Star Wars - Han Solo Trilogy II 03 - Rebel Dawn

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Rebel Dawn

(Star Wars: The Han Solo Trilogy, Vol. 3)

A. C. Crispin

2 STAR WARS: The Han Solo Trilogy

Winners and Losers,

Han Solo leaned forward in the pilot’s seat of the Way-

ward Girl. “Entering atmosphere, Captain,” he said.

He watched the system’s big, pale sun slip into the

great curve of ruddy light at the world’s edge and

disap-pear behind the planet’s limb. Bespin’s huge,

dark nightside loomed up to blot out the stars. Hah

checked his sensors. “They say Bespin’s got some big

flyin’-or should I say, floatin’-creatures in its

atmosphere, so keep those forward shields at maximum

strength.”

One-handed, his co-pilot made an adjustment. “What’s

our ETA to Cloud City, Hah?” she asked, a hint of

strain in her voice.

“Not long now,” Han replied reassuringly, as the Girl

sliced into the upper atmosphere, swooping over the

planet’s dark pole, lightning far below making ia

flickering fog of dim light. “ETA twenty-six minutes.

We ought to be in Cloud City in time to catch a late

dinner.”

“The sooner the better,” she commented, grimacing as

she flexed her right arm in its pressure-sling. “This

thing itches like fury.”

“Just hang on, Jadonna,” Han said. “We’ll get you

straight to the reed-facility.”

She nodded. “Hey, Han, no complaints from me.

You’ve done great. I’ll just be glad to get this arm into

bacta.”

Han shook his head. “Ripped cartilage and liga-ments...

that’s gotta hurt,” he said. “But Cloud City’s sure to

have adequate meds.”

She nodded. “Oh, they do. It’s quite a place, Han.

You’ll see.”

Rebel Dawn 3

Jadonna Ve10z was a short, stocky, dark-skinned

woman with long, straight black hair. Han had met her

two days ago, after she’d advertised from Alderaan on

the spacer-nets for a pilot to fly her ship to Bespin.

Veloz’s arm had been injured when it was struck by a

malfunctioning anti-grav loader, but, determined to

meet her tight shipping deadline, she’d postponed real

treatment until she delivered her cargo.

After paying Han’s passage from CoreIlia on a fast

shuttle to Alderaan, he’d taken over as pilot, and

brought them to Bespin right on schedule.

The Wayward Girl was through the wispy exosphere

now, and plunging deeper, moving toward the evening

twilight, blue sky building above them. Han altered

course, heading southwest, toward where the setting

sun must be. As they streaked ‘along, the tops of the

piled, puffy masses of clouds far below began taking

on colors, deep crimson and coral, then yellow-orange.

Han Solo had his own reasons for needing a ride to

Bespin. If it hadn’t been for Jadonna’s ad on the nets,

he’d have had to dip into his rapidly dwindling stash of

credits to buy passage for himself on a commercial

vessel.

Velozs accident couldn’t have come at a better time,

far as Han was concerned. With the credits she’d prom-

ised him, he’d be able to afford a cheap room and a few

meals during the big sabacc tournament. The buy-in

alone was a staggering ten thousand credits. Han had

barely managed to scrape those credits together by

fencing the small golden palador figurine he’d stolen

from the Ylesian High Priest Teroenza, plus the dragon

pearl he’d discovered in Admiral Greelanx~ office.

The Corellian wished for a moment that Chewie was

here with him, but he’d had to leave the Wookiee be-

4 STAR WARS: The Han Solo Trilogy

hind in their little flat on Nar Shaddaa because he

couldn’t afford to buy his passage.

They were deep into the atmosphere now, and Han

could actually see Bespin’s sun, a squashed looking or-

ange ball just clearing a massive bank of clouds. The

Girl was surrounded by a golden glory of heaped

clouds-as golden as Han Solo’s dreams of wealth.

Han was staking everything on this big gamble . . . and

he’d always been lucky at sabacc. But would luck be

enough to let him win? He’d be playing against profes-

sional gamblers like Lando.

The Corellian swallowed, then resolutely concen-trated

on his piloting. This was no time to get an attack of

nerves. Hah made another adjustment to the Girl~

approach vector, thinking that he ought to be within

range of Cloud City traffic control any time now.

As if in answer to his thoughts, a voice spoke up from

his comm. “Incoming vessel, please identify yourself.”

Jadonna Veloz reached left-handed to activate their

comm. “Cloud City traffic control, this is the Wayward

Girl out of Alderaan. Our approach vector is . . .” she

glanced at Han’s instruments and reeled off a string of

numbers.

“Wayward Girl, we confirm your vector. Cloud City is

your destination?”

“That’s an affirmative, traffic control,” Jadonna said.

Han grinned. From what he’d heard, Cloud City was

about ‘all there was to Bespin. There were the mining

facilities, of course, and gas refining, storage and ship-

ping facilities, but more than half of ‘all incoming

traffic was probably bound for the luxurious resort

hotels. In the past few years, bored tourists had made

the city in the clouds one of their favorite vacation

playgrounds.

Rebel Dawn 5

“Traffic control,” Jadonna continued, “we have a pri-

ority shipment for the Yarith Bespin kitchens. Neff

tenderloins in stasis. Request a landing vector.”

“Permission granted, Wayward Girl,” came the voice

of the traffic controller. The controller% voice took on

a more inform’a] note. “Nerf steaks, eh? I’ll have to

take. my wif~ out this week. She’s been wanting some-

thing fancy, and that~ a treat we don’t get too often.”

“These are prime cuts, traffic control,” Veloz said.

“Hope the chef at the Yarith Bespin appreciates them.”

“Oh, he~ good,” the voice said, then the controller

reverted to his official tones. “Wayward Girl, I have

you slotted in at Level 65, Docking Bay 7A. Repeat.

Level 65, 7A. Do you copy?”

“We copy, Cloud City Controller.”

“And your assigned landing vector is . . .” the voice

hesitated, then gave them more coordinates.

Han punched them into the navieomputer, then they

settled back to enjoy the ride. He found himself

looking forward to seeing the fabled Cloud City.

Bespin itself had already been famous, even before the

resort was built. They mined tibanna gas here, which

was used in starship engines, and in powering blasters.

Han wasn’t sure how they actually mined the gas, but

he knew that tibanna gas was very valuable, so the

miners must be doing well. Before it was discovered in

Bespin~ atmosphere, tibanna gas had usually been

found in stellar chromospheres and nebular clusters-

which made harvesting it hazardous, to say the least.

Then somebody had stumbled across the fact that Be-

spin% atmosphere was loaded with it.

Picking up a sudden burst of electrical activity on his

sensors, Han hastily changed course. “Hey-what’s

that?” He pointed at the viewscreen. To their right now,

was a monstrous, half-seen shape, drifting amid those

6 STAR WARS: The Han Solo Trilogy

incredible aurulent clouds. The thing was so large that

it would have dwarfed many small Corellian cities.

Jadonna leaned forward. “That’s a beldon!” she ex-

claimed. “They’re really rare. In all the years I’ve been

flying through these clouds, I’ve never seen one.”

Han squinted at the mammoth creature as the Girl

streaked by it. The beldon resembled some of the

gelatinous ocean creatures he’d seen on some worlds,

with a huge, dome-like top, and many small feeding

tentacles hanging down beneath it.

Hah checked his landing vector. “Right on the cred-

its, Captain,” he said. Behind them, the leviathan faded

into the distance. Han saw another, smaller shape

‘ahead of them that almost resembled an upside-down

beldon, and realized it was Cloud City.

It hung in the clouds like some kind of exotic wine-

glass, topped with a jeweled crown of rounded towers,

domed buildings, communication spires, and refinery

stacks. In the last wash of sunset, it glowed like a cor-

usca gem.

Staying on their approach vector, Han sent them

skimming over the domed buildings of the cityscape in

the clouds. Moments later, he brought the Girl down in

a perfect landing on their assigned spot.

After receiving his pay, and saying farewell to Cap-

tain Veloz, Han went looking for a robo-hack to take

him to the posh Yarith Bespin hotel, where the sabacc

tournament was being held.

Moments later he was punching in his destination on a

keypad, sending the little robo-hack zipping through

the city streets, up and down levels, traveling at a pace

that would have made most humans dizzy-especially

when tile little vehicle “hopped” low-lying buildings,

giving Hah a glimpse of the clouds surrounding them

and the yawning depths below them. It was almost full

Rebel Dawn 7

night now, and the city sparkled like a lady’s open

jewel box.

Minutes later the robo-hack pulled up before the Yarith

Bespin. Han waved the luggage droid aside and ú

walked through the massive entrance. He’d been in

posh hotels before, while touring with his magician

friend, Xaverri, so the opulent interior with its spidery,

crisscrossing glidewalks that spanned the stories-high

atrium didn’t phase him. He saw a sign reading “Tour-

nament Registration” in at least 20 languages, and fol-

lowed the arrow up the glide-lift to the mezzanine.

When he stepped off the floating walkway, he headed

purposefully toward the large tables. The place was

thronged with gamblers of all species, sizes and de-

scriptions. Hah registered, checked his blaster (‘all

weapons had to be checked), received an ID badge, and

a voucher that he’d cash in as he needed betting chips.

The first game would start tomorrow at midday.

Just as he turned away from the registration area, chip

voucher tucked securely into a pocket inside his shirt,

next to his skin, Hah heard a familiar voice. “Han!

Hey, Han! Over here!”

He turned and saw Lando Calrissian waving to him

from across the mezzanine. Waving to show he’d

heard, Hah jogged over to the glidewalk and hopped

aboard, even as Lando leaped aboard the one coming

toward Han’s side of the enormous room.

When he’d last seen Lando, the gambler was head-

ing off for action in the Oseon system. But he’d been

talking about this tournament for months, so Han had

been expecting to run into him here.

“Hey, Han!” Landog dark features broke into a wide

grin as their respective glidewalks brought them face-

to-face. “Long time no see, you old rascal!”

8 STAR WARS: The Han Solo Trilogy

Hah leaped nimbly across open air from his glide-walk

to the one Lando was standing on. He’d barely landed

before Calrissian grabbed him in a hug that would have

done Chewbacca credit. “Good to see you, Lando!” he

gasped, as Calrissian thumped him on the back one

final time.

The friends stepped off the glidewalk back at the

registration area, and stood there a moment, eyeing

each other. Han studied his friend, realizing that Lando

looked very prosperous-the gambling tables out in the

Oseon must be loaded with easy marks. The gambler

was wearing an expensive outfit made from Askajian

fabric, the best in the galaxy. A new black and silver

cape swung behind him, draped in the latest fashion.

Han smiled. The last time he’d seen Lando, the gam-

bler had barely begun growing a mustache. Now his fa-

cial adornment was mature, though trimmed. It lent his

features a rather piratical air. Han pointed at it. “I see

you decided to keep the lip-fur.”

Lando stroked the mustache proudly. “Every woman

I’ve met has been most complimentary,” he said. “I

should have done it long ago.”

“Some people need all the help they can get,” Han

teased. “It’s a shame you don’t have my way with the

ladies, old pal.”

Lando snorted derisively.

Han looked around. “So... where’s your little red-eyed

droid buddy? Don’t tell me you went and lost Vuffi

Raa in a sabacc game?”

Lando shook his head. “Han, it’s a long story. To tell it

properly, I need a tall glass of something refreshing in

front of me.”

“Well, what’s the short version, then?” Han asked.

“Don’t tell me the little guy got tired of calling you

Rebel Dawn 9

‘Master’ and decided he could do better selling his

Class Two abilities somewhere else?”

Lando shook his head, his expression suddenly seri-

ous. “Han, you’re not going to believe this, but Vuffi

Raa decided to go back to his people and grow up. Ful-

fill his destiny.”

Han grimaced. “Huh? He’S a droid. What do you

mean, destiny?”

‘Wuffi Raa is . . . was . . . a baby starship. I know it

sounds crazy, but it’s true. He comes from a... unique...

species. Gigantic droid-ships that roam the stars. Sen-

tient, but not biologic’d, life-forms.”

Han stared at his friend. “Lando, you been sniffing

ryll? You sound like you spent the whole day in the

bar.”

Lando held up a hand. “It’s the truth, Han. You see,

there was this evil sorcerer named Rokur Gepta, who

turned out to be a Croke, and these vacuumbreathers,

and a big fight in this huge Star Cave, and-“

“Cheater/” A deep, raspy voice shouted, startling the

friends. “Get him! Don’t let him play! That’s Han Solo,

and he cheats at sabacc!”

Hah wheeled around to find an enraged Barabel fe-

male bearing down on him. The alien limped slightly

from a stiff knee, but she was closing at a respectable

clip, massive teeth bared. Barabels were huge, black

reptiloids, and Han had only met a few of them in his

travels. And only one female.

This femme, as a matter of fact.

Hah gulped and his hand went down to his blaster, only

to slap impotently against his thigh. Damnation/ He

began backing up, holding up his hands placatiugly.

“Now, Shallamar...” he began.

Lando, ‘always quick on the uptake, made sure he was

nowhere near the Barabel’s approach vector. “Secu-

10 STAR WARS: The Han Solo Trilogy

rity!” he shouted. “We need security here! Somebody

call security!”

The Barabel sputtered and hissed with rage. “He uses

skifters! Cheats! Arrest him!”

Han backed up until he bumped into one of the reg-

istration tables, then, one-handed, he vaulted it. The

Barabel’s teeth flashed. “Coward! Come out from be-

hind there! Arrest him!”

“Now, Shallamar,” Hah said. “I beat you fair and

square that time. Holding grudges isn’t very sports-

manlike .... “

With a bellow, she rushed him-

only to stop and fall heavily to the floor as a tangle-

field encased her feet. Shallamar thrashed, slapping the

carpet with her tail, cursing and bellowing.

Hah looked over at the hotel security forces, and drew

a long breath of relief.

Ten minutes later, with the Barabel still under re-

straints, Han, Lando and Shallamar were in the security

offices, facing the security chief. Shallamar was

sulking, because the chief had sensor-scanned Han

from the tips of his toes to the top of his head, and the

Corellian had proved to be absolutely free of any

cheating devices.

Now the Barabel hunkered uncomfortably, her feet still

restrained in the tangle-field, as the security chief

warned her that any further displays would get her

ejected from the competition. “... and I think you owe

Solo here an apology,” the chief concluded.

Shallamar snarled . . . but softly. “I will not molest him

further. You have my honor-word,” “But-“ the

security chief started.

Han waved a hand at him. “Let’s not push it, sir. If

Shallamar leaves me alone, that’s fine with me. I’m

just glad to prove that I’m an honest player.”

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RebelDawn(StarWars:TheHanSoloTrilogy,Vol.3)byA.C.Crispin2STARWARS:TheHanSoloTrilogyWinnersandLosers,HanSololeanedforwardinthepilot’sseatoftheWay-wardGirl.“Enteringatmosphere,Captain,”hesaid.Hewatchedthesystem’sbig,palesunslipintothegreatcurveofruddylightattheworld’sedgeanddisap-pearbehindtheplanet’s...

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Star Wars - Han Solo Trilogy II 03 - Rebel Dawn

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