Star Wars_ I, Jedi - Michael A. Stackpole [22]
“Not a problem.”
Wedge frowned. “So what happened? I didn’t think the joke was that bad.”
Luke laughed politely and even I had to smile. “No, Wedge, it wasn’t. Even Corran will agree with that. What happened was that I managed to work my way in past his defenses and used a memory of you and Mirax together to make my connection to her. In doing so I poked Corran in a vast, open psychic wound.”
I shivered. “And somehow I threw you back out of my mind.”
“Yes, you did, and quite strongly.” Luke righted his own chair and sat down again. “I think I have a clue about your losing emotional details concerning Mirax.”
“Tell me.”
“You’ve got flashburns. The trauma of hearing her shout for you and then having her gone pretty much burned out your emotions where she is concerned. Your mind is closing off access to certain points to prevent taking another shock like that.” Luke shrugged lightly. “Your defenses are quite strong and right now it’s like swelling after a trauma. You’re shut down emotionally and very tough to reach.”
Some strength had returned to my limbs, so I pulled myself into an upright sitting position. “It’s not permanent, is it?”
“I don’t think so.” Luke sipped at his drink. “The mind can be pretty hardy.”
I waited for him to swallow another mouthful of chocolate, then asked, “So, will you help me find her?”
“I would like to, very much. First we need to figure out why she is missing.”
Wedge frowned over the lip of his caf mug. “She’s missing because she went out to learn about the Invids.”
“That’s the root cause, yes, but why her? And why wasn’t she killed outright?” Luke pressed his hands together. “There have been points where I have felt friends being in danger over great distances, but the most powerful time was when Han and Leia and Chewbacca were on Bespin and being tortured by Darth Vader. He wanted me to come to him, so he could win me over to the dark side.”
“But he knew you had been trained as a Jedi by then. He knew you would be receptive to that sort of bait.” I poked a thumb against my own breastbone. “Almost no one outside the squadron knows my Jedi connections, and I haven’t been trained. In fact, there’s very little to link me to the Jedi at all.”
Luke nodded. “Then what is there to link Mirax to them?”
My heart stopped for a second. “Sithspawn, she has my Jedi Credit. I gave it to her when we were engaged. She wears it as a good luck charm when she travels.”
The Jedi Master’s face darkened. “That could be it. From what I learned of the Corellian Jedi traditions, when a Knight became a Master, he had memorial coins struck. They were given to family, friends, his Master and students. It could be that someone saw the medallion, assumed a link there and took action.”
“But why?” It didn’t make sense to me. “You said Vader tortured your friends to lure you into a trap. I can’t find Mirax, so how can I fall into a trap?”
Wedge shook his head. “Might just be a warning, Corran, warning you off from doing something.”
“Sure, but what?”
Luke held a hand up. “We don’t know. Speculating now could be a waste of breath. My using the Bespin example might have set us off on the wrong trail. It could be nothing more than someone kidnapping Mirax because they recognized her and think they can ransom her, since both of you are known as part of the Rebellion. The warning you got may have come before any ransom demands and the kidnappers might not know you have been warned.”
My eyes narrowed. “Good, then we’re a step ahead of them. With your help, we can find Mirax and take care of this situation before it becomes more dire.”
“Agreed, but there is a problem.”
“What’s that?”
Luke sighed. “I don’t have your connection to Mirax. The abruptness with which your link to her was broken makes me wonder if she’s in stasis. I’ll have to ask Leia what she felt when Han was sealed