Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance (50 page)

To
the Sith, violence was an art form. To Master Satele, it seemed like
life itself.

That
didn't marry at all well with what Ax knew about the Jedi. Weren't
they emotionless, self-righteous hypocrites who fought only when it
suited their interests? Didn't they disdain passion and preach
powerlessness to all who would listen and obey?

For
the first time, Ax saw that there could be strength in serenity, and
steel beneath stillness.

Something
exploded in the next ravine across. Before the debris ceased falling.
Master Satele had them in the middle of a firefight between a squad
of entrenched troopers and no fewer than thirty hexes. The explosion
didn't seem to have had much effect on the hexes' operation as a
whole. If anything, they fought more determinedly than ever. The
assault teams had to find another way to attack the installation if
they were to have any effect on the CI at all.

The
platoon's lieutenant, an Imperial, acknowledged their presence with a
grateful wave.

"The
major's over there, " she said, pointing, when the skirmish was
over. "We're picking up vibrations consistent with geothermal
drilling. "

"Of
course, " Master Satele said. "That's what they're up to.
If the CI can tap into the planet's deeper layers, it'll have all the
power it needs. "

"To
do what?" asked Ax.

"That
we don't know, " said the lieutenant. "We've found a shaft
two avenues away, but it's heavily defended. We can't get close
enough to lay charges. "

"We'll
take care of that, " said Ax.

"No
need, " said Master Satele. "Tell your troops to fall back.
I want the area evacuated as quickly as possible. "

"What?"
Ax couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You're giving up?"

"Not
at all. Just letting something else do our work for us. "

She
pointed at the sky, at the stricken transport bearing rapidly down on
them.

"Yes,
sir. " The lieutenant began calling orders through her comlink,
and backed them up with another round of flares, just in case the
message wasn't received. Immediately the troopers began pulling back,
firing at the hexes coming in their wake.

"What
happens if it doesn't land in exactly the right spot?" Ax asked
Master Satele as they leapt across the maze.

"I
don't think it needs to, " the Jedi replied. "If the CI is
drilling for geothermal energy, those shafts will be tapping right
into the magma layers. Unplug the shafts, and what will we get?"

"A
volcano, " she said. "Lot of volcanoes. "

"Exactly.
We could take out the hexes' brain with one hit. Best we not be
standing too close when it happens, eh?"

Again,
Ax was struck by Maser Shan's calm. How could she be so sanguine when
the island they were standing on might be about to erupt into flows
of molten lava? Surely she felt some apprehension about what might
happen?

Ax
flipped down the visor of her helmet so she could track exactly where
the transport was going to hit. It wasn't as close to her as it
seemed: the island was two kilometers across, and the impact point
was on the northernmost edge. Still, she ran southward with Master
Satele as fast as she could, keen to put space between herself and
the inevitable explosion.

While
leaping from one artificial canyon wall to the next, another
similarity between the maze and computer chips came to her. The walls
were barely a meter or two across; they therefore couldn't possibly
contain rooms or corridors, or indeed anything of any substance. She
hadn't wondered what function they performed in and of themselves.
Now, though, jumping through waves of hot, rippling air, it occurred
to her that the walls looked like the thin ridges engineers added to
some computer components to increase the surface area exposed to air.
The greater the area, the greater the cooling effect. Heat sinks,
they were called.

What
if the island wasn't the hexes' coordinating brain itself, but a
massive heat sink for the brain?

That
would mean the assault teams were attacking the wrong thing entirely.

She
had just enough time to wonder if the falling transport would be any
different when it came down in the distance, lighting up the sky with
a bright blue flash. The sound came a second later-both the sonic
boom of its passage through the atmosphere and the titanic concussion
of its impact and detonation. The ground bucked beneath her feet, and
she misjudged her landing on the wall of the next ravine. Wobbling
for balance, she felt herself gripped by the left arm and pulled
down.

Master
Satele steadied her on the floor of the ravine as a rush of
superheated gases roared overhead. The ground bucked and buckled
beneath them. Ax looked down and saw cracks spreading around her
feet. That wasn't a good sign.

A
growing thunder drowned out the sudden return of comms-not that she
could have made anything out from the mass of warnings and
contradictory orders. A rush of air swept by them. Master Satele
cocked her head and pulled Ax along the ravine, away from the source
of the wind.

In
its wake came a flood of red-hot lava.

"Jump!"
Ax cried, wrenching the Grand Master up out of the ravine.

The
wall crumbled beneath their combined weight, and they jumped again.
The maze was collapsing around them, followed by a tide of red that
spread from the crash site. The edge of the flood moved with
astonishing speed, consuming troopers and hexes in broad, bubbling
swaths. The volcanoes Ax had imagined were nothing compared with this
silent, swift seep. The section of the maze she had explored was
already subsumed.

All
too suddenly the tsunami-like flood was upon them. Two thick crimson
tongues closed in front of Ax and Master Satele, cutting off their
best route to safe ground.

Master
Satele turned, pulling Ax after her. It was clear that she could have
run faster on her own, but she didn't abandon Ax to her fate. Ax
didn't question why. She just accepted the gesture, even as it became
clear that it would doom both of them.

The
path of stable ground they occupied was shrinking fast.

"One
more jump might do it, " said Master Satele. "Are you
ready?"

Ax
wasn't, but there was no way she'd admit it. The boiling red gap
between them and safety was too large already, and it was growing by
the second.

"Ready,
" she said.

They
ran and leapt together. For a moment, they were high above the
drowning maze, held aloft by the Force and momentum, and nothing
could touch them. Ax wished she could stay there forever, in that
peaceful place where contradictory forces canceled out and all was
still.

But
gravity conquered all. The ground came closer too quickly, and she
screamed as bright red lava rose up to engulf them.

CHAPTER
37

An
hour into the battle, Ula realized that betraying the Republic was
going to be much harder than he had imagined, even from his
privileged position high above the battlefield. The problem lay in
the sheer amount of data pouring from the battlefield into the Auriga
Fire. It was impossible to keep track of it all, let alone to decide
which isolated part could be best manipulated in order to benefit his
masters. He could barely keep up with the torrent as it was.

Missiles
full of hexes had restored the orbital defenses, and provided new
weapons with which to pound the combined fleets, making it difficult
to lend ground support to the teams below. The CI target was burning,
and the pole was hidden under smoke. Comms were erratic at best. Ula
had no way of knowing what was going on down there, and the situation
on the moon was little different. The hexes had been strafed
repeatedly, but without sending in troopers to tackle them
face-to-face, it was impossible to tell if the infection had been
contained. Every time the alliance made progress, Lema Xandret's
tenacious creations bounced back in a new and surprising way.

"I
have locks on three subspace targets, " reported Stryver.
"They're relays, scattered across the globe. "

That
was good news. "Send the coordinates to Kalisch and Pipalidi.
Tell them to take all three out. "

"We
should keep one intact" said Jet. "How are we going to
infiltrate their comms if they don't have any comms left?"

"How
close are we to cracking their cipher?"

"I
don't know. Clunker has worked out the transmission protocols,
allowing us to pretend we're the CI, but we're no closer to figuring
out the actual language it's using. "

"Then
I can't afford to take the chance. We know they'll build new relays
anyway. This way we gain a momentary advantage. We need every one of
those we can get. "

Jet
killed the ship's comm for a moment. "Here's something else to
worry about. What if Stryver's staying out of the fight purely to get
those ciphers? With them, he could turn the hexes on us. "

Ula
hadn't thought that far ahead. "You're right, and we can't have
that. When Clunker cracks the code, let's keep it to ourselves. "

"That
would make us unstoppable. You don't strike me as the
ruling-the-galaxy sort, but I'm not sure about your masters. "

Ula
had absolutely no desire to rule anything. There would be no hiding
in the shadows at all while seated on a throne. And he wasn't going
to say anything about his masters, true or false. "What about
you?"

The
question was a loaded one, and Ula had his hand on the holdout
blaster while he asked it.

Jet
laughed. "What, give up my carefree life? I don't think so,
mate. Too much red tape by half. "

A
new red light joined the many flashing on the instrument panel. An
alarm joined it.

"Multiple
launches, " Jet said, all laughter forgotten, "from the
planet and the moon, too, this time. " He stopped and peered
closer at the viewscreens. "Something's headed our way. The CI
must've noticed us sitting here, keeping entirely too low a profile.
Time to move. "

Ula
notified the leaders of the combined fleet that he was now a target
and would be changing orbit. The Commenor acknowledged immediately
but didn't offer any kind of tactical support. The Paramount said
nothing at all, just sent a squadron of interceptors.

"Negative,
negative, " said Jet to the squadron leader. "Return to the
fight. We'll be okay, and we'll holler if that changes. "

"The
colonel's orders were very specific, " came back the reply.
"We're not to let you out of our sights. "

The
phrase had threatening connotations that Ula was certain were
intentional.

"Kalisch,
get those ships off our tail, " said Jet to the Paramount. "I've
got more important things to worry about than your trigger-happy
hotshots. "

"Put
me through to the director, " came the reply.

No
name, thought Ula. Just a title. "Colonel, " he said, "this
is Director Vii. Your resources are needed elsewhere. We have to
punch through that defensive shell to gain access to the polar
regions..."

"Darth
Chratis explained your situation, " Kalisch said over him. "I
really must insist. "

Ula
closed his eyes. This was an open line. If he bowed to the colonel's
wishes, it would be tantamount to acknowledging that he favored-or
could at least be influenced by-the Imperials. The time was not yet
right to do that.

"Negative,
Colonel. I have advised you to send your fighters elsewhere. Recall
them or I will be forced to interpret your intentions as hostile and
request assistance from Captain Pipalidi. "

Again,
the Paramount said nothing, but the ships did at least change course.

Ula
mopped his brow. Not only was he failing to betray the Republic, but
he was now being forced to defy an officer in the Imperial navy.

"Why
are we doing this, again?"

"Beats
me, " said Jet. "Officially I'm still hoping to turn a
profit, but that's looking less and less likely every minute. "

"Is
that really all you're interested in?" Ula asked, suddenly
irritated by the smuggler's pretense.