Read Online Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II by Sean Williams - Free Book Online Page B
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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it’s not the Black Eight. “
“Your old command?”
“I’m sure it’s gone downhill since I left, ” she said, “but I doubt its methods have improved. “
She thought of the forests of Callos melting into black sludge and tried not to imagine what Dac would look like after such an attack. Oceans were different from forests, but the principle was the same. Where life got in the way of the Emperor’s plans, its very existence was forfeit.
The scopes showed the hard surface of the seabed approaching. Undulating hills punctuated by the occasional sharp spire stretched off into the murky distance, covered with fields of thick, waving weeds. Organa leveled off and headed north. They hadn’t traveled far when an enormous chasm opened up before them. The Murul Trench, Juno presumed. Clinging to its side was an artificial structure that projected out over the depths. Several thick cables and pipes stretched vertically downward. What lay at the bottom, Juno couldn’t tell. The scopes didn’t even show a bottom.
“Welcome to Sar Galva, ” Organa said as he guided the shuttle to a halt near a docking tube. “This is nominally an Imperial station, but just in case… ” He handed her a fake ID, which she affixed to her flight uniform. “If anyone asks, my name is Aman Raivans. You’re Pyn Robahn. “
When the docking tube was empty of water and full of breathable atmosphere, they headed back to the air lock and cycled through. Juno stepped warily into the station, resting the air and finding it more than a little fishy. Literally. Sar Galva stank like an aquarium that hadn’t been cleaned for a decade.
Organa led the way. PROXY took up the rear. They passed a checkpoint without incident and headed deeper into the station through a maze of rubes and spherical-shaped compartments. Vast machines chugged and bubbled all around them. Juno didn’t have the first idea what the station extracted from the depths; fearing that asking might expose her as an outsider, she stayed quiet.
They passed several bulging-eyed Mon Calamari, but by far the majority of workers here were Quarren, with their tentacled faces and clawed hands. Juno didn’t suffer from speciesism as many of her old Imperial colleagues had, but she was still getting used to the variety of beings she encountered through the Alliance. Mon Calamari looked cheerfully guileless to her, while the Quarren were utterly unreadable. The language they used when talking to one another was unlike any other speech she had ever heard. She hoped the individuals she would be dealing with could at least understand Basic.
“Through here, I think, ” said Organa, waving her ahead of him into a cramped mess.
“You’re not sure?”
“Let’s just say that down here, everything’s uncertain. “
The room contained a long table and several individuals. Five orange-skinned Quarren huddled in a group at the far end. Closest to them was a slender Mon Calamari who looked up as they entered. Juno recognized him instantly from holos.
“Senator Organa, ” Ackbar said, reaching out with one long-fingered hand. “Thank you for coming. And you must be Captain Eclipse. “
Juno returned the handshake. Ackbar’s skin was damp and cool, and his grip surprisingly strong.
“Don’t close the door, ” he said to PROXY, who had turned to do just that. “We’re expecting someone else. ” The five Quarren looked up, and he introduced them in turn as Siric, Nosaj, Rarl, Cuvran, and Feril. “Siric is an underwater explosives expert, ” Ackbar explained. “He lost his family during the destruction of the Three Cities. He and his assistants are keen to help in any way they can. “
“We’re grateful to you for meeting us here, ” said Organa, offering them a brisk bow. “I’m as keen to see your planet freed as you are. “
The Quarren exchanged a handful of short words, none of them in Basic.
“Are they always this conversational?” asked Juno.
“Don’t be
“Your old command?”
“I’m sure it’s gone downhill since I left, ” she said, “but I doubt its methods have improved. “
She thought of the forests of Callos melting into black sludge and tried not to imagine what Dac would look like after such an attack. Oceans were different from forests, but the principle was the same. Where life got in the way of the Emperor’s plans, its very existence was forfeit.
The scopes showed the hard surface of the seabed approaching. Undulating hills punctuated by the occasional sharp spire stretched off into the murky distance, covered with fields of thick, waving weeds. Organa leveled off and headed north. They hadn’t traveled far when an enormous chasm opened up before them. The Murul Trench, Juno presumed. Clinging to its side was an artificial structure that projected out over the depths. Several thick cables and pipes stretched vertically downward. What lay at the bottom, Juno couldn’t tell. The scopes didn’t even show a bottom.
“Welcome to Sar Galva, ” Organa said as he guided the shuttle to a halt near a docking tube. “This is nominally an Imperial station, but just in case… ” He handed her a fake ID, which she affixed to her flight uniform. “If anyone asks, my name is Aman Raivans. You’re Pyn Robahn. “
When the docking tube was empty of water and full of breathable atmosphere, they headed back to the air lock and cycled through. Juno stepped warily into the station, resting the air and finding it more than a little fishy. Literally. Sar Galva stank like an aquarium that hadn’t been cleaned for a decade.
Organa led the way. PROXY took up the rear. They passed a checkpoint without incident and headed deeper into the station through a maze of rubes and spherical-shaped compartments. Vast machines chugged and bubbled all around them. Juno didn’t have the first idea what the station extracted from the depths; fearing that asking might expose her as an outsider, she stayed quiet.
They passed several bulging-eyed Mon Calamari, but by far the majority of workers here were Quarren, with their tentacled faces and clawed hands. Juno didn’t suffer from speciesism as many of her old Imperial colleagues had, but she was still getting used to the variety of beings she encountered through the Alliance. Mon Calamari looked cheerfully guileless to her, while the Quarren were utterly unreadable. The language they used when talking to one another was unlike any other speech she had ever heard. She hoped the individuals she would be dealing with could at least understand Basic.
“Through here, I think, ” said Organa, waving her ahead of him into a cramped mess.
“You’re not sure?”
“Let’s just say that down here, everything’s uncertain. “
The room contained a long table and several individuals. Five orange-skinned Quarren huddled in a group at the far end. Closest to them was a slender Mon Calamari who looked up as they entered. Juno recognized him instantly from holos.
“Senator Organa, ” Ackbar said, reaching out with one long-fingered hand. “Thank you for coming. And you must be Captain Eclipse. “
Juno returned the handshake. Ackbar’s skin was damp and cool, and his grip surprisingly strong.
“Don’t close the door, ” he said to PROXY, who had turned to do just that. “We’re expecting someone else. ” The five Quarren looked up, and he introduced them in turn as Siric, Nosaj, Rarl, Cuvran, and Feril. “Siric is an underwater explosives expert, ” Ackbar explained. “He lost his family during the destruction of the Three Cities. He and his assistants are keen to help in any way they can. “
“We’re grateful to you for meeting us here, ” said Organa, offering them a brisk bow. “I’m as keen to see your planet freed as you are. “
The Quarren exchanged a handful of short words, none of them in Basic.
“Are they always this conversational?” asked Juno.
“Don’t be
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