A shake of the head." Other than it being unoccupied-nothing. The Rebel Alliance forces that found the ship are still examining it."
"They won't find anything," said Kuat of Kuat.
"What makes you so sure, Technician? Boba Fett was involved in a great many activities that depended upon maintaining secrecy." The security head clasped his hands behind the small of his back." I would have thought it stood to reason that there might be some. . . intriguing traces of Fett's past aboard his ship."
"Oh, there very well might be." Kuat gave a shrug as he stroked the animal nestled in his arms." And if you knew where to look, and if you had at least some idea of what you were looking for-and you were sufficiently motivated to begin with-you might be able to find them. But there's nobody associated with the Rebel Alliance who's capable of that kind of investigation. The Rebels are at a critical stage in their campaign against the Empire, and the crisis isn't likely to end anytime soon. They're not going to waste their precious time going over the ship of a dead bounty hunter-as they're likely to believe Boba Fett to be-with a fine-tooth comb. It'll be a moral issue with them." Kuat shook his head, pityingly." As much disdain as the Imperial Navy has for bounty hunters and other semicriminal types, it's even worse with the Rebels. When you think you're finer and truer and more virtuous than your opponents, it's all too easy to fall into a blinding self-righteousness." That had never been a problem for Kuat himself; he was comfortable at any moral level, from the stars to the gutters, as long as it helped ensure the survival of Kuat Drive Yards. He could deal with anybody; doing business with Emperor Palpatine and his admirals proved as much." The Rebel Alliance will give Fett's ship a cursory going-over," said Kuat," and then they'll try to dispose of it as quickly as possible."
"Of course." The security head nodded slowly, digesting the other's superior wisdom." I imagine they'll
be able to get a pretty good price for Slave I. Considering what an expensive piece of goods it was to begin with-salvage value should be high. Any number of other bounty hunters would want it for their own personal vessel."
"Possibly," agreed Kuat. His head of security knew what he was talking about. When Boba Fett had ordered the construction and outfitting of the vessel, the bounty hunter had stipulated some expensive custom details. Kuat Drive Yards' accountants had demanded full payment up-front even before the ship's basic hull had been welded together. The design parameters that Fett had stipulated took the science-and the art-of small-craft development to a new level, one that Kuat himself had been only idly dreaming of, setting out a few concept sketches in his off-hours, before the actual job had manifested itself into reality. The advance payment had been for two reasons that had outweighed Kuat's innate desire to build such a ship: given the amount of time and resources that would be required to prototype, test, and finalize some of the unit's engine and maneuverability components, all the way from scratch to end product, and given the hazardous nature of the customer's line of work, said customer might well have been dead by the time Slave I had been ready to leave the docks. That would have been reason enough to demand the payment at the start of the process; the other reason lay in the nature of the ship itself, when it was completed. Anything that extreme in design was fully capable of killing the pilot on its first shakedown run, if the overpowered engines got away from him and tore apart the dura-steel frame like a collection of wooden twigs. Better to collect the money well before the customer succeeded in annihilating himself.
That hadn't happened. The combination of Boba Fett's pilot skills and Kuat of Kuat's design genius had resulted in Slave I being recognized-and feared-across the galaxy. A ship didn't have to be as big and overwhelming as an Imperial battle cruiser-or a Death Star-to have the necessary psychological effect.
Standing next to Kuat, the head of security raised an eyebrow." I would have thought it a certainty," he said," that the bidding for such a desirable item would be rather fierce."
"It would be-if the prospective purchasers thought there was nothing wrong with the ship." Kuat displayed a thin smile." Of course, sentient creatures often get interesting ideas planted into their heads. Especially when someone such as Boba Fett is concerned-perhaps even more so now that he's thought of as the late Boba Fett. Bounty hunters and similar entities have their little superstitions, their fears and suspicions-not all of which are groundless, either. It's well known that Boba Fett had a considerable degree of security systems wired into Slave I; only a fool would assume that those had been deactivated by the original owner's demise. It's one thing to buy a used ship; it's another to buy a death trap."
"Ah." The security head nodded." And if rumors, little hints about the unpleasant surprises that might be encountered by the new owner of Slave I, were to begin circulating in the appropriate territories. . ."
"Then the price might go down considerably." The felinx in Kuat's arms purred, as if it too were pleased by this notion." And if the price goes down, so does the attention paid to the eventual sale-that's how psychology works for all sentient creatures. If they're no longer interested in a certain item, then they don't much care who is."
"Which would mean," said Fenald," that when the Rebel Alliance finally puts Slave I up for sale,
when they've finished their superficial examination of it, then the ship could not only be purchased for a bargain price, but also with a considerable amount of discretion."
"Exactly." Kuat of Kuat continued watching the launch preparations at the main construction dock." Have one of our subsidiary corporations look into it-a components supplier, perhaps, but make sure that there isn't an obvious ownership trail back to Kuat Drive Yards. Transfer enough funds from one of my personal operating accounts, so that they'll be able to make the purchase when it happens. Instruct their chief negotiator to contact the Rebel Alliance as soon as possible, and see if they'll accept a preemptory bid; that way, the ship won't even come up on the open market and we won't have to deal with any other interested parties."
"And the rumor campaign? Concerning the dangers of purchasing Boba Fett's ship?"
"That should go into immediate high-speed propagation, to all points of the galaxy, radiating outward from Tatooine-that was where Slave I was last spotted. Make sure that the rumors penetrate all sectors controlled by the Rebel Alliance. The sooner they're convinced that Slave I is devalued merchandise, the more likely they'll be ready to listen to the preemptory purchase agreement. We've already got some listening-post agents planted in Mos Eisley, don't we?"
The security head gave a quick, affirming nod." We just rotated a fresh crew into the spaceport."
"Fine," said Kuat." They can start spreading the word. Have the covert operations department in our public relations wing come up with some negative-impact details about Slave 7's onboard security systems; perhaps some story about one of the Rebel Alliance investigating teams getting blown away as soon as they opened the main hatch. That way, when and if the Rebel Alliance indicates that the ship is going to be put up for sale, most sentient creatures' suspicions about it will be confirmed, whether they're true or not."