06

REUNION

Set in the cliff side of the canyon wall was a wreckage of a G9 Rigger class freighter, its long, single wing sticking straight up in the air. Below the wreckage, the rock wall depressed in a cloud of dust and lowered belowground. Moments later, Hondo drove his land speeder into the mouth of the cave. Jaster watched behind him as the hidden door rose and sealed them in darkness.

"You should consider yourself honored," Hondo shouted over the obnoxious clanging engine of the speeder. "This place is my most precious secret." The speeder emerged from the tunnel into a vast chamber, still engulfed in darkness. Hondo switched on the speeder's headlights as he slowed to a stop. With the engine still clanging, they both hopped out of the cab. Jaster peered around in the darkness through the night vision filter of his helmet, hands instinctively on his blaster grips from behind his cape. He would't dare put it past the old pirate to try and kill him to get out of paying, in a sense, that's exactly what he did with Bule Konossa. With a sudden flash, Jaster was blinded. His blaster was half drawn from its holster. "Welcome to my humble home," Hondo exclaimed. Jaster removed his helmet and rubbed his eyes. Large lights shone down on the cavernous chamber which had flared his nightvision in his eyes. Hondo still stood beside the power generator's switch.

"A little warning next time," Jaster muttered. After allowing his eyes to adjust, he peered around. The vast cavern stretched on and on. Close to the entrance was what appeared to be the layout of an entire home spread on the floor without walls. A large bed was surrounded by crates of various belongings. Empty bottles were scattered about. Opposite the bed was a cooking unit and further away was an entire portable refresher station. Next to the bed was a pole with a small red Kowakian monkey-lizard a tuft of green feathers perched completely still. From Jaster's distance, he could discern that the pet was stuffed. Only very vaguely did Jaster remember Hondo's pet that once climbed on his shoulders nearly a decade ago. "So where's my pay? It better be something good."

"Well seeing as how you are in need of a ship, I think you will be very satisfied with this," Hondo beckoned with a smile. Jaster followed behind him as they strode past the old Weequay pirate's abode. Further down the cave, Jaster saw a handful of ships. Many were rusting and dilapidated. It was a safe bet that few of them had not seen space for nearly ten years. "My collection is not what it once was," Hondo sighed. "This used to be filled with my entire fleet. A ship for every occasion. But business is not cheap and piracy doesn't pay what it used to, I've been forced to sell many. Nearly sold this one too. Thank the stars I did not!" Hondo and Jaster stopped at a massive shape concealed by a giant canvas. Together, they pulled down on the hem of the canvas which was surprisingly light despite the accumulation of years of dust. As the canvas pulled away, Jaster suddenly felt a heaviness in his chest. A sloped canopy was set in a mound like structure. On both sides, fin like wings protruded from large arched housing couplings. With wide eyes, Jaster made his way around the ship. The ship rested flat on the cavern floor on the mound like base of its structure. On top was the main hold, topped by the sloping canopy and narrowed down to a tail mounted by twin turbo lasers spanning over the main entrance ramp of the ship. Though the paint job was vastly different, Jaster recognized by some of the unique plating patchwork, the vessel to be more than just any Firespray-31-class patroller. The ship's base was painted a dark red while the rest was its natural plated durasteel tone with muted olive detailing. A faded red symbol had been added to the ship since the last he saw of Slave 1.

"I had it fixed up after Aurra crashed it," Hondo said to the silent young bounty hunter. "Such a dangerous woman," he relished with a chuckle.

"She flies?" Jaster inquired with his hand placed lightly on the hull.

"She should. I used her quite a bit for a time but not anymore." Hondo heaved a sigh.

A thunderous explosion shook the cave. Dust rained down on them as their attention was suddenly captivated by the expanding cloud at the main entrance. Jaster donned his helmet and drew both Westar 34s. Hondo stumbled as he turned to see the entrance, still clouded by the explosion. Suddenly a large speeder transport erupted from the cloud of dust, ramming through Hondo's belongings, leaving a scattered mess behind.

The speeder jolted to a halt yards away from where they stood. Three blaster armed aliens emerged from each flank of the speeder while another two hopped out of the cab. Still standing on the speeder's hood was a grey skinned Devaronian with a long goatee protruding from his pointed chin that seemed to mimic the two curled horns on his head. In his hand was a blaster pistol he aimed at the old Weequay pirate.

"Ohnaka, show yourself, you slime!"

From behind the cover of some crates, Jaster and Hondo peeked at the intruders. "Come now, no need to be nasty, that's just bad business!" Hondo said.

"You had Bule Konossa killed and I'll bet it's the bounty hunter scum you're talking to that did it."

"You know these guys?" Jaster whispered to Hondo.

"Friends of Konossa. Didn't know he had any," Hondo shrugged. "I'm sure there's an arrangement we can come to where we are all rich and not dead. What do you say?" Hondo called back out.

"Not likely," Jaster muttered as he drew a thermal detonator from his belt. He chucked it from behind their cover and waited. One of the armed hitmen shouted in their own alien tongue before the thermal detonator exploded. Jaster rolled from his cover, firing his blasters. His advantage was brief, shooting down one overwhelmed hitman. The remaining hitmen, including the Devaronian opened fire on him, sending a barrage of blaster bolts his way. Jaster dove back into cover behind the wing of Slave 1. Hondo cowered behind the cover with his own blaster pistol in hand. Now and then his blaster peeked from behind the crates and fired. Blaster fire peppered Slave 1's wing. Jaster hopped from cover, firing his twin Westars. The hitmen scattered from the young bounty hunter's efforts. The other three hitmen on the right flank adjusted their fire to his position.

"Yes, good plan!" Hondo jeered as he charged from his position to the ramp of Slave 1. Jaster snarled at the thought of the pirate on his ship but refocused on the attacking hitmen. From behind the crates off to the right, a Rodian hitman emerged with a leveled blaster rifle. Jaster fired a pair of shots, dropping the green rubber skinned alien. A sudden rumble sounded from the base of Slave 1. Jaster couldn't help but smirk at seeing the ship coming back to life. Slowly, the ship rose off the ground. Intense heat poured from the wash of the main thrusters, lifting the ship off of the cavern floor. Blaster fire from the hitmen peppered the ship. Jaster ran to the ramp as the ship continued to rise and slowly rotate. He jumped onto the edge of the ramp, stumbling forward as he made his way to the open entry hatch. Standing in the doorway, he fired back at the hitmen. A sudden burst of intense cannon fire erupted from the twin turrets mounted at the end of the tail. Dust and debris rained down on the ship from the launch entry directly above. Sunlight poured on the ship as it rose from the cavern through the improvised entry. Jaster hit the switch as he stepped inside and the entry hatch lowered and sealed shut behind him. The gravity in the ship suddenly shifted

"Oh chizk." The entire ship turned upward 90 degrees, throwing him off his feet. He landed hard against the main hatch before collapsing on his side. With the ship upright in its flying position, Jaster got back on his feet and grumbled as he walked to the ladder against the back wall and climbed through each open entry to the cockpit.

Seated in the pilot's chair, Hondo hummed a tune as he piloted the ship over Florrum's sulfurous wasteland. "Ah, good, you made it on board."

Jaster fixed the Weequay with a sharp stare. "Get out of my chair."

"Yes of course," Hondo exclaimed as he activated the autopilot and stood up from the controls. "So you accept my offer? We are now even?"

Jaster sat down behind the piloting controls and deactivated the auto pilot. "I'm dropping you off at the next stop."

"Excellent! If you would be so kind to take me to Garel?" He sighed as the smile left his leathery face. "There seems to be nothing left for me here."

Jaster looked over his shoulder to see a deep look in the old pirate's eyes. Hondo's attention seemed lost as he gazed out through the windshield of Slave 1 at the desert of Florrum. Jaster could relate. His one home he had ever had quickly became a place he could never go back to and now there was no longer a reason to. But Jaster knew first hand that didn't make leaving a home for good any easier. Returning his attention to his ship, Jaster pulled back on the yoke and tilted the Slave 1 through the soup of orange clouds and into the vast deep black of space.