Star Wars - Darth Plagueis by James Luceno Page A

since Captain Lah and the others had been in some sense dead from the moment Plagueis’s gaze had alighted on the freighter, it followed that the midi-chlorians that resided in alleged symbiosis with them must have been preparing to be subsumed into the reservoir of life energy that was the Force long before Plagueis had stowed away. His attempts to save them—to prolong that state of symbiosis—were comparable to using a sponge to dam a raging river. And yet the Sith Lords of old were said to have been able to draw on the energies released during death to extend their own lives, as well as the lives of others. Unfortunately, much like the technique of essence transfer, that ancient knowledge had been lost.
    Feeling the ship revert to realspace, Plagueis rose from the bunk, dressed, and walked forward, stepping over the corpses sprawled in the main cabin, the deck plates awash in fire-suppressant fluid and blackening pools of blood, and through passageways reeking of death. One of the crew members, the now one-armed Dresselian, was still alive but comatose.
    In the ship’s undermount cockpit the droid stood motionless at thecontrol console. Beyond the transparisteel viewport myriad stars hung in space.
    “Sir, we are approaching the coordinates supplied by your comlink,” the droid said without turning from the view.
    Plagueis settled into the pilot’s chair, which barely accommodated his long body. “How do you come to be aboard the Woebegone , droid?”
    “Formerly I served the needs of a medical facility on Obroa-skai.”
    “In what capacity?”
    “Research, in addition to performing a wide range of surgeries on beings of diverse species.”
    Plagueis regarded the droid. “Thus, your many appendages.”
    “Yes, sir. But the ones I wear currently were retrofitted when I became the property of Captain Lah, so that I might better serve the needs of the Woebegone. ”
    “And how did you become the captain’s property?”
    “I believe, sir, that I was awarded to Captain Lah in place of payments due for the receipt of certain merchandise. It is also my belief that the exchange was meant to be temporary—”
    “But Captain Lah decided to keep you.”
    “Yes, sir. She decided to keep me. I’m sorry to say that I am at a loss to explain her reasons, and I never presumed to ask.”
    Plagueis nodded. “That’s a good quality in a droid.”
    “I understand how it could be, sir.”
    “Tell me, droid, what is the possible consequence of low theloxin levels in a Pau’an?”
    OneOne-FourDee didn’t hesitate. “One possible consequence would be an elevation of the oxidation rate, leading to the growth of an exophthalmic goiter, which in turn would affect the production of roaamin from the anterior lobes of the lutiaary gland.”
    “And?”
    “One result might be giantism, well beyond the Pau’an norm.”
    “If so?”
    “The connecting ganglia making up the autonomic nervous system and controlling glandular secretion might induce an acceleration of the circular sphincter muscles of the digestive tract, resulting in xerophthalmia.”
    “So you are a diagnostician, as well.”
    “In a minor capacity, sir.”
    Beyond the viewport, growing larger against the backdrop of a behemoth ringed planet, a space station turned in fixed orbit near a heavily cratered moon. A hodgepodge of interconnected domed modules, the station featured two long, boxy arms to which ships of varying size were tethered. Plagueis called data to the display screen of his comlink and placed it in view of 11-4D.
    “Transmit this code over the comm.”
    The droid performed the task and waited at the comm while the cockpit enunciators crackled to life.
    “Unidentified freighter, Deep Space Demo and Removal is in reception of your request. Give us a moment to authenticate your transmission.”
    “Holding fast while you authenticate,” Plagueis said.
    “Freighter, you are cleared for docking,” the voice returned a moment later.
    “My