by James Luceno
getting close, and the closer we get, the more potentially embarrassing this
could be for the Supreme Chancellor." "I'd appreciate being kept fully
informed." Taa smiled. "We'll make no announcement without consulting you."
Palpatine and Taa turned to watch Valorum waving to the crowd, which responded
with a second round of gracious applause.
"This is the Supreme Chancellor's moment," Palpatine said. "We shouldn't
spoil it with gossip." Taa was chagrined. "Please accept my apologies,
Senator. It was never my intention to spoil the moment." He glanced to his
left.
"I'll leave that to the Trade Federation." Viceroy Nute Gunray felt as if
everyone's eyes were on him, despite the fact that it was Valorum who had the
hall's undivided attention.
Gunray's own eyes, however, were on the battle droid that had been
delivered into his care only moments before he and the members of the
directorate had left their temporary quarters for the summit.
Indistinguishable from the dozen other droids providing pro tection for
the directorate--save for a blush of yellow markings- - the new addition stood
just to Gunray's right, at the leading edge of the detachment on that side of
the Trade Federation rostrum.
Gunray had barely had time to settle into his quarters on Eriadu when the
Sith Lord, faithful to his word, had appeared, by means of the holoprojector
Sidious had sent him months earlier. Although on this occasion the image was
so distinct, so free of the usual noise and static, that Gunray might have
almost believed that Sidious was on Eriadu or some neighboring world, rather
than concealed in whatever manner of fathomless den from which he worked his
dark magic.
Some strangers will be coming to give you an additional droid, Sidious
had said, a battle droid. You are not to question them, nor the purpose of the
droid itself. You will simply instruct the droid to join the others you
brought to Eriadu. It will respond to your commands.
Gunray had been feverish with questions, but he had managed to restrain
himself when the strangers arrived at his quarters with the boxed battle
droid. He hadn't even informed Lott Dod of the communication, even when the
senator--alone among the Trade Federation delegation--had casually remarked
that he could have sworn that they had arrived on Eriadu with only twelve
droids.
The shipping manifest would bear that out, of course. But considering
that the Trade Federation enjoyed diplomatic status, it was improbable that
Eriadu customs would raise a concern when the delegation returned to the
spaceport with the extra droid in tow.
It was the second of the Sith Lord's directives that continued to prey on
Gunray's thoughts, in any case, and was the cause of his present disquiet.
Even now he saw that the ensemble of musicians were assembling on the
floor, in preparation of trumpeting the fanfares that would inaugurate the
summit.
It was only a matter of minutes.
Gunray made note of where Lott Dod was seated.
Discreetly, he mopped away some of the perspiration that beaded his face,
and he tried to calm himself.
Mostly, however, he counted down the minutes in silence.
From the padded seat of a repulsorlift chair Boiny had helped him
commandeer from an oblivious veteran of the Stark Hyperspace Conflict, Cohl
gazed across the summit hall to where the Trade Federation delegation had an
area to itself, opposite Supreme Chancellor Valorum and the Coruscant bunch.
His vision was unfocused and narrowed to a tunnel, and his body was racked
with pain, despite the injections Boiny had been administering with increasing
frequency.
Cohl's seeming and actual nurse, the Rodian stood behind him, training a
small pair of electrobinoculars on the Trade Federation's complement of
thirteen droids.
"Only one of them is missing a restraining bolt," Boiny said, close to
Cohl's left ear. "The droid with the yellow blazes on its head and midsection.
Just to the Neimoidian's right, at the head of the line on that side of the
rostrum." Cohl put the electrobinoculars to his eyes.
"I've got him," he said weakly. Then he began to scan the immense hall
with the glasses. "Havac's somewhere in here, probably with a remote control
in hand." Boiny glanced around. "It's possible that the droid has been
programmed to respond to a certain event, or at a specific time. But even if
Havac has a remote, it won't necessarily have to operate by line of sight. He
could be anywhere in the hall, or outside it." Cohl shook his head. "Havac's
the type who needs to watch this happen. He planned it. It's his show."
Boiny's gaze continued to wander over the tiers of seats. "He can't be in the
delegate's section.
And I doubt he plays the trumpet--was Abruptly, Cohl looked over his
shoulder at the Rodian. "What was Havac before he turned to terrorism, Boiny--
before he joined the Nebula Front?" Boiny thought about it. "Some kind of
holomaker, right?" "A documentary holomaker. A freelance media correspondent."
In concert they raised their eyes to the media booths high overhead.
Fresh from the rooftop chase, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan joined Saesee Tiin and
Adi Gallia on the floor of the hall, just inside the north entrance. Valorum
was seated to the right and above them; the Trade Federation Directorate, to
the left. In front of them, the members of the Eriadu delegation were taking
their places in the stands that had been erected in the center of the hall.
Below the stands, a group of drummers and trumpeters were tuning their
instruments.
The air was charged with excitement.
"The six we captured maintain that they've never heard of Cohl or Havac,"
Qui-Gon explained to the other Jedi, "and that they don't know anything about
an assassination attempt." "Then what were they doing on the roof, armed and
dangerous, and firing on you with a rocket launcher?" "They claim to be a band
of thieves, who thought they could take advantage of the disorder surrounding
the summit by breaking into the Seswenna Sector Bank." "Did you tell them
about the roofscape image found in the holoprojector?" Tiin asked.
"There was no point. They might have been hoping to assault the Supreme
Chancellor's hovercade from the roof, but I think they were simply there to
distract us. That's what Cohl and Havac have been doing from the start, as far
back as the incident at the Galactic Senate.
"Even if any of the six eventually admit to having been hired by Cohl,
they could continue to claim that robbery was their intent. None were carrying
documentation, so we don't even know who they are or what worlds they hail
from. Eriadu security is running their likenesses and retinal prints, but,
assuming Cohl gathered them from distant worlds, it could be weeks before any
matches are discovered." "Then we have nothing more to go on," Adi said.
"Only that the rest of Havac's assassins are somewhere in this hall."
"There have been no incidents at the entrances," Tiin said. "No one has been
arrested." "That means nothing," Qui-Gon said. "For experts l
ike Cohl and
Havac, this hall is as permeable as a Podrace finale. They would have no
trouble getting inside." Tiin compressed his thin lips. "The only thing we can
do is be prepared to defend the Supreme Chancellor." Qui-Gon glanced in
Valorum's direction.
"Will he permit us to get any closer to him?" "No," Adi said. "He gave
explicit orders that he doesn't want the proceedings disrupted--notor does he
want us by his side. He wants the Jedi to be seen as impartial in this trade
dispute." "Nevertheless, we can't stand here, waiting for something to happen,
" Tiin growled. "We should divide and look around; locate the trouble before
the trouble finds Valorum." Obi-Wan, who had been standing quietly throughout
the exchange, noticed a familiar look come into Qui-Gon's eye. It was as if
Qui-Gon's gaze was fixed on some invisible presence the living Force had
highlighted.
"What is it, Master?" he asked quietly.
"I can feel him, Padawan." "Havac?" "Cohl." The tiny, dingy booth
assigned to the Eriadu Free HoloDaily consisted of a couple of rigid chairs, a
control console of dust - covered flatscreen displays and holoprojector pads,
and a large single-pane window that looked out on the hall.
Havac stood by the window, staring down at the mostly seated crowd while
he mounted a holocam in its stand. Behind him, and armed with blasters they
had secreted in the summit hall weeks earlier, sat two of his human
confederates. One of them wore a wrist comm.
When Havac had trained the holocam on the Trade Federation's arc of
seats, he attached a scanner to the cam head. Then he aimed the device, which
resembled a directional microphone, toward the trumpeters on the floor of the
hall.
"Any word from the spotter team?" he asked over his shoulder.
"Not a chirp," the man with the comlink replied. "And Valorum has been
here for over ten minutes.
What do you think happened?" "The likely explanation is that they were
discovered." "Why do you say that?" Havac turned to face the pair. "Because I
notified the authorities about Cohl's freighter, and left the holoprojector
behind to be found." He waited for smiles of revelation, but when none
appeared, he added, "It was the only way to ensure that the authorities would
be kept occupied while we went about our business here." "Then Cohl has also
been found--or his corpse, at any rate," the one with the comlink said.
The other man looked doubtful. "Suppose, as you say, the spotters have
been found out, and they decide to cut a deal by telling what they know--
credits or no credits." Havac shrugged theatrically. "They know me as Havac,
and no "Havac" has been cleared by security to attend the summit. The credit
transfers to Cohl's hired hands can't be traced directly to us. The safe house
will be empty by the time they lead the authorities to it. We'll be long gone
from Eriadu before anyone is able to assemble all the pieces of the puzzle."
Clearly meant to restore confidence, Havac's discourse failed to have the
intended effect.
If anything, the two men looked even more skeptical than before.
"Is our shooter in place?" Havac asked impatiently.
"Out on the walkway--just waiting for the music to begin." "What do you
want us to do with him afterward?" the one with the comlink asked.
Havac considered it. "He's a misfit with a counterfeit identity badge and
a blaster, who has just fired at the delegates. You'll be a public hero if you
kill him--or at least see to it that he falls from the walkway." "No loose
ends," the same one said.
"As few as possible." Back on his alloy crutches, but still wearing a
small flag fastened to the front of his robe that identified him as a veteran
of the Stark Hyperspace Conflict, Cohl hobbled from the turbolift that had
carried him and Boiny to the hall's main pedestrian level. From here it was
possible to ascend to the perimeter walkways that accessed the media and
security booths in the upper reaches of the domed building.
They were headed for the array of lifts when a voice called out behind
them.
"Captain Cohl." Cohl didn't stop until the stranger repeated the call,
then he maneuvered himself through a resigned turn. Ten meters down the
corridor stood a tall, long-haired, and bearded Jedi, displaying a green-
bladed lightsaber.
"This just isn't our day," Boiny muttered.
Cohl heard the characteristic snap and hiss of another lightsaber and
glanced over his shoulder. The second Jedi was a clean-shaven young man,
wearing the thin braid of a Padawan.
"We've been looking forward to meeting you since Dor - valla," the older
one said.
Cohl and Boiny swapped looks of surprised dismay.
"You were the ones in the diplomatic Lancet," Cohl said.
"You led us a merry chase, Captain." Cohl snorted and shook his head.
"Well, you found us now. And you can put your glow sticks away.
We're unarmed." Qui-Gon merely pointed the lightsaber toward the floor as
he approached. "I congratulate you on surviving the destruction of the
Revenue." Cohl sagged on his crutches. "A lot of good it did me, Jedi. My
partner and I are shot to pieces." Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan regarded them through
the Force, and understood that Cohl wasn't lying. Both he and the Rodian were
seriously injured.
"How did you find out about the Dorvalla operation, anyway?" Cohl asked.
"A member of the Nebula Front," Qui-Gon said. "Now dead." "So there was
an informant. I guess Havac was right to have been secretive about this one."
"We're eager to meet Havac, as well," Obi-Wan said.
Cohl looked at him. "You'd do better to destroy the droid Havac
infiltrated into the summit." "Droid?" the Jedi said in unison.
"A battle droid," Cohl elaborated.
"It's right up there with the rest of the directorate's droids. We figure
Havac plans to have the droid kill Valorum." "That's impossible," Qui-Gon
said. "Battle droids can't act without a cue from a central control computer."
"Havac's is one of Baktoid's new and improved models," Boiny said. "A
commander. More of a freethinker. It only needs to be tasked, by voice command
or remote signal, and it's capable of swaying the droids around it." Obi-Wan's
jaw dropped slightly. "Are you saying that instead of one assassin, there are
a potential dozen?" "Thirteen, actually," Boiny replied.
"It still can't initiate an act like that on its own," Qui-Gon insisted.
"That's where Havac comes in. He's the one with the remote." Qui-Gon
stepped toward Cohl. "Where is he?" "I have some idea." "Tell me what you
know, and let me handle this.
Obi-Wan will escort you and your partner to medical attention--and into
custody." Cohl shook his head. "If you want Havac, we go together, Jedi, or
not at all." He canted his head to Boiny. "Besides, we're the only ones who
can identify him." Qui-Gon didn't even have to think about it. He glanced at
Obi-Wan. "Padawan, report back to Master Tiin and the others. Quickly." "But,
Master--was "Go, Padawan. Now." Obi-Wan showed him a tight-lipped nod and spun
on his boot heels.
Qui-Gon watched his apprentice rush off, then he deactivated his
lightsaber and put one arm under Cohl's trembling shoulder.
"Lean on me, Captain." w ith ten drummers setting the tempo, twice as
many horn players raised their long instruments to their mouths and trumpeted
the first of the three prolonged fanfares.
By then Obi-Wan had reached Tiin and the other Jedi.
"It's the droids," he began in a sally of words.
Tiin had him slow down and repeat everything he and Qui - Gon had learned
from Cohl. Then the Iktotchi turned to Adi, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Vergere, and the
rest.
"Position yourvs as close to Valorum as possible," he instructed Adi and
Vergere.
"Obi-Wan, Ki, and I will be near the Trade Federation rostrum. The rest
of you, disperse to deflect blasterfire. Be unassuming but prepared." "Master
Tiin, do you think the Trade Federation suspects what's in their midst?" Obi-
Wan asked as they set out across the floor of the hall.
"They couldn't. They are aggressive only when it comes to commerce.
However this Havac infiltrated the droid among the others, it had to have been
done without the knowledge of the directorate members." "Should we order the
delegation to remove the droids, Master?" Ki-Adi-Mundi replied. "Whoever is
watching may decide to trigger the droids into action. If that happens, it
could appear that we posed a threat, prompting the droids to respond with
blasterfire.
If there was time, we could get someone aboard the Trade Federation
freighter to shut down the central control computer." "Have you fought these
droids before, Master Tiin?" "I know only that they're not very accurate,
Padawan." Obi-Wan frowned as he ran. "With thirteen of them firing, that may
not matter." Not even a quarter of the way around the upper level corridor
that accessed the media booths, Boiny spied Havac through a small
transparisteel panel set high in the door.
Leaving Cohl to stand on his own, Qui-Gon pressed his back to the
corridor wall. "How many of them are in there?" he asked the Rodian.
"Havac and maybe two other humans--seated to the right of the door." Qui-
Gon nodded to the door release lever. "Try it." Gingerly, Boiny placed his
hand on the lever.
"Locked." He glanced at the touchpad mounted on the wall. "I can probably
slice--was "I have a quicker way," Qui-Gon interrupted.
