PART 36

Luke flipped off the datatape and pulled the buds from his ears. "Where are we?"

Jovay pretended to be startled. "You've been so quiet, I forgot you were here. What went wrong? Music ended?"

"I was listening to an educational tape," he replied icily. "Not all teenagers are music freaks."

"Really? I was. I must have memorized the lyrics to a thousand songs, went to a dozen concerts. I even got to meet The GreedleMoth when they were-- "

Luke tuned out the unnervingly cheerful agent. For Intel, Jovay sure was chatty. In fact... "Hey," he interrupted, "you're avoiding my question. Where are we?"

The officer chuckled. "In hyperspace, kiddo."

"I know that! Where in hyperspace?"

Jovay tilted his head until one green eye could focus on Luke. "In hyper, you're nowhere until you get somewhere."

"Stop that!" Krit, this was exactly the sort of stuff he would say to his dad when he wanted to drive Vader crazy. "Where are we going?"

The other man began to laugh, enjoying his frustration. "Let it be a surprise."

"Naboo?" Luke guessed. "We're going to Naboo!"

"No." Jovay sobered abruptly. "Think, Luke. You're wanted by the Emperor. Would I take you to my home planet and put it at risk?"

"Of course not." He folded his arms, uncertain if he was more disgusted by the chastisement or by his naivete. "Let's go put someone else's planet at risk." He could almost feel the sharp glance as it raked him.

"We won't be there long enough to endanger anyone. Why don't you take a nap?"

Like a pesky child. "I've been studying Imperial Security protocol," he said to regain control of the conversation, "and there's something I don't understand. Maybe you could answer a question for me?"

The officer swiveled his chair around, stretching out his legs and clasping his hands behind his head. "Shoot. Not literally."

Luke rolled his eyes but didn't let the flippancy distract him. "Can you tell me why," he asked sweetly, "an Intelligence agent would be loyal to Darth Vader and choose to defy

the Emperor? Sounds like a risky move... maybe even a treasonous one."

The relaxed posture became rigid, though Jovay did not change his position. "I'm sure the agent would have good reason."

He leaned forward. "What reason do you think? Hypothetically, of course."

"Of course." Jovay gave him an annoyed look. "Hypothetically, the agent might feel some sort of personal loyalty to Vader motivated by... oh, like being Vader's son who's enlisted in the Rebellion."

"I'm not an agent! And we're talking about you, not me!" His father wasn't sending him to be a spy, was he? Yet what else could he be, Son of Vader nested like a viper in the heart of the Rebel Alliance?

"We're talking about a hypothetical agent," Jovay reminded him. He studied Luke in silence for several moments, then his face softened and he relaxed. "When I was a child, your father saved my life."

Whatever he had expected, this wasn't even close. Luke slid to the edge of his seat, his eyes focused on the Intelligence officer. "What happened? Tell me everything about it."

"I was six, and a climbing fiend," Jovay reminisced with a chuckle. "I climbed a tree -- Naboo has the best climbing pines anywhere... well, I've heard Kashyyk has great trees but-- "

"Will you get back to the story about my dad!"

"Actually, it's a story about me."

If he ever saw his dad again, Luke vowed never to tease or taunt him. "Just tell it. Please?"

"Sure. Long story short, I was hanging near the top, lost my grip and fell. Your dad made a fantastic jump -- I was sure it was a hundred meters! -- and caught me before I was halfway to the ground. He landed still holding me, put me down safe and sound, and I was his for life. Or so my parents promised. And I followed through."

"You mean you're like his slave?" Luke gasped, horrified.

"Where do you get such wild ideas? Stars, no. After he left Naboo, I didn't see him again until I enlisted and then... then he was a lot different." Jovay's head turned and he stared into the darkness they sped through. "I'm not sure how I recognized him. It was a feeling, and I called... no, I didn't call, I just thought 'Anakin Skywalker'. I think he was more surprised than I was." With a sharp sigh, the officer refocused his attention on Luke. "I promised him my fealty and he in turn gave my career a few nudges. You see, nothing startling or sinister. A pretty simple story, really."

A little too simple, Luke mused. Questions whirled in his head and he attempted to sort through them. "So... you mean you knew him when he was Anakin? Before Vader?"

Jovay nodded.

Luke hesitated before asking in a near-whisper: "What was he like?"

"He was... colorful. Very alive, always moving-- even when he was still, if you know what I mean." He smiled faintly. "Blue eyes like yours. Tall, wiry... mercurial. His mood could change in a second. He laughed a lot... and he was completely fearless."

He isn't any more, Luke thought sadly. "I wish I'd known him."

"You know him now," Jovay said in an odd tone.

"Yeah. But he's different now." His words sounded like a betrayal. Luke swallowed. "I still love him, though."

"Good. We're about ready to come out of hyperspace. Watch and learn."

"Okay." He hesitated. "So... your loyalty to my dad is just personal? There are no politics involved?"

Jovay's surprise was evident in the agitated way his fingers punched at the controls. "I think we've talked enough about this."

"Are you a double agent?" Luke asked suddenly. An Imp Intel officer, pretending to spy on the Alliance but really spying on the Empire and reporting to... Darth Vader? No, that didn't make sense.

"You've been watching too many holomovies. Pay attention to what I'm doing."

Typical adult put-down. Sure, he'd watched his fair share of holomovies, but that didn't mean he was obsessed with them. Anyway, he enjoyed space adventures more than espionage holos. Not that it mattered to Jovay; the accusation was just a way to shut him up. "Okay," he muttered, deciding that if the officer didn't want to talk, Luke might as well 'watch and learn'. "Are you going to tell me where we are?"

Jovay nodded at the viewscreen. Abruptly the blurred starfield ended and they emerged within sight of a large planet that Luke didn't recognize. "I haven't studied this one," he mumbled.

"Corellia."

"Cool!" Of all the planets he could have picked, this would have been his first choice to visit. Well, maybe not his first first choice, but his first choice after Naboo, Coruscant, and Alderaan. "What're we going to do there? I want to see the old Pirates Bazaar and the-- "

"We're not staying long enough for you to get in trouble," Jovay warned. "It's just a quick stop. I'm not letting you out of my sight."

Luke sighed loudly. "I never get to have any fun," he complained.

"Let's keep it that way," the agent said sternly, then laughed. "You want to handle the landing approach?"

"Yeah!"

"I'll be right here if you get into trouble," Jovay said, and 'right here' really meant right here because he didn't vacant the pilot's seat and his hands hovered nervously over the controls.

"I can do it, I can do it!" Luke grumbled crossly.

"Then do it."

"I will!"

And he did.

- - - - -

The Coronet Cantinonet, besides having a stupid name, was nothing like the dives in Mos Eisley, but not by any stretch of anyone's imagination could it be called 'elegant'. There was a band playing the creepiest, eeriest music Luke had ever heard. The huge expanse was dark except for multicolored flashing lights that pulsated all over the ceiling, floor, and walls. Luke found himself turning in a circle, getting dizzy from the relentless onslaught of bright/dark that came every few milliseconds. Jovay grabbed his arm and pulled him along until he found a table against the wall.

Luke tossed his pack into the booth and slid in beside it. He stared at the table. It was flashing lights, too, and it was making him feel nauseous.

"Pick a color."

"What?" he moaned.

"Pick a color and just stare at that color. It will steady you."

That was the dumbest thing he'd heard in ages, but he had nothing to lose... except that awful meal he'd had onboard. "Blue." He stared at a blue spot on the table. It blinked in a steady pattern of alternating spots and hollow circles. After a few seconds, Luke felt his stomach begin to unclench. A few more seconds and he felt brave enough to look around. The lights didn't bother him as much. In fact, they looked terrific. "Great place!"

"Thrilled you like it, kid," a strange voice said, and the voice's owner sat down next to him.

The stranger turned out to be a man who looked vaguely familiar-- and when his giant Wookiee companion took a place across the table, Luke realized instantly who they were. "Hey, you're-- "

The Wookiee interrupted with a string of growls. "Yeah, Chewie, you're right," the man said. "It's the kid from Eisley. Oz, right?"

"How did you know my name?"

"Ah, tavern owners still tell tales about you and the band of kids who ragged on the Imps." The man gave him an assessing look. "The stories are bigger than you are."

Luke glared and opened his mouth to retort, but Jovay interjected smoothly, "Han Solo and Chewbacca, meet Laze Loneozner, aka Oz."

Solo gave him a nod, then focused on the other human. "So, Karas, what's the job?"

"Transport."

"Cargo?"

"Just the boy... and no questions asked."

"Yeah?" Solo sipped his ale and leaned forward. "What is it, some kind of local trouble?"

"Let's just say," Jovay lowered his voice, "he needs to avoid any Imperial entanglement."

"Well, that's the trick, isn't it? It'll cost you extra."

Karas Jovay nodded. "Fifteen thousand. Five now and ten when you get to Dantooine."

"Dantooine?" Luke exclaimed. "What's-- "

"Shhh!" the two men admonished, and the Wookiee added a low growl to the mix.

"Sorry," Luke muttered. "But why there? I studied it! There's nothing on the planet except a few tribes of nomads!"

"He has people there who will take care of him, Han," Jovay told Solo.

"I do?" Luke asked. "Nomads?"

"As long as I get paid, it's doesn't matter to me where I dump him," Solo said.

"It matters to me!" Luke said loudly, irked that the three were ignoring him.

"Five thousand." Jovay slid his arm across the table, credits peeking out from under his sleeve.

Chewbacca leaned his arms on the table and the credits disappeared into his long fur.

"I feel like I'm being sold," Luke complained.

"The rest of the money?"

"Deliver him safely to a man named Willard. He'll pay you."

"Hello? I'm still here," Luke reminded them. He reached for the nearest beverage, but Solo swatted his hand away.

The Wookiee slid out of the booth, with Jovay following him. "Take care of yourself, Oz," the agent said quietly, reaching out to ruffle his hair. "Try to stay out of trouble."

"You're not coming?" he asked, aghast.

Jovay shook his head, smiling slightly. He gave a Solo a half-salute. "He's all yours for now, Han. Good luck." He turned, weaving through the crowded cantina without looking back.

"C'mon, we haven't got all night," Solo said roughly. He stood, downed the rest of his drink and set the empty tankard hard on the table. "Chewie, start warm-up as soon as we get there. An easy fifteen thou, a few repairs, then we can take on Jabba's next job. Let's go," he added impatiently.

"I'm just waiting for you!" Luke exclaimed defensively. "You are so rude!"

"Get used to it." Solo took two steps, then stopped. "Stick close to me, kid."

"I'm fine." As if he couldn't take care of himself!

Solo gave him an incredulous look. "I'm worried about the ten thousand, not about you."

"Fine!" he shouted to be heard over the music that was growing ever louder. "Fine, just fine!" and he was talking to the empty place where Solo had stood.

With a sigh, Luke shouldered his pack and followed the dark head that was following the giant Wookiee. What next?

Hey, Dad? Can you hear me now?

Nothing.

Guess not. Talk to you later... sometime... I hope.

Dantooine. He couldn't begin to imagine what was waiting for him on that desolate planet. Tatooine... Dantooine... he had a bad feeling about this.

- - - - -