Star Wars_ Fate of the Jedi 01_ Outcast - Aaron Allston [111]
Ben smiled at him, a scornful smile. “And do you oppose the destruction of the Jedi Order?”
“Of course I do!”
“Even though you're helping it along by keeping us prisoner.”
The Hidden One stood, and Ben thought for a moment that the Kel Dor would attack him. Then the Hidden One stepped away and departed, walking so fast that his robes whirled around him.
When he was gone, Luke gave Ben a look of mild reproach. “You really need to work on your adolescent confrontational impulses.”
“That wasn't adolescent, Dad. It was an investigational impulse.”
Luke looked quizzical. “It's true, you're not demonstrating the emotions I'd expect of a testy sixteen-year-old.”
“Questioning can't always be polite and courteous, Dad. I learned that from Lon Shevu. At a certain point, you push and you see how they respond.” He gestured in the direction the Hidden One had taken. “And what did he react to? Enemies. The Alliance government possibly destroying the Jedi. The Jedi looking for us and possibly finding him. Everyone's out to get him, Dad.”
“In other words, he's paranoid.”
“At least. He might even be crazier than a piranha-beetle with a pin through its head.”
“Possibly. The problem …” Luke thought about it. “The problem is, he may also be right. The Jedi Order is vulnerable, and it may be in genuine danger.”
“We need to see if we can reach Jaina or Aunt Leia through the Force.”
Luke shook his head. “I tried, last night, several times. There's some interference here … either the first Hidden One chose this spot very well, because it naturally concealed his followers from searchers using the Force, or the Baran Do have perfected some technique that accomplishes the same thing. Either way, contact seems unlikely. We're on our own.”
UNDERGROUND ACCESS SHAFT, KESSEL
“Mission control to Rogue. Report. Over.”
Wedge, hovering in his X-wing only a few meters from the new shaft in the chalk-white soil ahead of him, activated his helmet mike. “Rogue here. I'm getting too old for this.”
“Copy that, too old.” Koyi Komad, Nrin Vakil's Twi'lek wife, acting as mission control, sounded amused. “Begin your decline.”
“You mean descent.” Wedge eased his X-wing forward until he was directly over the shaft. Other starfighters ringed the shaft at the same altitude; their pilots were waiting for similar authorization from Koyi.
Wedge reduced power on his repulsors and began to descend. In moments he was surrounded by stone wall, so recently drilled that his repulsor wash constantly kicked dust and pebbles free. He activated his landing floods so he could lean to either side and see through the canopy into the depths below.
Over his comm board came the next exchange: “Mission control to Homegirl, report.”
“Control, Homegirl.” Inyri Forge sounded crisp and alert, not affecting the unconcerned drawl that so many retired pilots including Wedge, did. “Everything's in the green.”
“Homegirl, start your descent.”
It was a quick two kilometers down for Wedge; he spent it listening to the others reporting and being issued their go orders. There was no diminishment of comm signal strength, as Lando's crews had situated communications repeater units in the tunnels. Wedge had been warned that the farther away from the entry point he ventured, the more likely it became that signal strength would periodically wane or be lost; Lando's crews had not had the time or resources to saturate these tunnels with the repeaters.
At the bottom of the shaft, Wedge found himself in a broad, high-vaulted tunnel as straight as a proton torpedo's trajectory. He consulted his navigation screen, brought his X-wing around to starboard, and kicked in the thrusters.
Of course, in this environment, a starfighter would not ridiculously outclass an ordinary speeder in velocity. They couldn't afford full starfighter