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taking pains to be obvious about trying to avoid the eyes of both the Sith female—Captain Suhale—and the two Bothans she was questioning. Suhale let him continue until he was almost past the station, then spoke in a voice so cold it sent a shiver down his back.
    “I
will
have them open fire, you know.”
    Bazel stopped and slowly turned to face her. This close up, the Sith was more intimidating than beautiful, with cold lavender eyes and cheekbones so prominent they looked like stone. He glanced toward Yaqeel and Yantahar, who were doing a good job of concealing any alarm they might be feeling, then looked away so quickly he could almost feel Yaqeel cringing at his ineptitude.
    Perfect.
    “
Thank
you,” Suhale said. “Now, why are you keeping a watch on these two Bothans?”
    “Bothans?”
Bazel made a point of
not
looking in Yaqeel’s direction. “I don’t know any Bothans.”
    Suhale’s eyes flared. “You’re lying,” she said. “And I want to know why. Shall we have a look inside those traveling cases you’re carrying?”
    Bazel shook his head and clamped the cases more tightly beneath his arms.
    “I
wasn’t
asking.” Suhale nodded at one of the guards, and the Rodianpressed a blaster muzzle into the small of Bazel’s back. “Place them on the table.”
    Bazel exhaled loudly, then glanced toward Yaqeel as though looking for permission.
    Yaqeel frowned in obvious confusion, then demanded, “Why are you looking at me, Green Thing?”
    “I was just wondering the same thing,” Suhale replied. She crooked a finger and motioned Bazel forward. “Come now. Matters will go very hard on you if I am forced to tell you again.”
    Bazel reluctantly placed the traveling cases on the inspection table, then removed the matching shoulder satchels from around his neck and placed them on the table, as well.
    “That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Suhale motioned to the first case. “Open it.”
    Bazel stood the case upright, then leaned over the latch … and saw the weakness in his plan.
    Locks.
    Confident that
his
thumbprint wasn’t going to deactivate the security mechanism, Bazel thought for a moment, trying to recall his lectures on spice smuggling. Finally, he held his huge thumb above the tiny scanning pad and shrugged.
    “I can’t.”
    Suhale scowled. “What do you mean you
can’t
?” she demanded. “They’re your cases, aren’t they?”
    Bazel turned to Yaqeel. Her narrowed eyes suggested that she had finally begun to understand his plan, but she merely curled her lip and snarled, “Like I said, why are you looking at me?”
    “Because the cases are yours, obviously,” Suhale said. “Open them.
Now
.”
    “
You
open them,” Yaqeel retorted. “They’re not mine.”
    “Or mine,” Yantahar added before Suhale could look in his direction. “I’ve never seen them before. Not the big green thing, either.”
    “Very well,” Suhale said, pulling a vibroknife from her equipment belt. “
I’ll
open them.”
    Before she could activate the blade, the original inspector’s blue hand shot out to catch her by the wrist. “Captain, you might want to reconsider that.”
    Suhale shot the Duros a scowl that suggested she was considering using the tool on him instead. “And why would that be, Inspector?”
    The Duros seemed genuinely surprised. “Spice smuggling, ma’am. The containers may be rigged to keep the couriers from stealing the cargo.”
    “Spice?” Suhale turned back to Bazel, the disappointment in her voice a clear suggestion that she was there to catch Jedi, not smugglers. “Is that what you’re carrying?”
    Bazel dropped his gaze and tipped his head toward Yaqeel. “Ask
her
.”
    “You’re dead, Ramoan,” Yaqeel rasped, taking her cue from Bazel. “You know that, right?”
    Suhale smirked, though without enthusiasm. “I do believe that sounds like a
yes
.”
    She placed her thumbs over the scanning pads. Bazel felt a slight stirring in the Force, and the latches popped.