Star Wars_ Coruscant Nights 01_ Jedi Twilight - Michael Reaves [47]
He was startled to see windows set into the walls, since they were far underground, and more startled still when he realized that he was looking through them at the surface of Nal Hutta, the Hutt homeworld. He had never been there, had only seen holos, but its appearance was unmistakable; the blighted landscape, with its decaying urban zones and muck-filled waterways, could be beautiful only to a Hutt.
“Ah, you admire the vistas of my homeworld.” Rokko himself was reclining on a divan, his upper body’s bulk draped over its edge. The inevitable hookah bubbled quietly beside him. Jax could smell the aroma of honeyblossom spice in the air. The Hutt was flanked by two Gamorreans who looked tough enough and dumb enough to batter through a durasteel wall headfirst.
“They are windows into the past,” the Hutt continued, an odd tone creeping into his voice, which Jax recognized with surprise as nostalgia. “Created centuries ago by the great Hutt artist Gorgo, who, over the course of decades, exposed them to various scenic vistas of Nal Hutta. They consist of supercooled condensates of prothium gas; the optical density is so extreme, it takes light literally years to shine through.
“Gorgo died before I was born. I was fortunate enough to recently acquire these last creations of his. When the images slowly bleeding through them are gone, there will be no more.”
There was real sadness in Rokko’s tone. Yet another surprise in a day full of them, Jax thought.
Rokko took a long, slow draw on the pipe. “Now, then—to what do I owe this most unexpected pleasure?”
“I think we both somewhat overreacted the other day,” Jax said. “I’m willing to let the, ah, misunderstanding over the Cerean, and the subsequent visit to my place by the stormtroopers, go, if you are.”
“And my motivation in doing this would be … ?”
“Working to our mutual benefit.”
Rokko let aromatic smoke dribble from his mouth. “You have my attention. For the moment, anyway.”
“I need your aid in finding a lost droid.”
The Hutt blinked platter-sized yellow eyes. “And why should I do this?”
“Because there’s a lot of credits in it for you,” Jax said. “This droid is carrying information that, if it were to fall into the hands of insurgents, could be damaging to the Empire.” Jax knew that although Rokko, like most underworld types, had little love for Palpatine, he was smart enough to know which side of his fungus cake the slime was thickest on. If he could make some credits by finding and giving up this droid to the Emperor, the Hutt wouldn’t lose any sleep over doing so.
“And what, exactly, is the nature of this information?”
“I don’t know. All I know is both sides are searching for it, so I imagine it’s carrying more than a recipe for Trikaloo Surprise. Whatever the reason, there are several bounty hunters on its trail already.” Nick had mentioned this last only as a rumor, but Jax had no problem with inflating the urgency of the situation.
“So you come to me,” Rokko said. “Why?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Even if I find this droid first, I can’t turn it over to the Emperor or Vader myself. They’d smell the Force on me, know me for a Jedi. But you can hand it in and collect the reward for all of us.”
“You could go through other intermediaries.”
“I don’t want to take the chance. Besides, with your resources and our use of the Force, we can easily locate the droid first.”
Rokko was quiet. The tension stretched, and Jax’s hand began to itch for the hilt of his lightsaber.
“I could simply turn you both over to Vader,” Rokko said. “Collect the bounty on you as Jedi. It isn’t much, but then, neither is the effort.”
Jax felt a wave of relief. He wasn’t quite sure how—perhaps it was through the Force, or just knowing the gangster as well as he did—but whatever the reason, he knew that Rokko had taken the bait. Still, he couldn’t let that last