Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance (11 page)

Shigar
paid their hopper driver and added a substantial tip. The driver was
a slave, bound by chains to the vehicle he commanded. Evocii had once
been the owners of Hutta, but they were now on the very lowest rung
of its opportunistic society. Countless generations of inbreeding had
reduced them to a pallid, sickly species. Only outside the cities did
their fighting spirit remain, in the form of rebel tribes whose vigor
caused the Hutts no end of trouble.

The
driver's permanently pained but placid expression didn't change as he
pulled the hopper away from the palace forecourt and sped off.

"Now
what?" asked Larin.

"We
go in. "

"lust
like that?"

"Just
like that. "

He
led the way up a long flight of steps-their first taste of Tassaa
Bareesh's imposition on her guests. She would never climb such an
obstacle herself. No doubt she had teams of litter-bearers or
repulsorsleds to take her wherever she willed. By forcing visitors to
do what she would not, before they even entered her domain, and to
suffer for it, she automatically placed them at a lower social level.

Larin
was fit. She didn't break stride as they climbed briskly to the guard
level, overtaking several other parties along the way. There were
three entrances with weapons emplacements mounted over each. Shigar
picked the leftmost at random. Four armored Gamorrean guards awaited
them, two outside and two inside. Their deep-set eyes regarded every
being who approached with equal amounts of suspicion. Behind them,
one of the parties they'd overtaken was forcibly pushed back down the
stairs, screaming plaintively.

"Are
you sure you want to do it this way?" she asked him.

"This
is the easy part, " he told her. "Watch. "

The
guards crossed vibroaxes as they approached. Shigar stopped
obediently and addressed them in a calm voice.

"You
don't need to see our documents. We have the required authorization.
"

The
axes parted, allowing them through.

"Two
down, " Larin's vocoder crackled.

Shigar
repeated the mind trick on the other side of the entrance. Again the
axes parted and they walked through. One door up, a loud party of
Ortolans did the same, but with official IDs.

"Don't
look so smug, " Larin said to him. "I can see it even
through your mask. "

A
silver protocol droid stepped out in front of them, backed up by a
pair of bug-eyed TT-2G guard droids. "This way, please. Purser
Droog will assign you quarters sufficient to your needs. "

"That's
okay, " said Larin. "We know our way around. "

"If
you'll only allow us to verify your IDs, " said the droid more
insistently, "Purser Droog will ensure that you are accommodated
appropriately. "

"Really,
you don't need to worry. "

"No
worry at all, honored guests. You must allow us to show you the
proper hospitality. "

Heavy
emphasis on the word must prompted Shigar to look up. Weapons
emplacements on the interior side of the wall had tracked to target
them. The Gamorreans clearly weren't the only barriers to entry to
Tassaa Bareesh's castle.

"Of
course, " Shigar told the droid, suppressing the slightest sign
of concern in his voice. "We don't want to make a fuss. "

The
droid bowed and led them to a desk, behind which sat an ill- looking
Hutt with deep pouches under his eyes. He was busy with the noisy
Ortolans, who appeared to have mislaid one of their passports. This
was another setback. Hutts were immune to all forms of Jedi
persuasion, so that wasn't going to work this time. Shigar thought
frantically. Fighting his way in wasn't an option, given the
emplacements and the need for secrecy. Neither was fighting his way
out, since there were just as many weapons that way. If he didn't
think of something else fast, they would be trapped.

Finally,
the purser waved the Peripleens on and gestured for Shigar and Larin
to approach.

"Kimwil
Kinz and Mer Corrucle, " he said, giving the Hutt the fake names
they had settled on during the journey to Hutta. Cupping his hand
over his credit chip, he slid it across the desk as though it were
some kind of official documentation. Indicating the backs of the
Ortolans, disappearing in a huddle into the palace proper, he added,
"We're with them. "

The
jaded eyes of the Hutt regarded him with a mixture of hostility and
disdain. There was no way of telling which way he would fall. Was he
automatically loyal to Tassaa Bareesh, who had placed him in this
position of responsibility, or was he bored or drunk enough on his
own small power to take up the opportunity Shigar presented? The
contents of the credit chip were considerable; they represented
everything he had been given to fulfill his mission. If he took it,
that would be money well spent.

The
purser swept up the chip and tucked it into the folds of his body.

"You'd
better hurry, " he rumbled in Huttese. "They're leaving
without you. "

Shigar
led Larin away, feeling exposed under the emplacements and full of
loathing for the Hutts and the corruption they embraced so readily.
Most likely, the purser would betray them within minutes of letting
them through, but if he could just get out of his direct line of
sight, he and Larin could disappear into the palace's throng, never
to be seen again.

They
walked twenty-five paces without interference. At the first available
doorway, he turned left, then immediately left again. When no sound
of pursuit rang out behind them, he let the breath he'd been holding
escape through his teeth.

Larin
heard it. "That went as planned, did it?"

"Precisely,
" he said with fake cheeriness. "You weren't worried, were
you?"

"Not
for a second. " She shook her head. "Let's find somewhere
quiet and out of the way. We need to change the way we look "

They
squeezed into a niche and Shigar gratefully rid himself of the mask
and a large amount of his leather rancor-riding gear, leaving him
wearing just pants, boots, and a tight black vest on his upper body.
He felt 50 percent lighter and was grateful to regain free use of his
arms. Larin unsealed her helmet and hitched it securely to her belt,
then surrendered the cloak she had been wearing and gave it to him to
cover his exposed shoulders. Rubbing dust into their cheeks and
foreheads, she did her best to make them look as filthy as everyone
else they had seen so far.

Shigar
felt dirty enough as it was, and not just because of the close,
stinking air of Hutta. They were in, and the first real hurdle of the
mission was behind them. Now they could get on with uncovering what
Tassaa Bareesh had found on the Cinzia.

Leaving
the rest of his disguise tucked well out of sight, they moved off
into the halls of the palace, keeping their ears and eyes wide open
for surprises.

CHAPTER
8

At
the rear of the palace, where a heavily fortified cliff provided a
natural shield against snipers and missile attacks, was a private
spaceport large enough for a dozen suborbital transports. Six of the
berths were already full when the Imperial envoy approached to land.
None was registered to the Republic. One looked like a privateer,
bulbous and battered, and extensively blackened across one side as
though by a powerful blast.

"Good,
" said Darth Chratis when Ax communicated that intelligence to
him. "We have the jump on the Republic, at least. Any sign of
Stryver?"

"None
as yet, Master. "

"Keep
your senses alert for his presence, but remember your place. Your
desire for revenge comes second to the orders of the Dark Council.
Fulfill them first, then you may act freely. We need to know what was
inside the Cinzia"

"Yes,
Master, " she said with all apparent obedience. In her heart she
swore to take whatever opportunities arose, whether Darth Chratis
approved or not.

The
shuttle came down with a gentle thud. Ax would much rather have come
under her own direction, in her own interceptor, but her new role
forced her to accept some compromises. She unstrapped herself and
moved forward to meet the envoy: Ia Nirvin, a dour, capable man who
understood all too well that his role in coming events was
ceremonial. His credentials were genuine, and the line of credit he
had access to came straight out of the Imperial treasury. He was,
however, under express orders to make no deals unless Eldon Ax failed
in her mission.

"This
way, Envoy, " she said, ushering him to the rear egress ramp. A
welcoming committee had already gathered outside. Nirvin adjusted his
uniform, waited until his escort had assembled around him, then
exited the shuttle.

Ax
came last, striding confidently down the ramp. The security detail
surrounding the welcoming party noticed her instantly. She was
dressed entirely in black, as befit an emissary of the Sith, and her
lightsaber hilt dangled openly at her side. The security details
uncertainty pleased her. Envoy Nirvin came with the full authority of
the Imperial bureaucracy, but who held the real power? Was she
bodyguard or puppet master?

A
massive Houk approached her. "Your weapon, please. "

Ax
unhitched her lightsaber, ignited it, and without saying a word
removed the Houk's head.

Four
more Houks moved forward to force the issue.

"There's
no need for such baseless hostility, " said Envoy Nirvin,
pressing fearlessly between her and the guards. "She comes in
peace as my adviser on esoteric matters. Let the matter drop, or I
fear we might as well turn back right now. "

His
words were addressed to the welcoming committee, not to her, and she
was glad for that. She didn't care how many Houks she had to kill to
make the point to the servants of the Hutts that she wasn't
relinquishing her lightsaber under any circumstances.

The
welcoming party conferred in hurried whispers, then nodded their
acceptance of the situation. Ax waited until the Houks had retreated,
though, before deactivating her blade and relaxing her defensive
stance.

"Nice
to do business with you, gents, " she said, following the envoy
and his retinue into the palace.

*
* *

"Tassaa
Bareesh offers her distinguished guests a most cordial welcome and
wishes them a profitable stay in her humble abode. "

Hardly
humble, thought Ax, eyeing the garish decor of the throne room. What
hadn't been gilded was encrusted with jewels or draped in silk. No
less then one hundred court functionaries had gathered to welcome the
modest Imperial contingent, and she had no doubt that the crowd was a
deliberate attempt to impress.

The
droid translator, a lanky A-1DO "conehead, " did its best
to keep up with its mistress's rumbling speech.

"Tassaa
Bareesh invites her distinguished guest to take full advantage of the
palace's amenities before proceeding to the official program. We have
a fine array of baths, restaurants, dance halls, fight pits..."

"We'd
prefer to press on, " interrupted Envoy Nirvin in a restrained
but firm voice. "With all appropriate thanks and gratitude, of
course. "

Instead
of looking offended, Tassaa Bareesh beamed a wide, lascivious smile.
The Hutt matriarch was impressively large, sprawling sluglike with
short-fingered hands resting on her bulging belly. Jewels gleamed
from numerous necklaces and rings, and silk draped across her sloping
shoulders, but nothing could hide the repulsiveness of her skin,
which was as green and oily as a swamp reptile's back. The matriarch
rumbled briefly, then reached for a snack. It wriggled and squirmed
uselessly before dropping into the cavernous maw and dying with a
crunch.

"Tassaa
Bareesh understands your urgent desire to proceed to business, "
said the translator. "Would you like to view the merchandise?"

"Please.
"

The
Hutt matriarch barked a command. From the crowd of onlookers stepped
a tall, bejeweled Twi'lek, who bowed and said, "My name is
Yeama. I will be your guide. "

Nirvin
bowed in return. "If the merchandise meets our needs, we may
wish to offer a price immediately. "

"Of
course, " Yeama said, "but I'm afraid we have another party
due to arrive shortly. We could not possibly come to any arrangements
until they have had an opportunity to see what you have seen. "