Chapter Eleven

The Imperial Star Destroyer Malevolent sent out its recall signal and, one by one, its picket ships and patrol vessels started to return to their mothership. The two other vessels accompanying the destroyer turn slowly as their own ships returned, the crews making the necessary preparations for the jump into hyperspace. The destroyer itself also started to turn slowly even though there were smaller ships still docking. Terrov was eager to be on his way and had issued orders to make the required navigational computations so that they could be away from Junduk and back on their official patrol route as soon as possible.

In the meeting room Galgen was finishing off a tall glass of refreshment, his face still appearing flustered and his brow covered in small beads of sweat.

“Well, Arcc,” he said, “it’s time we got back underway. I’ll have one of my tactical officers supply you with intelligence on the planets that are going to be the most troublesome and we’ll get back to work.”

Arcc only nodded. He walked slowly from his position by the blast door’s shadow and Queed, who was also in the room, watched him carefully.

“I’ll take my payment for the delivery of the cargo,” he said, “and I’ll be on my way.”

“Yes,” Galgen said, reaching to his breast pocket for a small creditstick tucked away there. “Better get off soon, we’ll be making the hyperspace transition in about ten minutes.”

Queed nodded and took the offered monetary transaction tool and started to walk to the exit, but Arcc stepped forward and held up a bandaged hand.

“Wait.”

The bounty hunter did as he was asked and gave a quick glance towards Galgen, who looked up from a display with curiosity.

“I will hire you for transport,” Arcc said to Queed, a small bag of credits appearing in his hand as if it had always been there. “To the surface.”

With a startled gasp the Grand Moff took a half step towards Arcc.

“What? But... but you’ve got work to do here!” he almost shouted.

“I must make a journey to the surface. You will wait for me.”

“I cannot! We have been here far too long already!”

With a hiss Arcc stepped forward to activate the door controls.

“Then go.”

The huge door was already starting to open and Lieutenant Terrov virtually burst into the room.

“Grand Moff,” he snapped his heels and gave the customary short bow at the waist, “we have intercepted frantic localised transmissions from the surface of Junduk. It appears that an explosion has occurred.”

Galgen was far too pre-occupied by Arcc’s apparent breaking of their bargain and he turned his anger on his subordinate.

“What of it?”

“It appears, Grand Moff, that Komag the Hutt was the victim of the explosion. The constabulary communications seem to point to the fact that he was assassinated.”

Queed was looking directly at Arcc, as was Galgen a few stunned moments later.

“Arcc... you checked the cargo...”

“I did, and I remember telling you that the Komag problem would be rectified. This way, you don’t have to worry about him coming back and... biting you.”

There was a brief moment of despair on Galgen’s face as he regarded the dark Force user with astonishment. Arcc impassively returned the gaze from under his hood. Terrov cleared his throat for attention.

“The constabulary have arrested two men in connection with the incident, the two men who made the pickup from us. They will probably tell them where they got the explosive from.” Terrov made the position clear to the Grand Moff. Two men head for the Star Destroyer, pick up a cargo and a short while later a Hutt gangster is dead. Questions would be asked and if none were forthcoming from the Grand Moff then the Junduk authorities would communicate with Coruscant, the Imperial Centre. And they would want to know why the Malevolent was not on its planned patrol route.

The Grand Moff was close to panic.

“Get a team down there and shut them up. Do you know who the two men are?”

Terrov nodded.

“I only have the one man’s name, sir, Skeet Jonas, but I know what they look like...”

“What?” Galgen’s eyes bulged. “What did you say?”

“I said I remember what they look like.”

“No, the name!”

With a slight shift in his composure to convey his confusion Terrov answered his Grand Moff.

“Skeet Jonas, sir.”

“Skeet Jonas.” Galgen sagged and dropped into a chair next to him. He had looked at the boy on the ramp and had thought him a well-known criminal. Assumed he had seen his face on a thousand wanted pads on a thousand worlds, had read a report somewhere of him and that was why he seemed so familiar.

But the face... he had been staring at Fuida’s face, his wife’s face. That was why he knew who it was.

Queed shifted uncomfortably. Arcc noticed this and turned to the Grand Moff.

“More problems, Galgen? What of the boy?” The last thing that Arcc wanted was to be confronted with any more complications in his acquisition of a fresh, raw student and he felt he needed to know why the boy’s name was so important. His hand moved imperceptibly under his heavy robe and the Force reached out to take the knowledge from Galgen’s own lips.

“He’s my son,” the Grand Moff said. “He and his mother ran from me when the New Order was growing. She was afraid of change, of my new position. I hired Queed to bring her back, but he couldn’t find them. My son.” He stared away at nothing.

With a slow turn Arcc regarded Queed. Again, the Force reached out and he could feel the bounty hunter’s anxiety, and the fact that all was not as it seemed.

“But you did find them, Queed,” Arcc suddenly felt the thought seep from the armoured man’s unguarded mind.

Galgen spun in his seat.

“What?”

As the three men were conversing Terrov was slowly stepping back towards the blast door. The entrance was still open and it was a simple task of taking four or five steps from the room and summoning a squad of Stormtroopers. It felt to him that the situation was getting out of hand.

The Grand Moff stood and glared at Queed.

“What?”

“I found them, caught them on Tatooine. There was an accident...” Queed faltered and wished he had been allowed to carry his weapon on board the Star Destroyer. The look in the Grand Moff’s eyes was disconcerting.

“I killed the woman.”

Galgen was trying incredibly hard to keep his anger in check.

“You never told me.”

“It was a warrant for their return and I failed. I am unaccustomed to failure.”

Terrov had almost made it from the room, but as he was about to exit his Grand Moff suddenly turned to him.

“Terrov! I want armed men in here now! Place these two under arrest!”

Before Terrov could take another step Arcc Nedeen’s hand had shot out and gestured towards the glass the Grand Moff had been drinking from. His Force skills leapt out and engulfed the glass and with a flick of his hand he sent the container flying across the room and into the door controls. They sealed quickly, Terrov so shocked by the sudden incident he barely had time to move. He started to reach for his sidearm.

Arcc thrust his hand out at Terrov, the movement causing an invisible force to pick the man with the sound of muted thunder up and slam him against the bulkhead. He fell to the deck, stunned, and he rolled over and lay still.

Galgen was back peddling as the huge dark blue nightmare stalked towards him, the hand reaching out to close around his throat as he fell. Arcc held him off the floor and lifted him up so that their faces were level. Now Galgen could see the ridged nose, the dark skin and the apparent growths on the temples and down the cheekbones. He shook with fear.

“You will contact the hangar and tell them that the bounty hunter’s ship is clear for departure,” he instructed. There was no caress of breath on Galgen’s face although their noses were inches apart.

As the Force powered instruction entered Galgen’s mind Arcc released him, dropping him to the floor. The Grand Moff climbed to his station and activated the inter-ship communicator to the hangar bay.

“The bounty hunter’s leaving. Clear his ship.”

“Yes, sir.”

Arcc nodded, knowing now that there was no need to carry on his partnership with this man. What he was searching for was down there on Raca City and the need for any more aid, Huttese or Imperial, was now defunct. He sent a burst of confusion into Galgen’s mind and turned to Queed.

“You will take me to the surface and then anywhere else I wish to go,” he instructed, his hand once again moving with his instruction but he never got the reaction he required from the hunter.

“I’ve got my own reasons for getting out of here but where you want to go depends on your credits. We’ll discuss it on the surface.”

Arcc nodded. There were many species that were not susceptible to the Force’s ability to affect minds but he could sense that the man under the helmet was human. He was either a strange one or he had a very strong will.

“Then let us go.”

They both quickly left the room, Galgen staring pathetically at nothing and Terrov slowly starting to come around on the floor. Arcc supposed he should have killed them both, but murdering Imperial officers would start a search for him even he didn’t want. At least this way he would have fewer problems avoiding the Empire than he would if he was wanted for highly serious crimes. The fact that he was a Force user didn’t concern him. No one believed in that old religion anymore and wouldn’t take much notice of it on the official warrant pads. Those who did believe would think twice before accepting the sanction.

Besides, he had already thought further ahead. Of the future and what might happen if Terrov was allowed to carry out Arcc’s precognitive vision of his betrayal of Galgen. Terrov, who Arcc could tell was a man of deviousness and would obviously take risks if it suited him, may be helpful in the future in a higher position of command.

They headed for the hangar bay.

Galgen slowly started to regain his composure, looking dully around to try and get a bearing on his situation. He didn’t even know what room he was in. A room of some importance, he was sure.

A bruised face appeared in front of him, with other figures behind in white. They swam in his vision and as they did so he could hear words. Far off but getting louder. Then, without warning, he snapped back to the present.

“Grand Moff,” Terrov was saying, his bruise from the flight into the wall an ugly sight on his cheek. “Galgen!”

“Wh... Terrov...” Galgen shook his head, which seemed to clear his thoughts completely. He looked around the room and saw that Stormtroopers and other officers were filling it. “Terrov, where are they?”

“They’ve gone, sir, down to the surface. They’ll be touching down by now. We must go.”

“No!”

The lieutenant was startled.

“No? But, sir...”

“We must send men down there and locate Arcc and my son. Arcc is a Force wielder, a criminal. We must stop him.”

Kill him, he means, Terrov thought. He’s terrified of his secret being revealed.

“To do that, sir, we’d have to send a lot of men and equipment. We’d have to virtually instil martial law.”

“If that’s what it takes.” He turned to his station and pressed a button. “Captain!”

“Yes, sir?”

“Ready your men. Send a full contingent of shock troopers to Raca City and seal the place up tight. I have a locate and destroy mission for you.” He deactivated the communicator and motioned that all assembled should follow him to the hangar.

Terrov did as he was bid, nursing his cheek and frowning behind his Grand Moff.

This is getting out of hand. The Grand Moff has panicked. If there isn’t a result soon, I will have to take control.