THE HUTT GAMBI(69)

They had a lot in common, and Han enjoyed the time they spent together.

She was an exciting, vibrant woman, smart, sensual, and direct. As Han got to know her better, he discovered she did have a tender side, though it didn’t surface often.

Han introduced Salla to Shug, and the two of them hit it off immediately, too, though not romantically. It turned out that Salla was an expert technician, more at home with a lasertorch than most smugglers. She told them she’d been a tech on a corporate transport before she’d managed to acquire Rimrunner. Salla occasionally ran spice, but her cargo of choice was weapons. She was an expert gunrunner, fearless and efficient.

Soon Salla was a regular at Shug’s spacebarn, where all the smugglers hung out, fixing their ships, swapping stories, and vying with each other to set new performance records. Han found that, sooner or later, most of the human smugglers, and many of the nonhumans, wound up at Shug’s spacebarn. Many of his pals from Smuggler’s Run appeared, even, on one notable occasion, Wynni.

Zeen and Kid, a smuggler and thief named Rik Duel, Sinewy Aha Blue, Roa and Mako… all of them had good times at Shug’s spacebarn. Shug had only three rules: no intoxicants of any kind, pay promptly for use of tools or his or his techs’ services, and clean up after yourself.

Han eventually wound up introducing Salla to Lando, and the two of them hit it off, also. Han could tell they were attracted to each other, but Salla made it clear that Han was her choice … for the moment.

One day, when Han was up on the top hull of the Bria, working on the main deflector, Chewbacca roared at him, telling him to climb down, someone wanted to see him. Han scuttled down the ladder, to find a youth standing there, a handsome kid with brown hair and brown eyes.

He reminded Han a little of himself, when he’d been in his late teens.

The young man held out a hand. “Han Solo? It’s an honor to meet you.

I’m Jarik. Jarik Solo.”

Han’s eyes widened as he shook hands. “Solo?” he asked blankly.

“Yeah,” the kid answered. “Solo. I think we must be related. I’m Corellian, too.”

Since Han knew of only two relatives he could claim (and he didn’t choose to claim them—his aunt Tiion was a reclusive paranoid and her son, Han’s cousin Thrackan Sal-Solo, was a sadistic creep …

assuming either of them was still alive), he wasn’t sure how to reply to this. “Really?” he said finally. “That’s interesting. What branch are you from?”

“Uh, well, I think that my uncle Renn was your father’s second cousin,” the youth said glibly.

Renn was a common name on Corellia. Han smiled. “Could be,” he said.

“C’mon over here and let’s talk.”

He led the youth into Shug’s cluttered office and poured them both a cup of stimtea. Chewie followed them in, and Han introduced the Wookiee properly. Chewie hrrrrrrnnned at Jarik, and Han could tell he liked the young man.

“So, why’d you look me up?” Han asked.

“Well, I’d like to learn piloting,” the boy replied. “And I hear you’re the best. I’ll work, if you’ll teach me, sir. I promise I’ll work hard.”

“Well”—Han glanced over at the Wookiee–”we could use a hand with getting the Bria fixed up, I guess. You any good with a hydrospanner?”

“Yessir!” Jarik said. “I sure am.”

“We’ll see,” Han said.

At first he invited the youngster to hang around because he wanted to keep an eye on him. Han didn’t believe that the boy was from Corellia.

He just didn’t look right, somehow. He asked Roa, as the senior smuggler, whether he knew anything about a young man named Jarik.

It took a month, but Roa was able to discover that young Jarik was a street kid, born and raised in the depths of Nar Shaddaa. He’d grubbed for every mouthful, every credit, turning his hand to whatever work he could find.

His parentage was unknown, probably even to him. He’d always been a denizen of Nar Shaddaa, hanging out in the Corellian sector. It was possible that at least one of his parents was Corellian.

When Han knew for sure that the youth had lied to him, he considered sending the kid packing, but by that time, he’d gotten used to having him around. The youth hung on his every word, tagging along whenever Han would let him. The worshipful attention was flattering. And, after all, Han rationalized, it wasn’t as though he himself had never told a lie to get his foot in the door …

Jarik proved to be a fast learner. Han taught him to man the Bria’s portside gun turret, and he proved to have excellent reflexes and aim.