clone deflected his shots without so much as looking at Khedryn, then made a seizing gesture with his off hand.
Above, the swoops’ engines screamed, warring with the clone’s power and losing. The clone made a cutting gesture, his teeth bared in a snarl, and slammed both swoops to the ground near the stack of shipping containers. A fireball blossomed, consuming bikes and riders. The clone stood, his eyes fixed on Khedryn.
Very deep water.
Khedryn turned and sprinted for the supply ship, firing wildly over his shoulder as he went. He had no idea what he would do once he got aboard the ship—seal it up, maybe buy some time for more police to arrive, for Jaden and Marr to get there.
A blast of power hit him in the back and drove him face-first into the metal of the landing pad. His nose crumpled and exploded blood. His teeth scraped along the pad. Only a surge of adrenaline kept him conscious. He got to all fours, turned, and aimed his blaster at the approaching clone.
Before he could squeeze the trigger, the clone gestured and Khedryn’s blaster flew from his hand and into the clone’s.
Khedryn knew he could not get away. He staggered up onto unsteady legs, swallowed, and resolved to die with defiance.
When the clone had closed to within a few paces, Khedryn spat at his feet. Blood and one of his teeth went with the spit.
“Blast you, pal!”
The clone snarled and made a cutting gesture that blew Khedryn backward ten meters and slammed his head against the landing pad.
Pain and blurry sparks, then blackness.
SOLDIER WATCHED RUNNER STRIDE TOWARD THE FALLEN human. Runner flipped his blade and took a reverse two-handed grip in preparation for driving it through the man’s chest.
“Wait!” Soldier shouted.
Runner looked over his shoulder, the wind blowing his hair across his face so that Soldier could not read his expression.
“Wait, Runner!” Soldier shouted again. “Seer, tell him!”
“Hold, Runner!” Seer said, and Runner obeyed her, though he did not deactivate his blade.
Soldier and Seer, carrying Hunter and Grace, hurried to Runner’s side. Soldier nodded at the downed man. He wasn’t moving, and blood and dirt covered his face.
“If he’s not dead, bring him,” he said to Runner. “He must be with the Jedi. I want to know how they found us. They could send others.”
Runner looked to Soldier, then to Seer, who nodded. Grunting indifferently, Runner picked the man up by the armpits and slung him roughly over his shoulder.
In Seer’s arms, Grace stirred and opened her eyes. “Soldier?” she said.
Soldier smiled, delighted to see Grace’s eyes opened. The meds he’d given her back on the cloakshape were working. “Welcome back,” he said.
“Is that my mother?” Grace said, nodding at Hunter.
Soldier nodded. “She’ll be all right.”
“I want to walk,” Grace said to Seer, and Seer set her down.
Soldier watched her for a moment, then handed Hunter over to Seer.
“I’m going to check the containers the droids have unloaded. I want to make sure the meds are still aboard.”
“Let’s go aboard, Grace,” Seer said.
Soldier watched them all head for the supply ship.
“Get the engines started,” Soldier called to Runner and Seer. He looked skyward at the collection of police swoops that hovered at a distance. They showed no inclination to close or interfere.
Two droids rolled in front of Runner and Seer.
“Excuse me, but you are not authorized to—”
A diagonal slash from Runner’s blades cut both droids in half, and the four smoking, sparking pieces fell to the landing pad.
Still hidden in the darkness of the supply ship’s landing bay, Nyss watched the clones, bearing one of their wounded and Khedryn Faal, board the ship. He could have reached out and touched them with his hand as they passed. The Prime lingered on the deck outside. If Nyss could get the Prime alone, he could take him.
But the female clone shooed the child into the ship, then lingered in the cargo bay, near the ramp, watching the Prime.
Soldier hurriedly examined the labels on the shipping containers the loading droids had already unloaded, looking for the component materials he’d need to mix the Metacycline. He saw only probiotics and other ordinary supplies. No pharma.
“It’s still aboard, isn’t it?” Seer called to him from the loading ramp. He could see her smiling from there, still holding Hunter.
“If it’s here at all,” he answered.
“You’ll come to believe, Soldier.”
He deactivated his lightsaber and hurried to the ship. Seer wore her smile the entire time. When he got in, he used the control panel to raise the