Chapter Three

   “I trust Soli just about as far as I can throw him.”

Jan looked over his shoulder as Terrie moved behind him to check another of the diagnostic displays in the Sunrise’s cockpit.  He eyed her closely as she ran her finger down the display to find the readout she wanted and then turned away.  Jan kept watching, knowing that she was oblivious to his stare.

   “Enjoy the view Captain.  When we get to Maquina you’re on the couch.”

   “Sofa, so good.  I can live with that.”

Terrie grinned as she took the co-pilots seat and placed her data pad on the console.  Hyperspace streaked by with a flourish as Maquina and their mission trawled ever closer.  They remained silent for a while, both of them used to the endless hours of hyperspace travel that they had both taken throughout their careers.  Many of Terrie’s had been within the cramped cockpit of an X-Wing fighter, or some other similar vehicle.  Lomona’s had almost exclusively been within freighters, be it the Sunrise, the Crusader or his first ship the Trooper.  Many pilots worried about the dangers of going space happy, that the time spent watching the distant stars fly by could send them into an almost hypnotic trance from which they might never wake up.  Jan also had his concerns about this when he was a teenage pilot doing the runs throughout the inner worlds of Setnin, but not now.  This realm was his ocean and the slips of light were truly his stars to guide by.  Jan felt that if he ever lost the use of his Astrogation instruments that he could still make a fist of navigating his way through hyperspace.  It wasn’t the case, he knew that in his head, but in his heart this was as much of a home to him as anywhere else.

Terrie leaned forward and absentmindedly reached for Jan’s jet juice.  He smiled as she did so, pulling the small flask free of its holder and popping the lid.  She took a slug and handed it to Jan, her eyes never leaving the view before them.  Jan took it, sipped a mouthful and handed it back.  Only a handful of folks know where I keep that.  She must have really felt at home here. 

   “So, Commander.  What do you think about Soli?”

   “I might tell you if we can stop addressing each other by rank.”

Jan raised his eyebrows and his palms in a conciliatory motion.

   “Sorry Terrie.  I just thought you’d like to keep it on a formal, professional basis.”

Terrie half smiled at that.

   “Of course I do…it’s just that we’re supposed to be a married couple and if we’re playing mister and missus in the local hotel and you call me Commander – “

   “Then the night porter is going to be listening with interest outside our door.  I get it.”

   “No, you don’t get it.  But that’s close enough.”

Aurran, Lomona’s old droid moved through into the cockpit and busied himself with some systems work.  Even though they both knew that digression was Aurran’s middle name they still felt inhibited talking about private matters in his presence.  Aurran was like the old family uncle to Jan, and Terrie had come to like the old droid during her time aboard the Sunrise seven years ago.  Even though they had agreed to keep things on a formal basis – work only – it was easy for them to reminisce about their times on Abrogard.  And then, the conversation could get a little…complicated.

   “Do you require anything Master Lomona?  Some food or a top up?”  He motioned towards Jans empty cup of Chav.  Jan and Terrie shook their heads and Jan grinned at Aurran.

   “I think we’re okay for now old pal.  Go check on Troopie and sort out that hydraulics leak down in engineering.  I don’t think it’s much but I want it done before we arrive.”

   “And when will that be?”

   “Seven hours.”  Answered Terrie.  Aurran nodded back and left the cockpit, allowing the doors to swoosh too behind him. 

   “He’s still a sweet old droid.”  Said Terrie as she swung her legs onto the seat and tucked them underneath her.  Jan nodded and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

   “He’s the best companion I could have wished for, especially these last few days.  I don’t know, he always seems to know what to say, what to do.  If I hadn’t told him about that leak in engineering he’d have fixed it anyway.”  Jan gave an ironic laugh.  “Everyone associates me with this ship, but I think if I wasn’t here the damn thing would run just fine without me.”

Terrie looked back out of the window at the stars passing by.  She was about to make a point but sucked it back in before she started.  Jan noticed this and turned in his chair to face her.

   “What?”

   “What what?”

   “You were going to say something.”

Terrie faltered.

    “No I wasn’t…”

Jan grinned and sat straight in his seat.

   “Terrie, you were.  Come on, spit it out.  What is it?”

Terrie closed her eyes and looked down.  Dammit, that was so amateur. Think, think. 

   “Okay.  You’re not going to like this, but…I happen to think General Soli is a fine officer.”

Jan blinked and shook his head.  What!

   “You’re kidding right?  Soli?  He’s as crooked as a Hutt sponsored Pod Race.”

   “You don’t know him Jan – “

Jan shook his head again and leaned forward.

   “No Terrie, I don’t think you know him.  He’s the slimiest piece of work this side of the Core.  If I didn’t know better I’d swear he was – “

This time Terrie cut Jan off.

   “What?  You’d swear he was what?”

Jan gritted his teeth and stood to his feet in anger.

   “Ahh, nothing.  You wouldn’t want to hear my opinion.  After all, I’m just some lowly smuggler.”

Terrie lifted herself to her feet and stood toe to toe with Lomona, her head barely reaching his chin.

   “Listen Captain, I never made any comments about you being a smuggler.  I worked for Glann Cipple, remember.  But I do know what you’re about.”

   “Oh yeah?  And what’s that then?”

Terrie fought the twin temptations to kiss him or kill him and instead spun on her heel and moved to the door.

   “You’re all about looking out for number one.”  She stepped out of the cockpit and shot him a venomous glare as the door closed.  “And to hell with everyone else.”

The door clanged with a metallic finality as Jan welled his fist into a ball and thumped the back of his seat.  He hated being played like that and it took him right back to their travels before.  No one, not even Frans had the capability to get under his skin like Terrie.  That woman could lead you down the golden street to the Promised Land and still leave you in hell.

He steadied his breathing to a regular pace and watched the stars go by.

Somehow they held little comfort.

   “Thank you Private.  I’d like to be alone for a while.”

Private Tyrahh nodded to her superior and left room 101 to the darkness and General Soli.  As the door closed Soli initiated the sequence of codes and locks that would connect him with the New Republic agent on Maquina.  A minute of checks and password entries passed and then he was connected.

Soli took a deep cleansing breath.  This was the seventh team to travel out to the dusty, arid planet of Maquina.  None had achieved their goal; none had managed to bring back the lost rebel soldiers.  He had told Lomona that New Republic command had only recently realised that they were being held captive, but that was a blatant lie.  It was only a few months after the soldiers had been captured on Durathosin that the first team was dispatched to save them, but that had been a failure.  As had the next five operations.  But even Soli, with his intense dislike for Jan Lomona, his method of operation and everything he stood for, believed that this team stood the best chance of bringing back the three men, who he knew were still alive and thriving within the prisoner of war camp situated in the centre of Maquina’s main town.  Intelligence agents had been keeping a close tag on them, but had never got close enough to free them.  Only a team working from the inside would stand a chance of liberating them, and with the silky skills of Terrie Saffra and the streetwise knowledge of Jan Lomona this might be the team that achieved that goal.

The line crackled and burst with a flash of static.  Soli waited patiently for the line to clear and when it did he spoke with an even, measured voice.

   “Abajee in the grass to Hariam in the field.  Abajee in the grass to Hariam in the field.  I await your reply.”

   “Abajee in the grass, this is Hariam in the field.  The line is secure.  We can talk but leave out any names.”

Soli nodded in satisfaction.

   “Agent…are you prepared for their arrival?”

   “All contingencies are in place.  Once they arrive the operation should proceed smoothly.  My men are in position and we believe we may have located a sympathiser within the prison.”

Soli leaned forward at this revelation.  A sympathiser within the prison?  This could complicate things…

   “Proceed as you see fit agent.  I know I can leave this operation to your careful ministrations.”

Soli heard the gruff snort of laughter down the line and decided to ignore it.  For the time being.

   “As ever I’m gratified by your confidence in my abilities.”

Soli laced his fingers together and leaned back into his seat.

   “Well, when you can’t trust a fellow believer who can you trust?”

Soli received no answer, nor did he expect one.  The line fell dead, the static abated and Soli was once again left to wallow in his thoughts.  Alone in the darkness.

Terrie felt the thump of compression as the Berone Sunrise dropped out of hyperspace, and from experience knew that Jan had brought them out on the leading edge of a planetary atmosphere.  It was a ploy that many smugglers, bounty hunters and other characters of ill repute used on a regular basis, but few did it with such panache as Lomona.  She checked herself as she rolled off the bed to her feet and ran her fingers through her dark brown hair, which ran past her shoulders.  Leaving her quarters she turned right and made the short walk to the cockpit.

Jan didn’t turn when she entered.  His concentration was fixed firmly upon the sandy world of Maquina, which totally filled the cockpit windows.  Terrie silently sat beside him and scanned the controls, taking the sensor readings and checking for traffic in the vicinity.  Jan glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and continued with the landing.  He knew exactly where they were headed and was following the beacons that would lead him there, all the while aware that Imperial vehicles would likely be in the area.  Terrie kept her eyes firmly on the sensors, not wanting to initiate another argument with Jan.    They had enough of a mission ahead if them freeing the soldiers without making another mountain to climb.  If Jan wants to make things difficult, then that’s fine by me.  I have a job to do and I’m going to do it.  Ignorant smuggler or not.

The thin clouds fluffed away as the Sunrise burned through the atmosphere towards the main city of the planet.  Maquina spaceport was easily identifiable – most of the traffic was either heading away from or towards that location.  Freighters, bulk transports, personal vehicles of every kind.  Jan even spotted a few star yachts among the throng of ships leaving the surface.  And scattered along the periphery were H-shaped blurs of TIE Fighters, monitoring the activity with the calculated attention of drone insects.  

The console illuminated with the beacon for Port Bay 264A and Jan dipped the nose towards it.  Moments later they were ferried into a loop of traffic circling the port and Jan eased the main engines down and brought the powerful repulsors on line.  Even from this height they had enough capability to keep the Sunrise in the stack as she worked her way down to the port bay.  A break in the traffic cleared and Jan was instructed to take her down into the bay.  Within a minute the Sunrise was cooling, steam venting from various ports and apertures.

   “Better grab our stuff and make a move.”  Jan turned to Terrie who waited in silence as the sound of the engines and repulsors whined down.  She nodded and stood to her feet.  Jan paused for a second and took her by the arm.  “Okay, let me get this right. From now on we’re a married couple?”

   “That’s right.”

Jan slipped an arm around her waist and smiled his cockiest grin.

   “So I guess we’d better start acting like we’re married.”

Terrie cocked her head to one side and frowned at him.

   “We’re arguing.  That’s a pretty good impression of a married couple.”

Jan noticed Aurran waiting by the door and raised his eyebrows.  The old droid nodded and stepped away as Terrie passed him in the corridor.  Jan patted him on the shoulder as he hefted his holdall onto his shoulder.

   “She’s quite correct sir.”

   “About what?”

   “Marriage.  A pointless procedure.”

Jan frowned and shook his head.

   “What makes you say that?”

   “Well sir, given your propensity for initiating arguments you wouldn’t notice the difference.”

Jan laughed a short laugh and pointed towards the cockpit.

   “Take care of the ship.”

Aurran’s gears whirred into motion as he followed Jan to the top of the ramp and watched him stride down it to join Terrie who waited for him at the foot.

   “I always do.”

Maquina City was busier than Terrie had been told it would be, and the mass of people passing through caught her by surprise.  Races and faces of every kind were on display – races from Setnin, the Mid-Rim and far beyond.  She frowned as they turned left out of the spaceport and worked their way along the one-way system towards the main square.  From memory she knew the layout of the city.  Committing maps to memory was never a problem to one like Terrie who had been born and raised on the forest world of Carlin.  Streets and roads were rare on that world.  Dusty tracks and paths were the norm.  But still, the mass of people bothered her.  Her intelligence files distinctly told her that the city was moderately populated, but not bursting to capacity.

Jan took Terrie’s hand as they approached the underpass that would take them under the busy speederway and onto the opposite side of the road.  The road was busy, with the furnace blast of high noon approaching and it seemed to him that all these people wanted to get out of the sun as quickly as possible.  Not that he could blame them.  Maquina was just another stop on his travels throughout the Mid-Rim.  Another world that he could say Yeah, I’ve been there.  It’s a dump.  After years of smuggling and running they all blurred into one generic world – the desert one, the forest one, the metal one, the water world.  This was another desert world to Jan.  Dry streets, hot sun.  But Maquina, he knew, would prove to be more problematic than most other desert worlds he’d visited.  It just came down to how prepared he was for what it would throw at him and Terrie.

The street twisted and turned but continued to head west towards the edges of the massive square they were aiming for.  Jan took a glance at the sun above, its light glinting against the metal aerials littering the rooftops and watched the lazy passage of ships as they drifted by.  TIE Fighters were visible through the ships, as were the relatively innocuous scatterings of Stormtroopers on Maquina’s streets.  Jan turned back to Terrie, manoeuvring her around a group of people congregated by the turn into the underpass.

   “Even the underpass is packed,” noted Terrie as they began to pick their way through beggars, street performers and other assorted types.  Jan squeezed her hand tight and smiled down at her.

   “Best place to keep out of the sun.”  He checked ahead and behind.  “You’re right though, it is busy.  Must be some kind of festival on, a religious holiday or something.”

   “I doubt it.  Have you seen how many species there are here?  I haven’t seen such a mix this side of Coruscant.”

   “I wouldn’t know, I’ve only been there once.”

Terrie raised her eyebrows in surprise as she looked up at him.

   “Really?  A pilot as widely travelled as you has only been to the central system once.  Why Captain, you do surprise me.”

   “I’m full of surprises.  And don’t call me Captain again or it’ll be more than just the night porter listening at the door.”

Terrie nodded and leaned in to Jan.

   “Sorry hubby.  It won’t happen again.”

They were ten metres short of the exit to the cool underpass when Jan felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise, and his hands go cold.  Terrie immediately sensed the tension shoot through him and released his hand, her own hand dropping to her hip and the blaster that hung there.  Four beggar- types had stood to their feet and blocked the exit, three behind.  Others sat silently on the floor as if they were the audience to some kind of bizarre street theatre.  Jan came to a halt and narrowed his eyes.

   “You guys got a problem?”

The leader, a gruff looking Janite with a hairless head and white eyeballs brought his weapon, a hefty looking wooden club up into his hands and patted it into his palm.

   “No.  But you have.”

Jan rolled his eyeballs and grinned as he looked down at Terrie who stood beside him, body tensed for action.

   “Oh please, come on.  You’ve got to have a better threat than that.  How’d you expect to get into the Thieves Guild with a line like that.”

The Janite frowned and stepped forward, his three men following him.

   “Because we always back it up.”

Terrie shook her shoulders free of tension and moved her neck from side to side.

   “Well I guess it’s not your lucky day then, is it?”

Before Jan could move Terrie had spun around and launched herself into the three attackers who were moving in from behind.  They hit the deck with a thump and Terrie had punched the first one into unconsciousness before Jan had a chance to open his attack.  He turned to check on her.

   “You okay?”

   “I’m busy right now look out!”

Jan just managed to dodge the club as it swung towards his head, missing him and striking one of the three who’d attacked Terrie full in the chest.  He wheezed like a broken doll to the ground and remained still as Jan threw a backhanded fist out, catching the clubman in the face and edging him back.  Lomona kicked another in the chest with the sole of his large boot, knocking him clean off his feet and into the underpass’ wall.  Three down, four to go he thought.  Terrie had gripped her final attackers by the throat and was pummelling his face into the palm of her hand, the blood welling around his nose and lips until his eyes lost focus and he slipped into darkness.  Jan tackled his third attacker around the waist, lifting him off his feet and slamming him into the wall with a whack, leaving a dent in the plaster and a groan as he hit the deck.  Terrie came to his side and motioned at the two remaining men, the Janite still defiantly holding his club and the other nervously edging back towards the exit and the sunlight outside.

   “Still think it was a good line?”  Asked Jan as the Janite turned towards his comrade just as he decided to bolt for safety.   Narrowing his white eyes he stabbed a bony finger at Jan and Terrie and began to back away.

   “This isn’t over.  My turf, my rules.”

   “Don’t worry pal.  Next time we’ll hail a taxi.”

   “Lomona has arrived on Maquina.”

General Soli shook his head slowly, in both annoyance and mute acknowledgement at the news.

   “I was already aware of that.  Why disturb me at this hour?”

   “Just some new information I thought may be of some interest to you.  Six street beggars are currently receiving medical attention in the cities central hospital.   I’m sure their medical insurance doesn’t cover them for attack by A-desandian smugglers, but then that’s not our problem, is it?”

Soli rubbed the back of his neck and growled softly to himself.  Now I know how Glann Cipple felt.  Lomona was a man that Soli, in reality, had little contact with but he always managed to give him a blistering headache.  A street brawl within an hour of arriving.  Soli paused as the static continued.  Could Terrie Saffra really manage to contain a man like Lomona?  After all, she hardly knew him and the smuggler could be a handful even to those who had the displeasure of knowing him for many years.  This was a vital mission – any divulgence of their presence to the Imperials on Maquina would badly compromise the mission, for the seventh time.  They had to appear to be merely a married couple on a vacation to the planet, nothing more.  With Lomona kicking his way through the local population like a Hardball pro they had little to no chance of achieving that.

   “Keep close tabs on them, especially Lomona.  Saffra I trust.  Lomona I trust just about as far as I can throw him.”

The static abated into silence and Soli leaned back into his bunk with the weariness of a man who could see the future unravel into a miasma of confusion and dismay.