Crosscurrent - 01 - Crosscurrent by Star Wars

Author:Star Wars
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science Fiction
ISBN: 9780345509055
Publisher: Random House, Inc.
Published: 2010-01-26T00:00:00+00:00

***

The Blades poured out of Harbinger's belly and swooped into view on the viewscreen, streaking toward the Jedi ship. The ship turned, its engines flared blue, and it accelerated toward the gas giant's rings.

"Where is he running to? The rings?" Llerd asked. "There's not much room to fly in there."

Saes watched the Blades bear down on the ship. "If he goes into the rings, order the Blades to pursue. I want that ship destroyed. He will try to jump if we allow him to clear the planet's gravity well. The Blades are not to allow that."

Llerd did not hesitate. "Yes, sir."

Saes turned to 8L6, the replacement science droid. "I want a course back to Primus Goluud as soon as possible. And I want a subspace transmission on the ship-to-ship frequency. See if you can raise Omen."

He doubted he was anywhere near Omen, but he needed to confirm.

"Captain, I am getting very odd readings," said 8L6.

Saes leaned forward in his chair. "Specify."

"Astronavigation is unconnected to Harbinger's base chrono."

The words pulled Saes away from his chair to 8L6's side. He made sure Llerd was occupied before continuing the conversation. "How can that be?"

"Unknown, but standard astronavigational markers are not where they should be given the time."

Saes studied the readings for himself. Everything was out of place. "Something fouled the ship's chrono. Double-check it."

"I ran several diagnostics before bringing this to your attention. The chrono is functioning correctly."

A nervous tingle moved up Saes's spine. "Then you have mislocated us in space. Astronavigation was damaged."

"I have located our new position with ninety-nine point nine nine percent confidence. I know where we are."

The implication of the words hung in the space between them, unmarked on 8L6's expressionless face. Saes's yellow eyes reflected off the droid's surface, stared back at him.

Saes spoke in a low tone and asked the question, though he already knew the answer. "What are you saying, Elsix?"

The droid, too, spoke in a quiet tone. "I am saying that given our position, my long-range astronavigation scans strongly suggest that significant time has passed since we entered hyperspace."

Saes glanced around to ensure that no one was listening. "How significant?"

"More than five thousand years."

The words settled like weights on Saes's mind, heavy with meaning. He put a hand on a nearby chair and locked his knees. The tingle creeping up his spine spread to his entire body. His legs felt weak under him but the chair kept him up. He turned and stared at the viewscreen, at the stars that looked the same to him as those he had left behind but were five millennia out of position.

"How?" he said.

"The most likely explanation is that the misjump resulted in Harbinger's never quite entering hyperspace. We had a hyperspace tunnel in front of us but never entered it. Instead, the ship accelerated to near lightspeed only. For us, only a short time passed. For the rest of the galaxy, five thousand years passed."

Five thousand years.

Thoughts bounced around in his mind, unconnected, inchoate. His mind felt unmoored.

Five thousand years.

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