There will be consequences, Xizor assured himself. The day of reckoning between himself and Vader had only been postponed. When it came, only one of them would be alive afterward.
He would be prepared for that confrontation. Xizor knew that he was in an even stronger position than he had been before.
Now, Xizor mused, Palpatine thinks he's gotten what he wanted. A tougher, harder breed of mercenary bounty hunters, all of them ready to do the Empire's dirty work, for a price. And without the old Guild keeping them noncompetitive, and fat and lazy. That's good for the Empire, Xizor nodded slowly to himself. It's even better for Black Sun.
"You've done well for yourself, my dear Xizor." Nestled before him, Kud'ar Mub'at had discerned the course of Xizor's silent thoughts." You've more than proved your value to Palpatine. That will stand you in good stead in the future, with all the rest of your plans and schemes. The Emperor's favor will shine down upon you like the warming sunlight of a tropical world. He's known for rewarding cleverness. . . and loyalty."
"Not as much as you might think," replied Xizor." I have no illusions in that regard. The Emperor will keep me at his right hand as long as he considers me to be a valuable instrument of his will. If anything should happen to dispel that sense of value, then I will be just that much closer to him, so that he-or Darth Vader-can crush the breath from my throat."
"Needless worries; needless, I say." Kud'ar Mub'at bestowed his jagged smile on the web's guest." Whatever obstacles are arrayed before you, in your traversal of the maze that is Emperor Palpatine's court, I'm sure you'll negotiate them with your usual and commendable alacrity."
Xizor returned the smile." I'm sure I will, as well." He tilted his head in a mocking half bow toward the assembler." How can I fail to, with an accomplice such as yourself on my side?"
"Ah! How sweet of you to say so! Then may I take it that all issues of distrust between ourselves are dispelled?"
"Of course not, you idiot." Xizor shook his head in disgust." The day I trust a creature such as yourself will be the day I sign my own death warrant. But enough of that-let's get down to business."
"Whatever," sulked Kud'ar Mub'at." As you wish." It gestured with the tip of one forelimb." Please proceed."
"It's one thing to congratulate ourselves on having achieved the objective of our plans, the total disintegration of the Bounty Hunters Guild. If you wish to bask in the warm glow that comes with such an accomplishment, then do it when you're by yourself, Kud'ar Mub'at." Voice turning harder, Xizor leaned toward the assembler." But right now, there's plenty
of work left to be done, if we're to enjoy the results of our schemes. One doesn't put plans such as these into motion, without creating certain-shall we say?-messes that need to be cleaned up."
"Indeed." Kud'ar Mub'at nodded judiciously." It is exactly as you say, my dear Xizor. We have brought some participants into these intrigues, who might not be exactly pleased to find out the role they've been unwittingly forced to play."
That much was true; Xizor had already admitted as much to himself." The stormtrooper is not much of a problem," said Xizor." The fact that Trhin Voss'on't carried out the orders that he was given, and played his part in this little masquerade, indicates a certain naivete on his part. That's often the case with these military types; they're trained to trust their superiors. The Imperial stormtroopers could not survive if they allowed any doubt within their ranks. And in Voss'on't's case, he was promised a great deal in addition, if he played his role well."
"Really?" The assembler tilted its head to one side." What exactly did Emperor Palpatine promise Voss'on't?"
"Retirement." Prince Xizor shrugged." A modest pension, based upon his years of service in the stormtroopers. You have to remember, very few of their number live long enough to enjoy those things. Given what they have to go through, and what they have to do along the way, a little peace and quiet is all they want for their last days."
"How touching. And what will Trhin Voss'on't receive instead?"
"Leave that to me," said Xizor coldly. He bore the stormtrooper no ill will; whatever happened to Voss'on't now was a matter of simple necessity. Voss'on't had become a loose end, something that had to be cleaned up and disposed of-before he could create any embarrassment for those who had devised the scheme in which he had played so vital a part. Old soldiers tended to talk about their adventures. A few indiscreet details leaking out, concerning how other stormtroopers had been duped and killed, would have serious impact on the morale of those still serving in the Emperor's forces. The Rebel Alliance could use that kind of information as a way of encouraging mass defections, merely by offering any survival-minded stormtroopers a safe haven out of the reach of their commanding officers and their murderous Emperor. For that reason alone, Trhin Voss'on't was not going to receive the peaceful retirement that had been promised to him; he knew too much. Xizor had already assured the Emperor that Voss'on't would be taken care of-permanently.
"And what about Boba Fett?" A note of amusement sounded in Kud'ar Mub'at's voice." Wrapping up that particular loose end might be just a little more difficult. He is, after all, not quite the same sort of trusting individual as Trhin Voss'on't."
"That's my problem. And I'll take care of it." Xizor had already given the matter its due consideration. Unfortunately, for both himself and Boba Fett, the only possible solution was the same one that would be applied in the stormtrooper Voss'on't's case. Xizor made it a general rule of business never to create a situation where someone else had an advantage over him. Only a fool, he had long ago decided, hands a weapon over to a potential enemy. It was just as foolish to leave a weapon lying where an enemy might find it and pick it up. And in the universe he lived and operated in, everybody was an enemy, sooner or later-it was just safer to make that assumption from the beginning.
Boba Fett had one of the most carefully groomed networks of information sources in the galaxy; that was a big part of his success as a bounty hunter. It was only reasonable to expect that some of those sources might be located in the ranks of Black Sun itself. Fett might not know it now, but the truth might be discovered at any moment: that it had been Prince Xizor who had instigated the Bounty Hunters Guild's destruction. To allow even the possibility of Boba Fett, with his devious mind and appetite for gain, acquiring such a damaging piece of information to hold over him-that would be madness. Even if he then eliminated Boba Fett, the problem remained of all the others who might have learned the truth from him. Too many creatures would bear Xizor a grudge then; even if he managed to evade every bounty hunter who had some remaining vestige of loyalty to the old organization, to do so would endlessly complicate his existence. And it would only take one of them, with a stroke of luck, and all his plans for Black Sun would expire along with his own life.
No, thought Xizor. The decision had already been made. Fett's silence and the bounty hunter's death were one and the same thing. And too valuable not to bring about.