[Boba Fett] - 3(9)

Other people, were crowding into the turbolift now. Before Aurra Sing could spot him; Boba squeezed between the newcomers, out onto Level Two. Behind him he could hear the clone’s protests getting louder.

” - let go of me! I’ll have you deported!”

” I told you to wait for me!” said Aurra Sing furiously. “Did you think you’d get that money for yourself?”

That’s right! said Boba to himself. He moved quickly away from the turbolift. That’s exactly what I thought!

The mechanized voice made its final announcement. Then the sleek metal doors closed, and the turbolift descended once more.

Boba was on his own again.

Just how he liked it!

He quickly checked to make sure he still had his father’s book and the data card.

He did. He smoothed his hair, wishing again that he had his Mandalorian battle helmet to help disguise his appearance. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to be mistaken for a clone again - next time he might not be so lucky. He turned and began to look around.

He was in a long, shimmering green tunnel. As a matter of fact, everything around him had a greenish glow - the walls, the floor, even the people.

And there were people everywhere. Thousands of them!

He

saw representatives of every race he could imagine - Gotals, Twi’leks, Dugs, Ithorians, and many more - as well as beings he didn’t recognize at all. Mingled among them was an occasional clone trooper. They were easy to recognize in their sleek white body armor. Even they had a green glow on Level Two.

But mostly, he saw members of the InterGalactic Banking Clan. They were tall, thin figures in distinctive drab uniforms. Their faces were dead-white, their cheeks sunken like those of San Hill, who Boba had seen on Geonosis. Boba knew they never ventured outdoors. They spent their entire lives inside, managing their vast stores of currency.

If I was rich, I wouldn’t waste my life indoors, Boba thought.

No - not IF I was rich

WHEN I’m rich!

He put his hand in his pocket. He touched the smooth card that would lead him to the treasure. If only he knew how to find it!

But where to start?

Boba frowned. Then he heard the mechanized turbolift voice behind him.

Now approaching Level Two.

Uh-oh. The first thing he better do was get away before Aurra Sing discovered his deception. He looked around.

Level Two was much bigger than Level One. There was a central area - that was where Boba was standing now. And, extending out from this central area, there were tunnels. Hundreds of them, shining green tunnels with moving walkways. A nonstop stream of people went in and out of the tunnels. They stepped onto the walkways, which led them away.

Where did they go?

Boba walked a safe distance from the busy turbolift area. He went toward one of the tunnel entrances. There was a sign above it.

FIRST ROYAL BANK OF M’HAELI

Boba turned and looked at the next tunnel.

BOTHAN INDEPENDENT TREASURY

“Huh,” he said. He looked at another tunnel, and another.

N’ZOTH BANKS ONLY

REGISTERED BANK OF AMMUUD,

CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS

“Banks,” murmured Boba to himself. “They’re all banks.”

That’s what the tunnels were. Every tunnel led to a bank, or treasury, that belonged to a particular planet. He turned slowly in a circle, looking at all the tunnels stretching in every direction.

There weren’t just hundreds of them. The galaxy contained untold numbers of planets. Even if only some of these had representative banks on Aargau, there might be thousands of them!

How could he ever figure out which one held his father’s treasure?

Boba fingered the card in his pocket. Around him a steady flow of people went by. No one paid him any attention. After a minute he put the card back into his pocket, and slowly took out his father’s book.

It wasn’t just a book, though. Boba walked over to a quiet spot a short distance from one of the tunnels. There he opened the black book.

Inside there were no pages. There was a message screen. The first time he had opened it, after his father’s death, he had seen his father’s face and heard his father’s words.

“There are three things you need, now that I am gone,” his father’s image had said. “The first is self-sufficiency. For this you must find Tyranus to access the credits I’ve put aside for you. The second is knowledge. For knowledge you must find Jabba. He will not give it; you must take it. The third and the most important is power. You will find it all around you, in many forms.

“And one last thing, Boba. Hold on to the book. Keep it close to you. Open it when you need it. It will guide you when you read it. It is not a story but a Way. Follow this Way and you will be a great bounty hunter someday.”

Hold on to the book. Boba bit his lip in remorse and anger. How could he have left it up on Level One? If it weren’t for Clone 9779