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“I had to,” Yarna said. “You were unconscious. Don’t you know that reptiles never die until after sundown?”

The hunter shook his head. “That’s an old tale.” “Well, it was true enough this time,” Yarna pointed out.

Doallyn had evidently checked the hydron-three gauge inside his helmet. “Full!” he exclaimed.

Gravely, Yarna reached out and dropped the spare cartridges into his hand. “Here. You’ll need these.”

“Where …” he sputtered. “How …”

Briefly, she explained about how she had come to buy the cartridges. Doallyn slowly released the catches on his helmet and took it off, holding the cartridge side close to his face so he could inhale the hydron-three when it was released. “You gave up one of your children … for me?” he asked slowly, as though he could not believe what he’d heard.

Yarna shrugged wearily. “I couldn’t stand there and let you die, could I?”

With a quick movement, he reached out and grabbed her hand. “I can’t believe you did that … for me.”

“You saved my life, remember?”

“Well, now we’re even,” he said, and, for the first time since she’d known him, Yarna saw him truly smile. His scarred features brightened; he looked almost handsome. “Yarna … I have a surprise for you.”

“What is it?”

Slowly, with great ceremony, he reached into his tunic and took out five small objects, then held them out to her. “Dragon pearls. One is worth a fortune. With these we can buy all your children—and a spaceship to transport them in.”

Yarna stared at the gems, dazzled. “Where did you get them?” she asked finally.

Doallyn pulled his helmet back on, fastened it. “I’ll tell you on the way,” he said. “Let’s go find your children.”

Money, Yarna discovered, was the key to everything in Mos Eisley. Before moonrise that same night, she and Doallyn had accomplished their goal. Yarna had Luka and Leia in one arm, and Nautag in the other. She couldn’t believe how they’d grown, and she was even more amazed that they still recognized her. Simply holding her babies in her arms again made the Askajian speechless with joy.

They paused on the street corner across from the Hutt lord’s town house. “Well, you have them,” Doallyn said. “Now what?”

Yarna stared at him, nonplussed. She had concentrated so hard on reaching this moment that she had no idea what she’d do next. She thought for a moment, and the answer came. “Get off Tatooine,” she announced firmly. “I never want to see this planet again.”

Doallyn nodded his helmeted head. “Very sensible. My sentiments exactly. After we buy that spaceship, would you … that is, do you think you might like to see Geran? It’s a nice world. You’d like it, I think.”

Yarna considered the question, then a slow smile crossed her face. “I think that Geran would be a very nice place to go,” she said.

“Good!” Doallyn said, warmth tinging his voice even through the mechanical filter. “Next stop, the spaceport. I’ve always wanted my own personal ship.”

Yarna nodded, and shifted Nautag, who was squirming restlessly and trying to pull her hair. “The spaceport, then.”

Doallyn stretched out his arms toward Nautag. “Here. Let me carry him. You have your hands full.”

Yarna nodded, and handed the child over to the hunter. Together, they walked away, and the light of Tatooine’s little moon shone down gently upon the five of them.

Epilogue: Whatever Became Of …?

After visiting Geran, Yarna and Doallyn decided to live aboard their new spaceship and become free traders, specializing in textiles and gemstones. Whenever they needed extra credits, Yarna moonlighted as a dancer. She performed the Dance of the Seventy Violet Veils at the wedding of Han Solo and Leia Organa, where she was spotted by a designer of exotic lingerie and recruited as a model for his line of extravagant jeweled brassieres.

Doallyn managed her new career, taking time out to capture specimens of renowned fierceness for zoos on the worlds they visited. The cublings showed great aptitude for music and became a swinging jizz trio in the tradition