"Boss, that sound-dampening skill you used just now wasn't very effective. The Pyke's voice volume was greatly reduced, but it really was still audible."
Inside the cabin of the Consular-class Republic yacht, Christopher Raines said this.
"Ah—" Max pulled back his hood, rolled his neck, and started forming hand seals at random. "I was messing with him. I didn't use any sound-dampening skill just now. The reason the voice sounded smaller is because Lom Pyke lowered his voice—didn't you notice my own voice never changed?"
"Huh? That works too?"
"It works, it works. Smoke and mirrors."
"Bzz… bzz…" The comm unit on his forearm vibrated. Max tapped to connect. "This is Max Vizsla. Go ahead."
"Boss, the 'light tube' has been found."
After arriving near Oba Diah, the Consular-class Republic yacht carrying Max descended toward the Pyke Syndicate's administrative center. The Kom'rk-class starfighter escorting the Mandalorian commandos stayed in space, and quietly released a large swarm of small reconnaissance drones toward Oba Diah's moon.
The drone swarm performed a dragnet search, found the crashed T-6 shuttle, entered the wreck, located Master Sifo-Dyas's dropped lightsaber, retrieved it, withdrew from the shuttle, and returned it to the Kom'rk's cargo bay. Simple process, easy execution.
"Nicely done. Return to base."
...
Galactic Standard Calendar Year 4, April 20, 08:00. The CEC envoy convoy returning from negotiations at Oba Diah dropped out of hyperspace near Corellia.
But the two-ship formation did not head straight for the Corellian Engineering Corporation's spaceport. Instead, it moved toward a GR-75 medium transport that had been waiting in nearby space.
"Move it, move it," Max called out. "Boys, get moving. Give me a hand."
"This is the Way!"
They had to transfer the credit ingots first.
Right after departing Oba Diah, Caesar Graves and Lord Figg had made a holo-call to Max, telling him that thanks to his outstanding negotiation performance and the massive losses he'd helped CEC avoid, the Chairman was extremely grateful—and would personally lead a team of senior executives to the port to welcome the triumphant envoy.
In that case, they couldn't just fly straight in.
That old Pyke bastard apparently had some special hobby like sleeping on piles of money—because the "one billion" in "kickbacks" he gave Max was paid in cash, all in yellow and white long-bar credit ingots.
Max was thin-skinned. He'd taken Lom Pyke's one billion credits with a completely clear conscience, but hauling "kickback money" in front of CEC's Chairman and an entire pack of executives still felt… awkward.
So Max placed a holo-call to the General Staff of the Bespin Mandalorian Armed Forces and dispatched a GR-75 medium transport to handle the transfer operation.
"Chris, you take one fireteam and stay with me. Everyone else transfer to the Kom'rk and provide escort for the GR-75 on its return trip to Cloud City."
"Understood."
...
Just as Max expected, the port's welcome ceremony was dull, empty, and utterly forgettable—nothing but the usual exchange of "I've heard so much about you," "Likewise," "You've worked hard," "Not at all," "Thank you," "As we should," and so on.
What he didn't expect came after the ceremony.
"Mr. Claude, the Senator would like to see you."
"The Senator? Which Senator?"1
"Come with me and you'll find out. This way, please!"
...
"Senator Leev Garamby!" Max strode forward. "I've heard so much about you!"
"Oh?" The venerable old senator rose from his chair without any airs, extending his hand as he smiled and teased, "A young man like you knows an old wreck like me?"
"Of course. You're the spearhead of the anti-blasphemy campaign—you're a hero of Corellia!"
Max had been hearing about the white-haired elder in front of him for nearly a month—this was the senator who had initiated the anti-spice bill in the Corellian Senate. Before Max left for the negotiations, the background materials Caesar Graves compiled for him had included a detailed profile on this man.
"Young man, you said that beautifully!"
Somehow, a single flattering line made the old man visibly emotional—so sudden it startled Max.
Bang! The elder slammed his fist onto the desk, his emotions still rising. "What spice? It's blasphemy-stuff! Poisoning the young, poisoning society, poisoning this nation!"1
"Senator—" // "Senator?"
Max was about to calm him down when the noise drew the senator's security detail, who barged in from outside. Leev Garamby waved them off and motioned for Max to sit.
"It's fine, it's fine. Sit, sit. Mr. Claude—do you know why I asked to see you today?"
(So jumpy… no wonder you had a heart attack.) While grumbling internally, Max kept a respectful, obedient tone. "I do not, sir. Please enlighten me."
"I want to commission you to kill Lom Pyke—this spice dealer—no, this arch-blasphemy kingpin!"
"Uh…"
After Leev Garamby submitted the bill titled "To Curb, Reduce, and Ultimately Eradicate Spice Crime" to the Corellian Senate's Domestic Affairs Committee, a Pyke Syndicate envoy quickly came to him, trying to pay him to withdraw the bill. The old man cursed him out and drove him away.
Soft wouldn't work, so they went hard. Not long after, rumors began circulating that, in retaliation for the bill, the Pyke Syndicate intended to harm the old man and his family.
A man who could reach the level of a sector-republic senator wasn't someone easily frightened. Faced with death threats, Leev Garamby showed no fear and continued pushing Corellia's anti-blasphemy campaign forward.
But something that happened earlier this month enraged the "anti-blasphemy vanguard" completely. According to reports from his security staff, his beloved grandson had started being followed by strangers on the way to and from school.
When he heard that, the old man was furious. On one hand, he used his resources and influence to order the Corellian police, the National Security Bureau, and other agencies to investigate thoroughly. On the other hand, he began preparing retaliation.
"Senator Leev Garamby, Beskar Steel Security specializes in protection work—"
Max repeated the same speech he'd used on Governor Nute Gunray earlier. Similarly, this was a powerful Corellian figure Max couldn't afford to offend—so once again, Max tried to broker the job to Death Watch.
But Leev Garamby didn't accept that.
"No, no. I've heard plenty about Death Watch. Their assassins will tell Lom Pyke exactly how much I paid to kill him—and if Lom Pyke is willing to pay more, Death Watch will turn around and kill me, the employer."1
"However," Leev Garamby continued, "I do know a bounty hunter with an excellent reputation and exceptional capability. I hear he's a Mandalorian as well."
"Jango Fett?"
"Yes, yes, yes—Jango Fett. Mr. Claude, you have wide connections. Your network is not to be underestimated."
(I know who he is, but he sure as hell doesn't know me…) Max was still mentally complaining when Leev Garamby went on.
"I've commissioned many organizations, and none could find him. They say Jango Fett has vanished for over a year. This time, with a talented young compatriot like you, surely you can convince him to come out of hiding."
(Damn it. Shouldn't have opened my mouth.) // "Senator Leev Garamby, I do not have Mr. Jango Fett's contact information."
"Then I commission you to help me find this ace bounty hunter. That doesn't conflict with your company's core business, does it?"
"Senator Leev Garamby, it is an honor for me and Beskar Steel Security to serve you." Max bent forward in a bow. "However, I must inform you in advance: in a galaxy this vast, finding an ace bounty hunter who has chosen to hide himself has a very low success rate."
"Young man, I believe in you. If you can't find him, I won't blame you. If you do find him, you will be richly rewarded." Leev Garamby rose, shook his hand, encouraged him, and sent him off in one smooth motion. "Go do it."
"Understood, Senator. May the Force be with you."
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