Change

“I—I don’t know. There might have been…”

“Might’ve been what?” Karr demanded.

But the bartender had had enough. “Take your change and go,” he insisted as he threw the credits across the room.

Instinctively, Karr reached up to grab the change.

“Oh, no,” he mumbled as the pain rushed to his head. If there was one thing that had traveled from one side of the galaxy to the other and had witnessed all the important events life had to offer, it was currency. Wars, births, murders, negotiations, graduations, scientific breakthroughs, coronations—it all created a storm of cluttered and confusing images that left Karr powerless to exercise what little control he had learned, and he felt himself blacking out.

But not before he heard the Morseerian say, “There might’ve been two suns.”

[...]

When Karr woke up, he was staring at a Chadra-Fan. It wasn’t as nice as staring into Maize’s eyes, but it was a friendly face nonetheless.

“You must be a lightweight.”

“What?”

“I’ve been watching you, and it seems you passed out after having only one drink.”

“I wasn’t…” Karr didn’t feel like explaining. “Yeah. I’m a lightweight.”

“I also heard you talking to Nabrun Leids.”

Getting his bearings Karr remembered the situation and frantically looked around for the smuggler. “Where is he? Where’d he go?”
“Relax, he’s long gone. And from the look of our bartender over there, I’d suggest you head out, as well.”

Karr thought for a moment. “You know of any planets with two suns?”

The Chadra-Fan laughed. “I’m sure there are many out there.”

Karr lowered his head. So close and yet so far. At least it was something.


- Force Collector, Chapter 13