Star Wars_ The Han Solo Adventures - Brian Daley [65]
Times like this, he wished he were the slow, careful type. But his style was the product of Han himself, defying consequences, jumping in with both feet, heedless of what he might land in. His plan, as revised in the elevator, was to do all the scouting he could. If nothing more could be accomplished, he and the others would have to wing it, withdraw from the performance and, it was to be hoped, Stars’ End, on the plea that Bollux was irreparable.
He watched floor numbers flash and kept himself from asking questions of the tech supervisor beside him. Any outsider, particularly an entertainer, would be scrupulously uncurious about an Authority installation. For Han to be otherwise would be a matter causing instant suspicion.
A few other passengers entered and left the car. Only one was an exec; all the rest were Espos and techs. Han looked them over for keys, restraint-binders, or anything else that might indicate detention-block guard duties, but saw nothing. Again he noticed that the tower seemed very lightly manned, contrary to what he’d expect if there really was a prison here.
He followed the tech supervisor out of the elevator, alighting at the general maintenance section, nearly back at ground level. Only a few techs were there, moving among gleaming machinery and dangling hoisting gear. Disassembled ’droids, robo-haulers, and other light equipment, as well as commo and computer apparatus, were to be seen everywhere.
He resettled Max’s carrying strap at his shoulder. “Do you guys have a circuit scanner?”
The tech led him to a side room with rows of booths, all of them vacant. Han set Max on a podium in one of them and lowered a scanner hood, hoping the tech would go off and take care of his normal duties. But the man remained there, and so Han found himself staring into the computer-probe’s labyrinthine interior.
The tech, watching over his shoulder, commented, “Hey, that looks like a lot more than just an auxiliary component.”
“It’s something I worked up, pretty sophisticated,” Han said. “By the way, the Viceprex said when I’m done here I could take it up to your central computer section to recalibrate it. That’s one level down, right?”
The supervisor was frowning now, trying for a better look at Blue Max’s guts. “No, computers are two levels up. But they won’t let you in unless Hirken verifies it. You’re not cleared, and you can’t go into a restricted area if you’re un-badged.” He leaned closer to the scanner. “Listen, that really looks like some kind of computer module to me.”
Han chuckled casually. “Here, look for yourself.”
He stepped aside. The tech supervisor moved closer to the scanner, reaching down to work its focus controls. Then his own focus went completely dark.
Han, rubbing the edge of his hand, stood over the unconscious tech and looked around for a place to stow him. He had noticed a supply closet at the end of the scanner room. Han fastened the man’s hands behind him with his own belt, gagged him with a dust cover off a scanner, and lugged the limp form into the closet. He paused to take the man’s security badge, then closed the door.
He went back to the little computer-probe. “All right, Max; perk up.”
Blue Max’s photoreceptor lit up. Han removed his own sash and stripped the gaudy homemade medals and braid off his outfit. He yanked the epaulets and piping away, too, and what remained was a black body suit, a fair approximation of a tech’s uniform. He placed the supervisor’s security badge prominently on his chest, took Max up again, and set out. Of course, if anyone were to stop him or compare the miniature holoshot on his badge to his real face, he’d be tubed. But he was counting on his own luck, a