Star Wars - Cloak Of Deception Read online

  getting close, and the closer we get, the more potentially embarrassing this

  could be for the Supreme Chancellor." "I'd appreciate being kept fully

  informed." Taa smiled. "We'll make no announcement without consulting you."

  Palpatine and Taa turned to watch Valorum waving to the crowd, which responded

  with a second round of gracious applause.

  "This is the Supreme Chancellor's moment," Palpatine said. "We shouldn't

  spoil it with gossip." Taa was chagrined. "Please accept my apologies,

  Senator. It was never my intention to spoil the moment." He glanced to his

  left.

  "I'll leave that to the Trade Federation." Viceroy Nute Gunray felt as if

  everyone's eyes were on him, despite the fact that it was Valorum who had the

  hall's undivided attention.

  Gunray's own eyes, however, were on the battle droid that had been

  delivered into his care only moments before he and the members of the

  directorate had left their temporary quarters for the summit.

  Indistinguishable from the dozen other droids providing pro tection for

  the directorate--save for a blush of yellow markings- - the new addition stood

  just to Gunray's right, at the leading edge of the detachment on that side of

  the Trade Federation rostrum.

  Gunray had barely had time to settle into his quarters on Eriadu when the

  Sith Lord, faithful to his word, had appeared, by means of the holoprojector

  Sidious had sent him months earlier. Although on this occasion the image was

  so distinct, so free of the usual noise and static, that Gunray might have

  almost believed that Sidious was on Eriadu or some neighboring world, rather

  than concealed in whatever manner of fathomless den from which he worked his

  dark magic.

  Some strangers will be coming to give you an additional droid, Sidious

  had said, a battle droid. You are not to question them, nor the purpose of the

  droid itself. You will simply instruct the droid to join the others you

  brought to Eriadu. It will respond to your commands.

  Gunray had been feverish with questions, but he had managed to restrain

  himself when the strangers arrived at his quarters with the boxed battle

  droid. He hadn't even informed Lott Dod of the communication, even when the

  senator--alone among the Trade Federation delegation--had casually remarked

  that he could have sworn that they had arrived on Eriadu with only twelve

  droids.

  The shipping manifest would bear that out, of course. But considering

  that the Trade Federation enjoyed diplomatic status, it was improbable that

  Eriadu customs would raise a concern when the delegation returned to the

  spaceport with the extra droid in tow.

  It was the second of the Sith Lord's directives that continued to prey on

  Gunray's thoughts, in any case, and was the cause of his present disquiet.

  Even now he saw that the ensemble of musicians were assembling on the

  floor, in preparation of trumpeting the fanfares that would inaugurate the

  summit.

  It was only a matter of minutes.

  Gunray made note of where Lott Dod was seated.

  Discreetly, he mopped away some of the perspiration that beaded his face,

  and he tried to calm himself.

  Mostly, however, he counted down the minutes in silence.

  From the padded seat of a repulsorlift chair Boiny had helped him

  commandeer from an oblivious veteran of the Stark Hyperspace Conflict, Cohl

  gazed across the summit hall to where the Trade Federation delegation had an

  area to itself, opposite Supreme Chancellor Valorum and the Coruscant bunch.

  His vision was unfocused and narrowed to a tunnel, and his body was racked

  with pain, despite the injections Boiny had been administering with increasing

  frequency.

  Cohl's seeming and actual nurse, the Rodian stood behind him, training a

  small pair of electrobinoculars on the Trade Federation's complement of

  thirteen droids.

  "Only one of them is missing a restraining bolt," Boiny said, close to

  Cohl's left ear. "The droid with the yellow blazes on its head and midsection.

  Just to the Neimoidian's right, at the head of the line on that side of the

  rostrum." Cohl put the electrobinoculars to his eyes.

  "I've got him," he said weakly. Then he began to scan the immense hall

  with the glasses. "Havac's somewhere in here, probably with a remote control

  in hand." Boiny glanced around. "It's possible that the droid has been

  programmed to respond to a certain event, or at a specific time. But even if

  Havac has a remote, it won't necessarily have to operate by line of sight. He

  could be anywhere in the hall, or outside it." Cohl shook his head. "Havac's

  the type who needs to watch this happen. He planned it. It's his show."

  Boiny's gaze continued to wander over the tiers of seats. "He can't be in the

  delegate's section.

  And I doubt he plays the trumpet--was Abruptly, Cohl looked over his

  shoulder at the Rodian. "What was Havac before he turned to terrorism, Boiny--

  before he joined the Nebula Front?" Boiny thought about it. "Some kind of

  holomaker, right?" "A documentary holomaker. A freelance media correspondent."

  In concert they raised their eyes to the media booths high overhead.

  Fresh from the rooftop chase, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan joined Saesee Tiin and

  Adi Gallia on the floor of the hall, just inside the north entrance. Valorum

  was seated to the right and above them; the Trade Federation Directorate, to

  the left. In front of them, the members of the Eriadu delegation were taking

  their places in the stands that had been erected in the center of the hall.

  Below the stands, a group of drummers and trumpeters were tuning their

  instruments.

  The air was charged with excitement.

  "The six we captured maintain that they've never heard of Cohl or Havac,"

  Qui-Gon explained to the other Jedi, "and that they don't know anything about

  an assassination attempt." "Then what were they doing on the roof, armed and

  dangerous, and firing on you with a rocket launcher?" "They claim to be a band

  of thieves, who thought they could take advantage of the disorder surrounding

  the summit by breaking into the Seswenna Sector Bank." "Did you tell them

  about the roofscape image found in the holoprojector?" Tiin asked.

  "There was no point. They might have been hoping to assault the Supreme

  Chancellor's hovercade from the roof, but I think they were simply there to

  distract us. That's what Cohl and Havac have been doing from the start, as far

  back as the incident at the Galactic Senate.

  "Even if any of the six eventually admit to having been hired by Cohl,

  they could continue to claim that robbery was their intent. None were carrying

  documentation, so we don't even know who they are or what worlds they hail

  from. Eriadu security is running their likenesses and retinal prints, but,

  assuming Cohl gathered them from distant worlds, it could be weeks before any

  matches are discovered." "Then we have nothing more to go on," Adi said.

  "Only that the rest of Havac's assassins are somewhere in this hall."

  "There have been no incidents at the entrances," Tiin said. "No one has been

  arrested." "That means nothing," Qui-Gon said. "For experts l
ike Cohl and

  Havac, this hall is as permeable as a Podrace finale. They would have no

  trouble getting inside." Tiin compressed his thin lips. "The only thing we can

  do is be prepared to defend the Supreme Chancellor." Qui-Gon glanced in

  Valorum's direction.

  "Will he permit us to get any closer to him?" "No," Adi said. "He gave

  explicit orders that he doesn't want the proceedings disrupted--notor does he

  want us by his side. He wants the Jedi to be seen as impartial in this trade

  dispute." "Nevertheless, we can't stand here, waiting for something to happen,

  " Tiin growled. "We should divide and look around; locate the trouble before

  the trouble finds Valorum." Obi-Wan, who had been standing quietly throughout

  the exchange, noticed a familiar look come into Qui-Gon's eye. It was as if

  Qui-Gon's gaze was fixed on some invisible presence the living Force had

  highlighted.

  "What is it, Master?" he asked quietly.

  "I can feel him, Padawan." "Havac?" "Cohl." The tiny, dingy booth

  assigned to the Eriadu Free HoloDaily consisted of a couple of rigid chairs, a

  control console of dust - covered flatscreen displays and holoprojector pads,

  and a large single-pane window that looked out on the hall.

  Havac stood by the window, staring down at the mostly seated crowd while

  he mounted a holocam in its stand. Behind him, and armed with blasters they

  had secreted in the summit hall weeks earlier, sat two of his human

  confederates. One of them wore a wrist comm.

  When Havac had trained the holocam on the Trade Federation's arc of

  seats, he attached a scanner to the cam head. Then he aimed the device, which

  resembled a directional microphone, toward the trumpeters on the floor of the

  hall.

  "Any word from the spotter team?" he asked over his shoulder.

  "Not a chirp," the man with the comlink replied. "And Valorum has been

  here for over ten minutes.

  What do you think happened?" "The likely explanation is that they were

  discovered." "Why do you say that?" Havac turned to face the pair. "Because I

  notified the authorities about Cohl's freighter, and left the holoprojector

  behind to be found." He waited for smiles of revelation, but when none

  appeared, he added, "It was the only way to ensure that the authorities would

  be kept occupied while we went about our business here." "Then Cohl has also

  been found--or his corpse, at any rate," the one with the comlink said.

  The other man looked doubtful. "Suppose, as you say, the spotters have

  been found out, and they decide to cut a deal by telling what they know--

  credits or no credits." Havac shrugged theatrically. "They know me as Havac,

  and no "Havac" has been cleared by security to attend the summit. The credit

  transfers to Cohl's hired hands can't be traced directly to us. The safe house

  will be empty by the time they lead the authorities to it. We'll be long gone

  from Eriadu before anyone is able to assemble all the pieces of the puzzle."

  Clearly meant to restore confidence, Havac's discourse failed to have the

  intended effect.

  If anything, the two men looked even more skeptical than before.

  "Is our shooter in place?" Havac asked impatiently.

  "Out on the walkway--just waiting for the music to begin." "What do you

  want us to do with him afterward?" the one with the comlink asked.

  Havac considered it. "He's a misfit with a counterfeit identity badge and

  a blaster, who has just fired at the delegates. You'll be a public hero if you

  kill him--or at least see to it that he falls from the walkway." "No loose

  ends," the same one said.

  "As few as possible." Back on his alloy crutches, but still wearing a

  small flag fastened to the front of his robe that identified him as a veteran

  of the Stark Hyperspace Conflict, Cohl hobbled from the turbolift that had

  carried him and Boiny to the hall's main pedestrian level. From here it was

  possible to ascend to the perimeter walkways that accessed the media and

  security booths in the upper reaches of the domed building.

  They were headed for the array of lifts when a voice called out behind

  them.

  "Captain Cohl." Cohl didn't stop until the stranger repeated the call,

  then he maneuvered himself through a resigned turn. Ten meters down the

  corridor stood a tall, long-haired, and bearded Jedi, displaying a green-

  bladed lightsaber.

  "This just isn't our day," Boiny muttered.

  Cohl heard the characteristic snap and hiss of another lightsaber and

  glanced over his shoulder. The second Jedi was a clean-shaven young man,

  wearing the thin braid of a Padawan.

  "We've been looking forward to meeting you since Dor - valla," the older

  one said.

  Cohl and Boiny swapped looks of surprised dismay.

  "You were the ones in the diplomatic Lancet," Cohl said.

  "You led us a merry chase, Captain." Cohl snorted and shook his head.

  "Well, you found us now. And you can put your glow sticks away.

  We're unarmed." Qui-Gon merely pointed the lightsaber toward the floor as

  he approached. "I congratulate you on surviving the destruction of the

  Revenue." Cohl sagged on his crutches. "A lot of good it did me, Jedi. My

  partner and I are shot to pieces." Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan regarded them through

  the Force, and understood that Cohl wasn't lying. Both he and the Rodian were

  seriously injured.

  "How did you find out about the Dorvalla operation, anyway?" Cohl asked.

  "A member of the Nebula Front," Qui-Gon said. "Now dead." "So there was

  an informant. I guess Havac was right to have been secretive about this one."

  "We're eager to meet Havac, as well," Obi-Wan said.

  Cohl looked at him. "You'd do better to destroy the droid Havac

  infiltrated into the summit." "Droid?" the Jedi said in unison.

  "A battle droid," Cohl elaborated.

  "It's right up there with the rest of the directorate's droids. We figure

  Havac plans to have the droid kill Valorum." "That's impossible," Qui-Gon

  said. "Battle droids can't act without a cue from a central control computer."

  "Havac's is one of Baktoid's new and improved models," Boiny said. "A

  commander. More of a freethinker. It only needs to be tasked, by voice command

  or remote signal, and it's capable of swaying the droids around it." Obi-Wan's

  jaw dropped slightly. "Are you saying that instead of one assassin, there are

  a potential dozen?" "Thirteen, actually," Boiny replied.

  "It still can't initiate an act like that on its own," Qui-Gon insisted.

  "That's where Havac comes in. He's the one with the remote." Qui-Gon

  stepped toward Cohl. "Where is he?" "I have some idea." "Tell me what you

  know, and let me handle this.

  Obi-Wan will escort you and your partner to medical attention--and into

  custody." Cohl shook his head. "If you want Havac, we go together, Jedi, or

  not at all." He canted his head to Boiny. "Besides, we're the only ones who

  can identify him." Qui-Gon didn't even have to think about it. He glanced at

  Obi-Wan. "Padawan, report back to Master Tiin and the others. Quickly." "But,

  Master--was "Go, Padawan. Now." Obi-Wan showed him a tight-lipped nod and spun

  on his boot heels.

 
Qui-Gon watched his apprentice rush off, then he deactivated his

  lightsaber and put one arm under Cohl's trembling shoulder.

  "Lean on me, Captain." w ith ten drummers setting the tempo, twice as

  many horn players raised their long instruments to their mouths and trumpeted

  the first of the three prolonged fanfares.

  By then Obi-Wan had reached Tiin and the other Jedi.

  "It's the droids," he began in a sally of words.

  Tiin had him slow down and repeat everything he and Qui - Gon had learned

  from Cohl. Then the Iktotchi turned to Adi, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Vergere, and the

  rest.

  "Position yourvs as close to Valorum as possible," he instructed Adi and

  Vergere.

  "Obi-Wan, Ki, and I will be near the Trade Federation rostrum. The rest

  of you, disperse to deflect blasterfire. Be unassuming but prepared." "Master

  Tiin, do you think the Trade Federation suspects what's in their midst?" Obi-

  Wan asked as they set out across the floor of the hall.

  "They couldn't. They are aggressive only when it comes to commerce.

  However this Havac infiltrated the droid among the others, it had to have been

  done without the knowledge of the directorate members." "Should we order the

  delegation to remove the droids, Master?" Ki-Adi-Mundi replied. "Whoever is

  watching may decide to trigger the droids into action. If that happens, it

  could appear that we posed a threat, prompting the droids to respond with

  blasterfire.

  If there was time, we could get someone aboard the Trade Federation

  freighter to shut down the central control computer." "Have you fought these

  droids before, Master Tiin?" "I know only that they're not very accurate,

  Padawan." Obi-Wan frowned as he ran. "With thirteen of them firing, that may

  not matter." Not even a quarter of the way around the upper level corridor

  that accessed the media booths, Boiny spied Havac through a small

  transparisteel panel set high in the door.

  Leaving Cohl to stand on his own, Qui-Gon pressed his back to the

  corridor wall. "How many of them are in there?" he asked the Rodian.

  "Havac and maybe two other humans--seated to the right of the door." Qui-

  Gon nodded to the door release lever. "Try it." Gingerly, Boiny placed his

  hand on the lever.

  "Locked." He glanced at the touchpad mounted on the wall. "I can probably

  slice--was "I have a quicker way," Qui-Gon interrupted.