Star Wars - Credit Denied - Unpublished Read Online Free PDF Page A

move past the checkpoint. She could count her blessings later.
    A few meters down the corridor, she came to a casual halt and turned to watch the security droid scan Nopul. As soon as the sensor passed over his chest, the droid started to beep frantically. Both guards ripped their blasters free and pointed them at Nopul.
    The Houk moved forward cautiously and then pulled open Nopul’s double-breasted tunic. From her angle, it was hard for Rendra to see exactly what was happening, but it looked like the guard was examining something on Nopul’s chest.
    After a moment, the Houk lifted his hand to show the Weequay the holocharm from Nopul’s necklace. He turned it on, and the image of a beautiful blue-and-brown world appeared a few centimeters above the device and began to rotate.
    The other guard nodded, and the Weequay motioned for Nopul to move forward.
    As he reached Rendra, she could see an odd look etched into his face. “Yeah,” he said, his voice a bit wobbly. “The jammers definitely work, but they appear to have a limited range.” He patted his belt where the sensor jammer was tucked away.
    Rendra couldn’t help but smile at her companion as the color returned to his skin.
    A minute later, Oro and Vakir had joined them and they were all heading toward the other end of the tall corridor. As they got closer to the exit archway, the rumble of voices and bodies shuffling from inside the arena grew continually louder until Rendra thought the strength of the vibration might tear the structure’s supports asunder.
    Finally they emerged into the vast stadium—and they all stopped simultaneously as the enormity of the Coliseum fell upon their senses. A ring of five tiers enclosed the immense area of open space—Rendra gauged that it would take a repulsorbike at least ten seconds at maximum velocity to reach the opposite end of the arena. From the topmost tier hung flat screens about a dozen meters on a side, one in each quadrant—the silver sheen of their surfaces suggested they were some sort of ancient vidscreen system, but she’d never seen one outside of museums so she couldn’t be certain. As her gaze fell to ground level, she saw that the arena proper was empty except for a circular dais filled with a few dozen unoccupied chairs.
    Rendra had to draw herself out of her wonderment to remember why they had come in the first place. From the information her employer had provided, the dignitaries would march in through an archway on the ground level and then parade up to the dais, where each would get his, her, or its turn at the podium. She imagined the whole procession, trying to give herself a sense of the timing and the positioning of the ambassadors and their security forces. When she thought she had the best estimate she was going to get. she nudged Nopul.
    “We’ll put Vakir on the east side of the first tier and Oro on the north side of the second. You’ll be west on the third. That should give us a full range of angles in case he’s taken any precautions.” She had to shout into his ear to be heard over the crowd.
    Nopul regarded her with confusion. “What do you mean ‘in case?’”
    “Our employer has supposedly taken care of that aspect of the operation—but I don’t want to take any chances.”
    Nopul nodded. “Where will you be?”
    “Ground level. I want to be as close as possible.” So I can face my actions directly , she left unsaid, though she had the feeling he understood by the grim expression on his face.
    After a moment, he motioned for Vakir and Oro to follow him. They headed for the stairwell that would take them up to the higher tiers, Oro throwing her a hand gesture that she took to mean “good luck.”
    In front of her a narrow set of stone steps lead down to the ground level. After taking a deep breath—the last deliberate inhalation she’d probably have for a while—she headed for her position.

    Loud warbles from some large form of wind instrument sounded throughout