Solo: A Star Wars Story: Expanded Edition

Onyx Squadron, maintain formation!

Han knew that voice, and it always made him grind his teeth.

Flight Officer Ubbel was constantly demanding they play it safe. Han privately thought that if Ubbel had been in charge, the Empire would have encompassed one of the smaller skyscrap­ers on Coruscant instead of half the galaxy.

I can take them faster than the squad can! Han shouted.

Negative, negative, Onyx Nine, return to formation!

Han actually liked Onyx 2, his friend Cadet Lyttan Dree. The number of other cadets who liked him was frankly diminish­ing. His natural charm always drew them in but then most people would quickly figure out that being close to him would probably reduce their chances for advancement. Dree, or Onyx 2, managed to be a good pilot, Han s friend, and still fol­low the rules. Han had always meant to ask him how he did that, and now he might never get the chance.

Han peeled off from the formation and chased the Headhunt­ers down, feeling much freer now that he could fly where he wanted to and not worry about the others in formation. In the­ory he could understand the need for a formation, but in prac­tice he always preferred to worry only about himself and his own ship.

He accelerated, watching the raiders flank Onyx 2 as he tried to outmaneuver them. Han s helmet squawked again, and he turned down the audio as Onyx Leader was shouting at him to return to formation. Then his droid started fussing at him.

Imperial droids were the worst. The White Worms hadn t had much use for droids, so Han hadn t grown up with them behind doors, underfoot, and always politely, infuriatingly, tell­ing him how wrong he was.

His ship s intelligence, MGK-300, was such a droid. It thought that since it was integrated directly into his ship, it knew more about the ship than he did.

He d already long since had enough of MGK s so-called guidance, but it still beeped furiously at him that they were making the squadron weaker because of his

Mur Lafferty is an award-winning author and Hall of Fame podcaster. She’s the author of the Nebula- and Hugo-nominated finalist Six Wakes and the Shambling Guides series, and host of the popular Ditch Diggers and I Should Be Writing podcasts. She also co-edits the Hugo-nominated podcast magazine Escape Pod. Lafferty lives with her husband, daughter, and two dogs in Durham, North Carolina, where she runs, plays computer and board games, and bakes bread.

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