Larger Imperial ships and stations had tractor beams. Maybe this wasn’t resistance to the Empire after all. Maybe they’d flown straight into a trap.
The prospect didn’t scare her too much. As long as the Polestar wasn’t shot down, she’d be fine. Once Imperial officers learned who she was, her release would be only a matter of time. But I’ll always be watched. Under suspicion. My parents will find out what I’ve been up to. And what about Batten? Will they release her too? Fear for her pilot eclipsed any worries Leia had for herself. Please don’t let me have hurt someone else. Not again—
The Polestar pulled free of its tether with a jerk that nearly sent Leia crashing to the floor. She couldn’t be relieved while the ship was still headed toward the ground at considerable speed. “Batten? Are we all right?”
“We will be! Gonna be kind of a rough landing, but we’ll make it. Just don’t tell the other pilots about this.”
“We’re never telling anyone about this!”
With a lurch and a thud, the Polestar made contact with the ground, skidding across the salt flats for what felt like a long time. Finally, they came to a stop. Leia pulled up a visual on the nearest screen and saw blank whiteness surrounding them in all directions—except for the one slash of red that marked their path along the surface and pointed to them like an enormous arrow. The first thing that told her was the most important: If anyone’s looking for us, we won’t be hard to find.
By the time Ress Batten joined her shortly afterward, Leia was already half suited up. Batten shook her head. “We’re just running out there? Not checking around first?”
“We’ve found as much as we’re going to find with ship’s sensors.” And if she waited very long, fear would get the better of her. Nobody liked to admit this, but courage had a short half-life. You had to act while you had it.
When the two of them set out from the Polestar, the opening of the hatch allowed gusts of wind to blow through the yacht; pinpricks of salt stung Leia’s nose and cheeks. At least the harsh wind meant the red trace they’d left on the ground would soon be erased—but that was the only good thing she could say about it. She pulled her safety goggles up to protect her eyes and walked out.
Crait was as featureless a world as Leia had ever seen or imagined. At least in this vicinity, nothing marked the landscape but salt drifts sloping toward a mountain range ahead of them and an indistinct horizon behind. Everything was white on white, with only the faintest pink patches visible on the ground where the Polestar had skidded on the surface. She felt a moment’s gratitude that they’d landed at sunset. At midday, the shine of sunlight on salt would be blinding.
“Not exactly the hottest holiday spot in the galaxy, is it?” Batten said, her voice crackling through the speaker on her breath mask. “Though I guess if you really want to get away from it all, this is the place.”
Snow might be difficult to hike through, but Leia quickly learned it had nothing on heavy, slippery sodium. She trudged through salt several centimeters thick to get to a slightly higher spot on the ground, then took out her macrobinoculars. If their early scans were correct, the structures they’d seen would be approximately half a kilometer ahead, nearer the base of the mountains. No signs of activity in the distance, which suggested that they’d managed to land without being detected.
That, or they were being watched.
“Let’s keep moving.” Leia nodded toward Batten. “Repeat our earlier message on comms as often as you can. I want them to know we’re not trying to sneak up on them. This is a…friendly visit.”
“We’re all great pals. Check.” Batten began walking toward the horizon, clicking resend every few steps.
Another sharp gust of wind sliced through the air, sending up flumes of white salt around deep red gashes of soil. Leia was reminded of blood oozing through makeshift bandages—not the most reassuring image. The red never remained bright for long, though; salt settled back into the grooves almost instantly with a low, constant hiss. It sounded enough like a whisper to send chills along her skin. Impossible to stay calm when it felt like the planet itself was trying to warn her, drowning out the recorded call echoing from Batten’s comm.
Taller salt drifts marked the terrain as they moved forward. The wind picked up too, making the salt swirl low on the ground like smoke. Although Leia had always found Coruscant claustrophobic, its skyscrapers were reassuring compared to this stark, featureless land. Its din would’ve been a comfort after Crait’s eerie near-silence. From Batten’s belt Leia could hear fragments of their message: “Polestar of Alderaan to base—please respond—”
A deeper rumble behind one of the salt drifts made the hair along her arms prickle. The enormous salt mound nearest them trembled with the vibration, grains skittering along its surface. She shouted, “Is it an avalanche?” Or whatever you called it, when what was falling was salt instead of snow.
“I don’t think so,” Batten said. “Sounds more like—like a vehicle. Or like machinery—”
The salt drifts exploded, or seemed to. Waves of salt sprayed out in every direction, lashing Leia’s thighs and midsection and knocking her backward. The grainy stuff made for a hard landing, one that scraped her hands and cheek. She coughed, tasting sodium in her mouth and feeling scratches in her throat.
“Hands up,” came an unfamiliar voice. Amid the whirling salt, figures took shape—five soldiers, each of them armed with blaster rifles. Batten twitched, clearly considering going for her weapon, but had the good sense to remain on her knees. The soldier said, “Identify yourselves.”
Leia got to her feet, lifted her chin, and spoke in the same bold voice she had used on her Day of Demand. “I am Princess Leia of the royal House of Organa, future queen of Alderaan, and I demand to speak to your leader, now.”
The soldiers exchanged glances. Apparently they weren’t used to people giving orders while being taken prisoner, but they’d just have to get used to it. She was a princess, dammit, and there was incredible power in knowing that.
Finally the lead soldier motioned toward Batten. “You, there, return to your ship. The princess comes with us.”
“No way.” Batten stepped sideways, trying to come between the blaster rifles and Leia. “I’m her guard. I stay with her.”
The lead soldier shook his head. “Either the princess comes with us, or both of you get on that ship and fly away now.”
Brightening up, Batten replied, “I say we go with that. Righto, nice meeting you, we’ll just be going.”
Leia put out her hand. If they flew away, they might be shot down. These people had to be convinced she was a friend, not only for her own safety but to protect her pilot, too. She didn’t intend to get anybody hurt ever again. “I’ll go with them.”