Force-induced trance so deep that the two other Jedi couldn't perceive the
presence of a fifth person aboard ship.
'Let's hear it,'' he said without preamble.
'You know that this man is a Yuuzhan Vong collaborator,'' Jaina began, 'and
that he attacked Tenel Ka, a member of the Hapan royal family. That's a
capital crime on Hapes. If we hadn't helped him escape, he would have been
executed.''
Kyp shifted one shoulder in a negligent shrug. 'Jedi are sworn to protect
all living things, yet I find myself strangely unable to shed tears on his
behalf.''
'The Vong gave him a coral slave implant,'' she went on. 'This is a
communication and control device. I want to have it removed, tested, and
modified. Ultimately I want to hit the Yuuzhan Vong with their own
weapons.''
Interest sparked in the Jedi Master's eyes. Jaina activated the holocube,
and a shining model of the building's layout took shape, floating in the air
between them. 'Lowbacca's good. He got me this without anyone realizing what
he was doing. He can just as easily remove any records from the system. We
get this man in, we get out, we erase our footsteps. Lowbacca can wipe
anyone off the security records we don't want to leave there, and rumor has
it that you've had practice removing unwanted memories from people.''
She glanced expectantly at Kyp. He nodded for her to continue. 'Here's the
lab, down in this lower level. I've already been there. These plans have all
the details we need, but I wanted to see the layout with my own eyes and get
a feel for it through the Force. Here's what I think we should do.''
Kyp listened intently to her plan, his expression inscrutable. His eyes
flickered, once, when she concluded her proposal by noting, 'You asked me to
be your apprentice. This is where it starts.''
He leaned against the wall and folded his arms. 'You have a high opinion of
your value.''
'That's the asking price.'' Jaina spread both hands and gave him her best
imitation of her father's trademark smirk. 'Do you want me or not?''
For a long moment the two Jedi locked stares. :''You know we could never
speak of this, not to anyone,'' Kyp said.
'Who would I tell?'' she retorted. 'Uncle Luke?''
He lowered his head in a slow nod, holding her gaze. 'All right, then. Let's
get it done.''
***
It took both Jedi to wrestle their prisoner into a green flight suit, even
though he was still deep in stasis. The Hapan was a big man, at least a head
taller than Kyp and heavily muscled. He was enough trouble as deadweight;
Jaina figured he'd be much worse awake. His recent fight with Tenel Ka had
revealed considerable skill in the Hapan kickboxing style. Two Jedi could
certainly handle him, but not without drawing unwanted attention.
Finally the task was done. Jaina sat back on her heels and tucked a stray
wisp of brown hair behind one ear. 'I say we transport him like this. Put
him on a repulsor sled.''
Kyp shook his head. 'Three of us walking away from the ship wouldn't draw
much notice. Two walking and one floating-- that's likely to raise some
questions. Plus, the ventilation tunnels are light and heat sensitive. The
sled doesn't generate much heat, but the control lights might be enough to
tip off the sensors.''
'I could reset the controls.''
'Sure, but that would take time. I doubt we've got much to spare.''
Jaina conceded with a nod. She watched intently as Kyp placed a hand on the
man's temples. She felt the Jedi Master reach out into the prisoner's mind,
felt him use the Force to peel back the shields holding him in torpor.
The big man came awake suddenly, thrashing and sputtering like a man
drowning in a sea of nightmares. His eyes focused on Jaina, and he abruptly
fell still and silent. Memory flickered in them, and then a searing flash of
panic-- hers had been the last face he'd seen before an invisible fist
seized his mind and crushed it into darkness and silence.
The Hapan hauled himself to a sitting position and scuttled away,
crab-walking backward as he put as much distance between himself and the
young Jedi as possible. 'Why?'' he demanded in a dry, raspy tone.
Jaina knew precisely what he meant. Why had his escape from the prisons of
Hapes been arranged? Why were his two compatriots allowed to continue the
escape, while he was kept behind? Why had he been mind-controlled and
stashed in the hold of some ship?
She sent him a reassuring smile. 'Princess Tenel Ka has issued a conditional
pardon. She understands the Yuuzhan Vong implant might have prompted you to
attack her. We've brought you to Gallinore to have it removed. Afterward, if
you'll recant your desertion, and if a Jedi inquiry shows that you're free
of any further treasonous intent, your pardon will take full effect.''
'Why?'' he repeated in a stronger tone.
'We're trying to win back deserters, especially those who might possess
valuable information about the Yuuzhan Vong. Hapes needs all the good pilots
it can get.''
Wary blue eyes searched her face as the man weighed her claim. 'And the
other two men? The pirates who escaped with me?''
'They'll be picked up before they leave Hapes's atmosphere. Since we're
circumventing Hapan law, we've got to keep this quiet until we know for sure
that the effort is worthwhile. Your friends' get-away ships will be reported
as destroyed. That way, if they don't rehabilitate, they'll already be
listed as dead.''
Jaina lifted one eyebrow, underscoring the choices before him. She
deliberately made her story grim enough to be plausible and added a powerful
nudge of Jedi persuasion. After a moment the man accepted his 'reprieve''
with a nod. The two Jedi helped him to his feet and flanked him as they
headed toward the pilot refresher facility.
'We're going in through the ventilation tunnels,'' Jaina explained as they
slipped into a dimly lit side corridor.
They stopped before a large, circular hatch. Kyp caught her wrist as she
reached for the controls. 'Wait. The light in this hall could trigger an
alarm.''
He drew his lightsaber and swept it in a shining arc toward the ceiling
lights. They flared sharply and then blinked out, leaving the hall in
darkness.
Immediately a profound chill swept through Jaina. She reached out for their
prisoner with a hand that suddenly was heavy and numb. Her fingers closed
around the Hapan's wrist. His skin felt cold to the touch.
'What is this?'' he demanded thickly. 'What's happening?''
'I have to lower our body temperature to match the air temperature in the
tunnels,'' Kyp responded. 'It might not be comfortable, but it's necessary.
Move slowly, keep alert. Remember, if we're caught, the Gallinore officials
will send you right back to that Hapan prison.''
'I copy,'' the man mumbled.
Jaina eased the door open and hauled herself into the tunnel. The rounded
passage was just big enough to crawl through, and it sloped downward. As
Jaina pulled herself along, she quickly became grateful for the decline. T
he
tunnels were cold, and her chilled limbs felt sluggish and unresponsive.
Finally the tunnel leveled out, and an almost imperceptible bluish glow
dawned at the end. Jaina picked up her pace. The tunnel opened into a
rounded corridor big enough to allow them to walk upright. She rolled out,
reveling in the soft light. The tunnel was still painfully cold, but after
the utter darkness of the side tunnels, the faint diffused light felt oddly
reassuring. She stepped aside to allow the Hapan to emerge. The big man
crawled out and stretched, then rolled his shoulders to loosen cramped
muscles.
He fell into step with the two Jedi, walking nearly as quietly as his
much-smaller captors. Jaina reached out with the Force, trying to measure
his mood and intentions. She picked up a high level of anxiety, but under
the circumstances that seemed reasonable.
They moved silently through a maze of tunnels, counting off sidetunnels and
drainage shoots, following the pattern that Kyp had committed to memory.
Finally the Jedi Master pointed to a hatch on the far wall. 'That's it,'' he
said softly.
Without warning, the Hapan dropped to the floor and executed a quick leg
sweep. His attack was unbelievably quick-- would have been even if he hadn't
been chilled to near-immobility. Kyp went down, and his tumble gave Jaina
time to stumble back a couple of paces. The prisoner completed the spin and
came up in one fluid movement.
He pivoted to one side, brought his knee up and snapped off a quick kick.
Instantly Jaina fell back into lessons learned during her brief
apprenticeship with Mara Jade. Recognizing the feint, she ducked under the
first high kick. She pivoted hard toward the kickboxer, timing her momentum
to his second kick and slamming her stiffened forearm against the sensitive
tendon just below the bunched muscle of his calf.
The jolt of impact was not nearly as hard as she'd expected. Too late, Jaina
recognized the double feint. The Hapan's third, powerful kick caught her off
balance and sent her flying.
Jaina hit the rounded wall and rolled down. She came up on one knee, too
cold and too angry to feel the pain that would certainly come later. The
kickboxer advanced, sweeping one stiffened leg up high for a powerful
downward chop.
Instinctively Jaina threw out one hand toward her attacker. Dark lightning
flared from her fingertips. Jagged, eerily dancing tendrils caught the
Hapan, lifted him, and then hurled him across the tunnel.
Once before Jaina had unleashed Force lightning. This time it came more
easily-- but once summoned, it was harder to dispel. Streaks of dark energy
edged with searing blue-violet shadows poured from her, pinning the
writhing, struggling man against the tunnel wall.
She was dimly aware of another power falling like a shadow on her dark and
brilliant rage. The lighting ended with an abrupt, audible sizzle as Kyp
seized her wrist. He spun her around to face him.
For a moment she simply stared at the Jedi Master, stunned at her own
actions and not at all sure whether they would meet with condemnation or
approval.
Kyp broke off first. She tracked his gaze up at the ceiling, and noticed the
faint hiss coming from dozens of small round openings. 'The flash set off
the sensors,'' he said curtly. 'Let's get him out.''
They hauled the dazed Hapan to his feet and started toward the hatch. A wall
of durasteel suddenly slammed down into their path, sealing off the tunnel.
Jaina spun in time to see a similar wall fall behind them. The hiss rose in
volume, and suddenly a stream of cold, acrid-smelling fluid poured from the
valves.
A swift flood of coolant poured into the locked-off tunnel, knocking Jaina's
feet from under her and sending her spinning down into the churning fluid.
She went under briefly and came up spitting out a mouthful of the bitter
stuff.
Something seized her foot and yanked her under again. Jaina flailed about
until her hand gazed some metallic hold on the rounded wall. She seized it
and struggled to pull away from her attacker. She hauled herself upward,
found another handhold. Up she went, rising toward the ceiling by slow,
painful centimeters. The coolant numbed her, and her lungs ached and burned.
Her struggle ceased abruptly, and she shot upward. Her head broke the
surface, and for a few moments all she could do was gasp in air and cling to
her cold metal perch.
Jaina looked around for Kyp. He'd found a similar handhold. To her surprise,
his free arm was looped under the Hapan's chin, keeping him afloat in a
rescuer's hold. She'd assumed that the big man had been trying to pull her
under, but realized at a glance that he was in condition to continue his
attack.
The coolant level continued its swift rise, and the powerful spray coming
from above made breathing difficult and speech impossible. Jaina slanted a
glance toward the ceiling. The fluid would soon reach the top. If they
didn't find a way out soon, they'd drown.
Kyp caught her eye and looked pointedly toward her left-- toward the unseen
force that had tried to pull her under. Jaina noted the vortex rising to the
surface, spreading toward them. A drainage tunnel, most likely.
The Jedi Master let go, deliberately releasing himself and his charge into
the powerful spiral. Jaina took a long, deep breath and followed.
Down she fell, whirling through the cold and darkness. Her tumbling descent
slowed as the wall narrowed, and then diffused light rushed toward her
through the tumbling water. Silhouetted against it were the dark, tumbling
shapes of Kyp and their prisoner. Then, suddenly, both men stopped.
Jaina continued to hurtle forward. She made out the regular shape of a metal
grate, and then a heartbeat later she slammed headlong into it.
Coolant continued to surge through the narrow tunnel, pinning her to the
grate like a mynock stuck to an accelerating starfighter. She struggled to
free herself, but the force of the rushing fluid was just too great.
She felt Kyp's touch through the Force, and then she was sliding to one side
of the grate, moved by a psychic shove more powerful than the swift-flowing
stream. The flare of Kyp's lightsaber darted toward the hatch, and the lock
gave way.
The three of them tumbled out, falling into a wide, shallow tank. Jaina
struggled to the side and hauled herself over. She tumbled to the floor--
and came to a stop just short of several pairs of booted feet.
Strong hands seized her and dragged her upright. Inner warmth flooded
through Jaina in a sudden wash of power, and her chilled limbs awoke to a
thousand sharp prickles of pain. She clung to the guard's wrists, certain
that she'd fall if he let her go. Though every instinct prompted her to
fight, Jaina focused on the struggle within. She was perilously close to
losing consciousness. If she did, then all would be lost.
A bright flare of light filled the room, a burst of power that shattered
Jaina's faltering concentration. She slid to the floor, no longer supported
by the guar
d, and let the darkness claim her.
***
The dull humming in Jaina's ears rose swiftly to a shrill wail and then
dissipated in a sharp, sudden burst. She sat up abruptly, feeling dazed and
disoriented. After a moment, she remembered her mission, and the bruising
tumble that had brought them this far.
She looked around. The Hapan had recovered consciousness. He leaned heavily
against the now-empty coolant tank, eyeing her with undisguised horror.
Jaina's gaze quickly slid away from the accusing stare. Four guards lay
sprawled across the floor. Kyp Durron knelt by one of them, rhythmically
pumping the man's chest with both hands. The guard's body suddenly jerked,
and the bluish color began to fade from his face.
The Jedi Master rose to his feet and extended a hand to Jaina. She took it
and let him pull her up. 'Wow,'' she said, gazing at the Force-blasted
guards. 'Who did this, you or me?''
'We've got to keep moving,'' Kyp said, ignoring her question. 'The longer
this takes, the slimmer our chances of walking out of here.''
Jaina nodded. 'Before we go, I need you to show me how to wipe away
memories. They can't remember they saw us here.''
When he did not respond, she continued her argument. 'The scientist is a
political prisoner. Secrecy is vital, not only so we can get our prisoner
where he needs to go, but also to stave off more reactionary response to the
Jedi.''
The Apprentice Page 2
