Return of the Jedi (Junior Novelization)

by Ryder Windham

  The scout whirled and lashed out with his free arm, knocking Han off his feet. Han fired his blaster, sending a single laserbolt skyward before he fell back against the ground. The scout turned to his companion and shouted, “Go for help! Go!”

  Luke and Leia saw the second scout run for his speeder bike. “Great!” Luke said sarcastically. “Come on.” He and Leia jumped up from behind the fallen tree and ran down the hill.

  Han rose fast, seized the scout who’d struck him, and threw him hard against the nearest tree. The other scout jumped onto his speeder bike and took off. Chewbacca stepped out from the trees, raised his Wookiee bowcaster, and squeezed off two shots after the scout. The first laserbolt whizzed past the speeder bike, but the second hit its mark and the speeder bike crashed into a tree; the scout went sailing over the bike’s handgrip controls and hit the ground with bone-crunching impact.

  Han was still fighting the first scout when Leia and Luke arrived near Chewbacca. Then Leia sighted another pair of scout troopers and shouted, “Over there! Two more of them!”

  Luke followed Leia’s gaze. The two scouts were already mounted on their speeder bikes—they looked back at Luke and Leia before racing off at high speed.

  “I see them,” Luke said, but Leia was already running for the remaining speeder bike, the one that belonged to the scout that was keeping Han occupied. “Wait, Leia!” Luke shouted. Running after her, he jumped onto the back of the bike just as Leia gripped and twisted the accelerator. Leia felt Luke’s arms tighten around her waist as they launched forward into the forest.

  Han turned in time to see Leia and Luke speeding off. “Hey, wait!” he called out. His white-armored opponent lunged for him. “Ahhh!” Han bellowed as he grabbed the scout’s wrist and forearm and flipped him to the ground, finally knocking him out.

  Luke and Leia hurtled after the two fleeing scouts. Leaning forward so Leia could hear him over the whine of the speeder’s engine, Luke said, “Quick! Jam their comlink. Center switch!”

  Leia pressed the switch, then accelerated. Branches and leaves whipped past them as they followed the two scouts through the dense woodland. The scouts maneuvered over a fallen tree leaning against a cluster of other trees. Luke ducked as Leia successfully gained on the scouts by steering through the gap between the fallen tree and the ground.

  “Move closer!” Luke said.

  Leia gunned the engine. The two scouts veered recklessly through the woods, but Leia stayed with them. When one of the scouts fell behind, Luke saw an opportunity and said, “Get alongside that one!”

  Leia accelerated again, then swung hard to the left until her directional vanes scraped against the scout’s speeder bike. A cluster of trees forced Leia to break away from the scout, but while both speeders were still traveling at parallel trajectories, Luke leaped to the back of the scout’s bike.

  Landing behind the scout, Luke grabbed the scout’s neck and twisted hard. The violent action flipped the scout right off the speeder and into a thick tree trunk. As the scout’s body fell limp to the base of the tree, Luke reached for the bike’s handgrips and quickly gained control.

  Leia was slightly ahead of Luke, but he caught up with her. The remaining scout was straight in front of them. Luke shouted, “Get him!” But as they chased the scout around a wide group of trees, they drew the attention of two more bike-mounted scout troopers who were stationed in the forest.

  The two scouts zoomed after Luke and Leia. One of the scouts fired twice, and a laserbolt glanced off the back of Luke’s speeder. Luke looked back, then shouted to Leia, “Keep on that one!” He tilted his helmeted head toward the single bike in front of them. “I’ll take these two!”

  Luke stomped on his braking pedals and his speeder bike rapidly decelerated. Not anticipating his maneuver, Luke’s two pursuers were startled as they flew by him on either side and suddenly found themselves in front of their prey. Luke launched forward, deployed his speeder bike’s blaster cannon, and squeezed off a rapid burst of laserbolts at one of the scout troopers.

  His aim was good. A shot connected, and the scout trooper’s speeder bike went out of control and straight into a tree. The explosion was incredible. The other scout looked back to see the explosion, then faced forward and shifted into turbo drive, going even faster. Luke kept on his tail.

  Far ahead of Luke, Leia was still chasing the single scout who’d evaded Han and Chewbacca. As the woods grew thicker up ahead, Leia decided to try a different tactic and aimed her bike skyward. Rising above the ground, she traveled fast under the forest canopy until she was almost directly above her quarry. Looking down, she saw the scout glance back behind him, trying to find her but failing.

  Leia adjusted her bike’s belly-mounted blaster cannon and fired. The scout’s bike took a hit but kept on going. Leia descended from above and moved alongside him.

  The scout reached to his right leg and drew a black compact blaster from his holster. Before Leia could react, he fired and scored a direct hit on her bike.

  I’ve lost control! Leia dived off her bike just a split second before it slammed into a tree and exploded, spraying metal and plastoid everywhere. Her body tumbled to the ground.

  Hearing the explosion, the scout glanced back with satisfaction to see the blast. But when he turned to face forward, he saw he was on a collision course for a giant, uprooted tree. He stomped on his brakes to no avail, then disappeared in a conflagration.

  Lying on the ground where she’d landed, Leia heard the explosion. She lifted her dazed head once, then passed out.

  Luke was unaware of Leia’s condition and whereabouts as he chased the remaining scout through the trees. Luke moved in close, but the scout responded by slamming his bike into Luke’s.

  A fallen tree formed a bridge across their path. The scout zipped under the tree and Luke went over, then crashed his bike down on the scout’s. The scout kept going. Both Luke and the scout looked ahead to see a wide trunk looming directly in Luke’s path. Luke banked with all his might, leaning almost horizontally over the scout’s bike to just barely make it past the trunk. He straightened out quickly, but his sudden maneuver caused his bike’s steering vanes to lock onto the scout’s. Then Luke saw another tree in his path.

  Reacting instinctively, Luke dived off his bike and rolled to the ground. Freed from his weight, his bike came apart from the scout’s, then lifted into the oncoming tree and exploded. Luke rose fast and saw the scout sweep out and away from the crash site and circle back through the forest.

  He’s coming back for me! Luke ignited his lightsaber just as the scout opened fire with his blaster cannon. Swinging his weapon, Luke deflected the fired laserbolts.

  The scout kept shooting and aimed his bike straight for Luke. Luke batted away more laserbolts. When the scout’s bike was almost on top of him, he stepped aside and swung at the bike’s steering vanes, slicing them off. The scout’s shattered bike hurtled forward, then began pitching and rolling as it slammed directly into a tree. In a fiery explosion, the last scout was gone.

  Luke pulled off his helmet and tried to catch his breath. He wondered about Leia, but thought, If she were in any danger, I’m sure I would have sensed it.

  He was less certain about how far he was from where he’d left the Rebel strike team. Fortunately, he had a good enough sense of direction to know how to find his way back.

  Luke deactivated his lightsaber and started running through the woods.

  Slumped against the trunk of an immense tree, Han and Chewbacca were worried about Leia and Luke. The twelve SpecForces commandos were positioned around the area, watching for any sign of the princess or Luke. C-3PO stood beside R2-D2, whose extendable scanner antenna rotated back and forth above his domed head. Detecting movement nearby, R2-D2 beeped.

  “Oh, General Solo,” C-3PO said, “somebody’s coming.”

  Han, Chewbacca, and the other soldiers raised their weapons and darted for cover. C-3PO and R2-D2 hid by a tree. Hearing
approaching footsteps, C-3PO leaned out from behind the tree and said, “Oh!”

  A forest-camouflaged form ran into the clearing. It was Luke.

  “Luke!” Han said, stepping out from his hiding place. “Where’s Leia?”

  Panting hard from his run, Luke was suddenly concerned and alarmed. “What?” he asked. “She didn’t come back?”

  “I thought she was with you,” Han replied.

  “We got separated.” Luke exchanged a silent, grim look with Han, then said, “Hey, we better go look for her.”

  Han nodded, then signaled to a Rebel officer. “Take the squad ahead. We’ll meet at the shield generator at oh three hundred.”

  “Come on, Artoo,” Luke said. “We’ll need your scanners.”

  As Luke, Han, Chewbacca, and the droids moved off in one direction and the commandos proceeded in another, C-3PO said, “Don’t worry, Master Luke. We know what to do.” Then he glanced back at R2-D2 and added, “And you said it was pretty here. Ugh!”

  A small, fur-covered figure had been traveling through the woods, using his stone-tipped spear as a walking stick, when he’d heard the sound of speeder bikes traveling at high speed. A native of Endor’s forest moon, he was aware of the presence of white-armored invaders on his world, but he had still been surprised when his large black eyes had sighted a bright flash of light in the distance: A speeder bike had crashed and exploded against a tree. That explosion had been followed by another, and then the sound of speeder bikes was gone.

  The native didn’t know the origin of the white-armored invaders, but he knew they weren’t friendly. Because of what they’d been doing on his world—cutting down trees, erecting large metal structures, racing around on noisy machines—he neither liked nor welcomed them.

  Now, adjusting his brown leather cowl, he listened and watched the forest. Except for the cries of some alarmed birds, he heard nothing and saw no movement around the area of the explosions. After waiting to make sure no other invaders were coming, he tightened his grip on his spear and moved quickly through the bushes and past the trees, making his way toward the crash sites. If the explosions had started any fires, he would put them out. If there were any survivors, he would deal with them, too.

  The furry creature was an Ewok, and his name was Wicket.

  Fortunately, the crashed speeder bikes had not left any flaming wreckage. Wicket found a lifeless white-armored form near the shattered remains of one bike, but the prone figure near the other crash site was different. For one thing, this particular invader wasn’t wearing white armor, but was clad in garments that had been colored to blend in with the forest; also, watching the camouflage poncho’s subtle rise and fall, Wicket could see the invader was breathing.

  Wicket guessed the unconscious outsider had fallen or jumped from the speeder bike immediately before it crashed. Stepping closer, he saw she wore a helmet that revealed a human face. Wicket had encountered humans before, and the face reminded him of an adult woman whose family’s star cruiser crash-landed on Endor. Then he remembered another woman, an evil shape-shifting witch, and shuddered at the memory.

  Wicket assumed the human before him was a woman, but didn’t assume she was friendly. Approaching her body cautiously, he extended his spear and prodded her side. When no reaction came, he prodded again.

  Feeling the spear’s jab, Princess Leia sat bolt upright and said, “Cut it out!”

  Wicket jumped back but kept his spear held high.

  Leia felt disoriented, but seeing the furry creature before her, it took all of her diplomatic skills to resist laughing. He was barely one meter tall, and despite his fierce behavior, he looked almost ridiculously adorable. Wondering how long she’d been unconscious, Leia stood up slowly and stretched. No broken bones, thank goodness.

  The creature chittered at her.

  “I’m not gonna hurt you,” Leia said. She looked around at the charred remains of her speeder bike, then sighed and sat down on a fallen log. “Well, looks like I’m stuck here. Trouble is, I don’t know where here is.” She looked to the furry creature. “Maybe you can help me.” She patted the log beside her. “Come on, sit down.”

  Wicket growled at her.

  “I promise I won’t hurt you,” Leia continued gently. “Now come here.” She patted the log again, and again the creature growled. “All right. You want something to eat?” She removed a ration bar from a pocket and held it out to him. She broke off a small piece and popped it into her own mouth, just to show him it wasn’t poisonous.

  Wicket cocked his head, looking at the bar, then took a cautious step forward onto the log. He chattered to her in his squeaky Ewok language.

  “That’s right,” Leia said. “Come on. Hmmm?”

  Sniffing the proffered food curiously, Wicket moved closer and took it from Leia’s hand. Then he plopped himself down beside her and began nibbling at the bar. But when Leia reached up to remove her helmet, Wicket became startled. He jumped back and again raised his spear at her.

  Leia held the helmet out to him and said, “Look, it’s a hat. It’s not gonna hurt you. Look.” She showed him the helmet was empty. Reassured, he lowered his spear and took the helmet from her to examine it. Leia went on, “You’re a jittery little thing, aren’t you?”

  Suddenly, Wicket turned away from Leia, dropping her helmet so he could grasp his spear with both paws. His ears perked up and he began to sniff the air. He looked around warily, and whispered an Ewokese warning to Leia.

  “What is it?” Leia asked. Scanning the surrounding trees, she saw nothing.

  Without warning, a laserbolt zinged out of the foliage and exploded on the log next to Leia. She and Wicket rolled backward off the log to hide behind it. Leia drew her blaster pistol and held it ready, peeking over the log as another laserbolt shot out from the forest and struck near her head.

  Leia ducked down as Wicket threw himself into the small gap between the log and the ground. Leia thought, Those shots were too precise to have been misses. Someone’s trying to draw me out or scare me off. She eased herself up again, risking another glance in the direction of the mysterious shooter, who remained completely concealed by trees.

  “Freeze!” said a voice from just behind Leia, causing her to jump with surprise. She turned to see an Imperial scout trooper had snuck up on her. The scout had his blaster aimed at her head, and he reached out with his other hand to take her weapon.

  “Come on, get up!” the scout ordered.

  Leia rose and saw a second scout—the shooter—emerge from the dense foliage. Addressing the shooter, the scout beside her said, “Go get your ride and take her back to base.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Still beneath the log, Wicket had seen enough to know that the woman was no friend of the white-armored invaders. Gripping his spear, the brave Ewok swung hard at the right leg of the scout beside Leia. Whack!

  “What the—” exclaimed the scout, glancing down at Wicket.

  Seizing the opportunity to take advantage of the distracted scout, Leia grabbed a fallen branch and swung at his head, knocking him out instantly. Then she dived for her blaster, came up with it fast, and aimed at the other scout, who’d just jumped onto his speeder bike. The bike took off, and Leia fired away at it.

  The escaping scout’s bike was hit, and he collided with the parked bike that belonged to his already-subdued companion. He was thrown head over heels through the air as both bikes exploded.

  Wicket poked his fuzzy head up from behind the log and regarded Leia with new respect, muttering praise.

  From her earlier run-in with scout troopers, Leia knew more could be close by. Holstering her blaster, she hurried over to her small ally and motioned for him to follow her away from the area.

  “Come on,” Leia said. “Let’s get out of here.”

  But as they moved into the foliage, Wicket shrieked and tugged at Leia’s arm. Figuring that her newfound friend knew his way around the forest better than she d
id, Leia decided to follow him. Both of them forgot about Leia’s helmet, which remained on the ground where Wicket had dropped it.

  On the Death Star, two Royal Guards stood sentry on either side of the turbolift in the Emperor’s throne room. Neither guard so much as flinched when the turbolift door slid open and Darth Vader entered.

  Vader crossed the bridge and ascended the stairway to the upper platform where the Emperor sat in his large chair, his back to the door. Gazing out the tall circular window, the Emperor chided, “I told you to remain on the command ship.”

  Vader said, “A small Rebel force has penetrated the shield and landed on Endor.”

  “Yes, I know,” the Emperor replied in an almost bored tone as he slowly rotated his chair to face Vader.

  Vader hesitated, wondering how much the Emperor really did know. Then he said, “My son is with them.”

  This did surprise the Emperor, but he tried not to show it.

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  “I have felt him, my Master.”

  “Strange that I have not,” the Emperor said testily. Leaning forward in his chair, he said, “I wonder if your feelings on this matter are clear, Lord Vader.”

  “They are clear, my Master.”

  “Then you must go to the Sanctuary Moon and wait for him.”

  Vader was skeptical. “He will come to me?”

  “I have foreseen it,” the Emperor said as he eased back into his chair. “His compassion for you will be his undoing. He will come to you, and then you will bring him before me.”

  “As you wish,” Vader said, adding a deep bow. Then he turned and strode out of the throne room.

  Luke reached down with his black-gloved right hand and picked up Leia’s helmet from where it had been abandoned on the forest floor. Oh, no, he thought. This doesn’t look good.

  “Luke!” Han called out. “Luke!”

  Carrying Leia’s helmet, Luke ran to rejoin the search party. He found Han, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2 beside the charred wreckage of a speeder bike in the grass.