Star Wars_ Cloak of Deception - James Luceno [112]
Supreme Chancellor Valorum had ordered the Justice Department to commence an immediate investigation, but the chief investigators had soon found themselves thwarted by Lieutenant Governor Tarkin. Tarkin insisted that, since Eriadu had failed to provide adequate security, the case should be handled by Eriaduan investigators. There was some concern that Tarkin, fearing retaliation by the Trade Federation, would seek to shift the blame to other parties. But, instead, he had simply impeded the investigation by allowing evidence and eyewitnesses to vanish. Ignored, the judicials Valorum had asked to remain behind on Eriadu had finally decamped.
Qui-Gon had tried to stay abreast of developments in the case, but the chief investigator who served as liaison with the Eriaduan team had only just returned to Coruscant.
“Havac turns out to have been Eriaduan,” the judicial officer continued. “His real name was Eru Matalis, a media correspondent and holodocumentarian, with a longstanding grudge against the Trade Federation. At some point he became the leader of the Nebula Front’s cell on Eriadu, and rose through the ranks to a command position in the organization.
“A search of the safe house the Nebula Front maintained in Eriadu City revealed that the Front had contacts in all quarters of government and law enforcement, and presumably knew as much as anyone about security for the trade summit. Evidently, Havac—Matalis—used his contacts to obtain security badges, uniforms, and documentation for the assassins Cohl had hired, and perhaps arranged to have weapons concealed inside the hall, prior to the summit itself.”
“The operation must have been planned as soon as the trade summit was announced,” Qui-Gon said. “Or soon after the attack on the Supreme Chancellor, here on Coruscant. I don’t suppose we’ll ever know whether that attack was genuine, or designed from the start to sidetrack us from what was being set in motion on Eriadu.”
“Not unless Cohl or Havac learn to speak from beyond the grave,” the judicial said.
“What of the assassins who were captured?”
“Everyone in custody upholds that Valorum was the target—even the two who you discovered with Havac in the media booth. As they tell it, Havac’s goal was to make it appear that the Trade Federation’s droids had killed Valorum, at the behest of the directorate. That would have led to the dismantlement of the Federation, which is what the Nebula Front wanted all along.
“We considered the possibility that something went wrong with the droids’ programming, and that the attack on the directorate was a mistake. But Baktoid provided ample proof that that could not have happened.”
“Could Baktoid have been involved in abetting Havac?”
“They vehemently deny any involvement. In fact, their technicians helped us analyze the battle droid—the so-called commander—which was found to contain a mechanism that allowed it to be controlled independently of the central control computer, but only for a brief period. Havac’s holocam prompted the commander to act, and the twelve other droids followed the commander’s lead. As soon as the central control computer realized what was occurring in the summit hall, it shut down all of them.”
Qui-Gon considered it for a moment. “Havac must have had help getting the droid into Trade Federation hands.”
“Absolutely,” the judicial said, nodding. “But diplomatic privilege has prevented us from learning all that we wish to know. For example, Eriadu Spaceport records show that the directorate arrived with only twelve droids. So the thirteenth—the assassin—had to have been acquired while the delegation was on the surface.
“Gunray, the new commanding viceroy of the entire Trade Federation, alleges—through his lawyers, at any rate