moment.
Dropping from fifty meters into the ocean was nothing like diving into a pool; the surface tension of the water struck them with the impact of a sledgehammer. During the fall they had turned slightly, so the impact took Johun on the right side. He felt his ribs crack, and then a cold shock as the freezing waters enveloped them.
It took Johun several seconds to realize he wasn't dead. Even missing the rocks, a fall from that height should have been lethal. Yet somehow he had survived, though he was now sinking quickly into the ocean's angry depths. The Force, he thought in amazement. He had given himself over to its power during the fall; in return it had spared his life.
He realized he was still clutching tightly to the front of the Twi'lek's shirt. Through the murky waters he could see his opponent's head lolling to the side at an unnatural angle, his neck broken when they had slammed into the unyielding ocean surface.
Releasing his grip he swam toward the surface, pulling with powerful strokes. Just as his lungs threatened to give out, he breached, gasping and swallowing huge gulps of air. The girders supporting the platform rose up out of the water before him, only a few meters away. He kicked his legs and reached out to grab the slick, wet durasteel with hands already going numb in the chill waters, then began the long slow climb back to the top.
Blood poured freely from the cuts to his forearms. But though the wounds were deep, they hadn't struck any critical nerves or tendons, and he was able to use his hands to help him along as he clambered up the girders.
He had reached the halfway point when he paused to rest, shivering in the wind. A voice called his name; looking up, he saw the face of Chancellor Valorum staring down at him. Knowing he needed to save his breath for the rest of the climb, Johun's only response was a weak wave of acknowledgment.
Half a meter from the top Valorum's arm reached down over the edge to clasp his own. The exhausted Jedi was grateful for the aid as the Chancellor helped him clamber up and back onto the safety of the platform. Johun tried to stand, but his limbs betrayed him. All he could manage was to roll onto his back and stare up at the sky, panting and wheezing as he tried to catch his breath.
'You saved my life,' the Chancellor said, sitting down beside him to wait for the Jedi to recover from his ordeal. 'I can never repay you for what you have done, but if there is ever anything you want of me you need only ask.'
'There is one thing.' Johun gasped from his back, still too tired to even try to sit up. 'Hire yourself a kriffmg security team '
Chapter 13
Zannah made her way slowly through Carannia's market square, purchasing supplies to replace those Bane had inadvertently destroyed. Only a week had passed since she'd last been here, but in that short time a great many things had changed.
Kel was dead, for one. The HoloNet was buzzing with the news of the failed attempt to kidnap Chancellor Valorum, and all the accounts made specific mention of the red-skinned Twi'lek and his end at the hands of a Jedi Knight named Johun Othone.
Three of the others from the small group were dead as well, though reports indicated that two of the terrorists had fled the scene. From the descriptions given it was obvious to Zannah that Paak and Cyndra were the two surviving fugitives.
The attack had prompted immediate condemnation from the Senate and the rest of the Republic. More important, the Counts of Serenno had promised swift and decisive action to stamp out the separatist organizations that plagued their fair world. Based on the enormous rewards being offered for information leading to the capture of those involved in the attack, it seemed the nobles intended to keep their promise.
Even had Kel and his friends succeeded, Zannah now realized, the reaction of the Counts would have been the same. In the aftermath of the violence, the bodies of several members of Count Nalju's household staff were discovered near the landing site. They had been sent to greet Chancellor Valorum on his arrival, only to be murdered by the radicals who had set the ambush.
The deaths of several long-serving followers was a great tragedy for House Nalju, but it paled in comparison with the horror elicited by the attack itself. The Count had personally sponsored the Chancellor's visit; an assault upon his esteemed guest was an insult to family honor, and a crime tantamount to attacking the Count himself. Always willing to protect their own, the other Great Houses had rallied to the Nalju cry, vowing to hunt down and exterminate those responsible for this atrocity.
No doubt Darth Bane had foreseen this outcome. For the next several years the eyes of the Republic would be focused intently on Serenno and its campaign to snuff out the separatist elements that had infiltrated its culture.
'Don't move' a familiar female voice hissed in her ear, and Zannah felt the muzzle of a blaster press itself hard into the flesh of her lower back.
'I'm surprised you'd dare to show your face in public,' Zannah whispered without turning around to face the Chiss standing close behind her. 'There's a lot of credits being offered for your head.'
'Thanks to you,' Cyndra snapped back, jabbing her painfully with the weapon. 'Now start walking. Slowly.'
There were a dozen ways Zannah could turn the tables on Cyndra, but each of them involved a display of dark side power she wasn't willing to make in the crowded market square. So she did as ordered, making her way past the vendor stalls as she waited for the right moment to make her move. Cyndra followed close, pressing tight up against her to shield the blaster at Zannah's back with her own body.
'Where are you taking me?' Zannah asked her.
'We're going to see Hetton,' Cyndra snarled. 'He's got some questions for you.'
How convenient, Zannah thought. Vve got some questions for him, too.
Cyndra took her down a narrow alley leading away from the market square to a deserted side street.
'Stand still or I shoot' she warned Zannah, then pulled a comlink from her belt. 'I've got her,' she said. 'Come pick us up.'
In less than a minute an airspeeder swooped down to land on the far side of the street. Zannah wasn't surprised to see Paak sitting in the pilot's seat. He jumped out as the Chiss marched her prisoner over to the vehicle.
'Told you she'd come back,' he said to his companion.
'Just search her for weapons,' she answered-
Paak leered at Zannah as he roughly patted her down. 'What have we here?' he exclaimed, discovering her only weapon and holding it up for inspection.
The handle of Zannah's lightsaber was slightly longer than normal to accommodate the twin crystals required to power the blades that extended from either end. However, while most traditional double-bladed weapons had blades each measuring a meter and a half or more, those of Zannah's lightsaber were slightly under a meter in length. This small but significant difference was critical to the way in which she used her weapon…
'The smaller blades give you greater speed and maneuverability,' her Master explained as the fourteen-year- old Zannah twirled her newly constructed lightsaber in her left hand, focusing on mastering the feel of its unique balance and weight.
'Crip the handle lightly in your fingers. Control the weapon with your wrist and hand rather than the muscles of your arm. You will sacrifice reach and leverage, but you will be able to create a shield of impenetrable defense.'
'Defense will not slay my enemy,' Zannah remarked, smoothly transferring the spinning crimson blades from her left hand to her right and back again.
'You lack the physical strength required for the powerful attacking strikes ofDjem So or the other aggressive forms' her Master explained. 'You must rely on quickness, cunning and, most of all, patience to best your enemies.'
He ignited his own lightsaber and took a long, looping swing in her direction. Zannah intercepted the blow with her own weapon, easily deflecting it to the side.
