Star Wars - Cloak Of Deception Read online

  them asleep, heads pillowed on folded arms or hung backwards with mouths ajar.

  Lighting was faint, the air was frigid, and the scrubbed and rescrubbed oxygen

  had a distinctly metallic taste.

  The much-abused refresher was rank.

  They had been inside the arm for almost four standard days, subsisting on

  food pellets and relieving the boredom by putting on EVA suits and venturing

  out into the hangar. Where the shuttle had artificial gravity, moving about in

  the arm was like exploring a deep - sea wreck. Many of the cargo pods had

  massed along the outer wall of the arm, but clouds of lommite and tangles of

  droids drifted about like flotsam and jetsam. Boiny had even discovered the

  body of one of the Twi'leks who hadn't made it back to the rendezvous point,

  burned almost beyond recognition by blaster fire.

  They hadn't planned on remaining in the hangar arm after the explosion.

  But once it had been determined that the arm was just outside the tug of

  Dorvalla's gravity, Cohl had decided that the hangar would be the best place

  to bide their time. The Hawk - Bat and the Nebula Front support ships had

  fled, and even the Acquisitor had disappeared--a fact that Cohl found curious,

  since it was unlike the Neimoidians to leave cargo behind, jettisoned or

  otherwise.

  Another option would have been to race for Dorvalla's surface, to what

  had been their base before the boarding operation. But Cohl suspected that the

  base had been discovered and would probably be under surveillance.

  When Rella and some of the others had suggested striking out instead for

  nearby Dorvalla IV, it was Cohl who reminded them that salvage and relief

  ships would be on their way to Dorvalla, and a lone shuttle, crawling through

  space, would certainly attract unwanted attention.

  In fact, salvage crews had arrived within local hours of the explosion.

  Since then, Dorvalla Mining had been employing their ferries to gather up what

  cargo pods they could, though much of the lommite had plunged into the

  atmosphere, as if bent on returning home. The detached centersphere and the

  other hangar arm had been hauled off, in advance of Dorvalla's bringing them

  down. Soon the salvagers would turn their efforts to the starboard arm.

  For Cohl, the long days were no more than tedious; nothing like the years

  of confinement he had endured after being imprisoned on false conspiracy

  charges by people he had fought beside and had counted as friends. Because the

  rest of the shuttle's crew trusted him implicitly, they, too, suffered the

  monotony without complaint. Most of them were stoic by nature and no strangers

  to privation, in any case. Anyone who wasn't wouldn't have been selected for

  the operation.

  Only Rella was inclined to speak her mind. But she and Cohl had an

  understanding.

  "Anything on the comm?" Cohl asked Boiny.

  "Not a peep, Captain." Rella snorted. "Who are you expecting to hear

  from, Cohl? The Hawk-Batis long gone." Cohl looked past her to the Rodian.

  "What's the status of the systems?" "Nominal." Rella growled impatiently. "You

  know, I can last in here as long as any of you, but this litany is driving me

  space happy." She mimicked Cohl's voice, "Systems status," then Boiny's,

  "Nominal." She gave her head a shake. "Can't you at least come up with other

  ways of saying it?" "Here's something that will cheer you up, Rella," Jalan

  said irritably. "The arm's orbit is deteriorating." She forced her eyes wide

  open. "If you mean we're actually in danger of falling from the sky, you're

  right I'm thrilled!" Jalan looked at Cohl. "No imminent danger, Captain. But

  we should probably begin to think about leaving." Cohl nodded. "You're right.

  It's time we bid good-bye to this place. Served us well, though." Rella raised

  her eyes to the low ceiling. "Thank the stars." "Where are we off to, Captain?

  " Boiny asked.

  "Downside." "Captain, I hope you're not thinking of riding this thing

  down to Dorvalla," Jalan said. "The salvage crews will--was Cohl shook his

  head negatively. "We're returning to base under our own power." The crew

  members traded uneasy looks.

  "Begging your pardon, Captain," Jalan said, "but didn't you say the base

  was probably being watched?" "I'm sure it is being watched." Rella stared at

  him for a moment. "Are you scrambled, Cohl? We've been monitoring Judicial

  Department ships for the past four days, not to mention Dorvalla Space Corps

  corvettes.

  If you wanted to be caught, why did you make us sit through--was She

  gestured broadly. his-comth?" The others muttered in agreement.

  "Even if we make it to the base in one piece," Rella went on, "what

  happens then?

  Without a spaceworthy ship, we'll be stranded." "Maybe Dorvalla IV'S

  worth a shot, after all, Captain," Jalan interjected. "If we manage to make

  it... I mean, with the Nebula Front likely thinking that we're dead, and all

  that au - rodium right here with us..." Rella cast Cohl a sly glance. "Are you

  listening?" Cohl firmed his lips. "And when the Nebula Front learns that we

  survived? You don't think they'll move planets to hunt us down?" "Might not

  matter, Captain," Boiny said guardedly. "That much aurodium could buy all of

  us new lives in the Corporate Sector or somewhere." Cohl's gaze darkened.

  "That's not going to happen.

  We took this job on, and we'll see it through. Then we collect our pay."

  He swung angrily to Rella. "Begin your preflight. The rest of you, prepare for

  launch." The small ship burned its way through sunlit Dorvalla's nebulous

  envelope, red nose aglow and losing pieces of itself to the thin air. The crew

  cinched their harnesses tighter and focused silently on their separate tasks,

  even as items broke loose from the consoles and began to carom around the

  cramped cabin-space like deadly missiles.

  Rella aimed the trembling shuttle for a broad valley in the equatorial

  region, defined by two steep escarpments. There, where ancient seas had once

  ruled and plate tectonics had wreaked havoc with the terrain, the land was

  blanketed by thick forest, with trees and ferns primeval in scale.

  Massive, sheer-faced tors, crowned with rampant vegetation, rose like

  islands from the forest floor.

  Blinding white in the sunlight, the tors were the birthplace of

  waterfalls that plunged thousands of meters to turbulent turquoise pools.

  But for all the wildness, it wasn't a wilderness.

  Dorvalla Mining had carved wide roads to the bases of most of the larger

  cliffs, and two circular landing fields, expansive enough to accommodate

  ferries, had been hollowed out of the forest. The tors were gouged and

  honeycombed with mines, and a thick layer of lom - mite dust blanketed much of

  the vegetation.

  Likewise the product of outsize machines, deep craters filled with

  polluted runoff water reflected the sun and sky like fogged mirrors.

  It was from here, with an assist from several disenfranchised employees

  of Dorvalla Mining, that Cohl had finalized his plans for boarding the

  Revenue.

  But not all of Dorvalla expressed a loathing for the Trade Federation,

  much less a to
lerance for mercenaries; certainly not those who saw the Trade

  Federation as Dorvalla's salvation, as the planet's only link to the Core

  Worlds.

  The shuttle was leveling out of its bone-rattling ride down the well when

  a blunt-nosed ship tore past to port, intent on making its presence known.

  "Who was that?" Rella asked, reflexively ducking as the sonic boom of the

  ship's passing overtook the shuttle.

  "Dorvalla Space Corps," Boiny reported, his black orbs fixed on the

  authenticators. "Coming about for another pass." Cohl swiveled his chair to

  the viewport to watch the ship's lightning-fast approach. It was a fixed-wing

  picket ship, single - piloted but packing dual laser cannons.

  "Incoming transmission, Captain," Boiny said.

  "They're ordering us to set down." "Did they ask us to identify

  ourselves?" "Negative. They just want us on the ground." Cohl frowned. "Then

  they already know who we are." "That Judicial Department Lancet," Rella said,

  turning to Cohl. "Whoever was piloting it probably registered our drive

  signature." The picket ship screamed overhead, closer this time.

  "Another pass like that and they're going to knock us to the ground,

  Captain," Jalan warned.

  "Stay on course for the base," Cohl ordered.

  The picket barrel-rolled through a tight loop and came back at them once

  more, this time firing a burst from its forward laser cannons. Red hyphens

  streaked across the shuttle's rounded nose.

  "They mean business, Captain!" Boiny said.

  Cohl swung to Rella. "Keep an eye out for a place to crash." She gaped at

  him. "You mean land, don't you?" "As I said," Cohl emphasized. "Until then,

  all speed. Get us as close to the base as you can." She gritted her teeth.

  "There had better be an aurodium ring at the end of this thrill ride, Cohl."

  "The picket's firing." "Evasive," Cohl said.

  "No good, Captain. We can't outmaneuver it!" The picket's lasers stitched

  a ragged line across the shuttle's tail, flipping it through a complete

  rotation. What had been a steady roar from the engines became a distressed

  whine. Flames licked their way through the aft bulkhead, and the cabin began

  to fill with thick, coiling smoke.

  "We're dirtbound!" Rella shouted.

  Cohl clamped his right hand on her shoulder. "Hold her steady! Fire

  repulsors and brace for impact." Trailing black smoke as it swept past one of

  the tors, the shuttle clipped the top of the forest canopy, pruning huge

  branches from the tallest trees. Rella managed to keep them horizontal for a

  moment more, then they began to nosedive. The ship slammed into a massive tree

  and slued to starboard, spinning like a disk as it buzz-sawed through the

  upper reaches of the canopy.

  Birds flew screeching from the crowns, as wood splintered to all sides.

  Seat restraints snapped, and two of the crew were flung like dolls into the

  starboard bulkhead. Rolled over on its back, the shuttle rocketed toward the

  forest floor.

  The viewports cracked, spiderwebbed, then blew into the cabin.

  Contact with the ground was even harsher than any of them had

  anticipated. The starboard stabilizer plowed into the leaf - littered soil at

  an acute angle, causing the ship to flip like a tossed coin. Seats tore loose

  from the deck, and instrumentation ripped away from the bulkheads. The roll

  seemed to go on forever, punctuated by the deafening clamor of collisions. The

  hull caved in, and conduits burst, loosing noxious fluids and gases.

  All at once it was over.

  New sounds rilled the air the pinging of cooling metal, the hiss of

  punctured pipes, the boisterous calls of frightened birds, the tattoo of

  falling limbs, fruits, and whatever else, striking the hull. Coughs, whimpers,

  moans...

  Gravity told Cohl that they were still upside down.

  He unclipped his harness and allowed himself to drop to the ceiling of

  the shuttle. Rella and Boiny were already there, bruised and bleeding, but

  regaining consciousness even as Cohl went to them. He put an arm under Rella's

  shoulders and took a quick look around.

  The rest of the crew were surely dead, or dying.

  Satisfied that Rella would be all right, Cohl sprang the portside hatch.

  Moisture-saturated heat rushed in on everyone, but blessed oxygen, as

  well. Cohl bellied outside and immediately consulted his comlink's compass

  display.

  Unaccustomed to standard gravity, he felt twice his weight. Every motion

  was laborious.

  "Did Jalan make it?" Rella asked weakly.

  The human answered for himself. "Barely." Cohl squirmed back inside.

  Jalan was hopelessly wedged beneath the console. He placed a hand on Jalan's

  shoulder. "We can't take you with us," he said quietly.

  Jalan nodded. "Then let me take a few of them with me, Captain." Rella

  crawled over to Jalan. "You don't have to do this," she started to say.

  "I'm most-wanted in three systems," he cut her off. "If they find me

  alive, they're only going to make me wish I was dead anyway." Boiny looked at

  Cohl, who nodded.

  "Give him the destruct code. Rella, separate the ingots into four equal

  allotments.

  Put two allotments in my pack, one in yours, and one in Boiny's." He

  glanced back at Boiny. "Weapons and aurodium only. No need for food or water,

  because if we don't make it to the base, Dorvalla Penal will be providing all

  of that for us. If that isn't inspiration enough for you, I don't know what to

  tell you." Moments later the three of them exited the ship.

  Cohl shouldered his weighty pack, took a final compass reading, and set

  off toward a nearby tor at a resolute clip. Rella and Boiny kept up as best

  they could, climbing steadily under thick canopy for the first quarter hour

  while the picket ship made pass after pass in search of some sign of them.

  From the high ground, at the base of the lommite cliff, they could see

  the picket ship hovering over the treetops.

  Rella grimaced. "He found the shuttle." "Unlucky for him," Cohl said.

  No sooner had the words left Cohl's mouth than an explosion ripped from

  the forest floor, catching the picket ship unawares. The pilot managed to

  evade the roiling fireball, but the damage had already been done. Engines

  slagged, the fighter listed to port and dropped like a stone.

  A second picket ship roared overhead, just as the first was exploding. A

  third followed, angling directly for the base of the tor where Cohl and the

  others were concealed.

  The picket poured fire at the tor, blowing boulder-size chunks of lommite

  from the cliff face. Cohl watched the ship complete its turn and set itself on

  course for a second run. As it approached, a deeper, more dangerous sound

  rolled through the humid air. Without warning, crimson energy lanced from the

  underbelly of the clouds, clipping the picket's wings in midnight.

  Unable to maneuver, the fighter flew nose first into the cliff face and

  came apart.

  "That's another one we won't have to worry about," Cohl said, loud enough

  to be heard over the roar in the sky.

  Rella raised her head in time to see a large ship tear overhead.

  "The
Hawk-Bat!" She glanced at Cohl in surprise. "You knew.

  You knew she would be down here." He shook his head. "The contingency

  plan called for her to be here. But I didn't know for sure." She almost

  smiled. "You may get that pardon yet." "Save it for when we're safely aboard."

  The three of them scampered to their feet and began a hurried descent of a

  scree field skirting the cliff face. Not far away, her weapons blazing, the

  Hawk-Bat was setting down at the center of a Muddy and befouled catch basin.

  T Thousands of sentient species had a home on Coruscant, though it might

  be only a kilometer-high block of nondescript building.

  And nearly all those species had a voice there, though it might be only

  that of a representative long corrupted by the diverse pleasures Coruscant

  offered.

  Those manifold voices had their say in the Galactic Senate, which

  sprouted like a squat mushroom from the heart of Corus - cant's governmental

  district. Surrounded by lesser domes and buttressed buildings whose summits

  disappeared into the busy sky, the senate was fronted by an expansive

  pedestrian plaza. The plaza itself lorded over a sprawl of spired skyscrapers

  and was studded with impressionistic statues thirty meters high, dedicated to

  the Core World founders. Angular and humaniform in design, the long-limbed and

  genderless sculptures stood on tall duracrete bases and held slender

  ceremonial staffs.

  The iconic motif was continued inside the senate, where many of the

  public corridors that encircled the rotunda featured statues of similar

  spindly design.

  Proceeding briskly along one of those corridors, Senator Pal - patine

  marveled at the fact that the senate had yet to commission and display

  sculptures of nonhumanoid configuration. Where some delegates were willing to

  dismiss the lack of nonhuman representation as a simple oversight, others

  viewed it as an outright slight. To still others, the decor was a matter of

  small concern, either way. But with nonhumanoid species dominant in the Mid

  and Outer Rims, and their delegations fast overwhelming the senate--to the

  secret dismay of many a Core World human delegate--changes were certainly in

  order.

  With its multilevel walkways, corridors, and vertical and horizontal

  turbolifts, the hemispherical building was as labyrinthine as the inner

  workings of the senate itself. Courtesy of Supreme Chancellor Valorum's