Star Wars_ Tales of the Bounty Hunters - Kevin J. Anderson [0]
THEREFORE I AM—A renegade droid, a sentient killing machine, embarks on Vader’s quest to find Han Solo and bring him back to the Imperials alive—but even the Dark Lord himself is but a small wrinkle in IG-88’s plan to claim the galaxy as his own domain.
PAYBACK—A cybernetically enhanced Imperial assassin, surgically stripped of all superfluous emotion, Dengar vies for the glory of meeting Darth Vader’s challenge—and of bringing down his longtime enemy, Han Solo.
THE PRIZE PELT—A lizardlike Trandoshan hunter who slaughters Wookiees for their pelts, Bossk makes an uneasy alliance with two enemies for an Imperial fortune—but double- and triple-crosses make this the deadliest mission of all.
OF POSSIBLE FUTURES—A Gand intuitive and his logic-driven droid partner find their own meaning in Vader’s quest for Han Solo: Zuckuss, to gain funds for lifesaving surgery; 4-LOM, hoping to plumb the secrets of intuition. They will find the logic in emotional decisions—and the rewards of forgetting about profits.
THE LAST ONE STANDING—The galaxy’s most legendary hunter, Boba Fett, faced with the passage of time and his declining powers, embarks on one great adventure … tracking and killing his old adversary, Han Solo.
TALES OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS
A Bantam Spectra Book / December 1996
SPECTRA and the portrayal of a boxed “s” are trademarks of Bantam Books, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.
®, TM & © 1996 by Lucasfilm Ltd.
Interior illustrations by Michael Manley and Lucasfilm Ltd. Courtesy of West End Games. Copyright © 1996 by Lucasfilm Ltd.
All rights reserved. Used under authorization.
Cover art by Stephen Youll. Cover art copyright © 1996 by Lucasfilm Ltd. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information address: Bantam Books.
eISBN: 978-0-307-79626-4
Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. Its trademark, consisting of the words “Bantam Books” and the portrayal of a rooster, is Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Marca Registrada. Bantam Books, 1745 Broadway, New York, New York 10019
v3.1
TO TOM DUPREE
an editorial “bounty hunter” who will stop at nothing to
get the best book possible out of an author.
Acknowledgments
The usual round of thanks for Lucy Wilson and Sue Rostoni at Lucasfilm for their helpful suggestions; this book came about because of their enthusiasm for my first STAR WARS anthology. Lillie E. Mitchell’s fast fingers transcribed my dictation for the IG-88 story; Michael A. Stackpole and West End Games provided invaluable information on the ways of bounty hunters to help us keep details consistent.
“Bounty hunters. We don’t need that scum!”
—Admiral Piett
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Epigraph
Therefore I Am: The Tale of IG-88
Kevin J. Anderson
Payback: The Tale of Dengar
Dave Wolverton
The Prize Pelt: The Tale of Bossk
Kathy Tyers
Of Possible Futures:
The Tale of Zuckuss and 4-LOM
M. Shayne Bell
The Last One Standing:
The Tale of Boba Fett
Daniel Keys Moran
About the Author
Also by this Author
Introduction to the Star Wars Expanded Universe
Excerpt from Star Wars: Death Star
Introduction to the Old Republic Era
Introduction to the Rise of the Empire Era
Introduction to the Rebellion Era
Introduction to the New Republic Era
Introduction to the New Jedi Order Era
Introduction to the Legacy Era
Star Wars Novels Timeline
Therefore I Am:
The Tale of IG-88
by Kevin J. Anderson
I
Internal chronometer activated. BEGIN.
Electricity flooded through circuits, a power surge racing through a billion neural pathways. Sensors awakened, producing a flood of data—and with it came questions.
Who am I?
His internal