[Legacy Of The Force] - 07(13)

The trouble was, the ones that flew past soon curved around for another attack.

Meanwhile, Kyp continued, “We have a shuttle or other enclosed vehicle land for a quick extraction. But the trick is, it’s an empty droid vehicle. Our group, with Jacen, their captive, actually reenters the undercity through a ground-side maintenance access hatch modified to serve as an exit. While the shuttle makes its escape run and draws off pursuit, our group goes back the way it came to the true departure point.”

“Who’s the team leader?”

Kyp shrugged. “Not determined yet.”

Corran’s and Kyle’s voices rose simultaneously: “Me.”

Luke, thoughtful, finished incinerating the last of the flying bolts. He switched off Cilghal’s lightsaber and tossed it over his shoulder. He heard it slap down into her big webbed hand. “What about your native guide? Someone to get you through the undercity, I’m guessing. Do you trust him?”

Kyp nodded.

“Not as far as I can throw her.” That was Corran, his voice punctuated by zaps as Saba advanced on him, trying to bat his longer blade aside.

Kyp made a sour face. “Horn, you can’t throw anybody any distance. With the Force, anyway. This calls your judgment into question.”

“Her.” Luke switched off his lightsaber. “Maybe I should meet her.”

Kyp deactivated his own weapon. “She’s one level down. I can have her come up if you want to meet her now.”

“Sure.” Luke looked around for something to serve him as a chair-an impromptu throne of the Jedi Grand Master-and decided against the landing gear wheel as being just slightly below his dignity and preferred altitude. He chose the old tool rack and sat upon it. Its corroding wheels groaned under the weight; one of them, decayed past the point of functionality, slowly collapsed, tilting the rack slightly forward.

Meanwhile Kyp spoke into a comlink. The other Masters left off their exercise, extinguished their lightsabers, and gathered around.

A section of roof slid aside and a metal plate rose to occupy that space, lift-style. On it stood a teenage girl in Jedi robes. She was redheaded, and she nervously twirled one lock of hair in her fingers. At Kyp’s gesture, she approached.

Luke recognized her and frowned. “I know you. Seha, from the Temple.”

She came to a stop in front of him and nodded. “Yes, Grand Master.” Her voice was faint. Her face was so pale Luke thought she might be on the verge of fainting.

He tried to remember her record with the Jedi Order. She hadn’t been with them long. An orphan since childhood, he recalled. She’d been sponsored to the Order by …

By Jacen. Ah. “There would seem to be some question as to your reliability.”

Seha nodded, agitation making her motion fast, jerky. “Some people don’t trust me.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m a traitor to the Jedi Order.” Corran Horn’s eyebrows rose. He looked faintly impressed. “Well, I’ll give her points for honesty.” Luke ignored him. “Perhaps you’d better explain that.” Seha glanced around, as if looking for sympathetic faces, but returned her attention to Luke. “I was little when the Yuuzhan Vong came to Coruscant. When the Vongforming happened. Most of my family died. I don’t remember them, except my father. We lived in the undercity, so deep and out of touch that the Yuuzhan Vong had been driven offworld for months before I even learned about it. My father was dead by then, stung by a Yuuzhan Vong insect he didn’t see in time. I stayed there, with the other refugees and crazies and rejects, because they were the only people I knew.

“But I met Jacen. He’d come down from time to time-sometimes his visits were years apart-to visit his friend the World Brain. My home was close to the World Brain’s lair. I thought it was a horrible, evil thing, but Jacen told me how it was just acting according to its nature, that what it looked like had nothing to do with what it was inside. Jacen figured out I was Force-sensitive and arranged for me to become an apprentice to the Order, even though I was old for an apprentice.”

“I know what it’s like to be old for an apprentice.” Luke’s voice was gentle, but now he let an edge creep into it. “So how did you betray the Order?”

“I did things for Jacen. Kept him updated on goings-on in the Temple. After he became the head of the Guard, he asked me to take things into and out of the Temple for him, like spare datapads and replacement electronic components.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “When your son disappeared … I was the one who helped him get out of the Temple without being seen.”