Tahiri buried her face in her hands for a moment. Her fingertips brushed against the scars on her forehead, marks of her time with the Yuuzhan Vong. She took a deep breath, then lifted her head.
“I know you’re just doing your best to win this case,” Tahiri said, composing herself with an effort. “I understand that. But I’m not sure I want to win it this way.”
“Look at it differently, my dear. When we win,” Eramuth said, “you’ll have the rest of your life to despise me and my tactics.”
ABOARD THE JADE SHADOW
BEN, LUKE, AND VESTARA GAZED THROUGH THE TRANSPARISTEEL screen at the Rockhound. Ben had been told it would be an incredibly useful thing to have, that it was big and powerful and could fly escort over the smaller ships like a protective entity. A huge, hideous, buglike protective entity.
The Rockhound was, without a doubt, the ugliest thing he had ever laid eyes on.
The thing was certainly large, his dad hadn’t misinformed him about that. More than two kilometers long, in fact. But with what looked like at least a hundred telescopic legs with which to cling to asteroids dangling from a flat “belly,” a rounded “back,” and a circular “head” at the bow where the bridge and the living quarters were, well—
“It looks like an insect,” Vestara said succinctly. Her nose wrinkled in disapproval. “How unattractive.”
“It’s supposed to hang on to asteroids,” Ben found himself saying. “It doesn’t need to be pretty.” Why was he contradicting her? He agreed with her! And yet—briefly he wondered if all girls elicited this response from teenage males, or if it was just Sith girls.
She eyed him. “Simply because something is functional doesn’t mean it needs to be ugly. Take the lightsaber, for instance. It is highly functional and very deadly, and yet it is a thing of beauty.”
“We can argue about the need for aesthetics in prospecting vessels later,” Luke said. There was a trace of exhaustion in his voice. “And I would imagine if the Rockhound turns out to save lives, we’ll all find it very beautiful indeed. Take us in, Ben.”
The Rockhound did not grow lovelier the closer it got. It looked barely spaceworthy, dinged, dented, and repaired. But then again, the same could be said for the Millennium Falcon. Ben could see now that the legs extended from the rim of the ship’s underbelly, and that the flat base of the vessel was covered with huge, circular, tractor-beam projection fields. His respect for the decrepit old ship went up a few notches. If those things still worked as intended, the old tug really could haul something mammoth—or several small somethings.
“You could retool those to extend a field around several smaller ships,” Ben said. “Protect them.”
“I bet Lando has already thought of that,” Luke said. “He’s usually a step ahead of everyone when it comes to tinkering.”
Ben thought about the first time they had gone through the Maw, imagined going through it again with this behemoth flying above them, and suddenly decided he could like the Rockhound.
Luke touched a button. “Jade Shadow to Rockhound. Glad you could join us, Lando.”
Lando’s voice sounded surprisingly weary. “Me, too, buddy. Listen, I know everyone wants to head on in, but I want to show you around this old tug before we take her into the Maw.”
There was something not quite right about this. Ben saw his father’s eyes narrow ever so slightly. Luke was facing away from Vestara, so she probably hadn’t caught the gesture. Ben kept tight control over what he projected in the Force as he heard his dad answer casually, “Sure. Be right over. But let’s make it fast, okay?”
“About the length of a sabacc game if you were playing against Han,” Lando said, with a hint of his old cheer.
“Sounds good. Jade Shadow out.” Luke rose. “Ben, you’re in command until I return.”
“Sure,” Ben said. “Walk you to the Headhunter.” He turned to Vestara. “Be right back. Don’t touch anything.”
She made a slightly disgusted sound. “Of course I won’t.”
It was almost, but not quite, a game. Ben knew that the moment they were out of sight, she would be sitting at the controls. She probably wouldn’t touch anything; any attempt to contact the Sith vessels would be automatically recorded in the ship’s databank. But she’d observe. She knew it, and he knew it.
Ben mentally shrugged. It was what it was, and whatever Lando had to tell his dad was more important. He’d picked up that much from Lando’s tone of voice.
They walked together toward the single person Z-95 Headhunter. Quietly, Luke said, “I’m sure you figured out that Lando has something he needs to tell me.”
Ben nodded his head. “Yeah, and it didn’t sound good.”
“Keep an eye on her, Ben. She’s likable, and I know that.”
“But you don’t like her.”
“I don’t trust her.”
“I don’t trust her either. Not after what I heard.” In the silence, the unspoken sentence, But I still like her, hung between them.
They reached the aft docking bay. The doors slid open. Luke put a hand on his son’s shoulder. “I’ll be back as soon as possible.”
“Good,” Ben said. Much as he disliked the idea of navigating the Maw again, he wanted to be done with all this. He wanted to get to this Abeloth, get some answers, and maybe go home. Say good-bye to Vestara, get her out of his system, and …
And do what? What would they do, once the alliance was dissolved? What could they do? She was Sith, from a whole planetload of Sith, and he and his dad were Jedi. His shoulders slumped beneath his father’s hand, and he made no attempt to hide his weariness and despair in the Force.
“I know,” Luke said. “We’ll deal with all that when this is over.”
“Mind reading a new Force power you picked up and forgot to tell me about?”
“No. I’m your father. That’s my job.”
It if had looked old and a little nerve-racking on the outside, the inside made Luke even less certain about bringing the Headhunter into the cavernous hangar of the Rockhound. He was worried that upon setting it down, the Headhunter might fall right through the tarnished deck.
But what drew Luke’s attention immediately at the expense of marveling how something this ancient was still spaceworthy was the sight of a StealthX, its sleek lines and cutting-edge, black, star-dappled form as sharply at odds with the old hangar as possible. And then he felt a familiar presence in the Force. It was warm, loving, but its sharp brightness had dimmed somewhat, veiled by some sort of sorrow or regret. As he settled the Headhunter down—cautiously—and climbed out, the hangar door opened with an audible groan. Two figures entered, one small and female in a flight suit, one tall and male in stylish trousers and a hip cape. Both of them had furrowed brows.
“Lando,” he said, nodding briefly to his old friend before turning his attention to his niece. “Jaina,” he said, both pleased and irritated to see her, “What are you doing here?”
“It’s a long story,” she said.
“So is mine,” Lando said. “And it’s a little bit more immediate.”
“I’m listening.”
His blue eyes went wide, but he made no move to interrupt Lando as his old friend talked about Sith desecration of a religious site, blatant lies, siding with Hutts, and an imminent revolution.
“I shouldn’t have gone,” Luke said quietly. “Taalon played me. He insisted on leaving someone behind to wait for the Rockhound, and blast it … it made sense.”
“It did make sense, Uncle Luke,” Jaina said. “You couldn’t have known what they were planning. How would anybody know they’d do something so drastic for some strange glasslike material?”
Luke rubbed his eyes. He was angry with himself. “That’s just the point, Jaina. We don’t know these Sith. We don’t know what motivates them, or what their game is, or why they’ve really chosen to ally with me. I know what they’ve said, but that shouldn’t be regarded as anything even in the vicinity of truth.”
Ja
ina and Lando exchanged glances. “Look at it this way,” Lando said. “The Fountain didn’t seem all that damaged. You have at least one frigate’s worth of Sith out of your way. And this might be the impetus for the Klatooinians to finally free themselves from a lousy bargain that should never have been made.”
“I didn’t come to start a revolution,” Luke said, and then winced inwardly as he realized how that sounded.
“Not this time maybe,” Jaina said. “But it’s happening. And I think in the end, it’s a good thing. We just wanted you to know what was going on.”
“Thanks,” Luke said. “Now, Jaina, we come back to my question—why are you here?”
Jaina planted her hands on her hips and looked up at her uncle. “Daala is up to her old tricks again.”
Luke sighed. “What’s she done this time?”
“We’ve had a few more Jedi snap,” Jaina said. “Two, in fact.”
“Sothais Saar and who else?”
“Two in addition to Saar.” Luke whistled softly, then nodded for her to continue. “Turi Altamik and Kunor Bann. Daala doesn’t know about Bann, which is a good thing for us, but she’s putting the pressure on for us to surrender Saar and Turi.”
“What kind of pressure?” Luke kept his face calm, but inwardly he had a bad feeling about this.
“First, she sent a nicely vague threat to Hamner, hinting that the families of the Jedi might be the ones to pay the price for our failure to ask ‘how high’ when she says ‘jump.’ That’s when I left, so I wasn’t caught when the Mandos started a siege.”
Luke stared at her, disbelieving. “A siege. Daala is laying siege to the Jedi Temple. To get the release of two beings?”
Jaina nodded. “It’s ludicrous and insulting and scary. I know it’s Jedi who are going nuts, but I have to tell you, Daala is making decisions that sure don’t sound very sane or smart to me.” She hesitated. “Uncle Luke, don’t you think it’s time that you accepted some help? I know you made a deal with Daala, but she certainly isn’t behaving rationally now, and you’re being forced to ally with Sith against this … this unknown thing in the Maw. Wouldn’t reinforcements be a good idea? Isn’t this whole situation more important than your agreement with Daala?”
Luke sighed. “It’s not for me to ask for reinforcements, or help of any kind. Jaina, you’re one person and you’re not acting on any orders by being here. You’re my niece, and you want to help. That I can accept. But I’m trying to do more than just fulfill the terms of my arrangement with Daala. I believe I’m close to finding out what went wrong with Jacen, and to finding a cure for those who were in Shelter during the war. Daala’s entire point is that the Jedi can’t be trusted. If the Jedi Grand Master can’t be trusted to keep his word, who can?”
Jaina glanced away at that. She was distressed, but he couldn’t figure out why. And then his gaze fell on her hand, and he understood that sense of sorrow that muted her vibrancy.
She frowned a little as she followed his gaze, moving her left hand somewhat self-consciously behind her back. “Yes, okay, I ended the engagement. I’m the Sword of the Jedi. You named me so, Uncle Luke. And I’ve got to always remember that. No matter what my personal wants or needs are. I have a duty.”
Luke didn’t know the details of the situation. He didn’t know if this decision was the right one or the wrong one. But right now, it didn’t matter. She and Jag would either work it out or they wouldn’t. But for now … “Well, I can certainly use another Jedi. I’ll send you everything I have on Abeloth. But for now—let’s get moving.”
Ben glanced up as Luke returned. “So, is the Rockhound nicer on the inside?” Ben asked, then turned around to look at his dad. Luke’s emotions were tightly controlled, but Luke was Ben’s father, and there was a hardness to his normally open features and a set to his posture that made Ben instantly alert.
“No,” Luke said bluntly, confirming Ben’s initial impression. “Open a channel to the Black Wave. I want to talk to Taalon. It’s urgent.”
Vestara had entered just as Luke spoke. She gave Ben a curious look and he shrugged and did as he was requested. “Master Skywalker,” said Taalon, almost purring. “I see your friend and his … vessel … have arrived safely.”
“They have, and we’re almost ready to depart. I assume you noticed that only one of the ships you left back on Klatooine made it.”
“Indeed. I understand your friend Lando and your … niece, is it? Jaina Solo? … were instrumental in resolving the situation.”
“Situation?” said Vestara.
“Jaina?” said Ben, at the same moment.
Luke waved them to silence. “They rendered what they felt was a fair verdict. I hope you appreciate the scale of what you’ve just instigated, and the lives it might cost. Too bad you didn’t get any samples.”
Ben shot Vestara a look. It was her turn to shrug and shake her head in confusion. She seemed as baffled as he by the conversation.
Taalon sounded offended when he replied. “Samples? Master Skywalker, I think it is obvious by now that the Starstalker acted on its own. I admit, the Tribe does have a certain fascination with glass, and with things of beauty in general. But cause that kind of an incident for a few samples? Please. It would create more problems than we need at this moment. No, it was foolish of Holpur, and he paid the price.”
“Oh yes, he and his entire crew paid. Because your Captain Leeha Faal left him to twist in the wind,” Luke said, his voice cold. “But I suppose that is standard behavior for Sith. I just wanted you to know I know, and I hope you won’t leave me to twist in the wind like you did your own people. Regardless, we’re a full vessel short right as we’re going in to confront Abeloth. I hope that doesn’t tip the balance.”
“You sound like you’re expecting a fight, Master Skywalker,” replied Taalon.
“I am always prepared to fight when I must—and who I must. Is your fleet ready?”
“They began preflight checks once your Rockhound and the Winged Dagger joined us,” Taalon said.
“Good. I want to discuss our plan of action before we enter the Maw. Vestara, Ben, and I have all been to Sinkhole Station. I shared my report on what we found there with you.”
Luke had agonized over that, Ben knew. He didn’t want to share anything with the Sith, but if they were going to work together effectively as allies, they had to know what Luke and Ben knew about certain things. Sinkhole Station was on that list.
“Sinkhole Station was not in the best shape when we left it. Before we approach Abeloth’s world, I want to go to the station again. I believe we will find information there that will help us.”
“What kind of information?” Taalon was instantly alert.
“I’ll have a better idea when we’re there,” Luke said, deflecting the question. In truth, Ben knew, Luke didn’t think they’d find information. He wanted to see if there was any way he could effect repairs to the station, bring it back to its proper position. Because the more time passed, the more both Luke and Ben felt certain that Sinkhole Station played a vital role in keeping Abeloth where she currently was.
“Very cryptic of you, Master Skywalker. You’d have made a fine Sith.”
Luke took a deep breath, and Ben felt him harnessing the Force to chase away the tendrils of anger and worry, replacing those negative emotions with focus and calm. He would not rise to Taalon’s bait.
“We enter in the fan formation we agreed on,” Luke said. “The Jade Shadow and the Black Wave in the lead, the Rockhound in the center and above us all. Communication is going to be erratic at best and will vanish entirely the closer we get to Abeloth’s planet. Every ship has the flight path laid in. Negotiating the path through the twin black holes as we go toward Sinkhole Station will be tricky but doable, and much safer with the Rockhound standing by. If we get separated, every ship also has the rendezvous coordinates laid in. Once we begin our approach to the planet, we should all be on high alert. Abeloth may come at us with everything she’s got, or
we might get lucky and take her unawares.”
Ben and Vestara exchanged glances. Vestara, who had actually met Abeloth, shook her head slowly. Neither of them thought that would happen, and they knew Luke didn’t either, but it was, technically, a possibility.
“We’ll regroup there and assess the situation, make the rest of our plans from that point on.”
“Agreed. The situation is constantly changing and unknowable, but we will adapt. We are Sith.”
“And we are Jedi. We know how to adapt as well. Jade Shadow out.”
The second the channel was closed Ben blurted out, “Dad—what happened on Klatooine? Where’s Jaina?”
Luke turned around to look at Vestara as he replied. “Your Sith friends decided to violate the technology-free zone of the Fountain. Moreover, they apparently used their lightsabers to hack off pieces of wintrium, though no one can find them. It seems that the Starstalker acted on its own, and the rest of the Sith very much regret the diplomatic incident. Which could, by the way, lead to the overthrowing of the Treaty of Vontor and the liberation of the Klatooinian people.”
Ben’s jaw dropped, and Vestara’s brown eyes widened. Ben thought about their conversation with Kelkad in the market, and the implication that some Klatooinians, at least, were not happy serving as their ancestors had. He wondered what was going on on Klatooine right now, and while he was glad at the thought of what was technically slavery coming to an end, he wasn’t naïve enough to think that it would be a peaceful termination. He hoped Kelkad would be okay, but supposed he would never know.
“I don’t believe that for a minute,” Luke was saying, “and I don’t think anyone here does either. As for Jaina, she came to report on the current situation back on Coruscant and to bring her vessel to the fight if it comes to that.”
Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi V: Allies Page 25
