Star Wars_ Coruscant Nights III_ Patterns of Force - Michael Reaves [31]
“Are Dejah and Den around?” Jax asked.
“Dejah Duare is out,” said I-Five in his obedient-protocol-droid voice. “Den Dhur is in his room composing a correspondence.”
Jax smiled at how jarring it was to have this particular protocol droid behaving in ways that were normal for a protocol droid. “It’s all right, I-Five. Kaj is … Kaj is a friend. And he’s a Force-sensitive. He just took down an Inquisitor single-handedly and unarmed.”
“He did what?” Den Dhur stood in the doorway to his quarters, his already large eyes looking huge in the wash of full-spectrum light from the room’s cleverly concealed indirect illumination.
“Kaj, this is Den Dhur. A member of our team.”
The short, stocky Sullustan came farther into the room, his eyes on the newcomer. “Oh, great. Sure. Let’s make polite introductions while every Imperial stormtrooper on Coruscant is out looking for him.”
Jax shook his head. “Den, didn’t you hear what I said?”
“Yeah, I heard what you—”
“Kaj is a potential Jedi,” said Jax patiently. “The Inquisitor was after him. He didn’t get him. That’s good news.”
“Good news? He’s a potential time bomb, Jax. Can’t you—” He cut off as I-Five’s metal hand came down on his shoulder.
“Den, it’s rude to talk over someone as if they weren’t there. I know—people do it to me all the time. What Jax is telling us is that the Emperor failed to get yet another valuable prize. For all his trying, he has failed to capture Jax, and now he’s failed to capture our new friend—” The droid tilted his head toward the boy, who blinked.
“Uh,” Kaj said. “Kajin. Kajin Savaros.”
Jax steered Kaj around the Ves Volette light sculpture that Dejah had installed in their living space and into the seating area. He sat him down in a formchair, then moved to sit on one corner of the couch, facing him. “Are you hungry, Kaj? Thirsty? It can’t be easy living out there on the street like that.”
“I’m starved actually. I’d stolen some stuff from the market, but the Inquisitor smoked me out before I could eat much of it.”
Jax started to rise, but I-Five waved him down. “Allow me. Laranth, would you also like some refreshment?”
The Twi’lek opened her mouth, glanced at the droid, then simply nodded and followed him over to the beverage dispenser.
“The Inquisitors are after you, too?” Kaj asked Jax, pulling his eyes from the light sculpture’s kinetic, ever-changing display. “Because you’re a Jedi?”
“That’s the official reason, I guess. It’s really a lot more complicated than that. What about you? How long have you been dodging Inquisitors?”
“Since I turned fifteen six weeks ago. That was when the Force really woke up in me. Before that, I was just another street kid who occasionally made strange things happen.”
“But you haven’t always lived on Coruscant.”
Kaj shook his head, his eyes lighting up at the sight of the plate of ghibli fruit and a tall glass of some sort of red tea that I-Five carried toward him on a tray. One of I-Five’s soothing concoctions, Jax figured. The boy accepted the food and took a healthy bite before answering Jax’s implied question.
“I got here about … oh, seven months ago, I guess. From M’haeli.” The expression on his face froze, and Jax could feel the cold, swift stab of grief that lay behind it. “My parents’ farm was destroyed by Imperial troops. My father was a local elder. They wanted to make an example of him—show that they were the leaders now. So they sacked the farm and drove us off it. Mother and Father put me on a transport to Coruscant, hoping …” He shrugged, swallowing a mouthful of fruit. “I’m not sure what they were hoping. My parents knew I was different. Since I was a baby I’d occasionally, like I said, make strange things happen—you know, levitate something to make it come to me, that sort of thing.” He drank most