Stranger Times

Small Galaxy

"Hey," BoSkek said, as he turned the on-board computers of the Infinity on and started his pre-flight check. "Did I ever tell you about that time I was hired to rescue a Senator's kid?"

"Considering we only met just before that Kessel job? I'm pretty sure I haven't heard any of your stories," Miru Nadriniakar replied. "And I hope it ended better than that last one."

"Better than leading Vader to a Jedi Master hiding as a healer on a that world of horrors? That's a low bar to clear. I actually got paid that time," BoShek replied, pointing to the worthless books still resting in a box in the corner of the cockpit.

BoShek felt something in that moment, a sense of gut-wrenching horror that washed over his entire body for a single, terrible moment.

And suddenly after, silence.

BoShek shook his head to focus himself, and focused on Miru's reply. "Hey, I gave you a real lightsaber from what I managed to take with me from Antron Bach's hoard. I just don't trust you to do anything responsible with Jedi artifacts."

BoShek considered that response for a moment. "That's fair. I don't know anyone who would pay me what it's worth anyway."

Miru settled into the copilot seat, and fixed him with a sassy grin. "So, you were telling me about rescuing a Senator's kid. That actually sounds pretty noble of you."

"Illegitimate kid, I should say."

"Less noble. What, did this Senator knock up a Twi'lek dancer or something?"

"Yes! How did you know?"

"You're serious?"

"Afraid so. A few years after the sordid and apparently very, uh..."

"I don't need details," Miru said, waving her hand.

"There was a kid. DNA evidence was conclusive, and some gangster with a connection to the Exchange, a Hutt named Vols, nabbed mommy and the tot. He sent the usual messages, threatening dire consequences unless the Senator Hack Fenlon voted the right way."

"That's awful! Even for a Hutt, I can't believe he'd threaten a child that way!"

"Wait, you think the Hutt was threatening to murder the child? Have you ever met a Senator?"

"A couple, actually," Miru retorted.

"Now, the Hutt was threatening to expose the whole sordid affair. But here's where it got interesting. You see, the Twi'lek dancer offered the Senator a deal on the side, said that if he set her and the little tyke up on a nice world far, far away, she'd abandon the deal and stay quiet forever. After the Senator tried the usual options to no avail, he offered me the job."

"The usual options?"

"Assassins, bounty hunters, asking the Empire to bomb the Hutt's world, that sort of thing."

"That's awful! This Senator is a monster, and you worked for him?"

"Senators pay well. And I told him flat out I needed a lot of money for the job."

"Very noble of you. Give me that Lightsaber back. I think if you touch it, the ghost of a Jedi will appear and smite you."

"Hey, I don't do assassination jobs. Far as I know, that little tyke and his mom are doing just fine."

"Okay, what happened?"

"Well, the first part wasn't actually rescuing the kid and his mom. It was figuring out a way to convince the mom that whatever setup I arranged would stick. Even a Twi'lek dancer knows the going rate for murder is a lot cheaper than what she was asking for. So I took a page out of the Hutt's playbook, and phoned up another Senator."

"Who?"

"Bail Organa of Alderaan. Heard through people in the know he might be involved in the Rebellion, and figured he could use some leverage on another Senator."

"You are surprisingly well connected," Miru said. "You might make a fortune as an information broker."

"I'll give smuggling a couple more tries, but I'm worried you might be right. Anyway, I got in touch, and he agreed to help. Not for free, which is what I was hoping, but I suppose I shouldn't expect more since I wouldn't have either. And for a noble public servant, he haggles like a Crolute junk dealer. But with his name on the deal, the Twi'lek dancer was suddenly very, very accommodating."

"I suddenly think a lot less of you right now."

"No no, not like that! What I mean is, without her willing to help, there was no way to get her away from Vols the Hutt. But since she'd leave willingly, all I really had to do was find an excuse to see this crime boss. And the best way to do that, is to do what any smugger does in a crime lord's lair."

"Drink and gamble?"

"Find work. Wow, you really don't spare a guy any kindness, do you?"

"I'm co-piloting for free right now, aren't I?"

"Thruster regulators working okay?"

"System's green. So, how did you get a crime boss to offer you a job on short notice?"

"Easy. Offer a way to do an impossible job."

"Smuggling Spice to Coruscant?"

"I don't move spice. I told you that before."

"Sorry."

"Getting arms and munitions to the Petrusian rebels through an Imperial blockade. The plan I offered Vols was a stroke of pure genius. I offered to escort a smuggling ship into the system. We'd both drop out of hyperspace at the same time. I'd drop right in front of the blockade, and his ship would be a ways back, and cloaked. While I make noise and distract the blockade, his ship would slip in unnoticed and make it to the surface."

"How did you keep the imperials from swatting this rust bucket out of the sky?"

"Hey, the Infinity is a beautiful ship. You should see that wreck Han and Chewie fly. Anyway, the best way to keep them from shooting me was to pose as a legitimate cargo hauler. And the best way to do that was to actually be a legitimate cargo hauler."

"How did you do that?"

"Got a side gig to bring medical supplies to the imperial troops occupying the planet."

"And how did you smuggle the Twi'lek dancer and her kid out? Hide them in your cargo?"

"Nope. Had her registered as my copilot. If anyone actually interrogated her and found out she can't fly, well, they'd just assume I was keeping her aboard for her, shall we say, other assets?"

"You just let people assume the worst about you?"

"Sometimes it's useful. Anyway, she slipped out of the Hutt's palace pretty easily, and we left on the job. Got our medical supplies, and dropped out hyperspace so close to a star destroyer I could have put my hand out the window and touched its hull. They get on the comms bellowing at me, I get on the comms begging them to not shoot me, and eventually get told to broadcast my clearance codes for the job. I do, they still board me, and go over my entire ship with sensor crews and a slew of uppity officers. Thankfully it didn't last long, since I was doing an Imperial cargo run and the Twi'lek was breastfeeding."

"You just had to slip that one out."

"Her move, and  it was a good call. Ever seen an Imperial lieutenant stare at the ceiling with his back turned try to sound intimidating? Anyway, we were on our way shortly after that. We dropped the supplies off, and I sent a quick message to Vols the hutt saying I didn't agree to smuggle slaves, and asking why the smuggler ship have a Twi'lek dancer being sold to the imperial outpost. Then for good measure tipped off my fellow smuggler that Vols probably wants his head."

"Sly. Nicely done. What happened to the Twi'lek dancer?"

"Took her to Alderaan, where Bail Organa set them up with a home in the countryside. Far as I know, they're still there, and they lived happily ever after," BoShek said, as he finished the pre-flight check.

"And the Imperial blockade has been lifted. You were right, it was that old man Han and Chewie took on. Hope they're okay. Where were they headed?"

"Alderaan," BoShek said. "Wow, small galaxy."