Star Wars - Cloak Of Deception Read online

  you'd been to Belsavis, Malastare, Clak'dor, and Yetoom. How hard do you think

  it's going to be for anyone else to track you? And I don't mean thugs looking

  to hire on with you. I'm talking about judicials or Jedi." "I appreciate the

  warning, Rella, but it won't matter now. I've got everyone I need. Unless, of

  course, you want to sign aboard." She held his gaze. "I do." He blinked.

  "No, I'm not kidding you, Cohl," she said.

  All at once Cohl grew serious and reached for her hands. "Listen, kid, I

  appreciate your finding me, but this operation isn't something you want to get

  involved in." She appraised him. "I don't get it. A minute ago you were acting

  like you had the galaxy by the tail." "Bluster, Rella, pure and simple." "Are

  you saying you wish you hadn't taken the job on?" "Maybe I'm just feeling my

  age, but, yeah, I should have stepped out of the life when I could. I mean,

  moisture farming can't be all that difficult to learn, right? And there'll

  still be exciting times..." Rella smiled broadly. "Of course there'll be

  exciting times, Cohl. Just drop this thing. You can walk away right now." He

  shook his head. "I gave my word. I have to at least see this through." Rella

  studied him for a moment, then forced an exhale. "All the more reason for me

  to tag along.

  If you can't look out for yourself, then I'll have to do it for you."

  world of rugged landmasses and slender seas, slate-gray Eriadu had long sought

  to be the Coruscant of the Outer Rim. That goal had been furthered by dint of

  Eriadu's choice location in the heart of the Seswenna sector, at the

  intersection of the Rimma Trade Route and the Hydian Way.

  But where Coruscant had confined most of its factories and foundries to

  specific areas, industry held sway over all Eriadu, fouling air, land, and sea

  with unrelenting outpourings of toxic by-products. Worse, while the planet was

  prosperous compared to its neighbors, Eriadu's legislators remained more

  interested in unbridled growth than in investing in the atmosphere scrubbers,

  aquifer purifiers, and waste disposal systems that made Coruscant livable.

  The planet's principal city was in the southern hemisphere. A thriving

  seaport that had grown up around the mouth of a major river, it spread almost

  one hundred kilometers inland, sprawling along the shores of a finger-shaped

  bay to the west, and creeping up and over the once thickly forested hills that

  rose at its back.

  From the rear of the energy-shielded, repulsorlift limousine that had

  swept him past crowds of demonstrators at Eriadu Spaceport, Valorum surmised

  that the city must have been a scenic wonder, once upon a time.

  Now it was a gloomy warren of tiled domes, narrow alleyways, lofty arches

  and towers, and open-air marketplaces, thronged with turbaned merchants,

  veiled women, bearded men drawing on the spouts of bubbling waterpipes, and

  six-legged beasts of burden, heaped with trade goods, vying for space with

  rusting landspeeders and aged repulsorsleds.

  Valorum couldn't help thinking of Eriadu as a dusty and forlorn flip side

  of Theed, the capital city of Naboo.

  The din of voices and vehicles was nearly enough to overwhelm the tinted,

  sound-cancellation windows of his limousine, though many of the city's streets

  had been cleared for his passing. Traffic had been diverted, and security

  personnel and droids were stationed at nearly every intersection. Citizens

  were allowed to watch from the narrow sidewalks, but anyone caught peering

  from an upper-story window or overhead walkway risked being shot by judicial

  snipers stationed on the rooftops and riding in speeders above the Coruscant

  delegation hovercade.

  Earlier, Valorum had learned that several decoy convoys had been

  dispatched from the spaceport, and that the route his hover - cade was

  following through the city had been altered at the last moment, to thwart

  premeditated attacks.

  To the protective force of judicials, Senate Guards, and security droids,

  he was known in code as "The Goods." After the decision to send half the

  supplemental force of Jedi Knights to Asmeru, to deal with the crisis there,

  the security detail chiefs had demanded that Valorum submit to wearing a

  temporary locator implant, so that they would know where he was at all times.

  It was ironic that he should find himself in the spotlight, when the

  whole idea behind the trade summit had been to focus attention on the Outer

  Rim worlds. Still, he was glad that he had had sense enough to listen to

  Senator Palpatine about going through with the summit as planned, despite what

  was occurring in the Senex sector.

  An added irony was that the Valorum family had played a part in fouling

  Eriadu's atmosphere, as well as in cooking it, courtesy of the enormous balls

  of flame that spewed periodically from the factory stacks that dominated the

  outskirts of the city.

  The family's contribution was a space vessel construction and shipping

  concern, based in orbit and in several downside facilities. In terms of

  output, the company wasn't in the same league as TaggeCo and the other giant

  corporations, and in terms of transport it was no match for Duro Shipping, let

  alone the Trade Federation. But thanks in part to the Valorum name, the

  company had never failed to show a profit.

  Valorum's onworld relatives had offered their stately homes and mansions

  for use during his visit, but once again he had followed a suggestion by

  Senator Palpatine, that he stay at the home of the sector's lieutenant

  governor, who was an acquaintance of Palpatine's.

  The lieutenant governor's name was Wilhuff Tarkin, and his compound was

  said to overlook the artificially blue waters of the bay.

  Tarkin was rumored to be an ambitious man, with grandiose ideas, and, in

  that, his manse by the sea did not disappoint.

  Equal in size to those of Valorum's wealthy cousins on Eriadu, the house

  was an ostentatious blend of Core Classic and Mid Rim Ornate, which declared

  itself with huge, domed enclosures, gilded columns, and stone floors polished

  to a liquid sheen.

  There was, however, something impersonal about the great, high-ceilinged

  rooms and stately colonnades. It was as if the costly furnishings and framed

  artwork were there merely for show, when what the owner actually preferred was

  the antiseptic gleam of a space-worthy freighter.

  Valorum was ushered into the manse by a surround of Senate Guards. Also

  under escort, walked Sei Taria and a dozen members of the Coruscant delegation

  to the summit. Trailing them came Adi Gallia and three other Jedi, who had

  assented to Valorum's request that they be as unobtrusive as possible.

  Once inside, the guards allowed Valorum a bit of breathing room, but that

  was only because every guest and every droid servant had been scanned, well in

  advance of his arrival. The house itself had been gone over top to bottom by

  the security detail, who had turned part of the estate into theirthe tactical

  command and control headquarters. Snipers roosted in the trees and on the

  parapets, and gunships patrolled the offshore waters.

  Testament to the priorities o
f Eriadu's leaders, Seswenna Hall, where the

  summit was to take place, was an even more elaborate structure. A dome of

  enormous dimensions, it crowned a high mount at the center of the city and

  rose in mosaic splendor to a height of some two hundred meters.

  Valorum had expected to be feted, but he had not been prepared for so

  sizable a gathering. With Sei Taria at his side, he was announced to a

  ballroom filled with dignitaries representing worlds throughout the Mid and

  Outer Rims. From Sullust, Malastare, Ryloth, and Bespin they had come; few of

  them enamored with Valorum, but all of them eager to be heard on the matter of

  taxation of the free trade zones.

  "Supreme Chancellor Valorum," the man who had made it all happen said,

  "Eriadu is honored to receive you." Lieutenant Governor Tarkin was a wiry man,

  with intense blue eyes, sunken cheeks, and an expressionless mouth. His brow

  was high and bony, and his taut face seemed to reveal the size and shape of

  every bone beneath. Already receding at the temples, his black hair was combed

  straight back and meticulously cut. He stood tall and straight as a military

  officer and projected an air of aristocratic officiousness.

  Valorum recalled hearing that Tarkin, in fact, had served in the military

  when Eriadu was part of what had then been known as the Outland Regions.

  "Did Senator Palpatine arrive with you?" Tarkin asked.

  "He had some lingering business to attend to on Coruscant," Valorum

  replied. "But I'm certain that the Naboo delegation will arrive in time for

  the summit's opening remarks." Tarkin appraised Valorum openly as they stepped

  down into the ballroom, the crowd parting before them.

  "It's a rare occasion when anyone involved in Republic politics leaves

  Coruscant," Tarkin continued. "Something of a prison, isn't it?

  Should duty ever call for me to be confined to one place, I will at least

  demand that I have ample space around me." He waved his thin arms through a

  broad circle.

  Valorum forced a smile. "The trip was short and pleasant." "Yes, but for

  you to leave the Core, and to come here..

  . It's nothing less than extraordinary." "Nothing less than necessary,"

  Valorum said.

  Tarkin arched a brow as he turned slightly.

  "Necessary perhaps, but certainly unprecedented. And I believe it speaks

  strongly of your desire to do what is best and right for the outlying systems.

  " He lowered his voice to add, "I trust you weren't distressed by the riots."

  Valorum frowned. "I observed no riots. There was a crowd of protestors at the

  spaceport, but--was "Ah, yes. Of course, you couldn't have seen the rioters,

  because your convoy was rerouted at the last instant." Valorum wasn't sure how

  he was meant to respond.

  "May I say how disquieted we were to learn of the recent attempt on your

  life, Supreme Chancellor. But then, I suppose we all have our local troubles.

  Ryloth has its smugglers, King Veruna of Naboo has his detractors, and Eriadu

  has the Trade Federation and the possibility of taxation of the trade routes."

  Valorum was aware of some of the less-than-welcoming looks he was receiving

  from Tarkin's guests. "News of the assassination attempt doesn't appear to

  have granted me much sympathy in this room." Tarkin gestured in dismissal.

  "Our fears regarding taxation revolve around the potential for increased

  corruption, as is ever the case when additional layers of bureaucracy are

  positioned between those with power and those without.

  "But that doesn't mean we favor separatism, or encourage open rebellion.

  Like other worlds along the Rimma, Eriadu has many Nebula Front supporters,

  but I am not one of them, nor are any of those in the governor's

  administration. Threats of insurrection must be met with strong, centralized

  power. One must seize the moment, and strike." Tarkin lightened his diatribe

  with a self-deprecating laugh. "Forgive the ravings of a lowly lieutenant

  governor, Supreme Chancellor. Moreover, I realize that it is hardly the

  Republic's way to answer violence with violence." "I would have thought the

  same, until recently," someone nearby interjected.

  Disdain and provocation mixed in the genteel, feminine voice, and the

  speaker was every centimeter a lady, from the train of her priceless gown to

  her dazzlingly jeweled tiara.

  Tarkin smiled thinly as he offered his crooked arm to the heavyset woman

  and introduced her.

  "Supreme Chancellor Valorum, it is my pleasure to present Lady Theala

  Vandron, of the Senex sector." Taken off his guard, a flushed Valorum nodded

  his head in a courtly bow. "Lady Vandron," he said without emotion.

  "It may interest you to know, Supreme Chancellor, that the hostage

  situation on Asmeru has been, shall we say, resolved." "Asmeru?" Tarkin said.

  "What's this?" Valorum quickly regained his composure. "The Republic

  dispatched a peace delegation of judicials and Jedi to confront agents of the

  Nebula Front based there." Tarkin looked at him askance. "Confront or contain?

  " "Whichever was deemed appropriate." Tarkin's face lit up in revelation. "So

  that's why several judicials and Jedi were called away from Eriadu. Well,

  either way, it appears that our policies are perhaps not so antithetical,

  after all, Supreme Chancellor." "On the heels of an assassination attempt, the

  Supreme Chancellor takes direct action in non-Republic space," Lady Vandron

  said, looking at Tarkin. "We are obliged to commend him on his willingness to

  venture so far from home in such difficult times." Valorum accepted the left-

  handed compliment with wellborn reserve. "Rest assured, madam, and Lieutenant

  Governor Tarkin, that Coruscant is in good hands." While Valorum didn't enjoy

  universal support even on Coruscant, his absence was felt, especially in the

  governmental district, where there was a hint of mischief in the air.

  The members of the Galactic Senate awarded themselves liberal leave while

  the trade summit was in progress. But a diligent few reported to their offices

  in the senate building, if only to catch up on work.

  Bail Antilles was one of them.

  He had spent the morning drafting a proposal that would ease the trading

  tension between his native Alderaan and neighboring Delaya. When he broke for

  lunch, he had nothing more on his mind than a tall glass of Gizer ale at his

  favorite restaurant near the Courts Building. But politics foiled his plan, in

  the form of Senator Orn Free Taa, who intercepted him in the senate's most

  public of corridors.

  The corpulent blue Twi'lek was riding a hoversled.

  "May I glide beside you for a moment, Senator Antilles?" he asked.

  Antilles made a gesture of acceptance. "What is it?" he said, plainly

  annoyed.

  "To come directly to the point, some rather interesting data has found

  its way to me. I thought to bring it to the attention of Senator Palpatine,

  but he suggested that you, as chair of the Internal Activities Committee, were

  the one to whom I should speak." Antilles started to protest, then sighed in

  resignation. "Go ahead, Senator." Taa's thick head-tails quivered slightly in

  anticipation. "As you know, I've recently been appoint
ed to the Allocations

  Committee, and in that capacity I have been delving into precedents and

  legalities for Supreme Chancellor Valorum's proposed taxation of the free

  trade zones. Clearly, such taxation will have unanticipated consequences and

  ramifications, but we're hoping to impede corruption by imagining scenarios of

  what is likely to occur, should the proposal pass muster in the Senate." "I'm

  certain you are," Antilles muttered.

  Taa took the sarcasm in stride. "The Supreme Chancellor has stated his

  wish that a percentage of those revenues garnered through taxation of the

  trade routes - comfor all intents and purposes, taxation of the Trade

  Federation--butevery allocated for social and technological aid to worlds in

  the Mid and Outer Rim that may be adversely affected by taxation.

  "This, however, presents a dilemma. If the motion is ratified and the

  Trade Federation is forced to surrender some of its hold on the space lanes,

  many smaller shipping concerns stand to profit--not only as a result of a

  newly fashioned competitive market, but also from those tax revenues earmarked

  for outer system development." Antilles allowed his puzzlement to show. "I'm

  not sure I see the dilemma." "Well, then, permit me to illustrate a specific

  case. The Allocations Committee database conducted a search for Outer Rim

  corporations poised to benefit from taxation, and crosschecked the results of

  the search with data on file with the Appropriations Committee, of which I am

  also a member. Out of the compiled list of thousands of corporations, one

  concern was singled out A shipping concern based on Eriadu that has received

  a sudden and, may I add, substantial inflow of capital." "That doesn't

  surprise me," Antilles said.

  "Investors with their noses to the air are doing the same thing your

  committee is doing, except that they're looking for financial opportunities."

  "Exactly," Taa said. "Investor speculation.

  But in this case the dilemma arises from the fact that the concern is

  owned by relatives of Supreme Chancellor Valorum." Antilles came to a halt and

  turned to the hovering Twi'lek.

  Taa showed the palms of his big hands. "Let me make per fectly clear that

  I am not suggesting impropriety on the part of the Supreme Chancellor. I'm

  certain he is aware that anyone with privileged information about legislative