Star Wars Character Cafe - Heavy Lifting Chapter 3

HEAVY LIFTING

CHAPTER 3

Lo’s heart raced as she tried to follow Maxx towards the cockpit. As she stepped into the Nerf’s small two being cockpit, she found Maxx sitting down adjusting the seat’s crash webbing. She also noticed TC-23J standing by the cabin door.

“I believe that you’ll want me in the ship’s lounge.” she replied firmly.

“Exactly,” Maxx replied distractedly as he buckled his lap belt. “Price?”

“Yes?” Lo replied, still feeling a little disoriented.

“Please plant yourself in the copilot’s chair.”

As Lo sat down, and started fiddling with the crash webbing, Maxx grasped the Nerf’s side stick with his left hand, slipped his feet into the stirrups on the yaw pedals and shouted, “I got it!” at the control panel. He then grasped the throttle, pointed the Nerf straight up and quickly shoved the throttle towards its forward stop.

Lo’s lips spread into a wide grin as the g forces shoved her back into the seat. Maxx claimed that he always dialed back the cockpit’s inertial compensator so that he could have a better feel for what the Nerf was doing. Lo suspected that the real reason he did it was that pulling gs was fun.

Suddenly Braga’s gruff voice erupted over the cockpit’s loud speakers.

“Captain Murtel! The food produced by your autochef is unpalatable…”

His voice was immediately drowned out by a high pitched claxon. Maxx took his hand off the throttle, flipped a switch and glanced at the ship’s holographic sensor display.

“Sorry about that,” he quickly replied. “I’m afraid that the Nerf wasn’t specced out as a passenger ship. If you don’t mind, I’m kind of busy right now.”

With that, he flipped a switch that killed the inter-cabin com and rolled the ship ninety degrees. Maxx could see four specks in the distance, he glanced at the instrument panel’s chronometer and smiled.

“It looks like our friend Nalma didn’t waste any time,” he said, the amusement clearly showing in his voice.

“Huh?” Lo replied. She was lost in the thrill of rocketing through the thinning atmosphere.

“Check the holo display,” Maxx replied distractedly. “Those four TIE fighters have got to belong to Nalma the Hutt. Given what I can guess about his position, he would have had to have launched them soon after those swoopers spotted us in the van to reach us so soon. This is going to be interesting.”

Lo looked at the holographic display. It showed four TIEs arcing toward the Nerf. She looked up at Maxx and was surprised to see him looking so relaxed. His body was almost limp in the captain’s chair and didn’t show any sign of tension. His facial expression was calm. The only sign that he was preparing to fight for his life was the quick way his eyes darted between the holographic display and the cockpit’s transparasteel greenhouse.

“Are we going to engage them?” Lo asked eagerly.

“Of course not,” Maxx replied coolly. We have no aft firing weapons and dog fighting would only serve to give Nalma time to send more ships.”

“Then what are we going to do!?” Lo asked, her heart pounding.

“We’re going to keep running. Emergency thrust should give us enough speed to lose those fighters in a few minutes. Those new shields that you installed should last that long. Trouble!?”

The ship’s astromech hooted a quick reply from the comlink clipped to the ship’s control panel.

“Readjust the shields; throw seventy percent of the shield energy aft.”

The droid hooted a quick affirmative.

The atmosphere drifted away as the four TIE fighters swung around on the Nerf’s stern and opened fire. Lo winced as the blasts struck the freighter’s shields causing the larger ship to rock. Maxx flipped the emergency thrust toggle, looked up ahead and smiled. A quick glance towards the holographic display confirmed that Nalma’s flagship, a Corellian Engineering Corvette with a small landing bay grafted onto its port side, was sitting right in the spot where Maxx would have to pass to make his jump to hyperspace. There were four more TIEs lazily circling in front of the Corvette, waiting for Maxx to fly right into the trap. Maxx chuckled, causing Lo to give him a walleyed stare.

“What’s so funny?” She asked feeling puzzled.

“Nalma’s playing this one strictly by the book.” Maxx replied with amusement.

“Isn’t that bad?” Lo replied nervously.

“It could be,” Maxx replied agreeably, “Fortunately, I’ve read that book and have a few ideas of my own.”

Maxx glanced at the holographic display and confirmed that the Nerf was slowly widening her lead on the four TIEs, the aft shields would only have to hold up for a few more minutes at this rate and they seemed to be doing well. He stared out into the distance and watched Nalma’s flagship. It was joined by what looked like a TIE Bomber. “That could be ugly,” he thought. He wondered how many missiles his shields would take before they folded. He breathed a little easier when he checked the holographic display and noted that the double barreled TIE’s port pod extended ahead of the panels. His sensors couldn’t confirm anything, but he suspected that it extended that far because it had a docking port. If that was the case, the “ordinance pod” would contain nothing more threatening than a boarding party. Maxx adjusted the ship’s course so that the Nerf would pass to the right of the Corvette.

***

Nalma the Hutt sat in his throne room engrossed in the holographic display situated before him. This moment had been a long time coming. It had been three years since he had received the initial reports that his nephew Braga had been withholding profits from Nalma’s operations on Tindalaire. Nalma had issued several warnings, but each one had been rebuffed with the insistence that Braga had not done anything wrong. Nalma was a patient being, and he gave his nephew plenty of time to straighten up. Still, there was a limit to how long Nalma could tolerate the situation before he was perceived as being too soft to run his business. Ten days ago, Nalma had sent his best team of auditors to thoroughly examine the finances of his operation on Tindalaire. Nalma liked to think of himself as a charitable being, but there was no way that he could ignore the accidental deaths of his auditors. Now he was sitting here, waiting for that miserable worm to come to him.

As much as he detested Braga, Nalma had to give his nephew credit for hiring a good pilot for his escape. He could hardly believe the way that the young human was said to get that miserable worm and his plaything to his ship, and the YT-1300 had managed to outrun four of the TIE fighters that Nalma had purchased specifically for this visit. Nalma would have to speak with this young spacer after he had captured his ship. If this human was cooperative, he might make a fine addition to Nalma’s staff. As he examined the freighter’s path, Nalma performed a quick analysis and smiled as he hit the com switch. The young pilot was clever indeed.

“Captain Wolart!”

Captain Nigel Wolart wasted no time in answering the hail.

“Yes my lord?”

“It looks like this Wild Nerf has altered its course and intends to pass ahead of us. What is your plan?”

Captain Wolart frowned as he examined the bridge’s holographic display. He hadn’t noticed the shift in the freighter’s course.

“I had just noticed that myself, your Excellency, but I wanted to wait and be certain that the present course holds before repositioning the ship.”

Nalma frowned, he sensed that Captain Wolart was lying, but he also knew that a capital ship, even one as quick as the Diligent One, wasn’t remotely as agile as even a stock YT-1300. It wouldn’t be wise to commit the vessel too quickly.

“Very well then, keep me posted on your course of action.”

“Will do my Lord!” Captain Wolart replied crisply.

***

As Maxx raced toward his confrontation with Nalma, he glanced at the temperature gages for the sublight thrusters. The readings were as bad as he had expected. Lo had performed nothing short of a miracle with her modifications to the Nerf’s sublight engines, but every miracle had its price. While the Wild Nerf’s original sublight thrusters were rugged enough to last for several decades with minimal care, they now required a strict maintenance schedule and would need to be replaced in four years even if Maxx resisted the temptation to exceed maximum recommended thrust levels. Switching to emergency thrust changed everything. In order to kick up the Nerf’s speed to these levels, Lo had to increase the ion stream temperature to a point where the thruster’s internal components would start to weaken. Lo had warned him that constant operation at emergency thrust would have to be limited to periods of less than one hour, and that every subsequent cycle on emergency thrust would have to be shorter and would still increase the likelihood of engine failure. Maxx was painfully aware of the risks and had never used emergency thrust until now, and what choice did he have? At least the payday at the end of this ride should be enough that Maxx could finally afford those new sublight engines that Lo was begging to install.

As he stared off into the distance, Maxx thought he saw the Diligent One move. A quick glance at the holographic display confirmed that Nalma’s flagship was moving to cut off Maxx’s intended escape. “Ok,” Maxx thought as he saw the Corvette launch four more TIEs, “I guess we’ll see whether or not I can make this work.”

Maxx maintained his speed and heading until the Wild Nerf was just out of the Corvette’s weapons range. Suddenly he threw the Nerf into what fighter pilots called a weave. By continually adjusting the side stick and yaw pedals, Maxx was able to make the ship dance up and down and side to side simultaneously, making it nearly impossible for the Corvette’s gunners to score a hit on the light freighter. The trick was to make the maneuver seem to be as random as possible while maintaining a reasonably consistent course. Lo’s lips curled into a wide grin as she savored the excitement. This was better than any ride she had ever experienced in one of Corellia’s amusement parks.

As the Nerf approached the Diligent One, the four ties that were flying near the flagship raced towards the freighter and tried to fire a few shots at it. They quickly turned to follow the Nerf and attempted to hit her from behind, but it was hard to do as the small freighter seemed to buck and bounce like its namesake. Blue ion bolts passed around the Nerf as it closed on the larger ship. Suddenly, Maxx rolled the Nerf on her side and pulled up, causing her to pass along side the larger ship. He had quickly rolled the ship so that he presented the smallest possible area to the Diligent One’s gunners and continued to weave the Nerf up and down. Once Maxx had cleared the Corvette’s stern, he rolled the ship to starboard and pulled up, bringing her on course for his jump point.

“Trouble,” he called into the comlink, “I need you to calculate our first jump fast.”

The small droid hooted a quick acknowledgement and replied that it would be a few seconds. Maxx continued to weave the ship around the Corvette’s ion blasts until he heard the ok from Trouble. He then switched off emergency thrust and moved the slider that engaged the Nerf’s hyperdrive.

Lo sighed and leaned back as she watched the stars streak by.

“Now THAT was a ride.”

“That it was,” Maxx replied with a grin. “Hopefully we’ll see a few more like that in the future.”

Lo leaned forward and turned to look at Maxx.

“You mean it!?”

Maxx smiled, he couldn’t recall the last time his first mate had been this excited about something that didn’t involve sex, booze or even spaceship modifications.

“I’ve been thinking about that ever since I landed on Ord Mantell last year. Now that the Wild Nerf’s made a bit of a name for herself, we should be able to land a few of the more interesting jobs, and I think we should be prepared to take them.”

Lo blinked as she listened to Maxx talk, she almost couldn’t believe her ears.

“What do you want to do?”

Maxx turned his body to face Lo, she could be very appealing when she was excited.

“When we lift off from Nal Hutta, I want to visit your old friends on Ord Mantell. We will need to repair the shield generators and repaint the hull, but I’d also like to start collecting parts for that new sublight engine you’ve been talking about.”

Lo’s eyes widened.

“You aren’t joking, are you?”

“Of course I’m not,” Maxx said with a chuckle, “I thought you knew by now that I have no sense of humor. Still, you should be careful about holding your eyes like that. Your face might freeze and you’d be mistaken for a Mon Calamari.”

Lo’s eyes narrowed in confusion.

“What’s a Mon whatyamacallit?”

“Another alien species that you’ve apparently never heard of. They come from a wet world called Calamari which they share with an intelligent species called Quarren.”

Lo laughed as she heard Maxx talk about another of the seemingly endless alien species that he knew about.

“Is there anything you don’t know?”

“Quite a few things actually,” Maxx replied reassuringly, “but getting back to our plans. If we each take thirty thousand for our parts in this run, that will leave forty thousand for the ship which should be adequate to purchase the components that we’ll need to put our new engine together. I’d appreciate it of you’d go over your notes and refine the design so that we’ll have an accurate parts list by the time we land at Ord Mantell.”

Lo winced as she heard Maxx speak.

“That might be tricky, I left my datapad at the engineering station.”

Maxx nodded grimly. The engineering station was in the ship’s lounge, by the forward hold, where Braga had taken up residence.

“I’ll get it,” he said, “I need to visit the lounge anyway and hear Braga complain about the limitations of our autochef.”

“Thanks Maxx, is there anything I can do?”

“Stay in the cockpit,” Maxx replied firmly, “it’s in nobody’s interest for you to meet Braga the Hutt.”

With that, Maxx unbuckled his crash-webbing, stood up and grimly left the cockpit.

Maxx’s time in the passenger lounge was even more unpleasant than he had expected it to be. It was bad enough that Maxx was confronted by evidence that Braga had been abusing Linh Ah while Maxx had been struggling to save that miserable worm’s hide but he also had to deal with Braga’s incessant demands that Maxx supply him with food that was more fitting for a Hutt of his station. Maxx had to struggle to avoid reminding Braga that since his station involved being on the run with what had to be an enormous bounty on his head, anything that the Nerf’s autochef could whip up was more than fitting. Maxx contented himself with reminding Braga that the Wild Nerf was not a luxury yacht and that there had been no time to stock the galley with Hutt delicacies while they were on Tindalaire. When Braga insisted that Maxx land somewhere to pick up something, Maxx coolly reminded him that half the bounty hunters in the galaxy were probably searching for them and that if Boba Fett managed to track them down while the Nerf was sitting in some spaceport, Maxx would have no qualms with handing the miserable worm over.

The droids seemed to have less trouble with handling Braga the Hutt’s behavior. TC-23J listened to Braga’s incessant demands with all of the unflappable patience that was designed into the TC series protocol droid’s personality matrix. Trouble just ignored Braga’s behavior and concentrated on the tasks at hand. As far as Trouble was concerned, Braga the Hutt and his Twi’lek were just more proof that all biologicals were crazy. Besides, hopping the Wild Nerf through hyperspace was enough to keep the little R5 unit occupied.

Maxx’s instructions to Trouble were quite specific. Nalma the Hutt would likely post his forces on all of the likely hyperspace routes between Tindalaire and Nal Hutta. Maxx needed Trouble to patch together a series of obscure jumps to produce an unlikely route to Nal Hutta. It was not an easy task, but Maxx’s respect for the little droid inspired Trouble to redouble his efforts. In the end, the astromech doubted that even Boba Fett himself could have tracked the Nerf to Nal Hutta.

“Are you expecting any trouble when we arrive at Nal Hutta?”

Maxx turned to face Lo out of surprise. This was the first time his partner had taken a break from working on her datapad since he had returned with it.

“We should do fine as long as Braga is onboard. If the Hutts live by one rule, it’s that Nal Hutta is their sanctuary. It is unthinkable for any Hutt, or any Hutt’s servants, would attack another Hutt on Nal Hutta.”

Lo frowned.

“And what happens after Braga departs.”

Maxx smiled grimly as he pondered the matter.

“Hutts generally treat non-Hutts worse than most beings treat droids. I suspect that Braga might be tempted to kill us in order to avoid paying the eighty thousand credits that he owes us.”

Lo shuddered as Maxx spoke.

“You think he’ll kill us?!”

“Hopefully not,” Maxx replied coolly. “He’s certain to be tempted, but I think he’ll make a few threats and see if he can bluster his way out of paying what he owes us.”

Lo’s heart skipped a beat and her eyes widened. It was starting to dawn on her that the dangerous part of this run may be about to begin.

“But we saved his life,” she whispered faintly.

“To a Hutt, such things mean little,” Maxx replied sadly. “I’d be willing to bet that Braga is so incensed that I demanded one hundred thousand credits that he’s already forgotten the risks we took to ferry him to safety.”

Lo seemed to turn even paler than usual as Maxx outlined their dilemma.

“What are we gonna do?” She asked faintly.

“For starters,” Maxx replied calmly, “we’re not going to panic. Smuggling is dangerous work, and if we end up moving into the big leagues, we had better be ready to deal with this kind of thing.”

“Secondly, we will keep Linh Ah onboard until we’re paid in full. He may not ‘love’ Linh Ah per se, but he enjoys the pleasure of toying with her. I doubt he will risk attacking us for as long as she’s onboard.”

“And once she’s gone?”

“I plan to raise ship and leave Nal Hutta as soon as possible.”

“And if the Hutts won’t let us leave?”

“Then you may be treated to another of my wild rides. By the way, do you think our engines will survive a second cycle at emergency thrust?”

Lo narrowed her eyes as she thought for a few seconds, she leaned forward in the copilot’s chair and pulled up the engine’s log.

“You ran emergency thrust ten minutes over my recommendation last time. They should be able to stand forty five minutes at emergency thrust without too much risk. Go beyond that, and you’re pushing our luck.”

“And what about shields?” Maxx asked as though it were merely a matter of idle curiosity.

Lo reexamined the computer screen.

“The forward shields are nearly one hundred percent, but the afts are running only fifty percent.”

Maxx frowned, escaping from Nal Hutta would be a lot harder on the ship than their escape from Tindalaire.

“I’m pretty sure that the Hutts won’t have any reason to shoot at us once we’ve been paid,” he replied hopefully.

***

Maxx chuckled to himself in silent amusement as he watched Lo gawk at the spaceship traffic around the Hutt worlds. How could someone who had grown up on one of the major core worlds be so amazed at traffic around any of the outer worlds?

“Don’t you just find it fascinating?” Lo asked, “I mean I’ve never seen anything like it!”

“Not even around Corellia?” Maxx asked.

“Oh, I didn’t see the ships around Corellia when I left home,” Lo replied. “The only ship headed to Ord Mantell was an Action III bulk freighter, and I wasn’t allowed on the bridge.”

“I guess I’ve just been spacing too long to be impressed by outer rim traffic,” Max said with a chuckle. “After flying into Coruscant, everything seems tame.”

Lo turned away from the canopy and gave Maxx an awestruck stare.

“You’ve flown into Coruscant?” She asked incredulously.

“Back when I used to work for Thonas Shipping,” Maxx replied with an easy smile. “Most of the commerce between Tapan and the capital was handled by larger vessels, but occasionally there was someone whose transport needs could not be fitted to the schedules of a larger ship.”

Lo was about to ask another question about Maxx’s trip to Coruscant when TC-23J’s voice came in over the com panel.

“Excuse me Captain Murtel, but I have just been in contact with Nal Hutta traffic control. They have accepted Braga’s authorization code and they are sending two fighters to escort us to a landing pad at Braga’s clan home.”

“Thanks Twenty Three Jay,” Maxx responded, “Let me know when the fighters make contact.”

Maxx had decided that it was best to let TC-23J handle the com because he doubted that his Huttese was good enough to deal with a fast talking space traffic controller. This also left him free to concentrate on flying, the traffic was a bit thicker than he was used to on the outer rim.

After a few minutes of waiting, Maxx noted a pair of needle nosed fighters racing towards his small freighter. One of ships arced around and posted itself in front of the Nerf while the second ship flew beyond the ship and curved so that it was on Maxx’s six ‘o clock. Then, in unison, the fighters’ wings split apart and swung open.

“X-Wings?” Lo asked, astonished at seeing the fighters associated with the Rebellion up close.

“Shouldn’t surprise you,” Maxx replied as he listened to the leader talk with TC-23J. “From what I’ve heard about these fighters, they should fit the Hutt’s needs fairly well, good atmospheric performance, proton torpedoes and good shields.”

“But wouldn’t the Hutts worry about offending…”

Her voice was cut off by the wailing of a deep sounding claxon. Maxx winced and flipped a switch that silenced the claxon but didn’t affect the tell tale light on the pilot’s control panel.

“Should have done that before we entered real space,” he grumbled.

“Missile lock! They’ve got a missile lock on us!” Lo screamed, starting to panic.

“Keep it down, will you!?” Maxx whispered fiercely. “I don’t want to disturb our passengers.”

“But we’re under attack!” Lo whispered, trying to match Maxx’s ferocity.

“Of course not!” Maxx replied, he was starting to become irritated with his partner again. “The Hutts are very sensitive about non Hutt vessels entering their atmosphere. The torp lock is just a warning to not do anything stupid like deviating from the lead pilot’s orders and beginning a strafing run. I should have expected it.”

“But what are we gonna do!?” Lo asked.

“We’re going to stay cool, follow the leader and not do anything stupid,” Maxx replied. “This is the least of our worries.”

Lo stared out the canopy trying to take in all of the ships she saw flying into Nal Hutta and its moon Nar Shaddaa. During her time on Ord Mantell, Lo had heard many tales about Nar Shaddaa, known as “Smuggler’s Moon” in honor of the smugglers who flocked there to deal with the Hutts and each other. But her excitement at seeing Smuggler’s Moon for the first time was chilled by the knowledge that she was riding on a ship that had proton torpedoes locked on it. Lo had a feeling that the two of them were walking on a thin line and that the slightest misstep or stroke of misfortune could mean sudden death.

In a strange way, Maxx welcomed the two fighters and their torp lock. The challenge of following the lead ship took his mind off of his less pressing worries. The fact that the Hutts had X-Wings bothered him. Racing out of Nal Hutta would be impossible enough if he was pursued by TIE Fighters, but X-Wings with their twin proton torpedo launchers added a whole new level of impossibility. It wouldn’t take that many torpedoes to collapse the Nerf’s aft shields and Maxx was painfully aware that the reinforced hull didn’t make his ship a Star Destroyer. It occurred to Maxx that if things became too dicey, he might be wise to release Linh Ah and leave with only the twenty thousand credits that Braga had already paid him.

The three ships cruised past the flow of Caravels and large yachts as they entered Nal Hutta’s atmosphere. They cruised away from the other freighters that were headed for the small spaceports that dotted Nal Hutta’s surface and eventually they approached an ornate building that reminded Maxx of an ancient castle. As they drew closer, the lead pilot informed Maxx that he was supposed to touch down in the building’s courtyard on the landing pad designated for transient vessels. As the Wild Nerf drew closer, it became apparent that the enormous rectangular building was built around a courtyard with the “walls” thick enough to house living quarters that should be lavish enough even for a whole family of Hutts. The circular towers at each corner contained turbolaser cannons which tracked the Nerf as she flew above the courtyard. There was a large landing facility along one wall of the courtyard with several landing pads of various sizes. Maxx noticed that the one landing pad that had its lights activated seemed to be barely large enough to handle the Nerf. He had TC-23J check with the home’s control tower and confirm that he was to land at this particular pad before he lowered the Nerf. As the Wild Nerf slowly settled towards the ground, Maxx rotated the ship so that the starboard boarding ramp would open to the walkway that led across the courtyard. After landing, Maxx checked the holographic display and noted that the two X-Wings were lazily circling above the home.

Maxx stood up and walked briskly to the ship’s ring shaped inner corridor. There he met Braga and Linh Ah. The latter was still wearing her robe which had been soaked in Hutt slime.

“Lower the boarding ramp!” Braga demanded in Huttese, “It is time for us to leave.”

Maxx pretended to wait for TC-23J to translate the Hutt’s demand into Basic before responding.

“Not so fast,” he said firmly. “There is still the matter of the eighty thousand Imperial credits that you owe me. Linh Ah will stay behind to make certain that you pay me.”

“You greedy fool!” Braga roared. “You may have been able to talk to me like that on Tindalaire, but we are on MY world now! You must do as I say if you want to survive!”

Maxx frowned as he listened to TC-23J translate Braga’s words into Basic. He silently vowed to never get involved in a matter between two Hutts again.

“We may be on your world, but we are still on my ship,” he replied coolly, “I have taken great risks to bring you here, and I expect to be compensated.”

“I have already paid you more than you deserve!” Braga roared as he struck Linh Ah in anger.

“We agreed on one hundred thousand,” Maxx replied sharply. “We both know that I would not have touched this job for one credit less.”

Braga was apoplectic with rage; he couldn’t believe that this spacer was defying him at his clan home.

“I’ll have you and your sorry excuse for a ship incinerated for talking like that!” he bellowed.

“I bet your clan would not appreciate the mess,” Maxx replied coolly. “Besides, it might be hard to hire decent pilots in the future if the ship that whisked you out of Nalma’s clutches vanished.”

Those words came to Maxx from some place outside of his conscious mind, yet he immediately sensed their truth. Ferrying Braga out of Tindalaire and away from Nalma the Hutt was the kind of thing spacers would talk about. If he and the Wild Nerf disappeared right after pulling this off, people would wonder. They might also be reluctant to work for the being suspected of engineering Maxx’s disappearance.

As the tension in Maxx’s mind eased a bit, he sensed that his words seemed to have the desired effect on Braga. His rage and arrogance seemed to have deflated and he sulked as he stared at the tall human.

“What if I can’t raise the money?” he asked in Huttese.

“Then I shall be more than happy to keep Linh Ah in lieu of the eighty thousand credits,” Maxx replied agreeably.

Braga didn’t even wait for TC-23J’s translation before shouting a string of curses that lasted for several minutes. TC-23J did not bother translating them into basic.

“You will pay for your arrogance!” Braga roared.

“I am merely asking to be paid the agreed upon price for saving your life.” Maxx replied firmly.

“Certainly your life is worth more than one hundred thousand credits.”

“But your life may not be worth very much, now open the door!”

“My life never was,” Maxx replied sullenly, “Trouble! Could you please lower the boarding ramp?”

The boarding ramp lowered and Braga slowly crawled down it and onto the long pathway that led across the courtyard. Linh Ah stared after her master and then turned to stare at Maxx. Her green face was mask-like and betrayed no hint of her emotions.

“That was a very dangerous thing for you to do,” she said harshly.

“I’m a smuggler,” Maxx replied, “a little danger comes with the job description. By the way, you may want to visit our refresher station while Braga’s away. Feel free to wear the maroon robe that’s hanging there. It may be a bit long, but it’s clean.”

At this, Linh Ah favored Maxx with a grateful smile as she turned and strode off to the ship’s lounge. Maxx asked Trouble to raise the boarding ramp and returned to the cockpit. Lo was sitting in the copilot’s chair, using a pair of electro-binoculars to look at the older Hutts seated on a deck on the other side of the courtyard. She lowered her binoculars and turned towards Maxx as she heard him enter.

“Sithspawn!” she yelled, “Are you out of your mind!?”

“I may have been out of my mind when I accepted this job,” Maxx replied sullenly.

“You could have gotten us killed, talking to a Hutt like that!”

Maxx frowned.

“At least I have enough sense not to yell anti-alien sentiments at a spaceport cantina. If those men had not been so sympathetic…”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’d probably be dead. Still, that wouldn’t have been your problem. But now we’re on this Braga’s home world! If Braga decides to take it out on us because of your arrogance, it won’t be just you that gets killed!”

“I’m painfully aware of that,” Maxx replied, “Still this is a smuggling ship and smuggling is a dangerous business. One side of that is dealing with the threats of powerful customers trying to force an agreeable price. If you can’t handle that, you should return to Corellia.”

Lo stared blankly at Maxx for almost a minute. She was aware that Maxx didn’t like her very much and would be happier without her being on what he considered to be his ship. Still, this was the first time in the year that they had been partners that Maxx had ever suggested that she should leave.

“This is my ship too!” Lo replied defiantly.

“I can compensate you for your share in the Nerf,” Maxx replied coolly. “Now if you want to remain an active partner on this vessel, you will have to accept the risks inherent in being a smuggler. Those risks extend beyond the occasional requirement that I do a little fancy flying and include intense negotiations with belligerent beings. You might be wise to use our waiting time to consider whether or not you really belong on this vessel.”

Lo turned away and sulked for a few minutes while Maxx sat down in the captain’s chair and checked the holographic display. He noted that the markings on the two X-Wings circling overhead were different than the ones that escorted them here. Apparently the Hutts were expecting this to take awhile. When Lo finally spoke, she didn’t even bother looking at Maxx.

“What are you going to do if the Hutt takes you up on your offer to take the Twi’lek instead of cash?”

“He won’t,” Maxx replied coolly, “He wants her too badly.”

“Still, what if he can’t raise the money?”

“He should have little trouble doing so. I imagine that Braga has at least a million credits stashed here.”

“And if he hasn’t?”

Maxx sighed.

“Then he should have little trouble borrowing the amount, eighty thousand Imperial credits is pocket change on this world.”

“But you said that Hutts aren’t that generous.”

“Generally speaking they aren’t, but Hutt clans are generally close knit, Braga should be able to find someone to loan him the money.”

“And if he can’t?”

“In other words, what if in spite of everything, Braga has no choice but to concede his prized play thing?” Maxx asked, “Then you will receive the twenty thousand that we have already received and ten thousand from my savings for your part in this mess. Then we will stop in Tapan and pay a quick visit to Trix.”

Lo turned to face Maxx, her eyes narrowed.

“You think your old lover will be interested in greenie girl?” she replied abstractly.

Maxx’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t rise to the bait.

“Linh Ah is quite young and has an excellent figure. I imagine that Trix would be willing to pay at least fifty thousand credits for her.”

At this, Lo’s eyes flew open.

“Fifty thousand credits!?”

“I believe so,” Maxx replied calmly. “Trix is in the business of purchasing young slave girls for the Twi’light lounge. A lot of men on Tapan are fascinated by Twi’lek women and Trix’s business is so good that she can set her girls free after a few short years. By that time, she has made certain that the newly freed slaves were trained so that they could leave the business of pleasure behind and make their way in the world.”

“You make this courtesan friend of yours sound like some kind of saint,” Lo replied sullenly.

“She may be,” Maxx replied thoughtfully. “Trix always thought of herself as a woman who was trying to do a little good in a cruel galaxy. Maybe that is what a saint is.”

Lo turned towards the canopy and picked up her electro-binoculars again. All this talk about Trix and Twi’leks was getting on her nerves. She stared at the two Hutts on the porch. They were having what seemed to be an animated discussion. Lo wondered if they were talking about Braga or something else entirely. As she watched them, a question came to her. She threw it out without thinking.

“What do you suppose they think of us?” She asked absently.

“What do I suppose who thinks of us?” Maxx replied, glad to be talking about something other than his part in their current mess.

“The Hutts,” Lo replied, her back still to him. “Do you think they are talking about the crew that saved Braga’s life?”

Maxx frowned and shook his head.

“I doubt it,” he replied abstractly. “To a Hutt, all non-Hutts are just animals: they may do useful work, they may provide pleasure or amusement but beyond that, we mean nothing to them.”

“Then, you don’t think they’d object to those fighters finishing us off?”

Maxx smiled grimly as he listened to Lo talk.

“Like I said, they’d object to the mess. The explosion caused by a proton torpedo hitting our fuel tank would do a lot of collateral damage. They definitely wouldn’t like that.”

Lo continued to stare at the two Hutts and then at Braga crawling across the courtyard.

“Is there any reason why Braga won’t have us killed once we lift off?”

Maxx’s smile widened as he pondered the matter.

“I don’t think the Hutts would go for it, if too many private ships fail to return from Nal Hutta, they might not be able to find many independent captains willing to fly there. Besides, Braga would have trouble hiring crews if we were to disappear.” he said thoughtfully.

“Huh? Lo asked.

“Think about it,” Maxx replied. “Today’s little escapade isn’t the kind of thing that happens every day on Tindalaire. People are going to talk, and the talk will go from one spaceport to the next until it’s all over the outer rim. What will all of those people think if the ship and crew that helped Braga escape disappear? At the very least, they will probably assume that it’s not safe to work for Braga the Hutt.”

Lo frowned, Maxx’s words did provide a little reassurance.

“What if Braga doesn’t care?”

“What if Braga the Hutt is so angry that he doesn’t care about the consequences of killing us?”

“Yeah,” Lo replied absently.

“I doubt that he’d have gotten this far in the criminal world with an attitude like that.”

“But I thought crime lords were supposed to be tough,” Lo replied as she turned to face Maxx.

“Tough yes, crazy no.

“There’s a difference?” Lo asked.

Maxx sighed, this might not be the easiest thing to explain.

“It’s one thing to make people afraid to cross you, another to make them afraid to work for you. Hutts need people to do their dirty work, guards, enforcers, fences, pilots you name it. Braga may not have trouble hiring thugs if he kills us, but the higher he moves up the skill chain, the more likely people are going to wonder if it’s safe to work for him. It’ll be hard for him to build up much of an organization without skilled people.”

Lo frowned and turned to stare forward, showing Maxx her profile.

“What makes you think Braga wants to build up an organization?”

Maxx smiled.

“Because that’s what Hutts do. There are a few who are so brutish that they are only good to work as enforcers. The rest either have organizations of their own, or work in a supervisory position in a relative’s organization. Either way, they have to be able to find skilled help. Given what I can guess about Braga, his position on Tindalaire and his troubles with Nalma, it seems likely that he is ambitious enough to want his own organization, and for that he will need a variety of people including independent ship captains. I don’t think he can afford to have us killed.”

Lo frowned as she continued to stare ahead.

“I hope you’re right,” she said absently.

“So do I,” Maxx thought.

It didn’t take long for the waiting to get to the crew. Maxx liked to think he was a patient man. Ever since childhood, TC-23J had taught Maxx the importance of patience and experience had shown that patience usually paid off in the end. It was just so difficult for even Maxx to remain patient when the stakes were so high. If Maxx was right, he’d have enough money to move the Nerf up another step towards being his ideal smuggling ship. If he was wrong? Then Maxx and the Wild Nerf had better be able to serve up a miracle that was even greater than the one that brought Braga the Hutt to safety. TC-23J had always told Maxx to trust his feelings, and doing that had never failed him in the past. Those feelings told Maxx that Braga’s blustering was nothing more than a negotiating tactic. As Maxx looked up from the holographic display and stole a glance at Lo, he wondered if this would be the time that those instincts were wrong.

As he gazed at Lo, Maxx sorely regretted that he had not spoken with his partner before accepting this job. Lo had never shown much interest in the business deals that kept the Nerf flying. She was happy as long as there was money at the end of the ride and a club to spend it at their destination. Still, this job was different, and the stakes were so much higher. He should have explained the risks to Lo, including the probability that Braga would try to threaten his way out of paying what he owed the duo. He should have listened to what she had to say. As Maxx returned his eyes to the holographic display, he hoped that his feelings were right after all and that Lo wouldn’t pay the ultimate price for his miscalculation.

Lo stewed as she stared out the cockpit’s greenhouse. As she watched Braga talk with those two Hutts on the deck, Maxx’s words echoed in her mind. “…smuggling is a dangerous business…if you can’t handle that, you should return to Corellia.” “Return to what?” She wondered. Return to working at Corellian Engineering Corporation with its suits, regular hours and dull assignments? Lo doubted that she’d be welcome back even if she wanted to return, she had pretty much strafed that spaceport when she had lifted off four years ago. Lo doubted that she would be welcomed back at Ord Mantell either. Eva Maru had made it painfully clear that she was giving Lo such good deals on parts because she had hoped to never see her face again.

As much as Lo disliked Captain Murtel, there were times when the Wild Nerf was the closest thing to a home that she had. Maxx’s protocol droid was so sweet that she had started calling her “mother.” And while Maxx may have been a pain, he had given Lo more interesting engineering work in the year that they had been together than Leo Long had given her during her four years at CEC. The day to day repair work may have been a grind, but she was able to flex things so that she could have a little fun. Now Maxx was suggesting that Lo didn’t belong here either. She opened her flask and took a sip of Whyrren’s Reserve. As she savored the Corellian Whiskey, Lo wondered if there was any place that she did belong.

Maxx had left the cockpit and retreated to the ship’s lounge where he tried to relax with one of his pipes and a cup of herbal tea. The droids were there, but they knew that he didn’t feel like talking. Trouble was plugged into the computer socket in the engineering station and made a show of watching the various cameras and sensors that dotted the ship’s exterior. From time to time he swiveled his “head” around to glance at Maxx. TC-23J just stood there gazing at her charge, waiting for him to do or say something that suggested that he wanted her input. The three of them were waiting when Lo yelled.

“Hey captain! You had better come look at this!”

As Maxx briskly walked back to the cockpit, he passed Linh Ah. The young Twi’lek had been sleeping in Lo’s bunk and looked up at Maxx as he strode by. As soon as Maxx stepped into the cockpit, Lo handed him her electro-binoculars.

“What do you make of it?” she asked.

Maxx looked around and noticed the humanoid figure making its way across the courtyard. Maxx looked through the electro-binoculars and focused on the newcomer. She was a red skinned Twi’lek woman who appeared to be in her sixties or seventies. She was wearing a loose fitting green pantsuit.

“It looks like we’re going to have a visitor.” Maxx replied abstractly.

“Yeah, I figured that,” Lo replied, “But is it good or bad?

“Good I think,” Maxx replied, “I suspect that Braga would have come in person, or sent someone more menacing if he was going to take Linh Ah by force…ha! She’s carrying a satchel. I’d be surprised if that doesn’t mean payment!”

“Then we’re getting what we’ve asked for?” Lo replied, she was beginning to feel hopeful.

“It certainly looks that way,” Maxx replied, a hint of amusement creeping into his voice. “Mind you, the satchel could contain a thermal detonator, but I suspect the biggest worry we’ll face is being shortchanged.”

Maxx handed the electro-binoculars back to Lo and watched the elderly Twi’lek make her way across the courtyard. Looking at her close up made him think about what Trix might look like in another twenty five years. The red skinned woman was very slender and she seemed to wear the years well. She moved quickly and with the gentle grace that Twi’lek women were known for. Maxx had quietly relayed instructions to Trouble, and when the woman reached the landing pad, the boarding ramp was lowered for her.

“Good afternoon Captain Murtel, my name is Lin Lin,” the newcomer said in Basic. “Braga the Hutt has sent me to offer payment and bring Linh Ah back to him.”

Maxx smiled as he accepted the bag from Lin Lin.

“I hope that you don’t mind if I have my trusted protocol droid count it,” he said agreeably.

“I expected nothing less,” Lin Lin replied stoically. “In business one can never be too careful.”

It didn’t take too long for TC-23J to confirm that the eighty thousand credits were there and soon Linh Ah stoically joined Lin Lin and the two women walked down the boarding ramp together. Maxx looked after them feeling torn. He knew that this was the best he could have hoped for, but he couldn’t help feeling that he had let Linh Ah down. Still, what could he have done? It would have been suicide to have tried to take her with him, and Lo would have killed him if the Hutts didn’t.

Maxx made his way back to the cockpit and eventually TC-23J informed him that the Hutts had given the Wild Nerf clearance to lift off and leave Hutt space. Maxx sighed, relieved that the task of following the lead fighter would keep him from thinking about the good that he had failed to do. At least for a little while.