Star Wars - 214 - Jedi Prince 05 - Queen of the Empire by Paul Davids, Hollace Davids Read Free Book Online Page A

tries to enter our Moffship will be taken hostage," Hissa declared. "That’s our only way to bargain with Kadann, and save what little power we grand moffs have left in the Empire, now that Kadann has declared himself to be the new Imperial leader!"
    Grand Moff Dunhausen toyed with his earrings that were shaped like little laserblasters.
    "I heard a rumor from a high-ranking Imperial intelligence agent that Kadann wants to disband the grand moffs completely!" he said, snarling.
    "I heard the same rumor," Grand Moff Muzzer added, puffing his fat cheeks in and out nervously. "Kadann wants to take each one of us aside and demote us. It is rumored he’ll strip us of our power and appoint us to low-ranking military positions on the most slime-ridden and frozen planets in the galaxy."
    "Kadann hates us because we were loyal to Trioculus to the very end," Grand Moff Thistleborn said. "But with Trioculus as Emperor, at least we had influence and shared the rule of the Empire."
    Suddenly Emdee-Five, the Imperial droid, knocked on the thick metal door of the spaceship’s large, secluded Mofference room. "Excuse my intrusion," Emdee said, "however, I thought you should all be aware that a Huttian spacecraft has been spied approaching Tatooine, due north of our position. It appears to be the Zorba Express."
    "Zorba the Hutt!" Grand Moff Hissa exclaimed, gnashing together his spiked, razor-sharp teeth.
    "Zorba’s the wretched beast who captured Trioculus, froze our leader in carbonite, and then hung him up in the Cloud City Museum!" Grand Moff Muzzer declared.
    "Curse the day that Kadann vaporized Trioculus with neutron beams," Grand Moff Dunhausen fumed. "If it weren’t for Zorba the Hutt, it never would have happened!" At the rear of the Moffship was a tractor beam projector-perfect for enabling a large spaceship to swallow a smaller one.
    And so, at Hissa’s orders, the grand moffs aimed their powerful tractor beam at the Zorba Express, drawing it closer . . . and closer .. .
    Meanwhile, Han’s spaceship had just come out of hyperdrive and was decelerating as it approached the desert world of Tatooine. A safe distance away, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Ken, Lando Calrissian, and the droids were witnessing the scene between the Moffship and the Zorba Express play out from inside the Millennium Falcon.
    "Looks like our luck has run out," Han said, shaking his head in dismay. "Now we not only have to rescue Princess Leia from Zorba the Hutt, but from the grand moffs as well!"

CHAPTER 7 Trioculus Restored
    The grand moffs surrounded the Zorba Express, which was now inside a heavily armored chamber within the Moffship.
    "Stormtroopers, break open the boarding hatch!" Hissa shouted from his hover-chair. But the boarding hatch of the Zorba Express popped open before the stormtroopers had to apply force. Facing the stormtroopers and the grand moffs was Tibor the bounty hunter, armed with a laserblaster in each hand. Tibor took aim at every grand moff he could see, while Zorba stood behind him, raising a portable laser cannon.
    "Take them alive!" Hissa screamed, as he retreated. Hissa used his mechanized hover-chair to dodge the laserfire flying around the chamber. But not all the grand moffs were able to successfully avoid being targets. One of Tibor’s blasts struck Grand Moff Muzzer in the right leg.
    Stormtrooper reinforcements came pouring in from every direction, armed with force pikes-long poles topped with power tips used to stun an enemy. As the stormtroopers began to gain the advantage, Grand Moff Hissa maneuvered his hover-chair to the nearby supply cabinet. He reached for a projectile launcher with a fully armed four-cannister magazine. Aiming directly at the cockpit of the Zorba Express, Hissa began firing a round of projectiles that contained smoke, gas, and chemical agents. The cockpit quickly filled with lung irritants. As Zorba and Tibor began coughing and choking, they were overpowered by charging stormtroopers who jabbed