that happened he doubted he could maintain his
grip on the rope.
    The heart-halting transit was accomplished in less time than that thought.  In a
moment Luke was on the other side, scrambling on his knees to make sure they didn't
fall back into the pit.  Leia released her hold on him with admirable timing.  She
rolled forward and into the open hatchway, climbing gracefully to her feet as Luke
fought to untangle himself from the cable.
    A distant whine became a loud hen a groan as the hatch door on the other side
gave way.  It collapsed inward and tumbled into the depths.  If it touched bottom,
Luke didn't hear it.
    A few bolts struck the wall nearby.  Luke turned his own weapon on the
unsuccessful troopers and returned the fire even as Leia was pulling him into the
passageway behind.
    Once clear of the door he hit the activating switch.  It shut tightly behind them.
They would have several minutes, at least, without having to worry about being shot
in the back.  On the other hand, Luke didn't have the slightest idea where they were,
and he found himself wondering what had happened to Han and Chewbacca.

    Solo and his Wookie partner had succeeded in shaking a portion of their pusuers.
But it seemed that whenever they slipped free of several soldiers, more appeared to
take their place.  No question about it: the word was out on them.
    Ahead, a series of shield doors was beginning to close.
    "Hurry, Chewie!" Solo urged.
    Chewbacca grunted once, breathing like an overused engine.  Despite his
immense strength, the Wookie was not built for long-distance sprinting.  Only his
enormous stride had enabled him to keep pace with the lithe Corellian.  Chewbacca
left a couple of hairs in one of the doors, but both slipped inside just before the five
layers slammed shut.
    "That ought to hold them for a while," Solo crowed with delight.  The Wookie
growled something at him, but his partner fairly fluoresced with confidence.
    "Of course I can find the ship from here—Corellians can't get lost."  There
came another growl, slightly accusing this time.  Solo shrugged.  "Tocneppil
doesn't count; he wasn't a Corellian.  Besides, I was drunk."

    Ben Kenobi ducked into the shadows of a narrow passageway, seeming to
become part of the metal itself as a large cluster of troopers hurried past him.
Pausing to make certain they had all passed, he checked the corridor ahead before
starting down it.  But he failed to see the dark silhouette, which eclipsed the light far
behind him.

    Kenobi had avoided one patrol after another, slowly working his way back
toward the docking bay holding the freighter.  Just another two turns and he should
be at the hangar.  What he would do then would be determined by how
inconspicuous his charges had been.
    That young Luke, the adventurous Corellian and his partner, and the two robots
had been involved in something other than quiet napping he already suspected from
the amount of activity he had observed while making his way back from the power
trench.  Surely all those troops hadn't been out hunting just for him!
    But something else was troubling them, judging from the reference he had
overheard concerning a certain important prisoner, now escaped.  That discovery had
puzzled him, until he considered the restless nature of both Luke and Han Solo.
Undoubtedly they were involved in some fashion.
    Ben sensed something directly ahead and slowed cautiously.  It had a most
familiar feel to it, a half-remembered metal odor he could not quite place.
    Then the figure stepped out in front of him, blocking his entry to the hangar not
five meters away.  The outline and size of the figure completed the momentary
puzzle.  It was the maturity of the mind he had sensed that had temporarily confused
him.  His hand moved naturally to the hilt of his deactivated saber.
    "I have been waiting a long time, Obi-wan Kenobi," Darth Vader intoned
solemnly.  "We meet again at last.  The circle has been completed."  Kenobi
sensed satisfaction beneath the hideous mask.  "The presence I sensed earlier could
only have been you."
    Kenobi regarded the great form blocking his retreat and nodded slowly.  He
gave the impression of being more curious than impressed.  "You still have much to
learn."
    "You were once my teacher," Vader admitted, "and I learned much from you.
But the time of learning has long passed, and I am the master now."
    The logic that had constituted the missing link in his brilliant pupil remained as
absent as before.  There would be no reasoning here, Kenobi knew.  Igniting his
saber, he assumed the pose of warrior-ready, a movement accomplished with the ease
and elegance of a dancer.
    Rather roughly, Vader imitated the movement.  Several minutes followed
without motion as the two men remained staring at each other, as if waiting for some
proper, as yet unspoken signal.
    Kenobi blinked once, shook his head, and tried to clear his eyes, which had
begun to water slightly.  Sweat beaded up on his forehead, and his eyelids fluttered
again.
    "You powers are weak," Vader noted emotionlessly.  "Old man, you should
never have come back.  It will make your end less peaceful than you might have
wished."
    "You sense only a part of the force, Darth," Kenobi murmured with the assurance
of one to whom death is merely another sensation, like sleeping or making love or
touching a candle.  "As always, you perceive its reality as little as a utensil perceives
the taste of food."
    Executing a move of incredible swiftness for one so old, Kenobi lunged at the
massive shape.  Vader blocked the stab with equal speed, riposting with a
counterslash that Kenobi barely parried.  Another parry and Kenobi countered again,
using this opportunity to move around the towering Dark Lord.
    They continued to trade blows, with the old man now backing toward the hangar.
Once, his saber and Vader's locked, the interaction of the two energy fields producing
a violent sparking and flashing.  A low buzzing sound rose from the straining power
units as each saber sought to override the other.

    Threepio peeked around the entrance to the docking bay, worriedly counting the
number of troopers milling around the deserted freighter.
    "Where could they be?  Oh, oh."
    He ducked back out of sight just as one of the guards glanced in his direction.
A second, more cautious appraisal was more rewarding.  It revealed Han Solo and
Chewbacca hugging the wall of another tunnel on the far side of the bay.
    Solo also was nonplussed at the number of guards.  He muttered, "Didn't we
just leave this party?"
    Chewbacca grunted, and both turned, only to relax and lower their weapons at
the sight of Luke and the Princess.
    "What kept you?" Solo quipped mirthlessly.
    "We ran into," Leia explained, panting heavily, "some old friends."
    Luke was staring at the freighter.  "Is the ship all right?"
    "Seems okay," was Solo's analysis.  "It doesn't look like they've removed
anything or disturbed her engines.  The problem's going to be getting to it."
    Leia suddenly pointed to one of the opposite tunnels.  "Look!"
    Illuminated by the flare from contacting energy fields, Ben Kenobi and Darth
Vader were backing toward the bay.  The fight attracted the attention of others beside
the Senator.  Every one of the guards moved in for a better view of the Olympian
conflict.
    "Now's our chance," Solo observed, starting forward.
    All seven of the troopers guarding the ship broke and rushed toward the
combatants, going to the Dark Lord's aid.  Threepio barely ducked aside as they ran
past him.  Turning back into the alcove, he yelled to his companion.
    "Unplug yourself, Artoo.  We're leaving."  As soon as the Artoo unit slipped
his sensor arm free of the socket, the two 'droids began to slowly edge out into the
open bay.
    Kenobi heard the approaching commotion and spared a glance back into the
hangar.  The squad of troopers bearing down on him was enough to show that he was
trapped.
    Vader took immediate advantage of the momentary distraction to bring his saber
over and down.  Kenobi somehow managed to deflect the sweeping blow, at once
parrying and turning a complete circle.
    "You still have your skill, but your power fades.  Prepare to meet the force,
Obi-wan."
    Kenobi gauged the shrinking distance between the oncoming troops and himself,
then turned a pitying gaze on Vader.  "This is a fight you cannot win, Darth.  Your
power has matured since I taught you, but I too have grown much since our parting.
If my blade finds its mark, you will cease to exist.  But if you cut me down, I will
only become more powerful.  Heed my words."
    "Your philosophies no longer confuse me, old man,"  Vader growled
contemptuously.  "I am the master now."
    Once again he lunged forward, feinting, and then slashing in a deadly downward
arc with the saber.  It stuck home, cutting the old man cleanly in half.  There was a
brief flash as Kenobi's cloak fluttered to the deck in two neat sections.
    But Ben Kenobi was not in it.  Wary of some tricks, Vader poked at the empty
cloak sections with the saber.  There was no sign of the old man.  He had vanished
as though he had ever existed.
    The guards slowed their approach and joined Vader in examining the place where
Kenobi had stood seconds before.  Several of them muttered, and even the awesome
presence of the Sith Lord couldn't keep a few of them from feeling a little afraid.

    Once the guards had turned and dashed for the far tunnels, Solo and the others
started for the starship shifted direction and was moving toward the guards.
    "Ben!" he screamed, firing wildly toward the troops.  Solo cursed, but turned to
fire in support of Luke.
    One of the energy bolts struck the safety release on the tunnel blast door.  The
emergency hold broken, the heavy door fairly exploded downward.  Both the guards
and Vader leaped clear—the guards into the bay and Vader backward, to the opposite
side of the door.
    Solo had turned and started for the entrance to the ship, but he paused as he saw
Luke running toward the guards.
    "It's too late!" Leia yelled at him.  "It's over."
    A familiar, yet different voice rang in his ears—Ben's voice.  "Luke…listen!"
was all it said.
    Bewildered, Luke turned to hunt for the source of that admonition.  He only
saw Leia beckoning to him as she followed Artoo and Threepio up the ramp.
    "Come on!  There's no time."
    Hesitating, his mind still on that imagined voice (or was it imagined?), a
confused Luke took aim and felled several soldiers before he, too, whirled and
retreated into the freighter.