“May I see your citizen papers, please?” it asked. The door slammed and locked behind Boba. He grinned as he heard Aurra’s voice rise in frustrated rage.
“May I help you?”
It was another droid, this one neatly clad in gold and silver hardware. It stood before an immense black wall. Set into the wall were thousands upon thousands of small boxes, each with a number.
“I want to get what is mine,” Boba said, gasping. “My father - he left something for me here when he died.”
“Of course,” said the droid politely. “May I see your card, please?”
Boba handed the card to him. The droid turned and rolled along the front of the wall. Finally it stopped. It punched the card into a slot in the wall. One of the boxes slid open. One of the droid’s mechanical arms withdrew something from it. It closed the box, turned, and rolled back to Boba.
“This closes your account,” he said, and handed Boba a small leather pouch. The robot stuck the card into another slot inside its chest. There was a hiss and a wisp of smoke. The card had been destroyed.
Boba looked down at the pouch. It seemed awfully small. He opened it, and poured a handful of shining, multicolored credits into his hand.
“Is this all?” he asked. He shook his head. “My father left me a fortune!”
“There was a large withdrawal made from this account today,” the droid said in its calm voice.
“Five hundred thousand mesarcs. That is what remains. Your account is now closed,” it said with finality, and rolled away.
Boba stared after it in disbelief. Then he looked at the money in his hand. From the passage behind him, he could hear voices.
“Let go of me! I tell you, these papers are legal! I’m allowed to carry a blaster!”
It sounded like Aurra Sing was having a hard time with Aargau security. Even as Boba turned to look, a side door opened. Heavily armed soldiers wearing uniforms identical to the vice-chair’s poured into the corridor. He watched as they ran toward where security had detained Aurra Sing, their boots echoing loudly. Moments later he heard Aurra Sing’s shout of rage as the soldiers surrounded her.
“No - let me go, you’ll never - “
Boba fought back a shiver. He felt no pity for Aurra - she would have killed him as easily as she’d killed the lieutenant, and with more pleasure. But he knew that losing her freedom would be far worse for Aurra Sing than losing her share of his father’s fortune.
Still, she probably wouldn’t be imprisoned or detained for long. Boba would bet his life on that. But not right now. Right now, Boba planned to hang on to every bit of currency he had. He looked at the money in his hand - not a huge fortune, maybe, but still enough to outfit a ship. Still enough to get him off Aargau. He put the money back into the leather pouch and closed it. He put it carefully into his pocket, along with his father’s book. Then he turned and began walking quickly down the corridor, back to Level One.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
No one questioned him when he bought the fuel and provisions for his ship. And no one questioned him when he climbed aboard, after obtaining clearance to depart Aargau. Money might not buy happiness, but it bought a lot of other things that were useful.
Boba settled himself in the cockpit of Slave 1. It felt like coming home again - - for the first time. He strapped himself in, hit the controls, and settled back. A moment later he felt the familiar rush and roar of takeoff.
Within moments Aargau was far, far behind him. Boba gazed out the screen at the glittering planet. He wondered briefly about the people he’d seen there. The young clone 9779. The Clawdite Nuri - - if that was really his name. The manipulative San Hill.
What would become of them all, Boba. wondered? And what would become of the Separatist cause, led by the double-crossing Count Dooku? And Aurra Sing?
Aurra Sing might be in custody for now, but Boba knew she wouldn’t stay there for long. She was too smart for that. And when she got free, she’d come looking for him.
Boba smiled with determination. When he next met up with Aurra Sing, he’d be ready for her. For now, he had other things on his mind.
Boba knew where his immediate future was - with the notorious gangster Jabba the Hutt!
With a grin, he leaned over the control panel and punched in the coordinates for Tatooine.