Emissary of the Void

by Greg Keyes

  lungful of smoke that dizzied him, but he saw that Bey was once more lifting

  his weapon over the fallen Klin-Fa.

  He would never make it in time. He did the only thing he could--he threw the

  lightsaber.

  He watched as if flipped end-over-end toward Bey. Bey held up his hand, and

  it made a sudden drastic course change, veering high and to the right. Bey

  started his swing.

  'No!'' Uldir shouted.

  The lightsaber hit a tree by the pommel, bounced weirdly, and sheered

  through Bey from shoulder to hip. He turned to stare at Uldir in utter

  disbelief for an instant before his body slid apart.

  Uldir stood there for twenty seconds, trying to absorb what had just

  happened. Then he ran to see how badly Klin-Fa and Vega were hurt.

  Overhead he heard thunder, and looked up. It was a Yuuzhan Vong war vessel,

  descending like a meteor.

  Leaft would have howled with satisfaction if he hadn't been howling in pain.

  Tsaa Qalu braced to meet his attack, almost casually, knowing what the

  outcome would be. But Leaft knew that too. Everyone thought Dugs were

  stupid, headstrong, emotional-that they couldn't learn.

  But he'd learned pretty fast. His leap carried him not toward the Yuuzhan

  Vong hunter, but to the pilot, and with a single brutal yank he ripped the

  cognition hood free of its tether and then just ran, back through the door

  he had come in by. Tsaa Qalu was right behind him, of course, and gaining,

  when the ship suddenly flipped upside down. The Yuuzhan Vong, with his

  grotesquely high center of gravity and silly upper limbs landed badly.

  Leaft, even with a limb broken, still managed to land better. Of course it

  hurt, and he nearly blacked out again, but he was up before Qalu, and as the

  ship continued bucking and jerking about, Leaft's low-built scramble gained

  him even more ground.

  Enough to get into one of the coralskippers, seal it with an order through

  the cognition hood, and watch Tsaa Qalu pound on the hull in terrific and

  entertaining frustration.

  Which he should not have done. If Tsaa Qalu had spent that time getting into

  the other coralskipper, he doubtless would have been better able to seize

  control of a system which-after all-was built for his chemistry and

  physiology, not a Dug's.

  But before Qalu could think of that, Leaft's borrowed coralskipper shot from

  the docking nacelle with a jolt. This time he'd launched the 'skip on

  purpose.

  The Dug wasted little time taking control of the_Throat Slasher_ while

  steering his craft away from the larger ship. A mental image of the fast

  approaching landscape from the_Throat Slasher's_ point of view coalesced in

  his mind's eye, and the Dug allowed himself a victorious smirk. He watched

  from his vantage point a few hundred meters away as Qalu's ship left a nice

  red smear on the side of a mountain.

  'It's good to hear your voice, Master Skywalker,'' Uldir said.

  'Congratulations on the birth of your son.''

  'Thank you, Uldir,'' Master Skywalker replied. 'How are things there?''

  'The Vratix can move really fast when they need to. They torched the field

  and aerosoled the surrounding area with fliers. They're still doing it, even

  though worst-case scenario had the virus spreading only half a kilometer

  during that time. They got a sample of the plague so they can test for it,

  and it looks like the danger was contained.''

  'Good. That was good work, Uldir. I'm proud of you and your team. You really

  went above and beyond the call of duty. And the Force was with you.''

  'Master, about the Force. I know my training was sort of a bust-''

  'The Force is with you, Uldir,'' Skywalker said. 'You just have a peculiar

  relationship with it. I missed that, back when you were at the academy,

  though I think Master lkrit understood. Recent . . ._debates_ within the

  Jedi, and the things you'vetold me lately have forced me to reevaluate.''

  'I don't understand.''

  'You don't command the Force, no. You don't use it as a tool. You aren't

  built that way, somehow. But you are a part of the living Force in a way

  which few Jedi ever manage to be.''

  'I don't think there's anything so special about me,'' Uldir said.

  'You thought so when I first met you,'' Skywalker said. 'You thought the

  universe of yourself, and mostly_about_ yourself. But you changed.'' He

  smiled. 'And that's when your luck started, isn't it? When you let go. When

  you .released your desires and found your true path.''

  'I guess. Master lkrit did say something like that, right before I left the

  academy.''

  'He was wise,'' Skywalker said. 'Take that crew of yours and have rest, will

  you? There are still a few free worlds where you can relax.''

  'I'll do that,'' Uldir replied.

  'May the Force be with you, Uldir.''

  'And with you, Master.''

  He keyed off the hyperwave transmitter and went back to the common room,

  where the others waited.

  He grinned when he saw Leaft with a big air splint on his arm.

  The Dug's eyes narrowed. 'You aren't going to kiss me again, are you?''

  'I ought to. Not only are you still alive, but you saved us all.''

  'I'll vomit this time,'' Leaft warned. 'Do I need to tell you what I just

  ate?''

  'No.'' He turned to Vega. 'Set us a course for someplace relaxing. Master

  Skywalker's orders.''

  'Right, boss-boy.''

  Vook cleared his throat. 'The abandoned Hxil launch platform in the Sluis

  Van system would be nice. It has the most beautiful pre-- Republic

  accelerator towers-''

  'An airless piece of space junk?'' Leaft snarled. 'What kind of a vaca-tion

  is that? I say we hit the casinos in Cloud City. That's a good time.''

  'Boss-boy?'' Vega asked.

  'You settle it, Vega,'' he said. 'You're temporarily in charge.''

  'Boss-''

  'Sorry Vega. I need a rest, too.''

  He found Klin-Fa sitting in the gun turret, staring out into space. Her

  bandaged hand rested on her knee.

  'It wasn't your fault,'' he said.

  'It was, it wasn't,'' she said. 'I know I have to let it go. But they were

  my friends. Both of them. And now-''

  'I know.'' He put his hand on her arm. To his surprise, she took it.

  'What I was trying to tell you before,'' she said. 'Before I knew Bey had

  turned dark.''

  'I know you had feelings for him,'' Uldir said.

  'Yes. Friendly ones. But I knew my feelings for Yabaley had hurt him. I

  didn't know how badly, but I knew it. I didn't want to hurt him again so

  soon.''

  'What do you mean?''

  She stood and stared into his eyes. 'Are you really that big a fool, Uldir

  Lochet?''

  'Well ...''

  'Hush.'' She covered his mouth with her hand, and then with her lips.They

  stayed that way for a long time.

  A Srengseng®Book

  Published by The Bonadan Publishing Group

  Copyright © 1999 by Lucasfilm Ltd. & -TM-. All Rights Reserved. Used Under

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  e-ISBN x-xxx-xxxxx-X

  Illustration by Mike Huddlestone

  v1.0