by Greg Keyes
It made him want to hang on and run away at the same time, and in a mild epiphany he realized he had felt that way for some time.
As children they had been best friends. But neither of them was a child anymore, not exactly.
His arm had gone numb from her weight, but he couldn’t bring himself to shift, for fear of waking her.
Anakin woke Tahiri an hour before the orange planet set. The sun was not yet out.
“It’s time,” he said.
“Good,” Tahiri mumbled. “It’s getting cramped in here.” She shifted into a crouch. “Are the others still okay?”
“I haven’t heard or felt anything. Are you ready?”
“Ready as rockets, hero boy.”
Carefully they climbed from the pit and padded through the jungle. The spicy scent of bruised blueleaf shrubs suggested a lot of searching had been done in the area, but for the moment it was quiet. Anakin and Tahiri made it to the ship landing clearing without incident.
“I like that one,” Anakin whispered, pointing at a light transport a little apart from the rest. “I don’t think I’ll have trouble flying it, and we can get it down the pit.”
“You’re the captain, Captain.”
Anakin peered more closely at the ship and then began sneaking across the clearing. A guard several hundred meters away glanced in their direction, but it took only a faint suggestion to turn Anakin and Tahiri into shadow and planetlight.
They found a guard in front of the ship, too, sitting on the open ramp. He came quickly to his feet when they saw him.
“You’re needed around the other side of the temple,” Anakin told him, with a slight wave of his hand.
The fellow hesitated an instant, scratching his chin. “I’m needed elsewhere,” he allowed. “I’ll go, then.”
“See you later,” Anakin said as the man started away, pace quickening as he went.
“What the—?” A young man’s face stuck around the corner. He looked as if he had just awakened. Seeing Anakin and Tahiri, the fellow’s eyes went wide and he reached for his blaster. He stopped with the snap-hiss of Anakin’s lightsaber igniting, probably because the glowing purple tip was centimeters from one of his gray eyes.
“Easy,” Anakin said.
“Hey,” the fellow said. “I’m always easy. Ask anyone. Would you, uh, mind getting that a little farther from my face?”
“You have restraining cuffs here somewhere?”
“Maybe.”
Anakin shrugged. “I can cut your arms off and get more or less the same effect.”
“In the locker over there,” the fellow said, pointing.
“Get them, Tahiri. What’s your name?”
“Remis. Remis Vehn.”
“You pilot this thing?”
“Sure.”
“Any surprises I need to know about before I fly her?”
Vehn winced as Tahiri pulled his arms back and snapped them in the cuffs. “Not that I can think of,” he said.
“Good. I’ll keep you aboard though. If any occur to you, let me know.”
Anakin shut his lightsaber down, made his way to the controls, and looked them over. They weren’t that different from those on the Millennium Falcon, his father’s ship.
Vehn cleared his throat. “I just remembered. Before you engage the repulsorlift you have to enter a clearance code.”
“Really? Or what happens?”
“The cabin will sort of electrify.”
“I’m glad you remembered that,” Anakin said dryly. “The code, please?”
Vehn recited it while Anakin entered it. Then the young Jedi turned back to his captive. “Let me explain something to you,” he said. “My name is Anakin Solo, and this is my friend Tahiri Veila. We are Jedi Knights, some of the people you came here to betray to the Yuuzhan Vong. If you lie to us, we’ll know it. If you try to keep something from us, we’ll find it out. The only uncertain factor is how much we’ll have to damage you to do so.”
Vehn snorted. “They were right. You Jedi and your high-minded ideals—it’s all smoke screen.”
Anakin shot him a withering glance. “Next time I’m trying to capture children for Yuuzhan Vong sacrifices, I’ll be sure to have a talk about ‘high-minded ideals’ with you. Until then, or until you have something useful to say, you keep your garbage lock cycled shut.”
He turned back to the controls. “Hang on, Tahiri. This might go a little rough until I get the feel of it. And pay attention to Vehn. If you feel the slightest twinge from him, dig it out.”
“Yes, sir, Captain Solo.”
Anakin engaged the repulsorlifts, and the ship began to rise. Before he closed the ramp, he heard someone shouting outside.
“Call out to Master Ikrit,” Anakin told Tahiri. “Use the force to let him know we’re coming.”
And it’s going to be tight, he finished, to himself.
CHAPTER SIX
Talon Karrde clasped his hands beneath his goatee and studied the scene on the Wild Karrde’s command deck viewscreen through pale blue eyes.
“Well, Shada,” he told the striking woman at his right hand, “it appears that our baby-sitting chore has become somewhat more … interesting than anticipated.”
“I would say so,” Shada D’ukal replied. “The sensor shroud shows at least seven ships in orbit around Yavin Four and another six on the surface.”
“None of them are Yuuzhan Vong, I take it.”
“No. A mixed bag, but I’d lay odds that they are Peace Brigade.”
“Gambling is a foolish occupation,” Karrde said. “I want to know. And I want to know what they’re doing.” He ticked his finger against the armrest. “I knew we should have found some way to leave sooner. Skywalker was right.” He sighed and leaned forward, studying the long-range sensors.
“There’s some sort of firefight on the surface, yes, H’sishi?”
“Looks like it,” the Togorian mewled.
“Solusar?” Karrde wondered. “Maybe. How long before we can be there?”
“They outnumber us badly,” Shada pointed out. “We should call the rest of our ships before we do anything.”
“We should certainly call them, but we can’t wait for them. Someone down there is fighting for his life, most likely one of the people I told Skywalker I would protect. What’s more, the fact that there are still ships on the surface suggests they haven’t finished what they came here to do. That is, they don’t have the Jedi children yet. If we wait until they have them aboard, in space, the job of rescuing them will become much more complicated.”
“I see that,” Shada said. “But it will be more complicated yet if they blow us out of the sky.”
Karrde laughed. “Shada, when will you learn to trust my instincts? When have I ever gotten you killed?”
“You have a point there, I suppose.”
Karrde pointed at Yavin 4, at the moment a dark disk silhouetted against the larger orange profile of its primary. “So I want to be there, now. Dankin, keep full cloak, but let me know when they notice us.”
“Of course, sir.”
That point came an hour later, when they were almost sitting on the nearest of the orbiting ships.
“They’re hailing us, sir,” Dankin told him. “And powering up weapons.”
“Put them on.”
A moment later, a thick-featured human male with thin, graying hair appeared on the communication holoscreen.
“Transport, identify yourself.” He chopped the words out in even syllables.
“My name, sir, is Talon Karrde. Perhaps you’ve heard of me.”
The man’s eyes pinched warily. “Yes, I’ve heard of you, Captain Karrde. It’s rude to sneak up on someone like that. And dangerous.”
“And it’s rude to be given a name and not offer one,” Karrde returned.
A look of annoyance crossed the fellow’s face. “Don’t try me, Captain Karrde. You may call me Captain Imsatad. What do you want?”
Karrde favored the man with a
wan smile. “I was going to ask you the same question.”
“I don’t follow you,” Imsatad said.
“You seem to be having some sort of trouble. I’m offering my assistance.”
“We need no assistance, I assure you. And to be blunt, Captain Karrde, I don’t believe you. I remember you as a smuggler, a pirate, and a traitor to the Empire.”
“Then perhaps you remember, as well, what became of those who treated me with disrespect,” Karrde said icily. “But if we are being blunt—and perhaps that is best here, since you seem to lack the education for more civilized discourse—I am undoubtedly here for the same reason you are—to collect the bounty on the young Jedi below.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Karrde leaned toward the screen, eyes glittering dangerously. “You are a liar, Captain, and a poor one. I see no reason for us to play games.”
“I trust you’ve noticed you’re outnumbered.”
“I trust you noted I was able to drop in on you in, shall we say, an unannounced fashion. Do you really think I brought only one ship?”
Imsatad glared at him, then cut his visual. Karrde waited patiently until, a few moments later, the image returned.
“This is none of your business,” the man said.
“Profit is always my business.”
“There is no profit here, and if there were, you would already be too late.”
“Oh, I don’t think so. Why are your ships still on the surface? Why do my sensors show what seems to be protracted search activity? You’ve let your quarry slip through your fingers, Captain.” Karrde smiled and leaned back in his chair. “Consider my offer of help. I ask little in return, and I could be a nuisance if you spurn my kindness.”
“That sounds like a threat.”
Karrde spread his hands. “Take it however you please. Shall we discuss this further or not?”
“You say you ask for little. What, exactly, would that be?”
“A few kind words in the ears of the Yuuzhan Vong. An introduction. You see, Captain, for some years now I’ve been retired from my chosen profession. But these are very interesting times, exactly the sort of times my kind thrives on, if you know what I mean. I’d like to come out of retirement.”
“Go on.”
Karrde stroked his mustache thoughtfully. “The Yuuzhan Vong have promised a truce if the Jedi are delivered to them. I would like to bargain for passage through Yuuzhan Vong space, once the borders are established.”
“Why should they allow a smuggler to use their space?”
“There may be things they need. I can get them. If not, I would be doing them no harm; all of my activities would be aimed at the scattered remnants of the New Republic. But those remnants are separated, at times, by Yuuzhan Vong–occupied systems. The cost of circumventing them, frankly, would be prohibitive.”
Imsatad nodded, and a brief look of disgust wrinkled his features. “I see. You realize I can promise none of that.”
“I only asked for a mention of my help in this affair. You can promise that.”
“I could,” Imsatad acknowledged. “What exactly can you offer me?”
“Better sensors than you have, for one thing. Detailed knowledge of Yavin Four that I believe you lack. A crew that is very, very good at finding things. Certain special defenses against Jedi—and the means of finding them.”
Imsatad stiffened, and his voice dropped low. “I was with Thrawn at Wayland. You still?…”
“Ah. You know what I mean, then.”
“I know you betrayed him.”
Karrde rolled his eyes. “How tiresome. Very well, Captain, if you don’t wish my services, there are others who will.”
“Wait!” Imsatad chewed his lip for a moment. “I need to consult with my officers on this.”
“Take a few moments,” Karrde said, lifting a finger. “But do not bore me.” He cut the transmission.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Hutt slime!” Remis Vehn snapped, as the transport scraped along the wall of the pit. “Watch my ship!”
“The controls have too much play in them,” Anakin complained.
“No, you’re flying like a Twi’lek on spice,” Vehn replied.
“Quiet,” Tahiri said, “or we’ll restrain your mouth, too.”
Vehn yelped again as they scraped stone. The fit was tighter than Anakin had thought it would be.
Still, a moment later, they settled into the steaming water of the underground pool. Anakin dropped the landing ramp, and an instant later Ikrit and the two Jedi children were on board.
“Strap in, everyone,” Anakin told them. He hit the lifts and back up they started.
An instant later, the whole ship shuddered and their ears were filled with the screech of metal.
“The landing ramp, you vac-brain!” Vehn screamed. “You didn’t pull up the ramp!”
Belatedly Anakin flipped the appropriate switch, but all he got was a grinding noise.
“Great,” he muttered.
“Anakin,” Tahiri said, “I think we may have trouble.”
“We’ll make it, even with the ramp down. We’ll figure out what to do about that later.”
“That’s not what I meant.” She pointed up through the cockpit.
Something dark was eclipsing the morning light.
“Sith spawn. They’ve moved one of the big freighters over the hole.”
“Continue,” Master Ikrit murmured.
“But—”
“Continue.” The diminutive Master was crouched on the floor, eyes closed, his voice a serene purr. Anakin felt a powerful surge in the Force.
“You should strap in, Master.”
“No time.”
Anakin nodded. “As you say, Master Ikrit.” He throttled up. Banging, sparking, and shaking, they shot up toward the belly of their enemy.
“He’s pushing it up,” Tahiri said in awe. “Master Ikrit is pushing the freighter up.”
And indeed, when they emerged, rather than sitting right over the hole, the freighter was some eighty meters off the ground. Its thrusters were burning, pushing it down, but it wasn’t budging. Anakin darted his gaze about. The other ships and people on foot had sidled in on all sides but one, so he cut toward the hole as a brutal barrage struck them.
“My ship!” Vehn howled, as the deck pitched wildly. Not blinking, Anakin took them through the storm, just as two more ships closed in, completing the trap.
“Help Master Ikrit,” Anakin told the Jedi candidates. “Push the freighter up farther.”
“Master Ikrit is gone, Anakin,” Valin said. “He jumped out of the hatch.”
“He what?”
“There he is!” Tahiri shrieked, pointing ahead of them.
There Ikrit was indeed, walking toward the blocking ships, a corvette and a light freighter. As he approached them, they were parted as if by two gigantic hands.
“I don’t believe it,” Anakin said. But he gunned forward, nevertheless, aimed at the gap the Jedi Master had created for them. Blaster bolts and laser beams sizzled and hissed in the air, but every shot that might have hit either Ikrit or the ship bent away, missing by centimeters, and still the small Jedi strolled sedately along.
They were almost free now, passing over Ikrit.
“He can’t keep that up,” Anakin said. “Tahiri, use the Force. Snag him as we go by.”
“You bet,” she answered. Her confidence rang false; Anakin heard a tremor in her voice.
That was when the first bolt slipped through and struck Master Ikrit. Anakin felt it in the Force, a spike of clarity. No pain, no fear, no remorse, only … understanding.
Two more shots hit Ikrit in quick succession, and then fire was pounding their ship again. With a sob of anguish, Anakin jetted the ship through the hole and spun. At the same moment, with an inarticulate growl, Tahiri leapt from the open hatch, lightsaber glowing, and ran toward the downed Master.
“No!” Anakin howled. He brought the forwar
d guns—the only ones under his direct control—to bear, and opened up on the ships that were suddenly closing between him and Tahiri. They returned fire. He caught a glimpse of her, Ikrit’s body in her arms, dodging back toward him. Absurdly, his eyes were drawn to her bare feet, white against the brown soil.
The transport turned halfway over under a barrage, and every light in the ship went out. Cursing, Anakin started furiously trying to reroute, and then the power whined back on. The shields were gone.
“Valin, Sannah, one of you!” he shouted. “Get to the laser turret! Now!”
He did the only thing he could. In seconds they would be cooked. If he stood any chance of getting Tahiri back on board, he needed a plan.
He spun and fired the jets, leaping above the other ships, strafing them as he went. He was absorbed now, his senses in the Force stretched to their limits, dodging shots before they were fired, sensing the weakest spots to place his own rounds, pinwheeling and jagging above them.
The ships came up with him. He fought for altitude, all the time aware that Tahiri was farther and farther below him. He could still feel her. She was still alive.
Master Ikrit was not. Anakin felt the old Jedi’s life go, felt it pass through him like a sweet wind.
I am proud of you, Anakin, it seemed to say. Remember—together, you are stronger than the sum of your parts. I love you. Good-bye.
Gritting his teeth against another concussion, Anakin clenched the tears in his skull. Cry later, Anakin, he thought. Right now you have to see.
One of his engines was limping. He couldn’t win this, not here, not now. With a curse that bordered on being a sob, he flipped, slid between two ships that collided an instant later, and punched toward the upper atmosphere.
Below him, Tahiri’s presence dwindled.
Like Chewie. Just like Chewie.
He jerked the ship back around and aimed it at the nearest ship, a corvette, and went to full throttle.
“What the—” Vehn gasped. “You’re going to kill us!”
Anakin fired. The other ship held steady, steady.
Anakin pulled up, just slightly, and skipped off the top of the corvette the way a hurled stone might skip across a lake. The collision tossed them up with a terrible shrieking of metal.
