Tales from the New Republic (38 page)

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” Vo-Shay tracked the three incoming ships on the
Ray
’s sensors.

“Who is it?”

“They haven’t introduced themselves yet, but somehow I don’t think it’s a welcoming committee.” The gambler eyed the display and frowned. “One Ghtroc freighter and two Z-95 Headhunters. Could be worse, I guess…”

“How? We’re already outnumbered.”

“But never outclassed.” The comlink sounded its shrill call, drawing Vo-Shay’s attention “It sounds as if they want to talk. That’s always a good sign.”

“This is Captain Yarrku of the
Night Raider
…” came the filtered voice.

“He sounds familiar,” Nyo said.

Vo-Shay grunted. “It’s that Barabel from the cantina.”

“Are you sure?”

“I never forget a voice.”

“What could he possibly want?”

“Only one way to find out,” the gambler said, then engaged the comlink. “Is there a problem, Captain?”

“There will be unless you hand over all the credits you stole from Doune.”

“Stole? From Doune? Hah! That blubberpot Herg must be going senile… I won that money fair and square at a sabacc game.”

“Doune does not share your view of the situation. He believes you cheated him, and he has hired us to retrieve his money. If you hand it over, there will be no damage to you or your ship. Otherwise…” The Barabel’s voice trailed off ominously.

“Doune is nothing but a poor loser. And as far as I’m concerned, he’s going to stay that way.”

“You know, I was hoping you’d say that,” Yarrku said with an unfriendly chuckle. Then there was only static.

The two Z-95s broke off into standard flanking formation as frighteningly powerful laser bolts erupted from the Ghtroc freighter.

Vo-Shay executed a quick barrel roll and then pointed the
Ray
’s nose into a power dive. The two bolts screamed past, cutting through the space that the ship had occupied microseconds before.

Nyo couldn’t believe it. “That thing’s got a pair of quad lasers!”

“So much for talking,” Vo-Shay grumbled as he swung the
Ray
around to face an oncoming Headhunter.

“This ship
does
have weapons, right?” Nyo asked.

The gambler merely grinned and touched one of the control screens.

One of the pods on the
Ray’s
belly spiraled open, revealing a large triple-barreled laser cannon. The turret swung around, locking onto the approaching Headhunter.

A thunderous volley of laser bolts tracked the Z-95 as it tried to execute an evasive turn. The blasts “walked” right up the ship’s exposed starboard side, shredding the shields, and finally exploding the ship’s wing.

Without the starboard stabilizers, the Headhunter began to spin out of control, harmlessly veering off into the distance.

“Does that answer your question?” the gambler asked with a smug grin.

His smile faded when one of the
Night Raider
’s quad laser bolts slammed into the
Ray
’s port side. The impact spun the light freighter around sharply and Vo-Shay found himself fighting to keep her steady.

The other Headhunter was closing in, with all blasters blazing away mercilessly.

Unable to evade the attack, the
Ray
was forced to take a considerable pounding from the Z-95’s strafing run.

The ship bucked and shook under the assault, knocking the two men around in their chairs. The gambler cursed under his breath as he steadied his wounded craft.

“We just lost half our shields!” Nyo cried out in alarm.

Acting as if he didn’t hear, an enraged Vo-Shay brought the
Ray
into a hard bootlegger’s turn that sent a structural groan through the ship. He closed the distance with impossible speed. Nyo felt as if a giant invisible hand was pressing against his chest. “I didn’t know freighters could move this fast.”

“Most can’t. This one can.”

Thanks to Vo-Shay’s expert piloting, the
Ray
mirrored every last maneuver the Headhunter executed. It was as if the two pilots were of one mind. No matter what tactic it tried, the Z-95 could not shake off the larger ship. A sustained burst of heavy blaster fire quickly turned the Headhunter into a flaming star-burst.

“Gotcha!” Vo-Shay shouted.

“And I got you,” came Yarrku’s filtered voice over the comlink. It was followed by another bone-jarring impact as another quad laser blast found its mark.

“Shields are gone,” Nyo cried out in alarm. “And the hyperdrive’s been damaged.”

The gambler quietly brought the
Ray
around to face the
Night Raider
. The big Ghtroc freighter hung there in space, waiting, with its big quad lasers brought to bear. The two idle ships looked like gunfighters, each one waiting for the other to draw…

Yarrku’s voice broke the silence. “Your shields are gone. Another hit from my weapons and you’ll be nothing but debris. Do the sensible thing and hand over the money. Before it’s too late.”

“So we give you the credits and you’ll leave us alone?” Vo-Shay asked.

“You have my word.”

He’s lying.

Vo-Shay and Nyo spoke at the same time. “I know.” The two men exchanged a quick look, though Nyo seemed more than a bit bewildered.

The gambler keyed the comlink. “Deal. I’ll put the credit chip in a probe and launch it over.”

“Minimal contact, minimal need for trust. Yes, that would be satisfactory. However, any tricks and I’ll blow you to microns.”

Vo-Shay shut off the comlink and reached for the controls.

“We’re not really going to give it to him, are we?” asked a flustered Nyo.

The gambler grinned. “Oh, we’re going to give it to him, all right.”

Three of the small forward pods on the Ray slid away to reveal darkened launch tubes.

“All yours,” Vo-Shay said over the comm as he punched the control panel.

A trio of proton torpedoes simultaneously screamed out of the
Ray
’s tubes, streaking toward the
Night Raider
.

In response, the Ghtroc opened up with both quad lasers.

Nyo shut his eyes.

The quad laser bolts reached the
Ray
, and impacted… against the ship’s shields.

“Nooo!” That was the final transmission from the
Night Raider
, before the torpedoes converged and turned the ship into a giant, blossoming fireball.

The young man slowly looked around, utterly amazed to be alive.

Vo-Shay flashed a grin.

“But… our shields were gone,” Nyo said in disbelief.

“One of the miracles of Mon Cal engineering, son. Redundant shield systems. Of course, half-witted opponents don’t hurt, either.” The gambler took the controls and engaged the sublight engines. “Nar Shaddaa, here we come…”

“I don’t have it,” the dealer said. “How many other ways can I say it?”

“What do you mean you don’t have it?” Nyo repeated for the fourth time.

Vo-Shay arched an eyebrow, leaning on the counter. “I think my associate is just curious as to the reason why you no longer have the lightsaber.”

The chubby businessman grinned, bearing diamond-white teeth. “Because I already sold it.”

“But I put down a deposit so you wouldn’t.”

“What can I say?” the man said simply. “A better offer came along.”

Nyo looked just about ready to kill the fat merchant. Vo-Shay was suddenly glad the kid was unarmed.

“Well, who did you sell it to?” the young man demanded.

“Sorry. That’s privileged information.”

Nyo swept a hand across the bare warehouse that served as the dealer’s shop. It was currently empty except for the three of them. “There’s no one else here. Maybe I can cut a deal with the buyer. I swear I won’t say a word.”

“It’s not going to be to hard to figure out who gave you the information.” The dealer shook his head. “Can’t do it. Now, if there’s something else you’d be interested in…”

Nyo seemed to be on the brink of exploding at the man, but thought better of it. He spun around and stormed out of the shop. The gambler shrugged and followed him out.

“Sorry, kid,” Vo-Shay said as they boarded the
Ray
. He squeezed Nyo’s shoulder. “The galaxy can be a cruel place sometimes.”

“I know,” the young man said softly, “it’s just that I wanted that saber so much.”

“Well, you never know—” The gambler’s voice abruptly trailed off as he saw the flashing light on the display.

“What is it?”

“A message…” Vo-Shay tapped the control.

A holo-recording crackled into the air, taking the shape of a certain Herglic gambler.

“Doune.” The word tumbled from the gambler’s lips like a curse.

“Greetings, farmboy. And to you as well, O legendary one. It seems as though the attempt to recoup my losses failed miserably. Ah, well… life can be surprising, can it not?” The Herglic held up a long, silver haft and smiled.

Nyo’s eyes had grown to the size of thermal detonators threatening to explode.

“As I’m sure you’ve guessed by now, it was I who purchased this elegant little weapon you so craved. And I would not be loathe to part with it—under certain circumstances.”

“Come on, get to the point, you bloated bag of wind,” Vo-Shay mumbled.

“What I am proposing is simple. One last hand of sabacc between myself and Vo-Shay. If the gambler wins, you can have the lightsaber. If I win, I get the source of the gambler’s uncanny luck—the obsidian necklace. If you accept, meet me at the Nygann Cantina three hours from now…” The holographic image faded.

Nyo and Vo-Shay exchanged a look.

“You’ve done so much for me already,” the young man began. “I would never ask you to do this—especially if it means you could lose your necklace.”

“I won’t. Lose, that is…” The gambler grinned. “Besides, I told you… I never could resist a challenge.”

Doune and Vo-Shay faced off once again, this time in a private gambling room at the back of the cantina. The only other beings present were the dealer droid, Nyo and Donne’s droid, Vee-Six.

“One last hand decides it all, correct?” asked the Herglic.

The gambler nodded slowly, never taking his eyes off his opponent.

The dealer droid sent five sabacc cards to each player, then obediently waited for the two men to look over the hands they’d been dealt.

“Sabacc!” With a thunderous laugh, the Herglic abruptly shoved his cards into the interference field and glowered in triumph. “Beat that?”

Nyo paled as he glanced at Vo-Shay, who was nervously twirling his pendant.

The gambler looked up from his cards and slowly inserted them into the field. First was the Idiot card. Then came the Two of Sabers. A three of any suit would give Vo-Shay an Idiot’s Array.

And a winning hand.

The Herglic took in a sharp breath, his skin mottling furiously…

The gambler fingered one of his remaining cards, then slipped it into the field. For a moment, his hand covered the surface, then finally moved clear.

The Five of Staves. For a total of eight.

Vo-Shay had lost.

Nyo blinked once, then his mouth fell open. He tried to meet the gambler’s eyes, but Vo-Shay had turned away as if he had found something incredibly interesting on the floor.

The Herglic roared his approval and then extended a flipper. “I believe you have something that now belongs to me…”

Vo-Shay carefully slipped the obsidian pendant from his neck and handed it over without a word.

Ecstatic, the Herglic snatched it up. “So, the unbeatable one has fallen at last. With this, I will be unstoppable.” He grinned at Nyo. “Congratulations, boy… you have just witnessed the death of an old legend and the birth of a new one.” Doune got to his feet and started for the door, Vee-Six trailing behind him. The Herglic paused at the door, and almost as an afterthought, tossed the lightsaber onto the table. The weapon scattered the sabacc cards. “Here! It’s not as though I need it…” With a final terrible chuckle, the Herglic and his droid left.

Nyo stared first at the saber, then at Vo-Shay. “I… I don’t know what to say…”

The gambler looked up, brandishing a wide smile. “Well, you could start with ‘thank you.’” He flipped over one of the sabacc cards he hadn’t played…

The Three of Sabers.

The young man was stunned. “You had the Idiot’s Array! You won!” Then it hit him. “But why didn’t you play it?”

“First of all, considering how badly Doune reacted to my winning his money in the first place, do you really think he would have let us just waltz out of here with the lightsaber even if I did win it fair and square? Plus, I counted at least a half-dozen mercs nursing glasses of lum on our way in here. My guess is that all they were waiting for was Donne’s order.”

“I see your point, I guess. But you didn’t have to sacrifice your pendant!”

“Listen, kid… that particular bauble was given to me a long time ago by a tenacious old girlfriend who wanted more of a relationship than I was ready for at the time. This girl refused to give up, no matter what I said or did. The only reason I considered it lucky was because the day she gave it to me, we finally broke up. I kept the thing and discovered that when I played with it during a game, it did a wonderful job of distracting my opponents. So you see, it really has no mystical power. I make my own luck. As do we all…”

A smile crept onto Nyo’s lips. “Donne’s in for quite a surprise, then.”

“Exactly why we should get going,” Vo-Shay said, tossing him the lightsaber.

Nyo caught it easily and couldn’t believe he was holding the one thing he had dreamed about for so long. He turned the haft over in his hands, caressing the smooth lines and imagining himself swinging that beautiful bright blade through a graceful arc…

Vo-Shay abruptly reached back inside the room and yanked the starstruck young man after him.

Nyo awoke to a soft, humming sound. It varied in pitch almost constantly, and for a moment, he thought some sort of insect had crawled into his head during his nap. He was momentarily disoriented, but slowly recalled being on the
Ashanda Ray
, headed away from Nar Shaddaa.

Far away.

Then he saw the odd glow reflected on the ship’s bulkhead. Quietly making his way back to the passenger compartment, Nyo peeked around the corner.

Vo-Shay stood in the Ray’s lounging area, deftly swinging the bright orange energy blade through a series of amazing thrusts and parries. After a few moments, the gambler sensed he was being watched and powered down the saber. He turned to Nyo, extending the weapon handle-first to the young man. “I hope you don’t mind. I just couldn’t resist.”

“How do you know how to do that?” Nyo demanded. Then the young man suddenly grinned. “And can you teach me?”

The gambler plopped down onto one of the lounge chairs. “I guess I still owe you my story, right?”

The young man nodded, taking the seat opposite Vo-Shay’s.

“Well, the legends surrounding my disappearance were correct. The
Ray
was indeed caught in the Tyus cluster, and at the center of that mass of ugly black holes, time was nonexistent. Many others had been trapped there before me, though none had survived. Except for one… a Jedi Master. She helped me escape, and even taught me a little about the Force.”

“That’s a pretty short summary…”

“I’ll save the whole story for another day,” Vo-Shay said dismissively. “After all, we’ll have plenty of time together when you sign on as my first mate.”

“Do you mean it?”

“I never say what I don’t mean, kid. Welcome aboard.”

“So, you’ll teach me about the Force?”

“Me? No… I’ll teach you how not to lose everything to a Herglic at the sabacc table.
She’ll
instruct you in the mysterious ways of the Force.”

Nyo looked around, not understanding, until a shimmering blue figure appeared next to Vo-Shay. Even dressed in simple robes, the woman’s beauty was not lost.

“This is Aryzah,” Vo-Shay said by way of introduction, “the lovely Jedi Master who saved my life.”

Greetings, Nyo. May the Force be with you
.

“And just between the two of us, kid,” Vo-Shay said with a wink, “you’re gonna need it.”