ALL CURRENCIES CHANGED HERE
ALL COIN ACCEPTED
NO SUM TOO SMALL!
Boba began to walk. Excited, noisy crowds spilled from doorways into the street around him. Robo-hacks - airborne taxis - hovered in front of gambling houses, waiting to take new customers away to spend the riches they had just won. Evil-looking figures lurked in alleyways, waiting to pounce on unsuspecting passersby. High above, the air was crisscrossed with glowing tubes. Shining capsules sped up and down between the Undercity and the Upper Levels. In between, swoop bikes and airspeeders flashed.
That’s what I’m going to get! Boba thought as he watched a swoop bike whoosh by. Once he figured out how to get his money, maybe he could hire one to take him back to Slave I - although flying one himself would be better!
“Pagh! Human scum! Out of my way!” a voice snarled.
Boba looked up, startled. A figure blocked the street before him. It was tall, with orange eyes in a pale fungoid-looking face, and a long trunk like appendage wrapped around its throat. A Twi’lek.
“Didn’t you hear me?” the Twi’lek repeated fiercely. Its hand moved threateningly beneath its robes.
“Sorry,” Boba said. hastily. He stepped aside. The Twi’lek gave him a sneering look, then pushed him aside and strode past him. Boba watched him go, thinking.
“Wait a minute,” he said. softly to himself. He had an idea!
His father had told him once about a Twi’lek named Bib Fortuna. The grub-faced alien had served as Jabba the Hutt’s right hand, helping run his gambling operations on Tatooine and other places across the galaxy. Here on Aargau there was a Hutt gambling palace. Was there a chance that this Twi’lek was the one his father meant?
Boba stared after the retreating figure. If it was Bib Fortuna, he might be heading toward the Hutt’s den.
Boba knew the odds were against it - but then, everyone in the Undercity seemed willing to gamble. He’d take a chance.
Boba began to hurry after the Twi’lek. He was careful to stay out of sight and to always keep him in his view. Sometimes this was hard, as the alien ducked in and out of narrow alleys and tunnels. Still, Boba followed him tirelessly through the maze that was the Undercity.
Check this out, Boba thought with a grin. He was stalking his prey through incredibly dangerous terrain - just like a bounty hunter!
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The Twi’lek had reached the end of a long, narrow winding street. He halted in front of a large building with a rounded roof that had spikes on it. The building was shaped like the head of a gigantic krayt dragon. The dragon’s open mouth was the door. Inside, Boba could see a bustling throng of aliens, humans, and droids. Between the krayt dragon’s teeth, a shimmering holosign flashed green-and-gold Huttese letters.
The Twi’lek walked up to the sign. Without hesitating, it went inside.
Boba watched him go. His heart was beating hard now. He had seen a lot of people, a lot of aliens, and a lot of droids since he’d been in the Undercity. But there was one thing he hadn’t seen.
He hadn’t seen a single kid. He hadn’t seen, a single person his own age.
The last thing he wanted to do was draw attention to himself. Silence and stealth were a bounty hunter’s greatest weapons.
But there was no way he could sneak through that krayt’s mouth and into the gambling palace unnoticed. A bunch of burly guards stood just inside the entrance - Gamorrean boars, by the look of them. Boba watched as the Twi’lek strode right past them. They bowed to him slightly, but otherwise paid him no notice. Yet when two Wookiees approached moments later, the Gamorrean guards frisked them before waving them inside.
How could Boba get past them?
Boba glanced behind him, down the winding street. He could see two more groups of people heading toward the Hutts’ gambling palace. If he remained where he was, he’d be seen. At best he’d be told to leave. At worst
He couldn’t afford to think of that now. A few yards away, a pile of rubble loomed. Quickly, before the approaching groups could see him, Boba ran and ducked beside it.
The first group grew nearer. Boba could see them clearly now: half a dozen small Jawa scavengers. All wore the Jawas’ distinctive hooded robes. All spoke to one another in the Jawas’ usual babble. As they passed, their eyes glowed from within their hoods like tiny torches.
“Hey,” whispered Boba to himself.
He had another idea - a good one.
He turned and quickly began searching through the rubble. Bricks, broken glass, shreds of leather. A melted ruin that had once been a blaster. Broken spear-points. Exploded grenades. Something that looked alarmingly like a human hand.
The Hutts’ gambling palace was a popular place. But it probably wasn’t a good idea to stick around it too long.