Part 19 (1/2)
”But, Cousin... what if he says no?” Kibbick asked plaintively.
”Then you will have to call the guards and have them take him away and lock him up until I can deal with him,” Durga said. ”The guards will obey you, Kib-bick... won't they?”
”Of course they will,” Kibbick said, indignantly, though privately he wondered if 'all of them would.
”Good. That's more like it,” Durga said. ”Relnem-ber... you are a Hutt. A natural lord of the universe. Correct?”
”Of course,” Kibbick said, his voice a bit stronger this time. He drew himself up. ”I am a Hutt just as much as you are.”
Durga grimaced. ”That's the spirit,” he encouraged. ”Kibbick, now is the time to take control. If you delay, the situation will only grow worse. It's possible that Teroenza is actually planning a revolt against Besadii. Has that occurred to you?”
It hadn't. Kibbick blinked. ”A revolt? You mean... a real one? With troops, and shooting?”
”That's exactly what I mean,” Durga said. ”And in a revolt, who is the first to go?”
”The leader,” Kibbick said, his mind racing.
”Right. Very good. Now do you see why you must take control before Teroenza can make his plans? While you still have the upper hand?”
Kibbick was feeling threatened now, and he didn't like that. He realized that following Durga's advice and taking control back from the High Priest was definitely his best course. ”I'll do it,” he said, firmly. ”I'll tell him what to do, and make sure he obeys me. If he refilses to obey me, I'll have the guards take care of him.”
”Now that's the spirit!” Durga said, approvingly. ”Good! You sound like a true Besadii now! Call me and tell me as soon as the female t'landa Til are on their way home!”
”I will, Cousin]” Kibbick said, and cut the transmis-sion.
Kibbick promised himself that he'd take care of this matter right now. Before he could lose the pumped-up feeling of Hutt superiority. The Hutt lord didn't bother with his repulsor sled, but immediately undulated his way through the Administration Building of Colony One to Teroenza's office. He didn't bother activating the door signal, just barged right in.
Teroenza wag in his working sling, at his datapad. He looked up in surprise as the Hutt came undulating his way into his office.
”Kibbick!” he exclaimed. ”What is going on?”
”Lord Kibbick to you, High Priest!” Kibbick said. ”We have to talk! I just spoke with my cousin Durga, and he tells me that you have brought your female t'landa Til here in secret! Durga is most upset!”
”The female t'landa Til?” Teroenza blinked as though he hadn't the faintest notion what Kibbick was talking about. ”Where did he get that idea, Your Excellency?”
”Don't try that with me,” Kibbick said. ”They are here, and Durga knows it. He has instructed me to tell you that they must return to Nal Hutta on the next s.h.i.+p. Summon the guards and have the mates brought here to Colony One for s.h.i.+pment off 1esia. Do it now.”
Teroenza settled back into his sling, his expression thoughtful. Other than that, the High Priest didn't move.
”Did you hear me, Priest?” Kibbick was feeling al-most intoxicated with righteous anger. He drew himself up. ”Obey, or I shall summon the guards!”
Slowly, the High Priest drew himself out of the sling. Kibbick inwardly drew a breath of relief. But Teroenza made no move toward the intercom. ”Hurry up!” the Hutt lord bl.u.s.tered. ”Or I shall summon the guards to take you away, and then I shall deal with the females myselfl” ”No,” Teroenza's voice was fiat and quiet.
”No... what?” Kibbick was incredulous. No one in his life had ever refused a direct order from a Hutt overlord.
”No. I won't do it,” Teroenza said. ”I'm tired of tak-ing orders from an idiot. Farewell, Kibbick.”
”How dare you? I'll have you executed! Farewell?” Kibbick was completely befuddled. ”Are you saying you're quitting? Leaving?”
”No, I'm not leaving,” Teroenz2t said, in that quiet tone. ”You are.” His powerful hindquarters twitched, his thin, whip-like tail lashed the air, and suddenly he lowered his head and came at Kibbick with a bellow of rage.
The Hutt lord was so taken aback that he didn't even have time to dodge. Teroenza's horn slammed into his chest. The horn wasn't terribly sharp, but so power-ful was the force of the High Priest~ charge that it penetrated for nearly its full meter-long length.
The pain was agonizing! Kibbick roared in mingled terror and pain and beat at the t'landa Til with his little arms. He tried to swing his tail around to deal a crush-ing, killing blow, but the room was too confined.
Dimly, Kibbick felt the t'landa Til~ hands shove hard against the solid wall of flesh that was his ma.s.sive chest, then Teroenza~ horn, covered with Hutt blood and ichor, yanked free.
Purposefully, Teroenza began backing away.
Wheezing, choking, Kibbick tried to back up, too, but his back end jammed into the wall. He tried to turn and escape.
Teroenza slammed into his chest again.
And again...
And yet again...
Kibbick was gus.h.i.+ng blood now from his multiple wounds. None were life-threatening in and of them-selves. A Hutt's vital organs were buried too deep within their bodies to be easily pierced... part of the reason for the old legend that Hutts were immune to blaster fire. They weren't . . . but a blaster bolt that would fry most beings instantly frequently would not hit anything vital on a Hutt, leaving them free to crush their attacker before he, she or it could get off a sec-ond shot.
Kibbick tried to shout for help, but all that emerged was a gurgle. One of the blows had punctured a breath-ing sac. He struggled to pull himself toward the inter-com to summon help.
Teroenza rammed him yet again. This time the force of the t'landa Til~ blow, along with Kibbick~ growing weakness, caused the Hutt lord to roll over on his side, helpless.
Kibbick~ vision was clouding over, but he could still see enough to recognize what Teroenza was withdraw-ing from a desk drawer. A blaster.
The Hutt lord struggled one more time to rise, to fight back, to summon help, but he was too weak, and the pain too great. Darkness was hovering, closing over his vision. Kibbick struggled against it, but it closed over him like black water at midnight ....
With cold precision, Teroenza aimed the blaster and used it to widen and disguise the wounds on the dying Kibbick. He shot again and again, until the ma.s.sive body was a scorched horror, and the final jerks and con-vulsions were long over.
Finally he stopped, breathing hard. ”Idiot . . .” he muttered, in his own language, and went off to wash his horn.
While he was cleaning himself up, the t'landa Til de-cided on the best course. A terrorist attack, of course. He'd say it was that Tharen woman and her troops. No one would dare dispute his word. He'd have the guards on duty executed, claiming they'd been bought off and were in on the a.s.sa.s.sination ....
Just the other day he'd closed the deal to purchase a turbolaser. He'd use this as an excuse to set it up in the courtyard ....
He knew he'd need more guards, more weaponry.
Should he contact Jiliac?
No! Teroenza shook his ma.s.sive head, drops of water flying from his horn. He had had enough of Hutts-he was through with them! He, Teroenza, was now m~ of Ylesia! And soon... soon... everyone would know it. Just a few more weeks to consolidate his power. He'd stop paying Besadii, and use the credits to buy weapons.
Satisfied with his plan, Teroenza, High Priest of Yle-sia, left his office and the ma.s.sive mound of dead Hutt, and went looking for some guards to execute ....
Durga the Hutt stared at the screen of his datapad and rejoiced. At last! Black Sun, in the person of Guri, Xizor's personal a.s.sistant, had just provided him with conclusive proof that Jiliac the Hutt, most likely abetted by her nephew, Jabba, had planned Aruk's murder- and Teroenza had carried it out.
Black Sun's evidence was mostly in the form of records of purchases and payments that proved Jiliac's link to the Malkite Poisoners. The Desilijic leader had purchased enough X-1 from them to bankrupt a medium-sized colony. And that X-1 had then been s.h.i.+pped straight to Teroenza. There were also records of items that Jiliac had purchased and sent to the High Priest, valuable items that were now part of the t'landa Til's collection.