biological component, the nature of which we have been unable
to fathom. It is undoubtedly present, we know it's in there, but we
cannot examine the source of the reading more closely without
physically penetrating the casing. Doing so would, of course, reduce
the object's value, so we will leave that up to the ultimate
purchaser. "
"Can
we get any closer?"
"The
combination to the vault is what you will be bidding for, Envoy
Nirvin. Until you have purchased it, the door remains shut. "
The
envoy nodded his understanding, but his frown remained intact.
Stepping away from the window, he finally waved Ax forward.
"Take
a look, " he said. "See what you make of it. "
Although
it rankled to take the administrative puppet's orders, Ax did as she
was told, peering with intense curiosity at what lay inside the
vault. Finally, she could see what all the fuss was about.
The
navicomp was easily identifiable, although it had been twisted and
partially melted by the blast that had destroyed the ship around it.
It was a handheld model, unexpectedly small, more resembling a chunky
satellite comlink than the heart of a starship's navigation system.
Presumably it was voiceprinted, but such security provisions could
easily be circumvented by a talented slicer. Ax could only take
Yeama's word for whether it still worked or not. It rested in a
transparisteel box on a glass plinth to the left of the room's
center, and was closely observed by numerous sensors mounted in the
vault's durasteel walls, floor, and ceiling.
Sitting
on the floor to its right was the second object. Nirvin was correct:
it didn't match any design aesthetic she'd ever encountered. It was
squat, like a T3 utility droid, but without any legs or visible
environmental interfaces. Its body was tubular and rested flush to
the floor of the vault. There were no markings apart from a series of
almost gill- like ripples around its middle. Its head was slightly
convex, as though it had been pushed down from above, and part of it
was scorched black. The natural color of its casing appeared to be
silver. No writing, no symbols, no identifying markers at all.
Ax
didn't know what it was, either, but she didn't say so immediately.
Taking the opportunity to inspect the interior of the vault in more
detail, she memorized sensor emplacements, estimated the strength of
the walls, and measured the distance of each object from the door,
just in case she had to perform in the dark. It would be much better,
of course, to take the prize once it was out of the vault and away
from all these impediments, but she would be prepared for anything.
"It
could be a bioreactor, " she said to the envoy, returning
control of the window to him.
"Plague
agents, perhaps?"
"Hard
to say without opening it. "
"Indeed.
" Nirvin turned back to Yeama. "Is that all you have to
show us?"
"All?"
The Twi'lek showed his teeth. They were as pointed as the tips of his
lekku. "I will escort you to a waiting room, where you may
examine data relating to our find in perfect comfort. "
"Very
well. " Nirvin indicated that Yeama should lead the way.
Ax
fell in behind them, with her huge Houk shadow at her side. The
objects in the vault didn't speak to her either as a Sith apprentice
or as the biological offspring of Lema Xandret. The plague
bioreactor, if such it was, provoked no memories at all.
The
sparse information they had been given told her only a little more.
That the object was made from an alloy of extremely rare metals boded
well for her Master's dreams of giving the Emperor a rich new world,
but it meant nothing in itself. With the crew of the Cinzia dead,
there were no leads to follow there, either, unless she could uncover
something that had been hidden by the Hutts-like a survivor, perhaps,
or another clue as to the ship's origins. She didn't put it past
Tassaa Bareesh to auction only half of what they'd found while
keeping something extra in reserve, to sell to the auction's
to fathom. It is undoubtedly present, we know it's in there, but we
cannot examine the source of the reading more closely without
physically penetrating the casing. Doing so would, of course, reduce
the object's value, so we will leave that up to the ultimate
purchaser. "
"Can
we get any closer?"
"The
combination to the vault is what you will be bidding for, Envoy
Nirvin. Until you have purchased it, the door remains shut. "
The
envoy nodded his understanding, but his frown remained intact.
Stepping away from the window, he finally waved Ax forward.
"Take
a look, " he said. "See what you make of it. "
Although
it rankled to take the administrative puppet's orders, Ax did as she
was told, peering with intense curiosity at what lay inside the
vault. Finally, she could see what all the fuss was about.
The
navicomp was easily identifiable, although it had been twisted and
partially melted by the blast that had destroyed the ship around it.
It was a handheld model, unexpectedly small, more resembling a chunky
satellite comlink than the heart of a starship's navigation system.
Presumably it was voiceprinted, but such security provisions could
easily be circumvented by a talented slicer. Ax could only take
Yeama's word for whether it still worked or not. It rested in a
transparisteel box on a glass plinth to the left of the room's
center, and was closely observed by numerous sensors mounted in the
vault's durasteel walls, floor, and ceiling.
Sitting
on the floor to its right was the second object. Nirvin was correct:
it didn't match any design aesthetic she'd ever encountered. It was
squat, like a T3 utility droid, but without any legs or visible
environmental interfaces. Its body was tubular and rested flush to
the floor of the vault. There were no markings apart from a series of
almost gill- like ripples around its middle. Its head was slightly
convex, as though it had been pushed down from above, and part of it
was scorched black. The natural color of its casing appeared to be
silver. No writing, no symbols, no identifying markers at all.
Ax
didn't know what it was, either, but she didn't say so immediately.
Taking the opportunity to inspect the interior of the vault in more
detail, she memorized sensor emplacements, estimated the strength of
the walls, and measured the distance of each object from the door,
just in case she had to perform in the dark. It would be much better,
of course, to take the prize once it was out of the vault and away
from all these impediments, but she would be prepared for anything.
"It
could be a bioreactor, " she said to the envoy, returning
control of the window to him.
"Plague
agents, perhaps?"
"Hard
to say without opening it. "
"Indeed.
" Nirvin turned back to Yeama. "Is that all you have to
show us?"
"All?"
The Twi'lek showed his teeth. They were as pointed as the tips of his
lekku. "I will escort you to a waiting room, where you may
examine data relating to our find in perfect comfort. "
"Very
well. " Nirvin indicated that Yeama should lead the way.
Ax
fell in behind them, with her huge Houk shadow at her side. The
objects in the vault didn't speak to her either as a Sith apprentice
or as the biological offspring of Lema Xandret. The plague
bioreactor, if such it was, provoked no memories at all.
The
sparse information they had been given told her only a little more.
That the object was made from an alloy of extremely rare metals boded
well for her Master's dreams of giving the Emperor a rich new world,
but it meant nothing in itself. With the crew of the Cinzia dead,
there were no leads to follow there, either, unless she could uncover
something that had been hidden by the Hutts-like a survivor, perhaps,
or another clue as to the ship's origins. She didn't put it past
Tassaa Bareesh to auction only half of what they'd found while
keeping something extra in reserve, to sell to the auction's
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