The bridge was a long walk from the docking bay. But eventually they made it. 'Okay, we're here,' Han announced into his comlink as the blast doors between the bridge and the monitor anteroom behind it opened with only minor grating sounds. 'Doesn't seem to be any obvious damage. What have you got on the sublight engines?'
'Doesn't look good,' Lando reported. 'Tomrus says that six of the eight main power converters have been knocked out of alignment. He's still running a check, but my guess is this tub's not going anywhere without a complete overhaul.'
'Ask me if I'm surprised,' Han countered dryly. 'What about the hyperdrive? Any chance we can at least fly it somewhere in towing range of a shipyard?'
'Anselm is looking into that,' Lando said. 'Personally, I wouldn't trust it that far.'
'Yeah. Well, we're just here to look the thing over, not get it moving. We'll see what kind of control systems we've got left up here and that'll be it.'
Luke glanced up at the space over the blast doors. Paused for a second look at the elaborate name plaque fastened there. 'It's the Katana,' he murmured.
'What?' Han craned his neck for a look. 'Huh.' He looked oddly at Luke. 'Was that why you wanted this one?'
Luke shook his head. 'I guess so. It was just intuition through the Force.'
'Han, Luke,' Wedge's voice cut in suddenly. 'We've got incoming.' Luke felt his heart jump. 'Where?'
'Vector two-ten mark twenty-one. Configuration ... it's an Escort Frigate.'
Luke let out a quiet breath. 'Better give them a call,' he said. 'Let them know where we are.
'Actually, they're calling us,' Wedge said. 'Hang on; I'll patch it through.'
'-tain Solo, this is Captain Virgilio of the Escort Frigate Quenfis,' a new voice came over Han's comlink. 'Do you read?'
'Solo here,' Han said. 'Calling from aboard the Old Republic ship Katana-'
'Captain Solo, I regret to inform you that you and your party are under arrest,' Virgilio cut him off. 'You will return to your own vessel at once and prepare to surrender.'
Virgilio's words, and the stunned silence that followed, echoed through the command observation deck above and behind the Quenfis's bridge. Seated at the main board, Fey'lya threw a mocking smile at Leia, a slightly less insolent one at Karrde, then returned his attention to the distant X-wing drive trails. 'They don't seem to be taking you seriously, Captain,' he said toward the intercom. 'Perhaps lauching your X-wing squadrons would convince them we're serious.'
'Yes, Councilor,' Virgilio said briskly, and Leia strained her ears in vain for any signs of resentment in that voice. Most of the warship captains she'd known would be highly annoyed at the prospect of taking line orders from a civilian, particularly a civilian with negligible military experience of his own. But then, Fey'lya would hardly have picked the Quenfis for this mission if Virgilio hadn't been one of his staunchest backers. Just one more indication, if she'd needed it, as to who was really in charge here.
'X-wings: launch.'
There were a series of dull thuds as the two squadrons of starfighters left the ship. 'Captain Solo, this is Captain Virgilio. Please respond.'
'Captain, this is Wing Commander Wedge Antilles of Rogue Squadron,' Wedge's voice cut in. 'May I ask your authorization to order our arrest?'
'Allow me, Captain,' Fey'lya said, touching the comm switch on the board behind him. 'This is Councilor Borsk Fey'lya, Commander Antilles,' he said. 'Though I doubt you're aware of it, Captain Solo is operating illegally.'
'I'm sorry, Councilor,' Wedge said, 'but I don't understand how that can be. Our orders came from Councilor Leia Organa Solo.'
'And these new orders come directly from Mon Mothma,' Fey'lya told him. 'Therefore, your authorization is-'
'Can you prove that?'
Fey'lya seemed taken aback. 'I have the order sitting here in front of me, Commander,' he said. 'You're
