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The Queen’s scheduled itinerary called for her to stop at a number of ports of call. Their path would take them through some of the most dangerous areas of Imperial space—including a stop in Hutt space at Nar Hekka … hardly a garden spot of the galaxy, but Nar Hekka was head and shoulders above either Nal Hutta or Nar Shaddaa. Fett suspected that Bria Tharen had chosen this liner because it was one of the largest, and thus probably the safest. There had been a lot of pirate activity lately.

Over the next three days, Fett wandered the ship in his Anomid disguise, staying mostly to himself. He made a visual ID of Bria Tharen on the first day, and followed her to find out where her stateroom was. He discovered that she had a suite, and shared it with three men. Two of the men were older, and Fett figured that they, too, were officers in the Corellian resistance. The third man was in his mid-thirties, and, from the way he carried himself, was a seasoned combat veteran who was serving as security and bodyguard for the Corellian officers.

The two officers and the bodyguard, like Bria Tharen, dressed in civilian clothes. The Tharen woman was seldom alone outside of her stateroom. Often, she was surrounded by male admirers, although Fett noticed that she never took anyone back to her cabin with her, merely smiled and flirted casually. She played sabacc, careful neither to lose or win much, and she browsed the shops, but never bought anything of significance.

Fett kept her under observation, and laid his plans carefully.…

Lando Calrissian enjoyed traveling aboard cruise ships, and had done a lot of it lately, since losing the Millennium Falcon to Han Solo. Now that Han and Vuffi Raa had trained him to be a better-than-average pilot, he could have taken any of the ships on his used spaceship lot for his own, but Lando wasn’t that interested in any of them. He was waiting for just the right ship to come along.

His ideal ship would be more luxurious than the utilitarian Falcon—but every bit as speedy and capable of defending herself. Lando was on the lookout for a nice yacht he could get for a good price. So far, no bargains had surfaced.

And, besides, private ships didn’t have casinos. Lando liked casinos. He’d been spending a lot of time in them for the past year, working to recoup his liquid credit resources. The young gambler had been wiped out by the sabacc tournament, but since then, he’d managed to turn Han Solo’s loan of fifteen hundred credits into many thousands. Lando had been able to repay Han the money he’d “borrowed” several months before his friend had taken off for the Corporate Sector.

Queen of Empire, and her sister ship, Star of Empire, were two of Lando’s favorite ways to get around the galaxy. They weren’t as fast as some of the newer ships, but there was no doubt that Haj Shipping Lines knew how to build a luxury vessel. And the Queen and the Star were big, a major advantage these days, with all the pirate activity going on.

This time, he’d chosen the Queen for his trip back home. From Nar Hekka, he could easily catch a system shuttle back to Nar Shaddaa. This particular evening, Lando was wearing his newest stylish outfit—red shirt embroidered with black, narrow black trousers, and a red and black short cape that swung from his shoulders with a rakish flare. His dark hair and mustache were impeccably groomed, thanks to a trip to the ship’s barber that day. His black softboots shone with the subdued glow of real Numatra snakehide. Calrissian was looking good, and he didn’t miss the admiring glances cast at him by some of the female patrons in the club.

Lando was sitting in the Queen’s swankiest nightclub, the Star Winds Lounge, following a highly successful session at the sabacc tables. His credit pouch was carefully stashed in a secret compartment close to his skin, and was satisfyingly heavy. This trip, he’d make roughly four times what his expensive ticket had set him back. Not a bad profit margin.

While he was gambling—serious business!—Lando was abstemious, rarely partaking