Star Wars_ Darth Bane 02_ Rule of Two - Drew Karpyshyn [69]
The sole purpose of their arrival was to avoid fanfare and attention, so it was no surprise that there were only a handful of people waiting to meet them. Johun guessed they were servants from Count Nalju’s household retinue, as they wore clothing similar to Valorum’s custom-made cape.
Four figures were huddled together on the platform in the middle of the walkway waiting for them, buffeted by the stiff ocean breeze that tugged at their clothes and made their capes flutter out behind them. Three of them were human—two men and one woman. The fourth was a male Twi’lek with bright red skin; Johun wondered if it was some type of status symbol for the nobles to employ a Lethan among their household staff.
Waiting on the clifftops beyond the platform were two more servants, standing beside the landspeeder that would whisk them away to their appointed meetings. Unlike those on the platform, they were too far away for Johun to make out any details that might indicate species or gender.
The New Dawn’s engines shut down, only to be replaced by the crashing rhythm of the surf as it pounded itself relentlessly against the face of the cliffs.
“Not my first choice of places to touch down,” Johun noted, raising his voice loud enough that Tarsus could hear him over the waves and wind.
“Well, I did ask Nalju to let us land someplace remote,” Tarsus shouted back with a laugh. “I see they only came out halfway to meet us,” he added, nodding his head in the direction of the four figures waiting on the platform.
“Would you go any farther out on this walkway than you had to?” Johun asked.
“I guess not,” the Chancellor admitted, then put his head down against the rising wind and made his way out onto the walkway.
Johun followed a moment later, though he felt a sudden uneasiness about the entire situation.
“Be careful,” he called ahead to Valorum. “If you go over the edge I can’t promise I’ll catch you.”
The other man either didn’t hear him or was too busy concentrating on making his way safely across to respond.
They were only a few meters away from the platform’s edge when Johun was hit with a powerful premonition, an undeniable disturbance in the Force that warned him something terrible was about to happen. To this point his attention had been focused on Valorum’s progress across the treacherous walkway. Now he opened up his awareness and allowed the Force to flow through him, painting a perfect picture of their entire surroundings.
The four figures waiting for them on the platform were armed with blasters and vibro-weapons. The two by the landspeeder—a short, heavyset man whose arms and neck were covered in green and purple tattoos and a Chiss female—were also armed. More alarmingly, the Chiss seemed to be concealing something in her hand.
Even without turning around, his heightened awareness allowed him to see the New Dawn resting on the landing pad behind him. Around the circumference of the pillar, just below the edge and carefully hidden from view, he sensed something explosive. He guessed that what the Chiss held in her hand was a remote detonator.
Johun took in every detail of the scene in the blink of an eye. Even so, he wasn’t fast enough to save the New Dawn or her crew. The Chiss flipped the switch in her hand, and the charges wired around the landing pad exploded. The blast ripped through the ship’s exterior, leaving great smoking holes in her unarmored hull. The shrapnel fragments shredded the pilot and navigator inside, killing them instantly.
The top half of the landing pad’s stone column crumbled away, sending the New Dawn tumbling down.