Jedi Trial (23 page)

“I hate these things,” L’Loxx muttered, looking at his comlink. “They always go off at the worst possible moment.”

“All right,” the intelligence chief said. “As soon as you’re all assembled at Izable, Sergeant L’Loxx, give me one long squelch on that comlink you so heartily despise and I’ll send in the artillery. And don’t worry about anyone calling while you’re out there. The comm is set on a secure channel reserved for this reconnaissance. Are there any questions?”

There weren’t.

Izable was a shambles. The smell of death was everywhere. In one spot a tiny wisp of smoke filtered through a crack in a demolished bunker, a sign of a fire still smoldering; it showed a very bright glow through the infras, indicating that the fire must still be extremely hot. They wondered what was burning, and Grudo shuddered at the thought. The four team members huddled together a short distance from the other two teams, waiting for the barrage to commence.

The plan was that as soon as the attack opened up
they would dash forward to follow the dry riverbed around to the right of the mesa and then climb to the top. There were several talus slopes that could be used for that purpose closer by, but L’Loxx had decided to go far around to the right and emerge on the mesa almost behind the enemy line. “They’ll be waiting for us, you can bet on it,” he told the other three, “and their attention will be to their front.” To cloak themselves from the enemy’s night-vision devices, the four wore special protective clothing of L’Loxx’s own design. It wouldn’t give them total protection from infrared scanners, but with all the noise, confusion, and heat of the artillery barrage, it would give them enough cover long enough to get to a spot where L’Loxx counted on the enemy’s lack of vigilance to protect them from discovery.

The night was pitch black, illuminated only by the stars above.

“Ooof!” Erk sat up so suddenly he banged his head against the rock. “Odie, I think I’ve got it! Give me your equipment belt!”

She handed it over.

“Some light, please?” He fumbled with a pouch. “Aha!” he exclaimed victoriously. “Just as I thought! Odie, this is our way out of here!” He held a vibroblade in his hand. “Mechanics use a version of this same thing to cut the hardest metals while working on starfighters! I think we can use it to—”

“—cut rock,” Odie finished.

“You bet!”

“Are you sure? That’s not an industrial version, Erk,
it’s a vibroknuckler. We use those as backup weapons in case we get into a close scrape. Well,” she amended with a smile, “we use them to cut open ration packs, too.”

Erk fitted his fingers through the activation rings. “Don’t look too closely,” he said. He squeezed the rings and applied the blade to a section of overhead rock. After a few seconds the blade’s action began to produce heat, and molten rock fragments began dripping down on the floor. He shut the device off quickly. The rock glowed faintly where he’d used the knuckler to slice a groove twenty-five millimeters long and ten millimeters deep in only a few seconds. “Say hello to the outside world!” he said softly.

“Whew! That thing produces fumes—how are you going to cut your way through all that without suffocating us or setting us on fire?”

Erk thought for a moment. “We’ll take it slow and easy, give the heat and fumes plenty of time to dissipate. Time’s all we’ve got right now. We’ve got a good airflow in here, so we should be able to keep the oxygen level high enough to allow us to breathe. Here, help me off with this.” He shrugged out of his flier’s tunic. “Ugh, haven’t had this off in days.” He laughed. “These are treated to be blast and fire resistant. All starfighter pilots wear them. We’ll use it as sort of a shield while cutting. How much power do you suppose this still has in it?”

“Maybe ten hours? I don’t know, Erk. Can you cut a hole big enough for us to get out in less than ten hours of use?”

“Well, we’re sure going to find out, aren’t we? I’ll
start at the apex there, where the two slabs join the wall. That way whatever I cut out won’t weaken the resistance that’s holding all this stuff up.”

“We’ll take turns, Erk.”

“Ah, I knew you’d come in handy!” He grabbed her and kissed her.

“I don’t know about all this fraternization between an officer and an enlisted woman, Lieutenant,” Odie said. She put a hand behind his head and kissed him full on the lips.

“When we get out of here I’m going to talk to you about doing some serious fraternization. Well, watch out rocks, here we come!”

Q
uickly but carefully, the four made their way along the dry riverbed, keeping close to the far bank to hide themselves as much as possible from observation by the enemy positions on the mesa far above. This proved to be a wise tactic, and in a very short time they had worked their way to a point where the ancient river had changed its course away from the mesa.

The friendly artillery barrage roared and split the sky above with bright flashes, and soon counterbattery fire began ranging down onto Halcyon’s positions. The entire universe seemed to be consumed in the fiery holocaust. None of them had ever seen such a display, and they were both exhilarated and awed by it. Sergeant L’Loxx smiled to himself: the diversion was working.

They crawled one by one over the riverbank and picked their way over the plain that separated it from the steep mesa walls. There was evidence everywhere of the enemy’s occupation—destroyed equipment, blasted droids, deep shell holes—all providing the cover they needed as they crawled and scuttled over the open ground. Every piece of equipment they carried had been carefully padded so as not to make
any noise, and L’Loxx had brought along a piece of cord that connected each team member to the next so none would get lost in the dark. He’d also painted small luminous dots between their shoulder blades; by using the night-vision goggles, each could keep his eye on the one in front. Each carried a blaster pistol as his main weapon, but nothing heavier. After an hour they had made their way across the plateau to the slope of the mesa at a point L’Loxx judged to be somewhat behind the right wing of the enemy’s positions. That was where they would negotiate the steep cliff to come out at the base of the hills that dominated that end of the line.

L’Loxx knew this ground, had been over it numerous times. This end of the enemy’s defenses was anchored in the two small hills that occupied a commanding position on the mesa. A thin line of skirmishers had been posted just above the plain, but since the hills themselves could only be approached from the front through a forest of boulders, some bigger than banthas, the advance sentry posts, L’Loxx hoped, were considered sufficient security to warn of an attack. He signaled for a halt. When the other three had closed up to him he went to each and whispered, “This is where we go up. When we come out at the top we should be just behind the far right of the line. I’ll go in first. Stay close behind.”

Gradually the barrages ceased. An unnatural quiet descended on the battlefield, and it was plunged again into impenetrable darkness.

*    *    *

Lieutenant Erk H’Arman paused in his work. Cool air came through the tiny hole he’d been able to cut in the rock. Through it he could see the stars. “We’re going to make it, Odie.” He sank into a sitting position and removed the tunic that had been covering his arm and hand. “Shine some light on my arm, would you?”

Recon trooper Odie Subu gasped. “It’s covered in blisters! I have a first-aid pac on my belt.” She fumbled with some pouches and applied a dressing to Erk’s wounds.

“You’re an angel, Odie. Do you think there’s a reason we were put together to go through all this?”

“I think there’s a reason for everything, Erk.”

Erk examined his tunic. “It’s holding up pretty well. It’s just those splatters of molten rock are pretty hot. Would you mind giving me a drink? My hands are mighty sore about now.”

She unfastened her canteen and held it to his mouth. He drank greedily. When he had his fill, she said, “Let me do some of the cutting now. You rest awhile.”

“All right. But let’s both take a break for a minute, let some of this hot air dissipate. As soon as you begin to feel the heat, stop. I made the mistake of holding on too long. I’ve really messed myself up. Don’t let that happen to you.”

“It’s a guy thing. You guys always want to do everything right now. Let this woman at it.” They lay there, resting for several minutes, and then she donned his tunic and began cutting away at the rock. She worked steadily for ten minutes.

“Do you hear that?” Erk asked. The roar of the artillery
came to the pair inside the ruins of their bunker somewhat muffled but still gloriously loud enough to tell them that a major attack was under way.

“We’ve been relieved?” Odie whispered. Starting to cry, she slumped down next to Erk. He put his good arm around her shoulders. The hole had widened enough with her cutting that she could put her hand through it.

They listened in the darkness. “It’s either a relief force, or the final assault,” Erk said at last. “Either way we’re getting out of here.”

“I’m sorry for crying like this.”

Erk pulled her close and buried his nose in her hair, which smelled of atomized rock and sweat, but to him it was the most delightful fragrance he could imagine. “Forget it, Odie. It’s a girl thing, you know?” They laughed. “Now stop this mooning around and get back to work,” he said with mock gruffness. “We both need to get out of here and get a bath.”

They entered the jumble of boulders. The rocks loomed over them like tall buildings. It was so quiet they could hear one another breathing. Sergeant L’Loxx signaled a halt. From far ahead, off to the left a bit and above them, they heard faint metallic sounds. Nobody needed to be told it was battle droids moving about. But how many? What were their fortifications like? Did they have heavy weapons? What would be the best way to attack them? Through his night-vision goggles L’Loxx could make out a small open space between the rocks. He stepped into it, followed by Grudo.

A droid stood up just to the sergeant’s left, and before L’Loxx could react, Grudo drew a vibroblade from his equipment belt and took the thing’s head off with one swift, clean blow. Just as quickly as he had drawn and struck, the Rodian grabbed the droid’s falling body and eased it to the ground. But nobody caught the head before it tumbled onto a pile of debris. Sparks flashed from the head’s severed circuitry.

Hearts in their mouths, they all froze where they stood. Then L’Loxx continued to lead the way carefully across the clearing. On the other side he crouched down and indicated that they should gather about him in a tight circle.

“Good work, Grudo.” He punched the Rodian lightly on the shoulder. “Now listen up. I go on from here alone.” One of the guards protested. “No, I’m better at this than any of you. Establish a defensive position here and wait for me.” He pressed a stud on his wrist chrono. “It’s zero three hundred hours now. First light is at zero six hundred. Give me one hour. If I’m not back by then, leave me.”

“No way,” Private Vick whispered. “We came in together and we’ll all go out together, or not at all.”

L’Loxx leaned close to the guard and whispered, “That’s an order. If they get me, they’ll get you, too, if you hang around. You do as I say or I guarantee you’ll never be allowed on patrol again.”

Private Vick couldn’t tell for sure in the dark, but he thought the sergeant was grinning.

“You all know how to follow orders,” L’Loxx told them, “so follow.” He unclipped the cord that bound them together and vanished into the dark.

The three sat back to back and waited. Corporal Raders put his hand to Grudo’s ear and whispered, “You do good work, Rodian. That droid never knew what hit it.” Grudo nodded his thanks.

The minutes dragged by. Grudo felt at home now, with other soldiers on a dangerous mission, death or glory just a few meters away. It was what he lived for. He listened as the two guards whispered to each other. “Get me some,” one said. “Yeah, bring them on!” the other replied. Grudo smiled in the darkness. Soldier talk, bravado to cover their fear—“Mocking the midnight bell,” he’d heard someone describe it, the kind of defiant courage that gave warriors the strength and confidence they needed to fight. He loved it. No one was more alive than those who found themselves where they were now, on the thin edge of life and death. He thought of Anakin, whom he’d come to love during the time they had worked together. There was something about the young Jedi that Grudo had recognized the first time they’d met in that sleazy bar on Coruscant. He’d been unable to pin it down at the time, but subsequently he’d recognized it as the ability to get others to follow him.

In the darkness beyond, L’Loxx climbed up the reverse slope of the nethermost hill. The going was surprisingly easy. Cautiously, he peered over some rocks into the rear of the enemy defenses. Just ten meters to his left, no more, a group of battle droids huddled behind a hastily constructed rock wall. In his night-vision device they appeared as tiny glowing dots, the infrared signatures of their power cells and circuitry. As he
watched, there was a small but bright flash from one of the droids, and then it disappeared from his vision to be replaced by a fast-fading glow. L’Loxx smiled. The thing had just had a short circuit. Delightful! They weren’t being properly maintained. Good to know. Slowly, he scanned the line. He wished he had the telemetry to send what he was seeing back to headquarters, but they had decided against using that option: there was too good a chance the transmissions would be intercepted. As he examined the position closely his heart began to race in his chest. This was it, this was the weak spot. The line could be turned at this point. He had to get this information back to headquarters.

He crept back down the slope, expecting every moment to be subjected to blasterfire, but none came. In a few minutes he was back at the rocks, crouching down with his three companions.

“We’re ready to go back in,” he whispered, “and boy, do I have some intelligence.” He withdrew his communicator and gave the signal they were ready to return. “While we’re waiting for the all-clear, I’ve got to tell you what I saw up there. You won’t believe this, but they—”