[Legacy Of The Force] - 07(33)

“It makes me …” Ben choked up and stopped. He spent a few moments regaining control of his voice. “It makes me Partly to blame that he’s still out there.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

“Yes, it does. And I’m not saying anything except … I don’t want any special treatment. Not anymore. Not when there’s anything important riding on it.”

Luke nodded. “You’re right.” He gave Ben a sidelong look. “You realize what a concession that is for me to give. How hard it is for me, as your father, to do it.”

“Yeah.”

“I want a concession from you.”

“What is it?”

“If you’re ever in the same position you were on the Anakin Solo, with Jacen at your mercy, you take your shot only if you can do it without hate. No kidding yourself, no logical gymnastics. Without hate.”

“Deal.” Ben extended his hand.

Luke shook it. “Kyp’s coming.” He glanced over his shoulder.

Ben felt a little pulse in the Force and heard a click from the button on the doorjamb. The door slid open, revealing Kyp Durron in the act of reaching for the chime button outside.

Kyp stepped in. “Grand Master. Apprentice Skywalker.” He held up the datapad in his other hand. “I have news.”

Luke rose. “From Coruscant?”

“Yes.”

Luke moved to a table and sat, gesturing for Kyp to take the seat opposite. “Let’s hear it.”

Kyp paused, glancing at Ben.

Ben stood, too. “I’ll go. I need to arrange to be moved into the apprentice dormitory.”

Luke shook his head. “You staying here is not special treatment. You’re my apprentice until and unless I decide to reassign you. Kyp, he can stay for this. He’s full of insights today.”

Kyp shrugged and sat. Ben took a stuffed chair next to the table.

Kyp’s voice became more sober. “The mission group reports partial success. Colonel Solo remains at large. Master Katarn was badly injured but has been successfully taken to a safe house. Jedi Mithric lost his life. The others are with Katarn. The droid-piloted shuttle did not get off the ground after its landing. The surviving team members did successfully evacuate through it into the undercity, but since it never got airborne, traces of their escape route were detected. We can anticipate that the undercity will not be a viable approach in the future.”

Luke took in the news, shaking his head over Mithric’s death. “And the package?”

“The package is on Colonel Solo.”

Ben frowned, puzzled. “What’s the package?”

“A tracer.” Luke outlined a square about five centimeters across on the table surface. “About so big. Black cloth. As long as it remains on Jacen, we can accurately plot where he is, get a better sense of his movements.”

Ben considered that. “So … you were sure that the mission you sent Valin on would fail.”

Kyp nodded. “The ambush portion of it, yes. Once I realized that we couldn’t mount a successful grab-or-terminate mission against Jacen without being able to control the place and the time, I decided that it should be as realistic as possible. … but also that it would serve chiefly to set up future operations. Ones that have a chance of succeeding.”

“Did the team members know?”

Luke shook his head. “Only Master Katarn. We couldn’t risk any of the others being captured and tortured into confessing. I was certain Kyle would be able to escape-or die before being broken.”

Kyp caught Ben’s eye. “So. Insights?”

“Just that he’ll try to punish the Jedi now. He may have called them cowards and stuff in the holonews before, but he didn’t do anything that would make it impossible for you to go crawling back to him. Attacking him like this probably made it clear you’re not going back. He’ll discredit the Jedi every chance he gets and hunt us with whatever resources he can.”

Luke nodded. “We need to improve our resources, too. I think it’s time to call Wedge Antilles. Booster Terrik. Talon Karrde. See what kind of surprises we can arrange for Jacen. It’s time to come up with some new plans.”

Kyp smiled at him. “Welcome back.”

But there was a look in Luke’s eye, a distant worry, that told Ben his father was not truly back, not truly recovered, not yet.





Chapter 12


KASHYYYK, MAITELL BASE

The popular conception of the Wookiee world of Kashyyyk was that it was all forest-pole-to-pole, kilometers deep, with the forest floor an impossibly thick layer of organic matter, twisted roots, monsters, and darkness.

And of course, there were huge belts of terrain that could be described exactly that way. But there were also oceans, mountains, and regions where the vegetation, growing atop shelves of rock only a few meters down, was no taller than on any other world. There, living beings could stand on the ground and see the sky through the branches.