                                Star Wars 

                           Wizard's RPG Stories

          source : http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=starwars/newsarchive
          upload : 10.IV.2006


     Double Cross

     By August and Cynthia Hahn

     In a back alley cantina in the floating city of Tolea Biqua,  a  nameless
Human waits for a special package to be delivered by a Rodian  mercenary.  The
contents of the parcel are dangerous enough, but that's  nothing  compared  to
the double-cross about to wreak havoc in the Cularin system. Learn more in our
latest supplement to the Living Force campaign.

     Things are never quiet in the Cularin system. Smugglers cross between its
worlds, pirates lurk amid the spinning rocks of its asteroid belt, and shadows
move when no one is watching. It is a busy time, both for the system's natives
and for those just passing through. Some of these are dignitaries from distant
worlds, while others would prefer to be left nameless. A meeting of the latter
is taking place in a back alley bar in the floating city of Tolea  Biqua  even
now...

     Kletoo sat down  quickly,  his  large  lidless  eyes  scanning  the  room
nervously. They were far enough back and out of the way that it  was  unlikely
anything could  be  overheard,  but  gatherings  like  this  always  made  him
uncomfortable. "Why do we have to keep doing this? You  know  I  like  private
rooms."

     "Yes," replied the garishly dressed Human sitting  at  the  back  of  the
corner booth, "which is precisely why I meet you out here. People bug  private
rooms. Out here, there is too much noise to make out anything useful. Besides,
I like making you... uncomfortable."

     The Rodian glowered, an odd expression for  one  of  his  kind,  but  the
message was clear enough. He disliked this venue, this meeting, and the man he
was talking to intensely. If he weren?t under orders, he?d like nothing better
than to burn the Human down where he sat, outlandish outfit and all.

     The Human must have read that intention in his body language, because  he
held up one hand in a peaceful gesture. "Clam yourself, Kletoo. I  only  meant
that when people are uncomfortable, they pay attention better." He  sipped  at
his Outer-Rim rum drop, smiling as the swirls  of  red  disappeared  past  his
lips. "I do like these things. Pity we don't own the manufacturer... yet."

     Kletoo grumbled something about mammals and their  odd  tastes,  but  the
Human  let  that  go.  The  Rodian  then  said,  "Okay,  fine  by  me.  I   am
uncomfortable, so I am paying attention. Give me a reason for both or I  swear
I will - - "

     The man shot Kletoo a meaningful look, one tinged with just enough malice
to shut him up. "I would not finish that sentence if I were you.  I  know  how
seriously your kind take their oaths. Let's keep this friendly. After all,  we
both stand to profit greatly from our mutual employer. Yes?"

     The Rodian sighed and nodded. That much was true. "Can  we  get  on  with
this, then?"

     The last of the rum drop vanished with a long quaff. "I  trust  you  have
the documents I asked for?"

     Kletoo slid a package with a pair of data chips and a coded reader across
the table, leaving his hand on the parcel the whole time. "Yes, but you owe me
double. I lost my partner getting this for you."

     The Human stared at the Rodian  levelly,  smiling  after  a  long,  tense
moment. "Your partner? That obnoxious little Duro with the blaster fixation?"

     The Rodian's eyes swiveled forward, his species' equivalent of  narrowing
them at something he found offensive. "Yes."

     Carefully, the man started  to  slip  the  package  out  from  under  the
Rodian's insistent hand. "Well, you were going to split the fee, so, in a way,
I would say you did get double. Wouldn't you?"

     As he spoke, a pair of Trandoshans at the bar turned  to  face  the  back
table. They nodded to the Human and let their coats fall open, revealing  very
large, very illegal guns.

     The message was clear. Kletoo lifted his hand and let the Human have  his
parcel. "Fine. Is the money in my account?"

     The man didn?t answer until he verified the contents of  the  chips.  His
satisfied smile, illuminated in the glow of the reader screen, seemed almost a
little too broad. "Oh, of course. My associates will show you  out.  Excellent
work with these. Our employer will be quite happy to see them."

     The two Trandoshans walked up to either side of Kletoo and  "helped"  him
up.

     The Human glanced up at him from the reader and sighed.  "You  can  thank
your partner for what's about to happen. I am afraid his little stunt with the
grenades made rather more of a mess than we wanted. We needed you  to  get  on
and off Nirama's ship without alerting him to your presence." The Human  shook
his head. "Our employer was rather specific."

     Before Kletoo could say a word, one of the Trandoshans elbowed  him  hard
in the chest. All the air rushed from his lungs, keeping him from shouting  or
making a scene as they carried him out the back doors.

     The Human watched the two enforcers leave with  a  slight  shake  of  his
head. They would be quick, at least.  After  all,  Kletoo  had  delivered  the
goods. The man felt that killing the Rodian was a waste, but  his  hands  were
tied. His employer had been quite specific about dealing with  the  agent,  as
he?d been about what to do once the files were recovered.  The  Human  flipped
open a small communicator and pressed a hidden button on its side.

     "Yes, D here. Please inform Lord R that his package is  in  custody.  The
opportunity he has been looking for is in there. With  his  authorization,  we
can begin. N's hold on this system is as weak as it is going to get.  We  need
to move now."

     From outside came the high-pitched whine of a blaster.

     The Human listened to the answer from his contact, nodded, and ended  the
call. Just then, the two Trandoshans came back in and headed to the bar for  a
drink.

     The man smiled to himself as he ordered  another  rum  drop.  Kletoo  was
dead, but he would not be alone for long. This was about to  get  messy,  even
more so than his employer could imagine.

     He pressed another button on his comlink. "Hello? Yes. Tell M that  R  is
about to make his move. More when I get details. Goodbye."

     Yes, life was about to get bloody, but that was just a fact of life  when
you worked for a Hutt. It was even more certain when you were betraying one...