He continued waiting. Another hour dragged by.
Boba Fett did not enter the cantina until the light had begun to fade
during the first of Tatooine's twin sunsets.
The band stopped playing, and most of the background noise in the bar
dwindled to murmurs.
The masked bounty hunter paused in the dimness, swiveling his head back
and forth, exuding confidence.
Zekk could feel Fett's gaze burning through the black slit in his
Mandalorian helmet.
The bounty hunter saw Zekk and froze, suspicious.
The moment of silence ended, and the band began playing again.
Through his peripheral vision Zekk noticed several patrons wince at the
resumption of the noise. The two sea-urChin aliens on the dance floor
continued tumbling about; they had not stopped even during the brief
silence.
The bounty hunter strode up to the bar beside Zekk. Zekk momentarily
wondered if the Wookiee bartender would require Fett to buy a drink as
well, but Chalmun pointedly remained at the other side of the bar,
serving customers who watched the masked hunter with unconcealed
anxiety.
Zekk could feel the power, the spring-tight rage and dark energy in this
man. Fett had killed an uncounted number of enemies, served no cause,
and had at one time worn Wookiee scalps at his belt.
Zekk could imagine no glimmer of friendship from this vicious man--but
Boba Fett was one of the best bounty hunters in existence.
And Zekk needed to learn from him.
Zekk turned, but the bounty hunter spoke first.
"What do you want from me? And what do you offer in exchange?"
The young man gathered his courage. "I need advice. If I'm going to be
the best bounty hunter, I had better ask questions of the best."
"Advice?" Fett said dubiously, scornfully. "Nothing is free."
Zekk sat up straighter. "I have information that may help you find
Bornan Thul." He certainly wouldn't give away the knowledge of his
scheduled rendezvous on Borgo Prime . . . but he had less-important
details to offer. He let the words hang in the air, then added, "I know
where another bounty hunter was searching for him. It may give you a
clue."
Boba Fett said, "Many are searChing for Thul.
Most of them are fools. The value of your information depends on how
much I can trust this lead."
"It's Dengar," Zekk said, then squared his shoulders.
"I know where Dengat went looking for Bornan Thul."
Fett paused, as silent as a statue. "Dengar is . . .
not a fool." The bandage-wrapped hunter had rescued a grievously injured
Boba Fett after he blasted his way free from the sarlacc in the Pit of
Carkoon.
"What do you need?"
"Listen to this problem," Zekk said. "I'm new to being a bounty hunter,
and this is a hypothetical situation that any of us might run into."
Fett waited. The alien musicians croaked an announcement that they were
taking a break but would be back with more music before long.
Only a few inebriated patrons clapped.
"Suppose I accept an assignment--say, to find a
lost treasure or a missing document--and in the course of my hunt I
stumble upon completely unrelated information that reveals the location
of a much larger bounty."
Fett said, "Then secure both. Keep your honor and make a greater
profit."
Zekk arched his eyebrows. "But what if chasing after the second bounty
puts my first employer at risk? In fact, if I find the larger bounty,
my original employer will certainly come to great harm." He paused,
hoping he wasn't giving too much away.
The bounty hunter pondered in silence. "You must not betray your
employer. That is one of the worst crimes a bounty hunter can commit."
"So I just have to give up the second bounty?"
Zekk said, somewhat disheartened, though a bit relieved.
"No," Fett said. "Deliver the first bounty, take payment, and terminate
your service with that employer. Then pursue the second bounty with a
clear conscience, since you no longer work for the employer who might be
harmed."
Zekk mulled over this answer. He had already discharged half of his
assignment by sending the coded message to the Bornaryn merchant fleet.
Now, if he could just find Tyko Thul, he would be under no further
obligation." From that point on, Zekk would be free to do as he pleased.
Zekk had no idea what Thul had done to warrant
such a manhunt or why Nolaa Tarkona wanted him so desperately--but it
was clear she primarily wanted his cargo, some mysterious navicomputer
module.
Zekk smiled. He could do it. He could do both.
"Now," Boba Fett said, "tell me where you saw Dengar."
Zekk told him about Ziost, but gave few other details. Then the two of
them hurried away from the Mos Eisley cantina, parting without any word
of farewell to return to their respective ships.
TWO CRACKLING STUN-RODS crashed against each other in a shower of
sparks. Jacen descended a few steps on the temple's rugged stairway and
went on the attack. Below him, Raynar backed down two stairs as he
deflected the next several blows with his own stun-rod.
With the sleeve of his jumpsuit, Jacen blotted away the sweat running
into his eyes, then swept the training weapon in a counterstrike. The
sun that beat down outside the Great Temple already seemed unbearably
hot for this time of morning.
He pressed downward another step, raising his glowing pewter-colored
staff. Raynar spun out of the way and danced along the wide stone
ledge, dodging some scaffolding that had been erected by the repair
crew, then rapped the stun-rod against Jacen's wrist.
Jacen howled at the sudden tingling zap. "Ow!"
he said, then, "Nice move, Raynat!" He hopped down to the ledge and
continued the sparring match, bringing up his own staff. The pewter
rods clashed again. "Pretty soon you'll be ready to fight against a
real lightsaber."
Raynat's sweat-soaked training robe clung to him but did not hamper his
movements. "Thanks," he said, catching the next blow against his
stun-rod.
"That's why I asked for your help during practice.
You're one of the best here at the academy."
Jacen fell back a step. "Jaina's as good as I am."
Raynar swung low, and Jacen blocked again.
"She takes it too easy on me," Raynat panted.
"Feels sorry for me, I guess."
Jacen gave a wicked grin. "How about Tenel Ka, then?" He nodded toward
the base of the ancient pyramid to where the warrior girl and Lusa were
setting out for a morning run. The two exercised together because no
one else could keep up with them.
Raynat shook his head, and droplets of sweat flew from side to side.
"Just the opposite--no mercy whatsoever." He turned to stare at the two
runners with great interest. "Can we take a breather for a minute?"
"Sure," Jacen said, ready for a break himself.
Powering down the stun-rod, Raynat. sank to the ledge and dangled his
feet over the side. Jacen
followed suit, and the two watched Lusa and
Tenel Ka race each other
across the landing field, cinnamon mane and red-gold braids streaming
out behind them.
"Amazing, isn't she?" Raynar said, still breathless from their workout.
Jacen watched Tenel Ka's easy long-legged strides with admiration.
He felt a brief flash of jealousy at Raynar's comment, but it was gone
as quickly as it came. "I've always thought so," he said. "You mean
you just noticed her?"
"I, uh . . . not exactly." Raynar blushed a deep red. "I thought so
from the moment we met, but I've only known her for a few days."
Jacen suddenly realized that Raynar was talking about the sleek Centaur
girl, not Tenel Ka. A slow smile spread across his face.
"Yeah," he said. "I know just what you mean."
Holding a pair of delicate wires with two fingers, Jaina stuck her other
hand out from beneath the Rock Dragon's sensor array panel.
"Could you hand me that circuit fuser please?"
An electronic sigh answered her. "I should very much like to
accommodate your request, Mistress Jaina," Em Teedee said morosely, "but
I'm afraid I'm completely useless to you in that respect--useless in
almost every respect at the moment, I should say. I can't move about on
my own, I am no longer needed for my translation functions--" Jaina
groaned and dropped the wires. For a second she had forgotten that
Lowie was not here working beside her, and now she had hurt the
miniaturized translating droid's feelings. She scrambled out from under
the control panel and grabbed the circuit fuser herself. "Sorry, Em
Teedee, I didn't mean--"
"Oh, it's quite all right, Mistress ]aina," the little droid said. "I'm
resigned to the possibility that being wired to a diagnostic panel may
be my only beneficial purpose. And even that is nonessential, since you
have such an excellent ability to diagnose malfunctions on your own." He
gave an electronic moan. "Why, I shouldn't be at all surprised if one
morning I reactivated from my shutdown cycle only to find myself in one
of those electronics bins in your chambers, ready to be disassembled for
Spare parts."
Now it was Jaina's turn to sigh. She closed the access panel under the
sensor array she'd been adjusting and then heaved herself up into the
copilot's seat. Lowbacca's former seat. "I miss Lowie, too, you know."
"I'm certain Master Lowbacca misses all of his friends here at the
academy as well." Em Teedee's electronic voice quavered. "I'm the only
one he hasn't any use for anymore."
Jaina reached out and disconnected the silvery
droid's leads from the Rock Dragon's diagnostic panels and tucked them
back into his case. Carrying Em Teedee under one arm, Jaina went to the
rear compartment where she stored maintenance supplies.
"You know, Em Teedee," she said, "you'll feel much better after a
lubricant bath. Then I'm going to do that waterproofing I promised
you."
She placed a small bucket on the floor and opened the valve above it,
letting an iridescent blue liquid flow into the pail.
"But, Mistress Jaina," Em Teedee protested, "unlike my predecessor,
See-Threepio, I have almost no moving parts. My continuous function
does not rely on lubricant baths. Why, I've never even experienced
one--"
"There's a first time for everything," Jaina said, shutting off the
lubricant valve. She held Em Teedee above the full bucket and gave him
a little pat.
"Enjoy it. You'd be surprised what a good bath can do to change your
outlook on things." She lowered the little droid into the iridescent
fluid.
Em Teedee had just enough time to say, "Indeed?"
before his speaker grille was completely submerged.
Walking along beside Lusa after the midday meal, Raynar clasped his
hands behind his back to keep himself from fidgeting. He had hardly
expected the Centaur girl to agree when he'd offered to show her his
favorite waterfall.
Well, she hadn't actually agreed. Upon overhearing Lusa shyly turn down
Raynar's invitation, Master Skywalker had stepped in and encouraged her
to reconsider. The Jedi teacher quietly reminded Lusa that as part of
her healing she needed to learn to make new human friends. With obvious
trepidation, Lusa had relented.
Now, alone with the cinnamon-maned Centaur girl, Raynar came to a
belated realization. He had never really learned to make conversation
with people whom he did not know, since people usually came to him to
talk. Raynar had begun to learn negotiation techniques from his
father--Bornan Thul could wield words much as Master Skywalker wielded
his lightsaber--but he had unfortunately learned most of his
conversational skills from his uncle Tyko's proud boasts and blunt
observations.
Though his mother possessed grace and social skills in abundance, she
had not yet managed to pass them on to her son.
Frantically trying to remember what Aryn had taught him about polite
conversation, RaYnar walked faster along the jungle path. A
multicolored swarm of button beetles buzzed up from a nebula orchid
where they had been feeding. Lusa let out a small gasp of delight at
the shower of colon
Raynar held aside a branch that had grown across
the path so that Lusa could pass without being scratched. He wondered
whether his action would be seen as kind or merely insulting.
She edged past him, nodding to Raynar in silent thanks. The tips of her
crystal horns sparkled, and the tense rippling muscles in her cinnamon
flanks seemed to relax a bit.
Encouraged, Raynar asked her a question. "What do you admire in .
. ." He searched for a suitably neutral word. "I mean--what is it you
look for in a friend, exactly?" He hoped that her answer would not be
something simple and abrupt like, "I look for nonhumans as friends."
He didn't want to remind her of the Diversity Alliance. Then again, he
thought, perhaps he should consider it progress if she answered him at
all.
At first Lusa said nothing. They continued in silence through a thicket
of blueleaf until they emerged beside a chattering stream in a small
clearing. Raynar turned and headed upstream.
Lusa finally answered him. "Loyalty. Commitment.
Deep beliefs and a willingness to act on those beliefs. I look for an
openness to finding new solutions to old problems." She paused.
"I guess those are some of the things that drew me to the Diversity
Alliance."
Raynar tensed at her mention of the political group. Before Lusa, he'd
never been aware that he could be hated--not because he was proud and
boastful, or because of the tough trading deals his family negotiated .
. . but for no other reason than his species.
"Um, the waterfall's just a little farther that way."
He raised his arm to point higher along their route and accidentally
brushed against Lusa. She instinctively recoiled from him and took off
at a gallop upstream.
Startled, Raynar ran after her. He caught up with the Centaur girl
beside the sparkling green pool at the base of the waterfa
ll. She stood
on the bank with her front hooves in the water, staring at her own
reflection and shuddering.
"I . . . I'm really sorry," Raynar blurted. "I didn't mean to--"
"No," she answered. "You did nothing wrong.
Master Skywalker was correct: I let the Diversity Alliance poison my
mind against humans, and now I must unlearn the hate they taught."
She tossed her head and sent him an apologetic smile. "Please be
patient. It may take me a while." She looked longingly at the
waterfall, then back at Raynar.
"Would you mind if I went in?"
Feeling humiliated that a brush of his arm had been so revolting to the
beautiful girl, Raynar decided they could both use time to collect
themselves.
He climbed up onto a round boulder beside the stream. "Go ahead," he
said. 'Tll wait for you here."
Lusa plunged into the pool and made straight for the deeper water
beneath the surging waterfall.
Watching the silvery liquid cascade over her, Ray-nat wondered if she
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