"They're starting to search the spaceport central," the Commander declared,

having to alternately run a couple of steps and then walk to keep pace with the long

strides of Darth Vader. The Dark Lord was deep in thought as he strode down one of

the battle station's main corridors, trailed by several aides.

"The reports are just starting to come in," the Commander went on. "It's only a

matter of time before we have those 'droids."

"Send in more men if you have to. Never mind the protests of the planetary

Governor-I must have those 'droids. It's her hope of that data being used against

us that is the pillar of her resistance to the mind probes."

"I understand, Lord Vader. Until then we must waste our time with Governor

Tarkin's foolish plan to break her."

"There's docking bay ninety-four," Luke told Kenobi and the robots who had

rejoined them, "and there's Chewbacca. He seems excited about something."

Indeed, the big Wookie was waving over the heads of the crowd and jabbering

loudly in their direction. Speeding their pace, none of the foursome noticed the

small, dark-clad thing that had followed them from the transporter lot.

The creature moved into the doorway and pulled a tiny transmitter from a pouch

concealed by its multifold robes. The transmitter looked far too new and modern to

be in the grasp of so decrepit a specimen, yet its manipulator was speaking into it with

steady assurance.

Docking bay ninety-four, Luke noted, was no different in appearance from a host

of other grandiosely named docking bays scattered throughout Mos Eisley. It

consisted mostly of an entrance rampway and an enormous pit gouged from the rocky

soil. This served as clearance radii for the effects of the simple antigrav drive, which

boosted all spacecraft, clear of the gravitational field of the planet.

The mathematics of spacedrive were simple enough even to Luke. Antigrav

could operate only when there was a sufficient gravity well to push against-like that

of a planet-whereas supralight travel could only take place when a ship was clear of

that same gravity. Hence the necessity for the dual-drive system on any extrasystem

craft.

The pit, which formed docking bay ninety-four, was as shabbily cut and run-

down as the majority of Mos Eisley. Its sloping sides were crumbling in places

instead of being smoothly fashioned as they were on more populous worlds. Luke

felt it formed the perfect setting for the spacecraft Chewbacca was leading them

toward.

That battered ellipsoid which could only loosely be labeled a ship appeared to

have been pieced together out of old hull fragments and components discarded as

unusable by other craft. The wonder of it, Luke mused, was that the thing actually

held its shape. Trying to picture this vehicle as spaceworthy would have caused him

to collapse in hysteria-were the situation not so serious. But to think of traveling to

Alderaan in this pathetic...

"What a piece of junk," he finally murmured, unable to hide his feelings any

longer. They were walking up the rampway toward the open port. "This thing

couldn't possibly make it into hyperspace."

Kenobi didn't comment, but merely gestured toward the port, where a figure was

coming to meet them.
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