Han Solo - Rebal Dawn Part 21

"I'll be there in two days," Bria promised.

Five days 'after Jiliac's death, Han Solo and Chewbacca visited Han's favorite tavern in the Corellian section of Nar Shaddaa. The Blue Light didn't serve food, only liquor, and it was just a little hole in the wall, but Han liked the place. There were holo-posters on the wall that depicted famous landmarks on CoreIlia. And the management served Han~ favorite brand of Alder-aanian ale.

The bartender, Mich Flenn, was an aging Corellian who had been a smuggler until he'd accrued enough credits to buy the bar. Han enjoyed hearing his yarns about the old days, though he had to take everything the old geezer said with a big grain of salt. After all, who ever heard of sentients with strange powers who could leap ten meters into the air and turn somersaults, or project blue lightning from their fingertips?

Han and Chewie stopped by there most evenings. This particular one, they were standing at the bar, side by side, sipping their drinks, listening to another of Michk tall tales. The Corellian was dimly aware that someone came in during the story and stood beside him, but he did not turn to glance at the newcomer.

Michk tale was a long one, wilder than ever, about a sentient tree that had once been a powerful sorcerer, and a race of beings who transferred their essence into battle-droids in order to become the perfect fighting force.

Finally Mich ran down, and Han shook his head. "Mich, that was a real doozy. You oughta write all the stories down and sell 'era to the tridee producers. They're always lookin' for crazy stuff like that for their shows."

Chewie voiced an emphatic agreement.

Mich grinned at Han, then began polishing a gla.s.s industriously and addressed the newcomer. "And what will you have, pretty lady?"

Han reflexively glanced to his right to see the person Mich was addressing-and froze, startled. B ria !

At first he told himself he was seeing things, that it was just a chance resemblance, then lie heard her speak in that low, slightly husky voice he remembered. "Just some Vishay water, please, Mich." Itk her. Bria. Itk really her.

Slowly she turned her head, and their gazes locked. Hank heart was hammering, though he was pretty sure his face was under control. All those sabacc games had taught him something.

She hesitated, then said, "Hi, Han."

He wet his lips. 'iHi, Bria." He stared at her, then a sudden movement from Chewie made him remember his pa~ner. "And this is Chewbacca, my partner."

"Greetings, Chewbacca," she said carefully, speaking in almost pa.s.sable Wookiee-obviously she'd been coached by Ralrracheen. "I am honored to meet you."

The Wookiee voiced an uncertain greeting, obviously wondering what was going on. "Uh," Han said, "long time no see."

She nodded gravely at the ridiculous understatement. "I came to see you," she said. "Could we sit down and talk for a minute?"

Hank emotions were mixed, to say the least. Part of him wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her until she was breathless, another part wanted to shake her while screaming curses and accusations at her. Still an- other part wanted to just turn around and walk away, prove to her that she meant nothing to him-nothing{ But he found himself nodding. "Sure." As tie moved to pick up his mug, Chewie laid a hand on his arm, and growled softly at him.

Hah gazed up at his partner, grateful for Chew-baccak sensitivity. He would rather talk to Bria by him-self. "Okay, pal. I'll see you at home, later on."

Chewie gave Bria a nod, then left the Blue Light. Picking up his mug of ale, Hah led the way to a booth in the rear of the dimly lit, nearly empty bar.

Watching Bria approach and then slide in opposite him, he got a good look at her for the first time. She was wearing tan fatigues, military in style, though they bore no insignia or indications of rank. Her hair was pulled up and slicked back in a severe style. Han couldn't de-cide whether it was cropped short, or just worn in a tight bun.

She wore no jewelry. A well-worn BlasTech DL-18 (Han's own weapon of choice was the heavier BlasTeeh DL-44) in a tie-down holster rode her right thigh, low down, the way he liked to wear his own. Her gunbelt was studded with extra power paks and bore a vibro-blade in a sheath. From the slight bulge in the top of her boot, Hah was willing to bet she had an auxiliary weapon cached there.

As she sat there, regarding him, Han struggled to find words, but all he could do was look at her, hardly able to believe she was actually there, that this wasn't some dream-or nightmare.

She was staring at him, too, her eyes searching his features. Bria started to speak, stammered, and then took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," she said. "For sta~ling you. I should have said something, but my mind went blank. There didn't seem to be anything I could say." "You came here looking for me?" Hah asked.

"Yes. When I saw your friend last month, he said this was one of your favorite hangouts. I... I took a chance you'd be here tonight."

"You're here on Nar Shaddaa on business?"

"Yes. Staying in those rooms above the Smuggler's Rest." She smiled wryly. "It's even sleazier than that place we stayed that night on Coruscant."

ttan's dazed brain was slowly beginning to function again, and his anger was building. He remembered that sleazy little hotel on Coruscant. That had been their last night together. He remembered falling asleep . . . and he remembered waking up alone, abandoned.

Suddenly his hand shot out, and he grabbed her wrist tightly, feeling the shock of touching her flesh throughout his body. Her slender bones felt so delicate in his hand... as though he could just snap them. And he was almost angry enough to try. "Why?" he said. "Why, Bria? You think you can just walk back up to me a decade later? You gotta lot of nerve!"

She stared at him, her eyes narrowing. "Hah, let go of me."

"No," he gritted. "I'm not lettin' you go running off and leaving me with no answers this time!"

Hah wasn't sure exactly what she did-some un-armed combat trick, but there was a sudden twist, a jab in a nerve, and abruptly her hand was free, and his own was throbbing. He looked down at it, feeling his eyes widen, and then back up at her. "You've changed," he said. "You have really changed." He wasn't sure whether it was a compliment or an accusation.

"I had to change-or die," she said, flatly. "And don't worry, I'm not going to jump up and run away. I need to talk to you, and thatg exactly what I'm going to do. If you'll listen."

He nodded, grudgingly. "Okay. I'm listening."

"First of all, let me tell you that I'm sorry for the way I left you. I'm sorry about a lot of things in my life, but that's the one I regret most," she said. "But I had to do it. Otherwise you'd have never made it through the Academy."

"Fat lot of good it did me," Hah said, bitterly. "I got cashiered less than a year after getting my commission. Cashiered and blacklisted."

"For rescuing a Wookiee slave," she said, and smiled at him-a smile that made his heart lurch. "I was so proud when I found that out, Hah."

Han wanted to smile back, but the anger was still in control, and he found himself saying, "I don't want you to be proud of me. I owe you nothin', sister. I did it all on my own."

He could tell that gibe hurt her. Color stained her cheeks, and her eyes flashed, then, for a moment, it al-most seemed as though she were lighting back tears. Then her face was under control again, cold and chis-eled. "I know that," she said quietly. "But I was still proud."

"I hear you got a real thing for Wookiees yourself," Han said, and the edge in his voice was sharp enough to draw blood. "Or so Katarra and Ralera told me."

"You were there? On Kashyyyk?" She smiled. "I helped to organize the Resistance group there."

"Yeah, I hear you're some kinda officer in the Corel-lian Resistance," Han said.

"I'm a commander," she confirmed, quietly.

Hah slanted her a look. "Well, now, that~ impressive, ain't it? For a scared kid who'd never fired a blaster, you've come a long way, Bria."

"I just did what I had to along the way," she said. "Promotions come fast in the Resistance. You should think about joining up, Hah."

It was said lightly, but some nuance in her tone told Han she wasn't kidding. "No thanks, sister," he said. "I've seen the Imp forces up close and personal. No way your Rebellionis got a chance against them."

She shrugged. "We have to try. Otherwise the Em-peror is going to swallow us all whole. He'S evil, Han. I think he engineered that whole business with the Battle of Nar Shaddaa just to get rid of Sam Shild."

"Oh, yeah," Hah said. "Good old Sam Shild, 'Dar-ling' Shild, wasn't it? You made such a cute couple."

She winced at the sarcasm. "As I explained to Lando, that wasn't what it looked like."

"It looked pretty bad, Bria," Han said. "Not one of my better days, you know? To see you there, cooing at him..."

Her lips tightened. "I was on a.s.signment. I know how it looked, but Shild wasn't interested in me that way. I was lucky. But I've done things for tile Resistance I didn't much like... and I'll do them again if I have to. Whatever it takes."

Han was mulling over what she'd said. "You really think the whole invasion of Hutt s.p.a.ce was something the Emperor engineered? But Shild did it! How is that possible?"

"I was with him, Han, and something very strange was going on, believe me," Bria said. "Shild changed, Han. It was scary. Between one month and the next, he became a different man. Suddenly he was plotting to take over Hutt s.p.a.ce, and started talking about over-throwing the Emperor."

Han shook his head. "That's crazy."

"I know. I can't account for it, except..." she hesi-tated. "If I tell you, you'll think I'm losing it." "What? Tell me."

She took a deep breath. "They say the Emperor has . . . abilities. That he can influence people to do things. Some kind of mental influence." "Like mind-reading?"

"I don't know," she said. "Maybe. I know it souncks impossible, but that~ the only explanation I can come up with that makes sense. Shild was popular and ambitious and corrupt, and he posed a threat to the consolidation of power. So the Emperor just . . . encouraged . . . Shild~ ambition until he destroyed himself with that as-sault on Nal Hutta."

Han frowned. "What about Greelanx? How did he figure into the plan? And who killed him? I kept expect-ing thein to pin it on me, but they just hushed it up. I never heard anything about it on the news." Han re-pressed a shudder at the memory of standing in that locked room next to Greelanx's office and listening to that loud, uncanny breathing, that heavy, ominous tread ....

Bria leaned forward, and, unconsciously, Han did too. Her voice dropped to a whisper, a bare thread of sound. "They say it was... Vader."

Han was whispering too. "Vader? You mean Darth Vader?"

She nodded. "Darth Vader. He's the Emperor's..."

She hesitated, searching for a term. "... enforcer."

Han sat back. He'd heard of the guy, but he'd never encountered him. "Huh," he said. "Well, I'm just glad they didn't try and finger yours truly."

Bria nodded. "Rebel intelligence later discovered that Admiral Greelanx was under Imperial orders to make the attack fail. The Hutt bribe was incidental. My guess is that it was 'all a set-up from the beginning, part of an hnperial plan to discredit and eliminate Shfid. And to hurt Desilijic and the smugglers. You'll notice that Besadii, who supplies the Empire with slaves, wasn't affected."

Han thought it over. "It still sounds crazy, but you do hear things about the Emperor. Spooky things. I always just dismissed them as people bein' hysterical." He laughed shortly and took a swig of his ale. "Pretty scary... if it's true."

She shrugged. "Neither of us will probably ever know. But this is ancient history, now. Not what I came to talk to you about. Han, I-"

Bria's low-voiced conversation broke off as a couple of smugglers slid into the booth opposite theirs. Hah looked around. "Place is filling up," he said. "Want to get outta here?"

She nodded. Han followed her out onto the street, and they walked briskly, without talking, until they were on a quieter side street. The glidewalk was broken, and there were few sentients around. Han looked at her. "You were saying?"

She looked over at him. "Han, I need your help."

He recalled what Jabba had told him. "With the as-sault on Ylesia?"

She nodded and smiled. "Quick as ever. Yes. Jabba~ bankrolling us. We're going to take the whole planet, Han."

Now it was Han~ turn to shrug. "Not my problem, sister. I've changed, too. I ain't in the charity business. I only play for profit, these days. I don't stick my neck out for anyone."

She nodded. "So I hear. I'm not asking for charity. It~ profit I'm talking about. More credits than you'd make on a hundred smuggling runs."

"What do you want from me, then?" Han realized that his anger at her was building, though he wasn't quite sure why. It was almost as though he'd have been hap-pier if she had asked him to help her for old times' sake, or something. But that didn't make any sense.

"The Rebel Alliance is still very new, Hah," she said. "Our people have guts and loyalty, but most of them aren't seasoned fighters. My own Red Hand Squadron has experience, but we can't handle this job all by ourselves."

Han stared at her in surprise and more than a little unease. "Red Hand Squadron? You command Red Hand Squadron?"

She nodded. "It's a good group. We've seen some action."

"I've heard of it," Han said. "I've heard you give no quarter to slavers."

She shrugged and didn't answer. "Anyway, as I was saying, the Resistance needs help to get us down through the Ylesian atmosphere. Experienced pilots to guide our ships in. Maybe some help with the fighting, but, letg face it, you've seen the Ylesian defenses. A bunch of Gamorreans and other losers who sleep on duty. It's not the ground a.s.sault I'm worried about, it's their blasted atmosphere. The Corellian Resistance has already lost one ship there."

Han nodded. He was mad clear through, but he was hiding it well. He wanted to hear the whole thing be-fore he let her have it. "That atmosphere is tricky, all right. But the average smuggler pilot has de't.i.t with worse. So . . . you need pilots to guide your ships in, maybe provide some armed backup. In return for what?"

"Spice, Hah. You know that Besadii has been stock-piling it. Choice andris, ryll, carsunum, and, of course, glitterstim. They've been trying to drive the prices way up, and there are warehouses stuffed full of it. We'll split the take with the smugglers."

Hah nodded at her. "Go on .... "

She looked at him. "And for you and me . . . there will be Teroenza's treasure room. Picture how much he's added over ten years. Hundreds of thousands of credits worth of antiquities. He'S bound to have maybe a million credits worth of stuff... maybe two. Think about it."

"How many troops do you have?"

'Tm not sure yet. I have to report back to our com-mand ship for this sector. We've asked for aid from any Resistance group that wants to help, pa~icularly the Bothans and the Sull.u.s.tans-there are a lot of Sullus-tans and Bothans on Ylesia. We figure they may want to be part of the rescue."

"And you're goifig to free the slaves."

"We'll take them along with our share of the spice. And before we leave, we'll reduce those factories to slag, 'along with everything else. We're going to shut that h.e.l.lhole planet down for good."

Han considered. "What about the priests? The Exul-tation could be a powerful weapon. I've seen it knock people on their b.u.t.ts who weren't expecting it."

She nodded. "Jabbag taking care of them. They'll be a.s.sa.s.sinated before we ever land."

Han looked at her, and felt cold rage wash through him. How dare she? Come back and cL~k me to get in-volved with her little revenge scheme? "You'd better get your timing down pat."

"Yes," she agreed. "This will be the biggest military operation the new Alliance has ever tried. We hope to get recruits from it, as well a~ the spice. Financing a revolution is an expensive proposition."

"Ambitious," Han said, dryly. "Why not just attack Coruscant if you want to commit suicide?"

"Itg doable," she insisted. "Ylesia isn't that heavily guarded. Han, you were there. Remember? Oh, I'm sure we'll encounter some resistance, but my people can deal with that. Your friends can stay out of the shooting until we secure the place. The combat experi-ence will be good for our troops. If we can pull this off, it will be an example to inspire other planets to join the Alliance. Our only hope of defeating the Empire is if we unite."

Han looked at her. "And this is why you came to me. To get me to contact the smugglers for you, encourage 'era to join up with the Resistance for this little mission."

"Lando told me that you and Mako Spince are peo-ple they'll listen to. I knew you. I don't know Spince."

Han finally let his impa.s.sive mask drop, and glared at her. "So what you're sayin' is that you dump me ten years ago, ignore me that whole time, and then you come back thinkin' I'll help you put my friends' lives in danger. I don't trust you, Bria. I've heard about Red Hand Squadron, 'all right. You ain't the woman I used to know, and that's plain."

"I have changed," she said, her eyes holding his. "I admit it. So have you."

"Lando told me you still cared about me," Han said, coldly. "I think you were lyin' to him, plannin' even then to use me. You don't give a hoot about me about anything we used to have. You only care about your revolution, and you don't care who you walk over to reach your goal." He snorted. "And 'all that bilge about Sam Shild . . . sure. Right. You expect me to believe a man like that would keep you around if you weren't- weren't-a-" Han finished with a word in Rodian used for the lowest cla.s.s of streetwalker.

Bria's mouth dropped open and her hand found the grip of her blaster. I-Ian tensed, ready to go for his own, but her eyes suddenly flooded with tears . . . and he knew then she wouldn't draw. "How dare you?"

"I dare a lot these days, sister," Han said. "And I say what I think. I dare to think you're a real lowlife comin' back here this way. You can forget sucking me in again with your pretty face. I've changed, 'all right. I've gotten smart-smart enough to see right through you."