Tales from Mos Eisley Cantina Read Free Page B

string of offbeats and reminded myself that Jabba had plenty of time to come for us.
    D’Wopp clenched his paws over the table. “Bounty? Is it a fierce bait?”
    The Duro shrugged. “His name is Solo. Small-time smuggler-r, but he made the boss big-time mad. Jabba has man-ny more enemies than Lady Valarian has, reputable D’Wopp.” The Duro’s red eyes blinked. “May I sponsor-r you to the mighty Jabba?”
    The Whiphid’s leathery nose twitched. “Record bounty?”
    At last the Duro dropped his voice. I missed the numbers that clinched the deal, but D’Wopp sprang up. “Tell your employer that D’Wopp will bring in the corpse. I shall meet him then.”
    Solo … Figrin had mentioned him as a tolerable sabacc player, for a human. Now he was my fellow bait on Jabba’s short list. The Duro whined, “Ar-ren’t you staying for the celebration?”
    “Later,” said D’Wopp. “My mate and I shall celebrate my glorious return. She is Whiphid. She will understand.”
    Lady Val reappeared out of the crowd. Jabba’s Duro melted back into it like an ice cube on a sand dune. I held my breath. Figrin counted off another song, one Ididn’t know so well. I had to concentrate. Something rumbled at the foot of the stage. A deep voice shouted “fickle” in Basic. A gruffer one called “dishonorable.”
    My reed squeaked. Two bellows boomed out in an unidentifiable language. Our loving couple attacked each other tusk and claw, right below the bandstand. I stepped back and almost tripped over Tech’s Ommni. Figrin missed tipping the Fanfar by millimeters.
    A crowd gathered instantly. Mos Eisley being what it is, and with Jabba’s brutes cheerleading, this brawl would spread like a sandstorm. I took advantage of a five-beat rest and blurted out the danger signal. “Sundown. Sundown, Figrin.”
    “I’m still losing,” Figrin hissed. “We can’t leave yet.”
    At the foot of stage left, Lady Val careened sideways into a knot of onlookers. Regaining her balance, she dragged three of them back into the multicolored melee. D’Wopp whistled twice. Two young Whiphids charged in. Jabba’s toughs stampeded their side of the onlookers from behind. Lady Val shrieked. Every offplanet gangster in town, and every passerby who’d had too much of Jabba, rushed in on Lady Val’s side. Chairs flew. One crashed into the bulkhead, offstage left.
    Figrin bent over the Ommni. “End of set, thank you very much,” he announced vainly over the bedlam. Tech, wide awake for once, broke down the Ommni. I couldn’t find my Fizzz case. Glancing frantically around, I spotted white armor at the grand entry.
    Stormtroopers? Not even Valarian could’ve called in Enforcement that quickly! All sabacc projectors shut down simultaneously, but the gang at the uvide table got caught with its wheel spinning. Just this once, I guessed, Jabba hadn’t tipped off Lady Val. I’d’ve even bet that he sent the stormtroopers himself, but I don’t gamble.
    “Back door!” Figrin leaped off one end of the stage, barely missing a bulky human’s murderous backswing. We followed Figrin along the bulkhead, clutching our instruments—our livelihood. I spotted my new friendThwim bashing heads. “Help us! We’re unarmed!” I shouted.
    His nose swiveled toward us. He leveled his blaster into the midst of us and fired. Tedn shrieked and dropped his Fanfar case. Appalled, I ducked. “Get the instruments!” Figrin cried. Nalan dove into a scrum and emerged carrying one arm at an odd angle—and two Fanfar cases. I grabbed Tedn’s unwounded arm and pulled him closer to the hatch, mentally promising anything and everything to any deity listening, if only I could escape with my fingers unbroken and my uncased Fizzz undamaged.
    Eefive stood his post, calmly blasting every being that approached him. Figrin stopped running so suddenly that Tech almost bowled him over.
    I glanced back over my shoulder. No use heading that way. Imperial and unlicensed weapons