Okay, girl. It’s time.
They were on Corellia, and so was Han Solo. Solo was the bait for Ailyn. And one thing Fett could always do was find Han Solo. He could almost think like the man now.
And he was getting tired of a kid thinking she could fool him.
“I’m here to find Han Solo.” He could see her expression even though he wasn’t looking directly at her; the helmet display could take an image from a wide angle. She blinked rapidly, but the rest of her face was utterly composed. “Because Ailyn’s looking for him, and when I find him, I find her.”
Fett didn’t break his stride. His joints ached and he wanted to sit down and rest, but he kept walking.
“So I don’t get paid,” she said.
“I’ll pay you because I said I would. But don’t play me for a fool.”
She shrugged unconvincingly. “So shoot me.”
“You’ve still got your uses.”
“How’d you know Solo is here?”
“I know Solo. And my sources are better than anyone’s. He’s here.”
“Ah,” said Mirta. “Ah.”
She’d get paid. Felt couldn’t understand what was worrying her. He always kept his word.
Chapter Sixteen
Mom, Dad, please don’t ignore this message. We’ve caught Thrackan’s assassin because she made the mistake of looking for you on Coruscant. Her name is Ailyn Habuur and she isn’t going to trouble you any longer. But she might have a female accomplice called Mirta Gev. That’s all we know right now, but stay sharp. Mom, Dad, I love you. Please try to understand what I have to do.
-Jacen Solo, encrypted comlink message to his parents
JACEN SOLO’S APARTMENT, ROTUNDA ZONE.
“I came as soon as you called.”
Lumiya was waiting for Jacen, looking for all the world like an insurance saleswoman with a taste for couture clothes rather than a Sith adept.
“It’s been a difficult day,” he said, and grabbed his holdall to pack a few things. That much of him was still Jedi: he owned almost nothing except the kit he needed as a pilot and a colonel. “I need to discuss some things with you.”
“I could sense your anxiety.”
“Luke is aware you’re here. He doesn’t know where you are exactly, but he feels some echo of your presence.”
“You mustn’t be alarmed for me. But we have to accelerate your progress toward full Sith knowledge in case Luke finds me and prevents me guiding you.”
“Are there techniques to teach me?”
“Not techniques so much as awareness.” Lumiya spread her arms and the room was suddenly both calm and charged with dark energy. It felt to Jacen like sitting in the company of dangerous men in a beautifully appointed office, a veneer of grace over savagery. “Technique is for apprentices. You know all you need to know. It’s within you. You only have to become aware of it and embrace it.”
“You make it sound like pain.”
“It will be.”
“You know what it is, then. Tell me. Or warn me.”
“No, I don’t. I can only guide you toward awareness and encourage you to step across the line. It’s a different rite of passage for everyone who attempts it, because it’s about breaking their own personal limits.”
The room was soothing, an illusion that was almost a meditation chamber. The light around them was deep blue and distorted as if filtered through water. Jacen thought it was ironic that her power and energy could only find an expression in illusion, useful though that was. She could change nothing permanently.
He could, though.
“I killed someone today.”
“You’re a soldier. Soldiers have to be prepared to kill.”
“I killed in a way I didn’t think I ever could. I’m appalled at what I can do. I don’t enjoy this.”
“If you enjoyed it, Jacen, you would not be the one destined to become the Sith Lord.”
The logic was both seductive and horribly true. He was now on a path of pain; he had to do what he dreaded most. That was why it was becoming easier each day, although it hurt so much. It was right. It was exactly what Vergere had taught him when he was in the hands of the Yuuzhan Vong. He had to suffer to become the “glorious creature,” the shadowmoth who had to struggle and panic to emerge strong from its cocoon, to be changed-into what he needed to be. A Sith Lord.
There had never been an easy path destined for him to fulfill this prophecy. Vergere had known that. She had known, even then.
“You knew my grandfather. Did he have to pass this way?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t he succeed?”
“He wanted power. Not political power, but the power to shape reality for those he loved. It diverted him and it flawed a great man. He also lacked your breadth of education in the Force. That’s my belief.”