“No no no no no,” Leia whispered. Stowing away wasn’t the answer. Stowaways could be put off on remote planets, jailed, sometimes even indentured as servants—
Come on. Even if any of that happened, you’d only have to get word to your parents. That’s assuming they didn’t find you first, because you know they’d search for you the instant you went missing.
She tried to push the reckless thoughts away. If this shipment was intended as a kind of sting operation by the Empire, with the help of Winmey Lenz, then it would be at the heart of military action. In that case, she and Amilyn wouldn’t be risking their freedom but their lives.
But when Leia tried to wave Amilyn back, she only got more cheerful beckoning before her friend disappeared into the cargo hold, no doubt looking for a better place to hide. Amilyn, who had no idea of the real danger ahead, was apparently determined to see this through.
Leia couldn’t let her go alone.
Looking from side to side, she chose a moment both Ishi Tib and Aqualish groups were hurrying by, chattering loudly among themselves. She wove through the crowd, made sure no one was watching, and ran for the gangway. Amilyn had recklessly dragged them into the mess; it was Leia’s responsibility to get them out.
So she told herself. It helped her pretend that, down deep, she wasn’t a little bit excited.
Chief Pangie sounded incredulous, which under the circumstances was fair. “A family emergency?”
“Exactly,” Leia said into her comlink, bracing herself against the wall of the storage bay as the cargo vessel’s engines hummed to life. As the ship lifted off, she said, “I apologize for the sudden departure. Amilyn Holdo’s coming with me so I won’t have to travel alone.”
“Well—” The chief clearly wanted to object, but a royal family emergency probably sounded important. “You check in once you reach Alderaan, got it?”
“Got it!” Leia promised. Assuming I return home ever again.
Chief Pangie signed off just in time, because the vibration that rippled through the ship meant acceleration. No doubt they were now soaring upward at a velocity that would take them out of communications range within seconds.
Amilyn, meanwhile, had made herself comfortable, laying her waterproof mat on the floor and wrapping herself in a warming blanket. The blanket was designed to fend off harsh weather conditions but would work on the chill of a cargo bay just as well. “Come on,” she said, patting the floor next to her. “You should make your nest. It’s six hours to Ocahont, so we might as well get some sleep.”
“There’s no way I’m going to be able to sleep.” Leia sat by Amilyn anyway. There wasn’t any point in pacing the whole time.
“Why not?” Amilyn asked.
“Because I’m nervous and upset, and I don’t know what’s waiting for us when we get there.”
“Neither do I,” Amilyn said quietly. “I’m not afraid, because I’m never afraid of the things that scare other people, not even the unknown. But if I should be scared—well, you might as well tell me.”
Regardless of how this played out, Amilyn would learn some of the truth. It would be better for her to hear most of it from Leia, as clearly and honestly as possible. Her parents’ refusal to inform Leia had led to dangerous complications; if she refused to inform Amilyn in turn, what else could go wrong? Though it would be hard for even Amilyn Holdo to come up with something more ill-advised than stowing away on a traitor’s ship headed toward an illegal military outpost….
“It’s like this,” Leia said, forcing herself to focus. “Some individuals have decided that—that the worlds of this galaxy need a defense other than the Empire—a defense against the Empire—”
“An uprising.” Amilyn pronounced the word with relish. “About time!”
“Don’t be so happy about it. Do you realize what that would mean? For us, for the whole galaxy?”
The smile fell from Amilyn’s face, replaced by a solemnness Leia had never seen in her before. “Yes, I do. It’s still time.”
Once again Leia’s mind filled with images from Paucris Major, the ships all being refitted for battles to come. For bloodshed, for death.
Amilyn continued, “A few weeks ago, you made me realize that intention alone isn’t sufficient. Goodness is proved through action rather than ideas. Since then I’ve been thinking about what that means in the greatest sense, and—and I knew that meant standing against the Emperor.” Her solemn expression shifted into a smile. “I’m just really relieved I don’t have to do it on my own.”
“I bet.” Leia rubbed her temples with her fingers. “Can you keep a secret?”
“You’d better hope so,” Amilyn replied with unnerving honesty.
Not even Kier knew as much as Amilyn Holdo would have discovered by the end of this trip. Leia steeled herself to reveal all, then froze as the doors to the cargo bay slid open. She and Amilyn scooted hurriedly into a corner, hiding themselves as best they could behind some crates.
“Someone will catch us,” said a giggling Quarren, who was allowing another to pull them deep into the hold.
“No one’s going to see.” The other Quarren stroked the first one’s facial tentacles lasciviously. Is that one of their mating rituals? Leia thought, trying to look anywhere but at the groping couple arranging themselves atop one of the nearby containers. Or is that just, I don’t know, this one’s fetish? She had a disturbing feeling she was about to find out.
“I suppose we may as well seize the moment,” the first Quarren murmured. A hand with suction-tipped fingers went to the other’s collar, and Leia heard snaps being pulled free. “Who knows when we’ll get another chance to—aaaghhh!”
Leia winced as the Quarrens scrambled backward, staring at the two huddled stowaways they’d just glimpsed in the corner. She could only gape at them, even more horrified to have been discovered than they must be.
Amilyn folded her hands over her heart. “I’m so happy you two have found each other!”
Less happy to have been found was the person in charge at Ocahont, who on that particular day turned out to be Mon Mothma.
As she and Amilyn were hustled into the outpost’s headquarters, Leia caught sight of the familiar red hair and white robe and breathed a sigh of relief. “Senator. I’m so glad to see you.”
“The feeling isn’t mutual.” Mon Mothma raised one eyebrow. “You brought a friend?”
“I stowed away,” Amilyn said cheerfully. “Technically we both did, but it was my idea. So don’t blame Leia.”