Star Wars - Ringers by Laurie Burns

Author:Laurie Burns [Burns, Laurie]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 1995-05-11T19:58:24+00:00

The huge domed arena that housed Stassia’s swoop track was finally in sight. Glaring out at the sea of pedestrians clogging the street ahead of them, Tambell tried to strangle back his impatience and ended up thumping on the robohack’s roof Instead.

“There’s no need to be abusive, sir,” the droid brain running the robohack admonished him in affronted tones.

“Calm down, we’re moving,” Rizz added.

“Not fast enough,” Tambell growled. Since Sedeya had lost his bet the other day when they’d pulled him away from the ringers tournament, he figured the kid had to be present for this Jedi thing to work He had to get him away from the swoop track before the kid could start “picturing” losers.

Tambell’s mouth tightened. He’d worry about how to keep this ridiculous Force stuff out of the report, later. If the lieutenant thought he’d actually bought into any of that junk that passed for Jedi legend, his next assignment would be in the spice mines of Kessel.

Fighting back frustration, he dug out his comlink instead. “Hey Franni,” he said when the droid answered. “Hook into the betting booths at the swoop track, will you? I want to know if Reye Sedeya or Aalia Duu-lang have placed any bets. How much, and on who. I want it as soon as possible,” he added.

They’d edged a few blocks closer to the arena by the time Franni called back and reported that Sedeya had bet 10 credits on Bike Six to win.

Tambell frowned at the news. Only 10 credits?

But his scowl turned to a smile when he learned Aalia had more than made up for it.

She’d gone for the exacta, wagering 50,000 credits on Six to win, and Nine to place. Exactas were dicier to predict, but paid bigger rewards, and he wondered whether Sedeya could not only make Six win, but ensure that Nine came in second. For Aalia to collect, the jocks had to finish in that order.

And then it occurred to him — maybe, just maybe, she’d hedged her bets.

All the swoop jocks wanted to win the big prize, of course, but the purses for third, fourth, fifth, and sixth places weren’t cheap change either. Especially if they came with a little bonus for not finishing on top.

He got Franni checking on the right accounts, then took another look at the foot traffic flowing past outside. The entire city seemed out for a stroll. Tossing some change into the robohack’s credit tray, he opened the door and fought his way out to the crowded curb with Rizz trailing in his wake. The way they’d been crawling along, they’d get there faster on foot.

Joining the swarm heading for the arena entrance, they flashed their badges at the ticket droid and were waved inside. They squeezed onto the first available lift plate carrying spectators up to the grandstand and, once on top, Rizz dug out a locater and flipped it on, keying in a code. A green dot winked in the grid’s center, and after the device sent out its invisible feelers, a blinking red dot appeared at the edge of the grid.

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