STEL KICKED WILDLY as he was hauled off the floor, his face reddening as Davin’s hand tightened around his throat. The Lasat snarled, his scarred face grimacing in the light from the open doorway. Stel gasped for air, his eyes bulging.

Milo grabbed Davin’s free hand. “Don’t,” he said. “Please. Let him live.”

Davin looked at Milo and his face softened.

Summoning his strength, Stel swung the stun-stick toward Davin’s face. The alien let go in surprise. Stel dropped, landing nimbly on both feet.

Davin pulled the hydrospanner from his pocket, blocking Stel’s next thrust. Bolts of wild energy were flung from the shaft of the stun-stick, casting both their faces in stark blue light.

“Are you okay?” Milo asked his sister.

Lina nodded. “I see you’ve been making friends.”

They jerked back as Stel lunged again with the stun-stick, at the same time kicking hard at Davin’s ankle. The alien staggered, wincing. Stel thrust forward and Davin countered, but he was driven back into the shadows of the storage bay. He slammed into a stack of crates, which toppled noisily all around him.

Milo and Lina watched breathlessly as Stel charged through the rain of crates, elbowing them aside. Stel swung his stun-stick and Davin blocked with his spanner. Stel was smaller and not as powerful, but his lightning thrusts kept catching the large alien off guard.

Davin grunted as he countered another blow, the stun-stick hammering down, knocking the hydrospanner from his hand. Davin looked down in surprise, then Stel lashed out again. Davin swung around to block with his fist, realizing too late what that meant.

“Oh, not again,” he cried as the gleaming tip of the stun-stick slammed into his hand.

The stun-stick flew from Stel’s grasp, skittering across the floor of the hangar. Davin toppled back into the wall of crates. Then he slumped to the floor, a look of annoyance on his face.

Milo threw himself down on the deck, grabbing for the stun-stick. Stel was right on top of him, and Milo felt a foot on his back as he grasped the handle. The breath was forced from his body.

“Get away from him!” Lina cried, shoving at Stel. The convict staggered back and Milo leapt up, brandishing the stun-stick.

Stel retreated, holding up his hands. “Think about what you’re doing, kid,” he said. “You don’t want to be hasty.”

Milo lashed out, trails of blue energy flashing in the darkness. “Get back,” he cried.

Stel retreated into the maze of crates, his eyes fixed on the boy. “Just put that down and we can talk,” he said. “I don’t want to hurt you, or your sister.”

“Don’t listen to him, Milo,” Lina said, close at his shoulder. “Everything he says is a lie.”

Milo stepped over Davin’s slumped form, keeping the stun-stick raised. “You’re a traitor,” he told Stel. “And a murderer. Why should we believe anything you say?”

“I gave you a food bar!” the young man whimpered pitifully. “I’m not all bad! Am I?”

Milo barked a laugh. “What do you want, a medal?”

They heard the rustling all around them, the tapping of tiny feet as the spiders closed in. From the corner of his eye Milo saw their tiny shapes swarming over the toppled crates.

Stel backed around a corner, his pitiful stare turning to a snarl of fury. “You’ll pay for this,” he said. “Little brats, you’ll both pay. The Empire is greater than you, greater than me, greater than everything. They’ll rule this galaxy for a thousand years.”

“You’re wrong,” Milo said, lashing out. “They’ll fall, and so will you.”

Stel stumbled backward. The spiders had been hard at work—the hole in the deck was twice the size it had been, a great ragged gulf opening into darkness.

The convict cried out as he fell, clutching vainly at the edges of the hole. Then he was gone, sparks flying as he vanished from sight.

Lina hurried up behind Milo, watching as the spiders swarmed into the breach. There was a distant shriek, then silence.

“They’re just protecting their nest,” Milo said. “Once he stops kicking they’ll leave him alone.”

They made for the cockpit, using the stun-stick to light their way. Milo almost tripped over Davin’s body, then knelt at his side. “We can’t leave him for the spiders,” he said. “Not after he came all this way to help us. Get his ankles. I’ll take this end.”

They dragged Davin toward the cockpit door, pulling and pushing. They’d just managed to drag him inside when there was a deafening boom and the Moveable Feast jolted forcefully.

Lina’s face dropped. “I almost forgot,” she said. “Milo, the Bridgers are here. The Empire has them pinned down. But I think I know how we can help.”

In the distance they could see the pale blue planet and the ring of asteroids surrounding it. The battered freighter was a lot nearer, spewing steam as it limped away from them.

The Imperial ship swung into view overhead, weapons firing as it closed in. It was in much better shape, firing another volley as it pursued the freighter, gaining fast.

Lina slipped into the copilot’s seat, activating the weapons panel. Lights flickered across the display, and Milo heard gears grinding somewhere above them.

Then he spotted CR-8R, slumped lifeless on the floor. “Oh no, what happened?” he cried out, kneeling at the droid’s side.

“He’ll be okay once we get to a power socket,” Lina said, staring down at the panel in front of her, her eyes wide with worry. “Right now I really need to figure out how all this works.”

Milo came up behind her, watching closely. Lina spread out her palms on either side of the panel, sliding them back and forth. A circle in the center of the viewscreen marked the firing window, and Lina struggled to line it up with the enemy craft.

“One good shot,” she muttered to herself. “Just one, to disable their weapons.”

“Have you done this before?” Milo asked.

Lina shook her head. “But I watched Dad that time, remember? When those pirates came after us on Chankin.”

“That was years ago!” Milo countered. “And the systems on the Bird might be totally different. If you hit the wrong ship, we really are done for.”

Lina shifted her hands, trying to lock the target circle onto the Imperial craft’s rear engines. Milo held his breath, his knuckles white on the back of her chair. The target drifted, centered for a moment, then drifted again. Lina cursed, gritting her teeth.

The freighter began to turn and Milo saw a flash of light as the port side engine shorted out, spraying hot metal out into space. The Imperial craft fired again, shots glancing across the freighter’s bow.

Then Lina yelled as the target locked on, the circle flashing red. She slammed her fist down on the panel and Milo felt the Moveable Feast shake around them. Laser bolts flashed overhead, gleaming white. He grabbed Lina’s hand.

Both bolts struck the Imperial craft dead center, flames rippling outward. The starboard engine erupted, taking the main gun port with it. The ship began to roll, spitting fire as it tumbled away from the fleeing freighter.

Lina leapt to her feet, grabbing Milo as hard as she could. Over her shoulder he saw the Imperial craft, thrusters firing as it struggled to right itself.

Then in the light of the far-off sun he saw the old freighter turning, leaving a trail of sparkling dust as it limped back toward them. He breathed a deep sigh of relief and let himself be hugged.