Star Wars - Lost Tribe of the Sith 01 - Precipice Read Free Page B

oily cliffs that began the next mountain in the chain. And going farther along the chain meant trips through tangles of razor-sharp brambles. “We don’t need an expedition. We’re not staying.”
    “I should hope not,” Ravilan said, his own nose turned by the smell of the fires. “But your brother—I mean, Captain Korsin’s other son—feels we shouldn’t wait to return.”
    Yaru Korsin stopped. “I have the transmitter codes. It’s my call to make.” He looked up at the second, more distant smoky plume far above. “When it’s safe.”
    “Yes, by all means. When it’s safe.”
    The commander hadn’t wanted Devore on the mission. Years earlier, he had been relieved when his half brother had abandoned a naval career, drifting into the Sith’s mineralogical service. Power and riches were more easily had there, searching for gems and Force-imbued crystals. With their father’s sponsorship, Devore had become a specialist in using plasma weapons and scanning equipment. The recent conflict with the Jedi found him in high demand—and assigned, with his team, to
Omen
. Korsin wondered whom he’d played a joke on to deserve that. He’d been told Devore officially answered to him, but that would have been a first. Not even Sith Lords were that powerful.
    “You should have kept us in orbit!”
    “We were never
in
orbit!”
    Korsin recognized the voice of the navigator, Marcom, coming from over the dusty rise. He already knew the other one.
    The old man was trying to push his way out of the crowd when Korsin topped the hill at a full run. Devore’s miners weren’t letting Boyle go. “You don’t know my job!” he yelled. “I did all that I could! Oh, what’s the use talking to …”
    Just as Korsin reached the clearing, the crowd surged forward, as if pulled down a drain. One sickeningly familiar crackle followed another.
    “No!”
    Korsin saw the lightsaber first, rolling toward his feet when he breached the crowd. His father’s old helmsman lay ahead, gutted. Next to Seelah and Jariad stood Devore, his lightsaber glowing crimson in the lengthening shadows.
    “The navigator attacked first,” Seelah said.
    The commander gawked.
    “What
difference
does it make?” Korsin charged into the center, lifting the loose lightsaber into his hand with the Force. Devore stood his ground, smiling gently and keeping his lightsaber burning. His dark eyes had a wild look, a familiar one. He was shaking a little, but not from fear—not fear Yaru Korsin could feel. The commander knew it was something else, something more dangerous. He turned Marcom’s unlit weapon tip-down and shook it. “That was our navigator, Devore! What if the star charts don’t work?”
    “I can find our way back,” Devore said smartly.
    “You’ll have to!” Korsin grew conscious of the mix around him. Gold-uniformed miners in the circle, yes, but bridge crew, too. A red-faced Sith—not Ravilan, but one of his cronies. He was undeterred. “This is not going to do any good, any of you. We wait here until it’s safe to return to the ship. That’s all.”
    Seelah straightened, emboldened by the supporters around. “When will it be safe? In days? Weeks?” Herchild wailed. “How long must we last—until it’s safe enough for
you
?”
    Korsin stared at her and breathed deeply. He threw Marcom’s lightsaber to the ground. “Tell Ravilan there’s one more for the pyre.” As a begrudging crowd gave him room to exit, he said, “We go when I say. That ship blows up, or tips into the ocean, and we really will have problems.
We go when I say.
”
    The world spun. As Korsin stepped backward, Gloyd stepped forward, keeping a wary yellow eye on the grumbling masses. He’d missed the fun.
    “Commander.”
    They looked past each other, watching Sith in all directions. “Not really happy here, Gloyd.”
    “Then you’ll want to hear this,” the hulking Houk rasped. “As I see it, we’ve got three choices. We get these people off this