Dark Nest_ The Joiner King Part 29

Jaina raised a silencing hand to him. "Let me handle this, Zekk.

I've had practice."

"Jaina," Leia said sternly, "we did go after Lowie."

"Don't try the Desilijic s.h.i.+ft on me," Jaina said. "The terms were that we had to bring him back."

"Yeah, well, you should have told us your ex-boyfriend was sitting on him," Han countered. "You held back."

"Didn't know," Jaina said, "and it wouldn't matter if I did.

Lowbacca's still out there. We're not going back without him."

As Jaina folded her arms, the gesture was simultaneously mimicked by the swarm of Killiks that had gathered around them. But Leia was not ready to give up.

"Jaina, you know you're only making the situation worse," she said.

"The Chiss are escalating things because of your presence."

"That's right," Han said. "And you proved on the rescue mission that your judgment isn't exactly sound."

Jaina did a good job of maintaining a neutral expression, but Leia was too adept at reading faces to miss the glimmer of hurt that flashed through their daughter's eyes.

"Jaina, if you really want to help Lowbacca, you'll come back with us. " Leia switched her gaze to all three Jedi. "You know the Chiss are an honorable people. Stop making the situation worse and give us a chance to work this out diplomatically."

Jaina and Zekk actually dropped their gazes, but Alema was ready with a response. "And while you're still trying to make contact, they'll send in a fleet of defoliators to finish what they began."

Jaina nodded. "Diplomacy is good," she said. "But it's better when there's something to back it up. Go ahead and make contact with the Chiss, but we're staying."

"That's one option," Leia allowed. "But I'm concerned that you really don't know who you're dealing with."

Jaina's scowl of confusion was mirrored by the other two Jedi.

"We're not talking about the Chiss," Han explained. "You three are in way over your heads here-unless you think Saba really did imagine those a.s.sa.s.sin bugs?"

Alema's eyes flashed at the word bugs, but she was the first to shake her head. "They were real."

"But they weren't Taat," Zekk added.

"That's one of the things we'll be working on," Jaina said.

"Until when?" Once again, Leia was unnerved by how easily the trio were finis.h.i.+ng each other's sentences. "Until you become Joiners?"

Jaina and the others shared a glance, then Zekk said, "That depends."

"On what?" Han asked.

"On how quickly you convince the Chiss to stop," Alema finished.

"Maybe you'd better hurry back to the Falcon," Jaina finished.

"Especially if Saba is right about where that third a.s.sa.s.sin went."

Leia's stomach grew hollow and worried. Jaina was right about that much, at least. They did not have a lot of time to waste trying to talk the three Jedi into coming home.

And Han knew it, too. He stepped close to Jaina. "Jaina, listen to me- "

"I don't have to listen, Dad," Jaina said. "I can feel what you're thinking."

"We all can," Zekk added. "No daughter of mine-"

"-is going to become a bughugger," Alema finished.

"Hey, no fair!" Han objected. "Just because I don't like bugs doesn't mean I'm wrong. There's something sneaky going on here-and Raynar's in it up to his neck."

"You don't know that," Jaina said.

"This is the third time we've been attacked," Leia reminded her.

"And Raynar did tell us he was afraid we'd try to take you away."

"Then he can stop worrying, because we're not going anywhere until the Chiss leave," Jaina said. "So hurry up and make that happen."

She opened her arms to embrace Han, but he stepped back shaking his head. "No, Jaina, I'm not giving this my-"

"I wasn't looking for your blessing, Dad." Jaina's voice had grown hard-not angry, just hard. "And I guess I'd be foolish to hope for anything else."

"If you're going to be ronto-brained about this, yeah," Han said.

"I'll tell you what. You take Saba back in the Falcon, and your mother and I'll stay here to handle the Chiss."

"And recover Lowie," Leia added.

"You'd let me fly the Falcon home?" Jaina asked, c.o.c.king her head in an all-too-Killik-like fas.h.i.+on. "Alone?"

"Well, with Alema and Zekk," Han said. "Sure."

Jaina scowled. "Who do you think you're talking to, Dad? I know how you feel about insects." She turned her back on Han and held her arms out to Leia. "Mother?"

"I wish you'd listen to your father." Leia's chest grew heavy, for she could see Han's frustration with Jaina turning to anger. "You do know you might be the real prize in this conflict? Raynar isn't the earnest young man who went to Myrkr with you. He's desperate and lonely. I wouldn't be surprised if he had instigated the whole border conflict just to draw you-"

"Mom, sometimes you think too much." Jaina lowered her arms, then turned and started away. "You'd better get the Falcon off this moon. I'll try to warn Aunt Mara through the Force."

"Jaina!" Han barked.

Jaina ignored him.

Zekk said, "Do what you can with the Chiss. We'll keep things in check here."

He turned and started after Jaina.

"This isn't over, you know!" Han said to their backs. "We're going to come back."

Jaina waved over her shoulder, but Alema remained where she was, in front of the Solos.

"I'll be going with you," the Twi'lek said to Leia.

Jaina and Zekk both stopped and whirled around in surprise.

"You will?" Jaina asked.

"We didn't expect this," Zekk said.

"They'll need a guide," Alema explained. "They can't go back the same way they came without stopping at Yoggoy, and that may not be a good idea- at least not until we know who's behind these attacks."

Jaina scowled at the unexpected change of plan, but nodded and turned to her father. "Do you have room on the Falcon?"

"Sure," Han said. "Why don't you all come?"

TWENTY.

Even curled into the primal egg position on the Falcon's medbay bunk, staring dead ahead with glazed eyes, Saba looked more annoyed by her wounds than pained by them. Her pebbly lips were drawn back in a frozen sneer, with the tips of her forked tongue showing between her fangs, and the claws on her hands were fully extended. She held her bandaged tail wrapped tightly around her hindquarters, and if she was breathing at all, Leia saw no sign of it in her constricted nostrils and motionless chest.

"She looks like she's dying," Alema whispered over Leia's shoulder.

"Is she dying?"

"I don't know." Leia checked the monitors and found a single spike on the cardio-line. There was a barely discernible upward slope on the respiratory chart. "I think it's just a healing trance."

"Well, she looks like she's dying," Alema said.

Saba's tongue shot out and snapped the air, drawing a surprised gasp from both Leia and Alema, then returned to its place between her teeth. The Barabel's eyes remained fixed and glazed.

"Healing trance," Leia concluded.

"Do you think she'll survive?"

Leia studied the silken bandage that covered half of Saba's skull.

"With that head wound, anyone else would be dead already," she said. "But Saba's a Barabel. Who knows?"

Alema's only answer was a long, concerned silence.

After a time, Leia lowered the lights and told the medcomputer to alert her if anything changed in Saba's status.

As Leia drew the privacy curtain across the medbay, she asked, "How about a nice mug of hot chocolate? We have some of Luke's special supply on board."

"Really? Hot chocolate!" Alema gasped. Always scarce, hot chocolate had become a true Hutt's pleasure after the Yuuzhan Vong reshaped seven of the eight planets capable of growing the rare pods necessary to produce it. "What about your duties in the c.o.c.kpit?"

"Don't worry about that." Leia took the Twi'lek's arm and led her forward. The Falcon had just left Qoribu and was preparing to make its first jump to hypers.p.a.ce, but Leia needed to find out what was really happening on Jwlio-and the sooner, the better. "Juun is filling in for me. Han's growing fond of the little guy."

Alema curled her lekku. "That's not the impression I get from Han."

Leia gave a knowing smile. "That's because Han doesn't realize it yet. " They entered the main cabin. "Anyway, we have time. Have a seat."

Leia took several white, thumb-sized seeds from a storage box and placed them in the galley multiprocessor. She set the controls to DRY AND POWDER, then turned, placed a fist on her hip, and began to study Alema with the same slightly interested, slightly preoccupied expression that she had been using to soften up her subjects since her days as a junior Senator in the Old Republic.

Leia should have known it wouldn't work on Alema Rar. Lithe, beautiful, and averse to modest clothing, the Twi'lek was used to being stared at. She simply stared back, making Leia feel as though she were the one dressed only in a sideless chemise.

The multiprocessor chimed, allowing Leia to turn away gracefully.

She added a lot of sweetener and a small amount of water, then set the controls to AGITATE AND HEAT.

"You have a complicated way of making hot-chocolate," Alema noted.

"Usually, it just comes out of the dispenser nozzle."

"This is better," Leia said, turning back toward the Twi'lek.

"Trust me."

"Of course," Alema said. "Is there a reason not to?"

Leia began to wonder who was being interrogated here. She waited until it was time to add the milk, then instructed the multiprocessor to heat slowly and joined Alema at the table.

"Okay." Leia a.s.sumed her best motherly tone and leaned in close.

"So what is it?"

Alema frowned, but did not pull back. "What is what?"

"The reason you're here," Leia said. "We both know that Juun could have gotten the Falcon past Yoggoy."

Finally, a glimmer of doubt showed in Alema's face. Leia was tempted to probe her feelings through the Force, but suspected the Twi'lek would sense the intrusion and resent it.

Alema looked toward the multiprocessor. "Shouldn't you check the hot chocolate?"

"The unit will chime." Leia kept her gaze fixed on the Twi'lek's face. "I saw how Jaina and Zekk reacted, Alema."

"That doesn't mean-"

"You three could barely start a sentence without someone else finis.h.i.+ng it," Leia said.