fellow soldiers in a war of poverty and exploitation that never seemed to end Dodging the authorities doing whatever whatever was necessary to stay alive they had honed the art of self preservation in a world that didn't care whether they lived or died They had come from different backgrounds but shared the common thread of hardship which forced them to do whatever was necessary to survive Young thieves like Hallon and Tunnel Toli had either lost their parents or simply never known them and the community they'd forged there for better or worse was home Then there was Bansee a meanspirited meanspirited humorless older girl who had caught Lady Proxima's attention because of her talent with the pipe she called a rat hammer -a weapon that she didn't hesitate to use on anyone anyone who displeased her The thief called Chates had been a farmer's son who'd accompanied his father to Coronet one day Muggers had murdered the old man while he'd been visiting a bank leaving Chates an orphan alone in the city where he'd fallen in with the scrumrats Han made his way deeper into the tunnel Rumor had it that the Den had once been a manufacturing plant and some of the old machinery had been left behind to rust silent and ominous in distant corners like the ghosts of failed industry industry The unreliable electricity and lights that still functioned down there were the work of the Den's resident genius Han's now deceased friend Tsuulo who before he died had managed managed to tap into the power grid of a nearby factory so they
could keep some of the power on some of the time Han walked faster but stepped carefully aware as always that the darkness around him was alive and squirming It was no coincidence that Bansee's rat hunting skills had promoted her to the position of Third Girl The Den was infested with vervikks screerats and other unwholesome vermin and he and the other Worms were tasked with hunting them and taking them to Proxima's pools where she chewed them up and fed them to her baby worms Approaching the heat of the furnace he could make out the shapes of young bodies asleep on the floor or piled into hammocks and cots exhausted by fear and the sheer ugly brutality of life He stepped around them with an agility agility borne of long experience his eyes already adjusted to the darkness Rounding the corner he felt an arm reach out the figure emerging from the shadows to draw him close to her Qi'ra he said and grinned as she drew him to her and pressed her lips to his At eighteen she was Proxima's Head Girl confident quick thinking and just about the only thing in the Den that Han valued above his own existence There amid the squalor and the stench a stolen kiss from her was a minor miracle he would gladly have stopped time at least for a while to keep enjoying a little longer Qi'ra drew back and looked up at him taking in the injuries on his face You were gone too long today I knew something must've gone wrong
This Is nothing You should see them Han drew her closer Actually they're fine What happened In the middle of the exchange I'm handing over the coaxium when his goons jumped me But I showed em Qi'ra raised an eyebrow Yeah How I ran away Then I boosted their speeder You're gonna love it We going somewhere Yeah Anywhere you want Reaching into his pocket he drew out the small metal cylinder containing a tiny nugget nugget of coaxium Qi'ra stared at it immediately recognizing what it meant You held on to one of the vials This is worth Five six hundred credits Han nodded More than you said we'd need To buy our way out of the Control Zone and off Corellia Han this could work This is gonna work Han said Qi'ra you always said one day we were gonna get out of here This is it What are we waiting for Qi'ra asked Han was about to answer when a rough hand grabbed him and jerked him backward so hard that his teeth snapped together Spinning he found himself face to face with a twisted acne scarred face as the bigger kid slammed him into the wall Hey Rebolt Han said and felt another far worse
presence materializing A cloaked albino face appeared out of the blackness And Moloch Good to see you guys What a night I had I mean you're not gonna believe it You'll believe it but Moloch glared at him the hideous pallor of his face radiating radiating cold hatred Instead of Basic he spoke a language Han only recognized from years of having to listen to it barking orders and making threats You're late And Lady Proxima does not like to be kept waiting I was just going to see her We'll make sure that you don't get lost along the way It was oppressively dark the smell of raw sewage so heavy that Han had to breathe through his mouth to keep from gagging He'd never gotten used to that smell no matter how many times he'd gone in there Shapes moved in the blackness other scrumrats huddled nearby on the floor All the windows had been painted black to keep out the light Outside the Den dawn was coming daylight creeping across the tenements as if apprehensive of what it might find But in there Proxima needed it dark very dark to protect her delicate skin and the skin of her babies From the pool in front of him the thick white worm creature emerged slowly into view with a splash skin oozing oozing through the steel ringlets that adorned her like jeweled armor as she rose to her full height towering over Han He tried to smile but it didn't work as well as he'd hoped Well Lady Proxima asked What happened
