Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi V: Allies Read online

  “I can’t take this baby down. Best I can do would be a skiff.”

  The four Hutt ships, obviously reinforcements to whatever atmospheric vessels were already engaged, were now heading down toward the surface. “Then perhaps you could be of use elsewhere. Do you know beings on this world?”

  He did, several, and lots of them would not be particularly happy to see him. Especially if his new “allies” had riled the Hutts. “Uh,” he said, “a few.”

  “They will destroy the Starstalker and all aboard if they do not call off their attack,” Faal was saying. “If you could—”

  Six more Hutt vessels exited hyperspace, splitting up gracefully to encircle the Winged Dagger. Fortunately, for the moment, they seemed unaware that Lando had anything to do with the Sith vessel and whatever was going on planetside. Lando was debating the wisdom of simply powering up the Rockhound and heading right for the Maw, leaving these two Sith ships to their own devices. After all, he was there to help Luke, not Luke’s buddies. But then again, one didn’t really want to anger a Sith, did one?

  Another ship arrived. “For crying out loud, what is this, a party?” Lando yelped to Ornate. “How many Hutt ships do you need to take down—”

  He broke off in midsentence when he saw what kind of vessel it was. Or rather, didn’t quite see. It was like a phantom, the slightest distortion against the darkness and starlight. But Lando had a lot of experience seeing things others might miss.

  It was a StealthX, and that meant Jedi.

  “Hail it,” he told Ornate. “Now.” The droid complied. Lando knew that the vessels had to maintain silence in order to be undetected, and wasn’t sure if the pilot of this particular ship would respond. However, a familiar voice crackled over the antique communications system. It was faint—probably a personal comlink rather than the ship’s.

  “Hey, Uncle Lando. What are you doing here?”

  Lando blinked. “Jaina? I might ask the same question of you.”

  “I asked first.” Lando started to reply that this was a poor time for jokes, but there was a guardedness in her voice that made him pause. She was serious.

  “I’m here to help Luke, except he’s apparently gone off without me and, uh … left a couple of buddies behind.” He wondered if Jaina knew about the “buddies.” “Jaina, listen, something’s happening down there. And Luke’s … colleagues—”

  “I know about them.” There was annoyance and anger in her voice.

  “Oh, okay then. Well, they’re wrapped up in it and asking for my help.”

  Jaina muttered something under her breath. “Let’s go find out what’s going on, then. Permission to dock?”

  “Of course. But you didn’t tell me why you were here.”

  “Nope. Sure didn’t. You coming with me, or not?”

  “All right, keep your flight suit on,” Lando grumbled. “You don’t want to take that baby down there. Bring it into the hangar and we’ll go down together in the skiff.”

  It was, of course, not that simple. While he waited for Jaina, Lando attempted to hail the planet, and for several long, strained minutes, there was no response. Finally, a female Klatooinian appeared on one of the drop-down screens. She looked wary and her voice was brusque.

  “This is Abara Mun. Klatooine is currently in an emergency state and a full lockdown. No one will be granted permission to arrive or depart until further notice.” She reached forward to end the transmission.

  “Wait!” yelped Lando. “I know Darima Kedari!”

  Mun paused in midmotion and eyed him skeptically. The hatchway at the back slid open with a grinding sound. Lando heard Jaina’s boots on the old durasteel deck as she came up behind him. “We go way back. Ask him.”

  A pause. “I suppose that’s possible,” Mun said finally. “I will contact him and inquire.”

  “You do that.” Her face disappeared, replaced by the insignia of the Klatooinian flag. Lando blew out a breath, then turned and gave Jaina a quick hug. “Hey there, little lady. So come on, you can tell Uncle Lando. You came here to help Luke, didn’t you?”

  She embraced him, then pulled back and nodded. She looked tired and was more subdued than he had seen her in a long time.

  “I was supposed to be one of many,” she said. “The Jedi have a whole fleet of StealthXs assembled. Luke and Ben have had to handle this completely alone. Sith, for crying out loud, Lando. A whole tribe of them. So we were going to come and give him the means to end this forced alliance.”

  “So why is it just you? Not that you aren’t a formidable foe,” he added quickly.

  “Because Daala has begun a siege on the Temple, and we can’t launch without being shot down before we get three meters.”

  “A what?”

  She rubbed her eyes. “It’s long, it’s ugly, and it’s irrelevant right now. We have to get to Luke.”

  “He’s in the Maw right now. He left a very lovely and alarmingly pleasant woman behind to wait for me, but apparently there’s been some sort of trouble. I’m not sure if Luke wants me to help out or ditch them.”

  “Sir,” said Ornate in her smooth, silky voice, “Chancellor Darima Kedari wishes to speak to you.”

  Lando smirked, just a little. “See?” he said to Jaina. Jaina, meanwhile, had done a double take at the droid’s voice.

  “She’s some conversationalist,” Jaina said dryly.

  “About that … I’ll tell you later,” Lando said, looking a bit nonplussed. “Ornate, put him through.”

  An elderly male appeared on the screen. He wore stiff robes that were made of some sort of fabric that shone in the light. A collar wound around his neck, and a high, flat hat covered his head and ears. Lando gave one of his famous charming grins. “Darima! How you doing?”

  “In desperate straits if I am to converse with you,” replied the Chancellor in a querulous voice, “but it seems I must do so.”

  “Er, right,” said Lando. He recovered quickly. “May I introduce Jedi Jaina Solo. Jaina, this is Chancellor Darima Kedari, the leader of the Klatooinian Elder Governors. We go way back.”

  Jaina smiled and inclined her head. “Sir,” she said.

  Dark eyes set back in a face surrounded by heavy wrinkles widened slightly. “Jaina Solo. Your reputation precedes you as well. First Master Skywalker, now you. Two of you, no less.” He seemed to be considering something. “A question for you both, then, since I believe the Ancestors have sent you to us at this crucial juncture. Are you formally or informally connected with the captains or any crew member of the Starstalker or the Winged Dagger?”

  Lando scratched his head and considered his answer very carefully. “I came here at the request of Luke Skywalker,” he said. “I know that Luke was cooperating with them, but I’ve never met these people before in my life.”

  “And I came here to see Luke, but he wasn’t expecting me.” Jaina didn’t volunteer anything more.

  “We are … in a crisis,” Darima admitted. His jowls shook slightly. “The crew of the Starstalker has allegedly violated the no-technology zone of the Fountain. It appears they even had the audacity to take samples of the wintrium.”

  Lando’s jaw dropped. “What?” No wonder he had seen a bunch of Hutt ships. This was bad. Very bad.

  “I know you know what this means, Lando,” Darima said grimly. “Now you understand why we are forbidding anyone to come to Klatooine. It is all we can do to contain the riots.”

  “No kidding. I’m surprised you can even do that.”

  “Wait, what?” asked Jaina, looking from one to the other. “What happened? Lando, you look … serious. That alarms me.”

  “There’s a natural formation called the Fountain of the Hutt Ancients,” Lando said, his voice somber. “It’s highly sacred to the Klatooinians. No one is allowed to take anything but the most primitive technology within a kilometer radius.”

  Jaina looked confused. “I don’t mean to be rude, but … you generally aren’t that concerned about something like this.” She
eyed the Chancellor. “No offense, sir.”

  “There is more than our racial pride or religious sacrilege here, Jedi Solo. The protection of the Fountain was the key to the drawing of the Treaty of Vontor twenty-five thousand years ago,” Darima said. “The Hutts swore to protect it. In return, our people and the Nikto swore eternal servitude. The Hutts did not protect the Fountain. If they do not act appropriately—”

  Now it was Jaina’s turn to gape. “If they don’t act appropriately, the deal’s off, and the Hutts lose slaves they’ve had for twenty-five millennia. Okay. I think I see why everyone’s so upset.” She looked as stunned as Lando felt.

  “The Treaty states that if there is ever a question of violation, at least two, preferably more, offworlders must be present to render judgment, as both the Hutts and the Klatooinians have decided interests in the outcome.”

  “Oh, come on Darima, surely there’s gotta be someone else.”

  The Chancellor looked at him levelly. “This is Hutt territory, Lando. People who have business with them come here. There are some who come to see the Fountain, but they are few. You two both arrive the very day of the sacrilege. And although I cannot believe I am saying this, I … trust you to be fair in hearing both sides. And I can say the same of a Jedi, even one I have not met.”

  Jaina and Lando exchanged glances. “Give us a moment,” he said.

  “Of course.” Ornate obligingly muted the sound.

  “I don’t want any part of this,” Lando said. “I say we leave them and get to Luke.”

  “I’d say the same thing except for the fact that the liberty of an entire race of people rests on it,” Jaina said. “Your friend is right. This isn’t a place known for attracting decent and fair-minded beings. Anyone else they get is going to know what side his bread is buttered on. The Hutts’ll win for sure.”

  “And can you be impartial?” Lando challenged. “Suppose the evidence suggests that the Hutts did do everything they could. Could you stand there and tell the Klatooinians they’re stuck being slaves?”

  He expected her to snap at him. Instead, she looked down, her gaze falling quickly on her left hand. It was then that he noticed it was bereft of her engagement ring. And suddenly he understood why she had been so subdued.

  “I’ve made a lot of hard decisions recently based on what I thought was right, Lando. Decisions that weren’t what I wanted,” she said quietly. “I’m the Sword of the Jedi. I stand, supposedly, for justice. If the Hutts really did keep their end of the bargain, then my answer is yes. I can look the Elders in the eye and say that.”

  “I really don’t want to do this.”

  “Then don’t. Take the Rockhound and join Luke in the Maw. Hopefully, I will be there soon. I’ll be one of their offworlders, and they can find someone else. Really, it’s okay.” And he could tell by looking at her that it was. She was making the decision for herself, and letting him make the right one for him.

  “You are far too much like your mother sometimes, you know that?” he muttered. “You damn diplomats.” He heaved a sigh and waved at Ornate, who unmuted the hologram.

  “All right, Darima. You got yourselves two offworlders.”

  KLATOOINE

  AS THEY FLEW OVER THE PLANET’S SURFACE IN THE SMALL SKIFF, LANDO and Jaina could see that Mun and Chancellor Kedari had not exaggerated. If anything, they had downplayed the violence. Vessels, both on the ground and in the air, surrounded the capital city. Tiny figures of armed guards milled around, and Jaina shuddered involuntarily.

  Lando caught the gesture. “You okay?”

  “It’s exactly like what the Mandos are doing to the Temple right now. And it was by sheer dumb luck that I wasn’t trapped there as well. I’d left less than a half hour beforehand.”

  “Heh. Maybe ol’ Darima was right. Maybe we have been sent by the Ancestors.”

  “I wish the Ancestors would send someone to kick Daala’s …” Jaina sighed and shifted in the passenger seat.

  “You’re just antsy because you’re not piloting.”

  “That, too. I can’t believe we’re going to be listening to Hutts and Sith, and ending up actually siding with one.”

  “Well, let me put it this way—I have known some Hutts who were decent beings. But we’ve gotta do our best to be impartial.”

  “We could blast both of them. That’d be nice and evenhanded,” Jaina said, giving him a little smile.

  “Don’t tempt me. We’re almost to the Fountain, and the palace is right next to it. You should take a look. It’s quite the beautiful object.”

  Jaina had averted her eyes after seeing Treema, but now did as Lando suggested. And her eyes widened.

  “Uh, Lando? You should take a look.”

  A colorful oath escaped him as he did so. Below them was the Fountain of the Ancients, or the Hutt Ancients, depending on who one talked to. And Jaina had to admit, it was beautiful. What was not beautiful was the throng that had clustered around it. They were clamoring to get in, the Klatooinians, to be close to the sacred natural phenomenon that had been so much a part of their culture and history at this time of crisis. Except there were too many, shoving, pushing, an enormous crowd of beings surging forward.

  “There must be thousands of them,” Jaina said, correcting herself almost immediately. “Tens of thousands.”

  “Hundreds of thousands in a few hours,” Lando said. “Klatooine may have a planetwide lockdown, and I bet that includes major communications channels, but beings have a way of finding things out.”

  They were silent as they were vectored in to a large landing area of the palace. Chancellor Kedari was there, along with several attendants. In person, Jaina found him much less imposing. He was shorter than she had expected, he leaned heavily on a beautifully crafted staff, and his body language was that of someone who was very close to being beaten down. She supposed she couldn’t blame him. She couldn’t imagine what sacrilege done to something that had been part of her very identity—that of everyone on this world—would have done to her. She was having a difficult enough time handling a broken engagement.

  “You are very welcome here, both of you,” Darima said. “Ordinarily I would extend more ceremony to this meeting, but I think you have seen by now that time is of the essence. We must restore order as soon as possible, and to that end, we must have a decision. Please—come with me.”

  They followed him into a utilitarian lift whose simple practicality left Jaina unprepared for the large, lavish room it opened onto. Pillars stretched before her, huge, ornate things that supported a ceiling that had been painted dark blue. Cleverly concealed optics winked and glittered, giving the illusion of a panorama of stars. It was faint now, during daylight hours, but Jaina knew that come nightfall it would be beautiful. Circular windows, running the length of the massive chamber, let in slanting light. Sconces evenly spaced along the stone wall would provide light during the evening. The far wall was completely comprised of transparisteel, and opened onto what would normally be the breathtakingly beautiful sight of the Fountain. Now, of course, the sight was disturbing. Jaina wished they’d find a way to shut out the view, but there were no drapes or shutters.

  Chairs clearly designed for the comfort of humanoids ran the length of the room, but the center was left open.

  “We have not had a verdict rendered here in centuries,” Darima was saying as they stepped into the room. “Now, this is where we host theatrical performances or conduct lectures.” His voice was wistful. He waved a gnarled hand and led them to the area of the chamber directly opposite the Fountain. Three chairs were arranged on a marble dais. More chairs sat to the side.

  “Jedi Solo, you and Captain Calrissian will join me here. The rest of the Governing Elders will sit near us, so they may watch the proceedings. The two parties will be entering shortly.”

  Jaina sat down in the chair. While it was obviously designed for a larger frame than hers, it was still as comfortable as she had anticipated. Her legs dangled, but she was used to
that. Besides, she hoped she wouldn’t be sitting here long.

  “So—what do we need to do?” she asked Darima.

  “Listen,” said Darima simply. “You know what is at stake here. You know what the Fountain means to us. You know what the Treaty of Vontor stipulates. Listen to all who speak. You have certain abilities, as a Jedi, to determine guilt or innocence. You, Lando, are a good judge of beings. You’ve had to learn how to be given your … background.”

  “Hey,” Lando said, bridling a little, “It used to be your background, too, you know.”

  Darima chuckled slightly. “No longer,” he said. “But the two of you must judge fairly, if the Ancestors are to be pleased with the outcome.”

  “We’ll do our best,” Jaina said simply.

  She could sense other presences approaching now. One group felt similar to Darima. Concerned, angry, heartbroken, but resolute and calm at their centers. This had to be the rest of the Elders. A wide set of doors toward the end of the hall slid open, and they entered, moving slowly but with dignity down the long center of the room toward their seats. She followed Lando’s example and rose, regarding them. One of them, a female, seemed to be considerably older than the rest, and met Jaina’s gaze with a deep, searching one of her own before settling down into her chair.

  She and Lando imitated her. Beside her, Darima leaned forward slightly in his chair, gripping his staff tightly, but otherwise displaying no agitation. Jaina could sense them now, these beings upon whom she was about to pass judgment. Dark side energy was wrapped about them like a shimmersilk cloak. Jaina could almost smell it as something physical, a scent that was almost pleasant, but too cloying to be; a rottenness that gave away the true nature of its power. She swallowed hard, remembering her last fight with Jacen. Knowing that with his death, that awful scent that was not a scent had ceased to permeate his soul. He had been dark, and powerful, but there was a newness to his familiarity with the dark side. The beings—some human, some not—who were just on the other side of the door had been steeped in it. This was an old, old stain.