Star Wars - Edge of Victory - Book 1: Conquest

by Greg Keyes

  Things weren't exactly looking up, Anakin thought, but maybe he could take his eyes off his feet, at least.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Darkness wrapped around Anakin like a cloak and whispered to him like a mother. It promised him a face of durasteel and a heart of ferrocrete. It offered him super­novas of power and the unflinching will to use it.

  He had been to this place before, often. It was his oldest dream, perhaps dreamed for the first time when the clone of the Emperor Palpatine touched him through his mother's womb. And when he learned about his name­sake, his grandfather Vader, the dreams grew stronger, more detailed. He saw futures in which he was grown, his blue eyes gone as gray as hull plating. He saw himself in Darth Vader's mask, the Knight of Darkness reborn.

  He had made a sort of peace with his dreams in the cave on Dagobah, the same cave where his uncle Luke had faced his own dark side and failed. But peace did not mean silence, and here, on a moon as deeply stained by the dark side as the Sith themselves, the dreams were par­ticularly troubling.

  But now, something broke, a dam holding back ebon waters that hit him so cold and strange that the tattoo in his chest stopped, as if a fist had closed on his heart.

  Soft laughter began, familiar yet strange; the pitch and timbre were wrong, but the cadence was as known to him as his father's speech. A woman's laughter, throaty and sardonic. It made the hair on his neck prickle up.

  He turned and saw her.

  Her hair was gold, the gold of a vein in a sunset on

  Coruscant or of the sudden spark from an inferno. One of her eyes was jade and the other obsidian. Her lips were fringed by a hundred incisions, and a white scar ran from the top of her forehead to her chin. Armor of a black-and-gray-banded chitinous substance fit close to her body, a very adult, very human body, though the armor was plated and jointed like an insect's. Knobs and spurs stuck out from her shoulders and elbows.

  She smiled at him through those split lips and held up something baton-shaped, which flexed in her grip like a sluggish pupa. Sudden light blazed from one end of it and resolved into a blazing blue blade. Dark-side energy crackled around her, calling to him, and he felt a sudden terrible attraction to her, every part of him yearning for her in a way he had never even begun to feel before.

  She grinned more widely and laughed again, and with sudden understanding Anakin realized that she wasn't looking at him at all, but at someone else in the vision, someone Anakin couldn't see.

  "The last of your kind," the woman said, her voice made whispery by what had been done to her mouth. "The last of my kind." And she raised the blade, and Anakin recognized her.

  "Tahiri!" he shrieked. She paused, as if she might have heard something very far away. Then she came forward, sweeping the weapon down, and Anakin choked on the look in her eye, the mixture of glee and despair, joy and sickness.

  He awoke still choking. A strong hand was clamped over his mouth. He squirmed, but the grip on him was sure and strong. He tried to get his feet under him and failed.

  Calm. No fear, he thought. Get it together, Anakin. You're supposed to be on watch. They won't even hear this, in the cave, if you die.

  He used the Force to twist the hand away from his mouth and shove his attacker sprawling, and in the next

  instant got his feet under him and his lightsaber in hand. In its sudden light he made out a bearded face, a blaster. He leapt forward.

  "Wait! Jedi! I'm—I'm a friend."

  "Yeah? Why did you attack me?"

  "Didn't know—didn't—" He wheezed off, his voice sounding strange, weak, as if he rarely used it. "Name's Qorl. I have been a friend to Jedi. I didn't know who you were."

  "Qorl? My brother and sister knew a Qorl. He made them fix his ship at blasterpoint."

  "Jacen. Jaina," the old man said. "Qorl also saved them from the Shadow Academy."

  "You were a TIE fighter pilot, stranded here when the Death Star was destroyed. You went off—"

  "And came back. I left as an enemy to your brother and sister. I came back their friend. You're really their brother?" He squinted. "Can't see so well anymore."

  "What are you doing here?"

  "Saw some ships fly over, fighting. Thought I saw one go down, so I followed to see." He shrugged. "Seven days later, here I am."

  "So you are." Anakin struggled to remember what he knew about this grizzled old man. Jacen and Jaina had found his wrecked TIE fighter and set about fixing it, not realizing its pilot was still around, hiding in the jungle, unaware that the war was over. Qorl had forced them to finish the repairs and left them to die, but had later helped them escape the Shadow Academy. Anakin remembered that Qorl had ended up back on Yavin 4, but none of the details. He did know that Jacen and Jaina counted him a friend, and Uncle Luke had been content to leave the old man alone.

  Qorl gestured at the lightsaber. "Could you put that away, please?"

  "Oh. Sure."

  "Who were you fighting?"

  "Peace Brigade."

  "Who?"

  "Er—how long since you've had news from the out­side, Qorl?"

  "I don't know. Old Peckhum dropped off some sup­plies for me, maybe two or three years ago. I told him not to come back."

  "Oh. Well, this will take some explaining, then. A lot of explaining."

  "Will it explain the new ships I've seen? The strange ones?"

  Anakin felt his chest constrict. "What ships?"

  "They look like—growths of some kind. Ugly."

  "Oh, no," Anakin whispered. "Okay, I'll have to tell this as fast as I can, and then—" He remembered his vi­sion, that future Tahiri, a dark Jedi with Yuuzhan Vong scarring and implants. "And then there's something I have to do, no matter what."

  "I need to talk to you, Vehn." Anakin settled down across from the man.

  "So talk. Hey, who's the old guy?"

  "A hermit of sorts. I'm putting him in charge of you."

  "What do you mean?" Vehn asked suspiciously.

  Anakin drew a deep breath and plunged into it. "Okay. Here's the thing, Vehn. I need your help."

  "I've been telling you that for a while."

  "And you were right."

  "Yeah, well—too bad. You've treated me like Hutt slime. Why shouldn't I return the favor?"

  "The Yuuzhan Vong are here."

  That got his attention. Vehn's face closed over his fear, but Anakin could still feel it.

  "Qorl's seen their ships."

  "They'll find us," Vehn said flatly.

  "Why should they? They aren't looking for us. Unless the Peace Brigade tells them about the crash—but I don't

  think they will. It would only show their incompetence, right? So the Yuuzhan Vong see us only if they notice us on a random patrol, and the odds of that—"

  "Depends on how many ships they have patrolling," Vehn interrupted. "You don't know the one, so you don't know the other."

  "True. The thing is this—I'm going after my friend, back at the temple. I'm going now. I want you and Qorl to get Sannah and Valin off of this moon."

  "What? Have you got some kind of fever?"

  "You can finish the repairs on your ship, can't you?"

  Vehn continued to stare at him as if he was crazy. "No. The sublight drive—"

  "Is nearly repaired. I'll show you."

  "Impossible."

  "Nope. You still need some parts, but Qorl knows where you can get them. And you have Fiver. I've pro­grammed him with everything you'll need."

  "And why should I do this again? I keep missing that part."

  "Because it's your only chance, too. You think the Yuuzhan Vong are going to hail you as an ally when they find you? I doubt it very much. You say you were only in the Peace Brigade for the money, you say you don't really share their cause—let's say I'm going to take you on your word about that. Get these kids to safety, and I can guar­antee you a profit."

  "How do you know I won't just fly straight to the Vong and turn Valin and Sannah over to them?"


  "A couple of reasons. The first is that Qorl will blast a very large hole in you if you try it. I don't completely trust the man. He was an Empire stalwart twenty years after the death of the Emperor. By the same token, he would never turn humans over to the Yuuzhan Vong— or let you do it. He might take off for the Imperial Rem­nant the instant he gets the chance, but the way I see it, that's parsecs better than staying here.

  "The second is that I think you'll do whatever gives you the best chance of getting out of this with a whole skin—and you're smart enough not to gamble on the milk of Yuuzhan Vong kindness. The third—" He leaned close. "Third, if you bring any harm to Valin or Sannah, you'd better pray I'm dead. Because if I'm not, no matter what, I will find you. That I swear."

  "Ease up, Jedi. I'll do it. Anything has to be better than hanging out in the jungle waiting to die of a lizard bite. But I don't want you to threaten me again. I'm really sick of that."

  "I've said what I meant to say. I won't say it again." Anakin raised his voice. "Qorl. Could you come here, please?"

  The old pilot shuffled over and treated Vehn to a thor­ough once over. He knelt on creaky joints and shook his finger in Vehn's face. "I know you," he muttered.

  "You're crazy," Vehn said. "I've never seen you before in my life."

  "Oh, no. Even if you saw somebody like old Qorl, you wouldn't recognize him. You don't have the database. On the other hand, old Qorl has seen a hundred like you. You won't give Qorl any trouble. You'll do what he says."

  "Right," Vehn said. "Just . . . stay away from me, yeah? Or take a bath, at least. You smell like a Wookiee's armpit."

  Qorl laughed brusquely, put his hands on his thighs, and rose painfully to his full height. He looked squarely at Anakin. "You sure about this, then?" he asked.

  "I've got to do it," Anakin said. "The Force is pulling me to do it."

  "The Force. Huh. Will the Force get you halfway around the moon in less then a year? Because that's how long it will take you to walk it, if you don't get gobbled by piranha-beetles or die of creek fever. You might as well wait until we have the ship fixed."

  "I don't have to walk," Anakin said. "The repulsorlift system in the E-wing was salvageable. I cobbled together something that will pass for a speeder."

  "Already?"

  "Days ago. But until you came along, I couldn't really talk myself into going. I couldn't take Valin and San­nah, and I couldn't leave them behind." But now I have two signs, he finished to himself, Qorl, and my dream. It felt right to go. It felt terribly wrong not to. It felt— Chewbacca's face flashed in his mind, as he had last seen it, and Tahiri, alone, surrounded.

  Tahiri, grown, wearing Yuuzhan Vong armor and wielding dark-side Force.

  It was a risk he had to take.

  "I'm going to explain this to Valin and Sannah now," Anakin said. "I'll leave in the morning."

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Commander Tsaak Vootuh aimed his opalescent eyes at the trembling human, restraining the part of himself that wanted to put the pathetic creature out of its misery.

  Which was most of him.

  "You are Imsatad?" he asked.

  "Yes, sir."

  "Straighten yourself," Vootuh snarled. "The mewling of a Yuuzhan Vong infant in a creche has more fierceness than your whine." As he spoke, he cherished the thin hiss of breath through the deep chevrons that cut through his cheeks. He clasped his hands behind his back so that the cloak gripping into the flesh of his shoulders fell open to reveal the full glory of the tattoos and burn puckers that adorned his torso. He silently praised Yun-Yuuzhan for not condemning him to be one of these smooth, honor-less infidels.

  "Yes, sir," Imsatad replied, his voice slightly firmer.

  "You explained to my subordinates that you are an ally of ours? One of the—" He frowned, trying to re­member the name of the group in Basic. "Peez Brigade?"

  The tizowyrm in his ear translated the first word as "willing and appropriate submission from the submis­sive to the conqueror."

  "Yes, sir."

  "I wonder how you will confirm that," Tsaak Vootuh said. "Our information was that this moon was home to

  many young Jeedai. And yet I find none at all. This is pe­culiar, and I suspect you are to blame."

  "No!" Imsatad said. "We came here in good faith, to keep the terms of the peace your warmaster Tsavong Lah proposed."

  "And failed miserably to do so. Where are the Jeedai? "

  Imsatad hesitated. "We have one. The others are with Karrde."

  "The commander of the flotilla that fled our approach?"

  "That's him. He tricked us into—"

  "I have no interest in the details of your failure. Two of this Karrde's ships made the jump to hyperspace. I as­sume those ships contained the prize you let slip through your fingers."

  "With all respect, Commander, if it weren't for me and my crew, you wouldn't have even one Jedi. Karrde would have taken them all before you arrived."

  "Perhaps, perhaps not. But tell me—why does he re­main in this system?"

  Imsatad frowned. "Does he?"

  "Yes. He has withdrawn to the edge of the system, but remains there. I do not complain, for it will give me and my warriors combat when I feared we must sit idle. But I wish to know his reason. I do not imagine that he would stay for the sake of a single immature Jeedai." He leaned close, dropping his voice to a whisper. "What have you failed to tell me?"

  The human cleared its throat. "There—I think there are perhaps a few more Jedi here on the moon. I think one of them might be Anakin Solo."

  "Solo?"

  "Brother to Jacen Solo, whom Tsavong Lah so desires."

  "Interesting, if true."

  " I would like to offer my ships and crew to help find him and any others who might still remain on Yavin Four."

  Tsaak Vootuh fixed a venomous stare on the creature. "You have helped us quite enough. As for your ships, they are abominations and will be destroyed."

  " But what—how will we return home?"

  Tsaak Vootuh allowed himself a grim smile. "How in­deed, Imsatad?" he said. "How indeed?"

  "Now, wait a minute—" Imsatad began, but Tsaak Vootuh cut him off with a look.

  "I wish to see the captured Jeedai," he told the human. "You will take me, now."

  " I'll do no such thing until you—"

  Tsaak Vootuh nodded in a certain way, and Imsatad was suddenly staring in astonishment at the head of an amphistaff poking out of his belly. He looked question-ingly at Tsaak Vootuh, coughed blood from his mouth, and died. Vo Lian, Tsaak Vootuh's lieutenant, withdrew the amphistaff he had struck through the man's back.

  Tsaak Vootuh gestured at the human who had been standing behind Imsatad. "You. Take me to see the Jeedai."

  "Oof course," the creature stammered. "Whatever you wish."

  Tsaak Vootuh nodded and stood. Before leaving the room, he turned to Vo Lian. "Supervise the landing and make secure the space around this moon. I want the damutek on the ground within the next cycle. I will give the shapers no cause for complaint."

  Vo Lian snapped his fists against his opposite shoul­ders. "Belek tiu," he said. "It will be done, Commander."

  PART TWO

  THE SHAMED AMD THE SHAPERS

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Borsk Fey'lya, Chief of State of the New Republic, of­fered an apologetic expression that looked as false to Luke as it was well-practiced. His words followed suit.

  "I'm sorry," he demurred, violet eyes unblinking. "I can be of no help in this matter, Master Skywalker."

  Luke fought down the urge to shout and sought the calm he so often implored of his students. "I beg you to reconsider, Chief Fey'lya. Lives are at stake." Grief over Ikrit's death was still raw.

  The Bothan nodded. "I am painfully aware of that, Master Skywalker. However, whereas you are concerned with the lives of four—count them, four—Jedi, I must consider a great many more. I must consider the lives we will lose in an attempt to retake the Yavin system, a sys
­tem with no tactical or strategic advantage. I must con­sider, further, that this action would quite effectively end the truce with the Yuuzhan Vong and cost even more lives in renewed warfare."

  "They've already broken the truce," Luke replied, still trying to keep his voice even. "They promised not to take any more of our worlds if Jedi are turned over to them, something that the whole galaxy seems eager to do. And yet they've now taken Yavin Four."

  "Of course, neither I nor the senate sanction the pur­ported purge of Jedi."

  "Purported?" Luke allowed the word to absorb all of the incredulity he felt at Fey'lya's implication.

  "And as for Yavin Four," the chief continued evenly, "it is not one of 'our worlds,' not if by the use of the plural pronoun you mean the New Republic. Yavin Four is your pet project, Master Skywalker. You Jedi have made it clear that you are not bound by the laws and de­cisions of the senate. You fight unsanctioned battles and provoke needless dissent. And now, suddenly, after spurn­ing our wishes, you desire our aid? Really, can't you see the hypocrisy in that?"

  "Chief, putting aside for the moment that you are con­founding the action of a handful of Jedi with our order as a whole, these are children we're talking about. They've done nothing, and they don't deserve to suffer for the mistakes of others."

  "But you would ask me to jeopardize millions, per­haps billions for those same mistakes? Your mistakes? Listen to yourself."

  "That's the most—" Jaina Solo exploded. Luke was surprised she had kept silent for so long.

  "Quiet, Jaina," he said.

  " But he's twisting—"

  "Child, you have all of your mother's fire and none of her common sense," Fey'lya said. "Listen to your Master."

  "There's no need to insult my niece," Luke said. "Her brother is one of those missing."

  "Would this be Anakin Solo, who forged a fake depar­ture authority in order to leave Coruscant surreptitiously?"

  "Anakin is a little . . . overeager."

  "He did not proceed under your authority?"

  "No, Chief Fey'lya, he did not, but he thought the stu­dents at the praxeum were in imminent danger. As it turns out, he was correct."

  "Another example, however, of what I'm talking about. Young Solo ran off against orders, breaking several laws in doing so, with no say-so from anyone. This, so far as I can tell, is the essence of what the Jedi have become."