Star Wars_ I, Jedi - Michael A. Stackpole [140]
I stroked my goatee. “Anyone surviving the band’s slaughter had to be a hot hand. I can see why Tavira is happy to have allied with them. Any idea where they are?”
“I have a very good one. The Khuiumin system was too dangerous for them after the Imps hit them, so they were basing themselves near their employers. Now, with Nal Hutta proving to be a place where some Invids are known to ship from, Nive and his people have gone back to Khuiumin, basing themselves on the fourth planet again. A number of other ships and crews have gone there, too, which leads me to believe it is the new Invid base.”
I leaned on the back of the chair by Booster’s desk. “Most people deserted the world after the Imps broke the pirates, right?”
“Sure, all except those who couldn’t afford passage or couldn’t afford to be spotted on a more civilized world. With the pirates’ return, the folks required to supply goods and services are flowing back there.” Booster smiled. “I figure we cruise in, threaten to vape a city, and get them to produce Mirax.”
I frowned. “You aren’t serious?”
“Corran, the Eyttyrmin Batiiv pirate company died when two Imp Victory-class Destroyers hammered them. This is an Impstar Deuce. The Survivors’ll cave.”
“I don’t think that’s the plan we want to use, Booster.” I shook my head slowly. “I don’t think they know where Mirax is, but I do think they’re a spacelane for getting there.”
Booster sat back, putting his big booted feet up on his desk. “So, you think you’ll just meander on in there, ask some questions, get some answers and leave again? I don’t believe it—no way your father could have had a kid who is so dumb.”
I suppressed a growl. “First off, I’m not and he didn’t. Second, I don’t lecture you on IFF transponders, you don’t lecture me on infiltrating a criminal organization.”
Booster held his hands up. “I’ll grant you that you’ve got experience in hutting your way in where you aren’t wanted, but these pirates aren’t dewback-drivers. They’re hard and nasty and have all their bytes in the right place and locked down tight. I don’t know if they can outfly you, but most of them probably have as many combat hours as you do. They’re close to the top of the Invid food chain, so walking in there will be tough.”
“Then I’ll just have to be tougher.” I straightened up and gave him a wink. “Don’t worry, Booster, I know how to soften them up. I’ll just bring Jacob Nive a big welcoming present and he should be happy to see me.”
The fourth planet in the Khuiumin system was called Courkrus for reasons known only to those who had settled it a long time ago. The largest city, Vlarnya, toward which I flew, looked like the morning after of a party that had been interrupted by a sandstorm. The world itself was not entirely arid, though the section where Vlarnya had been located really was. Irrigation and modern agricultural techniques had allowed farms to spring up in the area, but once the pirates left and the economy collapsed, the area had largely reverted to being a dustbowl.
Still, it was the dustbowl that had spaceport facilities, so that was where I headed. I didn’t bother to comm down for landing permits or berthing rights; I just did a flyby, picked a docking bay and settled down into it. This seemed to alarm some individuals, but since that was the purpose of the exercise, I was pleased with the effect. I shut the Tinta Blue’s main drive down, opened the gangway, then wandered out of the cockpit and settled into the Premier cabin. I helped myself to a lominale, sat back and watched the local holochannels on the entertainment monitor.
Booster and I had discussed how the theft of the shuttle should be handled. I felt bad about taking