Emissary of the Void

by Greg Keyes

  'My weapons are still on line,'' Vook replied. 'And my reactor is damaged,

  yes. Indeed, in its condition it might well make a better weapon than a

  power source. Consider that, and come for me at your peril.''

  'My ship is full of captives,'' the Yuuzhan Vong said. 'Some of your own

  kind. Should you manage to destroy it, you will kill many more infidels than

  glorious Yuuzhan Vong.''

  'Better they die than receive the fate you offer them,'' Vook said.

  'In any event, it is moot,'' Qat snapped. 'We are out of your range.''

  'For the time being,'' Vook replied. 'Try and board me.''

  'I can be patient,'' Qat replied. 'In a short time, your reactor will either

  go critical or fail. If it overloads, I'll watch you die. If it does not, I

  will take you then.''

  'Delude yourself if you wish,'' Vook muttered. 'It makes no difference to

  me. You destroyed my planet and scattered my people. Do not think you will

  find me easy prey, no matter the condition of my ship.''

  Vintul Qat's only answer was a harsh laugh.

  Vook closed his eyes, wishing it were an hour ago, when the boss was still

  with him.

  Realspace was somehow always a surprise after the nothingness of hyperspace.

  The relativistic universe was never quite as Uldir remembered it, as if his

  mind protected itself from the absurdity of faster-than-light travel by

  distancing itself from the reality it had been formed to comprehend.

  Whatever the cause, reversion was one of Uldir's greatest pleasures, even if

  the view was-from any other perspective-unimpressive.

  But sometimes the show was better than all expectations, and for the crew

  and single passenger of the_No__Luck Required,_ thiswas one of those times.

  From their entry above the system's elliptic plane, the primary was a

  blue-white jewel, a spark of electricity captured and made constant. But

  something had reached into the star and tugged out a streamer of glowing

  plasma, pulled it in an arc half a light year long before twisting it into a

  spiral that wound tighter and tighter before vanish-ing. Intersecting the

  spiral and girdling the blue pinprick was a vast, faintly glowing indigo

  torus.

  His instruments and charts told him that the cause of the phe-nomenon was a

  black hole, sucking matter into the nowhere of its event horizon, the great

  wreaththestray hydrogen atoms that had escaped to orbit in the singularity's

  path, but the cause didn't matter. For a moment, beauty swept everything

  from Uldir' s mind, including the absurdly dangerous business that had

  brought him and his com-panions to this unpopulated system along the Hydian

  Way.

  'They aren't here,' Vega Sepen pronounced in that terribly certain way that

  meant 'I told you so.''

  Uldir glanced at the platinum-haired Corellian, wondering if she felt

  anything beneath that tough exterior, if the wonder of the uni-verse

  penetrated through those steely eyes to the person beneath.

  Maybe. He thought he caught a glimpse_of_ blue fire in them, not a

  reflection from without but a light from within.

  At least that's what he imagined he perceived for about a nanosec-ond. In

  that instant, he saw Vega in a very different way. The angular plains of her

  face seemed softer-younger, though she hadn't yet seen her thirtieth

  standard year. He realized with a start that she was pretty, in a quirky

  way. Hadn't he ever noticed that before?

  Then the moment was gone as if it was a quantum phenomenon, destroyed by

  observation.

  'Boss?'' Vega's voice became more insistent.

  'What?''

  'Where are you? I said they're not here. No sign of any Yuuzhan Vong vessels

  in the system.''

  'Our sensors aren't that good,'' Uldir said.

  'Well, no, not if they're hiding. But this sector of space is com-pletely

  under Yuuzhan Vong control, and they have nil reason to expect company. What

  with that black hole down there, and all of the attendant gravitational

  hoopla in this system, there are only a few places it makes sense to drop

  out and plot the next jump. This is one of them-I've checked the others.

  Nothing.''

  'They'll be here,'' another feminine voice said.

  Vega raised her eyebrows in the same way Uldir had once seen her do when

  she'd discovered a Barraken weed-scorpion stalking her. Then, the small

  forehead twitch had been quickly followed by a blaster rifle discharge.

  Uldir tensed, involuntarily.

  The new speaker, Klin-Fa Gi, tensed too, her Jedi senses doubtless warning

  her of danger. Klin-Fa was small, with dark eyes and black hair hanging in

  bangs. Her eyes narrowed as if challenging Vega.

  'Yeah?'' Vega's voice was soft, but it was myynsilk wrapped around

  durasteel. 'How do you know they haven't already been here and gone?''

  'I would know,'' Klin-Fa replied.

  'Ah, the infallible, inscrutable Jedi,'' Vega scoffed. 'But I thought you

  couldn't feel the Yuuzhan Vong in the Force?''

  'I can't,'' Klin-Fa said. 'I feel Bey.''

  Uldir never liked it when the Klin-Fa said that name. He'd never met the

  fellow but was developing the opinion that he wasn't going to like him if he

  ever did.

  'Good,'' Vega said. 'Just find him on the sensors now, and you can

  contribute something useful.''

  'They'll be here. I feel it.''

  'Great,'' Vega said. She rolled her eyes.

  Klin-Fa pressed her lips in a tight line and didn't reply. Uldir felt a

  momentary desire to defend the young Jedi. She'd changed out of the living

  Yuuzhan Vong cloaker she'd worn when she came aboard and was now dressed in

  a pair of Vook's red coveralls. They were too big for her, making her seem

  small and vulnerable.

  Yeah, right, he reminded himself. Small and vulnerable enough to cut a

  Yuuzhan Vong warrior in half at the waist. He'd seen her do exactly that.

  Not to mention the grief she'd put his crew, his ship, and himself

  through-stranding them in the middle of nowhere, for instance. She was big

  trouble in a small package. Vega was right-he was crazy to trust her after

  all she'd done.

  Still ...

  'Move out of the safe point,'' he told Vega, 'and power down. I don't want

  them seeing us when they get here.''

  'When?'' Vega asked skeptically.

  'If,'' Uldir conceded. 'And Vook, you and Uvee run diagnostics on the

  weapons systems and shields again. It was a minor miracle you managed to

  patch our girl up in the time you did-if we have a breather, I want to use

  it to bring our combat readiness to maximum.''

  'Well, that makes sense at least,'' Vega allowed. 'How's this? We go find a

  Star Destroyer and come back. That should improve our chances a little. This

  isn't a warship we have here.''

  'We're not exactly defenseless, Vega,'' Uldir pointed out.

  'And our target isn't a warship either,'' Klin-Fa added.

  'Every Vong ship is a warship,'' Vega countered. 'And it'll come escorted:''

  Klin-Fa rolled her eyes. 'We're talking about a Yuuzhan Vong slave transport

  traveling through secure Vong territory. The Yuuzhan Vong are proud-escort

  will be minimal, because they won't want to seem l
ike cowards. Besides, when

  I infiltrated their data systems I noticed something interesting-one out of

  every three warships on duty in this sector has been relocated. It happened

  almost overnight.''

  Vega frowned. 'That sounds like they're starting a new offensive. Now that's

  something worth knowing. Shouldn't we be reporting that instead of trying to

  rescue some old lover-boy of yours?''

  Klin-Fa colored slightly. 'That isn't what this is about. It's not about

  Bey, or me. Jedi fight, Jedi die. We know the risks. Bey knew the risks-but

  the secret he carries is crucial. And it's more important than any

  conventional Yuuzhan Vong offensive.''

  'Despite the fact that you don't know exactly what this hypothet-ical new

  weapon of theirs is,'' Vega said.

  Klin-Fa crossed her arms and leaned against the bulkhead. 'I know they

  believe it will all but end the New Republic's resistance to their

  invasion.''

  'Well, yes, that's what you say,'' Vega replied. 'That and two hydrogen

  atoms will get you helium if you squeeze hard enough.''

  'That's enough,'' Uldir cut in. 'This debate is over.''

  Vega looked surprised at his tone, and he realized he had been

  uncharacteristically harsh.

  But Klin-Fa had blushed when Vega referred to Bey as her 'lover-boy.' Uldir

  liked the missing Jedi less every second.

  'Just-' he stopped, sighed. 'Vega, I may be crazy, but I believe her. And

  I'm the captain, last I heard. We're doing this. I need your support now,

  not your dissent.''

  Vega's eyes widened. 'Boss, just because I don't agree with you doesn't mean

  I'm not a hundred percent there for you. I am with you.''

  'Glad to hear it.''

  'I mean, even if were to think this were a bone-headed, irresponsi-ble,

  absurdly dangerous gambit to salvage the remaining shreds of your

  masculinity-'

  'Point taken, Vega. You're with me. Now shut up.''

  'Yes, sir. Always eager to shut up.''

  'I'm with you too, captain,'' Vook's voice came over the intercom. 'And

  we'll be ready to fight, I promise you.'' He sounded confident, for a

  change. Vook never sounded that way.

  Vega noticed it too. 'Is that really Vook?'' She asked softly.

  'I don't know,'' Uldir replied, muting the comm unit. 'After that outburst

  of his yesterday-I'd better have a talk with him.''

  He found Vook in the turret, working at the turbolaser. He didn't look up as

  Uldir came in. His flat Duro face registered no emotion Uldir recognized.

  'Vook, is there a problem?''

  'No, sir. I'm adjusting the phase modulation for more efficient fire.''

  'That's great, but I wasn't talking about the turbolaser. I was talk-ing

  about my mechanic.''

  'I'm fine, sir,'' Vook said, stiffly. 'I can do my job.''

  'I'd never question your ability to do your job, Vook. I'm worried about

  your anger.''

  'The Yuuzhan Vong destroyed my homeworld,'' Vook said bluntly. 'My people

  flew among the stars when most species in this galaxy were still subsisting

  on the fruits and bugs of their native forests. To be destroyed by the

  Yuuzhan Vong, by barbarians who don't even have brains to comprehend what

  they've done-'' he broke off.

  'No one expects you to have any love for the Yuuzhan Vong, Vook. No one

  expects you not to mourn your homeworld-''

  'Yes. Mourn is what I do. Don't you think I know what you all think of me?

  Vook the mournful. Vook the always sad. Poor old Vook. Well, I'm tired of

  it. If my choice is to be between misery and anger, I'll take the anger,

  sir. It feels better.''

  'Those aren't the only two options,'' Uldir pointed out.

  'Sir, with all due respect, you have no homeworld to lose. You wouldn't

  understand.''

  Uldir was silent for a moment.

  'There was an arboretum on Bburru. Did you know it?''

  Vook's brow wrinkled oddly. 'Yes.''

  'I spent my fifth and my eleventh birthdays there. There was one tree in

  particular, a big olop, and if you sang near it, it would chime an

  accompaniment-''

  'I remember the tree,'' Vook said. 'It was a native of the home-world, the

  last of its kind. They were trying to clone it when the Vong destroyed the

  city. Now it's lost forever.''

  'Yeah,'' Uldir said. 'I'll miss it.''

  'Not as I will,'' the Duro replied.

  'Probably not. That's not my point. I spent my fourth birthday on Coruscant.

  I spent my fifteenth on Yavin Four. You're right, Vook, I have no homeworld.

  My parents were traders and freighter pilots, and I grew up in the space

  lanes. This galaxy is my homeworld. Look what the Yuuzhan Vong have done to

  it''

  Vook dropped his head and nodded slightly. 'I understand.''

  'I know you do. I don't hurt more than you do Vook-that's a com-petition I

  can live without. But you can't turn inward and imagine that not all of us

  have lost something. And you can't give in to your anger. My Jedi training

  may have been a bust, but I know that much. Anger isn't good for anyone,

  Jedi or no. It just feels that way.''

  Vook sighed. 'There is logic in what you say. Logic ought to be comforting.

  It is not.''

  Uldir cocked his head quizzically. 'Why now, Vook? Why, after all this time

  are your emotions just now getting the better of you?''

  Vook turned back to the turbolaser. 'It's this Jedi woman. She's made me

  understand how little I actually do:''

  'She said something to you?''

  'No. But she acts. She takes the fight to the Vong. So do you.''

  'No I don't,'' Uldir averred. 'I'm a rescue pilot. I became a rescue pilot

  because I didn't have what it took to be a Jedi, but I wanted to be like

  them-to help people in trouble. Jedi don't live to kill, Vook, not the good

  ones. They avoid it when they can. Sometimes they avoid it at the cost of

  their own lives. I passed up offers from half-a--dozen fighter squadrons

  because I like doing what I do. We've been in a lot of scrapes the past week

  or so, but never because I wanted to attack the Yuuzhan Vong. Never because

  I wanted to kill one. I'm just trying to do my job-a job that would be

  impossible without you, by the way. We could never have escaped Wayland

  without your expertise, Vook. Who else could have fixed our hyperdrive with

  century-old junk? Why do you think I requested you for my crew?''

  'You requested me?'' The Duro sounded genuinely surprised.

  'Of course. What did you think?''

  'I thought-I mean no one else...''

  'Vook, you're the best mechanic the service has. And I like you.''

  Vook dropped his gaze to the deck, and then lifted it to meet Uldir's.

  'Thank you, sir.''

  'Now-''

  'Hey, boys,'' Vega's voice came over the intercom.

  'What is it?''

  'We've got company.''

  'Looks like your sweetheart was right after all,'' Vega said, as Uldir

  entered the cockpit. 'It's late, but that's definitely a Yuuzhan Vong

  transport.''

  'Big,'' Leaft-the fourth member of the crew-grunted. The Dug scratched

  behind his ear with one of his foot-hands.

  Uldir silently agreed. Irregular but vaguely lozenge-shaped, the t
ransport

  looked to be half a kilometer long. Like all Yuuzhan Vong vessels, it gave

  Uldir the impression of some sort of thousand-legged sea creature, though it

  had no limbs in evidence.

  'Minimal crew, though,'' Klin-Fa said. 'I was on one just like it. Most of

  the space is reserved for captives.''

  'Escort?'' Uldir asked.

  'Four skips,'' Vega answered. 'Nothing we can't handle.''

  'I don't like it,'' Uldir said. 'It seems too easy.''

  'Easy?'' Vega said. 'Maybe if our goal was to blow it out of the sky. But

  we're aiming to capture that thing, remember? Without killing this Bey

  Gandan fellow or any of the other captives.''

  'Yeah,'' Uldir agreed.''That is the tricky part. But Klin-Fa has an idea.''

  'Why doesn't that surprise me?'' Vega wondered.

  'Follow her plan?'' Leaft snarled. 'I'd sooner milk a rancor.''

  'I don't think rancors produce milk,'' Vook commented over the intercom.

  'Just listen to her,'' Uldir said. 'Klin-Fa?''