Inferno (35 page)

“I’m a master of the Force, EmDee.” Caedus jerked his arm free of the droid’s grasp, then thrust the datapad back into Orlopp’s hands. “I’m
never
weak.”

Using the Force to hold himself upright, Caedus limped over to the wall comm and opened a channel to the bridge. When the familiar voice of his communications officer answered a moment later, he asked her to connect him to Atoko. While he waited, he took his uniform from Orlopp and slowly—painfully—dressed.

Finally, the admiral’s surprised voice sounded over the comm speaker. “Colonel Solo? How are you feeling?”

“Well enough to retain command.” Caedus allowed enough anger into his voice to let Atoko know he did not appreciate having his authority usurped. “And I don’t recall giving orders to scuttle the fleet.”

“And neither have I, yet.” Atoko didn’t seem fazed by Caedus’s displeasure—perhaps because he suspected that soon neither of them was going to be in command of anything. “But the Wookiees are starting to launch boarding craft. Rather than allow our assets to fall into enemy hands—”

“Why aren’t you attempting to fight free, Admiral?” Caedus demanded. “If the Fifth is going to be vaped, at least it can take a few Bothans along.”

The speaker fell silent, and—were it not for the steady crackle of turbolaser interference—Caedus would have assumed the channel had been closed. As he waited for Atoko to acknowledge the order—or at least to respond—he slowly began to realize that the admiral wasn’t the only one who had been shocked by the command. Qilqu and his assistant were both oozing dismay and disbelief into the Force, and even the normally unflappable Orlopp was shaking his head in amazement.

“Admiral Atoko, I seem to be sensing a problem with my order,” Caedus said. “Is something unclear?”

“No, sir,” Atoko said. “It’s very clear. All
too
clear.”

“Then there must be a flaw in it,” Caedus said. “What is it?”

“The, well, the
crews,
” Atoko replied. “There are over seventy thousand beings in the Fifth. We can’t just order them to their deaths.”

“Ah.” Caedus had planned to escape in a StealthX if Niathal betrayed him, so it had not occurred to him that the crew members of the Fifth might be reluctant to give their lives for the Alliance. “You think the vessel commanders will refuse?”

“With no chance of survival or escape, it’s…a possibility,” Atoko said carefully. “Destroying a few enemy ships isn’t going to seem like a worthwhile sacrifice when the alternative is an honorable surrender.”

“I suppose not,” Caedus admitted. “So when the time comes, we should remind them that those are
Wookiee
boarding parties…and the Fifth has been shielding the
Anakin Solo
while we burned Kashyyyk.”

Again, the speaker fell silent—but only for a moment. “I think that will persuade them, Colonel.”

“I thought it might,” Caedus said. “Cancel the scuttle preparations and ready the fleet for a penetration attack. I’ll give you the coordinates once I’ve studied—”

“Excuse me, Colonel.” Orlopp shoved the datapad at Caedus again. “But I believe you will find the coordinates fairly obvious.”

Caedus took the datapad. His vision was still a little blurry, and all he could see was a tight cluster of unreadable designator codes popping onto the top edge of the screen. For a moment, he didn’t understand what Orlopp was suggesting…then the Corellian fleet began to move aside, creating room for the new arrivals to join in the encirclement of the Fifth.

“Very good, Orlopp,” he said. “Admiral Atoko, we’ll make for the seam between the Corellians and the newcomers. If we time this right, we should be able to battle through and save at least a third of our strength.”

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence, then Atoko’s voice asked, “Battle through, Colonel?”

“Of course,” Caedus said. “You don’t expect them to let us pass without a fight, do you?”

“Well…yes, that’s exactly what I expect,” Atoko said.

Caedus scowled at the datapad. On the little display, the cluster of new arrivals was growing denser by the second, rendering the designator codes more unreadable than ever. Now that he studied it more carefully, the Corellian fleet was moving too abruptly—and too far—to simply be making room. They were worried about crossfire.

Caedus tapped a key, enlarging the image so much that the new arrivals vanished from the display, and he found himself looking at a detailed schematic of the Fifth’s battle deployment.

Orlopp quietly took the datapad from his hands. “It’s our side,” he said quietly. “Those are Novas and Battle Dragons arriving.”

“The Hapans?” Caedus gasped.

“Colonel Solo still seems rather confused,” the MD droid said to Qilqu. “It’s imperative that we declare him unfit for duty.”

Caedus was so relieved he did not even flip the droid’s circuit breaker. He simply spoke into the wall comm again.

“My apologies, Admiral. You’re quite right. Let’s make for the Hapans. I’ll be in contact again as soon as I return to the bridge and have access to proper battle intelligence.”

Caedus picked up his utility belt, then motioned for Orlopp to follow and left the infirmary feeling more cheerful inside than he had in ages. His parents had turned the Wookiees against him, his classmate Lowbacca had hurled a shadow bomb at him, his uncle had nearly killed him, and his cousin had planted a vibrodagger so near his heart that the handle had twitched in time to his pulse.

But Tenel Ka had come to his rescue. She had proven once again that he could always count on her; that no matter what he asked of her, she was willing to do more. Because she
believed.
She understood what he was trying to do for the galaxy…for her and Allana…and she knew it could not be done without risk and sacrifice. Perhaps one day, after he had won this war and brought a just peace to the galaxy, perhaps then they would no longer need to hide their relationship—perhaps they would even be able to perform their duties from the same world and live together like a normal family.

Caedus opened himself to the Force long enough to reach out to her in thanks—and was astonished to find her not far away on Hapes, but nearby with her fleet. She had come to his aid personally. He was not certain that he approved of her taking part in battles. Who would protect Allana if something happened to her? But he
was
touched, and he flooded his gratitude into the Force.

Tenel Ka’s presence turned sad and lonely underneath. At the same time, she seemed to be urging patience, reaching out in invitation, and he realized she wanted to talk. Afraid that something had happened to their daughter, he reached out and found Allana where she should be—far, far away, happy and presumably safe.

Caedus replied to Tenel Ka by filling his presence with curiosity, then snapped his comlink off his utility belt and opened a channel to his communications officer, Lieutenant Krova.

“Queen Mother Tenel Ka needs to talk to me,” he said. “Prepare a secure channel to the
Dragon Queen
and contact me when you have her.”

“Right away, Colonel,” Krova said. “But it will take a short time to match our scrambling protocols. The Hapans have not been very forthcoming—”

“I’m aware of the difficulties,” Caedus said. “I won’t hold you responsible for the delay.”

“Thank you, Colonel. I’ll ping you when we have Her Majesty on the channel.”

By then, they were leaving the infirmary. The corridor outside was packed with two very different kinds of casualties: those who were going to die no matter how quickly they reached a bacta tank, and those who would most likely survive until they were transported to one of the
Anakin Solo
’s other infirmaries. There were few beings with only minor injuries.

As Caedus squeezed through the crowded corridor, with a battered face and bandaged head, he could feel the admiration of the
Anakin Solo
’s crew for his courage and dedication. But he also sensed their fear of his brutality, and their resentment of the callous way he was spending their lives. They did not love him as did the Coruscanti public, but they
were
in awe of him, and as long as Caedus remained confident in himself and his mission, he felt certain they would follow him into the Core itself.

It took a full minute before they reached a corridor that wasn’t jammed with casualties and medical droids, and another thirty seconds to reach a shooter station. They descended a short ramp, stepped into a crew car, and announced their destination, then allowed the onboard brain to scan their retinas to establish their identity and security clearances. A moment later, the car lurched into motion, dropping down a blue durasteel tunnel into the network of shooter tubes—horizontal repulsors—that whirred and rattled personnel and equipment through the
Anakin Solo
’s immense length.

Caedus settled back in his seat, sinking into his pain, and was surprised at how much he just wanted to sleep. The fight with Luke had drained him, of course, but this exhaustion was emotional and spiritual. He was growing ever more isolated as his friends and family deserted him and his followers began to see him as something more than human. There was no one around him with whom he could share his feelings as he had once done with Jaina, or seek advice from as he had once done with Luke, or turn to for unconditional support as he had once done with his parents.

Now there was only Tenel Ka, who was all those things to him during their brief trysts, and the hope that one day they could be together always. Caedus closed his eyes and let his mind drift into the future, not seeing it through the Force but imagining it with his heart.

That was when his comlink pinged for attention. When he checked the display and saw that Krova already had a channel open to Tenel Ka, his weariness vanished, and even the pain of his injuries began to diminish.

He activated the mike, then said, “Queen Mother, what a pleasant surprise. I knew the Alliance could count on you.”

“The Alliance, yes, Jacen,” she said, using his name instead of his title to signal that their conversation would be personal. Caedus didn’t like the old name—it reminded him of the timidity and indecision that had been his weakness as a younger man—but she wouldn’t understand being asked to call him by his Sith name…at least not yet. “But I am afraid that is no longer true for you.”

“What?” Caedus’s heart did not sink, nor did his anger well up inside him, because he simply did not believe what he was hearing. “Our signal must have gotten scrambled. It sounded like you said I can’t count on you.”

“I’m afraid you heard correctly.” Tenel Ka’s voice sounded as though it were cracking, though it was difficult to be certain over the tinny tones of a comlink—especially with the air hissing past as the little crew car whirred through the shooter tube. “In fact, I am asking for your surrender.”

“My surrender?” Caedus began to worry that the MD droid had been right, that he truly
was
unfit to return to duty. “Can you hold on a second? I’ve got to check something out.”

Without awaiting her reply, Caedus turned to Orlopp. “We
are
in a crew car on the way to the bridge, correct? I
am
speaking to Queen Mother Tenel Ka over the comlink, am I not?”

“We are,” Orlopp said, nodding. “I’m sorry, Colonel, but you’re
not
hallucinating.”

“That’s what I was afraid of.” Even now, Caedus’s heart did not sink. This had to be a misunderstanding; once he explained his strategy to Tenel Ka, she would retract her request and resume full support. He reopened the channel. “Look, Tenel Ka, I can’t explain over a comm channel, but I had good reasons for slipping away from the Battle of Kuat.”

“I’m sure you did,” Tenel Ka replied. “You always have good reasons for breaking your promises.”

Caedus’s anger began to rise. “I was trying to
save
the Home Fleet—and much, much more. You’ll understand when I can explain.”

“Perhaps so,” Tenel Ka said. “You might even be able to explain why you took control of the academy on Ossus after you promised to make peace with Master Skywalker. But how can you explain sending Ben to assassinate Chief Omas, Jacen? A fourteen-year-old boy?”

“I didn’t,” Caedus said. “He misinterpreted a report and assumed—”

“I am a Hapan queen,” Tenel Ka interrupted. “You won’t deceive me with equivocation, Jacen. It is an insult that you even try, and there can be no excuse for what you are doing to Kashyyyk. Setting the wroshyrs ablaze? What are you thinking?”

“I am
thinking
the Wookiees betrayed us,” Caedus replied. “I am thinking that they brought this on themselves. Everything else, I can explain only in person.”

“Good. I shall be looking forward to that,” Tenel Ka said. “You will instruct Admiral Atoko to follow my father’s orders, and I’ll send a skiff for you. Kindly present yourself unarmed.”

“You’ll send a
skiff
?” Caedus fumed. “Tenel Ka, you can’t believe I’m going to surrender—to you or anyone else.”

“I am
hoping
you will.” Tenel Ka’s voice was sad but firm. “Because it is going to break my heart to open fire on you.”

Caedus’s rage exploded inside him, and his thoughts began to whirl in disbelief. He reached out to Tenel Ka in the Force, but found her aura drawn in tight, her presence unavailable to his touch.

“Even
you
?” he gasped. “I thought you were made of stronger stuff, Tenel Ka. I thought you understood what I’m trying to accomplish.”

“She’s plenty strong, kid,” said the familiar voice of Han Solo. “It’s killing her to do this—and I don’t get it. Personally, I’d just as soon blast you back to atoms and pretend you died in that fight with Onimi.”

“Dad.” The word felt strange in Caedus’s mouth, as though he were using it to address someone else’s father. “I should have known you were behind this. I suppose Mom is there, too?”

“Right beside him,” Leia confirmed. Her tone was resolute—but also sad. “Listen to Tenel Ka. I don’t want to see another son die.”

“Don’t worry about
that,
” Caedus said. “I wouldn’t
think
of dying before I make you pay for this—both of you.”