[Bounty Hunter Wars] - 03(126)
“Suit yourself,” said Fett. “But I have other business to take care of. That’s why I told you to come here.”
“All right. Let’s hear it.”
“I’ll make you a trade.” Fett gestured toward the bulkheads of the ship surrounding them. “Here’s a new, completely operational Star Destroyer, fresh out of the KDY construction docks. It’s yours. You can signal the Scavenger Squadron commander to come out here and pick it up. That should make you even more popular with the Rebel Alliance.”
Neelah glanced around the ship’s bridge. “Or maybe I could sell it to them. It’s a nice piece of hardware.” She looked again at Boba Fett. “So what do you want in exchange?”
“Two things. First, the Hound’s Tooth-“
“The Hound’s in pretty bad shape.” Neelah shook her head. “Certainly not worth as much as a ship of the line like this.”
“It’ll get me where I need to go,” said Fett. “And second-your silence.”
“What about?” Neelah peered at the bounty hunter.
“Me. I take it that you didn’t tell anyone from the Rebel Alliance that you’ve been traveling with me.”
“I didn’t think it was advisable. Creatures tend to judge you by the company you keep.”
“Fine,” said Fett. “So go on that way. And don’t tell them about me.”
“Why?”
“I have my reasons. Right now, it’s more convenient for me if everyone goes on believing I’m dead. If any of the creatures who might’ve spotted me at the Mos Eisley cantina want to talk about what they saw-” Fett shrugged. “There aren’t many who’ll believe lowlifes like that. And if the Rebel commander back at the KDY construction docks has an idea about who it was that pulled out this Destroyer, I imagine that he’ll keep it to himself. Why would he want to let the rest of the galaxy know that a bounty hunter was able to do what he and his squadron couldn’t? So being dead-or being thought dead-is a real opportunity for me.”
“As you told me-suit yourself.” Neelah’s gaze turned tighter and harder. “But this ship isn’t enough to buy that kind of silence. I want something a little more.”
Fett’s spine visibly stiffened. “Like what?”
“Like some answers. I want to know why you really went down to have your little confrontation with Kuat of Kuat while the construction docks were blowing up all around you. I can’t believe it was really out of any concern for me, and finding out the truth about whether there was some big conspiracy of which I was the target.”
A second passed, then Boba Fett nodded. “You’re right,” he said. “None of that is of any consequence to me. Your life, your death-it means nothing. All that matters is my life and my business-and that’s what I was taking care of when I confronted Kuat of Kuat.”
“You wanted the truth from him,” said Neelah. “Did you get it?”
Fett nodded. “Enough of it. Now that I’m certain that the conspiracy didn’t extend any further than Kuat, I can go ahead and deliver the fabricated evidence-to those who want it.”
His words puzzled Neelah. “Who would want it now? Prince Xizor is dead. Kuat fabricated the evidence against him-so what use would it be now?”
“As you say, Xizor is dead. But Black Sun isn’t. And Black Sun is still a very powerful-and dangerous-organization. And since Xizor’s death, the leadership of Black Sun has been a matter of some dispute. A power struggle between those who had been most loyal to Xizor and the others who had been plotting against him even while he was still alive.”
“Who’s winning?”
“For the moment, the Xizor loyalists have the upper hand. But all that could change very quickly. Especially when I deliver the fabricated evidence into the hands of the usurper faction. They can use it to break the hold on power of the Xizor loyalists by showing the Black Sun ranks that the late Prince Xizor had been foolishly-and traitorously-involving the organization in the affairs of the Empire and the Rebel Alliance. Even though it wouldn’t be true, it might be enough to tip the scales in the usurper faction’s favor.”
“I don’t get it,” said Neelah. “Why would you care who wins control of Black Sun?”
“It’s all the same to me. But what I do care about,” said Boba Fett, “is staying alive. And the usurper faction has made it clear to me that I stand a good chance of dying-in as painful a manner as possible-if I don’t hand over the fabricated evidence to them. Through their own information sources, the usurpers had learned about the evidence and that I was in search of it. They figured-correctly-that I could find it before they would be able to. While you were listening to Dengar tell about my past, I was in the cockpit of the Hound’s Tooth receiving a comm unit transmission from the usurper faction inside Black Sun, with the details of the offer they were making me. An offer that I was in no position to refuse.”