Star Wars_ Coruscant Nights 01_ Jedi Twilight - Michael Reaves [71]
He wasn’t sure what he was going to do when he found Jax—he hadn’t let himself look that far ahead. A dozen times during the suborbital flight from the Imperial Sector to here, he’d reached for the controls to change course, to simply aim the ship toward the stars, blast through the grid, and see just how finely those hyperdrive engines were really tuned. But he hadn’t. The Elomin who was Vader’s lackey had told him that a subcutaneous tracer had been implanted in him. It was much too small to be detected, especially by the naked hand or eye; he’d literally have to skin himself alive to be rid of it. It was capable, Rhinann had claimed, of tracking him halfway across the galaxy. Nick strongly doubted the veracity of such a statement. He just didn’t doubt it strongly enough to risk his life on it. He didn’t know much about Vader, but from what little he did know he was certain that the Dark Lord would have made provisions against an attempt to run. If he was being tracked, the slightest deviation from his mission could have very bad consequences indeed, for both him and his people.
After all, if the Dark Lord was willing to destroy an entire clan just to gain access to one man …
Is he, really? Nick wondered. Coming from anyone else in the Imperial chain of command—well, except for Emperor Palpatine himself, of course—Nick would have doubted this claim as well. But in this case, it wasn’t just his life on the line. This time, the continued existence of his family and friends lay across his shoulders, and the yoke couldn’t be heavier if it were made of solid neutronium.
He’d borne that responsibility before, actually, albeit on a smaller scale; it had been his command decision whether or not Parakus, a small but strategic moon in the Dantooine system, should be carpet-bombed back to the Stone Age. But there had only been a small garrison stationed there. This was several magnitudes higher.
Who am I kidding? he asked himself. Do I really have a choice here? That’s why Vader made the stakes this high. He doesn’t want me agonizing over a choice. He wants me to have no choice.
Nick twisted the dial on the repulsorlift intensity control, all the way up to maximum drop. The tiny craft sank like a stone into the murky depths. But no matter how fast it dropped, it couldn’t keep up with his plummeting spirits.
Pavan lit his lightsaber. Laranth drew her blasters. The few people still on the street after the drone of the repulsorlifts became audible promptly scattered.
“How did they find us?” he heard Laranth mutter.
“Does it matter?” Jax replied. “Probably Rokko’s doing.”
“You were identified by rovercams as a Jedi when you used the Force,” I-Five told him. “After that, it was only a matter of time.”
Den was acutely aware of the fact that he was the only one in the group who didn’t have super reflexes, years of martial training, or a durasteel body. He wriggled free of I-Five’s grasp and dropped to the ground; if it came to a fight, no sense having the droid’s weapons encumbered.
“Are we sure this is a good idea?” he asked. “Those PCBUs can hover up there and take as long as they want to shoot us.”
“If they can hit us, I can hit them,” Laranth said grimly. The repulsorlift whine grew louder.
“Beg to differ,” I-Five said. “In addition to a variety of other weapons, the PCBUs have mounted Tee-Twenty-one repeating blasters. They outrange you by a hundred meters.”
Pavan adjusted his stance, gripping the lightsaber more firmly. “Anyone have any better ideas?”
“Running away comes to mind,” Den said.
“I tend to agree.” The droid looked about them. They were in a warehouse district; on either side of the street were buildings three or four stories high. I-Five suddenly crossed the street and, using his finger lasers, blasted open one of the doors.
“I’ve arranged transportation,” he called back over his shoulder.
Den hurried across the street as fast as his stubby legs could carry him. After a moment