Jabba the Hutt dipped his thick, stubby fingers into a barrel filled with two-headed worms. He grabbed one of the fat, squirming creatures and popped it into his wide mouth. He swallowed it with a single gulp. Then he reached back into the barrel and grabbed two more worms. He gobbled up both.
Han Solo said, “All right, Jabba, you’ve had your taste.” Turning to his tall, furry friend, Chewbacca the Wookiee, Han whispered, “I think he likes them.”
Han and Chewbacca were standing in Docking Bay 94 at Mos Eisley Spaceport on the sand planet Tatooine. Han’s ship, the Millennium Falcon, rested on the docking bay’s hard floor. They faced Jabba, who had arrived with his Twi’lek assistant Bib Fortuna—and three bodyguards.
Jabba licked his lips as he patted his broad, thick belly. Then he let out a long, rumbling belch.
Glancing at Chewbacca, Han whispered, “I think he likes them a lot.”
Bib Fortuna aimed his orange eyes at Han. “Where did you say you obtained these dyad-worms?”
Han grinned. “I didn’t say, Bib. Does Jabba want to buy the barrel or not?”
Bib Fortuna glanced at the squirming worms, then returned his gaze to Han. “What is your price?”
Han said, “One hundred credits.”
Jabba snorted. Fortuna replied nervously, “One hundred is too much!”
Han shrugged. “Oh, well,” he said. “There are other buyers.”
Jabba chuckled at this. Chewbacca ignored the laughter and kept his eyes on the Hutt’s bodyguards. If the bodyguards made any sudden moves, Chewbacca was prepared to fire his bowcaster at them.
When Jabba finished laughing, he said, “You amuse me, Solo! I will pay you seventy credits for the worms and another ten if you tell me where you got them.”
“Eighty credits for such rare and tasty imports?” Han shook his head. “That hardly seems fair, Jabba. As for where I got them, I can only say it was far from here. But because you’re such a good customer, the barrel is yours for ninety-five credits.”
Jabba blinked his heavy eyelids, then said, “Ninety.”
Han smiled. “All right, Jabba. You just bought yourself a lot of worms.”
Bib paid Han the credits. Chewbacca watched the bodyguards load the barrel onto a repulsor sled. Jabba said, “Solo, how would you like to earn some more money?”
“I’m always interested in money, Jabba,” Han said. “What’s the job?”
“Go to Fornax Station,” Jabba said. “Pick up a small cargo container and bring it here.”
Han scratched his chin and asked, “Is the container heavy?”
“Not very,” Jabba said. “It contains Lashaa silk.”
“Lashaa silk, huh?” Han said. “I’m guessing you don’t want the station agents to know that you’re importing expensive fabric?”
Jabba rolled his eyes. “If I wanted them to know, why would I hire you?”
“That’s true,” Han said. “But Fornax Station is a long haul from here. I don’t know if I can—”
“I’ll pay you two thousand in advance,” Jabba interrupted, “and another two thousand on delivery. But if you dare haggle with me again today, I’ll hire another pilot.”
Han looked at Chewbacca, who had been listening to the conversation. Chewbacca gave a slight nod.
“All right, Jabba,” Han said. “We’ll get the Lashaa silk for you.”
“I know you will, Han,” Jabba said. “Because if you don’t, I’ll be very disappointed.” The Hutt nodded to Bib Fortuna and said, “Give Han two thousand credits and the data for the cargo.”
Bib paid Han, and then handed him a datacard. Bib said, “This datacard contains the location and passcode for a storage locker where you’ll find the Lashaa silk.”
Jabba said, “Come along, Fortuna. Our business here is done.”
After Jabba and his men left the docking bay, Chewbacca uttered a low growl.
Han replied, “How should I know why Jabba wants Lashaa silk? He doesn’t even wear clothes!”
Inside the Millennium Falcon, Han entered the cockpit. Chewbacca was already seated behind the controls. Han eased into his own seat and said, “The navicomputer is programmed for Fornax Station. Let’s go!”
Chewbacca fired the Falcon’s jets and guided the ship up through Docking Bay 94’s open roof. As the Falcon ascended from Mos Eisley, Han said, “Think we should get more worms for Jabba?”
The Wookiee glanced at Han, then responded with a laughing bark.
Han grinned. “I knew Jabba would go for those critters,” he said. “Let’s hope he never finds out we got them for free. Or that they came from a fertilizer hauler.”
Chewbacca tilted back his furry head and roared with glee.
The Falcon left Tatooine’s atmosphere and entered space, angling away from the sand planet’s twin suns. Soon, the ship was beyond Tatooine’s gravity field. “All right,” Han said. “We’re set to jump to hyperspace.”
Through the cockpit viewport, Han and Chewbacca saw a field of distant stars. Han pressed a switch. The Falcon’s hyperdrive engine thundered, and then the stars outside the cockpit appeared to streak over and past the ship.
“I love traveling faster than the speed of light,” Han said. “Next stop, Fornax Station.”
Chewbacca looked at a datascreen to study their course through hyperspace. He snarled a question.
“Yes, we’re going the fastest route,” Han replied. “We’re taking the Corellian Run to the Hydian Way. Then we slide onto the Braxant Run, and then to—”
Chewbacca interrupted with a series of sharp grunts.
“Forget the Namadii Corridor!” Han answered. “Remember the traffic?!”
Chewbacca shook his head. He pointed at the navigational console and grunted again.
Han replied, “Oh, yeah? Well, we’ll take the Namadii Corridor on the way back to Tatooine. If your way is faster than mine, I’ll buy you a bantha rump.”
Bantha rump was one of Chewbacca’s favorite meals. He replied with a cheerful howl.
Han and Chewbacca were an unusual pair. Han was from Corellia, and had once trained to be an Imperial pilot. Chewbacca the Wookiee was over 200 years old, and came from the jungle planet Kashyyyk. They liked working together, and hated the Empire. They had been friends for years.
“The autopilot is working fine,” Han said. “C’mon, pal. Let’s run a systems check on the engines. After that, we can pass the time with a game of dejarik.”
Chewbacca liked playing the holomonster game. He followed Han out of the cockpit and went to the engineering station in the main hold. When they finished checking the engines, they sat down beside their circular game table.
Chewbacca barked a question.
“Sure, Chewie,” Han said. “We’ll play ’til I lose. But no cheating!”
Several hours later, Han and Chewbacca were still hunkered over the game table when an audio signal chirped from the engineering station. “You heard the signal, Chewie,” Han said as he jumped up from his seat. “We’re about to exit hyperspace.”
Chewbacca remained at the table and roared in protest.
Han replied, “Haven’t you won enough games already?”
The Wookiee roared again. He swatted the game board so hard that he made the holomonsters jump.
“If you break the table,” Han said sternly, “I’m not buying a new one.”
Chewbacca wouldn’t budge.
Han thought for a moment, then said, “Oh, well. Guess you’ll miss the Fire Rings.”
Chewbacca murmured curiously.
“What?” Han gasped. “You’ve never seen the Five Fir
e Rings of Fornax?”
The Wookiee shook his head.
“Well, they’re only one of the greatest natural wonders of the galaxy. But… hey, you don’t have to take my word for it, pal. If you’d rather sit here and watch holomonsters clobber each other—” Chewbacca jumped up from the game table and brushed past Han, nearly knocking him over. As the Wookiee scrambled toward the cockpit, Han rolled his eyes and muttered, “I hope he’s not disappointed.”
Han arrived beside Chewbacca in the cockpit just as the Millennium Falcon dropped out of hyperspace. They found themselves looking out upon the planet Fornax and an orbital space station. Fornax was a bright world, and appeared to be encircled by five rings of fire.
Han said, “Impressed?”
Chewbacca nodded and murmured his approval.
“Good,” Han said as he steered the Falcon toward Fornax Station. “Now let’s get Jabba’s stuff.”
But as the Falcon drew closer to Fornax Station, an alarm sounded in the cockpit.
Han glanced at a sensor scope. “Looks like we have some unexpected company, Chewie. Our scanner is picking up an Imperial ship’s signal!”
Many ships were visible outside Fornax Station. Chewbacca looked at them and growled menacingly.
“No,” Han replied. “The signal’s coming from somewhere inside the station.” A moment later, he added, “I hate surprises!”
Han and Chewbacca saw their cockpit’s comm unit blink on. From the comm, a woman’s voice spoke.
“Fornax Station Flight Control to approaching Corellian YT-1300 freighter Close Shave,” the controller said. “Do you copy, Close Shave?”
“Loud and clear,” Han answered. He winked at Chewbacca. They had adjusted their ship’s transponder to identify the Falcon as the Close Shave, a fake name. “My copilot and I are just passing through,” Han continued. “Thought we’d see the Fire Rings. May we have permission to dock?”
The controller directed Han toward Docking Bay 21, where an invisible tractor beam locked onto the Millennium Falcon. Han and Chewbacca remained seated in the cockpit while the station’s tractor beam pulled their ship into the docking bay.
“Good thing we rigged the Falcon’s transponder with a fake name,” Han said. “You never know who you might run into on a space station. If there are any Imperial ships in the area, we don’t want them to notice us.”
Chewbacca growled a question.
“Don’t ask me why the Empire has any interest in Fornax,” Han replied. “All I know is that when the Falcon picks up an Imperial signal, we don’t turn and run. That would only attract attention. The best thing is to remain calm. We’ll go about our business like everything’s normal.”
Chewbacca growled another question.
“Well, if that happens,” Han answered, “we fire our weapons at everything in sight, and then we turn and run.”
Chewbacca whimpered nervously.
“Don’t worry, Chewie,” Han said. “We’re just picking up a small cargo container. What could possibly go wrong?”
After the tractor beam placed the Falcon inside the docking bay, Han and Chewbacca secured their ship and headed into the station. Chewbacca brought a bulky travel bag with him. From what they could see, Fornax was a popular destination for tourists from all over the galaxy.
As they made their way through the crowd, Chewbacca overheard a tour guide explain, “The rings are actually solar prominences. Fornax attracts them from its own sun.”
Han noticed Chewbacca trying to glimpse the Fire Rings through a window. “Stop gawking, fuzz-ball,” Han whispered. “And keep your eyes peeled for Imperials!”
Han was still trying to guide Chewbacca away from the windows when he accidentally bumped into a tall man who wore an expensive cape. Spinning fast, the caped man bellowed, “Watch where you’re going!”
Chewbacca moved in front of Han and snarled fiercely. The startled man stumbled backward.
“Relax, Chewie,” Han said. “We don’t want trouble.” He faced the man and added, “My fault. Sorry.”
It was only then that Han noticed a group of about twenty other well-dressed people viewing Fornax through a nearby window. A young woman in an elegant gown turned from the window, saw Han and Chewbacca, and moved toward them. She stopped beside the caped man and said, “What’s going on here?”
Han said, “I was just apologizing to—” Silencing Han with a glare, the woman snapped, “I am the Royal Margravine Abominelle of Vena! How dare you spoil my holiday!”
“I don’t dare nothin’, Your Abominableness,” Han said as he breezed past her. “You’re spoiled enough already.”
The woman’s mouth fell open. She was stunned speechless.
Leaving the fuming woman behind, Han and Chewbacca spotted an information center. An illuminated sign gave directions to the space station’s storage center.
Han reached into his vest pocket and removed the datacard that Bib Fortuna had given him. “According to this datacard,” Han said, “Jabba’s cargo container is in locker B-392.”
Chewbacca was about to turn away from the information center when Han grabbed the Wookiee’s arm and said, “Hang on. I think I just found someone who might be able to tell us if any Imperial soldiers are on board.”
Chewbacca followed Han’s gaze to see an ancient, four-armed droid standing beside a shoeshine stand. The stand had two seats. Both were unoccupied.
Han stepped over to the stand and climbed up into one of the seats. He glanced down at the old droid and said, “How about a shine, pal?”
“Really?” rasped the droid. He swiveled his photoreceptors to look at Han’s black boots. Then the droid looked back up at the seated man’s face. “You really want me to polish your boots?”
“That’s what you do, isn’t it?” Han asked.
“Yes, boots are my specialty!” the droid said brightly. “But I’m afraid I don’t work as much as I’d like.” As he began rubbing polish onto Han’s boots, he continued, “Few people care about how their boots look anymore… or appreciate decent footwear.” The droid glanced at the nearby Wookiee’s fur-covered feet.
Chewbacca snarled.
“I mean no offense,” the droid said.
Han said casually, “If you want more work, maybe you should move to Imperial space.”
“Oh?” the droid said as his Lower arms buffed Han’s boots. “Why there?”
Han shrugged. “You got me thinking about who has lots of boots to clean. The first thing I thought of was stormtroopers.”
The droid said, “I’ve heard that stormtroopers can be most unkind to droids. I think I’d prefer to remain here.”
Han said, “I guess stormtroopers would be a rare sight on Fornax Station.”
“I’ve never seen one,” the droid replied.
“Well, thanks for the shine,” Han said. He rose from the seat.
Swiping at Han’s left boot, the droid said, “I’m not done!”
“But I am,” said Han with a grin.
Han and Chewbacca stepped away from the shoeshine station. Han muttered, “Pretty clever, huh?”
Chewbacca murmured in response.
Han replied, “No, I can’t explain the Imperial signal we intercepted. But let’s just finish the job here.”
As they walked off, they didn’t notice the shoeshine droid raise one arm and speak into a transmitter. “A man seemed curious about stormtroopers,” the droid whispered.
“He’s heading for the storage center.”
A droid clerk stood at the entrance of Fornax Station’s storage center. The droid held a comlink up beside her audio sensor, listening. As Han and Chewbacca approached the entrance, the droid returned the comlink to a slot in her metal skirt. The droid turned to face them and asked, “May I help you?”
Han pointed to Chewbacca’s travel bag and said, “My friend would like a locker to stow his luggage.”
The droid nodded and said, “Right this way, please.”
The droid led Han and
Chewbacca to an aisle that was lined with numbered lockers. All the locker doors were secured by keypad locks. As they moved past the lockers, Han searched the numbers until he found B-392.
The droid gestured to a different locker on the opposite wall. She said, “I think you’ll find this locker is large enough.” She tapped the locker’s keypad and its door slid open.
“Thanks,” Han said. “You can go now.”
“Sorry,” the droid said. “I’m required to observe all customer transactions. There have been reports of smugglers using the lockers to hide merchandise.”
“Smugglers?” Han said. “Gee, that’s terrible. Isn’t it, Chewie?”
Chewbacca groaned.
Suddenly, a buzzer sounded from the far end of the aisle. Hearing the buzzer, the droid clerk said, “Oh, dear. Another customer.”
Facing the droid, Han said, “It’ll take my friend a minute to check some things in his luggage before we stow it in the locker. If you go see the other customer, we’ll meet you out front.”
“Well… all right,” the droid said. She turned and wheeled quickly out of the aisle. As soon as she was gone, Han and Chewbacca stepped over to locker B-392. They stared cautiously at the keypad.
Han whispered, “Do you remember seeing a buzzer at the entrance?”
Chewbacca snarled.
“I didn’t see a buzzer, either,” Han replied. “And that droid seemed eager to leave us here.”
He motioned Chewbacca back to the locker that the droid had opened for them. They peered into the locker. It was empty. Han said, “Think this is some kind of trap?”
Chewbacca snarled again.
“Only one way to find out,” Han said. He took Chewbacca’s travel bag, shoved it inside the locker, and shut the door.
Star Wars - Adventures in Hyperspace 001 - Fire Ring Race Page 1
