Chewbacca rolls off Han and they both scramble away from the pile of crates. The room is darker than deep spacel not even the pinprick of a distant star disturbs the gloom. Han can see nothing: not a wall, not the ceiling, not even the floor upon which he stands. It feels as immense and endless as the galaxy though in truth it may only be the size of one of the Falcon’s storage bins.
The steady thrum of heavy machinery reverberates around and through them. The air smells of mildew and something else – something more putrid.
Chewie groans a question.
“The planetary environmental control facility,” Han answers, “whatever that is.”
“Aaaoogh?”
“Bigger than a power converter,” the Corellian snaps. “How do I know?”
Something stirs the pile of crates. Both Han and his co-pilot jump. “Find the blaster!” insists Han. “We need a blaster!”
The crates stir again.
Dropping to his knees, the pilot runs his hands over the floor in great sweeps. He touches something cold, soft, and scaly. It does not move. When Han withdraws his hand, a foul-smelling slime clings to his fingers.
“I’m going to be sick,” he says, trying to clean his hand on the clammy floor.
The crates shift even more.
Han scrambles away and bumps into a large furry object. Chewbacca roars. A light flashes beneath the crates.
Instinctively, Han covers his eyes as the light sends blinding bursts of pain through his optic nerves.
Something whirs and the crates stir again. This time, they continue to rustle. Whatever lies beneath them is coming out.
“The Droid!” Han shouts, diving in the direction of the noise. Again a light flashes and sharp pain lances through his head. The Droid is using it’s artificial lumination attachment to disorient the smugglers. Han also suspects that the Droid’s photoreceptors are more adept during the light flashes than his own eyes.
The Droid flashes its light again. This time, it flares further away and in a different direction. The flash clearly reveals the Droid’s silhouette. Han also gets the impression that the Droid is moving down a high corridor.
“Come on, Chewie!” Han yells, running in the same direction the Droid has fled – he hopes. Chebacca growls to let Han know he is following.
Han strikes a wall with his right shoulder. Hoping that the wall runs along the ocrridor, Han lays a guiding hand on it’s cold surface and continues.
A moment later, the Droid flashes its light again and Han knows they are on its trail. Three flashes and perhaps fifty steps later, the wall ends. Their corridor intersects a much larger one. A loud rumble fills the darkness directly ahead.
Chewbacca crashes into Han’s back, pushing him into the junction. Hot wind blows from the right, carrying the stench of sulfur-fueled fire.
“Aaaah!” the Droid screams. It flashes its light as it topples forward into a trench. Han moves cautiously toward the drop off he can no longer see. The rumble grows almost deadfening. Although his eyes tell him nothing. Han senses movement – incredibly fast movement – below.
“Uggh!”
Han looks to the right. A conveyor belt laden with rocks carries the Droid, its light now switched permanently on, deeper into the darkness. The fall onto the belt has apparently injured the Droid, for it has extended several appendages. It waves them in the air in a futile attempt to right itself. Han estimates the belt’s speed to be approximately 40 kilometers per hour.
If Han jumps onto the conveyor belt, Click Here
If Han abandons the Droid, Click Here