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"In a moment we will begin our descent to the lowest level of Aargau," Nuri said. "The actual surface of the planet. It is the remains of a vast city. It was built by the original natives of Aargau millions of years ago. The pyramid has grown out of it, layer by layer, level by level, over thousands of years. Aargau is a highly civilized planet now.

As I told you, it has many rules. But it was not always so."

Here Nuri's expression grew serious. "In the Undercity, individuals are not as well-behaved as they are up here. It is dangerous to visit there. Sometimes fatal."

Boba swallowed. He tried to look brave - although he certainly didn't feel brave.

But that was okay. He felt excited. He was doing something he had never done before! And he was doing it on his own.

Well, almost. He looked at Nuri and smiled. "I can handle it," he said.

Nuri cocked his head. "You are not frightened?" Boba shrugged.

"Yeah. I am. But I haven't changed my mind. I still want to go."

Nuri looked pleased. "That is good. To admit fear is a good thing.

It makes one careful. And carelessness has killed more visitors to the Undercity than anything else."

Nuri rubbed his chin, regarding Boba thoughtfully.

"And besides," said the little Bimm. His smile grew even wider. "A visit to the Undercity is an important part of any bounty hunter's education!"

That made Boba feel good. He grinned back.

"Well then - " Nuri gestured at the opening in the floor in front of him. Boba took a deep breath, then stepped alongside him.

"I'm ready," he said, and looked down.

"Ready for anything?" asked Nuri.

Boba nodded. "Ready for anything!"

CHAPTER TWELVE

As Boba looked down, he saw what had been hidden behind the round door in the floor. A capsule, big enough to hold two people. It had clear sides, so you could see out of it. It had a control panel but no steering mechanism. It reminded him of the cloud car he had flown in Cloud City, Only smaller, and with no way to change direction.

"What's that?" he asked.

Nuri bent to press a button on the capsule's side. Its top hatch opened. "Hop, in and find out," he said.

Nuri climbed into the front. Boba slipped in behind him. The top closed again. Boba looked around and saw that the capsule was inside yet another tunnel - like a sort of tube, or slide, that curved and swirled and twisted ever downward.

"Is this how you get to the Undercity?" he asked.

Nuri nodded. "It is one of the ways. There are thousands. Many are only known to a handful of people. Many have been hidden for so long that they've been forgotten. Of course, there are official routes to the Undercity - turbolifts and such - but one needs special clearances for those. And money."

With no warning Nuri flicked a switch on the control board and the capsule plummeted downward with a sudden whoosh.

"Whoa!" Boba shouted. It was as though the entire floor had dropped away beneath them. The capsule shot almost straight down, then curved abruptly to the right. It corkscrewed around and around - like going down a gigantic, kilometers-long slide. Boba braced himself with his hands and looked out.

Everywhere he saw lights. Shimmering, blazing flashes of red and orange and blue and violet.

"Those are the other levels," Nuri explained. He had to shout to be heard over the rush and roar of their descent. "We are traveling at a rate of kilometers per minute - but in realtime, not in hyper-space."

"Cool!" said Boba. He wished this thing had controls!

He stared out again. He had glimpses of huge leaping flames, of tunnels that seemed to be filled with molten gold. One level was like a giant aquarium, where huge dianogas floated, their tentacles waving.

Boba wrinkled his nose. "Smells bad here," he said

"Sanitation level," said Nuri. "We're almost there."

Suddenly everything went black. Not the kind of black you see at night when you go to sleep. Not the kind of black inside a closet, or a darkened ship. Not like the darkness