"A survivor, maybe—someone who might know what happened." Luke ventured hopefully.
Ben Kenobi’s next words shattered more than that hope. "That’s an Imperial fighter." Chewbacca suddenly gave an angry bark. A huge flower of destruction blossomed outside the port, battering the freighter violently. A tiny, double-winged ball raced past the cockpit port.
"It followed us!" Luke shouted.
"From Tatooine? It couldn’t have," objected a disbelieving Solo. "Not in hyperspace." Kenobi was studying the configuration the tracking screen displayed. "You’re quite right, Han. It’s the short-range Tie fighter." "But where did it come from?" the Corellian wanted to know. "There are no Imperial bases near here. It couldn’t have been a Tie job." "You saw it pass." "I know. It looked like a Tie fighter—but what about a base?" "It’s leaving in a big hurry," Luke noted, studying the tracker. "No matter where it’s going, if it identifies us we’re in big trouble." "Not if I can help it," Solo declared. "Chewie, jam its transmission. Lay in a pursuit course." "It would be best to let it go," Kenobi ventured thoughtfully. "It’s already too far out of range." "Not for long." Several minutes followed, during which the cockpit was filled with a tense silence. Al eyes were on the tracking screen and viewport.
At first the Imperial fighter tried a complex evasive course, to no avail. The surprisingly maneuverable freighter hung tight on its tail, continuing to make up the distance between them. Seeing that he couldn’t shape his pursuers, the fighter pilot had obviously opened up his tiny engine all the way.
Ahead, one of the multitudes of stars was becoming steadily brighter. Luke frowned. They were moving fast, but not nearly fast enough for any heavenly object to brighten so rapidly. Something here didn’t make sense.
