Star Wars_ I, Jedi - Michael A. Stackpole [13]
Tycho smiled. “Plourr. We didn’t know she was part of the world’s ruling family until they came looking for her to come back and guide them.”
I concentrated for a moment. “She was before my time, before the squadron was re-formed and Coruscant was taken. Didn’t realize who she was when I met her on Corellia, back when I was still with CorSec.”
“Her reports on that incident spoke highly of you nonetheless, Captain Horn.” Cracken pressed his hands together. “Leonia proved to be ambitious, and after the apparently accidental death of the Moff’s wife, he married Leonia. Then he suffered a stroke that left him speechless and paralyzed. Because of an allergy to bacta, the road back to health was not easy for him, but he worked hard in physical rehab. He regained use of his hands, a goal he had, it seems, because he then turned a blaster on himself and committed suicide. Leonia assumed his title and duties and ruled Eiattu 4 until Plourr and the Rogues forced her to flee. This she did, with a considerable portion of the planet’s wealth.”
I felt a chill run down my spine. Over the years I had heard countless stories of people willing to sacrifice others for their own greed. With CorSec I had even investigated a couple of these mourning-murderers, but they were nothing in comparison to Leonia Tavira. “Is there any question that she did away with her husband and his first wife?”
Cracken shook his head. “Not in my mind, but there is no evidence to prove she did. From Eiattu there is no trace of her—she escaped in a shuttle—until she had another run-in with Rogue Squadron. This time she was in command of a small band of pirates that proved somewhat less tractable than the Invids. She fled from that confrontation and hooked up with Teradoc. She obtained the Invidious from him by means unknown and vanished except for the occasional supply raid. She became more bold during Thrawn’s campaign, and first appeared with the Invids during the Emperor’s return. She was a minor concern then, but she learned very well how to manage her pirates.”
An image of the Booty Full replaced her holograph. “What she has done is forged a loose coalition of freebooters and marauders into a fleet that looks to her for planning and coordination. She provides them times and places for rendezvous, then plots courses, downloads battleplans and uses the Invidious’ firepower to suppress planetary defenses. Her allies then loot and pillage to their hearts’ content, transferring half of what they take to her. She then vanishes and they return to their bolt-holes, waiting for her next call.”
I frowned. “Why haven’t we gone after her fleet? Tracking them can’t be that difficult.”
“It isn’t. We know, for a fact, that many of them spend their time at Nal Hutta, or lairing up in various and sundry smugglers’ hide-outs throughout the galaxy.” Cracken’s eyes narrowed. “Without Tavira and the Invidious, her fleet would fall apart and mopping them up would be simple. With her ship intact, we can’t begin to prey on the fleet unless we devote sufficient forces to be able to repel an ambush. You were at K’vath. We had a Mon Cal Cruiser and two Star Destroyers there to take down a bulk cruiser and eighteen Tri-fighters.”
Tycho leaned forward and rested his elbows on his desk. “The fact is, though, sir, that we were not ambushed at K’vath.”
“I know, and that is one of the more troubling aspects of this whole affair.” Cracken sighed and I felt a wave of fatigue wash out with his breath. “The source that tipped us to the Booty Full’s raid appears to be one tied to Tavira. Riizolo says he wanted to go out on his own, so he severed ties with Tavira. He says he had been holding out on her anyway, which is why he was able to buy his own clutches. He even sliced the plans for the taking of the Glitterstar from her computer. Because we escorted the liner back to Coruscant, he believes he just got unlucky in the timing of the raid, since we were obviously there to escort the ship, not go after him.”
I shook my head. “He’d not be the first criminal to refuse to believe he was set