Before him, now . . . the Luck's shut tle! With a gasp that was nearlya sob, the boy drove himself forward. He was almost to the ramp when atall figure emerged. Shrike. "Where in the blazes have you been?"
There was nothing friendly in the captain's grasp upon his arm. Hanheld up the sack; and Shrike grabbed it. "Well, at least you didn'tcome back empty-handed," the captain grumbled. Quickly he siftedthrough the contents, nodding his satisfaction. Only when he wasfinished did Shrike seem to notice that Han was swaying on his feet.
"What's wrong with you?"
Now beyond coherent speech, Han could only shake his head.
Consciousness was fading in and out on him like a jammedtransmission.
Shrike shook him a little, then put a hand on the boy's forehead. Whenhe felt the heat, he cursed. "Fever... should I leave you here? Whatif it's contagious?" He frowned, clearly struggling to decide.
Finally he hefted the sack of loot again. "Guess you've earned a sickday, kid," he muttered. "C'mon." Han tried to make it up the ramp,but then he stumbled and everything went . . . dark.
He swam up into partial consciousness a long time later, to the soundof voices arguing, one in Wookiee, the other in Basic. Dewlanna andShrike.
The Wookiee growled insistently. "I can tell he's really sick," Shrikeagreed, "but you can't kill one of my kids with a blaster set onfull.
He'll be
okay after a couple of days rest. He doesn't need a medical droid,and I'm not springing for it."
Dewlanna snarled, and Han, automatically translating, was surprised athow insistent the Wookiee was being. He felt a furred paw-hand laysomething cold on his forehead. It felt wonderful against the heat.
"I told you no, Dewlanna, and I meant it!" Shrike said, and with that,the captain stomped out, cursing the Wookiee in every language heknew.
Han opened his eyes to see Dewlanna bending over him. The Wookieerumbled gently at him. Han struggled to speak. "Pretty bad ..." heconceded, in response to her question. "Thirsty . . ."
Dewlanna held him up and gave him water, sip by slow sip. She told himthat he had a high fever, so high that she was afraid for him.
When Han finished the water, she stooped down and scooped the child upinto her arms. "Where... where're we.." She told him to hush, thatshe was taking him planetside, to the medical droid. Han's head wasswimming, but he made a great effort. "Don't...
Captain Shrike . . . really mad . . ."
Her answer was short and to the point. Han had never heard her cursebefore.
He faded in and out as they moved through the corridors, and his nextclear memory was of being strapped into the seat of a shuttle. Han hadnever known Dewlanna could pilot, but she handled the controlscompetently with her huge, furred hands. The shuttle slipped loosefrom its moorings, and then accelerated toward Corelia.
The fever was making Han light-headed, and he kept imagining that heheard Shrike's voice, cursing. He tried to say something about it toDewlanna, but found he didn't have the strength to get the wordsout...
He next regained consciousness in the medical droid's waiting room.
Dewlanna was sitting down, with Han's scrawny form still clutchedprotectively in her arms.
Suddenly a door opened, and the droid appeared. It was a large,elongated droid, equipped with anti-gray units so that it floatedaround its patient as Dewlanna placed Han on the examining table. Hanfelt a prick against his skin as the droid took a blood sample.
"Do you understand Basic, madame?" inquired the droid.
For a moment Han was about to answer that of course he understoodBasic, and who was Madame?--but then Dewlanna rumbled. Oh, ofcourse.
The medical unit was talking to her.
"This young patient has contracted Corellian tanamen fever," the droidtold Dewlanna. "HIS case is quite severe. It is fortunate that youdid not wait
any longer to bring him to me. I will need to keep him here andobserve him until tomorrow. Do you wish to stay with him?"
Dewlanna rumbled her assent.
"Very well, madame. I am going to use bacta immersion therapy torestore his metabolic equilibrium. That will also bring his feverdown."
Han took one look at the waiting bacta tank and feebly tried to make arun for the door. Between them, Dewlanna and the medical unitrestrained him easily. The boy felt another needle prick his arm, andthen the whole universe tilted sideways and slid into blackness . .
.
Han opened his eyes, realizing his reverie had turned into sleep, thendreams. He shook his head, remembering how wobbly he'd been whenDewlanna and the droid helped him out of the bacta tank. Then Dewlannapaid the droid out of her own small store of credits and piloted themback to Trader's Luck The young pilot grimaced. Boy, Shrike had beenmad. Han was worried that he'd space them both. But Dewlanna nevershowed even the slightest sign of fear as she stood between the captainand Han, insisting that she'd done the right thing, that otherwise theboy would have died.
In the end, Shrike subsided because one of the pieces of jewelry Hanhad stolen that night turned out to be set with a genuine Krayt dragonpearl. When the captain discovered what it was worth, he wasmollified.
But he didn't pay Dewlanna back for Han's medical bills . . .
Han sighed and closed his eyes. Dewlanna's loss was like a knifewound--no matter how he tried, he couldn't get away from the pain, andthe memories.
He'd let down his guard and suddenly find himself thinking of her asstill alive, visualize himself talking to her, telling her about histroubles with the recalcitrant R2 unit-only to be brought up short withpain nearly as searing and immediate as he'd felt yesterday when he'dheld her dying body.
Han swallowed another sip of water, trying to ease the tightness in histhroat. He owed Dewlanna . . . owed her so much. His life---even histrue identity--he owed Dewlanna for that, too . . .
Han sighed. Until he was eleven years old, his only name had been"Han."
The boy often wondered and worried about whether he had a last name.
One time he mentioned his concern to Dewlanna, along with hisconviction that if anyone knew who he really was, it was Shrike.
Very soon after that, Dewlanna learned to play sabacc . . .
Han heard the soft scratch on the door to his tiny cubicle and wokeinstantly. Listening, he heard the scratch again, then a soft whine.
"Dewlanna?" he whispered, sliding out of bed and sticking his barefeet into his ship's coveralls. "Is that you?"
She rumbled softly from outside the door. Han yanked up his jumpsuit,sealed it, and opened the door. "What do you mean, you have excitingnews for me?"
Dewlanna came in, her huge, furred body fairly bouncing withexcitement.
Han waved her past him, and she sat on the narrow bunk. Since therewas no place else to sit, Han settled down beside her. The Wookieecautioned him to keep his voice low, and glancing at the chrono, Hanrealized it was the dead of night.
"What are you doing up now?" he asked, puzzled. "Don't tell me youwere playing sabacc this late?"
She nodded at him, her blue eyes sparkling with excitement amid her tanand chestnut hair.
"So what's going on, Dewlanna? Why did you need to talk to me?"
She rumbled softly at him. Han sat up straight, suddenly transfixed.
"You found out my last name? How?"
Her answer was a single name. "Shrike, "Han muttered. "Well, ifanyone knows, it's him. What... how did it happen? What's my name?"
His name, she told him, was "Solo." Shrike had gotten very, verydrunk, and he started bragging about how much the Krayt dragon pearlwas worth, what a good deal he'd gotten when he sold it. Dewlannaasked Shrike innocently if Han came from a long line of successfulthieves. Shrike, she reported, exploded into laughter at thesuggestion. "Maybe some branches of the family, but this Solo?" hesputtered, wheezing with merriment, pausing to gulp more Alderaanianale, "I'm afraid not, Dewlanna. This kid's folks were .. ."
And at that point, the captain suddenly halted in midword
, fixing theWookiee with a suspicious glare. "So why do you care, anyhow?" hedemanded, his momentary good humor gone.
Dewlanna answered only by covering Shrike's bet, and raising.
"Solo," Han whispered softly, trying it on for size. "Han Solo. Myfull name is Han Solo."
He looked up at Dewlanna, and a wide grin spread across his features.
"I like itt It sounds great!"
Dewlanna whined softly and, slinging a long arm around him, gave theboy a hug . . .
Han smiled, remembering, but it was a sad smile. Dewlanna had meantwell, but her discovery that his name was "Solo" had led to one of theworst episodes of his young life. The next time the Luck was in orbitaround Corellia, he'd stolen time away from his pickpocketing andburglary duties and had gone to one of the public archives to do someresearch.
Shrike didn't like his "rescuees" to spend any time on furtheringtheir education. Each child aboard Trader's Luck was given anelementary level education via the ship's computer, so he, she, or itcould learn to read and count money. Beyond that, Shrike discouragedthe children from pursuing higher learning.
It was partly because he automatically wanted to flout Shrike's wishes,and partly due to Dewlanna's encouragement, that Han had kept up hisstudies in secret. He had a tendency to ignore subjects he didn'tlike--such as history--and to spend all his time on subjects heenjoyed--such as reading adventure stories and solving mathequations.
Han knew how important math was to anyone who wanted to be a pilot, sohe worked hard at mastering as much of it as he could.
Once Dewlanna discovered what he was doing, she monitored hiscurriculum, making him study subjects that he would otherwise haveskipped, leaving gaps in his knowledge. Reluctantly, Han tackled thephysical sciences, and hi story.
He was surprised to discover that some real historical battles werejust as exciting as anything he'd read in adventure sagas.
That day in the public archives on Corellia, Han applied some of hisnewly learned research skills to learning about his new surname. Theresults were surprising. When Han looked up the last name "Solo" inthe historical records, he was astounded to discover that the name waswell known on Corellia. A "Berethron Solo" had introduced democracy onHan's homeworld three centuries ago. He'd actually been a ruler, aking!
But there'd been another Solo, more recently, who was equallyfamous--or, to put it more accurately, infamous. About fifty yearsago, a descendant of Berethron, Korol Solo, had fathered a son named"Dalla Solo." The young man, taking the alias "Dalla Suul" in aneffort to disguise his identity, had made quite a name for himself as amurderer, kidnapper, and pirate.
"Dalla the Black" had become a name to make children quake in theirbeds on lonely outpost colonies or tramp freighters . . .
The child Han wondered whether he was related to these men. Did royalblood run in his veins? Or the blood of a pirate and murderer? He'dprobably never know, unless, somehow, he could persuade Shrike todivulge what he knew. He read about Dalla Suul's exploits as a thief,and smiled grimly, wondering if he was actually following some kind offamily tradition.
Then he began checking the more recent Corellian news files and societypages in the computer. A search for the surname "Solo" brought up aname.
Tiion Sal-Solo. She was a wealthy but reclusive widow with
one child, a son. Thrackan Sal-Solo was six or seven years older thanHan, in his late teens.
What if I'm related to this Tiion Solo, or she knew my parents? Hanwondered. This could be my best chance yet to get away.
When he went back to Trader's Luck; Han talked it over with Dewlanna.
The Wookiee agreed with him that while it was risky, Han had to takethe chance of contracting the Solo family.
"Of course," Han said, resting his chin on his fist and lookingdejectedly at the table, "once I did that, I couldn't see you again,Dewlanna."
The Wookiee growled softly, telling Han that of course he'd see her.
Just not aboard Trader's Luck.
"The last time I ran away, Shrike beat me so hard I couldn't sit downfor days," Han said softly. "If Larrad hadn't reminded him that he hadsomething else to do, I really think he might've killed me."
Dewlanna rumbled. "You're right," Han agreed. "If this Solo familytakes me in, they're powerful enough and rich enough to protect me fromShrike."
Han even knew something about the rules and manners required of peopleliving in Corellian high society. Every so often, Shrike would run amajor scam on rich folks on Corellia. Han had been part of thebackground during several such con operations.
Shrike would rent a wealthy estate on Corellia, and then set up a"family unit," to provide a respectable backdrop to the scam. Han andthe other children detailed to such a "family" would be sent to live onthe estate.
He'd go to a rich-kids school, and one of his jobs during the scam wasto make friends with the children of the wealthy and bring them home toplay.
Several times, this had resulted in valuable contacts whose parents hadbeen duped into "investing" in Garris Shrike's current scam.
Just a few weeks past, Han had been attending such a school--a schoolso well known that it had merited a visit from the famous Senator GarmBel Iblis. Han had raised his hand and asked the Senator two questionsthat had been insightful and intelligent enough to make the Senatorreally notice him. After class was over, Bel Iblis had stopped Han,shaken his hand, and asked him his name. Han had glanced aroundquickly, seeing that nobody else was within earshot, and proudly toldthe Senator his real name. It had felt great to be able to do that .
. .
Shrike recruited Han frequently for his scam operations, partly becauseof the boy's easygoing charm and winning smile, and partly becauseHan's clandestine studies made him fit into his grade level better thanmost of the other children. Han had also gained a small reputation asan up-and-coming swoop and speeder pilot--a rich man's sport if thereever
was one. He'd met lots of kids from wealthy families while swoopracing, and several times Shrike had managed to lure their parents intowhatever scam he was currently running.
In a year, Han would be eligible to race in Corellia's JuniorChampionship division. That would mean big prize money--if he won.
Han both liked and disliked these assignments. He liked them becausehe got to live in the lap of luxury for weeks, sometimes months. Swoopand speeder racing was life and breath to him, and he got to practiceevery day.
He disliked these con operations because he always wound up caringabout some of the kids he was ordered to befriend, and all the while heknew they and their families would be irrevocably injured by Shrike'sscheme.
Mostly, Han managed to stifle any guilt feelings he felt. He wasbecoming good at putting himself first. Other people--with the soleexception of Dewlanna--had to come second or not at all. It wasselfpreservation, and Han was very, very good at that.
I still am, Han thought as he got up from the deck of the Ylesian Dreamand went to check on their course and speed. The young Corelliansmiled and nodded as he read the instrument readings. Right in thegroove, he thought. We're going to make it.
He checked his air pak, seeing it was more than half-gone.
For a moment Han was tempted to explore the Dream further, but heresisted the impulse. Moving around would just cause him to use up hisoxygen faster, and he was skirting the edge of safety as it was.
So he settled back down, and the memories came back. Aunt Tiion. Poorwoman. And dear cousin Thrackan. As he remembered, Han's lips pulledback from his teeth in a feral grin that was more like a canoid's snarl. . .
Han swung down off the high stone wall and landed lightly on the ballsof his feet. Through the trees he could see a large structure built ofthe same native stone as the wall, so he headed toward it, staying inthe treeshadow whenever possible.
When he reached the house, he halted, staring at it in amazement. He'dseen a lot of rich mansions, even lived in more than a few, but he'dnever seen anything like the Sal-Solo estate.
; Towers festooned with creeping vines, four of them, stood at eachcorner of a large, squarish stone building. An ancient gardener droidmoved about arthritically, pruning the bushes that grew down to theedge of a large trench filled with water. Han walked around to theside and saw, to his surprise, that the stretch of water completelysurrounded the house. There was no way to
Star Wars - Han Solo Trilogy - The Paradise Snare Page 5
