Nine added a message of his own, noting that the ground emplacements were now targeting the Gatherers and suggesting that the Jedi would only get in the way if they continued to attack the same targets.
Mara checked her tactical display; the Verpine weapons emplacements did finally seem to be attacking the convoy-what was left of it, anyway.
“This had better be legitimate, Nine,” she said. The R9 series was notorious for self-enhancing their preservation routines. “If
you’re altering data just to get me to turn back, I’ll schedule you for an op-system reinstallation faster than you can count to a million and ten.”
The droid reassured her that he was only reporting the truth, and as evidence, he pointed out that the salvos had stopped exploding around their vessel. Realizing that Nine was probably right-at least, she could no longer see any streaks of color flashing through the thick gunk on her canopy-Mara decided to believe him. She reached out to Luke, calling him to her side.
“Okay, Nine,” she said. “Tell the hive mother we’re coming in.”
The hive mother’s reply appeared on the display almost instantly. YES, YOU ARE VERY FAST. WE CAN SEE YOU NOW, CUTTING THE OLD ONES DOWN WITH YOUR CRYSTAL-FOCUSED BLADE.
“She can see us?” The reason occurred to Mara as soon as she had voiced the question. “Jacen!”
The happy swell of pride that suddenly filled her Force-bond with Luke told Mara that her husband had reached the same conclusion. While the two of them had been fretting over Jacen’s trustworthiness and nearly blowing the mission, Jacen had been doing what needed to be done-and preventing the coup. He was already in the heart-chamber.
Jacen was, indeed, a very good Jedi.
“Ask the hive mother if it looks like we need any-“
Mara was interrupted by the chime of an arrival alarm, and the transponder codes of a Galactic Alliance task force began to appear on her tactical display. Nine ran a message across the screen, informing Mara that he was not altering this data, either.
A moment later, a familiar age-cracked voice came over the speaker in Mara’s cockpit. “This is Supreme Commander Gilad Pellaeon aboard the Galactic Alliance Star Destroyer Megador, advising Nickel One that we are here on a peaceful mission. Please acknowledge.”
Mara’s droid reported that the hive mother was acknowledging, though it might take the Megador a moment to realize this, since she was still using Verpine radio waves.
“This is Supreme Commander Pellaeon aboard the Megador,” Pellaeon continued. “I repeat, we are here to aid you. We have reason to believe that a hostile force may attempt to overthrow your government.”
It was Jacen’s voice that answered, sounding over his personal comlink. “Consider your suspicions confirmed, Admiral Pellaeon,” he said. “But there is no reason for alarm. The Jedi have matters well in hand.”
“The Jedi?” Pellaeon asked. He sounded relieved, perturbed, and not at all surprised. “I should have known.”
Mara felt Luke’s curiosity pour into the meld, and Jacen asked, “Why’s that?”
“Because I’ve been getting reports that there were Jedi waiting almost everywhere that the Killiks have attacked so far.”
This time, Luke did not even have to pour his curiosity into the meld. Jacen simply asked, “Almost?”
“I’m afraid so, Jedi Solo,” Pellaeon said. “I am speaking to Jedi Jacen Solo, am I not?”
“And the Masters Skywalker,” Jacen replied. “We’re here together.”
“Yes, that’s what Master Horn reported,” Pellaeon said. “Regretfully, our garrison intercepted his team before they could prevent the Killiks from landing on Thyferra.”
The meld filled with alarm, though Mara could not say whether it was hers or Luke’s or Jacen’s, and Jacen asked, “You don’t mean to say-“
“I’m afraid I do,” Pellaeon replied. “The Killiks have taken control of our bacta supply.”
TWELVE
A thousand fingers of silver fire stabbed down from orbit, slicing through the emerald rain clouds. The downpour turned as bright as the Core, and the ground shook so hard that the view in the periscope jumped like a bad holo signal. Still, the image remained clear enough to tell that the last wave of drop ships-at least those few Jaina could actually see through the deluge-had landed almost unchallenged. Their passengers were already debarking in armored hover vehicles, streaming forward to join the hundreds of thousands of troops already massing behind the defensive shield at the drop-sector perimeter.
But the Chiss success was not the cause of the icy knot between Jaina’s shoulder blades, nor the reason her stomach refused to settle. UnuThul had always known the Colony would not be able to stop the enemy landing. After all, Tenupe was the linchpin of the Killik front, the gateway to the Sparkle Run and the Colony’s heart, and the Chiss had committed two-thirds of their offensive forces to its capture. So there was nothing unexpected about the success of the landing, nor even all that alarming. Jaina was reacting to something else, something the Great Swarm had not yet discovered.