down, it would.
'You see Horvic or Pensin in there?' Klif asked. 'I didn't spot either of them.'
'No, but I'm sure they got in all right,' Navett said. 'We can tap the rendezvous point tomorrow if we can find a shop fast enough.'
'I picked up a rental listing,' Klif said. 'Most of them come with apartments above them.'
'That'll be handy,' Navett said. 'We'll look through it tonight and see if there's anything in the right area. If not, we can always check with a rental agent in the morning.' Klif chuckled. 'Don't worry—we've got plenty of bribe money left.'
'Yes,' Navett murmured, looking around. Fifteen years ago, according to rumor, it had been information from Bothan spies that had led the Rebel Alliance to Endor and resulted in the death of Emperor Palpatine and the destruction of the second Death Star. In the years since then, Bothans had been involved with the Black Sun organization, the destruction of Mount Tantiss, and any number of other blows against the Empire.
He didn't know the full scope of the plan that was under way here; but of all the worlds Grand Admiral Thrawn might have chosen for destruction, few would have given him more personal satisfaction than this one.
They had reached their chosen hotel now, and as they started up the steps an ancient droid standing warden beside the door stirred himself. 'Good even, good sirs,' he wheezed. 'May I call for a baggage carrier?'
'Naw, we can handle 'em,' Navett said. 'No sense wasting good money on a droid.'
'But, sir, the service is free,' the droid said, sounding confused. But by then Navett and Klif were past him, pushing through the doors and strolling into the lobby. They were, he noted, the only hotel guests carrying their own bags.
But that was all right. Let the Bothans and their more sophisticated guests snicker at them behind their backs, if they chose, When the fire began to rain from the sky, the laughter would turn to screams of terror.
And Navett would be enjoying every minute of it.
CHAPTER
6
It was on her fifteenth day in the darkness of the Nirauan cave when Mara Jade awoke to discover a rescuer had finally arrived.
It was not, however, any of the potential rescuers she would have expected.
She sat up suddenly in her bedroll, blinking her eyes reflexively open despite the fact that in the pitch-darkness there was absolutely nothing to see. The sense of someone calling to her had been wordless, but as clear as if her name had been spoken aloud. She stretched out with the Force... And as she did so, the sense of his presence came drifting in to her. His presence, and his identity. It was Luke.
The tone of his emotions changed, the hard edge of anxiety permeating it turning abruptly to relief as he sensed her response and knew that she was unhurt. A new touch of anticipation flowed into his mind, and as she focused she could sense a physical darkness around him. Best guess was that he was in the cave, she decided, probably working his way her direction.
Which unfortunately meant that his anticipation was a bit premature. Finding the cave was one thing; finding each other within its multiple twistings was going to be something else entirely. But Luke already had that covered. To her wordless question came a renewed sense of assurance from him; and even as she frowned, she caught a sense of others around him, beings who he seemed to be following. Apparently, some of the mynocklike creatures who had hauled her in here in the first place were acting as guides.
She looked up at the ceiling and walls around her. More of the creatures were up there, silently watching her. 'Skywalker's coming,' she called up into the darkness. 'You happy?' They were. Even with her frustrating inability to hear their words directly, there was no mistaking the surge of excitement that rippled through them. 'I'm so pleased,' she said. Standing up, she felt her way toward the subterranean creek gurgling its way through the rock a few meters away. She'd picked this spot early on in her captivity as a place where she would have water available, and in the days since then had learned to navigate the trip without using her glow rod. She reached the creek, located the conveniently placed flat rock where she kept the small bottle of personal cleaning solution from her survival kit, and stripped off her jumpsuit. The outfit itself was one of the top-of-the-line brands that was standard issue aboard Karrde's ships and shrugged off dirt and oils with ease. Mara herself, unfortunately, did not; and if she had company coming it seemed only reasonable to make herself presentable.
The water was shallow, swift-moving, and icy cold. Mara splashed it all over herself, trying not to sputter too much with the thermal shock. A few drops of cleaning solution rubbed vigorously into skin and hair, another agonizing dip into the liquid ice of the creek to rinse off, and she was through. An only marginally warmer breeze flowed along the same path as the water, and she stood in the draft for a few minutes, brushing off excess water and fluffing her hair until she was mostly dry. Getting back into her jumpsuit, she collected her things and headed back to her encampment. Just in time. She was still sorting her equipment back into their proper niches in her pack when she caught the first flickers of reflected light against the rocky walls and high ceiling. Rolling up her bedroll and tucking
