Star Wars_ Young Jedi Knights 02_ Shadow Academy - Kevin J. Anderson [14]
Even though she was worried about her friends, a feeling of satisfaction bubbled up within Tenel Ka at the deftness with which Master Skywalker had handled Ambassador Yfra.
Luke looked at Tenel Ka. "I'm sure the ambassador isn't used to being postponed with so little explanation, but we have more important things to do right now."
Tenel Ka nodded emphatically. "This is a fact."
Tenel Ka tried to be impartial and unemotional as Master Skywalker expertly guided the shuttle toward GemDiver Station. She needed to remain unruffled and alert, to search for any clue that might help them recover the three young Jedi-the best friends she'd ever had.
The multicolored lights of the station winked as the docking-bay doors slid open and Luke brought the shuttle in for a landing. At any other time Tenel Ka might have noted her surroundings, the artistry and craftsmanship that had gone into the station's construction-but the moment the shuttle doors opened, she was assailed by a sense of lingering violence and darkness. Of wrongness.
Harried and disheveled, Lando Calrissian met them at the shuttle.
Motioning for Luke and Tenel Ka to follow, he led them to the sealed shipping bay where the final struggle had occurred.
Tenel Ka swept the chamber with her eyes, noting the blaster burns on the walls and ceiling of the outer corridor, the congealed rivulets of molten plasteel, the shards of broken metal. Then she watched as Luke sank down on one knee, placed both hands against the floor, and let his eyes flutter closed.
"Yes, it happened here," he murmured. He took a few deep breaths, then fixed Lando with the piercing blueness of his gaze. "Don't blame yourself," he said. "You fought well."
Lando's face was filled with regret, and he shook his head. "But it wasn't enough, buddy. I couldn't save them." A note of anger and selfreproach crept into his voice. "I was too busy trying to defend my station-thinking they were pirates come to steal my Corusca gems. I didn't even realize they were after the kids until it was too late."
Luke neither condemned nor pardoned Lando, Tenel Ka noticed. He simply listened.
At last Lando spoke again in a quiet voice. "If there's anything you need to help find them-my station, a ship, a crew... anything at all-"
Lando's offer of help was cut short by the arrival of his assistant Lobot, whose computer headset flashed with an ever-changing array of lights. "We finished patching the hull breach in lower equipment bay thirty-four," he said without preamble.
Lando turned to Luke and Tenel Ka, his forehead creasing into an indignant scowl. "They, sliced us open like a disposable can of emergency rations."
The bald cyborg nodded in corroboration. "Their equipment was specially designed to remove a section of hull."
Lando continued, "The only thing I know of sharp enough to slice through durasteel that quickly is-"
"Corusca gems," Luke finished for him.
"Industrial grade," Lobot added.
"Right," Lando said morosely. "They used our own gems against us."
"Rare and expensive," Lobot said. "Not just anyone could purchase them."
Tenel Ka saw Luke's eyes light with sudden hope. "Can you tell us where your shipments of such gems were sold?"
Lando shrugged. "Like my friend said, industrial-grade gems are fairly rare. We've made only two shipments since our operation opened." He sent a questioning glance at his cyborg assistant.
Lobot pressed a panel on the back of his head and cocked it to one side as if listening to a voice no one else could hear. A moment later he nodded. "Both shipments were sold through our bro ker on Borgo Prime."
"Can you find out who he sold them to?" Luke asked.
"I doubt it," Lando said. "Gem brokers are pretty skittish. They pay a good percentage, but they're secretive-afraid