Star Wars_ Millennium Falcon - James Luceno [58]
“He renamed it Second Chance. But, no, he doesn't have it.” Decree smiled lightly. “He ran into a bit of trouble with that ship because of something I did without meaning to. You see, the computer I installed was built by the Colicoids, and it wound up activating a cargo of black-market buzz droids Rej was hauling for a Black Sun Vigo. Rej managed to jettison the droids before they could dismantle the Second Chance, but they went and attached themselves to an Imperial cruiser that was vectoring in to intercept the freighter.” He looked from Jadak to Poste and back again. “The cruiser blew to pieces, killing more than seventy-five men and a lot more stormtroopers.”
Poste whistled. “What happened to Taunt?”
Instead of answering, Decree turned to Jadak. “I didn't catch your name.”
“Jadak.”
Decree blinked in confusion. “Any relation to Tobb Jadak?”
Jadak stiffened. “You could say that.”
Decree wet his lips. “You're his son.”
“Whose son?” Poste asked.
“The son of the pilot who died in the collision,” Decree said without taking his eyes off Jadak.
“No, I'm him,” Jadak said finally.
Decree went white. “But … but that can't be.”
“I survived the crash.”
“You survived the crash.” Decree tried to make sense of it. “Even so—”
“I know I don't look my age.” Jadak motioned to himself. “Believe me, Bammy, underneath all this I'm older than you are. But how do you know my name?”
“From the YT's flight recorder,” Decree said when he could. “I pieced together a whole history of that ship.” He ran his hand down his face. “And now you're looking for it?”
“I am.”
Decree's eyes narrowed. “Rej would know where it ended up. I can tell you where to find him.”
“Where, Bammy?”
“Well, he was on Oovo Four for a time. Now he's in Carcel.”
“The prison?” Poste said.
Decree grinned. “He's sure not there for the waters.”
* * *
When Bammy Decree finally left the Slag Pit II three hours later, he was wobbling far more than when he had arrived. He had recounted all he had uncovered about the Stellar Envoy's checkered past, and Jadak had told him about the sixty-two years he had lost to a coma. Jadak underplayed his interest in finding the ship and dismissed the Republic Group as nothing more than a courier service. He made no mention of the Envoy being the key to locating a hidden treasure, although he knew he would have to play up that fact if he hoped to enlist Poste in the search. The kid wasn't much with a blaster or an airspeeder, but he had talents Jadak lacked, and he knew the ins and outs of modern life. More important, he was a keen observer, and a second pair of eyes would be crucial to steering clear of whatever parties were after him, especially now that they had made a move.
Jadak paid Bammy more than Poste imagined the information about the old ship could possibly be worth, and sent him back to the Duros Sector in a private hover limo just as Nar Shaddaa's short, global night was waning.
“You're a lot more than I bargained for,” Poste said when Jadak returned to the table.
“And you remind me of a former friend of mine,” Jadak said. “His name was Reeze, and he was my copilot when we crashed into that bulk freighter. He died here.”
Poste frowned. “Is Reeze part of the reason you're so keen on tracking down the ship?”
“Yeah, he is. But that's not the half of it.” Jadak leaned forward in a conspiratorial way. “Poste, what would you say if I told you that the Stellar Envoy is the key to finding a treasure of maybe unimaginable wealth?”
Poste regarded him over the neck of the bottle of ale. “As in you have no idea, or you can't even calculate it?”
“Both.”
Poste took a sip of brew, set the bottle down, and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. “First I'd ask you how you know.”
“I was told so by the folks who were paying me to pilot the YT. Reeze and I were on our way to delivering it to someone when we crashed.”
“And the YT is the key to finding this treasure?”
Jadak nodded.
“Then you don't know where the treasure is.”
“I know enough. And what I don't know the ship does.”
A look of revelation dawned