Star Wars_ Fate of the Jedi 06_ Vortex - Denning Troy [116]
Yantahar nodded. “Yes.”
Kenth waited a moment for an explanation that was not forthcoming, then decided against asking for one. Yantahar was either offended that he had needed to ask or suspicious of Kenth’s motives; either way, Kenth would not improve the situation by lingering on his mistake.
“Well, I’m very sorry about what happened to the admiral,” he said. “The entire Alliance is hoping he recovers soon.”
Yantahar’s expression finally softened a little. “Maybe not the entire Alliance, but thank you.”
Kenth nodded, then put some authority into his voice. “I know how the admiral would feel about treason. How about you, Jedi Bwua’tu?”
Yantahar shrugged. “There are hundreds of Sith running loose in the galaxy, and Chief Daala is preventing us from going to meet them.” He glanced over at Vaala, his first sign of uncertainty. “We have no choice.”
“Son, we always have a choice.” Kenth turned his gaze on Vaala, then continued, “And the time has come for you and Jedi Razelle to make yours. Will you stand aside so I can stop this?”
Vaala was quick to shake her head. “I’m sorry, Master Hamner,” she said. “You should return to your quarters now.”
Kenth let his chin drop and spoke in a soft, sighing whisper. “That’s Grand Master.”
Vaala cocked her head, turning a recessed ear toward him. “Sorry, sir, I didn’t … Yant, watch—!”
The warning came to a startled end as Kenth used the Force to pull their lightsabers from their belt hooks. He sent both weapons spinning high into the air, managing to depress the activation switch and slide the safety glide up on Yantahar’s. As the sapphire blade crackled to life, both Jedi pivoted away, extending their hands to summon their weapons back into their grasp.
And that was when Kenth stepped between the pair. He struck Yantahar at the base of the jaw with a side hammerfist and simultaneously jabbed a one-knuckle punch into the delicate sensory nub between Vaala’s eyes. Both Jedi collapsed, unconscious before they hit the floor. Kenth was not quite quick enough to catch their lightsabers before they landed, but he did deactivate Yantahar’s before the weapon clattered to the floor beside the Bothan’s leg.
Kenth quickly collected both weapons, removed their power cells, and returned them to their owners’ belts. It had been all too easy to catch the pair off-guard and incapacitate them—as it had the pair stationed outside his quarters. Once he resumed his post in the Grand Master’s office, he would need to speak to the combat instructors about the shortcomings in their curriculum. He dragged both Jedi into a nearby fabrication shop and hit them with a Force shock to be sure they would remain unconscious for a time. Then he returned to the hangar and slipped in through the access hatch.
Inside, the hangar deck was crowded with StealthX squadrons, all neatly arranged in their own arrow-shaped combat groups and surrounded by bustling teams of support crew. With the exception of the squadron leaders, the pilots were already in their vac suits and with their starfighters, either seated in the cockpits running system checks or walking around their craft doing visual inspections. Kenth could see that the strike force included the Order’s most experienced pilots, with Lowbacca, Izal Waz, Wonetun, and many other Jedi Knights who had fought in the war against the Yuuzhan Vong assigned to craft in the second-in-command slot.
Conspicuously missing was Jaina Solo, whose skill in starfighter combat was second only to that of Luke Skywalker himself. To Kenth’s surprise, Raynar Thul was preparing to launch. The position of his StealthX with one of the squadrons near the rear of the hangar suggested that he had not been given any command responsibilities. Even so, that Thul was present at all indicated that either Saba was putting too much confidence in