Dark Apprentice

by Kevin J. Anderson

  Ackbar. She wore yellow-and-turquoise robes that hung loosely about her

  frame,

  sleeves that flowed like waterfalls. He sensed a sad determination from her.

  The Calamarian female saw Luke and gestured with a flipper-hand to the

  unseen pilot of the transport pod. Behind her the craft rose skyward with a

  magnetic hum, leaving her behind. She did not look up to watch the pod

  streak

  back into the low-lying clouds, but seemed intent on staying right where she

  was.

  "Master Skywalker," she said with a velvety burr that put him at ease. "I

  am Ambassador Cilghal from Calamari. I have a message for you." She reached

  into one of her flowing sleeves and withdrew a gleaming disk traced with

  patterns of copper and gold.

  "Artoo?" Luke said.

  The little droid trundled forward, and Cilghal bent down to insert the

  message disk into Artoo's drive. After a momentary whir Artoo projected a

  flickering image of Leia in the air in front of him.

  Luke stood back surprised, then looked at Cilghal with a deeper interest

  as Leia started speaking.

  "Luke, I hope all is well with you. I think I've found someone for your

  Jedi training center. Ambassador Cilghal comes with my highest

  recommendation.

  She has demonstrated to my satisfaction that she has a true proficiency in

  using the Force. She seems to have a knack for healing and for short-range

  prediction. She was a great help during the recent battle on Calamari.

  Please

  help her and train her. We need more Jedi Knights."

  Her image smiled up at him. "We hope to hear soon that some of your

  students are ready to help with our struggle against the Empire. These are

  still desperate times. We can't let our guard slip for a moment."

  Her expression softened, and she seemed to look directly into his eyes.

  "I miss you. The twins keep asking when they'll see their Uncle Luke again.

  I

  hope you can visit--or maybe we'll come to Yavin 4." She straightened,

  taking

  a formal tone again. "I'm sure you'll find Cilghal to be one of your most

  promising candidates." She crossed her arms and smiled as the message

  flickered and vanished.

  Cilghal stood in silence, waiting for Luke to respond. His mind spun.

  "Uh, welcome," he finally said.

  He had been disturbed since his confrontation with Kyp Durron; Luke did

  not know where the young man had gone after stealing Mara Jade's ship. The

  gruesome death of Gantoris, coupled with Kyp's rebellion, had been more than

  enough to resurrect the old fear in Luke again. His best students were going

  sour, getting impatient, trying to push the limits of their abilities.

  But he had sensed a greater, deeper menace that vibrated within the very

  stones of the Great Temple itself... evil, and well hidden. Working alone,

  Luke had attempted to find its source, running his fingers along the stone

  blocks of the walls, trying to tap the cold shadow--but he had found

  nothing.

  He had only his suspicions.

  How could Kyp have known the details of the Great Sith War? How could

  Gantoris have learned how to build his own lightsaber? What had Gantoris

  seen

  that last terrible night before he was consumed? What dreaded magic had he

  attempted? Luke was missing an important piece of the puzzle, and until he

  found it, he could not strike against the threat.

  Ambassador Cilghal shifted and looked at him again. "Master Skywalker,

  you seem preoccupied. Perhaps Leia was wrong in suggesting that I come here

  to

  stay?"

  Luke looked at her, feeling the weight of responsibility on his

  shoulders. "No, no," he said, "that's not it. If Leia thinks you have Jedi

  potential, then I would be honored to teach you here. In fact," he said

  jokingly, "an even-tempered Calamarian will be a welcome change." He smiled.

  "Follow me. We'll find quarters for you inside the temple."

  * * *

  The students at Luke's training center continued their lessons of self-

  discovery, working eagerly or meditatively, honing their skills.

  Newcomer Mara Jade listened intently to Cilghal's firsthand descriptions

  of the attack on Calamari, pressing the ambassador with detailed questions

  about the Star Destroyers and the number of TIE squadrons they had carried.

  Old Streen sat next to Kirana Ti on a rounded bench, listening to silver-

  haired Tionne practice new ballads. The remaining students sat in other

  common

  rooms, or studied in their private chambers, or walked out in the jungles.

  Satisfied at their activities, Luke slipped back into the deserted

  corridors and headed toward his own rooms. Artoo came around the corner and

  whistled a question at him, but Luke shook his head. "No, Artoo, I don't

  want

  to be disturbed for a while."

  He stepped inside his stone-walled chamber, the small room where he had

  stayed as an X-wing pilot in the Alliance. Luke had removed the other bunks,

  furnished the room to his taste; but the room seemed barren, with only a

  sleeping pallet and some small Massassi artifacts.

  On a ledge of black stone laced with blood-colored impurities sat the

  translucent cube of the Jedi Holocron.

  Luke sealed his door, the first time he had ever locked it since

  returning to the abandoned temple. He held the Holocron in his palm and

  activated it, digging deep to seek his information.

  "I wish to see Master Vodo-Siosk Baas," he said.

  The ghostly image of the nozzle-faced, stunted Jedi Master rose out of

  the cube, robed and covered with bangles, leaning on a long gnarled stick.

  "I

  am the gatekeeper, I am Master Vodo-Siosk Baas," the image said.

  Luke squatted in front of the interactive holographic image. "I need

  information from you, Master Vodo. You were a Jedi during the time of the

  Great Sith War. You have told us about your student Exar Kun and how he

  created the Brotherhood of the Sith. You've told us that he fought for

  dominance over the other Jedi loyal to the Old Republic."

  Luke took a deep breath. "I need you to tell me more. How did Exar Kun

  fall at the end of the war? What happened to him? How did he die--or were

  you

  finally able to bring him back to the light side?"

  "Exar Kun was my greatest student," Master Vodo said, "yet he was

  corrupted. He was seduced by the powers available to him through studies of

  ancient Sith teachings."

  Luke nodded gravely. "I am afraid that the same thing might have happened

  to some of my own students, Master Vodo. Did Exar Kun ever return to the

  powers of good?"

  "That was not to be," the image of Master Vodo said. "Because I was his

  Master, I alone of the allied Jedi went to confront him, hoping that I could

  turn him back. I knew it was a foolish mission, but I had no choice. I had

  to

  try."

  "What happened?" Luke asked.

  The image flickered, as if something had sparked inside the Holocron;

  then Master Vodo reappeared. "Exar Kun destroyed me. He slew his own

  master."

  Luke was suddenly jarred out o
f the story, remembering that the

  gatekeeper images in the Holocron were interactive simulacra with

  personalities imprinted upon them--not the real spirits of long-dead Jedi

  Masters.

  "Then what happened to Kun at the end of the Sith War?" Luke asked.

  "All the Jedi banded together and came to the jungle moon in a united

  front against the Sith stronghold Exar Kun had built. The allied Jedi

  combined

  their power into a massive annihilating strike."

  Master Vodo's image flickered again, dissolved into static, then

  reassembled itself. his... which obliterated the surviving Massassi natives

  and..." The image broke up, flickered, re-formed, then broke up again--as if

  something were jamming it.

  "But Exar Kun--whichat happened to Exar Kun?" Luke demanded. He couldn't

  understand what was going wrong with the Holocron. He shook the Holocron,

  tapped it a few times, then set it down on the flat, hard table and stepped

  back to get a better view of the holographic Jedi Master.

  Inside the static-filled cube a dark knot appeared, like a storm

  gathering within its translucent walls. Master Vodo-Siosk Baas reappeared.

  his-comb Kun was able to--was

  Suddenly Master Vodo's image shattered into a thousand glittering

  fragments of colored light, as if a greater force had torn it apart from

  within.

  The darkness inside the Holocron grew deeper and larger, swelling like a

  slow-motion explosion. Arcs of red fire struck out in all directions from

  the

  black fist. With a high-pitched shrieking noise of discharged energy, the

  faces of the cube split. The Holocron steamed as it collapsed with a shower

  of

  sparks, a stream of black curling smoke, and a stench of melted electronics

  and organic components.

  Luke backed away, raising his hands to shield his eyes from the blaze.

  For a moment it seemed that a solid black hooded form like a wa lking

  silhouette rose up from the Holocron, laughing in a deep subsonic voice.

  Then

  it drifted away, dissipating into the stone walls.

  Luke felt cold fear grip him. The small white cube of the treasured

  Holocron lay in a melted lump on the table.

  Luke would have to find his own answers--and soon.

  "Luke, I've had enough of this!"

  Luke looked up as Mara Jade emerged from the turbolift in the hangar bay

  of the Great Temple. She had stayed on the jungle moon a few days, long

  enough

  to learn how to use her own Jedi skills, but the incident with Kyp Durron

  and

  the loss of her personal ship had soured the experience for her.

  Luke turned from where he stood next to Artoo-Detoo and two Jedi

  trainees. Kirana Ti bent over to heft a pack of wilderness supplies as she

  and

  Streen prepared for a short sojourn out in the jungles. She wore the

  reptile-

  skin garments and ornate lacquered battle helm she had brought from her

  harsh

  world of Dathomir.

  Streen fidgeted and glanced toward the shaft of sunlight that came in

  under the half-opened hangar door. He wore the many-pocketed jumpsuit he had

  kept from his gas-prospecting days on Bespin.

  Mara walked briskly toward them, cinching her Jedi robe tighter around

  her waist. Luke looked at her and thought how different she looked from when

  he had first met her on the hostile smuggler world of Myrkyour.

  Mara stopped in front of him, glanced at the two Jedi trainees waiting to

  depart on their jungle trek, then ignored them completely. "I can't deny

  what

  I've learned here, Luke. But Talon Karrde gave me control of the smugglers'

  alliance, and I've got too much to do. I can't just meditate all day long."

  Her narrow chiseled face seemed flushed even in the dim light. "I need to

  send

  for another transport to get out of here, since your prize student ran off

  with my ship."

  Luke nodded, partly amused at her predicament but stung by the mention of

  Kyp Durron's betrayal. "We've got a communications setup in the second-tier

  war room. You can call Karrde and request a new ship."

  Mara snorted. "Karrde only lets me contact him at prearranged intervals.

  He keeps moving around--says it's because he's afraid someone has a bounty

  on

  his head. I suspect he just doesn't want to be bothered. He claims that he's

  retired from the smuggling life and wants to live as a private citizen."

  "You can always contact Coruscant," Luke said in a congenial voice. "I'm

  sure they'll send a shuttle for you. In fact, we're probably due for another

  supply run anyway."

  Mara pursed her generous lips. "It would be nice to have the New Republic

  chauffeur me around for a change."

  Luke searched for any hidden sarcasm in her comment but saw only wry

  humor instead. He shook his head. "I don't know who you'd get to volunteer

  for

  a brutal job like that."

  * * *

  When Lando came rushing into Han and Leia's quarters without knocking,

  Han Solo was intent on studying a list of interactive entertainment options

  for the twins. On the floor Jacen and Jaina played impatiently with shiny

  self-aware toys that kept trying to run away from the children's grasping

  hands.

  See-Threepio stood nervously next to him. "I am perfectly qualified to

  make selections, sir. I'm certain I can find something to amuse the twins."

  "I don't trust your choices, Threepio," Han said. "Remember how much they

  enjoyed the Holographic Zoo for Extinct Animals?"

  "That was an anomaly, sir," Threepio said.

  Lando rushed into the room, looking around. "Han, old buddy! I need a

  favor--a big favor."

  With a sigh Han turned the selection process over to Threepio. "Okay,

  pick something--but if the kids don't like it, I'll let them amuse

  themselves

  by running a maintenance check on you."

  "I... understand completely, sir," Threepio said, and bent to the task.

  "What kind of favor?" he asked Lando warily.

  Lando flung his cape over his shoulder and rubbed his hands together. "I,

  uh, need to borrow the Falcon--just for a little while."

  "What?" Han said.

  Lando answered in a rush. "Mara Jade is stuck on Yavin 4, and she needs a

  lift. I want to be the gallant gentleman who rescues her. Let me take the

  Falcon. Please?"

  Han shook his head. "My ship isn't going anywhere without me. Besides, if

  you're trying to impress Mara Jade, taking a ship like the Falcon isn't the

  way to do it."

  "Come on, Han," Lando said. "I took you to rescue Leia when Calamari was

  under attack. You owe me one."

  Han sighed. "I suppose I could use an excuse to go see Luke and Kyp at

  the Jedi academy." He turned and smirked at Threepio. "Besides, this time at

  least Leia's here to watch out for the children."

  When the Millennium Falcon landed in front of the great Massassi temple,

  Han emerged to see Luke sprinting toward him wearing an expression of boyish

  delight. Han grinned and stepped down the entry ramp, his boots clomping on

  the metal plates. Luke came forward to hug hi
m in an enthusiastic embrace

  that

  was distinctly undignified for a Jedi Master.

  Han said, "Enjoying your little vacation away from the thick of galactic

  politics, Luke?"

  Luke's expression became troubled. "I wouldn't exactly say that."

  Lando Calrissian emerged from the Falcon after taking an extra few

  moments to groom his hair, straighten his clothes, and make certain his

  appearance was as dashing as he could make it. Han had rolled his eyes,

  convinced that suave gentility was no way to win the affections of Mara

  Jade.

  Though her scalding anger seemed to have cooled somewhat, Mara still

  showed a rough-edged hardness that made Han wonder why Lando would get so

  excited about the woman who had once called herself "The Emperor's Hand."

  With

  a flash of insight Han realized that Leia herself had come across as a

  mixture

  of fiery temper and icy coolness when he had first met her--and look at how

  that had turned out!

  Mara Jade's slender figure emerged from the half-open hangar doors at the

  base of the blocky stone ziggurat. She carried a satchel slung over her

  shoulder.

  Lando hurried down the ramp and cursorily clapped Luke on the back. "How

  you doing, Luke?" He practically tripped over himself as he trotted across

  the

  landing pad to meet Mara. "We hear you need a lift," he said, offering to

  take

  her satchel. "What happened to your own ship?"

  "Don't ask," she said, then smiled wryly at him before handing over her

  heavy bag. "So you finally found something you're qualified to do,

  Calrissian.

  Baggage handler."

  He carried her satchel over his shoulder and gestured to the Falcon.

  "Right this way to the VIP shuttle, madam."

  Han stepped back from Luke and looked around at the steaming jungles and

  the vine-covered Great Temple. "So, where's Kyp?" he asked.

  Luke looked down at his feet, and then, as if gathering courage through

  some kind of Jedi exercise, he looked up to meet Han's gaze. "I've got bad

  news for you. Kyp... disagreed with me about how fast he should learn

  dangerous new skills and how best to develop his ability with the Force."

  "What do you mean?" Han asked. He grabbed one of the piston supports of

  the entry ramp to keep himself upright. "Was he hurt? Why didn't you call

  me?"

  Luke shook his head. "I don't know what happened to him. He's been