Reunion: Force Heretic III

by Sean Williams

  “To end it?”

  “Or to rescue us. Either way.” Tahiri’s expression was grave. “I, the new Tahiri, the person who has inherited everything those two were, am grateful they—we—did choose you. I shall always be in your debt, Jaina, for what you did for us.”

  Tahiri lowered her head, and Jaina fought to find a way to lighten the situation. She’d seen what debts did to people.

  “Listen,” she said, “it’s really no big deal. Anyone would have done what I did.”

  Tahiri stood, and nodded once respectfully. “Thank you for your words, Jaina—and thank you for hearing mine.”

  Jaina studied the young woman before her, wondering exactly who this new person was and how she would turn out. There seemed so little left of the girl who once occupied the body.

  “Tahiri,” she said as the girl made to leave. Tahiri stopped and faced her. “I just want you to know that, although you’ve obviously changed, my feelings for you haven’t. I still regard you as a friend.”

  Something shifted behind Tahiri’s cool green eyes, and for a moment Jaina thought she might smile.

  There was a noise in the doorway, and they both turned to see Han walk into the room.

  Jaina stood. “Dad, what are you doing here?”

  “What—a father can’t come and visit his sick daughter?”

  “I’m not sick!”

  “Grounded, then. Same thing, right?” Han’s smile was wide, enjoying the game.

  She smiled in return. “Whatever. What’s up, anyway?”

  “I was wondering if you happen to know where Droma might be. I can’t seem to find him anywhere.”

  “He came offworld with us,” she said, “but I don’t remember what happened to him after we docked. What about you, Tahiri? Have you—?”

  Her question went no farther, as Tahiri was no longer in the squad room. Jaina assumed that she had slipped out as soon as Jaina’s father had begun talking.

  Her father’s expression mirrored her own surprise. “She can sure move quietly when she wants to,” he said. Then, with a little awkwardness, he added, “Is she—?”

  “She’s fine, Dad,” Jaina cut in, anticipating her father’s concern.

  He nodded, accepting Jaina’s reassurance. “I guess I’m still kind of nervy when it comes to the Yuuzhan Vong.”

  “I understand, Dad,” she said. “Really, I do. But Tahiri just needs time to settle in.” Then, returning them to the original topic, she said, “You might want to check with the Selonia to see if they know where Droma might be. Someone’s bound to have noticed him about the place somewhere.”

  Her father chuckled. “Are you kidding? We’re talking about a Ryn here, remember? They’re the most ignored beings in the galaxy. That’s what makes them such good spies.” He shrugged. “But I guess it couldn’t hurt.”

  “What’s Mom up to, anyway?”

  “Up on the Selonia’s bridge, helping test the antenna array.”

  “Maybe I’ll join her; see if she’d like some help.” Her father’s smile was wry as he said, “You really must be bored.”

  “No one at all?” Grand Admiral Pellaeon stared at the image of Captain Mayn of Pride of Selonia with undisguised surprise. “There must be someone in charge.”

  “You have to remember that this isn’t a fleet as you and I are used to,” Mayn said. “It’s not much more than a group of individuals working together—albeit a large group. There’s not much organization to them as far as I can see, and that’s reflected in the way they’re dispersing. They’re not moving out en masse, but in dribs and drabs, when they feel like leaving.”

  “So who’s giving the orders?” Pellaeon asked.

  “Most of the ones I’ve spoken to have said they receive orders through unusual means,” she said. “None of them knew about the others until they assembled at the rendezvous where they awaited your signal. Most of them hadn’t even heard of any Ryn network as such until we explained what we knew. As far as they’re concerned, they’re just returning a favor someone did for them, sometime in the last year. They seem as much in the dark about it all as we are.”

  The whole concept mystified the Grand Admiral, and yet at the same time he couldn’t help but be impressed by the way the Ryn worked. It was the loosest possible cell system in action: every active member of the Ryn network was in contact with only two or three immediately nearby, but no more; that way, there was no chance of anyone following the trail from the bottom to the top. But there had to be a top—or at least a genesis point. They had to have come from somewhere.

  “Well, we owe them a favor now,” he said.

  “So it would seem,” Captain Mayn said. “I guess that’s the whole idea.”

  Pellaeon nodded. “Not only are these people keeping tabs on what’s happening in the black spots of the galaxy, but they’re helping knit them back together again, too.”

  “There’s nothing like fighting side by side to create a bond between perfect strangers.”

  “Even old enemies,” Pellaeon said with a half smile.

  “I have to admit, Admiral, that at first I was … wary of you. I felt you might be hiding something from us.” Mayn paused. “I just want to say that I hope you can forgive my suspicions. It’s hard at times to shake the habit of a lifetime.”

  Pellaeon’s smile widened. “I don’t mind what people think of me, Captain, as long as they obey orders.”

  “I’ll happily follow orders, sir, so long as they’re good ones.”

  Pellaeon barked out a laugh. “It’s been a pleasure working with you. I hope this isn’t the last time we serve together.”

  “I’m sure we’ll serve together again, Admiral. There are still plenty of battles out there left to fight.”

  Pellaeon’s mustache twitched.

  “I have visited many systems in my travels,” said the image of Vergere. “And of the cultures that inhabited them, none have I seen that did not embrace hostilities to some degree or another.”

  Luke listened carefully to what Sekot was saying even as his gaze remained fixed on the spectacle of the airship descending to the grasslands. He could see the hide of the giant creature rippling as she slid gracefully through the air. Her entire body flexed, bringing her and her passengers to a near-perfect halt less than a meter above the ground.

  “I have seen battles engulf cities, and sometimes entire countries,” Sekot went on. “There have even been conflicts that have extended between worlds. It is almost as though the desire for war has spread like a plague through the life-forms of this galaxy.”

  “Not all sentient life desires war,” Luke said, watching as the passengers disembarked from the gondola. “The Jedi dedicate their efforts toward peace.”

  “From what I have seen, peace does not seem to be the natural state of the universe,” Sekot said.

  Luke turned at this to face Sekot. “It surprises me that one who’s supposed to be as in touch with the living Force as yourself would think this way.”

  “As it surprises me that one as small as yourself would presume to have such insight into the living Force’s moral bent.”

  Luke faced the image fully now, smiling. “On the first night we came here, Jabitha said something similar to my nephew.” The Magister looked up at his words, but didn’t interrupt. “She became indignant that Jacen should dare speak for the living Force. The implication was that someone so small in the great cosmos shouldn’t dare presume to speak for such a powerful thing. But the fact is, the living Force can choose anyone it wants. Size is not important. Master Yoda was smaller than anyone here, yet he was the wisest person I ever met—as well as one of the most powerful Jedi Masters to ever live. You possess a power, Sekot, that is beyond the imagining of virtually all sentient beings, but that doesn’t automatically mean that your connection to the Force is greater.”

  The image of Vergere indicated approval with a smile and a nod.

  “You are wise, Master Skywalker,” Sekot said. “I think in the day
s to come, you will supply many answers to the questions I still have regarding the Force.”

  “This is the beginning of a long journey for us all,” Luke returned. “By its end, I think we will have learned much from each other.” Then, facing the Magister, he asked, “How are preparations coming along, Jabitha?”

  “Preparations are well under way for our departure,” she said. “The last three days have seen many changes around Zonama.”

  “Or not seen,” Jacen said, referring to the intense electrical activity that had obscured many locations around the planet’s equator.

  Jabitha laughed. She and Sekot seemed to have taken quite a liking to Luke’s nephew.

  “Had you wished to know what we were up to,” she said, “then you had but to ask.”

  “That’s okay,” Jacen said. “I have a feeling that I wouldn’t have understood half of what you were saying, anyway.”

  Before anyone could reply, the others had joined them. Saba’s muscular tail made swishing noises in the grass. Hegerty was holding a satchel full of what appeared to be Ferroan artifacts, judging by the bits and pieces sticking out of it. Tekli’s fur was bristling in the gentle breeze, and Danni moved to stand near Jacen, still slightly wary of their Ferroan escort.

  Darak and Rowel were being much more civilized to their guests now that Sekot had officially embraced them. Not only had they volunteered to take the four not actively involved in discussions of the future on a tour of the neighboring countryside, but they’d made sure that their accommodations were more than adequate, almost opulent, and that they were treated with deference. It marked a dramatic shift in their relations with the natives, and Luke wondered sometimes whether it was simply a case of being told by Sekot to be polite, or if there might be more subtle forces at work. Perhaps living in the life energies of a planet-sized mind put them more in tune with its thoughts than they realized. Certainly there was no sign of the hostility that had originally greeted the Jedi landing party. Even Senshi had reverted to being friendly, having been set free of Sekot’s persuasive influence.

  “We went to ruins,” Danni told Jacen.

  “It’s incredible,” Hegerty said excitedly. “You won’t believe what we found!”

  Luke found himself smiling at the gray-haired scientist’s enthusiasm, but only half listened to what she had to say about indigenous species versus those introduced by the Ferroans. He couldn’t blame her for her excitement; after all, Zonama Sekot was a world filled with secrets and mysteries just waiting to be discovered. It would have been a dream come true for any scientist …

  “Luke!” Mara’s voice broke across his thoughts, and he turned to see her approaching through the tall grass.

  “All systems go?” he asked.

  “Better than that,” she said. “We have contact with Mon Calamari again.”

  Luke didn’t hesitate. Excusing himself from the group, he hurried with his wife back to Jade Shadow with Jacen close behind. Being out of contact with the rest of the galaxy hadn’t sat comfortably with him the whole time they’d been on Zonama Sekot. Who knew what had happened to the war? To Leia and Han? Or to Ben?

  R2-D2 whistled reassuringly as he hurried past to the cockpit. In the holoprojector flickered the long, aristocratic face of Kenth Hamner. His mouth was moving, but there was no sound.

  “I didn’t say it was perfect,” Mara said, sitting at the pilot’s station and fiddling with the controls. “We’re getting a data feed, though. It looks like nothing drastic has gone wrong while we’ve been out of touch.”

  Luke skimmed through lines of text scrolling down a screen behind Hamner, who had stopped talking, obviously realizing that he wasn’t being heard. Luke smiled and nodded to indicate that things were going well at his end. There was little more he could do.

  “Wait a second,” Mara said, “we seem to have a message coming through on a separate channel.” The picture fuzzed out, and was replaced by one that was much crisper—one that caused Mara to smile broadly. “Ah, there you are,” she said to the image of Leia. “Finally paid your bills, did you?”

  Jacen leaned forward over Mara’s shoulder. “Mom!”

  Luke’s sister smiled with relief at the sight of her son. “Hello, Jacen.”

  Jacen frowned. “Since when did the Falcon get outfitted with a holographic array?”

  “Since never,” came the reply from his father, leaning in past Leia. “We’re on the Selonia at the moment. How are things going there?”

  “They’re okay now,” Jacen said. “But with communications down, I was starting to get worried.”

  “Yeah,” Han said. “Sorry about that. The Vong have been keeping us busy.”

  “They took out the communications relay bases at Generis and Esfandia,” Leia explained. “We’ve just gotten Esfandia up and running again, but Fan Gantree, the engineer here, is still trying to repair the damage. It’ll be a while yet before communications are back to optimal.”

  “Why would the relay bases be targeted?” Mara asked. “It’s not as if they’re major communications nodes in our war effort.”

  “I think the Yuuzhan Vong are trying to come between us and the Unknown Regions,” Leia said. “Maybe to keep us and the Chiss from joining against them.”

  “That might be part of it,” Luke said.

  “Jacen!” Han said. His crooked smile couldn’t hide a parent’s joy at seeing his son alive and well. “How about you, kid? You been keeping your uncle and aunt on their toes?”

  “Always.” Luke felt Jacen’s hand squeeze his shoulder. “How’s Jaina?”

  “She got a bit of a bump on her head, but apart from that she’s fine.”

  “And Jag?”

  “Busy overseeing our new allies,” Leia said.

  “You should see these guys.” Han put in, “No two ships are the same, there’s no central command …” Han shook his head disbelievingly. “It’s crazy.”

  “Who are you talking about?” Mara asked, frowning.

  “The Ryn,” Leia said. Then, with a brief shake of her head, she added, “It’s a long story. But they’re friends, and they made a difference when it counted. We’re glad to have them aboard.”

  “What about Danni?” Han asked. “How’s she doing?”

  “She’ll be okay,” Jacen said. “Everyone’s fine. We all love it here. It’s going to be hard to leave.”

  “Where’s here, exactly?”

  “Zonama Sekot,” Jacen said, beaming widely.

  “You found it?” Leia looked aggrieved that it wasn’t the first thing she’d been told. “Why didn’t you say so before, Mara?”

  “I thought I’d let Luke have the honor.”

  Mara smiled up at Luke, and a surge of excitement ran through him at the implication of this—something that up until now he hadn’t had a chance to fully appreciate. He nodded, smiling. “We really did find it. Against the odds.”

  “Is it everything you hoped it would be, Jacen?” Han asked.

  “It’s beautiful, Dad—and more powerful than we dared imagine. It’s—” Jacen hesitated, trying to find the right words.

  Luke could understand his nephew’s difficulty with this. How did you put into words all that the living world represented? Or the impact of standing on its soil, embraced by its life force?

  “It’s wonderful,” Jacen said finally.

  “But is it coming back with you?” Leia asked, with an expression that suggested she was afraid of the answer.

  “It’ll be ready to leave in about a week,” Luke said. “I figured we might as well stay until then to work out a few of its mysteries.”

  “Congratulations, to all of you,” Leia said. “That’s the best news I’ve heard for months.”

  The image flickered, then strengthened.

  “Sorry about that,” Leia said. “We’re still fine-tuning here. We might have to cut this short so they can recalibrate the antennas.”

  Sad though he was to bring the communication to an end, Luke felt profou
ndly reassured on one level. His family and home were safe. Leia would have mentioned if there was anything wrong with Ben or if the Maw was under threat. When the antennas were fixed properly, he would patch through to his son’s safe refuge and do his best to catch up.

  And when the war was over, he promised himself he would make up for the time he’d lost with his son. He knew what it was like to grow up without his father; he didn’t want Ben to go through the same thing.

  “What about Tahiri?” Jacen asked, a note of seriousness dampening his otherwise buoyant tone. “How is she?”

  Han and Leia exchanged a glance. “That’s a little hard to explain, too,” Leia said.

  “She’s … changed,” Han said.

  “For the better?” Jacen asked grimly.

  Leia nodded. “She’s still finding out who she is, but I’m sure she’ll get there.”

  “What name did she choose?” Luke asked.

  “She still calls herself Tahiri, but—” Leia stopped suddenly, her eyes narrowing as she studied her brother. “Don’t tell me you knew what was going to happen to her.”

  “I suspected,” Luke said. “I thought she just needed time to work things out—and the opportunity to prove herself.”

  “Well, she’s certainly done that,” Leia said.

  Relief washed through him at the news. “Then all’s well that ends well, I guess.”

  “Seems so,” Han said. “We’re heading back to Mon Cal now to refit and check in with our esteemed leader. He might have new orders for us.”

  “And the Ryn have to be integrated into the intelligence network,” Leia said. “I don’t know how our usual spies are going to react to working with the likes of our new friends, but I’m sure we can bring them around.”

  “Travel safely,” Luke said. “And we’ll see you at Mon Cal within the next couple of weeks.”

  Leia nodded. “May the Force be with you, Luke.”

  The hologram flickered and died entirely.

  “And you, sister,” he mumbled to where Leia’s image had been a moment earlier.

  He sat silent for a long while, holding Mara’s hand and thinking about his family, scattered in so many directions across the galaxy. One day, hopefully, he’d see them reunited in peaceful times—if everything went well with Zonama Sekot.