Rebellion and its Jedi, and they would make room for the Second
Imperium.
But something had gone wrong.
Now he heard something. A clicking.
Shaking his head again, he looked in the direction of the strange sound.
It came from the timing device across the stone platform from him Timing
device!
He blinked and finally managed to bring his vision into focus. His eyes
burned, but he
^ could see the string of descending numbers on the clock display.
Twelve eleven . . . ten . . .
He launched himself to his feet-but too quickly. Dizziness swept through
him again and he fell into black oblivion.
Nine . . . eight . . .
^ -----------------THE BUZZING HUM of ZekICs lightsaber filled Jaina's
ears as her former friend brought it slowly down toward her neck.
"You never understood, Jaina. . . . You can't understand. You've always
been so protected. The dark side is like a scar that's on the inside."
Zekk's eyes locked with hers. His hand remained steady, and he began
speaking in a low voice, his words barely audible. "But these are scars
that can't be healed," he went on. "You can try to cover them up'hum;
buzz-"but they're still there . . .
underneath." A swarm of angry insects buzzed near Jaina's right ear-but
it was only the lightsaber, no longer above her head but continuing its
excruciatingly slow descent.
Then, as if from a distance, Jaina heard new sounds: a crackle of
static, and then a booming voice coming from a comlink.
^
^
"This is the Lightning Rod, callin'anyone who can hear me. Better clear
everyone from the landing field real quick. We're coming' in. Oh, and if
you got any of those energy shields back up, you better put 'em down
now-we've had more'n our share of problems already today. My arm's
broken, so the young Solo kid is flying-but our wings're clipped, and
I'm not sure how maneuverable this baby is."
In that moment of delight and surprise, Zekk's lightsaber wavered and
lifted away from her. A droning sound caught his attention, and Jaina
glanced back over her shoulder to see the Lightning Rod coming into view
above the treetops, sputtering and wheezing.
"Come on in, Lightning Rod," Jaina heard Luke say into his comlink.
"You're clear to land."
Zekk stared in amazement to see the battered old ship still intact, then
shook his head. He reached out his free hand toward her. "Jaina, I
didn't mean to-" Just then, a concussive boom split the air,
obliterating all other sounds. The ground vibrated beneath Jaina's feet,
lurching with tremors and shock waves.
"Get down!" Zekk shouted.
^ She dove toward the courtyard wall and hit the ground, gasping at the
jolt of pain that speared through her. She rolled, looking upward to see
the gouts of smoke that erupted from a huge explosion inside the Great
Temple. The crumbled remnants of massive stones tumbled down its sides
in an avalanche.
Zekk ran for cover, too, but the hailstorm of rock moved faster than he
could dodge. A large chunk of stone struck him in the head, while other
fragments pummeled his body.
As Jaina watched the dark-haired young man sink to the ground, it came
to her in a flash: he had known.
Zekk had known the temple was going to blow up.
And he had saved them all.
^ -----------------OUT IN THE unexplored jungles of Yavin 4, on the far
academy, the wrecked TIE fighter smoldered after the crash.
The cockpit hatch opened, and Qorl crawled out, coughing and wheezing.
With a heave from his human arm, he raised his shoulders, then worked
the rest of his body free. His droid arm sparked and sizzled from damage
it had received in the crash.
Qorl felt no pain, though. He was still functioning on adrenaline as he
hauled himself out of the ship. His legs were numb and stiff, but they
still worked. He dropped down from his ruined TIE fighter, then
staggered into the protection of the trees just in case the craft
exploded.
Alone in the jungle, Qorl watched the TIE fighter smoke until he was
confident that none of the engines would go critical. The
^
^ wrecked ship gradually heaved its last sigh and died.
The damage to his craft was severe: its outer hull had been punctured by
iron-hard Massassi tree branches, its two planar energy arrays ripped
askew; one had even been broken off.
As he had flown in, pummeled by the Rebel forces, dodging turbolaser
bolts until the fatal strike that had caused him to reel out of control,
Qorl had seen the Star Destroyers defeated. While wrestling for control
of his TIE fighter, he had watched the Shadow Academy explode behind
him.
He knew now that all hope for the Second Imperium was gone. The Emperor
himself had been aboard the Shadow Academy, as had Lord Brakiss. The
remaining Dark Jedi fighters on the surface would no doubt be rounded up
and taken to Rebel prisons.
Qorl had much to regret. Rather than let one of the Solo twins die, he
had made the choice to sacrifice his twisted student Norys. That had
been a betrayal, and he was ashamed of it. Surrender was also betrayal.
. . .
But Qorl had never surrendered.
He found himself stranded in the jungle again. His ship was beyond
repair. The
^ Second Imperium was defeated. Qorl had no place to go, no orders to
follow . . . no reado anything other than search for a son to new place
to live.
Perhaps it was best this way.
He could make a nice home for himself here. He knew this jungle, the
fruits that were good to eat, which animals were easiest to hunt. Qorl
realized that, despite the glory of returning to the Second Imperium and
fighting once more for his Emperor, he had enjoyed those years of
solitude, the quiet peace of living alone in the jungle.
In fact, he decided that this fate was not so bad, after all.
Qorl trudged off into the jungle to search out a new home. This time, he
intended to spend the rest of his life there.
^ -----------------THE MORNING AFTER the great battle on Yavin 4 dawned
cool and clear. Within hours, the bright sunlight dispensed with the
lingering tatters of lacy mist that clung to the rubble-strewn base of
the Great Temple and to the trees around it. Overhead, the giant orange
planet Yavin filled much of the sky.
Waiting with Lowie and Jacen on the landing field, Jaina marveled at the
difference a night's rest and a good meal could make on her perspective.
After Luke, Tionne, Lando, and a couple of GemDiver engineers had
determined that the lower two levels of the Great Temple were
structurally sound, the remaining trainees and staff had made their way
back into the pyramid, retrieving an ecstatic Artoo-Detoo, who had been
waiting below. Admiral Ackbar's transports had evacuated the most
seriously injured students, while those with only minor wounds had been
treated a
nd
^
^ returned to their own chambers in the temple.
Jaina felt fortunate-and a bit guilty that she had emerged from the
battles almost completely unscathed. She had a few cuts and bruises from
where stones had hit her after the explosion, but that was all.
Jaina ran an appraising eye over her friend Lowbacca. His shoulder was
back in position again, his arm supported by a wide cloth strap, his
broken ribs wrapped. The Wookiee normally wore only his webbed belt made
of syren plant fibers, so the sling and the thick white bandaging around
his midriff seemed oddly out of place.
She heard a warble and bleep behind her, and turned to find Artoo and
her uncle Luke coming across the landing field to join them.
The Jedi Master's face held a look of serenity and determination, but
his eyes showed a glint of humor.
"I think I looked even worse than that," Luke said without preamble,
"after my encounter with the Wampa ice creature on Hoth."
"Yes, but @wier's looking a lot better this morning," Jaina agreed.
Luke chuckled. "Actually, I was referring to the Great Temple itself."
Jaina turned to study the ancient Massassi pyramid. The topmost level
had collapsed where the detonators had exploded, and part of the sides
had slumped downward. The broken, jagged walls of the grand audience
chamber could have been mistaken for crenellations atop the battlements
of some ancient fortress.
"At first I thought we might have to move the academy to some other
temple," Luke said, "but now . . . I'm not sure we need to.
"You mean we could rebuild it?" Jacen asked with a groan. "Great-more
practice exercises, lifting rocks, balancing beams - - ."
Artoo-Detoo twittered and beeped, as if excited at the idea. Lowie
rumbled thoughtfully, then growled in pain, holding his aching ribs.
"Yes," Luke said. "In one way or another we've all been hurt through our
encounters with the dark side. I think rebuilding the Great Temple might
be a part of healing each of our wounds."
"Like Zekk," Jaina murmured, feeling her heart contract painfully. "He
needs a lot of healing."
"That reminds me, Uncle Luke," Jacen
^ said, "what will you do with the Dark Jedi trainees we captured?"
"Tionne and I are working with them.
We'll do our best to turn them back to the light side, but if it's not
possible . . ." He spread his hands. "I'll have to discuss that with
Leia, and-"
"Oh, Master Lowbacca, look!" Em Teedee interrupted from his clip at
Lowie's waist.
Jaina noticed that the tiny droid's speaker grille had been straightened
and meticulously polished.
"Hey, they're back," Jacen cried.
Lando's shuttle, with Lowie's battered T-23 in tow, arrowed toward a
corner of the landing field well away from the blaster scarred hulk of
the Lightning Rod.
Uttering a joyous howl, Lowie gave Em Teedee a grateful pat.
'-Well, what are we waiting for?" Jaina asked as the shuttle and the
T-23 touched down.
Jaina, Jacen, and Lowie hurried forward.
By the time they reached it, the shuttle's landing ramp had extended,
and Lando Calrissian strode down it with Tenel Kaon his arm. Lando's
cape swirled behind him and he flashed his most charming grin.
^
"Your friend here is quite a tough young lady," he said approvingly.
"This is a fact," she said, without the slightest trace of humor.
"I could have told you that," Jacen said.
"Did you find it?"
Tenel Ka nodded, a satisfied look on her face. She pulled her arm free,
plucked something from her belt, and held it out to show Jacen. It was
the rancor-tooth lightsaber that she had lost during her clash with
Tamith Kai on the battle platform. "It was not as difficult to locate as
I had feared," she said. "Perhaps because I knew the rancor whose tooth
this was, I was able to sense its location."
Tenel Ka no longer appeared feverish, and Jaina was amused to note that
the warrior girl had braided her red-gold hair carefully around her face
so that her bandage looked like a primitive warband across her forehead.
"I've invited Tenel Ka to come and visit GemDiver Station, since she
missed it last time," Lando said. 'We have some good bacta tanks there
that'll fix up that cut on her head no time. Lowbacca, looks like you
could use a few days in one of our tanks, too."
^ Lowie barked his acceptance and a thank you.
"Oh, that would be exceedingly kind of you, Master Calrissian," Em
Teedee said.
"Master Lowbacca is most anxious to complete his healing and begin
repairs on his incapacitated vehicle."
"His little skyhopper ain't the only vehicle that's incapacitated."
Jaina jumped when Peckhum's loud voice boomed out behind her.
"I know just what he means, though. The boy and I can't wait to get
started fixing the Lightning Rod. But I think Zekk is going to be
laid-up here for a while recuperating."
Old Peckhum stood by the damaged Lightning Rod, one hand on Zekk's
shoulder, the other arm heavily bandaged.
Zekk's face was as pale as the dressing that wound around the base of
his skull. His eyes seemed curiously empty, his face expressionless. He
did not meet Jaina's gaze.
"I think you've got two more candidates for your bacta tank, Lando,"
Jaina said.
"Can Jacen and I go along with them, Uncle Luke?"
Artoo-Detoo twittered.
"Oh, indeed! That's a marvelous idea," Em Teedee said.
"We promise not to get kidnapped this time," Jacen added with a lopsided
Solostyle grin.
Luke chuckled. "All right, I think that would be good for all of you.
You young Jedi Knights are stronger together. If you have some time away
to heal, then you'll come back ready to help us rebuild . . . ready for
a new beginning."
"Thanks, Uncle Luke," Jaina said.
"Jacen, my friend," Tenel Ka said. 'Perhaps we had better leave soon. We
do not want all of the injured students to come away with us and leave
Master Skywalker here alone."
Jacen gave Tenel Ka a quizzical look.
"What do you mean?" he said. '@y would you worry about that?" -Because,"
Tenel Ka said solemnly, "a Jedi must have patients."
Jacen blinked at her, uncertainty written on his face. Then a shy grin
lit Tenel Ka's face. It was the first time he had seen her smile so
broadly.
'I don't believe it Jacen began.
Jaina shook her head in wonder.
"Sounded to me like she just told a joke."
'This is a fact!" Jacen said.
^ Lowie chuffed with delight. Jaina giggled.
Soon the entire clearing rang with laughter.
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