Apocalypse (65 page)

“
We
learned a lot, too, Ben.” Luke was thinking less about Sith than about the Ones and the Balance, but he didn’t want to worry his son by talking Force philosophy so soon after a brush with death. “Besides, I have a feeling you’ll have more than one chance to bring in Vestara Khai.”

Ben’s face remained resolute. “I hope so,” he said. “Because I was a karking fool for believing her. And I
hate
that!”

Luke cocked a brow. “Son, you must have missed the part where I said ‘by the end, you weren’t the only one who trusted her.’ ”

Ben looked confused for a moment, then winced as he realized that he had just inadvertently called the Grand Master of the Jedi Order a karking fool. “Uh, I didn’t mean you, Dad.”

Luke smiled, then realized that, in his excitement to see Ben, he hadn’t noticed how weak he was starting to feel. He took a deep breath and forced himself to stand up straight.

“I think I can forgive you
this
time, Jedi Skywalker,” Luke said. “Now, I need you to do a few things for me.”

Ben squared his shoulders. “Of course.”

“First, keep the EmDee droids out of here until I’m ready for them,” Luke said. “There are some people I need to see—and I don’t have the energy to argue with droids right now.”

“Okay, but don’t you think you should—”

“I know my limits, Jedi Skywalker,” Luke said. “Second, ask Master Sebatyne to dispatch a team to bring Raynar Thul home from Thuruht. Obviously, he’ll be reluctant to return. But with Abeloth
destroyed and the inhabitants of Mortis dead, the Jedi are not going to antagonize the Chiss by helping the Killiks build up their hives.”

Ben nodded. “I’ll tell Master Sebatyne as soon as I leave the cabin,” he said. “What else?”

“I felt Wynn Dorvan’s presence among the Masters,” Luke said. “Is he still serving as the Chief of State?”

“As acting Chief, yes. He and the Jedi Council have been meeting to …” Ben hesitated and glanced out the viewport toward the battered planet below. “Well, the Senate has concerns about the situation on Coruscant—and the Jedi’s role in what happened.”

“Then I’m glad they’re meeting,” Luke said. “Ask Chief Dorvan to join the Masters when they come in. There’s something we
all
need to discuss.”

“Right away, Grand Master.” Ben bowed his head to acknowledge the order, then quickly looked back up. “But don’t overdo it, Dad. You look like something a wampa dragged in.”

Ben retreated through the hatch without awaiting a reply.

Luke smiled anyway, grateful for his son’s concern, then turned to look out on the devastation below. It was hard to know whether Thuruht’s history of Abeloth’s origin was entirely accurate, but Luke
did
trust the Jedi record of the encounter on Mortis—and he found it troubling. His father’s refusal to become the new Keeper of the Balance had set off a terrible chain of events. All three of the Ones had died, and now the Force was out of balance.

Looking back over the last half century, it certainly seemed to Luke that there had been a shift toward chaos. Powerful forces of darkness were rising across the entire galaxy—Jacen Solo had become Darth Caedus, the Sith were returning in hordes, and Daala had emerged from the Maw. Boba Fett was now the leader of an entire world of mercenaries, and the Imperial Moffs had developed and unleashed a horrific nanoweapon.

The galaxy was tipping toward darkness before their eyes, and as far as Luke could see, the Jedi and their allies were the only ones capable of restoring the Balance. If they did not dedicate themselves
completely
to the light, all would be lost.

A gentle rasp sounded as the hatch dilated again, and Luke turned to see his niece leading a long procession of Masters into the cabin.
Completely recovered from her own injuries, Jaina looked both robust and beautiful, and there was an inner calm that Luke had not sensed in her before now.

“It’s good to see you on your feet, Grand Master Skywalker,” Jaina said, crossing to Luke and wrapping him in her arms. “How are you feeling?”

“Honestly, a bit weak, but it is
very
good to be back among the living.”

Jaina glanced toward a chair sitting close to his bedside and said, “Maybe we should sit?”

Luke shook his head, “I’ll be fine, and there are some things I would like the Council to consider before I grow tired.”

Jaina’s eyes flashed with concern, but she nodded. “Just don’t overdo it, okay?”

Luke promised to be careful, then quickly greeted the rest of his visitors: Corran Horn, Kyle Katarn, Kyp Durron, the Yuzzem Master Barratk’l, Cilghal, Octa Ramis—the entire Jedi Council except Kam and Tionne Solusar, who were still out of touch on Shedu Maad, and Saba Sebatyne, who was lingering just outside the cabin issuing the orders to recover Raynar Thul.

Wynn Dorvan came last, looking calm, alert, and remarkably recovered from his torment at the hands of the Sith. In fact, the only noticeable aftereffects of the torture sessions were his baggy eyes, which suggested that he was having trouble sleeping, and the near-obsessive stroking of his pet chitlik’s furry head, which was poking out of his tunic pocket.

“Chief Dorvan, thanks for joining us,” Luke said, offering his hand. “Tell me about the situation on Coruscant.”

Dorvan stopped petting his chitlik long enough to shake hands. “It’s bad, but it’s under control,” he said. “The volcanic activity has stopped everywhere on the planet—though it will probably be years before we have even a basic survey of the damage to the undercity. The seismic activity team has identified over a hundred thousand sites that need investigation down there, and it’s not always easy to tell whether we’re looking for a magma well, a terrorist attack, or a building collapse.”

“Tell him about the death clouds,” Kyp Durron suggested.

Dorvan’s face grew grim. “That’s right,” he said. “Clouds of ash, poisonous gas, and toxic smoke are still spreading through the undercity. We think underdweller casualties are huge. Luke, they could be in the billions already.”

Luke felt a sudden wave of nausea. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I wish we could have stopped Abeloth before she reached Coruscant.”

“I’m just glad you stopped her when you did,” Dorvan replied. “And frankly, I’m surprised you
could
. I only saw some of what she was capable of, and …”

Dorvan let his sentence trail off.

“We’re
all
glad to be rid of her.” Luke felt a shudder of uneasiness roll through the Force. He looked back to Kyp and found him glancing over at Kyle with a worried expression. Heart climbing into his throat, he asked, “We’re
not
rid of her?”

“As far as we know, yes,” Kyle said, motioning for Luke not to get excited. “But we had an unusual report.”

“Who from?” Luke asked.

“Jedi Knights Arelis and Saar,” Barratk’l replied. “They have been working in the Outer Rim, helping the slaves build free societies, yes?”

Luke nodded. “Go on.”

“Three days ago, they were attacked by a tentacle,” Barratk’l explained. “It materialized out of the Force and attempted to choke Jedi Saar. When Jedi Arelis ignited his lightsaber, it released Saar and turned to attack Arelis—then just dissolved.”

“Sothais said it looked like it wanted to attack,” Octa Ramis added. “But it couldn’t hold itself together. It vanished back into the Force.”

Luke’s semi-healed chest wound began to ache. “Any reports since then?”

“None,” Kyle confirmed. “We think it’s whatever remains of Abeloth, trying to coalesce around symbols of her hatred.”

“I think you’re right,” Luke said. He could still feel her cold tentacle writhing in the emptiness of his chest wound, a phantom memory reminding him that an entity of the Force could never be truly killed—that in a hundred years, or a hundred thousand years, she would grow strong enough to return. “We’re going to need to find a way to keep tabs on her. She may not return in our lifetime, but the Jedi Order will need to be ready.”

“To do what?” Kyp asked.

“To kill her,” Luke replied. He was thinking of the story of his father’s trip to Mortis, of the special Force-imbued dagger that had been used to kill both the Daughter and the Father. “We need to find the Mortis monolith.”

“Master Skywalker, I hope you’ll forgive me for asking,” Dorvan said. “But when you described the story Yoda told you, didn’t you say the monolith was free-floating?”

“That’s right.”

“Won’t that make it rather difficult to find?” Dorvan asked. “Even if you know the approximate coordinates—”

“And we don’t,” Luke interrupted.

Dorvan’s face fell as he began to comprehend the truth of what Luke was telling him—that when it came to Abeloth, there were no guarantees. She might be gone for now, but someday she would return—and if the Jedi were not ready, the Destructor would finish what she had begun.

As Luke watched the terror of this realization wash over Dorvan’s face, he wanted to reach out in the Force and comfort the tormented man, to tell him that the Jedi would be there to protect him and Coruscant and the entire galaxy.

But that would have been a lie. The truth was that Luke no longer knew what the future held, whether he and the Jedi were equal to the challenges ahead of them. All that he could do—all that any mortal could do—was place his faith in himself and his fellow Jedi and do his best. The rest was up to the Force.

“I wish I could tell you that Abeloth won’t be back, Chief,” Luke said at last. “But the truth is, I just don’t know. If the Jedi could have stopped her from coming to Coruscant the first time, we would have. I’m sorry we failed.”

“It’s not your fault—or the Jedi Order’s,” Dorvan said, waving the apology off. “I know that, even if the Senate doesn’t.”

Jaina arrived with a chair he had not asked for—a not-so-subtle hint that Luke was looking tired. Luke motioned for her to put it down in front of the viewport, but chose to remain standing for a few more moments. “So there have been rumblings about our failure to protect Coruscant?”

“More than rumblings, yes?” Barratk’l growled. “They have voted us off the planet!”

Luke turned to Kyle Katarn, no doubt the most politically astute of the Masters present, for clarification. “The Senate has asked the Jedi Order to leave Coruscant?”

Kyle nodded and glanced at Dorvan. “That’s what Chief Dorvan was just telling us when you awoke,” Kyle replied. “They need someone to blame for the apocalypse, and the Inner Rim Caucus was very successful in pinning it on us.”

“With enough votes to override a veto, I might add,” Dorvan said. A certain coolness came to his Force presence, not enough to indicate a lie—but enough to suggest that he was withholding part of the truth. “I’m afraid all those BAMR slurs
did
have an effect on the Order’s reputation.”

“Javis Tyrr has popped up again,” Corran explained. “He’s on a pirate HoloNet feed, claiming that all the destruction is the result of an out-of-control spice war between the Jedi and their rivals.”

“And I’m sorry to say that the story has gotten a lot of traction, especially among the ambitious and unscrupulous,” Dorvan said. “There are a lot of hungry politicians out there clamoring for the Jedi to leave Coruscant.”

“We should consider the possibility that they’re right.” Luke sat in the chair Jaina had brought over, then added, “Not about the spice war, of course, but about leaving.”

Luke was hardly surprised when the only Force aura that failed to ripple with astonishment belonged to Wynn Dorvan. The Chief studied Luke for a few moments, then finally raised his brow in an expression that seemed more curiosity than anything else.

“You would actually be willing to consider it?”

“More than willing.” As Luke spoke, Saba entered the cabin and came to stand with the other Masters, dipping her head to indicate she had sent someone after Raynar. Luke nodded, then ran his gaze around the circle of Masters. “In fact, I think it’s probably best for everyone to have the Jedi withdraw from Coruscant.”

“Why?”
Corran blurted. “The Sith came here because they wanted Coruscant—not because they were looking for a fight with us.”

“That’s true.” Cilghal’s tone was low and thoughtful. “But we all
know that the fight between the Jedi and the Sith is going to continue—perhaps for centuries.”

“And as long as the Jedi remain here, Coruscant will be a battlefield,” Luke agreed. “If we leave, the Sith can’t hurt
us
by hurting Coruscant.”

“That doesn’t mean they’ll leave Coruscant alone,” Kyp objected. “It’s still the capital of the Galactic Alliance. They’ll keep coming after it.”

“But not with everything they have,” Kyle said, also warming to Luke’s point. “As long as the Jedi are somewhere else, the Sith need to worry about a flank attack. It will change their tactics—and it will divert their attention
away
from Coruscant.”

“The Galactic Alliance isn’t exactly defenseless without us,” Jaina said, placing a hand on the back of Luke’s chair. “They have the largest military force in the galaxy. Chief Dorvan could propose a resolution that
any
attempt to infiltrate the Galactic Alliance would be taken as an act of open war. The Sith would be very reluctant to come after Coruscant again.”

“I think I can arrange that.” Dorvan’s voice was not quite smug, but it
was
relieved, and Luke knew that the Chief was getting exactly what he wanted: the best thing for the Galactic Alliance. He caught Luke’s eye, then raised a questioning brow. “Especially if I can sell it as the price of the Jedi leaving Coruscant?”

Luke nodded. “Of course,” he said. “As long as you don’t mind placing a couple of Jedi in your office to keep watch for Sith infiltrators.”

“They wouldn’t need to be obvious, would they?”

“It would probably work better if they
weren’t
,” Kyle said.

Dorvan actually smiled. “Then I think we have an agreement.”

“Not quite yet.” Luke raised a hand to hold Dorvan at bay, then glanced around the circle of Masters. “Are we agreed?”

The Masters gave their consent one after the other, some with more certainty than others, but all in honest agreement. When Luke came to the newest Master, Jaina turned and looked out over the planet for a long time, then finally nodded.