The Force Unleashed (36 page)

star_wars_the_force_unleashed_by_sean_williams

the full knowledge that he really was chasing his own destiny.

And Juno was trusting him . . .

Perhaps, he thought, he should trust her. Perhaps the truly wild possibility of his

plan was that the rebels could help him destroy his Master, thereby setting all of

them free.

He hardly dared think of that.

It was enough to know the meeting would go ahead as planned, safe from betrayal. The

rebellion would be born, wherever it ultimately led. Reaching that decision had

finally bought him a reprieve between the warring factions inside. While the

delicate balance in his mind was maintained, he felt more at peace than he had for

months.

The Rogue Shadow descended from a polar orbit over the planet's northwestern

mountain ranges. From a distance, the planet was startlingly beautiful, with two

broad oceans surrounding temperate, well-tended lands. Industry was for the most

part confined to orbit, so Corellia's biosphere had been spared the industrial

ravages wrought on so many other worlds. There were, however, patches that showed

evidence of past mismanagement. Their landing site was one such, a ruined city in

the midst of high-altitude wasteland. He didn't know its name or what had happened

to it, but as they drew near and the once-scorched, now-icy grid and its crumbling

buildings came into focus, he took the les son it offered wholeheartedly.

All ventures fail, in the end. All monuments fall. Even the greatest plan rarely

survives its creators. If he, Darth Vader, or the Emperor were to die tomorrow, who

would remember the strange plots that united them?

Juno guided the ship with sure hands, circling the ruins once to check for surprises

and then bringing it down gently next to a trio of shuttles whose edges had been

softened by snowfall. One of the transports was clearly Bail Organa's. Uniformed

guards placed themselves between all three and the landed Rogue Shadow.

"Well," Juno said as the sublights cooled, "here we are. I always knew the stories

about Corellia were exaggerated."

"Looks like they're all here." He was too focused on what was to come to acknowledge

the joke. "PROXY? Come on."

She turned. "Isn't Kota going with you?"

He glanced around the empty cockpit. "Looks like I'm flying this one solo. Wish me

luck."

Her face took on a determined look. "You're not going out there on your own. Hold

on." She fairly leapt out of the pilot's seat, straightened what remained of her

uniform, and made a hasty attempt to tidy her hair. Flipping a hidden switch, she

opened a secret panel and pulled out a holstered pistol, which she affixed to her

belt. "I'll be right behind you."

"This is where you tell me not to take that the wrong way," he said.

She pointed at the lightsaber hanging from his belt. "Just don't make me need it.

That's all I have to say."

He nodded, not blaming her, and led them out into the driving snow.

* * *

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GUARDS IN WARM ENVIRONMENT GEAR led the three of them into the ruins without

speaking a word. Long, stone corridors wound up to a watch station overlooking the

rugged mountaintops. Within the makeshift meeting room was a rectangular conference

table large enough for a dozen people. Beside it stood Bail Organa, dignified and

formal in the robes of his office. With him were a straight backed woman with a

careworn face, who could only have been former Senator Mon Mothma of the Bormea

sector, and a broad-shouldered man with long graying hair and mustache, the former

Senator from Corellia, Garm Bel Iblis. Organa nodded in sedate welcome, but his

colleagues were more reserved.

The apprentice walked without hesitation to face the trio gathered at the table. Bel

Iblis stood directly opposite him, in front of the room's northern "wall," little

more than an open-air overhang supported by a handful of stone pillars. A snowy

clifftop beyond made the entire structure feel precariously balanced between sky and

stone, as though gravity might at any moment smash it down.

The large stone door slid shut behind them. Juno jumped slightly and stepped to one

side, joining the men and women in the uniforms of Corellia, Chandrila, and Alderaan

guarding the meeting. At Bail Organa's command, PROXY flickered and adopted the

holographic image of his daughter, Leia, broadcast from elsewhere in the galaxy.

She, too, nodded in recognition as she stepped up to the table next to her father.

"Friends." Bail Organa was the first to break the silence. "Thank you for coming. I

know it was a difficult decision. By meeting here, we have all put our lives at

risk-as you have on many occasions already." He inclined his head at the apprentice,

who straightened at the acknowledgment but said nothing; public-speaking was as

foreign to him as the Whirling Kavadango Dance. "I believe that hope exists for a

better future," Organa continued. "This meeting heralds a time in which we won't

need to gather in secret-in which all will live in peace and prosperity, free of the

yoke of fear the Emperor has cast over the galaxy. I believe that together we can

make your dreams a reality."

Mon Mothma nodded. "We have discussed this at great length," she said. "We agree

that the time for diplomacy and politics has passed. It is time for action."

"Well timed," agreed Bel Iblis in a rough, deep voice.

"Logistically," Organa went on, "it makes sense to join our forces. My wealth can

fund such a rebellion, while Garm will provide our fleet and Mon Mothma our

soldiers. We've been working at cross-purposes for years now, waiting for the

catalyst that would bring us together. I believe we have that catalyst now and that

we would be foolish not to take advantage of it."

"All we needed was someone to take the initiative," said Mon Mothma, speaking

directly to the apprentice. "We know we have the power of the Force on our side."

"In short," said Garm Bel Iblis with narrow, cautious eyes, "we've agreed to follow

your lead. We'll join your alliance."

"You have saved two of us here already," Leia Organa concluded with fierce

solemnity. "If the Emperor thinks he can push us around forever, he's mistaken."

"You're wrong on one point, Princess," said a voice from the doorway.

The apprentice turned. The doors had opened again without him hearing, allowing Kota

entrance to the room.

"The boy saved three of us." Kota was no longer the disheveled drunk, but a seasoned

general. His blind eyes were uncovered and his boots polished. Every wayward strand

of his gray hair had been pulled back into its queue, and his robe hung straight.

With three unhesitating paces, he crossed to face the apprentice and put a hand on

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his shoulder. "I will join his rebellion, too, if I'm welcome."

The apprentice reached up and gripped the gnarled fingers. "I thought you were still

passed out in the cargo hold."

Kota smiled. "I finally came to."

Over the general's shoulder, the apprentice saw Juno beaming as well. She nodded and

indicated that he should turn back to the meeting.

"It's settled, then," said Bail, his voice rising into full oratorical mode. "Let

this be an official Declaration of Rebellion. Today we vow to overturn the Empire in

order that the galaxy and all its peoples will be one day free, be they human or

Hamadryas, Wookiee, or Weequay. Every sapient being has the inalienable right to

live in safety and to fight for that right if it is ever..."

The sound of a massive explosion cut him off. The floor shook beneath them; dust

rained from above.

Bail Organa's smile disappeared. He pulled back from the table and turned to face

his daughter.

"PROXY!" he shouted. "Cut transmission!"

The droid dissolved the hologram and became himself once more.

Another explosion shook the eagle's nest. The apprentice ran to the northern wall

and looked out through the stone pillars. A Star Destroyer loomed in the upper

atmosphere. TIE fighters raced through the sky.

"No," he whispered. "No!"

Behind him the door blew open, and his denial vanished under the sound of

blasterfire and screaming.

JUNO'S PISTOL WAS IN HER hand before the first explosion had faded away, but she

didn't know where to aim it. Starkiller looked as shocked as everyone else in the

room. When he ran to the ledge to look outside, that expression only worsened.

She knew then that something had gone terribly wrong.

The door exploded behind her, throwing her forward in a cloud of dust and stony

splinters. Her hands came up to protect her face. She rolled as she had been trained

to and rose in a crouch with the pistol pointing at the open doorway. Clouds of

smoke and dust billowed through it, lit from behind by flashes of light. Over the

ringing in her ears she could hear people fighting and dying. The Senatorial guards

rushed into the melee, but she held still, waiting for the one perfect shot she knew

she was going to get.

More screams. The smoke took on a reddish tinge. A shadow loomed out of it, growing

closer.

She snapped off three shots. All were deflected by a bright red blade. One

discharged at her feet, sending her flying again, stunned. The pistol went flying.

Darth Vader strode through the doorway as though he owned the world. The squad of

stormtroopers at his back obviously thought he did, too.

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"Take them alive," he ordered, indicating the trio of Senators. "The Emperor wants

to execute them personally."

Before anyone else could react, Kota whisked the lightsaber from Starkiller's belt

and launched himself at the Dark Lord. Vader raised a hand and caught the general

telekinetically about the throat. Kota dropped the lightsaber and desperately

clutched at the invisible fingers choking him, but the pressure only increased. When

his resistance was crushed, Vader threw him bodily toward the stormtroopers and

turned his attention elsewhere.

Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and Garm Bel Iblis were surrounded. Flushed with fury, the

former Corellian Senator spat at the feet of Darth Vader, while his companions stood

with quiet dignity. Mon Mothma raised her chin.

But it wasn't her Vader was looking at.

Starkiller stood framed by the pillars in the northern wall of the eagle's nest. He

was frozen in the pose of one thoroughly beaten yet barely, defiantly, contained.

His eyes blazed. His fists shook.

Darth Vader inclined his head. "You have done well, my apprentice. "

Bail Organa hissed audibly between his teeth. If looks could kill, Starkiller would

have dropped on the spot. Garm Bel Iblis had turned a deep shade of purple, and Mon

Mothma was as rigid and pale as a sculpture in ice.

Before Starkiller could reach out for where his lightsaber lay fallen on the ground,

the stone conference table lifted into the air and hurled itself at him. Crashing

through three of the pillars and catching him squarely in the chest, it drove him

out into the snow. Ignoring everyone else in the room, Vader strode heavily after

him, lightsaber raised.

Juno scrambled to her feet, but a metal hand stopped her from rushing out to certain

death.

"Not that way, Captain Eclipse," hissed PROXY in her ear. He pushed her toward a

side passageway that appeared to be empty of stormtroopers. While the guards were

distracted, he adopted a perfect image of her, complete with dusty smudges to her

temples, so her absence wouldn't be noted. "My master will need you later."

Fighting a wave of shock that threatened to overwhelm her, she did as the droid

suggested, stumbling on stairs still rocking from the area's bombardment.

Vader here-and Starkiller hadn't expected it!

If she could get back to the ship in time, and if he had survived the crushing blow

Vader had delivered, perhaps things weren't completely lost.

She half laughed, half wept at her insane optimism as she hurried down the narrow

stairwell to the Imperial hordes below.

THE APPRENTICE CROUCHED FACEDOWN in the snow, surrounded by rubble. His breath came

in agonized, short gasps, but he was grateful for each one. He should be dead. That

blow should have killed anyone. The fact that he was breathing testified to one mis

take his Master had made.

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He had been rebuilt tougher than before.

As heavy boots crunched through the snow toward him, he knew that it would take more

than one mistake to bring about the fall of Darth Vader.

He raised his head and spoke painfully through clenched teeth.

"You agreed to stay away ..." Blood dripped from his teeth onto the icy ground.

"I lied," said his Master, "as I have from the very beginning."

The power of the dark side lifted him out of the snow and into the air. Pain

threatened to overload his nervous system, but he refused to cry out.

From the very beginning?

"You never planned," he gasped, "to destroy the Emperor!" "Not with you, no."