Star Wars_ Fate of the Jedi 06_ Vortex - Denning Troy [110]
“I’ve had a vision, yes,” Luke said. “Whether that means he has actually turned the Current onto a new course, I have no idea.”
Swells of alarm began to roll through the Force as Ben and Vestara suddenly grew very concerned about something happening outside the cavern mouth. Luke pivoted casually on one foot, turning to look out toward the sea and the white island, and saw that the birds had grown fiercely agitated.
“But if Jacen did turn the Current to a new destination,” Luke continued, “and Abeloth changes it back, won’t she also be fixing its destination? Won’t she also be fixing a course that should be ever-changing?”
Akanah furrowed her brow, and Luke thought for a moment that he had shown her the lie in Abeloth’s promise.
Then Akanah’s eyes clouded with confusion, and her Force aura grew cold and shrouded. “That is a foolish question,” she said. “Abeloth is beyond your understanding.”
“Then explain her to me.”
Instead of answering, Akanah looked toward the cave mouth. A pair of startled cries sounded from the cliff face outside, then Ben and Vestara plummeted into view, dropping headfirst toward the rocks below. Luke quickly reached out and grabbed them both in the Force, then pulled them both to safety.
They landed in a tumbling heap a few meters inside the cave and came to their feet standing shoulder-to-shoulder.
Reaching for his lightsaber, Luke turned to face Akanah—and found her already out of reach, backing away with a smile on her lips that was at once mad and gentle.
“Silly Jedi.” She extended a hand toward the Shadow’s open hatch and motioned him toward the boarding ramp. “No one can explain Abeloth.”
ONLY THE NAMEPLATE HAD CHANGED. LOOMING UP AMONG THE ELEGANT stone-and-mirrsteel spires of the corporate advocacy district, the hulking monolith of GAS Detention Center 81 remained the same permacrete misfit it had been when the sign read GALACTIC ALLIANCE STORAGE. With its purple cam bubbles, heavy blast doors, and fortified entry, the detention center looked like the urban bunker it was, and trying to bust anyone out of there was going to be about the craziest thing Han had ever done—on purpose, anyway.
But there wasn’t much choice. Events on Coruscant were turning insane. With Kenth Hamner shoved to the sidelines, the Jedi Council had assigned the Solos to rescue Valin and Jysella Horn—or, more accurately, to steal the carbonite pods in which Galactic Alliance Security was storing the two frozen Jedi Knights. In the meantime, the Masters were developing a plan to reinforce the Skywalkers without having to engage GA forces first. If the Solos failed to complete their mission before the StealthXs launched, Daala’s first move would almost certainly be to secure the pods somewhere so hidden even Jedi could not find them.
Three figures, one Mon Calamari and two human, emerged from the detention center and turned up the pedway toward Fellowship Plaza. From Han’s vantage point, across the skylane and a hundred meters above the pedway, it was impossible to identify much more than their species and hair color—brown and black for the humans, not applicable for the Mon Calamari. The Mon Calamari and the large human were wearing brown Jedi robes, while the smaller, black-haired human—a woman—wore a loose-fitting pilot’s jacket and trousers. As they walked, the woman leaned close to the brown-haired Jedi, and he wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders.
“Corran is giving the signal, so it looks like Mirax got the tracking bugs attached to both pods.” As Han spoke, a Rodian vagrant who had been sitting on the pedway before the Horns arrived suddenly snatched up his alms cup and started to meander after them. “And they’ve still got their tail.”
“Only the usual?” Leia asked.
“All I see is a Rodian pretending to be a beggar,” Han said. “There’s probably a control officer and a couple of switch-offs working our side of the skylane, but no sign of a Doomsled or an arrest team moving in.”