Star Wars - Hand of Thrawn 2 - Vision of the Future

by Timothy Zahn

  Once again, Booster had the distinct feeling of having had the blocks knocked out from under him. "Fine," he muttered. "Well, let's get going. If you're determined to go marching into an Imperial base, we might as well get to it."

  "Yes," Bel Iblis said. "And let me thank you once again for your help. Don't worry; it'll all work out fine."

  "Yeah," Booster grumbled as he took Mirax's arm. "Sure."

  CHAPTER

  17

  With one final truncated lightsaber sweep, the last of the chunks came away from the opening and crashed hollowly to the rocky floor. "There," Luke said, peering into the hole. "What do you think?"

  Mara stepped close to his side and shined her glow rod into the opening. "Still going to be tight for the droid," she said. "But I think it'll do."

  Luke glanced back over his shoulder, to the eight Qom Jha hanging from the passageway ceiling. Yes, it would do. More importantly, now that Splitter Of Stones and Keeper Of Promises had returned with the Qom Jha hunters Eater Of Fire Creepers had promised, they should get moving before they lost any prestige in their guides' eyes.

  Or to put it another way, before they lost so much confidence in Master Walker Of Sky that they decided to back out of this trip entirely. They hadn't said much about Builder With Vines's violent death, but they were definitely avoiding the area where their friend had died.

  And they weren't going out of their way to be nice to Child Of Winds, either. If he and Mara didn't get moving, there was likely to be more of the same trouble they'd already had too much of.

  "I agree," he said, returning his lightsaber to his belt and stepping over to the shrunken collection of items that had been his pack before the fire creepers had gotten to it. Aside from the food bars in their metal case, the spare blaster power packs and glow rods, and some of the syntherope, there wasn't much left. The bedrolls, survival tent, medpacs, even the detonator casings on the grenades had all been ravaged into useless shreds. "I guess we just take whatever we can salvage of this stuff?"

  "That's what I'm doing," Mara said. She had one of her ration boxes open and was sorting out the bars between the various pockets in her jumpsuit. "Soldiers' first rule concentrate on the food."

  "Understood," Luke said, starting to fill his own pockets. Artoo rolled unsteadily up to him on the uneven ground and with a beep of invitation slid open the hidden compartment in his dome. "I'm putting what's left of the syntherope in Artoo," Luke called to Mara, stuffing the coil into the compartment. "In case you need it."

  "Fine," Mara said. "I'm ready."

  "Me, too," Luke said, gazing into the darkness. "You want to stay with the same marching order?"

  "You mean with you in front and me behind handling the luggage?" Mara asked, nodding toward Artoo.

  Luke felt his face warming. "I meant"

  "I know what you meant," Mara said, giving him a wry smile. "But you're the Jedi; and if there's anything in there with big teeth, you've got the best chance of toasting it before it draws blood. So. After you."

  Luke looked up at the waiting Qom Jha. "Sure," he said, shifting his glow rod to his left hand and drawing his lightsaber. "We're ready, Splitter Of Stones."

  Follow me, the Qom Jha said, dropping off the ceiling and fluttering into the darkness.

  It was quickly evident that their route wasn't so much a passageway as it was a narrow, V-shaped crack in the rock. Within the first three steps Luke was forced to return his lightsaber to his belt and wedge his glow rod into his tunic to free up his hands to help pull himself along. Behind him he could hear Artoo's continuous nervous twittering and the occasional muted thunk where Mara bumped him into one of the side walls.

  Each time that happened, he had to fight back the impulse to offer his help. If Mara needed him, she would ask. Probably.

  Fortunately, the crack was only no more than three meters long, with a yellowish wall blocking the far end. This is the way inside, Splitter Of Stones said from a perch at a small gap that broached the yellow wall near the top. Beyond this wall is the High Tower.

  "I'd say we're here," Mara commented. "That wall's definitely artificial."

  "Agreed," Luke said, wedging himself into a more or less steady position in front of the wall and drawing his lightsaber. "You and Artoo keep back."

  The wall was quite thin and, more importantly, not made of cortosis ore. Three quick slices of the green blade, and they had their entrance.

  Luke dropped through the opening, lightsaber and Jedi senses at the ready. Beyond the wall was a dark, high-ceilinged room, incredibly dusty, that extended out beyond the range of his glow rod beam. Spaced along the walls at two different heights were elaborately tooled wall sconces that looked like they had once held torches or torchlike lights. Above the sconces, at perhaps a dozen other points around the room, other gaps showed where sections of the yellow wall had crumbled away from the ceiling. Aside from the sconces, there were no other decorations or furnishings.

  "Doesn't look like Hijarna," Mara muttered from behind him, waving her own glow rod around.

  "What?" Luke asked.

  "There's a ruined fortress on the planet Hijarna," she explained. "Karrde sometimes uses it as a meeting place."

  "Yes, he said something about that when I saw him on Cejansij," Luke said. "He said if this fortress was like that one it could probably shrug off any attack he could throw at it."

  "Him, or the New Republic in general," Mara said grimly. "The Hijarna fortress was made of some incredibly hard black stone that could eat massed turbolaser fire for breakfast."

  She gestured with her glow rod. "My first look at the High Tower from outside the cave mouth reminded me of that one. But the wall material here isn't anything like it."

  Artoo whistled, his sensor unit extended and rotating back and forth as if searching for something. "That doesn't necessarily mean anything," Luke pointed out, squatting down in front of the droid and peering at the datapad they'd rigged up to serve as translator for his more complicated comments. "They could have been built by two different groups of the same people."

  "Maybe. What's he saying?"

  "He says that from the fastenings he doesn't think the wall sconces were part of the original furnishings," Luke said. "For whatever that's worth."

  He straightened up and pointed toward the unseen part of the room. "He also says there's a very strong power source operating somewhere over there."

  "Really," Mara said with interest, taking a step in that direction and shining her glow rod into the darkness. "Let's go take a look."

  No! Keeper Of Promises said sharply from above Luke.

  "Hang on," Luke said to Mara, looking up. Keeper Of Promises was perched on one of the wall sconces, his wings quivering with agitation. "What's wrong?" he asked.

  That way lies destruction, the Qom Jha said. Others have searched that direction. None have ever returned.

  "He says there's danger that way," Luke translated for Mara. "Specifics unknown."

  "Except that it eats Qom Jha, I presume," Mara said. "On the other hand, the only way out of here has to be that direction."

  No, there is another way, Splitter Of Stones said from one of the other sconces. Come.

  He flew across to the wall to their left and settled to a perch in one of the other gaps beneath the ceiling. Here, he said. Here is the entrance to the hidden passage.

  "Really," Luke said, feeling his eyes narrow. The Qom Jha hadn't said anything about a hidden passage before. "And this hidden passage leads into the High Tower?"

  Come, Splitter Of Stones said. You will see.

  "Hidden passage, huh?" Mara commented as they crossed the room, Artoo rolling along behind them. "I don't recall that being mentioned before."

  "Me, neither," Luke said. "It could have been just an oversight."

  "Or an awkward but conveniently forgotten fact," Mara said darkly.

  Artoo twittered questioningly. "Awkward because hidden passages usually also have hidden exits," Mara said to t
he droid over her shoulder. "And unless the Qom Jha have found a way through those exits, they won't know any more about the layout of the High Tower than we do."

  "How about it, Splitter Of Stones?" Luke asked. "Have you and your people been inside, or haven't you?"

  We have traveled all through the hidden passage was the somewhat sullen reply. There are places where we can see the Threateners and hear what they are saying.

  "Let me guess," Mara said. "They've never actually been in the High Tower, but they're sure they'll be able to find their way around once we get them in."

  "Basically," Luke said heavily. "Apparently, for all their talk, no one's actually been inside the place."

  Some of the Qom Qae have been inside, Child Of Winds spoke up. I know of some who have done so.

  Luke frowned at him. "They have? Who? When?"

  Friends from other nestings have entered from above, Child Of Winds explained. But they have always been quickly driven out, and have seen very little.

  "Still, that's apparently more than the Qom Jha have done," Luke said, looking at Splitter Of Stones again. The Qom Jha was maintaining a stiff silence, but Luke could tell he was not at all pleased with this revelation. "Have you yourself been inside, Child Of Winds?"

  No, he said. Only friends from the nesting nearest here.

  "What's the debate?" Mara asked.

  "Child Of Winds says some of the younger Qom Qae of the region have poked around inside the upper areas of the High Tower," Luke said. "But how is it you're in contact with these others, Child Of Winds? I thought Hunter Of Winds said matters outside your nesting were of no concern to you."

  They are of no concern to adult Qom Qae, Child Of Winds said. But all children may fly freely wherever they wish.

  "Ah." So adult Qom Qae were territorial, but their children mixed together across nesting boundaries however they wanted.

  And in the process played the role of informal ambassadors and information gatherers? Possibly. Something to remember if and when the New Republic decided to make official contact with them.

  Beside him, Mara cleared her throat. "Is any of this no doubt fascinating conversation helping us get inside the High Tower?"

  "Not really," Luke agreed, pushing the glimpse into Qom Qae social structure aside for now. Stepping to the yellow wall beneath where Splitter Of Stones was sitting, he ran an exploring hand across the surface. If there was a hidden door there, it was very well hidden. "You think we should look for a release, or open it the easy way?"

  Mara's answer was the snap-hiss of her lightsaber. "Get out of the way," she said. "You, too, Qom Jha."

  Splitter Of Stones fluttered hastily to one of the wall sconces. Three quick slashes, and Mara had a man-sized opening cut in the wall. Lightsaber held ready, she jumped into the gap and ducked to her right. Luke was right behind her, ducking to the left.

  They were in a narrow passageway, no more than a meter and a half across, which like the room behind them extended to the right beyond the range of their glow rods. In the other direction, the passageway ended in a wall only a few meters away.

  And leading up over their heads from that end was a set of stairs.

  "Over here, Mara," Luke called quietly over his shoulder as he headed that direction. The stairs were narrow, and like the passageway itself extended past the range of his glow rod beam. Overhead to the left he could see just the hint of an angled and rising ceiling another flight of steps, he decided, probably connecting with this set at some unseen landing ahead. Rising vertically along the inside edge of the stairway were a series of thick cylinders that ran from below the level of the passageway up into the darkness above.

  "That's our way up, all right," Mara said from his side. "Uh-oh."

  "What?" Luke asked, frowning as he stretched out with the Force. There was no danger he could detect.

  "The stairs," Mara said, her glow rod shining downward on the lowest steps. "Now that looks like Hijarna building material."

  Luke frowned down at it. "Any way to tell for sure?"

  "A couple of blaster bolts ought to do it," she said. "But the noise would probably travel farther than we'd like. Anyway, at the moment it's irrelevantwe're not launching a full-scale assault on the place."

  "Rightwe're trying to sneak in," Luke agreed. "Looks like we'll have to go single file."

  "I think we're all used to that by now," Mara said, playing her glow rod up and down the steps. "Reminds me of that secret passageway Palpatine had in the Imperial palace."

  "Reminds me of the service shaft in Ilic on New Cov," Luke said, remembering that long walk he and Han had taken up those stairs to a landing area crawling with Imperials.

  "You'd think just one of these secret-stair-builders would have the courtesy to install a turbolift," Mara said, shaking her head. "Or at least a droid carrier."

  "It would be nice," Luke agreed. "Well, nothing for it but to start climbing. Let's go."

  * * * With the narrow but relatively open area ahead and above them, Luke decided to let Splitter Of Stones and his cadre of Qom Jha take the point, flying up and ahead of them. Luke went next, carrying the droid for a change, leaving Mara and Child Of Winds to bring up the rear.

  Mara had groused a little about that, arguing that she wasn't tired and could handle the droid just fine. But Luke had declared the staircase safe enough for him to take droid duty, and had ignored her complaints.

  Not that she'd complained too hard or too long. The droid had been getting heavier and heavier lately, and she was just as glad to be rid of the burden for a while.

  "Any idea what these are?" she asked Luke, running her fingertips across the first of the thick vertical cylinders as she passed it. From this position on the stairs she could now see to the first landing, and a quick count showed there were twenty of the cylinders rising through the gap. "They don't look like ventilation shafts."

  The droid warbled. "Artoo says they're power lines," Luke told her. "Probably bringing energy to the High Tower from that big power source he picked up."

  "That's one blazing lot of capacity," Mara said, eyeing the cylinders uneasily. "Are all twenty of them pulling power?"

  The droid twittered again. "Only three are active at the moment," Luke said. "But the others are still functional. Running to weapons or shield generators, maybe?"

  "I was just wondering that myself." Mara felt her lip twitch. "From near the mouth of the cave you can see three towers rising from the fortress three intact and one broken."

  "Yes, I remember that from the record the Starry Ice brought back," Luke said, his voice and emotions tight. "You suggested that the shot that took out that tower might have also gouged out some of the ravine you flew in through. Is Hijarna stone that tough?"

  "I don't know," Mara said grimly. "But Hijarna stone plus seventeen power lines' worth of shield generators might do the trick."

  Luke whistled softly, shaking his head. "You know, this place is starting to look more and more impregnable by the minute. I don't think I like that."

  "I'm sure I don't like it," Mara retorted grimly. "Especially in potentially unfriendly hands. It'd be worse than Mount Tantiss."

  They reached the landing and the expected switchback and continued on up. For a while Mara tried to keep track of the stair count, but somewhere in the mid-two hundreds she gave up the exercise as useless.

  They had passed the fourth landing when she began to detect the alien presence.

  She kept at the sensation for the next few minutes until she was sure. Then, as they started to round the fifth landing, she leaned over and caught Luke's eye. "Luke?" she murmured. "Company."

  "I know," he murmured back. "I've been picking them up for a while now. We must be getting close to the inhabited parts of the High Tower."

  "The sensation seem at all familiar to you?"

  "Very," he assured her. "They're the same species as the pilots who tried to shoot me down on my way in."

  "I've never gotten that close to any o
f this particular group," Mara said, a sudden shiver running through her. "But I've definitely felt this sense before."

  Luke seemed to brace himself. "Thrawn?"

  She nodded. "Thrawn."

  For a long moment they stood there in silence. "Well, you called it," Mara reminded him. "You said that might be a group of his people in there."

  "It's starting to look that way," Luke said, looking up and waving toward him. "Splitter Of Stones?"

  There was a rustling of wings, and the Qom Jha fluttered to a landing on one of the stairs ahead of Luke. "You said there were places where you could see or hear into the High Tower," Luke said. "How close are we to the nearest of those?"

  Splitter Of Stones began to speak. Suddenly tired of this second-class status of hers, Mara reached over and took Luke's hand.

  not too far away, she heard the Qom Jha's voice echoed through Luke's mind. Two and a portion more turns.

  "A portion?" Mara asked, frowning.

  "The spot must be partway up one of the stairways," Luke said, glancing at the cylinders running alongside them. "At least these power lines should help mask our life-form readings if anyone's looking. That's convenient."

  "It also means Artoo won't be able to pick up much of anything, either," Mara pointed out. "Not so convenient."

  But that will surely not be a problem for you, Child Of Winds spoke up. You have the Force.

  "True," Luke agreed.

  "Some of us more than others, of course," Mara added, suppressing a grimace. As he had on that trek across Wayland ten years ago, Luke had been giving her more or less nonstop Jedi instruction during the trip through these caverns. But despite those efforts, she was apparently no closer to hearing this weird Force-driven communication of the Qom Jha and Qom Qae than she'd been when she first arrived on the planet.

  And it was starting to bug her. It was starting to really bug her. What did she have to do to break through this invisible barrier to full Jedi powers, anyway?

  She didn't have an answer. Luke might, but she didn't. And there was no way in the galaxy she was going to ask him. Not anytime soon, anyway.