Star Wars: The Han Solo Trilogy I: The Paradise Snare by A.C. Crispin

asked, waving at the buildings.
    “No, the dormitory for our pilgrims is over there,” Veratil said. The priest waved at a massive two-story building on the far left. “The multistory buildings are where we process ryll, andris, and carsunum. The single-story buildings you see extend far underground, a necessity for processing glitterstim, which must be handled in complete darkness.”
    Andris, ryll, carsunum, and glitterstim …
Han’s nostrils flared.
Of course, that explains the odor! These are factories for processing spice!
He remembered that the
Ylesian Dream
had originally carried a cargo of high-grade glitterstim, the most expensive and exotic variety of spice. The other types were usually cheaper—though they were still one of the most profitable cargoes a smuggler could take on.
    “We receive shipments of raw materials from worlds such as Kessel, Ryloth, and Nal Hutta several times amonth,” Veratil went on. “In the beginning, the robot freighters which supplied us landed here at Colony One, but that practice soon had to be discontinued.”
    “Why?” Han asked, wondering if he really wanted to know.
    “Two ships—most unfortunately—could not negotiate our tricky atmosphere, and crashed. So we built a space station and decided to use living pilots to ferry the raw spice material down to the factories. We used to have three pilots, but now we are down to one, and the unfortunate Sullustan who is currently serving as our pilot has been … ill. That is why we need you, Pilot Draygo.”
    It’s so nice to be needed
, Han thought sarcastically. “Uh … Veratil … what happened to those other guys?”
    “One crashed, the other simply … disappeared. We have also lost a number of robot vessels, which has cut down on our profit margin most grievously,” Veratil said sadly. “Spice is a high-credit export, but spaceships are
very
expensive.”
    “Yeah,” Han agreed sourly. “All those crashes would tend to put a crimp in your business.”
No wonder they didn’t have pilots beating down their doors
, he thought.
Most of the experienced pilots have probably spread the word about how dangerous this planet is for pilots …
    Han knew a little bit about the various kinds of spice, mostly from hearing Shrike and the other smugglers discuss their properties.
    Glitterstim, mined on Kessel, was by far the most valuable. When exposed to light, then quickly ingested, it gave the user a temporary telepathic ability to sense surface thoughts and emotions. Spies used it, lovers used it, and the Empire used it when interrogating prisoners. Matter of fact, the Empire claimed all the glitterstim mined on Kessel as its rightful property, which was why it was so rare and so lucrative to smuggle.
    Ryll came from the Twi’lek world, Ryloth, where it was perfectly legal to mine, and was used for analgesic purposes. There were illegal applications, however, and itcould be used to produce several intoxicants and hallucinogens.
    Carsunum was a black spice that came from Sevarcos, and it was quite rare and very valuable. Users experienced euphoria, and an increase in their abilities—while under the influence they became stronger, faster, and more intelligent. There was a downside, of course. After the effects wore off, users frequently became listless, depressed, and some even died when the substance had a toxic effect on their metabolisms.
    Sevarcos also supplied the galaxy with andris, a white powder that was added to foods to enhance flavor and preserve them. Some users claimed that the drug caused a mild euphoria and increase in sensation.
    They’re not mining it here
, Han thought.
These factories process the raw material to turn it into the finished product
.
    “Factories?” Han echoed. “They’re huge …”
    “Yes, and Ylesia has admirable production rates, enabling us to favorably compete with the cost of the spice shipped directly from Kessel, Ryloth, or Sevarcos,” Veratil explained. “And we