Star Wars: Dark Nest III: The Swarm War by Troy Denning

Author:Troy Denning
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub, mobi
Tags: Solo, Luke (Fictitious character), Space Opera, Star Wars fiction, Princess (Fictitious character), Fiction, Science fiction, Skywalker, General, Luke Skywalker (Fictitious character), Adventure, Life on other planets, Han (Fictitious character), Leia, Media Tie-In
ISBN: 9780345463050
Publisher: Random House, Inc.
Published: 2005-12-27T08:00:00+00:00

"You're a medic?" Leia could not conceal her surprise.

"A battle surgeon, to be precise." Baltke removed his eye patch, revealing a perfectly sound organ underneath, and started toward the door. "Interrogations are a secondary duty."

"Wait!" Leia commanded.

Baltke stopped-clearly in spite of himself. He glared at her angrily.

"When I told you the Killiks would outlast the Ascendancy, you smirked," Leia said. "Tell me why."

"What are you doing? Using a Jedi mind trick?" Baltke demanded. "It will be your fault if I have to hurt Captain Solo again."

Leia glanced at the display screen and saw that the medic was still standing next to Han, laughing with the torturer. Something did not make sense. Saba had clearly meant to reassure her about Han, and yet Leia could see that he had not yet been rescued-in fact, that he did not even look close to being rescued.

The remaining guard started to step forward behind Leia. She grabbed him in the Force, then hurled him into the corner with the vidcam. He hit headfirst with a loud thunk, then dropped to the floor and did not move.

Leia looked back to Baltke and put the power of the Force into her voice. "Why do you think the Killiks can't win?"

Baltke's face twisted into a mask of resistance, but the truth drug made it impossible for him to lie.

"Because we have developed our own solution to the Killik problem," he said. "And our plan will work."

He tried to go to the door again, but Leia Force-shoved him up against the wall. "What kind of solution?"

"A p-permanent one." Baltke cast a longing look toward the display screen, then said, "It's not too late to save your husband. Just release me."

"Han's going to be just fine." Leia used the Force to begin working the locks of the cuffs holding her in the chair. "You, on the other hand, are in trouble-or have you forgotten what I said about anything that happened to Han?"

"I remember."

"Good." The first cuff came loose. "You might want to be a little more informative about this 'permanent solution.' "

Baltke shook his head, but he could not resist the power of his own drug. "P-p-parasites."

"Parasites?" Leia asked. The second cuff came undone. "You're going to infect them with parasites?"

Baltke nodded. "Any minute now," he said. "After the Killiks spring their trap."

"Trap?"

"You know," he said. "Isn't that why you turned back from the Shattered Moon?"

Leia's jaw fell. "You know about the Killiks hiding there?"

"We suspected." Baltke seemed almost proud. "We're counting on them to ambush us."

"I don't understand." Leia stretched her hand toward the unconscious guard and summoned his charric pistol to hand. "Counting on their ambush for what?"

A low boom rolled out of the air vent behind Leia, and the whole room rocked.

"To deliver a resounding defeat to us," Baltke said.

Leia understood the rest of the Chiss plan. "And tomorrow, all of the nests will have a huge victory dance."

"That's right," Baltke said. "The Killiks aren't the only ones who can play the infestation game."

"How long?" Leia asked.

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