Star Wars_ Young Jedi Knights 11_ The Emperor's Plague - Kevin J. Anderson [13]
Barely able to contain her excitement, Nolaa snatched the cylinder, raised her clawed fingers, and motioned for a data reader to be brought to her. A Talz guard hustled up with the apparatus. She inserted the cylinder and began scanning files. Her rose-quartz eyes flicked from side to side. Finally Nolaa bared her sharp teeth in a broad grin.
"Yessss," she said. "It is here. This changes everything."
Leaping out of her stone chair, she called the other generals to her side. Then she instructed her Sullustan clerks to pay Boba Fett the full bounty from the Diversity Alliance coffers.
"Our business is finished then, Nolaa Tarkona," Fett said.
"Yes. Yes, of course." She waved impatiently to get rid of him so that she could discuss Diversity Alliance plans with her generals in privacy.
When Fett was gone, she gathered Corrsk, Kambrea, and Rullak around her.
"Assemble the armada-all the ships we have. Nothing will stop us now.
Corrsk, you and Rullak come with me. We'll go directly to the storehouse and take as many plague samples as we want. Kambrea, you will remain here to deal with the New Republic inspectors. Delay them until we can unleash our final solution."
"Me?" the Devaronian said in alarm. She lifted her pointed chin so that her curved horns tilted backward. "But what can I say to them? How will I answer their questions?"
Nolaa scowled at her.
"Use your imagination. Clear away anything that might arouse suspicion.
Remove the slaves from the spice mines and find volunteers to work there.
Hide all the weapons storehouses. Make sure the team spends most of its time in our happy, tame Twi'lek cliff cities. That should convince them everything's in order."
"But - how long will I have to keep them distracted?" Kambrea said.
"Not long," Nolaa Tarkona answered, gesturing for Corrsk and Rullak to follow her. "Once we reach the plague storehouse and get what we need, we'll never have to worry about humans again."
JAINA' S MIND KICKED into high gear as the implications of Bornan Thul's words struck home. Somewhere in the galaxy was a secret storehouse that held a plague lethal to humans. Raynar's father had actually been there, but hadn't managed to destroy it. And very soon the asteroid's location would no longer be a secret. If Boba Fett already had the information, Nolaa Tarkona would have it, too.
"Hey, I don't get it," Jacen said. "If you found the plague, why couldn't you destroy it?"
"Was the facility heavily guarded?" Tenel Ka asked.
All eyes turned back to Boman Thul. He looked down at the deckplates, as if ashamed.
"From what I could tell, the weapons depot was an old Imperial research facility. It was completely abandoned. But I couldn't blast through its outer domes with the weapons I had on my little ship."
"Ah. Aha," Tenel Ka said. "Then you were unable to enter."
"No... I got in," Thul said, "as Fonterrat had before me. I don't think the Imperials expected many intruders-its location was highly classified.
Inside, though, I found the facility's vaults locked. I've no idea how Fonterrat got into any of them to get his samples." He sighed.
"Unfortunately, the only weapon I had with me was my blaster, and I was all alone." He ended with an apologetic shrug. "Not much chance destroying an entire munitions depot that way."
Jaina shook herself and stood up straighter.
"Well, you're not alone now," she said. Lowie roared his agreement and then woofed a few times for emphasis.
"Master Lowbacca wishes to point out that you now have several trained Jedi to assist you. And, if I might be so bold," the little droid added,
"I myself am quite accomplished at interfacing with strange computers, analyzing cyberlocks, retrieving encrypted data, and so forth. And, now that I have been upgraded, I am fluent in over sixteen forms of communication."
The forlorn expression on Raynar's face wrenched Jaina's