"Red is mineworks," Lando explained, and he tapped the one closest to where Tendra had indicated a moment earlier. "You are here. The orange thing is an enormous fault system. The seismologists made us aware of it as they"ve been investigating the ground quake phenomena. We had them run some numbers, and it"s pretty clear that if enough of these caverns blow up at the same time, it"ll cause the fault to crack, basically shaking Kessel to pieces."
Nien Nunb offered a comment in his own language, and Lando translated: "He says for Han not even to talk about just evacuating. We want to save this planet."
Han grimaced. "I hate it when I"m the only sensible one-it"s a bad precedent for me-but it"s even worse when no one no one gets to be the only sensible one." gets to be the only sensible one."
Leia waved away his objection and turned back to Lando and Tendra. "So how do we visit, investigate, a.n.a.lyze, and then defuse all those detonation devices in the time we have available?"
Lando looked unhappy. "That"s where I"m stumped. We"re already losing drones to the bogeys. They get too close, the bogeys come out to investigate, there"s contact, and the bogeys go down the way your speeder did that first time. We"ve had six of the ten drones go down like that already, and only two have recovered sufficiently to continue their missions. I"m not sure how to get a crew of demolition experts and scientists down there, keep them safe, give them enough time to figure out how to defuse the explosives ... It sounds pretty close to impossible."
Han opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again.
Leia glanced his way. "I felt that."
"No, you didn"t."
"You had an idea."
"I was just yawning."
She grinned at him. "I know you think the galaxy would be a better place without Kessel in it. But not everyone agrees."
"Come on, old buddy." There was a genuine plea in Lando"s tone. "If you"ve got an idea, let"s hear it."
Han sighed. "All right. My idea is this. You don"t even try to defuse those things. Instead, you set them off."
Lando"s brows rose. "We"re not even waiting for them to blow up my world? We"re doing it ourselves?"
"No." Han pointed at the yellow patches on the monitor screen. "It"s not just that they"re blowing up. It"s that they"re blowing up all at once. Right? But if you set them off in some sort of random order, some sequence that will keep the strain from cracking that big fault ..."
Lando"s face cleared. "Han, you just earned yourself some shares in Calrissian-Nunb."
"Thanks, but I"d rather have shares in a firm that makes s.p.a.ce-station trash compactors."
"I can arrange that." Lando turned back to the map. "We get one of the big tunnel grinders, one that"s not cracking minerals anymore, and dig a shaft straight down to the tunnel nearest the surface. That"ll give us a straight in-and-out big enough for small transports. We"ll need teams of demolition experts who can figure out how to set off those explosives mounds reliably."
"The Jedi can help," Leia said. "I"ll-"
"Noooo," Han said, and the others echoed his sentiment.
"Why not?"
"The Jedi have government watchers now, remember?" Han said. "This world represents big, scary technology like Centerpoint Station did. Things the government could study. As soon as the government hears about what"s here-"
Leia nodded ruefully. "That"s true. They"ll put a halt on all proceedings until they"ve sorted out what they think should be done, and that that decision will be slowed to a standstill by the promise of new technology. Then it"ll stay deadlocked until everything blows up and Kessel becomes a cloud of asteroids." decision will be slowed to a standstill by the promise of new technology. Then it"ll stay deadlocked until everything blows up and Kessel becomes a cloud of asteroids."
"So no Jedi," Lando said. "Other than you, of course."
Leia sighed. "Agreed."
Tendra looked thoughtful. "So Step One, I guess, is to figure out what we can do to set off those explosives mounds at the times of our choosing."
DEEP BENEATH THE SURFACE OF DORIN.
Though he had expected the trip to take only seconds or, at most, minutes, Ben rode in his unlit coffin for what seemed like forever. He checked his chrono from time to time-fortunately, its tiny screen was lit-and watched ten minutes trickle by, then twenty, then an hour ...
The only thing he heard was occasional clattering as the container"s grippers traveled over debris or a coupler-joined sections of rail. He shouted on two occasions for his father, but Luke was clearly too far away to hear. Ben could feel Luke out there, though, calm and un-alarmed, so Ben himself had no reason to fret.
He was just bored.
Two hours and five minutes into his trip, the container slowed. Ben breathed a sigh of relief. The container continued to decelerate, and within a minute it came to a complete stop. Ben could see light glimmering along the edges of the lid. Then he heard voices speaking in the Kel Dor tongue and the lid opened. The sudden light blinded him.
Blind or not, he was ready for trouble, using senses beyond sight, but he detected no hostile intent in the three nearest beings, even as they reached for him. He let one take his hand and guide him up and out of the container. Warm, humid air washed across him-all but his face, still enclosed in the breath mask-and he dropped to his feet on a rocky surface.
As his vision cleared, Ben found himself in a stone tunnel, one obviously burned out of the stone rather than a natural formation; the walls were heat-fused rock, clear sign of tunneling devices that used a high-temperature mechanism such as laser drills. One end of the tunnel narrowed into a diameter just large enough to accommodate the containers, and rails issued from it. The rails continued the length of this sixty-meter tunnel and ended in an upraised loop.
Charsae Saal"s container was stopped at the loop, and beyond it, five meters away, was a blast-door exit. Charsae Saal stood beside his container, speaking rapidly with two men and one woman, all Kel Dors, dressed as he was. They cast glances back to Luke, who was halfway between them and Ben, standing beside his container, nonchalantly leaning against it. One Kel Dor stood beside him.
Two of Ben"s greeters left his side to walk to Charsae Saal"s group; the third, a woman, remained behind, eyeing Ben cautiously.
Luke looked toward his son. "Restful trip?"
"The minutes flew by like hours." Ben stretched, then looked at his Kel Dor companion. "You speak Basic?"
She looked mildly offended. "Of course."
"I"m Ben Skywalker."
"You were. Now you are not."
Ben gave her a puzzled frown. "Come again?"
"You will have to choose a new name here."
"Why?"
"Because Ben Skywalker is dead."
After conferring, the black-robed Kel Dors, including Charsae Saal, led Luke and Ben through the blast door. The chamber in which they found themselves was roughly circular, some twenty meters in diameter, with blast doors set in the walls at regular intervals and a black stone support pillar in the center. The Kel Dors did not treat the Jedi as if they were prisoners; their manner was civil but uncertain.
One of the blast doors opened into a tunnel that led to a much larger chamber-forty meters or more in diameter, ten meters high at the center, with eight support columns arranged in a circle midway between the walls and the center of the room. Against the far wall was what Ben had looked for in vain in the Baran Do temple: a raised platform with a large, imposing chair upon it. The chair appeared to have been carved from white stone and had white cushions on the seat and back.
Settling into it was a Kel Dor male, taller than many of the others. He had more wrinkles around his eyes and the corners of his mouth than most Kel Dors that Ben had seen. Other than his placement on the throne, there was no sign of rank about him; his robes were as simple and as dark as everyone else"s. Luke and Ben were led to stand before him.
He looked down upon them, his expression quizzical. His voice was reedy but not infirm. "Why are you here?"
Luke gave him a nod of greeting. "We are here in search of answers."
"Ah." The enthroned Kel Dor nodded as if satisfied. "A worthy goal at the end of one"s life."
Luke frowned. "You intend to kill us? For what?"
"No, certainly not. You have come here. This is the place after life. The world below, the world after. You are already dead."
Ben spared a look at the other Kel Dors present. None of them reacted to the statement.
Luke clearly decided not to pursue that subject further for the moment. "May I a.s.sume you are Master Koro Ziil?"
"I was, in life. Now I am hu"aac-du"ul-staranjan. hu"aac-du"ul-staranjan."
Luke frowned, considering. "That does not sound like a name, especially a Kel Dor name."
It didn"t to Ben, either. Kel Dor names tended to follow a pattern similar to that found among Coruscanti humans-personal name first, clan name second, with both names tending to be short, usually one or two syllables; three or more was a rarity. The Kel Dors whom Ben had met always referred to themselves and one another by their full names or by a t.i.tle and a clan name.
"It means "the one who dwells in darkness" in our language. Or "the hidden one." It is my t.i.tle, for I have no name at all. I have transcended not only life but ident.i.ty. You, too, will have to choose new names now that you are among us."
Luke gave him a look that suggested he regretted being displeasing. "We won"t be staying."
The former Koro Ziil smiled. It was not a cruel smile, but a sympathetic one. "There is no way to leave. You are with us forever. Seek your answers among us, but become reconciled to the fact that you will never take those answers away from here."
JEDI TEMPLE, CORUSCANT.
Swearing under her breath, Jaina pulled on a robe and moved to the door of her quarters. She nearly tripped over a waste receptacle in the darkness, and decided that it was good her observer hadn"t seen that; it wouldn"t do for word to spread that the Jedi could be klutzes like anyone else.
In the outer chamber, at the door to the hall, she hit the b.u.t.ton to turn on the lights and another to open the door. It slid up, revealing Jedi Tekli in the act of pressing the door-chime b.u.t.ton for the third time.
Not waiting for an invitation, the Chadra-Fan Jedi-fur-covered, with big ears and gnawing upper incisors that gave her a cute, pet-like appearance that caused her no end of trouble with children-rushed in. "Darkmeld, darkmeld," she said.
The word sent a thrill of coldness through Jaina"s insides. Dark-meld Dark-meld was a word of Jaina"s own invention, part of a plan she"d put into motion after her last conversation with Master Hamner. Only a few Jedi whom Jaina trusted, and who were not Masters, knew the term-knew that it referred to Jaina"s new circle of conspirators. An even smaller number of non-Jedi knew it. was a word of Jaina"s own invention, part of a plan she"d put into motion after her last conversation with Master Hamner. Only a few Jedi whom Jaina trusted, and who were not Masters, knew the term-knew that it referred to Jaina"s new circle of conspirators. An even smaller number of non-Jedi knew it.
Jaina hit the b.u.t.ton again to slide the door shut. She found herself whispering without meaning to. "What is it?"
Tekli stood before Jaina"s desk, putting her weight first on one foot, then the other, an unconscious dance of agitation. "I saw him."
"Who?"
"I was at the prison. Master Cilghal has a plan to keep pressure up on the authorities to let us examine Valin. She visits once per day, staying for an hour or two to annoy them, and I do so in the evenings."
"So you saw Valin."
"No, Jedi h.e.l.lin Jedi h.e.l.lin."
Jaina blinked. "Seff h.e.l.lin? He"s in prison?"
"No, he"s outside it. Dressed as a workman, entering the underground through a workers" access hatch."
Jaina whistled. "He has to be evaluating the prison defenses. So he can break Valin out."
"That was my thought. He didn"t see me. I don"t think he even felt me. I wasn"t using any Force abilities. I felt surprise when I saw him, but I suppressed it pretty quickly. He made no reaction suggesting he felt anything. I think I got away with it cold. I came straight here, straight to you." Tekli began pacing, gesturing as she talked. "We have to have him. We can"t study Valin, but if we can get Seff, study him without the government knowing we have him ..."
"Wait, wait." Jaina"s mind raced. "We need to be sure he has the same condition Valin does."
"All evidence suggests it. What"s more, he came back to Coruscant without notifying the Temple he was here, and now he"s staking out the facility where the only other Jedi who behaves like him is being held. Besides, if we"re wrong, we can let him go."
"Right." Jaina checked her chrono. It had been only two hours since Dab had awakened her with one of his random checks of her whereabouts. This meant that, in all probability, she had several hours to act before he"d check again. She should be able to sneak out for a while. "All right. I"m going to mobilize some people I"ve contacted about our little Darkmeld conspiracy. You need to set things up here so that when we bring Seff in, whether it"s tonight or later, we have a secret place to hold and evaluate him."
"Understood, understood." Tekli nodded so fast it made her fur sway, and Jaina wondered what would happen if the Chadra-Fan were to drink a couple of cups of caf while in this state.
Tekli moved to the door and reached up to slap the b.u.t.ton. "Sorry to cost you sleep."
"Don"t worry. It"s worth it."
All of them dressed in inconspicuous garments of the sort favored by the middle cla.s.s when traveling, they met in a tapcaf a kilometer from Valin"s prison-Jaina, Jag, Tahiri, and a lean woman with white hair and elegant, ageless features. Jaina introduced the last: "Jag, this is Winter Celchu, my former babysitter. Winter, this is Jagged Fel, Head of State of the Imperial Remnant."
"Galactic Empire," Jag corrected absently. "You"re married to General Tycho Celchu?"
Winter nodded.
"And you"re ex-Intelligence. In addition to ex-babysitter."
She gave him a faint smile. "I hate it that people have heard of me."
"Well, your husband and my uncle are best friends. It makes some secrets hard to keep."
Jaina waved to get their attention. "I"ll make this short. I"ve got the Jedi resources and ways in and out of the Temple, but I"m going to be hobbled by having an observer. Jag, you have unlimited financial resources, at least by our standards."
Jag nodded. "I can"t really be a despot if I"m not wasting the Empire"s money."
"Tahiri, you have the full range of Jedi abilities, which we"ll need in order to handle Seff, and no observer hanging around your neck." Jaina did not voice her next thought: that Tahiri had been very easy to convince to help on this mission. Tahiri hadn"t been able to repair much of the damage she"d done in Jacen"s service. It apparently meant a lot to her to be able to help with another Jedi"s mess. "Winter, you have Intelligence skills and contacts. Between the four of us, we"re the core of this operation. We need to set up an observation of Seff, secretly grab him at our earliest opportunity, and get him into the Temple for Tekli to evaluate."
The others nodded.
Tahiri looked doubtful. "And we have to do it without him being alerted to us. He"s a Jedi Knight. This is not going to be like doing surveillance on a bail jumper."
"Not a problem." Winter held her datapad up. "On this is a shopping list. High on the list are holocam droids and security holocams. If it"s mostly holocams watching him, he won"t feel it in the Force."
Tahiri shook her head. "Problem. He may know the technique that allows him to fuzz out holocam feeds for a moment or two as he pa.s.ses in front of them."
Jaina gave her a rea.s.suring smile. "Not "Not a problem. We still have the software we used to track Alema Rar when she was using that technique, back when she was sneaking around on the a problem. We still have the software we used to track Alema Rar when she was using that technique, back when she was sneaking around on the Errant Venture Errant Venture. We can plot Seff"s movements even if he does that."
Jag slid a credcard across the table; it fetched up against Winter"s forearm. "There should be enough there for your shopping trip. Let me know if you need more."
Winter pocketed the card. "This can"t be traced back to you?"
He shook his head. "I made sure it was clean. It"s supposedly for gifts and surprises for Jaina, things that shouldn"t shouldn"t be traced back to a Head of State"s expense account." be traced back to a Head of State"s expense account."
Jaina looked crestfallen. "I"m not getting my presents?"
The others looked at her. Unable to maintain the pose, she laughed. "You"re just lucky I"m a low-maintenance woman," she told Jag.