The life support system of the Comet whirred to life. Lorna closed her eyes, savoring the cool air that blew into the engineering bay from the filtration system.
"Thank you, Peli. You'll make a fine mechanic someday," she said to the curly-haired girl who had just finished making the last connection.
"I know, right? Now let me go help Mama finish your hyperdrive and you'll be ready to go." The girl breezed out of the engineering room, leaving Lorna and Obi-Wan alone.
Lorna busied herself tidying Peli's tools, the silence stretching uncomfortably between them.
She still didn't have the faintest idea how to act around him since that night under the meteors—the kiss, and his abrupt departure that had followed. Her hurt, confusion, and longing were at war inside her, a tangled mess she couldn't sort through. So she'd settled on mute indifference, a poor shield but the only one she had while they worked alongside each other.
"I should probably check on how the hyperdrive repairs are coming along," she said, moving toward the door.
"Lorna, wait." Obi-Wan's voice was low, urgent. "There's something you should know about Barqul."
She paused, turning back reluctantly. "What about him?"
"I had a rather…unpleasant conversation with him last night." He stepped closer, lowering his voice. "You were right. He asked me about our history working together, just like he did with you."
Her pulse quickened. "But why? We're doing everything the Pykes have asked." She leaned against the wall, suddenly feeling warm.
"He made a rather pointed comment about how we seem to communicate without speaking." There was a startling intensity in his eyes that hadn't been there a moment ago.
"Do you think he suspects…" she trailed off, forgetting what she had been about to say.
He was standing closer to her now, though she couldn't remember him moving. A pink flush crept up her neck as she dragged her hand across it.
"It's possible," he said, shifting uncomfortably. His gaze followed the path of her hand as he reached up to tug on the collar of his tunic.
"What else did he say?" she asked hoarsely. She inhaled that spicy, familiar scent of sapir. Had he always smelled so good?
"He…insinuated some things. About us." His forearm came to rest on the wall panel above her head.
Her teeth tugged on her bottom lip as she watched him from underneath her lashes. "What sorts of things?"
"Nothing that bears repeating…" His expression darkened and his words trailed off as his hand brushed against hers, perhaps accidentally.
They both stiffened at the same moment, heads turning toward the doorway. Someone was coming up the Comet's ramp just outside the engineering room.
As if a switch had been flipped, the cloud around her senses seemed to lift. Lorna's eyes went wide as they met Obi-Wan's.
That bastard.
Obi-Wan stepped away, his face redder than a plom bloom. "I came here to let you know I have to head into town," he said, letting his voice carry. "I need to return the eopie to her caretaker."
Barqul's face appeared in the doorway a moment later, the last of the orange fading from his skin. "Am I interrupting something?"
The nerve. Lorna didn't even realize the pheromones could affect her reaction to… other people. Did Barqul even realize what he did? If so, to what end? She imagined how satisfying it would be to connect her fist with that face. But that, of course, was not the Jedi way.
"As a matter of fact, you are," Lorna said coolly, crossing her arms over her chest. "We were discussing our timeline for departure."
"Good, because that's what I came in here to check on, little bird. Usto is ready for you."
The satisfied smile he gave her as he took in both her and Obi-Wan's flushed cheeks left little room to doubt what he'd intended. He was still suspicious of them. Wanted to test them. At least they'd sensed his approach in time to change the subject.
"I was just explaining that I have to make a trip into town before we leave." The look Obi-Wan gave Barqul was nothing short of glacial. "Do you think you can manage a modicum of professional decorum while I'm gone?"
"Whatever you say, boss," Barqul answered with a shrug.
Obi-Wan gave Lorna one last apologetic glance, hesitating a fraction of a second before whisking out of the room. Lorna scowled.
"You're disgusting," she spat at Barqul.
"You wound me," he replied with an exaggerated pout.
"I'm going to see if Marda is done with the hyperdrive yet," Lorna said, already heading for the door. She wasn't spending another moment alone with Barqul if she didn't have to.
By late afternoon, the repairs were complete. Marda and Peli stood at the base of the Comet's ramp as Lorna transferred the credits from Usto's chip.
"Pleasure doing business with you!" Marda said, checking the confirmation on her datapad with a satisfied nod.
Lorna offered a warm smile to Peli, who waved enthusiastically as she followed her mother back to their transport.
Obi-Wan had already returned from arranging boarding for the eopie. The Comet was ready. Now all that remained was the minor task of transporting a highly volatile and priceless substance to Savareen without blowing themselves to atoms.
Lorna settled into the pilot's chair of the Comet. When she initiated the startup sequence, the engines responded with a satisfying purr.
"Let's get this over with," she muttered, more to herself than to Obi-Wan as she lifted the Comet from the desert sand.
Though tension still simmered between them, Obi-Wan's steady presence in the copilot seat brought an unexpected measure of comfort. She was eager to complete this job and move forward.
—
Lorna brought the Comet down into a run-down docking bay on the outskirts of Mos Espa. Usto hovered anxiously at the base of the ramp, his wings fluttering with impatience as the three of them made their descent. Next to him was a hover cart carrying two rectangular durasteel containers.
The containers were about the size of small footlockers, each reinforced with specialized insulation and secured with high-grade durasteel clasps. Warning symbols marked their surfaces and each was equipped with a thermal display.
"Ah, good, good, you're on time," Usto said, flittering over to Lorna. "Happy to see the Comet in good working order."
"I need to verify the cargo," Lorna commanded. She was through with the pleasantries, through with this job. It was time to finish what they'd started.
"Yes, yes, of course."
Usto opened the top of one of the containers, a puff of vapor hissing out of the frigid interior. The crystalline blue glow of the coaxium illuminated the side of his leathery face.
"Fifty kilograms, as promised." He gingerly wrapped clawed fingers around one of the cannisters and held it up, the blue light reflecting in his spectacles. "You'll handle it gently, of course, the Pykes–"
"Will not be happy if I blow up their cargo. I'm aware. I am also interested in not getting blown up."
"And I've only just taken it out of temperature-controlled storage, but we need to–"
"Move it to the compartment on the ship. Got it. Let's get it on board."
In her peripheral vision, she caught Obi-Wan's sideways glance, one eyebrow arched in question. Ignoring him, she opened the other container and verified the quantities. Fifty kilos. Fifteen million credits worth of unrefined coaxium.
With one hand on either side of the hover cart, she guided the containers up the Comet's ramp.
"The, ah, Pykes will be meeting you at the Bis Refinery," Usto called after her. "They will transfer your payment when you arrive. Minus the cost of your ship's repairs, of course."
"Sounds good," Lorna replied over her shoulder.
Inside, Obi-Wan helped her lower each container into the hidden compartment in the floor of the starboard cargo hold.
"Temperature is set for twelve standard," Obi-Wan said, reading the instrument panel. "The alarm will sound if it goes above fifteen."
She nodded, then lowered the floor panel in place and headed for the cockpit.
"What's the hurry, little bird?" Barqul said, leaning a shoulder on the door frame.
"Oh, I don't know, Barqul, maybe it has something to do with the explosive substance currently sitting in the hold of the ship." She swiveled in the pilot's chair and flipped a series of switches to activate the main thrusters. "Ben, please enter the coordinates for Savareen in the navicomputer."
"Right away," Obi-Wan answered. She swore he was trying to hide a smirk.
"I thought you said you've worked with coaxium before?" Barqul asked as the Comet left Tatooine's atmosphere.
For once, he sounded more genuinely curious than probing, as if he were only now realizing that if Lorna vaporized the ship, he'd be vaporized with them.
"I have, which is precisely why I don't intend to spend any more time with it than I have to. Sit down and buckle up."
Barqul humphed but sat in the auxiliary seat. "And how did you come by that experience again?" he asked, pulling the seatbelt strap across his broad chest.
"We're ready to make the jump to lightspeed," Obi-Wan confirmed. "Estimated arrival is twenty minutes."
Lorna pushed the hyperdrive lever forward and watched the stars stretch into streaks of blue light before turning to answer Barqul. She was sick of his constant probing, but she wouldn't risk further raising his suspicion by refusing to answer.
"My father was a top freighter engineer for the Corellian Engineering Corporation." It was a sheer stroke of luck that her original cover story on Coruscant was also useful in this situation. "I grew up around ship engines, and he sometimes worked with coaxium."
Barqul's stony gaze narrowed again. "If daddy was so fancy, how'd you wind up smuggling?"
"He was a compulsive gambler. We fell on hard times. I had to resort to serving drinks in the Underworld for a while." A lie is more believable if there is some truth in it. "That was where I met Niko, and he offered me a job. Smuggling provided an easy way out."
Barqul seemed to accept this explanation, leaning back in his seat with a smirk. He took out his datapad and resumed scrolling through whatever it was he looked at on it. The ship's engines hummed steadily around them. In the silence that followed, her knee started bouncing with pent-up energy. The old ache in her neck flared up. She couldn't resist massaging it for a moment.
It was only a twenty-minute journey to Savareen, but each second stretched impossibly long. She was trapped in this cockpit with the last two men she wanted to see right now, though for entirely different reasons.
Though she kept her mental barriers locked down tight, she caught Obi-Wan's sidelong glance at her bouncing knee. His eyes flicked back to the navicomputer, but his Force signature brushed against hers—a gentle caress that conveyed such concern it softened her heart, despite her determination to stay guarded. Remembering what Obi-Wan said about Barqul's mind-reading comment, she pretended to be interested in a loose thread on her tunic.
She reached for Obi-Wan in the Force. A silent reassurance: I'm alright. When he nudged again, she allowed her barriers to slip just enough for him to send a pulse of calm through their connection. Her knee stilled.
"So, you still haven't heard anything from Niko?" Barqul asked, intruding on their private moment. He'd taken one of his blasters out of its holster and began cleaning it.
"I haven't. I'm starting to worry about him," Lorna answered. "He made it sound like it was pretty minor, but it's been a long time for some simple questioning."
"Your boyfriend might be in some deep trouble. The Empire's been tightening their grip everywhere." Barqul's violet eyes were once again intently focused on her.
"Not out here in the Outer Rim. The Hutts have become quite cozy with the Empire," Obi-Wan countered.
"True enough." Barqul leaned back, crossing his legs as he swiped a soft cloth along the barrel of the blaster. "Even so, the crackdowns have been good for business."
Every hair on Lorna's body stood on end. "You take contracts for the Empire, then?" She found that thread on her tunic again and began fiddling with it to hide her unease.
"I'd be crazy not to. They pay lucratively. Especially the contracts for Jedi." Barqul's eyes shifted between them with nonchalant interest, then back to his blaster.
"Is that so? How much are those going for now?" Obi-Wan asked lightly.
Lorna had to give it to him, Obi-Wan's acting was superb. But she sensed something in him she almost never did: fear. It made her blood run cold.
"Ten thousand credits for confirmed kills, double that for live captures. Triple for the higher ranking ones." He closed one eye and practiced sighting down the blaster's barrel. "Not that there are many left to find."
"Have you ever caught one?" Obi-Wan asked, checking a readout on the console.
"Not yet," Barqul said, resting the blaster on the armrest of his seat. "I've heard they can be very sneaky, but eventually they give themselves away if you watch them long enough."
"Seems like I'm in the wrong business then," Lorna said, standing and stretching her arms overhead. "Perhaps I should try my luck at hunting Jedi, if the payout is so high and the targets so conspicuous."
A beat of silence. Then Barqul let out a barking laugh.
"Something tells me you're not cut out for bounty hunting, little bird," Barqul said, reining in his laughter.
"I wouldn't underestimate her, Barqul. She's more dangerous than she looks," Obi-Wan said. He flashed a convincing smile, but Lorna wasn't fooled.
—
A vast, glittering ocean stretched across the viewport as Lorna piloted the Comet down to Savareen's surface. The white-gold of the coastline cut through the cobalt expanse, a bleak sea of sand just as infinite. A cluster of industrial structures dotted the beach they approached. The Bis Refinery. She aimed for a landing pad that jutted into the sea.
Obi-Wan and Lorna loaded the coaxium containers back onto the hovercart. At the exit ramp, Barqul moved to block Obi-Wan's path.
"Only designated couriers are allowed to complete the delivery," Barqul told Obi-Wan. "The Pykes can't have too many people learning about their operations."
Lorna locked eyes with Obi-Wan. "Stay with the ship, Ben. Be ready to leave as soon as this is done," she said.
Obi-Wan crossed his arms over his chest. He didn't like it, but he gave her a curt nod of agreement.
A blast of heat and the harsh, chemical smell of coolant fluid hit her as she pushed the hovercart down the ramp. A group of Pykes met Lorna and Barqul on the landing pad. Two armored guards in full-faced helmets wielding electrostaffs flanked an unmasked Pyke in long, azure robes. The unmasked Pyke approached, a smile directed at Lorna. Or at least, what she thought was a smile, though it was hard to tell with his species' fish-like mouth.
"Welcome. I am Ovek Tum," the unmasked Pyke said. "You must be Lorna."
"I am," she replied. Her weight shifted from one foot to the other in anxious readiness.
"On behalf of the Pyke Syndicate, I thank you for your willingness to intercede while Niko Zanates has been…preoccupied," Ovek turned and gestured towards the refinery buildings. "If you would please place the canisters in the designated storage unit. We will arrange payment after the transfer."
Transfer? Lorna scanned the refinery. She was just the runner—where were the facility's workers?
"Our technicians will be arriving shortly to begin the refining process," Ovek continued. "Final transfer is always completed by the courier. You understand the danger of the unrefined coaxium. Please, it must be moved into the cold-storage unit immediately."
"Come on, little bird, I'll even help you move it," Barqul said, pushing the hovercart forward.
Lorna narrowed her eyes but followed. The Pykes led them into a factory structure, past complicated instrument panels and cylindrical housings with long hoses attached. At a circular vault-like door, Ovek punched in a code on a keypad. The door rolled open. Inside were racks of coaxium canisters lining walls that were crusted with frost from the room's temperature control settings.
"On the containment racks, if you please," Ovek said. He and the guards moved to a nearby control station, where he appeared to be monitoring data outputs.
Lorna opened the first container on the hovercart. Every cell in her body was on high alert, every muscle tense with heightened awareness. The volatile coaxium waiting to be handled, the Pykes' unsettling politeness, the conspicuous absence of technicians, and most suspicious of all—Barqul's sudden eagerness to help. Everything felt wrong. But what choice did she have but to continue? She took a deep breath, drawing the Force in close. It steeled her nerves and steadied her hands.
She lifted the first two canisters of coaxium, one in each palm, their weight deceptively light for something so deadly. With the precision of a medical droid performing delicate surgery, she carried them into the cold-storage unit. The frigid air hit her face like a slap, raising goosebumps along her exposed skin as she carefully secured the canisters on the containment racks. As she turned to retrieve the next pair, she passed Barqul carrying two more.
"Very kind of you to assist," she said to Barqul once he secured his canisters, her voice laced with sarcasm.
"Don't get too excited. I don't get paid till the job is done, remember?" he replied with a reptilian smile.
Canister after canister, they established a reluctant rhythm—two at a time, back and forth in tense silence. Lorna mentally counted each one, marking their progress while simultaneously counting down the moments until she could wash her hands of this entire criminal entanglement.
Last two, she thought with relief as Barqul passed her on his way into the unit, a canister clutched in each hand.
She reached to close the shipping container's lid. One canister remained inside.
That doesn't make sense. I know I counted fifty canisters total. Barqul had the last two—
The Force revealed Barqul's stumble on the lip of the refrigerator door a second before it occurred. It warned her of the canister of coaxium slipping from his hand a second before it fell.
And it obeyed her instinctive command, catching the canister midair a second before it would have clattered against the hard floor.
Hand outstretched, pulse hammering in her ears, she stared at the hovering canister and realized her mistake.
"Don't move, Jedi."