Dark Tide 1: Onslaught by Michael A. Stackpole Read Free Book Online Page B

ought to be at loose ends and could keep an eye on him. And when he comes back, take good care of him.”
    She felt a hand on her shoulder. “Leia, I can head out to the Rim on my own. You can stay here to care for your husband. I can report to you.”
    She opened her eyes, then covered Elegos’s hand with her own. “No, Elegos, I need to go. Even that deep in grief, Han’s right. I want to stay, all of me wants to stay, but I have to go. Others can’t, so it is up to us to rescue them. Han can take care of himself—he’ll have to.”

CHAPTER FIVE
    Luke looked up and smiled as Corran escorted his two nephews into the briefing room.
    â€œDid you see your sister off on the shuttle?”
    â€œShe’s on her way.” Jacen, the older one, glanced around the room, always looking to see if anything had changed since the last time he’d been there. “She wishes she had a better assignment.”
    â€œI’m sure she does.” Luke watched Jacen for a moment.
Always checking the world, verifying what he could assume, not trusting until he is certain.
“Right now, I need her picking up Danni at Commenor, then meeting with your mother and Senator A’Kla.”
    Anakin, the younger nephew, toyed with an ancient piece of equipment left in the corner since the time when the Rebels fought the Empire in the skies above Yavin 4. “If Danni had just stayed with our mother on Coruscant, she could have come out with her and not needed Jaina.”
    Jacen frowned. “Jaina’s going to help Danni work on her Force skills, that’s why she’s going. They’ll be traveling for a few days with nothing else to do, and Jaina’s a good teacher.”
    Luke nodded. “And, after her ordeal, Danni did need time to meet with her family and assure them she was unharmed.” He didn’t know if “unharmed” was accurate; the trauma of capture by the Yuuzhan Vong had to have been severe. Still, Danni Quee had been intelligent and resilient, so Luke felt she’d recover from her ordeal if given the proper support.
    Anakin popped the panel off the old transceiver and peered inside. “What is it you have for us to do? Pretty much everyone else has their assignments already. I bet it’s something good.”
    Jacen snorted in his brother’s direction, narrowing his brown eyes. “He let the others go first because our assignments are going to be no better than Jaina’s.”
    Corran frowned. “How did you get a target lock on that idea?”
    Jacen half turned to face the Corellian Jedi. “He won’t play favorites because of his relationship to us, and realistically, we are young. At least, by saving us for last, he saves us some embarrassment.”
    Jacen’s words didn’t seem as full of disappointment as they should have, which reinforced a decision Luke had already made concerning assignments. “Anakin.”
    The younger boy, blue eyes bright, glanced over at his uncle. “What?”
    â€œI’m going to have you accompany Mara to Dantooine.”
    â€œHuh? What?” Anakin straightened up. His brows furrowed, and just for a second, Luke caught an angry expression that meant trouble whenever he’d seen it on Han Solo’s face. “But I thought I’d be out doing something . . . I thought . . .” The anger that had flashed over his face drained away with his words. “I understand.”
    Luke arched an eyebrow at him. “And what is it you understand?”
    â€œYou don’t trust me.” Anakin looked down at his dust-smeared fingertips and whispered hoarsely, “You don’t trust me because I killed Chewbacca.”
    The mournful tone of the boy’s voice sent a shiver down Luke’s spine. Regret and hurt poured off Anakin, underscoring the turmoil he felt over the Wookiee’s death.
Anakin has always wanted to be a hero, has always wanted to