Beginning, Section II, Section III, Next Section
Part Fourteen
Posted on Friday, 23 July 1999
Gianna sat in one of the chairs in the living area of the Fire Dancer, her muscles tense and nerves high. She waited for something, anything to happen to relieve the tension in the ship.
It had begun ever since they had gone into hyperspace. After being briefed again by General Madine and arrangements made, she, Lizzi and Wills had set off for Nar Shadda on Lizzi's former smuggling freighter, the Fire Dancer.
The reason for her tension was that Lizzi and Wills had not fought at all since then. They hardly spoke to each other, except when it was really necessary. Gianna just knew that a fight was coming, but it hadn't happened yet, so she felt as if she was walking on eggshells all the time.
She glanced over at Wills, who was half-asleep in a nearby chair. Lizzi was sitting in the cockpit, like she had done ever since the beginning of the trip, her legs propped up on the board, staring into the swirls of hyperspace. In a corner, the droids Modal and Kit stood in a corner, chattering about whatever passed for droid gossip, getting along much better than their respective owners.
Lizzi had given them a quick tour of her ship when it arrived, piloted by a Rebel who had received orders to fly it from its storage on some unimportant (and out of the way, imperative for a smuggler) planet to the rendezvous point. Small and fast, the Fire Dancer was in a shape very vaguely reminiscent of an A-wing, a new starfighter that was only beginning to be introduced into the Rebellion's ranks. Thirty meters in length, it was the same wedge shape, but much sleeker and painted in a blue colour scheme. The blue/black background was broken in places by marbled swirls of sea blue. Like most smuggling ships, the Fire Dancer had had massive upgrades in terms of engines, shields and weaponry.
Gianna was very impressed with it - if Wills had been similarly affected, he hadn't shown it.
The sound of black-booted feet on the dark gray deck caused her to sit up. Wills didn't move, but opened one brown eye to look at Lizzi, who was dressed in a dark blue flightsuit, her dark hair tumbling over her shoulders and black gloved hands hanging down near her black belt that held an empty holster for her blaster. Lizzi looked every inch the captain of her ship and knew it.
"What's up?" asked Gianna.
"We're getting close to Smuggler's Moon, so I'd thought I'd tell you all what's going to be happening down there," said Lizzi briskly. She glanced at Wills, who seemed asleep.
Lizzi smiled evilly and picked a half-filled cup of water and flung it in Will's face.
The victim spluttered and sprang to his feet. Wills looked ruefully down at the long gray jacket he wore over his black shirt and pants but when he saw no sign of damage, let the matter go.
"Okay, I'm awake," he grumbled. "What's happening, oh wonderful Captain?" he asked sarcastically.
"Glad to know you hold respect for your superior officer." Lizzi sat down opposite Wills. "We're firstly going to find my friends, Sharl and Myra Lukas. I've already sent them a sub-space message, so they know the Dancer is coming. They're sisters, Sharl's a smuggler and Myra's a slicer. They'll be able to help us get information. If there's equipment coming through Nar Shadda, Myra can find it."
"Can they be trusted?" asked Wills suspiciously.
"Of course, stupid," retorted Lizzi. "I know them. A smuggler may only work for money, but when it comes to their friends, they're completely loyal. Unless you cross them, of course."
"Then what?" asked Gianna quickly, before Wills could say anything.
"If we find another lead, we'll follow it," said Lizzi simply. "But there's one thing I want you two to realize; we're going to Smuggler's Moon. It's a haven for all sorts of low-life organisms - smugglers, thieves, bounty hunters, con men, murderers, Imperials and more. You guys don't know you're way around, how to treat the people. I do. So you guys obey me. Got that?"
Gianna nodded nervously. Wills looked at Lizzi, but the glare she was sending his way decided the matter for him.
"Got it," he muttered grudgingly.
Wickham, had applied a moderate sum of money to the space traffic controller, who undoubtedly received bribes every day to ignore certain ships coming or leaving the moon. But Wickham wasn't paying the Twi'lek to ignore a ship, he was asking him to alert him for the arrival of the Fire Dancer and track the ship to its destination.
And, thanks to Lijia's information, he knew exactly who was on that ship and what their purpose on Smuggler's Moon was.
He settled down, leaving his comlink on, ready and waiting.
Lizzi sat in the pilot's seat, Wills next to her as co-pilot and maneuvered the Fire Dancer through the giant steel forest of buildings.
Gianna looked a bit dizzy at the number of lights, people, traffic and other characteristics of city life.
Wills looked at her. "You all right?" he asked.
"Yes," said Gianna breathlessly. "It's just so . . . populated."
Wills turned to face her. Lizzi was doing fine on her own. "Ever been to Coruscant, Gianna?"
"No. What's it like?"
"Imagine Nar Shadda, only bigger and cleaner with a few million more people."
Gianna's violet eyes grew wide. "Wow."
Wills turned back to Lizzi. "Do you know where you're going?"
Without looking at him, Lizzi said, "Yeah, now shut up and let the master fly."
Wills bit back the insult he held on his tongue, in fear of distracting Lizzi.
The signal for the com flashed. Wills turned it on. A no-nonsense voice was heard.
"Lizzi, you there?" asked the voice.
"Sharl, long time no see! Well, hear, anyway," said Lizzi as she dodged a repulsor car.
"Lizzi, you pirate!" cried the voice identified as Sharl. "What you doing here?"
"Looking for you. Does your garage have room for me to put down?"
"Yep, so go park the Dancer there," said Sharl. "Myra says hi, but as I'm not letting her on the com, she's getting mad but too bad for her. Oh, your landing zone has been taken over by some Rodian, you and whatever pals you have can bunk down at our place."
"Thanks a bunch, Sharl," replied Lizzi. "We're coming in."
The swerved the Dancer to the right and headed to one of the buildings, that to Wills' eyes, looked no different to the rest. Lizzi obviously knew her way, for she skillfully piloted the ship down into what seemed a small, battered storehouse. He was surprised when the interior proved neat and clean. Another ship, similar in size to the Dancerrested on its landing skids nearby.
"Myra sliced a few files and attached a price of five thousand to this storehouse," said Lizzi, answering his unspoken question. "She and Sharl bought it off the drunk Gotal that owned it and when he got sober, there was nothing he could do about it. The Lukases keep their ship here but lease out the extra space for other smugglers."
"But, but, that's illegal!" protested Gianna. "They conned this place out of the Gotal!"
"Get used to it, Gianna," said Lizzi as the landing skids were extended and the Dancer landed. "It's a nek eat nek world out here."
The ramp went down, and the three Rebels left the ship.
There were two young women outside waiting for them. Lizzi ran to greet them and embraced them both. They started chattering at the speed of light about things Wills and Gianna could not understand.
The taller of the women, whom Wills assumed to be Sharl, was rather plain but her brown eyes were as sharp as her mind - and her tongue. Her brown hair was cut short, in contrast to Myra's long blond locks that framed a childish face with bright blue eyes. Myra was either a very young woman or a very old girl. She lived for computers and was totally naïve of the world.
Wills and Gianna stood uncomfortably to one side whilst Lizzi completed her greetings. Finally, Sharl noticed them and asked Lizzi,
"So, dear, who's the girl and your handsome friend? Has someone finally melted that icy heart of yours?"
Gianna laughed while Lizzi groaned. "Hardly. He's just helping me. If it wasn't for his uses, I would have killed him long ago."
"Oh yeah?" said Wills. "Don't believe her, she is actually secretly in love with me but she's too spineless to admit it."
Lizzi hit him.
"Ouch."
Everyone laughed.
"Wow, someone who can actually stand Lizzi's attitude," said Myra. "So, who are you?"
Wills stepped forward. "I'm Wills Darcy of Corellia, and this is Gianna Drax of Omwat."
Sharls frowned and looked at them. "Let me guess," she said to Wills. "X-wing pilot?"
Wills flashed her a smile. "Correct."
"And what's a girl like you doing with these hotshots?" Sharl asked Gianna.
"Gianna's a scientist," said Lizzi.
Myra stared at them. "Are you in the Rebellion with Lizzi?"
Wills and Gianna nodded. Sharl rolled her eyes.
"Great. More idealistic fools ready to chuck their lives for something that's doomed," she complained.
Lizzi punched her friend jokingly. "I'll be there and watch you eat those words when we destroy the Empire."
"Lizzi, I've seen the Imperial Navy. Sure, you've had one victory, but that's one out of how many battles? If I'm correct, you just had another defeat a few weeks ago on some place called Hoth. You can't win, and I'm not stupid enough to waste my life for it."
Lizzi shook her head. "I'm not trying to recruit you, I'm just asking you guys for some help."
Wickham smiled as the location of the Fire Dancer appeared on his datapad. It was the Lukas joint, a small time space dock unlike Shug Ninx's legendary space barn.
He leaned back and sorted out the facts in his mind to assist in the formation of a plan to get Gianna Drax.
There was the small problem of the people she had near her. The human females he need not worry about. The Omwati female, Gianna Drax, he did not need to worry about making her come to him. Wickham could manipulate all the women easily.
Wickham was a member of the Falleen species, reptilian humanoids who were considered to be one of the most beautiful species on the galaxy. What wasn't perhaps so well known, is that the Falleen could secrete special pheromones that when exuded, could make humanoid members of the opposite sex feel immensely attracted to them. The rise of those pheromones would change Wickham's skin colour from a normal dusky green to a warmer red and there was no antidote to the longing excited by them - save one.
Wickham had both beauty and pheromones in abundance. Well, perhaps not beauty.
But I would be physically perfect if it had not been for . . .
His fingernails dug into the cloth of the chair.
Wills Darcy.
At the name, he snarled slightly and automatically looked at the mirror that hung on the wall.
He looked at his reflection, a perfect, handsome face that made females swoon. Just as quickly he looked away.
It is but an illusion. But it could have been reality if Darcy had not . . .
Well. Wills Darcy would pay for that soon enough.
The fact that Darcy was here on Smuggler's Moon, would make that revenge come much sooner.
Benyt and Darcy are here to protect Drax. Lijia said that Benyt and Darcy did not get along at all. I can exploit that weakness somehow . . .
A plan began to form in his mind. A plan, that would get him Gianna - as well as his revenge on Wills Darcy.
SW lingo: slicer is a hacker, 'landing zone' means a room/apartment, a nek is a nek battle dog
Part Fifteen
Posted on Saturday, 31 July 1999
"Nineteen," said Sharl, laying down her cards.
"Twenty," said Lizzi.
"Idiot's Array," smirked Wills. "Sorry ladies, I win again."
Sharl and Lizzi groaned as Wills scooped up the pile of credits, increasing his already large pile by a significant amount.
They had been on Smuggler's Moon for two standard days now. Lizzi, Wills and Gianna had been installed in the Lukas apartment, leaving Kit and Modal on the Dancer to keep watch over the ship. As soon as they had settled down, Lizzi had asked Myra to start searching the database for any off-planet shipments labeled 'classified'. The resulting list had been several parsecs long, but as most of it was spice, illegal weaponry and such, they were able to get rid of most of the unimportant entries.
Now they had to sort through the rest, which were heavily encrypted and had all sorts of deterrents for any curious slicers. Myra had to carefully work her way in and out without leaving any trace of her presence or tripping any alarm signals.
So far, Mrya had only finished fully slicing a dozen or so out of a few thousand, and none of those had been what the Rebels had been looking for.
Now, they had to be patient and play the waiting game.
"Talk about lucky," grumbled Sharl. "Eight out of ten games have been won by you."
"I'd prefer to think of it as 'skill'," remarked Wills. He leaned back, waiting for Sharl to deal out another hand. "Any luck?" he called over to the console where Myra and Gianna were. Gianna was fascinated by Myra's slicing, and never left the computer except to eat and use the 'fresher. Wills thought it was just like Gianna. If she were shown something she hadn't done or had never seen before, she would do it, if only to keep her intelligent mind busy. Especially in a situation like this, where she was bored almost out of her mind. She wasn't allowed to go out, unless it was with Sharl or Lizzi. Nar Shadda was a dangerous place for someone like Gianna.
"No," replied Gianna. "We cracked two more files but it's just spice for some Hutt Lord in Tatooine."
Wills sighed. At the table, Lizzi abruptly stood up. "I'm sick of being cooped up. I'm going to get a bad case of shipboard fever if I don't go out. Anyone coming?"
Sharl yawned. "Not me. I've got cooking tonight. Just as well, if I had to eat something Wills cooked again, I'd go to some Gamorrean restaurant and think it was a good choice."
"I'm not that bad!" protested Wills.
"That's why you threw your plate of Guiju stew out the window," said Lizzi as she strapped on her blaster holster. She checked the power pack on the blaster. "I take it no one's coming?"
"Actually, I'm also feel like a walk. I think I'll join you," said Wills.
Lizzi threw him a weary look. "No thanks. If you're coming, I'd go by myself."
"You can't stop me from going out," replied Wills. He got up and made as if to join Lizzi, but stopped rather suddenly when she pointed the blaster at him. It was set on 'stun' but her meaning was clear.
"You are not coming with me," she bit out, emphasizing each word. "Your company is not wanted."
She holstered the blaster and left the apartment without a single backward glance.
Wills slumped in his chair, staring at the door where Lizzi had disappeared. It might have been Sharl's imagination, but she thought she detected an expression of hurt longing on his face.
It must have been her imagination, for his usual mask of not caring appeared again. Almost viciously, he snatched the cards dealt to him.
"Fine then. I bet a hundred."
Lizzi wandered the streets of Nar Shadda with no destination in mind. She did not have to worry about danger - her obvious blaster and general air of 'don't-mess-with-me-or-you'll-regret-it' persuaded any potential attackers to seek easier prey.
The streets were crowded, yet she felt lonely.
She wished that Jain were here with her. Even when Lizzi had been on a smuggling run for a week, the sisters had always kept in touch. For obvious reasons, Lizzi could not contact Jain for mere chitchat. Contact was to be made with the Rebellion only when it was something of vital importance.
But it wasn't just that. Lizzi wanted company, a kind that Jain could not give.
Maybe I should have accepted his offer to join me, she thought unhappily. I'm depressed and I need comfort.
The thought of Wills' arms around her, sheltering and warm, was a very pleasant fantasy . . .
Oh stop it.
"Miss Benyt?" said a voice from an alleyway.
Lizzi froze, her hand dropping to her blaster. Slowly, she turned to face the shadows. It was too dark to make out details, but the figure there was definitely humanoid.
"Who's there?" she demanded. Suddenly, she drew the blaster and pointed it towards the figure. "What do you want?"
"Are you not Lizzi Benyt of the R - " The voice - a warm male voice, Lizzi realized, cut off. Mentioning the Rebellion was not the smartest thing to do.
"Maybe," said Lizzi. "Come out where I can see you."
"As you wish."
The figure stepped out into the light and well, posed.
The being was tall, green-skinned and humanoid with a faint reptilian cast. Long silky black hair was pulled back over the shoulders, allowing Lizzi to get a full view of the very handsome face, whose most obvious attributes were a pair of deep black eyes and a sensual mouth that was spread in a good-humored smile.
"Stop right there," ordered Lizzi. "What do you want?"
"I wish to speak to you," said the alien. She couldn't identify the accent or the species he belonged to.
"About - ?"
The alien looked around. There were several people who glanced at him and Lizzi questioningly but quickly ducked their heads, not wanting to be involved.
"This is not the place for discussion," he said smoothly. "Perhaps we should retire to a place of more . . . privacy."
Lizzi's blaster did not waver, but her curiosity was aroused. "Do you really expect me to just follow you to some secluded place?" she said sarcastically. "Why should I trust you?"
"You're suspicion is natural," shrugged the alien. "So be it. You wish for proof of my sincerity? You shall have it."
The alien took a breath and closed his eyes. "My name is Wickham, I am a Falleen from the planet Fallen and a member of the Rebellion, undercover on Nar Shadda. I keep my senses open for any information that may be of use."
Lizzi thought about this. Anything said at the end of a blaster was questionable, so she pressed him further. "Give me proof that you're part of the Rebellion."
Wickham sighed. "I was contacted by General Madine and told that a team of three was to be arriving on Nar Shadda. I was given two names - yours, Miss Lizzi Benyt of Alderaan, and Miss Gianna Drax of Omwat. I have information that might prove useful to you regarding your mission."
Convinced, Lizzi lowered her blaster and extended her hand. She smiled. "Okay, I believe you, Mr. Wickham. Pleased to meet you."
Wickham smiled further, showing his white teeth. "As am I, Miss Benyt, pleased to make your acquaintance. Shall we continue this conversation elsewhere?"
"Good idea. Lead the way."
"Is she back yet?" asked Wills for the third time.
"No," replied Sharl for the third time.
"Well, it's getting late," grumbled Wills.
Sharl rolled her eyes. "Lizzi's a big girl and she's lived here for years. She can take care of herself."
Wills glared at her, but settled down. "Yeah. She'll be fine, she'll be fine."
Sharl wondered if he was being sarcastic or he was saying that to reassure himself.
Wickham's smile as he opened the door to his apartment was partly due to his pleasure at the ease in which he manipulated Benyt and partly due to his surprise at Lizzi herself.
Lizzi he realized was a very attractive human female who was not only beautiful, but competent as well. She could handle a conversation or blaster with equal expertise and was apparently a hot hand in a star-fighter as well. Quite different from Lijia and Marikin - from all his female 'acquaintances' in fact.
"Make yourself at home," he told her. She did so, looking around the room as she did so, taking in everything - including a possible escape route if it came to that.
Beautiful and competent. A wonderful combination that I have never tried.
"Would you like something to drink? Lomin ale, perhaps?" he inquired.
"No, thank you. What is it you wish to speak to me about?"
Straight down to business, no small talk. Even better.
Wickham smiled again. This was a most interesting female.
"I have managed to find out that there is a significant cargo of magnetic shielding insulator plating being shipped through Nar Shadda within a few standard days," he began smoothly. "The materials are something quite unusual to be smuggled through, and the amount itself also caught my interest."
"How did you find all this?" asked Lizzi suspiciously.
"I have a few connections around the Moon as well as some of my own resources," said Wickham. "Unfortunately, I was unable to find the destination of this cargo. But what small thing I did find, however, was of great interest."
"And that is - ?"
"The cargo is being shipped by XTS - Xizor Transport Systems."
Lizzi frowned. "Are we talking about Prince Xixor of the Black Sun?"
Black Sun was the criminal organization of the galaxy. It was headed by Xizor, the Dark Prince as he liked to be called, who was unofficially the third most powerful being in the galaxy - after the Emperor and Darth Vader of course.
"Precisely. He is known to have many Imperial connections - and is willing to work for the Emperor as well." Inwardly, Wickham grimaced. Powerful Prince Xizor may be, Wickham couldn't see how the Dark Prince could co-operate with the Empire after . . .
"Do you know what the cargo will be used for?" asked Lizzi, leaning closer.
Wickham lowered is head so it was inches away from hers.
"I do not know. I have tried to find out, but the security around such information is . . . formidable. I shall keep trying though - for the Rebellion, and for people like you."
There was an uncomfortable pause for some seconds as neither moved from their current position. Suddenly, Wickham stood.
"It is getting late. Your companions will be worried about you. We should arrange another meeting, perhaps with the others of your team."
"Uh, yeah, I should be going," said Lizzi, looking flustered. She stood up as well. "And, um, yeah, I think I should see you again. Not just me," she added hastily. "I'll tell Gianna and Wills - "
"Who?" cut in Wickham. He knew who the third member of Lizzi's party was, but it was all part of the plan.
"Gianna and Wills," said Lizzi.
"Surely you do not mean Wills Darcy of Corellia?" said Wickham feigning horror.
"Yes," said Lizzi. She frowned as she saw his expression. "What's wrong?"
"Lizzi," said Wickham urgently, taking hold of her arm. "How close are you to Darcy?"
"Close? Us?" said Lizzi contemptuously. "We work together but that's all. If I had a choice, I wouldn't work with him but I don't. What's the matter?"
"Lizzi, it is imperative that you do not breathe a word of our meeting to Wills Darcy - or to anyone for that matter. He is as clever as a snake and could ruin the entire mission."
"What?" said Lizzi in shock.
"Please, you must trust me," said Wickham, putting a pleading note into his voice. "He is not to be trusted. Do not trust him."
Wickham hurried her to the door, and opening it, looked around as if searching for any spies.
"You must go now, before he comes searching for you," he said to Lizzi. She exited and looked at him curiously. "Come here again tomorrow seventeen-hundred CG time. We have much to speak of. And remember - do not tell anyone where you are going."
"But what is wrong with Wills?" asked Lizzi.
"I will tell you, as soon as I have confirmed my suspicions, but I fear the worst," said Wickham.
On impulse it seemed, he took her hand again.
"You must trust me," he said earnestly. "Wills Darcy is not what he seems. Do not let him know of your suspicions, but keep an eye on him. And do not fail to meet me again."
Swiftly, he bent low and in a most gentleman-like manner, kissed Lizzi's hand.
"Until tomorrow then," he said.
With that he closed the door. He leaned against it and smiled viciously to himself. He sensed that Lizzi stood outside his apartment, gazing in wonder and pondering the events of the last few minutes.
Then he heard quiet footsteps disappearing down the street.
It had been so easy. He had thought that a woman such as Lizzi would have been more difficult to crack.
But what did it matter? He would win, and that was all that mattered.
Wickham laughed with devilish delight and plotted his next move.
Note: CG means Coordinated Galactic time - set according to Coruscant's rotational period.
Part Sixteen
Posted on Tuesday, 10 August 1999
"Where's Lizzi?" asked Wills the next afternoon.
"Out," said Myra, staring at the computer screen.
"Where out?"
"Don't know," said Gianna, staring at the kaleidoscope of lights outside the window.
"She didn't tell anyone where she went?"
"Nope," said Sharl, staring at the holovid monitor.
Muttering under his breath, Wills went back to cleaning his blaster.
"I've got a bad feeling about this."
Wickham framed his features into a pleasant smile to greet Lizzi when he opened the door. She returned the favour, if a bit more hesitantly, certainly more easily than their first meeting.
"You came alone?" he asked urgently as he shut the door, pretending to search the street outside. There was no one there apart from the usual mix of denizens that made up Smuggler's Moon.
"Of course," replied Lizzi. "Wills is back at my friend's place feeling sorry for himself." She put her blaster away and sat down. "I'm hoping you're going to tell me who Wills Darcy really is, because I'm dying of curiosity."
Wickham smiled to himself. He would have to tread very carefully here, but since Lizzi detested Wills, he doubted that she would ask Wills for his side of the story Wickham was about tell to her.
Their estrangement from each other was something Wickham intended to use to his full advantage. But he had another precautionary measure he could take to ensure Lizzi's cooperation . . .
"I will tell you, be patient. Would you care for something to drink? I have several beverages, including some Siio wine from Alderaan."
"The wine will do fine, thank you."
He poured her a glass, then a second for himself. He paused for a moment and called briefly on the pheromones all Falleen possessed.
The blood-red liquid sparkled in the darkened lights that hid Lizzi's expression as the invisible bio-chemicals wafted towards her. Wickham watched her carefully - and noticed a tensing in her posture as she sat up and looked slightly in his direction.
Perfect.
"Make yourself comfortable. My story is a rather lengthy - and sad one," he said to her, giving her the glass. His leg brushed against hers, which caused her cheeks to flush a pale pink. Wickham pretended not to notice and walked to the transparisteel window and looked at the late-afternoon city outside.
"My history with Wills Darcy goes back many standard years," he began. The tale he was to tell Lizzi was mostly true - but a small altering of certain facts would make Lizzi see it in an entirely new light that was not the truth.
"Do you recall a certain 'sterilization' procedure that took place on the planet of Falleen several standard years ago?" he asked Lizzi.
"N-not much," she confessed. "I sort of remember something about a virus that escaped from an Imperial lab there and certain safety measures had been taken. Why?"
"Do you know what the safety measure was?"
"Something about sterilization, so the Imperial newsvids said."
"Sterilization," said Wickham in a bitter tone that was not entirely feigned. "Sterilization, as in a turbolaser bombardment from orbit by several Star Destroyers."
Lizzi was shocked into silence.
"I was one of the few who survived that," said Wickham, closing his eyes and recalling the pain, the intense heat, the screams as hundreds of people around him burned to death . . .
"My entire family was killed, and I myself was severely scarred. But I was lucky. I eked out a meager living by travelling to the undamaged part of the planet and begging. Which, when I grew old enough, turned to thieving."
He sensed pity radiating out from Lizzi in waves.
"However, I grew tired of my lot and decided to go out to the stars. I stowed away on a freighter. That freighter was owned by the Darcy Shipping Company, bound for the Corellian System. I was caught, of course, but not until the ship was on the last leg of its journey in hyperspace. As soon as the ship landed though, I was hauled off to the head of the Company, Mr. Jorgen Darcy, Wills' father. Unlike his son, Mr. Darcy was one of the best men that ever breathed. He took pity on me, and took me into his home."
"This is not what I came here to hear," said Lizzi, though her impatience to hear the rest of the story was clearly heard.
"I know, but believe me you'll appreciate the flight." Wickham took a sip of his wine. "Wills and I were about the same age, and we became great friends. We grew up together, went to the same school - but things changed.
"Wills began to dislike me immensely. I cannot understand why, for I never did anything intentional to hurt him. His father was kindness itself. I can only put it down to jealousy. That a stranger should be as close, or closer, to his father than himself no doubt rankled in him. He never mentioned it to his father but it was obvious.
"When we were both old enough, Wills and I made an application to the Imperial Academy. Being non-human, I was rejected; but Wills succeeded and held it over me at every opportunity. He soon worked his way up to a commander in the Imperial Navy - and yes he did deserve it. When he wants to, Wills can work hard and I do not dispute his skill as a pilot."
Wickham was careful not to be entirely critical of Wills. By feigning some affection for Wills, he made his story more tragic and portrayed himself as the one who had been wronged.
"Things came to a head sooner or later. Over the years, Mr. Darcy had provided me with the best surgery available to remove the scars I bore from my planet's destruction. It was nearly completed - but then Mr. Darcy died. Quite peacefully, I may add."
He smirked evilly at these words. Jorgen Darcy's death had been anything but peaceful. But Lizzi didn't need to know that.
"As soon as Wills had recovered from his father's death, Wills chose to disregard Mr. Darcy's wishes. My surgery was cancelled, and it was not long after that when I was pointedly asked to leave."
"Sithspawn!" exclaimed Lizzi. "I hadn't thought Wills this bad!"
"That's the sabaac hand I was dealt in life," shrugged Wickham. "Not wanting to make an issue of it, I did leave Corellia and learnt to provide for myself. I saved enough money to complete my surgery and lived relatively well - as well as can be expected under the Empire. However, I grew more and more outraged at the New Order and so I threw my lot in with the Rebellion."
"What happened to Wills? Why did he join the Rebellion?"
"He didn't - he is an Imperial spy."
This blunt, false statement silenced Lizzi for several minutes.
"I don't believe it," she said.
"I'm afraid it's the truth. Over the years, I watched him become more and more fanatical about the Empire and Palpatine's New Order. Most of his friends also joined the Academy or were at least pro-Imperial. Those who didn't were shunned. His girlfriend was also an Imperial."
"What does he want?" she asked in a small voice.
"I have managed to find out - and it's not pretty. It seems your friend, Miss Gianna Drax, is wanted by the Empire. Wills is here to capture her."
"Gianna? Why her? And how come Wills hasn't made his move yet? He's known Gianna for months."
"I do not know why Miss Drax is wanted. As for the delay in Wills's movements, I can only speculate that his initial objective when he joined the Rebellion was to pass on information. This kidnap mission was only activated a week or so ago."
These 'revelations' soon had their desired effect. "We've got to do something!" said Lizzi.
Wickham turned to face her, his face in shadow. "I know. But we must be cautious. We can't let him know that we know."
"Of course," said Lizzi, though her mind seemed elsewhere.
"Do not let anyone know about me yet," said Wickham, moving closer towards her. "Miss Drax - how close is she to Wills?"
"Very."
Wickham thought. This was a slight complication to his plans. He had to get Gianna - but without letting Wills know about it and at the same time, get revenge on him.
He should have known that Wills would join the Rebellion. After what Wickham did, his defection wasn't all that surprising. Knowing Wills as he did, Wickham was sure that Wills had begun to devote his life to the Rebellion, hoping to build a new future for himself.
It would please Wickham greatly to see that future shattered. And what better way than to discredit him in the eyes of the Rebellion by blackening his name and causing Wills to fail in his mission? Failure was not an option for Wills Darcy - and Wickham knew that his former friend hated to lose.
"I will think of something," he said softly as he moved closer to Lizzi. "But the most important thing is to act as if nothing is wrong. Any change in behaviour towards him will make him suspicious. And if that should happen, he will do anything to ensure that he succeeds in his duty to the Empire."
He noticed that Lizzi seemed crushed at his words. She looked as if she didn't want to believe it.
Does she feel something for Wills, despite everything she says? thought Wickham.
What if Wills feels something for her?
That idea hit Wickham like a blaster bolt in the stomach. He had no proof if Wills did or not but if he did . . .
Then it makes my revenge all the more sweeter.
On the whole it didn't matter what Wills felt about Lizzi. The possibility of Wills being in love with her was merely an added bonus, but it was not imperative.
He was less than a meter away from Lizzi now, and the fading effect of his pheromones returned in full force. She was held in an almost hypnotic gaze as he looked down at her.
"Be on your guard, Lizzi. Soon, we'll do something about him," he spoke in dulcet tones.
On impulse, he kissed her.
She froze in shock but did not move away immediately. Only when he began to push her back into the chair did she pull away.
Lizzi did not speak but breathed in shallow gasps. Then she swiftly got up and grabbed her blaster, which she stuffed into her belt holster.
Wickham did not move from where he stood.
"I'm sorry," he said, in as guilty a tone as he could manage. "It was - most forward of me. My sincerest apologies, please, Lizzi."
Lizzi held her head high but she seemed to waver. "Apology accepted. But . . . but I think I must leave now." She fumbled at the door controls, unlocking it and re-locking it. "Yes . . . I have to go . . ." she said, more to herself than to him.
She finally opened the door, and backed out of the apartment. Once it was closed, Wickham heard her run.
Wickham smiled slowly. Lizzi may run, but he knew she enjoyed it.
Unfortunately, he would be unable to repeat the experience. Wickham had to move tonight, if his plan to capture Gianna was to succeed.
He looked at his chrono. There was plenty of time.
Wickham lounged on the seat and turned to face the dying sun, threw his head back in a short laugh and poured himself a congratulatory glass of the blood-red Siio wine.
Part Seventeen
Posted on Thursday, 12 August 1999
"Where is she?" said Wills, half exasperated, half worried. He looked as his chrono for the sixth time. "It's nearly eighteen hundred local time."
"I don't know," replied Sharl with all the patience she could muster. "Maybe she's off visiting some of her friends."
"It's still getting very late," said Gianna softly from where she lay half-asleep on the sofa. Her pearly hair seemed to float above her eyes, creating an almost halo-like appearance.
Wills sat tightly down on a chair, but two seconds later he was up again pacing the room. Finally he stopped near the door and said, "I can't stand it any longer. I'm going out after her."
Without a backward glance, he grabbed his blaster and was out the door before any of the others could say a word.
"Wills you idiot!" yelled Sharl. "Come back here!"
She might as well have spat at a wall. The door was shut with Wills on the outside.
Swearing under her breath, Sharl also grabbed her blaster and put on her boots. She knew that Wills knew almost nothing about Nar Shadda and was going to get himself totally lost - and there were creatures out there that roamed the streets looking for easy prey . . .
"We've got to get him back," she said crisply. Gianna sat up and Myra turned away from her computer. "Myra, come on." When Gianna made as if to join them, Sharl put up a hand. "Not you. You're staying here, where it's safe."
Gianna sat back down and watched as Sharl and Myra left the apartment and headed off in opposite directions, leaving her all alone.
Wickham smiled to himself and removed the macro-binoculars from his eyes. He looked down at the long-range sensor he held in his pale green hand. The display told him that only one life form was in the apartment. The readout below told him that the organism was female, Omwat and currently at rest.
But the main thing was that she was the only person in the apartment.
Wickham picked up his pack and headed towards the Lukas apartment.
Lizzi wandered the streets of Nar Shaddaa, not taking any head of her surroundings. People milled around her in a chaotic pattern that was nowhere near as disturbed as her thoughts.
Wills was an Imperial agent.
She didn't know what to think. When Commander Fitzwilliam had assured her that her earlier suspicions were unfounded she hadn't quite believed him. Then after a while, as she began to realize she felt an emotion more than friendly towards Wills, she was glad that she had been wrong.
But then Wickham told her that it was true.
Wickham. There was another source of her discomfort.
What is wrong with me? she scolded herself. I've never been attracted that . . . physically . . . to someone before. It's not me. What happened?
She shuddered with pleasure but also with revulsion when she recalled the taste of Wickham's lips on hers. As much as she had found Wickham attractive, there was also something not right that repulsed her.
It wasn't because Wickham was non-human. Lizzi had spent much of her life with beings of other species and she felt at ease talking to a Wookie as she did with another human. No, the wrongness was something else.
She heard heavy footsteps behind her. She spun around, automatically drawing her blaster. She aimed it at her stalker's chest, then gasped as she saw whom it was.
Wills held up his hands in a gesture of peace. "Hey, it's just me. Where in the Force have you been?"
Lizzi couldn't think of anything to say. Wills had been following her! Wickham was right!
She lowered the blaster.
"Ah, just, around . . ." she said in as casual a tone as she could manage. Regaining her control, she stepped closer to Wills and glared at him. "Why were you following me?"
"I wasn't," protested Wills. "I was worried and came looking for you, that's all."
"Yeah, right."
Was it her imagination, or did she see an expression of pain flitting across his handsome features? "Believe what you will," shrugged Wills. "But - "
"There you are, you stupid slime-crawler!" yelled a voice from behind them. Lizzi looked past Wills at Sharl and Myra who were running towards them. They panted as they came to a halt beside the pair.
"Are you crazy, running off like that?" demanded Sharl. "You don't know anything about Smuggler's Moon and think you can just walk off as if you're in the upper levels of Coruscant? This is Nar Shaddaa, laser-brains!"
Feeling a lot like a kid who had run off without his mother's permission, Wills shrugged and tried to act casual. "I found Lizzi, didn't I?"
"Yeah, and that's the only thing that's preventing me from biting your head off," sniffed Myra. "Where have you been?" she asked Lizzi.
Lizzi looked at her black boots and tried to act as casual as Wills had. "Around, looking up old haunts."
Sharl sighed. "Come on, you two. We left Gianna back home and she's probably getting worried."
Gianna was nearly asleep when she heard a knock on the door. She sat up, opening her violet eyes. When the sound repeated itself, she got up, and forgetting the age-old rule of never opening the door to strangers, opened the door.
She looked in curiosity at the being that stood in front of her. Non-human, but not of any species she could name off-hand, he was dressed in a simple yet stylish black and silver suit that accented his black hair and eyes. Gianna felt herself blushing when she looked at his handsome face.
For some reason, she felt immensely attracted to him.
"Gianna Drax?" said the alien.
"Yes, how can I help you?" she asked in as calm a tone as she could manage, not really noticing when her voice came out like an R2 unit on hyper.
The alien smiled and Gianna felt herself shiver pleasantly. "Thank goodness I've found you!" he said relieved. "I'm Wickham. Lizzi and Wills sent me to find you - they've found something very important pertaining to the mission. But they can't bring it here - it's kind of big. They sent me - I'm a rebel contact -to get you."
Gianna smiled and closed the door behind her. "That's great! What are we waiting for - let's go!" she said, never once wondering about the stranger who had suddenly appeared on the doorstep asking her to go off with him.
She skipped ahead like a child at a picnic, never seeing the satisfied look on Wickham's face.
"Just wait a moment," said Wickham. Gianna turned back and watched with curiosity as Wickham slipped a message chip under the door.
"What's that?"
"A message," said Wickham smoothly. "Come now, we must find the others."
Lizzi walked beside Sharl, making noises that sounded as if she was taking part in the conversation when her mind was actually elsewhere.
She glanced forwards once or twice at Wills' back. If her eyes had been able to shoot blaster bolts, Wills would have been dead half-an hour ago.
She had no idea what to do about Wills. A small part of her still didn't want to believe that he was an Imperial agent - but she quickly squashed that voice.
Wills was a betrayer to the Rebellion. She only hoped Wickham could think up a plan of how to deal with him.
"We're back," sighed Myra tiredly. "Geez, I'm so hungry I could eat an entire Bantha."
"You must be hungry if you can stomach a Bantha," replied Sharl. She opened the door and frowned as her foot kicked something across the room. "What's that?"
Wills came in behind her and picked it up. "Message chip," he informed them. "Where's Gianna?"
"Probably moved into her room to sleep," said Myra, heading towards her computer.
"Well, let's not disturb her," said Lizzi. She put down her blaster and flopped onto the sofa.
Wills tossed the message chip to Sharl who plugged it into a player. A flat-side screen came up and lit up her face with a greenish glow. She looked at the screen and waved to Wills to come over. "It's for you."
"Me?" said Wills, frowning. "No one is supposed to know I'm here."
He walked over to the screen and Sharl moved away. Wills sat down and looked at the message displayed. It was text only, no sound.
WILLS DARCY
Wills hit the 'continue' button.
HELLO, DARCY. I HOPE THIS MESSAGE FINDS YOU MOST UNWELL. BY THE TIME YOU READ THIS, I AND MY LOVELY NEW COMPANION WILL BE AT THE LANDING PAD 13, MEGABLOCK 7.
SHE IS QUITE VALUABLE FOR SOMEONE SO YOUNG - TO MYSELF, AND HER IMPERIAL MASTERS. I UNDERSTAND YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT GIANNA FROM CERTAIN DANGER - UNFORTUANTELY, YOU HAVE FAILED. YOU HAVE FAILED GIANNA JUST AS YOU FAILED YOUR FATHER.
GIVE MY SINCEREST REGARDS TO MISS LIZZI BENYT. TELL HER NEXT TIME WE MEET, WE'LL DO MORE THAN JUST KISS.
WICKHAM.
Darcy stared at the words for several stunned moments.
"Oh, shavit!!"
This expletive attracted the attention of all three females.
"What?" asked Myra.
Wills frantically spun the screen around for them to look and hit 'replay'. The next moment he was on his feet swearing his head off as the screen fragmented into static.
"It's a one-play chip!" he yelled.
"What?" asked Sharl, flinging her head around in a vain attempt to follow Wills as he dashed across the room and flung open the bedroom door and barked, "Lights!"
The voice-activated lights didn't switch on. Wills forced himself to repeat the command calmly, causing the lights to turn on -
- to reveal an empty room.
"Where's Gianna?" asked Lizzi worriedly.
"Kidnapped!"
"WHAT?!" exclaimed all three women in unison.
"We've got to get her back!"
Wills dashed across the room and grabbed his blaster, checked it was fully charged and gestured frantically for the others to follow. "Come on! I know where he's taking her!"
They didn't waste time on questions, but grabbed their blasters and followed him. Sharl took Wills' arm, causing him to stop.
"Let me take the lead," she said quickly. "Where is she?"
Wills began to shout at her, then thought the better of it.
"Launch pad 13, megablock 7."
Sharl nodded. "Right. I know a short cut."
She scanned the area around her. Five meters away, a Dug was climbing into his airspeeder, only to be rudely knocked onto the permacrete as Sharl pushed him aside and jumped into the driver's seat.
"Come on!" she yelled to the others, ignoring the protesting Dug.
Wills, Lizzi and Myra jumped into the passenger seat and hung on for their lives as Sharl hit the accelerator. Wills could do nothing but fidget in his seat.
His heart was a chaotic mixture of dark emotions - fear for Gianna, hatred for Wickham . . . and rising despair that he may have again failed to protect someone he loved.
Wickham led Gianna across the launch pad to a sleek, deadly looking ship painted an oily dark green.
"It's on that ship, the Serpent," he said to Gianna who nodded shyly. "Lizzi and Wills are already waiting inside."
He took Gianna's hand and led her aboard.
From megablock 6, Wills could see the familiar shape of the Serpent.
"There he is!" he yelled, pointing across the kilometer deep chasm.
"How do you know?" demanded Sharl as she looked for the nearest bridge.
"Believe me, I do," said Wills through gritted teeth.
Finding a space, Sharl zoomed onto the bridge, ignoring all speed limits (like most good citizens of Nar Shaddaa who held rules in contempt) and driving with no regard for other drivers who beeped and honked at her.
Lizzi was in no frame of mind to care. All she could do was stare at Wills.
Gianna was taken, yes, but then why was Wills acting in such a way? Did he have an accomplice, and was leading them on a wild thrantas chase?
Wickham kept a smile on his face as he led Gianna to one of the cabins on the Serpent.
"Where's Lizzi and Wills?" asked Gianna uneasily.
"In here."
Wickham opened the cabin door and shoved Gianna inside. Before she could do anything, the door was shut and locked.
He leered as Gianna began to pound on the door, screaming. He glanced out the viewport to the starboard - and grinned even wider when he saw who was outside.
"Wills Darcy," he whispered to himself as Gianna's screams turned to frightened crying. "Perfect timing."
He went to the cockpit and picked up his high-powered blaster, then exited the ship.
Taking cover behind one of the landing skids, he took aim at the airspeeder - and fired.
The blaster bolt came out of nowhere - certainly too fast for Sharl to dodge. It hit the repulsors, throwing the speeder into an uncontrolled spin that flung Myra to the ground and Lizzi into a pile of storage bins. Wills managed to stay in his seat as Sharl got the speeder to crash land more or less in one piece on the side of the landing pad. It came to an abrupt stop and the law of inertia took command, flinging Sharl's head against the controls with a sickening thud. She draped ungracefully on the seat, unconscious.
Smoke was pouring out of the speeder. Wills dragged himself up, only to duck back down as another blaster bolt came in his direction. He kept his head down and tried to wake Sharl up.
"Sharl! Sharl, you okay?"
There was no answer. Wills swore and kicked the door open. He grabbed Sharl under her arms and pulled her out. Another blaster bolt zinged past his ear.
There was a funny smell. He frowned and froze as he realized that there was fuel leaking out.
Fuel and blaster bolts were not a good mixture. And he and Sharl were pinned down right beside a speeder full of fuel.
"I think we're in trouble," he muttered.
Myra shook her head and winced as she looked at the shallow gash on her arm that was beginning to bleed. She looked up to see the speeder crash onto the side of the landing pad with Sharl and Wills inside. She looked to her right to see Lizzi sprawled over a storage bin, eyes closed.
Myra crawled over and felt for a pulse. Lizzi's life was still strong in her, but she was knocked out.
Well. Myra might be injured but she still had a blaster. She lifted the weapon and took aim at the shadowy figure crouched by the ship.
She fired.
Wickham smiled to himself as he took aim at the growing puddle near Wills. One shot and Wills was done for.
He was so intent on his target he didn't notice the blond with the blaster until she hit him in the shoulder.
He force of the bolt knocked him over. He hissed in pain and whipped the blaster around to aim at the blond woman.
A blaster bolt from the other direction attracted his attention in the way only a blaster bolt can. He realized Wills had taken advantage of Wickham's distraction to fire his own blaster.
Wickham was smart enough to know when the odds weren't stacked in his favour.
He started up the Serpent's boarding ramp. He stumbled in the bright light that shone down on him, but otherwise arrived inside safely. Falling into the pilot's chair he started the engines.
Sharl came to very quickly, in time to see Wills shoot at someone near the ship that stood on the landing pad. She squinted at the sight of a Falleen male running out of the shadows into the light cast by the ship's interior, clutching his shoulder. He stumbled once then ran inside and closed the ramp.
"Hey, isn't that the con man?" she slurred. Noises seemed to be unnaturally loud and the sound of Wills' swearing as the ship took off was hurting her ears.
Thankfully, she blacked out again.
Myra tried to hit the figure again, but she must have used up all her luck already, for her second shot went wild and hit the ground. It was too late anyway, for the figure - a Falleen male it would seem, whose face looked vaguely familiar - dashed into the ship clutching at his shoulder where she had hit him.
The rest of her shots were just as worthless, for the ship was soon burning sky for open space.
Lizzi came to just in time to see the dark green ship lift off and head out to space.
"No," she whispered.
It was futile. Gianna was gone, as was her mysterious captor.
A noise to her right alerted her back to her surroundings. The 'borrowed' speeder had taken a dive and was a smoking wreck. Wills was helping a limping Sharl hobble to where she was standing. Myra got up off the permacrete and ran to embrace her sister. Wills moved away from them and turned to Lizzi, his eyes flaming.
Lizzi stood up straight and glared back. As one, they yelled at each other, "This is all your fault!!!!"
Part Eighteen
Posted on Tuesday, 24 August 1999
Charls knocked on the plain white door in the living section of Home One. No one answered, and, frowning, he knocked again. Again, no answer.
He put his ear to the door. Through the soundproof material, he could hear the low bass frequency pounding of some kind of music.
"Great," he muttered to himself. He pounded on the door and yelled, "Lijia! Open up!"
After some moments, the door opened. Charls winced as the jizz-wailer music reached his ears.
"Hiya, Charls!" said Lijia gaily not seeming to notice the noise at all. She was dressed in a figure-hugging suit that changed from green to gold according to the angle of light. "Come in!"
"You mind turning the music down? Off would be better," groaned Charls as he sat down on one of the two beds in the room. Lijia sighed in exasperation and obliged. "Thanks," said Charls gratefully.
"What you been up to lately?" asked Lijia, flopping down on the other bed and staring at the ceiling. "How are things with Jain?"
"That's what I came here to talk to you about," said Charls. He put his chin in his hands and looked at the floor. "She's got no time for me. She's always busy being a medic - Sithspawn, her patients see her more often than I do!" Charls sprang up from his seat and began to pace the room. "Whenever I visit her, things are great but the moment she's needed in the medic center she leaves, even if it's the end of her shift. I bet you a million credits that if it was a choice between me and her work, I'd lose."
Lijia yawned, bored. Charls glared at her. "Are you even listening to me?"
"Course I am. I'm just bored because the solution is so obvious."
"Well, would you care to enlighten me?"
"Nope. You've got to find it out for yourself."
"Lijia!" pleaded Charls.
"No. I am not going to help you." She straightened and looked at him, her cat-like eyes an emerald green. "You've got to learn to find out things yourself. This is your relationship, not mine. I've already given you enough hints last time we talked about this - time for you to do your own work."
Charls stared at the feline girl, amazed that the featherhead he knew could say things like this.
"Besides, I've got more important things to think about," said Lijia mischievously.
"What?" replied Charls warily.
"What dance routine I'm going to do at the tapcafe lounge this evening. I promised some entertainment for the guys during their shift break."
Charls rolled his eyes. "What's your choice?" he said, deciding to take this new direction of conversation, less painful than the one he had initiated.
"I don't know. I've got the Mantooine Minuet but that's not really exciting and Supernova. That one ought to be enjoyed by the males especially."
Charls gave his friend a quizzical look. He decided he didn't want to know about the details of the dance. "Where did you learn all these dances?" he asked out of curiosity.
To his surprise, Lijia stuck her tongue out at him and didn't say anything. Unwilling to let her off so easily, Charls repeated the question.
"It's from back when I was a slave girl," said Lijia flippantly. "I used to have to dance for Jabba the Hutt."
"Who?"
"Jabba's a Hutt crime-lord. I had to perform whenever he was at his palace on Nal Hutta. He wasn't there a lot - most of the time he was at some planet in the Outer Rim. It wasn't that fun, but I learnt heaps. And then one day he rescued me." Lijia smiled happily to herself.
Charls looked at Lijia in surprise. Perhaps, finally he would learn about the background of his little friend. "Who rescued you?"
"Oh, it was this guy who hung around the court now and again. We used to look at each other and smile. I used to visit him when I wasn't needed and we fell in love. Then one night, when he was about to leave on his ship, he smuggled me out and I escaped. I'd imagine Jabba was pretty mad when he heard about it but he was away at the time. Anyway, me and Wickham, that's his name, traveled around the galaxy a bit, but he had to earn some money so we could get married so he sent me to the Rebellion for safety while he went to make his fortune."
"Oh." Charls couldn't think of anything so say. "Okay . . ."
Lijia rocked on the bed humming to herself, off in her little fantasy world. Suddenly she jumped and turned the music back on.
"I think I'll dance the Supernova," she said over the noise. "This is the music, and this is the dance."
Charls edged towards the door as Lijia began to execute a series of kicks and twists that made him blush.
"Er, yeah. If you don't mind, I'll leave you to practice."
Lijia nodded absently as she blew him a kiss.
Charls nearly flew out the door.
His feet automatically took him to the medical bay. He glanced into the main room and pulled back when he saw Jain tending to one of the wounded Rebels. Unfortunately, his action was noticed and one of the other medics called Jain's attention to him.
"Hello Charls," said Jain. "Just wait a moment, would you?"
Charls nodded but did not smile. "Sure."
Ten minutes later, Jain was free to come to him. He drew her into one of the unoccupied rooms. Trying to act as if everything was all right, he said, "You want to go to dinner or something? Catering here may not be cuisine but it'll do."
Jain smiled radiantly. "I'd love to, but I can't be gone for too long in case I'm needed back here."
Charls took her hand in his own. "Is there ever a time when you can care about yourself instead of continuously worrying about others?"
Jain looked at their joined hands. "No. It's my calling, to help all people."
"But when does Jain have time for herself?" asked Charls softly. He drew his head closer to hers.
Jain looked up at him, eyes shining. "I don't know."
"What about now?"
Time seemed to slow, every sense was heightened. So close now . . .
He could feel Jain's warm breath on his face. One brief moment, their lips touched -
"Excuse me, Medic Benyt, you're needed immediately!" came the harried call from the doorway.
The two separated embarrassed and unwillingly. Jain looked away from Charls. "Yes, I'll come at once."
She moved away from him and out the door. Charls clenched his fists. Not again!
"Jain, wait!" he called. He dashed forward and took her wrist. "Can't you leave it, just this once?"
She looked down at her slim wrist enclosed in his hand. "Let me go. I must go!"
"But - "
She pulled away from him. A repulsor-stretcher was coming towards them carrying someone. "I will see you later, Charls."
Jain quickly went to the side of the wounded man. She gave him a penetrative once-over, then briskly directed the Rebels around her to take the man to the operating room.
Charls seethed and opened his mouth to swear at the man who had taken Jain from him - unintentionally but still . . .
The harsh words died on his lips as he looked down at the haggard face of Commander Luke Skywalker.
The sandy-haired man stared vacantly at Charls, the stump of his right hand encased in a protective sheath. Bruises and cuts covered his face. But it was the expression in his eyes that made Charls hold his breath. Haunted with expressions of fear, doubt, horror, and despair - all were displayed on Luke Skywalker's face - emotions that made Charl's problems seem laughable trivial.
Charls could only stare in guilt as the Commander was whisked away.
Jain tried to forget the hurt expression on Charl's face with the best of antidotes for a guilty conscience - work. Commander Luke Skywalker looked like he had been through hell.
What had happened Jain could not imagine. The Millenium Falcon had arrived only moments ago, carrying Princess Leia, her droids, Commander Skywalker, the Wookie Chewbacca and a dark-skinned stranger, but Captain Solo was missing. Skywalker was battered, bruised and had lost his right hand. But the amputation was unlike anything she had seen before - partial cauterization that had burned the flesh and bone.
"I seem to have to fix you up a lot," she asked, keeping her tone light and casual whilst she cleaned the wound. "You look like you've been through the wringer."
Skywalker didn't seem to notice her ministrations. She continued. "I think we'll have to fit you with a bionic hand - unless you saved your limb so we can re-attach it."
"No," whispered Skywalker.
Jain looked at him. He was staring out the window at the maelstrom of stars and gases outside his thoughts obviously far away.
"Ben," he murmured to himself. "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me?"
Jain had the distinct sensation she did not want to know what he was thinking.
She went back to work. Poor Charls. She loved him and felt sorry she could not spend more time with him. But she had to help others. Surely Charls would understand.
Part Nineteen
Posted on Wednesday, 25 August 1999
Despite the unwritten law that everyone minds their own business on Nar Shaddaa, a crowd was quickly gathering around Landing Pad 13. Sharl looked nervously at the mass of curious gawking onlookers then back at Lizzi and Wills who looked as if they were going to have a fist-fight right there in front of everyone.
Both of them were yelling at the tops of their voices at the same time, and Myra covered her ears.
"My fault?! What are you trying to pull, smuggler!"
"My fault?! Traitorous Imperial, I should shoot you down where you stand!"
From beyond the crowd, there came the sound of metallic, official voices. Myra caught sight of the familiar white body armor of Imperial stormtroopers and grabbed Lizzi's arm.
"Stormies, let's get out of here!" She pulled Lizzi down an alleyway, Sharl taking Wills. When Lizzi opened her mouth again to yell, Sharl whirled upon her and hissed, "Shut up! At least wait till we get back before attracting attention to yourself."
Lizzi subsided and silently fumed. She locked Wills in a burning glare that he willingly returned. The exchange was broken by the Lukas sisters, who dragged their charges away into the depths of Smuggler's Moon.
As soon as the door had shut on the Lukas apartment, the fight burst into flame again.
"I should have known better than to trust a slimecrawler like you!" yelled Lizzi.
"And I should have known better than to think a hot-blooded female like you could handle such a delicate mission!" retaliated Wills.
"You planned this whole thing, didn't you?" said Lizzi viciously.
"Huh?" said Wills, caught off-guard.
Lizzi drew her blaster and pointed it at Wills. There was an audible silence as she flicked from 'stun' to 'kill'. She advanced menacingly until she could shoot Wills at point-blank range.
"Wait a moment, what do you mean, I planned this?" protested Wills, staring down the barrel of the blaster.
"Lizzi, put the gun down," said Sharl slowly.
Lizzi didn't heed her friend's words. She kept advancing on Wills, who slowly backed away until he came into contact with the sofa behind him. He tripped and fell backwards and lay sprawled, helpless.
"This was all part of your plan, wasn't it, Imperial?" said Lizzi softly. "All part of your plan to take Gianna back to your Imperial masters, wasn't it? We played right into your hands by sending you on this mission. And you took your chance."
"What?" said Wills incredulously as he lay staring at the blaster waving in his face. He looked up and flinched at Lizzi's icy glare. "Are you crazy?"
"You came to us, worming your way into our trust then betrayed us. Imperial spy!" Lizzi practically spat the words out. "Who was your accomplice? Were you in contact with him the whole time we were here?"
"Hang on a sec, Lizzi I had nothing to do with this!"
Wills shut up as Lizzi poked her blaster under his chin.
"Lizzi!" commanded Sharl. "Stop it!"
"Shut up, Sharl. This lowlife deserves to die."
"Not on my turf though! You are not going to shoot him. In the first place, Wills had nothing to do with it! And in the second place, you'll get blood all over my furniture."
Lizzi looked at Sharl.
"Then I'll pitch him out the window if you're so fussy."
Sharl sighed in exasperation. "Just put the gun down, Lizzi. You won't shoot him, I know you too well."
"You want to bet on that?"
"Not with my life at stake, please," said Wills as he lay on the sofa.
"Shut up," said Lizzi, hitting his chin with the blaster barrel. The blow cut into Will's skin, and a trickle of blood appeared. With a blaster pointing in his face, Wills couldn't protest.
"He's innocent, Lizzi," said Sharl calmly. "He hasn't left my sight the entire time you've been here except for that instance when he ran off in search of you. So unless he can communicate telepathically there's no way he could have arranged Gianna's kidnap."
"Besides, I saw whom we were shooting at," piped up Myra. "It was a Falleen guy."
"Yeah, the con man," added Sharl. "The con man who's a part time bounty hunter, what's his name . . ."
"It was Wickham," said Wills, biting out the name.
"That's it. It was him," said Sharl.
Lizzi wavered. "You're lying."
"I'm not," replied Wills. "And if you would be so kind as to put down the blaster, I might just tell you why."
Lizzi hesitated. Myra took advantage of her friend's distraction and dived for the blaster. Myra's hand closed upon the barrel and she jerked it up - just as Lizzi reflexively pulled the trigger.
A scarlet bolt flashed upwards into the ceiling. Wills ducked as bits of it fell down on him and went for Lizzi's feet. Together, Myra and Wills managed to wrest the blaster away from Lizzi.
Now it was Lizzi who lay on the floor. Wills stood above her, blaster in his hand. He didn't point it at Lizzi however, but merely held it limply. He flicked the switch to 'stun'.
"I don't know what kind of delusion you're under but you are quite mistaken about my being an Imperial spy," he said acidly, wiping the blood off his face. "I had absolutely nothing to do with Gianna's kidnap. I do know however, who did. Wickham."
"How do I know you aren't lying," said Lizzi from her position on the floor.
"You don't. You have to trust me."
"Why should I?"
Wills didn't reply. He gave the blaster to Sharl, who held it safely out of Lizzi's reach. Wills then extended his hand to help Lizzi up. She slapped the offered gesture and stood up. Wills sighed with exasperation.
"You want to know how I know it was Wickham?" he said. "Simple. That message chip, it was from him. It was a self-congratulatory note for me to get me to follow him blindly so he could kill me. Those blaster bolts flying in my direction have quite convinced me of that. Wickham was the one who's taken Gianna."
"You know Wickham too. Don't try to deny that," said Lizzi.
"I won't. I do know him, and I wish I never did. However, if you think I'm going to swallow my pride and tell you my life history, you're having delusions of grandeur, lady."
Lizzi didn't reply. Wills narrowed his eyes and said,
"There was a reference to you, you know that? How do I know you haven't been in contact with him this whole trip? You're the one who keeps going out alone - how do I know you're not the traitor?"
"Me?" said Lizzi. "You've got to be kidding."
"You didn't believe me, so why should I believe you?" retorted Wills. "The exact words were, 'Give me sincerest regards to Miss Lizzi Benyt. Tell her next time we meet, we'll do more than just kiss'. What do you think that implies, huh?"
Lizzi turned crimson. Sharl looked at her friend.
"Afraid you don't have much of a case against Wills, except circumstantial evidence, Liz," she said. "Problem is, we seem to have quite a case against you."
Lizzi didn't reply.
"You and Wickham seem to know each other and you've been disappearing off by yourself heaps, too. Care to explain?"
Lizzi bit her lip. Wills folded his arms and looked down at her expectantly. Finally she lowered her eyes and said,
"Fine. I'll admit I've met Wickham, but only a couple of days ago. He told me he was a Rebel contact and that he had some information. Something about a cargo of magnetic shielding and insulator plating coming through. Then he told me that Wills was an Imperial spy and Gianna was wanted by the Empire and Wills was here to capture her."
"You bought that?" said Wills. "How could you be so stupid?"
Lizzi turned away. Sharl thought this a good time to jump in and she did. "Let's leave this blame session behind, okay? You've both been tricked and the one we have to chew out for this whole mess is Wickham. The question in now, what are we going to do?"
Wills turned to Sharl. "We've got to rescue Gianna."
"That's kind of obvious. Problem is we don't know where Wickham's taking her," replied Sharl.
Myra thought, then went over to the computer. She hit a few keys and began to type.
"What are you looking for?" asked Sharl.
"Finding out where Wickham lives - got it."
"Where?" asked Wills.
"Here." Myra printed out a flimsy copy of Wickham's house location and gave it to him. No sooner than she had given it to him, Wills headed for the door.
"Where are you off to?" demanded Sharl.
"To find a lead so I can rescue Gianna." Wills took his blaster and opened the door. "You guys coming?"
"I am," said Myra. "Maybe I can slice into his computer if it's still there."
"Sharl, Lizzi?"
Sharl looked at Lizzi. She was still staring outside, oblivious to her surroundings.
"No, not us," said Sharl.
Wills didn't argue. He and Myra left. As soon as they were gone, Sharl went to sit beside Lizzi. "You alright?"
"No!" exploded Lizzi. "Do you think I'm alright?"
Sharl shrugged. "Didn't think so. Are you sore that you were taken in by Wickham?"
Lizzi looked away, ashamed. Sharl sighed and put her arms around her friend.
"It's not your fault. Everyone makes mistakes - "
"At the cost of another's life?"
"That's pretty rare, but it does happen," admitted Sharl.
"I'm such an idiot!" exclaimed Lizzi. "I was so fully taken in by him - I am pathetic!"
"Lizzi, do you know what a Falleen is?"
"Yes."
"Do you know their physiological abilities?"
"No."
"Well, they have this particular ability to exude pheromones. Makes them quite popular with the other sex. Get the holograph?"
Lizzi did. She straightened and looked at Sharl, who smiled.
"We're all slaves to our passions, Lizzi," she said. "Sometimes it gets the better of us. But I promise you that next time I see Wickham, I'm going to something very harmful . . . and very embarrassing . . . to him."
Lizzi burst out laughing. "You're too cruel, Sharl!"
"No, just practical. Come on, let's think up a plan while your boyfriend and Myra are away."
"My boyfriend?" Lizzi yelped. "What the hell are you talking about?"
Sharl smiled, and told her.
Wills was rather surprised at Wickham's apartment. Though it looked shabby on the outside, the interior was almost lavishly furnished. The use of a disguising exterior façade seemed to be pretty popular in the lower levels of Smuggler's Moon - the Lukas apartment was another that used the technique.
The moment they had broken inside, Myra had made a beeline for the computer. She flicked it on and immediately she cursed.
"Damn it, the slippery space slug has initiated a meltdown."
"Can you stop it?"
"Yeah, but it's been going for some time now. I don't know how much we can salvage."
"Try it anyway."
Myra hunched down and set to work. Wills wandered around the apartment, some things bringing back painful memories.
Wickham was back in his life. After so long, after they had parted ways at the window so many years ago, they had met again. And again, Wickham had hurt someone Wills loved.
First his father, now Gianna! And Lizzi! Had Wickham won Lizzi over as easily as he had the other acquaintances Wills knew?
He wandered over to the refresher. Inside was a container, the type of revitalizing unit one used for bio-masks. Wills picked it up. It was the same as he remembered.
You used our generosity for your own, immoral uses, he thought viciously.
In anger, he picked up the unit and smashed it on the floor.
"Uh, Wills have you found anything? I have," asked Myra.
"No, I haven't. I was just smashing things, that's all." He came out to join Myra at the computer. "What'd you find?"
"Plenty. He's got transcripts of our comm conversations, a few messages from a spy in the Rebellion but they've all been damaged and I can't give you much detail. Wait, here's something - a bounty for Gianna."
Wills leaned over to look at the console. "Twenty thousand," he breathed. "Who on earth wants Gianna so badly?"
"It's a private bounty too, for Wickham only. Not that the person who posted the bounty would have any luck with guys like Boba Fett - all the big-time hunters are out looking for Captain Solo. But the file is too badly fragmented already for me to tell who posted the bounty. I got the location though, where Wickham's supposed to take Gianna once he's got her."
"Get that. That's our lead."
Myra obliged. After unsuccessfully scanning the computer for anything else that might be of value, they turned their attention to the contents of the apartment.
There was nothing of interest so Wills and Myra returned to the Lukas apartment.
"We've got something," announced Wills when he entered.
"Good. What is it?" said Lizzi. She refused to look at him, but apart from that, she was acting as if nothing had happened between them.
"It turns out there's a bounty of twenty thousand on Gianna," said Myra, sitting down.
"Twenty thousand?" repeated Lizzi. "Burning stars."
"What on the galaxy has your friend done?" asked Sharl in surprise. Wills shrugged.
"I don't know. Gianna never told me much about her past. But we've managed to pull the location of the person who wants her."
Lizzi's dark eyes flamed. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go rescue Gianna. Where's that pirate taking her?"
"Some planet called Nicria."