Chapter 3 – Ashla's Mission

Mos Eisley was one of the busiest – and dodgiest – spaceports on Tatooine. It served as a haven for some of the galaxy's most dangerous fugitives. Even the aliens who ran the various shops and cantinas were manipulative vagabonds. One would do well to avoid Mos Eisley if at all possible. And yet, Ashla Fett was now at the mercy of one of these crooks, trying to barter for her own ship.

Ashla's personal starship was an old recreational vehicle from a bygone age. Its rounded semi-cylindrical shape was set atop four small wings that jutted out in a wide "X" position. Behind the rear wings were two mid-sized engine units that had been installed to add propulsion. Hidden beneath the front wings were four laser cannons used for self-defense. On the top of the ship, a dual blaster turret could extend from the roof and provide cover fire from almost any angle. The inside of the ship was relatively simple with a two-seat cockpit, a bed, a refresher, a kitchenette, and various closets and drawers for storage. Not that Ashla had very many personal belongings. The ship's sole purpose was to trick enemies into believing it was a harmless mobile home instead of a dangerous bounty-hunting vessel.

The mechanic was a squat Toydarian with a trunk-like nose and two wings that flapped furiously, allowing him to hover at eye level with Ashla. "Let-a me-a tell-a you-a, theese ees a very fine-a sheep-a," he said in a high-pitched voice. "I've-a never seen anything-a so-a… valuable-luking-a. It's-a worth a lot of money, eh? Of-a course-a, eet-a was-a not easy to-a feex-a, no, and-a not at all-a cheap-a."

Ashla pointed at the mechanic's face threateningly and said sternly, "For the last time, we only asked you to fix the stabilizer. No one told you to fix anything else."

"Really-a?" The Toydarian pointed at his datapad. "Because according to-a theese, a full-a repair-a was ordered-a."

"You added that yourself just to try and steal some extra money!"

The mechanic appeared shocked. "Steal-a? Steal-a? How-a dare-a you accuse-a me of-a stealing-a! I'm an honest-a Toy-a-darian-a! I-a woold-a never-a lie-a to my-a customers-a! My-a prices are-a fairer than-a you're-a gona find anywhere else around-a here-a. So-a take eet, or-a leave eet-a." Despite himself, the mechanic began to laugh at his own cunning. "Yeh-heh-heh-heh-heh heh heh heh. Ashla stopped his laughing instantly by quickly drawing one of her blaster pistols. The Toydarian wailed and covered his eyes with his hands. "Hey-a! No-a blasters-a!"

Ashla growled, "I suggest you give me the price I asked for, otherwise this could be your last transaction."

"You-a wooldn't-a dare-a! What about-a the authorities-a?"

"Oh, I'm sure they wouldn't mind. After all, everyone would be happy if there was one less scammer on the streets, tricking them out of their money." She cocked the pistol, inciting another high-pitched wail from the mechanic.

"O-kay-a! O-kay-a! I'll-a geeve-a you a deese-a-count! You only have-a to-a pay-a for-a thee-a stabilizers-a."

Ashla holstered her pistol and said, "That's better." She handed him the money and added, "I think that you should consider being more truthful in the future. I would hate for anything to happen to you." As she boarded her ship, she heard the mechanic chuckle meekly. She sat down in the cockpit, activated the ship's systems, and flew away from Mos Eisley.

Ashla landed her ship at the edge of a plateau overlooking Mos Eisley. As per their agreement, Boba Fett was there waiting for her in front of Slave I. Next to him sat a pile of crates. Ashla exited the ship and walked up to Boba. She did not greet him in the usual fashion, however. She instead folded her arms and asked, "Did you order a full repair on the ship?"

"Of course I did. I took one look at that mechanic and knew he could be easily tricked. I take it you got him to lower the price?"

Ashla laughed. "He agreed to let me pay only the price of the stabilizers. Have you been in this business so long that you can tell who can be haggled just by looking at them?"

"I'm a professional. My reputation speaks for itself, but someone's got to uphold it. Besides, I knew you of all people could successfully haggle."

Ashla smiled. "You flatter me. Anyway, I assume those supplies are for me?" She nodded toward the crates.

"Yep," replied Boba, "these will last you a while. Also, I think you'll like what I found." He reached into one of the crates and pulled out a large blaster-type weapon. It had two handles and six rotating barrels. "A Z-6 rotary blaster cannon. Outdated, but effective nonetheless. It should come in handy if you're ever in a tight spot." He handed the weapon to Ashla, who almost dropped it because of its weight. "Use it wisely; it takes a lot of ammo."

Ashla felt the blaster, bounced it up and down to test its weight, and pretended to aim it. "Thanks, Boba. This was very thoughtful of you. I'm surprised you didn't keep it for yourself."

Boba shrugged. "Well, I figured it could pass as an engagement present. Besides, I got another one for me."

Both of the bounty hunters laughed. Ashla commented, "I haven't seen you this happy in years. Maybe our luck is finally about to change."

"I hope so." Boba decided to change the subject to the mission. "Now, I suggest we split up, cover more ground. If either of us finds Solo, we'll call each other so we can take him together."

Ashla gave a mock frown. "Who put you in charge?"

"You got a better plan?"

"No, I was going to suggest that. But why couldn't I have said it instead?"

"Because I've got a higher tally than you. Once you surpass me, then you can make the decisions."

"All right, I'll make you a deal. If I find Solo before you do, I get a bigger cut of the reward."

Boba laughed. "It's on, then."

With their banter finished, Ashla and Boba worked together to load the crates onto Ashla's ship. Once they were finished, they exchanged a quick embrace and a few farewell words. "I'll catch up with you later," said Ashla as she began to walk toward her ship.

Boba stopped at Slave I's boarding hatch and said, "Oh, you will," before entering the ship.

A moment later, Slave I took off, followed by Ashla's ship. But while Boba left Tatooine's atmosphere and jumped into hyperspace, Ashla circled around and landed in Mos Eisley. She knew that the spaceport was the type of place where Han Solo would hang out frequently. She decided to ask around and see if any of the other pilots knew where he was. And she knew just where to look. She had once been told, "If you want to find the low-lives, you start at the saloon."

Chalmun's was an old cantina sitting in the center of Mos Eisley. Like most of the other buildings, it was a box-like sand structure with a dome on the roof. A few steps led down into the cantina, which was dimly lit by several lamps on the walls. The center of the cantina was occupied by a metallic U-shaped bar extending from the side wall. The other three walls had recessed booths built into them to allow private conversations. Next to the bar was a bandstand, where a quartet of Bith musicians played upbeat jazz music on their instruments. The rest of the cantina was filled with tables and chairs. And as always, dozens of aliens of a wide variety of species occupied almost every space, laughing and drinking to their hearts' content. Wuher, the grizzled barman, stood behind the bar, preparing drinks and food for the patrons.

Ashla decided to start with him. She approached the bar and sat down at an empty seat. Wuher walked up to her, waiting for her to order. He was a middle-aged man with furrowed, tan skin, disheveled black hair, and short whiskers where a beard was beginning to grow. His overall appearance suggested that he was grouchy much of the time. He wouldn't be easy to talk to. Ashla dropped a coin onto the table and said, "I'll take a cup of Jawa Juice."

Without taking his eyes off of Ashla, he scooped up the coin in his hand and went to prepare the drink. Meanwhile, in the seat next to her, a drunken squid-like Quarren was swaying dangerously back and forth as he gulped down a bottle of alcohol. Seeing an opportunity, Ashla lightly kicked his stool, causing the Quarren to lose his balance and fall against the man sitting next to him. In response, the man punched the drunkard, who stumbled to his feet and began to run toward the exit. His orientation, however, was slightly off, and he tripped and fell on top of a woman seated at one of the tables. The man seated next to her got up and grabbed the Quarren by the collar, hollering, "That's my girlfriend, you sleemo!" He then proceeded to pummel the Quarren's face with punch after punch until Wuher jogged out from behind the bar, grabbed the fighters, and threw them out the door. The girlfriend ran after them.

Wuher returned to the bar and finished Ashla's drink. By now, his frown had turned into a sneer. He handed the glass to Ashla, who politely thanked him. "You must have it tough with guys like that coming here every day."

Wuher shook his head and growled. "You have no idea. Ever since I took over this place, it's been like hell. Thankfully, I know how to handle guys like those."

"Do you ever get in trouble with the authorities?" Ashla asked casually.

Wuher nodded and replied, "Aye. Last year, I got arrested by the Empire. This smuggler came and shot some Rodian bounty hunter. You ever smelled fried Rodian before? The place stank the whole rest of the day, even after I had to get rid of the body. Later that day, some Imperial troops came and arrested me. Apparently, the old man and the kid he was talking to were rebels, and since I didn't report him after the shooting, the troops accused me of aiding a rebel sympathizer! Ha! Like Solo and that Wookiee of his would conspire with the Rebellion!"

Ashla smiled inwardly. She now had her first real clue to finding Han Solo. If he had last been seen conspiring with rebels, then it was possible that he could be found with the rebels. Except now, it was a matter of finding the rebel base, the location of which was unknown even to the Empire. But, if anyone could find it, Ashla could. She finished her drink and got up to leave. "Thanks again for the drink."

Wuher barely heard her. He was muttering to himself as he began mixing another drink. "Lucky I convinced them that I was innocent. They let me go after three days. Three days! That's three days of business lost! It just goes to show, never get associated with Solo. He's like a parasite that brings trouble everywhere he goes!"

Ashla's ship hovered in space over Tatooine while its pilot considered her options. If Han Solo was with the Rebellion, he was likely at the rebel base. Ashla would have to find the base in order to capture Solo. After juggling her thoughts in her head, she decided to focus on her tactics for finding Solo once she had infiltrated the base. The answer was simple; explore the base until she found him. But she would have to be very discreet, or else she would be caught by rebels. Unless they thought she was one of them.

Perhaps a disguise? No, they would probably be checking to make sure she was actually a rebel. The only way to get past the checks would be to join the Rebellion, which was one method she wanted to avoid. Still, she wondered how she could theoretically join the rebels. She couldn't expect rebels to be parading around the galaxy enlisting new members. The Empire would destroy them instantly. So, if the rebels couldn't go to the volunteers, then the volunteers would go to the rebels. But that circled back to Ashla's main problem; where could she find the rebels?

There had to be some kind of enlistment system for ordinary people who wanted to join the Rebellion. Perhaps there was a more well-known secondary base whose sole purpose was recruitment. If Ashla found one of these bases, she might find another clue leading to Solo. She decided that that was her best option. She booted up her computer and began a HoloNet search. Luckily, she found something relevant to the terms "Rebel Base." Until recently, the rebels had used a Massassi temple on the fourth moon of Yavin as their base. Following the attack on the Imperial Death Star, however, it was deserted.

But Ashla had a feeling that there were some rebels still in the temple, using it to recruit new members. She decided that she would go to Yavin 4 and see for herself. Not wasting any time, she plugged in the coordinates and activated her ship's hyperdrive. The stars visible outside the forward viewport turned into streaks of light as the ship reached light speed. Soon, it was in hyperspace, bound for the Yavin System.

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