Star Wars: Fate Of The Jedi: Omen Part 19

"Come on. Eat something and tell me what happened. I saw the holonews, of course, but something tells me that Javis Tyrr might not be reporting the entire story."

Despite her disgruntlement, the aroma of the roba steak was appetizing, and Jaina found herself digging in as she told him about what had happened. Jag listened quietly, his eyes intent on her, offering silent support.

"I never mentioned you, Tahiri, Winter, or Mirax," she said. "I was forced to reveal Tekli, but I honestly think that was a good thing. You know how agitated she can get. I think it was kind of a relief for her."

"I agree. And thank you. I knew you wouldn't."

She gave him a fleeting smile that turned into a real one, reached across the table, and laid a hand on his. He squeezed it tightly.

"Everyone who matters knows exactly what the situation is," he told her. "Up to and including Master Hamner. I'd go so far as to say even Daala understands, but it's contrary to what she wants and frankly what I think she believes to be a positive thing. Your actions helped the Jedi retain two very valuable study subjects, and that might be what solves the whole problem."

"Hey, you think my double could stand in for me here?" Jaina said, making a feeble and somewhat wistful joke.

"She's good, but her mouth is all wrong. I don't think she'd fool Jedi," Jag said, looking completely serious.

Jaina actually laughed. They finished the meal in good spirits and shared a deliciously gooey dessert. Jag leaned back and lifted the sparkling wine from the ice.

"And now to celebrate," he said.

"This day?" Jaina wrinkled her nose. "I think it needs to be buried, not celebrated."

"So far, I would agree with you. But I have something to suggest that will, I certainly hope, let this. .h.i.therto horrible day end on a very positive note." He poured the wine into two fluted gla.s.ses. Jaina accepted, looking at the amber liquid with the small bubbles for a moment, then turning her attention to Jag.

"This better not be about the Moffs, the GA, or the Empire," she said.

"Well, then I must disappoint. Because this is most a.s.suredly about the Empire. Specifically about the head of said Empire and a joint venture he is suggesting. I think that a formal alliance between two key factions would be a wise idea at this juncture. Both parties would benefit." He turned to her expectantly.

Jaina peered at him. She couldn't fathom what in the galaxy he was talking about. He had a very odd look on his face, too, though he was trying hard to keep his expression composed.

"Have you been in negotiations with some world I've not heard about? Or are you trying to push that whole rival Jedi school thing on me again?"

He blinked. A smile curved his lips, then became a chuckle. "Jaina Solo," he said, warmth lacing his voice, "I'm asking you to marry me."

Her mouth dropped open. "I-what-you-how would this possibly work?"

It was not a romantic response, but it was from her heart, and Jag knew her well enough to know that.

Still holding the celebratory wine, of which neither had yet partaken, Jag replied, "You'll continue exactly as you have, of course ... and so will I. Eventually I am certain the Jedi will determine exactly what's going on with Valin, Jysella, and the others. Once a treatment is found, Daala will be severely defanged. Luke will still be gone, but this whole rather grotesque sideshow will be over. I am also certain that Luke will return sooner rather than later with enough information on what happened with Jacen to get his sentence turned over. Once he accomplishes that, public sentiment will swing back toward the Jedi. As for the Moffs," he said, frowning a little, "they may think I'm a fool for love, but I actually have some very solid leads on who the troublemakers behind the scenes are."

He leaned forward, looking into her eyes. "Jaina, I love you for who you are. I have for a long time. I have absolutely no desire to curtail, impede, cripple, modify, or thwart you in any way. There is my detailed argument for this formal union. What do you think of the proposition?"

Jaina was still reeling. It was all so well thought out, so precise, so ... Jag.

But beneath the military bearing and the clipped, logical, formal presentation of a proposal of marriage, she knew that Jagged Fel was deeply in love with her. He was even nervous, she knew, as he waited on her reply.

So she gave it to him.

She sprang into his arms with such vigor that the chair fell over, but neither of them particularly seemed to mind.

ABOARD THE JADE SHADOW.

LUKE HAD BEEN ENCOURAGED BY HOW WELL HE AND BEN HAD BEEN getting along through most of this odyssey they had embarked upon. There had been some friction, and some arguing, but by and large they had been growing closer.

Now, as he had feared ever since Cilghal had suggested they travel to the Aing-Tii, the issue of flow-walking had divided them. Luke had to struggle against the desire to protest, to try to stop Ben, every time he went off with Tadar'Ro. He had hoped that by biting his tongue he would encourage Ben to volunteer information about how the training went, but Ben remained silent, almost angry.

So it was no surprise initially when Luke's dreams were chaotic and oppressive-as if he were coming under physical attack.

And then a fraction of an instant later he realized it was no dream.

Luke sprang up, fully awake immediately, executing a somersault over the length of the bed as he summoned his lightsaber to him. By its light he saw his attacker strike where he had been sleeping with a strange metal rod, then whirl angrily to charge.

He couldn't sense anything from the Aing-Tii who was so bent on causing him harm. It was as if the being were still a dream-as if it didn't exist in the Force at all. The Aing-Tii was startlingly fast for someone who appeared to be carved out of stone, and Luke's lightsaber was a blur as he blocked the attacks from the metal stick. Then, before he realized what was happening, the intruder was gone.

He ran out the open hatch, lightsaber aglow, but there was no sign of his attacker. Ben ran to join him, his lightsaber lit, too, his hair mussed but his face alert and calm.

"Who was that? How'd they get in? And why were they attacking us?"

Luke shook his head. "I don't know who it was. He or she was completely absent in the Force. And I haven't spent enough time with any Aing-Tii other than Tadar'Ro to distinguish individual differences in such a brief encounter. As for how they got in-they are masterful Force-users, though they seldom do so unless they feel it serves Those Who Dwell Beyond the Veil," he said, deactivating his lightsaber. Ben followed suit. Luke scanned the area with more than his physical senses before jerking his head in the direction of the ship and moving back up the ramp. Ben followed, casting a last glance over his shoulder. "Jedi can get past all kinds of locking mechanisms. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that the Aing-Tii can, too."

Ben nodded as he closed the door and activated the lock. "Yeah. Or maybe it just hopped right on in like the Sanhedrim ships do."

"Caf?" Luke asked. Ben nodded. Luke got some brewing. "We know that Tadar'Ro said that tensions between the two factions were increasing. I think we can safely say that our mysterious midnight caller was from a side that's hostile to our presence here."

Ben yawned and scratched his head as the caf finished. "It's almost dawn. I'm going to just go ahead and stay up. Practice-" He paused in midsentence.

Practice flow-walking, of course. Luke turned and busied himself with pouring the caf. "There's no point in heading back to bed," he agreed, smoothing over the uncomfortable pause. "I'll be in my room meditating."

"Okay. Tadar'Ro should be here in an hour or so anyway. Be interesting to see what he has to say about all this." Ben poured himself a cup of caf and turned away without another word. Pained but resigned, Luke let him go.

TADAR'RO WAS HORRIFIED TO HEAR OF THE ATTACK. "A VOR'CHA STUN stick," he explained. "That was the weapon the intruder was attempting to use. It is very powerful, and a mere touch of it would have rendered you unconscious for some time."

"I don't understand," said Ben. "Why break in and attack us just to knock us out?"

Tadar'Ro's agitation in the Force was painful. "I do not know. Perhaps to simply frighten you. Perhaps to incapacitate you for transportation elsewhere."

"Or to kill us when we couldn't fight back," said Ben. Luke didn't contradict him. The Aing-Tii had been known to attack with lethal intent before.

"I deeply regret that this has happened," Tadar'Ro said. "To so ignore the fact that we have offered you hospitality, that you are attempting to help us ... it is proof of how dangerous this rift is to our people, our culture."

"And any guests," Ben grumbled.

"I had hoped for more time, but ..." Tadar'Ro's tongues flickered for a moment; Luke guessed it the equivalent of a resigned sigh. "Ben Skywalker's training is progressing well, and it is becoming tragically clear to me that we no longer have the luxury of time. Luke Skywalker, Ben Skywalker ... the moment has come for you to go on your pilgrimage and receive the Embrace."

The two Skywalkers exchanged glances. "Very well, if you think we are ready."

"I think we cannot wait until you are. Besides, only Those Who Dwell Beyond the Veil know who is ready and who is not. I am sure that They will guide you."

"Very well," Luke said. "Is the Embrace far?"

"Many kilometers."

"We'll prep the Shadow for-"

"You must travel on foot. To approach the Embrace in a vehicle is to give great offense."

Luke nodded. "All right. I could use a little physical exercise."

TWO DAYS LATER, HE WAS REGRETTING THE QUIP.

The thinner atmosphere was starting to take its toll. They had packed water, but it was becoming obvious that they should have packed more. Even though they were Jedi, they could not move as fast as they had expected. The Force could only augment so much for so long.

Tadar'Ro accompanied them, but as soon as he had taken his first formal step on the journey, he refused to speak to them. Luke and Ben, their relationship already strained, found themselves imitating him. For Luke, at least, it made the journey feel that much more difficult.

They were heading east from the Aing-Tii city toward a mountain range that ran from north to south. Over the course of three days of hard hiking, they reached their destination-a nondescript aperture in what appeared to be a sheer wall face.

Ben trudged to a halt, sweaty, his fair skin sunburned. He stared. He said nothing, perhaps because he was out of breath, but Luke could read his expression: Is this it?

After keeping utter silence for the entire trek, Tadar'Ro finally spoke. "This is the pa.s.sageway," he said reverently. "Inside, you will find all the artifacts we have painstakingly gathered over many thousands of years. Tread carefully, for this is sacred ground to us. Go to the relics. Be with them. Please ... find answers for us that we cannot, so that we might heal this terrible rift that wounds us as a people so very deeply."

Luke was moved by the request. He placed his hand on Tadar'Ro's shoulder and respectfully moved his face toward the Aing-Tii's, knowing that Tadar'Ro would read his intention in the Force. Gently, like a blessing, Tadar'Ro's long tongues danced over Luke's face. After a moment of looking uncomfortable, Ben imitated his father.

"I hope with all my heart that we are able to do as you request," Luke said.

"May Those Who Dwell Beyond the Veil grant you insight, and may the Force be with you," said Tadar'Ro.

Luke turned to Ben, caught his eye, and nodded. Then he turned to face the aperture and, with Ben right behind him, stepped through.

A small path wound downward. It had been worn by many feet over thousands of years, so they were able to move forward with relative ease. It grew darker as they left the sunlight of the outside behind, until at last they were almost in complete darkness.

"Lightsabers or glow rods?" Ben asked as they continued to descend, feeling their way with hands, feet, and the Force. They had discussed bringing their lightsabers with Tadar'Ro, who had agreed. If a wall caved in or some other disaster occurred, they would need to be able to cut their way out. Also, as Ben had just ill.u.s.trated, the illumination would be useful if the glow rods failed for any reason.

Luke paused, frowning in the dark. "Neither, I think," he said slowly.

"Huh?"

"Come on." They moved forward, their eyes blind, for another few steps. Then, sure enough, the darkness began to lighten. It was only a faint glow at first, so faint as to appear almost a trick of eyes that desperately wanted to see. Then the radiance increased, soft and soothing, but illuminating. There was a luminescence in the Force as well, a comforting, rea.s.suring warmth that bathed Luke's spirit as the light began to bathe his face and hands. He felt refreshed, even though he was physically weary from the pilgrimage, and excitement and antic.i.p.ation quickened in him.

They turned a corner, and beheld beauty.

The light came not from artificial lighting brought here by the Aing-Tii, nor from the relics that had been carried into the cave for so many millennia. Instead it emanated from glowing stones of all hues-red, yellow, green, blue, purple, white, and all shades and gradations in between. On the floor from stalagmites; from the stalact.i.tes that hung above them like lightsabers; on each wall, they glowed.

"Rainbows," Ben said quietly, and Luke nodded. This was a place where the Force was extremely strong. It was not purely energy from the light side, but it was most certainly not a hollow of dark-side energy such as Luke had encountered on Dagobah during the trial he had so miserably failed. He could not tell for certain, but he wondered, as Ben spoke, if this was the reason the Aing-Tii had developed their rainbow theory of the nature of the Force. Standing here, embraced indeed by its power, Luke could understand why they felt so.

He took a deep breath, pulled himself back from the awe the place inspired, and said, "We're here for a purpose. Let's be about it."

Ben literally shook his head to clear it, then nodded. They moved forward, through this antechamber crowded with Force-imbued stones, to a second cavern.

It was much larger than the first, a rectangular s.p.a.ce about twenty by thirty meters. While this cavern, too, was illuminated by the Force, that was not the primary reason for Ben's quick inhalation.

Everywhere the eye looked were relics. They were stacked three or four deep, in haphazard piles that looked as though they'd been simply tossed down.

"If these things are so precious to them, why do the Aing-Tii treat them so carelessly?" Ben asked, nudging a round, apparently seamless object gently with a foot.

"Because they can't touch them," Luke said. "They can't organize or arrange or catalog them in any way. They just have to bring them in here somehow-wrapped in something perhaps-and set them down."

"And we have to sort through all this?" Ben said, his voice cracking slightly. Luke couldn't blame him. Such a task was not just daunting but bordering on the impossible.

"We don't have to compile data and a.n.a.lyze each one," Luke said. "But ... from what Tadar'Ro seemed to think, we'll find answers as we handle them. Insight. Knowledge that we can pa.s.s along to the Aing-Tii about what direction they should go."

Ben looked slightly less pained, but still very dubious. "How long do you think it'll take?"

"Well," Luke said, "I do have nine years and a few months left to fill ..."

"That's not funny"

INSIDE THE EMBRACE,.

ON THE AING-TII HOMEWORLD.

THE PROCESS WAS HARDLY A SWIFT ONE, BUT IT WENT FAIRLY QUICKLY. After a few moments of paralyzing indecision at the vastness of the task, Luke and Ben started the simplest way possible-they picked up the first item they encountered as they entered the cavern, and began there.

Everything they touched had the imprint of the Force on it in some way, shape, or form. Some were fairly powerful to handle; others only had a faint residue. Most of what they picked up, examined in the Force, and then discarded was clearly technological, although some items were fossils or stones or other organic materials.

"If only we could take all these things to the Temple," Luke said wistfully. It was impossible, of course. The relics belonged to the Aing-Tii, and they would never part with even the least of them. "So much knowledge here. So much we could learn, about other cultures, about the history of the galaxy, perhaps about the Force itself. You and I don't have the skills or the tools to properly examine even the smallest fragment of what we're seeing. All this wisdom, collected here by beings who are forbidden even to handle them, let alone study them. I respect other beings' religions, but I have to confess ... this strikes me as a tragic waste."

"I know," Ben said. "I'm really curious about some of these things." He paused, looking up at his father as a long, twining piece of what seemed to be metallic rope twisted slowly of its own accord in his hand. "So ... what are we looking for?"

"Guidance," Luke said. "A ... hit, a bit of insight. You'll know it if it happens."

"There are times," Ben said drily, "when I empathize with those who express frustration with the vagueness of the Force."

After the first few hours, when they had made only a little headway and stopped for a food and water break, Luke found himself agreeing with Ben's comment.

"They're all powerful items," Ben was saying as he chewed on a stick of something greenish brown and intended to be more nutritious than tasty. "I mean, I get that. But I'm not getting any hits. Nothing that's shouting out, Do This, Aing-Tii!"

"Neither am I," Luke admitted.

"Dad ... do you think we're going to find anything to help Tadar'Ro and his people?"

Luke hesitated. "It's completely possible that there isn't anything in here to find. But there are still an awful lot of artifacts," he pointed out. "It may be that there's one particular thing that will turn out to be useful, and we'll just have to find it."