Star Wars_ Darth Bane 03_ Dynasty of Evil - Drew Karpyshyn [78]
Six of the soldiers she had sent to apprehend the prisoner were here, along with Lucia and the Huntress. The guards were seated in chairs around the larger table, playing cards. The two women were on opposite ends of the room, distancing themselves from those at the table and each other. Lucia was leaning against the wall for support, while the Huntress sat on the stone floor, her legs crossed, hands in her lap and her eyes closed. It looked as if she might have been meditating.
As Serra entered, the guards jumped up to stand at attention, as did Lucia. The Huntress opened her eyes and looked up at the princess, but otherwise made no move. Serra wasn’t even sure what the assassin was still doing here; she had already been paid for her services. But for some reason she had chosen to stay, as if she had some vested interest in the outcome of events.
The princess shook her head. She had more important things she needed to worry about than the assassin.
“The prisoner is still sedated?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” one of the guards replied. “He was given another dose an hour ago.”
She nodded and made her way over to the wheeled table in the corner. Atop the table were nearly three dozen hypodermic needles, color-coded by label according to their contents. Serra had prepared each of the needles herself. The ones marked with a green sticker contained senflax; they needed to keep the prisoner drugged at all times to prevent him from escaping. The others—red, black, and yellow—were filled with various compounds she would need during her interrogation.
From the corner of her eye she saw Lucia making her way from the wall toward her. Once at her side, her friend spoke in a whisper soft enough that only she would be able to hear.
“This isn’t like you. Why are you doing this?”
“You wouldn’t understand,” she replied just as quietly.
“Hiring this assassin was one thing,” Lucia continued, her voice rising only slightly with carefully held-in-check emotion. “But hiring mercenaries to secretly reopen the Stone Prison? What if the king finds out?”
“He won’t,” Serra assured her. “This has nothing to do with Gerran, or Doan.”
The dark-skinned woman refused to let it go.
“Holding someone for torture and interrogation? It’s not right. You know that.”
“He’s a Sith. Not a soldier like you were. A Dark Lord. He doesn’t deserve your pity. Or mine.”
Lucia shook her head and turned away, but not before Serra clearly saw the frustration and disappointment in her face.
“Open the door,” the princess called out to the guards. “I want to speak with the prisoner. Alone.”
At her words the Huntress sprang to her feet, causing Lucia to step forward protectively.
“I want to come with you,” the Iktotchi explained.
“Why?” Serra demanded, suddenly suspicious.
“Who else could have captured him for you?” she replied, avoiding the question. “Have I not earned the right?”
“If she goes, I go, too,” Lucia insisted, crossing her arms.
Serra could have refused them. But deep inside she still didn’t want to face the monster from her past alone. And what harm was there now if they learned her secrets? She had concealed her true identity all these years only because her father feared retribution from this man. With him as her prisoner, she had no reason left to hide.
“The three of us, then,” she conceded, grabbing the little table and wheeling it into position to bring it inside with them. “Lock the door behind us,” she instructed the guards.
Lucia was worried about the princess. Ever since their visit to the Jedi Temple she had sensed something different about her, but she had never suspected she was capable of going to such extreme lengths. She hadn’t known mercenaries had been hired to reopen the Stone Prison; if she had, she would have tried to talk Serra out of such a foolish and dangerous plan. The princess must have known she would object, however, and so she hadn’t told Lucia what was happening until after the prisoner was