Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II (36 page)

Starkiller’s expression was impassive, but she could tell that he was watching closely as the cloning towers receded below them. Barely had they lifted off when the first of the gutted Star Destroyers hit the ocean several klicks away. There was a flash like the rising of the sun as several megatons of water instantly vaporized. The shock wave radiated outward in a wave of steam hundreds of meters high. In seconds, the tsunami reached the towers, knocking them over and occluding the wreckage from sight.

Ahead, bright stars appeared through the thinning atmosphere. Dotted among them, the shining constellation of the Rebel fleet, all proudly marked with the symbol of the Alliance: Starkiller’s family crest, with none of the soldiers or commanders aware that the one who had inspired it was among them again.

The Rogue Shadow joined twelve small freighters in orbit above the waterworld.

“You have your orders, ” said Commodore Viedas to each of them in a firm and steady voice. “May the Force be with you. “

One by one, the freighters accelerated, each heading along a different trajectory into hyperspace.

Juno counted them off, double-checking the course for Dantooine. As their numbers dwindled, she glanced at Starkiller, who was still staring back at Kamino. The expanding circular shock wave looked like the pupil of an enormous eye.

He was difficult to read sometimes, and this was no exception. She reached out and placed a hand on his forearm, breaking his concentration.

“Ready for lightspeed, ” she said.

He managed a smile. “I’m ready for anything. ” Her other hand pushed a lever on the console, and the hyperdrives kicked into life. The Rogue Shadow flung itself forward. Stars turned to streaks ahead of them. This time, Juno hoped, the past was left far, far behind.