“I’ll take the assignment,” Zekk said. “How much are you paying?”
Wary quoted him a generous figure. “But only if you find him.”
Zekk tried not to show his surprise at the high amount. But then, Wary stood to make a lot more credits than that if Zekk retrieved information that led him to Bornan Thul.
“But that is not all there is to the task,” Master Wary cautioned. “I also need you to send a message for me. I have other urgent business to attend to that prevents me from sending it myself. I will give you instructions on how to transmit it.” He slid a hololetter packet across the table toward Zekk. “Do not try to listen to the message. It would mean nothing to you.”
“That’s it?” Zekk accepted the packet and slid it into his vest pocket.
“Not as simple as it would seem,” Wary said. “The message is for the Bornaryn fleet. All the ships went into hiding shortly after Bornan Thul’s disappearance, and they are impossible to locate.”
“Then how do you expect me to get the message to them?” Zekk asked, instantly suspicious.
“I ask only that you broadcast the message to the following locations.” He listed several sites along major trading routes, many of which Zekk was already familiar with from his days with the old spacer Peckhum. “I will meet you here again in ten days to learn of your progress—and to pay you if you have already achieved both of your goals.”
Zekk relaxed again. He still wasn’t sure why Wary would want to send a message to the Bornaryn fleet, though. Did he hope to flush them out of hiding? To question Thul’s employees and family members in hopes of locating him?
Just as Zekk opened his mouth to ask, an explosion erupted at a nearby table. Zekk blinked, trying to see what had happened as a cloud of white smoke billowed outward from where the Talz and the Ithorian had been sitting.
Droq’l bustled up with a disgusted snort to sweep the broken and steaming glasses away. “I told you two not to let your drinks come into contact with each other,” he growled in exasperation. “You should know they’re chemically incompatible!” With a big paw, the Talz batted at a smoldering patch of its white fur.
Amused, Zekk turned back to the conversation with his new employer—only to find Master Wary gone.
Apparently the assignment was made and the interview had ended. Zekk shrugged. He had his commission, and he knew what to do. He might as well stay to view the new hololetters from Jaina and Peckhum.
Calling Droq’l over, Zekk ordered another Osskorn Stout, drew one of the message packets from his pocket, and slid it into the reader slot on the table in front of him. He waited eagerly for the image of Jaina to appear—then blinked in disappointment.
Encryption Proprietary
Message Unreadable
Why would Jaina or Peckhum have sent him a message in code that no standard reader could decipher? He realized his mistake as he pulled a second hololetter from the pocket of his vest and then a third.
He had accidentally tried to view the message from Master Wary.
But how could the disguised man expect an encrypted message to get through to the Bornaryn fleet? And how would the fleet read it unless they already knew the key?
Perhaps they did, Zekk mused. Maybe this was a code that belonged to the Bornaryn trading company. Wary might be a former employee … or even Bornan Thul himself!
As the thought occurred to Zekk, he suddenly saw the truth of it. He felt it in his bones, in the background music of the Force that sang through all things. Master Wary’s synthesized voice had held an urgency when he spoke of the need to find Tyko Thul, and a tender quality when he spoke about the fleet.
Zekk shook his head to clear it. Bornan Thul had been here, right in front of him!
He jammed the message packets back into his pocket and jumped to his feet just as Droq’l approached carrying a fresh tankard of ale in his middle hand.
“Which way?” Zekk asked, breathless. “Where did he go?”
The bartender didn’t pretend he had no idea what Zekk meant. He jerked his head toward a small door in the wall to the other side of the stairway.
Dashing out into a tiny alleyway, Zekk looked left and right, but saw no sign of his new employer. His heart raced with the realization that he had been less than a meter away from the most sought after bounty in the galaxy! Although he knew Thul was probably far away by now, he kept looking.
Farther down the alley, Zekk was not surprised to find a pile of gray robes and furs along with a prosthetic reptilian tail. Bornan Thul had shed his disguise….
4
The T-23 had never been so crowded, but Lowie was proud of the way his skyhopper handled the load.
While other engineers continued to repair the ancient pyramid, he and Jaina had fixed the damage the skyhopper had sustained in the Shadow Academy attack, then augmented the T-23’s engines and stabilizers. Eager to test the improved craft, Lowie offered to take his friends out for a spin.
Because Raynar was so downcast about the disappearance of both his father and his uncle, none of the Jedi trainees had the heart to exclude him. The young man had appeared in the hangar bay wearing a plain brown jumpsuit, instead of his usual robes of garish purple, scarlet, yellow, and orange.
Now, as they soared above the canopy of Massassi trees, the skyhopper’s performance was flawless, even with so many extra passengers. Lowie roared a question back to his friends.
“I think my foot’s asleep,” Jaina answered from the cargo well, where she had volunteered to sit. “But other than that, I’ve probably got the most comfortable spot on board.”
“Hey, I’m fine,” Jacen said. He and Tenel Ka were jammed together on the passenger seat.
“I am experiencing no discomfort,” Tenel Ka reported.
“Uh, this is fun,” Raynar said stoically. He was wedged sideways in the passenger footspace with his knees drawn up to his chest. One of his elbows rested on the few remaining square centimeters on the passenger seat.
“Indeed, Master Lowbacca, I am also quite comfortable. Thank you for inquiring,” Em Teedee answered last of all.
Once he’d traveled far enough from the Jedi academy’s traffic of transport ships, construction crews, and military vessels, Lowie decided there was little danger in a bit of creative flying. With Raaba gone, he’d been feeling restless for days and needed a safe way to release his pent-up frustration.
Lowie woofed a warning for everyone to secure their crash webbing so he could test the T-23’s maneuverability. He zigged and zagged across the treetops, eliciting squeals and laughter from his passengers, though he did detect one or two of them applying their Jedi relaxation techniques.
He brought the T-23 about in a tight curve above the trees, spiraling in until everyone on board was thoroughly dizzy. Then, amidst giggles and applause, he took the skyhopper into a steep climb. After pausing in midair, he put the craft into a steep dive toward the Massassi trees. Lowie pulled up just before crashing, then leveled out to skim across the treetops.
Jacen whooped, and Jaina shrieked with the thrill. Raynar spoke in a rather timid voice. “I’ve never done that before. It was fun.”
“This is a fact,” Tenel Ka said.
“Quite exhilarating, I’d say,” Em Teedee put in, “so long as the appropriate safety factors are applied.”
“We’d better be getting back,” Jaina yelled from the cargo well. “Tionne asked us to help her out with lessons this morning.”
“Yeah, it wouldn’t be fair to leave her alone with all the new trainees, since Uncle Luke is off on an adventure again,” Jacen said. “Besides, I want to check on Nicta—I’m not sure how much care a baby gort needs.”