IG-88 and his newly constructed companions remained a mystery to Zekk. Something just didn’t fit….
He had ordered a hot meal from the insectlike Shanko, but chewed without tasting, wrapped up in his own thoughts. Apprehending Bornan Thul for the famous bounty was not an option at the moment, since the contract with his employer was not yet complete. He still had to find Tyko.
Repeatedly glancing at his chronometer, he rehearsed what he intended to say to the man. Though Boba Fett had given him advice, questions remained at the back of Zekk’s mind. This was a dangerous time for him. Less than an hour now until his meeting….
Zekk slurped another mouthful of the spicy stew. His stomach roiled, but Shanko had assured him that this meal was human-compatible. His queasiness was due more to anxiety over the impending meeting than any lack of quality in the cooking.
Shanko’s Hive was abustle with hundreds of patrons of all different species. The insectoid owner kept his crowded establishment clean and in excellent repair, much in contrast to the dingy Mos Eisley cantina. Zekk kept his eye on everyone, studying, searching.
Bornan Thul arrived in a new disguise this time, but Zekk spotted him right away. His employer wore a maroon caftan, a brown turban around his head, and a metal breath mask that covered his nose and mouth, the type worn by inhabitants of heavily polluted worlds.
Thul didn’t notice Zekk at first. The man’s partially obscured gaze darted around the bar furtively, as if he were anxious about being among so many people. If Zekk had any lingering doubts about his employer’s identity, they were dispelled the moment he sensed Thul’s tension.
At his table Zekk sat back and wondered whether he should raise a hand to wave his employer over. He decided the attention might startle Bornan Thul, so he simply waited until the disguised man noticed him.
“I have only a few moments,” Thul said without preamble when he finally located Zekk and slid into the seat next to him. The metallic breath mask filtered his voice. “Quickly—give me your report!”
Under the turban, Thul’s gaze continued to dart warily around at the other patrons in Shanko’s Hive. Zekk found this alertness ironic, since right now he himself was the bounty hunter Bornan Thul should have feared the most.
Zekk laced his fingers behind his head and feigned relaxation. “I’ve completed the first part of your task,” he said. “I sent the message for the Bornaryn fleet through all the communication nodes you suggested. I have, of course, received no word as to whether Aryn Dro Thul actually got the transmission … but it’s likely.”
Bornan Thul seemed to melt with relief, and instantly the lines around his shadowed eyes softened. Waves of long-repressed emotion flowed from him like a physical presence.
Zekk decided to tell the rest of his story. “Immediately after I transmitted your message, a bounty hunter attacked me. He’d been waiting for just such a signal. He pounced, but I managed to outwit him and escape.”
The disguised man nodded gravely. “You see—I was right to be cautious.”
“Yes. That bounty hunter thought he had found you … Bornan Thul.” Zekk’s voice was barely above a whisper.
The man stiffened and looked ready to leap away in panic. Zekk held up a hand. “If I had planned to capture you, I could have stunned you the moment you sat down. Relax.” Zekk tossed his long dark hair, trying to unwind the tension in his neck. “How long did you think you could hide it? You were pretty obvious. I guessed your identity the first time we met, even in your disguise.”
Bornan Thul swallowed so hard that Zekk could hear it through the metallic breath mask. Thul kept his voice low. “I was raised as a noble of Alderaan. I have been a successful merchant, a prominent trade negotiator—I have had little practice at hiding myself.”
“That much is obvious,” Zekk said with a thin smile. “I’m impressed that you’ve managed to elude capture so far. You know, I’d earn incredible fame and notoriety if I were to take you in now—but that wouldn’t be honorable. The Bounty Hunter’s Creed forbids me to work against my employer. I accepted your assignment, and I won’t betray you. So you’re safe—at least until I’ve fulfilled all my obligations to you.
“I still haven’t found your brother, though I’ve got a lead on Tyko’s kidnapping. I have quite a few questions that are still unanswered, so I’m on my way to Mechis III. I have a feeling I can learn more there about what’s happened to him, maybe even find him.”
“We cannot meet again,” Bornan Thul said, his voice trembling. “Now that you know who I am.”
Zekk’s emerald eyes narrowed. “Then how can I be sure I’ll get paid when I accomplish the task?”
“I’m an honorable man, too,” Thul said. “When my brother is found, the credits will appear in your account. From that point on, I will consider you another enemy to be avoided at all cost.”
He stood up, considered, then turned back to the table. “Young man, you can’t begin to understand the consequences if you delivered me to Nolaa Tarkona. Do you have any idea why she wants me so badly?”
Zekk shook his head. “A bounty hunter doesn’t ask questions. My job is to complete the task. Politics, emotions, and legal nuances are better left to more complex entities.”
Thul heaved a ponderous sigh. “Perhaps you would think differently if you knew all that I know,” he said. “If Nolaa Tarkona were to get the information I am protecting, she would not hesitate to use it. It might result in the extinction of all humans. Consider how far you’re willing to go to earn fame as a bounty hunter—and how many lives you would risk in the process.”
Zekk shifted uncomfortably, trying not to consider the implications.
Unexpectedly, a loud and unruly fight broke out at the automated musical-selection apparatus on the other side of the bar. A burly, white-furred Talz shoved aside a tusk-faced Whiphid. The Whiphid roared, lowered his cliff-sized head, and butted the Talz in the chest. The white slothlike creature squealed in high-pitched alarm and began pounding the Whiphid in turn.
Tables crashed over. The music machine toppled with a jangle of synthesized squawks. The murmuring conversation in Shanko’s Hive changed to resounding gasps and cheers as friends of the combatants and other enthusiastic patrons hurled themselves into the fray.
Shanko gestured with one pair of multijointed arms, and his three-armed bartender lumbered into the brawl with a loud bellow. Droq’l grasped the Talz and the Whiphid with his outer two hands, forcefully separating them. At the same time, his central hand balled into a battering-ram fist and punched each creature in an extremely sensitive area particular to their species.
Both fighters dropped like stones, and Droq’l glared down at them as their supporters backed away to slink into the shadows. The bartender righted the music machine, kicked it once to start it working again, then glowered at the two groggy aliens.
“Your bar tab will reflect a surcharge for the necessary repairs,” he growled, then stalked back to the bar. There the insectoid Shanko, who had watched the entire altercation without comment, rewarded his bartender with a full tankard of Osskorn Stout.
Zekk shook his head and turned back to Bornan Thul—but the man was gone. He looked around in alarm, but saw no sign of the fugitive. Thul had vanished completely, just as he had last time….
Zekk decided there was no point in pursuing his employer. It would do no good. Instead, he would finish his stew, and then head for Mechis III straightaway.