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Standing in Shadow 1999 short story by Mark Newbold Six
years after Episode IV – A New Hope Aurie Leandray slammed down the hood of the
speeder and took a deep breath. He
counted the crystals as they formed in front of his long snout, his sharp
eyesight differentiating the myriad droplets as the dissipated before
him. How long have I been here? He thought miserably to himself. And
where the hell am I? Leandray had been under the hood of his speeder
for almost three hours, unsuccessfully fiddling with the engine, and the
humid Ruuthorne night was fast approaching.
Having heard tales of what creatures inhabited Ruuthornes nocturnal
hours he was eager to complete his repairs and continue back to his waiting
starship. But today was becoming one
of those days. One of those days where everything flipped
upside down and inside out. Where
nothing was certain, not even the rising of the sun. And smack in the middle of it, as ever,
was Aurie Leandray – nephew of the greatest Ba-marb bounty hunter ever. Aurie sighed. Uvic Leandray was known throughout the Mid-Rim. A legend.
And his nephew was expected to follow in those big illustrious footsteps. Except it wasn’t turning out that way, not
by a long shot. Certainly, Aurie
showed promise. His early jobs proved
that he had at least the tracking skills of Uvic. And the connections. It
was amazing how many doors the name Leandray could open. But time passed, and Aurie’s career never
blossomed. Perhaps it was the
Galactic Civil War that had encroached on his operations in a way that never
affected his uncle before the fall of the Republic over thirty years
ago. Or maybe the massive amounts of
other hunters who seemed to be operating these days, all scrabbling for the
same jobs. Or perhaps… Aurie shook his head slowly and popped the hood
again. Something had to make this damn thing work. Speeders didn’t just stop working. So why was this one giving him a hard
time? He exhaled and grabbed the
wrench, leaning in for another root around.
The fading light gave way to the sheen of the moons and within minutes
Aurie was bathed in moonlight. It was
a tranquil scene, the glint of the reflected light glistening off the distant
mountains. But Aurie frowned – he
knew he’d have to work fast before the denizens of the night began their
feeding hours. He probed through a
bundle of wires, tugging them aside to get a better look at the power
plant. What was that? Aurie prodded at the small cylindrical
tube attached to the power plant. He
tapped it, and it rang out. What was
it? Intrigued he prised it away from
the metal housing and clamped it in the wrench, lifting it into the
light. A power drain? In the engine? But why? What possible
reason could there be for him to have his speeder sabotaged? No one knew that he was here on Ruuthorne,
hunting down a female smuggler by the name of Canen Luone, or that he was out
here on the Plain of Golen speeding
to the far side of the mountains where he suspected Luone was hiding
out. So who? And more importantly, why? Aurie twirled the power drain in his fingers… “So, you
found it.” Aurie dropped the drain and went for his Blaster
but paused when he saw the figure opposite him.
“Luone?” He gulped
slowly. Canen Luone stood before him, Blaster at the ready
pointing at his chest. How she’d got
the drop on him out here in this vast plain he didn’t know, but one thing he
did know. He was in big trouble. “What are you doing here?” “I could
ask the same.” She waved him away
from the speeder with a swish of her hand.
“So, finally decided to cash in my bounty?” Aurie shrugged, his arms spread wide. “What if
I was? It won’t do either of us any
good out here.” Canen smiled in grim agreement. Echoes of howling creatures were growing
louder and louder, ringing from the ridge of mountains three kilometres
away. The humidity wrapped around
them both like wet cloth. “I see
your point. So, what do you suggest
Mister Leandray? A brief cessation of
hostilities until we’re on safer ground?
Or do you intend to subdue me here and claim your prize from the jaws
of one of those creatures?” She
lowered her Blaster slightly. “It’s your choice.” Aurie shrugged again. Some choice. “You’ve
got the Blaster. I think I’ll let you
make the command decisions.” “Good.” She nodded toward the speeder. “You are
as wise as your uncle. Get in.” Aurie slid into the drivers seat and Canen slipped in behind him, her Blaster aimed at the nape of his neck. Gunning the engine the speeder responded first time and throbbed powerfully. Clearly the power drain hadn’t had enough time to totally deplete all the power – the dash showed that all systems were warmed and ready to go. Aurie glanced over his shoulder. “Where
to? We’ll have company soon unless we
move.” Canen squinted and made out the hulking shapes of
approaching creatures lumbering towards them. She pointed towards the mountains that Aurie was originally
headed for and without a word Aurie swung the speeder around and accelerated
towards them, dodging and weaving around creatures, rocks and dips with the
safe hands of an expert. At least I got one thing right today – she
was in the mountains. Perhaps Uncle Uvic left some trace of his
genius in my DNA…if that’s possible. Aurie sharply swung the speeder to the left,
avoiding a rising hulk lifting from the plains surface. Without a word Canen raised her Blaster
and popped a warning shot at the black mass.
It dropped to the floor, rolling to avoid the crimson blast and
skittered away into the murky dark.
Aurie sniffed and twitched his snout.
The warm Blaster nozzle was nuzzling the back of his neck and he
suddenly became very aware of how far from civilisation they really
were. Out here on the edge of the
Setnin Sector much happened without recourse – death and taxes weren’t
certainties out here, only death. And
Aurie, whilst never quite living up to his uncle’s template had seen plenty
of death in his years. The ridges of the mountains began to alter as
their speed increased and the plains gave way to rockier areas and sloping
gradients. Leandray leaned over to
activate the lights, the darkness almost all-enveloping now. Luone pressed the Blaster into his neck
and shook her head. “Leave
it Aurie. Those creatures aren’t the
only predators on Ruuthorne.” Aurie frowned and twitched his snout again. What
does she mean? Sure, there are
rumours of Imperial bases left here after the Battle of Ruuthorne, but that
was three years ago. And we all know
that there are pirate gangs operating around here, but no one knows exactly
where. Unless this is a trap…? Leandray glanced over his shoulder to
sneak a glance at Canen, but instead of her not noticing she was looking
right back at him. She knows something. Dammit!
Ancestors, why can’t things take a break for the better? Just this once. “So,
what’s the plan Canen?” He decided to engage her in small talk whilst he
figured out her intentions. But he
knew that Luone was a smart smuggler – she’d outwitted him this far, but he
also knew that while she would go along with a modicum of conversation she
wouldn’t allow him to gain the upper hand.
She smiled. “Your
ship is about three klicks to the north.” “That’s
right.” Aurie had nothing if not an
excellent sense of direction. “Well I
want you to take us east for another six klicks.” Leandray frowned and twitched again. Six klicks? What would be there, apart from her ship? Or
my dreaded trap. “What’s
there?” “You’ll
soon see. Now drive.” Canen eased back into the seat and retracted the
Blaster nozzle from Leandrays neck.
He relaxed a fraction but the knot of doubt twisted tighter in his
gut. Darkness totally shrouded the landscape and Aurie
was flying on instinct alone. Pale
reflections of rocks and boulders were outlined for him and using his skills
and knowledge of speeders and difficult terrain’s he managed to avoid
them. But why won’t she let me use the headlights? It would make this difficult and
frustrating trip just that bit easier.
A few brief minutes later the mountain range began to break up and
soon they were surrounded by a tight valley, which they were barrelling down
at almost 150 Kilometres per hour.
Aurie hated it. It looked like
a trap. It felt like a trap. It smelled like a trap. I
should know – I’ve set enough of them.
Canen leaned forward from her comfortable position and leaned over
the seat, the Blaster sitting ominously beside her aimed at Aurie. “Okay, I
think it’s time I levelled with you.” Aurie raised his eyebrows. Level with him already? Surely that would take all the fun of the
gloat out of it for her? He nodded
and slowed the speeder down a notch. “You
came directly from Croox where you had a lead on my whereabouts. You’ve been actively tracking me for about
three weeks. Am I right?” Aurie nodded calmly. She was absolutely right.
Dammit! “I’ve been here for a while. My ship was damaged in a tussle with
another bounty hunter by the name of Tarr Ranth. I was lucky enough to evade him and struggle here to Ruuthorne. My ship was wrecked by the impact and I
was in a bad way…until I was found.” Aurie turned to her at this. Found? “You were lucky to survive an encounter with Ranth, that’s for sure. But you were found? By who? Imperials?” Canen laughed out loud, a throaty laugh, which
echoed around the canyon walls and made Aurie tighten with nervousness. What’s
so funny? “Imperials out here? You certainly have a fine sense of humour for a Leandray. I was found by Tralat Durge.” Aurie released the speed activator of the speeder
and allowed it to bob to a halt.
Canen didn’t flinch as the momentum ebbed and Aurie twisted in his
seat to face her. “Tralat
Durge? The Pirate King?” “The
same. I would have been dead if it
wasn’t for his intervention.” “Perhaps
it would have been better for you if you were.” Aurie shook his head.
“Do you have any idea what kind of atrocities Durge has committed over
the years?” Canen nodded and stood up, stepping over from the
rear into the front seat. Aurie
watched with dumb fascination as she sat and turned to engage him again, “I’ve
heard stories, sure. But from what
I’ve seen Durge is looking to go legit.
He just needs the right opportunity.” Leandray gagged at that. “The right opportunity! Can you hear yourself? You’ve crashed on the most dangerous
planet in the sector and your talking about opportunities?” He looked her up and down. “You must have taken a harder knock when
you crashed than you thought.” Canen frowned and brought the guns profile into
the moonlight again. “Don’t
forget who’s in charge here.” “I know who’s in charge. Durge is.” Canen nodded and pointed towards a narrow crack in the canyon walls. “That’s
correct. Let’s go.” Aurie turned back to the steering column and
gunned the engine, turning towards the entrance. The narrow aperture opened into a wide avenue, leading through
the red rocks deeper into the canyon.
Aurie relaxed, resigned to his fate.
Enough goes wrong by itself
without me wishing up worse scenarios.
Leandray turned to face
Canen again. “What
about my ship? I don’t like the idea
of leaving it out there if there are pirates scrambling about.” Almost before he managed to get the final word out
he was greeted by the sight of his starship the Avansis sitting patiently at the rear of a large cavern
surrounded by various designs of ship and speeder. He smiled to himself. I should have expected that one. He parked the speeder next to an XP-38
that was rusting quietly in a corner and waited for Canen to exit the
speeder. He paused as he followed
her. “By the
way Luone. How did you manage to get
the power drain into my speeder?” She smiled and raised her eyebrows. “It’s been there for years. Ever since we had that little encounter on Janos.” Leandray smiled despite himself. Their `encounter’ on Janos six years ago
had been a shoot-out in a small town and had very nearly got them both
killed. They had done well to escape
the attentions of the Janos Executioners who had mobilised themselves with
haste and arrived on the scene. In
fact, it was only due to Aurie having his trusty speeder with him that he
managed to get back to the Avansis
and escape. He smiled with
realisation. “You
slipped the power drain in while you were hanging onto the hood?” “That’s
right. Remember you tried to pop the
hood and throw me off? Well, I
grabbed the radiator grill and sneaked it in then. Once we reached the landing platforms I rolled off and made it
back to my ship.” She grinned. “As soon as I knew you were coming here I
activated the signal. You landed, the
power drain activated and your batteries began seeping.” Aurie Leandray focused back to his present
dilemma. “So what
will happen to me now? I guess you’d
make some good credits cashing me in.”
“Actually no. Your bounty is
hardly worth the effort to collect.
You’re worth more alive.” Leandray shrugged sadly. Even in defeat I’m a
worthless prize. Canen continued. “As you
may have guessed this is one of Durges bases here on Ruuthorne. He has a few scattered across the planet
and a few hidden in asteroids orbiting the planet.” “Why are
you telling me this? Aren’t you
worried I’ll tell the New Republic about it?” Canen smiled, and Aurie swallowed slowly. “Tell
who? You’re not going anywhere. Durge has your ship, and soon he’ll have
your loyalty.”
“Oh? And what makes you think
he’ll get my loyalty?” “Because
if he doesn’t he’ll have your hairy hide pinned to a corridor wall to remind
folks how inadvisable it is to decline his offer of employment.” Aurie nodded quickly. Incentive indeed. He paused for a second and glanced
upwards. Canen couldn’t quite make
out what he was doing, or what he was saying in a muted voice, but it
appeared to be a private conversation with someone who was no longer there,
so she let him be. When he’d finished
she waited for him to catch up. “Talking
to the ancestors?” Aurie looked at her in surprise. “Yes,
actually. I was praying for
forgiveness to my uncle Uvic.”
“Forgiveness for what? Pardon me for saying but you’re not known for
following through with things.” Aurie smiled. “I was
praying that he’d forgive me for lacking the strength to resist the
temptation of my continued existence.
That I wouldn’t be joining him in the afterlife quite yet. And that even though all Leandrays are
born to be bounty hunters, perhaps there is some latitude that allows one to
become a pirate.” Canen nodded and folded her arms. “A wise
prayer.” She eyed him closely. “Maybe there’s hope for the Leandray
family after all.” She continued her
walk towards the entry post as Aurie stared after her. He waited until she was out of earshot
before he whispered to himself. “A wise
man once said that if a man has nothing to live for then he has nothing to
die for. I’ve got to live, if only to
find a good reason to die.” He
twisted on the spot, taking in the full view of the cavern. “And maybe this hell-hole is a good place
to start." Standing in Shadow 1999 short story by Mark
Newbold Six years after Episode IV – A
New Hope Histories – This short
story tells the tale of the bounty hunter Aurie Leandray and his attempts to break out of the shadow of his
legendary Uncle Uvic Leandray, a
bounty hunter who prospered during the later days of the Old Republic. Desperate to apprehend Canen Luone, Leandray winds up on the
desolate world of Ruuthorne,
location of the massive Rebel/Imperial battle in The Search Continues. Unbeknownst to him, the
planet is the base of self-declared pirate king Tralat Durge. Cast of Characters Aurie Leandray Canen
Luone
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