A distant roar sounded out over the bog, and Jaina looked up to the see the Miy’tils wheeling around for another pass. She raced forward and Force-sprang over the murg pack, then came down atop the wall next to Zekk. Where their SteaithXs had been, there were now six smoking craters.
“We’d better get out of here,” Jaina said. She turned her attention back to the sky and saw that the Miy’tils were already diving back toward the villa, “You were right about the Ducha-when it comes to Jedi, she doesn’t think there’s any such thing as overkill.”
“There isn’t,” Zekk said darkly. “And when we find a way off of this mudball, I’m going to hunt her down and prove it.”
Instead of jumping down outside the wall and running for cover in the bogs, he dropped back inside the wall and shoved through the screeching murgs toward the gate controls.
“Are you crazy?” Jaina cried from the top of the wall. “Those Miy’tils will be dropping bombs in about five seconds.”
“Then help get these gates open!”
Jaina started to protest, then realized she would just be wasting time. Whatever else he was, Zekk was as kind and courageous as Jedi came, and nothing was going to change that-not even her.
“Zekk, sometimes you’re a real pain in the neck.” She used the Force to pull a pair of murgs out of his way, and he finally reached the gate controls. “And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m kind of starting to like it.”
“‘Now you tell me.” Zekk pulled the lock slicer out of his equipment belt and started to work on the gate controls. “Let me know when we’re out of time.”
“Why?” Jaina turned toward the approaching Miy’tils. “Would it make any difference?”
“Not really,” Zekk said. The lock slicer surprised Jaina by beeping a success signal after only a couple of seconds. The gates hissed open, and the murgs shot out toward the bog. “But it’s good to know you waited.”
Chapter Fourteen
With dim blue lighting and the sweet taint of rekka smoke in the air, Telkur Station Cantina was the kind of place where smart customers kept their backs to as many walls as possible. Its only ceiling was a disorganized web of ventilation ducts suspended in the murk above, and there was a half-concealed entrance somewhere along every one of its eight walls. The patrons were clustered in groups of three and four, sitting around corroded steel tables and openly studying Han and his companions.
“What are we waiting for?” Nashtah demanded from behind Han, “I’m thirsty.”
“Just being sure,” Han said. The cantina’s clients were exclusively human and near-human, with no droids, and roughly balanced between handsome men with scroungy three-day beards and beautiful Hapan women dressed to look tough but available. C-3PO and the Noghri were back in the Falcon, so Han thought he and his two female companions would fit right in-unless someone recognized him or Leia from an old HoloNews broadcast. “I can’t believe Hapan Security wouldn’t cover this place.”
“They will-but there won’t be many.” Nashtah pushed past Han and started toward the bar. “If they cause us any trouble, we’ll kill them.”
“Yeah, that’s a great plan,” Han retorted. “We wouldn’t want to cause a scene or anything.”
But Nashtah was already halfway to the bar, no doubt far more aware of the gazes furtively following her progress than she let on. Having rebuffed Leia’s suggestion that they all wear disguises-claiming her contact would not show up unless both she and the Solos were easily recognizable-she now seemed determined to draw the entire station’s attention.
“I don’t like it,” Han said to Leia. “She’s testing us.”
“Clearly,” Leia said. “But she’s our only lead. What are we going to do?”
“How about not going along?” Han took Leia’s arm and turned toward the grimy access corridor. “We’ll head back to the Falcon and let her come to us.”
Leia pulled him back into the cantina entrance. “And take the chance that she’d just disappear?” She freed herself from his grasp. “We can’t. Too much depends on her.”
Leia started after their companion. Han cursed under his breath, then reluctantly followed the pair toward the bar. The cantina was almost certainly being watched by Hapan Security, and Nashtah was deliberately exposing the Solos to see what happened. If someone tried to kill or capture them, she would probably accept their story and let them fly her the rest of the way to her employers. On the other hand, if nothing happened-or if the capture efforts appeared insincere-she would either slip away quietly or try to kill them herself. Han was betting on kill.