Read Online Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II by Sean Williams - Free Book Online
Authors: Sean Williams
Tags: Fiction, General, Science-Fiction, adventure, Space Opera, Space warfare, Imaginary wars and battles, Star Wars fiction, Darth Vader (Fictitious character)
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a Y-wing, ” she muttered as she activated the starfighter s attitude controls, “or we’d never have fit. “
The arm folded back into its niche as the R-22 hovered gently across the rocky gray terrain. Juno took it as a personal challenge not to ding either vessel as she slid inside. Such maneuvers were unfamiliar to her after years of fighting combat and recon missions-and, more recently, simply telling the staff of her frigate where to go. She was pleased to feel old reflexes stirring, guiding her hand as much by instinct as by anything her head could identify.
With a gentle thud, the metal surfaces of the two ships met. The cargo shuttle’s hatch slid closed. Juno took her hands off the controls and waited.
When the space inside the shuttle had repressurized, a small hatch opened and a tall human male stepped our of the crew chambers. He wore a gray-green pressure suit, minus its helmet, and could have been any one of a million unskilled cargo shufflers from anywhere across the galaxy.
Only he wasn’t. Juno recognized him the moment the R-22’s landing lights caught his features.
It was Bail Organa.
The starfighter’s hatch swung open above her, and he helped her out of the pilot’s seat.
“You’re a little overqualified for this, aren’t you?” she said.
His Serene Highness, Prince Bail Prestor Organa, First Chairman and Viceroy of Alderaan, patted down his oil-smudged outfit. “What, haulage, or convincing the Dac resistance to join the Alliance?”
“Maybe both. “
“Well, I offered you a job once, and you said you’d think about it. “
“You called me a pilot with a conscience, ” she said. “I’d never work for someone with such poor judgment of character. “
They grinned and shook hands.
“Nice to see you, too, PROXY, ” he added as the droid unfolded from his own sear. “Come on through. “
“So this is how you stay our of the Emperor’s scopes, ” Juno said as he led them into the cramped, ozone-stinking cockpit. He was the shuttle’s only occupant.
“Parr of the time. ” He tapped the outdated instrument panel with some affection. “In this I can go practically anywhere, anytime, and no one gives me a second look. Same with this. ” He indicated the mirror-finished helmet hanging on a rack behind the pilot’s chair. “Cheaper than a cloaking device, and no messing around with stygium crystals. “
“Tell me about it. “
“Oh, yes, you’ve had experience with them, on the Rogue Shadow. ” He sobered. “I heard about Kota. That’s terrible news. “
She took the copilot’s seat. “It was bound to happen eventually. The man had crazy luck, but it couldn’t last forever. “
“He made his own luck. As we’re about to. “
He operated the controls with the ease of recent practice, lifting the cargo shuttle off the surface of the moon with the starfighter safely inside and sending it on a long arc around to the Dac-lit side. Juno noted with approval that he didn’t fly too well: Anyone watching would see the occasional jerk and misdirection, as they would expect from a clumsy grunt.
“I presume Leia explained the situation, ” she said.
He nodded. “We’re meeting Ackbar in an hour. “
“What’s the plan?”
“We don’t have one yet. “
“Where’s the rendezvous point, then?”
“A mining colony called Sar Galva. “
“Sar Galva is located on the Murul Trench, ” said PROXY. “We are not designed for aquatic environments. “
“No, but the Quarren are, and we need them if we’re ever going to get the Dac resistance movement into the Alliance. “
Dac rose over the moon’s forward horizon-a crystalline blue world streaked with high-altitude clouds. The cargo shuttle glided slowly upward until it broke free of the moon’s gentle gravitational pull and began powering for the planer. Its main drive was inefficient and noisy, making conversation difficult. Juno settled back into the seat, thinking over everything she’d
The arm folded back into its niche as the R-22 hovered gently across the rocky gray terrain. Juno took it as a personal challenge not to ding either vessel as she slid inside. Such maneuvers were unfamiliar to her after years of fighting combat and recon missions-and, more recently, simply telling the staff of her frigate where to go. She was pleased to feel old reflexes stirring, guiding her hand as much by instinct as by anything her head could identify.
With a gentle thud, the metal surfaces of the two ships met. The cargo shuttle’s hatch slid closed. Juno took her hands off the controls and waited.
When the space inside the shuttle had repressurized, a small hatch opened and a tall human male stepped our of the crew chambers. He wore a gray-green pressure suit, minus its helmet, and could have been any one of a million unskilled cargo shufflers from anywhere across the galaxy.
Only he wasn’t. Juno recognized him the moment the R-22’s landing lights caught his features.
It was Bail Organa.
The starfighter’s hatch swung open above her, and he helped her out of the pilot’s seat.
“You’re a little overqualified for this, aren’t you?” she said.
His Serene Highness, Prince Bail Prestor Organa, First Chairman and Viceroy of Alderaan, patted down his oil-smudged outfit. “What, haulage, or convincing the Dac resistance to join the Alliance?”
“Maybe both. “
“Well, I offered you a job once, and you said you’d think about it. “
“You called me a pilot with a conscience, ” she said. “I’d never work for someone with such poor judgment of character. “
They grinned and shook hands.
“Nice to see you, too, PROXY, ” he added as the droid unfolded from his own sear. “Come on through. “
“So this is how you stay our of the Emperor’s scopes, ” Juno said as he led them into the cramped, ozone-stinking cockpit. He was the shuttle’s only occupant.
“Parr of the time. ” He tapped the outdated instrument panel with some affection. “In this I can go practically anywhere, anytime, and no one gives me a second look. Same with this. ” He indicated the mirror-finished helmet hanging on a rack behind the pilot’s chair. “Cheaper than a cloaking device, and no messing around with stygium crystals. “
“Tell me about it. “
“Oh, yes, you’ve had experience with them, on the Rogue Shadow. ” He sobered. “I heard about Kota. That’s terrible news. “
She took the copilot’s seat. “It was bound to happen eventually. The man had crazy luck, but it couldn’t last forever. “
“He made his own luck. As we’re about to. “
He operated the controls with the ease of recent practice, lifting the cargo shuttle off the surface of the moon with the starfighter safely inside and sending it on a long arc around to the Dac-lit side. Juno noted with approval that he didn’t fly too well: Anyone watching would see the occasional jerk and misdirection, as they would expect from a clumsy grunt.
“I presume Leia explained the situation, ” she said.
He nodded. “We’re meeting Ackbar in an hour. “
“What’s the plan?”
“We don’t have one yet. “
“Where’s the rendezvous point, then?”
“A mining colony called Sar Galva. “
“Sar Galva is located on the Murul Trench, ” said PROXY. “We are not designed for aquatic environments. “
“No, but the Quarren are, and we need them if we’re ever going to get the Dac resistance movement into the Alliance. “
Dac rose over the moon’s forward horizon-a crystalline blue world streaked with high-altitude clouds. The cargo shuttle glided slowly upward until it broke free of the moon’s gentle gravitational pull and began powering for the planer. Its main drive was inefficient and noisy, making conversation difficult. Juno settled back into the seat, thinking over everything she’d
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