Star Wars_ Fate of the Jedi 07_ Conviction - Aaron Allston [124]
Interesting. Interesting.
Allana left R2-D2 and C-3PO behind in the landing craft’s entry lounge and, alone but for Anji, followed the lights embedded in the curving corridor walls. The lights flickered in sequence, seeming to travel on ahead, then to return and repeat the pattern, guiding her onward.
There were no people to be seen, even at the security station granting access from the entry lounge. That was not strange. Though Tenel Ka was often surrounded by courtiers and guards, on those rare occasions when she could meet with Allana, if the meeting place were secure, she would dismiss all possible witnesses, or retain only those she felt she could trust absolutely … which was usually none.
The landing craft was so different from the Falcon. The air seemed fresher, and was lightly perfumed instead of carrying faint traces of ancient lubricant spills or fuel leaks, of hundreds of exotic cargoes. This was a tiny section of palace packed into a saucer-shaped craft, with glossy carpets on corridor floors and original works of art affixed to walls.
The light patterns led to a compartment door. It slid open as Allana approached. She moved into a small antechamber, comfortably furnished with sofas and stuffed chairs.
And from the sofa against the far wall, decked in synthsilk robes and strands of jewelry, rose her mother, Tenel Ka.
Allana ran forward. “Mommy!”
“My baby.” Tenel Ka stooped and hugged Allana to her. She so resembled the image Allana saw in the mirror, all long red hair and gray eyes, but grown-up and beautiful. Allana hoped that she would look even more like her mother when she grew up.
“You’re getting so big. Every time I see you. You can’t see it on holocomm images.” Tenel Ka sat again, pulling Allana up onto the sofa beside her. “I haven’t given you permission to get so big.”
“Sorry, I just do.” Allana nestled against her mother.
Back by the door, Anji, hunched and looking suspicious, stared around, then eyed a chair as if contemplating sharpening her claws on it until it was an unrecognizable ruin. Allana stared at her feline companion and gave her a little pulse of emotion through the Force, a calming suggestion of quiet and rest. Anji hopped onto the chair instead of savaging it and curled up there, head toward Allana and her mother.
Tenel Ka smiled down at Allana. “I felt that. You’re getting more proficient with the Force, too.”
“I sometimes don’t like the Force.”
“Nobody likes it all the time, sweetie. It’s like fire. It can keep you warm and healthy, or it can burn you. So you must always be aware of it and what it’s telling you.”
Allana suppressed the urge to shudder at the word burn. “Fire doesn’t always talk to you like the Force does. And when fire talks, it always makes sense. That’s not true with the Force.”
Tenel Ka’s grin widened. “Wait until the first time you fall in love. Love can burn you even worse, and it never makes sense.”
Allana made a face. “Yecch. Um, Grandma says we can send notes to each other with Artoo and Threepio while you’re here.”
“Good. I plan to. You know we might not be able to see each other every day.”
Allana nodded. That’s the way it always seemed to be. There was almost no time for them to be together. She decided not to tell her mother about the dream of the fiery man. Grandma Leia was probably right—her mom knew how to take care of herself, and would certainly know what to do if a man made of fire came toward her. No, their time together would just be play and happy talk.
Perhaps an hour after they entered the landing craft, the child and droids exited. They were rejoined by the four guards. The boarding ramp lifted into place. Many of the landing craft’s exterior running lights darkened, suggesting that the craft’s inhabitants were settling in for the night.
Dei tracked the child’s party