Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II by Sean Williams Page A

resisting, Ackbar, ” said the stern figure in a chillingly polite voice, striding confidently toward them with his hands behind his back. “You’re quite outnumbered. Please drop your weapons, or I will have you executed right here. All except you, Ackbar. I’m looking forward to having you back in my employ. That’ll remind my other slaves that escape is simply not an option. “
    Ackbar’s mottled skin had turned a sickly yellow. “I will never be your slave again, Tarkin. Never. “
    Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin smiled coldly. “That choice is now well and truly out of your hands. “
    Derricote pulled free, rubbing his wrists. “Thank you, Grand Moff. Thank you for rescuing me. “
    “I won’t say it was my priority, but I will accept your gratitude. Be careful it doesn’t happen again. ” Tarkin turned to face Bail Organa. “Your weapon. Senator. I asked you to drop it. “
    Organa obeyed, and so did the others. All except Tels. His gun remained in his hand, and none of the Imperials moved to force the issue. Slowly, without saying a word, he walked to join their numbers.
    “Why?” Ackbar asked him.
    “Once a traitor, always a traitor, ” answered Tarkin for him, with a gloating tut-tut. “You Rebels should choose your friends more carefully. He contacted me a day ago, offering to return my slave in exchange for greater freedoms for his people and a place in the civil administration. He won’t get either, of course. I’m not known for changing my mind, particularly when it comes to negotiating with aliens. “
    It was Tels’s turn to go pale. “You mean…”
    “Yes, put your blaster down and stand with the others while I decide if you’re important enough for the Emperor to kill himself, or whether I should just dispose of you now. I’m leaning toward the latter, simply to spare the mess…”
    At that moment, a series of explosions rocked the city. The floor moved beneath them.
    “What’s that?” asked Tarkin of his nearest trooper. “Find out!”
    Another trio of blasts brought part of the ceiling down. Tels raised his blaster and fired at the lights, extinguishing them. Utter darkness instantly fell.
    In the confusion, Juno dived for her blaster. She heard a stormtrooper say, “It’s the Hundred Eighty-first, sir. They’re firing on the city. “
    “Impossible!” blubbered Derricote. “I gave no such order!”
    “To me!” Tarkin ordered his men from the ramp. “To me!”
    Juno fired in the direction his voice had come from. Her shot went wide, revealing his high-cheeked visage in the flash. She rolled before the stormtroopers could return fire. Soon the space was a maelstrom of light and sound as more explosions rocked the city; one after the other, and the two sides exchanged blasterfire. She found Organa and stood with her back to him, admiring the elegant precision of his shots. When he fired, he nearly always hit, even in the dark.
    The stormtroopers retreated up the ramp, following the voice of the Grand Moff. Juno and the others stayed exactly where they were, waiting for the echoes of the last explosion to fade away. When it did, there was blessed silence, apart from the tinkling of debris and the lapping of water.
    A torch flared, held high in Ackbar’s hand. “Are we all here?”
    Juno took a quick head count. Everyone was accounted for except PROXY and one of Siric’s assistants, who had been hit in the chest by a stray shot. Organa found Derricote huddling in a ball in the corner of the room with his hands over his head. He didn’t seem to notice that the firing had ceased until the Senator pulled him upright, blinking and fearful.
    There was no sign of Tarkin.
    “He must have slipped away in the skirmish, ” said Ackbar, looking disappointed.
    “Never mind, ” said Organa, patting his shoulder. “That we almost got him sends the same message. “
    “And we still have this one, ” said Tels, squeezing Derricote’s face between his long fingers and peering