ambush and put raiders in these cockpits. Think about it."
"Bravo Flight leader, beginning recovery operations now," Venture
advised. "Request you observe comm silence until further notice."
"Affirmative, Venture. Bravo Flight, observe comm silence, effective
immediately."
Lieutenant Bos's recon-X was the first to be pulled out of line and
towed inside Venture's aftmost landing bay on the invisible line of a
tractor beam. Plat Mallar could not see what happened after that he
did not have a good angle on the bay, and the outer doors closed again
quickly after Bos's ship disappeared inside.
Five minutes later the process was repeated with Lieutenant Grannell
and Ferry Two, taken aboard amidships.
Nearly an hour passed before it was Plat Mallar's turn--a long, lonely
hour of anxious silence. They will never forgive us [or what we let
happen, Plat thought as his ship began to move. They will never trust
us again.
The lights in the landing bay were blazing at the levels used for
maintenance work and foreign-object scans. After living for nearly two
days under combat-cockpit lighting, Plat Mallar was blinded. Before
his eyes adjusted, he heard the honk of the rescue alarm and the hiss
of the hydraulics as the cockpit canopy began to rise around him.
"Come on down out of there," a commanding voice barked sharply as a
boarding ladder clanged against the side of the recon-X.
Squinting against the glare, Plat started to rise, but was hauled back
by his unseen umbilicals. He fumbled with the releases, then felt his
way over the side and onto the ladder, assisted by a hand that guided
his booted foot to the top rung.
By the time he reached the bottom of the ladder, he could see well
enough to identify the six helmeted and body-armored troops that
surrounded the recon-X.
Their blaster rifles remained pointed at him as he stepped down off the
ladder and backed away from the ship.
The two security officers who were actually within reach, however,
appeared to be unarmed. "Second Lieutenant Plat Mallar reporting.
What's going on?" Mallar asked, still trying to blink away the last of
the dazzle spots.
"Just stand right there while we take a look at your ID disc," said the
nearer of the two officers.
Mallar fished the silver circle out of its special shoulder pocket and
held it out to the man who'd spoken.
The major dropped the disc into a portable scanner and studied the
display. "What race are you?"
"Grannan."
"That's a new one on me," said the major, handing the disc back to
Mallar. "Isn't Granna an Imperial world?"
"I don't know what its current status is, sir," said Mallar. "I was
born on Polneyeand I was never much interested in politics."
"Is that so?" The major dismissed four of the troopers with a flick of
his fingers. At the same time, the other two shouldered their weapons
and moved behind Mallar, one hovering over each shoulder. "Report on
ship status."
It was then that Mallar noticed another pilot standing by, a flight
helmet tucked under one arm. Behind him a tech crew waited with an
instrument sled. "Engine three gets close to the redline running up to
rated thrust. Other than that, I didn't notice anything."
"Any combat damage?"
"Uh--we were hit by an Interdictor, and then we took a heavy ion salvo,
maybe two, I don't really know.
Everything went out for almost five minutes."
"Any operational gremlins or glitches afterward?"
"No, all the systems seemed to come back all right once the integrator
was stabilized. It should all be in the flight logs."
"Very well," said the major. "Second Lieutenant Plat Mallar, I
formally accept delivery of recon-X KE-four-oh-four-oh-nine, pending
technical inspection, and release you from your responsibility for this
vessel. Sergeant, escort this pilot to DD-eighteen and remain with him
"Can I recharge my purifiers first?" Mallar asked, tapping the
rectangular casing on his chest.
The major frowned. "I don't know what that's about, son. I just know
if I were you, I wouldn't be asking even for small favors right now."
Chewbacca and Lumpawarrump stood together at the boundary of the Well
of the Dead, where the Rryatt Trail turned away toward Kkkellerr.
"It is time,] Chewbacca said. [Tell me what you have learned. Tell me
the things you must know to hunt the katarn.] Lumpawarrump looked
nervously at the green thicket. [Never show him your back, for the
katarn will stalk you. Never flee, for the katarn will overtake you.
Never hasten your hunt, for the katarn will vanish before your eyes.]
[Then how are you to conquer your adversary?] [You must be patient, and
you must be brave,] Lumpawarrump said, sounding not at all brave.
[The katarn will allow you to follow it until it has taken your
measure, and then it will turn and charge.] [And then?] [And then you
must stand your ground until the katarn's breath is in your face and
the scent of its glands is in your nostrils. Your hand must be steady,
and you must take it in the center of the chest with your first shot,
because your second will find only empty air.] [You have listened well,
and remembered everything I have told you. Now we will see how much of
it you have truly learned.] Lumpawarrump unslung the bowcaster from his
shoulder and rubbed the newly polished metal of the stock with his
paw.
[I will try to make you proud.] [There is one more thing you must
remember: Mind the light. Do not let night find you in the Well of the
Dead. The katarn still owns the shadows and the darkness, and even the
Wookiee must respect that.] [How many katarn have you hunted, Father?]
[I have pursued the old prince five times,] Chewbacca said. [Once he
escaped me. Three times he fell: And once he gave me this warning that
I had been inattentive.] Taking his son by the wrist, Chewbacca made
him touch the long double scar ridge hidden by the thick fur on the
left side of Chewbacca's chest. [Be attentive, my son.] Lumpawarrump
stared for a moment, then pulled his hand back and began to load the
bowcaster.
Chewbacca stopped him.
[Why? Am I to go in unarmed?] [Wait until the moment. If you hunt
katarn with your weapon drawn and ready, you will find it too easy to
fire the quick shot, the long shot, the startled shot.
And then you have given over the advantage. You will never see the old
prince that takes you.] Those words shattered the last of
Lumpawar-rump's pretense. [Father--I am afraid.] [Be afraid. But go
forward, all the same.] Lumpawarrump stared, then slowly shouldered the
weapon. [Yes, Father.] Turning, his paws found a seam
in the green growth and parted it noiselessly. After a moment's
hesitation, Lumpawarrump eased himself lightly through the opening and
vanished from sight.
Chewbacca waited on the trail for a count of two hundred, then followed
his son into the Well of the Dead.
The man who entered compartment DD18 wore a dark green uniform with
markings wholly unlike those of Venture's crew or the troops aboard
her.
"My name is Colonel Trenn Gant, New Republic Intelligence," he said as
Plat Mallar jumped to his feet.
"Sit."
Mallar complied. "You must be here to ask me about the attack on the
commodore's shuttle."
"No," said Gant. "Actually, we have a pretty good idea of what
happened there." The colonel circled the table and Mallar once before
sitting down and Placing an interview recorder between them. "When did
you first learn the nature of the mission?"
"The nature of the mission? You mean the ferry duty, or that we would
be escorting Tampion?" When Gant showed no sign that he was going to
answer, Mallar went on. "I was called to the training commander's
office at oh-nine-fifty the day before yesterday, and I was told I had
been assigned to a recon-X ferry flight."
"And that was the first you knew of that assignment?"
"Yes--well, no. Admiral Ackbar told me the day before, when we were at
the simulator, that there was a chance they might need pilots for a
ferry mission. But I didn't know anything else until Captain Logirth
called me in. I got the details at the mission briefing, the same as
everyone else."
"What details were those?"
"It was a mission briefing," Mallar said, puzzled that Gant would need
an explanation. "Ship assignments--the jump vector--the formation we'd
be us-ing-the mission schedule--the lift order--the fact that we would
be escorting Tampion, and that some of us would be returning in the
shuttle."
"Is that all?"
"Well--there were some technical details on comm configuration and so
forth, yes."
"When did you learn that Commodore Solo would be aboard the shuttle?"
"Not until we were in our ships, ready to lift. Lieutenant Bos
recognized the commodore as he was boarding.
Before that, all we were told was that the shuttle would be carrying
command staff."
Gant nodded. "How much time elapsed between the mission briefing and
the cockpit call?"
"Four hours."
"I need for you to account for your whereabouts during that four
hours.
Don't leave anything out."
"I went right to the simulators and spent two hours doing lifts and
formation work. On the way back to the lockers, I stopped for about
ten minutes at the Memory Wall, looking at names. I took a five-minute
scrubdown, then I crawled into a sleep tube and spent the rest of the
time trying to--sleep, that is."
"Who'd you talk to?"
"I hardly talked to anyone. Lieutenant Frekka, my simulator
controller. I said a few words to Rags--Lieu-tenant Ragsall, who flew
as Ferry Seven in our group--in pilot country."
"What did you say?"
"I asked him how many of us he thought the Fifth would keep," said
Mallar.
"And what did he say to that?"
"He said that in combat, you don't usually lose the mount and get the
rider back--that the chances were that with a new fleet they'd need
almost as many pilots as they needed fighters."
"Who else did you talk to?"
Mallar shook his head. "The crew chief for my recon-X, the flight
leader--that's all I can remember.
Major, I was nervous, and when I'm nervous, I don't start a lot of
conversations."
"What were you nervous about?"
"About making a mistake. About making people regret giving me a
chance."
"Did you talk to anyone off the base?"
"I never left the base."
"What about your comlink?"
"No."
"Are you sure? Shall we look at the comm log?"
"I didn't talk to anyone--wait, I tried to call Admiral Ackbar. But he
wasn't available."
"Admiral Ackbar again," Gant said. "Do you have a special relationship
of some kind with him?"
"He was my primary flight instructor. And he's my friend."
"You managed to make friends in high places pretty quickly, didn't
you?"
"I don't know what you're trying to say. When I woke up in the
hospital, Admiral Ackbar was there.
Our friendship's been at his initiative--I wouldn't have known who he
was to seek him out. I didn't know who he was until much later."
"If it's at his initiative, why did you call him?"
"Because I'd just gotten good news, and I didn't have anyone else to
share it with who'd understand."
Mallar leaned forward, spreading his hands flat on the tabletop.
"Look, Major--I know we screwed up, and I know I'm going to be sent
back. But every one of us would rather have died than show up here
without the commodore."
"Really," said Gant. "My information is that not a single member of
your squadron fired a shot."
"We couldn't," Mallar said, coming to his feet with enough angry threat
in his posture to bring the guard a step forward. "It was just like
Polneye all over again.
They were waiting for us. We were out of it before we knew what was
happening. I was hit at least three times in the first five seconds,
and I don't think I got the worst of it. But I was pumping my triggers
right up to the moment when the last Yevethan ship jumped out--hoping
for a green light and a miracle."
Gant's hand shot out and caught Mallar's right wrist, forcing him to
turn that hand upward. The movement revealed purple-black bruises
across the palm pad and a bloody, scabrous blister covering the last
third of the thumb.
Cocking an eyebrow as he released his grip, Major Gant sat back and
crossed his arms over his chest. "Yes.
They were waiting for you--at an intercept point ninety-one light-years
outside Koornacht Cluster. They didn't just take a wild shot in the
dark. They knew exactly who and what they were aiming at. And that's
my problem, pilot. That's my problem with this whole affair."
Mallar relaxed into his chair. "I don't know how the Yevetha found out
enough to be there waiting for us.
If I had any ideas, I'd have told you when you walked in here, instead
of making you sift through the sand. The only thing I know is, it had
to come from someone who knew about it before I did--before the pilots
did. Tell me if I'm wrong, but I don't think an Interdictor could
cross ninety-one light-years in four hours--not on its best day."
"You are correct," Gant said, reaching out and collecting the
recorder.
Then he slid Mallar's ID disc across the table to him. "Sergeant, take
Second Lieutenant Mallar to pilot country and show him how to find the
'fresher and berth forty-D. Mallar, you're restricted to pilot
country, comm privileges suspended, until someone cuts new orders for
you."
"Yes, sir." Mallar slipped the disc into its pocket as he stood.
"Thank you, sir."
"I've done you no favors, Mallar. I'm looking for a traitor. I
haven't found him yet."
"Yes, sir," Mallar said, nodding and letting the soldier lead
the way
toward the hatch.
Gant stood and turned as Mallar passed him. "One other thing."
Mallar stopped short, his heart suddenly pounding.
"What, Major?"
"Why do you think the Yevetha left you and the others alive?"
"Sir--at first I thought it was so we could carry the message back, as
witnesses."
"And now?"
"Now I think they did it to humiliate us."
"Explain."
"Major, if we'd died out there, or been taken hostage, that would have
made us important, too. What they did told us that we aren't even
important enough to kill. It's like they understood just how to make
us feel small. Futility, Major--that's the message they wanted us to
bring back. They showed us they can go where they want to and do what
they want to, and there's nothing we can do about it."
"Don't you believe that for a minute, son," Major Gant said firmly.
"This isn't over--it's just beginning.