He stepped inside, and stood there in shock. Most of the shelves were already stripped bare. "Wha-"
"Teroenza must"ve been getting ready to clear out!" Bria exclaimed, pointing. "Look, it"s already boxed up for us!"
The big rear cargo door of the Treasure Room stood ajar, as though some of the treasure had already been loaded but Han didn"t see a ship out there. He figured that Teroenza had summoned a ship, only to fall prey to the a.s.sa.s.sins yesterday. "All right!" he shouted, and swung Bria around. "Thank you, Teroenza!"
He gave her a short but pa.s.sionate kiss, then turned back to regard the boxes of booty. "Okay, we"ll need a repulsor-lift dolly," he said. "There"s one aboard the Falcon. Chewie, you-"
"Don"t move, Solo," came a voice from the past. Han froze as Teroenza crawled out from where he"d been concealed behind the white jade fountain. The High Priest had a blaster rifle in his hand, and his eyes held a mad glitter that told Han there was no way to talk his way out of this one.
"Hands raised," the Priest directed. Han, Chexvie and Bria all put their hands up. Han glanced at the oth-ers, trying frantically to think of a way to get out of this. But Teroenza had the drop on them but good ....
"I shall enjoy this, Bria Tharen and Hah Solo," Teroenza said. "I have summoned a pilot, and he is coming to collect me from Colony Four. I shall be free of this wretched world... and I shall have my treasure. I shall miss my mate, but, on the whole, not a bad bar-gain. Perhaps Desilijic can use my services .... "
"Hey," Hah said, "Jabba"s a friend of mine. You kill me, he won"t take it kindly."
Teroenza laughed wheezily. "Hutts do not have friends," he said. "Farewell, Solo."
Pointing the blaster at Han, Teroenza"s small, stubby finger began to tighten on the trigger.
Han shut his eyes. He heard the sound of the blaster"s whine- and he felt nothing. No pain. No searing heat.
After a prolonged moment, Han heard the sound of a body fall with a loud thud.
He shot Bria instead of me! he thought, and opened his eyes.
But the body on the floor belonged to Teroenza. There was a huge, gaping hole where the Priest"s bul-bous left eye had been.
Han stared wildly, wondering if he"d gone mad and was imagining "all this. Whatk going on? Beside him, Bria gasped.
Han watched as Boba Fett stepped out of a dim cor-ner of the room, his blaster rifle held in his arms. Oh, great! he thought. Now Fett will just kill us all! The bounty hunter kept them all covered as he walked to Teroenza"s huge form, and then knelt on one knee. Keeping them covered with the blaster rifle with one hand, Fett used a vibro-saw with the other. The lit-tle instrument whirred, slicing easily through flesh and bone as Fett carefully cut off Teroenza"s horn. Hank head was whirling with shock.
Finally the bounty hunter rose to his feet again, and then began backing slowly away, the grisly trophy tucked under his arm.
Han couldn"t help it. "You"re leaving?" he blurted. Did Boba Fett"s mechanical voice hold a slight under-current of amus.e.m.e.nt? Han couldn"t decide if he was imagining it. "Thatk right," the bounty hunter said. "The Priest is a Priority bounty. I"m not here for you."
And, having reached the opening in the wall, Boba Fett backed through it and vanished as suddenly as he"d appeared.
Han"s mouth dropped open, and he felt light-headed with relief. "Bria!" he yelled, and grabbed her again.
The three shouted and celebrated for a long mo-ment, in the deserted Treasure Room.
Han headed off to the Falcon to get the repulsor dolly. When he returned, they spent several minutes or-ganizing the boxes for efficient loading.
Suddenly a Rebel a.s.sault shuttle settled down on the permacrete beside the Falcon. Han stared at it in sur-prise as Jace Paol and a squad of Rebels disembarked. "Bria . . ." he said, "hey, whatk going on? This is our treasure. We"re taking it, and we"re going away in the Falcon... right? Together... right?"
He looked at her, and she stared back at him. She bit her lip and didn"t answer." Han felt a cold knot settle into his stomach. "Bria... honey... remember, you promised? We"d be together, right? Always?" He swal-lowed. "Bria . . ."
Chewie roared with anger and frustration, and sud-denly Briak blaster was there, in her hand, covering them both.
"Han," she said quietly, "we need to talk."
Hwan stared at Bria"s drawn blaster, poleaxed. "Honey, hat are you doing?"
"I need it "all, Han," she said. "Not for me, but for the Resistance." She waved to the Rebels and they came in, took Han"s repulsor-lift dolly, and began stacking boxes on it.
Han stared in disbelief as the first load of treasure went out the door. "Bria..." he said hoa.r.s.ely, "you can"t do this. This ain"t happening. You"re . . . you"re just tryin" to kid me, right?"
"I"m sorry, Han," she said. "I have to take it "all. Everything my teams could salvage off this wretched world. All the processed spice, "all the weapons, "all the treasure. I know it"s not fair, but I can"t help that." "Did the other Rebel commanders do this, Bria?"
Hah asked.
"Not as far as I know," she said. "But I was the one that got the communication last night, Han. Intelli-gence has discovered that the Empire has some kind of big project underway. Really big. So big that the fate of entire worlds could depend upon it. We have to find out what they"re up to, and that will take credits... lots of them. For bribes, surveillance, troops... you name it. I just hope what we"ve gotten here on Ylesia will be enough."
Han wet his lips. "I thought you loved me. You said you did."
Another load went out the door. Han stared at it, wanting to moan aloud. Chewie did moan "aloud.
Bria sighed and shook her head. "Yes, I love you," she safd, softly. "I want us to always be together. Come with me, Han. You can"t go back to Nar Shaddaa now. Come with me and we"ll fight the Empire together. You, me and Chewie. We"ll make a great team. We .all have to make sacrifices, and we"ll have made ours in giv-ing up the treasure. You don"t think I"m keeping any of this for myself, do you?"
Hah shook his head, and his voice was very bitter. "No, I don"t think that, Bria. Not for a moment." He took a deep, ragged breath. "Bria: . . I loved you."
Her face twisted in anguish at his use of the past tense. "Han, I love you! I do! But I can"t let how I feel about you jeopardize the Rebel Alliance! This raid was a test, and we pa.s.sed it! The other Resistance groups are going to see that we can get things done! Han. . . we took a whole planet. This raid is going to go down in Rebellion history, I just know it!"
"Yeah, as the raid where Bria Tharen stuck it to peo-ple who trusted her. Including the guy she said she loved."
Tears welled in her eyes, broke and ran. She stepped out of the way as her soldiers maneuvered yet another load of treasure out the door. "Han... please, please... come with me. You"re a born leader. You don"t need to live like a criminal. In the Rebel Alliance you could be an officer, and they do pay us! Not much, but a little, enough to live on! Please, Han?
He stared at her coldly. She was crying so hard now that Jace Paol stepped over and took the blaster out of her hand. "We"re loading the last bunch of boxes now, Commander."
She nodded, then tried to pull herself back together, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.
"Please, Han. If you"re too mad now, I understand. Just... send me a message. Jabba knows how to reach me. Please, Han."
"Tll send you a message," Hah said. "Remember everything I said to you that night at the Blue Light? Well, it was all true, and I was a fool for ever trustin" you." He dug in an inside pocket, and took out a small pouch. Inside was a piece of flimsy. "Recognize this, huh?"
She looked at it, came closer, and then backed away, nodding, her face very pale and set. "Yes..."
"Well, I"m such a fool that I carried it around with me all these years," Han snarled. "But as of today, I am no woman"s fool, sister. No woman is ever gettin" to me again. Ever."
With slow, deliberate movements, he ripped the flimsy into tiny pieces, then let them slip through his fingers and scatter to the floor. "You"d better get in your ship and get outta here while the getting is good, Bria. If I ever see you again in this life, I"ll shoot you on sight."
She stared at him in shock, until Jace Paol took her arm and said, "Commander... we"ve finished loading."
"I understand," she said, in a small, shaking voice.
"Han. . . I am sorry. I will always love you. Always. There has never been anyone but you, and there never will be. I"m sorry...."
Paol encircled her shoulders with his arm, and said to Hah. "I left you one box and your dolly, Solo. I"d ad-vise you not to waste time here. The charges are set to go off in thirty minutes."
Slowly, Paol backed out the door, keeping his blaster trained on Han and Chewie. The Rebels beside the shuttle kept the Corellian and the Wookiee covered.
Han stood there in silence as the Rebel shuttle took off.
When it was gone, he drew a deep, ragged breath, and it hurt. Another, and it hurt, too. His eyes stung, but he bit his lip until the pain allowed him to gain con-trol. "Chewie," he said, "this has been a great day, you know that?"
Chewie made a sympathetic, mournful sound. "Well, we have to get moving," Han said. "Tell you what, keep an eye on the time, and trot through the compound. Maybe they dropped some vials of glitter-stim or something. I"ll scour Teroenza"s living quarters. I think he had some valuables in there. Meet me back here in seventeen minutes, pal."
"Hrrrrrrnnnnnnggggggghhhh!"
The Wookiee took off.
Han scoured the treasure room and Teroenza~ apa~ment, finding a few odds and ends, and a sobbing Ganar Tos. Han looked at the old humanoid coldly. "You are lucky you never married her," he said. "Get outta here, Tos. This building is gonna blow in fifteen minutes."
The ancient Zisian scuttled out the door like a bug.
Han snorted in disgust and ransacked the apartment.
When he carried a sack of minor collectibles out to the Falcon, Han looked around for Chewie. Hurry up~ furball, he thought.
He went inside the ship to warm her up, and then heard Chewie"s roar, demanding that Han come out and see what he"d found!
Han~ heart leaped. A box of glitterstim vials!
He raced out of the ship, only to stop short in confu-sion. Chewbacca stood there with a group of big-eyed, ragged children, hollow-cheeked and scared. He held the littlest tyke in his arms. The other eight looked to be between the ages of four and twelve.
Han stared. "What? Where in blazes did they come from?"
Chewbacca explained that he"d been scavenging amid the deserted buildings, when he"d heard sobbing down in a cellar at the back of the dorms. These chil-dren had apparently been born to some of the Pilgrims, and forgotten by their Exultation-addicted parents in the "aftermath of the raid.
All the children were human, and Han guessed they were Corellian. He groaned "aloud. "Chewie! You were supposed to find somethin" valuable!"
Chewbacca indignantly pointed out that children were valuable. "Only if we sell the little darlings as slaves," Han snarled.
Chewie~ upper lip drew back, and he snarled, too.
Han raised his hands. "Okay, okay, I was just kidding! You know I"d never deal in slaves! But what are we gonna do with them?"
Chewbacca pointed out that since the buildings were going to blow up in less than five minutes, now was not a good time to argue about the best course of action.
Han scowled. "Okay, kids. Get on board. C"mon, c"mon. I can rustle up some emergency rations I suppose ....
Two minutes later, the Falcon took off, and Hah circled once around the Colony. Below him, the build-ings blossomed one by one into giant fireb.a.l.l.s. After a few hours, there would be nothing left but charred, slagged remains to be re-conquered by the jungle ....
Durga, Lord of Besadii, stared down at the Ylesian nightside through the viewport of his yacht in disbelief. Infernoes blossomed, clearly visible from s.p.a.ce. The former sites of the colonies were marked by ma.s.sive forest fires, whipped by the ever-present winds.
There were survivors, Durga knew that. The Nova Force troopers who"d surrendered... old Ganar Tos. They"d contacted Durga aboard his yacht from a few portable comm units they"d salvaged. The moment the Hutt yacht achieved orbit, there they were, yammering to be rescued. But of the factories and warehouses... nothing was left except burning rubble.
Gone... Durga couldn"t believe it. Between one day and the next-in a matter of hours .... Gone. All gone.
Durga drew a deep breath and thought about the call he"d received only minutes ago from Prince Xizor. A pleasant, rea.s.suring call, reminding Durga that he still owed Black Sun credits, but that in the wake of this disaster, Xizor would be happy to work out payment arrangements. The Black Sun leader had hinted that he"d be pleased to help Besadii rebuild the Ylesian enterprise.
No, thought Durga. Not again...
For one thing, the Rebels had carried away thou-sands of Pilgrims, and Xizor~ intelligence indicated that they seemed to have found a "cure" for the Exultation addiction. With that many Pilgrims telling the truth about Ylesia, it would be hard to gain new recruits.
And the t"landa Til High Priest whom Zier had re-cruited had taken one horrified look at the planet, and flatly refused to have anything to do with the whole scheme.
No, Durga thought. I"ll try something else next time. And there would be a next time, of course. He"d find another way to make Besadii richer than ever. And if he, Durga, had to serve Prince Xizor, well, then, he would rise to the top of Black Sun.
His immediate goal was to become a Vigo. And after that... perhaps he"d challenge Xizor himself. Or even the Emperor. Durga knew he was clever, and he fig-ured he was just as capable of ruling Imperial s.p.a.ce as anyone ....
Durga glanced down at his one souvenir from this di-sastrous day. A long, blood-smeared horn. At least Aruk has been avenged, he thought. May he rest in peace ....
The Hutt lord keyed his intercom and his pilot re-sponded immediately. "Arrange for pickup of those mercenary troops," Durga instructed. "And set course for Nal Hutta. I"m done here. Take us home."
"Yes, Your Excellency," the pilot responded.
Durga settled back and sighed. Picking up Teroenza"s horn, he stroked it thoughtfully, and began planning for the future ....
Han Solo and Chewbacca were still arguing about what to do with the Corellian orphans when they came out of hypers.p.a.ce six hours later, and their comm sys-tem began to beep, signaling an incoming message.
Chewie insisted that they must take the children back to CoreIlia, so they could be cared for by family. Han protested the waste of fuel and time. "Dump "em in a s.p.a.ceport on any civilized world, and someone"11 take care of "era," he argued.
Chewbacca commented that as a father himself, he felt their only course was to take the children back to CoreIlia.
Han glared at the Wookiee as he activated the comm to receive the incoming message. Jabba the Huttg im-age materialized atop the control panel. "Han, my boy!" "h.e.l.lo, Jabba," Han said. "Whatg happening?" Jabba frowned slightly at the Corellian"s lackl.u.s.ter greeting, then the Hutt lord forgot his displeasure. "Han, congratulations to you! The raid was a complete success! I am very pleased!"
"Great," said Hah, grimly. "Is that why you made an interstellar call?"
"Oh... no, Han," Jabba chuckled. "I have a load of spice I want you to pick up from Moruth Doole on Kessel. Bring it to me immediately on Tatooine, under-stand? The deal is arranged, the spice is paid for." "Okay, Jabba," Han said. "My usual cut?"
"Certainly, certainly," Jabba boomed. "And perhaps a nice bonus for quick delivery." "I"m on my way, Jabba."
"Fine, Hah my boy." Jabba peered at the Corellian thoughtfully. "And, Han. . . get some rest "afterward. You look a bit haggard, if you don"t mind my saying so."
"Right, Jabba," Han said. "Will do."
He broke the connection and scowled. "Great. A load of whiny kids, and I gotta take "em with me on a Run. Maybe I oughta consider gettin" out of the smug-gling business, Chewie."
Chewbacca"s only comment was that while they were on Kessel, they needed to pick up some traladon milk and flatbread for sandwiches. Hah groaned aloud ....
Twelve hours later, with the load of spice safely se-cured in the below-decks smuggling compartments, Han eased the Falcon up from Kessel. Leaving Chewie to pa.s.s out food to the children, Han headed toward the Maw, checking his course. Suddenly a light flashed on his control board, and he realized that an Imperial customs ship was bearing down on him! "Chewie! Get up here!" he shouted, and began pouring on speed.
Moments later, the Wooldee was in the c.o.c.kpit. "Strap those blasted kids in!" Hah shouted. "Then get up here! We"ve got two Imps on our tail, and it"s gonna be a rough ride!"
"Hrrrrrnnnnn!"
Han sent the Falcon hurtling along, faster even than the day he"d raced Salla. As Chewie slipped into the co-pilot"s seat, Hah heard a m.u.f.fled squeak behind him, and glanced back to see a wide-eyed urchin staring at the Maw. "What are you doing up here?" Han snapped. Great, just what I need! A snivelin" kid! "Watching," the little boy said.