Part 27 (1/2)

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 s.h.i.+p out there. He figured that Teroenza had summoned a s.h.i.+p, 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 s.h.i.+p 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.