Star Wars_ Rebel Force 04_ Firefight - Alex Wheeler [14]
The creature swooped into the air, wheeling in circles through the clouds. Han scrabbled for his blaster and aimed it at the beast's underbelly—but didn't pull the trigger.
The ground was shrinking beneath him, and killing the creature now would lead to both of them plunging to their deaths.
See, Highness? he thought wryly. I don't always shoot before I think.
Han had heard about aiwhas, the giant winged cetaceans that ruled the seas and skies of Kamino. But hearing was different from seeing. The creature was enormous, covered with a thick, scaly hide. It was hard to believe that such a great beast could ever have been domesticated. But it surely had been—its riding harness was still in place, if a little worse for wear. The aiwha let loose a stream of ear-piercing screeches, and Han spotted several winged shadows emerging from the clouds, heeding its call.
Just fly a little closer to the ground, Han thought, and I've got a little surprise for you. As if obeying his silent command, the giant winged creature streaked toward the ground, chasing after two of its scaly friends. The aiwha in the lead let out a piercing shriek as Chewbacca sent a bolt of laserfire into its shoulder. It flapped furiously, its right wing smacking the other aiwha off course.
Startled, the aiwha holding Han ascended sharply, fleeing the blaster. "Wrong way, lizard breath!" Han shouted. But it was no use. The aiwha rose higher and higher.
Just then Luke stepped out of the shadows, his lightsaber extended over his head.
"Come and get me!" he shouted at the aiwha. The blue blade slashed back and forth, a single spot of light in the dim, murky air.
That's it, Han thought as the aiwha streaked toward Luke. Just a little closer to the ground and—now! He aimed the blaster at the aiwha's underbelly.
"No!" Luke shouted. "Han, don't—"
Han squeezed the trigger as he tore at his jacket. A stream of laserfire sizzled into the aiwha, bouncing off its leathery skin. It howled in rage and pain, ascending steeply. But Han couldn't work himself loose. "Come on, birdbrain," he growled, pounding his blaster against the buckle. "Let me go! "
The jacket tore. Han plummeted through the air and crashed into something soft and scratchy. It smelled like moldy muja fruit. The aiwha, still screeching and flailing from its wound, swooped toward him again. Han held it off with the blaster, trying to figure out where he'd ended up. He was in a hollow dish-shaped space made of grass and seaweed.
Three large gray spheres were tucked beneath some of the seaweed.
Uh-oh, Han thought, suddenly realizing where he was. Those weren't spheres. They were eggs.
He was in the aiwha's nest.
Luke peered up. Way up. The nest was wedged into the roof of one of the enormous domed buildings. The creatures seemed to be afraid of Han's blaster, so he was having no trouble holding them off. But there were no obvious footholds in the sloping roof, no way for Han to climb down safely. And even if there had been, it would have meant turning his back on the creatures. Luke was pretty sure that the moment that happened, they would strike.
If Han couldn't descend by himself, Luke was going to have to rescue him. "Cover me," he told Chewbacca. The Wookiee didn't need an invitation. He hoisted his bowcaster and sprayed the skies with energy bolts. R2-D2 wheeled in circles around him, beeping and whirring in distress.
"I'm coming, Han!" Luke shouted, carving two narrow crevices into the wall with his lightsaber. He figured he could continue carving handholds and footholds for himself as he scaled his way up to the roof.
"Don't bother," Han shouted down. "I'll figure something out."
"What?" Luke called.
There was a long pause. Luke continued carving and climbing,