"When did you first learn what was inside of you?"
Luke gave a soft laugh.
"My Jedi Master sent me into a cave."
"And you saw what was in you?" Anakin asked hopefully.
"Yes... "
"Then I want to go into that cave too," Anakin said. "I want to see
what I have in me-whether I'll choose the dark side or the light."
"That cave is on Dagobah," Luke said, sounding surprised.
"Then take me there, Uncle Luke," Anakin said.
"I need to know." Luke frowned. "I'm not sure that cave will tell you
anything you can't find out here."
But Anakin was convinced now; he needed to go to Dagobah.
"I don't think my dreams about turning to the dark side will go away
until I go into that cave," he said.
"But I can't take you there," Luke said softly. "I have too many other
students, too many other jobs to do for the New Republic."
"Then get me an X-wing," Anakin said. "I'll fly there myself if I have
to."
This brought a rich chuckle from Luke.
"I don't think you'll need to do that," he said. "I'll give it some
thought and we'll see what we can work out. Meanwhile, contact your parents
and find out what they have to say."
Luke Skywalker stood.
"And now, it's getting late. Try to get some sleep," he said.
"Old Peckhum will be here early in the morning, and I'd like you and
Tahiri to help with unloading the supplies."
Artoo-Detoo made a few encouraging beeps and whistles.
Anakin smiled.
"Will you help us unload the ship too, Artoo?"
Artoo beeped once to mean yes.
"Good night," Luke said, placing a hand lightly on Anakin's shoulder.
"I wish you a dreamless sleep."
Morning dawned bright and clear, without a trace of the previous
evening's mist. The Lightning Rod, a rickety old supply shuttle, was just
touching down when Tahiri and Anakin reached the landing field. The two
youngest Jedi trainees trotted out to meet the ship. Tahiri enjoyed feeling
the stubbly grass against her bare feet and the wind blowing through her
loose blond hair. She could see that Anakin felt better than he had last
night, though he still seemed a bit worried. She could tell he was looking
forward to unloading the shuttle as much as she was. It seemed to surprise
everyone but Master Skywalker that Tahiri and Anakin always loved to be
given a work assignment.
It didn't seem at all odd to Tahiri, though. What could be more
interesting and fun than putting their Jedi powers to practical use?
Watching the Lightning Rod's exit ramp lower to the ground, Tahiri giggled.
"We'd better hurry and get the supplies unloaded. The ship looks like
it could fall apart any minute." Anakin seemed to give this serious
thought. He closed his ice blue eyes for a minute and then looked at
Tahiri.
"The Lightning Rod is a sound ship," he said. "It may look rickety,
but old Peckhum keeps it in good repair."
There was a loud thunk from inside the ship. The cargo hatch opened,
and with a grinding wheeze another ramp came down. Tahiri arched an eyebrow
at Anakin.
"Sure sounds rickety to me."
Anakin understood machines in a way Tahiri found almost spooky. Maybe
it was because he had learned how to solve puzzles at an early age-and
machines had so many pieces that fit together to make them work, it was
almost like a puzzle.
Anakin shrugged.
"I can feel it. Trust me: this ship could make the Kessel Run right
now if she had to."
More clanking sounds came from inside the ship. Probably the pilot
shutting down some equipment. Probably. Tahiri chuckled.
"Okay, I believe you." She rolled her eyes. "You and your machines."
As if in answer to her call, she heard a series of whistles and beeps
coming from behind her.
"Good morning, Artoo," Anakin said. "Glad you could make it."
Tahiri turned to see the little silver, blue, and white droid rolling
across the landing field toward them.
"Oh, good," she said. "You can keep track of the cargo list while
Anakin and I unload."
Just then a long-haired man in a rumpled jumpsuit thumped down the
cargo ramp.
"Hi, Peckhum," Anakin said.
Artoo-Detoo warbled a hello.
"Good morning, Peckhum," Tahiri added.
"Well, if it isn't young Anakin Solo," the old spacer said, "and my
favorite R2 unit in all the galaxy."
Artoo made an embarrassed-sounding bleep at Peckhum's compliment.
"And good morning to you, too, little Tahiri," the pilot said.
"How was your flight? Is the cargo ready to unload?" Tahiri asked. She
had grown up with the quiet, mysterious Sand People on Tatooine, and since
leaving there, she loved to talk. "Did you bring anything unusual?" she
rushed on. "Master Skywalker assigned us to help you in any way we can.
We'll stay as long as you need us. Will that be okay?"
Peckhum gave a loud belly laugh, "Yep, that'll do just fine. Why don't
we get started with this unloading."
Peckhum transferred his cargo list into a datapad for Artoo-Detoo and
headed toward the Great Temple to deliver some messages to Luke Skywalker.
For the next two hours Tahiri and Anakin unloaded supplies. Each of
them would concentrate on a crate or piece of equipment and, using the
Force, raise it twenty or thirty centimeters off the deck - plates onto a
floating platform called a repulsorsled. Then they steered the floating
sleds out the hatch and down the cargo ramp. Outside, Artoo-Detoo recorded
the cargo codes and checked the items off the list on his datapad.
As young as she was, Tahiri had strong muscles, but she would never
have been able to lift a single one of the cargo crates without using the
Force. Even using the Force, the work was hard. Tahiri perspired from the
concentration it took to lift the bulky objects onto repulsorsleds and
steer them out of the cargo hold. At one point, Tahiri stepped on a sliver
of wood that had broken off from one of the crates. She was so distracted
by the sharp sting that she let the box drop back to the floor of the cargo
hold. It missed her bare foot by only a centimeter.
Anakin fumbled once, too. He was floating a bundle of cloth so that
Artoo-Detoo could record the item on his list when all of a sudden some
folds of dark material blew over him, covering his face. Anakin let go of
the repulsorsled with a yell of surprise and backed away from it.
Tahiri could sense his relief when she offered to float the bundle the
rest of the way back to the Jedi academy for him. Other than those two
minor accidents, everything went smoothly. At last Artoo-Detoo gave a
satisfied whistle.
"You mean we're done?" Anakin asked. Artoo-Detoo bleeped once for yes.
"But there's still one crate left in the cargo hold," Tahiri pointed
out. She tugged at a loose strand of her blond hair and gave Artoo an odd
look.
"Isn't it on the list old Peckhum gave you?"
Artoo beeped twice. No.
Anakin's ice blue eyes met Tahiri's.
"I've got a strange feeling about this,
" he said. The three of them
trooped back up the ramp into the cargo hold, and there, sure enough, was
one large crate. Anakin closed his eyes for a moment.
"Whatever it is, it's not a machine."
Tahiri closed her eyes too and reached out with the Force.
"No, it's not!" Her green eyes flew open and went wide with surprise.
"Do you think we should wait for old Peckhum?"
But Anakin was already unfastening the clasps on the cargo box.
"Give me a hand with this, would you, Artoo?" Anakin said.
Artoo reached out out a clamp and helped push up on the lid. Tahiri
moved closer to peer inside-and then jumped back in surprise as something
sprang out of the box.
Anakin's mouth fell open. Artoo-Detoo gave a trill of alarm. For once,
Tahiri was silent. Anakin could hardly believe his eyes. A boy had just
jumped out of the shipping crate. Anakin guessed the stowaway was in his
early teens, but he had a sturdy build and was already a full head taller
than Anakin. Shaggy chestnut hair fell to the boy's shoulders. Large amber
eyes with a fringe of dark lashes stared back at Anakin from a proud face.
Anakin opened his mouth to say something but was too stunned to find
the right words. As usual, Tahiri saved him the trouble.
"Hi, what's your name? What planet are you from? I'm Tahiri, and this
is my friend Anakin. What are you doing here? Do you always travel in a
box?"
"I am Uldir." The boy's voice squeaked when he spoke, as if it
couldn't decide whether it was high or low. "I have decided to be a Jedi.
Take me to Luke Skywalker."
Anakin frowned.
"It doesn't really work like that. I mean, I don't think anyone just
decides to become a Jedi. But I'll take you to him."
"And if you really plan to become a Jedi," Tahiri added, "you'd better
start calling Luke `Master Skywalker.'"
The shadowy hangar bay beneath the Great Temple was lit by colored
flashes from the lightsaber lesson Luke Skywalker was teaching. The glowing
swords were powerful Jedi weapons. Anakin hated to barge in on one of his
uncle's lessons, but he didn't know what else to do. Uldir had insisted on
seeing him right away.
"Excuse me, Master Skywalker," Anakin said, entering the large,
echoing chamber. Anakin always used his uncle's formal title when Luke was
teaching. The Jedi Master turned off his lightsaber and looked at Anakin.
Luke's tall, violet-feathered student stepped back to wait, still holding
her own glowing blade.
"I've brought someone who wants to meet you," Anakin said, indicating
Uldir. "He came in on the Lightning Rod with old Peckhum."
Surprise showed on Luke Skywalker's face.
"He's a stowaway," Tahiri supplied helpfully. "His name is Uldir and
he wants to be a a Jedi."
Luke's eyebrows went up. If anything, he looked even more surprised
than before.
"Hello, Uldir," Luke said in a soft, serious voice. "It's not an easy
thing to become a Jedi. But if you think you can do it, I'll test you
later. I need to finish this lesson first, though. I'm sure you're tired
and hungry after your journey. Anakin and Tahiri, please show our guest
around. After he's had a chance to clean himself up a bit in one of the
rooms, make sure he gets something to eat, and then bring him to my office.
"
"Can we take Artoo-Detoo with us?" Anakin asked. Luke turned on his
lightsaber again.
"Sure," he said. "I think I can spare him for a little while longer."
Tahiri loved to talk. One reason Anakin made such a good friend for
her, she thought, was that he liked to listen more than he liked to talk-
and that was just fine with Tahiri. She told Uldir all about the Jedi
academy. Now and then, Anakin added a few words, but Tahiri did most of the
talking. As they took Uldir on his first tour through the Great Temple,
Artoo-Detoo trundled along behind them.
"This is the turbolift," Tahiri said as the lift doors opened. "We'll
take the turbolift to the top level to the Grand Audience Chamber and see
that first."
Uldir snorted.
"I know what a turbolift is. I'm from Coruscant, and every building
there has at least one."
Tahiri noticed that Anakin looked very interested in this piece of
news. Even though she was stunned by Uldir's rudeness, Tahiri guessed she
ought to try to find out more about him. The doors swished shut behind them
and the lift zoomed upward.
"I was raised on Tatooine. We don't have many turbolifts there,"
Tahiri said. "Did you grow up on Coruscant?"
Uldir nodded.
"Coruscant and Corellia and a lot of other places-just about anywhere
that had a New Republic military base. I've even been to Tatooine. My
parents were pilots for the New Republic fleet," he said. "Mostly flying
supply shuttles like that old clunker I came in on."
The turbolift doors opened and they all stepped out into a huge room
with a high ceiling and tan stone walls worn smooth by time. The auditorium
was full of stone benches and had a raised platform like a stage at one
end.
"Are your parents dead, then?" Anakin asked in a low voice.
Uldir flinched.
"No, but they might as well be." His voice was full of anger and
cracked as he spoke. "I hardly ever see them. They never stay on one planet
for more than a few days at a time."
Artoo-Detoo gave a sad-sounding warble that echoed through the huge
chamber.
Tahiri said, "My parents were killed when I was three. I never really
knew them. I was raised by Sand People on Tatooine. They wanted me to stay
with them, but Tionne found me and now I'm training to be a Jedi. Did you
learn to pilot a ship?"
"Yes," Uldir said. "My parents want me to be a shuttle pilot just like
them-the most boring job in the galaxy! But I want a job with adventure and
excitement. That's why I've decided to become a Jedi."
As the tour went on, Tahiri got Uldir to talk more and more. She and
Uldir talked about life on Tatooine. Anakin and Uldir discussed life on
Coruscant, the capital world of the New Republic. All three talked about
droids and which ones were their favorites. Because Uldir had trained to be
a pilot, he liked R2 units, and Artoo-Detoo seemed to approve of that. By
the time Tahiri and Anakin showed Uldir to his room, all of them were
friends, and all of them were hungry.
Tahiri giggled at Anakin's expression of surprise. They were at midday
meal in the main dining hall at the Jedi academy, and Anakin was watching
Uldir eat with absolute astonishment. Even Tahiri had to admit that she'd
never seen any humanoid-even a teenager-gulp down so much food in so little
time. A cacophony of sounds filled the dining hall. Plates and cups
clattered. Students talked, sang, woofed, trilled, and croaked. Liquid
sloshed in pitchers.
The air smelled of baking pastry, fresh fruit, savory vegetables, and
roasted meat. Tahiri was enjoying herself immensely. She and Anakin had
long since finished their own meals, but she could still sense strong
hunger an
d thirst in Uldir, as clearly as if he were talking to her through
a comm speaker. Anakin must have sensed it too, because he offered a basket
of fresh-baked bread to the stowaway, who was on his third helping of stew.
The teen ripped off a chunk of the bread, dunked it in his stew, and
took a huge bite. Uldir's words of thanks, spoken around the large mouthful
of food, came out sounding something like "fank oo." Tahiri could remember
very well what it was like to be hungry and thirsty. She had lived for nine
years on the desert planet Tatooine, where it had seemed there was never
quite enough to eat and especially not enough to drink. But on Yavin 4
there was always enough. That was one of the things she loved about the
academy.
Tahiri picked up a wooden pitcher and refilled Uldir's mug with juice.
She chuckled when a split second later he grabbed for the mug and drank it
dry with noisy enthusiasm.
"Maybe you ought to slow down a bit," Anakin suggested with a look of
concern.
Anakin's Quest Page 2
