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Darth Maul - Shadow HunterReaves, MichaelCHAPTER 1Space is the perfect place to hide.The Neimoidian freighter Saak'ak cruised ponderously in theuncharted deeps of Wild Space. It displayed its colorsproudly, its cloaking device disabled, with no fear ofdetection. Here, parsecs away from the civilized GalacticCore and its surrounding systems, it could safely hide inplain sight. Even the Neimoidians, those past masters ofparanoia, felt secure in the vast endless abyss between thedisk and one of the spiral arms.Yet even here the leaders of the Trade Federation could notentirely let go of their natural tendency toward subterfuge.They sought duplicity and guile the way a young grub seeksthe safety and warmth of its sleeping niche in the communalhive. The Saak'ak was a good example of this. It was, to allappearances, merely a commercial vessel, its horseshoe shapedesigned to carry large amounts of cargo. Not until anunwary enemy had come within firing range wouldthe heavy durasteel armor plating, blaster turrets, andmilitary-strength communications arrays become visible.By which time, of course, it would be too late.Aboard the Saak'ak's bridge all was silent save for themuted beeps and chimes of various life-support monitors andthe almost inaudible susurrus of the air filtration system.Three figures stood to one side of the huge transparisteelviewport. They wore the flowing robes and mantles of theNeimoidian aristocracy, but their body language, as a fourthfigure appeared in their midst, was deferential, if notoutright cringing and servile.The fourth figure was not really there with them in anyphysical sense. The robed and hooded form was a holograph, athree-dimensional image projected from an unknown sourcelight-years distant. Intangible and immaterial, themysterious stooped image nevertheless dominated the threeNeimoidians. Indeed, they could not have been any morethoroughly cowed had he been physically present with ablaster in each hand.The figure's face-what little was visible of it in theshadows of the hood-was grim and unforgiving. The cowledhead moved slightly as he looked at each of the Neimoidiansin turn. Then the figure spoke, his voice a dry rasp, histone that of one accustomed to instant obedience."There are only three of you."The tallest of the three, the one wearing the triple-crestedtiara of a viceroy, responded in a stammering voice. "Th-that is true, Lord Sidious.""I see you, Gunray, and your lackeys Haako and Dofine. Whereis the fourth one? Where is Monchar?"Federation Viceroy Nute Gunray clasped his hands in front ofhim in what was not so much a supplicating gesture as anattempt to keep them from nervously wringing each other. Hehad hoped he would grow used to dealing with the Sith Lordover time, but so far that had not happened. If anything,these meetings with Darth Sidious had become even more gut-twisting and upsetting as the deadline for the embargo grewever closer. Gunray did not know how his seconds in command,Daultay Dofine and Rune Haako, felt-discussing one'sfeelings was anathema in Neimoidian society-but he knew howhe felt after each encounter with the Sith Lord. He feltlike squirming back into his hive mother's birth chamber andpulling the cloacal flap in after him.Especially now. Curse Hath Monchar! Where was themisbegotten rankweed sucker? Not on board the Saak'ak, thatmuch was certain. The ship had been searched from the centersphere to the air locks at the outmost ends of each dockingbay arm. Not only was his deputy viceroy nowhere to befound, but a scout vessel with hyperdrive capability wasmissing, as well. Put these two facts together, and thechances of Viceroy Gunray winding up as fodder for one ofthe fungus farms back on Neimoidia was beginning to lookdistressingly good.The holographic image of Darth Sidious flickered slightly,then regained its none-too-stable resolution. A glitch, mostlikely caused by some solar flare on a star between here andwhatever mysterious world the signal was originating from.Not for the first time Gunray found himself wondering on whatworld or ship the real Sith was standing, and not for the firsttime he flinched hastily away from the thought. He didn't wantto know too much about the Neimoidians' ally in this undertaking.In fact, he wished he could forget what little he already knew.Collaborating with Darth Sidious was about as safe as beingtrapped in a cave on Tatooine with a hungry krayt dragon.The hooded face turned to glare directly at him. "Well?"Sidious demanded.Even as he opened his mouth, Gunray knew that it would befutile to lie. The Sith Lord was a master of the Force, thatmysterious and pervasive energy field that, some said,knitted the galaxy together just as surely as did gravity.Sidious might not be able to read another's inmost thoughts,but he certainly could tell when someone was lying. Evenknowing that, however, the Neimoidian could no more stophimself from dissimulating than he could stop his sweatducts from oozing oily perspiration down the back of hisneck."He was taken ill, my lord. Too much rich food. He-he has adelicate constitution." Gunray closed his mouth, keeping hislips firmly pressed together to stop them from trembling.Inwardly he cursed himself. Such a pathetic and obviousprevarication; even a Gamorrean would be able to see throughit! He waited for Sidious to command Haako and Dofine toturn on him, to strip him of his vestments and rank. He hadno doubt that they would do it. For the Neimoidians, one ofthe most difficult concepts to understand in the galacticlexicon of Basic was the word loyalty.However, to his astonishment, Sidious merely nodded insteadof showering him with vituperation. "I see. Very well, then-the four of us shall discuss the contingency plans shouldthe trade embargo fail. Monchar can be briefed on them whenhe recovers." The Sith Lord continued speaking, describinghis plan to hide a large secret army of battle droids in thecargo bays of the trade ships, but Gunray could hardly payattention to the specifics. He was stunned that hisdesperate ruse had worked.The viceroy's relief was short-lived, however. He knew thatat best all he had done was buy some time, and not much ofthat. When Sidious's hologram again materialized on thebridge of the Saak'ak he would once more demand to knowwhere Monchar was- and this time he would not accept illnessas an excuse.There were no two ways about it-his errant lieutenant wouldhave to be found, and quickly. But how to do this withoutarousing Sidious's suspicions? Gun-ray felt certain at timesthat the Sith Lord was somehow able to peer into everycompartment, niche, and cubicle on the freighter, that heknew everything, no matter how trivial or inconsequential,that took place on board.The viceroy silently commanded himself to maintain control.He took advantage of Sidious's attention being momentarilyfocused on Haako and Dofine to surreptitiously slip anantistress capsule between his lips. He could feel his lungpods expanding and contracting convulsively within him, onthe verge of hy- perventilation. An old saying characterizedNeimoidians as the only sentient species with an entireorgan devoted solely to the task of worrying. As Nute Gunray feltthe anxiety that had been momentarily quelled threatening tobuild up once more in his gut sac, the adage did seem tohave an unpleasant ring of truth to it.Darth Sidious, Master of the Sith, finished relaying hisinstructions to the Neimoidians and made a slight, almostnegligent gesture. Across the room a relay clicked and theholographic transmission ended. The flickering blue-whiteimages of the Neimoidians and the section of their ship'sbridge captured by the split-beam transceivers vanished.Sidious stood motionless and silent on the transmissiongrid, his fingers steepled, his mind meditating on theeddies and currents of the Force. Those of lessersensitivity were oblivious to it, but to him it was like anomnipresent mist, invisible but nonetheless tangible, thatswirled and drifted constantly about him. No words, nodescriptions could begin to convey what it was like; theonly way to understand it was to experience it.He had learned over long years of study and meditation howto interpret each and every vagary of its restless flow, nomatter how slight. Even without that ability, however, hewould have known that Nute Gunray was lying about HathMonchar's whereabouts. An old joke about the viceroy's kindsummed it up nicely:How can you tell if a Neimoidian is lying?His mouth is open.Sidious nodded slightly. There was no doubt ofGunray's dishonesty; the only question was why. It was aquestion that had to be answered, and soon. The Neimoidianswere weaklings, true enough, but even the most cowardlycreatures would rear up on their hind legs and bite ifsufficiently motivated. They were plotting behind his back.To believe otherwise was to be hopelessly naive, and thougha great many crimes could be laid at Darth Sidious's feet,naivete was certainly not one of them. Given how potentiallyimportant the Naboo embargo and subsequent economicmachinations could be, there was really only one thing todo.Sidious made another slight gesture. The Force rippled inresponse, and the transmission grid beneath his feet glowedagain. A holograph of himself was once more sent racingthrough the void to another remote location. It was time tobring a new player into the game-one who had trained andstudied for years for precisely this kind of assignment. Theon... [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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