Chapter Two

“Master Lomona, your breakfast is getting cold. Shall I warm it up?” Aurran waited patiently next to his owner, and when it became obvious that he wasn’t going to answer, moved away towards the kitchen area. Terrie was leaning against the airlock door trying to stay out of the way. Frans hadn’t come out of her room yet. Paige was quietly drying her eyes and rummaging through her bag, as if searching for something. Jan, still not speaking moved silently out of the lounge area and opened the door to his and Frans’ quarters and closed it behind him.

“Paige?”

The young woman looked up at Terrie with reddened eyes.

“He is my father, I know it. I’ve been trying to find him for two years. Ever since my Mother….” She broke off again, too upset to talk. Terrie moved across the room and took the seat next to her, placing her arm around Paige’s shoulders.

“This must be hard for you. It would be hard for anybody. But think of it from his perspective. You’ve just told him he’s had a daughter for fifteen - ”

“ - Fourteen.” Paige corrected quietly.

“ - Fourteen years that he never knew he had. He’s obviously going to be shocked.” Paige started to sob again.

“I thought he’d be pleased to see me.”

“Years can do that to people Paige. And there’s another thing. You haven’t given him any proof that you’re his daughter, have you?”

Paige shook her head sorrowfully again.

“I had a photo of me and Mom when I was a baby, but I was mugged just after I arrived and the picture must have gotten lost.”

“You mean this picture?” Terrie said softly, pulling a damp and creased photo out of her thigh pouch. Paige stared at the photo in silent wonder, traced the lines of her mother’s face on the picture with a tear-stained finger and smiled in understanding.

“You were there in the alley?”

Terrie nodded.

“You saw me struggle with those creeps?”

“I passed by just as you were beating them up. Nice moves. You’ll have to show them to me some time.”

Paige smiled, genuinely now. She stood up and moved to the window to look at the starport outside.

“I seem to have spent a hundred years in places like this.” She began “Since my Mother died. I was too young to stay where I was and I wouldn’t go into care. Mom told me about my Father, where he came from, stuff like that. It wasn’t until she died that I finally got to see a photo of them together. It was in her belongings. She’d kept it all those years.” Paige paused, and looked into the corridor where the door to Jans quarters was opening. He walked into the lounge, looking at Terrie first and then Paige and wordlessly opened the door to the hatch. Paige breathed slowly, clutched the photo even tighter. Her heart felt like a lead weight in her chest.

“This ship takes off in five minutes. I’m already carrying one passenger that I don’t want,”

Terrie threw Jan a cold glare.

“Unless you give me a damn good reason otherwise, I want you off now. This ain’t a cruise liner, I’ve got work to do.” Lomona paused and waited for Paige to speak, but the words just didn’t come out. She stood there like a confused infant, not knowing which way to turn. Shaking her head Terrie stood, unable to watch Paige's torment any longer and walked right up to Jan.

“She could be your daughter. Any fool could see that from a light-year. But since you’re not just any fool I suggest you give her the chance to prove it.” Terrie nodded over her shoulder. “Now be a man and shut the hatch.”

Jan took his eyes off Paige and looked down at Terrie. Could she be right? Was I really that careless? What if she is my daughter, all the years I’ve missed? And what about Frans, my career, could I ever be a father to her? Do I dare risk not trying? Damn.

“You two get to share the guest quarters down the corridor. I expect you to pull your weight while you’re on my ship. And keep out of the way when I’m working. This isn’t kids stuff.” Jan closed the hatch and smiled a brief smile at Paige. “This is one hell of a shock, and I don’t believe it for a second.”

Paige looked at the deck plates.

“But if you are my daughter then,” He glanced at Terrie “I’d be a fool not to try.” He stepped out of the lounge, turning as he did. “But if I find out you’re not my daughter then I’ll kick you out, wherever the hell we are.” He reached into his pocket. “Wear this at all times,” He flicked two tiny devices at Paige and Terrie. “It’s a transponder. It’ll stop you from being fried when I activate the Electri-grid security system. Buckle up, we’re leaving.”

As he left, Terrie turned to Paige and gave her a warm thumbs up. Paige grabbed her holdall and carefully placed the photo back into a side pocket. Before she left the room she gave Terrie a quick hug and ran down the corridor.

It was turning out to be a very busy day in Amagad City when the Berone Sunrise finally left the hangar bay and blasted its way vertically towards the blue skies above. Before take-off Terrie had requested use of the cockpits comm recording systems, refusing to tell Jan what for. He hated that, being kept in the dark on the verge of such an important operation. But, he thought, I should know better. Every time I wind up with these field agent types they always need to use the comm systems for check-ins and re-briefings. But I still hate it. Jans flying style usually reflected his mood, and as such the Sunrise blistered its way out of Amagads atmosphere, barely acknowledging the frantic alerts of Traffic Control warning him of an incoming Bulk Cruiser that was approaching the City. Along side him, and still in a foul mood, Frans adjusted the thrusters so Jan could execute the elegant manoeuvre of flipping the Sunrise on its side and scream past the Cruiser. They could both hear the excited hollering of Paige in her quarters as they jetted away.

Frans frowned.

“I guess we’re going to have this all the way to the Core.”

Jan turned to his fiancée and nodded.

“Well, you know what kids are like.”

“No, I don’t actually. You never wanted any, remember?”

Well, that’s killed the reconciliation dead in a heartbeat thought Jan sullenly. How the Stang could he explain that despite the presence of a teenager who claimed to be his daughter and a stunning field agent of Glann Cipples choosing being on board for the best part of two months that Frans was still the most important thing in his life? Can’t take her to the Yapya now.

“We’re coming out of Amagads atmosphere. When we’ve broke its gravitational influence I’ll plot our first hyperspace jump.”

Frans nodded without looking at Jan and began making the adjustments. Lomona kept looking at her, trying to get her attention but she obviously didn’t want to talk yet. He could hardly blame her. If a long-lost daughter she never knew turned up on board then I guess I’d not be too happy. Then again, if Frans has got a daughter she never knew she had then I think I’d question her long-term memory.

As he left the cockpit and made his way to the kitchen area he heard the sliding door of Terries quarters behind him. He continued walking.

“Captain, I’ve got details here for the first hyperspace jump. Glann’s given me a rundown of the quickest and safest routes to the Verlence Sector.”

“He shouldn’t have bothered. I’ve got jumps plotted that he doesn’t even know exist.”

“I’ll be sure to tell him that when we get back. But despite your obvious proficiency in hyperspatial astrogation we’re going to stick to the route Glann has mapped out for us.”

Angrily Jan stopped his walk and turned quickly on Terrie.

“Now look lady, I didn’t ask for any of this. You, the kid or the blasted hyperspace routes. Just cut me some slack and give me a chance to do my job.” He punched the controls to the cargo bay area. Terrie followed him in and shut the door too. It was dimly lit and refrigerated in the hold and Terrie wrapped her arms around herself.

“Captain…. Jan, I can understand your anger.”

“Well that’s a comfort.”

She took a deep breath and continued.

“Glann gave me these routes for a reason. He knows you could plot a trip like this without a nava-computer.” She stepped closer and continued to speak quietly. “Fact of the matter is, we’re supposed to be meeting three teams of field agents on the way to Abrogard. To make sure we’re progressing safely.”

Jan frowned. Why? It was a long but relatively simple journey to the Core Worlds, and Abrogard wasn’t far from a major hyperspace route like most of the Core. Even though Jan knew some inventive ways of arriving at the planet didn’t make it necessary to keep checking in every few days.

“Why bother? It’s a long enough trip as it is. Doesn’t Glann trust me? Or is there more to it than that?”

Terrie nodded and sat on a cargo container. Jan couldn’t help but notice how attractive she looked in her skin-tight jump suit.

“We both know Glann didn’t get where he is today without being paranoid. He knows this job would be worth a fortune to the operator who got it.”

Lomona sat next to her.

“Sorry, I’m confused. I thought D’Staan only contacted Glann about this route. What’s the problem if we’re the only team who know about it?”

Terrie stood up again and faced Jan. She paused, rubbing her hands together in thought and then continued.

“I really shouldn’t tell you this. I’ve been told to keep this information to essential personnel only, and you’re not essential personnel.”

Jan nodded his head. Obviously Terrie was seriously breaching protocol by telling him this information at all. He appreciated the gesture. Terrie continued.

“Before lift-off I contacted Glann. He re-briefed me with some disturbing new information. His intelligence agents believe there’s a spy within his operation. Now that’s no surprise, there are double agents everywhere. But Intelligence thinks this spy is within Glann’s Fortress itself.” She paused to let the enormity of the statement sink in with Jan. This was a surprise. Glann Cipple had the most efficient screening programme within the Setnin smuggling fraternity. If Glann didn’t know it then it probably wasn’t worth knowing. Jan knew this from personal experience. Before working for Glann he’d done a number of jobs for Jabba the Hutt. When he first worked for Glann he didn’t declare this, and Glann’s anger at one of his employees holding back the truth from him was plain to see. Jan learnt from his early error, and even though he continued doing jobs for Jabba out of the local sectors he told Glann when he came back for the next job. Usually. The thought of a spy within the walls of Glann’s own Fortress was…. unthinkable.

“They’re certain? There’s no mistake?”

“Shadow Warriors don’t make mistakes. It’s got to be an infiltrator. What Glann wants to do is weed him out into the open. Feed him a few tasty morsels; see which of the other major boss’ make a play on the information. That’s why Glann wants you to run the route off this disk. If the mole is as high level as he thinks it is then there’s a good chance they’ll know our destination points.”

“And this information was stolen when? A few hours ago?”

Terrie nodded.

“Just a few hours ago.” She confirmed.

Jan turned, wiping his forehead. Has it just got warmer in here?

“Please, don’t tell me the details of the D’Staan deal were stolen as well?”

“No, but as usual Glann had the details of your three stop-off points placed on his information system as soon as news of the D’Staan job came through. As a possible lure for any inquisitive snoops. Your stop-off points remain the same as before, so hopefully they’ve been taken with the rest of the information Glann placed there.”

“So me and my ship are the bait?”

“That’s right.”

Jan half smiled. It figured.

“We’ve named the mole Naaven, for obvious reasons.”

How fitting, thought Jan. Naaven Torr was one of Glann’s most trusted operatives until he thought he could make more money by selling his information to the Empire. He learned to his eternal pain that it was unwise to cross Glann Cipple. And everyone knew it – Glann had Naaven’s grizzly death broadcast across the sector.

“So where’s the first stop then? Best to plot the jump now and get this show on the road.”

“Make your first jump to the Yatchrare System. We’re going to Zelon.”

“Can I come in?” asked Jan, leaning against the doorframe of the open hatch to Paige’s room, silhouetted in the light. Paige rubbed her eyes wearily and sat up on the bed. They’d been in transit for about three hours. Stang, I must have nodded off.

“Of course.” She replied.

Jan stepped into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. In this light it struck him right away. She was the doppelganger of his younger cousin Sharn.

“I said you could travel with us as long as you worked your way.”

Paige nodded slowly, unsure of what this was leading to.

“Are you any good with a hydro-ratchet?”

This produced an immediate reaction from Paige and she glowed as she swung her long legs around to bring herself sitting next to Jan.

“Are you kidding? When I was a baby Mom gave me a hydro-spanner instead of a rattle! She always made sure I could look after myself, fix stuff, you know? Never know when the speeder’s going to blow a fusion pack.” She paused. “Some of her boyfriends were mechanics and outlaw techs. I had some good teachers.”

Jan nodded and stood as if to leave, then paused at the door. Was I anything like this when I was a kid he thought? Of course I was, only a hell of a lot cockier. At Paige’s age I was up to my elbows in engine grease and space tape. Fixing Skyhopper's with my old Trandoshian buddy Treesk. Jury-rigged so much of that old hopper it’s a wonder the accelerator ever recognised the fuel injectors. Won a heap of money prairie racing though. Whatever did happen to old Treesk…

“I love technical stuff,” said Paige, bringing Jan sharply back into focus, and the present.

“Why are you here? I mean really here?”

She frowned at him as if it was the most obvious question in the universe.

“To find my Dad. To find you.”

Jan seated himself on the bed edge again.

“Look kid, I’m not your Father. There’s been some kind of mistake. I’m….engaged to be married, I can’t have some kid turn up out of the blue like this.” Surprisingly Paige smiled.

“You weren’t so shy fifteen years ago. In fact, Mom said you were quite the opposite.”

Jan held her wry gaze and finally looked away with another smile.

“I’ve had my moments. If you have any sense you’ll have some too.”

Paige nodded thoughtfully.

“I’m really going to need more than your word to convince me that I’m your father.” Jan returned to his feet. “But until then you can come with me to the engine compartments. I want to see if you’re really as good with a ratchet as you say you are.”

With a renewed vigour Paige followed Jan to the door and through the lounge past Terrie who was playing Holo-chess with Aurran. She gave Terrie a grin and a wave.

“Checkmate, Miss Saffra.” drawled Aurran.

“Looks like it.”

Mid-afternoons on Amagad. Glann hated them. It was when the least happened. Never a dull night passed on this world, never dusk without some shady deal going down, or some scam being pulled. But the afternoons? The days certainly weren’t packed. Sequestered at his office desk Glann dismissed one of his most trusted accountants with a motion of his hand and activated some music. It was a choral suite performed by the Religious Order on Benizarra IV. Soothing. Relaxing. Comforting. It wasn’t working. Perhaps, Glann thought, I’ve simply got too much on my mind. Then again, the way business is going at the moment there won’t be much left to worry about. His work was many things to him. It was that which had made him one of the most powerful men in the Setnin Sector, if not the most powerful. It had afforded him luxuries beyond his wildest childhood dreams, given him entry to the most exclusive levels of society. As Governor of Amagad City he mixed with Moffs and Queens, Princes and Viceroys. And they all came to him. Glann, barring the most recent of exceptions, never left the massive confines of his city Fortress. Located at the top of the long extinct Mount Fava, his Fortress offered him a view of his beloved city below. Laid out like a glittering map of opportunity. He’d always been here, in open sight but never accessible. And therein lay the downside of his wild success. Glann could never walk the streets at night, take his beautiful wife for a stroll on the seafront, eat at the best restaurants in town, not without bodyguards and armed escorts at least. He simply never knew where the next laser blast was coming from. He accepted that he was, for a man who delved so deeply and so critically into the workings of the underworld, a lucky man. No, perhaps not. He’d always believed that you make your own luck. Fate was a fickle mistress at the best of times. He believed it was the key to his success that he had taken advantage of situations when they had presented themselves to him, and wasn’t adverse to a little underhand manipulation when required. If the good and the honest get ahead purely on the gifts life gave them, then why not cheat to get ahead? Cheating was the gift man gave to himself. And Glann had been very generous indeed.

He was disturbed by the sound of the doors to his office softly opening.

“Leave, whoever you are.”

Whoever didn’t listen and came in anyway. Almost immediately he realised who it was, even with his eyes closed. That soft, cinnamon scent could only belong to one woman - his beloved wife Bella. She was the only woman in the galaxy with that perfume, and the only one who’d dare ignore his order to get out. And he’d have it no other way. Bella was a headstrong ex-smuggler herself, a supportive wife, mother to his hidden daughter Bessa and his best friend. And his closest counsel. Sometimes he thought she was all there was in this world that kept him from going insane. She was his rock and his hiding place. She stopped behind his Krayt-leather chair, arms folded. Glann opened one eye to look at her.

“Has it started?” Bella asked.

“Has what started?” He replied coyly.

“Your crazy D’Staan mission,” She snapped back, striding over to one of the couches along the art-adorned walls. Glann was a connoisseur of art from around the galaxy and his office housed some of the great works from the past four thousand years, from before the time of the Empire when the Republic was at its height. Before there was even a Setnin Sector. Simpler times. Bella seated herself and crossed her legs under a Pimoll original, a piece Glann had acquired during the Clone Wars. He loved it almost as much as he loved his wife. He’d lost his heart to Bella three years ago - to acquire the painting he’d almost lost his life.

“I take it from your tone that you disapprove? Of what, the mission or my choice of envoy?”

She shook her head angrily.

“Dealing with D’Staan after what he did across you, that’s bad enough. Sending that overgrown cub-cadet Lomona, that’s beyond belief. Why send him? What makes you think that he’ll pull off a deal with D’Staan that you couldn’t twenty years ago?”

Glann’s face betrayed no emotion. Bella stood and walked to the window to look outside as a Stock Light Freighter eased its way out of one of the docking bays and blasted away.

“Why not send one of your other men?”

“Who would you suggest?” He said flatly.

“Feese. Or Melm. Or Tunnil Fulle, or Goah Galletti.”

“I don’t want D’Staan assassinated, I want to strike a deal with him.”

Bella had just named Glann’s four most lethal assassins. Sending any one of them would spark an inter-stellar incident, all four of them being notorious well known outside the confines of the Setnin Sector. Anyway, they were all too well trained in the art of stealth for this mission and that wouldn’t suit Glann’s purposes at all.

“I chose Captain Lomona for a number of reasons. He has experience at matters such as this. He’s knowledgeable of D’Staan and his operation. He has a thousand contacts from here to the Core. He’s too proud to fail me and he understands the importance of the mission.” Glann stood to join Bella at the window. “He was the logical choice. Besides, our field agent Miss Saffra has been instructed to keep Captain Lomona in check if he steps out of line.”

Bella glanced at him.

“How’s she going to do that?”

Glann’s mouth twitched slightly. How’s an attractive young woman going to persuade Jan Lomona to do as he’s told? Hmmm.

“I wouldn’t know.”

She caught the gleam of Zelon's powerful sun as she glided over the lush forests surrounding Mutumbarr Lake, and with a thrust of her retros the Berone Sunrise began her descent towards the pyramid-like mega complex of Chancai. Jan smiled as he bathed in the glow from the warm red sunlight that filtered in through the cockpit window. Chancai was more than a second home to him. Its twenty-six stories, each a hundred meters high and bustling with commerce and life had been the first home he’d known after he left his birth planet of A-desando. It was here he’d come to find the swashbuckling lifestyle he’d read about as a young boy and seen on late night Holo-vids. Through his work he would frequently spend many days here, and Chancai was never anything less than interesting. Anything could be bought within the confines of this trade city, anything at all. Eleven major crime bosses including Glann Cipple, Jabba the Hutt, Jomobol Pocock, Dressel and Mister Spyte all ran operations through here. The Empire placed huge tax levies on Chancai to fund their projects on this side of the Mid-Rim. And most importantly to Jan, it was one of only four locations in the known universe to house a Yapya Restaurant. Must see if Frans is talking to me yet, he thought. Lomona already knew Glann’s operative on Chancai, so without having to be told he steered the Sunrise to the docking bays on Level 12, Southside.

“You seem to know where we’re going better than I do Captain,” noted Terrie with a hint of admiration in her voice. “I take it you know the operative Glann has installed on Chancai?”

“It was me who suggested him for the job.” Jan said as he turned to the comm panel and sent out his transponder codes to the Zelon Wave Exchange, the local traffic control agency. “He has a sister who works as a lawyer on Level 9. Dallagra Lawyer Services.”

That brought up a smile from Frans who had so far spent the five-hour hop from Amagad to Zelon in silence. Trace Dallagra was a good friend of hers and a trusted confidante. Then again, if you can’t trust a lawyer who can you trust?

“Then I suggest you contact your friend and arrange to meet him at a convenient location.”

This time Jan and Frans both managed a smile.

“It’s alright, “ said Frans. “We know exactly where he’ll be.”

“You try getting through life with a name like Boba. See how happy it makes you.” Boba Dallagra grumbled as he downed the third Flameout of his latest drinking session. Jan had to smile at his friend. Only Boba could get a peachy assignment like Chancai and grumble about his name. Throughout his entire career Boba Dallagra had been given the dirty end of the stick, and now finally after almost twenty years of loyal service Glann had decided to give him one of his most prestigious assignments. And true to form he was still grumbling.

“Time for some introductions,” said Jan as he reached over the table for another hand full of Cockons. “This is my assistant Terrie Saffra, she’s accompanying me on this mission.”

Jan gave Frans a sly grin, which she returned when they saw the look of total hate on Terrie’s face for the millisecond it lasted. Boba acknowledged her with a tilt of his head and then turned to Paige.

“And who is this bright young jewel, eh Jan? Another assistant?”

Paige glanced at Jan with a nervous, expectant look. Jan smiled at her.

“She’s a trainee technician, for the moment. If she proves her worth she might become one of the crew.”

Paige beamed at that, and Terrie finally caught Frans’ eye, both of them exchanging a first smile.

“Anyway old buddy. I haven’t travelled all the way from Amagad to spend the day sitting in a bar with you chatting about old times. We have business to discuss.”

“We sure do Jan. Serious business. The Dropout Parlour is too obvious a location for us to talk. These walls have ears and sometimes they have teeth. Meet me at Grabby’s Gunshop at 20.00 hours. I’ll let him know we’re coming.”

Lomona nodded at this. Boba was making perfect sense. Even though he and Frans knew where to find their old friend, Zythlies Dropout Parlour was too open a place to talk shop. Besides, Jan frequented these bars so often they’d never get a chance to talk. He’d have to stop every few minutes to catch up on old times with another spacer who’d been out of town for months. Jan chugged his ale down in one with a flourish and stood to go, Paige doing the same. Frans and Terrie followed moments later, and soon the quartet had exited Zythlies.

It was mid-afternoon on Chancai, a city of fourteen million inhabitants that truly never slept. Jan had never known it to be anything other than overcrowded and swarming with aliens, droids and people from thousands of worlds. Nevertheless, as soon as they hit the street Jan and Terrie knew they were being watched. Jan took Frans’ hand in his as they strolled innocuously down the walkway. Terrie hung back behind them, Paige just ahead, her eyes open in wonder at the colours and smells she was experiencing, doubtless for the first time. Jan watched her.

“Makes you think doesn’t it,” said Frans as they turned the corner and made their way towards the docking bays. “If things had been different in our lives.”

“What do you mean?” Jan asked.

“Well, it’s not unreasonable to think if things had been a little different, maybe we’d have a daughter the same age as Paige.” She gripped his arm just a little tighter.

“Don’t you ever wonder?”

Jan shook his head slowly.

“I keep telling you. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He stopped in his tracks and turned to face Frans as Terrie moved past. “We’re assuming a lot here. She’s been with us for half a day. I’ve hardly said a word to her. It’s upset you and if it had happened any other day and I wasn’t so rushed then I’d’ve probably booted her off the ship.”

“That’s what I don’t understand about all of this. If you don’t think she’s your daughter then why are you letting her stay on board? It’s not as if you were in a good mood this morning.”

Can’t argue with that Jan thought.

“I don’t know. Gut feeling. The old Lomona family sixth sense. Some things you said about settling down were running through my mind last night, some things Glann said. Hell, even something Terrie said made me think.”

Frans frowned at that, and Jan nudged her under the chin to raise her face to his. “You really don’t like her, do you?”

“What makes you say that? We haven’t spoke yet.” She stopped again and took a breath. “It’s just that I’ve got a bad feeling about this whole job and now that we’ve got a strange kid we know nothing about and one of Glann’s agents along for the ride…. I don’t know. I just wish it was you and me.”

Jan hugged her tightly.

“So do I honey. But Glann insisted and he can be very insistent when he wants to. This could be the most vital trade route for his operation yet. And think about it, if I’m the guy who pulls it off and gets the deal for Glann then we’re looking at big credits. The high life at last.”

She started to laugh, but stopped quickly as Jan placed his finger over her red lips.

“What is it?” She asked. He began to walk along again, still with one arm around her waist but with his other hand concealed in his pocket. Frans noticed the motion and did likewise, her hand brushing the butt of her pistol.

“The creep we spotted following us has just backed off. He’d stopped in a doorway when we were talking but he’s not there now.” Jan looked ahead. “Where’s Terrie and Paige?”

Frans looked around but she couldn’t see them either. They gave each other a knowing look.

Trouble.

“Remember those moves you were going to show me earlier?” Terrie glanced at Paige as she laid the second bruiser out with a vicious high kick to the head and spun to face another attacker.

“Vaguely,” breathed Paige as she poked the Bith painfully in its four eyes and backed off to the turn in the corridor. Come on Dad!

“Well now would be a good time to show me, we’ve got more company coming.” From down the roadway they could hear the approaching footsteps of more people; steel toe-capped boots ready for action. Terrie wasn’t prepared to risk Paige’s young life just because she’d had the bad fortune to be born to one of the most notorious smugglers on this side of the Rim. Grabbing her hand she threw a final punch at an attacking Barabel and ran for it.

Mid-afternoon on Chancai was traditionally the busiest time for trade. It was when most of the new deliveries arrived from the busy trade lanes, when most of the shift rotations occurred, when the bars began to build up towards their evening hours. For a world with a 27-hour day, and a city with total climate, light and atmospheric control a busy period was unusual. Terrie and Paige were running straight into the middle of it.

“This way,” Urged Terrie as they delved deeper into the surging throng of people. Paige threw a glance over her shoulder. She could see the pursuing men following her but she was trying desperately to locate Jan. He was nowhere to be seen. Sure, she trusted Terrie as much as you could trust someone you’d known for a day, but she feared she’d never find Jan again. To spend two years searching every scummy starport in the sector only to lose him again within hours, that wasn’t just any old bad luck. It had to be the famous Lomona Bad Luck. Pity it hadn’t skipped a generation.

“Come on Paige, this is no time for looking over your shoulder.”

Paige nodded and concentrated on her running. There was no doubt about it; they were making their way deeper and deeper into the labyrinthine maze of Chancai's trading district. One wrong turn in here and it could be goodnight. For both of them. “Head for that shop over there and hide in the doorway, I’ve got a plan.”

Without a word Paige sprinted easily over to the door and waited, crouching down to hide herself. Being an A-desandian marked her out from the average crowd, and she was tall for her age. In a few years she might be as tall as Frans, perhaps even her Father.

If she ever found him again.

Terrie spun around in the road, trying to scope out where her assailants were coming from. She definitely marked out three still on their tail. Paige had incapacitated one, Terrie three more. That made seven that she knew of. She smiled to herself confidently. No mole would alert a strike team of seven to take us out so obviously in a populated place like Chancai; it’s far too amateurish a manoeuvre. Surely that rules out these goons being privy to the information on the disk, so who the hell are they? It didn’t making any sense, but once she had one of the men to interrogate then she’d get some answers. And she knew some damned effective techniques. A small circle had formed in the street. While it was doubtful anyone would get directly involved Zelonians loved a fight. Better still a fight where their own noses wouldn’t get bloodied. She’d give them a fight all right.

The first, an angry looking Devaronian, came at her swinging some sort of steel bar. She easily dodged the swing and came in low underneath it, inside his guard. Surprised, it tried to grab at her but she was too fast and a swift upper cut with the heel of her hand put the alien onto the floor. Roaring wildly the jet-black hided Belrath came at her next, its huge arms outstretched ready to connect and stun her. Terrie waited until the massive alien was almost on top of her and then ducked, swinging out a long supple leg, which caught the Belrath around the ankles and sent it tumbling into the base of a news kiosk. It didn’t move. Straightening up, she lunged agilely at the third attacker, a female human whose face was contorted into a frenzied mask of hatred. She punched out at Terrie, who didn’t quite step back in time and took the blow right on the chin. Staggered she reeled back and bumped into the crowd who’d gathered. Wiping the blood off her lips she grinned back at the woman who was goading her back into the fray and slinked forward. With a massive cheer the crowd edged in, tightening the fight area. Paige struggled to get closer, to be near Terrie if she needed assistance, but the throng was too concentrated and she had to peer over their heads to see the fight develop.

Terrie rolled with the next punch, minimising the impact but losing her balance and putting her to the floor with a bump. She got to her feet immediately but the woman was upon her right away, getting her in a headlock and jerkily tightening the grip. Terrie’s air was jarred away and the panic of asphyxiation soon began its black-rimmed assault on her senses. She kicked out with her legs weakly, pawing at the steel-like grip she was in. The people seemed to be receding away from her at a rapidly increasing rate. The ceiling overhead was beginning to ripple like the pond I used to have at home, the one me and little Aisha used to play in…No! Can’t black out, must fight it. She dug her fingers into the woman’s arm as hard as she could. The fingertips felt like sponge, her arms tingling, but she quickly realised they were swathed in blood and the screams that were getting louder weren’t only the woman who was trying in vain to extract Terries fingers from the flesh on her arm but the crowd, who were hungry for blood and getting it. With a gasp she twisted the arm from around her neck and tightened her grip. Shouting profanities in some hideously archaic language the woman tried to yank free but Terrie was having none of it. With a final tug she brought the woman toward her and neatly jabbed a nerve cluster in her neck to knock her out cold. She slumped to the floor at Terrie’s feet.

“Paige?” Terrie called wearily over the whoops and hollers of the crowd that were beginning to recede. Paige managed to push her way through the wall of people and took Terrie by the arm, who was doubled over trying to get her breath.

“Deep breaths Terrie. Keep it steady and regular.”

Terrie looked up.

“Where’d you learn to be a medic, huh?”

“In Moms bar. When you sober up drunks you get to know these things.”

Terrie smiled again and lifted the unconscious woman under the arms. Paige took the feet and together they moved through the crowd.

“Head for that alley way over there,” whispered Terrie coarsely, “It leads to another block of buildings. I’ll take care of her in there.”

“I can’t see either of them. They must have taken a different route.”

Jan shook his head as he sidled up to Frans and looked around again.

“C’mon, you know this place as well as I do. There isn’t another route off this block. No, we’ve lost them for now.” He thumped his leg in irritation. “Dammit, why’d I go to sleep like that?”

“Thanks. I thought you were talking to me.”

Lomona kicked himself. Just when he thought he’d placated her he put his foot firmly in it again.

“That’s not what I meant. I can’t afford to not stay alert on this job. Remember what Boba said, the walls have ears and sometimes teeth.”

Frans smiled.

“How poetic.” She placed her hand on her concealed blaster again and began to walk.

“Where are you going?”

“To the Sunrise. Why, were you going to stand here all day till they came strolling past? Or do you want to announce yourself to the entire Chancai underworld?”

She had a point. The odds on them coming back this way were pretty slim, and Jan didn’t know how well Terrie knew the terrain of Chancai. For all he knew Paige might be the expert.

“You’re right. Let’s get back; try to figure out where they’ve gone. I’ll call Boba and Grabby, see if they’ve heard anything.” He paused and then broke out into a wide and mischievous grin.

“What is it Lomona?” she admonished.

“I just thought. We’ve got the ship to ourselves.”

“Lead the way hotshot.”

Both blast doors slid aside smoothly and silently as Terrie and Paige hauled the unconscious woman inside. From a distance a few from the crowd had followed to see where they were taking her, but when they’d entered these rear alleys they backed off. Few people were around before Terrie located the seemingly hidden wall panel and keyed in the access code. Paige took a furtive glance at the outside world before the blast doors closed once more.

It was a small rear stock room. One chair was waiting in the centre, a sink to one side and some empty cargo containers by the wall. It was an unusual place to find such things and Paige couldn’t hide her unease at the situation.

“What are you going to do with her?” She asked cautiously. Terrie had been awfully quiet on the short haul here. Paige didn’t know how she reacted to situations like this and was beginning to dread finding out. Terrie unzipped the top of her body suit, sliding out of the sleeves and rolling it down to her waist. Wiping her brow she tied the sleeves into a knot above her hips, leaving her wearing a form-fitting, sweat-soaked cut-off vest. She motioned for Paige to stand against the rear wall and heaved the woman up onto the chair.

“Throw me those binders.” Terrie caught them neatly as Paige tossed them across the room and secured the woman into the seat. She was beginning to come round and Terrie wanted her immobile before she could pose another threat. One good brawl a day was enough for her. Wordlessly, Terrie exited the room through a side door. Paige heard her footsteps echo away into the distance until she could hear them no more. Great, she thought angrily. How much worse can today get? Does she want me to interrogate the prisoner or what? Just as she thought it the woman began to regain consciousness. Paige shrank against the wall, trying to make herself invisible but it was too late. She was alert and awake.

“Where am I?” she asked weakly. Looking around the rate of her breathing began to increase, her eyes darting around the room until they fell upon Paige. “Are you here to question me? I swear I know nothing!” She was sounding desperate and Paige didn’t know what to do or say. It was as if the woman had been in this situation before and couldn’t bear the experience again. “I’m a street thief, I swear! I know nothing!”

Paige’s’ heart was beating faster and faster in her chest as the woman struggled with her bonds, trying desperately to escape, her agitated cries echoing around the room. With relief Paige made out the sound of footsteps coming down the hall from where Terrie had gone. Was that more than one pair? She couldn’t be sure, but her edging around the room had taken her out of the woman’s line of sight and behind the cargo containers. When the door opened she was hidden.

“Paige?”

It was Terrie, and Paige came from behind the box to stand next to her. Just outside the door she noticed a tall alien, possibly a Twi’lek, she couldn’t be sure.

“Let’s wait outside. My friend needs to ask the lady a few questions.” Terrie’s tone of voice told Paige that she wouldn’t want to hear the type of questions her friend would be asking.

And the screams she heard from the room as she ran down the corridor were not the answers she would have desired.

“What time is it?” asked Jan with a panicked edge in his voice. Frans leaned over and picked up the small chrono by the side of the bed.

“It’s 19.39. Why, what’s the rush?”

“What’s the rush? Apart from meeting Grabby at 20.00?” He swung himself out of bed and quickly pulled his jeans and shirt on.

“Oh stang, I forgot.” Frans rolled out of the other side and pulled her dress on over her head, zipping it up the back and grabbing her leather jacket. Jan was already out of the bedroom.

“I’ll have to carry on ahead. Comm Boba and tell him I’m running behind. Make up an excuse, any excuse. Just don’t tell him we were in bed or I’ll never hear the end of it.”

Frans grinned as she tossed him his blaster and belt down the corridor.

“Don’t worry lover. It’s not as if you were sleeping on the job.”