Champions of the Force

by Kevin J. Anderson

  A large chunk of rock shattered at the claw grip. With a horrible sound of rending, tearing metal, Furgan's walker finally broke free of the grotto opening.

  Terpfen's MT — AT pushed forward and forward. Inside the cockpit of the ambassador's vehicle, Furgan frantically grabbed the controls but did not seem to know which to use.

  Terpfen continued his relentless blasting with the lasers. He shoved Furgan's walker completely through where the blast door had been blown away and held out the thrashing MT — AT over open space.

  Terpfen released his grip.

  Ambassador Furgan's multilegged vehicle flailed as it dropped through the air on a long plunge toward the jagged landscape far below. Before the assault vehicle could actually strike the ground, Terpfen fired both of his powerful blaster cannons. The beams blew up Furgan's MT — AT with a blinding flash just above the spiked rocks.

  And then, inexplicably, Terpfen's walker continued its own forward motion, moving mechanical legs to drive him over the edge in a suicidal plunge.

  Ackbar instantly knew what Terpfen intended. Not wasting time with a shout that would not be heard, he lunged for the blast — door controls.

  Just as the thrashing metal legs vanished over the lip of the cliff, Ackbar punched the buttons, hoping that the skewed half of the door still functioned just enough. The heavy metal plate crashed down on top of the last footpad of Terpfen's Spider Walker, pinning it to the cliff and preventing it from falling.

  "Help him!" Ackbar cried.

  The other Calamarians scrambled forward, accompanied by the admiral himself. Secured with a tow cable from one of the B — wings, they lowered themselves over the cliff to open the canopy of Terpfen's walker. Inside they found him shuddering and nearly unconscious with shock. The team rigged a sling and hauled him to the safety of the grotto.

  Ackbar bent over him, looking stern. He called Terpfen's name until the scarred Calamarian finally stirred. "You should have let me die," he said. "My death should have been my punishment."

  "No, Terpfen," Ackbar said, "we cannot choose our own punishment. There is still much you can contribute to the New Republic, still a great many things to do before you will be allowed to give up."

  Ackbar straightened, realizing that those words could just as well apply to himself, after he had run away to hide on the planet Calamari.

  "Your punishment, Terpfen," he said, "will be to live."

  The Falcon cruised over the lush treetops of Yavin 4, and Han Solo set the ship down in front of the Great Temple. He bounced down the landing ramp.

  Leia and the twins practically tackled him as they rushed to greet him. "Daddy, Daddy!" Jacen and Jaina cried in peculiarly overlapping voices. Leia, back from Anoth, cradling the one — year — old against her chest, squeezed Han and gave him a long kiss as Anakin played with her hair. The twins jumped up and down against Han's legs, demanding the attention that was their due.

  "Hello there, little guy!" Han grinned down at Anakin; then he looked deep into Leia's eyes. "Are you all right? You've got a lot of details to tell me. That message you sent wasn't very explicit."

  "Yeah," she said. "You'll get the whole story, when we have some quiet time, just the two of us. I'm glad all of our children are home to stay, though. We'll protect them ourselves from now on."

  "Sounds like a great idea to me," Han said, then chuckled and shook his head. "Say, weren't you telling me that I shouldn't go off and have adventures by myself?"

  Han stepped away from the Falcon as he saw Luke Skywalker striding toward him across the flattened landing grid. Artoo — Detoo puttered along next to him as if reluctant ever to leave his master's side again.

  "Luke!" Han cried. He ran to give Luke an enthusiastic hug. "Great to see you up and around again. About time you quit napping."

  Luke clapped him on the back and smiled with dark — ringed eyes that shone with an inner brightness stronger than ever before. As he conquered each seemingly insurmountable obstacle, Luke's Jedi powers grew greater and greater — but, like Obi — Wan Kenobi and Yoda, a Jedi Master learned to use his powers even less, relying on wits instead of showmanship.

  In the dense jungle surrounding the Massassi temple a squawking racket boiled up as a gang of woolamanders startled a pair of feathered flying creatures; the woolamanders hurled rotten fruit as the flying creatures flapped into the air, shrieking down at their tormentors.

  Han glanced toward the disturbance, but Luke's gaze remained fixed on the Falcon, as if held by a powerful magnet. Han turned to look — comand stopped.

  Kyp Durron, still wrapped in the slick black cape that Han himself had given him, descended the boarding ramp. His eyes locked on Luke's, and the two Jedi stared at each other as if psychically linked.

  Han stepped away from Luke, and the Jedi teacher silently walked across the weed — strewn landing grid. Kyp reached the end of the ramp, planted his feet on the soil of Yavin 4 again, and stood looking penitent.

  Han could tell from Kyp's rigid posture and his set jaw that the young man was terrified at having to face his Jedi Master. Han felt cold, not wanting to be trapped between two people he counted among his dearest friends.

  Leia took the children off to one side, watching the encounter warily. Concern furrowed her brow as she flicked her gaze from her brother to Kyp and back again.

  Luke walked toward his student slowly, as if gliding over the ground. "I knew you would come back, Kyp."

  Han watched him, and it seemed that Luke had no anger in his bearing, no fury or need for vengeance.

  "Exar Kun is destroyed?" Kyp asked hoarsely, but he knew the answer already.

  "Exar Kun will have no influence on your future training, Kyp. The question is, what will you do with your abilities?"

  Kyp blinked his eyes in shock. "You — you would let me continue my training?"

  Luke's expression softened further. "I had to witness the death of my first teacher. I also had to confront Darth Vader, my own father. I have done other difficult tasks. "

  "I did not plan these things, but each time I passed through the fire of an ordeal such as those, I emerged a more powerful Jedi. You, Kyp, have been thrown into the flames. I must determine whether you have been consumed — or tempered into a great Jedi. Can you forsake the dark side?"

  "I ..." Kyp stumbled over his words. "I will try."

  "No!" Luke shouted with the first glimmering of anger that Han had heard in his voice. "There is no try. You must believe you will do it, or you will fail."

  The jungle fell silent. Kyp hung his head, and his nostrils flared as he took a deep breath. The young man's dark eyes glittered as he looked back up into Luke's face.

  "I want to be a Jedi," he said.

  Lando Calrissian felt as if the million — credit reward was burning a hole in his account. He needed to invest it soon.

  It was a new feeling for him to have such a large sum of money and nothing practical to do with it. He had won control of Bespin's Tibanna gas mines in a sabacc game, and he had served for years as Baron Administrator of Cloud City. He had run metal — mining operations on the superhot planet Nkllon, and now with his huge reward from the blob races on Umgul, Lando saw no reason why he could not make a successful operation out of the spice mines of Kessel.

  "I really appreciate your taking me, Han," Lando said. He reached over to slap his friend's shoulder in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon. He knew that Han was not terribly pleased to leave Leia and his children again so soon, even if only for a day to drop him off at Kessel. He suspected, too, that Han was also worried about Chewbacca and the Maw occupation force, who had sent no word since advancing into the black hole cluster. Since the Maw lay near Kessel, Han probably hoped to learn some news.

  "It'll be worth it, if only to keep you from begging for rides all the time," Han said, looking in the opposite direction. He glanced out the front viewport. "I still think you're crazy to want to go to Kessel — even crazier to want to stay there."

  Ah
ead, the small planet orbited near its faint sun. The misshapen lump of Kessel had too little gravity to hold its own atmosphere, and so the gases streamed into space like a tenuous mane flowing out from its barren rocky outline. A large moon, on which the alien prison lord Moruth Doole had stationed his garrison of pirates, climbed over the limb of Kessel, emerging from the wispy corona of escaping air.

  "Last time I came here with Chewie," Han said, shaking his head, "we got shot down. I promised myself I'd never come back — and now it's only been a couple of months, and here I am again."

  "That's just because you're a good friend, Han. I really appreciate it. Mara Jade wouldn't want me to be late."

  Han smirked. "If she remembers to show up, you mean."

  Lando laced his fingers behind his neck, staring at the rising moon as the Falcon arrowed in to a close orbit. "She'll be there," Lando said. "I'll bet she's been counting down the days."

  "Wish I had Chewie back as a copilot," Han muttered, rolling his eyes. "At least he didn't say such hokey things."

  At the mention of Chewbacca, both men subconsciously looked toward the glowing tapestry of ragged gases surrounding the Maw cluster. Somewhere inside, Chewbacca and the rest of the strike force should be mopping up their efforts to retake the Maw Installation. The black holes made communication impossible, so they had no way of knowing what had happened during the occupation.

  "I hope he's all right, Han," Lando said quietly.

  Han leaned forward to finger the controls on the comm unit. He hesitated, and his face sagged for an instant; he flicked on the transmitter, then cleared his throat, businesslike again. "This is Han Solo on the Millennium Falcon,

  approaching Kessel."

  Lando watched Han's left hand drift to the hyperspace controls. A new course had already been programmed into the navicomputer. Han was ready to dash away at a moment's notice if anything suspicious happened.

  "We're looking for Mara Jade, a representative of the Smugglers' Alliance," Han continued. "We, uh, request permission to land on the garrison moon. Please acknowledge before we come any closer." Han's face was lined with concern.

  "Don't be so nervous, Han," Lando said. "Things have changed on Kessel. You'll see."

  Han's voice took on a defensive tone. "I just don't want to take any chances after what's already happened."

  Before Lando could respond, Mara Jade's crisp, businesslike voice came over the speaker. Lando felt his heart warm at hearing her subtle tones. He imagined her soft lips moving, forming the words.

  "You're half a day late, Solo," she said.

  "Well, Lando here wanted to make himself look presentable," Han said, grinning, "and you know how much time that could take."

  Mara gave a short, sharp laugh, and Lando glared at Han. "Come on in, then," she said. "I've brought a defensive fleet from the Smugglers' Alliance. The garrison moon is secure. We'll discuss our business there. I have an escort coming for you — something I think Calrissian will appreciate."

  Lando smiled broadly. "She's planned some kind of surprise for me! Probably a token of her affection."

  "Oh, brother." Han rolled his eyes again.

  Han checked the coordinates on his navigation console and vectored in toward the large station on Kessel's moon.

  Disguised as potential investors in the spice — mining operations, Lando Calrissian and Luke Skywalker had been shuttled up to this moon by froglike Moruth Doole. Doole had done his best to show off the spice — mining operations in hopes that Lando would sink his blob — won credits into the facility.

  With a shudder Lando remembered how all the ships in the hangar bay had launched after them when he and Luke had stolen Han's repaired Falcon. The Kessel pirate fleet had run headlong into Admiral Daala's Star Destroyers, as they charged out of the Maw cluster after Han Solo. The two fleets had crashed into each other, inflicting horrendous damage, but Han, Luke, and Lando had fled into hyperspace before seeing the outcome of the battle ...

  Now a single small ship appeared over the misty horizon of Kessel. "This is Jade. I'm your escort. Follow me."

  The space yacht approached, then spun about to dart toward the moon. Han increased the Falcon's speed. Lando sat up sharply, his eyes blinking in astonishment. "Hey, that's my ship!" he cried. "That's the Lady Luck. That's —

  "Well," Han said, "at least that saves us the trouble of looking for it."

  Lando grabbed the comm unit. "Mara, you found my ship! I can't thank you enough." He lowered his voice. "If there's anything I can do to repay you, anything in your wildest dreams ..."

  "Keep talking like that, Calrissian, and I might just send this ship on autopilot into the sun."

  Lando leaned back in the seat with a sigh and a smile. He flashed a glance at Han. "She's such a kidder."

  The space yacht Lady Luck looked sleek and angular with propulsion pods slung below. Her hull gleamed, none the worse for wear, somehow unscathed from the devastating battles on Kessel.

  Lando fidgeted, anxious to see Mara again, anxious to sit back in the plush cushions of his own pilot chair, to luxuriate in the smell and feel of his own ship.

  They entered the cave mouth of the moon garrison, flying past the thick blast doors into the garish light of a large landing bay. The atmosphere — containment fields closed behind them and repressurized the habitable area. The

  Falcon coasted in on its repulsorlifts and landed in a broad polished area beside the Lady Luck.

  Mara Jade swung out, clad in a tight metallic jumpsuit with a helmet tucked under her right elbow. As she tossed her head to loosen her dark, reddish — brown hair, she narrowed her eyes. Lando stared with a warm — cold shudder at the energy and intelligence that radiated from this woman. He marveled at her generous curves, her tough exterior.

  "Hey, Mara," Han said, "where did you find Lando's ship? We thought we were going to have to spend days combing the surface for it."

  "Right where Lando claims he landed it. Seems nobody had time to strip her down and remove the identification markings."

  Lando glanced around the garrison bay, but all the ships looked unfamiliar, custom designs — comn the barely moving scrap heaps that had made up Doole's fleet. These were emblazoned with markings unique to each vessel, though each carried a crosshatched design on the wing.

  Mara noticed his inspection. "That's our new insignia for the Smugglers' Alliance," she said. "Not too obvious, but enough for us."

  "What happened to all of Doole's ships?" Lando sniffed the enclosed dry air, smelling the powdered rock and spilled hyperdrive fuel that made the air sour and unpleasant.

  "Ninety percent of Doole's ships were obliterated in their tangle with Daala's Star Destroyers. Most of the surviving pilots took their ships and fled into hyperspace. No one knows where they are now — and frankly, I don't really care.

  "When a few New Republic relief ships came in, they evacuated most of the inhabitants, the prisoners in the Imperial Correction Facility, a few holdouts in the city of Kessendra. Nobody wants to make a life on Kessel if they have another option."

  "So what you're saying," Lando said, letting his hopes rise, "is that Kessel is deserted, ready for the taking?"

  "Yes," Mara said. "I've talked over your proposal with some members of our Alliance, and it sounds good to us. Not only have you proved your ability in your other ventures, but you've also got strong connections with the New

  Republic, which will allow efficient distribution channels for glitterstim. You've even got enough money to invest in the new infrastructure." She shrugged. "Sounds like a good deal all around."

  Lando beamed. "I knew you'd realize that being partners with me is a very good deal."

  Mara turned abruptly and continued with her discussion, ignoring his insinuation. "But we need to move right away. We've heard talk of other, less — scrupulous crime lords arranging to take over the mines. The spice tunnels are empty, ripe for the plucking. Frankly, we'd rather deal with you, Calrissian, than someone who's going
to bring in his own teams and cut the Smugglers' Alliance out of the entire operation. That's why we brought our forces here to hold it, just in case some Hutt crime lord gets any ideas."

  "Makes sense to me," Han said.

  Lando rubbed his hands together, looking at the other ships in the bay. Various smugglers moved around, humans and aliens, burly — looking men and women, people he wouldn't want to meet alone in the dim lower levels of Coruscant. "Should we go down and have a look at the real estate?"

  "Fine." Mara snapped to attention. "Let's go ahead and take your ship, Calrissian. You pilot her."

  Lando reveled in the feel of his controls again, running his hands along the soft, polished seats. This was his own space yacht, specially built to his personal design. Now he was riding in the cockpit with a beautiful, intelligent woman, heading down to a planet where he intended to make a fortune. He didn't think the day could possibly get better.

  He was right.

  When they soared low over the parched and blasted surface of Kessel, they cruised past one of the major atmosphere factories, which had once spewed manufactured air to replenish the constant loss from the low gravity.

  But the tall stack stood half — collapsed. Black blaster scorches mottled its pale exterior. The baked, dry ground — already lifeless except for a few tufts of extremely hardy vegetation — had been torn up by TIE bombers and space — based turbolaser strikes.

  "Over half of the atmosphere factories are out of commission," Mara explained. "Admiral Daala did a lot of damage. Seems she thought this was a Rebel base, so she struck at anything that showed up on her targeting screens."

  Lando had a sinking feeling deep in his chest. "This is going to take more work than I had anticipated," he said. But he consoled himself by calculating the unclaimed wealth within the tunnels below and thinking of how he could get teams of droids, Sullustans, and other races to work for shares in the profits. It might take a little longer to earn back his investment, but the demand for pure glitterstim was so high that he could raise his prices — at least until he turned a profit.