The Crystal Star Read Online Free PDF Page B

get, and I
    come to a backwater." "Threepio, where's your contact?" Luke asked.
    A few dozen other ships of various types and vintages hunkered down on the blasted rock.
    Most were shielded. A few had been left naked and exposed in the cosmic weather, decaying to
    derelicts.
    "Here to meet us, I'm virtually certain, Master Luke." See-Threepio peered nervously through the
    viewport. "Perhaps riding out on the crawler?" See-Threepio fidgeted. A few weeks ago, Han had begun
    to receive incomprehensible messages. But Threepio recognized the language; he said it was nearly
    extinct. The messages passed on rumors of strange events at Crseih Station.
    "It is my fault we've set out on this investigation," See-Threepio said.
    Han had charged Threepio with replying to the messages, using the same obscure language, andwith
    setting up a rendezvous. Now Threepio, being Threepio, took full responsibility for the entire expedition.
    "I do hope we are not following a hoax," Threepio said.
    "It's all right, Threepio," Han said.
    "It wouldn't be your fault." "But I could hardly survive the embarrassment if the rumors turned out to be
    of no account.
    ..." Han gave up listening to Threepio's worries. Han would be sorry for Luke, of course, if he failed to
    find the lost Jedi. But Han was content to be here, whether the trip turned out to be vacation or
    adventure.
    He turned his attention to the outpost. The low, oblate airlinks covered and protected and connected the
    districts of the station, some rich and well kept, some collapsing into piles of rubble. Though the Empire's
    research facilities had been abandoned, the community that had sprung up around them had continued.
    Some of the inhabitants had found other ways to thrive, without the presence of the Empire or the
    attention of the New Republic.
    Representatives and ambassadors concentrated their attention on more populous worlds closer to the
    center of power.
    And that's a relief, Han thought. No ambassadors, no court dress. No formal dinners.
    The crawler hesitated.
    "How will you be wishing to pay for this service?" its operator asked.
    "Letter of resources," Han said.
    "Hard credits only." The crawler started to back away.
    "Wait a minute!" Han shouted. "Do you--" He stopped. He had been about to say, "Do you know who I
    am?" But he was traveling incognito. Of course the operator did not know who he was.
    The thought gave him a feeling of freedom.
    "The letter of resources must be deposited, Master Ha--" See-Threepio's memory programming cut off
    the use of Han's real name just in time. "Sir. Otherwise it cannot be drawn upon." "I know that." Han
    grinned. "I guess I just wanted to flash it around. All those seals and signatures." And a fake identity.
    The crawler headed for the airlinks.
    "Come back here!" Han said. "Cash money." "Show your coin." Han displayed the rainbow edges of a
    few bills of New Republic currency. He was glad, for old times' sake, for the sake of his smuggling days,
    that the Senate had failed to pass a law abandoning physical currency. Smuggling would have been a
    whole lot harder without hard-to-trace cash money. Of course, that was why the Senate wanted to
    abandon it.
    The crawler pulled forward again and maneuvered until the shield covered the Falcon. It disengaged, and
    the shield settled.
    The crawler nestled up beneath the Falcon.
    Han shut down the Falcon and set several security devices, some of them cleverer than others.
    "Let's go," he said. "And remember who we are. I mean, who we aren't." Threepio had put on the purple
    lacquer; Han had grown his beard. But Luke had done nothing to disguise himself.
    "I don't know, kid," Han said to Luke.
    "I still think you ought to do something. Shave your head, maybe? Otherwise, somebody's sure to
    recognize you." Luke gave him a quizzical glance.
    "I'm not shaving my head. No one will recognize me." Han felt dizzy. Luke's features suddenly blurred
    and reformed. He became, in Han's eyes, a different