The man before me, standing there with his blue cape, had the kind of smile that could melt the defenses of regular people... As for me? I felt a ripple... That he was just as experienced as the Grandmaster. No, not in the Force but... in life. Which heightened my caution, but not because I wasn't trusting him. It's just... You know when you meet a great swindler... and you know they will not be easy to stop, even if they use their experience to test you for fun and nothing else.
"Come, sit!" He poured three glasses from a bottle older than either of us and gestured for Vila and me to take a seat. As for HK, he positioned himself at the wall, looking as polite as a statue but probably mapping every vent and weapons port in the room, preparing for combat. "Relax," our host said, his voice being smooth as the drink, making me feel like he had the Force because he just read my mind of what I was thinking of... At least, it felt like that. "You're among friends. Anyone Luke vouches for is family in my book."
"Sorry," I answered, feeling my face blush a little, watching him raise his glass. Returning the gesture and taking a sip... Ugh! Whoa... it was the first time I drank something like this, and it was... strong. I almost started coughing, but held back at the last moment, pushing down the burning feeling in my throat. What was this?! Liquid lava from Mustafar?!
"Strong." Vila hummed, handling it with much more ease than I, smacking her lips, visibly liking the drink by the way she shivered.
"Smooth, my dear, it's smooooth! It's a mix between fire and silk, just let it," he chuckled, "Let it flow down your throat..."
"Mhm..." She nodded, taking another sip.
"You get to appreciate things like this more as you age..." Lando added, "And well... I can't say the same for most of this planet."
While they were talking, taking another sip, still feeling it was too strong for my taste, I looked around more. The suite looked more like a museum than an office, because the more I looked, the more I noticed. There were dozens of holos of racing ships, antique sabacc decks framed behind crystal casings, and a display pedestal holding what looked suspiciously like a fragment of black stormtrooper armor and helmet... Huh.
"If the planet feels like what you say it does," I said, looking back at him, "Why not retire?"
"Retire," he repeated it back to me, sounding amused. "That's a strong word, young Jedi. I prefer taking a very long victory lap, as long as my legs can hold me up. The moment I stop... I fear I will fall apart." He sighed, shaking his head, "But enough about my glory days; let's talk about why you're here." Without further ado, he touched a control on his console, built into the surface of his desk. A moment later, a pale blue hologram flickered into existence above its center, showing the coded message he received.
"Can I?" I asked, leaning forward.
"That's why you are here!" He chuckled, and with another button press, the surface of the table facing me flipped open, revealing extra controls right before me, allowing me to type and inject the Jedi codes that would unlock it.
While doing so, I also checked, and the message was indeed unaltered, not being fiddled with or being tried to be cracked. It was intact, the same as when it was sent to him... I bet he was curious, but he was also patient, knowing he would hear it the moment we arrived. So, because of the decorum he showed us, I decided to let him listen in and pressed the activation, which quickly began playing a recorded transmission. For a moment, it was just static, then a voice broke through, and I immediately recognized it as Iowi's. Listening to him, he didn't sound hurried, nor in danger, nor expecting to run into any troubles.
"This is Knight Mer'tak. We've traced the signal trail back to a shipment registered under civic code nine-one-A. We believe the artifact originated from—" Then, a burst of interference drowned out the rest of the voice message. Weird... furrowing my voice, listening to nothing but cracking and sizzlin, suddenly, another voice, being Jalo's, cut in faintly. "…meeting… tomorrow… keep channel secure." Then... silence.
"That's all?" Vila asked, looking at me, then at Lando.
"Well," Our host let the holo fade, "That's all I got. There was nothing else bundled with it? No location, no follow-up?"
"I can't see anything else..." I murmured, "But that cut, that pause..." I mused, "Someone or something was already interfering with the message, cutting over or through our encoding protocols, trying to stop them from sending it out without them noticing it."
"That's bad..." Lando mused, refilling his glass, "and no one's heard from them since? That's even worse."
"Very much so..." I nodded, still staring at the empty air where the holo had been. "Their ship logged a landing? We were told that..."
"Uhum," He tapped the console again, gulping down the alcohol as a different display showed a traffic manifest. "Docking records confirm it. They touched down three weeks ago, bay forty-two, then... vanished. No departure signature, no freight pickup, nothing. The moment I was notified, I scoured everything I could. I will transmit it to your droid so you can review it. As for their vessel, I tried to reach it, but it was prepaid for a month in advance and marked as private. I couldn't get access, not without pushing, and that may alert whoever else is involved... so... I held back."
"Thank you." Vila leaned forward, asking for a refill too, her face having a slight pinkish color to it already. "And the reason they were here? Did you look into it too?"
"That I did indeed, sweetheart," he said, smiling at her, making Vila giggle, while I just shrugged, "That is where the trail gets interesting." He swiped the display again, pulling up a list of coded transactions. "I made a few inquiries of my own, and trust me, they were quiet ones. Following the messages I had exchanged with Luke, turns out a string of private auctions has been moving small but curious little things around the sector. Relics, per se. I snagged one up via some agents of mine and sent it to Luke... That's why he knows we have pieces exchanging hands, soaked in the Force, clearly Jedi reliquas..."
"Or Sith," I added, quickly looking at HK, who just stood there, unmoving.
"Could be, I can't tell," Lando nodded, "But some are obvious fakes, some… maybe not. The important part is that I got another lead, just yesterday! You see, another auction had been scheduled for two days from now, right here in the city. One item on the list matches that of a lightsaber hilt..." He paused, studying me over the rim of his glass, before looking at Vila, smiling at her. Is he doing this intentionally? Haah... This man... "I saw enough lightsabers to know when a description of one matches it."
"You think the artifact's real," I said, finally finishing my drink while Vila was already getting close to ending her second.
"I'm pretty much convinced," He shrugged. "I think the bidders believe it's real, I believe it's real, the seller does too... And we will have some rich collectors believing they will be buying it."
[Observation: The statistical overlap between wealth and stupidity remains reassuringly high.] HK's voice broke the momentary quiet while I was thinking.
"Hah!" Lando laughed, "I like this one more than the golden bucket of worry Luke has!" Putting down his empty glass, he turned serious again. "I've got myself an invitation and I took the liberty... and already entered you two into the auction registry under assumed names. Acting as... My representatives. It should keep you off the scanners and the suspicion list. It's a standard procedure because auction holders rarely divulge who the bidders are, and it offers a sense of security for those who buy the items. Anonymity is a big thing here, you see."
"Nice!" Vila crossed her legs, smiling, "Hopefully we won't be sniffed out as Jedi."
"Just dress nicely," He chuckled, looking at her legs for a brief moment, "No one will question you being there. I will lend you money too, Luke will have a way to repay me in the future, ahaha! Then, you need to do nothing else, just win the auction, get the artifact, and then we can start planning from there. Maybe use some Jedi tricks to give it a feeling or something. Sounds good, no?" He poured a refill into my glass before I could protest, "To make it clear: I don't want trouble brought onto my casino. I want to help without setting fire to my own ass... I know how Luke works, and it usually ends in something blowing up or some grand evil emerging from the shadows."
"That seems fair," I said, sighing, because he was... not wrong...
"Good," The conversation shifted as he smiled and leaned back, looking out at the city through the panoramic window. "You know, when Luke first brought the Order back, I thought it was the best idea in the galaxy. Balance, wisdom, all that would come with having the Jedi back. But every time something from their old history floats to the surface, I feel that old chill again. Brr... I have to agree with many within the Republic, too... Your Order is scary. And dangerous... I wish for Luke to live forever, really..."
I didn't know what to really say to that. I disagreed, I mean, with the dangerous part, but... Thinking about it more objectively, feeling that he wasn't saying it to insult but to warn us, he may be right. Many trillions live their lives never even touching the Force, let alone meeting one of us. And those who they have knowledge about were usually at the top of everything... Like how my Master's Uncle became the head of the Galactic Alliance... Only to turn it into something tyrannical once again. As if history were lovingly repeating itself, or as if the Force were predetermined to fall back into the same patterns... Or as if whoever was writing our histories never had a fresh idea and kept rehashing what had already been told countless times, just with a different set of characters playing the same roles.
I just hope that whatever we are running into is not another resurgence of some ancient Sith or Jedi, coming back from the dead or trying to. Ugh...
"Well," he stood up, clapping his hands together, bringing me out of my thoughts, "You had a long journey. Come, I will show you to your rooms a floor below. You'll be safe here until the auction starts, and please, do enjoy my full hospitality!" he said with a smile, beaming at us. "Don't worry, my droids monitor the corridors; nothing gets through without my say-so. I'll also send a list of confirmed bidders to your droid by morning, so you know who you may be up against. You can start there. In an auction, it is easy to offend people... best to know what you are up to."
"Weren't you saying it is done via representatives to conserve anonymity?" I asked, following him out of his office.
"Yes, but I am experienced." He winked at us, or mainly at Vila, "And if I can find things out, who says they can't? Better be prepared." He clasped my shoulder as we left the main suite. "Be careful, kid. I've run cons on half the galaxy, and this planet still finds ways to surprise me... Whatever your friends stumbled into, the fact that two Jedi went missing tells me enough... It is big, and it's dirty."
"Understood," I said, nodding my head thoughtfully.
"Good!" He grinned again, the usual charm back in place. "Good. Now go get some rest. If you want to go down and gamble a little, feel free. Just don't use the Force, please. Okay?" he chuckled, pressing a button and letting the turbolift's doors close as we began descending to our suite.
When we reached the private, luxurious room and he left us alone, Vila exhaled and stretched.
"He's… something else."
"Yeah. Still has the whole galaxy wrapped around that smile, huh?" I murmured, looking at her.
"Don't be jealous!" She giggled, "He could be my great-grandfather! Anyway... Do you trust him?"
"Hm," I thought about it for a moment, letting her hug me, "I trust that he likes Luke. And that he likes being on the winning side. I also believe him when he says he doesn't want to draw too much trouble onto himself... so yeah. I do trust him."
[Clarification: Trust is unnecessary. I will monitor for betrayal and pre-emptively shoot him in the kneecaps if required.] HK added, walking around the massive room, scanning the walls and the bed, and opening the doors to the marble bathroom, searching.
"HK," Vila shrugged. "He isn't a bad guy.
"It doesn't hurt to be vigilant," I said quickly.
"Hey!" Vila pouted, elbowing me, "Be a bit more respectful to your elders!"
[Delighted Observation: Finally, Meatbag Kael sees the world as he should. Warning: Don't get used to receiving compliments from me in the future. It was a one-time moment only.]
"Geez, thanks?" I shrugged, holding Vila's hand, "Come, let's check out that bathroom... Looks great, unlike the shower stations back home or on the ship."
"Finally!" She grinned, following me, "I do enjoy it when you come up with the same ideas as me!"