Star Wars_ The Han Solo Trilogy 02_ The Hutt Gambit - A. C. Crispin [136]
Ann Crispin is married to SF writer Michael Capobianco and lives in Maryland. Learn more about her current projects by visiting her website: www.accrispin.com.
By A.C. Crispin
Star Wars: The Han Solo Trilogy
The Paradise Snare
The Hutt Gambit
Rebel Dawn
Fantasy
Gryphon’s Eyrie (with Andre Norton)
Songsmith (with Andre Norton)
Star Trek
Yesterday’s Son
Time for Yesterday
The Eyes of the Beholders
Sarek
Science Fiction
The Starbridge Series – Books 1-7
The Exiles of Boq’urain:
Storms of Destiny
Winds of Vengeance
Flames of Chaos
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom
STAR WARS—The Expanded Universe
You saw the movies. You watched the cartoon series, or maybe played some of the video games. But did you know …
In The Empire Strikes Back, Princess Leia Organa said to Han Solo, “I love you.” Han said, “I know.” But did you know that they actually got married? And had three Jedi children: the twins, Jacen and Jaina, and a younger son, Anakin?
Luke Skywalker was trained as a Jedi by Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda. But did you know that, years later, he went on to revive the Jedi Order and its commitment to defending the galaxy from evil and injustice?
Obi-Wan said to Luke, “For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times. Before the Empire.” Did you know that over those millennia, legendary Jedi and infamous Sith Lords were adding their names to the annals of Republic history?
Yoda explained that the dreaded Sith tend to come in twos: “Always two, there are. No more, no less. A Master, and an apprentice.” But did you know that the Sith didn’t always exist in pairs? That at one time in the ancient Republic there were as many Sith as Jedi, until a Sith Lord named Darth Bane was the lone survivor of a great Sith war and created the “Rule of Two”?
All this and much, much more is brought to life in the many novels and comics of the Star Wars expanded universe. You’ve seen the movies and watched the cartoon. Now venture out into the wider worlds of Star Wars!
Turn the page or jump to the timeline of Star Wars novels to learn more.
Han Solo leaned forward in the pilot’s seat of the Wayward Girl. “Entering atmosphere, Captain,” he said. He watched the system’s big, pale sun slip into the great curve of ruddy light at the world’s edge and disappear behind the planet’s limb. Bespin’s huge, dark nightside loomed up to blot out the stars. Han checked his sensors. “They say Bespin’s got some big flyin’—or should I say, floatin’—creatures in its atmosphere, so keep those forward shields at maximum strength.”
One-handed, his co-pilot made an adjustment. “What’s our ETA to Cloud City, Han?” she asked, a hint of strain in her voice.
“Not long now,” Han replied reassuringly, as the Girl sliced into the upper atmosphere, swooping over the planet’s dark pole, lightning far below making a flickering fog of dim light. “ETA twenty-six minutes. We ought to be in Cloud City in time to catch a late dinner.”
“The sooner the better,” she commented, grimacing as she flexed her right arm in its pressure-sling. “This thing itches like fury.”
“Just hang on, Jadonna,” Han said. “We’ll get you straight to the med-facility.”
She nodded. “Hey, Han, no complaints from me. You’ve done great. I’ll just be glad to get this arm into bacta.”
Han shook his head. “Ripped cartilage and ligaments … that’s gotta hurt,” he said. “But Cloud City’s sure to have adequate meds.”
She nodded. “Oh, they do. It’s quite a place, Han. You’ll see.”
Jadonna Veloz was a short, stocky, dark-skinned woman with long, straight black hair. Han had met her two days ago, after she’d advertised from Alderaan on the spacer-nets for a pilot to fly her ship to Bespin. Veloz’s arm had been injured when it was