Star Wars - Hand of Thrawn 2 - Vision of the Future

by Timothy Zahn

  "I expect so," Control said as the doors slid open. "Yesthis should be it."

  "So which way?" one of the other pirates demanded.

  Easing her head to the side, Karoly lined up one eye with the crack still showing between the back doors. The pirates were half in and half out of the car now, Zothip standing in a narrow passageway outside with his fists set on his hips, all of them looking back and forth both directions down a narrow corridor.

  "I don't know," Control said, looking around once himself and then pointing to the left. "Let's try that way first."

  "Okay," Zothip said. "Grinner, lock down the carwe don't want anyone coming up behind us."

  "Right," Grinner said, doing something Karoly couldn't see with the control board. "Done."

  The pirates disappeared out of sight to the left. Karoly gave them a five-count; then, finding a toehold on the doorframe lip, she set her climbing claws into the crack between the doors and pried them open.

  She stepped into the car; and she was just starting to close the doors again when she heard the sound of footsteps in the corridor outside.

  The pirates were coming back.

  There was no time for anything but instinctive reaction. Putting her full strength into the effort, she pulled the doors to within a couple of centimeters of being closed. They hung up there, but there was no time for her to try to free them. Crossing the car in two quick strides, she squeezed herself as invisibly as she could into the front left-hand corner.

  Just in time. Even as she pressed her climbing claws firmly against the car walls to avoid the telltale clink of metal on metal should they accidentally brush together, the footsteps reached her.

  "I don't see what the big deal is that he's got company," Zothip was muttering as the first puff of air from their passage wafted in through the car opening. "Anyway, I only heard two voices in there."

  "That doesn't mean there aren't more," Control said patiently as the group passed the open door and continued down the passageway. "Besides, if we're seen by the wrong people this arrangement of ours goes straight down."

  "So what?" Zothip growled, his voice fading as they all continued down the corridor. "Canceling the arrangement and Disrais the whole idea, isn't it?"

  "We ought to at least talk first," Control said. "We might be able to recast the deal."

  "Hey, Grinner, you sure know your way around a control panel," another voice put in from the rear of the pack as the group continued on its way. "Did you know that when you locked the car down you popped the back doors?"

  Karoly held her breath; but Grinner's response was a brief obscenity and an uninterrupted tread down the corridor. She gave them another five-count; then, pulling off the climbing claws and putting them away, she drew her blaster and headed out after them.

  She wasn't more than a few steps into the corridor when a subtle wave of air in her face warned her that somewhere ahead a door had opened. She picked up her pace a bit, and came around a slight curve in the passageway just in time to see a rectangle of muted light close down to a sliver as the pirates closed a door down to a crack. Hurrying silently forward, she stopped at the door and eased her ear against the crack.

  "Fancy place," she heard one of the pirates say, his tone a mixture of contempt and envy. "Look at thisRamordian silk sheets and everything."

  "Maybe he'll give you a set for your bunk," Zothip growled. "Where's theoh, there it is."

  There was the soft sound of a chair being pulled back across a thick carpet. Karoly moved her eye around the crack, trying to see what was going on. But from her angle all she could see was a small section of an elaborate wall hanging. "What are you going to do?" Control asked.

  "Put in a call to his office," Zothip grunted. "Whoever he's got in there, I figure he can tell them to wait."

  * * * "I'm sorry, Admiral," Major Tierce said, his fingertips rubbing nervously at the sides of his pant legs. "But with all due respect, I really don't know what you're talking about. I don't think I've ever been to Yaga Minor. If I have, it would have been as part of a training cruise when I was a cadet. Certainly notwhat did you say; six weeks ago?"

  "About that," Pellaeon said, watching Tierce's face closely and wishing mightily that he had enough evidence on him to order a full verity analysis. The man was lying through his teeththat much Pellaeon was sure of. But until he could positively identify Tierce as the man who'd sliced into the Yaga Minor computer system, there was nothing else he could do.

  Or until that New Republic slicer Ghent found evidence of Tierce's tampering. That was a wild card neither Tierce nor Disra knew about.

  Behind Pellaeon, the double doors swung open. "I apologize for the delay, Admiral," Disra said, striding past Commander Dreyf and around the side of the ivrooy desk. "That will be all, Major," he added curtly to Tierce.

  "Yes, Your Excellency," Tierce said. For the briefest instant their eyes met, and Pellaeon thought he saw Disra give his aide a microscopic nod. Then, moving with the air of a man trying to run from a group of besiioths while still keeping some shreds of dignity, the major crossed the office and escaped.

  "I trust Major Tierce was congenial company for you," Disra commented.

  "Quite congenial," Pellaeon assured him, studying that twisted face closely. Not so much a face as a mask, he thought, built to conceal the mind behind it.

  And he knew what was in that mind. The trouble was, he couldn't prove it. Not yet. But let him have one slip on Disra's partjust one

  "Now, where were we?" Disra asked briskly, leaning back in his chair. The short break had definitely done his confidence a mountain of good. "Oh, yesthose unfounded and slanderous things other people have been saying about me. It's occurred to me, Admiral"

  He broke off as the call signal sounded from his desktop comm. Scowling, he leaned forward again and jabbed the switch. "Yes?" he barked. "What is it?"

  He stiffened, his eyes widening momentarily, his jaw dropping a fraction of a centimeter. His eyes darted to Pellaeon, back to the comm display. "Yes, I'm busy," he growled. "And I don't appreciate being interrupted this way for"

  Abruptly he stopped. Pellaeon strained his ears, but the speaker was focused toward Disra and he could hear nothing from his position on the opposite side of the desk.

  And then Disra's eyes widened again... and Pellaeon saw something he had never seen before. Something he had never expected to see.

  Moff Disra, liar, conniver, and probable traitor, went white.

  Dreyf saw it, too. "Your Excellency?" he asked, standing up and starting around the side of the desk.

  The moment of shock passed, and Disra's expression of stunned disbelief suddenly changed to that of a crazed rancor. "Back!" he snarled at Dreyf, his hand slashing at him as if trying to ward away a dangerous animal. "I'm all right. Just stay back."

  Dreyf stopped, throwing a confused look at Pellaeon. "Is anything the matter, Your Excellency?" Pellaeon asked.

  "Everything's fine, Admiral," Disra said, the words coming out like they'd been sent through a grain-grinder. His eyes, Pellaeon noted, were still fixed on the comm display. "If you'll excuse me again, there's another matter I need to attend to right away."

  He stood up, keying off the comm with a vicious stab of his finger. "I'll be right back," he growled, heading at a not-quite run toward the double doors.

  "Of course," Pellaeon called after him. "Take whatever time you need."

  The last word was cut off by the boom as the doors closed behind him. "Well, that was interesting," Dreyf commented, looking at the doors and then back at Pellaeon. "Another trick to buy himself some breathing space?"

  "I don't think either of these interruptions has been an act," Pellaeon said, frowning thoughtfully at the Moff's desk. Historically, the majority of people who were able to afford culture-grown ivrooy furniture were wealthy politicians, industrialists, and fringe crimelords. All of whom always had things to hide... "No, something's going on out there. Something important."

  "Mm,
" Dreyf murmured. "Shall I wander down the hall and see if I can find out what it is?"

  "Maybe later," Pellaeon said. "In the meantime, it seems we've been left alone. In Disra's office."

  Dreyf lifted his eyebrows in understanding. "Yes, we have, haven't we," he agreed, looking around the office. His gaze fell on the desk... "Of course, it's a little dubious legally," he reminded his superior, throwing a sideways glance at the two troopers guarding the door. "We haven't got a search order, and Disra hasn't been officially charged with anything."

  "I'll take the responsibility," Pellaeon said. "Go ahead and see what you can find."

  "Yes, sir," Dreyf said, giving him a tight smile as he circled around to the other side of the desk. "It'll be a pleasure."

  * * * Tierce was standing near the door as Disra burst into the situation room. "We've got an echo," the former Guardsman murmured, a note of malicious satisfaction in his voice. "Once we triangulate in"

  "Zothip's here," Disra cut him off. "He's in my quarters."

  Tierce's smile vanished. "How?"

  "How in blazes should I know?" Disra shot back. "But he's there. I recognized the furnishings when he called me in my office."

  Tierce threw a look at the consoles, at Flim holding position again behind the lieutenant. "This just gets better and better," he said darkly. "Did Pellaeon hear any of it?"

  "I don't think so," Disra said. "That slinker of hisDreyfstarted to come around the desk, but I don't think he could hear or see anything, either."

  Tierce hissed between his teeth. "We've got to get rid of him."

  "Brilliant tactical thinking," Disra growled. "You have any suggestions as to how? He didn't come alone, you know."

  Tierce looked over at the consoles again. "I can't just walk out of here," he said. "Solo and Calrissian are slippery. Until Security actually has them in their sights"

  "We can't just leave Zothip resting his feet in there, either," Disra cut him off. "Don't you understand? He's in my quarters. That means he has clear passage to my office. Where Admiral Pellaeon is."

  Tierce looked sharply at him. "You left Pellaeon alone?"

  "Of course he's alone," Disra snapped. "What was I supposed to do, tell the outer door guards to go in and watch him?"

  "That wouldn't have been such a bad idea," Tierce retorted. He held up a hand. "All right, all right, let's take this in order. Pellaeon... I suppose he'll keep. Solo and Calrissian"

  "We've got a second biocomm frequency echo, Admiral," one of the troopers reported, looking up at Flim. "Security reports ready to move in as soon as we have a solid fix on the location."

  "Thank you," Thrawn said, turning those glowing eyes toward the conversation by the door. "Continue the operation. Is there a problem, Your Excellency?"

  "A small problem only, Admiral Thrawn," Tierce spoke up before Disra could answer. "But it may require a few minutes of your attention."

  "Certainly," Flim said easily.

  "What are you doing?" Disra hissed as the con man crossed the room toward them. "You aren't suggesting?"

  "There are only two ways to deal with someone like Zothip," Tierce said, his voice cold. "Kill him, or scare him." He nodded toward Flim. "Can you think of anything that could possibly scare him more than a Grand Admiral?"

  Flim had reached them in time to hear the last part. "Who are we trying to scare?" he asked.

  "Captain Zothip," Disra said. "He's in my quarters."

  Flim's eyes widened, just noticeably. He looked at Tierce"You'll be fine," the Guardsman soothed him. "Zothip's in this for the profit, and you're our guarantee there will be profit. He's not going to risk hurting you."

  "Unless he's here for revenge," Flim pointed out uneasily. "For the job Pellaeon did on him out at Pesitiin, remember?"

  "He'll forget all about that the minute he sees you," Tierce said impatiently. "At any rate, I'll be there with you. Whoever he's got in there, I can handle them. You'll be fine."

  "What about Solo?" Flim persisted, glancing back to the consoles. "What if they lose him again?"

  "How?" Tierce countered. "We've picked up two echoeswe know what part of the city they're in. They'll have them in restraints by the time we get back. Now let's go."

  Flim grimaced, but nodded. "Continue the operation, Lieutenant," he ordered, half turning, his calm Thrawn voice betraying none of his obvious nervousness. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

  Tierce gestured toward the door, and together the three of them headed out. "I don't know," Flim muttered, just loud enough for Disra to hear. "I don't think I'm going to like this at all."

  * * * Their first warning was a sudden, subtle jerking motion from Lobot. "What is it?" Lando asked, peering at the other.

  "What is what?" Han asked from Lobot's other side.

  "He seemed to hesitate right there," Lando said, pulling back the floppy-brimmed hat that had taken over the job of camouflaging Lobot's head implant and studying the tiny indicator lights there. The pattern wasn't the same one that had been showing the last time he looked.

  "Maybe he just stumbled," Han said impatiently, looking around the crowds. "Come on, we've got to keep moving."

  "Hold on a minute," Lando insisted, widening his examination to the suddenly introspective expression on Lobot's face. He knew the other far better than Han did, and it was clear to him that both the jerking movement and the other's strange look were indications that something odd was going on. Ignoring it would be just begging for trouble.

  "Lando"

  "Just a minute," Lando cut him off. Abruptly, Lobot jerked a second time, the indicator lights again changing their pattern. They held the new array a moment, then changed back

  And with a sudden hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach, Lando realized what had just happened. "They're doing a comm echo search," he told Han. "Keyed to Verpine biocomm frequencies."

  "Terrific," Han said, catching Lobot's arm to steady him and frowning under the brim at the implant. "They have the right frequency yet?"

  "Doesn't look like it," Lando said, looking around for inspiration. They were still a half hour away from the spaceport if they stayed on foot. A landspeeder could get them there faster, but that would mean either hiring or stealing one. Each option carried its own set of risks.

  His eyes fell on a large, glistening sign over one of the shops just down the street. A sign bragging in large print about hundreds of droids in stock, the best prices in the Empire, and everything on sale for one day only...

  "Come on," he said, taking Lobot's other arm and pulling him toward the droid shop. "In here. I've got an idea."

  They made it inside before the Imperials' frequency search hit the right one again. "What now?" Han muttered, looking around the wall-to-wall crowd of bargain-hunters.

  "Over there," Lando told him, shouldering his way toward an overhead sign marking the astromech droid section. "We need about a dozen R2 or R8 models."

  "No problem," Han assured him, craning his neck to look over the mass of shoppers. "I see at least twenty of them. I hope you remember what our cash supply is like."

  "We're not going to buy them," Lando said. "All we're going to do is talk to them."

  They pushed their way through the crowd and into the astromech droid section, which wasnot surprisinglyless densely populated than the servant and chef droid areas seemed to be. "Good afternoon, worthy citizens," a silver-colored protocol droid said, stepping up to them. "I am C-5MO, human-cyborg relations. May I assist you in your selection?"

  "Yes, thank you," Lando said. "We're looking for a droid that can serve as a long-range comm interface on certain very select frequencies."

  "I see, sir," the droid said, half turning to gesture toward the lines of shiny rounded cylinders behind him. "May I suggest something from either the R2 or R8 line. Both lines come with full-frequency comm systems as standard equipment."

  "Sounds good," Lando said, stepping toward the line of R8s. "Do you mind if I give them a little test?"

  "O
f course not, sir," the protocol droid said. "Feel free to administer any test you choose."

  "Thank you." Lando gestured to the first R8. "Youfirst in lineI'd like you to transmit a multitonal signal on the following frequency." He rattled off the number. "Next one I'd like you to do different tones on a different frequency." He supplied the number.

  "Just a moment, sir," the protocol droid interrupted, sounding distressed. "I'm afraid you can't simply transmit unauthorized comm signals in the middle of the city"

  One of the R8s twittered a short message. "Oh," the protocol droid said, somewhat taken aback. "You're certain neither frequency is used here? By anyone?"

  The R8 gave an affirmative warble. "I see," the droid said. "My apologies, sir. Please continue."

  Lando continued down the line, giving each droid one of the major Verpine biocomm frequencies to transmit on. "All right," he said when he had finished, turning back to the C-5MO. "Excellent. Now, if you'll keep them transmitting, I'll go out to my landspeeder and make sure they're holding the frequencies properly."

  "You wish to leave them transmitting?" the droid asked, starting to sound distressed again. "But, sir"

  "You can't expect us to buy such a large order just on your word that they're transmitting correctly, can you?" Han put in. "Don't worryone of our people will still be here." He pointed across the way at a man in a dark green coat examining the line of servant droids.

  "He'll stay here until we get this checked out and get back to you," Lando added. "You do extend corporate credit for orders of twenty or more, don't you?"

  "Certainly, sir," the droid said, brightening considerably. "You'll simply need to show your corporate authorization when you place your order."

  "Good," Lando said, lifting his eyebrows at Han. The other took the hint, easing Lobot toward the nearest exit sign. "We'll be back in a few minutes."

  Two minutes later, they were out on the street again. "Nice touch, that bit about leaving someone behind," Lando commented to Han. "Should buy us a few more minutes before they start asking themselves awkward questions."