wait a minute

Were going to have to keep you on ice for a bit longer, Lah said when she entered the cargo bay. Plagueis hadnt moved from the container that served as his seat, but his robe was parted and his hands rested on the tops of his knees. Does that mean you failed to reach a consensus I wouldnt go that far, Lah said. Weve decided we need to know who you are before we agree to provide you with passage. And since you seem reluctant to tell us, were going to check with Baldemnic. Plagueis made his eyes dull with disappointment. Captain, Ive told you all you really need to know. The Woebegone lurched slightly. Were dropping out of hyperspace, Lah said. In his mind Plagueis heard Darth Tenebrous say: To we who dwell in the Force, normal life is little more than pretense. Our only actions of significance are those we undertake in service to the dark side. I cant permit this, Captain, he told her.

Her expression hardened. Im afraid youll have to. He had been aware from the start of the conversation that her blaster was primed, and now her hand reached for it. Sharp canines glinted in her slightly open mouth. Had he truly believed that a deal could be arranged with the Woebegones hottempered and immature crew members Their fates had been sealed from the instant Plagueis had glimpsed the ship on the landing field. The possibility of reaching any other conclusion was fictional. From that first moment, all of them had been locked into an inevitable series of events. The Force had brought them together, into conflict. Even Lah must have sensed as much. Plagueis said: Dont, Captain. But by then the warning was nothing more than words. 4: THE MEANING OF DEATH From the passageway that led to the cockpit came the rapid footfalls of the pilot, Blir, and the ships Dresselian navigator, Semasalli. 114D knew that they had been monitoring cam feeds of the cargo bay, and thought it likely that they had witnessed whatever sentence the Muun had levied on Captain Lah. Soon he was dead. The Muun appeared to be frustrated, and his disappointment increased on finding that Blir was deceased, as well.

He spent only moments appraising Semasalli before going to Wandau, who was conscious though obviously paralyzed from the waist down. You dishonor your heritage and your weapon, Jedi, Wandau managed to say. You could have used the Force to compel us to do as you wished. Ive not only seen that, but experienced it. The Muuns face contorted in distaste. If youve so little will, he said in the tongue of Wandaus species, then youre of no use to me, Klatooinian. And ended Wandaus misery with a click of his thumb and middle finger. Gradually the spray from the ceiling abated and the klaxons fell silent. His examinations completed, the Muun stood and turned slowly to the droid. What name do you respond to OneOneFourDee, sir.

The Muun lowered the tunic and retrieved a comlink from a pocket in the robe. Activating the device, he spent a moment inputting data, then turned the display so that 114D could read it. Set a course for these coordinates, then attend to me in the captains quarters. Anything else, sir Prepare food and drink. Im famished. With the Woebegone traveling through hyperspace, Plagueis lay prone on the captains bunk, a bacta patch covering the wound on his back, contemplating the results of his attempts to prolong the lives of those crew members who had survived the altercation. Even where he had been successful in effecting repairs to damaged blood vessels and organs, the results had been temporary, as he had not been able to influence or appeal to the midichlorians to assist. Calling on the Force to mend ruptured arteries, torn muscle, or broken bone was no more difficult than levitating slabs of stone. But such refurbishments had little effect on a beings etheric shell, which was essentially the domain of the midichlorians, despite their physical presence in living cells.

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