Part 2 (1/2)
”Oh, I am, Your Corpulence, I am!” Privately, he wished he knew who or what the bossban was talking about. The expecta tion of possible riches far outweighed any fear he might have felt.
”The situation was made worse,” the Hutt was saying, ”be cause trained Jedi can oft times sense threatening disturbances in their vicinity.
Because of this ability, they are infernally difficult to ambush. Certain individuals will not be pleased by this turn of events. There will be additional expense.”
This time Ogomoor kept quiet.
Hutt movements are slow, but their minds are not. ”Though your mouth is closed, I see your brain working. The details of this business are for me to know and you to forget.” Noting his bossban's irritation, Ogomoor forbore from inquiring how he was supposed to forget something he had never been told.
”It may not matter. The representatives of the Unity grow more displeased by the day with the continuing indecision of Republic officials regarding the land claims of the nomads. I am informed that as with many current issues, Senate opinion is divided on the issue.”
”Yes, yes, I know.” Soergg grunted impressively. ”It seems that the galaxy is now governed by confusion instead of consensus.” A monstrous frown split his leathery face. ”Bad for business, chaos is. That is why the Hutts have allied themselves, albeit quietly, with those forces that are working for change. For stability, the capitalist's friend.” He wagged a finger at his a.s.sistant. ”With luck, these Jedi will need time to accomplish anything. It will take more debate before this quarrel between the city folk and the Alwari can be settled. That gives us time, and opportunity, in which to still conclude this business in a satisfactory manner. It must be concluded in a satisfactory manner. The Jedi cannot be allowed to sway the opinion of the Unity representatives.
The vote to pull Ansion out of the Republic must proceed!” s...o...b..r trickled down the absent chin as a huge tongue licked thick lips. The custodial droid scuttled swiftly to catch the noxious drool before it could stain the floor.
”You cannot imagine,” the Hutt added in dangerously low tones, ”the extent of the repercussions if we fail to successfully carry out this contract. Those who have engaged us to carry out their wishes in this matter have a reputation for treating failure harshly, in ways that can only be imagined.”
Ogomoor had all too vivid an imagination. ”I will do my best, as always, Bossban. Still, four Jedi-”
”Two Jedi and two Padawans,” Soergg corrected him. He looked suddenly wistful. Or at least as wistful as a Hutt could look. ”Those pathetic malingerers you were forced to hire are all too typical of the quality available on outlying worlds such as Ansion. What is needed for this kind of work is a real, experienced professional. Someone whose work and experience falls outside the boundaries of Republic legalese. A proper bounty hunter, for example. Unfortunately, none such is to be found on Ansion.” He sat brooding for a long moment.
”Slatt!” he finally exclaimed. ”There is one good thing to come out of this fiasco, anyway. Thanks to the efforts of the Jedi, there are few survivors to claim their pay.”
”Then if you are done with me, O Great One, I have much work to do.”
Ogomoor started to back out of the room. ”The s.h.i.+pment of tweare skins from Aviprine is due to arrive-”
”Not so fast.” Reluctantly, the majordomo was obliged to pause in his retreat. ”I expect you to keep on top of this, Ogomoor. It's a wise merchant who misses no opportunity. Let's see some of that deviousness your tribe is famed for possessing. This business of putting a stop to Jedi interference takes precedence over everything else, including the s.h.i.+pment of tweare skins. I will expect regular reports. Whatever you need, requisition it and I will provide the necessary authorization.
These visitors must be stopped, or there will be consequences for all of us! Do I make myself perfectly clear?”
Ogomoor bowed low. ”Completely.”
The Hutt puffed up importantly, like a toad much afflicted with pride. ”I always do.”
”To the greater edification of those of us who serve you, O Most Great and Wise Patron.”
Having finally made good his flight from the room with rank and all body parts intact, Ogomoor resolutely ignored the multi-species giggling that followed him as he headed for his own office. There was nothing to worry about, he told himself. It was no big deal. All he had to do to retain his employer's trust and appreciation was oversee the demise of two Jedi Knights and their wily Padawans. Why, any country ignoramus could perform such a task using only half a brain.
Because that was what an angry Jedi would leave to him, a distraught Ogomoor knew. Still, there might be a way. What was it that overstaffed bag of smarmy suet had said? Something about the difficulty of sneaking up on and surprising a Jedi? Might there not be a way to counteract such a remarkable talent?
Or better yet, to outflank it?
”It didn't work.” Soergg slumped before the comm station. The Hutt had considerable respect for the small biped whose hologram he was addressing. Not because of her personality, but because of Shu Mai's wide-ranging accomplishments in the field of commerce.
”What happened?” the president of the Commerce Guild asked curtly.
”The second Jedi and his Padawan arrived earlier than ex pected, and prevented the execution of the first.” Soergg leaned closer to the comm.
”The information I was given was faulty. Many hirelings were lost.” He chuffed importantly. ”I have incurred expenses.”
Shu Mai was unforgiving. ”Don't blame me for your failure. You were provided with the most up-to-date information avail able. Do you think tracking the movements of individual Jedi is like following a courtesan around a dance floor? They don't publicize their comings and goings, you know.” Her apprehension was clear. ”Now I have to pa.s.s this disagreeable information along to another. What do you plan to do to rectify this miserable failure?”
”The matter is being pursued. The Jedi will not be allowed to prevent Ansion's secession.”
”Ansion is your chosen homeworld,” Shu Mai reminded the Hutt. ”Don't you care if it stays in the Republic or not?”
Soergg made a rude noise. ”A Hutt's home is where his busi ness interests lie.”
The president of the Commerce Guild nodded. ”Even the members of the Trade Federation are not so mercenary.”
”Fine words, coming from the one whose organization covered up the niobarium pollution on Vorian Four.”
Shu Mai's expression widened. ”You know about that? For one with access to such restricted information, I would think the elimination of a couple of Jedi-and their Padawans-would be a simple matter.”
”It would,” Soergg agreed, ”if I could get proper help. Can you not send me suitable individuals?”
Shu Mai shook her head. ”I am under strict instructions to avoid any action that might draw additional attention from the Jedi Council.
Sending in offworld professionals is precisely the kind of action that would do so. Our friend would be hard-pressed to explain away such an action. You will have to make do with what you can hire locally. I was a.s.sured that you could. That is why you were engaged.”
”This is not an easy business,” Soergg complained bitterly.
The president of the Commerce Guild leaned close to her holo pickup, so that her face filled the imager. ”I will make you a deal, Hutt. Trade positions with me. I will take care of these meddlesome Jedi, and you come here and deal with the one to whom I must report.”
Soergg thought about it-but not for very long. The Hutts had not achieved all that they had by being fools. Besides, there was always the possibility that if Shu Mai became too intemperate, too insistent, she could be bypa.s.sed. One could go over her head.
Did Soergg want to do that? He was not at all certain he really wished to know who was backing the impatient Commerce Guild. Not on a personal level, anyway.
”I sense agitation, anxiety, and outright hostility,” Obi-Wan said.
Anakin trailing dutifully behind him, Obi-Wan led the way toward the munic.i.p.al hall of the city of Cuipernam, where they were to meet formally for the first time with deputies of the Unity of Community-the loosely bound political ent.i.ty that represented the scattered city-states of Ansion and was the closest thing the world they were visiting had to a recognizable planetary government. The same ersatz planetary government, he reminded himself, that was threatening to secede from the Republic-and as a consequence, possibly take dozens of other systems with it.
Luminara nodded. ”In other words, a bunch of nervous politicians.” She glanced over at Barriss. ”There are certain constants that remain the same throughout the galaxy, my dear. The speed of light, the motion of muons, and the unwillingness of politicians to commit to anything that requires a leap of personal responsibility.”
As always, the Padawan listened thoughtfully before re sponding. ”Then how do we persuade them of the Tightness of the galactic government's ways, and that it's in their best interests to remain a part of the Republic?”
”Sometimes it seems as if money works best.” Obi-Wan's tone was quietly sardonic. ”But regardless of what goes on in the Senate these days, that is not the way of the Jedi. Unlike politicians, we cannot offer to buy the loyalty of these people with promises of financial aid and elaborate development projects. Instead, we are restricted to the use of reason and common sense. If all goes well, they will respond to these as enthusiastically as they do to ready cash.”
There was no need for guards or clerks to announce the visi tors to the a.s.sembled representatives; they were expected. The munic.i.p.al hall itself was impressive by Cuipernam standards: long and high, the upper reaches of the second story lined with scenes of Ansionian life rendered effectively in stained quartz. No doubt it served to impress pet.i.tioning citizens. On Corus-cant, Obi-Wan reflected, it would not have drawn a curious yawn from a bored pa.s.sing traveler. The difference in scale and aesthetics did not make him feel bigger or more important than the locals. Very early in his training, he had come to realize the insignificance and unimportance of mere physical achievements. Anyone could buy expensive attire and fancy accoutrements, live in a big house, command legions of servants both organic and mechanical. Wisdom was much harder to come by.
Nevertheless, the four visitors dutifully admired their sur roundings, complimenting the female who came forward to ex tend them formal greetings. Seated at a long table cut from a single piece of purplish xellwood, seven delegates awaited them. Two were human, four indigenous Ansionian, and one Armalat.
Luminara studied the Ansionians carefully. Slightly shorter on average than humans, the dominant native species of Ansion was much slimmer, wiry and lean, with skin a pale yellow that was almost golden. Both genders were hairless except for a single startlingly dense brush of fur about fifteen centimeters wide and seven or eight high that ran from the top of their foreheads all the way down their backs to terminate in a fifteen-centimeter-long tail. Beneath their warm, well-made clothing the sweep of hair, which varied in color across the entire visible spectrum, was usually kept neatly trimmed. The large eyes with their small black pupils were usually red, sometimes shading to lighter tones of yellow or, in rarer instances, mauve. The numerous teeth were noticeably sharp. Though omnivorous, the Ansionians ate proportionately more meat than humans.
Particularly, she reminded herself, the Alwari.
There was no one in the chamber to represent the interests of the nomads, of course. They shunned the cities and towns, preferring their life out on the immense prairies that dominated much of Ansionian topography.
After millennia of constant conflict between nomads and city folk, a tenuous peace had finally been established two hundred local years ago.