Star Wars_ Cloak of Deception - James Luceno [73]
Qui-Gon glanced up from where he had flattened himself to the ground. The landing platform was littered with white-hot wreckage, small bits of which had burned holes in his cloak.
His eyes searched the plaza for signs of the weapon that had brought down the ship, only to grasp that the devastating bolt hadn’t come from any downside emplacement.
It had come from above.
A crimson and white craft streaked overhead, so close that it rattled Qui-Gon’s teeth.
“Judicial Lancet,” Obi-Wan said when the sound of the starfighter’s passing had roared through.
White veins in the blue dome of the sky told Qui-Gon that other ships were coming down the well.
He swung back to regard Depa and the judicials, one of whom was speaking into his wrist comm. Sensing Qui-Gon’s gaze on him, the judicial looked up and raised his left fist in a sign of confidence.
Qui-Gon raised his gaze to the sky. From the south, a Corellian cruiser was on the approach.
The sight of the descending fighters didn’t deter the radicals from continuing their fight for the CloakShapes, however. Three more starfighters lifted out of the plaza. But rather than waste time pouring fire against the slaves, the ships rocketed off to the east, with a pair Lancets in close pursuit. A fourth CloakShape whirred noisily to life, managing, during its reeling ascent, to take out an incoming Lancet.
Off to Qui-Gon’s left, the ion cannon pulsed. Dazed by a direct hit, another Lancet rolled over on its back and dived silently toward the parched ground. Shortly, an explosion boiled high into the air behind the southern pyramid.
The cannon continued to send darts of disabling fire skyward, but the alliance of slaves and moderates were already storming the emplacement. A dozen warriors fell to the charge, but the rest persevered, lobbing thermal grenades from where they hunkered behind a toppled monument.
A moment later the gun emplacement belched a column of howling fire and collapsed in on itself.
The ongoing turmoil in the plaza had prevented the cruiser from landing. While it hovered at the level of the pyramid summits, hatches opened in the underside of the ship and twenty or more figures rappeled down on monofilament cables. Half of them were armed with blasters, and the rest with glowing lightsabers.
The battle raged furiously for several more minutes. Then, hemmed in on all sides, the militants began to surrender their weapons and drop to their knees. Captives of the slaves, other groups were marched into the plaza with hands raised above their heads.
Tiin, Depa Billaba, and some of the Jedi reinforcements started to meander through the devastation, gathering up weapons and tending to the wounded. Qui-Gon saw Yaddle standing at the entrance to the northern pyramid, shaking her head in dismay.
He and Obi-Wan set out to find the Bith. Shortly, he saw Obi-Wan waving him over to the southwest corner of the plaza.
Qui-Gon clipped his lightsaber to his belt and broke into a jog. He knew before he arrived that calamity was waiting.
The Bith was curled on his side, his long-fingered hands pressed to a blackened hole in his midsection. Qui-Gon went down on one knee beside him.
“I tried to contact you on Coruscant,” the black-eyed alien began in a weak voice. “But after what happened at Dorvalla, Havac and the others suspected that there was an informant among them.”
“Havac?” Qui-Gon said. “Is he the one who had the slaves executed?”
The Bith shook his large head. “He’s just a lieutenant. Havac is the leader. But he’s not onworld—many of the militants aren’t.” He paused to take a breath. “They’ve undone everything we tried to do. They’ve turned this into a war with the Trade Federation, and now the Republic.”
“It’s over,” Qui-Gon said. “You’ve deposed them. Save your strength, friend.”
The Bith clamped his hand on Qui-Gon’s forearm. “It’s not over. They have something