Read Online Razor's Edge: Star Wars (Empire and Rebellion) by Martha Wells - Free Book Online Page A

weapons officer, Alia Terae.”
    Leia realized again that she had been expecting people who looked more desperate, more affected by their decision to turn pirate. Terae and Kelvan were both younger than Metara, Terae with very pale skin and blond hair pulled severely back from her sharp features, and Kelvan slender and tall and dark-skinned, with an earnest expression. Terae’s attitude made Leia think of a rebellious adolescent who had been caught in some act of disobedience, and Kelvan looked grave and uncomfortable. Leia saw the discomfort as a good sign. If Kelvan or any other members of the crew weren’t as committed to this course as Metara was, she might just have a chance to talk them around.
    Metara invited them to sit down. Leia took a seat on one of the couches, and Han flopped down beside her, seemingly unconcerned. Terae’s gaze flicked over them suspiciously, and Leia tried to see her group through the other woman’s eyes: Han dangerous, Sian cool and calm, and Kifar stoic. Leia had no idea what she looked like. She suspected she just looked angry.
    She watched Metara silently. She wasn’t interested in exchanging pleasantries, especially as there was no telling how much this delay might already be hurting the injured aboard the merchant ship. She waited to hear what Metara wanted to say.
    Metara broke the silence abruptly. “We didn’t watch Alderaan be destroyed and then suddenly decide to become pirates. That isn’t what happened.”
    Leia inclined her head slightly. “What did happen?”
    Metara took a deep breath. “We were in the outer perimeter of the system. We intercepted some Imperial transmissions and realized that an attack was taking place. We set a course for Alderaan but didn’t arrive in time. We never actually saw the Death Star.” Her expression tightened at the name, as if it still cost her something to say it aloud. Leia knew how that felt. “Our sensors and communications were taken out by the blast wave, and we had to stop and make repairs. We had no idea what had happened, at first. Then we were finally able to make our way back and picked up the edge of the debris field. It was … a terrible moment.”
    Watching Metara intently, Leia realized that the captain had thought a lot about how she would explain what had happened, though it was doubtful that she had ever cast Leia in the role of the person she would be explaining it to. Perhaps she had rehearsed the speech in her thoughts, imagining herself justifying her actions to her commanding officer, or one of her parents, or a mentor. That didn’t bode well. It meant that Metara had been shoring up her defenses for a long time.
    When Leia didn’t respond, Kelvan said, “Everyone on the crew had lost … everyone, everything. Our families came from Chianar, Aldera …” At the mention of the Alderaanian capital, he shifted in embarrassment and looked away, as if suddenly remembering who Leia was. That she had lost everyone, too.
    Her voice a challenge, Terae said, “Where were you, Your Highness? When it happened.”
    â€œI was aboard the Death Star,” Leia said, keeping her tone cool, hoping she was betraying nothing. She had rehearsed this, too, and performed it so often she could do it as evenly as if she were speaking of some minor diplomatic incident.
    Terae stared, and Metara’s brow knit. Aghast, Kelvan said, “I thought that was a rumor.”
    â€œThere are many rumors about what happened, but that one is true. I … escaped,” she said, not looking at Han, “not long after. I was on Yavin Four when the Death Star was destroyed.” But Leia wanted them to keep talking about themselves, not her. “What did you do then?”
    Metara rubbed her palms on her pants. “We detected some other surviving ships, on the outer edges of the system. They told us they knew where to make