Member of the Guild
by Kate Birkel
art by Dani
PART 2
In a far corner of one of the sleaziest cantinas on Tatooine, Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca were morosely contemplating near-empty glasses and wondering if they should flag down the waitress for another round. They had been holding down the same table and chairs for over a week, and while Calrissian's patience still had a ways to go, the Wookiee had been grumbling angrily for the past two days about anything and everything. Calrissian had the feeling that the only reason the Wookiee had not already strangled him for the sheer pleasure of doing something was because Chewie needed him to validate the credit voucher to the Hutt and to translate.
"I'm going to get another glass," Calrissian announced finally.
*So go,* Chewbacca snarled.
"You want another?"
*Of course! You buy.*
Calrissian looked around, hoping to see one of Jabba's elusive minions come to tell them that the Hutt would talk to them instead of avoiding them as he had been doing since their arrival on Tatooine. He saw the caped figure standing in the doorway and his heart stopped. Oh no!It was impossible. He made a faint sound.
*What is the problem?* Chewbacca demanded surlily.
"You're not going to like this," Calrissian moaned. He looked up at the ceiling. "Why me? Why do these things always happen to me?"
The Wookiee looked around the crowded cantina. His gaze stopped at the doorway, then he gave a horrified 'woof.'
"We'll never make it to the back door or the gents' room without him seeing us," Calrissian continued his lament. "We're trapped."
At a leisurely pace, Gren made his way toward them. Chewbacca put his head down on the table. Lando pasted a sickly smile on his face and rose to his feet.
The Guildmaster stopped in front of them. Hands on his hips, he stared at the man and the Wookiee for what seemed like an eternity.
Lando cleared his throat. "What brings you to Tatooine, Guildmaster?" He tried to keep his voice cheery, and failed miserably.
"Where is the boy?" Gren's voice was leaden with displeasure.
Lando stared wildly around the cantina, hoping to find something to divert the Guildmaster's attention. There was nothing. "Ah, we're working on that, Guildmaster."
The Guildmaster snorted. He shifted his focal point to the submissive Wookiee who still had his head down on the table. "Chewbacca."
The Falcon'scopilot lifted his head a few centimeters. *Yes, Guildmaster?* he whispered.
"I thought youat least had some common sense."
Chewbacca laid his head back down on the table. *He wouldn't listen to me, Guildmaster. He always knew better than me. He always managed to find trouble.*
"So you let him carry cargo for the Hutt."
*I didn't lethim, Guildmaster,* Chewbacca explained plaintively. *The ship needed repairs. We had no money. The Hutt was the only one with enough money to finance the run that would cover the repair bill.*
"Why didn't the boy come back to Corell for repairs?"
*We were too far away, Guildmaster. And--his pride wouldn't let him. We beggared ourselves to pay his dues that last time.*
"So now I find you two slumming in this garbage dump and no trace of the boy."
"We're trying,Guildmaster," Lando said urgently. He wondered how it was that the Guildmaster always managed to reduce him to the status of a small child caught in some ridiculous form of mischief. And he wasn't even a member of the damned Guild! "We left a message for the Hutt, and we've been monitoring the port. Fett hasn't come in yet. No one's seen him since he left Bespin. The way I hear it, Jabba's in a towering rage. He's got his men all over Mos Eisley and every other port on this sandbox in case Fett is trying to double-cross him. He's locked up in that fortress he calls a house because most of his bodyguards and the rest of his troops are watching for Fett." Lando flashed a sudden smile. "If it wasn't for Han being in the middle of this whole thing, it'd be funny."
"So," Gren said softly. Thoughtful eyes rested on the former administrator of Bespin. Lando sat down heavily. "Lando."
"Yes, Guildmaster?" Lando swallowed the sudden lump in his throat.
"The Falconwas yours until the boy won it from you."
Lando shook his head. "No, Guildmaster," he protested. "I didn't do this. Sure, I was mad at the time, but it was just one of those things. Hey, I was doing real good until the Imperials jumped my whole operation on Bespin. I owe Han for getting me out of the smuggling business and into a new line of work. I admit, I let Vader have him, but that lousy Sith promised me no violence. I had to protect my people and my operation. It isn't my fault Vader lied to me or that Han had ticked Jabba off. You know I'd never try to work Han over because of a ship. He won it fair and square; he cheated better than I did."
The Guildmaster continued to stare down at Calrissian for another long moment. At last he nodded and smiled. Relief swept through Calrissian. There was technically nothing Gren could do to him even if he hadgotten cheap revenge on Han, but being in the Guildmaster's black book was enough to worry any sensible being.
"Take me to the Hutt," the Guildmaster commanded.
Chewbacca lifted his head once more. *That's impossible, Guildmaster. As Calrissian says, Jabba is hiding and won't see anyone.*
"The Hutt will see me," Gren said firmly.
Chewbacca and Lando exchanged glances, then the Wookiee lumbered to his feet. Arguing with the Guildmaster was not a noticeably profitable venture under the best of circumstances. Besides, if the Guildmaster could not get Solo out of Jabba's clutches alive and in one piece, no one could.
Lando parked the rented landspeeder several meters from the front gate of the thick, high wall surrounding Jabba the Hutt's main business office and residence on the outskirts of Mos Eisley. There were no signs to tell the casual visitor who lived within, but those who did not know had no business being there. A force field kept anyone from touching the walls or gate, except for a box that protruded two meters from the entrance.
Lando looked around. "Maybe nobody's home," he suggested.
"The Hutt's in there," Gren stated. "I can smell him."
Chewbacca gave a harsh bark of laughter.
The protruding box crackled into life and an irate voice demanded their identification.
"Guildmaster Gren of the Corellian Free Traders," Gren snapped back. "Tell you master I will have words with him, now."
"Jabba's busy and can't be disturbed."
"You tell that miserable lump of dung I want to see him."
"He's still busy."
"I'll give you thirty seconds to open this gate or I'm blasting my way through."
"You can't do that!"
"Don't tell me what I can or can't do. Get me the Hutt."
"Wait, then," the voice said sullenly.
It took no more than twenty seconds for the force field around the building to drop and the front door to slide open. Two liveried guards stood on either side of the entranceway, blasters leveled at the Guildmaster and his companions. A flimsily clad woman stood between the guards, scowling angrily.
"What business do you have with us, Guildmaster?" she demanded.
Gren sketched a bow to her, a sardonic smile curving his mouth. "Such a pleasure to see you again, Maga." His eyes swept up and down her very exposed charms. "What a pity your age is showing so, my dear."
The blood drained from Maga's face and she took a step closer to the Guildmaster. "Time hasn't improved you either, Ryo."
"But I imagine I have less mileage on my person than you, sweet Maga."
The woman choked back an angry retort. "You're wasting your time here, Ryo. Jabba doesn't want to talk to you. He's busy."
"But I want to talk to him, and I think he really should find some time for an old friend--or isn't he interested in karmathic anymore?"
Lando's eyes opened wide and he stared at the Guildmaster. Karmathic was the rarest, most expensive hallucinogenic drug in the Empire. It was grown on the planet Tyre under the rigid supervision of the Emperor's guards and could only be purchased from an Imperial agent. Over the years, Lando had heard vague whispers of an alternative source, but it was nothing that he had ever wanted to track down. In the wrong hands, karmathic was a filthy death. That the Guildmaster had his fingers in the pie was something Lando would never have guessed.
"We have an agreement, Guildmaster!" Maga shrilled.
"We hadan agreement," the Guildmaster corrected her gently. "But I think Jabba is going to try to renegotiate." Maga looked uneasy. "So, I'll save everyone a little trouble by opening the talks right here and now."
"You don't know he's going to renegotiate," Maga said.
Gren smiled. "Let's ask him."
Maga looked at him for a long moment, indecision in her glittering eyes. At last she motioned to the Guildmaster to follow her. "Leave them out here." She pointed to Chewbacca and Lando.
"I wouldn't think of it."
"You're pushing your luck awfully hard, Guildmaster," Maga warned him.
Gren shrugged. "But not as hard as Jabba."
Again there was the look of unease in the woman's eyes. Then she gave in. "Very well, then, but don't say I didn't warn you."
Lando gave the Guildmaster an admiring look. It was always a pleasure to watch a true master of the art of blackmail and coercion at work.
Maga set off down a path, the two guards remaining by the gate. Gren followed her, Lando and Chewbacca close on his heels.
Maga led them through a series of offices and showrooms, then through a small doorway into a fabulous courtyard filled with exotic plants and gentle fountains. Lando stopped to sniff appreciatively, thinking to himself that when he got back on his feet financially he might build a home with a courtyard like this for himself. The others did not wait for him however, and after a moment he hurried to catch up with them.
Across the courtyard, Maga paused in front of a huge, ornate set of double doors. She gazed at the Guildmaster. "It's not too late, Ryo. You can still leave without losing anything."
"Keep going."
Maga pushed on the doors, causing them to swing open. The three others followed her through into a great hallway. Once more Lando paused to gape, stunned by the sheer magnitude of Jabba's bad taste. A tremendous chandelier, gaudy past the point of mere vulgarity, hung from the far ceiling. It was surrounded by a score of equally offensive smaller ones. The sweeping walls were crammed with jumbled displays of plunder from a hundred worlds, all jumbled together with no thought for arrangement or order. The marble floor was littered with what seemed to be thousands of various sized pillows. The pillows and some low, round tables were the only furniture. Trailing behind Maga, the two humans and the Wookiee kicked any number of pillows out of their way. It reminded Lando of a bordello he had visited many years before, except that the madam there had been infinitely more tasteful in her choice of furnishings and decor. Four women, no more dressed than Maga, were gathered around a prone figure stretched out on a pile of pillows. They were all giggling and making lewd play.
"Jabba," Maga said sharply.
The girls stopped what they were doing.
"What do you want, Maga?" A petulant whine answered her.
"Get rid of the girls. Business."
"I told you I don't want to see anyone."
"But I want to see you," said Gren.
One girl went flying as Jabba the Hutt sat up.
Lando choked back an exclamation of disgust. Jabba was a tall, plump human with greasy blond hair scrabbled over his forehead and falling into pale, watery blue eyes. His nose was squashed, a souvenir from his younger days, but his lips were full and sullen, and what little chin he had blended into the column of fat that was his neck. And he was stark, staring naked!
"What are you doing here, Ryo?" Jabba pouted at the Guildmaster.
"Cute, Hutt," Gren shook his head. "Most people get a little smarter when they get older. But not you. You only get stupider."
The Hutt's cheeks mottled. He looked at Maga and jerked his thumb to indicate the quartet of females. "Get them out of here."
Maga shooed the women through another door, then came back with a robe which she threw at Jabba. The Hutt stood up and wrapped it around himself.
"You're getting old and soft, Hutt," Gren observed pleasantly. "Just like dear Maga, here. You've been living too well lately."
"I worked hard to get what I've got," Jabba snarled.
Gren laughed.
Behind the Guildmaster's back, Lando gave Chewbacca a worried look. As a general rule, the gambler did not question the Guildmaster, but now he wondered if the Corellian knew what he was doing. Why rile the Hutt before even mentioning why the three of them were there. Chewbacca shrugged and nodded toward Gren as if to suggest that he, too, didn't understand Gren's motives but was prepared to wait. Calrissian looked back at the Hutt.
"Watch your step, Guildmaster,"Jabba was saying angrily. "This isn't your Guild Hall, and I'm not one of your smartass pirates."
"Hutt! I'm hurt," Gren sighed. "How can youpossibly call us pirates? We're independent traders--not quite like you, however."
"Independent traders?" The Hutt made an obscene gesture with his hand. "Like I said: pirates. Pirates, cutthroats, thieves, and smugglers."
"Your mouth runs away with you, Hutt. Neither of the two gentle beings with me is a member of the Guild, and I wouldn't want you to give the Guild a bad name."
"Gentle beings? That damned Wookiee copilots one of your boats, and the other one is the biggest fraud in the galaxy."
The Guildmaster smiled patiently. "Well, now that the pleasantries are over, let's get down to business."
"I'll have no business with you." Jabba made to turn away and leave.
"There's the small matter of karmathic," Gren said. "Not to mention Han Solo."
Jabba spun around to face Gren again. "We have an agreement about the karmathic, and Solo's none of your concern."
"We hadan agreement about karmathic. And if Solo's none of my concern, why are you so desperate to get your hands on him?"
"That creep dumped a load of spice on me. Three months' profit down the tubes. That's why I want him." Jabba's plump lips made what was supposed to be a scowl.
"Two things wrong there. Number one, no cargo of spice is worth three months' profit to you. Three weeks' maybe; three months', no. Number two, you and I both know those Imperials didn't just 'happen' onto the boy. You told them where and how to get him. That negates the contract, as far as I'm concerned."
Lando stiffened with surprise. Next to him, Chewbacca lunged forward with a scream of rage.
"No, Chewie," the Guildmaster said without turning around. "Not until I'm done with him."
Grumbling, Solo's copilot went back to stand beside Lando, who gave the Wookiee a sympathetic look. The scenario the Guildmaster was creating was still a little murky to Calrissian, but one thing was clear: the Guildmaster was accusing the Hutt of engineering a trap for Solo, using the smuggled and dumped spice as an excuse rather than the sole cause of Jabba's rancor.
"That's a damned lie, Ryo," Maga answered, jumping into the conversation. Her words were emphatic, but staring into the woman's face, Lando again saw uneasiness that belied her emphatic statement. "Why would we do a dumb thing like that?"
"You wanted the boy. Get him to screw up a contract and he's yours, leverage for the next time we all get around to talking about karmathic. Only it won't work."
"You're soft in the head, Ryo," Jabba sneered. "No Corellian flyboy is worth three months' profit, especially not that piece of scum."
"Three weeks," Gren corrected the Hutt. "And I think you think he's worth substantial concessions from the Guild over the karmathic."
At the mention of the karmathic again, Lando shivered. He could almost feel an Imperial torture chamber door closing behind him.
Gren turned to Lando and Chewbacca. "You see, my friends, for a certain cut of the take, the Corellian Independent Traders have not yet informed the Emperor as to who has been running karmathic illegally out of Tyre. However," Gren turned back again to stare down his nose at Jabba, "that immunity is about to end."
"Your hands are as dirty as mine, Guildmaster," Jabba retorted. "They'd hang you as a coconspirator as soon as they'd hang me. Now, I'm telling you: Solo signed that contract all by himself. Nobody forced him to dump that load of spice. Karmathic and spice are two entirely separate items."
"How long did it take you to arrange for him to be so broke he'd have to take a contract from you?" Gren spoke as if Jabba had made no protestation of innocence.
Jabba's lips pulled back into a snarl. Then he relaxed. "I wouldn't waste my valuable time. Like I said: Solo's nothing but space scum. If he had trouble, it was his own fault."
"I don't believe you, Hutt. I admit the boy's still young and he's a little foolish on occasion, but he's not stupid. He had to have help to get into a mess like that. You pulled strings, had contract after contract go sour on him, and then, at the end, made sure you were the only one who would offer him another contract. Then you sicced the Imperials on him. And when he dumped the spice, you demanded full restitution, knowing he didn't have that kind of money. You knew, too, he wouldn't go to the Guild for help, either. Not bad, Hutt, not bad at all, but not good enough. It's a real shame how you keep underestimating the competition."
Jabba took a deep breath. "Get out of here, Ryo. This isn't worth my time. Get out of here before I get really mad."
"You don't want to do anything foolish now, Hutt," Gren replied sweetly. "You don't want to lose everything, do you? I can still go to the Imperials with the proof."
"Who's going to believe an old pirate like you?" Jabba was contemptuous of the threat.
"You're right, Hutt. They might not believe me, but I think they might believe Thormly Gromble."
At the mention of one of the Emperor's senior councilors, Jabba paled. Maga took a step closer to him as if to protect him.
"Gromble? When'd you buy old Gromble?" There was genuine concern in Jabba's voice.
"I didn't buyGromble, as you so uncouthly put it. He's a friend. But, then, I can't expect you to understand such concepts as friendship."
"I wouldn't give a credit for Corellian 'friendship.'"
"That's because it's not for sale, even though you've tried hard enough in the past."
Jabba spat, the wad of glop landing between the Guildmaster's feet.
Lando tensed, his hand reaching for his blaster. Chewbacca made an impatient gesture to stop him.
Gren made an exasperated sound. "You are socharming and well mannered, Hutt," he said. "Where's the boy."
"I don't know."
"You don't know. Fett left Bespin two weeks ago and you don't know. Do you really expect me to believe that?"
Jabba shrugged. "Believe it or not, it's the truth. I've had people scouring the way from Bespin to Tatooine for a week and a half. The damned hunter's vanished--him and his cargo."
"Maga?" Gren asked the woman hovering near Jabba.
Reluctantly, Maga nodded her head. "He's telling the truth, Ryo. Fett's taken a powder on us, we think. Maybe someone else wants Solo more than we do."
Gren sighed regretfully. "Okay, Hutt, I tried to be nice. Now I suppose we're going to have to do this the hard way."
Alarm settled on Jabba's pouchy features. He sidled a few steps back from where he had been standing, then scuttled around a table to put it between the Guildmaster and himself.
"Now, hold on here a moment, Gren. You can't pull anything rough here and get away with it. My men'll be down here in no time at all."
"But they're not here right now, are they?" Gren asked in his most reasonable tone of voice. "They're all out watching for Fett. Of course, you've got those two out by the gate and you've got those little lovelies we saw earlier. One problem, though: I think Chewbacca here wants your slimy hide pretty badly. Want to risk it? Odds are the Wookiee'll get you before your men get him."
Grinning cheerfully, Chewbacca unslung his bow and cradled it in his arms to underline the logic of Gren's argument. Lando knew how much the Wookiee was looking forward to ripping the Hutt apart slowly, and he shot Gren a questioning look.
Maga scurried over to stand next to Jabba again. "Ryo, listen to me," she said desperately. "This isn't Jabba's fault. The hunter's done this one on his own."
"No honor among thieves, eh, Maga?" Gren said sadly. He pulled his blaster out and aimed it at Jabba and Maga. "Go ahead, Chewbacca. He's all yours. Just leave me something to turn over to the Imperials."
Maga screamed and threw her arms protectively around the quivering Hutt. "No, Ryo, you can't do that!"
The Wookiee replaced his bow on his shoulder and advanced toward Jabba, arms outstretched in a huge embrace.
"Business, Gren!" Jabba squeaked. "It was only business! Don't take it so personally!"
"I'm not taking it personally, Hutt. I'm only carrying out my duties as Guildmaster of the Corellian Independent Traders. If I let you get away with this caper, people'll think the Guild's losing its touch. Can't do that; it's bad for business." He shook his head. "Pity you had to get greedy. You could have had such a long career."
The Wookiee's hands were only inches from Jabba's fat neck. Maga closed her eyes and looked away, her shoulders hunched against the coming carnage.
"Okay, he's yours!" Jabba gasped out. "Just as soon as I get my hands on Fett."
"Hold, Chewie," Gren ordered.
Lando chuckled to himself as Chewbacca thrust his hairy face into Jabba's and told him how lucky he was Gren had stopped him.
"The boy is free and clear. He doesn't owe you one credit," Gren said.
Jabba looked from Gren to the Wookiee and grimaced. "Okay, okay. But someone's got to pay off Fett and the people I've got out looking for him.
"The high cost of doing business these days. Your loss."
Jabba moaned.
"Pay it!" Maga hissed at him. "We'll make it up with the next shipment of karmathic."
Gren shook his head. "I wouldn't try for another shipment, Maga. Consider this a friendly warning that won't cost you a thing. The rebellion is draining the Emperor's treasury. He's getting desperate for money. He's got Tyre covered with everything right now and your man is one step away from an Imperial cell block. If I were you, I'd get him out of there before he gets a chance to spill his guts."
Jabba cursed. "Damn you, Ryo. Did you do that?"
"No. Why should I have?" Gren asked with amusement. "Karmathic's your headache. The Guild got its cut without wasting time or effort. It's been a nice little income. But now that we're doing well enough we don't have to depend on it to cover other expenses or losses. You're going to have to learn to do the same."
"How?" Jabba demanded bitterly. "Your bunch has been muscling in on my territory these past few years."
"Not muscled, Hutt; competed. You've been charging too much. We just undercut you a little here and there. My people have to eat, too. You've simply got to give up the idea of a monopoly in this sector. Now, if the boy arrives in good shape, we may be able to negotiate something. However, if he's not in what I consider reasonable health, I may have to encourage the Guild to make an all-out effort in this region."
"It's not my fault, Ryo," Jabba whined. "I told Fett I wanted Solo alive. It's not my fault that the Sith bastard stuck his finger in the pie."
Gren's eyebrows rose. "Sith? Who said anything about Sith?"
"Don't look at me that way, Ryo. You don't think I trusted Fett enough not to keep an eye on him, do you?"
"If you had, it'd mean you're even dumber than I gave you credit for."
Jabba scowled. "I'm getting sick and tired of your insults."
"Well, there's not much you can do about that right now, is there?" Gren indicated the great hall empty of guards. "How come, if you had Fett covered, you managed to lose him?"
Jabba started to bluster. Maga cut in.
"Fett must have found the tracer right after he left Bespin, and the agent we had there lost him in the shuffle when the place was evacuated."
Gren turned around to look at Lando.
Lando smiled weakly. "Business, Guildmaster," he explained. "I had something to sell, and Jabba here wanted to buy. His terms were crummy, though."
"His terms are always bad," Gren said firmly. His attention went back to Jabba, who was looking indignant again. "Stuff it, Hutt. I want the boy, not more of your lip."
At that moment, the doors to the hall burst open and a young girl ran through the pillows to cast herself at Jabba's feet. "He's here, Master," she gasped. "Boba Fett just cleared for landing at Mos Eisley."
Jabba's sullenness vanished, replaced by a vicious purposefulness. "I want that ship cordoned off. Get everyone out there. Don't let Fett move."
"Yes, Master." The girl crawled backward several feet, then picked herself up and dashed out of the doorway.
Gren walked up to Jabba. "That's my cargo, Hutt. You better come along too, to make sure it's properly off-loaded to the Millennium Falcon."
"I can't go like this." Jabba indicated his lounging robe.
"Maga, get your little brother something decent," Gren ordered. "Make it something sturdy; he'll be wearing it for a couple of days."
"What do you mean a couple of days?"
"I can't afford to leave you here to stir up mischief, Hutt. I want you where I can keep a foot on you until I know the boy's out of your reach. The temptation might be too much for you."
"You can't take Jabba, Ryo," Maga protested. "Who's going to take care of the business?"
"You are, my sweet. You've always been the brains in this outfit." Gren shrugged. "I never could understand why the Hutt have this thing about male primogeniture. That was your father's only major mistake; he passed you over in favor of Jabba." He grinned suddenly. "Maybe, if you're lucky, I might lose the fool for you."
Jabba stamped his feet in impotent rage. Chewbacca growled menacingly.