FIVE FINGER DISCOUNT
Chapter 14
Chewie and Leia pulled their rented speeder up to Cav's kiosk. There was a crude hand-lettered sign stuck to the door that read 'out for midday meal.' Leia groaned. They'd spotted several clusters of stormtroopers on their way back to the spaceport at Hedrett, and from her perspective, the sooner they got back to the Falcon, the better.
{We'll just throw the code chip in the slot}, Chewie assured Leia. {When Cav says 'out for midday meal, he could either be eating his midday meal, or, more likely, he's sitting in some taverna getting drunk. He could be gone for hours. We'll just park the speeder and then we'll go back to the ship.}
"It's only 1120, so we have a little time. The food delivery's supposed to arrive at 1145," Leia said, relaxing a little. Not having another encounter with the grouchy Devaronian appealed to her.
Chewie guided the speeder into what both he and Leia were fairly certain had been its original location, walked to the kiosk, and Chewie tossed the code chip into the slot that read 'after hours drop off.' Then they began the trek back to the Falcon, Chewie taking slow steps so as to not outrun the princess. He was, after all, in charge of her safety, especially when Han wasn't around.
Chewie was still puzzled as to why Han chose to ride with Nenmo. Nenmo was trustworthy enough; there was no good reason for Han to mistrust his old friend, at least none that the Wookiee was aware of. He shook his head slightly. Sometimes humans were just so difficult to figure out, especially his cub. He loved Han, enjoyed his company-most of the time-and they usually worked well together. But sometimes the cub just made no sense.
By the time Leia and Chewie had approached the ship, Han and Nenmo were approaching in Nenmo's battered delivery lorry, which appeared to be held together by nothing more than Nenmo's faith. Leia herself was baffled as to why Han sent them on ahead, but promptly put the thought aside as Han and Nenmo began unpacking the decrepit vehicle. Chewie and Leia went over to help; Leia could lift a case of ale as well as anyone, and had done so before.
"You don't have to do this, Your Highnessness," Han told her with a smirk, but his tone suggested he was serious.
"I'm quite capable, thank you," Leia replied coolly, hefting a case and carrying it into the ship. She was damned if any man, especially Han Solo, was going to tell her what she could and couldn't do.
And whether he liked it or not, she was going to have to take charge of the next part of their mission. Once all their deliveries were loaded, they were headed to Thyferra, in order to obtain bacta. Han had contacts for things such as pain medications-after all, he'd spent years transporting illegal merchandise, and pain medications were always available on the black market-but bacta was another matter altogether. It was precious—and completely under Imperial control. Han didn't have the contacts or the knowledge. Leia did.
Not that her expertise it made it any less dangerous. This was likely to be the most treacherous part of the journey, and Leia wasn't looking forward to it.
The ale and Emera wine were now packed into the Falcon's hold.
"It's been a pleasure, Your Highness," Nenmo said to her as she stood on the gangway. "I suspect you'll find joy in your future." He gave her a sly smile.
"Thank you," Leia said, almost sorry to see the rather homely creature head off. I'd be happy just to win this war, she told herself. Joy wasn't even part of the equation.
"Solo, behave yourself," Nenmo admonished. "And Chewie, if he doesn't, you know what to do." Nenmo flapped his wings, re-entered his vehicle, and headed off, the lorry chugging and coughing.
The three headed up the gangway and into the cockpit, where it would be easier to see when the delivery from Caomhanach's arrived.
"They'd better be on time," Han grumbled. "Waiting around here's asking for trouble. We caught sight of some stormtroopers on our way back here. They're hanging around the edges of the spaceport."
Leia felt her heart sink; this was the last thing they needed. Still, Han and Nenmo had gotten past them without difficulty. And ships
receiving food deliveries were commonplace in spaceports. Hedrett's spaceport was full of freighters, some of which were being loaded as they spoke. Hedrett was one of the larger spaceports in the Expansion Rim, and there was a lot of traffic.
"Let's do the flight precheck while we're waiting," Han said to Chewie, and soon both were engaged in a routine that was completely second nature to them. They didn't even have to think about what to do. Leia watched with interest as they moved effortlessly through the various checks.
The flight check having been completed, Han flopped into the pilot's seat. He ran a careless hand through his hair, a gesture Leia noticed that he performed frequently. She wondered how he avoided doing it during sabacc.
Chewie had gone to grab a snack of vegetables and meat and was dining in the lounge. Leia seated herself in Chewie's chair and looked at Han.
"You do understand that I'm in charge of the Thyferran mission," Leia said coolly. It was not a question.
"Is that so?" Han asked skeptically, arching an eyebrow in irritation. Gods, she can be so damn pushy!
"I have the contacts and you don't," she pointed out. "Unless there's something you haven't told me."
"So who IS your contact?" Han asked sullenly, folding his arms across his chest.
"Lenny in Accounting."
Han nearly choked. "Listen, Lenny's not bad, as far as droids go, but what does he have to do with this?"
Leia answered steadily, "Lenny has a contact with accounting for Zaltin Corporation. That contact has one at Xucphra Corporation. They've been smuggling bacta out to the Rebellion and doing enough creative accounting to hide the fact. That's how we've been obtaining our supplies."
"So why are we going there?" Han demanded.
"Because there's a large shipment we can get," Leia answered. "We're always running short. They can only send it in small amounts, and we need a lot more than we have. This way, we'll have a large supply on hand." She sighed. "People seem to get hurt a lot in wartime."
"That they do," Han conceded. "But do you really trust droids? I sure as hells don't." He continued to cross his arms, sulking.
Leia was becoming annoyed with him. He was acting like a recalcitrant child, and she had neither the time nor the inclination to put up with it.
"You've introduced me to individuals that I'd get as far away from as possible, because we can't go through legitimate sources. Droids should be less of a problem," she pointed out tartly, glaring at him.
"Oh, sure," Han remarked, indicating that he was, to say the least, skeptical. "You think they won't turn you over if their Imperial employers ask?"
"These droids are trustworthy. They've been friendly to the Alliance for years now," Leia persisted. "Many types of droids do have free will, you know!"
"Not going to help them if they get caught and melted for scrap," Han objected.
"Do you have a better plan?" Leia shot back.
Han grudgingly admitted that he didn't. "We'll try it your way," he grumbled. "But everything on Thyferra's heavily guarded. Way worse than here on Cularin, and that's been no picnic. Speaking of which, where in the hells is our food delivery? They're late!"
Leia had been so caught up in planning the Thyferra mission that she'd nearly forgotten about the provisions. "Maybe they needed longer to pack the lorry," she said, attempting to squelch her own uneasiness.
"Yeah, well, they'd better get here soon, or I'm going over there to wring Caomhanach's neck!" Han snapped loudly. "The sooner we get out of here, the less chance the Imps are gonna figure out we're in town, which I always consider to be a good plan!"
Leia kept her face neutral. "I'm sure they'll be here soon," she said,
not wanting her own uneasiness to exacerbate an already tense situation.
"So what's your plan when we get to Thyferra?" Han asked Leia. "Do you have a meeting place set up?"
"I have to get in contact with Lenny, and I should let General Rieekan know that we're safe," Leia said.
"I think 'safe' would be stretching it," Han said, climbing out of the pilot's seat. He began to pace. "And we're not making any contact till we're out of orbit."
"I wasn't suggesting we would!" Leia snapped back. Han was not helping matters at the moment, and she considered smacking him. However, she refrained, but only with great restraint. There were moments when she was grateful for her upbringing.
{Where's the delivery?} Chewie demanded, clambering up into the cockpit from where he'd been in the hold.
"You tell me!" Han barked at him.
{Do you want me to go to Caomhanach's and find out what the delay is?} Chewie was not one to shy away from a dangerous situation.
"I think that's a bad idea," Han said to his friend irritably. "Besides, if Caomhananch screws us over, I want the privilege of strangling him myself."
{You'd have to be able to get your hands around his neck,} Chewie guffawed.
"You're hilarious, fuzzball," Han growled. But Leia chuckled, and broke the mood, if only for a moment.
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Waiting wasn't one of Han's most notable skills.He paced about nervously, annoying Chewie and heightening Leia's growing anxiety.
"Kriff, Imps everywhere," he groaned, as stormtroopers swept through the docking bay checking ships. They didn't seem to stick around long at any one particular vessel, but their increased presence was unnerving.
There was still no sign of the delivery lorry from Caomhanach's. It was possible, of course, that the vehicle wouldn't be labeled, since Caomhanach did business with clients from all sides of the law. Still, it should have been there over an hour ago and the time seemed to be moving at an impossibly slow rate as they waited. Eventually, irritation at being delayed gave way to genuine worry that they'd been ripped off, and that Caomhanach never had any intentions of delivering the goods.
"They get fifteen more minutes, and then I'm taking Caomhanach's head off," Han growled. "We need to get out of here before the Imps get curious about us."
Leia couldn't argue with that line of reasoning. The last thing they needed was to blast out of there empty-handed and attract Imperial attention as they did. They had to get that delivery, but the delay was putting them in a very difficult position.
Chewie yowled angrily, and said he'd be more than happy to help Han take care of Caomhanach, but at long last, a large hover lorry pulled up next to the loading bay of the Falcon. All gave audible sighs of relief as they headed back to open the bay.
Before Han could open his mouth to demand what had taken them so long, one of the droids cried out.
"I'm so sorry, sir! We tried to get here on time, but we had to substitute some items for General Fries and he was most displeased-"
"Get the stuff on the ship! I don't care what your excuse is!" Han growled.
"But sir, he had his men kill Caomhanach and they set fire to our facility!"
"I'm sorry you're out of a job, but we need to get moving." Han's tone of voice was much more respectful this time. The droids were unpacking the lorry and bringing goods aboard.
"We were wondering if we could travel with you when we're done," the droid asked Han. "We had finished packing your order when the Imperials showed up, and we...well, we added whatever we could to your order. It wasn't a lot, only some breads and twenty cases of Corellian spiced ale."
Han groaned. He disliked droids-a lot. And the idea of three extra passengers didn't thrill him.
"We really should let them go with us," Leia said quietly as she directed the droids as to where to place the pallets of goods. "And We don't want them to tell the Imperials about us and they might even be useful when we get to Thyferra."
Han sighed. "Fine. But tell them they keep their mouths shut and do as they're told." He began stacking the crates where they fit best.
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The lorry was nearly unpacked when two stormtroopers approached the ship.
"Chewie, get us out of here!" Han shouted, pressing in the code to close the loading bay door.
{We haven't gotten clearance!} Chewie shouted back.
"I don't care, we're going!" Han jumped into the pilot's seat and brought the engines to life. He requested immediate clearance, drumming his fingers as he waited for what seemed like an eternity. In reality, the Falcon was cleared to leave in less then thirty seconds, which was fortunate, because more Stormtroopers were gathering. They hadn't opened fire, but Han wasn't about to stick around long enough for them to start.
He only hoped that the Imperials weren't going to make their trip any more interesting than it already was.