Diversity Alliance

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Diversity Alliance Page 14

by Kevin J. Anderson


  deadly creatures....

  In the violet illumination, Jacen spotted glinting eyes and flashing fangs.

  He swallowed hard. With his Jedi senses he detected skittering movement and the

  sudden sharp focus of predatory attention.

  "Blaster bolts!" he said as the young Jedi Knights skidded to a halt,

  wondering which direction to go next. "Maybe this wasn't such a good hiding

  place after all."

  Before he could worry further, bolts of sizzling light streaked across the

  room.

  Flashes of destructive fire spat from high-powered cannons carried by the

  assassin droids as the machines marched into the chamber where Jacen and his

  companions had hoped to hide or make their last stand.

  With a thrumming of metal and a powerful whine of servomotors, the

  murderous droids attacked. The young Jedi Knights had no place to run.

  As one, Tenel Ka, Lowbacca, and Jacen lit their lightsabers and prepared to

  fight.

  Tyko Thul stayed beside them, muttering that he wished he had thought to

  stash a few weapons outside his ship before the droids destroyed it.

  IG-88 himself clomped into the musty chamber and fixed his quarry with his

  flashing scarlet optical sensors. The chief droid swiveled his body core

  sideways, bringing up his arm and focusing its built-in laser rifle. He targeted

  on Jacen and fired.

  But Jacen reacted in a flash. Flowing with the Force, he brought up his

  lightsaber blade in the same instant that Tenel Ka reached out to protect him,

  crossing her turquoise blade with his emerald one.

  IG-88's deadly bolt struck both lightsabers and ricocheted off, splashing

  its fire into one of the darkened side tunnels.

  A roar of pain exploded from the shadows, and seconds later a mass of

  jointed legs and flashing eyes and smashing jaws clattered out with a bellow, as

  if sounding a call for other monsters to join it. The huge combat arachnid

  launched itself into the fray while other spider beasts stormed out of the

  surrounding tunnels, disturbed by the battle and hungry for fresh prey.

  "Oh dear, not again!" Em Teedee shrilled.

  "I detest those cream."

  "This was definitely not a good idea," Uncle Tyko Said. His face had turned

  a pale gray, and he seemed much more concerned about the arachnids than the

  deadly droids.

  "I suggest we discuss the merits of our escape plans aftch for Raynor

  Thul's father continues, the young Jedi Knights turn for help to a most unusual-

  -and dangerous--source: the reprogrammed assassin droid IG-88. They think they

  can keep him under control. But can one of the most feared bounty hunters in the

  galaxy be trusted?

  Inside the bustling, hollow asteroid of Borgo Prime, signs along the

  walkway fluoresced and flickered, leading Zekk back to Shanko's Hive. The dark-

  haired young man had received his first bounty assignment inside that popular

  cantina--and he had come back empty-handed.

  Zekk rehearsed various ways of telling this to the blue-skinned bartender,

  Droq'l, who had hired him to find a scavenger and his cargo.

  But Fonterrat, the missing scavenger, was dead and his cargo of precious

  ronik shells destroyed. He had no idea how his employer would react to the bad

  news.

  How would Boba Fett have handled this situation?

  Zekk asked himself. Fett, one of the most respected (and feared) bounty

  hunters in the galaxy, would waste no energy on lengthy explanations or excuses.

  Fett would come straight to the point. Zekk decided he would have to do the

  same.

  Tossing his ponytail over his shoulder, Zekk stopped before the entrance to

  an enormous cone-shaped building with horizontal ridges like smooth circular

  waves up its sides. He took a brief moment to perform a Jedi relaxation

  technique, something Master Skywalker had taught him--not Brakiss of the Shadow

  Academy.

  Then, projecting all of the confidence a professional bounty hunter ought

  to feel, Zekk strode into Shanko's Hive.

  Air clouded with exotic scents and flavors enveloped him in a pale gray

  haze. Though the interior of the hive cantina had no flat edges, the contrasting

  islands of sound and silence, of light and dimness, gave the illusion of dozens

  of shadowy corners. A quick glance at the bar told Zekk that the insectoid

  proprietor Shanko had emerged from hibernation and was in no mood to humor

  fools.

  Brief, confident, professional, Zekk reminded himself.

  His steps did not falter as he walked toward the bar and tossed a credit

  chit on it. "Osskorn Stout," he said without preamble. "I have business with

  your bartender."

  Dark, foamy ale sloshed onto the counter from the flagon Shanko thunked

  down in front of him. As Zekk scooped up the tankard to take a gulp, one of

  Shanko's many glossy arms roughly swept out to mop up the spill while another

  gave an abrupt jerk, indicating an area to Zekk's right.

  Still drinking thirstily, he looked over to see Droq'l in conversation with

  a patron who stood just outside the circle of light cast by the bar's

  globelamps. Zekk nodded his thanks, and with renewed confidence he 'strode

  toward the three-armed bartender. As if he had an extra eye in the back of his

  head--which he did, Zekk now recalled--Droq'l turned just as-the young bounty

  hunter approached, tankard in hand.

  "Did you find what I sent you for?" the bartender asked, his blue face

  eager.

  "Fonterrat is dead." Zekk reached into his vest pocket and produced the

  holocube that contained the scavenger's final message.

  Droq'l watched the entire holomessage and grimaced, showing his shiny black

  teeth. "Gammalin, huh?"

  Zekk shrugged. "Fonterrat was imprisoned there when the plague hit. The

  frightened colonists destroyed his ship and burned his cargo, but the sickness

  swept through the colony. It killed every human."

  "Fonterrat wasn't human," the bartender mused, "so he starved alone in

  prison after those colonists ruined my shipment of shells." A glint of pleasure

  replaced the disappointment in his eyes. "At least it was a slow, lingering

  death."

  Zekk nodded warily.

  Droq'l sighed and spread all three hands in a gesture of resigned

  acceptance. "Just as well. I might've been tempted to terminate Fonterrat myself

  for his incompetence."

  Then, to Zekk's pleasant surprise, the bartender paid him in full.

  "Glad to see a young trainee with some presence of mind," he said.

  "You finished what I sent you to do, and you had the good sense to bring

  back proof of it.

  That's more than I could say for some bounty hunters two or three times

  your age."

  A thoughtful look crept over the bartender's blue-skinned face, and he

  drummed the fingers of two hands on the bartop. "Come to think of it, I may have

  another job for you, if you're interested. Got a client who's looking for a

  bounty hunter, wants someone who's resourceful and trustworthy, but unknown.

  That might just be you."

  "You seem to be a good enough judge of character," Zekk said, crossing his

  arms over his chest. "After all, you judged me correctly."

 
The bartender chuckled at his bravado. "You'll take the job, then?"

  Zekk didn't dare let his excitement show. "Of course.

  May I speak to him?" He felt a sense of exhilaration.

  He'd fully expected to come away in disgrace, without pay, after reporting

  his failure. But now, because of his own sense of honor--something he feared the

  dark side had stolen from him forever a new job had dropped right in his lap!

  The bartender grinned. "He's pretty particular, even a little skittish I

  think he'll want to talk to you himself before you're hired."

  Zekk could learn nothing for certain about his prospective employer.

  Sitting at a low table in the shadow of a staircase that spiraled up the inner

  wall of Shan-ko's Hive, Zekk stared at the... creature in front of him.

  "My name is Zekk," he offered. "I hear you need a bounty hunter."

  "You come well recommended," the creature replied. "Call me... Wary. Master

  Wary. Yes, that will do."

  Zekk shrugged in amusement. "Whatever."

  Wary's voice was masculine, but synthesized. His body and arms were

  engulfed in gray robes and furs that made it impossible even to guess the

  creature's species or probable shape. He wore a holographic mask set to

  randomize so that his features changed constantly. A reptilian tail coiled out

  from beneath the robes and furs, but this could have been part of a disguise.

  For all Zekk knew, he could be talking to a female Wookiee, a Jawa on stilts, or

  even his friend Jaina Solo.

  The thought of Jaina made him smile again, and he patted his vest pocket in

  which rested two message packets--one from Jaina and one from old Peckhum; the

  bartender had found them for Zekk in the general delivery message area behind

  the bar.

  "And who exactly do you want me to find, Master Wary?" Zekk asked, deciding

  on a direct approach.

  Wary looked around, as if to be sure no one was listening in.

  Zekk glanced unobtrusively toward the nearby tables. A Devaronian played

  Sabacc with a pair of disreputable-looking spacers; a Ranat consulted a Hutt

  information broker; a furry white Talz and a hammerheaded Ithorian drank

  colorful intoxicants and sang duets to the accompaniment of a nine-stringed

  wrist harp. No one paid any particular attention to him.

  "I want you to find a man who's been kidnapped," Wary said beneath his

  mask. "His name is Tyko Thul."

  Zekk's entire attention snapped back to the creature in front of him. "Did

  you say Tyko Thul?"

  The holomask blurred and shifted. "Yes, Tyko Thul," he repeated. "He was

  recently abducted by several assassin droids. I want you to find him."

  "Every other bounty hunter in the galaxy is out looking for Bornan Thul,"

  Zekk said. "Are you sure it's Tyko you want?"

  Wary nodded. "The two are brothers. I have reason to believe the

  disappearances are... related--just as the two men are.

  An interesting twist, Zekk thought. Finding one brother might lead to

  information about the other.

  After failing to find Fonterrat, he had intended just to strike out on his

  own, looking for clues to Bornan Thul, hoping to repair his reputation. But this

  direct commission was a much better prospect.

  "I'll take the assignment," Zekk said. "How much are' you paying?"

  Wary quoted him a generous figure. "But only if you find him."

  Zekk tried not to show his surprise. Wary stood to make a lot more credits

  than that if Zekk retrieved information that led him to Bornan Thul.

  "But that is not all there is to the task," Master Wary cautioned.

  "I also need you to send a message for me. I have other urgent business to

  attend to that prevents me from sending it myself. I will give you instructions

  on how to transmit it." He slid a hololetter packet across the table toward

  Zekk. "Do not try to listen to the message. It would mean nothing to you."

  "That's it?" Zekk accepted the packet and slid it into his vest pocket.

  "Not as simple as it would seem," Wary said. "The message is for the

  Bornaryn fleet. All the ships went into hiding shortly after Bornan Thul's

  disappearance, and they are impossible to locate."

  "How do you expect me to get the message to them?"

  Zekk asked, a little exasperated.

  "I ask only that you broadcast the message to the following locations." He

  listed several sites along major trading routes, many of which Zekk was already

  familiar with from his days with the old spacer Peckhum. "I will meet you here

  again in ten days--to learn of your progress, and to pay you if you have already

  achieved both of your goals."

  Zekk still wasn't sure why Wary would want to send a message to the

  Bornaryn fleet. Did,he hope to flush them out of hiding? To question Thul s

  employees and family members in hopes of locating him?

  Just as Zekk opened his mouth to ask, an explosion erupted at a nearby

  table. Zekk blinked to see what had happened as a cloud of white smoke billowed

  outward from where the Talz and the Ithorian had been sitting.

  Droq'l bustled up with a disgusted snort, sweeping broken and steaming

  glasses away. "I told you two not to let your drinks come into contact with each

  other," he growled in exasperation. "You should know they're chemically

  incompatible!" With a big paw, the Talz batted at a smoldering patch of its

  white fur.

  Amused, Zekk turned back to the conversation with his new employer--only to

  find Master Wary gone.

  Apparently the assignment was made and the interview had ended.

  Zekk shrugged. He had his commission, and he knew what to do. He might as

  well stay to view the new hololetters from Jaina and Peckhum.

  Calling Droq'l over, Zekk ordered another Osskorn Stout, drew one of the

  message packets from his pocket, and slid it into the reader slot on the table

  in front of him. He waited eagerly for the image of Jaina to appear--then

  blinked in disappointment. "ENCRYPTION PROPRIETARY MESSAGE UNREADABLE". Why

  would Jaina or Peckhum have sent him a message in code that no standard reader

  could decipher?

  He realized his mistake as he pulled a second hololetter from the pocket of

  his vest and then a third.

  He had accidentally tried to view the message from Master Wary.

  But how could the disguised man expect an encrypted message to get through

  to the Bornaryn fleet?

  And how would the fleet read it unless they already knew the key?

  Perhaps they did, Zekk thought. Maybe this was code that belonged to the

  Bornaryn trading Wary might be a former employee... or even Bo nan Thul himself!

  As the thought occurred to Zekk, he suddenly the truth of it. He felt it in

  his bones music of the Force that sang through all things.

  Wary's synthesized voice had held an urgency spoke of the need to find Tyko

  Thul and a tender quality when he spoke about the fleet.

  Zekk shook his head to clear it. Bornan Thul been here, right in front of

  him!

  He jammed the message packets back into his and jumped to his feet just as

  Droq'l carrying a fresh tankard of ale in his middle arm.

  "Which way?" Zekk asked, breathless.

  "You go?"

  The bartender didn't pretend he had no idea Zekk meant. He
jerked his head

  toward a small beneath the stairway in the wall of Shanko's Hive.

  Dashing out into a tiny alleyway, Zekk looked and right, but saw no sign of

  his new employer.

  His heart raced with the realization that he had been than a meter away

  from the most sought-after in the galaxy!

  Farther down the alley, Zekk was not surprised find a pile of gray rags and

  furs along with a thetic reptilian tail where Bornan Thul had his disguise.

 

 

 


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