Chapter XV
For a moment he lay in the darkness, wondering what had awoken him. Stretching out with the Force, Luke Skywalker felt the presences outside his cell and realized that one of the guards was unconscious. There was a soft thud, and the Jedi Master felt the second guard's awareness fade. Leaving only whoever had knocked them out to deal with, Luke thought as he identified the third presence. He had little time to react to what he found out before the form of his rescuer was outlined in the doorway against the starry night and a soft metal cylinder arced into his palm.
Without conversation, the two of them jogged thru the quiet encampment and across the rolling hills beyond. When they had achieved a safe distance, Skywalker grabbed the other by the shoulder and pulled both of them to a halt. "Brakiss, what's going on?" he said. "Appearances can be deceiving," the younger man said, "Sival has left on business of his own and I saw a chance to get you out. Do my motives really matter that much?"
"So you have finally forsaken the Dark Side," Luke said. "Let's not quibble over semantics, Master," Brakiss said, "I have a vessel waiting nearby that we can use to get off this rock, if that is what you want to do." "Since Sival is gone, I see no reason to stay," the Jedi Master said. Trudging off thru the night, Luke reflected that sometimes things turned out in ways you least expected them to.
#
"Thank you for accepting my hospitality," Vhaldoq said, pouring some wine. Leia sampled it and nodded thanks. "Do you find it interesting that Sival would turn over the Super Star Destroyer I gave him to someone else?" D'ukal asked. "I just thought he'd constructed another one," Organa Solo said, sampling some of the dishes that the Grand Admiral had laid before her. "The differences are subtle, but quite unmistakable," Vhaldoq said, "The only reason I can think of is that he had found a more suitable ship to command."
"According to the files Pellaeon gave us, Valeriy Quirlarna has been one of those opposed to our current policies towards the Yuuzhan Vong," she observed, "Based on the behavior of the forces she commands, I'd say she wants more drastic action against them to be taken." "I have been perusing those same reports," D'ukal said, "The descriptions of the Sith Lord that is rumored to be at her side don't match what I know of Darth Sival."
Leia nodded, a shiver running down her spine as she recalled one particularly disturbing suggestion regarding the identity of this personage. Finishing what was laid before her, she rose and nodded respectfully at her host. "I need to get some rest," she said, "I have a feeling that my schedule will be filled to capacity when we reach Denon."
Vhaldoq nodded and said, "You must do what you think is right, of course." Turning her back on him and heading thru the corridors of the Star Empire, Leia soon reached the quarters assigned to her. Locking herself in, she laid down on the bed and tried to dispel her worries about the safety of her family. As she finally drifted off, one last dark specter arose in her thoughts and was quickly banished. After all, who would dream of really making a clone of Darth Vader?
#
"That's unusual," Mara muttered as the planet ahead was lit up by weapons fire again. Two ships were rising from the atmosphere. One was of a more conventional design; while the second matched what she'd learned was typical of the Yuuzhan Vong. "What are you referring to, Mistress Mara?" Threepio said, turning his attention away from young Ben for a moment. "They're both firing the same kind of weaponry," she explained, "Which is even stranger since they both appear to using lasers."
Reaching out towards the planet, she caught the sense of the crews of the vessels and stiffened in shock. Her hands were moving on the controls even before she consciously thought of swinging them closer to the planet. The golden droid moaned as he was thrown against the wall by the change in attitude, but her son appeared to be unaffected by the shift in course. The fleeing ship had noted her headlong plunge towards the planet and deftly evaded her fire so that it hit the Yuuzhan Vong craft instead.
Damaged beyond repair, the alien craft slipped down towards the atmosphere in a deadly spiral. The light on the comm system flashed and Mara opened a channel. "Your timing is excellent, though your aim needs work," the cheerful voice said on the other end. "You're one to talk, farm boy," Jade Skywalker said happily, pleased to have found her husband at last.
"We have a rendezvous my pilot needs to make and a lot to talk about," Luke went on. Reaching out towards the second presence on the craft before her, Mara identified it as well and nodded to herself. "You're absolutely right, Luke," she said, "But let's make tracks first." "I couldn't have said it better myself," Luke told her as the two ships shot towards the safety of the stars.
