Star Wars_ The New Rebellion - Kristine Kathryn Rusch [57]
“I tried,” Luke said. “I failed.”
“He came here after that, but he didn’t stay.” The wrinkles on her face seemed to have grown deeper. “He told them at the Imperial site all that you did, and it ate at him. I’d never seen him have a conscience before. It angered him.”
She spoke the last softly. Angering a man like Brakiss could be deadly. “And then they had no more use for him here. So he left. He said he had skills he could sell. I didn’t hear from him for a long time after that. Until recently. When he said you would come here, looking for him.”
The pain was subsiding. So was the thirst. Luke stood.
“He wants you to find him, Luke Skywalker.” She twisted her hands in front of her. “I think you should go home. Forget him. Nothing good can come of this. Whatever was good in my boy died a long, long time ago.”
“No,” Luke said. “It didn’t die. It’s just buried real deep.” And would be harder to get to than it would be with almost anyone else, because Brakiss’s foundation in the dark side was never his choice, as it had been with Anakin Skywalker. The choice had been made for him, before he even had conscious thought. “You know where he is, don’t you?”
She nodded. “He told me. He wants you to come. But you’re a nice man, Luke Skywalker. I can’t send you there. My son wants to kill you.”
“I know,” Luke said. “I’ve been in danger before.”
“Not like this,” she said. “Oh, Luke Skywalker. Not like this.”
There were always abandoned sleeping quarters on Skip 1. But they were abandoned for a reason, and the reason was never a good one.
Han shoved the door open for the room he would share with Chewie. Chewie roared.
“Stop complaining, you big turbali. There’s nothing I can do about the stench.” Han put his traveling duffel on the mildewy cot. The greenish-yellow ooze slid down the walls in this chamber and went through a drain in the floor. The main floor was flat and untouched by the ooze.
Blue had assured him that this was the best room available.
If it was the best, he didn’t want to see the worst.
Chewbacca growled and moaned, then wailed.
“So sleep on the Falcon if it’ll make you feel better. You know that’s the best way to get beat up and have the ship tossed.” Han lifted the blanket. The mildew went all the way down to the mattress. Maybe Chewie’s idea about the Falcon wasn’t a bad one.
Chewie yerled.
“Yeah, I know you’ve slept on the Falcon before. But that was on Skip 8. And do you remember how I found you?”
Chewie shook his shaggy head and mumbled.
“If you could’ve gotten out of it, you would have done it long before I showed up. You don’t need false bravado with me.” Han sighed. “You got your sleeping bag? I wouldn’t lie on that mattress otherwise.”
Chewie nodded and pulled his bag from his pack. He laid the bag on the mattress and it fell off both sides. Chewie growled softly, but didn’t address his remarks to Han. Han ignored him anyway. On principle. One night, maybe two, in this place. Then they could leave.
But he didn’t want to stay on the ship, partly because other smugglers believed that a guarded ship was a valuable one, and partly because no one would approach him on the Falcon. Now that his presence was known on Skip 1, he might see some interesting visitors.
“Okay, Chewie, let’s settle in,” Han said. He loudly pulled his bag out of his duffel while Chewie searched beneath the cots for listening devices. He collected three before looking at the walls.
Pitifully.
His fur would get coated with the ooze. Han would have to help him clean it off. Either way, Han would have to touch the stuff.
“All right, you big baby,” Han said. He tossed his bag at Chewie, who folded and unfolded it, making the plastic rustle noisily.
Han stood on the nearest cot, half-closed his eyes, and stuck his fingers in the ooze. It felt as disgusting as touching the evil Warn on Crseih Station. The ooze was warm and viscous. He knew it would take days to get the stench