Zekk blinked back stinging tears of pride and accomplishment as Brakiss draped the heavy fabric over his padded shoulders, then fastened the cape at his throat with a clasp shaped like a ferocious silver scarab.
Zekk watched Tamith Kai, who stood coiled with deadly energy, like a rogue assassin droid. He saw the tall Nightsister flinch at the mention of the slain Vilas, who had been her student, her candidate for the Shadow Academy’s champion. But Zekk had defeated the surly, overconfident young man, and now he wore the black cape … while Vilas was little more than space dust ejected from the garbage port.
Brakiss stepped back and folded his hands in front of him; silvery sleeves flowed down his wrists, swallowing up his manicured hands. “The time has come for you to embark on your first important mission for us, Zekk. You will be given command of troops to prove your skills.”
Zekk’s heart leaped. He didn’t think he could stand any more exhilaration in one day. “What,” he stammered, “what do you wish me to do?”
“As a final stage in preparing for our attack on Rebel fortifications, we must launch another raid to obtain vital supplies. You will lead an assault team to the Wookiee world of Kashyyyk. There, in one of their technological tree cities, is the fabrication facility for the most sophisticated computer equipment used by our enemy’s ships.
“If your raid is successful in obtaining guidance and tactical systems, we will have an enormous advantage in our overall conflict. We will then be able to throw the Rebel fleet into confusion and use their own computers against them to transmit conflicting signals. We can also use these systems to mimic their secret ship ID patterns, so that Second Imperium fighters can travel freely in enemy territory by identifying themselves as Rebel ships.
“Because of the importance of this mission, you will be assigned a powerful team. I am giving you use of the new holographic disguises we have developed for just such an infiltration effort. Everything depends on you, Zekk. Do you feel up to the task?”
Zekk nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! Yes, I can do that for you.”
Tamith Kai strode forward into the pool of bright light that poured down on Zekk. He turned to look at the tall, ominous woman. Her wine-dark lips curved down in a serious expression. As if pronouncing his doom, she said, “There is one other part of the plan. Through an intercepted transmission, we have learned that those troublesome young Jedi brats are even now on their way to Kashyyyk. They sent a message to say goodbye to their mother—luckily Qorl has been monitoring all comm traffic from the vicinity of Yavin 4 back to the capital world.” She stared at her claw-like fingernails, as if she found something interesting there.
“We had originally planned to wait a few more weeks before conducting this raid, but now … the timing couldn’t be more perfect.” Her violet eyes flashed with pleasure. “Your second assignment is to make sure that Jacen and Jaina and their difficult friends are … removed, so that we can proceed with our galactic conquest without worrying about their meddling.”
Zekk swallowed hard when he heard the new orders, but did not reply. Jacen, and especially his sister Jaina, had been good friends for much of his youth. They had parted ways, though, when the twins went off to the Jedi academy, abandoning Zekk to his squalid life in the underworld of Coruscant. He had had no hope for a bright future until the Shadow Academy found him.
“All right,” Zekk said in a voice low and hoarse. He tried to speak louder, not willing to let self-doubt show through. He had made his own choices, and now he had to follow through on them despite the difficulties his conscience might encounter. “All right,” he repeated. “When do we leave?”
“As soon as possible,” Tamith Kai answered.
In the outer docking bay of the Shadow Academy, Tamith Kai and the other two Nightsisters loaded the ship for its assault mission. The vessel, marked with neutral insignia, was a small cargo freighter stolen from a lost trader who had ventured too close to the Core Systems. Tamith Kai wondered idly if the trader still languished deep in an Imperial prison … or if the guards had gotten around to executing him yet, since the Second Imperium could never afford to let the man loose with his knowledge of the Core Systems and the commandeered freighter.
In the observation bubble above the docking bay, Qorl stood by the cloaking shield controls, monitoring preparations for the launch of the mission. The old pilot would not accompany them himself, but he had chosen a handful of the Second Imperium’s newly constructed TIE fighters and bombers to be loaded into the freighter’s cargo bay.
“We’ll see if Brakiss was wrong to place confidence in his young pet,” Tamith Kai murmured in her low, rich voice. “I still don’t trust him. What is it Norys calls the boy—trash collector? I sense that Zekk hasn’t yet given himself entirely over to the dark side.”
Vonnda Ra frowned, her squarish face puzzled. “But after all the work he’s done—look at his training. How can you question Zekk’s abilities?”
“It is his motives I question, not his abilities. I had no such doubts about the loyalty of my Vilas.”
Garowyn interrupted. “Perhaps, Tamith Kai. But Vilas is dead. Zekk proved to be a better fighter. Perhaps you’re simply being a sore loser.”
Tamith Kai’s eyes flared like twin violet stars about to explode. “I am not a sore loser,” she snarled.
“Obviously not,” Garowyn said, turning away with an ironic smile.
Tamith Kai clenched her fists in rage. “I think Zekk still has feelings for those obnoxious Jedi twins. His friendship is not so easily given up.” She calmed herself. Her lips, dark as overripe fruit, twisted into a smile. “That’s why I made sure this mission would be more than just a simple raid. Let us watch how Zekk takes care of his other assignment.”
Vonnda Ra stored a crate of weapons inside the cargo shuttle and went to fetch the heavy belts that carried their holographic-disguise generators. “I thought the computer guidance and tactical systems were our most important objective.”
“For you, perhaps, and for the Second Imperium,” Tamith Kai said, nodding distractedly, “but not for me.”
Garowyn crossed her wiry arms over her small chest. “You may be my nominal superior, Tamith Kai, but I can set my own priorities as well. I’ll assist you in this raid, but the main reason I’m going along is to retrieve our … stolen property.”
“What stolen property?” Vonnda Ra asked, the belts and holographic control packs still dangling from her outstretched arms.
“Our greatest ship, our most ambitious design, with quantum armor and powerful weapons—the Shadow Chaser. It is the peak of the Second Imperium’s engineering success, my one joy. But Skywalker and that traitorous girl from Dathomir tricked me into an escape pod and stole my own ship out from under me! The Jedi academy has been using it ever since. I had all but given up hope of ever regaining what was rightfully mine, but now I’ve learned that the Wookiee and the Jedi brats have taken my ship to Kashyyyk. Now is our perfect chance to retrieve what is ours.”
“Well, if you do get the Shadow Chaser, there will be more room for us when we return in the assault shuttle, then,” Vonnda Ra said.
Tamith Kai directed a cool stare at the short, bronze-haired Nightsister. At last she smiled, with just a trace of warmth. “So. I see we each have our own agendas,” she said. “Let us hope we all succeed.”
5
“Why, certainly, Master Lowbacca. I’d be happy to be of service in such a manner,” Em Teedee said as they approached Kashyyyk. “Calculation of that trajectory is really quite simple.”