Light of the Jedi(89)

He bent at the waist, his eyes narrowed, his teeth bared.

“…is by cutting out the weak.”

Marchion pressed harder with his boot.

“I have a plan to fix this,” he said. “Fix all of it. Do you want to hear it?”

Marchion Ro put a little more weight on Kassav’s chest, and the man groaned. He nodded. Marchion stepped back and watched as Kassav pulled himself to his feet.

“I understand why you’re all worried. This isn’t a good situation, and it’s on the verge of getting worse. But listen to what I have to say,” Marchion said.



The Tempest Runners looked at him, wary but interested.

“This will solve everything,” Marchion said. “Get the Republic off our backs, maybe even kill some Jedi. It’ll be back to business as usual. No more Emergences. Just the Paths, and the plunder. We can start bringing in new Strikes again. The good times will keep on rolling.”

The wariness dialed back, and the interest dialed up, even from Kassav. Marchion knew it would. None of them wanted to go it alone, without the Paths. They’d all made piles of credits from the Nihil, but they spent it as fast as it came in, on fancy ships and fancy clothes and elaborate banquets. Their greed would make the decision for them.

“Look—we’re smarter, and faster, and we’ve got the Paths,” he went on. “We’re ten steps ahead of the Republic. I’m telling you, we can fix this whole thing. The Nihil are my whole life. I’m not walking away without a fight.”



“We’re listening,” Pan Eyta said.

“Okay,” Marchion said. “We can get the flight recorder back, and without that, the Republic won’t be able to find us. We can lie low for a bit, reorganize, even move to the Mid Rim…the Paths let us work anywhere in the galaxy.”

He pointed at Kassav and Lourna Dee, one with each hand.

“You both made big mistakes, and your crews saw you do it. People are talking. You look weak. Your Storms have to be thinking maybe this is their chance for a hostile takeover. You can fix all that. Do it right, you’ll be heroes to your Tempests.”

He smiled at them, a big, encouraging smile. They didn’t seem reassured.

“Kassav, I’ve gotten word from my Republic sources that the flight recorder was damaged when the Legacy Run blew up. They got some data from it, but not the full set, not enough to find us. It’s being sent to a special facility to extract the rest. You can intercept the transport and destroy it.

“Lourna Dee, go to Elphrona and help your crew there finish that kidnapping job. We might need funds, and since that operation’s already in progress, we might as well bring in some credits, show the crews we’re still taking their needs into account. This is a time for unity. We have to come together.

“I’ll give you both the Paths you need to get it done.”

Lourna Dee nodded. Then, after a moment, so did Kassav.

“Do you…need me to do anything?” Pan Eyta said.

That was unusual. A Tempest Runner asking the Eye for orders was just…not the way it was done. The dynamic had shifted. They could all feel it. The moment for them to leave had come and gone. They had acknowledged that if they were going to stay with the Nihil and reap all its benefits, then they needed the Eye to save them from themselves.

“No, Pan,” Marchion said. “You’re fine for now.”

“Should we vote?” Lourna Dee asked.



“Absolutely,” Marchion Ro said.



They did. It was unanimous.

“Go,” Marchion said. “We don’t have a lot of time. Save the Nihil.”

The Tempest Runners left, heading for the air lock.

Marchion let them get a few steps away, then spoke.

“Kassav,” he said.

The man turned back.

Marchion pointed.

“Don’t forget your hand.”





Bell couldn’t believe what he was seeing—a hatch along the hull of the Nihil ship had opened…and a small figure had been tossed out. Just…thrown, like nothing.

He gasped. Loden, ahead of him in the pilot’s seat, put the Vector into a steep dive.

“Padawan,” his master said. “You will save the child. I will continue on and save the others. Do not fear. I am so proud to have been your teacher.

“I believe in you.”

The Vector’s cockpit levered open, the wind rushing past, so loud that speech was impossible.

But what more was there to say?

Bell unclipped his safety harness and leapt out.

Immediately gravity took him, and he fell into a spin. That didn’t matter. They were kilometers above the surface of Elphrona, which meant he had some time, but not much. If he was going to save the little girl—and he was sure it was the little girl, a child, tossed away by the Nihil like garbage—he needed to focus.



He pushed away his awareness of Loden’s Vector shooting back up into the sky, continuing the chase alongside Indeera in her own ship. He forgot about the ground, the sky, everything but the Force, and searched for a tiny spot of light within it, the sense of a lost child who needed to be saved.

There.

Bell could barely open his eyes against the rushing wind. He wished he had a pair of goggles…but truthfully, he didn’t need them, or his eyes, either. He had the Force.