Boba turned to Nuri. “Isn’t there any other way?” he asked. “Besides going back up there?”
The little alien smiled. He put a reassuring hand on Boba’s arm. “Boba, sir, I have told you that here on Aargau, some of us have made our own rules. Well, we have made our own place, too. A place where the other rules don’t apply - and our rules do.
He turned and gestured toward the dim passage behind them. “I will take you to this place now, if you wish.”
Boba looked at the Bimm, and then at the passage. He felt his neck begin to prickle with fear and excitement. “What is this place called?” he asked.
Nuri gazed down the passage and smiled - a strange, knowing smile.
“It is called,” he said, “the Undercity.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“The Undercity?” Boba echoed Nuri’s words. “But - “
He stopped, remembering what he had been told on Level One.
You can find some very shady characters in the Undercity, the attendant had warned him. It is terribly dangerous, especially with the recent skirmishes against the Separatists.
And now Nuri wanted to take him there!
Just the thought scared Boba. But then he remembered what his father used to say -
Fear is energy, Jango had taught him. And you can learn to control it. If you concentrate, you can change your energy, from fear to excitement. Then you can use that energy, instead of being used by it.
Boba concentrated now. He closed his eyes. He could feel his heart pounding. He could feel his own fear.
He took a deep breath. He held it while he counted to three, then exhaled slowly.
This is energy, he thought. And l can control it. Breathe. Exhale.
Already he could feel his heart slowing down. Growing more calm. More in control.
Not afraid, but excited.
“Okay!” he said. He opened his eyes and saw Nuri a few feet ahead of him. “I’m ready! What are we waiting for?”
Nuri smiled. “This way,” he said, and pointed down the passage.
Boba followed him. The passage twisted and turned. Tubes of glowing yellow lit their way. Now and then he saw small holosigns, covered with symbols he did not recognize. The images shifted and changed, from red to green to blue to purple. They made his eyes hurt to look at them. After a while he concentrated on staring at Nuri’s back and nothing else.
After about five minutes the Bimm stopped. Set into the ground in front of him was a heavy, round, metal door. Nuri stooped and, with an effort, yanked the door open. He straightened, catching his breath, and stared at Boba.
“In a moment we will begin our descent to the lowest level of Aargau,” Nuri said. “The actual surface of the planet. It is the remains of a vast city. It was built by the original natives of Aargau millions of years ago. The pyramid has grown out of it, layer by layer, level by level, over thousands of years. Aargau is a highly civilized planet now. As I told you, it has many rules. But it was not always so.”
Here Nuri’s expression grew serious. “In the Undercity, individuals are not as well-behaved as they are up here. It is dangerous to visit there. Sometimes fatal.”
Boba swallowed. He tried to look brave - although he certainly didn’t feel brave.
But that was okay. He felt excited. He was doing something he had never done before! And he was doing it on his own.
Well, almost. He looked at Nuri and smiled. “I can handle it,” he said.
Nuri cocked his head. “You are not frightened?” Boba shrugged. “Yeah. I am. But I haven’t changed my mind. I still want to go.”
Nuri looked pleased. “That is good. To admit fear is a good thing. It makes one careful. And carelessness has killed more visitors to the Undercity than anything else.”
Nuri rubbed his chin, regarding Boba thoughtfully.
“And besides,” said the little Bimm. His smile grew even wider. “A visit to the Undercity is an important part of any bounty hunter’s education!”
That made Boba feel good. He grinned back.
“Well then - ” Nuri gestured at the opening in the floor in front of him. Boba took a deep breath, then stepped alongside him.
“I’m ready,” he said, and looked down.
“Ready for anything?” asked Nuri.
Boba nodded. “Ready for anything!”
CHAPTER TWELVE
As Boba looked down, he saw what had been hidden behind the round door in the floor. A capsule, big enough to hold two people. It had clear sides, so you could see out of it. It had a control panel but no steering mechanism. It reminded him of the cloud car he had flown in Cloud City, Only smaller, and with no way to change direction.
“What’s that?” he asked.
Nuri bent to press a button on the capsule’s side. Its top hatch opened. “Hop, in and find out,” he said.