Chapter 1 A cross the skylane from Chewbacca’s quarters rose Sasal Center, its forty spires ringing an open-air mezzanine as large as the Well of the Dead back on Kashyyyk. Beside the center stood Wauth Complex, more massive than Korrokrrayyo Mountain itself. On the other side loomed the mirrsteel needles of Ooe’b Towers, as tall as wroshyr trees and webbed together by a tangle of pedestrian bridges that always reminded Chewbacca of the mazes down in the Shadow Forest. It would have been wrong to say that he enjoyed living here on Coruscant, but he had come to think of it as home—perhaps even to see the shape and mystery of the forest in its soaring lines and durasteel depths.
At Chewbacca’s side, his life-mate, Mallatobuck, was staring down through the transparisteel, mesmerized by the great rivers of traffic flowing along the skylanes below.
[Is this what they do for fun on Coruscant?] she asked. Her blue eyes and honey-colored fur were as beautiful as the day Chewbacca had pledged himself to her. [Circle the world in airspeeders?]
[Oh no,] Chewbacca joked. [I ordered the traffic for your visit.]
[Be careful. You know I believe whatever you say.] Mallatobuck spoke without looking away from the window. [Still, I think traffic is the one thing I will miss. It is like the Cascade of Rrynorrorun. Endless. Calming.]
[Endless, yes—but calming?] Chewbacca shook his head. [You have never tried to make a three-lane climb, Malla.]
[I have not,] she agreed, [because I thought you valued the lives of your mate and child.]
[I do. You know I would never let you drive.]
[Let me?] Malla rowled. She regarded him with mock anger. [With such talk, you’re lucky to be the father of my child.]
[Very lucky.]
Chewbacca grinned and pulled her to his side. Malla had waited fifty years for him to return from his adolescent wanderings, then married him knowing that he had pledged a life debt to Han Solo that would prevent them from sharing a home. In moments of vainglory, Chewbacca thought it must have been his strength or battle ferocity that had won her devotion. But deep down he knew better. Deep down he knew he was just the luckiest Wookiee alive.
He checked his chronometer and—sad at how quickly their last hours together were passing—said, [It’s almost time.]
[I’ll see if Lumpy has finished gathering his souvenirs.] Malla turned to leave, then stopped and pointed at a plastoid shoulder case in the middle of the hall. [That’s odd.]
Chewbacca started toward the hall. [Lumpy?]
Malla caught his arm. [Galactic Rebels,] she sighed.
Chewbacca curled his lip. [Does he play it this much at home?]
[More,] Malla said. [Here, at least he has the real thing.]
[Real thing?]
[You,] Malla said. [You have noticed how he idolizes you?]
[I am in his hologame?] Chewbacca began to think this Galactic Rebels was not so bad.
[Sort of.] Malla’s tone was exasperated. [He pretends to be you.]
Chewbacca smiled. [What is wrong with that? A cub should respect—]
[It is more than respect,] Malla interrupted. [Chewbacca, you cast a long shadow—and longer from here than if you lived in Rwookrrorro with us. Lumpy tries so hard to be the son of the ‘Mighty Chewbacca’ that he bores his friends and angers his adversaries—and when they challenge him to back up his words, he is always the one who comes home bloodied and quiet.]
[Always?]
Malla nodded. [It has grown so that he hardly goes out.]
Chewbacca’s jaw dropped.
Again, Malla nodded.
Chewbacca scowled at his study door. [I see.]
A strong mate like Malla made it easy to believe Lumpy was not suffering because of his father’s absence, but the truth was that a life debt placed a burden on an entire family. There were some things that even the best mother could not teach a young Wookiee as well as a good father—and when it came to handling the troubles Malla was describing, no father would be a better teacher than Chewbacca.
Chewbacca returned his gaze to Malla. [Lumpy shouldn’t go home with you.]
Malla’s brow shot up. [He shouldn’t?]
[He needs to spend time with his father,] Chewbacca said, certain of himself. [No more than a standard year or two. At his age, he shouldn’t be gone from the forest too long.]
[No, er, yes . . . I mean, you’re right. About the forest.] Malla blinked several times, then, as her composure returned, her expression grew more thoughtful. [What about you? How will you manage?]
[I am his father. I will manage.] To Chewbacca, that was all the answer needed—but he knew Malla would want details. [I have room, and I am sure the Princess will let me borrow Threepio on occasion.]
[A protocol droid? Trying to control a young Wookiee?] Malla shook her head. [Not without a stun baton.]
[I suppose not,] Chewbacca admitted. [But there is our embassy. It’s not far from here, and Princess Leia is on good terms—]
[You are on good terms with our embassy.] Malla patted his cheek. [Sometimes, you are almost humble.]
Though humble was no compliment to Wookiees, Chewbacca did not bother to protest. [So you agree?]
Malla thought about it, then said, [It would do him good to see that your life is not one long holoadventure. He needs to see that you spend most of your time doing normal things—like maintaining the Falcon, or hiding in the corner with Han at diplomatic ceremonies.]
Chewbacca gave her a sidelong glance. [Is that what you think?]
[No one’s life could be as yours is portrayed over the ’Net. You—and Han Solo, too—would be dead ten times over.] Malla took his hand, then nodded. [It might be good for him.]
Chewbacca smiled. [Then it’s settled.] He started for his study door. [He will stop playing these games, and I will teach him to win a clench challenge.]
[What?] Malla strode after him. [How will that solve anything? Teaching him to clench fight will only make Lumpy talk about you more—and give him the skill to force others to listen. And taking his games away will only give him one less thing to talk about that is not you.]
[He is going through a stage,] Chewbacca said. [It will end when he learns confidence, and confidence will come with victory.]
They reached the study door, and Malla caught Chewbacca by the arm.
[Our son is already trying to be you. That is the problem.] Her voice was so low Chewbacca had to lean down to hear. [What you must do, my mate, is teach him to be himself.]
Chewbacca considered Malla’s words for a moment, then nodded. [Agreed. He must learn to be himself . . . and win the clench challenge.]
He stepped through the door into his study, where the image of an auburn-furred Wookiee was snarling atop the holocomm pad, a long line of statistics arrayed below the picture and the name lumpacca floating above. The plastoid chair in front of the workstation was empty, and a message flashing in one corner was threatening to end the session unless the player responded in thirty seconds.
[Lumpy?] Chewbacca called.
When there was no answer, he went to the other door and looked across the hall. The refresher was open, and the interior was dark. The same was true of the two sleeping rooms.
Chewbacca had a sinking feeling. [Lumpy?]
A muffled crash echoed around the corner, and Chewbacca’s worst fears were confirmed when he stepped into the hall and found the door at the end standing open—the door that connected the back of his apartment to the back of the Solos’ apartment.
Malla came up behind him and looked past his shoulder. [Our son went through that door?] she gasped. [Lumpy?]
[He disobeyed us.] Eager as he was for Lumpy to find his rrakktorr—the defiant, adventurous heart of a Wookiee—Chewbacca was less than pleased to see that the cub had chosen to start looking for it in the Solos’ elegant apartment. [If he is starting his rebellious phase, his timing is awful.]
[It can’t be Lumpy,] Malla insisted. [He’s never even shouted at me.]
[It has to be Lumpy. The Solos aren’t home.]
The Provisional Council was hosting a state dinner that evening to welcome the New Republic’s newest member worlds. Leia, C-3PO, and Winter were all at the Imperial Palace overseeing preparations. Han, putting his own preparations off until the last minute as usual, was trying to find a haberdasher who could outfit him with civilian formal wear on short notice.
Chewbacca started down the hall. [Lumpy! Don’t touch any—]
A louder crash sounded from the depths of the apartment.
[That doesn’t sound good,] Malla said. [How angry will Princess Leia be?]
[That depends on what he’s smashing. If it’s the singing lamp the Jumerians gave her as a wedding present, she might even thank him,] Chewbacca said. [Let’s just hope he hasn’t broken Han’s bottle of Ithorian Mist. That would be bad.]
Chewbacca entered the Solos’ apartment—a showpiece of Alderaanian elegance, even here in the back—and led the way to a small larmalstone vestibule. From this central hub, doorways opened into Leia’s office, the sleeping and dressing chambers, and a huge refresher suite that included an exercise area, steam closet, and tub units that could pulse, stew, bubble, and mineralize occupants into a state of languid bliss.
Copyright © 2003 by Troy Denning. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
