Star Wars Adventures 004 - Jango Fett vs. The Razor Eaters

by Ryder Windham

  “Check the tracker for Senator Rodd’s ship,” Jango ordered.

  Boba consulted the sensor console, then announced, “The signal for the Sienar transport is coming from Groodo’s starship yard.”

  As Jango guided Slave I toward the satellite, there was an electronic crackle from his comm as a transmission came through. Via the comm, a flight-control droid said, “Groodo Manufacturing to unidentified vessel. You are not cleared for docking. State your business with Groodo Manufacturing, or we will lock a tractor beam on your vessel.”

  Jango responded to the droid by firing a concussion missile at the starship yard’s sensor array. A split second later, the missile detonated, and the sensor array was gone. Boba recoiled slightly at the sight of the explosion, and Jango explained, “Now they can’t use their comms or get a lock on us.”

  Moving swiftly, Jango docked Slave I in an open hangar that was built into the side of the orbital yard. As soon as the landing gear was in place, he climbed out of his seat and said, “Stay here.”

  Boba said, “Yes, Dad.”

  Jango pulled on his helmet, quickly checked his weapons, then exited his ship and stepped onto the hangar deck. Passing through an open hatch, he entered the mammoth enclosed hangar. The presence of empty cargo containers and customized building apparatus indicated that a very large starship had recently been constructed on the site, but that ship was gone. However, a vessel did occupy the hangar: Senator Rodd’s Sienar transport.

  Two spindly, biped droids, armed with common blasters, approached Jango from a control room. One droid was the flight-control unit and the other was an old-fashioned security droid.

  “Your presence is unauthorized,” said the security droid. “You will leave at once.” Both droids raised their weapons, aiming their blaster barrels at Jango’s torso.

  Faster than either droids’ photoreceptors could follow, Jango drew one of his compact WESTAR-34 blaster pistols and fired twice. The energy bolts met their marks, tearing through the necks of each droid. The flight-control droid was instantly decapitated and crashed to the hangar deck, but the security droid remained standing with sparks spraying out from its shredded neck socket. Jango fired one more shot at the security droid’s chest and it went down.

  Stepping past the remains of the fallen droids, Jango moved toward the Sienar transport. Testing the transport’s hatch, he found it was locked. He removed a small explosive from his utility belt, secured it over the area of the hatch’s locking mechanism, then stepped back and turned his visor away from the transport. A moment later, there was a loud woomf and, when Jango looked back to the transport’s hatch, he saw that the hatch was dangling off the side of the ship.

  Jango entered the Sienar transport and searched it. He found a single droid—an astromech unit—plugged into a control socket on the bridge. Senator Rodd was not on board, but Jango found that one of the transport’s escape pods had been ejected. Since there wasn’t any indication that the transport had been attacked, it appeared that Senator Rodd—possibly suspecting he was being followed—had piloted the transport to Groodo’s starship yard, then left the transport by way of the escape pod.

  Jango realized Rodd used the escape pod in an effort to cover his tracks and hide his presence in the Esseles system. Had the Senator landed his transport on Esseles, his ship might have been spotted and reported. By ditching his transport in Groodo’s hangar and using the escape pod, Rodd could reach Groodo’s Esseles compound without attracting much attention.

  Hoping to learn the exact location of Groodo’s compound, Jango went back to the bridge where he found the astromech unit still jacked into the transport’s computer. Jango asked, “Where’s Senator Rodd?”

  The astromech responded with a sound that resembled a digitized burp.

  Jango drew his blaster, aimed it at the droid’s photoreceptor, and said, “Say it again?”

  The astromech whistled and beeped, then turned its domed head to aim its photoreceptor at a console monitor. Following the droid’s gaze, Jango saw a set of coordinates appear on the monitor.

  “Groodo’s compound?” Jango asked. The astromech answered with an affirmative whistle.

  Memorizing the displayed coordinates, Jango exited the transport and began to make his way back to Slave I. He was still in the mammoth enclosed hangar when yet another droid emerged, stepping out from the shadows behind a tall shipping crate.

  This one was a Razor Eater.

  Engineered by Hurlo Holowan, the Razor Eater was among the fiercest killing machines ever invented. A biped droid, it stood at 2.25 meters tall, and its two claw-tipped durasteel arms were capable of punching holes through armored hulls. If that wasn’t bad enough, its metal head was equipped with a wide, jutting jaw, lined with jagged, razor-sharp teeth. Above the droid’s lethal chompers, two red photoreceptors stared at the bounty hunter.

  Jango Fett knew the Razor Eater was not going to allow him to return to Slave I without a fight. Jango drew a blaster pistol and fired at the droid’s head, but the energized projectile only bounced off the Razor Eater’s cranium and impacted against the hangar’s high ceiling. Taking a cautious step backward, Jango was about to try a different weapon when he noticed the controls for the hangar’s tractor beam projector were within his reach.

  Jango seized the tractor beam controls, aimed the projector at the droid, and activated the beam just as the assassin droid leaped at him. The droid was in midair when the beam locked onto its body, and the droid writhed and twisted in a desperate effort to free itself from the projected force field.

  Although Jango wanted to dispose of the Razor Eater permanently, he didn’t want to waste ammunition that he might later need. He left the assassin droid trapped in the tractor beam, suspended within the enclosed hangar.

  Running back to Slave I, Jango returned to the cockpit where he found Boba waiting anxiously. Boba said, “I heard blaster fire.”

  “I’m sure you did,” Jango replied as he activated Slave I’s engine, then piloted the ship out of the hangar and away from the orbital yard.

  “Any sign of Rodd?” Boba asked.

  “Found his transport. Looks like he used an escape pod to travel to Groodo’s compound on Esseles.” He didn’t feel like mentioning the Razor Eater.

  Boba said, “So we’re going to the compound?”

  “Not just yet,” Jango replied as he angled Slave I for Esseles. “First, I want to learn more about the place. Calamar Intergalactic Spaceport isn’t far from the compound. I’ll get information there.”

  Jango piloted Slave I down through Esseles’s atmosphere. Night had fallen over Calamar, which suited Jango just fine, as he preferred to hunt under the cover of darkness. Arriving at Calamar Intergalactic Spaceport, he landed on the dirt floor of a circular docking bay that resembled a tire resting on its side.

  “Don’t tell me,” Boba said as Jango rose from his seat and adjusted his armor. “You want me to stay in the ship again, right?”

  Jango nodded. “Stay out of sight. Don’t let anyone know you’re on board.”

  Leaving Boba in Slave I, Jango exited the docking bay and found himself on a busy street. Repulsorlift vehicles zoomed past an odd assortment of restaurants, hardware stores, and repulsorlift rentals. On the other side of the street, there was a cantina, and a sign over the door read: THE ION SANDBOX, NOW UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT. Jango thought it looked like a hangout for both spacers and local citizens. Crossing the street, he entered the cantina.

  It must have been a popular time at the cantina, for it was filled with a variety of aliens, all of whom seemed to be in good spirits. But at the sight of Jango’s fully-armored form and his assorted weapons, all of the patrons fell silent. Jango caught the eye of the bartender, a green-skinned Ishi Tib who managed a smile with his beak-like mouth and said, “What’ll you have, friend?”

  “Information,” Jango said flatly.

  The bartender’s bulbous eyes blinked. “Anything in particular?”

  “Groodo
the Hutt’s compound.”

  The Ishi Tib sneered. “Groodo, eh? Everyone around here knows about him.”

  “I’m not asking everyone,” Jango said. “I’m asking you.”

  The Ishi Tib said, “I was in his compound once. That vulgarian sold my brother a bum hyperdrive.”

  Jango removed a small bag of credits from a utility pouch and placed it before the bartender. “Keep talking.”

  The bartender pushed the bag back to Jango and said, “Tell you what. If I tell you anything useful, you pay me. If I don’t, you keep your money.”

  “Fair enough,” Jango said. “But if you tell me any lies, I’ll come back for you.”

  The Ishi Tib chuckled. “I know better than to mislead you. Don’t take this the wrong way, friend, but I’m hoping you won’t ever come back. It appears you’re sort of bad for business.”

  Jango consulted his helmet’s pineal eye sensor to look behind him without turning. Sure enough, all of the patrons were quietly clearing out of the saloon. Jango placed a second bag of credits on the bar and said, “This should cover your losses.”

  The Ishi Tib said, “Groodo’s compound is about one kilometer east of Calamar. You can’t miss it. Big place with a factory and a fortress, surrounded by a high wall. It’s patrolled by some nasty droids.”

  “Razor Eaters?”

  The Ishi Tib nodded.

  “How many?”

  “I don’t know,” the Ishi Tib said. “The one time I was out there, I saw at least three of ’em.”

  “Entrances?”

  “There’s only one official entrance, but it’s guarded by the droids. Of course, if you’d like to make a surprise visit, I happen to know there’s an abandoned mine shaft on the outskirts of the property. I played there when I was a kid.”

  “The mine shaft accesses Groodo’s compound?”

  “Better than that,” said the Ishi Tib. “As I recall, it leads straight into the basement of his fortress.”

  “You ever told anyone else about the mine shaft?”

  “No one else ever asked.” The Ishi Tib reached for a napkin and added, “Here, let me draw you a map.”

  A few minutes later, the bartender was happily counting the credits that the mysterious bounty hunter had left behind, and Jango walked out of the Ion Sandbox carrying the tiny map of the mine shaft and Groodo’s compound. Jango recognized some of the saloon’s patrons hanging out in front of the place, waiting for him to leave. He was considering how he would travel to the mine shaft when a longsnouted Kubaz came whipping around the corner on a repulsorlift swoop. The Kubaz wasn’t looking where he was going, and Jango had to jump out of the way to avoid being mowed down. The Kubaz came to a stop, double-parking in front of the Ion Sandbox. He then climbed off his swoop and strode into a nearby hardware store.

  From the doorway of the Ion Sandbox, an observer commented, “That maniac shouldn’t be allowed to drive!”

  Jango overheard the comment and couldn’t have agreed more. He climbed onto the swoop, gunned the engine, and took off.

  Back at Calamar Intergalactic Spaceport, Cradossk landed his stolen starship. He had made several passes over the spaceport before choosing a docking bay, which he selected because it was several bays away from one that contained a ship he had sighted on his final pass: Slave I.

  After landing, Cradossk went to his stolen vessel’s cargo hold and checked on Bossk, who was stretched out on some blankets. Bossk was snoring. Cradossk slapped him on the snout, and Bossk groaned.

  “Wake up,” Cradossk said.

  “What happened?” Bossk muttered, blinking his eyes and rubbing the back of his head. “Where are we?”

  “On the planet Esseles.”

  “Esseles?” Bossk mumbled. “What about… Fondor? We were on Fondor. Where’s Senator Rodd?”

  “Forget Rodd,” Cradossk said. “Someone shot you on the Lunavolver. I tracked his ship to Esseles.”

  Bossk’s eyes burned red with anger. “Who shot me?”

  Although Cradossk knew Jango Fett was responsible for firing the shot that had stunned Bossk, he shook his head and said, “I don’t know, son. But I think there’s a bounty hunter on Esseles who might know the man we’re after.”

  “Well, what’s his name?” Bossk demanded.

  Cradossk said, “Jango Fett.”

  “Never heard of him,” Bossk said.

  “Then perhaps you two should meet.”

  Given that the mine shaft was only a little more than a kilometer away from the city of Calamar, and given that Jango Fett’s stolen swoop had a top speed of 600 kilometers per hour, it didn’t take long for the masked bounty hunter to reach the mine. The mine’s entrance was partially covered by an oddly shaped boulder and some brambly foliage, and Jango had to admit he would have had a difficult time finding it if the Ion Sandbox’s bartender hadn’t provided him with such a good map.

  Jango climbed off the swoop and entered the mine. He had to duck to avoid scraping his telescopic rangefinder and he was soon enveloped in darkness. Despite the lack of light, his helmet’s sensors gave him an excellent view of the mine’s interior. He was only several meters into the mine when he located a rusted, automated repulsorlift sled.

  Although the Ion Sandbox’s bartender hadn’t mentioned any sled that might carry passengers through the mine, and Jango wasn’t even sure if the thing still worked, he decided to climb in and give it a try. But when he swung his leg over the side of the sled to step into the area behind the controls, the bottom of his boot hit something that it shouldn’t have.

  It was a snake. A big one. Apparently, the old sled was the snake’s nest, and it didn’t appreciate Jango’s intrusion, for it instantly coiled around Jango’s left leg and sank its fangs into his boot. As Jango pulled a blaster from his belt, the snake heaved its body out of the sled and knocked the bounty hunter to the ground.

  Jango landed hard, but brought up his blaster fast and squeezed off five rapid shots at the deadly constrictor. The snake went slack around his leg, and Jango kicked himself free. Without giving the creature a second thought, he climbed into the sled and tested the controls. The engine coughed, then the sled moved forward and descended into the darkness.

  Several minutes later, the sled automatically came to a stop in a low-ceilinged chamber with rough-hewn walls. Jango stepped out of the sled and scanned the chamber until he found a crack he could force into a wide hole in the lower area of one wall. He eased his armored body through the hole and, when his feet made contact with the floor, he was standing in the basement of Groodo’s castle.

  The basement was cluttered with old furniture, shelves of bric-a-brac, and Groodo’s beverage collection. It smelled of moldy cheese. Jango had no doubt he was in a Hutt’s basement because most of the stored artifacts were designed for use by Hutts, and there was even a statue covered in dust of Groodo himself.

  Jango listened for any indication of activity. He overheard music playing, but couldn’t tell if it was live or recorded.

  He spotted a dim, triangular-shaped yellow light glowing just beyond a pile of broken chairs. Walking around the pile, he discovered the yellow light was on a lift-tube control panel. The lift itself was open.

  The lift was much larger than most, having been built to accommodate Groodo’s incredibly corpulent body. Jango stepped into the lift and examined the control panel. The lift traveled to five levels in Groodo’s fortress, including the basement.

  Jango pressed a lever, and the lift carried him up to the first floor. He stepped out into an unoccupied room, but the music was louder now. There was an open window and, after Jango went to it and poked his helmet out into the night air, he angled his rangefinder to see there was bright light coming from a window directly above, on the second floor. Instead of returning to the lift tube, he climbed through the window and scaled the fortress’s outer wall until he arrived outside the illuminated upper window.

  Jango peered through the second-story window and saw two figures: a mal
e human and a Hutt. The man wore casual traveling clothes and was seated on a wide couch across from the Hutt, who was adjusting the volume of an antique Audiobulb, the trademarked name for a recorded-music player. Both the man and the Hutt were positioned near a concave fireplace that was set into a columnar chimney in the center of the room. They had their backs to Jango, so he could not see their faces. Several elaborately designed rugs were stretched across the floor. Jango thought the music sounded awful and the rugs needed a good cleaning.

  At first, Jango thought the Hutt was Groodo, but the green-skinned alien was relatively small by Hutt standards, which implied he was younger than Groodo. And because the human male was not wearing the black uniform of a Sienar Systems official, Jango wasn’t entirely sure that the man was Senator Rodd. There was one quick way to find out.

  Jango jumped in through the window and said, “Hello, Senator.”

  The Hutt and the man turned to face the bounty hunter. The Hutt was so surprised that he almost broke the Audiobulb, which would have been very unfortunate for two reasons: The device was a truly rare antique, and its energy source was a highly combustible battery. The latter reason was also why Audiobulbs were no longer manufactured; when they broke, they had a rotten tendency to explode.

  Jango still didn’t recognize the Hutt, but he was now certain he had found Senator Rodd. The Senator was scared witless by the bounty hunter’s sudden appearance.

  As the lousy music continued to play from the Audiobulb, and the Hutt shouted, “Sparky!”

  Before Jango could make a move, he was struck on the back by a powerful blow that sent him flying across the room. His armored body crashed against a wall made of solid stone, then he hit the floor, rolled, and landed in a crouched position. On the other side of the room, Rodd and the Hutt stared at him like stunned animals.

  Behind his helmet, Jango blinked his eyes to clear his vision, and then focused on his attacker. Even though it was Jango’s first glimpse of the droid that had responded to the name Sparky, he did not need a visual confirmation to know what he was dealing with. Jango could still feel the punch that had hurled him straight into the wall, and he knew from experience that only one thing packed a punch like that.