Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance (31 page)

She
found it much harder, though, to ignore the mess the Sith wretch had
made of her hand.

Just
getting the glove off had been difficult. No painkillers existed
sufficient to shield her entirely from the sensation of blended flesh
and plastoid tearing apart. The Sith's lightsaber had melted both
into a horrific seal, one that had stopped her from losing too much
blood but would have to be removed before the wound could properly
heal. The medkit's initial scan revealed a mess of truncated bones
and blood vessels beneath. It could only deal with them once the
wound was cleared.

That
job fell to Ula, who wielded a sonic scalpel with more surety than
she had expected. Ula talked her through the procedure, in an attempt
to reassure both of them, most likely. She gritted her teeth, unable
to look away, and at the same time tried to focus her mind on
something else.

"What
are your plans now, Shigar? Are you returning Envoy Vii and your
friend to Coruscant?"

That
had to be Shigar's Master, the legendary Satele Shan. Larin wished
she could see her image. She spoke with such surety and confidence,
and Shigar responded to both in ways he probably wasn't even aware
of, simultaneously trusting and rebelling. It was hard to imagine him
in a junior role to anyone.

"Maybe
the one who doesn't see is you, Shigar. "

"There,
" said Ula, gingerly lifting the glove from her brutalized
flesh. It came off in three pieces. He had resealed the major blood
vessels with a laser cauterizer and applied a bone stabilizer
compound. "I think that's good enough to put in the medkit now.
I'll dig around through the ship's cupboards later and see if I can
find a prosthetic to tide you over until we get home. "

She
didn't want to look at the ruins of her hand, but she had to. The cut
ran neatly across all her metacarpals, leaving her without even a
single finger stump. The pain was hazy and indistinct now, but very
present. Her nerves were obviously still working. That was a good
thing, she reminded herself, if she was ever to have a full
prosthetic attached.

The
medkit swallowed what was left of her hand up to the wrist, and
hummed patiently to itself.

"The
Force is with you, Shigar. "

Larin
heard him sigh, then get up to move elsewhere in the ship. His
footsteps thudded heavily, as though he were bearing a heavy weight.
Doors opened and closed, sometimes prompted by a thump or two.
Finally he stopped. A door closed and sealed. Apart from the combined
hum of life-support and a dozen other machines, the ship was silent.

"I
said, I have several carrybags full of brand-new clothes. If you or
anyone else wanted to change... ?"

She
focused on Ula's face. "What? Oh, yes. Sorry. That's a good
idea. Could you help me get my armor off? I won't be able to reach
the seals down my right side until the medkit has finished. "

"Of
course. I'd be happy to. "

Together
they wrestled her out of her arm and chest plates. The back defeated
her entirely, so she showed him how to pop the waist seals and
wriggle the shell free. Even through her body glove she felt the
coolness of the air. She literally hadn't taken the armor off for
days. On Coruscant, in the dangerous old districts, she had become
used to sleeping in it most nights.

The
state of the armor dismayed her. It had been well used even before
she bought it, but the last few days had tested it beyond reasonable
expectations. It was dented, slashed, melted, pierced, and blackened.
More than once she found patches of blood she didn't even remember
shedding.

"I
can manage the rest, " she said. "There must be a 'fresher
in here somewhere. "

"I
saw a small one near the starboard hold. Are you sure you'll be okay
on your own?"

"Most
definitely. A girl's gotta keep some secrets. "

He
flushed a bright red, and she instantly regretted the joke.

"I'm
sorry, " she said, taking his hand. "You've been a great
help, Envoy Vii. The painkillers are making me feel a bit woozy. I
might lie down after I've cleaned myself up. "

"Yes,
yes, you should rest. And please call me Ula. "

"Thank
you, Ula. "

His
hand was warm in hers. She surprised herself by not wanting to let
him go. They sat without saying anything for a moment, and maybe the
painkillers really were getting to her because she felt herself
tearing up at this tiny instant of human contact. She had been on her
own for so long.

Don't
be an idiot, she told herself. Being in the Blackstars was never like
this. We fought and killed together. We didn't hold hands.

"All
right, " Ula said, sounding embarrassed again. "The luggage
is in the crew quarters. I'll let you rummage through it. Call if you
need anything, anything at all. "

Larin
nodded and wiped her nose.

Ula
let her hand go.

When
next she glanced up, he was gone.

CHAPTER
24

The
imperial shuttle came out of hyperspace above the green and empty
world of Kant, deep in Bothan space. Kant's two moons possessed a
sparkling array of asteroid companions. Among them lurked the
seventeen vessels of the half division granted to Darth Chratis by
the Dark Council. The bulk cruiser at its head, an aging hollow-nosed
Keizar-Volvec behemoth called Paramount, hung low and heavy dead
ahead. Ax felt an anticipatory dread as the shuttle swooped in to
dock. She had cleaned the wounds on her face and neck and changed
into clean attire. Still, she felt unready for what was surely to
come.

A
full detail awaited her on the hangar deck. She ignored their salute.

"Where's
the technician I asked for?"

"Specialist
Pedisic is on her way, my lord. "

"Not
good enough. I asked for one to be here when I arrived. What about
Darth Chratis? Is he on his way, too?"

"No,
my lord. He wishes you to attend him immediately. "

"Again,
not good enough. " She wrapped the Force around the man's throat
and squeezed until he gasped. "Tell him that I have important
work to oversee, and I will not be distracted. "

"Yes...
sir!" the red-faced soldier managed.

She
let him go and he scurried off to obey her orders.

Behind
her, the pilot and another grunt carried a sealed metal case down the
ramp with exaggerated care. She had impressed upon them the
importance of its contents. If anything happened to the remains of
the hex, she was sunk along with the mission.

"I
need somewhere secure to open this box, " she told the next
soldier in line. "Show me to the nearest quarantine bay. "

"Yes,
my lord. " He snap-turned neatly on his heel and led her to a
glass-windowed room set into one wall of the hangar deck. The box
promptly followed.

The
quarantine bay was small but well equipped. The box went onto the
floor next to a gleaming metal table. A heavy-breathing droid tech
finally arrived, and Ax sent everyone else packing.

"Inside
that box is a droid, " she told the technician. "And inside
the droid is information of the greatest possible importance. It's
your job to get it out. "

"I
understand, my lord. "

"Good.
Well, open it!"

Specialist
Pedisic unsealed the clasps, stared for a moment at what lay within,
then reached in to scoop out the remains. The dead hex had collapsed
in on itself and was now reduced to the size of a small human child.
Its legs curled protectively around its midriff. Dark brown fluid
stained everything.

"I've
never seen anything like this before, " Pedisic told her, wiping
her hands on a cloth she produced from inside her uniform.

"What
you've seen or done before doesn't concern me, " Ax said. "It's
what happens now that matters. If I said this was a matter of life
and death, I wouldn't be exaggerating. For you, it certainly is. "

Pedisic
swallowed. "Let me send for some more equipment, and I'll get
started right away. "

Ax
nodded. "You have one hour. "

She
swept out of the quarantine bay, past the double guard stationed at
the door, and went to find her Master.

*
* *

The
blow came so fast she couldn't avoid it, even though she'd expected
it from the moment she boarded the Paramount. She felt herself swept
up and thrust with crushing force into the nearest bulkhead, and held
there, unable to move.

"You
were sent to Hutta to claim one thing. "

The
deadly hiss of her Master's voice slid like a red-hot needle into her
right ear. She could feel him next to her, even though the room was
in absolute darkness. His presence was like a foul-burning fire in
the fabric of space itself.

"One
thing only, " he repeated, "yet you return without it, you
stand by while the Emperor's official envoy is killed, and you delay
before reporting to me. What am I to do with you, Eldon Ax? What
punishment would be most fitting?"

"The
envoy was a puppet, " she managed in her own defense.

"They
always are, but they remain the public face of the Emperor. To slight
one of them is to slight him. Would you be party to such a thing?
Should he be informed that you have allowed his authority to be
disrespected?"

"No,
Master. That was not my intent. "

"Perhaps
it was not. It is hard to be certain. Your confusion is exposed to
me. You are weakened by attachment, by the existence of a mother... "

She
flinched away from him as though physically struck. "You lie!"
she cried, even though part of her worried that it might be the
truth.

The
lights burst on, blindingly bright. She fell to the floor, released,
and blinked away bright afterimages. The room was square, black, and
empty apart from her Master's meditation sarcophagus mounted securely
in the center. He was inside it, his withered face hidden safely
behind the lid.

He
had never been standing beside her at all.

"Allow
me to explain, Master. "

"If
you cannot, I will crush your mind to dust. "

She
began with her attempt to infiltrate the vault and moved quickly on
to her confrontation first with the Jedi Padawan, then with Dao
Stryver. Darth Chratis was displeased at her inability to slay either
of her enemies, and she felt his feverish will coiling about her
again, but she plowed on without hesitation. Her fate rested on
convincing him of the worth of the hexes.

"Droids,
" he breathed. "Lema Xandret was a droid maker. "

"This
surely confirms beyond all possible doubt that the Cinzia was
connected to her. Doesn't it, Master?"

"Do
you have any other evidence?"

She
pushed aside a memory of the hexes' relentless screeching. "They
consistently attacked me first, as though they possessed an embedded
resentment of the Sith. Otherwise, they lashed out only when either
attacked themselves or their way was impeded. "

"Suggestive
indeed. You say the Mandalorian had the measure of them, as though he
had seen their kind before?"

"He
held back until it was clear the hexes were going to escape. "

"I
find that very interesting, too. "

"The
Hutts clearly had no idea what they had found, Master. They might
have sold it for the material value alone, had it not been activated.
"

"Do
you think your presence triggered some kind of awakening?"

"No,
Master. It was a matter of expediency. The seed-factory remained
relatively quiescent until circumstances ruled that tactic
unworkable. Then it moved to another tactic. If the auction had been
held a week later, I believe the hexes would have escaped unchecked
into the Hutta biosphere, and from there made their journey home. "

"To
report, I presume. "

"Yes,
Master. "

"Can
you recover their route from the remains you brought here?"