THE HUTT GAMBI(11)

Well, pal .

. . there was this girl …”

The Wookiee grunted a phrase. Translated, it meant, “Why am I not surprised?”

“Well, this one was … special,” Han said, feeling rather defensive.

“Bria Tharen. Yesterday, in that crowd, I thought …” He shrugged, his eyes shadowed. “I thought I saw her. I coulda sworn that was her, standing there in the crowd. Five years ago, we were .

. . friends. Close friends.”

Chewbacca nodded. After only a month with Han Solo, the Wookiee was perfectly aware that human females almost invariably found the Corellian attractive.

Han shrugged again. “But my eyes were playing tricks on me. When I finally caught up to her, she wasn’t Bria. It was really aw—” He cleared his throat selfconsciously. “Uh, that is … I was sort of disappointed. I really hoped I’d found her again.” He took another gulp of the cooling tea. “I dreamed about Bria last night,” he muttered, almost to himself. “I was wearing my uniform, and she was smiling at me …”

Chewbacca made a sympathetic sound. Han looked up at the Wookiee.

“But, hey, Bria’s part of the past. I gotta look ahead. What about you, pal? You got a girlfriend?”

The Wookiee hesitated. Han grinned knowingly. “Someone special? Or someone you’d like to be special?”

Chewie fiddled with the STABILIZER CONTROL button. “Careful, don’t push that,” Han said. “Okay, you don’t have to tell me. But hey… I told you.

If we’re gonna be partners, doesn’t that mean we oughta trust each other?”

His hairy companion mulled that over for a moment. Finally he nodded, and began talking, slowly at first, then with increasing confidence.

There was a young Wookiee female, Mallatobuck, that Chewie found attractive. She had come around several times to help care for elderly members of Chewie’s arboreal “community” on Kashyyyk, and had helped Chewbacca care for his father, Attichitcuk, an aged and rather irascible Wookiee.

“So, you like her,” Han said. “Does she like you?”

Chewbacca wasn’t sure. They’d never spent much time alone together.

But there was a warmth in her blue eyes that he remembered … “So, how long has it been since you’ve seen her?” Han persisted. Chewie thought for a moment, then growled a reply.

“Fifty years!” Han yelped. He knew Wookiees lived many times longer than humans, but still …

He took another swallow. “Hey, pal … I hate to tell you.

Mallatobuck might be married with six little Wooks by now. You sure ask a lot, wanting a girl to wait for you that long.”

Chewbacca agreed that perhaps he should return to Kashyyyk and reestablish contact as soon as possible.

“Tell you what,” Han said. “When we’ve gotten our own ship, bought and paid for, Kashyyyk will be our first stop, okay?”

The big Wookiee roared an enthusiastic agreement.

Han glanced over at him, and found himself thinking that it was nice to have someone to talk to during voyages. Space travel, once you made the jump to hyperspace, could be pretty dull.

“I saw that package you brought aboard,” he said, changing the subject.

“What did you buy?”

Chewbacca fetched the bundle, and returned to the copilot’s seat. He opened the parcel. Inside was a jumble of various lengths of metal and wood, plus a handgrip and a powerful-looking spring attachment.

Han eyed the assortment, puzzled. “What’s that?”

The Wookiee grunted a reply. “It’s going to be a bowcaster,” Han repeated.

“Well, good luck puttin’ it together. That spring is so strong that no human would be able to draw a weapon like that.”

Chewie agreed and, taking out the toolbox, began putting his new bowcaster together.

“You a good shot?” Han asked.

Chewbacca modestly allowed that among his people he was considered quite a marksman. “Good,” Han said. “We’re headin’ for Nar Shaddaa, so we’ll need to cover each other’s back. It’s a moon that orbits the Hutt planet, Nal Hutta. You ever hear of it?”

Chewie hadn’t.

“Well, I’ve never been there, but from what I’ve heard, it can be a little rough. Even the Empire doesn’t mess with Nar Shaddaa. If you’re hot, or you want to make some kinda deal that the authorities would frown on—you go to Nar Shaddaa. It’s that kinda place.”

Han began checking the controls, making sure everything was shipshape.

Not much longer before they emerged into realspace, not far from Nar Hekka.

Chewbacca watched him with bright blue eyes, then asked a quiet question.