Star Wars_ Coruscant Nights II Streets of Shadows - Michael Reaves [56]
Typho was among the least likely to suffer such a theoretical delay. As an officer and bureaucrat himself back on Naboo, he understood the workings of government complexes. While this one was incomparably bigger than any counterpart on his homeworld, the guidelines by which it operated were similar. Despite the occasional setback or dead end, he had little serious difficulty filling out the required flimsiwork and navigating the facility.
His persistence eventually found him a modest room occupied by a dozen beings seated at workstations. Half of them were human; the rest comprised various species. The middle-aged bureaucrat he eventually found himself before checked his vital data and acknowledged their validity with a squeal of approval.
Typho had encountered Jenet in such positions before. Short and stocky, with rodent-like facial features, prominent teeth, and white hair and facial fur, they were not, from a humanoid perspective, the most attractive of bipeds. But they were hard workers and particularly famed for their near-infallible memories. While the Emperor was well known for his humanocentric policies, he was smart enough to hire the right species for the job. And who better, Typho reflected as he took a seat across from the smallish creature, to serve in a sensitive bureaucratic position where recall of detail was essential?
The Jenet’s low voice was interrupted by a good deal of ancillary huffing and puffing, but his command of Basic was all in all quite admirable.
“So. You are called Typho, a captain of Royal Household security from Naboo.”
“Yes.”
“I am Losh. I have seen pictures of your homeworld. Unsightly, water-ridden place.”
Typho nodded. “Perhaps so, but for sheer global repulsiveness little can compare to Garban.”
At this insult to the planet that gave rise to his species, the Jenet’s whiskers twitched. He was much pleased, and not a little surprised.
“You are familiar with Jenet society?”
“With the basics,” Typho conceded modestly. “As a security officer I have to know galactic protocol. It wouldn’t do to greet someone from the Tau Sakar system, much less Garban itself, with a flowery compliment.”
“Indeed it would not.” The bureaucrat was impressed; visitors who knew and understood that the Jenet traditionally greeted one another with insults were few and far between.
“It’s clear you are who you say you are. Certainly your vitae check out clean.” Caressing a whisker on the left side of his bright pink face, the official studied the information floating in the air before him. “According to the records, this is not your first visit to Imperial Center.”
Again Typho nodded. “I have had the pleasure before, yes.”
“I hardly need tell you there is much to see and do here.” His sigh emerged as a series of short, soft squeaks. “Though as a midlevel functionary, I am fortunate if my family and I can spend more than a week or two each year availing ourselves of such pleasures. What is your purpose here, Captain Typho?”
Affable and welcoming though the interviewer was being, Typho didn’t relax his guard for a minute. The Jenet was merely doing his job in the most efficacious manner possible: Put your guest at ease, set his mind at rest, and then probe for the information you really want.
“I’m no tourist,” Typho told him straightforwardly.
Whiskers jerked. “I guessed as much. Coming to this place does not fit the profile of a sightseer. So, again: what is it you want?”
“Information.”
“What else?” With a casual wave Losh indicated their surroundings. “The Emperor did not cause this complex to be compiled to provide entertainment. This section deals with government travel. You are a government official, albeit of a minor planetary system. Let me guess: you seek particulars regarding the travel of someone from Naboo. Someone who has used government funds to visit Imperial Center on nongovernmental business.”
“No,” Typho