Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance (26 page)

Ax
smiled in satisfaction as the palace's scarred roof receded into the
distance. With any luck, she thought, that was the last she'd ever
see of Hutta.

CHAPTER
20

Shigar
had seen the spaceport on plans of the palace, but hadn't been there
before. He moved quickly and carefully through the corridors of the
palace, counting corners and noting landmarks while avoiding guards
and security cordons. Getting lost or pinned down was the last thing
he needed. Stryver would have farther to go but he knew the layout
better. If there was going to be another confrontation, Shigar wanted
to have the advantage.

Also
on his mind was Larin's well-being. Again he debated the wisdom of
bringing her to Hutta. She had been a great help, and good company,
too, but now she was hurt, possibly maimed, and that made her future
prospects even grimmer. He swore to make sure her hand was properly
tended, but was that enough? Had the kindness he had assumed he was
doing for her turned into an intolerable cruelty?

He
was afraid of what his Master would think when she saw where his
judgment had led him.

All
the more important, then, to succeed with Stryver. The entire palace
was in an uproar, which was to be expected after explosions in the
lower levels, a fight in the security air lock, rogue droids running
wild through the corridors, and the multilevel collapse Stryver had
engendered. Conflicting alarms overlapped wildly, creating a head-
jangling row that Shigar did his best to ignore. He could only
imagine how Tassaa Bareesh was taking it.

The
spaceport guards were on high alert. Shigar plucked a sentry from his
regular patrol and used the Force to persuade him into revealing the
command structure of the emplacement. There had been enough killing
already that day. Besides, any evidence of a struggle would alert
Stryver to an ambush.

Encaasa
Bareesh was a junior nephew of the palace's matriarch. He oversaw the
security detail from an office two floors away, and was notorious for
only occasionally glancing at the cam views. It was a simple matter
to convince Encaasa that a completely unrelated crew member wanted to
board their ship, but had misplaced their clearance code. Shigar
imagined the indolent Hutt wearily slapping his fat fingers on the
right controls and then settling back into his hammock. Not even a
palace-wide security alert could ruffle him.

The
main entranceway to the spaceport slid open. Shigar walked through,
watching behind him for any sign of the Mandalorian. None, yet. The
doors closed, leaving him alone in the circular disembarkation area.

Shigar
had asked the guard which berth the First Blood had been assigned to,
and he headed straight there. The spaceport's umbilical door was
open, revealing the gray skin of Stryver's ship at the far end.
Shigar wasn't so foolish as to go anywhere near that inviting portal.
It would be booby-trapped for certain.

Instead
he waited nearby, in full view of both the First Blood and the
spaceport entrance, with his lightsaber inactivated but held tightly
at the ready. Stryver had to come for his ship sometime, and Shigar
would be prepared.

He
emptied his mind of all concerns-every worry about Larin and his
mission, every ache and pain-and stood poised and ready for action.

The
sound of repulsors activating broke him out of his trance. One of the
ships was warming up its engines for liftoff. He circled the
disembarkation area to identify which one, but the sound wasn't
coming from any of the closed air locks. It was coming from Stryver's
berth.

That
surprised him. He had assumed Stryver was traveling alone. There
could, therefore, be no one inside his ship to warm it up for him.
Either Shigar was wrong on that point, or Stryver had activated it by
remote.

The
repulsor whine continued to rise in volume. This wasn't just warming
up. The ship was about to take off.

Cursing
under his breath, Shigar abandoned subtlety. Approaching the ship's
outer air lock, he quickly examined it for weak points and found just
one. The door was keyed to Stryver's biometric signs- height,
breadth, proportion of limbs, and so on-but it also featured an
override, just in case Stryver was ever grievously injured in the
course of a mission. If he lost a major limb, for instance. That
override could be sliced into by someone clever enough.

Shigar
wasn't as good a slicer as Larin, but he had seen this kind of trick
before. Mandalorian ships had been Jedi targets ever since the Great
War, and he had been taught over and over again the best way to
disable them. Working quickly, he tapped a series of codes designed
to reset the override function back to a commonly used default. When
he typed in the default, the door slid open.

Not
a moment too soon. The repulsors were at screaming-pitch and the ship
was hovering lightly on the ground. In another second, it would've
been high above the palace.

Shigar
leapt lightly into the air lock and was swept upward with it. The
moment his boots touched the floor, however, a secondary security
system kicked in. Powerful electric shocks coursed through his body,
sending his muscles into irresistible spasms. He fell onto his side,
unable even to cry out. His jaw was locked open in a silent scream.

The
autopilot raised the ship straight above the spaceport and adjusted
its trim. Shigar felt himself rolling toward the open air lock, but
couldn't move a finger to save himself.

The
electric shocks ceased the moment he cleared the air lock. That was
something to be grateful for as he fell like a stone to the roof
below.

*
* *

How
long he was unconscious he didn't know. Minutes, probably. Sufficient
time for his helpless body to be gathered up by a roof security team,
secured with binders at wrists and ankles, and gagged for good
measure. When he woke, he was being transported through the palace on
the shoulders of a squad of Gamorreans. Neither his lightsaber nor
his comlink was within reach.

Instead
of fighting, he concentrated on casing his body's many bruises and
batterings. He didn't know how far he had fallen, but fortunately he
had ended up with no broken bones. A ringing skull, yes, and a
crushing blow to his dignity, but nothing worse. For the moment, he
was grateful simply to be alive.

His
captors whisked him at a brisk jog through the palace. He memorized
the turns but without a starting point had no way of knowing exactly
where he was going. His general impression, however, was of opulence
increasing around him, not decreasing. When he arrived at a large
space full of people whispering and talking, with one loud voice
booming away in Huttese over the top of them, he guessed instantly
where he was.

The
Gamorreans came to a halt in the center of Tassaa Bareesh's throne
room, and with a coordinated grunt dumped him onto the floor. Silence
radiated around him as people noted his presence. He clambered
awkwardly to his feet and looked about.

A
large crowd of beings stared back at him, whispering and pointing. He
saw no less than twenty different species in one quick glance, from
trunked Kubaz to feline Cathars, with bipeds occupying a pronounced
minority. Their exotic origins belied their unified purpose: to
pander and preen before the one who controlled their fates.

"Bona
nai kachu, " roared the matriarch of the palace, "dopa
meekie Seetha peedunky koochoo!"

Shigar
turned to face Tassaa Bareesh. She was sprawled heavily on a
horrifically ornate throne-bed at one end of the hall, and decorated
almost as ornately as it was. He didn't know enough about the Hutts
to read her expression, but the quivering of her lipless mouth and
the spittle she sprayed as she talked left little to the imagination.

An
A-1DA protocol droid shuffled forward on spindly legs. "Tassaa
Bareesh wishes you to fully comprehend the certainty that you will be
punished, treacherous Sith. "

Shigar
considered his options. There were at least two dozen weapons trained
on him. Behind the crowd, armed guards ran back and forth, responding
to various emergencies unfolding in the palace.

He
bowed as ceremonially as he was able, given his bindings. "I
must correct your mistress. I am in fact a Jedi. "

"Stoopa
dopa maskey kung!"

He
ignored the insult. "I can hardly have double-crossed you when
we had no agreement between us. Beyond trespassing on your territory
without permission, I mean no harm. "

Tassaa
Bareesh rumbled threateningly, shifting to a different dialect now
that she realized he could understand at least some of her words.

"Tassaa
Bareesh says: Your intention was to steal from her. For that, you
must die. "

"If
you search me, you'll find I'm carrying nothing 1 didn't come here
with. "

"Tassaa
Bareesh says: Your accomplices have made off with the prize. "

"The
navicomp? The last time I saw that it was in the grip of a
Mandalorian, not a Jedi. "

"Tassaa
Bareesh says: Your treachery is surpassed only by your puniness. He
stole it from you after you stole it from us. "

"You
are upset, " Shigar said. "Your judgment is clouded. A
moment ago you thought I was a Sith. Perhaps the lie you think I am
telling is actually the truth. "

The
crowd muttered in consternation. Clearly few people were bold enough
to question Tassaa Bareesh's judgment to her face.

The
Hutt matriarch growled something long and involved that didn't really
need translation. The droid rapidly blinked its round blue eyes and
made a valiant effort anyway.

"Tassaa
Bareesh is most displeased. She has, ah, devised numerous ways to use
you for entertainment. "

Shigar
didn't argue the point. He had finished counting the guards and
exits, and reached the conclusion he'd expected. There was no way to
fight his way out of this one, and he couldn't rely on
reinforcements. He would have to talk. He might even have to make a
deal.

That
thought sickened him to the stomach.

"Your
anger is perfectly justifiable, " he said. "Your palace has
been attacked, and the property and information you planned to sell
have been stolen. You've been deprived of the profit you deserve. No
one would deny that you have a right to seek revenge, to make an
example out of those who have caused you embarrassment and
significant harm. " He bowed again. "All I beg is that you
blame the right people. "

Another
explosion ripped through the palace, causing great upset in the
throne room. Tassaa Bareesh's huge eyes showed white around the edges
as she waved a Twi'lek over to her. His comlink was squawking
urgently. They hastily conversed, too quietly for Shigar to overhear.
Then anger got the better of the matriarch. She backhanded the
Twi'lek away from her and roared at the translator.

"Tassaa
Bareesh wishes you to understand that the spaceport has been
attacked, " said the droid, its tapering head bobbing
obsequiously.

"By
whom?"

"By
Imperials. The Republic shuttle has been destroyed. "

Shigar
considered saying nothing. On one level he didn't need to. The
actions of the Imperials had won the argument for him, by their
blatant violation of the Treaty of Coruscant. But on another level he
was still in hot water. Tassaa Bareesh could have him executed just
for being an irritation, and an inconvenient reminder of her loss. He
had to give her a reason to spare him, not kill him.

He
had to appeal to her business sense.

"We
are both the victims here, " he said, choosing his words with
exquisite care. "Killing me won't get the navicomp back, and it
will make an enemy of the Jedi Council. Either way, you end up worse
off. Letting me live, however, offers you a way to cut your losses. "

"Tassaa
Bareesh asks: How?"

Shigar
swallowed. A bad taste had crept into his mouth. "I intend to
follow the Mandalorian wherever he goes. He has injured both my pride
and my companion, and he will pay for these crimes. The information
he has stolen might no longer be of value, in and of itself, but
every new world offers opportunities for trade and exploitation. In
return for releasing me, I will ensure that those opportunities come
to you first, before anyone else. "

The
matriarch hummed a pitch almost too low for a human ear to hear. Her
eyes didn't leave Shigar's face, but they had an inward cast now.