Read Online 501st: An Imperial Commando Novel by Karen Traviss - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Karen Traviss
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not saying much. I have to do most things the hard way. I’m not much of a Jedi.”
“Kad’s mother wasn’t strong in the Force, either,” Skirata said, “and she was a
terrific
Jedi.”
Ny caught Ordo’s eye and saw that slight raise of the eyebrow. He was fiercely protective of his father, always ready to intervene. But it was Jusik who stepped in.
“Kina Ha, I’ve never heard of another Force-sensitive Kaminoan,” he said. “May I ask a very personal question? Did they try to engineer your bloodline to maximize midi-chlorians?”
Ko Sai had been excited to get her hands on blood and tissue samples from Etain and Kad. It was an obvious question to ask when it was clear that Kamino had its own Jedi test subject all the time.
“Oh no, not at all,” Kina Ha said. She sounded like a Kuati dowager duchess, imposing and matriarchal, even with that misleadingly gentle Kaminoan voice. “My Force abilities seemed most unexpected and most unwanted. I was bred for
longevity
, for deep-space missions. We never carried out those missions, of course, so there I was, something of an
embarrassment
, and the only one of my kind—I didn’t fit the standard at all. So I felt it best to leave. As a species, we learned to fear too much diversity because controlling our genome was the way we survived the flooding of our world. A
one-off
, as you might call it, looks very much like a threat.”
Kad’s gaze was now fixed on Kina Ha. He didn’t even blink. Jusik carried on.
“If Ko Sai was so interested in midi-chlorians, then, why did she seem to have no record of you?”
“Bardan.” Kina Ha sounded as if she’d known him all her life. “This was all a
very
long time ago,
centuries
ago, and I suspect that my particular genetic records were erased before Kamino became such an
industrial
clonemaster. I’m not the kind of relative you’d want the neighbors to know about.” She almost laughed, a strange bird-like trill. “I do enjoy human holovids, as you can tell. I’ve had a great deal of time on my hands to watch them.”
The clones sat completely still, watching Kina Ha like snipers. Ordo wasn’t even eating. They seemed mesmerized by a being who was nothing like the Kaminoans they’d grown up with.
“I have a lot of questions for you,” Jusik said. “But I’m stopping you from enjoying your meal.”
“It’s very good fish broth,” Kina Ha said. “I confess that I hadn’t expected hospitality.”
“We didn’t expect you to laugh,” Mereel muttered.
“None of us meets the other’s expectations, then.” Shereached past Ny and put her long three-fingered hand on Atin’s arm. “I saw you, young man. Not as you are now, but I had a vision centuries ago that Kamino would unwittingly create a clone army for the dark side. They created so many clone armies, of course, a foolish and terrible thing to do anyway, so who was to say which one would be the army of my vision? So here we are, both of us unaware of the nature of those who used us.”
“We know now,” Fi said. “I don’t suppose you can tell me the winning numbers for next week’s Corellian lotto, can you?”
Fi always knew when and how to defuse a tense moment. Kina Ha looked him right in the eye with the dignity of immense age.
“Ten … fourteen … eighty-four … sixteen.”
Fi and Corr laughed. So did Jusik. Ny tried to look at Skirata as casually as she could, checking how he was holding up, but it was Uthan who diverted her attention. The scientist seemed fascinated, watching like a stalking tusk-cat. She just couldn’t take her eyes off Kina Ha.
Ny wondered if Uthan saw a fascinating old being, or a product full of genetic puzzles. It was an interesting reversal of roles for a species that saw humans as their top product line.
“Master Skirata,” Kina Ha said, “you said there would be a price for your generous protection. I would like to know what it is, in case I can’t afford it. Not fortune-telling, I
“Kad’s mother wasn’t strong in the Force, either,” Skirata said, “and she was a
terrific
Jedi.”
Ny caught Ordo’s eye and saw that slight raise of the eyebrow. He was fiercely protective of his father, always ready to intervene. But it was Jusik who stepped in.
“Kina Ha, I’ve never heard of another Force-sensitive Kaminoan,” he said. “May I ask a very personal question? Did they try to engineer your bloodline to maximize midi-chlorians?”
Ko Sai had been excited to get her hands on blood and tissue samples from Etain and Kad. It was an obvious question to ask when it was clear that Kamino had its own Jedi test subject all the time.
“Oh no, not at all,” Kina Ha said. She sounded like a Kuati dowager duchess, imposing and matriarchal, even with that misleadingly gentle Kaminoan voice. “My Force abilities seemed most unexpected and most unwanted. I was bred for
longevity
, for deep-space missions. We never carried out those missions, of course, so there I was, something of an
embarrassment
, and the only one of my kind—I didn’t fit the standard at all. So I felt it best to leave. As a species, we learned to fear too much diversity because controlling our genome was the way we survived the flooding of our world. A
one-off
, as you might call it, looks very much like a threat.”
Kad’s gaze was now fixed on Kina Ha. He didn’t even blink. Jusik carried on.
“If Ko Sai was so interested in midi-chlorians, then, why did she seem to have no record of you?”
“Bardan.” Kina Ha sounded as if she’d known him all her life. “This was all a
very
long time ago,
centuries
ago, and I suspect that my particular genetic records were erased before Kamino became such an
industrial
clonemaster. I’m not the kind of relative you’d want the neighbors to know about.” She almost laughed, a strange bird-like trill. “I do enjoy human holovids, as you can tell. I’ve had a great deal of time on my hands to watch them.”
The clones sat completely still, watching Kina Ha like snipers. Ordo wasn’t even eating. They seemed mesmerized by a being who was nothing like the Kaminoans they’d grown up with.
“I have a lot of questions for you,” Jusik said. “But I’m stopping you from enjoying your meal.”
“It’s very good fish broth,” Kina Ha said. “I confess that I hadn’t expected hospitality.”
“We didn’t expect you to laugh,” Mereel muttered.
“None of us meets the other’s expectations, then.” Shereached past Ny and put her long three-fingered hand on Atin’s arm. “I saw you, young man. Not as you are now, but I had a vision centuries ago that Kamino would unwittingly create a clone army for the dark side. They created so many clone armies, of course, a foolish and terrible thing to do anyway, so who was to say which one would be the army of my vision? So here we are, both of us unaware of the nature of those who used us.”
“We know now,” Fi said. “I don’t suppose you can tell me the winning numbers for next week’s Corellian lotto, can you?”
Fi always knew when and how to defuse a tense moment. Kina Ha looked him right in the eye with the dignity of immense age.
“Ten … fourteen … eighty-four … sixteen.”
Fi and Corr laughed. So did Jusik. Ny tried to look at Skirata as casually as she could, checking how he was holding up, but it was Uthan who diverted her attention. The scientist seemed fascinated, watching like a stalking tusk-cat. She just couldn’t take her eyes off Kina Ha.
Ny wondered if Uthan saw a fascinating old being, or a product full of genetic puzzles. It was an interesting reversal of roles for a species that saw humans as their top product line.
“Master Skirata,” Kina Ha said, “you said there would be a price for your generous protection. I would like to know what it is, in case I can’t afford it. Not fortune-telling, I
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