[Han Solo] - 03(24)

. . used armor ain’t worth much …. ” Which wasn’t true. A suit of stormtrooper armor in good shape was worth well over two thousand credits, depending on the market. But hey, Han thought. They’ve got no use for it, and I gotta make a profit on this trip I ain’t in the handout business ….

Katarra hrrrrnnnnned vehemently, then spoke to the interpreter in rapid, accented Shyriiwook that Han had trouble following. Something about a dawn-haired human?

Ralrra turned back to Han. [Katarra says that she knows that the armor is valuable. She knows because the female from your world of Corellia, with hair the color of sunrise, told her so.] Han’s attention was suddenly focused completely on the underground leader.

“Corellian?” he said, sharply. “A Corellian woman? Fairhaired?”

Ralrra conferred briefly with Katarra. [Yes. She came here just after our most recent Life Day—about a standard year, Captain—and she met with the leaders of the Underground, advising us on organization, codes, tactics, and so forth. She was a member of the resistance movement on your homeworld.] Han stared at Katarra. “Her name. What was her name?”

Ralrra turned to the underground leader, spoke rapidly, then turned back.

[Katarra says that she did not know her name, which is standard procedure, in case of interrogation. During her visit, we called her ‘Quarrrtellerrra’ which means ‘sun-haired warrior.”” Han took a deep breath. “What did she look like?” he asked. “I may know this Corellian. She may be …” He hesitated. “She may be my ˇ . .

mate.

We were separated long ago, by the Empire.”

Which was true, strictly speaking. Bria had left when Han was preparing to go into the Imperial Academy, saying she didn’t want to hold him back. He still had the flimsy she’d written him. It was stupid, keeping it, and every time he ran across it, he resolved to throw it away, but, somehow, he never had ….

Katarra’s wary expression visibly softened upon hearing this. She put out a paw-hand and laid it on Han’s arm, expressing sympathy. The Empire was evil, had torn apart so many families ….

Ralrra made a gesture in the air on the level of Han’s nose. [This tall,] he saidˇ [Long hair, the color of the sunset . . golden-red.

Eyes ˇ

the color of our sky. Not wide.] His hands described a slender form.

[She was the leader of the team, a person of rank. She said she had been asked to come to Kashyyyk because she understood what it was like to live as a slave. She told us she had been a slave, on the planet Ylesia, and she would give her life to free Kashyyyk and any other world enslaved by the Empire. She spoke with much passion.] Ralrra’s voice changed slightly, took on a more personal note. [I, too, was a slave until my friends freed me from the Empire. Quarrrtellerrra spoke truth about having been enslaved. I could tell. She knew what it was like. We talked much of how much we hate the Empire.] Han’s mouth was dry. He managed to nod, and mumble, “Thanks for telling me …. ” Bria, he thought, numbly. Bria, a member of the Corellian rebellion?

How in the galaxy did that happen?





3


Mallatobuck it was wonderful to be back on his own world. Chewbacca was taken from home to home, and his father, Attichitcuk, proudly showed off his son, the adventurer, the former slave, and his human friends. All of the Wookiees made much of Han and Jarik.

Of course, Kashyyyk was a world occupied by Imperial forces, so care had to be exercised to conceal Han’s real purpose in coming there. For the duration of his stay, Han donned clothing more befitting one of the human traders who lived in Rwookrrorro. He and Jarik posed as brothers who’d come to trade trinkets and household items with the Wookiees.

This fiction was strengthened by the fact that both humans had brown hair and eyes, and Jarik was only a little shorter than Han.

The Imperial presence of Kashyyyk was mostly confined to the posts scattered around the planet. Troopers were sent out in squads, since single troopers had a disturbing tendency to vanish without a trace.

Han and Jarik were careful to avoid any contact with the Imperial squads that occasionally patrolled Rwookrrorro. And, with the Millennium Falcon concealed in the special “smuggler’s dock,” protected by the camouflaged and jamming devices, there was nothing to link them with any illegal activity.

Han spent time with the Wookiee techs down in the spacedock, tinkering with his new baby. Several of the Wookiees were experienced techs, and they spent hours with the Corellian, checking out every system, overhauling every bit of equipment. The Falcon was far from a new ship, but, under the ministrations of the Wookiee techs, it was now in better shape than it had been for a long time.