the observation dome. He grasped a cold metal pipe that thrust out from the
curved wall and bent down to look, at the huge ball of Coruscant. High
clouds masked the daylight side of the planet, while the darkened hemisphere
gleamed with millions upon millions of city lights that sparkled like
colorful jewels in the night.
Lowie had seen planets from space before, but somehow it had never struck
him how intimate the setting was. Here, high above the world, he felt a part
of the universe and apart from it, a piece of the cosmos and an observer at
the same time. It was strange to have such a perspective, and it made the
galaxy seem both small and immensely large at the same time.
"Don't just stare, Lowie," Jaina urged. "We've got work to do. Our first
priority should be to get those communication systems up and running."
Chewbacca roared his agreement, clapping a strong hand on his nephew's hairy
shoulder.
Peckhum seemed to be working hard to keep his attention on the routine
aboard the station, rather than letting his thoughts wander to Zekk.
"I really appreciate what you're all doing," he said.
"Happy to help," Jaina offered as she knelt down to poke around in some
control panels.
"Lowie, you're good with computers. Give me a hand here."
"Oh, absolutely," Em Teedee said. "Master Lowbacca is exceedingly talented
when it comes to electronic systems." Lowie growled a response, and the
miniature translating droid answered, "Of course they already know that. I
was simply reminding them."
"Could you please work on the comm systems first? When I try to transmit,
all I can really manage is static," Peckhum said, hovering behind them as he
pointed out problems.
Jaina's forehead furrowed with concentration. "Sounds like the power
transmission is still working, but the voice synthesis encoders aren't doing
their jobs."
With everyone standing around, the area was far too cramped to let Chewbacca
push his way in, so the older Wookiee hung back and waited. Lowie suspected
his uncle was amused to watch the two young professionals working so hard.
Perhaps it reminded him of the way he and Han had worked together, fixing
things again and again.
"Well," Jaina said, scratching her cheek and leaving a smear of grime from
the corroded control panels, "I expect that by the end of today we'll have
these comm systems up and running." She smiled brightly at Peckhum, and
Lowie rumbled his agreement. "Just a stopgap measure, you understand, but
they'll work."
Peckhum shrugged. "Better than what I've got now. I still wish we had that
central multitasking unit," he said dejectedly. "Almost as much as I wish we
knew what happened to Zekk."
"I'm sure he's all right," Jaina said, but Lowie knew that she was sure of
no such thing.
As Jaina tinkered, Chewbacca went to a different part of the station and
roared a suggestion. Lowie readily agreed. Since it was getting toward time
for midday meal, it seemed a very good idea to get the mirror station's food
processing units up and running. Lowie's appetite was already large, and his
mouth watered as he thought of the excellent dishes they could create, even
from the meager ration supplies on board.
Em Teedee tsked. "Really, Lowbacca! There you go again--always thinking with
your stomach."
Chewbacca roared an annoyed challenge, and Em Teedee's voice became thinner,
less emphatic. "You Wookiees," the miniaturized translating droid said in
quiet exasperation, "you're all alike."
* 17 *
JACEN HAD GOTTEN distracted so many times during their scavenger hunt for
the hawkbat egg with Zekk that he would never have been able to retrace his
steps through the labyrinth of Coruscant's lower levels. Tenel Ka, however,
led the way with an unerring sense of direction . . . which didn't surprise
Jacen a bit.
The buildings drew closer together, became more dilapidated, more ominous.
The walls were dark and smeared with sickly discolored blotches that looked
like centuries-old bloodstains. Jacen saw the ever-present cross-in-triangle
gang symbol chiseled into the duracrete bricks or splashed on with bright,
permanent pigments.
"Ah. Aha. We have found the territory claimed by the gang of the Lost Ones,"
Tenel Ka said, her senses sharpened like a hunter's blade.
Jacen swallowed. "Let's hope we find Zekk soon. I'd hate to overstay our
welcome if that gang is in a bad mood again."
"I suspect they are always in a bad mood," she observed. "They may still be
angry at us for escaping them before."
"Well, maybe they've got Zekk. We have to rescue him. That Norys guy seems
like a bad customer."
Something skittered along the wall behind them, an ugly spider-roach dashing
for cover in a clump of slimy moss. At any other time Jacen would have
rushed to study the creature, but at the moment he just wanted to be back
home and safe in his rooms.
Tenel Ka looked tall and brave as she marched down the enclosed corridor.
Jacen wished fleetingly that he had his own lightsaber, like the one he had
used at the Shadow Academy . He knew the Jedi weapons were dangerous and not
for play, but right now he didn't want to play with one--he wanted it for
genuine protection.
Jacen swallowed nervously and moved closer to the warrior girl, keeping his
eyes on her dangling red-gold braids. Maybe humor would turn his thoughts
from the sinister gang. "Hey, Tenel Ka-do you know the difference between an
AT-AT and a stormtrooper on foot?"
Tenel Ka turned and gave him an odd look.
"Of course I do."
He sighed. "It's a joke. What's the difference between an AT-AT and a
stormtrooper on foot?"
"I . am supposed to say 'l don't know'--this is correct?"
"Yeah, exactly," Jacen said.
"I don't know."
"One's an Imperial walker, and the other's a walking Imperial!"
Tenel Ka gave a sage nod. "Yes. Very humorous. Now let us continue our
search." She narrowed her cool gray eyes as they approached a corner. "Zekk
is your friend. You know him best. Reach out with your Jedi powers again to
see if you can sense him. These corridors have many twists and turns."
Jacen nodded. He didn't think his powers were strong enough to locate any
person specifically--he wasn't sure if even Uncle Luke could do that--but
all he needed was a trickle of thought, an impression, a hunch. He and Tenel
Ka were wandering blindly so far, anyway, and the slightest inkling would
increase their odds over pure luck.
As he concentrated and closed his eyes Jacen thought he felt a tingle,
something that conjured up an impression of the dark-haired boy in his mind.
He pointed the way before he could have second thoughts. Uncle Luke had
always taught them to follow their Jedi instincts.
He hurried to keep up with Tenel Ka as they moved down one hall, then
another. The old skyscraper seemed completely empty, oppressive in its
silence despite the inhabited levels far above, but Jacen felt invisible
eyes watching him from secret hiding place
s. He trusted his Jedi senses
enough to guess that this was not just his imagination.
"We are getting closer, I think," Tenel Ka said.
They heard voices up ahead, and Jacen recognized the timbre of a clear,
strong voice--a young man's voice--though he could hear none of the words.
"That sounds like Zekk!" he whispered. "We've found him."
Filled with elation, suddenly dismissing all of his ominous thoughts, he
rushed forward while Tenel Ka kept pace, advising caution. "Careful," she
said just as Jacen turned another corner and ran into an echoing room filled
with battered furniture, half-collapsed ceiling beams, and glowpanels wired
convenient to connect electrical power. Other doors leading from the large
room were closed, some blocked by crates, others jammed on their hinges.
In the middle of the room Jacen saw a young man, emerald eyes glittering in
the uncertain light of the haphazard glowpanels. It was Zekk.
His hair, a shade lighter than black, was fastened at the nape of his neck
with a leather thong instead of hanging free down to his shoulders. Jacen
had never seen Zekk's hair like that. His friend's clothes were also
different: clean, dark, padded, as if they were a uniform, and much more
stylish than the suit he had worn to the diplomatic banquet for the
ambassador from Karnak Alpha.
Sitting on chairs or sprawled on ragged cushions sat a dozen tough,
hard-bitten kids, all in their middle to late teens. Most were boys, but the
few girls looked wild and rugged enough to take Jacen apart piece by piece,
like an obsolete droid.
"Hey, Zekk!" Jacen cried. "Where have you been? We've all been worried!"
Startled from his speech, the dark-haired young man drew himself up,
frowning at Jacen and Tenel Ka. His green eyes flashed with momentary
surprise and delight, but he quickly masked the expression with a scowl.
Zekk appeared to have aged a dozen years in the few days since his
disappearance.
"Jacen, now isn't the time," he said in a rough voice.
A brawny boy with close-set eyes and thick eyebrows stood up, glaring. "I
don't recall inviting you two." Jacen recognized the bully Norys.
Zekk gestured behind him to calm the burly gang leader. "Let me handle
this." Anger showed clearly in Zekk's face as he shook his head at Jacen.
"Why couldn't you have left me alone for just a little longer?"
Jacen scratched his tousled hair, completely baffled. When he stepped
forward in confusion, Zekk flinched. "Go away," he whispered, "You'll ruin
everything!"
The other Lost Ones stood up from their places like a pack of nek battle
dogs zeroing in on a target. Jacen swallowed. Beside him, Tenel Ka placed a
protective hand on his shoulder, in case they would be required to fight.
"Zekk, it's us," Jacen pleaded. "We aren't going to ruin anything--we're
your friends."
Just then, one of the corroded doors at the far side of the chamber scraped
open. "They are not your friends, young Lord Zekk," said a woman's voice,
rich and low. "You know better than that now. They may claim to be your
friends, but you've seen evidence of just how much they truly value you."
Jacen and Tenel Ka both whirled to see the ominous form of the black-cloaked
Nightsister, with her static-charged ebony hair and blazing violet eyes. The
upthrust spines on the shoulders of her cloak looked like spears. Two others
dressed in similar fashion stood on either side of her: a young dark-haired
man and a petite powerhouse of a woman, both of whom looked as rigid as the
towering Nightsister herself.
"Tamith Kai . . . " Jacen acknowledged. "Charming as usual, I see."
"And Garowyn. And Vilas," Tenel Ka said with an astonishing and unexpected
expression--a feral smile--on her normally serious face. "So, how is your
knee?" she asked Tamith Kai. Her grip on Jacen's shoulder felt tight enough
to crack a bone.
The tall woman's face rolled with a thunderstorm of anger. Her wine-dark
lips curled down, and she barely controlled her rage at being reminded of
how Tenel Ka had humiliated her during the young Jedi Knights' escape from
the Shadow Academy . "Jedi brats," she snarled, 'You should learn when to
leave well enough alone."
"And you should have figured out not to mess with us after the first time,"
Jacen responded in a challenging tone. "Zekk, what are you doing with these
clowns? What sort of nonsense have they been telling you?"
Zekk seemed to waver for a moment, but his voice was strong. "They're
offering us--all of us--an opportunity. A chance we never had before."
"Like what?" Jacen said, genuinely mystified. "What could these losers
"They're taking us back to the Shadow Academy to train us!" the burly gang
leader, Norys, said. "Now we'll have our own shot at being powerful."
"But not everybody has Jedi potential," Jacen said reasonably, trying to
keep Zekk talking until he or Tenel Ka could figure out what to do.
"I do. You would have known that if you'd bothered to test me," Zekk said
defiantly. "And anybody who joins us but doesn't have the talent will be
recruited into the Imperial military forces, given responsibilities and a
chance for advancement in the Second Imperium."
"Oh, Zekk," Jacen said, shaking his head, 'those are all lies designed to
lure you into dropping your guard-"
"They are not lies!" Tamith Kai interrupted, her melodious voice holding the
potential for deadliness. "We will keep our promises. You will all be given
equal opportunities, without regard to your social status in the Rebel
worlds. The Second Imperium won't judge who you are--only what you do for
us."
"Zekk," Jacen cried, "how can you trust them? These are the people who
kidnapped me and Jaina."
"Yes," Tamith Kai continued, "and we have learned our lesson. Highborn noble
pups such as you are no more worthy of being Imperial Dark Jedi than any
other student." Her violet eyes glared daggers at Tenel Ka.
"Zekk," Jacen whispered quickly, "this is your chance. Trust me on this:
You're in great danger. You could escape now. Get away!"
But his formerly happy-go-lucky friend gave him a look that was somewhere
between pity and a plea for understanding. Jacen thought he saw a glimpse of
the deep sadness that touched the young man's heart.
Zekk said, "You don't understand, Jacen. You can't because you've always had
too much. You've never wanted for anything. These people"--he gestured
toward the evil Nightsister and her companions--"they're offering me
something I never had in my old life. With them I have a chance to be
someone."
"Not much of a chance, if they're the ones offering it," Jacen muttered.
Tenel Ka tensed, holding her hands at her utility belt, ready to draw a
weapon.
One by one, each of the gang members stood and glared at the two young Jedi.
The burly Norys and the other Lost Ones seemed to have been hypnotized, and
Jacen wondered if Tamith Kai or the others were using some sort of Force
trick to mak
e them more susceptible to insidious suggestions.
Tenel Ka whispered, "Jacen, we must leave while we can still bring help."
Jacen tensed, ready to turn and run. He clicked on the comlink, hoping to
signal Anakin and Threepio, but before he and Tenel Ka could sprint to the
door, Vilas pulled out a blaster.
"We can't risk any more of your meddling," Garowyn said. "There's too much
at stake."
Jacen and Tenel Ka managed to take a few running steps before stun bolts
slammed into them from behind. They plunged headfirst into helpless
unconsciousness.
* 18 *
BRAKISS SEALED THE locking mechanism on the door to his private office,
changing the access code to make absolutely certain no one could disturb
him. He wouldn't allow even Tamith Kai to eavesdrop on his special
communications with the great Imperial Leader.
Brakiss always found inspiration on the walls of his Shadow Academy office,
where the exploding stars, broken planets, and cascading glaciers reminded
him of the fury locked within the universe. By using the dark side as his
focus, Brakiss tapped into that incredible energy and used it for his own
benefit, to help pave the way for the return of the Empire.
He set the glowpanels to low as he waited for the contact, checking his
chronometer. Speaking with his ominously powerful leader filled Brakiss with