The Last Command Read Online Free PDF Page B

quite identify through the haze of mental noise between them.
    And the owner of that mind was, in turn, fully aware of Luke’s presence in Calius. And was watching him.
    Luke grimaced. Alone in enemy territory, with his transport two kilometers away at the Calius landing field and his only weapon a lightsaber that would identify him the minute he drew it from his tunic, he was not exactly holding the high ground here.
    But he had the Force… and he knew his follower was there. All in all, it gave him fair odds.
    A couple of meters to his left was the entrance to the long arched tunnel of a pedestrian bridgeway. Turning down it, Luke stepped up his pace, trying to remember from his study of the city maps exactly where this particular bridge went. Across the city’s icy river, he decided, and up toward the taller and higher-class regions overlooking the sea itself. Behind him, he sensed his pursuer follow him into the bridgeway; and as Luke put distance between himself and the mental din of the crowded market regions behind him, he was finally able to identify the man.
    It was not as bad as he’d feared. But potentially at least, it was bad enough. With a sigh, Luke stopped and waited. The bridgeway, with its gentle curve hiding both ends from view, was as good a place as any for a confrontation.
    His pursuer came to the last part of the curve. Then, as if anticipating that his quarry would be waiting there, he stopped just out of sight. Luke extended his senses, caught the sound of a blaster being drawn— “It’s all right,” he called softly. “We’re alone. Come on out.”
    There was a brief hesitation, and Luke caught the momentary flicker of surprise; and then, Talon Karrde stepped into sight.
    “I see the universe hasn’t run out of ways to surprise me,” the smuggler commented, inclining his head to Luke in an abbreviated bow as he slid his blaster back into its holster. “From the way you were acting I thought you were probably a spy from the NewRepublic. But I have to admit you’re the last person I would have expected them to send.”
    Luke eyed him, trying hard to read the sense of the man. The last time he’d seen Karrde, just after the battle for the
Katana
, the other had emphasized that he and his smuggling group intended to remain neutral in this war. “And what were you going to do after you knew for sure?”
    “I hadn’t planned on turning you in, if that’s what you mean,” Karrde said, throwing a glance behind him down the bridgeway. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to move on. Berchestians don’t normally hold extended conversations in bridgeways. And the tunnel can carry voices a surprising distance.”
    And if there were an ambush waiting for them at the other end of the bridgeway? But if there were, Luke would know before they reached it. “Fine with me,” he said, stepping to the side and gesturing Karrde forward.
    The other favored him with a sardonic smile. “You don’t trust me, do you?” he said, brushing past Luke and heading down the bridgeway.
    “Must be Han’s influence,” Luke said apologetically, falling into step beside him. “His, or yours. Or maybe Mara’s.”
    He caught the shift in Karrde’s sense: a quick flash of concern that was as quickly buried again. “Speaking of Mara, how is she?”
    “Nearly recovered,” Luke assured him. “The medics tell me that repairing that kind of light neural damage isn’t difficult, just time-consuming.”
    Karrde nodded, his eyes on the tunnel ahead. “I appreciate you taking care of her,” he said, almost grudgingly. “Our own medical facilities wouldn’t have been up to the task.”
    Luke waved the thanks away. “It was the least we could do after the help you gave us at the
Katana
.”
    “Perhaps.”
    They reached the end of the bridgeway and stepped out into a street considerably less crowded than the one they’d left. Above and ahead of them, the three intricately carved government headquarter