Force Heretic_ Refugee Part 15

"After you," she said to Salkeli, and the Rodian dropped feet first out of the container.

The work in the library was a painstaking process, and after so many hours poring over books, Saba was beginning to feel fatigue pressing at the stiff muscles beneath her itchy scales. Thankfully, though, there were enough allusions to a wandering planet in the innumerable cultures to keep everyone optimistic. After Danni had found the first reference, Saba had quickly discovered two more, and shortly after that Jacen had found yet another. Since then, as the trail grew warm, appearances came at a regular rate. When what they thought was Zonama Sekot had pa.s.sed near a relatively civilized world, they were able to pin down its appearance with precise dates; otherwise they were able to guess, based on more or less inaccurate records and physical evidence. Luckily, Saba thought, they weren't chasing an event that had happened centuries ago.

In many cases, witnesses were still alive to relate to the Chiss contact teams their firsthand experience of the "Coming of the New Star," or the "Dawning of the Death Sun," or whatever else it happened to be called.

From these recollections, along with more recent surveys of every system in the Chiss's domain, they gradually began to reconstruct the planet's movements.

Zonama Sekot had first appeared on the Imperial fringes of the Unknown Regions, visiting three systems within a couple of years. Then it had jumped clear across to the outer edge of the galaxy, where habitable systems were fewer and far between. There it had encountered a species that, before its enslavement by the Yuuzhan Vong early in their invasion, would relate to the Chiss visitors the coming of a world that hung in their sky for a month, burning and smoking. This certainly didn't match the description of the lush and peaceful world given by Vergere, but it did match predictions of the sort of stresses the crust of a planet might experience by jumping in and out of gravity wells through hypers.p.a.ce. No one had ever heard of such a feat before, so there was no experimental data on record, but the most basic planetary science suggested that Zonama Sekot would not have been unscathed by its precipitous jumps across the galaxy.

Following this, it had retreated inward, toward the Core of the galaxy. There it encountered several species in quick succession before finally settling down in one particular system for almost a year. The new light in the sky had inspired a compet.i.tive surge from the normally content denizens of that system's habitable world, with the two main countries entering into a kind of "s.p.a.ce race" to see who could be the first to land a probe on the mysterious visitor. However, well before the vying probes made orbit around the planet, it vanished once more.

Again, images taken before it disappeared showed a world completely covered by smoke and ash, simmering in its own heat. Saba felt a pang of pity for the fleeing world as she once again contrasted these images with that of Vergere's own testimony, reported by Jacen, of a world rich with life, in constant harmony with the Force.

Oddly, though, later reports from farther around the galactic rim spoke of a world that was green again - so either Zonama Sekot had managed to heal itself, or it was getting the hang of making hypers.p.a.ce jumps without causing itself any further grievous damage. It came and went without warning, flitting shyly from star to star in search of...

what? Saba wondered, but she couldn't begin to imagine. Perhaps, she thought, somewhere along the way it had lost the only company it had ever known-the Ferroan colonists who had for generations lived on its surface-and was now seeking replacements...

Then again, she was also aware that as one of the few remaining members of her own species, still mourning the loss of her home planet, she might be externalizing her own problems and transposing them onto Zonama Sekot. She couldn't presume to know what went on in the mind of such an incomprehensible being that - A sudden high-pitched squeal startled Saba, causing her to jump and almost drop the book she was returning to the shelf. She turned to see a tall woman in her middle years dressed in a green jumpsuit beneath black robes standing at the end of the aisle, both hands covering her mouth. She was clearly surprised to have stumbled upon the huge Barabel.

Behind her stood a blond human girl who looked to be in her early teens; she was dressed in a black uniform that looked like a miniature version of the CEDF dress code. The girl looked disdainfully at the older woman, as though thoroughly mortified by her exclamation.

"I-I-" the woman stammered, lowering her hands. A nervous smile failed to hide her obvious embarra.s.sment. "I'm sorry; you startled me."

"There iz no need to apologize," Saba said. "This one was startled also. We thought we were alone in the library."

"You are. I mean, you were." The woman still seemed a little unsure of Saba.

"What my mother means is that we just arrived," the girl said. "We were looking for my father, Soontir Fel." There was something in the way the girl glanced to the ground as she said this that suggested she wasn't telling the truth. Nevertheless, understanding dawned for Saba at the mention of the Baron's name. "Then you must be Syal Antillez?" The woman smiled more easily this time, dissolving some of her awkwardness-although not all. "Yes. And this is my daughter, Wyn." Saba executed a short, respectful bow. The wife of Soontir Fel, mother of Jagged Fel, and sister of Wedge Antilles was an acquaintance she was pleased to make. "This one iz Saba Sebatyne."

"What're you looking for?" Wyn asked, craning to look at the spine of the book Saba had just replaced.

Saba hesitated, unsure how much she should reveal. "This one waz tracing the history of a speciez called the Hemes Arbora." The girl shrugged. "I've never heard of them." Saba stretched up to pull the book back down and flipped it open to one of the strange, two-dimensional maps the archive preferred. She tapped it with a claw.

"They originally came from here, Carrivar, and migrated to Osseriton here, via Umaren'k. This one detected their influence on the Umaren'k'sa culture."

"What does that mean?"

"Wyn," her mother cautioned.

Syal Antilles was waiting some distance away-a "safe" distance, Saba observed. Despite her years living with Baron Fel among the Chiss, she was probably still wary of nonhuman aliens-as so many Imperials seemed to be. To Saba, she said: "I must apologize for my daughter's prying. I'm sure you have enough to do without her bothering you with questions."

"This one iz not bothered by your daughter," Saba a.s.sured. Then, blinking at the girl, she turned to answer her previous question. "Our search iz for a particular planet. Apart from itz one habitable world, Osseriton iz an empty system. The Hemes Arbora would have noticed a new world." Wyn laughed lightly. "You have a strange way of saying things."

"Wyn!" The girl, easily half a meter shorter than Saba, looked up at the Barabel and rolled her eyes, all the while keeping her back to her mother.

Saba smiled, saying to Syal Antilles: "It iz all right. This one iz not offended by her words." Wyn returned the smile at this, then turned her attention to the maps, her eyes almost s.h.i.+ning in wonder. "You must lead such an amazing life. Traveling to all those place, having all kinds of adventures! " Saba nodded, supposing that from a child's point of view that must seem true. Jedi Knights carried with them an aura of mystique wherever they went. However, it was unlikely that Saba's current work in the library was even remotely connected to the adventures that Wyn was obviously imagining...

"So it's true," Syal muttered as she took a step forward. There was a look of suspicion on her face. " You're really expecting us to believe that you're looking for Zonama Sekot." Saba didn't bother denying it.

"This iz our quarry, yes."

"But Zonama Sekot is nothing more than a legend, a myth.'' Syal shook her head, eyes narrowing as her suspicion came to the fore. "What is it you're really after?"

"This one does not know what you mean by-"

"I mean that I find it hard to believe that you came all this way to chase shadows!" Saba frowned, her eyebrow ridges contracting thickly on her brow. She didn't understand why the woman's temperament had suddenly changed, or indeed what she was trying to get at. "Why else would Master Skywalker bring uz here?"

"The CEDF Library, of course. It gives you access to everything we have on all the people and places known to the Chiss!"

"But why should we want to know thiz?"

"Because you're looking for allies," she said. "We've resisted the Yuuzhan Vong better than you have. You need us far more than we need you."

"You think we're looking for a way to convince you to join the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances?"

"Or maybe coerce us," Syal returned bluntly.

"Mom," Wyn said. There was a hint of embarra.s.sment and reproach in her tone. Then she faced Saba with a look of apology. "She doesn't mean what she says. She's just worried you're going to try to take Dad away from her, like you took Jag." The woman's eyes flashed anger at her daughter, and her voice carried denial. "Wyn!"

"Oh, come on, Mom," the girl said, wheeling around to face her mother. "You've been worried about Dad ever since Jag left!"

"That's not true," Syal said firmly, but there was something in her eyes that suggested that what her daughter said was true. After a moment, she sighed and shook her head slowly. "It hasn't been since Jag left, Wyn; it's been since Coruscant fell." Saba was beginning to feel out of her depth. She wished that Master Skywalker was here to face these accusations instead of her; he was far more adept at handling such matters.

"Before Coruscant, I was actually trying to talk Soontir into joining the fight against the Yuuzhan Vong." All acrimony had gone from her tone, for which Saba was grateful. She seemed to speak now as a means of explaining her prior hostility toward Saba's presence. "I wanted him to join the New Republic like Jag did, either with the rest of the Chiss or without them. But he didn't want to fight; he said that the New Republic could handle the Yuuzhan Vong, just as we were handling it on our side of the galaxy. Then you lost the capital and - She hesitated briefly, as if collecting her thoughts. "I knew two things, then: that he would change his mind; and that you were going to lose." Her eyes flitted be-tween Wyn and Saba as she said, "I won't let you take him down with you. I won't."

"Do you think he will be safe here if the Chiss don't join uz in the war?" The expression on Syal's face told Saba everything she needed to know. The woman knew that the Chiss had no hope if the rest of the galaxy fell to the Yuuzhan Vong; within years, the alien invaders would be replenished and able to overwhelm even the strongest Chiss defense.

"Don't make the mistake of underestimating the Yuu-zhan Vong,"

Danni suddenly put in from the other end of the aisle - All eyes turned to her. Saba hadn't heard the scientist arrive, and wasn't sure how long she'd been listening in. Her expression was heavy with tiredness, but her words were uttered with the clarity of personal experience. "Too many of us have already paid a terrible price for doing just that. The New Republic, the Empire, the Hutts, the Ithorians, the Rodians-the list keeps getting longer with every year this war continues. You obviously know what's been going on; you must realize how serious a threat these invaders are. Do you really think that hiding out here will save you forever? They may decide to wipe you out on a whim, just like they tried to do with the Imperial Remnant."

"Your position iz untenable," Saba added. "Denying it will not make it otherwise."

"I don't want to lose him," Antilles whispered, her expression one of someone caught between two conflicting emotions. "I can't take it anymore. I can't..."

"Mom..." The daughter looked frightened.

"Do not be afraid," Saba said, putting as much compa.s.sion as she could into her rough, reptilian voice. "We are not your enemies; we understand your fearz." Wyn looked up at her with wide, staring eyes.

"But there iz no easy solution to this war. Turning your back on it won't make it go away. We need long-term solutions; we need to work together.

Of that, this one iz absolutely certain, Syal Antilles." Syal nodded, then, although her uncertainty clearly remained.

"You're Syal Antilles?" Danni asked, coming closer.

"Yes," the woman replied. "Why?"

"Baron Fel just arrived," she said. "But he didn't mention that he was expecting you."

"He wasn't," she said, confirming Saba's earlier suspicion of Wyn's lie. "We just heard that someone had come from home, and we wanted to see them." Gone was the frightened mother and wife; in her place stood a composed and confident woman beaming a pleasant smile to a stranger who might not have heard every doubt she'd just expressed. "And now that we have seen you, perhaps we should be moving along." Her eyes met Saba's briefly, exchanging all manner of emotion-the most prominent of which was grat.i.tude. "Thank you for your words, Saba. And please accept my apology for mine."

"There iz no need," Saba said, effecting a slight bow.

Syal Antilles returned the gesture. "Come along, Wyn."

"I think I might stay and help them, if that's all right?" The girl directed this to Saba and Danni, both of whom nodded.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Wyn," her mother said. "They don't need you getting in their way while they're trying to work."

"No, it's fine," Danni said. "Actually, we could use the help."

"Are you sure?" Syal asked. There still seemed to be a residue of embarra.s.sment for her earlier outburst.

But Saba knew that an injection of youthful enthusiasm from Wyn would be just what they needed. "This one iz certain that Wyn would not be a burden." Wyn's face immediately lit up. "You won't regret it. I know these records better than most people-including Tris!"

"That I seriously doubt," her mother said.

Wyn didn't respond; instead she faced Danni and asked: "Is it true that one of the Solo twins is here with the Skywalkers?" Danni nodded and smiled. "Jacen Solo, yes."

"And will I get to meet him, too?"

"I'm sure you will," Danni said.

"Don't get too far ahead of yourself, Wyn," her mother said. She still seemed hesitant about her daughter staying. "We still have to clear this with your father."

"He'll be fine with it, Mom," Wyn said, fairly bouncing on her toes. Her enthusiasm suggested that not much in the way of excitement had happened in her life for a long, long time.

"This one will mind her while you check, if you wish." Syal nodded, still with some uncertainty, as Danni led her away.

"Thank you so much for this!" she exclaimed once her mother and Danni had disappeared down another aisle. "This will be fantastic!"

"It will also be hard work," Saba cautioned. "And it iz very important work, too."

"Oh, I understand that," Wyn said, forcing herself to settle down.

Then, looking around, she spread her arms as if to encompa.s.s the entire library and said: "So where did you want to start?" Jaina followed as quickly as she could as Salkeli slithered down the pipes and vines to the bottom of the Stack. The entire structure shuddered as it lowered slightly to make their drop to the ground less severe. She looked around to make sure the area was clear. It was. However close the Bakuran guards were, thankfully they hadn't yet breached the ground floor.

Salkeli waved for her to follow. With the bug tucked deep in one of her jumpsuit pockets and her deactivated lightsaber in hand, she did so.

Her feet fell silently among the plant debris and rubble that made the abandoned building look more like ruins in a jungle than an abandoned office block. The Rodian led her out of the atrium s.p.a.ce and through a series of short corridors. They entered what had once been a public refresher and, after a brief pause to listen for sounds outside, pushed out the window.

"After you, this time," Salkeli said. Jaina slipped through the narrow s.p.a.ce and into the darkness outside.

She found herself standing in a long and very narrow alley. She was grateful that there were no guards waiting for them, because there wouldn't have been much room to fight if there had been.

It was still night by the look of the sky. She hadn't yet adjusted to local time, but she suspected that dawn wasn't far off. If Malinza and the other members of Freedom were going to make a clean getaway, they'd have to do it soon.

"What sort of distraction does Vyram have in mind, anyway?" she whispered to the Rodian as he emerged from the window beside her.

"Wait and see," he answered with a wink.

He hurried up the alley, moving carefully but quickly. Jaina followed, alert to the slightest change in the environment around her. A fitful wind blew from ahead of her, throwing up dust and rustling discarded paper and rubbish. She was acutely aware of the fact that the guards didn't have to be supersleuths to find her. All they had to do was follow the signal from the bug in her pocket. Ideally, what she needed was a feral cratsch or a lost droid to which she could attach the bug, after which she could make her own escape. Until then, though, she would just have to keep moving and stay attentive.

Salkeli was within ten meters of the end of the alley when an aircar suddenly swept over them, landing lights and powerful arcs flas.h.i.+ng down the narrow gap between the buildings. In a second it was gone. Jaina could hear the whine of its turbines as it circled to come back around and pinpoint them again.

Through the Force, Jaina sensed the blaster come up from behind her before the woman holding it had even had chance to fire. In one smooth motion she wheeled around in midstep and activated her lightsaber, bringing it up between her and the guard at the distant end of the alley at the exact instant the laser bolt fired. There was a bright flash as the bolt discharged into the wall beside her, spraying chips of stone into the air. More bolts followed, but the smoke in the air spoiled the guard's aim, and Jaina was easily able to back away after Salkeli, providing cover.

The Rodian hissed for her to hurry. Sensing no one lying in wait for them, she turned and ran full tilt for the exit from the alley.

Salkeli had his blaster out, ready to fire at anyone who got in his way.

Jaina, on the other hand, wasn't so committed to attacking people who, despite her current situation, were supposed to be her allies.

Out of the alley, she found herself on a wider, more exposed street. Salkeli was already halfway across it, heading for a smashed window in a building on the far side. Jaina followed without hesitation, deactivating her lightsaber as she went. She dashed across the road and dived headlong through the window just seconds after Salkeli. She rolled as she landed, coming up into a crouch to examine her surroundings. A quick look around told her they were in the remains of an open-plan office, long abandoned, with broken furniture strewn about the floor.

Salkeli was clambering to his feet just as the guards emerged from the alley across the street.

"Keep moving!" he urged, das.h.i.+ng from the room with his head low.

He took her deep into the building, then down into one of its sub-bas.e.m.e.nts. Kicking open a stuck door, he revealed a long tunnel that, judging by its length, stretched to several other buildings along the street. They hurried along it, pa.s.sing entrances to other bas.e.m.e.nt levels.

"I trust you have a plan?" Jaina said.

"More or less," he called back to her. "We'll go back up in a second, to throw them off track. Once we're sure Malinza and the rest are safely away, I'll take any suggestions you have." Footfalls came from the corridor behind them. Jaina spun around, igniting her lightsaber and deflecting a handful of blaster bolts that had been aimed at their fleeing backs. Salkeli took the next stairwell on their right; Jaina followed.

He didn't stop at the ground floor, but instead continued on to the top of the building. When they emerged, the aircar was waiting for them, hovering above the roof like the remotes she'd once trained with-only much larger, and much deadlier. Two guards hung over its sides, blaster rifles pointing down at Salkeli and Jaina. Dodging and deflecting laser bolts, the two of them took cover behind a ventilation shaft. Jaina used the Force to rock the aircar while the Rodian returned fire. That evened the score, but they were still in a no-win situation because they had nowhere to run.

She was about to point this out when a loud explosion from nearby brought a halt to the firing from the aircar. The attention of the guards in the vehicle suddenly turned to a huge ball of burning gas rising up from a nearby building-the same building, Jaina noted, that had contained the Stack. She was so surprised by the turn of events that she barely noticed the arrival of other guards from the stairwell. Thankfully, though, they were also attracted to the spectacle, staring in amazement at what was emerging from the newly formed hole where the building's skylight had once been.

The Stack itself-its ragtag jumble of containers loosely tied together with scaffolding and hidden by vines-rose gracefully into the predawn sky, glinting shards of shattered transparisteel falling like silver rain onto the building below. Propelled by repulsors, the entire structure was as buoyant as a hot-air balloon, and moved in much the same way. As soon as it had cleared the top of the building, it began to drift with the prevailing wind, trailing a spreading cloud of smoke and debris beneath it.

The aircar sped away to intercept the floating structure, leaving the guards on the rooftop staring at the spectacle.

"Now's the time for suggestions," he hissed. "Before those guards over there remember what they're here for. Right now they stand between us and our only means of escape."

"There is one other," Jaina said, staring at the edge of the roof a dozen or so meters away.

Salkeli laughed, following her gaze. "Don't tell me that Jedi can fly, too?" She shook her head and smiled at him. "No, but we can jump.

Come on!" With that, she bolted for the edge of the rooftop, not stopping to check that the Rodian was following. Then, trusting in her instincts and the Force, she threw herself into the air.

Instead of landing on another rooftop, however, she found herself plunging into a deep and wide aqueduct half filled with fast-moving water. The current instantly grabbed and held her down. Her limbs flailed as she struggled to orient herself and come up for air. Lungs burning, she finally broke the surface, desperately trying to suck in some oxygen while at the same time coughing up some of the water she'd inhaled. Then, from somewhere nearby, above the sound of rus.h.i.+ng current, she heard the wheezing laughter of the Rodian.

"Over here!" he called as the current swept them along into a high-ceilinged tunnel. He was paddling strongly a meter or so away from her.

She spat out some more water and swam to his side. "I presume the Stack was the distraction you mentioned. It was empty, right?"

"Right." His voice echoed in the tunnel. "While the guards chasing us split up to check, the others would have slipped out through the bas.e.m.e.nt."