Under A Black Sun Trilogy
Page 40
of any species to go and have fun.
Zekk shivered, even wrapped in his warm cloak. "Why would anyone want
to come up here? It's too cold to relax."
Tenel Ka, clad only in her lizard-hide armor, seemed unaffected by the
drop in temperature or the brisk salty spray that feathered up from the
racing waveskimmer.
"Wait until you see Crystal Reef from the inside," Cilghal said, her
voice soft, the words rich. "If I weren't an ambassador to my people,
we would have had to wait a month simply to get docking privileges. I
... pulled a great many strings."
"Then how did Anja Gallandro manage to get here?" Tenel Ka said.
Jacen raised his eyebrows and looked over at her. "You should know by
now not to underestimate Anja when she's determined to do something."
Cilghal brought the waveskimmer into a crowded V.I.P docking area that
looked like a series of metal-ceilinged caverns at the floating
island's water level. Expertly, she wove her way between other bobbing
vessels-many of them jewel-spangled or gaudily painted-and nudged the
skimmer into place. Jacen, Tenel Ka, and Zekk scrambled out onto the
well-lighted dock, while the Calamarian ambassador filled out the
proper forms and punched in her access codes.
Jacen gazed upward, lifting his chin so he could see the pearly
metallic ceiling, the curved girders that supported the casino-resort's
organic, flow-form architecture. The style reminded him of the strange
coral reef design he'd seen the Mon Calamarians use in the designs of
their world's impressive star cruisers.
A surprising variety of beings bustled about, many of them obviously
tourists, others uniformed employees of the Crystal Reef resort.
Jacen noticed Mon Calamarians, tenacled Quarren, Bith musicians,
walrus-faced Aqualish, homed Devaronians, and ten other races of
sentient creatures he could identify, as well as two dozen more he,
could not.
Layered musical tones filled the air like scents, ranging from rumbling
subsonic pulses, through music discernible by human ears, up into
high-pitched frequencies that he could detect only as a faint vibration
in his teeth.
"Crystal Reef is a large place in which to find a single person," Tenel
Ka said.
Cilghal spoke in her soothing voice. "Fortunately, the resort has no
choice but to allow me access to its records."
"Then we should be able to track Anja through the resort's own computer
systems," Zekk said, in a determined tone. "She doesn't seem to be
trying as hard to cover her tracks here. We'll find her-and the
Lightning Rod, I hope. I miss my ship."
Jacen continued to defend her. "I don't think she's necessarily been
hiding from us. Anja obviously needs to do something quickly, and is
trying to do it before anyone gets in the way."
" She still stole my ship...... Zekk grumbled. "And she might have
guessed we'd come after her."
"We'll ask her when we find her," Cilghal said and led them up into the
main levels of the resort. After consulting some maps on the walls,
the Mon Calamarian ambassador asked for guidance from uniformed
attendants. Even she had not been to this place before. The courteous
and helpful attendants answered every question.
On different levels in the floating city, temperatures and atmospheric
compositions varied from cold and clammy to hot and dry environments.
In some, Jacen could smell acrid sulfurous gases; in others the air
seemed so fresh and pristine he wanted to take huge gulps of it and
wished he could save some for later.
The support columns in the vaulted rooms were hollow water-filled
cylinders made of transparisteel. Seaweeds, water flowers, and
brightly colored fishes drifted from level to level through the
connecting tubes.
Finally, after ascending several ramps and sliding stairs, they reached
the upper decks of Crystal Reef, high above the glittering, icechoked
water. Out in the frigid air, Jacen watched cold puffs of fog rise up
in front of his face each time he exhaled. Chattering Bothans played a
game by sliding colorful tiles across a frost-slick surface.
Steaming hot tubs bubbled at the center of the deck, their warm vapors
rising a few meters before condensing into icicles on the deck railings
and nearby furniture. Inside the tubs lizardlike aliens basked in the
incredible liquid heat. Jacen could feel the increased temperature
hovering over them like a steamy atmosphere dome.
Meanwhile, Dralls frolicked in the water of the polar ocean below,
their dark, short fur protecting them from the freezing temperatures.
He watched them splash and play, having the time of their lives in the
icy waves.
"Do you think Anja would be on one of the casino decks?" Zekk asked.
Tenel Ka frowned. "We can rule out no possibility."
Jacen shook his head. He looked behind him at the tall white towers
glistening like spikes above the floating city. All legal forms of
gambling were practiced on Crystal Reef-from races to simple games to
major sabace tournaments. Jacen wanted none of that, and he had to
believe that Anja Gallandro didn't either.
"I doubt gambling has anything to do with w'ly Anja came here.
If she wanted to gamble, she could have done plenty on Cloud Citybut
she didn't show any interest then. No, she came to Mon Calamari for
some other reason after leaving Kessel. Maybe she was looking for
someone she knows. In any case, we'll just have to find out what she
really had in mind."
"You forget, Jacen, my friend," Tenel Ka said, "if she is connected
with Black Sun, they would wish to control all the gambling here.
Therefore, her contacts may be on the gambling levels. This is a
fact."
Jacen had to concede the point, but it still didn't sound right to
him.
Finally, Cilghal found an information kiosk studded with computers and
keyboards fitted for various types of tentacles, claws, and
manipulative digits. She spoke quickly but politely to the data-hunter
at the kiosk, a small-boned creature with ten articulated arms.
Cilghal gave her diplomatic credentials and described the person they
were seeking.
The data-hunter's smooth, toothless mouth smiled politely. Its
numerous arms and hands moved in a blur, typing in requests, searching
records, hunting through databases. "Ah, what excellent luck,
Ambassador. Anja Gallandro should be easy to locate in our beautiful
city," the data-hunter said. "The young lady has not yet visited any
of our casinos or gaming establishments, though with your good luck,
Ambassador, maybe you should."
Jacen tried unsuccessfully to suppress a chuckle at this blatant sales
pitch. When Cilghal did not answer, the data-hunter quickly
continued.
"In fact, your friend has run up only a minimal bill during her stay
here. Perhaps she is on the budget plan?"
"That is a strong possibility," Tenel Ka confirmed.
"Wouldn't surprise me a bit"' Zekk muttered.
Impatient to get going, Jacen
leaned forward. "So where is she now?"
"Ah." The data-hunter looked down at the screen, though Jacen could
see only a blur of symbols flashing by. "At this moment, Anja
Gallandro is visiting in our popular vehicle-rental docks attempting to
procure a highly enjoyable underwater mode of transportation. I see
...
she has been there for some time already. I believe she is engaged in
an energetic discussion with our fine entertainment representative.
"Unfortunately, your friend has no reservation or established credit,
and we have quite a long and enthusiastic waiting list. Our
state-of-theart minisubmersibles are one of the most sought-after forms
of entertainment here on beautiful Crystal Reef. I could book one for
you, if you are interested, Ambassador. We have a spectacular brochure
.... " The data-hunter reached out an articulated hand to offer them a
packet of colorful images.
But Cilghal turned away with a polite smile. "Thank you. You've been
most helpful." Giving a friendly wave, she ushered her young Jedi
friends toward a lift platform behind the information booth. The
datahunter raised all ten arms in a shrug of dismay and waited for
another customer from whom it could earna commission.
They descended again to water level, where durasteel arches opened out
onto the cold oceans, letting some of the waves drift in, lapping
against the supports. The structure of the Crystal Reef casino-resort
muffled the water's extreme choppiness.
A slow moving, treelike Yarin stood at the water's edge with its
root-feet dangling into the water. The Yarin blocked access to all the
rows of parked watercraft and minisubs. Anja stood there arguing with
him, looking frustrated and weary, as if she'd been through the same
phrases time and again. Her body seemed to tremble, but whether it was
from tension or fatigue or something else, Jacen couldn't tell. A line
of customers waited behind her, glowering.
Jacen saw her and ran forward, accompanied by Zekk. "Anja! Hey, am I
glad to see you!"
"You weren't too easy to find," Zekk added.
The young woman whirled and snatched the lightsaber handle from her
waist. Her huge eyes opened wide at seeing the young Jedi Knights.
Her face flushed, and her hand shook slightly as she released her grip
on the lightsaber, but in a moment she recovered her arrogant
demeanor.
She tossed her head so thather long flowing hair drifted back behind
her shoulders. "Good. I'm glad you're here. Will you tell this ...
this tree stump here, who seems to have wood for brains, that I need to
get a submersible, and I need it now?"
"Perhaps I could be of assistance," Cilghal said, gliding forward in
her rippling blue robes, "if you would explain to us why you need it.
But not otherwise."
Anja crossed her arms over her chest, flashing her dark tattoo. "And
who are you? Another one of these Mon Calamarian casino employees
trying to push me around?"
"I am Cilghal," she said, nodding patiently and rolling her round brown
eyes. "I am a Jedi Knight, and the ambassador for this planet."
"Oh," Anja said, somewhat flustered. "I ... I'm pleased to meet
you."
"What purpose will a submersible craft serve?" Tenel Ka asked.
"We have already found you here. Do you need to escape again?"
"And where's my ship?" Zekk asked pointedly. "You'd better have taken
care of the Lightning Rod."
"Not a scratch," Anja said. "And I would have returned it, if you'd
given me time. I just ... needed to get some transportation in a
hurry."
"I'm listening," Zekk said, still skeptical. "But you're not
explaining very much."
"Why should I have to explain everything to you?" Anja said, her voice
uncharacteristically shaky. "I've got my own problems."
"You stole my ship, for one thing," Zekk retorted. "I'd say that
deserves some explanation."
"Hey, if you want our help," Jacen said, trying to calm them both down,
"maybe a few answers would make things easier. Come on, give us a
reak, Ania. We're your friends."
The young woman sighed, then stalked away from the treelike
Yarin, who seemed entirely unfazed by the confrontation. The other
customers came forward, relieved to have their turn at last.
A frown wrinkling her brow, Anja sat down on a damp bench and put her
chin in her hands. "This is humiliating." Tears tonned in her
enormous eyes, but she didn't let them fall. "I found out that I've
been a fool." Jacen blinked in surprise to hear such an unexpected
admission from the disturbed young woman. "Your friend Lando
Calrissian was right: I ... I'm addicted to spice.
"I told you I could quit whenever I chose to. I believed it myself.
Then I tried to quit. That was when I learned I'd only been fooling
myself. I went to Kessel to get another dose, and it was there that I
discovered the extent of my foolishness. I've been betrayed."
"Not by us," Jacen assured her, an anxious expression on his face.
"No," Anja said in a heavy voice.
"Who do you know on Kessel?" Zekk asked. "And why did you go there in
the first place?"
"Black Sun has been controlling me," she said with a bitter laugh.
"And I didn't even know it. Czethros acted as if he was my friend. He
helped me when I needed it. He gave me food and supplies and training
when I was just a desperate street kid. He gave me all the andris
spice I wanted. I wouldn't have had a career piloting small ships
without him."
"But ... Czethros?" Jacen said, aghast. "He's a criminal, a
murderer-" "Czethros is an evil man," Tenel Ka said. "He is in hiding
and the entire New Republic is searching for him."
"I'm out to get even with him, too," Anja said. "He lied to me.
He said he had my best interests at heart. I trusted him, but now I
know that behind my back he was selling those terrible weapons to
perpetuate the civil war on Anobis. He's the one responsible for so
many years of hopelessness, so much suffering, so much death. He used
me. And I allowed it to happen......
She shuddered, then looked up at Jacen, Zekk, and Tenel Ka. Her face
grew ruddy with anger and embarrassment. "But not anymore.
Czethros is involved in spice smuggling, you know. He also controls
the gambling in hot spots throughout the galaxy, and he's engineering a
major takeover. He's got operatives-traitors-in positions of
importance everywhere. There's no way the New Republic can stop
him."
She flashed a humorless smile. "But I know a way to hurt him."
She looked back toward the submersibles. "He has a large stash of
andris spice here, under the Calamarian ice caps."
"Makes sense," Zekk said. "That would keep the andris cold, and
intensify its effects."
"It's been delivered from Kessel in small shipments and stored there.
Black Sun dealers will start distributing it to some of the highrolling
gambler clientele here soon ... unless I can destroy it first."
Tenel Ka frowned skeptically. "If you are addict
ed to spice, why
should you be eager to destroy it?"
"Because it'll hurt Czethros."
"And you're sure you won't just save a little for yourself ?" Zekk
challenged.
"You can come with me if you want," Anja said defiantly. "In fact, I
could use your help to get past that stupid tree-man. I've got to rent
a minisub. We can go together, find the stash, and destroy it. I
guarantee that'll deflate some of Czethros's plans."
"But why do we not take the spice back to doctors and patients who need
it?" Tenel Ka asked.
"Because some of Czethros's men may already be on their way to stop
me.
If we don't destroy that spice, I have no doubt Czethros will manage to
put his hands on it again before we ever have a chance to get it safely
away from Mon Calwnari."
Jacen looked at Zekk and Tenel Ka. "It would be a pretty safe way to
strike a blow against him-and with all those credits lost, it would
really hurt." He glanced back at Anja. "Was Czethros behind the
troubles we had on Cloud City?"
She hung her head. "Yes ... and I didn't do a thing to stop him.