[Dark Nest] - 1(56)
Alema didn’t care, and Taat seemed to agree. The hundreds of dartships not yet swept up in the tractor beams began to coalesce in tightly knit balls, moving with eerie precision into the path of oncoming clawcraft. Chiss fighters began to explode as though they were crashing into asteroids. The conflict was turning into an all-out battle.
Sensing Jaina’s alarm, Tahiri opened a comm channel. “ReyaTaat, call off the dartships! Our last attacks were mistakes.”
“They did not feel like mistakes,” Reya countered. “They felt good.”
“This battle is getting out of hand,” Tahiri responded, echoing Jaina’s feelings. “Reya was Chiss. She knows what will happen if you continue.”
Reya fell silent, but the dartships continued to attack. Jaina found her frustration with Alema growing. The Twi’lek was a fine pilot, but she was too wild, too quick to surrender to the pearl of hatred that had been accreting inside her since the death of her sister, Numa. Now Alema’s anger would spread across the Gyuel system like a nova blast.
When the Taat continued to attack, Jacen said, “ReyaTaat, the Chiss will return with bigger ships. They’ll attack the nests directly, and Taat will be destroyed. All the Qoribu nests will be destroyed.”
“What difference does it make? Our nests are already dying.” Reya’s voice grew icy. “But Lowbacca must not be captured.”
The Force resonated with agreement-none of the Jedi wanted to see their friend captured-but Lowbacca was calling the shots. He was the one in trouble.
“Lowbacca can take care of himself,” Tahiri said. “And if he is captured, what the Taat are doing now will only hurt him.”
“Lowbacca won’t be captured,” Reya said. “The Colony does not wish it. “
The Taat continued to place themselves in front of their enemies, but instead of pursuing Tahiri and Jacen all the more ferociously, the clawcraft peeled away, giving them a clear route to freedom. Jaina exhaled in relief. At least Jag-or whoever was commanding this task force-still had the sense to back off before the conflict escalated.
Then a new tractor beam shot out from the Star Destroyer, capturing Tahiri, Jacen, and-judging by their surprise and anger-Alema and Zekk. Jaina cursed at the same time she heard Tesar’s irate hiss in her ears. It was not easy to lock on to a wildly dodging spacecraft visually, but if a beam crew knew the comm frequency being used by the target, they could follow the carrier wave straight to their victim. And while Reya had not initiated the contact with Tahiri, she had kept the young Jedi talking until the clawcraft dispersed.
Jaina was close enough to the battle now that she could see the laser cannons flashing inside the whirling cloud of dartships. Four waving fingers of darkness marked the areas where the tractor beams were sweeping the Taat out of space, slowly pulling them toward the Star Destroyer. The vessel itself resembled a gray version of the Empire’s old Victory-class Star Destroyers, save that it was a little sleeker, longer, and narrower, with a conical hull that gave it a menacing, needle-like appearance. It was impossible to tell where the bridge was located-it was not in the Chiss nature to reveal such a crucial detail just for the looking - but a dome-shaped bulge amidships probably housed the cloaking equipment that had masked the vessel’s approach.
Jaina dropped the nose of her StealthX and started a fast approach toward the bow of the Star Destroyer, then felt Tesar’s excitement starting to mount as he initiated his own run. An image of his view of the ship appeared in the back of her mind. He seemed to be approaching from the opposite end, more or less head-on toward Jaina. They would have to be careful to avoid a collision.
“Sneaky, give me a ten-mag view of the area around the root of the nearest tractor beam,” Jaina ordered.
Risky or not, she could not let the Chiss reel in four Jedi.
Over the comm, Reya said, “We will have you free in a minute, friends. “
Not kriffing likely, Jaina thought. Half of the Taat were already being sucked toward the Star Destroyer’s capture bays, and the rest were too busy hurling themselves in front of clawcraft to disable any tractor beams.
“Help is coming.” Reya’s voice was reassuring. “The Mueum are almost here.”
The timely assurance raised the hair on the back of Jaina’s neck. Recalling Taat’s uncanny ability to sense what foods she and the other Jedi were longing for, she began to wonder what else Reya could sense.
Tesar began to think Reya was a better spy than they had thought. Projecting his thoughts openly into the battle-meld, he wondered if he should eliminate her.
Jaina had the mental image of Tesar selecting Reya’s lancet as a primary target, but realized instantly that the Barabel was only trying to test whether Reya knew what was happening in the battle-meld. He was passing over the stern of the Star Destroyer and could not have targeted her if he wished.