a blaze of astonishing speed, becoming a molten metal point of light. It
dwindled in the sudden distance, screaming forward with instant
lightspeed-and plunged into hyperspace with a silent bang.
"It's not my fault," Han Solo said, gaping at the vanished target.
He let his shaking hands fall away from the firing controls. "A TIE
fighter doesn't have lightspeed engines! It's a short-range ship."
Lowbacca grumbled an explanation, and Tenel Ka nodded.
"Jaina did what?" Han said in disbelief.
"But that hyperdrive was for her to tinker with, not to install. She's
got a lot of explaining to do with I see her-" He broke off, suddenly
realizing where the twins were.
"Forget the TIE fighter. Let's go get the twins!" he said.
He changed the Falcon's course and arrowed straight back down to the
emeraldgreen sphere of the jungle moon of Yavin. ----------------BACK AT
THE tiny jungle clearing where the wreck of the TIE fighter had rested
for two decades, Jacen and Jaina decided that their best chance for
rescue lay in climbing to the treetops-no matter how difficult it might
be. From that height, they could spot any incoming ships and set up
some sort of signal.
Before leaving, they scrounged at the crash site and at Qorl's old
encampment for whatever they could possibly find useful, then stuffed it
in their packs. Their Jedi training had taught them to be resourceful.
Remembering how they had used the Force to help them scale the Great
Temple with Tenel Ka, the twins found a Massassi tree with plenty of
densely interwoven branches and hanging vines. They stared upward, then
at each other, before beginning the long, sweaty climb. Jacen and Jaina
were scratched up and aching and smeared with forest debris by the time
they made it to the top-but to their surprise, they felt invigorated by
their accomplishment.
Up in the canopy in a thick nest of tangled branches, they tried to
light a leafy fire to send a beacon of smoke into the sky. Jacen
collected leaves and twigs and piled them onto a curved piece of
plasteel left over from their repairs on the TIE fighter.
Jaina had brought Tenel Ka's flash heater, but the charge was low.
When the fingersized unit sputtered and flashed, sending out a few last
sparks, she took the back panel off and used her multitool to tinker
with the circuits. By pumping up the power output, she produced one
last flash that set the pile of fresh branches on fire.
The lush green leaves burned slowly, and the fire would not gain enough
heat to become a bright blaze. But, as they had hoped, a satisfying
gray-blue smoke curled upward, a clear signal for anyone who was
looking.
Even so, they couldn't be certain that anyone would know where to look.
Unless Lowbacca or Tenel Ka had managed to get back to the academy, no
one would have any idea where to begin a search.
"Guess it might be a good idea next time if we let someone know where
we're going and what we're doing, huh?" Jaina said, staring up at the
discouragingly empty blueness.
"Probably," Jacen agreed, settling himself beside her on the branches.
Sweat ran down his face as he rested his chin on his grimy hands. "Want
to hear another joke?"
"No ' " Jaina answered firmly. She wiped her damp forehead with the
sleeve of her now-ragged jumpsuit, and continued scanning the skies. She
shifted beside him, feeling the breeze and listening to the whisper of
millions of leaves.
Jacen fed more leaves to the fire.
Suddenly, Jaina sat up straight. "Look!"
she said, pointing up. A white starpoint grew brighter, glittering
silver. Ripples of sound from a sonic boom echoed like thunder the sky
of Yavin 4. "It's a ship."
across Jacen closed his liquid-brown eyes and smiled. Then the twins
blinked and looked at each other. "The Falcon," they said in unison.
"Can Dad sense us?" Jacenasked.
"I don't think so," Jaina said. "At least not with the Force. But wait
She closed her eyes again, reaching out with what she knew of Jedi
powers. "Lowie's with him!"
"And Tenel Ka, too," Jacen said. "They're all right!"
Jaina laughed with relief. "Did you expect any less from a young Jedi
Knight?"
The Falcon must have spotted their smoke, and now headed toward them.
High in the branches, the twins stood and waved. As it approached, the
blaster-scarred ight freighter seemed the most beautiful mac -tine they
had ever seen.
The big ship hovered over them with a gust of its repulsorlifts.
Branches blew away beneath them, but Jacen and Jaina held their
positions, reaching upward as the bottom access hatch of the Falcon
popped open.
Chewbacca's hairy arm dangled down, grabbing Jacen's hands and pulling
him up into the ship as if he were a piece of lightweight luggage. A
moment later, Lowie's ginger-furred arms reached out to help Jaina up.
Han scrambled from the cockpit, rushing to scoop up both of his children
in a big hug.
"You're alive-you're not huri!" he said, looking them over with anxious
relief. "Sorry I'm late."
"It's all right," Jacen answered. "We knew 'd come."
you Tenel Ka and Lowie also greeted the twins, with hugs all around and
enthusiastic thumps on the back.
"Oh, hooray!" Em Teedee's tinny voice chimed in. "This is cause for a
celebration."
"Let's get back to the Jedi academy first I'm sure everyone's been
worried about us," Han said. "I think we need to tell about a few
adventures." - 0 A few days later, after the Falcon carried the T-23
back from where it had crashed in the treetops, Lowbacca and Jaina
worked in the shadow-draped courtyard of the Great Temple, tinkering
with the damaged skyhopper. Jaina poked her grease-smeared face up out
of the engine compartment and looked around.
She watched as Jacen scurried across the landing field out front, low to
the ground, trying to catch an eight-legged lizard crab he wanted to add
to his collection. Leaves and broken blades of grass were tangled in
his tousled hair, as usual. The creature darted left and right, trying
to find a hiding place among the close-cropped weeds of the landing
field.
Spying a large shady spot, the lizard crab scuttled for shelter out of
reach under the T-23. Jaina giggled as Jacen pulled up short just in
time to keep from banging his head against the skyhopper's hull.
With a shrug, he leaned against the craft and brushed the dirt from his
jumpsuit. "Oh well," he said, grinning. "Next time."
"As long as you're just standing there, could you please hand me a
hydrospanner?"
Jaina said.
Jacen bent and rummaged in the tool kit on the grass, then handed the
tool up.
"You concentrate on the onboard computer systems, Lowie," Jaina said,
discussing repair strategies. "That's what you're best at."
At the Wookiee's growl of agreement, she added, "Don't worry about these
engines. I'll have them running again in no time."
"Mind if I join you?" a calm
voice said from behind her.
"Uncle Luke!" Jaina cried, jumping up and turning toward him. "When did
you get back?"
"Only this morning," Luke Skywalker said, looking admiringly at the
vehicle. "Could you use any help? I'm pretty good with these little
air speeders, you know." He smiled as if savoring a fond memory. "I
had a ship a little like this once . . . my own T-16 skyhopper when I
was growing up on-" Just then, Tenel Ka emerged from the large lower
door of the Great Temple. The cool underlevels had once stored the
Rebel base's X-wing fighters.
"Excuse me for a moment," Luke said, and turned to raise his hand in a
warm greeting.
He strode over to Tenel Ka and spoke to her for a long while as if she
were an old friend.
Being with the great Jedi Master caused the young girl from Dathomir to
look uncharactefistically intimidated.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Jaina asked the others. She opened an
inner access panel with her multitool and began running diagnostics on
the T-23's engines. Jacen surreptitiously scanned the cropped grass and
weeds, looking for another specimen to catch.
Lowbacca snared a tangle of wires from the cockpit control panels and
began sorting them by color and function. He murmured to himself as he
worked, and Jacen could hear Em Teedee start to speak. At a clunk of
something metal hitting the floor plates, Jacen stuck his head into the
T-23. Lowbacca had accidentally dropped Em Teedee from his belt again.
The miniature translating droid began scolding the young Wookiee at high
volume.
"Really, Master Lowbacca, do try to be careful! You've dropped me
again, and that's simply careless. How would you like it if your head
detached and kept falling on the ground? I aman extremely valuable
piece of equipment and you ought to take better care of me. If my
circuits become damaged I won't be able to translate, and then where
will you be? I can't believe-" With a grunt, Lowbacca switched off Em
Teedee, and then made a satisfied sound.
Jacen looked up to see Jaina staring at the deep blue sky. He followed
her gaze and knew exactly what she was thinking. "Do you' suppose Oorl
ever made it back home?"
"If he does, I wonder if he'll find what he expects when he gets there,"
she answered.
"He would have been better off staying with U.S."
When they noticed Luke Skywalker and Tenel Ka strolling back toward the
T-23, Lowie and Jaina climbed out of the dismantled cockpit to stand
next to Jacen.
Luke looked at the battered air speeder and ran his fingertips over its
smooth hull. "Back on Tatooine I used to roar through Beggar's Canyon
in my own T- 16, chasing down womp rats."
Jacen and Jaina looked at their uncle, amazed and unable to imagine the
introspective Jedi Master as a hotshot daredevil pilot.
Luke's lips curved in a wistful smile. "That was a whole different life
from now." He turned to the young Jedi Knights. "When you get this
thing fixed, I'd like to go for a ride with you. If that's all right."
They looked at him in astonishment.
Lowie muttered something indecipherable and cleared his throat
nervously.
"I hope you're fitting in here, Lowbacca," Luke said, nodding toward the
young Wookiee. "I know it's difficult to go away from home and stay in
a strange place, but I see you've made some new friends."
He looked at the others. "I'm proud of you all," Luke said. "You did a
fine job under very trying circumstances, even when I wasn't here to
guide you. You have a lot of potential-but becoming a Jedi Knight takes
a great deal of hard work and practice."
The students nodded. "This is a fact," Tenel Ka said solemnly.
"You're young, and there are many things you could do with your lives,"
Luke said. "Are you certain you still want to become Jedi Knights?"
Their enthusiastic shouts rang out in unison. Lowbacca's loud bellow
was so emphatic that even with Em Teedee switched off, none of the
others needed a translation.
The dark side of the Force has a new training ground . . .
ShAdow ACAdEmy The Dark jedi Brakiss-the student Luke Skywalker expelled
from his academy-has learned much since he left. Enough to master the
dark side of the Force.
And enough to establish his own school for training Jedi-the Shadow
Academy.
But now Brakiss has been given an even greater task.
Not only must he create a sinister legion of Dark Jedi to serve the
Empire, he must undertake a challenge not even Darth Vader and the
Emperor could meet: Kidnap the heirs of the Skywalker bloodline, and
turn them to the dark side of the Force . . .
Heirs of the Force Page 16
