Free The Force Unleashed by Sean Williams Page B

looked.
    Magnificent, she wanted to say, but she kept the observation to herself.
    Giant fungus stalks tossed violently in the starship's wake as the Rogue Shadow wove
    between them. She avoided using her thrusters as much as possible, wanting to
    minimize damage to the equatorial forest. But where was she to land? The ground was
    invisible beneath them. She could sense Starkiller's impatience as she searched for
    a suitable space. The only flat surfaces she could see belonged to the tops of
    enormous mushrooms, dozens of meters across. They looked as sturdy as rock.
    Why not? she asked herself, swinging the Rogue Shadow sharply about and descending
    toward the nearest mushroom cap.
    Gingerly, using every ounce of her skill, she eased the starship down. The ship
    settled, then shuddered as the giant fungus gave without warning. The starship slid
    and skewed wildly to one side. Stalks and fronds swayed as though in a storm. She
    raised the power to the thrusters, and moved to a different position.
    This time the mushroom held. The starship's landing legs extended and tightly
    gripped the spongy surface where it teetered precariously on the edge of the
    enormous cap. She throttled back, waited a full five seconds for any more surprises,
    and then killed the sublight drive. She sagged back into the seat, drenched in
    sweat.
    "Whew," she breathed. "They don't teach you that in the Academy."
    "Lower the ramp," Starkiller said shortly. "Wait for me here." "There's not much for
    us to do..."
    "Just wait."
    "I..."
    He was already gone. She looked for him on the scopes and glimpsed him jumping off
    the edge of the mushroom and running into the forest, red lightsaber lit and ready.
    She sighed and wiped her hands on her uniform pants. "Well, PROXY, it's just you and
    me again."
    "Yes, Captain Eclipse." The droid rarely seemed flapped by his master's behavior.
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    "I'll begin a check of all systems, if you so wish."
    "That would be fine." She stayed in her chair, still rubbing her palms against her
    legs. "Is he always like this, PROXY?" "Like what. Captain Eclipse?"
    "Moody and withdrawn. I almost caught him smiling a couple of times on Raxus Prime.
    Now, nothing. What's going on inside his head?"
    "I cannot speak with any confidence regarding his programming, Captain Eclipse,"
    said the droid with a puzzled blink. "Perhaps Lord Vader could explain, since he was
    the author of both our systems."
    That was an odd phrase. "What do you mean? Vader programmed Starkiller?"
    "My master has been in Lord Vader's care since he was a young child."
    "Like a father." She frowned.
    "My master refers to Lord Vader only as Master or Teacher," the droid corrected her.
    "Never Father."
    That reassured her, oddly. The thought of Vader nurturing a toddler was too strange
    to be true. "Well, what happened to his real parents? Where did he come from?"
    "I do not know, Captain Eclipse."
    "Does he never talk about them?"
    "They have been expunged from his primary memory, I believe ."
    "What about friends?" She hesitated slightly, then asked, "Girlfriends?"
    "My master leads a solitary life," the droid told her. "Lord Vader insists that it
    is essential to his development."
    "Development into what, exactly?" she asked, thinking Jedi killer, deranged mystic,
    murderer. The way he had casually abandoned the falling TIE fighter facility over
    Nar Shaddaa bothered her sometimes.
    "We are all servants of my master's Master," the droid said, pointedly reminding
    her, perhaps, of her primary duty, too.
    "Your programming is absolutely spot-on there, PROXY." She levered her resistant
    body out of the pilot's chair and straightened her uniform. "You continue with the
    systems check from in here. I will perform a quick visual inspection of the hull."
    "I advise caution," PROXY warned her. "Many of the life-l(u ins on Felucia are
    hostile to humans."
    "Have no concern on that score." She opened a hatch and removed her