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windows, but mirrors into his own heart. Little creature, he could hear Gheeta
speaking inside his head, I am what you would like to be. All mouth and gut
and hunger. In this cold galaxy, the commandment of Eat or Be Eaten prevailed,
from the throne of Emperor Palpatine all the way down to the smallest
carnivore, a Tatooinian womp rat, scuttling across an
empty desert.
His heart dwindled within himself, from that moment of recognition in the
Shell Hutt's eyes. There had been others who had lived and fought, their
struggles guided by a different code; there had been a time when even he had
listened to tales of the Jedi Knights defending the old Republic. But those
are fust stories now, Zuckuss told himself. Those days, and the brave
creatures that had lived in them, were never coming back. And without them,
the Rebels fighting against the Empire were poor, pathetic fools, doomed to
failure. Their bones would be picked clean and discarded on the battlefields
of worlds without names. The hungry ones, with their greed and lust for
dominion, would always win. . . .
Bleak, wordless meditation ended as the Shell Hutt's knowing, judging smile
moved away from him. Pull yourself together, Zuckuss told himself. He had made
his pact with the universe he'd found himself in; he was a bounty hunter now,
and had been so long enough to be traveling in league with some of the
toughest ones in the galaxy.
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If he showed any signs of weakness at this point, he knew, he wouldn't have to
worry about Emperor Palpatine or any of the Shell Hutts; his own colleagues
would tear him apart. A carnivore like Bossk would very likely con sume him,
in the exact and literal sense of the word.
That thought made Zuckuss feel at least a little better about having become
part of old Cradossk's intricate scheming. Better you than me, he thought,
glancing over at Bossk.
"Don't worry about us." That was Bossk's voice, giving a snarling reply to
Gheeta. "We can take care of ourselves."
"I'm sure you can." The Shell Hutt didn't stop smiling. "After all ... you're
learning from the master, aren't you? Boba Fett has always done very well for
himself."
"I would be doing even better," said Fett, "if we could limit our discussion
to that which we came here for. Specifically, that merchandise known as Oph
Nar
Dinnid."
"But that merchandise isn't on the table right now, is it?" Gheeta's large
eyes emitted a spark of anger.
"And it's not going to be. Not out here, at least. You want to discuss the
fate of our guest, you will indeed have to come down to Circumtore to do
it-just as you wish. I'm only here to explain how things are in that regard.
I'm giving you the conditions, not cutting the deal."
"Why not?" Zuckuss spoke up. "I don't get it. The other members of your clan
wouldn't have sent you out here if you didn't have some kind of authority to
speak
for them. If they'd just wanted to send us some message, they could've comm'd
it out here or sent some flunky of a different species, like a Twi'lek or
something. So why mess around? If you're willing to talk about Dinnid at all,
why not do it here?"
The smile on the broad, jowly face turned into a sneer. "Your colleague Boba
Fett wouldn't ask such a stupid question. A question which has an equally
simple answer. We're all aboard the Slave I right now, aren't we? The Slave I
is Boba Fett's ship; he controls it. So as long as we're here, he controls the
discussion as well. There have been times when discussions with Boba
Fett have gotten ... a little ugly. Things start out nice and friendly, and
then they just . . . change somehow."
Gheeta feigned mulling over that statement. "Probably because the parties
involved couldn't come to an agreement about the value and price of the
merchandise being discussed." He glanced over at Fett. "You always like to get
things as cheaply as possible, don't you?"
Boba Fett made no reply.
"Cheaply," continued Gheeta, "as far as credits are concerned. When it comes
to violence . . . well, that's another story, isn't it?" The floating cylinder
turned, bringing the Shell Hutt's face back toward Zuckuss.
"That's when your colleague has rather a free hand.
Especially when other creatures' skins are involved. And the blood-that can
also get a little thick to wade through, when Boba Fett's around." Another
shift in angle brought Gheeta's face toward the bounty hunters in general. "So
if you think I'm going to remain here, in the heart of Fett's traveling circus
of destruction, surrounded by his friends-or if not his friends, then
creatures with whom he's come to a certain business arrangement-and talk about [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]