six lesser ones, down over the base of the chamber, blanketing the
Falcon
in bolts of blazing glory as it swept past the ship, out and up and in toward the point of the conical chamber, racing toward the pinnacle, blasting out its energy, making the very walls of the cone shimmer and shake with its power. And again. And again. And again.
Until the power burst did not meet in a point, butinstead reached the top of an open cone, and exploded as a ring of light—with the blue skies of daylight visible above.
Chewbacca, still stunned and amazed, began to realize what was happening. The conical chamber of the planetary repulsor was transforming itself, opening itself out, opening out its apex point to give itself a clear shot at the sky.
Another power burst swept over the ship. Another. Another, another, another, each burst riding up to the top of the now-open cone and forcing it open wider and wider and wider. Chewbacca checked the shield displays and saw that, for a miracle, they were holding. That was, no doubt, less a testimony to the strength of the shields than it was to the characteristics of the energy sweeping past the ship. The power bursts were flowing over the shields, not attempting to penetrate them.
But Chewbacca was past worrying about such things. Whether or not they survived, or were burnt to a cinder, was out of his hands, of anyone’s hands. This titanic machine would do whatever Anakin had ordered it to do, and nothing could stand in its way.
Chewbacca thought of the endless megatons of rock and stone and dirt the chamber had to be slamming out of the way, the massive shock waves that had to be reverberating throughout the whole vicinity. There had been a whole series of underground tunnels leading to the hidden entrance to this place. Surely all of them had collapsed, along with the Drallist building that sat atop them. The Drallists had been searching for the planetary repulsor. By now, beyond doubt, the planetary repulsor had found them, destroyed them as they had attempted to destroy the New Republic’s government. Chewbacca found a rough justice in that thought, and smiled to himself.
Jacen came into the cockpit and slipped into the pilot’s seat, his father’s seat, straining to see what was happening. The boy seemed very small, and very frightened—and yet controlled, adult, serious. There was no time now to feel the terror of the moment. That could come later. That was what nightmares were for.
The boy looked up and saw what was happening, saw the job that the roiling, seething energies were doing. “It’s opening,” Jacen said, his voice full of wonder. “And it’s getting higher.”
Chewbacca looked up. He hadn’t noticed that, but Jacen was right. The walls of the cone were getting taller, even as they spread wider. Perhaps that was to insure the stone and earth it shoved out of the way did not tumble down into the cavern. Perhaps it was for some other reason altogether. Who could know what the makers of this stupendous device had intended?
Chewbacca turned toward Jacen and pointed toward the outside of the ship, then held his hand out, palm down, at the height of a small child’s head as he let out a worried growl.
“Anakin’s still all right,” said Jacen. “I can feel him. He’s out
there
”—Jacen pointed toward one specific point in the perimeter of the chamber wall—“and he’s scared—maybe even more scared than we are—I mean more scared than Jaina and me—but he’s all right.”
In the midst of his own fear, Chewbacca managed to find a little bit of a laugh. A clever recovery on Jacen’s part. The child knew that Wookiees did not like admitting to fear, and had found a way to avoid offending a Wookiee who was downright terrified. Any rational being would be terrified by all this. Chewbacca pointed to the back of the Falcon and made another interrogatory-sounding noise.
“They’re all okay back there,” said Jacen. “Aunt Marcha woke up, and I think
Falcon
in bolts of blazing glory as it swept past the ship, out and up and in toward the point of the conical chamber, racing toward the pinnacle, blasting out its energy, making the very walls of the cone shimmer and shake with its power. And again. And again. And again.
Until the power burst did not meet in a point, butinstead reached the top of an open cone, and exploded as a ring of light—with the blue skies of daylight visible above.
Chewbacca, still stunned and amazed, began to realize what was happening. The conical chamber of the planetary repulsor was transforming itself, opening itself out, opening out its apex point to give itself a clear shot at the sky.
Another power burst swept over the ship. Another. Another, another, another, each burst riding up to the top of the now-open cone and forcing it open wider and wider and wider. Chewbacca checked the shield displays and saw that, for a miracle, they were holding. That was, no doubt, less a testimony to the strength of the shields than it was to the characteristics of the energy sweeping past the ship. The power bursts were flowing over the shields, not attempting to penetrate them.
But Chewbacca was past worrying about such things. Whether or not they survived, or were burnt to a cinder, was out of his hands, of anyone’s hands. This titanic machine would do whatever Anakin had ordered it to do, and nothing could stand in its way.
Chewbacca thought of the endless megatons of rock and stone and dirt the chamber had to be slamming out of the way, the massive shock waves that had to be reverberating throughout the whole vicinity. There had been a whole series of underground tunnels leading to the hidden entrance to this place. Surely all of them had collapsed, along with the Drallist building that sat atop them. The Drallists had been searching for the planetary repulsor. By now, beyond doubt, the planetary repulsor had found them, destroyed them as they had attempted to destroy the New Republic’s government. Chewbacca found a rough justice in that thought, and smiled to himself.
Jacen came into the cockpit and slipped into the pilot’s seat, his father’s seat, straining to see what was happening. The boy seemed very small, and very frightened—and yet controlled, adult, serious. There was no time now to feel the terror of the moment. That could come later. That was what nightmares were for.
The boy looked up and saw what was happening, saw the job that the roiling, seething energies were doing. “It’s opening,” Jacen said, his voice full of wonder. “And it’s getting higher.”
Chewbacca looked up. He hadn’t noticed that, but Jacen was right. The walls of the cone were getting taller, even as they spread wider. Perhaps that was to insure the stone and earth it shoved out of the way did not tumble down into the cavern. Perhaps it was for some other reason altogether. Who could know what the makers of this stupendous device had intended?
Chewbacca turned toward Jacen and pointed toward the outside of the ship, then held his hand out, palm down, at the height of a small child’s head as he let out a worried growl.
“Anakin’s still all right,” said Jacen. “I can feel him. He’s out
there
”—Jacen pointed toward one specific point in the perimeter of the chamber wall—“and he’s scared—maybe even more scared than we are—I mean more scared than Jaina and me—but he’s all right.”
In the midst of his own fear, Chewbacca managed to find a little bit of a laugh. A clever recovery on Jacen’s part. The child knew that Wookiees did not like admitting to fear, and had found a way to avoid offending a Wookiee who was downright terrified. Any rational being would be terrified by all this. Chewbacca pointed to the back of the Falcon and made another interrogatory-sounding noise.
“They’re all okay back there,” said Jacen. “Aunt Marcha woke up, and I think
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