to risk a communication.
“Drev?”
“It’s thick out here, Master. But I’m holding.”
Relin heard the tension in his Padawan’s voice. The rumble of a near miss carried through the connection, along with Drev’s grunt.
“It’s about to get thick in here, too,” Relin said. “Not much longer. Rely on the Force, Drev. And hang on.”
Saes stalked the bridge, the susurrant rush of his robes loud in the quiet. None of his crew met his eyes. On the viewscreen, the Jedi Infiltrator weaved and darted through space, upward of twelve Blades in pursuit. Laserfire crisscrossed the screen, a net of glowing lines. Frustrated comm chatter from the Blade pilots carried over the bridge speakers.
Saes used the dark side to probe the Infiltrator pilot’s connection to the Force and found him more of a potential than a fully realized Force-user, though he was an extraordinarily intuitive pilot.
He could not be alone.
As Saes watched, Blades came at the Infiltrator from two sides and the bottom, a claw encirclement.
“They have him now,” muttered a junior officer.
The Jedi cut hard to the left and engaged a booster, blasting one of the Blades from space as he did so, and gained some separation from the rest. Soft curses sounded from the bridge.
“He’s heading for another transport,” Dor observed.
The Infiltrator wheeled around and the transport pilot took evasive maneuvers but it was far too little. The Infiltrator’s lasers spat energy; the transport and its ore turned to dust.
Saes’s anger grew. He could not afford to lose any of his ore. Out of habit, he tapped his forefinger on the point of one of his jaw horns.
“Intensify scanning in system,” Dor ordered the helm. “This Jedi cannot be alone. More will be coming.”
“Yes, Colonel.”
Saes ground his fangs as the Infiltrator weaved out of another trap laid for him by the Blades. He glared at the weapons officer, a human male with gray at his temples and concern in his eyes.
“Can you get a lock?”
“No, Captain. The ship has some kind of sensor scrambler. We could blanket an area and bring him down even without a lock, but he’s too near our ships.”
Saes nodded. “Prepare a firing solution to provide a safe corridor for the transports. Transmit it to the Blades’ navicomps to keep them clear.”
“Yes, Captain.”
Saes turned to Dor. “End planetside operations.Order every transport back to
Harbinger
and
Omen
. A firing corridor will be provided for them.”
“Yes, Captain,” said Dor with a nod, and began transmitting the orders.
“Firing solution ready, sir,” said the weapons officer.
“Fire,” Saes said.
Harbinger
’s laser cannons put a curtain of flames in space, dividing the Infiltrator and Blades from the transports. The transports took immediate advantage and sped for the landing bays.
“As soon as the transports are aboard, recall the Blades,” Saes said to Dor. To his weapons officer, he said, “Then you blow him from space.”
“What?” Dor said, and the exclamation turned heads on the bridge. For a moment, Saes thought Dor to be questioning his order, but he soon saw otherwise. The colonel tilted his head into his earpiece. As he listened, his skin turned a deeper red and his tentacle beard quivered with anger. “Double security around all sensitive areas. Establish search teams and comb the ship. Dor out.”
“What is it?” Saes asked.
Dor’s beard twitched as he leaned in close to Saes and spoke in a low tone. “The body of a security guard was found in the corridor off the landing bay. His arm and head were severed. It appears to have been the work of a lightsaber.”
Adrenaline fueled Saes’s pheromones, increasing their odor. “A lightsaber,” he muttered to himself. “Then the explosion in the bay was not an engine malfunction.”
“It appears not.”
“We have a Jedi aboard.”
A murmur went through the bridge crew. The smell of their sweat sweetened with excitement.
Dor
“Drev?”
“It’s thick out here, Master. But I’m holding.”
Relin heard the tension in his Padawan’s voice. The rumble of a near miss carried through the connection, along with Drev’s grunt.
“It’s about to get thick in here, too,” Relin said. “Not much longer. Rely on the Force, Drev. And hang on.”
Saes stalked the bridge, the susurrant rush of his robes loud in the quiet. None of his crew met his eyes. On the viewscreen, the Jedi Infiltrator weaved and darted through space, upward of twelve Blades in pursuit. Laserfire crisscrossed the screen, a net of glowing lines. Frustrated comm chatter from the Blade pilots carried over the bridge speakers.
Saes used the dark side to probe the Infiltrator pilot’s connection to the Force and found him more of a potential than a fully realized Force-user, though he was an extraordinarily intuitive pilot.
He could not be alone.
As Saes watched, Blades came at the Infiltrator from two sides and the bottom, a claw encirclement.
“They have him now,” muttered a junior officer.
The Jedi cut hard to the left and engaged a booster, blasting one of the Blades from space as he did so, and gained some separation from the rest. Soft curses sounded from the bridge.
“He’s heading for another transport,” Dor observed.
The Infiltrator wheeled around and the transport pilot took evasive maneuvers but it was far too little. The Infiltrator’s lasers spat energy; the transport and its ore turned to dust.
Saes’s anger grew. He could not afford to lose any of his ore. Out of habit, he tapped his forefinger on the point of one of his jaw horns.
“Intensify scanning in system,” Dor ordered the helm. “This Jedi cannot be alone. More will be coming.”
“Yes, Colonel.”
Saes ground his fangs as the Infiltrator weaved out of another trap laid for him by the Blades. He glared at the weapons officer, a human male with gray at his temples and concern in his eyes.
“Can you get a lock?”
“No, Captain. The ship has some kind of sensor scrambler. We could blanket an area and bring him down even without a lock, but he’s too near our ships.”
Saes nodded. “Prepare a firing solution to provide a safe corridor for the transports. Transmit it to the Blades’ navicomps to keep them clear.”
“Yes, Captain.”
Saes turned to Dor. “End planetside operations.Order every transport back to
Harbinger
and
Omen
. A firing corridor will be provided for them.”
“Yes, Captain,” said Dor with a nod, and began transmitting the orders.
“Firing solution ready, sir,” said the weapons officer.
“Fire,” Saes said.
Harbinger
’s laser cannons put a curtain of flames in space, dividing the Infiltrator and Blades from the transports. The transports took immediate advantage and sped for the landing bays.
“As soon as the transports are aboard, recall the Blades,” Saes said to Dor. To his weapons officer, he said, “Then you blow him from space.”
“What?” Dor said, and the exclamation turned heads on the bridge. For a moment, Saes thought Dor to be questioning his order, but he soon saw otherwise. The colonel tilted his head into his earpiece. As he listened, his skin turned a deeper red and his tentacle beard quivered with anger. “Double security around all sensitive areas. Establish search teams and comb the ship. Dor out.”
“What is it?” Saes asked.
Dor’s beard twitched as he leaned in close to Saes and spoke in a low tone. “The body of a security guard was found in the corridor off the landing bay. His arm and head were severed. It appears to have been the work of a lightsaber.”
Adrenaline fueled Saes’s pheromones, increasing their odor. “A lightsaber,” he muttered to himself. “Then the explosion in the bay was not an engine malfunction.”
“It appears not.”
“We have a Jedi aboard.”
A murmur went through the bridge crew. The smell of their sweat sweetened with excitement.
Dor
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