DARKEST KNIGHT
by
KEVIN J. ANDERSON and REBECCA MOESTA
The best place to think.
It had been a long time since he had been back to the Wookiee world of
Kashyyyk. He hadn't seen his immediate family since departing for Yavin
to begin training as a Jedi Knight. Although Lowie loved tinkering with
computers-as did his sister and his parents-he wanted more than anything
to make use of his special, undefinable talent, a potential for using
the Force that few Wookiees in his family line had ever exhibited.
When Lowie first arrived at the Jedi academy, uncertain and alone, his
uncle Chewbacca had given him a T-23 skyhopper as a gift, so he could
cruise far out into the jungle.
Sometimes he brought his friends Jacen and Jaina and Tenel Ka. At other
times, though, he just needed to be by himself, far from everyone. And
this was one of those times.
He missed his family very much, especially his younger sister Sirrakuk.
A very dangerous time in her life was fast approaching. . . .
With a great heave, Lowie used one long arm to draw his body up to a
leafy nest of branches, where he disturbed a shrieking horde of the
voracious tree rodents called stintarils. Stintarils normally ate
anything in sight, an@g that moved-but when Lowie treated them to his
best Wookiee roar, the chattering rodents scampered away through the
trees, kicking up clouds of broken twigs and leaves.
At last, surrounded by the dimming colors of dusk, Lowie parted the
final blanket of leaves overhead. He braced his broad, flat feet on a
sturdy branch, pushed his head above the treetops, and stood there,
drinking in the distance. He looked across the sprawling jungle that
spread all around him like an ocean of greenery, occasionally broken by
the protruding ruins of temples. He smelled the damp scents of
approaching evening: night-blooming flowers from vines that curled
through the leaves, the rich moistness of the Massassi trees themselves,
a fine mist rising above the canopy as if the forest itself were '--ling
in its sleep.
e looming coppery gas-giant of Yavin sn.,-@mered low in the sky like a
dying ember, a huge sphere of swirling gases. Not far from the orangish
planet, though invisible to Lowie's eye, orbited GemDiver Station, Lando
Calrissian's mining operation that retrieved valuable Corusca gems from
the gas-giant's core.
Lowie looked away from the planet setting on the horizon, though, as
deeper night seeped into the sky. Specks of starlight dusted the
midnight blue canopy.
Finding a comfortable spot to lean against the outspread crown of the
Massassi tree, he remained still, breathing deeply, drawing comfort from
the sight of the endless trees . . . and thinking of Kashyyyk.
He should be calm, but he was very worried about his sister. He could do
nothing to help her, and she had to make her own choices-and face the
consequences of those choices. Even so, Lowie understood the dangers she
intended to face deep in the underlevels of the rain forest on the
Wookiee planet.
He ran his long, strong fingers over the pearly strands of his fiber
belt, woven from threads harvested from the deadly jaws of the
carnivorous syren plant. It had been quite an ordeal for him to obtain
those strands, but he had succeeded. Alone.
Lowie sat still as the air cooled and the noises of the jungle grew
louder. Evening insects and predators stirred and went about their
business.
At his side the miniaturized translating droid, Em Teedee, remained
silent-switched off, so that Lowie could ponder his concerns without
being interrupted by synthesized chatter. He sat back, and time passed.
He would be late for evening meal back at the Jedi academy, but he
didn't mind.
He had more important things to worry about.
By the time Jaina Solo finished her meal ,side the Great Temple, most of
the other Jedi trainees had left the eating area. Preoccupied, she
slurped the last morsels of roasted crab nuts and salted boffa fi-uit,
dabbing up the juice with a chunk of fresh bread.
Beside her at the table, her twin brother Jacen had only half finished
his meal; a droplet of greenish syrup ran unnoticed down his chin. Jacen
spoke excitedly, his brandybrown eyes blinking as he ran a hand through
his tousled brown hair.
"And I did manage to catch that stinger lizard down in the hangar bay.
It's taken me weeks to coax him out of hiding. He's all by himself now
in that new cage you built for me, but I'm not sure what he eats." He
paused briefly to stuff some food into his mouth.
Jaina nodded, only half listening. She was concerned that Lowbacca
hadn't shown up to eat. Their Wookiee friend had been reserved lately,
keeping to himself, speaking little even to his closest friends.
'Not to mention that several of the cocoons for my beetle moths are
about to hatch!"
Jacen continued. 'I think I'm going to let most of them go, but I want
to keep two as specimens, to see if they'll lay eggs in captivity. And
you should see the fascinating blue fungus I found in a crack between
some stones down by the river."
He gulped more juice, then suddenly held up a finger as he remembered
something.
"Oh yes, I've been meaning to ask-could you check the cage for my
crystal snake? I think he's up to some mischief, maybe even trying to
break out again-and you know what trouble that would cause."
Jaina could@t help indulging in a quick giggle, remembering the
pandemonium the nearly invisible snake had caused the last time it had
gotten loose: the serpent had bitten the uppity student Raynar, sending
the boy instantly to sleep. Not all of Jacejys pets caused trouble,
though. Another crystal snake had helped to divert the lost TIE pilot
Qorl from his attack on the Jedi academy, shortly after the ns had found
Qorl living in self-imposed a deep in the jungles of Yavin Jaina had
hoped the old TIE pilot might have a soft spot for them after f. leir e:
to help him, but Qorl had chosen not to become their ally. Instead, the
Imperial brainwashing he had undergone resurfaced and became even more
deeply entrenched. The pilot had returned to the remnants of the Empire,
where he had fallen in with the Shadow Academy.
Jaina nodded to her brother, shaking herself from her reverie. "Okay,
I'll take a look at the crystal snake cage."
She whirled as she heard the tinny mechanical voice of Em Teedee saying,
'Master Lowbacca, I must urge you to ingest a wider variety of
nourishment than that. According to your species' nutritional
requirements, those foods are insufficient for a growing Wookiee to
maintain a healthy level of energy . . . though I must admit you have
been sulking lately instead of engaging in physical activities.
Your
diet should consist primarily of large quantities of fresh meat, which
is substantially higher in protein than those fresh fi-uits and
vegetables you're presently consuming."
Lowbacca answered with only a halfhearted growl as he carried his food
into the eatingarea. Without even looking for his friendsamong the other
Jedi trainees, he sat by himself at a small table against the stone
wall.
"Lowie!" Jaina got up and hurried over to the ginger-furred Wookiee. "We
were worried about you. You didn't come join us for the meal."
Lowie grunted something too brief for Em Teedee to translate.
Jaina pulled up a wooden chair across from their Wookiee friend and
straddled it. Tucking a long strand of straight brown hair behind her
right ear, she looked with concern at Lowie's shaggy head. The Wookiee
turned his golden eyes down and studied the fruits and greens on his
platter.
"Lowie, will you please tell us what's wrong?" Jaina said. "You can talk
to us. We're friends, remember? Friends help each other." Em Teedee
spoke before Lowbacca could respond. "He won't answer you, Mistress
Jaina. Even I can't get a response out of him.
I'm afraid I'll never understand Wookiee behavior. Do all biological
creatures have these unpredictable moods?"
Jacen sat down beside his sister. "Hey, maybe Lowie just wants to be
left alone."
The young Wookiee groaned and nodded dejectedly. Jaina sighed, gradually
realizing that perhaps the best thing she could do for her friend would
be to respect Lowie's wishes and let him solve his problems on his own.
He knew he could talk to Jaina or Jacen anytime he wanted-but right now
he didn't want to.
'All right," Jaina said, maintaining her deeply troubled expression,
"but remember we're here for you, whenever you need us."
Lowie nodded, then stretched out one hairy arm to clasp Jaina's hand in
his. The Wookiee's large grip engulfed her entire hand.
During the brief touch, she reached out with the Force, hoping to find a
clue to Lowie's strange behavior, but all she sensed was warmth and
friendship.
Jaina stood up and gestured to her brother.
'Come on, Jacen. Let's have a look at that crystal snake cage."
Lightsabers flared into the night, reflecting off the ancient stone
walls of the Great Temple. Tenel Ka gripped the carved rancortooth
handle of her new weapon as its brilliant turquoise beam pulsed through
the activating crystal, a precious rainbow gem of Gallinore she had
taken from her own royal tiara.
The warrior girl stood in the flagstoned courtyard at the side of the
ziggurat temple, a newly refurbished training area the students had
reclaimed from the ever-encroaching jungle. The hardworking Jedi
candidates had cleaned and polished the carefully set stones for
exercises just such as this.
Tenel Ka gazed across at the alien mother of-pearl eyes, elven features,
and long quicksilver hair of her opponent-nonne, the Jedi trainer and
historian who often assisted Master Skywalker. The Jedi woman used her
lightsaber with precision, matching Tenel Ka's moves stroke for stroke.
During an earlier training accident, Tenel Ka's poorly constructed
lightsaber had exploded, and her friend Jacen's lightsaber blade had
severed her left arm. Now -Tenel Ka lived and fought with only one hand.
But she wielded her glowing energy blade with strength and confidence.
Although skilled biotechnicians had offered her the best prosthetic arm
replacement in the Hapes Cluster, Tenel Ka had turned them down. She
prided herself in being herself-relying on her own abilities, her own
strength and prowess. She did not want the artificial assistance of a
biomechanical limb. Instead, she chose to alter her means of achieving
her goal. She was determined to be as strong and as capable as ever
before.
And when Tenel Ka determined to do something, she usually accomplished
it.
Bright lights on the cleared landing grid in front of the temple
illuminated the jungle, attracting thousands of nocturnal insects and
the flying predators that fed on them. In the flagstoned courtyard,
though, only the flares and flashes of intersecting lightsaber blades
disturbed the night, bathing the area in a dazzling multicolored glow.
Tionne countered the warrior girl's stroke.
"Very good, Tenel Ka," the teacher said. "You are learning to focus on
precision rather than brute strength, to anticipate my moves and your
own reactions using the Force."
Tenel Ka nodded, and her heavy red-gold braids danced around her head.
The beads she had woven into the braids jingled and clacked together.
She fought harder, sensing the control and skill of this older Jedi, who
had been training for more than ten years now.
Several other students had come out to watch the exercises. All of
Master Skywalker's Jedi candidates had intensified their training
efforts, now that the New Republic was sure of the growing threat posed
by the Shadow Academy and the Second Imperium.
For more than a thousand generations, Jedi Knights had been the forces
of light throughout the galaxy, and Luke Skywalker intended to continue
the tradition.
Tionne swung her weapon with a calm, smooth gesture so unexpected that
Tenel Ka barely reacted in time. She had sensed no intention of a
counterattack from the silver haired scholar, and so Tionne had
surprised her. Their blades locked and sizzled-and then 'Bonne pulled
her lightsaber back.
"Halt," she said, and switched off her weapon, leaving the warrior girl
to stand with her own lightsaber blazing in her hand.
Tionne gestured up into the night sky of Yavin 4. The other students
around the flagstoned courtyard stood up to watch. Just then, the twins
Jacen and Jaina emerged from a low stone arch in the side of the Great
Temple, hoping to observe Tenel Ka at her exercises. Instead, they all
saw a glowing light streaking toward them like a tiny meteor.
'Hey, it's a ship!" Jacen said.
'Not just any ship," Jaina added. "I'd recognize it anywhere!"
Jacen blinked. "Hey, Dad never told us he was coming!"
Within a few moments the ship swooped down with a roar of its sublight
engines and powered-up repulsorlifts. The flat, pronged disk of the
Millennium Falcon settled with a loud hiss onto the landing pad.
Talking excitedly with each other, Jacen and Jaina rushed from the
courtyard out onto the close-cropped weeds of the landing field to greet
their father. The modified light freighter's boarding ramp extended, and
Han Solo strode down it. A lopsided grin appeared as his children
greeted him with wild enthusiasm.
When Chewbacca bounded down the ramp, Tenel Ka heard a bellow of
greeting from behind her. She turned to see Lowbacca on one of the
pyramid's stone ledges above the training area. He swung himself over
the ledge and scrambled down the sloping temple blocks to reach the
ground. Chewbacca roared a response to his nephew.
Lowbacca had been very troubled recently
, and Tenel Ka could sense many
deep thoughts working through his brain. She had decided to honor her
Wookiee friend by letting him fight his own battles . . . unless he
asked for help. But when she saw the expressions on Chewbacca's and
Lowie's faces, Tenel Ka grasped a strange and interesting fact.
Although the twins had been surprised by the unexpected appearance of
the Millennium Falcon, Lowbacca had known full well that the ship was
coming. ----------------JAINA REALIZED SHE was grinning like an idiot as
she hugged her father. "What are you doing here? We didn't even know
you were coming."
Beside her, Jacen gaped at Han Solo's unfamiliar costume of tattered
cloth and furs. His hair had been cut raggedly, and he looked much
tougher. "Blaster -bolts, Dad!
Why are you dressed like that?" Before Han Solo had a chance to reply,
Jaina glanced behind him. Even in the dimness she could see that some of
the Millennium Falcon's plating had been replaced with dark anodized
hunks of metal, new storage pods had been mounted on the bow, and a
second transmitting dish was attached to the rear. Her jaw dropped. "And
what did you do to the Falcon? It looks so different!"
"One question at a time, kids," Han said, laughing and holding his hands
palm out at chest level, as if to ward off an oncoming charge. There've
been a few problems in the Outer Rim recently, so in her official
capacity, the New Republic's Chief of State-" 'You mean Mom," Jaina
said.
"Right." Han's grin was boyish. "Anyway, she's been after me and Luke to
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