by Greg Keyes
aim, and Uldir already felt like he was on a target range for a tactical
air-to-planet assault force.
The current took him, and it was far too strong to fight. He pointed his
feet downstream, using his boots to protect him from rocks and other
obstacles. This was awkward, as it put Klin-Fa on top of him, and his head
went under with regularity. He'd been trained for this sort of situation,
however, as part of his preparation for rescue flying, and the little voice
of panic that threatened to become a shout kept relatively quiet. All he had
to do was keep his head, he told himself. And his arms, and his legs . . .
When he started to feel the shock of the lightning, that became more
difficult to do. Nightmare images of stone and turbid water strobed every
few seconds, so he had almost a continuous view of his surroundings now.
Kicking from a protruding rock, he aimed himself at what looked like a slope
that might take him above flood capacity. He nearly missed it, but he
managed to get a clawhold on a rock and -- pulling against the immensely
strong current -- drag himself and the Jedi onto the incline. He lay panting
there for a moment until a bolt struck so close that he felt the hot spray
of spalled stone on his cheek. With a grunt, he got Klin-Fa on his shoulder
and made for what looked like a sort of overhang.
His luck held; it was indeed a small cave in the side of the canyon. It went
in deep enough to be dry. He hoped it was also deep enough not to conduct a
lightning strike, and high enough that the flood wouldn't fill it, because
he didn't have a joule of strength left. He lay in the darkness, trying not
to flinch at the barrage outside, promising himself that the next time a
girl upset his drink he'd just buy another one.
Outside, it seemed the planet was burning, the thunder become like the sound
of a fusion drive blowing in atmosphere. He closed his eyes against the
glare and waited for it to pass.
It did, finally, and an eerie calm settled as the eye went over. Then Uldir
was treated to another fireworks display, courtesy of Bonadan weather
control.
When the lightning finally receded, he began to realize he was cold. Was it
winter here? Did Bonadan have a winter? He couldn't remember. Maybe when the
renewed search found them, they would find a couple of frozen corpses.
By the light of a glowstick he had in one of his many pockets, he examined
Klin-Fa with the small medpack he always carried. A nasty swelling on her
head indicated the cause of her continued unconsciousness, but otherwise she
seemed sound -- he couldn't find any evidence of broken bones or internal
bleeding.
He gave her a broad-spectrum anti-inflammatory and antibiotic, made her as
comfortable as he could, then turned to his remaining resources.
That consisted more-or-less of his comlink. He handled the small cylinder
thoughtfully for a moment, considering. It had been modified with a
trace-scrambler -- though any searchers in the area would know he was
transmitting, it would take a security decryption to allow them to
triangulate. The CSA probably had pretty decent technology in that area, but
he could probably transmit for thirty seconds or so before they had enough
data to either unscramble the message or pinpoint his position.
It was getting colder. It was worth the risk. He keyed it on.
Static roared, probably due to the nearby storm. Still, after a second, he
made out a distorted version of Vega Sepen's voice.
'Hey, boss-boy,'' she said. 'You really should follow my advice now and
then.''
'Listen, Vega,'' Uldir said. 'The girl was a Jedi, turns out. We've eluded
pursuit for the time being, but we're down in the outback, maybe fifteen
klicks southeast of town.''
'Those aren't very good directions.''
'Just look for wherever the police fliers are shooting,'' he said.
'With what? The ship's still in dock.''
'I trust you, Vega. You'll think of something. Gotta go, before they trace
this.''
'Okay. Good luck, boss-boy.''
'I hate it when you call me that.''
'I know.'' The signal crackled out, and Uldir keyed off the comlink. He was
probably still safe, but the next time he used it they would find his
location in seconds.
Klin-Fa stirred and moaned. He touched her forehead and found it cold. He'd
actually started shivering himself, from the wet and the falling
temperature. With a sigh, he drew off his jacket. He lay next to the young
Jedi, spooning against her, and covered them both with the jacket. It took a
long time before the contact began to feel warm.
* * *
He woke with dark eyes centimeters from his own.
'Did you enjoy that?'' Klin-Fa asked.
'Huh?''
'Snuggling up against me? Is that your idea of a good time?''
'Hey, I was just trying to keep us warm. Keep you warm.''
She_almost_ smiled. 'Relax, jets-for-brains,'' she said. 'I know what you
were doing, and thanks. Just don't get any ideas.''
Uldir realized their bodies were still touching, and he felt suddenly and
completely uncomfortable. 'What? No, of course not.''
She tapped his forehead with her finger. 'Right. I didn't think there was
that much danger of an idea popping out of there, but you never know.''
'Hey, I was doing more thinking than you were last night.''
'I_bet_ you were.''
'That's not what I meant.'' His face felt tingly.
She sat up. Harsh yellow-white light glared through the entrance to the
cave. 'Where are we?''
'Somewhere in the badlands south of town. Our flier went down, you may
remember.''
'I remember you flying into a sweeper storm.''
'Hey, how was I to know? For that matter, how did you know?''
'I'm from here,'' she growled.
'Bonadan?''
'No, this cave. Yes, Bonadan. I grew up on this miserable hole.''
'Hey, everyone has to grow up somewhere.''
'Yes, but they don't have to go back. I did, worse the luck.''
'Why?''
'You and your questions. Are you a pilot or a reporter?''
'A pilot,'' Uldir said.
'And where's your ship?''
'I -- ah, I don't know.''
'Not much of a pilot then, are you? Looks like its up to me to get us out of
here.''
'Well, it is your planet.''
'Don't remind me.'' She started toward the entrance, then froze.
'What?''
'Come here,'' she whispered. 'Be quiet.''
He went with her to peek through the cave entrance. Beyond was the gully
that they'd both nearly drowned in the night before. It was dry now, silted
with fresh alluvium, and they could see about half a klick down it. Near the
bend, up toward where the flier had gone down, he could see eight figures on
foot, moving down the arroyo in their direction.
'Search party,'' he said.
'Yes,'' she replied. 'See that one third from the left?''
'I'm not blind.''
'I am, where he's concerned,'' Klin-Fa replied. 'I can't feel him in the
Force. That can only mean one thing.''
Uldir nodded. 'Yuuzhan Vong,'' he
said. 'Things just got a whole lot
worse.''
As if to underscore the remark, he heard the whine of fliers overhead,
several of them.
*II: Dark Tidings*
'WHAT A NICE START to the day,'' Klin-Fa Gi commented, cutting her dark eyes
at Uldir. Her sarcasm wasn't lost.
'At least we're alive,'' he said. 'That was anything but a given last
night.''
Klin-Fa's mouth settled in a thin line. Uldir wondered if he would ever see
the young Jedi smile. She was pale, her short brown hair matted and full of
silt from the flood they had survived the night before, and the bump on her
forehead had gone a shade of purple he'd heretofore seen only in certain
nebulae. Still, he felt if she smiled, she'd be pretty.
Annoying, almost insufferable, but pretty.
'Yes, we're alive,'' she admitted. 'Bravo. Terrific job. Now if you'll just
take care of that search patrol and the -- what? Eight enforcement fliers?
Maybe I'll forget that if it weren't for you I wouldn't be in this mess at
all.''
That was a little too much. 'CSA was chasing you before I ever laid eyes on
you,'' Uldir said. 'Without me they'd have you by now.''
'Doubtful,'' Klin-Fa retorted. Then she sighed. 'Also irrelevant. Do you
have any weapons?''
'No. I lost the blaster.''_My hands were full saving you from drowning, he
silently finished._
'At least I still have my lightsaber.''
'Yeah,'' Uldir said, eyeing the ever-nearing search party coming down the
arroyo toward the cave where Klin-Fa and he were hiding. 'Look, I'll admit
you're pretty handy with that thing, but against these odds -- '
'The Force can prevail against any odds,'' she insisted firmly. 'Anyway,
it's not like we have a choice. They'll find us soon enough. Unless you have
a plan.''
'I do, as a matter of fact. Sit tight until the rest of my outfit shows up.
They're bound to be here soon. If you want to use the Force, try to project
the thought that we're in a different direction.''
Klin-Fa's mouth twisted as if she'd just chewed a sour thom, but she eased
her head in a reluctant half-nod. 'That might work -- even at this distance,
I might be able to project a suggestion. But it won't fool that Yuuzhan Vong
down there.'' She lifted her chin toward one of the members of the search
party. Even from this distance, Uldir could make out the scars and tattoos
that marked him as a member of the extragalactic invaders bent on conquering
the galaxy -- and doing a more than competent job of it so far.
'True,'' he admitted, 'But he doesn't know where we are. He'll have to trust
his local guides.''
Klin-Fa grunted what he guessed was agreement, took a deep breath and closed
her eyes. She reached out her arm, and the fingers of her right hand
fluttered slightly. Uldir felt the Force in motion, which had the affect of
deepening his frustration with the whole situation. He'd studied at the Jedi
academy but left it a failure, having no natural aptitude for the Force. The
most his training had left him with was a slight ability to sense Jedi when
they worked with the Force, and what some would say was an uncommon sort of
luck. Still, the experience had taught him something important -- sometimes
it didn't matter how hard you wanted something, you weren't going to get it.
You lived with what you did have and took pride in your real assets, not the
ones you wished you possessed. He'd thought he was over useless
self-remonstration at his failure, and he had been. He really had -- at
least until Klin-Fa Gi had bounced off the center of his table in a local
cantina, pursued by law enforcement officials of the Corporate Sector
Authority. Her attitude had managed to wake the old resentment in him. Why
did someone like_her_ have such strong affinity with the Force, while he
could only hear it whisper?
It wasn't fair, which made him even angrier, because he knew the universe
wasn't fair.
But it ought to be_balanced_ . That was what the Force was all about, right?
And there was something very unbalanced about Klin-Fa Gi. When she had used
the Force to cushion the crash of their atmospheric flier, he'd almost
thought he sensed something dark.
Her eyes were still closed, and Uldir studied her. She didn't look evil, in
her tattered yellow skirt and black leggings. She looked young and intent.
Ah, what do I know? Uldir asked himself._I couldn't tell a Sith from Master
Yoda himself, not with my puny senses._
She'd said she was on a secret mission for Master Skywalker. He'd believe
her until proven wrong. Anyway, she was Jedi, and Uldir's job was to rescue
Jedi from the Yuuzhan Vong and their agents. He might not be able to use the
Force, but no one had ever said he wasn't good at his job. There wasn't a
better rescue pilot in the business.
Of course, right about now it would be nice to have something to pilot.
The group of searchers was pointing up the other side of the arroyo. He
heard shouting, and then they broke into a trot.
'You_did_ it,'' Uldir breathed.
'Yep,'' she said. 'It won't fool them for long.'' She started forward, out
of the cave mouth.
'Hang on,'' Uldir said, waving vaguely upward. 'There're still the fliers to
consider.''
'You consider them. You're the pilot.''
'No. We should wait on my people, or make_some_ kind of plan.''
She pushed a straggling lock of hair from her face. 'Hey, you had a good
idea, jets. Don't spoil it by thinking too much.''
'Now, listen -- hey!''
Too late. She'd already sprinted from the cover of the cave and was starting
up the arroyo slope in the opposite direction in which she had sent the
search party.
'Vaping Moffs!'' Uldir snarled, and did the only thing he could do, the
thing he'd been doing from the start of this whole mess -- he started after
her.
He came over the lip of the ravine in time to see her vanish down into
another one. Bonadan had lost most of its natural life forms to the brutal
industrialization of the Corporate Sector, and without roots and rhizomes to
hold them in check, erosion had fast furrowed the highland soils outside of
the spaceport, peeled back their planetological history, and turned them
into a badlands.
Somewhere, Uldir heard the whir of fliers, but he didn't see them. They were
probably conducting some sort of grid search. They likely had satellite
intelligence, too. The broken nature of the terrain gave them a chance, but
only a small one.
He caught up to Klin-Fa Gi as she hit the bottom of the next ravine at a
dead run. 'Where do you think you're going?'' He snapped, trying to keep his
voice down and match her pace at the same time.
'Away,'' she said. 'Away from the Vong.''
He got it then. 'You're scared of them. The Yuuzhan Vong.''
'Scared? No. I'm scared of nothing. But my Jedi powers are useless against
the Vong. If I fight, I might lose, and I can't afford that. The galaxy
can't afford it. My mission cannot fail.''
'Hey, I've dealt with Yuuzhan Vong before,'' Uldir chuffed. 'Th
ey aren't
invincible.''
'It's great you feel that way. Why don't you go hold 'em off for me?''
'Maybe I'll just do that,'' Uldir snapped. 'It's better than -- down!'' He
yanked her against the wall of the ravine, just as the shadow of a flier
moved across their feet. The steep angle protected them, mostly, but Uldir
still held his breath.
The shadow moved on.
'That was too close,'' he said. 'Next pass we might not be so lucky.''
'Fine,'' she said. 'What do you think we ought to do? Your friends don't
seem to be showing.''
'I can signal them,'' he said, indicating his comlink.
'You're just now thinking of that?''
'No,'' Uldir said reluctantly. 'I called them last night.''
'Last night? They're taking their time.''
'Our ship's in dry-dock. It might have taken them all night to get it out.
Besides, it's not like I had exact coordinates to give them.''
'Maybe you would have if you hadn't had the stupidity to fly into a sweeper
