• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

“Esfandia Station, this is Jade Shadow …” Mara said, repeating the comm call several times.

The annunciator’s only response was static.

“At Klasse Ephemora we were even farther from Esfandia, and we still managed to reach the station,” Mara said, after continued attempts at contact.

R2-D2 buzzed in exasperation.

“He says he can’t find any functioning HoloNet transceivers,” Luke said.

“Try again,” Mara urged.

She and Luke pondered possible explanations while R2-D2 rotated the interface dial this way and that.

“Nothing,” Luke said, breaking their long silence.

Mara’s lightly freckled brow furrowed. “Could the Yuuzhan Vong have destroyed Esfandia?”

Luke leaned away from the console. “Corran said that something big had been planned for Bilbringi. But even if the Alliance failed to retake the shipyards there, that wouldn’t account for our not being able to contact any of the HoloNet relay stations.”

Mara shook her head back and forth. “Something terrible has happened.” She looked at him. “Could Cal Omas have given the okay to using Alpha Red?”

A Yuuzhan Vong-specific toxin, Alpha Red had been developed in secret by Alliance Intelligence, working in conjunction with Chiss scientists. But the only prototype sample of the bioweapon had been stolen by Vergere and transformed into something harmless.

“We’ve been gone long enough for Dif Scaur’s Intelligence bunch to have cooked up a whole new batch,” Mara added.

Luke shook his head. “Cal promised me that Alpha Red would be used only as a last resort.”

“Maybe it’s come down to that. And maybe the Yuuzhan Vong retaliated with a poison of their own.”

“Cal knows better. Evil can’t simply be stamped out. It’s as much a part of life as good is.”

Mara looked at him dubiously. “You’re thinking like a Jedi instead of an admiral or an elected official.” She blew out her breath. “All right. What’s your solution to ending this war?”

“I don’t know yet. I just know that Alpha Red isn’t the solution.”

Mara smiled at him and took his hand. “I happen to agree. But you are starting to sound a little like Vergere and Jacen.”

“Guilty as charged. But is that wrong?”

“Not in principle. Except that you’re probably more attuned to the Force than either of them.”

Luke made his lips a thin line. “I feel like I’m still in training for the trials. Every second of every day. It never ends, and I wouldn’t have it otherwise. My understanding of the Force continues to grow. I know I’m a Jedi Master, but I may not feel like a true Master until my dying breath. Besides, Jacen, Jaina, Tahiri, Ben … They’re the future of the Jedi. Everything we do now must be for them—to ensure that they carry on what began a thousand generations ago.”

Luke took his eyes from Mara, and glanced around the cockpit.

“I know what you’re thinking,” she said, after a moment. “And I think it’s time we tried.”

He smiled faintly. “If you’d stayed in my thoughts a little longer, you’d know why we can’t leave.”

Mara looked disappointed. “You’re not going to tell me you’re worried about running us into a mass shadow. Because Artoo can plot a safe route—even if it takes us twenty microjumps to get back to known space.”

“That isn’t it.” Luke regarded her again. “Mara, I’m as concerned about Ben as you are. Something terrible has happened, but it’s momentary. We have to stay focused on the greater picture.”

Mara rose and paced away from the control console, crossing her arms when she swung back to Luke. “The future’s exactly what I’m thinking about. Ben’s future. You said yourself that everything we do should be for him and the other young Jedi.” She sat down again and took her husband’s hands in hers. “Luke, Ben was almost killed on Coruscant by that witch Viqi Shesh. If something should happen to us …”

Luke pictured their red-golden-haired infant. “By leaving, we could destroy everything we’ve accomplished here. And then we won’t be a help to anyone—Ben included.”

Mara studied him. “You’re basing this on personal experience—on some mistake you once made.”

“I am.”

“Luke, there are times when action is the best course.