Star Wars - Han Solo's Revenge Read online

  After leaving the lounge, Chewbacca had made only a cursory check of the Falcon, eyeballing her to make sure no one on any of the grounds crews had attempted to move the freighter or block her in. Then he had begun a round of inquiries at the portmaster's headquarters and guild hiring halls. But the Falcon's first mate had turned up nothing of use.

  His errand had caused him to miss both the abortive at-tempt to break into the ship and Han's subsequent appearance and departure. But now he had discovered still another threat to the starship. Silently easing up to the foot of the ramp., he saw an unfamiliar form hunched over and working busily at the freighter's main hatch lock. Next to the figure was an open tool bag containing a fusioncutter, some probes, a drill, and other instruments of illegal entry. The intruder's cars were covered with some sort of headphones.

  Chewbacca ascended the ramp like a wraith, reached out, seized a broad handful of the nape of the intruder's neck, and lifted. The headphones shook loose and from the crea-ture's neck dangled the thing to which they were attached, apparently a listening device for the opening of locks.

  "Eee-ee! " The figure writhed and wriggled with such sin-uosity that the Wookiee lost his hold. But as the would-be burglar sought to dodge past him,.Chewbacca's long arms scooped out to either side; blocking the way. Trapped, the intruder shrank back against the Falcon's main hatch, panting and trembling.

  The being was small, perhaps a head shorter than Han Solo when standing erect rather than cowering. He had the sleek, glossy pelt of an aquatic mammal, colored a deep gleaming black. He was a biped with short, strong-looking fingers and toes; between those fingers and toes were webs of pinkish-gray skin. He had a thick; tapering tail and pointed ears that stood close to his skull, moving independently, aim-ing this way and that, first at the Wookiee, then away. His long, moist snout snufed and quivered nervously. From this whiskered snout protruded a set of long buckteeth. It was plain from his squinting eyes that his vision wasn't very acute. The being seemed to gain a good deal of information by his ears; Chewbacca assumed it was only because he had been wearing the headphones that he'd failed to notice the Wookiee's approach.

  The intruder collected himself and drew himself up to his full height (which wasn't very imposing against Chewbac-ca's), nose quivering and tail vibrating in righteous indig-nation. Unfortunately his voice, when it came, was something of a quavering squeak with a slight lisp, reducing the effect. Still, it held conviction.

  "What's the idea of assaulting me, you big overstuffed oaf of a Wookiee? How dare you? I'll have you know I'm a licensed collections agent. This vessel appears on the Red List!" He snagged a card out of his open bag and presented it with the formal flourish of a webbed hand. It was a document of identification and authorization for one Spray, of the planet Tynna, to act in the interests and on the behalf of Interstellar Collections Limited, pursuant to the collection of debts, garnishing and repossession proceedings and any and all activities connected thereunto. On it was a flat two-dee_depicting the little collections agent.

  Chewbacca, satisfied that the document was real, looked up with a snarl of displeasure directed at all skip-tracers in general and at Spray ` in particular. Like Han, he sincerely detested them.

  Jumping out on a debt seldom meant trouble with law enforcement agencies; it was such a common practice among members of the fringe society of independent spacers that every lawman in the galaxy could have spent every waking moment looking for, apprehending, and prosecuting them to the exclusion of all other activity. Thus the Espos, Imperial forces, and other legal authorities tended to ignore the prob-lem, leaving the collection of debts and/or repossession of spacecraft to agency skip-tracers like Spray who roamed the galaxy with the voluminous and infamous Red List.

  Spray appeared not to notice the Wookiee's snarl. Having identified himself, he reverted to being a company man. The Tynnan dug out, from somewhere, an incredibly thick little notebook, squinting into it, his moist nose nearly touching the page.

  He mumbled to himself as he read. "Ah, here, yes," he said finally. "Would you by any chance be Captain, um, Solo? "

  Chewbacca barked an irritated negative and jerked a thumb back at the spaceport, indicating Han's present location as well as he could. Then he moved Spray rudely out of his way and bent to see what had been done to the lock. When he noticed the same damage Han had seen earlier he let out a horrible howl and turned back on the skip-tracer with may-hem in mind.

  But the Tynnan, back on familiar territory; was indignant rather than intimidated. He snuffled. "I most certainly am not responsible for that damage! Do you mistake me for a bungler and a thug? A brainless primitive unconversant with modern technology? I am a trained collections agent, my dear Wookiee, equipped with the latest tools of my profes-sion; I avoid doing any unnecessary damage to repossessed property. I have no idea who was tampering with the hatch lock before me, but you may depend upon it that it wasn't me! I simply deactivated the surveillance system and was about to neutralize the lock-without damaging it, if I may say so-when you so violently accosted me. Now that you're here, however, the need no longer exists: "

  Spray was burrowing his bucktoothed proboscis into the notebook again and lisping mumbles to himself, insinuating himself between the Wookiee and the Falcon's main hatch. Chewbacca found himself somewhat off stride; his wrath and threats were sometimes greeted by fear; sometimes by hos-tility, and occasionally with combat, but never had the tow-ering first mate met anyone quite so preoccupied that he actually paid him no attention.

  "Ah, here we are," Spray went on, having riffled back to the correct page. "Your captain has failed to settle on an outstanding debt of some two thousand five hundred Credits Standard owed to Vinda and D'rag, Starshipwrights and Aerospace Engineers Incorporated, of Oslumpex V. Your Captain Solo has ignored seven-no, eight dunning no-tices. "

  He glared myopically at the Wookiee. "Eight, sir. Vinda and D'rag have therefore presumed default on your captain's part and referred the matter to my employers. Now, if you'll be good enough to open the hatch, I can continue the repos-session process. Of course, you're free to remove all per-sonal effects and non-" Chewbacca had been making deep, reverberating noises in his throat up to now, which someone more familiar with him would have taken as a danger signal. His annoyance burst forth in a roar that drove Spray back a step with its sheer physical impact, ruffling the little skip-tracer's nose fur and bending back his whiskers.

  But he stood waiting patiently, eyes squeezed shut against the vocal gale, as Chewbacca railed horrible Wookiee oaths at him. The Tynnan flinched every now and then as the cre-scendo rose, his ears swinging back protectively, but he held his ground resolutely. The Falcon's first mate periodically punctuated his ranting by slamming his enormous fist against the ship's hull, evoking deep percussives from her armor.

  But when he finally ran down, Spray began again in the mildest of tones. "Now then; as I was saying: I have a doc-ument here entitling me to take possession of-"

  Chewbacca snatched up the papers proffered by Spray. It was a thick legal instrument of several pages; the Wookiee crushed it into a tightly compressed wad in his powerful hands and stuck it into his fanged mouth. Sneering hideously at the skip-tracer, he chomped on the document a few times, shredding it handily, then swallowed it.

  But it did little to: alleviate his frustration over how to deal with Spray. This was the first time in memory that Chew-bacca had ever had such difficulty with a creature whom he outweighed three to one. He was beginning to feel embar-rassed; the scene had already attracted the attention of sev-eral local idlers and a number of passing automata. The idea of simply demolishing the Tynnan was now out of the ques-tion.

  "That will do you precisely no good whatsoever, my dear Wookiee," Spray hastened to assure him. "I have many du-plicates. Now, unless your captain is prepared to make im-mediate and total defrayal of the entire sum of his debt, I'm afraid I must demand that you open that hatch, or permit me to do so. "

  Chewbacca s
urrendered at last, growling and motioning Spray to follow him back down the ramp. He would take the skip-tracer to talk to his partner; he could see no alternative short of losing the ship or committing premeditated murder in a public place.

  But Spray was shaking his head briskly, his whiskers quiv-ering. "I'm afraid it just won't do, my good fellow. It's too late to begin negotiating; immediate payment or immediate. repossession are your only choices. "

  In the course of along life Chewbacca had learned that there come times when the most bellicose roar is insufficient. He clamped one vast paw on either of Spray's shoulders and effortlessly hoisted the skip-tracer up close, until their gazes were level. Suspended furry muzzle to bucktoothed muzzle with Chewbacca; his webbed feet dangling somewhere above the Wookiee's knees, the Tynnan watched as the Millennium Falcon's first mate wordlessly peeled his lips back from fe-rocious rows of teeth.

  "Then again, " the collections agent resumed hastily, "perhaps we could work out some sort of agreement and spare my employers the expense and inconvenience of public auction. Point well taken, sir. Where might I find your cap-tain? "

  Chewbacca carefully set Spray back down on his feet and, gesturing to the lock surveillance system; growled harshly. Taking his meaning clearly, Spray dug some tools from his bag and quickly reactivated the device.

  Blue Max's chirp instantly sounded over the intercom. "Who's there? Why was this instrument deactivated? Reply at once or I'll notify port security!"

  Chewbacca barked once at the comlink. "Oh, First Mate Chewbacca, sir," Max replied happily. "I thought the ship was being burglarized again. There was already one attempt earlier. Captain Solo's gone off to investigate. He dispatched Bollux to the Landing Zone with word, and said he'd meet you there. Are you coming aboard, sir?"

  The Wookiee barked irritably as he marched Spray down the ramp. The Tynnan had to trot to match Chewbacca's long strides.

  Blue Max called after them. "But what are my instruc-tions? "

  As the Wookiee dragged him off, the skip-tracer shrilly called back, "In the name of Interstellar Collections Lim-ited, make sure no harm comes to the vessel!"

  "What's your name, anyway?" the woman asked as they passed through the entrance to the Landing Zone. It was a investigation. When I've developed all the information, I'm going to dump it right in the lap of the Board of Directors."

  She smiled brightly. "Then I'm going to nail myself the juiciest promotion and raise you ever saw. You're looking at Fiolla of Lorrd, heroine of the spaceways. Now, how about you? "

  He spread his hands. "I fly for hire. I rendezvoused with Zlarb without knowing he wanted me to move slaves. We disagreed and he got shot. And I don't care who's doing what to whom; I've got ten thousand in cash coming and I want it. Zlarb had a tape message to meet someone here for pay-ment so I kept his appointment. How did you end up there in the lounge?"

  "It was part of the information I came across. Did Zlarb tell you anything else?"

  "Zlarb made the Final Jump shortly after being burned with a disruptor, but he had a record of ship registrations and leasing permits. Almost all of them were funneled through an agency on Ammuud." She was listening distractedly, but he went on. "Do you mind telling me how come I'm in your confidence all of a sudden? Not that it doesn't stir me deeply, of course."

  "Simple; this thing's even bigger than I'd thought. I need some additional help and I can't go to the Espos. You seem to know what you're doing in an unsubtle sort of way. And you definitely aren't a member of the slavery ring unless murder is a standard business pay-down. "

  "You'd be surprised. But don't get any ideas; I'm not the helpful type. How'd you end up out there today, by the way?" "My assistant, Magg, got his hands on a message that the

  management was holding for Zlarb back there at the lounge. When I decided you weren't going to tell me much I sent you off to chase yourself and-"

  Han leaned forward with a certain look on his face that caused Bollux to fear for Fiolla's safety. "And Magg fol-lowed me to put my lights out, right?"

  She looked honestly shocked. "Are you saying someone attacked you?"

  "Somebody did everything except zeroize my rotors. " She drew a deep breath. "I gave you the number of an Authority pool hangar. The ship there was the one Magg and I arrived in. I knew it was on down time, waiting for parts, and there'd be no one around. But listen-Magg trailed your hairy friend when he left the lounge and that's how we found out which ship was yours. When we couldn't get aboard for a search, I went off to keep Zlarb's appointment myself be-cause the instructions said one person and one scooter. I sent Magg to see what he could find out about you. "

  Han was so busy trying to unravel what she had said that he forgot to be angry at her mention of the attempted break-in. He was impressed with her resourcefulness, antagonized a bit by her self-assurance, and surprised by her naivete.

  The Sljee waiter had returned: Two tentacles whisked two tall glasses - off its back-tray while two more placed absorb-mats before Han and Fiolla. "There we are," the Sljee said cheerfully. "Will that be pay as you go, or shall I put it on a tab?" it asked hopefully. It had already been stiffed twice that day by unscrupulous customers who had taken advantage of its difficulty in differentiating among individual non-Sljee:

  "Run the tab," said Han immediately. The Sljee retreated in disappointment, trying its best to memorize Han's odor without much confidence.

  The Flameouts were perfect, burning their tongues and freezing their throats, making them gasp a bit. "Don't you think it was stupid to ride out there alone?" -Han asked.

  "I had a gun," she argued. "A special, one that doesn't register on scanners. Lots of execs carry them. How did I know the worthless thing would let me down?"

  "Where's your assistant now?"

  "After Magg checks on you he'll go to our hotel and get ready to leave. It occurred to me that we might have to get off planet in short order.."

  "Very possible," allowed Han. A sudden thought struck him and he became hostile again. "I owe Magg for damag-ing my ship, don't I?"

  "I ordered him to try to break in, to see if there was any information onboard; I thought you might just be playing very, very dumb. If you want to get even, you can take me on another swoop ride sometime. By the way, what kind of security system is that you've got? Magg was sure he could open up a freighter without breaking stride, but that lock of yours stopped him cold. He said he'd need a tool shop to get in. "

  "I like my privacy," Han explained simply, avoiding the mention of smuggling:

  "Magg. said it was like trying to crack the Imperial Cur-rency Reserve. "

  "Sounds like an experienced guy. "

  "Oh, very versatile, yes. I handpicked him because he had, ah, a range of abilities. I think you two will find one another quite-"

  At that moment Chewbacca arrived with Spray. The Wookiee forcefully sat the little Tynnan down with the pres-sure of a giant paw and took a seat himself, filling it to over-flowing.

  "I met Fiolla here and almost got killed," Han told. his friend pleasantly. "How was your afternoon?"

  Chewbacca studied the woman with his large, lucid blue eyes and she returned the scrutiny. Then the Wookiee mo-tioned to Spray and, in his growling, barking language, ex-plained to Han what had happened as the skip-tracer squinted from one to the other.

  "I hate skip-tracers," announced Han Solo at length. "In that case I think I'll just be toddling along... " Spray said, starting to rise. Chewbacca clapped a paw on him and pushed him back down. Han's head was spinning with this new development, and he wished he could process information as quickly as Blue Max. Theoretically, Spray could enlist the aid of the Espos in taking possession of the Falcon: Once again Han won-dered when his string of rotten luck would break.

  Just then the Sljee waiter showed up again, having noticed Chewbacca's and Spray's presence. It endeavored to speak in its most hospitable tones, still aware of its previous gaff.

  "Yes, sir," purred the Sljee to the Wookiee,
"and what can I bring you and your strapping young hatchling here?" Chewbacca snarled at the Sljee. Spray, already visibly dis-turbed, exploded. "We're not even the same species!"

  "What've I told you about that?" Han asked the Sljee menacingly.

  "A thousand pardons," wailed the Sljee, rotating back and forth through nervous quarter-turns and intertwining its tentacles imploringly.

  "What in the world is going on?" Fiolla wanted to know, not having understood anything Chewbacca had said.

  Spray held his paws up, webbed fingers spread, until the others were quiet, including the Sljee. "First of all, we have no need of any refreshments, thank you,." the Tynnan told the waiter. The Sljee retreated gratefully.

  "Now," Spray continued, "the central issue, Captain Solo-please stop shushing me, sir; I will be heard! At issue are two thousand five hundred Credits Standard owed Vinda and Drag, Starshipwrights. Unless you're prepared to make payment, I am empowered to attach and take possession of your ship, which, by the way, appears to have had her mark-ing altered in illegal fashion. " Han narrowed his eyes and glared at Spray. "I am thinking right now," he said, "of how a certain chisel-beaked runt is going to get his just desserts:"