Star Wars (Legends):The Eternal Conflict. Book:2

Chapter 22 (Evil Reborn)

Location: Cavrilhu Pirate's moon base, in an unknown system, just on the edge of Hutt Space.

General Lyze Kratebor was no "run of the mill" thug.
He was, of course, under no illusions that the hoards of pirates under his command were every bit the scum and filth they appeared to be. Kratebor, on the other hand, was not in it for riches or infamy. He didn't choose piracy because it satisfied some twisted desire borne of malformed brain chemistry.

No. Thanks to a messy civil war that gained nothing for Corellia and gave him nothing but bereavement, the old Corellian General was now a patriot without a real homeworld he could be proud of; a true rebel without a cause.

At heart he was a military man, and always would be. He may have a score to settle, against "the powers that be" in the galaxy, but he would do so with clarity of purpose and control

At this moment, however, his control was in danger of slipping away.

"Let me guess... It didn't work!" He practically spat the words in disgust at the holographic bust of a Rodian.

He was, in fact, surrounded by several other holographic projections of his fellow conspirators. The impromptu meeting had been the result of a growing concern among the cabal regarding the Comm silence on Lando's end.

Fett had brought back news of Calrissian's cooperation. Indeed, there had been a coordinated effort in place to make sure that all the major powers in the galaxy were kept busy at the same time Lando's trap was sprung. But that moment had come and gone, and still, an empty spot greeted Lyze from where Lando's hologram should have been.

Gardulla, just as disgusting in holographic form as she was in person, gurgled out a few words in huttese. This was, of course, followed by a basic translation by her protocol droid:

"The great and wise Gardulla questions the appropriateness of the gGeneral's indignation."

The Hutt allowed the droid to finish and then continued.

Again, the droid translated: "The Rodians were impatient, and found out the hard way, that you can't sneak up on Skywalker with a pathetic blaster... No Harm, No Foul."

"No harm? NO HARM?" Hissed the mysterious Falleen woman, who was as lovely as Gardulla was ugly.

"There is such a thing as surprise! We may have only had one chance at Luke Skywalker... ONE SHOT! And a bunch of idiots took that shot and blew it!"

"I think everyone here is missing the real problem!" The artificially modulated voice of Boba Fett cut through the discussion like a lightsaber.

"And that is?"
Asked the green skinned beauty.

"The problem is... If bug boys were shooting at Skywalker on Naboo, then he couldn't have been walking into Lando's trap on Socorro. That means..."

The General completed Boba's thought:
"... It means, that Lando is dead or he's turned on us."

Boba gave the the General a nod of agreement and then continued: "Either way, it means that we no longer have Lando's resources at our disposal. Add to that, the loss of suprise, and our chances of..."

Boba's voice faded to silence, as a flicker appeared in the empty spot, designated for Lando's hologram.

The flicker turned into a static filled silhouette.
In turn, the silhouette turned into something... cold and utterly ruthless; even by present company standards.