Trouble on Cloud City

6

Jaina gasped in amazement as she walked into the Cloud Dance restaurant, where they had agreed to meet Lando for a morning meal—though with Bespin’s short daily cycle, any meal could have been a morning, midday, or evening meal.

The eating establishment was at one of the upper levels of the floating city, extending in a ring from a tall cylindrical tower. Transparisteel windowports gave a 360-degree view of the clouds, the sunrise, the passing cloud-car traffic, and a portion of the cluttered SkyCenter building site, which was covered by temporary screens and awnings.

With the exception of an opaque walkway around the perimeter of the circular room, the floor and ceiling were transparent as well. At the center of the room, a bubble of transparisteel rose from the floor. Inside it, clouds swirled and danced in ever-changing patterns, lit from above by multicolored glowpanels.

Lowie bounded past Jaina into the room with a triumphant woof, as if claiming the restaurant for himself.

Jaina chuckled. “Thought you’d like it. It’s your kind of place.”

“This is a fact,” said Tenel Ka, entering behind her.

“Hey, I’m starved,” Jacen said, rubbing a hand sleepily through his tousled brown curls.

Jaina gave her brother a playful punch in the arm. “You’ll get your food soon enough. What do you think of the view?”

Jacen took two steps forward. Jaina watched in amusement as the full impact of the view hit him and he looked around for something to hold on to.

Lowie crouched on the opaque walkway, staring down into the cloudy depths, barking enthusiastic comments. “Master Lowbacca wishes to assure you that—even if the food turns out to be dreadful—this is the finest establishment he has ever had the pleasure of dining in,” Em Teedee translated unnecessarily.

Lando entered, flashing a weary grin. “I can assure you, Lowbacca, that you’ll find the food here more than adequate. Glad you could all join me.” He glanced around at the assembled young Jedi. “At least most of you, that is.”

With a flash of irritation Jaina noted that Anja hadn’t bothered to show up on time. Neither had Zekk. Because of the sad-eyed young woman’s hard life, Jaina tried to make allowances for Anja’s brusque nature, but she found it difficult to understand the fascination she seemed to hold for Jacen and Zekk.

As quickly as the negative thoughts arose, Jaina squelched them, firmly forcing her mind to more pleasant thoughts. She noticed that a slight frown had creased her brother’s brow. “I’m sure they’ll both be here soon,” Jaina said.

Lando selected the table with the best view in the restaurant, and they all settled onto transparent repulsorbenches.

“Here’s Zekk now!” Jacen said, waving his friend over. “And Anja’s probably just out exploring. She gets up early most mornings, you know. She has an awful lot of energy.”

Lando’s brown eyes narrowed thoughtfully and he gave a slow nod. “I can well imagine.” He paused, carefully considering his words. “I know it looks tempting to have all that instant energy, but don’t let her talk you into trying any andris, all right? Spice can do a lot of damage in the long run, and once you’re hooked, well… I’ve known a couple people who tried to quit and didn’t make it.”

Jaina, Jacen, and the others exchanged confused glances. “What are you talking about?” Jacen asked. “Who said anything about spice?”

“Ah. Aha,” Tenel Ka said. “You believe Anja Gallandro is addicted to spice?”

Jaina bit her lower lip, stared at Lando in shock. Looking at the circle of serious faces around him, Lando spread his hands wide in apology. “I… I thought you knew. Believe me, I’ve run into this enough times that I recognize the symptoms: wide eyes with huge dilated pupils, excess energy, restlessness, large appetite but never seeming to gain any weight. Not to mention always looking for chances to get off alone and then coming back with a fresh burst of energy, and the pale, almost translucent skin, quick temper…”

Jaina sighed. “Sounds like Anja, all right.”

“That’s impossible,” Jacen said. “I would have known.”

Zekk said nothing, although he suddenly looked as if he were reviewing recent events in his mind.

Jaina shrugged. She usually believed that the straightforward approach was best. “Why don’t we just ask her? There she is now.”

Anja stood impatiently in the doorway of the restaurant. Spying the group, she trotted over to the table. Her glance flitted around Cloud Dance on the way to the table, noting her surroundings but showing little reaction to them.

“Uh, hi,” Jacen said uncertainly as she slid into a seat between him and Zekk.

No one else spoke. Anja ignored the silence and began studying the holomenu that appeared on the table in front of her as soon as she sat down. She seemed to build an invisible wall around her, separating herself from any companionship.

Lowie nudged Jaina in the ribs, encouraging her to speak. She looked over at Lando, who raised his eyebrows, obviously waiting.

Jaina cleared her throat. “Before we start eating, I have a question for you, Anja. It’s … about andris spice.”

Anja’s reaction was immediate and defensive. She jerked upright and pushed back from the table. “It’s not mine. I’m just keeping it for a friend. And besides, who are you to go rummaging through my things and—”

Jacen’s mouth fell open. He stared at her as if this was the last thing he’d expected to hear. “So you do have spice?”

Anja’s face flushed, and her words were filled with heat. “Well, obviously Jaina must have found it. Otherwise, why would she—”

“Wait,” Jaina said. “Nobody found anything. And we haven’t been going through your stuff. But there were, um … you just seem to …” she faltered, “… to be showing signs of spice addiction.”

Anja rounded on her. “I am not addicted. Not that it’s any of your business, but yes, I do take andris. Sometimes. Andris does have legal uses, you know. I use spice when I want to, because I like it. It’s not a problem. And I can quit anytime I want to.”

Anja stood, her face stormy. “Anyway, none of you has any right to question me. Who do you think you are, my father?” She glared at Jaina, then Jacen. Her voice became even colder. “I don’t have a father. Han Solo killed him, remember?”

With that, she stormed out of the restaurant.

Anja shook with fury as she stalked down one corridor after another. Images and emotions seethed in her mind, twisted her stomach. How dare they confront her like that… imply that she was addicted to spice! She slapped a hand impatiently against one leg as she walked.

She had started to think of some of the young Jedi Knights as her friends. But what gave them the right to ask about her private life? It was none of their business whether she took spice or not. Their business here was to visit SkyCenter Galleria and give Lando their opinion of it. They had all come to Cloud City to enjoy themselves and—until now—Anja had been enjoying herself, in spite of the somber news about Cojahn’s death. It certainly wasn’t her fault that the clumsy guy had taken a cloud dive.

Anja drew in a deep breath. Of course, she did have an inkling whose fault it might be. In all likelihood, Cojahn’s death had not been an accident. Anja was observant and had already seen a few signs that Black Sun was involved here in some way. She had long known that Czethros held an interest in several of the gambling casinos on Cloud City. It was entirely possible that Calrissian’s friend had gotten in the way and Czethros had been forced to have his people remove him. It was not a pleasant thought, but not shocking either.

She did feel edgy, though, out of control. How she wished she could take a dose of andris right now. She didn’t need it, of course, she assured herself. But it would make her feel so much better….

The urge was almost overwhelming, yet she had little enough of the precious spice. Czethros was so stingy with what he gave her, even after all she had done for him. Perhaps if she gave him some information he might be grateful enough to …

Her footsteps quickened, and in less than five minutes she found herself at the doorway to a private comm center. She paid her credits and slipped into a soundproof booth. She knew the transmission codes by heart, and within moments an image formed on the screen in front of her. The man had close-cropped moss-green hair and an eye visor that circled the base of his skull like a ring around an oddly shaped planet.

“This had better be important,” Czethros said, dispensing with any pretense at civilities.

Anja recognized the room behind him as his office on Ord Mantell. She nodded and got to the point. “It’s business, of course—what else? I’m on Cloud City, staying at the Yerith Bespin.”

She explained how she and the young Jedi Knights had learned of Cojahn’s death and the suspicious circumstances surrounding it, and how very intent her companions were on discovering Cojahn’s real killer.

The moving red light on Czethros’s visor hiccuped in agitation as she relayed her story, and she knew he understood her silent implication: if he was at all involved, he’d better cover his tracks quickly.

“I hoped this information might be … worth something to you?” she said, trying to keep the desperate tone out of her voice.

Czethros’s scarred face betrayed no expression. “You were right to tell me, my little velker,” he said. “You’ll be suitably rewarded. I’ll contact you.” With that, he abruptly terminated the communications link.

Anja smiled. That had gone well, she thought. Since more would be coming any time, perhaps she would reward herself with just a small dose of spice….