Chapter 8

Lorn awoke feeling like a herd of banthas had stampeded over him.

He risked opening one eye. The light in the cubicle was very dim, but even so it felt like a blaster beam had fired straight into his eye and up the optic nerve to his brain. He groaned, hastily shut the eye, and wrapped both arms around his head for good measure.

Somewhere in the darkness he heard I‑ Five say, " Ah, the beast awakes. "

" Stop shouting, " he mumbled.

" My vocabulator is modulated at a median level of sixty decibels, which is standard for normal human conversation. Of course, your hearing might be a trifle oversensitive, given the amount of alcohol still in your bloodstream. "

Lorn groaned and tried, unsuccessfully, to burrow into the sleeping pad.

" If you're going to continue such behavior, " I‑ Five went on remorselessly, " I suggest having a few healthy liver cells removed‑ if indeed you have any left‑ and cryogenically stored, since you may need that particular organ cloned in the near future. I can recommend a very good MD‑ 5 medical droid of my acquaintance‑ "

" All right, all right! " Lorn sat up, cradling his aching head in his hands, and glared at the droid. " You've had your fun. Now make it go away. "

The droid feigned polite incomprehension. " Make it go away? I'm just a lowly droid, how could I possibly‑ "

" Do it‑ or I'll reprogram your cognitive module with Bilk's blaster. "

I‑ Five gave a remarkably humanlike sigh. " Of course. I live to serve. " The droid paused for a moment; then there issued from his vocabulator a low trilling tone. It warbled up and down the scale, seeming to resonate in the small cubicle.

Lorn sat on the bed and let the sound wash over him, let it reverberate in his head. After a few minutes the headache began to lessen its iron grip, as did his nausea and general malaise. He wasn't sure exactly how the wordless song of the droid accomplished it, but something about the vibrations made it the best hangover cure he had ever come across. But no cure comes without a price, and Lorn knew that the price of this one would be having to put up with I‑ Five's smug superiority for most of the day.

It was still worth it. When I‑ Five finally let the sound trail off, Lorn felt remarkably better. He wouldn't be doing any zero‑ g calisthenics at the null‑ grav spa over at Trantor Center today, but at least he could think of doing them someday soon without feeling like throwing up.

He looked at I‑ Five and found himself wondering once again how a droid with only one fixed facial expression and limited body language could manage to look so disapproving.

" And are we all better now? " I‑ Five inquired with mock solicitousness.

" Let's just say I'm willing to hold off on that reprogramming‑ for today at least. " Lorn stood up, somewhat carefully, as his head still felt like it might topple off his neck if he moved too quickly.

" Your gratitude overwhelms me. "

" And your sarcasm underwhelms me. " Lorn went into the refresher, splashed cold water on his face, and ran an ultrasound cleaner over his teeth. " I might actually be able to be in the same room with some food, " he said as he came out.

" Time enough for that. First I think you should have a look at these messages that came in while you were comatose. "

" What messages? " It was too much to hope that Zippa had decided to sell him the Holocron after all. Nevertheless, he knew I‑ Five wouldn't have bothered keeping the communication unless it was important.

" These messages, " the droid replied patiently, and activated the message unit.

A flickering image of an enormous, blubbery body formed in midair over the unit. Lorn recognized Yanth the Hutt.

" Lorn, " the image said in a deep voice, " I thought we were going to meet sometime today, to discuss a certain Holocron you wished me to look at. It's not polite to keep buyers waiting, you know. "

The image dissolved. " Thanks, " Lorn said to I‑ Five. " If you're not too busy later, I've got a scraped knuckle you could rub some salt into. "

" I think your attitude may change when you see the next message. "

The second image materialized above the projector. It wasn't Zippa or Yanth; that much was immediately evident. After a moment Lorn recognized the species‑ a Neimoidian. That in itself was surprising; the masters of the Trade Federation were rarely seen on Coruscant, given the current strained relationship between their organization and the Republic Senate.

The Neimoidian glanced around furtively before leaning in close and speaking softly. " Lorn Pavan‑ your name was mentioned to me as someone who can be… discreet in handling sensitive information, " he said in the gurgling tones of his kind. " I wish to discuss a matter that could be very profitable to both of us. If you are interested, meet me at the Dewback Inn at 0900. Tell no one of this. " The three‑ dimensional image winked out.

" Play it again, " Lorn said.

I‑ Five complied, and Lorn watched the message a second time, paying more attention to the Neimoidian's body language than to what he was saying. He wasn't all that familiar with Neimoidian mannerisms, but it didn't take an interplanetary psychoanalyst to see that the alien was as nervous as a H'nemthe groom. Which could mean trouble, but which could also mean profit. In his present line of work Lorn seldom saw the second happen without having to wade through the first.

He pressed a button that deleted the second message, and glanced at I‑ Five. " What do you think? "

" I think we have seventeen Republic decicreds in the bank, and whatever change might have fallen under the sleeping pad. I think the rent is due in a week. I think, " I‑ Five said, " that we should talk to this Neimoidian. "

" I think so, too, " Lorn said.

The time of the evening meal was almost over. Mahwi Lihnn had by now investigated four restaurants whose menus included Neimoidian cuisine. Only one of them was occupied by a Neimoidian at table‑ a female. Lihnn had questioned her, but she had professed no knowledge of a countryman named Hath Monchar. She had, however, told Lihnn of another eatery in the area that her kind had been known to frequent. It was a small tavern called the Dewback Inn, one of the few drinking establishments in the sector that featured agaric ale, a beverage most Neimoidians were extremely fond of.

Lihnn decided to check it out.

It had not been terribly difficult to find Lorn Pavan's dwelling cubicle. As Darth Maul approached it, he saw the door open. A human and a droid‑ the latter one of the protocol series‑ emerged. Maul quickly faded back into the shadows of the underground thorough‑ fare and watched them pass. Both matched the descriptions he had been given by the Baragwin bartender.

Excellent. With any luck, they would lead him to his prey.

He followed them at a safe distance, making use of shadows and concealment when it was available and trusting to the cloaking power of the Force when it was not. The human and his droid had no idea they were being followed. He would tail them until they contacted the Neimoidian, and then he would take what action was appropriate.

Maul could feel the dark side surging within him, filling him with impatience, urging him to complete this assignment as quickly as possible. This is not what you were trained for, he thought. These are not prey worthy of your abilities,

He tried to dismiss these thoughts, for they were heretical. His master had given him this assignment; that was all that mattered. But he could not help chafing at this duty. There was no real challenge to his abilities in it. He had been bred and trained to fight and kill Jedi, after all, not rank‑ and‑ file beings like these.

The Jedi‑ how he hated them! How he loathed their hollow sanctimoniousness, their pretense of piety, their hypocrisy. How he longed for the day when their Temple would be a ruin of smoking rubble, littered with their crushed corpses. If he closed his eyes, he could see the apocalypse of the order as vividly as if it were reality. It was reality, after all‑ a future reality, but nonetheless valid. It was destined, ordained, predetermined. And he would be instrumental in bringing it about. It was what his entire life had been designed for.

Not tracking some pathetic failure through the slums of Coruscant.

Maul shook his head and snarled silently. His purpose was to serve his master, no matter what the assignment was. If Darth Sidious knew he was having such doubts, the Sith Lord would severely punish him, such as he had not been punished since he was a child. And Maul would not resist, even though he was now a grown man. Because Sidious would be right to do so.

The human and his droid emerged from the underground thoroughfare and proceeded along the narrow surface streets. It was late at night, but the planetary city never slept. The streets were crowded no matter what time of day or night it was. This was fortunate, in that it made it easier for Maul to keep his quarry in sight without being noticed.

It would not be much longer, Maul told himself. He would bring this job to a successful conclusion‑ and then, perhaps, Darth Sidious would reward him with a task more worthy of his abilities. Something like the Black Sun assignment. That had been a challenge he had enjoyed.

Pavan and his droid turned down another street, this one so narrow and bounded by tall structures that there was barely room for two lanes of foot traffic. They entered a doorway under a hanging sign decorated with a rampant dewback.

This was their destination, then. Despite his near‑ perfect control of his nervous system, Maul felt his pulse quicken slightly in anticipation. If all went as planned, soon this onerous chore would be over. He entered the tavern.