Star Wars_ Young Jedi Knights 14_ Crisis at Crystal Reef - Kevin J. Anderson [48]
With a roar of rage, Czethros pounded on the outer door. "Lilmit, let me in!" He heard only a distant squeak of terror. The Kessel guards rushed forward, and Czethros knew he could not stand and argue with the treacherous little coward.
Spotting an open turbolift to one side of the docking bay, he ran at full speed. He was closer to it than his pursuers.
Some of the guards fired blaster bolts, only a few of them set on,'stun."
He dodged. Sparking bolts ricocheted off the insulated walls.
Czethros dove headfirst into the turbolift and activated it.
The guards ran toward him, howling with frustration at losing him again.
The door hissed shut. Czethros felt the floor drop out from under him as he plunged down, down into the deepest mines.
"Where does that turbolift go?" Jaina shouted, her face flushed from the exertion of the chase.
The Sullustan administrator jabbered an answer, and Em Teedee politely translated. "Master Nien Nunb says that turbolift is a direct link to the new andris spice processing facility. He calls it an 'express tube."
It would appear that Czethros is heading directly down to the new assembly lines and carbonite chambers."
"How do we catch up with him?" Jaina cried.
The Sullustan chittered, and Em Teedee said, "Because of the recent addition of the carbonite-freezing facilities for the andris spice, Master Nien Nunb had a second, freight-only turbolift installed to handle the increased load."
Lowie roared and pointed to an adjacent turbolift. The mousy administrator nodded.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Jaina was already rushing toward the open doors.
Crowded with Nien Nunb, Lowbacca, Jaina, Em Teedee, and several guards, the turbolift plummeted. Since this lift was designed primarily for hauling cargo at high speed, the passengers were forced to hang on for dear life. Fortunately, the group was so tightly packed that there was little room for jostling about.
As soon as the doors whisked open again, a blaster bolt streaked into the turbolift. Jaina and Lowie ducked. A guard cried out as a scorching bolt singed the shoulder of his uniform.
Jaina and Lowie dove out and rolled as they hit the floor. Keeping low, they crept around the equipment in the assembly line. They could see the polished black legs of the blind beetles that worked there.
The sharp insectoid limbs were suddenly thrown into a frenzy as the unexpected violence disrupted their daily work.
Czethros blasted one of the beetles. Its shell split open, and it fell dead beside one of the open vats of raw carbonite, cracking its jaws.
Steaming green ooze poured from the smoking wound. Another wild bolt shattered vials of andris on the conveyor belt line, and the machinery groaned to a halt. Sparks and smoke filled the air. The Kessel guards took up defensive positions, laying siege to the lone fugitive.
"Czethros, you can't get away now. Give yourself up," Jaina said.
Lowie roared, adding his encouragement.
Czethros did not surrender. Instead, more blaster fire rang out from where he had hidden himself between the bubbling vats of carbonite and their monitoring systems.
"Dear me! It would appear that he doesn't wish to be taken alive," Em Teedee said.
"I'd rather not kill him," Jaina said. "I'm hoping the New Republic'll find him a nice comfortable prison cell off on an asteroid somewhere.
But first we have to capture him." She raised her voice. "We know all about your plan, Czethros! You can't send your signal. Black Sun has failed. It's over."
"Maybe," Czethros bellowed back. "But we've still got a thousand traitors in a thousand important positions throughout the New Republic.
You'll never figure out who they are. Someone else will pick up the plan.
"
Jaina wondered if he wanted to bargain with them, but she didn't have that kind of authority, nor did anyone here. They would just have to capture him and let the New Republic deal with