impressed. "Many come wishing to join us, but they are weak. Women seek us
out because their powers are small or they have no status in their clans.
Men come here because they have never had power, and our teachings offer
them freedom-but they usually have even less to offer. What do you have?"
Vonnda Ra's hand reached out and pointed to the lizard skull filled with
burning oil. "Can you do this?" The lamp floated straight upward toward the
peak of the tent, casting an ever-wider but dimmer circle of light, and then
settled slowly back down onto the platform beside Vonnda Ra.
Tenel Ka nodded. "I have had some training."
Deciding against using any theatrical gestures or words, she half-closed her
eyes in concentration and grasped the lamp with her mind. She had never
enjoyed showing off her skill with the Force, using it only when absolutely
necessary, but this performance was not for herself. She would probably
never see Jacen and Jaina and Lowbacca again if she could not show these
Nightsisters her true potential.
She drew in a deep breath, let it out again.
Without a sound the lamp glided off the platform and high into the air over
their heads. Tenel Ka thought about the flame, feeding it with her mind and
making it brighter, brighter, until its warm radiance reached even to the
darkest corners of the pavilion. Then she sent the lamp sailing around the
outer edges of the tent; it made the complete circle so quickly that she
heard Vonnda Ra gasp with amazement. Through her half-closed eyes Tenel Ka
watched the dark-haired woman sit up, one hand outstretched, palm up, as if
to ask a question.
Tenel Ka brought the lamp in closer for another circle, and then another,
smaller and closer to the central tent post, until at last it spun around
the center pole in a dizzy downward spiral, still glowing brightly-all in a
matter of a few seconds. Last, Tenel Ka brought the spinning lamp lightly to
rest in Vonnda Ra's outstretched hand.
The Nightsister gave a gleeful chuckle. "You are welcome here, Sister," she
said. "What is your name?"
Tenel Ka threw her head back. "My name - our names - no longer have any
meaning for us. We discarded them when we left our clan."
"Come here," Vonnda Ra ordered. When Tenel Ka did as she was told, the
Nightsister stood and took the young girl's chin in her fingers and looked
deep into her eyes. "Yes," she said with a satisfied nod. "You have much
anger in you. Are you willing to go elsewhere to learn? To a place of
instruction among the stars?"
Tenel Ka's heart leaped. Perhaps this was where Jacen, Jaina, and Lowbacca
had been taken. "Wherever your finest teachers are, that is where I wish to
go," she replied.
"But you must leave your slave behind. We will have little use for him,"
Vonnda Ra said.
"No!"
Vonnda Ra sighed. "What if I were to tell you that men rarely have any
talent, and that we have never trained one this old? He would only distract
you from what you must learn. There is little hope of teaching him. If you
knew all this, then what Tenel Ka replied, would you say?"
"Then I would say, ' leveling her best cool gray stare at Vonnda Ra, 'that
you are a fool."
Vonnda Ra's eyes went wide with surprise, but Tenel Ka did not stop. "This
man has watched and learned the ways of the Force since before I was born.
Not many - not many who still live - have seen his power. But I have seen
it."
Vonnda Ra abruptly turned her skeptical gaze toward Luke. "If you can lift
this," she said, pointing to her lizard-skull lamp, "and bring as much light
to this tent as she did" - she nodded toward Tenel Ka - "then you shall
accompany her."
The Nightsister looked at Luke and then back down at the lamp. When it did
not move, a small contemptuous smile flickered at the corners of her mouth.
Then something large and dark floated between them and blocked her view. The
flame from the oil lamp brightened, and the massive rancor-head chair
grinned at her, its lifeless eyes glowing with reflected light. Then the
head lifted and glided around the perimeter of the tent like a shuttlecraft.
Tenel Ka could see Master Skywalker standing with arms crossed over his
chest, one knee bent in an apparently relaxed posture, his head cocked to
one side, smiling at Vonnda Ra as he sent the rancor head whizzing about the
pavilion.
"Since you asked," he said, "I will give you light." Suddenly, in a blur of
motion, the stuffed rancor head shot upward with the speed of blaster fire.
It disappeared through the ceiling of the tent, leaving a gaping hole in its
wake, through which the bright morning sunlight streamed.
Vonnda Ra looked more than a little nervous as she stepped forward and took
Luke's chin in her hands. For more than a minute she gazed transfixed into
his eyes. "Yes," she hissed at last. "Yes, you understand the dark side."
She backed away from him as if in awe, stared up at the rent in the ceiling
of her pavilion, then looked back at Luke and Tenel Ka. "We expect an
Imperial supply shuttle at dawn tomorrow," she said. "When it leaves this
planet, the two of you must be on it."
* 18 *
Jacen, Jaina, and Lowbacca were at first surprised and delighted that they
would be together for the next exercise-but the grim expressions on Brakiss
and Tamith Kai soon soured their pleasure. Obviously, Jacen thought, the two
Shadow Academy instructors had something difficult and dangerous in
mind.
"Because you must move forward in your training," Brakiss said, motioning
outward to represent progress, "we have designed exercises to present
greater and greater challenges for your abilities."
Lowie groaned in dismay.
"For this next test, the three of you must work together. Each trainee must
learn to act in concert with others to assist our cause. There are times
when we must be unified to provide appropriate service to the Second
Imperium."
Em Teedee parroted from his place at Lowie's waist, "Oh, most
certainly-appropriate service to the Empire."
Lowie growled at the translating droid to be quiet.
"You needn't take that tone with me! I am simply reinforcing the things you
need to know", the reprogrammed Em Teedee replied, miffed.
The three companions found themselves in a new room this time, smaller, more
claustrophobic, with numerous round hatches built into the walls on every
side. Tamith Kai went to a control panel in one corner and tapped in a
series of commands with her long-nailed fingers. Four of the metal hatches
slid open, and spherical remotes floated out on repulsorfields. The remotes
were metal balls studded with tiny lasers. They reminded Jacen of the
defensive satellites that had been unable to stop the Imperial blastboats
from invading GemDiver Station. He felt uneasy, wondering if the floating
drones would start firing at them.
"These remotes are your protection," Tamith Kai said. "That is, if the
Wookiee can operate them correctly."
Lowie growled a question. "Oh, do be patient, Lowba
cca," Em Teedee said.
"I'm sure she'll explain everything in good time. She's quite good at this,
you know."
Brakiss gestured to the remaining hatches on the wall. 'These will open at
random," he said, and they will hurl objects at you." Brakiss reached into
the folds of his silvery robe and withdrew a pair of polished wooden sticks,
each about the length of Jacen's arm. He handed them to the twins. "These
are your only weapons: these sticks, and the Force. If the Force is your
ally, you have a powerful weapon."
"We know that already," Jaina snapped.
"Good," Brakiss said, his intensely calm smile still in place. "Then you
won't object to the other restrictions we place on you." From his sleeve he
pulled out two long, black strips of cloth. "You'll be blindfolded. You must
use the Force to detect the objects coming at you."
Jacen felt his heart sink.
"When the objects fly at you, you must either nudge them aside with the
Force or strike them with the wooden sticks." He shrugged. "That is all. A
simple enough game."
Tamith Kai took up the explanation. "The Wookiee will be in an observation
chamber, working to protect you as well. He'll have full control of the
computer to run these four remotes. They have powerful enough lasers to
disintegrate any of the projectiles. Of course, if he misses, and the laser
strikes you instead, he could cause serious injury."
"So" - Brakiss rubbed his hands together, a look of anticipation on his
beautiful face, 'you have your own weapons, and the Wookiee has the remotes.
The three of you must work together to keep yourselves alive."
Jacen swallowed nervously Jaina lifted her chin and scowled at the two
teachers. Lowie bristled, clenching and unclenching his hairy hands.
"Let me point out," Tamith Kai said, her voice thick and powerful, "that
these are not holograms. These are real threats, and if one strikes you, you
will feel real pain."
"Just what kind of objects are these, anyway?" Jacen asked. "What're you
going to throw at us?"
"There will be three levels to your test," Brakiss answered. "During the
first stage we will throw hard balls at you. They may sting, but will cause
no permanent damage. In the second round, as the test speeds up, we will
throw rocks, which could break bones and cause serious injury."
Tamith Kai's deep red lips wore a broad smile, as if she were savoring some
pleasant thought. "The third round will involve knives."
Jaina sucked in a shaky breath.
"Glad you have such faith in our abilities," Jacen grumbled.
"I will be greatly disappointed if you are both killed," Brakiss told them,
his expression earnest.
"Hey, so will we," Jacen said.
"I think he'll get over it before we will," Jaina added in a low voice.
Jacen shifted his weight on his feet and covered a wince as he stepped down
on the hard Corusca gem in his boot. He had kept it hidden there, not
knowing what else to do with it - but right now the last thing he wanted was
to feel the sharp gemstone under his heel and be distracted. He wiggled his
foot until the gem was tucked comfortably off to the side.
Brakiss snugged the blindfold over Jacen's eyes, and everything went black.
"The Wookiee will do what he can to protect you."
Jacen gripped the hard stick in his hands and considered dealing the Dark
Jedi teacher a good whack on the kneecaps, then claiming he had become
disoriented by the blindfold and it was an accident. But he decided that
such an act would only buy them trouble, and they needed their energy for
other purposes.
"Good luck," Brakiss said, unseen, close to his ear.
Jacen didn't respond, and he heard Tamith Kai chuckle as they led Lowie out
of the chamber. The Wookiee moaned, but Em Teedee's tinny voice snapped
back, "Now, Lowbacca, complaining will do you very little good. You must
learn to be brave and dedicated, as I am."
Jacen, standing in blackness with nothing to hold on to but his stick, heard
the doors hiss shut behind them. "You ready for this, Jaina?" he asked.
"What kind of question is that?" she said.
The room remained silent around them. He could hear himself breathe, his
heart pounding in his ears. He sensed Jaina beside him, heard the rustle of
her clothes as she moved.
"Might be better if we stand back-to-back," she suggested, "cover each other
as much as we can."
They pressed themselves shoulder-to-shoulder and listened and waited. Soon
they heard a hum of machinery, a quiet, grinding sound, as one of the metal
blindfold, to detect where the projectile would come from.
Then, with a sudden whump of compressed air, one of the objects shot at them
like a cannonball. Using his senses, Jacen whirled, swinging the stick like
a bat. He tried to smack the ball out of the way, but it struck him on the
shoulder. It was hard, and it stung.
"Ow!" he yelped. Then a second ball shot out.
He heard the sizzle of the remotes firing, but then Jaina also cried out
behind him-not so much in pain as in startled embarrassment. He tried to
visualize where the next missile would come from. The noises came faster
now. He heard another metal porthole hissing open, another hard ball
shooting toward him. He swung the wooden stick, and this time grazed it with
the edge. He felt a surge of triumph, but realized that he had hit the ball
more through blind luck than any skill with the Force.
Another hiss of a porthole, another ball, and another, coming from a
different direction. Under Lowie's control, the remotes shot tiny blasts at
the flying balls. Jacen heard an impact and thought perhaps Lowie had struck
one of the targets. He hoped the lanky Wookiee wouldn't misfire.
Brakiss had instructed them to use anger to increase their control over the
Force; as another ball hit Jacen in the ribs, the stinging impact did make
him want to lash out in retaliation. But Jacen also remembered his uncle
Luke's lessons: a Jedi knows the Force best when he is calm and passive,
when he lets it flow through him rather than trying to twist it to his own
purposes.
Jacen heard a loud crack of wood as his sister struck one of the hard balls.
"Gotcha!" she cried.
As he let his mind open up, Jacen saw a small, bright blur through the
blindfolded darkness; and he knew the next ball would come from that
direction. He used the Force to nudge it out of the way, and the ball swung
wide, smacking the wall instead. Then he saw another bright blur, then
another, and another, as more projectiles came, faster and faster! He used
the Force. He swung the wooden stick, trying to keep up with the flying
balls. He sensed that Jaina was also doing better, and that the laser bolts
from Lowie's remotes seemed to be striking their targets more often. But
with the sheer number of projectiles, Lowie had to miss occasionally.
Something hard and rough struck Jacen on the right arm just at the elbow,
and the wave of blazing pain took his breath away. His arm went numb, and
Jacen shifted the stick to his left hand, realizing that the test had
reached its second stage-they were being bombarded with sharp stones.
In the observation chamber, Lowbacca worked frantically at his computer
controls, guiding the four defensive drones. He fired their lasers and
vaporized a few targets. But then the projectile launches picked up speed,
and Lowie knew he didn't dare misfire-because if he struck one of the twins
with a laser, it would do at least as much damage as one of the stones. He
missed another one, and a rock hit Jaina on the thigh. He saw her
blindfolded face crumple in a wince of sudden agony. Jaina's knees buckled,
and she nearly went down; but she managed to keep her balance somehow,
swinging automatically with the stick and deflecting another stone that came
straight at her head.
More sharp rocks hurtled toward the twins, launched with deadly speed. Lowie
began shooting all the remotes at once-targeting, firing, targeting, firing.
He had already slagged one of the portholes so it could no longer launch
stones. But despite his best efforts, he missed again, and this time a rock
struck Jacen in the side. The twins were both hurt now, badly bruised and
reeling, though they kept fighting as best they could. Lowie groaned a quiet
apology and kept working at the computer controls.
Em Teedee spoke in a sharp, pestering voice. "Need I point out, Lowbacca,
that the Empire will be quite disappointed if you don't perform to the best