Star Wars_ Tales From Jabba's Palace - Kevin J. Anderson [56]
But it was all right. She would make it all right. Skywalker might escape now, but he couldn’t avoid her forever. Eventually, somewhere, she’d catch up with him.
And then he would die.
And Then There Were Some: The Gamorrean Guard’s Tale
by William F. Wu
Gartogg the Gamorrean guard was waddling through the dimly lit corridor of Jabba the Hutt’s palace toward the servants’ quarters on his assigned patrol when he heard a disturbance behind him. The main entry slammed shut and chains rattled; he paused, snorting thoughtfully. At the sound of a Wookiee roaring in protest, Gartogg hurried back toward the main entry, anxious to prove his worth to Ortugg, leader of the nine porcine Gamorreans working here for Jabba.
“Ortugg,” he gurgled. “Wait.”
The Wookiee roared again as a bounty hunter pulled his prisoner by his chains down the steps to the main audience chamber. Gartogg lumbered after them, hoping to get in a good shove or two, but he was too late—as usual. Ortugg and Rogua, the other Gamorrean posted at the main entry with the chief, followed the bounty hunter and the Wookiee.
“Prisoner?” Gartogg came up behind Ortugg.
“Shut up,” said Ortugg.
“Yeah, shut up.” Rogua shouldered Gartogg back out of the way.
Gartogg said nothing as he stumbled backward. Ortugg always treated him this way, but Gartogg knew he deserved it. He had never really earned his chief’s respect. Members of other species here always joked and complained about how stupid the Gamorreans were, but Gartogg didn’t believe that; to him, Ortugg, Rogua, and their other fellow guards seemed as intelligent as the rest of Jabba’s followers.
Jabba dickered with the bounty hunter as the crowd watched carefully.
“Boba Fett?” Gartogg asked, trying to shove between Ortugg and Rogua again.
“Of course not,” Ortugg muttered impatiently. “Boba Fett’s over there.” He pointed through the crowd with a thick green arm. “This bounty hunter’s called Boushh.”
“And the others call us stupid.” Rogua shook his head.
Jabba spoke to the visiting bounty hunter.
“He agrees!” one of the new droids interpreting for Jabba announced from Jabba’s dais.
Jabba signaled for the Gamorrean guards to haul the Wookiee down to the dungeon.
Ortugg and Rogua stepped forward to take the Wookiee’s chains.
“Me, too.” Gartogg lumbered after them.
Ortugg put a big green hand on his chest. “No. Go back to your patrol.”
“Sail barge,” Gartogg grunted frantically.
“What?”
“Sail barge?”
“Speak plainly, you idiot. What about it?”
“Want to go. Next time.”
“The rest of us Gamorreans speak in complete sentences!” Rogua whacked Gartogg on the side of his head with his open hand. “Why can’t you?”
Gartogg blinked dizzily from the blow, snuffling. “Huh?”
“You want to be assigned to the sail barge next time Jabba takes it out?” Ortugg demanded.
Gartogg snorted in the affirmative.
Rogua snorted contemptuously.
“You must earn that kind of assignment,” said Ortugg. “You never have.”
“Audience chamber?” Gartogg asked hopefully.
“No! Return to your patrol!”
Stung, Gartogg watched in disappointment as Ortugg and Rogua grabbed the Wookiee’s chains and dragged him away to the dungeon. As the band struck up their music, and the crowd in the audience chamber resumed their party, Gartogg plodded away. He never had any fun.
As he wandered the dark, empty corridors alone as usual, he snuffled and muttered to himself. Ortugg always ordered him to sentry duty at places where nothing ever happened. When off duty, Gartogg wandered Jabba’s palace in the hope of finding something important to do. Even his fellow Gamorrean guards didn’t want his company. Every time they had a special assignment, like protecting Jabba the Hutt on an excursion in his sail barge, they left Gartogg behind.
Footsteps up ahead told him someone was coming this way. Eagerly hoping for company, he looked up and saw two familiar humans, a pale, slender, brown-haired woman and a stocky man with black