by James Luceno
leadership.
Gunray's key advisers were waiting Deputy Viceroy Hath Monchar and legal
counsel Rune Haako. Each affected a black headpiece appropriate to his status.
Monchar's was a triple - crested crown, similar to but smaller than the
one Gunray wore; Haako's was an elaborate cowl, with two horns in front, and a
tall, rounded back.
The two advisers made deferential gestures to Gunray as the mechno-chair
eased him onto his feet.
"Welcome, Viceroy," Haako said, approaching him stooped and limping, his
left arm crooked by his side. "We hope you have not come in vain." Hollow-
cheeked and somewhat spidery, he had a deeply lined face, bags under his eyes,
and puckered flesh on his chin and thin neck.
Gunray made a harsh gesture of dismissal.
"He said he would come. That is enough for me." "For you," Monchar
muttered.
Gunray glared at his deputy. "Events transpired just as he promised they
would. Cohl's mercenaries attacked, and the Revenue was destroyed." "And this
is a reason to rejoice?" Haako asked, his prominent voice box bobbing. "This
plan of yours has cost the Trade Federation a class-I freighter and billions
in aurodium." Gunray's nictitating membranes betrayed his seeming self -
possession. He blinked repeatedly, then quickly regained his composure.
"One ship and a treasure box. If our benefactor really is who he claims
to be, such losses are meaningless." Haako raised a palsied hand. "And if he
is, he is a thing to fear, not to delight. And how can we be certain, in any
case? What proof does he offer, Viceroy? He contacts you out of the ether,
only by hologram. He can claim to be anyone." Gunray worked his jutting jaw.
"Who would be brain-dead enough to make such a claim without being able to
support it?" He brought forth a portable holoprojector and set it down on a
table.
When the Dark Lord of the Sith had first contacted him, months earlier,
he seemed to know everything about Nute Gun - ray and his rise to personal
power. How Gunray had testified to the Trade Federation Directorate against
Pulsar Supertanker--at the time a participatory company within the
conglomerate--accusing Pulsar of "malicious disregard for profit" and
"charitable donations lacking discernible reward." Indeed, it appeared to have
been that testimony and similar declarations of avidity that had first
attracted the notice of Darth Sidious.
Even so, Gunray had remained as skeptical then as his advisers were now,
despite demonstrations by Darth Sidious of his wide-ranging influence and
sway. Secretly, Sidious had arranged for several key resource worlds to join
the Trade Federation as signatory members, abdicating their representation in
the Galactic Senate in exchange for lucrative trade opportunities, and, where
possible, protection from smuggling concerns and pirates. And at each turn
Sidious had made the procurements appear the doing of Gunray, thus helping to
consolidate Gunray's increasing authority and assuring his appointment to the
directorate.
As to whether Sidious's influence truly owed to Sith powers, Gunray could
not say, nor did he care to know, based on what little he knew of the Sith--an
ancient, perhaps legendary order of black mages, absent from the galaxy for
the past thousand years.
Some referred to the Sith as the dark side of the Jedi; others claimed
that it was the Jedi who had ended the reign of the Sith, in a war that had
pitted dark and light against each other. Still others said the Sith, greedy
for power, killed one another. But Gunray knew nothing of the truth of these
things, and he hoped to keep it that way.
He stared pointedly at the holoprojector; the appointed moment was close
at hand.
Gunray hadn't finished the thought when the head and shoulders of a
cloaked apparition rose from the device, the cowl of his dark garment pulled
down over his eyes, revealing a deeply furrowed chin and a jowly, aged face.
An elaborate broach closed the cloak at the neck.
When the figure spoke, his voice was a prolonged rasp.
"I see, Viceroy, that you have assembled your underlings, as I asked,"
Darth Sidious began.
Gunray knew that the word underlines wasn't going to find favor among
Monchar and Haako. Though there was little he could do about that, he thought
it best at least to attempt to rectify matters.
"My advisors, Lord Sidious." Sidious's face betrayed nothing. "Of course-
-your advisors." He paused for a moment, as if probing the incalculable
distance that separated them. "I perceive an atmosphere of misgiving, Viceroy.
Has the aftermath of our plan failed to please you?" "No, not at all,
Lord Sidious," Gunray stammered. "It's only that the loss of the freighter and
the aurodium ingots is a matter of concern to some." He glanced with purpose
at his two counselors.
"The others lack your grasp of the larger purpose, Viceroy," Sidious said
with a note of disdain.
"Perhaps we need to reacquaint them with our intent to stir sympathy for
the Trade Federation in the senate.
That is why we informed the Nebula Front militants of the shipment of
aurodium. The loss of the ingots will further our cause. Soon you will have
the politicians and bureaucrats eating out of your hands, and then the Trade
Federation will at last have the droid army it needs. Baktoid, Haor Chall
Engineering, and the Colicoids are waiting to fill your orders." Gunray began
to fidget. "Army, Lord Sidious?" "The riches of the Outer Rim await those with
the courage to grab them." Gunray gulped. "But, Lord Sidious, perhaps the time
isn't right to take such actions--was "Not right? It is your destiny.
With a droid army to support you, who would dare question Neimoidia's
authority to rule the space lanes?" "We would welcome the ability to defend
ourselves against pirates and agitators," Rune Haako risked saying. "But we
don't wish to break the terms of our trade treaty with the Republic. Not when
the price of a droid army is taxation of the free trade zones." "So you've
heard about Chancellor Valorum's intentions," Sidious said.
"Only that he is likely to give his full weight to the proposal," Gunray
said.
Sidious nodded. "Rest assured, Viceroy, Supreme Chancellor Valorum is our
strongest ally in the senate." "Lord Sidious has some influence in the senate?
" Haako asked carefully.
But Sidious was too clever to take the bait.
"You will come to learn that there are many that do my bidding," he said.
"They understand, as you will understand, that they serve themselves best by
serving me." Haako and Monchar traded quick looks.
"The ruling members of the Trade Federation Directorate are not likely to
sanction spending hard-earned profits on droids," Monchar said. "As it is,
they consider us Neimoidians to be unnecessarily suspicious." "I am well aware
of the opinions of your partners," Sidious rasped. "Be advised that foolish
friends are no better than enemies." "Nevertheless, they will oppose this
arrangement." "Then we will just have to find some way to convince them." "He
/> doesn't mean to sound unappreciative, Lord Sidious," Gunray apologized. "It's
simply that... It's simply that we don't really know who you are, and what you
are capable of providing. You could be a powerful Jedi, hoping to entrap us."
"A. Jedi" Sidious said. "Now you do mock me. But you will see that I am a
forgiving master. As to your concerns about my identity--my heritage, let us
say--my actions will speak for me." The Neimoidians exchanged perplexed looks.
"What about the Jedi?" Haako asked. "They won't simply stand by." "The
Jedi will do only what the senate bids them to do," Sidious said. "You are
woefully mistaken if you believe they would jeopardize their lofty real estate
on Coruscant to challenge the Trade Federation without Senate approval."
Gunray glanced meaningfully at his advisors before replying. "We place
ourselves in your hands, Lord Sidious." Sidious almost smiled. "I thought you
might see things my way, Viceroy. I know that you will not fail me in the
future." The apparition vanished as abruptly as it arrived, leaving the three
Neimoidians to ponder the nature of the shadowy alliance they had just entered
into.
Sunlight was a stranger to Coruscant. The sun set as ever, but so ambient
was the light from the cityscape's forest of sky - scraping towers that true
darkness was a thing that prowled only the deepest canyons, or was summoned
with purpose by those residents who could afford blackout transparisteel. From
space, the planet's dark side sparkled like a finely wrought ornament strung
with bioluminescent life-forms, such as might be displayed in an heirloom
cabinet or a museum devoted to folk art.
The stars never appeared in the sky, except to those who resided in the
tallest buildings. But stars of a different sort turned up nightly at
Coruscant's celebrated entertainment complexes- - singers, performers,
artists, and politicians. As a rule more faddish than the rest, the latter
group had taken lately to attending the opera, following the lead of Supreme
Chancellor Valorum, whose renowned family had been patrons of the arts for as
long as anyone could remember.
In a galaxy boasting millions of species and a thousand times as many
worlds, cultural arts were never in short supply. At any given moment a
performance was debating somewhere on Coruscant. But few companies or troupes
of any sort had the privilege of performing at the Coruscant Opera.
The building was a marvel of pre-Republic baroque, all frosting and
embellishment, with an old-fashioned orchestra pit, tiered seating, and
private balconies in the time-honored design.
As a nod to Coruscant's citizens, there was even a warren of lower-level
galleries where common folks could view the performance via real-time hologram
and pretend to be hobnobbing with celebrities seated overhead.
The opera of the moment was The Brief Reign of Future Wraiths, a
production that had originated on Corellia, but was being performed by a
company of Bith, who had been touring the opera world to world for the past
twenty standard years.
A bipedal species with large rounded craniums, lidless black eyes,
receding noses, and baggy epidermal folds beneath their jaws, Bith were native
to the outlying world of Clak'dor VII, and were known to perceive sounds as
humans perceived colors.
Considering that it was Finis Valorum's parents who had underwritten
Brief Reign to begin with, it was only fitting that the supreme chancellor be
on hand for the opera's long-awaited return to Coruscant. The mere fact that
he would be attending had driven up the price of tickets and made them as
difficult to procure as Adegan crystals. As a result, the building was more
packed with luminaries than it had been in a long while.
As was customary, Valorum delayed his arrival, so as to ensure that he
would be last to be seated.
Restless for a glance at him, the audience came to its feet in prolonged
applause as he stepped onto the elaborate balcony that had been reserved for
Valorum family members for well over five hundred years.
Eschewing his usual surround of blue-caped and helmeted Senate Guards,
Valorum was accompanied only by his administrative aide, Sei Taria--in
matching burgundy septsilk--a petite young woman half his age, with oblique
eyes and skin the color of burrmillet grain.
In true Coruscant manner, rumors began circulating even before Valorum
took his seat. But the Supreme Chancellor was inured to innuendo, not merely
as an effect of his aristocratic upbringing, but also because of the fact that
nearly every sectorial senator--marital status notwithstanding--had made it
their practice to appear in public with attractive young consorts.
Valorum waved graciously and inclined his head in a show of benign
sufferance. Then, before sitting down, he directed a second bow to a private
balcony directly across the amphitheater.
The dozen or so prosperous-looking patrons in the balcony Valorum singled
out returned the bow, and remained standing until Sei Taria was also seated--
no small feat for the owner of the box, Senator Orn Free Taa, who had grown so
corpulent during his tenure on Coruscant that his bulk filled the space of
what had once been three separate seats.
Cerulean, with pouty red lips and eyelids, Taa had a huge oval face and a
double chin the size of a bantha's feed bag. He was a Twi'lek of Rutian
descent; his lekku head-tails, engorged with fat, hung like sated snakes to
his massive chest. His gaudy robe was the size of a tent. Prominently on
display was his Lethan Twi'lek consort, nubile and high-cheekboned, her red
body draped in bolts of pure shimmersilk.
A member of the Appropriations Committee, Taa was a vocal opponent of
Valorum, since his spice-producing homeworld of Ryloth had, time and again,
been denied favored-world status.
Taa's guests in the box included Senators Toonbuck Toora, Passcl Argente,
Edcel Bar Gane, and Palpatine, along with two of Palpatine's personal aides,
Kinman Doriana and Sate Pestage.
"Do you know why Valorum loves to attend the opera?" Taa asked in Basic,
out of the corner of his huge mouth. "Because it's the only place on Coruscant
where an entire audience will applaud him." "And he does little more here than
he does in the senate," Toora said. "He merely observes the protocols and
feigns interest." Fabulously wealthy, she was a hairy biped with a wide mouth,
a triple-bearded chin, and beady eyes and a pug nose squeezed onto the bony
ridge that capped her squat head.
"Valorum is toothless," Passel Argente chimed in. A sallow - complexioned
humanoid affiliated with the Corporate Alliance, he wore a black turban and
bib that revealed only his face and the swirling horn that emerged from the
crown of his head. "At a time when we need vigor, direction, unity, Valorum
insists on taking the tried-and-true route. The route guaranteed not to upset
the status quo." "Much to our enjoyment," Toora murmured.
"But a confidential bow," Taa said, as he was maneuvering into the chair
that had been specially made to conform to his girth. "To what could we
possibly owe the honor?" Toora gestured in dismissal. "This nonsense about the
Trade Federation's requests. Valorum needs all the support he can muster if
he's to succeed in convincing us to enact taxation of the free trade zones."
"Then it is even more curious that he should acknowledge us," Taa remarked. He
motioned broadly to other balconies. "There, all but in Valorum's lap, sit
Senators Antilles, Horox Ryyder, Tendau Bendon... Any of them, more than
worthy of a bow." Taa raised his fat hand in a wave when the group in the box
realized that they were being observed.
"Then the gesture must have been solely for Senator Palpatine," Toora
remarked meaningfully. "From what I hear, our delegate from Naboo has the
Supreme Chancellor's ear." Taa turned to Palpatine. "Is that so, Senator?"
Palpatine smiled lightly. "Not in the man ner you imagine, I can assure you.
The Supreme Chancellor met with me to solicit my opinion as to how taxation
might be received by the outlying systems.
We spoke of little else. In any event, Valorum scarcely needs my support
to see the proposal through. He is not as ineffectual as many seem to think."
"Nonsense," Taa said. "It will come down to partisanship- - a contest between
the factions of Bail Antilles, and those who allow Ainlee Teem to speak for
them. As ever, the Core worlds will stand with Valorum; the near colonies,
against." "He's going to polarize the senate further," Edcel Bar Gane opined
in a sibilant voice.
Representing the world of Roona, Bar Gane had a bulbous head and eyes
that narrowed and slanted upward at their outer corners.
Toora absorbed the remark without comment. Once more, she eyed Palpatine.
"I'm curious, Senator.
Just what did you tell Valorum, with regard to the impact of taxation on
the outer systems?" "Activate the balcony's noise cancellation feature, and I
might be inclined to tell you," Palpatine said.
"Oh, do it, Taa," Toora enthused. "I so love intrigue." Taa flipped a
switch on the balcony railing, activating a containment field that effectively
sealed the box from audio surveillance. But Palpatine didn't speak until Sate
Pestage--a trim human with pointed features and thinning black hair--had
double-checked that the field was indeed functioning.
Pestage's actions impressed Argente. "Is everyone on Naboo as careful as
