Star Wars - The Han Solo Trilogy - Hutt Gambit, page 8
Skip i was a regular warren of rooms, dining halls, gam-bling dens, bars, and drug hideaways. Hah was frankly ner-vous, as he realized that here, even more than on Nar Shaddaa, there was no law. None.
He could die here, and no one but Chewie (presuming the Wookiee was still alive himself, an unlikely assumption) would ever know or care. Han was careful not to let any of his nervousness show. He had grown up with lawless peo-ple, had seen plenty of degenerate spirits by the time he was ten. Hed just never encountered quite so many blood-thirsty, desperate lost beings in one place before.
As he and Zeen headed for the bar, Hah noticed the runnel of greenish-yellow gooey liquid oozing along a chan nel cut into the middle of the stone floor. Chewbacca snuf-fled, then growled in protest. Yeah, that really stinks, Han said, his nostrils twitching. What the heck is that stuff, Zeen? Its on the walls, too . . .
Oh, its just the ooze we gotta put up with, kid, the smuggler told him. Stinks, dont it? Every so often we get to thinkin we ought to find out where it comes from and dam it up. Its some kinda proto-organic compound, they say, mixed with sulfur.
Hans nose wrinkled. The ooze smelled like rancid meat mixed with rotting vegetation, laden with a liberal dose of sulfur. Hed smelled worse, but not recently.
As they stepped over the ooze channel and headed over to the bar, Hans attention was caught and held by a beauti-ful woman with long black hair who definitely stood out in the mix of unsavory smuggler types. She wore a short skirt that showed off magnificent legs, and a top that was little more than a cropped shirt tied tightly to show off her bo-som and midriff. Han stared at her, thinking that she was one of the most striking women hed ever seen. Suddenly he realized she was looking back at him. Hah quickly es-sayed his most charming smile.
She walked toward them. Hans pulse skipped a beat, but then he realized she was regarding him with a marked lack of enthusiasm, as though he were a side of traladon meat that had gone green around the edges. Hans smile stiflened on his lips. Guess the attraction isnt mutual . . .
Han, Id like you to meet a friend of mine, Zeen said, indicating the woman. Sinewy Ana Blue, one of the top smugglers around. She also runs a wicked sabacc table. Blue, meet Han Solo, a new kid I brought along for the ride. And this is his pal, Chewie.
Hah nodded cordially. Pleasure to meet you- Noting his hesitation over what to call her, she smiled, revealing a shining blue crystal tooth in the front of her mouth. Call me Blue, she said, in a voice that couldnt help being sultry. Han Solo, you said? And-she turned to Hans companion-Chewie? Chewbacca, Han supplied.
Pleased to meet you, Chewbacea, she said. Have you met Wynni yet?
Chewie cocked his head and whined a soft question.
Sinewy Ana Blue smiled at him. Youll know her when you meet her, she promised cryptically.
So, Han said, may I buy you a drink . . . Blue? She glanced at him, seemed to consider, then smiled faintly. No, I dont think so, she said. Youre cute, but not my type, Solo. I like them a bit more . . . seasoned.
Zeen snickered. Shes particular, our Blue, he said, noting Hans chagrin at the open rebuff. You young, single types dont offer enough . . . sport. She likes the lure of the chase, especially when its part of the thrill that comes from stealin what dont belong to you.
Sinewy Ana Blue gave Zeen a long, up and down stare. You like to live dangerously these days, dont you? she drawled. Then she turned back to Han. Do you play sabacc, Han Solo?
Hah nodded. Ive tried it, he said cautiously.
She gave him a slow, alluring smile. Come around, then. Id love to have some fresh blood in my game.
With a final nod to Chewbacca, she turned and walked away. Han watched her go with an admiring headshake. Minions of Xendor . . . that is one fine-looking woman, he muttered.
Pure sabacc, Zeen agreed. Prime grade ore.
And she only goes after married guys?
Its just say she prefers the thrill of the hunt, Zeen said. Anyone thats too available, too eager to get caught, isnt challenging enough prey.
You make her sound like a Devaronian fur-spider, Han said, watching Sinewy Ana Blues eminently watchable backside vanish amid the crowd of talking, laughing, drink-ing smugglers.
Not too far off, kid, Zeen said with a chuckle and a
wink. Our Blue is one of a kind. She-
He broke off and whirled as a loud roar reverberated through the bar. Han spun on his heel to find a Wookiee standing in the doorway. She was big for a Wookiee female, as tall and muscular as Chewie. Her blue eyes were fixed unblinkingly upon Hans companion, who was busily look-ing anywhere but at the newcomer. Whos that? Hah asked Zeen.
Wynni, the senior smuggler replied with a wink and a leer.
Han and Chewbacca watched as the Wookiee came over to them. She growled a throaty greeting at Chewie, totally ignoring his human companion. Then she reached out one hairy paw and ran it admiringly down Chewbaecas long arm.
Han turned to Zeen. I think she likes him, he said dryly, in Basic.
Looks like, Zeen agreed. I think your buddy there is bein offered what you werent, pal. Cept he dont look any too happy about it.
The craggy-faced smuggler was correct. Chewbacca looked around wildly as the female Wookiee pressed up close to him, growling suggestively.
Catching Hans eye, Chewie shook his head in a slight but emphatic movement. Han took pity on his friend. Hey, Chewie, he said loudly, we gotta go.
Wynni turned around and snarled at him. Clearly, she didnt like having her seduction attempt interfered with. Han looked at her and shrugged. Sorry, he said. Weve got somewhere we have to be. A previous engagement.
Wynni plainly didnt believe him. She growled low in her throat.
Han realized that they were drawing a crowd. Kid DXoln, Zeens balding friend, stepped forward. It aint polite to accuse people of lyin, Wynni, he told the Wookiee. Hah here is tellin the truth. I just signed him and his Wookiee pal on to ride as copriot and gunner to Kessel aboard the Starfire. Matter of fact, my droids should be finished loadin our carg o by now, Solo. Lets go. Hah smiled sweetly at Wynni and shrugged, with a What can you do? expression. Chewbacca didnt bother trying to hide how glad he was to get away from the preda-tory female.
As they headed up the corridor toward Skip 1s landing bay, Han gave Kid a grateful smile. Thanks, he said. For a while it looked like I wasnt going to be able to get Chewie out of there without making her mad.
Kid DXoln grinned. Year, and upsettin a lovestruck Wookiee aint exactly a smart thing to do. So, what do you want to do now? You actually up for going on to Kessel with me.)
Sure, Han said. Ive always wanted to go to Kessel. Are you going on the Run after you off-load your cargo there?
I dont know, Kid replied. Maybe, if theres a cargo waitin for me to pick up. But theres bound to be some-body you can catch up with wholl take you on the Run.
Hah had heard of the Kessel Run, that ultimate test of a smuggler pilots expertise. Traveling the Kessel Run al-lowed a pilot to shortcut across a large, uninhabited area of space that would otherwise have taken a vessel two days or more to skirt. But the direct route from Kessel back to the standard trade routes lay perilously close to the Maw, a massive collection of black holes that distorted both space and time. Many a ship had been lost to the Maw, lost with all hands.
Once they were safely aboard the Starfire, Kid waved a hand at the controls. I hear youre pretty good, Solo. Want to try takin her through the field?
Hah nodded, his mouth suddenly dry. Remembering Zeens advice, he forced himself to head confidently into the field, instead of holding back. He remembered stories told by the pilots whod been aboard Traders Luck that indicated Zeen had been right-most asteroid fields could be navigated by someone with steely nerves and quick re-flexes. Holding his breath, Han sent the beat-up little freighter skittering from side to side, not slacking off on their speed.
Kid sat back in the pilots seat and just watched. Only once did he interfere, and that was to increase the ships acceleration a notch, to avoid a smaller asteroid that was orbiting a larger one. The bigger asteroid had hidden its small companion. The Starfire zipped by so close that the deflector shields activated and the ship shuddered in pro-test. But they avoided the impact.
Han bit his lip when the chunk of rock, half the size of the ship, tumbled away behind him. Sorry, Kid. I shouldve seen it.
No way you couldve seen it, Solo, the older man said. I just been flying into and out of the Run for so many years that I practically got all these rocks memorized. I knew that one had a baby taggin behind, cause Ive seen it before.
When they finally emerged into clear space, Hah felt as though hed been piloting for a day instead of half an hour. He wanted to slump back into his seat, but a glance at Kid DXoln showed Kid, head tilted back, eyes closed, appar-ently asleep.
Han looked at Chewie, shrugged, and said, Take over a second while I plot us a course to Kessel, pal.
Minutes later Han retrieved the final coordinates from the navicomputer, and then finalized his course. He looked over at Kid DXoln. One watery blue eye opened. Punch it, Solo, the raspy voice told him. Han grinned. Sure.
Moments later the bright pinpoints of realspace elon-gated before them, and the Starfire shot down a seeming tunnel of starlines. Han realized he was grinning like a kid. It had been a long time since hed done any real piloting that wasnt just drills.
When hed been in the Navy, hed served shifts as a helmsman on the big Imperial ships, but his favorite duty had been flying TIE fighters. Small, nimble, and deadly, they required pinpoint control to maneuver and fire, but they had no shielding at all, which made them very vulnera-ble. Few TIE pilots lived to grow old.
When the Starfire emerged into realspace, Han took one look at the Maw and drew a quick breath. Kid DXoln, who had finally awakened from his nap, stretched and grinned. Impressive, aint it, Solo?
Ill say, Han muttered.
The Maw stretched before them, a collection of black holes that were sucking the life from the nearby stars. Long streamers of gas threaded their way into the monstrous whirlpools of gas and dust that marked the location of the black holes. The holes themselves were invisible, of course. The reason they were called black holes was that their gravity was so strong that nothing, not even light, could escape their pull.
But the gas and dust marked their location. There were quite a few of them. So far as Han knew, the Maw was unique in the galaxy.
Kessels right on the edge, Solo, Kid said. Here, Ill show you the coordinates on the screen.
Han studied readouts on the lumpy, misshapen little planet that orbited a small, fierce, blue-white star. Kessel was orbited by its small, solitary moon. The planet isnt even spherical, he muttered. It doesnt mass enough to hold onto an atmosphere.
Yeah, I know. You gotta wear a breath mask there, but they keep a couple of atmosphere-generating plants run-nin, so we wont have to put on vacuum gear, Kid told him.
Han frowned down at the readouts. I didnt know Kes-sel had a moon.
Yeah, theres rumors that the Imps have been scouting it, that they might actually build something there. Crazy, if you ask me.
There are Imperial ships around here? Kids revela-tion worried Han. Chewie was still an escaped slave, after all. Theyd just love to recapture him.
Yeah, I ran into a guy who works for Imp security as a snitch, and he told me the Imps are considering putting some kind of big hush-hush installation right smack in the middle of the Maw, Kid said thoughtfully.
Han stared at the whirling vortices of dust and gas that marked the black holes and shook his head. A base? In there? Theyre crazy, all right!
Kid shrugged. Theres more space than youd guess be-tween those black holes. Some smugglers say that you can actually shorten your Kessel Run by skimming close to the Maw.
Han frowned as he studied his readouts. You mean make the Run in less time.
Kid chuckled, a creaky sound. Well, that, too. But they say that both time and space get warped, distorted so close to the Maw. So you can not only make your run faster, but actually shave off part of the distance.
Whats the record? Han asked curiously.
Dunno, Kid DXoln said. I think its down below ten hours these days, but I never been crazy enough to try for it. Take my advice, and dont play games with the Maw, Solo.
Han tended to think Kids advice was good. Skimming the Maw seemed like the act of an idiot-a suicidal idiot.
Hah set the Starfire down on Kessel, and the three smugglers donned breath masks and got out. There was a small cantina that served as a recreation area where pilots and crews could get something to eat and drink while wait-ing for the loading droids to fill their cargo bays.
Kid DXoln stayed behind to oversee the loading, leaving Han and Chewie to grab a quick bite. Ten minutes later Han was halfway through a hasty meal and a glass of Po-lanis ale. Privately, he wondered what to do now. Kid DXoln had made it clear that he was bound for parts he preferred to remain unknown-at least to Han when the Starfire was finished loading. The older man had com-mented that he was sure Han could catch a ride back to Smugglers Run, or back to Nar Shaddaa, probably via the Kessel Bun, from here.
Kessel boasted no facilities for overnight guests. Han glanced around when the cantina door opened, and then his eyes widened as he beheld a familiar face.
Boa! he exclaimed, waving at the older man whod just entered and was removing his breathing mask. Hey, Boa!
Cmon over and Ill buy you a drinkV
Boa-if he had another name, Han had never heard it- was a big, stocky man with graying hair and a charming smile. He had a roguish twinkle in his blue eyes, and a sense of humor that made him friends easily. It seemed that everyone on Nar Shaddaa knew Boa, and he knew them.
Roa and Mako were old friends, and Boa had been one of the first pals Mako had introduced Han to when hed arrived on Nar Shaddaa.
Boa had been in the smuggling business for more than twenty years, which made him the grand old man of the trade. He enjoyed playing the role of shepherd to some of the younger smugglers, and was generous about sharing what hed learned during his career.
Unlike many of the smugglers, who were little better than pirates, Boa had his own private code that he taught the young smugglers who rode shotgun with him on his old but meticulously maintained speedy freighter, the Way-farer. Roa had taught Han, as hed taught so many others never ignore a call for help . . . never take from those who are poorer than yourself . . . never play sabacc un-less youre prepared to lose, always be prepared to make a quick getaway . . . never pilot a ship under the influence. Roas Rules, the smugglers called them.
Now, seeing his young friend, Roas friendly, open face broke into a wide grin. Han, whatre you doing here?
Han gestured to the seat beside him. Its a long story, Roa. Mostly we wound up here because a female Wookiee took too much of a liking to Chewie, here.
Roa chuckled as he threw a leg across the bar stool.
Chewbacca, dont tell me you got to meet Wynni!
Chewie moaned aloud, rolling his blue eyes expressively. Roa guffawed. Oh, cmon, Chewie, how bad could it be, entertaining an amorous lady Wookiee?
Chewbacca snorted, then launched into a vivid explana-tion of how strenuous-and, at times, hazardous-Wookiee romance could be. Han could understand him, of course, but it was obvious that Roa was barely getting the gist of it.
The older smugglers eyebrows went up, then he shook his head when Chewie finished. All right, sounds like you did the right thing by beating a hasty retreat, Chewbacca! Remi nd me never to attract Wynnis attention.
Han grinned. Me neither, he said, then sobered. Problem is, were stranded here now. Kid DXoln brought us, but hes heading out of here on some private business, and he doesnt need a crew. So Im lookin for a ride back to Nar Shaddaa. Any chance we can catch one with you, Roa?
The older man smiled. Sure, Han. Only trouble is, were not going directly back. Ive got a load of spice to take on to Myrkr. How does Nar Shaddaa by way of the Kessel Run strike you?
Hans eyes lit up. That would be great! I cant really get the top piloting assignments until Ive got a Run or two under my belt. Roa . . . any chance youd let me pilot, and coach me through it?
The older man grinned. Depends, Solo.
On what?
How many drinks you buy me.
Han chuckled, and waved to the bar droid for fresh am-munition. Tell me about the Bun, he said. I think Im ready.
As Boa explained it, the Kessel Run took ships traveling in realspace from the Kessel sector past and around the Maw, then through a rough, uninhabited sector of space known as the Pit. The Pit wasnt as hard to navigate as the Maw, but more ships had actually been lost there than near the Maw, because after successfully making it past the black-hole cluster, pilots tended to be tired, their reflexes slowed. And just when they needed to rest, the Pit was waiting for them.
The Pit contained a scattered asteroid field that wasnt nearly as concentrated as the one surrounding Smugglers Run, but it was encased inside a wispy arm of a nebula. The gas and dust from the nebula tended to make most ships sensors imprecise, and the pilots line-of-sight was seriously compromised. Zigging in and out of the gauzy tendrils of the nebula was a confusing, ehancy business, and there was always the chance that when a pilot zigged to avoid one asteroid, hed zag right into another.
Boa explained all of this to Han, then took him back to the Wayfarer and showed him a complete schematic of their course from the navicomputer. Han studied it all in-tently, then nodded. Okay. I think I can handle it, Boa.
The Wayfarers captain gave him a long, measuring glance, then nodded. Okay, son. Go ahead. Take us out.
Han nodded, then his world narrowed into the view-screen, his coordinates, his controls, and his hands and eyes. He felt almost like a bio droid, someone who could link his nervous system into the ship. It was as though Han had become the ship-as though they were one entity.
Flying past the center of the Maw, Hah was acutely conscious that the slightest mistake on his part could result in disaster for the Wayfarer. He felt sweat break out on his forehead as he manipulated the controls, avoiding gravita-tional eddies and anomalies. Beside him, in the copilots seat, he could sense Roas tension, though the stocky older man made no sound. Behind him, Chewbacca whined softly, a thin thread of sound in the otherwise silent control cabin.
