Star Wars_ Darth Maul 02_ Shadow Hunter - Michael Reaves [100]
Within a matter of minutes he was high above the clouds, the curve of the planet revealing itself. It would take a little time to reach his destination; the orbital shells surrounding Coruscant were nearly as congested as the traffic strata on or near the surface. Once he was in orbit he would have to disable his invisibility field; otherwise it would be too difficult to avoid a collision with one of the myriad satellites, space stations, and ships that circled the planet.
Maul took the ship off autopilot and fed minimal power to the ion drive. The autopilot was more than capable of delivering him to his destination, but he preferred to be in control.
As he settled the Infiltrator into low orbit, barely skimming the tenuous gases of the upper ionosphere, Maul thought about his battle with the Jedi Padawan. She had certainly been smarter and more resourceful than he had given her credit for. So had her companion, for that matter. They had led him on quite a merry chase. He mentally saluted them both. He admired courage, skill, and brains, even in an enemy. They had been doomed from the start, of course, but at least they had fought their fate instead of submitting meekly to it, like that cowardly Neimoidian who had caused all this trouble to begin with.
He wondered what his master had in mind for his next mission. Something relating to the Naboo blockade, most likely. He hoped there would be more Jedi involved. Killing the Padawan had only whetted his appetite.
The ship Tuden Sal provided for Lorn and I-Five was an ARE Thixian Seven—a four-passenger modified cruiser. The craft had definitely seen better days, Lorn thought as the skycar settled down next to the ship’s berth at Eastport, but that didn’t matter. As long as it could fly and shoot, that was all he cared about.
As Tuden Sal arranged for launch clearance via his comlink, Lorn turned to I-Five and said, “Give me the blaster.”
I-Five returned the Raptor’s weapon to him. “As long as you’re not planning on trying to shoot me with it again,” the droid said.
“I wouldn’t have shot you.”
I-Five made no reply to that.
“Listen,” Lorn continued, “I don’t expect you to go with me. In fact, it makes more sense for you to go to the Temple and tell the Jedi what’s been happening. That way there’ll be a backup plan if I fail.”
“Oh, please,” I-Five said. “You take on the Sith alone? You’ve got about as much chance as a snowball in a supernova.”
“It’s not your fight.”
“Finally, something we agree on. Nevertheless, I’m not letting you go up there alone. You’re going to need all the help you can get. Which reminds me—” The droid pulled from his chest compartment what looked like a small white ball. He handed it to Lorn, who looked closely at it. It was semitransparent, roughly spherical, about half the length of his thumb in diameter, and apparently made of some organic material.
“What is it?”
“A skin nodule from the taozin. They’re made of specially adapted cells that block receptivity to the Force.”
Lorn regarded the ball askance. Now that he knew what it was, he felt revulsed by its touch. “You’re saying if I have this, the Sith can’t use the Force on me?”
“I’m saying it may shroud your presence long enough for you to sneak up on him unnoticed. It won’t protect you from his telekinetic powers, and it certainly won’t do anything about his fighting skills. But it’s better than nothing. Now I suggest we raise ship.” So saying, the droid turned toward the ramp of the Thixian Seven.
Lorn let him get two paces ahead of him, then reached out and deactivated