The Jewel Casket

The Jewel Casket
The Kitchen Maid
The Lady of Shalott
the night watch by rembrandt Just then Leia walked past, throwing him an angry look. Han looked at hersmugly while the freighter's lifters began to rise off the floor, whereupon the rightlifter began to shake erratically, then broke partially loose to swing back down againwith an embarrassing crash. He turned away from Leia, catching only a glimpse of her face as she mockinglyraised an eyebrow. "Hold it, Chewie," Han grunted into his small transmitter. The Avenger, one of the Imperial armada's wedge-like Star Destroyers, hoveredlike a mechanized death angel in the sea of stars outside the Hoth system. As thecolossal ship began to move closer to the ice world, the planet became clearly visiblethrough the windows which stretched 100 meters or more across the huge bridge ofthe warship. Captain Needa, commander of the Avenger's crew gazed out a main port, lookingat the planet when a controller came up to him. "Sir, Rebel ship coming into oursector."