The Unifying Force

by James Luceno

  Nom Anor was impressed, and wished he had the courage to sun-port Nas Choka openly, but he couldn't chance adding his voice to the warmaster's — not without jeopardizing his special relationship with Shimrra. But if the truth could be told, Nom Anor would have confessed that he wanted only to protect the world with which he had been entrusted. Having struggled for so long to attain a rank of authority, he had no desire to see the privileges that came with his station disappear because of some blunder by Shimrra.

  The Supreme Overlord himself was too keen a strategist to take issue with all that Nas Choka was saying. But the warmaster was ignorant about the one unknown quantity that was compelling Shimrra to move quickly — and in seeming defiance of the belief that he was being shortsighted.

  That one unknown was Zonama Sekot.

  "I appreciate your concerns, Warmaster," Shimrra said, "and indeed, if anyone is worthy of the honorific it is you, for your insight is sharp as a honed coufee." He paused just long enough for Nas Choka to regain his confidence before adding: "But you are in error. I assure you that Yun-Yuuzhan was greatly pleased by the deaths of so many heretics at the Place of Bones. Trust to him, to Yun-Yuuzhan, to allay the concerns of the Slayer and the other gods. You will be rewarded with victory, Warmaster, and praises will be sung to you and your commanders, now and for generations to come."

  Nom Anor smiled inwardly.

  Shimrra was brilliant at playing the game. All his talk of mollifying the gods was nothing more than a subterfuge — something beyond debate by the priests, since the Supreme Overlord was their only rea* conduit to the gods.

  A | it struck Nom Anor that Shimrra was right about what he •cl at their most recent meeting: the Yuuzhan Vong had out-the gods. It wasn't that the gods didn't exist, so much as the zhan Vong no longer needed them.

  All at once, he felt someone's eyes on him. He looked to Shimrra, hut Shimrra was still gazing down on Nas Choka. It was Onimi who was watching Nom Anor.

  Tn his command grotto, deep in the bowels of the holy mountain hat was the worldship Citadel, Nas Choka, his chief tactician, and a irrior-seer studied a display of blaze bugs, moving about in their vorik coral niche. Insects capable of hovering in flight, or glowing or darkening at the behest of a yammosk, the bugs provided a visual representation of Yuuzhan Vong and enemy forces marshaled at Mon Calamari and the relatively neighboring worlds of Toong'l and

  Caluula.

  The frenzied motion of the insects mirrored the swirling of Nas

  Choka's thoughts.

  "Shimrra is deranged," the female seer said. "Smiling as if bequeathed more than his usual knowledge of events."

  Nas Choka looked at his blood-smeared subordinate. "You are safe herein, seer, but were I you, I would exercise caution about what words fly from my mouth. Shimrra has ears throughout the Citadel, and in more places than you can imagine. And who, seer, would you bid go to staffs with one of the Supreme Overlord's newly enhanced warriors should you be challenged?"

  The seer bowed at the waist. "Your forgiveness, Warmaster."

  "There is no swaying Shimrra. What matters now is that we do

  not fail him." Nas Choka turned to face his cardinal subalterns. "None

  ' YOU need fear expressing your opinions here. But take care

  elsewhere—both on and distant from Yuuzhan'tar." He returned his

  potion to the blaze bug display. "The enemy fleet remains, aug-

  nted now by ships from star systems far removed from the war."

  The tactician, attired in high turban and long cloak, nodded. "As

  eared, they are allying against us. We were wrong to move quickly

  tlle Remnant and in the Koornacht Cluster. We might well have

  been able to make use of the so-called Imperials and the barba ' Yevetha. We might have at least led them by their noses long enon to consider that there was greater profit in allying with us."

  Nas Choka snorted in agreement. "Had I to do it over again might even have kept the Hutts on our side."

  "They have themselves to blame," the tactician said. "Their off of support was tendered only as a means of positioning themselve safely between us and the enemy. That they underestimated us ;s reason enough not to extend them any honor."

  Nas Choka nodded. "Their species is arrogant. Sooner or later they would have attempted to betray us, and it would have come down to contest. Nothing would be different now."

  "Except perhaps that Nas Choka wouldn't have been escalated to warmaster," the seer said.

  "Another instance of escalation by default," Nas Choka said harshly. "Tsavong Lah became too fixed on the Jeedai. He made the war personal. He displayed pride in having a vua'sa grown, merely so that he could slay it and claim one of its legs as his own. His insolence was his undoing. It blinded him to the truth. The Jeeda-i are a nuisance, but they are hardly the secret weapon we first thought them to be. As their numbers dwindle, so apparently does their ability to call on the Force." He laughed shortly. "Tsavong Lah would have directed the armada against a handful of upstarts with magic swords. It would be frankly laughable were it not so tragic."

  Again the warmaster scrutinized the blaze bug display. "It intrigues me that they remain at Mon Calamari. By installing yam-mosks at Toong'l and Caluula, we have made clear as rainwater our intent to assault Mon Calamari. Sow, Kre'fey, and the rest ot the Alliance commanders must be blind not to see what is coming- But obviously I misconstrue them. My purpose was to persuade them to disband their battle groups, and thus subvert the possibility of a final battle of this nature, for I suspected that Shimrra was pursuing such thinking. And yet the enemy does nothing to suggest that they received our message. Either they have misconstrued me, or they have devised a way to counter us."

  "Even so, Warmaster," the tactician said, "it makes little sense for

  o make a stand at Mon Calamari. They are vastly outnumbered, •t is unlikely they would wish to visit destruction on the world 3 v have chosen as their new capital."

  Nas Choka considered it. "Yes, I fear that, in the end, they will

  scatter."

  The tactician was puzzled. "Was that not your original wish,

  Warmaster?"

  "To have them disband without our having to travel clear across he cralaxy to prompt them. Now we are committed. We will arrive, rhev will disperse, and we will be left with no choice but to chase them 'nto the galactic arms and back—because Shimrra will not have it

  otherwise."

  "Such actions will require many years, and consume many

  resources."

  "It is the pattern our ancestors faced time and again in the home galaxy," the seer interjected. "Wars that lingered for generations."

  The tactician regarded the blaze bugs. "What if the enemy should surprise us by electing to stand and fight?"

  Nas Choka smiled. "I will know then, with certainty, that Kre'fey and the rest have contrived a counterstrategy."

  The seer was not pleased by the statement. "Would the infidels dare strike at Yuuzhan'tar in your absence?"

  "I have given careful thought to that," Nas Choka said. "I have calculated the amount of damage they can do, based on their bringing to bear three times the number of ships we know to exist in sectors other than Mon Calamari. I remain confident that they cannot inflict unacceptable damage. I have planned for that eventuality, nevertheless. Should they jump their entire fleet here, so much the better for us."

  "They could interpret the groundwork we've laid as an attempt to encourage them to attack Yuuzhan'tar," the tactician said.

  Nas Choka betrayed no concern. "Either way benefits us. But We re a long way from seeing all sides of this. We must bide what little lrr>e remains before Shimrra declares the omens favorable to launch tne fleet."

  ^he seer deliberately placed herself in the warmaster's gaze.

  «T I J I O

  Ve spoken to the other seers regarding the omens. We have

  Force Caunterfarce

  Hil!l|ll| />
  agreed to stretch the truth, in order to grant your forces addition i time to prepare."

  "Shimrra will see through you," Nas Choka cautioned. "£SD daily in light of the appeal I attempted today. Regardless, he v'|| suffer your lies as an accommodation to me, just as he surfers vou and your cohorts as an accommodation to the elite. Refrain from attempting to grant us too much delay." He paused, then said, "ln the meantime, we should awaken our masqued spies and infiltrators on all occupied and contested worlds, and instruct them to report on any unusual activity involving the movements of ships, materiel, and couriers."

  "Kre'fey will expect as much," the tactician thought to point out. "Bear in mind, Warmaster, that enemy disinformation was at least partially responsible for drawing Tsavong Lah to his death."

  Nas Choka touched him on the shoulder in appreciation. "Trust nothing from our network of agents on Mon Calamari. They live only because the Alliance feels there may be some further use for them. Also instruct our masqued spies that while they should keep their noses lifted to the winds, they are to refrain from taking any actions or interfering in any way. I want nothing more than information. I will separate the truth from the deceptions. Above all, I want to give the Alliance just enough vine to hang itself."

  ia

  S

  IBBBP^ tar

  tars filled the sky.

  Head tipped back, eyes raised, Luke turned through a small circle, feeling infinitesimal under the giant boras, under the light-strewn expanse. The night was cold—made colder by a polar breeze—but there wasn't a cloud overhead. Beside him, R2-D2 zithered and twittered, then fluted in what approximated relief.

  Luke looked down at the readout on the droid's dome. "You're sure about that, little fella?"

  The silver dome of the droid's head revolved, taking his primary photoreceptor through a second survey of the stars and clusters. After comparing the results of his scans to the charts he had downloaded from Widowmaker's data banks, R2-D2 mewled, chirped, then twittered some more.

  Luke smiled and placed his hand on the droid's dome. "At least : re closer to known space. I guess we'll just have to wait to see ere Sekot's next hyperspace jump lands us."

  Rocking side to side on his treads, R2-D2 tootled and fluted.

  Luke had been one of the first to emerge from the shelter scooped

  the notched cliff face that was home to hundreds of Ferroan fami-

  • Similar to other shelters in the Middle Distance, it was a vast

  aoi

  vaulted space, excavated sometime during the Crossings that h H taken Zonama Sekot from its original orbit in the Gardaji Rift through several star systems, and finally into the Unknown RegiOn ' where Sekot had selected Klasse Ephemora as the planet's new horn' and sanctuary.

  Following the discussion in the cave, Sekot had said that it wanted to perform several short trial voyages to assess whether the jump to lightspeed inadvertently engineered by Nom Anor had done lastine damage to the hyperspace cores and whatever planetary mechanisms Sekot employed to augment the powerful engines. Of greater concern was the very real possibility of encountering uncharted mass shadows along the route back to known space. Whether ship or planet, any traveler that entered hyperspace without taking a greater or lesser hyperlane risked catastrophe—and no analogs to the Perlemian Trade Route or the Hydian Way existed in the Unknown Regions. Worse, the entire territory was known to be rife with hyperspace anomalies, particularly along the Coreward frontier.

  Luke and the other Jedi had to trust that Sekot knew what it was doing. So instead of dwelling on the prospects of being yanked from lightspeed by a gravity well of some sort, Luke had passed the days in the shelter grappling with Sekot's revelations that the aboriginal Yuuzhan Vong had been stripped of the Force. Sekot had refused to elaborate; and since then Sekot—speaking through Jabitha—had said only that it was imperative that Zonama be returned to known space, despite the grave risks the planet would face during the Crossings and on arrival.

  The revelation—Luke didn't know what else to call it—had had a profound effect on Harrar, and on Luke, as well. Was it possible, Luke wondered, that the would-be Jedi who had originally settled on Zonama Sekot hadn't taught Sekot about the Force but merely reawakened it?

  A few steps away from Luke in the boras-enclosed clearing sat Ja.de Shadow. Designed for speed and stealth, the craft was sharply tapered forward and painted a uniform nonreflective gray. The hyper-drive rating was equal to that of the Millennium Falcon, and she had

  Hded ability to be operated remotely by slave circuitry. The aft

  ace alone was large enough to accommodate an X-wing.

  r en Sekot was impressed by the ship, and Luke suspected that it

  Sekot that had kept Jade Shadow from being crushed by the sev-

  l boras that had toppled during the recent storms, narrowly missing

  rTowever, the ship was buried almost to her triangular cockpit in

  ' d leaves, and other forest detritus

  it- r . J ^_ •*„-

  "Did she weather the jump all right?" Mara asked. Glow stick in

  she emerged from the dark shadows of the giant trees and came alongside him to regard Jade Shadow.

  "No visible damage."

  Mara tossed her hair over her right shoulder and gazed at the circle of brilliant stars overhead. "Any idea where we are?"

  "According to Artoo, we might be somewhere in the Mid Rim."

  The droid cheeped.

  Mara looked at R2-D2. "Is that good?"

  "It's a start." Luke glanced at the path Mara had taken. "Where is everyone?"

  "Jacen, Corran, and Danni are trying to convince the Ferroans that it's safe to come out of hiding. The last I saw Tekli, Saba, and Tahiri, they were with Harrar, who keeps finding similarities between Yuuzhan Vong biots and what he sees here." She approached Jade Shadow, then turned to Luke. "Do you think we're close enough to contact Esfandia Station?"

  "Only one way to find out."

  The ship had a cosmetic external hatch release, but the actual release was concealed inside the starboard bulkhead, and could be operated by the Force. Mara entered first, and called on the illuminators. As filthy as the ship was outside, the interior was undisturbed. Slipping into the forward chairs, she and Luke activated the ship's ^oloNet and subspace transceivers. At the same time, R2-D2 inserted 18 slender computer interface arm into an access port and rotated the lal to an appropriate setting.

  the

  Esfandia Station, this is Jade Shadow . . ." Mara said, repeating

  cornm call several times.

  The annunciator's only response was static.

  "At Klasse Ephemora we were even farther from Esfandia, and w still managed to reach the station," Mara said, after continu attempts to contact the station.

  R2-D2 buzzed in exasperation.

  "He says he can't find any functioning HoloNet transceivers" Luke said.

  "Try again," Mara urged.

  She and Luke pondered possible explanations while R2-D2 rotated the interface dial this way and that.

  "Nothing," Luke said, breaking their long silence.

  Mara's lightly freckled brow furrowed. "Could the Yuuzhan Vong have destroyed Esfandia?"

  Luke leaned away from the console. "Corran said that something big had been planned for Bilbringi. But even if the Alliance failed to retake the shipyards there, that wouldn't account for our not being able to contact any of the HoloNet relay stations."

  Mara shook her head back and forth. "Something terrible has happened." She looked at him. "Could Cal Omas have given the okay to using Alpha Red?"

  A Yuuzhan Vong-specific toxin, Alpha Red had been developed in secret by Alliance Intelligence, working in conjunction with Chiss scientists. But the only prototype sample of the bioweapon had been stolen by Vergere and transformed into something harmless.

  "We've been gone long enough for Dif Scaur's Intelligence bunch to have cooked up a whole new batch," Mara added.r />
  Luke shook his head. "Cal promised me that Alpha Red would be used only as a last resort."

  "Maybe it's come down to that. And maybe the Yuuzhan Vong retaliated with a poison of their own."

  "Cal knows better. Evil can't simply be stamped out. It's as much a part of life as good is."

  Mara looked at him dubiously. "You're thinking like a Jedi instead of an admiral or an elected official." She blew out her breath. "A" right. What's your solution to ending this war?"

  "I don't know yet. I just know that Alpha Red isn't the solution.

  Mara smiled at him and took his hand. "I happen to agree. But e starting to sound a little like Vergere and Jacen."

  "Guilt)' as charged. But is that wrong?"

  "Not in principle. Except that you're probably more attuned to he force than either of them."

  Luke made his lips a thin line. "I feel like I'm still in training for he trials. Ever)' second of every day. It never ends, and I wouldn't , jt otherwise. My understanding of the Force continues to grow. I

  v pm a Jedi Master, but I may not feel like a true Master until my dving breath. Besides, Jacen, Jaina, Tahiri, Ben . . . They're the future of the Jedi. Everything we do now must be for them—to ensure that thev carry on what began a thousand generations ago."

  Luke took his eyes from Mara, and glanced around the cockpit. "I know what you're thinking," she said, after a moment. "And I

  think it's time we tried."

  He smiled faintly. "If you'd stayed in my thoughts a little longer, you'd know why we can't leave."

  Mara looked disappointed. "You're not going to tell me you're worried about running us into a mass shadow. Because Artoo can plot a safe route—even if it takes us twenty microjumps to get back to

  known space."

  "That isn't it." Luke regarded her again. "Mara, I'm as concerned about Ben as you are. Something terrible has happened, but it's momentary. We have to stay focused on the greater picture."