STAR WARS - THE NEW JEDI ORDER - Destiny's Way

by Walter Jon Williams

  Luke reached the podium. The drums fell silent. Luke could sense the crowd before him—the auditorium was filled—but he couldn't hear them. The silence was profound.

  Then a lone trumpet sounded three rising notes, the last held just an instant longer than the others. The notes were played again, in a different order, again the last held for the slightest bit longer than the others. And then the three notes repeated, again in a different order, again with the last drawn out. The sound was heart-breakingly pure, and somehow heartbreakingly sad.

  The drums rattled once, then stilled. The trumpet repeated the three basic notes in varying order, then built on them and took flight, rising high and swooping low, but overall climbing higher and higher until the instrument finally sang out one last, high note that rang high and perfect and seemed to sing in the mind forever.

  The images of the dead faded with the last echo of the trumpet.

  Luke looked at the invisible audience. He wanted to be anonymous. He didn't want to be Luke Skywalker, hero and Jedi Master. He wanted it to seem as if any Jedi could be speaking these words.

  "The roll call of the Jedi goes back for many millennia," he said.

  Luke spoke of the first who had realized the existence of the Force, and who had discovered and used its vitality, and who— realizing their power and its dangers—had devised a code for its use. The first Jedi Knights, sworn to serve, not to rule. He spoke of those who had driven the menace of the Sith from the galaxy, and then guarded the Republic against all dangers until betrayed from within. He spoke of those new Jedi who had risen with the New Republic, and who even now were standing against the invading Yuuzhan Vong, a thin bright line of fiery lightsabers directed against the enemy.

  "We are here to welcome nine new members into the order," Luke said. "Each has felt the Force grow within him or her. Bach has felt the sting of combat and the pain of a comrade's loss. Each has searched his or her heart, and now stands ready to make the commitment to serve the New Republic for as long as life lasts."

  Luke turned to the apprentices standing in their line at stage left. Each was dressed simply in a jacket, trousers, and boots.

  "As I name you," Luke said, "may you step forward and be garbed in the robes of a Jedi Knight.

  "Tenet Ka!"

  The Queen of sixty-three Worlds, for good or ill, took formal precedence over the others. As the drums began a solemn march, she stepped from the line of apprentices and came to stand by the podium.

  "Remove your lightsaber, please," Luke said. Two Jedi Masters, Kenth Hamner and Kyp Durron, stepped forward from the group of the Jedi Council carrying Tenel's new robe. They pulled the robe around her, then buckled her lightsaber over it.

  Luke stepped away from the microphone. He hadn't told Cal that he was going to do this, but he wanted a part of the ceremony to be a private thing, for the Jedi alone.

  He put his hands on Tenel's shoulders and looked at her closely.

  "Yours is perhaps the most difficult task of all," he said. "The path of a queen is different from that of a Jedi. Your duty as queen of Hapes will inevitably come into conflict with the simpler values of the Jedi."

  He looked into her shadowed gray eyes. "I don't tell you to choose one path over another. I only hope that you choose with your heart, and choose wisely."

  Luke reached over Tenel's shoulders, took her cowl, and drew it over her head. Tenel Ka returned to her place. Luke stepped back to the podium.

  "Tesar Sebatyne!"

  The Barabel came forward, and it was his mother, Saba, assisted by Kenth Hamner, who clothed him in his robes.

  Luke once again stepped away from the microphone. To Tesar he said, "The flame of a warrior burns bright in you, Tesar. You have shown that you will never falter or abandon a stricken comrade. May the Force guide you in all you do." Tesar, yellow eyes burning with pride, returned to his place in the line.

  "Alema Rare!" Alema stepped from the rank of her comrades. Through the Force Luke could perceive her aura of sadness. While she was garbed by Tresina and Kyp, Luke considered the Twi'lek, what he knew of her savage childhood in the ryll dens and of the sister who had died in her arms, her flesh afire with the acid of a voxyn. Alema had also loved Anakin, and suffered at his loss. Luke touched her gently, careful not to contact the sensitive head-tails.

  "Fate robbed you of your childhood, and your only family," he said. "Though the Jedi can't replace either, I hope you will look to us for the love and friendship we can give you, and the strength we can lend you in times of need. Now go to Kashyyyk, join your mind with the others, and heal."

  As he raised Alema's cowl over her head, he saw tears glimmer in the Twi'lek's eyes.

  "Lowbacca!"

  The ginger-haired Wookiee towered over Luke and looked down at him with a tanged grin. Luke couldn't help but grin back.

  "You're the one I've never doubted," he said. "Your path has never veered from the right, and you've shown that it never will."

  Lowbacca had to bow deeply in order for Luke to reach high enough to draw the cowl over his head. A murmur of laughter ran through the audience.

  "Jacen Solo!"

  Jacen stepped out in silence, and Luke could sense his readiness in the Force. He took Jacen by the shoulders. The young man looked at him from his startlingly bearded face—he had trimmed the whiskers that had grown in captivity, but not gotten rid of them entirely. Luke could sense his utter openness. His honesty. All the Jedi virtues he had maintained despite the trials and terrors of the last few years.

  "Jacen," Luke said. "Never stop asking questions."

  Jacen seemed stunned. "I never thought I'd hear you say that!"

  "I never thought I'd say it, either," Luke said, and hugged him.

  Jacen returned to the line, radiating bemusement.

  "Zekk!"

  Zekk was robed by Kyp and by Luke himself. All were Jedi who knew darkness firsthand.

  "Zekk," Luke said. "You are a Jedi who created himself in the image of" the Jedi Knight you wanted to be. Once the Shadow Academy called you its Darkest Knight, but all the forces of darkness couldn't keep you from seeking the light. Now that you have found it, may you live always in its radiance."

  Zekk returned to the line, his pride a brilliant fire in the Force.

  "Tahiri Veila!"

  On bare feet the little blond girl stepped forward, brave and pale in the darkness. She was another orphan whose childhood had been cut short. Another who had been captured and ill treated by the Yuuzhan Vong. Another who loved Anakin, and who had been loved in turn by him.

  Cilghal and Saba robed her. Luke looked down into the small serious face, and touched her thin shoulders lightly.

  "Life has torn much from you that you loved," he said, "but your courage has been equal to everything. Never forget that the Jedi will always be here for you. Never forget that the Force begets life as well as death." He touched her check. "And never forget that here you are loved. Go to Kashyyyk, join your mind to that of others, and heal."

  Tahiri's chin trembled, and she swallowed tears as Luke drew the hood over her bright hair.

  Tekli!"

  Cilghal and Tresina robed her. Luke thought it was too ridiculous for him to tower over the one-meter-high Chandra-Fan as he spoke, so he hitched up his robes and sat cross-legged on the ground in front of her.

  "Your mastery of the Force is not as strong as some of us," Luke said, "but your devotion is second to none. You've taken upon yourself the role of healer. While others may garner more fame and glory, remember that yours is the noblest art, and that the preservation of life is the greatest gift a Jedi can bestow upon another."

  Luke drew the hood over her snouted face and rose easily to his feet from his cross-legged position. Without, he was pleased to note, using either the Force or his hands.

  "Jaina- Solo!"

  Jaina stepped forward, and Luke could feel her cool presence in the Force, the precise way her footsteps matched the drumbeat that still thudded up from t
he orchestra pit. She wore her military uniform—Cal Omas had asked her to, in order to show her commitment to the New Republic. Kyp and Kenth Hamner, the two pilots, robed her.

  Luke put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her dark eyes, and a chill suddenly seized him, flooding his nerves with cold fire.

  "I name you the Sword of the Jedi," he said. "You are like tempered steel, purposeful and razor-keen. Always you shall be in the front rank, a burning brand to your enemies, a brilliant fire to your friends. Yours is a restless life, and never shall you know peace, though you shall be blessed for the peace that you bring to others. Take comfort in the fact that, though you stand tall and alone, others take shelter in the shadow that you cast."

  Luke fell silent, and for a long horrified moment he stared into Jaina's wide-eyed face.

  He hadn't meant to say that. He hadn't meant to say anything like it. Yet the words had poured forth from him like the ringing sound of a giant bell, a bell that was being tolled, not by Luke, but by someone else.

  He sensed the other Jedi staring at him. Had he actually spoken loudly enough for them to hear?

  Luke's hands trembled as he drew the cowl over Jaina's head. When he returned to the podium he had to fumble for the microphone switch.

  "Draw your lightsabers," he said, "for the first time as Jedi Knights!"

  The click-swoosh of nine igniting lightsabers hissed through the air. He turned to the newly minted Jedi Knights and drew his own lightsaber, as the Jedi members of the council drew theirs.

  "We salute you for the first time as colleagues," he said, and he and the council members performed a ritual salute with their lightsabers.

  "Face front," he said, turning toward the audience, "and recite with me the Jedi Code."

  ''There is no emotion; there is peace," they all said. "There is no ignorance; there is knowledge. There is no passion; there is serenity. There is no death; there is the Force."

  As they chanted the words, the lone trumpet rose again, the three rising notes calling them to their destiny. Illuminated by their lightsabers, the Jedi Knights stood erect and silent in the darkness.

  The trumpet rose again to its last, high note and died. As its echo faded, the lights died away.

  The audience burst into applause. But when the lights came up again, the stage was empty.

  * * *

  Chapter 21

  Technically speaking," Jacen said, "I'm still on vacation."

  "For how long?" Zekk asked.

  "For as long as Master Skywalker tells me I'm on vacation."

  Zekk shrugged. "Enjoy it while it lasts."

  "I plan to. I just feel a little . . . odd, seeing the rest of you shipping out to Kashyyyk while I'm getting bronzed out on the reef."

  "You've earned your leave," Zekk said. "You earned your leave in ways I don't even want to think about. Don't worry about it."

  Jacen, Zekk, and the other newly made Jedi Knights were at the reception thrown in their honor by Cal Omas. The room was huge and marble-lined and featured a pair of tinkling fountains ornamented by frolicking bronze fish. The freshly minted Jedi Knights still wore their Jedi robes, and lightsabers, and carried drinks in their hands. Older Jedi and politicians and military' stood about and made polite conversation.

  Zekk looked around the gathering. "This is really strange," he said. "What are all these people doing here?"

  Jacen smiled. "I was the son of the Chief of State," he said. "For me, this is an ordinary night at home."

  Zekk shook his head. "Diplomacy wasn't something the Shadow Academy cared much about."

  "I guess not."

  Han loomed up at Jacen's shoulder, a broad grin spread across his face. He put an arm around Jacen's shoulders. "Now let me tell you about my graduation night. . ." he began.

  "It was lovely," Leia said. "I had tears in my eyes."

  "The ceremony was mostly Cal's work," Luke said. "He's got a flair for dramatics that I didn't know existed."

  "My children," Leia sighed. "All grown up. And the Jedi have them now."

  Luke looked at her. "Does that bother you?"

  "A little. Sometimes I wish they'd grown up to be something other than Jedi. Something safe. But—" She sighed again. "—that's not going to happen in our family, is it?"

  Luke tried to picture Ben grown up, sitting at a desk cluttered with actuarial tables. "I guess not."

  Leia looked at him narrowly. "What happened when you talked to Jaina? I could feel it in the Force, but I don't know what it was I felt."

  Luke hesitated. "I'd rather not say. It's for Jaina to tell you."

  "Hm." Leia looked at him suspiciously, then decided not to pursue it. She gave a sidelong glance toward Lando Calrissian, who stood nearby chatting with Triebakk. She leaned close to Luke and lowered her voice. "How did Lando and Talon Karrde get Cal elected?" she asked. "Do you know?"

  "I don't. But we can make a highly educated guess."

  Leia bit her lip. "I hate to just ask. But we should know. We're going to have to try to protect Cal when it all comes out."

  "You think it'll become public knowledge?"

  "I know it will." Her eyes hardened. "Right now we've got smugglers controlling a swing vote in the Senate. That's not a good thing, and the New Republic is going to pay for it."

  Luke looked at Lando appraisingly. "We should have a talk with Captain Calrissian."

  Leia nodded. "Yes. And soon."

  Jacen patiently listened to his father's reminiscences until Han was approached by Kenth Hamner, who wanted to find out about what fighter pilots were already calling the "Solo Slingshot," the dive toward a dovin basal that could be used to loop a combat craft in an unexpected direction to take the enemy by surprise. While Han was describing his encounter with the Yuuzhan Vong battle group, Jacen—who had already heard the story—slipped away to find his sister.

  Jaina stood with her back against one of the room's side columns, a plate of food held out in front of her like a shield. She gave Jacen a dark look as he approached.

  "If this is about what Uncle Luke said, I don't want to talk about it."

  "Then let's not." He took a fruit-filled pastry from her plate. "I thought we should congratulate each other."

  She gave a skeptical tilt to her head. "Congratulations."

  "Congratulations, sis." Jacen popped the pastry into his mouth. The filling oozed onto his tongue as he bit down. It tasted like the product of an extractive industry specializing in fossilized hydrocarbons, and he coughed.

  Jaina grinned as she pounded him on the back. "Vile, aren't they? I think the caterer must be a Vratix."

  "He's in the pay of the Yuuzhan Vong," Jacen coughed. "He's trying to poison all the Jedi along with the high command." He took a swig of Gizer ale to wash the foul-tasting pastry down. "That's better." He looked at her again. The inadvertent comedy had broken the tension between them. "Can we do this congratulations thing again?" he asked. "I have a feeling we wrong-footed it the first time."

  She smiled. "Sure. My fault." She put the tray on a nearby table, then embraced him and kissed his cheek. "Congratulations."

  "Congratulations." He held Jaina against him for a moment, feeling in the Force the twin bond that united them, and then stepped back. "You've always been my best friend, you know."

  "And you've been mine." She looked over his shoulder at someone in the crowd. "I see Danni Quee is here. Have you talked to her yet tonight?"

  "Not yet."

  She gave a little smile. "Are you and Danni seeing each other?"

  He blinked in surprise. "No, not that way. Or anyway, I don't think so."

  Jaina laughed. "You don't think so. Don't you think you'd know?"

  "We don't see each other that way. I don't think. I mean, she's five years older than I am."

  "Dad's older than Mom. What does that matter?"

  "And Danni's so accomplished. She's brilliant. She's got all these science degrees. I don't see why she'd be interested in me— all I know
how to do is be a Jedi."

  Jaina found this hilarious. She tried to strangle her laughter, but all that did was turn her red and send tears popping from her eyes.

  " 'She's so accomplished!' 'I'm just a Jedi!' " Laughter choked the words. "And from Jacen Solo—!"

  Jacen tried to gather the shreds of his dignity. "I don't see what's so funny."

  She patted him on the shoulder and wiped the tears from her eyes. "That's fine, brother. I'm hardly the one to advise anybody on romance."

  Suddenly Jacen was very interested. "Oh yes? And what docs that mean?"

  She looked at him in the dawning knowledge that she'd just made a mistake. "It means what it means," she said.

  " Who does it mean?" Jacen asked.

  She looked away, then sighed. "Jagged Fel," she said.

  Jacen was astonished. "You must be joking. That stuck-up fighter pilot?"

  Jaina scowled. "You don't know anything about him. He's not re ally like that."

  "If you say so." There was a moment of silence. Jacen thought it might be an apt time to move off this topic. "What are you doing tomorrow?" he asked. "I don't know how much of this planet you've seen, but we could go—"

  She shook her head. "I'm shipping out with the rest. Back to Kashyyyk."

  He looked at her in surprise. "Why arc you leaving now?"

  Her defiant look was back. "I was on a special mission from Kre'fey. It's over. I'm bringing his Jedi back, and I'm going back with them."

  "You're on a two-week furlough. I've seen the datapads. They're on the table in the room we're sharing."

  Jaina sighed. "I've learned some new tactics since I've been here—one of them Dad's slingshot maneuver. We've got a bunch of new Jedi to integrate into the command system. I'm needed back on Kashyyyk, drilling all this new material into the fleet."

  "Every moment you're here, the Yuuzhan Vong are getting stronger," Jacen half quoted.

  "That's right. Besides," she added, "you heard Uncle Luke.