He could feel the crowd's roar through the soles of his feet. He was close now, very close. The casino's defenses were tight but no match for him. What he couldn't fight through, he simply destroyed. At the final juncture, he guided a sky-tram off its tracks and into the side of the building, tearing a hole large enough for an army to burst through. He jumped into the maelstrom of sparks and molten metal and ran to where he could sense Kota, still fighting for his life in the potentate's theater of death.

One long, straight corridor led to a double door made of durasteel. It was guarded by six stormtroopers. Starkiller didn't bother stopping to fight them. With a gesture, he pushed them aside, then burst open the doors.

Chapter 3