crisscrossed with bright weapons fire.
Looming behind the armed stormtroopers, cloaked in shadows and rising smoke,
stood a tall and sinister woman dressed in a black cape with spines on each
shoulder. She had flowing ebony hair like the wings of a bird of prey.
Despite her growing terror, Jaina saw that the woman's eyes were a striking
color, like the violet of iridescent jungle flowers on Yavin 4. Jaina felt
her heart clench as if hands of ice had wrapped around it. The ominous dark
woman stepped through the smoldering hole in the wall of GemDiver Station,
oblivious to the weapons fire. A faint electric-blue corona of static
lightning clung around her like the powerful discharges that had zapped the
Fast Hand in the atmospheric storms of Yavin.
"Remember - don't harm the children," the woman shouted. Her voice was slow
and heavy, but razor-sharp menace edged every word.
At the mention of the children, Lando whirled to see that the twins and
Lowie had followed him. "What are you doing here?" he said. "Come on, we've
got to get you to safety!" He waved his blaster pistol toward the entryway.
Then, as if in afterthought, he turned and fired three more times, catching
one of the white-armored stormtroopers full in the chest.
Jacen and Jaina bolted down the corridor. Lowie, needing no further
encouragement, bellowed as he ran along.
Lando came charging after. "I guess you were right," he said, panting. "For
some reason they are after you."
"I'm just a simple droid," Em Teedee wailed. "I certainly hope they don't
want me."
A series of muffled explosions erupted behind them, and a shockwave of heat
rippled through the station's metal corridors, making the kids stumble.
Lando caught his balance and steadied Jaina. "Turn right," he gasped. "Up
here." They ran. More blaster fire followed them, then a third explosion.
Lando clenched his teeth. "This has not been a good day," he grumbled.
"I most heartily concur," Em Teedee chimed from Lowie's waist.
"Here! In the shipping chamber." Lando gestured for the three others to stop
outside the barricaded door of the launching room where they had seen the
cargo pods and the droids packing Corusca gems for automated shipment. He
punched in an access code, but Lando's fingers were trembling. A red light
blinked. "ACCESS DENIED." Lando hissed something, then rekeyed the number.
This time the light winked green, and the heavy triple doors sighed open.
Inside, the two copper-plated droids continued packing the hyperpods.
"Excuse me," one droid said, sounding flustered, "would you please
discontinue those explosions? The vibrations make it much more difficult for
us to process."
Lando ignored the droids as he pushed the kids inside. "We can't get you
away from here-those blastboats would come after you before you knew it -
but this is the safest place on the station. I'll stand outside and guard
the door." He gripped his blaster pistol, feigning confidence.
Lowie growled, obviously wanting to fight; but before Jacen or Jaina could
say anything, Lando slapped the emergency panel. The thick doors clanged
shut, locking them inside the chamber. Jacen placed his ear against the
thick door and listened, but he could hear only the muffled noises of
battle. Lowie, his ginger-colored fur standing on end with battle-readiness,
kneaded his big knuckles. Jaina looked around the room for anything to help
them fight.
Jacen yelled to the droids, "Hey, is there an armory in here? Do you have
any weapons?"
The droids interrupted their packing and swiveled smooth copper heads toward
him, optical sensors glowing. "Please do not disturb us, sir," they said,
then resumed their tasks. "We have essential work to do."
Outside the door, the sound of gunfire suddenly increased. Jaina pulled
Jacen back from the door as she heard Lando shout. The door vibrated with
the impact of energy bolts, then everything went quiet. Jaina waited,
backing away and looking into her twin brother's brandy-brown eyes. They
both swallowed. Lowbacca let out a thin sound like a whimper. The
multi-armed droids continued working, undisturbed. A shower of sparks ran
around part of the door as heavy-duty lasers cut into it, slicing away a
section.
"D'you suppose you could invent some sort of weapon for us in the next few
seconds?" Jacen said. Jaina racked her brain for inspiration, but her
inventiveness failed her.
The door split open, melted and smoking. The security breach set off yet
another alarm, but the sounds were pitiful and superfluous in the
already-overwhelming noise of the battle for GemDiver Station. Stormtroopers
muscled their way in.
The two packing droids trundled indignantly toward the stormtroopers.
"Intruder alert," one of the droids said. "Warning. No unauthorized entry is
permitted. You must return to-" In response, the stormtroopers fired with
all their weapons, blasting both copper heads into shards of smoking
components that clattered and sparked on the floor.
Jaina saw Lando sprawled unconscious on the floor outside the door, his
green cape pooled around him, his right arm extended forward, still grasping
the blaster pistol. The towering dark woman strode in, her violet eyes
flashing at the three companions. The stormtroopers leveled blaster pistols
at Jacen, Jaina, and Lowbacca.
"Wait!" Jaina said. "What do you want?"
"Do not let them manipulate your minds," the dark woman shouted to the
stormtrooper's. "Stun them!"
Before Jaina could say anything else, bright blue arcs shot toward her and
the others, and they were overcome by a wave of unconsciousness.
Jaina fell into blackness.
* 5 *
On Yavin 4 Tenel Ka paced the ramparts of the Great Temple that housed Luke
Skywalker's Jedi academy As befitted a warrior of Dathomir, she wore scaled
armor that shone as if it had just been polished . . . which it had. Her
red-gold hair was caught up in a multitude of ceremonial braids, each
decorated with feathers or beads. Her cool gray eyes scanned the leaden
skies for any sign of the ship that would bring the dreaded ambassador from
her grandmother.
Wind whipped the ornamented braids about her face, and Tenel Ka pushed them
away in annoyance. The humid air felt oppressive, charged with menace.
Yavin's dry season had ended. She sensed an uncomfortable tingling in the
depths of her mind that told her something was about to happen, as if
lightning were about to strike. She sighed. Her grandmothers messengers and
diplomats could be as lethal as lightning. . . .They were not above killing
an enemy, or even a friend, to ensure that the successor to the throne of
Hapes was the one they most desired to have in power. It was rumored that
her grandmother's assassins had murdered Tenel Ka's own uncle, brother to
her father, Prince Isolder.
She started in surprise as a raindrop, warm as blood, landed with a splat on
her bare arm. Although the air was not cold, she shivered. Her feelings
toward her grandmother were complex: she both admired
and despised the older
woman. Tenel Ka preferred to dress in the lizard-skin armor of the warrior
women of Dathomir, like her mother, rather than in the fine web-silks of the
Royal House of the Hapes Cluster. So far, Tenel Ka had managed to tread a
fine line between pleasing and annoying her grandmother. She knew that if
she stepped over that line too far, assassins might someday pay her a visit.
. . .
A branch of lightning crackled across the ominous sky, followed by a boom of
thunder. Atop the temple, Tenel Ka paced like a caged animal, her agitation
increasing as she stalked along the edge of the pyramid and wondered why
Ambassador Yfra did not come. So great was her turmoil that she didn't even
notice that Luke Skywalker had joined her on the observation deck until he
stood directly in front of her.
The Jedi Master placed both of his hands on her shoulders and looked into
her eyes. Peace and warmth flowed from him, and Tenel Ka felt herself begin
to relax. "There's a message in the Comm Center for you," he said
quietly "Would you like me to be present while you speak with the
ambassador?"
Tenel Ka could not suppress a shudder of revulsion as she thought of her
grandmother's thin-lipped emissary. "Your presence would" - she paused for a
moment, searching for words - "honor me, Master Skywalker."
Tenel Ka stood erect, holding her head high as she faced her grandmother's
ambassador in the Comm Center viewscreen - an image that for all its
apparent cruelty still held traces of proud beauty. Ambassador Yfra's hair
and eyes were the color of polished pewter.
"Our meetings on Coruscant took longer than we anticipated, young one," Yfra
was saying in a voice that indicated she was not used to being questioned.
"Therefore, our meeting with you must be postponed for two days."
Tenel Ka gave no outward sign of her discomposure, but her heart sank.
Jacen, Jaina, and Lowbacca were due back long before then. She sent a
pleading glance to Luke.
The Jedi Master stepped forward and spoke in a soft voice. "Perhaps I could
bring the Princess of Hapes to meet with you on Coruscant?" he offered.
Ambassador Yfra smiled in what Tenel Ka knew was meant to be a kindly
fashion, but there was no kindness or conciliation in her eyes. "I have
specific orders to observe the heir of Hapes in her place of study."
Tenel Ka opened her mouth to speak, but was spared the necessity when an
emergency beacon flashed next to the screen. Luke reacted instantly.
"Ambassador Yfra, we have a priority override communication coming in.
Please wait," he said, switching the channel before the ambassador had a
chance to reply.
The dark face of Lando Calrissian appeared, his handsome features marred by
a worried frown. Confusion haunted his bleary eyes. His hair and clothes
were disheveled, and warning sirens whooped in the background. "Luke,
buddy," he rasped, "I'm not sure exactly what happened. They . . . fried our
security satellites, boarded the station . . . must've stunned us. We're
okay, but-" Lando's troubled eyes closed and his jaw tightened, "Jacen,
Jaina, and Lowbacca are gone. They've been kidnapped."
Luke drew in a deep breath. Tenel Ka guessed he was using a Jedi calming
technique, but with less success than usual. His body appeared relaxed, but
his clear blue eyes carried a laser-sharp look. One hand was clenched into a
fist at his side. "Who did this?" he asked, his voice terse.
Lando shook his head. "We don't know who has the kids or why, but I've got
all my best people working on it. It was someone connected with the Empire,
though-that's for sure."
"I'll be there within the hour," Luke said, reaching for the comlink.
"Wait," Tenel Ka said. "These are my friends. I know how they think. I know
what they would do. I cannot cower here while they are in danger. Please. I
must go with you."
Luke nodded. "Your presence would . . . honor me," he answered, echoing her
earlier words. His eyes went back to Lando's image. "We'll be there within
the hour," he amended, then switched back to the ambassadors comm frequency.
Ambassador Yfra's mouth was open as if she were prepared to protest such
rude treatment, but Luke spoke first. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting,
Ambassador, but an emergency has come up. It requires both my presence and
that of the princess. I'm afraid we must postpone any plans to meet with you
until this situation is resolved. Please convey our respectful greetings to
the Royal House of Hapes." With a slight bow, he snapped off the comm
channel.
Even though she was worried about her friends, a feeling of satisfaction
bubbled up within Tenel Ka at the deftness with which Master Skywalker had
handled Ambassador Yfra.
Luke looked at Tenel Ka. "I'm sure the ambassador isn't used to being
postponed with so little explanation, but we have more important things to
Tenel Ka nodded emphatically. "This is a fact." Tenel Ka tried to be
impartial and unemotional as Master Skywalker expertly guided the shuttle
toward GemDiver Station. She needed to remain unruffled and alert, to search
for any clue that might help them recover the three best friends she'd ever
had.
The multicolored lights of the station winked as the docking-bay doors slid
open and Luke brought the shuttle in for a landing. At any other time Tenel
Ka might have noted her surroundings, the artistry and craftsmanship that
had gone into the station's construction-but the moment the shuttle doors
opened, she was assailed by a sense of lingering violence and darkness. Of
wrongness.
Harried and disheveled, Lando Calrissian met them at the shuttle. Motioning
for Luke and Tenel Ka to follow, he led them to the sealed shipping bay
where the final struggle had occurred.
Tenel Ka swept the chamber with her eyes, noting the blaster bums on the
walls and ceiling of the outer corridor, the congealed rivulets of molten
plasteel, the shards of broken metal. Then she watched as Luke sank down on
one knee, placed both hands against the floor, and let his eyes flutter
closed.
"Yes, it happened here," he murmured. He took a few deep breaths, then fixed
Lando with the piercing blueness of his gaze. "Don't blame yourself," he
said. "You fought well."
Lando's face was filled with regret, and he shook his head. "But it wasn't
enough, buddy. I couldn't save them." A note of anger and self-reproach
crept into his voice. "I was too busy trying to defend my station-thinking
they were pirates come to steal my Corusca gems. I didn't even realize they
were after the kids until it was too late."
Luke neither condemned nor pardoned Lando, Tenel Ka noticed. He simply
listened.
At last Lando spoke again in a quiet voice. "If there's anything you need to
help find them-my station, a ship, a crew . . . anything at all-"
Lando's offer of help was cut short by the arrival of his assistant Lobot,
whose computer headset flashed with an ever-changing array of lights. "We
finished patching the hull breach in low
er equipment bay thirty-four," he
said without preamble.
Lando turned to Luke and Tenel Ka, his forehead creasing, into an indignant
scowl. "They sliced us open like a disposable can of emergency rations."
The bald cyborg nodded in corroboration. "Their equipment was specially
designed to remove a section of hull."
Lando continued, "The only thing I know of sharp enough to slice through
durasteel that quickly is-"
"Corusca gems," Luke finished for him.
"Industrial grade," Lobot added.
"Right," Lando said morosely. "They used our own gems against us."
"Rare and expensive," Lobot said. "Not just anyone could purchase them."
Tenel Ka saw Luke's eyes light with sudden hope. "Can you tell us where your
shipments of such gems were sold?"
Lando shrugged. "Like my friend said, industrial-grade gems are fairly rare.
We've made only two shipments since our operation opened." He sent a
questioning glance at his cyborg assistant.
Lobot pressed a panel on the back of his head and cocked it to one side as
if listening to a voice no one else could hear. A moment later he nodded.
"Both shipments were sold through our broker on Borgo Prime."
"Can you find out who he sold them to?" Luke asked.
"I doubt it," Lando said. "Gem brokers are pretty skittish. They pay a good
percentage, but they're secretive-afraid that if we know who their customers
are, we won't need the middlemen anymore."