Chapter 10

Six months after he'd been saved by Karrde, Dankin found himself in a mountainous wilderness with Odonnl and Aves. Aves, only a couple years older than Odonnl, was supposed to be in charge. He had a map and a compass, but Odonnl seemed unconvinced that he knew how to read either.

"I'm not lost," Aves grumbled. "It's just taking longer because I have to babysit you two."

Odonnl rolled his eyes and glanced at Dankin. "Right . . ."

"I hear something," Dankin said.

"What is it?" Odonnl asked, straining to hear.

"Animals?" Dankin replied uncertainly.

"Could it be the guarlara?" Aves asked.

Dankin, of course, had no idea. Like most people, he had never seen the exceedingly rare animals in real life before. He hadn't even heard of such animals existing until two days ago. Guarlara were huge, majestic, jet-black equines so coveted by the royalty of Naboo that it was illegal for anyone outside of the royal family to ride them. There were rumors that a powerful corporate businessman had acquired a black market herd of the animals and kept them hidden deep in the mountains of Ralltiir. A rival had hired Karrde to provide proof of the herd's existence, to be used to create a scandal that would take down the businessman. Karrde had sent Aves, Odonnl, and Dankin to find the herd and take pictures.

Dankin heard the sound, a faint braying, again. This time Aves and Odonnl heard it too.

"This way." Aves led the trio up a steep rise in the mountainside. From the top, they could see nearly three-hundred and sixty degrees around them.

"There," Odonnl pointed to a small valley several kilometers down the mountain. Small black forms could be seen moving around below.

"I see," Aves replied. "But from this distance I can't tell for sure what they are." Aves fiddled with the lens on the camera for a few minutes before declaring, "We need to get closer."

After about an hour of climbing down the mountain toward the herd, they came to a river. The river was about twenty meters across and impossible to tell how deep. The current was slow but steady.

"Here, I see the river on the map," Aves said. "It looks like there's a bridge a little ways upstream."

They wandered into the trees, far enough away that they could no longer see the river, but close enough to hear it. Dankin was tired but didn't want to complain. He trudged along behind the others, trying his best not to fall too far behind. Dankin was determined to carry his weight, not to be a burden to those around him. But at the moment he wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep.

Dankin jumped as Odonnl, apparently having paused to wait for him, laid a hand on his shoulder. "Not too much farther," Odonnl said with an encouraging smile. Dankin gave the brightest smile he could muster in return.

"Sithspawn!" Aves cried up ahead.

Odonnl trotted to catch up. "What is it?"

"That," Aves replied.

Once Dankin caught up, he saw that Odonnl and Aves were looking forlornly at the river. Specifically at an old tree trunk that stretched across it.

"That's the bridge?" Odonnl asked.

Aves looked from the map to the tree trunk and back again. "It has to be."

"There's no way we can cross that. It probably won't even hold our weight."

Aves nodded agreement. Then he turned, seeming to see Dankin for the first time. "It might not hold our weight," Aves began, sizing up Dankin as he spoke.

"No," Odonnl said. "It's way too dangerous. What if he falls?"

"I won't fall," Dankin asserted. He moved quickly to the end of the tree trunk and scrambled on top.

"Wait, come back," Odonnl said.

Dankin took a few steps forward, over the water. The tree felt solid beneath his feet and it was easier to keep his balance than Dankin had expected. "I'm okay."

"Good job, Dankin. The herd must be close. Here, take the camera," Aves held the small device out to the younger boy. Dankin easily took the few steps to return and took the device from Aves. "This is very expensive. Karrde will have our heads if it gets damaged. Be careful."

Odonnl looked uneasy as Dankin turned back toward the water, but said nothing.

Dankin no longer felt tired as he looped the camera strap over his head. He was pleased to finally be able to do something helpful, something no one else could do. He took three easy steps, staring at the log below. He slowed a little, aware of how far he was from the bank. Two more steps. Then another. Dankin was past the halfway point. No turning back now. Another step—

Dankin vaguely recalled the sensation of falling. And a sharp pain in his shin where it contacted a rock. But mostly he remembered suddenly forgetting how to breathe. Even before his head went underwater, it was as though his lungs simply forgot how to function in the icy water. He tried desperately to swim to the bank, but he could hardly tell which direction to push to keep his head above the surface of the water, much less which direction the safety of the bank was. He felt himself being pulled by the current, scraping his legs and arms across rocks. He didn't notice the pain, and he no longer felt the cold. He simply fought the river as long as he could.

The next thing Dankin remembered was being on the bank. And shivering.

"He's freezing!" That was Odonnl.

"He's okay." That was Aves. Aves, who was soaking wet and visibly shaking.

Dankin remembered being wrapped in two jackets.

"Take this." Aves tossed something to Odonnl. "Shoot anything that moves."

"What about the camera?"

"Forget it. I'll tell Karrde I lost it. We need to get him back."

Aves tossed something else to Odonnl. "Keep us headed southwest. Got that?"

Odonnl's footsteps moved away as Dankin was lifted.

Aves paused and looked down at the young boy, his face drawn with concern. "Are you okay?" Dankin nodded slowly.

"Don't ever do that again, Dankin. Don't you ever scare me like that again."

"Are you sure we're being objective about this?" Odonnl asked. He was sitting in the copilot's seat on the bridge, his chair swiveled to face the passenger bench where Dankin was seated. "And we aren't just grabbing for the first lead that isn't Aves?"

"Not at all. But still, the logic stands," Dankin replied. "We've investigated everyone who complains, everyone who demands more money, everyone who seems unhappy. But what about those who have been quietly doing their own thing, flying beneath the radar?"

"And Faughn is the only one who isn't complaining?"

"Pretty much. Here, I pulled her records for the last six months. What do you see?"

Odonnl took the datapad and scrolled through. "She isn't demanding much, but she has been getting everything she wants lately. Based on this, I'd say her ship is in the best-repair of any in our fleet."

"Uh-huh. And?"

"And . . ." Odonnl glanced through each expense approval on the list. "And everything has been approved by Aves. Sith, she probably hasn't even spoken to Mara in months." Hearing the words out loud made Odonnl wince. Why hadn't they seen it before? "Which would explain why Mara hasn't picked up on her deception."

"Exactly. Now the only question is: will she show up to the meeting on Corellia?"

Odonnl shook his head slowly as he handed back the datapad. "I wouldn't count on it."

"I'm sure she doesn't want to. But she may need to. She doesn't know we're on to her yet and she's taken some money, but not enough to survive on for long."

"She has to know Mara will figure it out as soon as they meet face-to-face."

Dankin grimaced. "Except that we conveniently told her to show up with ysalamiri. Maybe she still thinks she can get away with it, safely tucked in a ysalamiri bubble."

"Right. The ysalamari. There's no way this visit to Corellia ends well, is there?"

"Let's just say I've got a bad feeling about this," Dankin replied.