Star Wars_ The New Jedi Order 21_ The Unifying Force - James Luceno [217]
Immediately the vessel spasmed, as if it had been struck by turbolaser fire, or had in fact sustained a kind of stroke. Color and warmth drained from the living console, and the instruments took on an arthritic look. Cognition hoods and villips grew desiccated. Blaze bugs fell out of formation and died on the floor of their niche. Coral fractured, and the already scant green light faded. With its dovin basal dying, the vessel almost succumbed to a last grab by Coruscant; then it lurched forward once more, aimed resolutely for the heart of the battle.
When Leia finally came back to herself, Jacen had lifted Jaina from the horns on which she had been suspended, and was cradling her in his arms.
“You wouldn’t let me help you,” she said.
Jacen comforted her with a smile. “I needed you to help yourself.”
Nom Anor watched in awe as Onimi disappeared into the deck of the bridge, his body dissolved by whatever corrosive poisons he had fabricated to use against Jacen Solo. Death had come to the Shamed One who had brought shaper Nen Yim to Coruscant; the Shamed One whom Nom Anor had once followed to a secret shaper grashal; the Shamed One who had sat at the feet of Shimrra, and whose rhymes had been a constant irritant to the elite.
The Shamed One who had tricked everyone into believing that Shimrra was the Supreme Overlord.
The Supreme Overlord who was now dead.
Nom Anor stared at the discoloration that had been Onimi. Even if he lived to tell it, would anyone believe his tale? Would the Jedi be willing to corroborate it?
A prolonged paroxysm from the vessel snapped him back into awareness of his perilous dilemma. His real eye darted from the Jedi twins to their parents. There was still time to render them unconscious where they stood, then pilot Onimi’s vessel to rendezvous with whatever was left of Nas Choka’s mighty armada—
But perhaps not.
Jacen Solo was as dangerous a foe as could be imagined. What’s more, Onimi’s vessel, though roused from stasis, might not respond to Nom Anor. If he was to escape with his life, he needed a more foolproof plan.
The solution presented itself when the vessel lurched again, and the controls began to surrender their suppleness.
“Onimi was wedded to this ship,” he said in a rush. “With his death, it has begun to die, and we will perish with it.”
When Jacen nodded in confirmation, Jaina said, “Mara is searching for us.”
Han rushed to the console and peered through the blister transparency. “Then the Falcon’s, gotta be out there somewhere.” He turned to Nom Anor. “I’ve seen Yuuzhan Vong evacuate their ships, wearing those gnullith masks—”
“There’s a better way.” Nom Anor cut him off. “This vessel is equipped with a yorik-trema. What you call a ‘crate’—a landing craft.”
Han showed him a long-suffering look. “What, you were waiting for me to ask?”
Quickly, Nom Anor led the Solo family out of the bridge and through a bewildering maze of corridors, whose throbbing walls were already showing signs of imminent collapse. The palm of his right hand opened lock after dilating lock, allowing them to weave their way clear across the vessel to the port-side bulkhead, and ultimately into a small grotto, equipped with a semicircular array of locks.
Nom Anor opened what appeared to be the most exterior of the locks, and gestured everyone inside. “Get settled, while I arm the launch organ!”
Han clasped his left arm around his daughter’s waist and started for the lock. But Jacen stopped him.
“This doesn’t lead to the yorik-trema.” He turned slightly and pointed to the innermost lock. “That’s the correct one.”
Jaina glanced around the grotto. “Jacen’s right.” She nodded to the lock Nom Anor had opened. “It leads to a waste disposal area.”
Jacen regarded Nom Anor. “Once you had sealed us inside, you would have been able to pilot the landing craft to safety.” Disappointment tugged