Star Wars_ The New Rebellion - Kristine Kathryn Rusch [150]
Cole wanted to glance over his shoulder, to see if he could see Threepio. But he didn’t. Instead, he gripped the side of the freighter with one hand and leaned as close to Brakiss as he could comfortably get. “Someone is sabotaging your droids,” he whispered.
Brakiss blinked and took a step backward before he managed to cover his reaction. “What?”
Cole nodded. He held out his other hand, filled with several tiny detonators. “We found these in droids shipped to Coruscant. Those droids were traced here.”
“What are those?” Brakiss now seemed calmer, as if nothing could ruffle him. Cole didn’t know how to read that initial reaction: Had the man truly not known? Or was he pretending not to know?
“Detonators,” Cole said. “When combined with the proper order, action, or code, they will make the droids explode.”
“Explode.” Brakiss put a hand to his face. On the superficial emotional level, Cole believed Brakiss was upset. But underneath, he felt an anger. Or something like anger.
That darkness again.
Darkness he couldn’t pinpoint.
“I’m afraid so,” Cole said. “One of your workers might be sabotaging—”
“My workers are droids,” Brakiss said. “They cannot harm their masters or themselves.”
Cole’s mouth had gone dry. Still nothing from Threepio or Artoo. Perhaps they had gotten away. Perhaps security wasn’t as tight as it seemed. “These were in the droids,” Cole said.
“Yes,” Brakiss said. He frowned. “Our clientele varies. Was the shipment a direct one to Coruscant?”
“I don’t know,” Cole said. He felt a faint thread of relief. Brakiss believed him. “All I know is that the droids came from here.”
Brakiss nodded. “And you came directly here?”
“As soon as I could.”
“Why didn’t one of your people contact me directly?”
Good question. Cole wished he had a good answer. “We—ah—I thought—”
“That you could blackmail me?” Brakiss’s smile was tight. “It’s not likely, Fardreamer. You outthink yourself. I control Telti. You would have done better to meet me elsewhere.”
“I wasn’t thinking about blackmail.”
“Of course not.” Brakiss’s voice was smooth. He had a lot of charm when he chose to use it. “You just happened to come here alone, in a freighter that is registered to someone else, without any orders or contact from the New Republic’s government. It seems quite suspicious to me.”
“The government sent me, hoping that you would work with me,” Cole said. “We—ah—hoped to keep this as quiet as possible. Droids are everywhere and people would be alarmed if they knew the droids to be dangerous.”
“Indeed they would, Mr. Fardreamer.” Brakiss put his hands behind his back. They swept his cape away from his hips, revealing a lightsaber like the one Luke Skywalker carried. “You don’t lie very convincingly. Perhaps you want to tell me why you brought an outdated R2 unit and an old protocol droid with you.”
Cole didn’t lie very well. It had never been a skill he had wanted to cultivate. He had never had much use for it before.
“They travel with me,” Cole said.
“I see,” Brakiss said. “You sent your droids off alone. Can’t you read the signs?” He pointed at PERSONAL DROIDS MUST REMAIN ON SHIPS.
“I didn’t see that one until it was too late,” Cole said. “They’ll be all right, won’t they?”
“I can’t guarantee it,” Brakiss said. “This is a factory. Droids often come here for reconditioning and repair. They might have a memory wipe or be disassembled.”
“I’m sure you can prevent that,” Cole said, when he wasn’t sure of that at all.
“I’m sure I can,” Brakiss said, “if you tell me who sent you and why.”
“I did tell you,” Cole said.
Brakiss smiled. This smile had cruel edges. The charm was gone. “Maybe you want to try again.”
Cole was about to answer when he looked around. The droids were back. Only these weren’t the ones he had seen earlier. These were modified assassin droids. Their obsidian faces had no visible eyes. Their arms were blasters, and more appeared from the center of their chests.
“What