Slave Ship

8

Someday, thought Prince Xizor. Someday he and I will meet face-to-face. Either here on Coruscant, in the Imperial throne room itself, or in some bleak, remote corner of the galaxy-that moment would surely come. For the last time. And then the little war, deadly and personal, between himself and Darth Vader, the Dark Lord of the Sith, would be at an end.

One way or another.

He strode through the vaulted corridors of the palace, the reddening twilight of Coruscant's sun casting angles of blood-colored light across the richly inlaid floor ahead of him. A single unbraided rope of Xizor's night-black hair, drawn back from his bare skull like a glistening viper, swung across the flaring shoulders of his robe with each stride.

Xizor focused his thoughts as he came closer to the great doors of Emperor Palpatine's throne room. The concerns of dominion-both Palpatine's Empire and Xizor's own Black Sun criminal organizationwere manifold and urgent, made even more so by the rise of the impudent Rebel Alliance. And now, he was summoned for this audience with the galaxy's ruling power, a power in the shape of a wizened old man.

If it weren't for the eyes set in that gaunt, wrinkled face-eyes that were as cold and commanding as Xizor's own violet-colored ones-he would never have thought the Emperor to be more than a cloaked beggar, if he had come across him in some dark passageway of the Empire's capital on Coruscant. But once having looked into that gaze, so bereft of any of the tender emotions that sentient creatures were prey to, Xizor could understand how the former Senator Palpatine had climbed astride an Empire built out of the old Republic's ruins. If there had been any last barriers to Xizor's own ruthless ambitions-any weakness or sentiment within himself-he had been inspired by the Emperor's example to root it out. Whether the mystical, universe-spanning Force of which Palpatine and Lord Vader talked was real, Xizor had no idea-or at least not enough to believe in it over his own strengths and cunning. But the dark side of that Force was something he could attest to. He had seen it beneath the hood of the Emperor's cloak, like twin gravitational wells that could absorb and crush a weaker creature's spirit.

The high, intricately patterned door swung open before Xizor. Once more, he found himself in the presence of that dark strength.

"Xizor. . ." The Emperor's simple throne turned, bringing his hooded gaze and his thin, humorless smile toward the center of the cold, empty space. The ancient-appearing figure sat deep in the throne, as though the weight of his thoughts and schemes were crushing him toward the planet's core." As much pleasure as there can be found in one's scurrying underlings, I find in you."

The throne room was both empty and occupied by another. Without turning his head, but with just a

glance from the corner of his eye, Xizor saw a dark apparition. The holo image of Lord Vader, insubstantial yet oppressive, stood at one side of the throne room.

He brought his gaze back to the Emperor." You honor me with your praise, my lord."

One corner of Palpatine's bloodless lips twisted in a sneer." I do not praise you, Xizor. As with all my servants, you neither surprise nor disappoint me. I expect foolishness and incompetence, and I find I am richly rewarded in those things."

The Emperor's tongue-lashing was in his usual manner. Xizor had grown used to it, though the words still rankled his proud spirit. Someday, old man. His thoughts were a silent and carefully guarded promise inside the chambers of his bare skull. Your precious Force and all your servants won't be able to save you.

In the meantime, though, the show of servility had to be maintained.

"If I fail you, my lord-" Xizor bowed his head." Then the regret truly is mine."

The holo image of Lord Vader spoke up." Do not be deceived by this one." Bands of visual static flickered through the black figure, as one holographically reproduced arm rose, its hand pointing toward Prince Xizor." His speech is elegant, my lord-as always-but it is as hollow as his unfulfilled promises."

"Bold words, Lord Vader." Xizor allowed himself a flash of anger." Especially from one who has assured our Emperor that the Rebel Alliance would be crushed long ago. The Rebels seem to have made a mockery of the assurances you made to your master."

If Darth Vader had been physically present in the throne room, those words might have been worth Xizor's life. He knew how dangerous a game he was playing; he could see the visible reaction in Vader's image, the black robes swelling like the sun-obscuring clouds of an advancing stormfront, the gaze from the dark lenses beneath the helmet flashing as sharp as lightning bolts.

"I would caution the prince-" Thunder, ominous and deep, sounded in Vader's speech. The harsh rasping of his breath was just as audible, transmitted from the bridge of the Executor. He had only recently taken possession of this new flagship, which had replaced the previous Devastator. If anything, the threat of his powers seemed enhanced by the greater arsenal surrounding him." His ill-advised rashness might be excusable in one as young and inexperienced as himself. But my patience with him grows thin."

Xizor sensed a pressure at his throat, like an invisible hand tightening against his windpipe, cutting off the flow of blood and air to his brain. He didn't know if he was imagining it, if some weakness not yet rooted out from the core of his being had allowed a trace of unreasoning, wordless fear into his thoughts, or whether Vader's powers could reach this far. He had had previous encounters with the dark lord's undeniable strength, the ability to reach out and crush the life from those creatures Vader considered lesser to himself. To annoy him, to fail to carry out instructions or thwart his plans in any way, was to court an unpleasant death by asphyxiation.

Black spots, the first signals of anoxia, were already beginning to form and coalesce in Xizor's vision. The invisible grip seemed undeniably real now, like a fist beneath his throat, shoving his head back, lifting him onto the balls of his feet. The passage of time, measured by Xizor's own pulse, slowed to a crawl and then stopped.

The Emperor had always intervened before this point, as though he were commanding a guard beast to heel. Perhaps this time, he would let the process reach its fatal conclusion.

A single thought emerged through the darkness welling inside Xizor's skull. I wasn't summoned here for an audience with the Emperor. . . but an execution. My own. . .

The darkness was torn open by a red surge of anger, from deep within Xizor. Anger, and the hunger to survive.

"Patience. . ." Prince Xizor barely managed to squeeze the word past the encircling constriction at his throat. The effort dizzied him; the surrounding throne room dissolved out of focus." Patience is a virtue. .

. the rewards of which. . ." He was close to blacking out, losing consciousness entirely. But he knew his doing so would be followed by his death." Are for the Empire. . ."

"Well spoken, Xizor." A trace of amusement sounded in Emperor Palpatine's voice, barely audible at some place in the black-tinged haze." Rest assured that I find others in my service even more burdensome than yourself. Your little amusements weary me, Vader; release him."

As though the knot of a primitive gallows rope had snapped, the pressure on Xizor's throat-imagined or real-was suddenly released. He barely managed to keep himself from falling to his knees, the invisible fist suspending his weight now gone. With an effort of sheer will, Prince Xizor held himself upright, drawing in a breath that filled his lungs and threw his shoulders back.

He kept his face a mask as well, to conceal the furious hatred he felt for both Vader and the Emperor. To be toyed with, whether with mind games or this mystical Force of which they professed mastery, was infuriating enough. But to be humiliated by Vader, the instigator of the biological weapons experiment that had killed so many hundreds of thousands of Falleens back on their homeworld-a slaughter that had included Xizor's own family, his parents and uncles and beloved siblings-that made the filtered air of the Imperial throne room burn like acid with each inhalation.

"As you wish, my lord." Vader spoke again, his holo image standing with arms folded across its chest." Though I would be doing the Empire a service if I were to permanently remove Prince Xizor from its court."

"That may be so, Vader." The Emperor made a dismissive gesture with one languid hand." But I will be the one to determine that. And I will decide when it happens. Until then, I desire that there be a cessation of this squabbling among my servants. You quarrel with each other while the Rebellion festers and grows." The expression on the wrinkled face darkened." Must I take care of all these matters myself?"

"Only if you forbid me to fight on your behalf, my lord." Xizor spread his hands wide, palms upward." Every atom of my being is at your command."

"How pleasant it would be, Xizor, to believe that. But I am not such a fool." The Emperor made a quick gesture, cutting off the holo image of Darth Vader before it could voice its approval." For one of your devious nature-and high ambitions-to be totally loyal would be a miracle beyond the scope of the Force itself. Even without the Force, I would be able to see well enough into your heart. You are not so devoid of self-interest, Xizor, as you would have me believe. If you wish to see the Empire achieve its fated glory, for its dominion across the galaxy to be total, then such a desire is due to your own lust for glory and power. You tie your ambitions to the Empire, because you know that is the best way to achieve them."

Xizor looked straight back into the Emperor's eyes." I will not deny it, my lord. But should not a faithful servant be rewarded for all that he does on his master's behalf?"

The Emperor had turned in his throne while Xizor had spoken. For a moment longer, Palpatine gazed out the high arched viewscreens that looked out past the Imperial city and beyond to the star-filled skies. Then he turned back toward Xizor and the holo image of Vader." Oh, you'll be rewarded well enough; have no fear of that." His hands lay like dead things on the arms of the throne." When the Rebellion is crushed and all that resist my will are annihilated, those who have served me will have the greatest reward of all: the opportunity to continue serving me and the Empire. Until you are broken by age and the rigors of that service, and I will have no further use for you. Such is the nature of my loyalty, to those who have earned it."

Once again, Xizor bowed his head." I desire nothing more than that, my lord."

"Whether you do or not, it matters little. Nothing matters, but my will."

From the corner of his eye, with his head still bowed, Xizor looked over at the holo image of Darth Vader. Even at this remove, with his enemy not even physically present in the throne room, he could still sense the dark lord's disdain and suspicion. He knows, thought Xizor, but he cannot prove it. Yet. And it might not matter, even if Vader could prove it. All of Vader's accusations of treachery counted for nothing against the Emperor's own convuluted strategies, that gave the seeming appearance of trust in the Falleen prince. The actual words Black Sun had been spoken by Vader on other occasions-Xizor's spies at the court had informed him so-and the Emperor had dismissed them with a wave of his bony hand, as though the words were no more than scraps of rumors and lies.

But does Palpatine know, wondered Xizor, that I know? If the Emperor thought that Xizor was taken in by this charade, then the Emperor was the greater fool. It was just a matter of who got caught out first. The Black Sun criminal organization, controlled by Prince Xizor, had its own agenda, its own plans for expansion and dominance throughout the galaxy, as though it were an enveloping shadow of the Empire; where Palpatine's reach extended, so would Black Sun's. And the Emperor was old, visibly so; this vaunted Force, whatever its nature, could not keep him alive forever. Even before then, Black Sun might emerge from the darkness, a power in its own right, and claim the larger empire for its own, a treasure plucked from Palpatine's withered hand.

If there's one thing I've learned from the old man, thought Prince Xizor, it's that ambition is as infinite as the universe itself.

That was a lesson much to Xizor's own liking. He could endure a good deal of petty humiliations, at Palpatine's and Vader's hands, in order to see the day when he would put that education to use.

Patience, the control of one's anger and thirst for vengeance, was one of the greatest of all martial skills. And the most difficult to master: he had but to glance at the holo image of Lord Vader standing in the Emperor's throne room, for his own hands to clench into tight-knuckled fists.

Someday, Xizor told himself again. Until then-watch and wait.

"As you wish, my lord." Xizor brought his gaze up to meet that of the Emperor.

"Perhaps," spoke the holo image of Darth Vader," the Emperor would care to determine the quality of Prince Xizor's service. It was not so very long ago that Xizor told us of his great plans to destroy the Bounty Hunters Guild, and all the benefits that would thus flow to the Empire." Vader's image looked contemptuously toward the Falleen prince." Surely by now, those plans would have shown some results. Or were they as insubstantial as the prince's loyalty?"

"Excellent, Vader." The Emperor nodded in approval." You anticipate my desires; such is the true sign of a valued servant." Palpatine's gaze sharpened as he peered at Xizor." So? Your speech then, Xizor, was most. . . entertaining. By virtue of its grand conceits, I granted you my permission to carry out your scheme. I would be disappointed to hear that there has been no progress in this matter of disrupting the bounty hunters' organization. And yet. . ." The Emperor's eyes narrowed to slits, like small knife wounds in the wrinkled flesh." I have already received contradictory reports, concerning what has come from all your plans." He turned toward the other figure in the throne room." Is that not so, Lord Vader?"

"That is exactly the case, my lord." A note of triumph sounded in Vader's rasping voice." I previously advised against investing any of your time and energy in these vain, pointless pursuits. The Rebellion must be our first priority; it grows in strength while Prince Xizor squanders our resources on a quest that, even if it were successful, would give us nothing."

"Control your anger, Vader. You come perilously close to questioning my wisdom when you continue to attack the merits of Xizor's scheme. I saw it as sufficiently intriguing, when he first presented it to us, that I found your protests to be founded more in spite and jealousy than in true strategic analysis."

Vader made no reply, but Xizor could detect in the holo image a stiffening of the spine inside the black robes, an indicator of the Emperor's words having struck their mark.

"Perhaps," Xizor said mildly," the difference between Lord Vader and myself is that I have no doubt of the Empire's imminent victory over the Rebel Alliance. That is why I find it worthwhile to turn our attention to the governing of the Empire after its dominion has been established as an irrefutable fact."

He could tell that his words pleased the Emperor; a thin smile lifted one corner of Palpatine's mouth.

"You see, Vader?" The Emperor gestured with one hand toward Prince Xizor." That is why my mastery of the Force is greater than your own. There can be no true power without certainty. It is not enough to try to suppress the Rebellion, we must do so."

Vader's holo image stood unflinching against the Emperor's tongue-lashing." You speak of the difference, my lord, between Prince Xizor and myself. Yet there is another difference that must be considered. And that is the difference between a childish faith and wise preparation. Even the admirals of the Imperial Navy, with their trust in mere technological contrivances such as the Death Star, still know they must fight and destroy the Rebels before the Empire's victory is accomplished."

That, thought Xizor with a mixture of both disbelief and satisfaction, was not a good move. It had always been clear to him that Darth Vader considered himself as being above the niceties of diplomatic speech. For all his loyalty to the Emperor, he was still capable of angering his master. And Vader had surely done so now: the Emperor's face darkened with fury.

"Even a child," said Palpatine in a low, ominous voice," should know how foolish it is to contradict one such as myself. You consider yourself wiser than that, Vader, do you not? Yet you persist in bestowing your unwanted advice upon me, even after I have warned you of the consequences."

"I do so, my lord, not to contradict, but to-"

"Silence!" The single word of command snapped through the throne room's air like a whiplash's cutting tip." I know better than you do yourself just what your intentions are." The Emperor's hands tightened upon the arms of his throne." Your thoughts are an open book to me, with the words written large enough for an idiot to perceive. You have let your hatred of Prince Xizor lead you into a dangerous territory, one where the life of an unruly servant such as yourself is mine to crush within my fist." The Emperor raised one hand, its clawlike fingers compressed into a rigid, white-knuckled ball." Your usefulness to me, Vader, is not such that I can tolerate your insubordination."

As Xizor watched, his own heart filled with the gloating pleasure that accompanies an enemy's humiliation. Darth Vader's holo image stood like a black rock at the edge of a storm-lashed sea, enduring silently the waves dashing against it. But when the Emperor's wrathful words ceased, Vader's image lowered itself onto one knee, its black-helmeted head bent in submission.

"As you wish, my lord." All emotion was drained from the image's relayed voice." Do with your servant as you will."

"All in good time." Palpatine's voice actually sounded sullen, as though he were barely satisfied with Vader's acquiescence." Until then, you still have some measure of worth for me."

I've won, thought Xizor. This round, at least. He hadn't even had to do much for it to happen this way,

merely let the arrogant Lord Vader dig his own grave. The Dark Lord of the Sith was so used to other sentient creatures, all of whom he considered inferior to himself, giving way before his undoubted powers that the least resistance threw him off balance. That was what had led to his saying such rash and ill-advised things to the Emperor. His only mode is to attack, Xizor had judged correctly. For a combatant to have no capacity for strategic retreat, to bide his time and wait, was a liability rather than a strength. As long as Emperor Palpatine was so much stronger than he was, Vader could be easily maneuvered into incurring that scathing wrath. Which deflects it from me, thought Xizor with pleasure. A fall from grace, however temporary it might be for Vader, was a comparable elevation for his opponents.

The only thing that Xizor had to remember, that he could never allow himself to forget, was that such a momentary advantage came at a considerable price. Whatever enmity Darth Vader had borne him before was now magnified many times over. For Xizor to have witnessed Vader's humiliation, that proud spirit crushed beneath the Emperor's boot sole, was to have had his own death warrant sealed-if Vader could bring that about. And Xizor knew now, even more than before, Vader would turn as much of his powers as possible to that task. The only thing that could divert Vader from his commitment to Xizor's destruction was the growing threat of the Rebel Alliance to the Empire. If the Rebellion should be crushed-and Xizor felt the chances were good that it would be-then in whatever aftermath followed, Xizor would have a formidable enemy indeed, facing him.

The prospect didn't alarm him.

I'll be ready, thought Xizor, glancing over at the half-kneeling image of Vader. The thought of that final encounter-so long delayed, so long anticipated-made the blood pulse in his veins.

Emperor Palpatine's voice broke into Xizor's thoughts.

"Enough of this bickering." The Emperor pointed a bony finger at Xizor." Do not delude yourself that your thoughts are hidden to me. You flatter yourself if you believe that I am taken in by all your maneuvering, Xizor-or if you believe that I find no merit at all in Lord Vader's criticisms of your schemes and actions. You promised much from your plan to break up the old Bounty Hunters Guild: a seemingly endless supply of the type of servants that the Empire requires, sharp and agile mercenaries, to take the place of the dull inefficiencies with which I am afflicted." Palpatine leaned forward in his throne, fixing his cold, incisive gaze on the figure standing before him." I have had various reports come to me of the progress of your scheme against the Guild. But the outcome of that scheme appears rather. . . clouded. What say you, Prince Xizor?"

A bow of his head, then he looked back into those dead-seeming eyes." The explanation is simple enough, my lord." Xizor spread his hands apart." The campaign against the Bounty Hunters Guild is not yet complete. There still remains much to be done-"

"As there always will be," spoke Vader's holo image." These plans are doomed to ignominious failure."

The Emperor shot Vader a stern warning glance, then looked back toward Xizor." I do not recall," said Palpatine," anything you said about the scheme proceeding in stages. When you proposed it to me, you made it sound as if it were a relatively simple matter. Merely insert the well-known bounty hunter Boba Fett into the Guild, and it would then dissolve of its own accord."

"Your memory is accurate, my lord." Xizor made a nod of acknowledgment." And I confess my error now: I did not anticipate the current state of affairs with the Bounty Hunters Guild."

"Which is?"

You know already, old man. Xizor was sure of it, and that the Emperor amused himself at his expense." The Bounty Hunters Guild has not yet completely disappeared. It has broken into two rival factions, the True Guild and the Guild Reform Committee. The latter is effectively under the control of the bounty hunter Bossk, the son of the original Guild's leader Cradossk."

"I see." The Emperor's hands lay unmoving upon the throne's arms." Reports have come to me that the elder Cradossk was in fact killed by this Bossk."

"That is indeed the case, my lord."

The Emperor displayed an unpleasant smile." It sounds as if the bounty hunter Bossk is exactly the sort of creature you thought would be of greatest service to the Empire. Ruthless and ambitious, is he not?"

"Those are hereditary traits, my lord." The flaring shoulders of Xizor's robes lifted in a shrug." But it requires cunning as well to be a perfect instrument of your will."

"Cunning such as yours, I suppose."

Xizor returned the smile." I cannot deny such an evident truth."

"Just as," said the Emperor," you cannot deny that the old Bounty Hunters Guild has not dissolved into a myriad of independent agents, from which we could pick and choose as served our purposes best.

You show yourself capable of admitting your errors; why not confess as well that your scheme has been a failure? I see no great advantage in there being two guilds where there was only one before. If anything, it merely compounds our difficulties in dealing with these creatures."

"There is no failure, my lord." Xizor allowed his reply to become heated." Unforeseen difficulties arise; they are to be dealt with." He came close to saying that the Emperor himself had not anticipated the Rebellion, but checked himself in time. Why risk angering someone who possessed the power of life and death?" As I intend to deal with these."

"So we are to hear yet another grand scheme." The holo image of Darth Vader spoke with contempt." Schemes on top of excuses, covering failures. There's no end to such things with you."

"Measure your own failures, Lord Vader." There was nothing to lose in firing a retort back at the dark lord. It was impossible for Vader's malice to become any greater." I at least have the means for changing a temporary failure to lasting victory. Do you?"

Vader's holo image stood with its arms folded across its chest. Mindful of the short leash-even shorter now-that the Emperor kept him on, Vader made no reply to the taunt.

"And just what are those means, Xizor?"

He looked back toward the Emperor." They are simple enough, my lord. The Bounty Hunters Guild is not what it was; with one blow, we have cleaved it into two opposed segments, factions filled with murderous hatred for each other. Whatever pretense to brotherhood the bounty hunters may have once maintained, that sham at least has been ripped away. Now we must complete the process of fragmentation. Each individual bounty hunter must be turned against all others, in whichever faction they currently reside. They must have no interests in common, but only enmity for each other."

"That may be the goal," said the Emperor," but it is not the method. You have not answered my question, and I grow impatient. Tell me now just how you propose to shatter these two factions into their constituent atoms."

Unflinching, Xizor returned the Emperor's hard, cold gaze." By the very element that motivates these creatures, that made them decide to become bounty hunters in the first place. A powerful, galaxy-spanning force in its own right." Xizor hesitated a moment, in an intentional dramatic effect." Greed," he said." That will do it."

The Emperor's smile grew even less pleasant than before." There is a wisdom-even a certain justice-in turning a creature's own nature against itself. Much of my own rule depends upon exactly that tactic." Palpatine nodded slowly." Let me hear the precise details you have envisioned, Xizor."

That was when he knew he had won another round in this game. Even before Xizor had finished relating the plan to the Emperor, he was sure that it would be approved. He would be empowered to carry out the next step in his plans.

And as long as the Emperor thought that those plans were entirely to his benefit, and to the benefit of the Empire. . . so much the better. Soon enough, thought Xizor, he'll find out the truth. But by then, it would be too late.

"And what say you, Lord Vader?" The Emperor turned his gaze toward the holo image at the other side of the throne room." I expect that your silence does not indicate a wild enthusiasm for Prince Xizor's suggested plan."

"You know my thoughts, my lord." Vader's image stood stiff and inflexible." I see no point in repeating my words. But if you wish to hear them, so be it. This scheme of Prince Xizor's, just like his previous failure, is a waste of time and energy. Your attention would be better placed elsewhere, on the true concerns of the Empire."

"Just as I expected," said Palpatine wearily." You confirm my estimate of the jealousy you bear toward any other servant of mine." The Emperor raised his hand, in a gesture directed toward Xizor." Proceed with your plans against the remnants of the Bounty Hunters Guild. But bear in mind, Xizor: failure is no longer an option for you. There is only success-or death."

Xizor bowed his head." That is as I prefer it, my lord."

The hem of his heavy robes swirled against his boots as he turned from the gaunt, ancient figure on the throne. He strode toward the high doors that led out of the room in which the galaxy's ruler sat.

All the way, and even to the vaulted corridors beyond, he was aware of Vader's gaze at his back, like the sharp point of a vibroblade, waiting for the chance of a fatal thrust.