Star Wars_ I, Jedi - Michael A. Stackpole [194]
I was done. It was over. Tavira would learn who I was—from me or from Elegos. Oh, Elegos, what have I done to you? She’ll destroy Kerilt. Once she had taken care of his world, she would have Mirax killed, probably before my eyes, then she would destroy me. I had succeeded in saving the people near the warehouse, but in doing so I had killed those I held most dear.
Then I felt strong hands on my shoulders. A blanket settled about me and I was turned away from the wall. I looked up. “Elegos?”
“There you are!” His rich voice boomed through the alley. “Drunk.”
“I …”
“Again!” he scolded. He reached down and plucked the lightsaber from my right hand.
“No, Elegos!”
Even though I tried to take it back, he raised the purloined weapon high and glared down at me. “So, where is it? Where is the rest of your speeder bike!?”
The women at the alley mouth burst out laughing. Clutching their sides, they reeled away and into the street. They glanced back, sharp laughter ringing out again and again as they thought about a naked drunken pirate who had demolished a speeder bike and only had the throttle assembly to show for it.
My knees gave way, but Elegos held me up. “Thanks.”
“You are more than welcome.”
I swallowed hard, my throat parched. “How did you find me?”
“Your vision touched me and I assumed you might be in trouble.” He smiled and tapped his nose with a finger. “Ottegan silk, of which your clothes were made, has a distinctive scent when burned. Right now, you stink of it.”
“Oh, sorry.”
“I’ll endure it, for as long as it takes for us to get you home.” The Caamasi started walking me back toward the hotel. “And I wouldn’t fear for discovery, at least, not this evening. A lot of people saw a vision they hoped never to see tonight and are even now contemplating whether or not they want to stay in a place where they might get to see it again.”
I gave him a smile. “And you don’t mean those two women, right?”
“Not exclusively, no.” The Caamasi chuckled lightly. “Your work is done for this night, but its repercussions will go on for a good long time.”
FORTY-FIVE
I screwed the high energy flux aperture back on the head of the lightsaber and pitched to Elegos the blackened, misshapen lump that had been the diamond I’d put into the weapon. “Gone, completely gone.”
“It worked fine when you tested it initially.” He snatched the melted gemstone from the air, sniffed it, then rubbed a thumb across it. “Synthetic?”
I nodded. “Kubaz xurkonia. The crystalline lattice handled the energy while we tested it, but was probably ready to go down anytime. I trusted my grandfather’s comments about the various gems too much—I should have tested them. Actually, serves me right for trying to make a complicated lightsaber my first time out.”
Elegos frowned. “Why did you make one with variable blade lengths?”
I shrugged uneasily. “Well, I guess it was ego. Gantoris made one with two lengths and I wanted mine to be as good as his.”
“I thought you said he had a Sith Dark Lord instructing him at the time.”
“Sure, now you bring that point up.” I shook my head. “The longer length is useful for surprising an enemy, but not that practical in a fight. A simple block and a good swordsman would be inside my range and carving me up. Blade that long will also cause a lot of collateral damage, which would be fine if I was needing to do a lot of property destruction, but other than that it’s really just an impractical novelty item. Sithspawn, I don’t even know of any fighting styles to use with a blade that long.”
The Caamasi nodded. “Perhaps you can develop some when you replace the diamond. Finding a real diamond should not be that difficult