Lady's attempts at getting a gambling license, so these days it wasn't
much but a dining room, deserted at that hour.
Once it had been a classy place with a holographic star display on the
ceiling and exotic fish in porthole aquariums on the outside walls.
But the display was shut down and most of the tanks were lifeless now,
and the empty tables with their threadbare tablecloths looked pretty
forlorn in the half-light.
I went through the door in one wall and into a little office.
Venutton, Valarian's scrawny and strung-tight human assistant, ushered
me right on through into her office.
It was a stark place. No useless decoration for that Lady. The boss
herself sat behind a big desk in the room's center.
Lady Valarian was a pretty young Whiphid--hell, a pretty young
anything!--to be running so big an operation.
But when you saw her, you weren't surprised.
Her presence was considerable. Her massive bulk filled up the chair,
dominating the room. Her tusked face and glaring gaze were fierce.
Yeah, she had a pretty big face, maybe a little like mine. Maybe it's
why she'd taken kind of a shine to me. But her big interest was in my
connections.
"Well, Lady V," I greeted. "How's it going?"
"Lousy, as usual," she said in a deep growl of a voice. "Look, let's
neither of us waste time in pleasantries.
Have you thought any more?"
"There wasn't a need to," I said flatly. "You know what I think."
"I can't believe you can stay loyal to that rotting pile of fodder after
what I've offered you!"
"Sorry. That's how it is."
"I'll tell you how it is!" she snarled, rising. She moved out toward
me, body taut with anger. "The Hutt blocks me at every move.
He wrecks my operation with sabotage, sics the law hounds on me, steals
my business, sucks me dry with payoffs." She came up almost toe to toe
with me, meeting my eye threateningly.
Since she's as tall as me and a lot bigger built, she made a pretty good
threat. "So here I've got a chance at getting someone on my side, and
he turns me down. I don't like that, Mon!"
I stood my ground and answered coolly: "I was hoping not to fight you,
Valarian. I thought we were friends."
Seeing I couldn't be intimidated, she sighed and stepped back, dropping
the tough act.
"Okay, you're right," she said resignedly. "I won't try muscling you.
But look," she tried more reasonably, "he will fall soon. You can't
deny that. If not from my pushing, then from someone else's."
"Don't you think I know?" I told her. "I've already got an idea
Tessek's up to something, with Ree-Yees and a few others helping, too.
And I'm pretty sure Talmont's been cut in on the deal. I try to warn
Jabba of plots when I find 'em, but I can't find them all."
"Then why not leave him?" she cajoled, putting a hand on my shoulder.
"We could have a beautiful deal together, you and I. We're alike, aren't
we? Both fighting our way up from nothing."
"Maybe for you it was nothing," I answered. "For me it was different."
Somehow her words had pulled up a memory again and I was seeing the
sunlit, wide grasslands of a planet far away. "It was something all
right. I had something. Simple maybe, but clean, open, and honest.
Funny, but I haven't thought about it for a lot of years.
But, twice today--"
"What?" she asked, dropping her hand and stepping back to eye me
questioningly.
Realizing I'd slipped off into a weird reverie, I jerked myself back.
"Oh... nothing," I said sharply. "But look, please just believe me,
Valarian.
There's a knot tying me to Jabba that no money or promises are gonna
cut."
She looked hard into my eyes and nodded acceptance.
"Okay." She smiled. "I should call you my enemy, but I can't.
No hard feelings."
I smiled, too. "None. Well, I'd better get back now.
Been gone an hour already." I turned to the door.
"Just remember," she called to me as I went out, "if you do survive the
fall, you can still come work for me."
When I went back through the lobby, the dead-meat squad was coming in to
scrape up the stiffs. Talmont was there, and his squinty gaze followed
me out. He was worried now.
Both suns were high in the sky when I got back to the palace. I came
into the throne room to find the place in an uproar. Seemed I'd missed
quite a party!
I'd already gotten part of the story from Barada in the garage.
All about how that guy in black had been in cahoots with that other
bunch out to rescue Han Solo. How he'd claimed to be aJedi named
Skywalker and had threatened the Hutt with being destroyed.
How he'd killed Malakili's pet rancor in the pit. And how he was now
cooling his heels in the dungeon along with Solo and that Wookiee we'd
caught before.
Soon they would all climb aboard the sail barge and head out for the
Great Pit of Carkoon.
I moved through a bustling throng headed for Jabba's throne. He was
blithely pulling away at his hookah, giving proprietary tugs at the
chain of that captured woman who'd replaced poor Oola. But I was
hijacked halfway there by Tessek, one of Jabba's least trustworthy
lieutenants.
The Quarren was nervous. Every appendage on his head was twitching. He
pulled me aside and talked in low, quick tones: "Have you heard what
happened?"
"I heard all about it."
"All?" he said. "But I'll wager you do not know this!" His voice
dropped lower, taking on a confidential tone. "I checked on this
Skywalker. I believe he truly is a Jedi Knight."
Though intrigued by this, I didn't show it. "So what?"
"There is more. I used my contacts to check the Imperial wanted lists
All our prisoners are on it, even the two droids! And they are
considered most dangerOUS."
"Dangerous to the Empire."
"I think to us, too. These people destroyed the Death Star! This
Skywalker fought Darth Vader and survived! Why would they come here and
so easily be caught--unless it is on purpose."
"What purpose?"
"To destroy Jabba. I believe . . . Wait!"
He had spotted that wretched little vermin Salacious Crumb creeping
close around, and he took a kick at the being. Crumb gave a
high-pitched cackle and scampered away.
"Filthy scum," Tessek said with disgust. "I am certain it spies on me!
Anyway, I believe there is an Alliance plot afoot. Their forces no
doubt wait now to destroy us when we are most vulnerable."
"You really think they set this all up just to get the Hutt?" I asked.
It seemed hard to believe.
"I do. And I want you to warn Jabba of it. He will listen to you. You
are his most trusted ally. Maybe his only friend. You must tell him."
Noting that Crumb was still watching us keenly from the safety of an
overhead fixture, Tessek broke off here and wheeled away. He left me
staring after him in deep thought.
His story was pretty farfetched, and I was sure he was up to a few
tricks him
self'. Still, there was something about that black-dressed
man I'd seen. Something powerful. I decided I had to see this
Skywalker myself, close up. Before I'd talk to Jabba, I'd talk to our
"Jedi Knight."
In the lower corridor to the dungeon, I ran into Ree-Yees, quarter-rate
scam artist, sometime killer, and all-around plug-ugly.
The three-eyed Gran was stinking drunk, as usual, and it didn't make him
any friendlier. I wondered what he was doing creeping around down there
at this hour, and he sure didn't seem glad to see me.
"Whadarya doin' down 'ere?" he demanded, sticking his drooling
goat-face up near mine.
I shoved him and he staggered away a few steps.
"Going to see the prisoners," I told him, moving past.
"I'm doing it for your pal Tessek too."
He went after me, grabbing my arm to jerk me around.
"Whadyamean, my 'pal'?" He slurred his words.
"whadaya know about us?"
"Why?" I fired back7 "What should I know?"
"Don' gimme that!" he cried in drunken rage "You know! I'll make you
talk, you--" He started to pull a blastershot up open-palmed into his
chest and I shoved him back against the wall hard. In his condition he
could only struggle helplessly, my big hand pinning him tight.
"Now you'll do the talking," I said in my hardest voicef this sneaking
around up to?"
"Go... to..." he gasped out through constricted lungs I leaned harder.
"Tell me or get squashed right now!"
His chest cage creaked with the pressure gasped, his three eyes starting
to bug out.
"Okay! Okay!" he said in panic. "Tessek's got a · . . plan!
Deal with the . . . Empire! Gonna . . .
raid!"
His breath gave out and he sagged forward. I pulled my hand back and
let him slip unconscious to the floor.
So, there was a plot! And the Empire was in on it.
Well, Jabba would have to be warned about that. But first, I had to
satisfy my itch to see this supposed Jedi.
I reached the dungeon, signaled the guard there to move away, and slid
open the barred window in the cell door. Beyond I could see the three
prisoners huddled together in a far corner. The captured Wookiee was
cradling the still recovering form of Han Solo while a blond human
dressed in black stood by.
But the one in black turned right away and came over to the door,
peering out through the little opening at me.
"You're the one called Skywalker," I said.
He nodded. "And you . . . you are a friend of Jabba's," he said in a
voice as calm as if he were on vacation here "The name's Ephant Mon. I'm
one of his . . . associates."
He shook his head. "You are much more. I can feel it in you.
You are his true friend, and he is yours."
"Not a bad mind-reading trick," I said, impressed.
"Maybe you really are a Jedi."
He ignored that. "You can talk to him," he went on more earnestly. "He
listens to you. He'll believe."
"Believe what?"
"That he's in danger. Listen, you can still save him.
If you are his friend, convince him to release us. We mean him no harm.
But if he persists in trying to harm us, I'll have no other choice."
"So you are going to destroy him," I Said. "With what help?"
"No help," he assured me. "Not beyond us."
Though that sounded impossible, I found myself believing.
I couldn't help it. That he could do exactly what he said was in the
cool sound of his voice and the sure look in his eyes. Still, it didn't
mean I could just buy in.
"Maybe you've got the power to do that, maybe not," I hedged. "It
doesn't mattern I can't make Jabba let you go if he doesn't want to.
It's impossible I--" One of his hands shot out through the opening so
fast I couldn't reactn my shoulder and hung on while his eyes fixed hard
on mine break away. I was suddenly paralyzed by that probing gaze. If
he'd wanted to kill me, he could have.
But that wasn't what he wanted.
I felt like some energy current was surging into me from him, crackling
through my whole body. A thousand time-dimmed memories were lit up all
at once.
Images of my past life flashed by like I was a drowning STAR WARS 170
man. I saw my own childhood with my parents' clan. I saw myself
growing up on my home planet's vast plains. I relived the beauties of a
time when I had once reveled in open skies and bright sunsets, freedom
and space, family and comrades and a simple code of honor. I saw it
all--all it had been, all I had left behind. It glowed before me like a
paradise.
He pulled his hand back, broke eye contact, and the images faded.
I stared. I blinked, seeing the reality of dark, wet corridor and
prison bars. The ugliness of the dungeon of Jabba's lair closed me in.
"You're not evil," he told me. "Not like Jabba. I feel the good in
you. You've just come so far from it, and you've lost your way back.
Find it now. Help us.
Save Jabba."
"I . . . I could try," I said. "I will try. But I still don't think
he'll listen."
"I understand," Skywalker said softly. "But I don't want to destroy you
with the rest. There's still a chance for you if you want to take it.
If you can't free us, then don't stay with him. Escape yourself. Find
your true life again. And may the Force be with you, friend."
With that he turned away and rejoined his comrades.
I went away from him shaken to my core. I'd never before questioned the
way my life had gone. I'd just charged blindly ahead.
My encounter with this Jedi had opened my eyes. I didn't like what I
was seeing.
As I made my way back out of the dungeon, I noticed that Ree-Yees was
gone. But I didn't care about him or Tessek or any of that now. I
needed someone to talk to.
I went straight to the big docking area right behind the throne room. It
was where Jabba's sail barge was kept, convenient for boarding by the
Bloated One. I knew I would find Barada there, checking the barge's
engine for the imminent departure to the Great Pit of Carkoon.
He quit work right away when I came in. The look on my face must have
told him something big was wrong.
"What's the matter?" he asked me.
"It's hard to explain it," I told him truthfully, plopping down on a
crate. "Things have happened," He sat down beside me. "Things?"
"I saw the Jedi. Barada, I knowJabba's wrong. He's done a lot of
things, and most of them weren't good.
But this is different. I've gotta stop him this time."
"Stop him?" He shook his head. "I don't think even you can do that.
He's pretty set on getting that whole bunch who came after Solo.
They tried making a fool of him."
"I know. But if I don't stop him, I think he might be the one who gets
hurt."
"What?" he said in disbelief. "And by what army?"
"Tessek's bet was that the Alliance was going to take a hand. He wanted
me to pass that on to Jabba, probably to shift attention from his own
plot. But the joke's on him. There's no Alliance reinforcements, but
t
he danger to Jabba's bigger than anything Tessek could imagine."
"Just from that kid and his friends? It can't be."
"It can," I said stubbornly. "And I'm going to tell Jabba so."
"He won't like it," Barada warned. "You know how he gets. If he thinks
you're crossing him, he might just drop you in that pit too."
"Okay. Okay," I said. "I could just let it go and save myself.
But I owe him."
"Enough to risk your life?"
"Why not? He risked his life for me once."
"Did he?" Barada asked with interest. "How?"
I'd always kept this to myself before, but there didn't seem any reason
not to spill it now.
"Well, he and I were partners in a little gunrunning scheme way back,
right after I quit mercenary work.
Tales From Jabba's Palace Page 19
