Sooner or later any who sought power, be it political, financial, or artistic, came to Coruscant. Those who sought to influence the affairs of worlds eventually found themselves residing within or standing before the Senate itself, the greatest and most important deliberative body in the galaxy. Each sought to sway its members in his or her or its own way. A little guidance, Shu Mai knew, was all that was needed. A few appropriate suggestions.

But they must be made at the right time, and under the proper circ.u.mstances. She lengthened her stride. Alongside her, Mousul did the same. Idly observing the city outside, Uliss fell a few steps behind.

Reaching the far end of the skyway, the president of the Commerce Guild whirled. Beside her, Mousul did the same. Raising the unprepossessing device she carried, Shu Mai touched a control.

Tarn Uliss looked understandably surprised when he b.u.mped up against the field. It was quite invisible, and quite impenetrable. The industrialist"s face sped through a remarkable range of expressions in a very short time. His words, which to judge from his appearance were rapidly growing increasingly irate, did not penetrate the barrier that had unexpectedly materialized between him and his companions. Neither did his hands and body.

The president of the Commerce Guild and the Senator from Ansion contemplated their fuming colleague unblinkingly. The Ansionian"s expression was blank, that of the Guild president thoughtful. A look of dawning alarm came over Uliss"s face. Turning abruptly, he tried to retrace his steps back to Bror Tower Three-only to find himself blocked by a second barrier identical to the one that had materialized in front.

Stepping up to the barrier, Shu Mai studied the now panicky individual trapped within the skywalk. All the industrialist"s money, all his important contacts, were of no use to him now. It was too bad. While she had not particularly liked Tarn Uliss, she had respected him. Not a hand-length from her face, a furious and frightened Uliss was now screaming threats and imprecations at his fellow conspirators. The barrier continued to block the indus trialist"s words as well as his fists.

For a long moment, Shu Mai gazed into the face of her former a.s.sociate.

"Patience, my friend, is the one weapon we cannot afford to waste," she whispered softly, even though the object of her admonition could not hear her. Turning away, she walked back to stand alongside Mousul, who had retreated slightly into the hallway behind them. The Senator looked on as Shu Mai touched several small controls in quick, practiced succession.

A slight creaking noise filled the end of the hallway, quickly rising to a groaning. Uliss stopped pounding on the unyielding barrier. His rage turned to uncertainty, then to surprise. Metal failed, composite dissolved. Both palms pressed against the barrier, the industrialist was still looking at Shu Mai and the Senator as the entire skywalk broke away first from Bror Tower Three, then from Tower Four, and plunged toward the surface 166 floors below.

Walking right to the edge of the opening that had been torn in the side of the building, Shu Mai leaned over and looked down. Even amid the noise of the great city and given the distance to the ground, the skywalk still made a very loud splintering, shattering sound when it struck. The president of the Commerce Guild gazed thoughtfully down at the wreckage for a long moment before turning and moving back into the hallway that was now exposed to the air outside. Across the intervening gap, an identical hole had been torn in the side of Bror Tower Three.

"Structural fatigue," she murmured to Mousul. "Uncommon in this day and age, but not unheard of."

"Indeed," the Senator from Ansion replied noncommittally.

"Such an important person. A terrible tragedy. Terrible. I will deliver the eulogy for Tarn Uliss myself." Long-fingered hands folded behind her back, she started down the hallway.

"That"s thoughtful of you, Shu Mai." The Senator took a deep breath.

"When they learn what has happened to Tarn Uliss, after what happened to Nemrileo of Tanjay, I don"t think any of the others will give us any more trouble."

"I agree. Our support should be more manageable once again."

The Senator gestured down the hallway. "If you don"t mind, I think I will leave you now, as I have work of my own to do this afternoon."

The president of the Commerce Guild gestured understand-ingly. "I understand. I have work of my own to do as well."

They parted amiably; Mousul to return to his Senatorial du ties, Shu Mai to her private office. There she locked herself in so tightly that nothing short of a small nova could interrupt her. Only when she was sure that everything was secure did she activate the special code sequence that put her in contact with the remarkable individual to whom she was charged with reporting the progress of the conspiracy on Coruscant.

When a familiar face appeared before her, she began speaking without hesitation. "There have been some-problems. The Jedi succeeded in making peace between the urban and nomad fac tions on Ansion. As a result, the Unity delegates on Ansion voted to keep their world in the Republic."

The voice on the other end was firm, confident. "That is too bad. It will force us to scale back our immediate plans." The face smiled. "I wouldn"t have thought the Jedi could accomplish it. Not in so short a time."

"Something else. While Senator Mousul remains firmly com mitted to the cause, a number of our supporters were preparing to move forward despite Ansion"s decision. It was necessary to deliver an-object lesson," She proceeded to explain.

The individual on the other end of the secure communication listened quietly until Shu Mai had finished. "While I regret the loss of the industrialist Tarn Uliss, I understand the reasoning behind your actions." Without quite knowing why, the president of the Commerce Guild felt much relieved. "It doesn"t matter. Events advance, designs move forward. We can swallow the loss."

"The resolve of the Guild remains strong," Shu Mai told him.

Count Dooku smiled. "As does that of our other backers. I consider this nothing more than a temporary setback. The eventual outcome is inevitable, no matter what the irksome Jedi do. Great changes are at hand. Destiny awaits us, my friend. It comes, and soon. Those who are ready will be the ones to profit greatly."

It was a good thought to cling to, Shu Mai mused as the transmission was terminated. Deactivating the privacy shielding, she rose and left the room.

There was much to be done.

By Alan Dean Foster

Published by The Random House Publishing Group

The Black Hole

Cachalot

Dark Star

The Metrognome and Other Stories

Midworld

Nor Crystal Tears

Sentenced to Prism

Splinter of the Mind"s Eye

Star Trek Logs OneTen Logs OneTen

Voyage to the City of the Dead

...Who Needs Enemies?

With Friends Like These...

Mad Amos

The Howling Stones

Parallelities

Stories:

Impossible Places

Exceptions to Reality

The Icerigger Trilogy:

Icerigger

Mission to Moulokin

The Deluge Drivers

The Adventures of Flinx of the Commonwealth:

For Love of Mother-Not

The Tar-Aiym Krang

Orphan Star

The End of the Matter

Bloodhype

Flinx in Flux

Mid-Flinx

Reunion

Flinx"s Folly

Sliding Scales

Running from the Deity