She had been silent, intimidated, through most of the journey to Borgo Prime, unable to bring herself to speak. Beside her sat Master Skywalker—the most famous and revered Jedi in the entire galaxy—calmly and competently piloting the Off Chance, an old blockade runner Lando had won in a sabacc game and claimed he no longer needed.
Tenel Ka’s grandmother had insisted that the girl’s royal training include diplomacy and correct methods of addressing individuals of any rank, species, age, or gender. Though not loquacious, Tenel Ka was also not shy; yet somehow, alone with the impressive Jedi Master in the confines of their tiny cockpit, she could find nothing to say. She tried to think, but her sluggish mind would not cooperate. Weariness clung to her like the sweat-damp clothing she wore. She squirmed in her seat and tried to suppress a nervous yawn.
Luke glanced over at her, a smile at the corners of his mouth. “Tired?”
“Not much sleep,” Tenel Ka answered, embarrassed that he had noticed her fatigue. “Bad dreams.”
Luke’s blue eyes narrowed for a moment, as if he was searching for a memory, but then he shook his head. “I haven’t been sleeping well either—but, tired or not, we can’t afford to make mistakes. Let’s go over our cover story again. Tell me who you are.”
“We are traders from Randon. We will avoid using names. But, if we must, you are Iltar and I am your ward-cousin Beknit. We trade in archaeological treasures. We are not above breaking the law to make a profit. We have come from a secret archaeological dig on …” She paused for a moment, searching her brain for the name of the planet.
“Ossus,” Luke supplied.
“Ah. Aha,” Tenel Ka said. “Ossus.” She took a deep breath while she etched the name into her mind, then she continued. “On Ossus, we discovered a treasured vault, secured with an Old Republic seal. The treasure chamber is set deep into rock and plated with armor so thick that no blaster or laser can pierce it.
“We dare not blast the surrounding rock for fear of destroying the treasure. We’ve come to Borgo Prime in search of industrial-grade Corusca gems to slice through the armor and open the treasure vault. We are ready to pay handsomely for the right type of gems.”
Tenel Ka watched with interest as the dull, lumpy asteroid of Borgo Prime loomed in their forward viewports. The rock had been hollowed out, honeycombed in ages past by generations of asteroid miners who sought one type of mineral, then another as market conditions changed. But more than a century ago, Borgo Prime had been stripped clean of even the least-desirable ore—leaving a spongelike network of interlocked caves, fully equipped with all the life-support systems and transportation airlocks the miners had needed. It had been a simple matter to convert the played-out mine into a bustling spaceport.
Luke transmitted the standard request for clearance to land and received it without difficulty.
“We’ve been cleared for docking bay ninety-four,” Luke said. “Are you ready, uh, Beknit?”
Tenel Ka nodded matter-of-factly. “Of course, Iltar.”
Luke studied her for a moment, earnest concern filling his face. “It could be rough down there, you know. You heard what Lando said: Borgo Prime is filled with people who have no conscience—thieves, murderers, creatures who would just as soon kill you as greet you.”
“Ah. Aha,” Tenel Ka said, raising an eyebrow. “Sounds like a visit to my grandmother’s court on Hapes.”
The two Randoni traders, “Iltar” and his ward-cousin “Beknit,” left their blockade runner in the dockyard cavern behind an immense hangar door and walked along the causeway that joined Borgo Primes largest space dock to its business district deep in the core of the asteroid.
In spite of her many rehearsals, Tenel Ka found it difficult to remember that she was supposed to be an experienced trader, used to frequenting such spaceports. She gawked openly at the tall rows of prefabricated dwellings welded up and down the inner walls and all the garish flashing lights of the alien businesses in separate atmosphere domes around them.
This place was so different from the primitive, untamed world of Dathomir. Even Hapes with its serene and stately cities—some of them larger than this entire asteroid—bore no resemblance to the spaceport’s seedy, gaudily lit establishments, that hummed with a life of their own. Overhead, through the clear arching plasteel that covered a rift in the ceiling, the stars and space were all but obscured by Borgo Primes glaring lights.
Luke paused beside Tenel Ka, letting her collect her thoughts. “You’ve never been anyplace like this, have you?” he asked.
She shook her head and started to walk again, searching for words to describe the unsettling emotions. “I feel … foolish. Out of place.” She scuffed her toes along a causeway surface that was paved with colorful, glowing advertisements. She paused to read an ad, then another. The first one announced in phosphorescent script that flared into light as she stepped near it,
Borgo Landing
Space Docks by the Hour or by the Month.
The next one said simply
Info to Go
Discreet Inquiries of All Sorts
Completely Confidential.
Tenel Ka shook her head. “I do not understand this place,” she said. “It both revolts and … entices me at the same time.”
“You don’t have to go through with this, you know,” Luke said. “I could handle it myself.”
It was completely true, Tenel Ka realized—an uncomfortable thought. She tossed her head and ran a nervous hand over her hair, which she wore loose, in Randoni style, so that it flowed down her back in a cascade of red-gold ripples like a sun-dappled stream. She tried to look confident, but icy fingers of doubt prodded her mind. “I will do what I must to rescue my friends,” she said, her voice as brisk and businesslike as she could make it. “Where is this nest or hive that Lando told us to find?”
Luke pointed to another lighted ad at their feet. “I think we just found it,” he said with a pleased expression.
Shanko’s Hive
Fine Drinks and Entertainment
All Species, All Ages.
The flat image showed an insectoid barkeeper proffering a dozen drinks with its multijointed, chitinous arms. A row of blinking beacon lights set into the walkway indicated the direction of the “hive.”
A sudden bout of stage fright assailed Tenel Ka, but she knew how important it was for them to stay in character. She straightened her clothing, cleared her throat, and looked at Luke. “You must be very thirsty after your long journey, Iltar,” she said.
“Yes. Thank you, Beknit,” he answered smoothly. “I could use a drink.” Then he leaned toward her and asked in a lower voice, “Are you sure you want to do this?”
Tenel Ka nodded firmly. “I’m ready for anything.”
“I did not expect an establishment quite so large on an asteroid of this size,” Tenel Ka said, tilting back her head to look at the rounded ripples of Shanko’s cone-shaped Hive, a gray-green edifice sealed in its own atmosphere field. The edifice rose at least a quarter kilometer above the inner floor of Borgo Prime.
Feathery wings of fear and uncertainty fluttered in her stomach, and she paused to draw in a deep breath. To Tenel Ka’s great chagrin, a subtle spark of amusement danced in Master Skywalker’s eyes. “You know what waits for us in there, don’t you?” he asked.
“Thieves,” she answered.
“Murderers,” he added.
“Liars, scum, smugglers, traitors …” Her voice trailed off.
“Almost like family back on Hapes?” he asked with a gentle, teasing smile.