Dark Nest_ The Swarm War Part 18

"Uh, thanks." Jacen felt the lump forming in his throat again and swallowed it into submission. "Maybe I ought to get back to my fighter. Neufie has been giving those diagnostic droids-"

"In a minute," Luke said. "First, I'd like you to come with us."

"Sure." Jacen's heart began to pound so hard he had to use a Jedi calming exercise to quiet it. "Where?"

"Ghent is ready to show us the rest of Artoo's secret files," Mara said. "But he still hasn't finished duplicating the omnigate, so this may be the only time anyone gets to see the holos of your grandparents. Luke and I thought you'd like to be there."

"You did?" Jacen said, almost allowing his relief to show. "I mean, yes-of course!"

"It's okay-I'm nervous, too." Luke laughed uneasily, then added, "Scared, even."

"Well, I'm not."

Mara's tone was a little too light. The Skywalkers joked openly about Alema Rar's insinuation that Mara might have played a role in the death of Padme Amidala, but Jacen knew how hurt his aunt had been by the whole incident.

The question had to be answered-and it had to be answered before the Jedi attacked the Gorog nest ship. Luke could not face Lomi Plo otherwise. She would find any trace of doubt-especially that doubt-and use it to veil herself completely.

That was one of the reasons Jacen believed he ought to be the one to confront Lomi Plo. He had no doubts-of any kind. Vergere had scorched them out of him in a crucible of pain.

They found Ghent in a small briefing salon that overlooked Hangar 51, sitting on the floor beside R2-D2, surrounded by the usual litter of tools, circuits, and snack wrappers. The lanky slicer was peering through an access panel with his magnispecs flipped down, manipulating a micrograbber in each hand and muttering to himself in a high-pitched, staccato manner that sounded alarmingly like machine code. Afraid to cause a mishap by startling him, they stopped just inside the door and waited for him to remove his hands from inside the droid's casing.

"What are you standing there for?" Ghent asked without looking away from his work. "You won't see anything from the door."

"Sorry." Luke led the way forward. "Are you ready?"

"Don't I look ready?" Ghent asked. "All I have to do is snap the omnigate back in place."

"Oh," Luke said. "When I saw all the circuits-"

"Standard maintenance," Ghent interrupted. "No wonder this droid acts up. Some of those circuits haven't been cleaned in twenty standard years. They had carbon molecules stacked a hundred moles high."

As they drew closer, Jacen realized the slicer must have been working on R2-D2 for a couple of days straight-at least it smelled that way. In any case, Ghent had clearly not found time for a decent sanisteam lately. They stopped several paces away and watched as he snapped a circuit board back in place.

"All set." He rocked back on his heels, then looked up and said, "I don't think you should do this, you know."

"You told us already," Mara said.

Ghent's brow rose. "I did?"

"Several times," Luke said.

"Oh." Ghent ran a hand over his tattooed head, then said, "It's just that I've almost got the omnigate figured out. Another three weeks-no more than six, really-and I'd have it for sure. Then you could look at these files anytime you liked."

"We don't have six weeks." Luke checked his chrono. "We're due to launch in six hours."

Ghent's eyes widened. "That soon? I thought we had three days!"

"It has been three days," Mara said patiently.

Ghent looked around him in a daze, then said, "I guess he was in worse shape than I thought."

"Ghent, we really need to see that holo now," Mara pressed gently. "A lot depends on it."

"Yeah, I know," Ghent said. "But I don't think you understand. That's the Intellex Four designer's original back door. If we fry it before we've copied it, we're destroying a whole sub-era of computer history."

"Ghent, it's really important," Luke said.

The slicer sighed, then flipped R2-D2's primary circuit breaker without saying anything more.

The droid came to life with a startled bleep, then swiveled his dome around, carefully studying the stacks of tools and discarded circuit boards around him. After a moment, he began to roll back and forth on his treads, extending various utility arms and whistling in approval.

Then R2-D2's photoreceptor swung past Ghent's face. He gave a startled buzz, then looked at Luke and began to back away.

"Artoo, stop it!" Luke ordered. "Come back here. We need to see what happened to my mother after my father came back from Mustafar."

R2-D2 tweeted an explanation in machine code. Jacen was not really surprised when Ghent translated it. "He says Anakin Skywalker didn't come back."

"He didn't?" Luke frowned. "What happened?"

R2-D2 remained silent for a moment, then abruptly blurted out an explanation.

"Padme went to see your father," Ghent reported.

"Then show us that," Luke said to R2-D2. "And no tricks. I need to see this."

R2-D2 whistled doubtfully.

"He says-"

"Artoo, just do it," Luke interrupted. "We're going into combat soon, and you need time to calibrate yourself with the StealthX."

The droid trilled an excited question.

"If Ghent thinks you're up to it," Luke said. "And if you don't keep stalling."

R2-D2 tipped forward and activated his holoprojector. The image of a green starfighter appeared on a landing platform on some distant world that could not be identified from the image. A young man in a dark robe appeared, running into the image from the direction of the starfighter. As he drew closer, it grew apparent that he was Anakin Skywalker. He appeared tired and grimy, as though he had just come from battle. That fit what he had told Padme in the last holo that Jacen and the Skywalkers had seen together: that he was going to Mustafar to end the war.

"Padme, I saw your ship," Anakin said.

Padme appeared, entering the image from the opposite direction, and they embraced.

"Anakin!" Her back was to the holocam, but it was clear that she was trembling.

"It's all right, you're safe now." Anakin looked down into her eyes. "What are you doing out here?"

"I was so worried about you!" Padme's voice was somewhat m.u.f.fled, since she was still facing away from the holocam. "Obi-Wan told me terrible things."

Anakin's face clouded with anger. "Obi-Wan was with you?"

"He said you've turned to the dark side," Padme continued, avoiding a direct answer. "That you killed younglings."

"Obi-Wan is trying to turn you against me," Anakin said darkly.

Padme shook her head. "He cares about us."

"Us?"

"He knows." Padme paused a moment, then said, "He wants to help you."

"And you." Anakin's voice was full of jealousy now. "Don't lie to me, Padme. I have become more powerful than any Jedi dreamed of, and I've done it for you . . . to protect you."

"I don't want your power." Padme pulled away from him. "1 don't want your protection."

Anakin drew her back to him. "Is Obi-Wan going to protect you?" he demanded. "He can't . . . he can't help you. He's not strong enough."

Padme's head fell, and she was silent for a long time.

Perhaps R2-D2 had attuned his communications routines to Luke's moods over the years, because he seemed to sense the dread in Luke's presence as clearly as Jacen did. The droid took advantage of the long silence to whistle a long, worried-sounding question.

"He's afraid this is going to overload your circuits," Ghent reported. "And I know we're stressing his. Do you hear that warble in his interrogative pitch?"

"Keep going." Luke's tone grew a little softer. "It's all right, Artoo. I'm fine."

Jacen nodded his approval. There was an irrational and dangerous edge in Anakin's voice, and Jacen understood why R2-D2 had been so reluctant to show these holos to Luke. But pain was only dangerous when it was feared-that had been one of Vergere's first lessons. Luke needed to see the end of the holo. He needed to embrace the pain.

After a moment, Padme raised her head again in the holo.

"Anakin, all I want is your love."

"Love won't save you," Anakin snarled. "Only my new powers can do that."

"At what cost?" Padme demanded. "You're a good person. Don't do this."

"I won't lose you the way I lost my mother." Anakin's face belonged to someone else now, someone angry and frightened and selfish.

Padme did not seem to see the change-or, if she did, she remained determined to bring the other Anakin back again. She reached for him.

"Come away with me," she said. "Help me raise our child. Leave everything else behind while we still can."

Anakin shook his head. "Don't you see? We don't have to run away anymore. I have brought peace to the Republic. I am more powerful than the Chancellor. I can overthrow him, and together you and I can rule the galaxy . . . make things the way we want them to be."

"I don't believe what I'm hearing!" Padme backed away, stumbling as though she had been struck.

Luke sighed audibly, clearly dismayed at the arrogance that had led his father down the dark path of the oppressor. But Jacen found himself responding to his grandfather far more sympathetically, almost with admiration. Anakin Skywalker had understood his own strength, and-at one time, at least-he had tried to use that strength to bring peace. Vergere would have approved. Power unused was power wasted, and whatever had happened to him later, Anakin Skywalker had at least attempted to use his for a good end.

For a moment, R2-D2's hologram began to flitter, and everyone held their breath. Then the droid gave a click and a whir, and the scene continued.

Padme had stopped retreating from Anakin.

"Obi-Wan was right," she said. "You've changed."

"I don't want to hear any more about Obi-Wan!" Ana-kin started after her. "The Jedi turned against me. The Republic turned against me. Don't you turn against me."

"I don't know you anymore," Padme said. "Anakin, you're breaking my heart. I'll never stop loving you, but you're going down a path I can't follow."

Anakin's eyes narrowed. "Because of Obi-Wan?"

"Because of what you've done! What you plan to do!" Padme's voice grew commanding. "Stop now." She was silent for a moment, then her tone softened. "Come back. I love you."

Anakin's gaze shifted, and he seemed to be looking over Padme's shoulder toward the cam. "Liar!"

Padme spun around, and for the first time it grew clear just how advanced her pregnancy was. Her jaw fell in dismay. "No!"

"You're with him!" Anakin's gaze had returned to Padme. "You've betrayed me!"

"No, Anakin." Padme shook her head and started toward him again. "I swear . . . I-"

Anakin extended his arm, his hand shaped into an arc. Padme cried out, then grabbed her throat and began to make terrible gurgling sounds.

Luke cried out in disbelief, and the Force grew heavy with grief and outrage. Even Jacen-whose time among the Yuuzhan Vong had taught him never to be surprised by the brutality one being could inflict on another-felt his stomach turn at the sight of his grandfather using the Force to choke the woman he supposedly loved.

An ominous but barely audible whine arose somewhere inside R2-D2. The holo began to flicker again, and a familiar voice spoke from outside the holo frame.

"Let her go, Anakin."

Arm still extended-and Padme still choking-Anakin turned to sneer at the speaker. "What have you and she been up to?"

Obi-Wan Ken.o.bi stepped into view, wearing the sand-colored robes of a Jedi. Though his back was to the camera, his shape and bearded profile were clearly recognizable.

"Let . . . her . . . go!"

Anakin whipped his arm to one side, and Padme flew out of the holo.

Anakin started forward to meet Obi-Wan, saying, "You turned her-"

A sharp pop sounded from R2-D2's interior, and the holo dissolved into static.

Ghent flipped his magnispecs down, then peered through R2-D2's access panel and cried out as though a blaster bolt had pierced his heart. He lowered his micrograbbers through the opening and clicked something, then retrieved what appeared to the naked eye to be a smoking dust speck.

"I knew this would happen!" the slicer cried. "It's an omniash now!"

No one answered. Luke was stiff and ashen, fighting back tears. Mara was staring at the spot where Padme's limp form had vanished from the holo. Jacen was trying to decide where his grandfather had gone wrong, trying to puzzle out what flaw had made him a slave to his temper. Even R2-D2 remained silent, continuing to project a column of holostatic onto the floor.

After a moment, Ghent seemed to realize that the loss of the omnigate was not the most serious one of the day. He laid his hand on Luke's shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"Well, at least we know it wasn't Mara who killed your mother."

"Ghent!" Mara's eyes looked ready to loose a flight of blaster bolts.