Star Wars_ The New Jedi Order 20_ The Final Prophecy - J. Gregory Keyes [88]
Tahiri stood grimly, anger and grief coursing through her. Jacen had said you could draw power from anger without turning to the dark side. That evil was praxis, not the emotions that drove it.
But there had to be a trick in that. Because what she wanted most to do at that moment was cut the Prophet’s heart out—and not too quickly.
He would be headed to where Corran and Harrar had gone. Was Harrar in on this?
Then there would be two hearts to carve.
TWENTY-NINE
Corran stood gazing up at the immense metal vanes, trying to imagine the engineering job that had produced them. Now that they were near, he could see more of the engines—three vast pits that must be the exhaust vents of ion or even fusion drives.
It smacked of the Empire, when everything came in deluxe sizes. Was this whole planet some sort of super-weapon? It had destroyed the better part of a Yuuzhan Vong fleet, after all, not the easiest thing to do.
“You know what these are, don’t you?” Harrar said in an accusatory tone. “They look like made-things.”
Might as well get it over with, Corran thought. “Yes. These are part of a hyperdrive engine.”
“A hyper—the planet can be moved?”
“It has been moved. It took the Jedi quite some time to find it because it had left the system where it was last recorded.”
“I see now why you avoided bringing me here,” Harrar said. “No, don’t deny it—it was clear that you wished to keep this from me for as long as possible.”
“I don’t deny that,” Corran said. “I thought it might—cloud the issue of Zonama Sekot.”
“You underestimate my ability to reason,” Harrar said. “Do you think all Yuuzhan Vong react without consideration? You insult me.”
“I’m sorry,” Corran said. “No insult was intended.”
Harrar shrugged. “You should have told me sooner, but you did not. Now I know. The issue is moot—unless you are still holding information back.” He looked out over the nearest pit. “We move planets,” he said. “But we use dovin basals. There is no—how would you say it? Push-back?”
“Counterreaction,” Corran said.
“Yes. How can a planet stand the stress of the sort of engines you use?”
“Not without cost, I would think.” A sudden thought occurred to him. “Nen Yim mentioned recent mass extinctions. Using this engine may have been the cause of them.”
“The danger they were fleeing must have been great,” Harrar said.
Corran laughed. Harrar gave him a puzzled look.
“We think they were fleeing you,” Corran explained. “The Yuuzhan Vong.”
The priest seemed to absorb that. “Shimrra fears Zonama Sekot,” he said. “Zonama Sekot fears the Yuuzhan Vong. What can be the explanation?”
“I’ve no idea.”
“Nor do I understand how this planet’s consciousness, if it indeed has one, can countenance this—thing—driven into its very surface.”
“Perhaps Sekot believes that life and technology can coexist peacefully,” Corran suggested.
“Perhaps,” Harrar said dubiously. “Or perhaps the infi—the sentients who dwell here have enslaved the planet and imposed this technology upon it.”
“That’s also a possibility,” Corran admitted. “But as Nen Yim might say, we’re not going to find the truth by merely speculating.”
“What was your reason for coming to this place, if you already knew what this was?”
“I’m looking for a communications device, so I can contact the Ferroans or the ship in orbit. Otherwise, we could be stuck here for a very long time.”
“You could have told me that, too,” Harrar said. “Did you think I would object?”
“To falling into the hands of the enemy? Maybe.”
“I placed myself in your hands,” Harrar reminded him. “I trust you have enough honor to make certain we are not made prisoners, but will be paroled to return to our people.”
“I promise to do the best I can,” Corran said, “but the matter might be taken out of my hands. Anyway, are you sure you want to go back? I doubt that Shimrra will