Star Wars_ Fate of the Jedi 05_ Allies - Christie Golden [80]
He did not particularly care about any of it. He did, however, care very much about pleasing Sarasu Taalon and recovering his lost status. And so it was that he was completely calm when the first warnings came.
“Fountain Security to unknown vessel. You are approaching within five kilometers of the Fountain. Please alter your course.”
Holpur tucked his robes about him more comfortably as he sat in his chair. He extended his senses in the Force, attentive to his crew’s emotions. Some of them were a little uneasy. Not, he suspected, out of any mere qualms, but about possibly being caught and punished. Others were excited, eager, enjoying even this little adventure after waiting and doing nothing for so long. Still others were neutral, not caring one way or the other. Holpur made note of all of it. When this was done, he would reward those who had had faith in him and the mission, and mete out punishment to those who did not.
“Unknown vessel, you are rapidly approaching the forbidden radius of one kilometer. Alter your course immediately or we will open fire!”
Holpur leaned forward and thumbed the intercom. “As we discussed,” he said. “We’ll have to be fast. Anyul, Marjaak, are you ready?”
“Copy, sir.” Anyul, twenty-four, blond and lithe, and Marjaak, a white-haired Keshiri male, were standing ready to leap out of the ship as soon as the hatch opened and execute their task quickly. He’d chosen them carefully. Both were Sabers, given that high honor at comparatively young ages. Both were physically fit, swift, and disciplined. They were prepared.
Now, finally, Holpur’s heart sped up. It was a risky maneuver, although Taalon had made it sound like child’s play. The very law that they were violating was what would protect them long enough for them to succeed.
The Klatooinians opened fire from several small blaster cannons. Holpur frowned slightly as the ship took a blow and rocked. It could withstand much more than this, but he had hoped that even a minor attack would be avoided. He wanted to bring the ship whole into the Maw, to find Abeloth, glory, and his restored name.
And then suddenly the firing stopped. Holpur actually laughed, a short bark.
They had entered the one-kilometer forbidden zone.
The Starstalker opened its hatch. A small, elegant, if older, skiff darted out as the Starstalker moved out of range of the land-based blasters.
The Fountain of the Hutt Ancients loomed ahead, bright and beautiful and gleaming. Anything but the most rudimentary technology anywhere in this zone was a blatant violation of both law and tradition, and was not only illegal, it was blasphemy. But the Klatooinians would never willingly violate the sacred law themselves, and so the best they could do would be to come after them with ancient weapons.
The skiff settled down, stirring up sand. Even before it had landed, the hatch had opened and Anyul and Marjaak used the Force to leap out gracefully close to the Fountain. They, like the three Sith behind them cradling blaster rifles, were in full armorweave. They had known they would not need much more.
The pair raced up to the Fountain. Swiftly, calculatedly, Anyul drew her lightsaber and began shaving off samples from a large “wave” of wintrium. Marjaak moved farther down and tried to cut off a thinner, dagger-shaped portion. The wintrium was startlingly strong. Even their lingnan crystal-powered lightsabers were having difficulty cutting through the deceptively delicate-looking material.
The three Sith behind them took up defensive positions, prepared to defend Marjaak and Anyul with their lives if need be.
That need would not come, and when they saw what they were up against, they began to laugh.
“You’re joking,” said Turg, a red-haired man in his early forties. “This is the defense for a twenty-five-thousand-year-old treaty?”
His