"I don't think the Kuat household is going to be needing your services anymore." Kodir smiled as she looked over at Kuat of Kuat." I'd say the chances are good that there's going to be a new head of security at Kuat Drive Yards." She set her fists against her hips
and regarded Kuat with her head tilted to one side." And so. . . ?"
He looked back at her for only a second before making his decision." All right," said Kuat of Kuat. He nodded toward the exit and the corridor leading to the docking area." The ship's waiting."
14
On the flight back to the Kuat Drive Yards, business arrangements were finalized.
"This hasn't been done before," said Kuat of Kuat. The in-transit time wasn't long, so he had immediately gotten down to details." At least, I'm not aware of a fellow member of one of the ruling households having served as the corporation's head of security. Certainly, with my immediate predecessors, there had always been someone hired from off-planet." He raised one eyebrow." And after a considerable search and test of qualifications as well, I might add." His own words evoked a bitter laugh from Kuat." Not that it did much good, it seems." The memory of Fenald's betrayal still burned deep within him.
Kodir of Kuhlvult leaned back in the passenger-area seat next to his." You're wondering if I'm qualified for the job?" She smiled at him." How much more proof do I need to give you?"
"None." Kuat shook his head." You had enough moves back there at the ruling households' gathering place to indicate that you know how to act in an emergency. And. . . you hadn't gone along with the others and fallen for that scheme of Khoss's. Now, that either indicates a pretty sharp analytical mind-which is
always a good thing for a security head to have-or perhaps. . ."
"Perhaps what?"
It was his turn to smile." Perhaps a few inside sources? Khoss of Knylenn might not have kept everything as much of a secret as he would have liked-or as he thought he had. A little snooping around, a little following up of hints and leads-such as word of unusual deliveries to the Knylenn household, things like that-and a smart person might have known even before I did that the Knylenn Elder was dead."
"Oh, you're right about that." Kodir nodded slowly." A smart person would have known about that. And. . ." She looked more than pleased with herself." A smart person also knows how to keep her own secrets."
"Fair enough," said Kuat." As long as it doesn't interfere with your duties. But there's more to determine than just your qualifications."
Kodir turned her gaze back from the small viewport beside her seat." Such as?"
"I need to know exactly why you would want to be the security head for Kuat Drive Yards. My head of security."
She gave a shrug." There's all sorts of answers I could give you. Maybe I should just say that wanting to be where the action is. . . that's sort of a Kuhlvult household trait. And right now, Kuat Drive Yards has a lot of action happening around it."
"If you just want action, go join the Rebel Alliance. Then you'll get all the action you could ever want."
"Saving our own skins is also something of a trait with Kuhlvults." Kodir shook her head." I don't know if going up against the Empire is compatible with long-term survival."
"I don't know anymore if being on the Emperor's side is good for one's health." An old, familiar weight pressed again on Kuat of Kuat's shoulders." I'm just trying to keep Kuat Drive Yards intact and independent, no matter who wins."
"That's one of the things I admire about you," said Kodir." You demand loyalty from others, but you're not an idiot about giving it away."
For a moment, he wondered if she was being sarcastic. Then he had to admit the wisdom of what she had just said." The loyalty that Emperor Palpatine extracts from his followers is not the loyalty of free creatures. It's no more than the fear shown by slaves."
"It would be worth your life," Kodir spoke quietly," if I were to make your sentiments known to the Emperor."
"But you're not going to." All smiles had faded, from both his face and hers." Which means either that you're not afraid of Palpatine, or you're loyal-enough-to me. Or. . ."
"There always seems to be another 'or. '"
"It's a complicated galaxy we live in," said Kuat." Or you have your own reasons for being on my side. Things you want, that you would be more likely to achieve if I were to stay healthy and in charge of Kuat Drive Yards." He peered closer at Kodir." So exactly what is it that you want?"
"Answers."
One word, flatly stated; Kuat nodded in appreciation." Those can be hard to come by," he said." Unlike questions, which are about as plentiful as hydrogen atoms in the universe."
Kodir gave a slight shrug." Mine are pretty specific."
The personal transport would be at the Kuat Drive Yards docking area soon. And there were still a few things that Kuat wanted to settle with his new head of security before being surrounded by other creatures.
"Be careful," warned Kuat." Sometimes questions are asked, and answers are given-but they're not the ones that you might want to hear."
No emotion showed on Kodir's face." I'll take that risk."
"Then ask away."
She leaned closer to Kuat, as though the answers might be written at the dark centers of his eyes. A moment passed before she spoke. Then:" What happened to that girl?"
The question puzzled him." I don't know what you're talking about."
Anger seeped into the flat tone of Kodir's voice." Don't play around about this. We can have a business arrangement together, or we can be enemies. Your choice."
That flash of temper provoked his curiosity. It's something important to her, thought Kuat; he just didn't know what it was-yet.
"Tell me," said Kuat mildly," just what girl you're referring to. And we can proceed from there."
"The dancing girl. At the palace of Jabba the Hurt."
It took Kuat a moment to recall what she was talking about. The hologram, he finally realized. From the hyperspace messenger unit that Khoss of Knylenn's spying had captured him watching. Back at the ruling households' gathering place, Kodir had watched that hologram-within-a-hologram replay of the past events at Jabba's palace. Watched, and had seen something in it that she considered important. But what?
"She must have died," said Kuat." When Jabba threw her to his pet rancor beast; that's what was in that pit with the retractable grid over it. And nobody survives coming into that close contact with a rancor."
"I'm not talking about that dancing girl." Kodir snapped out her words with impatience." Who cares about some Twi'lek female? I mean, it's too bad, but that's not what's important. It's the other one, the other pretty one, that you could see there in the hologram of the palace-the one off to the side. That's the one I want to know about."
Kuat searched his memory, trying to dredge up the details that he had previously considered unimportant. His attention, when he had first watched the holographic replay that the hyperspace messenger unit had brought him, had been focused on the comings and goings of the bounty hunter Boba Fett in Jabba's palace. That had been the whole reason for the autonomic spy setup that had been smuggled in there; anything else that had been recorded was incidental to Kuat's original purposes.
"You're right," he said, nodding slowly." I guess there was another dancing girl there." Kuat shrugged." Jabba always kept a small troupe of them in the palace. Given the way he fed his pets, there was a pretty high turnover for them. It wasn't the kind of position that came with a high life expectancy attached."
"But that one lived." Kodir spoke with unexpected ferocity." The other one, the one that Jabba didn't throw to the rancor."