Star Wars_ Fate of the Jedi 01_ Outcast - Aaron Allston [104]
Dab breathed a sigh of relief. “I get it.”
“You do?”
He nodded. “You come to this run-down neighborhood in the middle of the night, dressed in anonymous brown clothes, and you walk around in the park, hoping someone will attack you so you can beat them up. That way you relieve stress and also get to take dangerous criminals in.”
She stared at him. It was a brilliant excuse, and she was embarrassed that she hadn't come up with it. “You're absolutely right.”
“Well, it sounds like a good thing for Jedi to be doing.”
“It does, doesn't it?” She unstrapped herself and hopped out of the speeder. She gestured toward a spot where the trees were thickest. “I'm going to walk around on the path on the other side of those trees.”
He unbuckled his own restraints. “I'll come with you.”
“No, I'm less likely to be attacked if there are two of us.”
“And I'm more likely to be attacked if there's only one of me.”
“True.” She pointed at a set of bushes away from her trees. “Hide there and wait for me.” She raced off toward her trees.
This was not her favorite park, of course. It was the park atop the building where Winter had taken out quarters for the Darkmeld team. From here, she could hear the sirens of public safety vehicles far, far below as they arrived to deal with the crater that had appeared in the plaza minutes before.
Past the trees, she found the roof access to the turbolift and rode down to surface level.
Seff jumped through the hole he'd cut in the blast door and rolled to his feet in the tunnel beyond. There was the mound of debris his thermal detonator had created, and between him and it were six surprised-looking Alliance Security troopers.
Seff sighed. Of course they'd opened their end of the tunnel to investigate. Of course they'd found their way here.
Of course the highest-ranking trooper shouted, “Halt! Hands in the air!”
Seff raised his hands—the backs of his hands rather than his palms facing the troopers. He made a grasping gesture and yanked.
Debris, chunks of metal and permacrete, tore itself from the mound and hurtled toward him.
The troopers in the rear, hearing the noise, turned just in time to catch the sideways rain of punishing detritus in their faces and chests. The blocks of masonry and support durasteel knocked them down and kept on coming, catching the three troopers in front by surprise. One inadvertently fired as he was hit, his blast passing Seff a meter away.
Seff charged forward, kicking two troopers who were still moving. They lay still. He snatched up the blaster rifle from one and the pistol from another. He made sure both were set to stun.
His access hole was not covered by the debris, but the metal patch was back in place over it. Seff reached for it, then hesitated as a sense of unease passed over him.
Again he gestured, this time lofting a big chunk of broken permacrete right into the patch. The impact tore the patch away, folding it around the debris, and there was a crack and sizzle of electricity. A length of electrical cable now dangled in the gap.
Seff smiled. He brushed the cable away with a gesture, then leapt through the hole.
He didn't need to look around. As he straightened, he aimed the blaster rifle and fired, his stun bolt catching his target before he even registered what it looked like.
Another woman, also in close-fitting black garments, a hood concealing her features. She hit the floor with her eyes closed.
He took a moment to get his bearings. In the Force, he could feel the many life-forms out there in the tunnel and more closing from both sides. There were still more above, and those numbers were growing.
He darted for the shaft to the surface, hoping that it had not collapsed.
MIRAX HORN, PILOTING A SPEEDER SHE HAD STOLEN MERE