Star Wars_ The New Jedi Order 20_ The Final Prophecy - J. Gregory Keyes [56]
“Eating them from within,” Corran said. “Wonderful. Can this be repaired?”
For the first time since Corran had met her, Nen Yim actually seemed apologetic. “No,” she said. “Not with the resources available here. Also, it is clear that my understanding of Sekotan biology is flawed, or this would not be happening. I need more samples.”
“I don’t think it’s biology,” Tahiri said. “I think it’s the Force.”
They both turned to her. “Explain,” Corran said.
“This ship exists in the Force,” Tahiri explained. “You can feel it, can’t you, Corran? And the nearer we get to Sekot—”
“The stronger the connection becomes,” he agreed. “Yeah, I’ve felt that.” It was as if the ship was eagerly returning to a long-lost family.
“So maybe this ship is rejecting the engines, because they don’t exist in the Force, and the closer we get to Zonama Sekot, the stronger that rejection becomes.”
“That seems unlikely,” Nen Yim said. “The Force, whatever it may be, should not govern simple biological reactions. The links between the Sekotan ship and our engines should work.”
“Yet they don’t, and you don’t know why,” Tahiri said, a little too smugly for Corran’s tastes. Still, he was impressed with her reasoning.
“Granted,” Nen Yim reluctantly acquiesced.
Tahiri leaned against the bulkhead and crossed her arms. “Look, you said it yourself—you need a guess to start from. You’ve been asking why Yuuzhan Vong and Sekotan technology are so similar. Turn that around—how are they different? Because if Sekotan life-forms exist in the Force and Yuuzhan Vong life-forms don’t, somewhere, somehow, there must be a big difference.”
Nen Yim’s tentacles contracted, writhed briefly, and settled against her head.
“It’s a place to start,” she admitted.
“That still doesn’t help us now,” Corran pointed out. “If we’re stranded in space without any means of communication, that’s going to remain speculation.” He folded his arms across his chest. “Oh, and plus, we’ll die.”
“The engines can stand another jump, maybe two or three, if we do it soon,” Nen Yim offered.
Corran sighed, looking at his charts, which were easily as speculative as the topic they were discussing. He suddenly, powerfully, missed Mirax, Valin, and Jysella, and even that nasty father-in-law of his. In fact, it was actually kind of handy, having a father-in-law who might drop in with his big red Star Destroyer to save the day.
Wasn’t likely to happen this time, though.
“It’s risky,” he said, coming back to the moment, “but I believe I could get us to the system in one more jump, assuming there’s not an uncharted black hole in our path. But if Tahiri is right, as soon as we arrive, the engines will fail, if they don’t fail during the jump.”
“But we’ll be there,” Tahiri said. “And even if we can’t land, Master Skywalker, Jacen, and Mara can help us.”
“The alternative is to stay here and wait for the dovin basals to die—or to attempt another destination,” Nen Yim said.
“Well, maybe if we’re going away from Zonama Sekot …” Corran began.
Nen Yim shook her head, a very human gesture. Corran wondered if she had learned the negative from being around Tahiri and him. “Even,” she said, “if we accept the young Jeedai’s idea as a working hypothesis, it would only predict the rate of deterioration to slow if we go elsewhere. The damage already done will not heal.”
“Three jumps, then, best-case scenario?”
“I don’t understand that phrase, but I would expect no more than three jumps. Fewer would be better.”
“Fine,” Corran said. “We go ahead, then. Everybody to crash couches. This could get rough.”
It got rough.
Even before reversion, something felt wrong, and the instant they hit normal space the stars went out again as