Star Wars - Cloak Of Deception Read online

  leadership.

  Gunray's key advisers were waiting Deputy Viceroy Hath Monchar and legal

  counsel Rune Haako. Each affected a black headpiece appropriate to his status.

  Monchar's was a triple - crested crown, similar to but smaller than the

  one Gunray wore; Haako's was an elaborate cowl, with two horns in front, and a

  tall, rounded back.

  The two advisers made deferential gestures to Gunray as the mechno-chair

  eased him onto his feet.

  "Welcome, Viceroy," Haako said, approaching him stooped and limping, his

  left arm crooked by his side. "We hope you have not come in vain." Hollow-

  cheeked and somewhat spidery, he had a deeply lined face, bags under his eyes,

  and puckered flesh on his chin and thin neck.

  Gunray made a harsh gesture of dismissal.

  "He said he would come. That is enough for me." "For you," Monchar

  muttered.

  Gunray glared at his deputy. "Events transpired just as he promised they

  would. Cohl's mercenaries attacked, and the Revenue was destroyed." "And this

  is a reason to rejoice?" Haako asked, his prominent voice box bobbing. "This

  plan of yours has cost the Trade Federation a class-I freighter and billions

  in aurodium." Gunray's nictitating membranes betrayed his seeming self -

  possession. He blinked repeatedly, then quickly regained his composure.

  "One ship and a treasure box. If our benefactor really is who he claims

  to be, such losses are meaningless." Haako raised a palsied hand. "And if he

  is, he is a thing to fear, not to delight. And how can we be certain, in any

  case? What proof does he offer, Viceroy? He contacts you out of the ether,

  only by hologram. He can claim to be anyone." Gunray worked his jutting jaw.

  "Who would be brain-dead enough to make such a claim without being able to

  support it?" He brought forth a portable holoprojector and set it down on a

  table.

  When the Dark Lord of the Sith had first contacted him, months earlier,

  he seemed to know everything about Nute Gun - ray and his rise to personal

  power. How Gunray had testified to the Trade Federation Directorate against

  Pulsar Supertanker--at the time a participatory company within the

  conglomerate--accusing Pulsar of "malicious disregard for profit" and

  "charitable donations lacking discernible reward." Indeed, it appeared to have

  been that testimony and similar declarations of avidity that had first

  attracted the notice of Darth Sidious.

  Even so, Gunray had remained as skeptical then as his advisers were now,

  despite demonstrations by Darth Sidious of his wide-ranging influence and

  sway. Secretly, Sidious had arranged for several key resource worlds to join

  the Trade Federation as signatory members, abdicating their representation in

  the Galactic Senate in exchange for lucrative trade opportunities, and, where

  possible, protection from smuggling concerns and pirates. And at each turn

  Sidious had made the procurements appear the doing of Gunray, thus helping to

  consolidate Gunray's increasing authority and assuring his appointment to the

  directorate.

  As to whether Sidious's influence truly owed to Sith powers, Gunray could

  not say, nor did he care to know, based on what little he knew of the Sith--an

  ancient, perhaps legendary order of black mages, absent from the galaxy for

  the past thousand years.

  Some referred to the Sith as the dark side of the Jedi; others claimed

  that it was the Jedi who had ended the reign of the Sith, in a war that had

  pitted dark and light against each other. Still others said the Sith, greedy

  for power, killed one another. But Gunray knew nothing of the truth of these

  things, and he hoped to keep it that way.

  He stared pointedly at the holoprojector; the appointed moment was close

  at hand.

  Gunray hadn't finished the thought when the head and shoulders of a

  cloaked apparition rose from the device, the cowl of his dark garment pulled

  down over his eyes, revealing a deeply furrowed chin and a jowly, aged face.

  An elaborate broach closed the cloak at the neck.

  When the figure spoke, his voice was a prolonged rasp.

  "I see, Viceroy, that you have assembled your underlings, as I asked,"

  Darth Sidious began.

  Gunray knew that the word underlines wasn't going to find favor among

  Monchar and Haako. Though there was little he could do about that, he thought

  it best at least to attempt to rectify matters.

  "My advisors, Lord Sidious." Sidious's face betrayed nothing. "Of course-

  -your advisors." He paused for a moment, as if probing the incalculable

  distance that separated them. "I perceive an atmosphere of misgiving, Viceroy.

  Has the aftermath of our plan failed to please you?" "No, not at all,

  Lord Sidious," Gunray stammered. "It's only that the loss of the freighter and

  the aurodium ingots is a matter of concern to some." He glanced with purpose

  at his two counselors.

  "The others lack your grasp of the larger purpose, Viceroy," Sidious said

  with a note of disdain.

  "Perhaps we need to reacquaint them with our intent to stir sympathy for

  the Trade Federation in the senate.

  That is why we informed the Nebula Front militants of the shipment of

  aurodium. The loss of the ingots will further our cause. Soon you will have

  the politicians and bureaucrats eating out of your hands, and then the Trade

  Federation will at last have the droid army it needs. Baktoid, Haor Chall

  Engineering, and the Colicoids are waiting to fill your orders." Gunray began

  to fidget. "Army, Lord Sidious?" "The riches of the Outer Rim await those with

  the courage to grab them." Gunray gulped. "But, Lord Sidious, perhaps the time

  isn't right to take such actions--was "Not right? It is your destiny.

  With a droid army to support you, who would dare question Neimoidia's

  authority to rule the space lanes?" "We would welcome the ability to defend

  ourselves against pirates and agitators," Rune Haako risked saying. "But we

  don't wish to break the terms of our trade treaty with the Republic. Not when

  the price of a droid army is taxation of the free trade zones." "So you've

  heard about Chancellor Valorum's intentions," Sidious said.

  "Only that he is likely to give his full weight to the proposal," Gunray

  said.

  Sidious nodded. "Rest assured, Viceroy, Supreme Chancellor Valorum is our

  strongest ally in the senate." "Lord Sidious has some influence in the senate?

  " Haako asked carefully.

  But Sidious was too clever to take the bait.

  "You will come to learn that there are many that do my bidding," he said.

  "They understand, as you will understand, that they serve themselves best by

  serving me." Haako and Monchar traded quick looks.

  "The ruling members of the Trade Federation Directorate are not likely to

  sanction spending hard-earned profits on droids," Monchar said. "As it is,

  they consider us Neimoidians to be unnecessarily suspicious." "I am well aware

  of the opinions of your partners," Sidious rasped. "Be advised that foolish

  friends are no better than enemies." "Nevertheless, they will oppose this

  arrangement." "Then we will just have to find some way to convince them." "He

/>   doesn't mean to sound unappreciative, Lord Sidious," Gunray apologized. "It's

  simply that... It's simply that we don't really know who you are, and what you

  are capable of providing. You could be a powerful Jedi, hoping to entrap us."

  "A. Jedi" Sidious said. "Now you do mock me. But you will see that I am a

  forgiving master. As to your concerns about my identity--my heritage, let us

  say--my actions will speak for me." The Neimoidians exchanged perplexed looks.

  "What about the Jedi?" Haako asked. "They won't simply stand by." "The

  Jedi will do only what the senate bids them to do," Sidious said. "You are

  woefully mistaken if you believe they would jeopardize their lofty real estate

  on Coruscant to challenge the Trade Federation without Senate approval."

  Gunray glanced meaningfully at his advisors before replying. "We place

  ourselves in your hands, Lord Sidious." Sidious almost smiled. "I thought you

  might see things my way, Viceroy. I know that you will not fail me in the

  future." The apparition vanished as abruptly as it arrived, leaving the three

  Neimoidians to ponder the nature of the shadowy alliance they had just entered

  into.

  Sunlight was a stranger to Coruscant. The sun set as ever, but so ambient

  was the light from the cityscape's forest of sky - scraping towers that true

  darkness was a thing that prowled only the deepest canyons, or was summoned

  with purpose by those residents who could afford blackout transparisteel. From

  space, the planet's dark side sparkled like a finely wrought ornament strung

  with bioluminescent life-forms, such as might be displayed in an heirloom

  cabinet or a museum devoted to folk art.

  The stars never appeared in the sky, except to those who resided in the

  tallest buildings. But stars of a different sort turned up nightly at

  Coruscant's celebrated entertainment complexes- - singers, performers,

  artists, and politicians. As a rule more faddish than the rest, the latter

  group had taken lately to attending the opera, following the lead of Supreme

  Chancellor Valorum, whose renowned family had been patrons of the arts for as

  long as anyone could remember.

  In a galaxy boasting millions of species and a thousand times as many

  worlds, cultural arts were never in short supply. At any given moment a

  performance was debating somewhere on Coruscant. But few companies or troupes

  of any sort had the privilege of performing at the Coruscant Opera.

  The building was a marvel of pre-Republic baroque, all frosting and

  embellishment, with an old-fashioned orchestra pit, tiered seating, and

  private balconies in the time-honored design.

  As a nod to Coruscant's citizens, there was even a warren of lower-level

  galleries where common folks could view the performance via real-time hologram

  and pretend to be hobnobbing with celebrities seated overhead.

  The opera of the moment was The Brief Reign of Future Wraiths, a

  production that had originated on Corellia, but was being performed by a

  company of Bith, who had been touring the opera world to world for the past

  twenty standard years.

  A bipedal species with large rounded craniums, lidless black eyes,

  receding noses, and baggy epidermal folds beneath their jaws, Bith were native

  to the outlying world of Clak'dor VII, and were known to perceive sounds as

  humans perceived colors.

  Considering that it was Finis Valorum's parents who had underwritten

  Brief Reign to begin with, it was only fitting that the supreme chancellor be

  on hand for the opera's long-awaited return to Coruscant. The mere fact that

  he would be attending had driven up the price of tickets and made them as

  difficult to procure as Adegan crystals. As a result, the building was more

  packed with luminaries than it had been in a long while.

  As was customary, Valorum delayed his arrival, so as to ensure that he

  would be last to be seated.

  Restless for a glance at him, the audience came to its feet in prolonged

  applause as he stepped onto the elaborate balcony that had been reserved for

  Valorum family members for well over five hundred years.

  Eschewing his usual surround of blue-caped and helmeted Senate Guards,

  Valorum was accompanied only by his administrative aide, Sei Taria--in

  matching burgundy septsilk--a petite young woman half his age, with oblique

  eyes and skin the color of burrmillet grain.

  In true Coruscant manner, rumors began circulating even before Valorum

  took his seat. But the Supreme Chancellor was inured to innuendo, not merely

  as an effect of his aristocratic upbringing, but also because of the fact that

  nearly every sectorial senator--marital status notwithstanding--had made it

  their practice to appear in public with attractive young consorts.

  Valorum waved graciously and inclined his head in a show of benign

  sufferance. Then, before sitting down, he directed a second bow to a private

  balcony directly across the amphitheater.

  The dozen or so prosperous-looking patrons in the balcony Valorum singled

  out returned the bow, and remained standing until Sei Taria was also seated--

  no small feat for the owner of the box, Senator Orn Free Taa, who had grown so

  corpulent during his tenure on Coruscant that his bulk filled the space of

  what had once been three separate seats.

  Cerulean, with pouty red lips and eyelids, Taa had a huge oval face and a

  double chin the size of a bantha's feed bag. He was a Twi'lek of Rutian

  descent; his lekku head-tails, engorged with fat, hung like sated snakes to

  his massive chest. His gaudy robe was the size of a tent. Prominently on

  display was his Lethan Twi'lek consort, nubile and high-cheekboned, her red

  body draped in bolts of pure shimmersilk.

  A member of the Appropriations Committee, Taa was a vocal opponent of

  Valorum, since his spice-producing homeworld of Ryloth had, time and again,

  been denied favored-world status.

  Taa's guests in the box included Senators Toonbuck Toora, Passcl Argente,

  Edcel Bar Gane, and Palpatine, along with two of Palpatine's personal aides,

  Kinman Doriana and Sate Pestage.

  "Do you know why Valorum loves to attend the opera?" Taa asked in Basic,

  out of the corner of his huge mouth. "Because it's the only place on Coruscant

  where an entire audience will applaud him." "And he does little more here than

  he does in the senate," Toora said. "He merely observes the protocols and

  feigns interest." Fabulously wealthy, she was a hairy biped with a wide mouth,

  a triple-bearded chin, and beady eyes and a pug nose squeezed onto the bony

  ridge that capped her squat head.

  "Valorum is toothless," Passel Argente chimed in. A sallow - complexioned

  humanoid affiliated with the Corporate Alliance, he wore a black turban and

  bib that revealed only his face and the swirling horn that emerged from the

  crown of his head. "At a time when we need vigor, direction, unity, Valorum

  insists on taking the tried-and-true route. The route guaranteed not to upset

  the status quo." "Much to our enjoyment," Toora murmured.

  "But a confidential bow," Taa said, as he was maneuvering into the chair

  that had been specially made to conform to his girth. "To what could wer />
  possibly owe the honor?" Toora gestured in dismissal. "This nonsense about the

  Trade Federation's requests. Valorum needs all the support he can muster if

  he's to succeed in convincing us to enact taxation of the free trade zones."

  "Then it is even more curious that he should acknowledge us," Taa remarked. He

  motioned broadly to other balconies. "There, all but in Valorum's lap, sit

  Senators Antilles, Horox Ryyder, Tendau Bendon... Any of them, more than

  worthy of a bow." Taa raised his fat hand in a wave when the group in the box

  realized that they were being observed.

  "Then the gesture must have been solely for Senator Palpatine," Toora

  remarked meaningfully. "From what I hear, our delegate from Naboo has the

  Supreme Chancellor's ear." Taa turned to Palpatine. "Is that so, Senator?"

  Palpatine smiled lightly. "Not in the man ner you imagine, I can assure you.

  The Supreme Chancellor met with me to solicit my opinion as to how taxation

  might be received by the outlying systems.

  We spoke of little else. In any event, Valorum scarcely needs my support

  to see the proposal through. He is not as ineffectual as many seem to think."

  "Nonsense," Taa said. "It will come down to partisanship- - a contest between

  the factions of Bail Antilles, and those who allow Ainlee Teem to speak for

  them. As ever, the Core worlds will stand with Valorum; the near colonies,

  against." "He's going to polarize the senate further," Edcel Bar Gane opined

  in a sibilant voice.

  Representing the world of Roona, Bar Gane had a bulbous head and eyes

  that narrowed and slanted upward at their outer corners.

  Toora absorbed the remark without comment. Once more, she eyed Palpatine.

  "I'm curious, Senator.

  Just what did you tell Valorum, with regard to the impact of taxation on

  the outer systems?" "Activate the balcony's noise cancellation feature, and I

  might be inclined to tell you," Palpatine said.

  "Oh, do it, Taa," Toora enthused. "I so love intrigue." Taa flipped a

  switch on the balcony railing, activating a containment field that effectively

  sealed the box from audio surveillance. But Palpatine didn't speak until Sate

  Pestage--a trim human with pointed features and thinning black hair--had

  double-checked that the field was indeed functioning.

  Pestage's actions impressed Argente. "Is everyone on Naboo as careful as