Han felt a small burst of pride. "That surprises you? The Falcon has top-notch-"
He was interrupted by the sharp pinging of an alarm.
"I knew it!" Han said, looking for a flashing indicator on the hyperdrive section of the expansive control board. "That warp stabilizer was running a couple of degrees hot at the end of our last jump."
"Actually, Captain Solo, the Swiff"s systems status remains at optimum," C-3P0 reported. "Aboard a Dray-cla.s.s transport, that chime indicates a proximity alert."
Han shifted his gaze to the sensor area of the console and found the flashing beacon.
"That can"t he good." He reset the alarm, then activated the intercom. "Be ready back there."
The Noghri replied that they were always ready, and a bank of status beacons turned amber, indicating that the Swiff"s weapons systems were coming online.
Han brought up his tactical display and saw that a s.p.a.ce-time hole had opened behind them. An instant later, the distortion closed and a bogey symbol appeared in its place.
"I knew getting out of there was too easy," Han said. After putting t.i.to and the Verpine off the ship, they had simply lifted the Swiff"s boarding ramp and pushed through the air lock membrane before the confused Killiks had a chance to stop them. "Someone must"ve slapped a homing beacon on our hull."
"Maybe," Leia said. After departing Lizil, they had done a security sweep of the interior of the vessel as a standard precaution, but there had been no time to do an external search without actually landing somewhere. "It"s not going to do them much good, though. We"ll be ready to jump in thirty seconds."
"As long as they don"t start shooting in twenty." Han went to work on the sensors, trying to determine what kind of vessel was following them. "When it comes to a fight, this thing is no Falcon."
Before Han could get a sensor readout, the vessel"s transponder code appeared, identifying it as a Mon Calamari Sailfish-cla.s.s transport named Real Deal. A moment later, a chirpy Squib voice began to hail them over the open comm channel.
"Solo, you there?"
The Deal fired its ion engines and began to approach.
Han glanced over at Leia, who appeared just as surprised as he did, then activated his comm. "We"re here."
"What are you doing?" asked a second Squib, probably Grees. "You"re going the wrong way."
"We were starting to feel unwelcome," Han said. "And that"s close enough, you three. The Noghri are still a little sore about those hit-bugs you sent."
"Hey, we knew they didn"t stand a chance against you," Sligh said. "But we had to try."
"That was good, the way you turned t.i.to on us." Grees sounded more angry than admiring. "He got Krafte and Seneki before we could stop him."
"But no hard feelings, okay?" Emala asked. The Deal finally decelerated, but continued to drift toward the Swiff, slowly closing the distance. "We"re the ones who started it, so fair is fair."
"Sure," Leia said. "But why do I doubt you followed us out here to mend part.i.tion barriers?"
"That"s what we like about you guys," Sligh said. "Nothing gets past you."
"We could use someone like you in this thing of ours," Emala added.
The Squibs paused expectantly.
"You"re trying to hire us?" Leia scoffed.
"Recruit," Sligh corrected. "Hire is such an ugly word."
"War is very good for business," Emala added. "And this one is just going to keep getting bigger and better. Trust me when I say that we can have a very profitable relationship."
"Not a chance," Han said. He checked the weapons systems and found all of the status beacons green. If the Squibs continued to close, they were going to be in for a big surprise. Real Deal might be better armed than the Swiff, but the Swiff had Noghri gunners-and Han Solo in the pilot"s seat. "But thanks for the offer."
"Let me put it to you plainly, Solo." Grees"s voice was low and menacing. "This isn"t an offer you want to refuse."
"I just hate it when someone tells me what I want." Han looked over and, seeing that the calculations for the next jump were complete, signaled Leia to transfer the coordinates to the guidance system. "So why don"t you-"
"You"re really not getting this, are you?" Grees interrupted. Jaina is still in Colony s.p.a.ce. We can help you get to her-or we can get to her ourselves."
Leia"s finger hovered over the transfer key. "Are you threatening our daughter?"
"Not at all," Emala said. "We"re giving you a chance to protect her."
Han"s rage boiled over. "You try anything, and not only will I stop you, I"ll personally drag you out of your fur and feed you to a Togorian."
"Now who"s making threats?" Grees asked. "You think you"re too good for us, so what choice do we have?"
"It"s your own fault," Sligh said. "We"re not responsible for what happens."
"That"s it!" Han grabbed the yoke and throttles, preparing to bring the Swiff around to attack. "There"s not going to be enough left of you-"
Leia reached over and pulled his hands off the yoke. "Han, no."
Han frowned. "No?"
"Think about it." Leia deactivated the comm microphone. "Why did they really come after us? Why did they put a death mark on us?"
Han thought about it. "Right. They still haven"t come clean with the Killiks about Juun and Tarfang-"
"No." Leia shook her head. "The Squibs vouched for us to Lizil. If we tell the Alliance what the Colony is planning, it"s on their heads."
Han let out a long breath. "So they"re trying to distract us."
"Exactly," Leia said. "They don"t need to hire us or kill us. If they can just delay us for a while, maybe even get lucky and actually put us out of commission-"
"We"re going to keep going, aren"t we?" Han interrupted.
Leia nodded. "We have to."
She transferred the jump coordinates to the guidance system, and Han"s heart suddenly felt as heavy as a black hole. Even if the Squibs talked their way out of being held responsible for "Lord Rysto"s" betrayal, they were sure to lose a fortune when the coups failed-and Squibs hated losing money. They would do their best to make good on their threat.
The Deal began to accelerate, then the lock-alarms began to chirp, announcing that the Swiff was being scanned by targeting sensors. Sligh"s voice came over the comm channel.
"I can"t believe you"re making us do this, Solo. Don"t you love your daughter?"
Han tried to ignore the Squib, but the question was too painful. Of course he loved his daughter. He would move stars to protect both of his children, to keep from losing them as he and Leia had lost Anakin. But that was growing more difficult every day. First Jaina had become a Jedi, then a Rogue Squadron pilot, and now she and Zekk were Joiners, fighting on the wrong side of a war that might never end. When you had a daughter as headstrong as Jaina, there was only so much a father could do-even when that father was Han Solo.
"They"re not bluffing, Leia," Han said, leaving his comm microphone off. "You know they"ll do it."
"They"ll try," Leia said. "Jaina can take care of herself."
"Yeah, I know." Han pushed the throttles forward and began to accelerate away from the Deal. He knew Leia was right, that any a.s.sa.s.sin the Squibs sent after Jaina would be sorely outmatched-but that did not make it any easier to place the Alliance"s welfare ahead of her safety. "I guess it runs in her blood."
"What runs in her blood?" Leia asked.
"Being a Jedi," Han answered. The attack alarms began to screech as the Deal opened fire. "Whatever Luke does with the order, it"s pretty clear you"ll be staying in it. Duty always comes first with you."
Leia looked hurt, but reluctantly nodded. "I"m not the only one, Han."
"I know, Princess." The Swiff shuddered as the Deal"s first salvo hit the rear shields. Han activated the hyper-drives, and the stars stretched into an opalescent blur. "And Luke won"t even give me a lightsaber."
ELEVEN.
The convoy was only minutes from the Verpine capital, arcing over the distant yellow dot that was the Roche system"s sun, on final approach to the glow-speckled lump of asteroid Nickel One. With their underpowered ion drives and puffed-wafer silhouettes, the Slayn & Korpil Gatherers looked more like a long line of returning foragers than a deadly a.s.sault force. Mara could sense only a dozen presences aboard each ship, but some of those presences were a little too diffuse to be Verpine, and there was an electric hum in the Force that reminded her of one of those hot jungle nights when all creation seemed ready to erupt into war. There was definitely something wrong with that convoy.
She slid her StealthX into attack position behind the last vessel in line, then waited patiently as Luke and Jacen worked their way forward, using the Force to redirect the attention of the belly gunners as they pa.s.sed beneath the ungainly Gatherers. Despite the diffuse presences they sensed aboard the transports, Luke was pouring caution into the battle-meld, urging Mara and Jacen to show restraint.
The holo the Solos had sent warning of a ma.s.sive insect coup had been so flickering and distorted that even R2-D2 could not confirm that the voiceprint was Leia"s. Luke and several other Masters had immediately suspected that the message was a forgery, designed to trick the Jedi into attacking legitimate convoys. Luke had decided to dispatch a team to each insect culture belonging to the Alliance, but with strict orders not to engage in battle unless it grew clear that the Killiks were indeed staging a coup.
That was why Mara was so confused when a flash of white brilliance erupted at the front of the convoy. It looked like a shadow bomb detonation, but there had been no warning from either Luke or Jacen, nothing on the tactical display to suggest that a coup was actually under way.
The convoy began to cl.u.s.ter-standard procedure when the leader wanted overlapping defenses-then continued toward the asteroid.
"Nine," Mara asked her astromech droid, "is there any sign of a battle down there?"
The droid reported that a very large baradium explosion had just destroyed a light transport on final approach to Nickel One.
"I saw the shadow bomb," Mara said. "I mean, is there anything on the surface . . ."
The meld suddenly stiffened with shock, then abruptly collapsed as Luke withdrew. Mara could feel his anger through their Force-bond, a searing pressure that meant he had already answered the question she had been about to ask her astromech. There was no hint of a battle on the surface of the asteroid.
Jacen had attacked without provocation.
Mara looked down to find a long list scrolling up her display: SHIELD PROJECTORS, AIR LOCK ENTRANCES, BLASTER CANNON EMPLACEMENTS, DEFENSIVE BUNKERS, TRANSPARISTEEL VIEWING PANELS, GUIDANCE LAMPS . . . everything her astromech could identify on the surface of the asteroid.
"That"s enough, Nine," Mara said. "I think I have my answer."
She reached out to Jacen and found him filled with impatience, determined to stop the Gatherers before they reached Nickel One.
Mara urged him to withdraw.
Another shadow bomb detonated at the head of the convoy, spraying specks of flotsam and torn hull in every direction.
Mara grew so angry that she had to break off contact. Anger was too dangerous to share during a battle. It corrupted the discipline of everyone it touched, tainted their judgment and made the killing personal.
A Verpine belly gunner caught a glimpse of Mara"s StealthX and began to st.i.tch the surrounding darkness with cannon bolts. She rolled away without firing and sensed Jacen trying to establish the meld again, reaching out to her and Luke in confusion and frustration. One of the StealthXs" drawbacks-and the reason only Jedi could fly them-was that the rigid comm silence protocols prevented actual conversation. Instead, pilots had to communicate using the combat-meld, which relied on emotions, impressions, and the occasional mental image.
The convoy had pulled into a tight, three-dimensional diamond formation and was continuing to approach Nickel One, its gunners firing indiscriminately toward the surface. Whether the gunners were trying to suppress the asteroid"s defenses or were simply reacting to Jacen"s attack was impossible to say. Like Luke, Mara kept her own weapons silent.
A moment later, she felt Luke opening himself to the battle-meld again, and Jacen"s relief flooded the Force. He renewed his call to the attack, sharing his alarm and fear through the meld. Luke responded with disapproval and condemnation, urging Jacen to withdraw.
A sudden spark of understanding flashed through the meld, followed by a sense of hurt and indignity. Mara guessed that Jacen had finally realized that his wingmates doubted his judgment, that they did not believe an attack was appropriate simply because he initiated one.
The thought had barely flashed through Mara"s head before the gaping rectangle of a hangar entrance appeared in her mind"s eye. The turbolaser batteries in its four corners all sat quiet, their turrets ripped open by internal blasts. A single Gatherer sat on the asteroid surface next to the hangar, with a line of pressure-suited Killiks streaming out of its air lock.
"Nine!" Mara was practically shouting. "Didn"t you tell me there were no signs of battle on the asteroid?"
The droid replied that there were no signs of a battle.
"Then what about those turbolaser batteries?" Mara demanded. "And the Killiks?"
Nine reported that the turbolaser batteries were nonfunctional. And the Killiks appeared to be debarking, not attacking.
"Never mind." Mara felt at once relieved and ashamed-relieved that Jacen had attacked for good reason, ashamed that she and Luke had allowed their reservations-which now seemed unjustified-to compromise the team"s effectiveness. "Select targets by expediency, Nine."
The droid illuminated a transponder symbol near the back of the convoy, and Mara swung in behind the Gatherer it represented. She launched her first shadow bomb and immediately peeled off, accelerating toward the next target. An instant later, s.p.a.ce brightened behind her, and her tactical display filled with static. She launched her second shadow bomb without even bothering to glance back and check the damage caused by the first. The light transport had not been built that could withstand a direct hit by a Jedi shadow bomb.
More shadow bombs detonated near the middle of the convoy as Luke joined the battle. The StealthXs swirled around the Gatherers, attacking from all directions. Unable to catch more than a glimpse of the darting Jedi ships, the convoy"s gunners set up rolling walls of laserfire. The Jedi, in turn, let the Force guide their moves, slipping around and under these barrages until they had obliterated another half a dozen vessels.
Finally, the convoy pilots seemed to recognize they were fish in a barrel. They dispersed, each Gatherer continuing toward a different corner of an imaginary square. As they fled, their gunners continued to blindly spray bolts into s.p.a.ce, and now many of Nickel One"s surface batteries joined in, trying to provide safe lanes of approach for their surviving "friends." That was the beauty of a coup: confusion worked in favor of the attacker.
Mara took out two more Gatherers and felt Luke destroy another one, then realized that she had lost track of Jacen. She could still feel him in the meld, but his presence had become cautious and furtive. She reached out to him, curious and concerned. His response seemed at once c.o.c.ky and defiant, as though he was daring her to doubt him again.
"Whatever you"re doing, hotshot, just don"t screw up," Mara muttered aloud. She was counting on Jacen to keep nurturing Ben"s interest in the Force, but that was not going to happen if her nephew continued to behave like a rogue Jedi. "Too much depends on you."
Jacen seemed puzzled by the sentiment, then a sea of turbolaser fire flowered between Mara and her next target, and her astromech began screeching for her to evade. She juked but continued toward her mark, then took a glancing strike on her flank and lost all her shields at once.
"Shhhhubba!" she hissed, still unwavering from her course.
Nine began to bleep and whistle frantically, filling the display with all manner of dire warnings about what would become of them if she failed to withdraw from combat at once. Mara ignored him and launched her last shadow bomb.
The attack caught the Gatherer just above its wing and punched through the shields in a blinding eruption of white. The StealthX"s blast-tinting darkened, and she felt a terrible ripping in the Force as the vacuum tore the crew from its ruptured ship.
The StealthX shuddered as something large thumped into its canopy. Mara cringed and held her breath, half expecting to hear the curt whoosh of a catastrophic vacuum breach. But when the blast-tinting returned to normal a moment later, the only thing wrong with the canopy was that the exterior was so smeared with bug guts, that she could not find the nose of her own starfighter.
Mara immediately felt Luke reaching out to her in concern. She a.s.sured him she was fine, then switched to instrument flying and was relieved to discover she was telling the truth.
"Nine, can you do anything to clear the canopy?"
The droid promised that he would activate the defogger.