“Silly them,” Han said, and Scarlet shot him a sharp look. Hunter Maas, however, wouldn’t be derailed.
“Such a species were the K’kybak. Brilliant and fearful. Their race rose, flourished, and passed to the great emptiness of time all within the realm of one small planet. But the mysteries they uncovered there were profound. Deep, yes? Had their temperament been other than it was, we should all still bow down to a K’kybak master. Yes, even Hunter Maas. Such was their power.
“They were a young species when the invaders came. Long before the Empire. Long before the Republic. Their suffering was under stars of a different color, so long ago this happened. With great wars, they cast off oppression’s yoke. And once free, the brilliant, twisted minds of the K’kybak bent themselves to protection. They took the oppressor’s ships, their weapons, all the technology that had placed the boot upon their necks. And what did they do with it? Did they create a fleet to annihilate? No. They delved deep, deep into the mysteries of physics and built themselves a tool to wrap their star in safety forever. The greatest weapons in the galaxy were as nothing to them then. They lived the span of their people’s lives and died undisturbed by even the most vicious conquerors.”
Leia nodded. “That’s fascinating,” she said in a tone that suggested it might not actually be fascinating. “And I assume you’re here to sell whatever defensive technology they discovered?”
“Alas, no. Hunter Maas instead has the map. The secret coordinates that will lead the wise and powerful to the dead world of the K’kybak, there to retrieve the secret that will lay the galaxy at their feet.”
“Will this shield protect against something as powerful as the Death Star?” Leia asked.
Hunter Maas sneered. “Death Star? The K’kybak laugh at this Death Star. Ha!”
“It destroyed my home planet,” Leia said, and the hardness in her voice caught even Hunter Maas’s attention.
“And I grieve with you, but ask yourself this, royal lady. What power would it have if it could not move? Could it have destroyed your world from across the galaxy? I think not.”
Hunter Maas wagged his eyebrows. Han and Chewie exchanged a puzzled glance. Scarlet’s sharp breath cut through the air.
“Why would they be across the … Oh. Hyperspace,” she said. “They found a way to control passage through hyperspace.”
Han felt his gut tighten. Hunter Maas’s comic smile suddenly seemed a lot less funny.
“The twiggy little woman is correct,” Hunter Maas said. “They had in their hands the key to controlling all of space, yes? Of saying not who is permitted to go from there to here, but for whom it is possible. Put your Death Star in a system, turn loose its power, and the man who commands it can become the Emperor of gravel. At sub lightspeeds, his grandchildren’s grandchildren’s grandchildren might perhaps threaten another planet. The Imperial fleet with its host of Destroyers is nothing if it cannot travel. The Emperor himself. If he cannot send his little men where he wishes, what is he? Nothing. Less than nothing. The greatest gun in the galaxy is of no use when you have no one to point it at.”
Leia’s face was pale, her lips so thin they almost vanished. It was a tribute to her strength that when she spoke, her voice was as calm and friendly as it had been at the meeting’s start.
“That could be interesting. What are you asking for that information?”
“Highest bidder,” Hunter Maas said. “Who knows how far it could go, yes? Perhaps the Hutts will give Hunter Maas his own planet. Perhaps Black Sun will give him a hundred planets.”
“Well, the Empire will give him a blaster shot through his eye,” Scarlet said. “And they know where you are. You don’t have a great deal of time for this. We’ve saved you once. If you work with us now, we can guarantee your safety.”
“What is safety to a man such as Hunter Maas? He lives through the greatness of his spirit and the nobility of his soul. Plus which, he has meetings scheduled for the next three days. There is no advantage in selling anything to anyone until those conversations are complete.”
Leia leaned forward and put her hand on Hunter Maas’s wrist. Han could hear the tension in her voice, tight as a tow cable under high load.
“The man you took this from. Galassian. He knows where this thing is. You have to see that the Empire will be moving to secure it.”
“They are bureaucrats,” Hunter Maas said. “They would take years to clean spilled paint if the forms were not just so.”
“They’re also a totalitarian dictatorship that will kill people who don’t bow to the Emperor’s will quickly enough. If they want this thing—and they do—we won’t know it until we’re all trapped with dead drives in whatever system we happen to be in.”
“Then you should all make your offers to Hunter Maas quickly.”
“I’ll give you fifty million credits for it right now,” Leia said. Han felt a moment of dizziness at the idea of such a sum. More than enough to pay off Jabba. More than enough to buy Jabba if he felt the need for a pet slug. He’d had no idea the rebels could put their hands on that kind of money.
Hunter Maas’s eyes faded into something like pity. “Hunter Maas would like a planet. No less.”
Leia’s smile twitched. She rubbed her chin like a man checking for stubble.
“A planet?” she said.
“What did you call it? ‘Totalitarian dictatorship’? Hunter Maas would like to be emperor of his own little world. Just one. Is it so much? The Emperor holds the power of life and death over half the galaxy. To give Hunter Maas one little world would mean freeing so very many people. Surely that trade would be fair?”
“A hundred million credits and any ship in the Rebel fleet, but you have to take the deal now. Before you leave this room.”
“A smallish planet. With many, many beautiful women.”
“Fine,” Leia said. “You can have it.”
“Poor, poor royal miss,” Hunter Maas said, patting her hand. The rat-bird hopped down to the table, chirruped, and defecated prodigiously. “You are lying. Hunter Maas understands. Take time to think. Hunter Maas will be making no decision for several days. There will be time for her to make a real offer.”
“You can’t do this,” Leia said.
“Hunter Maas cannot be stopped,” he said almost gently.
“Oh, I think he can,” Scarlet said. “Captain Solo?”