Lit Books Star Wars: Pirate's Price

I didn't see a thread on this.

Amazon Link

 

Hmm, that's new - could work too.

 

A pirate and smuggler both famous, wondering if Han heard of Hondo. Only missing is Lando and you have the three amigos. Great with more Hondo.

 

It would've been fun to see Hondo in the movie as a cameo.

 

Isn't the new Galaxy's Edge Millennium Falcon ride at Disney World/land supposed to feature Chewie and Hondo together? Could be this is laying some of the groundwork for that.

TC

 

This is the kind of material I get the books for. Cannot wait.

 

Sounds like fun!

 

Do you have a source on this? That would be cool. Live action Hondo would be great, plus Forces of Destiny seems to indicate Hondo is alive in the ST timeframe.

Side note, where do we discuss Galaxy's Edge in the forums? I'm really fascinated with its canon connections and that kind of thing.

 

Wasn't it mentioned on the SW Show few weeks/months ago when they were talking about the GE?

I know I heard it as well that Hondo will be part of the park.

 

Cover art by Annie Wu:

I remember the presentation by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts at D23 Expo 2017 had this promotional image:





Edit: Whoops, that image was huge. Resized and rehosted. Link to original.

 

You could even argue the groundwork was laid as far back as TFA, with Hondo's flag outside of Maz's castle. And we know her and Han/Chewie go way back.

 

Hondo as a character would work wonderfully on film, IMO. Plus I'd love to see a background species from ROTJ (Weequay) get a prominent role in any live action fim or series.

--Adm. Nick

 

Speaking of...maybe we can get Maz in this, too, please?

 

Two excerpts have been posted -- in the first, Bazine tracks down Hondo on Batuu, and in the second, Hondo recounts one escape from vengeful Imperials by crash-landing and ditching a ship at a crowded spaceport.

Spoiler: text of first excerpt

As far as wretched hives of scum and villainy went, Bazine Netal thought that Black Spire Outpost seemed friendlier than most. Certainly, the Trandoshan running the supply company was more than willing to point her in the direction of her quarry. He didn’t even ask her why she was looking for the Weequay. He just sold out his neighbor for a few credits.

She moved through the crowded streets. Although she looked striking in her black leather skull cap and Rishi eel ink–tipped fingers, no one paid her any attention. The locals were used to all manner of beings coming and going. Still, Bazine knew better than to turn her back on any of them. Especially not when she was so close to her goal.

She had been a long time getting there.

After being led on a chase across the galaxy, she had tracked the Millennium Falcon to the planet Batuu and its infamous port—Black Spire Outpost. Glancing above the roofline of the buildings, Bazine could see how the place found its name. Rising above the shops and dwellings were the petrified trunks of what were once giant trees that had dominated the skies of that world. Now their blackened remains stood as silent sentinels on the outskirts of the town.

The outpost was not an easy place to find unless you knew about it first. It was located where the Unknown Regions met Wild Space, a stopover for smugglers and those of less savory occupations—a place for rogues and opportunists, con artists, thieves . . . and of course, pirates.

So it made a sort of sense that her target would be there. After all, the infamous Hondo Ohnaka had been all those things and more.

Bazine’s intelligence had told her that the notorious Weequay scoundrel was there on Batuu, where he was running a shipping operation called Ohnaka Transport Solutions. Doubtless it was a thin front for a smuggling operation. But it didn’t matter to Bazine what it was. She wasn’t interested in his services—just his ships . . .or rather, one of them in particular. One very special ship.

She found the old pirate in a busy cantina where a repurposed RX-series pilot droid was playing upbeat music to an audience that mostly ignored it. But there was Hondo. He was sitting at a corner table playing sabacc with a nervous-looking Ithorian, a furry Yarkora, and a grinning Suerton.

Surprisingly, the Weequay didn’t even have his back to the wall. If she had gone there to kill him, he would already be dead. Fortunate for him, then, that she wasn’t planning to. At least she wouldn’t unless she had to. And that remained to be seen.

Still, the way he had his back to half the room struck Bazine as unnecessarily careless and ridiculously trusting. It certainly spoke to his legendary overconfidence. In fact, Hondo wasn’t so much sitting in his chair as sprawling in it, a drink in one hand and three sabacc cards in the other. He wasn’t playing it close to the vest, either, but swinging his sabacc cards in time with the music. As she approached him from one side, Bazine could easily glance at his hand. He had a two, a three, and the face card known as a sylop, sometimes called the idiot. He was grinning like one, too, although, judging from the pile of credit chips on the table, it looked as though the Suerton was the one who was winning the most.

“My friends,” said Hondo, his voice ringing out with a happy lilt that was almost musical, “I cannot tell you how much it pains me to take all of your credits today. But you make it too easy. And as my sweet mother used to say, if you’re going to bet, bet big.” He tossed an impressive handful of credit chips onto the growing pile in the center and waited for the others to ante up.

“You’re bluffing,” growled the Ithorian from one of his twin mouths.

“I never bluff,” Hondo replied. Then, after a slight pause, he added, “Except maybe for those occasions when I do. But this is not one of them”—another pause—“as far as you know. Which is not very far.”

“So you are bluffing?” asked the Ithorian, confused.

“How can you be sure? I could be bluffing about bluffing,” said Hondo. “Hmmm . . . or bluffing about that.”

“Bah,” growled the Ithorian from both mouths at once. But then the Yarkora spotted Bazine. He gave a little start, and it amused her to wonder which of his two stomachs had done a flip.

“What is it?” said Hondo. “Have I got something on my face? I mean besides my so very attractive frills?” He brushed the backs of his fingers across the barbs that grew from his jowls. They had gotten longer as he had gotten older. Perhaps he thought they made him look distinguished. But then he caught sight of the newcomer out of the corner of his eye.

“Oh, we have company, don’t we?” Hondo said. He swung his legs around and turned in his chair to face her. “Well, well, won’t you join us for a game . . .Bazine Netal?”

Spoiler: text of second excerpt

The day started out like so many others.

I woke up in a strange spacecraft. I was alone in the cockpit. The control console was smoking and sparking. Crackle, crackle, fizzle, spark!

Oh, and it seemed that two Imperial TIE fighters were shooting at me.

Keeooo-keeooo!

It was all very exciting.

How did I get there?

I had only the vaguest memory. I recalled something about a party, excitement and dancing.

Oh, yes, and a strange drink called Sarlacc Juice. In hindsight, I don’t recommend it.

Oh, and I think there was an Imperial garrison commander.

He was the one doing the dancing.

Because I asked him to.

By “asked,” you understand, I mean I was firing blaster bolts at his feet. And he was hopping about so as not to get shot in the foot. It was so amusing, for me at least. But perhaps he was not having as much fun.

Ah.

So that explained why the Imperial TIE fighters were shooting at me.

Well, there is always a price for a good time.

And this was another good time.

But all good times must end.

And the strange ship didn’t look like it was going to last much longer, not with the smoking and the sparking and the shooting—keeooo-keeooo!—and everything coming apart around me.

So I looked for a place to land.

There was a planet up ahead.

The navicomputer said it was Galagolos V. Do you know it? It is one of those swampy, stinky planets. Not much to look at and you have to be careful where you put your feet. But beggars cannot be choosy when their ships are on fire, I always say.

So I set down.

I went careening through the atmosphere, black smoke billowing behind me. It must have really been quite a sight.

And do you know, it was a perfect three-point landing.

By that I mean, I hit three separate points before I finally came to rest.

What was left of the ship skidded to a stop right in an empty docking bay. At least I think it was empty.

There were some bang-crash-crunch-crunch noises at the end before I stopped moving. I hopped out quickly. The service droids were getting excitable.

“Sir, sir, you can’t dock here,” they said, rushing up to me and waving their metal arms about.

I tossed them a handful of what might be credit chips.

Or maybe just pieces of the control console.

“Keep the change,” I said.

Then I rushed through the doors before they could stop me, and I was in the spaceport proper. I hoped to quickly lose myself in the crowd. Oh, it was a busy place for such a stinky, swampy planet. That was good. But the air was all sweaty and wet. Sticky, sticky. Nothing like the dry heat of my beloved Florrum. It was no matter.

I didn’t plan to stick around for long.

But to get off that stinky ball, I would need a new ship. That was, of course, merely a momentary setback for a great pirate such as myself. And there I was lucky enough to have crashed in a spaceport. Opportunities abounded for the unscrupulous and the bold. And I am both of those things.

I began to look around.

So many people. And I did not know any of them.

The day was alive with possibility. I had a feeling that something was bound to happen.

 

Another Black Spire setting/reference after the name drop in Solo and the setting in Thrawn: Alliances. I'm halfway expecting them to shoot an episode of Mandalorian or the Cassian Andor show there.

 

Why stop there? I am semi-expecting it to be in Episode IX.

 

Oh Hondo how i love you and your witty homour. I loved this. Hondo is just begging to be in a movie. I mean he's already going to be live action with the parks. Hope to see him in both Cassion and Mandalorion, or he might show up in episode IX as an elderly scumbag.

 

Well...

Spoiler

According to an illustration in Lando's Luck, the Falcon does visit Batuu after Crait...

 

Spoiler

I mean, in all seriousness:

• We know the Falcon goes to Batuu after TLJ
• Galaxy's Edge is supposed to be 'set' in post-TLJ and have a Resistance-First Order battle with the Falcon and X-wings
  
• Batuu is supposed to be forested and we have pictures of a forested battle sequence from IX, with Falcon and X-wing models
• The ride has already been mentioned in one movie (Solo) and is heavily being promoted in the books
• And the real kicker, I feel like the cross-promotional aspect of having the "last Skywalker saga film" serve as promotion for their theme park would be too much for Disney to pass up

 

Spoiler

If Batuu is showing up in IX, it seems more likely that that park was designed to reflect that rather than the other way around.

 

Spoiler

Galaxy's Edge has been in development since before Treverrow was announced as director, and during the park's development the script for IX written, and then completely rewritten twice. Sets for the movie weren't even being built until last last year, three years into the park's production. If Batuu is indeed in IX then I don't really see how the park could be designed around the movie.

 

Really looking forward to the audiobook of this. Jim Cummings is narrating!

 

omfg

 

So this one was released today, anyone got it already? I'm waiting for mine to ship.

 

Just finished this one. I was pleasantly surprised that we get some post-TLJ content!

Spoiler

The frame story is Bazine Netal searching for the Falcon, like in the Adventures comics. It's definitely after The Last Jedi. She tracks it to Hondo's new company, Ohnaka Transport Solutions, on Batuu. He says he'll sell it to her, but wants to tell the story of his history with the Falcon first.
The first flashback is set between Solo and Rebels. Hondo tries to steal the Falcon, ends up involved in a heist with Han & Chewie and their passenger. There's a rogue Kaminoan cloner involved, which is neat.
The second flashback is years later, some time between Jedi and TFA. Han & Chewie are together in the Falcon, so it's probably right after Han & Leia separated, when Chewie left his family to hang out with Han again, before the long chain of thefts that led to Unkar Plutt. Or somewhere between Endor and the first Aftermath book, when they go to Kashyyyk? Anyway, they're helping Maz track down some ship thieves and run into Hondo again in the process.
The third flashback is after The Last Jedi. Chewie and Rey bring the Falcon to Hondo for repairs. The porgs help him escape a pirate.
Back in the present, Hondo manages to trick Bazine, and tells Chewie he'll return the ship when he's done with it. He then addresses the crowd in the bar, saying he needs pilots for OTS. I assume this sets up the theme park experience.

Overall, it's fine. Not bad, not great. Seems mostly like a theme park tie in. Although it is nice that LFL seems more willing to advance the story past TLJ than I was expecting prior to Ep 9. And I'm always here for more Hondo, even if he is probably at least 100 by now.

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