"Hear him!" Khoss raised both hands from the Knylenn Elder's shoulders and held them wide above his own head." 'This is why we are gathered at this place!"
"Treachery. . ." The Elder's voice continued, each word like gravel scraped across metal." When treason is committed. . . by those to whom much power has been given. . . in whom much trust has been placed. . . is greater treachery possible?"
Another murmur sounded from the Knylenns and their affiliates, rising into quick, angry shouts.
The last of Kuat's patience had been exhausted. Before either the Knylenn Elder or Khoss standing behind him could speak again, he strode forward." Don't waste my time with your cheap theatrics." Kuat of Kuat stood in front of the life-support system's massive durasteel prow, looking up at the faces of both the Knylenn Elder and Khoss of Knylenn." If you're referring to me, then say so. And if you have charges to make, then state them. Or am I expected to defend myself against nothing more than the hatred you've always shown toward my bloodline?"
"Very well-" Khoss of Knylenn glared down at him." No one here is surprised that you merit accusation; yourself, least of all. The head of the Kuat household should know better than anyone else just what iniquities he is capable of."
"Iniquities such as fomenting distrust and rebellion toward one who has done no more than serve and enrich this world's heirs?" Kuat of Kuat shook his head in disgust." Whatever evils I know of are the ones I've observed in you." He gazed round at the Knylenns and their affiliates, ranked on either side of the hissing machinery." They're easy to see when they're reflected in so many other black hearts. Envy is a mirror that reveals its bearer's face more than anything else."
The Knylenns' murmurs and shouts had been stilled for a moment as Kuat's words had stung home. But now they broke once again into uproar, with threats and imprecations directed at the target who stood before them, unflinching.
"You speak bravely-" Khoss's impassioned voice rose above the others." For one whose deeds have put him in opposition to all the rest of this world's ruling households."
"Speak for yourself." Kodir of Kuhlvult stepped up beside Kuat." And speak for those you've fooled and cajoled onto your side." One of her hands gestured toward the sagging scowl of the Knylenn Elder." And for those too senile to realize the folly of the words you've placed in their mouths. But you don't speak for me, or for any of the Kuhlvult household, when you attack one whose bloodline has brought nothing but wealth and honor to the planet of Kuat."
Kuat looked over at the young female." This may not be your best move," he said quietly." They've got the numbers."
"So?" Kodir gave a shrug with her reply." What does that matter, if they're wrong?"
Atop the portable life-support system, Khoss of Knylenn ordered his followers to silence." You wished for an accusation?" He directed a sneering smile at Kuat." Your own knowledge of your deeds is not enough? That is as we expected. It's not likely-or even possible-that one so mired in treachery would voluntarily confess and repent. But that is not necessary for us to have sufficient and convincing evidence of the crimes committed by the bloodline of Kuat, the dagger thrust into the hearts of all the ruling households." Khoss turned where he stood and gestured toward the back of the gathering place." Bring it forth."
That accusations would be made, Kuat of Kuat had fully expected. But the exact nature of whatever supporting evidence might have been fabricated-that was something of which he could still be surprised. He watched as a three-dimensional holoprojector was wheeled by a pair of Knylenn affiliates into the middle of the domed area.
"What's this?" Kuat pointed to the device." Do you seek to enlighten or entertain us?"
"I'm sure you'll find it. . . amusing." Khoss reached down and was handed a remote-control keypad by one of the affiliates." It may not show you at your best, but it captures your likeness well enough."
With a single press of the controls, the holoprojector was activated. In the cleared space before the machinery of the life-support system, light shimmered and coalesced into perceptible forms. A segment of the past came into view, as though summoned from a realm of ghostlike spirits. But the past shown was one that Kuat of Kuat recognized.
He found himself standing less than a meter away from a reproduced hologram of himself. The image wasn't dressed in the formal robes that he himself wore now, but in the simple coveralls of all those who labored for Kuat Drive Yards. Enough details of the space surrounding the hologram were visible that Kuat could see it had been recorded in his private
working area. The hologram image was bent over some object on the lab bench, intently prying it open with delicate tools.
Even before the object yielded to the holographic Kuat's probe, the real Kuat could see what it was as he stood in the gathering place of the ruling households and watched his image from the past. The gleaming metal object on the lab bench was a hyperspace messenger unit, which contained in turn another miniaturized holoprojector. The real Kuat watched his past image activate the projector, and another re-created scene appeared, held inside the larger one.
That scene, which the image of Kuat intently regarded, was from inside the palace of the late Jabba the Hutt. With a twist of the probe in the hyperspace messenger unit's controls, the Kuat image froze the holo scene. The real Kuat continued to watch as his past image responded to the events in the re-creation of Jabba's throne room.
You're dead, aren't you? The holographic image of Kuat spoke to the frozen hologram-within-hologram image of Jabba the Hutt. That's such a shame. I hate to lose a good customer.
The real Kuat remembered saying those words. Just as he remembered everything else he had done back then, when the hyperspace messenger unit had arrived from the distant planet of Tatooine and he had opened it up to hear the secrets it had brought to him. The holographic re-creation of the scene in front of him, of himself in the past watching another hologram, was like walking around inside his own head, in that space where his memories were kept.
The rest of the scene played out, showing the image of Kuat carefully inspecting the other figures besides Jabba the Hutt that could be seen in the hologram-within-a-hologram. The scene that had been recorded in Jabba's palace ended with Princess Leia Organa, disguised as an Ubese bounty hunter, facing down the Hutt with an activated thermal detonator. That had been amusing to witness. Before that, though, there had been less pleasant things to watch, such as the grisly death of one of the Hurt's dancing girls, by being dropped into the rancor pit before the throne. To re-create Jabba the Hurt's court was to summon from the past a particularly nasty piece of the galaxy.
In the hologram that had contained the other one, the image of Kuat of Kuat extracted the probe tool from the hyperspace messenger unit on the lab bench, and the silvery ovoid self-destructed, its casing and innards melting down into smoldering scrap.
"You're right," said the real Kuat, the one who now stood in the gathering place of the ruling households." That is interesting."
Not for what the holographic playback had shown him; his memory was clear enough about having opened up the messenger and watching what it had to show him. But for what was implied by the mere existence of the hologram, and it being in the hands of the Knylenns. The hologram had been recorded surreptitiously, in Kuat's most private and guarded sanctuary. Recorded by some hidden device, without his knowledge, and then transmitted to Khoss of Knylenn and the other conspirators against the bloodline of Kuat. That meant a major breach of security, within the actual organization of Kuat Drive Yards. A breach that only one individual would be capable of creating.