Star Wars_ Cloak of Deception - James Luceno [65]
He inhaled deeply, but didn’t come close to filling his lungs with oxygen. The high-altitude air was thin; the sky, an inverted bowl of the deepest blue, was seemingly supported on the ice-white shoulders of mountain ranges that ringed the horizon. Asmeru’s sun was a huge red smear on the western horizon. The temperature was falling fast, and certainly would be below freezing by sunset.
To the south, the sky was streaked with the contrails of ships rocketing down the planet’s gravity well, no doubt headed for the landing area. Qui-Gon wondered briefly which one of them might be the Hawk-Bat.
He turned his back to the lake and let his gaze wander up over the lifeless rocks. Assembled by hand rather than nature, the island was itself a pyramid, with the ruins of ancient structures surmounting it.
To both sides of Qui-Gon, Jedi and judicials were beginning to climb from the lake, their waterlogged tunics and uniforms weighing them down. Following Qui-Gon’s lead, Obi-Wan sprang from the water, landing atop one of the smaller rocks. Vergere floated in like a water fowl until she reached the stony beach, then she called on her powerful reverse-articulated legs to catapult her ashore. Saesee Tiin’s big hands cut through the waves like flippers. Yaddle rode in atop Ki-Adi-Mundi’s broad shoulders, her short arms wrapped around his tall head, and her topknot of golden-brown hair plastered to her green skull. Close by, Depa Billaba stepped gracefully to the beach, as if emerging from a warm bath.
Three hundred meters away, the dorsal hull of the Prominence was still visible above the waterline. Giant air bubbles broke the surface of the lake and popped loudly.
Everyone was a bit stunned. With a fractured arm, the cruiser’s pilot was the most seriously injured. In obvious pain, she made her way over to Qui-Gon, breathless when she reached him.
“I thought we could break free,” she said, by way of apology.
“Don’t condemn your actions just yet,” Qui-Gon replied. “Nothing happens by chance.”
The pilot nodded and looked at Saesee Tiin. “Was it House Vandron that betrayed us?”
The Iktotchi folded his arms across his massive chest. “That has little bearing on our present situation.” He glanced at Yaddle. “The question is, what do we do next?”
“An immediate answer, that question begs,” the small Jedi replied, “as company we’re about to have.”
Qui-Gon followed her gaze. Several vessels were approaching from the lake’s south shore.
Obi-Wan reached to unclip his lightsaber, but Qui-Gon restrained him with a look. “There’s always time for that. Just now we need to assess where we stand.”
Obi-Wan glanced around. “On an island, in the middle of a lake, with adversaries on the approach, Master.”
“Wasn’t it you who said that things are not always what they appear to be?”
Obi-Wan frowned. “I stand corrected.”
Qui-Gon touched him on the shoulder and nodded his chin to the others. “There’s no sense making ourselves easy targets.”
Drawing on the Force, and taking the judicials with them, the Jedi vaulted and bounded up into the boulders. From higher up, they had a better vantage from which to see just what was approaching. Driven by repulsorlifts, the vessels were as gruesomely fanciful as the spaceships of House Vandron. Some had upturned animistic prows and ribcage gunwales; others had elaborately raised sterns, carved with ghastly visages. All were equipped with mounted repeating blasters.
The bestial flotilla came to a hovering halt just short of the island, weapons traversing the shore. Each vessel carried a crew of humans, Weequays, Rodians, Bith, Sullustans, and others, many of them layered in heavy garments, gloves, and headpieces that covered