Diversity Alliance

by Kevin J. Anderson

  When the humming stopped, Raynar's uncle Tyko let out a long sigh.

  "It's wonderful to be among civilized beings again," he said.

  "You have no idea what it's like to live and work on Mechis III, surrounded

  all day long by mechanicals. We keep only a few living beings on the planet, and

  very few of them come from worlds with culture.

  Of course, I've programmed a droid or two for protocol, but it's simply not

  the same. They're so dull."

  "Well, really!" Em Teedee exclaimed before Lowie slapped a furry hand over

  the translating droid's speaker grille.

  "This is my favorite ceremony," Raynar said wistfully.

  "Mine too," his mother agreed. "It reminds me of the days when I lived on

  Alderaan. I grew up in Terrarium City," she said. "My parents were on the ruling

  council.

  It was a beautiful serene place, and every home was surrounded by plants

  and fountains like this one. I left to study at Alderaan University."

  "Where you met father," Raynar put in.

  "Yes." Her forehead wrinkled slightly at the mention of her kidnapped

  husband. "I was studying music and business, and Bor-nan was studying business

  and art. We took Several' courses together and found we had similar goals. When

  we finished our studies, we formed this trading company."

  "Where were you when Alderaan was destroyed?" Jaina asked in a hushed

  voice.

  Aryn flinched, struck by yet another painful memory. "Sometimes I wish I'd

  never left, that I could have spent those last few days there.... "She sighed.

  "Bornan is an excellent businessman, and he believes in overseeing negotiations

  personally. We were in the middle of very sensitive trade talks with one of the

  Imperial worlds when our home was obliterated."

  Aryn seemed lost in her reverie when a guard entered the room, bent down,

  and whispered in her ear.

  "What is it, Mother?" Raynar asked.

  Aryn scanned the circle with a look of alarm. Then' she turned to the

  security officer. "It's all fight. Tell them," she said.

  "A few minutes ago security noted a brief transmission that came from

  inside the Tradewyn. We tried to trace it, but couldn't find the source."

  Raynar clasped his mother's hand. Uncle Tyko stood abruptly.

  "Prepare for another hyperspace jump," he said to the guard.

  "Immediately!"

  The guard rushed to carry out his orders.

  Tyko looked down at his sister-in-law.

  "It can't be anyone here in this room," he said, "but I fear we may have a

  traitor aboard the Tradewyn."

  FOR JAINA, THE bridge of the Tradewyn was a wonderland filled with the

  highest quality computers, gadgets, and communications equipment available in

  any market.

  She and Lowie exclaimed over each discovery of technological wizardry.

  She thought briefly of her friend Zekk, with whom she had spent many of her

  younger days on Coruscant, scavenging technological gadgets from the abandoned

  underlevels and tinkering with them so that old Peckhum could have something to

  sell. She and Zekk had gone their separate ways, though, He had fallen to the

  dark side and joined the Shadow Academy.

  Even after he had been defeated, and forgiven, Zekk still could not forgive

  himself.

  He had struck out on his own in hopes of building a new life. He had

  decided to become a bounty hunter, and Jaina wished she could contact him

  somehow, and-get news of him in return. But here, hidden as they were with the

  Bornaryn merchant fleet, no one in the galaxy would know where to find them.

  After the Ceremony of Waters, Raynar took turns with his mother conducting

  the tour of the flagship, and proved almost as knowledgeable as she was on the

  subject.

  The young Jedi had come to the bridge while Tyko prepared the ship for its

  next hyperspace jump, hoping to keep one step ahead of any pursuers that might

  be after them or Bornan Thul. The Tradewyn's jump elicited a tingle of

  excitement from the Jedi students. All of them had seen many such jumps, but

  rarely from the open bridge of a city-sized starship. Tyko paced the bridge, a

  heavy frown corrugating his forehead, his hands clasped behind his back, as

  Raynar and Aryn Dro Thul continued the tour.

  "What are those?" Jaina asked, spying an unusual console.

  "Our weapons systems," Aryn replied.

  "Targeting for the entire fleet is linked through here."

  "Everything can be controlled from the bridge of the Tradewyn," Raynar

  added.

  "Concussion missiles, ion cannons, even targeted energy deflectors. We have

  quad laser emplacements all around the circumference of the bridge--there,

  there, and there--" he said, pointing, "plus one up top and one below us. Of

  course, we can also release control to individual gunners."

  Jaina eyed the weapons appraisingly.

  "I'd love to try them sometime. Dad always lets us practice with the guns

  in the Millennium Falcon."

  Aryn's eyebrows went up. "Ah, yes, that doesn't surprise.me. Your father

  always was a bit of a rogue. I met him briefly, on Alderaan, when " "You know

  Han Solo?" Raynat broke in, his eyes wide.

  Aryn laughed. "Not really. It was decades ago, before I was married, and he

  visited Alderaan for a day. Of course, he was traveling under another name at

  the time.

  We just happened to meet. Back then, I thought he was very handsome. He

  even tried to steal me from your father. Bornan was rather jealous." Aryn's

  fine-boned face dimpled in a warm smile.

  "Even though Han has been a respectable man for many years, I'm afraid

  Bornan may still harbor a bit of a grudge." "Preparing to come out of

  hyperspace," the helmsman announced in a loud voice.

  "Very well," Tyko said. "You, over there."

  He pointed to a man in a security uniform near the navigational station.

  "Begin plotting our next jump, just to be on the safe side."

  "Kusk," the man replied. "We've been introduced several times."

  Tyko blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

  "Kusk, sir it's my name."

  Uncle Tyko made a face as if he had bitten into a chunk of rancid Neff

  cheese.

  "Very well--Kusk. I suggest you begin plotting our course immediately or

  we'll stuff you into an escape pod and shoot you toward the nearest inhabited

  system. Do I make myself dear?"

  "Yes, sir," Kusk gritted between clenched teeth.

  Jaina made a mental note never to cross Raynar's uncle Tyko. She wouldn't

  want to be on the receiving end of his anger.

  Just then the scene in the viewports all around the bridge changed.

  Starlines shortened from glowing streaks into specks of concentrated brilliance,

  and they were alone against the blackness of space. Completely alone. Not a

  single ship from the fleet had made the jump with the Tradewyn.

  No. Not alone. Something else was here... waiting for them, ready to

  pounce.

  Lowie saw it first and sounded the alarm.

  "Oh, my! We're doomed," Em Teedee wafted.

  There in the viewscreen closest to them came a wicked,looking ship that was

  no part of their fleet. Its weapons were powered up, ready to fire.

  Jacen wished he could think of something to d
o.

  "We're receiving a transmission, Lady Aryn," the communications specialist

  said.

  "Priority one."

  "Put it on the front viewscreen," Tyko snapped.

  The comm specialist looked back at Aryn.

  She nodded.

  A face masked by a dark flight helmet appeared on screen.

  "Tradewyn, this is the High Roller," the harsh voice came over the comm

  speakers. "I demand that you release to me either Aryn Dro Thul or Raynar Thul

  immediately. If you refuse, I will be forced to destroy your ship."

  Although this seemed like an absurd demand to Jacen, he was still surprised

  when Uncle Tyko gave a bark of laughter.

  "This ship has the finest defenses and weaponry that can be bought. Don't

  force us to prove it."

  On the screen, the helmeted figure shrugged. "Perhaps you have the best

  defenses that can be bought legally, that is, but I have access to sources you

  couldn't even begin to imagine." An energy bolt streaked out from the ship and

  struck just below the forward viewport.

  "If you give me the woman or the boy," the harsh voice said, "I won't need

  to demonstrate any further. You have ten minutes to decide."

  "Screen off," Tyko snapped. The view-screen went blank. "We need to clear

  the bridge of everyone but essential bridge crew. Kusk, take Lady Aryn down to

  the security shelter at the center of the ship. Don't let anyone near her until

  this threat has been dealt with. Get moving! Raynar, you go too."

  Kusk sprang up from the navigational console with commendable speed, now

  that he had been chided by Tyko, and hustled Raynar and his mother from the

  bridge before Tyko could issue the next order. Even Aryn did not argue. As they

  vanished down the turbolift, Raynar looked worriedly back over his shoulder,

  although he tried to appear brave in front of his friends.

  Jacen was glad the security guard had reacted quickly this time and avoided

  making a scene. Even so, he got a strange prickly feeling at the back of his

  neck. He shivered. Something was wrong here.....

  Maybe it was because the High Roller was outside the viewports waiting to

  blast the bridge again, but he didn't think so.

  Beside him, Tenel Ka stood up straighter and glanced around as if searching

  for something. Their eyes met. She felt it too.

  "Now," Tyko said, "I'11 need the rest of you children off the bridge. We're

  going to be in the middle of a firefight. All weapons, power up and calibrate

  your targeting systems!"

  Jaina stepped forward boldly. "I could be some help to you here. I have a

  lot of gunnery experience." She looked over at Jacen. "I'm a pretty good shot

  and so is " Jacen, feeling an urgent need to follow Raynar, gave a minute shake

  of his head.

  "--uh, so is Lowie," Jaina went on, catching the hint, though she didn't

  seem to understand her brother's intentions.

  Lowie cocked his head in surprise, then smoothed the fur down on his neck

  with both hands. He gave a sharp bark of agreement.

  "Very well, then. You may both stay.

  We'll need all the help we can get," Uncle Tyko said. "But the rest of you,

  to your quarters until the emergency has passed."

  Jacen and Tenel Ka hurried from the bridge and into the turbolift.

  When the door slid shut behind them, Tenel Ka raised her eyebrows.

  "Are you thinking the same as I?"

  Jacen nodded. "I'm thinking that Aryn and Raynar may not be safe even down

  in the protected chambers. Something is very wrong here."

  Tenel Ka made a fist and thumped it against her bare thigh. "This is a

  fact."

  "He's somewhere on this level," Jacen said, stepping out of the turbolift.

  "I can sense him."

  "But we are nowhere close to the center of the ship," Tenel Ka pointed out.

  "I believe we have reached the docking bays.

  The guard should not have brought Aryn and Raynar here."

  Jacen swallowed hard. "Yeah, that's what I was afraid of," he said. "I've

  got a bad feeling about this."

  As if to prove his intuition correct, a blaster shot rang out from down the

  corridor.

  "Hey, that came from the docking bay down there!" Jacen said.

  "Isn't that wherein" Tenel Ka's face was grim. "Yes. Where we left the Rock

  Dragon."

  Suddenly, the flagship thrummed with a sharp impact, as if someone had

  struck the hull with a giant hammer--or a powerful turbolaser blast. "I think

  that deadline the High Roller gave us just expired," Jacen said.

  They ran.

  The Tradewyn hummed as it fired back at the ship that had ambushed it. The

  space battle had begun.

  When they reached the entrance to the docking bay, a strange sight greeted

  them.

  His face flushed, Raynar stood protectively in front of his mother near the

  boarding ramp to the Rock Dragon, colorful robes swirling around him like an

  aurora.

  Closer to the entrance, the guard Kusk faced them, speaking into a comlink

  gripped in one hand. His other hand held a blaster aimed more or less at Raynar.

  The blaster, however, seemed to have a mind of its own. It raised and lowered

  and wobbled and dipped while Kusk wrestled to hold it steady. Obviously, Raynar

  was struggling · through the Force to get a grip. on Kusk's weapon.

  "Yes, I have the merchandise you requested," Kusk said into the comlink,

  straining to keep hold of his squirming weapon.

  "I'll meet you in five minutes at the pickup point."

  A harsh voice replied. Though it was crackly with static, Jacen still

  recognized it as the voice of the helmeted man aboard the High Roller. "It

  worked, just like I said it would."

  Another blow struck the ship. The mysterious attacker had shot again, but

  the guard Kusk merely smiled in satisfaction.

  The Tradewyn fired back with a loud whining discharge of deadly energy.

  Tenel Ka took her own action. "Prepare to fight, traitor!" she said in a

  loud voice.

  She stepped forward, ready for battle.

  "Hey I have a feeling your plans aren't going to turn out quite as well as

  you thought, Kusk," Jacen said. He wished fleetingly that he and Tenel Ka were

  wearing their lightsabers, but they had removed them for the Ceremony of Waters.

  Sliding his comlink through a loop in his belt, Kusk faced the door, only

  mildly surprised by the intruders. His lip curled in a sneer. "I don't really

  think three children and a woman can do much to thwart the plans of a trained

  killer and a seasoned bounty hunter." He turned back toward his quarry. Aryn

  Thul glared contemptuously at the traitorous guard.

  Raynar squared his shoulders. "Maybe not," he said. "But there's a great

  deal that three Jedi can do."

  As the guard snorted in disdain, another hammer blow from the attacker

  struck the Tradewyn. Taking advantage of the distraction, Jacen administered a

  hard Force shove against the guard's back. At the same moment Tenel Ka lifted

  Kusk a few centimeters off the floor with her mind, throwing him off balance.

  Raynat held out one arm, and the astonished guard's blaster finally spun from

  his grasp into the young man's Outstretched hand.

  "Don't hurt him," Aryn cautioned in a loud voice. 'We'
ll need him alive to

  learn how far this conspiracy goes."

  Kusk's feet thumped down onto the deck-plates.

  Open-mouthed, he retreated as if pulled by invisible strings until his back

  pressed against the hull of the Rock Dragon.

  His eyes darted in panic from Jacen and Tenel Ka to Raynat and Aryn and

  back again.

  "How did you do that?" he rasped.

  Jacen crossed his arms over his chest.

  "We're Jedi. One of my best friends is training to be a bounty hunter," he

  said, thinking of Zekk. "And you violated one of their most fundamental rules:

  Always do your research."

  Kusk snatched at his comlink. "High Roller, this is Kusk. I've been

  captured. Save yourself."

  Aryn strode to the comm panel by the airlock door. "Security backup team to

  secondary docking bay immediately," she said in a calm, commanding voice. Red