Chapter 5
The first thing that Shiba noticed as she and Flik were being ferried across to the prison city was that most of their fellow passengers were non-human, the majority of them being the Gungans that Flik had told her were the original inhabitants of Naboo. Because of the disparity concerning the proportion of prisoners that were human, Shiba began to wonder just how “effective” the system was in imprisoning human criminals. She glanced at the wolfman beside her and suppressed the impulse to discuss it with him. Just even doing that caused the human prisoners to glare at her, but the threat of the nearby Stormtroopers kept the peace and for once, Shiba was glad of their presence.
Thinking on the matter further, Shiba concluded that the reason the Gungans out numbered the humans simply because virtually all of them where now residing in these prisons, their crime, just being born a Gungan. It made sense, in a terribly twisted sort of way. Having the Gungans banged up like this made it virtually impossible for free Gungans and their human sympathisers to incite open rebellion without the beings they were trying to free being slaughtered outright, as having them all together in a few locations would make eliminating those they were trying to save relatively easy.
Shiba’s thoughts were interrupted with the cut off from the engine. She gave Flik an apprehensive look. A human male wearing an Imperial uniform, appeared at the now open hatch and began directing the Stormtroopers to remove the prisoners from the ship. Shiba soon began to notice a pattern: the non-human prisoners were being separated from the humans.
She gave Flik a concerned look: he might be a pain to have around, but at that moment in time she trusted him above the Imperials. They had destroyed their homeworld, right? Shiba didn’t want to be separated from him. Flik shook his head at her. It was best to go along with it for now and try to hook up with each other later. To resist would invite reprisals that could end their lives. Shiba watched helplessly as he was made to join the other non-humans. With relief, Shiba noticed that he was allowed to keep the shielded equipment box. Still even that small victory was of little consolation as the Imperial Officer turned his attention to her.
Obediently, Shiba stood as directed and followed the orders of the Stormtroopers. She stepped out into a processing area, similar to that which she came across when entering a public spaceport. She noticed that the non-humans were being forced to go through a different set of terminals to the humans. She caught a glimpse of Flik among the sea of Gungans. Being the only Shistavanen, he stood out in the crowd. He seemed to sense her eyes on him and turned to look briefly at her before he disappeared into the booth. Shiba felt the business end of a blaster rifle prod her in the back and she moved forward, towards the processing booth on the human side that was at that moment empty. Shiba’s stomach knotted with nervousness.
Thinking on the matter further, Shiba concluded that the reason the Gungans out numbered the humans simply because virtually all of them where now residing in these prisons, their crime, just being born a Gungan. It made sense, in a terribly twisted sort of way. Having the Gungans banged up like this made it virtually impossible for free Gungans and their human sympathisers to incite open rebellion without the beings they were trying to free being slaughtered outright, as having them all together in a few locations would make eliminating those they were trying to save relatively easy.
Shiba’s thoughts were interrupted with the cut off from the engine. She gave Flik an apprehensive look. A human male wearing an Imperial uniform, appeared at the now open hatch and began directing the Stormtroopers to remove the prisoners from the ship. Shiba soon began to notice a pattern: the non-human prisoners were being separated from the humans.
She gave Flik a concerned look: he might be a pain to have around, but at that moment in time she trusted him above the Imperials. They had destroyed their homeworld, right? Shiba didn’t want to be separated from him. Flik shook his head at her. It was best to go along with it for now and try to hook up with each other later. To resist would invite reprisals that could end their lives. Shiba watched helplessly as he was made to join the other non-humans. With relief, Shiba noticed that he was allowed to keep the shielded equipment box. Still even that small victory was of little consolation as the Imperial Officer turned his attention to her.
Obediently, Shiba stood as directed and followed the orders of the Stormtroopers. She stepped out into a processing area, similar to that which she came across when entering a public spaceport. She noticed that the non-humans were being forced to go through a different set of terminals to the humans. She caught a glimpse of Flik among the sea of Gungans. Being the only Shistavanen, he stood out in the crowd. He seemed to sense her eyes on him and turned to look briefly at her before he disappeared into the booth. Shiba felt the business end of a blaster rifle prod her in the back and she moved forward, towards the processing booth on the human side that was at that moment empty. Shiba’s stomach knotted with nervousness.
***
After going through the processing booth, much to Flik’s surprise, he was allowed to go his own way. He waited for Shiba to emerge, but after thirty minutes of waiting, and no sign of Shiba, he could see that the Stormtroopers that guarded the terminals were getting anxious at his loitering. Rather than stay and cause a confrontation, Flik decided that it was time to move on.
Flik didn’t know whether to count the forced separation from Shiba a blessing or not. He had wanted to be rid of her, right? At that moment, it seemed so easy for him to just forget about her. Besides, he had a mission to complete, and it would be best done without her in the way. He’d not wanted to hook up with her from the beginning. However, the last look she’d given him before he’d entered the processing booth haunted him, and guilt started to gnaw at his conscience. Shiba had given up a lot to save his life on his previous mission. Though he wouldn’t admit it to the woman, he enjoyed her company. Even as that thought came to him, he heard Lobo’s voice in his mind about them having feelings for each other. He chased that thought away, putting it down to his loneliness since Auoura’s and Tek’s deaths.
Still, abandoning Shiba just didn’t feel right. He resolved to find her and get her off Naboo, even if after the mission they went their separate ways, which Flik still endeavoured to convince her of. A Bounty Hunter’s life was not for her, he sensed that from the moment she’d first contacted him.
You soft headed fool, it’s not the life you want either, he thought.
Then if Auoura and Tek hadn’t have died, he wouldn’t be living the life of a Bounty Hunter either. He couldn’t fault her for thinking it was the right path for her after what the Empire had done to her homeworld. The fates, if they existed, had a cruel way of manipulating one’s destiny.
First, however, before he could even think of trying to find Shiba, he had to find a place to stow his belongings, and visit his contact. Then he’d be free to discover where Shiba had been taken and go to her.
The prison town, for that was what it was, seemed normal. But that in itself gave the place a more sinister air. In his search for a place to stay, Flik passed several Stormtrooper squads – there to keep the “peace” no doubt. Flik tried to stay out of their way as much as possible. Aside from the Stormtroopers, he encountered very few humans. The wolfman figured that for the most part, the Empire kept the human and alien population apart. He wondered if it was to keep the different factions from fighting with each other, or if there was something else behind it. Either way, peace was most likely just a fortunate side effect, rather than being the main reason for the segregation.
Eventually, he did find a place to stay, a rather dingy looking cantina that also rented out rooms. Its owner was a Gungan. Flik understood just enough of the broken basic that was Gunganese, to do business with the Gungan.
Flik found it quite ironic in some respects, that even though the island was a prison, it gave the illusion of freedom. But that was the whole point, wasn’t it? Delude the populace into thinking that they lived free lives when in fact their lives were controlled. Evidently, someone somewhere had the idea that the illusion of freedom was the best way of keeping the peace, if indeed; you could have genuine peace without freedom. Oppression comes in many forms, the most effective being that which isn’t even recognised as oppression, if it brings with it pseudo liberty.
Flik spent the early evening unpacking the weapons that he had managed to smuggle onto the island. His thoughts turned to Shiba again when he came upon the blaster pistol he had given her just before they landed on Naboo. He even missed her arguing with him. He shook his furry head before placing the pistol to one side. It was just loneliness, he tried to delude himself, especially that for female company. Ever since Auoura had died...
He pounded his fist into the nearby wall in frustration, causing the already crumbling plaster to cave in where he connected with it.
He would visit the contact in the morning, as it was getting late. Before the Stormtroopers had let him go on his way, their commander had warned him about the marshal law that had been put into place to curb any likely rebellion by the island’s inhabitants. That didn’t mean that he couldn’t go down to the bar. He located a pair of vibroblades that he’d stowed into the box earlier and concealed them, one hanging from the belt at his waist, hidden from view by his jacket, and the other strapped to his right leg.
Taking no chances, he locked the door to his room and made his way down the stairs to the bar. He figured that by spending time in the bar that he might uncover some valuable local information, perhaps even the likely location where Shiba had been taken. His muzzle creased in bitter amusement – there he was, thinking of her again...
It’s time to settle this, he thought. Perhaps if he didn’t find out anything useful, he would at least find some female company to divert his attention from the Alderaanian woman. However, within moments of entering the bar, he found that his hopes for that were squashed as the bar consisted of mostly males of varying different species and the only females present were Gungans. He was far from bigoted when it came to females from other species, but he only found sentient mammalian females interesting in that sense.
He ordered Lomin ale at the bar and he settled down at an unoccupied table once the drink was in his possession. At least there was still the possibility of gauging some local information. To his disappointment, he found that the other patrons gave him a wide berth – he suspected that was because of his species – Shistavanens can be intimidating to others because of their predatory appearance. On his second round of Lomin ale, Flik gave up because he found the accent of the Gungans grated on his nerves, and their conversations difficult to follow. After he drained his glass, Flik rose from his seat and returned to the preferred solitude of his room.
***
The first rays of light creeping in through the gaps in the curtains woke Flik from his slumber. Before he dressed, the wolfman went through those same series of exercises he’d taught Shiba to help banish the sluggishness from his body. Today, he would make contact with Rhinda Sarnad, the wife of the late Vork Sarnad. It had been she who had contacted him all those weeks ago.
Shiba’s absence crossed his mind as he dressed and chose the least threatening of his weapons to take with him, a blaster and a vibroblade. Perhaps Rhinda would have some idea of where Shiba might have been taken; whether she did, or not, the problem of getting her back remained the same. A good look around the shorting port might reveal something, but for that, he would have to wait for darkness...
Once he was ready, Flik secured the room and left the cantina.
By mid morning, Flik had found Rhinda’s home, a small, red brick house that was common for the human inhabitants of Naboo to inhabit. The house had seen better days, but he’d come across worse in his travels, most notably Nar Shaddaa. However, it still retained the affluent look it had possessed when new, most of its imperfections due to age, rather than neglect, and even possessed a small garden, even if weeds had started to poke through the once carefully tended flower beds. Some how, the normality and picturesque look of the place made the knowledge that Rhinda and people like her take on a more sinister tone than it would have been if the place had been a slum.
Flik was about halfway down the path when a protocol droid appeared. It had seen him and started walking towards him. The droid uttered the usual greeting of “I am H-3PX, human-cyborg relations. How may I be of service, sir?”
“I am Flik Sivrak,” Flik replied. “I am here to see your mistress, Rhinda Sarnad. I believe she has a contract with me.”
The droid gave him a polite, if stiff bow. “My mistress is expecting you. This way, please.”
Flik followed the droid a step or two behind. It led him around the back of the small house. Standing in the back garden was a short Bothan woman, with violet eyes and black fur. She was wearing a dark blue dress which extended all the way down to her feet. Even after all this time, it appeared that formal dress was still in fashion on Naboo. It reminded Flik of happier, more peaceful times, which only served to make the current situation on Naboo, if not the galaxy at large, seem that much darker.
“Mistress Rhinda, may I present to you Master Sivrak,” H-3PX said to the Bothan.
“Thank you, H-3PX,” Rhinda said to the droid. “You are free to leave us now.”
“Of course, Mistress,” the droid bowed politely and returned back the way it had come. Flik was happy to see it gone – the prissiness of protocol droids grated on him sometimes, which was why he’d never had a droid, (other than Lobo, if he could be called that) on his ship.
“It is good to meet you at last, Sivrak,” Rhinda said to the wolfman once the droid had disappeared. “We’d be better off talking inside the house.”
“Of course,” Flik inclined his head in agreement and followed the Bothan woman into her house.
Once they were seated in the lounge, the Bothan woman let out a sigh. “I was beginning to wonder if you would ever turn up, bounty hunter,” she said. Suddenly, she looked weary, which was no surprise to Flik, since she was still grieving the loss of her husband.
“My last contract didn’t go as well as I planned, and as such, I’ve been recuperating from injury,” Flik replied, an injury that would have killed him had it not been for Shiba’s intervention. “Could you tell me more about the circumstances surrounding your husband’s death?”
“I believe that it was Janos Teff who killed my husband; at least he seems to be the most likely candidate from what Vork’s associates told me. Teff is the leader of the purists. However, he is also the brother of Jessa Endeel, the wife of Marcus Endeel, the overseer of the prison townships on Naboo.”
“So, the lack of Imperial investigation into your husband’s death is down to this family tie?” Flik asked.
“I believe so, yes, though I suspect it is also due to the anti-alien sentiment which exists within the Empire as well,” Rhinda replied. “Vork had been holding public rallies for sometime, trying to get support from the exotics population for his movement to free non-human who had no criminal record and political prisoners from the townships. Of course, the Imperials refused to listen to him and that was when the violence really began, fueled in part by frustration because of his failure to get the Imperials to listen and by the purists. I believe that Endeel saw my husband has a threat to him and had him killed. If his murder was investigated, Endeel’s corruption will be exposed as well.”
“It certainly appears to be that way,” Flik told her. “Keep your suspicions to yourself, or you could find yourself to be their next target.”
“That is why I contacted you for your assistance,” Rhinda replied. “As I think an outsider is the only person I could trust with this – not that Vork’s associates are not trustworthy, but Teff has them watched all the time now.”
“Have your husband’s associates given you any evidence of who is your husband’s killer?”
“I have a collection of holocubes and data discs. They are hidden away – I will have to gather them together for you.”
“That would be appreciated, Rhinda. However, before I can begin my investigation, I need to discover the whereabouts of my partner for this mission,” Flik said and explained what had happened when he and Shiba had arrived on the island.
