Whether Prince Xizor was after the bounty that had been posted for Voss’on’t, or something more intangible and more valuable, made little difference to Boba Fett. If he plans on taking something from me, then he’s made a mistake. One he’ll regret…
“All I know,” said Boba Fett aloud, “is that I’ve done the job that was put up. I don’t care whether it was Emperor Palpatine or Prince Xizor who was really behind it. I only work for myself. And I just want the bounty that was promised me.”
“You poor fool.” Kud’ar Mub’at’s scorn appeared to reinvigorate the damaged creature. “You have no idea … for whom you’ve been working… all along…” The one claw tip extended toward Boba Fett. “You’ve been part of Xizor’s schemes… and mine… for a long time now…”
From underneath Boba Fett’s boot, the stormtrooper Voss’on’t turned a sneer upward at his captor. “How does it feel, bounty hunter? You’re not the winner in this game-you’re the pawn.”
A thrust of the boot flattened and silenced Voss’on’t again. “What are you talking about, Kud’ar Mub’at?”
“Very… simple …” The arachnoid assembler fumbled its sticklike legs tighter around itself. “Our little scheme… yours and mine… to break up the old Bounty Hunters Guild …” Kud’ar Mub’at shook its narrow head. “That was Prince Xizor’s idea … I only went along with it… because he made it worth my while… but he’s the one who wanted to break up the Guild … and you did that for him…”
“Then you lied to me.” Boba Fett’s voice was as emotionless as always, but inside him there was a spark of anger.
“A mere matter … of business … my dear Boba Fett.” In its crippled fashion, Kud’ar Mub’at imitated a nonchalant humanoid shrug. “That’s all…”
“What else did you lie to me about?”
“You’ll find out… soon enough…” Kud’ar Mub’at’s smile didn’t diminish as it gazed at Boba Fett, then turned toward one of the smaller fibrous corridors that branched off the web’s central space. Another of the assembler’s subnodes, a fully functioning one, scuttled out of the corridor and onto the tip of its parent’s feebly extended forelimb. “Tell me … my dear little Balancesheet …” Another forelimb tenderly stroked
the subnode’s head, a miniature version of Kud’ar Mub’at’s own. “Has our other guest… arrived …”
Boba Fett recognized the subnode creature as the one that had always taken care of the financial details from Kud’ar Mub’at’s business dealings. More than once, the tiny scuttling Balancesheet had paid out the bounty that had been held in escrow by its creator. The sharp intelligence that had always been discernible in the subnode was still visible there, completely undiminished, as though it had been unaffected by the neural overload resulting from the crash of Slave I into the web. That was a mystery, but one that Boba Fett didn’t have time to wonder about now.
“The Vendetta is just now docking with us.” As though to confirm Balancesheet’s statement, a shudder ran through the rough structure around them; somewhere in the distance, the sleek mass of Prince Xizor’s flagship was linking up with the larger subnodes that allowed visitors to transfer over. “I have been in communication with Xizor,” said Balancesheet, perched on Kud’ar Mub’at’s raised forelimb. “He informs me that he is greatly looking forward to our meeting.”
“I imagine … he is …” Kud’ar Mub’at’s other limbs twitched and its lipless smile widened. “All creatures of business … relish the successful conclusion … of a project…”
“Then he and I have something in common.” Boba Fett gave a quick nod. “Let’s get this over with.” He took his boot from between Trhin Voss’on’t’s shoulder blades and strode over to the mouth of the corridor leading to the docking area. From its holster, he drew out his blaster pistol.
Head still tilted to one side, Kud’ar Mub’at looked at him with alarm. “What… are you doing …” In front of the assembler, Voss’on’t managed to scrabble into a silting position, also watching Boba Fett. “This is… not necessary…”
“I’ll tell you what’s necessary and what’s not.” Carefully and slowly, Boba Fett pointed the blaster’s muzzle at Kud’ar Mub’at and Voss’on’t in turn. “If you both want to live a little longer, you’ll stay quiet.” He raised the blaster up by the side of his helmet. “And not spoil this little surprise for Prince Xizor.”