by Timothy Zahn
"Preparing for first target," C'baoth said, his deep voice sounding strained as it resonated from the low ceiling of the weapons blister. "Firing now" His hands moved in an almost dream-like way over the controls, and there was a flicker of indicator lights as one of Dreadnaught-1's sets of turbolasers delivered a massive broadside blast.
Standing near the blister's doorway, Obi-Wan stretched out to the Force. On the other side of the Dreadnaught, he could sense Lorana Jinzler also firing her turbolasers, while all the way on the far side of Outbound Flight on Dreadnaught-4 Ma'Ning and the two Duros Jedi did the same.
"Whoa," Anakin muttered at his side. "That's. . intense."
"Yes," Obi-Wan agreed, eyeing C'baoth closely. This was the Jedi Master's third meld today, and the strain of the procedure had to be getting to him. But if it was, Obi-Wan couldn't detect it in the other's face or sense.
He'd always assumed that at least part of C'baoth's unshakable confidence in himself was either an act or else a vast overestimation of his actual abilities. Now, for the first time, he began to wonder if the man might actually be as strong in the Force as he claimed.
"Spotter control: all test-one volleys on target," a voice reported from the comm panel.
"Pretty good," Anakin muttered.
"Verygood, you mean," Obi-Wan said. "Can you sense any of Master C'baoth's commands, or just the presence of the meld itself?"
"I don't know," Anakin said, and Obi-Wan could sense the boy tightening his concentration.
"Preparing for second target," C'baoth announced. "Spotter control ready."
"Firing now," C'baoth said.
Again, the indicators flickered. "Target two hit," the spotter reported. "One flier."
"What's a flier?" Anakin asked.
"It means one of the shots missed the target," Obi-Wan told him, frowning. There'd been something odd on that last shot, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Stretching out again to the Force, this time focusing on the edges of the meld instead of on its center, he tried to track it down.
"Preparing for third target," C'baoth said. "Firing now." And this time, as the indicators once again flickered, Obi-Wan saw it.
C'baoth had set up a total of six targets in this exercise. Obi-Wan forced himself to wait until all six had been destroyed, the last four with as impressive an accuracy quotient as the first two.
The spotter delivered his final report, and with a shaking jerk of his head C'baoth broke the meld. For a few seconds he just sat there, blinking rapidly as the last tendrils of connection between him and his fellow Jedi dissolved completely away. Then, taking a deep breath, he exhaled a long sigh and turned to Obi-Wan and Anakin. "What did you think, Young Skywalker?"
"Very intense," Anakin said. "I've ever seen anything like it before. When can I try it?"
"Not until after you've completed your training," C'baoth said. "This isn't something Padawans should be fooling around with."
"But I could handle it," Anakin insisted. "I'm very strong in the Force-you can ask Obi-Wan-"
"Whenyou're a Jedi," C'baoth said firmly, his forehead wrinkling slightly as he shifted his eyes to Obi-Wan. "You have a question, Master Kenobi?"
"If you have a moment, yes," Obi-Wan said, trying to keep his voice casual. "Anakin, why don't you head back to Reactor Two and see if they're ready for us to help with that cooling-rod bundle yet. I'll be there in a few minutes."
"Okay," Anakin said, his forehead wrinkling briefly as he left the room.
"Well?" C'baoth asked, making the word a challenge.
"You had D-Four's Padawans in the weapons blisters with Master Ma'Ning just now, didn't you?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Yes, I did," C'baoth said evenly. "Is there a problem with that?"
"You just finished telling Anakin that this was way beyond a Padawan's abilities."
C'baoth smiled thinly. "Calm yourself, Master Kenobi," he said. "Of course they weren't actually participating in the meld."
"Then why were they there at all?"
"For the same reason your Padawan was here," C'baoth said, an edge of impatience creeping into his voice. "So that they could get an idea of what a Jedi meld is like."
"What kind of idea could they get?" Obi-Wan asked. "They've barely even begun their training. They could hardly see any more than any other non-Jedi could."
"Again, is that a problem?" C'baoth asked.
Obi-Wan took a careful breath. "It is if the lure of such advanced techniques goads them into pressing ahead too quickly and too impatiently."
C'baoth's eyes narrowed. "Speak carefully, Master Kenobi," he warned. "Such impatience is the mark of the dark side. I will not have you accuse me of walking that path, nor of guiding others along it."
"I don't accuse you of anything," Obi-Wan said stiffly. "Except perhaps of having overly high expectations of those under your tutelage."
C'baoth snorted. "Better expectations too high for Padawans to ever quite reach than ones so low they never need to stretch beyond what is already known."
"Better still high but realistic goals that allow for the satisfaction and confidence of achievement," Obi-Wan countered.
Abruptly, C'baoth stood up. "I will not have my teaching philosophy dissected as if it were an interesting biological specimen," he growled. "Particularly not by one as young as you."
"Age isn't necessarily the best indicator of knowledge in the Force," Obi-Wan pointed out, struggling for calm.
"No, but experienceis," C'baoth shot back. "When you've trained as many Jedi as I have, we'll discuss this further. Until then, I believe your Padawan is waiting for you in Reactor Two."
Obi-Wan took a careful breath. "Very well, Master C'baoth," he said. "Until later."
He stalked out into the corridor, drawing on the Force for calm. He hadn't really wanted to come aboard Outbound Flight, despite his and Windu's concerns about C'baoth. Not even with the possibility of finding Vergere as extra incentive.
Now, though, he was glad he'd come. In fact, when they reached the Roxuli system in four days, their final stop in Republic space, he might consider contacting Windu to ask permission for him and Anakin to stay aboard Outbound Flight for the entire duration of its mission.
Because one of the other reasons for taking only infants into the Temple was to catch them before they could develop preconceived ideas of what a Jedi's life was like and how quickly they could achieve that goal. If all of C'baoth's Padawans had been cautious types like Lorana Jinzler, that was an issue he'd probably never even had to consider.
But inexperienced though Obi-Wan might be at training future Jedi, this was one problem he knew all about.
And if the eagerness he'd sensed in the children watching the meld was any indication, Outbound Flight's Jedi were going to have their hands full keeping their new Padawans from impatiently pushing their boundaries, possibly right over the line into the dark side.
Somehow, whether C'baoth wanted to hear it or not, he had to get that message through to him. Before it was too late.
The starlines cleared away, and a small and distant red sun appeared in theDarkvenge 's bridge viewports. "So?" Kav growled.
"Patience, Vicelord," Doriana advised, watching the blue-skinned alien standing beside the helm peering at the small device in his hand. Mitth'raw'nuruodo had left the technician behind to guide them to the location the Chiss commander had specified. A moment later the tech gave a small nod and murmured a few words to the silvery TC-18 translator droid at his side. "He says, 'We're here,' Vicelord Kav," the droid reported in its melodic voice.
Kav sniffed. "Whereverhere is."
"Hereis wherever Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo wants us to be," Doriana said, not bothering to conceal his disgust with the other. Kav had had plenty of time to come to grips with his task force's destruction, but he was just as angry and irritable as ever.
And if he didn't watch his tongue and his temper, he was going to get the rest of them killed, too.
"Then whereis he?" Ka
v demanded.
"Two incoming vessels," the Neimoidian at the sensors called. "One Chiss cruiser, one smaller vessel."
The Chiss tech spoke again in the Sy Bisti trade language. " 'They are theSpringhawk and a long-range shuttle,' " the TC droid announced primly. " 'Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo will wish to board immediately.' "
"Tell the commander his usual docking port has been prepared for him," Doriana said.
A few minutes later, Mitth'raw'nuruodo strode through the blast doors onto the bridge, a pair of Chiss warriors trailing behind him. "Welcome aboard, Commander," Doriana said, rising from the couch.
"Thank you," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said, his eyes flicking briefly to Kav's stiff face and posture. "I appreciate your swift compliance with my instructions."
"As I told you earlier, we wish to be fully cooperative," Doriana reminded him.
"Excellent," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said. "I wish you to begin unloading your droid starfighters."
Kav jerked like he'd been kicked. "What do you say?" he breathed, his eyes bugging even more than usual.
"Your droid starfighters are to be transported to that asteroid." Mitth'raw'nuruodo pointed out the viewports at a small, irregularly shaped crescent of faint light against the stars. "After that, I will require the services of those who program their combat movements."
Kav gurgled under his breath, and for once Doriana could sympathize with him. The main strength of a Trade Federation battleship lay in its starfighters, the retrofitted quad laser batteries along the split-ring midline more of an afterthought than serious defensive armament. Removing its starfighters would leave theDarkvenge as helpless as the freighter it had once been. "This is outrageous," the Neimoidian protested. "I will not consent to-"
"Be silent," Doriana cut in, his eyes on Mitth'raw'nuruodo. Either he wanted theDarkvenge to be helpless, or- "You have a plan for dealing with Outbound Flight, don't you?"
"I have a plan," Mitth'raw'nuruodo confirmed. "Whether or not I activate it depends on whether or not you're ready to tell me the truth."
An uncomfortable lump formed in Doriana's throat. "Explain, please."
"Your name is not Stratis," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said. "You're not your own master, but answer to another. And the social threat posed by these Jedi is not the true reason you seek Outbound Flight's destruction." He lifted his eyebrows. "If, indeed, you genuinelydo seek its destruction."
"What other reason would we have to be here?" Doriana asked.
"Perhaps your intent was to rendezvous with them," Mitth'raw'nuruodo suggested. "If Outbound Flight is filled with warriors instead of colonists, together your combined forces would have had both the firepower and the personnel necessary to launch an effective bridgehead invasion."
"I've already told you we're not here for conquest."
"I know what you told me," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said, his face expressionless. "Now you must persuade me to believe it."
"Of course," Doriana said. This was going to be risky, he knew, but he'd suspected from the beginning that Mitth'raw'nuruodo would eventually come to this conclusion. It was time to give him the rest of the truth. "I believe I can answer all of your questions together. If you'll come with me, I'd like to introduce you to my superior." Deliberately, he looked at Kav. "You, Vicelord, will remain here."
He didn't wait for Kav's inevitable protest, but set off across the bridge, leading Mitth'raw'nuruodo back to the office where they'd first conferred two days earlier. He ushered the Chiss inside and sealed the door, noting with no real surprise that Mitth'raw'nuruodo had also left his warrior escort behind. The commander was supremely confident in his abilities, and had clearly deduced that Doriana himself was no threat to him.
At least, not yet.
Doriana's special holoprojector was already hooked into theDarkvenge 's comm system. Punching in the access code, he gestured Mitth'raw'nuruodo to the desk chair. "Your first point is absolutely correct," he began, mentally crossing his fingers that the battleship's huge transmitter would be able to punch a signal back to the Republic's HoloNet system. "My true name is KinmanDoriana, an identity I've taken care to keep secret from Vicelord Kav's crew and other associates."
"You play mutually opposing roles, then?"
Doriana stared. "How did you know that?"
"It was obvious," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said. "Who are your two masters?"
"My official, public master is Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, the head of the Republic government," Doriana said, the words echoing strangely in his ears. He hardly dared even think such things in the privacy of his own mind. To be saying them aloud, and to an unknown alien, was virtually unthinkable. "My true Master is a Sith Lord named Darth Sidious."
"A Sith Lord is. .?"
"A being who stands against the Jedi and their control over the Republic," Doriana explained.
"Ah," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said, a faint smile touching the corners of his mouth. "A power struggle."
"In a way," Doriana conceded. "But on a plane far different from the one where beings like you and I exist. What's important right now is that Lord Sidious has access to information sources that the Jedi don't have."
"And what do these sources tell him?"
Doriana braced himself. "There's an invasion coming," he said. "A massive assault force of dark ships, shadowy figures, and weapons of great power, based on organic technology of a sort we've never seen before. We believe these Far Outsiders, as we call them, already have a foothold at the far edge of the galaxy, and even now have scouting parties seeking information on worlds and peoples to conquer."
"Stories of mysterious invaders are both convenient and difficult to disprove," Mitth'raw'nuruodo pointed out. "Why do you only now tell me this?"
Doriana nodded toward the door. "Because Vicelord Kav and his associates don't know," he said. "Neither does anyone else in the Republic. Not yet."
"When will Darth Sidious tell them?"
"When he's turned the Republic's chaos into order," Doriana said. "When we've built an army and a fleet capable of dealing with the threat. To announce it before then would do nothing but create panic and leave us open to disaster."
"How does Outbound Flight fit into all this?"
"As I said, we believe the Far Outsiders are currently still gathering information," Doriana said. "So far, there's no indication that they even know about the Republic." He felt his throat tighten. "Actually, that's not entirely true," he corrected himself reluctantly. "One of the Jedi, a being named Vergere, disappeared in that region some time ago. That's one of Outbound Flight's private agendas, in fact: to try to learn what happened to her."
"I see," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said, nodding slowly. "And while a single prisoner can give only hints of his or her origin, an entire shipful of them can provide all that would be needed for a successful invasion."
"Exactly," Doriana said. "Not to mention all the data files and technology they would be able to examine. If Outbound Flight blunders into their bridgehead, we could find ourselves facing an attack long before we're ready."
"And the Jedi do not understand this?"
"The Jedi think of themselves as the masters of the galaxy," Doriana said bitterly. "Especially the chief Jedi Master aboard Outbound Flight, Jorus C'baoth. Even if he knew about the Far Outsiders, I doubt it would make any difference to him."
Above the holoprojector, the familiar hooded figure shimmered into view. The hologram was a bit more ragged than usual, Doriana noted, but the connection itself seemed more solid than he'd feared it would be. Sidious was evidently somewhere much closer than his usual haunts on Coruscant. "Report," the Sith Lord ordered. His unseen eyes seemed to catch sight of Mitth'raw'nuruodo, and the drooping corners of his mouth drooped a little farther. "Who is this?" he demanded.
"This is Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet, Lord Sidious," Doriana said, stepping behind Mitth'raw'nuruodo where he would be in view. "I'm afraid we've had a slight setback in our mission."
"I don'
t wish to hear about setbacks, Master Doriana," the Sith Lord said, his gravelly voice taking on a menacing edge.
"Yes, my lord," Doriana said, trying to stay calm. Even hundreds of light-years away, lie could practically feel Sidious's Force grip resting against his throat. "Let me explain."
He gave Sidious a summary of the one-sided battle with the Chiss. Somewhere during the explanation, Sidious's face turned from staring at him to staring at Mitth'raw'nuruodo. "Impressive," he said when Doriana finished. "And only one of your ships survives?"
