• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

And if he fell

Boba swallowed. He thought of his father: No matter how Jango felt, he would always appear brave.

A lot of the time I'm scared, Boba, he had once said. But if an enemy ever knows you're afraid, you're finished.

Boba imagined he was as strong and powerful as his father. He imagined himself looking unafraid - even though that was not how he felt.

He said, "San Hill is raising money for the Separatist cause. The Separatists are united behind Count Dooku - "

The vice-chairs's face twisted angrily. "That's not news! Everyone knows that - "

"I'm not finished," said Boba coolly. "Did you know that a man named Tyranus recruited a bounty hunter named Jango Fett for the Kaminoans to use to create a clone army for the Republic."

"I'd heard things like that," Kos admitted, growing more interested.

"Well, I know this: Dooku and Tyranus are the same person."

The official stared at him in disbelief. After a moment he started to laugh. "You really had me going for a minute," he said. Then his face darkened. "But I have no time to waste - tell me the truth! What do you know?"

Boba hesitated. He knew he was putting his own life in danger by sharing this secret. But it was the only weapon he had.

"He is helping to build two armies," Boba went on slowly. "He has spent millions - billions - on both the droids and the clones. And in the end, only he will benefit from a war."

Boba thought how foolish his own words sounded. But, strangely, the vice-chair seemed to hear them differently.

"Tyranus... is Dooku?" he said in a low voice. "But - "

He shook his head. He looked stunned and disbelieving, but Boba could tell that the seeds of doubt had been sown.

"Are you certain of this?" Kos asked after a minute. "This is treason. The highest kind of treason."

Boba nodded. Kos stared, thinking, at the control panel. Finally he said, almost to himself, "I must tell San Hill."

Without another word he steered the airspeeder over to the platform. The craft rocked gently back and forth in the air. The official reached forward and pressed a button. The door onto Level Two slid open.

"Get out," he said curtly. "Before I change my mind and kill you."

Boba jumped out, his heart pounding. It took him a second to get his balance. Then he raced toward the open door.

"Wait - " the vice-chair called from behind him. Boba turned. The man half-stood in his air-speeder, his blaster drawn.

"You took too long," Kos said in a low voice. "I changed my mind."

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

With a gasp Boba turned an sprinted for the door. But before he reach it, an explosion sounded behind him. He looked back and saw Kos turning to stare at something below his airspeeder. There was the drone of a hoverbike and another explosive burst that shook the speeder. An instant later, the hoverbike itself came into view. Riding it was a familiar, red-haired figure.

"Aurra," said Boba in disbelief. As he stared she raised her blaster, her blazing eyes fixed on him.

"Got it in one," she said, and fired. There was a second blast as the vice-chair returned her fire, and the hoverbike rocked slightly.

Without hesitation Boba, lunged for the airspeeder, diving inside just as the craft shot away from the landing platform. Kos glanced down at him, one hand on the controls, the other on his blaster.

"That's Aurra Sing," the man said grimly. "If she's part of all this.. ."

His voice trailed off. It seemed as though Aurra's sudden appearance made him take Boba even more seriously. The speeder veered and then swooped into a heart-stopping dive. "Take the controls!" Kos shouted as another volley of fire surrounded them.

Boba nodded and jumped into the control seat. The vice-chair turned to monitor Aurra's pursuit. "There are security forces all over Level Two," he said, shaking his head. "There's no way she can get away with this."

"That's not gonna help us if we're dead," retorted Boba. He steered the speeder around a sharp