Skywalker's Legacy, page 73

Chapter Twelve

Brenna shook her head at Lando's offer to go inside the cantina with her, then held out a restraining hand when he started to go in with her. "I have to do this alone," she said. "How would it look on a job interview if I take my boyfriend with me?"

"Am I your boyfriend, then?"

"Sure."

Rupert grinned. "Okay. But I'll just wait right here outside the door. If I hear anything like a fight, I'll come running."

"Oh, puh-leez," Brenna said. "I'll be fine."

"Hey, you can't keep all the good fights to yourself!"

"Oh. Well, when you put it like that..." She kissed him on the cheek and ducked inside.

The bartender was on duty. Brenna went up to him without preamble. "Well?" she asked.

"Haven't seen your friend yet," the bartender replied.

She sighed. "All right. Keep looking for him. Remember. You don't get your money until I meet up with him."

"Yeah, yeah."

She went outside and met up with Rupert again. "Well," she said, "We've got a little more time together."

Rupert pumped his arms. "Yes!" She raised her eyebrows, and he modified his reaction. "Uh, I mean, sorry your job didn't come through. How about I take you to dinner for consolation?"

She laughed, then looked at the sky that was beginning to glow orange with the twin sunsets. "Actually, I really do need to get going. I'll meet you at the hover rink same time tomorrow."

"Okay," Rupert said. "Can I walk you home? I mean, to wherever you're staying?"

"No. Stay here. I'll see you at the hover rink tomorrow."

Rupert watched her go until she was out of sight. As she left, so did the feeling of being protected against the bizarre forces that caused him to weird-out. But it wasn't so bad, now, and even Tatooine was sometimes relatively at peace. Rupert looked at the cantina entrance. He had business here, too, but of a different sort. He pulled the pilot's insignia out of his pocket, pinned it to his collar, and went inside.

There was no one who fit the bill for being Ben Owens. The only humans in the cantina were a seedy-looking bunch sitting together at a table. Rupert studied them until one of them noticed him, then looked away. He hadn't seen any insignias. Well, he had one more day with whatever her name was. The only trouble was, he still had no news of Lucy, Poul, or Chewbacca.

And he had a decision to make, as well, whether or not to return to his ship, or engage a room for the night. All this hoverskating wasn't getting the Falcon any more close to spaceworthy, but being with her was such a unique and profound experience that he really didn't care about the time lost. But he was alone now, and could feel the etherial pressures closing in around him. At the ship, he would be back with his mortu, and somehow things were always a little easier around the mortu. On the other hand, it would mean walking back in the dark, which was not an idea he relished, not given the native life on Tatooine. He decided to drink a glass of water while he made his decision and went up to the bar.

The bartender came up to him, but before he could place his order, the bartender noticed his insignia and said, "Hey, your girlfriend's lookin' for you."

"'Girlfriend'?" Rupert echoed.

"Yeah. The one with the insignia to match yours."

Rupert sighed. If Lucy was here alone, it meant that she hadn't found Owens. "That's not my 'girlfriend.' That's my sister."

"Yeah, whatever. She said you'd pay me to tell you when she'll meet you here."

"How much?"

"Three hundred," the bartender said, tripling the amount Brenna had actually promised.

Rupert didn't argue. He paid the credits. The bartender immediately wished he had quadrupled the sum.

"When?" Rupert asked.

The bartender sighed. "One hour before sunset. You just missed her."

"What day?"

"Every day."

Rupert thanked the man, paid for a glass of water, drained it, and headed back to his ship.

"What's eatin' you, buddy?" Han asked. "You haven't said a word in three hours."

"I'm fine."

"Hey, come on, talk to me. What's on your mind?"

"I don't think you want to hear it."

Han sighed. "You know, a few years of being a father have improved my listening skills. If nothing else, I can hear when the kids are getting into trouble. Besides, I thought we were friends."

Luke gave a little laugh. "I was just...wasting energy thinking about what I should have done instead of what I did."

"And what's that?"

"I should've...given Brenna to somebody else to look after and helped the Jedi stop Lippa. For that matter, I should've listened to Briande and never taken him as a student in the first place."

"And who would you have trusted to look after her?"

"Nobody. Well, maybe Corran. Except that if anything happened to me, he would've done his best to train her."

"I'm hurt," Han said.

"Sorry, Han. But you and Leia had your own kids, and you were always in the spotlight. It would have to have been someone with a low profile in order to protect her from Lippa."

"Hmm," Han mused. "But if you had asked Corran, that would still have left you one Jedi down."

"Maybe. But I can't help thinking I should've done something differently."

"Well, I guess there's no use crying over spilt gava juice."

"Like I said," Luke reminded him, "I was wasting energy. Let's go see what we can find out about the kids, shall we?"

They crested a dune, and Mos Eisley lay before them.

"Boy, this brings back memories, doesn't it?" Luke said.

"Yeah. Too bad we don't have a holocube of the kids with us."

Luke grinned and reached inside his robe. "Speak for yourself," he said, and pulled out a tiny crystalline cube. Luke began tapping various sides in sequence.

Han peered at the cube. "Oh, that's good, Luke. A picture of a beach is really going to help us now."

But as he spoke, the miniature image became animated. Luke tapped three more sides, and the image dissolved into the face of the dark-haired woman. Another few taps, and that picture dissolved and became a smiling toddler with long, golden hair. After another sequence of taps, the picture shifted again and became a slightly older child.

Han had seen full-blown models of the holo-shift cubes of course he even had a couple at home but the smallest was at least two hand-spans' width on each side, set into a base which hid the circuitry. This one was only about an inch on each side, with no base.

Han whistled. "Expensive little toy you've got there."

"One of my few indulgences."

"Wouldn't it be more economical to buy a bunch of cubes and put a different picture in each one?"

"I don't like the thought of leaving holos of Brenna laying around where somebody might pick them up. I usually keep this one frozen on the first picture in case something happens to me. I don't want Lippa finding out what she looks like now."

"Whoever invented that should put it on the market. He'd make a fortune."

"She. And she's dead."

"Oh? Who was it?"

"Rassa Kiatta. The cube was a present given to me at Brenna's naming ceremony."

Han shook his head. "I'm sorry, Luke. Rassa was the first one to disappear, wasn't she?"

"After Briande."

Luke tapped the sides of the cube again. The image changed to the most recent holo of Brenna. Han gaped at it open-mouthed. "That's Brenna?"

"Something wrong?"

"No, no. She's, uh, she's a very pretty girl, that's all. Let's go."

Brenna headed toward the cantina with a hopeful feeling. Lando had excused himself from the hover rink early, after extracting her promise to meet him the next day if she could, and saved her the trouble of having to lose him before she went to the cantina. If she found Rupert, she would show that she was capable of doing much more than her father gave her credit for. If Rupert were already waiting, she could meet him and take him back to the room before it got completely dark, then surprise her father by meeting him at the cantina instead of Rupert. The only hitch would be if he got there before her.

Suddenly, strong hands grabbed her from behind and pulled her into an alley, covering her mouth so that she couldn't cry out. Brenna felt a momentary panic. Then she imagined her captor's throat constricted, an iron band tightening around his windpipe...

Then she heard a familiar voice. "Brenna!"

Brenna froze. Her choke-hold was forgotten.

"This one must be yours, Luke," Han said hoarsely, rubbing his throat. "I recognize the family resemblence."

"Dad?" Brenna said.

Luke ignored her temporarily and put his hand on Han's arm. "Are you all right?"

"Fine. Or I will be once Rupert is safe. Got any ideas on how to get him out of there?"

"I'm working on one. Brenna, you made me a promise, remember?"

"I remember. I said I wouldn't use the Force unless I had to. How was I to know he was a friend? I bet you wouldn't be so angry if he really were attacking me."

Luke sighed. "Where's Lucy?"

Brenna grinned. "I rented a room at a place called 'Spacer's Hideaway.' Good name, huh?"

"Which room?"

"A-4."

"I want you to go back there and wait for me."

Brenna's grin disappeared. "No, I want to stay and help."

"Brenna, right now you'd be more of a hindrance than a help. Rupert's in there. We saw him go in right before we got here. And right behind him were a couple of thugs who appeared to be waiting for him. Deities know how many others are inside. Those men are dangerous, and they'd like nothing more than to capture Rupert, Lucy, and...anyone who's associated with them."

"But I can help. You know I can."

"Not this time. Go back to the room. I'll be along as soon as I can."

"Dad---"

"You'd better get moving, Bren. It'll be dark soon."

Brenna stopped protesting and nodded. She started to go without further argument, but her father said, "Wait a second."

She turned back, hopeful that her father had changed his mind.

Luke unpinned the Falcon's pilot insignia from her lapel. "I may need this," he explained, then tilted his head to show that he wanted her to go.

Han watched her leave incredulously. "How'd you do that? Cripes, my kids would be arguing with me from now 'til sun-up if they wanted to stay." He rubbed his throat. "You're right about her being strong with the Force."

"She could have killed you."

"I don't think she meant to hurt me. I think she just wanted to knock me out for a while. Besides, she thought I was attacking her."

"Even so, I've told her a hundred times not to---"

"Well let's forget it for now and worry about Rupert. You said you had an idea for getting him out?"

Luke grinned as he tossed the pilot's insignia into the air and caught it again. "I think the old-fashioned approach might be best," he said. "Especially if they're waiting for a girl to meet him."

Rupert nursed his glass of water patiently. The bar seemed unusually quiet tonight for the number of people present, but he thought of that only as a welcome change. He looked at the door again, but there was still nothing to see. He took another small sip from his glass.

Suddenly there was a noise from the direction of the door. He thought it might be Lucy, but it was only an old drunk, dressed in desert robes. The man staggered inside despite the attempts of some of the customers to turn him back outside. "I jus' wan use the f'cilities---" he slurred loudly, shrugging off the hands. Rupert saw a few of the customers exchange glances with each other. One of them glanced at Rupert, then said something to the others. They moved aside to let the old man into the cantina, and Rupert turned back to his drink.

The drunk stumbled a couple of steps to his left as he walked and excused himself loudly when he bumped into some of the customers. Just as he was about to pass Rupert, he tripped in the other direction and knocked into Rupert, spilling Rupert's glass of water into his lap.

"Hey! Watch it!" Rupert said, saving what little he could of the liquid in his glass.

"Shorry---" the drunk apologized. But as the old man moved his hand away from the table again, Rupert felt something land in his lap, hidden from the view of the other customers. Rupert picked it up and was about to return it to him, when he saw what it was. To the other customers, it looked like he was staring at his wet lap.

Rupert looked back up in surprise, but the drunk had already passed by. And then, suddenly, he felt the eyes of the other customers on him, and he realized why the old man had made the drop surreptitiously. At the same time, he also realized that the 'drunk' had provided him with a convenient excuse to follow him into the men's room.

A little nervously, he palmed the insignia, picked up his napkin and wiped at his pants. Then he stood up and headed for the men's room. He paused at the bar long enough to say, "Uh, get me another one, will you?" just to alleviate suspicion. He hoped.

As he entered the lavatory, he noticed that a couple of the customers started to follow him. The old man, looking not quite so old and perfectly sober, pulled him to one side and pressed a finger to his lips, warning Rupert into silence. A second later, the door opened again, and the two men who had followed Rupert started to come in. As soon as the door slid closed, the old man clipped the two men on the back of the neck in quick succession, and they crumpled to the floor.

Rupert stared at the unconscious figures on the floor, then at the stranger. He held out the pilot's insignia. "Where did you get this?"

"From my daughter, actually. Lucy gave it to her. I'm Luke Skywalker---or Ben Owens, if you prefer. You're Rupert."

It wasn't a question, but Rupert nodded anyway.

"Your father's waiting outside."

"My Dad's here?"

Luke nodded. "He'll explain later. Right now we've got to get out of here before the others come looking for us. I'd rather not go by the front door, if it's all the same to you."

"What about Lucy and Poul?"

"They're safe. Think you can fit through that window there if I give you a lift up?"

Rupert looked up at the small window near the ceiling. "How will you get out?"

The old man smiled. "Don't worry. I'll manage."

Rupert put his foot into Luke's cupped hands and stood up. The window opened easily enough from the inside. As soon as he pushed it out, he saw Han on the outside, waiting below to give him a hand down. "Dad!" he said.

Han grinned. "Good to see you, too, son. But keep your voice down, will you?"

Rupert wriggled through the window into his father's arms. Just as Han was helping him to his feet, he heard a crashing noise coming from the lavatory, followed by the hum of something powerful and the beginning of a scream cut off in mid sound. A second later, Luke's head and shoulders appeared at the window. He pulled himself through and landed on his feet before Han could even turn back to give him a hand down.

"What the Hell happened?" Han asked.

"Either I'm really getting old, or they're getting faster," Luke said. "Let's get out of here before company arrives!"

Han grinned as he led the way out of the alley. "Just like old times, eh?"