Star Wars_ The Han Solo Trilogy 03_ Rebel Dawn - A. C. Crispin [62]
Jabba took his place in the location allotted to the Desilijic members, and cautioned the other representatives to allow him to do the talking. As Jiliac’s top lieutenant, he had that right, and they readily agreed. Jabba noted that even his parent, Zorba, had sent a representative. The two of them were not close, but it was comforting to know that Desilijic was well-represented, and that all of the Clan families had taken Jiliac’s summons seriously.
When the representatives of all the kajidics were present, the Executive Secretary of the Grand Council, a recent appointee named Grejic, called the meeting to order.
“Comrades-in-power, siblings-in-profit, I have convened you today to discuss concerns raised by Desilijic. I ask Jabba, Desilijic’s representative, to speak.”
Jabba wriggled out in front of Grejic’s dais and lifted his arms for quiet. When the other Hutts continued to whisper to each other, he raised his tail and brought it down against the stone floor with a loud WHAP!
Silence ensued.
“Fellow Hutts, I come to you today with some serious allegations of wrongdoing on the part of Besadii kajidic. Over the past year, their actions have grown more and more reprehensible. It all started with the Battle of Nar Shaddaa. All of us suffered because of that attack—except Besadii. We lost ships, pilots, cargoes, part of the Moon’s shield—not to mention how much trade we lost! And then there was the aftermath of the battle. The loss of part of Nar Shaddaa’s shield caused the destruction of several blocks of buildings from the crash of the Peacekeeper. Cleanup and reconstruction is still going on. And who has paid for it? Each clan lost property and credits—except Besadii. And they alone—they who suffered no loss, who could most afford it—they have paid nothing! We have all suffered and lost—except Besadii!”
The other Hutts murmured to each other when Jabba paused. He looked over at the section of floor reserved for Besadii, and saw that Durga had not deigned to appear. Instead he had sent Zier and several lesser members of the kajidic as his representatives.
“And what did Besadii do while Nal Hutta was threatened? They sold slaves to the very Empire that was attacking their homeworld! All of the clans cooperated in paying the credits for the exorbitant bribe of Admiral Greelanx—which proved to be the only thing that saved our world from a devastating embargo. All of the clans, that is … except Besadii.”
The other Hutts murmured muted affirmatives. Jabba was proud of the way his speech was going. He was verging on true eloquence, he thought, and even Jiliac, acknowledged orator that she was, could not have done better. He was actually glad that Jiliac had been too occupied with her baby to appear today. She wasn’t as versed in all of this as he was, and things didn’t affect her these days the way they used to.…
“And in the months since that battle, fellow Hutts, what has Besadii done? Helped us rebuild? Offered to recompense the other clans for their share of the bribe? Sent a single work crew of slaves to help with the rebuilding?” Jabba let his voice scale up to a near-shout. “No! Fellow Hutts, what they have done is to raise the prices on their spice to the point where the profits of every kajidic are compromised—at the worst possible time! Some may say this is just good business, just the urge for profit—but I say, No! Besadii is trying to take over! To put us all out of business! Besadii wishes that there was no Hutt clan on all of Nal Hutta—except Besadii!”
Jabba’s voice had risen to a thundering pitch. He slapped his tail for emphasis, hard. The echoes fled around the cavernous hall.
“I demand that Besadii be censured! I demand that the Grand Council