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  “That’s your ex and his illegal guns again, isn’t it? We need to lose him. Any ideas?”

  Racking her brain, Greer came up empty. With no weapons and no shields, what could they do? Damn Karsted and his blasted ego!

  “Wait. That’s it!” she cried. “Double-A, can you use your ship to blind him?”

  Double-A chuckled. “Good call, kid. You fly a loop and leave him to me.”

  Greer pulled back, shooting straight up and looping behind the black TIE fighter. The Double-A turned sideways and passed in front of Karsted, and Greer shut her eyes as the mirror-like A-wing aimed a bright white flash across the TIE’s window. When she opened her eyes again, Karsted had slowed dramatically and veered off, and she dodged around him and back on course.

  “See? It’s not all about ego.”

  “We can debate that after we win the race,” she said.

  As they swooped into position, the Double-A slowed to match her speed, the ships flying across the grassland with less than a meter between the stranger’s cockpit and Greer’s hull. Her hands were steady, her head mercifully clear after the raging fevers and dizziness that she could no longer ignore. Her chin jutted out as they threaded the final Eye as smoothly as if they’d been flying together forever.

  Greer’s map changed, directing her back to the dome where the race had begun. She couldn’t stop smiling. She’d won! Or if not won, tied. And even if ties weren’t acceptable on Pamarthe, such skillfully coordinated flying infused her with triumph. When she got back home, she’d go to a medcenter and find the cause of her illness—and the cure. Flying like this was her everything, and she wasn’t going to let some stupid fever slow her down. At least it wasn’t bloodburn. It couldn’t be. That was a weakness she would never allow.

  “Nice flying, Greer.”

  “Nice flying, Double-A.” Then she caught it. “Wait. How do you know my name?”

  The other A-wing swooped in, side by side, the pilot saluting her from his cockpit. He’d taken off his helmet to reveal gray hair and a cocky, lopsided smile.

  “The name’s Han Solo,” he said. “And I’d like to talk to you about joining my team for the Five Sabers.

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  From Star Wars Insider 165 (May/June 2016)