Star Wars_ The Han Solo Adventures - Brian Daley [214]
The Wookiee shambled off unenthusiastically. He made a rapid, thorough sweep of the area, discovering no watchers, no tracks, nor any fresh scents.
When Chewbacca returned, Han straightened from his examination of the instrument pods at the mast. “It runs off some kind of sealed power plant, a little one. It might have started broadcasting yesterday or been going for years and years. I gave the others the signal to come ahead.”
Chewbacca whined unhappily, wanting only to depart from this place. Han was losing patience. “Chewie, I’m getting tired of this. There’s receiver gear here that we can use to check for sensors and get a bearing on J’uoch’s mining camp. This thing’s been beaming for a whole day at least; if anybody in this miserable solar system were coming, they’d be here by now.” That made the entire installation much more of a curiosity, he had to admit; but he didn’t mention it, not wanting to make his towering sidekick any more nervous than he already was.
Badure, Hasti, Skynx, and Bollux soon appeared and, when they had looked over the bogus landing field, voiced surprise and mystification.
“This isn’t any part of J’uoch’s operation, I’m sure,” Hasti said. Badure didn’t add anything, but his expression conveyed discomfort. Skynx’s antennae were waving a little erratically, but Han chalked that up to the Ruurian’s timidity.
“All right,” the pilot said briskly. “If we work fast, we’ll be out of here inside of an hour. Bollux, I want to patch you and Max in on some of the equipment; one of Max’s adaptor arms ought to fit. The rest of you fan out and keep your eyes open. Hey, Skynx, you feeling okay?”
The little Ruurian’s antennae were waving even more pronouncedly now. His head wobbled for a moment, then he shook himself. “Yes, I—felt strange for a second, Captain. Strain of the journey, I should imagine.”
“Well, hang in there, old fellow. You’ll make it.” Han started off with the labor ’droid while the others began spreading out.
Then he heard a panicked squeak and whirled to see Skynx collapse in a multilegged heap, antennae vibrating. “Stay away from him!” Han shouted.
Hasti fairly jumped back. “What’s happened to him?”
“I don’t know, but it’s not going to happen to us.” They had too few facts to decide with any accuracy what was wrong with him; it could be a disease, or something natural to his peculiar physiology, perhaps even a part of the Ruurian life cycle. But Han wasn’t going to risk having any other living members of the party contaminated. “Bollux, pick him up; we’re pulling out of here. Everybody else, cover.”
They formed a ring, weapons ready, as the labor ’droid hoisted the small, limp form and held it easily in his gleaming arms. Han barked out instructions. “Chewie, take the lead.” But as they moved out Han found his own vision becoming blurry.
He shook his head violently, which helped, but a surge of alarm made his breathing more rapid, and his heart began pumping furiously. They had only gone a few more paces when Badure, opening his flight jacket’s collar, slurred: “Whatever it is, I’m in it with Skynx.” He collapsed to the ground without another word, but his eyes remained open, his breathing regular.
Hasti rushed to him, but she, too, was already unsteady on her feet. Chewbacca would have put out a paw to support her, but Han snagged a handful of his partner’s pelt and pulled him back. “No, Chewie. We’ve got to get clear before it happens to us.” Han knew that they might be able to come back and help the others later, but if they succumbed now, no one was likely to survive.
Without warning, Han’s legs gave way. The Wookiee, chugging like a steam engine, shifted his bowcaster to one hand and reached for his friend. His prodigious strength seemed to give him additional resistance to whatever was affecting the others. He considered running for it, for Han’s statement that someone must get clear was correct. But the Wookiee code of