The Force Unleashed (11 page)

spun away into the sarlacc's mouth. She didn't look angry, just weary and in pain.

Her red skin was suddenly very pale.

He feinted toward her, but she didn't react in any way, except to look at him.

"You are Vader's slave," she breathed, "but your power is wasted with him. You could

be so much more."

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"You'll never convince me to betray my Master." He was shocked that she would try

such a weak gambit again. Were these the depths to which the Jedi had sunk?

"Poor boy." She winced. "The Sith always betray one another-but I'm sure you'll

learn that-soon enough..."

There was pity in her eyes as they rolled up into her head. She went limp and fell

back into the mouth of the sarlacc. The apprentice reached out halfheartedly to

catch her body, but was too slow. A second later, he wished that he had tried

harder.

A huge explosion of Force energy threw him bodily off his feet. The sarlacc went

berserk. Its tentacles lashed out at him and its surface quaked violently, trying to

toss him into its waiting maw. He dodged the tentacles' frenzied lunges as best he

could and dived for safety onto the town street.

Out of the sarlacc's reach, he lay facedown for a moment on the heaving ground. He

was dusty, bleeding, and sore all over, but he was alive. Slowly, gingerly, testing

every limb for grazes and cuts that might become infected in Felucia's febrile air,

he rolled over onto his back.

And found himself in the center of a ring of Felucians. There must have been fifty

of them-warriors, shamans, and rancor riders standing alongside parents, children,

and mushroom farmers. Their faces were hidden by their headdresses; he couldn't read

their intent. But the Force swirled around them in thick, turbulent currents. Shaak

Ti's death affected them deeply, so profoundly entangled had she become in the

energy flows of the world.

Well, good, he thought. She was responsible for the planet's imbalance. With her

gone, maybe the dark side could reassert itself and the natural rhythms of life

resume.

One of the shamans grunted something in the Felucians' guttural tongue, and the rest

answered. The apprentice had no idea what they were saying. Were they threatening

him or thanking him? He kept his thumb poised on the activation stud of his

lightsaber, just in case.

Then, as one, they turned and walked away. Some went back into the jungle. Others

went home. Within seconds, the street was as empty as it had been before, and he was

alone.

Standing, he loped down the street, favoring his right leg only slightly. It didn't

matter what the Felucians thought. His mission was complete. It was time to go home.

STARKILLER SEEMED CAUTIOUSLY ECSTATIC ON his return to the Rogue Shadow, even though

he looked as though he had been mauled by a rancor. His combat uniform was rent in a

dozen new places, and blood leaked from as many small wounds. But his eyes were

alive with a light she had never seen before. After Rahm Kota, he had been

introspective and closed. Kazdan Paratus had left him moody. Now, he was... not

exactly triumphant, but on the brink of triumph. He was about to do something

important-and she could guess what it was.

While he had been gone and PROXY had been outside on the pretext of checking her

work on the faulty shield, she had found a way to slice into the ship's small

meditation chamber. When they were safely under way and he retreated there with his

droid, she put her comm headset over her ears and carefully spied on him.

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Starkiller knelt on the floor with his head bowed and his hands folded in front of

him. PROXY stood over him, his holographic generators flickering in the gloom. They

flared to life as a HoloNet transmission reached the ship. Eerily, the droid grew

taller and more substantial until he had assumed the caped form of Darth Vader.

"Report," came the hollow tones of the Emperor's most trusted servant.

"My mission is complete, Master."

The domed head nodded once. "Then you are ready to stand with me against the

Emperor. Return to the Executor at once. We will at last control the galaxy."

"Yes, my Master."

Vader's ominous form flickered and shrank, becoming PROXY once more. The droid

seemed uneasy and out of sorts again, but at the same time jerky with pride.

"Congratulations, master. It seems that you are about to achieve your primary

programming."

"Yes." Starkiller rose and put a hand on each of his droid's shoulders, steadying

him. "Finally."

PROXY'S photoreceptors glowed. "Well, don't worry, master. I'll still keep trying to

kill you."

Starkiller smiled fondly. "I know, PROXY. I know."

The two of them turned to come back to the cockpit, and Juno hastily killed the bug.

By the time they were standing behind her, she was leaning over the controls,

feigning an adjustment to the hyperdrive.

"Everything okay?" Starkiller asked her.

She felt his gaze boring into her from where he stood right behind her. Could he

tell what she was up to just by looking at her? Could he read her mind like a book?

"I'm just wondering," she said, "where we go from here. Shaak Ti was unique. Your

job might seem routine from here on out."

"Killing Jedi is never routine," he said. "But I doubt I'll be doing this kind of

thing much longer."

She could hear the smile in his voice. "And what about me? Will I return to standard

bombing runs when you're finished with me?"

"Don't worry. I'll be sure to give you the highest possible recommendation."

Well, thanks, she thought. "We form a strong team. It's unfortunate we can't keep on

as we are." The worry in her voice was real. It's a shame you're planning to defy

the Emperor-forcing me to decide where my loyalties lie.

He put a hand on her shoulder. She couldn't tell if he meant to reassure her or

simply silence her.

The latter she could manage easily enough, although her jaw ached from keeping her

concerns to herself.

When he returned to the meditation suite to clean himself up, leaving PROXY to help

her with the ship, it wasn't relief she felt, but emptiness.

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* * *

THAT FEELING REMAINED WHEN THE Rogue Shadow emerged from hyperspace in Scarl system,

where the Executor lurked in its state of partial completion. She had decided

nothing during the long journey. Should she remain loyal to her immediate superiors

or try to warn the Emperor of their treachery? The question made her guts roil, but

the answer eluded her. She needed more information, either way.

Starkiller and his droid disembarked, obviously heading to debrief their Dark Lord.

Juno's anxiety levels rose as soon as he was out of her sight. When he was with her,

at least she could keep an eye on him. Who knew what could go down while he was

gone-perhaps dragging her down with him?

Remembering the strange feed she had managed to slice into while looking for her

psychological profile, she shut the ship's external hatches and feigned a hull

integrity check. Patching the ship's systems into the hangar's gave her access to

everything in the flagship's data banks. Immediately she began searching.

It wasn't easy. There was no use trying to follow the same route she had used the

other night, since that appeared to have naturally cauterized itself. There had to

be numerous ways into Vader's secret chamber; the trick lay in finding one that was

open at the moment, a signal she could piggyback on as far as the security feed. And

then, hopefully, she would be able to hear more of the pair's plans.

She found the route via telemetry. Vader appeared to be closely monitoring the area

around the fat red sun, although for a moment she couldn't tell why.

Then a series of hyperspace signatures rippled through the vacuum, and she began to

understand. Three Star Destroyers and a dozen smaller vessels were arriving from

elsewhere, flashing into realspace with disconcerting swiftness.

A cold feeling spread across her chest, enveloping her heart.

With shaking fingers, she canceled the view and sliced as fast as she could into the

security system.

* * *

THE APPRENTICE STOOD IN FRONT of the massive bulkhead leading to his Master's

chamber for a long moment, gathering his self-control and centering himself within

the Force. Ambition stirred in him: he pictured himself at his Master's side, the

two of them striking the Emperor down together, as he had imagined many times down

the years. He saw himself in regal attire as Lord Vader became Emperor Vader and

assumed the mantle of Coruscant and all the other jewel-like worlds in the galactic

crown. What sights awaited them in the Imperial court! What new challenges and

aspirations!

But his training demanded a careful balance between the lust for power and

self-denial. Control was paramount, as in all things. He wanted to present the best

face possible to his Dark Lord, lest once again the attainment of his dreams be

denied.

"Is anything the matter, master?" asked PROXY from the droid's familiar position at

his shoulder.

"Nothing at all," he said.

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Straightening his shoulders, he waved a hand. The massive door slid open.

Suppressing a smile, the apprentice strode confidently into Darth Vader's inner

sanctum.

His boots rang out on the metal floor, echoing through the familiar chamber. The red

sun glared through the broad viewport, but there was something new in that vista: a

fleet of Star Destroyers and support ships clustering around his Master's flagship

like carrion.

Darth Vader didn't turn. "The Emperor's fleet has arrived," was all he said.

The apprentice felt a quickening in his throat. Moving in front of his Master to get

a look out the viewport, he pressed his palm against the thick transparisteel and

smiled. Destiny.

"You lured him here." He could hear the excitement in his voice. "When do we

strike?"

"I did not summon him." There was no warning in his Master's deep voice, no hint at

all of what was to come. With an unexpected snap-hiss, Darth Vader's lightsaber was

active, reflecting in the viewport beside the baleful orb of the sun. "His spies

followed you here."

The apprentice opened his mouth to protest, but had barely begun to turn when his

Master's potent blade stabbed through his back. His eyes widened in shock at the

sight of the lightsaber protruding from his stomach. The pain was unbearable, much

worse than he had ever imagined it would be.

The lightsaber's fiery blade disappeared as Darth Vader deactivated the weapon.

With a choked scream, the apprentice fell to his knees. Darkness threatened to

spread across his vision, but he resisted it with all his strength. Despair

likewise. This had to be a terrible mistake. It couldn't be happening.

His Master loomed over him, studying him impassively from behind his black mask.

Without turning, he gestured at PROXY

"Begin the transmission."

"Yes, Lord Vader."

PROXY, standing slightly behind their dark Master, transformed by sinister stages

into the Emperor, hooded and enshrouded in shadow. The two Sith Lords looked down at

the apprentice, who gasped helplessly at their feet.

"What is thy bidding, Master?" Darth Vader asked.

"You have forgotten your place, Lord Vader. By taking this boy as your apprentice,

you have betrayed me." The Emperor's lone was at the same time harsh and hypnotic.

One claw-like hand reached out from the sleeve of his voluminous cloak. "Now you

will kill him, or I will destroy you both."

The apprentice watched his Master, pain twisting his features into a rictus. There

was nothing he could do to stop this terrible reversal. He could not lift a hand

against his Master, who had raised him and taught him all his life. But he would not

die silent.

"Don't, Master!" he gasped, struggling to stand but failing. The darkness encroached

further. "Together we can defeat him!"

"Do it now, Lord Vader!" insisted the Emperor. "Strike him down and prove your

loyalty to me!"

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Darth Vader looked from the Emperor to the apprentice as though weighing up two very

heavy alternatives. Then he lashed out with the Force, unleashing a mighty

telekinetic surge that sent the apprentice crashing into one of the transparisteel

viewports behind him. With a piercing sound, it cracked.

"Yes, Vader!" the Emperor crowed. "Kill him! Kill him!"

The apprentice was gripped tightly in his Master's will and pulled away from the

viewport. For a faint instant, he thought his Master had changed his mind and

decided to defy the Emperor after all. But then he was hurled back at the

transparisteel with all the force of a small meteor. The viewport shattered outward

in a huge explosion, sucking him into the cold vacuum of space.

His final cry went unheard. Darkness and despair closed in again, and he no longer