Part 12 (1/2)
demands for details about how he and Jaxson had managed to survive a night in the Jundland Wastes. There was no reason to keep it a secret, but Luke-who had already told so many tales of his fake life as a s.p.a.ce smuggler-didn't relish making the experience into another adventure story. And, although they hadn't discussed it, Jaxson seemed just as reluctant. No one knew about how Luke's lightsaber had freed them from the bounty hunter, or that Jaxson's quick reflexes had saved Luke from toppling over a cliff. But the latter wasn't something Luke would soon forget. As his friends pestered Leia, clamoring for more details of her adventures in s.p.a.ce, Luke pulled Jaxson aside. They retreated to a quiet corner of the cantina, pausing beneath a garish painting of Noosh Feteel, one of Mos Eisley's founding fathers.
”What is it?” Jaxson asked, looking like he could guess, but was hoping to be wrong.
”I just wanted to thank you again,” Luke said. ”For what you did out there.”
Jaxson shrugged. ”Yeah, well. Whatever.”
”You saved my life!” Luke said.
”Yeah.” Jaxson s.h.i.+fted his weight uncomfortably. ”I remember.”
”I guess I owe you one,” Luke said. ”And listen, what I said before, about your piloting?”
”You mean, like how I had the hand-eye coordination of a blind womp rat?”
Jaxson said sourly.
Luke flushed. He didn't remember using exactly exactly those words. ”Right. That. I didn't mean it. You're good-good enough that they should have let you into the Academy. But listen, it's really a good thing they didn't. Biggs-” those words. ”Right. That. I didn't mean it. You're good-good enough that they should have let you into the Academy. But listen, it's really a good thing they didn't. Biggs-”
”You going to start up with that trash again, Skywalker?” Jaxson snarled.
”Going to tell me that I'm lucky I didn't s.h.i.+p out to the Academy, because then I might have ended up serving in the big, bad Imperial Navy?”
”I was just-”
”Look, maybe I was wrong about you, too, Wormie,” Jaxson admitted.
”Maybe you're not just out for yourself. Maybe you don't think you're better than the rest of us. But last night doesn't change the fact that Fixer was right. Doesn't matter who's in charge of the galaxy, as long as the vaporators keep running.”
Luke used to think the rest of the galaxy had nothing to do with Tatooine, too.
Until the day the Empire arrived and slaughtered his aunt and uncle. That was the day Luke had realized that the Empire's reach was everywhere. But he knew he wouldn't be able to convince Jaxson of that, or any of them. It was something they'd have to figure out for themselves. And part of Luke hoped they would never have to. Life on Tatooine was hard enough.
He held out a hand for Jaxson to shake. ”Then just thank you. I owe you my life.”
Jaxson c.o.c.ked an eyebrow at Luke, looking for a moment remarkably like Han. ”Don't worry about it, Wormie. You'll pay me back some-”
A crash of transparisteel cut off his words. Luke spotted the telltale gleam of a blaster barrel and, before he even processed what it meant, threw himself at Jaxson, knocking both of them to the ground. A searing blast of laserfire flew through the air where their heads had been, striking the ugly painting behind them. A jagged hole exploded in the Mos Eisley forefather's forehead.
The creature in the doorway held the blaster in his right hand and as he stepped fully into the cantina it became clear that his left arm ended at his shoulder in a cauterized stump. His scaled face was bruised and dented, and one red eye clouded over with green blood. He lurched through the door on one leg, and swung the blaster across the cantina, spraying laserfire in every direction.
Bossk was back.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
”Hey-he's supposed to be dead!” Luke protested, as he overturned a table and pulled down Leia behind it for cover.
”I guess no one told him,” Leia said, her blaster already in hand. She peeked her head out and took a couple shots. Laserfire erupted all around them, and she lowered her head again, safely s.h.i.+elded behind the table. Luke spotted Jaxson, Windy, and Fixer cowering beneath another table a few meters away.
None of them were armed.
”Jaxson!” Luke shouted. When Jaxson turned, Luke tossed him his blaster.
”What are you doing?” Leia asked.
”I have my lightsaber,” Luke said. ”That'll be enough.”
He raised his eyes above the edge of the table, just enough to scope out the situation. Bossk, who had attached the sawed-off barrel of a blast rifle to the charred stump of his left leg, was framed in the doorway, his own blast rifle peppering the cantina with laserfire. His two allies, the Gamorreans who had blasted through the windows, stood in opposite corners of the cantina, firing at anything that moved.
But this was Tatooine, which meant plenty of the cantina patrons were ready and willing to fire back. Every time Bossk and the Gamorreans tried to advance, they were pinned down by a barrage of laserfire. So they stayed at the perimeter, deflecting shots with chairs and tables, pinning down everyone who lay inside. It was a ”Mos Eisley” standoff.
The room was thick with smoke. A foul stench of scorched plastoid hung heavy in the air. Shards of sunlight filtered into the dark room through shattered transparisteel, lighting up the pale, terrified faces of the unarmed cowering behind furniture.
A hammer-headed Ithorian leapt up from behind the long bar, emitting a keening wail as he raced toward the exit. He made it ten steps before blasterfire cut him down, and he dropped to the ground in a twitching, moaning heap.
Luke tightened his grip on his lightsaber. Enough. Enough. The bounty hunter was here for The bounty hunter was here for him him, and he wasn't about to hide under a table while innocent people were hurt.
”If you and Jaxson can take out the Gamorreans, I can handle Bossk,” Luke told Leia. She gaped at him.
”You don't even have a real weapon!” she protested.
”Just trust me,” Luke said. ”We have to end this now.”
Leia glanced over her shoulder at the nearest Gamorrean. ”He's not covering his right flank,” she said. ”I think I can take him down, if I can make it over in that direction. And if Jaxson can get the other one.”
Luke caught Jaxson's eye, and jerked his head toward the Gamorrean at the far end of the saloon, who held a heavy blaster in one hand and a disrupter rifle in the other. Every few seconds he fired off a warning shot. When he got bored of that, he played target practice with the row of bottles lining the bar, exploding them one by one. If Jaxson could make it to the edge of the room, and sidle along the wall unseen, he'd have the perfect angle for a direct hit. Jaxson followed Luke's gaze, then gave him a confident nod.
On my signal, Luke mouthed, and, nodding again, Jaxson began to inch into position.
”You sure you know what you're doing?” Leia whispered. Luke nodded. She squeezed his shoulder, then slipped away.
”Bossk!” Luke shouted, hoping to draw attention away from his friends as they lined up their shot. ”It's me you want! Leave these people alone.”
”The coward speaks,” Bossk said, then aimed a round of laserfire at Luke's head. Luke ducked below the table again. Once Leia and Jaxson took out the other two shooters, it would be easy to dispatch Bossk. But Luke didn't want him dead. Not until he found out who'd hired the bounty hunter. ”Surrender yourself, and we can end this.”
”How about you surrender your your self,” Luke suggested, trying his best to channel Han's confidence. ”Unless you want to lose the self,” Luke suggested, trying his best to channel Han's confidence. ”Unless you want to lose the other other leg.” leg.”
The bounty hunter chuckled. ”You plan to take on a Trandoshan and two Gamorreans?”
”I'm not worried about the two Gamorreans,” Luke said-and, simultaneously, Leia and Jaxson took their shots. The snout-nosed aliens fell in unison, with a single, resounding thud. Luke leapt to his feet. ”Leave the Trandoshan!” he shouted to the cantina. ”He's mine.”
Bossk chuckled again, although this time his laughter sounded hollow. He pulled the trigger on his blast rifle, sending a blast of laserfire directly at Luke's chest. Without hesitating, Luke blocked it with his lightsaber. The laserfire ricocheted off the glowing blue blade, and Luke advanced toward the bounty hunter.
It's just like I practiced, Luke told himself, as Bossk blasted away at him. Luke whirled the lightsaber through the air, deflecting shots one after the other.