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“Well, s’long yer highness,” Han drawls.
“Your little revolution helped break monotony a little.
Hope the Empire doesn’t mind you blew up their property.”
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He turns to Luke.
“Take care of them for me, kid. I’ll be back to check up on ya soon.”
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As the Millenium Falcon departs Yavin 4, the space pirates return to their routine.
“Nahhh, that’s twice you’ve beaten me, Chewie. I’ll take a pass.”
The Wookiee snickers.
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The proximity alert goes off as the ship exits hyperspace.
Solo and Chewie head for the cockpit.
“Can’t wait to see Jessa again… get the Falcon fixed, you know?”
Chewie concurs with a throaty growl.
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“Standby, Chewie. We’re coming up behind Therax 3.
Jessa and Doc’s station should be coming into view.”
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As Chewbacca performs the proper calculations, the space station comes into view.
“Ain’t it beautiful? Let’s hope they can fix the damage we took when we left Mos Eisley.”
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The Falcon streams toward the station…
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…and in through the open docking port.
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Remote systems steer the Corellian ship to its proper berth.
The controller’s voice crackles over the audio pickup.
“Falcon, this is central. Good seeing you again.”
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Warm greetings are exchanged between Jessa and Solo.
“I never thought you’d come back!” she exclaims.
The Corellian nods: “I would’ve returned for Doc’s funeral, but we’ve been busy.”
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Chewie growls for acknowledgment.
“Chewie, it’s always a pleasure to see you!” Jessa beams.
“Let me guess… Han’s messed around with your precious Falcon?”
“Yeah, our deflectors took a pounding recently. Almost lost one.”
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Collette, Jessa’s master mechanic, displays a schematic of the YF-100.
“You’ll need a new Zeratron module. The capital-ship fire you took fried yours out.”\mChewie lets out a muted howl of pain.
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“Oh, it’s not so bad. There’s an old Firespray that pulled in right before you did. I can take a spare one from it if the owner doesn’t mind,” Collette reassures the Wookiee.
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“Honey, spare no expense,” Solo smiles.
“We want everything new—top of the line.”
Jessa waves her arm, “Captain Solo, can I see you in my office?”
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“Han,” she says sternly. “You still owe me from last time. Things are hard nowadays.”
Solo nods. “Hey, I’ve finally made it to the big leagues—we’re not talking a fistful of credits here. I can help you out.”
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Jessa’s midpoint refueling station is a stopover for spacefarers of all races.
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Solo’s reflexes tighten upon seeing the armored figure of the Mandalorian Bounty Hunter.
“So, I hear you agreed to loan me a Zeratron module. That’s pretty wide of ya, Fett. How’d ya find us?”
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“Jabba just wants to make sure he gets his money,” rasps the bounty hunter.
“Following the Imperial beacon on your ship was child’s play.”
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Solo heads back to the docking bay, but is detained by an unusual stranger.
“Excuse me, kind sir. I have a business proposal for you.”
“Oh really? This had better be good,” fumes Solo.
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“I understand you came into a little… ah, windfall, shall we say?” he begins.
“Aargau can offer you a considerable interest rate on the Alderaanian bullion you’re carrying.”
“What?! How’d you know—”
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“Bankers have their ways, Captain. Imagine the Imperial Bank paying you interest on Rebel treasure.”
“Hmm… keep talkin’. I like the sound of that.”
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“Uhhh, Mr. Fett, sir—The Corellian’s talking to the merchant banker. You told me to keep an eye out for him.” says Manfred, one of Jessa’s workers.
“Solo is arrogant and stupid,” rasps Fett. “I’ll take care of it.”
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In the dim recesses of the Falcon’s hold, Collette finishes installing the Zeratron module.
“It’s a good thing Kuat System’s stuff is compatible with this old YF-100, Chewbacca.”
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The lighting levels increase as the new component is successfully installed.
Chewbacca growls a hearty approval.
“Why, you’re welcome, I guess!” she laughs.
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“I hadn’t played Dejarik for years, thanks Chewbacca.” says Collette.
The Wookiee grunts in satisfaction.
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The bounty hunter approaches Solo with weapon drawn.
“I thought you’d try to sting Jabba, you pirate.”
But solo quickly covers Fett with his own blaster.
“Easy, Fett. No one’s getting stung here—in fact, we want you to take Jabba’s money to him.”
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“Falcon’s gonna be in for repairs for a while, so we can load the goods onto Slave I and you can get to Tatooine before we do.”
“I’m not your errand boy, Solo.” replies the bounty hunter.
“Yeah, but Jabba will love you for it.” Han sneers.
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“This is the Imperial Cruiser ‘Warhammer’. You are being boarded. We are searching for dangerous fugitives.” broadcasts a no-nonsense Imperial officer.
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“I am Captain Broca,” the Imperial tells Jessa.
“A Corellian freighter escaped from the Yavin system and headed to this quadrant.”
“Sir, we handle a lot of ships,” Jessa protests, “and we don’t keep descriptions on file.”
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Jessa warns Han, Chewie and Fett that the Imperials are on the station.
“Better get out of here and hide—I can’t hold them back. Captain Broca hates bounty hunters and pirates alike.”
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Chewie growls.
“Falcon’s a sitting duck until repairs are complete,” Han agrees. “Slave I’s our only hope.”
“Over my dead body,” Fett rasps. “I have no quarrel with the Empire. Save your own skin.”
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Jessa shrewdly deceives the Imperials.
“Captain, you can still catch them in the main docking hangar!”
“Good. Squad, prepare weapons. Shoot to kill.”
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While the pirates and the bounty hunter argue, blaster fire interrupts their discussion.
“Oh, yeah? If Jabba finds out the Empire confiscated the money I owe him because you were too scared…”
“Shut up, Solo. What’s the plan?”
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“Create a distraction for us. Slave I can outrun that Imperial battlebarge any day. We’ll start a commotion at the docking bay and you take it from there. Plus there’ll be a little extra in it for you.”
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A roaring Chewbacca tosses a stormtrooper down a hallway, growling.
“Yeah, these troopers are duds. I guess the best were blown up with the Death Star!”
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“Akuda bo gnaga, Fett.” rumbles Jabba the Hutt on Tatooine.
“Solo deceived you—see for yourself.”
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In silent rage, the Mandalorian bounty hunter sees that the treasure bins hold nothing more than burned-out spare parts.
A desire for revenge burns within Boba Fett.
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“The transaction is complete.” says the banker.
“You’ll be rich before long, young man.”
Chewbacca’s doubtful growl casts a pall on the event.
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