Star Wars_ X-Wing 04_ The Bacta War - Michael A. Stackpole [19]
Mirax raised her chin and gave them a chillingly Imperial stare. “You’re blocking our light.”
The two of them backed away bowing profusely. Laughter ran through the cantina, bold in some spots and hushed in others, but amusement at their predicament united the cantina for a moment or two.
Corran licked his lips and realized his throat was absolutely parched. “Ah, Mirax, what possessed you to do that?”
“As I said before, keeping up appearances.” She smiled broadly at him. “You’ve really only seen the kind, sensitive side of me.”
“I seem to recall you burning down a stormtrooper on a speeder bike on Coruscant.”
“Oh, yes, I guess there was that, wasn’t there?”
“Yeah, there was, but even so there’s no reason for provoking a fight like that.”
She shrugged. “I wasn’t worried. You could have taken them.”
I could have taken them? Corran stared at her for a moment. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, but …”
Mirax reached across the table with her left hand and gave his right hand a squeeze. “I knew Wuher would intervene—this is an old game we’ve played from time to time.” Her right hand, the one that had been hidden from the open edge of the table, came up and she deposited a small hold-out blaster on the table. “I had things covered; but the moment Wuher mentioned who I was, I knew we’d not have any more trouble.”
Corran frowned. “Does everyone but me have relatives here? We land at Docking Bay Eighty-Six because some cousin or something of Gavin’s owns it, then he takes off to set up a meet with his uncle Huff. Your father’s got enough pull here so that two guys who’d suck the eyes out of a dead bantha’s head run like droids being pursued by Jawas.”
Mirax shrugged. “Tatooine is really a fairly small community. The Darklighters are a well-known and powerful family here. That estate we flew over on our way in here was Huff’s place. And as for my father, well, he had quite the reputation before your father tossed him into the mines on Kessel, and his surviving his time there didn’t hurt his rep at all. I’m sure that in some CorSec bar back on Corellia your name would be taken as being just as impressive.”
“Maybe, but let’s not test the reaction to it right now, okay?”
“I don’t think even invoking my father’s name would save you if you ran into an old enemy here.”
“And invoking my name would doom me if we ran into your father here.” Corran shot Mirax a sidelong glance. “Have you sent your father a message letting him know that you’ve developed an affection for the son of his nemesis.”
“ ‘Developed an affection,’ have I?” Mirax toyed with the hold-out blaster. “I thought we were a bit beyond that stage.”
“True, we are, but no fair dodging the question.”
She frowned. “No, I haven’t told him. While you were dead, there was no sense mentioning it—I didn’t want to be dealing with his anger while my heart still felt ripped out of me. And in the time since you came back from the dead, well, I’ve been busy; and ever since he retired, I’m never really sure where he is.”
“Most folks, when they retire, settle in one spot and relax.”
“Most folks aren’t my father.” Mirax smiled slightly. “For Booster, retirement means he still does deals, but he does them for friends, not for profit. Folks use him as a negotiator—he works out terms and the like. It keeps him getting the best of the business without the risk. He’s happy, which is better than the alternative.”
Which is why you’ve not mentioned us to him. Corran nodded. I fully understand. My father wouldn’t have, so not having to explain it to him is about the only good thing I can think of concerning his being dead.
Gavin came in through the doorway and paused in the foyer near the droid detection unit. He twisted left and right, shaking a cloud of Tatooine’s fine dust from his tan cloak. Beneath it he wore what was once a white shirt, a black vest, dark brown