Star Wars Adventures 006 - The Warlords of Balmorra

by Ryder Windham

  Aurra’s job was to destroy the comm tower, which would not only knock out communication for Rigorra’s castle but also cause the livestock to stampede. Aurra did not disappoint Jango. She was right on time.

  The tower burst into fire, and the livestock panicked. While the nine guards turned their attention to the burning tower, the livestock ran across the field, straight for the shelter.

  Jango rose from the ground and threw his body against the side of a running shaak and gripped the beast’s flesh. The shaak grunted and tried to shake off the man, but it kept running for the shelter, and Jango held tight. Bouncing along the shaak’s side, Jango glanced up to see the excited swoop gang mounting their vehicles. Jango knew they must have just spotted Aurra Sing on her swoop, lifting away from the base of the comm tower. They would go after her, but they wouldn’t catch her, of course, because she would be ready for them. And after Aurra had disposed of the guards, she would follow Jango into the castle. That was the plan.

  Jango was confident that the plan would work. It had to work, because it was the only way he could capture Groodo alive. As far as Jango was concerned, the ability to capture living prey was the difference between a skilled bounty hunter and a complete idiot. Any fool with a blaster could smash through the wall of a building and start shooting at anything that moved. Jango was many things, but he was hardly a fool.

  Once inside the shelter, Jango dropped from the shaak and rolled away into a stable to avoid being crushed by any of the frightened creatures. Picking himself up, he noticed there was a flower plastered against his left wrist gauntlet. He recognized it as a flower from the grazing field and reached out with his right hand to brush it away.

  But something unexpected happened: The flower sprang from Jango’s gauntlet and went for his neck. Before he could grab it, the flower snaked up under his helmet and over his mouth, then blasted toxic pollen into his nostrils.

  Jango’s body spasmed, then he collapsed to the stable floor.

  Unaware of Jango’s situation, Aurra steered her swoop over several blocks and down a narrow alley, making sure that Rigorra’s swoop gang was right on her tail before she stopped and turned with her blasters blazing. She didn’t spare any of her pursuers, and took some pleasure in watching their bodies fall from their swoops and land in the alley below. After she’d witnessed the final sickening thud, Aurra holstered her blasters and steered her swoop back toward the castle.

  A team of droid firefighters was trying to hose down the flaming comm tower as Aurra sped low over the grazing field, heading for the animal shelter. Once inside the shelter, she swerved around several packs of still-frightened livestock, parked her swoop in an empty stable, and went looking for Jango.

  She didn’t have to look far. She found Jango’s body lying motionless on the stable floor. Aurra knew that Jango’s armor should have protected him from being trampled by Rigorra’s animals, but could they have knocked him unconscious? She bent down over his body and inserted her long fingers up under his helmet, reaching gently for his throat to search for a pulse.

  She was surprised when a flower slipped out of Jango’s helmet. She was even more surprised when the flower launched itself at her face. Two seconds later, Aurra joined Jango’s body on the floor.

  And then Rigorra’s guards arrived in the stable. Most of them were Gamorreans, but their commanding officer was a Nikto with black eyes and leathery red skin. The Nikto made a sweeping gesture at the two bounty hunters and said, “Remove their weapons and bring them to Rigorra.”

  One of the Gamorreans grunted in mild protest.

  “I don’t care if it’s almost show time!” the Nikto hissed. “Get them out of here now!”

  Groodo the Hutt was resting his bulky green body on several oversized pillows that lay across the floor of the music room in Rigorra’s castle. He reached into a large bowl of finger-sized mukkmaggots, grabbed a handful of the crawling creatures, and tossed them down his throat. The music room contained several dozen other beings, and most, like Groodo, were lying on pillows on the floor. No one commented on Groodo’s eating habits, either, because no one noticed—or no one dared.

  A large, empty stage lay before Groodo and the others. Groodo looked at the stage cautiously before he quickly gobbled up another bunch of mukkmaggots. The musicians had already entered the orchestra pit in front of the stage, and Groodo wanted to eat as much as possible before the show started, just to steady his nerves.

  As the lights dimmed and the music room went dark, Groodo wondered if hiding out on Balmorra had been such a good idea after all. Granted, he felt safe and secure in Rigorra’s castle, which had infinitely stronger defenses than Groodo’s own fortress on Esseles. And Rigorra had been helpful in supplying Groodo with all the necessary resources and technology to create false evidence that would blame Groodo’s own son, the relatively innocent Boonda, for concocting the entire scheme to wreak havoc on the starship yards of Fondor.

  Endlessly generous, Rigorra had even gone so far as to make his brother an official Warlord and had given him a key to the castle’s fermented-beverage cellar. But in spite of the security and hospitality, there was one problem with being a guest at Rigorra’s castle: Rigorra loved to entertain—and more specifically, Rigorra was always the entertainment.

  Suddenly there was a loud cascade of somber music and a wide, yellow spotlight came on, illuminating Rigorra’s incredibly large body at center stage. Rigorra wore a shiny metal crown, and the corners of his mouth were stretched down in an exaggerated frown. He rolled his eyes at the ceiling and sang in a low voice:

  “I’ve got a heavy heart, it’s true,

  ’Cause I don’t know what I should do

  When I’m so green but feeling blue, like cheese and kind of smelly.

  So many sorrows can’t be drowned

  Or strangled, crushed, and run aground,

  And sometimes worries do compound, to lose pounds from my belly.”

  The music then slipped into a bouncy tune, and twelve long-legged female Twi’leks appeared, high-kicking their way across the stage behind Rigorra. He slapped his meaty hands together, an action that sprayed sweat out over the audience, and his frown instantly transformed into a leering grin. As the Twi’lek dancers moved back and forth behind Rigorra, he gently rocked his fleshy shoulders to the beat of the music and sang, in a brighter, happier voice:

  “When you’re a Hutt, your figure weighs

  In heavy ’til your dying days.

  When you’re a Hutt, your motive sways with every waking stupor.

  Did you know that Hutt’s got rhythm?

  Twi’leks dance, and I’m right with ’em.

  Vethpers lisp, ‘That organithm, Rigorra, ith a trouper!’

  Other crime lords twist and shout

  And writhe and scream and roll about,

  But are they happy? That I doubt, I think it’s safe to impugn.

  A crime lord who won’t sing a song

  May think he’s tough; I know he’s wrong,

  Because he can’t be very strong, if he can’t carry a tuuuuuuune.”

  In the audience, Groodo rolled his eyes and wondered how much longer he’d have to endure the agony of being entertained by Rigorra. As if in answer to his prayers, the music room’s overhead lights came on and the band stopped playing. On stage, Rigorra scowled with displeasure.

  The Nikto chief of security appeared from the side of the stage and walked to Rigorra, then whispered something that quickly restored the Hutt’s winning smile. Rigorra nodded to the Nikto, then gestured to the audience. The Nikto turned to face those gathered and announced, “Two bounty hunters have been apprehended while attempting to infiltrate the castle. It is the express wish of His Corpulency Rigorra, Your Master of Ceremonies and Warlord of Balmorra, that your entertainment continue at the arena!”

  While Rigorra and his minions moved from the music room to the arena, a starship descended through Balmorra’s atmosphere and came to a hovering position near Rigorra
’s castle. The ship belonged to the bounty hunter Skorr.

  “What’s that burning thing over there?” Bossk snarled from his seat in the ship’s cockpit. Skorr followed Bossk’s gaze and saw the flames that rose near Rigorra’s castle.

  “Looks like a comm tower,” Skorr said.

  “Haw!” Bossk said. “Not anymore, it’s not!”

  Once again, Skorr resisted the urge to eject Bossk from the cockpit. He said, “Maybe someone got here before us.”

  “What makes you say that?” Bossk snapped.

  “That fire,” Skorr said, nodding in the direction of the burning tower. “You don’t think Rigorra started it himself, do you?”

  Bossk snarled, “Take us down!”

  “Are you out of your living—” Skorr started, then caught himself, knowing better than to insult Bossk. He gestured at his sensor screen and said, “Take a look at that data. Rigorra’s got laser cannons defending every angle of approach from the sky and surface. If we approach his landing pad without permission, we’ll be blasted to bits!”

  Bossk’s yellow skin flushed, turning his face a nasty shade of orange. He growled, “Who said anything about a landing pad?” Then he shoved Skorr out of the pilot’s seat and grabbed the controls. Bossk didn’t have much of a plan in mind. He figured he’d just smash through the wall of a building and start shooting at anything that moved.

  Before Skorr could interfere, Bossk steered the ship straight for a large domed structure and punched the accelerator. The castle’s automated laser cannons fired at the ship, but Bossk ignored the deadly streaks of light that hammered the ship. There was an incredible explosion as the ship’s nose punched through the dome’s wall and crashed onto a wide dirt floor. The dust was still flying as Bossk kicked open the cockpit canopy and jumped out of the ship, holding a blaster rifle in each hand.

  But when the dust settled, Bossk saw that he was in some kind of an arena ringed by staggered rows of bleachers. He also saw that he was completely surrounded by more armed guards and armor-plated droids than he’d ever seen in one place in his entire life. And then he saw the two Hutts.

  Bossk snarled, “Which one of you bloated slugs is Groodo?” His question was followed by the sound of a blaster being fired. The shot hit Bossk squarely in the back of his bandaged head. As Bossk’s body fell forward onto the arena floor, the two Hutts looked at the being who’d made the shot. It was Skorr, who stood outside the cockpit of his crashed ship and threw down his blaster.

  “I surrender,” Skorr said.

  Rigorra laughed, then sang:

  “So glad you dropped in. Don’t be shy!

  I like the way you shot that guy.

  You must be weary. Be my guest!

  Smell the flowers and get some rest!”

  A short, three-legged creature trotted across the arena floor, carrying a bouquet of flowers. The alien placed one flower on the floor next to Bossk’s face, then turned, handed the remaining flowers to Skorr, and trotted back to the bleachers. Seconds later, Skorr was lying on the floor, too.

  Jango Fett was the first of the captives to wake up. He was shackled to a post that was set into the floor of a large arena filled with hundreds of spectators. Jango was still wearing all his armor, including his helmet, but his weapons had been removed.

  Jango looked to his left and saw Aurra Sing shackled to another post. Her weapons were also gone. Beyond Aurra, there was another restrained being, a humanoid male with pale yellow skin—Jango didn’t recognize him—who had a metal shell that covered the left side of his head. And beyond the yellowskinned stranger, there was a captive who was familiar to Jango.

  Bossk, Jango thought to himself. Just my luck.

  Then Jango noticed the flowers at the feet of both Bossk and the yellowskinned man. They were the same ones from the grazing field. Obviously, they weren’t ordinary plants. Because of the way his stomach and head ached, Jango suspected the flowers contained powerful toxins. It appeared that the other captives had been exposed to the flowers as well.

  A few moments later, Aurra opened her eyes and reflexively tugged at the chains that bound her wrists and ankles to the post. The chains held, so she relaxed her body and took in the scene. When she saw Jango, she winked slyly and said, “We’re in!”

  Jango scanned the spectators on the arena’s bleachers and spotted Rigorra and Groodo. Neither of the Hutts looked at all worried. From a loudspeaker, a voice announced, “Contraltos and miscreants! Creatures of all ages! Welcome to Rigorra the Hutt’s Impromptu Semiannual Balmorra Death Run!” Then the music started, loud and with a driving beat.

  A spotlight glided over the bleachers until it landed on the two Hutts. Rigorra hauled his massive body up onto an elevated dais, and the spectators burst into applause, as the Hutt began to wiggle and shake to the music. A few seconds later, Bossk and Skorr opened their eyes. Seeing Rigorra’s vigorous movements, Bossk said, “Somebody get me a bucket before I puke!”

  Rigorra wiggled some more, then swiveled his bulky form to look down at the four restrained captives on the arena floor. He blew a kiss to Aurra Sing, then grabbed a microphone and cut loose:

  “Welcome, welcome to Balmorra!

  I’m the Warlord Hutt, Rigorra,

  And I’d like to Sing with Aurra, but that pun’s beside the point.

  You’ve been hunting down my sibling,

  Who’s a slime, and I’m not quibbling,

  ’Cause I love him, though he’s nibbling all the food that’s in my joint.

  Now, you’re feeling kind of dour

  Since you’ve been done in by a flower

  And you’ll die within an hour. What a horrid, florid fix!

  But if you find three droids who’ll yield

  Liquid vials they’ve concealed

  In their chests, you will be healed if you drink the proper mix.

  So, as long as you’re still breathing

  There’s no need for tempers seething.

  Since you know I am bequeathing you a way to ease your pain.

  Enter, now, my competition,

  And defeat your opposition

  Without any intermission and the antidote you’ll gain!

  I’ll be watching you competing.

  Don’t you let me catch you cheating,

  Or you’ll get a proper beating in a way that really hurts.

  I digress, so here’s the deal:

  If you don’t run the Death Run, we’ll

  Have you for our evening meal (that would be your just desserts)!”

  The music stopped, and the crowd went wild with applause. As Rigorra bowed and basked in the ovations, Bossk glared from his post and shouted, “Are you trying to tell us something, or was that just a lot of wind flapping through your cheeks?”

  There was a collective gasp from the spectators. Rigorra’s lower lip trembled. He’d never been openly insulted before and didn’t know what to say. Groodo, seeing that his brother was dumbstruck, heaved himself forward from the bleachers and hollered, “Didn’t you hear, you insignificant crumb? You’ve been poisoned by a flower! Your only chance of survival is to compete in the Death Run! If you’d been listening to my brother’s song, you’d know all that!”

  “A song?” Bossk laughed. “You call that singing?” Bossk looked at Rigorra and said, “Don’t quit your day job, fathead.”

  Aurra Sing laughed.

  Rigorra, trying to regain his composure, looked to a wide doorway at the opposite side of the arena. He raised his hand, then brought it down sharply. A swoop gang came roaring out through a door, then proceeded to ride around in a great circle around the arena’s interior.

  Then Rigorra picked up a remote control device. He pressed a button as he aimed it at the four bound prisoners, and the prisoners’ shackles fell away from their wrists and ankles.

  Groodo shouted, “Let the Death Run begin!”

  At this point, you must decide whether to continue reading this adventure, or to play your own adventure in the Star Wars Adve
ntures Game Book, The Warlords of Balmorra.

  To play your own adventure, turn to the first page of the Game Book and follow the directions you find there.

  To continue reading this adventure, turn the page!

  Freed from the shackles, Jango kept his eyes on Rigorra’s swoop gang. They rode in a great circle around the arena, weaving around one another and blocking all the avenues of escape. Aurra, Bossk, and the yellowskinned captive—Jango still didn’t know his name—cautiously stepped away from their own posts.

  Someone aimed a spotlight at the center of the arena. There, a rope dangled from the high ceiling, and at the end of the rope, suspended three meters above the floor, was a mesh bag. Through the mesh, weapons were visible. Jango could see his own blasters and wrist gauntlets, as well as Aurra’s pistols and rifle. Other weapons were also visible.

  “Those’re my blasters!” Bossk said, and ran for the center of the arena.

  “Stop!” Jango shouted as he bolted after Bossk. “It’s a trap!”

  But it was too late. Bossk’s focus was on the weapons in the bag, and his powerful legs launched him up until his claws snagged through mesh. Weapons rained down on him, and Bossk snatched up his blasters while the other bounty hunters did the same.

  However, Jango was right. It was a trap. Before any of the hunters had a chance to use their weapons, four concealed pressure-sensitive trapdoors dropped open beneath their feet, and each hunter vanished through the arena floor.

  Jango found himself sliding down through a tubular shaft, slipping fast past glow strips that were embedded into the walls to illuminate the shaft’s interior. He tried to slow his descent by extending his arms and legs to reach the walls, but the walls were smooth and offered little resistance to the weight of his falling body. Out of control, he continued to slide.

  The shaft angled and sent him down a steep incline. Twisting his body slightly, he raised his head to look down and stare past his boots. As the embedded glow strips raced past his sliding form, he saw the shaft widen and end against a wall of stone. A single hole, barely one meter in diameter, was set at the lower left of the wall. Unfortunately, Jango was sliding to the right.