|
Other
People’s Money 1999 short story by Mark Newbold Three
years before Episode IV – A New Hope
The Prodigal Son twisted around the
wreckage of the destroyed starship and flared her retros, bringing the ship
around to a slow halt, hovering near to the carnage. Embers glowed dimly against the pit-black
night as the last fuel of the drive engines spewed from the torn engines and
faded away into the forever.
From
the side of the Prodigal Son a
hatch slowly opened, releasing its passenger who drifted carefully into the
night. Avoiding the molten edges of
the wreckage the figure entered the shell and hooked onto a bulkhead,
lessening the ebb and flow of high atmosphere space walking. Steadily and with deliberate moves the
figure traversed the gap between the wrecked walls until it reached a small
cabinet that appeared unaffected by the destruction. Pausing for a brief second the figure
reached behind for a bolt cutter and clipped away at the crude chain, which
secured the door. As it floated away
in the zero-G environment the figure yanked the doors apart and reached
within. He fumbled for a moment and
then pulled out a large safety deposit box, which floated easily away in the
free gravity. Satisfied, the figure
began his return to his ship and once at the entrance to the airlock he
turned and stared at the simmering hulk. Tarr
Ranth smiled in satisfaction as he glanced down at the box. I much prefer spending other
people’s money. Three
days earlier Tarr Ranth edged around the side of the warehouse, which sat
plum in the centre of the business district on Wennicas. His target, a gun-for-hire called Blaine
Carter, hadn’t spotted him yet, but Ranth knew better than to underestimate
an opponent. Bitter experience had
taught him that over the years. Bounty
hunting across the Mid-Rim and far beyond had given Ranth an education that
had served him well in the following years, and it was that experience that
had helped him track his quarry this far.
Chancai to Wennicas was by no means a massive trek, but via Lydon –
that was a far trickier trip and Ranth knew that this was an operator who
knew his tricks and jives. He
thumbed his vision adjuster on a pad at the top of his palm and sneaked a
peak around the corner again, his black Mandalorian helmet a pale shadow
against the approaching dusk. There, his target was conferring with
a batch of Rodians and Gribians, alien heavies from
Rodia in the Tyrius System and Gribia
in the neighbouring Gribia System. They appeared to be engaged in an animated
discussion, and the two Rodians were waving their arms about in
agitation. Ranth honed in to closer
discern what they were saying. “Are you totally crazy?” The lead Rodian said in clear basic. “There’s no way that we could break into
that place!” He stepped back from
Carter who was folding his arms slowly.
“You’d better think of another plan.” “Okay, I’ll say it slowly and we’ll see if
you can follow.” Carter spoke slowly, as if to a child, but the mixed group
of aliens failed to pick up on his thick slabs of sarcasm. “We
don’t hit the Bank of Zelon.” “Well, who does?” Spoke up a Gribian. Carter frowned. “Alright, you may not know this but Irri
Darr is the best bank robber in the Mid-Rim.
She’s pulled off jobs from Arrarat to Irata and she’s never been caught. Not even close.” “So?
What’s that got to do with us?” Blaine
Carter turned on the Rodian and gritted his teeth. “Irri Darr is here on Wennicas right now, planning her next job.” “She is?” “Yesss, she
is. And guess where that job will be.” “The Bank of Zelon.” Tarr Ranth whispered to himself as he
slinked back behind the wall. So that
was Carter’s plan. Tail the bank
robber. He edged around the wall for
another listen, increasing the gain on his receivers. “I was fortunate enough to befriend Irri
Darr while we were both in the Yatchrare System. She was pulling off a heist at the Glann
Cipple Interest Society up on Level 15 and I was in the area…totally by
coincidence, of course.” “Of course.” Whispered Ranth. “I helped her get by some local law
enforcers and we made it off Zelon together.
Naturally she was so grateful for my assistance that we started
talking and decided to strike up a temporary partnership. Of course, she doesn’t realise how
temporary that partnership is going to be.” The
group laughed and huddled in closer.
Ranth frowned, their proximity muffling the reception. He could just make out their whispered
plans but not in enough detail to properly make out what they were
planning. He backed off. The night was falling rapidly, the dusk
fading away and he had a lot of planning to do. Thumbing his backpack to silent mode he
lifted off the ground by soundless repulsor and slowly but steadily drifted
back to his waiting starship. A
full two days had passed. Ranth
had been keeping close tabs on the group, following them at an easy distance
during the daytimes using various disguises and aliases. His face, so often hidden behind the black
armour of the Mandalorian mask, came out into the daylight of Wennicas. The Rodians seemed to stay close to the
warehouse and spaceport districts, meeting secretively with their contacts
and associates and chattering away in Huttese. The Gribians
spent most of their time in the tapcafes and bars, occasionally straying out
into the business districts near the banks.
And Blaine Carter spent most of his time with the Darr woman. Presumably plotting their grand heist and
the rich lives they would lead because of it.
Tarr
Ranth smiled to himself as he checked the business end of his blaster
rifle. He had little time for
arrogance – it was an affectation that had seen too many talented people die
young. And of the two would-be-robbers Ranth could see that Darr was
prodigiously talented and Carter was very arrogant. It was a lethal combination, but it wasn’t
his problem. With a little luck, the
two of them would do their thing and then Ranth would do his. He smiled.
He was first and foremost a bounty hunter, but he wasn’t above the odd
spot of mercenary work. He
squinted through his visor slit at the two of them as they leaned back on the
couch that sat in the centre of the restaurant floor. People milled by, going about their daily
existence but Ranth had little time for them.
He moved in circles within circles, which precluded the lives of
`normal’ folk. His stakes, personal to
him that they were, were of a much higher importance. And as he watched Carter and Darr stand and
shake hands, eyes locking for a second longer than was necessary, he also
noted the harvest of yet another human trait, one which he was very familiar
with. Betrayal. The
day of the heist arrived. Tarr
Ranth had been active since 01.00, passing low over Carter’s starship the Runaway and surveying the area. Satisfied that everything was going to plan
he journeyed across town to where Irri Darr was staying. Hovering outside her window, hidden by the
inky black night and persistent rain, he watched as she dressed and loaded
her equipment into a carryall.
Checking her chrono and closing the blind she paused at the door as
she placed her hand onto the light. It
was a moment that Ranth knew well – the second of indecision before diving in
to a perilous situation. The point of
no return. He nodded in appreciation
as she resolved her inner demons and depressed the light switch, closing the
door behind her. Without
looking back he dropped five storeys to ground level and deactivated the
repulsor pack. The skies were a
dangerous place to travel early on a Wennicas morning. Imperial troops regularly patrolled the
skies, ever watchful for operators such as Tarr Ranth. He elected to take the back alleys and
speeder lanes to the business district that housed the Wennicas branch of the
Bank of Zelon. He
arrived just as Carter and his cronies were pulling up in their rented Arralyte speeder.
Despite the late hour and downpour there were plenty of people about,
spilling out of bars and cantinas and ambling down the streets to the
starport or the urban centres. Ranth
checked his blaster rifle once and turned up the heating on his armour. Wennicas had the regular habit of slamming
ice-cold storms onto its populace, and he had every intention of being
prepared for such an occurrence. He
doubted if Carter had planned so far ahead - then again, he wasn’t in possession of a suit of Mandalorian armour. Carter
lowered the window of the enclosed Arralyte and
ignited a cigarillo, the thick green smoke drifting lazily out of the
speeder. Ranth watched
impassively. Then, from between two
buildings came Irri Darr, dressed in normal clothing and walking confidently
across the street. Ranth watched
closely as she entered the Bank, bypassing the guards with a flash of a
dazzling smile and closing the door behind her. Ranth twisted back to the wall. He knew from experience that it would take
even a practised operator like Darr at least half an hour to circumvent the
security systems and affect a clean robbery.
So, like Carter and the goons he waited. 03.00
arrived with a thump of compressed air and the scream of klaxons and
sirens. Ranth
gripped his blaster rifle and turned to view the street, just catching a
glimpse of Darr’s legs disappear into the back seat
of the Arralyte.
The speeder tore away down the street, bearing directly for the
spaceport and freedom. Ranth
smiled coldly. He’d expected the woman
to show more finesse than to simply blow the bank sky high. Now every Imperial Stormtrooper in town, if
not the planet, would be on high alert.
Stealing a handbag was one thing – robbing the Bank of Zelon, that was something else. Ranth thumbed the ignition to his high
speed jet pack and blasted into the air, adjusting his flight ceiling to
avoid catching the attentions of the approaching Imperial troop carrier which
was moving in fast. From on high he could
make out the blurred shape of the swift Arralyte as
it slewed around a corner and sped into the starports speeder compound. Switching back to repulsors he hovered and
watched them stream into their waiting ship, Darr seemingly genetically
bonded to the case that held her booty.
He frowned and narrowed his eyes. I’ve
got just one shot at this. If she makes it into Carter’s vessel
before I fire, that will be the end of it. Ranth straightened his arm and with a quick
snap he cocked the firing mechanism on his wrist launcher. Aiming it at Darr’s
back he murmured an oath to his fathers ghost and
fired. He nodded in silent
satisfaction as his aim proved true and Darr was hit without even knowing it,
the glue-coated flim sticking to the back of her jacket. Ranth backed away as the ship began its
lift-off, rising into the air before the ramp was even closed. Good
tactics, he thought. The Empire is sure to close this starport
down within minutes. He checked
his chrono and glanced up at Carter’s ship, which was now level with
him. I’d better get to the Prodigal Son if I want to keep track of them. Ranth
swooped down and dropped into his own hangar bay, opening the ship remotely
and quickly starting up her systems.
Seconds later the Prodigal Son
followed Carter’s ship into the heavens, her engines blasting red-hot gouts
of power into the night. The
black armoured bounty hunter checked his screens for Imperial activity, but
there was none. He swallowed his
surprise at their slow reactions. It
was 03.04, four minutes after the explosion.
He was certainly expecting at least some form of welcome party. Don’t
look a gift Bantha in the mouth. Just
fly. Carter’s ship remained on his
scope, just far enough ahead for Ranth to track him, and certainly far enough
behind for Carter not to spot him.
Ranth had an extensive sensor suite package aboard the Prodigal Son, a legacy from his days
of training with CorSec. He’d once been told by a teacher of his, `Just keep their back towards you and
you’ll know you’re facing the right way.’
And he was right. All
he needed now was for Darr to read the flim. Irri
Darr laughed as she spun around the cargo hold of the Runaway, the bag still locked in her hands. The Rodians and the Gribians
watched in mute confusion as she began to sing an old spacers song and danced
to the head. Carter stepped out of the
cockpit and smiled a slimy smile that sat easily upon his face. As soon as Darr closed the door too he
called the head Rodian to his side. “We’re out of the gravity well. As soon as she’s finished get the bag off
her and stow it in the safety deposit box in the small cabinet.” He smiled the smile again. “Then finish her off and dump the body in
the escape pod.” The
Rodian twitched his nose and nodded, his lidless eyes gleaming in the ships
light. “Consider it done.” Irri
Darr stood and began to wash her hands in front of the mirror when she
noticed a piece of flim stuck to the back of her jacket. Intrigued she turned and pulled it free,
opening it up and holding it up to the light.
She began to read. `Get to the escape pod. Once you are there, flash the lights twice
and eject.’ She
blinked. What could it mean? Was
it meant for me? Of course it was,
it’s attached to me, and look…my name’s on the
bottom of the flim. She slowly
folded the flim and swallowed. The
escape pod was next door to the head – it wouldn’t be much of a hardship to
open the door and step inside…would it? Darr
began to open the door, slowly at first but quicker when she realised that the
Rodians and Gribians were watching her. Smiling falsely she opened the door fully
and exited with the bag still in her grasp.
“I suppose you want this somewhere safe?” The
lead Rodian nodded and took a step forward, the other aliens eyeing her keenly. Irri Darr had been around long enough to
know a set-up when she stumbled into one and this reeked of it. Taking a deep breath she grasped the bag by
the handle and threw it at the Rodian.
In the brief scurry of confusion she slapped the hatch open on the
escape pod and jumped inside, securing the hatch behind her. The Rodian and his gang peered inside in
confusion and a few seconds later Carter joined them. “Looking for the head honey? Sorry to disappoint you but you’ve just
stepped into a one way trip to oblivion.” Darr
locked eyes with Carter as she thumbed the light switch twice and
smiled. She still didn’t know what the
message truly meant, or who it was from, but her gut instinct told her that
the safest place in the galaxy was anywhere but the inside of the Runaway. She gripped the sides of the escape pod as
it was released from the Runaway
and closed her eyes as the wild tumble of the pod threatened to dislodge her
evening meal from its resting-place. Tarr Ranth eased back
into his seat as he finally received the signal that he had been waiting
for. Warming up the forward batteries
he nudged the accelerator and powered towards the ship ahead. He saw the glistening shower of metal
restraints sparkle as the pod was released, away from the Runaway and tumbling madly back
towards Wennicas. He knew he had
plenty of time before Wennicas’ gravity would claim the pod and its passenger
within. Besides, she had already
served her primary purpose –another prize waited aboard the ship that lay just
ahead.
Two
volleys from his forward laser cannons were enough to bring the Runaway to a shuddering halt, the
unexpected attack hitting hard and without the protection of deflector
shields. Ranth smiled coldly from
behind his mask. This is going to be easier than I thought. Another volley left the Runaway wheeling out of control,
listing to her starboard side and spewing fuel into the eternal night. He narrowed his eyes
and gritted his teeth. The ship lay
before him, exposed and vulnerable, ripe for destruction. One more shot would certainly finish the
job. So, Ranth left his seat and moved
to the rear of the Prodigal Son,
kneeling before his small tractor beam emitter and eyeing the tiny screen
that allowed him such good vision around his ship. He closed in on the escape pod and latched
on, the battered and fragile shell coming ever closer towards the protection
of the larger vessel. Seconds later
the two were coupled, a cargo claw protruding from then side of the Son gripping onto the pod.
Ranth flicked a switch
and began to speak.
“Irri Darr.” Darr
responded with surprise in her ragged voice. “You know my name? Of course you do, you’re the man who saved
my life. How can I ever repay you?” Ranth
smiled behind the cover of his Mandalorian helmet. “You already have Miss Darr. Twice.” Irri
Darr froze, the temperature around her seeming to
fall twenty degrees in a nanosecond. “What do you mean?” She enquired, almost afraid to hear the
answer. “Your haul from the Bank of Zelon will
soon be in my possession…” “Keep it!
It’s yours, if you let me go!”
She pleaded. Ranth shook his
head. “It’s as good as mine already Miss
Darr. As is your substantial bounty.” Tarr
Ranth returned to the cockpit and severed the connection as he heard the
first cries of frustration and fear fly from Darr’s
lips. Her bounty had been posted by
the ganglord Glann Cipple. She knew
her fate already – she’d have been safer staying on the Runaway after all. Sitting
at the controls of the Prodigal Son
he aimed at the Runaway and fired
the last lethal killer blow, which devastated the ship and sent it listing,
broken, into the night. The
Prodigal Son twisted around the
wreckage of the Runaway and flared
her retros, bringing the ship around to a slow halt, hovering near to the
carnage. Embers glowed dimly against
the pit-black night as the last fuel of the drive engines spewed from the
torn engines and faded away into the forever.
From the side of the Prodigal
Son a hatch slowly opened, releasing Ranth who drifted carefully into the
night. Avoiding the molten edges of
the wreckage he entered the shell and hooked onto a bulkhead, lessening the
ebb and flow of high atmosphere space walking. Steadily and with deliberate moves Ranth
traversed the gap between the wrecked walls until he reached a small cabinet
that appeared unaffected by the destruction.
Pausing for a brief second he reached behind for a bolt cutter and
clipped away at the crude chain, which secured the door. As it floated away in the zero-G environment
he yanked the doors apart and reached within. Ranth fumbled for a moment and
then pulled out the large safety deposit box, which floated easily away in
the free gravity. Satisfied, he began
his return to the Prodigal Son and
once at the entrance to the airlock he turned and stared at the simmering
hulk. Tarr
Ranth smiled in satisfaction as he glanced down at the box. I much prefer spending other
people’s money. Other People’s Money 1999 short story by Mark Newbold Three
years before Episode IV – A New Hope
Histories
– Written alongside the other Tarr Ranth stories Nine Men Down and Sanction: Off, Other
People’s Money tells of how ruthless and determined
the Mandalorian-clad bounty hunter could really be.
Set when Ranth still possessed the Prodigal Son,(before its destruction during a battle with fellow bounty hunter Queed over Gista, this story goes a long way in showing how Ranth acquired his
finances – and his reputation.
Cast
of Characters
Tarr
Ranth Blaine
Carter Irri Darr
|