Star Wars - The Han Solo Trilogy - Rebel Dawn

by A. C. Crispin

  Perhaps we will, Your Highness, Durga said. At the moment, all my time is taken up with running the affairs of my clan, and I have little time for anything outside Nal Hutta.

  Ah, but surely you have time for Besadiik Ylesian in-terests, Xizor said, as if doing nothing more than musing aloud. Such an impressive operation, such efficiency, .all of it achieved in such a comparatively short span of time. Most impressive.

  Durga felt his stomach contract around his supper. So that is what Xizor wants, he thought. Ylesia. He wants a share of the Ylesian profits.

  Of course, Your Highness, Durga said. Ylesia is essential to Besadiis business interests. I take my duties toward our Ylesian enterprise most seriously.

  That does not surprise me at all, Lord Durga, the Falleen Prince said. I would have expected no less. Your people are akin to mine in their efficiency in run-ning their business affairs. So much better than many of the other species that pride themselves on their busi-ness acumen, frankly... like the humans, for instance. All their dealings colored by emotion, rather than re-maining rational and analytical.

  Indeed, Your Highness, you are entirely correct, Durga said.

  However, both our peoples have regard for family ties, Xizor said, after a moments pause.

  What in the name of all the denizens of space is he getting at? Durga wondered. The Hutt Lord was com-pletely in the dark, and that irritated him greatly. Yes, that is also true, Your Highness, Durga agreed after a moment, keeping his voice neutral.

  My sources reveal that you may need some assis-tance in discovering the truth behind your parents death, Lord Durga, Xizor said. Apparently some . . . irregularities have surfaced.

  How did he learn about the forensic report so quickly? Durga wondered, then he mentally shook himself. This was Black Sun he was talking to, the greatest criminal or-ganization in the entire galaxy. It was possible that not even the Emperor himself had better spy networks.

  My people are conducting investigations, Durga said, neutrally. I will let you know if I require assis-tance, Your Highness. But I am gratified by your wish to help me in my bereavement.

  Xizor inclined his head respectfully. Family must be honored, debts must be paid, and, when necessary, vengeance must be swift, Lord Durga. I am sure my sources could be of considerable assistance to you. He looked Durga square in the eye. Lord Durga, let me be frank. Black Suns interests in the Outer Rim are not being served as capably as they could be. It seems to me that we would do well to ally ourselves with the natural masters of that region of space-the Hutts. And it is very evident to me that you, Lord Durga, are Nal Huttas rising star.

  Durga was not flattered by Xizors words, nor reas-sured. Instead he flashed back to a conversation with his parent. Prince Xizor had contacted Aruk several times in the past two decades, and had made the Be-sadii lord several similar offers. Aruk had always refused as gracefully as possible. The Besadii Lord knew better than to anger Xizor, but he did not want to become one of the Falleen princes lieutenants, or, as Xizor termed them, Wigos.

  The power of Black Sun is seductive, my child, Aruk had said. But beware it, for there is no turning back as long as Prince Xizor is alive. Easier in some way to say no to the Emperor himself. Give Black Sun a kilometer, and they will take a parsee. Remember this, Durga.

  I remember, Durga thought, and faced the holo-image squarely. I will think upon your words, Prince Xizor, Durga said. But at the moment, Hutt custom demands that I pursue my investigations and possible vengeance as a sacred... and solo... trust.

  Xizor inclined his head again. I quite understand, Lord Durga. I shall look forward to hearing from you when you have had the time to ponder my proposal.

  Thank you, Your Highness, Durga said. Your con-cern honors me, and your friendship pleases me.

  For the first time, Xizor smiled faintly, then he reached out and broke the connection.

  The moment the princes holo-image vanished , Durga let himself slump. He felt exhausted after fencing with the Falleen prince, but congratulated himself that hed held up rather well.

  Ylesia. He wants a share in Ylesia, he thought. Well, Xizor could want all he pleased, but wanting wasnt the same thing as getting, as every sentient child soon discovers.

  If Xizor knew that I had authorized another colony on Ylesia, and sent survey teams to Nyrvona to begin choosing the best spot for a new Pilgrim planet, hed be twice as eager, he thought. Good thing hed been very close-mouthed about his ambitions for the new Besadii expansion.

  Durga had a sudden, vivid vision of a whole handful of Ylesias, worlds where raw spice was turned into pure profit by contented, happy Pilgrims. Perhaps I could even expand into the Core Worlds, he thought. Palpa-tine would not stop me, he values the slaves I sell his minions ....

  The Hutt lord smiled, and went gliding back to his interrupted dinner, appetite fully restored.

  Far away, on Imperial Center, Prince Xizor turned away from his comm unit. Not just a crafty Hutt, but an eloquent one, it seems, he commented to his human-replica assassin droid, Guri. Durga is proving more of a challenge than I expected.

  Tile HRD who bore the seeming of a surpassingly beautiful human woman-made a very subtle move-ment of one hand. Yet the meaning-and menace-in her gesture were unmistakable. Why not eliminate him, then, my prince. Easy enough to do ....

  Xizor nodded. For you, Guri, not even a Hutt thick skin would prove a challenge, I know, he said. But killing a potentid opponent is not nearly so efficient and effective as making him a dedicated subordinate.

  The young Besadii lord control of his clan and his kajidic is still tenuous, by all report, my prince, Guri said. It is possible that Jabba the Hutt might prove a better candidate?

  Xizor shook his head. Jabba has been of use to me in the past, he said. We have traded information-

  almost all of which I already knew-and I have done him some favors. I would rather have him beholden to me, so that when I choose to have him return these favors, he will do so with... enthusiasm. Jabba respects Black Sun. Fears it, too, though he would never admit it.

  Guri nodded. Most beings in the galaxy who had any sense-and any knowledge of Black Sun, which the vast majority of sentients did not-were afraid of Black Sun.

  Also, Jabba is too... independent, too used to hav-ing his own way, Xizor continued, thoughtfully. On the other hand, Durga is equdly intelligent, and, unlike Jabba, he is still young enough to be effectively . . . molded... into what I wish him to be. He would make a valuable addition to Black Sun. Hutts are ruthless and venal. In short, ideal.

  Understood, my prince, she replied, composedly. Guri was always composed. She was, after all, an artifi-cid creation-though she was as far above most of the clanking, clumsy droids most people thought of when they thought of droids as Prince Xizor was above one of the slithering creatures that were his distant evolution-ary cousins.

  Xizor walked over to his form-chair and dropped into it, stretching almost lazily while the chair hastily con-formed to his every move. Thoughtfully, he stroked one sharp-nailed finger down his cheek, the talon barely grazing his greenish skin. Black Sun needs a foothold in Hutt space, and Durga is my best chance of gaining it. Also... Besadii controls Ylesia, and that operation, though small in scde compared to most of Black Sun enterprises, impresses me. Lord Aruk was a most cun-ning old Hutt. He would never work for me... but his son may be a different matter.

  What is your plan, my prince? Guri asked.

  I shall give Durga time to redize just how much he needs Black Sun, Xizor replied. Guri, have Durga in-vestigations into Aruk death closely monitored. I want our operatives to stay ahead of Durga own knowledge of the forensics teams findings. I wish to know how Aruk died before the Besadii lord does.

  She nodded. As you wish, my prince.

  And if the discoveries of Durga forensics team provide links back to Aruk murderer-most likely Jili-ac or Jabba-then I want that link eliminated in the most subtle way. I do not want Durga to realize that he is being deliberately thwa
rted in his search for his fathers killer... is that clear?

  It is, my prince. It shall be as you wish.

  Good. Xizor looked pleased. Let Durga play de-tective if he wishes for a few months . . . even a year. Let him chase his own slimy tail. The frustration will build, until he is only too happy to throw in his lot-and a goodly percentage of Ylesia-with Black Sun.

  Han Solo arrived back at his shabby flat on Nar Shaddaa in the early hours of the morning to find the assorted denizens of his motley household still fast asleep. That didnt last long, though. Hey, everyone! the Corellian bellowed. Chewie! Jarik! Wake up! I won! Lookit this! He ran through the apartment, yelling and waving a stack of credit vouchers thick enough to choke a bantha.

  Han and Chewie shared their dilapidated fiat with his young friend Jarik and an ancient droid named ZeeZee Han had won off Mako Spince in a recent friendly game of sabacc. After spending a month or two in ZeeZees company, however, Han was pretty sure that Mako, an experienced card sharp, had cooked that deck to make sure he lost.

  As a house-droid, ZeeZee had proved a twittery, stammering nuisance rather than a help. Hah had got-ten so annoyed with the droids efforts to clean up the place that several times hed considered junking the blasted antique, but somehow hed never gotten around to it. Finally, in disgust, Han had ordered ZeeZee to leave everything the way it is!

  Jarik Solo was a street kid from the depths of Nar Shaddaa. About a year ago hed introduced himself to Han as a distant relative. Hed obviously been in awe of Han, who was known far and wide as one of the hottest pilots around. Jarik was a brash, good-looking kid, and he reminded Han a little of himself when hed been in his late teens. The Corellian had had Jariks claim inves-tigated, and turned up the truth-Jarik had no more right to the name Solo than Chewie did. But by the time Han knew for sure they werent related, that Jarik was lying, hed gotten kind of attached to the boy. So hed let him hang around, even fly with them, and Jarik had turned into a pretty fair gunner.

  Despite the youths fears, hed proven himself at the Battle of Nar Shaddaa, shooting down several TIE fighters, and helping Han, Lando and Salla Zend turn the tide of the engagement. So Han had never told the youth that he knew the truth. It was important for Jarik to have a sense of identity, even if it was a false one. And Han was willing to let the kid borrow his last name.

  Now, as he raced around his apartment, Han was bouncing off the walls with excitement as his groggy friends gathered around. Cmon, wake up! Han shouted. I won, guys! And I won the Falcon from .Lando!

  Hearing the exciting news, Chewbacca roared, Jarik cheered, and poor ZeeZee was so confused by the ex-citement that the elderly droid short-circuited and had to be reset. After a round of back-slapping and con-gratulations, Han, Chewie and Jarik headed immedi-ately for Landos used-spaceship lot, with Landos marker in hand.

  After the formalities of ownership exchange had been processed, Han stood back, just looking at the Millennium Falcon. Mine... he said, and grinned un-til his face hurt.

  The Corellians mind filled with plans for fixing up the Falcon. There were so many things he wanted to do, to modify her into being the ship of his dreams. And, thanks to the sabacc tournament... he had the credits to do them!

  For one thing, he intended to get Shug and Sla to help him s,dvage the military armor plating off the Im-perial derelict Liquidator, a bulk cruiser that had be-come a casualty of the Battle of Nar Shaddaa. The airless hulk was still drifting amidst the space junk or-biting the Smuggler Moon. Better armor plating would be a priority. Han didnt want what had hap-pened to the Bria happening to the Falcon.

  Another thing, he wanted a getaway blaster he could lower from the ships belly. Smuggling could get risky, sometimes, and a quick exit was required. A quick exit with cover fire was even better....

  Yes, and he was going to overhaul the Falcons hyper-drive, and install a light blaster cannon under the nose. Concussion missile launchers, definitely. And maybe hed move the quad laser turrets so theyd be one on top of the other, instead of on top and on the ships fight side. Perhaps stronger shielding, too?

  Han stood there with his friepds, contemplating his ship, dreaming of what he could do to her and with her... modifying the YT-1300 into the perfect ship. His ultimate smuggling ship.

  Fake compartments, he muttered.

  What? Jarik turned to him. What did you say, Han? I said Im gonna build some fake compartments un-der the decking, kid, Han said, throwing an arm around the youth shoulders. He grinned up at Chew-bacca. And guess who gets to help me?

  Jarik grinned back at him. Great! Whats your first cargo going to be?

  Hah thought for a moment. Our first port of call is gonna be Kashyyyk. Id say a nice load of bowcaster ex-plosive quarrels would probably do well, there, what do you think, Chewie?

  Chewbacca voiced his agreement, long and loud. Now that the Wookiee knew that hed be going home, he was more excited at the prospect than Han had ever seen him before.

  Two days later, with the Falcons new below-decks compartments crammed with contraband, Hah Solo flew his ship out of Shug Ninxs spacebarn and headed straight up, exulting in the MiUennium Falcons quick acceleration. Chewie was in the eopilots seat, and Jarik was riding along as gunner. Han hoped to avoid hnpe-rial patrols, but he intended to be prepared for a fight if one erupted.

  Kashyyyk was an Imperial protectorate (transla-tion slave) world. The Imperials had managed to pacify the inhabitants, though they kept their forays into Wookiee cities and homes to a minimum, and they always went heavily armed, and in numbers. Wookiees were known to have quick tempers and to act impulsively.

  Han managed to dodge the Imp patrols and to stay out of range of any sensor satellites as he approached the verdant sphere that was Kashyyyk. The Wookiee homeworld was mostly forest, covered with monstrous wroshyr trees, with four continents divided by bands of ocean. Archipelagoes of islands dotted the gleaming coastal seas like emeralds scattered across blue satin. There were only a few desert regions, mostly on the rain-shadow side of the equatorial mountain ranges.

  When they were within communication range, Chewbaeea took over the comm station, setting a coded frequency, then speaking into the corem in a series of grunts, growls, hours, barks, and hrnnns that, to the un-trained human ear, sounded exactly like his usual speech but wasnt.

  Han frowned, realizing that, although many of the words sounded familiar, he basically hadnt understood a word that his friend had said. When Chewie stopped speaking into the comm, a voice came back, giving a se-ries of what were obviously directives.

  Han, who had been watching the sensors sharply, made a uick course correction There was an Imperial ship taking off, just past the limb of the planet.

  Jarik, look sharp, kid, he said, keying the ships in-tercom. I dont think weve been spotted, but let be ready.

  Several tense seconds later, Han heaved a sigh of re-lief as the instruments indicated that the ImP vessel was proceeding serenely on its way, unaware of them.

  When Han turned back to Chewie, the Wookiee launched into a series of directives and coordinates that his contact had given him. Han was to fly low, actually within the boundaries of the tallest wroshyr treetops, and to be prepared to make precise course changes the instant Chewbacca told him to.

  Okay, pal, the Corellian said. It your world, and youre the boss. But... what was that lingo you were talkin? Some kinda Wook code?

  Chewbacca chuckled, then explained to his human friend that the Imperials were so stupid that most of them didnt even realize that all Wookiees were not the same. There were several related, but somewhat dif-ferent, Wookiee sub-species. Han already knew that Chewbacca was a rwook, and bore the typical brown, red and chestnut hair of that people. He also knew that the language that he had learned to understand, but not speak, was called Shyriiwook, which, loosely translated, meant, tongue of the tree-people.

  Chewie went on to explain that the language Han had just heard him speak, xaczik, was a traditional tribal language spoken by the Wook
iees indigenous to the Wartaki island and several outlying coastal regions. It was seldom heard, since Shyriiwook was the common language of trade and travel. So, when the Imperials had taken over Kashyyyk, the Wookiee underground had adopted xaczik as their code language. They used it whenever they had to give directives or pass along in-formation that they didnt want the Imperials finding out about.

  Hah nodded. Okay, pal. You just tell me how to fly, and where, and Ill take us where your buddies in the underground tell me.

  Flying low, skimming barely above, and, at times, be-tween the tip-top branches of the wroshyr trees, Hah sent the Falcon blasting along in the precise course and speed Chewie specified. Every minute or so, the Wook-ice conferred with his underground contact.

  Finally, as they neared Chewie hometown, Rwookr-rorro, a kilometer-wide city set on platforms made by crisscrossing branches of the wroshyrs, Hans copilot made him shear off in a dangerous swoop and take them straight down between the branches for a thirty-second plunge. Hans heart was in his mouth as the Falcon dived like its namesake into the green forest, but Chewie coordinates were right on the credits.

  Even though it looked through the viewport as though they were going to be engulfed and smashed to fiinders, nothing touched the ship. Chewie barked an order, and Han shouted, Hard to port... now!

  He sent the Falcon into a screaming left turn, then, before him, saw something that the Corellian at first took to be a huge cave, a vast black hole waiting to swal-low them up.

  But as he neared it, Han realized that what it was in actuality was a massive wroshyr branch, balanced across other equally huge branches. Either by accident or de-sign, the branch had split off from the main tree, and been hollowed out, to form a cave the size of a small Imperial docking bay.

  You want me to land in there? Hah hollered at the Wookiee. What if we dont fit?

  Chewies snarled comment assured Han that of course they would fit.