Part 23 (1/2)

Ebrihim asked.

”I am not expecting,” Marcha said. ”I am hoping that a being-a young being-with extraordinary abilities will be able to help us. I believe we are in the right spot, in any event. I took all of the tracking information from Q9's movements through the tunnel system on Corellia That showed that the chamber we want was exactly three and two tenths kilometers due south of the main entrance, with the top of the chamber one hundred ninety meters below the level of the main entrance.

According to our instruments, we are just that distance from the entrance on the hillnd ground level here is one hundred seventy meters below the entrance point.

Unless I am very, very much mistaken, we should be able to dig twenty meters straight down into the tunnel system from here.”

”Perhaps so, dearest aunt. a.s.suming all your guesses are right.

a.s.suming our Drallist friends up on top of the hill are not already looking for us, and aren't about to descend upon us. a.s.sume all goes well. a.s.sume what you want. But after tonight, don't ever call me the reckless one in the family.”

Marcha smiled. ”Agreed,” she said.

Just then the ground shook with an odd, low, thud that lasted a trifle too long to be anything natural.

Chewbacca already had the sounder up and running.

They went over to see how he was doing, and felt another of the deep long thuds rattle through them just as they got to where he was working.

Chewbacca was examining a datapad readout.

He nodded in satisfaction, and then moved the sounder over another few meters to take another reading.

The sounder and the borer were compact mining tools that Chewbacca had dug out of the Millennium Falcon's cargo bays. The Falcon carried many such tools, the sort of things that came in handy to a s.h.i.+p that was out on its own.

The sounder consisted of a beating device which struck the earth with a series of very rapid sledgehammer blows, and a sonic detector that used the resultant vibration patterns to develop a three-dimensional map of whatever lay beneath the surface. After getting readings from four or five different points on the surface, Chewbacca had enough data to put together a reasonably clear threedimensional map of the subsurface.

He set the sonic detector down on a convenient rock and activated its holographic display.

A complicated image appeared, showing a density map, running from blue for most dense to red for average density to yellow for least dense.

Chewbacca worked the controls and made all the blue imagery go away, and then all the red. A bright bar of yellow light glowed in the display, about thirty meters away to the north.

”Excellent,” said Marcha. She pointed at the display.

”We dig there.” Ebrihim reached for the display controls. He brought the red and blue back in and pulled the image out to show the maximum volume of s.p.a.ce. ”I don't see anything in this imagery like the sort of chamber we're looking for,” he said.

”Of course not,” said Aunt Marcha. ”Remember how carefully hidden the one on Corellia was. So too with this one. It's s.h.i.+elded from any form of detection.”

”I only wish I was as sure of myself as you are, dearest aunt.

Very well, friend Chewbacca. Let's see about getting that drilling machine set up.”

The borer was a simple device as well-a bank of - what were in effect high-power short-range blasters set into a spinning drill head about seventy centimeters wide. The drill head spun, and the blasters fired, disintegrating the rock or soil in front of them.

The drill head rode in a sleeve that it pulled along behind itself. A long flexible tube was attached to the end of the sleeve.

Chewbacca set up the drill head and the sleeve over the selected drilling point, hanging the head from a tripod-mounted winch. The tripod holding the winch unfolded to stand about three meters high.

The winch helped control the descent of the drill head, and would extract it once the hole was made. Chewbacca walked the end of the exhaust tube as far downwind as possible from the drill hole and the car.

He staked the end of the tube down carefully and checked his work. The vaporized, superheated rock and dirt and dust were blown out the end of the tube at high pressure, effectively sandblasting anything in its way, and Chewbacca did not want that exhaust tube giving him any surpnses.

Chewbacca checked the hookup one last time, then spoke for what was, for him, a long time, a very complicated series of whoops and roars and growls.

Ebrihim listened carefully and nodded.

”I understand. II anyone is watching in infrared, or listening, they will be able to spot us very easily. I have seen no sign of surveillance or monitoring, but it is senseless to take needless risks. I will have the aircar at the ready, and be in the pilot's chair, prepared to take off at a moment's notice.”

Chewbacca nodded.

Ebrihim turned toward Marcha. ”Will you come with me, my dear aunt?” he asked. ”The noise is likely to be quite ferocious.”

Aunt Marcha shook her head. ”No,” she said. ”I am too eager to see what happens next.

”Very well,” he said.

Ebrihim went back to the car and opened the door as quietly as possible. Sure enough, the car was full of sleeping children. Even Q9 seemed to have powered himself down. Ebrihim got into the pilot's seat, where Chewbacca had been, and readjusted it so that he was looking out the viewports rather than at the bottom of the control stick.

He waved at Chewbacca, and the Wookiee waved back-and then hit the start b.u.t.ton.

The sound was remarkably loud, even inside the car.

It was a huge roaring boom that went on and on, and then dropped an octave or two in tone and quite a few decibels in loudness as the drill head bit into the ground. Then came a sort of rattling, whirring sound as the exhaust tube bucked and swayed a time or two, and then, suddenly, with a low rumbling whoosh, a solid plume of rock dust jetted out the tube, still hot enough that it was glowing faintly red as it spewed out into the darkness.

”That thing is really kicking out some power,” said Jacen as he woke up, climbing up into the front seat to get a better look.

”Sure hope no one's close enough to hear it,” Jaina said, yawning.

Anakin climbed into his brother's lap and frowned thoughtfully.

”Chewie's got the blaster matrix focus too tight,” he announced.

”How do you know that?” Ebrihim asked, vaguely thankful that the child was sleepy enough that he wasn't tempted to go retune the thing.

”I dunno,” Anakin said with a yawn. ”But I guess it's working okay anyway.” He looked out the window and seemed to be working something out in his head. ”It ought to take about twenty minutes,” he said.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

Posture and Repulsion dmiral Hortel Ossilege stood on the flag deck, overlooking the bridge of the Intntde,; the Bakuran light cruiser that would serve as his flags.h.i.+p on this mission. The other three s.h.i.+ps of his command, the destroyers Watchkeeper ntinet, and Defender, were keeping good formation and reporting themselves at full battle readiness. All was well. He drew himself up to his full height and puffed out his chest to stand there, resplendent in his gleaming white full-dress uniform.

”You seem pleased with the situation,” Luke said to the Admiral.

”Glad to be back in action again?”

Ossilege was a full head shorter than Luke, and yet when the Admiral looked up at Luke, there was so much confidence, so much authority in his expression, that Luke felt very much like a schoolboy about to be firmly corrected. ”No sane person who has been in action, '