Slave Ship

10

"You gotta admit," said Bossk," it's a nice place for a meeting."

He enjoyed his own grim humor. Keeping the claws of one hand resting on the grip of his holstered blaster, Bossk watched as Boba Fett looked around the moldering crevices and dry cliff faces of the ancient sea trench. The oceans of Gholondreine-B had been sucked down to the last molecule of saline liquid, then transported by a fleet of massive Imperial freighters to an orbital catalysis plant near Coruscant. Economy hadn't been the motivating factor-it was more expensive to ship that amount of water than to synthesize it-but punishment had been. The coastal and inland democracies on the planet's land masses had been irritatingly slow, in the eyes of Emperor Palpatine, to divest themselves of the last vestiges of allegiance to the old Republic. Now, beneath the flat glare of cloud-purged skies, dust wound through the cracked and empty streets of the deserted cities. Neighboring worlds in this sector had received a valuable object lesson in how to respond to the Emperor's commands.

The shell of some long-dead marine animal crunched beneath Boba Fett's boot sole. His ship, Slave I, stood several meters away, the rounded dome of its cockpit transparisteel glinting in the angle of light that managed to penetrate the sea trench. The cleft in the planet's desiccated surface was deep enough that in less than a Standard Time Unit, it would be cast into near-total darkness. That was all right with Bossk; the business that he had to transact with his rival Boba Fett wouldn't take long.

"It's all right." Boba Fett had completed his visual survey of the site, in tandem with the various data readouts on one forearm of his Mandalorian battle armor. The indicator lights had gradually shifted from red to yellow, then finally to green as Slave I's multi-sensor threat-alert systems had finished scanning the area for hidden traps and ambush devices. Bossk had left his own ship in a lowered standby condition at the other end of the trench, so its onboard weaponry wouldn't trigger the other bounty hunter's suspicions." Though it's not quite as private as you might think," said Fett. One gloved hand pointed toward the surrounding cliffs, their crumbling faces towering above the humanoid figures below." I'm picking up signs of quite a few organic life-forms up there."

Bossk emitted a short, harsh laugh." I don't think we have to worry about them." He slung his blaster rifle from behind his back; bracing the weapon against his hip, he fired a maximum-power bolt into the cliff directly above where he and Boba Fett stood. The bolt shattered the dry stone, sending a rain of powdery white dust and shards down to the trench floor." Check it out," said Bossk. Using the toe of his own boot, he poked through the rubble. A hissing noise came from the needle-fanged mouth of a centipedelike creature, writhing and uncoiling to nearly a meter in length; its yellow eyes blazed with a ferocious malice

as it whipped itself around Bossk's ankle. Before it could sink the points of its fangs into his shin, he had clubbed it off himself with the butt of the blaster rifle. Another blow snapped the creature in two; the separate halves spattered a greenish-black ichor across the trench floor as they spun about in knotting contortions." Pleasant little things, huh? They're not even good to eat. Taste like recycled flange oil."

No reply came from Boba Fett. He had turned the gaze of his dark-visored helmet up toward the cliff face. What had been still and seemingly lifeless before now shimmered in the sunlight's flat glare with intertwining motion, like maggots in rotting flesh. The bolt from the blaster rifle had roused nests full of the many-legged creatures, exuding from holes chewed into the soft, crumbling stone. The sonic impact had been enough to startle the creatures on the other side of the trench as well; for a moment, the walls on either side of Bossk and Boba Fett crawled with coiling insectoid forms and hungry yellow eyes.

"Standard operating procedure for the Empire." Boba Fett displayed no signs of unease as the small shadows of the creatures wavered in the glare reflected from his helmet's visor." Especially when the Emperor's in his punitive mode. These things aren't native to this planet; they're a laboratory hybrid from an Ithorian root-source, genetically enhanced for a zero-moisture environment."

The dead creature had left a black smear on Bossk's boot. He bent down and wiped it off with his thumb-claw." The Empire seeded them here?" He straightened, looking up at the churning stone above him." What good are they?"

"They're not any 'good' at all," said Boba Fett." They exude bio-toxins with a molecular breakdown rate that can be measured in centuries. The levels eventually get high enough to kill them off as well. But by then the entire surface crust of this planet will be riddled with their poison-filled bore holes. There're some refugee colonies of Gholondreine-B natives on the surrounding system worlds, but they won't be coming back to their homeworld for a long time. Palpatine's seen to that."

Bossk felt slightly ill; he figured it was from the effects of having taken an exploratory bite of one of the centipede creatures. That'll teach me, he thought glumly. The thought of anyone deliberately concocting an unpalatable life-form irritated him; in Trandoshan philosophy, eating other creatures, including one's own species, was the whole point of existence, at least one worth living. Cold vindictiveness, such as the kind in which the Emperor indulged himself, didn't sit well with Bossk, either. Even reptiles had more of a capacity for hot-blooded, noble, and annihilating anger.

"You still want to talk business?" Boba Fett sounded amused by Bossk's apparent nausea." You look like you're about ready to lose your lunch."

"Don't worry about me," snarled Bossk." I sent for you to come here for a reason. We got a chance to make some major credits. Big-time stuff."

He hadn't seen Boba Fett in the flesh since they had both been back at the old Bounty Hunters Guild headquarters. The Guild had just started its process of falling apart, right after Bossk had killed his own father, Cradossk. He had been too busy since then, keeping his own faction of younger bounty hunters, the Guild Reform Committee, from splintering any further, to have paid much attention to Boba Fett's comings and goings. Even so, his suspicions had been aroused when Fett had vanished from the old Guild's headquarters, just as if he had finished the job he had been sent there to do. Bossk had heard a lot of rumors since then. The whispered accounts had it that Boba Fett had actually been responsible-intentionally so-for breaking up the Bounty Hunters Guild. Bossk couldn't quite figure out why Boba Fett would have wanted to do that. But if he had, Bossk decided, then he did me a favor. His father, Cradossk, would still be alive and running the show otherwise, and he'd still be waiting for his chance.

"What 'we' are you talking about?" Boba Fett folded his arms across his chest." I've already worked with you once. That's more than I'm in the habit of doing."

Boba Fett's lone-wolf reputation was well deserved; it was the main reason that Bossk had been so amazed and distrustful when Fett had shown up at the Bounty Hunters Guild headquarters and had applied for admission to the organization. But Boba Fett had gone in with Bossk and a couple of the other Guild members-Zuckuss and the droid IG-88-on a team operation. Fett had even brought in one more creature on the operation, the walking animate laser cannon called D'harhan. That had been some genuinely hard merchandise, out on the Shell Hutt world of Circumtore; most of the team had been lucky to get out alive.

As it was, for D'harhan it had been the end of the line. Which proved that teaming up with Boba Fett was not necessarily a good idea; Bossk had vowed to himself to never even consider it again. There were some situations that Boba Fett was willing to walk into, only because that barve was confident that he'd walk back out of them eventually. And if that meant the death of an associate from long ago, like D'harhan, then for Boba Fett that was a price he was more than willing to pay.

Time-and greed-had eroded Bossk's resolution, though. Just too many credits to pass up, he'd told himself. He'd learned his lesson about going in with Boba Fett on an operation like this: Watch your back. That would be easier, Bossk had figured, with just the two of them, instead of a whole team.

"Come on," said Bossk." Why don't we try to talk on a friendly basis?" The scaly muzzles of Trandoshan faces weren't designed for any kind of smiles, let alone ingratiating ones. In expressing positive emotions, Bossk was as handicapped as if he'd been wearing Boba Fett's dark-visored helmet." Things worked out pretty well the last time."

"You didn't think so then." Fett's voice was flat and emotionless." The way you carried on during that whole Circumtore job, I would have thought you had the last of any team operations."

"I changed my mind." Trying to talk another creature into something was way out of Bossk's line; he preferred threats and/or violence. But the chances of either one of those working with Boba Fett were well below zero." Besides-some jobs are just too big for one bounty hunter."

"Speak for yourself."

He had a good idea that Boba Fett knew what he was referring to. The word about this particular piece of hard merchandise had gone through the bounty hunter grapevine at close to hyperspace velocities.

"All right," said Bossk. He decided to drop any pretense of friendliness. That approach was obviously not working. Should've known, he thought grimly. This guy has always been durasteel-plated." Let's just approach it as a business deal. I got a good idea that you and me can pull this one off-if we work it together. Or we can go solo, and both wind up dead."

"As I said before-" Boba Fett didn't even bother giving a shrug." Speak for yourself."

Bossk could feel his own eyes narrowing into slits as his spine tensed with anger. The impulse to launch himself at the other bounty hunter, with his clawed hands going for Boba Fett's throat, was almost overwhelming. The only thing that stopped him was the certainty that while he was still in the air between them, he would already have a hole burnt by Fett's blaster rifle through his chest and out his back. He'd land at Fett's boots as a corpse.

"That does it." Why did I even bother? thought Bossk. This whole meeting was a waste of time. Boba Fett followed no creature's rules but his own." You go your way and I'll go mine. We'll see who gets killed first."

He turned on his heel and started back toward the waiting Hound's Tooth. Shadow had started to fill the dry marine trench, as Gholondreine-B's pallid sun shifted from its overhead zenith. On the trench's darkened wall, the yellow eyes of the centipedelike creatures glinted from their bore holes.

"Wait a minute." Boba Fett's voice called after him.

Bossk glanced over his shoulder, glaring at the other bounty hunter." What?"

"I didn't say I wouldn't go in with you on this one." The razor-edged shade cut diagonally across Boba Fett. He stood unmoving among the dead and hollowed-out shells of the vanished ocean's inhabitants." I was just giving you the facts about the arrangement."

A cold wind had started to roll down the length of the trench, cutting through the scales of Bossk's flesh and into the bones beneath.

The other bounty hunter's words evoked a slow nod from Bossk." We better settle the rest of it, then." He nodded toward the Hound's Tooth." Might as well talk about it aboard my ship."

Boba Fett shook his head." That's not a good idea."

"What's the matter?" The refusal of his invitation offended Bossk." I'm not trying to set a trap for you. I just want to talk business."

"Oh, I trust you all right." Boba Fett had already started walking back toward his own ship." Just not enough. Besides" -he stopped and turned the visored gaze of his helmet over his shoulder-" I've got something to show you. That you'll find interesting."

Whatever, thought Bossk. He followed after Boba Fett. Dealing with him was a continual, unneeded education in hostility.

The interior of Slave I was exactly as Bossk remembered it from the team operation on Circumtore. He glanced around the bulkheads and holding cages with visceral distaste; Boba Fett kept his ship in a state of maintenance that Bossk personally found offensive. It was like paying a visit to the surgical ward of an Imperial Navy medical crew, with every surface stripped to bare metal and sterilized. As far as Bossk was concerned, a bounty hunter's ship should be an extension of his personality, with every aspect of his spirit having seeped into the structure, right down to the engine ports and the cockpit controls. He was proud that walking around inside the Hound's Tooth was like walking inside the bone limits of his own skull.

Then again, thought Bossk with a sneer, maybe this is Boba Fett's personality. All business-credits and merchandise-and no passion, no actual enjoyment of the violence and terror that came with the bounty hunter trade. What a waste. . .

"Have a seat." Boba Fett pointed to a bench near one of the holding cages. He sat down on one at the opposite side of the space." So you want to go after this renegade stormtrooper. Right?"

At least with an all-business type like Boba Fett, there was no wasting time." That's right," said Bossk." It's the job of a lifetime."

That was an understatement. When the bounty had been posted, in an official wide-band relay from the Emperor's palace on Coruscant, the amount of credits offered had been thought to be some kind of transmission error, too many zeroes added on to whatever the real sum was. Bossk remembered thinking, I could buy a small, unindustrialized planet for that many credits-if the Empire was putting any up for sale. Both of the factions from the old Bounty Hunters Guild, the Reform Committee and those senile creatures that called themselves the True Guild, had contacted the Emperor's communications center and had asked for a clarification as to the actual amount of the bounty being offered.

And they had been told that there had been no transmission error. The amount given in the original message was for real.

The effect on bounty hunters throughout the galaxy, in every seedy spaceport dive and in the headquarters of the two Guild factions, had been electrifying. Greed worked miracles when it came to getting sentient creatures' attention. For Bossk, it had been like laying his bared claws straight upon an unshielded power generator, one big enough to drive an Imperial battleship through hyperspace; every scale on his body had seemed charged.

This would settle everything-that was the dominant thought that had sprung up inside Bossk's head.

To capture the renegade Imperial stormtrooper for which Emperor Palpatine had posted such a colossal bounty would determine once and for all, in Bossk's eyes and those of every other sentient creature in the galaxy, just who was the number-one bounty hunter. The Emperor wasn't putting up that kind of credits because it was going to be an easy job. This particular stormtrooper wasn't one of the trigger-happy rank-and-file, good for little more than simple terrorism and carrying out the orders of his commanders. Trhin Voss'on't was one of the commanders, right at the top level of the Imperial stormtrooper hierarchy, a strike-force leader in one of the elite Strategic Insertion battalions-or he had been right up until he had dumped the personnel of an Imperial Star Destroyer at blaster point, commandeering the vessel with a hand-picked skeleton crew of accomplices.

Initial speculation about what the motives of Voss'on't might have been centered around the possibility of his having defected to the Rebel Alliance, taking the Destroyer and its complement of weapons, code databases, and crypto-secured Imperial technology as an addition to the Alliance's growing arsenal. That theory had been largely abandoned when the destroyer had turned up drifting in an uninhabited navigational sector between star systems, with the corpses of Voss'on't's accomplices aboard. They had been efficiently executed in standard Imperial stormtrooper disciplinary fashion, a single laser hole at the back of each one's skull. The Destroyer had been stripped of whatever pieces were most easily and profitably salvaged; thruster engine parts with the appropriate molecular-level code numbers started turning up almost immediately in various black-market salvage operations, having filtered through an untraceable chain of scavengers and intersystem scrap dealers. Whatever credits had been paid out had enabled Voss'on't to pull off a complete disappearing act.

"What I think" -Bossk leaned forward from where he sat in Slave I's main hold-" is that this Voss'on't had been planning this move for a long time. And then when he had everything lined up just right, he jumped on it."

"That's obvious," replied Boba Fett." Nobody gets away with an entire Imperial Destroyer without making preparations."

"You gotta wonder, though, about why he did it." Bossk scratched his muzzle with one of his claws." Whatever credits he made from scrapping the ship, he's probably had to pour right into making his escape. There's a lotta bribes to be paid out, and a lot of creatures you gotta arrange to get killed, before you can just vanish like that. And Voss'on't had to get rid of the Destroyer at a rate of ten decicredits to the credit, actual value-it's not like he's making a profit on the whole deal and setting himself up in style for the rest of his life."

Boba Fett gave a dismissive shrug." What does it matter why he did it? Maybe he got tired of being under Palpatine's thumb. A lot of other creatures in this galaxy feel the same way. There wouldn't be a Rebellion going on, otherwise. The only thing that matters is that he did it-and that the Emperor will pay to get him back."

"Yeah, but you gotta get inside this trooper's head if you're going to have any chance of tracking him down." Bossk put the full force of his intellectual powers on the problem. He could feel his scale-covered brow corrugating with the effort." I mean, his motive has got to be an important factor."

"For you, maybe." Fett remained unimpressed." But not for me. The only thing that's important with hard merchandise is the price that's paid. Everything else, all the other factors-those always remain the same. The whole point is to track the merchandise down, then turn it over and collect the bounty. You start worrying about what the merchandise is thinking, then you're just handicapping yourself." The dark gaze of the other bounty hunter, the helmet visor that was such an unmistakable part of the Mandalorian armor, fell unwavering on Bossk." That's why you're at a certain level in the bounty hunter trade. . . and I'm at a different level."

Given Bossk's hair-trigger temper, it seemed odd even to him that Boba Fett's slighting remark didn't evoke an angry reaction. Maybe, he mused, I can learn something from this hunter. Maybe Fett was right; maybe he did think too much. All that ratiocination got in the way of being an effective hunter. That's my problem, thought Bossk. I'm too much of an intellectual.

"So-do we have a deal going?" Bossk leaned back against the bulkhead behind the seat." You wouldn't be talking to me, otherwise. Right?" He felt proud of himself for having figured out that much." You and me, we're forming a team, a partnership, to go after this renegade stormtrooper. What's his name. . . Trhin Voss'on't. That's the deal?" Bossk looked hopefully toward the other bounty hunter.

Boba Fett gave a single nod." Strictly a onetime operation. Don't anticipate anything permanent. I've had enough of hooking up with other creatures. That's why it didn't break my heart when the old Bounty Hunters Guild fell apart."

That was another whole issue; Bossk figured it would only blow the working relationship if he brought it up now. Besides-even if Boba Fett had deliberately set out to break up the Guild, did it matter what his reasons might have been? No more than what Voss'on't's reasons for bailing out of the Imperial stormtroopers were. I've already learned something, thought Bossk. This minimalist attitude he'd picked up from Boba Fett simplified things enormously, cutting them down to the essentials like a vibroblade through unprotected flesh.

"Wait a minute." A suspicion had formed inside Bossk's brain." You don't like going in with other bounty hunters-you just said so." He peered closer at Boba Fett." So why team up with me now? Are you that afraid of this Voss'on't barve?"

"Not at all," said Boba Fett." Fear is an emotion that I have a certain appreciation of; I can see it in other creatures. And it's a useful thing to use against them; it muddies their reasoning processes, so they fall prey to panic and random, chaotic behavior patterns. Then you can drive them before you like herd beasts." Fett's voice had lowered in tone, as though he were reading off the tomb inscriptions of his prey. He nodded slowly, then resumed speaking." But other than that, I have no personal awareness of such a thing; it does not exist inside me."

"You didn't answer the question." Bossk wasn't going to let himself be diverted by some elaborate speech." Why are you agreeing to team up with me?"

"The answer is simple." Fett pointed a single gloved finger toward him." You're useful to me right now. This job is at a whole new level; nothing like it has ever come up before. This is hard merchandise that can do much more than just run and hide; it can protect itself. Voss'on't has all the military skills that come with his having been a member of a Strategic Insertion team. He's got the resources-the training, the experience, the weapons-to put up a good fight. He's not some scared little bookkeeper cowering in a hole on some backwater world."

"So you need me." Bossk marveled at the concept-and that the notorious Boba Fett, the most feared bounty hunter in the galaxy, would admit such a thing." Huh."

"I didn't say that; I said you're useful to me." Boba Fett drew his hand back, then folded his arms across the chest of his battle armor." I could bring in this Voss'on't by myself; that's not a problem. I might even enjoy it; I don't often get such a challenge presented to me. But it would be easier with a partner. A matter of strategy: wherever Voss'on't is hiding out, he's going to be expecting bounty hunters to be coming after him. He's undoubtedly aware of the price that Palpatine has set on his head. And he'll be expecting that the bounty hunters will form partnerships and teams for this operation." Boba Fett's voice turned quiet again." He'll be expecting that from all the bounty hunters-except one. And that's me."

"So you figure this is the only way to take Voss'on't by surprise?"

"No-" Boba Fett shook his head." There would be other ways. But none that will get him to lower his guard in the same way. He's got to be made to think that he's the one that is running the game, that he's calling the shots. That's his weak point: he's used to being in command. And authority in the Imperial stormtroopers is both an absolute and an addictive matter; the other stormtroopers that Voss'on't gave orders to were expected to give their lives, if necessary. That kind of loyalty from underlings has a corrosive effect on a sentient creature's thinking. It makes him believe-deep down-that the whole universe is his to command. When wise creatures say that absolute power corrupts, they mean more than just a moral issue. It interferes with your intelligence as well."

"Hold on." Bossk frowned, trying to incorporate the other's words into the workings inside his own skull." I thought you said you didn't believe in trying to figure out what went on in the heads of the merchandise you went after."

"I don't," replied Boba Fett." This isn't psychology; this is just hunting. That's all. I don't care why the merchandise does what it does; I just take note of its behavior, how it reacts and moves. I've spent a lot more time at the Imperial court, and at places like Jabba the Hurt's palace, than you have; my skills are appreciated and paid for there." The voice coming from the helmeted figure held a dark, ominous certainty in its tone." I've seen the same thing in the admirals of the Imperial Navy, and in Jabba the Hutt and Emperor Palpatine. What starts out as a tool, a weapon in their hands, winds up as a cancer in their minds. And then. . ." Fett slowly nodded." Then it takes them over. And they become easy prey."

Bossk drew back on the bench, keeping a wary eye on the other bounty hunter. Fear might have been an unknown emotion to Boba Fett, but his words had managed to evoke a disturbing unease inside Bossk.

"Maybe you're right," said Bossk." But I don't think anybody's going to be knocking over Emperor Palpatine anytime soon."

"Is that so?" Boba Fett's voice had returned to its normal inexpressive tone." It's not something I'd make any wagers about, one way or another. The Rebel Alliance has too many hopeless optimists in it to be much of a threat to Palpatine."

"Anyway-maybe that's why Voss'on't went renegade. So the same thing wouldn't happen to him."

"If that's the case," said Boba Fett," then he's smarter-and more dangerous-than I've given him credit for."

"So what's your plan?" All that weird talk had made Bossk nervous; for a moment it had felt as if the bare durasteel bulkheads of Boba Fett's Slave I had been closing in on him." I mean, other than forming a team when he's not expecting you to do that."

"Simple-as all the best plans are. We don't form a team."

"I don't get it." Now Bossk was genuinely confused." What've we been talking about, then?"

"What we're talking about," said Boba Fett," is what we want Voss'on't to think we're doing. Oh, we'll form a team, all right-we're going in together on this job, all right-but the first thing we'll have you do is betray me. When we make contact with Voss'on't, when we find out just where he's hiding, then you'll stab me in the back."

"You're joking." Bossk peered intently at the other bounty hunter." Aren't you?"

"I don't mean literally stab me in the back. I mean you'll communicate with Voss'on't on the sly. And you'll offer to go over to his side, to work for him. It's an old trick among criminal types: the best way to get past your target's defenses is to make him think you're betraying someone else."

Bossk shook his head." I can see some problems with this scheme right from the start." He had expected better; was this the limit of Fett's strategic thinking?" First, how am I going to convince him that I'd even want to work on his side? The last bunch that went along with him all wound up dead. Unless I'm feeling suicidal, I'd have to be an idiot to go in with somebody with a track record like that."

"I'm not saying that you'll tell Voss'on't that you trust him. Of course you don't trust him; why should you?" Boba Fett's voice remained level and patient-to the degree that was possible." He'll know that you'll be watching your back the whole time you're dealing with him. Just as he'll know that you should be able to take care of yourself; you're an experienced bounty hunter and you've been in dangerous situations before. Whereas the crew that helped Voss'on't steal the Imperial destroyer obviously did trust him; that's why he was able to get the drop on them, and they paid the price with their lives. So you and Voss'on't will know where you stand with each other; you'll be able to make deals like actual business creatures."

"Then that's the other problem," said Bossk." I can see what he'd want from me-mainly, that I'd set you up somehow so you wind up dead and he doesn't wind up as hard merchandise in one of your holding cages." Bossk pointed with his thumb-claw toward the metal-barred structures on the other side of the hold." Voss'on't doesn't want to wind up on his way back to the Emperor. But what's in it for me? What does Voss'on't have that makes it worthwhile for me to deal with him? Like you said, he's probably already spent most of the credits he got from the scavenger operations that he pieced out the Destroyer to."

"Voss'on't has got plenty left to deal with. Maybe not credits on hand, but in his own kind of merchandise. Do you really think that Emperor Palpatine wants him back-and has posted that kind of bounty for him-just out of wounded pride, or something like that? The Emperor doesn't have that kind of emotional involvement in his stormtroopers; they're just tools for him, and if one goes bad, it's no big deal. There's plenty more to fill in the gaps in their ranks. If Palpatine wants Voss'on't caught and brought back to Coruscant so badly, there's a good reason for it. Voss'on't stole more than an Imperial Star Destroyer. He stole the code databases for all of the Imperial stormtroopers' Strategic Insertion teams; that's what the Emperor wants to get back into his possession."

"Codes?" Bossk gazed back at Boba Fett in disbelief-and disappointment." That's the big deal? What's so important about operational codes? That's the sort of thing that can be changed almost instantaneously if they fall into the other side's hands. Security breaches happen all the time in the Empire." Bossk shook his head." For that level of code, all the Empire has to do is send out a cancel-and-nullify signal to its military units, then send out a secured-and-encrypted relay with the replacement codes. It may be a complicated procedure, but it's cheaper than the bounty Palpatine has set up for Voss'on't's return."

"That's the procedure, all right." Boba Fett leaned forward slightly." For all of the Empire's military units-except the Strategic Insertion teams. Those units, like the one Voss'on't was part of, are not in constant communication with the Empire's communications centers. The Strategic Insertion teams are in deep cover; that's what they were designed for. When they're on a mission, especially in some remote sector of the galaxy, they can go for a long time without being in touch with any part of the chain of command above them. They're virtually independent operatives; that's why they're so few of them in the Empire. So they can't receive a cancel-and-nullify signal from their superiors, at least not in time to do any good. They have to stay with the original codes that they were sent out with-and those were the ones that Trhin Voss'on't took with him. And that's what the

Empire needs to get back, enough for Palpatine to have set up that kind of bounty."

"I got it now." The situation had started to become clearer for Bossk." Scrapping the destroyer was just to get the credits that Voss'on't needed to go into hiding; the real credits are in the code databases."

"Exactly," said Boba Fett." Voss'on't will try to cash in on those codes. He can either sell them back to the Empire, or he can see if the Rebel Alliance will pay him what he wants for them. He's under some pretty severe time pressure; the longer he goes without making a deal for the code databases, the less valuable they are. As the different Strategic Insertion teams finish their operations and return to their originating bases, then they can be fitted out with new operational codes. But in the meantime, Voss'on't has got some pretty valuable merchandise in his possession. If he can avoid getting picked off, and he can make the deal he's shooting for, he'll be set. With those kinds of credits, he can buy a lot of protection. But he still has to make the deal. He has to survive long enough to do that."

Bossk nodded, a little more excitedly." And that's where we come in."

"Exactly. I'm his main concern. I'm the only bounty hunter that Voss'on't is really worried about-"

"Wait a minute," protested Bossk indignantly." What about me?"

"Come on. Let's face reality." Boba Fett held up a gloved hand, as though trying to placate his partner." I've got the reputation, and I've got the skills to back it up. You don't."

Sullenly, Bossk grumbled a few Trandoshan words under his breath.

"You've got enough of a reputation," continued Fett," that it's just about plausible that I'd be willing to team up with you. We'll be able to convince Voss'on't about that. And once we've got him believing the setup, then we're on our way. If you're supposedly teamed up with me, then you're in the position to double-cross me. All these Imperial military types have a low opinion of bounty hunters; Voss'on't will fall for this story in a fraction of a Standard Time Part. For a cut of his eventual profits from selling the code databases, you can make sure that I won't be able to interfere with his plans. Or at least that's what you'll tell him. And that's what he'll believe."

Nodding slowly and thoughtfully, Bossk mulled over the details of the plan." How am I going to convince him that I can do that? That I can stop you from catching him?"

"That's the simplest part of all." Boba Fett spread his gloved hands apart." You'll kill me."

"What?" Bossk stared at the bounty hunter sitting across from him." Is that some kind of a joke?"

"I don't tell jokes," said Boba Fett," even when I'm not working. That's the plan. You're going to take care of Trhin Voss'on't's number-one problem for him. You're going to eliminate me-or at least that's what he's going to believe. And that's when he'll relax; that's when his guard will go down. And then he's vulnerable. He'll be an easy pick-off, then."

Bossk drew back from the helmeted figure, as though in an instinctive reaction to have wandered too close to a gaping precipice. His spine pressed against the cold durasteel of the bulkhead behind him, as deep and ominous suspicions formed inside his mind. What does he know? The brain inside the Mandalorian armor's helmet, and all of its cunning, intricate workings, was as hidden from him as though it had been concealed on the other side of this barren planet. Yet at the same time, he could feel Boba Fett's gaze penetrating him, inspecting each of his secrets, one by one.

With a force of will, he shook off the feeling. You're being paranoid, Bossk told himself. There's no way that Boba Fett would have been able to determine what Bossk's own agenda was. He's an ordinary, mortal creature like yourself. Like turning the key in a hidden lock, Bossk reached down into the core of his being and let his innate Trandoshan anger emerge. His father, Cradossk, if he were still alive, would have been embarrassed to see his own spawn being intimidated by any other living thing, including the notorious Boba Fett. The slitted pupils of Bossk's eyes narrowed even farther as the hormones of his anger seeped through his veins, tightening the heavy muscles they surrounded. It didn't matter, decided Bossk, whether Boba Fett knew anything about his real plans, about his intentions after the matter of pulling in Trhin Voss'on't was taken care of. When that time came, he would have a few surprises for Boba Fett. The other bounty hunter might think he was smart, but this time, Bossk was sure that he had finally gotten ahead of him.

"So how do we start?" The surge of anger brought along an equal amount of impatience. Bossk was tired of talk; he wanted action." How are we going to prove all this stuff to Voss'on't?"

"First," said Boba Fett," we'll need some concrete proof that you're willing to kill your partners. Some kind of proof that Voss'on't will regard as impressive. You'll never be able to get into his confidences unless we have that."

Why anybody would doubt the murderousness of a Trandoshan was beyond Bossk. His species had conclusively demonstrated its violent tendencies all through the galaxy. And proud of it, he thought. Who wouldn't be?

"What did you have in mind? Unless" -one corner of Bossk's fang-lined mouth lifted in an ugly version of a smile-" you were planning on having me kill you right now." He nodded, as though pleased with the idea." That would probably work."

"I told you-I don't joke around." A laserlike glare seemed to emerge from behind the helmet's dark visor." I'd appreciate it if you took this seriously as well."

"Okay, okay; sorry." Bossk held out both his palms, as though fending off a blow." So what are we going to do?"

"We need proof-real hard proof-that you're serious about betraying your partners. So we need one more partner, just for the purpose of giving us that proof."

"Another partner?" Bossk scowled." I don't feel like cutting in anyone else on this deal."

"We won't be cutting anyone else in. That's already been taken care of." Boba Fett rose from the bench on which he'd been sitting." Come over here. I told you outside that I had something to show you. Something that you'd find interesting."

Bossk followed the other bounty hunter over to the storage lockers at the hold's other side. He watched silently as Boba Fett punched a key sequence into the pad beside one of the square locker doors. A red light flashed and the drawer slid open.

"Take a look at this." Boba Fett grasped the edge of a cloth sheet covering some large, uneven object." This is all the proof you'll need." He pulled the cloth aside, revealing what was underneath.

"What the-" Startled, Bossk gaped at the figure lying face upward in the drawer." Zuckuss!" The insect-like face, with its immense goggling eyes and intertwined breathing tubes, was as familiar to him as his own. Bossk looked over at Boba Fett." What happened to him?"

The sound of Zuckuss's name being spoken aloud hadn't caused the figure in the drawer to stir. The round, glassy eyes continued to stare upward at the hold's metal ceiling.

"Simple," said Fett." It's all part of the plan. We needed a dead bounty hunter, someone that you can tell Trhin Voss'on't was part of our team. So I provided one."

The unemotional coldness of Boba Fett's explanation amazed Bossk. It really is all business with this barve, he thought. No wonder he's on top of the bounty hunter trade." He's dead?" Bossk pointed to the unmoving figure." Really dead?"

"See for yourself."

Bossk leaned down closer to the unmoving object in the drawer. He didn't feel sorry for Zuckuss-pity was another emotion foreign to Trandoshans-but at the same time, there was an odd trace of regret in seeing him like this. There was no sense of friendship or other tender feelings wasted among bounty hunters, but Zuckuss had been part of the team on the Circumtore job. Things had gone badly enough then that Bossk had felt like killing Zuckuss. . . but he hadn't. And to realize that Boba Fett had done so, as a matter of cold and hyperrational business practice, part of his scheme for bringing in this renegade stormtrooper-that didn't sit right with Bossk. To kill in anger was one thing, even a fine and noble thing. But Boba Fett's way of doing it without emotion struck him as essentially. . . evil. That's it, realized Bossk. He had rarely, if ever, meditated so deeply on a moral issue. That's it, exactly. And now here he was, teaming up with Boba Fett. The implications of that were something he didn't want to think about, now or ever.

Automatically, to keep his thoughts safely submerged, Bossk went about verifying Zuckuss's death. Checking the body's neck, where the most visible blood vessels were located, he found no pulse; at the filtered openings of the breathing apparatus, where the exterior tubes looped toward the chest, no signs of respiration were detectable. The latter convinced Bossk more than anything else; one of the more irritating things about Zuckuss, when he'd been alive, had been the slight, constant noise that went with his inhaling and exhaling. Won't have to hear that anymore, thought Bossk.

"He's dead, all right." Bossk straightened up from his examination of the corpse." If what you wanted is evidence to show Voss'on't that bounty hunters are getting killed, then you sure got it." The only problem was that the cover story that went with the corpse had it that Bossk himself had killed Zuckuss. He preferred taking the credit only for his own violence. That raised another question in his mind." How am I supposed to have killed him? He looks in pretty good shape. I mean. . . considering everything. Usually if one of us Trandoshans knocks somebody off, they really show it."

"Tell Voss'on't you suffocated him." Boba Fett pointed down to the corpse's face." With those exterior breathing tubes, it's a relatively easy thing to do."

Bossk glanced over at Boba Fett. That must be, thought Bossk, how he did it. Just like that; cold and effective." And why did I do it? What's the line going to be on that?"

"Just as you said before-you didn't feel like splitting up the credits with any more partners than necessary. I've already started the story in circulation about Zuckuss teaming up with you and me; it's probably already reaching Voss'on't's ears by now. So when we track him down, and you talk to him, you can feed him the rest of the line."

"Which is?"

"That you don't feel like splitting the credits with me, either." Boba Fett punched the bulkhead-mounted control pad again, and the drawer slid back, taking Zuckuss's lifeless body with it." And that you've figured out that you'll do better financially if you sell me out to Voss'on't rather than sticking with me as a partner. After all" -Fett turned back toward Bossk-" I'm not as famous for being trustworthy as I am for other things. Am I?"

It took Bossk a while to figure out whether or not Boba Fett was breaking his ban on joking around while doing business. If it was a joke, it made him as uneasy as seeing Zuckuss laid out dead. I'm in deep here, thought Bossk as he gazed into the dark visor of Boba Fett's helmet. He was beginning to wonder exactly how deep.

"No," said Bossk slowly." I guess you're not. . ."

"Then it's settled." Boba Fett punched a control sequence into the pad on the forearm sleeve of his Mandalorian battle armor. On the other side of the ship's hold, the hatchway irised open." We're partners." Outside, night had filled the dry marine trench of what had once been Gholondreine-B's planet-girdling ocean." And we have a plan. Don't we?"

"Right." Bossk's nod was just as slow." We sure do. . ."

All the way back to his own ship, the Hound's

Tooth, waiting at the other end of the trench, he could feel the yellow eyes of the centipedelike creatures in their bore holes, carved into the cliffs towering in darkness above him. Bossk knew it was only his imagination if he thought he could hear them laughing at him.