Chapter Five

   “Are they away?” Grand Moff Den Treeces’ hands were tightly clenched behind his back as he viewed the tactical display wall before him.  Commander Korne Lans nodded and placed the report on his desk.

   “Yes, Your Excellency.  Just a few moments ago.”

   “And their destination?  Their departure vector correlates with the data from the disk?” 

Lans shifted uncomfortably in his spot.  Treece sensed the mans discomfort and turned.

   “Korne.  You should know by now that there is very little you can keep from me. Not after all these years.”  Treeces’ tone was a thinly veiled jab at his subordinate, and Lans knew it. 

The two men had served at the Academy together, got their first commissions at the same time.  Lans had been Treeces Staff Sergeant for two years before Treece began his meteoric elevation up the ranks and to Moffhood.  Sometimes Lans wondered why he put himself through the indignity of this posting.  Until he reminded himself that he didn’t have a choice.  If Treece wanted him to be his chief of operations then that was exactly the role he would fulfil.  And be honoured to do it.

   “No sir.  Their vector suggests a different destination point.  But it may well be a spoiling tactic, perhaps a smugglers trick of some kind.  We have warrants out for Lomonas arrest, maybe it would be prudent to - ”

    “ - Don’t presume to second-guess me Commander.”  Treece uttered darkly.  “If I had wished for Lomona to be brought into custody then he would be languishing in a cell right now.  No, he serves my purpose perfectly well where he is.” 

Lans couldn’t help but be intrigued.  He knew of Treeces’ borderline obsession with out manoeuvring Glann Cipple, it had been his passion for many years.  But the disk, the outlaw Lomona, his sudden steel-plated shield of secrecy.  None of it seemed natural to Lans.  And he was determined to discover why.

   “Begging your pardon sir, but what exactly does the smuggler have to do with the disk?  And with Cipple? If I knew more perhaps I could be of greater assistance?” 

It was a hopeful request.  Treece shook his head.

   “If you wish to be of greater assistance you will leave me to my duties and prepare a Star destroyer to take me to the next location on the disk.” 

Lans paused a heartbeat longer, and when Treece refused to acknowledge his presence any more he exited the ornate room.  Once he had gone Treece slumped into his chair and grabbed the glass of Jumpage juice that had been resting on the desk, glistening in the red-ochre sunlight.  From this level of Chancai the mountain peaks were more exposed, their allure as enticing from here as they were from the ground or in high orbit.  He was utterly in love with this world, its natural beauty in sharp contrast with the sterile metallic environments he had been raised in.  A pity then that he would have to leave for so long to bring in Cipple.

But what an enticement to leave.

His men had been slaving over the disk non-stop since it had come into their possession.  It still felt warm in his hands, as if dropped freshly from the data-port in Glann’s Fortress to his eager, sweaty palms.  And it felt electric to posses it, perhaps the single most vital item in his battle with Cipple.  Already his decoders had told him that the disk contained many levels of data encryption.  Early levels were simple to bypass, telling him the next two locations of the Berone Sunrise.  But the fiftieth, the fiftieth was proving to be more elusive.  And therein lay the challenge.  Cipple would never know what had hit him the day Den Treece, Moff of the entire Setnin Sector reeled in Glann Cipple, Governor of Amagad City.  Glann would stand in unabashed amazement at the conceit that someone had finally out-thought him.  That his game was finally up and all he had to look forward to was the cold embrace of death at the hands of a firing squad.  It warmed the deepest recesses of his bitter heart just to mentally act out the moment.  Or should that be anticipate?  He didn’t care.  As far as he was concerned it was a foregone conclusion.

It was time, and softly the Holo-monitor glowed to life. Before him Treece could vaguely make out the slowly coalescing figures of five people, all from different locations and all impeccably on time. 

   “Gentles, I am gratified by your punctuality.  Let us continue our discussions.”      

   “Certainly Your Excellency, we live to serve.” 

Treece recognised the voice of the speaker as Predd Jason, and the hefty dollop of sarcasm, not so much laced with as smothered in as belonging to him. It angered him and annoyed him, but such petty concerns couldn’t be his today - this was too important.  Without preamble, Treece got down to the matter in hand.

“All five of you now possess copies of the disk acquired from the Amagad Fortress of Glann Cipple.  All five of you have decoded the disks first few encryption levels.  No doubt all five of you are hoping to profit greatly from the information you access, and that is your prerogative.  However, I must reinforce one of my earlier conditions.”  Treeces face turned stone hard  “If I learn that any of you have sold on the information upon the disk then I shall use the full power and weight of the Empire to crush you into the ground.  When I set the conditions of the sale it was for a reason.  You five and you alone have paid for the information, and for the privilege of watching Glann Cipple fall from grace.  Yours will be the agencies that shall profit most from his removal from power.  I merely want the pleasure of bringing him in.  Allow me that and we shall all be satisfied.”

   “How do we know that you will keep your side of the bargain?” 

It was the voice of Geon Tasar, one of the longest standing bosses in the sector and one of Glann’s oldest and most devious opponents. The tall, powerful man radiated an aura of sly calm.

   “What’s to say you won’t want to reel us in after the removal of Cipple?” 

Treece smiled a sly smile and leaned closer to the Holo-cam.

   “Because, Tasar, I have given you my word as the most powerful man in the sector and it is not a vow I give lightly.  Between us we can rid ourselves of the main obstacle to our continued success.  With Cipple out of the way there will be nothing to stop our individual routes to glory.”

   “Except each other.”  It was Torona Formoon, another illegal operator and foe of Glann’s.  “What happens if we all decode the disk and arrive at the final destination together?  My slicers have already found hints of code that suggest there is more to this Lomona job than was initially expected.”  He paused, sensing he may have said more than was necessary.

   “Do go on Torona.” 

Formoon frowned and shifted in his seat.

   “Three hours ago we cut through the seventy-eighth level of encryption.  There were some old documents from years ago linking Glann to the disappearance of the Heed.”  This produced a hushed murmur from the collected delegates.  The Heed was a starship of legend that had disappeared many years before.  Enormous in its size it was notorious for being powered by Janos Jewel, a highly volatile crystal with explosive but powerful properties.  Any man who owned the Heed was a lucky man indeed.  Its loss had never been explained - Glann’s involvement was an unexpected surprise.  “Perhaps the true nature of this Lomona mission involves the Heed.  And whoever got their hands on that prize, well.  They’d potentially be the most powerful man in the sector.” 

Treece raised his eyebrow at the remark.  It was known of his distaste for illegal activities.  Of his pleasure at bringing the underworld to heel.  But it was now obvious to the assembled five that he was also prepared to deal with them in order to rid himself of a hated foe.  All they needed was some insurance.

   “And you believe this mission is to locate the Heed, to place it into Cipples hands?”  Treece probed Formoon gently, trying to ply some knowledge out of him.  His own men had come to similar conclusions from the disk - a confirmation of that news would be most helpful.  Formoon smiled and laced his fingers together.

   “Your Excellency, what I believe and what I don’t believe are irrelevant.  I merely relay the facts as I see them.  According to my data Jan Lomona is most likely travelling to the secret location of the Starship Heed.  Where that is, I don’t yet know.  But be assured of this.  When I do learn of the location of the final planet you will be the first to know.”  He paused a beat.  “After I have arrived there.” 

Treece nodded in appreciation at both the gesture and the cunning.

   “Your generosity honours me Formoon.”  Treece reached for another data pad and brought it in front of him.  “Now Gentlebeings, what other business do we have to discuss?  I know how busy you all are, running your extortion rackets and smuggling runs and what have you.” 

With a barely disguised look of disgust Predd Jason leaned closer into view of the Holo-cam, the youngest of Glann’s major foes.  He was currently also on the Chancai complex but wouldn’t divulge his exact location.  Treece knew it of course; it was perhaps twenty minutes speeder ride away through the heavy traffic. But he felt it better to have all of his collaborators at ease and relaxed in case they accidentally let slip with any information.  It wasn’t likely he knew, but fate sometimes favoured the foolish.  Or the devious.

   “I’ve a question for you Treece.”  He dispensed with the pleasantry of addressing Treece by his proper and preferred title.  “How the stang has a scheming, conniving treacherous windbag like you got his hands on a million credits without the bean counters at Imperial central finding out?  And don’t tell me you’ve earned it. I know what you make. It couldn’t pay for a blank disk let alone a full one.”  

Treece breathed deeply through his nose and steadied himself in his seat.  The insolence!  He made a mental note to make young Jason the next on his list of people to discredit.  After Cipple was through.

   “How I allocate my finances is my own concern.  The amount I paid for the disk to be taken is my affair, and that will be the end of it.  If you require a detailed break down of my affairs I suggest you hire someone to steal it from me.”

   “I just might.” murmured Jason. 

Treece twitched again.  This conversation was beginning to slide away from him.  How he got the money should have been of no concern to any of them.  Perhaps this was a feeble attempt to infer that he’d acquired the cash through improper channels?  Which of course he had, and Jason was absolutely right.  If it were ever discovered that he had borrowed the cash from Imperial funds and was only now replacing it he would be in deep trouble.  If it were found out that he was doing it as part of a personal vendetta against Glann Cipple, who made regular and generous contributions to Imperial coffers, then he would surely have to prepare for a trip to Coruscant.  A one way trip.  This information could not be made available to the five.  As their insurance they would surely use it to bribe and influence him.  And then he would have a much larger problem on his hands than just Glann Cipple.

   “This is pure irrelevance.  When you have further knowledge from the disk then contact me, not before.”  He motioned to the two men to the left of the array of holograms that stood on his desk before him.  “Gentlemen, you have both been silent on the matters today.  Have you learned nothing from your disks?  No new information?  Surely your agents have had some luck uncovering its secrets?” 

Neither of the men answered immediately, until the larger stepped forward.  He was a heavily built human, with dark features and a dangerous glint in his eye.  It was a face that gave nothing away, save for an element of aggression.

   “I’ve learned enough from what I’ve heard today.  My access into the disk is progressing steadily, I should know more tomorrow.  But don’t expect a free hand at my conclusions.  You want Cipple, and that’s fine by me but whatever’s at the end of this treasure hunt is going to be mine.  I didn’t pay you two hundred thousand credits to walk away with nothing.” 

Treece bristled at this.

   “The information you’ve got is cheap at the price.” 

At this the other silent man stepped forward and spoke in a flowing bass voice.

   “The information we have isn’t exclusive to any of us.  It’s been sold on the open market.  Any one of us here could be the first to break the encryption code, leaving the others with nothing.  Not that I mind.  The rest of you should be shot anyway.” 

This provoked an angry response from the other four men, and Treece waited patiently for the squabble to die down by itself.  I should have been prepared for this, he thought.  How could I expect this rabble to show the self-discipline and conduct I would expect from a lowly cadet?  They’re too used to having their own way.  For now.

   “In closing,” Treece addressed the assembled leaders of the underworld like an admonishing schoolteacher.  “Whatever you gain for yourselves is your business.  But I sold you the information for one solitary reason.  Glann Cipple.  Bring me the head of Glann Cipple and you shall never have to fear Imperial repercussions again. That concludes our meeting.” 

Without waiting for any replies he switched off the Holo-projector.  He sighed in the light of the setting sun through his window.  Initially it had seemed to be the most prudent and far-reaching of his plans, to bring in such heavyweight opposition to Cipple.  Surely they would have the necessary motivations to rid him of Cipple.  Now he wasn’t so sure.  Now they had the information disks, were they as dangerous to him as they were to Cipple?  He inwardly smiled at the irony.  Surely they would like to have him out of the way as much as they would Cipple.  And if they thought there was additional profit in the process….

   “Commander Lans, my office, now.”  He waited momentarily before Lans re-entered the room.  Standing to attention he awaited Treeces orders.  The Moff was mulling over his thoughts and Lans patiently stood.

   “You wished to be of some assistance earlier.  To be more involved in whatever you thought I was scheming.”

   “I would never infer that you were scheming, Your Excellency….” 

Treece waved him to silence.

   “I have an assignment for you, one that will take up a sizeable proportion of your time.”

   “It would be an honour.”  Lans replied properly, though without the usual enthusiasm.

   “Assemble a small sifter team.  I need some background information on five shady men.”