Star Wars_ Fate of the Jedi 06_ Vortex - Denning Troy [26]
“A fight, you mean,” Taalon surmised. “And so you crossed the ridge on foot, because you thought we would still be in combat … an hour later?”
“Well, yeah.” Ben glanced in Gavar Khai’s direction, then scowled as though Taalon’s explanation made perfect sense. “There are two of you, so I thought it would take Dad a while to finish you off.”
“Your lack of faith hurts me.” Luke’s stern tone was belied by the amusement in his Force aura. “Clearly, we need to elevate your training sessions.”
Taalon’s expression turned sour. “I hadn’t realized you Jedi were such comedians. When I return home, perhaps I will bring a few of you along to amuse our young ones.” His eyes turned colder and angrier than ever. “Until then, I see that if I want a truthful answer, I must get it out of Vestara.”
“I’m certain my daughter will tell you everything you wish to know,” Khai said, a little too quick to promise his daughter’s cooperation. He turned to Ben. “But what of your wounded friend? Has he died, or did you simply abandon his care?”
Khai was stalling, trying to force Ben to reveal the reason he and Vestara had abandoned their post. Maybe he had been eavesdropping when the pair stopped at the clifftop to discuss their agreement, or maybe he simply sensed the same thing Ben did—that Vestara liked Ben enough to lie for him. In either case, Khai was only trying to protect his daughter, and it was hard to blame a father for that.
“Dyon is on the mend,” Ben said. “He was alert enough to take care of himself, or I wouldn’t have locked Vestara in the medbay with him.”
Taalon’s brow rose, and he turned to Vestara. “Young Skywalker tricked you?”
Vestara let her chin drop. “I’m afraid so, High Lord.” The flush that came to her cheeks was deep enough to look like true embarrassment, and Ben could detect no hint of deception in her Force aura. “He asked me to help him change a bandage, then stepped outside and sealed the hatch.”
“I see.” Taalon clasped her shoulder and turned her toward the arcade on the far side of the ruin. “You can explain over here … in private.”
“Yes.” Vestara glanced back, shooting Ben an angry scowl that suggested she now considered her promise completely fulfilled. “That might be best.”
Gavar Khai remained behind with Ben and Luke, his expression stoic and unreadable as his daughter vanished into the shadows with Taalon. Ben fidgeted beneath his gaze, wishing that the Sith would step away to feed the pyre fire, or do anything that would give Ben a chance to have a few quiet words with his father. Finally realizing he would need to make his own opportunity, Ben turned toward the arcade.
“I didn’t mean to shove Vestara into the fusion chamber,” he said. “Lord Taalon’s not going to hurt her, is he?”
“She’ll be punished.” Khai’s tone was sharp and blaming, and he could not stop himself from staring into the arcade after his daughter. “How severely depends on how badly she failed her assignment.”
“It wasn’t that bad.” Ben allowed his very real concern to creep into his voice. “It’s not like she actually lost me.”
Khai continued to stare into the arcade. “But you are the one who saved her life, and that will trouble Lord Taalon.”
“Oh—well, I won’t make the same mistake with him.”
As Ben spoke, he nudged his father with an elbow, then made a walking motion with his fingers and pointed into the jungle. He felt bad about the trouble Vestara was in, but he needed to get his father away from there before Ship arrived—and he had no idea how soon that might happen.
Unfortunately, his father seemed to have other ideas. Luke simply shook his head at Ben’s fingers, then nodded across the courtyard toward Abeloth’s shrouded corpse. He wasn’t leaving without a body to take back for analysis.
Ben scowled and mouthed the word, Ship!
Luke’s brow shot up, but he made no motion