Part 30 (1/2)

Suddenly Chewie whirled. ”Rrrrrhhhhh!”

It5 a trap/Han realized at the same moment.

The Corellian~ hand dropped to his weapon, but be-fore he could draw, he heard an all-too-familiar voice. ”Freeze, Solo. Drop the blaster. And tell the Wook that if he moves, you're both dead meat. I'd like another Wook scalp for my collection.”

”Chewie? Han spoke sharply to the snarling Wook-iee. ”Don't move!” Slowly, Han drew his blaster, let it drop from his fingers into the dusty 'alley. ”Both of you turn around. Slowly.” The Corellian and the Wookiee obeyed.

Boba Fett stood there, in the dim recesses of the backstreet. Hah knew that he was a dead man. Jabba must've decided to hire a real bounty hunter to make sure the job got done right. Han tensed, but Fett didn't fire. Instead his artificially filtered voice reached the Corellian. ”Relax, Solo. I'm not here for a bounty.” Hah didn't relax, only watched in wonderment as Fett tossed Kabe a credit. The urchin scampered for-ward and caught it, then vanished into the dimness, chittering happily.

”You're not here for a bounty?” Han said.

”Hhhhhuuuhhhh?” echoed Chewie, as amazed as his partner.

”Jabba told Greedo there was a bounty on you,” Fett said. ”But he~ just using that idiot to keep you on your toes. A reminder that he~ serious about you paying up. If Jabba really wanted you dead, you know who he'd hire.”

”Yeah,” Han said. ”YOU got a point.” He hesitated.

”So... why are you here?”

”I landed an hour ago,” Fett said. ”I made someone a promise, and I always keep my word.”

Han frowned. ”What are you talking about, Fett?” ”She~ dead,” Boba Fett said. ”I promised her a while back that if she died, I'd tell her father, so he wouldn't spend his life wondering what had happened to her. But she never got around to telling me his name. So I de-cided to tell you, so you can send Tharen a message.” ”Dead?” Han whispered, through stiff lips. ”Bria?”

”Yes.”

Hah felt as though he'd been gut-punched. Chewie made a soft sound of sympathy, and put a hairy hand on his friend~ shoulder. Hah stood there for a long mo-ment, trying to deal with all the conflicting emotions. Grief was uppermost in his mind. Grief and regret ....

”Dead,” he repeated, dully. ”How did you find out?” ”I have access to Imperial datanets. Bria Tharen died thirty-six hours ago. The Imperials have a confirmed ID on her body. Her squadron was playing rear guard dur-ing some intelligence operation.”

Han swallowed. Don't tell me she died rier nothing/ ”Did they attain their objective?”

”I don't know,” the mechanical voice said. ”Someone has to tell her father, Solo. I gave her my word... and I always keep my word.”

Han nodded dully. ”I'll do it,” he said. ”Renn Tharen knows me.” This is gonna hit him hard .... He swal-lowed, and it hurt his chest. Chewie whined softly.

”Good,” Fett said, and the bounty hunter took a step back into the shadows. A moment later, Hall and Chexvie were alone. Slowly, the Corellian reached down and retrieved his blaster. Memories of Bria a.s.sailed him ....

Did you think of me, honey? he wondered. I hope it was quick and painless ....