[Han Solo] - 03(36)

The Wookiee had just started in again when a loud, angry roar from behind Han made him jump and dodge. A large, hairy hand grabbed his shoulder, and Han was swung around as though he weighed no more than a scrap of flimsy.

He looked up to see Mallatobuck towering over him. Chewie’s wife was furious, teeth bared, blue eyes narrowed. Han put up both hands, and shrank back against his friend’s hairy chest. “Hey, Malla! Take it easy, now!”

Mallatobuck roared again, then launched into an angry tirade. Humans!

How could they be so ignorant of Wookiee customs and Wookiee honor?

How dare Han imply that Chewbacca would abandon a life debt?

There was no greater insult he could offer a Wookiee! Her husband was possessed of great honor! He was a courageous warrior, a skilled hunter, and when he gave his word, he kept it! Especially about a life debt!

Faced with Malla’s are, Han turned both hands up and shrugged, but couldn’t get a word in edgewise. He looked up imploringly at his friend.

Chewie, taking pity on his Corellian buddy, intervened. He stepped between Malla and Han, and spoke quickly, telling her that of course Han had meant no insult, no offense. His comment had been made out of ignorance, not malice.

Finally, Malla relaxed, and her roars turned to grumbles. Han gave her an apologetic smile. “Hey, no offense, Malla. I know Chewie here better’n almost anyone, and I know he’s a terrific guy, brave, smart, all that stuff. I just didn’t know that to a Wookiee, a life debt outweighs everything else.”

He turned back to his friend. “So, okay, you’re comin’ with us, and we’re gettin’ ready to grab some space, pal. So say goodbye to your bride.”

Chewbacca and Mallatobuck walked away together, while Han and Jarik conducted the preflight checks. A few minutes later, Han heard the clang of the Falcon’s ramp closing. Moments later, Chewbacca slipped into the copilot’s seat. Han looked at him, “Don’t worry, pal, I swear to you we’ll come back again … soon. I did some good dealing with Katarra and her underground. Your people are going to need lots of ammo before they can even hope to take on the Imps and free your world.

And I’m gonna help ‘em get it.”

Jarik’s voice came over the intercom from the starboard gunner’s turret.

“Yeah, at a tidy profit, of course.”

Han laughed. “Yeah … of course! Chewie … stand by! Here ˇ . . we .

. . go!”

With great dignity, the Millennium Falcon rose upward on her repulsors, then drifted forward until she was out of the tree-branch “cave.”

Then, with a suddenness that sent everyone sinking back into their seats, Han sent his ship whooshing straight up, through the tunnel of trees. They soared up into the skies, now flushed with the red-gold dawn. As the Falcon went higher, sunrise seemed to burst over the world in a shower of gold.

Quarrrtellerrra, Han thought. The sun-haired warrior, the woman he had known as Bria What was she doing now? he wondered. Does she ever think about me?

Moments later, Kashyyyk was only a rapidly dwindling green ball behind them, as they tore through the star-flecked blackness ….

Boba Fett sat in a sleazy rented flat on the Outer Rim world of Teth, listening to Bria Tharen meeting with the Tethan Rebel leaders. The most famous bounty hunter in the galaxy had many resources, including a spy network that most planets would have envied. Since he accepted Imperial assignments from time to time, he was often privy to communiques and other information most Rebel Commands would have loved to see.

Even though she was a Rebel officer, the bounty on Bria Tharen had not been posted by the Empire. No, this was a far larger bounty, the sum of fifty thousand credits for a live, unharmed capture, no disintegrations permitted. Aruk the Hutt, the old leader of Besadii clan, had originally posted the bounty, but his heir, Durga, had continued it after his death, and had promised a bonus for delivery within three months.

Boba Fett had been searching on and off for Bria Tharen for over a year now. The woman kept being sent out on “deep cover” assignments that made her extremely hard to trace. She had severed all ties with her family, probably to lessen the danger to them should she be captured by the Imperials. When she was on her home planet of Corellia, she lived inside a series of secret Rebel command bases, with extensive security and guard mounts.

Such high security was understandable … after all, the Rebels lived in fear of a full-scale attack by Imperial stormtroopers. So they kept the locations of their bases top-secret, and moved them continually. One bounty hunter—no matter how deadly and effective—stood little chance of getting close enough to manage a live capture.