Chapter 22: Leads
"You come here offering me nothing of value, small one."
The Aqualish crossed his beefy arms, the webbing of his clawed fingers fully on display as he glared down at his guests.
"Give me one reason why I should help you?"
Erbba's large green eyes narrowed, the insult had been clear on the Aqualish's lips.
Small one.
You had to be either very brave or extremely stupid to use such an insult on a Hutt. Especially a young one, the younger the Hutt, the hotter the temper, or so the old wisdom said.
Shyra watched her companion. She was trusting that Erbba could keep his mind on the mission.
Finding Balya Istillo.
If Avaryss was up to something, she would likely be moving soon…
…They had little time to avenge insults.
Shyra was tempted to reach out to her friend, seek to calm him, either with a paw on his shoulder, or the Force, but she dared not, not here.
She was playing a role, and that wasn't the role of a Jedi, she stood just behind Erbba, she and Dunc. Both women were dressed in the garb traditionally worn by Hutt enforcers, playing the role that Erbba had suggested.
She had allowed the beast within out, just enough to make her appear as Shistavanen were-woman, a useful disguise. Dunc's face was hidden by a leather mask that only let her eyes be visible, both carried vibro-axes, a weapon common enough in a Hutt court.
How far would they need to go if Erbba's anger got the best of him?
Most Hutts would not have let someone insult them, lower clan or not. Shyra wished that she could remind him of that, just in case.
Perhaps she need not have worried.
For his part, Erbba didn't let the remark get to him, a rumble escaped from the back of his throat, but his wide smile appeared again, a smile that seemed to almost stretch all the way around his large head.
"Tuka, please, there is no reason to be flinging insults. I've already said that we are willing to pay for this information, and pay handsomely."
The Hutt stretched out his tiny, yet muscular arms.
"I do not see why we cannot both profit."
The Aqualish, Tuka Daba, made a whistling sound between his tusks.
Shyra could not tell if that was a good or bad sign.
The gambling parlor where they currently stood was in the roughest part of this district, creatures from many worlds crowded in the shadows, watching the exchange between Tuka and his guests. Rix was hidden among them somewhere; Shyra could sense that at least. He had come in two days ago, preparing an escape plan, just in case things fell apart.
A necessary precaution, considering how things had been going lately.
After almost two weeks of searching the crew had found themselves on the mining colony of Kafrene. Before that they had travelled throughout the systems controlled by the mining guild, following the path taken by Bayla Istillo in her search for allies to help liberate her world from the Sith.
The trail had gone cold six days ago. Though Rix had managed to learn that someone matching Bayla's description had managed to book passage off the last world she had been sighted on to this place.
Why she would have come here was a mystery to Shyra.
This place didn't seem like where you went when seeking aid…
…it sounded, and felt, like a place you ended up when you hit rock bottom.
Kafrene was a dirty, broken-down place. It was not as bad as the Wreck, but it was a close second. Most of the miners here were indentured, only a few steps above slaves.
Why in the Force had Bayla Istillo come here?
Perhaps she had been trying to lay low…
…or she had had no other choice.
The miners did pretty much anything to forget their troubles here, the back-breaking work, and the huge debts that most possessed. Which meant that they sought out vices when they could, any vices that could make them forget for a short time.
That is where Tuka Daba came in.
His business…was vices.
He was what the higher castes of his people would call, the lowest of the low, the webbed fingers and claws marked him as such. Despite the fine vest and leggings he wore, he radiated with a cold disdain, and a near hatred for everyone around him.
Not the kind of person she would have preferred to come to for aid, but they had little choice.
He knew what went on in the shadows of this world.
If Bayla had been here, he either knew, or knew someone who did. The latter seemed more possible, considering what they had learned on their last stop, the name of the man who had helped the princess book passage here. According to Rix, he was last known to have been working with Tuka Daba.
Now, they needed to talk to this man.
"Surely you can understand, Tuka," Erbba continued, "My clan has needs, ones that you can fulfill, we only wish an audience with one of your people, we believe he has information we need, information necessary in setting up some new investment opportunities."
The Hutt chuckled.
"All we wish to do is speak with your man. Neven Roeks. Let us do that, and we will be on our way.
The name provoked a reaction from the Aqualish, he snarled angrily.
"You reveal yourself, Hutt. Asking about that double dealing scum, Roeks tried to betray us, and he paid for that crime."
"Double dealing, you say," the Hutt said, "How so?"
"Came to us Roeks did, speaking for the Knights of Bantoon. Offered much for protection and resupply, bodies to sell, transit to worlds where I had contacts not. Seemed to be a good deal."
Shyra only just suppressed a growl.
Months ago, she had spoken with Lana Benniko, tried to convince her to reach out to the Knights of Bantoon. The Sith woman had rejected that thought, informing Shyra that the knights had abandoned their duty, and that they had turned corrupt, and that they were now no better than common outlaws.
Shyra had not wanted to believe it, but now, faced with what she was hearing…
It seemed that Benniko had been right.
"Last deal," Tuka continued, "Wanted help capturing a noble, Roeks did. Offered him men, weapons, and betrayed me, he did."
The Aqualish snarled.
"Didn't say noble was the runaway princess! Knights wanted to keep bounty on her head all for themselves. Tried to cheat Tuka…no one cheats Tuka! NO ONE!"
"Your anger is most understandable," Erbba said, "I do hope you punished Roeks for his betrayal, it is what we Hutts would have done."
Tuka hissed.
"Punished he was, and now you come before me, seeking to cheat me! You seek the runaway princess! You think that Roeks will tell you where she is. You want the two million credits for yourself!"
Shyra watched Erbba, wondering how he would respond, denial, or acceptance.
The Hutt did neither, he just gave the Aqualish crime boss a sly wicked look. The kind of look that promised everything from slavery to murder.
Shyra felt a slight shiver.
She knew Erbba, he was a friend, but he was still a Hutt.
How many creatures had ended seeing that look on the face of a Hutt? Far too many, for too many years, she suspected.
The Hutts were a dangerous species.
Few would deny that.
Tuka seemed to understand as well, he stopped bellowing, and seemed caught in the Hutt's large green eyes.
He seemed to shrink a little, perhaps realizing that he had gone too far.
Up to this point Erbba had been speaking basic, but now he switched to Huttese, perhaps as a sign of his displeasure.
He glared at the Aqualish.
"You need to understand something, Tuka Daba. The cartel has never had an interest in this place. We have accepted the tributes paid to us as our due, but have understood that what is here is here for you and your fellows. How you are acting now, how you are speaking to me now…that is enough to make use reconsider our decision. Perhaps the family heads need to take a closer look at your business, but I digress, I'm not here to cheat or lie to you. Hutts don't cheat, we claim what is ours. If we viewed this "runaway princess" as ours, we would offer you a fair finder's fee, more than fair, as your station allows."
Erbba sniffed and brought himself up straighter.
"Let us speak no more of lies and cheating. The clans wish to have words with your man Roeks, after that, I'm letting to let this matter pass unmarked. Time is of the essence, and you have my word as a council representative, that should anything come of this meeting you will profit accordingly. Otherwise…"
The Hutt let the sentence stand unfinished, and from the sense of fear coming off the Aqualish, he could guess what otherwise meant.
Tuka coughed, and when he spoke again, it was much softer, and not so brazen.
"I…I will show respect to the cartel. Sadly, the Roek man is not here to be spoken with."
"Really," Erbba replied, "Where is he?"
"Roeks was punished," he continued, "Lost men, I did, carved up by a lightsaber they were. Princess stronger than he thought. Realized then that it was she, and he confessed as much after."
Tuka shook his head.
"Lost much, best men, even a cousin of mine. Roek needed to pay off his debt, sold him I did, had no credits and his friend were gone."
Erbba nodded.
"Sold to whom?" he said, switching back to speaking basic.
Tuka told them, told them everything he knew.
Shyra growled to herself.
Damn it, she thought.
Another dead end.
When it was over Erbba smiled that wide smile of his.
"Thank you, ever so much Tuka," he said with what might pass for a bow.
"It is always a pleasure doing business."
IOI
Two hours later, the crew found themselves back aboard the Amanda Fallow. Kort moved around them with a medical scanner, checking them all out in turn.
He insisted on this, claiming that the various bacteria and viruses on Kafrene were nothing to take for granted.
He spent the longest time on Shyra, running a medical scanner over her, citing several things that could have clung to her fur.
She accepted this, and let him work, in the medical world, her lover knew best, though…
…she was still not happy that he had invited himself on this mission.
Dunc sat across from her, idly flipping a dagger with her right hand. Rix Hunt, still in the garb of a local Kafrene sat next to them, just having finished telling them what he had observed at Tuka's court before their arrival. Sadly, having found out nothing further about their quarry.
Erbba was in the back, speaking on the hyper-comm, talking to one of his family's clan contacts.
All attempts to find any survivors of the Knights of Bantoon had failed. The group had been all but annihilated, destroyed by bounty hunters, according to Hunt.
Neven Rokes had been the last of the group, their contact with the fringe here on Kafrene. Tuka's choice to sell him into slavery left his current position unknown.
Hopefully, Erbba would be able to find out more.
"So what is the plan now, boss?" Rix Hunt asked her.
Dunc Joyce hissed angrily.
"I still can't believe that my people fell so far. Donos and his knights were a beacon of hope for those of us that were off world when Bantoon fell."
The woman shook her head.
"His legacy ending like this…it…I…I have no words, Master Shyra."
"Desperation can lead to bad decisions," Kort answered, "And besides, once their leader was gone, who was left to steer your people on the correct course."
Shyra nodded in agreement.
"Do not lose hope, Dunc. There are still those committee to seeing your world free of Sith influence. You have my word that I will do everything in my power to find your missing princess…
And see Avaryss thrown on the trash heap of history, she thought to herself.
The seizing of Bantoon, the Staukhause raid…the witch had so much to answer for.
Shyra would see that debt was paid in full, with interest.
"Roeks did know how to contact Princess Bayla, or so he told Tuka," Rix confirmed, "It was through Tuka's group that Bayla's transport to Kafrene was arranged."
"If he still lives, that information may lead us to the princess," Shyra said, "If we can open up communications with her. We are one step closer to bringing in into the alliance."
"If the man still lives," Dunc said morosely, "Who knows what the slavers have done to the man? He may be dead already."
"Master Shyra," Erbba called out, "A word if you please."
She rose from the table, the rest of the crew following her aft. They arrived to see Erbba removing a head set, and pushing their portable hyper comm away from his large body.
The Hutt turned to her; his expression guarded.
"I have two pieces of good news, and one of bad news," he said.
"What is the bad news?" Shyra asked.
"I think you should hear the first part of the good news first; it will make things clearer."
Shyra growled, but nodded for him to continue.
"The good news is that I located the slaver group that took possession of Mister Roeks, and the ship they used. He was to be taken to the slave markets on Nar Shadaa for a quick sale."
That was good news, Shyra admitted, if the man had not been sold by the time they reached the smuggler's moon, there was a chance that they might be able to buy him, set him free in exchange for what he knew.
"What is the bad news?" Kort asked, beating his lover to the punch.
Erbba grimaced.
"The bad news is that the ship never reached Hutta. It was attacked enroute. The crew slain, and the cargo seized."
Shyra only just suppressed an angry snarl. She could almost see Avaryss' face grinning with wicked delight.
Again, the dark side seemed to favor the witch's wicked schemes.
Another dead end!
Her temper threatened to show itself, but Kort was there, a calming hand on her shoulder. She glanced up, her lover's even gaze kept her centered, as it often did during her burning times, when her life cycle threatened to push her into the realm of a mere animal.
She…she was grateful for that.
"You said there was a second piece of good news, Erbba."
The Hutt smiled.
"The second piece of good news is that I have the route the ship was on when it was attacked. I just finished speaking with my clan's source in that area, and I learned something interesting."
"Which is? Spit it out already," Dunc said.
"Patience, dear Dunc," he answered, " You need to understand the politics of my people, or rather, how we do business with outsiders. It is rare that my people tolerate the theft of what we consider our property. Usually such theft is answered with the harshest and swiftest of punishments, but sometimes, it is tolerated."
"Why is that?" Hunt asked.
"For reputation, if for nothing else. Life on the fringe can be hard. Reputation is often the only thing that keeps all the competing powers in line."
Erbba's expression turned more thoughtful.
"The Hutts recognize that there are unstable elements on the fringe, and rather than waste time and credits trying to destroy them, they have learned to turn those elements to their advantage. The routes that the Hutts use to transport slaves are dangerous, far too dangerous for most to use, because of the pirate activity. That activity keeps those routes free from outsiders. Only the Hutts have the resources to protect their goods on those routes."
Shyra nodded.
I understand, she thought to herself.
I think.
"The Hutts have arrangements with these pirates, don't they? They use them to scare away anyone who might seek to use those routes themselves?"
Erbba nodded.
"Exactly, Master Jedi. Maintaining such an arrangement, keeping the secret, it does require payment, but how? These pirates are enemies of the cartel? How would it look if it was discovered that the Hutts were openly paying their enemies? It would make us look weak, like we are paying protection for something that is already ours."
Rix smiled.
"They allow these pirates to take a transport every now and then, don't they? That is the payment!"
Erbba's smile spread across his large head again.
"Bravo, Mister Hunt. Thus, reputation is maintained. The pirates are continued a power in their sectors, and the Hutts maintain their status as dangerous enemies. Enemies that only these few mad pirate groups would dare raid, and it is only a matter of time until the Hutts find and exterminate them, and they will…likely…one day…when the usefulness of such raiders reaches its end."
"Do you know which of these groups hit the ship that Roeks was on?" Shyra asked.
"Not yet, but the list will be short. Only three groups operate in this area. One is a front, owned by the Cartel, the slaves diverted from Hutta only to end up on smaller markets on the rim. The second is run by a company of spice runners, they always need bodies to process their product. Manual labor does not break down as easily as droids. The third, is a group that frees the slaves it captures, if you can believe it. They work out of an abandoned Republic colony. Those they liberate are either ransomed back to their families, or remain on the colony as free laborers, miners and farmers. Most seem to prefer that, perhaps it is better than the lives they left behind. Anyone skilled is contracted out, with a small bit of the profit going back to the pirates that freed them."
"Do we know which group took Roeks?" Shyra asked.
"Not yet, but my contacts are looking into it."
The Hutt shrugged.
"We should know in a few hours. If luck is on our side, Roeks hopefully fell into the hands of the third group. It is run by a Weequay, a fair being for the most part, for pirate scum."
Shyra digested what she had just heard.
She didn't believe in luck, but if the Force was with them…
…perhaps things were not as hopeless as she had thought.
"Thank you, Erbba. Your contribution to this mission will be remembered."
"And rewarded I trust?"
Shyra nodded.
That nod pleased the Hutt even more.
"Why are you doing this Erbba?" Hunt asked.
"Whatever do you mean, friend Rix?"
"Why help the alliance? I know that Arcann has to be stopped, but your people are hardly in the same position as the Republic and Empire. There are no battle stations over your capitols, no sky trooper droids on the streets of Hutt worlds."
"True, but the aggression of the Eternal Throne is not the only reason to rebel against them. Times are changing, and in such times, there are many opportunities.
"For the Cartel," Kort said.
"And for a single Hutt as well. Tell me, dear doctor, have you ever heard the name Blotus the Hutt."
Kort shook his head.
Erbba sighed.
"So few do these days, outside of historians of course. I suspect most in the Republic do not care about history."
"I know the name," Shyra volunteered, "he served the Republic during the aftermath of the Crusader period. He became Supreme Chancellor of the Republic."
"He became one of the finest Supreme Chancellors of the Republic," Erbba corrected, "Despite leaving the Cartel for a life of politics, he is still revered among our people."
Dunc gave the Hutt a sly look.
"Thinking of entering politics, Erbba?"
"The Republic could do far worse than a being such as I. My family is not very well connected, but I am young, and have not yet earned a reputation among the cartel. Anyone looking into my past would find little of interest, and if I become an alliance war hero, Republic voters might that appealing."
Shyra chuckled.
"Chancellor Erbba's rise could begin here."
"As I said," the Hutt said with shrug, "The Republic could do far worse."
I suppose it could, Shyra thought.
"Of course, my dreams of glory on the Senator floor must wait until the war is over, yes? We still have a princess to find, yes?"
Shyra nodded.
Yes, they did.
She turned to Rix.
"We should probably be off world, as soon as possible. We are not the only ones looking for Bayla. This bounty on her head…"
"Copy, boss," Hunt replied with a salute, "We will be vacuum bound in five."
The crew headed to their stations. Shyra felt a brief surge of excitement.
They had not found what they were looking for here, but they did have some new leads.
That is what was important.
Beneath her the ship rumbled to life. She made for the bridge. She would need to contact Colonel Locke.
This open contract on Bayla was disturbing.
She couldn't match Avaryss' price, but maybe the alliance could offer some distraction for the various hunters of the galaxy. Keep their minds on other…less dangerous prey.
She found herself thinking of what Tuka had said, about his men being butchered by Bayla.
The thought was concerning.
Had Bayla used the Force to fight her way free, or had she destroyed those men out of a darker desire?
Not a pleasant thought.
Who knew how being on her own all this time might have affected the woman? She was master Jas' daughter and strong in the Force.
What if she was not scared runaway, but something…darker.
If they found her, and she had fallen? If she had become something…
Shyra shook her head.
No.
She would not think like that.
She would need to meditate, seek guidance in the Force. Not such an easy thing in these times.
The dark side cast many shadows, obscuring the future, so many possibilities were possible now, not all of them good.
Arcann was part of it, but there so much more to it.
There were those in the alliance who still feared the former Sith Emperor. Some believed that his schemes had not ended yet, that the coming war between the Alliance and Eternal Throne was simply a game, or part of some larger scheme.
If so, then they were all playing into the hand of Vitiate. The Sith still feared their former master, most did not believe him dead, even now.
If he was still alive…somewhere?
Avaryss might be the least of their worries.
Stop it, she thought.
She could do nothing about Vitiate, she had to trust in the Commander, he was the hero of Tython, and Miss Benniko.
They would deal with Arcann, and his father, she was tasked with dealing with Darth Avaryss, make sure the witch didn't win the galaxy while everyone was looking elsewhere.
Most in the alliance underestimated Avaryss, but she had fought the woman, and even fought at her side.
She knew how dangerous she was.
Staukhause had been the first shot, the first of many.
Shyra would make sure that it was one of her last.
She would find Bayla Istillo, and then…
…she would settle matters with her old rival…
…once…and for all.