The Crystal Star (29 page)

agate gravel; the credits disappeared. When the Indexer's tentacle appeared again, it carried nothing.

"I found no one of your species, Firrerreo," the Indexer said. "Not a single one ever sold publicly in the

trade." Lelila jumped up, outraged. She nearly stumbled, for her feet had fallen asleep.

"Nothing!" she said. "You charged us for nothing!" "I charge for my time, and my experience," the

Indexer said calmly. "I cannot produce results that do not exi/!" "You could have warned us!" The

Indexer shrank back.

Rillao put her arm around Lelila's shoulder.

"Never mind," she said.

"But we've been cheated--!" "Don't make accusations you cannot support," the Indexer said

dangerously.

"The Indexer cannot produce results that do not exist," Rillao said. She sounded calm, not so much

resigned as relieved.

Lelila was astonished that Rillao did not erupt in a fury, that she did not pounce on the Indexer, rend the

tentacles, and fling them all over the courtyard.

"Thank you, Indexer," Rillao said quietly.

"Firrerreo!" the Indexer said suddenly.

"Yes, Indexer?" "I found no public record. I would have no record of a private transaction." Rillao

tensed. Her ringers dug into Lelila's shoulder.

"I will tell you something I have heard, if you will promise to confirm or disprove the rumor for me."

"State your question." Rillao's voice was a low, ominous whisper.

"It is being said," the Indexer told them, "that the Asylum Station imagines it can compete with

Chalcedon." Artoo-Detoo warbled in distress.

"Asylum?" Lelila said. She knew no place called Asylum Station.

"I would have thought," Rillao said softly, "that the Republic would have destroyed that evil den at its first

convenience." The glittery faceted eyes of the Indexer oriented toward Rillao.

"Perhaps the Republic finds it useful," the Indexer said, and subsided into the water. Its skin mottled and

it disappeared against the luminous earth colors of the agate nest.

Artoo-Detoo, anxious to escape the dampness, spun a quarter turn and bumped away along the cobbles.

As Lelila followed Rillao from the courtyard, the smooth round stones rattled and shifted in the bottom of

the pool.

Outside, on the street, Lelila frowned.

"Why would the Republic want to destroy Asylum Station?" Lelila asked.

"It's a place where the Empire tested its methods of coercion and death... on sentient subjects." "But that

would have stopped!" Lelila cried. "It would have stopped when the Empire fell. Wouldn't it?" "I don't

know," Rillao said. "I've been out of touch."

Outside the lodge, Han strode down the path.

He was furious. Furious at Luke for being suspicious in the first place, andfor refusing to have a sensible

conversation about his suspicions in the second.

Han still had feelings for Xaverri; he could not deny them. He would not. But he did not believe he should

be chastised for them.

Am I supposed to forget that I ever loved Xaverri? Han thought. I chose Leia, and she chose me.

Because we loved each other. None of that has changed. I love her. I love her now.

What I felt for Xaverri was... a long time ago.

He wondered if he should find Xaverri and ask her to stay away from Luke for the next little while. Or

find Xaverri, then go find Luke and both tell him about last night. But that felt too much as if Han had

something to apologize for.

He swore softly under his breath. He had no idea where Xaverri lived. He did not know where to look

for her, except at Waru's compound. For the moment, he could not face returning there. He could not

face seeing again what he had seen yesterday.

He could go back to the lodge and ask Threepio where he had found Xaverri when he sought her out.

But he did not want to do that either.

That's quite a list, he thought, of things you can't do or don't want to do. Forget them all.

Xaverri can take care of herself--z she's told you in no uncertain terms. And Luke may be angry, but he

isn't stupid. If he was going to lose his temper completely, he'd've lost it back at the lodge, with me.

Choose a problem you can do something about, he said to himself, turning his steps toward the welcome

dome, the taverns, the gambling dens. And while you're at it, start thinking--.hard--ab what to do about

Waru.

Jaina opened the door cautiously and peeked outside. Her light glowed from behind her, casting her

shadow all the way across the dark stone floor.

She quickly let the light go out, afraid someone was watching.

She listened carefully. She heard a soft buzzing sound.

Is that a watcher droid? she wondered. She stepped back into her cell. She left the door open only the

smallest crack. A watcher droid could see in the dark. It would sound the alarm. Then one of the

Proctors would come and shut Jaina back in her cell. Maybe forever!

The buzzing sound did not move. And it really did not sound like a droid. Scared but determined, Jaina

rubbed a few air molecules together to make a faint glow. She sent them out into the middle of the

gathering hall.

A Proctor stood in the entrance of the corridor. He was supposed to be standing. But instead he was

leaning. And he was asleep. The noise was his snore.

Jaina slipped out of her cell. Her door closed behind her. She let the light fade to almost nothing. She

walked a few steps forward and stopped. She was scared. The Proctor might wake up, any second. If

she turned around and went back into her safe cell she would no longer be afraid. She could light the air

up, and it would warm her.

But if she did that, she would never find Jacen and she would never see Mama and Papa again and she

would never know what had happened to Anakin.

Across the room, a faint line of light glowed in the darkness. Jaina crept toward it, her hands out in front

of her in case she bumped into anything. The line of light shone out beneath one of the other cell doors.

"Jacen?" she whispered.

"Get me out of here!" he whispered.

"Shh!" It would be so much easier if they could talk at each other, in their minds. But if they did, Hethrir

would know. Jaina was afraid even to try.

Jaina looked over at the Proctor. His head nodded forward. He snorted and nearly woke up. Jaina froze.

The Proctor muttered something. He slid down the wall and rested his forehead on his knees.

He started to snore again.

Jaina made some air molecules bump against each other. They made a soft humming, thrumming noise.

Maybe now the Proctor would not hear her.

"Hurry!" Jacen whispered.

Jaina grinned.

The cell doors were latched, not locked. They could not be opened from the inside. They did not need to

be locked on the outside. Hethrir never thought that one of the children might get loose and open all the

doors.

Jaina grabbed the handle and pulled the door open.

The door squeaked.

"What? Who's there?" The Proctor stumbled to his feet.

Jaina jumped behind the door.

The Proctor ran over to the open cell.

"What's going on here? How did you open this door?" "I don't know," Jacen said. "It just opened!" Jaina

could not see the Proctor but she heard him poking at the latch.

She pushed the door toward him as hard as she could.

The heavy wood banged against his head. He shouted and stumbled into Jacen's cell. Jacen ran past him

and Jaina slammed the door so the Proctor was locked inside.

The Proctor started shouting, and pounding on the door, but Jaina did not pay him a single bit of

attention.

Jacen grabbed Jaina in a big hug. Jaina hugged him back.

"Jasa, Jasa, I'm so glad to see you--" "Jaya, I thought they'd take you away--" his--but what about

Anakin? And--" his--th is the most awful place--" his--th school is so--" his--.boring! I think they're all

liars--" his--yeah, liars, because they said Mama and Papa--" "They aren't dead!" Jacen said. "They

aren't!" "I know," Jaina said. "They just want us to think so." They stood in a faint pool of light as Jacen's

heated air molecules spun around at their feet.

The Proctor banged on the door again.

"Let me out!" "No!" Jaina said. She was glad she had not bashed in his head. Kind of glad.

Jacen grinned at her. His front tooth was loose too, but he had not lost it yet.

"Look!" Jaina said. "I'm getting a new tooth!" She stuck her tongue out of the space to show Jacen where

her new front tooth was coming in.

"Me, too. Pretty soon, I mean." "Let's go!" Jaina grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the darker

darkness of the corridor.

"Wait! What are we going to do? What about the others?" "We're going to climb out past the dragon and

run away and maybe we can get far enough away to think at Mama and Uncle Luke." She had not

thought about the other children.

"Maybe they want to come with us. Or run away themselves." Jaina was impatient but she guessed Jacen

was right. She ran to the door beside his and pulled it open. She heated up some of the air so she could

see.

"We're running away. You can run away or you can stay here!" Behind her, Jacen ran to the door on the

other side of his cell and opened it.

"We're running away! Do you want to run away too?" Most of the other children jumped up from their

floorbeds and ran out into the gathering room. But a few backed away into the corners of their cells.

Jaina did not try to make them come with her. She did not have time. She left their doors open in case

they wanted to change their minds.

Then she opened the last door.

"We're running away! Do you--" Vram stared at her. Jaina stopped.

Hethrir locks Vram up at night, too!

Jaina thought. He made him a helper, but he doesn't really trust him.

Vram had a bed and a blanket and a light. But he was still locked up at night.

"Don't!" Vram said. He was very scared.

"Don't hit me, I'll tell Hethrir on you!" Jaina was scared. All the other children were gathering behind her,

excited, whispering, their happiness and hope collecting around them. She had not thought that any might

run and tattle. She was not afraid one of them might. But Vram would, in his new rust-red tunic.

"Do you--d you want to come with us?" "You'll hit me! You'll kill me!" "I will not!" He took a deep

breath. "Help!" Angrily, Jaina slammed the door shut on him.

Jacen grabbed her hand. Together, they ran into the corridor with their beacons of glowing air swirling

ahead of them and behind them.

The other children followed.

The tiny sun was just setting when they reached the stairwell to the outside. Jaina ran up the stairs and

raised her head above the edge. No one was watching. The playground was deserted.

"What about the dragon?" one of the other children whispered.

"I don't know," Jaina said. "Jacen, we can't use the multitool, the sun's going down!" Jacen flicked a tiny

swirl of heated air into existence, and concentrated it. It was much brighter than the light from Jaina's

multitool lens. It bounced across the playfield. Jaina and Jacen ran after it.

"Dragon!" Jacen cried. "Hey, you dragon!" The dragon jumped up out of the sand and roared.

But she did not throw herself against the fence. She looked around and snorted and leaped into the air to

try to catch the flame-toy Jacen made for her. Then she hunkered down beside the fence and pressed her

shoulder against the mesh.

Jacen rubbed her pebbly scales. The dragon rumbled.

I wish I could do that! Jaina thought. Pat a dragon, and make friends with it, like Jacen.

But she knew Jacen was a little envious of her for being able to take machines apart and put them back

together again and make them better.

Jacen stood nose-to-nose with the dragon. The dragon snorted. Jacen snorted back. He stuck his hand

through the fence and rubbed the dragon's heavy brow ridges. The dragon flicked out its tongue.

Jaina gasped.

"I think she's just tasting me," Jacen whispered. "If she's like the lizards back home." "Tasting you! So she

can eat you, maybe!" "So she knows it's me. Let's go!" "Are you sure?" Jaina asked.

Then the alarms started ringing and they did not have any choice.

Jacen scrambled up the fence and over the top.

Jaina followed. The wire mesh scraped her hands. She scooted over and jumped down on the other side.

The other children swarmed up over the fence and jumped to the ground, but they stayed as far from the

dragon as they could get.

The dragon slurped her tongue across Jacen's shoes.

"She just wants to be sure she'll recognize me," Jacen insisted. He slid onto Mistress Dragon's back. "Is

this okay; Mistress Dragon? Can I ride you?" She snuffled and raised her head, but she did not buck or

roll over or try to rub Jacen off against the fence. Jacen dangled the light-toy in front of her.

"Come on, hurry!" Jacen held out his hand to Jaina. She grabbed it and jumped on the dragon's back.

The dragon lurched to her feet, standing up with her back legs first and then her front legs. Jaina shrieked

with surprise and grabbed Jacen around the waist. She would feel a lot more comfortable if the dragon

was a landspeeder and she was driving it.

The other children ran to the dragon. Jaina grabbed their hands and pulled them up onto the dragon's

back. Soon the dragon was covered with children.

Most rode her back, but a few hung on to her legs, giggling.

"Is this still all right, Mistress Dragon?" Jacen asked. "Can we all ride you?" He glanced around at Jaina.