Star Wars_ Fate of the Jedi 08_ Ascension - Christie Golden [39]
She nodded. “Good point. Well, what about—”
“Korriban’s our best bet,” came a female voice. They both looked up as Jaina strode in and without preamble set about making a meal for herself.
It was still odd, having Jaina aboard the Jade Shadow. After her transmission earlier, she had come to join them in person as well as spirit. It had been a while since Ben had been in such close proximity to his cousin for anything more than a family visit. He was glad to be working with her, but he knew that she, like his dad, was … well, to say “highly skeptical” of Vestara was putting it mildly. And yet, she had made a point of including Vestara in all the conversations.
“Why do you say that?” Vestara asked.
“It’s the homeworld,” Jaina said, pouring two cups of caf. “Most of these other places do have a history for the Sith, but Korriban’s the history. It’s logically the place we should visit first.”
Vestara lit up like an exploding sun in the Force for just the briefest instant. Ben’s heart sank.
“We can send others out to explore some of the possible sites, but me, I’d like for us to go to Korriban,” Jaina continued, taking a sip from her cup. She acted as if she hadn’t seen Vestara’s reaction. Maybe she hadn’t, thought Ben. He was more attuned to Vestara than either Jaina or Luke. He might have been the only one who noticed it.
“I would like to accompany you when you explore it,” Vestara said.
Jaina didn’t bat an eye as she moved to leave with the steaming cups. “I think you should.”
Ben was certain that he could literally hear his jaw drop.
“You told her what?” Luke was accepting a cup of caf from Jaina, and nearly spilled it as she told him what she had said to Vestara.
“You heard me,” Jaina said, plopping into a chair opposite her uncle. They were meeting in Luke’s quarters with the doors closed, so there was no chance of their being overheard.
“You want me to take a Sith, whose trustworthiness seems to depend on the time of day, the season, and the phases of whatever moons happen to be nearby, with us on a potentially dangerous mission to the Sith homeworld.”
“That’s about right, yes,” Jaina said.
“Please give me a reason for why you think this is a good idea in any way, shape, or form.”
“I’ll give you more than one,” Jaina said. “First, it’s because she’s a Sith. She grew up with this, Luke. Like I grew up in a family of Jedi. Her culture is obsessed with its history, and she probably knows more about the ancient Sith, their technology, languages, and maybe even alchemy, than we do. If her own safety and life are on the line, she’ll tell us what she knows if we run across anything useful.”
“Set a thief to catch a thief,” Luke said, rather glumly.
“Something like that,” Jaina said. Her face split into an impish grin. “You know it always works when we send my dad out after people with shady reputations.”
“Can’t argue with success,” Luke said, allowing himself a small smile.
“Two,” Jaina continued, “Ship really does have a bond with her. That means if we get her near him, even if we can’t find him, he’ll be able to find her.”
“Why does that thought not fill me with delight?” Luke asked rhetorically.
“It should,” Jaina said, ignoring the sarcasm and choosing to address the question literally. “Even if he attacks, he’d be showing himself. And that’s what we want, right?”
Luke was forced to agree. “You make a persuasive argument.”
“Jag must be rubbing off on me,” she said. “In all seriousness though, Vestara Khai is a unique asset. We should make use of her.”
Luke sighed. “I am still very, very leery of bringing her along with us. I think it’s asking for trouble.” He had been looking down at the rapidly