Star Wars - The New Jedi Order - Force Heretic I - Remnant - Book 17

by Sean Williams

  "Is Belderone?" the pilot asked.

  "Yes, actually, it is," she answered.

  "Well, thanks to the Yuuzhan Vong, the Firrerreos are now a dead species," he said. "And the Belderonians won't be far behind."

  "How could you possibly know all this?" Han asked. "If communications have been down in these places not to mention hereI don't see how you could have the faintest idea of what's going on."

  "Don't you?" There was a distinct smile in the stranger's voice.

  "You knew what our mission was without us telling you, "Tahiri said.

  "And you were able to infiltrate the Falcon's computers on Mon Calamari," Leia added. "Who are you people?"

  "If I tell you, you won't believe me. Not yet, anyway."

  "Try us," Han said, his voice pitched low to indicate that refusal wasn't an option.

  The pilot of the yacht chuckled. "Suffice it to say that I'm part of a network. We're not spies, but we do keep an eye on what goes on around us. We have a knack for getting into the places we need to be, and we tend not to be noticed. We don't work for anyone except ourselves, and we don't sell the information we collect; we don't, therefore, pose a threat to anyone except those who try to harm us. We simply gather knowledge."

  "But what are you in it for?" Han asked. "What do you stand to gain from it all, if you don't sell the information?"

  "I'd be lying if I said that we stood to gain nothing but the satisfaction of helping others." Again, the hint of a smile. "The truth is, we do it to look out for ourselves. We aren't highly trained soldiers or professional warriors. We're not spies, as I've already said. We are, in fact, the sort who get caught between opposing armies, and are squashed as a result. That's partly how we can do the things that spies and soldiers can't dolike get information into and out of regions like this one, where all but the least likely are closely inspected. Neither you nor the Yuuzhan Vong notices us. We are invisible and everywhere. Not much gets by us that we want to hear."

  "So why are you helping MS?" Han asked.

  "Because, at the moment, peace in the galaxy revolves around the health of your new Galactic Alliance. And because we're in a position now to actively help you. It's taken us some time to reach this point, but now that we have, you can feel free to assume that we are on your side."

  "For the moment," Han added.

  "Yes, Captain Solo for the moment. And as of this moment, I must make my way out of this system and file a report while you must choose your next destination."

  "Wait," Leia said. "Before you go, I don't suppose you'd be able to help us with that decision? .. ."

  Han shot Leia a sharp look. He hadn't been happy about having the first leg of their journey determined by an anonymous note, and he obviously wasn't enamored with the idea of taking further instructions from cryptic strangers.

  "You and your people helped us once before," Leia went on, ignoring her husband. "You've exposed an enemy tactic we hadn't identified before. If you have any more advice for us, we'd be glad to hear it."

  "Very well," said the pilot of the yacht. "Where were you thinking of going?"

  "We hadn't discussed it," Leia said. "I was considering Belsavis. There have been communications problems there in recent months, and it has a history of conflict that the Yuuzhan Vong could take advantage of."

  "The Senex and Juvex sectors would be prime targets, it's true, but it may already be too late there. There might be little else for you to do but clean up the mess. More good could be done by going somewhere in the early stages of corruption. That way, at least, you may be able to prevent the situation from developing into anything too serious."

  "That's if you're right," Han said. "But how do we know you aren't just sending us on some wild gundark hunt? I mean, you could be a member of the Peace Brigade yourself you're a covert infiltrator; you're part of a galactic conspiracy. This could all just be some sort of elaborate scheme to put us off the scent. The next place you send us could be"

  "A thousand times worse than here," the pilot finished for him. "Yes, Captain Solo, it could be. And in fact it probably will be, for the place I'm suggesting you travel to is Bakura."

  "Bakura?" Han echoed. "Are you telling me?"

  "I'm not telling you anything," the pilot cut in again. "In truth, I know little. The information we have gathered there is scant, and many of my normal channels of information have been cut, along with the routes your spies would normally use. This makes us concerned. If the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium is active again, using this time of distraction to make a move on the life forces of the galaxy as it did once before, then it could be serious. They've had a long time to amass a new battle droid army, and to perfect their entechment technology."

  There was a moment's silence as those in the Falcon's crew contemplated the stranger's words. Tahiri was too young to remember the trouble with the Ssi-ruuk, but she'd certainly b een taught about it. As xenophobic as the Yevetha, having evolved under similar circumstances in the heart of an isolated star cluster, the reptilian aliens had only just been driven back by the New Republic with the unexpected assistance of the Chiss. Their techniques of mind control and entechment rivaled those of the Yuu-zhan Vong in terms of horror and agony. The peaceful world of Bakura stood between the rest of the galaxy and the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium and had fallen afoul of the aliens once before.

  Tahiri didn't know if the Yuuzhan Vong could surprise the Ssi-ruuk in sufficient force to wipe them out, as they had the Yevetha. The Ssi-ruuk had indeed had longer to recover, and had been stronger to start with. If the Ssi-ruuk were able to use entechment to fuel their ships with Yuuzhan Vong life forceor if the Yuuzhan Vong found a way to exploit the same technology . . .

  She shuddered. The question of whether the Yuuzhan Vong had a connection to the Force was still open, and she doubted that they would use any sort of machine in their quest for domination, but the idea of any sort of marriage between the two hate-filled species filled her with a terrible dread.

  Keep it together, she reminded herself. Don't lose it now.

  "Thank you," Leia said eventually. She had gone slightly pale. "We're grateful for your assistance."

  "Yeah," Han added, his defensive skepticism firmly in place. "We'll take it under advisement."

  "Will there be someone there like you?" Tahiri asked.

  "Someone will contact you," came the reply.

  "Who?"

  "Someone. Like I said, we are everywhere."

  Indices on the local space scopes began to flash; the yacht was warming up its ion drives, preparing to leave.

  "Will you at least give us your name?" Tahiri asked.

  "Be patient, young Jedi," the stranger said. "We will sing your song one day soon."

  Before Tahiri could ask what he meant, the line went dead, and the yacht was heading out of the planet's gravity well.

  Tahiri registered Han's snort of annoyance, but it was almost buried under a realization prompted by the stranger's farewell combined with the sound of his voice and the smell she had noted on the landing field. We will sing your song...

  "He's a Ryn!" she exclaimed.

  "A Ryn?" Han echoed incredulously. "He can't be."

  "He is. I swear it."

  "But what's one of them doing in the spy game? They'd stick out like sore thumbs!"

  "I guess," said Leia, watching the retreating yacht as it accelerated and vanished into hyperspace, "we're just going to have to find out for ourselves...."

  Part Four

  Conscription

  It was amazing, Jaina, thought, just how quickly governments could jump when they wanted to. Within five hours of the destruction of the two slave-ships, not only was the link to the nearest deep space transceiver open again, allowing information to once more flow freely into Galantos from the local subspace network, but Councilor Jobath had emerged from his pressing business on the far side of the planet, professing his deep and undying loyalty to the Galactic Alliance.

  Jaina could imagine her father's rea
ction to that. Her mother would have no doubt shared his sentiments, too, but hid her feelings beneath a more gracious and temperate response. Her parents worked well that way, maintaining a pretense guaranteed on the one hand to intimidate the most ingratiating of local governors, but at the same time capable of wooing them without actually using force.

  Jaina hadn't seen the exchange, though. After docking with Pride of Selonia and having a few minor bruises treated, she had retired to one of the frigate's berths and slept solidly for almost five hours. It had been cramped and uncomfortable, but it was better than trying to sleep upright in her X-wingeven though she'd had hundreds of hours practice doing just that over the years.

  In her deep sleep she had dreamed fitfully of Anakin's last mission to the worldship around Myrkr to destroy the voxyn queen, as well as the cold fury she had felt upon his death that had turned her, for a time, to the dark side. While her body rested, her mind relived the fear that Jacen, too, had died, and the aftertaste of that awful grief she would carry with her for the rest of her life, she was sure.

  But even as she was dreaming, she found herself wondering Why now? Why here? What is the dream trying to tell?

  She woke with a start, sucking air in sharply as a hand gripped her shoulder and shook.

  "What?" She rolled over, eyes blinking open to peer up at the dark blur leaning over her.

  "Relax, Jaina, it's just me." Through the haze of sleep she recognized Jag's solid, calming presence as he sat down on the edge of the narrow bunk beside her.

  "Jag?" She sat up, brushing loose strands of hair back from her face. She yawned, knuckling her eyes. "You want to be careful, you know. People will talk."

  "Let them," he said. "Besides, you do know where you are, don't you?"

  It sank in then that she wasn't in her quarters on Mon Calamari, but instead tucked into a space in a communal bunkroom, with little more than a flimsy curtain separating her bunk from the fifteen other identical beds. She had a better chance of finding a Kowakian monkey-lizard at the helm of a starship than of getting any privacy here.

  "Why are you waking me up?" she asked after orienting herself. "Has anything happened?"

  "No," he said, laughing. "You requested a standard field nap, and I volunteered to do the dirty work when time came to wake you up. It was my opinion that the duty officer should be spared the grisly business." He smiled. "I don't see why he should get to have all the fun."

  Her mouth half opened to snap a retort, but the unexpected compliment threw her for a second. Then she shook her head and smiled also. "What do you really want, Jag? If it's a rematch on the dueling mat, then you're going to have to at least give me a minute or two to wake up properly."

  He laughed again. "Actually, I came to bring you some news," he said. "About Jacen."

  "Jacen?" The last vestiges of sleep vanished; she sat up fully, alarm spiking at the back of her brain. Was this why those memories had surfaced? "Tell me," she grated.

  Jag did tell her. She learned of Councilor Jobath's turnaround and the reopening of communications. Although she was relieved that the situation on Galantos had been so easily rectified, that was nothing compared to the news that had been relayed from Mon Calamari, once they had regained contact. The Yuuzhan Vong invasion of the Empire had been successfully resisted. After the destruction of Bastion, Imperial forces had successfully turned the invaders back at Borosk and were at the moment forcing them to fight a rearguard action as they retreated. Mara and Luke's mission had been instrumental in the victory, supplying tactics and pivotal aid where required. Rumor had it that they may even have saved Grand Admiral Pellaeon's life in the process.

  And Jacen was fine. A moment's examination of the part of her that resonated with her twin would have told her that there was nothing wrong with him. No matter how far apart they wereand at that moment there was more than half a galaxy between themshe would always know if he was in trouble.

  She nudged Jag off the bunk, and he turned his back to her as she slid out from under the covers. Jaina quickly slipped her flight uniform on over her underclothes, silently promising herself a serious shower at the earliest opportunity. "You can turn around now."

  "Where are you planning to go?" he asked. "You're still off duty, remember? Your parents are asleep. Your fighter is being repaired."

  She faced him, hands on hips. "Then why wake me in the first place? Couldn't that news have waited until I had woken up by myself?"

  "Well, I just thought" He fell silent, clearly embarrassed.

  "Maybe you really did want that rematch," she said lightly. Then she took his arm and led him out of the crew quarters. "For now, though, let's just walk, okay? Even if it's only as far as the mess. I've a feeling I'm going to be ravenous once all of me wakes up."

  She was right; barely had they entered the cramped main access corridor running along the spine of the frigate when her stomach began to rumble and she had a terrible craving for one of the altha protein drinks Lando Calrissian had taught her to enjoy when she was younger. Pride of Selonia's cook droid had a limited repertoire, however, and she had to settle for a bowl of bland, glutinous nutrient soup and a glass of flavored water.

  Jag, sipping from a steaming mug, filled in some of the blanks while she ate. She learned about the proposed next stop to Bakura, and the mysterious source of that information. The source was a completely unknown quantity, and it concerned her that her parents were taking such a decision on faith. Their experiences with the Ryn called Droma and his family weren't enough to ease her mind regarding the trustworthiness of the entire species. Given that the mysterious stranger wasn't Dromaand Tahiri assured them that he wasn'tthere was still a big question mark over his motivation. If it was a genuine lead, then acting on it quickly could save a great many lives. And if it was a trap, at least they wouldn't be going in blind. She couldn't really imagine the Bakurans allying themselves with the Yuuzhan Vong or the Peace Brigade, though; not given all they owed to the New Republic and the Jedi.

  "What about Syrtik?" she asked when Jag had finished updating her. "What's happened to him?"

  Jag's pale green eyes seemed to glint with amusement. "Would you believe he's been nominated for a military honor? Jobath has been really on the spot. Syrtik's a national hero, the people love him, but at the end of the day he did disobey orders not to get involved. Jobath has to go along with it to save face, but he certainly doesn't like it." He shrugged. "So everything turned out for the best in the end, eh?"

  "Not for the Yevetha, it didn't," she said, distractedly scooping some of the soup onto her spoon. His expression sobered. "I know; I'm sorry. I read your report. It's brief but to the point." Jaina vividly remembered the last words of the Yevethan pilot before he blew up his ship, preferring deathnot only for himself, but for his speciesrather than be rescued by aliens and become contaminated.

  Run from them if you like, he had said about the Yuuzhan Vong, the destroyers of his civilization, but it will do you no good. There is no safety anywhere.

  Even though the tide had turned for the Galactic Alliance, the war had been so long and they had lost so much that she sometimes found it easy to believe that the galaxy would never know peace again. And even if it did, it was unlikely that life in it would ever be the same, no matter what the outcome.

  "I'm sorry about Miza," she said, regretting her snap assessment of the Chiss pilot's shortcomings. What had she known about him, really? Nothing, except that he'd flown well and occasionally irritated her. She didn't know how old he was, if he had family back home, or whether he had someone special who would mourn him. She didn't even know if he and Jag had been friends, but she felt the urge to tell him she was sorry anyway, because she was sorry.

  "It wasn't your fault, Jaina," Jag said. His hand came over the top of hers in a gesture of reassurance.

  "Falling afoul of an ambush while simply trying to help someone," she said, shaking her head sadly. "It seems like such an inglorious way to die."

  "I don'
t think there are necessarily any good ways to die, Jaina."

  "He'll be missed, won't he?" she asked.

  "Of course," he said. "For his good points as well as his bad."

  Jaina nodded. "And now the squad is one short."

  "After only our first mission, too," he said somberly. "Not a good start, is it?"

  She turned her hand beneath his, locking their fingers together and squeezing. He squeezed back, but with obvious reservations. She sighed, feeling guilty for having ruined the good mood he'd been in.

  "I'm sure everything will be okay, Jag," she said. "I know this is a strange way to run a squadron, but once we've ironed out the bugs"

  "That's not what concerns me, Jaina," he said. "I actually think we work well together. But if what your mother says is true, if the Vong have been reopening old wounds in order to exploit the aftereffects ..." He trailed off uncomfortably.

  "What, Jag?"

  "Well ..." He shrugged and pulled his hand away from hers. There was something on his mind; she didn't need the Force to see that. "It may be nothing, but the New Republic and the Chiss haven't always been on the best of terms. After Thrawn"

  "Thrawn was an Imperial. We know the difference."

  "But to us he was a Chiss, Jaina. The Expansionary Defense Fleet has been struggling for decades to protect our borders. Using the Empire as a tool, Thrawn made more progress in a few years than all the others combined. Yes, he may have overreached at the end, but still, when the New Republic finally defeated him, there were many among us who mourned. That's partly why we tend to side with the Empire. It's not just because we're closer to them than we are to you along most of our borders. There's still resentment."

  "You're telling me the Chiss might work with the Yuu-zhan Vong against us?"

  Jag shrugged. "No, I'm not saying that. There will always be some who would rather hear a convincing lie than an uncomfortable truth. The right words in the wrong ears might have repercussions for the Galactic Alliance."

  "Great." She pushed her bowl of soup aside, her appetite suddenly spoiled. "And that's Uncle Luke's next stop, after the Empire."