• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

“Dad?”

“Yes?”

“Do you think Gavar Khai would kill his own daughter if she disappointed him?”

Luke considered the question. “I think he cares for her very much. But he is very demanding. Yes, I do think that if she disappointed him and he found out about it, he’d kill her.”

Ben had his answer. And it was not the answer to the question he’d just asked his dad.

It was good to be Sith, to be in command of your own vessel, and to be charged with so pleasant a task, mused Leeha Faal. She leaned back in the command chair, enjoying the sensation. Her chair, her ship. She had been wise to ally with Sarasu Taalon a few years ago. She had observed how his star was rising among the Circle, and had contrived to be assigned to the Black Wave. “Contrived” and “assigned,” of course, meant that she had arranged for the assassination of her current competition and two other possible threats. Their bodies had never been found. It would seem that although they had been beaten back from the main cities of Kesh, the huge, aggressive rukaros were still eager to feed and continue their species.

Her insight had proven correct. Now she was here, in orbit around this backwater planet, assigned to perform a task that would specifically please the leader of this whole expedition. And once that was out of the way, she would rejoin the fleet and be part of the ultimate Sith victory. With the power Taalon would command and the Skywalkers eliminated, there was no telling how far she could—

“Incoming message, Captain,” said Syndor. She smiled prettily at him. He had once been captain of this vessel and was dealing surprisingly well with his demotion to second in command. Which, of course, meant he had some sort of plot up his sleeve. She’d have to be careful. But then again, she was Sith, and there was a joke among the Sith that they were always born faceup to protect their backs. “From Commander Sarasu Taalon.”

It was only the commander’s voice, but that was enough. “The flotilla is ready to depart for the Maw, Captain Faal,” came Taalon’s smooth voice. “Join us when you are able.”

“Of course, sir,” Leeha replied. “That will be soon, I hope.”

“As do we all,” Taalon said. “I would hate for you and your crew to miss all the fun. Remember your duties, Captain.”

“I ever do, sir,” said Leeha.

Sarasu Taalon had told Luke Skywalker that he had left two vessels behind to wait for the Rockhound. That was not entirely true, although neither could it be said that it was entirely false. The vessels would be well into the Maw by the time Lando Calrissian arrived with his asteroid tug, but Lando would be able to catch up with them quickly enough.

It simply worked better for the Sith if they were not here when the Rockhound arrived.

So it was that less than a day later, when Leeha Faal received notification that the Rockhound would be there within twelve hours, she sent back a polite and vague response, and issued the orders to the captain of the second ship, the Starstalker.

Captain Vyn Holpur had leapt at the opportunity. An older man with pale green eyes and black hair elegantly going to gray, he was a Saber who had once been well on his way to becoming a Lord. No one knew for sure what had happened, but there had been some sort of scandal, and then there was no more talk of promotions. Still, Taalon had regarded him well enough to bring him along. Successful completion of this task would go a long way to restoring Holpur’s favor.

The order had come, from Taalon to Faal to Holpur, and he obeyed.

The Starstalker’s light freighter, piloted by Holpur himself, soared above the sand, zipping speedily and smoothly toward its destination, due west of Treema. The object of their desire appeared in the distance, the bright sunlight bouncing harshly off it, and everyone had to squint and remember to not look directly at the Fountain of the Hutt Ancients.

Holpur had been sent all documentation of the ancient natural formation. He read disinterestedly about the wintrium that formed the beautiful, glassine “sculpture,” how long it had been