Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II (17 page)

“Thank you. Bail, ” said Mon Mothma. “Be safe. “

The third hologram flickered out.

“Leadership is hard, ” said Bel Iblis to Mon Mothma, not un-sympathetically, “when there are three of us trying to lead at once. “

“If it were easy, ” she said, “we would have finished this long ago. “

The two remaining Senators signed off, leaving Commodore Viedas, Juno, and PROXY alone.

“I think we just witnessed some progress, ” said the commodore, standing. “Of a sort. “

Juno understood what he meant. Mon Mothma had given ground, but the leadership might still argue for weeks before settling on an appropriate target. And this time, something low-key simply wouldn’t do. It would have to be extremely visible to have the effect required.

“I guess being seen to do something is better than doing nothing at all, ” she said, “even if it’s hard to tell the difference sometimes. “

“Careful, Captain Eclipse. You’re becoming a cynic. “

“Politics will do that to you. “

“There are few immune to it, unfortunately. “

Starkiller would have been, she wanted to say as the door closed between them, but she kept that thought to herself.

On the brief shuttle ride to the Salvation, PROXY changed shape without warning.

Juno looked up from the controls.

“Is that really you, Princess, or is PROXY playing up again?”

“Call me Leia, ” came the instantaneous reply. Wherever she was transmitting from, the signal was good. “Congratulations on the success of your mission, Captain. How did the meeting go?”

“Well enough, I think, ” Juno said, glad the shuttle was empty apart from her and PROXY. “I’m relieved your father was part of it. “

“Yes. He can handle the others better than I. “

“I wouldn’t say that, ” Juno said. “You have the advantage of being young. I think it puts Mon Mothma off her game. “

“It doesn’t feel like an advantage when you’re arguing with some of the old fools I have to deal with here at home. Alderaanian politics makes the Empire look like child’s play. “

“Still, you got what you wanted. Don’t discount that. “

“All right. Maybe I softened them up, but Father sealed the deal. And we couldn’t have done it without you, of course. “

“Happy to serve, ” Juno said, “although that might be a little more difficult now that I’ve got my command back-thank goodness. “

“There was never any doubt of that. You’ll be exactly where we can use you best-in the middle, not too far away from the action that you forget what’s at stake, and not so close that you can’t see the big picture. And you have a frigate at your disposal, which is nothing to be sniffed at when it comes to winning arguments. “

Juno smiled. It didn’t sound so bad, the way Leia put it.

“The important thing, ” Leia went on, “is that we keep fighting on all fronts at once. Big stuff, small stuff, everything in between. The Empire isn’t just the Emperor: it’s all the people beneath him who serve him willingly. We have to take the fight to them, too. “

“Sounds exhausting. “

“I get tired just thinking about it. “

They laughed together, more out of companionship than at anything particularly funny. Juno couldn’t remember the last time she’d had anything at all to laugh about.

“What are your plans now?” she asked.

“Well, the Death Star is still out there, ” said the Princess. “The Emperor has it well hidden from us, but it’s too big a project to keep our of sight forever. We’ll find it, one way or another, and we’ll do our best to disrupt its construction. That’s our number one priority, because if it’s ever operational, the entire galaxy will suffer. ” She shrugged. “Apart from that, life goes on. University, training, all that ridiculous Old House palaver. If my aunts had their way, I’d be paired off to some brainless boy before the year is our-and there’d go any chance I had of doing something real ever again. “

Juno was forcefully reminded then of how young Leia was. Boy troubles, parental expectations, frustrated ambition-for teenagers some things were universal, even in the middle of a galactic revolution. Leia reminded Juno of herself, not so very long ago.

“My father tried to set me up with the son of a friend once, ” she told the Princess. “A horrible boy, nor much more than a recruit. Thought he was going to be the next High Commander but could barely button up his uniform right. Somehow just being from the right side of the planet mattered more than anything about who he was. “

“What did you do?”

“Learned to be the best pilot in my sector and got myself transferred. The kid stayed behind-never made it above corporal, for all his talk. My father probably still thinks I missed my chance. “

“Parents have no idea. “

They laughed again, even as Juno wondered what was going on. Did the Princess have so little contact with the people around her that she, too, had no one to talk to? That didn’t seem possible: She had mentioned the university, after all, where there would be lots of people her age, and Juno was sure Bail Organa wouldn’t let his daughter grow up isolated and socially inept.

At least Leia still knew her father, Juno thought. Her own father was so distant and alienated that she didn’t even know if he was alive.

“Do you have a boyfriend at the moment?” Juno asked her, testing the moment to see where it led.

To her credit, Leia didn’t blush. “No one my aunts would approve of. “

“Ah, it’s like that. Watch out for the bad ones, Leia. They’re the ones who really mess you up. “

“Everyone says that. “

“Because it’s true. Don’t learn it the hard way, like I did. “

Instead of lumping Juno in with “everyone” and dismissing the advice, Leia nodded soberly. “I guess you did. “

Juno sobered, too. She hadn’t even been thinking of Starkiller, but now she was. The pain was sharp and piercing, causing her to lower her eyes from the Princess’s searching gaze.

And suddenly it was clear just how Leia saw her. Nor as a friend or confidante, although she might claim either if directly asked. What else could a Princess of the Royal House of Alderaan with rebellious aspirations see in an independent-minded officer who always seemed to be in the thick of things but a role model?

Now, that was a daunting responsibility.

“I’m sorry, ” said Leia. “I can’t imagine what it must feel like to miss someone so badly. “

“I hope you’ll never know. ” Juno collected herself and forced a smile. Time to change the subject. “It makes fighting the Emperor and our friends the Senators look easy in comparison. At least they’re fights we can win. “

Like a good diplomat-in-training, Leia picked up on her signals. “Well, I’m sure we’ll find ways to keep you busy. Thanks for your support, Juno. I’ll be in touch again soon. “

“We won’t be sitting on our hands out here, that’s for sure. The moment we have a target, the fleet will be ready to move. “

Leia smiled and raised her hand as though to hit a switch at her end.

“Oh, before I go, ” she said, “if your droid is playing up again, have you considered that it might not be a random malfunction? There could be a reason for it, beyond a simple glitch. “

“Like deliberate sabotage, you mean?”

“Maybe. Or a message. Or something else entirely. ” Leia shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s worth thinking about, though. “

Juno nodded. “I will. Thank you. “

Leia fizzled out, and suddenly Juno was sitting face-to-face with the droid himself.

“What do you think, PROXY? Are you trying to tell me something?”

“I can’t imagine what, Captain Eclipse. When I have something to communicate with you, I use the verbal interface my makers gave me. “

“You’re all talk, in other words. “

“Correct. “

“My thoughts exactly. ” That left sabotage or a message from someone else. But who would go to so much trouble just to send her images of Starkiller and herself? It didn’t make sense.

“We have you on approach, Captain Eclipse, ” said a familiar voice over the comm. “Welcome back. “

“Thanks, Nitram, ” she said, quickly raking stock of the shuttle’s location. It was decelerating smoothly on autopilot for the Salvation’s mid-spine docking tube. Taking the controls, she adjusted its trim and gave the thrusters an extra nudge. Just seeing the frigate raised her spirits. “Break out the Old Janx Spirit. It’s good to be home. “

“Uh, seriously, sir?”

Juno smiled at her second in command’s tone. Sometimes the Bothan was too easy to tease. “Of course not. We have work to do. The bottle stays in my safe until the Emperor is dead. “

“Yes, sir. Understood. “

The Salvation loomed ahead. Juno put all other thoughts from her mind as she jockeyed the shuttle in to dock.

From Dagobah to Malastare was a relatively short journey, but it seemed to take forever. With nothing to do but think and worry while the Rogue Shadow was in hyperspace, Starkiller paced relentlessly from one end of the ship to the other, turning over everything he had seen and felt on the swampy world receding behind him.

“He has a healthy head start. “

“We’ve been breached. Troopers boarding!”

Juno lying dead in his arms.

” Whatever you have seen, follow it you must. “

He had gone to Dagobah hoping for clarity, and all he had received were visions and cryptic advice. Was he closer to Juno or getting farther away? Would he be able to save her, or was she already dead?

The Force reflected his inner turmoil, sending occasional shudders and shakes through the ship. He tried his best to calm down. If his mood disrupted life support or the hyperdrive, he might not make it to Malastare at all.

Finally the navicomp chimed, warning him that his destination was approaching. Leaving the meditation chamber, he hurried to the pilot’s sear and took the controls. The moment the stars of realspace ceased streaking, he had the ship under power and accelerating toward the high-gravity world.

Starkiller had visited Port Pixelito just once, while in the service of Darth Vader. A treacherous Imperial aide who had run up gambling debts from podracing had been his target, and one soon dealt with, even in the early days of his apprenticeship. In disguise and with PROXY’S help, he had infiltrated the security installation without being detected, then sliced into the mainframe to find his target. From there, he had crawled through ventilation ducts until he was above the target’s private chambers, then Force-choked him while he worked at his desk. Escaping had been just as simple. To dare, he was sure no one knew what had really happened that night.

Seeing the world brought back memories of his first pilot, a dour old sergeant who rarely spoke and who flew the Rogue Shadow like it was an ore barge. Like the murdered aide, he hadn’t lasted long. Tardiness wasn’t tolerated in Darth Vader’s employ.

That mission had been five years ago, but the Starkiller in his mind seemed barely a child to him now. So much had changed since then. He had died at least once, for starters…

The crowd on the ground cleared his head of any kind of nostalgia. Spaceports were typically chaotic, but this one broke all the records. Since the collapse of Imperial control, all manner of beings roamed the streets, free to pursue whatever dreams or fancies took them. Starkiller kept his guard up, and his senses tuned for Kota. The old man had said that he was heading here after Commenor, and he had definitely arrived. Starkiller recognized that mix of anger and self-control anywhere.

The trail led him to a market, and from there to a machine repair shop. A cover, he assumed. Kota was very close now.

He went inside. It looked perfectly innocent, from the mess of spare parts to the three-eyed Gran behind the counter. Behind the facade, though, Starkiller could sense something very different.

“The Jedi, ” he said, exactly as he had on Cato Neimoidia. “Where is he?”

“No Jedi here, ” said the Gran, blinking its eyes one at a time from right to left. “Got something to fix?”

“I’m not a customer. ” He raised and passed his hand in front of the Gran’s face. “You’ll show me the way. “

The Gran couldn’t resist the Force. Starkiller’s suggestion was as implacable as gravity, made all the more irresistible by his urgent need. The Gran pointed hesitantly at the shelves. There was no door visible. Starkiller didn’t have the patience for guesswork, not when Juno’s life might be at stake.

He faced the wall and Force-pushed, gently at first but with growing insistence. Machine parts rattled and shook. Glass smashed. With a groan and squeak of tortured metal, a section of the wall began to swing back.

There was movement on the far side. Someone fired at him. He deflected the bolt effortlessly into the ground and leapt through the gap, sending what seemed like a mountain of spare parts flying ahead of him.

A green lightsaber flashed toward him. He blocked it with both of his. By the mixed light of their blades, he recognized Kota’s face, and Kota recognized his in return.

The general performed a startled double take.

“What’s with you, boy?” he asked, deactivating his weapon and stepping away. “You could’ve knocked. “

“I’m in a hurry. ” Starkiller kept one lightsaber at the ready. The space was large and cluttered-not helped by the mess he had made on the way in-and he hadn’t yet pinned down the location of the person who had fired the blaster at him. “I need to find the Alliance fleet. “

“You’ve had a change of heart, then. “

“I wouldn’t say that. The fleet’s about to be attacked. I need to stop that from happening at all cost. “

“Lots of people looking for the fleet at the moment, ” said a voice out of the shadows. “Not all of them friendly. “

Starkiller turned. Into the light stepped a broad-shouldered man holding an energy weapon trained at his head. His walked with an unusual gait and a strange whining noise. As he approached, Starkiller realized why.

His legs were gone. In their place were three multi-jointed prosthetics ripped with rubber “feet. ” They moved with a complicated grace that had nothing to do with the way ordinary humans walked.

“Who are you?”

“I’m the repairman, ” he said. “The name’s Shyre. What’s yours?”