Slave Ship

by neetha Napew

  " Lead us to ruin, more likely." Khoss of Knylenn tempered the severity of his voice, the better to draw back into line any of his followers who might have had second thoughts." Kuat of Kuat hides from us that which we most need to know-and that which would absolve him of suspicion, if his actions are indeed blameless. There are things we need to know, which he managed to keep secret. All he needs to do is dispel the darkness that he himself has created, and then our objections to the way he administers Kuat Drive Yards will melt away like dew upon the forest's leaves." The last bit of poetry was accompanied by an unpleasant smile." What say you, Kuat of Kuat? You may have your secrets-but not without suspicions. Or accusations."

  The temptation was great to divulge exactly those things that Khoss and the other Knylenns demanded to know. Tell them, thought Kuat grimly, and let there be an end to it all. Upon the heads of the Knylenns and their affiliates, the blame would be as heavy as it was upon his own. Why should he be the only one to be crushed beneath this burden when all shared the benefits of his constant, unsleeping labors? He could feel the words splitting open his heart and rising to his tongue, the intricate details of his schemes forcing their way to the light. . .

  Tell them the truth, thought Kuat. And give up any hope of success. Any chance of survival, of saving Kuat Drive Yards from its enemies.

  That was the problem, the trap in which he was caught. Information flowed both ways; if the Knylenns were already in contact with spies and other shady intelligence sources, then anything revealed here would quickly find its way to those who would be even more interested in discovering the details of Kuat of Kuat's schemes. Someone such as Prince Xizor would not have been grateful upon finding out that he had been the target for the net that Kuat had woven in hopes of trapping him within. And Xizor would have had ways of expressing his displeasure; ways that would have been personally unpleasant, then fatal for the schemes' instigator. It was the price that came with playing games with such high stakes. What burned inside Kuat was the awareness that the cost of his failure would also be paid by Kuat Drive Yards. The corporation would cease to exist; even its name would be wiped from memory, as it was absorbed into the fabric of the Empire. Xizor's intentions toward Kuat Drive Yards had been made plain long ago; all that he had lacked had been the pretext upon which he could convince Emperor Palpatine to seize the corporation's valuable assets and make them his own. The discovery of schemes such as those launched by Kuat of Kuat would have more than sufficed for that purpose.

  A choice such as that which Kuat faced was no choice at all. Kuat knew that to use the truth to defend himself against an enemy such as Khoss of Knylenn would only deliver him, and Kuat Drive Yards, into the hands of an even more implacable enemy. Better to maintain silence, he decided, and take whatever accusations they want to throw at me.

  " I keep my own counsel," Kuat answered aloud." As do you yourself. You and your fellow conspirators did not seek the benefit of my advice before you saw fit to spy upon me. So be it. If all your prying cannot unveil what you seek to know, and if you cannot buy it with all the credits that my labors have put in your coffers, then you can hardly expect me to give you that information for free."

  Khoss of Knylenn smiled as he nodded." That is exactly the answer I expected from you. That all of us, who have chafed under your unbridled power, thought we would hear from you. It comes as no surprise that you will not-or cannot-defend yourself."

  " He needs no defense," said Kodir angrily," from baseless accusations."

  The sneer returned to Khoss's face." It's clear you've made your choice as to where you stand. If treachery can buy your loyalty, you'd better be satisfied with the price you got for it." As though dismissing her from his consciousness, he turned his gaze back toward Kuat." You see the numbers arrayed against you." With both hands outspread, Khoss gestured toward his followers." Rather an obvious majority, isn't it? And they've appointed me to speak for them-they have sworn oaths of liege fealty to the Knylenn bloodline. Those oaths are binding and irrevocable. It is on that basis that I thus make the wishes of the ruling households known to you, Kuat of Kuat."

  " Ah! Is that so?" Kuat stroked his chin as he looked round at the wall of faces, then back up at Khoss." That seems a great deal of power to be invested in one who is not, in fact, the head of the bloodline that he purports to represent."

  Khoss's sneer changed to a dark scowl." What do you mean by that?"

  " It's very simple. And it is just as I say. You are not the head of the Knylenn bloodline; you are still but an heirling of that one from whom you will someday inherit the title. Those oaths from the other ruling households are not sworn to you, but to the person of another." Kuat gestured toward the ancient, withered visage of the Knylenn Elder." Should he not be the one to state the charges against me, and the one to pronounce whatever retribution this world's heirs demand?"

  A moment passed before Khoss replied." Just so," he said, his expression even more murderous than before. On the raised platform atop the portable life-support system, he took a step backward, still letting his hands rest upon the shoulders of the metal-encased Elder." If it is your wish to hear him speak, then that is something easily granted."

  The Knylenn Elder's yellowed eyes balefully glowered at Kuat." I am old. . ." His voice was heavy with weariness and loathing." And have not the strength. . . that I once had." The sighing, gurgling noises of the life-support system formed a counterpoint to his words." That is why. . . this younger one. . ." The Elder's head raised in a gesture indicating Khoss standing above." He speaks the words. . . that I would speak. He speaks. . ." The last words seemed to be forced out of the Elder's mouth by sheer willpower." With my authority. Doubt him not. . ."

  " And is that your understanding as well?" Kuat looked across the faces of the Knylenns' affiliates, ranked on either side of the life-support system's machinery." You listen to Khoss of Knylenn, because he speaks for the Elder of that household?"

  He received a few nods from the affiliates. One of them, the Kadnessi Elder, spoke up." Our loyalty is to the Knylenn Elder; he received our oaths long ago. But if he wishes his heir to speak for him, we have no objection to that." The Kadnessi Elder peered sharply at Kuat." Do you?"

  " Not at all," said Kuat." Your oaths are sacred, and I respect them. But let us see if everyone honors them as I do." He strode across the small distance between himself and the portable life-support system, one hand reaching up toward the controls visible on its front panel.

  " Stop him!" Atop the machinery, Khoss of Knylenn shouted, his gesture jabbing frantically down toward Kuat.

  Before he could lay his hand upon the portable life-support system, another grabbed his shoulder and pulled him around. The former security head for Kuat Drive Yards gathered one side of Kuat's formal robes and pulled him close against himself.

  " I know what you're trying to do-" The former security head's expression was set grim and tight as he reached with his other hand inside his jacket." I didn't sell you out to these people just so I could watch you defeat them." A glistening vibroblade appeared in the former security head's fist." You have to realize-I'm on their side now."

  Kuat shoved the butt of his palm hard against the former security head's chin, pushing the other man's face to the side; with his forearm, he blocked the thrust of the vibroblade at his ribs. The former security head was younger and stronger than Kuat, too strong for him to break free of the other's bearlike hold across his shoulder and neck. The vibroblade slashed downward across the sleeve of Kuat's robe, parting the heavy fabric and slicing a millimeter-deep wound, precise as a surgical incision, along the back of Kuat's arm. Blood welled out and seeped across the chests of both men, pressed tight against each other.

  The fist holding the blade slammed up into Kuat's solar plexus, knocking the breath from his lungs and forcing him a step backward. That gave the former security head enough space to draw his arm back and aim a slashing, fatal blow with the weapon, straight toward Kuat's throat.r />
  The blow never reached its target.

  Gasping in sudden shock and pain, the former security head dropped the vibroblade; clattering, the blade spun across the floor. The former security head's fingers clawed at Kodir of Kuhlvult's forearm, jammed hard against his windpipe. With the same move, Kodir had thrust the point of one knee against the former security head's spine; his shoulders arched backward in a tensed bow, his greater weight balanced against hers. Before he could act in any way other than pure, unthinking reflex, Kodir's free arm swung her fist into the man's temple, with enough force that the crack of bone was audible. The whites of his eyes rolled upward behind the trembling lids; when Kodir let go of him, he crashed unconscious to the gathering place's floor.

  Under the luminous dome, the assembled crowd had been struck silent by the quick burst of violent action in front of them. Before any of them could move, Kuat of Kuat had already darted forward and snatched up the vibroblade that had fallen from the former security head's grasp. Blood trickled down his forearm and dripped from his elbow as he held the weapon up.

  " I would advise everyone to continue standing very still." The rush of adrenaline in Kuat's veins had anesthetized him from the wound in his arm. The front of his formal robes, slashed open and spattered with red by the same blade that he now gripped, hung down toward the top of his boots. He kicked the scrap of heavy fabric aside as he stepped closer to the portable life-support system." That goes for you as well," said Kuat; he held the vibroblade higher, its glistening point on a straight line toward the throat of Khoss of Knylenn." Stay right there. That way you'll get a good view."

  Khoss of Knylenn froze in place, as though hypnotized by the sight of the blade. Before him, the yellowed eyes of the Knylenn Elder watched from beneath drooping lids, mouth slack and wet at its corners.

  Kuat knew that he had only a few seconds before the Knylenns managed to break free of the shock that now held them. But that would be long enough.

  He stepped close to the portable life-support system. The machinery shrieked, as though its metal and silicon were capable of feeling pain, when the vibroblade sliced through the exposed cables and hoses. The blood-cleansing apparatus sped up, then ground to a halt as its workings ran dry; the recycled blood and other floods spread in a glistening pool beneath the machinery's tank treads.

  Up above Kuat, the face of the Knylenn Elder distorted in a frozen rictus, the cords beneath the wrinkled flesh of his neck tightening and straining against the confines of the cylinder's metal collar. A red bubble formed and burst at the wet corner of his mouth.

  Another blow, this time with the point of the vibroblade, pried open the front panel of the portable life-support system. Kuat forced it open wide enough to get his fingers underneath the smooth edge of metal. As he strained against it, he was joined by Kodir of Kuhlvult at his side; the two of them managed to pull the front panel off the machinery and drop it with an echoing clang onto the gathering place's floor.

  Kuat no longer needed the vibroblade. Now he was able to reach into the workings of the life-support system and disable it.

  " Back off-"

  Kodir's warning voice sounded from behind him. Kuat glanced over his shoulder and saw that she had

  scooped up the vibroblade. With her knees bent in a defensive crouch, Kodir used the weapon to keep the Knylenns and their affiliates at bay.

  " Maybe you could hurry a little," said Kodir, glancing back at Kuat." I'm not going to be able to hold them forever."

  " This won't take long." A single motivator unit ran all the functions of the life-support system; Kuat grasped the top of the unit, gave it a turn to the right, and yanked it out of the center of the machinery's circuits.

  An inhuman screech sounded from the amplified speaker mounted above. As if Kuat of Kuat had struck a blow at the heart of a living beast, the portable life-support system shuddered and sank lower upon its treads, nearly toppling Khoss of Knylenn from its upper platform. The grey, withered face of the Knylenn Elder showed no sign of animation as Kuat grasped the bottom edge of the cylinder and tugged it free. Like an ancient warrior's battle shield, it crashed on top of the other discarded sections of the machinery's exterior.

  The vibroblade brandished by Kodir of Kuhlvult didn't cause the others in the gathering place to take a step backward, pushing themselves away from the hulk of unpowered devices in front of them. It was what they saw, revealed at the machinery's heart.

  Inside the opened cylinder, the corpse of the Knylenn Elder hung suspended-not held upright by the tubes and wires of the life-support system's various components, but by a simple leather strap crossing the body's shrunken chest. The flesh dried upon the protruding bones was as cold and lifeless as the surrounding metal, as though the skeleton were merely some part of the machinery's framework. A last trace of the odor of decay had been released by the opening of the cylinder; a few of the Knylenns and their affiliates turned away in horrified disgust.

  The Knylenn Elder had been dead for a long time; long before the portable life-support system had carried the disguised corpse into the gathering place. That much was obvious.

  " Not a bad piece of work; very well designed." With an engineer's clinical admiration, Kuat pointed out the rest of the details. He pointed up at the wires and servo-linked pneumatic tubes running through the metal collar and into the base of the Elder's skull." As you can see, there was no need to go to the expense of preserving all of the body in a lifelike state; only the head of the Elder was necessary to give the impression that he was still alive and functioning. A few simple, real-time animating devices, a synthesized voice, and a database of vocabulary and mannerisms, all under the control of the Level 1 droid intelligence that was supposedly monitoring the life-support system's components and the corresponding vital signs-basically, not an elaborate construct at all. But well done, nevertheless." Kuat looked up at the pallid face of Khoss." Who did you hire to do the work for you? Must have been expensive." He slowly shook his head." Offhand, I'd say it looks like a Phonane Mimesis Studios job-it's the kind of thing they specialize in. But it might also have been-"

  " How did you know?" Khoss's hands were white-knuckled and trembling as they grasped what was left of the cylinder before him. His voice sounded more agonized than the fake Knylenn Elder's had been." It was perfect. It's been over a year since the Elder died, and no one else has ever suspected. . ."

  " They might have had their suspicions." Kuat cast an amused glance at the others in the gathering place." Perhaps they just didn't want to say anything about it, since they had already decided to go along with your plans to wrest control of Kuat Drive Yards from me. And. . . I imagine you had a few accomplices." Kuat looked again at the person standing atop the dead machinery." I remember the Knylenn Elder well; he was not a stupid individual. Whatever his own ambitions for the Knylenn household, I doubt if he could have been convinced to go along with this plan of yours."

  " Is that how. . ."

  " It was enough to arouse my own skepticism," replied Kuat." But I needed proof-and that wasn't long in coming. It just shows that you're not cut out to be an engineer, Khoss; you rely too much on clever machines. Someone who works with and designs them always knows that the human element is inescapable. And decisive." He shook his head in mock ruefulness." It's always the simple things that trip people up. You programmed the droid intelligence in that device of yours pretty well; it was do ing a decent enough imitation of the Knylenn Elder. But it got the facts wrong. It would have been very difficult for the Elder to have sworn before our biological mothers that he would outlive me, since our mothers never met. Mine died in giving birth to me. I was raised in the household of Kuat by the father from whom I received my inheritance. So when your phony Knylenn Elder didn't catch me out in a simple falsehood-that's when I knew it wasn't really him."

  One of the Kadnessi, the male who had spoken up before, looked puzzled." I don't understand," he said." Why would Khoss go to such elaborate lengths to make it ap
pear that the Knylenn Elder was still alive? As soon as the word of the Elder's death would have gotten out, that would be when Khoss would have been acknowledged as the heir of the Knylenn household."

  " That's not difficult to figure out." Kuat smiled." It's not enough to inherit the title when the oaths of fealty from the other ruling households were given to the person of the previous Knylenn Elder. None of you has ever sworn an oath to Khoss of Knylenn." The notion brought a laugh from Kuat." Why should you have? So for Khoss to proceed with his campaign to drive me out of the leadership of Kuat Drive Yards, he needed all the authority that went with the Knylenn Elder still being alive, without the inconvenience of the old man disagreeing with him about what should be done. The real question, of course, is. . ." Kuat's voice darkened with sly hints." Just how convenient was the Elder's death? Perhaps our dear cousin Khoss might have. . . helped the process along. Just a little bit."

  " That. . . that's a lie." Khoss of Knylenn's face had paled to a bloodless white." If you're saying I killed him-that I had anything to do with his death-"

  " A very serious charge," said the Kadnessi. He nodded solemnly, a gesture that was repeated by others in the crowd, including the Knylenns and their associates." This will bear investigation. And if it should turn out to be true. . ."

  " Then the murderer's own life is forfeited." Kodir of Kuhlvult spoke the words with evident satisfaction." That is the law, as ancient as the ruling households themselves. It's a capital crime for a designated heir to take an Elder's life. And the punishment must be exacted, or the households would be awash in the blood of the victims."