Star Wars_ The Han Solo Adventures - Brian Daley [230]
Dellalt’s sun set off a purple dawn; grassland disappeared under the hover-raft’s bow. They had nearly crossed the basin of grassland formed by a curve in the mountain range and were bearing toward the mining camp when Bollux leaned over the driver’s seat and said, “Captain, I’ve been making communication monitoring sweeps as you ordered, listening for activity on the Survivors’ frequency.”
Han immediately became anxious. “Are they on the air?”
“No,” answered the ’droid. “After all, their antenna mast was destroyed. But I also checked other frequencies mentioned in Skynx’s tapes, and I’ve found something peculiar. There are transmissions on a very unusual setting coming from the direction of the campsite. They’re odd because, although I can’t pick them up clearly, they appear to be cyber-command signals.”
Han’s brow furrowed. Automata-command signals? “Mining equipment?” he asked the ’droid.
“No,” answered Bollux. “These aren’t the usual heavy-equipment patterns or industrial signals.”
Badure turned the raft’s commo rig to the setting Bollux had been monitoring but was unable to pick up anything clearly. Taking a bearing from the ’droid, Han changed course minutely and made a slow approach toward the mountains. Setting the airwatch sensor to full-scan, he readied Chewbacca and the others to pull the camouflage tarp over the raft at a moment’s notice.
He came in slowly, taking his direction from the ’droid. They had already walked into one trap by investigating signals and, though it was important that they find out what these new ones meant, Han had no intention of being ambushed a second time. He lowered the raft’s lift factor until it was bending the grass down, barely clearing the ground.
“Signals strengthening, Captain,” advised Bollux.
They were approaching a rise in the plains, a ripple in the landscape preliminary to the sloping of the mountains. Han settled the hover-raft in behind the rise and got out of the craft. Parting the grass delicately, he and Chewbacca belly-crawled to the crest to have a look.
Less than a kilometer away the foothills began. Han squinted through his blaster’s scope. “There’s something down there, where that gully comes down to the plain.”
The Wookiee agreed. They withdrew with care and told the others what they had seen. Sunrise was near.
“Skynx and Hasti, take lookout on the rise,” Han directed. “Bollux and Badure, guard the raft. Chewie and I will move in; you all know the signal system. If you have to get out, at least you’ve got a boat now.” None of them made any objections, though Hasti looked as if she wanted to.
The Millennium Falcon’s captain and first mate split off to the right and left of the rise, moving stealthily through the tall, amber grass, each of them keeping careful count in his mind. They had worked together so often that they automatically orchestrated their moves, without benefit of chrono or signal.
Han swept left, approaching the anomaly in the terrain that had attracted his attention. As he had thought, the lumps at the base of the foothills were a cluster of camouflage covers, a little too sudden and consolidated to be a part of the landscape. He saw no sentries or patrols, no surveillance of any kind, and so changed course to his right.
He heard something in the grass that might have been a small insect’s buzz; the sound scarcely traveled a few meters. Han assumed his partner’s signal had been sounding for a while.
He homed to it, parted a tuft of grass, and met his copilot with a grin. They talked in quick hand-motions; Chewbacca’s recon had yielded the same results as Han’s—with one addition; there was a guard, evidently a Survivor, walking a slow post. They made their plan and moved forward again. Han’s first inclination was to use the stun-gun carried by Badure, but there was too much chance that someone would