“I wish we knew who our enemy is, and why he shot us down,” Jaina said. “Maybe it’s all a mistake.”
Then they whirled as blasting sounds came from the rubble wall that had sealed them into the cramped chamber.
Lowbacca growled, his fur fluffing in anger as he bared his fangs.
“Our enemy has come for us,” Tenel Ka said.
“Blaster bolts—we left our lightsabers in the ship!” Jacen cried.
Stone shards exploded into powder at the center of the avalanche wall. Then, as the smoke settled and the incinerated rock cooled, a figure stepped through the opening, holding his blaster out and ready to fire. He wore scratched armor and a helmet like the ancient Mandalorian warriors had once used.
Boba Fett.
“Children of Han Solo,” the bounty hunter said in a gruff, threatening voice.
Jaina sucked in a shocked breath. “My father told us about you,” she said, straightening to kneel on one knee on top of the ship. She crossed her arms over her chest. “Why have you attacked us? There’s no bounty on our ship.”
“Hey, there’s not even a bounty on our dad anymore,” Jacen added.
“I am not hunting Han Solo,” Fett answered. “I have moved on to other assignments. Where is Bornan Thul?”
Bornan Thul? Jaina couldn’t understand why the bounty hunter would be interested in Raynar’s father, or why Fett had attacked them to get that information.
“Bornan Thul! How would we know where he is?” Jacen said.
“I intercepted your transmission to his son. You reported that your mission was a complete success. Since Bornan Thul was a noble of Alderaan, it makes sense that he might have chosen to hide here. You must have come here to meet him. Where is the man, and where is his cargo? I must find him.”
“Well, happy hunting then,” Jaina said, scowling. “We don’t know where he is, and that’s not at all why we came to this system.”
“Now will you let us go?” Jacen asked.
“You will be bait, then,” Fett said. “Perhaps Han Solo knows where Bornan Thul has gone.”
“No!” Jaina cried. Lowie growled.
The armored bounty hunter turned, strode through the small opening he had blasted through the rock wall. Before he disappeared back to his own ship, the bounty hunter fired his blaster at the roof of the small tunnel, bringing down a new rock slide and fusing its core.
“Not very talkative, is he?” Jacen said.
Tenel Ka looked around, an expression of deep concern on her face. “Who would set a bounty on Raynar’s father—and why?”
“And why would he want us as bait?” Jacen asked.
“If he sends out a fake message, he’ll lure Dad here into an ambush,” Jaina said. “Unless we can get out first. Come on!”
Back inside their ship, the miniaturized translating droid was immensely pleased to see them. “I have excellent news, Mistress Jaina and Master Lowbacca! When I realized that dreadful bounty hunter was outside with you, I took the opportunity to use our remote slicer to tap into his computer.” Em Teedee seemed immensely pleased with himself. “I assumed he wouldn’t notice, since he was no longer aboard his ship. I’ve succeeded in retrieving all of his data files!”
“Great work, Em Teedee!” Jacen said. Lowie made an appreciative noise and patted the droid’s silvery external shell with his big hairy hand.
“Good,” Jaina said. “Now that we have Boba Fett’s information, maybe we can find a way to get out of this alive.”
18
“I’m impressed, Em Teedee,” Jacen said, still marveling at the little droid’s audacity.
“Why, thank you, Master Jacen. It was nothing so remarkable, really.” Jacen was sure the little droid would have blushed had he been able to. “Oh—dear me! I seem to be picking up a broadband transmission from Slave IV, Boba Fett’s ship. It’s being sent on a wide range of frequencies.”
“Put it through our speakers,” Jaina ordered.
“Reception is rather weak, thanks to our damaged communications dish, but I’ll amplify as much as possible,” Em Teedee said. Jaina and Lowie worked together to boost the gain, their fingers flying over the control panels.
The ship’s speakers crackled with static. “… for Han Solo … emergency in Alderaan system. Jacen and Jaina need help … urgent. Come alone.”
The mood in the Rock Dragon’s cockpit instantly turned grim.
“I don’t get it,” Jacen said, feeling more trapped and anxious than he had earlier.
“Ah.” Tenel Ka nodded. “Aha. Your father will naturally come if he believes you to be in danger.”
Jacen clenched his fists, then looked down at his hands. “Why would Boba Fett think Dad could lead him to Bornan Thul?”
“Looks like Boba Fett knew that Dad and Bornan Thul were on the same trade commission,” Jaina said, scrolling through the data Em Teedee had downloaded from the bounty hunter’s ship. “Let’s see what else we can find out. Maybe if we learn who Boba Fett is working for, why he wants Bornan Thul so badly …”
Leaning over his sister’s shoulder, Jacen quickly skimmed the information that flashed across the screen. “Fett’s after something, all right. I just can’t tell what it is.”
“That fact is never specified,” Tenel Ka said.
“Seems like Raynar’s dad may be the key, though,” Jaina said. “Whoever posted the bounty seems to think Bornan Thul has—or at least knows where to find—whatever it is Boba Fett’s after.”
Lowie gave a soft rumble. “More than one what, Lowie?” Jaina said.
“Master Lowbacca believes that because Boba Fett has records tracking the movements of other searchers, it is likely that more than one bounty hunter was engaged to fulfill this assignment,” Em Teedee clarified. “According to one log entry, he has apparently already destroyed one such rival, a man named Moorlu.”
Jacen gave a low whistle. “Somebody must really want Raynar’s father.”
“Ah. Aha,” Tenel Ka said, pointing to a name on the screen. “There—Nolaa Tarkona. It would appear that she set the bounty. Interesting.” Jacen knew Tenel Ka expected this to mean something to him, but he had no idea what she was getting at. He gave her a blank look.
Tenel Ka raised her eyebrows. “Recall what your father told Raynar. Bornan Thul was on his way to a trade conference when he disappeared. At the conference, he was scheduled to meet with Nolaa Tarkona, a Twi’lek woman—one of the few females of that species ever to rise to political prominence. My experience with assassins and conspiracies indicates this connection is not entirely coincidental.”
“Seems awfully complicated,” Jacen said. “Dad’s in trouble. Raynar’s father is in trouble. We’re in trouble….”
“At least now we know something about the trouble we’re in,” Jaina said. “Thanks to this information. Excellent work, Era Teedee.”
“Why, that’s very kind of you, Mistress Jaina,” the translating droid said. “But the credit actually belongs to you and Master Lowbacca for enhancing my emergency response subroutines. I simply—”
“Speaking of emergency response,” Jaina broke in, “we’d better all get back to digging ourselves out of this mess before Dad falls into the trap Boba Fett is setting for him.”
Jacen nodded. He didn’t mind his sister’s taking charge in a crisis. He knew Jaina didn’t do it to show off—she took the lead because someone had to, and it usually just worked out that way. Jaina thought faster and felt more comfortable issuing orders than he did.
“Em Teedee, try to send a message to warn Dad away from Boba Fett’s ambush. I know the signal’s weak, but do whatever you can to boost it until I can get another transmitter dish rigged.”