Vader did not stop, and Boda desperately pulled out his lightsaber, extending the silvery blade. “Don’t you want to know what happened to your partner—the girl?” Boda shouted as he backed up. “If you want to save her, there’s very little time!”
Vader stopped. “What do you mean?” he demanded in a low voice.
“She’s behind me, back at the north lift,” Boda explained hurriedly. “There’s going to be an explosion. She’ll die unless you get her out of there in time. It’s either me or her. Why don’t you let me go, Vader? My business isn’t with you, it’s with your Master.” Boda held his lightsaber low and non threateningly. “What’s it going to be? What’s your decision? Whatever it is, you have to decide quickly.”
Vader hesitated. Boda was right there in front of him. He could attack, and perhaps kill the Jedi right away. It would be all over, and he would never have to worry whether the man had any secrets or not. But if Mara Jade’s life really was in danger…Vader knew that her preventable death would be to his own dishonor. On this mission, she was his responsibility. If she had faced Boda alone and lost, it was the result of his miscalculations. The moment stretched out, as Boda and Vader faced each other in the rising heat.
Mara Jade came back to consciousness and immediately gasped for breath. The air was hot and stifling, and sweat was pouring down her face. She was firmly tied, and alone, she realized. Her equipment had all been removed. Boda was gone, and there was no sign of Vader. Afraid and confused, Mara did the only thing she could think of. She mentally called the Emperor.
Palpatine answered quickly, his expectant face floating in her mind’s eye. He accosted her demandingly.
–Well? Have you captured the Jedi? What happened? Where is Lord Vader?
–I’m so sorry, Master. I let you down. I almost had him, but he overcame me and left me tied here. He got away.
The Emperor’s irritation came through to her with sickening clarity. His reply was cruelly curt.
–I am disappointed. Lord Vader had best not be taking advantage of your absence…for his sake and yours. I will send someone to assist you in time. We will speak about your performance when I see you in person.
Abruptly, Palpatine’s presence left her. Mara put her sweaty face down on the bed of moss, which was no longer soft. It had turned a brittle, ugly brown. It suited her. She did not deserve softness—she had failed in her first mission as Emperor’s Hand, and there probably wouldn’t be a second one.
Darth Vader made his decision. “Very well, Jedi. You win, this time. But this does not change anything. You are merely postponing your death. I will find you again, and soon.”
“I’ll probably be dead before we have a chance to meet again,” said Boda. “This is the second time you’ve given me another chance to deal with your Master, and I won’t waste it. Good-bye, Sith Lord.”
Boda turned and ran off into the garden. Vader let him go, and set out for the north lift.
Drawing energy from the Force, Boda ran at full tilt for the side of the building. His beloved Bafforr trees and other plants seemed to streak past as he raced the clock to safety. Time was as short as his breath. He cursed his aged body—it was so limited! It had never fit him well anyway, like a scarf that was on too tight, or a shirt one size too small. But it was all he had. Panting, he reached the glass wall that surrounded the greenhouse. The panorama of Imperial City was spread out before him, a crowd of skyscrapers and a stream of flying craft above them. The sun was setting, creating a thousand shadows on the architectural landscape beyond the thick glass. Boda lifted his lightsaber, and sliced into the window in front of him. With several wide strokes, he cut out a large hole in the transparent wall, letting in the wind and noise of the endless city.
The Bafforr trees behind him rustled in alarm. “You arrre leaving,” they said.
“Yes,” Boda replied, not turning around. He couldn’t look at them.
“Will you be coming back to usss?” asked the grove, sensing that something was very wrong.
Boda swallowed hard. He was going to miss the trees. They had been his only friends for so many years. “I—no, I won’t be coming back. I have to go and destroy that great evil I told you about.”
“Yesss. The darrrk one. What will become of usss?”
“You…you don’t have much time. The Sith Lord just couldn’t be stopped. In order to save myself, I…I…the Phelarion moss is…”
“We fffeel the heat,” the grove said. “And the mosss will brrring ffflamesss.”