Star Wars: Survivor's Quest

by Timothy Zahn

  “Yes, we understand that,” Luke assured him hastily. “Mara was simply wondering how exactly the battle lines were drawn up.”

  Formbi shook his head. “I arrived after the battle was over, after all the destruction had already taken place.” He rumbled deep in his throat. “Syndic Mitth’raw’nuruodo was not very informative on what exactly had taken place.”

  “So it’s possible that the Jedi aboard Outbound Flight really did help them against the Vagaari?” Luke asked.

  Formbi shrugged. “You know the Jedi,” he said. “You must tell me whether that is possible.”

  Luke looked back at the display and the pleading Geroons. Faced with both a pirate gang and Thrawn’s forces, threatened by both, what would the Jedi have done? “I’m sure they would have tried to help,” he said slowly. “How much they could have done. . . I don’t know.”

  “Though the Geroons clearly think they did something significant,” Mara pointed out. “You suppose Outbound Flight and Thrawn could have combined forces long enough to stomp the Vagaari before Thrawn turned on them?”

  Luke shrugged. “I suppose that’s possible,” he said. “Hard to believe he could have conned six Jedi Masters into wasting their strength against pirates when he knew all along he was going to attack them afterward.”

  “Unless they knew that, but decided to risk it anyway in order to save the Geroons,” Mara suggested. “You Jedi Masters get all noble and self-sacrificing at the oddest moments.”

  “Thank you,” Luke said dryly. “The question is—”

  “Ah,” Formbi said, turning. “Here he is now.”

  Luke turned to see Feesa coming toward them. Striding along behind her was a medium-tall human male with silver hair and a close-cropped silver beard, his face lined and dark with the evidence of too many of his years spent under unforgiving suns. “Welcome, Ambassador,” Formbi greeted him. “We seem to have more visitors.”

  “I see,” the man said, looking past the group toward the command center’s displays. His voice was deep and rich, full of intelligence and quiet confidence. Up close now, Luke could see that his eyes were an unusual shade of gray. “Interesting. Do we know them?”

  “They call themselves the Geroons,” Formbi said, turning back as someone called his name. “Excuse me, but I’m needed below. Come, Feesa.”

  “Introductions?” Mara murmured, her eyes on the newcomer.

  “I’m sorry,” Formbi said as he and Feesa paused at the top of the short stairway that linked the balcony to the main floor of the command center. “Ambassador, may I present Jedi Master Luke Skywalker and Jedi Knight Mara Jade Skywalker.”

  There was a flicker of something in the man’s eyes, but his smile showed nothing but easy friendliness. “Pleased to meet you,” he said. “I’ve heard many things about you both.”

  “And this,” Formbi continued, “is the person Coruscant and the New Republic have sent as their representative.

  “Ambassador Dean Jinzler.”

  CHAPTER 4

  Formbi hurried off down the stairway to where General Drask was waiting, Feesa following close behind.

  Leaving the three humans gazing at each other.

  Jinzler broke the silence first. “I see you’ve been talking to Talon Karrde,” he said.

  “What makes you say that?” Luke asked, his voice giving nothing away.

  “Your expressions,” Jinzler said. He smiled faintly. “Or, rather, your complete lack of them. You probably want to know what this is all about.”

  “Why don’t you tell us?” Luke suggested. From the calmness in his voice it was clear Luke was willing to give the man the benefit of the doubt, at least for the moment.

  Which was a full moment longer than Mara herself was interested in giving him. She threw a quick glance down at the command floor, wondering what Luke would say if she called Formbi back up here and denounced Jinzler on the spot.

  But Formbi seemed to be having a quiet, three-way argument with Drask and Talshib on the podium. Interrupting them at this point might not be a smart thing to do.

  “For starters, let me assure you I’m not here for any kind of financial gain,” Jinzler said. “I’m not looking for power or influence or blackmail, either.”

  “Well, that cuts out all the interesting possibilities,” Mara said tartly. “How about telling us what you are here for?”

  “I can also promise you that I won’t make any trouble,” Jinzler continued. “I won’t try to influence the Chiss or get in the way of whatever negotiations or other diplomatic plans you have.”

  “You’re already making trouble, just by being here,” Mara told him.

  “You’re also stalling,” Luke said. “What do you want?”

  Jinzler took a deep breath, let it out in a controlled huff. “I have to see Outbound Flight,” he said quietly, his gaze drifting to the display and the image of the Geroon ship. “I have to. . .”

  He closed his eyes briefly. “I’m sorry, but it’s extremely personal.”

  “Very touching,” Mara said. “Also very inadequate. Let’s try it from a different direction. Why are you impersonating a New Republic official?”

  Jinzler’s throat tightened. “Because I’m a nobody,” he said, a touch of bitterness edging into his voice. “And because the only way to get to Outbound Flight is aboard an official Chiss ship, at the invitation of the official Chiss government. You really think they’d let me aboard if they knew the truth?”

  “I don’t know,” Luke said. “Why don’t we try it?”

  Jinzler shook his head. “I can’t risk it,” he said. “I have to see that ship, Master Skywalker. I have to. . .” He shook his head again.

  “How did you expect to get away with it?” Luke asked. “Did you think we wouldn’t notice you weren’t a properly credentialed ambassador?”

  “I thought you might not get the message in time and would miss Formbi’s deadline,” Jinzler said. “If you did make it—” He shrugged uncomfortably. “I hoped you’d understand.”

  “Understand what?” Mara retorted. “You won’t even tell us what it is we’re supposed to understand.”

  “I know.” He smiled wanly. “Pretty foolish of me, I guess. But it was all I had.”

  Mara looked past him at Luke, a sour taste in her mouth. An accomplished actor, she knew, could pull off a performance this good. So could most of the good con men she’d known throughout her life.

  But acting ability and deep sighs weren’t nearly enough to fool a Jedi. Try as she might, she couldn’t ignore the fact that her senses were picking up the same earnest emotional struggle in his mind as was coming out in his face and words.

  The man was rash, not much of a long-range thinker, possibly even an out-and-out fool. But he was also completely sincere.

  But then, she’d been sincere, too, the whole time she’d served Palpatine as the Emperor’s Hand. She’d done everything he’d ordered her to, including assassinations of corrupt officials and Rebels alike, with all the sincerity anyone could ever have asked for.

  No, sincerity alone didn’t count for much. In fact, when you came right down to it, it didn’t count for anything at all.

  “Mara?” Luke invited.

  “No,” she said firmly. “Unless he’s willing to tell us—right now—exactly why he wants aboard, I say he gets tossed off.”

  She lifted her eyebrows at Jinzler. “Well?”

  The lines around Jinzler’s eyes deepened, and his shoulders seemed to sag a little. “I can’t,” he said softly. “It’s just—”

  He broke off, his gaze flicking over Mara’s shoulder. “Aristocra Formbi,” he said, the indecision and pain abruptly gone from his voice, though not from his sense. “What’s the situation with our guests?”

  Mara turned to see Formbi climbing back up the steps toward them, an odd tightness in his face and tread. “They’re coming with us,” he said.

  “What, all of them?” Luke asked.

  “Apparently, that is exact
ly what you are seeing,” Formbi said soberly. “The Geroon Remnant, all that remain of their people, packed into that single vessel.”

  “What happened?” Jinzler asked.

  Formbi shrugged. “Apparently, their release from slavery by those aboard Outbound Flight came too late,” he said. “The Vagaari had already caused too much damage to their world for it to continue to support life.”

  “Like the Caamasi,” Luke murmured. “Or the Noghri.”

  “I’m not familiar with those peoples,” Formbi said. “At any rate, in the end, after plagues and starvation, they had no choice but to leave. Even now they search for a new world where they may live again in peace.”

  “That’s terrible,” Jinzler murmured. “Can you help them?”

  “Perhaps,” Formbi said. “A delegation will come aboard presently to examine some of our star charts. Perhaps we can find an uninhabited world outside Chiss territory where they can settle.”

  “I take it General Drask isn’t too pleased with that?” Jinzler asked.

  “He’s not pleased at all,” Formbi agreed with a wry smile. “Though to be honest, he’s not pleased to have all you humans aboard, either. But in the end, my counsel prevailed.”

  “What about their request to visit Outbound Flight?” Luke asked.

  “We’ll allow their vessel to accompany us to the edge of the cluster where the remains are located,” Formbi said. “At that point, I may need to have another discussion with General Drask. Still, I’m sure at least a small delegation of their people will be continuing on with us.”

  “What exactly do they want there?” Jinzler asked.

  Formbi sighed. “To pay their respects to those who saved them,” he said. “To say their final farewells.”

  It was all Mara could do to keep from jerking backward. The sudden flood of emotion that erupted from Jinzler’s mind was like a stun burst from a blaster rifle.

  She looked at him sharply. But aside from a twitching muscle in his cheek, his face showed nothing of the sudden anguish and heartache that had been triggered by Formbi’s comment.

  To pay their respects. To say their final farewells. . .

  “At any rate, with all now assembled, we may finally proceed,” Formbi continued. “Feesa will show you to your personal quarters, Master Skywalker.”

  “Thank you,” Luke said. He looked at Mara, a question in his eyes.

  Again, there was a sour taste in Mara’s mouth. But there’d been something in Jinzler’s silent burst of emotion that had touched a part of her she hadn’t even known was there.

  Or perhaps she had. Perhaps it was her own past as the Emperor’s Hand, and her own reluctance to talk about it, that his presence had brought to mind.

  She took a deep breath, caught the expectation in Luke and the quiet dread in Jinzler as she did so. Both of them knew exactly what she was about to say.

  Both of them were wrong. “I thank you, as well, Aristocra Formbi,” she said. “We’ll look forward to spending more time with you.”

  She had the minor satisfaction of catching the surprise from both men at her comment. “You’re quite welcome,” Formbi said, oblivious to what was going on beneath the surface. “We shall meet again in a few hours. There will be a reception dinner; Feesa will meet you at your quarters shortly beforehand to escort you there. I will then introduce you to the rest of the vessel’s officers and diplomatic staff.”

  “Thank you, Aristocra,” Luke said. “We’ll look forward to both the dinner and the meetings.”

  “Yes,” Mara agreed, looking pointedly at Jinzler. “And I’m sure we’ll have a chance there to talk more fully, Ambassador.”

  Because she would find out about this man, she promised herself as Feesa led them back down the curving corridor. She would find out about him, and she would find out the reason he was here.

  And she would do so before they reached Outbound Flight. Guaranteed.

  * * *

  The quarters Feesa took them to were small but well laid out, with a compact conversation area as well as the usual sleeping room and refresher station. “Not bad,” Luke commented as he looked around. “A lot roomier than some shipboard berths I’ve been put up in.”

  “Yes,” Mara said, watching the door slide shut behind her, her thoughts still on Jinzler and his disturbing emotional reaction.

  “You’re not even looking at it,” Luke said, stepping through an archway into the bedroom and flopping backward onto the bed. “Let me guess. Jinzler?”

  “Since when does a Jedi Master have to guess?” Mara asked dryly, trying to shake away the questions long enough for at least a perfunctory glance around the room. Overall, the decor was simple, as one would expect of shipboard accommodations. But at the same time it had the small touches of elegance that showed someone had put thought and care into it. The Chiss, apparently, took their host responsibilities seriously.

  “Even Jedi Masters sometimes have trouble sorting through a plate of prunchti noodles,” Luke countered, just as dryly. “That’s about what you’re looking like right now.”

  “What an appetizing image,” Mara said. “And with dinner—” She looked at the chrono on the wall. “—still almost three hours away. Maybe there’s a cantina aboard where I could get a snack.”

  “You want to talk about it?” Luke asked.

  She shrugged. “I don’t think he’s a con man,” she said. “Too emotionally connected to the whole thing. I can’t see him acting as an agent for someone else, either, for the same reason. I suppose—”

  “I meant you,” Luke interrupted her gently. “Your reaction.”

  Mara grimaced. One of the minuses of having a Jedi husband was that you were never completely alone. “I don’t know,” she confessed. “There was just something in Formbi’s comment about paying respects that got to me somehow.”

  “Any idea why?”

  “Not really.” She looked around the room, a small shiver running through her. “Or maybe it has to do with this place. Going back to Nirauan; and now the Chiss—”

  “And Thrawn?”

  “Maybe Thrawn,” she agreed. “Though I don’t know why that should bother me so much.”

  Luke didn’t reply, but she could sense his invitation. Crossing the room, she lay down on the bed beside him. He slipped his arm around beneath her shoulders, and for a minute they just lay snuggled together, their minds and emotions wrapping around each other in much the same way. “Maybe it’s the Force, then,” Luke suggested. “Maybe there’s something you need to work through, something you’ve been putting off or suppressing, and the time has come for you to deal with it. That’s happened to me once or twice.”

  “I suppose,” Mara said. “I just wish the Force would pick a time when things are quieter if it’s going to push me into something.”

  She sensed his smile. “Me, too,” he said. “If you ever figure out how to schedule things that neatly, let me know.”

  “You’ll be the first,” she promised, reaching up to pat the hand around her shoulder.

  He caught her hand and held it. “Until then,” he said quietly, stroking her hand with his fingertips, “just remember that I’m here for you. For whatever you need from me.”

  She squeezed his hand. “I know,” she said, feeling his warmth and strength and commitment flowing into her, flooding into the dark areas that Jinzler’s emotions had opened in her.

  One of the plusses of having a Jedi husband, she thought contentedly, was that you were never completely alone.

  They lay there together for a few minutes. Then, with a sigh, Mara forced her mind back to business. “So,” she said. “What do you think of the rest of this setup?”

  “Well, it’s definitely not as cheering as we might like,” he said. “Did you notice the way Formbi looked when he came up after that talk with General Drask and Captain Talshib?”

  Mara thought back. She’d been concentrating mainly on Jinzler at the time, and all she could remember about Formbi was his gene
ral expression. “He looked tired,” she said.

  “It was more than that,” Luke said. “It was as if he’d just fought a battle, and wasn’t sure whether he’d won or lost.”

  “Mm,” Mara said, slightly annoyed at herself. Usually she was better at catching details like that. “You think Drask and Talshib aren’t happy about having all these aliens aboard a Chiss ship and are giving Formbi a hard time about it?”

  “They’re certainly not happy about something,” Luke said. “Though it sounds to me like an Aristocra is higher in rank than a general.”

  “That’s never stopped anyone else from complaining,” Mara pointed out. “And I’ve seen a higher-ranking person give in just to shut the complainer up.”

  “So have I,” Luke said. “We’ll want to keep an eye on things and see how Drask does as we go along.”

  “Uh-huh,” Mara murmured. “Tell me, do you think Drask might be annoyed enough about us to actually do something about it?”

  “Such as?”

  “Such as that accident with the cable in the reception room,” Mara said. “The timing there was almost too good to be coincidence.”

  For a few seconds Luke didn’t answer. Mara listened to the silence, watching the kaleidoscope of thought and emotion go through his mind as he examined the possibilities. “I don’t know,” he said at last. “It probably wouldn’t have killed me even if it had hit me dead-on. But it could easily have put me out of action for a time while I went into a healing trance.”

  “Which would have left me more or less on my own,” Mara said. “Alternatively, it might have given Drask an excuse to kick us off the mission completely.”

  “He would have had a tough job selling it,” Luke pointed out. “It’s pretty clear Formbi wants us along.”

  “Maybe, but at least it would have given him an added lever,” Mara said.

  Abruptly, she came to a decision. “I’ll be back,” she said, making sure her lightsaber was securely fastened to her belt as she headed for the door.

  “Where are you going?” Luke called after her, propping himself up on an elbow.