Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance (17 page)

"Will
you untie me now?" Ula asked him.

"The
only reason you are still alive is because there is no honor in
killing you-and no advantage, either. " The Mandalorian towered
hugely over him. "That could easily change. "

Ula
fell back into his scat and closed his mouth.

Jet
sat in the chair next to Ula, staring unflappably up at their captor.

"I
assume you know me from somewhere, " he said. "Did I ruin
your sister's reputation? If so, I'm afraid she was quite
forgettable. "

Stryver
didn't rise to the bait. "Captain Nebula, I'm told it was you
who spoke to the crew of the Cinzia. "

"Who
said that?"

"A
former crewmate of yours called Shinqo. "

"He'd
say anything to get your blaster out of his face. "

"My
assessment precisely. Is what he told me true?"

"How
do you know I'm any different from him?"

"I'll
be the judge of that. "

"Why
you want to know? What's so important that you'll go halfway across
the galaxy to find it out?"

"Just
answer my questions, Nebula. What did they tell you?"

"Do
you mean 'what' or 'how much'?"

Ula
didn't understand why Jet was making things more difficult than they
had to be. "I've heard the recording, " Ula said. "They
didn't say anything to him. "

The
Mandalorian turned back to him. "What were their exact words?"

"That
they were on a diplomatic mission and didn't want to be boarded. "

"Did
they mention any names?"

"None.
"

"Could
the recording have been edited?"

"I
suppose it might have been, but..."

"Be
silent. " Stryver turned back to Jet. "Does the name Lema
Xandret mean anything to you?"

"If
that's your sister..."

The
butt of Stryver's blaster dug into Jet's throat. "Do not play
games with me. She was an Imperial droid maker who disappeared
fifteen standard years ago. Was her name mentioned by anyone aboard
that ship?"

"No,
" Jet said. "And there were no survivors, if you think she
was aboard. Shinqo told you that, I'm sure. "

"He
told me there was wreckage and that you gave it to the Hutts. "

"Why
would I do something like that?"

The
muffled boom of an explosion rocked the floor, making Ula jump. Dust
rained from the ceiling. Stryver pointed his rifle at the door, ready
to fire on anyone who burst through it, but the blast had come from
much farther away. A second quickly followed the first, and the
lights flickered. Distantly, alarms began to sound.

"The
palace is under attack, " said the Mandalorian. "There is
no time now for prevarication. If you know what survived the
explosion, you must tell me. "

There
was something in the Mandalorian's voice, a rising urgency that made
Ula speak out of more than just self-preservation.

"I've
seen it, " he said. "It's in a vault not far from here. "

"What
is it?"

"There
are two things, and they're both for sale. The Cinzia's navicomp..."

"Intact?"

"So
I was told. "

"And
the other item?"

"I
don't know what it is. "

"Describe
it. "

"Silver,
tubular, about a meter high-made of rare metals and some kind of
organic component. No insignia. Do you know what it is?"

The
Mandalorian fiddled with his armor and projected a tiny holovid of
the palace grounds. "There are seven maximum-security vaults in
Tassaa Bareesh's enclave. Tell me which one contains these two items.
"

"Why?"
asked Jet. "It's just space junk. "

"You
did not believe so, " said the Mandalorian.

"I'll
sell anything, or try to. "

"If
you release my hand, " said Ula, "I'll show you which vault
it is. "

"You're
not after this mystery planet as well, are you?" asked let,
rolling his eyes as Stryver loosened the web restraining Ula's left
hand. "Unless-ah! Yes. Unless you want the navicomp for an
entirely different reason. "

Stryver
ignored him. "Point, " he said, holding the holovid out to
Ula.

"Bring
it a bit closer. That one there, I think. "

As
the Mandalorian studied the floor plan, Ula slipped his hand into his
pocket and produced the hold-out blaster.

He
listened to himself speak calmly and without fear, as though he were
standing outside his own body, watching what was going on.

"Release
my other hand, " he said, pointing the blaster at Stryver's
stomach. "I'd prefer to talk as equals. "

Stryver
pushed the holovid into Ula's eyes, blinding him. Ula squeezed the
trigger, but Stryver was too fast. With one sweep of his other arm,
he swatted the blaster away. The single shot discharged harmlessly
into the ceiling

"Nice
try. " Jet chuckled as Stryver reaffixed Ula's hand to the
chair. "You've never dealt with his kind before, have you?"

Ula
was having trouble seeing the funny side. The fear had come crashing
back in. His eyes were still dazzled, and his hand felt like it was
broken. "How can you tell?"

"Mandalorians
don't believe they have any equals. "

*
* *

Larin
sliced into another layer of the palace security program and
conducted another search. Dao Stryver's name still appeared only
once: his ship, First Blood, was docked in the palace's private
spaceport. Mentally, she kicked herself for missing something as
obvious as that, but she didn't lose any time over it. The
architecture of the palace's security programs was even more baroque
than the palace itself. Even if she had thought to search for the
Mandalorian's name, chances were it wouldn't have appeared the first
time.

"Anything?"
asked Sergeant Potannin, who was peering worriedly over her shoulder.

She
shook her head. Searches on Ula Vii's name had turned up nothing as
well.

"You're
blocking my light. " Potannin was trying to be helpful, but he
was no Shigar. "I'll holler when I've found something. "

Pulling
another decryption algorithm from her repertoire, Larin tried another
route.

Behind
them, the Twi'lek, Yeama, entered the missing envoy's suite and
sketched a bow. The bump on his temple stood out in bright red
against the green of his skin.

"My
mistress offers her profound apologies. The hunt for the kidnappers
and those who attacked your sentries will begin immediately. "

Larin
scrambled the holoprojector's view so Yeama wouldn't see what she was
up to in his mistress's security infrastructure.

"You
have a Mandalorian loose in the palace, " she said, "and
you didn't know about it?"

"He
is one of many. They do not like to be watched too closely. "

"Now
you know why. Perhaps you'll think twice about the kind of scum
you're dealing with. "

Yeama
stiffened. "And you are-?"

"Does
it matter who I am? I'm helping you find the envoy. What are you
doing?"

The
Twi'lek turned an unhealthy color, even for his species. "Everything
in our power, naturally..."

"Good,
so hop to it. We're busy here. "

Yeama
retreated and Larin de-scrambled the view she'd been looking at.

"There's
a whole other layer down here, " she muttered, marveling at the
intricacies of the system. Either it had evolved piece by piece, as
each new development added an extra level to what was already there,
or it had been designed by the galaxy's most paranoid software
engineer.

Still
no luck with Duo Stryver, however. And Envoy Vii didn't produce a
hit. If either of the two men was moving about in the palace, none of
the security system's pattern recognition systems was tracking them.

Larin
was beginning to get desperate. This was the one job she had to do,
while Shigar attended to the rest of the mission, and she was failing
at it. Proving herself capable wasn't the issue-she knew she was, or
had been, at least, otherwise she would never have been in special
forces. Getting a score on the board was the main thing, after so
long on the bench.

In
desperation, she tried "Jet Nebula. "

Instantly
a hit appeared. Not just a location, but a coded tag she recognized
as a smuggler's call for help.

"Got
something. " Potannin hurried over. "You said Envoy Vii was
with that Nebula character, didn't you? Well, I've found him, at
least. "

Potannin
clapped his hands together and grinned without humor. "Good
work, Larin. "

He
turned to the escort squad and rattled off a series of orders. Half
would stay; the other half would come with him. Larin had to fight
the reflex to obey. Had she remained enlisted in the Blackstars,
Potannin would have outranked her.

"I'm
coming with you, " she told him as his group assembled, checking
weapons and light armor.

He
nodded. "I was just about to ask you, Larin. Thank you. "

"Don't
mention it, Sarge. "

"Take
point, and lead the way. "

Her
face was burning as they hurried through the corridors, the echo of
their booted feet preceding them, encouraging the throngs to part.
This was too familiar, she told herself-dangerously familiar. She
couldn't let herself think that she was back in the fold. If they
found out who she was, they would turn on her, just as the goons on
Coruscant had. Better to stand apart, for the future's sake.

They
had almost reached the location on her holopad when an explosion
shook the ground beneath them, followed by another a short time
later. She called a halt, wondering if they were walking into a trap,
but the blasts didn't come any closer. The lights dimmed for a
second, then brightened. The palace's generators, she guessed-damaged
either by sabotage or by accident.

The
inhabitants of the palace hurried to find shelter. They didn't scream
or panic. They simply gathered up their valuables and loved ones and
went somewhere else. Such things were clearly not uncommon on Hutta,
Larin gathered.

"Nearly
there, " she said, waving the squad forward again. She moved
more cautiously as she approached the flagged location. Just because
someone had blown up the power plant didn't mean there wasn't a trap
ahead.

The
map grid correlated with an industrial-sized but very empty kitchen.
Larin fell back and let Potannin take the lead. His squad spread out
silently to check every hiding space, communicating solely by
gestures. They were well practiced and efficient, yet they turned up
nothing but a battered old droid who had taken shelter from the fuss.
After scanning it for munitions, they let it alone. It returned to
the corner it had been lurking in, watching them silently.

"No
sign of Envoy Vii, " said Potannin, stating the obvious. "Are
you sure this is the right location?"

"I'm
positive. The flag said Nebula was here and in some kind of distress.
"

"He
must've been here at some point, in order to leave that clue, but now
he's been taken elsewhere. "

"There's
no evidence of a struggle... "

A
disturbance distracted Larin from the search. The droid had stepped
out of its corner and was gesticulating wildly.

"Someone
quiet that thing down, will you?" barked Potannin.

"No,
wait. " Larin approached it, closely watching every move it
made. "I recognize the signals it's giving. They're from the
civil war. It's saying... "She searched her memory for the
correct translation. It had been a long time since she'd taken The
History and Use of Military Languages during her special forces
training. "He's saying he left the flag for us to find. Not us
specifically, but anyone who could help him. Reinforcements. He
followed his Master-Nebula, I presume-via a transponder of some kind,
probably hidden in Nebula's clothes or body. He's trying to mount a
rescue, but... but he lacks the resources to complete his mission
objective. "