Into the Void: Star Wars (Dawn of the Jedi) (41 page)

“You have your duty to the family!”

“I have a duty to
myself
! I don’t know this Brom, I don’t love him, and I won’t marry him to settle some dispute!”

This set off another round of arguing between father and daughter, with Santis pitching
in.

“This is breaking down quickly,” Hawk murmured.

“Actually, my sympathies are with the girl. She shouldn’t be a clause in a treaty,”
Lanoree murmured back.

“If she doesn’t relent, the negotiations will likely collapse and everything we’ve
done will be for nothing.”

“I think I may have another solution,” Lanoree said. “First, I’ll need their attention.”
She shot her slug thrower three times into the air. And again, with the same effect.

Very pleasantly, Lanoree spoke. “In other parts of the solar system, rival interests
have a practice called
fostering
. I suggest you try it. Oma would become a foster child in the Santis household and
Brom would be the same with the Dessains. Each would be treated as a full member of
the family they are with. They would spend six months with one family and six months
with the other. The workers would have a voice through Brom, and Oma would learn firsthand
about the workers’ lives.”

“I think this is a very reasonable suggestion,” Hawk added, equally pleasant.

But the expressions on the two Je’daii firmly suggested that all sides accept the
deal. Oma looked pleased; at least she wasn’t getting married.

Details were worked out, Hawk cleaned up, and the two Je’daii met at the spaceport
to take leave of Zerist and of each other.

“The Council has summoned me back to Tython for a special mission,” Lanoree said.
“It’s been four years since I’ve been back; it’s time.”

“I’m heading out to Furies Gate,” replied Hawk. It was the outermost planet in the
system. Great Generation ships left from the small world, seeking a path through the
maze that was the Core and looking for ways back to the rest of the galaxy. The Settled
Worlds jointly maintained a station there. “I like to look out into the stars and
meditate,” he said.

A small shadow passed over Lanoree’s face. “My brother used to look out at the stars
and wonder if there was a way back to the rest of the galaxy. He was never very happy
on Tython,” she said softly. She
was quiet for a moment, then shook it off and said, “It was good working with you,
Ranger Ryo. I look forward to the chance to do it again.”

Hawk nodded. “I do, too, Ranger Brock. The Force be with you.”

Lanoree smiled. “And you,” she replied. The Je’daii then crossed to their waiting
ships and took off into the star-flecked skies.

Read on for an excerpt from
Star Wars: Crucible
by Troy Denning
Published by Del Rey Books

With lowlifes of every species from three-eyed Gran to four-armed Hekto standing belly-to-bar,
the Red Ronto reminded Han Solo of that cantina back on Mos Eisley, the one where
he had first met Luke and Obi-Wan all those years ago. Smoke hung in the air so thick
and green he could taste it, and the bartender was pulling drinks from a tangle of
pipes and spigots more complicated than a hyperdrive unit. There was even an all-Bith
band up on stage—though instead of upbeat jatz, they were blasting the room with outdated
smazzo.

Usually, the raucous music made Han think of banging coolant lines. But today he was
feeling it—that driving bass and stabbing wail-horn … and why not? This trip promised
to be more getaway than mission, and he was looking forward to seeing Lando again.

“I don’t like it, Han,” Leia said, raising her voice over the music. “It’s not like
Lando to be so late.”

Han turned to look across the table, where Leia sat with a fog-blaster in front of
her; the glass was barely half-empty. Wearing a gray gunner’s jacket over a white
flight suit, she was—as always—the classiest female in the joint … and, despite a
few laugh lines, still the most
beautiful. He thumbed a control pad on the edge of the table, and the faint yellow
radiance of a tranquility screen rose around their booth. The screen was a rare touch
of quality for a place like the Red Ronto, but it was one Han appreciated as the raucous
music faded to a muffled booming.

“Relax,” Han said. “When has Lando ever missed a rendezvous?”

“My point exactly. Maybe that problem is more dangerous than he thought.” Leia nodded
toward the entrance. “And take a look at that miner over there. His Force aura is
filled with anxiety.”

Han followed her gaze toward a swarthy young human dressed in the dust-caked safety
boots and molytex jumpsuit of an asteroid miner. With a nose just crooked enough to
be rakish and a T-6 blaster pistol hanging from his side, the kid was clearly no stranger
to a fight. But he was not exactly streetwise, either. He was just standing there
in the doorway, squinting into dark corners, while he remained silhouetted against
the light behind him.

“He doesn’t look like much of a threat,” Han said. Still, he dropped a hand to his
thigh holster and undid the retention strap. As a Jedi Knight, Leia felt things through
the Force that Han could not sense at all, and he had long ago learned to trust her
instincts. “Probably just some crew chief looking for new hires.”

The miner’s gaze stopped at the Solos’ booth. He flashed a brash smile, then said
something to the bartender and raised three fingers.

“I don’t think he’s looking for new hires, Han,” Leia said. “He’s looking for us.
This must have something to do with Lando and his pirate problem.”

“Could be,” Han allowed, but he hoped Leia was wrong. Missed rendezvous and strange
messengers were never good signs.

Any lingering doubt about the miner’s intention vanished when the bartender handed
him three glasses and a bottle of Corellian Reserve, and he started in their direction.
There was something in his bold stride and cocky grin that set Han on edge.

“Whoever he is, I don’t like him,” Han said. “He’s way too sure of himself.”

Leia smiled. “Actually, I like him already,” she said. “He reminds me of
you
at that age.”

Han shot her a scowl meant to suggest she needed an eye exam, and
then the newcomer was at their table, stepping through the tranquility screen. He
placed the glasses on the table and opened the bottle.

“I hope you don’t mind,” he said, pouring. “But they keep a case of Reserve on hand
for Lando, and I thought you might prefer it to the usual swill around here.”

“You were right,” Leia said, visibly relaxing at the mention of Lando’s name. “Whom
shall I thank?”

The miner placed a hand on his chest. “Omad Kaeg at your service,” he said, bowing.
“
Captain
Omad Kaeg, owner and operator of the
Joyous Roamer
, one of the oldest and most profitable asteroid tugs in the Rift.”

Han rolled his eyes at the overblown introduction, but Leia smiled. “It’s a pleasure
to meet you, Captain Kaeg.” She motioned at the table. “Won’t you join us?”

Kaeg flashed his brash smile again. “It would be an honor.”

Instead of taking a seat where Leia had indicated, Kaeg leaned across the table to
set his glass in the shadows on the far side of the booth—an obvious attempt to position
himself where he could watch the door. Han quickly rose and allowed Kaeg into the
back of the booth. If a stranger wanted to place himself in a crossfire zone between
two Solos, Han wasn’t going to argue.

“So, how do you know Lando?” he asked, resuming his seat. “And where is he?”

“I know Lando from the miner’s cooperative—and, of course, I supply his asteroid refinery
on Sarnus.” Kaeg’s gray eyes slid toward the still empty entrance, then back again.
“I think he’s at the refinery now. At least, that’s where he wants you to meet him.”

Han scowled. “
On
Sarnus?” The planet lay hidden deep in the Chiloon Rift—one of the densest, most
difficult to navigate nebulas in the galaxy—and its actual coordinates were a matter
of debate. “How the blazes does he expect us to find it?”

“That’s why Lando sent me,” Kaeg said. “To help.”

Kaeg’s hand dropped toward his thigh pocket, causing Han to draw his blaster and aim
it at the kid’s belly under the table. He wasn’t taking any chances.

But Kaeg was only reaching for a portable holopad projector, which he placed on the
table. “Let me show you what you’ll be facing.”

“Why not?” Han waved at the holopad with his free hand.

Kaeg tapped a command into the controls, and a two-meter band of braided shadow appeared
above the pad. Shaped like a narrow wedge, the braid appeared to be coming undone
in places, with wild blue wisps dangling down toward the corrosion-pitted tabletop
and even into Han’s ale tankard.

“This, of course, is a chart of the Chiloon Rift,” Kaeg said.

He tapped another command, and a red dash appeared in the holomap, marking the cantina’s
location on
Brink Station
just outside the Rift. The dash quickly stretched into a line and began to coil through
the tangled wisps of hot plasma that gave the Chiloon Rift its distinctive array of
blue hues. Before long, it had twisted itself into a confusing snarl that ran vaguely
toward the center of the nebula.

“And this is the best route to Lando’s refinery on Sarnus,” Kaeg said. “I’ve been
doing my best to keep the charts accurate, but I’m afraid the last update was two
standard days ago.”

“Two
days
?” Han asked. With three kinds of hot plasma rolling around at near light speed, hyperspace
lanes inside the Rift tended to open and close quickly—sometimes in
hours
. “That’s the best you can do?”

“I’m sorry, but yes,” Kaeg said. “It’s important to take it slow and careful in there.
If you were to leave a hyperspace lane and punch through a plasma cloud, you would
fry every circuit on your ship—including your navigation sensors.”

“You don’t say,” Han said. Hitting a plasma pocket was one of the most basic dangers
of nebula-running, so it seemed to him that Kaeg was working way too hard to make
sure he knew how dangerous Rift travel was. “Thanks for the warning.”

“No problem.” Kaeg grinned, then let his gaze drift back toward the cantina door.
“Any friend of Lando Calrissian’s is a friend of mine.”

Instead of answering, Han caught Leia’s eye, then tipped his head ever so slightly
toward their tablemate. She nodded and turned toward Kaeg. After forty years together,
he knew she would understand what he was thinking—that something felt wrong with Kaeg’s
story.

“We appreciate your concern, Captain Kaeg.” Leia’s tone was warm but commanding, a
sure sign that she was using the Force to encourage Kaeg to answer honestly. “But
I still don’t understand why Lando
isn’t here himself. When he asked us to look into the pirate problem in the Rift,
he was quite insistent about meeting us here at the Red Ronto.”

Kaeg shrugged. “I’m sorry, but he didn’t explain. His message just said to meet you
here and make sure you reached Sarnus.” Continuing to watch the door with one eye,
he paused, then spoke in a confidential tone. “But I don’t blame you for hesitating.
This trip could be very risky, especially for someone your age.”

“Our
age
?” Han bristled. “You think we’re old or something?”

Kaeg finally looked away from the door. “Uh … 
no
?” he replied. “It’s just that, uh—well, you
do
need pretty quick reflexes in the Chiloon Rift.”

“It’s called
experience
, kid,” Han said. “Someday, you might have some yourself … if you live that long.”

“No offense,” Kaeg said, raising his hands. “I’m just worried about you heading in
there alone.”

“Don’t let a few wrinkles fool you, Captain Kaeg,” Leia said. “We can take care of
ourselves.”

Kaeg shook his head almost desperately. “You wouldn’t say that if you had ever been
inside the Rift,” he said. “It isn’t the kind of place you should go without a guide
on your first visit. The plasma in there kills S-thread transmissions, so HoloNet
transceivers are worthless—and even emergency transmitters aren’t much good.”

“What about the RiftMesh?” Han asked. Communication inside the Chiloon Rift was supposed
to be handled via a network of fifty thousand repeater beacons. “All that hardware,
and you’re telling me it doesn’t work?”

“The ’Mesh works, but it’s slow. It can take an hour for a beacon to relay a signal.”
Kaeg tapped the holopad controls again, and a multitude of tiny white points appeared
in the holochart. “And it’s not unusual for a message to pass through a thousand beacons
before being picked up. Trust me, there’s no lonelier place in the galaxy to be stranded.”

“It’s a wonder any rock-grabbers go in there at all,” Han replied. “I can’t imagine
a worse place to drag around half a billion tons of ore.”

“It’s worth it, my friend.” Ignoring Han’s sarcasm—or possibly
missing it altogether—Kaeg flashed a square-toothed grin. “The tumblers in the Rift
are fantastic, Han. There are more than anyone can count, and most are heavy and pretty.”

By
tumblers
, Han knew Kaeg meant asteroids.
Heavy and pretty
was slang for a high content of precious metals. According to Lando Calrissian, the
Chiloon Rift contained the most bountiful asteroid field anywhere, with more capture-worthy
tumblers than any other field in the galaxy. Unfortunately, its roiling clouds of
plasma and a sudden infestation of pirates meant it was probably also the most dangerous.

“Which makes asteroid tugs very easy prey for pirates,” Leia said. “You’re hauling
all that valuable ore, and there’s no one to call for help.”

Kaeg nodded eagerly. “It’s terribly dangerous. You can send a message and go gray
waiting for an answer.” He winced almost immediately, then said, “No offense, of course.”

“None taken,” Leia said, a bit stiffly. “But with all of those asteroid tugs running
around, I can’t imagine the pirates coming after a small vessel like the
Falcon
.”

Not seeming to notice how he was being tested, Kaeg shrugged and leaned forward. “Who
knows?” he asked. “Even if the pirates aren’t interested in the
Falcon
, there are many other dangers.”

“And let me guess,” Han said. “You’re willing to make sure that doesn’t happen to
us—for the right price?”

“I could be persuaded to serve as your guide, yes,” Kaeg said. “As I said, any friend
of Lando Calrissian is a friend of mine.”

“How very kind of you.” Leia flashed a tight smile, and again Han knew what she was
thinking. No trick was too low for a pirate gang, and one of their favorites was to
slip a saboteur aboard the target vessel. “But you
still
haven’t explained why Lando didn’t meet us here himself.”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Kaeg said. “As I mentioned, he didn’t give a reason.”

Han leaned toward Kaeg and pointed a finger at him. “You see, now, that’s where your
story falls apart. Lando isn’t the kind of guy who fails to show with no explanation.
He would’ve said why he couldn’t make it.”

Kaeg showed his palms in mock surrender. “Look, I’ve told you all
I know.” He focused his attention on Leia. “He kept the message short. I’m assuming
that’s because he didn’t want everyone in the Rift to know his business.”

“And why would
that
happen?” Leia asked. “Do you have a habit of breaking a confidence?”

Kaeg scowled and shook his head. “Of course not,” he said. “But I told you—Lando sent
that message over the RiftMesh.”

“And?” Han asked.

Kaeg sighed in exasperation. “You
really
don’t understand how things work here,” he said. “The RiftMesh is an open network
—open
, as in one single channel. Everybody listens, with nothing encrypted. If a message
is
encrypted, the beacons won’t even relay it. That makes it tough to keep a secret
out here, but it also makes life hard on the pirates. They can’t coordinate a swarm
attack if everybody is listening to their chatter over the RiftMesh.”

“And that really works?” Han asked.

Kaeg waggled a hand. “It’s not perfect. The pirates find other ways to coordinate,”
he said. “But the ‘Mesh is better than nothing. And it helps the rest of us keep track
of one another, so our tugs don’t pile up when a good hyperspace lane suddenly opens.”

Han turned to Leia. “That actually makes sense.”

“As far as it goes.” Leia did not look away from Kaeg. “But he’s been working pretty
hard to get us to take him on, and that just doesn’t make sense.”

“Yeah, I know.” Han looked back to their confused-looking table companion. “Since
when do tug captains have time to take on extra work as tourist guides?”

The confusion vanished from Kaeg’s face. “Is
that
all that is troubling you?” he asked. “My tug has been in for repairs for a month.
That’s how Lando knew I would still be here to give you his message. And, quite honestly,
I could use something to do.”