PROLOGUE III
Jaren Creel checked his chrono, annoyed. Whoever called him here to this meeting was late. He hated dealing with people who kept him waiting, especially in squallid conditions like this. He sniffed, shuffled his feet and looked around.
The industrial sector of Coruscant was little more than a dismal landscape of droid-run factories, tower-mounted power couplings and smokestacks. The sky overhead, even in daylight, was a muddy and overcast brick red. The atmospheric reconditioners took care of the air once it got to populated sections of the planet, but the industrial sector seemed to turn everything gray. The smog and airborne technochrine particles tended to cling to everything like dust. Jaren’s hand-tailored Cylorean suit was getting somewhat less vibrant with each passing moment.
Jaren brushed off his flowing, bright orange sleeves with an irritated grimace and checked his chrono again. To his left, a figure in a black robe stepped from the shadows. Only the lower portion of his face was visible, and the wrinkled mouth smiled in greeting. “You’re late,” Jaren said.
“And you’re angry,” the man replied.
“That’s because my time is valuable. What’s this job of yours?”
The robed figure nodded and spoke. “First, I feel obliged to tell you that our business is of utmost secrecy. I must insist on your complicity in nondisclosure.”
“You’ve got it,” Jaren sniffed proudly. “I’m a professional- I don’t discuss business.”
“Excellent.” The figure smiled and paused before going on. “You are going to the Ilstaes system.”
“Where is that?”
“It’s far out on the rim. You’ll be accompanying a small party of Jedi back here to Coruscant.”
Creel chuckled. “Doesn’t sound like any kind of secretive project to me.”
“This is but the first part of your job. Your second is more complicated; there is a child among them. You are to watch him. When you are sent a coded signal, it will be your cue to try to separate the child from the others. The boy will soon find himself in new company.”
Jaren held up his hands. “Whoa, whoa. Hold on. Is this kid going to be alright?”
“He will simply find himself with different friends.”
“He won’t be hurt, will he?”
The man in black grinned. “I recall a day when bounty hunters did as they were bid, without question.”
Creel shrugged. “I like to know things about jobs I’m on.”
“Your concern with the boy ends when he disappears, at which time you must as well.”
“I can do that.”
“There will be other interested parties. If the boy finds himself among separatist forces, away from his master, do your best to let him go without revealing yourself.”
“Separatists??” Jaren sneered. “Am I getting myself mucked up in this Clone War that’s going on?”
The robed man waved his hands over the ground. “Does it matter? You are earning your share. You will be contacted by Republic forces within the hour. Comply with them and mention nothing of this meeting.”
“Why will I be contacted by the Republic?”
“They need a man with your qualifications.”
Jaren frowned, confused. “But I’m a bounty hunter.”
“They believe you are something else entirely.”
“I see. How much am I making, here? My going fee isn’t cheap, especially for a trip to the outer rim. Lotta blasterfire being exchanged in space, and I value my hide.”
“Complete this task and you will make a great deal of money, my friend. You stand to make over one hundred thousand credits.”
Jaren Creel’s eyebrows shot up and he quickly composed himself, donning his Sabacc face. “One hundred thousand. That seems about right.”
“I thought you might think so. I’m afraid our time here is ended- remember everything I have told you… and say nothing.”
Jaren rolled his eyes. “I assure you, I won’t discuss this with anyone.”
“Let us hope you are correct,” the man said threateningly. “The consequences for betrayal would be most dire.” He peered from beneath his hood, and his eyes glittered there like small gems. Jaren felt the gaze buckle him somehow… like the weight of the stranger’s stare could crush him if it chose to. The bounty hunter bowed, straightened himself, and walked off.
The man in black watched him go before turning and moving into a nearby darkened building. There he met another man, taller, standing near an odd-looking starship. “My master,” the tall man said. He had a white beard and well-coifed white hair. His dapper cape hung behind him.
“Lord Tyrannus. Everything goes as planned?”
“Yes my liege. Our Confederate forces are poised for takeover in the systems you’ve indicated. More systems join our ranks by the day. With their strength, we can defeat the Republic.” Darth Tyrannus smiled proudly. “Another skirmish has broken out, above Muunilist. I fear the battle may be taken to the ground, but we’ve assured the Banking Clans our protection.”
“Good, good. I am encouraged. Have you found this warrior to be sent against the Jedi?”
“Indeed. One, named Durge, is en route to Muunilist as we speak. I will go to the gladiator pits of Rattatak to find the next.”
“Excellent. You do your job well, my pupil… which is why I will entrust to your forces another task.”
Tyrannus stiffened. “I am ready, my master.”
Darth Sidious said “There is a child…”
END OF PROLOGUES
