Part 8 (1/2)

Jaxson's eyes were bulging. He shrank away as Luke came at him with the lightsaber, but allowed Luke to cut through his binders. ”Where'd you get that? that? ” ”

he asked, reaching for it. Luke pulled the lightsaber out of his reach. He deactivated the Jedi weapon and slipped it back into his belt.

”Let's just get out of here,” he whispered.

There was just one thing standing in their way. Or, more accurately, sleeping sleeping in their way. Bossk's scaly body lay across the opening of the cave. in their way. Bossk's scaly body lay across the opening of the cave.

”Just slice him open with that thing,” Jaxson hissed. ”He'll never see it coming.”

Luke shook his head. He couldn't kill the bounty hunter in his sleep, no matter what the creature had done to them.

But he also couldn't beat the Trandoshan in a fair fight. Maybe a Jedi like Obi-f0 Wan could have used the lightsaber to fend off a giant lizard and his blast rifle, but Luke knew he wouldn't have a chance.

Which left them with very few options.

” Well? Well? ” Jaxson looked almost ready to s.n.a.t.c.h the lightsaber and do the job himself. ” Jaxson looked almost ready to s.n.a.t.c.h the lightsaber and do the job himself.

Luke gazed at the airspeeder anch.o.r.ed just outside the cave. Then looked down again at the sleeping bounty hunter. ”I think I have a plan.”

Luke held his breath as Jaxson tiptoed over the slumbering Trandoshan.

Jaxson was right: it wasn't much of a plan, but it was all they had. As Jaxson crept toward the airspeeder, Luke stayed in the cave, his lightsaber activated. Its glowing blue tip hovered centimeters from Bossk's throat. If the bounty hunter was truly sleeping, Luke would wait for Jaxson to make it safely to the airspeeder, then dash after him.

But if Bossk was awake, lying in wait for his prey to make an escape attempt, then Luke would be there to stop him.

As Jaxson was halfway to the airspeeder, the Trandoshan's reptilian eye popped open. His clawed hand closed around the rifle.

”Don't,” Luke said, holding his blade steady.

The bounty hunter laughed. ”You think you can save yourself with a child's toy?” He swiped his arm toward the lightsaber, intending to knock it out of the way.

The blade cut cleanly through his limb. It dropped to the ground with a dull thud.

Luke stared in horror at the severed arm. Bossk didn't even flinch. He jumped to his feet, hissing with anger, and raised the blast rifle. Without thinking, Luke slashed at the rifle with his lightsaber, and the long barrel clattered to the ground. Enraged, the Trandoshan lunged for Luke. He danced out of the way, waving the lightsaber nearly at random to ward off the attack. Over Bossk's shoulder, he saw Jaxson racing back toward the cave-unarmed, yet determined to help.

”Go!” Luke shouted. ”I can handle this!”

”Foolish last words, human,” Bossk taunted, whipping out an archaic double-bladed sword. Luke had never seen one in person before-it looked ancient.

Bossk brought the blade down over Luke's head. Instinctively, Luke raised the lightsaber to protect himself. The sword broke in half.

The look on Bossk's face would have been comical-if it hadn't been so terrifying.

The Trandoshan smashed a clawed fist into Luke's face. Luke went sprawling backward, but a moment later, he was on his feet again, hacking and slas.h.i.+ng with the lightsaber. Bossk lunged for Luke, las.h.i.+ng out with his claws, but Luke dodged the blows. The glowing blade swept through the air, dancing around the Trandoshan. Luke wasn't thinking, wasn't aiming or strategizing, he just struck again and again, struggling and failing to land a blow. With a roar, Bossk hurtled toward him, wrapping his remaining hand around Luke's throat. Gasping for air, Luke slashed blindly with the lightsaber.

And then Bossk was on the ground. His left leg lay a meter away.

Luke gaped at his lightsaber, almost tempted to drop the deadly weapon on the ground, next to the writhing Trandoshan. It was almost like the lightsaber had taken over, fighting for itself.

And yet it had never felt so much a part of him.

”What are you waiting for, Skywalker!” Jaxson shouted, taking off toward the airspeeder. ”Let's get out of here!”

Luke didn't need an invitation. He turned his back on Bossk and began to run. So he didn't see the wounded bounty hunter lob the fragmentation grenade with his one good hand. But Luke did see the deadly silver globe soar over their heads and land, with perfect aim, in the front seat of the airspeeder. ”Down!”

Luke shouted, grabbing Jaxson and throwing him to the ground, as the airspeeder exploded.

When the smoke cleared, Bossk was laughing. ”Now we die together.” He coughed, then spit out a gunky wad of viscous green blood. ”Like I said-I always get the job done.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

Han never felt quite right without his s.h.i.+p. The Millennium Falcon Millennium Falcon was docked in a shabby little hangar on Siskeen, where P'laang Ri, a Zabrak who owed Han more than a few favors, would look after it. The s.h.i.+p would be safe until Han returned, and the shuttle he'd borrowed was perfectly adequate. A scavenged was docked in a shabby little hangar on Siskeen, where P'laang Ri, a Zabrak who owed Han more than a few favors, would look after it. The s.h.i.+p would be safe until Han returned, and the shuttle he'd borrowed was perfectly adequate. A scavenged Zeta Zeta-cla.s.s Imperial shuttle, it was equipped with two double laser cannons and two double blaster cannons, along with a third, retractable rear-mounted double blaster cannon, just to discourage anyone who might want to follow. Not that they would need any of that, if everything went as planned, but it always helped to be prepared. Still, Han missed his s.h.i.+p. Right now, he especially missed the size size of his s.h.i.+p. of his s.h.i.+p.

The shuttle was large enough for two humans and a Wookiee to fit-but only if they pressed together, shoulder to shoulder. And, thanks to a burst hydraulics conduit at the beginning of their voyage, the whole cabin smelled like wet Wookiee fur. ”Watch it, you dripping fuzzball!” Han complained, knocking Chewbacca's hairy arm out of his face for the hundredth time. He brought the shuttle into range of the Zoma satellite station and flicked on the comlink. Now they would either secure permission to board the station-or get blown out of the sky.

Either way, at least he'd get out of this shuttle.

”This is the shuttle Arkanoid Arkanoid,” Han said into the comlink. ”Requesting permission to dock.”

”Transmit authorization codes, Arkanoid Arkanoid,” came the impersonal response.

”You sure these codes are good?” Han asked Lore, who had purchased them on the black market.

Lore raised his eyebrows. ”Don't trust me?”

Han wouldn't trust Lore to deal an honest hand of sabacc or play an honest round of four-cubes, and he certainly wouldn't trust his old friend around an open till. But when it came to plundering Imperial secrets, there was no one he'd rather have at his side.

Well, almost no one.

That's over now, Han reminded himself sternly. Luke, Leia, and the Rebellion were in the past, and he'd closed the door on that. A cargo of glitterstim and a good chunk of the credits he'd need to repay Jabba were his future-as long as he could get aboard the station.

Han transmitted the codes. A moment later, the station's tractor beam activated, sucking the shuttle into the docking bay.

”Welcome, Arkanoid Arkanoid,” the voice said. ”We've been expecting you.”

”Maintenance crew down that way,” the stormtrooper said, waving them down a long corridor. ”Dump the Wookiee at the operations station with the rest of the furbags.”

Chewbacca growled. He hated to be treated like an animal. But this was all part of the plan. Han had asked around and discovered that a team of Wookiees had been s.h.i.+pped in from the nearest prison planet to complete labor on the s.h.i.+eld generators. From there, Chewbacca would be in perfect position to infiltrate the station's defense and weapons systems, ensuring that, if anything went wrong, the shuttle would make an easy escape. On a remote station like this, it seemed likely that security protocols would be lax enough to allow the Wookiee all the access he needed. Han prodded Chewbacca with his blaster.

”You heard him, Wookiee. Let's go.”

The stormtrooper shot him a sympathetic look. ”You ask me, they may be strong, but they're not worth the trouble. Easier to wrangle a s.h.i.+p full of furnocs than get a good day's work out of a Wookiee.”

”Tell me about it,” Han said, as Chewbacca issued a long string of angry barks. Han suppressed a grin. No need to translate exactly what Chewbacca thought of this Imperial slug. Even a stormtrooper was likely smart enough to figure that one out on his own.