STAR WARS
THE BOUNTY HUNTER WARS 1 THE MANDALORIAN ARMOR
K.W.Jeter

Scan/OCR - Demilich (demilich_2000@yahoo.com)

1

NOW . . .
during the events of
star wars return of the Jedi

live ones are worth more than the dead ones.
That was the general rule of digital appendage for
bounty hunters. Dengar hardly had to remind himself of it
as he scanned the bleak and eye-stinging bright wastes of
the Dune Sea. Right now he'd spotted a lot more dead
things than living, which all added up to a big zero for
his own credit accounts. I'd have done better, he told
himself, getting off this miserable planet. Tatooine had
never been any luckier for him than it'd been for any
other sentient creature. Some worlds were like that.
His luck wasn't as bad as some others' had
been-Dengar had to admit that. Especially when, as his
plastoid-sheathed boots had trudged up another sloping
flank of sand, a gloved fist had seized on his ankle,
toppling him heavily onto his shoulder.
"What the-" His surprised outcry vanished echoless
across the dunes as he rolled onto his back, scrabbling
his blaster from its holster. He held his fire, seeing
now just what it was that had grabbed on to him. His fall
had pulled a hand and arm free from the drifting sands
that formed the shallow grave for one of Jabba the Hurt's
personal corps of bodyguards. Some reflex wired into the
dead warrior's battle-glove had snapped the dead hand
tight as a womp-rat trap.
Dengar reholstered his blaster, then sat up and began
peeling the fingers away from his boot. "You should've
stayed out of it," he said aloud. The Dune Sea's scouring
wind revealed the corpse's empty eye sockets. "Like I
did." Getting into other creatures' fights was always a
bad idea. A whole batch of the galaxy's toughest
mercenaries, bounty hunters included, had gone down with
the wreckage of Jabba the Hutt's sail barge. If they'd
been as smart as they'd been tough, Dengar himself
wouldn't have been out here right now, searching for
their weapons and military gear and any other salvageable
debris.
He got his boot free and stood up. "Better luck next
time," he told the dead man.
His advice was too late to do that one any good. In
his own memory bank, Dengar filed away the image of the
corpse, with its clawing fingers and mouth full of sand,
as further proof of what he'd already known The guy who
comes along after the battle's over is the one who cleans
up.
In more ways than one. He stood at the top of the
dune, shielding his eyes from the glare of Tatooine's
double suns, and scanned across the wide declivity in
front of him. The forms of other warriors and bodyguards,
sprawled across the rocky wastes or half-buried like the
one left a few meters behind, showed that he'd found the
still and silent epicenter of all that fatal action he
had so wisely avoided.
More evidence Bits and pieces of debris, the
wreckage of the repulsorlift sail barge that had served
as Jabba's floating throne room, lay scattered across the
farther dunes. Scraps of the canopy that had shaded
Jabba's massive bulk from the midday suns now fluttered
in the scalding breezes, blaster fire and the impact of
the crash having torn the expensive Sorderian weftfabric
to rags. Dengar could see a few more of Jabba's
bodyguards, facedown on the hot sand, their weapons
stolen by scavenging Jawas. They wouldn't be fighting
anymore to protect their boss's wobbling bulk. Even in
this desiccating heat, Dengar could smell the sickly
aftermath of death. It wasn't unfamiliar to him-he'd been
working as a bounty hunter and general-purpose mercenary
long enough to get used to it-but the other scent he'd
hoped to catch, that of profit, was still missing. He
started down the slope of the dune toward the distant
wreckage.
There was no sign of Jabba's corpse, once Dengar
reached the spot. That didn't surprise him as he used a
broken-shanked scythe-staff to poke around the rubble.
Soon after the battle, he'd seen a Huttese transport
lifting into the sky; that'd been what had guided him to
this remote spot. The ship undoubtedly had had Jabba's
body aboard. Hutts might be greedy, credit-hungry slugs-a
trait Dengar actually admired in them-but they did have a
certain feeling toward the members of their own species.
Kill one, he knew, and you were in deep nerf waste. It
wasn't sentimentality on the part of the other Hutts, so
much as a wound to their notorious megalomania, mixed
with a practical self-interest.
So much for Luke Skywalker and the rest of them,
thought Dengar as the point of the staff revealed sticky
and distasteful evidence of Jabba's death. As if that
little band of Rebels didn't have enough trouble, with
the whole Empire gunning for them; now they'd have the
late Jabba's extended clan after them as well. Dengar
shook his head-he would've thought that Skywalker and his
pal Han Solo would have, at the least, an appreciation of
the Hutt capacity for bearing grudges.
Even without Jabba's obese form rotting under the
thermal weight of the suns, the debris zone stank. Dengar
lifted a length of chain, the broken metal at its end
twisted by blaster fire. The last time he'd seen this
hand-forged tether, back at Jabba's palace, it'd been
fastened to an iron collar around Princess Leia Organa's
neck. Now the links were crusted with the dried
exudations from Jabba's slobbering mouth. The Hutt
must've died hard, thought Dengar, dropping the chain. A
lot to kill there. He'd gotten an account of the fight
from a couple of surviving bodyguards that had managed to
drag themselves back to the palace. When Dengar had left,
to come out here to the Dune Sea wastes, most of the
remaining thugs and louts were busily smashing open the
casks of off-planet claret in the cool, dank cellars
beneath the palace, and getting obliterated in a orgy of
relief and self-pity at no longer being in Jabba the
Hurt's employ.
"Yeah, you're free, too." Dengar picked up an
unsmashed foodpot that the toe of his boot had uncovered.
The still-living delicacy inside, one of Jabba's favorite
trufflites, scrabbled against the ceramic lid embossed
with the distinctive oval seal of Fhnark & Co., Exotic
Foodstuffs-we cater to the galaxy's degenerate appetites.
"For what it's worth." His own tastes didn't run to the
likes of the pot's spidery, gel-mired contents; he hooked
a gloved finger in the lid's airhole and pried it open.
The nutrient gases hissed out; they had sustained the
delicacy's freshness, all the way from whatever distant
planet had spawned it. "See how long you last out there."
The trufflite dropped to the sand, scrabbled over
Dengar's boot, and vanished over the nearest dune. He
imagined some Tusken Raider finding the little appetizer
out there and being completely perplexed by it.
One substantial piece of wreckage remained, too big
for the Jawas to have carted away. The hardened durasteel
keelbeam of the sail barge, blackened by explosions that
had destroyed the rest of the craft, rose at an angle
from where the stern end was buried beneath a fall of
rocks. Dengar scrabbled aboard the curved metal, nearly a
meter in width, and climbed the rest of the way up to
where the barge's bow had been, and now only the exposed
beam was left, tilted into the cloudless sky. He wrapped
one arm around the end, then with his other hand unslung
the elec-trobinoculars from his belt and brought them up
to his eyes. The rangefinder numbers skittered at the
bottom of his field of vision as he scanned across the
horizon.
This was a pointless trip, Dengar thought dis
gustedly. He leaned out farther from the keelbeam, still
examining the wasteland through the 'binocs. His bounty-
hunting career had never been such a raging success that
he'd been able to refrain from any other kind of
scrabbling hustle that chanced to come his way. It was a
hard trade for a human to get ahead in, considering the
number of other species in the galaxy that worked in it,
all of them uglier and tougher; droids, too. So a little
bit of scavenger work was nothing he was unused to. The
best would've been if he had found any survivors out here
that could either pay him for their rescue or that he
could ransom off to whatever connections they might have.
The late Jabba's court had been opulent-and
lucrative-enough to attract more than the usual lowlifes
that one encountered on Tatooine.
But the bunch of rubble Dengar had found out here-the
few scattered and pawed-over bits of the sail barge and
the smaller skiffs that'd hovered alongside as outriders,
the dead bodyguards and warriors-wasn't worth two lead
ingots to him. Anything of value was already trundling
away in the Jawas' slow, tank-treaded sandcrawlers,
leaving nothing but bones and worthless scrap behind.
Might as well just stay here, he thought. And wait.
He'd sent his bride-to-be, Manaroo, aloft in his ship,
the Punishing One, to do a high-altitude reconnaissance
of the area. Soon enough she'd be finished with the task,
and would come back to fetch him.
The knot of frustration in Dengar's gut was instantly
replaced with surprise as the keelbeam suddenly tilted
al most vertical. The strap of the electrobinoculars cut
across his throat as they flew away from his eyes. He
held on with both hands as the beam pitched skyward, as
though it were on a storm-tossed ocean of water rather
than sand.
Charred metal scraped tight against the ammo pouches
on his chest as the keelbeam rotated. As the beam twisted
about, Dengar could see the surrounding dunes heaving in
a slow, seismic counterpoint to the wrecked barge's
motion, cliff faces of rock and sand shearing away and
tumbling downward, slower clouds of dust stacking across
the suns' smoldering
faces.
At the center of the dunes, the slope grew deeper,
like a funnel with a black hole at its center. Another
shudder ran beneath the planet's surface, and the
keelbeam rolled almost sideways, nearly dislodging Dengar
from his grasp upon it. His feet swung out from beneath
him; Dengar looked down, past his own boots, and saw that
the hole at the bottom of the sand funnel was lined with
teeth.
Jaws clenched, Dengar muttered an obscenity from his
homeworld. You gnurling idiot-he cursed his own
stupidity, getting himself stuck here in the middle of
the air, with no escape route. He hadn't considered what
his presence might awaken, and how hungry it would be.
The Great Pit of Carkoon gaped wider, sand and rubble
swirling around the blind, all-devouring Sarlacc creature
at the center of the vortex. A sour stench hit Dengar
like a wind hotter than any that crossed the desert's
reaches.
A glance around him revealed to Dengar that the
keelbeam had slid partway down the funnel, then snagged
on a solid rock outcropping. He turned his face against
his shoulder as the sail barge's scattered debris rained
past him, the larger pieces hitting the Pit's sloping
sides and pitching end over end into the Sarlacc's gaping
maw. The keelbeam gave a sudden lurch in Dengar's
sweating grasp as the end below him shattered part of the
outcropping. Suddenly the beam swayed backward, leaving
him dangling precariously, only a couple of meters from
the Sarlacc's throat.
A pumping kick enabled him to get first one, then the
other of his boot soles up onto the beam. He squatted
into a deep knee bend on the narrow metal surface, then
jumped, fingertips clawing for the funnel's edge above
him. His belly hit the slope; sand slid maddeningly under
his hands as he thrashed and kicked, struggling toward
the bright and empty sky. With a gasp of effort, Dengar
managed to get his chest across the shifting edge of the
funnel, then scrabble the rest of his body over and
tumble down the other side.
Too bad for the Jawas-that was all that Dengar could
think of as he wrapped his arms around himself and waited
for the animate disturbance in Tatooine's crust to
subside. There might have been something of worth brought
to the surface; but unless the little scroungers wanted
to dive down the Sarlacc's throat to get it, that load of
valuable salvage was lost to them now.
The Dune Sea grew silent again. Dengar let a minute
pass, measured by his heartbeat gradually slowing to
normal, then scrambled to his feet. The Sarlacc had most
likely pulled its head back underground and was busy
digesting the bits of wreckage it'd just been fed, or
trying to. He figured that would give him time enough to
get a safe distance away, if he hurried. Brushing sand
from his gear, Dengar started trudging up the slope of
the nearest dune.
Three dunes later he stopped to catch his breath. To
his amazement, he saw that the scraps of debris, the
barely distinguishable pieces of Jabba the Hutt's sail
barge, still filled the center of the pit. The truth
dawned on him. It's dead, thought Dengar. Something-or
someone-had managed to kill the Sarlacc. The rotting
stench had been from the creature's own torn-apart flesh,
visible beneath the wreckage.
Now the sense of life, however malignant, beneath the
desert's surface was extinguished. Only bits of wreckage,
no longer recognizable as to form and function, and a few
facedown bodies lay scattered around the empty zone.
The stink from the slope-sided hole motivated Dengar
in the opposite direction, toward Jabba's palace. This
was as good a time as any for him to verify the rumors
about what the palace had become since the death of the
Hutt. The orgiastic celebration of Jabba's liberated
underlings had been just beginning, the last time Dengar
had been inside the forbidding, windowless pile. If the
palace was empty now-reports differed on that score-then
the thick walls of the interior chambers would give him a
safe place to hang out while night and its attendant
hazards took possession of the Dune Sea, and he waited
for Manaroo's return. His own private hideout, which he'd
previously carved into a desert ridge of stone and
stocked with supplies, would have done the same-but at
the palace, there might be some remnants of Jabba's
court, like the Hutt's majordomo, Bib Fortuna, and others
who would be looking for ways to profit by the employer's
death. Great minds think alike, Dengar noted wryly. Or at
least the greedy ones do.
He gave the area one more scan, sweeping the horizon
with the electrobinoculars. One of the suns had already
begun to set, pushing his own shadow ahead across the
wasteland. He was just about to power off the 'binocs
when he spotted something nearly fifty meters away. That
one looks like he took the worst of it-another corpse lay
on a stretch of rough gravel. Faceup; Dengar could make
out the front of a narrow-apertured helmet. That was
about all of the corpse's gear that was intact. The rest
of the dead man's gear looked as if it hadn't been burned
away so much as dissolved, some kind of acid bath
reducing uniform and armaments to rags and corroded,
pitted shapes of useless metal and plastoid. Dengar
thumbwheeled the 'binocs into closer focus, trying to
figure out what could've happened to create that kind of
lethal effect.
Wait a minute. The sprawled form filled the elec
trobinoculars' lenses. Maybe not exactly lethal, Dengar
corrected himself. He could see the figure's chest
moving, a slight rise and fall, right on the edge of
survival. The half-naked combatant, whoever it might be,
was still alive. Or at least for the time being.
Now, that was worth checking out. Dengar slung the
'binocs back onto his equipment belt. If only to satisfy
his own curiosity-the distant figure looked as if he'd
discovered a whole new way of getting killed. As a bounty
hunter and general purveyor of violence, Dengar felt a
professional interest in the matter.
He glanced over his shoulder and saw his own ship,
the Punishing One, descending a few kilometers away, its
landing gear extended. His bride-to-be, Manaroo, was at
the ship's controls. Good, thought Dengar. He'd be able
to use her help, now that he had determined that there
would be no immediate danger to her. He didn't mind
risking his own life, but hers was another matter.
Balancing himself with one hand held back against the
slope of the dune, Dengar worked his way toward the
humanoid-shaped mystery he'd spotted. He hoped the other
man would still be alive by the time he got there.

This way of dying's not so bad. . . .
Somewhere, past a jumble of disjointed thoughts and
images, the oleaginous voice of Jabba the Hutt could be
heard in memory, promising a new definition of pain, one
that would last thousands of years, excruciating and
never-ending.
The fat slug had been correct about that, to a
degree; the dying man had to admit it. Or was he already
dead?-he couldn't tell. This fate, the infinitely slow
etching away, molecule by molecule, of epidermis and
nerve endings, had been intended for someone else. It
struck the dying man as no more unjust than all the rest
of the universe's workings that he should suffer it
instead.
Or have suffered it. Because the Hutt seemed to have
been misinformed about how long the dissolution and
torment would last. A few seconds had been more than
adequate for pain's new meaning to have become clear, as
the enfolding darkness's acids had seeped through uniform
and armament, touching skin like the fire of a thousand
commingled suns. And those few seconds, and the minutes
and hours- days, years?-that followed had indeed seemed
to stretch out to eternity...
But they had ended. That pain, beyond anything he had
ever endured or inflicted, had come to a stop, replaced
by the simpler and duller ebbing away of life force. By
comparison, that was a comfort like drifting asleep on
pillows of satin filled with downy feathers. Even the
blindness, the perfect acidic night, had been broken by a
muted dawn. The dying man still could not see, but he
could sense, through the T-shaped visor of his helmet and
the wet rags swaddling him, the unmistakable photonic
warmth of suns against his face and the eroded skin of
his chest. Perhaps, the dying man thought, it reached up
into the sky and swallowed them, too. The giant mouth,
when he'd fallen down its ranks of razor teeth, had
seemed that big.
But now he felt gravel and sand beneath his spine,
and his own blood miring him to the ground. That had to
be some kind of a tactile hallucination. He had no gods
to thank, but was grateful anyway for the blessings of
madness. . .
The light on his face dimmed; the differential in
temperature was enough that he could just make out the
blurred edges of shadow falling upon him. He wondered
what new vision his agony-fractured brain was about to
conjure up. There were others, he knew, here in the belly
of the beast; he had seen them fall and be swallowed up.
A little company, the dying man decided. He might as well
hallucinate voices, from those about to be digested; it
would help pass the long endless hours before his own
body's atoms floated free from one another.
One of the voices he heard was his own. "Help. . . ."
"What happened?"
He could almost have laughed, if any twitch of his
raw muscles hadn't hurt so much, pushing him toward
unconscious oblivion. Shouldn't hallucinations know these
things?
"Sarlacc . . . swallowed me." The words seemed to
come of their own volition. "I killed it . . . blew it
up. . . ."
He heard another voice, a female's. "He's dying."
The man's voice spoke again, in hushed tones.
"Manaroo-do you know who this is?"
"I don't care. Help me get him inside." The female's
shadow fell across him.
Suddenly he felt himself rising, dirt and grit fall
ing from his mangled form. The next sensation was that of
being thrown across someone's broad shoulder, an arm
encircling his waist to steady him. A sense of shame
filled the dying man. There had been so many times when
he had faced his own extinction-painful or otherwise-the
contemplation of his death, and the dismissal of it as
being of no concern, had given him strength. And now some
weak part of him had summoned up this pitiful fantasy of
rescue. Better to die, he thought, than to fear dying.
"Hang on," came the hallucinated voice. "I'll get you
someplace safe."
The man called Boba Fett felt the jostle of the
other's footsteps, the motion of being carried across the
stony ground. For a moment his vision cleared, the
blindness dissipating enough that he could see his own
hand flopping limp and disjointed, leaving a trail of
spattered blood on the sand. . . .
That was when he knew that what he saw and felt was
real. And that he was still alive.

2

A small object, moving by its own power through the
cold expanses between the stars, had finally breached a
planet's sensory perimeter. Kuat of Kuat had felt the
hyperspace messenger pod's approach even before his own
corporate security chief came to tell him that it had
been intercepted. He had a fine-tuned awareness of
machines, from the smallest nano-sporoids to
constructions capable of annihilating worlds. It was a
family trait, something encoded deep within the Kuat
blood for generations.
"Excuse me, Technician"-an obsequious voice came from
behind him-"but you asked to be notified as the outer
comm units picked up any traces. Of your . . . package."
Kuat of Kuat turned away from the great domed
viewport and its vistas of emptiness studded with light.
Far beyond the expanded orbit of the planet that bore the
name identical to his, the hazy arm of one of the
galaxy's more aesthetically pleasing spiral nebulae was
about to rise into sight. He tried not to miss things
like that; they served to remind him that the universe
and all its interconnected workings was, in its essence,
a machine like other machines. Even its constituent
atoms, beyond the confusion of uncertainty principles and
observer effects, ticked like ancient, primitive chrono
gears. And finer things than that, Kuat of Kuat told
himself, not for the first time. Such as men's spirits.
Those were machines as well, however ineffable their
substance.
"Very well." He stroked the silky fur of the felinx
cradled in his arms; the animal made a deep, barely
audible sound of contentment as his long, precise fingers
found a specific zone behind the triangular ears. "That's
just what I've been expecting." Machines, even the ones
built in the Kuat Drive Yards, did not always function as
intended; there were random variables that sometimes
deposited metaphorical sand in the gears. It was a
pleasure- frequent, but still undiminished-when things
did work according to plan. "Has there been any readout
on the contents?"
"Not yet." Fenald, the security chief, was dressed in
the standard Kuat Drive Yards worksuit, devoid of any
emblem of rank except for the variable-dispersion blaster
slung conspicuously at his hip. "There's a full crew
working on it, but"-a wry smile lifted a corner of his
mouth-"the encryption codes are rather tight."
"They're meant to be." Kuat of Kuat would not be
disappointed if the KDY employees weren't able to crack
them; he had designed and implemented them himself.
Setting Security's info-analysis division to work on them
was a mere test, to see how well he'd done. "I don't care
for anyone else reading my mail."
"Of course not." A slight nod in acknowledgment;
despite the importance of Kuat Drive Yards as the elite
and most powerful contractor of engineering and
construction services to the Empire, the formalities of
KDY headquarters were minimal, and had been for
generations. Pomp and show and courtly flourishes were
for those who didn't understand where true power came
from. Fenald gestured toward the viewport, its hexagonal
strutwork curving three times higher than his boss's
imposing two-meter height. "I doubt if anyone has."
The felinx purred louder in Kuat of Kuat's arms; he'd
found the exact spot wired into its pleasure centers.
Born that way; a good amount of the minimal brain mass in
the animal's excessively narrow skull- a trait of its
inbred species-he'd had to replace with biosimulation
circuits, to keep it from bumping into walls and gnawing
raw the flesh beneath its fur. His fingertips felt the
edge of the cut into the animal's skull as he stroked it.
Transmuted even this far into a true machine, the animal
was much more satisfactory, and-in ways Kuat of Kuat
appreciated-even more beautiful.
A single bell note sounded in the spacious office
suite of KDY's hereditary CEO. Kuat of Kuat turned back
to gaze at the viewport's limitless vista as his security
chief leaned the side of his head against the small
transponder embedded in his palm. The felinx had closed
its eyes in ecstasy; it didn't see the rising edge of the
far-distant nebula, like luminous smoke against black.
"They're bringing it in now," said Fenald.
"Excellent." Outside, in vacuum, an ion engine
streaked fiery red, moving past the seemingly chaotic
maze of construction platforms and grav-dock bays at a
navigable sublight speed. The small utility shuttle, with
its precious cargo aboard, was heading for the core of
KDY's industrial complex. Perhaps a quarter of a standard
time part before the shuttle arrived; Kuat of Kuat
glanced over his shoulder at the other man. "You don't
need to wait." He smiled. "I'll take care of it myself."
Security chiefs were paid to be curious about ev
erything that happened within their sphere of operations.
"As you please, Technician." The words were spoken with a
stiffened spine and a nod just bordering on curtness. He
was also paid to obey orders. "Let me know if there's
anything else you require, in regard to this matter."
The felinx protested as Kuat of Kuat bent down,
depositing it on the intricately tessellated floor. Tail
demandingly erect, the creature rubbed itself against a
trouser leg cut of the same utilitarian dark green as all
the other work uniforms worn by KDY employees. The
concerns of the most powerful beings in the
galaxy-perhaps the most powerful beyond Emperor
Palpatine's inner circle-didn't matter to the animal. A
heat source and continued stroking were the limits of its
desires.
As Kuat of Kuat straightened back up, the office
suite's doors slid shut behind the departing chief of
security. The felinx bumped its head more insistently
against his shin. "Not now," Kuat told it. "I've got work
to do."
Persistence was a trait he admired; he couldn't be
angry at the animal when it jumped up on his workbench.
He let it march back and forth, level with his chest, as
he assembled the necessary tools. Only when the pilot of
the shuttle team, whose flight he had spotted from the
viewport, entered and placed an elongated silver ovoid on
the bench, then withdrew from his presence, did Kuat of
Kuat shoo the animal away.
A pair of hovering worklights drew closer, erasing
all shadow, as he leaned over the mirror-finished
torpedo. This messenger pod was not just wired with, but
actually built of, self-destruct modules, to prevent
unauthorized access-or access by anyone except Kuat of
Kuat himself. And even that was intended to be difficult;
if he erred now, KDY would have a new hereditary owner
and chief designer.
Held between thumb and forefinger, an identity probe
bit almost painlessly into his flesh, drawing samples of
fluid and tissue. The microcircuitry inside the slender
needlelike device ran through its programming, matching
both genetic information and the automutating radioactive
tracers that had been injected into his bloodstream. The
probe gave no sign, audible or visible, whether
everything checked out. The only indication would be when
he held the inoxide tip to the messenger pod; if his
charred remains weren't embedded in the wall behind him,
then all was as it should be.
The probe tip clicked against the curved, reflective
surface. No explosion resulted, except for the slight one
of his held breath being released.
A hairline fissure opened along the side of the pod.
The work went faster now as Kuat of Kuat pried open the
silvery ovoid, dismantling the pieces of its shell in a
precise order. A misstep, a segment taken out of turn,
would also result in a fatal explosion, but he wasn't
concerned about that happening. The only place where the
proper sequence had been put down was in his memory, but
no more accurate record could be imagined. When he
admired machines, he admired himself.
The one on the workbench functioned just as
perfectly the last of the encasing shell separated into
its component parts and fell away from the core. "You've
come a long way, little one." He laid a tender,
possessive hand on the holoprojector unit that had been
revealed, "Just what do you have to tell me?"
A fading heat radiated into Kuat of Kuat's palm. The
messenger pod's energy cell was an accelerated-decay
module, producing enough power for a onetime jump in and
out of hyperspace. The navigational coordinates were
hardwired; a matter of a few days ago it'd left the
distant world of Tatooine. It could have reached the Kuat
Drive Yards headquarters even sooner if a randomizing
sublight process hadn't been programmed, to evade
detection. Kuat of Kuat's own security men weren't the
only ones watching the perimeter. A matter of business
paranoia was one of the operating costs that came with
being of service to the Emperor.
Hands sheathed in insulated gloves, Kuat of Kuat
lifted out the holoprojector. A standard playback unit,
similar to ones found throughout the galaxy, but with
tweaks and modifications far beyond the ordinary.
Palpatine himself couldn't get this kind of detail in
communications with his various underlings. But then . .
. he doesn't need it, Kuat of Kuat reminded himself. Not
the way I do. The Emperor could always get what he wanted
through fear and death. In the engineering business, one
had to be a little more careful, not to eliminate one's
market.
"Go away," he said to the felinx winding between his
ankles. "You won't like this."
The felinx didn't heed the warning. When Kuat of Kuat
used the rest of his precise tools to complete the
circuits inside the holoprojector, the images and sounds
of another great room were laid over the office suite.
The oppressive darkness generated by the recording and
its chaos of noises, from the rattling of subsurface
chains to cruel cross-species laughter, brought the
silken fur straight up along the animal's spine; it
hissed at what it saw, particularly the holoform of one
grossly elephantine individual with tiny hands and
immense, greedy eyes. When that image's lipless mouth
opened to emit wetly glottal laughter, the felinx
scrambled to safety beneath the farthest corner of the
workbench.
Kuat of Kuat used the magnetically fastened tip of
the probe to freeze the playback; the cacophony was
replaced by silence as he glanced over his shoulder and
saw the court of Jabba the Hutt rendered motionless. He
turned away from the bench and walked into the center of
the hologram. The forms were insubstantial as ghosts-he
could have passed his hand through any one of the
sycophants and hangers-on surrounding the Hutt's
thronelike hover platform-but detailed in such perfection
that he could almost smell the sweat and rank odors of de
cay rising from the grates in the synthesized floors.
"You're dead, aren't you?" With a thin smile, he
brought his face close to the stilled image of Jabba the
Hutt. "That's such a shame. I hate to lose a good
customer." Over the years Jabba had commissioned several
large orders, lethal equipment for his thugs and
hirelings from KDY's personal armaments division, plus
elaborate palace furnishings and a superbly appointed
sail barge, with military retrofits, from one of the Kuat
subsidiaries devoted to luxury vessels. There had been
extras thrown in that Jabba had known nothing about
hidden recording devices that had captured nearly
everything that took place in the palace on Tatooine and
aboard the floating barge. A good contractor, thought
Kuat of Kuat, knows his accounts. Better than they even
know themselves.
Word of the Hutt's death had already seeped through
the galaxy, gladdening many, setting off an acquisitive
scramble among others. Of all of his species, Jabba had
been the most active-if that word could be applied to
something so obese and slow- and with the farthest reach
in his shady enterprises. They're already at each other's
throats-the late Hutt's associates, including Jabba's own
supposedly grieving relations, struggling for control of
his intricate and criminal legacy. That would be good for
business; Kuat of Kuat already had appointments scheduled
with some of the worst and most ambitious of the lot. New
plans always called for new weapons.
The notion of throats mordantly amused him. What he'd
already heard about Jabba the Hutt's death was confirmed
by the holographic image. One of Jabba's ineffectual
little hands held a length of chain, its other end
fastened to a collar around the neck of a human form;
standing at the edge of the recreated platform, Kuat of
Kuat appraised with a connoisseur's eye the revealed
attractiveness of Princess Leia Organa. His own wealth
and power had brought many varieties of feminine beauty
through his private quarters, even from the highest ranks
of the nobility. The princess, however . . .
He made a mental note to seek this woman's ac
quaintance, if he ever had the opportunity. If it hap
pened, he wouldn't be such an idiot as to leave something
as simple and deadly as an iron chain lying about. "Never
hand your enemy"-Kuat of Kuat spoke aloud to the dead
Hutt's image-"the means by which she can kill you."
Jabba's death was a minor concern at the moment,
though. Even the presence of Leia Organa at the late
Hutt's court was, at this moment, of no great
significance to Kuat. There were others that he sought,
faces to be found in the past. He returned to his
workbench and, with a few delicate adjustments to the
playback unit, ran the recording back toward its
beginning, before Leia Organa had ever entered Jabba's
palace, disguised as an Ubese bounty hunter with captured
Wookiee in tow. That should do it, thought Kuat as he
glanced over his shoulder; he lifted the probe's tip from
the device, freezing the image once again.
Stepping past Jabba's thronelike platform, Kuat of
Kuat looked around the hologram of the Hutt's court. The
assembled faces were a rogues' gallery of interstellar
villainy, ranging from petty theft to murder-and beyond.
Hutts tended to attract these types, the way small fur-
bearing animals attracted fleas. Though in a certain
sense, it was a symbiotic rather than parasitic
relationship At home in his palace, Jabba had been able
to look around himself and at least see sentient
creatures whose morals were on a par with, or even below,
his own.
Kuat of Kuat walked slowly through the re-created
court, looking for one face in particular. Not even a
face, but a mask. He paused before the frozen image of
Jabba's majordomo, a glittering-eyed, evilly smiling
Twi'lek named Bib Fortuna. The males of the planet
Ryloth, even with all the extra cognitive abilities
packed into the heavy, tapering appendages hanging from
their bare skulls onto their shoulders, had no capacity
for generating wealth and no courage to steal it, even
though they were nearly as avaricious as Hurts. This
particular one had tried to worm his way into the Kuat
Drive Yards' corporate bureaucracy, before a noteworthy
display of untrustworthi-ness had gotten him booted from
the headquarters on the planet Kuat. Hurts, however, had
more of a taste for flattery and tail kissing; Kuat of
Kuat wasn't surprised that Fortuna had wound up in
Jabba's palace.

He didn't spot what he was looking for until he
raised his eyes toward the holographic court's encircling
gallery. There he is, thought Kuat of Kuat. The
distinctive helmeted visage of Boba Fett, the galaxy's
most feared bounty hunter, gazed down at the mingled
courtiers below like a totem of some planet's primordial
deity, contemplating a justice Colder than the spaces
between the stars. Arrayed along Fett's arms and slung at
his back were his working tools, the wrist lasers and
miniaturized flamethrower, and all the other weapons that
were as precise in his hands as the tiny probes were in
Kuat of Kuat's. The helmet, with its dark T-shaped visor,
hid the bounty hunter's eyes and the measured
calculations going on behind them.
Satisfied for the moment, Kuat of Kuat walked back to
the edge of the hologram. Even being in a three-
dimensional simulation of Jabba's court, with its miasma
of avarice and bad hygiene, brought a twinge of nausea to
his gut. Better to watch from the outside of the
hologram, from the pristine and mathematic angles of his
own office. At the workbench, he adjusted the probe's
angle in the holoprojector's circuits. Without even
glancing over his shoulder, he could sense Jabba's image
and the others in the Hurt's dimly lit court restored to
motion, acting out their parts in this little segment of
the past.
Another adjustment muted the audio portion of the
playback; Kuat of Kuat didn't need to hear Jabba's
slobbering voice and the cruel laughter of his sycophants
to discern what was happening. Another Twi'lek, a
female-on Ryloth, the females were nowhere as repulsive
as their male counterparts-had become the source for
Jabba's amusement. A pretty slave, a pantalooned dancing
girl with her distinctive Twi'lek head appendages
decorated to resemble an ancient court jester's cap of
bells-but her childlike appeal and grace wasn't enough to
satisfy her master's appetites. A look of apprehension,
close to panic, had moved across her face as she had sat
decorously at one side of the court, as though she'd had
a prescient glimpse of her fate. Which was being played
out again as the image of Jabba the Hutt, wattled bulk
jiggling and eyes widening with delight, reeled in the
chain fastened to the Twi'lek dancing girl's iron collar,
dragging her toward the thronelike platform. The poor
girl must have seen the same thing happen to others
before her; beautiful creatures had been a disposable
commodity for Jabba.
Just as Kuat of Kuat expected, the next few moments
of the playback showed the trapdoor sliding open in front
of Jabba's platform. The dancing girl's fall snapped the
links of the chain; the court's motley denizens clustered
around the grates, straining to watch her death at the
claws and teeth of the rancor, Jabba's favorite pet, in
the darkness below. The nausea returned to Kuat of Kuat's
stomach, sharpened to disgust. A waste, he thought. The
dancing girl had been beautiful enough to be useful to
someone; the destruction of such a pretty device angered
him more than anything else.
He'd seen enough, at least at this level of detail.
If the fat slug was as dead as had been reported, he now
didn't regret the loss of trade. There'd be others,
moving up the ranks of the Huttese species' galaxy-wide
hierarchy. Kuat of Kuat reached over and froze the
playback, the better to scan the images for the one in
whom he had the most interest.
And who was no longer there in the hologram. The
helmeted visage of the bounty hunter was missing from
where Kuat of Kuat had spotted it before, up on the
gallery overlooking the central area of Jabba's court.
Kuat of Kuat stepped away from the workbench and across
the nearest edge of the hologram, looking up toward the
simulation of the rough-domed ceiling, then around to the
openings of low, tunnellike passages branching off to
other parts of the palace. The image of Boba Fett was
nowhere to be seen.
Kuat of Kuat ran the recording unit back to the point
where the bounty hunter, face hidden behind the visored
mask of his uniform, could be seen watching the court
below him. This time, he didn't let himself be distracted
by the fate of the Twi'lek dancing girl; starting up the
playback again, he saw where Boba Fett had slipped
unnoticed from the gallery and out of the court, even
before Jabba had started pulling on the chain and
dragging the girl over the trapdoor.
Interesting. Kuat of Kuat let the holographic re
cording play on. Our friend, he thought, had another
agenda. Not surprising; Boba Fett had not reached the top
of the bounty-hunter trade without building up a network
of business interests and contacts, some of them-if not
most-completely unaware of each other. Jabba the Hutt
might have been stupid enough to believe that by paying
Fett a generous retainer, he had thereby secured the
bounty hunter's exclusive services. If so, that indicated
how much Jabba had been slipping, making the kind of mis
takes that had led to his death.
Always a mistake to completely trust a bounty hunter.
Kuat of Kuat didn't commit mistakes like that.
Kuat ran the hologram playback forward. There was no
sign of Boba Fett until much farther on in the recording.
He spotted the bounty hunter's image then, snapping a
blaster rifle up into firing position as the disguised
Leia Organa held up an activated thermal detonator and
demanded payment for the captive Wookiee she had brought.
That potentially lethal confrontation had ended with the
Hutt's guttural laughter and admiration for his
resourceful opponent; the bounty for Chewbacca had been
paid and Boba Fett had lowered his weapon.
So he did return there, mused Kuat as he watched the
hologram. Whatever mysterious appointments Boba Fett
might have kept in Jabba's palace, they hadn't prevented
him from attending to his duties as the Hutt's freelance
bodyguard. It was a safe assumption that the reports
gathered by Kuat's corporate intelligence division were
accurate they had described Jabba's death, out on his
sail barge, hovering at the edge of the Great Pit of
Carkoon in Tatooine's Dune Sea, and had mentioned Boba
Fett being there at the struggle.
More than that, the reports had also described Boba
Fett's death. What Kuat of Kuat wanted was proof of that.
Operating without that proof was like building a machine
with a critical component left untested. A machine, he
thought, that could kill its master if it broke down.
Someone like Boba Fett had a disquieting habit of
survival; Kuat of Kuat would have to see the bounty
hunter's death before he would believe it.
He looked at the pieces of the messenger pod and its
curved, reflective casing scattered on the workbench. The
next pod to drop out of hyperspace and penetrate the
planet Kuat's atmosphere would very likely carry the
necessary information inside it. All the units had been
designed to carry only partial segments of what had been
recorded at Jabba's palace and aboard the Hutt's sail
barge. There was less likelihood that way of any of KDY's
powerful enemies intercepting the units and, if they
managed to get past the security procedures, figuring out
Kuat of Kuat's own concerns.
One last thing to do with this message He reached
into the device and extracted the micro-probe. The
breaking of the circuit initiated the self-destruct
program; the metal grew white-hot, twisting in upon
itself as it was consumed. From underneath the bench, the
felinx fled in terror, streaking toward the office
suite's farthest recesses. A few more seconds passed,
then the holoprojector and its contents had been reduced
to blackened slag on the workbench's surface, cooling
into a single indecipherable hieroglyph.
The contents of the message, that had come so far to
reach him, was safely locked away in Kuat of Kuat's
memory. When proof of Boba Fett's death came, he might
allow himself to forget the smallest particle of
information. When it's safe, Kuat of Kuat had already
decided. Not until then.
And if that proof didn't come ... he would have to
make other plans. Plans that would include more than one
death as part of their internal workings. Meshing gears
often had cruelly sharp teeth.
He turned away from the workbench and walked slowly
through the empty spaces of the office suite, looking for
the felinx. So that he could pick it up and cradle it in
his arms, and soothe it of the fright it had received.

3

It took some doing, but she found him. For the second
time.
The girl crouched behind one of the Dune Sea's rocky
outcroppings as she watched the barely noticeable hole
dug into the barren ground below. The twin suns bled into
the horizon, the chill Tatooine night already unfolding
across the sands. Around her bare shoulders, she pulled
tighter a salvaged scrap of sail-barge canopy-blackened
by fire and explosion along one ragged edge, stiff with
dried blood along another. The delicate fabrics with
which her body had been adorned in Jabba's palace were
little protection against the cold. A shiver touched her
flesh as she continued to watch and wait.
She'd known that the bounty hunter, the one called
Dengar, would have some hiding place away from Jabba the
Hutt's palace. What used to be his palace, she corrected
herself. The monstrous slug was dead now, that had held
the end of her chain and the chains of the other dancers.
But when Jabba had been alive, most of the thugs and
bodyguards in his employ had had little warrens out in
the rocky wastes, where they could seal themselves in for
a few hours' sleep, safe from being murdered by each
other-or by their boss. Jabba's court hadn't been easy to
survive in; she knew that better than anyone. But it's
not me who died, she thought with a bitter satisfaction.
Jabba got what he deserved.
In the dimming light, she put away her brooding, the
little vengeful spark that kept her warm inside. She'd
spotted, down below, the approaching figures for which
she'd been waiting.
Two medic droids trundled across the sand; their
parallel tracks headed toward the warren hole in the
rocky wasteland. They were probably refugees from Jabba's
palace, just as she was; all of the medic droids there
had been modified with wheels in place of the original
stumpy legs so they could get around in the desert
terrain. Neelah watched them for a few seconds more, then
eased out of her hiding place and carefully worked her
way down the farther side of the dune, where the droids
wouldn't be able to see her.
"Hold it right there." She caught the droids just as
they were transmitting the security code that would
unseal the subsurface warren; a row of numbers, softly
glowing red, showed on the panel embedded in the
magnetically reinforced durasteel. "Don't move. I promise
I won't hurt you-but do n't move."
"Are you frightened?" The taller of the two medical
droids, a basic MD5 general-practitioner model, scanned
her against the hole's rough circle of evening sky. "Your
pulse is quite elevated for a standard hu-manoid form.
Plus"-a tiny grid irised open on the droid's dark-
enameled head, drawing in an air sample-"your
perspiration contains significant levels of hormones
indicating an emotionally agitated state."
"Shut up. I also want you to do that." Rocks slid
loose beneath her as she scrambled down toward the
droids. "Just shut up."
"Did you hear that?" The taller droid swiveled its
multilensed gaze toward its companion, a white-banded MD3
pharmaceutical model. "She's telling us to be quiet."
"Rudeness." Dust sifted from the shorter one as it
tucked its syringes and dispensing appendages closer to
itself. "Foresight of difficulties."
"Great-" Anger spurred her heart even faster. "Then
you can't say you didn't know this was coming." She
grabbed a vital-signs monitor sticking out antennalike
from the taller one's head and slammed the droid against
the dirt wall of the warren entrance, hard enough to send
the lights dancing across its front display panel.
Another pull in the opposite direction sent it crashing
into the other droid; that one squealed as it toppled
over, exposing the wheeled traction devices below the
lower rim of its cylindrical body. "Now, how about
shutting up?"
"It seems like a very good idea." The taller droid
retreated, flattening itself against the unopened secu
rity hatch.
She gulped down a deep breath, trying through sheer
willpower to slow down her heartbeat and still the
trembling in her hands. Few violent acts had been
required in her life-as far as she knew; she had no
memories of any life before finding herself at Jabba's
palace-and even as something as minor as banging a little
sense into the medical droids' heads was enough to dizzy
her. Get used to it, she sternly told herself. The
realization had already come to her that a lot more scary
things were going to happen. That was all right; at least
she was alive. Others in her position hadn't been so
fortunate. The memory was still vivid inside her, of
seeing the other dancing girl falling into the pit
beneath Jabba's palace. That memory ended with screams,
and the slavering growls of Jabba's pet rancor.
"Excuse me, your ladyship . . ."
That puzzled her. Neither Jabba the Hutt nor any of
the others at his court had ever called her anything like
that.
"But you require medical attention." The taller droid
kept its speech mechanism at minimal volume. A handlike
examination module, with a fiber-optic light source
mounted at the wrist, reached tentatively toward her
face. "That's a very bad wound. . . ."
She slapped away the droid's hand, before it could
touch the edges of the jagged line running down one side
of her face. "It'll heal."
"With a scar." The taller droid shone the beam of its
handlight lower, down to where the wound, the physical
memory of a Gamorrean pikestaff, ended below her throat.
"We could do something about that. To make it better."
"Why bother?" Other memories, nearly as unpleasant as
those from the pit, flooded her thoughts. Whatever her
life might have been before, the time in Jabba's palace
had been enough to convince her that beauty was a
dangerous thing to possess. It'd been just enough to
entice Jabba's sticky hands-and the hands of those
underlings who had been his current favorites-but not
enough to protect her when the Hutt grew bored with her
charms. "I can do without it," she said bitterly.
"Anger," noted the other medical droid. Need
lessly-the scent of negative emotion was almost palpable
in the warren hole's entrance. "Treatment
inadvisability."
"I remember seeing you." The taller droid's low,
soothing voice continued. "At Jabba's palace." The
handlight beam moved across her face. "You were part of
the entertainment."
"I was-" She glanced over her shoulder toward the
warren's darkening entrance, to make sure no one was
approaching, then turned back toward the droids. "But not
now."
"Oh?" An inquiring gaze seemed to move behind the
droid's optic receptors. "Then what are you?"
"I ... I don't know. . . ."
"Name," spoke the shorter of the two droids.
"Designation."
"They called me ... Jabba called me Neelah." She
frowned. Something-the absence of memory, rather than
anything she could actually recall-told her that wasn't
right. That name's a lie, she thought. "But . . . that's
what they called me. . . ."
"There's worse names." Voice brightening, the taller
droid tried to comfort her. "Consider my own subidentity
coding-" Its complicated hand pointed to a data readout
on the front of its dark metallic body. "SHS1-B. Most
sentient creatures can't even pronounce it. This one's
luckier."
"1e-XE." The shorter droid extruded a pill-dispensing
module and gently tapped the back of her hand with it.
"Acquaintance; pleasure."
They're working on me, thought Neelah. She knew
enough about medical droids-from where?- to be aware of
the soothing effects they were designed to provoke in
their patients. Anesthetic radiation; she could feel a
low-level electromagnetic field locking into sync with
the neurons inside her head, drawing out the lulling
endorphins. . . .
"Knock it off," she growled. She shook her head,
snapping herself free of the droids' influence. "I don't
need that, either. Not now." Neelah drew one hand back in
a small but effective fist. "If I have to whack you
again, I will."
Like extinguishing a torch, the field abruptly cut
out. "As you wish," said SHS1-B. "We're only trying to
help."
"You can do that by telling me where he is." The
wound across her face stung once more, but she ignored
it.
"Who?"
She nodded toward the security hatch. "The bounty
hunter. The one whose hiding place this is."
"Dengar?" One of SHS1-B's metallic hands pointed
toward the warren opening behind her. "He's back at
Jabba's palace."
"Supplies," noted le-XE. "Various."
"That's right." SHS1-B opened a small cargo pod
bolted to the side of its body. "He sent us back here
with what we required. As you see-antibiotics, metabolic
accelerators, sterile gel dressings-"
"Fine." Neelah interrupted the droid's inventory of
its contents. "But Dengar-he's still back at the palace?"
SHS1-B's head unit gave a nod. "He said he wanted to
find one of Jabba's caches of off-planet edibles. That
might take some time, though-the palace has been very
badly looted by the Hutt's former employees."
"Mess." le-XE rotated the top dome of its cylinder
back and forth. "Disgust."
There wasn't time to consider her decision. "Open the
hatch," said Neelah, pointing to the magnetically sealed
disk, the coded digits still blinking in its readout
panel. "I want to go inside."
"Dengar told us not to let-" The taller of the two
droids caught the look in Neelah's eyes. "All right, all
right; I'm opening it."
The tunnel on the other side of the hatch descended
at close to a forty-five-degree angle. Heading down it,
with the droids clunking behind her, Neelah felt a
claustrophobic panic crawling along her spine. The
darkness and the close, scarcely ventilated air felt like
the tunnel through which she'd crawled to escape from
Jabba's palace. After what had happened to her poor
friend Oola, any risk had seemed preferable to winding up
as rancor food.
Though her own death had almost found her, before she
had gotten away. The scything blade of a Gamorrean
perimeter guard's pikestaff had slashed the raw-edged
wound on her face. She'd left the blade buried halfway
through the guard's throat; Jabba had always made the
mistake of hiring thugs who were bigger than they were
fast. She'd only felt fear afterward, as she'd stepped
over the widening pool of blood, then ran into the
desert.
In this dimly lit space, she was finally able to
stand upright in a central chamber. "Where's the other
one?" She glanced over her shoulder at the two medical
droids as they emerged from the tunnel and clicked back
into their normal positions. "The one you're taking care
of?"
"Dengar told us-" SHS1-B's voice snapped silent.
"Over here," it said grudgingly. The taller droid led
Neelah past disorganized stacks of weapons and ammunition
modules, mixed with the discarded wrappings of
autothermal field-ration containers. "It's not really
suitable-this patient should've been medevac'd to a
hospital immediately-but we've done the best we can. . .
."
Neelah tuned out the droid's words. At the low,
rounded entrance to the side chamber, she halted and
peered inside. "Is he ... is he awake?" A dim glow filled
the space; a black cable ran from a shielded worklight to
a fuel-cell power generator in the middle of the main
chamber's clutter. "Can he see me?"
"Not with what we gave him." SHSl-B stood just behind
her. "I prescribed a five-percent obliviane solution from
le-XE's anesthetic stocks. On a constant basis, too; the
patient's injuries are unusually severe. That was one of
the reasons we had to go back to the palace, to try and
find more. But if we didn't, the pain from this kind of
trauma could go into a feedback loop and completely burn
out th e patient's central nervous system."
She stepped into the chamber, ducking under the
doorway. An improvised bed, polyfoam stuffed inside
flexible freight sheathing, left only a small space
between the unconscious man and the medical droids'
intravenous units and monitoring equipment. She squeezed
past the humming machines, dials, and tiny screens
ticking with slow pulses of light, and stood looking down
at someone whose face she had never seen before.
One of her hands reached to touch him, but stopped a
few centimeters away from his brow. He looks worse than I
do, thought Neelah. The man's flesh looked as raw as it
had when she'd found him the first time, out in the
desert; the skin that he had lost in the Sarlacc's
digestive tract was replaced now with a transparent
membrane, linked to tubes trickling fluids from the wall
of machines alongside the bed. "What's this?" She touched
the clear substance; it felt cold and slick.
"Sterile nutrient casing." SHS1-B reached out and
made a slight adjustment to one of the equipment
controls. "It's what we normally use on severe burn
victims, when there has been major epidermal loss. When
we were in the service of the late Jabba the Hutt, we saw
and treated a lot of burns."
"Explosions," said le-XE.
"Just so." SHSl-B lifted part of its carapace in an
approximation of a humanoid shrug. "The kind of persons
who worked for Jabba-the rougher sort of his
employees-they were always blowing themselves up, one way
or another."
"Turnover. High rate."
"That's true; there were always some we just couldn't
put back together. But le-XE did get rather skilled at
burn-treatment protocols. This individual's somatic
trauma, however, is a little different." SHS1-B scanned
over the unconscious figure. "No one, as far as can be
recalled from our memory banks, has ever survived even
temporary ingestion by a Sarlacc. So we're doing the best
we can, with what we've got."
Neelah glanced over at the medical droid. "Is he
going to live?"
"Hard to tell. An exact prognosis for this patient is
difficult to make, due to both the severity and the
unusual nature of his injuries. It's not just the epider
mal loss; le-XE and I have determined that there was also
exposure to unknown toxins while he was in the Sarlacc's
gut. We've attempted to counteract the effects of those
substances, but the results are uncertain. If we had
access to records of other such humanoid-Sarlacc
encounters, the probability of his survival could be
calculated. But we don't. Though just on a personal
basis"-SHSl-B's voice lowered, a simulation of
confidentiality-"I'm surprised that this individual is
still alive at all. Something else must be keeping him
going. Something inside him."
The droid's words puzzled her. "Like what?"
"I don't know," replied SHS1-B. "Some things are not
a matter of medical knowledge. Not the kind I have, at
any rate."
She looked back at the figure on the bed. Even like,
this, with his mere human face exposed and unconscious
beneath the machines' care, his presence brought a
chilling unease around her own heart. There's something,
thought Neelah, between us. Some invisible connection,
that she had caught the tiniest glimpse of back in
Jabba's palace. When she had looked up to the gallery and
she had seen this man, unmistakable even when masked;
seen him and felt the touch of fear. Not because of what
she'd remembered at that moment, but because of what she
couldn't remember. If this man stood somewhere in her
past, he stood in shadows, stretching back farther and
deeper than any mere rancor pit.
"What about Dengar?" With another effort of will,
Neelah brought herself back to the present. "Why's he
doing this? Taking care of him?"
"I have no idea." SHS1-B's optic receptors gazed at
her blankly. "He didn't tell us, when he came to the
palace and found us. And frankly, that's not a matter of
concern to us."
"Unimportance," said le-XE.
"We're programmed to provide medical care. After
Jabba the Hutt's death, we were just glad to be provided
with an opportunity to do that."
That left the other bounty hunter's agenda as a
mystery to her. She'd taken a chance when she left this
one out on the desert sands, where Dengar would find him.
She'd been horrified by the extent of his injuries; there
would have been no way she could have taken care of the
rawly bleeding man. In Jabba's palace, she had seen
enough to be aware of the enmity, the professional
rivalry and personal hatred, that existed among all
bounty hunters-but then, this one would have been no more
dead if Dengar had found him, then gone ahead and stood
on his throat until he'd stopped moving. Instead, a
certain strange sense of relief had stirred in her as
she'd crouched behind an outcropping and had witnessed
Dengar examining the injured man. That same inexplicable
emotion had risen when she'd followed the medical droids
to this hiding place and had found the man still alive. .
. .
There wasn't time to ponder what that meant. You've
been here long enough, she warned herself. Whatever
Dengar's motives might be for keeping his rival alive, he
might not be so charitably inclined toward her. Bounty
hunters were secretive creatures; they had to be, in
their trade. Dengar might not be happy to find that
someone else was aware of not only his hiding place, but
what-and who-was inside it.
"I'm going to leave now," Neelah told the droids.
"You carry on with your work. This man must stay alive-do
you understand that?"
"We'll do our best. That's what we were created for."
"And-you're not to tell Dengar anything about me.
About my being here at all."
"But he might ask," said SHSl-B. "Whether somebody
had been here or not. We're programmed to be truthful."
"Let's put it this way." Neelah leaned her scarred
face closer to the droid's optics. "If you tell Dengar
about me, I'll come back here and take you apart, and
I'll scatter your pieces all across the Dune Sea. Both of
you. And then you won't be able to do your jobs, will
you?"
SHS1-B appeared to mull over her statement for only a
few seconds. "That certainly overrides the truthfulness
programming."
"Silence," interjected le-XE hastily. "Completeness."
"Good." She glanced around the chamber to see if
she'd left any telltale sign of her visit. Against the
base of the rough-surfaced wall was something she hadn't
spotted before. She stepped closer to it and saw that it
was a pile of rags, the tattered shreds that she'd found
still clinging, wet with the Sarlacc's digestive fluids,
to the injured man's torso. On top of the pile was
another object, not rags but metal, etched by its time in
the beast's gut, but still recognizable. Neelah leaned
down and picked up the helmet with its unmistakably
narrow, T-shaped visor.
That was what she had seen before. In Jabba's
palace-the helmet's mask was a cruel, implacable face in
itself, the gaze hidden inside as sharp as any cutting
blade. Neelah grasped the helmet in both hands, holding
it before her, like a skull or part of a dead machine.
Even empty, it looked back at her in silence-and she was
afraid.
Boba Fett . . .
The name sounded in her thoughts, though not spoken
by her. That was what he'd been called. She knew that
much; she'd heard the name whispered, by those who'd both
hated and dreaded him.
"You'd better go now." The medical droid's voice
broke into her thoughts. "It won't be long before Dengar
returns."
Her hands trembled as she set the helmet back down on
the pile of rags. At the chamber's entrance, she stopped
and looked back at the figure on the bed. A thread of
something almost like pity crept into the knot of fear
inside her.
She turned and hurried away, toward the slanting
tunnel that would lead her to the more comforting
darkness outside.

There had been voices. He'd heard them, from some
where on the other side of a blind sea.
He supposed, in a still-functioning area of his
brain, that that was part of dying. In a cortical nexus
lying under the weight of pain and blurry not-pain, the
remains of his mind and spirit picked over the few scraps
of sensory data that impinged upon the living corpse that
his body had become. They were like messages from another
world, frustratingly incomplete and mysterious.
Of all the voices he'd heard, only one had been a
woman's. Not the same one as before, which he could
remember being addressed as Manaroo; he had still been
lying out on the desert, vomited up by the Sarlacc, when
he had heard that one.
But that had been the past; now he heard another
woman's voice. That was the one that tormented him, that
made the sleep of his dying a place where memories rose
out of the darkness.
His eyelids had fluttered open, or had tried to; they
were mired in some pliable substance clinging tightly to
his face. As weak as he was, the stuff bound him as
tightly as Han Solo had been in the block of carbonite
he'd delivered to Jabba the Hutt. But he'd managed to
raise his eyelids just enough, a fraction of a
centimeter, that he'd been able to catch an unfocused
glimpse of the female. She had been there in Jabba's
palace, a simple dancing girl-but he knew she was
something more than that. Much more. Jabba had called her
. . . Neelah. That w as it; he could remember that much.
But that wasn't her real name. Her real name . . .
Fragments of memory touched, then drifted apart, as
the effort of vision took him back beneath the lightless
weight pressing upon him.
There, he dreamed without sleeping, died yet still
lived.
And remembered.

4
. . . AND THEN
JUST AFTER THE EVENTS OF
star wars A new hope

"Stick with me," Bossk told the new Guild member.
"And I'll show you how it's done."
He could feel the other's rising anger, like the
radiation from a reactor-core meltdown. That was exactly
the response he wanted, that his comments were designed
to evoke. There wasn't the tiniest segment of a standard
time cycle that Bossk wasn't angry to some degree. He
even slept angry, the way all Trandoshans did, dreaming
of their razor fangs locked on the throats of their
reptilian species' ancient enemies. Rage and blood lust
were good things in the Trandoshan galaxy-view. That was
how things got done.
"You needn't act wise and superior with me." The
close-range audio unit built into Zuckuss's breathing
apparatus had enough bandwidth to let his irritation
sound through. "I've collected nearly as many bounties as
you have. Your family connections are the only reason for
your rank in the Guild."
Bossk displayed an ugly, lipless smile toward the
partner he'd been assigned. The urge to reach over and
pull the other's head off, air hoses and comlink wires
dangling like the tendrils of swamp weed surrounding the
birth pits back on Trandosha, was almost irresistible.
Maybe later, Bossk told himself, when this job's over.
He pointed a talon down the corridor in front of
them. Both he and Zuckuss had their spines flat against
the wall of a side passage; from behind sealed doors some
twenty meters away, the brittle music of a jizz-wailer
band sounded, mixed with the high-pitched babble of the
casino's customers blowing their credits on rows of
rigged jubilee wheels. Gambling held no attraction for
Bossk; he preferred surer things. Another sentient
creature's death was the best, especially if there was
profit involved. Sometimes, though-as with this job-the
quarry had to be taken alive, if there was going to be
any payoff. That complicated things.
"The thermal charges are already in place." The point
of Bossk's claw indicated a pair of tiny bumps on the
doors of the casino's main accounting office. A
chameleonoid visual sheath on the charges' casings
prevented the security optics from detecting them. "When
I blow them, I want you straight through those doors.
Don't bother scanning for guards, just dive in-"
"Why me?" Zuckuss turned his large-eyed gaze toward
him. "Why don't you do that bit?"
"Because," said Bossk, grating out an unconvincing
show of patience, "I'll be covering you from behind." He
held up his blaster rifle, its stock and grip controls
modified for his talons, large even by Trandoshan
standards. "I'll draw off any fire while you're securing
the counting room. It's a standard two-prong attack,
straight out of the Guild manual for this kind of
situation."
"Oh." Leaning his head out from the passage, Zuckuss
studied the doors. "That makes sense . . . I suppose. . .
."
Idiot, thought Bossk. The actual reason was that the
first one into the room was more likely to get sliced
into bleeding pieces by the guards' tight-focus lasers.
Better you than me-especially since his partner's death
would mean he'd get to keep all of the bounty for
himself, or at least the part that was left after the
Guild took its share.
"Let's go." He shoved Zuckuss out ahead of himself,
at the same time as he hit the trigger device mounted on
the sleeve of his stalking gear. The faint sounds of
music and frenetic pleasure were drowned out by the bass-
heavy rumble of the thermal charges ripping open the
sealed doors.
Bossk planted himself in the middle of the corridor,
clawed feet spread wide, blaster rifle raised to his slit-
pupiled eye. One talon squeezed onto the rifle's trigger
stud in anticipation; the cold heart in his chest sped up
with excitement as he peered through the coiling smoke. .
. .
No fire came from beyond the ripped, heat-distorted
metal.
"Zuckuss!" He shouted into the comlink mike mounted
near the leathery scales of his throat. "What's going
on?"
A moment passed before the other bounty hunter's
reply came. "Well," said Zuckuss's voice, "the good news
is that we don't have to worry about the guards. . . ."
Bossk charged down the corridor, rifle clutched in
both sets of talons, and into the casino's accounting
room. Or what was left of it the smoke from the thermal
charges' explosion had lifted enough that the scattered
taliputer and vidlink terminals could be seen. Along with
the bodies of a half-dozen casino guards-each one had had
a laser hole drilled through the chest plate of his
uniform with impressive accuracy. And speed, Bossk
managed to note. None of the guards had even managed to
get his weapon unslung and up into firing position;
whoever had taken them out had done so in a matter of sec
onds.
"Look," said Zuckuss. He bent down and touched the
hole in one guard's chest plate. "I'm getting a thermal
reading here. The plastoid hasn't cooled-they were all
lasered while we were still standing out in the
corridor!" The bounty hunter stood and pointed to the
room's far wall. A jagged hole, big enough for Bossk
himself to have walked through without stooping, revealed
the stacked cylinders of the power converters behind the
main casino building. "Somebody beat us to it-"
"That's impossible," snapped Bossk. "That wall's
monocrystal-chained; we'd have heard any blast powerful
enough to get through it. Unless ..." A sudden suspicion
hit him; he glanced over his shoulder to the opposite
wall. A sonic dis-sipator, the dials on its silvery ovoid
surface trembling at the overload point, hung overhead by
its automatically extruded gripfeet. The indicators
slowly backed away from their red zones as the impact of
the wall-breaching explosion was converted into a
harmless sibilant whisper.
The rage inside Bossk leaped up, as though it could
blow out another hole, even bigger and hotter. That
crossbred spawn of a . . . The curse died between his
gritting fangs. There was only one bounty hunter who used
that kind of sophisticated-and expensive-equipment.
Either it had been smuggled into the counting room
somehow, or-more likely- an access hole just big enough
for the device had been drilled through the wall,
followed by the explosive charge itself when the
dissipator had been activated to soak up the noise.
There was no point in looking around for the quarry
for whom he and Zuckuss had come here. Bossk gripped the
edge of the hole torn in the casino's exterior and
scanned the planet's pockmarked horizon. In the distance,
the infuriatingly familiar shape of a high-speed
interstellar craft lifted into the deepening violet of
the sky. The ship's engines trailed fire as it headed off-
world.
"Come on!" Bossk grabbed Zuckuss by one arm and
pulled him toward the gap in the wall. Shrieking alarms
sounded from the corridor, triggered by the charges that
had taken out the doors; it would only be a few seconds
more before guards from other sections of the casino got
here. He slung his rifle behind his shoulder and prepared
to jump.
"But-" Zuckuss drew back. "But we must be ten meters
up! At least!"
"So?" He growled at his partner. "Can you think of a
quicker way out of here?"
A few seconds later he and Zuckuss were scrambling to
their feet. The urge to murder filled Bossk again as
Zuckuss groaned in pain.
"I think I broke something. . . ."
'As laser shots from the casino guards above sizzled
the ground, melting the planet's silicate-heavy ground
into patches of glass, he started running, aware that
Zuckuss was right behind him.
They caught up with their adversary out beyond the
planet's atmosphere.
Bossk jammed the point of his talon down on the comm
button as Zuckuss, beside him in the navigator's seat of
the Hound's Tooth, fussed with a broken connector to one
of his air hoses. "Shut off your engines," he barked into
the link. There was no need for formalities; in this
remote zone of the starways, no other ship was within
hailing range. "You have merchandise onboard that belongs
to us. Specifically, one sentient individual by the
designation of Nil Posondum, formerly employed by the
Trans-Galactic Gaming Enterprises Corporation-"
"Your property?" A cold, uninflected voice sounded
from the speaker mounted above the Hound's controls. "And
why would this said individual-if he were aboard my
ship-why would he belong to you?"
"Maybe," whispered Zuckuss, "we shouldn't get this
barve angry. He can be a tough customer."
"Shut up." Bossk pressed the comm button again. "By
authority of the Bounty Hunters Guild. That's what makes
him ours. Hand him over now, and you won't get into
trouble."
"That's very amusing." No emotion, amused or
otherwise, was discernible in the other's words. "But you
seem to be laboring under a severe misapprehension."
"Yeah?" Bossk glared at the Hound's forward viewport.
The other ship showed no sign of cutting its speed. "What
am I mistaken about?"
"I'm not restricted by the authority of your so-
called Bounty Hunters Guild. I answer to a higher law."
"Which is?"
"Mine." The temperature of the scattered atoms
between the ships couldn't have been closer to absolute
zero. "Specifically, what's mine I keep. Until I get paid
for it."
Bossk's words grated through his fangs. "Look, you
conniving, diseased gnathgrg-"
The comm indicator blinked off, the connection broken
by the other ship.
"There he goes." Zuckuss gazed up at the viewport.
The flaring trails from the engines of the Slave I,
the transport of the galaxy's most ruthlessly efficient
bounty hunter, blurred and disappeared into hyper-space.
Cold and mocking stars filled the sector where it had
been.
Bossk's slit pupils narrowed as he glared at empty
space. The other ship, and its pilot and his captured
prize, might be gone-but the seething fury in Bossk's
scaled breast wasn't.

The figure in the cage cowered back from the bars as
Boba Fett approached.
"There's no need for that." The Slave I's minimal
galley had ejected a tray of some nondescript edible
substance, a lumpish gray gel that was unappetizing but
adequate for a standard humanoid life-form. Fett placed
the tray on the metal-grated flooring and pushed it
through an opening in the cage with the toe of his boot.
"I'm not being paid to hurt you. Therefore you won't be
hurt."
"And if you were being paid to do that?" The former
head accountant for the Trans-Galactic Gaming Enterprises
Corporation gazed sulkily from the holding pen, the only
one presently occupied aboard the Slave I. "What then?"
"You'd be in a world of pain." Boba Fett pointed to
the tray; a little of its glistening contents had slopped
onto the pen's floor. "As merchandise, you are more
valuable alive than dead. In fact, you would be worthless
to me as a corpse. To deliver you unharmed-relatively
so-is the primary requirement for collecting the bounty
that was posted on you. If you try starving yourself, you
will be force-fed. I'm not known for being gentle about
that sort of thing. If you were to be so foolish as to
try to injure yourself in any other manner, you'll find
yourself in restraints considerably less comfortable than
your present situation."
The accountant named Nil Posondum looked around the
bare cage. A thin pale hand gripped one of the bars. "I'd
hardly call this comfortable."
"It can get worse." The shoulders of Boba Fett's
armored combat gear lifted in a shrug. "My ship is built
for speed, not luxury accommodations." He'd left the
Slave I's controls set on autopilot; a small datapad
clipped to his forearm monitored the craft's
uninterrupted course through hyperspace. "You should take
what pleasure you can from your time here. Things won't
be any better for you where you're going."
In fact, Boba Fett knew they would be much worse for
the accountant. Posondum had made the grievous error of
shifting allegiances, changing jobs in an industry where
loyalty was prized-and disloyalty punished. Worse, the
accountant had been keeping the financial records for a
chain of illicit skefta dens in the Outer Rim Territories
that were controlled by a Huttese syndicate. Hutts tended
to view their employees as possessions-one of the reasons
that Boba Fett had always kept a freelancer's independent
relationship with his frequent client Jabba. The
accountant Posondum hadn't been so smart; he'd been even
stupider when he'd gone over to his former employers'
competition with a cortical data-splint loaded with the
Hutts' odds-rigging systems and gray-market transfer
shuffles. Hutts were even more secretive than possessive;
Boba Fett had sometimes wondered if they grew so huge by
greedily ingesting everything that came into reach of
their little hands and huge mouths, and letting nothing
go. Not even one frightened accountant with a computer-
enhanced brain full of numbers.
"Why don't you just kill me now?" Posondum hunkered
on the floor of the cage, his back against its bars. He'd
tasted the tray and pushed it away in disgust. "You'd do
a quicker job of it than the Hutts
will."
"Likely so." He felt no pity for the man, who'd
brought his troubles upon himself. You hang out with
Hutts, he thought, you'd better be careful not to get
rolled over on. "But as I said. I do what I get paid for.
No more, no less."
"You'd do anything for credits, wouldn't you?" Boba
Fett could see his own reflection, doubled in the small
mirrors of the accountant's resentfully burning eyes. The
image he saw was of a full helmet, battered and
discolored, yet completely functional; his face was
concealed by the narrow, T-shaped visor. His combat gear
bristled with armaments, from shin to wrist; the tapered
nose of a directional rocket protruded from behind one
shoulder. A walking arsenal, a humanoid figure built out
of machines. The lethal kind.
The reflected image nodded slowly. "That's right,"
said Boba Fett. "I do the things I'm good at, and for
which I get paid the best." He glanced down at the data
readout. "It's nothing personal."
"Then we could make a deal." Posondum looked up
hopefully at his captor. "Couldn't we?" "What kind of
deal?" "What do you think?" The accountant stood up I and
gripped the bars nearest to Fett. "You like getting
paid-I know the kind of outrageous fees you charge for
your services-and I like remaining alive. I'm probably as
fond of that as you are of credits." Boba Fett let his
masked gaze rest upon the other's sweating face. "You
should have considered how precious your life is to you
before you incurred the wrath of the Hutts. It's a little
late for regrets now.
"But it's not too late for you to make some credits.
More credits than the Hutts can pay you." Posondum
pressed his face into the bars, as though he could
somehow squeeze out between them through the sheer force
of his desperation. "You let me go and I'll make it worth
your while."
"I doubt it," said Fett coldly. "The Hutts pay
excellent bounties. That's why I like taking on their
jobs."
"And why do you think they want to get me back so
badly?" Posondum's knuckles turned white and bloodless as
his fists tightened. "Just for the old ledgers I've got
stowed away inside my head? Or just so the competition
won't find out a few little trade secrets?"
"It's not my business as to why my clients desire
certain things. Things such as yourself." A small in
dicator light pulsed on his wrist-mounted data readout;
he'd have to return to the Slave I's controls soon. "I'm
just pleased that they do want them. And that they'll
pay."
"Just like I will." Posondum lowered his voice,
though there was no one to overhear. "I took more than
information when I left the Hutts. I took credits-a lot
of 'em."
"That was foolish of you." Fett knew how tight the
Huttese were with credits; it was a characteristic of
their species. There had been times when he'd needed to
take extreme measures to get paid for the completion of a
job, even when the terms had been agreed upon beforehand.
So to steal from a Hutt, and to think that one could get
away with it, was the height of idiocy.
"Maybe so-but there was so much of it. And I thought
I could get away, that I could hide. And my new bosses
would protect me. . . ."
"They did the best they could." Boba Fett shrugged.
"It just wasn't good enough. It never is, when I'm
involved."
"Look, I'll give you the credits. All of them."
Posondum trembled with the fervor of his plea. "Every
credit I stole from the Hurts-it's all yours. Just let me
go."
"And just where are these credits?"
Posondum drew back from the cage's bars.
"They're hidden."
"I could very easily find out the location." Fett
kept his voice as level and emotionless as before. "The
extracting of useful information is a specialty
of mine."
"It's memory-encrypted," said the accountant. I
"Below the conscious level. And with a trauma sen-sor
implanted." He pointed to a small scar just above his
left ear. "You try to dig the info out of me, it'll trip
and wipe the cortical segment clean. Then nobody will
ever find where I put the credits."
"There's ways around those things." Boba Fett had
seen them before. "Bypasses and shunts-they're not
pleasant. But they work." He supposed the Hutts were
already preparing a deep neurosurgical dissection room
for Posondum upon his return. "It doesn't matter to me,
though. Since I'm not making a deal with you, anyway."
"But why not?" The accountant had reached one of his
skinny arms through the bars, trying to grab hold of Boba
Fett's sleeve. "It's a fortune-it's more than the Hutts
have offered you-"
"It very well might be." He had stepped away from the
cage, back to the unadorned and functional metal treads
that would return him to the Slave I's cockpit. "You
might be as good a thief as you are a number cruncher.
And if you're going to steal even one credit from a Hutt,
you might as well steal a billion. The consequences are
the same. But even if you do have that kind of credits
hidden away, I'm not interested in them. Or not
interested enough. I have my reputation to think of."
"Your . . ." Posondum gaped at him in amazement and
dismay. "Your what?"
"The Hutts and all my other clients-they pay me the
kind of bounties they do because of one thing. I deliver.
Once I've caught my prey, nothing stops me from bringing
it in. Nothing. If I take on a job, I complete it. And
everyone in the galaxy knows that."
"But . . . but I've heard of other bounty hunters ...
who'll cut a deal. . . ."
"Other bounty hunters may conduct their business as
they please." Fett barely managed to keep from his voice
the contempt with which he held the so-called Bounty
Hunters Guild's members. That kind of shortsighted greed
was one of the reasons he had no desire to associate
himself with the Guild. "They have their standards . . .
and I have mine." One of his gloved hands grasped the
ladder's side rail; he looked back over his shoulder at
the cage. "And I've got the merchandise, and they don't.
There's a connection."
Posondum's knees visibly weakened, his hands sliding
down the bars as he sank limply toward the cage's floor.
Whatever glint of hope had been in his face was now
extinguished.
"I suggest you go ahead and eat." Boba Fett nodded
his helmet toward the tray and its congealed contents.
"You'll need to keep up your strength."
He didn't wait for an answer. He climbed up from the
ship's holding pens and back toward its waiting controls.

5

"Here he comes." Lookout had spotted the approaching
ship. That was its job. "I can see him."
"Of course you can," said Kud'ar Mub'at. "That's a
good node." With the tip of one multijointed, chitinous
leg, the assembler stroked the little semicreature's
head. The exterior-observation node was one of the more
simpleminded subassem-blies scurrying about the web.
Kud'ar Mub'at had let just about enough cerebral tissue
develop inside so that it could focus its immense light-
gathering lens on the surrounding stars and anything that
moved among them. "Tell Calculator just what you saw."
The necessary data zapped along the web's tangled
neurons. Another subassembly, with useless vestigial legs
and a softly fragile shell encasing its specific-function
cortex, mulled over what it had received, converting raw
visuals to useful numbers. "Thyip thyoud arrive . . ."
Calculator's tiny lisping mouth moved beneath the
wobbling lump of neural matter. "In leth thyan thuh-ree
thtandard time part-th."
"I know who it is!" Identifier scrambled up onto
Kud'ar Mub'at's shoulder-if arachnoids could be said to
have shoulders-and excitedly chattered into its earhole.
The little database subassembly had listened in to what
Lookout had told Calculator. "I know, I know! It's the
Slave I! Positive identification made-"
"Of course it is." With another leg, Kud'ar Mub'at
plucked Identifier from its body-the childlike
subassemblies would swarm all over it, if it let them-and
set the node down on one of the web's structural strands.
"Now just settle down, little one."
"Boba Fett must be aboard!" Identifier, with its own
miniature versions of its parent's stiff-spined legs,
skittered back and forth on the taut silken fiber. "Boba
Fett!" The subassembly had no particular liking for the
bounty hunter; it just got excited over any visitors to
the web. "It's Boba Fett's ship!"
Kud'ar Mub'at sighed wearily, someplace deep inside
his near-spherical abdomen. His own mannerisms were slow
and somewhat languid, or as much so as the latter term
could be applied to a chitin-encased arachnoid. The
constant chatter of Identifier ^nnoyed him on occasion.
Perhaps, mused Kud'ar Mub'at, I should reabsorb that
node. And design and develop another one. A quieter one.
But right now the problem wasn't so much that of raw
materials- Kud'ar Mub'at could always extrude more subas
sembly fiber-as of time. Time lag, to be precise; even a
node as relatively uncomplicated as that took hundreds of
time units to develop to an operational standard. With as
much business as Kud'ar Mub'at was handling right now, it
couldn't afford to be without a functioning identifier.
Maybe later, thought the assembler as it hung
suspended in a nexus of the web's thicker strands. When
this business with Boba Fett is over. Kud'ar Mub'at
figured that its credit accounts would be fat enough
then, so that it could afford to take a little time off.
It would have to talk to Balancesheet about that.
"Go tell Docker and the Handler twins." Kud'ar Mub'at
gave the little chore to Identifier, rather than just
plugging back into the web's communication neurons. "Tell
them to get ready for company."
The little subassembly jumped and scurried away, down
the dark, fibrous corridors to the web's distant landing
snare. That'll keep it out of my leg hairs for a while,
thought Kud'ar Mub'at. It gently moved Lookout aside and
applied one of its own compound eyes to the view hole,
scanning the stars for any visible indication of his
enemy and business associate.

He'd long ago decided that this was the worst part of
the job. I'd rather hang out with the Hutts, thought Boba
Fett. And that was saying something Huttese palaces,
like the one Jabba the Hutt kept on Tatooine, were
sinkholes of gratuitous depravity. Every time he'd been
in one, either delivering a captive or collecting a
bounty in person, he'd felt as though he had been
slogging through a sewer filled with the galaxy's offal
and waste. The careless ease with which someone like
Jabba could dispose of an underling-Boba Fett had heard
of the pet rancor creature that Jabba kept beneath his
palace, but hadn't yet seen it-always irritated him. Why
kill when there was no profit involved? A waste of time,
credits, and flesh. But even a Hutt's palace was more to
Fett's liking than Kud'ar Mub'at's web.
The tapering cylinder floated in the Slave I's
viewport, gradually growing closer. It didn't even look
like a constructed artifact, as much as it resembled some
accidental conglomeration of glue and wire, strung
together with a Corellian scavenge rat's idiot thrift. As
Fett's ship approached, and Kud'ar Mub'at's web blotted
out more of the stars in the viewport, various bits of
machinery could be seen, sharper-edged than the clotted
fibers in which they were embedded. Boba Fett had been
dealing with the arachnoid assembler long enough to know
that it couldn't resist a bargain, no matter what kind of
worthless junk was involved; portions of the web were a
museum of defunct interstellar transports and other dead
castoffs. Even Jawas pursued their trade in junk and used
droids as a way of turning a profit; Kud'ar Mub'at
apparently just liked accumulating stuff, incorporating
it into the space-drifting home the assembler had spun
out from its own guts.
Though it wasn't all just junk, Boba Fett knew; that
was merely what Kud'ar Mub'at let show on the surface of
the web, perhaps as a matter of protective camouflage.
Not everyone had done as well in their encounters with
the assembler as he had; the few times that Fett had
actually gone into the web, he'd spotted some not
inconsiderable treasures, bits and pieces that the less
fortunate had been obliged to leave behind, to discharge
their debts to Kud'ar Mub'at. It would probably be better
to leave one's skin behind than try to cheat the spidery
entity.
Faint greenish lights showed in a rough circle,
indicating the docking section of the web. One of Kud'ar
Mub'at's subassemblies-Signaler was what it was called,
if Fett remembered correctly-was a phosphorescent
herpetoid node, long enough to encircle one end of the
web with its glowing, snakelike form. Kud'ar Mub'at had
let enough intelligence develop in the node so that it
could blink out a simple directional landing pattern for
any ship making a rendezvous with the web. Another group
of subassemblies, arrayed just inside the pulsing circle,
were devoid of even that much brainpower; they could
sense the proximity of a spacecraft and, like the ten
tacles of a Threndrian snareflower, grab hold and bring
it in tight and secure to the web's entry port. Boba Fett
loathed the idiot appendages, with their flexing vacuum-
resistant scales like rust-pitted armor plate. He'd told
Kud'ar Mub'at before, that if he ever found any scraps
from the tentacles still clinging to the Slave I after
he'd left the web, he'd turn around and pluck the nodes
one by one from the web with a short-range tractor beam.
That'd be a painful process for Kud'ar Mub'at; every
piece of the living web was connected to the assembler by
a skein of neurofibers.
He cut the Slave I's approach engines, leaving the
craft with enough momentum to keep it on a slow and
steady course toward the web's dock. Inside the ring of
light, the tips of the grappling nodes had already begun
to ease into position as the subassemblies woke from
their dreaming half sleep.
"Ah, my dear Fett." A high-pitched voice greeted him
as he clambered down from the docking port into the
narrow confines of the web's interior. "How truly a
delight it is to see you once more. After how horribly
such a long time it has been-"
"Stow it." Boba Fett looked up and saw by the top of
his helmet one of Kud'ar Mub'at's mobile vocal
appendages, a subassembly that was little more than a
rudimentary mouth tethered by a glistening cord. This one
must have been just recently extruded by the assembler,
the neural silk was still white and unmarked by the web's
centuries of accumulated filth. "I'm here for business,
not conversation."
The little voice box scurried along the tunnel's
fibrous ceiling, a pair of tiny claws reeling in its con
necting line as it kept pace with Fett. "Ah , that is
truly indeed the bounty hunter of my long acquaintance,
so bold and vivid he is in my remembering! How sadly long
I have been without the pleasure of your succinct and
charming wit."
Fett made no reply as he clambered through the
tunnel, its interwoven tissues yielding beneath the
weight of his boots. Wherever his thick gloves grabbed
hold, ripples of firing synapses sparked in fading
concentric circles, as though from a stone dropped in an
ocean filled with phosphorescent plankton. A few light
nodes, the smaller brethren of Signaler on the web's
exterior, glowed before him and dropped back into
darkness after he had passed by. Fett supposed that when
Kud'ar Mub'at had no visitor, the web remained unlit. The
assembler required no light to move around inside an
artifact constructed of its own spun-out cortex.
"There you are in your entirety!" The same voice,
like sheet metal being torn in half, sounded from in
front of Boba Fett as he ducked beneath a ridge of
hardened silk. "I knew you'd return, crowned with the
eminence of success." The words were louder, coming from
Kud'ar Mub'at's own mouth rather than the little voice-
box node. "And of undeniable punctuality you are as well,
indeed."
Boba Fett stepped into the web's central chamber, a
space large enough for him to stand upright in. It was
more than a matter of simile that it seemed to Fett as
though he had walked into the center of the assembler's
brain. That was the reality of Kud'ar Mub'at's nest and
body, an interconnected unity, one and the same thing. It
lives inside its armor, thought Fett, as I live inside
mine.
"I returned here when I said I would." Fett turned
his masked gaze upon the assembler. "It was a simple
enough job."
"Ah, for one of your exceedingly multifarious
talents, yes, I imagine it was." Kud'ar Mub'at's compound
eyes focused on his visitor. One of its jointed, spike-
haired forelegs inscribed a graceful acknowledging
gesture in the chamber's thick air. "No complications, I
take it?"
"The usual." He folded his arms across the front of
his battle-gear. "There were a couple of other bounty
hunters who were hoping to nab him before I did."
"Ooh." The eyes, like dark black cabochons, glittered
with anticipation. "And you took care of them?"
"I didn't have to." Fett knew how much the assembler
enjoyed war stories, the more violence-filled the better.
He didn't feel like indulging the arachnoid creature's
taste. "They were just the usual feckless types that the
Bounty Hunters Guild sends out. It's easier to walk
around a pile of nerf dung than step right into it."
"How very droll! You amuse me greatly!" Kud'ar Mub'at
reached up to the chamber's ceiling with several of its
hind legs, lifting itself up from where it had been
resting its pale abdomen. "It is a savory bonus of our
relationship that I am privileged to hear your
scintillating repartee." The bed node wheezed as it
reinflated its cushiony pneumatic bladders. Kud'ar Mub'at
worked his way across the chamber's ceiling, finally
dangling its mandibled face directly in front of the
bounty hunter. "Have we not more than a mere business
relationship, my dear Fett? Please say yes. Say that we
are friends, you and I."
"Friends," said Boba Fett coldly, "are a liability in
my trade." He drew the visor of his helmet back from the
assembler's glittering eyes and V-shaped smile. "I'm not
here to amuse you. Pay me the bounty you're holding in
escrow, I'll hand the merchandise over to you, and I'll
go."
"Until the next time." Kud'ar Mub'at turned its head,
regarding him with another set of gemlike eyes. "Which
cannot be anytime too soon, for my preference."
Maybe it's this part of the job, Boba Fett thought to
himself, that's the worst. Tracking someone down,
pursuing him the width of the galaxy, capturing,
transporting, killing anyone who had to be killed in
order to get the job done-those things were all cold
pleasures, to be savored as tests and confirmations of
his own skills. Dealing with any of the clients, whether
it was a matter of direct negotiation such as with the
Empire's Lord Vader or a sleaze mountain such as Jabba
the Hutt, or a third-party negotiation with a middle
entity such as Kud'ar Mub'at, was more repellent than
satisfying. It always turned out to be the same thing,
every time. They never want to pay up, brooded Fett. They
always want the merchandise; they just never want to pan
with their credits in exchange. With Hutts, it was always
an emotional issue, at least at the start. Their megalo-
maniacal rages at any perceived sign of disloyalty led
them to post huge, eye-popping bounties; later, when they
had simmered down a bit, the Hutts' natural cold-blooded
greed kicked in and they tried to take the prices down.
The members of the so-called Bounty Hunters Guild would
accept a fraction of an original bounty, sometimes as low
as ten percent. That was one of the reasons that Boba
Fett despised them he had never taken a credit less than
the agreed-upon sum, and had no intention of starting.
"I have other business to take care of," said Boba
Fett. That was true. The galaxy was wide, with lots of
dark nooks and crannies, remote worlds and even entire
planetary systems that could serve as hiding places. And
there were always those entities with reasons to hide,
either to save their epidermis from Emperor Palpatine's
coruscating wrath or to clutch in their sweating hands
the meager piles of credits they had managed to pry out
of Jabba's coffers. Even with as much "business" as Boba
Fett handled, there were still plenty of scraps left for
the Guild to dole out to its members, the small stuff
that he couldn't be bothered with. But the longer that
Kud'ar Mub'at needlessly detained him here, cackling and
wheezing at him inside the tangled corridors of its own
expanded brain, the greater the chance that some hustling
Guild member would be able to snatch some prize bounty
away from him. That notion would have infuriated Fett, if
any such word of passion could have been applied to the
coldly unfeeling logic that dictated his actions. As it
was, he let his masked gaze rest upon Kud'ar Mub'at's
insectile face like the sharp point of a bladed weapon.
"Pay me, and I won't detain you from your own . . .
business."
Everyone in the galaxy knew what Kud'ar Mub'at's
business was. There was no other entity among the stars
quite like the notorious assembler. If there were other
members of its species on some distant planet, covered
with skeins and nets of their extruded neural silk, that
world hadn't been discovered yet. Perhaps Kud'ar Mub'at
was the only existing assembler; Fett had heard rumors,
dating back to a time before he'd become the galaxy's
most-feared bounty hunter, of Kud'ar Mub'at's
predecessor, another assembler of whom Kud'ar Mub'at
itself had been a node, a semi-independent creature like
the ones that scuttled around this web, dragging their
neurofiber tethers behind them. That parent assembler had
made the mistake of letting one of its offspring become a
little too developed and independent, and had paid the
price death and ingestion by the web's new owner, the
usurper Kud'ar Mub'at. The assembler is dead, thought
Boba Fett with distaste, long live the assembler. Even
Hutts, with their monstrous appetites and vicious family
rivalries, drew the line at actually eating one of their
own clan that they might have beaten out for control of
some typically shady enterprise.
With the web, drifting through interstellar space,
and its contents had come the assembler's business. Some
entity had to act as the universe's go-between and
intermediary, especially among all the worlds' criminal
elements and those who did business with criminals. If
there had ever been a time when there had been honor
among thieves, it was long over in this galaxy. Boba Fett
had never cheated any of his clients, though he had been
forced to kill quite a few. If everybody had held to his
standards of business morality, there wouldn't have been
any need for an operator like Kud'ar Mub'at. As it was,
the assembler took a justifiable percentage for the
services he provided, the setting up of deals between
murderously inclined entities, the holding in escrow of
bounty payments, the transfer of captives to those who
had put up the credits for them. The Bounty Hunters Guild
worked almost all their jobs through Kud'ar Mub'at; Boba
Fett used the assembler when that was the client's
preference and the percentage was raked off from the
other side and not his own.
"But my highly esteemed Fett-" As Kud'ar Mub'at
dangled from the web's ceiling, it rubbed its tiniest and
most agile forelimbs together. "It is not entirely a
matter of such highly enjoyable socialization that causes
me to desire the extending of your visit to my abode. You
speak of your own business, which you are naturally in
such a haste to attend to. Very well; let us speak of
business together. You know me-" The assembler's compound
eyes twinkled. "I'm as delightedly happy to talk about
that as any other subject. And right now your business
and mine once again coincide. Is that not a pleasing hap
penstance?"
Boba Fett studied the assembler's narrow face,
looking for any clue that would reveal the creature's
true intentions, always hidden beneath its oily chatter.
" What business are you talking about?" Usually, any news
of a bounty being posted was caught directly by the Slave
I's programmed comm scanners. "A private job?"
"Ah, you are so astute." The assembler's forelimbs
made little scraping noises, like thin and cheap plastoid
shells. "Little wonder that you are such a success in
your chosen field of endeavor. Yes, my dear Fett, a very
private job indeed."
That interested Fett. Of all the things that Kud'ar
Mub'at could have said, that caught his attention more
than any other. Private jobs were the cream of the bounty-
hunter trade. There were times when clients, for reasons
of their own, wanted some fugitive entity caught and
delivered with a maximum of discretion. Posting a bounty
galaxy-wide effectively eliminated any chance of
maintaining secrecy; for the client to get what it
wanted, arrangements would have to be made with one
particular bounty hunter. More often than not, that would
be Boba Fett himself; over the decades he'd built up a
reputation for confidentiality as well as effectiveness.
"Who's the client?" It wasn't essential for Boba Fett
to know, though it sometimes made the job easier. If it
was all being arranged through Kud'ar Mub'at, the
client's desire for secrecy might be absolute, without
even the hunter knowing who was putting up the bounty.
"Is it one of the Hutts?"
"Not this time." Kud'ar Mub'at displayed his
approximation of a smile again. "You and I have done so
much business for Jabba and his brethren lately. After I
turn over our little friend Posondum to them, I would not
be greatly surprised if they decided to tighten their
purse strings for a while. No, no; don't say a word-" The
forelimbs waved about. "You don't need to remind me that
I can hardly deliver anything to anybody until you've
been paid. Balancesheet!" The assembler's screech rang
down the length of the web. "Get in here! Immediately!"
Kud'ar Mub'at's accountant node carefully picked its
way along the fibers and entered the central chamber. Of
all of the subassemblies, this was the one that Boba Fett
had always found most to his liking-and not just because
it was the one that actually handed over the bounties
that its parent would be holding in escrow. The crablike
Balancesheet, as Kud'ar Mub'at had named its extruded
creation, had a laconic, no-nonsense approach to its
duties that Fett found similar to his own. He would be
sorry- or as much so as he ever was-when Kud'ar Mub'at
would determine that the little accountant node had
developed as much intelligence as could be allowed.
Balancesheet, like other nodes before it, would be eaten
by its parent before there was any danger of independence
and mutiny of the kind that had made Kud'ar Mub'at master
of the assembler web.
"Boba Fett, current account; balance due . . ." The
accountant node maneuvered its pliable shell close to his
shoulder, extending its eyestalks parallel to the
chamber's floor as it made an ID scan of the bounty
hunter's distinctive helmet. "Just a moment, please."
"Take your time," said Fett. "Accuracy is a virtue."
Balancesheet said nothing, but a brief flicker in its
gaze acknowledged that it and Boba Fett were kindred
entities, in spirit if not species.
"Previous balance zero." Balancesheet had finished
its show of calculation. "Due upon delivery of one
humanoid, designation Nil Posondum, client being the
Huttese business front Trans-Zone Development and
Exploitation Consortium, the sum of twelve thousand five
hundred credits." The accountant node swiveled its
eyestalks toward its parent. "Our fee has already been
paid by the Hutts. The entire bounty being held is now
payable to Boba Fett."
"But of course," crooned Kud'ar Mub'at softly. "Who
would deny it?"
The eyestalks turned back toward Fett. "And the
individual Nil Posondum is in a living and desirable
condition, certain nonessential injuries excepted, as per
standard bounty-hunting practice?"
Boba Fett raised his wrist-mounted comm unit to the
front of his helmet. A tiny red spark indicated that the
link to Slave I's cockpit controls was unbroken. "Open
inspection port Gamma Eight." That port allowed visual
access to the cages in his ship's cargo hold. "Perimeter
defenses on standby."
A moment later Balancesheet looked over at its
parent. "Designated merchandise appears to be in good
condition." The announcement was more for Boba Fett's
hearing than the assembler's; the sensory data from the
remote optical node had traveled down the neural network
linking Kud'ar Mub'at with the accountant and all the
other subassemblies in the web. "Initiating transfer."
That was the kind of thing that would get the little
accountant eaten; it hadn't waited for Kud'ar Mub'at's
order. Boba Fett supposed that the next time he came to
the web, a newly extruded node would be maintaining
Kud'ar Mub'at's intricate finances.
"I most sincerely hope that you enjoy the well-earned
possession of those credits." Kud'ar Mub'at watched as
Fett tucked the amount-sealed credit packet into one of
his gear's carrying pouches. Balancesheet had made the
payment and picked its way over to another section of the
chamber. "I often wonder-" The assembler extended its
smiling face toward him. "Just what is it that you do
with all the credits you get paid? Granted, you have
considerable expenditures, to keep going such a level of
operation. The equipment, the intelligence sources, all
of those things. But you make so much more than that; I
know you do." A few of Kud'ar Mub'at's eyes peered more
closely at him. "But what do you spend it on?"
One of Boba Fett's rare flashes of anger rose inside
him. "That's none of your business." Slave I had signaled
that the captive had been removed from the cargo hold and
into one of the web's dismal sub-chambers; all ports had
been resealed. The temptation to stalk out of this place,
to get back into his ship and tear himself into the cold,
clean depths of space, was almost overwhelming. "Let's
talk about the business that you and I do have with each
other."
"Ah, yes! Most certainly!" Kud'ar Mub'at flexed its
main limbs, causing its segmented torso to bob up and
down in front of its visitor. "It's not really the usual
sort of thing you do; it's not a matter of tracking down
someone and delivering them, all wrapped up in a neat
little package. But you're so versatile- aren't you?-that
I'm sure it's something you can handle with your
characteristic dispatch."
Fett's suspicions were always aroused when a job was
described as being out of the ordinary. That usually
meant that the danger to him would be greater, or that
getting paid would be more difficult, or both. Jabba the
Hutt was always coming up with numbers like that, where
Fett was expected to risk his life on some flaky errand.
"I asked you before," he growled. "Who's the client?"
"There isn't one." Kud'ar Mub'at seemed delighted to
make that announcement. "Or at least, not in the usual
sense. I'm not acting on behalf of a third party. This
job would be for me."
The suspicions heightened. Kud'ar Mub'at had always
been the perfect intermediary, keeping his role
scrupulously separate from his clients' interests. That
go-between function was valued so highly that even the
most ruthless connivers such as Jabba had never tried to
cheat the assembler. It was hard to imagine who could
have incurred Kud'ar Mub'at's enmity, to the point of the
assembler requiring Fett's lethal skills.
At the same time, though-Boba Fett's calculations
clicked over inside his helmeted skull-there was no doubt
that Kud'ar Mub'at could pay for whatever it wanted. Fett
wasn't in the habit of questioning his various employers'
desires-but just delivering them. Not every job required
a living piece of merchandise; leaving a dead body on the
blood-soaked soil of a remote planet was also within his
range of expertise.
"So just what is it that you want me to do for you?"
Kud'ar Mub'at pointed one of its jointed fore-limbs
toward him. "Tell me first-or tell me again- what you
think of the Guild. You know; the Bounty Hunters Guild."
"I don't," said Fett. He gave a slight shrug. "It's
not worth thinking about. If any of its members were at
all proficient, they wouldn't be in it. An organization
like that is for the weak and harmless, who think that by
combining their forces they might become deadly. They're
wrong."
"Harsh words, my dear Fett! Harsh words, indeed!
There are some accomplished hunters in the Guild, with
achievements nearly equaling your own. The Guild has been
headed for many years now by the Trandoshan Cradossk; he
was a legend among the stars when you were first starting
out."
"So he was." Fett nodded once. "And now he is old and
feeble, if still cunning. His offspring Bossk was one of
those who got in my way as I was capturing Nil Posondum.
If the son were one tenth the bounty hunter that the
father had been, I might have some competition. But he's
not, and I don't. The Bounty Hunters Guild's glory days
are long in the past."
"Ah, my dear Fett, I see that your opinions have not
changed." Kud'ar Mub'at shook its dust-speckled head.
"You wield them like something that you've taken from
that arsenal you carry on your back. I'll have to make it
very much worth your while; expensively thus, to entice
you into accepting this little job of mine."
Fett kept his helmet's featureless gaze on the as
sembler. "Which is?"
"It's really very simple." Kud'ar Mub'at clicked the
points of his forelimbs together. "I want you to join the
Bounty Hunters Guild."
The assembler's compound eyes were not the only ones
watching him. Boba Fett could sense the tiny crablike
accountant and all the rest of the web's interconnected
nodes, their overlapping vision feeding into the central
cortex of their master and parent. They were all
watching-and waiting for his answer.
"You're right about one thing," said Boba Fett.
Kud'ar Mub'at's eyes glittered even more brightly.
"Yes? What's that?"
His suspicions hadn't gone away; if anything, they
were even sharper and harder. The simple jobs, he said to
himself. Those are the ones you get killed on.
"This job of yours..."
"Yes?" The tethered subassemblies crept closer to
Kud'ar Mub'at, as though the web itself were narrowing
tighter.
Boba Fett gave a slow nod of his helmet. "It'll cost
you."

6

From a small viewport embedded in a wall of tangled
fibers, a slit-pupiled eye of deep violet hue watched the
bright trail of an interstellar craft, dwindling among
the wide-flung stars. A moment later the engine flare
blinked out of sight, as the Slave I leaped into
hyperspace and was gone.
"Your Excellency-" One of Kud'ar Mub'at's household
nodes hesitated, then skittered closer and tugged at the
hem of the ornate, heavy robes brushing the observation
chamber's matted floor. "Your presence is now desired by
your host."
Prince Xizor turned away from the viewport. His cold
reptilian glance took in the trembling subassem-bly.
Perhaps, if he were to crush it beneath the sole of his
boot, a shock of pain would flash along the web's
neurofibers, straight into Kud'ar Mub'at's chitinous
skull. It would be an experiment worth making; he had an
interest in whatever might produce fear inside any of the
galaxy's inhabitants. Someday, Xizor told himself. But
not right now. "Tell your master," he said in a smooth,
unthreatening voice, "that I'll be there directly."
When he entered the web's main chamber, he saw that
Kud'ar Mub'at had settled its globular abdomen back into
its padded nest. "Ah, my highly esteemed Xizor!" It used
the same obsequious voice that he had overheard it
lavishing on the departed bounty hunter. "I so very much
hope that you weren't uncomfortable in that wretched
space! Great is my mortification, my embarrassment that I
should offer such-"
"It was more than adequate," said Xizor. "Don't fret
yourself about it." He folded his heavily corded forearms
across his chest. "I'm not always surrounded by the
luxuries of the Emperor's court. Sometimes . . ." He let
the corner of his mouth lift in a partial smile.
"Sometimes my accommodations-and my companions-are of a
rougher sort."
"Ah." Kud'ar Mub'at nodded quickly. "Just so."
The assembler knew better than to speak anything
aloud of what his noble guest had just referred to. Even
the two words "Black Sun," in as private a place as this,
were forbidden. To make silence a general rule was to
ensure that no one would discover the other side of
Xizor's double existence. In one universe, he was Emperor
Palpatine's loyal servant; in that universe's shadowed
twin, he was the leader of a criminal organization whose
reach, if not power, was as galaxy spanning as the
Empire's.
"He took the job." Xizor said the words as a
statement of fact, not a question.
"Yes, of course he did." Kud'ar Mub'at fussed
nervously with the pneumatic bladders of his nest. "Boba
Fett is a reasonable entity. In his way. Very
businesslike; I find that to be of the utmost charm in
him."
"When you use the word 'businesslike,' " noted Xizor,
"you mean . . . 'can be bought.' "
"What other possible definition is there?" As Kud'ar
Mub'at gazed at him, the assembler's eyes filled with
innocence. "My so dear Xizor-we're all businessmen. We
can all be bought."
"Speak for yourself." The partial smile on his face
turned into a full sneer. "I prefer to be the one who's
doing the buying."
"Ah, and so happy am I to be one of those whose
services you have purchased." Kud'ar Mub'at settled
itself more comfortably into its nest. "I hope this grand
scheme of yours, of which I am so small yet hopefully an
essential part, will turn out exactly as you, in your
ineffable wisdom, wish it to."
"It will," said Xizor, "if you perform the rest of
your role as well as you did with hoodwinking Boba Fett."
"You flatter me." Kud'ar Mub'at bowed its head low.
"My thespic abilities are regrettably crude, but perhaps
they sufficed in this instance."
The assembler had had to be no more than its usual
conniving self to set the trap in which the bounty hunter
was already ensnared. One of the nodes in the central
chamber was a simple auditory unit, a tympanic membrane
with legs, tied like all the rest of the nodes into the
web's expanded nervous system. From his hiding place,
Prince Xizor had been able to listen in, another one of
Kud'ar Mub'at's attached offspring whispering into his
ear all the words passing between the assembler and Boba
Fett. The web surrounding them wasn't the only one that
Kud'ar Mub'at could spin. Fett was not aware of it yet,
but strands too fine to be detected were already tangling
about his boots, drawing him into a trap without escape.
Xizor almost felt sorry for the bounty hunter. The
reptilian Falleen species was even more coldblooded than
Trandoshans such as the aging Cradossk and his rage-
driven offspring Bossk; pity was not an emotion that
Xizor had ever experienced. Whether he was operating on
behalf of Emperor Palpatine or secretly advancing the
Black Sun's criminal agenda, Xizor manipulated all who
came into his reach with the same nonemotion he'd display
for pieces on a gaming board. They were to be positioned
and used as necessity dictated, sacrificed and discarded
when strategy required. Still, thought Xizor, an entity
such as Boba Fett . . . The bounty hunter merited his
respect, at least. To look into that helmet's concealing
visor was to meet a gaze as ruthless and unsentimental as
his own. He'll fight to survive. And he'll fight well. .
. .
But that was part of the trap that had already seized
hold of Boba Fett. The cruel irony-and one that Xizor
savored-was that Fett was now doomed by his own fierce
nature. All that had kept him alive before, in so many
deadly situations, would now bring about his destruction.
Too bad, thought Prince Xizor to himself. In another
game, a piece as powerful as that would have had it uses.
Only a master player would dare a strategic sacrifice
such as this. To lose, however necessarily, such an
efficient hunter and killer was his only regret.
"Pardon my admittedly clumsy intrusion." Kud'ar
Mub'at's high-pitched voice broke into his musing. "But
there are some other tiny, almost insignificant matters
to be taken care of. To ensure the complete success of
your endeavors, which are as always of such brilliance
and-"
"Of course." Xizor regarded the assembler sitting in
its animate nest. "You want to be paid."
"Only for the sake of keeping our records straight. A
mere formality." With an upraised forelimb, Kud'ar Mub'at
directed his accountant node toward the prince. "I'm sure
one of your keen perception understands."
"All too well." He watched as the subassembly named
Balancesheet picked its way toward him. Nothing happened
with Kud'ar Mub'at except on a pay-as-you-go basis.
"We've done business together enough times for me to
remember without prompting."
A few moments later, when the transfer of credits had
been completed, Balancesheet swiveled its eyestalks
toward its parent. "The prince's account is once again
current, with no outstanding sums due. Per your existing
agreement, final payment will be made upon a satisfactory
resolution of the Bounty Hunters Guild situation."
Balancesheet gave a small nod to Xizor and returned to
its perch on the central chamber's wall.
"Affairs are going well," said Xizor. "So far." He
had already summoned his ship, the Virago, from inside
the detection shadow of one of the moons of the nearest
planetary system. "I'll be watching to make sure they
continue that way."
"But of course." Waving all its sticklike fore-limbs,
Kud'ar Mub'at dispatched a scuttling flock of nodes to
ready the web's docking area. Boba Fett's Slave I had
departed only a little while before, leaving behind a
captive in the darkest subchamber. "You. have nothing to
fear in that regard." Xizor knew that as soon as he was
gone, Kud'ar Mub'at would be in contact with the Hutts,
to hand over the bounty hunter's merchandise and collect
its middle-entity fee. "All will be well. . . ."
The screech of the assembler's words followed Prince
Xizor as he stalked down the tunnel toward the docking
area. He'd already decided that as soon as he got back to
the Emperor's court, he'd spend a few soothing hours
listening to the dulcet croon of his own personal troupe
of Falleen altos, to flush any residue of that drilling
and defiling voice from his ears.

"What a fool." Kud'ar Mub'at muttered the words with
a grim satisfaction. Right at this moment the designation
could apply to either of two entities. Both Prince Xizor
and Boba Fett were somewhere in hyperspace, speeding
toward their destinies; the bo unty hunter to a rendezvous
with the despised Bounty Hunters Guild, Xizor to the
Empire's dark corridors of power. Neither one of them
suspected what they had gotten themselves into, the finer
web in which they were already enmeshed. They don't know,
thought Kud'ar Mub'at. That was how it preferred things.
I spin the traps, then pull them in.
It reached out with one of its smallest forelimbs and
stroked the shell of its accountant node. "Soon," said
Kud'ar Mub'at. "Soon there will be a great many credits
for you to tally up and keep track of." As far as Kud'ar
Mub'at was concerned, true power equaled riches,
something that one could rake delicate claws across. Only
maniacs like Palpatine and his grim lieutenant Lord Vader
valued the trembling, bootlicking fear of a galaxy of
underlings. That was the kind of power that Prince Xizor
wanted as well; his criminal associates in Black Sun were
no doubt unaware of their leader's long-range intent.
They might not ever find out, either. Some traps were
woven for their prey to die in.
"Very well." Balancesheet tapped its own tiny claws
together, as though the numbers involved could be
counted that simply. "Your accounts are all in good
order."
Something in the node's bland response troubled
Kud'ar Mub'at. It had extruded this particular sub-
assembly some time ago, and had developed it into one of
the web's most valuable components. Flesh of my flesh,
mused Kud'ar Mub'at, silk of my silk. And a part of its
brain as well Kud'ar Mub'at could look into
Balancesheet's compound eyes and see a calculating
replica of itself. Had the node discovered the joys of
greed yet? That was the important question. I must watch
for that, decided the assembler. Greed was a higher
sense, perhaps the most important of all. When Kud'ar
Mub'at perceived that in the little tethered node, it
would be time for death and re-ingestion. Kud'ar Mub'at
didn't want to wind up as its own parent had so long ago,
a meal for rebellious offspring.
It watched as Balancesheet picked its way into some
darker recess of the web. I hope that won't be for a
while yet, thought Kud'ar Mub'at. Its interconnected
business affairs were at a crucial point; much
inconvenience would be suffered if it didn't have a fully
functioning accountant on claw.
Kud'ar Mub'at decided to think about that later. It
closed its several pairs of eyes and happily contemplated
all that would soon be added to the web's coffers.

After every job came the cleanup. The Slave I was a
working vessel, not some pleasure schooner fitted out for
languorous cruising between the stars. Even so, Boba Fett
preferred keeping the craft as neatly functional as
possible. Minor dings and scrapes to the exterior hull
were war badges, emblems of encounters that he had
survived and someone else hadn't. But future survival
might depend on his being able to lay his armor-gloved
hand on one of the Slave I's weapon-systems remotes in a
split second, without the firing buttons or data readout
being obscured by dirt or dried blood.
Besides, thought Boba Fett grimly, / can't stand the
smell. He squeezed his fist tighter, a soapy antiseptic
wash trickling into the bucket set on the floor of the
cargo area. There was something nauseating about the
humanoid scent of fear that seeped into the very metal of
the cages. Of all the sensory data he had ever
experienced, from the acrid steam of the Andoan swamp
islands to the blinding creation-swirl of the Vinnax
system's countervacuum, those molecules signaling panic
and desperation were what Fett found to be the most
alien. Whatever minute subcutaneous organ produced fear
sweat, it was missing in him. Not because he had been
born without it-no sentient creature was-but because he
had forced it into nonexistence, excised it from his mind
with the razor-sharp scalpel of his will. The ancient
Mandalorian warriors, whose lethal battle-gear he wore,
had been just as coldly ruthless, according to the
legends that were still told and retold in whispers
throughout the galaxy. Long ago, when he had first gazed
upon one of their empty helmets, a relic of an
extinguished terror, he had seen in its narrow, un
readable gaze an image of his own future, of the death-
bringing entity he would become.
Less than human, mused Boba Fett as he swabbed down
the bars that his most recent captive had been held
behind. That was what fear did, that was the
transformation it wrought in those who let it spring up
in their spirits. The thing in the cage, which had
carried the name of Nil Posondum, had been some kind of
talking, fruitlessly bargaining animal by the time Fett
had transferred it to Kud'ar Mub'at's web. Fear of death,
and the pain that Hutts enjoyed producing in the targets
of their vengeance, had swallowed up all the human parts
inside the little accountant.
An odd notion moved in Boba Fett's thoughts, one that
he'd turned over and examined like a precious Gerinian
star-stone many times before. Perhaps . . . I became more
human than human. Not by adding anything to himself, but
through a process of reduction, of stripping away the
flawed and rotten parts of his species. The antiseptic
rag in his glove slid over one of the cold-forged bars,
leaving no microbe behind. The ancient Mandalorian
warriors had had their secrets, which had died with them.
And I have mine.
Fett dipped the rag in the bucket again. He could
have left these chores to one of Slave I's maintenance
droids, but he preferred doing it himself. It gave him
time to think, of just such matters as this.
The soapy liquid trickled from the battle-gear's
elbow as Fett checked the forearm-mounted data-screen
patched into the Slave I's cockpit. Rendezvous with the
Bounty Hunters Guild's forward base was not far off. He
was ready for that-he was never not ready, for anything
that might happen-but he would still regret the
termination of this little slice of nontime, the lull and
peace that came between jobs. Other sentient creatures
were allowed to enjoy a longer rest, the ultimate peace
that came with death. Sometimes he envied them.
He unlocked the empty cage and stepped inside. The
fear scent was already diminished, barely detectable
through the mask's filters. Posondum hadn't left much of
a mess, for which he was grateful; some merchandise let
their panic devolve them well past the point of
maintaining control of their bodily functions.
The floor of the cage was scratched, though. Bright
metallic lines glinted through the darker layer of
plastoid beneath Boba Fett's boot soles. He wondered what
could have caused that. He was always careful to take any
hard, sharp objects away from the merchandise, with which
they might damage themselves. Some captives preferred
suicide to the attentions they were scheduled to receive
from those who had put up the bounties for them.
Fett glanced over to the corner of the Slave Fs cargo
area, where he had tossed the food tray. None of the gray
slop had been touched by Nil Posondum, but one of the
tray's corners had been bent into a dull-pointed angle.
Just enough to scrape out the markings on the cage's
floor-the accountant must have been working on it right
up until Kud'ar Mub'at's subassemblies had crept in
through the access portal. The spiderlike minions had
looped restraining silk around him, then carried him from
one prison to another. He might have had time enough to
finish whatever message he'd wanted to leave behind.
But there wasn't time now to read it. A red light
pulsed on the data readout, alerting him that a return to
the craft's piloting area was necessary. The jump out of
hyperspace couldn't be accomplished by means of a remote;
the Slave I's maneuvering thrust-ers were too finely
gauged, set for zero lag time, in case any of Fett's many
enemies and rivals might be waiting for his appearance.
And right now he would be sailing straight into the nest
of all those who bore him a grudge. He supposed that
lizard-faced bumbler Bossk would already have returned to
Guild headquarters, licking his wounds and complaining to
his spawn-sire Cradossk about the impossible assignment
he'd been given. What Bossk wouldn't mention would be why
it had been impossible, and just who had beaten him to
the goods. Cradossk was a wilier old reptile, though-Boba
Fett even had a grudging respect for the head of the
Bounty Hunters Guild, from some long-ago encounters with
him-and would know just what the score was with his
feckless underlings.
The Mandalorian battle-gear had a built-in optical
recorder, its tiny lens mounted at one corner of the
helmet's visor. Boba Fett leaned over the scratches left
by the captive accountant, not even bothering with an
effort to decipher them. A second later he had scanned
the marks and inserted them into the helmet's long-term
data-storage unit. He could deal with them later, if he
grew curious about what pathetic epitaph the accountant
might have devised for himself. Maudlin self-pity held
little interest for Boba Fett. Right now an additional
beeping tone was sounding in sync with the red dot; Slave
I, his only true companion, demanded his attention.
He left the bucket of cold, dirty water on the cage's
floor. If it spilled and slopped across the plas-toid-
clad metal, if the feet of all the captives to come
scuffed out the scratched message, whatever it was, there
would be no great loss. Memory was like that the
leavings of the dead, best forgotten and erased after
payment for their sweat-damp carcasses was made. The
moment when his hand was about to seize the neck of the
merchandise was the only time that mattered. Readiness
was all.
Boba Fett climbed the ladder to the interstellar
craft's cockpit, his own boots ringing on the treads. The
new job that he had taken on, this scheme of the
assembler Kud'ar Mub'at, was about to commence. Soon
there would be more payments to add to his account. . . .
And more deaths to be forgotten.

7

NOW

"I want to see him." The female had a gaze as sharp
and cold as a bladed weapon. "And to talk to him."
Dengar could barely recognize her. He remembered her
from Jabba's palace; she had been one of the obese Hutt's
troupe of dancing girls. Jabba had liked pretty things,
regarding them as exquisite delicacies for his senses,
like the wriggling food he'd stuffed down his capacious
gullet. And just as with those squirming tidbits, Jabba
had savored the death of the young and beautiful. The pet
rancor, in its bone-lined cavern beneath the palace, had
merely been an extension of Jabba's appetites. Dengar had
witnessed one of the other dancing girls, a frightened
little Twi'lek named Oola, being ripped apart by the
claws of the beast. That had been before Luke Skywalker
had killed the rancor, followed sometime later by its
owner's death. No great loss, thought Dengar. With either
one of them.
"Why?" Leaning against the rocky wall of his hiding
place's main chamber, he kept a safe distance from the
female. "He's not exactly a brilliant conversationalist
at the moment."
Her name was Neelah; she had told him that much when
he had caught her sneaking down the sloping tunnel from
the surface. He had gotten the drop on her, catching her
off guard from behind a stack of empty supply crates.
With her throat in the crook of his arm, as Dengar's
other hand had painfully bent her wrist up toward her
shoulder blades, she'd answered a few questions for him.
And then she had caught him in the shin with a hard, fast
back kick, followed by a knee to the groin that had sent
a small constellation of stars to the top of his skull.
"That's personal." They were in a standoff now,
glaring at each other from across the cramped space. "I
have my own business with him."
What business would an ex-dancing girl have with a
bounty hunter? Especially one as close to death as Boba
Fett was right now. Maybe, mused Dengar, she thinks she
can get a discount from him, since he's so messed up.
Though who would she want him to track down?
He glanced over to the doorway of the hiding place's
other chamber. "What condition is our guest in today?"
The taller medical droid tilted its head unit to
study the display of vital signs mounted on its own
cylindrical body. "The patient's condition is stable,"
announced SHS1-B. "The prognosis is unchanged from its
previous trauma-scan indices of point zero zero twelve."
"Which means?" "He's dying."
That was another question Why couldn't these
fnarling droids just say what they meant? He'd had to
bang this one around until the solenoids had rattled
inside its carapace just to get it to speak this much of
a plain Basic.
"Wounds," added SHSl-B's shorter companion.
"Severity." le-XE gave a slow back-and-forth rotation of
its top dome. "Not-goodness."
"Whatever." Dengar was looking forward to being rid
of this irritating pair. That would come with either Boba
Fett's death-or his recovery. Which was looking
increasingly less likely.
"If that's the case," said Neelah, "then you're
wasting my time. I need to talk to him right now."
"Well, that's sweet of you." Arms folded across his
chest, Dengar nodded as he regarded her. "You're not
really concerned with whether some bounty hunter pitches
it or not. You just want to pump him for some kind of
information. Right?"
She made no reply, but Dengar could tell that his
words had struck home. The look the female gave him was
even more murderous than before. A lot had changed since
she'd been one of Jabba's fetching playthings; even in
this little time the harsh winds of Tatooine's Dune Sea
had scoured her flesh leaner and tauter, the heat of the
double suns darkening her skin. What had been soft,
nubile flesh, revealed by gossamer silks, was now
concealed by the coarse, bloodstained trousers and
sleeveless jacket that she must have scavenged from the
corpse of one of Jabba's bodyguards; a thick leather
belt, its attached holster empty, cinched the uniform
tight to her waist and hunger-carved belly.
Starving, thought Dengar. She had to be; the Dune Sea
didn't exactly abound with protein sources. "Here-"
Keeping an eye on her, Dengar reached into one of the
crates and dug out a bar of compressed military rations,
salvage from an Imperial scoutship that had crash-landed
years before. He tossed the bar to the female. "You look
like you need it."
Appetite widened her eyes, showing their deep violet
color. Her fingers quickly tore open the thin metallic
wrappings; she raised the slab, already softening as it
absorbed what moisture it could from the air, to her
mouth, but stopped herself before taking a bite.
"Go ahead," said Dengar. "I'm not in the habit of
poisoning people." He reached behind himself to one of
the niches concealed in the chamber's stones. "If I
wanted to get rid of you"-his fist came out with a
blaster in it; he raised the weapon and pointed it at
Neelah's forehead-"I could do it easier than that."
Her gaze fastened on the blaster, as though its
muzzle were doing the talking.
"Good," said Dengar. His groin still ached from the
blow he'd received. "Now I think we understand each
other."
A few seconds passed, then the female nodded slowly.
She took a bite of the rations bar, chewed and swallowed.
"I must inform you," came SHSl-B's voice from the
subchamber doorway. "That any further casualties will
have a deleterious impact on our ability to perform our
functions in a manner consistent with an appropriate
level of therapeutic practice."
Dengar swiveled the blaster toward the droid. "If
there's any more 'casualties' around here, I'll be
sweeping them up with a magnet. Got me?"
SHSl-B leaned back, bumping against his companion.
"Understanding," said le-XE, speaking for both of them.
"Completeness."
"That's nice. Go take care of your patient," said
Dengar, slipping the blaster inside his own belt. He
glanced back over at Neelah. "You enjoying that?"
She had virtually inhaled the rations bar. Her pale
fingernails plucked out a few last crumbs from the
wrappings.
"Give me some answers," said Dengar, "and you can
have another one."
She crumpled the foil into a shining ball inside her
small fist.
I'm getting soft, thought Dengar. There had been a
time when he wouldn't have bothered asking questions. He
wouldn't have lowered the blaster, either, until there
had been a corpse lying in front of him, with a hole
burned through its brain. That was what letting himself
fall in love-not with this female, but with his
betrothed, Manaroo-had done for him. That was always a
fatal mistake for a bounty hunter. Somebody like Boba
Fett survived at this game for as long as he had by
stripping those useless emotions out of his heart. To
look at Fett, even when he was unconscious on the pallet
in the other chamber, was to look at a weapon, an assault
rifle fully primed and charged for maximum destruction.
Peel away that Mandalorian battle armor of his, and
something equally hard and deadly was found beneath. And
that, Dengar knew, was the difference-one of them, at
least-between himself and the galaxy's most feared bounty
hunter. There was still something human inside Dengar,
despite his having worked the bounty-hunter trade, with
all its spirit-eroding capabilities. That was the part
that had looked upon Manaroo, and had decided, despite
all the rest of his scrabbling, callused nature, to twine
his fate with hers. Manaroo had asked him to marry her,
and he had said yes; that human part had wanted to stay
human, like a dwindling flame that struggles to keep from
being snuffed out. He didn't want to wind up like Boba
Fett, a killing machine with a blind, unfathomable mask
for a face.
It was that human part that had also decided to send
Manaroo away, once she had helped him get Boba Fett into
this hiding place. Their separation from each other would
continue at least until this business with Boba Fett was
over. Dengar knew the risks in getting involved with
someone who had as many grudge-bearing enemies as Fett;
there were plenty of diehards from the old Bounty Hunters
Guild who had good reason to hate his guts. If they found
out that Boba Fett was still alive, they'd be swooping
down on Tatooine en masse to finish him off. And me,
Dengar had told himself. That hot-tempered Trandoshan
Bossk would naturally assume that anyone befriending his
longtime rival Boba Fett was an enemy to be killed with
quick dispatch. This little hiding place would get filled
up with corpses pretty quickly.
Risks meant profits, though, in the bounty-hunter
trade. And profits were what Dengar needed if he was
going to have any chance of paying off the massive debt
load he was carrying and then have any kind of life with
Manaroo. He wanted out of this game, and the only way to
accomplish that was to keep on playing it, for at least a
few more rounds. And the best way to do that, he'd
decided, was with a partner like Boba Fett. And that's
what he offered me-when Dengar had discovered him, half-
digested by the gullet of the Sarlacc, lying in the suns-
baked wasteland, Fett had had enough remaining strength
to speak, but not to protect himself. Dengar could have
put him out of his misery right then and there, but had
stayed his hand when Fett had spoken of a partnership
between the two of them. The only card he'd had left to
play . . .
And a good one. We could clean up, Dengar had
decided. Him and me. A real good team. It all depended on
just one thing.
Whether Fett had been lying to him.
He could have been just playing for time. Time enough
for his wounds to heal, and for him to get his act back
together. Dengar had been mulling it over ever since he
had carried Fett down here. There was no history of Boba
Fett ever working with a partner before; he had always
been a lone operator. Why should he want a partnership
now? What there was a history of was playing it fast and
loose with the truth. In that, Boba Fett was no different
from any other bounty hunter; it was that kind of a
business. Fett was just better at it, was all. What had
happened to the Bounty Hunters Guild was proof of that.
Things might be different, Dengar knew, when Boba
Fett got his strength back. Fett might not want to repay
Dengar with a partnership, for all that he'd done to keep
him alive and safe. Dengar's reward might be a blaster
charge right into his chest, leaving a scorched hole big
enough to put a humanoid's fist through. Fett's obsession
with secrecy was notorious in all the scummy dives and
watering holes across the galaxy; his past was largely
unknown, and was likely to stay that way, given how those
who poked into his affairs had a way of turning up dead.
That was the real reason Dengar had sent Manaroo away. It
was one thing for him to risk Fett's lethal treachery; he
didn't want the female he loved to wind up facing a
blaster muzzle.
"So what did you want to know?"
Dengar pulled himself back from his grim meditations
to the hard-eyed female regarding him from the other side
of the chamber.
"Same thing I wanted to know before." He nodded
toward the entrance to the subchamber. "What's your
connection with Boba Fett?"
Neelah shook her head. "I don't know."
"Oh, that's a good one." Dengar gave a quick,
derisive laugh. "You come sneaking in here-not exactly
the smartest thing to do-and you don't even know why."
"That's what I came here to find out. That's why I
wanted to talk to him." Neelah glanced toward the
subchamber, then back toward Dengar. "That's why I left
him where you would be sure to find him-"
"Wait a minute," said Dengar. "You left him?"
She nodded. "I found him before you did. But I knew
there was nothing I could do for him, not with what the
Sarlacc had done. He needed medical attention-more than
anything I could do. I took a chance that you'd take care
of him. That you'd keep him alive."
"And why's that so important to you? He's a bounty
hunter, and you were a dancing girl in Jabba's palace."
Dengar peered more closely at her. "What's he got to do
with you?"
"I told you before-" Neelah's voice rose to a fierce
shout. "I don't know! I just know that there is a
connection-some kind of connection-between the two of us.
I knew that back when I first saw him. In the palace, in
Jabba's court. When that fat slug had poor Oola killed .
. . when she was tugging against the chain, and the
trapdoor in front of the throne was opening . . ." Both
of Neelah's fists were trembling and white-knuckled. "All
of the other girls were watching from the passageway . .
. and there was nothing any of us could do. . . ."
"There never is," said Dengar. He could taste his own
bitterness in his mouth. "That's how things happen in
this universe."
She wasn't here in this chamber with him; she was
lost in her own memory. "And then we could hear her
screaming . . . and I couldn't look anymore. That was
when I saw him. Just standing there at the side of the
court . . . and watching. ..."
"Bounty hunters," said Dengar dryly, "make it a habit
to stay out of other creatures' business. Unless they're
paid to do something about it."
"And when the screaming was over, and Jabba and the
others were still laughing ... he was still there. Just
as before. And still watching." Neelah closed her eyes
for a moment as a shudder ran through her slight body.
"And then ... the strangest thing ... he turned and
looked at me. Right into my eyes." Her voice filled with
both fear and wonder. "All the way across Jabba's court .
. . and it was like there was nobody else there at all.
That was how it felt. And that was when I knew. That
there was something between the two of us." She refocused
her gaze on Dengar. " 'Connection' isn't the right word.
It's something else. Something from the past. I even knew
his name, without asking anyone else." Neelah slowly
shook her head. "But that was all I knew."
"All right." The story intrigued Dengar. A matter of
practical interest as well If this female meant
something to Boba Fett, then knowing just what it was
might give him an additional bargaining chip. "You said
it was something from the past. Your past?"
She nodded.
"Well, that's a start. But nothing you can remember,
I take it?"
Another nod.
"So how did you wind up at Jabba's palace?"
"I don't know that, either." Neelah's fists uncurled,
empty and trembling. "I don't know how I got there. All I
remember is Oola . . . and the other girls. They helped
me. They showed me . . ." Her voice ebbed softer. "What I
was to do . . ."
Her memory had been wiped; Dengar recognized the
signs. The confusion and welling fear, and the little
bits and pieces, scraps of another existence, leaking
through. No wipe was ever complete; memory was stored in
too many places throughout the humanoid brain. To go
after every bit, eradicating them all, would probably be
fatal, a reduction beyond basic life-maintenance
processes. There were easier, and less expensive, ways of
killing a sentient being. So someone, thought Dengar,
wanted her alive. Fett?
"What about your name?" Dengar nodded toward her. "
'Neelah'-was that something you remembered?"
"No; Jabba called me that. I don't know why. But I
knew . . ." Her brow furrowed with concentration. "I knew
it wasn't my real name. My true name. Somebody took that
from me . . . and I couldn't get it back. No matter how
hard I tried . . ."
What she told Dengar coincided with his own
suspicions. Neelah was a slave name-it didn't fit her.
The aristocratic bearing she possessed was too obvious,
even in the ill-fitting, scavenged outfit she wore now.
She wouldn't be alive now-the Dune Sea's loping predators
would be cracking her bones-if there weren't some tough
fighting spirit inside her. Things would have gone
differently if Jabba had tried to throw her, instead of
the other girl, Oola, to his pet rancor. It would've been
Neelah rather than Princess Leia wrapping the chain
around Jabba's immense throat and choking the life out of
him.
Dengar had more suspicions, which he didn't feel like
voicing right at the moment. Fett must've done it. The
other bounty hunter must've brought her to Jabba's
palace; he'd probably also been the one who'd performed
the memory wipe on her. The big question was why. Dengar
couldn't believe it had been done on Jabba's orders; the
Hutt had enjoyed young and beautiful objects, but he'd
also been too tight with his credits to have commissioned
the kidnapping of the daughter of one of the galaxy's
noble houses. The only reason Leia Organa had wound up on
the end of one of Jabba's chains was that she had come
into Jabba's lair of her own accord, seeking to rescue
the carbonite-encased Han Solo. A captured noblewoman,
with a blanked-out memory, wasn't exactly the same kind
of a bargain.
So Fett must have been working for someone else while
he had ostensibly been in Jabba's employ. That wouldn't
have been unusual; Dengar knew from his own experience
that bounty hunters nearly always had more than one gig
going on at a time, with no particular loyalty to any
creature whose payroll they might be on. Or-the other
possibility-Boba Fett might have had his own reasons for
wiping the memory of this female, whoever she really was,
and bringing her to Jabba's palace, disguised as a simple
dancing girl.
The puzzle rotated inside Dengar's mind. Maybe Fett
had been stashing her away, in some place where she
wouldn't be likely to be found. That was one of the
sleazier bounty-hunter tricks finding someone with a
price on his or her or its head, then keeping the
merchandise hidden until the price for it was raised
higher. Dengar had never done it, and he hadn't heard of
Boba Fett doing it, either. Fett didn't have to; he
already commanded astronomical prices for his services.
"Is there anything else you remember?" Dengar rubbed
the coarse stubble on his chin as he studied the female.
"Even the littlest thing."
"No-" Neelah shook her head. "There's nothing. It's
all gone. Except . . ."
"Except what?"
"Another name. I mean . . . another name besides
his." She tilted her head to one side, as though trying
to catch the whisper of a distant voice. "I think it's a
name that belongs to a man."
"Yeah?" Dengar unfolded his arms and hooked his
thumbs into his belt. "What's the name?"
"Nil something. Wait a minute." She rubbed the corner
of her brow. "Now I remember ... it was Nil Posondum. Or
something like that." Neelah's expression turned hopeful.
"Is that somebody important? Somebody I should know
about?"
Dengar shook his head. "Never heard of anybody like
that."
"Still . . ." Neelah looked a little crestfallen.
"It's something to go on."
"Maybe." He had his doubts about whether it was
anything useful. He had even bigger doubts about Neelah
herself. Or whatever her real name is, thought Dengar.
Keeping one's contacts primed for information was an
essential part of the bounty-hunter trade; he had been in
and out of Mos Eisley and other scumholes on a regular
basis, listening and asking the right questions, and he
hadn't heard anything fitting her description. If anybody
was looking for her, they were doing it on the quiet.
That might make getting paid for finding her somewhat
difficult.
Or else-another possibility rose in Dengar's
thoughts-somebody doesn't want her to be found. Boba Fett
might have been working for someone who had wanted this
Neelah to be disposed of, maybe in some way that left her
still alive. What better way than to strip out her memory
and stick her on a backwater planet like Tatooine? Though
how long she would've stayed alive in Jabba's palace was
debatable, given the Hutt's murderous amusements. Whoever
had sent her there couldn't have been too concerned about
her survival. Then why not just kill her quick and fast,
for whatever reasons they had, rather than leave her
where any number of the galaxy's hustling scoundrels, the
criminal dregs that had found employment with Jabba,
might have spotted her?
His brain felt weighted down with all these questions
stacking up on top of each other. Mysteries and
skulduggery were what one dealt with in the bounty-hunter
trade; all this reminded Dengar of why he had wanted to
get out of it. There must be an easier way to make a
living.
Or a safer one. Now he had two potential bombs on his
hands, either one of which could result in a quick death
for him, if he was lucky, or a messy one, if his luck ran
true to form. It hadn't been bad enough getting involved
with Boba Fett's fortunes; now he had to deal with the
enigmatic Neelah as well. She was a loose laser cannon by
herself-if she'd had a blaster, Dengar supposed he
would've been crisped by now-plus there were those unseen
figures from her past, who'd put her here. They might not
be too happy about her turning up again. If they were the
kind of people who hired Boba Fett to do their dirty work
for them, they wouldn't be likely to have too many
scruples about eliminating everyone hooked up with her.
None of it looked good. Which had its own upside The
more risk, Dengar reminded himself, the more profit.
That, more than anything in the so-called Hunter's Creed,
was what governed the actions of bounty hunters, from
Boba Fett down to himself. If there was a chance of being
partners with Fett, and reaping the rewards from that, he
would have to ramp up his courage to a new level.
"All right," said Dengar aloud. He unfolded his arms
and pointed to the female on the other side of the hiding
place's main chamber. "Let's work out an arrangement, you
and me. Stipulation number one Don't try to kill me. If
we're going to get anything accomplished around here,
that's a basic requirement."
Neelah appeared to think it over, then nodded.
"Okay."
"And if you try, I'm going to make sure it's your
corpse that gets thrown out of here. Got me?"
She nodded again, with just a trace of impatience.
"Number two I'm in charge here. I'm running the
show-"
Neelah's anger flared. "Wait a minute-"
"Shut up," said Dengar. "It's for your own good. And
it's just for the time being. You get back to wherever
you came from, you get your real name and everything that
comes with it returned to you, then you can do whatever
you want. But right now you don't even know who you are,
you don't know who might be gunning for you, you don't
know anything about what the galaxy's like once you get
off this little rock heap's surface. Even if you could
find some way out of here without my help, you might poke
your nose into some place like Mos Eisley and get your
whole head detached from your neck. There's plenty of
types who'd do that for you, even without knowing who you
might be."
His lecture had a visible effect on her. "Very well,"
said Neelah sullenly. "You're in charge. For now."
The things I put up with, thought Dengar to himself.
It was all for Manaroo's sake; he had to keep that in
mind. On the other side of all this, there was her, and a
life together with the female he loved. If I get that
far.
"I'm glad we understand each other." Dengar pointed
to a larger, open niche at the farthest end of the
chamber. "You might as well make yourself comfortable
down here. I don't want you wandering around topside.
There's food and supplies; anything else you need, just
let me know. I'll have those two medical droids give you
a quick scan, to make sure you're all right. Tatooine's
got some nasty bugs you can pick up."
Neelah looked straight back at him. "What about Boba
Fett? That's why I came here."
"That's number three. You don't see him, you don't
talk to him, you don't have anything to do with him,
unless I'm right there with you."
"Why?"
"Like I told you before. For your own good." Dengar
indicated the subchamber with a tilt of his head. "That
guy's one dangerous barve. If there's some kind of
connection between you and him, it might not be one
that's to your benefit. When he's got his strength back,
he might kill you just as easily as look at you. And you
won't be asking any more questions then, believe me."
The message seemed to sink in. "All right," said
Neelah. "Whatever you say."
There was more that he hadn't said. His precautions
weren't just for her sake. I don't want the two of them
conspiring against me, thought Dengar. Even before Boba
Fett got his full strength back, that razor-sharp mind of
his would be working and scheming away. Fett would be
fully capable of making his own deals with Neelah that
she wouldn't be able to resist falling in with. A bounty
hunter didn't get the drop on people just with weapons
that someone could see and feel burning through one's
gut; the history of what Boba Fett had pulled off with
the old Bounty Hunters Guild indicated that he was a
master at ensnaring sentient creatures in subtler traps.
Though you wind up just as dead, thought Dengar, either
way. And if Boba Fett had been lying and playing for
time, back when Dengar had found him out there in the
Dune Sea's wastes, the quickest way to dissolve any
partnership would be to use Neelah as his cat's-paw.
Now I've got two that I've got to watch out for. That
was another reason Dengar had wanted the female down
here, rather than wandering around on the surface. He had
his hands full as it was; he didn't need anyone else
hooking up with Neelah, for whatever agenda they might
have.
She might as well have read his thoughts. A thin
smile appeared as Neelah regarded him. "You trust me?"
"Of course not." On that point, Dengar could afford
to be honest with her. "I don't trust anyone." That was
almost true; there was always Manaroo. But that was
something different. "Nobody survives in this business by
going around trusting creatures. Let's just say that I've
got an idea of what to expect from you now. And if you're
smart enough to play along with me, maybe you'll get what
you want."
Neelah signaled her understanding with a quick nod.
"I still want to see him."
"That's easy enough," said Dengar. "But if you were
planning on having any kind of talk with Fett, I don't
think that's going to happen anytime real soon. He's
still unconscious."
"Just as well." The thin smile faded from Nee-lah's
face. "I changed my mind about that part. For now. I've
begun to see the wisdom of your cautious attitude. Maybe
it's better if he doesn't know about me. That I found him
out in the Dune Sea, and that I'm here, waiting. As you
pointed out . . . whatever our connection is, it might
not be exactly safe for me."
"Suit yourself." Dengar's caution went up a notch.
She's a fast learner, he thought. All the more reason to
be careful. "Come on." He pushed himself away from the
wall of the main chamber. "Let's go pay our guest of
honor a visit."
The tall medical droid's appendages raised in warning
as Dengar and Neelah entered the sub-chamber. "Please
observe the necessary hygienic protocols." The chart of
vital signs scrolled down the display on SHSl-B's
cylindrical torso. "The patient's condition remains very
critical-"
"Yeah, right." Dengar pushed the droid aside, away
from the pallet in the center of the space. "This barve's
survived worse things than your attentions. If you
haven't managed to kill him, then nothing will."
Neelah stepped close to the side of the pallet and
looked down at the unconscious form. "That's him?" She
sounded almost disappointed. "That's Boba Fett?"
"No-" From the pile of gear in the sub-chamber's
corner, Dengar picked up a battered helmet, etched with
the digestive fluids of the Sarlacc's gullet. He turned
the helmet's narrow-visored gaze toward Neelah. "This is
Boba Fett."
She shrank back from the empty helmet, a sudden fear
showing in her widened eyes. One hand tentatively reached
out to touch the pitted metal, then jerked back as though
scorched. She slowly nodded. "That's what I saw." Her
voice was a barely audible whisper. "And I knew ... I
knew it was him. ..."
"That's how everybody knows him." Dengar turned the
helmet's blank visage toward himself. He could guess how
the female felt; a little apprehensive chill ran down his
own spine. "All through the galaxy." He nodded toward the
figure on the pallet. "Not very many creatures have seen
him like that. Or if they have, they didn't live to tell
about it."
For a moment the only sound in the subchamber was the
clicking and sighing of the cardiopulmonary assists that
the medical droids had set in place. Then Neelah turned a
somber gaze toward Dengar. "I did," she said quietly.
Dengar was unable to make a reply. The dark spaces in
her eyes, and what might lie beyond them, unnerved him as
much as the empty helmet. He turned away, to set it back
down on the rest of Boba Fett's gear.
"Remember," said Neelah. "Don't tell him. Don't tell
him anything about me."
By the time Dengar turned back around, the female had
slipped out of the subchamber. He was alone with the
other bounty hunter. The presence of the medical droids
barely registered on Dengar's senses.
He stood looking down at Boba Fett for a while
longer. The little trace of fear hadn't gone away; it was
still there, inching along his spine. Even unconscious,
this man was enough to spook ordinary creatures.
There's too much past, thought Dengar. Inside Boba
Fett's skull; a whole galaxy full of it. Who could tell
what was going on in there as he slept and dreamed his
dark dreams?

8

THEN

He couldn't believe his good luck.
"I've got him this time," said Bossk. He had upgraded
both the firepower and the tracking abilities of the
Hound's Tooth since his last unfortunate encounter with
Boba Fett. The other bounty hunter snatching the
accountant Nil Posondum away from him had been the final
irritant underneath his scales; he had sworn to himself
that if he ever got the chance, he would put his rival
out of commission for good. And nothing will do that,
thought Bossk, savoring the words, like blowing Fett to
atoms. "When I get done, there won't be enough of him
left to find without an electron microscope."
Beside him, Zuckuss leaned the hoses of his face mask
toward the cockpit's target-acquisition screen. "I don't
know. ..."
"What, you can't tell that it's Boba Fett ap
proaching? Are you blind?" Bossk rapped a claw against
the screen, hard enough to leave a permanent mark amid
the glowing vector lines. "Of course it's him! There's
all the identification data on the Slave I." A tiny
column of numbers scrolled down from the triangular icon
swiftly moving across the screen. "That's his ship, so
he's aboard it."
"Oh, it's Boba Fett, all right." Zuckuss nodded
slowly. "There's no doubt about that. I'm just not sure
if you should-what's the phrase you always use?-'blow him
away' right now."
Bossk angrily glared at the shorter bounty hunter.
"When's there going to be a better time?"
"Well, maybe when he's not traveling under an
assurance of safe passage from your father." Zuckuss
sounded even more doubtful and nervous. The breath in his
air tubes rasped quicker and louder. "Boba Fett already
contacted the Guild council-you know that-and Cradossk
and the others gave him their word that he could dock at
the perimeter station without anyone taking a shot at
him."
"They gave him their word." The slits in Bossk's eyes
narrowed. "They didn't give him mine."
"Still . . ."
You little insect, thought Bossk. When he inherited
the leadership of the Bounty Hunters Guild-he had already
killed, as was Trandoshan custom, all of his father
Cradossk's younger spawn-he intended to review the
requirements for membership. A certain amount of guts, he
figured, should be a prerequisite. Which meant that this
sniveling partner that had been foisted on him would be
out the air lock like the gnawed bones of yesterday's
lunch.
"Maybe," whined Zuckuss, "you should think about-this
a little more. . . ."
"Thinking takes too long." Bossk's claws moved across
the control of the Hound's weapons systems. "Action gets
things done."
"Your father isn't going to like this."
"That remains to be seen." The same blood ran in his
and the old reptilian's veins; he had the comfort of
knowing that his spawn-father was just as mean and
vicious as himself. "For all you know, this is exactly
what he and the rest of the Guild council are expecting
me to do."
"Destroy another bounty hunter without warning?"
Incredulity pitched Zuckuss's voice higher. "That's
hardly in line with the Hunter's Creed!"
Bossk always felt a simmering impatience when someone
mentioned the Creed to him. "Boba Fett has violated the
Creed enough times," he growled, "that he deserves no
protection from it."
"But he's never been bound by the Creed! He's never
been a member of the Guild!"
"Spare me your tedious legal analysis." Bossk had
locked the concentric rings of the tracker sight onto the
distant craft. "If Boba Fett wants to lodge a complaint
against me, he'll have to do it from the other side of
the grave. If enough of him can be scraped up to put into
one."
He ignored the rest of Zuckuss's tiresome fretting.
His index claw hit the main fire button, and a quick
rumble rolled through the Hound's frame. On the screen, a
brilliant white tracer shot toward the icon representing
Boba Fett's ship.
"Got him!" The shot must have caught Fett completely
by surprise; he'd taken no evasive action at all. What a
fool, thought Bossk with contempt. That's what you get
for trusting other bounty hunters. The advantage of being
considered lowlife scum by most of the galaxy's
inhabitants was that maintaining one's reputation was
never an issue. "You know," said Bossk, "I'm almost
disappointed. . . ."
"Why?" Zuckuss turned his large-lensed gaze away from
the screen. "Because he didn't put up more of a fight?"
"No." Bossk peered at the red numbers that had
flashed on. "Because there's anything left of him." He
clawed in the command for a damage assessment on the
laser cannon's most recent target, then studied the
result. "That ship of Fett's had some serious armor on
it. It's still holding together." The glowing triangle
had stopped in the middle of the screen, but hadn't
disappeared. To have taken that kind of a hit, enough to
punch a hole through the main deck of an Imperial battle
cruiser, and still be in one piece, however badly
damaged, was amazing. It didn't correspond with the
velocities that the Slave I's engines- high-thrust but
low-mass-capable units from Mandal Motors-could attain.
Like most bounty hunters, Boba Fett had always prized
speed and maneuverability over protection. Right now,
though, Bossk didn't have time to puzzle over the
discrepancy. "Let's go finish him off."
The distinctive half-rounded shape of the Slave I
filled the viewports as Bossk piloted his own craft
toward it. He kept his claws on the controls for the
emergency reverse thrusters in case Boba Fett, like the
devious scoundrel he was known to be, was lying low
inside the other ship, waiting for his own chance to take
a shot at his attacker.
"Looks like a clean kill to me." Zuckuss pointed to
the cockpit's forward viewport. "Right through the center
and out the other side. There couldn't be anyone left
alive on that ship."
"I'll believe that," said Bossk, "when I see Boba
Fett's .charred corpse." He started moving the Hound's
Tooth in toward the drifting wreckage. "I'm going
inside."
"Well, if you need that kind of proof . . ." Zuckuss
gave a shrug. "I suppose you'll have to."
He didn't even glance over at Zuckuss. "You're going,
too."
"Oh."
They managed to establish a transfer connection
between the Hound's Tooth and what was left of the Slave
I. No atmosphere support was needed; enough of the Slave
I's systems were still operating to have sealed off the
central interior sections.
"Something's wrong," said Zuckuss as he looked about
the Slave I's empty hold.
"Something's always wrong, as far as you're con
cerned." This time, though, Bossk wondered whether his
partner might be right. A sense of unease crawled across
his scales; he drew his blaster and slowly scanned across
the open hatchways.
Zuckuss reached over and poked a gloved finger at one
of the bulkheads. The thin material wobbled back and
forth; another poke, and Zuckuss's finger went right
through it.
"It's a decoy." Zuckuss gave a few more exploratory
proddings to the hold's confines, with similar results.
"That's why there's nothing here-it's just a shell!" He
turned toward Bossk. "No wonder your shot went right
through. There's no real mass to have taken the hit. It's
like shooting through flimsiplast."
Rage boiled up inside Bossk, nearly blinding him.
"That slimy ..." Words failed him. He stomped toward the
dummy ship's aft section, shoulders smashing apart the
sides of the flimsy hatches.
"This is why we got a positive identification."
Zuckuss had followed behind, into what would have been
the cockpit if they had been aboard a real ship. He
pointed to a beacon transmitter mounted to one of the
space's curved walls. "Look-you can see that it's been
programmed with the Slave I's ID profile." Zuckuss nodded
in admiration. "Setting up something like this takes a
lot of work; you have to force through overrides almost
down to the subatomic level. And then to build it back up
with the false data . . ." He stepped back from the unit.
"Fett must have had this decoy already prepared, just
keeping it for sometime when he'd need it." Even behind
Zuckuss's face mask, there was a hint of amusement as he
glanced over at Bossk. "Like when he might be heading
into some territory where creatures might have a grudge
against him."
"I'll kill him." The words seethed out through
Bossk's clenched fangs. "I swear it. I'll find him and
I'll kill him so hard . . ."
"Chances are pretty good, I'd say, that Fett's al
ready slipped by us. We're wasting our time here."
Zuckuss peered at another device, a cylinder of black
metal studded with biosensors. "Now, this is interesting.
I wouldn't have expected something like this aboard a
simple decoy vessel."
Bossk knew his partner had more of an interest in
technological matters; right now all that moved inside
his own head were grim fantasies of cracking bone and
spurting blood. He didn't even bother to look around, but
kept on brooding at the mocking stars visible through the
port. "What is it?"
"Offhand ... I'd say it's a bomb. . . ."
"You fool!" Bossk whirled on his clawed heel, in time
to see a row of lights flash into fiery life along the
cylinder's casing. The device emitted a faint hum,
already gaining in pitch and volume. "We've triggered'it!
The thing's going to blow!"
He dived for the false cockpit's hatchway; a fraction
of a second later Zuckuss landed on top of him. Both
bounty hunters scrambled to their feet. Through the
hatch, Bossk could see the bomb detach itself from its
mountings on the flimsy bulkhead; with slow, ominous
grace, the bomb's miniaturized antigrav repulsors
swiveled it about, bringing the scrutiny of its blind
gaze toward them.
"Get out of my way!" Bossk shoved his partner aside
and sprinted for the transfer port fastened to the decoy
ship's central hold. He could hear Zuckuss right behind
him as he furiously grappled his way through the tube's
flexing pleats and back aboard the Hound's Tooth.
The first explosion ripped the transfer away from
both ships, sending ragged strips of plastex spiraling
across the Hound's midsection viewports. With his stomach
across the back of the pilot's chair, Bossk slapped at
the hull integrity controls, sealing off his own ship
before any significant amount of ak could escape.
"We ... we should be okay now. . . ." Panting,
Zuckuss supported himself against the cockpit's naviputer
displays. "That wasn't . . . much of a bomb. . . ."
There wasn't even time for Bossk to tell the other
bounty hunter not to be an idiot. The second explosion,
larger than the first, struck the Hound's Tooth. Roiling
thermic fire filled the viewports as the impact of
Bossk's spine with the bulkhead above stunned him into
barely conscious silence. Blood swirled across the scales
of his face as the ship's artificial-gravity generators
struggled to catch up with its end-over-end tumbling.
Bossk smashed his fist against as many of the thruster
controls as he could reach; the resulting force had him
digging a hold into the pilot's chair to keep from being
flung through the open hatchway behind him.
A stern-mounted scanner showed the bomb, smaller now
but even deadlier, trailing in the erratic wake of the
Hound's Tooth. "It's . . . it's locked onto us. . . ."
Zuckuss clawed his way up beside Bossk. He pointed to the
screen above the controls. "Here it comes. . . ."
Bossk knew how incremental-sequence bombs functioned.
The first two charges work you over, he told himself. The
third one kills you. His voice grated in his throat "Not
. . . this time ..."
He hit the rest of the thrusters, at the same time
throwing the Hound into a suicide arc. Stars blurred
across the viewport as the angle of the ship's turn
deepened. A deep basso groan sounded as increasing
vectors tore in different directions across the hull.
Sharper cracking noises signaled the navigation modules
ripping away from the exterior.
The third and final explosion completed the partial
disassembly of the Hound's Tooth. Bossk's desperate
maneuver had put enough distance between the ship and the
bomb; the hull shook with the impact but remained intact.
Zuckuss was knocked onto his face mask by the bulkhead
deforming behind him, the blast's force warping the
section from concave to convex. The pilot's chair broke
in two, sending Bossk sprawling across the cockpit's
floor, claws holding the padded back of the seat tight
against his chest. A rain of sparks, bursting out of the
access ports, sizzled across both bounty hunters.
A few seconds later silence filled the Hound's Tooth.
The smell of burning circuitry hung acrid in the air,
mixed with the steam of the ship's automatic fire-dousing
units. A few last sparks stung Zuckuss, and he slapped at
them with his heavily gloved hands.
"We'll be here awhile." Bossk didn't need to do a
preliminary damage assessment on the Hound to know that.
Until the navigation modules were rigged back into some
kind of operating order, he and Zuckuss were stuck in
this remote sector of space. If Trandoshans had any
capacity for the emotion of gratitude, he would have been
glad that the sequential bomb hadn't torn the Hound's
Tooth into bits. He and Zuckuss would have been dead
instead of merely adrift. As it was, he just felt a deep
irritation over how much work it was going to take to put
his ship back together again, with the tools and probes
that were now undoubtedly scattered all over the en
gineering lockers.
"Look there-" Zuckuss pointed to the one viewport
still functioning, set at an angle from the Hound's
midsection.
Sitting in the middle of the cockpit floor, Bossk
looked over his shoulder at the screen. A fiery course of
light, with a too-familiar shape at its head, shot across
the field of stars.
"That's the Slave I," said Zuckuss. Unnecessarily-any
fool would have known that much. "The real ship."
"Of course it is, you idiot." If Bossk had had a
wrench in his claws, he would have been torn between
throwing it at his partner or at the screen, as though he
could somehow hit Boba Fett's ship with it. "That was the
whole point, with the decoy and the bomb." The Slave I
was already dwindling away, heading for the perimeter
station of the Bounty Hunters Guild. "Fett knew somebody
would be waiting for him."
"Apparently so." Zuckuss gave a slow nod of his head.
"Somebody like him . . . he's got a lot of enemies."
"He doesn't have any fewer now." Bossk glared at the
empty screen. You made one mistake, he told the vanished
Boba Fett. You should've used a bigger bomb. One that
would have killed instead of merely humiliated. Bossk-and
his hunger for revenge-was still alive.
Another quick burst of sparks shot from behind the
screen. A knot of tangled circuits, welded together and
emitting smoke, dangled bobbing from one of the overhead
panels. The image of the stars blanked out and was gone.
"Come on," said Bossk. He stood up, then reached down
to pull Zuckuss to his feet. "We've got work to do."

9

Everything was settled by the time Cradossk's son
finally showed up.
Boba Fett could tell that the younger Trandoshan was
not in a good mood as he strode into the council chamber
of the Bounty Hunters Guild. Failed assassination
attempts often had that effect on sentient creatures.
There really was nothing worse than making the decision
to kill someone else, and then not being able to bring it
off. All the emotions associated with violence, mused
Fett. He had never experienced them, himself, but knew
that others did. And none of the benefits. It was sad,
really.
The council's long, crescent-shaped table had been
set for a celebratory banquet. One of Cradossk's
scurrying servants had set a crystalline goblet, the
mingled shades of cobalt and amethyst within revealing
the expense of the vintage it contained, in front of Boba
Fett. He had touched the dark liquid with a gloved
fingertip, just enough to send a few ripples across its
surface. Etiquette demanded that much; anything less, and
the old reptilian sprawled next to him would have been
offended. If other sentient creatures wished to deal in
hollow symbols rather than reality, it made no difference
to Fett. Cradossk and all the other Guild elders could
befuddle themselves with strong drink, if they wished;
this goblet's contents would remain un-tasted.
He watched as the tall, arched doors of the council
chamber were shoved open, the gilded and gem-encrusted
panels flying to either side as Bossk stormed in.
Servants bearing flagons and laden platters scattered in
all directions; anger-ridden Trandoshans were notoriously
rough on the hired help.
"Ah, my son and heir!" Cradossk was already well on
the way to inebriation. His age-blu nted fangs were
mottled with wine stains, and his yellow-slitted eyes
gazed with blurry affection at his spawn. "I was hoping
you'd be here for the festivities." More wine slopped
down Cradossk's scaled arm and from his elbow as he
lifted his own goblet high. "We'll tell the musicians to
strike up the old songs, the ones our spawn-fathers knew,
and we'll do the lizard dance all around the courtyard-"
The goblet went clattering across the chamber's
terrazzo floor, the wine a ragged pennant on the inlaid
tiles, as Bossk knocked it from his sire's hand with one
swing of his clawed hand. Across the high-ceilinged space
of the chamber, hung with the empty combat gear and other
trophies taken off the Guild's long-ago enemies, silence
fell. The collective gaze of the council members turned
toward their chief and his enraged offspring.
"Your manners," said Cradossk softly, "are severely
lacking. As usual."
Boba Fett had had enough experience with Trandoshans
over the years to know what a bad sign it was when their
voices went low and ominous like that. When they shouted
and snarled, they were ready to kill. When they
whispered, they were ready to kill everything. He
carefully shifted away from Cradossk's side so as not to
be in the way if the old reptilian decided to leap over
the table and tear out his only son's throat.
"As is your understanding." Bossk spoke with a cold
control, through which his anger still managed to appear.
"What kind of brain-withered old fool shares wine with
his enemy?" He flung a gesture toward Boba Fett. "Have
you forgotten so much, has every day faded from your
memory, that the Guild's history is a blank slate to you?
This man has made fools of us more times than we can
count." Bossk turned to either side, making sure that
everyone in the chamber could hear his words. "You all
know who it is that sits with you now. He's taken the
credits out of our pockets and the food out of our
mouths." He looked back at his sire. "If you weren't
drunk"-Bossk's voice sounded like dry gravel scraping
across rusted metal-"you'd take what's fallen into your
grasp and sink your teeth into Boba Fett's heart."
"I wasn't drunk when he arrived here." Cradossk's
response was both mild and somewhat amused. "But I intend
to get very drunk-and very happy-now that we've all had a
chance to listen to Fett. What he came here to say has
pleased me a great deal." He raised his goblet and took a
long draft that left wet lines trickling down the sides
of his throat, then slammed the goblet down. "That's one
of the differences between him . . . and you."
Barely suppressed laughter ran along the arms of the
crescent table. Without turning his head, Boba Fett could
see the other council members and their lackeys
whispering back and forth, their sardonic glances taking
in the young bounty hunter standing before them. Be sure
you know who your friends are, he wanted to warn Bossk.
This lot will carve you up anytime it suits them.
"What're you talking about?" Bossk gripped the edge
of the table in his claws and leaned toward his father.
"What's this sneaking scum told you?"
"Boba Fett has made us an offer." From an ornately
enameled tray held behind him, Cradossk plucked another
empty goblet, holding it out to be filled by one of the
other attendants. He held the wine out toward his son. "A
very good one; that's why we're celebrating." Cradossk's
mottled smile widened. "As you should be."
"Offer?" Bossk didn't take the goblet from the older
Trandoshan. "What kind of offer?"
"The kind that only a fool would refuse. The kind of
offer that solves a great many problems. For all of us."
Confusion showed in Bossk's gaze as he looked over at
Boba Fett, then back to his father. "I don't understand.
. . ."
"Of course you don't." Boba Fett spoke this time,
leaning back against the leatherwork of the chair that
had been given him. "There's so much you don't
understand." He might as well start working Bossk into an
irrational fury now as later. "That's why your father is
still head of the Bounty Hunters Guild. You have a lot of
wisdom to acquire before you'll have your chance."
"Explain it to him." With a single crooked claw,
Cradossk motioned one of the other council members over.
"I tire so easily nowadays. . . ."
"Then take a nap, old man." Bossk turned angrily
toward the robed figure that had approached. "Spit it
out."
"So simple, is it not?" The watery pupils at the ends
of the council member's eyestalks regarded Bossk with
kindly forbearance. "And so indicative- yes?-of both your
father's and our guest's foresight. Though Boba Fett is
not to be called our guest anymore, is he?"
"All I know," growled Bossk, "is what I call him."
"Perhaps so, but should you not call him 'brother'
now?"
Those words struck Bossk speechless.
"For is that not what Boba Fett has offered the
Guild?" The council member folded his hooked, mantislike
forearms together. "To be one of us? Our brother and
fellow hunter-has he not offered to join his not
inconsiderable forces and cunning with ours, and thus
become a member of the august Bounty Hunters Guild?"
"Damn straight he has." Cradossk drained his goblet
and slammed it back down on the table. "Let's hear it for
him."
"It's true." Another one of the Guild's younger
bounty hunters had sidled up to Bossk's elbow; Fett
remembered this one's name as Zuckuss. "I just heard
about it outside." The shorter bounty hunter pointed a
thumb toward the chamber's tall doors. "That's what the
word is-that Boba Fett has asked for membership in the
Guild."
"That's impossible!" Bossk's claws tightened into
fists, as though he were about to swing on either his
partner or the elder from the council, or both. "Why
would he do something like that?"
Fett regarded the reptilian with no show of emotion.
"I have my reasons."
"I bet you do. . . ."
"And are they not good reasons?" The elder swiveled
its eyestalks toward Bossk. "Should not all propositions
make such excellent sense? For all of us-do we not gain
the benefit of the esteemed Boba Fett's skills? Known
throughout the galaxy!" A saw-edged forelimb gestured
toward Fett on the other side of the table. "And does not
he acquire thereby the many advantages that come with
membership in our Guild? The warmth of our regard, the
comradely fellowship, the excellent weapons maintenance
facilities, the medical benefits-that alone is not to be
lightly considered in our hazardous line of work."
"He's lying to you!" Bossk looked across the faces of
the other council members. His straining fists rose
alongside his head, nearly knocking over the smaller
Zuckuss. "Can't you see that? It's some plan of his-like
all his other plans--"
"What you don't see," said Boba Fett, "is how the
times have changed. The galaxy is not as it was, when
your father was as newly hatched as you. The fields upon
which we pursue our quarry are shrinking, just as the
strength of Emperor Palpatine increases." He could see
the council members around the crescent nodding their
acknowledgment of his wisdom. "The Bounty Hunters Guild
must change as well, or face its extinction. And so must
I change my ways as well."
"The old days," murmured Cradossk, slumped down and
gazing wistfully into his empty goblet. "The old days are
gone. . . ."
"Anyone with eyes and a brain can tell that the
bounty-hunting trade is being squeezed into a tighter and
tighter corner." Some of the words Fett used were
straight from what Kud'ar Mub'at, back at its web
drifting in space, had told him. They were true enough,
or at least to the point where they would be believed by
these fools on the Guild council. "Not just by the
Empire; there are others. Black Sun . . ." He merely had
to mention the name of the criminal organization for that
point to be made. The whispers turned into guarded
silence. "Bounty hunters such as ourselves have always
operated on both sides of the law, as need be; that's the
nature of the game. But when both sides turn against us,
then we must band together to survive. There's no room
for an independent agent such as myself. We either join
forces, you and I, or we go our separate ways. And await
our separate destruction."
A strange, raw ache tightened Boba Fett's throat. It
had been a long time since he had spoken that many words
all at one go. He didn't live by making speeches, but by
performing deeds the more danger, the greater the
profit. But the job he'd accepted from Kud'ar Mub'at was,
in some sense, a job like any other. Whatever it takes,
thought Fett. If it required getting a bunch of aging,
dull-fanged mercenaries like Cradossk and the rest of the
Bounty Hunters Guild council to swallow a well-oiled
line, then so be it. If anything, it was just proof that
words could trap and kill as well as any other weapon.
"Should you not thank Boba Fett?" The elder standing
near Bossk made a sweeping gesture with his serrated
forearm. "For your sake, has he not repeated what he
already has so eloquently stated to us?"
"And you fell for it." Bossk sneered at all the
council members, his father included. "You don't have the
guts to fight him, so you'd rather believe that he's on
your side now."
Boba Fett raised his inner estimation of the
Trandoshan bounty hunter. He's going to be trouble,
thought Fett. Not just another dumb carnivore. If the
time ever did come when Bossk inherited the leadership of
the Bounty Hunters Guild, it might in fact become serious
competition for him. But right now Bossk's smarts and his
fierce temper were weapons to be turned against him and
the others.
"You'll see, my little one." Cradossk roused himself
into an approximation of sobriety. "If I didn't love you
the way I do, I'd have your scaly hide peeled off and
tanned into a wall hanging for our new member's
quarters." He extended a wobbling claw toward Bossk. "But
because I want there to be something someday for my spawn
to possess and lead, the way I lead the Guild now-and
because I'm not dead yet, so there's still time for you
to gain both some manners and some knowledge of how the
galaxy works-that's why I'm not asking you to be brothers
with Boba Fett. I'm telling you to do it."
"Very well." The slits in Bossk's eyes narrowed into
apertures a honed razor might have cut. "As you wish.
Maybe there is something I can learn from an . . . old
one like you." He smiled the ugly smile characteristic of
his species. "After all-you murdered your way to control
of the Guild. I have but to wait, and it's mine."
"Is not patience a virtue, even among the assassins?"
Bossk pushed the other council member aside, knocking
him against the smaller figure of Zuckuss. The Trandoshan
stepped up to the crescent-shaped table, directly in
front of Boba Fett. One clawed hand grasped the goblet by
its stem. "To your health." Bossk drained the contents,
then threw the goblet against the wall behind; it clanged
like a bell, then rolled clattering across the hard stone
tiles of the floor. "However long it lasts."
"I suppose"-Fett returned the other's gaze- "it'll
last long enough."
Dark wine seeped around Bossk's fangs as he leaned
toward Fett. "You might fool the others," he whispered,
"but you're not fooling me. I don't know what your game
is-but I don't worry about you knowing mine." His voice
dropped lower and more guttural as he brought his snout
almost against the visor of Fett's helmet. "I'll be a
brother to you, all right. And I know how, believe me. I
had brothers when I was spawned. And you know what?"
Bossk's breath smelled of wine and blood. "I ate them."
He turned and strode away, toward the council
chamber's doors. One of Bossk's clawed feet connected
with the empty goblet he had thrown, sending it
skittering against the wall like a tiny droid whose
circuits had been scooped out. The other bounty hunter,
Zuckuss, glanced around at the watching faces, then ran
after Bossk.
Sitting next to Boba Fett, Cradossk heaved a sigh.
"Don't judge us too harshly, my friend." Cradossk took
the flagon from the tray being held near him and refilled
his own goblet. He knocked that back and filled it again.
"Sometimes our get-togethers go a little better than
this. . . ."

10

"You've been a long time away," said the Emperor. The
ancient, withered head slowly nodded. "Many are the stars
you travel among."
"All my journeying is in your service." Prince Xizor
inclined his head, a courtly signal of submission. The
dark serpent of his topknot brushed across his shoulder.
"And to the glory of the Empire."
"Well spoken, as always." Emperor Palpatine swiveled
his throne toward another section of the immense room.
"Whatever else might be said of him, you must agree that
the prince has a way with words. Don't you think so,
Vader?"
Xizor turned toward the hologram of the dark-caped
figure-an intimidatingly life-sized image, transmitted
from the Devastator, Lord Vader's personal flagship.
Don't try it on this one, Xizor warned himself. He had
witnessed too many examples of what happened to those
whose words caused the Dark Lord of the Sith to lose
patience. The Emperor might be keeping him on a short
leash. But one long enough, thought Xizor, to reach my
throat.
"Your judgment, my lord, exceeds mine." Vader kept
his own words as diplomatically inscrutable as the mask
that concealed his face. "You know best where to place
your trust."
"Sometimes, Vader, I think you'd prefer it if I
trusted no one but you." The Emperor put his fingertips
together. Behind him, framed in the towering windows of
the throne room, the curved arms of the galaxy extended,
like shoals of gems in an ink-black sea. Below the stars,
the towers and massive shapes of Imperial City rolled
like the crests of a frozen sea across the hidden surface
of Coruscant, a monument in durasteel to both the
ambition and the grasp of Palpatine. "I see into so many
creatures' hearts, and all I find there is fear. Which is
as it should be." The deep-set eyes contemplated the
empty cage formed by his hands, as though envisioning the
worlds bound by the Empire's power. "But when I look into
yours, Vader, I see ... something else." Like a hooded
mendicant rather than the ruler of worlds, Emperor
Palpatine peered through the angles of his fingers.
"Something almost like . . . desire."
Prince Xizor managed to keep his own smile from
showing. Desire among the Falleen, his species, meant
only one thing. His cruel beauty, the sharply chiseled
planes of his face, and his regal bearing, combined with
a pheromone-rich musk that evaded all conscious senses,
were what put a female of any world under his command.
Humanoid female, of a type pleasing to his own sense of
aesthetics; if the members of the more repulsive of the
galaxy's species were similarly affected, that was not
something he had yet felt the need to put to the test.
"It is only the desire to serve you," said Lord
Vader. "And the Empire."
"Of course; what else could it be?" Palpatine smiled
indulgently, an effect no less intimidating than any
other expression that moved across his age-creased face.
"But I am surrounded by those who wish to serve me.
Xizor, for one-" The Emperor's hand gestured toward him.
"He says all the same things as you do. If you are closer
to what's left of my heart, Vader, if for the moment I
place more trust in you than I do in others, it's because
of something beyond words."
"Actions," said Xizor with cold hauteur, "indicate
more than words. Judge my loyalty by what I achieve for
the Empire."
"And what is that?" Vader's image turned the force of
his penetrating gaze upon Xizor. "You scurry about on
your mysterious, self-appointed errands, your rounds of
those whose devotion to our cause is somewhat less than
ideal. Fear motivates many creatures, but there are still
those who believe their meager cunning can line their
pockets. Criminals, conspirators, thieves, and builders
of their own little empires-you know too many of those
types, Xizor. I sometimes wonder what their attraction is
for you."
Standing against Vader-even in this insubstantial
form-was like facing radiation hard enough to strip flesh
from bone. Not for the first time Xizor felt an invisible
hand settle around his throat. His own willpower kept the
breath sliding in and out of his lungs. But if Vader were
to unleash his complete wrath, the force of will might
not be enough. Xizor had seen others, the highest-ranking
officers in the Empire's forces, clutching their throats
and gasping for air, writhing like a Dantooinian garfish
caught on a barbed trawling line. Perhaps wisely, Vader
tended to avoid such displays in front of the Emperor;
why tempt the old man into showing how much greater was
his own mastery of the Force that penetrated and bound
the galaxy together?
"There is no attraction for me, Lord Vader." As
always before, he wondered just how much Vader knew. How
much he might suspect, and how much he could prove.
Vader's disdain for the galaxy's less reputable schemers
and thugs was well known; he dealt with such as bounty
hunters only on rare occasions. Which is to my benefit,
thought Xizor. For Vader and the Imperial high command,
criminals and mercenaries were all vermin that would be
swept away, and soon if their latest plans went as
expected. So that kind is left to me-he had built his own
shadow empire, that of the Black Sun, out of exactly such
rejected dregs. If the Emperor and Vader didn't want to
dirty their hands, then he had no such tender scruples.
"I do what I must," said Xizor, not untruthfully. The
fact that he was still standing here, in Emperor
Palpatine's private sanctuary, and not cut down by the
Emperor's or Vader's swift wrath, indicated that Black
Sun still operated in the eclipse of its secrecy, for
now, thought Xizor. He turned toward the Emperor. "This
sacrifice," he lied, "I also make on your behalf. Judge
as well, those who think it beneath them."
"Excellent." The Emperor displayed a cold smile. "If
you had no other value to me, Xizor, I would still
require your presence, just for the . . . stimulating
effect you have on Lord Vader."
He already hates my entrails, thought Xizor as he
glanced over at the black-robed figure. Nothing had been
lost in this exchange.
"But you still haven't answered my questions." The
Emperor leaned forward, his sharp gaze fastening on
Xizor. "I summoned you here for a reason. Let us set
aside, for the time being, all this fractious comparison
between your loyalty and that of Lord Vader. You say you
have been busy on my behalf. . . ."
"On yours, my lord, and the Empire's."
"One and the same thing, Xizor. As all the worlds
shall soon know." The Emperor settled back in the throne.
"Very well. Your doings are not something which you have
discussed with either Lord Vader or myself. Either you
have shown commendable initiative-or foolhardy rashness."
Any trace of amusement had drained out of the Emperor's
voice. "Now is your chance to convince me that the former
is the case."
He had known that this time would come. It was one
thing to go out and set one's schemes in motion-that was
the easy part-but it was another to come back here and
defend those schemes when one's life or death depended
upon eloquence. And, thought Xizor, lying eloquence, at
that.
"As great as your empire is, my lord, it is still at
peril." The combined gaze of Vader and the Emperor made
him feel as transparent as glass, as though their mastery
over the Force enabled them to look straight into the
essence he kept so carefully shielded. "Great are your
powers, but they are still not enough to achieve all that
you want."
"You say nothing new." Contempt showed in the
Emperor's eyes. "That is the same thing that my admirals
tell me. They are not believers, as Lord Vader is; they
doubt the existence of any power that they cannot unleash
with the push of a button. They doubt, even when they've
had the edifying experience of feeling the Force crushing
the life out of them. Doubt weakens and makes fools out
of such creatures." An unwavering hand raised and pointed
toward Xizor. "You're not such a fool, are you?"
Xizor bowed his head. "I do not doubt, my lord."
"That's why I'm still listening to you." The Em
peror's hand lowered and stroked the arm of the throne.
"My patience is such, however, that I listen to the
Imperial admirals as well, fools that they are. Even
fools say wise things, from time to time. And that is why
I gave permission for their great project, the
construction of what they called the Death Star-"
"You should have listened to me," said Vader. The
rush of his breath sounded louder and angrier. "The
Rebellion was growing even then, and the admirals wasted
your time on such folly. I told them that the Death Star,
when it was completed, would be a machine and nothing
more. Its power would be nothing compared to that which
you already possess." Vader's voice darkened in tone,
indicating the depths of his annihilating temper. "And I
was proved right, was I not, my lord?"
"Indeed you were, Vader." The Emperor gave a single
nod. "But even in the wretchedness of their folly, my
admirals were still right about one thing. Their little
minds are made of the same unenlightened stuff as are the
minds of most of the galaxy's inhabitants. They see
things the same way-and other things are invisible to
them. The Jedi Knights are no longer; they were the only
ones, other than ourselves, who could see the Force for
what it is. These lesser creatures are blind to that
which moves the stars in all the worlds' skies and the
blood in the veins of those below. They need something
they can see-that was what my admirals hoped to give them
with the Death Star. Its power-such as it was-lay within
the comprehension of all the lesser creatures; it would
have evoked the fear and obedience that the subtleties of
the Force would take a great deal longer to achieve. You
were right that it was a machine and nothing more. But
still a useful machine. A tool. When all that is required
is a hammer, it is folly to turn the universe's primal
energy to such mundane purposes."
Darth Vader stood unmoved by the Emperor's words. "I
trust that you will remember one thing. A hammer can be
broken, as can any other tool. The Death Star was
destroyed. But the Force is eternal."
"I won't forget, Vader. But for now, all such simple
tools are the concern of my admirals. Let them occupy
themselves with building better ones, if they can. We
have already distracted ourselves from our purpose here."
The Emperor turned back toward Prince Xizor. "You say the
Empire is at risk. You tell me nothing new. I am aware of
the threat presented by the Rebel Alliance-a threat that
will be extinguished in due time. But the level of your
concern, Xizor, is what I find surprising. It sounds like
doubt to me, no matter what you say to the contrary. And
doubt should be eliminated at the source."
"Not doubt, but the truth." The edges of Xizor's own
intricately stitched robes trailed across his boots as he
folded his arms across his chest. "You cannot vanquish
the Alliance without creating new threats to your
authority. As your power increases and becomes closer to
absolute, so does an unavoidable hazard. A hazard that is
woven into the very fiber of the Empire."
"He speaks nonsense, my lord."
"Nonsense to those who cannot see." Xizor gazed from
the corner of his eye at the black-garbed figure standing
next to him. "Perhaps Lord Vader is blinded by the Force.
After all, his mastery of it is not equal to your own."
The invisible hand Xizor felt at his throat suddenly
tightened, as hard and constricting as an iron band. Even
Vader's mere image had the power to kill. Xizor's chin
was thrust backward, the vision in his eyes filled with
trapped blood.
"Leave him be, Vader." The Emperor's voice came from
somewhere beyond that darkening red cloud. "I'm intrigued
by what he has to say. I want to hear the rest. Before I
make my decision."
The hand let go, and breath flooded back into Xizor's
lungs. He had kept his arms folded throughout the brief
ordeal, determined not to claw at his throat the way he
had seen Vader's other, weaker victims do. But I won't
forget, brooded Xizor. The other's touch, invisible or
not, was an affront to the haughty pride that was
characteristic of all Falleens. The day would come when
all such offenses would be paid for.
"I speak better," said Xizor, "when the Emperor keeps
a tight leash on his underlings." His voice rasped in his
throat; when he swallowed, he tasted his own blood. "But
the quality of those who serve my lord is exactly that on
which I need to speak." His slit-pupiled gaze took in
Vader and the Emperor. "You have both spoken of the fools
who serve the Empire; necessary fools, but fools
nonetheless. Do you think the situation is going to get
any better, especially now that the Rebellion courts all
those with an independent streak to their natures?"
A sneer sounded in Vader's voice. "They seal their
fates with their 'independent' natures, as you describe
them. The Rebels will be crushed."
"Undoubtedly so," said Xizor. "But that day of
triumph is dekyed by the Emperor's own power. That seems
a riddle, but it is one that can be solved by those with
eyes to see."
"Go on." The Emperor gestured toward Xizor. "You have
my full attention. Make sure you use it well."
He had prepared for this moment; the words were
already chosen. He had only to speak them. And then await
the outcome of his gamble.
"As I said The problem is with those who serve you."
Xizor pointed to the high transparisteel windows behind
the throne, with their vista of limitless stars. "On all
the worlds that are within your grasp, those who resist
your power will be crushed; Lord Vader speaks the truth
about that. But what does that leave you? Fools such as
the Imperial admirals; fools who cannot even recognize
the existence of the Force. If they are not fools before
they enter your service, they become so soon after. How
can it be otherwise? Your power annihilates their will,
their capacity to judge and make decisions, their ability
to operate on their own. Not everyone in the galaxy has a
nature as strong as mine or Lord Vader's."
"This is true," said Emperor Palpatine. "And it is
not a matter that has gone unnoticed by me. I see those
who have gone over to the side of the Rebellion, and I
recognize their strengths. It is a cruel waste to destroy
them, no matter how necessary that might be." His voice
dropped, low and musing. "How much better it would be if
they could be brought over to our side. . . ."
Xizor concealed a shiver of disgust. As far-reaching
as his own ambitions were, they paled by comparison to
Palpatine's. There was something in the withered figure
that didn't want just to control the galaxy's sentient
creatures, but to consume them the way a greedy Hutt
swallowed its wriggling food. The small and weak ones
will go first, thought Xizor. And then someday it'll be
the turn of Vader and me. That would be the reward for
their loyalty. To be consumed last . . .
Survival as well as ambition had dictated the cre
ation of Black Sun. The Rebels were brave idiots to
openly oppose the Emperor's might; for himself, Xizor had
already decided that an existence in the shadows, the
darkness in which criminals always wrapped themselves,
was preferable to the Empire's insatiable appetite.
"There are those," said Xizor, "who would prefer
death rather than serve the Empire."
Palpatine gave a small shrug. "So be it."
"But in the meantime you must deal with those whom
you do command. And many of those are-let us be realistic
about this, my lord-not of the first caliber. Some were
born fools, others achieved idiocy through their own
efforts, but many of the rest simply had their minds and
spirits obliterated by your power." Xizor unfolded his
arms so he could spread his hands apart, palms outward.
"Fear is an effective motivator, but it is also a
corrosive one. It has an effect inside those who suffer
it-"
"Are you one of those, Xizor?"
He shook his head. "Since I do not fear death, I do
not fear that which might cause it. I fear your
disapproval, my lord." Another lie. "If your displeasure
is sufficient cause for my death, then I will have earned
that fate."
"You haven't displeased me," said the Emperor. "Yet.
Continue."
"Not many of your servants, my lord, would risk your
anger by telling you what you need to know. If some call
me rash"-he glanced over at Vader-"you nevertheless might
come to value my excess of courage. For this is the
truth That which makes you powerful, that makes sentient
creatures into tools in your hands, is the same thing
that makes those tools weak and ineffective. It is an
unavoidable concomitant of great power. There are those
that I command, though not at a scale comparable to you,
and I can see it in their eyes. And if you wish to crush
the Rebellion, you will need the strongest possible
forces at your call. I have contacts, spies that I have
planted within the Alliance, and they have informed me of
both the Rebels' plans and their determination to achieve
them. They'll stop at nothing to achieve your overthrow;
that's how insane their hunger for freedom is." He
understood how the Rebels felt; if he hadn't cast his lot
in with Black Sun, he could easily have joined the
Alliance. "You will win, of course, my lord; power such
as yours always wins. But not without cunning, and not
without the services of your underlings. And that's where
the problem lies. The more overwhelming the control that
you establish over your empire, and as more and more of
the universe's sentient creatures come under your domin
ion, the more you risk losing the very elements you need
to complete your galaxy-wide hegemony and defend it from
the small but growing forces of the Rebellion."
Lord Vader spoke up. "At one time I would have said
that such words were nonsense, if not close to treason.
However, I'm forced to admit that Prince Xizor may speak
truth. I would not have had the difficulties that I've
experienced with the Imperial high command if their
brains were not addled with cowardice. But then, if your
admirals were wiser creatures, the Death Star would not
have been destroyed so easily."
"Precisely so." Things were going better than Xizor
had hoped; to have Vader agree with him about anything
was a surprise. "The Empire, by its very nature, destroys
that which it needs to grow and survive. Take the
Imperial stormtroopers, for example; you have trained
them to obey, to fight, and to die in the service of the
Empire . . . but not to think. The same holds true with
practically everyone else throughout the Empire's chain
of command, right up to the topmost ranks; most of your
underlings, my lord, lack any creative spark, any
capability of deep analysis or real cunning; that's all
been beaten out of them, crushed by your power. But the
fledgling elements of the Rebellion do possess those
characteristics; that's why they're in the Rebellion.
Foolish they may be, to the point of being suicidal;
nevertheless, their rebellious nature is exactly that
which makes them a threat to the Empire."
The Emperor nodded, mulling over Xizor's words.
"You're very eloquent on this matter. I don't have to
worry about you showing initiative, do I?" Palpatine
raised his head, showing his unpleasant smile. "So what
would you have me do about my servants? Perhaps I should
just be ... kinder to them. Would that work?" Sarcasm
turned his voice darker and uglier. "Or else I should
just throw away the power I hold over them. But then,
what power would I have left?"
"It's not a matter of throwing away power, my lord.
Even as they are, your servants have their uses. A hammer
doesn't need a mind or a spirit to fulfill the purpose of
he who holds it. Your admirals obey your orders; that is
sufficient for them. The Imperial stormtroopers are tools
for creating the desired level of terror on your subject
planets; they would be less terrifying if they were
capable of thought. But they are like machines, right to
the core that no longer exists in them; set upon their
course, they obey and die and kill, with no possibility
of swaying them from their orders, by appeal to reason or
emotion. That is how it should be; that is how these
servants are most useful to you and to the Empire's
glory." With a nod of his head, Xizor indicated the stars
slowly wheeling behind the throne. "Nothing is achieved
by throwing away those tools, my lord, however limited
their uses may be. But what you must find are other
tools, ones that are not within the absolute grasp of
your power."
"I think," said the Emperor, "that I already have
such tools, and such servants. Standing here in front of
me."
"Just so." Lord Vader's image regarded Xizor for a
moment, then turned again toward the Emperor. "And you
must decide whether such a tool's usefulness is greater
or less than the danger it represents to the Empire."
Back to where we were before, thought Xizor. If Vader
had appeared to agree with him, it had been only for a
moment. And only for the purpose of driving another wedge
between the Emperor and any of Vader's rivals for
influence. Someday he and I will come to grips with each
other. With grim determination, Xizor looked forward to
that confrontation with Darth Vader. And then we'll
settle things, once and for all.
The Emperor spoke up. "When that happens," Palpatine
said coolly, "it will be a judgment laid upon you as
well, Lord Vader."
"Let your judgment be on our accomplishments, my
lord." Xizor's gesture took in both himself and Vader.
"And on our service to you. But as I said, the Empire
requires other servants and tools. And those cannot be
such as your stormtroopers and admirals, or even such as
Lord Vader and myself. To destroy the Rebellion, to crush
once and for all the resistance that has grown against
your power, you must employ those who have sworn no
loyalty to you."
"I think, Prince Xizor, that you may be increasing
the dangers to the Empire rather than lessening them."
"Then I have yet to make my meaning clear to you, my
lord. Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures.
The day will come when the Rebellion is no more, when
your grasp of all the galaxy's worlds will be final and
never-ending. Then you will have no need of servants and
tools with minds of their own. You may, perhaps, have no
need of me. But that is no concern of mine; my fate is
nothing compared to the glory of the Empire. But that
time is not yet here. In this time you must take into
your hand the most dangerous tools. If a vibroblade's
edge is sharp enough to cut both ways, then he who uses
it must be careful. But the only thing more dangerous
than picking it up is the failure to do so."
"You've thought this over a great deal, Prince
Xizor." The Emperor's cold, deep-set eyes studied him. "I
can hear in your words the sound of well-polished gears
meshing together. You seek to convince me. Very well; you
have. To some degree. But what I haven't heard from you
is what these sharp-edged tools are, that I should bend
to my purposes."
"That answer is very simple," said Xizor. "The tools
you need are those individuals known as the bounty
hunters."
Vader's words broke in, deeper and even more contempt-
filled. "We have gone here from folly to madness. What
the prince seeks to convince you of is nonsense. We waste
our time even contemplating it. While Prince Xizor amuses
himself with these idiotic notions, the Rebellion
marshals its forces and conspires against the Empire."
"Your antipathy to the prince's suggestion seems
somewhat extreme, Lord Vader." Beneath the unadorned
hood, the Emperor's head tilted to one side. "Have you
not employed bounty hunters yourself from time to time?
You have even spoken to me of one, that rather enigmatic
individual named Boba Fett. He's been a bounty hunter for
long enough to have gained a reputation nearly as fear-
inspiring as your own."
"A bounty hunter has his uses," said Vader stiffly.
"The prince is correct about that. But they are limited.
If I've given a few of your credits to any of them, Boba
Fett included, it was because they were willing to do
those jobs dirty enough to match their own mercenary
natures. Bounty hunters come from the sewers of the
galaxy; they find it agreeable to troll through various
criminal dens, sinkholes of depravity that can be found
on any number of planets, and locate those whose greed
rather than misplaced idealism has brought them into
contact with the Rebellion. Scum seeks out other scum;
even our Imperial stormtroopers are incapable of anything
but the most rudimentary searches through places like
that."
"Exactly," said Xizor. "Even if those were the only
uses that bounty hunters had, they would still be of
irreplaceable value to the Empire. But they have more
than that. Lord Vader uses the word 'mercenary'; he
speaks perhaps more tellingly than he realizes." He could
sense, even through the dark lenses of Vader's mask, the
angry reaction his words provoked. "A bounty hunter is
just that a mercenary. Boba Fett and the others like him
will do anything for credits. It is greed and not fear
that drives them, and that alone marks them as different
from your admirals and stormtroopers, my lord. Violence
is a commodity for the bounty hunters, not merely the
result of followin g orders. Creatures such as those that
serve in the Empire's military forces are blind to the
deaths and terror they create; they do as much as they
are told to, and then they stop, like children's toys
whose power sources have run down. Bounty hunters, on the
other hand, seek to maximize the return from their
efforts; they have an entrepreneurial attitude rarely
found, if ever, among your followers."
"Though it is found often enough," said Vader, "among
the galaxy's criminal classes."
The suspicion struck Xizor once again, about just how
much Vader knew. Or could prove. The difference between
those conditions might be what kept Vader silent. For
now, thought Xizor.
"If you are referring to such creatures as the Hutts,
you are correct." Xizor pointed to the windows full of
stars. "And there are others besides them, working away,
building up their own little empires and spheres of
influence. They'll be dealt with, eventually. The only
reasons we should not eliminate them right now is that
the Rebellion is a more pressing concern, and the Hutts
and their ilk provide an environment for the bounty
hunters to flourish in. And that is to our advantage.
Criminals such as the infamous Jabba keep the members of
the Bounty Hunters Guild fed on a regular basis so that
they're available for our purposes whenever we need them;
independent operators such as Boba Fett find a way to
survive, and even prosper, no matter what. Since bounty
hunters deliver their services to the highest bidder, the
Empire can always get the best ones to take care of our
dirty work, as Lord Vader would call it. And right now
there is a great deal of dirty work that must be dealt
with."
"Sewers," grated Vader, "and the vermin that live in
them are belter dealt with by draining rather than lying
down in them."
"The Rebellion doesn't have the same sort of scruples
that you do, Lord Vader." Xizor regarded the black-robed
figure through narrowed eyes. "And that is why the
Rebellion is a growing danger to us. The Rebels'
desperation leads them to places that the Imperial
stormtroopers and all our spies and informers are
incapable of entering-or if they do go in there, they
don't come back out except as corpses. The creatures that
live in those shadows may be scum, but they are clever
scum, for the most part. The Rebellion can deal with
them, but the Empire can't. We need intermediaries that
are just as clever and ruthless, and the only ones that
fit the requirements are the bounty hunters."
"Your bickering does not interest me." The Emperor's
voice was like the lash of a whip, pulling both Vader's
and Xizor's attention toward the throne. Palpatine's hard
gaze shifted toward Xizor. "Even if what you say is
true-even if, Xizor, you have convinced me that your
words contain any wisdom- there are still problems with
the course you recommend. True, I prefer terror and fear
to any other 1 means of ensuring obedience to my
commands; fear obliterates sentient creatures'
essences, and that is always a worthwhile result. But I
have no absolute aversion to buying the services the
Empire requires, whether from bounty hunters or anyone
else. Perhaps Boba Fett and the others have no spirits to
be eradicated; if there is still something within them
that can be driven by greed, then I can use that. But you
still have not convinced me that these bounty hunters are
the efficient tools you say they are."
"My lord, I speak only of-"
"Silence." The Emperor grasped the throne's arms and
leaned forward, gaze boring into the slit pupils of
Xizor's eyes. "There is little that I do not know of in
this galaxy. I know more than you can imagine, Xizor;
remember that. And 1 know a great deal about Boba Fett
and the others, the ones who belong to the Bounty Hunters
Guild. Before you ever came to my court, I was aware of
Fett; not everything that you regard as a mystery about
him is a secret to me. He wears the armor of the
Mandalorian warriors; he's earned the right to that
armor, by his own prowess. Lord Vader possesses some of
the knowledge that belonged to the Mandalorians; I pos
sess more. Believe me, you deal with Boba Fett at your
own peril. But in that, he is unique among the bounty
hunters. You recommend them to me as tools that I can use
against the Rebellion; I say that indicates you are a
fool, Xizor. The Bounty Hunters Guild is a joke in which
I find no amusement."
Xizor bowed his head. "You anticipate the arguments
that I wish to make, my lord."
"I anticipate nothing but more idiotic prattle from
you. The bounty hunters with which you display such an
obsession are a fading remnant of what they once were.
The Bounty Hunters Guild is an organization of senile,
aging creatures and incompetent young bumblers. If any of
them had the least amount of skills, they would wash
their hands of the Guild and go independent like Boba
Fett." Deep disgust sounded in the Emperor's voice. "The
Guild members band together and cling to each other
because they know they would have no chance in the galaxy
on their own. That's why Boba Fett has nothing to do with
them."
"On that point, my lord, I must respectfully offer a
correction." Xizor displayed a thin smile. "The renowned
Boba Fett, the most feared bounty hunter in the galaxy,
has already applied for membership in the Guild. And I
anticipate that Cradossk and the others on the Bounty
Hunters Guild council will have no objection to his
becoming one of their number."
"That is impossible." Vader's words were flatly
emphatic. "I have had enough experience with Boba Fett to
know that he would never do such a thing. He values his
independence too much, and he has nothing but contempt
for the Bounty Hunters Guild. You've gone from unamusing
jests, Prince Xizor, to unconvincing lies."
"I neither jest nor lie, Lord Vader." He turned back
toward the Emperor on the throne. "Boba Fett has applied
for membership in the Bounty Hunters Guild at my
instigation. He does not know that it was my idea that he
should do so, or that his actions in this matter serve
the purposes of the Empire. I used an intermediary to
plant the notion in Boba Fett's head, one whose
discretion is sufficient for this task." Xizor had no
intention of revealing his involvement with the assembler
Kud'ar Mub'at; to do so would only heighten Vader's
suspicions about his network of shady and outright
criminal contacts. "As with everything he does, Boba
Fett's actions in this matter are motivated by his own
greed." As were Kud'ar Mub'at's; he had gone to the
assembler and pitched the scheme to it as the leader of
the Black Sun organization, and not as the loyal servant
of the Emperor. "His greed matches that of the aged
Cradossk and all the rest of the Bounty Hunters Guild.
They all think they have something to gain by this change
in their relationship to each other. But it is really
you, Emperor Palpatine, that shall reap all the
benefits."
"This makes no sense," growled Vader. "How could Boba
Fett be convinced that it would be to his advantage to
join the Bounty Hunters Guild?"
Xizor turned his knowing half smile in Vader's
direction. "It is a rather simpler matter than you think.
My intermediary convinced Boba Fett to join the Guild,
not to be one of the Guild's members- but to be the agent
of its destruction."
The Emperor nodded in appreciation. "I begin to see
aspects of your guile, Prince Xizor, of which I had not
been aware."
"In your service, my lord. Think of it You are as
knowledgeable as Lord Vader about Boba Fett's nature. His
cunning and ruthlessness are legendary throughout the
galaxy. Placed in the context of the Bounty Hunters
Guild, those elements are bound to be disruptive. Sharp
divisions already exist among the Guild's members,
between the old leadership of the council members like
Cradossk, and the younger bounty hunters such as his son.
The Bounty Hunters Guild is in many ways a microcosm of
the Republic that your empire has replaced an aging,
bureaucratic conglomerate with its best days far behind
it. Where once the Guild was nearly as ruthless and
efficient as Boba Fett, it now parcels out assignments to
its members, divides up territories and responsibilities,
pays off the galaxy's various law-enforcement agencies,
shares out the steadily diminishing proceeds to its
members, always with more going to the leadership, less
to the lower-ranking bounty hunters who are still doing
the hard and dangerous work upon which the organization
depends. So, naturally, those younger members, if they
have any intelligence and self-interest at all, spend
more time trying to claw their way up through the Guild's
ranks than actually chasing bounties."
Xizor let his own contempt sound in his voice. The
fate of the Bounty Hunters Guild was something that he
was not going to let happen to Black Sun; in that, he had
taken a leaf from Emperor Palpatine's book. Autocracy,
even tyranny, was how one kept an organization tough and
alive.
"The Republic deserves to die, Prince Xizor." The
Emperor raised one hand from the throne's arm. "It sounds
as if you have passed a similar judgment upon the Bounty
Hunters Guild."
"I did that which I knew you would want me to do, my
lord. Your attention is focused upon the weightiest
matters of the galaxy, and its transformation fr om
indolence and democracy to a hard, shining instrument of
your will. The fate of the Bounty Hunters Guild, while
necessary for us to determine to your satisfaction, is
but a small part of that process. And easily achieved,
given a wisdom that is but a reflection of your own. The
Guild is tottering, riven by the antagonistic forces it
contains. If the council of the Bounty Hunters Guild had
but a fraction of your wisdom, my lord, they would never
allow Boba Fett to become a member; they would be able to
foresee the doom that he brings into their midst. But
their greed blinds them; all they will be able to envi
sion is the possibility of his skills bringing more cred
its into the Guild's coffers. The younger members of the
Guild will see that as well, and their greed will also be
stimulated. Each group will try to bring Boba Fett
exclusively onto their side, and thus the delicate
balance that has kept the Guild in one piece will be
destroyed."
"You've put much thought into this, Prince Xizor."
The Emperor's bony finger pointed toward him. "If all
goes as you believe it will, then there will be rewards
for you as well."
"How can it not proceed as I have envisioned?" Xizor
raised his head, bringing his eyes straight into the
Emperor's intimidating gaze. "My intermediary has
convinced Boba Fett of the advantages he will gain by the
destruction of the Bounty Hunters Guild; that is why he
has gone along with this scheme. The Guild is still an
annoyance to him, a hindrance to his own enterprises.
Bumblers the Guild's members may be, but they still
manage to get in Fett's way from time to time. With the
Guild broken up and dispersed, nothing would stand
between Boba Fett and complete control of the galaxy's
bounty-hunter trade. The fees he charges for his services
are already astronomical; with no competition to turn to,
clients such as the Hutts would have to pay whatever Fett
demands."
"That may be so," said Vader. "But what benefit does
the Empire derive from the destruction of the Bounty
Hunters Guild? We can already pay Boba Fett anything he
asks for, but I see no advantage in being forced to pay
him more than he's worth."
"What the Empire gets," replied Xizor, "is a return
to the time before the creation of the Bounty Hunters
Guild. A time when the galaxy's mercenaries were all as
independent, hungry, and ruthless as Boba Fett. A time
when they were at each other's throats, with no pretense
of brotherhood. When the bounty hunters' greed was not
limited by the strictures of the bureaucracy they have
sealed around themselves. .Cradossk and the others of his
generation have grown fat and lazy, somnolent within the
protective walls of the Guild. Eventually, the Guild and
all that remain part of it will wither away and die-but
we cannot wait for that time to come. The Rebellion is a
threat now. The Empire needs many creatures like Boba
Fett, hungry and greedy, and independent enough to carry
out our dirty work. The younger bounty hunters in the
Guild chafe at its weight pressing upon their shoulders,
its chains tangled around their feet. To destroy the
Bounty Hunters Guild would be to free them-right into the
service of the Empire."
"You overvalue these scum-"
"I think not." The Emperor interrupted Vader. "Prince
Xizor speaks truly when he says that the forces under my
command cannot do that which the bounty hunters are
capable of. Or that they would be capable of, if the
Guild were eliminated. Greed is valuable to me only if it
is combined with a capacity for violence-and that
capacity is exactly what would be unleashed when the
Bounty Hunters Guild is no more. The survivors, whichever
ones are left after Boba Fett's presence has shattered
the organization, will be forced to adapt to a harsher,
less protected existence, one in which they can survive
only by placing their boot soles on the throats of those
who had been their brothers only a short time before."
The Emperor's cruel smile widened. "We will have, our
choice of them-each savage and driven by their unchecked
appetites. The prince is right; these tools will be sharp
and murderous, indeed."
"My lord flatters me." Xizor spread his hands, palms
outward. "It is only the wisdom I have received from you
that has guided both my thoughts and deeds."
"You are the flatterer, Xizor; in that, you do not
deceive me. But your value to me has been enhanced by
what you have done in this regard." The Emperor's smile
faded, replaced by a hard gaze. "You have taken a
considerable gamble in proceeding with your little scheme
before consulting with me; if you had not been successful
in convincing me of its worth, the consequences to you
would have been severe.
"I know that, my lord. But time and events press upon
us; the Rebellion's forces are not waiting for us to put
our affairs in order."
Lord Vader's image shook its head, the points of
light from the stars glistening on the black surface of
his helmet. "Better that our trust should be put in the
Force. Its power is greater than anything that can be
derived from all these petty manipulations. The Death
Star, Prince Xizor's unleashed bounty hunters-all these
distract us from the Empire's real strength." Vader
raised a black fist, as though crushing a rebellious
world inside it. "Do not let yourself be swayed by the
vain schemes of those who have no conception of the power
inside you-"
"Advise me not, Lord Vader." The Emperor's anger
flared, like fire suddenly revealed beneath gray ashes.
"You have some training in the Force's ways; you have
even exceeded the training given to you by your vanished
Jedi Masters. But do not presume to consider yourself my
equal."
Xizor kept his silence, watching the confrontation
between Palpatine and the black-garbed figure standing
before him. Let him suffer the Emperor's wrath, thought
Xizor with a measure of satisfaction. The Emperor's
seductive powers had created Vader, the call of the
Force's dark side turning him into what he now was. The
Emperor could destroy Vader as well; Xizor was sure of
it. And if that happened- Then my most powerful enemy
would be gone. And worlds would open before him. The rays
of the Black Sun would reach even farther across the
galaxy. Perhaps . . . even as far as the shadows of the
Emperor's hand.
There would be another reward as well, if Vader's
destruction came about. An even more satisfying one, the
reward of vengeance accomplished. That would be my
reward, brooded Xizor, not that of the Black Sun. Vader
had no idea-yet-of the hatred that was directed toward
whatever was left of his heart. The Imperial records had
been wiped clean- Xizor's credits and power had seen to
that-of any trace of the deaths of his family on the
planet Falleen, deaths brought about by Vader's own
experiments in developing new forms of biological
weaponry for the Empire. Xizor's parents, his brother and
sisters, along with a quarter million other innocent
Falleens, had been reduced to ashes by the sterilization
lasers Vader's orders had turned upon the bacterial
outbreak-but those ashes were still hot in Xizor's own
heart.
With his face a mask, except for his narrowed gaze,
he watched his enemy.
"I mean no presumption, my lord." Darth Vader bowed
his head in submission.
"Yet it irks you if I show favor to another of my
servants." The Emperor smiled and nodded slowly. "Perhaps
that is an indication of the depth of your loyalty to
me." His withered hand pointed to Vader and Xizor in
turn. "Your animosity toward each other serves my
purposes well. There is never a moment when you are not
at each other's throats, seeking what advantage you can
in your struggle to please me. So be it; it keeps your
teeth sharp. That is why I think Prince Xizor's scheme
has a chance, however slight, of succeeding. The bounty
hunters will be to each other what the two of you are
hungry and ruthless. The struggle will end someday, with
one of you destroying the other. I'm not sure which one
of you will be the victor. And I do not greatly care,
either." The Emperor appeared to savor the possibilities.
"In the meantime the Empire enjoys the benefits of your
little war."
One that I will win, thought Xizor. And after that,
it would be time for other plans and schemes. For all his
respectful words, the Force and the Emperor's mastery of
it meant nothing to him. Of what use was the greatest
power in the universe-if it even existed at all, and
wasn't just some figment of Vader and Palpatine's
imaginations-when it was in the hands of a fool? An aging
one, at that, so obsessed with the Rebellion that he
would allow a greater danger to him walk the corridors of
his palace. He doesn't know, thought Xizor, keeping his
own face a mask as he gazed at the Emperor. Despite
having given himself over to the dark side of the Force,
Emperor Palpatine didn't suspect what was still hidden in
the shadows surrounding him.
"Go about your self-appointed business, Xizor." The
Emperor's hand made a dismissive gesture. "You plot and
work to bring about other creatures' destruction; this
pleases me. Knowing what I do about Boba Fett and the
members of the unfortunate Bounty Hunters Guild, it is a
process that I do not anticipate will take long to
achieve the desired results. Come and report to me again
when these sharper tools are ready to be delive red into
my grasp."
"As you wish, my lord." Xizor bowed, then turned. The
edge of his caped robes flared with that motion, the
thick rope of his bound hair swinging across the exposed
ridges of his vertebrae.
"I also will want to hear of your success." Lord
Vader's holo image spoke as Xizor strode from the
Emperor's throne room. "Or the lack thereof."
Xizor couldn't help smiling to himself as he left the
presence of the Emperor and his chief servant. There
would be successes, of that he was confident. But not the
kind they expected.

"I must warn you, my lord." The great doors to the
throne room had sealed shut once again, leaving Va-der in
private consultation with the Emperor. "Better you should
surround yourself with fools than one with such
ambitions."
"Your warning is acknowledged, Lord Vader." Emperor
Palpatine gave a knowing smile. "But it is hardly
necessary. Prince Xizor likes to keep secrets from me.
But I see more deeply into his heart than he realizes."
"Then let me eliminate him for you. And remove the
possibility of his treachery."
"And eliminate as well the value he has for me?" The
Emperor slowly shook his head. "He is a sharp-edged tool
in himself, Vader. He cuts through difficulties with
ease. This scheme he has initiated against the bounty
hunters-it is a stroke of genius. Even Boba Fett, as
smart as he is, will have little conception of what
forces have been brought against him." The thin smile
showed on the withered face again. "There is a great
satisfaction that comes from turning a sentient
creature's own strengths against him. Fett and the others
like him will soon find out just how that works."
Lord Vader's image was silent for a moment before
speaking, words softer than his rasping breath. "And
Prince Xizor?"
"His time will come as well," said the Emperor. "When
he will learn the same." He gave the same gesture of
dismissal with one hand, "Now go." The Emperor turned his
throne toward the stars, the vast reaches that extended
before him. "I have other things to contemplate."

11

The first quarters they gave him were hung with
silken brocades, the richly worked tapestries mirrored in
the floors inlaid with precious metals. "I don't think
so," said Boba Fett.
He prevailed upon Cradossk's majordomo, an obsequious
Twi'lek like the ones so often encountered in high-level
service positions, to move him to a more spartan
residence in the Guild compound. It didn't take much to
convince the nervously smiling and bowing creature to
accede to his wishes; merely stating them and turning the
threatening visage of his helmet toward the other was
enough.
"I hope you'll find this more to your liking." The
Twi'lek majordomo's name was Ob Fortuna; his head tails,
the bifurcated appendages that curved from his skull and
rested on his shoulders like overfed snakes, glistened
with a sheen of perspiration. He resembled a distant clan
member that Fett had seen in Jabba the Hutt's entourage.
The little space, an empty cubicle carved from the
planetoid's underlying rock strata, and the corridor
through which he'd led Boba Fett, was chill enough to
make his breath visible. The sweat was provoked by the
bounty hunter's presence. "If there's anything else you
require . . ."
"This will do fine." Boba Fett looked away from the
Twi'lek and scanned the bare stone walls. "Leave me."
"But of course." Bowing, the majordomo backed away
toward the rough-hewn door. "I await Your Fearsomeness's
commands."
"Fine. Do it at a distance." Boba Fett kicked the
bottom of the door to swing it shut. "That's all I need
from you right now."
He could hear the majordomo's steps running down the
corridor, the sounds fading away until the space was
silent except for a slow drip of water in one corner. A
native insect, bristling with antennae and eyestalks-a
miniature version of the council member that spoke in
nothing but questions-had been aroused by the presence of
humanoid body heat. It tried to escape as Boba Fett
reached over with his armor-gloved hand, but his
forefinger cracked the bug's chitinous shell and left the
tiny carcass smeared on the damp rock. Fett watched as a
swarm of smaller creatures scurried away. Vermin and cold
didn't bother him. He'd been in worse places.
This one had the advantage as well of being easily
scoured for other bugs, the kind that would report one's
words to Cradossk and his advisers. Fett hadn't even
found it necessary to do a scan on the first room to
which the Twi'lek had taken him, to know that the wall
hangings had been studded with microscopic listening and
observation devices. The old Trandoshan's welcoming
party, complete with drunk act, hadn't fooled him. They
know something's up, thought Fett. The Bounty Hunters
Guild had been a tougher organization in the past;
Cradossk hadn't become its leader by being a complete
idiot.
Fett hadn't survived on his own by being one, either.
Cradossk would doubtlessly have expected him to reject
the luxury quarters, and have an alternative already
prepared. An alternative that would meet Cradossk's
requirements. Boba Fett snapped on the scanning sweeps
mounted in his helmet; a precisely calibrated grid
snapped into view in the narrow visor.
What do we have here? Just as he'd expected turning
slowly on his boot heel, Fett saw the pulsing red spark
in the grid that indicated a miniaturized spy module. He
completed his scan, finding two more at varying heights
on the opposite stone wall. It would have been easy to
have extracted them from their niches and crushed them
between his fingertips, the way he had the living bug.
Instead, he took from one of his belt pouches a trio of
audio drones, already set by him to reproduce the nearly
subliminal traces of his breath and other homeostatic
functions. He tapped the drones into place, directly on
top of the bugs. No other sound would get past them; a
signal in his gear would switch them off when he left the
space, producing perfect silence.
He didn't anticipate spending much time here; he'd
really only wanted to give Cradossk a chance to display
his hospitality. And subterfuge. Any sleep or meals that
Boba Fett required, he would take aboard the Slave I,
safely docked and secured at the edge of the Guild's main
compound. I've got enough enemies here, he'd decided.
There was no sense in making it any easier for them to
get at him.
Though if they wanted to talk with him, face-to-
face-this dank little room was sufficient for that.
Just as he'd anticipated, he didn't have long to
wait. A knock sounded on the splintered planks of the
door, then the rusting hinges bolted into the stone
creaked as a hand with claws and scales pushed it open.
"So we are to be brothers." Bossk stood in the
doorway, his slit-pupiled eyes showing both resentment
and a primitive guile. "How pleasant that shall be for
both of us."
Boba Fett looked over his shoulder at the younger
Trandoshan. "That matters little to me. I take my
pleasure in my work. And in getting paid for it."
"You're famous for that." Bossk entered the space,
his wavering shadow cast ahead by the torches mounted
along the corridor. He sat down heavily on the bench
carved out of one wall. "I'd find my pleasures the same
way-if it weren't for you."
"You speak of the past." Fett stood in the center of
the damp stone floor, his arms folded across his chest.
"Have you forgotten already what your father said?" The
banquet had still been in progress as the Twi'lek
majordomo had led Boba Fett to his quarters. "A new time
has begun for us. For all bounty hunters."
"Ah, yes; my father." Shaking his head in disgust,
Bossk leaned back against the wall. "My father speaks of
great and noble things; he always has. It's one of the
reasons I despise him. The day will come when I sharpen
my teeth on the shards of his bones."
"Family matters don't interest me." Boba Fett
shrugged. It had been obvious to him for a long time
before this why Trandoshans were not a numerous species.
"Deal with the old creature as you feel best. If you
think you're capable of it."
A low growl sounded from deep within Bossk's throat.
He leaned forward, eyes narrowing into slits as he
focused on some personal vision. "Someday..." He nodded
slowly. "When the Guild is mine . . ."
Fool, thought Boba Fett. The Trandoshan had no idea
of the machinery in which he was already caught, the
gears grinding out a different future than the one of
which he dreamed.
"But that's why you're here, isn't it?" Bossk looked
up at him. "Why you've come all this way to join the
Bounty Hunters Guild." One clawed hand pulled a small box
that had been dangling from one of his chest straps; he
flicked open the hinged lid and dug out a wriggling
morsel. "Want one?" Bossk held the container out on his
scaly palm.
Boba Fett shook his head. The little box's contents
were identical to the insect he'd crushed against the
stone wall. "What are you talking about?"
"You don't fool me." Bossk grinned as he refastened
the box to the strap. "As I said before-you might fool a
senile old lizard like my father, but you can't do the
same with me. I know exactly why you came here."
"And why would that be?"
"It's simple." Bossk cracked the insect between his
f ront fangs, then swallowed the two oozing pieces.
"You're aware of how old Cradossk is. You'd have to know;
you had enough encounters with him in the past, before I
was even spawned. His time has to come to an end,
eventually. And then the leadership of the Guild will
pass to me. That's already been decided. There's no one
on the council that's any younger than my father; some of
them are old enough to have cobwebs growing between their
claws. They'll be glad to have me take over."
"You might be right about that." Fett had heard of
other possibilities. There were other bounty hunters in
the Guild who were as young and hungry as Bossk. The
leadership of the Guild wouldn't be handed down without
some kind of a struggle.
"Of course I'm right." With the point of one claw,
Bossk extracted a fragment of bug shell from between his
fangs. "And you're the proof of it."
"How do you figure that?"
"Come on; let's face it. We've both been around the
galaxy a few times. Maybe I don't have the same amount of
experience that you do, but I'm a fast learner." Seated
on the stone bench, Bossk smiled with cozy familiarity at
Boba Fett. "You'll be glad you've met up with me like
this, rather than both of us scrabbling over some minor
bounty. There's big credits to be made here; bigger than
my father and his dried-up old cronies ever dreamed of.
You know that, don't you?"
Fett didn't bother to indicate yes or no. "I'm always
on the lookout for a profitable arrangement."
"That's what makes you the kind of mean barve I
really like." Bossk's carnivorous grin widened. "My
father was right about one thing You and I, we really
are like brothers. We should get along just fine, given
the changes that are going to happen around here." He
leaned back against the stone wall. "Like you said-we
have to change with the times. We just have to make sure
the changes go our way, huh?"
The assembler knew what it was talking about, thought
Boba Fett. He had to give Kud'ar Mub'at credit for the
accurate assessment of how things would go here at the
Bounty Hunters Guild. Fett had been here for less than a
standard time part, and already the pieces were falling
into place. Better than that leaping into place. The son
of the Guild's leader was volunteering to take his place
in the scheme that would tear apart the organization.
"You're a clever creature." Boba Fett gave a slow nod
of acknowledgment. "Very clever."
"Smart enough to figure out what you're up to, pal."
The slit-pupiled eyes regarded Fett with satisfaction.
"You're famous for a lot of things. One of them is that
you've always been a lone operator. You've never worked
with a partner, even in the worst situations."
"I've never had to," replied Fett. "I can take care
of myself."
"Yeah, and you still can. Like I said-you're not
fooling me. All that talk back there in the banquet hall,
about the Empire squeezing us out-what a crock of nerf
waste. The only reason you got my father and the rest of
them to go for that line is because they wanted to
believe it. They're old and tired, and they're looking
for an excuse to roll over and quit. But I'm not buying
it. Things don't change like that. I've seen enough of
the Empire to know that there's always going to be some
use for bounty hunters. There's stuff we can do that
nobody else can."
"An astute observation."
"One that you've made as well, I bet." Bossk dug at
his fangs again, then inspected the tips of his claws.
"If anything, there's going to be more business for us
with Emperor Palpatine than there ever was under the
Republic. There'll be all sorts of creatures that the
Emperor wants to get his hands on, who don't Want to be
found. That's where bounty hunters come in. Plus the
Rebellion-they got their needs, too. That's the great
thing about being on neither one side nor the other. We
can sell our services to anyone who can pay our price.
And there's going to be a lot of buyers."
This Trandoshan also deserved credit, Boba Fett had
to admit. Bossk might be a fool, and a particularly crass
and bloodthirsty one, but he was sharp enough to discern
at least one important thing about the nature of evil.
Which was that it always bred more of the same. More
business for us, thought Fett. He felt no emotion about
that, one way or the other.
"It's a simple matter, then, isn't it?" Boba Fett
spoke his next thoughts aloud. "Of just making sure we
get paid the price we want."
"You got that right. And that's why you came walking
in here and asked to become a member of the Bounty
Hunters Guild, isn't it? Not because things are changing
out there"-Bossk waved his clawed and scaled hand,
indicating the reaches beyond the mold-encrusted stone
ceiling-"but because the Guild is changing. Or it's just
about to. You've had it pretty easy for a long time,
haven't you? Even when my father still had sharp fangs,
he was never your equal in the bounty-hunter trade. None
of those old creatures were. And as they got older all
they really managed to do was get in the way of me and
the other young hunters-the ones who would've given you a
run for your credits, Fett. So you've really had the
field all to yourself, haven't you? Must've been nice."
Fett gave a small shrug. "It hasn't been exactly
easy."
"Yeah, but it would've been a lot harder if you'd had
to deal with me." Bossk's eyes flashed angry fire as he
jabbed the point of one claw into his chest. "If I'd been
able to go up against you on some of those jobs, the way
I really wanted to. You wouldn't have been raking in
those big bounties, the kind that Jabba and the rest of
the Hutts put up, if you'd had some real competition for
them."
"Yes," said Fett. "If I'd had some real competition,
it might have been different."
Bossk didn't pick up on the irony concealed in Fett's
words. "That's all coming to an end, though, isn't it?
That's the real reason you're here. You know that my
father and the rest of the Guild council is just about
ready to have their bones picked clean. And that somebody
else will be taking over. Somebody a lot harder and
tougher, who isn't just going to let you walk off with
all the easy credits."
"And that someone would be you, I suppose."
"Don't suppose with me, Fett. It's time for you and
me to work some things out. You didn't come here just
because you wanted membership in the Bounty Hunters
Guild. You're here because you know it isn't going to be
long before I'm running things. I can tell how your mind
works."
"Is that so?"
Bossk nodded. " 'Cause it's so much like mine. You
and me, we want the same things. Top price, and nobody
getting in our way. But we've got to deal with each
other." The last of the Trandoshan's smile faded. "As
equals."
You idiot. "Negotiations between equals can sometimes
be profitable. Or fatal."
"Let's go for a profitable one. Here's the deal,
Fett." One claw raised, Bossk leaned forward on the stone
bench. "There's no point in us tearing out each other's
throats. Even if it would be fun. That just lets the old
ones like my father stay in power for a while longer. And
they've had their turn long enough. I don't feel like
waiting any longer than I have to, just to get my
chance."
"What do you want me to do about it?"
"It's not just what I want; it's what you want as
well. Better you should get on my good side now, Fett,
than have me for an enemy later on." The claw tip pointed
to each of them in turn. "Let's be partners, you and me.
I know that's what you came here for."
"I see that I was correct when I said that you were a
clever creature." Just not clever enough, thought Fett.
"Flatter me some other time, why don't you? After
we've taken over the Bounty Hunters Guild." The fanged
smile returned to Bossk's face. "When I slice up my
father's carcass, I'll save you one of the best pieces."
"Don't bother," said Fett. "I'll be pleased enough
knowing that I've accomplished what I came here for."
Whether Bossk would be as happy about it remained to be
seen.
"I'm glad-really glad-that we're in agreement about
this." Bossk stood up from the damp stone. He stepped
close to Boba Fett, bringing his face to where it almost
touched the visor of the helmet. "Because otherwise I
would have had to kill you."
"Perhaps." Fett didn't draw away. "Though I think
you're actually the lucky one. Look down here."
Bossk's slit-pupiled eyes widened when they glanced
down and saw the muzzle of a blaster pressed against his
abdomen. Fett rested his thumb on the weapon's firing
stud.
"Let's get one thing straight." Boba Fett kept his
voice level, stripped of emotion. "We can be partners.
But we're not going to be friends. I need those even
less."
Bossk regarded the weapon for a moment longer, then
lifted his head and barked a raw-edged laugh. "That's
good! I like that." All the points of his fangs showed as
he glared fiercely into the dark visor.
"You watch out for yourself, and I'll watch out for
me. That's just the way I like it."
"Good." Fett slipped the blaster back into its
holster. "We can do business."
As he stepped out into the corridor Bossk stopped and
glanced over his shoulder. "And of course," he said
slyly, "this is all a private arrangement, isn't it?
Between you and me."
"Of course." Boba Fett hadn't moved from the center
of the space. "It'll work better that wa y."
For me, thought Fett, after the Trandoshan had
stridden away, past the flickering torches. For you, it's
another matter.

The Twi'lek majordomo had other household duties as
well. Chief among which was spying.
"Your son has just concluded a long conversation with
Boba Fett." All the comings and goings in the Bounty
Hunters Guild headquarters were observed by Ob Fortuna.
"From what I could tell, your son seemed rather pleased
with the results."
"I'm not surprised." Cradossk's blunt claws fumbled
with the catches of his ceremonial robes. The heavy
fabric, with embroidery that depicted his species'
ancient battles and triumphs, was stained with the wine
that had been spilled at the banquet. "Bossk gets his
eloquence from me." He shrugged off the robes.
"Persuasiveness is a specialty of his."
"But aren't you concerned?" The Twi'lek's tapering
head tails swung forward as he gathered up the robes.
"About what the two of them found to talk about?" He
spread the robes out on a lacquered rack at the side of
Cradossk's sitting room. "Your son has . . . shall we
say"-the Twi'lek's smile was a combination of nerves and
obsequiousness-"a bit of a conspiratorial streak."
"Of course he does! He wouldn't be my son, oth
erwise." Cradossk sat down on the edge of a canopied
pallet and stuck his legs out. His claws ached from all
the standing he'd had to do, giving toasts and welcoming
the famous Boba Fett into the brotherhood of bounty
hunters. "I don't expect him to take over the leadership
of the Guild someday merely because he has a talent for
killing sentient creatures."
The Twi'lek knelt down to unfasten the metal-studded
straps laced between Cradossk's claws. "I think," he said
softly, "that your son is rather eager to assume that
leadership. Perhaps even . . . impatient ..."
"Good for him. Keeps him hungry." Cradossk leaned
back against a mound of pillows. "I know just what my son
wants. The same thing I did when I was his age. Blood
leaking through my fangs, and a pile of credits in my
hand."
"Oh!" Ob Fortuna's eyes glittered at any mention of
credits. "But perhaps ... it would be better for you to
be careful."
"Better for me to be smart, you mean. I don't intend
to wind up on my son's dinner plate. That's why I'm on
his side in all this."
The head tails rolled across the Twi'lek's shoulders
as he looked up. "I don't understand."
"You wouldn't. You're not a sneaky enough barve. It
takes a Trandoshan to understand the subtleties of these
kinds of maneuvers. We're born with it, like scales. Do
you really think I'm such an idiot that I'd let Boba Fett
walk in here and become a member of the Bounty Hunters
Guild, and just take everything he has to say on trust?"
Cradossk had no anxiety about revealing his thoughts and
schemes to his majordomo; Twi'leks were too cowardly to
act upon anything they heard. "The man's a scoundrel. Of
course, that's nothing I hold against him; he's just not
our scoundrel. He's still looking out for himself-and why
shouldn't he? But in the meantime I'm not fooled by all
his talk of some grand alliance between himself and the
Bounty Hunters Guild. And if he was taken in by all my
rhapsodizing about brotherhood between us, then I really
am disappointed in the great Boba Fett." He reached down
and scratched between the exposed claws of his feet.
"That's why I sent my son Bossk in there to talk with
him. Bossk may be a bit of a hothead-that's another way
he resembles me when I was that age-but he's smart enough
to follow through on a good, underhanded plan."
"You sent him to talk with Boba Fett?" "Why not?"
Cradossk felt content with the universe, and how things
were proceeding in his corner of it. "I told Bossk what
to say as well. Probably no more than what Boba Fett was
expecting from the impatient young heir to the leadership
of the Guild. A partnership between the two of them-and
against me."
The Twi'lek gaped at him. "Against you?" "Of course.
If I hadn't sent Bossk in there to talk with Fett, and
have him propose exactly that, then my son would very
likely have done it on his own initiative. Not because
Bossk really wants to conspire against me. He's too
loyal-and too smart for that. Plus he knows I'd have his
internal organs for breakfast if he tried anything like
that." Cradossk gave a self-satisfied nod of his head.
"It's much better this way. Now we have an in with our
mysterious visitor and would-be brother, one to whom Boba
Fett will confide the true reasons why he's come here to
the Guild. My son gains points with not only his loving
father, but also with some of the council members who
have voiced some fear about his ambitions. And I remain
in control of the situation. That's the most important
thing."
A puzzled look remained on the Twi'lek's face as he
rolled up the leather foot straps and placed them in his
employer's ornamentations box. "Could it not be"-the
Twi'lek's head tails glistened with the effort of his
musing-"that your son has a different idea? Different
than the one you put into his head?"
Cradossk folded his claws over the age-yellowed
scales of his stomach. "Such as?"
"Perhaps Bossk doesn't want to just pretend that he
has entered into a conspiracy with Boba Fett. A
conspiracy against you and the rest of the Guild
council." The Twi'lek rubbed his chin, gazing at some
point beyond the sitting room's caparisoned walls, where
his infrequently encountered thoughts could be found.
"Maybe he would have gone and talked to Boba Fett
anyway-whether you had sent him or not. And he would have
made just that proposition. For real."
"Now, there's an interesting notion." Cradossk sat
up, bringing his heavy-lidded-and unamused- gaze straight
into that of his household majordomo. "And one for which
I should pull your flopping little head off. Do you
realize what you're suggesting?"
The Twi'lek's smile was even more nervous than
before. "Now that I think of it . . ."
"You should've done your thinking before you opened
your mouth." Anger simmered inside Cradossk. The only
reason he didn't pull off the Twi'lek's head was that a
good majordomo, one that was used to his various ways and
preferences, was hard to find. "You're questioning not
only my son's intelligence, but his loyalty to me. I
realize that members of your species have only an
abstract understanding of that concept. But for
Trandoshans"- Cradossk thumped his bared chest with his
fist-"it is something in our blood. Honor and loyalty,
and the faith that exists between family members, even
unto the last generations-those are not negotiable
substances."
"I beseech your pardon. . . ." Hands clasped
together, the Twi'lek bobbed up and down in front of
Cradossk, the speed of his genuflections increased by his
anxiety. "I meant no disrespect. . . ."
"Very well." Cradossk shooed him away with a quick,
contemptuous gesture. "Because you're an idiot, I'll
overlook your insulting comments." He wouldn't forget
them, though; long, grudge-filled memories were another
characteristic of Trandoshans. "Now get out of my sight,
before I have reason to be hungry again."
The Twi'lek scurried away, still hunched over and
bowing as he retreated toward the sitting room's door.
Maybe I should eat him, brooded Cradossk as he drew
on a lounging robe stitched together from the skins of
former employees. Standards were becoming deplorably lax
among the Guild's hirelings. Staffing had always been a
problem over the decades; in that, the Bounty Hunters
Guild had the same difficulties that their clients the
Hutts did. Not many of the galaxy's sentient creatures
were so desperate as to seek employment in establishments
where the constant threat of death was one of the working
conditions. He wondered if Emperor Palpatine's
dismantling of the Republic would improve things in that
regard, or just make them worse. The establishment of the
Empire promised a net increase in the galaxy's misery
quotient-that was good, at least as far as Cradossk was
concerned-but also a tighter control over the various
worlds' inhabitants. That was probably bad. . . .
Something to think about. Feeling the weight of his
age, Cradossk shambled into the memory-bone chamber
connected to the sitting room. He lit one of the candles
set in a niche filled with years of congealed wax; the
guttering flame sent interlaced shadows wavering across
the walls and their white treasures.
It had been a long time since he'd had occasion to
add another memento to his collection. My killing days
are over, thought Cradossk, not without regret. He
wandered farther into the chamber's ivory-lined recesses,
letting memories of vanquished opponents and foolishly
recalcitrant captives wash over him.
Until he came to the oldest and tiniest bones. They
looked like something that might have been found in a
bird's nest, on some planet where all the life-forms had
been extinct for centuries. Cradossk let a couple of them
rest in his palm as he poked at them with a single claw.
Tooth marks showed on the bones' surfaces, from little
teeth that had been as sharp and hard as a newborn's.
Teeth that hadn't yet been dulled by the coarse flesh of
enemies. Those teeth had been his, when he'd just barely
been out of his mother's egg sac. The bones were those of
his spawn-brothers, hatched just a few seconds later. And
too late for them.
Cradossk sighed, mulling over the wisdom he'd been
created with, and that which had taken him so long to
achieve. He carefully set his brothers' bones back in the
hollow of polished rock where he kept them.
This was why lesser entities like that moronic
Twi'lek would never understand. About family loyalty and
honor ...
He pitied creatures like that. They simply had no
sense of tradition.

The Twi'lek pushed the door to the sitting room open
a crack. Just enough to see what the old Trandoshan was
up to.
Cradossk had gone into his chamber of grisly
souvenirs. A candle flame showed his silhouette among the
stacked and interwoven bones. Good, thought the Twi'lek.
His boss would usually stay in there for hours, fondling
the bones and reminiscing, and sometimes falling asleep,
wheezing and dreaming with a splintered femur in his
claws.
Plenty of time, then. The Twi'lek slid the door shut
without making a sound and strode quickly toward another
section of the Bounty Hunters Guild compound. To Bossk's
quarters.
"Excellent," said the younger Trandoshan, after
listening to the Twi'lek's report. "You're sure of all
this?"
"But of course." The Twi'lek made no attempt to
conceal the wickedness of his smile. "I have been in your
father's service for some time. Longer than any of his
previous majordomos. I haven't lasted this long by being
blind to his thought processes. I can decipher the old
fool like a data readout. And I can tell you this for a
fact He trusts you absolutely. As he told me, that was
why he sent you to talk to Boba Fett."
Sitting in a gold-hinged campaign chair, Bossk nodded
in approval. "I suppose my father had all sorts of things
to say. About loyalty and honor. And all the rest of that
nerf dung."
"The usual."
"That must be the hardest part of your job," said
Bossk. "Listening to fools talk."
You have no idea, thought the Twi'lek. "I've gotten
used to it."
Bossk gave another, slower nod. "The time is coming
when you won't have to listen to that particular fool any
longer. When I'm running the Bounty Hunters Guild, things
will be different."
"I certainly expect so." More of the same, the
Twi'lek told himself. He was careful to keep his thoughts
from showing on his face. "In the meantime ..."
"In the meantime there will be a nice little transfer
of credits to your private account. For all your
services." Bossk dismissed him with a simple gesture of
his upraised claws. "You can go now."
That fool is right about one thing. The Twi'lek felt
a warm glow of satisfaction as he headed back to his own
quarters. He was doing a good job-
For himself.

Boba Fett heard the door creak open. He had to work
against his own ingrained habits, which had kept him
alive in a hard universe, to keep his back turned toward
a door. More bounty hunters had lost their lives from a
blaster burning into their spines than had ever taken an
opponent's shot face-to-face. Fett should know he had
taken out more than his share, just that way.
"Excuse me. ..." A cautious voice sounded from the
doorway.
That was why he'd kept his back toward it. So as to
give anyone who came around to this dank chamber, to talk
with him, a perceived psychological advantage. Some of
the members of the Bounty Hunters Guild were a little
short in the courage department. He found it hard to
imagine why they might have thought they would have any
aptitude for this business. If they had found themselves
looking straight into the dark, narrow visor of his
helmet, they might have fled before even opening their
mouths.
"Yes?" Boba Fett turned around-slowly, as
nonthreateningly as possible for someone with his
reputation. "What is it?"
"I was wondering"-the short bounty hunter, with the
large insectoid eyes and breathing hoses, stood in the
doorway-"if I might have a word with you. . . ."
What was this one's name? They all looked alike to
Boba Fett. Zuckuss, he remembered. The partner of Bossk,
at least as recently as that business where he had
snatched the accountant Nil Posondum out from under their
noses.
"Of course, if you're busy-" Zuckuss clasped his
gloved hands together in an obvious show of nervousness.
"I can come back some other time-"
"Not at all." Boba Fett had also seen this one at the
Guild's banquet hall, close to the reptilian Bossk. So
there was undoubtedly still some connection between the
two of them. "No time like the present," said Fett. "For
talking about important things."
This one didn't take long. Zuckuss was hardly in
Fett's quarters for more than a few minutes before he had
scuttled back out into the corridor, disappearing before
anyone from the Guild could spot him there. Small fry,
thought Boba Fett. Not one of the major players in the
Bounty Hunters Guild that Kud'ar Mub'at had briefed him
on. But important enough, with a line straight to the ear
of Bossk. Who, as the impatient heir apparent to the
Guild leadership, would have a great deal to do with it
being torn apart.
The conversation went exactly as Boba Fett had
expected, and just as Kud'ar Mub'at would have predicted.
Zuckuss was like so many others in the Bounty Hunters
Guild, down in the lower ranks a perfect combination of
greed and naivete. Just smart enough to kill, mused Fett
after Zuckuss had left. The short bounty hunter had
glanced nervously out the doorway, to make sure no one
was there to see him as he scurried down the torchlit
corridor. Not smart enough to keep himself from getting
killed. It might not happen this time-Zuckuss might, with
the erratic luck of the feckless, survive the breakup of
the Guild-but it would eventually.
He supposed that was the big difference between
himself and poor Zuckuss, between himself and Bossk and
Bossk's vicious, aging father and all the rest of the
Guild members. Boba Fett sat down on the stone bench for
a moment; the armaments he carried with him, that were as
much a part of him as his spine, prevented him from
leaning back. He never wasted time thinking about
himself, any more than an explosively lethal missile from
the rocket launcher strapped to his back would have as it
sped toward its doomed and pinpointed target. But he knew
that the reason he was alive and that others were dead,
or soon would be, was that he possessed the true and
essential secret of being a bounty hunter-
As good as he was at catching and, if need be,
killing other sentient creatures, he was even better at
surviving their attempts to kill him. Everything else was
just a matter of superior firepower.
Boba Fett stood up from the stone bench. If he stayed
here any longer, there would be others coming to talk to
him. Others who thought they could protect themselves the
way he did, but who were already fatally enmeshed in the
trap spun by Kud'ar Mub'at, so far away that he couldn't
be seen or the tugs on the strands of his web even felt.
Besides Bossk and Zuckuss, there had also been one of
Cradossk's top advisers on the Guild council, and the
Twi'lek major-domo, back for a longer talk than when he'd
brought Fett to this dank chamber. All of them had been
in pure deal-cutting mode, eager to help pull the Bounty
Hunters Guild apart so they would get a bigger piece of
whatever was left in the wreckage.
Right now he didn't feel like talking to anyone else.
Action meant more than words; that was one other thing
Boba Fett was sure of. A man was killed by words, and
saved by action. Spending so much time talking to other
sentient creatures had been like wrapping himself in
death. What he wanted to do right now was head back to
the Slave I, his refuge docked at the edge of the Guild's
main compound, lock himself behind its overlapping
security layers, all systems primed to fry anyone who
tried to breach them, and rest. If not the sleep of the
virtuous-Fett had no illusions about that, or
regrets-then at least the sleep of someone who had put in
a good day's work. In his business, that meant helping
others arrange their own destruction.
The presence of those other sentient creatures,
carrying their fates around with them, all unaware, laid
-a cold hand on Boba Fett's heart, or whatever passed for
it after all these years of death. It felt like some
prophecy of his own death, though he was just as sure
that that was a long way off, far from here in both time
and space.
Being back inside his own ship would be as much a
relief as being out in the emptiness between the stars.
He would be alone there, sealed off from all the others,
living and dead. . . .
That was what he needed. He pushed the rough wooden
door shut behind himself and strode down the corridor,
beneath the flickering light of the torches. Anywhere but
here, thought Boba Fett. The tunnel stretched out before
him. Above him, the invisible weight of rock and stone
pressed down, like the tomb he hadn't earned yet.

12

NOW

"You were saying things." Dengar handed the figure on
the pallet a metal cup filled with water. "In your
sleep."
Sleep was the wrong word, he knew. Dying would have
been more accurate. Except that Boba Fett hadn't died,
after all. After everything.
"Is that so?" Even unhelmeted, Boba Fett had a gaze
that was as cold and exterminating as anything that had
looked out from the black, narrow visor. Lying on the
improvised bed in the hiding place's smallest subchamber,
Fett's lethal potential appeared undiminished, as though
his ravaged flesh were only a temporary costume, less
real than the ragged battle-gear stacked up in the
corner. "What did I say?"
"Nothing important," replied Dengar. He knew better
than to have told the truth, if Fett's drugged,
unconscious mutterings had amounted to anything. This
barve lives by secrets, thought Dengar. To get inside any
of those secrets would be like stealing something from
him. And the consequences of that, Dengar was well aware,
would not be pretty. "Something about not liking so many
sentient creatures around you. Stuff like that."
"Ah." Boba Fett raised his head and managed to sip
the water he'd been given. His smile looked like a blade
wound in the abraded skin of his face. "I still don't
like it."
"Please do not agitate the patient." The taller of
the two medical droids scolded Dengar. The droid and its
shorter partner were busily changing the dressings around
Boba Fett's torso. Bloodied rags and sterile gel sheets
were peeled away from the raw flesh beneath. Wounds such
as Fett's took a long time to heal; the Sarlacc's gastric
secretions were like acid creeping toward the bone, long
after the beast itself was dead. "If I had the authority
to do so," continued SHS1-B, "I would order you out of
this area immediately."
"But you don't." Dengar leaned back against the
subchamber's crumbling rock wall. The air inside the
hiding place was as hot and desiccating as the interior
of one of the ancient burial mounds that studded the
farther reaches of the Dune Sea, where Tatooine's double
suns turned corpses into withered leather. "Besides,"
said Dengar, "if you two haven't killed him by now,
nothing will."
"Sarcasm." le-XE spoke as it readied another
combination of opiates and antiseptics.
"Nonappreciation."
"There's someone else in this place, isn't there?"
Boba Fett had drawn his head back from the metal cup that
Dengar had held out to him. The mere effort of his words
sent his chest laboring, the dials and readouts on the
surrounding equipment blipping into the red. "A female."
Dengar said nothing. He placed the half-empty cup on
top of one of the sighing machines that the two medical
droids tended. He had other things to take care of, other
things to do besides talk with the sinister figure lying
on the pallet, a little farther away from death's shores
than Fett had been even a couple of days ago. One of the
hiding place's power generators had conked out, spewing
white sparks and a dense cloud of greasy smoke. That had
necessitated shutting down all but the minimum air
recyclers, resulting in the hot, thick miasma bound
inside the hiding place. Dengar could more profitably
take care of the generator, getting it up and back on-
line, rather than staying here at Boba Fett's bedside.
But the other man's cold gaze held him as tight as the
curved hook of a gaffstick.
"There's no need to lie to me about it," said Boba
Fett. His words were as cold and unemotional as the gaze
from his eyes. "I saw her. She came in here. Yesterday, I
suppose. It's still hard for me to tell about these
things. But it was dark, and she must have thought I was
asleep. Or that I had died, perhaps."
"Please," said SHSl-B. It fussed with the tubes
running between the machines and Boba Fett's body.
"You're making our job considerably more difficult."
Dengar ignored the medical droid. He was about to
answer Fett, to tell the bounty hunter who the female
was, when the bombs hit. Real bombs.
Dust sifted from the subchamber's ceiling, speckling
the lenses of SHZl-B's head unit swiveling up toward the
sound of thunder. Windstorms infrequently lashed the Dune
Sea, floods of sand churning down the stone gulleys and
vanishing just as quickly beneath the twin suns. Dengar
had always thought that the hiding place he'd dug for
himself was too far beneath the planet's surface to take
any damage from mere weather. It'll take something
stronger, he'd decided, to get in here.
His own words were still looping around inside his
head when the rocks fell, with even louder thunder from
above, onto his face.
He'd looked up, along with the two medical droids. He
had a memory flash, of a light sharp as blades against
his eyes and brighter than Tatooine's suns combined into
one. Then he was spitting out gravel and blood as he felt
his arm being tugged by someone unseen.
"Come on!" The voice was Neelah's; her hands gripped
tight around his forearm and pulled. Rocks and sand
poured off his chest as his scrabbling efforts, feeble at
first and then made stronger by sudden desperation,
combined with hers to extract him from the remains of the
subchamber. "He's still in there!"
She meant Boba Fett, of course. The hiding place's
emergency lights flickered as the remaining generator
came to life. Dengar could still hear thunder, receding
into the distance up on the surface level. The thunder
would return, he knew; he was familiar enough with
saturation-bombing techniques to be aware that that was
what was going on up there. One wave would be succeeded
by another, crossing the ground at a right angle from the
first sweep. There wouldn't be any stones left, no
gulleys or eroded pillars; everything would be hammered
into dust. And as for whatever might lie beneath the
surface . . .
Neelah was already digging at the rubble that blocked
the doorway to the subchamber. Enough of the dust had
settled that Dengar could see how the bombs' impact had
knocked him back toward the hiding place's main area. If
he had been any farther inside, where the medical droids
had been taking care of their patient, the rockfall would
have come straight down on him, crushing his skull.
"Confusion." Neelah's bleeding fingers had already
excavated the smaller of the droids. With its carapace
dented, torso readouts cracked and blinking, le-XE
crawled away from the rocks and righted itself with
difficulty. "Noise. Not-goodness."
"What are you waiting for?" Neelah looked back around
at him, her eyes blazing through the dust and sweat
covering her face. "Help me!"
"Are you crazy?" Dengar reached down and grabbed an
arm, pulling Neelah to her feet. "There isn't time for
that-whoever's laying down those bombs on the surface
will be back in less than a minute. We've got to get out
of here!"
"I'm not going without him." Neelah yanked her arm
from Dengar's grasp. "Save yourself, if you want to." She
turned away and started tugging at one of the larger
rocks, nearly as high as herself.
There were tunnels underneath the hiding place,
curving and smooth-sided, that ran deep into the planet's
bedrock. Dengar had investigated them far enough to know
that they connected with the Great Pit of Carkoon; with
the Sarlacc beast dead now, they would make a safe refuge
from the bombing. But only if they were reached in time,
before the next destructive wave collapsed what remained
of these spaces.
He hesitated only a moment, before cursing himself as
a fool and laying both his hands on the rock, just above
Neelah's hands. The stone surface was already slick with
her blood; Dengar dug his own fingertips into it and
pulled, straining with his weight against the rock's
resistance. From far off and above, he could hear the
bombing of the surface come to a halt, like a storm that
has spent its thunderous fury. That's only temporary, he
knew. They'd be returning in this direction soon enough.
Dengar put his shoulder against the rock, his hands
clawing for a better grip. It struck him, between one
gasp for breath and the next, that he didn't even know
who it could be that was pounding the Dune Sea above his
head into scorched powder. Forces of the Empire, maybe,
or the Rebel Alliance, or the Hutts, or the Black Sun
organization-at this point it wasn't as important as just
surviving the hard, murderous rain. The only thing he
knew for certain, down in his gut, was that it had
something to do with Boba Fett. Getting involved with
this barve was a sure ticket to disaster.
The large rock suddenly shifted, spilling Neelah
forward onto the main chamber's rubble-strewn floor.
Dengar managed to keep his balance, shifting his hold and
thrusting with his bent legs, keeping the stone rolling.
Neelah scrambled out of its way as the debris of the
subchamber's shattered doorway came tumbling after it.
"You are wasting time," announced SHSl-B from within
the suddenly revealed space beyond the rocks and settling
dust. The medical droid had busied itself by
disconnecting the various tubes and monitoring wires that
had been hooked up to Boba Fett. "Therapeutic protocols
render it imperative that the patient be removed from
these unsafe premises at once."
Lying on the pallet, Boba Fett had lapsed back into
unconsciousness, either from the crashing impact of the
bombing raid or from an anesthetic dose administered by
the medical droid. Dengar and Neelah scrambled over the
rocks; each took one end of the pallet and lifted,
hoisting Fett high enough to carry out into the hiding
place's main chamber.
"Wait a second." After they were clear, Neelah set
down her end of the pallet and climbed back into what
remained of the subchamber space. Cracks spidered across
its ceiling, showering down more dust and loose stones as
the sharp, percussive hammer strokes from above grew
louder. Neelah emerged a second later with Boba Fett's
scoured and dented helmet and combat gear; she piled it
on top of the unconscious bounty hunter, then grabbed
hold of the pallet again. "Okay, let's go."
They both collapsed in exhaustion when they had
reached the safety of the lower, Sarlacc-dug tunnels. The
two medical droids fretted over their patient as Dengar
and Neelah sprawled back against the fused-smooth walls
curving around them. From here, the bombing raid sounded
as though it were happening on some other, unluckier
world.
"What's that smell?" Neelah wrinkled her nose as she
turned her gaze toward the darkness and the stench of the
tunnel's lower reaches.
Dengar lifted the lantern he had managed to scavenge
hastily from the hiding place's equipment. Its feeble
glow extended a few meters into the dark before being
swallowed up. "Probably the Sarlacc," he said. "Or what's
left of it. The part that could be seen in the Great Pit
of Carkoon was just its head and mouth; it had tentacles
extending all through the rock. Some say as far as the
edges of the Dune Sea. When our friend here blew out the
Sarlacc's gut"- Dengar pointed with his thumb to Boba
Fett on the pallet-"there was a lot of dead beast left
rotting down here. You can't expect something like that
to smell too good, you know."
The stench of decay grew worse, as though the
vibration of the surface bombing had shaken open a buried
pustule. Neelah's face paled, then she quickly scrambled
to her knees and hurried to a farther bend of the tunnel.
The sounds of gagging and retching traveled back to
Dengar.
She's not used to this sort of thing, mused Dengar.
Or some part of her wasn't; something held in the
darkness and hidden memory inside her. That intrigued
him. A mere dancing girl, a pretty servant in the court
of Jabba the Hutt, would have gotten accustomed to the
smell of death quickly enough; it had pervaded the walls
of Jabba's palace, seeping up from the rancor pit beneath
the throne room. Hutts in general liked that smell; it
was one of the more loathsome characteristics of their
species to revel in a constant olfactory reminder that
they were alive and their enemies, and the objects of
their lethal amusements, were dead and rotting beneath
them. That, among other things, was why Dengar had
considered employment with the late Jabba or any of the
other members of his clan as a choice of last resort.
Especially so after Dengar had found Manaroo-and his love
for her. How could one return to that being who
represented one's essence, an almost forgotten purity and
grace, with the stink of dead, defeated flesh wrapped
around oneself? It was impossible.
It seemed impossible for this Neelah to endure as
well. She had the temperament of one born to the galaxy's
nobility, a bloodline accustomed to command and the
obedience of others. Dengar had noted that, just from the
way she had faced him down in their first encounter.
Anyone else who had gone through the unsavory rigors of
Jabba's court, followed by unprotected exposure to the
Dune Sea, would have quailed before the obvious
superiority of Dengar's strength and weaponry. But some
spark of courage inside Neelah had burned even brighter
under those conditions, fierce enough to have burned his
outstretched hand, if he had dared to touch her.
That aristocratic strain was apparent in the female's
face as well, even darkened and toughened as it was by
the lash of the double suns and the scouring of the Dune
Sea's hot, razorlike winds. She'll be trouble, Dengar
already knew. He'd had enough on his hands before she had
come along, but with her presence added to the equation,
the result was increased exponentially.
Neelah returned, face even paler in the glow from the
single lantern. "I'm sorry," she said.
"Don't be." Dengar gave a shrug. "I'll be the first
to admit that this isn't the most pleasant neighborhood."
He got to his feet. "We might as well see what kind of
shape we're in."
The two medical droids were stationed on either side
of Boba Fett's pallet.
"How's the patient?"
SHS1-B glanced back at Dengar. "As well as can be
expected," the droid said irritably. "Given the dis
turbance he's been put through."
"Hey-" Dengar poked himself in the chest. "Did I
order a bombing raid to start up? Don't blame everything
on me."
"That's not a bad question." Standing beside him,
Neelah glanced over the unconscious form of the bounty
hunter. "Who did order it?"
"Who knows?" Dengar set the lamp on a shoulder-high
outcropping. "This guy's got major enemies. It was
probably one of them."
"Then that would mean somebody knows that he's alive.
Somebody besides us."
That realization snapped together in Dengar's brain,
like a pair of wires that had become disconnected during
the tumult. She's right-somehow the word must've gotten
out, to somebody for whom it was an important piece of
information, that Boba
Fett hadn't died; that breath, however shallow, was
still going in and out of his body. Someone wasn't happy
about that. Someone who would send out sufficient
explosive force to pulverize an army, just to make sure
that there wouldn't be enough left of Boba Fett to take a
breath.
"Somebody was spying on us," said Dengar. He had
already eliminated himself as the source of the leak, and
he had sworn Manaroo to secrecy. Neelah wasn't a likely
suspect; there had been no place for her to go, no one
for her to talk to while she'd been out in the Dune Sea.
And she hadn't left the hiding place since Dengar had
taken her in. Maybe somebody from Jabba's palace, he
thought. There had been plenty of scoundrels there, even
after Jabba's death, with the necessary skills for
staying unseen while watching the comings and goings out
in the wastelands. Especially after losing a lucrative
gig with the Hutt, any one of them would be motivated to
sell valuable info to the highest bidder. To some agent
of the Empire or anybody else who had a big enough grudge
against Boba Fett. "That must have been what happened."
Dengar nodded slowly. "Somebody saw me taking Fett down
into my hiding place."
"Don't be stupid." Neelah shook her head. "If
somebody knew exactly where Fett had been taken, they
wouldn't bother blowing up everything within sight of the
Great Pit of Carkoon. One missile, straight down the
tunnel entrance, would've done the job. Simple and
clean." She pointed toward the silent form on the pallet.
"If that's all it took to kill him off, they would have
done it the easy way. And the quiet way."
She had a point, Dengar admitted to himself. Boba
Fett wasn't the only one who lived by secrets; the kind
of clients he'd had, and enemies he'd made, were the same
way. A surgical strike would have eliminated Fett without
the risk of drawing attention that a bombing raid
entailed. Dengar had heard nothing the last time he'd
been talking to his own information sources in Mos Eisley
about a contract being put out on Boba Fett. So if
anybody was actively gunning for him, they were
definitely keeping it quiet.
"Unless," said Dengar, "there's some other reason for
the raid. . . ."
Neelah gave him a withering look. "Do you think
there's some other reason?"
He didn't bother to answer. Silence filled the tunnel
as he looked upward, listening and waiting. "I think
we're all clear now."
"We can go back up?"
"Are you kidding?" Dengar shook his head, then picked
up the lantern and directed its light toward the tunnel
they had come down. The light picked up the jumbled
shapes of the rubble filling the passageway. "We're
blocked off. Even if there's anything left of my hiding
place-which is a big if, given the pounding that was
going on up there-we couldn't get to it now. We'll have
to push on, and see if there's some other way of getting
out to the surface."
A shiver of disgust ran across Neelah's shoulders.
The smell of rot was noticeably stronger toward the
tunnel's unlit end.
"Can he travel?" Dengar pointed toward Boba Fett.
"It would be better," said SHSl-B, "from a ther
apeutic standpoint, if he were left undisturbed."
"That's not what I asked."
"I don't know why you bothered to inquire at all."
SHSl-B's tone was distinctly haughty. "I imagine you'll
do whatever you're planning on, no matter what le-XE and
I tell you."
"Come on." Dengar motioned Neelah over toward the
pallet. "These droids don't know how tough this barve
really is."
They managed to lift the pallet, with Dengar taking
most of the unconscious figure's weight into his arms,
until the loose gravel shifted under his feet and he saw
how strong Neelah actually was; she braced herself and
caught the load from toppling to one side. Dengar
instructed one of the medical droids to loop the carrying
strap of the pallet around his neck. With the lantern's
beam wavering ahead of them, they started downward into
the murk and stomach-churning smell.
"How do you know . . ." At the pallet's back end,
Neelah gasped for breath. "How do you know we can get out
this way?"
"I don't," said Dengar simply. "But there's an air
current coming in from somewhere. You can feel it on your
face." He glanced over his shoulder at her. The nauseated
pallor had diminished slightly; she had gone numb to the
smell of the decaying Sarlacc's carcass, buried beneath
whatever was left of its nest under the Great Pit of
Carkoon. Neelah took a deep breath, nostrils flared, and
only gagged slightly. "Even with the stink," continued
Dengar, "I can tell it's coming from somewhere outside of
these tunnels. If we follow it to its source, we might
find someplace where we can either crawl out or dig our
way to the surface. Or . . ." He gave a shrug. "We won't.
The bombing raid might have collapsed the rest of the
tunnels with too much rubble for us to get through. In
which case, it's pretty much over for all of us."
"You sound pretty calm about that possibility."
"What's my choices? I volunteered for this gig." One
corner of Dengar's mouth lifted in a grim smile. "Later
on, when I'm actually dying, I might let myself get a
little more emotional about it. In the meantime we might
as well save our strength for whatever digging we're
going to have to do." He lifted his end of the pallet
higher. "Come on. We might as well find out what it's
going to be."
The two medical droids followed behind. "This goes
against all sound therapeutic protocols." SHS1-B voiced
its concern again. "We're not taking responsibility for
whatever happens to our patient."
"Absolution." The shorter one trundled with dif
ficulty over the tunnel's rough terrain. "Lack of blame."
"Yeah, right. Whatever." Dengar didn't look back at
the complaining droids. "You're off the hook." The
lantern's beam faded away into the darkness ahead of him.
"Just don't tell me about it."
"Do you think he'll be okay?" The worry in Neelah's
voice was audible. "He's been jostled around quite a bit.
Maybe we should let the droids take a look at him-"
"That's a good idea." Dengar kept on walking down the
tunnel's slope, his hands gripping the corner of the
pallet at his back. "That'll give whoever it is topside
lots of time to take another pass at us."
"Oh." Neelah sounded abashed. "I guess you're right."
"About this one, I am. We'll all be better off the
sooner we get out of here." He was already thinking about
the next time he would see Manaroo. And if he would ever
see her again. A lot of his recent decisions, his plans
and schemes, were swiftly metamorphosing to regrets. And
this could be the last one, he thought as the pallet's
weight combined with that of its unconscious passenger to
dig into Dengar's hands. Even his sensory perceptions-the
tantalizing hint of fresh air against his sweating
face-could have been lies and wishes, rather than the
simple truth that he was walking through his own tomb.
His doubts faded a bit when the tunnel's floor
leveled beneath his feet; the slope he and Neelah had
carried Boba Fett down had extended, through its various
twists and turns, at least a hundred yards. That wasn't
enough, Dengar knew, to take them out of the territory of
another bombing raid. But he was familiar with the rocky
outcroppings of the Dune Sea's surface all around what
had been his hiding place's entrance; there was a good
chance that they had reached a point where the ground's
bones hadn't been completely atomized. The bombs' impact
might even have created new passages to the oxygen above,
untainted by the stench of the rotting Sarlacc. By now,
the smell had gotten bad enough that Dengar could taste
it, a nauseating film that had crept down the back of his
tongue. . . .
"Look!" Neelah called out from behind him.
Dengar glanced over his shoulder, then in the di
rection in which her upraised hand pointed, as she
balanced the corner of the pallet against her thigh. The
lantern's beam swept across a slanting heap of broken
stone. "I don't see anything. . . ."
"Turn off the lantern," ordered Neelah.
He thumbed off the power switch. The light had been
dim enough that his eyes only took a few seconds to
adjust to the darkness. Which wasn't complete a thread
of daylight, clouded with dust motes, drew a jag-edged
spot only a few inches from the toes of his boots. Dengar
tilted his head back and spotted the cleft in the rocks
overhead. The hole looked hardly bigger than the width of
his hand.
"This'll take a little work." Dengar mulled over the
situation. He and Neelah had lowered the pallet between
themselves. With the lantern switched back on, he studied
the wall of crumbled stone nearest the hole. "I can get
up there, all right. And so can you; it doesn't look like
that bad a climb." He pointed to Fett. "He's going to be
the problem, though."
"You've got a line coil, don't you?" With a nod of
her head, Neelah indicated one of the equipment pouches
at Dengar's waist. "If you could get up there and pry the
gap open wider-or if you could get out to the
surface-then I could tie a loop around his chest and
under his arms, and you could haul him up."
Nothing had been heard from the medical droids for a
while as they had straggled along behind Den-gar and
Neelah. But now SHSl-B spoke up. "The patient," it
protested loudly, "is not in any kind of condition for a
maneuver as you've described. Very simply, you'll kill
him if you try that."
"Yeah, and if we leave him down here, he'll be just
as dead." Under the best of circumstances, Den-gar would
have gotten tired of the droid's officious carping. He
took out the line and fastened one end to his belt so his
hands would be free for climbing. He gave the rest of the
coil to Neelah, then nodded toward Boba Fett. "Pull him
back a bit so the both of you will be out of the way of
whatever I pull down." There was another possibility that
Dengar had left unspoken. Specifically, that in trying to
widen the light-spilling gap overhead, he'd bring down
the entire roof of this underground space, burying
himself and the others under a few tons of rock. The bomb
ing raid had left the area in a state of fragile balance;
even removing the smallest stone might trigger a collapse
of everything surrounding it.
He left the lantern with Neelah, instructing her to
point it toward the area around the bright crevice he'd
be working on. As he started to climb, fingertips digging
into the loose rock, he could hear her dragging the
pallet over to the farthest angle of the space below him.
One stone shifted as he put his hand's weight on it.
The stone came free and tumbled away; he would have
followed it, crashing hard down the slope he'd traversed
so far, if he hadn't managed to loop one arm around a
larger outcropping just above and to the side of his
head. His feet dangled in air for a moment as more of the
dislodged stones rattled and slid out from under his boot
soles.
"Are you all right?" Dengar heard Neelah's voice from
below as the lantern beam pinned his one hand straining
to hold its grip on the outcropping and his other dug in
next to it.
"Do I look all right?" The hazard annoyed Dengar more
than alarmed him. Without turning his head, he shouted
down to Neelah. "Move the light . . . over just a bit. .
. ."
The beam shifted as he managed to get more of his
weight balanced on the outcropping, his chest pressing
against its top ridge. He reached up and grasped the edge
of the tiny gap he had spotted from the floor of the
tunnel. With a push, it gave way; he flung the stone away
as he turned his head to shield his eyes from the gravel
and dust raining down.
More daylight spilled down from the Dune Sea's
surface; Dengar could even see, as he tilted his head
back, a patch of cloudless sky. We can make it, he
thought with relief. Sweat trickled down his neck and
across his chest as his free hand yanked out a few more
stones jutting into the vertical opening. They fell into
darkness, striking the others he had previously torn
loose. He was grateful for the fresh air, dry and hot as
it was from the suns' pounding temperature, that flooded
across his face and into his throat. Anything was better
than the stink that filled the caverns and tunnels
beneath the surface. . . .
The beam of light suddenly disappeared.
"Hey!" Dengar shouted to Neelah below him. "Swing
that light back up here!" The glare of daylight coming
down the widened hole wasn't enough for him to make out
the details of the space's ceiling; he couldn't see which
rock to grab and pull on next. "I still need it-"
"There's something down here!" Neelah's shout echoed
off the curved walls of crumbling stone. Her next words
were tinged with sudden fear. "Something big!"

13

Dengar managed to twist himself around so he could
see what she was talking about. A raw laugh burst from
his throat as he recognized the mottled surface, rounded
and stretching higher than even the tallest humanoid's
stature.
"It's the Sarlacc," said Dengar. "Or part of it, at
least." From his precarious hold on the rock outcropping,
he watched as Neelah played the light across the immense
serpentine form, its bulk sealing off the far end of the
cavern. There was no sign of the creature's head or tail,
as the segment made visible by the lantern lay immobile.
"That's why it smells so bad in here, remember? There's
probably pieces of it scattered all through these
tunnels, or whatever's left of them."
Nose wrinkling in disgust, Neelah stepped a little
closer to the giant form. Enough light bounced off its
scales, made shinier by patches of decay and the dried
ichor of its blood, that the pallet with Boba Fett on it
could be seen several meters away. The two medical
droids, the readouts o n their torsos blinking, regarded
Neelah's investigations with only mild curiosity.
Dengar turned back to his work on their escape
route. "Get that light beam up here-"
"It's alive!"
The force of Neelah's shout came close to knocking
Dengar loose from the outcropping. "What're you talking
about?" He pulled himself farther up on the stone before
looking back down. "You can smell that the thing's deader
than-"
"It moved!" With her voice a mixture of fury and
alarm, Neelah pointed at the bulk of the Sarlacc segment.
"I saw it just now. When I poked at it."
"Nothing to worry about," said Dengar. His arm, where
it crossed over the stone's corner ridge, was starting to
go numb. "Probably just part of the decomposition
process. You must've disturbed some gas bubble inside the
tissues. It's probably going to get a lot worse smelling
in here real soon-"
His words turned to silence as a visible shiver ran
across the towering convex wall of the Sarlacc segment.
Dengar could easily see the motion, like a peristaltic
wave traveling across the scales and crusted decay
patches.
"There!" Neelah kept the lantern beam directed at the
glistening bulk. "That's what it did before! I thought
you said this thing was dead!"
It'd better be, thought Dengar. A sense of foreboding
moved up from the base of his stomach and into his
throat. Boba Fett had killed the damn thing; he'd blown
his way out of its gut. From trauma like that, 'the
Sarlacc had to have died; there was no other possibility.
None-the word looped inside Dengar's head with a touch of
panic.
That fear rose out of his dark, unbidden wondering.
No one had ever seen the Sarlacc entire; it had lain
buried in its nest in the Great Pit of Carkoon before
there had ever been sentient beings on the planet of
Tatooine. The Tusken Raiders, who had ridden their shaggy
bantha mounts across the Dune Sea wastes for centuries
untold, had ancient legends of the Sarlacc giving birth
to itself at this world's center in the days before the
twin suns had split apart. Born and growing with the slow
persistence of an eternal creature, digging and rooting
itself in its tunnels beneath the sand and rocks, until
the day would come when it had eaten everything else and
would consume itself, continuing an endless cycle of
destruction and rebirth.
It was all nonsense, Dengar knew. There was no point
in paying attention to Tusken myths. But at the same time
nobody on or off Tatooine had ever determined the exact
physiology of the Sarlacc. Maybe it's got more than one
stomach, thought Dengar. Or it can regenerate itself,
like a plant. Nice possibilities for it; too bad for
anybody who might have foolishly wandered into its reach.
Like us-
His fears proved suddenly correct. The curving wall
of the Sarlacc segment reared up, like a giant serpent
uncoiling. It reached higher than Dengar's hold on the
outcropping, the scales dragging across the roof of the
cavern several meters away from him. A shower of rocks
and sharp-edged debris rained down as Neelah scrambled to
temporary safety near the pallet and the two medical
droids.
The interior of the cavern shook with seismic force
as the Sarlacc's writhing form crashed down again. Dengar
gripped the outcropping tighter, trying to keep from
being thrown loose from it. More rubble poured down the
widened gap, with hot stones and sand falling across his
shoulders and the side of his averted face.
Even before he could see what was happening down
below, Dengar had gotten his end of the rope line around
the outcropping and had knotted it fast. "Grab the line!"
he shouted as the dust started to settle. "I'll pull you
up!" ,
He could feel her tugging at the other end of the
line. But when he could see below himself again, the
space dimly illumined by a combination of the daylight
from above and the beam of the lantern knocked on its
side, he saw that Neelah had dragged the unconscious
figure of Boba Fett from the pallet and had gotten him
upright. Fett's weight was braced against her shoulder as
she looped the line around his chest.
"There-" Neelah stepped back and shouted to Dengar.
"Take him up! Start pulling!"
Boba Fett's arms dangled at his side, the tautened
rope all that kept his limp body from collapsing to the
floor of the cavern. His head lolled forward, chin
against his chest. The only sign of him still being alive
was the slight motion of his ragged breath.
No point in arguing; Dengar knew that it would be a
waste of time with the obstinate female. He clambered up
onto the outcropping's top surface, then reached down and
grabbed the line with both hands. His spine hit the rock
wall behind him as he reared back and pulled. The body of
the unconscious bounty hunter straightened, feet dangling
clear of the ground, as Dengar drew Fett toward himself.
The cavern shook as the Sarlacc segment, either in
its death throes or from hunger spurred by its awareness
of the humans' presence, convulsively lifted itself and
slammed its length against the side of the cavern
directly beneath Dengar. Beneath the pounding of his
heart, the outcropping trembled and groaned, as though
the larger stone it was part of was about to pull free
from the upper reaches of the cavern wall. He reached
down and grabbed another section of line, hauling Boba
Fett higher into the open space; the Sarlacc segment came
within inches of the bounty hunter's feet as it doubled
upon itself in hissing agony.
Fett was still several meters away from Dengar's
grasp as the Sarlacc segment crashed down toward the
cavern floor once again. Its head and tail were still
unseen, extending into the darkness at either end of the
space. The echo of its impact against the ground rolled
through the cavern like buried thunder; more sharp bits
of rock pelted against Dengar's back. One side of the
gap, the escape route to the surface he had been
widening, sheered off and fell tumbling, inches away from
the suspended figure of Boba Fett. The limp bounty hunter
slowly revolved as Dengar strained to pull him higher.
That was the only motion Fett showed, as though the loop
around his chest had squeezed the last remaining life
force from him.
Past Fett, Dengar could see the two medical droids
scurrying to safety at the other side of the cavern as
the Sarlacc segment twisted onto its side, scales
crushing the rocks beneath it to powder. Neelah backed
away, the lantern's beam widening against the Sarlacc's
flank, then turned and ran as the towering curve gained
speed, rolling toward her. As Dengar watched, the stone
fragments slid out from beneath her feet, throwing her
onto her hands and knees. The lantern clattered to a halt
less than a meter away, its beam angling upward onto the
bulk of the Sarlacc.
The glowing ellipse of light on the Sarlacc's scales
grew larger as the segment continued to twist about, like
a hideous tidal wave of rough-edged armor and injured
flesh. Neelah gave a cry of mingled pain and fear as the
segment rolled onto her foot and
lower leg, pinning her to the floor of the cavern.
The Sarlacc segment halted its motion, as if some sense
within it were aware of the captive it had made. Its
convex mass loomed over Neelah as she twisted onto her
side and pushed futilely at it with her bare hands. All
that it would take to crush her into a lifeless and
broken thing would be for the Sarlacc to continue its
twisting, rolling motion, the heavy tide of its bulk
sweeping through the cavern and obliterating everything
in its path.
Dengar tugged the rope line high enough to loop it
around the end of the outcropping, leaving the un
conscious Boba Fett suspended above the Sarlacc segment.
With one hand holding on, he dug with the other into the
holster on his belt, caught between his own weight and
the rock's surface. He managed to drag out his blaster,
leaving abraded skin from the back of his hand across the
rough stone. Dengar shifted his position on the
outcropping, trying to line up a clear shot, past the
dangling figure of Boba Fett and into the mass of the
Sarlacc. . . .
That shifting of weight on the stone, plus the damage
to the already precarious walls of the cavern caused by
the Sarlacc's convulsive thrashing, was enough to break
the outcropping free, a hairline crack just past Dengar's
elbow splitting open with a puff of dust. The forward
edge of the outcropping shot downward as he scrambled to
keep hold of it. His teeth rattled in his head as the
narrow point of stone jammed itself against the other
side of the crevice, a meter below where the outcropping
had been positioned before. The knot of the line fastened
to Boba Fett slid down the outcropping and caught at the
juncture of the stone and the crevice wall.
The sharp, sudden movement had knocked the blaster
free from Dengar's grip. Clutching the stone, he watched
helplessly, time expanding into slow motion, as the
weapon spun in the air and choking dust near the cavern's
ceiling, then fell. Grip and muzzle tumbled end over end,
beyond any point where Dengar could have caught it, even
if he'd been able to take one of his clawing hands away
from the stone.
He saw something else then, something that had come
to life as unexpectedly as the buried Sarlacc. The sudden
drop of the line had snapped Boba Fett's head back, so
that his pale, unhelmeted visage was turned toward Dengar
and t he daylight spilling into the cavern from above. The
bounty hunter appeared dead, as though the medical
droids' disregarded warnings had proved true, after all;
it might as well have been a corpse that Dengar and
Neelah had carried through the underground tunnels, and
that now dangled unmoving in midair. . . .
Boba Fett's eyes opened, gazing directly into
Dengar's. Slow-motion time stopped entirely as Fett's
cold regard pierced the other bounty hunter's spirit.
Then time started up again, slamming into microsecond
events. One of Boba Fett's hands raised from his side,
shot out and caught the falling blaster, as sharply and
deftly as an uncoiling serpent striking its prey. The
weapon filled his grasp as though it were an extension of
his being, a part of him as much as the bones of his
spine.
Fett's gaze broke away. As Dengar watched from above,
Boba Fett scanned downward to where the great bulk of the
Sarlacc segment held Neelah trapped against the cavern's
floor. He extended his arm, the blaster's muzzle on the
same direct course as his sight, straight into the
massive curved flank of the Sarlacc.
The cavern filled with blade-edged shadows as the
blaster erupted into coruscating fire, its explosive
touch pulsing at a diagonal across the open space. Its
force was enough to deflect the rope line from vertical,
like a miniature rocket thrusting Boba Fett away from its
flaring burst. Fett kept the blaster's impact pouring
into the same spot on the curved surface of the Sarlacc
as a burning stench mingled with the thick odor of decay
that had already hung in the close, lung-oppressing air.
At the exact same moment the Sarlacc segment reared
upward, stung by the blaster's white-hot needle. Bits of
broken scales and charred flesh scattered across the
cavern; the creature's raw wound, cut deeper by the
continuing fire, sizzled beneath an acrid haze of black
smoke.
Neelah dug her fingertips into the rubble-strewn
cavern floor as more sparks and pieces of blackened
tissue rained around her, striking a pool of the
Sarlacc's blood with quick, spattering steam. She crawled
painfully forward, dragging the leg that had been trapped
behind her, as the bright stream from the blaster in Boba
Fett's grip continued tearing open a wider and deeper
section, like a red doorway being carved into living
stone.
A scream of agony, the wordless cry of a wounded
beast, sounded from far within the unlit tunnels beyond
the cavern space. Louder and shriller, until it was a
physical presence, its force shivering the walls and
tearing one stone loose from another. Neelah crouched
against the side of the cavern, close to the two medical
droids, as sections of the cavern's ceiling cracked apart
and fell. The broken stones struck the bleeding and
charred flank of the Sarlacc segment, then tumbled and
rolled to a halt, mounting against the creature.
The cry broke off as a different motion seized what
was left visible of the Sarlacc. The rocks piled against
it shifted as the segment retracted into the tunnel
opening at the farthest edge of the cavern. From above,
Dengar had a momentary glimpse of a ragged terminus, gray
and scabbed with the segment that had been torn from its
connection with the larger creature. Then it was gone,
leaving the stones and churning dust behind.
In Boba Fett's hand, the blaster went silent. He
looked back toward the light-filled opening and the
outcropping precariously slanting across. Dengar could
see in the bounty hunter's face that he was burning up
the last of his strength, summoned from a reserve deep
within him.
"Lower me...." Fett's voice rasped, like words spoken
within an airless tomb. "Now . . ."
Dengar managed to brace his feet against the side of
the gap, enough to unfasten the line from the outcropping
and pay it out hand over hand, gradually dropping Boba
Fett toward the floor of the cavern. When the line
slackened, Dengar looped it over his shoulder, using his
other hand to climb up the vertical opening. He reached
the surface, collapsing onto the hot sands of the Dune
Sea. Drawing in an exhausted breath, he sat up and
clutched the line tight in his fists.
A tug came on the line. Dengar stood up and pulled,
grabbing more of the line as he backed step-by-step away
from the opening. He could tell from the weight that
there was more than just Boba Fett at the other end of
the line now.
More muscle . . . than brain, thought Dengar as he
brought the line inch by inch over the rocks and sand. He
supposed that was why he had a certain place in the
bounty-hunter business, and Boba Fett had a different,
and much more famous one. He dug in, the line's tautness
keeping him from falling over backward, and finally saw
one of Fett's arms reach upward from the hole, his hand
sinking into the ground and leveraging his chest into
view. Boba Fett had his other arm around Neelah, holding
her tight against himself; the hole had been widened just
enough, between Dengar's efforts and the crashing of the
Sarlacc segment, to allow the two close-pressed bodies to
scrape through.
The line went slack, dumping Dengar onto his seat, as
Boba Fett got Neelah up onto the sand, then with a final
push against the sides of the hole, collapsed beside her.
In all directions, the silence of the Dune Sea ex
tended from them. Wearily, Dengar got to his feet and
scanned across the low hills; tilting his head back, he
searched the cloudless sky, sun glare almost blinding
him. There was no sign of any ships. The bombing raid
that had left the desert wasteland cratered and scorched
seemed effectively over, its perpetrators having removed
themselves beyond the atmosphere of Tatooine. Though by
this point, if they had returned, Dengar didn't feel
capable of anything other than flopping on the ground and
letting the explosive charges finish him off.
He walked over to the other two. Boba Fett lay on his
back, eyes closed; the only indication of life was the
slow rise and fall of his chest. Whatever strength had
been left in him was enough for basic respiratory
functions, and nothing else.
"How are you doing?" Dengar's shadow fell across
Neelah's face.
She nodded slowly. "I'm okay." With the back of a
begrimed hand, Neelah pushed her sweat-damp hair away
from her eyes; the motion left a black smear across her
face. She sat up and drew her knees toward her breast so
she could examine the ankle that had been pinned beneath
the weight of the Sarlacc segment. A wince drew her eyes
shut for a second as she poked at the bruised flesh.
"Nothing's broken, I don't think." Leaning against Dengar
for balance, she stood upright and gingerly put her
weight on the leg. "Yeah, it's all right."
A voice sounded out of the hole from which they had
just escaped. "Given the circumstances I have just
observed," called SHSl-B loudly, "I would anticipate that
medical attention is required by all parties in the
immediate vicinity. Plus, the patient we had previously
been attending is undoubtedly in need of-"
The hectoring comments were cut short when Neelah
picked up a rock and tossed it down the hole. It clanked
against metal and plastoid, rendering the medical droid
silent for a moment.
"I'm not going back down there," announced Neelah.
"I've had enough time on that line already."
Dengar gave a weary sigh. As always, he supposed it
was up to him. The medical droids still had their
uses-for one, SHSl-B had been obviously right about Boba
Fett needing some further attention, especially after
what had been drained out of him underneath the Dune
Sea's surface. And there were the various supplies-bits
and pieces; not much-that he and Neelah had managed to
carry with them from the hiding place. Those would un
doubtedly come in handy, given their present exposed
situation.
"All right," said Dengar. He looked around for the
nearest boulder to which to fasten the line. "But when I
get done, you're both going to owe me. Big time."
"Don't worry about that." Neelah smiled up at him.
"You'll get all the rewards that're coming to you."
He wasn't sure what that meant. Even as he was
clambering back down the escape-route hole, the strap of
the lantern clenched in his teeth, he was wondering
whether those rewards would be a good or bad thing, when
they finally got to him.

All that noise had upset the felinx; it trembled in
Kuat of Kuat's arms as he stroked its silken fur. "There,
there," he soothed the frightened animal. "It's all over
now. You have nothing to worry about." That was the
difference between creatures such as the felinx and the
galaxy's sentient inhabitants. "Go to sleep, and dream
whatever you want." He stood at the great viewport of the
Kuat Drive Yards' flagship, watching the mottled sphere
of the planet Tatooine dwindle in the distance, a clump
of dirt among the hard, cold stars. A good part of that
dirt was now in considerably more battered condition than
before; the military squadron that had pounded the
surface of the Dune Sea to dust was already en route,
heading back to Kuat by a circuitous route, jumping in
and out of hyperspace to foil any possible attempts at
tracking and linking them to the just-concluded bombing
raid on Tatooine. All insignia and identification beacons
had been carefully stripped from the vessels before they
had left on their mission. W hen word of the raid filtered
through the watering holes and back alleys of Mos Eisley,
and any corresponding places on other worlds, the specu
lation would most likely be directed toward the Empire or
possibly the Black Sun organization. That notion pleased
Kuat of Kuat as he scratched behind the sighing felinx's
ears. We move in secret ways, mused Kuat. The better to
reach our destination . . .
The even more pleasing notion was that Boba Fett had
reached his final destination. That had been the whole
point of the bombing raid. Reports of the bounty hunter's
death had already reached Kuat of Kuat; many other
sentient creatures, humanoid or not, would have heard of
someone going down the gullet of the Sarlacc and would
have concluded that was the end of that person. Kuat of
Kuat had, however, more experience with the individual in
question; Boba Fett had always had an unnerving ability
to show up alive, if somewhat battered, long after any
ordinary man's death would have been well assured.
Attention to detail had made KDY the manufacturing force
that it was in the galaxy, supplier of vessels to Emperor
Palpatine as well as the shadowy figures that ran Black
Sun; the present Kuat of Kuat had inherited the same
thoroughness that had characterized his ancestors.
"It's not enough to know that someone is dead," he
whispered to the felinx as he held the animal's luxurious
fur close to his throat. "You want them buried, or better
yet, scattered across the landscape in little pieces-"
"Excuse me, sir."
Kuat of Kuat glanced over his shoulder and saw one of
his comrn supervisors. "Yes?" Even aboard the corporate
flagship, he had no taste for the obsequious formalities
that characterized Palpatine's court; KDY was a business,
not a theater for mono-maniacal self-aggrandizement.
"What is it?"
"The damage survey has just come in." The comm
supervisor held up a thin, self-contained data readout,
with red, glowing numbers arranged in neat rows. "From
the monitoring devices we left behind on Tatooine."
He had been expecting those. "What's the analysis?"
"Maximum ground penetration was achieved." The comm
supervisor glanced at the readout. "All areas surrounding
the Great Pit of Carkoon were effectively saturated by
the bombing raid. Probability of anything on the surface
of the Dune Sea, or anywhere underground, to a depth of
twenty meters, is"-a few quick buttons were punched on
the readout's controls-"zero-point-zero-zero-zero-one.
The targeted tolerance level we went in with was only two
zeroes past the decimal point." A satisfied expression
crossed the comm supervisor's face as he lowered the
device. "I'd say the chances are pretty good that we
achieved our objective."
"Ah." Kuat of Kuat slowly nodded. " 'Pretty good,'
you say?"
The comm supervisor's pleased expression vanished; he
was one of the younger staff members reporting directly
to the heir and owner of the company. "A figure of
speech, sir." He still had a lot to learn. "The objective
was undoubtedly accomplished."
"That's more like it." The felinx murmured drowsily
beneath Kuat of Kuat's hand. "Or as undoubtedly as can be
expected in this stubborn universe." He bestowed a smile
on his underling. "We have to play the percentages, don't
we?"
"Sir?"
"Never mind." A sleepy protest came from the felinx
as Kuat bent down and set it on the intricately
tessellated floor. "Thanks for the information. You can
go now."
The comm supervisor made his exit, and Kuat of Kuat
turned back to his contemplation of Tatooine, now hardly
more than a thumbnail-sized blot in the viewport. Its
wordless voice louder, the felinx rubbed against his
ankles, negotiating to be picked up again.
"A long way to come . . ." Kuat nodded as he murmured
his thoughts aloud. "Just for nothing."
He didn't share the comm supervisor's certainty about
what had been achieved. Being sure of anything, in this
universe, was one of the follies of youth. Still, thought
Kuat, it was worth trying. Just for the sake of
thoroughness, and on the off chance that Boba Fett could
be killed. There was so much at stake-so many plans and
schemes, so deeply laid, and so critical to the survival
of KDY-that it was worth any expenditure of time and
capital to try to remove Fett from the multileveled game
board on which the Empire's pawns advanced. There were
other players in the game as well-Black Sun, the
Rebellion, smaller and even less savory empires like
those of the Hutt clans and their like-but Kuat of. Kuat
wasn't concerned with those for the moment.
The opponents didn't know, and neither did the pawn,
just how important Boba Fett was in this game-Kuat of
Kuat found some wry amusement in that datum. If Fett or
Emperor Palpatine ever did find out, though, the game
would swiftly become more serious. And deadly. There
would be no more heirs to Kuat Drive Yards because the
corporation itself would cease to exist. The Emperor's
scavengers would pick the bones apart like a gem-
encrusted corpse. . . .
There were still a great many moves left in the game,
though, before that happened. Kuat was determined to play
them all.
"I suppose," he told the felinx, "we'll be seeing him
again." That had been the main reason that he had
canceled any orders for a second bombing run on
Tatooine's Dune Sea. The conviction had settled in Kuat
of Kuat that it was a pointless endeavor; if Boba Fett
was going to be eliminated, it wasn't by any means as
relatively crude as that. "He'll take a good deal of
killing. Before he's dead enough."
He supposed it hadn't been a complete waste, though.
Perhaps I've slowed him down-there would be time to shift
a few other pieces into position, to contemplate the game
board and devise strategies for it.
The felinx had waited long enough; now it impatiently
informed its master so.
"Soon enough." Kuat of Kuat cradled the animal in the
crook of his arm again and idly scratched the spot behind
its ears that it liked the best. "A little time, perhaps.
But it won't be long."
It never was, when it came to dealing with Boba Fett.
Just as before, on another part of the board, when the
pawns had been creatures such as that wretched spidery
assembler Kud'ar Mub'at and the Bounty Hunters Guild.
That game, Kuat knew, had played out with fatal speed.
"Not long," murmured Kuat of Kuat again. "Not long at
all . . ."

14

THEN

"There's something big coming down." Bossk's smile
was jagged and ugly. As always. "Something really big."
Boba Fett leaned back against the wall behind the
stone bench. Nothing the Trandoshan told him ever came as
a surprise; the big reptile just hadn't learned that yet,
about how far behind the curve he was always fated to be.
Maybe he will find out, thought Fett, before he dies. "Go
on," said Fett. In the meantime there was some value to a
pretense of ignorance on his own part. "Tell me about
it."
"Wait a second." Bossk turned his scaly head, looking
over the bleak contents of Boba Fett's temporary quarters
at the Bounty Hunters Guild's main complex. He had
already pushed the iron-hinged door shut behind himself
with a push from his clawed hand. "This isn't," he
growled in a low voice, "something everybody needs to
know about." The inspection from his slit-pupiled eyes
apparently satisfied him, that there were no obvious
listening devices installed in the cracks between the
damp stones. "At least, they don't need to for the
moment."
"You have a compulsion for secrecy." Idiot, thought
Boba Fett-a thousand snooping machines could have been
hidden in the chamber that a mere visual scan wouldn't
have detected. "That's commendable."
"Gotta be careful." Bossk sat down on the bench
beside him and leaned in close. "Especially about 1
something like this."
"Which is?"
All around the sparsely furnished, rough-hewn space,
the corridors of the Bounty Hunters Guild compound folded
and coiled around each other, replicating the devious
pathways of the minds contained therein. Those minds, of
the bounty hunters themselves, had been getting
progressively more devious since Boba Fett's arrival in
their midst. He could sense it, like being inside an
infinitely replicating maze, branching through fractal
progressions of paranoia and deceit. That was fine by
him it was what his plans, and those of the arachnoid
assembler Kud'ar Mub'at, called for. The bounty hunters
were already getting lost in that maze; some of them
wouldn't survive to find their way out.
It's different for me, thought Fett. He was un
concerned about the maze's exponential complexity. It
didn't matter whether he had a map, or a thread leading
his way out. When the time came, he would break his way
through the encircling walls, as though they were made of
flimsiplast rather than the stone of other sentient
creatures' greed and malice. Soon enough ...
"A big job," said Bossk. His claws tightened re-
flexively, as though upon either the neck of some
merchandise or the credits to be gotten for it. "The kind
you like."
Fett kept any trace of emotion out of his voice,
words blank as the visor of his helmet. "How big?"
Leaning even closer, Bossk whispered hoarsely into
the audio receptor at the side of Fett's helmet. The
Trandoshan's fang-lined smile was even bigger when he
drew away, the number recited.
"I see." Boba Fe tt wasn't surprised by the amount of
the bounty being offered; he had his own sources of
information, so much sharper and beyond those of any
Guild member. "That's an enticing sum." He wasn't
surprised, either, that Bossk had shaved a quarter
million credits off the price. Like most bounty hunters,
Bossk had a flexible notion of what constituted a fair
division of profits. "Very enticing, indeed."
"Yeah, ain't it?" The contemplation of that kind of
credits flow seemed to inspire a new level of glittering-
eyed avarice in Bossk. "I knew you'd go for it."
"And what is the exact nature of this merchandise?"
Boba Fett already knew, but he had to ask in order to
keep up the masquerade; Bossk had to believe that he was
revealing the details rather than just confirming them.
"Somebody must want it pretty badly to put that kind of
price on it."
"You can say that again." Bossk held up one claw.
"Here's the scoop. Seems a certain Lyunesi comm handler
named Oph Nar Dinnid managed to work himself up a real
case of hyper-eros." The toothy smile shifted into a
leer. "You know how it goes-the same old story."
Fett knew what the Trandoshan was talking about. The
Lyunesi were one of six sentient species on Ryoone, a
planet down-spiral from one of the remoter sectors of the
Outer Rim Territories. Unusually dismal conditions had
been brought about millennia ago by a seemingly permanent
suspension of volcanic ash in the upper atmosphere,
resulting in a ruthless competition for survival. The
other inhabitants of Ryoone would have wiped out the
Lyunesi long ago if the fragile creatures hadn't mastered
the arts of interspecies communication. Their skills went
far beyond mere translation of words and meaning;
surrounded by enemies, with the continuation of their own
breed dependent upon every nuance of language and
gesture, the Lyunesi bought their lives with interpretive
skills far beyond even the most highly developed protocol
droid. On Ryoone, that meant they made possible all the
fluid and rapidly shifting diplomacy between the planet's
other species, the madly dissolving and re-forming
alliances, the declarations of war and swiftly terminated
peace treaties between sentient creatures who didn't even
share the same metabolic basis, let alone language. In
the galaxy beyond Ryoone, the Lyunesi were found at every
communication nexus, sorting out and fine-tuning the
messages and negotiations between one wildly dissimilar
sector of the Empire and another.
All that expertise at reading other species' inten
tions and secrets had its downside, though. From time to
time various Lyunesi fell prey to their own sensitivity.
An all-consuming passion seized them; worse, it was
nearly always reciprocated by the object of their desire.
Unlike members of the reptilian Falleen species, whose
conquests were achieved with a notable coldness and lack
of feeling, Lyunesi and their hypererotic targets rapidly
found themselves in situations where neither partner was
left with a shred of self-preserving intelligence. Given
the high-level diplomatic stations where Lyunesi were so
often found, the results were usually catastrophic.
And fatal.
"I know the story," said Boba Fett. Both in general
and in the specific case of Oph Nar Dinnid, which his own
sources had told him about. "Better that a high-ranking
female should get involved with someone like Prince
Xizor. The experience is reputedly more intense and
pleasurable, and after it's over, the female might still
be alive. If she keeps her wits about her." Fett supposed
that with someone like his sometime employer Xizor, that
was what passed as chivalry. "The problem with Lyunesi is
that they're not smart enough to be heartless."
"Yeah, well, this Dinnid person managed to get
himself into a large-capacity vat of nerf waste." Bossk
sneered; he had been born without those wasteful,
sentimental emotions. "He was working for one of the
major liege-holder clans out in the Narrant system; I
won't say which one-"
"You don't have to. They're all alike." Boba Fett was
well acquainted with those clans; they were really more
loose confederations of genetically linked species, with
deep layers of ritual obeisance and internal blood oaths
patching over their differences. It didn't work; they
needed the ultradiplomatic Lyunesi around just to keep
from killing each other off. A good gig for the natives
of a backwater world like Ryoone-as long as they didn't
screw up.
But they always did.
"Let me guess," said Boba Fett. "Dinnid's employers
found him in a, let's say, compromising position with a
wife or daughter from one of the top clan houses."
"Got that one right." Bossk's eyes glittered as sharp
as his fangs. A Trandoshan's enjoyment of another
creature's troubles went far beyond the mere anticipation
of profit to be gained thereby. "All the way to the top.
Right up to the supreme liege-lord himself. And just like
these Lyunesi-they've got no sense at all-the revelation
of the affair was in public. At one of the formal clan-
oath ceremonies, couple thousand sublieges and their
retinues all in their lord's great hall. Somebody
accidentally struck the curtain behind the dais, it
collapses, and there's our Oph Nar Dinnid and the liege-
lord's alpha concubine, for all the galaxy to see. Like I
said no sense at all."
Bossk's description of events matched what Fett's
sources had told him. "It's remarkable that this Dinnid
person got out alive."
"I take it back the guy had some sense." Bossk
shrugged. "Not enough to keep himself out of trouble, but
at least enough to have already planned his escape route
when the nerf droppings hit the ventilation system. There
was a lot of confusion in the great hall-you can
imagine-and Dinnid hightailed it out to a speeder he'd
kept fueled and waiting, with its destination coordinates
already programmed in."
"Where could he go? Where he'd be safe, that is."
Boba Fett already knew the answer, but continued with his
pretense. "The Narrant liege-lords have a sense of honor
that doesn't easily accept embarrassment. They'll stop at
nothing to get someone who has publicly humiliated them
back in their grasp."
"True." Bossk gave a quick nod. "That's why this
particular lord has put up such a killer bounty for the
merchandise he wants. He can't just take his own troops
out and hunt down the little idiot, haul him back, and
get whatever satisfaction he can out of Dinnid's hide-at
least, not without spreading the story even farther
afield. So, naturally, the lord wants the bounty hunters
to do his dirty work for him."
Silence was always a desired commodity in the bounty-
hunter trade. Boba Fett had made a specialty of quick,
efficient-and quiet-work. "With that kind of credits
being put up, I expect every bounty hunter in the Guild
will be going after Oph Nar Dinnid."
"It's not that easy," said Bossk. "The sneak not only
had his escape means planned, he had the perfect place to
hole up figured out as well. He's with the Shell Hutts."
Boba Fett had heard that much as well. Of all the
Huttese clans, the Shell Hutts were the least numerous,
and the most removed from the various alliances and
interconnected dealings that bonded the other Hutts
together. The Shell Hutts didn't even look like their
distant brethren, except in bulk and physiognomy; they
had the same basic body mass and large-eyed, slit-mouthed
faces, perfect for greedily stuffing assorted wriggling
tidbits into. In that sense, of wanting to control
everything on which their immense eyes fastened, they
were identical to the rest of the Hutts.
Identical in anatomic toughness as well, with thick
leathery skins impervious to blaster shots and acids, and
vital organs so deeply buried under layers of blubber
that they couldn't be even nicked with a vibroblade-the
only physical threat that Hutts feared was specific bands
of hard unshielded radiation, the kind whose toxic
effects built up in their bodies' shielding fat rather
than being dissipated through normal excretion processes.
That had kept the Hutts from extending their criminal
enterprises to certain areas of the galaxy. Until one of
the Huttese clans, sometime in the hazy millennia of the
past, had given themselves what their own genetics had
failed to protective armored casings, bolted and welded
together from heavy durasteel plates, supported and
maneuvered about by built-in repulsor fields. All that
showed of the Shell Hutts' soft, gelatinous flesh were
their jowly faces, protruding tortoiselike from iris-
collared ports at the front of the floating ovoid cases.
Even the Shell Hutts' delicate little hands were hidden
inside, manipulating the controls for the externally
mounted grasping devices. Those seemed to work just as
well at grabbing onto and holding big chunks of ill-
gotten wealth.
"Why would the Shell Hutts be interested in a comm
handler on the run?" Boba Fett had had dealings with
various members of the Shell Hutts; he knew they didn't
do anything without a credits-related reason, just like
the other Huttese. "If they need that level of
translation and diplomacy skills, they can just buy
whoever's on the market. Someone who doesn't have a price
on his head."
"Oph Nar Dinnid made himself valuable to them." A
trace of grudging admiration sounded in Bossk's harsh
voice. "Seems he had memory aug-mentors surgically
implanted in his cortical areas, and stuffed them full of
the Narrant system's top-secret business information,
dealings, and records that he had access to from working
as the supreme liege-lord's protocol intermediary.
There's a lot of data inside Dinnid's head that the Shell
Hutts have found to be pretty interesting. And
profitable."
"So? That's not something that would keep Dinnid safe
for long. The Shell Hutts aren't exactly reticent about
stripping data out of somebody's memory and then tossing
the remains out like an empty husk."
Bossk leaned closer, close enough that Boba Fett
could smell blood and meat through his helmet's air
filters. "Dinnid may be an idiot, all right, but he's not
that kind of idiot. The memory augmentors he had
installed inside his skull have a time-based readout
function wired into them. All the secret business data
from the Narrant system that he's carrying is released a
few bits at a time-plus it's under an autodestruct
encryption. The Shell Hutts try to crack his head open to
get at the data, everything gets wiped. But that's not
even the best part. They can't even tell how much data is
inside Dinnid. Basically, he's valuable to the Shell
Hutts for an indefinite period of time; it could be
decades before the information is done spooling out of
him."
"That was clever of him." As with the rest of the
story that Bossk had just related, Boba Fett feigned
hearing it for the first time. "But it also means that
the Shell Hutts aren't going to let go of him for a good
long time."
"Damn straight," agreed Bossk. He tapped a single
claw against Boba Fett's chest. "It's not going to be
easy, prying him out of their hands. That's why the
bounty hunters aren't going out one by one to try and
pull off this job. It's going to take a team to nail down
this piece of merchandise."
Fett had been expecting this as well. "Are you making
me an offer?"
"Maybe." Bossk pulled back, taking another scan
around the chamber and toward the rough-hewn door. "Let's
face it things have been pretty tense around here since
you showed up." The Trandoshan's slitted eyes bored
fiercely into the dark visor of Fett's helmet. "There's a
lot of talk going on, from the old guard like my father
and the rest of the Guild council, all the way down to
the rawest bounty hunter on the membership list."
"What kind of talk?"
"Don't mess with me," growled Bossk. "You're valuable
to me right now, but if you start getting funny, I'll eat
your brains out of your helmet like a soup bowl. If I'm
making you an offer, then it isn't just about catching
hold of this Oph Nar Dinnid guy-though that should be
reason enough for you to be interested. But it's about
the future of the whole Bounty Hunters Guild. There's
going to be some big changes coming down here, and people
are lining up on one side or another, depending on which
way they think it's going to go. Frankly, I'd rather have
you on my side than not-but whatever side you're on, I'm
still going to win. It'll just be easier with you than
without. And it'll be easier if you and I and a couple
other handpicked barves pull off this Dinnid job. The
bounty we'll get from it will buy us a lot of friends.
But more than that, it'll show some of the fence-sitters
around here just who's got what it takes to snag the hard
merchandise. The ones who can do this job are the ones
who should be running the Guild."
"You've thought a great deal about this." Boba Fett
kept his own voice level and free of emotion. "Again-I'm
impressed."
"Cut the flattery." The point of Bossk's claw dug a
little deeper into Fett's chest. "All I want to know is,
are you with me on this one?"
Bossk's eyes widened in surprise as Boba Fett's hand
suddenly grabbed the other's fist, squeezing the bones
hard enough to grate them together beneath the
overlapping scales. Fett slowly and deliberately moved
Bossk's captured hand away from himself, like setting a
peculiar and unlovely art object at a distance.
"All right." Fett released his durasteel-hard grip.
"I'm with you."
Sulkily, Bossk rubbed the joints of his hand. "Good,"
he said .after a moment. "I'll talk to some of the
others. The ones who'll make the kind of team we need."
He stood up from the stone bench. "I'll let you know how
it's going."
Boba Fett watched the Trandoshan pull the chamber's
door shut behind himself, then listened to the sound of
his footsteps fading down the corridor outside. It's
almost sad, thought Fett. The poor barve didn't know just
how well things were already going.
But he'd find out. Soon enough . . .

"Your son has just concluded his visit." The major-
domo for the Bounty Hunters Guild headquarters bowed his
head, an obsequious grin on his face. "And his
conversation with the unsavory individual known as Boba
Fett proceeded just as you, in your ever-present wisdom,
predicted it would."
Cradossk regarded the bobbing figure of the Twi'lek,
all crouching curtsies and avarice-brightened eyes. The
glistening, bifurcate head tails of his underling
reminded him of both Nirellian ground-slugs and uncooked
sausages. That notion sparked an automatic twinge of
hunger in his gut-but then, most things had that effect
upon him.
"Of course it did." In his own luxuriously appointed
quarters, Cradossk fidgeted with the heavy straps of his
normal business garb, the fabrics a minor-keyed visual
symphony in somber yet tasteful grays and blacks. The
gaudier robes he'd worn at the banquet welcoming Boba
Fett to the Guild had been hung by the majordomo in a
vacuum-maintained, humidity-controlled closet. "Things go
as I predict them, not because of any wisdom I might
possess, but because of a tiresome lack of wisdom on
other creatures' parts."
"Your Worshipfulness is entirely too modest."
Ob Fortuna worked his way around Cradossk, pale and
clammy hands darting out to make some final adjustments
to his employer's everyday outfit. "Would I have foreseen
such things? Or your illustrious colleagues on the Guild
council? Not very likely."
"That's because you and they are fools alike." The
thought depressed Cradossk; all the burdens of leadership
weighed upon his shoulders. There was no one to help him
guide the Bounty Hunters Guild through these perilous
shoals, in which conspiratorial enemies thronged like
pack sharks. Not even his own son. Spawn of my seed,
Cradossk mused gloomily. It just showed that true
rapacious savvy was derived more from experience than
genetics. I shouldn't have been so easy on him, when he
was just a little reptile.
"Someone else is here to see you." The major-domo
made a few more final adjustments to Cradossk's garb.
"Did you call for him? Should I grant him admittance?"
"Yes to both questions." The fawning Twi'lek was
getting on his nerves. "And it's a private matter. So
your presence is not required."
The majordomo ushered in the bounty hunter Zuckuss,
then disappeared on the other side of the door he closed
behind himself.
Of all the younger, rawer bounty hunters who'd gained
admittance to the Guild, Zuckuss had always seemed one of
the least suited for the trade. Cradossk gazed at the
breathing-masked figure in front of him and wondered why
any rational creature would place himself at such risk;
it was like a child playing a dangerous adult game, where
the wagers were one's own life and the forfeits were
measured out in pain and death. His original motivation
for pushing Zuckuss, with that less-than-imposing stature
and dangling tubes of breathing-assistance apparatus,
onto Bossk had been to give his son an easily disposable
partner, someone who could be sacrificed in a tight
situation with little regret or loss to the organization.
There were more where Zuckuss came from; would-be bounty
hunters, with inflated notions about their own skills and
toughness, were always lining up at the Guild's doors.
This particular situation had changed, though; Cradossk
had another use for young Zuckuss.
"I came as quickly as I could." Zuckuss was visibly
nervous. And audibly the breath tubes curving at the
bottom of his face mask fluttered. "I hope it isn't
anything that-"
"Calm yourself." Cradossk lowered himself into a
folding campaign chair made of femurs reinforced with
durasteel rods. "If you were in any kind of trouble,
believe me, you'd know about it already."
Zuckuss didn't appear reassured. He glanced over his
shoulder, as though the door of the chamber had been a
trap mechanism snapping shut.
"Actually, there's nothing wrong at all." The bones
of the chair were worn smooth beneath Cradossk's palms.
"Much of what you've done has met with my approval."
"Really?" Zuckuss turned his gaze back toward the
Guild leader.
"Of course," lied Cradossk. "I have had reports
concerning you. My son Bossk is not easily impressed-that
is, with anyone other than himself. But he spoke quite
highly of you. The business with that accountant . . .
what was his name?"
"That was Posondum." Zuckuss gave a quick nod. "Nil
Posondum. It's really a shame that didn't go better. We
nearly had him."
Clawed hands spread wide, Cradossk's shrug was both
elaborate and soothing. "One does the best one can. Not
everything happens the way it should." To say something
like that required genuine acting ability on his part.
"Bad luc k can happen to anyone." Inside himself, Cradossk
still felt like pulling off both his son's and Zuckuss's
heads for screwing up that job so badly. Boba Fett had
made complete fools out of both of them, and then
repeated the ignominy when he'd slipped past them to come
sailing into the Bounty Hunters Guild headquarters.
"Don't worry about it. There'll be other times, other
chances. There's always another piece of merchandise."
"I'm . . . glad you feel that way. . . ."
"You have to take the long view in this business." He
had given the exact same lecture to Bossk, and had been
sneered at, years ago. "You win some, you lose some. The
trick is to win more than you lose. Go for the averages."
"That's true, I guess." Zuckuss's anxiety level now
seemed genuinely lowered. "Except for Boba Fett. He
always seems to win."
"Even Boba Fett." One of Cradossk's hands made a
grand, all-encompassing gesture. "You wouldn't know it
just by his reputation, but he and I go back a long way,
and I can tell you that he's had his share of times when
he's come up empty. Don't let that general aura of
invincibility fool you."
"Well . . . it's hard not to be impressed. The things
that are said about him . . ."
Cradossk leaned forward in the campaign chair and
jabbed a claw into Zuckuss's chest. "I've been in the
bounty-hunter trade a long time, boy, and I'm telling you
now, you're every bit as tough a barve as the great Boba
Fett."
"I am?"
"Sure you are." In a Gamorrean's eye, thought
Cradossk to himself. He continued with the pitch. "I can
tell. There are certain-shall we say?-ineffable
characteristics of the born bounty hunter. Someone with
the appetite and the skills for succeeding in this trade.
I can smell 'em. That's why I'm the head of the Bounty
Hunters Guild, just because of my being such a keen judge
of character." He tapped the side of his snout with one
claw. "And my instincts tell me that those are exactly
the skills you have."
"Well." Zuckuss slowly shook his head in amazement.
"I'm . . . flattered."
It's too easy, thought Cradossk. Telling creatures
what they wanted to hear, down in however many hearts
they carried around inside themselves, was the quickest
and surest way to get them ready for sticking the knife
in. Their defenses went down like so many security
shields with surge-blown power fuses.
"Don't be." He had this Zuckuss exactly where he
wanted him; time to spring the rest of the trap. "The
truth in this matter is important to both of us. Because
there's something I need you to do for me. Something
important."
"Anything," Zuckuss said quickly. He spread his
gloved hands apart. "I'd be honored-"
"That's fine." With his own upraised hand, Cradossk
cut off the young bounty hunter. "I understand. Loyalty
is another one of those characteristics, so important in
our trade, that I discern in you." He tilted his head to
one side, displaying an uneven, insinuating smile. "But
we have to choose our loyalties, don't we?"
"I'm not sure I know what you mean. . . ."
"You've worked with my son Bossk on a couple of jobs.
So you're loyal to him, aren't you?"
There was no hesitation before Zuckuss spoke. "Of
course. Absolutely."
"Well, get over it." The partial smile disappeared as
Cradossk slouched back in the campaign chair. "Your
loyalty is to me. And that's for a very simple reason.
There's some rough times coming around here-as a matter
of fact, they've already started. Some creatures aren't
going to come out the other end of those times; there'll
still be a Bounty Hunters Guild, but it's going to be a
lot smaller. You want to be one of those that survive the
shakeout, because the alternative is death." He peered
closer at Zuckuss, seeing himself reflected and magnified
in the other's eyes. "Am I making myself clear?"
Zuckuss gave a rapid nod. "Perfectly clear."
"Good," said Cradossk. "I like you-that's why I'm
making you this kind of offer." In truth, it was a
Trandoshan characteristic to despise all other life-
forms, and he wasn't making any exception in this case.
"You stick with me, and there's a good chance you'll make
it. I'm not just talking about survival, but really
getting somewhere in this organization. Loyalty-to the
right creatures, that is-has its rewards."
"What . . . what is it you want me to do?"
"First off, keep your vocal apparatus muted,
concerning what we're talking about right now. The first
part of loyalty is being able to keep a secret. Any
bounty hunter who can't keep his mouth shut isn't long
for this galaxy, at least not in any organization that
I'm running."
Another fast nod. "I can keep quiet."
"I figured as much." Cradossk let his smile reappear.
"We're all scoundrels here, but some of us are better
scoundrels than others." He leaned farther forward this
time, close enough that the breath from his flared
nostrils formed momentary clouds on Zuckuss's eyes.
"Here's the deal. You've heard about the Oph Nar Dinnid
job?"
"Of course. Everybody in the Guild is talking about
it."
"Including my son Bossk, I take it?"
Zuckuss nodded. "He's the one I heard it from."
"I knew he'd jump on it." Cradossk got some
satisfaction from that; his spawn was at least ambitious,
if not overly smart. "He likes the big jobs, with the big
payoffs. This Dinnid job is just the kind of thing to get
him salivating. Did he say anything about putting
together a team to go for it?"
"Not to me."
"He will," said Cradossk. "I'll see to that per
sonally. My son may show some initial reluctance to
having you on the team, but I'll make it worth his while
to take you along. There's some equipment to which I can
provide access, some inside information sources I'm sure
he'd find valuable-that sort of thing. More than enough
to make up for whatever share he and the others would
have to cut you in on for being part of the operation."
"That's very . . . kind of you." Suspicion was
discernible behind the curved lenses of Zuckuss's eyes.
"But why would you do something like that?"
There was hope for this creature yet; he wasn't a
complete idiot. "It's very simple," said Cradossk qui
etly. "I do something for you"-he tapped his claw against
the top of the other's face mask-"and you ... do
something ... for me." With the last word, the point of
Cradossk's claw tapped against his own chest. "Now,
that's not too hard to understand, is it?"
Zuckuss nodded slowly, as though the claw in front of
his face had hypnotized him. "What is it . . . that you
want me to do?"
"Now, that's simple as well." Cradossk rested both
his hands on the bony arms of the campaign chair. "You're
going to go out with the team that my son Bossk is
putting together to snag this particular piece of
merchandise named Oph Nar Dinnid. The difference between
you and Bossk, however, is that you'll be coming back."
It took a few seconds, but illumination finally
struck Zuckuss. "Oh . . ." The nod was even slower this
time. "I see. . . ."
"I'm glad you do." Cradossk gestured toward the door.
"We'll talk some more. Later."
When Zuckuss had scurried out of the chamber,
Cradossk allowed himself a few moments of self-satisfied
musing. There was lots more to do, strings to pull, words
to be whispered in the appropriate ears. But for now, he
had to admit to himself that he actually did like this
Zuckuss creature. To a degree, thought Cradossk. Just
smart enough to be useful, but not smart enough to
realize how he was being used-at least, until it was too
late. He might even feel some regret when it came time to
eliminate Zuckuss as well.
But such, Cradossk knew, were the burdens of
leadership.

It had taken some doing, plus prying and digging with
various tools improvised from stiff, sharp-pointed pieces
of wire. But those were the sorts of skills that Twi'lek
males were born with. The result, after nearly a year of
surreptitious work on the part of the majordomo, was a
tiny, undetectable listening hole, up near the ceiling of
the anteroom to Cradossk's private chamber. Better than
any electronic snooping device; those could always be de
tected with a basic security scan-sweep. The majordomo,
even as he was listening to the conversation between
Cradossk and the young bounty hunter Zuckuss,
congratulated himself on his cleverness. One had to be
clever to survive working for carnivores like these.
Using a combination of toeholds between the wall's
massive stones and an ornamental wall hanging depicting
the Guild's past glories, Ob Fortuna clambered down from
his eavesdropping post. He had heard Cradossk dismissing
Zuckuss, their secretive discussion over for the time
being. Past experience enabled the majordomo to calculate
precisely how long it would take for someone to turn from
in front of the bench in which the Guild leader always
sat, and walk the few meters to the chamber door. It was
just long enough for the majordomo to get back down and
brush the dust and cobweb fragments from himself, as
though he had been standing there all along, waiting like
a good and faithful-and non-conspiratorial-servant.
"I trust your talk was pleasant?" The majordomo
escorted Zuckuss to the next door, leading out of the
anteroom to the corridors of the Bounty Hunters Guild
headquarters. "And that you found inspiration in it?"
Zuckuss seeme d distracted; it took a moment for him
to respond. "Yes . . ." He gave a nod as he walked. "Very
. . . inspiring. That's the word, all right."
Idiot, thought the majordomo. He had heard every
syllable that-had passed between this creature and
Cradossk. Whether Cradossk was aware of it or not, there
were no secrets around here. Not as far as I'm concerned.
"Excellent." The majordomo smiled, showing all of his
own sharp-pointed teeth. He held open the anteroom door,
using his other hand to keep his head tail from falling
across his shoulder as he gave a precisely calculated
bow. "I trust we will have the pleasure of your company
again."
"What?" Standing in the corridor, Zuckuss gazed at
him as though puzzled by those simple words. "Oh . . .
yes, of course. I imagine you will." He turned and walked
away, like one weighted by a new and unforeseen
responsibility.
The majordomo watched him go. He was more familiar
with the various shades of meaning attached to Cradossk's
utterances. Nothing was ever as it seemed on the surface.
The poor bounty hunter didn't have a clue as to what kind
of lethal mess he was getting into.
But Ob Fortuna did. He glanced behind him, across the
length of the anteroom, to make sure that the door to
Cradossk's chambers was still closed. Then he hurried
down toward the opposite end of the corridor, to where
the others who would be interested in this conversation
would be waiting. With his hands tucked inside the folds
of his long-skirted robes, he was already calculating the
profits that would come from another piece of information
bro-kering.

15

"What are we waiting for?" Bossk gnashed his fangs in
impatient fury. "We should have been on our way by now!"
"Patience," counseled Boba Fett. "In this case, it is
not so much a virtue as a necessity. That is, if you want
to pull off this job and live to tell about it."
He watched the Trandoshan resume cursing and
muttering under his breath, pacing back and forth in one
of the landing docks farthest from the Bounty Hunters
Guild complex. It struck Fett that he wouldn't have to do
anything at all in order to ensure Bossk's destruction;
eventually, the reptilian would explode from the rage
bottled up inside him. Or at the least, he thought, that
much anger will cause a fatal mistake somewhere along the
line. Boba Fett's own survival was predicated on both
violence and the cold, emotionless precision of his
strategies and actions. Without the former, all the plan
ning and scheming in the galaxy would be impotent; that
was something that the Empire, from Darth Va-der's
underlings all the way up to Palpatine himself,
understood completely. What a creature like Bossk didn't
comprehend was that violence, however necessary, was a
bomb nestled against one's own heart, in the absence of
meticulous calculation. He'll find out, thought Fett.
Soon enough.
The smaller bounty hunter, Zuckuss, glanced nervously
from Boba Fett over to Bossk, then back again. "Maybe,"
he said, "an advance party could head out toward the
Shell Hutts. Do some reconnaissance so that when the rest
of our team shows up there, we'll be ready to go right
in."
"Don't be stupid." Boba Fett shook his head. "The
only thing that would accomplish would be to warn the
Shell Hutts of our intentions. It's going to be hard
enough keeping any element of surprise, without sending
them a message like that."
"But the ships are ready to go!" Bossk whirled about
on the clawed heel of his foot. "If we wait any longer,
the other Guild members will put together teams for
taking on this Dinnid job. They'll beat us to it!"
Boba Fett didn't look up from the data readout in his
hands; he continued checking the Slave I's armaments
list. "It would be no great tragedy if anyone did that.
Since they would have no chance off success, our
merchandise would still be safely in the hands of the
Shell Hutts, waiting for us. And it might actually
facilitate our own plans, once we put them into motion.
The Shell Hutts would see the difference between us and
some crude pack trying to blast their way into the
stronghold."
"You keep telling us about these great plans you've
made." Bossk aimed a venomous stare at Fett. "When are
you going to let us know exactly what they are?"
"As I said before." Unflinchingly, Boba Fett returned
the other's hard gaze. "You need to cultivate patience."
Bossk turned away again, his grumbling even louder
than before.
The other team member was there with them in the
landing dock. IG-88, a droid that had managed to become
one of the Bounty Hunters Guild's more respected
members-in fact, one of the few that Boba Fett would even
consider to be a serious rival- brought his optical
scanners around in Fett's direction. "There is patience,"
said IG-88 in a harshly synthesized voice, "and then
there is hesitation. The latter comes from fear and
indecision. We decided upon you as the leader of this
team's operations because we assumed that such were not
your qualities. Our disappointment would be great if we
found out otherwise."
"If you think you can pull off this job without
me"-Fett lowered the data readout in his hands- "then go
ahead."
IG-88 regarded him for a moment longer, then gave a
single nod of its head. "You remain our leader. But I
warn you Don't exhaust what patience we do have."
"Mine's already gone." Bossk had obviously continued
stewing; the look in his slitted eyes had gone from
murderous to annihilating. One hand hovered dangerously
close to the blaster slung at his hip. "I've changed my
mind. This whole team notion was a stupid idea-"
"Um, Bossk . . ." Zuckuss raised his voice. "It was
your idea."
"If I started it, then I can put an end to it as
well." His gaze slowly moved across the three other
bounty hunters. "You lot can do whatever you want. But
I'm out of this. I'm going out after Oph Nar Dinnid by
myself."
"I'm afraid you don't have that option." Boba
Fett tucked the readout inside one of his armor's
storage pouches. His voice seemed even more level and
emotionless, compared with Bossk's boiling anger. "You
know too much about this operation for you to be on the
outside of it. When you come in with me on a job, you
stay until it's over. There's really only one way for you
to quit."
"Yeah?" Bossk sneered. "What's that?"
IG-88 remained standing as before, his equally cold
droid emotions-or the lack of them-observing the
confrontation. Zuckuss drew back, ready to duck behind
the fuselage of one of the ships in the landing dock as
Boba Fett dropped his hand to the curved grip of his own
blaster.
"Go ahead," said Boba Fett, "and try walking out on
us. And you'll find out."
The atmosphere tensed, as though filling with
subphotonic discharge from a battle cruiser's venting
ports. In the taut silence, Boba Fett gave a silent com
mand to the heavily armed figure standing in front of
him. Go ahead, he thought. It'll save us all a lot of
time. . . .
"There's someone coming!" Zuckuss's voice broke
through the adrenaline-frozen moment. He pointed to the
distant high arch that formed the entrance to the landing
dock; beyond it, a streak of fiery light cut a crescent
past the stars. "Another ship-"
Bossk held his gaze tight on Boba Fett's for a moment
longer, then glanced over his shoulder. The approaching
light had grown brighter, its docking jets flaring into a
sudden corona. He looked back at Fett. "Is this who we've
been waiting for?"
"It could be." Boba Fett didn't take his hand from
the grip of his blaster.
"Lucky for you."
"That's right," said Fett. "If I had killed you, I
would have needed to find another person for the team."
His hand moved away from the smallest of his weapons. "I
find personnel changes to be aggravating."
Zuckuss peered past them at the approaching ship. "I
don't recognize this one." It was close enough that its
outlines could be seen a featureless ovoid, barely
larger than a TIE fighter, trailing a metallic seine, a
stiffly interlinked net, behind its flaring engines. "How
did it get clearance-"
"I arranged for that." Boba Fett stepped past Zuckuss
and the others, walking toward the pad that the
approaching craft had locked upon. "But it wouldn't have
made any difference if I had or not."
"What do you mean?" Zuckuss scurried after Fett.
"Believe me-this barve goes where he wants to."
The ovoid could be seen more clearly now as it slid
into the landing dock, thrust engines shut down and
repulsors on. Its rounded surfaces were pitted and scored
with the impact marks of high-intensity armaments,
including one large scorch mark where the metal had
actually melted and fused back together. As it hovered
above the pad its trailing mesh shifted and drew forward,
one part curling above like a scorpion's tail, the other
forming a reticulated cradle beneath, onto which the
craft slowly sank and was still.
"Look at this thing." Fascinated, Zuckuss had walked
right up to the ovoid, his boots stepping onto the mesh.
He laid a gloved hand on the battered and corrosion-
marked surface. "It looks like it's been in every battle
since the Clone Wars-"
"Watch out," said Boba Fett. But the warning was
already too late.
A microscopic hairline fissure around the top of the
ovoid widened, with a hiss of inrush ing air. An
elliptical section separated from the rest, tilting up
ward on previously hidden internal hinges. For a moment
nothing further showed from inside the craft. ...
As though released by a high-compression spring, the
barrel of a close-range laser cannon rose up, with its
power sources and recoil housing mounted directly behind.
The gleaming surfaces of black metal shone like the coils
of an aroused serpent, intricate and deadly. A faint,
shrill electronic whir sounded as the massive weapon's
range-sighting devices locked onto Zuckuss, swinging the
point of the muzzle down within a meter of the bounty
hunter's chest. Another series of sharp, concussive
noises sounded within the machinery as the indicator
lights' glow shifted from yellow to a hot red, charged
and ready to fire. That was followed by silence; Zuckuss
froze where he stood, as though hypnotized by the black
hole almost within touching distance of his hand, and its
lethal potential even closer than that. There would be
only a haze of disconnected atoms floating above the
scorched remains of his boots after one shot from the
weapon.
"Back up," said Boba Fett quietly. "Do it slow, and
you probably won't get hurt."
"Hurt?" Beside him, Bossk was gazing in wide-eyed
fascination at the laser cannon's darkly gleaming barrel.
"He's going to be vaporized!"
Zuckuss was unable to take his own gaze away from the
death-bestowing machinery locked upon him. But he did
manage to take one cautious step backward, then another;
all the while the weapon's tracking systems followed his
every move, shifting angle slightly to remain targeted.
A few more steps and Zuckuss was back with the other
bounty hunters. "Stay here," Boba Fett told him.
"Don't worry." The stink of panic sweat seeped out of
Zuckuss's gear. "I'm not going anywhere."
Boba Fett had already stepped past him, leaving Bossk
and IG-88 behind as well. He strode without visible
apprehension across the landing dock toward the ovoid
resting above its glittering mesh. The laser cannon swung
and locked onto him as he approached.
"It's been a long time." He stopped and spoke to the
weapon itself, as though its charge-primed muzzle were a
face masked like his, with the tracking systems as its
all-seeing eyes. "A very long time."
The red indicator lights along the weapon's housing
cooled from red, through a dull orange, down to a steady-
state yellow. The optics and sensors of the tracking
systems defocused slightly, as though the hand and mind
behind the trigger had relaxed to a state of mere
vigilance, rather than instantaneous aggression.
Slowly, the laser cannon rose, as though being lifted
on some mechanism inside the ovoid-shaped craft. A cloud
of hissing steam surrounded it, obscuring for a moment
the outlines of the weapon, as though it were an
outcropping of black rock, on a mountain peak wreathed in
a sudden, violent storm. The cannon parted the steam as a
massive humanoid torso appeared below, its wide shoulders
bearing the weapon's crushing weight. From the underside
of the barrel, a quarter circle of gear-toothed metal
curved down into an anchoring plate set in the creature's
chest, with interlocking motors to adjust the muzzle's
terminal elevation. Heavy cables, some glistening black,
others made of silvery durasteel, looped beneath the arms
and around the muscle-sheathed chest and ribs, connecting
with the counterbalancing cylinders of power sources
flanking the spine. The latter were revealed when the
individual climbed out of the ovoid, black-gloved hands
and thick-soled boots weighing upon the mesh's strands.
From the intricate joins of the weapon's mounting, more
steam lashed out, gathered, and dissipated in trailing
wisps, indicating the presence of an old-style, liquid-
based cooling system, primitive technology dating from
the earliest days of the Republic. The laser cannon swung
180 degrees around on its mounting, as though the
tracking system optics were actually the eyes in a head
made of pure destructive capacity.
A tail section, like a primitive saurian's, but made
of segmented black metal and mounted by articulated bolts
to the creature's hips, was the last thing to be dragged
out of the craft. With its top section hinged back and
its pilot standing before it, the resemblance to a giant
egg was complete, as though it had just now cracked open
to disgorge a new combination of living matter and lethal
machinery.
Behind the stranger, the tail curled across the edge
of the stiffened mesh. With one hand, the creature
undipped a small keyboard device from the band of metal
running from the hip bolts and across his abdomen. His
other hand punched in a rapid sequence of ideograms, then
thumbed a larger button i in the device's corner.
"long . . . time." The device's speaker crackled as
the stranger held it up in front of himself. Underneath
the synthesized words, the hissing of the steam from the
laser cannon's housing could still be heard.
"YOU DO NOT . . . SEEM TO AGE . . .
BOBA FETT."
"Should I?" The statement amused him. "Time enough
for that when I'm dead."
He could hear the other bounty hunters behind him.
Bossk's voice was louder than the rest "I don't like the
looks of this. . . ."
The stranger was instantly transformed; Boba Fett
knew that something had triggered a reaction sequence. On
the housing of the laser cannon, the indicators flared
red again; the tracking systems narrowed their focus,
sighting in on a point behind Fett. Steam jetted farther
from the housing's apertures as the segmented metal tail
stiffened, bracing the stranger into a tripod rigid
enough to take the force of the high-powered weapon's
recoil.
Boba Fett glanced over his shoulder and saw that
Bossk had instinctively dropped his hand to the butt of
the blaster slung at his hip; the Trandoshan always did
that when something aroused his suspicions.
"Not a good idea," said Fett. With a nod of his
helmet, he indicated Bossk's hand, frozen in place by the
laser cannon snapping into firing mode. "D'harhan tends
to kill first and not bother investigating afterward."
Bossk took his hand away from his blaster.
"Good." Boba Fett looked toward Zuckuss and IG-88 as
well. "Now our team is all here."

"D'harhan and I go back a long way." Across the
controls of the Slave I, Boba Fett's hands moved swiftly,
setting the coordinates for dropping back out of
hyperspace. "Longer than you can imagine."
"How come I've never heard of him?" The ship's
cockpit area was small enough that Zuckuss had to remain
standing in the hatchway behind Fett just to exchange a
few words with him. "He seems very . . . impressive."
Zuckuss had had a choice of traveling with Bossk and
IG-88 in the Hound's Tooth, but the Trandoshan's
worsening temper had pushed him into the Slave I instead.
Let the droid deal with him, Zuckuss had decided. Droids
don't take all that snarling and muttering personally.
But heading toward the Shell Hutts' home base, a ring-
shaped artificial planetoid called Circumtore, aboard the
Slave I had proved even more unnerving. The stranger
named D'harhan-or friend or mercenary companion, or
whatever he might have been at one time to Boba Fett-had
found the most secure corner of the ship's belowdecks
holding area, and had sat down on the gridded flooring
with his back to the angle of the bulkheads. D'harhan had
wrapped his flex-shielded arms around his knees,
partially resting the weight of the laser cannon mounted
on his shoulders on them, the weapon's gleaming barrel
thrust slightly forward. When Zuckuss had entered the
area, moving as stealthily as possible, he'd suddenly
heard a whisper of vented steam; the other's tracking
systems had registered his presence, swinging the laser
cannon in a horizontal arc toward him. Luckily, the
firing indicators on the cannon's housing had remained in
their yellow standby mode.
It had taken a few moments for Zuckuss to realize
that this intimidating and unfamiliar entity was only
partially conscious at that moment. The square, heavily
armored box mounted beneath the laser cannon's curved
forward support, resembling a thick breastplate with rows
of input sockets and flickering LEDs, was the repository
of all of D'harhan's cerebral functions, surgically
encased and transferred there from the emptied skull,
discarded like an empty combat-rations container when the
massive weapon's base had been drilled into the
collarbones and vertebral column. What Boba Fett had
described of the operation had been enough to set
Zuckuss's spine crawling. It was one thing to augment
oneself with weapons and detection systems-Zuckuss
frankly envied Fett's impressive array of sensor and
destructive devices; the man was a walking armory- but to
go beyond that, to have whole major sections of one's
anatomy cut away and replaced with dura-steel and attack-
level charge batteries, to actually turn oneself into a
weapon rather than just a bearer of weapons ... a sick
feeling had moved inside Zuckuss's gut as he'd spied upon
the sleeping D'harhan. That's where it ends up, he'd
thought gloomily. If you go all the way. The segmented
metal tail, the third leg of the laser cannon's tripod
support, curled around D'harhan like a defensive barrier
separating him from contact with the universe of living
things. . . .
Zuckuss had taken a cautious step closer in the Slave
I's hold. He'd known that D'harhan wasn't so much asleep
as just partially shut down, conserving energy for the
ever-alert weapon above his torso, its glowing lights a
simple constellation in the darkness. A residual circuit
was triggered by Zuckuss's approach; one of the black-
gloved hands turned the illuminated screen of the
keyboard voice box outward. do not disturb me, read the
screen, its audio function switched off. leave me be.
Like a sleeping dragon in a cave, the fiery destruction
of its breath only smoldering ...
The silent warning had been enough; Zuckuss had been
only too happy to retreat to the ladder leading back to
the Slave Fs cockpit. The dark, somnolent, yet
threatening form of the creature who had turned himself
into a weapon aroused mingled dread and nausea inside
Zuckuss. Once, before he'd decided to become a bounty
hunter himself, he'd caught a fleeting glimpse of Darth
Vader, the Dark Lord of the Sith, commanding a punitive
sweep of Imperial stormtroopers across the capital city
of a world that had been slow to pay obeisance to the
distant Emperor Palpatine. The thought had struck him
then, as it did again now, that there were some paths one
could follow, where even if one wound up powerful beyond
one's dreams, one also became somehow diminished, as
though the essence hidden inside the armor were
progressively stripped away and replaced with unfeeling
metal and circuitry.
That was all too deep to think about, especially now,
when he had allied himself with creatures like Boba Fett
and D'harhan. Maybe later, Zuckuss had mused as he'd
climbed the ladder to the cockpit. If there was a later.
"I don't get that voice-box device he carries
around." Zuckuss nodded toward the ladder and the hold
below. "Seems kind of awkward. I would've thought
something that left his hands free would be more useful
for communicating."
"D'harhan doesn't have a lot of need for com
municating." Boba Fett's voice sounded dryly amused. "And
before, when there were others like him, they coordinated
their actions with their own internal comm network."
"There were others? Like him?" That seemed a
dismaying prospect to Zuckuss. "What happened to them?"
Fett made no reply.
Zuckuss tried another question. "What was he like
before?" He didn't even feel like saying the other's name
aloud. "Before he became . . . what he is now?"
"That's none of your business." Boba Fett didn't take
his eyes away from the Slave I's controls. "He's been as
he is for a long time. If you never knew of D'harhan
before, it's because he minds his own business, in
regions of the galaxy where such as you never travel."
Fett glanced over his shoulder at Zuckuss. "For which you
should be grateful."
The discussion of the final team member was
concluded; Zuckuss knew better than to ask any more
prying questions. I'll be glad when this fob is over, he
thought ruefully. Things had been getting increasingly
sticky back at the Bounty Hunters Guild, with its rapidly
thickening air of conspiracy and stealth, the various
backstabbing alliances forming and dissolving and
recoalescing with new partners and enemies on a daily,
even hourly basis. Going on this Oph Nar Dinnid job,
dangerous as the Shell Hutts' defenses were reputed to
be, seemed like a piece of baked confectionery by
comparison. But even here, in the starless void of
hyperspace, Zuckuss knew he was still in the
uncomfortable midst of those dangerous spiderwebs; all it
would take would be for Bossk or Boba Fett to find out
that he was working from Cradossk's agenda, and he'd be
pitched out into vacuum from either the Slave Fs or the
Hound's waste chute, boots first. Agreeing to Cradossk's
schemes was beginning to look like less of a good deal
now that Zuckuss was out here, with nothing to count on
but his own smarts and urge to survive.
"Stop fidgeting." Boba Fett spoke without looking
around at Zuckuss. "Brace yourself; we're about to drop
into sublight space."
Zuckuss was already familiar with the Slave I's
abrupt navigational transitions; Fett's working vessel
was stripped of any deceleration buffers that might have
impaired its speed or fighting abilities. The ship
consequently slammed from one transit mode to another
with a gut-wrenching impact. Zuckuss grabbed either side
of the hatchway and averted his lidless eyes so he
wouldn't have to see the stars blur sicken-ingly into
focus beyond the cockpit's main viewport.
"There's Bossk."
Opening his eyes, Zuckuss saw the Hound's Tooth
floating before them, engines shut off. A signal light
flashed, and Boba Fett reached over and pressed the comm
button. "Fett here. Have you made contact with the
Circumtore landing authorities?"
"Positive on that." IG-88's flat, expressionless
voice sounded from the cockpit speaker. "Approach and
landing permission has not-I repeat, not-been granted."
"I didn't expect it would be," said Boba Fett dryly.
"When people like us show up, hardly anyone puts out a
welcome mat."
"At the conclusion of our last exchange, the Shell
Hutts indicated they would be sending out a negotiator."
"What level?"
Bossk's voice broke into the discussion. "The fat
slugs said it would be an Alpha Point Zero. What's that
mean?"
Boba Fett kept his thumb on the comm button. "That's
the Shell Hutts' top authority level. They don't go any
higher than that. So it means two things One, we don't
have to bother with any small-fry underlings, and two,
they're taking our arrival very seriously."
"When this negotiator gets out here, what's our
plan?" Bossk sounded hungry for action, as though the
journey out from the Bounty Hunters Guild had been an
eternity of chafing inaction. "Kill him?"
Typical, thought Zuckuss, slowly shaking his head.
He'd had enough experience with Bossk to know that that
was always his Plan A. And there usually wasn't a B.
Fett glanced over his shoulder at Zuckuss. "Don't
worry." He turned and pressed the comm button again. "We
can be a little more subtle than that. You and IG-88
should transfer over here to the Slave I before the Shell
Hutts' negotiator arrives. But remember-I do the
talking."
Bossk's ship, the heavily armed Hound's Tooth, was
left in autostandby, its alarm systems set to refuse
entry to anyone other than its returning master. Zuckuss
was aware of the level of Bossk's paranoia, and the
number of lethal booby traps he had installed throughout
the Hound, all to prevent anyone from invading his base
of operations. That was the main reason Zuckuss had gone
instead with Boba Fett; his nerves had still been frayed
from the last time he had been aboard the Hound's Tooth,
when he'd constantly had to be on guard against setting
off any of the security devices. Better to let the bounty-
hunter droid IG-88 take the risk, even if it meant losing
track of Bossk-the main reason Zuckuss was on the team
for this job-for the duration of the journey.
He went down into the Slave J's holding area to open
the transfer hatch between the two ships. The hunched
shape of the partially shut-down D'harhan filled one
corner of the area; he could feel the laser cannon's
standby optics registering his presence, lifting the
weapon's barrel slightly and turning it in his direction,
as he stepped from the bottom rung of the ladder.
From the small viewport beside the hatch, Zuck-uss
could see the Hound's Tooth being maneuvered into docking
position. When it had connected with the Slave I, Zuckuss
hit the hatch release controls; a sharp hiss sounded as
the two ships equalized their internal atmospheric
pressures. The hatch irised open, and Bossk and IG-88
stepped aboard. Bossk pressed a button on the remote
cockpit control at his waist, and the Hound disengaged
and drew into a parallel orbit above the surface of
Circumtore.
"Where's Fett?" Bossk scanned the Slave I's holding
area. Though it was the largest open space aboard the
ship, it was already cramped with the three bounty
hunters in it. Boba Fett's ship was built for speed and
destruction, not comfort.
Zuckuss pointed to the ladder leading to the cockpit.
"He's still up there. I think he's getting ready for the
arrival of the Shell Hutts' negotiator."
His guess was proved correct when Boba Fett's voice
crackled from a speaker mounted on the bulkhead. "We'll
need to make room," said Fett over the ship's internal
comm system. "I've just been informed that the negotiator
is one of the Shell Hutts; they didn't send one of their
pet intermediaries. If we're going to get one of those
tanks aboard here, we'll need all the space we can get."
"I don't see how . . ." Zuckuss turned, looking
around the Slave I's holding area. "The only room down
here is in the cages."
"So?" Boba Fett's voice spoke again. "What's the
problem?"
Bossk glared at the cages where Boba Fett kept his
captured pieces of merchandise, en route to collecting
the bounty on them. "I'm not going in there," he growled.
"You're the biggest one here," Zuckuss pointed out
helpfully. "Except, of course-" He pointed to D'harhan's
massive bulk, the laser cannon's barrel protruding
slightly above the drawn-up knees and encircled metal
tail. "For him."
The three bounty hunters looked over at D'harhan.
"I don't know," said Bossk. Even he seemed in
timidated by the presence of a fully charged laser cannon
in their midst. "Maybe it's not a good idea to wake him
up."
too late. One of D'harhan's hands tapped out another
message on the silenced voice box and turned its glowing
screen toward them, I hear . . . EVERYTHING YOU SAY.
Zuckuss and the other two bounty hunters stepped
back, spines against the bulkhead, as the roused D'harhan
slowly stood up, the segmented metal tail drawing around
behind him. The housing of the laser cannon mounted onto
D'harhan's chest and shoulders reached above even Bossk's
head. The massive weapon's tracking systems regarded the
bounty hunters in silence for a moment.
"Watch out!" Zuckuss's cry was involuntary, triggered
by the sight of the indicator lights on the laser cannon
suddenly surging to red. He dived to the floor as Bossk
and IG-88 scattered to either side of the cramped holding
area.
On the gridded floor, with his arms pulled over his
head, Zuckuss heard the quick, sharp sizzle of a laser
bolt, then another; their glare lit up the space,
stinging his eyes. In the quiet that followed, he could
smell ozone and scorched metal.
Lifting his head, Zuckuss saw the lights on the side
of the animate laser cannon dwindling back down to yellow
and safety. Flanking the holding area, Bossk and IG-88
looked first toward D'harhan, then toward the target of
his ramped-down laser bolts. The impacts had been
precisely calculated and aimed, shattering the hinges of
the main merchandise cage; fragments of molten durasteel,
scattered across the floor, glowed a dull red. Wisps of
acrid smoke rose from the edge of the cage door as it
fell with a resounding clang.
"there," spoke D'harhan's voice box aloud.
"NOW YOU SHOULD HAVE ... NO OBJECTIONS."
"Your point is valid." IG-88's circuitry had re
covered completely from the sudden burst of laser fire.
The droid stepped over the bars of the fallen door and
into what was left of the cage, then turned around.
Bossk regarded D'harhan for a moment longer, his
slitted eyes looking up at the cooling laser cannon with
something like envy, then followed the other bounty
hunter into the area's adjoining space, now incapable of
being shut and locked.
That'll take some fixing, thought Zuckuss. Con
sidering the proprietary attitude that Boba Fett natu
rally took toward the Slave I and its fittings, he was
more than relieved that D'harhan had blown the holding
cage hinges and not him.
At that moment Boba Fett appeared on the ladder
coming down from the cockpit. The bounty hunters watched
as Fett's visored gaze turned toward the cage in which he
transported his merchandise, then down to the barred door
lying in front of it.
"That's coming out of your share," Fett told
D'harhan.
The black-gloved hand moved across the voice box's
keyboard. "no, it's not."
For a moment longer they stood facing each other-one
masked behind the visored helmet, the other faceless
except for the muzzle of the laser cannon-before Boba
Fett finally gave a slow nod. "We'll talk."
"There's a ship approaching." Zuckuss pointed to the
viewport. "It must be the Shell Hutts' negotiator."
In the viewport, a spherical craft moved closer to
the Slave I; a simple off-planet shuttle, it displayed
tortoise insignia of the Shell Hutts and a diplomatic
emblazon showing its unarmed status. The shuttle's
forward hatch had already deployed its docking arms,
ready to hook up with the Slave I's transfer hatch.
A few moments later, as Zuckuss manned the hatch's
controls, a broad face with a slit gash of a mouth
appeared floating before the bounty hunters. The
elongated, tapering cylinder of the Shell Hutt negotiator
moved with ponderous grace into the holding area, its
underside repulsor beams pushing invisibly against the
floor grids. As the end of the tanklike casing made it
through the transfer hatch, Zuckuss hit the button and
irised the hatch closed again.
"Ah, Boba Fett!" The casing, studded with rivets and
various maintenance ports, swung about in the holding
area, past the other bounty hunters and toward the figure
standing near the metal ladder. A leering smile formed on
the Shell Hutt's face. Tiny mechanical hands dangled
beneath a gleaming chromium collar, sealed tight around
the wattled gray flesh of its neck; the claws, delicate
as a scuttling sea crab's, clicked happily against each
other. "How pleasant to see you again."
Fett's response was dry and emotionless. "My
feelings, Gheeta, are the same as the last time we met."
Bossk spoke from the holding cage. "You know this
creature?"
"We've had . . . business dealings." Fett didn't look
back at the Trandoshan. "A couple times before."
"And very profitable they were, too." The cylinder
with the Shell Hutt inside bobbed slightly as it turned
toward Bossk. "At least . . . for some people." The smile
on Gheeta's face soured. "I hope," he said to Boba Fett,
"that you're not expecting the same degree of trust that
you found previously on Circumtore." The little crablike
hands snapped their metal claws together, hard enough to
produce sparks. "After that last affair of yours, Fett,
you're not going to be greeted with open arms."
"I don't need to be." Boba Fett stood face-to-face
with the Shell Hutt. "You're a business creature, Gheeta,
and so am I. Warm sentiments have nothing to do with it.
If you're ready to do business, then we have something to
talk about. If you're not ready, then we don't."
"The same old Boba Fett." The Shell Hutt's head, its
jowly neck bound by the floating cylinder's collar,
managed an appreciative nod. "It's good to know that some
things in this universe never cliange. Just what business
is it you've come to Circumtore to discuss?"
"I think you've got a pretty good idea of that."
Gheeta's expression turned sly, the lids over his
large eyes drawing halfway down. "It wouldn't be
something to do with a certain Oph Nar Dinnid, would it?"
"Stop wasting time!" Bossk's angry shout broke in.
"You know damn well that's what we're here for!"
An amused glance from the corner of one eye, then
Gheeta looked back at Fett. "Your associate has a
charming directness about him."
Fett nodded. "Among other virtues."
"The others must be well concealed," said Gheeta
dryly. One of the metal hands reached up to scratch
between the wattles at the side of his neck. "You
realize, of course, that the party under discussion-this
Dinnid person-is a guest on Circumtore. You know how all
Hutts are about hospitality. The happiness of a guest is
a sacred obligation with our species."
Spare me, thought Zuckuss, watching the exchange
between Boba Fett and the Shell Hutt. Throughout the
galaxy, the treachery and outright malice that Hutts
showed toward any who found themselves in one of their
windowless palaces was proverbial. Zuckuss had heard
things about how the infamous Jabba, the preeminent
Huttese crime lord, went through so-called guests and the
more disposable type of servants that made his flesh
crawl. That was the difference, Zuckuss supposed, between
Boba Fett and a creature like this Gheeta. Fett didn't go
out of his way to hurt or even kill anyone-if it hap
pened, it happened-whereas Hutts in general took an
active delight in other creatures' suffering.
"There are some," said Boba Fett, "who would take an
interest in Dinnid's happiness equal to your own."
"Ah, yes." The massive head at the forward end of the
repulsor-borne cylinder nodded. "Dinnid's former
employers. I take it that you're here on their behalf?"
"I'm here on no one's behalf but my own."
"But of course." Gheeta's smile expanded enough to
reveal his wet, flickering tongue. "I really expected
nothing else. Altruism is in short supply among the
practitioners of your trade. I imagine it's the same for
your friends here." One of the little crablike hands
raised and gestured at the others in the Slave J's
holding area. "Rather an intimidating crew, don't you
think, Fett? It makes the heart inside my casing tremble
just to look at them." Gheeta peered more closely at
Bossk. "Let's see ... you're Cradossk's son, aren't you?"
Bossk's eyes were two razor slits, his voke a low
snarl. "What's that matter to you?"
"You really are his son." Gheeta widened his eyes in
mock fright. "Give the old reptile my best regards the
next time you see him. "Which shouldn't be too long from
now." The Shell Hutt rotated himself back toward Boba
Fett. "Because if you think I'm going to let an obviously
vicious bunch like this come sailing down to Circumtore,
then you've got a few circuits blown inside that helmet
of yours, Fett."
The remark produced no reaction in its target. "We
can hardly discuss the matter out here," said Boba Fett.
"I make it a rule to talk business only when the
merchandise is on the table, so to speak."
"I have to warn you." The claws of the little
mechanical hands clicked against each other again. "This
is very expensive merchandise we're talking about."
"That makes it all the more profitable, then." Fett
indicated the other bounty hunters. "And that's. why
we've come here."
"I can believe that, well enough." Gheeta used one of
the claws to scratch the almost boneless flesh of his
chin. "I just don't know if you've really changed your
ways, my dear Fett, regarding just how you acquire your
profitable merchandise. I had heard, naturally, about
your having joined the Bounty Hunters Guild-and I must
admit that all of my clan on Circumtore were surprised by
the news. Getting old and tired, are we, Fett?"
"Not tired." Boba Fett gave a slow shake of his head.
"Just smart."
"Smart for you, no doubt." The Shell Hutt broadcast
his sly, insinuating smile around at the others. "I
wonder, though . . . just what your new-found friends
here get out of the deal."
Zuckuss found himself gazing straight into the Shell
Hutt's eyes as the floating cylinder turned his way. The
same sensation came over him as when he had felt the
tracking systems of D'harhan's laser cannon locking onto
him, calculating the precise angle and force necessary
for his destruction. The pupils of Gheeta's eyes were
like narrow windows into a realm of avarice, the slow and
certain calculus of insatiable appetites. Getting blown
away-literally, into disconnected atoms-by a laser bolt
would be mercifully quick by comparison.
Another feeling, even more disquieting, moved inside
Zuckuss that the dark pupils regarding him with such
amused contempt were not windows, but mirrors into his
own heart. Little creature, he could hear Gheeta speaking
inside his head, I am what you would like to be. All
mouth and gut and hunger. In this cold galaxy, the
commandment of Eat or Be Eaten prevailed, from the throne
of Emperor Palpatine all the way down to the smallest
carnivore, a Tatooinian womp rat, scuttling across an
empty desert.
His heart dwindled within himself, from that moment
of recognition in the Shell Hutt's eyes. There had been
others who had lived and fought, their struggles guided
by a different code; there had been a time when even he
had listened to tales of the Jedi Knights defending the
old Republic. But those are fust stories now, Zuckuss
told himself. Those days, and the brave creatures that
had lived in them, were never coming back. And without
them, the Rebels fighting against the Empire were poor,
pathetic fools, doomed to failure. Their bones would be
picked clean and discarded on the battlefields of worlds
without names. The hungry ones, with their greed and lust
for dominion, would always win. . . .
Bleak, wordless meditation ended as the Shell Hutt's
knowing, judging smile moved away from him. Pull yourself
together, Zuckuss told himself. He had made his pact with
the universe he'd found himself in; he was a bounty
hunter now, and had been so long enough to be traveling
in league with some of the toughest ones in the galaxy.
If he showed any signs of weakness at this point, he
knew, he wouldn't have to worry about Emperor Palpatine
or any of the Shell Hutts; his own colleagues would tear
him apart. A carnivore like Bossk would very likely con
sume him, in the exact and literal sense of the word.
That thought made Zuckuss feel at least a little better
about having become part of old Cradossk's intricate
scheming. Better you than me, he thought, glancing over
at Bossk.
"Don't worry about us." That was Bossk's voice,
giving a snarling reply to Gheeta. "We can take care of
ourselves."
"I'm sure you can." The Shell Hutt didn't stop
smiling. "After all ... you're learning from the master,
aren't you? Boba Fett has always done very well for
himself."
"I would be doing even better," said Fett, "if we
could limit our discussion to that which we came here
for. Specifically, that merchandise known as Oph Nar
Dinnid."
"But that merchandise isn't on the table right now,
is it?" Gheeta's large eyes emitted a spark of anger.
"And it's not going to be. Not out here, at least. You
want to discuss the fate of our guest, you will indeed
have to come down to Circumtore to do it-just as you
wish. I'm only here to explain how things are in that
regard. I'm giving you the conditions, not cutting the
deal."
"Why not?" Zuckuss spoke up. "I don't get it. The
other members of your clan wouldn't have sent you out
here if you didn't have some kind of authority to speak
for them. If they'd just wanted to send us some message,
they could've comm'd it out here or sent some flunky of a
different species, like a Twi'lek or something. So why
mess around? If you're willing to talk about Dinnid at
all, why not do it here?"
The smile on the broad, jowly face turned into a
sneer. "Your colleague Boba Fett wouldn't ask such a
stupid question. A question which has an equally simple
answer. We're all aboard the Slave I right now, aren't
we? The Slave I is Boba Fett's ship; he controls it. So
as long as we're here, he controls the discussion as
well. There have been times when discussions with Boba
Fett have gotten ... a little ugly. Things start out nice
and friendly, and then they just . . . change somehow."
Gheeta feigned mulling over that statement. "Probably
because the parties involved couldn't come to an
agreement about the value and price of the merchandise
being discussed." He glanced over at Fett. "You always
like to get things as cheaply as possible, don't you?"
Boba Fett made no reply.
"Cheaply," continued Gheeta, "as far as credits are
concerned. When it comes to violence . . . well, that's
another story, isn't it?" The floating cylinder turned,
bringing the Shell Hutt's face back toward Zuckuss.
"That's when your colleague has rather a free hand.
Especially when other creatures' skins are involved. And
the blood-that can also get a little thick to wade
through, when Boba Fett's around." Another shift in angle
brought Gheeta's face toward the bounty hunters in
general. "So if you think I'm going to remain here, in
the heart of Fett's traveling circus of destruction,
surrounded by his friends-or if not his friends, then
creatures with whom he's come to a certain business
arrangement-and talk about the merchandise in question,
let alone actually bring that merchandise here . . ."
Gheeta's jowls wobbled against the cylinder's gleaming
collar as he shook his head. "Then it's not just Boba
Fett who's gone a little insane. You're all not in sync
with reality if you think that's going to happen."
A low growl came from the doorless holding cage.
"You've said your piece?" Bossk folded his arms across
his chest.
Gheeta looked over at the Trandoshan. "Yes, I have."
"And now you're going to be on your way?"
"As charming as your company is, I see no reason for
wasting any more of your time or mine."
"What makes you think we're going to let you leave?"
A weary sigh escaped from the Shell Hutt as he rolled
his eyes toward the top of the holding area, "I really
expected better from any companions of yours, Fett. Do
you want to tell him or should I?"
"He leaves when he wants to," said Boba Fett. He
turned the hard gaze of his visored helmet toward the
holding cage. "First of all, the merchandise we came here
for is still down on Circumtore. Anything unpleasant we
do to the negotiator that the Shell Hutts sent out will
just make it harder to accomplish anything later, when we
actually go on-planet."
Bossk laid his hand on the grip of his blaster.
"Maybe we should just worry about that when we get down
there. I don't see any big difference between taking care
of one canned Hutt and a whole world full of them."
"There's more inside that can than one Hutt. I've
dealt with their negotiators before. They never send one
out that isn't packed with high-thermal explosives."
"You see?" One of the mechanical hands beneath
Gheeta's floating cylinder gestured theatrically toward
Boba Fett. "That's why he's at the top of the bounty-
hunter profession. It's why he's lasted so long, while
others have met tragically untimely deaths. Because he's
learned that other creatures can be just as clever . . .
and violent, if need be." The thin metal arm telescoped
outward so that the crab-like hand could reach up to an
access hatch at the midpoint of the cylinder's tapered
length. One claw pried open the hatch, revealing a
ticking mechanism wired into several flat bricks of a
dull gray substance.
From where he stood, Zuckuss could see the emblem and
coding symbols of one of the Imperial Navy's main
armaments dumps. The explosive charges had obviously been
stolen, or smuggled out by some enterprising
accomplice-but they were still more than lethal. Just
looking at that much destructive force made Zuckuss's
breath catch in the tubes dangling from his face mask.
IG-88 had also scanned the explosives, from where it
stood next to Bossk. "It would be advisable," announced
the droid, "if no one made an attempt to forcibly defuse
the triggering mechanism. It has obviously been wired
with a detect-and-destruct subsystem to prevent just such
an occurrence."
"Of course." Gheeta looked pleased with himself. "As
Fett indicated to you, Shell Hutt negotiators don't come
into this kind of situation unprepared. If any of you
were so foolish as to lay a finger on me, or this little
present I came with, then the consequences would be of
astronomical significance." His lipless smile broadened.
"A glowing cloud of radioactive dust . . . perhaps they'd
even be able to see it back at the Bounty Hunters Guild.
So at least your friends would know what had become of
you."
"I think ... we can all be reasonable about this."
Zuckuss hastened to spe ak; on the other side of the
holding area, Bossk looked furious enough to fling
himself at the Shell Hutt and start pulling wires on the
explosives, no matter what the consequences might be.
"Nobody's going to prevent you from leaving whenever you
want."
"Good." Gheeta gave an appreciative nod to Zuckuss.
"You, at least, show some intelligence. Keep it up, and
someday you might reach the same lofty pinnacle in your
trade that Boba Fett has." The crablike hand folded the
little hatch back down and sealed it in place. "This
thing itches abominably. I'll be glad to be rid of it."
The hand scratched at the metal door. "I'll take my
departure now. Though I imagine it won't be very long
until we all see each other again-down on Circumtore, of
course."
The Shell Hutt's tapered casing rotated 180 degrees
so that it was facing the transfer hatchway. Without
being bidden, Zuckuss hurried to the controls at the
side.
As the hatch irised open, Gheeta turned the floating
cylinder just enough", that he could look back at Boba
Fett and the other bounty hunters. "Of course," he said
blandly, "that's up to you. About whether we do business
or not. Because I have to tell you-we take a very dim
view of creatures coming to visit us if they bring along
the kind of firepower that you like to carry around."
The cylinder moved through the fully open hatchway.
It sealed shut with a hiss; a few seconds later the
mechanical noises of the negotiator's ship disengaging
were audible. In the small viewport, the craft could be
seen as it began traveling back down to Circumtore.
Bossk, looking as angry as before, stepped out of the
doorless holding cage. "What was that last bit supposed
to mean?"
"It's simple." Boba Fett grasped one of the ladder's
rungs. "Like everything with the Shell Hutts." He started
up toward the Slave Fs cockpit. "We're going to go down
and talk business, and we'll do it unarmed. They'll send
a shuttle for us to go on-world, and we'll leave all our
weapons right here."
"You're joking!" Bossk stared after him in amazement.
"I'm not going down there defenseless!"
"That's up to you." At the cockpit hatchway, Boba
Fett halted and looked back down at the Trandoshan.
"There's an alternative, of course. We can eliminate you
from the team right now." He drew his blaster from his
hip and aimed it at Bossk. "You decide."
A few seconds passed before Bossk finally gave a slow
nod. "All right," he said. "You win. That's how we'll
play it." An ugly sneer formed on his face. "But there's
a slight problem. What about him?"
Zuckuss and the others turned in the direction to
which Bossk's gesture pointed. At the side of the Slave
I's holding area, silent and waiting, stood the massive
shape of D'harhan. The tracking systems of the laser
cannon, bonded inseparably to his torso, looked toward
Fett.
"Even him," Fett said quietly. "He's going with us as
well."
D'harhan punched a string of words into his voice box
and turned the device away from himself. "you would have
to kill me," it spoke aloud. "to render me weaponless."
The voice had sounded like thunder beneath the roiling
clouds of steam. The laser cannon's tracking systems
gazed hard at Boba Fett as the next words were displayed.
there is no
DIFFERENCE. . . BETWEEN ME AND MY WEAPONS.
"Maybe..." With growing unease, Zuckuss let his gaze
move up the enormous figure. The yellow lights on the
side of the laser-cannon housing were darkening, as
though they were about to shift to the red of imminent
destruction. "Maybe we don't really need to take him with
us. I mean ... if we're just going down to Circumtore to
talk . . . that's not really his specialty, is it?"
"No one is being left behind," Fett stated with cold
finality. "The whole team is going. That's the plan."
"Whose plan?" demanded Bossk.
"Mine." Another simple, flat statement. "That's the
only one that matters." Boba Fett turned back toward
D'harhan. "I know better than anyone that to remove your
weapon would be the same as killing you; I haven't
forgotten about these things. I was there when you became
as you are now. So I also know other things that your
weapon can be rendered nonfunctional, incapable of
firing, by a relatively simple procedure. The removal of
the light-mass core alone will do it. And then the Shell
Hutts will have no basis for refusing you permission to
enter their world."
Zuckuss flattened himself against the holding area's
bulkhead as he watched D'harhan rising to his full
height, the top of the laser-cannon housing scraping the
durasteel ceiling. The light inside the space seemed to
dim, as though the creature's expanding form were
swallowing it up. D'harhan's chest, the remaining flesh-
and-blood part of it, swelled outward, thrusting forward
the curved gearing of the weapon mount welded to his
breastbone; his shoulders pulled back, arms tensing at
his sides, one hand clenching into a fist, the other
still holding the muted voice box. Through clouds of
hissing steam, the oiled metal of the pistons gleamed
like naked sword blades; the indicator lights along the
laser cannon's barrel burned a fiery, nebulous red.
Now it's going to happen-fear twisted sicken-ingly in
Zuckuss's gut. We're all going to die. Mesmerized, he
watched as Boba Fett stepped up in front of D'harhan, the
red light blurring through the steam and silhouetting him
as though by fire seen through ominous storm clouds.
"you're wrong." D'harhan raised the voice box toward
Fett. "IT won't be easy at all."
"I am aware of his meaning." A trace of fear sounded
in even the droid IG-88's voice. "The light-mass core is
shielded behind a grid of protective interlocks-that is
standard for weapons of the class he bears, to prevent
just such tampering. Removal is ill-advised, even for a
skilled armory technician. You could trigger an overload
destruct sequence that would destroy this ship even more
thoroughly than the Shell Hutt's explosive charges would
have."
"Listen to it," pleaded Bossk. "You're going to kill
us all-"
"I know what I'm doing." Boba Fett spoke with an
unnervingly icy calm. "Do not interfere-if you value your
lives."
"do you know?" Another cloud of steam hissed from the
laser cannon's mounting as the tracking systems narrowed
their focus on the man standing in front of them. "the
weapon is my spirit. when you take THAT BY WHICH I KILL
OTHERS . . . THEN YOU KILL ME."
"It will only seem that way," said Boba Fett.
"There's a difference between this death and true death."
Slowly, he reached up toward the glistening machinery
whose coils were buried deep in D'harhan's chest. "Trust
me."
"Fett . . . don't . . ."
Whether it was his own voice or one of the others,
Zuckuss could no longer tell. Flinching from certain
doom, he averted his face; the last thing he saw was Boba
Fett shrouded in steam, one hand sinking into the coils
and wires nested beneath the laser cannon's mounting, as
though the bounty hunter were a battlefield surgeon
performing a crude, septic heart transplant. With a
screech of grinding metal from the geared wheel, the
weapon's barrel convulsively angled upward, the tracking
systems blindly defocusing, as though a pain voltage
beyond the reach of mortal anesthesia had coursed through
D'harhan's embedded circuitry. The indicator lights
pulsed and flared even brighter than before; Zuckuss
could hear someone, probably Bossk, diving to the gridded
floor of the holding area, as though there were any
chance of hiding from the firepower that would rip the
Slave I apart.
With all muscles involuntarily tensed, crouching
against the bulkhead, Zuckuss awaited the harsh,
deafening noise that he knew would be the last thing he
would ever hear.
Instead, there was silence, ended by a sighing
emission of steam, as though from a dying machine, the
source of its energy shut off by a single valve.
He looked up, bringing his eyes away from his own
lowered forearm. The red lights that had burned through
the steam mist were gone now; as Zuckuss watched, the
inert metal of the laser cannon shifted angle, its dark
barrel slowly inching down from its ceiling-high
trajectory. The blank voice box swung on a cord from
D'harhan's waist as his black-gloved hands trembled open,
palms outward. His knees buckled, diminishing the massive
form that had reared up inside the ship's holding area,
turning him into something weaker and more human than ma
chine. D'harhan collapsed onto the floor, rolling heavily
onto one broad shoulder, the muzzle of the laser cannon
scraping an arc across the floor, ending at the tip of
Boba Fett's boot.
Zuckuss's gaze broke from the silenced weapon and
turned toward the other bounty hunter. Boba Fett hadn't
moved from where he had been standing, as though the fall
of the laser cannon was an ocean tide that he knew would
break harmlessly upon the shore, millimeters away from
him. In Fett's hand, the one that had reached into the
intricate lock and coil of D'harhan's chest, was a dull
metal rod, less than half a meter long, thick enough to
fill the grip fastened upon it. When Fett dropped it with
a leaden clang, the residual heat from the weapon's
reactor core brought a final sizzling puff of steam from
the water vapor that had collected on the grid's surface.
The barrel of the laser cannon lifted, moving with
crippled d ifficulty. D'harhan's tracking systems focused
upon Boba Fett standing above him; one hand grasped the
voice box and slowly thumbed in a few words.
you owe me. D'harhan raised the silent communication
device. big time.
Boba Fett said nothing, but turned away and strode
toward the ladder leading to the cockpit. He halted with
one boot on the bottom rung and looked over at the others
watching him. "They're already waiting for us," he said
quietly. "Down on Circum-tore."
Then he was gone. Zuckuss looked over at Bossk, just
now getting to his feet in the doorless holding cage.
"We're lucky," said Zuckuss, "to be alive."
Bossk glanced up, toward the empty hatchway of the
cockpit, then back down. The thin smile he gave Zuckuss
contained at least a small particle of admiration.
"I suppose we'll find out"-Bossk slowly nodded, his
gaze narrowing-"just how lucky we are. . . ."

16

"What exactly is the history between you and the
Shell Hutts?" Zuckuss wasn't asking just to pass the
time. Sitting at last on the surface of Circumtore,
surrounded by the durasteel-plated Hutts and, even worse,
their various guards and mercenaries, he felt no less
endangered than before. It just keeps getting worse,
Zuckuss mused gloomily to himself. Pretty soon he'd be
wishing that everyone on this intrepid little team had
gotten blown to spiraling, whistling atoms. "I mean . . .
the way that the negotiator talked . . ."
Boba Fett stood with his arms crossed, watching the
Shell Hutts' customs inspectors poking through the
interior of the Slave I. They weren't looking for
contraband-which was something that the Shell Hutts, like
all the members of the species, had no aversion to, as
long as they got their piece of the action-but were
combing the ship and its passengers for undeclared
weaponry. Without his usual panoply of rocket launchers
and other means of destruction, Fett looked even more
dangerous, oddly enough; as though his simmering anger
were some newly aroused lethal force, provoked by the
intrusion on his personal domain.
"Hutts say all sorts of things." Boba Fett didn't
turn toward Zuckuss as he spoke. "There's a lot of it you
can safely ignore. A lot of creatures in the galaxy
believe that all the Huttese are efficient businessmen,
with nothing but credits on their minds, but they're not.
They spend too much time brooding about the past, keeping
old scores. Bearing grudges. That kind of emotion always
gets in the way of true rationality."
Nobody would ever make that kind of assessment,
Zuckuss figured, of Boba Fett. The more time he spent
anywhere near Fett, the more he was impressed-and
appalled by the cold calculations taking place inside
that visored helmet. Even over something like the team
disarming itself for its landing on the Shell Hutts'
world; if Boba Fett was willing to go along with that, it
must mean his intricately worked-out plans included this
factor, accounted for it in some way. We might make it
back out of here alive, thought Zuckuss. Or at least some
of us might. The plans that he had let himself become
part of- Cradossk's plans-called for one death out here,
if not more.
"It seemed kind of specific, though. What Gheeta
said." Zuckuss tried again. "When he was talking about
what happened before. Is there some kind of old score to
settle between you and the Shell Hutts?"
The customs inspectors-multilegged droids, bristling
with inspection probes and energy-level meters-continued
their inspection of the Slave I. Their black, spidery
forms could be seen through the ship's open hatches and
up inside the transparent shielding of the cockpit. One
of the inspectors lay crumpled in pieces, a few lights
still forlornly blinking, on the thrust-scarred landing
dock. That one had been a little too brusque in frisking
the Trandoshan Bossk for any concealed weapons, and had
paid the price in quick, bolt-snapping disassembly.
"Nothing you have to worry about," said Boba Fett.
"It's a personal thing. Actually, between me and Gheeta.
There was a time when he wasn't a mere negotiator, being
sent out on those kinds of errands to ships seeking
permission to land. He was very high up in the Shell Hutt
hierarchy. That was why he was in charge of the design
and construction of the on-planet terminal and diplomatic
reception site- basically, everything you see around you
here." Fett gestured with one raised hand; past the
landing dock's archways could be seen a complex of inter
linked spires and domes. "His budget allowed for a nearly
unlimited expenditure of capital, including the hiring of
one of the top freelance architects in the galaxy. A man
named Emd Grahvess-"
"I've heard of him." Zuckuss actually had, though he
couldn't remember from just where.
"There may be better ones, but if there are, they'd
be working for Emperor Palpatine, or someone like Prince
Xizor. Exclusively. So Grahvess was the top of the line
for the Shell Hutts, and Gheeta knew it; that's why he
hired him. The only problem was that Gheeta had other
plans for Grahvess, once the project was completed;
unfortunately for Gheeta, Grahvess was no fool. He knew
how dangerous it can be, working for any kind of Hutt.
They don't like paying up, and they like having things
that no one else can have. If they can't buy exclusivity,
they have . . . other ways of achieving it. And that's
what Grahvess found out that when this job was done, he
wouldn't be taking on any others." Fett glanced over at
Zuckuss. "Ever."
"That's kind of cold," said Zuckuss. "Having somebody
killed, right after he's done some great job for you."
"Get used to it. It happens to bounty hunters as
well-if they're not careful." Boba Fett gave a slow nod.
"This galaxy is full of treachery. There's no one you can
really trust. . . ."
Words to live by, thought Zuckuss. Or die. "So what
happened to this architect, this Grahvess person? Did
Gheeta manage to have him killed or not?"
"Not." Satisfaction was audible in that single word
from Boba Fett. "Because Grahvess was just a little bit
smarter than Gheeta. Smart enough to contact me and
propose a mutually satisfactory business arrangement."
"Like what?"
"You don't need to know all the details." Boba Fett
continued to watch the customs inspectors stalking around
inside the Slave I. "At least not yet. Let's just say
that Grahvess and I had everything worked out well before
his work here on Circumtore was completed. So that Gheeta
and his hench creatures never had a shot at him.
Essentially, Grahvess put out a bounty on himself. A
nice, fat one, which I was only too happy to collect by
making a quick raid here and snatching him away, right
out from Gheeta's hands. That's the main reason why the
Shell Hutts' security procedures are so tight now; they
don't want a repeat of that kind of action. Makes them
look foolish. Hutts can't stand that."
"Pretty clever." Zuckuss nodded in appreciation. "The
only one that winds up screwed is this Gheeta. The
architect gets to keep his life, and you get the credits.
Smart."
"I got more than that out of it."
Zuckuss studied the other bounty hunter in puz
zlement. "What more would you want out of it than
credits?" He couldn't imagine any other incentive for
someone like Fett.
"An investment. So to speak." Boba Fett watched the
Shell Hutts' customs-inspection droids emerging from the
ship. "That pays off later. In a big way."
There wasn't time for Zuckuss to ask what that meant.
The inspectors spider-legged their way toward the waiting
bounty hunters. A couple of the droids lagged behind and
began picking up the scattered wreckage of their forcibly
disassembled companion, the broken circuits of its main
sensory input/ output box still buzzing and moaning.
"Thank you for your cooperation." The lead inspector
droid halted in front of Boba Fett. "Our examination of
your craft shows no hidden armaments of a force
sufficient to disturb the peace and tranquillity of
Circumtore."
Zuckuss would have been surprised if the inspector
droids had found anything like that. He and IG-88-Bossk
had still been unhelpfully sulking over having to lay
down his own weapons-had assisted Boba Fett in removing
either whole systems or essential parts of them from the
Slave I's arsenal, and then packing and sealing them into
the coded-access freight container that was now in orbit
above the surface of Circumtore, awaiting Fett's return.
When that procedure had been completed, the ship had been
rendered as defenseless-and more significantly for the
Shell Hutts, offenseless-as any unarmed cargo shuttle
plodding among the stars.
The bounty hunters' personal weapons had been another
matter; those they had brought with them to Circumtore,
handing them over directly to the customs-inspection
droids. "Here is your receipt for the items we are
holding in storage for you." One of the lead inspectors
pried open a slender pouch beneath its multilensed eyes
and extracted a miniature holoprojector. "If you'd care
to check it over and make sure that we haven't forgotten
anything . . ."
Boba Fett took the device and thumbed it on. The
shimmering visual field winked into existence in front of
him and Zuckuss, with a scrolling depiction of the bounty
hunters' various weapons. It was a long list. Boba Fett
gave it no more than a cursory glance before
extinguishing the hologra m. "Looks complete."
"Very well." The lead inspector extended one of its
optic stalks straight up and swiveled its small lens
around to see how the others were coming along with the
bits and pieces of the one that Bossk had taken apart. A
few last segments were being tucked into an inert-mesh
sack, from which the droid's muffled complaints were
barely audible. The inspector returned its attention to
Boba Fett. "If you'll hold on to that and present it to
the landing master when you're ready to leave, all items
will be returned to you." A dark oil stain and a couple
of glittering, broken transistors were all that were left
on the surface of the dock. "It's been a pleasure to
serve you."
Canned formalities always sounded even more canned
when they came from droids; Zuckuss was glad to see the
customs-inspection droids leave, stalking their way
delicately across the landing dock, dragging their bagged
comrade behind themselves.
As the inspection squadron left the landing dock
Bossk came striding over, followed by IG-88. The droid
looked as unemotional as ever, but burning resentment
showed in Bossk's eyes. "So this is your great plan?" He
made a quick, dismissive gesture at the blaster holster
hanging empty by his side. "Now we're stuck down here on
the Shell Hutts' planet, and if they decide to send their
thugs around to kill us, there won't be a thing we'll be
able to do about it." He shook his head in disgust. "I
don't see why you needed a team to go along with you. If
you just wanted to get yourself knocked off, you could
have done it on your own just as easily."
Boba Fett regarded the Trandoshan in silence. "You
know," he said finally, "I'm going to give you something
free. That doesn't happen very often. Even when it's just
good advice-I usually let other creatures learn by just
suffering the consequences of their actions."
"Yeah?" Bossk sneered at him. "So what's your good
advice?"
"Stop whining. Before you really get me irritated."
Fett turned toward the other bounty hunters. "Let's get
going. Gheeta sent me a message while the ship was being
inspected. The Shell Hutts have already prepared a
reception for us."
"I just bet they have," grumbled Bossk under his
breath. Fett ignored the remark, if he had heard it at
all.
IG-88 crossed in front of Zuckuss, following after
Boba Fett and toward the open-topped ground shuttle that
would take them into the center of Circumtore's
administrative complex. Zuckuss drew back even farther as
the massive shape of D'harhan trod heavily forward, the
barrel of the laser cannon, now rendered inert and
harmless, slanting disconsolately, the tip of its muzzle
almost scraping against the landing dock's surface. The
stilled weapon's tracking systems were switched off, as
though the half-humanoid, half-mechanical creature was
some slow beast following the voice of the master that
had blinded it.
"What do you think's going to happen?"
The voice startled Zuckuss; he snapped his head
around and saw Bossk standing next to him, leaning down
to speak close to his ear. Zuckuss had been immersed too
deep in his thoughts, reflecting on how the altered
D'harhan looked like the last survivor of some otherwise
extinct saurian species, dragging its age-heavy bones and
rusting metal armor to the burial ground of its kin.
Bossk had stepped beside him while he was still wondering
what had been the point of bringing D'harhan along on
this job, if Boba Fett had known all along that the laser
cannon's core-D'harhan's spirit, or as much of one as he
might have possessed-would need to be extracted. It
struck Zuckuss as a needlessly cruel thing to have done
to an old comrade; something that he would never have
imagined Fett capable of doing.
"Don't ask me." Zuckuss glanced over at Bossk and
gave a shrug, lifting his gloved hands to indicate his
complete bafflement. "I haven't got a clue about what's
going on." Things had seemed a lot simpler back at the
Bounty Hunters Guild when he'd agreed to become part of
Cradossk's plans-not that those were anything he felt
like telling to Bossk. They'd only gotten more
complicated since then. And dangerous; the confidence
he'd felt at one time, that he'd survive all this just by
sticking close to Boba Fett, had been seriously eroded.
Fett packing his personal arsenal of blasters and rocket
launchers was one thing; a disarmed Fett leading all of
the team right into the center of Fett's grudge-bearing
enemies was another. Maybe Bossk is right, mused Zuckuss.
Maybe Fett is going to get us all killed. Another thought
struck him Maybe that had been Cradossk's plan all
along. The old Trandoshan hadn't been out just to get his
own son eliminated, but a couple more of the Guild's
young upstarts as well. Zuckuss could see why Cradossk
and some of the other Guild elders would want to get rid
of the coldly efficient droid IG-88, but he would have
been surprised to find that anyone thought that he
himself was at that level. And even if that were
Cradossk's plan, where would Boba Fett hook up with it?
Was Fett just leading Bossk and the other bounty hunters
into a prearranged trap-which would mean that somehow
Cradossk had gotten the Shell Hutts in on the scheme; how
likely was that?-or had the galaxy's smartest and
toughest bounty hunter somehow been fooled as well, and
Fett was about to get eliminated along with the rest of
the team? Or ...
The brain behind the insectoid eyes started to throb
painfully as more and more possibilities swirled within.
If he did get killed here on Circum-tore, Zuckuss hoped
it wouldn't be before he had at least figured out part of
what was going on. He was beginning to doubt the wisdom
of having even wanted to become a bounty hunter.
"I suppose," growled Bossk, "we'll find out. One way
or another."
"Maybe." The others of the team were waiting beside
the ground shuttle; Zuckuss nodded toward them. "We
better get going." He conquered his reluctance enough to
start walking.
Even before the shuttle lifted on its repulsor beams
and slid toward the Shell Hutts' spired buildings,
Zuckuss had a revelation. He could see his face mask, air
tubes dangling, reflected in the dark metal of D'harhan's
silent, impotent laser cannon. It doesn't matter,
realized Zuckuss suddenly. Whether we have weapons or
not. Whatever was going to happen-which of them would die
and which of them would live-would happen whether they
were ready for it or not.
There was one of them who might be ready. Zuckuss
looked toward Boba Fett, sitting in the front of the
shuttle. If anybody was going to survive, it would be
him.
That thought, even with all its embodied certainty,
didn't make Zuckuss feel any better.

Gheeta came floating up, his welcoming smile nearly
wide enough to split his wattled face in two. "At last!"
The crablike mechanical hands beneath the rivet-studded
cylinder spread expansively. "Now you will have a chance
to truly partake of our hospitality."
"We're not here to enjoy ourselves." At the head of
the team of bounty hunters, Boba Fett stopped and gazed
around the grand reception hall of the Shell Hutts. "This
is strictly business for us. I would appreciate it if we
could get straight to it."
"All in good time, my dear Fett." The tapering end of
the cylinder pointed toward the farther reaches of the
hall, its high-vaulted roof interlaced with golden
traceries and ornamental center bosses. "You are too
dismissive of both pleasure and the past-the pleasures of
the flesh, that we can enjoy now, and the memories of
that past we share."
IG-88 and the shorter figure of Zuckuss came up on
either side of Fett, the droid scanning the space with
methodical thoroughness, the other bounty hunter glancing
around with nervous apprehension. With a slower and more
ponderous tread, D'harhan loomed up behind.
"The past is over," said Boba Fett. The Shell Hutt's
wobbling face, protruding from the collar of the repulsor-
borne cylinder, evoked a cold revulsion inside him. "If
not for you, then it is for me."
"I wonder about that." Gheeta raised one of the
cylinder's mechanical hands, using the point of its claw
to scratch a deep fold in his chin. "How much do
creatures ever forget? I hope you'll excuse me for waxing
philosophical-I know how impatient you become-but
sometimes I feel that nothing is forgotten. Everything
remains buried, deeply or just beneath the surface, just
waiting for its certain resurrection, to be brought out
into the light once more."
Boba Fett could decipher the meaning behind the Shell
Hutt's words. What he's saying, thought Fett, is that he
hasn't forgotten. The reminder about the past and what it
contained, back aboard the Slave I, hadn't been enough to
indicate how fiercely that humiliation burned in Gheeta's
memory. If one looked past all his cloying and
ingratiating manners, the show of welcome here on
Circumtore, the desire for vengeance could be plainly
seen.
And counted on. He's got his plans, thought Boba
Fett, and I've got mine.
For a split second, as Fett gazed back into Gheeta's
broad, half-lidded eyes, he wondered if there was another
meaning to what the Shell Hutt had spoken. Resurrection
... brought out into the light ...
When one played a dangerous game, there was always
the possibility that the opponent was one move ahead.
Fett knew that in this game, that would mean death. If he
found out, mused Fett as he searched Gheeta's massive
face for any clue. If he's figured out everything that
happened here, in the past. Then the game was already
over; there would be no more moves to play, just the
sweeping of the broken pieces from the board. Those
pieces would include himself and the other bounty hunters
that he had brought here with him. And maybe
one more...
Whatever happens, decided Boba Pert as he gazed
unflinching into the dark centers of Gheeta's eyes.
Whatever happens-he's going with me.
"But enough of all that." The floating cylinder that
encased Gheeta rotated slightly, so that one of the
mechanical hands could gesture toward the center of the
reception hall. "As you have so forcefully reminded me,
this is-alas!-more a business occasion than a social one.
Let us proceed; there are others here who are more than
eager to meet with you and your companions."
"After you," said Boba Fett. "They're your species,
not mine."
Years ago he had picked up some profitable mer
chandise on a backwater world where the dominant form of
long-distance transportation had been lighter-than-air
freighters-slow and immense, tapered ovoid dirigibles,
filled with helium and other buoyant gases. The planet's
skies had been filled with the craft, like elongated
silvery moons, their crew gondolas and cargo containers
slung underneath their curved and shaded bellies. That
was what Cir-cumtore's great reception hall reminded Fett
of; there were a dozen Shell Hutts besides Gheeta, the
riveted cylinders floating on their repulsor beams,
turning and bumping into each other with graceless sloth.
At the front end of each cylinder protruded another
bejowled Huttese face, like a wad of some unpleasant
organic substance that had been inserted in the circular
metal collar. Some of the Shell Hutt faces appeared
younger than Gheeta, their large eyes glittering with
avarice, slit nostrils flared by the trace scents on
which their constant appetites fastened. The younger
ones' encasing cylinders were smaller as

well; Boba Fett knew how the Shell Hutts enjoyed
throwing lavish parties for themselves, upon the occasion
of one's expanding bulk being transferred to a new and
larger cylinder.
With their artificial exoskeletons, the cylinders
raised by repulsor beams, the size to which Shell Hutts
could aspire was no longer restricted by gravity-only by
how much they could grab of the galaxy's wealth and stuff
into their lipless mouths. Gheeta was only in the middle
range when it came to sheer mass; Boba Fett recognized a
few of the other Shell Hutts in the great reception hall,
elders of the clan that were to Gheeta as an Imperial
battle cruiser was to a TIE fighter craft. Those faces
protruding from their cylinder's metal collars were so
heavily wattled from brow to throat that hooks had been
surgically implanted in the blubbery tissue, the sharp
metal bits connected to a web of thin, high-tension
strands fastened to the top edge of the cylinder. If not
for that support, the old Shell Hutts' eyes and nostrils
would have been buried beneath avalanches of their own
slack flesh.
As Boba Fett and the other bounty hunters approached,
the largest of the repulsor-borne cylinders turned
majestically, like an interstellar luxury ship being
maneuvered into an off-planet berth. A low voice rumbled
from the gargantuan Hutt bound by the riveted durasteel
plates "I grow weary, Gheeta." The larger Shell Hutt
fastened the irritable gaze of its yellowed eyes upon its
clan member. "You keep us waiting . . . and for what?
Some of us may still be amused, but I assure you that I
am not."
Gheeta bobbed forward, the little crablike hands
rising from underneath his cylinder and making fluttery
gestures of mollification. "Patience will yet be
rewarded, Your Magnitude. Our-ahem-guests have arrived at
last. The show will begin in a moment."
" 'Show'?" Bossk scowled. "What show are you talking
about? We came here on business."
"Of course, of course-just as your leader Boba Fett
keeps reminding me." Gheeta turned his wide, wet-edged
smile toward the Trandoshan. "Your patience will be
rewarded as well, I assure you. But you've traveled so
far-all of you have." The mechanical hands' gesture took
in all of the bounty hunters. "And through some of the
emptiest and least rewarding stretches of the galaxy. I'd
hate for you to go away from here, after our business is
concluded, and tell the sentient creatures of all the
worlds that the Shell Hutts put out a mean and scanty
table for their visitors. We have a reputation for
hospitality to maintain, don't we? What would our fellow
Hutts, our cousin Jabba for instance, say if he heard
that we had not provided for others' famished appetites?"
"We're not hungry," said Boba Fett. "Not for anything
that you're likely to serve."
"Ah-I think otherwise, my dear Fett. This meal is one
that I've been preparing for a long time; a very long
time. Since the last time you were here on Circumtore,
and things went less than graciously... for some of us."
"More complaints." The immense Shell Hutt- his name,
Fett remembered, was Nullada-rolled his yellow eyes
beneath his brow's folded and sagging pouches. "Nothing
but complaints," he rumbled ole-aginously. "You've been
obsessed for too long a time, Gheeta. Perhaps you should
be relieved of even those duties that you've retained
this far so that you could take a long rest to clear your
mind."
A flash of anger showed in Gheeta's face, like a
lightning stroke in storm-heavy clouds. The crablike
mechanical hands locked their claws together, as though
preventing themselves from slashing a set of parallel
bloodied furrows down the older and larger Shell Hutt's
face.
"I've had time enough." Gheeta's voice was a snarling
whine. "But let's not waste any more of it. Come along,
then." Even with just his own jowl-wrapped face
protruding from the collar of his floating cylinder, the
effort required to regain control was visible. The
cylinder turned slightly, angling toward the center of
the great reception hall, where more of the Shell Hutts'
encased forms jostled around a rectangular dais,
surrounded on all sides by low, concentric steps.
"Everything has been placed in readiness for you." The
claws unclasped, allowing one of them to make a sweeping
gesture toward the dais. "Shall we?"
Boba Fett didn't feel like making any further
conversation with their host. He led the way toward the
dais, letting the other members of the bounty-hunter team
fall in behind. There were enough reflective surfaces
scattered throughout the space, beams of polished
durasteel supporting the domed roof above, that he could
see Bossk and the droid IG-88 following his quick stride,
with the Trandoshan glaring with suspicion and enmity at
every one of the bobbing and floating Shell Hutts. Behind
that pair, the massive shape of D'harhan trod heavily,
the inert laser cannon still impressive in its glistening
darkness, like an emblem of latent destruction wrapped in
trails of hissing steam.
At Fett's elbow, Zuckuss trotted to keep up with him.
"I don't like the looks of this," panted the shorter
bounty hunter. "I don't like the looks of this one bit-"
He knew just what Zuckuss was talking about. Around
the sides of the great reception hall, from alcoves and
corridors branching off the central space, other figures
had appeared, ones that weren't Shell Hutts.
"Mercenaries," said Boba Fett quietly. In black,
insignialess uniforms, armed and watching; if he'd wanted
to, he could very likely have identified more than a few
of them from past encounters. There was always a loose
assemblage of thugs and venal murderers, varying in
number and quality, depending mainly upon who had been
killed recently and to a lesser degree upon who was
rotting away in the galaxy's various penal institutions,
shifting back and forth among the less civilized worlds,
finding employment as enforcers and private hit men. The
Shell Hutts' distant species relation, the notorious
Jabba on backwater Tatooine, usually paid the highest
wages and got the pick of the lot, the quickest with
their chosen weapons and the least encumbered by scruples
about what kind of jobs they took care of for their
employer. "What else," Fett asked Zuckuss, "did you
expect?"
"This many?" Still at Boba Fett's side, Zuckuss
quickly scanned the perimeter of the great reception
hall. "There must be a couple dozen of them. At least."
He took another count, looking past the raised dais in
the middle of the space. "Maybe fifty of 'em-"
"Gheeta told us that he'd been preparing for this for
a long time." Without turning his visored helmet, Boba
Fett had taken his own estimate of the forces arrayed
along the hall's perimeter. "He's obviously called in a
lot of favors." This much firepower didn't come cheap;
most of the mercenaries cradled late-model blaster rifles
against their chests; Gheeta must have provided the
weapons, as they were obviously more expensive than the
usual cheap and nasty-if lethally efficient-gear with
which mercenaries usually kitted themselves. These types
disgusted Fett; they took no real pride in their
equipment, the tools of their trade; if they did, they
wouldn't spend s o much of their ill-gotten pay on their
own bad habits. "He couldn't pay for all this himself,"
continued Boba Fett aloud. "Gheeta must've gone into
major hock with his other clan members."
"But what for?" Zuckuss's curved eyes reflected the
ominous black-clad figures. "We're unarmed-"
"I know how Gheeta's mind works. Let's just say he's
not given to taking chances. Or at least," said Fett,
"not after the last time I did business with him."
Bossk had overhead the comment. "I'm ready to do
business with him," the Trandoshan growled from behind
Boba Fett. "Right now." His clawed hand hung close to the
empty blaster holster at his side. Even without a weapon,
Bossk looked ready to take on whatever army the Shell
Hutts had assembled, as though he could pull each of the
mercenaries apart, limb from limb, with nothing but his
own brute strength. "Let's get it over with."
"It seems apparent," commented IG-88, "that your
desire in that regard is about to be fulfilled."
Pushed along by his riveted casing's repulsor beams,
the Shell Hutt Gheeta had floated ahead of the bounty
hunters. As they reached the bottom of the steps
surrounding the dais, Gheeta had already risen to the top
section, where the cylinder bobbed beside a rectangular
construction a little over two meters long and a quarter
of that dimension in width; its surface was draped with a
heavy cloth embroidered with golden thread, the corner
tassels loosely knotted and flowing down the steps. On
top of the cloth were towering arrangements of exotic,
off-planet florals, their brilliant petals thick and
heavy as flayed Tatooinian dewback hide; from their
stickily wet confluence exuded cloying, opiatelike
perfumes. Even through his helmet's filtration units,
Boba Pert could taste the acrid molecules collecting on
his tongue; they had no effect on the clarity of his own
thoughts, but he saw how some of the Shell Hutts gathered
closer to the dais, the pupils of their eyes narrowing as
their slit nostrils widened, deeply inhaling the laden
air. Their lipless mouths curved into all-encompassing
pleasure.
Behind him, Boba Fett heard Bossk snort in disgust.
He knew that the Trandoshan nervous system lacked any
receptor sites for the flowers' narcotic fragrance; any
scent less subtle than rotting meat was wasted on him.
"Lovely." Bossk sneered. "Looks like you've got the place
ready for a funeral."
"How perceptive of you!" Gheeta had perhaps inhaled
too deeply, though the scent appeared to have a stimulant
rather than a soporific effect on him. "Exactly so!" The
floating cylinder spun about, bringing the Shell Hutt's
face, luminous with toxic sweat, toward the bounty
hunters. Ramping up the strength of the repulsor beams,
Gheeta floated above the rank-smelling blossoms, the
thick petals quivering with the unseen force. "How often,
though, that we fail to understand-" The crablike
mechanical hands reached down and scooped through the
floral mass, gathering the bright colors and pulpy
tissues to the underside of the cylinder. For a moment
the crushed blossoms obscured the lower half of Gheeta's
face; then his ecstatic expression was revealed again as
the gleaming metal appendages flung themselves wide,
scattering the flowers across the steps of the dais. "We
fail to appreciate what a joyous occasion a funeral can
be!"
The overripe stench of the flowers filled the inside
of Boba Fett's helmet as the petals, bruised and crushed
by Gheeta's mechanical arms, fell across the toes of his
boots. He looked down at them for a moment, then kicked
the flowers away; the heaviest of them left wet, bleeding
trails across the inlaid floor of the great reception
hall.
"I don't have much of a feeling for funerals," said
Fett evenly. He looked up across the dais steps toward
Gheeta. "One way or the other."
"Oh, but you should! You will!" Gheeta's manner
became even more frenetic and excited. The cylinder
vibrated as it hovered in place, as though the fever of
the creature inside had somehow been transmitted to the
enclosing metal. Some of the other Shell Hutts edged away
from the central dais, as though fearful of an explosion;
Gheeta's agitation had even pierced the stupor of those
who had fallen furthest beneath the blooms' heavy
fragrance. "I guarantee it!"
"Watch out," said Zuckuss in a low voice. From the
corner of his sight, behind the dark visor of his helmet,
Boba Fett saw Zuckuss's warning nod toward the edges of
the space. But Fett was already conscious of what was
happening there Some of the black-uniformed mercenaries
had stepped forward from the alcoves and adjoining
corridors where they had first appeared. There were other
motions, of weapons being raised, the shoulder straps of
the blaster rifles slackening as the barrels were swung
up into firing position, the rifle butts braced against
the mercenaries' hips. He could see Bossk and IG-88
turning their heads, scanning the details of the trap
closing tighter around them. Zuckuss's voice sounded
tight with apprehension "I think they're going to make
their move. . . ."
Fett knew that nothing was going to happen, at least
not for another few seconds; the cylindrical shapes of
the Shell Hutts were still bobbing and floating around,
too close to the dais and the team of off-planet bounty
hunters. Even as trigger-happy as this bunch of thugs was
likely to be, they would still know better than to start
shooting while their employers were in the line of fire.
And besides, there was one more thing that he was
absolutely sure of. Gheeta's little show wasn't over yet.
. . .
"You wanted to talk business?" The Shell Hutt's voice
had spiraled up into a screech, loud enough to flutter
the wattles at his pallid throat. "Fine! Let us do just
that! But as you said, there's no point unless the
merchandise in question is there on the table, right in
front of us!"
"Gheeta . . ." The elder Nullada grabbed hold of the
collar of Gheeta's cylinder with a metal-clawed hand.
"Don't make more of a fool of yourself than you already
have-"
"Silence!" One of Gheeta's crablike hands furiously
knocked away the larger Shell Hutt's grasp. "You'll see
as well! All of you!" The faces of the other Shell Hutts,
protruding from the collars of the floating cylinders,
turned toward Gheeta, some with expressions of muddled
astonishment, others cruelly relishing the spectacle that
was being played out before them. "You were all pleased
enough when this scoundrel"-the claw point of one of
Gheeta's hands shot out, gesturing toward Boba Fett-"when
this thief stole from me that which was to be my crowning
glory!" Both of the crablike mechanical hands flung
upward, indicating the great reception hall's vaulted
roof and all that it contained. Gheeta's maddened gaze
crossed over Nullada and the other Shell Hutts. "Don't
think I didn't hear your sniggering jeers and laughter!
You were happy to see me fallen and disgraced, weren't
you?"
Boba Fett discerned now that Gheeta's escalating
shrillness was due to more than the intoxicants released
by the mounds of flowers and their viscous, oozing
centers. Enough of Gheeta's thick neck had protruded from
his floating cylinder that a thin tube could be seen,
almost buried in the folds of his gray skin; the tube
ended in a surgically implanted IV tap, a needle plunged
and sealed into Gheeta's bloodstream. The tube's other
end was concealed inside the cylinder; Fett could surmise
that it was hooked up to a time-metered dispensary
module, leaking some rage-provoking stimulant through the
Shell Hutt's central nervous system. Just as Boba Fett
had already suspected, the sight of the pharmaceutical
tube confirmed that Gheeta had prepared for this
confrontation by chemically stripping out any sense of
caution that might still have been lingering inside his
brain. Suicidally so; with his having gone this far out
of control, there would be no way that the other Shell
Hutts would let him continue living and operating in
their midst. There was a line beyond which honor and the
desire for vengeance interfered with business, and Gheeta
was now obviously well past it.
The others were getting there as well; a sense of
panic tinged the air inside the great reception hall as
the Shell Hutts' floating cylinders collided with each
other, reversing away from the central dais, then turning
and perceiving the armed and ready mercenaries stationed
around the perimeter. Some of the Hutts were obviously
fuddled enough by the heavy opiatelike scent of the
scattered florals to have lost all reasoning ability.
That was the main reason that Boba Fett had programmed
the air filters in his helmet to catch and expunge those
intoxicating molecules; more than that, he had paid hefty
amounts to the galaxy's finest black-market microsurgeons
to have the corresponding receptor sites stripped away
from the branching ends of his own nervous system.
Whatever stimulation to the pleasure centers of his brain
that might have been lost thereby was more than
compensated for by the control he retained in situations
like this; in his business, he couldn't afford the
simpleminded hysteria to which the Shell Hutts were
already succumbing. From the corners of his vision, as he
continued focusing on Gheeta at the top of the dais, he
could discern the repulsor-borne cylinders slamming
harder into each ot her, the riveted durasteel plates
clanging like an atonal percussion section; the crablike
mechanical hands tangled with each other and clawed at
the wide-eyed, panting faces of the Shell Hutts as they
twisted and spun about, rebounding in fear from the
exits, blocked by the blaster-toting mercenaries.
Gheeta was caught up in a spiraling feedback loop,
his own overexcited state mounting as it absorbed the
frightened, lunatic pulse from the other Shell Hutts.
"And you were laughing, too! I know you were!" One of the
mechanical hands slung beneath his floating cylinder
suddenly jabbed toward Boba Fett, the metal shimmering
with the fury of his accusation. "All the way back to
whatever hole that scummy architect paid you to hide him
in-" Gheeta's lipless mouth had stretched into a frenzied
grimace, far enough that a trickle of blood seeped into
the milky salivation leaking from its corners. "That was
a good joke, Fett! But the best jokes always come with a
price attached to them, don't they?"
"Ancient history," said Boba Fett. He could almost
feel sorry for the Shell Hutt, locked inside an account
that he could never settle to his profit. Almost, but not
quite; sympathy was something else that he'd stripped
from his nervous system, using the scalpel of his own
transforming will. "We came here to talk about other
merchandise. We're here for Oph Nar Dinnid."
"Ah, yes!" Gheeta's eyes grew wider and more maniacal
as the IV tube pulsed like an artificial vein at the
wattles of his neck. "And the merchandise should always
be on the table, shouldn't it, before we can start
dealing-that's how you want things, isn't it? Then by all
means-"
The dangling mechanical hands suddenly shot forward
from beneath Gheeta's encasing shell and seized hold of
the edge of the dais's central platform. The remaining
florals, oozing sap from their broken petals, slid from
the top surface and landed wetly across the steps as the
thin metal arms tensed, lifting one side of the
rectangular shape. From the floating cylinder came a high-
pitched whine as the repulsor-beam engines strained
against the additional load. That was followed by the
grinding, tearing noise of decorative masonry being
ripped apart as the rectangular platform came loose from
the dais and tilted toward one side. Gheeta gave a final,
convulsive push, and the platform tore free and toppled
down the dais's encircling steps.
For a moment the panicked motion in the great
reception hall ebbed; the crash of the platform at the
feet of Boba Fett and the other bounty hunters had been
loud enough to distract the fleeing Shell Hutts from
their attempts at escape. At the exits, still blocked by
the insignialess mercenaries, the floating cylinders
turned, their wide-faced occupants looking back toward
the figures at the center of the vaulted space.
Plaster dust floated up from the wreckage of the
platform; it now looked like a coffin that had been
shattered open in a clumsy attempt at excavation, the
thin plastoid sides forced apart from each other by the
repeated impact of the steps. In the midst of the debris,
draped shroudlike by the embroidered cloth, with a single
broken-stemmed floral lying on its chest like a bad joke,
was a humanoid form, empty eye sockets gazing up at the
reception hall's distant ceiling. Without even looking at
the man's face, Boba Fett knew who it was.
"There's your Oph Nar Dinnid." Gheeta's voice came
from the top of the dais, gloating at the rubble strewn
across the floor. "Not such valuable merchandise now, is
he?"
From behind Boba Fett, the elder Shell Hutt Nullada
pushed forward, hard enough to shove Bossk and IG-88 to
one side; the riveted cylinder scraped sparks from the
unmoving armor of D'harhan. Fett looked over at the
massive figure hovering next to him and saw that
Nullada's face was quivering with rage. The silken lines
holding up the rolls of fat above the eyes and mouth were
shimmering like the bowstrings of an ancient projectile
weapon.
"This is madness!" As Nullada shouted at Gheeta he
shook one of his mechanical hands, clenched into a
compact fist. "Vengeance is one thing-we all desire
that-but now . . ." The old Shell Hutt sputtered with
incoherent anger. "Now you're interfering with business!
That creature was valuable to us. He was credits . . .
and now he's dead meat."
"Calm yourself." Gheeta sneered at the other Shell
Hutt. " 'Business' has been taken care of. Perhaps not to
your satisfaction, but to mine. And to the satisfaction
of the Narrant-system clan whose trade secrets our late
guest had stolen and was busily selling to us. I have
been in direct communication with the unfortunate victims
of Oph Nar Dinnid's larceny, and I encouraged them to set
a price on those trade secrets-not on what it would cost
to get those secrets back, but on what it would cost to
make sure that no one else would be privy to them. In
other words, the price of Oph Nar Dinnid's immediate
death. The clan made their calculations, named their
price, and I accepted on behalf of the Shell Hutts."
"You . . . you had no right to do that. . . ."
"That shows how old and senile you've become."
Gheeta's sneer turned even more withering. "You've
forgotten that there are no rights, except those that you
take unto yourself." The mechanical hands rose, claws
curling into sharp-edged fists. "Our treasury is richer
now for the dealing that I have done on my own
initiative."
"Idiot!" Thick drops of spittle flew from Nullada's
mouth. "There's no way that you could have gotten a price
from the Narrant system anywhere close to what the
information inside Dinnid's head was worth."
"Perhaps not." Gheeta's hands spread apart in a
gesture of unconcern. "But the price I got is paid now,
and not doled out over some twenty years to come. Credits
in one's pocket are worth more than the credits that
might be sprinkled someday over your grave." An ugly
smile welled up on his wide face, like inscribed
driftwood surfacing in rubbish-clogged waters. "A grave
that I think you'll be in sooner than I will be."
"Silence!" The roar was deafening; it came from
Bossk, thrusting himself to the foot of the steps that
surrounded the dais. One of his clawed hands shoved aside
the floating cylinder of the elder Shell Hutt Nullada.
With his other hand, Bossk stepped forward and grabbed
the front of the sprawled corpse's jacket, singed with
laser fire and stiff with dried blood. "I've heard enough
of your endless bickering-" He held the lifeless figure
of Oph Nar Dinnid up in front of himself, the corpse's
feet dangling inches above the tessellated floor. "This
is what we came here for?" The corpse danced like a loose-
limbed puppet as Bossk angrily shook it. No answer came
from Dinnid's slack mouth, the skin of his face turned as
pallid and gray as that of the surrounding Hutts. With an
inarticulate growl, Bossk flung the corpse back down into
the rubble of the dais's broken platform. "That
creature's been dead for weeks! I can smell his death on
him!" Bossk's nostrils flared back, showing his
involuntary disgust. Just as with Hutts, Trandoshans were
the type of carnivore that preferred its meat fresh. He
turned his slit-eyed glare toward Boba Fett. "He was dead
before we ever left the Bounty Hunters Guild. This is a
fool's errand you've brought us on!" The corner of one
scaly lip curled in a sneer. "The great Boba Fett, the
master of bounty hunters, and he didn't even know that
the merchandise was already worthless."
Boba Fett had known that that accusation would come
before long, and he had briefly debated with himself
about how to answer it. / could say nothing-he was not
given to explaining his actions and strategies to anyone,
let alone a crude, rapacious thug like Bossk. Or he could
lie to Bossk, tell him that he hadn't known, or even
suspected, that Oph Nar Dinnid had already been killed,
long before he'd assembled this team of bounty hunters to
come here to Circumtore. Or ...
"I knew," said Boba Fett quietly. "Why wouldn't I?
I've dealt with these creatures before, and I know how
their minds work. Especially"-he gestured toward Gheeta,
still floating at the top of the dais- "when what's left
of one's mind is eaten away with the desire for
vengeance."
"Wait a second." At Fett's other side, Zuckuss stared
at him, astonishment detectable even through the curved
lenses of the smaller bounty hunter's face mask. "You
knew all along? But if you knew that Oph Nar Dinnid had
already been killed . . . then there was no point in
coming here. ..."
"No point," growled Bossk, "unless Fett wanted to get
us all killed as well." He tilted his head toward the
perimeter of the great reception hall. The armed
mercenaries had stepped farther from the alcoves and
exits, herding the other Shell Hutts before them. "Is
that it?" Bossk turned his hard gaze back toward Boba
Fett. "Maybe you were feeling suicidal-maybe you're tired
of being a bounty hunter-so you decided to take some of
us with you. That's why you were so willing to hand over
our weapons and render us defenseless."
"Don't be an idiot." Fett returned the other's gaze.
"Or at least not any more of one than you have to be. You
may be without weapons-for the time being-but we were
never without defenses. No one walks naked into the midst
of creatures like thes e."
"No one . . . except somebody who's ready to die."
"I'll let you know," said Boba Fett, "when that time
comes. But right now I have other business to take care
of." He raised one arm, turning it so that the inside of
his wrist faced him; between that and his elbow was a
relay-linked control pad. With the forefinger of his
other gloved hand, Fett began punching out a command
sequence.
"Calling up your ship, are you?" Gheeta had caught
sight of what Boba Fett was doing. "Do you really believe
that your precious Slave I can get out of our landing
docks? It's sealed down tight with tractor beams. And
even if it could break away, what good would it do you?
It's as stripped of armaments as your pathetic selves."
Boba Fett ignored him. It was a long series of digits
to get past the control pad's encryption circuits, and
then another one to initiate the program he desired. That
one was buried years deep in his memory, but on matters
such as this, his memory was infallible. It had to be; in
circumstances such as this, he wasn't likely to be given
another chance.
"Is it a bluff, then?" The taunting voice of the
Shell Hutt came from atop the dais. "How sad for you to
think I'd fall for something as simpleminded as that. If
you want me to believe that you have some secret plan
that will save your skins, you'll have to do a lot better
than punching a few meaningless control buttons."
Standing next to Boba Fett, Zuckuss fidgeted and
gazed with alarm around the great reception hall. "Is
there a plan?" His eyes were like curved mirrors, showing
the distorted images of the dark-uniformed mercenaries.
"You have one, don't you?"
One of the other bounty hunters gave up waiting. With
a guttural curse in his native Trandoshan tongue, Bossk
reached down and snatched up a long, jagged-ended piece
of the wreckage from the dais's top platform. As he
lifted it shoulder-high, gripping one end with both his
clawed fists, a tiny strip of 1 bloodstained cloth
fluttered pennantlike, a scrap from the Dinnid corpse's
torn and charred clothing. "They're not taking me down
without a-"
Bossk's words were lost in the sudden roar of an
explosion. Its force struck Boba Fett, a surge of heat
and durasteel-hard pressure full against his chest. He
remained upright in the storm, his own weight already
braced against its impact. The visor of his helmet
flashed darker for a microsecond, to protect his sight
from the blinding glare. Sharp-edged pieces of debris
struck his shoulders, then were swept on by the billows
of smoke that poured out from where the dais and its
surrounding steps had been.
As the smoke began to thin, restoring visibility to
the center of the great reception hall, Boba Fett took
his gloved hand away from the control pad on his opposite
forearm. The command sequence, keyed to the long-dormant
receptor buried in the hall's foundation, had done its
job. Perfectly, just as it had been designed and he had
expected it to.
The explosion had caught Gheeta unawares- also as
Fett had expected-and its force had sent the Shell Hutt's
cylinder tumbling and crashing against one of the hall's
supporting pillars, hard enough to dent one of the
riveted plates and bend the column, its top wrenching
loose from the vaulted ceiling above. Gheeta's eyes were
dazed, bordering on unconsciousness; a rivulet of blood
seeped through the rolls and crevices of his broad face
from where the pharmaceutical IV line had been torn out
from the vein. The plastoid tube now lay on the rubble-
strewn ground like a dead serpent, its single fang
weeping drop after drop of a clear liquid.
Some distance behind Boba Fett, the larger cylinder
encasing the elder Nullada slowly righted itself, like a
planetary oceangoing vessel that had been swamped by a
tidal wave. The cylinder rolled from side to side as
Nullada groaned in dizzied confusion. The silken lines
holding up his face's obscuring rolls of blubbery tissue
had all snapped; his repulsive Hut-tese features, the
large yellowed eyes and slavering lipless mouth, appeared
and disappeared as gravity shifted the gray wattles back
and forth.
"What . . . what was ..." A gloved hand rose from the
tangled, still-smoking rubble directly in front of Boba
Fett. The explosion had knocked Zuckuss backward, his
breath mask covered with dust and gray flecks of ash. A
few broken scraps of construction material, the charred
remains of the dais's top platform, tumbled down his
chest as he struggled to raise himself up on his elbows.
"I can't ..."
Right now Boba Fett couldn't give the fallen Zuckuss
any assistance. The chaos into which the explosion had
plunged the great reception hall was still at a peak-past
the settling billows of smoke could be heard the cursing
and shouts of the armed mercenaries as the frightened
Shell Hutts gibbered and collided with each other and
their floating cylinders pushed toward the
building's exits. That wouldn't last long, Fett knew;
even security guards as ill-trained and poorly paid as
these would eventually be able to sort things out. He
stepped over the struggling body in front of him-one of
Zuckuss's gloved hands reached, but failed to catch hold
of Fett's boot-and strode quickly into the center of the
dais's smoldering wreckage.
As he reached down for the shock-protected container
of hardened durasteel that he knew would be there, a bolt
from a laser rifle shot a fraction of an inch to one side
of Boba Fett's head, then struck and sparked against a
pillar farther on. Fett quickly turned, his muscles
tensing to dive away from the angle of the following
shot-
There wasn't one. The dark-uniformed mercenary that
had come sprinting into the hall's center, rifle lifted,
was felled by a long section of rubble swung level into
his gilt. His momentum folded him around the improvised
weapon; the mercenary then collapsed onto his face as
Bossk's clawed fist struck him with a vertebra-cracking
blow to the back of the neck. Bossk threw away the piece
of scrap and scooped up the mercenary's blaster rifle.
Fett saw a look of fierce delight in the Trandoshan's
eyes as Bossk whipped the rifle around, a level arc of
bright fire cutting through the smoke and across the
other mercenaries who had been foolish enough to move
away from the security of the perimeter alcoves.
That'll hold them for a while, thought Boba Fett as
he tugged at the end handle of the tube-shaped container,
caught tight by the rubble collapsed around it. More
laser bolts stitched the air around him with their
burning tracery; he glanced over his shoulder and saw
Bossk, standing with legs braced wide apart, squeeze the
blaster rifle's trigger stud with wild disregard for the
counterfire now coming from all directions. IG-88, with
the cold rationality typical of droids, had grabbed the
weapon of another dark-uniformed figure, that had been
cut nearly in half by one of Bossk's initial shots;
crouching down behind the corpse and a jagged sheet of
bent plastoid construction material, IG-88 carefully
aimed and picked off its targets.
Another sight had caught Boba Fett's eye even as he
wrapped both hands around the durasteel tube's molded
grip, braced his boot sole against the singed remnants of
one of the platform's side panels, and tugged harder; as
he tilted back, arms locked straight down to the tube, a
laser shot sizzled through the exact space in which his
head had just been. The streak of light temporarily set
his helmet visor blind and opaque, so that it was only
behind his eyelids that Boba Fett could still see the
image of D'harhan, roused from his silent torpor by the
sounds of combat echoing inside the great reception
hall's spaces. As the mercenaries' fire streaked past
D'harhan like a giant spiderweb set aflame, the barrel of
the laser cannon, inert and silenced, rose upward, as
though it were the neck and head of some primeval beast,
taunted to madness by its captors. The optics of the
cannon's tracking systems pulsed red through the clouds
of hissing steam emitted from the apertures of the black
metal housing; as the reptilelike balancing tail thrashed
behind him D'harhan's arms spread wide, black-gloved
hands clawing into themselves, trembling with their
thwarted desire for destruction. A keening, wordless howl
sounded from deep within the machinery curving into the
creature's heart.
The visor of Boba Fett's helmet cleared as he looked
back down at the container trapped in the dais's
wreckage. Another tug, putting all of his weight and
force into it, and the metal tube finally scraped through
the debris, shedding flakes of rust. A dot of green light
beside the handle told Fett that the container's seal was
still intact, the object inside still as primed and ready
to go as it had been when first hidden here, during the
construction of the great reception hall.
With a last dragging rasp of metal against metal, the
tubular container came free. Boba Fett caught himself
from toppling backward, then cradled the heavy object in
his arms. As he turned he saw Zuckuss pulling himself
upright, a few meters away. The disorienting effects of
the explosion had obviously faded from inside the smaller
bounty hunter's head; Fett could see the enlightenment
behind the other's insectoid eyes, the sudden
understanding of all that Zuckuss had been told before.
Surrounded by the nois e and quick glare of laser bolts,
he even managed a slight nod of acknowledgment, to show
that he had just now realized what Boba Fett had meant
when he had told him those few fragments of the deal that
had been struck between a bounty hunter and an architect.
An investment, that pays off later. In a big way . . .
"Here!" That was Bossk's shout, from a few meters
away. Another mercenary, braver or stupider than the
rest, had come charging head down toward the Trandoshan,
and had actually gotten close enough that Bossk had taken
him out with a single blow to the chin, swinging the butt
of the blaster rifle around in an upward arc. Another jab
of the rifle butt, right between the mercenary's eyes,
had made sure he'd be no further trouble. "Get busy!"
Bossk had reached down and grabbed a blaster pistol from
the holster slung at the fallen mercenary's hip, and now
tossed it underhand to Zuckuss. "We could use a little
help!"
Zuckuss caught the blaster in both hands and
continued holding it that way as he pressed the trigger
stud, sending a wild spray of fire across the reception
hall as he rolled onto his shoulder, dodging the bolt
that dug a molten gash through the floor where he had
been kneeling.
The added fire gave Boba Fett enough cover that he
could turn with the durasteel tube in his arms and sprint
toward D'harhan, still howling in impotent rage at the
glaring blaster streaks that laced through the reddened
clouds of steam. Before he had taken more than a couple
of steps away from the dais wreckage, a pair of thin
mechanical arms wrapped themselves around Boba Fett's
neck, their crablike claws scrabbling at the visor of his
helmet.
Eyes starting from their fat-swaddled sockets, the
Shell Hutt Gheeta squealed in maddened rage; blood webbed
his broad face as the force of his encasing cylinder's
repulsors knocked Boba Fett off balance. Fett managed to
remain standing; for a split second he was lifted almost
clear of the red-spattered floor as Gheeta dragged him
upward by the neck. Then he twisted around in the Shell
Hutt's sharp-edged grasp and swung the length of the tube-
shaped container around into the side of Gheeta's skull.
The impact left a trenchlike dent in the gray, wobbling
flesh; Gheeta's eyes went unfocused as the crablike me
chanical hands flopped apart, dropping Boba Fett.
There wasn't time, as much as Fett might have wanted,
to finish off Gheeta. From the other side of the great
reception hall, beyond the erect, howling figure of
D'harhan, a volley of blaster fire singed past Fett. With
the container tucked under one arm, he grabbed the bolted
seams of Gheeta's floating cylinder, gloved fingertips
digging a hold on to the metal. Gheeta's dazed eyes
rolled as Boba Fett shoved the cylinder ahead of himself
as a shield. A frightened scream escaped from the Shell
Hutt's mouth as the mercenaries' laser bolts stung and
sparked against the cylinder's curved flank.
When he reached D'harhan, he shoved Gheeta aside;
with enough force to send him bobbing and twisting into
the cross fire that filled the center of the reception
hall. The immense form of D'harhan reared above Boba
Fett, the inert laser cannon shrouded by hissing steam,
the heavy arms crucified against the glare of the
mercenaries' rifle fire. Above the cannon's barrel, the
optics of D'harhan's tracking systems focused upon the
helmeted figure stepping within range of the tearing
hands.
Boba Fett halted; with one quick motion, he unscrewed
the end cap of the tube-shaped container. The seal
hissed, higher-pitched than the steam escaping from the
laser cannon's black metal housing, as air rushed into
the vacuum. Tilting the container, Fett slid out a fully
charged reactor core. He lifted one end of the core in
his hands as though he were aiming a rifle, then stepped
forward and thrust it into the gaping hole of the
receptor site in D'harhan's chest.
When they had been aboard the Slave I, D'harhan had
howled with the pain of an essence-deep violation as Boba
Fett had drawn out a core just like this one. Now a sharp
intake of breath sounded inside the throat hidden beneath
the laser cannon's barrel; D'harhan's back arched, his
segmented tail thrashing convulsively across the broken
rubble around him. Every neuron and sinew of D'harhan's
frame tensed and surged in sync with his accelerating
pulse as the bounty hunter's fist turned inside the
exposed chest, locking the reactor core into place.
The pulse of D'harhan's blood seemed to shatter the
barrier between flesh and machine as the indicator lights
along the laser cannon's housing flashed in a microsecond
from yellow to a fiery red. As Boba Fett slammed the
locking armature into its socket, then spun and dived for
the floor, the cannon barrel swung down from nearly
vertical to aiming level. The heat from D'harhan's first
shot scorched Fett's spine and shoulder blades as he used
the corpse of another dead mercenary to pull himself to a
safe distance.
He found the mercenary's blaster rifle and held it to
his chest as he rolled onto his back. Pushing himself up
with one hand, Fett saw another cannon bolt, a hundred
times wider and more destructive than the other shots
cutting across the great reception hall's space, enough
to rip a hole through the light armor of an Imperial
cruiser. And more than enough to reduce one entire wing
of the building to charred splinters. Through the rising
dust of fractured stone, Boba Fett could hear the screams
and shouts of the Shell Hutts and their hired thugs as
one pillar and then another toppled into the center of
the hall, bringing down a section of roof and exposing
the dark sky of Circumtore.
D'harhan turned where he stood, segmented metal tail
bracing himself against the recoil of the laser cannon
borne by his shoulders and torso. The cannon's barrel
rocked back in its housing as another white-hot bolt
coursed across the hall, scattering a knot of
mercenaries. The screams of the Shell Hutts actually
diminished, their panic having increased to the point
where all notion of escape had been abandoned.
Tortoiselike, each one drew his head back into the safety
of his floating cylinder; when the last throat wattle was
past the circular metal collar at the front of the
cylinder, a ring of crescent blades irised toward the
opening's center, sealing off the Shell Hutt inside. The
blind cylinders bobbed and collided with each other,
pushed and spun by the blaster fire striking their
riveted plates.
A few meters away from Boba Fett, a blaster shot went
straight toward the reception hall's ceiling; a quick
glance to the side showed him that a shot from one of the
mercenaries had struck Bossk at one side of his chest,
knocking the Trandoshan off his feet and sending him
splayed out on the dais's smoldering rubble. Fett
swiveled the rifle in his hands and blew away the
mercenary, a broken corpse even before he hit the floor.
Another one of the mercenaries had taken command of
the remaining dark-uniformed figures; Boba Fett could see
the man at the hall's perimeter, signaling to the others
and directing their fire. The aim of their blaster rifles
turned away from Fett, as well as IG-88 and Zuckuss. A
concentrated volley singed the air past the three bounty
hunters. Crouching down, Boba Fett turned and saw
D'harhan standing in the middle of the fusillade, like a
watchtower braced against the onslaught of a storm; the
blaster fire sowed hot sparks across the black metal, as
though each hit was a lightning strike seen through
illuminated clouds.
D'harhan managed to get off one more shot of his own
before he was cut down. The laser cannon roared, its
massive bolt ripping open another section of the flame-
scorched walls and scattering one wing of the
mercenaries. Metal could have stood up to their fire even
longer, but D'harhan's flesh was weaker than that; the
torso beneath the laser cannon's housing was now wrapped
in bloodied rags. His knees slowly gave way, and he
toppled forward. The cannon's barrel struck the floor as
though it had been one of the roof pillars giving way,
gouging out a meter-long trench.
He was still alive; Boba Fett could see the laboring
of D'harhan's heart and lungs, the rise of the blood-
smeared chest forcing itself against the curved mount of
the laser-cannon housing. The black-gloved hands rose and
tore feebly at the wounds, as though death were something
that could be plucked from the torn flesh and exposed
fragments of breastbone and rib.
The cannon was alive as well; the indicators along
the barrel showed an unblinking red, bright through the
hissing steam. All it needed was a hand on the triggering
mechanism, and the will to fire. ...
Boba Fett threw away the blaster rifle he had taken
from one of the dead mercenaries. Ducking beneath the
fiery bolts crisscrossing the reception hall, he stepped
behind the massive bulk of the fallen D'harhan; with his
own adrenaline-charged strength, he gripped the
semiconscious figure beneath the arms and half dragged,
half lifted him up against the base of a broken pillar. A
sudden gasp sounded from within the other's body as Fett
grabbed and yanked loose the thick neural-feed cables
that had been connected to D'harhan's spine, the hard-
spliced socket just between his shoulder blades. The
laser cannon's aiming systems automatically went into
manual override status; Boba Fett crouched behind the
black metal housing as the barrel swung upward.
And into firing position. A small screen tucked
underneath the rear of the housing lit up, with a
crosshair grid zeroing in on the mercenaries positioned
at the far side of the great reception hall. The barrel
turned slightly as Boba Fett's hand jabbed at the
controls, seeking a specific target; the grid's lines
narrowed in and locked on the one dark-uniformed figure
who had taken command of the others. Long-range thermal
sensors in the laser cannon's tracking systems gave a
clear outline of the mercenary behind a shield of bent
and torn plastoid construction material. Enough to hide
behind . . . but not enough to protect him. Fett hit the
cannon's firing stud. The weapon's recoil trembled the
black metal housing, its shock traveling all the way up
his arms and into his own chest.
The single bolt from the laser cannon took out most
of the remaining mercenaries. When Boba Fett raised his
head from behind the housing, he sighted through the
clouds of steam, hissing louder now to dissipate the heat
from the metal. The far side of the hall was gone now;
the violet-tinged light of Circum-tore's skies was framed
by twisted structural beams, their ends glowing molten.
Across the open plaza beyond the reception hall, the
bodies of the mercenary commander and the ones who had
died with him were scattered like broken toys. Inside the
hall, the few that were left alive had ceased firing,
pointing the muzzles of their weapons up toward the
ceiling; the brutal effectiveness of the laser cannon had
set them to reconsidering their ill-paid devotion to the
cause for which Gheeta had hired them. A couple of the
mercenaries-the smartest of them, Boba Fett figured-made
a show of tossing their blaster rifles onto the debris-
covered floor in front of them, then raising their hands
above their heads.
"Cowards! Traitors!" A hysterical cry came from
behind Boba Fett. With his hands still on the controls of
the laser cannon, he turned his head and saw the repulsor-
borne cylinder of the Shell Hutt Gheeta come darting
forward into the center of the reception hall's ruins. "I
paid you for results," shouted Gheeta, "not for you to
run away and hide!" The crablike mechanical arms shook in
impotent fury. "Get him! Now!" The floating cylinder
turned as Gheeta jabbed a claw in Boba Fett's direction.
"I order you

Gheeta's words broke off as he saw the laser cannon's
barrel swiveling toward him. His eyes widened in their
fat-heavy sockets as the indicator lights glowed an even
brighter red, as though they were points of blood
squeezed out by Boba Fett's hands tightening on the black
metal.
"No..." Gheeta moaned in sudden fright. The crablike
arms fluttered in front of him as the cylinder started to
back away. "Don't..." He pulled his head back inside the
cylinder's collar, which then began to iris shut.
But not fast enough. Boba Fett pushed forward on the
laser cannon's housing; steam hissed between his gloved
fingers as he lowered his shoulder and put his weight
into the thrust. Dragging the still-breathing body of
D'harhan along, the weapon's barrel lurched forward. The
black metal muzzle, shimmering with residual heat,
slammed into the vacated collar of Gheeta's floating
cylinder just as the curved blades of the seal mechanism
locked down tight upon it.
Boba Fett shifted his weight, now pushing down upon
the rear of the laser-cannon housing. The barrel angled
upward, with the Shell Hutt's cylinder attached like a
ripe gourdfruit. When the barrel had reached its maximum
elevation, Fett struck the firing stud with his fist.
All eyes in the great reception hall-those of the
other bounty hunters, the mercenaries left alive, even
the other Shell Hutts who were brave enough to unseal the
fronts of their cylinders when the fighting had
quieted-turned toward the tapered metal shape that for a
moment stood aloft on the black stem of the laser cannon.
A few of the observers flinched, but continued watching
as the weapon sounded its snarling roar, only slightly
muffled by the object clamped onto the barrel's muzzle.
The sound of the laser cannon's bolt echoed through
the great reception hall, then faded like the last
thunder of a storm broken by daylight. Lightning had
flashed, contained with the cylinder caught at the end of
the cannon's barrel; it had burst through the seams of
the bolted durasteel plates, sending a rain of white-hot
rivets arcing across the space and landing like sizzling
hail on the rubble left by the battle. When the light of
the laser-cannon bolt was gone, as quickly as it had
flashed into being, the plates of the Shell Hutt's
cylinder were singed around their edges; they rattled
dully against each other as the cylinder contracted
again, the surge of energy that had forced it larger now
only an afterimage burned into the observers' eyes.
Boba Fett lowered the laser cannon's barrel, and the
cylinder slid off the end of its muzzle. The cylinder
fell to the great reception hall's floor with a lifeless
clang. Slowly, a red pool formed around it as Gheeta's
liquefied corpse seeped through the joins between the
plates and out the empty rivet holes.
"Just as well," wheezed another Shell Hutt's voice.
The elder Nullada floated toward the dead cylinder; it
looked like a mechanical egg, cracked but not yet peeled
of its metal shell. The claws of one of Nullada's
crablike arms held back the roll of blubbery tissue over
his eyes; with the other he prodded the side of what had
been Gheeta's metal casing. Silently, the cylinder rolled
back and forth in the red mire. "He had already made more
of a nuisance of himself than he had any right to."
That statement, Boba Fett figured, would probably be
the extent of Gheeta's obituary. Hutts of any variety
were not given to sentimentality. If the late Gheeta had
left any estate after having paid off the Narrant-system
liege-holder clan and hiring this band of
mercenaries-though he had probably gotten them fairly
cheap-the remaining assets would be quickly picked apart
and swallowed up by the other Shell Hutts. Nullada
himself would no doubt take the largest bite.
At the elder Shell Hutt's direction, a couple of the
dark-uniformed mercenaries had come over and dragged Oph
Nar Dinnid's body out from under the wreckage of the
central dais. "Most distressing," said Nullada, with
genuine if predacious regret. "This is what happens when
someone lets their emotions get in the way of business.
We could have gotten a lot more from those parties with
an interest in this matter."
Boba Fett wasn't listening to the old Shell Hutt.
With Zuckuss and IG-88 watching him, the weapons in their
hands lowered, he laid D'harhan's body down upon the
floor. The laser-cannon barrel turned and slowly came to
rest, its muzzle scraping through the charred debris.
D'harhan's black-gloved hands fumbled for the voice
box clipped to his waist. The rise and fall of his chest,
pinned by the cannon's curved mount, was quick and
labored as a single fingertip punched out a message.
Kneeling beside him, Boba Fett looked at the words
glowing on the box's screen.
I SHOULD NOT HAVE TRUSTED YOU.
"That's right," said Fett, with a single nod. "That
was your mistake."
you're wrong. The fingertip moved with agonizing
slowness. it was ... my decision. . . .
Fett said nothing. He waited for the rest of
D'harhan's silent words.
i can stop now . . . but you . .. The black-gloved
fingertip moved from letter to letter on the voice box's
keypad. you still must go on. ...
The hand fell away from the box. D'harhan's forearm
struck the ground beside his body. There was no more
breath or pulse lifting his chest; after a moment Boba
Fett reached over and switched off the last of the laser
cannon's red-lit controls.
He stood up and turned toward the other bounty
hunters. "We're done here," said Fett. "Now we can go."

17

Zuckuss looked up into the old Trandoshan's eyes,
into the black slits of that hard reptilian gaze. And
said, "Everything happened the way you wanted it to."
"Good." Cradossk slowly nodded as he turned away. "I
expected that."
I bet you did, thought Zuckuss. Being back here in
the private quarters of the Bounty Hunters Guild's leader
gave him the creeps. This was where Cradossk had sucked
him into the distasteful little conspiracy that would
result in Bossk's death. It struck Zuckuss, not for the
first time, that these Trandoshans were indeed cold-
blooded, right down to the marrow of their fenestrated
bones. The only thing that could account for their hot
tempers was the strength of their carnivorous appetites.
That cold blood had never been more in evidence than
just now, when he had told Cradossk the details of what
had happened on Circumtore.
"You saw it?" Cradossk had demanded an eyewitness
verification of his son's death. "You saw him take the
shot?"
"Right in the chest," Zuckuss had answered. "He
didn't get up after that." His own blood had chilled when
he spotted the little smile on Cradossk's face.
"You came straight here?" Cradossk didn't turn around
to look at him again, but continued idly fiddling with a
couple of pieces from the bone chamber at the far end of
the spacious suite. "As soon as you la nded?" The pieces
were yellowy white, slender and curved; Zuckuss's own
ribs twinged in painful sympathy as he recognized what
they were. "You didn't talk to anyone else?"
The tubes of his face mask's breathing apparatus
swung back and forth as he shook his head. "No one. Those
were your orders. When . . . you know . . . when you gave
me the job."
He was still sorry he'd agreed to it. Even though
he'd come back from Circumtore with his own skin
relatively intact, if somewhat bruised and battered from
the action in the Shell Hutts' great reception hall.
Going along with someone who'd been making arrangements
to get his own son killed-which was what the whole futile
journey to acquire an already dead piece of merchandise
had been about-still turned him somewhat queasy. Maybe
Boba Fett's right, he mused bleakly. Maybe I'm not really
cut out for the bounty-hunter trade.
"I'm glad to see that you can follow orders."
Cradossk held the rib bone up close to his aging eyes.
The name of the vanquished foe to which it had once
belonged was incised along its length, the marks
scratched there by one of his own foreclaws. "I'm
impressed with your . . . loyalty. And your intelligence.
Both of those attributes will stand you in good stead in
the difficult times before us." He sighed, lowering the
memento of past glories, his gaze focusing on some far-
off horizon. "How I wish that my son had possessed
similar qualities. Or to put it another way-" He turned
his head just enough to cast a sidelong glance at the
younger bounty hunter. "If only someone such as yourself
had been my offspring."
Sure, thought Zuckuss. He kept himself from showing
any other reaction. And wind up dead, the first time you
started feeling paranoid? No thanks.
"Mark my words." Cradossk's gnarled claws gripped the
bone as though it were a club suitable for thrashing
miscreants. His voice rumbled lower, matching the heavy
scowl on his scaly face. "If the other bounty hunters of
your generation were as smart as you-and respectful of
their elders' wisdom-then a great deal of trouble could
be avoided. But they have . . . ideas of their own." He
spoke the word with loathing. "Just as my son did. That's
why it was so important that he be eliminated, and in a
way that would not appear to have been from my conniving
at that result. This way ... to have it happen on a world
far from here, and among clever, greedy creatures such as
the Shell Hutts ... it makes his death seem the
inevitable consequence of his own stupidity and
incompetence. So much for his new ideas." Cradossk
sneered. "The old ways are the best ways. Especially when
it comes to killing other creatures."
"You'd know," muttered Zuckuss under his breath.
"Did you say something?" Cradossk glanced over at
him.
Zuckuss shook his head. "It was a bubble." He pointed
to the dangling air tubes. "In my gear."
"Ah." Cradossk resumed his contemplation of his long-
dead enemy's rib, letting it evoke deep, musing thoughts.
"It's good to remember these things. To be wise. More
than wise; cunning. Because"-he nodded slowly-"there's
going to be a lot more killing before everything's
straightened out around here."
"What do you mean?" He already knew what the old
Trandoshan meant, but asked anyway. The creaky old
carnivore wants to talk, Zuckuss told himself, / should
let him talk. It was only polite, and it didn't cost him
anything. Besides-other things were going to happen that
Cradossk probably didn't know about. And those things
took time to get ready.
He heard a slight noise from the doorway. Glancing
over his shoulder, he saw Cradossk's majordomo, the
Twi'lek that was always sneaking around the place, on his
own and others' shadowy errands. Ob Fortuna held one of
his elongated forefingers to his lips, signaling Zuckuss
to remain silent himself. From the corner of one large
eye, Zuckuss looked over at the leader of the Bounty
Hunters Guild; the old reptilian was still sunk deep in
his brooding meditations. Zuckuss and the Twi'lek ex
changed a quick nod, and the Twi'lek scurried away, down
the Guild's dark corridors.
"Now's not the time to start playing stupid." The
ancient rib cracked in two, with a splintered fragment in
each of Cradossk's tightly squeezed fists. He looked in
angry surprise at what he'd just done, then tossed the
relic's pieces away. He shot a hard-eyed gaze over his
shoulder at Zuckuss. "Don't try telling me you're not
smart enough to know what's going on around here."
"Well . . ."
"Bossk was only the first one. The first that had to
be eliminated." A bone shard had been left on the back of
Cradossk's hand, caught underneath one of his rough-edged
scales. He extracted it and used it to pick his fangs,
nodding in grim thought all the while. "There will be
others; I've got a list."
I bet you do, thought Zuckuss.
"Not all of them young and foolish, either." Cradossk
examined a still-wriggling fragment of food on the end of
the improvised toothpick, then resumed his meditative
work with it. "Some of my oldest and most trusted
advisers . . . bounty hunters that I've known and supped
blood with for decades ... so to speak . . ." He ruefully
shook his head. "I should've anticipated it-but then
again, how could I? I loved these killers."
"Anticipated what?" Zuckuss knew that as well, but
figured the question would keep Cradossk going awhile
longer. By his calculations, the Twi'lek major-domo would
need a little while longer to finish up his
conspiratorial rounds.
"Traitors . . . backstabbers ..." Cradossk's voice
was a low, muttering growl. "That's what you get in this
galaxy for being nice to creatures. Taking them in when
they were runny-nosed little scavengers who wouldn't have
known how to get their claws on a piece of merchandise if
it'd been given to them with a ribbon tied around it. I
taught most of these Guild members everything there is to
know about this business."
"I imagine that's quite a lot."
"You better believe it," Cradossk said fiercely.
"There's parts of the bounty-hunter trade that I in
vented. And if these scum think they can get it all away
from me . . ." He chomped down on the bone toothpick,
grinding it between his back fangs. "They'd better think
again."
"What particular scum are you talking about?"
Cradossk's mention of a list still had Zuckuss worried.
The old Trandoshan might have gone senile, perhaps
forgetting just who he was talking to. Just my luck,
thought Zuckuss glumly, to find my own name on there.
"They know who they are. The same as I know. Though
maybe . . ." Cradossk gave another slow nod. "Maybe I
shouldn't take any chances. Maybe I should just have
everyone killed. Wipe clean the whole roster of the
Bounty Hunters Guild. Start fresh ..."
Great, thought Zuckuss. He had been warned about
this, by Boba Fett on the way back from Circumtore. Up in
the Slave I's cockpit area, Fett had given him another
insight into the way Cradossk's mind worked. The
Trandoshan had always been paranoid, long before he had
clawed to the top of the Bounty Hunters Guild. Arguably,
a personality trait like that was what had enabled him to
do it, or had at least helped. Hard on his associates,
though, figured Zuckuss.
"But first," said Cradossk, "we'll get rid of the
obvious targets. The ones who have already announced
their intentions, to either take over the Guild or split
from it and set up a new bounty-hunters organization of
their own. As if I'd ever let that happen."
Zuckuss and the others returning from Circum-tore had
already heard about these developments over the Slave I's
comm unit. The breakaway faction was eager to get as many
Guild members onto its side as possible-especially the
great Boba Fett and anyone associated with him. Just
having been on the team Fett had assembled for the Oph
Nar Dinnid job meant that Zuckuss and IG-88 were now
being heavily courted by the bounty hunters who wanted to
go out on their own, with an organization that wasn't
controlled by the elders such as Cradossk. Always
pleasant to be wanted, he supposed-as long as Cradossk
and his loyalists didn't get the notion that he had
switched allegiances.
"All of them?" It would be better, Zuckuss figured,
if he kept the old Trandoshan brooding about creatures
who weren't here in his chamber with him. "I mean-like
you said-some of them have been with the Bounty Hunters
Guild for a long time. Since the beginning; or at least,
since you took over."
"Those are the ones I'm going to enjoy getting rid
of." An ugly smile showed on Cradossk's face, as though
he were already relishing the details of that process.
"The younger bounty hunters could almost be excused for
being stupid. They haven't been around long enough to
know any better. But the others, the veteran bounty
hunters, who've thrown in their lot with them-they could
have predicted how I'd react to their treachery, their
assault upon the sanctity of our brotherhood."
Zuckuss rolled his eyes upward; it was just as well
that Cradossk couldn't see that reaction. He'd found out
that brotherhood with carnivores, at least of the
Trandoshan variety, was a negotiable concept.
"There's big changes coming," said Cradossk.
"Everybody who's said that has been right-and will
continue to be so. The Bounty Hunters Gui ld will be
different from what it was before; this galaxy belongs to
Emperor Palpatine now, and we'll just have to deal with
that. If this breakaway faction had just bided" their
time and remained loyal to the Guild, they very likely
would have gotten everything they want."
"Except," Zuckuss pointed out, "for getting rid of
you."
Cradossk shot him a glance of venomous fury, enough
to push him back a step with its intangible force.
"That's right," he growled. "That's the one thing that's
not going to happen. Count on it. The Bounty Hunters
Guild is going to be a lot smaller than it was before-a
lot of dead wood is going to be cleared away. I admit I
should've seen it sooner, myself; that some of the elders
in the organization have lost their edge. Well, they'll
be gone before very much longer, whether they made the
mistake of going with the breakaway faction or whether
they're still sucking up to me. There's going to be a lot
of blank spaces in the organizational chart; that means
room for advancement. Room for someone . . . like you."
He reached over and tapped a claw against Zuckuss's
chest, right below the dangling tubes of the breathing
apparatus. "A smart, young bounty hunter such as yourself
could do pretty well. If you play your cards right."
"I'll ... try to do my best."
"Ah, don't worry about it." Cradossk pulled the claw
back and scratched his scaly chin. "The main thing you
have to do is-be careful who you choose to follow, and
who you choose as your associates. You've made a good
start by letting yourself become a tool of my intentions.
Don't screw it all up by thinking you can also be friends
with . . . certain other parties."
"Like who?"
Cradossk didn't answer him for a moment. The old
Trandoshan's gaze drifted again to some inner point of
contemplation. "You know," he said finally, "as
inevitable as I suppose this all is, it had to be brought
to this crisis by one individual. If it hadn't been for
him-the Bounty Hunters Guild might have continued as it
was for quite a while, Emperor or no Emperor."
Zuckuss knew the individual to whom he referred. "You
mean Boba Fett?"
"Who else?" Cradossk gave a slow nod, as though in
admiration of that absent other. "It's all because of
him. Everything that has happened, and that is going to
happen; all the changes, and all the deaths. Well . . .
most of them, at any rate. He is the unaccountable factor
that has been entered into the equation. It makes you
wonder . . . what were his real reasons for journeying
here."
"But he told us," said Zuckuss. "When he first
arrived. Because of all the changes, with the Empire and
everything else-"
"And you believed him?" Cradossk shook his head.
"Time for another lesson, child. There is no one you can
trust-least of all someone who trades in the deaths and
defeats of others. You can trust Boba Fett now, if you
wish, but I promise you The day will come when you'll
regret it."
A chill ran through Zuckuss's spirit, or whatever was
left of it after having become a bounty hunter. Part of
him knew that the old Trandoshan had spoken truly;
another part hoped that the day he had foretold was still
a long way off.
"Well ... I better be going." Zuckuss gestured toward
the door of the private quarters. "There's still a lot I
have to take care of." He was pretty sure that the
Twi'lek majordomo would have had enough time by now to
contact everyone that needed to be. "You know . . . since
coming back from the job . . ."
"Of course." Cradossk bent down and picked up the
pieces of the shattered rib bone. "I've got to learn to
control my temper." Clutching the white splinters in one
clawed hand, he smiled at Zuckuss. "Or do you think it's
just too late for that?"
Zuckuss had stepped back toward the door. "To be
truthful ..." He reached behind himself and grasped the
door's edge. "It's too late."
"I suppose you're right." Cradossk looked suddenly
older, as though weighed down with the burdens of
leadership. Carrying the broken trophy from his younger
days, he shuffled toward the entrance of the bone
chamber, the repository of all his precious memories.
"It's always too late. . . ."
The door to the private quarters creaked as Zuckuss
pulled it farther open, but he didn't step out to the
corridor beyond. He stayed where he was so he could watch
what he knew was about to happen.
Which took place within seconds Cradossk found his
way blocked by his offspring Bossk. The younger
Traridoshan stood with his arms folded across his chest;
a wide smile split his face as he gazed down into his
father's startled eyes.
"But . . ." Cradossk gaped at his son. "You . . .
you're supposed to be dead. ..."
"I know that was the plan," said Bossk, with feigned
mildness. "But I made some changes to it."
Cradossk whirled about, looking back toward the
private-quarters door and Zuckuss. "You lied!"
"Not entirely." Zuckuss gave a small shrug. "Just the
bit about him not getting up again after he was shot."
With a single foreclaw, Bossk pointed to the sterile
bandage running diagonally across his chest, from one
shoulder and under the opposite arm. "It really hurt," he
said, still smiling. "But it didn't kill me. You should
know how hard our species is to get rid of. And
also-whatever doesn't destroy one of us just makes us
that much more pissed off."
A look of panic appeared in Cradossk's yellowed eyes;
he took a step backward from the figure looming in front
of him. "Now wait a minute. . . ." The bone shards fell
on the floor as he raised his scaly hands, palms outward.
"I think you might be making some . . . rash assumptions
here. . . ."
One of Bossk's hands shot out, grabbing his father by
the throat. "No, I'm not." The smile was gone from his
face. On the other side of the private quarters, Zuckuss
could see the red anger tingeing the younger Trandoshan's
eyes. "I'm making the same assumption I made a long time
ago, before I ever left for Circumtore. And you know what
that is? It's that there isn't room in the Bounty Hunters
Guild for both you and me."
"I ... I don't know what you're talking about. . . ."
Cradossk grabbed the other's wrist, in a futile attempt
to ease his hold and get another breath into his own
lungs. "The Guild... the Guild is for all of us. ..."
"I'm talking about the same thing you were talking
about, just now." With his other hand, Bossk pointed a
clawed thumb back toward the unlit depths of the bone
chamber behind him. "I was in there the whole time the
two of you have been blabbing away. And I heard
everything you said. All that stuff about clearing out
the undesirables from the Bounty Hunters Guild. And you
know what?" Bossk tightened his hold, his fist at
Cradossk's throat lifting the older Trandoshan up onto
the claws of his toes. "I agree with you about all that.
You're absolutely right The Guild is going to be a lot
smaller. Real soon.'"
"Don't... don't be an idiot...." Cradossk managed to
summon up a reserve of courage. "You can't kill me ...
and get away with it...." His claws dug deeper into
Bossk's wrist, enough to let a trickle of blood seep down
his son's forearm. "I've got . . . connections . . .
friends. . . ." His voice became weaker and more
fragmented as the hold at this throat constricted
tighter. "All the . . . council of elders..."
"Those old fools?" Bossk sneered at his father. "I'm
afraid you're a little behind the times; there have been
things happening already that you just don't know about.
Maybe if you didn't waste so many hours in here, mumbling
and fondling your moldy reminders of past glories, these
things wouldn't have sneaked up on you quite so fast."
Still holding Cradossk upright, he turned and slammed the
older reptilian against the table outside the bone
chamber's entrance; the impact against his spine visibly
dazed Cradossk. "Some of your old friends, your beloved
elders, have already seen the light; they've come over to
my side. In fact, some of them have been on my side for
quite a while, just waiting for the right moment to-shall
we say?-force your retirement. One way or another." The
elaborate wording, so much different from Bossk's usual
blunt speech, was a cruel way of toying with his father.
"Of course, some of the elders weren't so smart; they per
sisted in their folly. Right up to the end."
"What . . ." Cradossk could barely squeeze any words
out at all. "What do you mean . . . ?"
"Oh, come on. What do you think I mean?" Bossk looked
disgusted. "Let's just say there are going to be some
fresh acquisitions in my little trophy chamber. The
skulls of some of your old friends will look very nice
mounted on its walls-"
"Watch out!" Zuckuss shouted a warning to Bossk.
As Cradossk had fallen back against the table one of
his hands had reached back and grasped an ornate
ceremonial dagger; the gems embedded in its hilt flashed
as he swung his arm around, the point of the blade aiming
straight for Bossk's throat.
There was no way for Bossk to avoid the blade; if he
had leaned back, the movement would only have presented a
wider target for the blade to slash across. Instead, he
lowered his head, catching the razor-sharp edge with the
corner of his brow. The impact of flesh and bone against
metal was enough to knock the weapon out of his father's
hand and send it spinning off into a far corner of the
room.
Ta king a hand from his father's throat, Bossk wiped
away the blood seeping down through his face scales and
into his eyes. "Now that," he said with eerie self-
possession, "didn't hurt at all." With a shake of his
head, he sent blood spattering across Cradossk's face, as
though sealing the bright ideogram of a death sentence
there. "But I promise you- this will."
From the doorway, Zuckuss could hear shouts and
blaster fire coming from somewhere else in the Guild
compound. That didn't surprise him; it had been pretty
much what he'd been expecting since the Twi'lek majordomo
had gone off to notify the others in the breakaway
faction.
He turned back toward Cradossk's private quarters and
watched the rest of what happened in there. For as long
as he could. Then he stepped out into the corridor,
shaking his head.
Bossk was certainly right about one thing, he had to
admit. It did take a lot to kill a Trandoshan.

The sound of the breakaway faction's weapons was
heard even farther away.
Not literally; the news was reported secondhand to
Kud'ar Mub'at. "Ah," the assembler purred, "that is most
excellent!" Identifier had relayed all the details to him
as they had come in from the listener nodes embedded in
the web's fibrous exterior. "Isn't it pleasant," Kud'ar
Mub'at asked rhetorically, "when things go fust the way
they're supposed to?" It wrapped several sets of its
thin, chitinous legs around itself in a hug of self-
satisfaction. "All my planning and scheming, and
everything just so. Excellent! Exceedingly excellent!"
The assembler's multiple eyes looked around the close
space of its throne room, watching how its own pleasure
and excitement spread in concentric waves through all the
nodes connected to the strands of his nervous system.
Even the most developed and relatively independent of
them, like Balancesheet, was visibly aglow, with its
little claws and arachnoid legs skittering around the
tangled walls as though it were the complete embodiment
of the assembler's good mood.
Perhaps even a little too excited; ostentatiously so,
it seemed to Kud'ar Mub'at. Sometimes he detected a
certain false note to Balancesheet's displays of
enthusiasm. For a simple number-crunching node, Kud'ar
Mub'at found himself thinking, that's a bit much. He made
a mental note, one that was carefully shielded from the
synaptic connections that would have let the subassembler
nodes in on it, to reabsorb this balancesheet and begin
growing a new one. Just as soon as this business with
Boba Fett and the Bounty Hunters Guild was finished . . .
It didn't seem like that would be much longer, from
what the identifier node had just told Kud'ar Mub'at.
Ignoring the jabbering of the nodes surrounding itself,
the assembler adjusted its soft, globular abdomen into a
more comfortable position in the self-generated nest;
when it was done making adjustments, it contemplated the
news with a calmer, more tranquil attitude. No sense
getting agitated, it admonished itself, over something I
knew was going to happen. Empires might rise and
fall-they had before-and the galaxy might even collapse
upon itself in one dark ball of relentless gravity. But
until then, Kud'ar Mub'at, or some creature very much
like it, would still be trading in the folly of other
sentient creatures. That was its nature, just as it was
the nature of those less wise to find themselves enmeshed
in the traps spun for them. . . .
"Sometimes," mused Kud'ar Mub'at aloud, "they don't
even know until it's too late. And sometimes they never
know."
"Know what?" Balancesheet, a little calmer after its
initial burst of enthusiasm, dangled itself close to the
spiky mandibles of its parent's face. "What do you mean?"
That kind of curiosity on a subassembler's part
indicated the degree of independence that Kud'ar Mub'at
had let develop in the node. There hadn't even been a
mention of numbers, and still this tethered offspring
wanted to know. A sharp paternal feeling twinged inside
Kud'ar Mub'at; it would be a shame, however necessary, to
pluck the node's legs one by one and crack its shell to
extract the recyclable proteins and cellular matter
inside.
Kud'ar Mub'at reached out one thin black leg and
stroked the ridges of Balancesheet's small head.
"Creatures are dying," said Kud'ar Mub'at, "even as we
speak." That had been the gist of the message transmitted
through the web by the listener and identifier team of
nodes. With the transport engines that had been salvaged
decades ago and incorporated into the web's external
structure, Kud'ar Mub'at had slowly brought its drifting
home-and-body within communication range of the Bounty
Hunters Guild. It had wanted to be close to where the
action was happening, the pulling shut of the snare he
had woven, with no delay in getting word sent out by an
encrypted tight-beam signal from his contacts in the
Guild compound. "Of course," it said, "there will be
other deaths after these; that's all part of the plan."
One snare led to another, a universe of entangling
strands, as though the contents of Kud'ar Mub'at's web
had been turned inside out and transmogrified into
something big enough to loop whole planets into its
grasp. It spoke matter-of-factly, without sympathy or
remorse. "Even the ones who think they're on my side, who
believe they are still free-they'll find out the truth
soon enough. No one escapes forever."
Balancesheet folded a couple of its own legs across
its smaller abdomen. "Not even Boba Fett?"
That question surprised Kud'ar Mub'at. Not that the
answer wasn't known to it, but that the question had come
from a source such as one of his subassembler nodes. Even
from a developed one such as Balancesheet; that indicated
a level of strategic thinking that Kud'ar Mub'at hadn't
expected.
"Not even Boba Fett," answered Kud'ar Mub'at slowly.
It kept a set of eyes on the accountant node, dangling
from the intricately woven ceiling of the throne space.
It watched for any expression in the narrow-angled face,
so much like a miniature version of its own. "How could
he? Escape, that is. For him to do so, he would have to
be wiser than I am." Kud'ar Mub'at peered closer at
Balancesheet. "Do you really believe that such a thing is
possible?"
The eyes studding Balancesheet's face were like sets
of black pearls, darkly shining but revealing no depths
beyond their surfaces. "Of course not," said the
subassembler. A chorus of other nodes, bobbing or
scurrying around the space like the embodiments of Kud'ar
Mub'at's own thoughts, echoed the sentiment. "No one is
even as wise as you are. Not even Emperor Palpatine."
"True," said Kud'ar Mub'at. Though the assembler had
to admit that Palpatine operated on a grander scale. But
that's just megalomania, brooded Kud'ar Mub'at. For
Palpatine to think that he could control the entire
galaxy, to lay his cold hand upon the neck of every
sentient creature on all the worlds . . . even those who
didn't have necks, properly speaking . . . that was
madness, sheer madness. And worse, in Kud'ar Mub'at's
estimation it was folly. To become absorbed in the big
picture, the sweep of history on a cosmic scale, and
overlook the little details, was to risk the complete and
utter ruination of one's plans. There were things going
on underneath Emperor Palpatine's nose that he knew
nothing of; not just the hidden errands of the Rebellion
and its sympathizers, but connections between beings that
were yet so faint that even it, the wise Kud'ar Mub'at,
couldn't trace them out. Bits and pieces of rumors,
stories of long-vanquished Jedi Knights, and its own
wordless guesses were all that Kud'ar Mub'at had to go
on. Something to do with the planet Tatooine, and a few
humans who lived thereon, innocent and unaware of exactly
how important they were. Or did they know? Perhaps one of
them had a notion of these secrets, perhaps that old man
living out in the endless wastes of the Dune Sea, that
Kud'ar Mub'at had heard of. ...
Gloom permeated the meditations of Kud'ar Mub'at as
the assembler reminded himself of just how much still lay
beyond the strands of his web. Just as well, it
philosophically decided, that all those things are
Palpatine's concerns and not mine. True wisdom rested in
knowing one's limitations.
"Exactly so," chimed in Balancesheet. It had picked
up its parent's thought over the spun-silk neural network
that both connected and housed them. "That shows how wise
you are. Would Emperor Palpatine ever have thought of
such a thing?"
For a moment Kud'ar Mub'at was annoyed that the
little subassembler node had listened in to these private
musings-it thought that it had inhibited the appropriate
neurons to prevent just such two-way data flow. Then its
mood softened. "Now you're the one who's wise," said
Kud'ar Mub'at affectionately. It reached over another
black, spiky leg and let the accountant node scramble
onto its end. "I'll very much regret that day when I'll
have to-" Kud'ar Mub'at cut off its words just in time.
"Have to what?" At the end of Kud'ar Mub'at's leg,
the accountant node peered back at its progenitor.
"Nothing. Don't worry about it." Kud'ar Mub'at was
sure that the little node hadn't picked up on that
particular thought, the one that had to do with its
inevitable-and imminent-death. "Let me do th e deep
thinking."
"Of course," said Balancesheet. "I would not have it
otherwise. The only reason I asked about Boba Fett . . ."
"Yes?"
"I only asked," continued the subassembler node,
"because we would have to anticipate the cost of his
services to us rising as one of the results of the Bounty
Hunters Guild being catastrophically disbanded. Since
there would be a considerable diminishment in the number
and quality of the competition for such operations. That
should be factored into our calculations, regarding any
further negotiations involving this individual. Unless of
course"-Balancesheet spoke archly-"we were to make other
arrangements about Boba Fett's future. ..."
That was a good point; Kud'ar Mub'at realized he
should have thought of it himself. Though it was also one
of the advantages of having a well-developed, semi-
independent node like Balancesheet around. Whatever
slipped by Kud'ar Mub'at's attention would be caught by
the subassembler's.
"Thank you," said Kud'ar Mub'at to the little
creature still tethered to it. "I'll give it some
thought."
"Actually," said Balancesheet, "I have suggestions
along those lines."
Deep in the heart of the web Kud'ar Mub'at had spun
for itself, floating in the cold vacuum between the
stars, the assembler listened. Just as though it were
listening to its own wise and precise calculations,
whispered into its ear from something outside; something
almost separate.

From the docking port at the edge of the compound,
Boba Fett could hear the shouting and the sound of
blaster fire. None of it was aimed his way, so he went on
working, recalibrating and tuning Slave I's weapons
systems.
There hadn't been time, after he and the rest of the
team had lifted off and rendezvoused with the autonomic
storage unit in orbit above Circumtore, to get everything
fully functional once more. Not if he was going to get
Bossk back to the Bounty Hunters Guild in time to lead
the breakaway faction's uprising against the elders.
As he bolted down a recoil brace on one of the ship's
exterior laser cannons, Fett supposed that old Cradossk
was akeady dead by now. That was the first thing that
Bossk had sworn to take care of, once the Trandoshan had
fully comprehended how his father had set him up for
getting killed on the Oph Nar Dinnid job. A few encrypted
transmissions from Slave I, as it had journeyed back
toward the Guild compound, had also arranged for
Cradossk's death to be the start of the coup action.
More blaster fire sounded as Boba Fett's tools spot-
welded the wiring harness's main trunk connections. Slave
I's armaments were extensive and not designed for easy
removal; some of them had circuitry that reached right
down to the innermost bowels of the ship. Putting all of
that back together was a long job, and one that had to be
done exactly right; more than once, Fett's life had
depended on these weapons as much as the ones slung
across the back of his uniform and fastened to his wrists
and shins. With his attention thus focused, there was
little chance of his being distracted by the violent
internal politics of the Bounty Hunters Guild.
Besides, thought Boba Fett, I've already done my
part. He touched a probe to the bare join, read off the
voltage, then withdrew it and let the replicating
insulation swarm a thin yellow sheath over the wire. Or
at least most of it, he corrected himself. The ship
repair would be completed soon enough, but he knew there
was still more to be taken care of before the job of
destroying the Bounty Hunters Guild was finished. One
great rift, between the old leadership and the upstarts,
wasn't enough. By his calculations, there would be an
even split between the two groups once the binding agent
of Cradossk had been removed. Some of the elders, who had
always chafed under the old Trandoshan's leadership,
would throw in their lot with the young, impatient bounty
hunters; some of the latter, reluctant to accept Bossk's
leading the breakaway faction, would side with whatever
was left of the Guild's elder council. But on both sides,
Boba Fett would have his ringers and stoolies, feeding
him useful information and helping to drive even more
wedges of suspicion and greed between one bounty hunter
and the next. There were two factions now; soon there
would be dozens. And then, thought Fett with a cold lack
of emotion, it'll be every bounty hunter for himself.
That was something he was looking forward to.
He closed the access panel on the Slave I's curved,
glistening hull and looked up the craft's length. The
muzzle of the laser cannon, a newer and sleeker
instrument of destruction than D'harhan had ever carried,
could just be seen as it pointed toward the wash of stars
overhead. D'harhan was dead, another piece of the past
erased as though it had never happened at all; eventually
all the past would be gone, consumed as if by the
annihilating energy at the heart of the darkest stars. .
. .
And that was fine with him as well.
Boba Fett moved over to another panel, close to the
ship's anterior maneuvering jets. With the code function
embedded in his glove's fingertip, he opened the panel
and got to work, tracing and reconfiguring the intricate
circuits.
The blaster fire from the compound continued, like
the electrical discharge of a distant storm.
Someday, Fett supposed, the destruction of the Bounty
Hunters Guild would be nothing but memory. But not his;
he had no use for memory.
All remembering was in vain. . . .

18

NOW

She watched him at work. Or getting ready for work.
His kind of work, though Neelah. That was what was
indicated by the weapons, all the various mechanisms of
reducing the galaxy's inhabitants to scattered pieces of
bleeding or charred tissue. Boba Fett had returned from
the land of the dead, from its gray portal in which he'd
slept, and was ready to fill his hands again with death.
"Which one's that?" Neelah pointed to the brutally
efficient-looking object, all matte-black metal and
embedded electronics, in Boba Fett's grasp. An empty lens
at the rear of the weapon's metal glittered in a curve of
crosshaired glass. "What does it do?"
"Rocket launcher." Boba Fett didn't look up from his
painstaking labors. With a tool as delicate as a humanoid
hair, improvised from one of the medical droids' IV
syringes, he scraped a dried mucuslike substance, a
remnant of the weapon's time in the Sarlacc's gut, out of
its intricate circuits. "And what it does, if you know
how to work it, is kill a lot of creatures. At once. At a
nice long distance away."
"Thanks." She felt one corner of her mouth twisting
in an expression that would have been ugly if there had
been an audience for it. "But I could figure that much
out. Don't think you have to patronize me. I was just
trying to pass a little time with something like
conversation. But I guess that's not within your range of
skills."
He made no answer. The motions of the wire-stiff tool
and its sharpened point were reflected in the visor of
his helmet as he continued working.
The warhead of the rocket launcher's missile appeared
in Neelah's memory as well. She had seen it before, the
tapered point rising above Fett's shoulder, on a
trajectory parallel to his spine. Now, from where it lay
on top of the bounty hunter's crossed legs, it seemed to
be aimed at a dusty outcropping of the Dune Sea's
fundamental rocks. The oppressive suns glazed the
landscape with dry, shimmering heat, still visible in
reversed colors when Neelah closed her eyes. Even in the
shade of a sloping entrance to Boba Fett's underground
cache, the hard radiation of the desert light cracked her
dehydrated lips and baked her lungs with each fiery
breath.
"You should drink more fluids." The blurry shape of
the taller medical droid rolled up in front of her. "To
replace the ones constantly being extracted from your
body." A jointed appendage held out a canister of water,
part of the life-support supplies that Boba Fett had
hidden here sometime after starting his short-lived
employment with Jabba the Hutt, who hadn't lasted much
longer than the job. "The results, physiologically
speaking, could be severe otherwise."
Neelah took the container from SHS1-B and drained it
in one long swallow, head tossed back and thin rivulets
leaking down both sides of her throat. She wiped her
mouth with the back of her hand and set the can down in
the gravel next to where she sat. SHS1-B trundled over to
another part of the shade cast by the overhanging jut of
rock, where it consulted with its shorter, less
articulate colleague. Another canister stood slowly
evaporating next to Boba Fett; he hadn't touched it since
it had been brought out to him. Redonning his armor, a
set that had been kept under a coded autodestruct lock to
foil any thieves who might have stumbled upon their
hiding place, had transformed him, from a raw-skinned in
valid to the imposing specialist in death that he had
been before falling down the Sarlacc's throat. Sealing
the restored helmet's edge to the uniform's collar had
completed the apotheosis he didn't drink the water,
Neelah realized, because he had become a self-contained
unit, sealed against the frailties of mortal creatures.
Or at least, that was the impression he tried to give.
She leaned back against the mouth of the cave; the
rock's residual heat spread across her shoulder blades.
The day was dead time, a matter of waiting until Dengar
returned from Mos Eisley. When he made it back here-if he
did, she reminded herself; she knew enough of the
spaceport's notorious reputation to be aware that
anything could happen in its various dives and back
alleys-then further plans would be finalized among the
three of them. All depending, of course, upon what Dengar
managed to find out and arrange with his various
contacts.
Boba Fett, at least, had something to keep himself
busy while the rocks' doubled shadows slid farther across
the sands. After they had escaped from the bombing-
shattered remnants of Dengar's subterranean hiding place,
and the regenerated Sarlacc that had wound its tendrils
through the broken stone, only a single night had been
spent in the chill open, their bodies huddled against
each other to keep from freezing. Even if there had been
the means to build a fire, they wouldn't have dared, for
fear of attracting the attention of some nocturnal Tusken
raiding party, crossing the Dune Sea on bantha mounts,
the beasts sniffing out pathways invisible even to daylit
eyes. When the morning had finally come, breaking violet
across the distant mountains ringing the desert, Boba
Fett seemed the strongest of the three humans, as though
in the dark he had absorbed some precious segment of the
others' dwindling energies. He had led the way, stumbling
at first, but then with greater sureness as the landmarks
had grown more recognizable. Like the other mercenaries
and hard types that had worked for the late Jabba-or at
least the smart ones, smart enough not to trust the wily
Hutt-Boba Fett had maintained a stash of crucial supplies
in the wilderness beyond the squat, iron-doored palace.
With that many schemers and back-stabbers all in one
place, including Jabba himself, it had always been a
possibility, if not a probability, that sooner or later
any of the henchmen would find himself on the run,
scrabbling for survival. The tools that Fett had hidden
away-weapons, replacement armor, comm gear-went a long
way to ensure that his surviving would be bought at the
price of any pursuers' death.
The bounty hunter's parsimonious streak, though, was
apparent to Neelah as she sat in the cache's opening-it
had been hollowed out of a sheer rock face, then
camouflaged-and watched Boba Fett reassembling himself,
piece by piece. None of the weapons or components of his
battle armor that had been damaged by the Sarlacc's
digestive secretions was discarded until Fett had
examined and judged it beyond repair. He had already
salvaged most of the personal armaments with which Neelah
had seen him equipped back at Jabba's palace; a small
blaster pistol had been reduced in the Sarlacc's gut to a
fused lump of metal, and the propulsive charges for some
of the larger ammunition had leaked away, rendering the
shells useless. Those were replaced with exact duplicates
from the sealed containers that Fett had dragged out from
the cache's deep interior.
Like watching a droid, thought Neelah, not for the
first time. Or some piece of Imperial battle machinery,
capable of making repairs to itself. She had wrapped her
arms around her knees and continued to watch as the human
elements of Boba Fett had been progressively submerged
and hidden beneath the layers of armor and weaponry, the
hard mechanicals seemingly replacing the soft, wounded
tissue beneath. The narrow visor of his restored helmet
took away the last vestiges of humanity, the gaze of eyes
like any other man's, caught in acid-ravaged flesh, its
fevered blood seeping through the pores. ...
"He's pushing himself past all therapeutic limits."
SHS1-B's high-pitched voice fussed from a place just
outside Neelah's awareness. "Both le-XE and I have tried
communicating with him, in an effort to make him aware of
the necessity for rest. Otherwise, the potential for a
serious physiological relapse will escalate to a life-
threatening status."
Neelah glanced over at the medical droid that had
trundled up next to her. "Really?" The ends of the
droid's jointed appendages clicked against each other, as
though imitating a nervous reaction of living creatures.
"That's what you're all in a stew about?"
"Of course." SHSl-B turned the lenses of its di
agnostician optics toward her. "That is our programmed
function. If there was some way to initiate a change in
our basic design, even by means of a complete memory
wipe, you can be assured that le-XE and I would
immediately submit to it, no matter now disorienting it
might be. Patching up and mending supposedly sentient
creatures, who continually insist upon placing themselves
in dangerous situations, is a tiresome and never-ending
occupation."
"Eternity," chimed in le-XE. The other droid had
rolled up behind its companion. "Fatigue."
"Concisely put." SHSl-B'shead unit gave a nod. "I
expect we will be applying sterile bandages and
administering anesthetics until the teeth of our gears
are worn to nubs."
"Deal with it," said Neelah. "As for our Boba
Fett"-she tilted her head toward the bounty hunter, still
working at cleaning the rocket launcher's innards-"I
wouldn't worry about him. You took care of what was
needed at the time. But now . . ." Her nod was one of
reluctant but genuine admiration. "Now he's way beyond
all your medicine."
"That is a diagnosis to which it is difficult to give
credence." The medical droid's tone turned huffy. "The
individual being discussed is made of flesh and bone like
other creatures-"
"Is he?" Neelah knew that was true, even though, when
she looked at Boba Fett, she couldn't help but wonder.
"Of course he is," replied the nettled SHS1-B. "And
as such, there are limits to his endurance and
capabilities."
"That's where you're wrong." Neelah leaned back
against the stone of the cache's entrance. She hoped it
wouldn't be too much longer before Dengar returned. For a
lot of reasons. If the parties responsible for the
bombing raid decided to come back and do a more thorough
job on their targets, she was sure Boba Fett would
survive, but her own chances would be considerably fewer.
Fett had plans for getting her and Dengar, as well as
himself, off Tatooine and out to interstellar space,
where they would be safe for at least a little while. And
long enough to set further plans into motion. The only
obstacle lay in getting the comm equipment that Fett
needed. He couldn't go into Mos Eisley to buy or steal
it, not without raising a general alert that he was still
alive; that was why Dengar had gone into the spaceport
instead. But if he screws up, thought Neelah, then what?
She and Fett would still be stuck out here, waiting not
for Dengar, but for whatever the next attempt to elimi
nate them would be.
In the meantime the medical droid persisted in its
arguments. "How could I be wrong? I have been extensively
programmed in the nature of humanoid physiology-"
"Then you're a slow learner." Neelah closed her eyes
and tilted her head back against a pillow of rock. "When
you're dealing with someone like Boba Fett, it's not the
human parts that make the difference. It's the other
parts."
The droid fell mercifully silent. It either knew when
it was defeated or when further discussion was pointless.

He left the swoop bike in the dry, dusty hills
outside Mos Eisley, then walked the rest of the way into
the spaceport. Dengar figured he'd draw less attention to
himself that way. And right now creatures noticing
him-the wrong creatures, at least-was the last thing he
wanted.
Before heading in, along one of the old foot trails
that led to Mos Eisley's back alleys, Dengar uprooted
some dead scruff brush and hastily camouflaged the swoop
with it. The stripped-down, one-person repulsorlift
vehicle belonged to somebody else. Or used to-Big Gizz,
the leader of one of Tatooine's toughest swoop gangs, had
crashed and burned on this machine. Gizz had been hard
and mean enough to have been one of Jabba the Hutt's most
valuable employees, but that hadn't been enough to keep
his leathery hide intact; creatures who worked for Jabba
just naturally seemed to end up with short life expec
tancies. If the work itself didn't wind up getting them
killed, then their own violent natures brought about
their fates. Dengar had never thought that the pay scale
that Jabba offered was worth the risk. Big Gizz had been
luckier than most; there had been enough of him left to
scrape up and patch back together. Whatever he was up to
these days, he had presumably gotten himself some new
transportation to do it with.
The squat, indifferently maintained shapes of Mos
Eisley came slowly into view as Dengar worked his way
down the last, loose-graveled hillside. His on-foot
progress wasn't much slower than the swoop had been,
crossing the Dune Sea from where he had left Neelah and
Boba Fett. The swoop had been unusable wreckage when
Dengar had first found it, the bent and scattered pieces
testifying to the way in which Big Gizz had ended that
particular run. Dengar had pieced the vehicle back
together, even buying and grafting on the bits of the
repulsor-engine circuitry that were too burned out to be
made functional again, then stashed it away near his main
hiding place in the desert. A bounty hunter's life was
one in which a working form of transport, no matter how
banged up and slow, could be the difference between
cashing in on valuable merchandise or winding up as bones
being pecked at by the Dune Sea's scavengers.
Tatooine's twin suns were smearing the sky dusky
orange as Dengar approached the spaceport's ragged
perimeter. Digging the swoop out from the bombing raid's
aftermath, the tumbled rocks and displaced sand dunes,
had taken a little while longer than he'd expected it to;
the swoop had been buried nearly two meters deep, and he
found it only because he'd had the foresight to tag it
with a short-distance location beacon. Just my luck, he
had thought sourly, when he'd finally managed to drag the
swoop to the surface and start it up. The forward
stabilizer blades had been bent almost double by the
largest boulder that had crashed onto the minimal
vehicle; any movement speedier than a relative crawl sent
a spine-jarring shudder through the frame, quickly es
calating to a rolling spin that would have crashed him to
the ground if he hadn't backed off the throttle. The
swoop's damaged condition had necessitated a more
circuitous route across the Dune Sea wastes than he would
have taken otherwise; he might have been able to outrun a
Tusken Raider's bantha mount, but not a shot from one of
their ancient but effective rifles.
"Looking for anything . . . special?" A hood-shrouded
figure, with a distinctive crescent-shaped proboscis,
sidled up to Dengar as soon as he'd made his way between
the first of the low, featureless buildings. "There are
creatures in this district . . . who can accommodate . .
. all interests."
"Yeah, I bet." Dengar brushed past the meddlesome
creature. "Look, just take a hike, why don't you? I know
my way around."
"My apologies." The hem of the creature's rough-
cloth robe swept across the alley dust as it made a small
bow. "I mistakenly thought . . . that you were a ...
newcomer here."
Dengar kept walking, quickening his strides. That had
been an unfortunate encounter; he had been hoping to make
it to the cantina at the center of Mos Eisley without
being noticed. The spaceport abounded with snitches and
informers, creatures who made a living selling out others
either to the Empire's security forces or to whichever
criminals and assorted marginal dealers might have a
financial interest in someone else's comings and goings.
That was what had always made Mos Eisley, an otherwise
dilapidated port on a backwater planet, one of the
galaxy's prime hangouts for those practicing the bounty-
hunter trade. If you stuck around long enough, you
eventually heard something that could be turned to
profit. The downside, as Dengar was well aware, was that
it was hard to keep one's business a secret around here.
A couple of whispers in the right ear holes, and you
wound up becoming someone else's merchandise.
Right now he wasn't aware of anyone looking for him;
he wasn't that important. Though that might change all
too rapidly, when word got out of his being hooked up
with Boba Fett. An alliance with the galaxy's top bounty
hunter brought a lot of less-than-desirable baggage with
it other creatures' schemes and grudges, all of which
they might figure could be advanced by either going
through or eliminating anyone as close to Fett as Dengar
had become. The bombing raid had proved that Boba Fett
had some determined enemies. If those parties found out
that a minor-rank bounty hunter had made himself useful
to the object of their furious wrath, they might
eliminate the individual in question just on general
principle.
Those and other disquieting speculations scurried
around inside Dengar's skull as he made his way through
Mos Eisley's less pleasant-and less frequented-byways. A
pack of sleek, glittering-eyed garbage rats scurried at
his approach, diving into their warrens among the alley's
noisome strata of decaying rubbish, then chattering
shrill abuse and brandishing their primitive, sharp-edged
digging tools at his back. The rats, at least, wouldn't
report his presence in the spaceport to anyone; they kept
to themselves for the most part, with a supercilious atti
tude toward larger creatures' affairs.
Dengar halted his steps, in order to peer around a
corner. From this point, he had a clear view of Mos
Eisley's central open space. He saw nothing more ominous
than a couple of Imperial stormtroopers on low-level
security patrol, prodding the muzzles of their blaster
rifles through an incensed Jawa's merchandise bales. Bits
of salvaged droids-disconnected limbs and head units with
optical sensors still blinking and vocal units moaning
from the shock of disconnected circuits-bounced out of
the cart and clattered on the ground as the Jawa shook
its fist, hidden in the bulky sleeve of its robe, and
yammered its grievances against the white-helmeted
figures.
No one crossing or idling in the plaza regarded the
confrontation with more than mild curiosity, except for a
pair of empty-saddled dewbacks tethered nearby; they
grizzled and snarled, drawing away from the noisy Jawa
with instinctive aversion. The stormtroopers caused no
concern for Dengar, either. He was more worried about
those who might be on the other side of the law, the
various scoundrels and sharpies who would be more likely
to have heard the latest scuttlebutt and be looking to
profit from it.
Dengar drew his head back from the building's corner.
There was a fine line between being too paranoid and
being just paranoid enough. Too paranoid slowed you down,
but not enough got you killed. He'd already decided to
err, if necessary, on the side of caution.
Keeping close to the building's crumbling white
walls, Dengar found the rear entrance to the cantina.
With a quick glance over his shoulder, he slid into the
familiar darkness and threaded his way among the
establishment's patrons. A few eyes and other sensory
organs turned in his direction, then swung back to
discreetly murmured business conversations.
He rested both elbows on the bar. "I'm looking for
Codeq Santhananan. He been in lately?"
The same ugly bartender, familiar from all of
Dengar's previous visits, shook his head. "That barve got
drilled a coupla months ago. Right outside the door. I
had a pair of rehab droids scrubbing the burn mark for
two whole standard time periods, and it still didn't come
out." The bartender remembered Dengar's usual, a tall
water-and-isothane, heavy on the water, and set it down
in front of him. The scars on the bartender's face
shifted formation as one eye narrowed, peering at Dengar.
"He owe you credits?"
Dengar let himself take a sip; he had gotten seri
ously dehydrated, riding the damaged swoop across the
Dune Sea. "He might."
"Well, he owed me," growled the bartender. "I don't
appreciate it when my customers get themselves killed and
I'm the one that gets stiffed." He furiously swabbed out
a glass with a stained towel. "Creatures in these parts
oughta think of somebody besides themselves for a
change."
Listening to the bartender's complaints wasn't
accomplishing anything. Dengar drained half the glass and
pushed it away. "Put it on my tab."
He worked his way into the shadow-filled center of
the cantina's space, gazing around as best he could
without making direct eye contact with anyone. Some of
the more hot-tempered cantina habitues were known to take
violent offense over such indiscretions; even if he
didn't wind up being the one laid out on the damp floor,
Dengar didn't want to draw that kind of attention to
himself.
"Excuse the lamentable discourtesy"-a hand with
bifurcate talons tugged at Dengar's sleeve- "but I
couldn't help overhearing. . . ."
Glancing to his side, Dengar found himself looking
into the black bead eyes, no more than a couple of
centimeters in diameter, of a Q'nithian aer-opteryx. One
of the beads swelled larger as the creature's other set
of claws held a magnifying lens on a jeweled handle in
front of it. Dengar had been expecting something like
this; one's business didn't stay secret for very long in
the cantina, if spoken in anything louder than a whisper.
"Let's go over to one of the booths," said Dengar.
Those were far enough away from the cantina's crowded
main area for a measure of privacy. "Come on."
The Q'nithian flopped after him on the flattened tips
of its shabby gray wings, useless for any kind of flight.
It struggled into the seat on the booth's opposite side,
then settled down as though wrapped in a feathered cloak.
"I heard you mention poor Santhananan's name." The
taloned hand protruded from under the wings so that the
Q'nithian could scratch itself with the magnifying-lens
handle. "He met a sad demise, I'm afraid."
"Yeah, I'm sure it was tragic." Dengar set his arms
on the table and leaned forward. He wanted to wrap up his
errand here before the bartender had a chance to pressure
him into settling his account. "What I want to know is,
did anybody pick up on his business?"
The lens shifted to the other beady eye. "The late
Santhananan had various enterprises." The Q'nithian's
voice was a grating squawk. "A creature of many
interests, some of them even legal. To which of them do
you refer?"
"Keep it down. You know what I'm talking about."
Dengar glanced across t he cantina, then turned back to
the Q'nithian. "The message service he used to run.
That's what I'm interested in."
"Ah." The Q'nithian made a few thoughtful clacking
noises with its rudimentary beak. "What great good
fortune for you. It just so happens that that is an
enterprise . . . over which I now exercise control."
Great good fortune-that was one way of putting it.
Dengar wondered for a moment just how the late
Santhananan had met his end, and how much this Q'nithian
had had to do with it. But that was none of his business.
"Whatever communication you require," continued the
Q'nithian, words and voice all mild bland-ness, "I think
I can assist you with it."
"I bet you can." Dengar looked hard into the
magnifiying lens and the mercenary intelligence behind
it. "Here's the deal. I need to send a hyperspace
messenger pod-"
"Really?" The feathers above one beady eye rose in
apparent surprise. "That's an expensive proposition. I'm
not saying it can't be done. Just that-since I haven't
done business with you before-it would have to be done on
a strictly credits-up-front basis."
Dengar reached inside his jacket and pulled out a
small pouch. He loosened its drawstring and poured the
contents out on the table. "Will that do?"
Even without the magnifying lens, the Q'nithian's
eyes grew larger. "I think"-the bifurcate talons reached
out for the little hoard of hard credits-"we may be in
business here. ..."
"Not so fast," Dengar grabbed the other creature's
thin, light-boned wrist and pinned it to the tabletop.
"You get half now, half when I hear that the message
reached its destination."
"Very well." The Q'nithian watched as Dengar divided
the credits into two piles, one of which went back into
the pouch, and then inside Dengar's jacket again. "That's
a regrettably standard arrangement. But I can live with
it." The talons picked up the rest of the credits and
drew it someplace under the cloak-like wings. "So-what's
the message you want to send?"
Dengar hesitated. He'd known how far he could trust
Codeq Santhananan-he'd dealt with him before-but this
Q'nithian was an unknown quantity. Still . . . right now
there was no alternative. And if the Q'nithian wanted the
other half of the payment for his services, there was a
limit to any double-dealing he might be contemplating.
"All right." Dengar leaned even farther across the
table, until he could see himself reflected in the
Q'nithian's darkly shining eyes. "Just four words."
"Which are?"
" 'Boba Fett,' " said Dengar, " 'is alive.' "
Both of the Q'nithian's feathered brows rose. "That's
the message? That's it?" The wings lifted and fell in a
rudimentary shrug. "Seems to me . . . that you're
spending an awful lot of credits ... on some odd kind of
hoax." The Q'nithian studied Den-gar through the lens.
"Not that anyone is going to believe it, anyway.
Everybody knows . . . that Boba Fett got eaten by the
Sarlacc. Some of Jabba the Hutt's ex-employees . . . came
right here into the cantina . . . and told all about it."
"Good for them. I hope somebody bought 'em a drink."
"You appear to be ... a serious person. And you're
paying . . . serious credits." The eye behind the
magnifying lens blinked. "Are you telling me . . . that
the renowned Boba Fett is alive?"
"That's none of your business," said Dengar. "I'm
just paying you to get the message to where it needs to
go."
"As you wish," replied the Q'nithian. "And just where
is that?"
"The planet Kuat. I want Kuat of Kuat to receive it."
"Well, well." The Q'nithian's feathers rustled as he
shifted position on the seat opposite Dengar. "Now, that
is interesting. What makes you think a creature as
important as the CEO of Kuat Drive Yards . . . would be
interested ... in hearing something like that? Whether
it's true or not."
"I told you already." Dengar spoke between gritted
teeth. He was about ready to reach over and crush the
magnifying lens in his fist. "That's not your business."
"Ah. But I think ... it is." The beak opened in a
crude simulation of a humanoid smile. "We are something
like partners now . . . you and I. If Boba Fett is alive
. . . there are others who would be interested in knowing
that . . . rather intriguing fact."
Dengar glared at the Q'nithian. "When Santhananan ran
this business, he knew that his customers weren't just
buying a message being transmitted. They were also buying
him keeping his mouth shut."
"You're not dealing . . . with Santhananan now." The
bright gaze behind the magnifying lens was unperturbed.
"You're dealing with me. And my backers; I'm not a
completely independent agent the way Santhananan was . .
. but then, that may be why he's dead and I'm not. Let's
just say . . . that I have certain additional expenses .
. . that I need to cover." The tip of the lens pointed
toward Dengar. "For which you should be grateful."
"Yeah, I'm grateful, all right." Dengar shook his
head in disgust. That was the problem with doing business
in Mos Eisley; there were always payoffs that had to be
made, bribes in either the form of credits or
information. And disregarding what he was holding back
for the on-delivery payment for the message, he was
effectively tapped out of credits. That left only one
thing to barter. "You want to know why Kuat would be
interested? I'll tell you. It's because he just made one
hell of an effort to make sure that Boba Fett was dead.
Did word of that bombing raid out on the Dune Sea reach
here?"
"Of course it did," said the Q'nithian. "The seismic
shocks had structural beams cracking ... all over Mos
Eisley. Really-the Imperial Navy cannot engage in a
routine practice operation such as that . . . and not
have sentient creatures notice it."
"It wasn't the Imperial Navy. It was a private
operation."
"Oh? And what proof do you have of that?"
Dengar reached inside his jacket, past the drawstring
pouch with the rest of the credits and to the larger,
heavier object he'd found when digging up the damaged
swoop. Back there, he'd brushed the sand off the device,
a dully gleaming sphere that had filled his hand with its
weight and potentiality, and had read the words and
serial numbers incised upon its thick, armored shell.
Reading those words, and realizing what they meant, had
changed all his plans in an instant; they were why he was
here in the Mos Eisley cantina, talking to a message
expediter like this Q'nithian. That hadn't been part of
Boba Fett's plans for this little errand into the
spaceport. Dengar was operating on his own now.
He handed the sphere, with its two off-enter cy
lindrical protrusions, to the Q'nithian. "Take a look."
The sphere was cradled in the taloned hand before the
Q'nithian realized what it was. He almost dropped it,
then his twin claws gripped it desperately tighter and
kept it from bouncing on the tabletop. A dismayed,
wordless squawk sounded from deep within the feather-
wrapped body as he thrust it back toward Dengar.
"What's the matter?" Dengar let his own smile turn
cruel, savoring the other creature's discomfiture.
"Something frighten you?"
"Are you mad?" The Q'nithian gaped at him without
benefit of the magnifying lens. "Do you know what this
is?"
"Sure," answered Dengar easily. "It's an atmospheric
phase-change detonator for an Imperial-class M-12 sweep
bomb. If it's the same as the others I've come across,
it'd be set to ignite an attached charge at a perceived
twenty-millibar differential." His smile widened. "Good
thing it's not hooked up to one, huh?"
"You idiot!" The sphere trembled in the
Q'nithian's talons. "There's still enough explosive in
this fuse to take out half of Mos Eisley!"
"Relax." Dengar took the sphere back from the
Q'nithian. "It's cold. Safely inert. Look-" He turned the
object so a thumbnail-sized data readout showed. "Do you
see those three illuminated red LEDs?"
The Q'nithian shook his head. "No." He raised the
magnifying lens and peered closer. "I don't see any
lights at all."
"Exactly." Dengar set the sphere down between them.
"This one's a dud. These particular detonation devices
have a failure rate in the field approaching almost ten
percent. That's why the Imperial Navy doesn't use them
anymore; they've upgraded to a more reliable gravity-wave
system that's integrated into the main explosive's
casing. It's not removable like this thing. That
should've been your first clue that it wasn't the Empire
doing a practice bombing run out there in the desert."
"Hmm." The Q'nithian's ruffled feathers smoothed back
down. "You seem to possess ... an unusual degree of
expertise in these matters."
"I've worked at other things besides bounty hunting."
"I admire your versatility," said the Q'nithian.
"That's a useful trait in a sentient creature." He gin
gerly prodded the sphere with the tip of the magnifying
lens. "I'll grant you . . . for the sake of your
exposition . . . that this is not an Imperial device. But
I fail to see the connection between it and Kuat of
Kuat."
"Check it out." Dengar held the sphere up to the
lens. "Serial numbers. All these devices were manu
factured at one armory subcontractor, which has ties to
the Kuat Drive Yards engineering facilities on the planet
Kuat. The devices were numbered sequentiall y, in
production runs of a quarter million. All the ones
numbered below the twelve-million mark were reserved for
KDY's own use, for designing and testing the munitions
storage chambers aboard the heavy cruisers and destroyers
that were being built for the Imperial fleet." Dengar
tapped the tiny incised number with his fingertip. "This
is one of those devices. Obviously, KDY decided there
would be a use someday for some major bombing action-the
company didn't get to be the leading shipbuilder for the
Empire by just underbidding its competition, you know. So
it held some bombs and fuses back, after f all the
testing on the Imperial ships was finished. If this one
had gone off like the others, nobody would have known who
had made that bombing run out on the Dune Sea."
"Interesting." The Q'nithian's beady gaze flicked
from the sphere to Dengar's face. "Perhaps there is
reason to believe that Kuat of Kuat wishes Boba Fett
dead-if Fett is alive at all. But that leaves many other
questions unanswered."
"They'll have to remain unasked, too. For the time
being." Dengar leaned back on his side of the booth,
tucking the metal sphere back inside his jacket. "I don't
have time to give you a full rundown on everything that's
happened out there. Some things you're just going to have
to take on trust,"
"Trust?" The gray feathers rose again in a shrug.
"That ... is a variable commodity, my friend. Like so
many other things. And it has its price."
"Which I've already paid," said Dengar. "With more to
come into your pocket. If everything goes as planned. You
can puzzle over the answers to your unasked questions
later, if you'd rather do that than count your credits."
"Counting my credits," said the Q'nithian, "is a
favorite avocation of mine. But there's one question that
I still must ask now. You wish to inform the rich and
powerful Kuat of Kuat that, despite all his efforts to
the contrary, Boba Fett yet lives. When Kuat comes and
finds you, as he undoubtedly will . . . and as I presume
is your intention that he should . . . then what?"
Dengar remained silent. That's a good question, he
thought to himself. One that he'd been working on during
the whole long ride from the Dune Sea into Mos Eisley. A
dangerous question as well, since he was now sneaking
around behind the back of one of the deadliest
individuals in the galaxy. If Boba Fett were to find out
that he was being two-timed-which was what contacting
Kuat of Kuat amounted to- then Dengar's life wasn't worth
the smallest coin in the pouch inside his jacket. Still,
mused Dengar, I've got to look out for myself. If not for
his own sake, then for that of Manaroo as well; he was
still betrothed to her. His decision to send her away, to
keep her at a safe distance from this unsavory business
into which he had fallen, was something that still
produced mixed feelings in his heart. Dengar missed her
terribly, as though a living part of himself had been
excised without the benefit of anesthesia, a wound that
could never heal. But I had to do it, Dengar told himself
again. Getting involved with the fate of Boba Fett in any
way was too dangerous- and the life expectancy of those
who had put their trust in him was on the short side.
Fett's offer of a partnership between the two of them
still worried Dengar. Now that Boba Fett had just about
recovered completely from his time in the Sarlacc's gut-
and had gotten nearly all of his old strength and skills
back-how long would he have any use for another bounty
hunter cutting in on his action? He's always been a lone
operator-the suspicion that that hadn't changed for Boba
Fett was sharp and nettlesome in Dengar's mind. Fett
could be playing him for a fool, the way he had done to
others; a lot of those had survived only long enough to
regret trusting a barve like that, and then they'd been
the merchandise that Boba Fett dealt in. Or ashes, or
even less.
None of those were fates that Dengar wanted for
himself. So it's all a matter, he told himself again, of
who sells out the other first. And as a purchaser,
somebody as rich and powerful as Kuat of Kuat had some
definite advantages. Not only in terms of the price that
could be paid, but also in the protection he could give.
It had only been a fluke that the bombing raid hadn't
reduced Boba Fett to dust and disconnected atoms; the
next effort that Kuat made would be even more severe. I
could get the credits, though Dengar, and there would be
nothing that Boba Fett could do about it. Because he'd be
dead.
The shining bead eyes of the Q'nithian seemed to have
read his thoughts. "It's a dangerous game you're
playing," the Q'nithian remarked.
"I know that." Dengar slowly nodded his head. "But
it's the only one I've got."
There were a few more details to settle, and he and
the Q'nithian took care of them. Dengar knew that Boba
Fett was planning on getting off Tatooine; that would
make it difficult, if not impossible, for Kuat of Kuat to
get back in touch with the sender of the message about
Fett's still being alive. So the Q'nithian would also act
as the contact point; that meant he would also get a cut
of whatever payment Kuat made for the necessary
information of Boba Fett's whereabouts.
"So when will you be sending off the messenger pod?"
Dengar worked at securing the fastenings of his gear.
Even from inside the windowless cantina, he knew that
night had settled in on the Dune Sea. It would be a long
cold journey on the exposed saddle of the swoop to get
back to where he had left Boba Fett and the girl Neelah.
"The sooner you send it, the better."
"Don't worry," soothed the Q'nithian. He folded his
bifurcate talons on top of each other, with the
magnifying lens laid flat on the table. "It will be on
its way to Kuat, both the planet and the man himself,
within a matter of hours."
"Great." Dengar slid out from the booth. "I'll be
checking to make sure that it gets there."
He stopped inside the same arched doorway by which he
had entered the cantina. The place was packed now; it had
taken some effort to squeeze his way among the various
off-planet anatomies that frequented this dive. At the
side of the cantina's central area, the jizz-wailer band
had set up on the little stage they always used; their
clattering, wailing racket had already added another
layer of noise above the mingled conversations. Nobody
ever actually listened to the music, but it provided a
useful acoustic cover for the various business dealings
that the cantina's patrons wished to keep private.
Dengar moved up the short flight of steps that led to
the street level outside. From the doorway's arch, he
could see across the heads of the crowd, all the way back
to the booth where he had left the Q'nithian. Even if he
hadn't been in shadow, the Q'nithian's weak eyesight
would have ruled out his being spotted as he watched and
waited. Several minutes passed, and he didn't see the
Q'nithian get up from the booth, and none of the other
creatures in the cantina joined him there, either. Dengar
figured that was a good sign; if the Q'nithian was going
to sell him out, stab him in the back by passing on the
information about Boba Fett to some other interested
party in the cantina, the creature would have done so
immediately. That way, some bunch of thugs could have
jumped him before he'd had a chance to get out of Mos
Eisley, then painfully extracted the other bounty
hunter's location from him.
He was jostled a few times by other creatures
entering the cantina before he finally decided that the
Q'nithian was staying on the up-and-up with him- or at
least as much as he could reasonably expect from one of
Mos Eisley's shadier denizens. Dengar turned and headed
up the rest of the steps. A few seconds later he was
threading his way through the spaceport's dark alleys. He
had one more errand to take care of-the one on which Boba
Fett had sent him here-before he could return to the
hills on Mos Eisley's outskirts, where he had left the
damaged swoop.

What Dengar hadn't seen was the little creature that
inched its way down the metal support pillar of the
booth's table, then started a slow, laborious crawl
across the cantina's floor. Still no bigger in diameter
than Dengar's hand, it had been thin as paper when it had
surreptitiously emerged from the cloak of the Q'nithian's
feathers; by the time the mimbrane organism had finished
listening to the conversation between the two larger
creatures in the booth, it had swollen pillowlike, to the
thickness of a humanoid finger joint.
Its milkily translucent tissues shimmered with the
acoustic energy stored within as the tiny, rudimentary
legs around its edges helped it slither past the feet of
the cantina's paying customers. A row of primitive
sensory organs on its top surface gave the mimbrane just
enough ability to distinguish between light and shadow;
it navigated mainly by ingrained memory, taking the route
it had been taught between the Q'nithian and the other
creatures who were waiting for it.
High above the mimbrane's creeping progress, one of
the Tonnika sisters, her face all avaricious delicacy
framed between intricate braids, laughed at the joke her
identical-twin companion had just told her; the punch
line had something to do with a crude comparison between
Wookiee mating practices and the sour, pinched faces of
the Imper ial Navy's top admirals. The gray trail rising
from the smoking wand in Senni Tonnika's fine-boned hand
drew a wavering line in the cantina's muggy air as she
took a step backward, too quickly for the mimbrane to
scurry away from the sharp point of her boot heel. It
caught the mimbrane at one corner of its amorphous body,
with just enough force to squeeze out the last thing it
had absorbed while clinging to the underside of the
booth's table.
"Did you hear something?" Senni stopped laughing and
looked around herself in puzzlement.
"I hear a lot of things." Her sister, Brea, smiled
and leaned closer, drawing deep the smoke the other had
just exhaled. "All the time . . ."
"No-" She frowned and looked down toward the floor,
slick with spilled drinks and littered with the discarded
wrappings of small, unmarked packages. "I mean from down
there." She gave a shake of her head. "I very distinctly
heard a little voice, and it said, I'll be checking to
make sure that it gets there.' "
"You're imagining things."
The mimbrane had already crept away, hurrying as best
it could toward its destination. When it reached the
booth on the farthest side of the cantina, it didn't need
to climb up to the table. A greasy, black-nailed hand
reached down and picked it up.
"Fat little thing, ain't it?" Vol Hamame had once
been a member of Big Gizz's swoop gang. They had had a
parting of the ways, and not an amicable one. Since then,
Hamame had found other employment, equally criminal. But
a little more profitable. In a lot of ways, life had
improved since he had been able to get away from Spiker,
Gizz's obnoxious second in command. "Looks like the
Q'nithian seat it over here, all stuffed with
information."
"What else?" Hamame's partner was equally villainous-
looking; the mucus-lined pleats of his nasopharynx
fluttered wetly with each breath. "That's what these
things are for." The mimbrane's tiny legs wriggled
futilely as Phedroi flipped it onto its glistening back.
"Let's see what it's got for us."
Only one of the Q'nithian system's moons had its own
atmosphere; it was there, on deeply creviced fault lines,
grinding constantly against each other from the tidal
pull of the moon's captor planet, that the thick clusters
of the mimbrane creatures grew and multiplied like the
shelf fungi found on arboreal worlds. They lived on
acoustic energy, absorbing sound vibrations and
incorporating them layer by layer into their own simple
bodies. Millennia of seismic shifts and groans were
recorded in the oldest mimbranes, buried beneath the
weight of their overlapping offspring and grown into
undulating masses big enough to wrap around an Imperial
cruiser like a shining blanket.
Small, fresh mimbranes had more practical uses. They
were the perfect eavesdropping device, recording into
their gelatinous fibers any sounds that struck the
tympanic cells in which the creatures were sheathed.
Being totally organic, they couldn't be detected by the
usual antibugging sweep devices.
Hamame's jag-edged fingertip pressed down on the
bulging center of the mimbrane. The stored energy
converted back into sound.
"I heard you mention poor Santhananan's name." The
Q'nithian's familiar squawk spoke the words. "He met a
sad demise, I'm afraid."
"That's right." Phedroi gave a smirking nod. "You had
us murder him for you."
"Shut up," said Hamame. "Let's hear the rest." He
prodded the mimbrane again.
"Yeah, I'm sure it was tragic." The mimbrane emitted
Dengar's recorded voice. "What I want to know is, did
anybody pick up on his business?"
The two thugs listened to all of the deal that had
gone down between Dengar and the Q'nithian. "Now, that's
interesting." Hamame leaned back on his side of the
booth. "That Q'nithian is a sneaky type, but he's earned
his keep with this bit." On the table between him and
Phedroi, the mimbrane was now perfectly flat, all the
stored acoustic energy drained from its cells. "So Boba
Fett's still alive."
"That's one tough barve." Phedroi gave an admiring
shake of his head, the coarse and dirty ringlets of his
beard scraping across his tunic collar. "You just can't
kill him. If falling down a Sarlacc won't do the trick,
then what will?"
Hamame reached inside his jacket and pulled out his
blaster. He pointed the muzzle up toward the cantina's
ceiling. "This will."

19

It had taken a long time for him to come into his
own. To receive, to possess all that should have been his
from the beginning. To be known as the toughest, hardest,
most feared bounty hunter in the entire galaxy . . .
Bossk leaned back in the pilot's chair of the Hound's
Tooth, savoring the pleasures that came with success.
Mingled with a simmering anger that never completely
ebbed from the essence of a Trandoshan; he folded the
claws of both hands across the scales of his chest and
gazed slit-eyed at the stars visible through the
viewport. Too long, he brooded; too long a time. If all
the creatures on all those worlds had had any sense, they
would have recognized him as the best. The absolute best.
Instead-and this brought the fire inside him to a
hotter pitch-he'd had to wait until Boba Fett was dead.
And that had been much too long in coming.
A thread of regret mingled with the other emotions.
He would have liked to have killed Fett himself, torn out
his competitor's throat with one roundhouse sweep of his
claws. Or to have focused the crosshairs of a blaster
rifle's sight upon that nar-row-visored helmet, then
pressed the firing stud and seen Boba Fett's masked
visage replaced by a quick explosion of blood and bone
splinters ...
Bossk slowly nodded. Now, that would have been a real
pleasure. And one that he would have deserved to savor,
just like the taste of Fett's blood leaking between his
fangs, after having suffered so many humiliations at the
hands of that sneaking, underhanded barve.
Some of the anger was replaced with self-pity. There
were so many things of which he had been cheated in this
life. The leadership of the Bounty Hunters Guild-that
should have been his as well. Now it could hardly be said
that the Guild existed at all. Granted, a lot of personal
satisfaction had come with killing old Cradossk, his
father-that was the sort of thing that really defined the
relationship between Trandoshan generations-but he hadn't
gotten much material benefit out of the act. Instead of
becoming the head of a galaxy-wide organization of
predators, skimming a cut off the bounties collected on
all the hard merchandise changing hands on any inhabited
world, he'd wound up on his own, a scrabbling independent
agent like all the other bounty hunters. That had all
been Boba Fett's doing; the breakup of the Bounty Hunters
Guild had been a long time ago, before Bossk had learned
one of the most important lessons in this business-
Don't trust your competition. Kill them.
That's true wisdom, Bossk assured himself. For a lot
of reasons. There had been other sources of anger, other
humiliations he had suffered at Boba Fett's hands. They
had just kept piling up, one after another. When Bossk
had stood within striking distance of Fett, back when
Darth Vader had been giving the job to all the best
bounty hunters in the galaxy, to track down and find Han
Solo's Millennium Falcon, it had taken all of his self-
control not to leap over and rip out Fett's throat. And
then that last infuriating maneuver, when Fett had
outsmarted both him and his partner, Zuckuss, delivering
the carbonite-encased form of Han Solo to Jabba's palace
right beneath Bossk's outstretched claws-that had driven
him almost insane with rage.
So when the word had reached him that Boba Fett was
dead, dissolved in the digestive secretions of the
Sarlacc beast, a combination of elation and frustration
had welled up inside him. If the universe was going to be
so obliging as to just give him that which he'd most
fervently longed for, he'd just have to accept that as
philosophically as he could. The fact that he was now
forever frustrated in taking care of the job himself, of
reaping the intense pleasure of personally separating
Boba Fett from the realm of the living-that just showed
that the universe wasn't really fair and just, after all.
But Bossk had set the Hound's Tooth at maximum speed for
the too-familiar planet of Tatooine, just to bask in the
atmosphere that had been the last to fill his enemy's
lungs.
He didn't get that far, though; Tatooine hung like a
dusky smudge in the aft viewport screen. Before he'd had
time to set landing coordinates for the Mos Eisley
spaceport, Bossk had found something just as familiar-and
even more intriguing-in auto-nomic orbit outside
Tatooine's atmosphere. When he'd first spotted the Slave
I in the cockpit's forward viewport, and recognized it as
Boba Fett's ship, his hands had immediately darted to the
targeting and firing controls of the Hound's blaster
cannons. The only thing that had kept him from blowing
Slave I into atoms floating in empty space was the
realization that the other ship hadn't trained any of its
weapons onto his own. That, and remembering Boba Fett was
already dead. A simple hailing call had returned the
information that Slave I was empty, but still under the
protection of its internal guard circuitry.
This is too good, Bossk had decided. It was one thing
to inherit-by default-the mantle of top bounty hunter in
the galaxy. But to also stumble upon the late Boba Fett's
personal ship, the repository of all his weaponry and
databases, all the painstakingly acquired secrets and
strategies that had put him at the top of this dangerous
trade-Bossk couldn't resist an opportunity like that.
He was smart enough to avoid trying to crack Slave
I's security measures himself. Other creatures had gotten
killed trying to do just that. Boba Fett had wired the
ship with enough traps and self-aiming firepower to wipe
out a small army, if it had attempted to enter without
the appropriate password authorization. But with Fett
being dead, there was no time pressure about getting past
the ship's circuits; Bossk had the credits and the
leisure that allowed for calling in professional
assistance.
That was one advantage to being this close to
Tatooine; services of that kind were exactly the sort
available in Mos Eisley. If one could afford to pay the
price.
A harsh electronic buzz sounded from the Hound's comm
unit. A message had been received; undoubtedly, the one
for which Bossk had been waiting. He pulled himself
closer to the cockpit's control panel and saw something
that puzzled him for a moment.
There were two messages waiting for him.
The first was from Slave I, just as he had expected.
The other had arrived almost simultaneously a messenger
pod, sent straight from the surface of Tatooine; the
small, self-propelled device was now sitting in the
receptor bay of the Hound's Tooth. Bossk prodded a few
more buttons with his foreclaw and got a readout from it.
The coded message unit was from a Q'nithian message
expediter down in Mos Eisley with whom Bossk had a long-
standing working arrangement. A business relationship
the Q'nithian had a general knowledge of the kinds of
things that Bossk was interested in. Any message that the
Q'nithian was hired to send across the galaxy, that fit
those criteria, would get routed first to Bossk before
continuing on the rest of its journey.
Bossk read the destination info off the unit. It was
headed to the distant engineering center of Kuat, to the
head of Kuat Drive Yards, Kuat of Kuat. Bossk nodded to
himself as he read the address data. The Q'nithian had
been correct in figuring that he would want to see this.
Anything, thought Bossk, that's being sent to someone as
rich and powerful as Kuat is something that I'm
interested in. A successful bounty hunter always had to
have his info sources open wideband so he could filter
through all the galaxy's secrets and rumors for the bits
that might turn out profitable.
He had already decided, though, to read the encoded
message unit later-after he had taken care of the other
business, for which he had been waiting so long. The tip
of his claw hit the next button on the cockpit's comm
controls.
"I'm all finished over here." The recorded voice, dry
and emotionless, was that of the lead technician for
D/Crypt Information Services, one of the many
semilegitimate businesses that abounded in Mos Eisley.
"The security codes have been sieved out, and you now
have full access to the ship designated as Slave I. After
you pay me, of course."
That detail was already taken care of. Bossk
transmitted an account transfer order to Mos Eisley's
black-market escrow exchange, then fired up the primary
navigation engines. In the time it would take for him to
maneuver the Hound's Tooth over to the other ship, the
D/Crypt tech would already have received the payment
confirmation.
"Good thing you didn't keep me waiting." The D/Crypt
technician was a wizened little humanoid, the top of his
bald head barely coming up to Bossk's chest. "I don't
like to be kept waiting. If you had kept me waiting, I
would have charged you triple overtime."
"Don't sweat it." Bossk let the transfer connection,
between his own Hound and the Slave I, seal shut behind
him. "I would've paid." He glanced around the bleakly
functional confines of Slave I's cargo hold; the bars of
the merchandise cages were uncomfortably familiar to him
from the last time he had been aboard the ship. The
hinges of the main cage's door had been repaired, but
still showed signs of the laser bolt that D'harhan had
unleashed upon them. That had been a long time ago, when
Boba Fett had still been alive and busily engaged upon
breaking up the old Bounty Hunters Guild. "Everything's
clear?"
"As far as I can determine, it is." With his high-
power trifocals slid up onto his pink, unsunned brow, the
D/Crypt tech busily packed up his equipment cases.
"What's that mean?"
The tech blinked myopically at Bossk. "Nothing's
perfect. Not in this galaxy, at least." He gave a shrug
with his thin shoulders. "Ninety-nine percent, though; I
can guarantee you that much. A less than one-percent
chance that there's any security device aboard this ship
that I wasn't able to locate and deactivate."
"Yeah?" Bossk looked back at him sourly. "And what's
the payoff on the guarantee? Some booby trap takes my
head off-you're going to refund my credits?"
"I'll put a flower on your grave." The D/Crypt tech
clicked shut the last of the case latches and
straightened up. "If there's enough of you left to put in
one."
When the technician had boarded his minuscule
shuttlecraft, then disconnected it from Slave I and
headed back down to Tatooine, Bossk turned from the
transfer port and drew his blaster from its holster. Even
a one-percent chance of something going wrong was enough
to make him nervous. Warily, he stepped forward into the
ship's cargo hold. He doubted if there would be anything
of value to be found here. Grasping one of the rungs with
his free hand, he climbed up into the cockpit.
From the forward viewport, Bossk could see his own
ship and the landing claw tethering it to Slave I. The
urge to abandon his investigation and return to that
known safety was almost overwhelming; every particle of
this craft, including the recycled air seeping into his
lungs, was imbued with its departed owner's invisible
presence. Boba Fett might be dead, but the memory of him
was still intimidating. The grip of the blaster sweated
in Bossk's hand; he half expected to glance over his
shoulder and see that narrow-visored gaze watching him
from the hatchway.
He didn't sit down in the pilot's chair. Instead, he
leaned over it and punched out a few quick commands on
the ship's computer. Those were credits well spent,
decided Bossk, when he saw the file directory appear on
the screen in front of him. The D/Crypt technician had
cracked and stripped out the password protection; all of
Boba Fett's secrets lay there exposed, ready for his
careful examination.
Some of the nervousness drained from Bossk's spine
and muscles. If there had been a trap remaining, he would
have instinctively expected it to be here, guarding all
that was most precious to Fett, the essence of his
devious mind and hard-won experience. Bossk reached out
and blanked the computer screen; going through all those
files would take a long time. He'd have to bring over a
mem device from the Hound's Tooth so he could do a core
dump and take everything back to his own ship, to be
sorted out at his leisure. It might take years. But
then-Bossk smiled to himself-I've got the time. And Boba
Fett doesn't. Not anymore.
The blaster went back into its holster. Bossk turned
away from the cockpit controls, feeling genuinely
relaxed. The barve was dead. In a business where sheer
survival was the biggest part of winning, Boba Fett had
finally come up a loser. The warm glow of victory, like a
blood-rich meal slowly dissolving in his gut, filled
Bossk and radiated through every fiber of his being.
Just outside the cockpit hatchway, Bossk saw a door
partly ajar, one that he didn't remember from his
previous time aboard Slave I. He saw now that it was
cleverly constructed, the hinges concealed and the door's
edges the same dimensions as the surrounding bulkhead
panel; anyone who hadn't known of it would have had a
hard time locating it. When the D/Crypt technician had
scoured out the security systems, Bossk figured, the
door's powered lock must have sprung it open.
Or-Bossk's hand froze on the door as he started to
pull it open. Or maybe this is the trap.
He pulled his hand back, automatically reaching for
the blaster slung at his hip. The space he could see on
the other side of the door was unlit. But only for a
moment longer; a quick shot from the blaster lit up
everything inside.
The door now dangled loose; Bossk kicked it farther
open. Light from the cockpit spilled past him and through
the doorway. There was only one object in the enclosed
space; a featureless, almost cubical shape, it stood
nearly as tall as Bossk. For a moment he thought it was
some kind of storage locker, until he spotted the pair of
short, stubby legs upon which it balanced. A droid, an
inert-screen load shifter; Bossk recognized the variety
as one used in engineering facilities and interstellar
shipyards. The large shape was essentially a shielded
container for transporting quantities of lethal
fissionable materials. This droid showed signs of use-its
metal sides were dented and scraped-but it had obviously
been decontaminated; the radiation detector that Bossk
kept clippe d to his belt would have gone off otherwise.
None of the droid's sensor circuits lit up as Bossk
stepped closer to it. The simple electronic brain had
been removed as well. Bossk wondered why Boba Fett would
have bothered to do something like that-or why a droid of
this dull, uninteresting type was even here aboard the
Slave I.
The access hatch on the side of the droid was
unlatched; Bossk pulled it open, bending his head to see
inside. He undipped a small electric torch from his belt
and shone it around the container's interior.
Something was wrong. Bossk could tell that
immediately; there was no shielding material lining the
droid's cargo space. Not much room for fissionables,
either; the interior was crowded with various pieces of
linked equipment. Spy equipment; discreet surveillance
gear was a familiar category in the bounty-hunter trade.
Some of the stuff inside the droid was pretty
sophisticated; Bossk recognized a full array of optical
and auditory pickups, wired to micropinhole elements
studding the droid's battered carcass.
Or supposedly battered. Working from a hunch, Bossk
scraped a claw across the droid's exterior rust streaks;
the orangish-red color came right off. This was faked,
decided Bossk. Somebody had worked on this droid to make
it look decrepit and falling apart.
He spotted another fake. Wiring from a remote-signal
receiver led to a tiny radiation emitter mounted at the
edge of the droid's cargo hatch. An old trick when the
emitter was activated-at a distance, with somebody's
thumb on a transmitter button-there would be just enough
radiation to trigger the alarms on any detection devices
nearby. That would usually be enough to get even hard-
core scavengers like the Jawas to abandon the machinery,
for fear of contamination.
Bossk poked around some more, inside the deactivated
droid. If Boba Fett had been doing the same a while
back-maybe before he'd gone down to Tatooine and hired on
at Jabba the Hutt's palace-he must have been interrupted
before he'd gotten very far. Most of the seals were still
in place on the various bits of enclosed gear. When Bossk
snapped one and peeled it off a circuit module, he made
an interesting discovery the corporate emblem of Kuat
Drive Yards was embossed on the silvery metal ribbon dan
gling in his hands.
There's a coincidence, mused Bossk. He knew it was
more than that. The messenger pod that the Q'nithian in
Mos Eisley had routed his way had an intended destination
at the planet Kuat, the headquarters of Kuat Drive Yards;
it was supposed to go right into Kuat of Kuat's hands.
Bossk's mercenary instincts were aroused by these
overlapping signs of interest on the part of one of the
galaxy's richest and most powerful creatures.
The big question right now was what Kuat had been
using this pseudo-dilapidated droid to spy on. Bossk
poked some more in the droid's innards and found at last
what he was looking for, what he had known would be
there. He pulled his head back out of the droid's hollow
space, holding in one hand the multitrack recording unit
that had been connected to the various sensors.
That must have been what Boba Fett had been looking
for as well, before he'd been called away, leaving this
investigation unfinished. The only other object in the
concealed chamber was a tripod-mounted holographic
playback unit with a full assortment of auto-adaptive
connectors and data channels. Bossk sorted through the
connectors until he found the one that matched up with
the recorder. Both units lit up; after a few seconds of
format scanning, a miniaturized, fuzzy-edged landscape
formed in front of Bossk.
Someplace on Tatooine; Bossk could tell that much
just from the quality of light, the mingled shadows that
came with the planet's twin suns. Bossk leaned in closer
to the holo image, trying to make out the details. It
looked like one of those miserable, dreary moisture farms
that eked out a low-profit existence on the edges of the
Dune Sea.
Parallel lines from the segmented treads of a ground
transport were embedded in the gravelly terrain. Even at
the holo image's low resolution, Bossk could tell that
they dated from at least a day before the recording had
been made; the tracks were blurred by windblown sand. He
figured they were from the sandcrawler of the Jawas who
had dumped off this droid when they had been tricked into
believing that it was contaminated with lethal radiation.
Probably some farther distance away from the moisture
farm so its autonomic spy circuits could kick in and it
could find a surreptitious vantage point by which it
could observe and record whatever happened.
And whatever happened hadn't been good. Bossk could
see ugly black smoke rising to the top of the holo image
as the shot's point of view moved in closer. The spy
circuits in the droid must have felt it was all right to
come out in the open-since every creature at the moisture
farm was obviously dead. With clinical detachment, Bossk
studied the charred, skeletal remains strewn in front of
what was left of the farm's low, rounded structures.
Looks like a standard stormtrooper hit, he judged. All
the markings, unsubtle even by Bossk's standards, were
there. The Empire's white-uniformed killers always left a
clear signature on their grisly work, to intimidate
anyone who stumbled upon it later.
The silence of the recorded image was broken by the
rising whir of a speeder approaching from somewhere in
the distance. For a moment the image's point of view
tilted and bounced; obviously, the spying droid had
scrambled back to someplace in the surrounding dunes
where it wouldn't have been spotted.
The shot steadied at long distance, then zoomed
forward as the spy circuits switched to a powerful
telephoto lens. That enabled Bossk to recognize at least
the figure that had scrambled out of the speeder when it
had come to a bobbing halt. That's Luke Skywalker, he
thought; there was no mistaking that youthful human face
and tousled blond hair.
He leaned closer to the image, suddenly fascinated by
it. This must be the stortntrooper raid- Bossk slowly
nodded. On that moisture farm, where Skywalker grew up.
He knew more about it than most creatures in the galaxy
did; in a spaceport watering hole considerably grungier
and more disreputable than even the Mos Eisley cantina,
B6ssk had bought drinks for and pried information out of
a twitching human wreck, a former stormtrooper cashiered
from the Imperial Navy for various psychological
problems. Guilt, Bossk had supposed at the time; it
wasn't an emotion he'd ever personally experienced. The
ex-stormtrooper hadn't been involved in any action on
Tatooine, but had heard grisly bits and pieces from some
of his barracks mates. In typical bounty-hunter fashion,
Bossk had filed away the data-and the Luke Skywalker
connection-inside his head, against the day when it might
prove useful. Now he wondered if that time might have
come at last.
Bossk drew back from the floating image, watching as
the image of Skywalker discovered the charred skeletons
of the aunt and uncle who had raised him from childhood.
He knew how much tighter those bonds of sentiment were
for other species. He also knew about Luke Skywalker's
ties to the Rebel Alliance; rumors and stories had
already spread throughout the galaxy, along with ID holos
and other tracking data. This mere youngster, from an
obscure backwater planet, had somehow become
overwhelmingly important to Emperor Palpatine and-perhaps
even more so-to Lord Vader, the Empire's black-gloved
fist. Vader's creatures, his personal legions of spies
and informers, were still scouring all the inhabited
worlds for leads on Skywalker. Why, though, was still a
carefully guarded secret.
The deactivated droid and its contents were now even
more intriguing to Bossk. It might not provide
Skywalker's current location-which would've been worth
credits; Vader would pay for that kind of data-but there
might be some kind of clue as to just why both the
Emperor and the Dark Lord of the Sith were so interested
in him. And to a smart barve like Bossk, that could be
worth even more.
Others might pay even more than Vader or Palpatine.
Bossk mulled over the possibilities. After all, the droid
with its carefully concealed surveillance equipment had
all the appearances of having been put together by Kuat
Drive Yards. Why would Kuat of Kuat have been interested
in Skywalker? That would be something worth finding out
as well.
In front of Bossk, the holographic image froze,
having reached the end of the recording. The black smoke
from the stormtroopers' raid on the moisture farm hung
motionless in the small segment of the past, like the
scrawled emblem of the dark forces that controlled the
universe. ...
Part of Bossk's brain, the most evolved and cautious
part, told him that this was nothing with which he should
get involved. The closer one got to those circles of
intrigue and deceit, with Darth Vader at their center,
the closer drew one's own death. Look at what happened to
Boba Fett, he reminded himself. Fett might have suffered
his final, terminal defeat because of Luke Skywalker, but
he wouldn't have even been there on Jabba's sail barge,
up above the Great Pit of Carkoon, if it hadn't been for
Vader's endless manipulations of other sentient
creatures.
The caution s voiced inside Bossk's head fell silent,
consumed by the other, hungrier elements that made up a
Trandoshan's nature. Boba Fett had died because he was a
fool; his death proved that he was a fool. That was all
the logic that Bossk needed. He's dead and I'm alive-that
also proved he was smarter than Fett had ever been. So
what was there to be afraid of?
It's this ship, Bossk thought. / can't get any work
done here. He'd have a better chance of figuring out what
the holographic recording meant if he took it back over
to the Hound's Tooth and puzzled over it. The holographic
image blinked out of existence as he reached inside the
droid's cargo space and started disconnecting the
circuits.
One of the data leads surprised him. It was hooked up
to an olfactory sensor on the droid's exterior. He could
understand wanting to get a high-resolution visual and
auditory record of the event, but why collect scent
molecules in the air? Corpses and stormtroopers smelled
like death, if anything.
The data cable was routed to an analyzer unit rather
than the recording device. The small readout panel on its
angled top showed that it was set to detect organic
anomalies, anything of a biological nature that shouldn't
have been at the scene that the droid had spied upon.
Bossk pulled out the analyzer and peered closer at the
screen. It had picked up something from the recording;
numbers and symbols flickered by as the device sorted out
the possibilities.
After a moment the numbers slowed, then turned to
letters, then words. pheromones detected. Another second
passed before the rest appeared. subtype sexual, gender
male. Then the last species match-fal-leen. The words
remained until Bossk blanked the screen with a press of
his clawed thumb.
That was even more interesting. Bossk nodded slowly
to himself, the analyzer device resting silent in his
hands. Falleens didn't serve in the Imperial storm-
troopers; the whole species was too congenitally arrogant
to submit to military discipline. They were fearsome
enemies, but strictly solo fighters. And schemers, given
to intrigues matched only by those of Emperor Palpatine
himself.
And there was one Falleen in particular, who had
risen almost to the top in Palpatine's court. Prince
Xizor had been perhaps the only one there who could get
away with defying Lord Vader's commands, and Xizor was
dead now. There had been even more to Xizor's defiance
than the Emperor had been aware of, though rumors told of
Vader having suspected the truth. That Prince Xizor had
been in fact the secret head of the infamous Black Sun,
the criminal organization that spanned the galaxy, an
empire in its own right.
Speculations raced inside Bossk's skull. Had Prince
Xizor also been there on Tatooine when Vader's
stormtroopers had raided the moisture farm at the edge of
the Dune Sea? When Luke Skywalker's aunt and uncle had
been killed? That was what the olfactory record in the
droid's spy circuits would indicate. But it didn't tell
why Xizor would have been there-or why Kuat of Kuat would
have planted a surveillance system that would detect the
evidence of Xizor's involvement. Or how Boba Fett had
come to possess the spy recording . . .
That many questions without answers made Bossk's head
hurt, as though it might explode from the pressure
building within. This is going to take some time, he
thought grimly, to figure out. He extracted the rest of
the recording devices from the droid, stacked the metal
boxes up in his hands, and turned back toward the secret
chamber's doorway.
Back aboard the Hound's Tooth, Bossk set the spy
devices down beside a corner of the cockpit's main
control panel. His head ached, the scales of his brow
almost visibly flexing from the pounding of his thoughts.
He decided it would be better if he waited awhile-maybe
even slept a bit, in the lowered respiration and nearly
stilled heartbeat mode of the coldblooded
Trandoshans-before tackling the mysteries of the recorded
hit on the moisture farm. Go at it fresh, Bossk told
himself.
In the meantime there was the other matter to check
out, the encoded message unit that the Q'nithian down in
Mos Eisley had routed his way. Bossk was already
wondering if there might be some connection between it
and what he had just discovered aboard Boba Fett's Slave
I ship. The name of Kuat was popping up in a suspicious
number of connections right now-the encoded message unit
was addressed to Kuat of Kuat, and the deactivated spy
droid was an obvious Kuat Drive Yards construction.
He sat down at the cockpit controls of his own
Hound's Tooth and pulled the encoded message unit over to
himself. The Q'nithian had provided him with a simple
bypass key and decryption protocol, with which he'd be
able to read the enclosed information, then seal up the
message unit and send it on its way without the eventual
recipient being able to tell that- its security had been
breached.
Bossk extracted a single slip of paper from the unit.
That's it? he thought, feeling slightly disappointed.
When this much attempted secrecy was involved, there were
usually items of obvious significance to be found-entire
Imperial code manuals, battle plans, that sort of thing.
As he turned the slip over he couldn't imagine that he'd
find anything important on it. ...
A moment later Bossk came to; he found himself lying
on the floor, a befuddled consciousness slowly seeping
back into his brain. The pilot's chair was tilted
backward, from where he had toppled from it.
With trembling claws, he plucked the slip of paper
from his chest. He held it up in front of his unwilling
gaze. The same four words were still there. Words that
changed everything, that turned the universe inside out,
expelling Bossk from its bright center-
BOBA FETT IS ALIVE.
He couldn't believe it. But at the same time . . . he
knew it was true.
It was always true.

20

"There they are." Phedroi used the muzzle of his
blaster rifle to point over the top of the dune. "We
could probably take 'em all out, right now."
Beside him, lying belly-down in the sand, Hamame
shook his head. "Naw-" His rifle lay parallel to his
partner's, aimed toward the three distant figures. Five,
if the two medical droids were counted. "They're worth
more alive than dead. Or at least Boba Fett is."
"Are you kidding?" Phedroi looked over at him in
amazement. "You're going to try and take Boba Fett alive?
That's crazy. The barve's too dangerous for that. Why
push our luck? We should just be glad to get the chance
to kill him."
Heat radiated up from the dune, though Tatooine's
suns had set long ago. But it was more than the
temperature differential between the ground and the star-
swept night that kept both men sweating. One thing,
Hamame knew now, to have followed the other bounty hunter
Dengar all the way from Mos Eisley to here, keeping a
safe distance so they wouldn't be detected; it was
something entirely different to have ditched their swoops
and crept within firing distance of a tough customer like
this. There was a history of bad things happening to crea
tures who thought they had the drop on Boba Fett.
Hamame kept watching what was going on at the mouth
of the tunnel slanting beneath a low crest of hills.
"There's Dengar to take care of as well," he said, voice
barely more than a whisper. "Plus there's some female
there-I suppose you want to off her, too."
"Well, sure." That was how Phedroi's mind worked. It
probably seemed obvious enough to him. Dengar had never
had much of a reputation, but if he and this woman were
hanging around with Boba Fett, it would be better to err
on the side of caution. And he didn't know of any safer
way of handling things, other than just wiping out
everyone as long as there was the chance to do so. "Isn't
that what you were planning on doing?"
"Not until I've had a chance to find out some more."
Hamame nodded toward Fett and his companions. "Dengar
picked up a sublight relay modulator back in Mos Eisley;
that's what Fett's working on right now, getting it
sync'd in with his comm equipment. So, obviously, he's
going to be making some kind of contact just outside the
planet's atmosphere. The question is, who with?"
"How should I know?"
"Exactly," said Hamame. "You don't know. And you're
going to off Boba Fett without discovering who it is he
wants to talk to? Maybe there's someone out there that
wants to keep him alive, would pay big credits if we had
him and didn't
him."
Phedroi thought it over. "I suppose that could be the
case."
"Yeah, well, you suppose and I know." Hamame squinted
at the scene in question, lit by Dengar holding up a
small portable worklight. His and the female's shadows
stretched away and merged with the surrounding darkness
as they watched Boba Fett applying the sizzling point of
a miniature torch to exposed circuitry. "There's a lot
more going on here than what it looks like. I can tell
that right down in my gut."
"I'm getting a bad feeling about this. . . ." Phedroi
shook his head. "Maybe we should go back and get some
more people in on this action. You know, like safety in
numbers." If he could have arranged for a whole Imperial
battalion to help them out, his nervousness would have
been only slightly diminished. "I mean, especially if
we're going to take on Boba Fett . . ."
"What, and w ind up splitting the profits with every
scrabbling little thief in Mos Eisley?" Hamame looked
over at him in disgust. "Look. From what we can get for
Boba Fett-from somebody-we'll be able to retire from this
game. One big score, and we're golden."
Of course, he had laid that kind of talk before on
his partner. That was how they had both wound up on a
forsaken dump of a planet like Tatooine. But this time,
vowed Hamame, it'll be different. They just had to see it
through.
"All right." Phedroi looked along his blaster rifle's
barrel at the other figures in the night, then back to
his partner. "So just what is it you're going to do?'J
Hamame stood up, his boots digging into the slope of
the dune. "Simple." He smiled as he slung his blaster
rifle's leather strap across his shoulder. "I'm going to
go down there and talk to them."
"That does it," muttered Phedroi aloud as he watched
his partner go striding toward the distant pool of light.
"This is definitely the hardest merchandise you've ever
gotten me mixed up with."

She watched him tighten and seal the last connectors.
"Is that thing ready to go?" Neelah pointed to the comm
unit on the pebble-strewn ground, its interior filled
with the hard shadows cast by the worklight in Dengar's
upraised hand.
"It has to run through its logic checks," said Boba
Fett, "before it can sync up with the database of
transmission codes." He set down the handheld servodriver
he had been using, then picked up a circuit probe; he
tapped its point against the side of his helmet. "We were
real lucky-none of the onboard memory in here got
corrupted, in spite of all the banging around it's gone
through. If I'd had to build the comm protocols up from
scratch, it would've taken a couple of days. At least."
For a moment she thought he had been talking about
the contents of his head, the brain tissue encased in
bone, and all its memories and hard, unfeeling
personality. The true Boba Fett, thought Neelah. Back
from the dead. Then she realized he was talking about the
elaborate circuits inside the helmet itself, the comlink
between him and his ship orbiting above the planet's
atmosphere. What was it called? He'd told her; something
sinister and cold, stripped of even the minimal affection
that could exist between a sentient creature and his
tools. Slave, Neelah remembered. Slave I; that was it.
Something to be used and discarded, when its pure
functionality was at an end. She supposed that human
beings and all other sentient creatures were that way for
him as well. That was how things had been in the palace
of Jabba the Hutt as well; when there had been more
amusement to be gained from tossing poor Oola into the
rancor pit, nothing else mattered to the master holding
the other end of the chain.
She had been there, and she had been lucky to escape.
Not just luck; she had fought and schemed her way out of
the palace and the inevitable death it had held. Better
to die out in the wastes of the Dune Sea, bones cracked
by the desert's scavengers, than be the victim of a fat
slug's idle boredom. But where did I wind up instead?
That was the question that circled in Neelah's mind as
she watched the two bounty hunters. It had been one thing
to get hooked up with a mercenary creature like Boba Fett
when he had represented nothing more than a mystery to
her, the black hole of her own hidden past. It was
another thing entirely now that he had recovered from his
wounds and was pursuing his own agenda again. Revenge and
credits, supposed Neelah, in varying proportions; that
was all that any bounty hunter was concerned with. Even
this Dengar, though he had given some indication of a
human nature developed beyond those two fundamental
desires. She knew that she could trust either one of them
just about as far as she pitch them both across the dunes
with one hand. Creatures who trusted any bounty hunter
usually wound up as merchandise or corpses, depending
upon what was best for business.
The questions inside her head were going to be
answered soon. Neelah didn't know yet what those answers
were going to be, but she had already started preparing
herself for them. Whatever happens, she told herself
again, I'm not going to be left behind. The bigger
questions were all tied up with Boba Fett; if she was
going to uncover both her past and her fate, she couldn't
let the bounty hunter slip away from her. Even if it
meant risking her life to follow after him. Or losing her
life, to find out those things.
Neelah turned and walked away from the pool of light
toward the desert's surrounding darkness. The answers
might not be anywhere on this planet, but the night
provided enough emptiness to hold her thoughts.
"Stay right there." A man's voice. "Don't
move."
She found herself gazing into a scruff-bearded face,
pockmarks and scars underneath the grime of hard, exposed
traveling. One corner of his mouth lifted in a smile,
exposing yellow teeth. Before she could react, the man
had raised the muzzle of a blaster rifle, slung by a
leather strap from his shoulder. At waist height, the
weapon pointed straight at her.
"Nothing to worry about," said the man. "This is just
to show you that I'm serious. You be serious, too-no
messing around-and nothing bad is gonna happen."
"What do you want?" Neelah kept her voice low. She
wasn't sure which would be worse, alarming this person or
the two bounty hunters somewhere behind her. Any one of
them might start firing, just to quickly settle matters.
If she was standing between the blasters and their
targets, that would be just too bad. For her.
"Not you. At least, not right now." The other corner
of the man's mouth lifted, slowly, as though dragged
upward by an invisible hook. "Later maybe we can discuss
some off-time interests. But right now I gotta go talk to
your friends."
Both Boba Fett and Dengar glanced over as Neelah
walked back into the worklight's circle. When they saw
the man close behind her, Fett stood up, leaving the comm
unit's last bolt untightened. Den-gar reached for the
blaster pistol in his holster, then stayed his hand
without drawing the weapon.
"Well, here's a happy little gathering." The man
lowered the barrel of his blaster rifle from where it had
been pressing into the small of Neelah's back. "Old
friends like us really oughta try to get together more
often."
"Vol Hamame," said Dengar with a sour grimace and a
nod. "I thought I spotted you back there in Mos Eisley."
"You should've said hello. Then I wouldn't have had
to come all the way out to this place. Not that it
doesn't have its charms." The man looked around at the
sloping hillsides, barely visible at the edge of the
worklight's glow. Then he turned back to the two bounty
hunters. "But I'm more of a city kind of guy, if you know
what I mean."
"Then that's where you should stay." Boba Fett spoke
up, his voice level and emotionless. "So you can mind
your own business, instead of interfering with anyone
else's."
Looking over her shoulder, Neelah saw the man called
Hamame shake his head, feigning regret.
"Actually, this is my business." Hamame used his free
hand to point toward the bounty hunters. "That's why I
followed Dengar out here. Pretty easy, actually, what
with that frapped-out swoop bike he was on. Just about
fell asleep, it went so slow. But it was worth it, just
to get here and find out that you really are alive, after
all."
Boba Fett looked over at Dengar. "Seems as though you
didn't do a very good job of keeping things secret."
"Don't blame him," said Hamame. "Let's just say I've
got my contacts pretty well lined up in Mos Eisley. There
isn't much that I don't hear about. I get the news on all
the little stuff, so it wouldn't have been very likely
that I'd miss out on something big like this. There's a
whole galaxy out there that's heard you're dead; most
creatures would figure you'd be just about digested
inside the Sarlacc by now. Some creatures-I don't know
who-might be happy to hear you made it out. There's a
whole bunch of others who would probably be a lot less
than happy when they find that you're walking around
again."
"That's their problem." Fett gave a slight shrug.
"And it might be a while before they find out, anyway.
Especially since you won't be telling them."
"Hold it right there." With one quick motion, Hamame
pushed Neelah aside as his other hand swung the blaster
rifle up into firing position. The shove was hard enough
to send her sprawling onto her knees, the sand and gravel
scraping her palms raw. "Get your hands up." He gestured
with the rifle's muzzle. "Step away from that box."
"This?" Boba Fett's gloved hands were already level
with his helmet. With the toe of his boot, he gave the
comm unit a kick. "It's not even operational."
"I don't care if it's as dead as you're supposed to
be." A few lights had blinked on the control panel of the
comm unit. Hamame raised the muzzle of the blaster rifle
higher, aiming from his hip straight toward Boba Fett's
helmet. "Just get away from it. You know what kind of
reputation you've got, being a tricky barve and all. I
don't want any surprises."
Fett moved toward where Dengar was standing with his
hands raised. "Careful," said Fett. "Trust me-you won't
get nearly as much for a corpse as you will for living
merchandise."
"I'll take what I can get," said Hamame. "Especially
since you don't have any choice about talking right now."
He smiled as he kept the blaster rifle trained toward
Dengar and Boba Fett. "Amazing how persuasive something
as simple as this can be when you're looking down its
barrel. There's a bunch of questions I'd like some
answers to. Profitable answers."
"Don't be an idiot." Dengar spoke up. "If you want
credits, there are easier ways of getting them than this.
And less dangerous. Just let us go, and we'll make it
worth your while."
"Oh, sure; I'll trust you to send the credits. You
can send it care of the Mos Eisley cantina." Hamame shook
his head with a grimace of disgust. "Get real. Whatever
you two could pay for your hides isn't anything compared
to what some others would be willing to." He looked
straight toward the other bounty hunter. "There are some
big players interested in Boba Fett's welfare, and I mean
to make sure that they're gonna have to make me happy
before they get to do whatever it is they want with you."
Neelah lay on the ground where she had landed,
keeping still as she listened to the exchange going on
above. The man's choice of words tipped her off. Whatever
you two could pay for your hides. He was exactly the sort
who'd forget all about a female's presence, whenever he
didn't have any specific use for her. Just as if she
didn't exist ... or couldn't do something about the
situation.
"You forgot something."
Her voice actually surprised him, as though it had
suddenly come from nowhere. The man's startled gaze swung
around and then down to her; that 1 slight movement was
echoed in his torso, turning it f toward her. That opened
up just enough of an angle for Neelah to dig the points
of her elbows into the ground, plant one boot sole flat
with her leg bent, and straighten the other leg into a
kick straight to the man's crotch. The look in his eyes
showed that he was fully aware of her now.
The man went down, falling heavily on his side, but
managing to keep some semblance of control. He jammed the
butt of the blaster rifle hard against his ribs as his
knees drew up in an instinctive fetal position. His fist
squeezed tight on the trigger, getting off a line of fire
that coursed within inches of Neelah's head as she
scrambled to her feet and ran toward the others. She had
to take another dive to get out of the way as Boba Fett
snatched up his own blaster from the pile of equipment he
had stacked up while working on the comm unit. Without
taking time to aim, Fett laid down a quick series of
shots that stitched the ground close to the other figure,
now rolling shoulder-first into a sandy hollow. His
return fire, desperate and inaccurate, was still enough
to drive Fett back toward the rocky hillside.
"In here!" Dengar grabbed Neelah's forearm and pulled
her into the safety of the shallow cave. He pushed her
behind himself, then grabbed the blaster rifle that had
been propped against the side of the opening. He braced
the weapon against himself and started firing. The
covering barrage lit up the night, sending hard-edged
shadows jittering across the rocks and sand dunes. The
shots forced the other man's head below the lip of his
shelter, giving Boba Fett enough time to break off his
own fire and sprint, back hunched low, to his companions.
From inside the cave, Neelah and the two bounty
hunters heard the raised voice of the man outside.
"Phedroi!" He wasn't shouting to them, but to some other
figure, unseen in the surrounding darkness. "Get in on
this! Now!"
The command was hardly necessary; his partner, who
must have been watching everything all along, now
directed a hot fusillade their way from an angle that
gave him a clear shot into the cave's mouth. Boba Fett
fired back as all three of them retreated farther inside.
"Now what?" Neelah looked around the rough-hewn rock
as the barrage of blaster fire lit up the space. All the
other weapons in Boba Fett's carefully hidden stash had
already been dragged outside with the other gear. Both
Fett and Dengar had their spines planted against opposite
walls of the cave, leaning forward just enough to get off
a few quick shots before snapping their heads back from
the bolts that sizzled past them. "We're stuck here-this
hole doesn't go anywhere!"
"It wasn't meant to." Boba Fett didn't look back
around at her. "You don't get anywhere by running away
from creatures like these."
"Good theory." Across the cave, Dengar held his
blaster rifle close against his chest, watching the
shifting shadows in the darkness outside, waiting for
another chance at a well-aimed shot. "Gets a little tight
when you try to put it into practice."
Boba Fett gave a small shrug, his shoulders scraping
against the rock behind him. "Don't worry about it." His
voice remained as calm and drained of apparent emotion as
before. "Everything's under control."
"What are you talking about?" From the back of the
cave, Neelah stared at the bounty hunter in dismay. She
had already come to the limit of the space, no more than
a few meters from the opening in the hillside's rocky
slope. "There's no way out of here! They've got us pinned
down-they can either wait us out, till your blasters are
exhausted, or they can call in more of their friends." A
couple more shots blazed through the middle of the cave,
striking the roof above her and showering down a rain of
scorched rock shards. "Either way, they've got us!"
"As I said, don't worry."
The bounty hunter's calm response infuriated Neelah.
The thought of dying in this hole-or worse, being dragged
out of it after the pair outside had finished off Boba
Fett and Dengar-infuriated her. I didn't escape from
Jabba's palace to wind up like this. There were still too
many things she didn't know, too many questions without
answers-her real name, where she had come from, how she
had gotten here-to let bleed away into the sand. If there
had been any chance of pulling it off, she would have
grabbed one of the blasters out of the others' hands and
made a break, firing and charging headlong at the two-man
siege force outside. Anything would be better than
waiting here for the inevitable.
Dengar turned his face away from the cave opening.
"If you've got some kind of plan-" The blaster rifle's
muzzle touched his chin as he held the weapon in a
diagonal line across his chest. "I'd appreciate being let
in on it, too."
"If there was anything you could do about it, one way
or the other, I might tell you." Boba Fett fired a quick
couple of bursts outside, before glancing over at Dengar.
"But there isn't. All you have to do is wait. And you'll
see."
"That's great," said Neelah sourly. She had to raise
her voice over the noise of another fusillade streaking
through the dark and carving the back of the cave out in
sparks. Her disgust had reached the point where nothing,
not even laser bolts, could make her flinch. "All this
time I thought you were recovering from what happened to
you-only it turns out that your brains are still fried."
Boba Fett made no reply. "Hold your fire," he
instructed Dengar.
"But they've come in closer." Dengar used the rifle
muzzle to point outside. "The one that was out in the
dunes-he's moved up. He's got an even better angle now."
"That's all right. I want the two of them together.
Or close enough."
"Why?" Dengar looked puzzled. "You think you can take
both of them out? I can cover you if you want to take a
shot at it."
"That won't be necessary."
The flashes from the weapons outside were enough for
Neelah to tell that Dengar was correct; the two besiegers
were now within a couple of meters of each other,
crouching down behind a shallow lip of rock. From there,
they would be able to fire straight into the cave.
"Don't bother trying to talk to him." Neelah nodded
toward Boba Fett. "He's so far gone he can't tell when
there's no way-"
A sudden noise interrupted her. From above, as though
the night itself had split open; the sound grew from a
distant shriek to a roar that spanned the audible
frequencies. The cave itself-vibrated, as had the one
containing the Sarlacc's still-living segment; dust
sifted from cracks spidering overhead, then pebbles and
finally broken rocks large enough to cut Nee-lah's arm as
she shielded her brow. From underneath her forearm, she
could see Dengar leaning forward, blaster rifle lowered,
gazing outside in wonderment.
His shadow leaped toward her, as did that of Boba
Fett; both bounty hunters were silhouetted by the fiery
glare that had banished what was left of the night. The
encircled sand dunes were lit up as though by the fall of
Tatooine's twin suns. Beyond the cave's mouth, the two
other figures were visible, turning onto their sides and
raising their outspread hands, trying to ward off the
weight rushing down toward them.
All that happened in a few seconds, from the first
whisper and bare glow, to the half-rounded shape that
appeared just above the desert floor, balanced on the
fiery column of its landing engines. One of the two men
was able to scramble to his feet and run, making a final
dive headlong that took him beyond the quickly braked
impact of the ship. The other managed only to get to his
knees, blaster rifle pressed into the sand beneath his
palm; then the tail of the craft, nozzles blackened and
still hot, crushed him flat.
"Oh." Dengar's voice broke the sil ence, the thrusting
roar replaced by the glassy crackle of the molten sand
cooling. "It's your ship. It's the Slave I."
Neelah realized what had happened. He got through,
she thought. On the comm unit. The link between the gear
inside his helmet, the small transceiver antenna mounted
at the side, and the equipment that Dengar had fetched
back from the Mos Eisley spaceport-Boba Fett must have
gotten that up and running just before the other two men
had shown up. And all the time that the one named Hamame
had been talking, and then when he had swung the blaster
rifle up onto his hip, Fett had been sending a signal
straight to his ship, outside Tatooine's atmosphere.
Giving Slave I, as Dengar had called the craft, the exact
coordinates of this location-exact enough to bring it
right down on the heads of the two men. One of them was
still partly visible underneath the ship, a leg and an
arm showing, his weapon lying on the sand just a few
inches away from his fingers. He wouldn't be making any
deals anytime soon.
"Come on." Boba Fett moved toward the cave's opening.
"Let's get going. There's no reason to hang around here."
She didn't know whether he had been speaking to both
of them or just to Dengar. But she wasn't taking any
chances. Neelah let the two men go before, at a quick
sprint toward the Slave I ship. From the darkness of the
surrounding dunes, a volley of laser bolts scorched the
sand at their feet; the other besieger hadn't given up
yet. Neelah didn't let that stop her from following after
Boba Fett and Dengar, and quickly scooping up the dead
man's blaster rifle as she ran.
"Hold it." At the hatchway of the ship, Neelah raised
the weapon, her thumb at its firing stud. "Stop right
there."
Dengar was already inside; with one gloved hand
grasping the side of the hatch, Boba Fett turned and
looked over his shoulder, his visored gaze meeting that
of the blaster rifle's muzzle.
"You're not going anywhere without me," said Neelah
coldly.
Boba Fett's hand shot out before she could react, the
motion faster than her eye could perceive. His fist
locked onto the rifle barrel; with a quick twist of his
arm,. he had wrenched it out of her grasp. The weapon
went spinning through the air as he flung it away,
landing within inches of the corpse's unmov-ing arm.
They stood looking at each other for a moment. Then
Boba Fett reached down and grabbed Neelah's wrist, and
pulled her up toward the hatchway.
"Don't be stupid." Fett's grasp lightened, squeezing
the bones together. "I'm the one who decides who goes and
who stays. And right now you're too valuable a piece of
merchandise to leave behind."
A second later she was inside the ship, with the
hatchway door sliding shut behind herself. "Brace
yourself," said Fett as he headed for a metal ladder at
the side of the space. "We're leaving now."
Neelah rubbed her aching wrist. As she looked about
herself, at the bleak metal bars of the cages, she
realized-though she didn't know when, in what part of her
shrouded past-that she had been here before.

"That is just so entirely typical." SHS1-B tilted his
head unit back, watching the ship ascend swiftly into the
night sky. "You go to all that trouble fixing them up,
putting them back together, and they don't even bother to
thank you."
"Ingratitude." le-XE stood next to the taller medical
droid. They had both come creeping out of their hiding
places when the shooting had finally stopped. By now,
even the human out in the dunes had presumably left,
heading back to whatever den of iniquity he had come
from; at least, there was no longer any indication of his
presence. That was a further disappointment to both
droids; after an encounter with Boba Fett, the man might
have had some interesting wounds to take care of.
"Thoughtlessness."
"But of course, what else can you expect?" The ship's
glowing trail had already dwindled to a speck of light
among the stars. The hope had formed inside SHSl-B's
circuits-to the degree that a droid could hope-that it
and le-XE would have been taken along with the humans,
particularly the one they had nursed back to health, the
one named Boba Fett. They would have certainly been able
to earn their energy sources, what with the considerable
amount of tissue damage he had the knack for creating.
"It's their nature, I suppose. All flesh thinks it's
immortal." SHSl-B brought its gaze down from the sky to
the surrounding empty desert. "Now what?"
"Unemployment," squeaked le-XE's voice.
"Needlessness."
SHSl-B looked at its companion for a moment. Then it
extruded one of its scalpel-tipped arms and scraped a
spot of rust from le-XE's dented carapace. "You
know"-SHSl-B's voice spoke with measured
consideration-"you could use a little maintenance. . . ."

21

He hated to do it. But Bossk knew he had to.
The greed impulses in his Trandoshan brain, as
hardwired as any droid's circuits, almost overruled all
the others. He could hear the words inside his head,
ancient bounty-hunter wisdom, told to him by his own
father The live ones are worth more than the dead ones.
Old Cradossk had known what he was talking about, at
least about that; whenever Bossk ran his clawed hands
along the picked-clean bones he'd kept as mementos, he
had a renewed sense of legacy and tradition. But even so,
another truth remained, equally hard and obdurate. Things
were different when you were dealing with a creature like
Boba Fett.
On the screen of the Hound's Tooth's longdistance
scanner, in the cramped cockpit, Bossk could see the tiny
speck of light that represented Fett's ship. The Slave I
had already left the surface of Tatooine, as Bossk had
known it would. Soon- within seconds-it would be beyond
the planet's atmosphere, and then it would be within his
own sighting and tracking range. That was how little time
Bossk had remaining to him to press the button beneath
his clawed thumb and accomplish all that was
necessary. No time for rethinking his decisions or
regretting lost profits.
He had been back aboard Slave I, extracting a few
more interesting files from its data bank, when the comm
controls had lit up like the bright sparks of a
disintegrating asteroid. That could mean only one thing
that the message about Boba Fett being alive was true,
and that he had just reinitiated contact with the ship
that he had left in orbit above Tatooine. Bossk had also
known what was to follow. Slave I would obediently follow
Boba Fett's remote-transmitted commands, switch on and
prime its engines, and head down to Tatooine to
rendezvous with its master. And then Boba Fett would not
only be alive, but free and active in the galaxy once
again. Free and active-and the top, number-one bounty
hunter on all the galaxy's scattered worlds.
Bossk could still feel the rage and fear that had
come boiling up inside him. Rage was a familiar
emotion-Trandoshans woke up angry-but fear was something
new. And powerful it had pushed him into action, quick
and efficient.
He hadn't wasted any thought on the mysteries that
had been so tantalizingly uncovered to him. If the rich
and powerful Kuat of Kuat was interested in Boba Fett
being alive or dead, so be it; Bossk might still be able
to cash in by confirming it to the owner of Kuat Drive
Yards. And if there was some connection between Prince
Xizor, the Black Sun's hidden ruler, and the raid on the
moisture farm at the Dune Sea's edge . . . the answers
about that weren't going to come from Boba Fett. Bossk
would make sure of that.
There had been just enough time to haul a sufficient
quantity of high-thermal explosives over from the Hound's
Tooth, conceal them in the holding cages of Fett's ship,
and rig the remote triggering device. Then Bossk had
sealed the entrance hatchway of Slave I, disconnected his
own ship, and watched from his cockpit viewport as the
other craft had sped planet-ward.
Now that ship was heading back into space, bearing
its helmeted master. The speck of light had grown larger;
another second, and Bossk would have waited too long. All
regret was expunged from his heart. He pressed the button
on the cockpit's control panel. Instantaneously, the
ominous light was transformed into a ball of churning
flame, surrounded by extinguishing vacuum. Radiant
sparks, bits of heated metal no bigger than a human's
hand, drifted away from the core of the explosion, the
dust and atoms of the other ship.
Bossk leaned back in the pilot's chair, feeling ex
hausted as the tension began to drain from his coiled
muscles. That does it, he thought with relief. Boba
Fett's dead now. For good . . .
No regrets; he knew it had to be done.
But one thing still puzzled Bossk as he gazed out at
the emptiness between the stars.
Why did he still feel afraid?