Lords of the Sith: Star Wars by Kemp Paul S

Author:Kemp, Paul S. [Kemp, Paul S.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9780345511447
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2015-04-28T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

Isval’s comm buzzed on an open frequency, using her call sign. She and Faylin shared a look of surprise. They shouldn’t be receiving any comm chatter. Still, she opened the channel.

“Go,” she said.

“Isval, this is Nordon. We’ve found something in the search area. It looks like the ship Vader was supposed to be on—”

“Nordon! Wait, what are you doing in the search area already? Did Cham authorize that? And what are you doing on this frequency?”

Her tone was sharper than she intended, but only because she didn’t want anyone else to find Vader. She wanted to find him, for Pok, for Eshgo, find him and see herself reflected in the lenses of his helmet as she pulled the trigger and put a blaster shot through his chest.

“The comm is encrypted, Isval. We’re the first out here, and yes, Cham knows. He diverted us from the moon base withdrawal. Two more teams are en route.”

“Three when we get there,” she said.

“Right. Anyway, we found what looks like a downed ship in the forest at these coordinates.”

Isval’s shipboard comp took in the coordinates. They were at the northern edge of the search area.

“Send it out to the other teams en route,” Isval said.

“Is it the Emperor’s shuttle?” Faylin asked, eagerness in her tone.

“Have you confirmed the ID of the ship?” Isval asked Nordon, and held her breath in anticipation of the answer.

“The forest is too thick, but it looks like an Imperial shuttle. We could set down and have a look.”

Isval was already shaking her head. “Negative, negative. Do not get on the ground, Nordon. If it’s Vader…just don’t get on the ground. Understood?”

“Understood. What then?”

Isval considered options. “Have you informed Cham?”

“Can’t raise him.”

Still in the underground base, then. She knew what Cham would advise: reconnoiter and wait for reinforcements.

“Eyeball it as best you can, Nordon. If you confirm it’s the Emperor’s shuttle, or if you get a visual on Vader or the Emperor, wipe them from the face of the planet.”

“Copy that. What are you doing?”

“Blowing things up,” she said.

“As usual,” Nordon said. “See you soon, then.”

“Here we go,” Isval said to Faylin.

—

The generator hummed to life and the dish on the portable communications array started to turn as it sought an uplink.

“We’ll have a connection in moments, Lord Vader,” the captain of the Royal Guard said.

“Use the Emperor’s personal frequency. Arrange for immediate—”

Vader sensed it before he could see it. He looked sharply at his Master, saw him staring up at the sky, at two rapidly approaching lights descending from altitude—ships, Vader knew. Perhaps they’d seen the fire.

“Ships incoming, my lords,” said one of the Royal Guards. He held field magnifiers to his helmet’s lenses. “Not Imperial. A pair of Twi’lek freighters, I think. Should I fire a flare, my lords?”

“I don’t think that will be necessary,” the Emperor said with a hard smile.

The ships closed the distance rapidly, their clunky, disk-shaped silhouettes coming into clear focus as they neared.

Vader activated his lightsaber and stepped in front of his Master.

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