Vader's Fortress

by Rebecca Moesta

  "Why, boy, I could teach you to lift that entire shuttle," Orloc said.

  "Could you teach me to sense the thoughts of people?"

  "Sense them?" Orloc said, laughing. "Why, I could teach you to read

  their minds just like a computer display screen."

  Uldir found that hard to believe. If the Mage could read thoughts so

  easily, wouldn't he know what Uldir was thinking right now-that Orloc must

  be exaggerating? But the Mage did seem to know a lot. He might know

  something worth learning. Some shortcuts, perhaps. After all, Orloc had

  outwitted two grown Jedi and a few Jedi trainees with his magic, hadn't he?

  "How do you know so much about this place-the passages and trapdoors?"

  "Three reasons." The Mage swirled his cape out, bowed, and flashed a

  knowing smile.

  "First of all, I'm incredibly powerful. Second, I have great skill

  with mechanical things. Third, I also located a map of the fortress in a

  maintenance bay just after I arrived here. My special powers helped me to

  use the plans and the castle's own defenses to dispose of my... enemies."

  Uldir frowned at the boast. Now he wanted to see how far the Mage was

  willing to go.

  "And of course you could teach me to use a lightsaber."

  "Of course," the Mage agreed. "And to build your own."

  Aha, Uldir thought. Orloc can hardly hold a lightsaber. I doubt that

  he could teach me to use one. But before he could speak, Orloc continued.

  "Why, my boy, once I find the other object I came here for, I'll teach

  you-"

  "What other object are you looking for?" Uldir interrupted.

  "Why, the Holocron, of course, lad. And once I get to Vader's private

  quarters and take the Holocron out of its special vault, I'll be able to

  teach you anything-anything at all-about being a Jedi. With that and my own

  magic, we'll be invincible. We can conquer any power in the galaxy."

  Now Uldir was interested again.

  "What's so special about this Holocron thing?" he asked.

  "It contains all the recorded lessons of a great Jedi Master." Uldir

  wavered. "I don't know. If two living Jedi Masters can't teach me to use

  the Force, I'm not sure that a Jedi recording in a box could do it." He

  looked again at the clumsy way the Mage held the lightsaber. "And if you

  don't have any Jedi powers, that thing probably won't help you much," he

  said.

  "Why don't you leave the lightsaber with me so I can give it to a real

  Jedi, someone who can use it?"

  His voice squeaked at the end of his speech, ruining the effect of his

  brave words.

  Orloc shook his head.

  "Doesn't quite fit in with my plans, boy. Either come with me to Exis

  Station and learn what I can teach you... or, if you won't join me"-he took

  a step toward Uldir and waved the lightsaber menacingly - "why, I'll be

  forced to consider you an enemy." The Mage took another step closer. "And

  I've found that if my enemies want what I have, it's never wise to let them

  live."

  Tahiri sighed and looked down the seemingly endless corridor.

  "Well, at least it's not stairs anymore," she muttered to herself.

  "I sure hope Uldir's all right," Anakin said.

  "Me too. I have a feeling he's in some sort of trouble," Tahiri said,

  and quickened her pace.

  Both she and Anakin had wanted to explore Vader's private chambers

  further, but once it was clear that the Mage was not hiding there, they

  knew they would have to continue their search elsewhere, and quickly.

  "I think we're headed the right way, though," she said. "This corridor

  runs the same direction as the one Uldir took. And I think I can feel him

  up ahead of us somewhere-though I can't really sense him as well as I can

  sense you. I suppose that comes from knowing; you so much better."

  She chattered on, covering her worry with a stream of words. "But once

  we find Uldir and Artoo, we'll still have to find Orloc, and once we find

  him and get the lightsaber back, there's Tionne and Ikrit to locate too."

  The passageway grew wider and they could see a bright light not too

  far ahead. Anakin glanced at her with one eyebrow raised.

  "You forgot to mention what comes after we find Tionne and Ikrit," he

  said.

  "What's that?" she asked.

  "We'll need to get back to the ship."

  "Oh no," Tahiri moaned. "More stairs."

  They were almost to the end of the corridor when Anakin stopped short

  and held up one hand, as if listening. Tahiri stopped talking and listened

  too. Voices.

  She heard voices. They sounded far away, but she was certain one of

  them belonged to Uldir. She mouthed his name silently at Anakin. He nodded.

  A loud laugh rang out.

  "And Orloc," Anakin whispered. Pressing a finger to her lips, Tahiri

  carefully crept forward into the light. Anakin stayed close beside her.

  Soon they found themselves on the topmost level of a gigantic, airy room,

  three stories high. Keeping their heads down, Anakin and Tahiri crawled

  over to the edge of the walkway onto which they had emerged.

  Far beneath them, on the bottom level, stood the purple - robed Orloc

  with Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber, waving it back and forth at Uldir.

  "We'll have to help him," Anakin whispered.

  Tahiri nodded. "Is there a turbolift?" she whispered back. She looked

  around the high metal catwalk and saw to her dismay that the only way to

  the bottom level was down a dozen flights of metal mesh steps. A network of

  plasteel poles supported the slender stairway.

  "I'm not sure we can make it down there in time," Anakin said, looking

  at the stairs.

  "Oh, yes we can," Tahiri said. "We're a team, remember? I have an

  idea, but there's no time to explain. You make a distraction and then

  follow my lead. I just hope Orloc doesn't have a blaster."

  "I don't think he does," Anakin said. "If he did, he would have had it

  out and aimed at us when he stole the lightsaber."

  "I sure hope you're right," Tahiri said. She scrambled quietly to the

  head of the staircase and looked down. The very sight of the steps made her

  feel queasy, but they had to save Uldir. She nodded back toward Anakin, and

  right on cue he stood up and began yelling.

  "Hey, Orloc!" he shouted. "Up here! If you hurt Uldir, you'll be

  making a big mistake, you know."

  It worked. The thin Mage with the long dark hair turned and looked up

  to where Anakin. was standing. This was the chance Tahiri had been waiting

  for. She pulled herself up onto the stair railing on the side away from the

  Mage and swung herself over it. Holding on to the rail with both hands, she

  wrapped her aching legs around one of the tall poles that supported a

  corner of the staircase. Then, using her teeth, she yanked the sleeve of

  her flightsuit up over one hand to protect it and let go of the railing

  with the other.

  Tahiri whizzed down the smooth pole, controlling her speed by

  tightening or loosening her grip. Anakin kept Orloc's attention, and in

  seconds Tahiri had reached the floor. Her legs felt so weak, they almost

  refused to hold her up when she touched down, but she hung on to the pole

 
with both hands to steady herself. Tahiri peeked around the edge of the

  stairway toward the Mage. She let her eyes fall half closed and tried to

  visualize pulling the lightsaber from his hand. She had often managed to

  lift pebbles and leaves and even heavy objects during training, but not

  usually while someone was holding them-or while someone was moving the

  objects around, for that matter.

  This time she couldn't manage it. Orloc must have felt the tug at his

  weapon, because he gave a surprised shout and grasped the hilt with both

  hands. Tahiri ducked back behind the stairway.

  "Time for the backup plan," she muttered to herself. Oh, how she

  wished that Tionne and Ikrit were with them. Well, until they arrived it

  was up to her and Anakin to rescue Uldir and the lightsaber. She decided to

  rely on the things she knew she could do, so she resorted to one of her

  strongest weapons: talking.

  "Mage Orloc, put down your weapon," she said, stepping out into plain

  view. She had to keep the Mage busy long enough for Uldir to get out of his

  reach. "None of us means you any harm. We only want the lightsaber you

  took, because it's very special to us."

  The Mage turned his tawny eyes toward Tahiri, and Uldir began backing

  carefully away from him. Encouraged, Tahiri continued talking.

  "And even if you have some kind of magic, that lightsaber won't be

  worth much to you without Jedi powers, without the Force to guide you."

  Tahiri heard a soft thump as Anakin slid down one of the stair supports and

  landed behind her.

  "Why, that's a nice story, little girl," Orloc said with a harsh

  laugh. "But I have special plans - and they include a lightsaber. I see no

  reason to give this one up when I have it right here in my hand." He

  lowered the blade so that it pointed directly at Tahiri and swung it back

  and forth a few times. He could not control it very well. It bobbed and

  wobbled in the air.

  Uldir backed farther away. Good, Tahiri thought, Uldir is almost safe.

  But then she realized that she was in trouble now, even if Orloc only meant

  to frighten her. He was so unskilled with the lightsaber that she might

  truly be in danger. Suddenly a small crate drifted through the air and

  bumped Orloc's arm. Startled, the Mage slashed with his lightsaber blade

  and then gaped in surprise when the little carton dropped to the floor in

  two smoking pieces. He fell back a few paces and stared at it. Then another

  carton drifted toward him. Tahiri got the idea. Anakin must be using the

  Force to lift simple objects.

  The second crate nudged the Mage a bit harder. Tahiri heard a low

  warble in back of her and realized that Artoo-Detoo had found his way into

  the hangar bay.

  "We don't want to hurt you, Mage Orloc," she said, comforted to know

  that Anakin and Artoo were just behind her, hidden by the stairway. Orloc

  slashed at the second box.

  "Why, fortunately, I'm not limited by such small thoughts. I'm going

  to leave here with this lightsaber, and I'm ready to hurt you to do it."

  Suddenly Tahiri heard a whoosh like the sound of a lightsaber being

  ignited.

  "I'm afraid I can't let you do that," the Jedi teacher Tionne's voice

  said from behind Orloc. The Mage stepped to one side and turned. Past him,

  Tahiri saw the silvery-haired instructor climb up through what must have

  been a trapdoor that led up from beneath the hangar bay.

  "I would rather not fight you," Tionne said. "But I will not allow you

  to hurt anyone in this room."

  "Anakin," Tahiri whispered, "can Artoo help us?"

  "Hah," Orloc said, pushing his purple cloak back from his shoulders.

  "What makes you think you can stop me?"

  Ikrit clambered up out of the hole behind Tionne and crouched,

  watching the scene.

  "The Force is with me," Tionne said. She swept a hand around to

  indicate Ikrit and the children. "The Force is with all of us."

  "Well, Force or no Force, you don't look like much of a fighter,"

  Orloc said. "I'll take my chances." He raised his glowing blade high in the

  air, ready to slice down on Tionne.

  "Artoo, give me a high-frequency blast at full power," Anakin

  whispered. Instantly a siren wail blared out of the little droid; the

  painfully loud alarm filled the entire hangar bay. The moment Orloc turned

  to look for the source of the sound, his light-saber jumped from his grasp,

  flickered out, and floated away from him, high in the air over his head.

  Before anyone realized what had happened, smoke spouted up from the place

  where Orloc stood, and when it cleared the Mage was gone.

  "I wonder how he does that," Anakin said as the reunited companions

  gathered in the center of the hangar bay.

  "I don't know, but at least he's gone," Tahiri said. She noticed that

  Ikrit-with Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber in his furry paw-was carefully

  inspecting one of the ancient spaceships housed in the hangar bay.

  "I'm not so sure," Uldir said. "By the way, thanks for coming to my

  rescue-all of you. You too, furball," he added, glancing at Ikrit.

  "What do you mean you're not sure, Uldir?" Tionne asked. "I mean I

  don't think he has gone yet," Uldir said. "He was looking for something

  called a holocr... Holocron. Yeah, that's it."

  "There's a Holocron?" Tionne breathed. "Here? In Bast Castle? Where?"

  "I think he said it was in some sort of room that Darth Vader used...

  his private quarters maybe." Anakin and Tahiri looked at each other.

  "Now that's interesting," Anakin said. Tahiri grinned at Tionne. "If

  you really want to find that Holocron, I think Anakin and I can lead you to

  Vader's private quarters."

  The glossy black walls and ceiling and floor of Darth Vader's personal

  chambers gleamed softly in the dim light. Uldir was impressed. It had been

  well over a decade since Darth Vader's death, and yet this room still felt

  like it belonged to a very powerful man. When Vader turned to the dark

  side, he had pledged himself to the Emperor's service-but look at all he

  had gotten in return! Not a bad trade, Uldir thought. Darth Vader's name

  had been known throughout the galaxy and he had enjoyed wealth and power

  for many years. Darth Vader had chosen to be a powerful lord, not just an

  average Jedi.

  And best of all, Uldir mused, Vader had turned back to the light side

  at the end before he died, so that his family now remembered him with

  honor--and had even named a grandchild.after him. Anakin's voice broke into

  Uldir's thoughts.

  "Okay, I've got it." The teenager turned and saw that Anakin was

  standing by a stone panel at the head of Darth Vader's sleeping cylinder.

  The slab looked just like all the other rock that lined the walls. When

  Anakin pushed on it, though, it slid silently to one side, revealing a

  small storage safe that opened at Anakin's voice command.

  "Is it there?" Uldir asked.

  He thought of how exciting it would be to learn Jedi lessons about

  real power.

  "Sure looks like it," Tahiri said.

  Artoo-Detoo burbled enthusiastically. Ikrit climbed onto ArtooDetoo 's

  domed head as A
nakin withdrew the object from the safe.

  "That's the Holocron all right," Tionne said. "It must be."

  "Yes, an old one," Ikrit confirmed.

  Anakin placed the glossy cube-shaped object into Tionne's hands, and

  Uldir moved closer. Her cheeks flushed and pink, the Jedi instructor looked

  at them with shining eyes.

  "This is a great treasure that belongs to all Jedi," she said. "It

  contains the teaching of a Jedi Master. Most Holocrons hold teachings of

  some sort, and some also contain songs, stories, legends.... This is a

  great historical find. We'll take it to Master Skywalker at once." Tionne

  began leading them all toward the room's main entrance.

  "We can't let such an important treasure fall into the wrong hands or

  be used for one person's gain or glory."

  "Does that mean we're leaving right now?" Anakin said.

  "Uh-oh," groaned Tahiri. "More stairs."

  Tionne smiled gratefully at Uldir. "Thank you very much for telling us

  the Holocron was here. I'm so excited I can hardly wait to see what it

  holds."

  "Neither can I," said Uldir. "But how do we know it even works?"

  The instructor's pearly eyes blinked with surprise.

  "I, well... I suppose we don't. I think it would be all right to test