Star Wars_ X-Wing 04_ The Bacta War - Michael A. Stackpole [23]
Corran gave him a hard stare. “Listen pal, you can leave right now because your dealing days are over.” Thinking back to the cantina, he let a smile slowly spread across his face and jerked a thumb over his shoulder back at Mirax. “That’s Mirax Terrik, Booster Terrik’s daughter. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll go.”
The large man stopped, his jaw hanging open, then he reared his head back and laughed.
Corran turned and looked at Mirax. “How come that scared people at the bar, and this guy laughs?”
“It worked on the people at the bar because they’re afraid of my father.” Mirax smiled sheepishly at him.
“And what’s wrong with this clown?”
“Well, Corran,” she winced, “he is my father.”
7
“Oh,” said Corran, without missing a beat, “I guess you take after your mother.”
Though he saw mirth and astonishment mix on Mirax’s face, and saw a smile begin to blossom on Gavin’s face, Corran wished for nothing so much as a chance to inhale and suck those words out of everyone’s ears. Could there have been a more stupid remark you could have made? A dozen different candidates flashed through his mind, including several that could have reminded Booster of his stint on Kessel. Okay, it could have been worse, but not by much.
Booster Terrik’s laughter died. “Mirax, who is he, and why shouldn’t I show him why others fear me?”
A smile fitted itself on her face, but her eyes tightened. “This is Corran Horn.”
“Horn?” Booster’s voice descended into bass tones. “This is Hal Horn’s boy?”
Corran turned to face Mirax’s father. “I am.”
Booster’s hand’s balled into fists the size of Corran’s head. “So, then, there’s no reason I shouldn’t give him the beating I owed his father. If you don’t mind, Huff.”
The rotund Darklighter shook his head. “I’d prefer it to happen outside, otherwise, beat away.”
Mirax stepped up beside Corran. “There is a reason, Father.”
Booster’s face slackened for a moment, then he frowned. “I’ve heard that tone of voice before. You don’t want me to take a round out of him. You even want me to like him, but there’s no reason in the galaxy why I’d like him.”
“Yes, there is.”
“Why am I going to like the son of the man who sent me to Kessel?”
“Because I do.”
“What?!”
Mirax slipped her hand into Corran’s. “You heard me. Corran’s saved my life, I’ve saved his, and we like each other. A lot.” She gave his hand a squeeze. “You can jump in any time, Corran.”
“Me? You’re doing fine.”
Her father’s face went through all sorts of contortions. “No, no, not a daughter of mine. If your mother weren’t dead, this would kill her, you know that.” Booster snarled, then spitted Corran with a stare. “And you! Your father would be mortified. Your grandfather would tear his hair out. A Horn keeping company with my daughter! It’s unthinkable.”
Mirax’s face twisted down into an angry mask the equal of the one her father wore. “It’s not unthinkable at all, at least not for someone who is willing to use more than one synapse on it. Wake up, Father. The Emperor is dead. It’s a new galaxy.”
Booster shook his head, then looked toward Huff. “The Emperor dies, and the natural order gets its double helix all twisted the other way. Next thing you know it will start raining here on Tatooine, and you’ll have tourist trade for seaside resorts.”
Huff smiled. “Actually, I have some sites picked out to cover that eventuality.”
“I bet you do.” Booster frowned at his daughter again. “A Horn! Hal Horn’s son! I wouldn’t have wanted this for you for all the glitterstim in the galaxy.”
“What you want for me, and what I want for me have long been different, Father.” Mirax let Corran’s hand fall away, then walked to her father and gave him a big hug and kiss. “That doesn’t diminish my pleasure at seeing you again.”
Booster returned the hug and swung his daughter off her feet so his broadly