The Last Command Read online

  “Or both.”

  “Or both.” Mirax turned and moved over to put the plate down before him. She set utensils beside it.

  The plate was heaped high with food, and Valin recoiled from it in mock horror. “Stang, Mom, you’re feeding your son, not a squadron of Gamorreans.” Then he caught sight of his mother’s face and he was suddenly no longer in a joking mood.

  This wasn’t his mother.

  Oh, the woman had Mirax’s features. She had the round face that admirers had called “cute” far more often than “beautiful,” much to Mirax’s chagrin. She had Mirax’s generous, curving lips that smiled so readily and expressively, and Mirax’s bright, lively brown eyes. She had Mirax’s hair, a glossy black with flecks of gray, worn shoulder-length to fit readily under a pilot’s helmet, even though she piloted far less often these days. She was Mirax to every freckle and dimple.

  But she was not Mirax.

  The woman, whoever she was, caught sight of Valin’s confusion. “Something wrong?”

  “Uh, no.” Stunned, Valin looked down at his plate.

  He had to think—logically, correctly, and fast. He might be in grave danger right now, though the Force currently gave him no indication of imminent attack. The true Mirax, wherever she was, might be in serious trouble or worse. Valin tried in vain to slow his heart rate and speed up his thinking processes.

  Fact: Mirax had been here but had been replaced by an imposter. Presumably the real Mirax was gone; Valin could not sense anyone but himself and the imposter in the immediate vicinity. The imposter had remained behind for some reason that had to relate to Valin, Jysella, or Corran. It couldn’t have been to capture Valin, as she could have done that with drugs or other methods while he slept, so the food was probably not drugged.

  Under Not-Mirax’s concerned gaze, he took a tentative bite of sausage and turned a reassuring smile he didn’t feel toward her.

  Fact: Creating an imposter this perfect must have taken a fortune in money, an incredible amount of research, and a volunteer willing to let her features be permanently carved into the likeness of another’s. Or perhaps this was a clone, raised and trained for the purpose of simulating Mirax. Or maybe she was a droid, one of the very expensive, very rare human replica droids. Or maybe a shape-shifter. Whichever, the simulation was nearly perfect. Valin hadn’t recognized the deception until …

  Until what? What had tipped him off? He took another bite, not registering the sausage’s taste or temperature, and maintained the face-hurting smile as he tried to recall the detail that had alerted him that this wasn’t his mother.

  He couldn’t figure it out. It was just an instant realization, too fleeting to remember, too overwhelming to reject.

  Would Corran be able to see through the deception? Would Jysella? Surely, they had to be able to. But what if they couldn’t? Valin would accuse this woman and be thought insane.

  Were Corran and Jysella even still at liberty? Still alive? At this moment, the Not-Mirax’s colleagues could be spiriting the two of them away with the true Mirax. Or Corran and Jysella could be lying, bleeding, at the bottom of an access shaft, their lives draining away.

  Valin couldn’t think straight. The situation was too overwhelming, the mystery too deep, and the only person here who knew the answers was the one who wore the face of his mother.

  He stood, sending his chair clattering backward, and fixed the false Mirax with a hard look. “Just a moment.” He dashed to his room.

  His lightsaber was still where he’d left it, on the night-stand beside his bed. He snatched it up and gave it a near-instantaneous examination. Battery power was still optimal; there was no sign that it had been tampered with.

  He returned to the dining room with the weapon in his hand. Not-Mirax, clearly confused and beginning to look a little alarmed, stood by the stove, staring at him.

  Valin ignited the lightsaber, its snap-hiss of activation startlingly loud, and held the point of the gleaming energy blade against the food on his plate. Hotcakes shriveled and blackened from contact with the weapon’s plasma. Valin gave Not-Mirax an approving nod. “Flesh does the same thing under the same conditions, you know.”

  “Valin, what’s wrong?”

  “You may address me as Jedi Horn. You don’t have the right to use my personal name.” Valin swung the lightsaber around in a practice form, allowing the blade to come within a few centimeters of the glow rod fixture overhead, the wall, the dining table, and the woman with his mother’s face. “You probably know from your research that the Jedi don’t worry much about amputations.”

  Not-Mirax shrank back away from him, both hands on the stove edge behind her. “What?”

  “We know that a severed limb can readily be replaced by a prosthetic that looks identical to the real thing. Prosthetics offer sensation and do everything flesh can. They’re ideal substitutes in every way, except for requiring maintenance. So we don’t feel too badly when we have to cut the arm or leg off a very bad person. But I assure you, that very bad person remembers the pain forever.”

  “Valin, I’m going to call your father now.” Not-Mirax sidled toward the blue bantha-hide carrybag she had left on a side table.

  Valin positioned the tip of his lightsaber directly beneath her chin. At the distance of half a centimeter, its containing force field kept her from feeling any heat from the blade, but a slight twitch on Valin’s part could maim or kill her instantly. She froze.

  “No, you’re not. You know what you’re going to do instead?”

  Not-Mirax’s voice wavered. “What?”

  “You’re going to tell me what you’ve done with my mother!” The last several words emerged as a bellow, driven by fear and anger. Valin knew that he looked as angry as he sounded; he could feel blood reddening his face, could even see redness begin to suffuse everything in his vision.

  “Boy, put the blade down.” Those were not the woman’s words. They came from behind. Valin spun, bringing his blade up into a defensive position.

  In the doorway stood a man, middle-aged, clean-shaven, his hair graying from brown. He was of below-average height, his eyes a startling green. He wore the brown robes of a Jedi. His hands were on his belt, his own lightsaber still dangling from it.

  He was Valin’s father, Jedi Master Corran Horn. But he wasn’t, any more than the woman behind Valin was Mirax Horn.

  Valin felt a wave of despair wash over him. Both parents replaced. Odds were growing that the real Corran and Mirax were already dead.

  Yet Valin’s voice was soft when he spoke. “They may have made you a virtual double for my father. But they can’t have given you his expertise with the lightsaber.”

  “You don’t want to do what you’re thinking about, son.”

  “When I cut you in half, that’s all the proof anyone will ever need that you’re not the real Corran Horn.”

  Valin lunged.

  The STAR WARS Novels Timeline

  OLD REPUBLIC 5000–33 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS: A New Hope

  Lost Tribe of the Sith*

  Precipice

  Skyborn

  Paragon

  Savior

  Purgatory

  Sentinel

  3650 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS: A New Hope

  The Old Republic: Deceived

  Lost Tribe of the Sith*

  Pantheon

  Secrets

  Red Harvest

  The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance

  1032 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS: A New Hope

  Knight Errant

  Darth Bane: Path of Destruction

  Darth Bane: Rule of Two

  Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil

  RISE OF THE EMPIRE 33–0 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS: A New Hope

  Darth Maul: Saboteur*

  Cloak of Deception

  Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter

  32 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS: A New Hope

  STAR WARS: EPISODE I: The Phantom Menace

  Rogue Planet

  Outbound Flight />
  The Approaching Storm

  22 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS: A New Hope

  STAR WARS: EPISODE II: Attack of the Clones

  22-19 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS: A New Hope

  The Clone Wars

  The Clone Wars: Wild Space

  The Clone Wars: No Prisoners

  Clone Wars Gambit

  Stealth

  Siege

  Republic Commando

  Hard Contact

  Triple Zero

  True Colors

  Order 66

  Shatterpoint

  The Cestus Deception

  The Hive*

  MedStar I: Battle Surgeons

  MedStar II: Jedi Healer

  Jedi Trial

  Yoda: Dark Rendezvous

  Labyrinth of Evil

  19 YEARS BEFORE STAR WARS: A New Hope

  STAR WARS: EPISODE III: Revenge of the Sith

  Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader

  Imperial Commando 501st

  Coruscant Nights

  Jedi Twilight

  Street of Shadows

  Patterns of Force

  The Han Solo Trilogy

  The Paradise Snare

  The Hutt Gambit

  Rebel Dawn

  The Adventures of Lando Calrissian

  The Force Unleashed

  The Han Solo Adventures

  Death Troopers

  The Force Unleashed II

  REBELLION 0–5 YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: A New Hope

  Death Star

  Shadow Games

  0

  STAR WARS: EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE

  Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina

  Tales from the Empire

  Tales from the New Republic

  Allegiance

  Choices of One

  Galaxies: The Ruins of Dantooine

  Splinter of the Mind’s Eye

  3 YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: A New Hope

  STAR WARS: EPISODE V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

  Tales of the Bounty Hunters

  Shadows of the Empire

  4 YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: A New Hope

  STAR WARS: EPISODE VI: RETURN OF THE JEDI

  Tales from Jabba’s Palace

  The Bounty Hunter Wars

  The Mandalorian Armor

  Slave Ship

  Hard Merchandise

  The Truce at Bakura

  Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor

  NEW REPUBLIC 5–25 YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: A New Hope

  X-Wing

  Rogue Squadron

  Wedge’s Gamble

  The Krytos Trap

  The Bacta War

  Wraith Squadron

  Iron Fist

  Solo Command

  The Courtship of Princess Leia

  A Forest Apart*

  Tatooine Ghost

  The Thrawn Trilogy

  Heir to the Empire

  Dark Force Rising

  The Last Command

  X-Wing: Isard’s Revenge

  The Jedi Academy Trilogy

  Jedi Search

  Dark Apprentice

  Champions of the Force

  I, Jedi

  Children of the Jedi

  Darksaber

  Planet of Twilight

  X-Wing: Starfighters of Adumar

  The Crystal Star

  The Black Fleet Crisis Trilogy

  Before the Storm

  Shield of Lies

  Tyrant’s Test

  The New Rebellion

  The Corellian Trilogy

  Ambush at Corellia

  Assault at Selonia

  Showdown at Centerpoint

  The Hand of Thrawn Duology

  Specter of the Past

  Vision of the Future

  Fool’s Bargain*

  Survivor’s Quest

  NEW JEDI ORDER 25–40 YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: A New Hope

  Boba Fett: A Practical Man*

  The New Jedi Order

  Vector Prime

  Dark Tide I: Onslaught

  Dark Tide II: Ruin

  Agents of Chaos I: Hero’s Trial

  Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse

  Balance Point

  Recovery*

  Edge of Victory I: Conquest

  Edge of Victory II: Rebirth

  Star by Star

  Dark Journey

  Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream

  Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand

  Traitor

  Destiny’s Way

  Ylesia*

  Force Heretic I: Remnant

  Force Heretic II: Refugee

  Force Heretic III: Reunion

  The Final Prophecy

  The Unifying Force

  35 YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: A New Hope

  The Dark Nest Trilogy

  The Joiner King

  The Unseen Queen

  The Swarm War

  LEGACY 40+ YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: A New Hope

  Legacy of the Force

  Betrayal

  Bloodlines

  Tempest

  Exile

  Sacrifice

  Inferno

  Fury

  Revelation

  Invincible

  Crosscurrent

  Riptide

  Millennium Falcon

  43 YEARS AFTER STAR WARS: A New Hope

  Fate of the Jedi

  Outcast

  Omen

  Abyss

  Backlash

  Allies

  Vortex

  Conviction

  Ascension

  Apocalypse

  *An eBook novella