Star Wars - The Trouble With Squibs Read online

  Leia and Han exchanged nervous glances, then Han said, “How we heard isn’t important. We might be interested in buying it.”

  “That so?” Lebauer shrugged, “No harm in looking, I guess.” He glanced at his associates and smirked. “It might even be educational.”

  He led the way lo the casino’s administrative wing, a bustling office warren full of Jenet clerks, Jenet overseers, and hard-eyed Jenet security guards, then ascended to a balcony executive suite that overlooked the office floor below. A bank of female clerks dressed in what Leia guessed was provocative office wear for Jenets - backless blouses and knee-length trousers with hip slits - greeted Lebauer by his first name as he ushered the group into his private office.

  It was a grand stone-and-metal chamber so close to the surface that Leia could actually see the huge ball of Pavo Prime’s blue sun undulating in the waves above the transparisteel roof dome. Lebauer took her by the arm and led her toward the back corner, where a black bas-relief panel hung on the wall in front of a large engulfer couch.

  As they drew nearer, the sculpture resolved itself into the shape of a meter-high biped with the pointed snout and tufted ears of a Squib. Leia felt Han take her hand. Though the features of the face were too twisted to recognize, she had no doubt about who they were looking at: Sligh and Emala’s companion, Grees.

  His eyes were opened wide in horror, and one small arm was raised as though to ward off a blow. The other hand was extended toward the view, holding a circular datacard that looked as large as a dinner plate in his small grasp.

  Han turned to Lebauer, “If this is a joke, we’re not laughing.”

  “Sorry if it offends you, Solo,” Lebauer’s smug voice sounded anything but sorry. “You shouldn’t have asked, if you’re so close to the Squibs.”

  “We’re not,” Leia said. She shared Han’s anger, for she had never forgotten the agony she had seen frozen on Han’s face the night she freed him from his own carbonite coffin. “But what you have done here, I wouldn’t have wished on the Emperor himself.”

  “That so?” Lebauer glanced at his associates. “The lady’s real forgiving, considering what he had in mind for her brother.”

  Leia ignored him and continued, “I can’t imagine you’re foolish enough to think there’s a legitimate market for this sort of thing, but I’m prepared to offer you a reasonable-”

  At the word “reasonable,” Lebauer’s associates burst into laughter.

  The administrator himself chuckled bitterly, “There is no ‘reasonable’ amount.” He turned toward a small bar in the adjacent corner. “I showed you Second Mistake because you asked. But it’s not for sale - not at any price.”

  “Everything has a price,” Han retorted, “You’re a casino boss. You know that-”

  “Not this.” Lebauer stepped behind the serving counter and shifted his attention to Leia. “Can I get you something?”

  Leia shook her head, “No,” she said. “We were just leaving.”

  “You were?” Lebauer seemed genuinely surprised. “Before we talk about those boasas?”

  “If Second Mistake is truly unavailable, we have nothing to discuss,” The thought of leaving the statues with Lebauer made Leia cringe, but this was a different game than the one she had come to play and she needed time to learn the rules. Besides, she really had meant what she said about Grees’s fate. Just remembering how Han had looked as he emerged from that endless moment of cold and darkness was nearly enough to break her heart all over again, “I’m sorry to have wasted your time.”

  Lebauer had to consciously dose his gaping jaw. “Yeah, me too.”

  Leia nodded to Han and started for the exit, Lebauer’s associates - who were standing between them and the door - exchanged worried glances and made no move to get out of the way as the Solos pushed through. When it grew apparent that Leia was not bluffing, a single pair accompanied her and Han across the office.

  “You should know something before you leave,” said the first associate, a tall one with a stooped back, “The Pearl would be happy to give the boasa statues to you. For Alderaan’s survivors, I mean.”

  “Really?”

  Leia continued toward the door without glancing at the speaker, ”In exchange for what?”

  “Nothing,” said the second associate. He had a husky build and moon-shaped face. “It wouldn’t cost you nothing.”

  “I doubt that,” Leia said. “Nothing comes free on Pavo Prime.”

  When they reached the door, she stopped and turned to see how her exit was being taken. Lebauer was glaring at her, but he quickly lowered his gaze when their eyes met. Interesting. Leia had assumed that he was in sole charge of the casino, but now she wondered.

  The tall associate stepped toward her, “Look, all we want is a contract. To do something the New Republic needs done anyway.”

  “It’s hard to imagine what that could be.” Leia was being careful not to open a negotiation - but she was not leaving either. “The New Republic is quite capable of taking care of its own needs.”

  Moonface stepped to Tall’s side. “Somebody has to clean up after all those battles you’re fighting,” he said. “We only want the battle-salvage rights.”

  “The Pearl has a salvage fleet?” Leia asked.

  Tall shrugged and spread his hands. “A subsidiary. What do you say - your statues for the salvage rights.”

  “Exclusive rights,” Lebauer said from the back of the office.

  “So you can sell our own ships back to us at twice their worth?” Han scoffed. “Sounds pretty expensive to me.”

  “We’ll pay you, Solo,” Moonface said, “And when I say you, I’m not talking about the New Republic, if you know what I mean.”

  “Yes, I do know what you mean.” Leia turned and, with Han at her side, left Lebauer’s office, “As I said earlier, we have nothing to discuss.”

  As they walked away, Tall came to the door behind her. “What’s wrong?” he called. “Is this really about that Squib?”

  “Where’s Second Mistake?” Sligh stood beside Emala, glaring blaster bolts at Han and Leia from the doorway of their own suite. “You gave your word.”

  “We thought you could be trusted,” Emala said. “After Tatooine, I suppose we should have known better.”

  “You should have known better?” Han stormed.

  He pushed through the door, knocking Sligh to the floor and sending Emala stumbling back into the suite. Chewbacca was standing in front of the entertainment center, wearing a pair of headphones and carefully sweeping a bug-wand over the cabinet. C-3PO was near the corner closest, carefully steaming the wrinkles out of one of Leia’s evening gowns. On the opposite wall, a cuttlefish the size of the Falcon was staring in through the observation dome.

  Han glared down at Sligh, “Why didn’t you tell us that Second Mistake was Grees frozen in carbonite?”

  “Because we know how smart you are.” Sligh scowled and rubbed his chest where Han’s knee had struck it. “You would have asked a bunch of questions, and we really need your help.”

  Chewbacca grunted in frustration and, glaring in the direction of the argument, hung the headphones around his neck.

  “We thought you could handle the job,” Emala said.

  She returned to the entry area and - with a furtive glance up and down the hall - hastily shut the door.

  “We were handling it - until you interfered,” Leia said from behind Han, “And we will get Grees back for you. But right now, Lebauer’s price is just too high.”

  “Too high?” Sligh retorted. “What’s the big deal about a salvage contract?”

  Chewbacca growled a demand, which C-3PO translated from his corner,

  “Chewbacca would like to know what salvage contract the pestilence-carrying rodent is talking about.” C-3PO turned back toward Chewbacca. “But I really don’t see much indication of disease. A few flit biters, perhaps-”

  “The salvage contract Lebauer wants from the New Republic,” Leia interrupted.
She narrowed her eyes at the Squibs. “The salvage contract that Han and I just found out about.”

  Emala shot Sligh an irritated look, then sighed heavily and said, “Look, the Shell has been trying to get that contract for months.”

  “The ‘Shell’?” Leia asked.

  “The Invisible Shell,” Han explained. “Sort of a business syndicate, in polite terms.” He turned to Emala. “You’ve been doing business with the Shell? I didn’t think you were that dumb.”

  Emala shrugged. “We needed a supplier,”

  “It was supposed to be a one-time deal,” Sligh added quickly. “But the money was just too good.”

  Both Squibs sighed and dropped their gazes, then Emala said softly, “Grees wouldn’t stop.”

  “Stop what?” Leia asked.

  Emala glanced at Sligh, who shrugged and gave a quick nod.

  “That deal on Tatooine really worked out for us,” Emala said. “So we’ve been selling art to the Imperials.”

  “Which Imperials?” Leia demanded, going into interrogator mode. “Someone aboard the Chimaera?”

  Emala glanced at Sligh again, and this time he shook his head.

  “Look, I may still be able to get Grees back,” Leia said. “But not if you hold back on us. So far, what you haven’t told me has come close to sinking this deal.”

  “We don’t really know who our buyer is,” Emala said. “We talk to Captain-”

  “Hold on.” Han looked over to Chewbacca. “You find anything?”

  Chewbacca groaned a disgusted response.

  “I don’t care about the stuff the maids miss,” Han said. “I’m talking about bugs. The kind with ears.”

  Chewbacca shook his head.

  “Good.” Han led the way over to the dining area, where the Squibs had already left half-a-dozen empty drink glasses, then nodded to Emala. “You were saying?”

  “We talk to Captain Pellaeon,” Emala said. “But someone else is the buyer.”

  “And while you’re waiting around to close the art deal, you pick up a few secrets to sell the New Republic, is that it?” Han was thinking of the intelligence they had been selling NRI. “A payoff here, a quick hand there-”

  “You think we’re thieves?” Sligh hopped onto a dinner chair and pulled the fruit bowl over to him. “That hurts.”

  “We get everything in an honest trade.” Emala jumped up beside him, and together they began to paw through the bongas. “No one has reason to complain.”

  “The New Republic certainly doesn’t,” Leia said. “But I still don’t understand how Ludlo Lebauer fits in. Did you skip out on a casino bill?”

  Sligh stopped short of taking a bite from the bonga in his hand. “I don’t know what we’ve done to make you insult us like that, but keep it up, and I’ll forget where we left that guidance software.”

  “I thought someone of your experience would check out Lebauer with NRI before you left Coruscant,” Emala added. “Obviously, you didn’t.”

  “I checked,” Leia said. “They didn’t have much, only what’s available from public sources: Lebauer’s the administrator of the Pearl Island Casino and a well-respected member of the Pavo Prime Visitor’s Board. The NRI report didn’t say anything about the Invisible Shell.”

  Han began to have a sinking feeling. “There wasn’t anything about Lorimar?”

  “Lorimar?” Leia echoed.

  “Ludlo’s uncle,” Han said. “You remember: Lorimar Lebauer. He was arrested by the Thyferrans for running a counterfeit bacta operation. Thousands of people died. He’s locked up for the rest of his life.”

  “Blast!” Leia’s eyes grew angry and narrow. “NRI gave me a sanitized file.”

  “Yeah.” Han’s thoughts were flying, “It makes you wonder what they were trying to hide, doesn’t it?”

  “Not really.” Leia’s voice had a cold edge. She turned back to Sligh and said, “You were hiding behind Ludlo Lebauer, weren’t you? NRI was trying to protect him because they think he’s the one selling them the Empire’s secrets.”

  Sligh bit into the bonga and made a sour face, then mumbled, “No one gets anything past you.”

  “It’s safer that way,” Emala explained. “And using a cutout was a good deal all around. The Shell supplies us with artwork, we supply them with secrets. We sell the artwork to Pellaeon, and they sell the secrets to NRI. Everybody gets rich.”

  “Until Lebauer got greedy,” Leia guessed. “Then he froze Grees in carbonite and demanded the name of your contact.”

  “Which you couldn’t give him,” Han surmised. “Either because he’d kill you… or because there’s not one contact, there’s a whole bunch.”

  “You’re a sharp guy, Solo.” Sligh rolled his eyes and turned to Leia. ‘That’s when we decided you needed to know about the boasas.”

  “And you can fix everything,” Emala said to her. “All you have to do is give Lebauer his salvage contract.”

  “But you have to do it in front of his board,” Sligh added. “Things got personal between him and Grees there at the last.”

  “She can’t let Lebauer have the contracts,” Han said, not giving Leia the chance to even consider the idea. “I know how outfits like the Shell work. Once she starts with them, they’ll keep coming back for more. It won’t be long before Lebauer has her pressuring the Thyferrans to let his uncle Lorimar out of prison.”

  This drew snorts and smirks from both Squibs.

  “Never going to happen,” Sligh said. “Ludlo is the acting chairman now. The last thing he wants is Lorimar coming back.”

  “Really?” Leia cocked her brow. “Lorimar is the rightful chairman of the Invisible Shell?”

  “He better be,” Emala said. “That information cost us a thousand credits. The way we heard it, Ludlo is the one who told the Thyferrans where to find his uncle.”

  “Really?” Han took a bonga from the fruit bowl and began to polish it absentmindedly on his sleeve. “Now that we can work with.”

  By the time Leia and the others - everyone except C-3PO - tracked Lebauer to the Aquarium Room, seating for the first show had ended. But it hardly mattered. Lebauer and his associates were inside a private lounge, where they could watch the show without wondering who was watching them. The Solos and their companions were in the lobby, where a steady stream of Jenet females in backless blouses and clingsilk skirts flirted their way past the two guards almost at will.

  “I still have my sabacc money,” Han said. “It might be easier if I just broke the house.”

  “With ten thousand credits?” Emala said. “You’d need a bigger stake than that, Ace.”

  Han shrugged. “It might take a couple of days. So what? We’re not in a… Hey!” He pulled his credit chip from his pocket and inspected the balance display, then frowned at Emala. “How do you know so much about my credit chip?”

  Emala looked away.

  Before Han could press her, Sligh asked, “What’d you have when you broke the Seahorse?”

  “More,” he admitted. “I put the Falcon up.”

  “You?” Leia gasped. ‘The Falcon!”

  “Come on - it wasn’t like I was going to lose.”

  “Of course not.” Leia returned her attention to Lebauer’s private lounge. “But I think we’d better stick to our original plan. I don’t want to end up begging a ride home on some tramp freighter.”

  Chewbacca groaned softly and, at a nod from Leia, started across the lobby. Leia took Han’s arm, and together they followed the Wookiee to the lounge. When the two Jenet thugs stepped out to block Chewbacca’s path, he slammed their heads together and caught them by the scruff of their tunics.

  “So far, so good,” Han said.

  He pressed one of the Jenet’s hands to the palm-reader on the wall. The door slid aside to reveal several tiers of cocktail tables descending toward the wall of a giant transparisteel aquarium, where a large troupe of aquatic aliens was undulating through the water in a remarkable- and quite beautiful - synchronized swi
mming number. Lebauer and his associates were clustered around a small knot of tables down in front, laughing and talking and hardly paying the show any attention at all,

  Ignoring the astonished murmur that rose from the Jenets sitting at the higher rows of tables, Chewbacca led the way down to the front of the lounge and dumped the two guards on the floor. Then, as Lebauer and his equally astonished associates turned and started to rise, he roared a curse that dropped them back into their chairs. Leia stepped to the front of the lounge and, placing her back to the aquarium wall, faced Lebauer.

  “Good evening, Administrator,” she said. “Thank you for seeing me again.”

  Lebauer glanced down at his unconscious guards, then looked back to Leia, his red eyes as dead and unreadable as usual.

  “Reconsidered my offer, have you?”

  “Actually, no.” Leia was careful to keep her attention focused on Lebauer himself; she did not want to tip her hand by shifting her attention to the associates too early. “The salvage contracts aren’t an option. The New Republic is not going to let your syndicate strip our wrecks and sell sensitive hardware to the Empire.”

  “Syndicate?” Lebauer raised his brows and tried to look innocent. “What’s this syndicate you’re talking about?”

  “Save it for the tourists,” Han said. “We know all about the Invisible Shell.”

  “And we’re willing to deal,” Leia said, “But no pretenses. I came to give something you’ll want more than salvage contracts. After that, we never do business again.”

  “Sure, if thinking that makes it easier for you,” Lebauer glanced at his associates and, finding their attention fixed on Leia, grew more uncertain. “Okay, why don’t you tell me what I want more than salvage contracts?”

  Leia smiled, “Your uncle.”

  Lebauer paled. “My uncle?”

  “Lorimar Lebauer.” Leia watched with satisfaction as several associates leaned forward in their seats. “As a special favor to me, the Thyferrans are willing to commute Lorimar’s sentence.”

  “Isn’t that better than salvage?” Emala asked. She astonished Leia by jumping onto Lebauer’s table and blocking his face. “All we need from you is Second Mistake.”