Part 10 (1/2)

”Good - I need your help.”

”Knowing that, and admitting it, signals strength. The half-man awaits. Use my name to seize the advantage.”

Who was the half-man? And what difference would Rahn's name make? Kyle wanted to ask a half-dozen questions, but the lift started to slow. The agent readied the lightsaber, allowed his thumb to rest on the switch, and kept his eyes on the door. The lift came to a halt. A tone sounded, and a light came on. The door rolled open, and a messenger droid scurried through the opening. It squeaked, sent a signal to the turbolift, and waited for the platform to fall. Kyle approached the entrance, looked out onto an empty platform, and heard machinery whir. The message was clear: get off or take his chances on the lift.

There was no sign of a half-man, whole man, or any other kind of man. Surprised by Rahn's error, and more than a little apprehensive, the Rebel stepped out onto the platform. The tone sounded, and the door closed behind him.

A loading ramp jutted off to the right, and a cargo s.h.i.+p hung beyond that. Kyle took two steps forward, felt something ”pop,” and felt a sudden flood of sensation. Nothing exotic, not by his standards anyway, just the sort of input he normally received via the Force but had been unable to access for the last ten to fifteen minutes. Why? The answer came with terrifying speed. Something, he wasn't sure what, hit his shoulder and sent him sprawling. He rolled onto his back, jumped to his feet, and lit the lightsaber. The air crackled and filled with the odor of ozone. That was the moment when Kyle realized that Rahn had been right - the lower half of his opponent's body was missing!

It was the Force that held him up off the ground. The Dark Jedi's skull was shaved and seemed too small for his body. Hatred filled his eyes and pulled at his thick-lipped mouth. Two equally enormous arms hung from his muscle-bound torso, and one ended in a lightsaber. In addition to holding the Jedi up off the deck, the Force exerted its influence over other objects as well, including nuts, bolts, pebbles, a ration bar, and various bits of wire. All of which orbited the half-man's body as if he were the sun and they were his planets.

The lightsaber buzzed with malevolent energy, and his words had a grating sound.

”I am Maw... prepare to die!”

”Maybe,” Kyle replied calmly, ”remembering that my friend Rahn already cut you down to size.”

The effect was electrifying. Maw's face turned purple with anger, and he uttered a roar of pure, undiluted rage. He accelerated with far greater speed than Kyle had antic.i.p.ated.

The Rebel fell backward, allowed the Dark Jedi to pa.s.s over him, and slashed upward. Maw bellowed with pain, lost his concentration, and hit the deck. The lightsaber sailed out of his hand, and debris rained onto his head and shoulders.

Kyle took a single step forward, eyed his opponent's back, but couldn't bring himself to do it. Maw supported himself with his fists, turned, and looked upward.

”I'm defenseless... kill me! Or do you lack the courage? As your father did before you?”

Kyle dropped his head. Anger, contained and controlled for so long, flowered within. He felt it radiate outward, seep through his body, and tingle at his fingertips. The lightsaber hummed, and his fingers wrapped and rewrapped themselves around the well-worn grip. Here was one of the people who had murdered his father - and not just his father, but hundreds, maybe thousands, more. Killing such a person would be just, yet...

Maw grinned demonically.

”Your father was on his knees, whimpering like a child, as Jerec struck him down. I placed his head on the spike where the rest of the Rebel sc.u.m could see it.”

The lightsaber blurred as it rose and fell. The blade entered the half-man's left shoulder, sliced through his chest, and exited through the right side of his body. There was an explosion of blood as Maw fell into two distinct pieces - and Kyle felt energy swirl around him.

Dark energy, attracted by the nature of his act, ready for use. Shocked by what he had done and sickened by the slaughter, Kyle backed away.

A voice came from behind.

”Excellent... The journey to the dark side has begun. But there is more.. .”

Kyle turned to discover that Jerec, Sariss, and Boc had stepped off the turbolift, and that Jan was with them. Boc gave Jan a wholly unnecessary shove. She stumbled and caught herself. Kyle saw the bruises on her face and realized that her arms were bound.

Jan forced a grin.

”Sorry, Kyle, looks like I can't bail you out of this one.”

Jerec gave her a push and Jan fell. He pointed to where she lay.

”Strike her down! Realize your true destiny... your true power.”

Time stretched thin. Jerec felt Kyle's hunger, the ambition that seeped up through his consciousness, and allowed himself a smile. Here was the flaw that Rahn feared, here was the lever he'd been looking for, and here was a hunger that matched his own.

Jan watched the other agent's eyes, saw temptation flicker there, and wondered if she had misjudged him. Boc simpered, did a little dance, and waited for someone to die.

He wore two lightsabers, one thrust through the back of his sash and one in front.

Kyle looked from Jerec to Jan and back again. The fact that he'd been tempted, could be tempted, made his stomach churn.

”No.”

The Dark Jedi drew upon the energy that leaked out of the Valley, gave it shape, and hurled the construct at Kyle's chest. The blast threw the Rebel backward onto the loading ramp. He staggered and had just managed to reestablish his footing when a second, more powerful explosion hurled him back into the cargo s.h.i.+p. The lock sensed his presence, and the hatch started to close. The ramp disintegrated.

The s.h.i.+p tilted away, and fell toward the rocks below.

Jan rose, tried to make her way to the edge of the platform, and was slammed to the deck. Boc laughed and put a foot on her chest.

Unaware of what was going on above, Kyle smashed into a bulkhead and knew what he had to do. Head for the belly of the s.h.i.+p and pa.s.s through the docking port. It was his only chance. The docking port? Why the docking port? But there was no answer - just an overriding sense of urgency. The inner hatch opened, and Kyle ducked through and found himself in one of two corridors that ran the length of the s.h.i.+p. As with most s.h.i.+ps of her design, there was an emergency drop shaft that ran top to bottom through the s.h.i.+p's hull.

Kyle staggered as the nose tilted down. He dropped to his knees and opened the access door set flush with the deck. A ladder was welded to one side of the drop shaft. The Rebel clamped the side rails between his boots, slid downward, and triggered the hatch.

The agent dropped through and landed on the docking port. Or would have, had the freighter been level. Because the s.h.i.+p was tilted nose down, the Rebel hit forward of the hatch and had to battle his way up. Precious seconds pa.s.sed while he cycled through the lock and entered a familiar-looking compartment.

The Crow! The Imperials had located the s.h.i.+p and flown it to the tower. The agent heard a beeping sound and knew that Wee Gee was locked in one of the storage compartments.

There was no time to free him, however. If he could bring the engines on-line... if he could break the connection...

The odds were against him - but there was little else that Kyle could do. He fought his way into the c.o.c.kpit, dropped into the pilot's position, and hit the emergency bypa.s.s switch. Alarms sounded and lights flashed as the vessel's nav computer took exception to the breach in protocol. Freed from normal safety procedures and responding to the Rebel's prayers, the engines came to life.

Kyle bit his lip, hit the emergency release b.u.t.ton, and felt the vessels part company.

The application of power, plus a turn to port, increased the distance between them. The agent pulled back on the control yoke, saw a flash as the cargo s.h.i.+p corkscrewed into the ground, and fought for alt.i.tude. The Crow shook violently, rattled Kyle's teeth, and slammed into a rocky spire. The port engine sheared off, the nose dropped, and the ground rushed up to meet her. The hull hit, bounced, and started to slide. Kyle thought about the safety harness, wished he was buckled in, and felt his head strike the control panel.

The Rebel was unconscious by the time the s.h.i.+p skidded to a halt. The dream, if it was a dream, seemed incredibly real. Rahn smiled as if welcoming Kyle home. He wore a cream-colored robe with a hood that fell in folds across his shoulders.

”That which is flows from that which was. The best way to learn is to feel what it was like.”

The Jedi faded from view, and Kyle became aware that another mind coexisted with his.

Though seemingly unaware of him, he was aware of it, and all that it contained. There were memories of a youth spent exploring the stars, a pa.s.sion for a woman long dead, and a planet frosted with ice and snow. There was a weariness as well, for the mind was very, very old. But evil cares little for age or infirmity. It grows where it can, sinking its roots deep into the rich fertilizer of ego, l.u.s.t, greed, envy, and hatred, sending new shoots to the surface where they form a tangle from which nothing can escape.

That's why Tal had taken his lightsaber down from its place above the hearth - and joined the Army of Light.

”Tal? Are you awake?”

It wasn't until the Jedi opened his eyes that Kyle realized they'd been closed. A man sat across from him: a giant of a man with shoulder-length blond hair, a lantern-shaped jaw, and ice-blue eyes. They twinkled merrily.

”There you are - I was afraid you'd sleep through the surrender.”

Tal chose his words with care. Hoth might be a Jedi, and a great one at that, but many voices vied for his attention. So many it was difficult for the big man to sort them out.

Which was why Tal reserved his council for only the most important issues - and chose his words with care.