Lando hissed a breath between his teeth. 'I don't think we've got much choice,' he said. 'If the message was from Luke, it's probably important.'
'And if it wasn't?'
Lando favored him with a tight grin. 'Hey, we've run Imperial traps before. Come on, let's take her down.'
After the way they'd blasted out of Ilic a few days earlier, it was doubtful the local authorities would be especially overjoyed to see the return of the Lady Luck to their city. Fortunately, he'd put the past two days' worth of leisure time to good use; and as they set down inside the domed landing area, the spaceport computer dutifully logged the arrival of the pleasure yacht Tamar's Folly.
'It's just terrific to be back,' Han commented dryly as he and Lando started down the ramp. 'Probably ought to snoop around a little before we head down to the Mishra.
Beside him, Lando stiffened. 'I don't think we're going to have to bother with the Mishra,' he said quietly.
Han threw a quick glance at him, dropping his hand casually to his blaster as he shifted his gaze to where Lando was looking. Standing five meters from the end of the Lady Luck's ramp was a bulky man in an ornate tunic, chewing on the end of a cigarra, and smiling with sly innocence up at them.
'Friend of yours?' Han murmured.
'I wouldn't go that far,' Lando murmured back. 'Name's Niles Ferrier. Ship thief and occasional smuggler.'
'He was in on the Mishra thing, I take it?'
'One of the key players, actually.'
Han nodded, letting his eyes drift around the spaceport. Among the dozens of people moving briskly about their business, he spotted three or four who seemed to be loitering nearby. 'Ship thief huh?'
'Yes, but he's not going to bother with anything as small as the Lady Luck,' Lando assured him.
Han grunted. 'Watch him anyway.
'You bet.'
They reached the foot of the ramp and, by unspoken but mutual consent, stopped there and waited. Ferrier's grin broadened a bit, and he sauntered forward to meet them. 'Hello there, Calrissian,' he said. 'We keep bumping into each other, don't we?'
'Hello, Luke,' Han spoke up before Lando could reply. 'You've changed.'
Ferrier's smile turned almost sheepish. 'Yeah-sorry about that. I didn't figure you'd come if I put my own name on the message.'
'Where's Luke?' Han demanded.
'Search me,' Ferrier shrugged. 'He burned out of here same time you did-that was the last I saw of him.'
Han studied his face, looking for a lie. He didn't see one. 'What do you want?'
'I want to cut a deal with the New Republic,' Ferrier said, lowering his voice. 'A deal for some new warships. You interested?' Han felt a tingle at the back of his neck. 'We might be,' he said, trying to sound casual. 'What kind of ships are we talking about?' Ferrier gestured to the ramp. 'How about we talk in the ship?'
'How about we talk out here?' Lando retorted. Ferrier seemed taken aback. 'Take it easy, Calrissian,' he said soothingly. 'What do you think I'm going to do, walk off with your ship in my pocket?'
'What kind of ships?' Han repeated.
Ferrier looked at him for a moment, then made a show of glancing around the area. 'Big ones,' he said, lowering his voice. 'Dreadnaught class.' He lowered his voice still (further. 'The Katana fleet.' With an effort, Han kept his sabacc face in place. 'The Katana fleet. Right.'
'I'm not kidding,' Ferrier insisted. 'The Katana's been found ... and I've got a line on the guy who found it.'
'Yeah?' Han said. Something in Ferrier's face He turned around quickly, half expecting to see someone
