Part 1 (1/2)
Hero of Cartao
Hero's call
by Timothy Zahn
ONE YEAR AFTER THE BATTLE OF GEONOSIS
”Master Doriana?” Ee's deep voice called ”We're here”
Kinainst the sunlightstreaazed at thelandscape rolling beneath hi to remember where exactly he was Therehad been so many systems
The disorientation cleared He was on Cartao, ned in the war between the Republic and theSeparatists And hoe said He turned the control stick delicately,rolling the shuttle slightly to the left to give Doriana a better look”Spaarti Creations”
Doriana gazed out the side viewport, iroup of forested hills just north of the compact town ofFoulahn City, perhaps three kilometers northwest of the equally co plant known as Spaarti Creations Overa kilometer across at its widest, it had the patchwork look of so thathad repeatedly been added onto over the decades The roofline echoed thefrozen chaos, with towers, heat exchangers, antennas, and skylights poking outat apparently randohtThere were no s he could see, ventilation apparently being handled by aline of s the outer walls about midway up thesides ”Iged ”Personally, I've always considered it an architectural version of a weed patch No order or organization anywhere”
”Ever been inside?”
”No one but e with disgust and resenthty”
”Like lanced at hier was ”No, no, I was thinking about Lord Binalie's chums,” hebacktracked hastily 'The Prackla Trade Council-that sort of crowd”
”You don't think ain, unco to do with ot a shuttle; I fly people places That's all”
”I see,” Doriana said, returning his attention to thedirectly beneath thee didn't want to say anyelse he ever did, Dorianahadthis particular him across the sparsely settled planet to Spaarti Creations Thecargo transport coe had once owned had been inadvertently run outof business two years earlier by a poorly worded regulation the Prackla TradeCouncil had issued after the Battle of Geonosis
Kerseage's appeal was still crawling its way through the systeone, and he clearlyblamed Lord Binalie for it
”What about the plant's satellite facilities?” he asked, his eyesflicking around the forested areas north and west of the s where they store raw materials and finished product”
”You ht,” Doriana said ”Where are they?”
”I don't know, exactly,” Kerseage said 'The closest one's supposed to be about three kiloray-topped worker barracks thing” He pointed
”M showingin that direction that he could see Well can That could be useful ”Where does Lord Binalie live?”
”There” Kerseage pointed to the left as he brought the shuttle around in a wide semicircle ”You see Foulahn City, just south of that kilorassland?”
”I see it,” Doriana said ”I don't think I've ever seen a city come to a stop that abruptly before Except where there's a lake or cliff to liht as well be a cliff,” Kerseage grunted ”That particular line of grassland e of Spaarti land, and no one travels or builds there The Cranscoc insist on it Anyway, you see that big open area on the northern edge of the city, butting up against the grass strip?”
”Yes,” Doriana said It looked like a park-grassland, quite a few clue sections of sculpted bushes-with a few se one Even from this distance, the place reeked of wealth and powerOn one of the low hills facing the plant, he could see a pair of figuresstanding together 'The Binalie estate?”
”You got it,” Kerseage said ”You seen enough?”
Doriana took a last look around, fixing the geography in his mindFoulahn and Navroc Cities lay to the south and southeast of the plant, withthe craggy Red Hills pushi+ng up against the southern ends of both cities Trivspaceport was to the east, with low, increasingly forested rolling hills tothe north, and a s its way between the two cities and thenbetween Foulahn and the spaceport
”Yes,” he told the pilot, resettling hio see