Star Wars_ Fate of the Jedi 06_ Vortex - Denning Troy [142]
Han and the droids had almost reached the security door when a faint hissing sounded from the ventilation ducts. He pulled the breath mask off his equipment harness and slipped the elastic keeper straps over his head.
“Gas!” He pulled the mask down and opened the air feed, then activated his throat mike. “Squad Saav’etu, watch yourselves. We’ve got gas up here.”
“Down here, too,” Yaqeel replied. “They’re reacting quicker than we expected.”
“Affirmative,” Turi confirmed from Cygnus-7. “We’ve got three pursuit speeders coming our way.”
“Stang, that was fast,” Han said. “Can you outrun—”
“No need,” Taryn replied. The screech of a discharging ion cannon sounded from outside. “There are only three. I can hold them off!”
“For how long?” Han asked.
“Don’t worry,” Taryn said. “We’ll be here when you need a ride.”
The rumble of a distant explosion sounded outside.
“That’s fine, Taryn,” Leia broke in. “Just remember, we’re trying to keep deaths to a minimum.”
“It wasn’t me,” Taryn retorted, speaking over the squeal of her ion cannon. “One of those speeders fired a concussion missile.”
Leia cringed behind her breath mask, and Han knew what she was thinking. They were trying to avoid unnecessary casualties—and not only because they wanted to minimize bad press. The conflict between Daala and the Jedi was already out of hand; if it started to cause civilian casualties, it would be a stain on the honor of both sides.
“And?” Leia asked. She was stooped over, dragging her lightsaber blade through the last section of security door to meet Jaina’s. “Did they kill anyone?”
“Hard to say,” Taryn replied. “They took out a pedbridge.” The next screech was followed almost instantly by the roar of a nearby explosion. “And … that time they got a news sled.”
“A news sled?” Han’s chest tightened. “Not Doran and Bandy?”
“No, a real news sled.” It was Turi Altamik’s voice that said this. “Sort of real, anyway. It was ROKS.”
Han caught Leia’s eye and shrugged. “At least we’re not the ones killing people.”
Leia merely glanced up. “So?”
“Yeah.”
After all their years fighting side by side, Han knew by that one word what Leia meant—it didn’t matter who was doing the killing. The Jedi had started this fight, so they bore the ultimate responsibility if civilian lives were lost.
“Turi, you and Taryn better make a run for it,” Han said. “Maybe you can draw them off to someplace a little less populated.”
“And leave you guys behind?” Taryn objected. “Think again—”
“Taryn!” Zekk interrupted. “This is what backup plans are for.”
Even as Zekk spoke, the Cygnus-7 was roaring away, its nose dropping as it dived for the sheltering confines of the undercity. With any luck, Turi would be able to lose her pursuers in the murky labyrinth, then swing back around to pick them up when they had Valin and Jysella in hand. If not, there was always the HoloNews van that Doran Tainer and Bandy Geffer were operating.
A trio of armored wedges streaked past the breach in hot pursuit of the Cygnus-7, sirens shrieking and emergency strobes flashing, then vanished from sight. With the screeching of the ion cannon gone, the din in the corridor faded to the muted roar of prisoners thumping on their cell doors and bellowing for freedom. Given all of the threats and foul language Han heard, he wasn’t even half tempted to help them out.
The droning of the lightsabers finally snapped to an end, and Han turned to see Jaina using the Force to hold the security door upright. R2-D2 was already plugged into the data socket below the control panel on the wall, blinking and chirping merrily as he sliced into the facility’s main computer.
Han turned to C-3PO. “How long before Artoo finds a schematic for us?”
“Any moment, Captain. I believe—”
R2-D2 cut him off with a sharp whistle.
“That’s impossible, Artoo,” C-3PO retorted. “Your processor is no match for a supercooled Xyn Tachyon Twelve. Stop that at once!”
“Threepio!” Han interrupted. “How long until we have that schematic?”
“It should be on your datapads now,” C-3PO replied,