Part 29 (2/2)
”I don't think that's where they're headed, ” Satele said. ” 'One s.h.i.+p, no escort, '” she quoted.
”And Stryver did say we wouldn't be harmed by him, ” added Jet. ”Are you certain you want to do this?”
”Forget the flyby of the Commenor” she told him. ”Get us moving now. I'll talk with Captain Pipalidi on the way. ”
”Yes, ma'am, ” said Jet, casting Master Satele a sardonic salute. ”We might as well run to our doom as walk. ”
CHAPTER 30.
Ula watched with mounting dread as the rendezvous point loomed. He was in the worst position imaginable, unable to act against the Republic's wishes because Satele Shan would immediately overrule him, and unable to reveal his ident.i.ty to his real masters without blowing his cover. For a wild moment he considered throwing himself on the mercy of the Mandalorians, but sanity, fortunately, prevailed. Stryver had no mercy. The best Ula could have hoped for in his care was slavery.
At least he was alive, he told himself, and had a chance of staying that way if he stepped through this minefield with utmost care.
The Auriga Fire's blunt nose was angling ahead of the Imperial shuttle on its approach to Sebaddon's solitary satellite. The moon was blocky and misshapen, more like a brick than a sphere, with a cornucopia of craters and fathomless fissures marring its ugly face. No wonder Stryver had stayed hidden for so long. It didn't appear to have been mined or b.o.o.by-trapped, which was a major omission for a colonial administration so keen to remain undisturbed. Ula wondered if they'd simply never thought of it, or if they'd erroneously-but not unreasonably-a.s.sumed that they would never be discovered so far from the galactic disk.
The First Blood Stryver's scout, anch.o.r.ed itself to the surface of the moon as the two s.h.i.+ps approached. It was shaped like a crescent moon, with forward-pointing wings that bristled with weapons and a matte-black, nonreflective skin. There were no markings of any kind, just two glowing circles on either side indicating ready air locks. Jet prepared a docking ring and tube to cross the distance, and jockeyed to approach the starboard air lock. The Imperial pilot noted his intentions and moved to dock on the opposite side. Along with Larin and Hetchkee, Ula watched the shuttle closely for any signs of treachery. The way the Imperials had illegally destroyed the Republic shuttle on Hutta was still painful to him. He expected better.
”Who's going in?” asked Larin over the internal comm.
”s.h.i.+gar and I, ” said Master Satele, ”and Envoy Vii. ”
Ula swallowed. ”I fear I can be of little use, ” he started to say, but was cut off by Larin.
”You'll need a bodyguard, ” she said. ”Just for appearances. ”
”All right. ”
”And take Clunker, too, ” said Jet. ”I'll watch through his eyes. ”
”Can you and Hetchkee pilot the s.h.i.+p on your own, if you have to?”
”In a pinch, ” said the smuggler. ”With the right incentive, I could fly a battle cruiser on my own. ”
”Very well, then. Maintain the umbilical seal, but close the s.h.i.+p once we have disembarked. Leave on my signal, whether we're aboard or not. ”
”Don't worry about that, ” the smuggler told her. ”I'll dust off if you so much as twitch funny. ”
Ula sought distraction in telemetry as the s.h.i.+p settled lightly on the low-gravity moon. Sebaddon hadn't launched any missiles since the last round. The main hot spot had been made considerably hotter by retaliatory fire, and activity was growing in other regions as well. It looked to him as though the occupants of the planet were regrouping in order to fight back, but it was hard to tell from such a distance. Every spy drone launched by the Republic fleet had been intercepted by the orbital halo of hexes and destroyed.
Maybe, he told himself, he could slip a message of some kind to his opposite number in the Imperial party. That was a small and unlikely hope to cling to.
With a series of clanks and thumps, the s.h.i.+p's belly grapnels took a firm grip on the dusty soil outside. The whine of repulsorlifts faded away. Jet took his hands off the controls and leaned back into the seat. For all his bl.u.s.ter, he looked exhausted, or at least hung over. His prematurely gray hair stood up on one side, and his eyes were heavily bagged.
”I'll mind the farm until you get back, ” he told them. ”Don't do anything I wouldn't do. ”
Ula stood, hoping against hope that the Grand Master would change her mind. No such good fortune. She was already heading down the c.o.c.kpit ladder, trailing s.h.i.+gar like a pet. Ula waved Clunker ahead of him.
”Good luck, ” Jet told him.
”You didn't say that to the others. ”
”I figure they don't need it. ”
”Thanks for the vote of confidence. ”
Jet grinned. ”You'll be okay. Just remember: you've got an unbeatable advantage. ”
”What's that?”
”The ability to see both sides at once. ”
Ula didn't know what to say to that, or to the many other hints Jet had dropped indicating that he knew what Ula was. Ula had never had the courage to ask outright-not even during the long hours when he and the smuggler had sat waiting for s.h.i.+gar to make good on his psychometric promise. Whether it was true or not that Jet had guessed, Ula would rather it was never said aloud. His life relied on pretense. Once it was gone, he didn't know what that would leave him.
So he just nodded and headed down the stairs to meet the others at the air lock, wondering how anyone in his position could be considered advantaged. He felt like he was being pulled in a dozen directions. If he wasn't careful, one sharp tug might tear him to pieces.
Ax walked the short distance along the umbilical with measured fury. She burned to be back in her interceptor rather than wasting her time with Mandalorians and envoys again. It was as bad as being back on Hutta, only this time she had no clear advantage to hope for. All she could think of was the work she should have been doing at that moment-protecting the fleet from hexes, at least, or maybe even preparing an attack force to wipe Stryver from the sky. She didn't like coming to him when called, like some kind of menial.
”You will speak to the meddling Mandalorian on my behalf, ” her Master had told her.
”But Master...”
”Do I need to explain to you again what your duty is? It is to serve the Emperor, through me, his instrument. When you defy me, you defy him. ”
And that was the problem, of course. She had defied him, by ignoring his orders during the hexes' attack on Hutta. Now she was being punished for it, while he waited comfortably half frozen in the secret room in his shuttle. Whether her defiance had served the fleet or not was irrelevant. She could only forget all about doing anything constructive-let alone to the betterment of the Empire-until Darth Chratis changed his mind.
”I'm here, ” she said when she reached the First Blood's external air lock. Her right hand fiddled with the hilt of her lightsaber. ”Don't keep me waiting, Stryver. ”
The door hissed open. A token escort followed her into the s.h.i.+p-three soldiers in formal black-and-grays. She didn't look behind her to make sure they were keeping up. As a deliberate act of defiance aimed at both Stryver and her Master, she hadn't changed out of her combat uniform. It stank of oil and smoke and combat, exactly like Stryver's s.h.i.+p. Her hair swayed heavily down her back, like thick rope.
The First Blood had a low profile, head-on, but was surprisingly s.p.a.cious inside. Its walls were ribbed rather than sealed with flat panels; sometimes there were no gaps at all delineating corridor from hold. Wiring and components were occasionally exposed-all, she supposed, in an effort to keep weight down. She also a.s.sumed that anything secret was kept well out of sight, so she didn't trouble herself with memorizing what she saw. She just walked, following the sound of voices leading to the center of the vessel.
”... understand why you need all of us at once. Can't you tell us now?”
Ax knew that voice. She had heard it on Hutta. It belonged to a near-human who had fought on the Republic side, although clearly not a trooper herself. What was she doing here?
”I don't like repeating myself, ” said another familiar voice: the deep, vocoder-inflected tones of Dao Stryver.
Ax walked around a thick pillar of cables acting as conduit and support, and found herself in the main cabin. It was a circular room with glowing white floor and ceiling, and a central holoprojector. Stryver stood to Ax's left, helmet just clearing the relatively high ceiling. To his left were a motley group of people, including several more individuals Ax recognized: the Republic envoy, a droid she had seen hanging around Ta.s.saa Bareesh's security air lock, and the Jedi Padawan. Next to him stood a woman she hadn't met before, but instantly recognized.
Ax stopped on entering the room, a wary hiss unconsciously escaping from between her teeth. The air was thick with the enemy's self-righteousness, concentrated mainly around the slight woman with the gray streak wearing the robes of a Jedi Knight. No mere Jedi Knight, she. The Grand Master of the High Council herself! Darth Chratis would grind his crystalline teeth in frustration at missing such a close encounter with the Emperor's most hated toe. To slay her would bring Ax considerable fame and fortune among those tavored by the Dark Council.
Ax forced her hand to leave her hilt alone. For all her ambition, Ax knew that she could not single-handedly beat both Master and Padawan. She would have to strike with words instead of her blade.
”The Jedi Order must be weak indeed, ” she said, ”for the Grand Master and a youngling to jump on a Mandalorian's whim. ”
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