If Jacen really was hovering away from the Anakin Solo, though, Luke’s squadron could conceivably just fly over to him and compel his surrender … or shoot him.
But how would Luke convey a complicated revision in orders to the others while they observed comm silence?
He thought about it, then relaxed. He wouldn’t have to. The standing orders he had put together for this mission would suffice even in this new situation.
The other Jedi were to follow Luke in toward the Anakin Solo. He would initiate the Jedi battle-meld, not used before then so that Jacen would not be forewarned, and all Jedi present were to begin accomplishing their respective assignments.
But with this new situation, Luke merely needed to give the others a sense, in the Force, of his new direction and begin heading toward the spot Twool had pointed out to him. As they all neared Jacen, their own passive sensors, less sensitive than Twool’s, would pick up the signal from the tracking device Seha had placed on Jacen’s cloak. When they were near enough, Luke would open fire on Jacen’s vehicle and simultaneously initiate the battle-meld. No additional communication was necessary.
With the faintest of follow-me nudges to his comrades through the Force, Luke banked toward the distant target.
Each of the three Masters had a Jedi Knight as his wingmate, and Luke’s was Sanola. Because she was the youngest Jedi Knight on this mission, she was paired with the most experienced Master, which bothered Luke neither intellectually nor emotionally. … except that he was reminded, approximately three times per second, that it should have been Mara’s StealthX pacing his own.
Though not actively seeking her in the Force, he could feel Sanola trailing behind him, close enough that she could keep tabs on him visually, far enough back that a moment’s inattentiveness would not cause her to collide with him. She was a good, studious Jedi and, though young, had inherited the piloting skill that characterized her aunt Kirana. Luke did not need to worry about her.
A glance out the port side of his canopy showed him that the Confederation capital ships were nearing the starfighter engagement zone. Streamers of dueling vessels were now flowing away from the zone; it appeared that the outmatched Confederation starfighters were fleeing, pursued by their vengeful GA counterparts.
Luke frowned. He felt no sense of panic from that direction. But that was not his concern.
A red target blip appeared on Luke’s sensor board, identified as the signal from Jacen’s tracer. Luke eased off his thruster and coasted the last few kilometers, open to the Force but not expressing himself through it.
The white crosshairs representing his StealthX neared the target zone. Patient, Luke waited for the other Jedi to arrive.
He could feel them, faintly, nearing his location…
It was time. Luke reached out for the other Jedi and felt his awareness merge with theirs, combining into the battle-meld that made them so effective in group missions. Simultaneously, not bothering to work with targeting computers, blips, and brackets, he swung his snubfighter’s nose a trifle to starboard, located his target by feel, and fired. Four lances of red light leapt from his StealthX and converged on a distant point in space.
Caedus felt the change a moment before he understood what it meant. One instant he was floating in space with a crying little girl, distraught because he could not charm or coax away her tears. The next, he was expectant, hopeful, ready for a fight…
They weren’t his emotions. He had been enveloped by a Jedi battle-meld. Even Allana felt it. Her head came up, her distress momentarily forgotten.
With a curse he had not intended to utter in front of his daughter, Caedus grabbed the Blur’s control yoke and hit the thrusters.
Not fast enough. The inner surfaces of his solar arrays flashed red and his Blur kicked as it was hit from behind by a full-strength laser shot. The Blur spun from the impact, then the thrusters kicked in and he was hurtling away from that spot in space, executing one more tumble before he could gain complete control over his prototype TIE.
Use shields or continue to use stealth technology? Each choice was equally good, equally bad. He decided on the latter, hoping that his sudden burst of speed had taken him out of direct view of his attackers.
He could begin to make out the identity of his ambush-ers now. Luke, the shining presence. Kyp Durron. Corran
Horn. Two or three others he didn’t know well enough to recognize.
Three Masters this time. They’d learned their lesson at the Senate Building when he’d finished off Kyle Katarn.
Both times they’d attacked when he was in the company of his daughter. His anger grew, ready to fuel his powers.
He felt his enemies seeking him, felt them turning after him. He made himself smaller in the Force, reducing his presence to nothingness. He would give them nothing to work with.