inferno.
Brakiss smiled again. "You're ambitious as always, young Zekk." He
placed a firm hand on his prize student's shoulder. "But do not be
impatient.
There is more you must learn, much more. You've been such a voracious
leamer, surpassing my greatest expectations about how capable you are of
using the power you were born with. You easily accomplish the exercises
I set for you-but there comes a time when every Jedi trainee must be
tested to the limit." Brakiss raised his eyebrows. "Tamith Kai continues
to flaunt her greatest student, Vilas, who has been training here for
more than a year. But you are learning so much faster. I believe you
have reached that stage, Zekk."
He reached into his silvery robes and grasped something there, but
hesitated, meeting the darkhaired boy's steady gaze. "I know you are
ready for this. Do not disappoint me."
"What is it, Master Brakiss?" Zekk asked.
LIGHTSABERS
^ From the folds of his robe Brakiss removed a dark, ornate cylinder.
"The time has come for you to have your own lightsaber."
Zekk took the ancient Jedi weapon and stared at it in wonder. Even
deactivated, it felt powerful in his hand. He squeezed the grip and
swung the handle back and forth, imagining a crackling energy blade. It
felt good. Very good.
"Normally," Brakiss said, "I would have suggested that you build your
own weapon. But it takes time and intense concentration to assemble the
components, understand the workings. And we have not the time. Through
the dark side, many things are easier, more efficient. Take this
lightsaber as my gift to you; wield it well in the service of the Second
Imperium."
"May I turn on the power?" Zekk whispered, still in awe.
"Of course."
Brakiss stood back as Zekk activated the lightsaher. A scarlet beam
lanced outward, glowing like lava. "This is a masterful weapon," Brakiss
said. "It has already been attuned for use by the dark side."
Zekk swiveled his wrist left and right, listening to the hum of the
powerful cutting edge.
"In fact, this lightsaber is very similar to the one Darth Vader used,"
Brakiss pointed out.
Zekk struck out against the air. "When can I train with it?" he said.
"How will I learn?"
Brakiss led the young man out of the observation tower. "We have
simulation rooms," he said. "A while ago, I spent some time training
your friends Jacen and Jaina. Very disappointing. They did learn how to
use lightsabers, but they resisted me each step of the way.
"I expect you, on the other hand, to excel in every routine. You, Zekk,
will quickly surpass anything your friends accomplished. And I know
Master Skywalker and his fears-be is too nervous to train his precious
younger students with their own lightsabers. He considers the energy
blades too dangerous." Brakiss laughed. "His fears are misplaced.
The most truly dangerous thing is a Dark Jedi wielding such a weapon."
As Zekk accompanied his teacher down the corridor, he switched off the
lightsaber and held its sturdy handle in his grip. He looked down at the
legendary Jedi weapon and ran his finger over its case.
The lightsaber felt warm, ready . . . begging to be used. The afterimage
of the scarlet blade still blazed across his vision.
Zekk tried to blink it away, but the bright line remained. At last he
said, "Yes, I can see how such a weapon could be very dangerous indeed."
^ -----------------JACEN COULDN'T HELP brooding as he wandered aimlessly
through the halls of the Jedi academy, keeping to the shadowy corridors
that were least used by other students. Jaina walked beside him in
stunned silence, as she had for the past two hours. She seemed to need
her brother's company as much as he needed hers, though neither of them
knew quite what to say.
Jacen still couldn't understand why Uncle Luke hadn't allowed anyone
else to stay with the unconscious Tenel Ka while the medical droid
tended her.
Neither had he allowed anyone to be present when he went to the Comm
Center to contact Tenel Ka's family and inform them of the accident.
Uncle Luke himself had scooped up Tenel Ka's limp form and rushed her
back to the Great Temple.
As the twins hurried behind, Jacen had sensed the Jedi Master drawing on
the Force to help the injured young woman maintain her strength, as we I
as to move faster and to keep from jarring her. At the same time, he had
sent a continuous stream of
^
soothing thoughts toward Tenel Ka's unconscious mind, thoughts of peace
and healing.
Jacen had known he should try to do the same, to help his friend in any
way he could, but his thoughts were in such a turmoil that he was afraid
his attempts would only make things worse. Perhaps that was why Master
Skywalker hadn't let any of them stay with the warrior girl once they
returned to the Great Temple. He had assured the friends that he would
call instantly if Tenel Ka asked for them.
Since then, the twins had roamed up and down stairways and dim passages,
both of them alone with their private thoughts. When Lowie joined them
without a word, neither asked where he had been. After all, he often
went out to the tall trees alone, to sit and think about his home on
Kashyyyk, his parents, his younger sister. . . . Now he was ready to be
with friends again. But Jacen was not surprised to note, when he glanced
down at Em Teedee, that the little droid had been shut off.
They were all disturbed by what had happened-no one more so than Jacen.
He replayed the scene over and over in his mind as they walked: the
sizzling, popping sound of the lightsabers as they clashed, the look of
challenge in Tenel Ka's eyes, the glowing green of his own energy blade
passing through hers. . . . He squeezed his eyes shut in an effort to
block the rest from his mind, but that was a mistake. The scene was too
vivid in his memory. His eyes flew open again.
LIGHTSABERS
^
"I can't wait any longer," he choked. "I have to see Tenel Ka to make
sure she's all right-and to apologize to her."
"We'll go with you," Jaina said. Lowie purred his agreement.
When the three Jedi trainees reached the room where their friend had
been treated, they saw Luke Skywalker emerging, Artoo-Detoo at his side.
"How's Tenel Ka?" Jacen asked immediately. "Is she awake? Can we see
her?"
Luke Skywalker hesitated, and Jacen could see the concern written on his
face. "She's still recovering from the . . . shock," he said. "She is
awake now, but she's not quite ready to see you yet."
"But a time like this is when she needs her friends most," Jaina said.
Artoo-Detoo swiveled the top of his domed head back and forth once and
buzzed an emphatic negative.
"But I have to see her," Jacen objected. "I need to do something for
her-tell her jokes, hold her hand. . . . Blaster bolts! She only has
one hand now, and I'm the one who's responsible."
Artoo gave a low mournful whistle, and Luke loo
ked at his nephew in
sympathy. "I know this is hard for you," he said, "but it's even harder
for Tenel Ka. I remember the thoughts that went through my head when I
lost my own hand on Cloud City, fighting with Darth Vader. I had just
learned that he was my father. It felt as if I had lost a part of
myself, a part of who I was . . . and then I lost my hand, too."
"But hands can be fixed," Jaina pointed out.
"They can be reattached and healed in bacta tanks."
Luke shook his head. "My hand was gone. There was nothing to reattach."
"But your synthetic hand works just as well as your old one did," Jacen
said.
"Perhaps," Luke said, flexing his lifelike prosthetic and running the
artificial thumb along his fingertips, "but it was a difficult decision
to make.
I remember thinking that maybe I had just taken another step toward
becoming more like my father, like Darth Vader-partly alive, but partly
a machine. Tenel Ka will have to face the same decision herself. When
her lightsaber exploded, it destroyed any chance we had of reattaching
that arm."
"Uncle Luke, I need to see her," Jacen pleaded. "I have to apologize."
Luke squeezed his shoulder. "I promise to call you the moment she's
ready to talk. Try to get some rest now."
Jacen slept fitfully, tossing and turning as images of a wounded Tenel
Ka haunted his dreams.
"We are opponentv, " he heard her say.
"No. I'm yourfriend, " Jacen tried to answer, but his voice was trapped
in his throat; he could make LIGHTSABERS
^
no sound. He felt again the sickening jolt as her lightsaber dissolved
beneath his and the sizzling green energy blade sliced through her arm.
The smell of singed flesh clawed at his nostrils.
The sound of her exploding rancor-tooth weapon crashed against his
eardrums, and his vision filled with the image of Tenel Ka's cool gray
eyes, clouded with accusation.
"We are opponents. . . ." Jacen felt something push at his mind, and he
woke drenched in sweat, his single light blanket damp and tangled around
his legs. He wasn't quite certain what had awakened him, but he knew it
was somehow urgent. It's Tenel Ka. She needs us. The thought came
unbidden to his mind. Through his open window, from the direction of the
jungle he heard the faint ululating howl of a Wookiee.
Jumping from his sleeping pallet, he hurriedly fastened the front of the
rumpled orange flight suit he had never quite bothered to take off when
he'd lain on his bed. The distant howl came again, and Jacen could sense
that Lowie, meditating at the top of a high Massassi tree, must be
trying to tell him something. Without bothering to put on a pair of
boots, he bolted out of his room and called at his sister's doorway.
"Jaina, wake up. Something's wrong." He raced on Crown the hallway, not
waiting for her reply.
But something-perhaps Lowie's call-had already wakened his sister,
because he hadn't even turned the corner before he heard Jaina running
down the hall after him. He didn't slow, though.
Bare feet slapping against the cold flagstones, he rushed out the
nearest exit and down one of the Great Temple's external stairways,
taking the torchlit steps three at a time. He felt the nudge against his
mind again and headed in the direction it had come from:the landing pad.
Ashe rounded the corner of the temple, with Jainahard on his heels, he
was surprised to see Lowie coming toward them from the jungle, where
eerie night mists blanketed the ground with translucent white. On the
landing field, though, Jacen saw something that surprised him even more.
A small, sleek shuttle, about half the size of the Millennium Falcon,
lifted off the grassy stubble of the landing pad, blasting away wisps of
ground fog.
And there, bathed in the blue glow from the landing lights, his hair
whipping wildly in the breeze, stood Luke Skywalker.
The Jedi Master was facing the shuttle, one arm raised as if in
farewell, as the three young Jedi Knights raced up to him. Jacen and
Jaina spoke at the same moment.
"Who was that?"
"What's going on?"
The tall, gangly Wookiee added a questioning bark of his own.
LIGHTSABERS
^ Luke Skywalker lowered his eyes to look at his Jedi students.
"It was Tenel Ka, wasn't it?" Jacen persisted, without really needing to
hear the answer. In the dimness, his gaze locked with his uncle's, and
the Jedi Master nodded.
in good hands nowdon't worry."
Jacen felt as if a bantha had just stepped on his chest. He struggled
for enough breath to speak. He felt betrayed. "She's gone! You said
you'd call us when Tenel Ka was ready to see us."
Luke Skywalker cleared his throat. "She wasn't ready."
Lowie gave a despairing groan.
"But we didn't even get a chance to say goodbye," Jaina said.
Her uncle sighed. "I know. But she's with family now. They'll take care
of her."
Jacen saw his sister shake her head in confusion.
"But how can that be true?" Her question made no sense to him, and he
looked at her, waiting for her to explain. "What I mean is," she went
on, "why would Tenel Ka's family from Dathomir come for her in that
shuttle?"
Jacen shrugged, feeling as if she expected him to understand. He didn't.
"What's so strange about it?"
he asked finally.
"Mat was an Exprevs-class ambassadorial shuttle," she said. "And it had
the markings of the Royal House of Hapes."
------------------Three pairs of questioning eyes turned toward Luke
Skywalker.
THE PASSENGERS'QUARTERS aboard the Hapan royal shuttle Thunder Wraith
were spacious and equipped with every convenience a space traveler could
desire. The elegant appointments of the cabin fell just short of
ostentation; the chief adornment on each wall consisted of an ornate
gilt frame surrounding a massive viewscreen.
Tenel Ka took no notice of the spectacular view, however. She had seen
hyperspace before. She had no desire to see anything. Or anyone.
Or to feel anything. Numb. That was what she felt. Mind, emotions . . .
even her arm. All numb.
The thought crossed her mind briefly that perhaps she ought to eat
something. She'd had no food since before . . . since before.
No, she decided. No food. She could not work up enthusiasm for eating,
or anything else, for that matter.
Her reddish-gold braids hung in tangled disarray around her face. Though
the medical droid had done a serviceable job of washing her body and
disinfecting the wound before cauterizing it, the droid had no
programming on what to do with hair. It had kindly offered to shave
Tenel Ka's head for her, but she had declined. One of the twins might
have been willing to help her comb through the mess and rebraid it. But
she'd been too proud to let her friends see her in her current
condition, afraid of the disgust she might see on their faces-or worse
yet, pit
y.
At least that was one good thing about having been spirited away from
Yavin 4 in the middle of the night, Tenel Ka thought: she didn't have to
see anyone, and so would be spared both sympathy and derision.
As if to dispel Tenel Ka's only comforting thought, Ambassador Yfra
chose that moment to appear. Her grandmother's aging henchwoman, for all
her kindly smiles and refined features, was still cut from the same
cloth as the former queenpower-hungry and more than willing to do
whatever it took to add to her personal power. Not long ago, Yfra had
tried to visit Yavin 4, but when her friends were kidnapped by the
Shadow Academy, Tenel Ka had gone with Master Skywalker to rescue them.
Tenel Ka had not been disappointed to miss the ambassador, who had
canceled the visit. She had never trusted the woman and disliked her
instinctively.
"Are you feeling any better, my dear?" the LIGHTSABERS
^ ambassador said with nauseating insincerity. "Would you like to talk?"
"No," Tenel Ka said stubbornly. "Thank you."
Then curiosity began to tickle her numbed brain, and she asked, "Why
were you the one chosen to bring me home?"