Under A Black Sun Trilogy

by Kevin J. Anderson

  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."