Jaina sighed. “Sounds like Anja, all right.”
“That’s impossible,” Jacen said. “I would have known.”
Zekk said nothing, although he suddenly looked as if he were reviewing recent events in his mind.
Jaina shrugged. She usually believed that the straightforward approach was best. “Why don’t we just ask her? There she is now.”
Anja stood impatiently in the doorway of the restaurant. Spying the group, she trotted over to the table. Her glance flitted around Cloud Dance on the way to the table, noting her surroundings but showing little reaction to them.
“Uh, hi,” Jacen said uncertainly as she slid into a seat between him and Zekk.
No one else spoke. Anja ignored the silence and began studying the holomenu that appeared on the table in front of her as soon as she sat down. She seemed to build an invisible wall around her, separating herself from any companionship.
Lowie nudged Jaina in the ribs, encouraging her to speak. She looked over at Lando, who raised his eyebrows, obviously waiting.
Jaina cleared her throat. “Before we start eating, I have a question for you, Anja. It’s … about andris spice.”
Anja’s reaction was immediate and defensive. She jerked upright and pushed back from the table. “It’s not mine. I’m just keeping it for a friend. And besides, who are you to go rummaging through my things and—”
Jacen’s mouth fell open. He stared at her as if this was the last thing he’d expected to hear. “So you do have spice?”
Anja’s face flushed, and her words were filled with heat. “Well, obviously Jaina must have found it. Otherwise, why would she—”
“Wait,” Jaina said. “Nobody found anything. And we haven’t been going through your stuff. But there were, um … you just seem to …” she faltered, “… to be showing signs of spice addiction.”
Anja rounded on her. “I am not addicted. Not that it’s any of your business, but yes, I do take andris. Sometimes. Andris does have legal uses, you know. I use spice when I want to, because I like it. It’s not a problem. And I can quit anytime I want to.”
Anja stood, her face stormy. “Anyway, none of you has any right to question me. Who do you think you are, my father?” She glared at Jaina, then Jacen. Her voice became even colder. “I don’t have a father. Han Solo killed him, remember?”
With that, she stormed out of the restaurant.
Anja shook with fury as she stalked down one corridor after another. Images and emotions seethed in her mind, twisted her stomach. How dare they confront her like that… imply that she was addicted to spice! She slapped a hand impatiently against one leg as she walked.
She had started to think of some of the young Jedi Knights as her friends. But what gave them the right to ask about her private life? It was none of their business whether she took spice or not. Their business here was to visit SkyCenter Galleria and give Lando their opinion of it. They had all come to Cloud City to enjoy themselves and—until now—Anja had been enjoying herself, in spite of the somber news about Cojahn’s death. It certainly wasn’t her fault that the clumsy guy had taken a cloud dive.
Anja drew in a deep breath. Of course, she did have an inkling whose fault it might be. In all likelihood, Cojahn’s death had not been an accident. Anja was observant and had already seen a few signs that Black Sun was involved here in some way. She had long known that Czethros held an interest in several of the gambling casinos on Cloud City. It was entirely possible that Calrissian’s friend had gotten in the way and Czethros had been forced to have his people remove him. It was not a pleasant thought, but not shocking either.
She did feel edgy, though, out of control. How she wished she could take a dose of andris right now. She didn’t need it, of course, she assured herself. But it would make her feel so much better….
The urge was almost overwhelming, yet she had little enough of the precious spice. Czethros was so stingy with what he gave her, even after all she had done for him. Perhaps if she gave him some information he might be grateful enough to …
Her footsteps quickened, and in less than five minutes she found herself at the doorway to a private comm center. She paid her credits and slipped into a soundproof booth. She knew the transmission codes by heart, and within moments an image formed on the screen in front of her. The man had close-cropped moss-green hair and an eye visor that circled the base of his skull like a ring around an oddly shaped planet.
“This had better be important,” Czethros said, dispensing with any pretense at civilities.
Anja recognized the room behind him as his office on Ord Mantell. She nodded and got to the point. “It’s business, of course—what else? I’m on Cloud City, staying at the Yerith Bespin.”
She explained how she and the young Jedi Knights had learned of Cojahn’s death and the suspicious circumstances surrounding it, and how very intent her companions were on discovering Cojahn’s real killer.
The moving red light on Czethros’s visor hiccuped in agitation as she relayed her story, and she knew he understood her silent implication: if he was at all involved, he’d better cover his tracks quickly.
“I hoped this information might be … worth something to you?” she said, trying to keep the desperate tone out of her voice.
Czethros’s scarred face betrayed no expression. “You were right to tell me, my little velker,” he said. “You’ll be suitably rewarded. I’ll contact you.” With that, he abruptly terminated the communications link.
Anja smiled. That had gone well, she thought. Since more would be coming any time, perhaps she would reward herself with just a small dose of spice….
7
As the morning wore on, Tenel Ka found herself growing more and more impressed with Lando Calrissian. She had never gotten to know the man very well, never spent as much time with him as Jacen, Jaina, or even Lowbacca had.
But as the former smuggler led them on a tour of yet another portion of his enormous, not-quite-finished amusement complex, it became increasingly clear that the man was intelligent and quick-witted, a loyal friend and a shrewd businessman.
Even as Lando explained each new attraction to the interested young Jedi Knights, she could tell he kept his eyes open for any clues to what really lay behind Cojahn’s death. He had asked them to use the Force to sense any hidden dangers at the construction site: workers with malicious thoughts, sabotaged assemblies, or substandard materials.
As they did this, Lando reviewed the SkyCenter’s work logs and message boards; he interviewed with subtle, probing questions any crew members they encountered. But the senses of the young Jedi revealed nothing more unusual in the work crew than sadness, curiosity, or indifference on the subject of their former boss’s demise.
Lando led them down one of twenty transparent corridors that spoked out from a central domed hub. “We call this area our Climateria, where visitors can choose from over a dozen different climates. In each zone,” he said, pointing down to the pie-shaped spaces between the transparent walkways, “people will be able to visit a holographic zoo that displays creatures living in that sort of climate, go on some rides, listen to music, visit informational exhibits, and eat food associated with that particular climate on various planets. For example, we have a rain forest climate, a low desert climate, an ocean climate, swamps and marshes—”
Tenel Ka had always thought that the rigorous training Master Skywalker had undergone on Dagobah sounded interesting and challenging. “May we visit this swamp climate?” she asked.