The Unifying Force Page 28

  He looked into the night sky. For no reason he could fathom, each jump seemed to have brought him closer to a familiarity that had nothing to do with star systems or planets. Even in the most remote realms of the Unknown Regions, his connection with the Force had

  ever faltered. But with the previous jump he had begun to hear the whispers of his fellow Jedi, and their urgency told him that it was

  dn'

  peal that he, Mara, and the others return. If the imminent jump

  t succeed, or if it should leave Zonama far from where Luke

  lted the planet to emerge, then he would do as Mara had wished, and make use of Jade Shadow.

  felt Jacen approach from behind him, but didn't turn from the

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  "Something has happened," he said finally.

  "I feel it, Uncle Luke," Jacen said. "The Jedi, our friends . »

  "It's not only them. The danger is widespread."

  Jacen came alongside him. A gust of wind tugged at the cowl his robe. "Another Ithor? Another Barab One?"

  "Not yet," Luke said. "But a new evil has been unleashed."

  "By the Yuuzhan Vong?"

  "By the dark side."

  Jacen nodded. "Your real enemy."

  Luke turned to him. "You should be thinking about your own course, Jacen, not mine."

  Jacen exhaled with purpose. "I have no one but you to look to to know which path I should take. Our courses are entangled."

  "Then I guess I'd better listen to what you've decided about me."

  Jacen took a moment to collect his thoughts. "From everything you've told me over the years about confronting your father and the Emperor, it has always seemed to me that neither of them was your real enemy. Each tried to entice you to join him. But they were never the source of your fear. You feared falling to the dark side."

  Luke grinned faintly. "Is that all?" he said finally.

  Jacen shook his head. "On Coruscant, at the ruins of the Jedi Temple, Vergere said that the Jedi had a shameful secret, and that secret was that there is no dark side. The Force is one. And since there are no separate sides, the Force can't take sides. Our notions of light and dark only reflect how little we know about the true nature of the Force. What we've chosen to call the dark side is simply the raw, unrestrained Force itself, which gives rise to life as easily as it brings death and destruction."

  Luke listened closely. Now I shall show you the true nature of the Force, the Emperor had told him at Endor.

  On Mon Calamari, Vergere had tried to lead him down the same path, by implying that Yoda and Obi-Wan were to blame for not telling him the truth about the dark side. As a result of their neglect> when Luke had cut off his father's hand in anger, he assumed he ha had a close brush with the dark side. When he stood at the side ot U» cloned Emperor, he had truly felt the dark side. Ever since, he ha

  e to equate anger with darkness itself, and he had passed that

  .jo- to the Jedi he had tutored. But in fact, according to Vergere,

  ke had been misguided by his own ego. She had maintained that,

  -h'le darkness could remain in someone by invitation, it could just as

  •jv be jettisoned by self-awareness. Once Luke accepted this, he

  uld no longer have to fear being seduced by the dark side.

  "You're suggesting that I've held myself back by not wanting to

  • corporate this raw power into my awareness of the Force," Luke

  said.

  "Vergere received years of formal training in the Force," Jacen

  said "The things she told me must have been common knowledge among the Jedi of the Old Republic."

  "Vergere was corrupted by the years she spent living among the Yuuzhan Vong," Luke said evenly. "Corrupted?"

  "Maybe that's too strong a term. Let's say strongly influenced." "But she felt she hadn't been influenced by them." "She can't be blamed. Each of us stands at a kind of midpoint, from which we're capable of seeing only so far in either direction. Our senses have been honed over countless millennia to allow us to navigate the intricacies of the physical world. But because of that, our senses blind us to the fact that we are much more than our bodies. We truly are beings of light, Jacen.

  "The emphasis the Jedi have always placed on control operates the same way. Control blinds us to the more expansive nature of the Force. The Jedi of the Old Republic wanted only youngsters for this reason. Jedi needed to be raised in the light, and to come to see that light as unblemished, undivided. But you and I haven't had the luxury of that indoctrination. Our lives are a constant test of our will to exorcise any darkness that creeps in.

  In that sense, your instincts about me are correct, and so were

  ^ergere's. The dark side has, in a sense, dominated my life. I've sus-

  ;cted for a long time that the fatigue I've sometimes experienced

  tlen drawing on the Force during combat owes to my fear of abusing

  le ra'w power you describe.

  It's true that the Force is unified; it is one energy, one power.

  But here's where I think you and Vergere are incorrect: the dark 'H is real, because evil actions are real. Sentience gave rise to the dark s'H Does it exist in nature? No. Left to itself, nature maintains the h ance. But we've changed that. We are a new order of consciousn , that has an impact on all life. The Force now contains light and d because of what thinking beings have brought to it. That's why b I ance has become something that must be maintained—because o actions have the power to tip the scales."

  "As the Sith did," Jacen said.

  "As the Sith did. The Emperor was perhaps the most self-assured person I have ever encountered, but he deliberately chose evil over good. And in the right climate, one individual, suitably driven and skilled, can tip the universe into darkness. For darkness has followers especially where discontent, isolation, or fear hold sway. In such a climate enemies can be fashioned, imagined out of thin air, and suddenly all good is lost, all perspective vanishes, and illness takes hold."

  Luke paused, then said, "Do you believe that you spoke with Vergere after her death at Ebaq Nine, or were you conversing with the Vergere who existed only in your thoughts and memory?"

  Jacen thought for a moment. "I spoke with Vergere. I'm certain of it."

  "Do you believe that I had a vision of Obi-Wan, Yoda, and my father after all three had died?"

  "I've never had any reason to doubt you, Uncle."

  "Then, from where was Vergere speaking?"

  "Maybe she learned to tap into a power that was more all-embracing than the Living Force."

  "The Unifying Force," Luke said. "That might explain it. In fact, all the years since the deaths of Obi-Wan, Yoda, and my father, I've felt as if the Jedi have been on a quest to recover the Force's power to glimpse the future, which is perhaps the nature of the Unifying Force. The search has been not been unlike our search for Zonama Sekot. And there's a power here, in the air and the trees and everything else' that convinces me we've found our way to something even greater than what we were seeking."

  "I feel that too." Jacen looked at Luke. "I told Sekot about your

  planLuke Was surprised. "You spoke with Sekot in private?" "In the form of Vergere, yes."

  "And?"

  "Sekot thinks it can be done. Sekot also asked to speak with

  nni about yammosk jammers and decoy dovin basals." a Luke nodded in satisfaction. "That's good. But it's important to eniember that battles are not always decided by warships or other weapons. The important battles are won in the Force." He gestured broadly to the abyss and the starfield. "All this will pass away, but the Force endures. We tap its power, and if we so choose, it moves us according to designs we will never be able to understand."

  Abruptly, Luke turned around. Jacen followed his lead and saw Mara standing silently behind them.

  "Unless you two are planning to ride out the next jump on the wing, I suggest you get to the shelters."


  "We were just on our way," Luke said. "This could be the last peaceful stretch we'll know for a long while."

  Ipha Red," Kyp said, as if having trouble believing his own words.

  He walked distractedly to the yammosk basin, his boots leaving prints in the liquefied blorash jelly. There, he gestured to the gruesome scene: Malik Carr, the priest, and eight warriors, bleeding from mouths, eyes, ears; amphistaffs, villips, and yammosk, dead; yorik coral bleached of color.

  "Alpha Red."

  Han and Leia traded questioning glances with each other and with Page. Lando, Talon, and Shada did the same.

  "Is that some sort of curse I'm not familiar with?" Lando asked Kyp.

  "You could say that." Kyp sat down on the basin's curved step. "Alpha Red is the name of a Yuuzhan Vong-specific poison developed by Chiss scientists and Dif Scaur's Intelligence gang. From what I know about it—and I don't know a lot—the starting point was bafforr tree pollen, and the bioweapon just kept growing from there."

  "Kyp, how do you even know anything about this?" Leia asked.

  "A dubious privilege of being a member of Cal Omas's Advisor}' Council," he said. "The first batch—the trial batch—was refined about a year ago, and tested in secret. It might have been deployed

  H scale at the time, if not for two things: our victory at Ebaq Nine

  andVergere."

  "A Fosh Jedi of the Old Republic," Leia explained for the benefit f Page, Meloque, and some of the others. "Vergere lived as a spy ne the Yuuzhan Vong for fifty years. She helped rescue our son Jacen at Myrkr, and died at Ebaq."

  "A month or so before Ebaq," Kyp added, "Vergere stole the mole batch of Alpha Red and destroyed it, or somehow transformed . jnto something harmless." He glanced at Leia, and she nodded for him to continue. "Alliance command ruled it an act of treason, but not much has been said about Alpha Red since then, in part because it's been rumored that Jacen had something to do with Vergere's escaping the military cordon set up at Kashyyyk. I thought the project had been scuttled. Obviously I've been kept out of the loop."

  "This stuff doesn't only kill individual Yuuzhan Vong," Han said, looking around the chamber.

  Kyp nodded. "You're right about that. It targets some genetic or cellular component that the Yuuzhan Vong share with all their biots— from the smallest right up to the largest. Even their war vessels." "The crashed coralskipper," Leia said. Han regarded Page with suspicion.

  The captain raised his hands in innocence. "Han, I swear, this is the first I've heard of Alpha Red."

  Han looked at tall Meloque, who shook her head. "If I knew about Alpha Red, I'm certain I would have done what the Jedi did."

  All heads turned to Wraw, whose head fur stirred. Then the Bothan Intelligence agent shrugged nonchalantly.

  "Alliance command wanted field assurance that Alpha Red would work outside a laboratory setting. It's been used effectively on cap-ves, but we couldn't be sure what would happen in an uncontrolled em'ironment. When Intelligence learned that Caluula had been tarred by the Vong for occupation, it was chosen to be planet zero— >teP one in winning the war."

  Meloque loosed a mournful sign. "Extermination. More of the B°than ar'krai."

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  His hands curled into claws, Han stormed across chamber made it only halfway to Wraw before Kyp wrapped his arms him in restraint.

  "That's why Caluula's governor promised a peaceful surrend Han yelled. "Your people let the orbital station fall, just so you Co launch this half-witted plan!"

  "Take it easy, Solo," Wraw said. "If I'd been in on the planning that level, you think I'd be along on this little joyride? I'm here as observer—nothing more."

  "Nothing more?" Han struggled against Kyp's hold. The muscles in his neck stood out like cables. "This whole op has been nothing but a reconnaissance to see if Alpha Red had done the trick!"

  "Not true," Wraw fired back. "Our mission was to destroy the yammosk, and now the thing's dead. Alliance had good reason to believe that the Vong were planning to use Caluula as a fallback point. I've no explanation as to why there aren't more war vessels in orbit."

  Han relaxed, and Kyp let him go. "So if Alpha Red failed, then we'd be on hand to make sure the yammosk was killed."

  Wraw shrugged again. "Director Scaur is big on redundancy. But, yes, he wanted to be confident that the yammosk would die one way or the other."

  "You knew all along," Leia said to Wraw. "The patrol we ambushed, the crashed coralskipper ..."

  "I'll admit that I was encouraged by what I saw."

  Han sneered. "You're no better than the Yuuzhan Vong."

  Wraw's fur rippled again. "You said you wanted to teach me the ways of the world. Well, maybe it's you who needs the lesson. What we did here was necessary." He pointed toward the ceiling. "That shaper and her special warriors are going to take Alpha Red to Yuuzhan'tar, and from there it's going to spread to other occupied worlds up and down the invasion corridor. So instead of ranting at me, Solo, you should be taking heart. The Vong's day are numbered. The war is essentially over.''''

  "You killed them," Meloque mumbled, then yanked herself fr°m her musings in wide-eyed panic to glare at Wraw. "You killed tn winged-stars!"

  swallowed hard. "You don't know that."

  She collapsed to her knees to the spongy floor, as if her legs had A to gel. "Don't you realize what you've done — what you've shed? The effects of Alpha Red aren't confined to the Yuuzhan gi Your superiors want assurance? Tell them that Alpha Red has assed everyone's expectations, Agent Wraw. Sentient and nonsen-life is also susceptible. If those Yuuzhan Vong craft reach Coruscant, the entire galaxy could be at risk!"

  "What craft?" Lando asked. "What's she talking about?"

  "A couple of enemy vessels went up the well just before you

  arrived," Page said.

  Karrde whipped his comlink from his belt and activated the call button. "Crev, are you receiving me?"

  "Just barely, Talon," a deep male voice answered after several moments of static. "What's your status?"

  "I'll tell you later, Crev. Right now, you've got to alert Booster's gunners to destroy every Yuuzhan Vong ship in the area."

  Crev Bombossa laughed. "What'd you think we've been doing? Not that there's been a whole lot of targets."

  "Thank the Force," Meloque said quietly.

  "Only one ship got past us," Bombossa continued. "A corvette analog like nothing we've ever seen. Scaled, with three pairs of pincer-arm rock spitters and an uplifted stern."

  Han looked at Leia. "The skips that chased us to Caluula. They must have been grown for the slayers."

  Han's alarm was enough for Talon. His hand tightened on the comlink. "Crev, tell me you've still got that vessel in your sights!"

  "Hang on, Talon."

  Everyone fell silent, waiting through several more moments of static; then Crev's voice returned.

  "Talon, sorry to report that the craft jumped to hyperspace before we could nail it."

  put her face in her hands and began to sob. Han worked his jaw in anger and dismay. "Our only hope is that le crew dies before that ship reverts to realspace."

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  On the bridge of the Bothan Assault Cruiser Ralroost, Adnv Kre'fey swiveled the command chair away from the observation ba listen to an update from the comm officer. Local space was with warships, but untroubled. Blue Mon Calamari turned cal below.

  "Elements of the Second and Third Fleets have repositioned Mon Eron," the human officer said. "Grand Admiral Pellaeon repo that Right to Rule is under way to complement defenses there. AJS two Hapan battle groups have arrived from Iceberg Three to reinforc' Mon Calamari home defense forces. We should have visual contact with them at any moment, sir."

  Kre'fey glanced out the observation bay. Ralroost, along with the Star Destroyer Rebel Dream and the cruiser Tald, had relocated to Mon Calamari's moon, in preparation for meeting the advancing armada head-on. With th
e Yuuzhan Vong moving toward Sep Elopor the confrontation was hours or perhaps days away, depending on Nas Choka's strategy. But now the inhabited world of Mon Eron, fifth in the system, was in jeopardy. The system's fourth and third planets were on the far side of the sun.

  With the unexpected departure of almost half the enemy armada, some semblance of parity had been established. But with equivalence had come renewed ferocity, and, given the mounting casualties, the Alliance was faring worse than it had at the start of the battle. Scanners displayed the heavily damaged frigates and pickets emptying their arsenals at the Yuuzhan Vong, and starfighters with wings blown off adding what they could to the fight. For every starfighter lost, three or four coralskippers disappeared from the theater. But the Yuuzhan Vong seemed to have a near-limitless supply of the small craft, and as fast as a tentacle was decimated, it was refreshed by flights of skips avalanched from the dusky innards of enemy carriers and brought into quick formation by however many yammosks flew at the core.

  "Do we have news on the secondary flotilla?" Kre'fey asked. 1

  till

  "Not yet, sir. To the best of our knowledge, the flotilla is still tray' 1 eling Coreward along the Perlemian."

  Sien Sow, Commodore Brand, and other commanders were s

  ting t° tne ^act t'iat t^ie seParated cluster had departed by the 1 route the Yuuzhan Vong had taken to reach Mon Calamari. It S bvious now that the Yuuzhan Vong had no intention of using

  ., IS

  '1 or Caluula as fallback or staging positions. Both planets had been diversions.

  •

  Kre'fey berated himself for not having realized that the Alliance been deceived when the armada hadn't jumped directly to the j( n Calamari system. Warmaster Nas Choka simply wanted to clear h transit points of mines, so that on withdrawal the secondary flotilla could attack the transceiving ships with impunity. But where was the flotilla bound now?