“Only in Monument Plaza,” their steward told the assembled passengers who’d traveled on the liner Radiance. “There citizens may touch the top of the only mountain on the planet that still remains. About twenty meters of the peak extends into the air. The remainder is all hidden beneath buildings.”
Coruscant, it seemed, was a warren of buildings, skyscrapers, towers, rooftops, and more buildings, all built one upon the other in a giant, labyrinthine hodgepodge. Han raised his hand when the steward asked whether there were any questions. “You say that the topmost rooftops are more than a kilometer above the lowest-level streets? What’s down there?”
The Radiance’s steward shook his head warningly. “Sir, take my word for it. You do not want to know. The lowest levels never see the sun.
They are so far beneath the clean air that they are fetid and damp and have their own weather systems. Foul rain drips down the sides of the buildings. The alleys are infested with granite slugs, duracrete worms, shadowbarnacles .
. . and, worst of all, by the degenerate remnants of what once used to be human beings. These troglodytes are pale carrion and garbage eaters, disgusting in every way.”
“Huh,” Han whispered to Bria, “sounds like my kinda place.”
“Stop it!” she hissed, smothering a grin. “You are such a smartmouth.”
“I am, I really am.” Han sat back in his seat, chuckling. “I’m impossible.
I don’t know how you put up with me.”
“Neither do I,” Bria said, smiling wryly.
The couple made their way over to one of the viewports on the station while they were waiting for a “surface” shuttle down. “It’s like some beautiful golden gem,” Bria whispered. “All those lighted buildings .
. .”
“It looks like a corusca jewel,” Han said, eyeing the planet thoughtfully.
“Must be where the world got its name.”
They were standing in line, waiting to enter the shuttle, when an official stepped forward and pointed at Han’s blaster. “Sorry, sir, you’ll have to check your weapon. Guns aren’t permitted on Coruscant.”
Han stood there for a long moment; then with a shrug he unbuckled the tie-down strap from around his thigh, then released the big buckle that fastened his gunbelt. Wrapping the belt around the holster and weapon, Han handed it over to the official and received a numbered token in return.
“Just give this to the official before boarding your return transport,” the man said, “and you’ll receive your weapon, sir.”
Han and Bria got back into line. Han grimaced at how light his right leg felt without the customary weight against his thigh. “I feel naked,” he mumbled to Bria. “Like I’m in one of those nightmares when you show up for something important and suddenly realize you forgot your pants.”
She began to giggle at the idea. “I didn’t know men had dreams like that, too.”
“I don’t have ‘em often,” Han said grimly.
“Well, if nobody’s armed, then it’s still even,” she pointed out reasonably.
Han gave her a look as they started down the aisle of the surface shuttle. “Honey, don’t be naive. There’s an underworld on this planet, and you can bet your pretty eyes they’re armed.”
She glanced over at him as they fastened their seat restraints. “How do you know?”
“I took a look at the Imperial guards. They were all armed. I saw security guards on Alderaan, and none of the ones I saw were armed. So it’s a good bet whoever they would be going up against wasn’t either.
But these Imperials are armed, and wearing armor, too. Gotta be a reason for it.”
Bria shrugged. “I have to admit, your reasoning makes sense.”
“I’m gonna feel strange walking into that bank tomorrow, with no blaster at my side,” Han said, looking sadly at his empty thigh.
“Come on, Han,” she whispered, “of all the places in the world, they wouldn’t let you walk into a bank armed!”
“Why not?” Han asked. “It’s not like a guy could swipe the credits.
They don’t keep hardly any credit disks there, or coins either. It’s all electronic data entry onto personal IDs. Good system,” he added thoughtfully. “Saves on guards.”
“Well, it’s a moot point, since you had to leave your blaster,” she said, watching the cityworld grow in the viewport. Soon they’d be entering the atmosphere.
“Yeah. Listen, Bria, I guess this is as good a time as any to discuss contingency plans,” Han said.
“For what?” she demanded, alarmed. “Are you expecting trouble?”