At the time, I still wouldn't let myself trust you. Even so, I had no
idea he would try to have you murdered. Please believe me."
"Sure, but why didn't you trust us? We've tried to be friends to you
in every way," Jacen said, still surprised.
"Yes, but you're also the son of Han Solo. I was hoping that you might
still prove yourself to be as cowardly and untrustworthy as your
father." Anja's eyes did not meet his. Despite the cold, perspiration
ran in rivulets down her face and neck. Her hands shook.
Jacen drew a deep breath to calm himself. So, Anja still blamed Han
Solo for the death of her father, though Han denied the situation
vehemently, insisting that she didn't have the correct story. But now
that she had soured on Czethros, Jacen mused, perhaps she would listen
to an explanation of events different from the one told by the man who
had betrayed her.
Cilghal stood up. Her watery green-blue robes flowed around her.
"I wish to rid my world of this illegal spice that you say is stored
under the ice caps. We will go with you, Anja Gallandro, and help you
destroy it. If you are telling us the truth, we will assist you in
every way."
"If you are telling us the truth," Tenel Ka added.
"I'm not a liar," Anja said. Her entire body trembled.
"Well, you didn't exactly tell us the truth about yourself and who you
worked for," Zekk pointed out. "And you did steal my ship."
Tenel Ka arched an eyebrow at Anja. "You also said you were not
addicted to spice. This was not a fact."
"And how did you get the Lightning Rod on and off Kessel without any
entry in the records-if you didn't lie to someone?" Jacen
challenged.
Anja flushed a deep crimson. "That was different." All business now,
she stood up, brushing everyone's comments aside. "Okay, I lied.
But that was before. Things have changed, and I'm not lying to you
now. I want to destroy that spice. Are you going to help me or
not?"
They all nodded.
"Good," Ania said. "I only wish I could be there when Czethros finds
out what we've done."
The cold, winding tunnels of the spice mines were almost completely
devoid of light. Because glitterstim-the most common form of spice
found on Kessel-was mined in total darkness, glowpanels were rarely
used down here, and then only in areas where no mining was performed.
Jaina shivered uncontrollably as she, Lowbacca, and Em Teedee made
their way cautiously through the shafts, careful to avoid any contact
with Czethros's henchmen.
Lowie's thick ginger fur provided ample protection against the cold,
but Jaina's comfortable brown flightsuit warmed her only a little.
Lowie was also better equipped to see in the darkness, but since no
light whatsoever was allowed to filter down into the tunnels, it was
difficult for either of them to discernwhat lay ahead.
At Lowie's suggestion, Em Teedee brightened his optical sensors just
enough to allow the two Jedi to see a meter in front of them. They did
not want to attract the attention of anyone who might turn them over to
Czethros. With Lowie's permission, Jaina walked a step behind, her
numb fingers threaded into the fur on his back for warmth. The
processed air in the tunnels chilled her throat and lungs with each
breath.
When she exhaled, a white mist streamed from her nostrils, further
obscuring her dim vision.
A part of Jaina wished that Zekk, Jacen, and Tenel Ka were here to help
them fight against the hostile takeover of Kessel. On the other hand,
Jaina and Lowie were Jedi Knights themselves. They were resourceful,
and she had no doubt that the two of them could find a way to seriously
disrupt the plans Czethros had made.
"Do you suppose we're anywhere close to that computer terminal we
need?" Jaina asked through chattering teeth.
"Yes, indeed, Mistress Jaina," Em Teedee replied in a modulated
whisper. "I daresay we are now less than point-three kilometers from
one of the emergency administrative terminals."
Hope warmed Jaina, but only slightly. Lowie gave a questioning bark.
"Oh, yes. Quite certain," Em Teedee replied, swiveling on his
imcrorepulsorjets to look back at Lowie. "You see, I took the liberty
of downloading not only the diagrams of the docking facilities on
Kessel, but also a topographical map of all the major mining areas,
along with a listing of landmarks and technical stations, before we
left Master Nien Nunb's office."
:'You what?" Jaina said. Lowie gave a surprised woof 'Oh, but I
assure you I had his complete authorization to-" "We believe you, Em
Teedee," Jaina said, laughing out loud with relief. "Why didn't you
tell us that before? We could have used a more detailed map."
"Well, you didn't inquire," Em Teedee said, continuing to lead the way
with his dim illumination. "The subject simply never arose. I had no
idea that information would be so useful. I certainly didn't
anticipate an invasion force overthrowing the legal administrators and
staging a complete takeover of the spice mines."
Jaina shivered. "Neither did I. I certainly didn't dress for it."
Lowie began walking faster; knowing that they were close to their goal
seemed to give him renewed energy. Jaina forced herself into a trot to
keep up with the lanky Wookiee. Through the Force and her contact with
her friend, Jaina could sense that a plan was beginning to form in
Lowie's mind. Her spirits lifted.
"Hey, Em Teedee?"
:,Yes, Mistress Jaina?"
'I'm glad you're on our team."
Lowie groaned as the terminal rejected his request for access to the
secure systems on the administrative level for the third time. Jaina
bit her lower lip and tried to apply some creative thinking.
"I sure wish we knew what Czethros was up to right now," she said.
Lowie shrugged and pounded a hairy fist against the terminal in
frustration.
"Master Lowbacca, if I might be so bold ... ?" Em Teedee piped up.
"Perhaps my circuits can be applied to overcome some of Kessel's
security routines?"
"It couldn't hurt," Jaina said.
Lowie popped open Em Teedee's casing, pulled out a few leads, and
connected them to the terminal's input port. Em Teedee proceeded to
"Hmmm" and "Aha" for a few minutes, then said, "Oh, yes! Most
gratifying. Even better than I might have hoped."
A moment later, the image on the terminal screen split itself into five
parts, with four small "windows" across the top and one large image
taking up the lower two-thirds of the screen. To both Jaina and
Lowie's surprise, each of the smaller images began changing rapidly,
showing a different scene: the main cargo bay, various mining tunnels,
the packaging chamber and conveyor belts, assorted refresher units.
Suddenly Lowie howled in triumph.
"Go back, go back!" Jaina said. In front of them appeared the image
of the silver-visored Czethros seated in Nien Nunb's own administrative
offices. He was speaking to his henchmen, who were gathered around
; him.
"Can we get sound?" Jaina asked, her teeth chattering. Within
seconds, the invasion leader's gruff voice came from the terminal
speaker.
"Now that we've consolidated our position on Kessel, we need to
reconfigure the main transmitter. When that is finished, we send our
signal. And then nothing will be able to stop us. That signal will
launch a thousand different takeovers in key industries and businesses
across the galaxy. Everything perfectly timed. My army may not be
large, but I have the right people in the right places. Once they take
control, my network will be too powerful for even the New Republic to
fight against.
"Only I could have brought this about." He smiled around at his
confederates. "And you, my trusted colleagues, will be there to see it
all happen. I've planned everything down to the last second. Nothing
begins until we send our signal, because any resistance to our plan at
any of the key points in my network could bring everything crashing
down around us."
His fiery cyber-eye glared around at his followers as he continued.
"And anyone responsible for the slightest hitch in my plan will pay
with his life."
"Good work, Em Teedee." Jaina shivered as she grinned over at Lowie.
"Well, we know where he is now."
Lowie rumbled thoughtfully.
"No, Master Lowbacca," Em Teedee said in a tiny voice. "I'm afraid
Master Nien Nunb did not grant me authorization to access any of the
primary security systems." The translator droid gave a mechanical
sigh. "Of twenty possible clearance levels, I'm afraid I've been
granted only two. These levels are designated for infrastructure
operations."
"And what does infrastructure operations include?" Jaina prompted.
The little droid made an embarrassed sound, as if he was clearing his
throat. "The er, janitorial functions, it would seem."
Lowie's lips peeled back from his Wookiee fangs in a feral grin.
Jaina's eyebrows raised, and she looked at her friend. Her imagination
sparked with quite a few interesting ideas. "I think we can work with
that. Don't you?"
Lowie gave a gleeful bark and began issuing orders to Em Teedee at a
rapid rate as he punched in commands at the terminal. "Ah, yes. I
see." Em Teedee passed the commands on through the appropriate
allthorization filters. "Oh my, that would be most unpleasant."
Within minutes, an alarm shrieked through the administrative levels.
In the tiny image onscreen, fire-retardant systems sprang to life all
around Czethros, spewing protective foam from hidden valves in the
walls and ceilings. The bubbly mixture squirted across his visor and
into his moss-green hair.
"Shut that thing off!" the tiny image of Czethros snapped.
Half a dozen foam-covered lackeys sprang to do his bidding. Jaina
chuckled. It took several minutes for the confusion to die down and
the alarms to be turned off, but Jaina and Lowie were ready.
Under Jaina's direction, Em Teedee methodically accessed each of the
refresher units-and reversed the sewage containment systems. Jaina and
Lowie did not have to wait long for results. In less than two minutes,
Second Administrator Kymn, covered in disgusting glop, came running
into the office where Czethros and his people were still cleaning up
the fire-retardant mess. His eyes looked slightly wild, as if
something had just happened to him that lay outside the scope of his
imagination.
"Sir, we have a problem," he announced. Around him, other henchmen's
noses began wrinkling in distaste. Kymn lowered his voice, leaned
toward Czethros, and began whispering, his arms gesticulating to
emphasize his point. Czethros grabbed the five men closest to him,
rattled off a string of orders, and propelled them bodily from the room
along with Administrator Kymn.
Jaina and Lowie shook with laughter. At the moment, Jaina hardly
noticed the chill.
By the time Kymn and two of Czethros's mercenaries entered the
maintenance turbolift, Em Teedee was ready again. The turbolift moved
just a few meters before Em Teedee froze it in place with an urgent
clean-and-refurbish authorization code. Despite the gravity of their
situation, tears of mirth trickled from the corners of Jaina's eyes.
She and Lowie exchanged a happy hug.
"I think we've made a good start," Jaina said.
Lowie growled a sobering comment.
"You're right, of course," she agreed. "If we're going to stop this
coup, we'll have to do everything in our power to bring Czethros
down."
Zekk walked beside Ambassador Cilghal as she returned to the long line
of vacationers hoping to rent oceangoing vehicles. The Calamarian Jedi
did not push herself forward, but waited patiently until the Yarin had
finished dealing with his current customer. When the transaction was
complete, the Yarin gave Cilghal a small deferential bow.
"And how may I make your stay at Crystal Reef more enjoyable?" the
treelike creature asked ponderously, reaching for Cilghal's flippered
hand. The Jedi ambassador accepted the question graciously.
At the corner of his vision, Zekk saw Anja roll her eyes; she'd been
through this tedious routine herself With her free hand, Cilghal
gestured to Jacen. "Please allow me to introduce Jacen Solo ... son of
the New Republic Chief of State. I'm guiding him as a special favor to
his uncle ... Master Luke Skywalker." Zekk noticed an instant change
of expression on the Yarin's woody face. "And these are his friends,
Tenel Ka-princess of the Hapes system-as well as Anja and Zekk. They
are all from the Jedi academy," Cilghal continued. "Naturally, I take
my duties as special ambassador for Mon Calamari seriously, and I'm
afraid my young friend here, Jacen Solo, has his heart set on showing
his friends the beauties of the Calamarian oceans."
Zekk admired the older Jedi's melodious voice as she spoke soothingly,
persuasively to the Yarin. "I'm sure you can understand how important
this could be for the public image of Crystal Reef: Jedi extolling the
virtues and beauties of our resorts, the gratitude of the Royal House
of Hapes ... perhaps even a visit from Han Solo and Chief of State Leia
Organa Solo herself."
As if blown by a light breeze, the Yarin began to sway back and forth
to the singsong rhythm of Cilghal's words. "Hmmm. Ah yes, I see.
Unfortunately, I have no submersibles left for rent." At Cilghal's
expression of disappointment, he hurried on. "But if you would allow
me, Ambassador, being harbormaster at Crystal Reef does have its
privileges. I have my own private submersible nearby. I use it mainly
for fixing small underwater problems, and for a bit of pottering about,
but I would be honored if you would consent to it. It may be a tight
fit for five people, but I'm sure-" "Hey, that's great!" Jacen said.
"It'll do just fine."
"Why, thank you. We'd be delighted," Cilghal assured the tree
creature.
The Yarin beamed at the small group. His kindly eyes lit on Anja.
"I'm sorry, young lady, that I almost disappointed you. You should
have let me know you were in such distinguished company."
Zekk saw Anja blink, as if surprised that the Yarin now believed her to
be in "distinguished company." Her cheeks reddened, as if it had not
occurred to her until now that running around with Jedi Knights,
royalty, ambassadors, and the children of war heroes and the Chief of
State might actually impress some people.
"This way, this way," the Yarin said, motioning them toward his private
dock. He gave Zekk a shrewd glance. "And you, young Jedi, have the
look of a fine pilot about you, if I'm not mistaken. I believe I could
entrust my minisubmersible to your capable hands." Zekk looked at the
Yarin in surprise.
"Hey, I'm a pretty fine pilot myself," Anja objected as they reached
the dock where the minisub was tethered.
"Zekk is an excellent choice," Tenel Ka interrupted. "I believe he is
the finest pilot among us."
"Besides," Zekk muttered to Anja, "you're not going to pilot anything
until I get my ship back." She clamped her lips shut and folded her
arms across her chest. "I'm sure Cilghal will help me pilot the sub,
since I'm in unfamiliar waters."
The treelike harbormaster opened the hatch with one branchy hand and
Under A Black Sun Trilogy Page 41
