“If you aren’t bounty hunting, will I ever see you again?” Maslo asked. “You’re always so much fun, and Eshua loves it when you visit.”
Eshua was his wife, and Han had accepted their hospitality numerous times when she’d needed to spend the night on Filsin. Eshua had even asked Han to join their marriage. Ugarians liked to have giant poly marriages, but with only the two of them sofar, Eshua and Maslo didn’t think they could start having kids yet.
They’d taken her refusal with grace and made her promise to always visit when she was on the station. That was an easy promise to keep when she wasn’t chasing someone down.
“I’d never leave and not come back,” she assured him. “You and Eshua are like family. I also want you two to visit my family. They live on Inneeko.”
“I didn’t know that!” Maslo said, his ears popping back up. “Eshua has family there. We could see them and you.”
It was good to see Maslo’s ears back up. There was nothing sadder than an Ugarian with folded ears.
“Yes, we can visit there, and I’ll probably do trips back here,” she said. “My plan is to raise and train jinjoos.”
One of Maslo’s ears swung back and the other stayed focused on her. A clear sign of disgust. “Jinjoos? That’s nice for you.”
Han held back a laugh. You either loved jinjoos or hated them; there was no in between. She loved them and couldn’t wait to buy her first breeding pair.
Now that Maslo was reassured she wasn’t simply going to disappear on him, she held up the information square again. “So you haven’t seen him?”
“No, but I could look him up in the station’s register,” he offered.
It wasn’t as good as going into the observation system, but it was better than wandering around asking every Ugarian she knew if they’d seen him.
“That would be helpful!”
Maslo went to a nearby display that only station personnel could access and started tapping.
“There are three Talins on the station right now, and none of them match the name you have.”
“Did the three arrive together or separately?" she asked.
He tapped a few more times. “One arrived yesterday, and the other two got in today.”
Han silently cursed to herself. Talins were so rare in this sector that the odds of three Talins coincidentally being on the same station were astronomical. The first one had to be her bounty, and the other two were probably here to steal him!
“Quick, give the name the first Talin is going by and his ship’s docking location,” she demanded. Then she sheepishly added, “Please.”
Maslo snorted. “I’m sending it to you now.” Her information square pinged at the same time Maslo was blanking out the display.
He turned to face her. “You’ll be careful, right? These Talins look big and mean.”
She gave him a big, cheeky grin then remembered that, to an Ugarian, showing teeth was flirting. Knowing her as well as he did, Maslo only snort-laughed when she shut her lips abruptly.
“No bounty has taken me out yet, and I don’t plan on this guy being the first.” When he continued to look concerned, she patted her bag. "Don't worry, I’ve got all my tricks in here.”
“I always thought you were smart, then you told me your dream is to raise and train jinjoos, so I’m reconsidering that.”
Han barked out a laugh and ignored his comment. “Next time I’m here, I’ll visit for a few days.”
“I’ll tell Eshua,” Maslo said. “Try to contact us as soon as you know when you'll be back.”
“I will,” she said before rushing off to find her bounty’s ship.
The dock was a little crowded, with every slip occupied. It was easy enough to find the ship, but she didn’t see him anywhere. He was probably on board, which meant she needed to “knock” on his door.
She double checked her bag to make sure everything was stowed in their proper pockets and hiding spots. She’d just finished when she heard someone speaking right behind her.
“I told you it was a human!”
