Tenel Ka frowned skeptically. “If you are addicted to spice, why should you be eager to destroy it?”
“Because it’ll hurt Czethros.”
“And you’re sure you won’t just save a little for yourself?” Zekk challenged.
“You can come with me if you want,” Anja said defiantly. “In fact, I could use your help to get past that stupid tree-man. I’ve got to rent a minisub. We can go together, find the stash, and destroy it. I guarantee that’ll deflate some of Czethros’s plans.”
“But why do we not take the spice back to doctors and patients who need it?” Tenel Ka asked.
“Because some of Czethros’s men may already be on their way to stop me. If we don’t destroy that spice, I have no doubt Czethros will manage to put his hands on it again before we ever have a chance to get it safely away from Mon Calamari.”
Jacen looked at Zekk and Tenel Ka. “It would be a pretty safe way to strike a blow against him—and with all those credits lost, it would really hurt.” He glanced back at Anja. “Was Czethros behind the troubles we had on Cloud City?”
She hung her head. “Yes … and I didn’t do a thing to stop him. At the time, I still wouldn’t let myself trust you. Even so, I had no idea he would try to have you murdered. Please believe me.”
“Sure, but why didn’t you trust us? We’ve tried to be friends to you in every way,” Jacen said, still surprised.
“Yes, but you’re also the son of Han Solo. I was hoping that you might still prove yourself to be as cowardly and untrustworthy as your father.” Anja’s eyes did not meet his. Despite the cold, perspiration ran in rivulets down her face and neck. Her hands shook.
Jacen drew a deep breath to calm himself. So, Anja still blamed Han Solo for the death of her father, though Han denied the situation vehemently, insisting that she didn’t have the correct story. But now that she had soured on Czethros, Jacen mused, perhaps she would listen to an explanation of events different from the one told by the man who had betrayed her.
Cilghal stood up. Her watery green-blue robes flowed around her. “I wish to rid my world of this illegal spice that you say is stored under the ice caps. We will go with you, Anja Gallandro, and help you destroy it. If you are telling us the truth, we will assist you in every way.”
“If you are telling us the truth,” Tenel Ka added.
“I’m not a liar,” Anja said. Her entire body trembled.
“Well, you didn’t exactly tell us the truth about yourself and who you worked for,” Zekk pointed out. “And you did steal my ship.”
Tenel Ka arched an eyebrow at Anja. “You also said you were not addicted to spice. This was not a fact.”
“And how did you get the Lightning Rod on and off Kessel without any entry in the records—if you didn’t lie to someone?” Jacen challenged.
Anja flushed a deep crimson. “That was different.” All business now, she stood up, brushing everyone’s comments aside. “Okay, I lied. But that was before. Things have changed, and I’m not lying to you now. I want to destroy that spice. Are you going to help me or not?”
They all nodded.
“Good,” Anja said. “I only wish I could be there when Czethros finds out what we’ve done.”
11
The cold, winding tunnels of the spice mines were almost completely devoid of light. Because glitterstim—the most common form of spice found on Kessel—was mined in total darkness, glowpanels were rarely used down here, and then only in areas where no mining was performed. Jaina shivered uncontrollably as she, Lowbacca, and Em Teedee made their way cautiously through the shafts, careful to avoid any contact with Czethros’s henchmen.
Lowie’s thick ginger fur provided ample protection against the cold, but Jaina’s comfortable brown flightsuit warmed her only a little. Lowie was also better equipped to see in the darkness, but since no light whatsoever was allowed to filter down into the tunnels, it was difficult for either of them to discern what lay ahead.
At Lowie’s suggestion, Em Teedee brightened his optical sensors just enough to allow the two Jedi to see a meter in front of them. They did not want to attract the attention of anyone who might turn them over to Czethros. With Lowie’s permission, Jaina walked a step behind, her numb fingers threaded into the fur on his back for warmth. The processed air in the tunnels chilled her throat and lungs with each breath. When she exhaled, a white mist streamed from her nostrils, further obscuring her dim vision.
A part of Jaina wished that Zekk, Jacen, and Tenel Ka were here to help them fight against the hostile takeover of Kessel. On the other hand, Jaina and Lowie were Jedi Knights themselves. They were resourceful, and she had no doubt that the two of them could find a way to seriously disrupt the plans Czethros had made.
“Do you suppose we’re anywhere close to that computer terminal we need?” Jaina asked through chattering teeth.
“Yes, indeed, Mistress Jaina,” Em Teedee replied in a modulated whisper. “I daresay we are now less than point-three kilometers from one of the emergency administrative terminals.”
Hope warmed Jaina, but only slightly. Lowie gave a questioning bark. “Oh, yes. Quite certain,” Em Teedee replied, swiveling on his microrepulsorjets to look back at Lowie. “You see, I took the liberty of downloading not only the diagrams of the docking facilities on Kessel, but also a topographical map of all the major mining areas, along with a listing of landmarks and technical stations, before we left Master Nien Nunb’s office.”
“You what?” Jaina said. Lowie gave a surprised woof.
“Oh, but I assure you I had his complete authorization to—”
“We believe you, Em Teedee,” Jaina said, laughing out loud with relief. “Why didn’t you tell us that before? We could have used a more detailed map.”
“Well, you didn’t inquire,” Em Teedee said, continuing to lead the way with his dim illumination. “The subject simply never arose. I had no idea that information would be so useful. I certainly didn’t anticipate an invasion force overthrowing the legal administrators and staging a complete takeover of the spice mines.”
Jaina shivered. “Neither did I. I certainly didn’t dress for it.”
Lowie began walking faster; knowing that they were close to their goal seemed to give him renewed energy. Jaina forced herself into a trot to keep up with the lanky Wookiee. Through the Force and her contact with her friend, Jaina could sense that a plan was beginning to form in Lowie’s mind. Her spirits lifted.
“Hey, Em Teedee?”
“Yes, Mistress Jaina?”
“I’m glad you’re on our team.”
Lowie groaned as the terminal rejected his request for access to the secure systems on the administrative level for the third time. Jaina bit her lower lip and tried to apply some creative thinking.
“I sure wish we knew what Czethros was up to right now,” she said.
Lowie shrugged and pounded a hairy fist against the terminal in frustration.
“Master Lowbacca, if I might be so bold … ?” Em Teedee piped up. “Perhaps my circuits can be applied to overcome some of Kessel’s security routines?”
“It couldn’t hurt,” Jaina said.
Lowie popped open Em Teedee’s casing, pulled out a few leads, and connected them to the terminal’s input port. Em Teedee proceeded to “Hmmm” and “Aha” for a few minutes, then said, “Oh, yes! Most gratifying. Even better than I might have hoped.”
A moment later, the image on the terminal screen split itself into five parts, with four small “windows” across the top and one large image taking up the lower two-thirds of the screen. To both Jaina and Lowie’s surprise, each of the smaller images began changing rapidly, showing a different scene: the main cargo bay, various mining tunnels, the packaging chamber and conveyor belts, assorted refresher units.