Star Wars_ Darksaber - Kevin J. Anderson [82]
In all likelihood, General Sulamar wouldn’t even notice the mixup.
HOTH
CHAPTER 28
The ice world of Hoth hung beneath its coterie of moons like a cracked snowball. Callista piloted their space yacht, following the coordinates Luke had given her.
He leaned forward in the passenger seat, tingling with anticipation. “Down there,” he said, “that’s where Obi-Wan’s spirit first came to me, when I was near frozen in a blizzard. He told me to go to Dagobah, to find Yoda. Han tried to convince me it was just a hallucination.”
Callista sat subdued, gripping the controls. She had been reluctant to tamper with her locked Jedi powers ever since her brush with the dark side on Dagobah. Luke was concerned that her reticence and anxiety would do more damage than any of her actual failures had, because now she was afraid to try. Somehow Luke had to dispel that fear.
Callista stared at the ice planet as they skimmed through the misty atmosphere. “I wish my master Djinn Altis would come to me in a vision,” she said. “I’m sure he could offer some insight.”
Luke didn’t know how to respond, so he squeezed her hand.
She looked at him with a mixture of annoyance and frustration. “I’ll be all right, Luke. Maybe I can’t have everything I want, but I’m going to do what I can. I haven’t given up.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” he said. “And down there is the next place to try.” Luke indicated the white-pocked glacier fields beneath their soaring yacht. “This is where I really learned to fight. I had flown my X-wing against the first Death Star, but here during the battle of Hoth is where I learned to be a warrior. I left the wreckage of Echo Base to find Yoda,” Luke said, smiling wistfully at the memory, “and one of the first things he told me was that wars don’t make a person great.”
“He was wise, your Master Yoda,” Callista said. “But sometimes you have to fight. Sometimes it’s all or nothing. That’s the only way to win.” She swallowed. “That’s why I made my sacrifice in the Eye of Palpatine.”
Luke said, “Let’s hope you don’t ever have to face that all-or-nothing choice again.”
She forced a smile. “I’d prefer that.”
Callista skimmed low under the afternoon sunlight where ice chips burned bright below the whitish sky. She darkened the viewport shields to cut down the glare.
“I don’t know what shape Echo Base is going to be in,” Luke said. “It suffered some pretty extensive battle damage, and it’s been abandoned for years. Don’t expect luxury accommodations like the Mulako quarry.”
Callista looked across the frozen snowfield. “At least it won’t have any bugs or bats.” She sat up straight. “Hey, what’s that ship?”
As they approached the line of rocky hummocks, Luke spotted a blackened hulk lying in the snow, surrounded by a starburst of greasy soot and slagged wreckage. “Can’t be a leftover crash from the battle,” he said. “That was nine years ago. This is something new.” Luke stared at the burned debris, reaching out with his sense. “Nothing alive there that I can tell. It’s recent, but not too fresh.”
Callista brought their yacht down near the wreckage, close to the hidden shield doors that sealed off Echo Base in the solid ice. She double-checked with her scanners. “Yes, the metal’s all cold. Ambient temperature. It’s been here a few days at least, maybe as much as a couple of weeks.”
Luke opened the uniform locker and removed the two insulated jumpsuits hanging beside a pair of full environment suits. Luke and Callista pulled on the uniforms, activating the body heaters and tugging on gloves. Luke clipped his lightsaber to his belt and handed the second smooth black handle to Callista. “Here, you’d better take yours.”
“I don’t want to,” Callista said, glancing away.
“But you should do it anyway,” Luke answered. “You always have the option