'Interesting name,' Karrde said, eyeing him. 'That Entoo part sounds rather like a droid designation.'
'Oddly enough, people do sometimes mistake me for a droid,' Entoo Nee said, his eyes sparkling all the more. 'I can't imagine why. If you'll follow me, I'll show you to the general's table.' He bounded off between the tables without waiting for an answer, his step as lively as his speech had been. 'Curious little man,' Threepio commented as they followed. 'He does appear harmless, however.'
'Never trust appearances,' Shada warned him. 'Personally, I don't think he fits in with this place at all.'
'We'll keep an eye on him,' Karrde told her. 'That must be Jutka.' Entoo Nee had stopped beside a table in the back where a single, heavyset man was seated with his back to the wall, nursing a single drink. Wearing the by now familiar crosh-hide jacket, he nevertheless seemed to Karrde to be vaguely uncomfortable in it.
'That's a military man, all right,' Shada said, echoing Karrde's own thought as Entoo Nee spoke briefly to the other. 'You can tell he feels awkward being out of uniform.' Entoo Nee stepped aside as the others came up, gesturing brightly to the bulky man. 'General Jutka, may I present our visitors,' he said, suddenly looking a bit crestfallen. 'I'm sorry—I didn't get your names.'
'We didn't give them,' Karrde said. 'You can call me Captain. This is my friend Shada and my translation droid, See-Threepio.'
The general muttered something in an unfamiliar language. 'He says he wasn't expecting a full theatrical parade,' Threepio translated helpfully. 'In fact—'
'Enough!' Jutka spat. 'Keep your droid shut up or I'll shut him up for you.'
'Oh, my,' Threepio gasped, taking a hasty step backward. 'My apologies, General Jutka—'
'I said keep him shut up,' Jutka cut him off. 'I don't want to have to say that again. Now sit down.'
'Certainly,' Karrde said, sliding into a chair at the general's side and glancing back at Threepio. Entoo Nee had stepped to the droid's side and was talking soothingly to him in a low voice. 'My mistake, General. I thought I was here for a conversation, not a series of threats.'
'I apologize if you got that impression,' Jutka said darkly, looking balefully up at Shada. She had ignored his invitation to sit down, moving instead around the other side of the table so that she was effectively standing over him, and for a moment Karrde thought he was going to issue a flat-out order for her to sit. He apparently thought better of it and turned his glare back to Karrde. 'The fact is that you're a troublemaker,' he said. 'Troublemakers aren't welcome on my world.'
'I see,' Karrde said. 'So in the Kathol Republic coming under pirate attack is the mark of a troublemaker?'
Jutka's eyes narrowed. 'Don't push me,' he warned. 'I know who you're flying for—your ship's ID makes that perfectly clear. The last thing I want is to end up in the middle of some stupid war between Bombaasa and Rei'Kas.'
'Rei'Kas?' Shada repeated, her tone that of someone who's just made a connection. 'The Rodian?'
'Yes,' Jutka said, frowning up at her. 'You mean you didn't—?'
'No, we didn't know who our friends were out there,' Karrde confirmed. 'Many thanks. You know this Rei'Kas, Shada?'
'Only by reputation,' Shada told him. 'He used to be a strike team leader with the Karazak Slavers Cooperative. Quite a good one, apparently. He was also rough, violent, and vicious, and he irritated practically everyone he worked with.'
Karrde nodded, feeling his mouth go a little dry. A vicious slaver, now in Car'das's territory. How many other criminals, he wondered, had also just happened to drift to this corner of the galaxy?
'Interesting.'
'Also interesting that the general knew his name when even Bombaasa didn't,' Shada added.
'You good friends with him, General?'
'My job is to protect the Kathol Republic,' Jutka said, his tone vibrant with soft menace. 'I have no such responsibility toward outsiders who come in unasked and meddle with matters that are none of their business.'
Out of the corner of his eye, Karrde saw Shada's head turn fractionally as she gave the main part of the tapcafe a quick survey. 'Are you threatening me, General?' he asked mildly.
'I'm delivering a warning,' Jutka said bluntly. 'You've hurt Rei'Kas, and he doesn't take kindly to that. He's got your ship marked, and as long as you're in his territory he's going to keep after you.'
