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| A Time Recalled |
A Time Recalled
Horror! It was almost unbelievably horrible.
He stood there; the dying fires reflected on his cinnamon fur. It was not the
first time and probably, considering the lack of Imperial law enforcement in
the outer space lanes, would not be
the last time he would see such destruction.
This time they had been lucky. None of their own people had been hurt, at least
not seriously.
One was sent to sick bay with minor wounds; his partner had gone with him to
make sure nothing was seriously wrong.
So now Chewbacca could take a deep breath in relief and attempt to control his
own
fear; knowing that all was well with the crew and the ship.
Oh, the ship had been damaged. A ship does not come out of hyperspace into a
full blown pirate raid and escape undamaged, but Captain Ramon was an old and
experienced hand in avoiding
hostile space attacks. Never come out of hyper without shields up, and have an escape program
laid in. was his practice. And this had put the 'Space Bug' back into hyper with a
minimum of
damage, and only a minor casualty.
They stayed in hyper as long as was practical. To try going for help. or trying to communicate, was useless. The pirates would be jamming the communications channels and attempting to play tag with a pirate fleet was stupid. The 'Bug' was only a small freighter. Heavily armed for such a small craft as she was, she would still be no match for a raider; so she stayed in a hyper-jump mode, dogging in and out in a random pattern until the Captain felt enough time had passed to try and return.
It was very likely that, by now, the raiders had probably finished with their grisly work. The 'Bug' cautiously made her return. Feeling guilty at the time wasted and fuming at their inability to help, the crew had grumbled; this was not something they had wanted to do! Captain Ramon reminded them, however, that getting themselves killed was not going to do the settlers any good either. If the ship survived, they just might be able to help if there were any survivors. So they waited, and hoped.
The planet Mammont was mostly rock and sand, with a few fertile valleys.
The people here were fifth generation settlers from a Wookiee populated world;
mostly artisans and farmers.
They were somewhat smaller, with a less aggressive personality, than their
forest dwelling cousins.
The great strength, and long life span, of the Wookiee was what attracted
slavers
to the Wookiee species. Wookiee slaves were in great demand, and pirate slavers
were happy to try and fill
their demand. The Imperial view-that Wookiees, unable to communicate in the
standard universal language, were
more like animals than a people- did not discourage the raids. After all,
animals could not be sapient, could they?
Politically, the question had become a thorn to the Empire. Because too many
people knew the Wookiee species was intelligent, they simply tried to ignore
the situation, and turned a
blind eye to the slave raids on the Wookiee planets when they could.
Until now, Mammot had been ignored by the raiders. A small population had made
the raids
uneconomical, and the piirates were- first and foremost, if nothing else-
mercenary. However, as their
numbers increased, without realizing it, the settlers of Mammot became more
vulnerable.
The Wookiees had developed a fine yarn from a native plant, and their aritsan
weavers made fine weavings and cloth from that material. A demand had devloped
on the rim planets for the
beautiful and exotic cloth. That, plus the mining of a few semi-precious
gemstones, had given the
Wookiees a comfortable, if not luxurious, living.
A trading post had been established by an old rim-world human and his assistant; and a few of the smaller traders-such as the 'Space Bug'- brought outworld items in exchange for the gems and cloth. It was unknowingly and innocently that the traders had also spread the information that the colony was an expanding Wookiee settlement, and completely unprotected. It had become an open invitation to the pirateds.
The attack had been classic. Target the outlying residences and business, set
mini explosives and fires to damage property and drive people into the streets;
create a panic and
then use stun beams to cut down resistance.
Capturing Wookiees was a dangerous job, even with these less aggressive ones.
They would fight if given the chance, and their great strength made them very
dangerous indeed when their
freedom and families were threatened. Not wishing to expend food, or room, on
cargo that was not salable;
the slavers were also selective. Those too injured, the infants and those too
old, were simply
slaughtered. The rest were loaded into the holds of their ships to be auctioned
on some out-lying world.
dividing his crew, Captain Ramon had each of the crewmembers cover a section of the village; hoping to find survivors. The more experienced crew peoplehad little optimism. Chewbacca had asked the Captain to allow him to take the section where the trading post was located. It had taken him awhile and, despite his worry, he had been very meticulous in his search. No survivors were found in the areas he had already covered before he reached the post.
For two years he had been fast friends with the Human trading assistant; a
young woman who, somewhat strangely, avoided the company of the occasional
humans who visited the colony.
The company of Wookiees appeared more to her liking than that of the other
humans.
Chewbacca had hoped- but really knew that the hope was in vain- that she might
have survived.
The trader, the old human, was lying in the doorway. He had been
angle shot, but had apparently lived long enough to take out one of the
pirates. The dead pirate was
holding a needler; less messy, but nonetheless just as deadly a weapon as a
blaster. With a sinking
heart, Chewbacca realized that he had used it very effectively. Manessa, his
friend, lay just
inside the door-quite dead- a neat hole in her head.
He had started to pick her up when he realized there was someone missing. The
child!
The boy was too young for the raiders to have taken him; he would have required
too much care. If he had
been killed, where was he? He would have been with Manessa...unless?
Manessa mush have had time to hide him! And Chewbacca knew where!
The three year old boy had started screaming hysterically when he saw the
humans at
the ship. To him they seemed the people who had destroyed his world.
Chewbacca had taken the child to his own cabin, and Captain Ramon had made a
light sedative to quiet him. The boy was sleeping now, whimpering ocassionally
with restless dreams.
Chewbacca watched him for awhile, then, sighing regretfully, opened a drawer in
his personal cabinet. The box he removed was metal, impressed with a rather
elaborate design. A Death Promise Box.
In the Wookiee culture, the Death Promise boz was much similar to a will for
humans; but
much more binding on the one making the promise. Accepting a promise box was
next only to a life
debt, as far as responsibility went. He had accepted the box from Nanessa.
He had been both surprised, and disturbed, that a human would use the Wookiee
custom;
but there had been something in her eyes that had compelled him to accept. A
knowing sadness, as if she
knew something was going to happen-even two years ago.
Now Chewbacca was sure she had known there would be a disaster; if not
exactly what the disaster would be..
Carefully, he opened the box. There were tapes tightly sealed, and very explicit
instructions for their delivery. There were enough credits for several months
living for both
the boy and himself; and there were also directions on how the boy was to be
cared for. Most importantly,
it was stressed that no one was to know ehere he was to be taken, or who he was
to be taken to. Secrecy needed to
maintained at all costs, because the child's life could very well depend on it.
But who would want to hurt this child?
I had been a long, complicated journey. Chewbacca had left the 'Bug' and changed destinations several times. He was sure now that his trail could not be picked up, and it was time to take the boy to his final destination.
After contact had been made, the Wookiee waited in a small rooming lodge.
When the man arrived, Chewbacca had recognized him. Now all the elaborate
secrecy had fallen into place.
The child's life would, indeed, have been in danger if others had known to whom
the Wookiee had been taking him.
There was great sadness in the man's eyes.
" It was a sad day when this child had to be sent to me. His mother and
father...
it is a mad galaxy we live in, Chewbacca, when this occurs. And it is even more
dangerous now. If
I take the boy, he will be in constant danger. In spite of Manessa's wishes, I
tell you I
cannot take the child!"
Chewbacca sniffed at the smell of the Cantina. He did not like this place.
He did not like this planet.There were many such on the borders and fringes of
the galaxy; moderately
habitable,dingy scabs in the universe-but he and his partner had to find work.
His eyes strayed to his Captain, Han Solo; his friend, his almost cub.
For many years the Wookiee had traveled with Han; acting as co-pilot, friend,
almost guardian to the reckless young Human.
Han looked relaxed sitting at a table with his back to a wall. The
Wookiee grunted. Han was anything but relaxed; but then only the Wookiee would
be likely to know that.
The young human had many years practice in concealing his moods from all but
his furry partner.
They were in trouble again. It did not make much difference how it had
happened.
If they did not get work soon they would both be in very deep trouble.
Sometimes, Chewbacca thought Han was a master at finding that particular
commodity;
but, being honest, he had to admit that this time it was not Han's fault. If
they had not dumped Jabba's spice, the ship
would have been taken in by the Imperial Patrols. It was a choice that had been
hard to make; but life
on Kessel, or the swamps of Velba,would have been a certainty if they had been
captured.
With Jabba, they at least had a chance
So now, here they were trying to find a cargo that would pay off the Hutt.
If you let it be known, in a place like this one, that you were looking to pick
up a cargo, chances
were you would find one. Perhaps not legal, but they did not doubt they would
eventually find something.
Han's ship was whispered to be a smuggler-and fast- and in this area that would
be a plus for them.
He had been momentarily distracted by an old man, who had elegantly
dispatched a cantina bully. The bully had mede the mistake of harassing the
older man's companion,
a very young man who should not have been in a place like this.
Chewbacca had turned away when the older man touched his arm. The Wookiee was
surprised.
" We need a ship, my friend. This boy, and I. His guardians have been killed.
There are too many Imperials here, and we wish to avoid any Imperial
entanglements. Can you
help us?"
The conversation had been very quiet. so the boy had not heard. The
boy was such a very young man, in years to come the immature lines would harden
into a more masculine
image. Now Chewbacca saw blue eyes, and a dimple. A mouth that he was sure
would have an engaging
smile. So much like...!
He again saw his friend, Manessa. He wished he could tell the boy of her, but
now was not the right time or place. There was the possibility of exposure,
and too much danger.
A look from Obi-Wan told him that. That was for the future, someday, but not
now.
It seemed he could still be of help to his dead friend, Manessa. The death promise had, long ago, been kept; but a debt to a dear friend is never really paid. And so, Chewbacca knew he would again, as he had done once before, try to help young Luke Skywalker.
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