The pursuing guards screamed, firing their blasters at the illusionary
threats. With nervous chuckles at the success of their plan, the
companions dove farther along, trying to escape.
One of the guards bellowed, "Those are just projections, you idiots!
" Some of the guards looked askance at the holocreatures who continued
to snarl and sweep their harmless claws through the air. Then they ran
after Jaina, Lando, Anja, and Zekk. The four stretched out their lead,
but continued to lure the guards forward.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Jaina said.
"You can bet on it," Lando said. "Too bad the antigray chamber isn't
working yet, though."
They sprinted toward the vortex shaft, the experience-filled pit they
had tumbled through on their first trip into the amusement center.
"Over here!" Jaina shouted, taunting the guards.
"Hey, you forgot to cover this escape hatch," Lando called.
"We're home free now," Zekk added, and dove down the swirling hole to
be swallowed up in the flashing lights. Jaina and Lando jumped after
him, and Anja followed with only the slightest reluctance.
The guards bellowed and careened forward in pursuit.
"Don't let them get away now!" a Wing Guard captain ordered.
Moments later, the five pursuing guards jumped down the chute.
Jaina held her arms over her head, straightening her body to reduce her
air resistance. They dropped faster and faster through the hot mists
and the cold steam, falling through the tangled bubbles as they plunged
down to the mat below. Zekk struck bottom and bounced, rolling off the
platform so that Lando, Anja, and Jaina would have room to land.
They all leapt to their feet, their knees trembling. The three younger
companions stood guard for Lando as he worked the control panel.
"Safety systems," he said, wiping sweat from his forehead. "You've got
to have security overrides. And I've got the codes." He pressed
buttons and flicked switches to deactivate the access to the vortex
chute.
A restrictive force-field clamped down on the top and bottom of the
chute.
Alarm lights winked on and Lando laughed up at the shadowy silhouettes
of the guards as they swirled around inside the shaft. "The repulsors
in there will keep that group going up and down, up and down.
They won't be able to get out until I use my private password to
release them."
Jaina went over to a comm unit on the wall. "Do you think if we summon
enough of Cloud City security, we'll get some who aren't tainted by
Black Sun?" Anja shifted uncomfortably, but made no suggestions.
"I think if we called them all here, we'd be able to wrap things up
nicely," Lando said.
They stood together, panting, and resting for a moment. After Lando
sent his signal again using his Baron-Adminstrator's emergency codes,
they waited for the authorities to arrive and take care of the would-be
assassins.
Lando couldn't wait until they began to debrief the turncoat Bespin
Wing Guards. "This should be very interesting," he said out loud.
Bespin's incredible ocean of sky provided an infinite expanse through
which Jacen and Tenel Ka could run. Unfortunately, it offered no place
to hide.
The isolated metal island of Cloud City fell behind them as Jacen
pushed the cloud skimmer's engines. The turbines whined as the cloud
car soared away from the trap the traitors had set for them.
Behind them-and rapidly gaining ground-came a sleek black cloud car
with a pair of sharp-angled bows. Cradling his weapon, the hairy-faced
thug leaned forward to take a carefully aimed shot while an armored
Wing Guard drove the patrol vessel at its highest possible speed.
Jacen jigged from left to right, diving down and then swooping back up
again, but in the open emptiness of the sky, the evasive maneuvers did
little good. The bearded hit man shot twice. Jacen dodged and
twirled. Even so, one of the powerful bolts ricocheted off the bottom
of their cloud car, leaving a long dark scorch mark across the bright
scarlet plating.
Tenel Ka sat beside him, grim-faced. She fingered the rancor-tooth
lightsaber at her waist. "I prefer a direct fight," she said. "These
men are cowards."
'% Yeah? They're traitors, too," Jacen said. "But who's keeping
track?" Then he perked up as an idea struck him. He wrestled with the
controls, dodging another blaster bolt that skimmed close beside
them.
"You could still use your lightsaber, Tenel Ka. Block those blaster
shots from hitting our repulsor-engines."
"Excellent idea, Jacen, my friend." She drew her lightsaber, switched
on its pulsating turquoise blade, then turned to kneel on the seat,
precariously balanced on her muscular legs. Tenel Ka slashed from side
to side with her blade as the pursuers continued to fire. She leaned
far out to deflect the attack, and Jacen worried that the one-armed
warrior girl might lose her balance and tumble into the clouds, as he
had done.
The skies grew darker. They flew neck and neck with their enemies
now.
Black thunderheads rose all around them like craggy islands in the
sky.
Long fingernails of lightning scratched against the thunderheads as
storm systems clashed together. Other glows flickered deep within the
clouds.
Jacen narrowed his eyes to stare at the ominous weather patterns ...
and had another idea. "Tenel Ka, get back in and strap down.
I think we're in for a bumpy ride."
Hearing the tone in his voice, she did as he advised without
questioning. Then Jacen set his course on a straight line for the
largest, nearest bank of thunderheads. The wind whipped the warrior
girl's redgold braids around her face. Her expression became stern.
"You are not actually flying into a storm system, are you?"
Jacen flashed her a lopsided grin. "They'd be crazy to follow us,
wouldn't they?"
The tumbling wall of gray mist grew larger, but slowly. Jacen realized
that the distance to the storm was greater than he had expected.
And the storm itself was much, much larger. He searched in vain for
the tiny black specks he had hoped to find. Lightning screeched across
the cloud surface, leaping from one thunderhead to another.
"Hang on," Jacen said, and dove toward the roiling dark mass.
Behind them, the assassins tried to put on more speed, firing
indiscriminately now. The Wing Guard pilot had trouble aiming his
vehicle's built-in laser cannons, but the hairy-faced assassin scored a
direct hit on Tenel Ka's side of the scarlet cloud car. Its impact was
much too close to her for Jacen's comfort.
An explosion of thunder slammed through the air with a sound like two
Star Destroyers colliding. Jacen's ears rang with the reverberations;
the cloud car's front windowplate and side panels rattled and vibrated
as if they'd been hit by a physical blow.
A lightning bolt roared behind them. The gigantic blast of discharged
energy boomed in a rippling cord across the open space. Ja
cen's skin
crawled, his hairs prickled, and tiny flecks of color sparkled in front
of his eyes. He didn't think even a Star Destroyer's turbolaser could
have been much more powerful than that immense blast.
Jacen kept looking for any hint of movement, any dark forms around the
cloud-but he noticed nothing.
"What do you seek, Jacen, my friend?" Teriel Ka said.
"You'll see if I find it."
After the lightning blast, the patrol car behind them spun out of
control, losing ground for several moments until the pilot managed to
get back on course. In frustration, the Wing Guard fired his laser
cannons five more times, but all of the shots went wide and disappeared
harmlessly into the dark depths of the cloud.
Heavy winds jounced them from side to side as if invisible hands were
playing a drumbeat against their cloud skimmer. Suddenly, Jacen hit a
pressure differential, and their scarlet cloud car plummeted like a
stone until another air current buoyed them up.
Jacen gripped the controls, feeling the blood drain from his face,
Tenel Ka sat stoically through it all.
With a surge of engine power the sleek black patrol craft careened in
behind them, weapons blazing once more. Jacen took a chance-an
extraordinary chance-hooking left to are around the gigantic storm
system. He plunged into an outcropping of dark mist and dove into a
knot of thunder clouds, hoping to lose himself in them.
Opaque mist flew in his face, acrid-smelling from the gaseous chemicals
deep in Bespin's cloud layers. Unable to see, he was glad at least to
know there were probably no obstacles with which he could collide in
the open sky.
Thunder rumbled deep in the main mass of the cloud like boulders
cracking together-but behind it, he could hear the hum and roar of the
high-powered pursuit craft.
"They are still following us," Tenel Ka said.
"Maybe we can lose them with some fancy flying," Jacen said, but he
knew that was a slim hope. The attackers charged in, following the
engine noise of the scarlet cloud car.
As he drove farther through the fringe of the thunderstorm, the mists
parted in front of him, and he burst into open sky on the far side of
the thunderhead.
Right into the middle of a pack of predatory velsers.
Startled, the chevron-shaped flying creatures soared about, wheeling
like razor-winged hawkbats, darting along the edge of the powerful
storm as if they fed on lightning discharges.
The creatures were huge, sleek, and affnored, like living attack
craft.
When Jacen's cloud car burst in among them, they swirled around like
angry piranha beetles. Within moments, they had formed into a squadron
intent on attacking the intruder.
Tenel Ka unbuckled her seat restraint and whipped out her lightsaber
again. The velsers were black, their skin tough and layered with tiny
scales. Jacen saw no eyes, only sleek skinplates, smooth heads at the
apex of sharp wings. But as the cloud car dove underneath the outer
edge of velsers, Jacen saw that their underbodies consisted of rows and
rows of jagged mouths, lampreylike teeth with suckers to anchor
themselves, and grinding jaws that could rip any prey to shreds.
"This was your intention, Jacen?" Tenel Ka said, alarmed.
"I was hoping they'd be nicer." He spun the craft about to fly between
two ferocious velsers. The creatures collided in the air, then began
attacking each other.
Tenel Ka reached up with her lightsaber, using the blazing tip of her
turquoise blade to slash the side of one velser that dove toward their
cloud car. Its skin ripped open and volatile gases spilled out,
sparking and flashing in the flame of the lightsaber. Unable to keep
flying, the velser spun out of control; the other creatures fell upon
it.
Tenel Ka parried again, ripping open the mouth-filled belly of a second
attacking creature. For an instant the velsers drew back,
intimidated.
But only for an instant.
Another creature dive-bombed toward them, rows of mouths clacking,
teeth gnashing, ready to shred either the scarlet metal of the cloud
car or the soft flesh of the young Jedi Knights.
Jacen concentrated with his Jedi powers as he flew, trying to use his
affinity for animals to get these beasts to back off and pursue other
prey. He had calmed a ronto and any number of large deadly creatures,
but these velsers had few thoughts in their minds-except to attack and
destroy.
Maybe at least Jacen could change their focus.
Behind them, the black patrol car burst out of the thunderhead knot and
into the angry pack of velsers. In utter panic, the Wing Guard pilot
swooped up and around.
With the sudden flurry to distract the furious flying creatures behind
them, Jacen applied full speed, roaring away from the dangerous
flock.
He used his thoughts to focus the velsers' attention on the black
craft, their pursuers.
"Better prey," he said, mumbling aloud. "A better target. Ignore
us."
Jacen could think of no other way for them to escape.
The velsers swirled and turned to concentrate their vicious attack on
the black cloud car. The pilot swerved, trying to flee, but the
velsers were much too fast, much too intent on destruction.
As Jacen flew farther and farther from the roiling thunderhead, he saw
the velsers attack. His craft damaged, the traitorous Wing Guard pilot
spun out of control and dropped down toward the deep gray soup of the
storm. Lightning flashed all around.
The velsers swirled in a frenzy and renewed their attack. The black
cloud car plunged out of sight, and the velsers flew after it. All of
them vanished deep into the stormy grayness.
Another chorus of loud thunder shook the sky. Jacen spun the vehicle
about and began the long journey back to Cloud City.
Together again on Cloud City, the young Jedi Knights, Anja, and Lando,
though exhausted and ragged from their ordeals, waited for the big show
to begin. They sat on a set of open-air scaffoldings, now converted
into spectator seats. The gentle winds ruffled Jaina's straight brown
hair and she blinked into the bright rising sun as Bespin's twelvehour
day began again.
They had found prime observation spots on the hover-scaffolding that
had originally been erected for polishing and replating parts of the
city's external hull. Lowie had climbed to the highest level and
dangled his hairy feet down as he held on with one lanky arm. He
seemed not the least bit bothered by his precarious position, high
above nothing.
"Master Lowbacca, do be careful," Em Teedee scolded, but the Wookiee
paid him little heed.
Lando reached over and tousled Jacen's curly hair. "Why is it that
every time I try to take a simple vacation with you kids, something
disastrous happens?"
"I have a feeling we just draw adventure to ourselves," Jacen
replied.
"A genuine vacation would be nice one of these days," J
aina said.
"But since we're trying to be real Jedi Knights, I don't suppose
there'll ever be a time when the New Republic doesn't need us."
Anja sat off to one side, withdrawn and quiet, threading her fingers
through her honey-streaked hair. Something was obviously bothering her
... but then again, Jaina had rarely seen the older girl be anything
other than bothered. She wondered if Anja was more shaken by their
recent adventures than she dared to admit.
"I'm proud of all of you, you know," Lando said. "None of what we did
can bring Cojahn back to me or his family, but I do know that' we've
all done a good thing. I told his wife about what really happened to
him and she seemed comforted to know we found out the truth.
We've exposed a dangerous criminal element. Black Sun is on the move
again."
"Yes," Jaina said, frowning. "We'll have to call Mom and give her all
the information we have."
"I'm sure the Chief of State of the New Republic can set a few law
enforcement wheels in motion," Zekk agreed.
Tenel Ka nodded firmly. "We must be certain they are not traitorous
security forces, like some of the Wing Guard here on Cloud City."
Under A Black Sun Trilogy Page 32
