Contract

By Kate Birkel

hudunit@radiks.net

The fireworks had ended, and the stars glittered overhead without distraction or competition. Han studied them for several long moments, enjoying the sense of comfortable familiarity, then glanced over to where Luke and Leia had drawn away from the others to talk quietly. Well, they've got a lot to talk about, he thought indulgently, a lot of catching up to do. He had to admit that that last little twist in the game had caught even him flat footed. Damn all Jedi to the eight hells, he thought without rancor. See if he took another contract with them again. At least, though, they wouldn't be able to file a complaint with the Company that he had not fulfilled the contract.

Han caught Chewbacca's glance and winked. The Wookiee dislodged a half dozen little furry things from his massive body and ambled over to where the pilot was standing.

*An interesting day, eh, Solo?* he rumbled.

A twisted grin flickered across Han's face. "Very interesting," he agreed. He nodded to where Leia and Luke were talking. "Everything worked out in the end, though. It was getting a little dicey there for a while. Remind me to look at the fine print a little closer next time, huh?"

*You are already thinking of your next contract?*

Han smiled, a slow, lazy grin. "Saving galaxies can be fun. There's that brouhuha brewing over in T9. Sounds kind of interesting. Pulling this one off should jack the price up on the next job."

Chewbacca hooted with laughter. *I would not even think of using this contract as a selling point for another one. The client would deduct too large a percentage for all the screw ups.*

Han looked pained. "But it was my first contract, Chewie, and we did fulfill it. You can't argue with success, even if the means were a little bit unorthodox." A tender light animated his hazel eyes as he once more looked at the Princess. "We kept Leia Organa alive through the rebellion, and that's what we contracted for, isn't it?" Then he shook his head. "But no more Jedi; I've had it up to here," he slashed his hand across his throat, "with Jedi. Hokey religions!" he snorted.

*T9 has Quilconnonnero,* Chewbacca reminded his partner.

Han winced. "That's right. I forgot about them." The Quilconnonnero made the Jedi look like rank amateurs in the mysticism department. He thought for a moment. "How about T14? There's a nice little squabble going on there right now."

*Too far, Solo. If you go there, you go alone. I do not think I want to go even as far as T9.* Chewbacca sighed. *With my share of the pay off for this contract, I can retire comfortably. I have been giving serious consideration to resigning from the Company. The only reason I accepted this last contract was because it was in my home sector.*

"But you've been with the Company for over seventy-five stanyears," Han protested. "You can't quit now. You've got a lot of good years left in you." He looked at the Wookiee with sudden suspicion. "Talliraso hasn't been after you again, have they?"

Chewbacca bared his teeth. *Talliraso has not offered for my services since before you were born. They understand I am loyal to Marrisano. No, I mean actually retire from the business altogether.*

"Have you mentioned this to Faulborg?" Faulborg was the regional manager for this galaxy and several neighboring ones.

Chewbacca snorted. *I have not spoken with Faulborg since you came to Kashyyyk with the contract. I do not wish to hear what he would have to say about our handling of this contract.*

Han looked pained again. "It wasn't a badly executed contract, Chewie, just a little more complicated than what I figured in the beginning, and it was only my first contract."

Chewbacca hesitated, resting troubled eyes on the human. *Perhaps, Solo, you should not take a second contract.*

"Why not, for pity's sake?"

*I have worked with your type before. The contract was botched–*

"I did not botch the contract!" Han interrupted hotly. "She's still alive, isn't she?"

*The method of fulfilling the contract was irregular to say the least!* Chewbacca roared with exaspiration. *We were to provide body guard services, not participate!*

"But we couldn't do one without the other!" Han yelled back.

Chewbacca patted his irate partner on the head. *It could have been done by another who does not have your personal makeup, Solo. That is why I suggest you think about terminating your employment with the Company. You do not have the right personality. You are incapable of remaining objective, and insist on becoming more involved than is necessary. It will cost you your life. I have lost other partners for that reason. I like you, and I should regret your loss.*

Han glowered, not certain whether he was being complimented or damned.

*Besides, Solo, what do you intend to do with her?* Chewbacca cut his eyes to indicate Leia Organa. *Do you wish to rip her from her friends, her brother, her entire universe? Or do you intend to simply fly off and leave her?*

"Uh." Han swallowed. That little detail had been bothering him for some time now. The Jedi had paid a hefty sum in advance for the lady's safe emergence from the late unpleasantness. Somehow, Han did not think they would be terribly pleased if he removed her from her current location to another galaxy. Disincorporate or not, they would probably lodge a big enough complaint with Faulborg and the Company to keep him in hot water for a long time to come, maybe even cause him to lose his job. Yet, there was simply no way he was going to leave the lady behind when he went on to his next contract. He'd nearly lost her a couple of times over the last few years, and it hadn't been the threat of Faulborg's wrath that had scared him spitless. And there was Chewbacca to think of, too. Some of the Company's independent contractors could be real sleezes out for just a quick couple of credits, although the Company did its best to weed out those types. But Chewbacca had turned out to be something special, more of a friend than just a contract partner. And Chewbacca didn't want to leave his home sector. "Oh, hell," Han said glumly. Maybe Chewbacca was right and he didn't have the right temperament for the business if he was questioning further employment on the grounds of personal entanglements. Suddenly, he brightened. "Hey, Chewie, you haven't been filing real elaborate progress reports with Faulborg, have you?" As the senior partner, the reporting fell on Chewbacca's shoulders.

*Not detailed ones,* the Wookie said with a shudder. *Just the annual All's Well. I told you I did not wish to discuss the finer points with Faulborg. I will leave the final report to you.*

"Then Faulborg doesn't know what we've been up to, does he?"

*Not unless the Company has sent an internal auditor out to investigate.*

Han shook his head quickly. "Nah, they've had their hands full with that business in K97 and R55 for the past twenty stanyears. They wouldn't send an auditor over to check out a minor scrap like this unless you missed an annual report."

*What are you thinking, Solo?* Chewbacca asked warily.

"Well, as soon as we file our final report with Faulborg, he'll release our money, right?"

Chewbacca nodded.

"You know, this galaxy ain't such a bad little place once you get used to it. It's got some potential, even if it's got Jedi."

*I have been telling you that for some time. And there is only one fully trained Jedi at the moment.*

Han gave Chewbacca a sour look. "How long do you think that'll last? With the heat off, they'll be crawling out from under every rock. Luke's been trying to talk me into it for years. He'll find himself some more soon enough. And don't forget – disincorporated Jedi can hang around for a long time." He suddenly looked very ill at ease. "You don't suppose one of them's been over complaining to Faulborg, do you?"

*We would have heard about it – at great length.*

"You're right." Han's expression cleared. "I'm still surprised we didn't draw a reprimand for lousing up there at the beginning – even though it wasn't our fault. The Jedi gave us the wrong time and place."

*Perhaps it was the correct time and place, Solo.* Chewbacca grinned.

"Go to hell, Chewie," Han said genially. They'd been arguing that one for years – ever since they'd found their charge in Darth Vader's hands on the Death Star. The contract had specified Alderaan, not the Death Star a week early. Finding out that their ward had a mouth that wouldn't quit and a disposition even worse than his own had finished the contract as far as Han had been concerned. He'd blasted off Yavin with every intention of laying Faulborg out in lavender. Chewbacca had cooled him down that time, reminding Han of how much time he'd already invested in the contract to learn his way around this galaxy and establish a credible background for his persona. But Han had drawn the line at Luke Skywalker. The Jedi had only contracted for Leia Organa; they could damn well babysit their other fledgling themselves. Han grinned crookedly. He'd let friendship get the better of him there, too. Yeah, Chewie had a point about him not being cut out for a field representative for the Company.

*What is the point of this discussion, Solo?* Chewbacca headed the human back on to the main topic.

"Oh, yeah." Han got himself back on track. "Well, like I said, this isn't such a bad place once you get used to it being a little on the primitive side. Home it's not. Anyway, you know the Company'll occasionally sell a franchise – especially someplace they don't think there'll be a huge profit to be made. We'll get enough money from this contract to make a sizeable down payment on the franchise fee. If we can talk the Company into granting us an exclusive on the whole galaxy, it should be a nice little business. And with the Empire out of the way, it shouldn't be that dangerous."

Chewbacca scratched absently, pondering the issues. *It is a wide open market,* he allowed at last. *Very few beings in this galaxy are aware of the Company and the services it offers. I believe the Jedi approached us only because they had heard of us from the Quilconnonnero. Do you suppose we will be able to recruit and train sufficiently resourceful employees?*

"It shouldn't be too hard. We talk Faulborg into letting us borrow some of his people for a few years, and send ours over to the main office for training. Once we get those back, say in ten years, we'll be able to set up our own training program. We won't be that big an operation that we'll have to worry about training all that many people." Han was working up some real enthusiasm now for his extemporaneous solution to his problem. It would keep him employed and in this galaxy without excessive risk. "Whaddaya say, Chewie?"

*It would keep me out from under Malla's feet, and give Lumpawarru something to do during school vacations,* Chewbacca mused. *But you should allow me to do the talking to Faulborg. As you pointed out, I have been associated with the Company for over seventy five stanyears, and he respects my knowledge of Company policy and procedure. You have worked on only one contract.*

Han nodded. "Then we have a deal?"

*Yes.* Chewbacca stuck out a massive hand, and the two shook.

Leia chose that moment to join them. "You two look pleased with yourselves."

Han wrapped his arm around her and hugged her close, mindful of her wounded arm. "Just figuring out what we were going to do with ourselves now that the rebellion's over."

Alarm settled on Leia's face. "You're not running off, are you, Han?"

"Nope." Han grinned, then winked at Chewbacca. "I'm staying right here for a long time to come."

Leia sighed, relaxing against him. "I wish you'd quit scaring me like that."

*I will leave you now,* Chewbacca said. *We will talk later.*

"Right, Chewie."

Chewbacca returned to his Ewok friends, and as they once more swarmed over him, he leaned back against the tree trunk, resuming his watchful vigil over his charge and his charge's lady. Tomorrow, he would file his own report with Faulborg detailing the fulfillment of the Jedi contract and the progress of the ongoing Quilconnonnero one. Chewbacca chortled with secret glee. Faulborg had certainly engineered a cute way of discharging both contracts. The profit to the Company would be enormous, and Chewbacca's share would almost compensate him for the aggravation and stress of the past twelve stanyears. More than once, Chewbacca had thought himself on the verge of losing both Han and the contract. But now, the Quilconnonnero could be assured that while their Order went through its ordained time of upheaval and bloodshed, their Heir and his line would be safely concealed and under Company protection for the necessary generations to emerge at the proper time. It had been very clever of Faulborg to bring the infant into the Company and raise him as a Company employee. What better way to have the Heir under their watchful eye until a secure and permanent arrangement could be made?

When the Jedi had come to Faulborg with their request, Faulborg had been quick to spot the possibilities. Unholy glee had gleamed in his red eyes the day Chewbacca had entered his office to discuss the contracts. The Jedi contract was set in the Wookie's home galaxy, which was three galaxies removed from T9, a reasonably safe distance. The Heir was a fully trained Company employee and resourceful enough to survive almost anything, although not even Faulborg had anticipated Darth Vader putting him into carbon freeze – the worst moment of Chewbacca's long existence. The Heir would be presented to Leia Organa in the role of hero and rescuer. Since he was young and good looking enough by human standards, the Princess surely could not object too strenuously to his presence. Fortunately, the Heir had been blessed with a personality strong enough to weather hers.

As for the Quilconnonnero contract – well, the Princess was a lady in distress which would appeal to the streak of romanticism in the Heir. Faulborg would leave the rest up to Divine Providence and a little nudging from Chewbacca should either the Princess or the Heir prove balky. Chewbacca gave a rueful snort. That had been the difficult part. Had either one of those two headstrong, self willed individuals ever once suspected a guiding hand on the reins, all would have been for nought. But it had been accomplished with neither of the principles realizing they were being manipulated into just this end. The Princess was alive, the Heir was voluntarily remaining in a place of refuge, and his line would be a strong one because of the Princess.

Yes, Chewbacca had reason to be proud of himself. This was a very well handled contract indeed.

Home | Back to Author's List