Star Wars - The Han Solo Trilogy - Hutt Gambit, page 15
expenditure, carped about every extra credit. Hed gone on
and on about how the bounty Teroenza had posted on Solo
was completely unnecessary. Let Boba Fett blast him into
atoms! hed raged. Disintegrations are much cheaper! Al-
lowing yourself personal revenge on Solo is simply self-
indulgenff
Grumpily, Teroenza reached out and turned on his comm unit. Words in Huttese formed on the screen, even before he could key in his personal code.
Eyes widening, Teroenza read the following message
This message will vanish in sixty seconds. Attempting to save it will destroy your comm unit. Memorize the follow-ing comeode and reply to it.
A complicated comeode followed.
Intrigued, Teroenza memorized the code. As promised, in sixty seconds, it blinked off, to be replaced by the words What do you want most? Wed like to know. Perhaps we can help each other.
The message, of course, was unsigned, but Teroenza had a good idea of who had sent it. As he sat watching it blink off, to be replaced by his corem units standard greeting and request for ID code, Teroenza realized what this meant.
Would he reply to the message?
Was he a traitor?
What did he want most?
Cnn nams
Then Han flew Jabba back to Nar Shaddaa following the big Hutt conference (Jiliac had decided to stay on Nal Hutta for the length of her confinement) he immedi-ately sought out Lando Calrissian.
During his trip to Nal Hutta, Chewbacca had been con-tinuing the young gamblers piloting lessons, and Han was encouraged at his new friends progress. Youre coming right along, old buddy, he said as Lando, his mouth tight with concentration, executed a perfect landing. The ship settled into the Millennium Falcons assigned berth with nary a wobble. Another week, and youll be ready to solo. Lando glanced up at Han, his dark eyes very serious. I think Im ready now, Hall. Fact is, Ive got to be ready now. Im leaving tomorrow. Ive heard theres some good gam-bling and pleasure wodds out in the Oseonian system, and Im heading out to see for myself. Or maybe Ill hit the Corporate Sector.
Lando, thats clean out of Imperial space! Han ex-claimed. Youre not ready to navigate this ship that far! Especially flying ,done!
Want to come with me? Lando offered.
Han thought about it, and for a moment was tempted. But hed given his word to Xaverri, and . . . he shook his head. Cant, Lando. Im signing on with Xaverri to work for her during this next tour. I promised her, and shes counting on me.
Not to mention that shes a lot prettier than I am, Lando added dryly.
Hah grinned. Well . . . there /s that. He sobered. Just wait a couple more days, Lando. Trust me, pal, youre not ready yet to go that far, especially with no copriot. Inwardly he was thinking, Im losing the Falcon . . . what if I never see her again ?
Chewbacca here has been giving me good lessons, the gambler insisted. Hes barely had to touch the controls the last couple of times Ive taken us out. But- Han began.
No buts, Lando said. Im living on borrowed time here on Nar Shaddaa, Han-and so are you. Boba Fett isnt one to forgive and forget. Im making myself scarce for at least six months. When does Xaverri leave?
Next week, Itan said. Her engagement was held over am)ther week. By popular denrand.
Have you told Jabba that youre leaving?
Yeah, I did. He wasnt happy about it.
Chewie interjected a comment.
Hey, Jabba was born cranky, Han said defensively. Hes one of the orneriest Hutts Ive met-and thats sayin something.
Did you tell him why youve got to leave?
Yeah, I did. That was the only thing that calmed him down. I think even Jabba might be a little nervous if he knew Boba Fett was gunning for him.
Well . . . if I were you, Id get out of here as soon as you can, Lando said. And until youre off Nar Shaddaa, youd better watch your back.
Nothing Han said could change Landos decision. It was with a heavy heart that he stood on the landing platform the next morning and watched the Falcon take off. The freighter wobbled slightly as she went soaring into the sky. Han shook his head. Use your stabilizers! he said, aloud.
Hes not ready, he thought dejectedly. Ill probably never see the Falcon---or Lando---again.
Bria Thar en sat at her desk at the largest Imperial mili-tary base on CoreIlia, watching the screen of her datapad as she updated the food requisition lists for all troops sta-tioned in the Corellian system. Her reddish-gold hair, which had grown into a long, curly mane during the past five years, was swept up in a smart, businesslike style, and she wore a crisp civilian support staff uniform-black jacket and skirt, with black boots. The unrelieved black set off her pale skin and exquisite bone structure.
Her blue-green eyes narrowed as she studied the screens of data. The Empire was definitely building up strength in this sector. Did that mean the Imperial com-manders were anticipating some kind of rebellion here in the Corellian system?
She found herself wondering how long her group could manage to hold off the Empire if it attacked in force. Two days? A week?
In the end, theyd all be slaughtered, she knew that. Their small group of rebels was growing every month, as the people of her world grew restive at being ground be-neath Palpatines relentless heel. But there was no way they were ready yet to take on the Imperial forces.
From a very small beginning, though, theyd made good progress over the past three years. Their movement had started with barely a score of unhappy dissidents gathering for clandestine meetings in cellars, and had grown by leaps and bounds, until they now had cells in most of the major cities on the planet. Bria had no idea how many rebels tilere were on CoreIlia, but it had to be several thousand.
The reason she had no idea how many rebels were on Corelha was that it was not necessary for her to know. Even though she was fairly high-ranking in the rebel hierarchy, stle was not part of personnel or recruitment. Information about the rebel groups on her world was doled out spar-ingly. Only one or two commanders knew the whole pic-ture. Individual members were informed strictly on a need to know basis. The less they knew, the less they could be forced to reveal under torture.
Brias current assignment was in intelligence. She didnt particularly like spying, but she was good at it. She pre-ferred her old job, though, that of mang contact with rebel groups on other worlds. It was obvious to her that if the rebels were to really oppose the Empire, theyd have to unite.
But, so far, theyd barely begun reaching out to other groups. Communication was monitored, travel was re-stricted it was so difficult to maintain links between groups on different planets. As fast as their rebel group devised codes, the Imperials broke them.
Just last month one cell of rebels had been raided during a meeting on the eastern continent. Theyd disappeared as completely as though a krayt dragon had opened its mouth and swallowed them whole. Bria thought that shed much prefer to be gobbled alive by a monster than caught by the Emperors security forces . . .
Her friend Lanah had been one of those taken. Bria knew shed never see her again.
Bria was worried that her entire homeworld would wind up as a police state. CoreIlia had always been an indepen-dent world, a proud world that governed itself. So far, the Emperor had not appointed an Imperial governor to usurp all power on CoreIlia. But that didnt mean he wouldnt someday. The Empire did not allow pride or independence in the worlds it claimed.
One of the reasons for Palpatines not overtly taking over the Corellian government was that Corellia had such a large human population. The Empire made no secret of the fact that it regarded nonhuman species as inferior, incapa-ble of governing themselves.
Two alien species shared the Corellian system worlds with their human inhabitants, the Selonians and the Drall. If CoreIlia had been inhabited solely by those nonhuman sentients, theyd have been a much more inviting target for repression-possibly even being declared a slave-labor planet. Look at what had happened to Kashyyyk. The proud Wookiees captured and led away in binders and shackles . . .
Brias fingers tightened on the edge of her desk. She hated the Empire, but even more than the Empire, she hated slavery. Having been a slave on Ylesia (though at the time shed called herself a pilgrim), Bria was determined to do everything she could to destroy the Empire that al-lowed slavery, that used and owned beings.
When that task was done, she would devote whatever remained of her life to freeing every slave in the galaxy.
Her lovely mouth turned down at the comers as she thought about the raid six months ago that shed led on Ylesia. She and her rebel friends had managed to rescue ninety-seven slaves, mostly Corellians, and bring them back to their homeworlds and their families.
Within the next month, fifty-three of those freed slaves had run away and boarded ships to return to Ylesia.
In a way, Bria couldnt blame them. Living without the Exultation was difficult. It had taken her years to overcome her craving for the feel-good rush of euphoria the tlanda Td priests could project.
But forty-four of the freed slaves are still free, Bria re-minded herself fiercely. And just yesterday Rion told me that one of the women had sent him a nvessage, thanking him for returning her to her husband and children . . .
Rion was Brias main link to rebel command now that shed taken this new position at lmperial headquarters. It was Rion to whom she reported every scrap of information she could glean. He took tile information that Bria could gather or construe, then relayed it to the leaders of the Corellian underground rebel group.
Bria hoped that soon shed have more than bureaucratic lists of supply requisition orders to relay to her group. Ever since shed taken this job last month, shed been careful to wear the most flattering hairstyles and makeup, hoping that her looks would bring her to the attention of a high-ranking Imperial officer.
Her efforts were paying off, too. Just yesterday admiral Trefaren had stopped by her desk to ask her if she would accompany him to a reception that was being held by the Corellian government for the high-ranking Imperial of-ricers. Several Sector Moffs were supposed to attend. It would be quite a gala evening, hed assured her.
Bria had lowered her eyelids coyly, blushed attractively, and breathed a halting, girlish yes. The Admiral had beamed at her, the deep lines that ran vertically down his sallow cheeks appearing even more like canyons in the des-ert, and told her hed pick her up in his chauffeured speeder. Then hed reached out and touched one of her curls, letting it wind around his finger. And, my dear, hed added, wear something that will set off your beauty. I want the other officers to be jealous of the golden treasure Ive discovered.
Bria hadnt had to feign her inarticulate response- which had only charmed him further!--because shed been too angry to speak clearly. The old lecher! she thought dis-gustedly, resolving not to forget to strap her dainty little vibroblade to her upper thigh . , . just in case.
But usually, men of his age were more talk than action. What they mostly wanted, as the admiral had frankly admit-ted, was for other men to admire them-and any attractive young woman theyd managed to snare with their power and wealth.
Admiral Trefaren might be our key to learn more about these new Imperial weapons and ships weve heard rumors of, Bria thought.
So, when the evening of the reception came, shed don a lovely, elegant gown (shed grown up the daughter of a rich man, and knew how to dress for maximum effect), style her hair, tastefully paint her face, and spend the evening smil-ing warmly at Admiral Trefaren. Shed dance with him, give him admiring glances, and keep her ears open for every scrap of information.
And, just in case she needed help in fending off his advances, Bria already had a tiny drop of a substance she planned to wear beneath one manicured fingernail. All she had to do was touch the tip of her fingernail to the surface of his drink of choice, toward the end of the evening, and the old vrelt would swiftly become so pleasantly tired, sleepy, and drunk that shed have no trouble dealing with him.
Bria could use that vibroblade, and use it well, but she had no intention of doing so. Vibroblades were for ama-teurs. She was an expert at not needing them.
For a moment she missed her battle fatigues, the weight of her blaster strapped to her thigh. Shed much prefer leading another armed raid against the Ylesian Hutts, or tile Imperial slavers (who were even worse than the Hutts), than she did the prospect of playing tabaga-and-vrelt all evening with Admiral Trefaren and his Imperial cronies.
Shed turned over her blaster to Rion when shed taken on this assignment. It wasnt improbable that Admiral Trefaren would have her apartment searched as part of the background cheek hed get his minions to perform, to en-sure that she was safe for him to be seen with. Bria al-ways kept the vibroblade with her, so she wasnt worried about searchers finding it.
At least she knew her IDs would stand up to most secu-rity checks. Six years ago shed learned all about establish-ing new identities from an expert. Hah Solo had taught her much more than just how to fire a blaster effectively.
Her lips curved in a soft smile as she indulged herself in a moment of nostalgia for those days. She and Han had been on tile run together, living on the edge, never know-ing what would happen next.
Those had been the happiest days of her life, she real-ized now. It had been worth every tense moment, every jolt of fear, every mad chase, every terrified escape, every blaster bolt shed had to duck to be with him . . . to be free to love him.
And she loved him stfik
Seeing him on Devaron a year ago had brought it all back to her so vividly. After years of denial, Bria had had to admit the truth to herself. Hain Solo was the man she loved, would always love.
But they couldnt be to gether. Shed had to accept that. Han was a con man, a rogue, an outlaw who was out for himself. Bria knew hed loved her deeply-hed even asked her to marry him-but Han wasnt the kind of man to for-sake everything for a philosophical ideal.
During the months theyd spent together, Bria had sensed that someday he might have the potential to em-brace a cause, give himself to a goal. But it would have to be a cause that hed chosen for himself, in his own time. Bria knew she couldnt expect him to adopt her cause.
She wondered what he was doing right now. Was he happy? Was he with somebody? Did he have friends? When shed seen him on Devaron, hed been wearing typi-cally scruffy spacefarers garb-not an Imperial uniform.
But shed heard hed graduated from the Academy with honors. What could have happened to end his career?
On one hand, Bria was sorry that the dream hed pur-sued so single-mindedly had obviously come to a crashing end, but on the other, she was glad to discover that Han was no longer an Imperial officer. It had tortured her to tiNink that someday they might come face-to-face in battle, or, even worse, that she might give the order to fire on an Imperial ship and cause his death, all unknowing. At least she didnt have to worry about that possibility anymore.
I wonder if Ill ever see him again . . . she thought. Maybe . . . maybe when this is all over, when the Empire was no more . . .
Bria gave herself a mental shake, and told herself to get back to business. The Empire was firmly entrenched. Root-ing it out would require many years, and the sacrifice of countless lives. She couldnt let herself think about what might happen in the dim, distant future. She had to con-centrate on the here and now.
Resolutely, she activated her datapad again, and went back to work.
At the same moment as Bria Tharen was wondering about him, Han Solo was not thinking about her. He was, however, feeling more wounded by a woman than he had at any time since Bria Tharen had left him.
He sat on the edge of the bed in a hotel room on Velga, a luxury moon where the wealthy came to be entertained and play games of chance, scowling and reading Xaverris message on his datapad. It said
Dear Solo,
I cant stand good-byes, so Im not going to put either of us through one. The tour is over, and Im off )qr a short rest before taking to the road again. I thought about asking you to go with me, but I think itk better that I make a clean break now.
The last six months have been wonderfi, l, among the best I can recall. During that time Ive grown very fond of you, clear. Too fond. You know me by now . . . I cant afford to get too fond of anyone. That would be danger-ous for both of us. Caring too much about another per-son makes you soft, makes you vulnerable. In my line of business, I cant afford that.
Ive paid the hotel bill through tomorrow for you and Chewbacca. Youve been two of the best assistants and companions Ive ever had. Tell him Im sorry I couldnt say farewell. There is a bonus fir you both in the local branch of the Imperial Bank, account code 6,51374, keyed to your retinal scan.
lm going to miss you more than I can say. If you ever need to contact me, you can do so through the Galaxy of Stars booking agency. Maybe someday we can do it all again, when Ive gotten my perspective back.
Take care of yourself Hah. And take care of your Wookiee friend. Devotion like that is rare.
Love,
Xaverri
Blast! Hah thought, not sure whether what he was feel-ing was anger or profound regret-some mixture of both, lie guessed. Why does thi ahcays happen to rm,?
For a moment lie remembered the anguish that had engulfed him when Bria had left him with just a good-bye note, then he wrenched his mind away from that memory. That was a brag time ago. Im not a kid anynwre . . .
He realized that hed have to book commercial flights back to Nar Shaddaa for himself and Chewqe. But that wouldnt eat into his savings too much, especially in light of Xaverris bonus. She paid well, tJlough she had high expec-tations.
During the past six months, theyd been more like busi-ness partners than employee and employer, Every time theyd pulled a successful scare on some puffed-up Impe-rial officer, or some smug, complacent Imperial bureaucrat Xaverri had shared the proceeds equally with Han and Chewie.
Hans mouth curved into a reminiscent smile. Theyd had some exciting times. With all the experience hed had conning civilians while part of Garris Shrikes family, Hah had thought he had little to learn about the art of scamming people. But a month with Xaverri had convinced him that compared to her, Garris Shrike had been a clumsy, menda-cious amateur.
