FULL AHEAD and punched in DELAY 4 . Then he stood up with his hands over his head and slowly backed
away from the controls. He counted silently: four, three—
The trooper grinned. “That’s better,” he said, motioning with his blaster toward the open hatch. “Now grab some air, all three of you.”
Two, one—
Boba lunged, grabbing the back of the pilot’s seat as the engines roared to life and
Slave I
suddenly sprang forward. The trooper, Aia, and Honest Gjon all flew through the air
and hit the back wall in a clump.
WHACK!
THUMP!
Boba held onto the seat and threw the ship into a sharp turn. Honest Gjon and Aia grabbed the dazed trooper, one on each arm. They dragged him to the still-open hatch—and shoved him
out!
Boba grimaced as he brought the ship back under control. “Murder of a security trooper. Now we’re in big trouble!”
“He’s got a parachute, yes,” said Aia.
“He’s no trooper, anyway,” said Honest Gjon. “That uniform was as counterfeit as the credits. That was a hijacking that failed.”
“We did it!” said Boba as he set the ship down on Honest Gjon’s landing pad. His heart was still pounding, but he had saved
Slave I
. And made some
money, too.
“How many credits do we have?” he asked. “Let’s divide them three ways, so I can get out of here.”
“That’s the bad news, yes,” said Aia. “They all flew out the door when we shoved him out.”
“All but one,” said Honest Gjon. He handed Boba a hundred-credit note. “Take it, you deserve it all. And you’re going to need it on Coruscant.”
Boba put the money into his pocket with the pathetic little ten. Even though he had only made a hundred credits, he felt that Jango Fett would have been proud.
He had found out what he needed to know on the moons of Bogden. He had even made a few friends (or, as Jango would have called them, allies.
No friends, no enemies. Only allies and
adversaries
).
Now it was time to head for Coruscant and find Tyranus.
He shook hands with Honest Gjon, but Aia insisted on giving him a big hug. “Boba, continue your quest, yes. But take care. You are too trusting. Watch your back, yes?”
“Yes,” said Boba. “Thanks, Aia.”
They hugged again, then Boba got into
Slave I
and took off. It was only after he was in deep space, preparing to shift into hyperdrive, that he noticed that the hundred-credit note was
missing from his pocket.
And so was the ten.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO
In the endless, intricate web of civilized and half-civilized worlds that make up the Galactic Core, some planets are obscure and hard to find. And others are hard to miss.
Coruscant is in the second category.
The coordinates are easy to remember and even easier to punch into a starship’s navigational computer:
zero zero zero.
It is here that civilization begins. At the heart of the Core Worlds. At the very center of the Known Universe.
Coruscant. The planet that is a city; the city that is a planet.
Boba awoke when
Slave I
shuddered out of hyperdrive and slid into normal space.
He shook his head to clear it of the dreams that always crowded in during hyperspace jumps.
And there it was. The legendary city planet, covered by pavements and roofs, towers and balconies, parks and artificial seas. Coruscant was one immense metropolis from pole to pole.
Not a green spot nor an open field; no wilderness, no forests, no ice caps. Coruscant was one enormous planetwide city, covered by slums and palaces, parks and plazas. It spun below in all its
glory, welcoming
Slave I
as it had welcomed pilgrim and pirate, politician and petitioner, wanderer and wayfarer since the Republic’s first beginnings millennia ago.
And now it awaited Boba Fett. An orphan seeking only to please his father’s ghost.
Hopeful again at last, Boba eased
Slave I
into suborbital approach, past the big orbiting mirrors that gathered and focused the light of Coruscant’s faraway
sun.
The starship hit the atmosphere and began
away from the controls. He counted silently: four, three—
The trooper grinned. “That’s better,” he said, motioning with his blaster toward the open hatch. “Now grab some air, all three of you.”
Two, one—
Boba lunged, grabbing the back of the pilot’s seat as the engines roared to life and
Slave I
suddenly sprang forward. The trooper, Aia, and Honest Gjon all flew through the air
and hit the back wall in a clump.
WHACK!
THUMP!
Boba held onto the seat and threw the ship into a sharp turn. Honest Gjon and Aia grabbed the dazed trooper, one on each arm. They dragged him to the still-open hatch—and shoved him
out!
Boba grimaced as he brought the ship back under control. “Murder of a security trooper. Now we’re in big trouble!”
“He’s got a parachute, yes,” said Aia.
“He’s no trooper, anyway,” said Honest Gjon. “That uniform was as counterfeit as the credits. That was a hijacking that failed.”
“We did it!” said Boba as he set the ship down on Honest Gjon’s landing pad. His heart was still pounding, but he had saved
Slave I
. And made some
money, too.
“How many credits do we have?” he asked. “Let’s divide them three ways, so I can get out of here.”
“That’s the bad news, yes,” said Aia. “They all flew out the door when we shoved him out.”
“All but one,” said Honest Gjon. He handed Boba a hundred-credit note. “Take it, you deserve it all. And you’re going to need it on Coruscant.”
Boba put the money into his pocket with the pathetic little ten. Even though he had only made a hundred credits, he felt that Jango Fett would have been proud.
He had found out what he needed to know on the moons of Bogden. He had even made a few friends (or, as Jango would have called them, allies.
No friends, no enemies. Only allies and
adversaries
).
Now it was time to head for Coruscant and find Tyranus.
He shook hands with Honest Gjon, but Aia insisted on giving him a big hug. “Boba, continue your quest, yes. But take care. You are too trusting. Watch your back, yes?”
“Yes,” said Boba. “Thanks, Aia.”
They hugged again, then Boba got into
Slave I
and took off. It was only after he was in deep space, preparing to shift into hyperdrive, that he noticed that the hundred-credit note was
missing from his pocket.
And so was the ten.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO
In the endless, intricate web of civilized and half-civilized worlds that make up the Galactic Core, some planets are obscure and hard to find. And others are hard to miss.
Coruscant is in the second category.
The coordinates are easy to remember and even easier to punch into a starship’s navigational computer:
zero zero zero.
It is here that civilization begins. At the heart of the Core Worlds. At the very center of the Known Universe.
Coruscant. The planet that is a city; the city that is a planet.
Boba awoke when
Slave I
shuddered out of hyperdrive and slid into normal space.
He shook his head to clear it of the dreams that always crowded in during hyperspace jumps.
And there it was. The legendary city planet, covered by pavements and roofs, towers and balconies, parks and artificial seas. Coruscant was one immense metropolis from pole to pole.
Not a green spot nor an open field; no wilderness, no forests, no ice caps. Coruscant was one enormous planetwide city, covered by slums and palaces, parks and plazas. It spun below in all its
glory, welcoming
Slave I
as it had welcomed pilgrim and pirate, politician and petitioner, wanderer and wayfarer since the Republic’s first beginnings millennia ago.
And now it awaited Boba Fett. An orphan seeking only to please his father’s ghost.
Hopeful again at last, Boba eased
Slave I
into suborbital approach, past the big orbiting mirrors that gathered and focused the light of Coruscant’s faraway
sun.
The starship hit the atmosphere and began
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