Chapter Four: The King of Cargo

Mira had known Viidu for close to fifteen years. He was a big man, not just in girth but in manner. Every emotion, every gesture was grand and expansive. Even his self-styled title was larger-than-life: "The King of Cargo." Catch him on a good day, and he would greet you with hugs and champagne, loudly toasting to the health of your entire family. Catch him on a bad day, and he would be inconsolably morose, frequently drunk, and often in tears.

Today was not a good day.

Corso showed her to Viidu's office, but she'd have found it just fine on her own. The opera music was a dead giveaway. Corso waited outside while she poked her head into the room.

Viidu sat in a couch beside a much younger woman. He wept openly as the music played, while the woman stroked his arm reassuringly. A wine bottle was open, and already half-empty.

He saw Mira, rose to give her a hug. "You never age," he declared. "If anything, you look better than you did on Nar Shadaa."

"Liar," she kissed his cheek, then let him collapse into the couch again.

He indicated the woman beside him. "This is Syreena, the light of my life."

Syreena extended a hand and smiled warmly. "I've heard a lot about you, Captain. It's a pleasure to meet you in person."

Viidu offered a glass of his wine. Mira accepted, and he rose his glass in toast.

"Here's to a few of my favorite things," he declared. "To the best collection of artworks and exotic beverages in the whole system. And to the stupid separatists that destroyed it all."

He drank.

"The warehouse was burned to the ground in this morning's fighting," Syreena informed Mira.

"Burned to ash!" Viidu cried. "Between the seps and that backstabbing Skavak, I am ruined!"

Another drink.

"Go easy," Mira said. "We can figure this out, but you need to at least try to keep a clear head."

Viidu laughed. "Figure it out? The blasters Skavak stole - Those belonged to Rogun the Butcher!"

Mira shrugged. "Never heard of him. Am I supposed to be petrified because he calls himself 'The Butcher?' Sounds like I should have him pick out some good flank steak."

Syreena laughed, but Viidu didn't even crack a smile.

"Syreena, would you please wait outside?" he asked.

The young woman withdrew without protest. Viidu didn't continue speaking until the door was firmly shut, leaving him alone with Mira.

"Rogun keeps a low profile, but he is serious business. He's killed enough people to fill a convoy of bulk freighters, and he is utterly unforgiving."

"Why would you even do business with someone like that?" Mira asked. "You and me, we've kept going for all these years precisely because we don't mess with those people."

Viidu shook his head. "The money was too good," he said. More tears rolled down his jowly cheeks. "I'm getting old, Mira. I want to retire, settle down with Syreena and let her use me for my money. I don't want to run liquor, mining equipment, and bootleg holovids until I'm 70. But I've blown it!"

He buried his head in his hands and sobbed. Mira knew better than to interrupt him. When he was in a self-pitying mood, the best thing to do was let it run its course. She excused herself, closing the door behind her.

Syreena was waiting in the hall, leaning against the opposite wall. She looked worried.

"I can't say I'm surprised about Skavak," she said. "I told Viidu not to trust him." She took a step toward Mira. "I know it's bad when he sends me out of the room. How serious is it?"

"Serious enough," Mira admitted. "But every problem has a solution. I don't know this Rogun, but I'm guessing all he wants is what he thinks is due him, and maybe a little profit. He gets that, he's got no reason to come after Viidu or any of the rest of us."

"Without the warehouse, we can't just make up the value of the blasters."

"Then we need to find Skavak, my ship, and those blasters, and we need to do it fast."

Mira looked over Syreena, sizing her up. Viidu had always liked smart women, and her intelligence was clear. Whatever else she did for him, Mira was certain that she actively helped with the business as well.

"You knew Skavak well enough not to like him," Mira said. "He has the blasters, he has my ship. If you're Skavak, what do you do next?"

Syreena pursed her lips, thinking.

"Skavak was working with the seps, right?" she asked.

Mira nodded. "That's what it looks like, at least."

"I'm no expert on the separatists," Syreena said. "But I know someone who is. Reki." She shuddered slightly as she said the name. "Total sleaze, worse than Skavak, but he is loyal to Viidu. He might be able to turn up a lead."

It was thin, but it was better than hanging around Fort Garnik watching Viidu drink and cry.

"Where do I find him?"

"Well, there's one problem."

Mira sighed. Of course there was.

"Reki's in Talloran Village," Syreena said. "Caught behind a Republic blockade while they 'contain' the separatists there."

"Translation: The seps control the village."

"Pretty much."

"Can you get me past the blockade?" Mira asked.

"What about the seps?"

Mira shrugged. "I'm not a soldier, so they shouldn't have anything against me. I can take care of myself if some 'Big Man' decides he wants to pick a fight. But I'm not taking on Republic soldiers."

Syreena smiled. "I like you, Captain," she said. "Viidu knows everybody. I'm sure he could make some calls, get them to let you through."

"Not the way he is now," Mira complained.

"Leave that to me."

Mira followed the younger woman as she strode confidently back into Viidu's office. The big man was still crying. He had emptied his glass, and reached for the bottle to refill it.

Syreena swiped the bottle away. "Time to stop being an overgrown baby," she snapped.

Viidu looked stunned.

"Reki," Syreena said, practically shouting the name in his face. "Reki might know where Skavak's going with those blasters, right?"

Viidu looked longingly at the bottle.

"I'll pour it out right onto this carpet," Syreena warned. She started to tip the bottle.

Viidu sighed. "Reki's been in with the seps since this whole business started," he said. "If anyone knows, he would."

Mira stepped into Viidu's line of vision.

"Can you get me past the Republic blockade?" she asked.

Viidu nodded again. "The blockade's commanded by Lem Toker. He has a fascination with the planet Voss. I've managed to get him a few holos from some of the people who have been allowed to visit there."

When something pierced one of Viidu's bad moods, it was like flipping a switch. He jumped from morose to manic, with no stops in between. This was what happened now, as he burst into a wide grin.

"Of course!" he bellowed. "We get the blasters back, get Rogun what we promised him, throw in a bit extra for the trouble, that should smooth things over! Brilliant!"

He reached out to Syreena and yanked her to him, planting a kiss right on her lips.

"I'll call Lem right now," he announced to Mira. "You get down to Talloran."

"I still need to know where I'm going," Mira pointed out.

Viidu waved that away as a meaningless detail. "Syreena can tell you the route, and where to find Reki once you're there."

Syreena led Mira back out into the hallway, giving her the directions. Meanwhile, a re-energized Viidu turned to his holocommunicator, punching in the code to talk to his Republic contact.

Reki wasn't exactly suffering in squalor. He and his crew, clearly separatists themselves, had converted the upper floor of a giant warehouse into luxury living space. Reki had a personal apartment in one corner, with walls reinforced with Corellian steel to withstand any potential potshots.

His apartment wasn't exactly private living space, though it was clear all of the man's guests were there by invitation. A half dozen young women, all particularly attractive, lounged around the apartment. They were in various stages of undress. Some sat on the floor, some in the chairs scattered about the room. Two waited in the bed.

"This conflict has created many widows and orphans," Reki explained. "I... look after these charming ladies."

Mira noted the vacant expressions on the young women's faces. Some were drugged, she wagered, but others likely were just numb from the situation in which they had found themselves.

Reki was a middle-aged man, who maintained a stubble that he likely believed stylish – in the same way he doubtless believed there was something irresistible about his partially unbuttoned tunic and the gold and silver chains that surrounded his neck. Mira would have enjoyed throttling him with them.

"What about the ones who aren't quite as 'charming' as these?" she asked pointedly.

Reki shrugged. "My men share in my charity."

"Oh, I'll bet they do."

As disgusting as she found the situation, however, Mira was no crusader. And even if she was inclined to lead a parade of women back to Fort Garnik, she doubted Reki and his friends would just stand by and let her. She did her best to ignore the pitiful young women, turning to the business at hand.

"Viidu needs information about a separatist sympathizer named Skavak," she said.

Reki scratched his stubble as he thought.

"Mannett Point," he said after a moment.

"What where?"

"Mannett Point," he repeated. "When the separatists truly gained strength, it was their first target. The Republic used it for ordnance and munitions. We – ah, the separatists, that is – took control, destroyed the bridge connecting it to Avilatan. It's basically the base of operations now. The 'Pubs have tried to take it back, but it's a fortress."

He laughed, not even bothering to conceal how pleased he was about that. "Anyway," he said, "Individual personnel records, those that exist, would be there."

"Great," Mira replied. "Inside a fortress the Republic hasn't been able to take back. That's very helpful."

"All the security systems are looking for ships, either on the water or the air. As long as you can swim, you should have no problem slipping past the defenses."

"OK," Mira said. "Then what?"

"Well," Reki said, "I kept detailed schematics of every maintenance passage and tunnel on the island. They would take you right to the main computer." He gave a short, embarrassed cough. "Unfortunately, I had to abandon them. I had a small… ah, disagreement with a separatist commander, and had to leave quite abruptly."

Mira suppressed a frustrated howl.

"Lost schematics aren't much good to me," she said. "Or to Viidu."

"Oh, they're not lost. I'm sure they're exactly where I left them. You see, when I left, I short-circuited the door to my home and made sure all entrances were sealed shut. With active security systems in place. Lethal security systems."

"And you'll tell me how to get past those."

"Naturally." Reki winked, and Mira tried to keep her skin from crawling. "Once inside, you will find the schematics disguised as an extraordinarily tedious treatise on bird watching. Don't worry – I used a fairly simple code. If you have any recording equipment, I advise activating it. You really don't want me to go through this more than once."

Reki was not exaggerating the tedium of his code. It revolved around the names of specific waterfowl, cross-referenced with regions on Ord Mantell. By the third reference of the Mantellian flutterplume, Mira's eyes were as glazed over as those of the other women in the room.

Reki himself seemed enthused by the topic. Mira hoped he never tortured these poor women by lecturing them, but suspected he was too much of an egotist to refrain from demonstrating his brilliance.

"That," she declared when he finished at long last, "is the most sadistic way to hide information that I have ever heard."

"Then you haven't lived, Captain."

He leered, his eyes flicking up and down her body. She may have been older than his preferences, but he was happy enough to indulge in mentally undressing her.

If it wasn't for all the heavily armed men outside, it would have given her great delight to shoot him. With very precise aim.