by Rae Carson
“Now we wait,” Han said.
Qi’ra settled herself cross-legged on the floor. She leaned her head back against the wall of the cavern. “You take first shift,” she ordered.
“Why me?” he said, stifling a yawn.
“If I’m going to make the plans, I need to get some sleep so I can stay sharp.” She closed her eyes.
Han frowned. He hated bossy people. But he took up a position near the opening that would allow him to keep watch.
He didn’t realize he’d dozed until someone’s hot breath against his ear woke him up. “Han. Friend,” came the whisper.
Han startled but collected himself quickly. Powlo was staring at him, his golden gaze so close that Han realized the old fellow’s irises really did glow. It wasn’t just a trick of the light.
“Hi, Powlo,” Han said. “I brought you a rat.” He indicated the dead thing near the fire pit. “And another friend.” He pointed to Qi’ra, who had slumped so oddly in her sleep that Han was sure she’d wake with a terrible crick in her neck.
“Mmmm, rat,” Powlo said. “Mmmm, friend.”
It was a bit disconcerting that those Mmmms sounded exactly the same.
Han moved toward Qi’ra, placing himself between her and Powlo, just in case Powlo was trying to say that friends were delicious.
This was the part Han hadn’t thought through too well. He cleared his throat and told himself to be ready for anything. “So, Powlo, my friend. Is it all right if we stay here for a little while? We need a safe place.”
Powlo cocked his head. “You visit?”
“Yes. Can we visit? For a few hours?”
Powlo shrugged. “Okay.” With that, Powlo sat down beside the fire, grabbed the rat, and bit off its head.
“Well, that went well,” Han muttered. Then he noticed that Qi’ra was awake and watching him.
“Did you call him Powlo?” she whispered. “You brought me to Old Man Powlo’s territory?”
Yeah, maybe that had been a bad idea. But so far, so good, right? And when in doubt, brazen it out. “Sure did,” he told her. “Powlo is a friend.” Of course, Qi’ra didn’t need to know that they’d just met, that he knew almost nothing about Powlo, that coming here had been a huge risk. “The White Worms will never think to look for us here.”
Qi’ra straightened, rubbing at her neck. “They will, eventually. But you probably bought us some time.” She eyed Powlo with distrust.
The strange creature eyed her right back, thoughtfully chewing his raw rodent. Then, mouth still full, he said to Qi’ra, “You ugly.”
Han didn’t know whether to laugh or come to Qi’ra’s defense. He was pleasantly surprised to note Qi’ra’s obvious amusement. “I’m…sorry about that?” she said, trying not to smile.
Powlo made a gesture toward her head. “Hair,” he said. “Too much.”
Qi’ra nodded solemnly. “I get that a lot.”
A ruckus near the crack in the wall made both Han and Qi’ra shoot to their feet. The ratcatcher droid scooted in, followed by a small, green-skinned Rodian with mismatched antennae.
Powlo reacted instantly, sitting erect.
“No, Powlo. Friend,” Han said. “This is another friend. Mmmm, friend.”
“Tsuulo!” Qi’ra said.
“Hello, Han, Qi’ra.”
“You came,” Han said. He couldn’t remember being so glad to see anyone in his life.
“Don’t hug him just yet,” Qi’ra said. “Tsuulo, did you tell anyone where you were going?”
Tsuulo blinked. “Of course not.”
Qi’ra looked to Han, who translated for her.
“Swear it,” she insisted. “Swear it on your dead parents.”
“There is no need,” Tsuulo said. “All is as the Force wills, and my word is my bond.”
That made no sense to Han, but he translated anyway.
While Qi’ra tried to figure that one out, Powlo stepped forward and peered into Tsuulo’s face. “Mmmm,” he said.
Tsuulo started to back away. “Han? Who…what is this?”
“Mmmmm!” Powlo said. “Soooo beyootiful.”
“I think he likes you,” Han said.
Han introduced them, Powlo and Tsuulo both said the word friend a few times, and that seemed to be that. Powlo settled back down by the fire to finish his rat. Eyeing him warily, Tsuulo pulled a pack from his shoulder and reached inside.
“I brought dog biscuits,” he said. “Proxima is looking for you both. She promised the position of Head to whoever finds you, so Rebolt is prepping his hounds now. He plans to sniff you out.”
He handed each of them a dog biscuit while Han translated for Qi’ra. After a moment, Tsuulo tossed one to Powlo too, who rubbed it against his cheek.
“My money’s on Moloch to find us,” Qi’ra said. “Rebolt isn’t as competent, even with those hounds. Tsuulo, did you bring your datapad?”
“Always,” Tsuulo said, retrieving it from his pack. “It took some doing to get here, by the way. Had to sneak past patrols. And you’re welcome.”
“Thanks,” Han said. “I owe you one, pal.”
“Yeah, you do. What do you need the datapad for?”
Han retrieved the cube and handed it over. “Everyone in the city of Coronet is looking for this. Maybe on all of Corellia. We need to know what’s on it.”
Tsuulo’s eyes brightened. “Well, that sounds interesting.” He inserted the cube into the datapad’s port and fired it up.
A glow filled the cavern, bluish green and so much brighter than dying firelight. Holographic lines manifested, crisscrossing every which way. Some were accompanied by numbers, others by text. Tsuulo rotated his datapad so they could view it from every angle.
“What in all the galaxy is that?” Qi’ra said.
“Beeeyooootiful!” Powlo said.
“It’s a blueprint,” Tsuulo said.
“For what?” asked Han.
“Not sure. A shield, I think? No, a shield generator. It’s…” Tsuulo swore, loudly and colorfully, using words Han had never heard before.
“What?” Qi’ra demanded. “What’s wrong?”
“Han, what have you gotten me into?” Tsuulo asked. “These blueprints are Imperial property. They’re stamped confidential, rated admiral and above.”
“You’re kidding me,” Han said.
“Would someone please tell me what’s going on?” Qi’ra demanded.
“These plans belong to the Empire,” Han told her. “Lady Proxima, the Kaldana Syndicate, the Droid Gorpa…they were all bidding on secret Imperial tech.”
Qi’ra opened her mouth. Closed it. And finally said, “Tsuulo, are you sure?”
He nodded. “I’m from Coruscant, remember?”
“Well, that explains the size of the bids,” she murmured.
“I saw plans like this all the time in shop class,” Tsuulo said. “Just, you know, not confidential. We made low-end motivators, power couplings, even small droids. But this…this is…” He peered closer, and the bluish lines reflected in his big black eyes.
“What? This is what?” Han said.
“This is complicated. Totally outside my experience. Part of it is still encrypted. A big part. The text refers over and over to someone called the Engineer. Does that mean anything to either of you?”
Han shook his head, then asked Qi’ra, who also shook her head.
Tsuulo glared at them both. “What’s going on exactly?”
Powlo stared at Tsuulo and chewed his biscuit. “Mmmm.”
Han didn’t really trust Tsuulo, but that made him no worse than anyone else, and like it or not, the Rodian was part of it now. If Rebolt came looking with his hounds and found Tsuulo helping them, he’d be just as dead as Han and Qi’ra.
“I think we should tell him,” Han said. “Everything.”
Qi’ra said, “Now that he’s helped us, he’s in as much trouble as we are.” She glanced over at Powlo, still crouched by the fire, admiring the blueprints floating in the
air. “And I guess that means our friend will overhear, but I don’t think there’s any help for it.”
So they told Tsuulo, leaving nothing out. His bug eyes got buggier and buggier until, finally, he slid to the ground and collapsed in a heap, muttering to himself.
“Tsuulo?” Han said, patting his shoulder. “You okay there, pal?”
“We have to give the cube back,” Tsuulo said. “Before we all die.”
“Yeah, great idea,” Han said drily. “We should just walk up to the Kaldana Syndicate, tap them on the shoulder, and hand it over.”
Qi’ra said, “Maybe if we give it to Lady Proxima in exchange for our lives, she’ll…”
She stopped herself. Han didn’t even have to say anything.
“Sorry. Bad idea,” she said.
“The Droid Gooper won the bid,” Han pointed out. “We could give it to them, let them complete the transaction, wash our hands of it.”
“No!” Tsuulo said. “The Droid Gotra are a bunch of terrorists.”
Powlo seemed alarmed at Tsuulo’s raised voice. Han kept an eye on the fellow as he translated the comment about terrorists.
“How do you know that?” Qi’ra asked. “How does he know that?”
“Everyone on Coruscant knows that,” Tsuulo answered.
“What is the Droid Gorra?” Han asked.
Tsuulo’s mouth opened, then closed. “I…don’t actually know.”
“He doesn’t know.”
“Anyway, giving it to them won’t keep the Kaldana off our backs,” Qi’ra said.
“What about the Engineer?” Tsuulo said. “The mastermind behind the technology? If we gave it back to the original owner, maybe we’d get some gratitude. Some protection.”
“You really want to tangle with Imperials?” Han asked.
“Might not be so bad,” Tsuulo said. “The galaxy has been pretty peaceful since Palpatine became emperor. They’re the good guys, right?”
“I’m not dealing with the Empire,” Qi’ra said. “Having a high-end blaster and a fancy uniform doesn’t keep someone from being a thug.”
“Hey, you understood that?” Han said.
“Understood what?” she said. “I don’t care what Tsuulo said, I’m not messing with Imperials. That’s always a bad plan.”
“Well, I think we should give it to the Kaldana, get them off our backs,” Han said.
“I vote for the Empire,” said Tsuulo.
“What if…” Qi’ra’s voice trailed off, but her eyes were wide, her lips parted.
“What?” Han nudged.
Her voice was small, almost apologetic, when she said, “What if we sold it? We’d be rich. So rich.” She held up the biscuit and stared at it. “We’d never have to eat rats or dog food again.”
“And how would we arrange that?” Han said. “Don’t get me wrong, I like money as much as the next guy, but we don’t have the contacts, the influence.”
“You might,” she said. “You’ve been cultivating contacts all over the city; don’t think I haven’t noticed.”
“And you’ve been planning something,” he retorted. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”
They glared at each other.
Tsuulo watched them both.
Powlo stared at Tsuulo.
“Trying to sell the cube would probably get us all killed,” Tsuulo said finally. “We have no weapons, no experience….We’d be the most hated beings in this sector.”
Han translated, and Qi’ra sighed. “I think Tsuulo’s right,” she conceded. “Trying to sell the cube would be interpreted as a double cross by every single organization involved. Still…” She shrugged. “Better to do the double cross than be double-crossed, right?”
Han frowned. “It’s also better to be poor and alive than rich and dead. Trying to sell it could get us killed.”
They were silent for a long moment. The fire popped. Powlo stuck a finger in his mouth and began picking at his yellow teeth.
Han hated long silences. He said, “So, Miss I-Always-Have-a-Plan, what should we do?”
“Be quiet,” she snapped. “I’m thinking.”
Powlo stood and moved toward the crack in the wall. “More visitors!” he said.
Tsuulo swore. Han and Qi’ra both jumped to their feet.
“Now what?” Tsuulo whispered. Distant footsteps pounded through the sewer. They had moments before they would be discovered.
“We run,” Qi’ra said.
“But where?” Han said.
Qi’ra knew exactly where they should go, but it was hard to form the words. She’d kept the secret for so long.
“Qi’ra?” Han said. “You look like a hungry needlegawp, opening and closing your mouth like that.”
“I have a place,” she blurted. “A safe house. I’ve been maintaining it for two years. It has supplies. A little bit of money. No one knows about it. If we can just get there, we’ll be safe for a while.”
“I was right!” Han said. “I knew you had a secret.”
Tsuulo said something, but Qi’ra only caught the word for “distance.” She could understand a few words of Huttese, but she wasn’t about to let anyone know.
“He wants to know how far,” Han said.
“It’s…all the way across town. In the Bottoms.”
Han’s eyebrows went up. “Why would you keep a safe house there? That district is even worse than—”
“I have my reasons, all right?” Qi’ra’s heart was racing, and only partly because the White Worm scrumrats were on the way. She hated revealing the safe house to anyone. It was so much a part of her.
“We can’t get all the way to the Bottoms underground,” Han said. “The sewers empty into a couple of those deepwater canals. It would put us right out in the open.”
Tsuulo chirruped something.
“Yeah, of course it’s faster to use the bridges, but who has money for a speeder cab?” Han responded. “Not me.”
“We could steal money,” Qi’ra said.
Tsuulo jumped to his feet, even as he removed the cube and powered down his datapad. The blueprint disappeared, leaving the cave feeling gloomy and cold. He stashed everything in his pack, chattering all the while.
“Tsuulo has an idea,” Han said. “He knows where we can get access to a speeder. He says it’s just outside the financial district, and we can be there before the sun goes down.”
That was all Qi’ra needed to hear to get started. “Eat your dog biscuits now, because the route to the financial district will require us to swim. You both know how to swim, right?”
They nodded at her.
“We’ll have to keep that datacube out of the water,” Han pointed out.
Tsuulo said something angrily.
“I don’t know how to keep it dry; hold it in your mouth or something. Rodians have dry mouths, right? Drier than humans’, anyway?”
“We’ll figure it out when we get there,” Qi’ra said. “Now let’s go!” She hated how necessity forced them to head out into danger without a solid plan. Her mind poked at possibilities, potential routes, contingencies as they packed up their few items and moved toward the crack and the low tunnel beyond.
“Friends, no,” Powlo said.
Qi’ra paused and looked at Han, who simply seemed confused.
“What?” he asked.
“Friends. Stay.”
“Look,” Han said. “It’s been great hanging out, and we really appreciate it, but we have to go before the White Worms find us.”
Powlo scowled, and Qi’ra’s heart started racing. Suddenly, he looked a lot less like Friend Powlo and more like the scary Old Man Powlo she’d been worried about all along. “Maybe he wants more food,” she whispered urgently. “Do we have any more biscuits?”
Tsuulo fumbled with his bag and Han impatiently reached in to grab one. He leaned forward, offered it to Powlo. “Here you go,” he said. “Is this what you want?”
Powlo’s eyes narrowed and his hand bolted out to grab the hard
lump of fish-bread.
Qi’ra relaxed….
The withered old creature screamed mournfully, flinging the biscuit at the wall, where it exploded in a shower of crumbs. “Friends! Stay!”
“Friends go!” shouted Han, shoving Qi’ra and Tsuulo through the crack.
He backed out after them, fending off Powlo’s clutching hands while Powlo whimpered like an injured puppy.
“Which way do we go?” Qi’ra asked.
“That way!” Han said, pointing down a low tunnel, opposite the way they had entered. “Run!”
Qi’ra pushed Tsuulo ahead of her and started running. He babbled something she couldn’t understand, but she pressed a hand into his back and willed him to run harder. Han caught up with her just as the tunnel twisted.
“Where are we going?” she shouted at him.
“I have no idea! I just know that Rebolt and his hounds are in the other direction!”
Powlo’s wail of sadness chased them down the tunnel. If they hadn’t been running for their lives, Qi’ra would have stopped and strangled Han that instant. He didn’t have any kind of plan at all! Just a vague set of instincts that might be a gut reaction or might just be gas caused by eating dog biscuits.
“That way!” he shouted to Tsuulo, who turned down the side tunnel Han was pointing to. Qi’ra still had no idea where they were going, but the ceiling was a little higher, giving them more room to run.
Suddenly, the tunnel sloped downward. Tsuulo’s feet slipped out from under him, and he splashed onto his backside and disappeared down a dark chute. Qi’ra stopped just in time at the very brink, and then Han bumped into her. They lost their footing in the slime, tumbled into the muck, and went careening down.
She braced herself for a hard impact into a grate or wall, but she shot out of the hole and dropped onto a giant bed of glowing fungus. Qi’ra rolled out of the way just in time to avoid Han landing on her.
Qi’ra scrambled to her feet, furious. “You idiot! You had no idea where we were going! You could have gotten us trapped! Or killed!”
Tsuulo said something she couldn’t understand, but Han said, “I know!”
