Free Abyss by Troy Denning

Yaqeel snapped her lightsaber off her belt and turned back toward the rutolu hedge. “Let’s get out of …”
    Yaqeel let the sentence trail off as a pair of beings who looked a lot like Han and Leia Solo came pushing through the hedge. They did not have the same flush Bazel had seen in the cheeks of Jaina and Head of State Fel, but he knew they couldn’t be the real Solos because Han didn’t have the ability to Force-jump, and that meant he could not enter the Temple by this entrance. Besides, Bazel’s danger sense was going wild, and both Solos were holding something behind their backs, and he knew the
real
Han and Leia would never harm him or Yaqeel.
    Not-Leia’s eye went straight to the lightsaber in Yaqeel’s hand. “Yaqeel, what are you doing with your lightsaber out? Is there a problem?”
    Not-Leia was still speaking when Yaqeel sprang, yelling, “
You
are—”
    Not-Han’s hand was already coming around. Bazel glimpsed the silver form of some kind of hand weapon, then heard the
phoot-phoot
of flying darts.
    Yaqeel gave a startled cry, her knees buckling as she landed in front of Not-Leia. She activated her lightsaber and flicked her wrist around in a clumsy attack, but Not-Leia had already stepped out of range. The blade sputtered dead as the hilt spun from Yaqeel’s twitching hand.
    Bazel watched in horror as Yaqeel’s eyes rolled back in her head and drool began to slide down the long red tongue lolling out of the side of her mouth. He bellowed her name and reached for his ownlightsaber—then noticed the tranquilizer pistol Not-Leia was holding on him.
    “Bazel, it’s just a tranquilizer,” Not-Leia said. “Yaqeel’s going to be fine.”
    “Yeah,” Not-Han agreed. “How about you?”
    Bazel considered trying to use his mass to overpower them both and flee with Yaqeel. But he was still sitting astride the wall with his lightsaber hanging from his belt, and both Not-Solos were holding tranquilizer pistols in their hands. He simply wasn’t quick enough, so he moved his hand away from his lightsaber and nodded, using his new skill to put a little Force behind the gesture.
    The faces of both Not-Solos relaxed instantly, and Not-Han whistled in relief. “Good. I thought for a minute we’d lost you both.”
    Bazel shook his head to assure him they hadn’t. He eyed a landing spot close to Yaqeel, then began to gather his legs under him. If he was quick enough, he might be able to snatch Yaqeel up and be through the hedge before—
    “Stay up there, Bazel,” Not-Leia ordered. “We’ll pass her up.”
    “Yeah, we need to get out of here.” Not-Han kicked Yaqeel’s lightsaber aside, then holstered his tranquilizer pistol and stooped down to pick up her unconscious form. “That GAS team was already starting this way when we came through the hedge.”
    Bazel settled back astride the wall, then stretched a hand down to take Yaqeel’s limp form. This lying skill was a handy thing, he reflected. If the impostors were just going to hand her up to him, maybe he could hang on to her until he saw an opportunity to—
    His hopes of making an easy getaway came to an abrupt end when he heard a pair of small feet land atop the wall behind him. Both Not-Solos did a credible job of looking surprised. Not-Han even let his jaw drop.
    “Jaina?” Not-Han gasped. “What are
you
doing here?”
    “Long story,” Not-Jaina said. By the sound of her voice, she was less than two meters behind Bazel—easily within reach of his gangling arms. “But maybe you’d better let
me
take Yaqeel.”
    Not-Han and Not-Leia both frowned and cast uneasy glances in Bazel’s direction. It was then that Bazel saw the flaw in his plan. If theimpostors were replacing real Jedi with their own copies, they would
know
whom they had already replaced—and whom they
hadn’t
. They had been fooling
Bazel
, manipulating him into a vulnerable position so it would be easier to take him down. And his Ramoan mind had been too stupid to