by James Luceno
faces with fatty foods and talking with their mouths full. Not far from where
Maul was seated, the Rodian and the two Twileks he had identified the previous
evening as agents of InterGalactic Ore were gathered around a card table.
Shortly the three were joined by a dark-haired human female, who placed a stack
of company credits on the table and joined the sabacc game in progress. Maul
recognized the piece of cuff jewelry that adorned the womans left ear as a
receiver.
He waited to act until the four of them were engaged in monitoring the security
agents conversation. Then, with a slight motion of his hand, he Force-summoned
the listening device to peel itself from the wall above the booth, zip into the
small room, and alight at the center of the card table.
The Rodian sat back, startled, clearly failing to recognize the artificial bug
as their own device. A new player joins the game.
One of the Twileks raised his open hand to shoulder level. Not for long.
The Twileks long-nailed hand was halfway toward smashing the flitter when the
human female grabbed hold of his wrist and managed to deflect the downward
strike.
Hold on, she whispered urgently. I heard your voice.
Thats because I said something, the Twilek said.
In my earpiece, the woman said, gesturing discreetly. And now Im hearing my
voice.
Im hearing your voice, the Rodian said, confused.
What in the name of . . . .
The Twilek allowed his voice to trail off, and all four of the agents sat back
in their stiff wooden chairs, gazing in astonishment at the listening device.
Its ours, the woman said finally.
The Rodian glanced at her. Whats it doing here?
Maul called on the Force to move the bug.
Its crawling around, is what its doing, one of the Twileks said, with a
measure of distress. He glanced over his shoulder at the preoccupied security
men, then at his comrades.
Maul activated the remote control he had tuned to the frequency of the insect
transmitter.
This comes straight from the Toom clan, the bug sent to the earpieces and
dermal audio patches worn by the conspirators, all of whom traded wide-eyed
looks.
Heres the long and short of it. Arrant has decided to move against
InterGalactic Ore shipments. No petitioning the senate. Hes letting loose a
shooting war. That much has already been decided.
Absorbed in what she was hearing, the woman used her right forefinger to tilt
the ear cuff for clearer reception.
The Toom clan has a way of settling thisa cure for the disease. InterGal can
level the playing field by employing us to strike at Eriadu. We of the Toom clan
wish to see LL brought down. Someone with real foresight could build a better
organization from the dregs.
Weve been able to learn the hyperspace route Lommite Limiteds ships are going
to take to Eriadu, and the precise reentry coordinates. Theyll arrive by way of
Rimma 18, and are scheduled to decant from hyperspace at 1300 hours, Eriadu
local time.
Weve been in the trenches. This is our livelihood. We can intervene and
execute the strike. The Tooms have the means to get the job done. No one will
suspect us. We have no scruples about what happens.
To team up to accomplish this, be willing to spend the credits necessary.
Contact us.
Maul had spent all morning adulterating the recording he had made during the
meeting at Bruits dwelling, and modifying the resequenced phrases to sound as
if they had been uttered by a single individual. The result appeared to be
having the desired effect. The four agents were continuing to stare at the bug
they themselves had installed. The womans mouth was slightly ajar, and the
Twileks head-tails were twitching.
Maul was pleased to hear the Rodian say, This has to go directly to the topand
I mean now.
The Toom clan had a motto Pay us enough and well make worlds collide.
They had started out as legitimate rescue workers and salvagers, using a
powerful Interdictor ship to retrieve ships stranded in hyperspace. By mimicking
the effects of a mass shadow, the Interdictor had the ability to pull endangered
ships back into realspace. While the rewards for such work were substantial,
they were never substantial enough to satisfy the desires of the clan, and over
the course of several years, the group had launched a second career as pirates,
employing their Interdictor against passenger and supply ships, or hiring
themselves out to criminal organizations to interfere with shipments of spice
and other proscribed goods.
However, unlike the Hutts and Black Sun, both of which could usually be relied
upon to honor the terms of any agreement, the Toom clan was motivated solely by
profit. A small outfit, they couldnt afford the luxury of turning down jobs out
of respect for some hazy criminal ethica stance that had made them outcasts
even among their own kind.
Headquartered in an underground base deep in Dorvallas unpopulated northern
wastes, the clan received routine payoffs from both Lommite Limited and
InterGalactic Ore, to ensure the safety of their shuttles and ore barges. The
Tooms used much of the funds to bribe the commanders of Dorvallas volunteer
space corps to ensure the clans own safetywith the understanding that the clan
would refrain from operating within the Videnda sector.
Because Eriadu was outside the sectorand notwithstanding the fact that they
were already receiving payoffs from InterGalacticthe clan had accepted Lommite
Limiteds generous offer of Republic credits to perform a bit of sabotage work.
InterGalactic would simply have to understand that the nature of their
arrangement with the Toom clan had changed. More important, the contract with LL
didnt preclude the possibility of the clans entering into a similar contract
with InterGalas certainly might be the case after the Eriadu operation. In
fact, the clan had every intention of contacting InterGal to suggest as much.
No one in the clan had expected InterGalactic to contact them before Eriadu.
A leather-faced Weequay, Nort Toom himself accepted the holotransmission from
CabaZan, head of security for InterGalactic Ore. The clan was mostly made up of
far-from-home Weequay and Nikto humanoids, but Aqualish, Abyssin, Barabels, and
Gamorreans also numbered among the mix.
I want to discuss the most recent offer you tendered, CabaZans holopresence
began. He was a near-human Falleen, burly and green complexioned.
Our most recent offer, Nort Toom said carefully.
About destroying Lommite Limiteds ships at Eriadu.
Tooms deep-set eyes darted between the holoprojector and one of his Weequay
confederates, who was standing nearby. Oh, that offer. We have so many
operations in the works, its sometimes hard to keep track.
Im glad to hear that business is good, CabaZan said disingenuously.
Ive a feeling its about to get even better.
The Falleen came directly to the point. Were willing to pay one hundred
thousand Republic credits.
Toom tried to keep from celebrating. The offer was twice what Patch Bruit had
pai
d. Youll have to go to two hundred thousand.
CabaZan shook his hairless head. We can go as high as one fiftyif you can
guarantee results.
Done, Toom said. When we see that the credits have been transferred, well
make the necessary arrangements.
CabaZan looked dubious. Youre certain about the reentry coordinates for LLs
ships, and the time of their decanting at Eriadu?
Maybe we should go over that one more time, Toom said.
You said Rimma 18, at 1300 Eriadu localunless something has changed.
Only for the better, Toom said reassuringly. Only for the better.
And youll make it look like an accident.
Thats probably the best way of handling it, dont you think?
We dont want InterGalactic implicated.
Well make certain.
Toom deactivated the holoprojector and sat back, clamping his huge hands behind
his head.
Do you think they know about LLs hiring us? his confederate asked in obvious
incredulity.
It didnt sound that way to me.
InterGalactic is offering three times as much as Lommite. Are we going to
return Bruits money?
Toom sat forward with determination. I dont see any reason for that. We just
have to make sure we can execute both contracts. He grinned broadly. I have to
admit that this appeals to my sense of unfair play.
You mean
Exactly. We sabotage everyones ships.
Eriadu was an up-and-coming world in the outlying star systems. Situated close
to the intersection of the Rimma Trade Route and the Hydian Way, Eriadu
demonstrated a fierce devotion to industry, in the hope of achieving its goal of
becoming the most important planet in the sector. To that end Eriadu had even
developed a small shipbuilding enterprise, owned and operated by distant cousins
of Supreme Chancellor Valorum, who chaired the Galactic Senate on Coruscant.
Eriadus orbital facilities paled in comparison to similar ones at Corellia and
Kuat, but among the smaller shipyards, Eriadus were second only to those at
Sluis Van, rimward and just off the principal trade routes.
Eriadus lieutenant governor had done much to facilitate the burgeoning
partnership between Eriadu and Dorvalla, emphasizing the senselessness of
Eriadus importing lommite from the Inner Rim when Dorvalla was practically a
celestial neighbor. The quantities of ore required by Eriadu Manufacturing and
Valorum Shipping were such that neither LL nor InterGal could have filled the
orders on their own, but Lieutenant Governor Tarkin saw no dilemma in that. He
insisted that he hadnt set things up as a contest, but there was no denying
that it was anything but. Tarkin was even on record as saying that the company
awarded the lucrative contract would probably be able to effect a financial
takeover of the loser.
Tarkin had arranged for one of Eriadus orbital habitats to host a ceremony to
endorse the potential partnership, with all the cardinal players present Jurnel
Arrant and his counterpart at InterGalactic, the executive officers of Eriadu
Manufacturing and Valorum Shipping, a plethora of business personnel who stood
to gain from the new partnership, and, of course, Tarkin himself, representing
Eriadus political interests.
Sporting the finest in robes and tunics, everyone was gathered on the esplanade
level of the orbital facility, awaiting the arrival of the ore barges LL and
InterGal had dispatched. The separate flotillas were scheduled to arrive within
an hour of each other, local time.
Im certain that this will be an auspicious day for all of us, the lieutenant
governor was telling Arrant and the head of Eriadu Manufacturing. Tarkin was a
slight man, with a quick mind and an even quicker temper. He stood as rigidly as
a military commander, and his blue eyes held neither humor nor empathy.
Tell me, Arrant, the manufacturing executive said, do you foresee a time when
Lommite Limited, on its own, could supply enough ore to meet the demands were
projecting for the near future?
Of course, Arrant answered confidently. Its simply a matter of expanding our
operations. He turned and tugged Patch Bruit into the conversation. Bruit,
here, is our field supervisor, among other things. He has just notified me of a
rich find, not a hundred kilometers from our present headquarters.
Bruit nodded. Our survey teams he started to say, when one of LLs security
agents cut him off.
Chief, Im sorry to bust in, but we need to talk in private.
Arrant watched worriedly as Bruit allowed himself to be led away.
Whats going on? Bruit demanded when he and the security man were just out of
earshot.
Something has yanked the barges out of hyperspace short of their reentry
coordinates. We dont know the cause. It might be a problem with the hyperspace
generators, or maybe an uncharted mass shadow.
Bruit heard people gasp behind him. When he turned, everyones attention was
fixed on the huge monitor screens that displayed views of the orbital shipyards.
Some distance from the shipyards, and way off course, several lackluster space
barges were reverting to realspace.
Bruit, are those our vessels? Arrant asked in mounting concern.
Yes, but there has to be a good reason for their decanting early.
This is most unexpected, Tarkin remarked. Most unexpected.
The well-bedecked crowd gasped again. Bruit watched in shock as a second group
of ships began to emerge from hyperspace.
InterGalactic, his security man said in disbelief.
Theyre going to collide! someone said.
Bruit! Arrant screamed, as the color drained from his face. Do something!
What Bruit did was look away.
The screams and cries, the groans and sobs, the strobes of explosive light
flashing across the polished floor of the habitats esplanade deck told him
everything he needed to know. LLs and InterGals barges had been manipulated
into mass collisions. Without looking, Bruit could see the lommite ore streaming
from fractured hulls, turning local space as white as the molten anger that
seethed behind Bruits tightly shut eyelids.
The Toom clan, he barked to his security man. Theyve double-crossed us.
Someone collided with Bruit from behind. It was Jurnel Arrant, backing away from
the display screens in numb horror.
Were ruined, he mumbled. Were ruined.
Bruit cleared his head with a shake and clamped his hands on the shoulders of
the security man. Send a message to CabaZan at InterGalactic, he ordered.
Tell him that we need to meet as soon as possible.
Lovingly crafted, the listening device was a perfect facsimile of a fire
flitter. It sat between Bruit and CabaZan on a low table in Bruits living
room, singing its song
Heres the long and short of it. Arrant has decided to move against
InterGalactic Ore shipments. No petitioning the senate. Hes letting loose a
shooting war. That much has already been decided . . . .
CabaZan ran a hand over his bald pate. Strange. It almost sounds like your
voice.
Bruit squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them and looked the Falleen in the
eye. Thats because underneath the warping, it is my voice. I spoke those
wordsmost of them anywayright in this room.
CabaZans forehead wrinkled. I dont understand.
I was briefing my men about the plan for InterGals ships at Eriadu. Someone
recorded the conversation.
One of your men?
Bruit shook his head in dismay. I dont know.
One of the Toom clan, then.
Bruit took his lower lip between his teeth. Then why the need to warp the
recording, and put on a song-and-dance show for your people in the cantina?
Besides, theres no way the Tooms could have gained access to LLs database and
gotten the reentry coordinates for our ships. Theyre not that clever. It has to
have been one of your men.
Theyre not that clever, CabaZan said. Or that industrious. We wouldnt have
known anything about your plans if it wasnt for the bug.
Bruit silenced the facsimile flitter and worked his jaw in vexation. Ill
figure out who it was later on. After I deal with the Toom clan.
CabaZan narrowed his eyes. They played us both for fools, Bruit. If youre
implying vengeance, I want some of the action.
Secreted beneath the stilted dwelling, Darth Maul smiled to himself, dropped to
the ground, and hurried into the darkness.
Maul never doubted that the Toom clan would enter into contracts with both
mining companies. Nor did he think that the clan would fail to deliver on its
promise to sabotage the ships. Thus he had had no need to go to Eriadu to
witness the fatal collisions. Instead he had passed the time watching members of
the Toom clan shut down and abandon the base on Dorvalla. Surmising correctly
that their betrayal would unite LL and InterGal against themeven brieflythe
mercenaries had decided to abscond while they could.
Maul had trailed them to Riome, a small, ice-covered world deeper in the
Dorvalla system, where the clan already had established a secret base.
A more astute group of outlaws might have elected to put as much distance as
possible between themselves and Dorvalla. But perhaps the Toom clan was
convinced that even the combined security forces of Lommite Limited and
InterGalactic Ore wouldnt be a match for them. Whichever, Mauls next task was
to make certain that Bruit learned the location of the Riome sanctuary by
planting evidence at the site of the clans former base.