it."
She sat on the floor and held her hands out in front of her, palms up.
The others arranged themselves in a loose circle around the Holocron and
sat down to watch.
"Just a minute," Tionne said. The strange object rested lightly on her
hands, as if floating on water. A hologram blossomed in the air over the
Holocron.
"Welcome, my children. How may I teach you today? I am Ash Krimsan,"
said the glowing figure of a tiny plump woman with black hair and eyes the
color of smoky topaz. She wore a long soft gown as red as wine. "I am a
Jedi Master whose duty it has always been to teach those young ones who are
gifted in the Force. Even before they become Jedi, the powerful ones must
learn why they can sense people's feelings and how not to misuse that
power. They must learn patience and Jedi relaxation techniques, and many
other important things."
The old woman's face shone with patient kindness.
"Come listen to me, my child, and I will teach you."
Oh great. Baby lessons, Uldir thought. Just what I need. Well, he told
himself, at least it looked as if the old lady would cover everything he
might need to know to become a Jedi. And after all, he was pretty
intelligent-how long could it take to learn it all?
"Let us begin with a Jedi relaxation technique. First I will show you
how it looks on the outside; then I will describe how it feels inside."
Suddenly the hologram was hidden by a cloud of roiling gray smoke.
Uldir coughed. At first, he didn't understand what was happening. Then he
saw a flash of purple cloth and heard a gloating voice say,
"Why, you didn't really think I would give up my prize so easily, did
you?"
Uldir came to his feet, waving smoke away from his eyes. The Holocron
was gone.
"Neither will we, Orloc," he said.
"Then you'll have to catch me," the Mage countered.
Anakin looked around to see where Orloc might have gone with the
Holocron. Ikrit or Tionne must have used the Force to clear the smoke away,
he guessed, because within a second or two it was almost gone. The two Jedi
opened the main chamber door and looked up and down the passageway. With a
whoosh, the doors shut behind them, locking them out.
"He's in here!" Anakin shouted, pointing to the far end of the chamber
behind the platform that held Darth Vader's sleeping cylinder. Orloc stood
beside a control panel that had been hidden by a slab of polished black
stone. ArtooDetoo trilled a warning and moved to the door control panel by
the main entrance, just behind Anakin.
"I'm coming," Tahiri called.
The Mage pressed a button-and Anakin jumped to safety a split second
before a trapdoor opened in the floor where he had been standing. Artoo-
Detoo tweedled frantically but was unable to close the pit in back of
Anakin. Anakin ran toward the Mage, who growled and pressed another button.
Somewhere behind Anakin, Tahiri squealed. She must have jumped over a
trapdoor, too, because the next sound heard was the slap of her bare feet
on the polished floor as she landed behind him. Artoo-Detoo chittered
angrily at the magician. Anakin kept running forward, with Tahiri following
close after him. The Mage merely chuckled and pushed a button to unseal a
set of double doors behind him that led out of the chamber.
They swung outward. Then, with one arm clutching the Holocron tightly
to his chest, he reached out to push a final button on the control panel. A
new trapdoor angled open between Anakin and the Mage, who stood in the
doorway he had just unlocked. Anakin stopped running and skidded to a halt
right at the edge of the hole, with. its steep, steep slide down into the
secret depths of Bast Castle. Tahiri pulled him back before he could lose
his balance and fall in. He gulped at the close call and glanced up to see
a grin on Orloc's neatly bearded face, as if the magician were hoping they
would fall down the chute. The purple-robed Mage shrugged.
"Too bad. Maybe some other day, hmmm?"
He turned to leave. But Artoo-Detoo had managed to reverse the double
doors from his control panel across the room. They were now swinging back
toward Orloc. Soon there would be no place for the magician to stand as the
doors,swept backward toward the hole in the floor. Beside Anakin, Tahiri
gasped. The Mage tried to push the doors forward, away from the edge of the
pit. Anakin and Tahiri both stretched out their arms, trying to reach
Orloc, but it was no use.
As the doors shut he gave a yelp of alarm and flailed his arms in an
attempt to keep his balance.
"Can you close the pit, Artoo?" Anakin called.
Artoo buzzed twice.
Orloc threw his arms high into the air and let go of the precious Jedi
cube, perhaps trying to grab on to something before he fell. The bobbled
Holocron flew over Anakin's and Tahiri's heads as Orloc tumbled into the
stone chute. Dashing up behind them, Uldir caught the Holocron.
"Got it!" he yelled. His voice cracked with triumph. At the door,
Artoo finally succeeded in opening the main entrance again for Ikrit and
Tionne. The two Jedi rushed back in. With mixed feelings, Anakin looked
down into the dark chute. He should have been able to do something more to
keep Orloc from falling-but if they had managed to save him, wouldn't the
Mage have tried to steal the Holocron from them again?
"Do you think he'll be all right?" Tahiri asked, looking down into the
pit with a horrified expression on her face.
"Ikrit and I survived our fall," Tionne said softly from the other
side of the room. "I think Orloc will be all right."
"Mmmm," Ikrit said. "I believe he is unhurt, that one."
"In fact," Tionne added with a dry note in her voice, "unless we get
out of here soon, we probably haven't seen the last of him yet."
The unusual things they had seen and done since coming to Bast Castle
amazed Anakin, but in the end there was one more surprise to come. Weary as
the companions were, they were preparing to make the long climb back down
to the Lore Seeker when Ikrit made a suggestion.
"There is another way to get to your ship," he said. Even before
hearing his plan, Tahiri was enthusiastic. Ikrit took them back to the
hangar bay and showed them the ancient ships stored there. He had once
owned just such a ship himself, and the controls could adjust to Ikrit's
one-meter height. If the ships were kept in as good mechanical repair as
everything else in Bast Castle seemed to be, it would take only a matter of
minutes to fly down to the Lore Seeker.
When a preflight check on their chosen ship showed that it was in
excellent condition, everyone eagerly agreed to Ikrit's plan. After Artoo-
Detoo plugged into a control panel to open the hangar bay doors and make
sure that all intruder defenses were turned off, they put Ikrit's plan into
effect. Ikrit did an expert job of piloting the old ship, and when they
reached the Lore Seeker he seemed almost sad.
Now it was Anakin's turn to make a surprising suggestion.
"Why don't you keep the ship, Ikrit," h
e said. "It belonged to my
grandfather, so I don't think there's anyone else who has a claim to it-and
the controls are so old-fashioned that I'm not sure any other being would
want it."
The Jedi Master seemed uncertain and looked hopefully at Tionne. A
smile of delight spread across her face.
"Of course-it would be just perfect for you."
Anakin could have predicted that Tionne would like the idea, since she
had such a love of history. Then Tionne frowned for a moment and looked
over at Anakin.
"But are you sure it's safe for him to fly it all the way back to
Yavin 4?"
Anakin nodded. One of his special skills with the Force was knowing
when machinery was working correctly, and he could sense that this ship was
perfectly spaceworthy.
"It's in great shape," Uldir agreed. "I'll even be his copilot if you
like. I've been a trained pilot for years, you know."
Tionne looked very pleased at this development. "Well, if it's all
right with Ikrit, I guess it's all settled."
"You'll have to find a name for your ship by the time you get back to
Yavin 4," Tahiri said, grinning. "I'll ask you about it."
To Anakin it seemed that Ikrit's white fur glowed with pride.
"Mmmm," the Jedi Master said, nodding. "I will find a name for my
ship."
A sea of green trees rippled below the Lore Seeker as it glided toward
the landing field and the Jedi academy. For Anakin, the sight of the Great
Temple standing in its clearing, drenched in bright sunlight, was a very
welcome one indeed.
"It feels good to be back," he said with a sigh. Tahiri giggled. "That
was certainly more of an adventure than I had bargained for."
Tionne looked at her two students.
"Are you sorry you came with me?"
Anakin shook his head.
"The trip was worth making. I learned some interesting things about
Darth Vader."
"I learned to trust the Force and not just my eyes and ears," Tahiri
said.
"And we did find a lightsaber and a Holocron," Anakin said.
"And a new ship for Ikrit," Tahiri added. "So I think we're glad we
came along, but it may be a while before we go looking for adventures
again."
Tionne brought the Lore Seeker down on the landing field, where Luke
Skywalker was waiting for them. As soon as she opened the exit hatch,
Anakin and Tahiri tumbled out of the ship, anxious to greet Luke and share
their news with him.
"We've got some surprises for you, Uncle Luke," Anakin said.
"Just wait until you see what we've found," Tahiri said. "You'll never
believe it." Her green eyes danced with excitement. "We'll have to let
Tionne tell you the biggest news, though."
Tionne came out of the Lore Seeker then, followed by Artoo-Detoo, who
burbled a happy greeting.
"It's good to have you back, Artoo," Luke said. "From all the
excitement, I take it you found the lightsaber."
"And more," Tionne answered, holding out the Holocron for him to see.
"Master Ikrit has the lightsaber with him."
"But where are Uldir and Ikrit?" Luke asked, looking at the new
Holocron with wonder.
"There," said Tionne, pointing to a speck above the treetops with a
proud smile.
"We found a new ship, and Ikrit's flying it," Anakin explained.
"A really old ship, actually," Tahiri put in.
Luke's eyebrows went up. "That certainly is interesting news," he
said. He watched with fascination while the ancient ship landed a short way
from the Lore Seeker and Ikrit and Uldir got out.
"Welcome back," Luke said. "Let's all go inside where you can rest and
share your news with me."
"What did you name the ship?" Tahiri asked Ikrit as they walked back
toward the Great Temple.
"It's a good name," Uldir said, but he seemed distracted. The teenager
stopped and looked up at the sky, as if still thinking about their
adventure and the strange Mage they had met.
"I have named her the Sunrider," said Ikrit.
"After Nomi Sunrider?" Tionne asked with a delighted smile.
"Yes, the Jedi Master who lived long ago," Ikrit said.
Everyone approved of the name.
When they reached the base of the Great Temple, Luke started to climb
the steps that ran up one of its four sides. Tahiri groaned and stood as
still s if her bare feet were rooted to the ground.
"Um, Uncle Luke," Anakin said., "would you mind very much if we went
in through the hangar bay and took the turbolift?"
Luke raised his eyebrows at the unusual request. Tahiri giggled.
"I think we've all had enough stairs in the past few days to last us a
long, long time," she said.
Vader's Fortress Page 8
